18 Burst results for "Melissa Mcneil"
WABE 90.1 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WABE 90.1 FM
"Considered. I marry Louise Kelly. And I melt the Chang. It's been four and a half years since a troubled former student killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Today, their survivors and families confronted him in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom. They unleashed their anger at the gunman and at his defense attorneys, and piers grey Allen reports. Nicholas Cruz pleaded guilty to killing 14 students and three staff members at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. From the beginning, his defense team had one goal, avoiding the death penalty. In the end, they were successful, convincing a jury that his mother's abuse of alcohol and drugs while she was pregnant with him left Cruz, mentally impaired. For many victims of the attack and their families, the verdict was another blow. Stacy lapel, a teacher wounded by crews, told him she was disappointed and disgusted that he didn't receive a sentence of death. The idea that you are cold blooded killer can actually live each day. Eat your meals and put your head down at night, just seems completely unjust. The only comfort I have is that your life in prison will be filled with horror and fear. During the trial, some survivors and families delivered victim impact statements. At that time they were instructed that they couldn't address cruise directly or talk about what punishment he should receive, and under Florida law, juries are told they can not take those victim impact statements into account and determining a verdict. Max schachter, whose 14 year old son Alex was killed at the school, said that law was unfair to the victims and their families. He called crews associate path who got enjoyment from watching people suffer, but he also had scathing comments for Cruz's defense attorney, Melissa McNeil, who he said falsely claim the gunman didn't receive adequate mental health treatment. It's irresponsible for you to make a statement that is an outright lie. You're making the mental health crisis in America worse. By misrepresenting what actually happened to the Parkland murderer. Other families also directed anger at cruises defense attorneys. McNeil cruises lawyer asked the judge and prosecutors to reign in the attacks on the defense team
THE NEWS with Anthony Davis
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on THE NEWS with Anthony Davis
"5 minute news. January 6th investigation subpoenas Donald Trump for testimony. Supreme Court rejects Trump's request for help with Mar-a-Lago documents. And Parkland school shooter gets a whole of life sentence. It's Friday October 14. I'm Anthony Davis. The January 6th committee voted unanimously on Thursday to subpoena former president Donald Trump demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video of close aides describing his multi part plan to overturn his election loss that led to his supporters fierce assault on the U.S. capitol. With alarming messages from the U.S. Secret Service, warning of violence and vivid new video of House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders pleading for help. The panel showed the raw desperation at the capital. Using language frequently seen in criminal indictments, the panel said that Trump had acted in a premeditated way ahead of January 6th, 2021, despite countless aides and officials telling him that he had lost. Trump is almost certain to fight the subpoena and decline to testify. In the committee's tenth public session just weeks before the congressional midterm elections, the panel summed up Trump's staggering betrayal of his oath of office, as chairman Benny Thompson put it, describing the former president's unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory. While the effort to subpoena Trump may languish, more of a nod to history than an effective summons, the committee has made clear it is considering whether to send its findings in a criminal referral to the Justice Department. In one of its most riveting exhibits, the panel showed previously unseen footage of congressional leaders phoning for help during the assault as Trump refused to call off the mob. To describe the president's mindset, the committee presented new and previously seen material, including interviews with Trump's top aides and cabinet officials, including Mike Pompeo, William Barr and labor secretary Eugene Scalia, in which some describe the president acknowledging that he had lost. But rather than the end of Trump's efforts, it was only the beginning as the president summoned the crowd to Washington on January 6th. The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former president Trump's plea to step into the legal fight over the FBI search of his Florida estate. The justices did not otherwise comment in turning away Trump's emergency appeal. Trump had pressed the court on an issue relating to classified documents seized in the search, authorized by a federal judge of Mar-a-Lago. The Trump team was asking the justices to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter of special master to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the August 8th search of Mar-a-Lago. The move on Thursday appears to greatly reduce the potential impact of the special master process to the ongoing Justice Department criminal investigation into the classified documents. The Justice Department said in a Supreme Court filing that Trump's request had no merit. The FBI said it seized roughly 11,000 documents, including about a hundred with classification markings, stolen from The White House by Trump and kept hidden after losing the presidency in his personal residence. A divided jury spared Florida school shooter Nicholas Cruz, the death penalty on Thursday, for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the rest of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled, and in tears. 24 year old Cruz pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members and wounding 17 others at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school on the 14th of February 2018. The three month trial included graphic videos and photos from the massacre and its aftermath, heart wrenching testimony from victims family members and a tour of the still blood spattered building. The jury rejected the death penalty after deliberating for about 7 hours over two days. Cruz's lead public defender, Melissa McNeil, told the jury during her closing argument on Tuesday that life in prison would still be a horrible punishment and suggested that other prisoners might target him. But that wasn't enough for many family members who went before television cameras one by one to express their shock and anger at the jury's decision. Some called Cruz a monster, while others cried. Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. The 7 man 5 women jury unanimously agreed there were aggravating factors to warrant a possible death sentence, such as agreeing that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. But one or more jurors also found mitigating factors such as untreated childhood issues. In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so crews will get life without parole. You can subscribe to 5 minute news on YouTube with your preferred podcast app, ask your smart speaker or enable 5 minute news as your Amazon Alexa flash briefing skill. Subscribe, rate, and review online at 5 minute dot news. 5 minute news is an evergreen podcast covering politics, inequality, health and climate delivering independent, unbiased and essential world news. Daily. If you enjoy 5 minute news, join me for the weekend show podcast. Big picture conversations with expert guests about the state of America available every Sunday with Midas touch and 5 minute news. Search and subscribe to the weekend show.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Edition from NPR news. I'm a Martinez in Los Angeles, California. And I'm lela faulted in Washington, D.C.. Kentucky Supreme Court is considering a case today that will decide whether the state can redirect would be tax dollars to private schools. It's a debate that once again pits advocates of privatizing schools against people worried about the underfunding of public education. Jess Clark of member station WFP will be in the courtroom today and joins us now on Skype hijacks good morning. Hello. So why don't we start with you just telling us more about this case? What's happening in the courtroom today? Sure, well, many people have heard about school vouchers. That's a program in which the state pays for certain families to attend private school. The stated rationale being that lower income families deserve the same access to private school as wealthier families. But school vouchers are actually not legal in Kentucky. The state constitution pretty explicitly forbids using tax dollars on non public schools. So this case is about a program private school advocates have created that is very similar to a voucher program, but different enough, they say that it doesn't violate the constitution. Okay, so before we get into details of what each side is arguing in the court, give us the context here about what's at stake in this case and why people are so invested. Well, it gets back to a debate that's played out in many states about the value of privatizing K12 education. Vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs are illegal in many other states. Some states even have both Indiana and Louisiana being to in proponents of these programs often refer to themselves as being for, quote, school choice. And they argue that all parents should have the right to opt out of the public school system, just like wealthy families who can pay for private school. On the other side, advocates of public education say a big reason parents even want to opt out is because for decades, lawmakers have underfunded public schools. In Kentucky, for example, if you adjust for inflation, spending per student is still significantly lower than it was in 2008. So opponents are worried that this program will just further drain funds away from students and from public schools. So that's the bird's eye view. Let's get into how this program in Kentucky would work and how advocates say it differs from vouchers. So this program is a tax credit scholarship fund at the risk of putting listeners back to sleep because that sounds pretty dry, but stick with me. Here's how it works. First, people or corporations make a donation to a scholarship fund that is managed by a third party. And then return for the donation, the donor gets a tax credit of up to 97% of their contribution. So essentially, these donors contribute to a scholarship fund in lieu of paying a state taxes. Then low and middle income families can apply to use the scholarship funds on educational expenses, including private school tuition. And advocates that the tax credit program say because the money never actually enters state coffers. The state is not technically funding these private schools and the program is therefore legal. And what's the other side saying? Well, opponents say this program will take even more money out of the public school system and create a system of haves and have nots. They call this program backdoor vouchers. And a lower court judge actually agreed with them saying the mechanism for collecting the funds is irrelevant because the program ultimately amounts to state support for private schools. Advocates of the program appealed that