ApiJect gets Trump contract for items not made yet (corp based in Stamford, CT) per the link to the NBC article.
I used to live in Connecticut- can I get a multi-million dollar contract to not build something?
The amount of waste and grift from the Trump administration is truly mind-boggling. I can't imagine it will ever be uncovered.

I'm pretty sure that deep down inside, O.J. Simpson knows that O.J. Simpson DESERVES to be convicted, too.

@3 Maybe so.
But the prosecution gets ONE chance to convict.
And if they fail, too damn bad. For all the decades-long screaming about O J, the system worked as designed.

It’s weird how unsatisfying the guilty verdict is, even though it was nauseating that it could’ve gone either way.

I’ve lost count of the number of people murdered by police since George Floyd was killed, seems like it was three in just the last week, so the fact that nothing has changed is just exhausting.

And then there's the daily mass murders.

@9 - oh please

@6 "what is the cop supposed to do?"

I dunno, somehow they find ways to take white mass shooters alive.

This is just another reason why more people being armed does not make things safer. If there is a chaotic scene of violence between bad guys with guns and good guys with guns trying to stop them, when the police show up do you really trust them to quickly figure out which person may actually be trying to defend themselves or others? No way. They are just going to start blasting.

@12: Yes, the police are human beings, just like you and me. They come from all walks of life, men and women, LGBT, all religions. Most become police out of sense to make the world a better and safer place.

Nothing is systemic. Every person is an individual starting off with a clean slate, but some will do evil, such as Derek Chauvin.

Most police in a chaotic situation will try to do their best depending on their training and psychological disposition.

Your stereotype is no more valid than mine.

I really don't know what to say or do about people who are going to refuse to get vaccinated. I have a number of friends and family who are convinced Covid is not a big deal and don't see the need to get vaccinated and you can't force them. At some point in the near future when vaccines are readily available and people can get an appt of their choosing ala the flu shot, we need to just reopen society and if you choose to not get vaccinated that is on you. The rest of us can't be held hostage because you are obstinate.

@11 - Yeah, when those white mass shooters meekly surrender upon cops' arrival, they do take them alive; that's true. Notsamuch when the white mass shooters are still mass shooting...

@4 - don't disagree. The prosecution in that trial was a cavalcade of incompetence. That stunt with having him try on the gloves was the stupidest thing they possibly could have done. And filing the case in an area where the population was much more African American than the district where the murders took place (and where OJ was a hero to the population) surely didn't help. But the tate gets to put up its case, you get to put on your defense, and if the state can't prove its case, that's it.

However, I seriously doubt that OJ gets up in the AM certain in the knowledge that he did not do the stabbings, and I bet he spends a very small portion of his time worrying about who the "real killers" might be. He's one of the people who make me kinda wish I believed in Hell.

Every person who does not get vaccinated simply makes this horror show go on and on and on and on and on. It will literally never be over because of the deniers and the anti-vaxxers. And the rest of us have to just live with it. It's just like the gun nuts. We have a 50/50 chance of being shot and killed by some asshole (even a cop) with a gun whenever we leave the house and go anywhere or do anything and we're going to have a chance (not 50/50 if vaccinated) of being exposed to or infected by someone with COVID because of denial and anti-vaxxer populations. And the people most vulnerable, as always, will suffer the greatest risk of exposure and the greatest risk of death and that's just all supposed to be a-fucking-okay because this country always chooses freeDUMB over everything else.

If the rest of the world had any sense it would cut itself off from the U.S. completely because we are too stupid and too violent and we need them a hell of a lot more than they need us at this point in time.

@24 - Unfortunately, single patrol officers, what we called "1-mans" are by far the rule in US policing rather than the exception. It's due to money, of course; to keep the same level of service with acceptable response times would mean drastically increasing the size of police departments if they were all to go to all "2-man." So much for defunding.

In Dallas, we tried to maintain a ratio of 1/3 2-mans to 2/3 1-mans in Patrol. Most big cities are similar, but in medium-sized and smaller cities, the only 2-mans are almost always Field Training Officers and their rookies.

Most officers would prefer a partner, however, as it is indisputably safer, both for them and for the public. Many studies over the years find that people resist arrest less often when more officers are present. Less resisting means less use of force.

That said, I doubt a 2-man...or a 4-man or whatever...would have made a difference in this shooting. If a person is in the act of committing an attempted murder with a deadly weapon upon officers' arrival, things will almost certainly end badly for them no matter how many cops jump out of that car. Still, this one exception doesn't disprove the rule that more officers are better when it comes to preventing use of force.

