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GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS

Toxicologist testifies that drugs did not kill George Floyd

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A toxicologist has testified that it wasn’t drug use, heart disease, nor an agitated state known as “excited delirium” that caused George Floyd’s death after he was pinned to the pavement by Minneapolis police. Dr. Vik Bebarta testified Wednesday at the federal trial for former Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. They’re charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights. Bebarta is an emergency physician and professor at the University of Colorado in suburban Denver. He bolstered the prosecution’s contention that Floyd died because of how Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the Black man’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes. He also backed up other experts who have faulted the officers for failing to roll Floyd on his side.

MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING

Police: Male shot, critically wounded in north Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say gunfirein north Minneapolis left one person with life-threatening wounds. The shooting occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of N. Golden Valley Road and N. Penn Avenue. Police say officers located a male there, and he was taken to a nearby hospital. The suspect ran from the scene by the time the officers arrived. The age of the male was not immediately released. The victim was take to a nearby hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition. Police have yet to address a possible motive for the shooting or identify the victim.

FRONTLINE-WORKER PAY

Essential workers urge Minnesota lawmakers to pass bonuses

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Several people testified before a Minnesota House committee hearing on Wednesday in favor of bonus pay for health care workers and others whose jobs were deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic but who could not work from home. The $1 billion proposal would send $1,500 bonuses to a total 667,000 eligible people, including in health care, long-term care, emergency services, schools, child care, hospitality and retail. The committee approved the bill on a 9-4 vote. Legislative leaders from both parties have pointed to the frontline worker bonuses as a priority early this session, though figures differ on either side of the aisle.

3M-FATAL ACCIDENT

Fatal accident at 3M plant in Alexandria investigated

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (AP) — An investigation is underway into a fatal accident at a 3M plant in western Minnesota. Authorities in Alexandria say a male employee got caught in some machinery Tuesday during an overnight shift. The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration is trying to determine how the worker became trapped. A statement from company officials at 3M’s headquarters in Maplewood said emergency response protocols were enacted in response to the incident, and the local police and fire departments and OSHA were notified. The worker’s identity has not been released.

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS

Amir Locke’s cousin arrested in probe that led to fatal raid

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities arrested Amir Locke’s 17-year-old cousin in connection with the homicide investigation that led police to the Minneapolis apartment where a SWAT team officer fatally shot Locke while conducting a search warrant. Prosecutors have charged Mekhi Camden Speed with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 10 killing of Otis Elder. The death of Locke, who was Black, has sparked protests and prompted an immediate reexamination of no-knock arrest warrants, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week announcing a moratorium while the city brings in outside experts to study its policy.

AP-US-PROTESTS-MINNESOTA-MEDIA-LAWSUIT

Journalists settle suit over mistreatment covering protests

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota has agreed to pay $825,000 and change several policies to settle a lawsuit brought by journalists who say they were hurt or harassed while covering protests over the police killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and the state’s Department of Public Safety announced the settlement Tuesday. It prohibits the Minnesota State Patrol from attacking journalists, arresting or threatening to arrest them, ordering them to disperse, seizing their equipment and more. It also calls for an independent review of all complaints alleging mistreatment of the media covering those protests, and issuing body-worn cameras to all troopers by June.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Hospitals begin to limp out of the latest COVID-19 surge

Hospitalizations fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant in the U.S. have begun falling after peaking at record levels in some communities. But doctors are warning that the wave is leaving behind lots of postponed surgeries and an increasingly worn-out health care workforce in its wake. Across the U.S., the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has tumbled more than 28% over the past three weeks to about 105,000 on average.

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS-LEGISLATURE

Minnesota lawmakers seek no-knock ban after Amir Locke death

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers say they will push to significantly limit the use of no-knock warrants after a Minneapolis SWAT team entered a downtown apartment while serving a search warrant last week and killed Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man. The bill that would narrow the use of no-knock warrants to only a handful of situations such as false imprisonment, kidnapping and human trafficking. Rep. Athena Hollins said the new legislation would go further than a measure passed by the Legislature last year as part of a package of police accountability measures. Activists and Locke’s family expressed anger at the police department’s initial statement.