A Planetary Pandemic

The overnight news headlines are replete with signs that the pandemic is surging around the world. A cursory check of global news sources reveals new problems in Germany, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Iran, India and the continent of Africa.

Most of us have understandably focused on the situation here in the U.S. but Covid-19 is truly a global crisis.

As NPR is reporting, over a million people have died of the disease and that total is undoubtably low, as reporting in many parts of the world is spotty.

And a global crisis will require a global solution.

Meanwhile, the domestic political crisis has deepened in the U.S. with revelations that President Trump has profited from being in office in unprecedented ways -- by essentially selling access through his real estate properties.

On top of that, he is instructing the Justice Department to investigate his political opponents -- the mark of a tyrant.

We've reached the point where the responsible press, led by the New York Times and its investigative reporting, has done everything the American people could ask to uncover the official corruption at the center of our federal government.

Now all that is left for the citizenry to act -- by voting.

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On to the news:

* The Swamp That Trump Built -- A businessman-president transplanted favor-seeking in Washington to his family’s hotels and resorts — and earned millions as a gatekeeper to his own administration. (NYT)

 * One person died and another taken into custody after a shooting near dueling protests in Denver on Saturday, police said. The shooting occurred in an area near a planned police support rally and counterprotest. (CNN)

* Prospects for more stimulus checks, coronavirus relief fade as Trump’s offer draws bipartisan opposition (WashPo)

* Protesters occupied the Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, city hall lawn Saturday and blocked traffic on the fourth night of demonstrations over the fatal police shooting of Alvin Cole, police said. (CNN) 

* A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half A Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn --The use of an immune-system stimulant harvested from shark liver oil in the development of some coronavirus vaccines has animal conservationists pressing for alternatives. (NPR)

* Taking Page From Authoritarians, Trump Turns Power of State Against Political Rivals -- President Trump took a step even Richard M. Nixon avoided in his most desperate days: openly ordering direct, immediate government action against specific opponents, timed to serve his re-election campaign. (NYT)

* U.S. COVID-19 cases hit two-month high, 10 states report record increases (Reuters)

* Democrats, Facing Critical Supreme Court Battle, Worry Feinstein Is Not Up to the Task  -- Ms. Feinstein, 87, has slowed in recent years and limited her public profile, leading some Democrats to wonder if she can lead them through a consequential confirmation process. (NYT)

* The White House doctor said that President Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it. The diagnosis came as the president prepared to resume campaign rallies and other activities. (AP)

* Huge Absentee Vote in Key States Favors Democrats So Far -- In Wisconsin, about 146,000 people voted by mail in the 2016 general election. This fall, about 647,000 people have already voted absentee, many in Democratic strongholds. (NYT)

* French daily COVID cases set new record at almost 27,000 (Reuters)

* India’s confirmed coronavirus toll crossed 7 million on Sunday with a number of new cases dipping in recent weeks, even as health experts warn of mask and distancing fatigue setting in. (AP)

* Germany offered up soldiers to help with contact tracing in newly flaring hotspots. (AP)

* Face masks made compulsory in public in Tehran as COVID toll rises (Reuters)

* Brazil’s count of COVID-19 deaths surpassed 150,000 on Saturday night, despite signs the pandemic is slowly retreating in Latin America’s largest nation. (AP)

* Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak -- The respiratory disease has spread rapidly across six continents and has killed at least 1 million globally. (NPR)

* Spanish Government Orders State of Emergency In Madrid Region As COVID-19 Cases Rise (NPR)

* Italy mandated masks outdoors and warned that for the first time since the country became the European epicenter of the pandemic, the health system was facing “significant critical issues” as hospitals fill up. (AP)

* Africa 'needs $1.2trillion' to recover coronavirus losses. There have been more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa and nearly 37,000 people have died. (BBC)

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"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" -- A traditional African American spiritual.

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