As to this shooting, I'm not sure what could have prevented it. You cannot let the assailant stab her intended victim, you simply cannot. That's a non-starter. A taser would have been worthless in this situation, as they usually are at any distance beyond about 10 feet. A shotgun firing a beanbag would have been good, but few officers have those, and it would have had to have been in hand immediately.

Charging her with a baton is too dangerous and likely too late for her intended victim. I'm one who definitely believes the cops shoot people armed only with knives way, way too often, but on rare occasions it is necessary. This is one of those rare occasions in my opinion.

I tried to get my shot. I signed up for the UW appointment waiting list. About a week later they texted me a link that didn't work and a phone number that disconnected me after 30 minutes on hold. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had this experience.

I still fully intend to get vaccinated, but now I think I'll wait until there's enough supply so that anyone can just walk into a clinic whenever, no appointments, no hassles. Then we can make with the judgments toward those who are still holding out.

MarciaX @29, just saw your message. A friend and I both got vaccinated today. We got our appointments easily. Our trick? We fanned out to more rural areas. Make covidwa.com your starting point and search for somewhere outside Seattle-Bellevue core. Farther away the better, but doesn't have to be SO far away.

I have been fully vaccinated through the VA. I got my second of two Pfizer jabs on Saturday, April 10, 2021. Veterans of all ages are eligible (I'm over 55). For VA benefits, call 1 (800)-827-1000;
Also for VA health benefits and vaccine locations, and schedule appointments, call 1 (888) 222-8387, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 pm, excluding federal holidays. To find the nearest VA medical center to get your vaccinations, visit the VA online at va.gov

@28 just to add to this, a second officer pulled up about 1 second after the first and was still 10-15 ft away when shots were fired.

Clearly the fault of the girl in pink. The cop could have resolved the situation if he had just tossed her a knife.
But seriously, who arms themselves with a small dog for a knife fight? Did she think the other girl was going to drop her knife because she dropped her dog?

I'm with Morty @28 with regard to justification in this shooting. When one person is in the act of trying to perforate another, unarmed person's body with a large knife, the first person needs to be stopped ASAP and by any means necessary. Now, this doesn't change the fact that lots of other police officers have gotten away with murder, which should go without saying.

@28: "Unfortunately, single patrol officers, what we called "1-mans" are by far the rule in US policing rather than the exception. It's due to money, of course; to keep the same level of service with acceptable response times would mean drastically increasing the size of police departments if they were all to go to all "2-man." So much for defunding."

I think the answer to both safety and over policing (what some call defunding) is to not have a system that favors enforcement of bike helmet laws and poverty crimes over troubled teenagers attacking another person with a knife. When we stop sending 4 cops milking the overtime system to conduct a simple welfare check gone wrong:

Seattle police welfare check turns into ordeal as man, 74, is held at gunpoint in his own home
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/welfare-check-by-spd-turns-into-ordeal-for-74-year-old-retiree-who-was-handcuffed-held-at-gunpoint-in-own-home/

Just a thought, but what if we pull one cop of this life and death welfare check of a 74 year old retire and retire one more. That leaves 2 police officers for both the welfare check and the knife wielding teenager with a reduction in force as well.

Granted, it means not having 6 cops standing around asking a homeless person questions until they get an answer that justifies probable cause for the search they want as I see so frequently in Seattle, but perhaps a mission like that doesn't require an entire squad anyway.

Most people intuitively understand this. I'm uncertain why it has been so difficult to explain tot he police.

A 13 year old girl just murdered another girl, with a knife, in Ohio.
Teenage girls can be relentless and terrifying, lest you have all forgotten middle and high school.
Do you shoot, or do you let some people get slashed across the neck and bleed-out then take the ensuing shit-storm from that? "that cop was right there he coulda stopped that girl from stabbing the other to death!"

@5: Having a judge order Seattle to conduct an audit of the money it has spent on homelessness would have at least three immediate outcomes:

(1) Dozens of otherwise ragged-looking persons, wearing immaculate red CM Sawant T-Shirts, occupy the judge's courtroom, yelling "STOP THE AUDITS!";

(2) Late at night, fires swiftly gut the offices of SHARE, LIHI, and DESC;

(3) Seattle City Council passes resolutions, celebrating the spontaneous people power of (1), and declaring (2) to be totally not suspicious, no way, unh-hunh, no backsies.