Today’s In Crisis headlines

(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:

Today is the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder
Today marks one year since 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black man, died beneath the knee of white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.  Video from the arrest shows Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, while Floyd repeatedly protested, “I can’t breathe.”  Chauvin and three other officers involved in the arrest were fired soon after and criminally charged in Floyd’s death.  On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and will be sentenced June 16.  The other three officers involved face trial on state charges in 2022 and also face prosecution on federal civil rights charges before then.  Floyd’s death drew worldwide attention to racial injustice and police use of force.  

A “Celebration of Life and Remembrance” in Floyd’s honor will be held today in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is also calling for state residents to observe nine minutes and 29 seconds of silence, equal to the length of time Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.  President Biden is also scheduled to meet privately today with Floyd’s family, including his daughter, sister and brothers. 

The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, which aims to increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity for police officers. However, it has yet to be considered in the Senate, where it would need support from at least 10 Republicans to pass.  Democrats and the GOP have yet to reach consensus over the qualified immunity issue, which would make it easier for civil lawsuits to be brought against police officers.  President Biden set a goal of today to get the bill signed into law, a deadline the White House this week admitted would not be met.

COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 167,367,952
Global deaths: 3,475,201.  The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 590,697.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 33,144,178 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.  This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 590,697.  California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 62,949.
U.S. total people tested: 460,189,835

The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,778,555 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million.  This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,897,815 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 5,602,019 reported cases.  Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,944,309 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.

Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 357,250,475 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S.  Of those, 286,890,900 doses have been administered, with 163,907,827 people receiving at least one dose and 130,615,797 people fully vaccinated, representing 49.4% and 39.3% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.

US surpasses 590,000 COVID-19 deaths
The U.S. has now surpassed 590,000 total reported deaths from COVID-19.  As of Tuesday morning, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed at least 590,697 people had died from the coronavirus since the first case was reported in the U.S. in January 2020.  That number remains the highest death rate of any other country, and accounts for about 17% of global fatalities.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently forecasting a total of 594,000 to 604,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported in the U.S. by the week ending June 12.  And though the numbers are declining, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in total reported COVID-19 infections, with 33,144,178 as of Tuesday morning, accounting for 19.8% of global cases.

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