Hour of Decision: Closing arguments are expected today in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, who died with Chauvin’s knee on his neck. The jury’s decision is certain to be a critical event in race relations for this country. Will black Americans be satisfied that justice has been served?

  Already, two National Guardsman standing post in Minneapolis were wounded in a drive-by shooting on Sunday.

  The NY Times notes that three people a day have died in encounters with the police in this country since Chauvin’s trial began. As the trial proceeded, other incidents gained prominence. In Chicago, police video showed the killing of a 13-year-old boy who dropped his gun a split second before an officer fired. In Virginia, video showed officers who pulled their guns on a black Army officer they had mistakenly pulled over for having no license plate.

  Many Americans, not just those who are nonwhite, are on edge about police shootings and killings. A riot broke out in Portland, Oregon, Friday night after  offers responding to a call about a man with a gun shot and killed a white man.

  The police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, didn’t do themselves any favors Friday night when they rounded up and took photographs of journalists covering protests of a police shooting there. 

  George Floyd died a year ago. Since then, states have passed at least 140 police reform bills, both limiting some things they have previously done, and stripping them of protections.

  Among the reforms, restricting neck restraints and no-knock warrants, requiring body cameras, and pulling back immunity. But the single event that may leave the most lasting impression about policing in this country is likely to be the jury’s verdict in the death of George Floyd. Minneapolis is braced for unrest. The whole country might need to be on alert.

The Shooting Gallery: Three people were killed and two wounded early Sunday in a shooting at a tavern in southeastern Wisconsin. Another three people were killed in a domestic shooting at an apartment complex in Austin, Texas. 

  Officially a mass murder is one in which four or more people are killed, but three is plenty. By the standard of four dead, the US has already had 11 mass murders this year, the worst of them in Boulder, Colorado, where 10 people were killed.

  According to the Gun Violence Archive, the country has had 149 mass shootings this year in which four or more people were hit.

  The total number of gun deaths so far this year by accident, suicide, police action, and murder is 12,626.

  The case of the gunman who killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis is an illustration of how easy it is to get a mass-killing machine. The police took away 19-year-old Brandon Hole’s shotgun in March of last year when his mother expressed concern about his mental state. He was later able to buy two assault rifles.

Viral News: A Minnesota man over the weekend attacked a store employee over the establishment’s mask mandate then dragged a police officer with his car and hit him on the head with a hammer. Just another American who doesn’t know “freedom” does not mean you can do whatever you want.

  Over the weekend, the worldwide death toll from Covid-19 crossed the 3 million mark.

  On the upside, more than 132 million Americans have been vaccinated, just shy of 50 percent of the eligible population 16 and older, and 39 percent of the total population.

  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still on hold after some deaths and serious side effects. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expects a decision to put the J&J vaccine back out there by Friday.

Life on Mars: NASA flew its four-pound mini-helicopter on Mars early today, the first powered flight of an aircraft on another planet. Well, let’s call it the first “known” flight of an aircraft on another planet because it’s certain there are people who will argue with that.

  The chopper Ingenuity reached an altitude of about 10 feet during a flight that lasted about 30 seconds. Flying an aircraft on Mars could eventually help in the search for signs of life.

The Spin Rack: Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny is reported to be in dire health in prison and in danger of dying. Navalny still suffers damage from a nerve poisoning and now he’s on a hunger strike. His doctor says Navalny is at risk of dying “at any moment.” He’s being transferred to a prison hospital. — Raul Castro, Fidel’s 89-year-old brother, has resigned as head of the Cuban communist party, ending the reign of Castros since the 1959 revolution. — Two men in Texas were killed in the crash of a Tesla automobile that appears to have been operating with the car’s autopilot feature. Neither man was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Snubbed: Britain’s Prince Harry was socially snubbed by his brother  William and cousins at the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, on Saturday. William even refused to walk next to his brother in the procession. They’re all mad at Harry for bowing out of royal life and giving an interview to Oprah Winfrey in which he spoke bluntly about the family. Harry is currently the coolest of the royals. 

-30-