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Here’s how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.
10:49 a.m.: Hospitalizations and deaths continue to increase in Florida
The Florida Department of Health reported increases in both hospitalizations and deaths Saturday.
Hospitalizations were up by 521 in the last 24 hours, with 6,991 active hospitalizations, while deaths rose by 182, putting the total number at 8,233, according to the department.
Cases also increased by 8,502 and 86,175 tests have been conducted. The state has now seen 526,577 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Bay County, of which Panama City is the county seat, has the highest positivity rate in the state at 16.3%.
However, Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in the state, has the highest number of new cases at 1,801.
8:54 a.m.: Princeton shifts learning plan for fall semester
Princeton University will not bring freshman and juniors back to campus in the fall, as originally planned, due to coronavirus cases that have “soared” in recent weeks, according to a statement from the president of the university.
Courses will now be fully remote for undergraduates in the fall semester, president Christopher L. Eisgruber said. Graduate students will be allowed on campus because of the “different instructional and residential programs.”
“This combination of health concerns and restrictions will significantly diminish the educational value of the on‑campus experience. It will also render that experience confining and unpleasant for most students,” Eisgruber said.
He also noted that students from 34 states would have to quarantine upon arrival in New Jersey for 14 days and that the phased opening for the state has been paused over fear of rising cases.

Blair Hall on the Princeton University campus.

Blair Hall on the Princeton University campus.
John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

“New Jersey’s careful approach has helped to keep the pandemic in check, but public health principles and state guidance still limit very substantially what we can do on campus,” Eisgruber said.
The president said that the university will accommodate students who aren’t able to return home or study from home, as well as a limited number of students with previously approved exceptions, which recognized their need to be on campus for their senior thesis research or other work essential to their degree programs.
Eisgruber said that while he knows the news is “disheartening and disappointing,” the university is doing its best to prepare to welcome students back in the spring.
New Jersey was among the states hit hardest in the early stages of the pandemic, but has since seen some of the lowest daily infection rates. Gov. Phil Murphy has warned of late about rising numbers.
5:57 a.m.: Georgia school district reports 100 COVID-19 cases among students, staff
As the debate about reopening schools continues across the country, many children are already back in classrooms or are about to start. One state that has grabbed headlines this week is Georgia, where photos of crowded hallways showing students without masks went viral.
Now, one of the largest school districts in the Peach State is reporting that 100 of its students and staff are suspected of having tested positive for COVID-19, even before in-person classes have started. Those figures were provided to the district by the Georgia Department of Health.
Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the district would remain virtual “until public health data in Cobb County changes and guidance from state and local public health officials recommends it,” according to ABC News Atlanta affiliate WSB. The district, which has about 113,000 students, starts remote learning on Aug. 17.
Georgia exceeded 200,000 COVID-19 cases on Aug. 5, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News. It took four months for the state to reach 100,000 cases and just four weeks to reach 200,000.
Cobb County, according to the Georgia Department of Health, has more than 13,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,363 current hospitalizations. The county has at least 317 COVID-19 deaths, the second most in the state, trailing only Fulton County’s 420 deaths.
The state has more than 209,000 confirmed cases, with at least 4,117 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
What to know about coronavirus:

When Genevieve Villamora left her house for the first time after battling the novel coronavirus for six weeks, she was struck by how much her neighborhood had changed — “For Rent” signs plastered on storefronts, one block after the next.Villamora is co-owner of Bad Saint, once deemed the second best restaurant in the U.S. by Bon Appetite. The line to get a table there, in the trendy Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Columbia Heights, used to stretch down the block.

But not now. Not as Villamora watches her neighborhood become a shell of its former self.

“When we lose small businesses, we really lose a lot more than just that one business,” Villamora said through tears, her voice cracking. “I think the ripple effects spread out, and they spread out in ways that are unfortunately very lasting, in ways that shred communities and neighborhoods.”

Genevieve Villamora, co-owner of the Washington, D.C., restaurant Bad Saint, works in July of 2019. While a PPP loan from the government has kept the famed restaurant afloat, the program is coming to a close without plans for next steps. While a PPP loan from the government has kept the famed restaurant afloat, the program is coming to a close without plans for next steps.

