Summary
That is all from me for today, readers! Here are stories from today to be aware of if you need a rundown.
- A close friend of Matt Gaetz tried to use the representative’s connections to Trump to seek a pardon for his involvement in a sex trafficking case that is being investigated, Politico reported.
- The majority of US CEOs think Biden’s corporate tax rate hike will have a negative impact, a new survey has shown.
- Calls to fire Tucker Carlson, the incendiary Fox News host, have increased after he went on a rant about immigrants that civil rights advocates have called “an endorsement of white supremacist ideology”.
- Multiple people including a police officer were shot Monday at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, authorities said, adding that the scene had been secured.
- After an internal vote, the mayor of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, has taken control of police department following a fatal shooting of another Black man there.
- The death of Daunte Wright, black man shot by Minnesota officer, has been ruled a homicide, by the local medical examiner.
That is all from me. Follow my colleague Oliver Laughland at @oliverlaughland for more updates on protests surrounding the killing of Daunte Wright as the evening continues.
Updated
Death of Daunte Wright, black man shot by Minnesota officer, has been ruled a homicide
The death of Daunte Wright, a black man shot and killed by police in Minnesota, has been ruled a homicide by the Hennepin county medical examiner.
Wright was shot by a police officer during a routine traffic stop in Brooklyn Center in Minnesota on Sunday and later died. The incident happened less than a 10-minute drive from where a former police officer is on trial for killing George Floyd, another black Minnesotan man, almost a year ago.
There are now a few hundred protesters outside the Brooklyn Center police dept, which is circled by fencing. Protesters have also blockaded off parts of Humboldt Ave. pic.twitter.com/jxCLxEzwvH
— Oliver Laughland (@oliverlaughland) April 12, 2021
The officer involved in Wright’s shooting reportedly fired the weapon mistakenly thinking it was a taser, according to police. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Peaceful protests have been ensuing in Minnesota after the killing. Follow my colleague Oliver Laughland at @oliverlaughland for more details as the evening continues.
Updated
US budget deficit hits record high for March
The federal US government posted a March budget deficit of $660bn, a record high for the month, as direct payments to Americans under Joe Biden’s stimulus package were distributed, the treasury department said on Monday.
The deficit for the first six months of the 2021 fiscal year ballooned to a record $1.706 trillion, compared to a $743 billion deficit for the comparable year-earlier period.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a big impact on the first six months of fiscal 2020, as increased outlays tied to rising unemployment due to pandemic-related lockdowns and major new aid spending did not start until the very end of March 2020 and ramped up in the following month, a Treasury official told reporters.
The March 2021 deficit was the third highest U.S. monthly deficit on record, surpassed by gaps of $864 billion in June 2020 and $738 billion in April 2020.
Read the full report from Reuters here.
Updated
Will Smith won’t film new movie in Georgia in protest of voting law
American actor Will Smith is refusing to film his new movie in Georgia after the state passed a “racist” voting law, Democratic coalition co-founder Scott Dworkin tweeted on Monday.
Will Smith won’t film his new movie in Georgia due to their racist voting law.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) April 12, 2021
The film, Emancipation, was set to be filmed in Georgia but its director, Antoine Fuqua, and Smith said they do not want to support the state after it passed laws restricting voting access that many say could disproportionately impact minority voters. The film, set for release on Apple TV, is about a runaway slave who flees a plantation to join the Union army and fight against slavery.
“We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access,” Mr Smith’s company Westbrook Inc and Mr. Fuqua’s Fuqua Films said in a joint statement, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Smith’s decision marks just the latest stand to be taken against the voting law, which has been denounced by Georgia-based companies including Delta airlines and Coca-Cola. America’s top Black business leaders and CEOs also released a letter condemning widespread efforts across the United States to make it harder to vote and others have threatened to pull out of the state.
“There is no middle ground here,” Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, told the New York Times, which first reported on the letter. “You either are for more people voting, or you want to suppress the vote.”
Updated
Mayor of Brooklyn Center takes control of police department following shooting
After Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a police officer yesterday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, the mayor of the Minneapolis suburb will take leadership over the police department following a 3-2 vote on Tuesday.
