There was promising news Monday on an experimental COVID-19 vaccine being developed by scientists at Oxford University. Published research showed that in an early trial, the vaccine produced a protective dual immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot that lasted at least two months. Dr. Adrian Hill said the immune response produced antibodies and also caused a reaction in T-cells, which destroy cells that have been taken over by the virus. The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization called it "good news," but said, "there’s a long way to go." There are nearly two dozen potential vaccines in different stages of human testing around the world.
Meanwhile, there were some hopeful signs in two of the U.S. states that have been hard-hit with surges in recent weeks. Arizona said hospitalizations were at their lowest level in more than two weeks, and that the number of people on ventilators and in intensive care also fell. In Texas, health officials in Houston said the number of people who needed to be hospitalized seemed to have "tapered off a bit." Overall, the U.S. has had more than 140,900 deaths as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 3,830,000 confirmed cases.
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| WSJ 7/2/1/20 |
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with President Trump yesterday about a fifth coronavirus aid package, which Congress is trying to get passed as previous emergency relief is set to expire. However, there are some divisions between Republicans and the White House, with the administration against more money for coronavirus testing, and wanting a payroll tax repeal. McConnell's approximately $1 trillion package will, among other things, likely replace the expiring $600 weekly in extra unemployment benefits with a smaller amount of money, and may also include new round of stimulus checks. The House Democrats passed their own $3 trillion new relief package back in May, which the Republican Senate has not taken up.
Florida Teachers' Union Sues Over Back-to-School Order: Florida's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association (FEA), sued yesterday over the state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran's order to next month reopen schools with in-person learning five days a week. The suit names both Corcoran and Governor Ron DeSantis. FEA president Fedrick Ingram said Sunday that the state of the pandemic in Florida, which has been one of the hardest-hit states in the recent surge, means it's too soon to reopen public schools. The union argues that the order violates the state constitution, which requires schools to be operated safely.
➤HOMELAND SECURITY TO DEPLOY AGENTS IN CHICAGO: With controversy still swirling over unidentified federal agents being deployed in Portland, Oregon, detaining people in the city where there have been nightly, at-times violent protests since George Floyd's death, a report said yesterday that federal agents are also going to be sent to Chicago. The Chicago Tribune said that the Department of Homeland Security plans to send about 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, where they are expected to, quote, "assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts." Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in response Monday, "We don’t need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully." Similarly, in Portland, the mayor and state governor have both made clear they don't want the federal agents there, with Mayor Ted Wheeler calling it a "direct threat to our democracy." President Trump suggested to reporters yesterday that federal law enforcement agents may also be deployed to other cities beyond Portland, including Chicago and New York.
➤'ANTI-FEMINIST' LAWYER FOUND DEAD SUSPECTED IN ATTACK ON JUDGE'S FAMILY IN WHICH SON KILLED: An attorney who described himself as "anti-feminist" and was the prime suspect in an attack at a federal judge's New Jersey home Sunday afternoon that left her 20-year-old son dead and her husband critically injured was founded dead in upstate New York of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The FBI on Monday called 69-year-old Roy Den Hollander the prime suspect in the attack, in which a gunman posing as a Fedex delivery man went to U.S. District Judge Esther Salas' home in North Brunswick and started shooting when the door opened, killing Salas' son Daniel Anderl and wounding her husband, attorney Mark Anderl. Salas was unharmed.
Den Hollander filed lawsuits when he thought "men's rights" were being infringed, against things like bar ladies' nights and college women's studies programs, and made some media appearances related to them. Salas heard a lawsuit Den Hollander filed in 2015 against the male-only military draft. In writings posted online, he called Salas a "lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama."
He also contended she'd traded on her Hispanic heritage to get ahead, and referred to her life story as having been abandoned by her father and raised by her poor mother as, quote, "the usual effort to blame a man and turn someone into super girl." Among his angry and often misogynistic writings, Den Hollander also spoke about recently being treated for cancer and wanting to use his remaining time to, quote, "wrap up his affairs." He wrote, "The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he can’t even the score with all of them."
➤ST. LOUIS COUPLE THAT HELD AND WAVED WEAPONS AT PROTESTERS CHARGED: Husband and wife Mark and Patricia McCloskey were charged Monday (July 20th) with felony unlawful use of a weapon for holding and waving weapons against a racial justice protest going past their St. Louis mansion on a private street. The city's top prosector, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, filed the charges, telling the Associated Press, "It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner -- that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis." She also said their actions risked creating a violent situation during what was a nonviolent protest. Supporters of the McCloskeys claim they were legally defending their home. Gardner is recommending a diversion program, such as community service, instead of jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Republicans including President Trump and Missouri Governor Mike Parson have condemned Gardner's investigation, and Parson said in an interview Friday that he'd likely pardon the McCloskeys if they were charged and convicted. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Monday he filed a brief requesting that the charges be dismissed under the state’s Castle Doctrine, which covers people's right to protect their home.
