AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT
US unemployment drops unexpectedly to 13.3% amid outbreak
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. unemployment dropped unexpectedly in May to 13.3% as reopened businesses began recalling millions of workers faster than economists had predicted, triggering a big rally Friday on Wall Street and giving President Donald Trump something to boast about in his reelection bid.
The jobless rate is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression. And for the second straight month, the Labor Department acknowledged making errors in counting the unemployed during the coronavirus outbreak, saying the real figure is worse than the numbers indicate.
Still, after weeks of dire predictions by economists that unemployment in May could hit 20% or more, the news that the economy added a surprising 2.5 million jobs last month is evidence that the employment collapse most likely bottomed out in April, when the rate reached 14.7%.
Most economists had expected rehiring to kick in this summer as lockdowns were increasingly lifted and people gradually resumed shopping and eating out.
“The surprising thing here is the timing and that it happened as quickly as it did,” said Adam Kamins, senior regional economist at Moody’s Analytics.
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Citing jobs, Trump claims victory over virus, econ collapse
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump effectively claimed victory over the economic crisis and COVID-19 on Friday and major progress against racial inequity, heartily embracing an unexpectedly good jobs report in hopes of convincing a discouraged nation he deserves another four years in office.
In lengthy White House remarks amid sweeping social unrest, a rising virus death toll and Depression-level unemployment, the Republican president suggested that even George Floyd, the black man who died last week when a white police officer knelt for minutes on his neck, would be pleased with the latest economic news.
“Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country,” Trump said. “This is a great day for him. It’s a great day for everybody.”
Putting words in the dead man's mouth drew quick criticism, including from likely presidential foe Joe Biden, who said it was “despicable.”
A few blocks away, city workers painted a huge “Black Lives Matter” sign on 16th Street leading to the White House.
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Demonstrators vow to sustain momentum until change happens
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd vowed Friday to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shifted to a calmer, but no less determined focus on addressing racial injustice.
In Minneapolis, where Floyd died in police custody, the city agreed to ban police chokeholds and require officers to intervene any time they see unauthorized force by another officer. The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and state officials who launched a civil rights investigation into Floyd’s death. The City Council was expected to approve the agreement, which will be enforceable in court.
The country’s most significant demonstrations in a half-century — rivaling those during the civil rights and Vietnam War eras — resumed for an 11th day nationwide with continued momentum as the mood largely shifted from explosive anger to more peaceful calls for change. Formal and impromptu memorials to Floyd stretched from Minneapolis to North Carolina, where family members will gather Saturday to mourn him, and beyond.
Josiah Roebuck, a university student who used social media to help gather 100 people to demonstrate Friday in an Atlanta suburb, is confident the momentum will last.
“Once you start, you’re going to see this every day,” said Roebuck, who has attended multiple protests. “I just want minorities to be represented properly.”
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Officers suspended after man, 75, shoved and hurt on video
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Prosecutors were investigating Friday after a video captured police in Buffalo shoving a 75-year-old man who then fell and cracked his head, a confrontation that resulted in the suspension of two officers.
Video from public radio station WBFO of Thursday night’s encounter, which happened near the conclusion of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, quickly sparked public outrage and a protest by city police who felt the officers were being mistreated.
It shows a man identified as Martin Gugino approaching a line of helmeted officers holding batons as they clear demonstrators from Niagara Square around the time of an 8 p.m. curfew. Two officers push Gugino backward, and he hits his head on the pavement. Blood spills as officers walk past. One officer leans down to check on the injured man before he is urged along by another officer. Gugino and the officers all appear to be white, but details of their backgrounds were not released.
“Why? Why was that necessary? Where was the threat?” asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo at his daily briefing Friday. The governor said he spoke to Gugino, who had been hospitalized in serious condition. “It’s just fundamentally offensive and frightening. How did we get to this place?"
The confrontation raised concerns about more possible flare-ups in Buffalo this weekend, especially after city officers resigned en masse from the police squad charged with crowd control. The resigning officers keep their jobs.
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Black cops feel pain of Floyd's death, duty to their uniform
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Black police officers find themselves torn between two worlds: They feel the pain of seeing yet another black man killed at the hands of fellow officers, yet they must also try to keep the peace during angry protests fueled by that death.
Those feelings, familiar to many blacks in law enforcement for years, have never been more intense than in the days since George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, died after a white officer jammed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes as other officers watched.
