The jury is set for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in George Floyd’s death, with opening statements set for Monday.
The final juror was chosen on Tuesday, wrapping up a process that took more than two weeks. Jury selection was complicated by worldwide attention to Floyd’s death and last week’s 27 million dollar settlement from the city to his family..
The panel now includes 15 jurors. Twelve will deliberate, and there will be two alternates. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill has said he will excuse the extra juror when opening statements begin on Monday if the 14 others are still able to serve.
Of the 15 jurors seated, nine are white, four are Black and two are multiracial, according to the court. Nine are women and six are men, and they range in age from their 20s to their 60s.
Disposable masks, gloves and other types of personal protective equipment are safeguarding untold lives during the coronavirus pandemic but they’re also creating a worldwide pollution problem. The equipment is littering streets and sending an influx of harmful plastic and other waste into landfills, sewage systems and oceans.
In Northern California, environmental groups are tracking the issue along the coast — and trying to do something about it.
A report last year by the advocacy group OceansAsia found nearly 1-point-6 billion masks would flood oceans in 2020 alone. The group says masks could take as long as 450 years to break down.
Though international student enrollment is down around the U.S. during the pandemic, St. Thomas’ has defied the national trend with their incoming foreign student numbers.
Though international student enrollment is down around the U.S. during the pandemic, St. Thomas’ has defied the national trend with their incoming foreign student numbers.
But those St. Thomas international students have struggled with travel restrictions, time difference problems, visa delays and COVID-19 anxiety.
Time differences have been a struggle for many St. Thomas international students including Hao Taing, a student from Cambodia who is currently 12 hours ahead of Minnesota.
Huda Alsomali can be reached at huda.alsomali@stthomas.edu.