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WASHINGTON -- Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes, the Washington, D.C., medical examiner's office ruled Monday, a finding that lessens the chances that anyone will be charged in his death. Investigators initially believed the officer was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, based on statements collected early in the investigation, according to two people familiar with the case. And they later thought the 42-year-old Sicknick may have ingested a chemical substance -- possibly bear spray -- that may have contributed to his death. But the determination of a natural cause of death means the medical examiner found that a medical condition alone caused his death -- it was not brought on by an injury. The determination is likely to significantly inhibit the ability of federal prosecutors to bring homicide charges in Sicknick's death. U.S. Capitol Police said that the agency accepted the medical examiner's findings but that the ruling didn't change the fact that Sicknick had died in the line of duty, "courageously defending Congress and the Capitol." "The attack on our officers, including Brian, was an attack on our democracy," police officials said in a statement. "The United States Capitol Police will never forget Officer Sicknick's bravery, nor the bravery of any officer on January 6, who risked their lives to defend our democracy."
Murder case goes to the jury
MINNEAPOLIS -- The murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury Monday in a city on edge against another round of unrest like the one that erupted last year over the video of the Black man with Chauvin's knee on his neck. The jury of six white members and six Black or multiracial ones was sent off to begin deliberating after nearly a full day of closing arguments in which prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out Floyd last May in a way that even a child knew was wrong. The defense contended that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use. After closing arguments were done, Judge Peter Cahill rejected a defense request for a mistrial based in part on comments California Rep. Maxine Waters that protesters could get more confrontational if there is no guilty verdict. The judge told Chauvin's attorney: "Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned." He added: "I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch."
Rare lizards hatch at Poland zoo
WARSAW, Poland -- Two endangered Mexican beaded lizards have hatched at the Wroclaw Zoo here, boosting the population of the venomous lizards. The lizards, which are difficult to breed in captivity, hatched in late February at the zoo's terrarium, where the eggs had been kept in an incubator since an adult female laid them in August. They are still being kept from the public's view and keepers have not yet determined their sex. In Mexico, the venomous, medium-sized lizards are killed because they are considered very dangerous, but the zoo experts say they only use venom in self-defense. Popular Mexican belief also says they can provoke lighting with their tails. Adult males can grow to 35 inches and weigh up to 9 pounds. Three Mexican beaded lizards previously hatched at the zoo in 2016 and were transferred to the Singapore Zoo in 2018.
Tesla regulation in the offing
DETROIT -- The fiery crash of a Tesla Model S near Houston that killed two men with no one behind the wheel is drawing scrutiny from two federal agencies that could bring new regulation of electronic systems that take on some driving tasks. Local authorities said one man was found in the passenger seat, while another was in the back. They're issuing search warrants in the probe, which will determine whether the Tesla's Autopilot partially automated system was in use. Autopilot can keep a car centered in its lane, keep a distance from cars in front of it, and can even change lanes automatically in some circumstances. In the past, NHTSA, which has authority to regulate automakers and seek recalls for defective vehicles, has taken a hands-off approach to regulating partial and fully automated systems for fear of hindering development of promising new features. But since March, the agency has stepped up inquiries into Teslas, dispatching teams to three crashes. It has investigated 28 Tesla crashes in the past few years, but thus far has relied on voluntary safety compliance from auto and tech companies.
Navalny sent to prison hospital
MOSCOW -- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike while behind bars, was moved to a hospital in another prison after his doctor said he could be near death, his lawyer said Monday. Navalny was transferred Sunday from a penal colony east of Moscow to a prison hospital in Vladimir, a city 110 miles east of the capital, lawyer Alexei Liptser said after visiting the politician on Monday afternoon. "Yesterday he was really unwell. … Given the test results and the overall state of his health, it was decided to transfer him here. In the evening, he became significantly worse," Liptser said. While Navalny was able to meet with him Monday, he continued his hunger strike and "in general his look indicates he is really unwell," the lawyer added. Russia's state penitentiary service FSIN did not report the decision to transfer Navalny until Monday morning and a statement it released said he had agreed to take vitamin therapy. Liptser said he didn't have enough time with his client to confirm that: "They were searching him ahead of our meeting longer than our meeting had lasted. He was outraged by this. Therefore, we couldn't discuss anything, apart from what has happened to him."
Chinese painting up for auction
HONG KONG -- A Chinese painting from 1924 is expected to fetch at least $45 million in an auction in Hong Kong, as collectors' appetite for art continues to rise even amid economic uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The painting by influential Chinese modern artist Xu Beihong depicts a slave hiding in a cave and a lion. It is based thematically from ancient Roman mythology and Aesop's Fables, according to Christie's auction house, which unveiled the painting Monday. Xu frequently uses the lion in his work to exemplify his faith in the rise of the Chinese nation. The lion in the painting is wounded, but remains dignified, righteous and proud -- a symbol of the Chinese spirit. The "Slave and Lion" painting is considered a groundbreaking work that inspired Xu's later paintings and one of the most important oil paintings in Chinese art history.
