AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT
India now 2nd behind US in virus cases amid economic pain
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's increasing coronavirus caseload made the Asian giant the world's second-worst-hit country behind the United States on Monday, as its efforts to head off economic disaster from the pandemic gain urgency.
The 90,802 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India’s total past Brazil with more than 4.2 million cases. India is now behind only the United States, where more than 6.2 million people have been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
India’s Health Ministry on Monday also reported 1,016 new deaths for a total of 71,642, the third-highest national toll.
The world's second-most populous country with 1.4 billion people, India has been recording the world’s largest daily increases in coronavirus cases for almost a month. Despite over 2 million new cases in the past month and the virus spreading through the country’s smaller towns and villages, the Indian government has continued relaxing restrictions to try and resuscitate the economy.
On Monday, the Delhi Metro, which serves India’s sprawling capital, New Delhi, and adjoining areas, resumed operations after remaining shuttered for more than five months. The commuters were scarce and stations deserted. Only asymptomatic people were allowed to board the trains, with masks, social distancing and temperature checks mandatory.
___
California avoids major power outages as wildfires rage
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Rescuers in military helicopters airlifted 207 people to safety over the weekend after an explosive wildfire trapped them in a popular camping area in California’s Sierra National Forest, one of dozens of fires burning amid record-breaking temperatures that strained the state's electrical grid and for a time threatened power outages for millions.
The California Office of Emergency Services said Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were used for the rescues that began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning at Mammoth Pool Reservoir. At least two people were severely injured and 10 more suffered moderate injuries. Two campers refused rescue and stayed behind, the Madera County Sheriff's Office said, and there was no immediate word on their fates.
A photo tweeted by the California National Guard showed more than 20 evacuees packed tightly inside one helicopter, some crouched on the floor clutching their belongings. In another photo taken on the ground from a helicopter cockpit, the densely wooded hills surrounding the aircraft were in flames.
The blaze dubbed the Creek Fire has charred more than 71 square miles (184 square kilometers) of timber, and the 800 firefighters on the scene had yet to get any containment after two days of work on steep terrain in sweltering heat. Some homes and businesses have burned, but there was no official tabulation yet.
Other blazes broke out in Southern California and forced evacuations in San Diego and San Bernardino counties. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said the latter blaze, called the El Dorado Fire, started Saturday morning and was caused by a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device,used during a gender-reveal party.
___
Trump looms large over campaigns for control of Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — The battle for control of Congress is solidifying into a race about President Donald Trump, as Republicans hitch their fortunes to their party’s leader and Democrats position themselves as a bulwark against him — and as partners in a potential Joe Biden White House.
So far, voters are signaling they want to finish the job they started in 2018 by installing Democrats for House majority control. Now, they're on track to potentially do the same in the Senate.
“The president continues to overshadow and impact the races for the Senate and the House,” said Nathan Gonzales, the editor of Inside Elections, which tracks the campaigns.
Usually, a president at the top of the ticket boosts his party's chances, but Trump's slump is shifting the congressional map, strategists said. House Democrats are expected to easily retain the majority, without too many losses. The Senate, now in Republican hands, could almost as easily flip to Democrats.
Together, the congressional races provide a snapshot of an American electorate ahead of a voting season unlike any other. The coronavirus crisis, a shattered economy and a new civil rights era are forcing a reassessment of the way the federal government approaches longstanding problems. In a volatile political climate, health care, jobs and even what the parties are calling the soul of the nation are all on the ballot.
___
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's errant views on voting, Biden miscues
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has been putting forth convoluted guidance to his supporters on submitting double votes in the November election, an act that would be illegal and risk public safety in the pandemic.
In a week filled with fabrication, half-truths and misrepresentation, he also wrongly took full credit for veterans improvements that were underway before he took office.
He said he never called John McCain a loser — he did — and also distorted events in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Democratic rival Joe Biden falsely claimed to have been the first person to have called for the use of emergency production powers in the pandemic, and he tried to shed light on the history of the incandescent bulb, but was a bit hazy.
A look at recent claims and reality:
___
Supporters gather for Assange court extradition showdown
LONDON (AP) — Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the U.S. government squared off in a London court on Monday at a high-stakes extradition case delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Assange, who has spent almost a year and a half in a British prison, sat in the dock at the Old Bailey criminal court and formally refused the U.S. extradition request.
Several dozen supporters, including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Assange’s partner Stella Moris, gathered outside the courthouse before the hearing on Monday morning.
American prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges over Wikileaks’ publication of secret U.S. military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
American authorities allege that Assange conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
___
Mayor promises police reforms following Daniel Prude's death
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The mayor of Rochester promised reforms are coming to the city's police department as community elders sought to bring calmer minds to a fifth night of demonstrations Sunday over the March death of Daniel Prude, who lost consciousness after police held him down with a hood over his head.