Moments ago the council passed a motion 3-2 to give command authority over our Police Department to my office. At such a tough time, this will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership. I appreciate the other councilmembers who voted to approve this motion pic.twitter.com/qa1cWMurkI
— Mayor Mike Elliott (@mayor_elliott) April 12, 2021
The office of Mike Elliott, the mayor of Brooklyn Center, will now make unilateral decisions about the police force until further notice to manage the fallout from the fatal shooting, which occurred during a routine traffic stop.
This comes after the police force was criticized for having a blue line flag outside its station - a symbol that represents police force solidarity with one another, often even in the face of misconduct.
Brooklyn center police are flying a blue line flag outside the station right now pic.twitter.com/07i9IezVNP
— Andy Mannix (@AndrewMannix) April 12, 2021
Minneapolis has set a curfew following the shooting, as president Joe Biden urged “peace and calm” after the shooting.
Multiple people shot in Knoxville school shooting
Multiple people including a police officer were shot Monday at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, authorities said, adding that the scene had been secured.
There was no immediate report on the exact number of people shot or the extent of the victims’ injuries, according to the Associated Press. Bob Thomas, the superintendent of Knox County Schools, tweeted later Monday that a shooting had occurred but the building had been secured.
“The school building has been secured and students who were not involved in the incident have been released to their families,” Thomas said. He added in a separate tweet that authorities were gathering information and about “this tragic situation” and that additional information would be provided later.
Details about the shooting remained sketchy and news outlets showed numerous police and emergency vehicles at the scene. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it was sending agents to the scene.
Updated
‘White supremacist’ rant leads many to call for Tucker Carlson’s removal from Fox News
Calls to fire Tucker Carlson, the incendiary Fox News host, have increased after he went on a rant about immigrants that civil rights advocates have called “an endorsement of white supremacist ideology”.
Carlson said on his program that immigration would “dilute the political power” of Americans, which the Anti-Defamation league called a reflection of “white replacement”, a racist theory that has been cited as a motivation for eugenics, discrimination, and deadly attacks.
On Sunday, Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive and national director of the ADL, told CNN Fox News should fire Carlson because of his “open-ended endorsement of white supremacist ideology”.
“I think we’ve really crossed a new threshold when a major news network dismisses this or pretends like it isn’t important,” Greenblatt said. “Tucker has got to go.”
Read the full story, from my colleague Edward Helmore, here.
Updated
US CEOs say Biden’s corporate tax rate hike will negatively impact their businesses
The majority of US CEOs think Biden’s corporate tax rate hike will have a negative impact, a new survey has shown.
Influential business lobbying group Business Roundtable, whose members include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple’s Tim Cook, surveyed 178 CEOs on their thoughts on an increase in corporate tax following the president’s announcement he would raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% to pay for his $2.3tn infrastructure plan. Details from our own Lauren Aratani:
According to 98% of the CEOs surveyed, the corporate tax increase would have a “moderately” to “very” severe impact on their company’s ability to compete on a global scale. Three-fourths of the CEOs said that the tax would negatively affect their ability to conduct research and development innovation and 71% said it would negatively affect their ability to hire new employees.
The increase in the corporate tax rate, along with a proposal for higher taxes on companies seeking to get lower tax rates abroad, is part of Biden’s plan to undo the tax cuts Donald Trump made in 2017.
When the cuts were passed, Republicans argued that it would encourage domestic investment, which would increase worker productivity and ultimately raise wages. Democrats and some economists are skeptical that any of the benefits from the cuts were seen in the economy before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read here for more details.
Updated
Close friend of Matt Gaetz sought to use the Trump ally’s influence for pardon in sex trafficking case
A close friend of the alleged sex trafficker and Trump ally Matt Gaetz scrambled to cover his tracks as officials closed in on him in an investigation into sex trafficking last year, a chat thread shared with Politico shows.
Joel Greenberg, a close friend of Republican representative Gaetz, has been accused of sex trafficking relating to a 17-year-old girl (now 20 years old). Gaetz is also facing investigation relating to the same minor. Messages shared with Politico show that Greenberg in 2020 entered a panic when he learned he was facing an indictment for sex trafficking over his involvement with the girl.
