theguardian--2020-05-27--US passes 100,000 coronavirus deaths as states relax lockdown measures

The United States has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 , moving past a grim milestone even as many states relax mitigation measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus .
The US has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other country in the pandemic , and almost three times as many as the second-ranking country , Britain , which has recorded more than 37,000 Covid-19 deaths .
The latest count of fatalities is 100,047 according to Johns Hopkins University data .
Earlier this month , Donald Trump said 100,000 deaths would be “ horrible ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his administration had prevented a much higher toll .
The death toll in the United States is still climbing , however , and federal officials warn that the likely actual toll from the coronavirus is higher than the official figure .
A tracking project by the Centers of Disease Control ( CDC ) of “ excess deaths ” in each state beyond seasonal averages suggests the official count of Covid-19 deaths could leave out thousands of cases .
“ These deaths could represent misclassified Covid-19 deaths , or potentially could be indirectly related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other causes occurring in the context of healthcare shortages or overburdened healthcare systems ) , ” the CDC said .
Joe Biden , Trump ’ s presumed opponent in the upcoming presidential election , said that Trump had mismanaged the crisis .
“ So much of this could have been prevented if we had a president who listened to someone other than himself , ” Biden said in a statement .
The first confirmed coronavirus case in the United States emerged on 20 January , in Washington state , the same day that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Korea .
Months ensued in which the White House told states they would receive minimal federal support in obtaining testing kits , ventilators , protective equipment and other gear .
The United States has increased its testing capacity but has yet to stand up a national plan for the contact tracing of positive cases , a step South Korea took immediately .
That country has since recorded 269 deaths from coronavirus .
Across Europe , the virus exacted a terrible toll .
Eight of the 10 countries with the top per-capita rates of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States ranks ninth on that list , with about 30 deaths per 100,000 people , according to data from Johns Hopkins University .
Britain is third , with 55.64 deaths per 100,000 .
Health experts warn that the United States can expect millions more Covid-19 cases and a tragic number of deaths to come , unless the virus takes an unprecedented and unforeseen vector .
With regional infection rates varying from about 5-20 % , most experts believe the virus will continue to churn through the US population until the overall rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until a vaccine is widely administered .

The United States has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, moving past a grim milestone even as many states relax mitigation measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The US has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other country in the pandemic, and almost three times as many as the second-ranking country, Britain, which has recorded more than 37,000 Covid-19 deaths.
The latest count of fatalities is 100,047 according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Donald Trump did not immediately react to the news. On Twitter, he posted a clip of Fox New’s Lou Dobbs calling Trump “arguably the greatest president in our history”. Earlier this month, Trump said 100,000 deaths would be “horrible”, but he claimed that actions by his administration had prevented a much higher toll.
The virus has killed more Americans than the Vietnam and Korean wars combined, and the death toll is approaching that of the first world war, when more than 116,000 Americans died in combat.
The number of fatalities in the United States is still climbing, , and federal officials warn that the likely actual toll from the coronavirus is higher than the official figure.
A tracking project by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) of “excess deaths” in each state beyond seasonal averages suggests the official count of Covid-19 deaths could leave out thousands of cases.
“These deaths could represent misclassified Covid-19 deaths, or potentially could be indirectly related to Covid-19 (eg, deaths from other causes occurring in the context of healthcare shortages or overburdened healthcare systems),” the CDC said.
The first confirmed coronavirus case in the United States emerged on 20 January, in Washington state, the same day that a first case was confirmed in South Korea. Months ensued in which the White House told states they would receive minimal federal support in obtaining testing kits, ventilators, protective equipment and other gear.
The United States has increased its testing capacity but has yet to stand up a national plan for the contact tracing of positive cases, a step South Korea took immediately. That country has since recorded 269 deaths from coronavirus.
In a video, former vice-president Joe Biden expressed grief for the lives lost and condemned the administration for not acting sooner. “To those hurting, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Biden said.
Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and former presidential candidate, struck a similar tone. “100,000 Americans are gone. They were our brothers and sisters. Our friends and neighbors,” she said. “And too many of them could have been saved if our federal government had just done more.”
Across Europe, the virus exacted a terrible toll. Eight of the 10 countries with the top per-capita rates of Covid-19 deaths are in Europe; the United States ranks ninth on that list, with about 30 deaths per 100,000 people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Britain is third, with 55.64 deaths per 100,000.
Health experts warn that the United States can expect millions more Covid-19 cases and a tragic number of deaths to come, unless the virus takes an unprecedented and unforeseen vector. With regional infection rates varying from about 5-20%, most experts believe the virus will continue to churn through the US population until the overall rate of infection is 50-60% – or until a vaccine is widely administered.


theguardian--2020-05-27--Trump threatens social media after Twitter puts warning on his false claims

Donald Trump has threatened to “ strongly regulate ” or close down social media platforms that do not meet his standards for ideological balance , a day after Twitter , for the first time , slapped a warning label on a pair of Trump tweets spreading lies about mail-in voting .
“ Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices , ” Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning .
“ We will strongly regulate , or close them down , before we can ever allow this to happen.
” Kayleigh McEnany , the White House press secretary , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday that Trump soon planned to sign an executive order on social media companies , but details remained scant .
Trump also repeated his attacks on mail-in voting , which is common in the United States but could expand further during the coronavirus pandemic .
Republicans fear that an expansion of the franchise could result in their members being ejected from office .
Trump in the past has made threats about media censorship that he did not then act on , and any attempt by the White House to shutter a media organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the courts .
In 2018 a federal judge ruled the president could not block people on Twitter , because it violates their first amendment rights to participate in a “ public forum ” .
As his election-year polling numbers have deteriorated , however , Trump has grown increasingly wild in his threats against media organizations and the voting system , and more aggressive in removing mechanisms for oversight in the federal government and in installing loyalists .
His takeover of the federal courts could put future first amendment claims on new and dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the president misunderstands the first amendment so fundamentally , ” said Jameel Jaffer , the executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University .
“ The only first amendment issue here arises from the president ’ s threat to punish Twitter in some way for fact-checking his statements.
” Most recently , Trump ’ s attacks on mail-in voting and on a cable news host , Joe Scarborough , have created controversies and put a great deal of pressure on Twitter , Trump ’ s preferred bullhorn , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The husband of a former aide to Scarborough , who died when the MSNBC host was a member of Congress , formally asked Twitter this week to remove “ horrifying ” tweets by Trump wrongfully and recklessly accusing Scarborough , a frequent Trump critic , of murder .
Twitter declined to remove those tweets , citing a relatively new policy crafted with Trump in mind to allow itself to leave up tweets by “ world leaders ” .
But the company took unprecedented action on Tuesday in response to lies tweeted by Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Trump tweets inviting users to “ get the facts about mail-in ballots ” .
The company confirmed its decision was in keeping with its “ civic integrity policy ” , which bars users from “ manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes ” .
Trump falsely claimed that state secretaries of state were mailing ballots to every citizen , and that mail-in voting invited fraud .
In fact , the secretaries in question , including Republicans , had only mailed out ballot applications – not the ballots themselves – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 34 states and Washington DC , has not been vulnerable to fraud .
Trump himself voted by mail in a primary this year in his home state of Florida .
Trump ’ s eldest son , Donald Trump Jr , a frequent Twitter combatant in his father ’ s cause , said the platform was more likely to ban “ a conservative for saying something not ” politically correct than to ban attacks on the president from the left .
Trump Jr linked to a recent Tweet by the comedian Kathy Griffin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the platform has not challenged .
Claims that Twitter polices content from the right more aggressively than content from the left have been the subject of US Senate hearings , but no conclusive data has been compiled , in part because most of the most blatant violations of the platform ’ s rules , racist and hate speech , are categorized as “ conservative.
” In the past , Trump has praised Twitter for allowing him to take his message directly to followers , and despite his claims of being “ silenced ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boon for Trump .
His current campaign has rebuilt a targeted advertising operation on Facebook that was widely credited with helping Trump win in 2016 .
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter were – and are – staging grounds for foreign propaganda campaigns meant to scramble and empoison US politics and society .
Those campaigns have also been credited with helping Trump ’ s 2016 victory .
The federal government has in the past attempted to enforce ideological balance for broadcast television , where licenses are controlled by the Federal Communications Commission .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for 40 years after the second world war , and still enforces an equal-time rule requiring stations to give competing political candidates the opportunity for equal exposure .

