Lt Richard Zimmerman, who leads the Minneapolis homicide department, testified today in the trial of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, telling the court that Chauvin’s actions were “totally unnecessary”.

The Guardian’s Chris McGreal had the story, reporting that Zimmerman — a 4-decade veteran and the longest serving officer on the force — said he hadn’t ever been trained that placing a knee on the neck was a strategy for restraint during an arrest.

“If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill them,” Zimmerman said.

Chauvin, who is facing charges of second and third-degree murder, and manslaughter, and possibly up to 40 years in prison, pleaded not guilty on the grounds that his actions were in-line with police protocol.

But Floyd, who died after being pinned to the ground for over nine minutes with Chauvin’s knee on his neck, was already in handcuffs, which Zimmerman said should have been enough to safely restrain him.

“Once you secure or handcuff a person, you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing,” Zimmerman said.

Read the full story here.

Roughly 25 million Americans could soon see an increase in food assistance as part of a new policy enacted by the Biden Administration, according to the Associated Press.

USDA estimates show that the new program will send out roughly $1 billion monthly.

“This is a real increase in people’s benefits that’s going to make it a little easier to keep food on the table,” Lindsay Nako, director of litigation and training at the Impact Fund, which represented the California plaintiffs alongside the Western Center on Law & Poverty, told AP.

The move marks a shift from former President Trump’s opposition to food assistance. Lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania and California against Trump’s agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, were settled last week by Tom Vilsack, who filled his seat under the Biden administration, the Washington Post reports.

California, the state with the largest population, stands to gain the most from the change, with an increase of nearly $120 million a month.

“The emergency Snap increases authorized by Congress last year were not being distributed equitably, and the poorest households — who have the least ability to absorb the economic shocks brought about by Covid — received little to no emergency benefit increases,” Vilsack said in a statement. “As part of President Biden’s commitment to deliver economic relief and ensure every family can afford to put food on the table, today’s actions will provide much-needed support for those who need it most.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has issued a statement, saying that Officer William Evans, who was killed in the line of duty today, “made the ultimate sacrifice” on behalf of the American people.

Officer Evans served on the force for 18 years.

Law enforcement officials have identified Noah Green as the deceased suspect responsible for the death of a US Capitol Police officer in today’s violent attack, but an investigation is still underway and authorities have not yet confirmed a motive.

The New York Times reports that Green, a 25-year-old from Indiana, was a self-described follower of Louis Farrakhan—who spent decades spreading antisemitic views—and his Black nationalist movement, the Nation of Islam.

Green’s Facebook account, which was taken down on Friday, showed the young man struggled through the past year, and also posted about the “end times” and the anti-Christ.

“To be honest, these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher,” Green reportedly wrote. “I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. I am currently now unemployed, after I left my job, partly due to afflictions.”

Green also shared on social media his belief that the federal government was trying to control his mind.

In the hours before he rammed his car into US Capitol police officers, killing one and injuring the other, Green posted Instagram stories linking to videos of Farrakhan, and a caption that read, “The U.S. Government is the #1 enemy of Black people!” CNN reports.

In March, he credited the Nation of Islam leader with saving him from “the terrible afflictions I have suffered presumably by the CIA and FBI, government agencies of the United States of America”.

From CNN:

In his Facebook post, Green wrote that he had been “unknowingly” taking a drug and suffering from side effects.

“The Minister is here to save me and the rest of humanity, even if it means facing death,” he wrote, appearing to reference Farrakhan. “Be willing to deny yourself and follow him, pick up your cross”.

The second officer, who was struck by the car used in today’s attack at the US Capitol is in stable condition, the USCP shared in a tweet.

The officer’s name has not been released.

According to CNN, retired Lt Gen Russel Honoré, who reported on the need for more security at the Capitol after 6 January, said that today, the system did what it was supposed to.

“The security system that worked today was the readiness of the Capitol police out front challenging the car and then the barriers, buffers that went in after 9/11,” Honoré told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Unfortunately, we lost Officer Evans today, but by and large that system worked. The Capitol police responded, they stopped him. The system worked.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz’ communications manager has resigned, leaving the Florida Republican to navigate a federal investigation into whether he sexually trafficked an underage girl, without a spokesperson.

