MPR News PM Update
March 23, 2021

Look for cloudy skies, with wind and rain, lows near 30 in the northwest  to the mid-40s southeast. Wednesday will be cloudy with more rain likely, mixing with or changing to snow north and west. Highs will be in the 30s northeast to near 50 south. Find the latest on Updraft. 

Jury selection is complete in the trial of Derek Chauvin, clearing the way for opening statements to start on Monday. Judge Peter Cahill seated a man who works as an accountant Tuesday morning.

However Cahill says he'll dismiss this 15th juror next week unless any one of the others is unable to serve. The judge says physical space constraints limit the number of alternates he can include.

Cahill is taking safety precautions in the courtroom because of COVID-19. The jurors will be spread out and sitting in individual desks during the trial.

The 14 jurors expected to hear the case include nine men and five women

Boulder shooting: Police identify suspected gunman, say he's facing 10 murder charges

Minnesota's COVID-19 situation continues to show some signs of concern, even as deaths have stabilized at a relatively low level.

The number of known, active is cases is rising again. Tuesday’s data showed 10,102 active cases — marking five consecutive days with active counts above 10,000, a stretch not seen since late January.

The Health Department on Tuesday reported about 11,400 more vaccinations. While that’s higher last Tuesday, the seven-day vaccination trend is still running at around 41,000 shots daily, roughly what it’s been for the past few weeks. It's the third time in a week that number has topped the 5 percent threshold that concerns health experts.

Hospitalizations have also been inching up steadily, and the 7-day rolling average for admissions now has risen by more than half since the beginning of March.

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What we know about the jurors in the Chauvin trial
The 12 jurors and three alternates picked to review the case against Derek Chauvin include a chemist, a youth volunteer, a cardiac nurse and an IT professional. The group is more racially diverse than Hennepin County as a whole: Nine are white, four are Black, and two identify as multiracial. Six are men and nine are women.
 
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Boulder shooting: Police identify suspected gunman, say he's facing 10 murder charges
Police in Boulder, Colo., have identified the suspect in Monday's shooting rampage at a grocery store as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21. Ten people died in the shooting, including a Boulder police officer who had arrived to help those inside the store. The victims range in age from 20 to 65.

 
MN appeals court hears arguments in Line 3 challenge, asking whether state needs another oil pipeline
A Minnesota Court of Appeals panel grilled attorneys for Enbridge Energy and the state Public Utilities Commission Tuesday, in a case that challenges the state’s approval of the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project and questions whether Enbridge proved that there’s demand for the oil that the pipeline would carry.
 
Stop blaming Tuskegee, critics say. It's not an 'excuse' for current medical racism
For months, journalists, politicians and health officials — from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Dr. Anthony Fauci — have invoked the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to explain why Black Americans are more hesitant than white Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine. "It's a scapegoat," said Karen Lincoln, a professor of social work at USC and founder of Advocates for African American Elders. "It's an excuse. If you continue to use it as a way of explaining why many African Americans are hesitant, it almost absolves you of having to learn more, do more, involve other people – admit that racism is actually a thing today."
 
Transgender student to receive $300K in discrimination suit
Minnesota's largest school district will pay $300,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit with a transgender student who was barred from using the boys' locker room, school officials and supporters of the student said Tuesday.
 
Asian Americans seek greater political power after shootings
Speaking on the floor of the Georgia state Senate last week, Michelle Au implored her colleagues to “stand up” to the hatred aimed at Asian Americans that's increased during the pandemic. A day later, a gunman shook the Atlanta area by killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent.
 
School aid plan clears House as budget debate sharpens
A $107 million school funding proposal passed the Minnesota House on Tuesday that is geared toward developing an array of summer education programs to offset learning loss during COVID-19.
 

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