| May 20, 2021 We’ll see more scattered rain and thunder cells Thursday night and Friday. Friday and Saturday brings summerlike weather to Minnesota. Highs reach the 80s across much of Minnesota Friday afternoon. Get the latest from Updraft. The Minnesota Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday on whether three former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's killing should face an additional charge. Prosecutors argue that Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao should face a charge of aiding and abetting third-degree murder. The three ex-cops are set to go on trial next March on other charges for their role in Floyd's deadly arrest.
Prosecutors say there is precedent to add the charge based on a previous court of appeals ruling. That ruling led to the addition and ultimately a conviction on third-degree murder against Derek Chauvin. A third-degree murder charge includes elements of a depraved mind and recklessness. But attorneys representing the former officers say it's not possible to be an accomplice to a depraved state of mind.
The court of appeals says it will issue a decision within 90 days.
Minnesota saw a slight jump in the number of COVID-19 cases today over the last couple of days. There were 874 newly reported COVID-19 cases in Minnesota. The seven-day average for cases continues to fall.
There were also eight newly reported COVID-19 related deaths. One of those was in long-term care.
The state positivity rate is down to 3.4 percent, that's below the level of concern.
Vaccinations were up slightly, mostly due to a backlog in data of Minnesotans who were vaccinated in North Dakota. The department of health says that 62 percent of Minnesotans age 16 or older now have at least one dose of a vaccine, 55 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
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