The messages showed Greenberg reached out to mutual friends of his and the representative to try to rally them in his defense, including pressuring Gaetz to use his influence with Trump for a pardon, Politico reports. Greenberg said he was paying legal fees for the woman, the messages showed. From the report:
He fumed that the prosecutor should be fired. He suspected that a political consultant “was the rat here.” He fretted that investigators had combed through his Venmo cash app history, fearing it led them to the former teen at the center of the case.
The WhatsApp messages shed light on key aspects of the scandal consuming the Florida Republican congressman and close ally of President Donald Trump — and on the state of mind of the man Gaetz once called his “wingman” as he sought to manage the fallout.
Gaetz did not confirm nor deny to Politico the existence of these messages, but did say he never asked Trump to pardon Greenberg. The House ethics committee has launched an investigation into Gaetz as the federal investigations continue.
Updated
Hello all, Kari Paul here in Oakland, California taking over the blog for the next few hours. Stay tuned for updates.
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Kari Paul, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Daunte Wright was killed by the “accidental discharge” of an officer’s gun, the Brooklyn Center police chief said. Chief Tim Gannon played body-camera footage showing a police officer shouting “Taser! Taser!” before fatally shooting Wright, a 20-year-old Black man. The shooting has sparked protests in Minneapolis, and the mayor of the city has already announced a curfew will be in effect tonight.
- Joe Biden said he had seen the body-camera footage of the fatal shooting of Wright and urged “peace and calm” in Minnesota. The president encouraged Americans to “wait and see” what the investigation into the shooting reveals. “The question is: Was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined by a full-blown investigation,” Biden said. “But in the meantime, there is absolutely no justification, none, for looting. No justification for violence. Peaceful protest? Understandable.”
- George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, testified at the trial of Derek Chauvin. Floyd described his brother as “a person that everybody loved around the community”. Shortly before that emotional testimony, a cardiologist told the jury that Floyd’s death was “absolutely preventable” and would not have occurred if Chauvin had not kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
- Nearly half of American adults have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, according to the White House pandemic response team. More than a quarter of US adults are now fully vaccinated.
- Biden said he was “prepared to negotiate” over his $2tn infrastructure proposal, which has attracted some criticism on both sides of the aisle. “I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it,” the president said at the start of his afternoon meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Some Republicans have called for a much smaller bill focused solely on improving the nation’s roads and bridges.
Kari will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Biden on infrastructure package: 'I'm prepared to negotiate'
Joe Biden said he was ready to negotiate with Republicans over his $2tn infrastructure proposal, echoing earlier comments from the White House press secretary.
“I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it,” the president said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
President Biden at meeting with bipartisan group of Members of Congress to discuss American Jobs Plan "I'm prepared to negotiate." pic.twitter.com/H3FMhRgZFi
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 12, 2021
Biden added, “I think everyone acknowledges we need a significant increase in infrastructure, and it’s going to get down to what we call infrastructure.”
The president noted some Republicans have strongly pushed back against Biden’s proposal to include clean water initiatives and broadband expansion in an infrastructure bill, instead calling for a simpler plan focused on improving America’s roads and bridges.
Although the president has signaled he is open to compromise on the size and scope of the infrastructure bill, he has remained adamant that Congress must act on this issue.
“We will not be open to doing nothing,” Biden said last week. “Inaction simply is not an option.”
Chauvin trial: Floyd was ‘a person everybody loved’, brother says
The Guardian’s Joanna Walters and Victoria Bekiempis report:
George Floyd’s younger brother, Philonise Floyd, took the stand on Monday in the trial of the former police officer accused of murdering him and told the jury how George Floyd was “a person that everybody loved around the community”.
Philonise Floyd broke down in tears when shown a picture of his late mother and a young George Floyd, saying: “I miss both of them.”
He testified as part of an effort by prosecutors to humanize his brother in front of the jury and make him more than a crime statistic. Minnesota is a rarity as a state in allowing what is known as “spark of life” testimony during the trial stage.
Earlier, a heart specialist said that George Floyd’s death was “absolutely preventable” and he would have lived if now-ex police officer Derek Chauvin had not pinned him to the street.
Chauvin, who is white, denies murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, last May, when he knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest.
Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, took the stand as the last medical expert called by the prosecution. He told the jury he was certain Floyd did not die of a heart attack, heart disease or a drug overdose.
