Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • A1

00 1 PARTLY SUNNY 55 35 FORECAST, A14 FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 COMICS B4 A11 OBITUARIES A10 OPINION A13 SCOREBOARD C5 SPORTS C1 STOCKS A10 TAKE FIVE B3 TELEVISION B5 182nd year, No. 136 Copyright 2021 Follow us online: facebook.com/WisconsinStateJournal twitter.com@WiStateJournal instagram.com/wistatejournal ers exclusive digital content for our members. Customize the news alerts in your inbox. GO.MADISON.COM/NEWSLETTERS No tax hikes or marijuana Wisconsin Senate leader says GOP will hold line on taxes, support medical or recreational marijuana A3 Billions of T. Rex? Yes, presuming 127,000 generations over a few million years, no wonder found a few remains NATION.

A8 EASY TO WATCH Kelly top-seeded squad opens NCAA play with sweep of Weber State in second round SPORTS. C1 DAVID WAHLBERG Wisconsin on Thursday re- ported a total of 299 cases of a COVID-19 variant rst discov- ered in England, double the total from last week, and 11 cases of a variant rst found in Brazilians, up from four last week. The cases of the B117 variant rst ed in England are still well below the tallies in some other states, including Michigan and Minnesota. But the increase in the more conta- gious variants comes as Wiscon- overall daily cases have been rising along with its proportion of cases occurring among chil- dren and youth. Of new COVID-19 cases for which samples are genetically sequenced, a growing proportion are of ve more-transmissible variants being closely tracked, said Dr.

Ryan Westergaard, chief medical cer for the state De- partment of Health Services. They include the B117 variant and the P1 variant rst found in Brazilian travelers in Japan. those variants are the predominant strain in a commu- nity, the epidemic tends to grow New cases of variants double in past week KELLY MEYERHOFER Several Madison residents on Thursday sued the state board that awards scholarships and loans to college students, alleg- ing a grant program restricted to certain students of color is un- constitutional. A law rm representing con- servative interests, the Wisconsin Institute for Law Liberty, led the action against the Higher Ed- ucational Aids Board in Je erson County Circuit Court on behalf of the residents, including a biracial couple who say their son qualify for the program. The board administers the Mi- nority Undergraduate Retention Grant program, which provides students of color with up to $2,500 per year to set the cost of college.

The grants are awarded based on nancial need and avail- able to students attending a tech- nical college, tribal college or pri- vate school. State law restricts program eligibility to African American, American Indian, Hispanic and some Southeast Asian students. WILL argues the program cri- teria amounts to racial discrimi- nation which is prohibited by the state constitution because students who are Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, North African, ASSOCIATED PRESS MINNEAPOLIS Former Of- cer Derek Chauvin chose not to take the stand as testimony at his murder trial ended Thursday, passing up the chance to explain to the jury and the public for the rst time what he was thinking when he pressed his knee against George neck. Closing arguments are set to begin Monday, after which a racially diverse jury will begin deliberating at a barbed-wire- ringed courthouse in a city on edge not just because of the Chauvin case but because of the deadly police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man in a Min- neapolis suburb last weekend. Before the jury was brought in Thursday morning, Chauvin ended weeks of speculation by informing the judge he would in- voke his Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

Shortly afterward, the defense rested its case after two days of testimony, compared with two weeks for the prosecution. Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter in death after the 46-year- old Black man was arrested on suspicion of passing a counter- feit $20 at a neighborhood mar- ket last May. Bystander video of Floyd gasping that he breathe as bystanders yelled at Chauvin to get him triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious examination of racism and policing in the U.S. The most serious charge against the red white of- cer, second-degree murder, carries up to 40 years in prison, though state guidelines call for about 12. Prosecutors say Floyd died because the knee was pressed against neck or close to it for 9 minutes as he lay on the pavement on his Chauvin stays mum; defense rests COURT TV Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and his client, former Minneapolis police cer Derek Chauvin, address Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill during motions before the court Thursday.

CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and JOSEPH PISANI Associated Press WASHINGTON A much- awaited economic boom coming the pandemic recession ap- peared to edge closer to reality Thursday with fresh data show- ing the pace of layo dwindling, consumers spending freely and manufacturing rebounding. The latest barometers point to a U.S. economy steadily regaining its health as vaccina- tions accelerate, business curbs are lifted in many states and more people are willing to travel, shop, eat out and otherwise resume their spending habits. Though many Americans who have lost jobs or income are still su ering, hopes are rising that the ts of the recovery will spread further in the coming months to groups of people who have yet to t. The number of Americans ap- plying for unemployment ts tumbled last week to 576,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, a post-COVID low and a sign that layo are easing.

And sales at retail stores and restaurants jumped 9.8% in March, the biggest gain since last May, when the economy rst started to rebound from the initial blow. With U.S. household savings high, economists are op- timistic that the faster spending is sustainable. At the same time, factories are humming again. In March, the Federal Reserve said Thursday, manufacturing output increased 2.7%.

Many economists expected a larger gain after output had fallen in the midst of unseasonably cold weather. But shortages of raw materials and Recovery gains momentum JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL GATES OF HEAVEN RESTORATION Vince Evans with Building Restoration Corp. works on the exterior of the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue as part of a complete mortar replacement to the city-owned structure in James Madison Park. In addition to the ongoing tuckpointing work, recent improvements have included window replacement and a oor nishing in the 158-year-old building. Minority grant program hit with suit State board is facing discrimination claim Please see GRANT, Page A8 US ECONOMY REBOUNDING FROM PANDEMIC Layo slow; spending, manufacturing quicken Please see ECONOMY, Page A10 Closing arguments set to begin Monday Please see TRIAL, Page A6 COVID-19 WISCONSIN Infection rates climb among young people Vaccine required: Colleges, entertainment venues, employers making demands.

A2 Please see VARIANTS, Page A2.