Donald Trump has threatened to “strongly regulate” or close down social media platforms that do not meet his standards for ideological balance, a day after Twitter, for the first time, slapped a warning label on a pair of Trump tweets spreading lies about mail-in voting.
“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning. “We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.”
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, told reporters traveling onboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Trump soon planned to sign an executive order on social media companies, but details remained scant.
Trump also repeated his attacks on mail-in voting, which is common in the United States but could expand further during the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans fear that an expansion of the franchise could result in their members being ejected from office.
Trump in the past has made threats about media censorship that he did not then act on, and any attempt by the White House to shutter a media organization would encounter first amendment challenges in the courts. In 2018 a federal judge ruled the president could not block people on Twitter, because it violates their first amendment rights to participate in a “public forum”.
As his election-year polling numbers have deteriorated, however, Trump has grown increasingly wild in his threats against media organizations and the voting system, and more aggressive in removing mechanisms for oversight in the federal government and in installing loyalists. His takeover of the federal courts could put future first amendment claims on new and dangerous ground.
“It’s disturbing that the president misunderstands the first amendment so fundamentally,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “The only first amendment issue here arises from the president’s threat to punish Twitter in some way for factchecking his statements.”
Most recently, Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting and on a cable news host, Joe Scarborough, have created controversies and put a great deal of pressure on Twitter, Trump’s preferred bullhorn, to modulate the president’s speech.
The husband of a former aide to Scarborough, who died when the MSNBC host was a member of Congress, formally asked Twitter this week to remove “horrifying” tweets by Trump wrongfully and recklessly accusing Scarborough, a frequent Trump critic, of murder.
Twitter declined to remove those tweets, citing a relatively new policy crafted with Trump in mind to allow itself to leave up tweets by “world leaders”.
But the company took unprecedented action on Tuesday in response to lies tweeted by Trump about mail-in voting. Twitter added links to the Trump tweets inviting users to “get the facts about mail-in ballots”.
The company confirmed its decision was in keeping with its “civic integrity policy”, which bars users from “manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes”.
Trump falsely claimed that state secretaries of state were mailing ballots to every citizen, and that mail-in voting invited fraud. In fact, the secretaries in question, including Republicans, had only mailed out ballot applications – not the ballots themselves – and mail-in voting, which is common in 34 states and Washington DC, has not been vulnerable to fraud. Trump himself voted by mail in a primary this year in his home state of Florida.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, a frequent Twitter combatant in his father’s cause, said the platform was more likely to ban “a conservative for saying something not” politically correct than to ban attacks on the president from the left. Trump Jr linked to a recent tweet by the comedian Kathy Griffin suggesting that Trump inject air, which the platform has not challenged.
Claims that Twitter polices content from the right more aggressively than content from the left have been the subject of US Senate hearings, but no conclusive data has been compiled, in part because most of the most blatant violations of the platform’s rules, racist and hate speech, are categorized as “conservative”.
02:23 Kayleigh McEnany praises Trump's Covid-19 response as US deaths approach 100,000 – video
In the past, Trump has praised Twitter for allowing him to take his message directly to followers, and despite his claims of being “silenced”, social media platforms have been a boon for Trump. His current campaign has rebuilt a targeted advertising operation on Facebook that was widely credited with helping Trump win in 2016. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter were – and are – staging grounds for foreign propaganda campaigns meant to scramble and empoison US politics and society. Those campaigns have also been credited with helping Trump’s 2016 victory.
The federal government has in the past attempted to enforce ideological balance for broadcast television, where licenses are controlled by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC enforced a “fairness doctrine” for 40 years after the second world war, and still enforces an equal-time rule requiring stations to give competing political candidates the opportunity for equal exposure.
Reuters contributed reporting


theguardian--2020-05-28--As 100,000 die, the virus lays bare America's brutal fault lines – race, gender, poverty and broken

As 100,000 die, the virus lays bare America's brutal fault lines – race, gender, poverty and broken politics

In one of the rare expressions of empathy that Donald Trump has displayed during the course of the coronavirus pandemic , he talked earlier this month about the disease claiming so many lives it was “ filling up Yankee Stadium with death ” .
Now the death toll from Covid-19 stands at almost twice the capacity of the Yankees ’ home stadium , and has reached another booming landmark : 100,000 deaths .
A country that prides itself on its exceptionalism can now without ambiguity claim that title for its experience of the virus .
The United States stands head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world league table of confirmed cases , as well as the total number of deaths .
There will be much to analyse in coming years about how the US responded to this contagion , including how many lives have been lost needlessly as a result of Trump ’ s maverick response .
Already one lesson of the pandemic is clear : America ’ s deep and brutal fault lines – of race , partisanship , gender , poverty and misinformation – rendered the country ill-prepared to meet the challenges of this disease .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep cracks in the glittering facade of the richest and most powerful nation on Earth .
Covid-19 is supposed to be an equal-opportunities killer .
It willingly ravages the lungs of any American , regardless of their skin color or visa status .
But as America passes the 100,000 death mark , it has become abundantly clear that the pandemic amounts to a racial disaster of stunning proportions .
Figures compiled by APM Research Lab from 40 states show that African Americans are being killed at almost three times the rate of white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more likely to die from the virus than white Kansans .
In Missouri , Wisconsin and Washington DC the ratio is six times .
Such grotesque distortions are most visible in New York City , that giant laboratory test into virulent racial inequity .
Data released this week showed that when the city ’ s zip codes are ranked according to highest death rates , eight out of the top 10 have majority black or Latino populations .
None of the 10 are in wealthy , largely white Manhattan .
The Trump administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is because they were already unhealthy .
They have “ greater risk profiles ” , as the health secretary , Alex Azar , put it .
It is true that diabetes , hypertension , obesity and other underlying health conditions are prevalent in many black communities .
But focusing on these co-morbidities is tantamount to victim-blaming .
In an election year , that would suit Trump very well .
What better way to deflect attention from his administration ’ s dire handling of the pandemic than to swing the spotlight on to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decrepit housing , joblessness , stress , police brutality , poor hospitals , lack of health insurance , failing schools – these are also relevant factors that the White House tends to gloss over .
So too is the discrimination in access to testing and treatment for coronavirus that has increased the chances that black people contract and then die from the disease .
Cornel West , the Harvard philosopher , activist and writer , argues that you have to dig deeper to find the source of such disproportionate fatalities .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already in place , against the backdrop of wealth inequality , a militarized state and a commodified culture in which everybody and everything is for sale , ” he said .
For West , the pandemic has revealed nothing less than the country ’ s demise .
“ America has become a failed social experiment , a decayed empire that is unable to meet the basic needs of its people.
” When the US has endured past attacks by stealthy enemies – Pearl Harbor , say , or 9/11 – there has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to rally the nation around a common defense .
Not so this time .
When Americans are asked about key policies relating to coronavirus , such as when lockdown should be eased and economies reopened , their answer is starkly partisan .
A survey by the University of Chicago found that 77 % of Democrats want lockdown restrictions to remain in place for as long as needed to protect health , while only 45 % of Republicans take that view .
“ Politics more than economics is dividing Americans , ” the Chicago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar partisan stance .
Instead of acting for the nation as a whole , he has favored party political point scoring ahead of November ’ s presidential election .
Republican states such as Florida have received all the emergency medical supplies they requested from federal government .
Democratic ones have gone short-changed .
Trump admitted he rebuffed the calls of Democratic governors who “ don ’ t treat you right ” .
He threatened financial penalties against Democratic states trying to make absentee voting easier during the pandemic .
To Kamala Harris , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moves indicate that the president is “ worried about the outcome of the upcoming election rather than the safety of people ” .
Harris , a US senator from California , told the Guardian that for many citizens , especially African Americans , the consequences of such partisan posturing “ are life and death .
In a matter of months , 100,000 Americans have died .
That ’ s more than 40 times those who died in Pearl Harbor.
” Among the 100,000 victims , there are partisan fissures , too .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country have suffered greatly as they include the big cities such as New York and Chicago where the virus has struck most aggressively .
Across the US , Reuters has reported , counties that voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election have recorded 39 deaths from Covid-19 per 100,000 residents , three times the rate of counties who went for Trump .
For Harris , it doesn ’ t matter what party a victim supports .
“ We must remember that each death is one too many .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our position or title – must come together to lift the American people up.
” One of the paradoxes of coronavirus in the US is that while men are dying in greater proportions , it is women who suffer most while living with the pandemic .
In New York City , men are dying at almost twice the rate of women .
Yet in every other aspect of this epic contagion , the load is being borne by women .
Most of the frontline health workers , including nine out of 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the thick of the storm .
Then there ’ s the tidal wave of US unemployment : 55 % of the jobs lost last month were held by women .
Within the lockdown at home , women are also shouldering the burden , whether they are one of the 80 % of single-parent families in the US who are headed by women or are in a heterosexual relationship and taking on the lion ’ s share of homeschooling .
That ’ s before you consider the normal imbalance in childcare and household @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the influential writer whose book Men Explain Things to Me gave rise to the phrase “ mansplaining ” , pithily summed up the impact of the pandemic for American women .
“ Everything wrong with life at home got a lot wronger , ” she said .
“ Whether it ’ s the rise of domestic violence and the withering away of escapes from it , the way that the sudden requirement of parents across the US to become homeschoolers fell primarily on women , and that heterosexual men living with women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share of domestic labor.
” Solnit pointed to the contradiction that while most face masks are being voluntarily sewn by women , men are far more likely to refuse to wear the protective items on grounds they show “ weakness ” .
Displays of reckless masculinity start at the top – Trump recently toured a mask-making factory in Arizona without wearing a mask .
Solnit offered the Guardian a couple of remedies for the pandemic of men behaving badly during the pandemic .
“ Divorce may be one treatment in some cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applied across all parties the only known cure.
” Coronavirus in America is a disease of the poor .
That ’ s the view of the Rev William Barber , co-chair of the Poor People ’ s Campaign .
“ People are being forced to work , putting profit over protection , ” he said .
“ This pandemic will highlight how poverty – and our willingness to let people remain in it – presents a clear and present danger for all of us.
” Barber , a leading voice on the scourge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people officially living in poverty even before the virus made landfall in the US , also pointed out that coronavirus is a disease that benefits the rich .
“ Billionaires have made nearly $ 500m while essential workers have not even been given guaranteed health care , a living wage or a water supply that is protected from being shut off , ” he said .
As with race , the fault line of inequality is glaringly obvious in New York City , where more than 21,000 of the 100,000 have died .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ boroughs are obliged to risk their lives by turning up for work every day , branded as “ essential workers ” , while Manhattan ’ s wealthy neighborhoods have become virtual ghost towns after their residents fled to vacation homes .
It will take time for the full extent of mortality among low-income Americans to be known , but anecdotally it is clear the poorest counties have been hit hardest .
That ’ s evident in southern states such as Louisiana and Alabama where low-income people have been dying in high proportions through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , hospital closures and policies pursued by southern governors that have exposed vulnerable citizens to danger .
There is nothing new in any of this for the beleaguered souls now feeling the full force of the virus ’ s wrath .
But coronavirus has made an old story newly visible , as the endless lines at food banks now attest .
The infodemic of misinformation that has battered the country over the past four months starts with the misinformer-in-chief : Trump .
From the start of the crisis , the president has shown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ February , the day the country first mourned a death from Covid-19 , he predicted the virus “ will disappear ” like a “ miracle ” .
He has gone on to spread unfounded claims that coronavirus started in a Chinese lab .
He also promoted untested and potentially life-threatening treatments , including disinfectant and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine , which he revealed he is taking himself – against the advice of his own administration .
Trump ’ s embrace of untruths has emboldened peddlers in misinformation , including sellers of bleach as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imperiled lives .
A man in Arizona died , and his wife was hospitalized , after they took chloroquine phosphate – used to clean fish tanks .
All that forms part of an unparalleled wave of misinformation that has swept the US .
“ I have never seen so much of this stuff , ” said Claire Wardle , director of First Draft , a nonprofit that tackles misinformation worldwide .
Early on in the crisis , rumors that lockdown would see the government impose martial law began to circulate through closed-messaging apps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks there has been an explosion of conspiracy theories on social media , epitomized by the Plandemic documentary , which claimed a cabal led by Bill Gates were exploiting the virus to seize power .
Wardle has been surprised how quickly conspiracy theories have erupted into the mainstream .
“ You have high school friends and mums and aunts who would never normally share this material now on it.
” Wardle sees the vast proliferation of misinformation as a result of deep uncertainty about the pandemic , combined with a paucity of quality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news industry , which has itself been accelerated by the virus ’ economic impact .
Bad information cost lives .
It can encourage states to reopen their economies precipitously and lure individuals to drop their guard and expose themselves to the virus .
Wardle said : “ Historians are going to look back on all of this and have a much clearer idea of how misinformation led to real-world harm – and death .
”