Genevieve Villamora, co-owner of the Washington, D.C., restaurant Bad Saint, works in July of 2019. While a PPP loan from the government has kept the famed restaurant afloat, the program is coming to a close without plans for next steps. While a PPP loan from the government has kept the famed restaurant afloat, the program is coming to a close without plans for next steps.
Courtesy Bad Saint/Katie Dance

In late April, Villamora’s restaurant secured a lifeline — a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program.
If used just to pay a skeleton crew, with 75% of her staff cut since March, Villamora’s loan, she said, will help her last through the end of the year. She and her staff are focused on covering costs, never mind turning a profit.
They’re still standing. For now.

“The way it feels,” she said, “is like we’re being asked to rebuild a house on sand that is shifting under us all the time.”
The chance for small businesses to apply for PPP funds, forgivable loans so long at least 60% is spent on payroll, disappears Saturday. Since the program was launched April 3, more than $521.7 billion has been approved, according to the Small Business Administration.
The program, not without its faults, has helped more than 5 million businesses but to varying degrees — some ran out of money within a month, with others stretching their loans a bit longer.

Let’s stop treating this like it’s gonna magically disappear. And let’s start figuring out how we’re going to live with this virus, as a people, and as business people, for another year to a year and a half.

But even those who benefitted from PPP told ABC News that while it was helpful, they need more help. And there’s no plan on the table to provide additional aid, without which many businesses won’t be able to bounce back.

As local economies gradually reopen during the pandemic, the return of walk-up customers is helping small businesses financially, but owners worry about the resurgence of covid-19 cases.

As local economies gradually reopen during the pandemic, the return of walk-up customers is helping small businesses financially, but owners worry about the resurgence of covid-19 cases.
ABC News

“People are incredibly resilient and resourceful, but all of their resourcefulness and new business ideas for streams of revenue will come to naught if the pandemic continues to worsen,” Villamora said.
White House negotiators and top Democrats have spent much of the last two weeks attempting to reconcile differences between dueling plans to buoy the economy. Both agree on extending PPP — but not on how to do it.
Talks appear to have collapsed entirely, with little progress made and no plan for the parties to meet again.

Even businesses that may seem well-suited to pandemic-induced lifestyle changes are finding themselves on shaky ground.
Kathleen Donahue owns Labyrinth Games and Puzzles, but before March, it offered much more. The white brick store on Pennsylvania Avenue, replete with stacks of brightly colored board games, also hosted neighborhood gatherings — children’s parties and trivia nights.

Kathleen Donahue’s store, Labyrinth Games & Puzzles, has reopened for limited in-store shopping but is seeing just a fraction of pre-pandemic foot traffic.

Kathleen Donahue’s store, Labyrinth Games & Puzzles, has reopened for limited in-store shopping but is seeing just a fraction of pre-pandemic foot traffic.
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Donahue said the $100,000 in PPP she received went almost entirely to payroll expenses during the months she couldn’t allow customers inside. That money’s gone, and even with limited in-store shopping now allowed, she can’t host events that helped land additional customers.
“We had to refund all of our summer camp money. That was pretty huge,” Donahue said. “Unless we can maintain better sales than we had in July, or get more help, it’s going to be very hard to pay rent and maintain the staff that I have currently for the rest of the year.”
Like Donahue, Mike Brey is concerned about his business, Hobby Works, which sells model cars, miniature trains and giant gliders — items that end up on holiday wishlists.

Small business owners Mia and Okera Stewart of Washington, D.C., say the coronavirus pandemic and looting during recent protests have dealt a financial blow that is testing their ability to remain open.

Small business owners Mia and Okera Stewart of Washington, D.C., say the coronavirus pandemic and looting during recent protests have dealt a financial blow that is testing their ability to remain open.
ABC News

The $70,000 in PPP Brey received helped him and his employees weather the uncertainty of the spring, but it’s not enough to last them if there’s no holiday rush.
“The toy and hobby business is really built on surviving March through October, and then making all of your money November, December, January, February,” Brey said. “If we were to shut down again in the fourth quarter, that would be bad.”

Donahue and Brey both have small online presences, but the bulk of their business is from walk-ins.
“Usually, this time of year we start preparing for the holidays. I don’t know even how to prepare,” Donahue said. “It’s nothing like anything we’ve ever experienced before.”
Brey said he was grateful for PPP but that small business owners still needed lawmakers to be more “forward looking.”
“If we have to go through another shutdown, my business and many businesses like it will probably need — if not assistance — certainly access to capital,” Brey said. “Because rent doesn’t stop. Health insurance doesn’t stop. Payroll doesn’t stop, unless you lay people off.”
“Let’s stop treating this like it’s gonna magically disappear,” he added. “And let’s start figuring out how we’re going to live with this virus, as a people, and as business people, for another year to a year and a half.”