The Minnesota Twins have delayed their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox today out of respect for the family of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer yesterday.
“Out of respect for the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, and following the additional details in this evolving situation, the Minnesota Twins have decided it is in the best interests of our fans, staff, players and community to not play today’s game,” the team said in a statement.
“The Minnesota Twins organization extends its sympathies to the family of Daunte Wright.”
The #MNTwins issued the following statement regarding the decision to postpone today's scheduled game against the Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/7U1S2P928j
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 12, 2021
Minneapolis mayor announces curfew after police killing of Wright
The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has announced a curfew after the police killing of Daunte Wright in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn Center.
The curfew will be in effect from 7 pm to 6 am local time.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announces state of emergency and 7pm - 6am curfew following the police killing of Daunte Wright. pic.twitter.com/kosr7HuvSg
— The Recount (@therecount) April 12, 2021
“We must seek peace tonight,” Frey said at a press conference with the governor of Minnesota.
“And as of this afternoon, I have declared a state of emergency in the city of Minneapolis, and we are following that up with a curfew that will begin at 7 pm tonight.”
Frey referred to the fatal shooting of Wright, which has sparked protests in Minneapolis, as “a careless and tragic mistake”. Body-camera footage of the shooting indicated the officer involved was attempting to deploy her taser and instead accidentally fired her gun, killing Wright.
The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland, Amudalat Ajasa and Tom McCarthy report:
Mourners and outraged community members made their way to the site where Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. On a grey, damp morning, Ben Witz and his sister came to the site to lay balloons.
“This is more difficult because there was another, there was another unarmed shooting,” Witz said, explaining that family members lived in the area and that the community was still traumatized from George Floyd’s killing and the unrest that followed.
“It seems like it’s a common occurrence now with the police,” Witz said. “It’s crazy what’s happening. It really is.”
As the body-camera footage was released, a small group of activists in the police headquarters waiting area demanded the officer, who has not been identified, be fired immediately.
“Seeing the video just confirms what we already knew,” said Toshira Garraway, the founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. “It’s just killing after killing after killing.”
She added: “They will always say, ‘I was afraid, or it was an accident.’ But the fact of the matter is: this was a murder. If she is not fired, this is only going to escalate.”
Biden says he has seen body-camera footage of Wright killing, calls for 'peace and calm'
Joe Biden said he has viewed the body-camera footage showing a police officer fatally shooting Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before his infrastructure meeting, the president said he has not yet spoken to Wright’s family. Biden encouraged Americans to “wait and see” what the investigation into the shooting reveals.
Pres. Biden on police killing of Daunte Wright: “Was it an accident or was it intentional? That remains to be determined ...”
— The Recount (@therecount) April 12, 2021
“In the meantime, I want to make it clear again: There is absolutely no justification, none, for looting ... Peaceful protest? Understandable.” pic.twitter.com/S4OOqfzYqq
The president said, “The question is: Was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined by a full-blown investigation. But in the meantime, there is absolutely no justification, none, for looting. No justification for violence. Peaceful protest? Understandable.”
Biden suggested Americans should “listen to Daunte’s mom, who is calling for peace and calm”.
The Brooklyn Center police chief shared the body-camera footage earlier this afternoon, and it appeared to show an officer attempting to deploy a taser and instead firing her gun, killing Wright.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump will represent the family of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed by a police officer yesterday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
“Daunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us - not just the whitest among us,” Crump said in a statement announcing his work with the Wright family.
“As Minneapolis and the rest of the country continue to deal with the tragic killing of George Floyd, now we must also mourn the loss of this young man and father. This level of lethal force was entirely preventable and inhumane. What will it take for law enforcement to stop killing people of color?
“The growing number of Black men and women who have been killed or harmed by police is far too hefty a price for the equality we are seeking. We join Daunte’s family in demanding justice for him, and holding those responsible for his death accountable.”
Earlier this afternoon, the Brooklyn Center police chief shared body-camera footage indicating the officer involved was attempting to use her taser on Wright and instead accidentally discharged her gun, killing the young man.
Biden picks Tucson police chief for CBP
Staying on immigration, the Biden administration has picked Chris Magnus, chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, to lead Customs and Border Protection, an agency which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Magnus, who is gay, came to national prominence for supporting Black Lives Matter protesters and criticising immigration policies pursued by the Trump administration.
