Samsung Budget Phones

Friday, 31 January 2020

Tax System Favoring Central Park Co-ops and Brooklyn Brownstones Could End


By BY EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS, MATTHEW HAAG AND JEFFERY C. MAYS from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2RJdFO5

Trump heads to Iowa in a bid to rally supporters for caucuses.


By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/38SIZ2v

Recording Surfaces of Another Trump Meeting With Parnas and Fruman


By BY BEN PROTESS AND KENNETH P. VOGEL from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Udfh47

Full Recording: Parnas and Fruman Meet with Trump


By BY THE NEW YORK TIMES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/38VwvqO

Video Shows Trump Meeting With Parnas and Fruman


By BY MAYA BLACKSTONE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/36Jtvwe

Why Block Impeachment Witnesses? Republicans Have Many Reasons


By BY CARL HULSE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RF4NsS

Budget 2020: Economics On Campus With Students

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on February 1 and the the Economic Survey, prepared by Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian and his team, on January 31. Ahead of the budget, we discuss economics with the students of Delhi Universities Deshbandhu College on what their expectations are of the budget and what they think will boost the economy.

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Trump Lawyer’s Impeachment Argument Stokes Fears of Unfettered Power


By BY CHARLIE SAVAGE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2OdsS86

Defense team continues to portray the president as a victim.


By BY SHARON LAFRANIERE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2S2hmNQ

Citing ‘Soul of Our Democracy,’ Pastor of Dr. King’s Church Enters Senate Race


By BY RICHARD FAUSSET from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Odr1QG

Trump Travels to Iowa to Energize Supporters for Caucuses Next Week


By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2GBRnr0

New top story from Time: Connecticut Man Accused of Murdering His Wife Dies 2 Days After Apparent Suicide Attempt



(HARTFORD, Conn.) — A man charged with murdering his missing wife amid a contentious divorce case died Thursday, his lawyer said.

Fotis Dulos, 52, had been hospitalized since Tuesday when he was found at his home in Farmington, Connecticut, following an apparent suicide attempt.

“It’s been a truly horrific day for the family filled with difficult decisions, medical tests and meeting the requirements to determine death,” attorney Norm Pattis said.

“To those who contend that Mr. Dulos’ death reflects a consciousness of guilt, we say no,” he added.

Dulos, a luxury home builder originally from Greece, was accused of killing Jennifer Dulos, who has not been seen since she dropped their five children off at school in New Canaan in May. Her body has not been found despite extensive searches. Fotis Dulos had denied any role in her disappearance.

The children, who ranged in age from 8 to 13 when their mother vanished, are in the custody of their maternal grandmother in New York City.

Dulos insisted he was innocent in a note found near him, according to a court motion filed by his lawyers Thursday. Police officers recovered a note in which Dulos “declared his innocence of the infamous and heinous crimes that the state has accused him of and claimed his lawyers have the evidence to prove it,” his lawyers wrote in the filing asking a judge to order the state to preserve the note and other evidence found at the home.

On the day Fotis Dulos was found stricken, he had been facing an emergency bond hearing where he could have been sent back to jail. The company that originally posted the $6 million bond had learned that two properties offered as collateral were subject to foreclosure and a third was overvalued.

Police officers who went to check on Dulos because he was late for the hearing saw through a garage window that he was in medical distress. Emergency responders forced their way into the garage and medics performed CPR for about 30 minutes and he was taken to a hospital by ambulance after a pulse was discovered, Farmington police said Thursday. A lawyer for Dulos and others initially said he had died before saying a pulse had been found.

Dulos was eventually transferred to the Jacobi Medical Center in New York City for treatment.

Fotis Dulos had been arrested Jan. 7 on murder and kidnapping charges, capping a lengthy investigation in which he emerged early as the primary suspect.

Warrants released last summer, when Dulos was charged initially with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution, said that he and a girlfriend were seen on video surveillance driving in Hartford around the time Jennifer Dulos was reported missing. The man was seen tossing garbage bags into more than 30 trash bins in the area that were later determined to have items with Jennifer Dulos’ blood on them.

Items in the garbage bags included clothing belonging to Jennifer Dulos and plastic zip ties that later tested positive for her DNA.

In filings in the two-year divorce proceedings, Jennifer Dulos said she was worried for her safety and that of the couple’s children.

