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Minneapolis Promises Police Overhaul in Deal With Justice Department

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Minneapolis Promises Police Overhaul in Deal With Justice Department

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted on Monday to overhaul its police department to address a pattern of systemic abuses, as part of an agreement with the Department of Justice.

Lawyers from the Department of Justice and the city, where George Floyd was killed in 2020 by a police officer, have raced in recent weeks to finalize terms of the deal, known as a consent decree, before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office. The previous Trump administration opposed the use of consent decrees, and the fate of nearly a dozen other federal investigations into American police departments is uncertain.

Under the deal approved on Monday, the Minneapolis department promised to closely track and investigate allegations of police misconduct, rein in the use of force, and improve officer training.

“This agreement reflects what our community has asked for and what we know is necessary: real accountability and meaningful change,” Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said in a statement.

Federal oversight, the strongest tool available to overhaul police departments with histories of abuse, begins with an exhaustive civil rights investigation and a report of findings. Cities then usually agree to negotiate a consent decree, a court-enforced oversight agreement, in order to avoid a federal lawsuit.

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The Minneapolis decree was set in motion in the summer of 2023 after the Department of Justice issued a report accusing the city’s police department of routinely discriminating against Black and Native American residents, of needlessly using deadly force and of violating the First Amendment rights of protesters and journalists. The Minneapolis police union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

City officials and lawyers from the Justice Department said they intended to present the deal to a federal judge, who will be responsible for overseeing its implementation.

During Mr. Trump’s first term in the White House, the Justice Department rejected such decrees, coming out in opposition to deals in Chicago and Baltimore and refraining from entering new ones. More recently, during a campaign rally last year, Mr. Trump said that in order to crack down on crime, the police should be allowed to be “extraordinarily rough,” and he spoke about the possibility of letting officers loose from constraints during “one really violent day.”

Officials in Minneapolis said they would remain committed to lasting change in the city’s police department, even if the Trump administration were to walk away from federal consent decrees. Several months before the Department of Justice report was issued, the city agreed to a policing overhaul as part of an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

Minneapolis set aside $27 million in its 2024 and 2025 budgets to pay for changes in response to the state and federal investigations. The city also paid $27 million to Mr. Floyd’s family in 2021 to settle their wrongful death lawsuit.

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Consent decrees were pursued aggressively under President Barack Obama, whose administration entered into 15 of the decrees in a time of a growing public outcry over police abuses.

After Mr. Trump’s administration steered away from such decrees, the Justice Department under the Biden administration sought to bring them back, launching a dozen civil rights investigations into police departments.

But the Biden administration has been slow to bring those efforts to a resolution, in some cases letting years elapse. The Justice Department’s civil rights division has released a flurry of investigative findings in recent weeks, covering cities like Memphis, where the department found excessive force and racial discrimination; Mount Vernon, N.Y., where it found illegal arrests and strip searches; and Oklahoma City, where it found chronic mistreatment of people with behavioral disabilities by the police.

Some cities, like Memphis and Phoenix, which was the subject of an investigation after an extraordinarily high number of shootings by the police, have balked at entering into oversight agreements. The agreements usually call for changes in a number of aspects of a police department’s operations, training, policies and discipline, and can take a decade to complete.

The Biden administration is currently enforcing 15 consent decrees reached under previous administrations, but has completed only one other new one besides Minneapolis, in Louisville, Ky.

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Those agreements and the department’s remaining investigations will be handed over to the Trump administration.

Devlin Barrett contributed reporting.

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6 injured in stabbing at New York’s Penn Station | CNN

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6 injured in stabbing at New York’s Penn Station | CNN


New York — 

Six people were injured in a stabbing at New York’s Penn Station Sunday evening, raising security concerns a day before the city is set to host the NBA Finals – with President Donald Trump in attendance.

The attack comes amid heightened security around Madison Square Garden, which lies directly above the busy intercity railroad station, where the New York Knicks are hosting the San Antonio Spurs for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday.

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The New York City Fire Department said it received a call around 7 p.m. reporting multiple people stabbed at West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, one entrance to Penn Station.

One person suffered serious injuries, four others have moderate or minor injuries, according to the fire department. Those five were taken to Bellevue Hospital, and none of the injuries are life-threatening, another law enforcement official said. A sixth victim was taken to another hospital, a spokesperson for the fire department told CNN, without disclosing the person’s condition.

A suspect is in custody, according to a law enforcement official, who noted the suspect may be unhoused.

This is the first time the NBA Finals are coming to Madison Square Garden since 1999. Extra deployments, additional monitoring of cameras, more intelligence sharing and even drone deployments are part of an aggressive, proactive approach in an elevated threat environment, officials say.

Federal authorities had also already been working to implement a detailed security plan in anticipation of Trump’s appearance Monday at Game 3.

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Penn Station is a main connecting point for city subway trains, passenger rail to New Jersey and Long Island, and the city’s Amtrak station.

Amtrak police responded to the stabbing, the company’s communications director told CNN, and an investigation is underway.

There is no impact on Amtrak service, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.

“My heart is with everyone who was injured, their loved ones, and all those shaken by this unacceptable violence. I’m wishing each of the victims a full and speedy recovery,” Mamdani said.

“I’m grateful to the Amtrak Police Department and the first responders who acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and provide emergency care,” he added.

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This story has been updated with additional information.

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Map: 3.6-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area

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Map: 3.6-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area

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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

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A minor, 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 8:37 a.m. Pacific time about 1 mile southwest of Alamo, Calif., data from the agency shows.

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As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks detected

Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

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Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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When quakes and aftershocks occurred

 All times are Pacific time. The New York Times

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Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 11:42 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 5:07 p.m. Eastern.

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Police search for suspects in Ohio shooting that wounded 12 near a street festival

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Police search for suspects in Ohio shooting that wounded 12 near a street festival

The Agnes Reynolds Jackson Arboretum is shown where multiple people were shot at a community festival Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Toledo, Ohio.

Paul Sancya/AP


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Paul Sancya/AP

Police still had no suspects in custody Sunday after a weekend shooting near an Ohio street festival wounded 12 people and sent attendees scrambling for cover in a busy Toledo neighborhood.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons on Saturday near the Old West End Festival and were “probably shooting at each other.”

Authorities say a search for the the shooters was ongoing and had not identified any potential suspects. They urged festivalgoers to come forward with any photos or videos.

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“As far as violence, this is over the top, right?” Toledo police Lt. Dan Gerken said. “Twelve people being shot, that’s the most I’ve been to a scene. I’ve been to a lot of scenes, but this is way over the top.”

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping.

The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue.”

“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

Two of the victims were in critical condition on Saturday, Heffernan said. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

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Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

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Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo.

“And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it,” Kral said.

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