New York State Attorney General Letitia James is calling on the NYPD to “better address the department’s apparent unequal enforcement of social distancing rules,” in the city. The announcement follows reports and videos in recent weeks of aggressive enforcement tactics by the NYPD in black and Hispanic neighborhoods. These tactics, the attorney general adds, “provide a stark contrast to reports of police response to social distancing rules in predominantly white neighborhoods.”
A controversial video surfaced and went viral last week showing an NYPD officer punching a black man while the officers were responding to complaints of a lack of social distancing and people not wearing masks in the city. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea is defending his department against allegations of racist policing.
THE PANDEMIC
Despite pressure from President Donald Trump for a return to business-as-usual, forecasts by health officialS of higher than expected death tolls are already threatening the 2020-21 academic year in the worst hit parts of the country.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, told a Senate committee it would be a “bridge too far” for colleges to expect a vaccine to be available by the time students return to campuses in the fall. Elementary, middle and high school leaders across the country are strategizing on how to resume classes. Anxiety is also growing among parents of school age children as an inflammatory syndrome in children that may be linked to the coronavirus has developed.
According to a report by the Labor Department released on Tuesday, the price of food, such as eggs, meats and cereal, climbed in April as Americans stocked up on food during the pandemic. Food prices for groceries recorded its biggest increase since February 1974.
STATES
New York’s Department of Health is investigating 102 cases of what may be a Covid-related illness in children with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. The majority of cases involve children between 5 years old and 14 years old. Three children in New York have died. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain and skin rash, change in skin color, difficulty feeding, trouble breathing, racing heart, lethargy, irritability or confusion.
Texas inmates have begun self-administering oral-fluid tests for Covid-19. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says nearly 1,500 tests were collected in the first few hours of testing. At least 652 Texas Justice employees and 1,733 offenders have tested positive for Covid-19. Thirty prisoners and seven staff members have died.
Police in Dallas are investigating a man’s allegedly threatening Facebook post about a Whole Foods face mask policy. Kevin Bain, who worked for the Dallas law firm Thompson & Knight, has been fired from his job as a document services manager.
The Facebook post that has been shared widely online, says: “No more masks. Any business that tells me to put on a mask (Whole Foods on Lomo Alto) in Dallas will get told to kiss my Corona a– and will lose my business forever. It’s time to stop this BULLS—. Do I have to show the lame security guard outside of a ghetto store my CV19 test results? With Hornady hollow points. Pricey ammo, but worth it in this situation. They have reached the limit. I have more power than they do…..they just don’t know it yet.”
Highland Park Police spokesman Lt. Lance Koppa said the department was looking into the matter that happened on May 8.
BUSINESS & POLITICS
Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, called on President Trump to cancel his visit to Allentown scheduled for tomorrow. Boyle chastised the president, saying, “This is a thinly veiled campaign stop to one of the most important battleground states come November. This is not a time for campaigning,” he said during an interview on CNN. He encouraged Trump to stay in Washington, “do your job and get us closer to solving this unbelievable crisis.”
In a Vanity Fair interview, presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden said his health advisors are recommending he be tested for coronavirus, along with anyone coming into his home. Biden, who has remained sheltered at home since the pandemic began to spread across the country, has yet to be tested.
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s onetime presidential campaign chairman who was convicted as part of the special counsel’s Russia investigation, has been released from federal prison due to concerns about the pandemic. Manafort, 71, will serve the rest of his more than 7-year sentence in home confinement.
Delivery giant Amazon has extended a temporary pay increase for its warehouse and delivery workers, following concerns raised by employees and policymakers about the company’s response to the pandemic. Amazon, which implemented a $2 hourly wage bump for those frontline employees in March, says it will extend the policy through May 30.
