The Rundown: U-S Reaches Grim Milestone

WSJ Graphic

The U.S. reached a grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday (May 27th), with the number of deaths passing 100,000, a threshold reached in under four months. The number of confirmed cases there have been as of last night was nearly 1.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University's count. Worldwide, the coronavirus has killed more than 350,000 people and there have been more than 5.6 million cases, with the U.S. having the most confirmed cases by far. In a tweet Tuesday, the day before the country reached the 100,000 toll, President Trump said, "For all of the political hacks out there, if I hadn’t done my job well, & early, we would have lost 1 1/2 to 2 Million People, as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number."

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a video yesterday in which he sought to offer comfort to those who'd lost a loved one, saying, "this nation grieves with you." The former vice president also said the sad milestone is one, quote, "we should have never reached -- that could have been avoided."

Studies Suggest More Asymptomatic Than Thought: Two new studies out yesterday suggest that the number of people who have the coronavirus and are asymptomatic may be a lot higher than thought. The first study found that 42 percent of cases from a group of 78 people in Wuhan, China, who tested positive were asymptomatic. They were more likely to be younger, in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, and to be women. The second study found that 81 percent of people on cruise to Antarctica who tested positive were asymptomatic. There were 217 people on board and 59 percent tested positive. Asymptomatic spread is a main reason everyone is being encouraged to wear a face mask. However, in some good news from the Wuhan study, it indicated people who are asymptomatic may not be infectious for as long. The asymptomatic patients shed the virus for about eight days, compared to 19 days among those who had symptoms.

USA Today Front Page 5/28/2020

➤MAYOR CALLS FOR CHARGES AGAINST OFFICER WHO PUT KNEE ON MAN'S NECK; SECOND NIGHT OF PROTESTS: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday (May 27th) called for criminal charges to be brought against the white police officer who was seen in cellphone video kneeling for some eight minutes on the neck of a handcuffed, 46-year-old black man who repeatedly cried out that he couldn't breathe and died in police custody. Frey said, "I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?" The officer, Derek Chauvin, and three other police officers who were there with him were fired Tuesday, the day after Floyd's death. Police said Floyd matched the description of someone who tried to pay with a counterfeit bill at a convenience store and that he resisted arrest.

Protesters demonstrated for a second day Wednesday outside a police precinct, with some throwing rocks and bottles at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. There was also reported looting at a few nearby stores, with a fire breaking out in one of them. It was the second day of demonstrations, after protesters marched on Tuesday evening more than two miles from the site of the fatal incident to the precinct, with some damaging property. Police also fired tear gas and rubber bullets then. Some people also showed up outside Chauvin's home Wednesday, where paint was spilled in his driveway and someone wrote "murderer" in chalk. An officer told them Chauvin wasn't there. Hundreds protesting Floyd's death blocked a Los Angeles freeway yesterday and broke windows of California Highway Patrol police cars. An attorney for Floyd's family, Benjamin Crump, urged that protests be peaceful, saying, "We cannot sink to the level of our oppressors."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison promised there would be a thorough and transparent investigation, but didn't back Frey's call for Chauvin's immediate arrest, saying the legal process needs to play out. The FBI is also investigating whether the officers deprived Floyd of his civil rights. President Trump called Floyd's death a, quote, "very, very sad event," and tweeted that he'd asked for the federal probe to be expedited. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said of the officers' firing, "I don't think that's enough," and called Floyd's death "part of an ingrained, systemic cycle of injustice that still exists in this country."

➤UCONN STUDENT WANTED IN TWO MURDERS IS CAUGHT: A 23-year-old University of Connecticut student wanted in the murder of two people was caught in Maryland after a six-day manhunt, police said last night. Peter Manfredonia was captured near a truck stop in Hagerstown. Manfredonia is suspected in the machete killing last Friday of 62-year-old Ted DeMers in Willington, Connecticut, and the fatal shooting of his high school friend Nicholas Eisele, also 23, two days later in the town of Derby. He also allegedly injured another man in Willington and kidnapped Eisele's girlfriend, before freeing her in New Jersey. DeMers' wife has said Manfredonia was looking for a woman he knew who is their neighbor when he walked down the road in front of their home wearing a motorcycle helmet and said his motorcycle had broken down. When Ted DeMers gave him a ride back to his bike, Manfredonia allegedly killed him with a machete. An attorney for Manfredonia's family says he's struggled with mental health issues.

➤WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP WILL ISSUE SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVE ORDER AFTER TWEETS LABELED: The White House said Wednesday that President Trump will issue an executive order related to social media today, after Twitter on Tuesday labeled two of Trump's tweets claiming that mail-in voting would lead to widespread vote fraud as "potentially misleading," the first time it's done so for any of his tweets. It's not clear what the order will say, but Republican allies have indicated it could seek to remove from Twitter the speech liability immunity social media platforms have that traditional publishers don't because they're considered passive distributors of third-party content. Trump blasted Twitter's action, tweeting, charging that his free speech was being stifled. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stood by the company's actions, tweeting last night that it will, quote, "continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. . . . This does not make us an 'arbiter of truth.' Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves."

➤DISNEY WORLD ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR RE-OPENING IN MID-JULY: Disney World announced its plans for reopening from its coronavirus pandemic shutdown after they were approved yesterday (May 27th) by an Orlando, Florida, task force. They call for Disney to reopen the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11th, and Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15th. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has to give final approval. They will open with limited capacity, although not revealed was what percentage of capacity will be allowed in, and advance reservations will have to be made for entry. Employees and guests will be required to wear face masks and social distancing will be enforced. There also will be temperature checks for employees and guests before entering the parks. Events that cause people to gather, including fireworks shows, character meet-and-greets and parades, will be suspended. SeaWorld in Orlando also announced plans to reopen on June 11th, and Universal Orlando said last week it plans to reopen on June 5th.

➤MLB PLAYERS WANT MORE GAMES, FULL PRORATED SALARIES: After a proposal from MLB on Tuesday (May 26th) for a coronavirus-delayed 82-game season in which the players would take salary cuts on a sliding scale that would see star players lose as much as 77 percent of their salary this year, the players' union is expected to counter with a plan that would have teams play more than 100 games, and in which players would be guaranteed full prorated salaries for the season, according to media reports last night (May 27th). Players were unhappy with the league's proposal, and Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, one of eight players on the union's executive subcommittee, tweeted yesterday the significant pay cuts in it wouldn't be accepted.