Luke Ball, who worked with Gaetz for all three of the Congressman’s terms, is known as one of his closest and longest-serving aides, the New York Times, reports.

Gaetz, who gained national attention as a highly vocal Trump-ally, has denied that he paid for sex or that he engaged sexually with a 17-year-old girl. The 38-year-old Congressman has claimed the allegations came from a extortion plot worth $25 million.

The New York Times reported last week that the Justice Department has linked Gaetz to Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector, who was indicted last year on sex trafficking charges.

From the NYT:

The Times has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that show payments from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Mr. Greenberg to a second woman. The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, issued an executive order today, banning businesses and government agencies from requiring proof that a person has been vaccinated, according to the New York times.

Alleging that the requirement of such proof would “reduce individual freedom”, “harm patient privacy,” and “create two classes of citizens based on vaccination” the order states that “it is necessary to protect the fundamental rights and privacies of Floridians and the free flow of commerce within the state”.

Businesses that don’t comply could become ineligible for state funding.

So-called “vaccine passports” have become yet another politically divisive issue, and Republican governors have begun rallying against them as government overreach even though the Biden administration has no plans to require them or issue them.

Several other countries have already embraced the idea. Israel was the first to roll out their program and with other European countries are considering their own versions, including the UK.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the homeland security, has released a statement in response to the attack at the Capitol this afternoon.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of the US Capitol police officer who lost his life today protecting the very symbol of our democracy,” Mayorkas said.

“There is still much to be determined about this attack and DHS offers its full support to Capitol police and DC Mayor Bowser.”

USCP has identified the officer killed in the attack as William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force.

After two deadly attacks on the US Capitol mere months apart, questions are being raised about whether security measures, which were enhanced after 6 January, are extensive enough, Vox reports.

A review of the security released last month found that the Capitol police are “understaffed, insufficiently equipped and inadequately trained” to defend the nation’s seat of government from future attacks.

In a 15-page draft report, commissioned by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, retired army L. Gen Russel Honoré called for adding 854 officers, including 424 to specialize in intelligence, dignitary protection and operational planning.

He also recommended additional fencing, specifically barriers that are “easily erected and deconstructed”.

Roughly four miles of 7ft-high “non-scalable” metal fencing was set up around the Capitol complex following the 6 January riot but it was taken down in March, according to Vox.

Representative Tim Ryan told reporters today that new permanent additions to security are being considered by lawmakers. “We’ll be reviewing everything, at this point, including the fencing,” he said, emphasizing that there are still many unknowns about today’s incident

“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves without knowing that we have the ability to protect the Capitol, to harden the Capitol,” he added.

Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat of Hawaii, offered his thoughts to the US Capitol police, after an officer died in the attack this afternoon.

“Being a Capitol police officer has never been more difficult or more stressful. All the love and comfort in the world to them and their family members,” Schatz said on Twitter.

This is the second line-of-duty death for the USCP since January, when Officer Brian Sicknick succumbed to his injuries from the Capitol insurrection.

Prior to 2021, a total of four USCP officers had died in the line of duty in the entire history of the force, according to the USCP website.

The House and Senate are not in session but some elected officials and staff were in the building on Friday, as a car rammed a security barrier on the grounds.

Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California, spoke to CNN from his car, where he said officers had told him to go after he came back to the Capitol from going out for lunch.

“It’s really sad,” he said. “Once the barriers were removed we were moving back to some sense of normalcy, but this just shows the level of risk there still is.

“I can’t imagine saying that going to the United States Capitol to represent your constituents is actually a dangerous thing.”

Noah Green, a 25-year-old man from Indiana, is the suspect who rammed through a Capitol security checkpoint in his car this afternoon, according to NBC News.

US Capitol police has said the suspect exited the vehicle wielding a knife and was then shot by at least one of the officers present. He later succumbed to his injuries and died.

The US Capitol police has provided the latest information on the attack that occurred this afternoon.

According to USCP, a man in a blue sedan charged a security barrier at the Capitol, striking two officers. The man then exited the vehicle with a knife and ran toward the officers.

