The Rundown: U-S Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000

The number of deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus passed 75,000 as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, more than one-third of them, over 26,000, in New York State. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,256,000. That milestone came as the White House said yesterday that a member of the military who serves as one of President Trump's valets tested positive for the virus a day earlier. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have both since tested negative. Trump said that some staffers who interact with him closely will now be tested daily, up from weekly testing that was being done, and Pence said both he and Trump will also be tested daily.

The Trump administration has shelved a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that provided step-by-step advice for local officials across the country on how and when to reopen businesses, restaurants and other public places amid the pandemic. The Associated Press yesterday cited a CDC official as saying the report was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told it, quote, "would never see the light of day." AP cited a person described as being close to the White House coronavirus task force as saying White House officials haven't offered detailed guidance for how specific sectors should reopen because the virus is affecting different parts of the country differently.

Nearly 3.2 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, bringing the total to some 33.5 million people in the seven weeks since the pandemic began leading companies to close and cut their workforces. That's one in five Americans who were employed in February. While still extremely high, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time has now fallen for five straight weeks from a peak of nearly 6.9 million in the week ending March 28th.

➤JUSTICE DEPT. DROPS CASE AGAINST MICHAEL FLYNN IN ABRUPT REVERSAL: The Justice Department said in an abrupt reversal yesterday (May 7th) that it's dropping the criminal case against Michael Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser. Prosecutors in the case, one of the most high-profile ones brought by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, said Flynn lied to the FBI in January 2017 about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the post-election transition. Flynn pled guilty and cooperated with Mueller in the Russia probe, but then asked to withdraw his plea. Trump praised the decision and charged the effort to investigate Flynn was, quote, "treason." Former top FBI officials who worked on the case and Democrats blasted the decision, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who charged, "Attorney General [William] Barr’s politicization of justice knows no bounds." But Barr denied in a CBS News interview that he was doing the bidding of Trump, saying, "No, I'm doing the law's bidding." The Justice Department said it agreed with Flynn's attorneys that the interview should never have taken place because Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador were "entirely appropriate," and contended the lie he told investigators wasn't "material" to an investigation.

➤ARRESTS MADE OF FATHER AND SON IN GEORGIA KILLING OF BLACK MAN: A white father and son were arrested Thursday (May 7th) and charged with murder in the shooting death of a 25-year-old black man, Ahmaud Arbery, who was running in their neighborhood outside the city of Brunswick.

The arrests of 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and 34-year-old Travis McMichael come two-and-a-half months after Arbery's February death, and after the release of cellphone video of the killing earlier this week sparked outrage and led the state to open an investigation.

The elder McMichael told police at the time of the shooting that he and his son had grabbed guns and chased after Arbery in a truck because they suspected he was a burglar. Arbery's mother has said she believes he was jogging, which he used to regularly do. The father said Travis got out of the truck holding a shotgun and Arbery, quote, "began to violently attack," and was shot as he and Travis fought over the gun.

The video shows Arbery running on the left side of a road with a pickup truck parked in the road in front of him with one man in its bed and the other standing next to the driver's side door. Arbery crosses to pass the truck on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of it. A gunshot is heard, and Arbery and Travis are seen grappling over a shotgun. A second shot is heard as Arbery is seen punching Travis. A third shot is fired, and Arbery staggers and falls face down.

➤NEIMAN MARCUS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY: Neiman Marcus has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second major retailer to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic after J. Crew earlier this week, and the first department store chain. The 112-year-old luxury retailer based in Dallas has 43 stores. A spokesperson said yesterday (May 7th) that no mass closings are planned, and the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the fall. Neiman Marcus said it's secured $675 million in financing to keep operating during its restructuring.

➤DISNEY WORLD TO REOPEN SOME OF DISNEY SPRINGS: The first return from the coronavirus shutdown at Disney World will take place on May 20th, when some of its Disney Springs shopping, dining and entertainment complex will be reopened. Disney Springs Vice President Matt Simon announced the news Thursday (May 7th), saying a, quote, "limited number of shopping and dining experiences" will begin to return with "enhanced safety measures." Those will include enhanced cleaning, masks for employees and guests, and "limited-contact guest services." There also will be limits on capacity, parking and operating hours.

➤BUG EXPERTS: DON'T WORRY ABOUT 'MURDER HORNETS': Bug experts are saying there's no need to freak out about "murder hornets," the Asian giant hornets that it was reported in screaming headlines earlier this week have been found in Washington state. Although the two-inch bugs can kill humans, it's very rare for them to do so. Instead, the real danger is to honeybees, since they destroy entire hives. A big part of the hype is the "murder hornets" nickname, with University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy telling AP: "This is 99 percent media hype and frankly I’m getting tired of it. 'Murder hornet?' Please."