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The confluence of the top two news stories—the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests—brings into sharper focus the disparities in how COVID-19 affects people of color. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have braved the virus risks to march for equality, and the daunting reality is that the communities fighting for justice also disproportionately face the greatest danger from the virus. Though COVID-19 cases have declined in initial hotspots like New York City, they're still on the rise in many states, including populous states such as Texas and Arizona. We can only hope that the fresh air, the warm weather, and the masks that many (if not most) are wearing will keep the viral spread to a minimum among protesters. Stay safe, everyone. —Mindy Finn
Top Ten

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1. The return of the MAGA rally Trump-supporters will be breaking out the red MAGA hats soon, because President Trump is going back on the road in the next two weeks to resume his raucous campaign rallies. It marks a major turning point in the coronavirus pandemic, as traditional campaigning has all but ceased since March due to state lockdowns. While Trump is likely to face blowback for resuming in-person events while the pandemic is still ravaging the country, his advisers contend that the recent massive protests will make it harder for critics to denounce the decision. Trump's advisers are still determining where the rallies will take place and what, if any, safety measures will be implemented. —Politico ([link removed])
* — The WHO clarifies. The World Health Organization says the coronavirus pandemic is worsening across the globe as the number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday reached an all-time high. The WHO also sought to clarify a previous statement that asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is "very rare," saying instead that much is unknown and some models find that it is not actually rare at all. —The Hill ([link removed])
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* — Corona's been around longer than we thought. COVID-19 may have been present and spreading in Wuhan as early as August last year. A study by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston University of Public Health, and Boston Children's Hospital that analyzed satellite imagery of car parks outside major hospitals as well as search engine data reveals an uptick in activity. —The Guardian ([link removed])
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* — New Zealand reaches zero. Due to a mixture of strict quarantine, travel restrictions, and widespread testing, New Zealand has reported no new coronavirus cases for 17 days and has no active cases. The country plans to lift nearly all of its restrictions today. —Forbes ([link removed])

More: The secret plan to unwithdraw from the WHO after Trump’s "bizarre," "ruinous" exit (Vanity Fair) ([link removed])

2. Policing may get a national overhaul As George Floyd is laid to rest today, lawmakers are pursuing legislation that could prevent similar tragedies in the future. Yesterday, Congressional Democrats unveiled a bill aimed at police reform, making it easier to prosecute officers for misconduct, collect national data, establish new training programs to counter racial bias, and mandate the use of dashboard and body cameras. The legislation was assembled by the Congressional Black Caucus and backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senate Republicans have indicated they are open to discussing legislation governing police practices. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on June 16 on Floyd's death. ([link removed])
* — Nationally, momentum to redirect funding from law enforcement toward other public services has gained steam. Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and New York City have launched efforts to shrink or restructure their police forces and budgets, while officials in San Francisco, Baltimore, and Philadelphia are considering similar moves. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
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* — President Trump and White House aides lashed out at activists and some Democrats yesterday for their support of police funding reforms, seeking to tie former Vice President Joe Biden to the mantra "Defund the Police." "There won't be defunding. There won't be dismantling of our police," Trump said at a meeting with law enforcement officers. ([link removed])

* — Trump's new conspiracy theory. Ostensibly to show his support for police, Trump tweeted a baseless conspiracy theory this morning involving the 75-year-old demonstrator who was pushed by cops in Buffalo, N.Y. He appears to have picked up the conspiracy from One America News, the conservative network the president has repeatedly promoted on Twitter. Even some fellow Republicans were up in arms over the tweet. —The Hill ([link removed])

More: Attorney General William Barr contradicts Trump's claim that he was taken to the White House bunker for an 'inspection' during protests over police brutality (Business Insider) ([link removed])

3. Sloan: What happens next to the economy? "It's been a great 10 weeks for people who own U.S. stocks. The market rose about 45% in the 53 trading days from its March 23 low through Monday, adding almost 9,000 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and more than $11 trillion in value to the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. This enormous positive run has prompted cheerful predictions that the stock market is telling us that better days are near at hand, despite more than 109,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic; tens of millions of recently unemployed people, last month's reported employment gain notwithstanding; civil unrest in cities and towns throughout the country; and political and social divisiveness, which I suspect may be our country's biggest problem of all." —The Washington Post ([link removed])

More: Recession in US began in February, official arbiter says (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])

4. Is Georgia a November preview? Voting in Georgia's primary election is proving to be difficult today. Polling locations didn't open on time; lines snaked out doors and around buildings; and in at least four counties, there were no working voting machines in the first hour. The state also rolled out new ballot-marking devices, replacing the state's "insecure and unreliable" paperless electronic voting system, and election security experts are concerned that officials weren't sufficiently trained on them—demonstrating the importance of time and preparedness. —The Washington Post ([link removed])
* — It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Because of the pandemic, Georgia's Secretary of State started urging voters weeks ago to request mail-in ballots for a primary that's been delayed twice. About 1.6 million absentee ballots were requested and about half haven't been returned yet. Some Georgia voters say they trust voting in person more than by mail. —Georgia Recorder ([link removed])
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* — There may be more than one reason for that. President Trump and a well-funded Republican campaign are determined to undermine public confidence in mail-in voting, even though Trump himself votes by mail. The president and his allies say it will lead to increased voter fraud. ([link removed])
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— Voting rights groups have pushed back. They cite studies that show no increased evidence of fraud in voting by mail—and suggest there are ulterior motives at play. One group, American Bridge, claims a recording reveals that a Trump adviser told Republicans in Wisconsin that the GOP was counting on voter suppression tactics to provide an edge on Election Day. —The Christian Science Monitor ([link removed])