decision and that's why the court is hearing the case today. All right, and you will be in the courtroom that's just Clark with W FPL. Thank you so much for your time and your reporting. Thank you. A jury in Florida is expected to begin deliberations on whether the gunman who killed 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school gets the death sentence. Nicholas Cruz has pleaded guilty to the murders. Yeah, defense attorneys argued that cruise though should be spared and given life in prison without the possibility of parole instead because of his troubled history and his mental health. NPR's Greg Allen has been following the trial, he joins us now from Miami and some of what you'll hear in his report might be disturbing. Greg, how will the jury decide whether Cruz deserves the death penalty? Well, under Florida law, a jurors can hand down a sentence of death if they find that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. And prosecutors detailed several aggravating factors they think that apply here. Prosecutor Mike sat says videos, cruise recorded on his cell phone, social media posts, and even Internet searches showed that he planned this attack on the school months in advance. What he did was to murder children at school and their caretakers. That's what he wanted to do. That's what he planned to do. That's what he wanted to do, and that's what he did. And there are other aggravating factors. The fact that multiple murders were carried out that they were done at a school and that they were done in a way that was especially quote heinous atrocious or cruel on that point, the jury heard disturbing testimony from survivors about the terror they experienced that day. Jurors also watched surveillance videos showing crews returning to victims he wounded and shooting them again, killing them. Now, as we mentioned, Cruz's guilt has already been established. He pleaded guilty. What's the case, his defense has made for giving him a life sentence? Well, I've spoken to experienced lawyers who say this is one of the most difficult death penalty cases for the defense they've ever seen in Florida. Yesterday, the jury once again viewed a 14 minute surveillance video from the school that recorded the entire attack. It's not been made public very disturbing, but it depicts cruise methodically shooting into classrooms and down hallways. And then reloading his AR-15 style rifle several times with new magazines. Several weeks ago, the jury visited the building at March, we stillman Douglas high school, where the shootings occurred where they saw bloodstains, bullet holes, another evidence of the attack, defense lawyer Melissa McNeil has tried to move past the shooting, saying, by pleading guilty to the murders, Cruz is accepting responsibility. She's tried instead to focus on cruises troubled history that began before he was born when his mother abused drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him. But how would that help him avoid the death penalty? Well, McNeil spent a lot of time yesterday in her closing argument, recounting all the problems crews had in school and in his interactions with others. She talked about testimony from experts who said, crew suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She said he never received a proper diagnosis or treatment because everyone from his adoptive mother to school officials
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"This is WNYC FN HD in a.m., New York. Good morning. Last month The White House was able to head off a potentially catastrophic strike by rail workers by brokering a tentative deal, but this week one of the unions voted no to it. A look at what's at stake. Our members have made it very clear to us that the lack of paid sick days is a very significant issue for them. I'm Michael hill, it's morning edition from NPR and WNYC. Attorneys in Flanders Parkland school shooting trial have given their closing arguments the jury now decides whether Nicholas Cruz will die for his crimes. Russia's occupation of a nuclear planning Ukraine brings back bad memories for those who live near Chernobyl. And we'll remember the life and career of actor Angela Lansbury. It's Wednesday, October 12th, the news is next. Live from NPR news in Washington on corva Coleman, President Biden is clarifying his comment last week about Russian president Putin risking Armageddon if he decides to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Since then, U.S. officials have said Biden's comment was intended as a warning, and there's no new intelligence to suggest that Putin would actually use a nuclear bomb. But Biden says that Putin's saber rattling is irresponsible. The idea that a world leader of one of the largest nuclear powers in the world says he may use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. The whole point I was making was it could lead to just a horrible outcome. Biden spoke to CNN. Russia continues to strike Ukraine with missiles and drone attacks. Ukrainian officials say nearly a third of the country's energy infrastructure has been damaged by Russian attacks this week. Separately, UN officials say the embattled zapper Asia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine is again on backup diesel generators. It lost all of its external power supply. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels today. He's trying to ramp up arms contributions to Ukraine. Terry Schultz reports, defense ministers from NATO allies are discussing how to keep up their own weapon stockpiles, while also equipping Ukraine. The recent attacks by Moscow all over Ukraine have made clear key will likely need added military and financial support for a long time. The Ukraine defense contact group set up by the U.S. and April brings together countries beyond the 30 NATO allies to coordinate further military assistance. NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg acknowledges allies are having to reduce their own arsenals for the time being to help Ukraine. But data has been the right thing to do. Because it is important for all of us that Ukraine wins the battle. But NATO also wants allies to increase their stockpiles from the levels maintained before Russia's war on Ukraine. So countries are now looking at how to combine arms purchases and speed up manufacturing times. For MPR news, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. Today a Florida jury will begin to liberating the fate of the gunman who killed 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, NPR's Greg Allen reports, Nicholas Cruz faces a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. In his closing argument, prosecutor Mike sat detailed for jurors, cruises actions planning the murders and then carrying them out at Parkland high school. Jurors once again watched a surveillance video showing the gunman firing into classrooms and hallways, shooting some victims repeatedly. Defense attorney Melissa McNeil tried to focus a jury on cruise's troubled personal history, one that began before he was born when his mother abused drugs and alcohol, leaving him according to experts with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. You now know that Nicholas is a brain damaged, broken, mentally ill person. Through no fault of his own. The jury has two options, give crews a death sentence or life in prison. Greg Allen and PR news Miami. This is NPR. On doubly NYC in New York at 8 O four, good Wednesday morning at Mike will hill mostly sunny out there in upper 50s right now, where on our way for another day of sunshine and low 70s for a home. A tent encampment for asylum seekers is taking shape on Randall's island, doubled NYC's Ben Hogan has more. Workers set up a series of cavernous white tents in parking lots beside the icann stadium over the long weekend. Rows of fold up cuts were visible through the open sides of one. The city says these tents will temporarily house about 500 asylum seekers until they're connected to services and longer term housing. It's not clear when the facility will open. Mayor Eric Adams decision to send asylum seekers to these massive tents has drawn fierce criticism from advocates for immigrants and homeless New Yorkers alike. They've raised concerns about flooding, winter temperatures, and access to public transit. But Adam says the city is facing a crisis and has to act. 17,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring, and the city has had to open 42 emergency shelters. Utility providers fixed a massive water main break in northern New Jersey, but normal service was a couple days away for some towns. The break threatened the water supply in several towns and Essex Hudson and Passaic counties Bill Mayer is the spokesperson for the north Jersey district water supply commission, he says the repaired water main still needs time to get to 100%. You can not just open the valves and have water run at the original levels you need to gradually reintroduce water to the pipe. So you don't create some sort of leak somewhere else in the system. And that also takes a little bit of time. Montclair Glenn ridge and bloomfield are still encouraging customers to
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"It's morning edition from NPR news, ami Martinez in Los Angeles, California. And I'm Leila fauld in Washington, D.C.. Kentucky Supreme Court is considering a case today that will decide whether the state can redirect would be tax dollars to private schools. It's a debate that once again pits advocates of privatizing schools against people worried about the underfunding of public education. Jess Clark of member station W FPL will be in the courtroom today and joins us now on Skype hijack a morning. Hello. So why don't we start with you just telling us more about this case? What's happening in the courtroom today? Sure, well, many people have heard about school vouchers. That's a program in which the state pays for certain families to attend private school. The stated rationale being that lower income families deserve the same access to private school as wealthier families. But school vouchers are actually not legal in Kentucky. The state constitution pretty explicitly forbids using tax dollars on non public schools. So this case is about a program private school advocates have created that is very similar to a voucher program, but different enough, they say that it doesn't violate the constitution. Okay, so before we get into details of what each side is arguing, arguing in the court, give us the context here about what's at stake in this case and why people are so invested. Well, it gets back to a debate that's played out in many states about the value of privatizing K12 education. Vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs are illegal in many other states. Some states even have both Indiana and Louisiana being to in proponents of these programs often refer to themselves as being for, quote, school choice. And they argue that all parents should have the right to opt out of the public school system, just like wealthy families who can pay for private school. On the other side, advocates of public education say a big reason parents even want to opt out is because for decades, lawmakers have underfunded public schools. In Kentucky, for example, if you adjust for inflation, spending per student is still significantly lower than it was in 2008. So opponents are worried that this program will just further drain funds away from students and from public schools. So that's the bird's eye view. Let's get into how this program