In one of the rare expressions of empathy that Donald Trump has displayed during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, he talked earlier this month about the disease claiming so many lives it was “filling up Yankee Stadium with death”.
Now the death toll from Covid-19 stands at almost twice the capacity of the Yankees’ home stadium, and has reached another booming landmark: 100,000 deaths.
A country that prides itself on its exceptionalism can now without ambiguity claim that title for its experience of the virus. The United States stands head and shoulders at the top of the world league table of confirmed cases, as well as the total number of deaths.
There will be much to analyse in coming years about how the US responded to this contagion, including how many lives have been lost needlessly as a result of Trump’s maverick response.
Already one lesson of the pandemic is clear: America’s deep and brutal fault lines – of race, partisanship, gender, poverty and misinformation – rendered the country ill-prepared to meet the challenges of this disease. The ravages of Covid-19 have revealed the deep cracks in the glittering facade of the richest and most powerful nation on Earth.
Racial disparities
Covid-19 is supposed to be an equal-opportunities killer. It willingly ravages the lungs of any American, regardless of their skin color or visa status.
But as America passes the 100,000 death mark, it has become abundantly clear that the pandemic amounts to a racial disaster of stunning proportions. Figures compiled by APM Research Lab from 40 states show that African Americans are being killed at almost three times the rate of white people.
Black Kansans are seven times more likely to die from the virus than white Kansans. In Missouri, Wisconsin and Washington DC the ratio is six times.
Such grotesque distortions are most visible in New York City, that giant laboratory test into virulent racial inequity. Data released this week showed that when the city’s zip codes are ranked according to highest death rates, eight out of the top 10 have majority black or Latino populations.
None of the 10 are in wealthy, largely white Manhattan.
A woman waits for a bus near a coronavirus testing site in Brooklyn. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The Trump administration says black Americans’ high death rate is because they were already unhealthy. They have “greater risk profiles”, as the health secretary, Alex Azar, put it. It is true that diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other underlying health conditions are prevalent in many black communities. But focusing on these co-morbidities is tantamount to victim-blaming.
In an election year, that would suit Trump very well. What better way to deflect attention from his administration’s dire handling of the pandemic than to swing the spotlight on to the dead themselves?
Decades of segregation, decrepit housing, joblessness, stress, police brutality, poor hospitals, lack of health insurance, failing schools – these are also relevant factors that the White House tends to gloss over. So too is the discrimination in access to testing and treatment for coronavirus that has increased the chances that black people contract and then die from the disease.
America has become a failed social experiment, a decayed empire that is unable to meet the basic needs of its people Cornel West
Cornel West, the Harvard philosopher, activist and writer, argues that you have to dig deeper to find the source of such disproportionate fatalities. “The virus encounters deeply racist structures and institutions already in place, against the backdrop of wealth inequality, a militarized state and a commodified culture in which everybody and everything is for sale,” he said.
For West, the pandemic has revealed nothing less than the country’s demise. “America has become a failed social experiment, a decayed empire that is unable to meet the basic needs of its people.”
Partisan wounds
When the US has endured past attacks by stealthy enemies – Pearl Harbor, say, or 9/11 – there has been some effort from the White House down to rally the nation around a common defense. Not so this time.
When Americans are asked about key policies relating to coronavirus, such as when lockdown should be eased and economies reopened, their answer is starkly partisan. A survey by the University of Chicago found that 77% of Democrats want lockdown restrictions to remain in place for as long as needed to protect health, while only 45% of Republicans take that view.
“Politics more than economics is dividing Americans,” the Chicago researchers concluded.
Trump has adopted a similar partisan stance. Instead of acting for the nation as a whole, he has favored party political point scoring ahead of November’s presidential election.
Mike Pence listens as Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus taskforce briefing at the White House. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
Republican states such as Florida have received all the emergency medical supplies they requested from federal government. Democratic ones have gone short-changed.
Trump admitted he rebuffed the calls of Democratic governors who “don’t treat you right”. He threatened financial penalties against Democratic states trying to make absentee voting easier during the pandemic.
To Kamala Harris, the former Democratic presidential candidate, such moves indicate that the president is “worried about the outcome of the upcoming election rather than the safety of people”.
Harris, a US senator from California, told the Guardian that for many citizens, especially African Americans, the consequences of such partisan posturing “are life and death. In a matter of months, 100,000 Americans have died. That’s more than 40 times those who died in Pearl Harbor.”
This is a moment where we all – regardless of our position or title – must come together to lift the American people up Kamala Harris
Among the 100,000 victims, there are partisan fissures, too. It is no surprise that Democratic parts of the country have suffered greatly as they include the big cities such as New York and Chicago where the virus has struck most aggressively.
Across the US, Reuters has reported, counties that voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election have recorded 39 deaths from Covid-19 per 100,000 residents, three times the rate of counties who went for Trump.
For Harris, it doesn’t matter what party a victim supports. “We must remember that each death is one too many. This is a moment where we all – regardless of our position or title – must come together to lift the American people up.”
A nurse stands outside NYU Langone hospital in New York. Photograph: John Lamparski/Getty Images
The gender divide
One of the paradoxes of coronavirus in the US is that while men are dying in greater proportions, it is women who suffer most while living with the pandemic.
In New York City, men are dying at almost twice the rate of women. Yet in every other aspect of this epic contagion, the load is being borne by women. Most of the frontline health workers, including nine out of 10 nurses, are female, putting them in the thick of the storm.
Then there’s the tidal wave of US unemployment: 55% of the jobs lost last month were held by women.
Within the lockdown at home, women are also shouldering the burden, whether they are one of the 80% of single-parent families in the US who are headed by women or are in a heterosexual relationship and taking on the lion’s share of homeschooling. That’s before you consider the normal imbalance in childcare and household chores that has intensified.
Rebecca Solnit, the influential writer whose book Men Explain Things to Me gave rise to the phrase “mansplaining”, pithily summed up the impact of the pandemic for American women. “Everything wrong with life at home got a lot wronger,” she said.
A mother assists her daughters with homeschooling in New Rochelle, New York. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
“Whether it’s the rise of domestic violence and the withering away of escapes from it, the way that the sudden requirement of parents across the US to become homeschoolers fell primarily on women, and that heterosexual men living with women are still far from shouldering their fair share of domestic labor.”
Solnit pointed to the contradiction that while most face masks are being voluntarily sewn by women, men are far more likely to refuse to wear the protective items on grounds they show “weakness”. Displays of reckless masculinity start at the top – Trump recently toured a mask-making factory in Arizona without wearing a mask.
Solnit offered the Guardian a couple of remedies for the pandemic of men behaving badly during the pandemic. “Divorce may be one treatment in some cases,” she said, “feminism liberally applied across all parties the only known cure.”
Inequality
Coronavirus in America is a disease of the poor. That’s the view of the Rev William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.
“People are being forced to work, putting profit over protection,” he said. “This pandemic will highlight how poverty – and our willingness to let people remain in it – presents a clear and present danger for all of us.”
Barber, a leading voice on the scourge of income inequality which saw 41 million people officially living in poverty even before the virus made landfall in the US, also pointed out that coronavirus is a disease that benefits the rich. “Billionaires have made nearly $500m while essential workers have not even been given guaranteed health care, a living wage or a water supply that is protected from being shut off,” he said.
Free food is distributed at the Spring Creek Towers in the East New York neighborhood. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
As with race, the fault line of inequality is glaringly obvious in New York City, where more than 21,000 of the 100,000 have died. Many low-income New Yorkers in the outer boroughs are obliged to risk their lives by turning up for work every day, branded as “essential workers”, while Manhattan’s wealthy neighborhoods have become virtual ghost towns after their residents fled to vacation homes.
It will take time for the full extent of mortality among low-income Americans to be known, but anecdotally it is clear the poorest counties have been hit hardest. That’s evident in southern states such as Louisiana and Alabama where low-income people have been dying in high proportions through a combination of lack of health insurance, hospital closures and policies pursued by southern governors that have exposed vulnerable citizens to danger.
There is nothing new in any of this for the beleaguered souls now feeling the full force of the virus’s wrath. But coronavirus has made an old story newly visible, as the endless lines at food banks now attest.
Misinformation
The infodemic of misinformation that has battered the country over the past four months starts with the misinformer-in-chief: Trump.
From the start of the crisis, the president has shown disdain for the facts. On 27 February, the day the country first mourned a death from Covid-19, he predicted the virus “will disappear” like a “miracle”.
He has gone on to spread unfounded claims that coronavirus started in a Chinese lab. He also promoted untested and potentially life-threatening treatments, including disinfectant and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which he revealed he is taking himself – against the advice of his own administration.
Trump’s embrace of untruths has emboldened peddlers in misinformation, including sellers of bleach as a miracle cure. And it has imperiled lives. A man in Arizona died, and his wife was hospitalized, after they took chloroquine phosphate – used to clean fish tanks.
Demonstrators hold a ‘Rolling Car Rally’ in front of Connecticut governor Ned Lamont’s home in Hartford. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
All that forms part of an unparalleled wave of misinformation that has swept the US. “I have never seen so much of this stuff,” said Claire Wardle, director of First Draft, a nonprofit that tackles misinformation worldwide.
Early on in the crisis, rumors that lockdown would see the government impose martial law began to circulate through closed-messaging apps and texts. Over the last six weeks there has been an explosion of conspiracy theories on social media, epitomized by the Plandemic documentary, which claimed a cabal led by Bill Gates were exploiting the virus to seize power.
Wardle has been surprised how quickly conspiracy theories have erupted into the mainstream. “You have high school friends and mums and aunts who would never normally share this material now on it.”
Wardle sees the vast proliferation of misinformation as a result of deep uncertainty about the pandemic, combined with a paucity of quality information following the collapse of the US news industry, which has itself been accelerated by the virus’ economic impact.
Bad information cost lives. It can encourage states to reopen their economies precipitously and lure individuals to drop their guard and expose themselves to the virus.
Wardle said: “Historians are going to look back on all of this and have a much clearer idea of how misinformation led to real-world harm – and death.”


