DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL

Jury nearly complete for Potter trial in Daunte Wright death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The jury for the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in Daunte Wright’s shooting death is nearly complete. Twelve panelists have been seated, with just two more needed to serve as alternates ahead of next Wednesday's opening statements. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter is charged with manslaughter in the death of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist. She says she meant to use her Taser to stop Wright after he pulled away from officers who were trying to arrest him during a traffic stop, but that she drew her handgun instead. Nine of the 12 jurors — who will deliberate in the case unless either of two alternates are needed — are white.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

3rd federal team to assist Minnesota hospitals with COVID-19

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A third federal medical team will arrive in Minnesota to support hospitals dealing with the high number of coronavirus patients. Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday that 14 doctors, nurses, and hospital staff from the federal Department of Health and Human Services will support COVID-19 treatment and patient care at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. The team will arrive on Friday and deploy for at least two weeks, with the option to extend. The governor said he asked President Joe Biden for more help dealing with COVID-19 when Biden visited Minnesota earlier this week. Two emergency staffing teams from HHS are already assisting Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and St. Cloud Hospital.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-US

'The fire that's here': US is still battling delta variant

While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in some states, especially in the Midwest and New England. The U.S. recorded its first known omicron infection on Wednesday, in a fully vaccinated person who had returned to California from South Africa, where the variant was first identified just over a week ago. For now, the extra-contagious delta variant accounts for practically all cases in the U.S. and continues to inflict misery at a time when many hospitals are struggling with shortages of nurses and a backlog of patients. And now the fear is that omicron will foist more patients, and perhaps sicker ones, onto hospitals.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-OMICRON

Omicron coronavirus variant found in multiple US states

NEW YORK (AP) — The omicron variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in at least five states, showing yet again how mutations of the virus can circumnavigate the globe with speed and ease. Just a day after the first known U.S. case was found in California, tests showed Thursday the omicron variant had infected at least five people in the New York City metropolitan area, plus a man from Minnesota who had attended an anime convention in Manhattan in late November. Officials reported another case in a Colorado woman who had recently traveled to southern Africa. The variant was also confirmed in an unvaccinated Hawaii resident with no recent travel history.

POLICE SHOOTING-FOREST LAKE

Forest Lake man shot by officers during altercation has died

FOREST LAKE, Minn. (AP) — An armed man who was shot by three police officers after he allegedly threatened them in Forest Lake over the weekend has died. Authorities say that 47-year-old Bradley George Erickson, of Forest Lake, was shot Sunday after police responded to a report that a man was in a residence with a gun and the man had a protective order against him. Erickson left the scene in a vehicle that was eventually disabled by police, who then fired on Erickson following an altercation. Erickson died Wednesday at Hennepin County Medical Center. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officers who fired their weapons as Forest Lake Officers Jonathan Glader and Matthew Smith, and Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Reiter.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Minnesota not adding anxiety as condition for medical weed

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Health says it would not add anxiety disorders as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, unlike neighboring North Dakota and three other states. State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says there's not enough scientific evidence of benefits of medical cannabis use when compared to the possibility of “unintended consequences.” No new conditions were added to the existing list of 17 qualifying health issues. North Dakota added anxiety disorder in 2019, when it immediately became the most commonly cited condition. Minnesota did agree to add infused edibles in the form of gummies and chews to a list of approved products that includes pills, vapor oil, liquids, topicals, powdered mixtures, and orally dissolvable medicines like lozenges.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

COVID-19 hospital surge further taxes health care providers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has surged above 1,500 in Minnesota, causing further strains on those working to care for them. Monday’s 1,532 coronavirus hospitalizations included 343 people in intensive care. Hospitals are trying to reduce non-COVID-19 admissions by delaying some non-emergency surgeries. The record 1,864 coronavirus hospitalizations in Nov. 29, 2020 combined with non-COVID cases to fill 6,991 inpatient beds. That is 7% lower than the hospital bed usage in Minnesota now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Minnesota ranks 22nd among the states with about 73% of people 5 and older receiving a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but that leaves more than 1.4 million eligible people unvaccinated.

MIDWEST ECONOMY

November economy index falls, but confidence ticks up

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states shows the region's economy remains healthy, and overall confidence in the economy over the next six months has improved. But about half of supply managers surveyed expect supply chain disruptions to get worse for the first six months of 2022. Firms reported that transportation issues such as trucking, air and rail delays were the greatest factors accounting for supply chain disruptions. The overall index for November of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions released Wednesday fell to 60.2 from October's 65.2. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021