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Judge Dismisses Third-Degree Murder Charge in George Floyd Killing The judge upheld the more serious charge of second-degree murder against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was captured on video kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck. A bystander’s video filmed on May 25 showed a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Mr. Floyd’s death touched off worldwide protests. Credit... Darnella Frazier, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A judge has dropped a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd on May 25 by kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes. Judge Peter Cahill upheld a more serious charge of second-degree murder as well as a second-degree manslaughter charge against Mr. Chauvin, 44, who  was released on $1 million bail  this month. The ruling, which was  issued on Wednesday  in Hennepin County, Minn., came in respo

FDA approves remdesivir to treat COVID-19 It’s the first full approval for a drug treating the disease The Food and Drug Administration  approved  remdesivir to treat COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. The drug, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Gilead, is the first approved COVID-19 treatment in the United States. Remdesivir, now marketed under the brand name Veklury, was authorized for emergency use by the FDA  in May . That emergency authorization indicated that the FDA thought the benefits of using the drug outweighed the risks, even though there was no clear evidence showing that it helped patients with COVID-19 at the time. “The FDA is committed to expediting the development and availability of COVID-19 treatments during this unprecedented public health emergency,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn  in a statement . The drug works by preventing viruses from making copies of themselves. It was first developed by Gilead to treat Ebola, and research over the  past few year

Quibi is shutting down just months after launching Quibi, the short-form video streaming service from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, announced Wednesday that it will be shutting down. The abrupt end to the expensive project comes just six months after its debut. Quibi was reported to be returning  $350 million  of the $1.75 billion it raised from investors. (NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, is a minority investor in Quibi, and NBC News produced a daily show on the platform. NBCUniversal and NBC News declined to comment.) The company struggled to win over subscribers and meet its growth targets. Since it launched in April, Quibi has faced tepid reviews and internal strife, and it has failed to win over consumers in the numbers it needed to thrive. Katzenberg was already exploring options last month, including  selling the company , as he struggled to sign up subscribers. The service, which was highly anticipated given the involvement of Katzenberg, the former chairman