The NFL settles with former players. More heartbreaking testimony in the Boston bombing trial. And rebels in Yemen want to talk peace.
It’s Thursday, and here are the five things to know for your New Day.
FREDDIE GRAY
Officer statements: Five of the six officers involved with Freddie Gray’s arrest have provided statements to investigators, Baltimore police said yesterday. Michael Davey, the officers’ attorney, said they had “completely cooperated with the investigation from Day 1.” He also said they didn’t need probable cause to arrest Gray, because he was in a high-crime area and ran from the police unprovoked. Gray’s death on Sunday — which came a week after his arrest, in which he suffered a severe spinal injury while in police custody — has sparked protests in Baltimore.
NFL SETTLEMENT
Final approval: A class action lawsuit settlement between the NFL and thousands of former players was given the final OK yesterday. The settlement provides up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions related to repeated head trauma. It applies to players who retired on or before July 7, 2014, as well as the family members of players who died before then. More than 200 ex-players opted out of the settlement. They claimed the NFL only settled as a means of hiding the dangers of concussions. They can still sue the NFL separately.
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIAL
Heartbreaking: A proud police officer. A young couple in love. A “beautiful nerd.” This is how some of the victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing were described by family and friends yesterday, during a second day of victim impact statements. The jury is hearing the statements as it decides whether bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should live or die for his crimes. Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her leg in the bombing, talked about how happy she and her husband were as they stood at the finish line as the bombs went off and changed everything. Lingzi Lu’s aunt described the Boston University grad student as nerdy and beautiful. Lu was from China but is buried in Boston. Sean Collier’s stepfather said it took Collier’s mother months to gain the strength to climb out of bed after her son, an MIT police officer, was killed by Tsarnaev and his brother.
YEMEN UNREST
Peace talks? Houthi rebels want to talk peace, as a Saudi-led coalition hit Yemen with fresh airstrikes yesterday. A Houthi spokesman said the U.N.-sponsored talks should resume “only after a complete halt of attacks.” Earlier this week Saudi Arabia ended the airstrikes and announced the start of Operation Decisive Storm, seeking a political solution to the violence. But less than 24 hours later, airstrikes resumed after Houthi forces attacked a Yemeni government military brigade. It was unclear whether the strikes were a resumption of the operation or just a short-term series of attacks.
CNN POLL
Threat matrix: Whom do we fear the most — Russia, Iran, North Korea, China? According to a new CNN/ORC poll, it’s ISIS. About 68% of Americans see the terror group as a bigger threat to America than those four traditional foes. And there’s no partisan divide on this either, as 68% of Democrats, 79% of Republicans and 63% of independents share this view of ISIS. As for those four countries that the U.S. is usually aligned against, most Americans think Iran is the bigger threat of the group, followed by North Korea, Russia and China.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
Happy birthday: A golden retriever gets 800 tennis balls for his second birthday. Cuteness alert!
Walking tall: A teen girl, who was temporarily paralyzed, finds a creative way to thank the nurse who helped her recover.
DogPro: Every wonder what your dog does when you’re not home? This dog’s owner put a GoPro camera on him to find out.
Fun with food: These Oreo trick shots are great and all, but this kid really has too much time on his hands.