Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, April 20, 2021:
CHAUVIN VERDICT WATCH
Derek Chauvin’s fate is in the hands of 12 of his peers. After 14 days of witness testimony, the prosecution in the Chauvin trial summed up its case in closing arguments to the jury as simply: “You can believe your eyes,” while the defense asked them to look at the “totality of the circumstances” and not just the infamous video. Chauvin’s legal team also asked for a mistrial -- which was denied -- citing the intense media exposure and particularly a comment from Rep. Maxine Waters, who said protesters should get “more confrontational” if the jury doesn’t return a guilty verdict. The jurors are being sequestered at a local hotel as they deliberate the charges of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. STAR TRIB
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
If you need a COVID test, you can now get one over the counter at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. Abbott Labs’ recently-approved rapid test delivers results in 15 minutes without the need for a lab and costs about $25. While hospitalizations and deaths are still trending in the right direction in the U.S., the virus is raging out of control in countries like India and Brazil, with the global death toll having now surpassed 3 million. The State Dept. is expected to adjust its advisories for travelers, putting 80 percent of countries worldwide under a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning. CNN
CAPITOL RIOT
Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who was injured during the Jan. 6 riot, suffered multiple strokes hours after confronting the pro-Trump mob and died of natural causes the next day, according to the D.C. medical examiner. That finding will make it much more difficult for prosecutors to pursue a homicide case against the two men who have been accused of spraying Sicknick with a chemical irritant outside the Capitol during the riot. AP
SOUTH AFRICA WILDFIRE
Firefighters have finally taken control of a major wildfire that burned vast areas of Cape Town, including the slopes of the city’s iconic Table Mountain. The fire also destroyed large parts of the University of Cape Town’s historic library that holds priceless antiquities documenting South Africa’s history. A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson but it’s not clear he ignited the initial blaze. ABC NEWS
PELOTON ON DEFENSE
Shares of Peloton tumbled nearly 9 percent after federal regulators warned parents with small children to stop using the company’s Tread+ treadmill over safety concerns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was investigating 39 accidents involving the $2,500 treadmill, including one that involved a child’s death. In its consumer alert, the CPSC put out a video showing a young boy getting sucked under the equipment before he was able to free himself. Peloton says it has no plans to stop selling the Tread+ and called the feds’ warning “misleading.” YAHOO FINANCE
APPLE EVENT
Apple holds its first media event of the year today, where the company is expected to unveil an iPad refresh. The ‘Spring Forward’ event could also bring a redesigned iMac or the rumored AirTags tracking device. It could also involve a podcast subscription service. We won't know until the livestream happens at 1 p.m. ET. 9to5MAC
POT VIEWS
Today is 4/20, the pseudo-holiday made popular by stoners to celebrate weed. New polling shows just how far the public perception of marijuana has come since a group of California teenagers came up with the holiday in the 1970s. According to Pew Research, 91 percent of U.S. adults now support legalizing pot in some form -- 60 percent think it should be legal for medical and recreational use and 31 percent say it should be legal for just medical use. Just 8 percent say it should be illegal. PEW
DOWNTON ABBEY 2
Surprise, Downton Abbey fans: the cast of the original movie -- a spin-off of the TV show -- is returning for the long-rumored sequel, already in production and scheduled for theatrical release this Christmas. Downton creator Julian Fellowes is penning the screenplay. In addition to the regulars, Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock and Dominic West are joining the cast. VARIETY
SPOTTED...
...Ingenuity, NASA’s Mars helicopter, making space history with its first successful flight. The small copter took off from the Martian surface, flew about 10 feet high and hovered for about 30 seconds before descending -- the first time something from Earth ever achieved a controlled liftoff and landing on another world: WATCH
...the trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel’s first movie to feature an Asian superhero: WATCH
...the iconic blue whale at NYC’s Museum of Natural History, with a whale-sized band-aid on its fin. Starting Friday, New Yorkers can get their COVID vaccines under the whale in the museum’s Hall of Ocean Life: SEE PIC
LEFTOVERS: THE DENIM DEBATE
Which jeans style is going to be in fashion for a post-pandemic world? The New York Times style desk says skinny is out and baggy is in (and if you’ve seen a teenager lately, that checks out). Vogue says bell-bottoms are in. WhoWhatWear says it’s bootcut or bust. Elle agrees, kind of, that cropped jeans are back...but kick flares are a hard ‘no.’ The companies that actually make the jeans, for their part, say they are seeing higher demand for relaxed, baggier fits. SLATE
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