by tyler | Dec 23, 2023 | CNN, us
Three police officers and two paramedics have faced juries on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide stemming from the 2019 death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colorado.
But the path to court was anything but straightforward.
McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was confronted by police officers on August 24, 2019, after someone reported seeing a person wearing a ski mask who “looks sketchy.” After officers wrestled him to the ground and paramedics injected him with a potent sedative, McClain suffered a heart attack on the way to a hospital and died days later, authorities said.
Prosecutors initially declined to bring charges in his death, but the case received renewed scrutiny following the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in spring 2020. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appointed a special prosecutor to reexamine the case, and in 2021 a grand jury indicted three officers and two paramedics in McClain’s death.
The defendants have now faced juries in three separate trials in 2023, to different results. Officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault, while officers Jason Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard were acquitted of all charges. Paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec will soon learn their fate.
Here’s a timeline of McClain’s death, the resulting investigation, the protests that brought renewed attention to the case and the criminal trials.
Three White officers stopped McClain in Aurora on August 24, 2019, while he was walking home from a convenience store in the Denver suburb after 10:30 p.m., according to a police overview of the incident.
Carrying iced tea in a plastic bag, McClain eventually was in a physical struggle with the officers after, police say, he resisted arrest.
Early in the encounter, an officer told McClain to stop, and when McClain kept walking, two officers grabbed his arms, the overview reads. McClain says, “Let me go … I’m an introvert, please respect the boundaries that I am speaking,” according to body camera footage from one of the officers.
After an officer asked him to cooperate so they could talk, McClain tells officers he had been trying to pause his music so he could hear them, and tells them to let him go, the overview reads.
Eventually, one officer is heard telling another that McClain tried to grab his gun.
All three officers tackled McClain to the ground, and Woodyard placed him in a carotid hold – in which an officer uses their biceps and forearm to cut off blood flow to a subject’s brain – police said in the overview document. McClain briefly became unconscious, and Woodyard released the hold, the document reads, citing the officers.
Body camera video of the encounter shows McClain at some point saying he couldn’t breathe.
Because the hold was used, department policy compelled the officers to call the fire department for help, authorities said. Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics arrived and saw McClain on the ground and resisting officers, the overview says.
Paramedic Cooper diagnosed McClain with “excited delirium” and decided to inject him with the powerful sedative ketamine, the overview says.
McClain suffered a heart attack on the way to a hospital, authorities said. Three days later, he was declared brain-dead and taken off life support.
The Adams County coroner’s office submitted an autopsy report on November 7, stating the cause and manner of death were “undetermined.” The report cited the scene investigation and examination findings as factors leading to that conclusion.
Roughly two weeks later, the Adams County district attorney, Dave Young, declined to file criminal charges against any of the first responders. In a letter to the Aurora police chief on November 22, Young referred to the undetermined cause of death as one of the factors.
“The evidence does not support a conclusion that Mr. McClain’s death was the direct result of any particular action of any particular individual,” Young wrote. “Under the circumstances of this investigation, it is improbable for the prosecution to prove cause of death beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury of twelve. Consequently, the evidence does not support the prosecution of a homicide.”
Also on November 22, after the district attorney’s decision, Aurora police released the officers’ body camera videos.
“We certainly recognize and understand that this has been an incredibly devastating and difficult process for them over these last several weeks,” then-Police Chief Nick Metz said.
A police review board concluded that the use of force against McClain, including the carotid hold, “was within policy and consistent with training.”
City officials announced on February 6 they would hire an independent expert to review the case.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was fatally restrained by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Bystander video of the encounter sets off outrage and leads to widespread protests, including in Aurora, under the Black Lives Matter movement.
In early June, the three officers who confronted McClain were assigned to administrative duties, primarily due to safety concerns because police and city employees were receiving threats, a police spokesperson said.
On June 9, Aurora police and city officials announced changes to police policies, including a ban on carotid holds.
Ten days later, Gov. Polis signed police accountability legislation into law, requiring all officers to use activated body cameras or dashboard cameras during service calls or officer-initiated public interactions. The measure also barred officers from using chokeholds.
Polis also signed an executive order appointing Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate McClain’s case, the governor announced on June 25. More than 2 million people had signed a petition urging officials to conduct a new investigation.
On June 27, protesters in the Aurora area gathered on Highway 225, temporarily shutting it down in a demonstration calling for justice in McClain’s death.
On June 30, the US attorney’s office for Colorado, the US Department of Justice’s civil rights division and the FBI’s Denver division announced they have been reviewing the case since 2019 for potential federal civil rights violations.
Aurora police on July 3 fired two officers who they say snapped selfie photographs at McClain’s memorial site, located where he was killed, while they were on duty.
Officer Rosenblatt also was fired, with police saying he received the photo in a text and replied, “ha ha,” and did not notify supervisors. The photos were taken on October 20, 2019.
A third officer seen in the photos resigned days before a pre-disciplinary hearing, police said.
On July 20, the Aurora City Council approved a resolution for an independent investigation of McClain’s death to proceed.
The McClain family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora on August 11.
