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covid-19 pandemic
MURDER TRIAL OF DEREK CHAUVIN
Defense rests without Chauvin testimony Tribune Content Agency MINNEAPOLIS — Testimony in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin ended Thursday with Chauvin invoking his constitutional right not to testify and a prosecution expert briefly taking the witness stand, with jurors likely to begin deliberating Monday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday, moving the trial into its seventh week. Jurors will be immediately sequestered for deliberations as they consider the charges facing Chauvin in the May 25 death of George Floyd – second-degree murder, third-degree murder and seconddegree manslaughter. “I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today,” Chauvin told the court Thursday morning. The Fifth Amendment protects against
self-incrimination. Chauv in’s br ief remarks in response to questions from his attorney, Eric Nelson, and Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill were the most he’s spoken publicly since kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about 9 1⁄2 minutes last year while arresting him for using a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Chauvin took off a blue surgical face mask, mandated by the courts for Covid-19 protection, and spoke into a microphone in his hand. Jurors were not present for the discussion. Nelson reminded Chauvin that “the state would have broad latitude” to cross-examine him as a witness if he testified. Nelson and Chauvin told the court they had “repeatedly” discussed whether to testify. “We have gone back
Big jump
Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic
Cyn Calhoun receives a vaccination shot at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo, Wednesday.
in Solano Covid-19 cases due to reporting delays; but more is still more
See Chauvin, Page A9
Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
US sanctions Russia for hacking, election interference WASHINGTON — In its first attempt to punish Moscow’s attacks on U.S. elections and cybernetworks, the Biden administration on Thursday announced stinging sanctions economic against a host of Russian companies and individuals as well as the expulsion from the U.S. of 10 Russian intelligence officials. As part of the punitive broadside, the U.S. for the first time officially blamed Russian intelligence for last year’s massive cyberattack on federal agencies and
private companies. The sanctions won rare bipartisan support in Washington, but it remained unclear what impact they would have on a Kremlin that has remained for the most part impervious to outside pressure. Thursday’s announcement came two days after President Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone, to both warn and cajole. He cautioned that the U.S. and Europe would not stand for Russia’s massive military buildup on its border
SUNDAY Parade coming this weekend. Look for the insert in the Daily Republic.
Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS file (2020)
Rosa Pedraza cuts Robert Nunez’s hair at Rosa Hair Salon in Atwater, May 26, 2020.
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with the disease, only four are in intensive care units. Fifty-one ICU beds were occupied and the available capacity was at 38%. Matyas said the county has vaccinated 163,000 adult individuals in the county, 16 and older, representing 47.2% of that population. About 98,000 of those, or 28.4%, have received two doses. He added that 74.3% of
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of weeks,” Matyas said. “If it had not been for the delayed reporting, it would have been closer to 40. And even that’s unpleasant.” The total number of cases in the county is up to 31,804. Active cases, with the adjustments, jumped matyas from 295 to 347, the county reported. However, the number of Covidrelated deaths held at 209, and of the 24 individuals hospitalized
See Jump, Page A9
Final county moves out of purple tier as wider reopenings continue
See Russia, Page A9
this weekend
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FAIRFIELD — Solano County reported Thursday that there were 70 new coronavirus cases. The good news is that reflects about 30 cases dating back over the past two weeks as a lag in state reporting was accounted for in the numbers, Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said in a phone interview. “A lot of it is delayed reporting . . . . It actually covers a couple
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LOS ANGELES — And then there were none. For the first time since California unveiled its color-coded Covid-19 reopening system nearly eight months ago, not a single county is in the mostrestrictive purple tier. The milestone was reached Wednesday, when state health officials moved what had been the lone remaining occupant of the category – Merced
weather
County – into the less-stringent red tier after taking a closer look at the region’s data. When the state released its latest round of tier assignments Tuesday, Merced was initially placed in the purple tier as its coronavirus case rate, which is adjusted based on the number of tests performed, was calculated as slightly too high to move forward. But county officials asked See Tier, Page A9
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