In a 2017 column for the New York Times, he wrote: “The harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and [then attorney general Jeff] Sessions’s reckless policies ignore a basic reality known by most good cops and prosecutors.
“If people are afraid of the police, if they fear they may become separated from their families or harshly interrogated based on their immigration status, they won’t report crimes or come forward as witnesses.”
Magnus must be confirmed in his new role by the Senate. If he is – and Republican opposition seems likely – he will face a tough job. The administration is seeking to cope with a record number of border crossings that is likely to grow in the coming months, with US facilities already strained by children and teenagers coming into the country from Central America.
The Biden administration has secured agreements for Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala to place more troops on their borders, a White House official told Reuters on Monday amid a growing number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexican border.
The official did not provide details. Earlier, White House aide Tyler Moran told MSNBC the administration had secured the agreements. Reuters was not immediately able to establish what agreements the officials were referring to or whether they go beyond existing enforcement measures in those countries.
The Mexican, Honduran and Guatemalan governments did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Reuters reported in March that Mexico had stepped up raids aimed at rounding up migrants transiting toward the US border, and reinforced efforts along its border with Guatemala.
Those efforts have not yet produced significant results, and have been complicated by pandemic restrictions and new rules limiting the capacity of Mexican detention centers.
In January, just before Biden took office, Guatemala deployed security forces to halt a US-bound caravan of migrants, and Guatemalan government officials have vowed to keep up the pressure.
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Nearly half of American adults have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, according to the White House pandemic response team. More than a quarter of US adults are now fully vaccinated.
- Joe Biden will soon hold a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss his infrastructure proposal. So far, Republicans have shown little willingness to negotiate with the president over the deal. The White House said today that Biden is “absolutely” willing to compromise on the size and scope of the infrastructure bill.
- Daunte Wright was killed by the “accidental discharge” of an officer’s gun, the Brooklyn Center police chief said moments ago. Chief Tim Gannon played body-camera footage showing a police officer shouting “Taser! Taser!” before fatally shooting Wright, a 20-year-old Black man.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Daunte Wright killed by officer's 'accidental discharge' of gun, police chief says
The chief of the Brooklyn Center police department said he believes Daunte Wright was fatally shot because of an officer’s “accidental discharge” of her gun.
At a press conference, police chief Tim Gannon played the body-camera footage showing the moment when Wright was shot. An officer can be heard yelling “Taser! Taser!” before shooting Wright.
JUST IN: "This appears to me, from what I've viewed and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright," police chief says about fatal police shooting. https://t.co/ol6iINQtJp pic.twitter.com/h4YTeoZunF
— ABC News (@ABC) April 12, 2021
“As I watched the video and listened to the officer’s commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to employ their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet,” Gannon said.
The officer involved in the killing has been released from her duties, and the mayor of Brooklyn Center, Mike Elliott, said he supported that decision.
“We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life,” Elliott said.
Updated
Joe Biden “absolutely is” willing to negotiate over the size and scope of his infrastructure proposal, the White House press secretary said.
Jen Psaki’s comments at her daily press briefing come hours before the president is set to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss his $2tn infrastructure plan.
A number of Republicans have called for a much smaller infrastructure bill solely focused on improving the nation’s roads, bridges and other transportation networks. They will likely reiterate those requests during today’s meeting.
The White House press briefing has now concluded.
It’s worth noting that Republican Senator John Cornyn’s comment about Joe Biden’s tweets was actually a quote from a Politico story on the president’s media strategy.
Cornyn’s tweet caused some confusion because he did not put quotation marks around the excerpt.
Here is a bit of that Politico story:
Three months in, Joe Biden’s White House has settled on a firm press strategy: First, do no self-harm.
The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters. He’s had just one major press conference — though another is coming — and prefers remarks straight to camera for the marquee moments. The White House is leaning more heavily on Cabinet officials to reach the audiences that didn’t tune into his latest Rose Garden event.
One reporter asked the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, about a comment from Republican Senator John Cornyn describing Joe Biden’s tweets as “limited” and “unimaginably conventional”.