At least one of the officers drew their weapon and shot the suspect, who succumbed to his injuries about 30 minutes later. One of the USCP officers who was hit by the car also died of his injuries.

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said he was “heartbroken” for the US Capitol Police officer who was killed today, after a car rammed through a security barrier.

“I’m praying for the officer injured and his family. We’re in their debt,” the Democratic leader said on Twitter. “We thank the Capitol Police, National Guard, & first responders for all they do to protect the Capitol and those inside.”

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat of New Jersey, expressed profound sadness over the death of another US Capitol Police officer so shortly after the 6 January insurrection.

“To see these Capitol police who’ve been traumatized already by what happened, so many members of Congress – myself included – feel we owe them a huge debt that we can never repay for their bravery on January 6,” Sherrill told MNSBC.

“And to see the ongoing attacks against them, my heart is going out to all of their families, to all of their loved ones.”

Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff after a US Capitol police officer died in an attack this afternoon, a spokesperson for the House speaker said.

The fatal attack on two US Capitol police officers today comes less than three months after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.

One USCP officer, Brian Sicknick, died of his injuries from the 6 January insurrection, and a second USCP officer, Howard Liebengood, died by suicide days later.

Now, another USCP officer has died today, after an attacker rammed his car through a security barrier and then exited the vehicle wielding a knife.

The tragedy deals another blow to a police force that was already mourning.

According to the USCP acting chief, Yogananda Pittman, the suspect tried to ram through a Capitol security barrier with his car at approximately 1.02pm ET.

The suspect then exited the vehicle with a knife in hand and tried to “lunge” toward the two USCP officers present.

After the suspect did not respond to vocal commands from the officer, the officers opened fire. The suspect and one of the USCP officers have now died.

We are watching and listening closely for any confirmation that the suspect in the lone attack on the US Capitol this afternoon has died after being shot by police. We’ll bring you more details on this as soon as they emerge.

There is little information at this stage on the identity of the suspect, who was driving a passenger car and rammed two US Capitol police officers before crashing into a giant concrete barrier.

Dozens and dozens of National Guard troops are now walking through the corridors of the US Capitol kitted out with riot shields, batons and plastic visors on the front of their helmets. They don’t appear to be wearing body armor, they are in ordinary camouflage uniform.

National Guard are also already lined up outside.

Latest reports, which have not been officially confirmed, are that after ramming the two police officers the driver of the car got out of the vehicle brandishing a knife.

Two Capitol Police officers are injured. This is what congressional sources are telling reporters on Capitol Hill. There are no details about the identity or even the gender of the driver of the blue passenger sedan.

Two law enforcement officials have now told The Associated Press that the driver was then shot by police, and is in critical condition in the hospital.

At least one officer is in serious condition.

The AP adds:

One of the officers who was injured was taken by police car to the hospital; the other was being transported by emergency medical crews, the officials said.

The incident occurred about 100 yards from the entrance of the building on the Senate side of the Capitol. Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was recently removed as the Capitol has started to open up after the January 6 riots.
The security checkpoint is typically used by senators and staff on weekdays. Congress is currently on recess.

Video posted online showed a dark colored sedan crashed against a vehicle barrier and a police K9 inspecting the vehicle.

Law enforcement and paramedics could be seen caring for at least one unidentified individual.

Joe Biden had just departed the White House for Camp David when the incident occurred. As is customary, he was traveling with a member of the National Security Council Staff who was expected to brief him on the incident.

It’s Good Friday and Passover and the US Capitol was pretty empty today when this incident occurred.

Both chambers of the US Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, are out of session and those working inside have said there are very few staff around when a blue car rammed into a barrier close to the east front of the Capitol.

No matter the quietness of business today, US Capitol Police were of course on duty and two officers have been injured. US Parks Police are on duty, ditto District of Columbia police and more law enforcement are arriving on the scene.

National Guard troops have been seen lining up in the vicinity. It’s less than three months since the January 6 deadly insurrection at the US Capitol when extremist fans of former president Donald Trump stormed Congress in a failed attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.

Several dozen National Guard just marched into position outside the Capitol, securing the wider perimeter, and federal investigators are on the scene.

