Poll finds most Americans opposed to renaming military bases, paying slavery reparations
A majority of Americans aren’t in favor or renaming U.S. military bases named after Confederate leaders, and are also opposed to paying reparations to the descendants of slaves, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released today. The poll finds 56% of those surveyed are opposed to renaming military bases, with 42% supporting it; 67% of African Americans surveyed supported renaming the bases. Further, 73% of respondents say America should not “pay money to black Americans whose ancestors were slaves as compensations for that slavery.” Percentages are widely split by race and political identification: 72% of black respondents support reparations, while only 14% of white respondents do. An overwhelming 94% or Republican respondents are against reparations, with 82% of Independents opposed and Democrats split, 54% for and 45% opposed.
Most Americans in favor of banning police use of chokeholds
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds a majority of Americans in favor of outlawing police use of chokeholds. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents — 63% — think chokeholds should be banned, a majority opinion that remains even when broken down by politics and ethnicity. Seventy-one percent of both Democrats and African American respondents think it’s time for chokeholds to be banned, with 63% of white and 56% of Hispanic respondents agreeing. A far smaller majority of Republicans, 51%, agree that police use of chokeholds should be banned, with 48% opposed to a ban. The poll comes as protests continue in the U.S. and elsewhere over police tactics and what some say is excessive use of force when making arrests, particularly when arresting people of color.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections and deaths.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 8,513,725
Global deaths: 454,513. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 118,435.
Number of countries/regions: at least 188
Total patients recovered globally: 4,181,443
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 2,191,200 diagnosed cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 118,435. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 30,974.
U.S. total patients recovered: 599,115
U.S. total people tested: 25,403,498
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 385,760 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 19.5 million. That is the most reported cases than in any other single region in the world.
COVID-19 headlines
COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be one-and-done, say experts
As the world eagerly awaits the first vaccine against COVID-19, experts are tempering expectations by warning any vaccine is unlikely to provide lifelong protection. “When you look at the history of coronaviruses…the reports in the literature are that the durability of immunity that is protective ranges from three to six months to almost always less than a year,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, says in an interview with JAMA Network. Likewise, the CEO of AstraZeneca, one of the pharmaceutical companies believed to be closest to developing a vaccine, says their vaccine might only offer protection for a year. While it’s possible that longer-lasting immunity from any vaccine is possible, that protection depends upon factors including individual immune responses and a virus’ ability to mutate.
COVID-19 hospitalizations increase in 18 states; CDC forecasts increased deaths
Hospitalizations of people infected with COVID-19 are now on the increase in 18 states, according to the latest data. Georgia, South Dakota and Vermont are new to that list, which already included Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. In Texas, hospitalizations on Thursday hit a record high for the second consecutive day, according to WFAA Dallas, with 2,947 statewide hospitalizations, up 154 from the day before. The news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday forecast “there will likely be between 129,000 and 145,000 total reported COVID-19 deaths by July 11,” and noted specifically, “The state-level ensemble forecasts suggest that the number of new deaths over the next four weeks in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah will likely exceed the number reported over the last four weeks.”