In the arrest warrants, police suggested a possible financial motive, saying Fotis Dulos was $7 million in debt and would have had some access to the children’s trust funds if Jennifer Dulos died. Fotis Dulos denied that allegation.

Police allege Fotis Dulos lay in wait at Jennifer Dulos’ home in New Canaan for her to return after dropping the children off. Authorities say Fotis Dulos attacked the woman in her garage, leaving behind a bloody crime scene, and drove off with her body.

Dulos had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Pattis said the defense team will continue to seek to clear his name.

“We intend to proceed on as if he were alive to vindicate him,” Pattis said.

Fotis Dulos’ former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his friend, attorney Kent Mawhinney, are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Police said they helped Fotis Dulos try to cover up the killing, including by creating bogus alibis.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford and Pat Eaton-Robb in Storrs contributed to this report.

These Brands Said No to Running Super Bowl Commercials


By BY TIFFANY HSU from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2tT2fyh

We May Never See John Bolton’s Book


By BY JAMEEL JAFFER AND RAMYA KRISHNAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3aWu6hs

212 Dead In China Amid Virus Outbreak: Government

The number of confirmed deaths from China's coronavirus outbreak has risen to 212 after worst-hit Hubei province reported 42 new fatalities on Friday.

from NDTV News - Topstories https://ift.tt/38TDBfy

Republican senator laments starkly partisan nature of the trial.


By BY PATRICIA MAZZEI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/38TGtZS

New York Is Urged to Consider Surge Pricing for Taxis


By BY BRIAN M. ROSENTHAL from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2GzItup

More American Troops Sustain Brain Injuries From Iran Missile Strike in Iraq


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¿Hará el papa Francisco un milagro con la deuda de Argentina?


By BY MARCELO J. GARCÍA from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2RIDCgw

Alexander asks about the differences in bipartisanship under Nixon and Trump.


By BY EMILY COCHRANE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2uKxHPa

साई सेंटर अपनाओ मेट्रो की तर्ज पर नाम पाओ

देश में खेलों की जड़ें जमाने को खेल मंत्रालय नामी-गिरामी कॉरपोरेट घरानों को अनोखा प्रस्ताव देने जा रहा है।

from Latest And Breaking Hindi News Headlines, News In Hindi | अमर उजाला हिंदी न्यूज़ | - Amar Ujala https://ift.tt/36A5Gak

New top story from Time: ‘There Are Sensible Voices That Are Emerging,’ How Scientists Are Using Social Media to Counter Coronavirus Misinformation



As a new form of coronavirus continues to infect a growing number of people around the world, medical professionals, scientists and big tech giants are fighting the spread of another contagion — misinformation. Just like a virus, it can be difficult to contain and many working in medical and scientific fields are using the very tools used to spread misinformation to counter it.

Though so much misinformation is spread on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and hundreds of other scientists and medical professionals who are studying the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, have been utilizing social media to disseminate accurate information in real time, countering conspiracy theories and collaborating for research.

“Today, in this outbreak, we are sharing information almost to the second of its release,” says Crystal Watson, senior researcher and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “That allows a lot more collective thinking and decision making.”

Watson says that social media had made it possible for scientific information to be shared much more quickly. “In prior outbreaks before social media, often we had to wait for a publication in a journal, for example, to learn about some of what was going on,” she says.

Many working in scientific and medical fields started to notice the spread of harmful misinformation at the beginning of the outbreak and experts started using their expertise to help counter it. “I think there’s some [misinformation] that is intentionally harmful, either disseminating information about a false cure, for example, or spreading information that stigmatizes specific groups of people,” Watson says. “So it’s really important that we get on top of that and provide correct information and push it out as best we can.”

Misinformation on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube range from racially driven scapegoating to supposed cures for the virus. One inaccurate Facebook post shared more than 500 times claimed that a vaccine exists for the new form coronavirus, which is false. In fact, there are no vaccines for any of the seven types of coronavirus that humans are susceptible to according to PolitiFact, quoting Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Other false claims have involved inaccurate information about how to protect from the virus, including claims that a Chinese respiratory expert found that saline solution kills the virus, and that people should rinse their mouths out with it.