“Aurora’s unconstitutional conduct on the night of August 24, 2019, is part of a larger custom, policy, and practice of racism and brutality, as reflected by its conduct both before and after its murder of Elijah McClain, a young Black man,” the lawsuit stated.
On the same day, Aurora city officials announced the police department would undergo a “comprehensive review” by external experts on civil rights and public safety.
Aurora city officials released a 157-page report on February 22, detailing the findings of the independent investigation it commissioned into McClain’s death.
The report asserted that officers did not have the legal basis to stop, frisk or restrain McClain. It also criticized emergency medical responders’ decision to inject him with ketamine and rebuked the police department for failing to seriously question the officers after the death.
Sheneen McClain, Elijah’s mother, cried while reading the report.
“It was overwhelming knowing my son was innocent the entire time and just waiting on the facts and proof of it,” Sheneen McClain told CNN at the time. “My son’s name is cleared now. He’s no longer labeled a suspect. He is actually a victim.”
Elijah McClain’s father said the report only confirmed what the family already knew. “The Aurora police and medics who murdered my son must be held accountable,” LaWayne Mosley said after the report’s release.
In response to the report, city officials began work on establishing an independent monitor to scrutinize police discipline, Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly said.
“I believe the investigative team has identified the issue that is at the root of the case: the failure of a system of accountability,” Twombly said after the report’s release.
On September 1, the state attorney general announced a grand jury indicted officers Roedema, Rosenblatt and Woodyard and paramedics Cichuniec and Cooper.
Each was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as part of a 32-count indictment.
Roedema and Rosenblatt also were indicted on one count of assault and one count of crime of violence. Cooper and Cichuniec were further indicted on three counts of assault and six counts of crime of violence.
“Our goal is to seek justice for Elijah McClain, for his family and friends and for our state,” Weiser, the state attorney general, said. “In so doing, we advance the rule of law and our commitment that everyone is accountable and equal under the law.”
The charges brought McClain’s parents to tears. “I started crying because it’s been two years,” Sheneen McClain said. “It’s been a long journey.”
“Nothing will bring back my son, but I am thankful that his killers will finally be held accountable,” Mosley, his father, said through the attorney’s release.
On September 15, the Colorado attorney general’s office released a 112-page report that found the Aurora police had a pattern of practicing racially biased policing, excessive force, and had failed to record legally required information when interacting with the community. The report also found the police department used force against people of color almost 2.5 times more than against White people.
The state investigation also revealed the fire department had a pattern and practice of administering ketamine illegally, the attorney general’s office said.
The state attorney general’s office and the city of Aurora agreed November 16 on terms of a consent decree to address the issues raised in the office’s report two months earlier.
On November 19, the city finalized an agreement to pay $15 million to McClain’s family to settle the federal civil rights lawsuit.
The cause of death in McClain’s case was changed in light of evidence from the grand jury’s investigation, according to an amended autopsy report publicly released September 23.
The initial autopsy report had said the cause of death was undetermined. But the amended report listed “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint” as the cause of death.
The manner of death remained undetermined in the amended report.
“Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose, even though the blood ketamine level was consistent with a ‘therapeutic’ concentration,” pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina wrote in the amended autopsy report. “I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”
Cina could not determine whether the carotid hold contributed to the death, but “I have seen no evidence that injuries inflicted by the police contributed,” he wrote.
On September 20, Roedema and Rosenblatt, two of the officers who arrested McClain, stood trial on charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.
Prosecutors said they used excessive force on McClain, failed to follow their training and misled paramedics about his health status. In contrast, defense attorneys placed blame on McClain for resisting arrest and on the paramedics who treated him.
Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault. Rosenblatt was acquitted of all charges.
On October 16, the third officer, Woodyard, stood trial on charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Like in the earlier trial, prosecutors argued he used excessive force on McClain, while defense attorneys argued the force was necessary and blamed the paramedics.
Woodyard was found not guilty on all charges.
McClain’s mother Sheneen told CNN affiliate KUSA she no longer has faith in the justice system after Woodyard’s acquittal.
“It lets us down, not just people of color, it lets down everybody,” she said. “They don’t do the right thing, they always do the bare minimum.”
Cooper and Cichuniec, the paramedics who treated McClain, stood trial on charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Both paramedics testified they believed McClain was experiencing “excited delirium” during his confrontation with Aurora police officers, and their treatment protocol was to administer a ketamine dose they believed was safe and would not kill a person.
Prosecutors said the paramedics “didn’t take any accountability for any single one of their actions” while testifying at their trial.
“They both stood there while Elijah got worse and worse and did nothing,” Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson said. “They are both responsible.”
Cooper and Cichuniec were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide Friday.
Cichuniec was also found guilty of a second-degree unlawful administration of drugs assault charge.
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of Dennis Hastert, former Republican speaker of the House. Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison in a hush money case that revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys while he was a teacher in Illinois.
Birth date: January 2, 1942
Birth place: Aurora, Illinois
Birth name: John Dennis Hastert
Father: Jack Hastert, former restaurant owner
Mother: Naomi (Nussle) Hastert
Marriage: Jean (Kahl) Hastert (1973-present)
Children: Ethan and Joshua
Education: Wheaton College, B.A., 1964; Northern Illinois University, M.S., 1967
Religion: Protestant
Goes by the nickname “Denny.”
