More than two-dozen witnesses were interviewed by the prosecution team, this person said.
One of the more important pieces of evidence, this person said, was how city and state officials submitted documentation related to the federal lead and copper rule, which governs acceptable levels of those toxins in drinking water. The person familiar with the matter said that some officials who worked on and submitted these reports included information they knew to be incorrect.
Flint's water became contaminated with lead in April 2014 when the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched its drinking water source from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit water system to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials have acknowledged a disastrous mistake when they failed to require the city to add corrosion-control chemicals as part of the treatment process.
The corrosive water caused lead to leach from pipes, joints and fixtures. Although Flint reconnected to Detroit water in October, after state officials acknowledged the lead-poisoning problem after months of denials, the risk remains because of damage to the water infrastructure system.
Officials also are exploring possible links between the river water and the Legionnaires outbreak.
The state and city are now treating the pipes with higher levels of phosphates in an effort to build up a protective coating that will prevent lead from further leaching. Having more water flowing in the system would help that process, and that's one reason Snyder and other state officials want Flint residents to start using their taps again.
NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton handily defeatedBernie Sanders in New York’s Tuesday primary, dealing him a blow that could cement her grip on the Democratic nomination as the campaign heads to other Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states later this month.
"Today you proved once again, there’s no place like home,” Clinton told supporters at a victory speech in a Manhattan hotel ballroom as she headed toward a double-digit victory in the state she represented in the Senate for eight years. While the campaign has notched victories across the country, "this one’s personal," said Clinton. She also called the race for the nomination “in the homestretch.”
Clinton seemed to make a direct appeal to Sanders' supporters as the race has taken an increasingly bitter tone in recent weeks. "There is much more that unites us than divides us." She took no direct shots at the Vermont senator who's given her an unexpectedly fierce challenge, keeping her focus on Republicans Donald Trump andTed Cruz.
The two are "pushing a vision for America that’s divisive and, frankly, dangerous,” she said, including a return to “trickle-down economics,” opposition to a minimum wage increase and hostility to immigrants, said Clinton. “We have a very different vision. It’s about lifting each other up, not tearing each other down.”
In a rally at Penn State University prior to polls closing in New York, Sanders emphasized his campaign's core themes.
“What we have shown, uniquely, is that we can run a winning national campaign without being dependent on the big money interests," he told supporters in Pennsylvania, which holds a primary on April 26 along with four other states.
“Secretary Clinton has chosen another approach,” he said, citing the role of super PACs in backing her campaign.
Later, speaking to reporters at Burlington's airport after returning to Vermont, Sanders congratulated Clinton on her New York win.
"We think we have a message that is resonating throughout this country. We have come a long, long way," Sanders added. “We have a very, very strong grass-roots movement. … Activism wins elections.”
Sanders also raised concerns about what he called “voting irregularities” in New York and said he believes independents should have been allowed to participate in the primary.
Clinton made eight stops around the Big Apple on Monday in a final hectic campaign push, including visiting with cafeteria workers in Yonkers, drinking Asian bubble tea in Queens and mingling at an Irish Americans for Hillary event in Manhattan.
With 247 pledged delegates at stake in New York's primary, Clinton — who entered Tuesday's contest with more than 1,750 delegates when superdelegates were factored in — stood to inch closer to the 2,383 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Clinton had significant advantages in New York, including that it is a closed primary. Sanders has benefited from the support of independents in past contests.
Clinton was also buoyed by strong support among minorities, according to exit polls, while the two split the white vote.
Sanders, a Vermont senator who was born in Brooklyn, once predicted he could beat Clinton in New York and argued that a heavy turnout would favor him. Sanders has pledged to fight all the way to the convention in July.
Tensions heightened between the two campaigns in the days leading up to Tuesday’s vote. Sanders accused Clinton of violating campaign finance laws with a joint fundraising deal between the campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
“While the use of joint fundraising agreements has existed for some time — it is unprecedented for the DNC to allow a joint committee to be exploited to the benefit of one candidate in the midst of a contested nominating contest,” said Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager.
Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, shot back in a statement the "false attacks" from the Vermont senator's campaign "have gotten out of hand."
“As Senator Sanders faces nearly insurmountable odds, he is resorting to baseless accusations of illegal actions and poisoning the well for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket," Mook said. "It is shameful that Senator Sanders has resorted to irresponsible and misleading attacks just to raise money for himself.”
swaggering 3-0 victory on Sunday
London - Harry Kane blew Bournemouth away as title-chasing Tottenham kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Leicester with a swaggering 3-0 victory on Sunday.
Kane took just 44 seconds to open the scoring at White Hart Lane and the Tottenham striker netted again 15 minutes later to effectively kill off Bournemouth before half-time.
Christian Eriksen added Tottenham's third goal after the interval to keep his side firmly in the hunt for a first English title since 1961.
Mauricio Pochettino's second-placed team are only five points behind Leicester and, with seven games remaining, they go into the international break as the most credible candidates to profit from any slips by the leaders in the closing weeks.
This was a high-class Tottenham display and Kane, who had scored twice to seal last weekend's victory at Aston Villa, looks almost unstoppable at present.
Keeping the England star fit and in-form is the key to Tottenham's bid for a first title since the glory days of Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay, and Pochettino seems well aware of that.
Leicester's win at Crystal Palace on Saturday had left Tottenham with no margin for error but, crucially, Pochettino had rested Kane, Eriksen, Mousa Dembele and Kyle Walker for Thursday's Europa League defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
The Argentine's gamble was vindicated when two of his refreshed stars combined to give Tottenham the lead before the sell-out crowd had even got comfortable in their seats.
After struggling in the opening weeks, Kane had kick-started his season with a hat-trick in Tottenham's 5-1 win at Bournemouth in October and he took less than a minute to feast on the Cherries' defence yet again.
