WHAT'S BREWING
RADICAL VIRUS SHIFT Health officials are reporting a significant rise in younger people testing positive for the new coronavirus, particularly in Southern states, raising fresh concerns about social distancing failures and fatigue as states continue to reopen businesses amid the pandemic. Over the last week, officials in Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have reported surging COVID-19 cases among people in their 20s and 30s. In Florida, where the total case count surpassed 100,000 on Monday, the median age for coronavirus victims went from 65 at the beginning of March to 36 last week. [HuffPost]
SCHOOLS WONDER HOW TO SOCIAL DISTANCE WITH MEAGER BUDGETS As schools consider how and when to reopen their buildings during the pandemic, many are finding themselves overwhelmed by the potential expenses that would come with operating under social distancing guidelines: protective equipment, staff for smaller classrooms, and additional transportation to keep students spread out on bus rides. The burdens loom large in particular for urban, under-resourced districts that often have neither the space nor the budgets to accommodate new health protocols. [AP]
CONFEDERATE FLAG-WAVING TRUMP SUPPORTER PRAISES KKK A woman decked out in one of President Donald Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps waved a Confederate flag at a Black Lives Matter protest in Branson, Missouri, on Sunday while she praised the Ku Klux Klan and vowed to teach hate to her grandchildren. “I’m teaching them to fuckin’ hate all of you people,” the woman, identified by the Springfield News-Leader as Kathy Bennett, said Sunday evening. She climbed up into a pickup to wave the flag, raise a fist and call out, “KKK belief!” [HuffPost]
2 LAWYERS OF COLOR FACE 45-YEAR SENTENCES... FOR VANDALISM Colinford King Mattis, along with Urooj Rahman, 31, was arrested in New York City on May 30 during protests against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The two were charged with attempting to burn an unoccupied, already damaged New York City Police Department vehicle. Nobody was injured. Now Mattis and Rahman face additional federal charges that carry a 45-year mandatory minimum sentence, and up to life in prison — for what essentially amounts to property damage. [HuffPost]
HOW ARKANSAS EXPLOITED COVID-19 TO STOP ABORTIONS Long before coronavirus came to Arkansas, 68-year-old Marsha Boss was a vigilant observer of the Little Rock Family Planning clinic. Since 2008, she had organized anti-abortion protests, 40 Days for Life campaigns, and recruiting volunteers to pray outside year-round. Over the last few months she's texted and called state health officials, complaining that the clinic was violating social distancing guidelines, performing “25 to 30” abortions a day, and warning that out-of-town patients ― many of whom had fled abortion bans their states put in place after coronavirus hit ― might spread coronavirus in Arkansas. [HuffPost]
SPENDING ON FOSSIL FUEL COULD DIG A $19 BILLION MONEY PIT The $250 billion that Congress authorized the central bank to inject into the bond market helped many otherwise healthy balance sheets weather COVID-19. Of the $1.3 billion in funds whose recipients have been disclosed, roughly 8% went to fossil fuel-related bonds ― even though the sector comprises just 3% of the S&P Composite 1500 stock index. But the fossil fuel sector’s credit rating was spiraling downward well before COVID-19. Of that nearly $100 million known to be directed to the industry, $22 million went to prop up bonds with such low credit ratings they are considered non-investment grade ― “junk” bonds. And fossil fuel bonds look likely to become riskier in the future. [HuffPost] |