Hastert is diabetic.
Was named Illinois Coach of the Year after leading the Yorkville High School wrestling team to the state championship.
Instituted the so-called “Hastert Rule,” an informal guideline where only legislation supported by “the majority of the majority” party is brought to a vote on the House floor.
1964-1980 – Wrestling and football coach and government/history teacher at Yorkville High School.
1980-1986 – Member of the Illinois House of Representatives.
January 3, 1987-November 26, 2007 – US representative from Illinois’ 14th congressional district.
1995-1999 – House chief deputy minority whip.
January 6, 1999 – Is elected speaker of the House, replacing Newt Gingrich.
November 22, 2003 – Hastert fights hard to secure passage of a Medicare bill in the House. The vote takes three hours and lasts well into the night. It is signed into law by US President George W. Bush on December 8 after also being passed by the Senate.
January 3, 2006 – Donates $70,000 of campaign contributions from companies associated with lobbyist Jack Abramoff to charity after Abramoff pleads guilty to corruption charges.
June 1, 2006 – Surpasses Joe Cannon to become the longest-serving Republican speaker of the House in US history.
October 3, 2006 – Appears on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” and says he has no intention of resigning due to the controversy over Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-FL) sexually explicit emails to underage pages.
November 7, 2006 – Is reelected to his eleventh term in Congress. Republicans lose their majority in the House, so Hastert loses his position as speaker of the House when the new Congress begins on January 4, 2007.
August 17, 2007 – Announces that he will not run for reelection in 2008.
November 15, 2007 – Announces his resignation on the House floor. He formally resigns on November 26 after 20 years in office.
June 2008 – Joins the Washington lobbying firm of Dickstein Shapiro as a senior adviser.
June 8, 2009 – Hastert’s son, Ethan, announces he will run for his father’s former congressional seat but later loses in the GOP primary.
May 7, 2010 – Hastert is conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by Emperor Akihito of Japan.
May 28, 2015 – Federal officials indict Hastert for lying to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to an undisclosed subject to “cover up past misconduct.” The Justice Department alleges that Hastert paid the subject a total of about $1.7 million over a period of years beginning in 2010 and ending in 2014. Hastert resigns from the lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro.
May 29, 2015 – Sources with knowledge of the federal investigation tell CNN Hastert was paying a former student to keep quiet about allegations of sexual misconduct from the time when Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois.
June 9, 2015 – Pleads not guilty to all charges related to lying to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to an undisclosed subject.
October 28, 2015 – Hastert pleads guilty to structuring money transactions in a way to evade requirements to report where the money was going.
December 17, 2015 – A statement is released announcing that Hastert was admitted to the hospital in the first week of November 2015. He was treated for a stroke and sepsis. This was followed by two back surgeries.
April 8, 2016 – Documents released by prosecutors allege Hastert sexually abused at least four boys when he coached high school wrestling in Illinois.
April 25, 2016 – Hastert is sued by a former student in Illinois Circuit Court. The former student seeks to collect $1.8 million. This is the remainder of the $3.5 million promised him for covering up Hastert’s past misconduct.
April 27, 2016 – Hastert is sentenced to 15 months in prison. He is ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims’ fund, must serve two years of supervised release once he finishes his prison term, and enter a sex offender treatment program.
June 22, 2016 – Hastert begins serving his 15-month sentence at a federal medical prison in Rochester, Minnesota.
July 18, 2017 – Is released from prison and is placed under the supervision of a residential reentry management field office in Chicago.
November 20, 2017 – A judge in Kendall County, Illinois, throws out a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Hastert abused him when he was a child, saying the statute of limitations had passed.
December 12, 2017 – New court-ordered restrictions ban Hastert from having contact with anyone under 18 unless an adult is present who’s aware that he pleaded guilty in the hush money case.
September 10, 2019 – A judge in Kendall County, Illinois, rules that a lawsuit over the terms of a $3.5 million hush money deal can go to trial. One of Hastert’s former students filed the lawsuit in April 2016.
September 29, 2021 – A Kendall County judge finalizes an out-of-court settlement between Hastert and a former student who alleged that Hastert sexually abused him, ending the lawsuit filed in April 2016 that was set to go to trial.
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of George Tenet, former director of the CIA.
Birth date: January 5, 1953
Birth place: Flushing, NY
Birth name: George John Tenet
Father: John Tenet, restaurant owner
Mother: Evangelia Tenet
Marriage: A. Stephanie Glakas-Tenet
Children: John Michael
Education: Georgetown University, B.S.F.S., 1976; Columbia University, M.I.A., 1978
His parents immigrated to the United States from Greece.
Has a twin brother, William.
1978-1979 – Works as research director of the American Hellenic Institute.
1979-1982 – Works at the Solar Energy Industries Association.
1982-1985 – Serves as Legislative Assistant, then Legislative Director, for the office of Sen. John Heinz.
1985 – Becomes a staff member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
1989-1993 – Serves as staff director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
1993 – Joins President Bill Clinton’s national security transition team.
1993-1995 – Serves as senior director for intelligence programs for the National Security Council.
July 1995 – Appointed Deputy Director of the CIA by President Bill Clinton.