Walker advanced unchecked down the right flank and whipped over a low cross that Kane met with a perfectly-timed run into the six-yard box, where he deftly guided the ball into the far corner.
It was Kane's 22nd goal in his last 30 club appearances and took him to 20 Premier League goals for a second consecutive season.
With their top-flight survival almost secured after three successive victories, Bournemouth had less motivation than their high-flying opponents and it showed as Tottenham tore through them again to double their advantage in the 16th minute.
Following a lengthy spell of probing possession, Dele Alli twisted the knife, playing a sumptuous pass to locate Kane's intelligent run and the England striker's predatory instincts did the rest as he fired a precise low drive past Artur Boruc from the edge of the penalty area.
Bournemouth's choice of a lurid pink away kit looked like being their only inspired move of the afternoon as it camouflaged their defenders' blushes after more sloppy play allowed Eriksen to time and space to shoot over when the Dane should have hit the target.
Pochettino's team, quicker in thought and deed, were running rings around the visitors and Alli thought he'd added a third when he crashed home from close-range, only to see the effort disallowed as Kane had been caught offside in the build-up.
Tottenham's relentless pressing must have had Eddie Howe's players wishing they could jet off for their planned warm-weather training camp in Dubai at half-time rather than next week.
There was no let-up from the hosts at the start of the second half and a rapid counter saw Kane tee up Walker for a powerful strike that fizzed wide.
A third goal looked inevitable and it duly arrived in the 52nd minute.
Kane unleashed a 25-yard drive that Boruc should have held, but the Bournemouth goalkeeper instead parried it straight to Eriksen, who had the simple task of slotting into the empty net.
Alli and Ryan Mason wasted good chances to make it four, but jubilant chants of "Leicester City, we're coming for you" were filling the north London air, and Tottenham fans have every reason to believe their team can do exactly that.
Super Rugby Week 4
1. High drama at Loftus
Friday night’s clash between the Bulls and Sharks at Loftus Versfeld ended in bizarre circumstances.
Bulls replacement flyhalf Tian Schoeman kicked a long-range penalty to level matters at 16-16 with less than a minute to play, only for Sharks flank Marcell Coetzee to win a last-gasp penalty on the ground in what should have won the game for the visitors.
However, Joe Pietersen missed an absolute sitter in front of the posts to see the game end in a stalemate.
The Sharks though learned a hard lesson that one should not overzealously celebrate before a game is actually won.
They celebrated wildly as the referee awarded the penalty, only to be left stunned when Pietersen botched his attempt.
In my view, the Bulls did enough to deserve a draw after many had written them off beforehand and a draw was perhaps a fair result.
2. Fleck outfoxes Larkham
It may not have been the case often during their playing days, but Stormers coach Robbie Fleck outfoxed his Brumbies counterpart Stephen Larkham in Saturday night’s clash at Newlands.
Fleck has expressed his desire to play running rugby and in the build-up to Saturday’s clash, more of the same was expected.
However, the Stormers kicked often in this game and in doing so turned the Brumbies’ big forwards and backs around.
It prevented the Brumbies from building momentum, forced them to play from deep and reduced the influence of their dangerous fetchers.
It was a masterstroke by Fleck.
3. Defensive Cheetahs frailties
Before their clash against the Lions in Johannesburg, Cheetahs coach Franco Smith insisted that they had worked hard on their defence.
He also insisted that they had the right defensive structures in place and that it was rather individuals slipping tackles at crucial times.
Whatever the reasons, the fact is that the Cheetahs are not showing enough commitment on defence. They have already slipped more than 100 tackles in the competition and missing 20 in the first half cost them the game against the Lions.
It simply has to be sorted out if the Cheetahs are to win games going forward in the competition.
The same can be said for the hapless Kings, who again conceded a half-century against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
This week, they face Hurricanes in Wellington and I fear more of the same for the men from Port Elizabeth.
4. Lions rue lost bonus point
The Lions were the latest team in this year’s competition to learn a harsh lesson about the new try-scoring bonus point rule.
According to the new rules, a team must score three more tries than their opponents in order to gain a try-scoring bonus point.
When the Lions scored their fourth in the 41st minute for a 31-3 lead, five points appeared a certainty.
However, the Cheetahs came back roaring with three tries of their own to deny the Lions a try-scoring bonus-point.
In the end, the Lions scored five tries - but only two more than their opponents - so had to settle for four points from the game.
I’m still not sure I like the new rule though. Surely the Lions deserved a bonus point for scoring five tries…?
5. Marius Jonker in the spotlight AGAIN!
Television Match Official Marius Jonker was again in the spotlight during the Stormers v Brumbies game at Newlands. The previous week, he had handed the Sharks a controversial penalty try and this weekend he was again involved in a contentious call.
He was right to instruct the referee to give Brumbies replacement hooker Josh Mann-Rea a red card for throwing several punches at Stormers reserve prop Oli Kebble, but the jury still appears to be out on whether Dillyn Leyds’s try in the corner should have been awarded.
Leyds appeared to lose control of the ball, but the try was awarded as on replays it appeared that Leyds’s hand was still on the ball when it touched the ground.
Retired referee Jonathan Kaplan said on his Twitter account that the try should not have been awarded, while Nick Mallett afterwards said he felt the right call was made.
“The try Dillyn Leyds scored did look like a knock-on and in the old days it would’ve been a knock-on. But I do think it was a try, as you don't have to control the ball (while grounding it), just maintain contact with it. I don't think there was daylight between the ball and his hand. The Stormers didn’t get the rub of the green last week with that Siya Kolisi (penalty try) call, but they got it this week,” Mallett said in the SuperSport studio after the game.
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