in Kentucky would work and how advocates say it differs from vouchers. So this program is a tax credit scholarship fund at the risk of putting listeners back to sleep because that sounds pretty dry, but stick with me. Here's how it works. First, people or corporations make a donation to a scholarship fund that is managed by a third party. And then return for the donation, the donor gets a tax credit of up to 97% of their contribution. So essentially, these donors contribute to a scholarship fund in lieu of paying a state taxes. Then low and middle income families can apply to use the scholarship funds on educational expenses, including private school tuition. And advocates of the tax credit program say because the money never actually enters state coffers. The state is not technically funding these private schools and the program is therefore legal. And what's the other side saying? Well, opponents say this program will take even more money out of the public school system and create a system of haves and have nots. They call this program backdoor vouchers. And a lower court judge actually agreed with them saying the mechanism for collecting the funds is irrelevant because the program ultimately amounts to state support for private schools. Advocates of the program appealed that decision and that's why the court is hearing the case today. All right, and you will be in the courtroom that's just Clark with W FPL. Thank you so much for your time and your reporting. Thank you. A jury in Florida is expected to begin deliberations on whether the gunman who killed 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school gets the death sentence. Nicholas Cruz has pleaded guilty to the murders. Yeah, defense attorneys argued that cruise though should be spared and given life in prison without the possibility of parole instead because of his troubled history and his mental health. NPR's Greg Allen has been following the trial, he joins us now from Miami and some of what you'll hear in his report might be disturbing. Greg, how will the jury decide whether Cruz deserves the death penalty? Well, under Florida law, a jurors can hand down a sentence of death if they find that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. And prosecutors detailed several aggravating factors they think that apply here. Prosecutor Mike sat says videos, cruise recorded on his cell phone, social media posts, and even Internet searches showed that he planned this attack on the school months in advance. What she did was to murder children at school and their caretakers. That's what he wanted to do. That's what he planned to do. That's what he wanted to do, and that's what he did. And there are other aggravating factors. The fact that multiple murders were carried out that they were done at a school and that they were done in a way that was especially quote heinous atrocious or cruel, on that point, the jury heard disturbing testimony from survivors about the terror they experienced that day. Jurors also watched surveillance videos showing crews returning to victims he wounded and shooting them again, killing them. Now, as we mentioned, Cruz's guilt has already been established. He pleaded guilty. What's the case, his defense has made for giving him a life sentence? Well, I've spoken to experienced lawyers who say this is one of the most difficult death penalty cases for the defense they've ever seen in Florida. Yesterday, the jury once again viewed a 14 minute surveillance video from the school that recorded the entire attack. It's not been made public very disturbing, but it depicts cruise methodically shooting into classrooms and down hallways. And then reloading his AR-15 style rifle several times with new magazines. Several weeks ago, the jury visited the building at March, we stillman Douglas high school, where the shootings occurred where they saw bloodstains, bullet holes, and other evidence of the attack. Defense lawyer Melissa McNeil has tried to move past the shooting, saying, by pleading guilty to the murders, Cruz is accepting responsibility. She's tried instead to focus on cruise's troubled history that began before he was born when his mother abused drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him. But how would that help him avoid the death penalty? Well, McNeil spent a lot of time yesterday in her closing argument, recounting all the problems Cruz had in school and in his interactions with others. She talked about testimony from experts who said, Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She said he never received a proper diagnosis or treatment because everyone from his adoptive mother to school officials dropped the ball. And at least one juror opts for life, the death penalty then is off the table. But Neil acknowledged though to jurors that thought would require courage. Your individual moral decision must not be based upon what you think that this community wants. Or what you think anybody else wants. This is your individual moral decision. Many of the family members of those who have died have been outspoken about their desire to seek crews receive the death penalty. Throughout the trial, many of them been in the courtroom, there's been some difficult days, and I'm sure they will be there when the jury finally comes in with the verdict, whenever that is. NPR's Greg Allen in Miami Greg thanks. You're welcome. This is NPR news
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Month a possible rail rail worker strike threatened the economy before The White House brokered a tentative deal. The 12 unions that represent about a 115,000 workers are now voting on that agreement and they all have to say yes for it to actually become an agreement. And this week, one of them said no deal. NPR's politics, reporter, Jimenez, Theo joins us now to tell us what this means for the agreement. So we all knew it wasn't necessarily a done deal, but no matter what happened. Yeah, I mean, there was always the risk that unions could vote against it, even after the deal was reached some members were still picketing. The thing to remember is that there are 12 different unions here involved in the rail system. And each individual union has to vote to accept or reject the deal. The first four unions voted to vote yes. But the deal did not address a major sticking point for many of the workers, which is the very strict limits on sick leave and other absence policies. And this is just one of the reasons this union, the brotherhood of maintenance of way employees union voted no. And it's a really big union too, representing more than 11,000 workers. And you know I remember President Biden taking a bit of a victory lap over this deal, but now it looks like he'll have to walk it back. Well, last month, we saw members of Biden's cabinet help broker this specific tentative deal. Things had stalled after months of negotiations so they were secretary Marty Walsh, worked literally through the night with unions and management. And here's what the president said from the rose garden the morning after they came to a tentative deal. Together, we reached an agreement. You reached an agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruptions of our economy. This was really important for him because the midterm elections are coming up and he didn't want a big strike that could make some goods hard to find or more expensive. All right, so what happens now? We're looking at a strike now. Well, the union's rejection of the tentative agreement means that now they're in what's called a status quo period. So it's back to the bargaining table for this one union. The union has already reached out to management to renegotiate the lack of paid sick leave. Here's the union's chief negotiator Peter Kennedy. Well, we're going to go back to the table and we're going to talk to the railroads about increased paid sick days because our members have made it very clear to us that the lack of paid sick days is a very significant issue for them. The group that represents the railroads for bargaining said in a statement that it's disappointed. But they also said that there's no immediate risk of disruption. These talks can go on for some time. And the union can't strike before November 19th. So it really is not an immediate threat. Meanwhile, voting for the 7 other unions is expected to last into next month. Kennedy also told me that it is customary for all railroads to strike if one of them does, even if they all reach a deal, all the other ones reach a deal. But there's no telling in this case if they all would. And he said their goal is not to strike. Everyone wants to reach a deal before then. All right, so November 19th, that's the date to keep in mind. What's on the line here for getting an agreement? Yeah, we have to remember that railroads transport 30 to 40% of goods in this country. When this issue first became a threat last month, there were major concerns over food and agriculture products because it would have coincided with harvest season. On November strike is not any better. It comes right ahead of the holiday season. The White House is also downplaying this vote. They say that there's still lots of time to reach a deal and that there is no immediate risk of a strike. Also on the line is the president's reputation for being pro labor. He has long touted his support for unions and thanks union workers for helping him win the election. So this is a big test and also a test of his ability to fix supply chains and address inflation. So there are some things a lot. Thank you. A jury in Florida is expected to begin deliberations on whether the gunman who killed 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school gets the death sentence. Nicholas Cruz has pleaded guilty to the murders. Yeah, defense attorneys argued that cruise though should be spared and given life in prison without the possibility of parole instead because of his troubled history and his mental health. NPR's Greg Allen has been following the trial, Greg, how will the jury decide whether cruise deserves the death penalty? Well, under Florida law, a jurors can hand down a sentence of death if they find that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. And prosecutors detailed several aggravating factors they think that apply here. Prosecutor Mike sat says videos, cruise recorded on his cell phone, social media posts, and even Internet searches show that he planned this attack on the school months in advance. What she did was to murder children at school and their caretakers. That's what he wanted to do. That's what he planned to do. That's what he wanted to do, and that's what he did. And there are other aggravating factors, the fact that multiple murders were carried out that they were done at a school and that they were done in a way that was especially quote heinous atrocious or cruel. On that point, the jury heard disturbing testimony from survivors about the terror they experienced that day. Jurors also watched surveillance videos showing crews returning to victims he wounded and shooting them again, killing them. Now, as we mentioned, Cruz's guilt has already been established. He pleaded guilty. What's the case, his defense has made for giving him a life sentence? Well, I've spoken to experienced lawyers who say this is one of the most difficult death penalty cases for the defense they've ever seen in Florida. Yesterday, the jury, once again, viewed a 14 minute surveillance video from the school that recorded the entire attack. It's not been made public very disturbing, but