NY Yankees star Aaron Hicks to sit out baseball game due to the shooting of Daunte Wright

Aaron Hicks approached manager Aaron Boone on Monday afternoon, and told him that he didn’t want to play on Monday night in the New York Yankees’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hicks, who was set to bat sixth in the lineup in Florida, made the decision to sit out in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota on Sunday.

“I would say that Aaron is hurting in a huge way,” Boone said via SNY. “I think in a way felt like it was probably the responsible thing to take himself out and knowing that it was going to be hard for him to be all in mentally in what’s a high stake, difficult job to go out there and perform for the New York Yankees.”

Though the Yankees may miss him Monday night, Boone said he wasn’t bothered by Hicks’ decision.

“I don’t really even give two thoughts to that,” Boone said, via SNY. “My consideration is with Aaron and his well being and making sure as best we can we support him and try to be there as best we can for him right now. This is something in the immediate that’s real emotion that he’s feeling, and right now I’m going to support that.”

NBA postpones Nets-Timberwolves game due to the shooting of Daunte Wright

The NBA released the following statement on the postponement of the Nets-Timberwolves game due to the shooting of Daunte Wright:

The National Basketball Association announced today that in light of the tragic events in the Minneapolis area yesterday, tonight’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center has been postponed. The decision to postpone was made by the NBA after consultation with the Timberwolves organization and local and state officials.

Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Daunte Wright during this difficult time.

The Timberwolves and the minnesota Lynx also released a statement on the shooting of Daunte Wright:

pic.twitter.com/zJMX8kh9rt

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 12, 2021

Virginia police officer who pepper-sprayed Afro-Latino Army officer fired

Joe Gutierrez, a Windsor, Va., police officer who pepper-sprayed an Afro-Latino Army officer during a traffic stop last year has been fired according to a statement released by the Windsor Police Department.

Read the full statement below:

The Town of Windsor, Virginia, acknowledges the unfortunate events that transpired on December 5, 2020 involving Lt. Caron Nazario and officers of the Windsor Police Department, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker.

The pursuit and ultimate stop resulted in the use of pepper spray against Lt. Nazario by Officer Gutierrez. As a result of this use of force, Department policy requires an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of such actions. The investigation of this event began immediately. At the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment.

The Town of Windsor has remained transparent about this event since the initial stop, and has openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt. Nazario. The Town will continue to provide information related to this event in its commitment to openness. The Town has also requested an investigation of this event by the Virginia State Police, and joins with elected officials who have called for a full and complete review of the actions of these officers.

The Town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community-wide respect of its Police Department. Due to this, we are saddened for events like this to cast our community in a negative light. Rather than deflect criticism, we have addressed these matters with our personnel administratively, we are reaching out to community stakeholders to engage in dialogue, and commit ourselves to additional discussions in the future.

Kentucky partailly bans no-knock warrants

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a partial ban on no-knock warrants Friday after months of demonstrations set off by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in her home during a botched police raid last year.

The law signed by the Democratic governor is not the total ban many protesters and some Democratic lawmakers had sought -- a proposal that had been introduced as "Breonna's Law" -- but it also doesn't prevent individual cities and towns from banning the warrants completely.

The measure drew bipartisan support in the Legislature, where Republicans hold veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate. The law permits no-knock warrants only if there is "clear and convincing evidence" that the crime being investigated "would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender."

Under the law that was passed, no-knock warrants must be executed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and officers are required to take additional steps to obtain warrants. Judges are also required to sign legibly when approving them and an EMT must be nearby during execution of the warrant.

Members of the Taylor family stood behind the governor during the bill signing at Louisville's Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, shed tears as she accepted the pen the governor used to sign the measure.

"While it's not the full legislation that they wanted in terms of a complete ban on no-knock warrants, they are satisfied that this is a start and a win in a deeply divided General Assembly," said the family's attorney, Lonita Baker.

Baker added that the family looks forward to working with lawmakers on future legislation to further restrict the warrants and increase police accountability.

Amanda Gorman has the top spot on USA Today best-seller list

Amanda Gorman is touting her new book as the first poetry title to land the top spot on USA Today's best-seller's list in its nearly 30-year history.

The newspaper announced this week that Gorman's book "The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem" is the first collection of poetry to snag the No. 1 position on its collection of best-selling books since the list began in 1993.

The 23-year-old Harvard University graduate stepped into the international spotlight and shot to fame in January when she recited her poem of the same name at President Biden's inauguration.

"That rumble above is the sound of the poetry ceiling cracking," Gorman tweeted Friday about the USA Today news.

"Thank you thank you thank you to all the people who chose to bring my words into their lives," she said. "I can't wait to see even more poets stand beside me on the best-seller list."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

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