He may be the one who claims to have killed the world’s most-wanted terrorist, but one airline has banned the former Navy SEAL team …
He may be the one who claims to have killed the world’s most-wanted terrorist, but one airline has banned the former Navy SEAL team member who killed Osama bin Laden for potentially endangering other aircraft passengers and crew. Robert O’Neill tweeted that he was banned for not wearing a mask on the plane, even though he had it his lap. He’s one of 130 that Delta says it has on its no-fly list. The U. S. passed 175,000 deaths Friday due to the new coronavirus. But some parts of the country, notably the South, are seeing improvement, the head of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. CDC Director Robert Redfield credits masks and social distancing measures in bringing under control the outbreak in the South in recent days, he told the editor of the journal JAMA late Thursday. Redfield also said he expects the number of U. S. deaths due to COVID-19 to begin dropping as early as next week. And in more positive news: Makers of a potential COVID-19 vaccine candidate reported strong results for an early-stage trial, showing that the experimental compound may be able to produce antibody levels high enough to prevent disease or at least reduce the seriousness of infection. This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to the Daily Briefing. The U. S. turned a dark corner in the battle against the coronavirus as the death count passed the 175,000 mark Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. As evening approach, the count stood at 175,204. The worldwide death tally was 796,095. The dead were among 5.6 million cases in the U. S. so far, about a quarter of the world’s 22.8 million cases. The last milestone was 150,000 at the end of July and before that,100,000 at the end of May. The U. S. ranks first among nations in deaths. It is followed by Brazil, Mexico, India and United Kingdom and Italy. The FBI is investigating a data breach that may have compromised the identity of people with the COVID-19 virus in South Dakota. South Dakota Department of Public Safety Director Paul Niedringhaus sent a letter to people who may have been affected by the June 19 breach, the Rapid City Journal reported Friday. The letter, dated Monday, says the state’s fusion center used Netsential.com’s services to build a secure online portal this spring to help first responders identify people who had tested positive for the coronavirus so they could take precautions while responding to emergency calls. The South Dakota letter said police in the state weren’t given names but could call a dispatcher to verify positive cases. Houston-based Netsentials added labels to the files that might allow a third-party to identify patients, the letter said, and the breach could have compromised people’s names, addresses and virus status. “This information may continue to be available on various internet sites that link to files from the Netsential breach,” the letter said. –Associated Press You can step up to the blackjack table in Las Vegas, but you can’t order a drink anytime soon. It’ll be at least two weeks before the nation’s gambling capital allows bars to reopen, Nevada’s COVID-19 task force decided Thursday. The rule applies to the Las Vegas Strip, downtown and rest of Clark County. The task force also imposed limits on how many people can eat together in restaurants. The Las Vegas area surpassed 1,000 total COVID-19 deaths for the first time as Nevada reported 38 more fatalities from the virus on Thursday — the third straight day that COVID deaths saw a large spike in the state’s daily numbers. “This is an extremely important decision – and one that I think we need to take very cautiously,” said task force Chairman Caleb Cage, noting the economic consequences to Las Vegas and Nevada. Casinos remain open. The task force wants to work with officials to enhance plans to increase compliance and enforcement to stem the spread of COVID-19, Cage said. –Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal For those who have tuned in to Gov. Doug Ducey’s briefings over the past month, the message he delivered Thursday was a familiar one. So was the warning. Arizona’s COVID-19 containment measures are working, but it’s too soon to take a “victory lap,” Gov. Doug Ducey said Friday. His message to Arizonans: Don’t let your guard down. Daily case counts, from new infections to hospitalization rates, are moving in the right direction. But it’s too soon for Arizonans to let their guard down and take a “victory lap,” he said. Others are noting Arizona’s progress. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, cited the Grand Canyon State for its efforts to improve in an interview Thursday. “Returning our kids to the classroom, reuniting with our loved ones — all of these depend on continued responsible behavior,” Ducey said, standing alongside state Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ. “I urge everyone to stay the course.” –Maria Polletta, Arizona Republic New York state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped to 490, settling below 500 for the first time since March 16, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reported Friday. The number of intensive-care patients dealing with COVID-19 fell to 119, the lowest since March 15. It’s a start contrast from a few months ago when New York led the nation in both the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Helping to keep hospitalizations low: a record high number of tests, with 98,880 results reported to New York state Thursday, Cuomo said. Only 0.72% of those tests have been showing up positive, staying below 1% for the 14th straight day. “Part of the reason we were able to tame the beast in New York is because of our aggressive testing strategy,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This is proof positive that when you have the virus under control, more testing does not equal more positives.