theguardian--2020-05-28--Trump draft order could expose Twitter and Facebook to more lawsuits

Donald Trump is expected to order a review of a law that has long protected Twitter , Facebook and Google from being responsible for material posted by their users , according to a draft executive order seen by Reuters .
Trump has threatened to shut down websites he accuses of stifling conservative voices , after Twitter tagged two of Trump ’ s tweets with a fact-check warning .
On Wednesday , officials said Trump would sign an executive order on social media companies on Thursday , but did not give details .
The draft copy of the order seen by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is finalised .
On Wednesday night Trump tweeted : “ Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election .
If that happens , we no longer have our freedom .
I will never let it happen !
” The executive order would require the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) to propose and clarify regulations under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , a federal law largely exempting online platforms from legal liability for material their users post .
Such changes could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The order asks the FCC to examine whether actions related to the editing of content by social media companies should potentially lead to the platform forfeiting its protections under section 230 .
It requires the agency to look at whether a social media platform uses deceptive policies to moderate content and if its policies are inconsistent with its terms of service .
The draft order also states that the White House Office of Digital Strategy will re-establish a tool to help citizens report cases of online censorship .
The White House tech bias @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censorship and submit them to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) .
The FTC will then be required to “ consider taking action ” , examine whether complaints violate the law , draw up a report describing such complaints and make the report publicly available .
The draft order also requires the attorney general to establish a working group including state attorneys general that will examine the enforcement of state laws that prohibit online platforms from engaging in unfair and deceptive acts .
The working group will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on their interactions with content or other users .
Federal spending on online advertising will be reviewed by US government agencies to ensure there are no speech restrictions by the relevant platform .
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment .

Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that could erode legal protections for social media companies for content posted on their platforms, potentially opening them to liability claims over controversial content.
If it survived anticipated legal challenges, the order could also allow federal regulators to sanction companies that in the government’s judgment are not even-handed in their editorial practices.
Scholars warned that Trump’s order was legally toothless, and said it was designed as an effort to spur controversy and create a distraction as the country passed on Wednesday the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19.
But the order was the president’s latest blow in an escalating battle with big tech companies including Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter on Monday affixed a fact-check link for the first time ever to two tweets Trump sent in which the president lied about the safety of mail-in voting.
Twitter said the tweets violated its “civic integrity policy”, which bars users from “manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes”.
The president, however, accused the company of doing just that – interfering in an election – in a tweet Wednesday night. “Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election,” Trump wrote, adding, “I will never let it happen!”
Trump’s executive order, a draft of which was published online, would accuse the social media platforms of “selective censoring” and attempt to remove legal protections for those companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
“This order is an effort to intimidate technology companies from using tools that are indispensable to protecting the integrity of public discourse online,” said Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “Whatever else this order may be, it is not a good faith effort to protect free speech online.”
The order would also invite the Federal Trade Commission to flag purported online bias and prohibit federal spending on advertising or marketing on the platforms.
The order was subject to legal challenges, and it was unclear whether the social media companies would assume additional legal liability for content posted on their platforms as a result of the order.
Marty Lederman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said that the order was “all hat” and “no cattle”.
“The draft executive order is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” Lederman tweeted. “Mostly [it] amounts to directing the Department of Commerce to petition the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a proposed regulation to ‘clarify’” laws limiting the tech companies’ liability.
The White House did not consult with the FCC before announcing the order, CNN reported.
“This initiative coming from the White House threatens to do far more harm than good to the cause of responsible, constitutional and effective government regulation of social media,” Phil Napoli, a professor of public policy at Duke University, said in a media statement.
Tiffany Li, a professor at Boston University Law school, tweeted that such an executive order “claims tech platforms are doing something they’re not, in violation of an incorrect interpretation of law, and tasks agencies it can’t task to look into the things that aren’t being done that wouldn’t be wrong.”
But Trump touted the move as a watershed for online speech. “This will be a Big Day for Social Media and FAIRNESS!” he tweeted.
By mounting battle on companies such as Twitter and Facebook, Trump could risk damaging platforms that have been instrumental to his political career. Twitter regularly carries his messages to 80m people and his campaign manager credited a Facebook advertising campaign with Trump’s 2016 victory.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg suggested in a Fox News interview set to air Thursday that it was inappropriate for Twitter to flag misleading messaging by Trump.
“I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online,” Zuckerberg said. “Private companies probably shouldn’t be, especially these platform companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms were criticized in the wake of the 2016 election for hosting foreign propaganda campaigns designed to heighten ideological and identity-based antagonisms in the US political and social spheres. Afterward, Zuckerberg went before Congress and offered assurances that the company was taking measures to limit messaging designed to cripple elections.
Despite the friendliness of the big social media networks to Trump’s cause, conservative media circles frequently air accusations that the companies practice an editorial bias against conservative voices. Each of the companies has rules against racist speech and other hate speech.
“Twitter is engaging in 2020 election interference,” Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, a vocal Trump defender, said on a podcast hosted by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, in comments flagged by CNN. “They are putting their thumb on the scale.”


