Rayshard Brooks funeral takes places today
Rayshard Brooks, the Black man who was shot and killed by Atlanta, Georgia police June 12, will be laid to rest today at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Hundreds of people attended a public viewing at the church Monday, ahead of today’s scheduled 1:00 p.m. private funeral service. Brooks was killed after police responded to a report of a man sleeping in the drive-through of a Wendy’s restaurant. During his arrest, Brooks procured an officer’s Taser and was fatally shot twice in the back by white former police officer Garrett Rolfe as he ran away. Brooks’ death sparked protests in Atlanta and elsewhere. Rolfe was fired and faces 11 charges related to Brooks’ death, including felony murder and aggravated assault. Police officer Devin Brosnan, who responded with Brooks, faces lesser charges.
D.C. Protestors target Andrew Jackson statue; Trump threatens prison for participants
Police used batons and chemical irritants Monday night to forcibly remove protesters who attempted to topple a monument of former President Andrew Jackson in a park near the White House. Dozens of protesters broke through a fence surrounding the 168-year-old bronze equestrian statue at the center of Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., securing ropes to it and attempting to pull it down. Police ultimately dispersed the protestors, with some seen being taken away in handcuffs. Jackson, the seventh U.S. president, is criticized by many for his policies of forcibly relocating Native Americans from their ancestral lands so whites could settle there, and for opposing efforts to end slavery in the U.S. President Trump on Tuesday morning tweeted that he had “authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent,” adding that the action “may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!”
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: 9,121,337
Global deaths: 472,683. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 120,402.
Number of countries/regions: at least 188
Total patients recovered globally: 4,548,713
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 2,312,302 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 120,402. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 31,176.
U.S. total patients recovered: 640,198
U.S. total people tested: 27,553,581
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in New York, with 388,488 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 cases, hospitalizations continue to rise in the US
Reports of COVID-19 infections are now on the upswing in a total 24 states, with hospitalizations increasing in 19 states and deaths on the rise in 11 as of Monday morning. Arkansas, Arizona and Texas are seeing record numbers of hospitalizations, with California, Missouri and Oklahoma posting record numbers of positive cases. Seven states are reporting increases in infections, hospitalizations and deaths: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and Utah. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says his state has gone from about 1,600 hospitalizations a day in late May to 3,200 a day in recent days, declaring, “COVID-19 has now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas and it must corralled.” Louisiana has put reopening plans on hold due to an increase in cases, and more than a dozen cities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, are now requiring masks in public. Experts stress that the dramatic increases are not the result of a long-forecast second wave of infections, but are still part of the initial COVID-19 pandemic wave in areas that failed to take sufficient measures to curtail the virus. Sunday, the World Health Organization reported 183,000 new cases worldwide, a new single-day record.
Dr. Fauci to testify on Capitol Hill today
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top health experts will testify today before the U.S. House about the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing efforts to address it. They’re expected to defend their recommendations of continued use of face masks and social distancing, while avoiding any direct challenges to continued White House insistence that the country is ready to reopen, even as two dozen states report continued infection increases. Joining Dr. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will be Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection; Stephen Hahn, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Adm. Brett Giroir, the top Health and Human Services official in charge of testing efforts. Their testimony comes as President Trump is scheduled to travel today to Arizona, a COVID-19 hot spot, to address a rally at a megachurch in Phoenix, two days after he held a similar rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, another viral hot spot.