minute. we ve seen a more tragic narrative in belarus, where massive protests look poised to topple the dictator. but, his brutal crackdown, backed by russia, has so far succeeded in nearly obliterating the opposition. we don t get how kazakhstan. as we speak russian is sending thousands of troops into the country, to act as so called, peacekeepers. kazakhstan s president says he s giving his own troops shoot to kill orders against protesters. this abbott and flow of democracy is constant around the world. democracy, holding on tenuously in ukraine, seeing a spark of life in kazakhstan. slipping away in belarus. democracy eroding in hungary, extinguished with terrifying speed in hong kong. but, also, advancing in something unexpected places. the island nations of samoa managed to survive a constitutional crisis this past summer. and the democratically elected,
less than two years ago, but his brutal crackdown, backed by russia, has so far succeeded in nearly obliterating the opposition. we don t yet know how things will go in kazakhstan, as we speak, russia is sending thousands of troops into the country to act as so-called peace keepers, and kazakhstan s president says he s given his own troops shoot to kill orders against protesters. this ebb and flow of democracy is constant around the world. democracy, holding on tenuously, in ukraine, seeing a spark of life in kazakhstan, slipping away in belarus. democracy eroding in hungary, extinguished with terrifying speed in hong kong, but also advancing in some unexpected places, the island nation of samoa managed to survive a constitutional crisis this past summer and the democratically elected and first female prime minister took office. just weeks ago the caribbean nation of barbados removed queen elizabeth as its head of state
killed 20-year-old daunte wright during a traffic stop last april. potter claims she confused her handgun for a taser. outside the courthouse in minneapolis and shaq, yesterday we know an emotional first day of testimony there. what can we expect today? reporter: well, based on opening statements we know we can expect to the hear from nor law enforcement officers perhaps use of force experts in the next couple days of testimony. you mentioned that emotional testimony we heard from the mother of daunte right yesterday who was not only a spark of life witness, someone who could speak to the character of the individual who was lost, daunte wright, but also a fact witness because she was on the phone with her son as he was being pulled over, and then got a call minutes later, saw what she described as his lifeless body. listen to what she said in court yesterday. i wanted to protect him, because that s what mothers do. you protect your children. you make sure that they re safe.
the same prosecutor in the derek chauvin case, her them is erin eldridge. this trial just started, there were opening statements today, and this is the prosecution s first witness. reporter: the very first witness is the mother of 20-year-old daunte wright. and youknow, often in these cas when the victim has died or the person when daept wright the victim has died in this case, there is a so-called spark of life witness and katie is acting in that role at the spark of life witness, someone who can speak to the type of person he was, his character can kind of give that personal touch to him. she has the uniqueness of being a factual witness in this case. she was the person he was on the phone with when the interaction was happening between him and kim potter, the former officer now on trial for manslaughter that she is facing. so we re getting a sense of both the personal touch and the
EXPLAINER: How Floyd s spark of life played out at trial
STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press
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1of5In this image from video, witness Courteney Ross answers questions as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides Thursday, April 1, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)APShow MoreShow Less
2of5In this image from video, witness Courteney Ross answers questions as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides Thursday, April 1, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)APShow MoreShow Less