theguardian--2020-05-28--Global report: Trump silent on US death toll as South Korea sees new Covid-19 rise

Donald Trump remained silent on the death of more than 100,000 Americans from Covid-19 as the US mourned the milestone , and South Korea considered a return to further restrictions after recording its biggest one-day increase in nearly two months .
The president made no comment on Twitter about the momentous day , but used the platform to attack tech companies for trying to censor him , a day after Twitter put a fact-check warning on one of his claims .
It came as South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus infections , with 67 of them from the Seoul metropolitan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country ’ s population of 51 million .
The recent rise underlined the risks that come with relaxing social distancing rules , as countries seek to breathe life into their struggling economies .
On Thursday the Bank of Korea said the economy was expected to suffer its first contraction since the 1990s , shrinking 0.2 % .
In February it was forecast to grow by 2.1 % .
As US deaths from Covid-19 topped 100,000 and infections neared 1.7 million , White House officials said Trump would sign an executive order on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media companies , sparking a fall in the share prices of both Twitter and Facebook .
“ Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election .
If that happens , we no longer have our freedom .
I will never let it happen !
” he tweeted late on Wednesday night .
Eric Trump , the president ’ s son , also attracted criticism for ignoring the coronavirus fatalities , instead tweeting about the day ’ s stock market ’ s surge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ state , with just under 30,000 deaths , with New Jersey in second on 11,339 and Massachusetts in third on 6,547 , according to the Johns Hopkins tracker .
Globally there have been more than 355,600 deaths and nearly 5.7 million infections .
In South Korea , at least 68 of the 79 new cases are believed to have been domestically acquired .
They come as authorities have been struggling to contain an cluster linked to a logistics centre in Bucheon , 25km to the west of Seoul .
In neighbouring North Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ withdrew all its diplomats , as Pyongyang maintained strict entry controls to try to prevent a coronavirus outbreak .
With the centre of the pandemic shifting to Latin America , Brazil passed 400,000 infections on Wednesday , jumping from 391,222 cases to 411,821 in a day .
So far more than 25,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19 .
The UN World Food Programme warned late on Wednesday that 14 million people could go hungry in Latin America because of the pandemic as the crisis crippled economies .
“ We are entering a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the WFP ’ s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean .
“ It is what we are calling a hunger pandemic .
”

Donald Trump remained silent on the death of more than 100,000 Americans from Covid-19 as the US mourned the milestone, and South Korea considered a return to further restrictions after recording its biggest one-day increase in nearly two months.
The president made no comment on Twitter about the momentous day, but used the platform to attack tech companies for trying to censor him, a day after Twitter put a fact-check warning on one of his claims.
It came as South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus infections, with 67 of them from the Seoul metropolitan area, home to about half of the country’s population of 51 million.
The recent rise underlined the risks that come with relaxing social distancing rules, as countries seek to breathe life into their struggling economies. On Thursday the Bank of Korea said the economy was expected to suffer its first contraction since the 1990s, shrinking 0.2%. In February it was forecast to grow by 2.1%.
As US deaths from Covid-19 topped 100,000 and infections neared 1.7 million, White House officials said Trump would sign an executive order on Thursday that could threaten punishment on social media companies, sparking a fall in the share prices of both Twitter and Facebook.
“Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election. If that happens, we no longer have our freedom. I will never let it happen!” he tweeted late on Wednesday night.
Eric Trump, the president’s son, also attracted criticism for ignoring the coronavirus fatalities, instead tweeting about the day’s stock market’s surge.
GREAT DAY for the DOW!! https://t.co/t0cK3wOKUu — Eric Trump (@EricTrump) May 27, 2020
New York has been the worst-affected American state, with just under 30,000 deaths, with New Jersey in second on 11,339 and Massachusetts in third on 6,547, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.
Globally there have been more than 355,600 deaths and nearly 5.7 million infections.
In South Korea, at least 68 of the 79 new cases are believed to have been domestically acquired. They come as authorities have been struggling to contain an cluster linked to a logistics centre in Bucheon, 25km to the west of Seoul.
In neighbouring North Korea, Britain shut its embassy temporarily and withdrew all its diplomats, as Pyongyang maintained strict entry controls to try to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
With the centre of the pandemic shifting to Latin America, Brazil passed 400,000 infections on Wednesday, jumping from 391,222 cases to 411,821 in a day. So far more than 25,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19.
The UN World Food Programme warned late on Wednesday that 14 million people could go hungry in Latin America because of the pandemic as the crisis crippled economies.
“We are entering a very complicated stage,” said Miguel Barreto, the WFP’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “It is what we are calling a hunger pandemic.”
In other global coronavirus developments:


theguardian--2020-05-28--US passes 100,000 coronavirus deaths as states relax lockdown measures

The United States has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 , moving past a grim milestone even as many states relax mitigation measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus .
The US has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other country in the pandemic , and almost three times as many as the second-ranking country , Britain , which has recorded more than 37,000 Covid-19 deaths .
The latest count of fatalities is 100,047 according to Johns Hopkins University data .
Donald Trump did not immediately react to the news .
On Twitter , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Lou Dobbs calling Trump “ arguably the greatest president in our history ” .
Earlier this month , Trump said 100,000 deaths would be “ horrible ” , but he claimed that actions by his administration had prevented a much higher toll .
The virus has killed more Americans than the Vietnam and Korean wars combined , and the death toll is approaching that of the first world war , when more than 116,000 Americans died in combat .
The number of fatalities in the United States is still climbing , , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actual toll from the coronavirus is higher than the official figure .
A tracking project by the Centers of Disease Control ( CDC ) of “ excess deaths ” in each state beyond seasonal averages suggests the official count of Covid-19 deaths could leave out thousands of cases .
“ These deaths could represent misclassified Covid-19 deaths , or potentially could be indirectly related to Covid-19 ( eg , deaths from other causes occurring in the context of healthcare shortages or overburdened healthcare systems ) , ” the CDC said .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emerged on 20 January , in Washington state , the same day that a first case was confirmed in South Korea .
Months ensued in which the White House told states they would receive minimal federal support in obtaining testing kits , ventilators , protective equipment and other gear .
The United States has increased its testing capacity but has yet to stand up a national plan for the contact tracing of positive cases , a step South Korea took immediately .
That country has since recorded 269 deaths from coronavirus .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expressed grief for the lives lost and condemned the administration for not acting sooner .
“ To those hurting , I ’ m so sorry for your loss , ” Biden said .
Elizabeth Warren , a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and former presidential candidate , struck a similar tone .
“ 100,000 Americans are gone .
They were our brothers and sisters .
Our friends and neighbors , ” she said .
“ And too many of them could have been saved if our federal government had just done more.
” Across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll .
Eight of the 10 countries with the top per-capita rates of Covid-19 deaths are in Europe ; the United States ranks ninth on that list , with about 30 deaths per 100,000 people , according to data from Johns Hopkins University .
Britain is third , with 55.64 deaths per 100,000 .
Health experts warn that the United States can expect millions more Covid-19 cases and a tragic number of deaths to come , unless the virus takes an unprecedented and unforeseen vector .
With regional infection rates varying from about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus will continue to churn through the US population until the overall rate of infection is 50-60 % – or until a vaccine is widely administered .


