(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Derek Chauvin trial closing arguments begin today
After three weeks of testimony, jurors today will hear closing arguments in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in the death of George Floyd on May 25 of last year, when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. The defense will present their argument first, followed by the prosecution. Deliberations could start as early as this afternoon and can go as late as 7:30 p.m. local time each day until a verdict is reached. The jury will be sequestered during deliberations.
Both sides rested their cases last week, with Chauvin on Thursday declining the opportunity to testify in his own defense. His attorneys presented only two days of testimony, during which they called witnesses intended to show that Floyd’s overall health, his drug use and other factors are what caused his death. The prosecution presented two weeks of testimony from witnesses, medical experts and use-of-force experts to press home their contention that Chauvin’s use of force was inappropriate and caused Floyd’s death.
Officials in Minneapolis and around the country are preparing for the possibility of protests when the Chauvin trial verdict is announced. National Guard members are on standby in Minneapolis and schools are going remote later this week in anticipation of any protests. Sources tell ESPN that the NBA has instructed teams to be vigilant about the impact of a potential verdict, including the possibility of game postponements. Tensions are further heightened by the fatal police shooting eight days ago of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Brooklyn Heights, just ten miles from where the Chauvin trial is taking place.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 141,499,661
Global deaths: 3,021,793. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 567,217.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 80,883,696
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 31,670,446 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 567,217. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 61,038.
U.S. total people tested: 416,224,348
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,718,210 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,834,283 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 3,839,338 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,850,668 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 264,505,725 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 209,406,814 doses have been administered, with 131,247,546 people receiving at least one dose and 84,263,408 people fully vaccinated, representing 39.5% and 25.4% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
One in four Americans now fully vaccinated against COVID-19; global deaths top three million
One out of every four Americans has now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Monday morning, 25.4% of people in the U.S. had been fully vaccinated, with 39.5% having received at least one vaccine dose. Further, 50.4% of Americans aged 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines require two doses to be effective, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the White House COVID-19 response effort, said on ABC’s This Week Sunday that he expects the current pause on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine will be lifted by the end of the week. The CDC’s advisory committee last week announced that the next emergency meeting to discuss the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is scheduled for this Friday, April 23. After an initial meeting last Wednesday, the group decided to extend the temporary pause of the J&J vaccine to give themselves time to review additional evidence, after six women were discovered to have developed a rare blood clot after receiving the vaccine.
The vaccine news comes as the total number of reported global deaths from COVID-19 surpassed three million over the weekend, with 3,021,793 as of Monday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. continues to report more coronavirus fatalities than any other nation, with 567,217 as of Monday morning, accounting for just under 19% of global deaths.
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