Three things for February 16
1. Minneapolis to spend $6.4 million recruiting more police officers
On Feb. 12, the Minneapolis city council voted unanimously to provide additional funding for the police department.
This funding will be used for the hiring of new police officers.
With plans to spend $6.4 million, the department currently employs 638 officers, 200 less than usual. Since the summer of 2020, the number of active police officers has decreased significantly.
According to ABC News, an unprecedented number of officers quit or went on extended medical leave after George Floyd’s death. Derek Chauvin, the officer who pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck, is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. His trial begins on March 8.
2. Winter storms kill 20, leave millions without power
According to The New York Times, millions of people were without power earlier today after a deadly storm made its way across the southern and central parts of the U.S., in places where such frigid conditions tend to arrive just once in a generation.
At least 20 people have died as rain and snow move into the Northeastern United States.
In Texas, electricity grids are struggling to keep pace with the record high demand amid the historic cold outbreak. A woman and girl died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Houston after a car was left running in a garage to keep them warm, according to police.
Houston hit a record low of 17 degrees on Feb. 15, breaking the previous record of 18 degrees set in 1905.
At least three people were killed and at least 10 others were injured when a tornado tore through a coastal town in southeastern North Carolina, officials said early Tuesday.
Nebraska is facing negative temperatures and rolling blackouts. According to the New York Times, residents woke up to temperatures as low as 31 degrees below zero and messages from their power operators saying the companies had no choice but to implement rolling blackouts.
For more information on the various storms and weather conditions nationwide, check out this regularly updated article form the New York Times.
3. 12 year old kills home intruder in North Carolina
A 12-year-old boy fatally shot a man while protecting his grandmother from home intruders.
At 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 13, two masked men broke into a North Carolina home and demanded money from the boy’s grandmother Linda Ellis.
According to police, one of the intruders shot Ellis in the leg, prompting the boy to fire at the intruders. Suspect Khalil Herring, 19, was found at a nearby intersection suffering from a gunshot wound and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Ellis suffered from no life-threatening conditions, but family members are grappling with the motives behind the intrusion. According to NBC News, family and community members are grateful for the boy’s actions, and officials say charges are not expected to be filed against the boy.