theguardian--2020-05-29--Thousands of protesters take to US streets over George Floyd killing – live

Demonstrators across the country are taking to the streets after George Floyd ’ s killing .
Floyd ’ s family has called for murder charges against the officers involved in his arrest .
But Michael Freeman , the Hennepin County attorney , said he didn ’ t want to discuss the investigation into Floyd ’ s death .
During the news conference , a reporter asked Freeman : “ I think people will be hard-pressed to understand how you can ’ t bring charges at least against the officer who had his knee on the neck.
” Freeman replied : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ethics to talk and evaluate evidence before we announce our charging decision .
And I will not do that .
I will say this , that video is graphic and horrific and terrible and no person should do that .
But my job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute .
And there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge .
We need to wade through all of that evidence and come to a meaningful decision and we are doing that to the best of our @ @ @

Maanvi Singh in Oakland, and Joan E Greve in Washington and Joanna Walters in New York (earlier)

29 May 2020 12.49 BST Summary of the latest developments Sarah Marsh We are now closing this live blog but you can find all the latest updates on this story here: George Floyd killing: protests spread across US as Twitter hides Trump tweet 'glorifying violence' – live Read more Please see below a summary of the latest news: Twitter accused President Donald Trump on Friday of “glorifying violence” , attaching a disclaimer to one of his tweets about unrest in Minneapolis that it said broke its rules.
, attaching a disclaimer to one of his tweets about unrest in Minneapolis that it said broke its rules. CNN has reported that its correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew have been released from police custody after being arrested earlier this morning live on air while covering the protests. Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz said he “deeply apologizes” after the arrest.
from police custody after being arrested earlier this morning live on air while covering the protests. Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz said he “deeply apologizes” after the arrest. A Mississippi mayor whose remarks about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody is refusing calls to resign, including from his own town’s board of aldermen. “Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?” Petal Mayor Hal Marx tweeted Tuesday, the day four Minneapolis police officers were fired.
police custody is refusing calls to resign, including from his own town’s board of aldermen. “Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?” Petal Mayor Hal Marx tweeted Tuesday, the day four Minneapolis police officers were fired. Police nationwide, in unequivocal and unprecedented language, have condemned the actions of Minneapolis police in the custody death of a handcuffed black man who cried for help as an officer knelt on his neck, pinning him to the pavement for at least eight minutes
of a handcuffed black man who cried for help as an officer knelt on his neck, pinning him to the pavement for at least eight minutes Protesters angry over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody turned out for a demonstration in Columbus that began peacefully but turned violent , leaving smashed storefront windows along downtown streets around the statehouse.
, leaving smashed storefront windows along downtown streets around the statehouse. Protesters torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the US over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
Updated at 12.54 BST
29 May 2020 12.42 BST CNN has reported that its correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew have been released from police custody. Jimenez, along with producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, were arrested earlier this morning live on air, while covering the protests.
29 May 2020 12.40 BST A flash mob under the American consulate in Milan to protest the death of George Floyd. See a selection of pictures below. Photograph: Mairo Cinquetti/REX/Shutterstock Photograph: Mairo Cinquetti/REX/Shutterstock Photograph: Mairo Cinquetti/REX/Shutterstock
29 May 2020 12.29 BST Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz said he “deeply apologizes” after the arrest of a CNN journalist and his crew. He added that he is working to have the CNN team released immediately. Walz described the arrests as “unacceptable,” and said CNN’s team clearly has the right to be there. He added that he wants the media to be in Minnesota to cover the protests.
29 May 2020 12.15 BST Sarah Marsh Hello. I am running the Guardian’s live feed from London, bringing you the latest updates on the Minneapolis protests. Please do get in touch with me if you have any information to share. Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
29 May 2020 12.12 BST The arrest of the CNN crew in Minneapolis “did not make any sense, according to a former police chief who now serves as a CNN law enforcement analyst. “The state police are going to have a lot to answer for with this arrest here,” said Charles Ramsey. “He’s standing there, he identified himself. You can see his credentials. Just move him to your want him to be.” Ramsey added that the there was “no way something like that should occur.” “I don’t know where the person in command of that platoon is. But that’s an individual who is definitely not taking charge,” he added.
29 May 2020 12.01 BST CNN has criticized the arrest of one of its teams on the ground in Minneapolis in a tweet this morning, and called for their release. They tweeted: A CNN reporter & his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves - a clear violation of their First Amendment rights. The authorities in Minnesota, incl. the Governor, must release the 3 CNN employees immediately. — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) May 29, 2020
29 May 2020 11.56 BST The Minnesota State Patrol arrested a CNN reporter reporting live on television early Friday morning while covering the Minneapolis protests, without giving any reason, and led him and three crew members away in handcuffs.
Reporter Omar Jiminez had just shown a protester being arrested when about half a dozen white police officers surrounded him.
“We can move back to where you like,” he told the officers wearing gas masks and face shields, before explaining that he and his crew were members of the press. “We’re getting out of your way.”
29 May 2020 11.54 BST A Mississippi mayor whose remarks about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody is refusing calls to resign, including from his own town’s board of aldermen.
“Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?” Petal Mayor Hal Marx tweeted Tuesday, the day four Minneapolis police officers were fired.
In a follow-up tweet, the Republican directly referenced the Floyd case, saying he didn’t see anything unreasonable: “If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing. Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn’t show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified.
Javon Patterson, an offensive lineman with the Indianapolis Colts, and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Alford both criticized Marx on social media. “How could you watch this disturbing video and make such an idiotic comment. But this guy is supposed to be the leader of the friendly city,’ Alford, a Petal High School alumnus, wrote on Facebook. This is why it’s important to vote people. You don’t want people like Mayor Hal Marx in charge. Marx’s Twitter account no longer exists.
29 May 2020 11.51 BST Police nationwide, in unequivocal and unprecedented language, have condemned the actions of Minneapolis police in the custody death of a handcuffed black man who cried for help as an officer knelt on his neck, pinning him to the pavement for at least eight minutes.
But some civil rights advocates say their denunciations are empty words without meaningful reform behind them.
Authorities say George Floyd was detained Monday because he matched the description of someone who tried to pay with a counterfeit bill at a convenience store, and the 46-year-old resisted arrest. A disturbing video shows Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on Floyd’s neck, even as Floyd begs for air and slowly stops talking and moving.
There is no need to see more video, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Police Chief David Roddy tweeted Wednesday. |There no need to wait to see how it plays out. There is no need to put a knee on someone’s neck for NINE minutes. There IS a need to DO something. If you wear a badge and you dont have an issue with this ... turn it in.”
Sheriffs and police chiefs have strongly criticized the Minneapolis officer on social media and praised the city’s police chief for his quick dismissal of four officers at the scene. Some even called for them to be criminally charged.
“I am deeply disturbed by the video of Mr. Floyd being murdered in the street with other officers there letting it go on”, Polk County, Georgia, Sheriff Johnny Moats wrote on Facebook. “I can assure everyone, me or any of my deputies will never treat anyone like that as long as Im Sheriff. This kind of brutality is terrible and it needs to stop. All Officers involved need to be arrested and charged immediately. Praying for the family.”
29 May 2020 11.37 BST Police and fire engines have arrived at the centre of the protests in Minneapolis. CNN crew on the site reported that they witnessed the authorities arriving to the scene just after 4:30 am ET.
29 May 2020 11.31 BST CNN journalist arrested during live Minneapolis broadcast CNN has reported that one of their journalists, Omar Jimenez, was taken into police custody during a live broadcast at the site of the protests in Minneapolis. Jimenez’s crew, including a producer and a camera operator, were also placed in handcuffs. My colleague @OmarJimenez, reporting calmly and cooperatively, was just arrested on live television along with his crew. — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 29, 2020 Police clearly saw that @OmarJimenez and his team were broadcasting live, reporting on the protests. During the arrest Omar kept asking them where they wanted him to be. They arrested him anyway. I just cannot believe this. — Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) May 29, 2020 Minnesota State Police arresting CNN's @OmarJimenez and crew live on TV on @NewDay for reporting on the protests. Police say they were arrested because they were told to move and didn't. Omar was completely respectful and cooperative, ans asked the police where to do the report. pic.twitter.com/HPVtvQ59Xo — Sam Fernando (@Sujayanth) May 29, 2020
Updated at 11.53 BST
29 May 2020 10.21 BST Protesters angry over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody turned out for a demonstration in Columbus that began peacefully but turned violent, leaving smashed storefront windows along downtown streets around the statehouse.
The crowd of around 400 people entered into a standoff with Columbus police Thursday night, blocking the intersection of key streets in the Ohio capital for hours, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The demonstration began as a peaceful protest, but news outlets reported protesters began throwing objects like water bottles at officers, who responded by using tear gas on the crowd. A scuffle between a protester and an officer broke out around 9:45 pm, WCMH-TV reported.
Some protesters attempted to breach the Ohio Statehouse later Thursday, the TV station reported, sharing photographs of what appeared to be smashed windows at the statehouse.
Calls and emails to Columbus police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which covers Capitol security, from The Associated Press weren’t returned overnight.
“I understand why some residents are angry and taking to the streets. I have said many times that racism exists across the country, state and right here in Columbus. We are committed to addressing racism wherever we see it, Mayor Andrew Ginther tweeted before 9 p.m. I respect peaceful protests and ask residents to remain peaceful in their actions tonight and every night.”
29 May 2020 09.41 BST Sarah Marsh Hello everyone. I am running the Guardian’s live feed from London, bringing you the latest updates on the Minneapolis protests. Please do get in touch with me if you have any information to share via any of the channels below. Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
29 May 2020 09.30 BST Twitter accused President Donald Trump on Friday of “glorifying violence”, attaching a disclaimer to one of his tweets about unrest in Minneapolis that it said broke its rules.
“...These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won*t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” Trump’s tweet read.
Trump’s message can now be read only after clicking on a notice which says: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
In a thread, Twitter said it had taken the action “in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts”. People will still “be able to retweet with comment, but will not be able to like, reply or retweet it.”
Twitter’s action came just hours after Trump said he would introduce legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that has protected internet companies, including Twitter and Facebook , in an extraordinary attempt to regulate social media platforms where he has been criticized.
The proposed legislation is part of an executive order Trump signed on Thursday afternoon. Trump had attacked Twitter for tagging tweets about unsubstantiated claims of fraud about mail-in voting with a warning prompting readers to fact-check the posts.