“That’s the risk that we run here when we deal with misinformation,” says Tara Kirk Sell, senior scholar and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It’s not just ‘oh, who cares what people are saying?’ If it undermines trust, then that’s a big problem.”

Sell has studied misinformation that spread after the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. She says there are similarities in the misinformation spread during that outbreak and the outbreak of the new form of coronavirus known as 2019 Novel Coronavirus, which started in the city of Wuhan in central China. There are now 8,236 total confirmed cases as of Thursday evening, most of which are in China, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed five cases in the U.S. On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern.

“There’s always overlays of politics,” Sell tells TIME. “Even though you think of [outbreaks] as health events, they’re an opportunity for some people to create discord and to cause people to become fearful and also to criticize different government actions.”

A spokesperson for Facebook tells TIME in an emailed statement that the company has partnered with third-party fact-checkers around the world to add warning labels to posts that contain false information and promote articles that include fact checked information. The company is also sending notifications to those who have already shared false content.

“This situation is fast-evolving and we will continue our outreach to global and regional health organizations to provide support and assistance,” the spokesperson said.

Representatives for Twitter and Google did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment, but a spokesperson for Twitter told The Washington Post that users searching for coronavirus on its platform were met with information from the CDC. Similarly, Google, which owns YouTube, is promoting content that contains accurate and verified information, according to The Post.

“It’s challenging because this information is being churned out very, very quickly,” says Antonia Ho, an infectious diseases physician and clinical senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow. “No one is an expert right now… Obviously, this Novel Coronavirus is so new that with all this information coming out, it takes a lot to control, and certainly misinformation may not be noticed until later on just because it takes time to verify.”

Still, Ho tells TIME, social media — Twitter in particular — has been a significant tool for scientists who can counter misinformation with accuracies and research. The sharing of information and updates on Novel Coronavirus by members of the science and medical communities has grown organically, and many scientists, doctors and other experts have accumulated thousands of followers. For example, Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and expert on infectious diseases, tweets daily coronavirus updates and has a following of 44,000.

This sharing of information has also led to increased online interaction among those working on the virus. “There’s often months of delays when people do research… but now this is all coming out on Twitter, and in a way there is a self peer review,” Ho says.

“Scientists who work on this around the world are able to form collaborations and are having really interesting conversations. And there are sensible voices that are emerging. People that you would follow because you know that they’re the expert in so many things,” she adds.

WHO has also launched an initiative to counter misinformation known as the WHO Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN). The initiative shares accurate tailored information with targeted sectors impacted by the coronavirus, including healthcare, travel and tourism, business and food and agriculture.

“The spread of misinformation has been challenging but WHO is prepared for this. While the organization is known for fighting epidemics, it’s also fighting ‘infodemics,'” a WHO spokesperson said in an emailed statement to TIME. “[EPI-WIN] allows the organization to cut through the ‘noise’ by rapidly sending information through existing and trusted sources to the public. It’s like an injection of information.”

Sell says that tech companies have some responsibility to combat misinformation, but that alone is not enough to stop the spread of falsities.

“Being able to talk freely and post freely — those things are important,” Sell says. “An appropriate tech response to dealing with misinformation is critical, but I don’t think it’s sufficient… We would rather ourselves be able to determine what’s true or not true.”

Thursday, 30 January 2020

Schiff accuses the intelligence agencies of withholding relevant information.


By BY DAVID E. SANGER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RWkTgy

Bengaluru Has World's Worst Traffic, 4 Indian Cities In Top 10: Report

India has topped the TomTom Traffic Index 2019 with 4 of its cities amongst the 10 most congested cities globally.

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No US Passengers Evacuated From China Show Symptoms Of Virus: Officials

None of the 195 US citizens evacuated on a chartered flight from the Chinese city at the epicenter of a deadly virus outbreak have shown symptoms of infection, a senior US health official said...

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White House Assumed ‘Disgruntled’ Bolton Would Write a Critical Book


By BY JULIAN E. BARNES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RWjUgm

La batalla de China contra el coronavirus en imágenes


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Why Having Hunter Biden Testify Would Be Bad for Trump


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Chris Doleman, Hall of Fame Scourge of Quarterbacks, Dies at 58


By BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/314T8GN

Is the World Ready for the Coronavirus?