➤GIANTS MANAGER KAPLER, SOME PLAYERS KNEEL DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM: San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and some of the MLB team's players knelt during the national anthem before last night's (July 20th) exhibition game against the Oakland A's. Kapler knelt with first base coach Antoan Richardson and outfielders Jaylin Davis, Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater, and shortstop Brandon Crawford stood, but put his hands on the shoulders of Davis and Richardson. Giants President Farhan Zaidi issued a statement supporting Kapler and the players, and MLB also tweeted in response to criticism of the Giants for kneeling, saying, "Supporting human rights is not political," and "It has never been about the military or the flag. The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest."
➤NO CORONAVIRUS CASES AMONG 346 NBA PLAYERS TESTED IN ORLANDO: The NBA and the players' union said Monday (July 20th) that there were no positives among 346 players that were tested since July 13th at the "bubble" campus in Orlando, where the season will be resuming. In the first testing results announced on July 13th, two players of 322 were positive. NBA games are set to resume on July 30th.
➤BLUE JAYS TALKING TO PITTSBURGH ABOUT PLAYING IN THEIR BALLPARK: MLB's Toronto Blue Jays are talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about sharing the Pirates' PNC Park ballpark this season, after Canada barred the Blue Jays from playing in their home stadium, Rogers Centre, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The issue for Canada is that the Jays would be traveling back and forth from the U.S., where coronavirus cases are surging. MLB's shortened, 60-game season will begin on Thursday (July 23rd).
➤FAUCI TO THROW FIRST PITCH AT SEASON-OPENING GAME: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert who's been a trusted figure during the coronavirus pandemic, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of the MLB's coronavirus-shortened season Thursday night (July 23rd) between the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees. Fauci is a fan of the reigning World Series champion Nationals, who will be hosting the Yankees.
➤ST. LOUIS COUPLE THAT HELD AND WAVED WEAPONS AT PROTESTERS CHARGED: Husband and wife Mark and Patricia McCloskey were charged Monday (July 20th) with felony unlawful use of a weapon for holding and waving weapons against a racial justice protest going past their St. Louis mansion on a private street. The city's top prosector, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, filed the charges, telling the Associated Press, "It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner -- that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis." She also said their actions risked creating a violent situation during what was a nonviolent protest. Supporters of the McCloskeys claim they were legally defending their home. Gardner is recommending a diversion program, such as community service, instead of jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Republicans including President Trump and Missouri Governor Mike Parson have condemned Gardner's investigation, and Parson said in an interview Friday that he'd likely pardon the McCloskeys if they were charged and convicted. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Monday he filed a brief requesting that the charges be dismissed under the state’s Castle Doctrine, which covers people's right to protect their home.
➤NFL AGREES TO INITIAL DAILY CORONAVIRUS TESTING, OFFERS TO PLAY NO PRESEASON GAMES: The NFL and its players have agreed to coronavirus testing daily for the first two weeks of training camp, and after that, if the positive rate is below five percent, they will test every other day, ESPN reported. The league also yesterday offered the players' union to not play any preseason games this summer, according to reports. The players had been pushing for both daily testing and not having any preseason games.With daily testing and 24-hour turnaround of up to 5,800 samples per day, the NFL will definitely be consuming resources that could be devoted to the general public https://t.co/fFYXkOWwOq— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 20, 2020
A bunch of Giants players and coaches kneeled for the anthem. Brandon Crawford put his hands on the shoulders of Jaylin Davis and Antoan Richardson: pic.twitter.com/2XsIg8oFjw— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 21, 2020
➤GIANTS MANAGER KAPLER, SOME PLAYERS KNEEL DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM: San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and some of the MLB team's players knelt during the national anthem before last night's (July 20th) exhibition game against the Oakland A's. Kapler knelt with first base coach Antoan Richardson and outfielders Jaylin Davis, Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater, and shortstop Brandon Crawford stood, but put his hands on the shoulders of Davis and Richardson. Giants President Farhan Zaidi issued a statement supporting Kapler and the players, and MLB also tweeted in response to criticism of the Giants for kneeling, saying, "Supporting human rights is not political," and "It has never been about the military or the flag. The players and coaches are using their platforms to peacefully protest."
➤NO CORONAVIRUS CASES AMONG 346 NBA PLAYERS TESTED IN ORLANDO: The NBA and the players' union said Monday (July 20th) that there were no positives among 346 players that were tested since July 13th at the "bubble" campus in Orlando, where the season will be resuming. In the first testing results announced on July 13th, two players of 322 were positive. NBA games are set to resume on July 30th.
➤BLUE JAYS TALKING TO PITTSBURGH ABOUT PLAYING IN THEIR BALLPARK: MLB's Toronto Blue Jays are talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about sharing the Pirates' PNC Park ballpark this season, after Canada barred the Blue Jays from playing in their home stadium, Rogers Centre, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The issue for Canada is that the Jays would be traveling back and forth from the U.S., where coronavirus cases are surging. MLB's shortened, 60-game season will begin on Thursday (July 23rd).
➤FAUCI TO THROW FIRST PITCH AT SEASON-OPENING GAME: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert who's been a trusted figure during the coronavirus pandemic, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of the MLB's coronavirus-shortened season Thursday night (July 23rd) between the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees. Fauci is a fan of the reigning World Series champion Nationals, who will be hosting the Yankees.
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