December 16, 1996 – Tenet becomes acting director of the CIA.
July 11, 1997 – Sworn in as Director of the CIA.
April 14, 2004 – Tenet testifies before the 9/11 commission acknowledging mistakes were made and saying that the CIA’s failure to stop the September 11, 2001 terror attacks “haunts all of us to this day.”
June 3, 2004 – President George W. Bush announces that Tenet has resigned as CIA Director. His last official day will be July 11, 2004.
December 14, 2004 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
2004-2007 – Professor at Georgetown University.
April 30, 2007 – His book, “At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA,” is published. In an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the book he denies the use of torture by the United States in post 9/11 interrogations of al Qaeda operatives. Tenet also claims that repeated CIA warnings that a terrorist attack was imminent before 9/11 were ignored, and that senior officials used his “slam dunk” reference about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to bolster Bush’s decision to launch the war.
2007-present – Managing director at investment bank Allen & Company in New York City.
December 9, 2014 – Along with other CIA officials, Tenet publishes an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal responding to a report regarding the torturous detention and interrogation techniques used by the US government when questioning suspected terrorists following 9/11.
August 16, 2018 – Former senior intelligence officials, including Tenet, release a statement denouncing President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance. In the letter, the senior officials refer to the decision as “ill-considered” and “unprecedented.”
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Kwanzaa, an African American holiday celebrated each year from December 26 to January 1.
Kwanzaa is based on traditional African harvest festivals.
Also spelled Kwanza.
Maulana Karenga, a professor of Pan-African studies at California State University at Long Beach, created the holiday in 1966 to be a nonreligious celebration of family and social values.
The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Karenga chose Swahili as the language of the festivities because it is a Pan-African language, not necessarily defined by a particular region or tribe.
Karenga created Kwanzaa as a way for African Americans to reconnect with ancestral roots by introducing and celebrating African culture. The intent was for the holiday to expand and be celebrated by people with African ancestry all over the world. This celebration of family, community and culture is built around the Nguzo Saba, or the Seven Principles.
Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of seven principles: unity (umoja), self-determination (kuji chagulia), collective responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba) and faith (imani).
Each night celebrants light a new candle on the kinara, a seven-branched candelabra. The seven candles, one black, three red and three green, represent the people, the struggle and the future, as well as the seven principles. Gifts are often given to children.
On December 31, participants engage in a feast known as the karamu, which can include steps such as a kukaribisha (welcoming), kuumba (remembering), kushangilla (rejoicing), tamshi la tambiko (libation statement), kutoa majina (calling of names), the karamu feast and tamshi la tutaonana (farewell statement).
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to tainted drinking water that contained lead and other toxins.
Flint once thrived as the home of the nation’s largest General Motors plant. The city’s economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized.
In 2011, the state of Michigan took over Flint’s finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit.
In order to reduce the water fund shortfall, the city announced that a new pipeline would be built to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. In 2014, while the pipeline was under construction, the city turned to the Flint River as a water source. Soon after the switch, residents reported changes to the water’s color, smell and taste.
Tests in 2015 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Virginia Tech indicated dangerous levels of lead in the water at residents’ homes.
Lead consumption can affect the heart, kidneys and nerves. Health effects of lead exposure in children include impaired cognition, behavioral disorders, hearing problems and delayed puberty.
A class-action lawsuit charged that the state wasn’t treating the water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. As a result, the water was eroding the iron water mains, turning the water brown. Additionally, about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead and because the water wasn’t properly treated, lead began leaching into the water supply, in addition to the iron.
Overall, more than a dozen lawsuits, including several additional class-action suits, were filed against Michigan and the city of Flint, as well as various state and city officials and employees involved in the decision to switch the source of the drinking water and those responsible for monitoring water quality. The range of remedies sought included monetary compensation for lead poisoning and refunds for water bills.
March 22, 2012 – Genesee County announces a new pipeline is being designed to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. The plan is to reduce costs by switching the city’s water supplier from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA).
April 16, 2013 – On the city council’s recommendation, Andy Dillon, the state treasurer, authorizes Flint to make the switch to Flint River water.
April 25, 2014 – The switch to water from the Flint River takes place.
August 14, 2014 – The city announces fecal coliform bacterium has been detected in the water supply, prompting a boil water advisory for a neighborhood on the west side of Flint. The city boosts the amount of chlorine in the water and flushes the system. The advisory is lifted on August 20.
September 5, 2014 – Flint issues another boil water advisory after a positive test for total coliform bacteria. The presence of this type of bacteria is a warning sign that E. coli or other disease-causing organisms may be contaminating the water. City officials tell residents they will flush the pipes and add more chlorine to the water. After four days, residents are told they can safely resume drinking water from the tap.
October 1, 2014 – The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issues a governor’s briefing paper outlining possible causes for the contamination issues. Among the problems are leaking valves and aging cast iron pipes susceptible to a buildup of bacteria. The MDEQ concludes flushing the system and increasing chlorine in the water will limit the number of boil water advisories in the future.
October 2014 – The General Motors plant in Flint stops using the city’s water due to concerns about high levels of chlorine corroding engine parts. The company strikes a deal with a neighboring township to purchase water from Lake Huron in lieu of using water from the Flint River. The switch is anticipated to cost the city $400,000.
