Tuesday morning news - April 20, 2021

Jury deliberating in Chauvin case » The case against former police officer Derek Chauvin is now in the hands of a Minneapolis jury.

The 12 members of the jury began deliberating on Monday after nearly a full day of closing arguments with Defense attorney Eric Nelson arguing that the only reasonable verdict is not guilty.

NELSON: You can see at points when Mr. Floyd’s legs kick back, it actually almost knocks officer Lane over. It knocks off the body-worn camera and the badge of officer Chauvin.

The defense also argued that drug use and heart disease, not Chauvin’s actions, caused George Floyd’s death.

But prosecutor Steve Schleicher told jurors that Chauvin had to know Floyd’s life was in danger and that there was no way to justify his use of force.

SCHLEICHER: Beyond the point that he had a pulse, the defendant continued this assault —9 minutes and 29 seconds.

With a verdict expected soon, some area businesses have boarded up windows with plywood as National Guard troops patrol the area.

The city has also been on edge in recent days over a fatal police shooting of a young black man in a nearby suburb.

New Delhi locks down amid virus surge » One of the world’s largest cities is locking down once again amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown Monday night to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital’s health system.

In recent days, ambulances have raced from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed while patients lined up outside of medical facilities. Some patients have died in the parking lots of hospitals while waiting to be admitted.

Just months after India thought it had seen the worst of the pandemic, the virus is spreading faster than ever, fueled by more infectious variants. And the country is racing to speed up vaccinations.

Right now just over 1 percent of India’s 1.4 billion residents are fully vaccinated compared to 25 percent in the United States.

India announced Monday that as of May 1st, everyone over the age of 18 is eligible to be vaccinated.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Díaz-Canel replaces Castro dynasty in Cuba » Cuba's Communist Party congress has—as expected—chosen Miguel Díaz-Canel the country’s next communist leader.

It marks the first time since the 1959 revolution that the Castro family is not in control of Cuba. But it’s unclear what, if anything, will change for the Cuban people.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week that President Biden’s policies toward Cuba will be governed by two things:

PSAKI: Support for democracy and human rights will be at the core of our efforts in empowering the Cuban people to control their own future and second, our belief that Americans, especially Cuban-Americans, are the best ambassadors for freedom and prosperity.

The 61-year-old Díaz-Canel was born a year after the revolution in the west-central city of Santa Clara. He earned an engineering degree and dedicated himself to official politics, rising rapidly through the government ranks. In 2012 he rose to one of Cuba's vice presidencies and soon thereafter was named first vice president.

Díaz-Canel has been supportive of some small-scale reforms, such as allowing more small private businesses. But he has steadfastly defended Cuba’s communist system.

Navalny transferred to prison hospital amid failing health » Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been moved to a hospital in another prison after his doctor said he could be near death. WORLD’s Leigh Jones reports.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: Russian authorities transferred Navalny from a penal colony near Moscow to a prison hospital just over 100 miles east of the capital. That according to his lawyer on Monday.

Navalny is in the third week of a hunger strike, and Russia's state penitentiary service said in a statement that he has agreed to take vitamin therapy.

Reports of his failing health have drawn renewed protests from supporters.

And that triggered a warning from the Kremlin.

           PESKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said protests could be considered "unlawful" and demonstrators risk being arrested.

Navalny’s allies have called for massive protests in the heart of Moscow and St. Petersburg tomorrow.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

NASA's Mars helicopter takes flight on red planet » NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, making history.

SOUND (NASA NATS): Confirmed, today Ingenuity has performed its first flight, the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet!

Flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California declared success after receiving the data and images relayed from Perseverance rover.

It was a brief hop—just 39 seconds and 10 feet—but still, the first flight on Mars.

Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover’s belly when it touched down in an ancient river delta in February.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale has died.

Mondale represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate for 12 years before serving as President Jimmy Carter’s vice president from 1977 to 1981.

MONDALE: Carter invited me down to Plains along with some others after it was clear that he was going to be the nominee, and we had a talk about what he had in mind. I was not interested in a ceremonial job. I wanted to be a part of things.

But many will remember Mondale for his own president bid … losing one of the most lopsided elections in history to President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

In a statement Monday night, former President Carter said “Mondale provided us all with a model for public service and private behavior.” Walter Mondale was 93 years old.

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