Weekly Review
After eight weeks without any locally transmitted coronavirus infections, officials in China partially reintroduced lockdown measures, suspended sporting events, and closed some schools when a cluster of COVID-19 cases emerged at a market in Beijing.1 2 One month after reopening, Pakistan has recorded 100,000 new infections, and health care workers have been physically attacked for refusing to admit patients.3 Less than a week after all 50 states had lifted stay-at-home orders or began regional reopenings, coronavirus infections rose in 22 states, including Arizona, Oregon, and Oklahoma, each of which reported its highest number of new infections to date.4 5 6 7 8 In Texas, a candidate for district judge who in March had egged the Montgomery County judge’s car, in response to the judge’s imposition of quarantine restrictions, defended his actions by writing on his campaign’s Facebook page, “My action (the egg) was a small private protest between two friends over the terrible decision of my friend to ‘lay an egg’ on the constitutional rights of Montgomery County families, individuals and businesses.”10 Representative Tom Rice, who on May 28 appeared on the House floor without a mask, revealed in a Facebook post that he and his family were recovering from “the Wuhan Flu”; New York City mayor Bill de Blasio canceled a press conference about the coronavirus after displaying symptoms of COVID-19; and Ohio state senator Stephen A. Huffman, who is also a physician, said during a committee meeting, “Could it be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups or wear a mask or do not socially distance themselves?”11 12 13 14 Walmart announced that it would no longer keep “multicultural hair and beauty products” in locked cases.15
Donald Trump announced that—on the advice of his black friends—he was rescheduling a rally originally planned for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1921 a white mob killed black residents and destroyed black-owned businesses in a thriving area of the city known as Black Wall Street; attendees of the rally, which will be held on June 20, will be required to sign a waiver to release the president’s campaign from any liability related to COVID-19 infections.16 17 18 A police major in Tulsa said that police officers had been shooting black people “less than we ought to,” and the city’s police department announced an investigation into the arrest of a black teenager for jaywalking.19 20 In Oklahoma City, officials released one-year-old body-cam footage in which Derrick Scott, a black man who died from a collapsed lung, cried “I can’t breathe” as he was pinned to the ground by a white police officer who replied, “I don’t care.”21 Thomas Lane, one of the three former Minneapolis police officers awaiting trial for aiding and abetting George Floyd’s murder, was released on a $750,000 bond that had been raised in part through a crowdfunding website.22 A top Pentagon official told Congress that the nation’s military intelligence agencies have not spied on Americans “during the wave of nationwide demonstrations,” though reports indicate that Customs and Border Protection flew a Predator drone over Minneapolis; a National Guard RC-26B twin-engine turboprop airplane outfitted with thermal imaging equipment flew over Washington, D.C.; a Fairchild Swearingen C-26 flew in support of the Phoenix Police Department; a Black Hawk helicopter flew over Salt Lake City; and the U.S. military conducted surveillance missions in New York, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee, and Kentucky.23 24 25 26 27 28 The use of choke holds by police officers was banned in Minneapolis, Washington, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Salt Lake City, and San Diego.29 30 31 32 33 34 35 After announcing that it would ban choke holds, the French government opted not to pass the reform and announced that it would expand the use of stun guns instead.36 New York governor Andrew Cuomo called on protesters to end their demonstrations. “You don’t need to protest,” he said. “You won.”37
Thirteen police officers in Chicago were found in a congressman’s office making popcorn, taking naps, and using their cell phones while nearby establishments were being looted.38 Customs and Border Protection agents bought ATVs, dirt bikes, and boats using money intended to be used in emergencies to purchase food and medicine for migrants.39 Six former eBay employees were charged with conspiracy to commit witness tampering and cyberstalking after it was discovered that they had sent the editor and publisher of an online newsletter that had been critical of the online auction site live spiders, cockroaches, and a bloody pig mask.40 Band-Aid announced that it will release new bandages to match a variety of skin tones.41—Adam Iscoe
