One good thing that has come out of the pandemic is a dramatic drop in violent crime in the U.S. But as more people are parking their cars and staying home to lessen the spread of COVID-19, one area of crime is skyrocketing: car theft.
Law enforcement agencies all over the country are reporting a significant increase in the number of stolen cars and vehicle burglaries. Compared to Jan. 1 through mid-May of 2019, car theft has shot up 63 percent in New York and almost 17 percent in Los Angeles.
In Austin, Texas, last month, 72 percent of the 322 stolen vehicles had their keys nearby. Only one city, Baltimore, has seen a decrease because of its push to reduce its historically high numbers of car theft and burglaries.
Police say idle teens at home and cash-strapped criminals are what is driving the increase in theft. They also worry that the numbers will continue to go up as the pandemic goes on and people get more desperate.
Authorities are advising car owners to protect their cars by checking on them regularly, leaving the car doors locked, removing or hiding valuables that may attract thieves, and never leaving your car keys inside the car.
OUR COMMUNITY
A recent NAACP poll shows most African Americans have a negative opinion on how the Trump Administration has handled the coronavirus response. The survey conducted by the African American Research Collaborative reports that 80% of African American respondents rated Trump’s performance negatively, while 19% have a positive view.
Eighty percent of respondents polled also said they want the country to hold off on reopening the economy until it is safe to do so. Sixty-three percent of those polled viewed their mayor’s response positively; 62% said their state’s governors were handling the crisis well.
THE PANDEMIC
According to a United Nations report, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the illegal drug trade in nearly every country and affected several different kinds of drugs. This level of disruption has not been experienced since World War II, the report says.
The black market for drugs is experiencing many of the same problems as those of legal industries, including a shortage of labor and disruptions in transportation due to border restrictions and stay-at-home orders. The drug experiencing the most disruption is methamphetamine. However, the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, remains widely available.
The World Health Organization said the recent downward trend of coronavirus cases can be misleading and is warning countries not to become complacent. WHO leaders say they are concerned that some believe the decrease in cases occurred naturally but, in fact, happened due to tough public health measures that must continue. Leaders also warn that the pandemic could worsen if there is a “co-infection or co-circulation of influenza and Covid-19” in the coming months.
STATES
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is urging nearly 1 million residents to complete and send in their absentee ballots now instead of waiting. Fulton County in Atlanta is running behind on getting absentee ballots mailed and struggling to process more than 27,000 email requests. Two small counties were forced to shut down their in-person voting sites due to coronavirus infections.
Voters in Georgia can still request mail-in ballots through June 5 but may not have enough time to receive them by mail and return them by mail if they wait that long. Ballots must be returned to county election offices by 7 p.m. on June 9.
In response to viral photos and videos of overcrowded bars and clubs over the holiday weekend, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is reversing his stance on relaxing coronavirus restrictions. The city will now enforce the 25% capacity rule in bars and clubs and a 50% rule for restaurants. Those businesses that do not comply with the rules face closure of the establishment for that night.
“There are some pretending as though this virus no longer exists, and quite frankly, it’s not only endangering themselves and those who are at these gatherings, but they’re engaging everybody else when they leave these gatherings, they go back home, they go to their jobs and respected places, other people are being jeopardized,” Turner told CNN on Monday.
POLITICS & BUSINESS
Amazon shareholders will request the company’s board of directors to release more information on worker safety and protection amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company has come under fire by employees and the public as several confirmed coronavirus cases and some deaths at Amazon facilities have occurred.
The Data Foundation found that 37% of unemployed Americans ran out of food in the past month. Some states are enacting their own efforts to address the growing hunger problem by getting food that would have been thrown out by farmers to those in need.
The biggest effort is a $3 billion federal program that will buy fresh produce, dairy and meat from farmers and deliver it to food banks. However, the program has raised questions about the legitimacy of some of the companies that received the initial $1.2 billion contracts.
One of the companies that has received the most scrutiny is a San Antonio wedding and event planning company called CRE8AD8 that received a contract of nearly $39 million. USDA officials said they are confident the selected companies can complete the job.