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Rand Paul’s question may center on naming the whistle-blower.


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To Senate Republicans, a Vote for Witnesses Is a Vote for Trouble


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Blue States Are Burying Damning Data About School Funds — Red States Are, Too


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To Truly Move On, the Astros Needed Dusty Baker


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BJP Doesn't Want Victory In Delhi Riding On Hatred: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the BJP did not wish to come to power in Delhi riding on hatred and such a victory would be unacceptable to the party.

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Kobe Bryant's Helicopter Not Equipped With Recommended Warning System

The helicopter that crashed into a Los Angeles hillside killing NBA legend Kobe Bryant and eight others, was not equipped with vital software that alerts pilots when aircraft are too close to the...

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Donald Trump Signs US-Mexico-Canada Trade Accord, Ends NAFTA

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the new North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law, pronouncing a "glorious future" for US industry.

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As Coronavirus Explodes in China, Countries Struggle to Control Its Spread


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6 Takeaways From Senators’ Questions to Impeachment Lawyers


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Everyone’s a Winner in Iowa


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Day 8 of Trump’s Trial: Ask Me Anything


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A frantic campaign schedule catches up with one senator.


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Biden Plans a Counterattack at Trump as Impeachment Tensions Rise


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Legal Pads, Photographs and a Podcast: How Senators Are Documenting Impeachment


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Wednesday, 29 January 2020

The Last Ads in Iowa


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Kingdom Appreciates Trump's Efforts On Peace Plan: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it "appreciates" President Donald Trump's efforts to devise a Middle East peace plan and called for the start of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

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21 Killed In Bus-Auto-Rickshaw Collision In Maharashtra

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Pompeo Called Me a ‘Liar.’ That’s Not What Bothers Me.


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Impeachment Enters Volatile New Phase as Senators Get to Ask Their Questions


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A Muted Arab Response to Trump's Mideast Peace Plan


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A Deal That Has Two Elections, Rather Than Mideast Peace, as Its Focus


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Washington Post Says Reporter’s Kobe Bryant Tweets Did Not Break Rules


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चीनी पहलवानों के खेलने से कुश्ती संघ की उड़ी नींद

चीन में फैले जानलेवा कोरोना वायरस ने 18 फरवरी से दिल्ली में होने वाली एशियाई कुश्ती चैंपियनशिप को लेकर भारतीय कुश्ती संघ की नींद उड़ा रखी है।

from Latest And Breaking Hindi News Headlines, News In Hindi | अमर उजाला हिंदी न्यूज़ | - Amar Ujala https://ift.tt/38EI5GW

New top story from Time: U.S. Response to Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet



The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the new coronavirus outbreak in China — but has so far stopped short of declaring the situation a public health emergency.

“Americans should know that this is a potentially very serious public health threat, but, at this point, Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said during a press conference on Tuesday. “This is a very fast-moving, constantly changing situation.”

The U.S. has five confirmed cases of the deadly virus as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Though Washington has yet to declare a public health emergency in the U.S., Azar said he “won’t hesitate at all to invoke any steps we need to take” as the situation unfolds, and the government has started taking other steps to address the outbreak that has killed more than 100 people and affected more than 4,500 worldwide, largely in China.

The CDC and the State Department issued a travel advisory on Monday warning Americans to avoid travel to all of China if possible, and especially to Wuhan, where the virus was first identified. “No American should travel to Wuhan while this virus continues to have impact,” Vice President Mike Pence said.

The Administration has also started conducting advanced screening at the 20 U.S. airports that “receive 90 percent of all passengers from China,” according to Pence. “Any passengers who are ill will receive additional screening,” he said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. government chartered a flight to take several hundred Americans, including diplomats and family members, out of China.

All of the confirmed cases in the United States have been in individuals who had recently traveled to China. “No person-to-person spread has been detected with this virus at the time, and this virus is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States,” reads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) summary of the situation.

On Monday, Trump tweeted that his Administration is in “close communication” with China and have offered “any help that is necessary.”

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has come under fire for not yet declaring the new coronavirus a global health emergency, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. The organization announced that “the two sides agreed that WHO will send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts.” HHS Secretary Azar said the same day that the Trump Administration has also offered to send assistance from the CDC, but has not yet received the go-ahead.