January 2, 2015 – The city warns residents the water contains byproducts of disinfectants that may cause health issues including an increased risk for cancer over time. The water is deemed safe for the general population, but the elderly and parents of young children are cautioned to consult with their doctors.
January 12, 2015 – The DWSD offers to reconnect the city with Lake Huron water, waiving a $4 million fee to restore service. City officials decline, citing concerns water rates could go up more than $12 million each year, even with the reconnection fee waiver.
January 21, 2015 – Residents tote jugs of discolored water to a community forum. The Detroit Free Press reports children are developing rashes and suffering from mysterious illnesses.
February 2015 – The MDEQ notes some “hiccups” in the transition, including a buildup of TTHM, a cancer-causing byproduct of chlorine and organic matter. In a background paper submitted to Governor Rick Snyder, the MDEQ states that elevated TTHM levels are not an immediate health emergency because the risk of disease increases only after years of consumption. Snyder announces a $2 million dollar grant to fix problems in the pipes and sewers.
February 26, 2015 – The EPA notifies the MDEQ it has detected dangerous levels of lead in the water at the home of Flint resident Lee-Anne Walters. A mother of four, she had first contacted the EPA with concerns about dark sediment in her tap water possibly making her children sick. Testing revealed that her water had 104 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, nearly seven times greater than the EPA limit of 15 ppb.
March 18, 2015 – Walters follows up with the EPA after another test indicates the lead level in her water is 397 ppb.
March 23, 2015 – Flint City Council members vote 7-1 to stop using river water and to reconnect with Detroit. However, state-appointed emergency manager Jerry Ambrose overrules the vote, calling it “incomprehensible,” claiming that costs would skyrocket and that “water from Detroit is no safer than water from Flint.”
June 5, 2015 – A group of clergymen and activists files a lawsuit against the city, charging that the river water is a health risk. The city attorney later says the lawsuit is baseless. The case is dismissed in September.
June 24, 2015 – An EPA manager issues a memo, “High Lead Levels in Flint,” warning that the city is not providing corrosion control treatment to mitigate the presence of lead in drinking water. According to the memo, scientists at Virginia Tech tested tap water from Walters’ home and found the lead level was as high as 13,200 ppb. Water contaminated with 5,000 ppb of lead is classified by the EPA as hazardous waste. Three other homes also have high lead levels in the water, according to the memo. Walters shares the memo with an investigative reporter from the ACLU, Curt Guyette.
July 9, 2015 – The ACLU posts a video about the lead in Walters’ water. Flint Mayor Dayne Walling drinks a cup of tap water on a local television report to reassure residents that it is safe.
July 13, 2015 – After the EPA memo is leaked by the ACLU, a spokesman for the MDEQ tells Michigan Public Radio, “Anyone who is concerned about lead in the drinking water in Flint can relax.” He explains initial testing on 170 homes indicates that the problem is not widespread.
July 22, 2015 – Snyder’s chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, emails the Department of Community Health in response to reports by the ACLU and on public radio. “I’m frustrated by the water issue in Flint. I really don’t think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. Now they are concerned and rightfully so about the lead level studies they are receiving from DEQ [MDEQ] samples. Can you take a moment out of your impossible schedule to personally take a look at this?”
August 17, 2015 – The MDEQ orders Flint to optimize corrosion control treatment in the water supply after state testing from the first six months of 2015 reveals elevated lead levels.
September 8, 2015 – A team from Virginia Tech that conducted a water quality study issues a preliminary report indicating 40% of Flint homes have elevated lead levels.
September 9, 2015 – The EPA announces it will assist Flint in developing a corrosion control treatment for the water. The next day, MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel tells the Flint Journal the city needs to upgrade its infrastructure, but he also expresses skepticism about the Virginia Tech study.
September 11, 2015 – After concluding that Flint water is 19 times more corrosive than Detroit water, Virginia Tech recommends the state declare that the water is not safe for drinking or cooking. The river water is corroding old pipes and lead is leaching into the water, according to the study.
September 24, 2015 – A research team led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center, releases a study revealing the number of children with elevated lead levels in their blood nearly doubled after the city switched its water source. In neighborhoods with the most severe contamination problems, testing showed lead levels tripled.
October 2, 2015 – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reviews the data from Hurley Medical Center and verifies the findings. The state begins testing drinking water in schools and distributing free water filters.
October 8, 2015 – The MDEQ announces three Flint schools tested positive for dangerous lead levels in the water. Snyder says the city will discontinue using Flint River water.
October 15, 2015 – Snyder signs a spending bill appropriating $9.35 million to help Flint reconnect with Detroit for water and provide health services for residents.
October 16, 2015 – The city switches back to Detroit water. Residents are cautioned that it will take weeks for the system to be properly flushed out and there may be lingering issues. The EPA establishes a Flint Safe Drinking Water Task Force.
November 4, 2015 – The EPA publishes a final, redacted version of its report on high lead levels in three Flint homes, including Walters’ residence.
November 13, 2015 – Residents file a federal class action lawsuit claiming 14 state and city officials, including Snyder, knowingly exposed Flint residents to toxic water.
