News in :90 – March 5, 2021

Minneapolis and Hennepin County officials will spend at least $1 million to put up fences and other barricades ahead of the trial for the former officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd.

Minneapolis officials estimate $645,000 will be spent to protect the city’s five police precincts, City Hall and the Public Service Building.

County officials say the initial cost for leasing and installing barriers around the Hennepin County Government Center, where Derek Chauvin’s trial begins Monday, is about $420,000.

YouTube removed five channels run by Myanmar’s military for violating its guidelines, it announced Friday, as demonstrators defied growing violence by security forces and staged more anti-coup protests ahead of a special U.N. Security Council meeting on the country’s political crisis.

YouTube said it is watching for any further content that might violate its rules. It earlier pulled dozens of channels as part of an investigation into content uploaded in a coordinated influence campaign.

The decision by YouTube followed Facebook’s earlier announcement that it has removed all Myanmar military-linked pages from its site and from Instagram, which it also owns.

The escalation of violence by security forces has put pressure on the world community to act to restrain the junta, which seized power on Feb. 1 by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

St. Thomas students await the Travel Risk Advisory Committee‘s decision on the Rome Empower and London Business study abroad programs after they were canceled during the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19.

Rome Empower and the London Business Semester are the only study abroad opportunities sponsored by St. Thomas for the 2021-22 school year.

Faculty and students anticipating their study abroad trips will officially know if they’re allowed to travel on June 15. According to its website, the St. Thomas Travel Risk Advisory Committee determines the safety and health risks of traveling abroad.

Leila Weah can be reached at Weah7721@stthomas.edu.