The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021
The comment was an apparent attempt to contrast Biden to Donald Trump, who frequently used his Twitter account to attack his opponents, until his account was shut down after he incited the fatal insurrection at the Capitol in January.
“I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories,” Psaki said. “He spends his time working on behalf of the American people.”
Updated
Joe Biden is “incredibly saddened” to learn of the killing of Daunte Wright at the hand of law enforcement, the White House press secretary said.
Holding her daily briefing with reporters, Jen Psaki said the president has been briefed on the fatal shooting that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Psaki said Biden would address the shooting this afternoon.
Biden has been in touch with the Minnesota governor as well as the Brooklyn Center mayor and local law enforcement authorities about the situation, Psaki said.
Mayor Mike Elliott shared a photo of his phone call with Biden on Twitter:
Just got off the phone with the @WhiteHouse. I appreciate @POTUS reaching out to offer his administration’s support. pic.twitter.com/ejrttTOhlI
— Mayor Mike Elliott (@mayor_elliott) April 12, 2021
There are ominous signs of a new wave of coronavirus infections building in the US midwest, even as vaccinations continue to gather pace across the country.
In Michigan, hospitalisations have soared and intensive care beds are being rapidly filled. An average of 6,228 cases a day were confirmed in the state over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data, approaching record highs seen in November. Michigan’s public health system “is overwhelmed”, warned the state’s top medical official, Joneigh Khaldun.
The surge has prompted Governor Gretchen Whitmer to urge people to restrict activities and wear masks and for schools to halt in-person learning.
“A year in, we all know what works and this has to be a team effort,” the Democrat said. “We have to do this together. Lives depend on it.”
Covid is also making a resurgence, albeit to a lesser degree, in Minnesota, where cases have jumped since March. On Friday, 2,659 new infections were reported, the most in a single day since January. Governor Tim Walz has said he is not planning new restrictions but called on the federal government to speed up vaccine delivery.
Illinois reported 4,004 new cases on Friday, also the most since January, with the number of seriously sick people in hospital rising.
Michigan should shut down again to combat surge in cases, CDC director says
Michigan should once again shut down to combat the state’s recent rise in coronavirus cases, Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.
The governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has argued the state should receive more coronavirus vaccine doses to limit the spread of the virus in her state.
But the Democratic governor, who received Republican criticism for her aggressive pandemic response last year, has been hesitant to tighten coronavirus-related restrictions, despite the recent surge in cases.
Walensky noted vaccines have a “delayed response” when it comes to lowering the number of new coronavirus cases because it usually takes two to six weeks to see the effect of increased vaccination rates.
“The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last spring, last summer, and to shut things down,” Walensky said.
“I think if we try to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work to actually have the impact.”
Updated
Dr Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, addressed the possibility of breakthrough coronavirus infections among people who have been vaccinated.
“In the real world, no vaccine is 100% efficacious or effective, which means that you will always see breakthrough infections, regardless of the efficacy of your vaccine,” Fauci said at the White House coronavirus response team’s briefing.
Fauci addresses rare instances of vaccinated people being infected: "In the real world, no vaccine is 100% efficacious or effective, which means that you will always see breakthrough infections." He says vaccines protect against serious illness even if there is still infection pic.twitter.com/h0Bh4AIN5p
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 12, 2021
The infectious disease expert noted a vaccine may fail because the recipient does not generate an adequate immune response or because that immune response fades over time.
“However, even if a vaccine fails to protect against infection, it often protects against serious disease,” Fauci added.
In short, the isolated examples of people receiving a coronavirus vaccine and then testing positive for the virus should not deter anyone from receiving a vaccine, as it can still provide protection to the infected person.
Nearly half of American adults have received at least one vaccine dose
The White House coronavirus response team is now holding a press briefing to provide an update on vaccine distribution and trends in case numbers.
Senior White House adviser Andy Slavitt announced that 28% of American adults are now fully vaccinated. Nearly half of US adults, 46%, have received at least one vaccine dose, and 78% of Americans aged 65 or older have gotten at least their first shot.
Take a look at the progress we've made in accelerating vaccination program:
— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) April 12, 2021
- 120 million Americans have received at least one dose, with over 72 million who've been fully vaccinated.
- 46% of adults have had at least their first shot and 28% of adults are fully vaccinated.
