(NEW YORK) -- Here are today's In Crisis headlines:

Medical expert testifies George Floyd died from lack of oxygen
A medical expert in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin testified Thursday that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen that damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop. Dr. Martin Tobin, a lung and critical care specialist from Chicago, testified that Floyd's breathing was too shallow to take in enough oxygen while he was pinned on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back for nine-and-a-half minutes.   His testimony came a day after a use-of-force expert said Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck area the entire time that he was pinned.  Defense attorney Eric Nelson suggested Thursday that Dr. Tobin was “Monday-morning quarterbacking” the incident, saying the expert "had the luxury of slowing things down." The defense also suggested that Floyd's low oxygen could have been from the drugs found in his system. Tobin disagreed, saying Floyd would have showed a slowed respiratory rate if fentanyl was affecting his breathing, saying that isn’t seen in the videos.  Testimony continues today, with the prosecution saying they expect to call to the stand the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on George Floyd last year.

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at age 99
Prince Philip, husband to Queen Elizabeth II of England, has died at age 99.  A statement from Buckingham Palace said: "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle."  The statement added, “The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."  Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II married in 1947 and marked their 73rd wedding anniversary on Nov. 20, 2020.  He retired from official royal duties in August 2017, and was hospitalized in February for a pre-existing heart condition and an infection, according to Buckingham Palace.  He was discharged March 16.  In addition to his wife the Queen and their four children, Prince Philip is survived by eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

COVID-19 numbers
Here's the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 134,094,356
Global deaths: 2,905,097.  The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 560,115.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 76,218,897

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 31,003,199 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.  This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 560,115.  California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 60,129.
U.S. total people tested: 403,673,907

The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,690,031 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million.  This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,821,151 cases.  Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,819,729 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.

Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 229,398,685 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S.  Of those, 174,879,716 doses have been administered, with 112,046,611 people receiving at least one dose and 66,203,123 people fully vaccinated, representing 33.7% and 19.9% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.

COVID-19 death toll in US now more than 560,000
The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States is now more than 560,000 people.  The latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Friday morning puts the total number of reported deaths at 560,115.  It was six weeks ago that the U.S. recorded 500,000 deaths, just over a year after the first U.S. COVID-19 case was reported, on January 21, 2020.  The U.S. continues to report more COVID-19 deaths than any other country, accounting for just over 19% of global fatalities.  The latest deaths forecast by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a total of 568,000 to 588,000 COVID-19 fatalities will be reported by the week ending May 1.

One-third of US population has now received COVID-19 vaccine
At least one-third of all people living in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The CDC reports 112,046,611 people have received at least one vaccine dose, representing approximately 33.7% of the total population.  Those numbers increase significantly among older adults, with 76.9% of the population aged 65 and older having received at least one vaccination, and 58.4% of that demographic now fully vaccinated.  Even with the race to vaccinate the population, there have been at least 259,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 since immunizations began in mid-December.

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(NEW YORK) -- Here are today's In Crisis headlines:

President Biden to announce executive actions to address gun violence
President Joe Biden today will announce limited steps, using his executive power, to address gun violence, three weeks after three mass shootings.  The president is expected to announce six actions, according to senior administration officials, including asking the Department of Justice to issue a proposed rule within 30 days to help stop the spread of so-called ‘ghost guns’, which are assembled from parts purchased online that don't have serial numbers, making them difficult to track.  Their sale and purchase is also unregulated.  Nothing today will address assault rifles, nor will Biden propose any gun control legislation.  White House officials stress that these are “initial” actions, leaving room for more to come down the road.  President Biden is also expected to nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords, to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. If confirmed, Chipman will be the agency's first permanent director since 2015.

Worse than expected 744,000 new unemployment applications files last week
A worse than expected 744,000 applications for unemployment were filed in the week ending April 3, according to figures released Thursday morning by the U.S. Labor Department.  That’s an increase of 16,000 over the previous week’s numbers, which themselves were revised up from 719,000 to 728,000.  Given the recent signs that the jobs market was improving, today’s report is discouraging but, economists hope, not indicative of a trend.  According to today's numbers there are a total 18,164,588 people currently claiming unemployment through all government programs. 

