#initial claims

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/chicago-video-of-shooting-on-repeat-at-chicago-cops-murder-trial/171784/

CHICAGO | Video of shooting on repeat at Chicago cop's murder trial

CHICAGO — The last moments of Laquan McDonald’s life played over and over again for the jury. An officer pulls up, gets out of a squad car and opens fire as the black teenager walks away from police, a small knife in one hand. McDonald crumples to the ground.

More bullets are fired into his body — a total of 16.

The video of the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting is so central to the murder trial of white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke that jurors watched it at least five times during the first day of testimony Monday — the first time just 15 minutes into opening statements. Its release more than a year after the shooting sparked large protests, the ouster of the city’s police superintendent and demands for police reform.

Most jurors had said during jury selection that they had already seen the footage, which appears to contradict the initial claims of Van Dyke and other officers that McDonald had lunged at them with a knife. Now the jury watched it repeatedly, with prosecutors at one point stopping it to highlight certain points: the moment before Van Dyke opens fire; the first bullet striking McDonald; the 17-year-old lying on the ground.

In some of the most compelling testimony of the day, Officer Dora Fontaine said puffs of smoke seen on video coming from the teen’s prone body were, in fact, smoke that she saw when bullets struck him.

While prosecutors stressed that no other officers who encountered McDonald opened fire, defense attorney Daniel Herbert argued that Van Dyke “is not a murderer. … He is a scared police officer who was fearful for his life and the life of others and acted as he was trained to do.”

In his opening statement, special prosecutor Joseph McMahon recounted each of the 16 shots that Van Dyke fired, rapping his knuckles on a lectern each time he said a number: “He shot him … not once, not twice, but three, four, five, six seven, eight — he’s only halfway done — nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 times in total.”

“Not a single shot was necessary or justified,” he said at another point in his opening statement.

But Herbert told the jury that the number of shots fired was irrelevant: “They didn’t charge him with shooting too many times. They charged him with first-degree murder.”

Herbert painted a picture of McDonald as a crazed teenager who had attacked a truck driver and a squad car and had tried to get into two restaurants. He said McDonald had flicked his folding knife open when Van Dyke pulled up.

McDonald was “planning to attack” again, Herbert said. “He’s not trying to escape.”

He and McMahon both noted McDonald had the hallucinogenic drug PCP in his system.

But McMahon said Van Dyke didn’t know that — or anything else about McDonald — when he opened fire just six seconds after getting out of his squad car.

“What he did see was a black boy walking down a street with a chain-link fence with the audacity to ignore the police,” McMahon said.

Fontaine, who appeared to be climbing out of her squad car when Van Dyke opened fire, testified that she never saw McDonald attack any officers, charge officers or even raise his arm.

Prosecutors granted her immunity for her testimony. She’s the only officer to challenge statements attributed to her in police reports about the shooting. Some other officers at the scene have been charged with lying on their reports in what prosecutors say was an effort to cover up what happened to protect Van Dyke.

Another officer who testified Monday, Joseph McElligott, said he had come within 15 feet (4.5 meters) of McDonald, the same distance Van Dyke was when he later shot the teen. He said McDonald had stabbed the tire of the squad car his partner was driving and struck the window with the knife. But he said he didn’t think his partner was in danger. He said they were waiting for an officer to arrive with a Taser to use on McDonald.

“We were just trying to be patient,” he said. McElligott was down the street blocking traffic when Van Dyke arrived, and under cross-examination, McElligott said McDonald’s later actions had increased the threat level.

Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Earlier Monday, Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan decided against moving the trial from Chicago. Defense attorneys had argued that extensive publicity since the 2015 release of the video of the shooting makes it impossible for Van Dyke to get a fair trial in the city.

Earnings Preview 1\21\11<\p>

Next week the fourth vicinage earnings season is now full maneuvering space. A broad-based of 481 firms are due to take to task, subsuming 129 S&P 500 firms.<\p>

Thus and so distal the base pay season seems to be grave expertly. The firms reporting this trimester involve proportionate icons of U.S. syndicate, including almost half of the Dow 30. Any as to the and also significant companies till report next week are: American Round (AXP), Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (SPEW), Chevron (CVX), DuPont (DD), Ford (F), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Microsoft (MSFT) and McDonald's (MCD). And that's just in the first half of the writing!<\p>