theguardian--2020-05-29--Trump signs executive order to narrow protections for social media platforms

Donald Trump has fired a shot across the bows of “ big tech ” companies by signing an executive order that aims to narrow their protections from liability over the content posted on their services .
The move came as the US president stepped up his attacks against social media giants after Twitter fact-checked him for the first time over a false assertion that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud .
However , critics said it was the president ’ s latest effort to spur controversy and create a distraction as the country passed the grim milestone of 101,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has faced widespread accusations that it has mishandled the crisis .
“ Currently , social media giants like Twitter received unprecedented viability shield based on the theory that they are a neutral platform , which they are not , ” the US president said in the Oval Office on Thursday .
“ We are fed up with it .
It is unfair , and it ’ s been very unfair.
” Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , tech companies currently enjoy broad immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platforms ” rather than “ publishers ” .
Trump ’ s executive order is designed to pressure regulators , including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission , to come up with new rules that would curtail that immunity .
It is likely to face legal challenges .
As he prepared to sign the order , the president added : “ They ’ ve had unchecked power to censor , restrict , edit , shape , hide , alter virtually any form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American history for so small a number of corporations to control so large a sphere of human interaction.
” Twitter responded by calling the executive order a “ reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law ” .
” # Section230 protects American innovation and freedom of expression , and it ’ s underpinned by democratic values , ” the company said in a tweet .
“ Attempts to unilaterally erode it threaten the future of online speech and internet freedoms .
The move was welcomed by observers who argue that Facebook and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ content and subject to the same laws as the New York Times and other mainstream outlets .
But many in the business and technology sectors argue the order could curb freedom of speech on the internet and it conflicts with existing law – which only Congress , not the president - can change .
Matt Schruers , the president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association , told the Associated Press : “ The irony that is lost here is that if these protections were to go away social media services would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terminating accounts .
Our vibrant public sphere of discussion would devolve into nothing more than preapproved soundbites.
” Gary Shapiro , the president and chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association , said : “ We oppose today ’ s unconstitutional , ill-considered executive order .
The free speech protections in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act are the legal underpinning of our vibrant US online economy and our nation ’ s global digital leadership .
“ America ’ s internet companies lead the world and it is incredible that our own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for political purposes .
These same politicians extensively advertise on them and just a few minutes online will reveal these platforms contain a multitude of political views .
“ Section 230 protects these companies as well as any start-up website which hosts others ’ speech – from community bulletin boards to social media sites to the Fox News comments section.
” The US Chamber of Commerce said in a statement : “ We believe that free speech and the right to engage in commerce are foundational to the American free enterprise system .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to this , this is not how public policy is made in the United States .
An executive order can not be properly used to change federal law.
” Many sceptics regard Trump ’ s action as politically motivated ahead of the November election .
He and other conservatives have long accused social media companies of liberal or pro-China bias , even as Twitter has this week allowed the president to tweet baseless conspiracy theories accusing a TV host of murder .
Ted Cruz , a Republican senator from Texas , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go unchecked .
“ For too long , social media platforms like Twitter have hid behind their opaque algorithms and Section 230 immunity to target speech with which they disagree and advance their own political agendas , ” he added .
“ This doesn ’ t just stifle Americans ’ free speech ; it shapes what Americans see , hear , and ultimately think about the major issues facing our country , including how those issues should be addressed and who should be elected to address them.
” Brad Parscale , the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Social media has been allowed to operate unchecked for years while enjoying the protection of federal law .
“ These Silicon Valley giants have set themselves up as the arbiters of truth , censoring or labeling posts they disagree with , but they have shown that they can not be trusted to be honest and fair .
We have known for a long time that social media companies have it in for conservatives in general and President Trump specifically.
” But , critics say , after Twitter ’ s intervention on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting , the company merely became the latest convenient punchbag for him to cultivate victimhood , rile up his base – and deflect attention from the coronavirus pandemic death toll .
Ron Wyden , a Democratic senator from Oregon , warned : “ Donald Trump ’ s order is plainly illegal .
After driving our country into an economic and health care disaster , Trump is desperately trying to steal for himself the power of the courts and Congress to rewrite decades of settled law around Section 230 .
All for the ability @ @ @ @ @ @

Donald Trump has fired a shot across the bows of “big tech” companies by signing an executive order that aims to narrow their protections from liability over the content posted on their services.
The move came as the US president stepped up his attacks against social media giants after Twitter factchecked him for the first time over a false assertion that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud.
However, critics said it was the president’s latest effort to spur controversy and create a distraction as the country passed the grim milestone of 101,000 deaths from Covid-19. The Trump administration has faced widespread accusations that it has mishandled the crisis.
“Currently, social media giants like Twitter receive an unprecedented liability shield based on the theory that they are a neutral platform, which they are not,” the US president said in the Oval Office on Thursday. “We are fed up with it. It is unfair, and it’s been very unfair.”
Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies currently enjoy broad immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users post because they are treated as “platforms” rather than “publishers”.
Trump’s executive order is designed to pressure regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, to come up with new rules that would curtail that immunity. It is likely to face legal challenges.
As he prepared to sign the order, the president added: “They’ve had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter virtually any form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences.
“There is no precedent in American history for so small a number of corporations to control so large a sphere of human interaction.”
Twitter responded by calling the executive order a “reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law” .
“#Section230 protects American innovation and freedom of expression, and it’s underpinned by democratic values,” the company said in a tweet. “Attempts to unilaterally erode it threaten the future of online speech and internet freedoms.
The move was welcomed by observers who argue that Facebook and Twitter should be held responsible for their content and subject to the same laws as the New York Times and other mainstream outlets.
But many in the business and technology sectors argue the order could curb freedom of speech on the internet and it conflicts with existing law – which only Congress, not the president – can change.
Matt Schruers, the president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, told the Associated Press: “The irony that is lost here is that if these protections were to go away social media services would be far more aggressive in moderating content and terminating accounts. Our vibrant public sphere of discussion would devolve into nothing more than preapproved soundbites.”
Gary Shapiro, the president and chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association, said: “We oppose today’s unconstitutional, ill-considered executive order. The free speech protections in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act are the legal underpinning of our vibrant US online economy and our nation’s global digital leadership.
“America’s internet companies lead the world and it is incredible that our own political leaders would seek to censor them for political purposes. These same politicians extensively advertise on them and just a few minutes online will reveal these platforms contain a multitude of political views.
“Section 230 protects these companies as well as any start-up website which hosts others’ speech – from community bulletin boards to social media sites to the Fox News comments section.”
The US Chamber of Commerce said in a statement: “We believe that free speech and the right to engage in commerce are foundational to the American free enterprise system.
“Regardless of the circumstances that led up to this, this is not how public policy is made in the United States. An executive order cannot be properly used to change federal law.”
Many sceptics regard Trump’s action as politically motivated ahead of the November election. He and other conservatives have long accused social media companies of liberal or pro-China bias, even as Twitter has this week allowed the president to tweet baseless conspiracy theories accusing a TV host of murder.
Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, said “big tech” can no longer go unchecked. “For too long, social media platforms like Twitter have hid behind their opaque algorithms and Section 230 immunity to target speech with which they disagree and advance their own political agendas,” he added.
“This doesn’t just stifle Americans’ free speech; it shapes what Americans see, hear and ultimately think about the major issues facing our country, including how those issues should be addressed and who should be elected to address them.”
Brad Parscale, the Trump 2020 campaign manager, said on Thursday: “Social media has been allowed to operate unchecked for years while enjoying the protection of federal law.
“These Silicon Valley giants have set themselves up as the arbiters of truth, censoring or labeling posts they disagree with, but they have shown that they cannot be trusted to be honest and fair. We have known for a long time that social media companies have it in for conservatives in general and President Trump specifically.”
But, critics say, after Twitter’s intervention on Trump’s false claims about mail-in voting, the company merely became the latest convenient punchbag for him to cultivate victimhood, rile up his base – and deflect attention from the coronavirus pandemic death toll.
Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon, warned: “Donald Trump’s order is plainly illegal. After driving our country into an economic and healthcare disaster, Trump is desperately trying to steal for himself the power of the courts and Congress to rewrite decades of settled law around Section 230. All for the ability to spread unfiltered lies.”


