Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 100,000 In The US

Posted on by David Taintor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has surpassed a jarring milestone in the coronavirus pandemic: 100,000 deaths.

That number is the best estimate and most assuredly an undercount. But it represents the stark reality that more Americans have died from the virus than from the Vietnam and Korea wars combined.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the virus has infected more than 5.6 million people worldwide and killed over 350,000. The U.S. has the most infections and deaths by far.

Early on, President Donald Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus and predicted the country wouldn’t reach this death toll.

Four Charts That Show How Absentee Voting Is Skyrocketing In The Pandemic

Posted on by Tierney Sneed

Next Tuesday’s primaries pose the next big test for how voting will work in the pandemic. Of the several states that have a primary scheduled for next week, some have made drastic changes to their election procedures so that voters don’t have to cast their ballots in person and can avoid contracting or spreading COVID-19. Other states already allowed residents to vote absentee without giving an excuse, but are still seeing a big increase in the practice during the outbreak.

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Pelosi Slams Trump For Going On ‘Ego Trip’ Over Republican Convention

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) railed against President Trump on Wednesday for threatening to relocate the Republican National Convention away from its scheduled venue in Charlotte, North Carolina if the state’s governor won’t budge on coronavirus-related restrictions. Continue reading “Pelosi Slams Trump For Going On ‘Ego Trip’ Over Republican Convention” →

Mask as Symbol

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Conventional wisdom and the balance of the public health community seems to have come round decisively in favor of masks as a key way to reduce transmission of COVID during the pandemic. In an interview with CNN, Anthony Fauci said that he wears a mask “when I’m in the public for the reasons that I want to protect myself and protect others, and also because I want to make it be a symbol for people to see that’s the kind of thing you should be doing.”

This is a good opportunity to revisit the mask as symbol, which is distinct from its immediate public health value but of course related to it.

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Cheney Scolds Trump For Peddling False Conspiracy Theory About Scarborough

Posted on by Cristina Cabrera

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to stop tweeting about a debunked conspiracy theory about the death of Lori Klausutis, MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough’s late congressional aide.

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Playwright And AIDS Activist Larry Kramer Dies Of Pneumonia At 84

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

NEW YORK (AP) — Larry Kramer, the playwright whose angry voice and pen raised theatergoers’ consciousness about AIDS and roused thousands to militant protests in the early years of the epidemic, has died at 84.

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WI Dems Acted Quickly To Spur Voter Turnout In April. Can They Maintain That Momentum This Fall?

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. The authors are professional evaluators. One holds a leadership position in the Wisconsin Democratic Party as chair of its Environmental Caucus. 

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WH Press Secretary Voted By Mail In Every FL Election In The Past Decade

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who has vehemently defended President Trump’s baseless tirade against mail-in voting initiatives, reportedly voted by mail repeatedly in the past decade. Continue reading “WH Press Secretary Voted By Mail In Every FL Election In The Past Decade” →

Fauci: Too Soon To Guarantee Political Conventions In August

Posted on by Zoe Richards

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, advised a “wait and see” approach for now on whether it will be possible to hold the Democratic and Republican conventions currently scheduled for August, given the coronavirus pandemic.

“What I think we need to do is reserve judgment right now to see what the situation would be,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in a CNN interview Wednesday. “We’re still a few months from there.”

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