COVID-19 numbers
Here's the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 133,250,442
Global deaths: 2,890,706.  The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 559,117.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 75,760,641

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 30,923,521 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.  This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 559,117.  California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 59,993.
U.S. total people tested: 402,066,700

The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,687,493 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million.  This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,818,665 cases.  Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,815,338 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.

Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of225,294,435 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S.  Of those, 171,476,655 doses have been administered, with 109,995,734 people receiving at least one dose and 64,422,618 people fully vaccinated, representing 33.1% and 19.4% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.

More than 3,600 US healthcare workers died of COVID-19 in 2020, investigation finds
A just-published 12-month investigation by Kaiser Health News (KHN) and the U.K.’s The Guardian newspaper found that more than 3,600 U.S. healthcare workers died of COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic.  Titled “Lost on the Frontline,” the investigation also revealed that lower-paid healthcare workers who handled the everyday tasks of patient care – including nurses, support staff and nursing home employees – were “far more likely to die in the pandemic than physicians were.”  Additionally, the investigation found nearly two-thirds of those healthcare workers identified as people of color, further evidence that the pandemic is disproportionally affecting those demographics. 

The KHN/Guardian investigation further revealed that more than half of U.S. healthcare workers who died of COVID-19 were younger than 60, with a median age of 59, compared to the general population, where the median age of death from the virus is 78.  And twice as many healthcare workers died in nursing homes as in hospitals, the investigation found.  Only 30% of deaths were among hospital workers, with the majority of those who died employed by residential facilities, outpatient clinics, hospices and prisons, among other places.  The investigation also reports since the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, deaths among healthcare workers have decreased significantly.

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(NEW YORK) -- Here are today's In Crisis headlines:

Derek Chauvin trial testimony continues to focus on officer training
Testimony in the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin on Tuesday continued to focus on the training Chauvin and other city police officers received.  The jury was told that Chauvin underwent training in 2016 and 2018 on how to defuse tense situations with people in crisis and how police must use the least amount of force necessary to get someone to comply.  Sgt. Ker Yang, the Minneapolis police official in charge of crisis intervention training, and use-of-force instructor Lt. Johnny Mercil became the latest department members to testify as part of an effort by prosecutors to discredit the argument that Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do when he put his knee on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest on May 25 of last year. 

When prosecutors showed Mercil a photo of Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's neck, Mercil stated that the technique shown is not and has never been an authorized restraint technique taught by the Minneapolis Police Department.  He added that while the technique Chauvin used is not technically an unauthorized use of force under the department's policy, he believes the technique wouldn't be authorized because Floyd was under control and handcuffed. 

COVID-19 numbers
Here's the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 132,544,153
Global deaths: 2,876,084.  The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 556,529.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 75,300,641

Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 30,847,926 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.  This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 556,529.  California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 59,887.
U.S. total people tested: 400,866,033

The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,685,045 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million.  This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,816,361 cases.  Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,811,460 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.

Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 219,194,215 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S.  Of those, 168,592,075 doses have been administered, with 108,301,234 people receiving at least one dose and 63,016,976 people fully vaccinated, representing 32.6% and 19% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.

Fears of a new COVID-19 surge increase among experts
For six consecutive weeks, the World Health Organization has recorded increases in the number of COVID-19 infections reported worldwide.  Last week there were four million new cases, WHO COVID-19 technical lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said on Tuesday, also saying that's likely an underestimate of the true infections that have been occurring globally.  The Americas are among countries reporting increased transmission, driven by Brazil, Canada, Colombia and the U.S. 

As states and municipalities continue to ease pandemic restrictions, nearly half of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. are in just five states -- New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- which together reported 44% of the nation's new COVID-19 infections. That's nearly 197,500 new cases in the latest available seven-day period data.  Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000, according to state health agency data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House pandemic task force, said Tuesday, "We're really on the brink of a surge...it's really a critical time right now. Because we could just as easily swing up into a surge. That would be a setback for public health. But that would be a psychological setback too because people are really have what we call COVID-19 fatigue. And we just don't want to have to go back to really shutting things down. That would be terrible."

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