'Downton Abbey' cast returns
NEW YORK -- The original principal cast of "Downton Abbey" are returning for a second film that will arrive in theaters December 22 this year. "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes has written the sequel's screenplay, and Simon Curtis ("My Week With Marilyn") is directing. Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and 86-year-old Maggie Smith will all be back, along with some new faces, including Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West. Production began last week on "Downton Abbey 2." The 2019 film, coming three years after the series ending, made $194.3 million on a modest budget of less than $20 million.
Celebrity items set for auction
NEW YORK-- Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John, Bette Midler, Christine Baranski, Steve Martin and Tina Fey have all raided their closets to offer up personal items for a charity online auction, with one prize being a key prop from the worldwide smash musical "The Phantom of the Opera." Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers has unveiled the slate of stage and screen items for its live auction event on April 28, which includes a Wolverine jacket from Jackman's closet, glasses from John, and boots, jeans and a T-shirt from Springsteen. A portion of proceeds from every item sold will benefit The Actors Fund. The highlight package includes a "Phantom" prop: A music box in the shape of a barrel organ with the figure of a monkey playing the cymbals attached. It is used in the prolog to set up the musical. The rare prop is from the West End production and the package also includes admission for two whenever "Phantom" reopens on Broadway.
Concrete to trap carbon dioxide
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Organizers of a $20 million contest to develop products from greenhouse gas that flows from power plants announced two winners Monday ahead of launching a similar but much bigger competition backed by Elon Musk. Both winners made concrete that trapped carbon dioxide, keeping it out of the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change. Production of cement, concrete's key ingredient, accounts for 7% of global emissions of the greenhouse gas, said Marcius Extavour, XPRIZE vice president of climate and energy. "So it's not surprising that the winning teams focused on reducing emissions associated with concrete, which will be a game-changer for global decarbonization," he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Musk, the electric car and space entrepreneur, has pledged $100 million for researchers who can show how to trap huge volumes of carbon dioxide straight from the atmosphere and store the gas permanently. That competition will kick off Thursday, which is Earth Day. Both contests are organized by XPRIZE, which encourages new technology by putting up prize money for demonstrating achievements. Most famously, Mojave Aerospace Ventures won a $10 million XPRIZE in 2004 by being first to fly a privately funded, reusable rocket plane into space multiple times.
Probing use of aides on book
ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York's attorney general is investigating whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo broke the law by having members of his staff help write and promote his pandemic leadership book. In a letter dated April 13, made public Monday, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli authorized Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the work state employees did on drafting and editing the book, "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," which was released last fall. James' office confirmed it received the referral letter but declined further comment, citing an "ongoing investigation." Cuomo and his spokespeople have acknowledged that senior members of his staff helped with the book, but they've insisted the work was done on a voluntary basis on their private time. DiNapoli, an independently elected fiscal officer, asked James to investigate the "alleged commission of any indictable offense or offenses in violation of" laws barring public officials from using state resources for private purposes.
Ex-deputy wanted in deaths caught
AUSTIN, Texas -- A manhunt for a former Texas sheriff's deputy, Stephen Broderick, 41, suspected in the fatal shooting of three people in Austin ended Monday when authorities said he was arrested without incident about 20 miles from the scene of the weekend attack. Victims included both a high school football team captain and another student who was enrolled in an early college program before leaving last fall. Police have said Broderick knew the victims but have not said how, and they have not offered a possible motive. Officers found Broderick along a rural road shortly after sunrise in Manor, an Austin suburb, after receiving reports of a suspicious person matching the description of the suspect in Sunday's shooting. Broderick had a loaded pistol in his waistband.
India's capital to lock down
NEW DELHI -- New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown Monday night to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital's health system, which authorities said had been pushed to its limit amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases. In scenes familiar from surges elsewhere, ambulances catapulted from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed over the weekend, while patients lined up outside of medical facilities waiting to be let in. Ambulances also idled outside of crematoriums, carrying half a dozen dead bodies each. In an effort to combat crisis, India announced that it would soon expand its vaccination campaign to all adults. "People keep arriving, in an almost collapsing situation," said Dr. Suresh Kumar, who heads Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, one of New Delhi's largest hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients. Just months after India thought it had seen the worst of the pandemic, the virus is now spreading at a rate faster than at any other time, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician at the University of Michigan who has been tracking infections in India. The country is not alone. Several places in the world are seeing deepening crises, including Brazil and France, spurred in part by new variants. More than a year into the pandemic, deaths are on the rise again worldwide, running at nearly 12,000 per day on average, and new cases are climbing, too. Over the weekend, the global death toll passed a staggering 3 million people.