December 14, 2015 – Flint declares a state of emergency.
January 5, 2016 – Snyder declares a state of emergency in Genesee County. A spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in Detroit tells CNN that a federal investigation is underway.
January 12, 2016 – The Michigan National Guard is mobilized to help distribute bottled water.
January 14, 2016 – Snyder writes President Barack Obama to request the declaration of an expedited major disaster in Flint, estimating it will cost $55 million to install lead-free pipes throughout the city.
January 16, 2016 – The president declines to declare a disaster in Flint. Instead, he authorizes $5 million in aid, declaring a state of emergency in the city. The state of emergency allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to step in.
January 21, 2016 – The EPA criticizes the state’s slow response to the crisis and expresses concerns about the construction of the new pipeline to Lake Huron. The EPA says it will begin testing the water and publishing the results on a government website.
January 27, 2016 – A new federal lawsuit is filed in Detroit against the state, alleging the violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act.
March 17, 2016 – Snyder testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
March 31, 2016 – Attorneys, including some with the NAACP, file a class action lawsuit against Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, PC, the state of Michigan, Snyder and others. Plaintiffs seek damages for those affected by the water crisis.
April 20, 2016 – Criminal charges are filed against government employees Mike Glasgow, Stephen Busch and Mike Prysby. Busch, a district water supervisor for the MDEQ, and Prysby, a district water engineer, each face six charges. Glasgow, a former laboratory and water quality supervisor who now serves as the city’s utilities administrator, is charged with tampering with evidence, a felony, and willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor. All are on administrative leave.
April 25, 2016 – Five hundred and fourteen residents and former residents of Flint file a class action lawsuit against the EPA. The plaintiffs allege negligence and demand more than $220 million in damages for the EPA’s role in the water crisis.
May 4, 2016 – Obama visits Flint to hear first-hand how residents have endured the city’s water crisis and to highlight federal assistance to state and local agencies.
May 4, 2016 – Glasgow reaches a deal with prosecutors contingent on his cooperating as a witness in the investigation. Glasgow gives a plea of no contest to willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor, and the felony charge of tampering with evidence is dismissed. He is released on personal bond following the plea agreement.
June 22, 2016 – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette files civil lawsuits against two companies for their alleged role in the Flint water crisis. Veolia North America is charged with negligence, fraud and public nuisance. Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN) is charged with negligence and public nuisance.
July 29, 2016 – Six current and former state workers are charged as the criminal investigation continues.
October 18, 2016 – The ACLU of Michigan files a class action lawsuit against school districts in Flint for exposing students to tainted water and inadequately testing children for learning disabilities that may have been caused by ingesting lead.
November 10, 2016 – The state of Michigan and city of Flint are ordered to deliver bottled water to homes where the government hasn’t checked to ensure that filters are working properly.
December 20, 2016 – Four officials – two of Flint’s former emergency managers, who reported directly to the governor, and two water plant officials – are charged with felonies of false pretenses and conspiracy. They are accused of misleading the Michigan Department of Treasury into getting millions in bonds and then misused the money to finance the construction of a new pipeline, forcing Flint’s drinking water source to be switched to the Flint River.
January 24, 2017 – The MDEQ reports that lead levels in the city’s water tested below the federal limit, according to recent six-month study.
January 30, 2017 – A $722 million class action lawsuit is filed against the EPA on behalf of more than 1,700 residents impacted by the water crisis.
February 17, 2017 – The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issues a report: “The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint.” According to the 129-page report, “deeply embedded institutional, systemic and historical racism” indirectly contributed to the ill-fated decision to tap the Flint River for drinking water as a cost-saving measure.
March 17, 2017 – The EPA announces that it has awarded $100 million to Flint for drinking water infrastructure upgrades.
March 28, 2017 – A federal judge approves a $97 million settlement, in which the state of Michigan agrees to replace lead and galvanized steel water lines in the Flint. The state will cover the cost of replacing water lines, the pipes that connect household plumbing to the main distribution pipe running beneath the street, for at least 18,000 Flint households by 2020.
June 14, 2017 – The Michigan Attorney General’s Office announces that several state officials have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a Legionnaires’ outbreak between June 2014 and November 2015 that killed at least 12 people.
October 12, 2017 – The House Oversight Committee sends a letter to Snyder requesting clarification regarding his sworn testimony that he did not learn about an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in Flint until 2016. Questions about the accuracy of the governor’s statement are rooted in court testimony by one of his aides, who said he told Snyder about the outbreak in December 2015.
April 6, 2018 – Snyder announces the end of a free bottled water program in Flint, claiming the water quality has been restored. The program was part of a $450 million state and federal aid package. The state had been handing out bottled water and filters at several distribution points across the city and will stop once the current supply runs out.
July 19, 2018 – The EPA inspector general publishes a report that strongly criticizes the local, state and federal government’s delayed response to the water crisis.
August 20, 2018 – A judge rules that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal trial for one of the officials charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Legionnaires Disease outbreak. Nick Lyon, the state’s Health and Human Services director, allegedly failed to “to alert the public about a Legionnaires’ outbreak in Genesee County when he had noticed that another outbreak was foreseeable and…conducting an investigation of the Legionnaires’ outbreak in a grossly negligent manner.”