“My emotion, my fervor is no less than those people on the streets," said New York City police Detective Felicia Richards, who is black. “I stand in this uniform, and I understand what my obligation is to this uniform, but I can’t compromise my humanity.”
Richards, president of the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal organization, said she was horrified by the video that captured Floyd's arrest and final moments. She struggled to understand what could possibly have warranted such “brute force.”
Floyd, a 46-year-old out-of-work bouncer, was being arrested May 25 after a convenience store employee accused him of using counterfeit money. He was handcuffed and did not appear to be resisting the officers.
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Trump allows commercial fishing in marine conservation area
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — President Donald Trump rolled back protections Friday at a marine conservation area off the New England coast, signing an order to allow commercial fishing in a stretch of water environmentalists say is critical for endangered right whales and other fragile marine life.
“We are reopening the Northeast Canyons to commercial fishing,” Trump told a roundtable meeting with fishing industry representatives and Maine officials. “We’re opening it today.”
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, created by former President Barack Obama, was the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, and one of just five marine monuments nationwide.
The conservation area comprises 5,000 square miles (8,000 square kilometers) east of Cape Cod, which contains vulnerable species of marine, such as fragile deep sea corals and endangered right whales, which number only about 400. The whales are susceptible to ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.
It’s also a place fishermen have long harvested lobsters and crabs, and its creation drew the ire of commercial fishing groups, some of whom sued.
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Colin Kaepernick has more support now, still long way to go
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone.
Politicians, team owners and fellow players criticized him, fans burned his jersey, and he was booed even at home. Four years later, his protest is widely viewed as prescient. Global opinion has shifted so much that more people are now vilifying those who attack Kaepernick or misrepresent his stance.
New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees issued a public apologize Thursday after he was excoriated by teammates, other athletes and fans for saying he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.”
That sentiment has been voiced loudly by Kaepernick’s critics and President Donald Trump reiterated it Friday, saying on Twitter: “I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high... We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!”
Still, George Floyd’s death, which ignited nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality, awakened many people to the root of the issues that led to Kaepernick’s peaceful demonstration — an expression meant to raise awareness of such issues, not demean the flag or the anthem. The 32-year-old Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016.
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Peru is running out of oxygen for COVID-19 patients
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Television. Sewing machine. Motorcycle.
These are the things Edda Marchan’s children sold to keep their mother breathing.
In the far stretch of northern Peru where the family lives, medicinal oxygen to treat the coronavirus has become a scarce commodity.
Eventually, they could not find any.
“It’s the greatest desperation in the world,” said her daughter, 39-year-old Fiorella Sorroza. “We are praying to God not to abandon us.”
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Malaria drug didn't help virus patients, big UK study finds
Leaders of a large study in the United Kingdom that is rigorously testing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and other medicines for hospitalized COVID-19 patients say they will stop putting people on the drug because it’s clear it isn’t helping.
Results released Friday from 1,542 patients showed the drug did not reduce deaths, time in the hospital or other factors. After 28 days, 25.7% on hydroxychloroquine had died versus 23.5% given usual care -- a difference so small it could have occurred by chance.
The results “convincingly rule out any meaningful mortality benefit,” study leaders at the University of Oxford said in a statement.
The results have not been published; the statement said full details will be provided soon. No information on safety was given.
Hydroxychloroquine has long been used for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis but is not known to be safe or effective for preventing or treating coronavirus infection. It has been heavily promoted by President Donald Trump and can cause potentially serious side effects, including heart rhythm problems.
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US will allow limited flights by Chinese airlines, not a ban
The Trump administration said Friday it will let Chinese airlines operate a limited number of flights to the U.S., backing down from a threat to ban the flights.
The decision came one day after China appeared to open the door to U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resuming one flight per week each into the country.
The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a combined total of two round-trip flights per week between the U.S. and China, which it said would equal the number of flights that China's aviation authority will allow for U.S. carriers.
Delta praised the U.S. government for trying to "ensure fairness and access to China.” United said it was reviewing the matter. Neither said whether the latest development in the dispute between the two countries would affect their plans. Both had hoped to offer more flights.
The Transportation Department said it might further ease restrictions if China does the same. Officials are concerned, however, about conditions China is imposing that could affect whether U.S. airlines resume their flights. Those requirements include taking temperatures of all passengers in mid-flight and suspending an airline's future flights if five or more passengers test positive for the coronavirus after arriving in China.