AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT
Democrats claim 'big tent' for first convention in pandemic
NEW YORK (AP) — Ohio’s former Gov. John Kasich, a Republican presidential contender four years ago, joined Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, on Monday in calling for voters across the political spectrum to unite against President Donald Trump. Their urgent warning demonstrated the breadth of Joe Biden's coalition on the opening night of the Democratic Party's 2020 National Convention.
The message, outlined in excerpts of their prerecorded speeches, came hours before the official start of the first presidential nominating convention of the coronavirus era. The all-virtual affair is the first without a central meeting place or cheering throngs. Republicans face the same challenge next week.
“My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” Sanders declared.
Kasich said his status as a lifelong Republican “holds second place to my responsibility to my country.”
"That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times,” he said.
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Politics slows flow of US virus funds to local public health
As the novel coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. And yet even more money for a service that helps tracers communicate with residents in dozens of languages.
While Musicant diverted workers from violence prevention and other core programs to the COVID-19 response, state officials debated how to distribute $1.87 billion Minnesota received in federal aid.
As she waited, the Minnesota Zoo got $6 million in federal money to continue operations, and a debt collection company outside Minneapolis received at least $5 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to federal data.
It was not until Aug. 5 — months after Congress approved aid for the pandemic — that Musicant’s department finally received $1.7 million, the equivalent of $4 per Minneapolis resident.
“It’s more a hope and a prayer that we’ll have enough money,” Musicant said.
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Lawsuit against Trump, postal chief seeks proper funding
NEW YORK (AP) — Several individuals including candidates for public office sued President Donald Trump and the U.S. Postal Service and its new postmaster general in New York on Monday to ensure adequate funding for postal operations.
The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court as multiple lawsuits were threatened across the country as a response to comments the president recently made and actions taken by newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to change operations at post offices nationwide.
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and DeJoy are trying to ensure the postal service cannot reliably deliver election mail.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to force adequate funding of the postal service prior to November’s election.
Among plaintiffs in the lawsuit was Mondaire Jones, an attorney and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 17th Congressional District, representing Rockland and Westchester counties.
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Amid outcry, postmaster general to testify before House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a public backlash over mail disruptions, the Trump administration scrambled to respond Monday as the House prepared an emergency vote to halt delivery delays and service changes that Democrats warned could imperil the November election.
The Postal Service said it has stopped removing mailboxes and mail-sorting machines amid an outcry from lawmakers. President Donald Trump flatly denied he was asking for the mail to be delayed even as he leveled fresh criticism on universal ballots and mail-in voting.
“Wouldn’t do that,” Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. “I have encouraged everybody: Speed up the mail, not slow the mail.”
Embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will testify next Monday before Congress, along with the chairman of the Postal Service board of governors.
Democrats and some Republicans say actions by the new postmaster general, a Trump ally and a major Republican donor, have endangered millions of Americans who rely on the post office to obtain prescription drugs and other needs, including an expected surge in mail-in voting this fall.
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AP survey: States uncommitted to Trump's unemployment boost
President Donald Trump’s plan to offer a stripped-down boost in unemployment benefits to millions of Americans amid the coronavirus outbreak has found little traction among the states, which would have to pay a quarter of the cost to deliver the maximum benefit.
An Associated Press survey finds that as of Monday, 17 states have said they will take the federal grants allowing them to increase unemployment checks by $300 or $400 a week. The AP tally shows that 32 states have said they're still evaluating the offer or have not said whether they plan to accept the president's slimmed-down benefits.
The uncertainty is putting some families' finances in peril.
Tiana Chase, who runs a community game room and store in Maynard, Massachusetts, said the extra $600 she and her partner had been receiving under the previous federal benefit helped keep them afloat after the pandemic caused many businesses to shutter.
For the past few weeks, she’s been getting less than $300 in unemployment. If that’s boosted by another $300, “it’s going to be a lot tighter, but at least I can vaguely manage,” she said. “I can cover my home expenses.”
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Report: Nursing home cases up nearly 80% in COVID-19 rebound
WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 cases in U.S. nursing homes jumped nearly 80% earlier this summer, driven by rampant spread across the South and much of the West, according to an industry report released Monday.
