5 things to know for June 23: Covid, elections, Rayshard Brooks, police, immigration
The MLB is plowing ahead with the 2020 season after weeks of negotiations between the league and the players’ union.
Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
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1. Coronavirus
Coronavirus cases are rising at record levels across the world, with more than 9.1 million cases confirmed worldwide. In the US, young people are testing positive in the South and West as Americans fail to heed mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines. India, which has the fourth highest number of cases in the world, is allowing a religious festival to go ahead in a limited capacity, even as case numbers surge. In Saudi Arabia, the Hajj pilgrimage is still on, though officials will strictly limit the number of people who can take part. South Korea is seeing a “second wave” of infections, which a top health official says began during the May holiday period. And Brazil has reported an average of 1,000 virus-related deaths a day over the past week.
2. Primary elections
Voters in Kentucky and New York head to the polls — or face absentee ballot deadlines — today, as Democratic incumbents and establishment favorites square off against progressive challengers. In Kentucky, former fighter pilot Amy McGrath is up against progressive state Rep. Charles Booker. Until a few weeks ago, McGrath was considered a shoo-in to take on Sen. Mitch McConnell in November. But Booker’s campaign has seen a surge in momentum as the nation reckons with racism and police brutality and a pandemic that disproportionately hurts minorities and the poor. Interest in the race has increased turnout expectations and intensified fears of long lines at limited polling sites. In New York, newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones are campaigning to replace the state’s two longest-serving House members, Rep. Eliot Engel and Rep. Nita Lowey. And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is also defending her seat.
3. Rayshard Brooks
Rayshard Brooks, the 27-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer this month, will be laid to rest today. His family and friends will honor his life in a funeral service at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as a co-pastor. King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, will speak at Brooks’ funeral. The Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church and a Democratic candidate for US Senate, will deliver the eulogy. Mourners paid their respects yesterday during a four-hour public viewing at the church. Today’s private service will begin at 1 p.m. ET.
4. Law enforcement
Things are still tense between law enforcement and demonstrators protesting police brutality. Seattle’s mayor told protesters who had taken over a police-free “autonomous zone” that it’s time for them to go home. The demonstrators wouldn’t be removed by force, she said, but the city would work with Black-led community organizations to persuade them to leave the area. In California, employees of a sheriff’s and district attorney’s office were among those arrested after multiple people were caught on a security camera vandalizing a Black Lives Matter sign, authorities said. And in Minneapolis, where ex-officer Derek Chauvin was charged with murder in the death of George Floyd, eight corrections officers at the jail where Chauvin is being held say they were briefly barred from his floor the day he was booked because of the color of their skin.
5. Immigration
The Trump administration is once again barring immigrants from coming to the US — this time through a number of new restrictions on visas for temporary foreign workers. A wide range of workers, from au pairs to software engineers, will be blocked from coming to the US until at least January, though there are exceptions. Trump’s argument: The devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has forced officials to do more to protect American jobs. But immigrant rights advocates and tech companies that rely on the visa programs to bring in skilled workers aren’t buying it. They accuse the Trump administration of using the crisis to further its immigration agenda and say the restrictions will ultimately hurt the economy.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
Joel Schumacher, director of Batman movies and ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ has died
He was best known for directing the divisive “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” films in the ’90s.
A package of smelly fruit sent 6 people to the hospital and caused an evacuation
Apple wants your iPhone to replace your car keys
Great news for those of us who are always losing stuff.
Women are less likely to swipe right on men posing with cats in their dating profiles
But do you really want to date someone who would swipe left on your sweet kitty?
If you’re wondering whether signing that petition will change anything …
TODAY’S QUOTE
“I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile. I’m going to keep on going.”
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, on the show of support he received after a noose was found in his garage on Sunday at the Talladega Superspeedway.
TODAY’S NUMBER
100.4
The record-high temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, experienced over the weekend by the small Siberian town of Verkhoyansk, one of the coldest places on Earth.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check your local forecast here>>>
AND FINALLY
For all you newfound bread bakers out there …
Watch how this Georgian baker does it, and be amazed. (Click here to view.)