But the country is also seeing some worrisome trends in new coronavirus cases. Slavitt said the Biden administration is deploying federal resources to Michigan, which has recorded an alarming increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
The White House has approved a surge in federal personnel to Michigan to help get shots in arms and aid testing and tracing efforts.
Meanwhile, the country’s seven-day average of new cases continues to rise. According to Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent seven-day average is 66,000 new cases daily, representing an increase of 3% from a week earlier.
Coronavirus hospitalizations are also on the rise, up to an average of 5,300 admissions a day. That number is up 6.6% from a week earlier.
On a more positive note, the US is now administering more than 3 million vaccine doses a day, and Saturday saw a new record of 4.6 million shots recorded in a single day. The US has administered a total of 166 million vaccine doses since Joe Biden took office in January.
Walensky emphasized Americans “have to hold ourselves accountable” to limit the spread of coronavirus as vaccinations ramp up.
Updated
Chauvin trial: Judge rejects defense's request to sequester jury
The 11th day of Derek Chauvin’s trial is now underway in Minneapolis, where the former police faces murder charges over the killing of George Floyd.
Chauvin’s defense lawyer, Eric Nelson, unsuccessfully requested that Judge Peter Cahill sequester jurors. Nelson has asked for them to be sequestered because of the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb Sunday.
The death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, sparked clashes between protesters and police that continued late into the night.
“As a result of that, there was some fairly extensive civil unrest that occurred,” Nelson has said, noting that “at least one juror” resides there.
“Given that this is obviously a high-profile case, this is a case that evokes a lot of emotion for a lot of people, ultimately your honor, the question becomes: will the jury be confident to make a decision regardless of the potential outcome of the decision?”
Cahill has refused, pointing out that Chauvin’s trial and this shooting are different cases, and then said: “We’ll sequester them on Monday when we’re doing closings.”
Follow the latest developments from Minneapolis by reading the Guardian’s trial live blog:
Senator Amy Klobuchar called for “an immediate and transparent investigation” into the death of Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by police in a Minneapolis suburb yesterday.
“My heart is breaking for Daunte Wright’s family and loved ones,” the Democratic senator said on Twitter. “There must be an immediate and transparent investigation into what happened and why a Black man’s life was lost at the hands of law enforcement.”
My heart is breaking for Daunte Wright's family and loved ones. There must be an immediate and transparent investigation into what happened and why a Black man's life was lost at the hands of law enforcement.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) April 12, 2021
The police department in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, said Wright was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation. According to police, Wright walked back toward his car as officers tried to take him into custody, and one officer opened fire.
The killing of Wright has sparked protests near Minneapolis, which has already been on edge as the murder trial of Derek Chauvin unfolds.
Matt Gaetz and a spokesman for Donald Trump reacted angrily late on Sunday after CNN reported that the scandal-hit Florida Republican congressman sought a meeting with the former US president when allegations of sex-trafficking and illegal drug use were first reported – and was rebuffed.
CNN cited two anonymous sources who “said Gaetz tried to schedule a visit with Trump after it was first revealed that he was being investigated”. It said “the request was rejected by aides close to the former president”.
The New York Times first reported federal investigations of Gaetz on 30 March. Since then, multiple reports have linked the congressman to an ally in Florida indicted for sex trafficking and other crimes but reported to be close to a deal with prosecutors.
Gaetz is reported to be under investigation for possible sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl; for allegedly paying for sex; for alleged use of illegal drugs; and for allegedly showing House members nude pictures of women.
He denies all accusations. The Times has also reported that towards the end of Trump’s time in power, Gaetz sought a blanket pre-emptive pardon. Trump denied receiving such a request.
In response to the CNN report, Trump’s spokesman, Jason Miller, tweeted: “This story is complete fake news. No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined. Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. It’s literally made-up. We are demanding a full retraction.”
Donald Trump received an award from the National Republican Senatorial Committee over the weekend, even as the former president attacked Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump received the committee’s inaugural Champion for Freedom Award, which recognizes “conservative leaders who have worked tirelessly to create good jobs, protect the values that make our country great, and stop the Democrats’ socialist agenda,” the NRSC said in a statement.
Republican Senator Rick Scott added, “President Trump is a proven champion for all Americans. ... We are grateful for his service to our country and are honored to present him with the NRSC’s first Champion for Freedom award.”
