(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Police release bodycam footage of Ma’Khia Bryant shooting
Columbus police on Wednesday released police bodycam footage and audio of 911 calls from the police shooting Tuesday that killed 16-year-old Black girl Ma’Khia Bryant in southeast Columbus. The city’s interim police chief also said the department will cooperate with a probe by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation to determine if the officer who shot Bryant violated policy. If he did, the chief said the officer would be held accountable. A vigil was held Wednesday night in Columbus for Bryant, who was shot, police say, as she was apparently attempting to stab another girl with whom she was struggling.
Justice Department to investigate Minneapolis police
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday that the Justice Department is launching a “pattern or practice” investigation into the Minneapolis police department. The investigation will attempt to determine whether the department has a pattern of using excessive force during arrests or at protests, whether the department’s officer’s engage in discriminatory conduct, and whether its treatment of people with behavioral disabilities violates the law, Garland said. The announcement came one day after a Minneapolis jury found former officer Derek Chauvin guilty of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd during an arrest.
Daunte Wright’s funeral is today
Hundreds of people attended a public viewing Wednesday at a Minneapolis church for 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright, who was shot and by a police officer on April 11 during a traffic stop in the small city of Brooklyn Center, just outside of Minneapolis. Wright’s funeral is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. today, local time. Reverend Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, with attorney Ben Crump and members of Daunte Wright’s family also expected to speak. The city’s police chief said it appeared from body camera video that the white officer who shot Wright, 26-year police veteran Kim Potter, mistakenly used her pistol when she meant to use her Taser. Potter has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Both she and the police chief resigned soon after the shooting.
New weekly unemployment claims hit pandemic low numbers
Some 547,000 applications for unemployment were filed in the week ending April 17, according to figures released Thursday morning by the U.S. Labor Department. That’s the lowest number since March 14, 2020, at the start of the pandemic, though it’s still more double the 256,000 claims filed then. Even so, today’s numbers, which reflect a decrease of 39,000 claims from the previous week’s revised levels, are a hopeful sign that the jobs market is recovering from pandemic layoffs. There are currently 17,405,094 people claiming unemployment benefits through all government programs.
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: 143,962,157
Global deaths: 3,061,478. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 569,404.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 82,537,200
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 31,862,987 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 569,404. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 61,193.
U.S. total people tested: 421,219,495
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,725,088 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,840,945 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 4,027,827 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,864,319 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 277,938,875 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 215,951,909 doses have been administered, with 134,445,595 people receiving at least one dose and 87,592,646 people fully vaccinated, representing 40.5% and 26.4% 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.
US has met goal of 200 COVID-19 vaccines in 100 days, says Biden; vaccination rate falling, says CDC
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that by the end of the day, America will have met the goal of administering 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine during Biden’s first 100 days in office. Wednesday marked the 92nd day of his administration. Biden initially announced the goal of 100 million doses in his first 100 days, a goal that was met by his 52nd day in office, at which time he doubled it. The president also called on employers to give workers paid time off so they can get vaccinated. “No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated,” Biden said.
More than 51% of American adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But now the Biden administration is facing questions about diminishing demand, with the CDC reporting that the seven-day average count of people receiving their first vaccine dose began dropping nine days ago. That’s one day before the announcement that administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been paused due to concerns over a rare blood clot in some recipients. The next emergency meeting to discuss the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is scheduled for Friday, April 23. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the White House COVID-19 response effort, said on ABC’s This Week last Sunday that he expects the pause will be lifted before the end of this week.
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