News

A jury watched video Wednesday of a police investigator telling the man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery that he wasn’t being arrested soon after he, along with his father and a neighbor, chased and killed the Black man after spotting him running in their neighborhood.

“You’re going home today,” Glynn County police investigator Roderic Nohilly told Travis McMichael roughly two hours after the shooting on Feb. 23, 2020.

Nohilly testified Wednesday as the first prosecution witness in the criminal misconduct trial of former District Attorney Jackie Johnson, coastal Glynn County’s top prosecutor when Arbery was killed nearly five years ago.

A string of recent killings across the United States have been tied to a fringe online group described as a “death cult.” The complex web of violence includes a samurai sword attack in Vallejo, the stabbing of a landlord and a deadly shootout near the Canadian border.

Many of the people linked to the violence are connected to a fringe online community known as the “Zizians,” the investigation found. The group is a radical offshoot of the Rationalism movement, focusing on matters such as veganism and artificial intelligence destroying humanity. The group is apparently named after a person known as “Ziz,” whom Open Vallejo identified as a former tenant on Lind’s Vallejo property.

A passenger jet has collided with a helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington.

Summary

An American Airlines regional jet carrying 64 people collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.

The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 was on approach from Wichita when the crash occurred around 9 p.m. ET. At least one aircraft ended up in the Potomac River, prompting a major emergency response.

The FAA closed the airport, and the NTSB is leading the investigation.

Summary

Despite conservative pressure and Trump’s executive order ending DEI in the federal government, companies like Delta Air Lines, Costco, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are maintaining their diversity initiatives.

Experts argue that DEI programs improve profitability, retention, and innovation, making them a business imperative.

Some corporations have scaled back efforts post-Trump’s re-election, fearing backlash.

However, leaders defending DEI say it aligns with long-term business success and consumer expectations.

Activists warn companies rolling back DEI may lose support from diverse customer bases.

Summary

Andrew Taake, pardoned by Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, is now wanted in Texas for a 2016 charge of soliciting a minor.

Despite a state request to hold him, he was released from federal custody.

Authorities are now working to track him down.

Other pardoned Jan. 6 participants have also faced legal trouble, including an Indiana man fatally shot by police, a Florida man arrested on gun charges, and a Kentucky man facing renewed firearms offenses.

Summary

A U.S. judge granted a restraining order to stop a federal funding freeze despite the Trump administration rescinding it on Wednesday, following days of chaos and conflicting White House messaging.

The freeze had paused trillions in spending on social services and security programs, sparking legal challenges from Democratic attorneys general.

While the White House insists Trump’s executive orders on federal funding remain in effect, critics warn of continued efforts to restrict spending.

A regional jet and a U.S. military helicopter collided late Wednesday as the jet approached Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington.

Summary

New Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has ordered an immediate rollback of U.S. fuel efficiency regulations, targeting stricter standards set by the Biden administration.

Duffy argues that weakening emissions rules will lower car costs and expand consumer choice.

The memo also seeks to revoke California’s right to set its own air quality standards and criticizes EV subsidies.

This move aligns with Trump’s broader push to dismantle climate policies, including a recent ban on federal purchases of zero-emissions vehicles.

Environmental groups are expected to challenge the changes.

Summary

Senior Justice Department officials are discussing the possibility of dropping corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, though federal prosecutors have not signaled they will do so.

Adams, indicted on bribery and campaign finance violations in September, has pleaded not guilty and faces trial in April.

The timing raises questions, as it follows Adams' meeting with Donald Trump, who previously suggested Adams was treated unfairly and hinted at a possible pardon.

Meanwhile, prosecutors recently claimed to have uncovered additional criminal conduct by Adams.

Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the department, had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her on Friday, saying that she didn’t believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said.

In an email to colleagues on Saturday, reviewed by Reuters, she said the independent council of the inspectors general on integrity and efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time”.

In July, he publicly referred to people on SSRI’s and ADHD medications as “addicts.”

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded a memo Wednesday that had ordered a "temporary pause" on federal funding and unleashed major confusion across the country.

Why it matters: It's an astonishing reversal by the Trump administration, a day after top officials defended the funding freeze — which a judge temporarily halted on Tuesday — as necessary to ensure all government spending was aligned with the president's vision.