'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
A Minnesota judge on Friday denied Derek Chauvin' s request for a new trial in George Floyd 's death, saying the defence has not shown that the former Minneapolis police officer was deprived of his right to a fair trial.
The ruling from Judge Peter Cahill came hours before Chauvin was scheduled to be sentenced for murder in Floyd's death. Cahill found that defence attorney Eric Nelson did not show that the court abused its discretion or that there was prosecutorial misconduct that would have deprived Floyd of his right.
Cahill also denied Nelson's request for a hearing into possible juror misconduct.
Chauvin, 45, pinned Floyd to a Minneapolis street for about 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, ignoring the Black man's cries of "I can't breathe" and the shouts of onlookers. Bystander video of Floyd's death sparked protests in Minneapolis, some violent, and quickly spread around the world.
Nelson had asked for a new trial after Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. These requests are routine, but are rarely granted, and it's expected Nelson will raise the same arguments on appeal.
Nelson argued that intense publicity around Floyd's death tainted the jury pool and that the trial should have been moved away from Minneapolis. He also offered a range of other arguments, all dismissed by prosecutors, who said Chauvin was fairly convicted.
Among his arguments was that intense publicity before and during the trial tainted the jury pool and prejudiced the jury against his client.
There were reports in February that Chauvin had been prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder and an announcement during jury selection that Minneapolis reached a US$27 million settlement with Floyd's family. Also, the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by a police officer in nearby Brooklyn Center happened during Chauvin's trial and sparked days of protests.
Cahill also denied Nelson's request for a hearing to "impeach" the verdict, which means to call into question the verdict's integrity or validity. The hearing, known as a Schwartz hearing, is used to examine whether there is juror misconduct.
Nelson accused juror Brandon Mitchell of not being candid during jury selection because he didn't mention his participation in a march last summer to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Prosecutors countered that Mitchell had been open about his views in a jury questionnaire and during the questioning of potential jurors. Nelson also alleged an alternate juror, who did not deliberate, made public comments after the trial indicating she felt pressured to render a guilty verdict.
The defence accused juror Brandon Mitchell of not being candid during jury selection because he didn't mention his participation in a march last summer to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Prosecutors countered that Mitchell had been open about his views in a jury questionnaire and during the questioning of potential jurors.
The judge ruled the defence didn't show any evidence of juror misconduct either during trial or during jury selection that warranted an evidentiary hearing.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.