VIRUS OUTBREAK-FLORIDA

Florida reports largest, single-day increase in Covid cases

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any one state since the beginning of the pandemic. According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases. California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, four days ago. New York had 11,571 on April 15. The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week in Florida, with about 500 fatalities. On Sunday, 45 more deaths were reported. Throughout May and into June, the state reopened much of its economy with some restrictions.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WARY NEW YORK

As virus rages in US, New York guards against another rise

NEW YORK (AP) — As coronavirus rages out of control in other parts of the U.S., New York is offering an example after taming the nation’s deadliest outbreak this spring — while also trying to prepare in case another surge comes. New York’s early experience is a ready-made blueprint for states now finding themselves swamped by the disease. Those lessons could also come in handy at home, as the region readies for a potential second wave of infection that experts predict will likely come at some point. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has offered advice, supplies and medicine to states suddenly dealing with spikes. He also has warned New Yorkers not to let up on wearing masks or social distancing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA NURSING HOMES

California now allows nursing home visits, but few happen

For months, California’s skilled nursing facilities have been shut down to visitors to keep out the coronavirus. State health authorities recently issued guidance for visits to resume, but few are happening as infection rates surge in California. Facilities are being cautious after many suffered severe outbreaks earlier in the pandemic. Nursing facilities account for about 40% of California’s roughly 7,000 coronavirus deaths. Families have relied on phone and video calls to stay in touch with loved ones. An administer at a skilled nursing facility in Berkeley says she doesn’t want to proceed with most visits until getting approval from the city.

AP-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST

The Latest: Italy sees jump in new coronavirus cases

Local outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers at a courier service in northern Italy and among migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea have helped swell an increase in the nation’s daily new cases. Calabria had 28 new cases on Sunday, stemming from infections among nearly 800 migrants rescued from human traffickers’ boats and brought to that region. Calabria Gov. Jole Santelli called on the national government to safeguard the local population by requisitioning navy boats and keeping rescued migrants offshore until they can be tested for infection. In the Emilia-Romagna region, 71 cases were registered on Sunday

ELECTION 2020-GOP CONVENTION

It’s Trump’s call on what the GOP convention will look like

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is slowly coming to accept that the Republican National Convention won’t be the four-night infomercial for his reelection that he’d anticipated. Already the late August event has moved from North Carolina to Florida, and now coronavirus cases are spiking and there’s an economic recession. Trump aides and allies are increasingly questioning whether the convention will be worth the trouble. Some are advocating that it be scrapped altogether. They reason that conventions are meant to lay out a candidate’s vision for the coming four years, not spark months of intrigue over the health and safety those who attend. Ultimately, the call on whether to move forward will be Trump’s alone.

TRUMP-PRIVATE BORDER WALL

Trump rips private Texas border wall built by his supporters

HOUSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has criticized a privately built border wall in South Texas that’s showing signs of erosion months after going up, saying in a tweet that he thinks it was “only done to make me look bad,” even though it was built after a months-long campaign by his supporters. The group that raised money online for it promoted itself as supporting Trump during a government shutdown that began in December 2018 because Congress wouldn’t fund a border wall. Trump’s tweet tweeted Sunday came after ProPublica-Texas Tribune report that found the riverbank has started to erode.

ELECTION 2020-CHINA

Trump, Biden try to outdo each other on tough talk on China

WASHINGTON (AP) — China has fast become a top election issue as President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden engage in a verbal brawl over who’s better at playing the tough guy against Beijing. China is more than simply a foreign policy issue in the campaign. It’s an issue that runs deeply through the United States’ troubles with the coronavirus. Voters also will be asking themselves whether Trump or Biden can best defend the U.S. against China’s unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property rights, rising aggression across the globe and human rights abuses. One pollster says the candidate who looks more subservient to China’s leaders is the candidate who’s in more jeopardy.

HONG KONG-PRIMARIES

Nearly 600,000 vote in Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries

HONG KONG (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers have voted in an unofficial two-day primary election held by the city’s pro-democracy camp as it gears up to field candidates for an upcoming legislative poll. The exercise is being held two weeks after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous territory in a move widely seen as chipping away at the “one country, two systems” framework under which Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997. Throngs of people lined up at polling booths in the summer heat to cast their vote despite a warning by Hong Kong’s constitutional affairs minister that the primaries could be in breach of the new national security law.

AP-EU-POLAND-PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION

Poland holds a momentous, tight presidential runoff

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Voting is taking place in Poland’s tight presidential election runoff between the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda, backed by the ruling party, and liberal, pro-Europe Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski of the main opposition party. Latest polls show the race between the two 48-year-olds may be decided by a very small margin. If Duda is reelected, he and the ruling right-wing party would maintain control of Poland’s politics at least until the next parliamentary vote in 2023. A win for Trzaskowski would put a check on the populist government’s actions as he would have the power to veto new legislation and a say in foreign relations.

AP-EU-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SPAIN-ELECTIONS

Spain holds 2 regional elections amid small virus outbreaks

ORDIZIA, Spain (AP) — Over 4.4 million Spaniards in two northern regions are voting in regional elections Sunday amid tight security measures to avoid more outbreaks of the coronavirus. Regional authorities in both the Basque Country and Galicia have prohibited over 400 people who have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 from going to polling stations to vote. Voters must wear face masks and remain 1.5 meters apart in polling stations. These are the first elections in Spain since the start of the pandemic that has claimed at least 28,000 lives in the European country.

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