Good morning.
Derek Chauvin’s police supervisor told the court there was no justification for keeping his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, in a testimony at Chauvin’s murder trial yesterday.
Sgt David Pleoger arrived on the scene shortly after Floyd was taken away in an ambulance, and said Chauvin and other officers holding Floyd down “could have ended their restraint” once Floyd stopped resisting. Videos showed Chauvin continued to press his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes – after the 46-year-old Black man pleaded that he could not breathe and had stopped moving.
Chauvin’s police chief is also set to testify against him, in a rare, perhaps unprecedented, move. Prosecutors say he will testify that Chauvin’s conduct was not consistent with Minneapolis police department training.
Chauvin denies the charges.
Floyd’s girlfriend told of the pair’s opioid addiction in an emotional testimony yesterday. Courteney Ross’s testimony helps to undermine the defence’s argument that Floyd died because he had drugs in his system, as it shows he had a tolerance for opioids and that the relatively small amount in his system would not have been enough to kill him.
A 13 year-old boy has been killed in “an armed confrontation” with police in Chicago. Adam Toledo died of a gunshot wound to his chest early on Monday. Investigators are still trying to determine if the teenager fired a gun at the officers before he was fatally shot.
The US may be entering a fourth wave of coronavirus
The US may be in the early stages of a fourth wave of coronavirus, with cases increasing in 25 states. On average, the US has recorded 63,000 new cases each day over the past week; an increase of 17% from the week before, according to the news website Axios. Despite this, many states are continuing to ease restrictions.
On Monday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr Rochelle Walenksy, said a fourth wave was all but guaranteed, adding: “I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom.”
The Pfizer vaccine protects against symptomatic Covid for up to six months after the second dose, analysis of clinical trial data has found. The firm and its German partner, BioNTech, said the jab had 91.3% efficacy in preventing any symptoms of the disease during that time.
A train has derailed in Taiwan, killing at least 36
Dozens of people have been killed after a train derailed in a tunnel in Taiwan on Friday morning. The 408 Taroko Express had about 350 people onboard when it derailed. Authorities said 36 passengers were dead with 44 others sent to hospital with injuries.
Fire, search and rescue and military vehicles with more than 150 personnel were working at the scene, as efforts continued to locate survivors into the afternoon. The fire department said five to eight of the carriages were “deformed” and difficult to access.
Fossil fuel firms took money from Covid support schemes – but still laid off workers en masse
Fossil fuel companies in the US received billions of dollars in tax benefits through government coronavirus relief measures, but laid off tens of thousands of workers, figures show.
A group of 77 firms received $8.2bn in tax-code changes under the massive stimulus bill passed by Congress last year, and some benefited from the paycheck protection program. Despite this, almost every firm laid off workers, with more than 58,000 people losing their jobs.
I’m not surprised that these companies took advantage of these tax benefits, but I’m horrified by the layoffs after they got this money,” said Chris Kuveke, a researcher at BailoutWatch.
In other news …
The shooter who killed four people in Orange knew his victims through a “business and personal relationship”, authorities said, as further details emerged about the mass shooting. It is the third mass shooting in the US in two weeks.
Myanmar’s military has expanded its internet shutdown, limiting the spread of information across the country following uproar against last month’s coup. Hundreds of people have been killed or gone missing after demonstrating against the seizing of power.
The CEO of Apple has condemned Georgia’s new voting restrictions, joining a number of business leaders who have come out in support of voting rights. The law makes it more difficult to vote by mail, reduces the length of a runoff election and gives Republicans in the state legislature more influence over election boards in the state.
Stat of the day: air pollution kills three times as many people as Covid
“It is undeniably horrific that more than 2.8 million people have died of Covid-19 in the past 15 months. In roughly the same period, however, more than three times as many likely died of air pollution,” writes Rebecca Solnit. She urges people to fight the climate crisis with the same urgency as coronavirus.
Don’t miss this: how did the water in a North Carolina town get so contaminated?
PFAS are a group of chemicals found in a huge range of products, and long-term exposure has been linked to cancer, decreased fertility and liver damage, among other things. The EPA set a limit for PFAS in drinking water at 70 parts per trillion (ppt), but the environmental working group has proposed a limit of 1ppt in water. In Pittsboro, North Carolina, the tap water has 80. How was it able to get so bad, and what can be done?
Last thing: coins found in a US orchard may solve a 17th-century cold case
A handful of coins discovered in a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in Rhode Island might be able to help solve a centuries-old cold case. An English pirate became the world’s most wanted criminal after plundering a ship carrying Muslim pilgrims home to India from Mecca, but managed to escape capture by posing as a slave trader. Experts say the coins may explain how.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
