Compiled by Laura Lenz
Hallie Turner reported that a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd last May.
At the age of 45, Chauvin was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin was seen in a video pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee, for longer than nine minutes last Memorial Day.
The judge did not grant Chauvin bail and he is to report back in eight weeks for his sentencing. A report stated that Chauvin faces 15 years or 150 months in prison under sentencing guidelines for a first-time offender. The prosecution is arguing that there are aggravating factors that require a longer prison term.
Conner Hendricks reported that faith leaders from across the state are calling for a boycott of Home Depot. The group, which represents over 1,000 churches in the state, says Home Depot did not respond to requests to open up a dialogue with them on corporate activism.
Governor Kemp called foul on the boycott.
Turner reported around 150 Clarke County students and parents received a COVID-19 vaccine on April 17. The Clarke County School District offered eligible students and their families the Pfizer-BioNTech dose, which is currently the only COVID-19 dose approved for those that are 16 and older.
Saturday was the district’s third mass-vaccination event. The district’s teachers have received both doses of the vaccine earlier this year.
The vaccination event was held at Clarke Central High School through its partnership with the school district, the Department of Public Health and the AU/UGA Medical Partnership.
Thomas Ehlers reported officials in Ohio are investigating a police-involved shooting that killed a 15-year-old girl. A Columbus Police Department officer responded to a report of someone attempting to stab others at a home in east Columbus. Body camera footage shows a girl tackling another girl with a knife in hand. The first girl then charged another individual with the knife in the air when the officer shot her.
The next step will be looking into if the shooting was justified based on the state’s deadly force law. Law states that “deadly force can be used to protect yourself or the protection of a third person.” This is the second fatal officer involved shooting in Columbus since December.
Michael Doti reported that one of Georgia’s seats in the Senate was voted second on the top 10 Senate seats that are most likely to flip in 2022 on a list created by CBS 46 News. The incumbent to this position is Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.
Georgia has been a center of major political events, more recently the passing of Senate Bill 202. The bill has led to protests all over the state, boycotts from big businesses and the MLB All-Star Game to be moved from Truist Park in Atlanta. Black and other minority voters was a key reason in flipping Georgia’s political status in 2020 and granting Democrats control of the Senate.
Doti explained that Warnock won the Senate seat by two points over Republican Kelly Loeffler. Republicans Doug Collins and Drew Ferguson are also expected to run. Warnock won the seat in January due in part to Loeffler’s grave comments on the Black Lives Matter movements happening at the time. The Atlanta Dream, the WNBA team that Loeffler owns a part of, protested her comments by wearing “Vote Warnock” shirts while warming up in the NBA bubble.
Turner reported that Kate Schneider from Ireland has been named the new Mrs. World after the reigning title holder, Caroline Jurie of Sri Lanka, resigned following an on-stage brawl in which she pulled the crown off the head of Pushpika De Silva. Mrs. World said it received the resignation letter of Caroline Jurie and that the new first runner up Mrs. Ireland Kate Schnieder would be the new Mrs. World.
Jurie gave up her title earlier this month while also defending her decision to remove the crown from the head of this year’s Mrs. Sri Lanka Pushpika De Silva, in which she claimed was unqualified to take part in the contest because she was divorced.
De Silva responded, “being apart is one. Divorce is something else.”
Turner explained that Jurie, who is also Sri Lankan, was accused of injuring De Silva in the televised pageant. Four days later she was arrested on charges of “simple hurt and criminal force” but she was later released on bail.
Doti gave an update that Mika Lewis, from Olathe, Kansas, was going to get her tires changed on her car. However, Lewis was running a little early to her appointment so she decided to make a quick detour. She stopped at a local Price Chopper to buy some scratch-off lottery tickets. While she was sitting in the waiting room at the tire shop, a $2 Winner Winner Chicken Dinner ticket turned into a $10,000 prize.
Lewis said, “At first I just assumed I was looking at the ticket wrong. There’s no way I won that much. But eventually, after checking and double checking, I started to realize that it was real and I had won.”
Doti explained that one of the tire shop workers noticed Lewis constantly checking her one lottery ticket.
Lewis said, “He looked over at me and said, ‘Did you just win the lottery? I was still in shock and all I could say was, ‘Well, yeah, I kind of did!’ He congratulated me and started laughing as well.”
Yara Manasrah reported that Johnson & Johnson is to resume the rollout of its vaccine within the European Union despite warnings of a rare side effect.
On April 20, the company said it would resume the rollout after drug regulators recommended a warning on the vaccine regarding the link to rare blood clots. The global pause on the vaccine sent shockwaves through vaccination efforts worldwide, with U.S. officials pausing usage of the vaccine on April 13. An advisory panel to the CDC is expected to meet for the second time on Friday in order to discuss whether to lift the pause on the vaccine’s usage within the United States.
Ehlers gave the sports report that the Georgia baseball and softball teams had exciting finishes on April 20. The baseball team won 8-7 over Clemson off a walk-off double by Parks Harber in the bottom of the ninth. Josh McAllister and Cole Tate each had 2 hits, 2 RBI games as the Bulldogs improved to 24-12 on the season and won their sixth straight game against the Tigers.
The UGA softball team walked-off in the first game of Tuesday night’s doubleheader.. Jaiden Fields hit a single in the bottom of the ninth to score Jaqui Switzer as the 20th-ranked Bulldogs defeated no. 1 Oklahoma, 7-6. Georgia pitcher Mary Wilson Avant picked up the complete game win, and Fields finished the game with 3 RBIs. The Bulldogs dropped game two of the double header 12-3.
Ehlers gave a soccer update that days after several European soccer clubs announced the formation of a Super League, more than half of the teams have stepped back from the ESL. On April 20, all six Premier League teams announced they would pull out of the league after widespread fan protests and disapproval. On April 21, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan announced they would pull out as well.
The US Women’s national soccer team learned who they will face in the group stage of the Olympics. Group G consists of Sweden, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The US-Sweden matchup will be one to watch as the teams drew in their latest friendly and the US won 2-0 in the matchup before.