Ten years ago: A federal judge sentenced five former New Orleans police officers to prison for the deadly Danziger Bridge shootings in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina. (The verdicts in the case were later set aside by the judge, who cited prosecutorial misconduct; the officers pleaded guilty in 2016 to reduced charges.)
Five years ago: A chemical attack on an opposition-held town in northern Syria left about 100 people dead; a joint investigation team made up of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and U.N. experts concluded that the Syrian government was responsible. A federal appeals court ruled for the first time that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protected LGBT employees from workplace discrimination; the case involved an Indiana teacher who charged that she wasn’t hired full-time because she was a lesbian.
One year ago: On a second Easter Sunday marked by pandemic restrictions, Christianity’s most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with the faithful far apart in pews, and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings. Pope Francis, in his traditional Easter Sunday address, denounced as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continued to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic triggered severe social and economic suffering and swelled the ranks of the poor. Stanford beat Arizona 54-53 to become NCAA women’s basketball champions.