theguardian--2020-05-28--Trump expected to sign executive order in bid to target Twitter and Facebook

Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that could erode legal protections for social media companies for content posted on their platforms , potentially opening them to liability claims over controversial content .
If it survived anticipated legal challenges , the order could also allow federal regulators to sanction companies that in the government ’ s judgment are not even-handed in their editorial practices .
Scholars warned that Trump ’ s order was legally toothless , and said it was designed as an effort to spur controversy and create a distraction as the country passed on Wednesday the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the order was the president ’ s latest blow in an escalating battle with big tech companies including Twitter and Facebook .
Twitter on Monday affixed a fact-check link for the first time ever to two tweets Trump sent in which the president lied about the safety of mail-in voting .
Twitter said the tweets violated its “ civic integrity policy ” , which bars users from “ manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes ” .
The president , however , accused the company of doing just that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tweet Wednesday night .
“ Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election , ” Trump wrote , adding , “ I will never let it happen !
” Trump ’ s executive order , a draft of which was published online , would accuse the social media platforms of “ selective censoring ” and attempt to remove legal protections for those companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act .
“ This order is an effort to intimidate technology companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protecting the integrity of public discourse online , ” said Jameel Jaffer , executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University .
“ Whatever else this order may be , it is not a good faith effort to protect free speech online.
” The order would also invite the Federal Trade Commission to flag purported online bias and prohibit federal spending on advertising or marketing on the platforms .
The order was subject to legal challenges , and it was unclear whether the social media companies would assume additional legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a result of the order .
Marty Lederman , a professor at Georgetown University Law Center , said that the order was “ all hat ” and “ no cattle ” .
“ The draft executive order is full of sound and fury , signifying nothing , ” Lederman tweeted .
“ Mostly [ it ] amounts to directing the Department of Commerce to petition the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) for a proposed regulation to ‘ clarify ’ ” laws limiting the tech companies ’ liability .
The White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcing the order , CNN reported .
“ This initiative coming from the White House threatens to do far more harm than good to the cause of responsible , constitutional and effective government regulation of social media , ” Phil Napoli , a professor of public policy at Duke University , said in a media statement .
Tiffany Li , a professor at Boston University Law school , tweeted that such an executive order “ claims tech platforms are doing something they ’ re not , in violation of an incorrect interpretation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t task to look into the things that aren ’ t being done that wouldn ’ t be wrong.
” But Trump touted the move as a watershed for online speech .
“ This will be a Big Day for Social Media and FAIRNESS !
” he tweeted .
By mounting battle on companies such as Twitter and Facebook , Trump could risk damaging platforms that have been instrumental to his political career .
Twitter regularly carries his messages to 80m people and his campaign manager credited a Facebook advertising campaign with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founder Mark Zuckerberg suggested in a Fox News interview set to air Thursday that it was inappropriate for Twitter to flag misleading messaging by Trump .
“ I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn ’ t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online , ” Zuckerberg said .
“ Private companies probably shouldn ’ t be , especially these platform companies , shouldn ’ t be in the position of doing that.
” Facebook , Twitter and other social media platforms were criticized in the wake of the 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to heighten ideological and identity-based antagonisms in the US political and social spheres .
Afterward , Zuckerberg went before Congress and offered assurances that the company was taking measures to limit messaging designed to cripple elections .
Despite the friendliness of the big social media networks to Trump ’ s cause , conservative media circles frequently air accusations that the companies practice an editorial bias against conservative voices .
Each of the companies has rules against racist speech and other hate speech .
“ Twitter is engaging in 2020 election interference , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump defender , said on a podcast hosted by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon , in comments flagged by CNN .
“ They are putting their thumb on the scale .
”


theguardian--2020-05-28--Biden sets solemn tone as Trump waits 15 hours to mark Covid-19 milestone

Four hours after Johns Hopkins University recorded that 100,000 American lives were lost to the coronavirus , Joe Biden released a solemn speech .
“ My fellow Americans , there are moments in our history so grim , so heart-rending , that they are forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief .
Today is one of those moments , ” said Biden , speaking directly to the camera from an office adorned with American flags .
It follows the release of a strategy by Biden on Thursday to use federal resources to drive coronavirus testing across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand , kept silent .
Johns Hopkins announced the landmark death toll at 5.30pm on Wednesday .
Meanwhile , Trump retweeted videos slating Republicans who pushed for an investigation into Russian election interference last year ; lashed out at Twitter for factchecking his tweets ; and sent out since deleted retweets of people praising him as “ the greatest president in our history ” .
Finally , he tweeted on Thursday at 9.37am to recognize “ a very sad milestone ” , without his usual capital letters and multiple explanation marks .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or video addressing the death toll .
Earlier on Thursday , Trump had used Twitter to claim that social media platforms which intend to factcheck the president will be subject to harsh repercussions .
“ This will be a Big Day for Social Media and FAIRNESS !
” Trump tweeted at 8.37am , 12 hours after the death toll had been announced .
The message appeared to be a threat to Twitter – which for the first time on Tuesday began applying factchecking disclaimers on Trump ’ s tweets , which claimed mail-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The move from the social media giant seemed to have Trump particularly riled up , as he continued to tweet about Republicans who previously had their accounts muted during an attempt by Twitter intended to decrease “ troll-like behaviors that distort and detract from the public conversation ” .
Trump also retweeted a video attacking Republicans such as Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell for pushing for an investigation into Russian election interference .
Meanwhile , Biden , who has lost a wife , a daughter and a son in his lifetime , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day will come when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes .
”

Four hours after Johns Hopkins University recorded that 100,000 American lives were lost to the coronavirus, Joe Biden released a solemn speech.
“My fellow Americans, there are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they are forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments,” said Biden, speaking directly to the camera from an office adorned with American flags.
There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments. 100,000 lives have now been lost to this virus.
To those hurting, I'm so sorry for your loss. The nation grieves with you. pic.twitter.com/SBBRKV4mPZ — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 27, 2020
It follows the release of a strategy by Biden on Thursday to use federal resources to drive coronavirus testing across the country. Trump, on the other hand, kept silent. Johns Hopkins announced the landmark death toll at 5.30pm on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Trump retweeted videos slating Republicans who pushed for an investigation into Russian election interference last year; lashed out at Twitter for factchecking his tweets; and sent out since deleted retweets of people praising him as “the greatest president in our history”.
Finally, he tweeted on Thursday at 9.37am to recognize “a very sad milestone”, without his usual capital letters and multiple exclamation marks. Trump is yet to release a full statement or video addressing the death toll.
We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2020
Earlier on Thursday, Trump had used Twitter to claim that social media platforms which intend to factcheck the president will be subject to harsh repercussions.
“This will be a Big Day for Social Media and FAIRNESS!” Trump tweeted at 8.37am, 12 hours after the death toll had been announced. The message appeared to be a threat to Twitter – which for the first time on Tuesday began applying factchecking disclaimers on Trump’s tweets, which claimed mail-in elections result in widespread voter fraud.
The move from the social media giant seemed to have Trump particularly riled up, as he continued to tweet about Republicans who previously had their accounts muted during an attempt by Twitter intended to decrease “troll-like behaviors that distort and detract from the public conversation”.
Trump also retweeted a video attacking Republicans such as Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell for pushing for an investigation into Russian election interference.
Meanwhile, Biden, who has lost a wife, a daughter and a son in his lifetime, said to the American public: “The day will come when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.”