Mayor Lovely Warren announced at a news conference Sunday that the crisis intervention team and its budget would move from the police department to the city’s department of youth and recreation services. Warren did not provide specifics, but said the move would be part of a series of reforms planned for “the coming weeks, months and years.”
“We had a human being in a need of help, in need of compassion. In that moment we had an opportunity to protect him, to keep him warm, to bring him to safety, to begin the process of healing him and lifting him up,” Warren said. “We have to own the fact that in the moment we did not do that.”
Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who joined Warren at the news conference, said he supports the need for reform in his department and is working with experts and clinicians in getting outpatient services for people with mental health issues that bring them into repeated police contact.
Warren suspended the seven officers involved in Prude's death last week after his family released police video from the March night when he was restrained on a city street.
___
Portland, Oregon, demonstrators gather near police precinct
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Demonstrators against police brutality gathered Sunday night near a police precinct on the city’s north side.
Shortly before 10 p.m., the Portland Police Bureau said the demonstrators had blocked streets near the precinct. The protesters had come to the area after rallying at a nearby park, KOIN-TV reported.
The agency issued the following warning to the demonstrators on Twitter: “To those gathered at North Precinct: You are not to enter the property of North Precinct. Southeast Emerson Street is closed between NE MLK and NE 6th Ave. If you enter the property, you are trespassing and subject to arrest, citation, and/or the use of crowd control munitions."
Firefighters came to the scene shortly after 10 p.m. and put out a mattress fire that was set by protesters, KATU-TV reported. Police later thanked protesters for moving away from the blaze.
On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered for rallies and marches.
___
Typhoon lashes South Korea after battering Japanese islands
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A powerful typhoon damaged buildings, flooded roads and knocked out power to thousands of homes in South Korea on Monday after battering islands in southern Japan and injuring dozens of people.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said Typhoon Haishen was passing waters off the eastern coastal city of Sokcho on Monday afternoon after barreling through South Korea’s southern and eastern regions.
The typhoon was weakening, with its maximum winds measured at 108 kilometers (67 miles) per hour after blowing at 144 kilometers (80 miles) in the morning, and it was forecast to be downgraded to a tropical storm within 12 hours.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 38 people were injured, five of them seriously, after Haishen lashed southwestern Japan over the weekend with strong winds and rain. Schools and department stores were closed in Hiroshima and other cities in the country's southwest.
In South Korea, cars struggled to navigate flooded roads in Ulsan and other coastal cities such as Busan, Sokcho and Gangneung. Emergency workers scrambled to clean up toppled trees and damaged traffic signs, buildings, and other structures. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said a person in Busan was injured after a car flipped in strong winds, but it didn’t immediately provide further reports of casualties.
___
In pandemic, Nigerian teacher can 'teach the whole world'
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — For many 12th graders, the closure of Nigeria’s public schools to combat the spread of COVID-19 presents a particular problem: How to prepare for crucial, final exams?
Basirat Olamide Ajayi, a math teacher in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, came up with a solution. She began offering free mathematics classes online via Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. And now, after almost six months, more than 1,800 students at various levels are taking her classes -- across Nigeria and even internationally.
Students watch her short math videos -- no more than 5 minutes long -- and respond to her questions. She will send them homework, and occasional assignments. And she grades them.
“Sometimes, I stay awake till 2 a.m. going through their assignments!” she said.
“COVID is here with both negative and positive impacts. The positive impact is that we can use technology to teach our students, which I am very, very happy about,” she said.
___
Djokovic out of US Open after hitting line judge with ball
NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic was kicked out of the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a tennis ball after dropping a game in his fourth-round match Sunday, a stunning end to his 29-match winning streak and bid for an 18th Grand Slam title.
As he walked to the Arthur Ashe Stadium sideline for a changeover, trailing Pablo Carreño Busta 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic — who was seeded and ranked No. 1 and an overwhelming favorite for the championship — angrily smacked a ball behind him. The ball flew right at the line judge, who dropped to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck.
During a discussion of about 10 minutes near the net involving tournament referee Soeren Friemel, Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli and chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, Djokovic pleaded his case.
“His point was that he didn't hit the line umpire intentionally. He said, ‘Yes, I was angry. I hit the ball. I hit the line umpire. The facts are very clear. But it wasn't my intent. I didn't do it on purpose.’ So he said he shouldn't be defaulted for it,” said Friemel, who made the decision to end the match. “And we all agree that he didn't do it on purpose, but the facts are still that he hit the line umpire and the line umpire was clearly hurt.”
Friemel didn't see what happened, and said he was not allowed to check a video replay, but was given a rundown by Egli and Tourte. Friemel said that even if Djokovic didn't intend to hurt the line judge, she was hurt, and that was enough to merit the ruling.