“As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day,” wrote Devin O’Malley, Pence’s press secretary. “This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.”
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VP Mike Pence Abroad
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Just before 1 a.m. Friday, Trump announced that both he and the First Lady had tested positive for the virus, a few hours after Bloomberg reported that Trump’s close aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for the virus. Trump and his team had been traveling the country for the campaign, generally not wearing masks. At the first presidential debate on Tuesday, held at the Cleveland Clinic, members of Trump’s delegation refused to wear masks in the audience, in violation of health regulations in Ohio.
Pence tweeted wishing the president and first lady a speedy recovery.
Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.
At least 207,000 Americans have died from coronavirus and more than 7 million have been infected, both numbers the highest of any nation. On Monday, Trump and Pence announced a new COVID-19 testing program. Neither wore a mask.
If Trump were incapacitated by the virus, Pence would take over presidential duties via the 25th Amendment. After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for the virus earlier this year he spent time in an intensive care unit. He has since recovered. At age 74, Trump is in the at-risk group for complications and Bloomberg reported that aides said the president wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday.
Pence is set to debate Sen. Kamala Harris next week, and it’s likely he’ll have to pick up the campaigning slack as Trump has already canceled scheduled events on Friday and Saturday. (Trump did attend a fundraiser in New Jersey Thursday night despite Hicks’ positive test.) Many voters are already casting ballots across the country in an election where Trump trails in both national and key swing state polls.
Trump and Pence have continually said that the country had turned the corner in regards to the virus. The president publicly downplayed the virus for months despite telling journalist Bob Woodward in private he knew it was deadly, In June, Pence wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in which he said “we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.”
Veteran who voted for Trump now backs Biden after wife dies Of COVID-19
ELYSE WANSHEL
Sep 30th 2020 9:38AM
A retired Air Force veteran in Arizona who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 has had a change of heart — and it’s personal.
Dave Dahlstrom, a self-proclaimed lifelong conservative, told ABC’s affiliate station KNXV that he is “switching my vote to [Joe] Biden in November” after losing his wife of more than 30 years to complications from COVID-19.
Dahlstrom told the Phoenix-based news station that he believes the Trump administration’s public ambivalence toward the coronavirus when it first hit the United States contributed to hardships and deaths that could have been prevented.
“Our leadership really failed the American people, and they failed my family, and they failed our friends,” he said. “I’m really bothered by all of that.”
Earlier this month, Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward released audio recordings with Trump for his book “Rage.” They revealed that the president knew in early February that the coronavirus posed a unique and deadly threat, but publicly downplayed the seriousness of it by claiming it was no more dangerous than the flu and would eventually go away.
“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” Trump said in a Feb. 7 call with Woodward. “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”
“This is deadly stuff,” he repeated.
Trump later told Woodward on March 19 why he “wanted to always play it down.”
“I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic,” Trump said.
According to KNXV, Dahlstrom’s wife, Cindy, 72, spent most of her career at the Department of Defense, and when she retired, she spent her free time “working at a kitchen that served homeless men and women.”
In June, Cindy flew to Denver to visit her daughter and grandchildren. Dahlstrom told the outlet that it was “really important” for his wife to visit her family, saying she “understood the risks.” “She was an exceptionally cautious woman,” he said. Four days after flying, however, Cindy tested positive for the coronavirus and was put on a ventilator. She died on July 6 — just 15 days after contracting the virus.
Dahlstrom said his wife’s only underlying condition was a lung that was scarred from a prior bout with valley flu.
“They pulled the ventilator. Two minutes later, she passed away,” Dahlstrom told KNXV. “It was just a dynamic I would never wish on anybody. It was just terrible.”
As of Tuesday, there have been over 7 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States and over 205,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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U.S. coronavirus cases rise month-over-month in 27 states in September, led by Wisconsin
ANURAG MAAN AND LISA SHUMAKER
Oct 1st 2020 9:54AM
Oct 1 (Reuters) - New cases of COVID-19 rose in 27 out of 50 U.S. states in September compared with August, led by an increase of 111% in Wisconsin, according to a Reuters analysis.
The Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin all saw cases surge more than 50% month-over-month, as did Montana, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3ij7TwP)
Illinois had the smallest increase among the 27 states with rising cases, up 5% month-over-month. The only Midwest states where cases fell were Ohio and Indiana. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3kWPZRW)
The United States reported 1.18 million new cases in September compared with 1.41 million in August. Overall, cases in the country reached 7.26 million compared with 6.05 million at the end of August, an increase of 19%.
Of states where cases fell month-over-month, California had the biggest decline at 50%, followed by Nevada at 49% and Florida at 47%.
Florida announced on Sept. 25 it was lifting all restrictions on businesses, allowing bars and restaurants to operate at full capacity.
However, many businesses across the United States continue to implement cost-saving measures as profits take a hit from COVID-19 restrictions, such as operating capacity.
Walt Disney Co on Tuesday announced it will lay off roughly 28,000 employees, mostly at its U.S. theme parks, where attendance has been crushed by the pandemic - especially in California, where Disneyland remains closed.
Twenty-one states reported more deaths in September than in August, with the biggest percentage increases North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The United States reported 22,300 new deaths in September compared with 28,700 deaths in August, bringing the nation's death toll to over 207,000. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3cJ4shO)
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients fell 15% in September from August to around 30,000 at the end of the month.
California and Texas had the highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at over 3,000 each. Vermont had one coronavirus patient hospitalized at the end of the month.
(Reporting by Anurag Maan in Bengaluru and Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
An internal review of the Texas Tech softball program that led to the resignation of its coach found that in addition to allegations of abuse there were issues regarding freedom of religion.
The school released its review on Wednesday and detailed accusations of a toxic atmosphere, racism and “performance contracts related to weight loss.” It also found that three baptisms took place within the team facilities of the public school’s grounds.
In a letter attached to the review, Gregory said she was aware of issues that were raised and believed each had been resolved or that progress was being made upon addressing them.
Texas Tech finds baptisms in internal athletics review
Texas Tech found from its interviews of 29 individuals close to the program that three baptisms occurred. They were reportedly for two student-athletes and the associate head coach, according to USA Today Sports.
Trenity Edwards, the team’s best hitter during her sophomore 2019 season, was baptized at the facility on May 12, 2019, and provided video to USA Today. The school said it had requested, but not yet received, video from one of the baptisms.
“What brought me to Christ, honestly, was this team and Coach G,’’ Edwards said in the video, referring to Gregory as she sat in a metal tub full of water during a baptism performed by Brandi Cantrell, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes volunteer chaplain.
The same day, associate head coach Sam Marder was baptized, Edwards said via USA Today Sports. Marder is a former Ohio State catcher and member of its Hall of Fame who starred in the National Pro Fastpitch league. She was named the “Marty Glickman Outstanding Jewish Scholastic Athlete of the Year” in 2010.
Yvonne Whaley was also baptized on a separate occasion, per USA Today Sports. They were all done in the presence of Gregory.
Religious freedom questioned with on-campus baptisms
In its internal review, Texas Tech wrote that most of the athletes identified as Christian and said prayer was common, including before the game and at pre-game meals. They were mostly Christian-based and led by either a student-athlete or head coach, per the review.
“Although not communicated definitively as being voluntary, most agreed that participation in any faith-based activity was indeed voluntary,” the report read. “Attendance at any community church was not a requirement nor was participation in a Bible study, led by the FCA volunteer Chaplain, which commonly took place 15 minutes prior to practices.”
Religion’s place in secondary and collegiate education is a heated issue. The Supreme Court prohibited school-sponsored prayer in a landmark 1963 ruling. It has stressed that public schools, which receive federal funding, cannot indoctrinate children or individuals in religion. Instead it should be an individual choice, as stated in the division of church and state. What’s tough is determining when it is a group of individuals coming together, or if the individuals feel they must go along with it.
