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Erie County, N.Y., district attorney John Flynn said Thursday that a grand jury proceeding has cleared two police officers accused of assaulting a 75-year-old protester last summer.

The incident occurred in Buffalo on June 4 during a Black Lives Matter demonstration.

Officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe were captured on cell phone video shoving Martin Gugino to the ground.

Gugino cracked his skull on the pavement and sustained a brain injury, spending a month in hospital. Image of the confrontation went viral.

Speaking at a press conference, Flynn maintained that the assault warranted the felony charges that he filed.
"The video speaks for itself," Flynn said. "If the individual victim is 65 years or older and the perpetrators are 10 years younger, then it reaches that felony level."

The grand jury proceedings were held in secret and Flynn said he was unable to offer any insight into what evidence he presented or why the charges were dismissed.

He predicted that some members of the Buffalo community would accuse him of not prosecuting the case aggressively enough.

"I'm going to get that criticism, no doubt about it," Flynn said. "I'm telling you I sandbagged nothing. I put all relevant evidence into that grand jury."

The union that represents officers McCabe and Torgalski issued a statement praising the decision, saying the men were "following departmental procedures."

The two officers are not expected to face further charges.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized the mobilization of the state's National Guard. The move comes as officials brace for another potential round of unrest ahead of an anticipated decision over whether to charge a white police officer in the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.

The Wisconsin city was the scene of several weeks of protests that turned violent following the Aug. 23 shooting of Blake by Kenosha police Officer Rusten Sheskey, who is white.

Evers, a Democrat, said in a statement Mondaythat local authorities requested the assistance. About 500 Wisconsin National Guard troops were called to active duty this week to assist local law enforcement.

"We are continuing to work with our local partners in the Kenosha area to ensure they have the state support they need, just as we have in the past," Evers said.

"Our members of the National Guard will be on hand to support local first responders, ensure Kenoshans are able to assemble safely, and to protect critical infrastructure as necessary," he added.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley has notified city officials that a decision on whether charges will be filed against the officer are expected in the first two weeks of January.

The activation of the Wisconsin Guard comes on the heels of Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian and police Chief Daniel Miskinis announcing what they called "precautionary community safety measures" designed to keep the public and demonstrators safe and guard against "unlawful activity."

Some of the safety protocols city officials are considering include a designation of demonstration space, curbing some city bus routes, road closures, protective fencing and a curfew.

Blake, who is Black, was shot multiple times in the back at close range after he slowly walked away from officers and toward the driver's side of a parked vehicle, opened the door and leaned inside. Investigators later said a knife was recovered from the floorboard of the driver's side.

Blake was left paralyzed by the shooting.

The encounter was captured by an onlooker on cellphone video and posted online where it went viral, sparking outrage.

"We want justice and healing for Jacob Blake, the Blake family, and our Kenosha community," said Tanya McLean, executive director of the grassroots organization Leaders of Kenosha, which renewed calls Monday for Sheskey to be arrested and face criminal charges.

"Officer Sheskey fired seven shots into an unarmed man's back, on a block where our children walk to school and our families go to church," she continued, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. "All of us Black, white, brown, native and newcomer deserve to be safe in our own neighborhoods, and that means holding police officers accountable when they brutalize us."

Blake's shooting took place nearly three months after viral video was posted to social media capturing the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. That shooting also triggered widespread demonstrations in Minnesota and throughout the country as protesters called for an end to social injustice and for police reform.

Days after the Blake shooting and amid ongoing unrest in Kenosha, an Antioch, Ill., minor was captured on video Aug. 25 armed with a long gun when he allegedly shot three men: Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, who were killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz, who was seriously wounded.

The suspect, Kyle Rittenhouse, is out on $2 million bail and faces several charges, including first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

Biden made his first public comments today in response to an ongoing campaign by progressive Democrats and consumer advocates to convince the President-Elect to enact sweeping student loan forgiveness.

