Castile’s family reaches $3M settlement
MINNEAPOLIS— The mother of Philando Castile, a black motorist killed by a Minnesota police officer last July, has reached a nearly $3 million settlement with the city that employed the officer, avoiding a federal wrongful death lawsuit that attorneys said could have taken years to resolve.
The settlement to be paid to Valerie Castile, who is the family’s trustee, was announced Monday and comes less than two weeks after Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges connected to her son’s death.
Mr. Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, was shot five times by Officer Yanez during a traffic stop after Mr. Castile informed the officer he was armed. Mr. Castile had a permit for his gun. The shooting gained widespread attention after Mr. Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car with her then-4-year-old daughter, livestreamed its gruesome aftermath on Facebook.
The $2.995 million settlement for Valerie Castile will be paid by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, which holds the insurance policy for the city of St. Anthony. The plan for distribution of funds requires approval by a state court, which could take several weeks.
Shkreli jury selection
NEWYORK — A number of potential jurors in the fraud trial of Martin Shkreli were dismissed in quick succession Monday morning after calling the defendant “a snake,” “the most hated man in America” and “the face of corporate greed.”
Mr. Shkreli is on trial at the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, charged with eight counts of securities and wire fraud. He denies the charges, which relate to his time running two hedge funds and at Retrophin, a drug company.
But he is much better known for instituting steep price increases on lifesaving drugs as a pharmaceutical entrepreneur.
Opening statements could come as soon as Tuesday.
Firefighters battle blazes
Firefighters battled strong winds and the potential for triple-digit temperatures Monday as they tried to contain separate wildfires in Utah and California.
In Utah, more than 1,000 firefighters struggled to contain a huge fire that started on June 17 near Brian Head, a ski town. In Santa Clarita, Calif., north of Los Angeles, those who had been evacuated were being allowed to return to their homes, and an official said Monday that the fire was almost under control.
Google search results
On Thursday, Google reportedly added private medical records to its small list of things that it won’t include in its search engine’s results. While the company has yet to release a statement on the decision, “confidential medical records of private people” is now listed under the search engine’s Removal Policies page, which confirms the decision.
Credit card numbers, images of signatures and bank account numbers are some of the other select things Google elects to keep out of its search results to prevent identity theft.
Also in the nation ...
Lawyers for Texas cities fighting the state’s tough new immigration law argued that it would force local law enforcement to help federal officials carry out mass deportations. ... A Wisconsin company says a fifth worker, Carlos “Charly” Nunez, has died after an explosion last month.