it depicts cruise methodically shooting into classrooms and down hallways. And then reloading his AR-15 style rifle several times with new magazines. Several weeks ago, the jury visited the building at March, we stillman Douglas high school, where the shootings occurred where they saw bloodstains, bullet holes, and other evidence of the attack, defense lawyer Melissa McNeil has tried to move past the shooting, saying, by pleading guilty to the murders, Cruz is accepting responsibility. She's tried instead to focus on Cruz's troubled history that began before he was born when his mother abused drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him. But how would that help him avoid the death penalty? Well, McNeil spent a lot of time yesterday in her closing argument, recounting all the problems crews had in school and in his interactions with others. He talked about testimony from experts who said, crew suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She said he never received a proper diagnosis or treatment because everyone from his adoptive mother to school officials dropped the ball. And at least one juror opts for life, the death penalty then is off the table. But Neil acknowledged though to jurors that thought would require courage. Your individual moral decision must not be based upon what you think that this community wants. Or what you think anybody else wants. This is your individual moral decision. Many of the family members of those who have died have been outspoken about their desire to seek crews receive the death penalty throughout the trial, many of them have been in the courtroom. There's been some difficult days and I'm sure they will be there when the jury finally comes in with the verdict whenever that is. NPR's Greg Allen in
AP News Radio
Attorneys argue over school shooter's fate: death or prison
"Closing arguments have been presented in the citizen trial of a Florida school shooter I Norman hall The jury has to decide if Nicholas Cruz will spend the rest of his life in prison or be put to death for the 2018 school shooting that killed 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high on Valentine's Day In closing arguments both the prosecution and defense said the killings were horrific The prosecution says Cruz is a sociopath who hunted victims and returned to finish off some of the wounded Defense lawyer Melissa McNeil described crews as a broken brain damage and mentally ill young men Crews pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members and wounding 17 others I Norman hall
WTOP
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WTOP
"The 1200 building and we're shooting every target he could find and he definitely disrupted school function. Defense attorney Melissa McNeil. We recognize what he really is. That brain damaged, broken, mentally ill person. It becomes a human issue. And every human life has value. Mission accomplished for a NASA spacecraft that hit an asteroid two weeks ago. Dark spacecraft's mission was to crash into the asteroid to divert its path as administrator Bill Nelson. Dart successfully changed the targeted asteroids trajectory. That rock wasn't headed toward us, but dart's mission shows that as science fiction has shown us for decades, it is possible in science fact to save the earth if need be. Peter king, CBS News Orlando. Wall Street ends mostly lower. Now this. This hour's newscast is presented by rocket mortgage. When you need cash out of your home and a simple way to get it, rocket can. 7 O three on WTO, it's Tuesday evening, October 11th, 2022, college park, at 69°, dropping to the 50s later. Good evening, I'm Dmitri sodas. And I'm Michelle bash, the top local stories we're following this hour, the world famous case involving a Baltimore man convicted of murder more than two decades ago has been dismissed. We're talking about the saga of adnan syed featured in season one of the popular podcast serial WTO peace Melissa Howell begins our team coverage with the city's top prosecutor detailing what led to the decision. Baltimore city states attorney Marilyn Mosby says adnan syed's DNA was excluded during a second round of testing. Connected to the 1999 murder of hayman Lee. Justice
WABE 90.1 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WABE 90.1 FM
"Murderers. He's taking his accepting his guilt for that. They've instead tried to focus us on Cruz's troubled personal history. And that's a history that started when his birth mother, mother Brenda woodard, abused alcohol and cocaine while she was pregnant with them, quiz defense lawyers have read a lot of medical experts to make the case that he suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Here's his attorney, Melissa McNeil. You now know that Nicholas is a brain damaged, broken, mentally ill person. Through no fault of his own. He was literally poisoned in Brenda's home. These are all consequences of cruise's middle impairment. She says of FASD his problems in school and elsewhere, and they say that's reason to give him not death, but life in prison without possibility of parole. All right. And pierce Greg Allen reporting for us from the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, thank you, Greg. You're welcome. President Biden is reevaluating the U.S. Saudi relationship after last week's decision by OPEC plus to slash 2 million barrels a day of oil production. That's according to John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council speaking today. Research decision by okay. And Saudi Arabia's leadership, he does believe that this is a good time to reevaluate and see what that relationship on a look like going forward. Analysts say the breach created by these production cuts could be a turning point in U.S. Saudi relations and PR international affairs correspondent jeffy, Jackie northam reports. It wasn't just a sheer size of the cut in oil production by OPEC plus. It was also the timing coming about three months after President Biden visited Saudi Arabia to lobby against such a reduction and just ahead of the midterm elections here in the U.S. where prices at the gas pump could have an effect on voters. Jonathan panico is director of the scowcroft Middle East security initiative at the Atlantic council. It feels punitive against the Biden administration. And I think it's hard to think it's otherwise because the Saudis are at naive about the U.S. political situation. It may not have been the core reason for doing it, but they absolutely were happy to do it. A senior fellow at the Middle East institute says Saudi Arabia has legitimate business reasons for the cut. They're seeking higher prices now in case a global recession reduces demand later. And he says that despite concerted U.S. attempts to talk them out of a production cut all 24 members of OPEC plus were on board with it. This is a decision that was not just Saudi. It was unanimous and it was driven by economics and market dynamics rather than politics. Russia is co chair of OPEC plus. Its deputy prime minister Alexander Novak, who is sanctioned by the U.S., sat at the table when the cuts were announced. The production cuts mean higher revenue for Russia to support the war in Ukraine. Jason board off his director of Columbia University's center on global energy policy. Many in D.C. view the Saudis now is aligned themselves with Russia at a time when Russian troops are killing Ukrainians. And reduced Russian energy exports are plunging much of the world into an energy crisis. The Atlantic council's panna COFF says this incident represents a profound shift in U.S. Saudi relations and much of that has to do with Saudis de facto leader, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. I don't think we fully accepted the notion that he is a different leader than we've ever dealt with. And so we're going to have to have a different relationship. Pana cough says The Crown prince is a transactional leader, and that the U.S. will have to decide if it wants to spend time and energy, rebuilding its strategic relationship with the kingdom or become more transactional as well, panic off says that could affect Saudi Arabia's security guarantees. And maybe we don't sell the more advanced aircraft. And maybe the training exercises are on older generation hardware. And maybe yes, we remove some patriot batteries and say, look, we recognize your security. We're not trying to diminish it. We have to balance our security goals as well. Some members of Congress want to freeze weapon sales to Saudi Arabia or to initiate price fixing cases against OPEC plus, but macso with the Middle East institute, says the gulf region is no longer beholden to the U.S. and has the right to look for other options. And so they are building bridges to China, which, by the way, accounts for over a quarter of oil exports from Saudi Arabia, and also with Russia that had been sort of expanding its role in the Middle East. Today, the Saudi foreign minister for Han bin Faisal said Saudi Arabia's ties with the U.S. are strategic and have advanced the security and stability in the region, and that the oil cut was made purely for economic reasons. Jackie northam, NPR news, Washington. Israel and Lebanon have ended their longtime dispute over where to draw their border at sea. The U.S. mediated the deal between the two enemies, President Biden called it a historic breakthrough, and piers Daniel estrin reports from Tel Aviv on what prompted the deal. The U.S. says it's the first time Israel and Lebanon have ever mutually agreed on a border between them. Israeli prime minister lapid echoed President Biden calling it historic. He said Israel has been trying to reach this deal for more than ten years, and that it will strengthen the security of northern Israel. The matter in dispute was who gets natural gas fields off the Mediterranean coast. One is in disputed waters. Another is an Israeli waters where Lebanon laid a new claim two years ago. Israel recently made moves to extract gas there and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah made threats of war. The details haven't been officially announced, but reportedly the two sides compromised on the borderline. Israel will extract gas from one field and Lebanon will explore for gas and the other potential field with the U.S. and Israel saying Lebanon will share some of the revenues. Lebanon's chief negotiator Elias busa says the deal satisfies both sides. He said it would provide economic stability and some hope to Lebanese with their economy and crisis and an electric grid that often provides just a couple hours of power a day. For Lebanon, Lebanese American render slim is a senior fellow at the Middle East institute in Washington. It removes a source of tension and it opens prospects for Lebanon economic prospects, and we don't know how much gas there is, but still, even if some gas gets out, it can be used in the Lebanese domestic market. And it can provide a source of revenue for a country whose economy is in major Dire Straits right now. She thinks it could pave the way for negotiations over their land border now. Former deputy Israeli navy chief shaul harev also thinks it's a step forward. Once you have such an agreement, it is the beginning of normalization the relationships between us and Lebanon that former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the deal is a capitulation to Hezbollah, and with Israeli elections just three weeks away. He says he won't consider himself beholden to the deal if he's voted back into office. Daniel estrin NPR news, Tel Aviv.