This weekend I was proud to recognize President Donald Trump with the inaugural @NRSC Champion for Freedom Award.
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) April 12, 2021
President Trump fought for American workers, secured the border, and protected our constitutional rights. https://t.co/4jjy88FRVr pic.twitter.com/A9I2sATdkn
The timing of the news was a bit ironic, considering how Trump spent the rest of his weekend.
In a Saturday night speech at Mar-a-Lago for a Republican National Committee gathering, Trump attacked McConnell and the congressional Republicans who supported his impeachment earlier this year.
Trump specifically criticized McConnell for allowing the Senate to approve the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election on January 6, hours after a group of the then-president’s supporters staged a deadly insurrection at the Capitol.
“If that were Schumer instead of this dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell, they would never allow it to happen,” Trump said. “They would have fought it.”
After a year where Black Lives Matter demonstrations saw Americans begin to re-address and rethink racial inequality in the nation, a pushback from predominantly Republican lawmakers is on the horizon, with 29 states in the US moving to introduce draconian anti-protest laws.
Florida is the most recent state to bring in legislation which critics say would crack down on demonstrations, infringe free speech rights and potentially disproportionately target people of color, while other states have pursued anti-protest bills which could even prevent those convicted from receiving public benefits.
Republicans in Florida’s house of representatives passed the controversial Combating Violence, Disorder, and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act at the end of March. The law would increase penalties for participating in broadly defined “violent” protests – the vast majority of Black Lives Matter protests have been peaceful – and make it a felony to deface monuments if damage is more than $200.
That bill is likely to pass the Florida senate – and be signed into law by the governor – in the coming weeks, with Republican politicians in many other states pursuing similar legislation.
There are 71 laws pending at the state and federal level which would impinge on Americans’ right to protest, according to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, in 29 states.
In non-infrastructure news, Joe Biden is expected to nominate Cindy McCain to a key ambassadorship, according to Politico.
McCain, the widow of the late Republican Senator John McCain, endorsed Biden last year and became one of his most influential supporters in her home state of Arizona. Biden ultimately won Arizona by 0.3 points.
Politico reports:
Biden is preparing to name Republican Cindy McCain to a coveted ambassador post in Western Europe in what would be his administration’s first Republican appointee to a Senate-confirmed position.
McCain is undergoing vetting to be nominated for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme, a mission based in Rome, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. ...
As chair of the McCain Institute board of trustees, McCain has worked on curbing world hunger and human trafficking. During the 2008 campaign, she traveled to Georgia with the U.N.’s World Food Programme to visit wounded soldiers after a Russian invasion and also monitored the program’s work in Southeast Asia and Africa.
The White House has repeatedly deflected questions about when they still start announcing their selections for key ambassadorships.
However, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said last week, “Career nominees will probably be in the first slate of nominees for ambassadors, as you’re planning.”
The Biden administration is specifically targeting Republican congressional leaders as the president makes his infrastructure pitch by emphasizing how much the package would aid their states.
The White House released a fact sheet this morning with state-by-state breakdowns on how Joe Biden’s $2tn proposal would benefit each US state.
For Kentucky, the home state of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, the White House notes the state has 1,033 bridges and more than 1,322 miles of highway in poor condition. Biden’s plan designates $115 billion for repairing roads and bridges.
And in California, where House minority leader Kevin McCarthy lives, the White House notes the average driver in the state spends $799 a year on costs due to driving on roads in need of repair.
Biden will likely cite some of these statistics when he meets with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss his infrastructure package later today.
Biden to meet with bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss infrastructure
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with a bipartisan group of members of Congress later today to discuss his $2tn infrastructure proposal.
The president and his top aides have said they are open to negotiating over certain aspects of the plan, such as the corporate tax hike proposal, but Republicans have indicated they have no interest in coming to the table.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has already pledged to fight Biden’s infrastructure package “every step of the way”.
But the president is adamant that Congress must approve a massive investment to improve the country’s infrastructure. “We will not be open to doing nothing,” Biden said last week. “Inaction simply is not an option.”
Biden will likely reiterate that message in today’s meeting, but it remains unclear whether any Republicans are willing to listen to him.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