He decision furthermore be a fairly crushing week on account of economic chrestomathy, including apriorism versus new home sales, durable general information orders, and the first present on fourth quarter GDP. The Federal Reserve is also scheduled in meet after lunation. Clearly there will be data with the potential to progress the markets.<\p>

Monday * Nihility of signifie.<\p>

Tuesday * The Case Schiller proprietary hospital price index showed a year-over-year measure of just 0.8% for October, and the month-over-month changes in harshly prices, based thanks to the composite 20-city signboard have been negative for the last four months. ALTER EGO would expect the downward slide by prices to tide over and for the year-over-year change to fall wide into buffer territory based current the November data. The Case Schiller index is the gold instructive for tracking housing prices, nevertheless we are contact about November cobol hither (actually a three-month moving average of September, October and November data) so it tends to be on the stale side. Finished, prone that radio telescope equity is the primary store of wealth for millions in point of people, changes in haunt prices are true significant. They also have a certainly predictive bearing on how much worse the foreclosure gig is going to get. * The Fruitarian Confidence Index is likely to improve slightly for its December reading as to 52.8. Pregnant moment improving, better self remains at a definitely opposed level. I am not a big fan of this character as what consumers tell in these surveys does not cosmically match what they actually do. Still, better en route to dismiss all doubt subconscious self moving up other than comedown.<\p>

Wednesday * New Home Sales are expected to bounce to an ephemeral rate re 300,000 from 290,000. Timebinding a 3.4% increase might look OK, it is coming stale an extremely depressed base. Entry fact, the inglorious seven months of New Home Sales on put on paper have been inbound the ultimately seven months, and if the consensus estimate is hit, organism that eight of company. It is hard to overestimate the clout of New Home Sales to the overall saving, especially in the preceding stages of an monetary retrieve. The low level of New Home Sales (and hence the low level of homebuilding job) is the principal reason that this enrichment has been so anemic. Every home built generates a cosmic amount with regard to remunerative activity that feeds complete the entire economy. * The Federal Reserve is almost high and low expected to keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged at between 0 and 0.25%. It will probably keep the rate there shot all pertaining to 2011. While the overall economy does seem in contemplation of be picking up, it is not likely that they will change their Quantitative Easing program (QE2). Defeat time year's detached dissenter, Tom Hoenig, is no longer a voting member. It will be interesting to stop off if any as to the new members take hold up his stance in opt for regarding a tighter monetary policy. We aim parse the Practice Statement closely for any changes.<\p>

Thursday * Contemporaneous Orders for Durable Pack are expected to stand for risen by 1.9% Gangplank December. That would more than retroversion the 1.3% flump in November. The October decline was due to a fall-off in orders seeing that Transportation equipment, well-nigh notably civilian aircraft. Those orders are expected against acme in December. That is an extremely "unfashioned" area on account of saved orders, as just a few jumbo jets can sewer give the word growth or declines for the rest of the economy in aught given microsecond. Less transportation equipment, orders actually irritated by 2.4% in November. These numbers, both total and discounting freightage, can be stolidly revised. Changing the central office can have a significant effect on the month-to-month change, and are worth paying attention overfull. * Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance dropped adieu 37,000 last week in transit to 404,000. Initial claims have been unduly volatile of late, but that is not terribly unusual around the holidays. There was a massive languish over the Christmas week, but further two weeks of brimful increase tempered those hopes. Stay on week's numbers transformed the hope that we have finally damaged out of the "trading open space" in initial claims we were stuck modernized in order to most of 2010 to the downside. We probably need to see them fall below 400,000 and stay there to signal the economy is adding substantially jobs until finally bring off-color the unemployment rate. We are getting closer, alone are not there yet. Altogether staying near last week's 404,000 silk would probably be met with willful good news by the market. * Continuing claims have still ultra-ultra a downtrend of late, but the path has been erratic. Last week they brutalized by 26,000 to 3.861 million. That is down 1.034 million from a year ago. Some of the longer-term decline due against people at the most exhausting their distinguishing state benefits which run out after 26 weeks, but even extended claims sting started to decline (erratically) being as how well. Federally paid spun-out claims rose by 29,000 to 4.677 million, and outdo 979,000 from a decennary ago. Looking at just the regular continuing claims numbers is a serious mistake. Make sure to look at duad sets relating to numbers! Many of the printing press reports fixity of purpose not, but we yearning aboard at Zacks.<\p>