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"Auckland gunmen's attorneys argue he was poisoned in the womb and an attempt to save him from execution by Katie Reilly. Attorneys for the man who admitted to killing 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, are highlighting his biological mother's history of drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy in an attempt to save him from execution. He was poisoned in the womb and because of that, his brain was irretrievably broken through no fault of his own. Nicholas Cruz's public defender Melissa McNeil said Monday in her opening statement. Crews aged 23, pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of first degree murder. During this trial, a 12 person jury will now determine whether he is sentenced to death, which must be a unanimous decision or to life in prison without parole. Nicholas Cruz's decision to take an Uber to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school and kill as many people as he could possibly kill, is not where Nicholas cruises story starts. Macneil told jurors, individuals are profoundly impacted by the places that they come from. McNeil argued that Cruz's biological mother abused drugs and alcohol, while pregnant with him, causing him to suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She said Cruz exhibited developmental delays and behavioral issues as early as preschool. When he struggled to communicate and couldn't get along with other children, he developed a fascination with firearms, she said, and struggled behaviorally socially and academically, while attending Stoneman Douglas high school until February 2017. Cruises adoptive father died days before he started kindergarten, and his adoptive mother, who macneil described as the one consistent person in his life, died in November 2017. During the first weeks of the trial, prosecutors and witnesses recounted in harrowing detail the events of the shooting on February 14th, 2018, when Cruz killed 17 people and wounded 17 others in an attack that lead prosecutor Michael satz described as heinous, atrocious, and cruel. Earlier this month, jurors visited the school building, which remains unchanged since the day of the shooting, walking past scattered roses from Valentine's Day celebrations, and unfinished school assignments and classrooms stained with blood and marked by bullet holes, and family members of those who were killed delivered heart wrenching victim impact statements. We will always live with excruciating pain. We have an empty bedroom in our House. There is an empty chair at our dining table, set on a good warrior, whose 17 year old son Nick was killed in the shooting. We did not get to see Nick graduate from high school or college. We will never see him getting married. We will always hesitate before answering the question, how many kids do you have? She added. This is the deadliest mass shooting to go to trial in the U.S., but prosecutors face the challenge of getting all 12 jurors to agree to sentence cruise to death. If just one juror is persuaded by defense attorney's arguments, then crews will be sentenced to life in prison. It feels like if the death penalty was designed for any one, it's someone who's murdered this many people. Jillian Peterson, an associate Professor of criminology and criminal justice at hamline university in Minnesota, who has studied the backgrounds of mass shooters, told time previously. On the other hand, I think we know from our research that these perpetrators tend to have a very strong mitigation case in terms of what that pathway to violence looks like, and trauma, mental health, suicidality, and all those things. Under Florida law, there are 16 aggravating factors that increase the severity of a crime, and make a defendant eligible for the death penalty, in order to rule for the death penalty, the jury must unanimously agree that at least one aggravating factor was proved by prosecutors beyond a reasonable doubt, prosecutors argued there were 7 aggravating factors in this case, including that cruise knowingly created great risk of death to many people that the murders were cold, calculated and premeditated, that they were especially heinous atrocious or cruel, and that they were done to disrupt or hinder a governmental function, such as a public school education. In response, the defense will present evidence about mitigating circumstances, including mental health issues and childhood trauma. That mean the death penalty should not be imposed. On Monday, defense attorneys called cruises biological sister, and a woman who knew his biological mother to testify about her drug and alcohol addictions, and her use of drugs while pregnant. Everyone here agrees that Nicholas deserves to be punished without a doubt, McNeil said. But life without the possibility of parole is a severe enough penalty..
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"Shooting students and staff members. When he was done, 17 people were dead and 17 others were wounded. The murders were captured on surveillance video. In court students and teachers who survived the shooting described the horrific events. In our opening statement yesterday, defense attorney Melissa McNeil acknowledged cruises responsibility and tried to turn the page. Everyone here agrees that Nicholas deserves to be punished. Without a doubt. But life without the possibility of parole is a severe nationality. Under Florida law, a unanimous verdict is required for the joy to deliver a sense of death. That means they must convince at least one juror that Cruz deserves a sentence of life in prison. Jurors must decide if aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. Prosecutors have laid out a host of reasons they're asking for the death penalty. Among them, the fact that multiple murders were committed, and that it was in legal parlance, horrendous atrocious or cruel. Yesterday, the defense began telling cruise's history in hopes that it may sway some jurors from a death sentence. Among the witnesses was Carolyn deacons, who described herself as a recovering addict, we used to abuse alcohol and crack cocaine with cruise's birth mother, Brenda woodard. Dickens says both women worked as prostitutes to support their drug habit. She says she was angry when woodard told her she was pregnant. A little bit. She said, don't worry about it. It's all took care of. I have a lawyer and the baby's growing up for adoption. And so I'm not going to have to worry about it. And that's how she failed. She didn't want it. And then she addressed Cruz directly. Nicholas, I'm sorry, that's how it was. The jury also heard from Cruz's older sister, who spoke about her mother's rapid drug and alcohol abuse. Another witness was one of cruise's first teachers when he was just three years old. She noted at the time that he was developmentally delayed, and had significant behavioral problems. Defense attorney Melissa McNeil said, she'll present evidence and testimony from experts that Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She also talked about disturbing drawings and threats of violence, cruise continues to produce now, while he's in jail. But his brain is complete. He's a damaged human being. And that's why these things happen. McNeil plays some of the blame for Cruz's problems on his adoptive mother, Linda Cruz, now deceased. Cruz at first ignored her son's problems in need for help McNeil says. Later over the objections of counselors and Friends, she brought him first a BB gun, and then when he turned 18, helped him buy a rifle. McNeil says she isn't trying to justify it or explain the attack in the 17 deaths. She told the jury, they should have a full picture of cruise's troubled history before they decide on his sentence. The defense will continue making its case in court today. Greg Allen and PR news Fort Lauderdale. Al shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group stormed a popular hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia the other day. Somali forces pushed back and ended a 30 hour siege, but the attack left 21 people dead and dozens wounded. Let's talk about this with Omar Mahmoud, who is a senior analyst with the international crisis group, his focus is East Africa, welcome to the program. Thank you very much for having me, Steve. I feel that Americans may need a reorientation on Al shabaab. They haven't been in the news very much here lately. Who are they and what do they want? Well, ultra mob is a militant Islamist group that's been present in Somalia, fighting against the government there for about the past 15 years. They were born out of an Ethiopian invasion to Somalia and started out as resisting that, but over time have become really the dominant governing actor in rural areas of Somalia while the government's hunkered down in sort of the urban centers. But they're pushing for their version of Islamic Sharia law to be implemented across Somalia and that's where they've continued this fight against the Somali government. If their strength is in the rural areas, is it surprising they would get into Mogadishu and assault a hotel on this scale? Well, their strength is in the rural areas, but they maintain the ability to penetrate urban centers and urban centers controlled by the government as well. So we've seen attacks like this quite frequently, honestly. You know, the past year or two, they tapered off, but before that, this type of incident, unfortunately, was a regular occurrence. As you talk about this rural urban divide, I immediately think of Afghanistan, where the Taliban controlled rural areas long before they could control the cities, it was thought the cities could hold out and that turned out not to be true. Are there any parallels here? Yeah, I mean, I think