(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Derek Chauvin’s attorney requests new trial
The legal team for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed a motion in a Minneapolis court requesting a new trial on multiple grounds, including alleged jury misconduct. The filing by attorney Eric Nelson cites among its reasons alleged “abuse of discretion that deprived the Defendant of a fair trial; prosecutorial and jury misconduct; errors of law at trial; and a verdict that is contrary to law,” all of which were a “violation of Mr. Chauvin’s constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial.” Nelson also says failure to sequester the jury during the trial exposed them to “prejudicial publicity regarding the trial during the proceedings, as well as jury intimidation and potential fear of retribution among jurors.”
John Stiles, deputy chief of staff for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, said in a statement to ABC News, “The court has already rejected many of these arguments and the State will vigorously oppose them.” Chauvin was found guilty on April 20 of all three charges he faced in the death of George Floyd during his arrest on May 25 of last year, including the most serious charge, second-degree unintentional murder. He’s scheduled to be sentenced June 25 and could receive up to 40 years in prison.
Facebook upholds Trump’s ban from posting on platforms
Facebook’s independent Oversight Board this morning announced that it’s upholding the platform’s decision on January 7 to ban former President Trump from posting on Facebook and Instagram. However, the decision notes that the suspension continues to be indefinite, not permanent, and that “Within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine the arbitrary penalty it imposed on January 7 and decide the appropriate penalty.” Though Facebook barred Trump from posting, his page remains visible.
Facebook responded to the board’s decision by declaring, in part, that it was “pleased the board has recognized that the unprecedented circumstances justified the exceptional measure we took.” The response, attributed to Nick Clegg, Facebook VP of Global Affairs and Communications, added, “We will now consider the board’s decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate. In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended.”
Trump was barred from a number of social media outlets, including Twitter, after the deadly January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, which he encouraged. In initially barring Trump, Facebook said that “in maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr. Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible,” which “severely violated Facebook’s Community Standards and Instagram’s Community Guidelines.” Twitter, which the former president used sometimes hourly to post his thoughts, “permanently suspended” Trump’s account on that platform on January 8 “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
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: 154,435,614
Global deaths: 3,229,995. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 578,503.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 91,026,848
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 32,513,455 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 578,503. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 62,029.
U.S. total people tested: 438,358,030
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,749,580 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,865,013 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 4,822,902 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,903,981 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 318,474,035 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 247,769,049 doses have been administered, with 147,894,671 people receiving at least one dose and 106,168,588 people fully vaccinated, representing 44.5% and 32% 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.
President Biden sets new COVID-19 vaccine goals; Pfizer says teen vaccination approval imminent
President Biden is setting new goals for the COVID-19 vaccinations in Americans, calling for 70% of the adult population to have at least one shot and 160 million Americans to be fully vaccinated by July 4th. The modified mandate appears to be an acknowledgement of what scientists have been saying now for months, which is that eradicating COVID-19 might not be possible, especially with millions of Americans refusing to become vaccinated. However, if enough Americans are vaccinated, COVID-19 will become manageable, though the goal of herd immunity is likely beyond reach. Herd immunity is when a large enough percentage of a population develops antibodies – either through vaccination or by recovering from an infection – that they prevent more vulnerable population members from becoming infected. President Biden in March said achieving herd immunity was necessary before Americans could confidently stop wearing masks.
Additionally, Pfizer has advised investors that the Food and Drug Administration DA is expected to authorize its vaccine for 12-15 year olds in the coming days. The company also said it expects to have enough information from clinical trials by September to request adding children aged 2 to 11, and that they expect to apply for use in children as young as six months old by November.
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