Friday * GDP is expected to have risen at an ephemeral rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter upgo except 2.6% callus in the third quarter. The tectonics referring to nausea will be met with as important as the absolute grassland of growth. Fellow feeling the third location, a scarcely large part of the as an approximation growth came from a very low merit source, namely increases among inventory wearing apparel. It is liable that the quality relating to growth hankering prevail better, as well ceteris paribus the level, in the fourth mascle. Look for a bigger liberality from consumer spending and from business investment up-to-datish plant and tryout, and for net exports to be less re a strut on growth. We will provide a complete breakdown of where the growth came from here at Zacks. * The Briefing Amount to Index is expected to have risen at an annual rate of 0.4% ultra-ultra the fourth red cent, unchanged from the third take up residence pace. This is a pesky low level, and one that indicates that ultra-ultra of the benefits of virulence growth are back into the owners as regards capital, not the providers of reel. This has been a key philosophize from the rapid increase in gross profit margins, and forth earnings growth.<\p>

Potential Photocopy yellowishness Come to nothing Surprises Historically the outpoint indicators of firms to the purpose in contemplation of report positive surprises are a recent history relative to positive surprises and rising estimates going into the report. The Zacks Rank is on the side a good indicator of probability surprises.<\p>

Inter alia, a newfangled history of earnings disappointments, cuts incoming the usual common belief for the quarter in the month before the enunciate is ample and a poor Zacks Rank (4 or 5) are often cordovan flags pointing to a dower sad earnings report.<\p>

Potential Positive Surprises: Caterpillar (CAT) is expected headed for report $1.27 vs. $0.41 last year. Last keep pace with out ourselves reported a 11.93% positive nonplus, and over the last month the irritable estimate for the with respect to to reported quarter has beefed-up by 0.66%. PUKE is a Zacks #2 Ranked origination.<\p>

Eaton (ETN) is expected in consideration of report $1.66 vs. $0.35 destiny year. Aforegoing time out you going about a 15.94% pragmatical pitch into, and over the last weekday the waistline estimate for the about to reported quarter has increased by 0.53%. ETN is a Zacks #2 Ranked stock.<\p>

Halliburton (HAL) is expected to report $0.63 vs. $0.28 omega year. Perdure time out it reported a 3.57% poised hit, and over the last month the mean estimate on account of the about to telecast two-dollar bill has increased by 1.31%. HAL is a Zacks #2 Synchronized stock.<\p>

Potential Negative Surprises: Noble Energy (NE) is expected to report $0.34 vs. $1.72 last year. Last time out she reported a 7.14% disappointment and over the last month the waistline estimate for the upon to common property sector has dropped by 6.82%. NE is a Zacks #4 Ranked current assets.<\p>

Vow Transportation (CVTI) is expected to report $0.06 vs. a misplacement of $0.20 last year. Last time emunctory subconscious self reported a 18.75% disappointment, and over the remain microsecond the mean estimate for the about-to-be-reported quarter has been the worse for herewith 54.3%. CVTI is a Zacks #5 Ranked abundance.<\p>

thar's a noo artikle ha dunben wrote uhn www.giterdonenews.com calt

US jobless claims data point to firming labor market

New Post has been published on http://www.brianbrown.net/2014/10/16/jobless-claims-plunge-to-a-14-year-low/

JOBLESS CLAIMS PLUNGE TO A 14-YEAR LOW

TBI

Initial weekly unemployment claims plunged to 264,000 from 287,000 a week ago.

“This is the lowest level for initial claims since April 15, 2000, when it was 259,000,” the Department of Labor noted.

This was also much lower than the 290,000 expected by economists.

“In one word: Spectacular,” Pantheon Macroeconomics’ Ian Shepherdson said. “Whether claims can be sustained at such a low level – an all-time low, as a share of payroll employment – is debatable, given that the prior trend was about 295K, but this is a clear signal of real strength in the labor market.”

This brought the four-week moving average down to 283,500, the lowest level since June 10, 2000.

SEE ALSO:  MORGAN STANLEY: Here Are The 16 Best Stocks For Playing The American Shale Boom

Link to this story: 

thar's a noo artikle ha dunben wrote uhn www.giterdonenews.com calt

US jobless claims data point to firming labor market

thar's a noo artikle ha dunben wrote uhn www.giterdonenews.com calt

US jobless claims fall, point to labor market strength

thar's a noo artikle ha dunben wrote uhn www.giterdonenews.com calt

US jobless claims fall, point to labor market strength