More: Iowa legislature advances felon voting rights, but with expensive caveat (The Fulcrum) ([link removed])

5. Geller: The risks of online voting ([link removed])

"[M]oving elections to the internet poses huge risks that the U.S. is unprepared to handle—endangering voters' privacy, the secrecy of the ballot, and even the trustworthiness of the results. The problems: The internet is riddled with security flaws that hackers can exploit. So are voters' computers, smartphones, and tablets. And the U.S. has never developed a centralized digital identity system like the one in Estonia, a tiny, digitally savvy nation that has held its elections online since 2005. ... In fact, it may be a decade or more before the U.S. can safely entrust the internet with the selection of its lawmakers and presidents, according to some experts. Still, a handful of states are pushing ahead, with the encouragement of one politically connected tech entrepreneur—and the tempting logic of the question, 'If we can bank online, why can't we vote the same way?'" —Politico ([link removed])

More: Study finds vulnerabilities in online voting tool used by several states (The Hill) ([link removed])
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6. New Trump appointee has bigoted past Merritt Corrigan, the new Trump appointee as deputy White House liaison at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has made a series of controversial online remarks. A former Republican National Committee staffer, she once claimed the country was under the control of a "homo-empire" that enforced a "tyrannical LGBT agenda." ([link removed])
* — Corrigan previously worked for the Hungarian Embassy in the U.S. and once tweeted that authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is "the shining champion of Western civilization." She also wrote, "Liberal democracy is little more than a front for the war being waged against us by those who fundamentally despise not only our way of life, but life itself." ([link removed])
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* — "[USAID has] a zero-tolerance policy of any form of discrimination... All employees are held to the highest of standards and are expected to treat one another with dignity and respect. Period. This includes political appointees, civil servants, foreign service officers, and contractors," said USAID spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala when asked about Corrigan's comments. ([link removed])
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* — Corrigan's comments clash with the mission of her new employer. The USAID website says that it is working to build a world where LGBT people are "respected and able to live with dignity, free from discrimination, persecution, and violence." —Rolling Stone ([link removed])

7. Bloomberg Ed Board: Invite Hongkongers to US "Encouraging the people of Hong Kong to take their talents elsewhere would not be pleasing news to Beijing, which has already threatened the UK with retaliation. But the move has the potential to remind China of what it stands to lose in energy and dynamism if it exerts too heavy a hand in the city—and why it would be wise to change course. What's more, unlike many of the Trump Administration's more harebrained ideas, this one doesn't undermine U.S. interests or depend for success on altering another country's behavior." —Bloomberg ([link removed])

8. Russia recruiting Syrians to fight in Libya Russia is staying busy projecting military power and staying involved in regional conflicts across the Mediterranean. A Russian state-backed private military contractor, the Wagner Group, is now recruiting hundreds of Syrians to fight in Libya's civil war. ([link removed])
* — Russia is backing military commander Khalifa Haftar in his fight against the Government of National Accord (GNA). Russia continues to deny having forces in Libya, but a confidential UN report reveals that the country has at least 1,200 military personnel deployed in the country. ([link removed])
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* — Turkey is involved in Libya as well, supporting the internationally recognized GNA. Libya's civil war is similar to Syria's in that both Russia and Turkey are deeply involved and seeking out their own foreign policy objectives. ([link removed])
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* — "Russia and Turkey are both escalating their firepower and force numbers in Libya, where Europe has been caught on its heels. Russia has tried to match Turkey's effort to send Syrian mercenaries, but with mixed results," said Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. —Al Jazeera ([link removed])

9. Zwack: Why are we pulling out of Germany? ([link removed])

"[W]e cannot isolate ourselves from this cyber-connected transnational world. It's simply not possible. We must find a balance. This is not the time to make such a short-sighted move to unilaterally withdraw forces from Germany and Europe. Instead, we should wisely re-embrace the global community and strive to lead by inclusive example once again." —The Hill ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Retired Brig. Gen. Peter Zwack commanded the U.S. Army’s 66th Military Intelligence Group (2004-2006) and served as senior U.S. defense attache to Russia (2012-2014). He is currently a Wilson Center Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute.

More: Germany: American troop reduction could harm NATO security (Military Times) ([link removed])

10. An American Story: A reunion amid pandemic When nurse Deirdre Taylor was four years old, firefighter Eugene Pugliese saved her life when he rescued her from a burning apartment building. For years, Taylor has kept the New York Daily News article from Dec. 30, 1983, in hopes that she would one day get to meet Pugliese and thank him. ([link removed])
* — In March, Taylor moved from Virginia to New York for eight weeks to aid overwhelmed emergency rooms in Manhattan due to COVID-19. ([link removed])
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* — Taylor was able to get Pugliese's number through the fire chief, and she was finally able to thank him for saving her life all those years ago. ([link removed])
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* — Pugliese said that learning that the toddler he saved back then is now an emergency room nurse on the frontlines of the pandemic has been all the more powerful to him because a former colleague at the firehouse recently died of COVID-19. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
What's Your Take?

Immediately convene Congress and impeach Trump for abuse of power and violation of civil rights for his abuse of citizens. —Aurelio P., California

So how do you get through to Evangelicals who hold Trump in the same regard as Christ? They seem to have lost their moral compass. I don't believe they can be reached unless it affects their lives directly. —Jim M., North Carolina

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