BC-VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST

The Latest: WHO posts 2nd daily record for new cases in row

The World Health Organization is again posting a single-day record of new confirmed coronavirus cases. It announced 259,848 new cases on Saturday. The WHO on Friday posted more than 237,000 confirmed cases around the world. The back-to-back records come as many nations struggle with new waves of infections after loosening lockdown restrictions. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University show more than 14 million cases worldwide since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 600,000 deaths.

AP-VIRUS-OUTBREAK

As virus surges in some US states, emergency rooms swamped

Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in some emergency wards since intensive care units are full, and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases. Some patients have been moved into hallways, and nurses are working extra shifts. A fast-rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States. In Florida, hospitals say they are in desperate need of remdesivir to treat patients who are filling beds. The governor announced 30,000 vials of the drug were being shipped to the state. The medication has been shown to shorten average hospitalization times.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP

Trump talks less about virus, states look inward for answers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hands-off approach to the coronavirus crisis in recent days even as COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to record highs in a significant slice of the country. Trump has focused his public comments on the virus on assurances that the worst days of the pandemic are in the rearview mirror, while turning his attention to talking about the economy and attacking Democratic rival Joe Biden. Meanwhile, governors and big city mayors in much of the United States are sending a blunt message to their constituents. That message is don’t expect a federal cavalry to save the day.

BC-BBA-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BLUE-JAYS

No Canada: Blue Jays barred from playing games in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays won’t play their home games in Toronto this year because Canada’s government doesn’t think it’s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic. Canada has flattened the curve of virus infections, while the U.S. is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. The Blue Jays say they are working to finalize a location for their home games.

AP-US-KUWAIT-EMBEZZLEMENT-LAWSUIT

US lawsuits claim Kuwaiti officials embezzled over $100M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has filed a series of lawsuits seeking to recover at least $104 million in funds allegedly embezzled by former officials in Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense. According to the complaints announced this week, three unnamed individuals who were high-level officials in Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense opened unauthorized bank accounts between 2009 and 2016 and used the accounts to facilitate the transfer of more than $100 million in Kuwaiti public funds to California bank accounts connected to a convicted felon. U.S. prosecutors claim the laundered funds were used to purchase luxury real estate, a private jet, a yacht, sports cars and sports memorabilia.

SUPREME COURT

Given a chance, Trump would push court pick before election

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have tried to make it clear: Given the chance, they would push through a Supreme Court nominee should a vacancy occur before Election Day. The issue has taken on new immediacy with the disclosure that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer after four earlier bouts with the disease. A nomination less than four months before the Nov. 3 election would fly in the face of McConnell’s refusal in 2016 to consider a Supreme Court nominee by President Barack Obama nine months before that year’s presidential vote.

JOHN LEWIS-ATLANTA

Atlanta lowering flags indefinitely to honor Rep. John Lewis

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta is lowering flags to half-staff indefinitely to honor Rep. John Lewis, who represented the city for more than 30 years in Congress before his death. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms made the announcement Saturday in a statement that says words can’t describe the loss of Lewis. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank notes the city lost two civil rights icons in a single day: Lewis and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, an early adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. Lewis was an Alabama native who made a career of politics in Atlanta. He won his first political office in the city in 1981, when he was elected to the Atlanta City Council.

AP-US-RACIAL-INJUSTICE-PORTLAND

Oregon officials decry federal agents after protest clashes

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Militarized federal agents deployed by the president to Portland, Oregon, fired tear gas against protesters again overnight as the city’s mayor demanded that the agents be removed and as the state’s attorney general vowed to seek a restraining order against them. Federal agents, some wearing camouflage and some wearing dark Homeland Security uniforms, used tear gas at least twice to break up crowds late Friday night. Protests against systemic racism and police brutality have been a nightly feature in deeply liberal Portland since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25. President Donald Trump has decried the disorder, helping make the clashes between police and demonstrators a national focus.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-CHICAGO COLUMBUS STATUE

Chicago police, protesters clash during bid to topple statue

CHICAGO (AP) — Protesters trying to topple a Christopher Columbus statue in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park clashed with police who responded violently with batons after they say officers were struck by fireworks and thrown cans. The clash Friday evening unfolded after at least 1,000 people tried to swarm the statue in a failed attempt to topple it following a rally in support of Black and Indigenous people. Police say 18 officers were injured and at least 12 people were arrested during the clash. Four protesters were also hurt during the confrontation. A group of elected officials issued a statement condemning the officers’ tactics .

RACIAL JUSTICE-NEW YORK

‘Black Lives Matter’ mural outside Trump Tower defaced again

NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a “Black Lives Matter” street mural in front of Manhattan’s Trump Tower has been vandalized with paint for the second time in a week. Surveillance video showed three people smearing blue paint on the Fifth Avenue mural while a woman littered it with flyers around 4 p.m. Friday. Police say officers found the trio near the mural a short time later with blue paint on their hands and clothing. They were arrested, charged with criminal mischief and released with a order to appear in court at a later date. The woman was issued a criminal court summons for illegal posting of flyers.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

×