A teenager who shot three people during a protest against racial injustice had thought he was under attack, a trial has heard.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, is accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber as well as wounding Gaige Grosskreutz with an assault-style rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 25 August last year.
A witness at the trial said he had seen Mr Rosenbaum, the first to be shot that night, appear to “lunge” towards Rittenhouse’s rifle in an effort to take it, before Rittenhouse fired.
Richie McGinniss, a video director for conservative website The Daily Caller, said: “(Mr Rosenbaum) was lunging, falling.
“I would use those as synonymous terms in this situation because basically, you know, he threw his momentum towards the weapon.”
He added: “I think it was very clear to me that he was reaching specifically for the weapon.
“It wasn’t clear to me whether the weapon would be grabbed or fired or what exactly was going to happen. But it was clear to me that it was a situation where it was likely that something dangerous was going to happen.”
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Rittenhouse, a former police youth cadet, had “kind of dodged around” with his weapon before levelling it and firing, Mr McGinniss added.
Earlier in the day, Detective Martin Howard told the trial that a protester, Joshua Ziminski, had fired the first shot into the air – two-and-a-half seconds before Rittenhouse shot Mr Rosenbaum.
Rittenhouse’s defence team has said he went to Kenosha with his rifle and medical kit to protect property from what became violent protests sparked by the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer.
While prosecutors have said Rittenhouse was responsible for some of that violence, his lawyers have said he acted in self-defence and had feared his weapon would be taken from him.
They have said he was the victim of a “classic ambush” from Mr Rosenbaum who, according to earlier testimony, came out from behind a car and chased him as Rittenhouse shouted: “Friendly! Friendly! Friendly!”.
Police have said that Mr Rosenbaum had no weapons.
The trial heard that the shooting of Mr Rosenbaum had set in motion the other shootings – protester Mr Huber, 26, who was seen on video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard; and Mr Grosskreutz, 27, who had a gun in his hand as he moved towards Rittenhouse.
Also on Thursday, the judge presiding over the trial dismissed a juror who had made a joke to a court security officer about the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The juror would not repeat the joke for Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder, who said: “It is clear that the appearance of bias is present and it would seriously undermine the outcome of the case.”
As the two most powerful countries in the world, the relationship between the United States and China is the most consequential of all bilateral ties.
Any change in interactions and behaviour by either side does not just impact security, economic activity and trade in Washington and Beijing, but also affects the rest of the planet.
President Xi Jinping chose to make this point publicly as he said hello – and presumably goodbye – to Joe Biden when the two men met on the sidelines of an economic forum in Peru in what was likely their last face-to-face sit down before the US leader hands the keys to the White House over to Donald Trump.
“As two major countries, China and the United States should bear in mind the interest of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world,” Mr Xi said, speaking through a translator.
“It is my consistent belief that as the world’s most important bilateral relationship, a stable China-US relationship is critical not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples but also to the future and destiny of the entire humanity.”
Mr Biden, whose relationship with his opposite number does not just span his four years as president but also when he previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, also focused on the importance of dialogue.
“We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank,” he said, sitting at a long table, surrounded by aides, with Mr Xi opposite him.
“I think that’s vital. These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict. Be competition, not conflict.”
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While clearly directed at him, it is doubtful that Mr Trump will heed the advice.
He has consistently criticised the Biden administration for being too soft on Beijing and has vowed to be much tougher – even saying he would impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.
The president-elect’s picks for top jobs in the White House, such as with China hawks Senator Marco Rubio as his desired secretary of state, and Representative Mike Walz as national security adviser, also point to a hardening in the US’ position on Beijing – which is on a trajectory to overtake Washington as the world’s number one superpower.
This moment of re-ordering in global dominance – something the UK was once forced to absorb when the sun set on the British Empire – is on course to happen regardless of who is in the White House.
But a more hostile and combative commander-in-chief in the White House makes it an increasingly perilous time for everyone.
It is perhaps why the current leaders in Beijing and Washington are so keen to stress that while their feelings towards one another go up and down, the ability to keep talking is critical.
Joe Biden has met with Xi Jinping for the last time as US president, where the Chinese leader said he is “ready to work” with Donald Trump.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, Mr Biden said the US and China’s relationship should be about “competition, not conflict”.
“We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank,” he said.
“We’ve never kidded one another. These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict.
“We’ve been level with one another. I think that’s vital.”
But despite Mr Trump’s proposed measures, Mr Xi said his country’s goal “of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged”.
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“Our commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and… cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged,” he added.
The Chinese president then said the country is “ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences, so as to strive for a steady transition”.
Neither Mr Xi nor Mr Biden responded to a question about whether there were concerns about Mr Trump’s proposed tariffs.
The president-elect has also named several China hawks to his transition team, such as Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson says the health scare in June, which forced the postponement of his boxing match with Jake Paul, almost cost him his life.
“I almost died in June,” Tyson wrote on X, adding that he “had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital”.
The 58-year-old, who lost to the YouTuber-turned-boxer in a unanimous points decision in Texas, tweeted that the situation was far worse than people had realised.
Following Tyson’s recovery, after reportedly suffering an ulcer flareup, he reflected on the result of the fight.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won… no regrets to get in the ring one last time,” he said.
That contrasts with Tyson’s comments after the match in which he refused to confirm whether it would be his last fight.
“It depends on the situation,” Tyson said before suggesting a fight with Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, who was standing near him in the ring.
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Critics argued that the revised match – which involved fewer and shortened rounds, as well as heavier gloves – fell short of entertaining.
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Paul beats Tyson by unanimous decision
Some claimed it appeared more like a glorified sparring session.
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It was Tyson’s first sanctioned pro bout since 2005, when he lost to Kevin McBride and then went into retirement – only briefly reappearing for an exhibition match in 2020 against Roy Jones Jr.
Paul has plenty to prove
Paul, 27, still has plenty to prove. The social media influencer wants to be a championship fighter and compete for a championship belt within two years. “I think it could happen in the next 24 months,” Paul said.
“I truly, truly believe in my skills and my ability and my power. And the cruiserweight division is seemingly open for the taking on that timeline,” he added.
The only professional match he has lost so far has been to Tommy Fury, the less-accomplished brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
But there are questions about when Paul will fight a contender in his prime, as opposed to former champions or mixed martial artists.
Intriguingly, in the days before his fight with Tyson, Paul mentioned super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, considered one of the best boxers in the world.
According to reports, the Texas bout earned Paul $40m (£31.7m) versus $20m (£15.8m) for Tyson.
Netflix said 60 million households worldwide viewed the contest on its streaming platform, and nearly 50 million tuned in to watch the undercard which saw Ireland’s Katie Taylor beat Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano.
Even so there were some technical glitches. More than 90,000 users reported problems on Netflix at its peak, according to the website Downdetector, which tracks outages.