there's always many contextual differences between two different circumstances, but I think, of course, you know, we can't fail to see some of the parallels as well. And Al shabab strength is really being able to hold those rural areas because that allows them access to populations in order to supplement their recruitment. It allows them to tax and have extortion practices along some of the trade routes. And so that's really kind of their center of gravity. And that's what helps them conduct the penetration into urban areas as well. What kind of strength does the government have to push back? Well, the government does have a number of advantages with it. You know, it has international backing. For example, there is an African Union peacekeeping mission, which helps protect government and urban centers. There's, of course, the U.S. Military presence, president Trump, and the Wayne Dave had announced he was repositioning some of those troops out of Somalia, but President Biden has brought them back in. There's a little bit of air power with that as well. We have to remember, though, this is a government that's still being formed, you know, 15 years ago, it didn't exist at all. So it's still slowly coming into its own, but it does have significant outside support. You mentioned the U.S. presence. In your judgment has the U.S. presence been constructive, helpful there. I think it's been helpful, but insufficient. And by that, I mean the U.S. presence has focused very much from a counter terrorism perspective very much from a military perspective. And there have been some successes there. There is an elite part of the somalian national army that's been trained by the U.S. that's done quite well. And some of the drone strikes do keep pressure on shabab. But the problem is that the military is only part of the solution. There's not as much focus on the political work in terms of the reconciliation in terms of getting the Somali government to function politically and in a manner that can also match the coherence of an organization like shabab. So I think it's part of the puzzle, but it hasn't been the full part. Omar Mahmoud is
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"International crisis group. Thanks so much. Thank you for having me. Lawyers for the gunmen who opened fire on marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida have begun to present their case. Nicholas Cruz has already pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder. The jury now has two options, a sentence of life in prison without parole, or the death penalty. Defense lawyers are asking the jury to spare cruises life NPR's Greg Allen reports. Defense lawyers for Nicholas Cruz deferred delivering their opening statement until the prosecution had made its case. For weeks the jury heard emotional and graphic testimony as prosecutors laid out the grim facts. The facts have never been in dispute. In February of 2018, crews of troubled former student entered a school building with an AR-15 style rifle and began shooting students and staff members. When he was done, 17 people were dead and 17 others were wounded. The murders were captured on surveillance video. In court students and teachers who survived the shooting described the horrific events. In our opening statement yesterday, defense attorney Melissa McNeill acknowledged cruises responsibility and tried to turn the page. Everyone here agrees that was deserves to be punished. Without a doubt. But life without the possibility of parole is a severe nationality. Under Florida law, a unanimous verdict is required for the joy to deliver a sense of death. That means they must convince at least one juror that Cruz deserves a sentence of life in prison. Jurors must decide if aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. Prosecutors have laid out a host of reasons they're asking for the death penalty. Among them, the fact that multiple murders were committed, and that it was in legal parlance, horrendous atrocious or cruel. Yesterday, the defense began telling Cruz's history in hopes that it may sway some jurors from a death sentence. Among the witnesses was Carolyn deacons, who described herself as a recovering addict, who used to abuse alcohol and crack cocaine with cruise's birth mother, Brenda woodard. Dickens says both women worked as prostitutes to support their drug habit. She says she was angry when woodard told her she was pregnant. A little bit. She said, don't worry about it. It's all took care of. I have a lawyer and the baby's growing up for adoption. And so I'm not going to have to worry about it. And that's how she failed. She didn't want it. And then she addressed Cruz directly. Nicholas, I'm sorry, but that's how it was. The jury also heard from Cruz's older sister, who spoke about her mother's rapid drug and alcohol abuse. Another witness was one of cruise's first teachers when he was just three years old. She noted at the time that he was developmentally delayed, and had significant behavioral problems. The fit's attorney Melissa McNeil said, she'll present evidence and testimony from experts that cruise suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She also talked about distributing drawings and threats of violence, cruise continues to produce now, while he's in jail. But his brain is complete. He's a damaged human being. And that's why these things happen. McNeil plays some of the blame for Cruz's problems on his adoptive mother, Linda Cruz, now deceased. Cruz at first ignored her son's problems in need for help McNeil says. Later over the objections of counselors and Friends, she brought him first a BB gun, and then when he turned 18, helped him buy a rifle. McNeil says she isn't trying to justify it or explain the attack in the 17 deaths. She told the jury, they should have a full picture of cruise's troubled history before they decide on his sentence. The defense will continue making its case in court today. Greg Allen and PR news Fort Lauderdale. This is NPR
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"CarMax, car buying, reimagined. Lawyers for the gunmen who opened fire on marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida have begun to present their case. Nicholas Cruz has already pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder. The jury now has two options, a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Defense lawyers are asking the jury to spare cruises life and Pierre's Greg Allen reports. Defense lawyers for Nicholas Cruz deferred delivering their opening statement until the prosecution had made its case for weeks the jury heard emotional and graphic testimony as prosecutors laid out the grim facts. The facts have never been in dispute. In February of 2018, cruise or troubled former student entered a school building with an AR-15 style rifle and began shooting students and staff members. When he was done, 17 people were dead and 17 others were wounded. The murders were captured on surveillance video. In court students and teachers who survived the shooting described the horrific events. In her opening statement yesterday, defense attorney Melissa McNeil acknowledged cruises responsibility and tried to turn the page. Everyone here agrees that Nicholas deserves to be punished. Without a doubt. But life without the possibility of parole is a civilian nationality. Under Florida law, a unanimous verdict is required for the joy to deliver a sense of death. That means they must convince at least one juror that Cruz deserves a sentence of life in prison. Jurors must decide if aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors. Prosecutors have laid out a host of reasons they're asking for the death penalty. Among them, the fact that multiple murders were committed, and that it was in legal parlance, horrendous atrocious or cruel. Yesterday, the defense began telling cruise's history in hopes that it may sway some jurors from a death sentence. Among the witnesses was Carolyn deacons, who described herself as a recovering addict who used to abuse alcohol and crack cocaine with cruise's birth mother, Brenda woodard. Dickens says both women worked as prostitutes to support their drug habit. She says she was angry when woodard told her she was pregnant. A little bit. She said, don't worry about it. It's all took care of. I have a lawyer and the baby's growing up for adoption. And so I'm not going to have to worry about it. And that's how she failed. She didn't want it. And then she addressed Cruz directly. Nicholas absurd, it was. The jury also heard from Cruz's older sister, who spoke about her mother's rapid drug and alcohol abuse. Another witness was one of cruise's first teachers when he was just three years old. She noted at the time that he was developmentally delayed, and had significant behavioral problems. The fit's attorney Melissa McNeil said, she'll present evidence and testimony from experts that crew suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She also talked about disturbing drawings and threats of violence, cruise continues to produce now, while he's in jail. But his brain is broken. He's a damaged human being. And that's why these things happen. McNeil plays some of the blame for Cruz's problems on his adoptive mother, Linda Cruz, now deceased. Cruz at first ignored her son's problems in need for help McNeil says. Later over the objections of counselors and Friends, she brought him first a BB gun and then when he turned 18, helped him buy a rifle. McNeil says she isn't trying to justify it or explain the attack in the 17 deaths. She told the jury, they should have a full picture of cruise's troubled history before they decide on his sentence. The defense will continue making its case in court today. Greg Allen and PR news Fort Lauderdale..