It’s only been a few days since someone was arrested with weapons outside the residence of the US vice president, Kamala Harris.

The US Capitol Police issued a correction that the incident occurred at Constitution Avenue, not Independence Avenue.

A reporter asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the situation at the Capitol before she concluded her briefing.

Asked who is traveling with Joe Biden to Camp David this weekend and may be able to keep him briefed on the situation, Psaki said the president “always travels with a national security rep”.

According to NBC News, a car that was trying to get through a Capitol security checkpoint would not stop, and shots were fired.

A Punchbowl News reporter shared a video of a helicopter landing on the east front of the Capitol, after reports of a car driving into a security barrier near the grounds.

Asked about the security situation on Capitol Hill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she was not aware of it because it started while she was briefing reporters.

She indicated she may offer further details to the press as her team learns more about what happened.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki sidestepped questions about Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, who is reportedly under investigation for alleged sex trafficking.

Psaki said she did not want to comment on the allegations, instead referring reporters to the local authorities.

Asked if Gaetz should step down from the House judiciary committee, Psaki said, “Those are decisions we’ll let leaders in Congress make.”

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters.

Psaki was joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who addressed the latest jobs report released this morning.

The report showed the US economy added 916,000 jobs last month, but Walsh emphasized he wanted to do a closer analysis of the numbers with his advisers to better understand where the economic recovery is lagging.

Despite the promising news, Walsh emphasized it was still urgent that Congress pass Joe Biden’s $2tn infrastructure plan to create jobs.

Echoing comments from his coronavirus response team, Joe Biden expressed similar concerns about the recent rise in coronavirus cases while delivering a speech on the March jobs report this morning.

The president celebrated the news that 20 million vaccination doses were administered over the past week, but he warned, “Too many Americans are acting as if this fight is over. It is not.”

Biden added, “If the American people continue to do their part, mask up, practice social distancing, we could have a more normal July 4th. But this is still April, not July. We aren’t there yet. And so cases are going up again. The virus is spreading more rapidly in many places.”

The president pleaded with Americans to “buckle down and keep their guard up in this home stretch” by continuing to wear masks and practice social distancing.

A reporter asked Dr Rochelle Walensky whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is formally warning against non-essential travel at this point.

The reporter noted that the CDC director had made several comments during the briefing warning against non-essential travel. However, the agency’s official guidance makes no such distinction between essential and non-essential travel for vaccinated individuals.

Walensky said the new guidance is meant to provide fully vaccinated Americans with information on the relative risk of traveling, which is low. But she reiterated she would not recommend non-essential travel at this point, due to the climbing number of coronavirus cases.

“I would advocate against general travel overall,” Walensky said. “Our guidance speaks to the safety of doing so. If you are vaccinated, it is lower risk.”

The White House coronavirus response team’s briefing has now concluded.

Dr Rochelle Walensky reiterated that she is still not recommending non-essential travel, as coronavirus cases rise in dozens of US states.

“We are not recommending travel at this time, especially for unvaccinated individuals,” the CDC director said at the White House coronavirus response team’s briefing.

Walensky said moments later that there is still much work left to be done to get the virus under control, especially with only about 20% of American adults fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that fully vaccinated Americans should still take precautions while traveling, despite the relatively low risk to themselves.

The agency asked vaccinated Americans to continue wearing masks, socially distancing and regularly washing their hands during their travels.

The White House coronavirus response team is now holding its briefing, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention addressed her agency’s new travel guidance.

Dr Rochelle Walensky summarized the new CDC guidelines, which indicate that Americans do not need to quarantine after domestic or international travel.

However, Walensky emphasized the CDC is “not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases”.

About half of US states have reported increases in new coronavirus cases over the past week, even as public health experts urge Americans to remain vigilant about limiting the spread of the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated Americans can also travel internationally, although the guidelines are a bit stricter.

While vaccinated people do not need to quarantine after international travel, the CDC still recommends getting tested for coronavirus three to five days after arriving back in the US.

International travelers do not need to get tested before their trip, unless their destination country requires it.

