5 things you need to know Monday
Verdict due in trial of officer in Freddie Gray case
A Baltimore judge is expected to give a verdict Monday in the trial of police officer Edward Nero, one of six officers facing charges in the death of Freddie Gray more than a year ago. Nero is charged with assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He was among a group of bicycle officers who initially pursued and helped arrest Gray, although Nero claims he did not touch Gray except to help search for his inhaler. Gray, 25, suffered a spinal injury while in police custody on April 12, 2015, and died a week later. His death sparked riots in Baltimore and prompted a series of Black Lives Matter protests across the nation. Nero is the second officer to stand trial in the case. The trial of Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury.
Obama lifts arms export embargo on visit to Vietnam
President Obama on Monday announced an end to the four-decade American arms embargo on its former war rival Vietnam and billions of dollars in new business ties between the two nations. "Just a generation ago, we were adversaries and now we are friends," Obama said during a news conference in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. Obama also predicted eventual passage of another item that is part of the emerging American-Vietnamese relationship: The Trans-Pacific Partnership, the proposed 12-nation trade deal currently stalled in the U.S. Congress. Obama is the third consecutive U.S. president to visit the communist nation.
Absentee ballot could decide tight Austrian runoff election
Absentee ballots are to be counted by Monday and could decide Austria's presidential runoff between far-right candidate Norbert Hofer and independent Alexander Van der Bellen. The candidates were in a statistical dead heat with 50% each after all the direct votes were tallied. With Van der Bellen, the former Green Party chief, ahead by fewer than 3,000 votes the nearly 900,000 absentee votes could determine the winner. Whoever wins, it will be the first time since World War II that the presidency will be held by neither the left-leaning Social Democrats nor the conservative People’s Party.
Trial begins for 'The Shield' actor accused of killing wife
Two years after Michael Jace shot and killed his wife in their Los Angeles home, the actor is scheduled to go on trial. Jace turned himself in to police immediately after the shooting and has been behind bars ever since. His attorneys have said his state of mind on the day of the killing will be a key element of his defense in the murder case. Jace played a police officer on the FX series The Shield and had small roles in films such as Planet of the Apes, Boogie Nights and Forrest Gump.
It's time for the 'Dancing With the Stars' finale
Dancing with the Stars' two-night season finale begins Monday at 8 p.m. ET. Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy, Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd, and Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas are in the finals. Pitbull is set to perform. See how we got here and check out some of the top dances from the previous weeks.
And the essentials:
Weather: Storms and showers are expected from the Northwest to the Plains and Mid-Atlantic Monday, while nice weather awaits the Southwest and Southeast.
Stocks:U.S. stock futures were higher Monday.
Be inspired: The kindergarten teacher who moonlights as a pro wrestler.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at The Price is Right special and the Gotham season finale.
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