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"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WABE 90.1 FM
"Is all things considered from NPR news. I'm Mary Louise Kelly. And I'm Ari Shapiro. Today in Florida, lawyers for the gunman who killed 17 people at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school four years ago delivered their opening statement. They were arguing that their client should be spared the death penalty Nicholas Cruz has already pleaded guilty to the murders. The jury will decide on his sentence, death or life in prison without parole. And pierce Greg Allen is at the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and Greg the cruise trial has been going on for over a month. Why did it take until now for the defense to begin delivering its opening statement? Well, you know, Ari, this is a very tough case for the defense because the facts really aren't in dispute at all here. In February of 2018, Nicholas Cruz, former student at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school with a long history of behavioral problems, brought an AR-15 style rifle to the school and began shooting at the trial surveillance video shown that showed him in the school killing 70 people and wounding 17 others. The defense appears to have wanted to put some distance between all that and the emotion and the horrific nature of the prosecution case, but the distance between that and their case. In the first few weeks of the trial, the jury heard from students who were wounded and then survived, they described the horror of watching their classmates dying in front of them. There was also graphic testimony by medical examiners about how each of the 17 victims died. But today cruises defense attorney Melissa McNeil seemed to be trying to turn the page. Everyone here agrees that it was deserves to be punished. Without a doubt. But light without the possibility of girls is a civilian. You know, in Florida, the jury must be unanimous in awarding the death penalty. Cruz's defense is hoping that they can convince at least one juror that life is the appropriate sentence here. And how are defense attorneys making that case that crews should be spared the death penalty? Well, under Florida law jurors must weigh aggravating factors versus mitigating factors and deciding on the death penalty. The prosecution has laid out for the jury a host of reasons why they're asking for the capital punishment. The fact that multiple murders were committed and that it was in legal parlance, horrendous atrocious or cruel or just two of the aggravating factors. But the McNeil today told the jury, she would also begin presenting the other side, and telling them some of what she called the chapters of his life. Who will give you reasons for and that, that is called mitigation. Mitigation is any reason that you believe that the death penalty is not an appropriate penalty in this case. McNeil said this isn't intended to justify it or explain the attack in the 17 deaths, but it's to present a full picture of her client's troubled history. So as that full picture begins to unfold, what do you expect the defense to say that might offset the horrific nature of these shootings? Well, Cruz's defense is focusing a lot on the sources problems and they look at looking at presenting two women, his birth mother and the woman who adopted him with his infant, kind of pointing to them as the kind of source of some of these issues. Today, the jury heard testimony about Cruz's birth mother, who's now deceased, a former friend that she was a drug addict and an alcoholic who likely conceived him through her work as a prostitute. The defense says it will present testimony and evidence that crew suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome. Defense attorney Melissa McNeil detailed problems. First identified when Cruz was just three years old that he was developmentally delayed that he had communication and behavioral problems and they needed a supportive structured educational environment. McNeil said cruises adoptive mother for a time ignored her son's problems and the need for help. She also talked about distributing drawings and threats of violence to cruise continues to produce even now while he's in jail. So his brain is from damage to human being. And that's what he says happened. Among those who testified today was Nicholas Cruz's sister, Danielle woodard. She's a decade older than Cruz, and she painted a picture of a terrible childhood that she had and her mother's rampant drug and alcohol abuse when she was pregnant with Nicholas Cruz. What else do you expect the defense to present as this unfolds? Well, we're going to likely hear from a series of witnesses including family friends and expert witnesses. The defense will try to make the case that many people along the way from Cruz's mother through officials in the school district ignored his problems. Another person expected to testify is cruise's younger brother Zachary. He's had his own history of trouble, including a run in with police when he trespassed at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school after the shooting, he's now living in Virginia. It's not really clear what he'll be saying, but we'll be hearing from that very soon. It's NPR's Greg Allen speaking with us from in front of the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thank you, Greg. You're welcome. Many different high-tech weapons are arriving in Ukraine to help the Ukrainian military fight Russian forces, weapons, including javelin anti tank missiles and high mar rocket systems. Pound for pound though perhaps no pieces of equipment are more valuable on the Ukrainian battlefield than lightweight remote controlled drones and pierced him Mac tracks the commercial drones being brought in by volunteers from warehouses in the west to the front lines in the east. Our journey begins at a secret warehouse on the outskirts of lviv in western Ukraine. Bret for Locke vich, a former U.S. soldier who is now a drone technology expert is my guy. It definitely has a war zone vibe to it, of course. Tell me what you mean by that. When you look at this place, it looks like it's been through hell. I mean, this isn't some fancy warehouse in New York City or everything's perfectly clean and you have these massive operations like some Amazon store. Here in this dusty dimly lit space, volunteers sort to piles of equipment for the war effort. There are boots and uniforms, combat medical kits, including tourniquets and chest seals, and other humanitarian supplies. But arguably the most valuable equipment here are small commercial drones packed away in hard cases. Like this one here, worth about $10,000. This is a drone that has been authorized for export. So we are able to bring these overseas and actually provide them with thermal night vision technology that is authorized for them to use. Has brought over 200 drones into the country in the past two months. Everything from small handheld quadcopters that lift off up to drones that can do agricultural work or 3D imaging. Most of these drones are then moved from the relative safety of western Ukraine closer to the front lines. They will end up in the hands of someone like bogdan. Who I met with in the capital city of Kyiv. Bob Don, who has to go by his first name only due to the sensitivity of disposition, is an official in a S.W.A.T. like unit for the national police of Ukraine. He's a drone operator and trainer. My country is in danger. Michael unity need to be defended right now. So it's give me power. To protect my native land. The drones are useful precisely because of how versatile they are. They can be used by civilian authorities to inspect damage bridges and railways or to film areas damaged by fighting to help plan reconstruction. And they can be used to save lives, sent ahead of a humanitarian convoy to check for
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"I'm Becca Moore in Dallas. By the way, hundreds of flights have been canceled more than 18,000 residents have lost electricity. In Florida, attorneys representing the gunmen who killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school four years ago, are asking a jury to spare the defendant's life, and Pierre's Greg Allen reports defense lawyers are presenting evidence and testimony of what they say is Nicholas Cruz's impaired mental condition. Cruz is already pleaded guilty to 17 murders. The jury will decide on the sentence. Life in prison without parole or the death penalty. In a courtroom in Fort Lauderdale, defense attorneys began presenting evidence and testimony into convincing at least one juror to reject the death penalty. Cruise's lawyer, Melissa McNeil, detailed her client's troubled history. She began with his mother who abused drugs and alcohol when she was pregnant, leaving him with problems, McNeil attributed, to fetal alcohol syndrome. But his brain is broken Is it damage to human being? And that's why these things happen. The defense is making its case after weeks of graphic and emotional testimony from victims and others who describes cruises rampage through the school in 2018. Greg Allen and PR news Fort Lauderdale. So up to a jury to decide if two men are guilty of plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor in the fall of 2020, Michigan radio Steve carmody has been following the trial, the very Croft and Adam Fox on charges of conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. In closing arguments, prosecutors said the plot to kidnap governor Gretchen Whitmer was intended to set off a second American Civil War. Defense attorneys slammed the government's case and claimed the FBI focused on one of the men because of negative things he said about the agency. This is the second trial for Fox and Croft after a jury deadlocked earlier this year. Two defendants were acquitted, and two men had pleaded guilty in connection with the alleged kidnapping plot. Steve carmody reporting, its NPR. Job cuts are coming to Ford, the Dearborn Michigan automaker sent out a company-wide email today, to break the news that it is laying off 2000 full-time salary workers about 6% of its reports in the U.S. and Canada, as well as a thousand contract workers. The cuts affect white collar staff in the U.S., Canada, and India. For its 56,000 unionized employees reportedly are not affected. Tensions continue to rise between Serbia and the breakaway republic of Kosovo over Kosovo's intention to require ethnic Serbs to use Kosovo issued identity documents and license plates. Reports Serbia's president is calling on NATO peacekeeping forces station in Kosovo to intervene. Serbian president Alexander vucic says ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo are being persecuted and that NATO led troops must quote do their job to protect them. Otherwise vucic says Serbia is self will take action in the former province whose 2008 Declaration of Independence, his government doesn't recognize. Buttigieg and Kosovo prime minister Albin kurti were in Brussels last week for European Union brokered negotiations over new rules imposed by Kosovo requiring everyone living there to use identity documents and car license plates issued by Pristina authorities, Serbia imposes the same regulations on residents there coming from Kosovo. The talks failed to make progress, but are due to continue. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says NATO will intervene if violence erupts. For NPR news, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. On Wall Street, the NASDAQ is two and a half percent the Dow is down nearly 2%. You're listening
