Thursday, April 15, 2021

*) Ex-cop charged in shooting of Black motorist Kim Potter, the white cop who shot and killed Black man Daunte Wright, has been arrested and charged with second degree manslaughter. Minneapolis has been roiled by nightly protests after Potter appeared to have mistaken her gun for her Taser when she killed Wright on Sunday. Meanwhile, protests are also continuing in major US cities against police brutality against people of colour. *) Derek Chauvin’s defence team face quagmire Staying in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin’s defence team will continue presenting their case. Their latest witness, the former chief medical examiner for the state of Maryland, testified that George Floyd's heart problems and drug use contributed to a sudden heart attack that caused his death. The defence team, who’ve taken a knock in the trial so far, face a crucial decision over whether to put Chauvin on the witness stand. *) Denmark halts use of AstraZeneca vaccine Denmark has halted the use of the AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, becoming Europe's first country to do so. It's because of concerns about rare cases of blood clotting among recipients. The move could delay Denmark's vaccination programme by several weeks. *) Houston Rockets works with FBI after being hit by major cyberattack The Houston Rockets basketball team's internal systems have been hacked. Bloomberg reports that the Babuk hacking group claims to have stolen 500GB of data, including contracts, non-disclosure agreements and financial data. The Rockets have roped in the FBI to investigate the cyberattack. *) NFT art fetches $16.8M at Sotheby's An NFT piece by digital artist Pak has sold for a whopping $16.8M at a Sotheby's online auction. The Sotheby's sale had a complex structure, including a series of digital cubes which collectors could buy for $500 to $1,500 each, receiving a number of NFTs based on how many cubes they owned. Last month, an NFT piece sold for $69.3M at Christie’s, in the first sale ever by a major auction house of a piece of art that d