The Senate was briefed on the virus on Jan. 24, and the House of Representatives is holding a briefing for its members on Wednesday.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, wrote an op-ed for USA Today on Jan. 27 arguing that “Trump’s demonstrated failures of judgment and his repeated rejection of science make him the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health challenge.”

But Trump and Pence are still projecting confidence in their ability to handle the brewing crisis. “Here in our country, we’re taking strong steps to see to the health and the wellbeing of the American people,” Pence said Monday. “But as President Trump made clear today, the United States of America stands ready — stands ready to assist the people of China and around the world as they deal with this virus.”

New top story from Time: White Supremacist Dylann Roof Appeals Death Penalty in South Carolina Church Massacre



RICHMOND, Va. — White supremacist Dylann Roof on Tuesday appealed his federal convictions and death sentence in the 2015 massacre of nine black church members in South Carolina, arguing that he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial.

In a 321-page legal brief filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Roof’s lawyers ask the court to review 20 issues, including errors they say were made by the judge and prosecutors that “tainted” his sentencing.

One of their main arguments is that U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should not have allowed Roof to represent himself during the penalty phase of his trial because he was a 22-year-old ninth-grade dropout “who believed his sentence didn’t matter because white nationalists would free him from prison after an impending race war.”

Roof’s appellate lawyers said Roof had been diagnosed with “schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, autism, anxiety, and depression,” but that he “jettisoned” his experienced trial attorneys to stop them from preventing evidence of his mental illness to jurors.

They said his trial attorneys told the judge that in their decades of experience, “none had represented a defendant so disconnected from reality.” Roof, they said, presented no mitigating evidence to the jury.

“Instead, prosecutors told them Roof was a calculated killer with no signs of mental illness. Given no reason to do otherwise, jurors sentenced Roof to death,” his attorneys wrote.

“Roof’s crime was tragic, but this Court can have no confidence in the jury’s verdict.”

Roof became the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime when he was sentenced to death for fatally shooting nine black church members at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015.

Prosecutors said he specifically chose Emanuel AME, the South’s oldest black church, to carry out the massacre. After he was arrested, Roof told FBI agents that he wanted the shootings to bring back segregation or perhaps start a race war.

The jury’s verdict came after a trial in which the avowed white supremacist did not show any remorse or attempt to fight for his life. Roof never explained why he committed the massacre.

Roof’s legal advisers repeatedly expressed frustration that Roof wouldn’t allow them to introduce mental health evidence that could possibly spare his life.

Roof asked jurors to forget anything they’d heard from his legal team about his mental state, declaring, “there’s nothing wrong with me psychologically.”

“I still feel like I had to do it,” Roof said in his closing argument.

“Anyone who hates anything in their mind has a good reason for it.”

Prosecutors told the jury that Roof walked into the church and sat with the Bible study group for about 45 minutes, then opened fire during the final prayer, when everyone’s eyes were closed.

The federal jury convicted Roof of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes. During a separate proceeding in state court, Roof was given nine life sentences in exchange for his guilty plea.

In their legal brief, Roof’s appellate lawyers argue that the “federal trial shouldn’t have happened at all.” They said the state quickly brought capital charges against Roof’s “wholly-intrastate crime,” but months later, federal prosecutors sought their own death sentence. They argue that state officials “viewed the federal prosecution as unnecessary and disruptive.”

“This Court should vacate Roof’s convictions and death sentence,” they wrote.

Roof’s appellate lawyers include: Amy Karlin, interim Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California; James Wyda, Federal Public Defender for Maryland; Alexandra Yates, Deputy Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California; and Sapna Mirchandani, Assistant Federal Public Defender for Maryland.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claims made in Roof’s appeal. A response brief from the DOJ is due on Feb. 18.

The massacre prompted South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from its Statehouse. Roof had posed with the flag in photos.

The slain included the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the church’s pastor and a state senator; a high school track coach; the church sexton; a librarian; and an aspiring poet.

On the Day Democrats Vote in Iowa, Trump Plans to Flood the Zone


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Impeachment Briefing: John Roberts’s Role


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Shami Sends Big Message To IPL Teams With Stunning Show On Ranji Return

India pacer Mohammed Shami made a memorable return to the Ranji Trophy, claiming four wickets to power Bengal to a first-innings lead over M...