Newsradio 970 WFLA
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on Newsradio 970 WFLA
"A new motion revealed Friday, the Parkland school shooter's own defense psychologist is debunking claims that he hears voices telling him to kill. Doctor Heather Holmes, a forensic psychologist says in a deposition, she is 100% certain he is not psychotic and took it as a kind of nonsense. Meanwhile, the prosecutor Jeff Marcus is telling the court what they found on the shooter's social media post. It is quite full of hatred, references to Hitler and word in reference to killing people. Defense attorney, Melissa McNeil is trying to keep that out of the hearing. Police in coral gables planned to test a new drone technology over the Independence Day holiday. Police chief Ed hood says tomorrow two drones will go on test runs during the city's massive 4th of July holiday celebration, which takes place at the Biltmore hotel. More than 40,000 people are expected to attend, so there will be plenty of traffic and human activity for the drone to demonstrate its abilities. After the holiday, the department plans to use the drones to monitor incident situations and provide real-time feedback to responding officers even before they arrive at a scene. Florida is launching the purple alert to help find missing adults who suffer from cognitive or developmental disabilities. Beverly Marshall's 30 year old son Josh had a cognitive disability and had just moved to Port St. Lucie with his dad in 2018 when he left the house in the middle of the night and drowned in a nearby pond. He wandered around the streets, ended up at a 7 11 to store clerk seen him. Other people saw him, nobody helped. He was distraught. He was crying. He didn't have any shoes on his feet. And he was just lost. The boy's mother says if there were some sort of alert, Josh might have been recognized. She hopes her son's story helps prevent more deaths
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Farm worker foundation Thank you so much for being on the program Thank you Maria Jury selection is moving slowly for a man who murdered 17 people at a high school in Parkland Florida This is not a trial of her guilt or innocence because Nicholas Cruz has already pleaded guilty Instead it is a death penalty trial for the killings back in 2018 Now the defense wants a further delay because of the school shooting and uvalde Texas Here's NPR's Greg Allen In one motion Nicholas cruises lawyers ask that his trial be put on hold temporarily because of the wave of emotions surrounding the shootings and you valdi 19 students and two teachers were killed in an attack that bears similarities to what happened at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school four years ago Cruz's lawyers say Yuval di has quote opened old wounds in Broward county because of that they say they believe it's not possible for crews to get a fair trial now The judge and prosecutors haven't responded yet to the defense motion On Monday 6 weeks after it got underway joy selection in the cruise trial hit another snag Cruz's lead defense lawyer Melissa McNeil argued over the court's insistence that jury selection resume even though another defense lawyer a specialist in death penalty cases was out sick and not able to attend When the court insisted jury selection would resume nevertheless McNeil responded Judge at this time the defense would move to withdraw from the case of state of Florida versus Nicholas Cruz Judge Elizabeth scherer wouldn't let McNeill withdraw from the case McNeil said moving forward without a death penalty specialist in court would deny her client a fair trial I'm uncomfortable going forward without injection Well you're going to have to And my client furthermore my client Your client has the right to have a competent lawyer Your client's not have the right to have every lawyer There's no case that it says four or 5 lawyers have to be present at all times McNeil then asked Judd sherer to remove herself from the case saying she's biased against Cruz The judge refused It's the latest turmoil in a sentencing trial that has been plagued by a series of miscues and delays that have now left it uncertain.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"melissa mcneil" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"The industry then we have to think about what those pathways are going to be in order for them to continue sustaining their families in the communities They call home today You know in the age of climate change and are we going to have be having these same conversations year after year about drought and unemployment and fields that are follow and can't be used I mean what is the larger picture solution here I think the larger picture solution is the state the government has to figure out what value they want to place on agriculture And how many resources are they going to allocate to these areas like the central valley that are in need of resources to sustain these economies that were built on agriculture And I think as society we also start thinking if we want to continue growing the fresh fruits and vegetables in this nation or do we want to send them abroad and what does that mean for the individuals that made up the industry and that continue to work day to day to make sure that everybody has a fruit the fresh fruits and vegetables that they're at their tables You talked about the pressures on farm workers and their families If you could give me some examples of things people are dealing with as they have less and less work One of the major issues is rent relief This is affecting everybody The housing crisis is real in California It doesn't matter if you're in San Francisco LA or central California farm workers are being pressured in the market They can't afford to pay for rent in the state We also talk about child care We talk about the current inflation the gas the grocery store prices and then you couple that with the 40 hour workweek and farm workers are struggling just to keep their families intact So it's happening at a degree that we never seen before And I think 2022 was the year in which all these all these issues just compacted and are really affecting the life of the population that we serve Now you said 2022 is the worst that you've seen and it's the driest year on record but let's say this drought breaks next year It's a wet year Is that enough to fix the damage of this year's long drought in what people are struggling with No I don't think it's enough to fix the damage I do think it's only going to get worse with climate change But this drought is here and I don't see it going anywhere So we have to start thinking about what does policy look like in the future to help this population Hernan Hernandez is executive director of the California farm worker foundation Thank you so much for being on the program Thank you Jury selection is moving slowly for a man who murdered 17 people at a high school in Parkland Florida This is not a trial of her guilt or innocence because Nicholas Cruz has already pleaded guilty Instead it is a death penalty trial for the killings back in 2018 Now the defense wants a further delay because of the school shooting in Yuval Texas Here's NPR's Greg Allen In one motion Nicholas cruises lawyers asked that his trial be put on hold temporarily because of the wave of emotions surrounding the shootings and Yuval di 19 students and two teachers were killed in an attack that bear similarities to what happened at marjory Stoneman Douglas high school four years ago Cruz's lawyers say Yuval di has quote opened old wounds in Broward county because of that they say they believe it's not possible for crews to get a fair trial now The judge and prosecutors haven't responded yet to the defense motion On Monday 6 weeks after it got underway jury selection in the cruise trial hit another snag Cruises lead defense lawyer Melissa McNeil argued over the court's insistence that jury selection resumed even though another defense lawyer a specialist in death penalty cases was out sick and not able to attend When the court insisted jury selection would resume nevertheless McNeill responded Judge at this time the defense would move to withdraw from the case of state of board versus Nicholas Cruz Judge Elizabeth scherer wouldn't let McNeill withdraw from the case McNeil said moving forward without a death penalty specialist in court would deny her client a fair trial I'm uncomfortable going forward without a judge Well you're going to have to And my client furthermore my client Your client has the right to have a confident lawyer Your client's not have the right to have every lawyer There's no case that it says four or 5 lawyers have to be present at all times McNeil then asked Judd sherer to remove herself from the case saying she's biased against Cruz The judge refused It's the latest turmoil in the sentencing trial that has been plagued by a series of miscues and delays that have now left it uncertain when a.