The thinking is a coach holds power and sway with players who might fear a loss of playing time or retribution if they don’t fall into line with how a program runs.
‘Racially insensitive’ incidents confirmed via review
Two racially insensitive incidents were found to have taken place in the 2018-19 season, per the report. In the first incident, a Black player was told to move ahead in line so she could work on a different skill after hitting. A white player then said to her, “Get to the back of the line Rosa [Parks],” per the report.
The teammate reportedly apologized in a player-only meeting, though those interviewed for the report said it “appeared forced and lacked genuineness.” Players reportedly said Gregory did not do enough to handle the situation.
In another incident, a Black player was wearing her hair down for the first time that season and the coach told other athletes, “Who is going to tell [her] to put her hair up?” It reportedly made teammates upset because she was wearing it down to honor her sister, who has a medical condition.
Once explained to the head coach, she was “permitted to wear her hair down” for remaining games. There were split opinions on if the incident was racially charged since they felt it would have been addressed with a white student, per the report.
In a statement attached to the report, Gregory explained the incident the same way and said she apologized after the explanation and followed up a few days later to check in.
Allegations of grabbing players
The review focused on allegations that Gregory, who had been with the program since 2014, grabbed three players. It found she grabbed two players and an assistant coach during a series against New Mexico State. The coach provided a photo showing a bruise, per the report. The student-athlete who saw believed it was to get the coach’s attention.
“One of the student-athletes who allegedly had been grabbed denied that she was ever grabbed by the head coach. The second student-athlete acknowledged she was grabbed on the arm by the head coach. She reported that she felt “belittled” by the head coach’s action, but she did not believe the actions of the head coach were meant to hurt her, nor did she experience any pain or physical injury.”
Gregory denied grabbing any of the student-athletes or coaches “in any way that would cause harm or injury to them.”
“I would never cross that line,” she said in the statement. “As a coach, the safety and trust of my student-athletes are my utmost priorities.”
There were reported incidents of “performance contracts related to weight loss,” which required athletes to lose a certain amount of weight per week or else run extra conditioning while being heart-rate monitored.
Overall, the university said a description of the program’s culture was difficult. Some players described it in glowing terms (caring, family-like, hard-working) while others said there was tension and a lack of communication.
Simmons, a 19-year-old American, was replying to Dutch cycling journalist Jose Been. Been initially tweeted statements that were critical of Trump.
"My dear American friends, I hope this horrible presidency ends for you. And for us as (former?) allies too,” Been wrote, via the Associated Press."If you follow me and support Trump, you can go. There is zero excuse to follow or vote for the vile, horrible man."
Simmons replied to Been with “Bye,” and a Black-skinned waving hand emoji.
After another Twitter user replied to Been with "Apparently a Trumper," Simmons replied again with "That's right" and an American flag emoji.
Trek-Segafredo: Simmons won’t race until further notice
The racing team released a statement late Wednesday night about Simmons’ tweets and his use of a Black hand emoji.
"While we support the right to free speech, we will hold people accountable for their words and actions. Regrettably, Simmons made statements online that we feel are divisive, incendiary, and detrimental to the team, professional cycling, its fans, and the positive future we hope to help create for the sport In response, he will not be racing for Trek-Segafredo until further notice."
There has been some backlash and talk of boycotting Trek cycling products after Simmons’ suspension, since he appears to be guilty of nothing more than stating his support for the current US president, and none of his comments were derogatory or inappropriate.
However, the issue could be his use of a Black-skinned hand emoji. Since Simmons is white, using an emoji with a dark skin tone could be considered to be a form of Blackface. Trek-Segafredo has not explained what specifically got Simmons suspended.
Been, the cycling journalist who started the exchange, deleted her original tweet about Trump. On Thursday she tweeted that she feels "horrible about the situation and terrible for @QuinnSimmons9 to miss his beloved classics. To suspend him would never be my choice."
It appears that Been then deleted her entire Twitter account.
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