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The suspension of in-person Minneapolis public school classes has fueled fears that former police officer Derek Chauvin will not be found guilty in the George Floyd murder trial. Ahead of Chauvin's imminent verdict, Minneapolis Public Schools on Friday sent families a letter stating that in-person classes will be replaced by distance learning from Wednesday to Friday, according to local news . Students can stay at home during those days and all events will be canceled, but buildings and meal pickups will still remain open. In the letter, Superintendent Ed Graff said the decision was informed by a conversation with sources from Hennepin County. "These plans are made based on what we know today," he wrote. "Should trial activities change, we will re-evaluate, adjust plans and let families and students know as soon as possible." With closing statements in Chauvin's trial set to occur on Monday, before the jury is scheduled to start deliberations, authorities in Minneapolis … [Read more...] about Derek Chauvin Acquittal Fears Fueled by Minneapolis Decision to Suspend In-Person Schooling

John Kiriakou , former CIA analyst and co-host of the Backstory here on Radio Sputnik daily from 4-6 pm EST, joins us to talk about the case of Daniel Hale, the former intelligence analyst who pled guilty to violating the Espionage Act and who now faces up to 10 years in prison for leaking information about the US drone program. We discuss the background of his case, and how certain media outlets put whistleblowers in danger of prosecution by the national security state through negligence and lack of journalistic rigor. We also talk about the current state of the drone program and whether it will be scaled down under Biden or ramped up again. Ahsan Butt , associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, tells us about the United Arab Emirates playing an important role in the February 25 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, how well the ceasefire is holding and what we could see in future negotiations and what concessions could be made. … [Read more...] about How Hospitals Profit Off of COVID; Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale Pleads Guilty

Before the Israeli parliamentary elections that took place on 23 March very few media polls predicted that the Religious Zionist Union, a technical bloc of three parties, would pass the threshold of 3.25 percent that would let them in into the Knesset. But after votes have been counted, it turns out they did, and many Israeli media outlets opened a delegitimisation campaign against them. Much has been said about the Religious Zionist Union and the people that are part of that bloc. Batzalel Smotrich, the man who stands at the helm of the bloc, was branded as "more dangerous than an ordinary right-wing extremist". Itamar Ben Gvir, number 3 on that list, has always been considered a radical , after confessing he framed on a wall a photo of Baruch Goldstein, the Jewish extremist who murdered 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994. Avi Maoz, the Union's number 6, who rejects the rights of minorities and the LGBT community, has been branded an … [Read more...] about Defying Labels Attached to Them, Religious Zionist Union Says They are Not ‘Extremists,’ Here’s Why

NASA scientists have described the first flight of its Ingenuity drone helicopter on Mars as its "Wright Brothers" moment. Mars Helicopter project manager MiMi Aung made the comparison in a live webcast after the historic event, saying: "We've been talking for so long about our Wright brothers moment. And here it is." Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft flight of the Flyer biplane on December 17 1903, with Orville at the controls. — NASA (@NASA) April 19, 2021 The Ingenuity helicopter lifted off from the surface of the Red Planet for a 39-second flight early on Monday morning, rising vertically and hovering before touching back down. — Dr. James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ) April 19, 2021 Flight on Mars is made challenging by its sparse atmosphere, having only 1.6 percent of the density of Earth's, although the planet's gravity is just over a third of ours. That is equivalent to flying 22 miles (35 kilometres) above sea level in … [Read more...] about NASA Dubs 39-Second Mars Drone Chopper Flight its ‘Wright Brothers Moment’

Last Updated Apr 1, 2021 4:06 PM EDT Watch the CBSN Originals documentary, "Speaking Frankly | Socialism," in the video player above. Just what is socialism? It was a buzzword in the 2020 election season, having sprung up dozens of times during campaign, particularly during the Republication National Convention . Conservative leaders depicted the idea as a democracy-killing bogeyman . Some Democrats — including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib — have embraced the label with gusto. The economic and political system has history going back centuries. Directly or otherwise, it has influenced government policies around the world, including in America. But what exactly does socialism mean? What do socialists want right now? And is the Republican warning — that socialism is threatening to destroy the American way of life — a real concern? There are some facts about socialism that are beyond dispute. This is … [Read more...] about What is socialism? And what do socialists really want in 2021?