“The case numbers suggest the problem is far from solved,” said Tamara Konetzka, a research professor at the University of Chicago, who specializes in long-term care. She was not involved with the study.
Long-term care facilities account for less than 1% of the U.S. population, but more than 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The situation is a politically sensitive issue for President Donald Trump, who is scrambling to hold on to support from older voters as polls show disapproval of his administration’s response to the pandemic.
The White House announced in late July the release of $5 billion for nursing homes, while launching a program to equip each of some 15,000 facilities with a fast-test machine to screen residents and staff for the coronavirus.
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Grid operator: 3.3 million California homes could lose power
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Up to 3.3 million homes in California may lose power Monday as part of rolling blackouts to ease pressure on the state's electric grid as a dayslong heat wave engulfing the West Coast creates an energy shortage, according to the operator of the grid.
The California Independent System Operator says it will likely order utility companies to turn off power starting around 4 p.m. as demand for electricity to cool homes soars during the hottest part of the day beyond the power available in the grid.
California ISO CEO and President Steve Berberich said the state is short about 4,400 megawatts, which equates to about 3.3 million homes, and those affected can expect to lose power for about two hours. He didn’t say where the outages might occur, which are up to the state's utilities.
The grid operator ordered the first rolling blackouts in nearly 20 years Friday as unusually hot weather overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid. The state’s three biggest utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — turned off power to more than 410,000 homes and businesses for about an hour at a time until the emergency declaration ended 3 1/2 hours later.
A second, but shorter, rolling outage came Saturday evening, cutting power to more than 200,000 customers. Californians packed beaches and river banks over the weekend to cool off from scorching triple-digit temperatures that raised the risk of more wildfires and fears of the coronavirus spreading.
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Universities scramble to deal with virus outbreaks
North Carolina's flagship university canceled in-person classes for undergraduates just a week into the fall semester Monday as the school and other campuses around the U.S. scrambled to deal with coronavirus clusters linked in some cases to student housing, off-campus parties and packed bars.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said it will switch to remote learning on Wednesday and make arrangements for students who want to leave campus housing.
“We have emphasized that if we were faced with the need to change plans — take an off-ramp — we would not hesitate to do so, but we have not taken this decision lightly,” it said in a statement after reporting 130 confirmed infections among students and five among employees over the past week.
UNC said the clusters were discovered in dorms, a fraternity house and other student housing.
Before the decision came down, the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, ran an editorial headlined, “UNC has a clusterf—k on its hands," though without the dashes.
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2 men indicted in 2002 killing of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly two decades after the slaying of hip hop star Jam Master Jay, federal prosecutors said Monday they have solved one of New York City’s most enduring unsolved killings, charging two men while suggesting the artist, celebrated for his anti-drug stance, may have been ambushed over a cocaine deal.
The suspects were identified in court papers as Ronald Washington, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Jay’s 2002 death, and Karl Jordan Jr., who is also charged with engaging in an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy in 2017.
“This is a case that has been around for a long time,” Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said at a news conference announcing the charges.
Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jay’s home in the days before the killing, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. Prosecutors allege he waved a handgun around and ordered people in Jay’s Queens recording studio to lie on the ground, providing cover while Jordan fatally shot him in the head on Oct. 30, 2002.
“They walked in and murdered him in cold blood,” DuCharme said.
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National Zoo awaits birth of pandemic panda cub
WASHINGTON (AP) — Zookeepers at Washington’s National Zoo are on furry black-and-white baby watch after concluding that venerable giant panda matriarch Mei Ziang is pregnant and could give birth this week. It’s a welcome bit of good news amid a pandemic that kept the zoo shuttered for months.
“We need this! We totally need this joy,” said zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson. “We are all in desperate need of these feel-goods.”
Although so-called “phantom pregnancies” are common with pandas and other large bears, Baker-Masson said an ultrasound scan revealed a “really strong-looking, fantastic fetus” that could be delivered this week.
“The image was great. She is absolutely pregnant. But things could still happen, just like in a human pregnancy,” Baker-Masson said.
The zoo posted a video from the ultrasound on Instagram. “Keep your paws crossed!” the zoo posted, reporting that the fetus was “kicking and swimming in the amniotic fluid.”