October 5, 2018 – Flint Community Schools announces that new ultraviolet water filtration systems for water fountains are being installed at schools throughout the city. Billionaire Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation funded the project with a $480,350 donation to the district.
April 18, 2019 – US Judge Linda V. Parker rules that Flint residents can proceed with lawsuits against the federal government in connection with the city’s water crisis.
May 2019 – Snyder’s cellphone and hard drive are seized by authorities in connection to the Flint investigation. More than 65 other current or former officials also have their cellphones or other information seized.
June 4, 2019 – Mayor Karen Weaver issues a statement in response to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s claim that Flint water is safe to drink. “My feelings regarding if and when I will declare the water safe for residents to drink have not changed. The medical community and scientific community will both have to be in agreement, after a period of testing over time, that the water is safe to drink before I ever declare it safe.”
June 13, 2019 – Prosecutors drop all pending criminal charges related to the crisis and declare the investigation will start again from scratch. The investigators had concerns about the approach and legal theories embraced by the special counsel conducting the probe, particularly the way that evidence collection had been handled, according to a press release from the Michigan attorney general. The special counsel entered into agreements with private law firms that allowed defense attorneys to play a role in deciding what information was turned over to law enforcement. There were eight open cases against officials, including Lyon, a state health director charged with involuntary manslaughter. The move does not impact the seven officials who previously pleaded guilty to offenses.
July 3, 2019 – Snyder turns down an offer to become a Harvard senior research fellow amid a backlash over the potential appointment.
October 10, 2019 – The EPA proposes its first major revision in two decades of federal regulations on lead in drinking water, in response to the crisis in Flint and other cities. The proposed lead and copper rule would change the requirements that local water systems must meet for testing and, if lead content is above allowable levels, the procedures to replace lead service lines from their networks.
August 20, 2020 – The state of Michigan and other defendants reach a $600 million settlement in the Flint water crisis lawsuit. The settlement will establish a court monitored victims compensation fund that will provide direct payments to Flint residents. On November 10, 2021, a federal judge gives final approval of the settlement.
October 7, 2020 – Residents of Flint file a civil lawsuit against three investment banks. According to the complaint, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company in 2014 “underwrote the bond sale that financed and enabled Flint’s participation in the Karegnondi Water Authority” pipeline. The banks “knew that a necessary element of the plan was the use of raw, untreated Flint River water as an interim drinking water source, which would expose Flint’s residents and water users to lead-poisoning and legionella bacteria.”
January 13, 2021 – Snyder and former Flint Public Works director Howard Croft are each charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty.
September 20, 2022 – A study published in JAMA Network Open finds that the crisis had long term mental health effects, with 1 in 5 Flint residents meeting the criteria for presumptive major depression, 1 in 4 for presumptive post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more than 1 in 10 for both disorders.
October 4, 2022 – A judge dismisses charges against seven former top Michigan state officials for their alleged role in the crisis. Their indictments had been deemed invalid by a panel of Michigan Supreme Court judges in June.
December 7, 2022 – A judge dismisses criminal charges against Snyder for his role in the crisis.
October 31, 2023 – The Michigan Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal on a lower courts ruling dismissing misdemeanor charges against Snyder. Following the ruling, the prosecution team releases a statement, “Today, our Supreme Court has put the final nail in the coffin of the Flint Water Prosecutions.”
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of Oprah Winfrey, who hosted the award-winning “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Birth date: January 29, 1954
Birth place: Kosciusko, Mississippi
Birth name: Oprah Gail Winfrey
Father: Vernon Winfrey, a barber
Mother: Vernita Lee, a maid (parents never married)
Education: Tennessee State University, B.A., Speech and Performing Arts, 1976
At age 19, while still a sophomore in college, becomes the youngest and first African-American anchor for WTVF-TV in Nashville.
Winfrey’s first name is spelled Orpah on her birth certificate but there was confusion over how to pronounce the name, so the spelling was changed to Oprah. In an interview with the Academy of Achievement, Winfrey explained that her aunt chose the name Orpah as a bible reference. Winfrey said that she’s happy the spelling got switched to Oprah because backwards it spells Harpo.
Stedman Graham has been her companion for more than 30 years.
Together, Winfrey and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” received a total of 16 Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Talk Show Host” and ” Outstanding Talk Show,” and one for her work as supervising producer of the “ABC Afterschool Special: Shades of a Single Protein.” Winfrey was also presented with two honorary awards.
After removing her name from competition in the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2000, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” won Emmy awards in the technical categories only.
Winfrey has been involved in various projects that have garnered many Primetime Emmy Award nominations, she has won one, and was also presented with an honorary award.
Two Academy Award nominations. Received one honorary award.
Two Tony Award nominations with one win.
1976 – Becomes a news co-anchor at WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
January 1984 – Becomes the anchor of “A.M. Chicago,” which airs opposite Phil Donahue.
September 1985 – The show is renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
1985-2011 – Host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” the highest-rated talk show in history.
1985 – Makes her film debut in “The Color Purple,” for which she is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
November 8, 1986 – “The Oprah Winfrey Show” goes into national syndication.