Speaking at the White House, Joe Biden touted the positive impact that his coronavirus relief package has had on the US economy.

But Biden emphasized that the relief bill brought only temporary change to the economy, while his proposed infrastructure plan would bring longer-lasting reform to allow the US to “build back better”.

The president encouraged lawmakers to negotiate over his proposal in the weeks to come, as congressional Republicans have signaled they will not support the plan.

“Congress should debate my plan,” Biden said. “But Congress should act.”

House speaker Nancy Pelosi celebrated the March jobs report released this morning in a new statement, saying the data is “resounding evidence that, under Congressional Democrats and President Biden, Help Is Here”.

However, the Democratic speaker noted millions of Americans, particularly women and people of color, have not regained the jobs they lost at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is imperative that, as we deliver the benefits of the American Rescue Plan as urgently and equitably as possible, we advance President Biden’s American Jobs Act: a visionary, once-in-a-century investment in America’s workers and future, which will Build our economy Back Better from this crisis by revitalizing our nation’s infrastructure,” Pelosi said.

The president will likely deliver a similar message when he speaks about the jobs report in a few minutes.

The Senate parliamentarian is expected to soon issue a ruling on whether Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer can attempt to pass another bill via reconciliation during this fiscal year, according to CBS News.

CBS reports:

Democrats used a budget resolution for the current fiscal year to lay the groundwork for passing the American Rescue Plan. Although typically budget reconciliation is used only once per fiscal year, the majority leader asked the Senate parliamentarian whether he can revise the current budget resolution to allow for another reconciliation process to pass the infrastructure package.

Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough could rule as early as Friday on whether to allow for another budget reconciliation bill this year, a Senate aide told CBS News.

Top Schumer aides have asked MacDonough about using Section 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to allow for a second reconciliation process this fiscal year. The parliamentarian is an expert on the obscure procedures of the Senate, and can determine whether certain actions are permitted under Senate rules.

MacDonough’s ruling will have major implications for Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, which almost certainly cannot pass the Senate unless reconciliation is used.

Republicans have already signaled opposition to the plan, mainly due to Biden’s proposals to roll back Trump-era tax cuts to help pay for the proposal.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday that he plans to fight Biden’s infrastructure plan “every step of the way”.

The Guardian’s Abené Clayton reports:

The Biden administration plans to invest $5bn toward gun violence prevention in the nation’s most hard-hit areas as part of a key infrastructure package announced this week.

This investment marks an important step in acknowledging the disparate impact of gun violence and is the first time the government has set aside this much money at one time to address community violence holistically over a multi-year period.

“Historically, the federal government’s approach, particularly when faced with surges in gun homicides, is to fund strategies that over-police,” said Paul Carillo, community violence initiative director for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, in a statement. “The Biden administration demonstrated a commitment to addressing the root causes.”

The proposal comes as America has witnessed a significant increase in gun violence during the pandemic. Los Angeles has recorded an 11-year high in homicides. Philadelphia is seeing one of the highest annual gun violence rates in half a century.

Joe Biden has long been a firm advocate for gun control and has called for bans on assault weapons and universal background checks. He has reiterated his resolve after the first high-profile mass shootings of his tenure in the White House.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release new travel guidelines for vaccinated people later today, according to CNN.

The members of the White House coronavirus response team will likely discuss the new guidelines at their briefing this morning.

When the CDC released its initial guidelines for vaccinated Americans, the agency still discouraged everyone from traveling.

“Every time there’s a surge in travel, we have a surge of cases in this country,” Dr Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said last month.

“We’re hopeful that our next set of guidance will have more science around what vaccinated people can do, perhaps travel being among them.”

The White House coronavirus response team will also hold a briefing this morning to provide an update on vaccine distribution and case numbers.

The data on vaccine distribution in the US has been very encouraging, with 30% of Americans now having received at least one vaccine dose, according to Bloomberg.

But vaccinations are ramping up as case numbers increase across the country, intensifying fears of a “fourth wave” of infections.

Cases are rising as state and local officials continue relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions, despite public health experts’ urgent warnings to remain vigilant about limiting the spread of the virus.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, said Monday, “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope. But right now I’m scared.”