Mars helicopter takes flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet. The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers moment. The mini 4-pound copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. It was a brief hop -- just 39 seconds and 10 feet -- but accomplished all the major milestones. "Goosebumps. It looks just the way we had tested," project manager MiMi Aung said as she watched the flight video during a later briefing. "Absolutely beautiful flight. I don't think I can ever stop watching it over and over again."
Stalker arrested at Taylor Swift's
NEW YORK -- A stalker who claims pop star Taylor Swift is communicating with him on social media was arrested on a trespassing charge after trying to break into the singer's Manhattan apartment. Hanks Johnson, 52, was arrested at 8:30 p.m. Saturday after a 911 caller reported he was inside Swift's Tribeca building without permission. Johnson told police, "She knows that I'm coming here, we're friends." A security employee of Swift's told police that Johnson had rung the doorbell and tried to enter the building at least five times over the last six months. The security guard said he had personally told Johnson he was not welcome there. Johnson was charged with criminal trespass and released on his own recognizance. The Daily News reports that outside the courthouse, Johnson made a show of sending direct messages to Swift's Instagram account and claimed the predictive text suggestions on his phone were replies from her.
Search for crew to be suspended
CUT OFF, La. -- The U.S. Coast Guard said it will suspend the search for crew members who disappeared when a lift boat capsized off Louisiana last week at sunset Monday, and authorities do not expect to find more survivors from the vessel. The grim news comes after days of searching for the missing workers from the oil industry lift boat Seacor Power, which capsized Tuesday during a fierce storm in the Gulf of Mexico about eight miles south of Port Fourchon. Six of the 19 workers on the boat were rescued within hours of the wreck; five more bodies were found in the water or on board the vessel in the days since then. Eight remain missing.
EU warns 'spark' on border
BRUSSELS -- The European Union's foreign policy chief said Monday that in the face of the big military buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders, it will only take "a spark" to set off a confrontation. In a glum assessment of relations with Moscow, Josep Borrell also said that the condition of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was "critical" and that the 27-nation group would hold the Kremlin accountable for his health and safety.
Despite the developments, Borrell said after a virtual meeting of the EU foreign ministers that, "for the time being, there is no move in the field of more sanctions" to be imposed on Russia. He also said there wasn't a request for a synchronized EU diplomatic move of expulsions in the standoff between Czech Republic, an EU member state, and Russia following Prague's accusation that Moscow was involved in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion. More dangerous at this time, Borrell said, was the massing of Russian troops, including military field hospitals, and "all kinds of warfare."
Stocks pull indexes below highs
Technology companies helped drag U.S. stocks broadly lower Monday, pulling the indexes below the record highs they reached last week. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, shedding more than a third of its gain from last week. Tech stocks were the biggest weight on the market, but the losses were shared broadly by a mix of banks, energy companies and others that rely on direct consumer spending. Chipmaker Intel fell 1.7%, Capital One lost 0.9% and Valero Energy slid 2.3%. Only real estate stocks eked out a gain. The pullback came as bond yields mostly moved higher after easing last week. Rising bond yields tend to make shares in technology companies that have had a strong runup over the past year look too expensive. "What we're seeing in the markets today is that bond yields, after falling last week, are back to rising again," said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. "And you can see that negative correlation between rising bond yields and declining prices in technology is still with us." The S&P 500 fell 22.21 points to 4,163.26. The benchmark index is coming off its fourth straight weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 123.04 points, or 0.4%, to 34,077.63. Both the S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs on Friday.
Shooter didn't have 'red flag' hearing
INDIANAPOLIS -- A former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis never appeared before a judge for a hearing under Indiana's "red flag" law, even after his mother called police last year to say her son might commit "suicide by cop," a prosecutor said Monday. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said authorities did not seek such a hearing because they did not have enough time under the law's restrictions to definitively demonstrate Brandon Scott Hole's propensity for suicidal thoughts, something they would need to have done to convince a judge that Hole should not be allowed to possess a gun. The "red flag" legislation, passed in Indiana in 2005 and also in effect in other states, allows police or courts to seize guns from people who show warning signs of violence. Police seized a pump-action shotgun from Hole, then 18, in March 2020 after they received the call from his mother. But prosecutors were limited in their ability to prepare a "red flag" case due to a 2019 change in the law that requires courts to make a "good-faith effort" to hold a hearing within 14 days. An additional amendment required them to file an affidavit with the court within 48 hours. "This individual was taken and treated by medical professionals and he was cut loose," and was not even prescribed any medication, Mears said. "The risk is, if we move forward with that (red flag) process and lose, we have to give that firearm back to that person. That's not something we were willing to do."