Speaking candidly to The Washington Post and others in the media about the challenges he will face in January and the limitations of his executive power, Biden said, Im going to get in trouble for saying this . . . its arguable that the president may have the executive power to forgive up to $50,000 in student debt... Well, I think thats pretty questionable. Im unsure of that. Id be unlikely to do that.

Earlier in the day, Biden had reaffirmed his general support for broad student loan forgiveness, but suggested that he would support a smaller amount of $10,000.

Last week, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other House Democrats introduced a resolution calling on Biden to cancel $50,000 in federal student loan debt for every borrower using executive authority. Senate Democrats, led by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, had introduced a similar resolution earlier in the year.

A diverse coalition of 237 civil rights and consumer protection organizations, including the NAACP and several national labor unions, sent a letter to Biden in November, urging him to use executive authority to cancel federal student debt when he assumes office in January.

President-Elect Biden can and should cancel student debt on Day One of his presidency, said Ashley Harrington, federal advocacy director and senior counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, at the time.

The organizations, and several Democrats in Congress, have argued that the Higher Education Act provides the President with broad authority release borrowers from their student loans. Some student loan legal experts have argued that using this provision to cancel student loan debt is legally sound. But others have expressed concern that such executive action could face serious legal challenges as an overreach of executive authority.

Forgiving $10,000 in student loans would eliminate all outstanding student loans for over 16 million people, or a third of all current student loan borrowers. That level of student loan forgiveness would also reduce the balances of another 9.3 million people by half. Ultimately, over 50% of outstanding student loan borrowers could see significant relief with just $10,000 in student debt cancellation.

Nevertheless, Bidens comments will disappoint Warren and other consumer rights advocates who have been pushing for broader student loan relief. Warren had also proposed $50,000 in broad student loan forgiveness during her own presidential run, and noted that this level of student debt cancellation could significantly benefit nearly 95% of borrowers.

Student borrower advocacy organizations are not giving up and believe Biden is still persuadable, particularly in light of the recent announcement of his nominee for Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.

We know that hope is not enough, said Natalia Abrams, executive director of Student Debt Crisis, earlier today.
We will work tirelessly to ensure that Secretary Cardona uses his power and legal authority to cancel student debt on Day One.

WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) Pfizer will supply the U.S. with 100 million additional doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by July next year, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.

The agreement brings the total number of Pfizer doses to be delivered to the United States to 200 million, allowing for 100 million people to be vaccinated.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30, with the balance of the 100 million doses to be delivered no later than July 31, the company said.

The U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion for the additional 100 million doses, bringing the total paid to Pfizer to nearly $4 billion.

The government already has a deal with Pfizer for 100 million doses of the vaccine, which are being rolled out across the country after the shot won emergency use authorization earlier this month.

Pfizers vaccine was the first to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration and initial shipments went to states last week. It has now been joined by a vaccine from Moderna, which was developed in closer cooperation with scientists from the National Institutes of Health.

Modernas vaccine comes under the umbrella of the governments own effort, which is called Operation Warp Speed. That public-private endeavor was designed to have millions of vaccine doses ready and available to ship once a shot received FDA approval.

But another deal with Pfizer moves the nation closer to the goal of vaccinating all Americans.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said last week that the government was negotiating with Pfizer for more doses, but new details were revealed Tuesday about the companys desire for better access to supplies.

The vaccine from Pfizer and German pharmaceutical BioNTech immediately raised hopes of taming a pandemic that has killed nearly 320,000 people in the U.S. and hobbled much of the national economy. Health care workers and nursing home residents topped the list as local TV stations across the country began broadcasting scenes of the first vaccinations. Some polls show skepticism about getting vaccinated may be easing.

After early failures with testing, Trump administration officials are hoping to write a very different ending with vaccines. Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one.

Operation Warp Speed is on track to have about 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of this month, of which about 20 million would be allocated for first vaccinations. Distribution of those doses would span into the first week of January. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots to be fully effective.

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