Happy Wednesday! Here are top news headlines for your morning: Here comes the sun🎵 I feel that ice is slowly melting🎵 Lingering flurries, mixed with some drizzle, will end this morning, and skies will clear out across the state this afternoon. Daytime highs will be in the 40s. Expect some dense, freezing fog on your morning commute. Get the latest from Updraft. If there’s something not working for your kid or your family at their school, this group wants to hear about it. Founded a little over a year ago, the education advocacy group "Minnesota Parent Union" has been trying to amplify the concerns of students and parents in the state, especially those from families of color. “When you think about parents of color, Indigenous parents, and you think about the decision-making tables where things happen, those folks aren’t there,” says former Black Lives Matter activist, Rashad Anthony Turner, who started the organization in 2019. Seven of the nine seated jurors will be heard and questioned again today in the Derek Chauvin trial. That's because of concerns over the impact of a record civil settlement the city of Minneapolis had with the George Floyd family last Friday on the jury pool. The defense this week has asked the presiding judge to delay and move the trial in the wake of that settlement. One potential juror repeated what other jurors have told the court -- that “it’s hard to avoid headlines [about the case and the settlement] it’s everywhere." The court proceedings resume at 8:45 a.m. today. Watch the live coverage on MPRNews.org or on our Facebook page, and follow along with our latest reporting on the case here. Minnesota's vaccination pace is trending down again -- with only 7,500 shots reported administered Tuesday. That number is down from more than 20,000 reported on the prior Tuesday and one of the lowest daily counts over the past six weeks. It’s not necessarily a problem as the state expects to see federal vaccine shipments jump in coming weeks. Right now, though, the overall trend is flat to declining following an early March jump. Here are Minnesota’s latest COVID-19 statistics: - 6,749 deaths (2 new)
- 498,926 positive cases; 97 percent off isolation
- 23 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 vaccine dose
- 76 percent 65 and older with at least 1 vaccine dose
A suspect has been captured in last night's shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight dead. Authorities say all four victims who were shot at two of the three parlors were female, and "it appears that they may be Asian." A 21-year-old man was captured last night and was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt. Minnesota Senate Republicans' budget plan includes help for businesses, and no tax hikes. While the Senate GOP's nearly $51.9 billion two-year proposal is not far off from DFL Gov. Tim Walz's $52.4 billion plan, Walz proposed raising taxes on the state's top earners and companies that have profited amid COVID-19 to help fund spending on education and the state's pandemic recovery efforts. Senate Republicans pledged to balance the state's budget without raising taxes at the start of the legislative session in January. Russia's Vladimir Putin did try to help Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a new intelligent report says. The report says Russian leader Vladimir Putin authorized a campaign to help former President Donald Trump and undermine Joe Biden. There was no indication, however, that Russia or any other country attempted to alter actual votes and it was not on the same scale as Moscow's efforts in 2016. Join the conversation at 11 a.m.: How community members are supporting each other during the Chauvin trial. The killing of George Floyd last summer shook Minnesota to its core and many Minnesotans feel traumatized all over again as coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial picks up. This morning, host Angela Davis talks with guests who are supporting friends and neighbors looking for ways to heal as they confront their feelings of grief, anger, anxiety and fear during the trial. Share your story with us by calling 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 or tweeting @AngelaDavisMPR during the live show. 🎧 Tune in to stay informed and connected. Here's what's coming up on MPR News today. — Jiwon Choi, MPR News | Find me on Twitter @ChoiGEE1 |