1987, 1988, 1989, 1991-1992, 1994-1996 and 1997 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Talk Show for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Talk Show Host for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
1988 – Forms her own production company, Harpo Inc.
December 20, 1993 – President Bill Clinton honors Oprah by signing into law the “Oprah Bill,” following her 1991 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for a national database to search for child abusers. This bill, officially called the National Child Protection Act, creates a national criminal history background check system.
1993 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Special, “ABC Afterschool Special: Shades of a Single Protein.” Oprah is also inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
1996 – Starts “Oprah’s Book Club” on her show. The book club becomes very influential in the publishing world as selected books rise to the top of bestseller lists.
1997 – Starts Oprah’s Angel Network, a charitable foundation.
1998 – Winfrey is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
1998 – Produces the movie “Beloved.”
1998 – Partners with Oxygen Media, which plans to operate a 24-hour cable channel for women.
1999 – Withdraws her name for consideration in the Daytime Emmy Awards.
2000 – Wins the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays with Morrie.”
April 2000 – Launches “O, The Oprah Magazine,” and the Oxygen Network.
2002 – Accepts the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
February 2003 – Becomes the first African-American woman on Forbes magazine’s “World’s Richest People” list, with a net worth of about $1 billion.
September 13, 2004 – Begins a new season of her talk show by giving each member of the audience a brand-new car.
September 26, 2005 – Winfrey announces that she is investing more than $1 million to bring the musical “The Color Purple” to Broadway in December 2005.
September 25, 2006-January 1, 2015 – Oprah and Friends (renamed Oprah Radio) airs on SiriusXM Radio.
January 2, 2007 – The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opens in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa. The school houses 152 girls from deprived backgrounds and provides them with an education. Winfrey has reportedly spent $40 million opening the school.
September 8, 2007 – Hosts a fundraiser for presidential hopeful Barack Obama at her California home.
October 2007 – NBC buys the Oxygen Network for $925 million.
January 15, 2008 – Winfrey and Discovery Communications announce that beginning in 2009 the Discovery Health Channel will be renamed OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
November 20, 2009 – Announces on her show that she will discontinue her talk show in 2011. She will then move to California and launch OWN.
December 5, 2010 – Winfrey is honored at the Kennedy Center as part of the 33rd annual Kennedy Center Honors gala.
January 1, 2011 – OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network debuts.
May 25, 2011 – The last “Oprah Winfrey Show” airs. There are no guests for this episode.
June 19, 2011 – Receives the Chairman’s Crystal Pillar Award for her decades of work in network television from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
November 12, 2011 – Winfrey receives an honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
January 1, 2012 – Winfrey’s new show, “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” debuts on the OWN network.
November 20, 2013 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.
October 19, 2015 – Winfrey and Weight Watchers announce a partnership in which Winfrey is buying a 10% stake in the company and taking a seat on its board of directors.
June 12, 2016 – Wins a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for “The Color Purple.”
January 3, 2017 – Releases a cookbook, “Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life.”
January 31, 2017 – CBS announces that Winfrey will be a special contributor to “60 Minutes,” starting in the fall of 2017.
August 9, 2017 – Partners with the Kraft Heinz Company to produce a line of refrigerated comfort food called O, That’s Good!, available in stores beginning October 2017.
January 7, 2018 – Winfrey receives the 2018 Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given “to a talented individual for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”
February 20, 2018 – Announces she is donating $500,000 to March For Our Lives, an event formed in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
June 15, 2018 – Apple announces Winfrey has signed a multi-year deal with the company to create new original programming.
July 11, 2018 – Winfrey invests in True Food Kitchen, a Phoenix-based healthy restaurant chain.
November 1, 2018 – Delivers a speech in support of Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. “For anybody here who has an ancestor who didn’t have the right to vote, and you are choosing not to vote – wherever you are in this state, in this country – you are dishonoring your family,” Winfrey said in Marietta, Georgia.
April 8, 2019 – The Hispanic Federation and the Flamboyan Arts Fund announce that Winfrey is donating $2 million to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.
April 10, 2019 – It is announced that Winfrey and Prince Harry are partnering on a multi-part documentary series focusing on mental health. The series is set to air on the Apple TV platform in 2020.
October 7, 2019 – While at Morehouse College celebrating its 30th anniversary, Winfrey announces a $13 million donation to its scholarship fund. This brings her total donation to $25 million. It is the largest endowment in the college’s history, according to the school.
January 10, 2020 – Withdraws as executive producer of a documentary expose concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against Russell Simmons. “On the Record” was being produced for air on the Apple TV streaming platform as part of Winfrey’s multi-year content partnership with the company.
April 2, 2020 – Announces that she has donated $10 million “to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country.” Of her total donation, $1 million will go toward America’s Food Fund to alleviate food insecurity. The rest will be donated to other groups helping Americans during the pandemic.
July 30, 2020 – “The Oprah Conversation” debuts on Apple TV+.
July 30, 2020 – It’s announced that Breonna Taylor will be featured on the cover of O magazine. The first time in the magazine’s 20 year history that Winfrey hasn’t been on the cover.
March 7, 2021 – “Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special” airs on CBS, and draws over 17 million viewers in the United States.
December 13, 2023 – A painting honoring Winfrey is unveiled at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