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 24, 2020 in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 24, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Jaja Chen, a 27-year-old second-generation Taiwanese American who along with her husband started a boba tea business, Waco Cha, in Waco, Texas, only got about half of the PPP for which she applied. She said they settled for that amount, after inquiring with four different lenders, because they were told funds would be drying up soon and they otherwise risked getting nothing.
They only received about $6,500.
“So,” Chen said, “was it worth it? When I think about that question my head hurts, ’cause I’m like, I don’t know if it was worth it.”
The money was gone within a month. She and her husband have started selling dumplings along with tea to generate more revenue. Waiting for the next round of PPP — or whatever it’s called — wasn’t an option for them.
“At that point,” Chen said, “we decided … that we cannot rely on these programs to help us to be able to have a thriving business.”

Reopening schools is easy. Keeping them open will be the hard part.As educators prepare to welcome students back to class for the first time in months, schools’ ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands of districts around the country.

Newly reopened schools in Mississippi, Indiana and Georgia have already reported infections just days into the academic year, triggering virus protocols that include swiftly isolating infected students, tracing their contacts and quarantining people they exposed.
“It doesn’t matter if you open schools in July, like we did, or if you open in August, September or October. All schools are going to have to deal with the issue of positive COVID-19 test results,” said Lee Childress, superintendent of Corinth School District in Mississippi, where more than 100 students are quarantined at home after being exposed to a handful of infected classmates.
Schools are trying to mitigate the risk of transmission by spreading desks apart, serving meals in the classroom and keeping groups of students together throughout the day. Many schools — but not all — will require students and staff to wear masks, which health experts say is critical to cutting down on spread.
Administrators say it might be difficult to control the mixing and mingling that happens at every school. Asymptomatic carriers could silently spread the virus to many others. A student might not remember every contact, or be reluctant to tell the truth because that would mean forcing friends into quarantine.
Contact tracing might prove difficult “when you have that many students and they have multiple contacts inside of a building,” said Dallas schools chief Michael Hinojosa.
Schools are reopening as new infections run at about 55,000 a day in the U.S. While that’s down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are rising in about half of the states, and deaths are climbing in many of them.
In Indiana, where case numbers and the positivity rate have been rising, a student showed up to class outside Indianapolis before getting the results of a virus test. Greenfield-Central Junior High soon learned he was positive.
It was the first day of school.
“We felt like we were at a good place to start school and then, through no fault of our own, a kid comes to school who shouldn’t have been there,” Superintendent Harold Olin said, acknowledging “uncomfortable” conversations with parents whose children then had to be quarantined.
Because it was the school system’s first case, Olin himself grabbed a tape measure and headed to the infected student’s classroom to figure out who was seated nearby so they could be notified of their potential exposure.
Jason Martin’s son, Houston, who attends seventh grade at Greenfield-Central, was among those forced to learn remotely for 14 days.
“Clearly, he’s disappointed,” Martin said. But the school “responded pretty well from a bonehead parent making a decision to send their kid to school knowing they have a pending COVID test result.”
The question of whether an infected student or staffer should trigger an automatic shutdown has divided school officials.
New York City’s public school system, the largest in the U.S., says it will automatically shutter classrooms or buildings for 14 days at a time, depending on the severity and circumstances of an outbreak. In hard-hit Texas, school systems in Houston and Dallas say they will close a building for up to five days if a student or staffer tests positive, to allow for cleaning and to give contact tracers time to do their work.
It’s too risky to try to keep a school open while officials figure out who might have been exposed, Hinojosa said.
“Until there’s a vaccine, just be prepared to have these rolling shutdowns,” he said.
Others administrators say they will try to keep schools open during an outbreak, counting on quick action to keep a lid on it.
In Pennsylvania, the Bethlehem Area School District intends to keep classrooms open if there’s a confirmed case. “One closure decision can lead to a potentially crippling and precedent-setting domino effect of closures throughout the school district,” the district says on its website.
Dr. Ibukun Akinboyo, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Duke University, said even the best plans for reopening and responding to sick students and staff are going to run into trouble if there’s a high level of community spread.
“Whatever is happening in the community will likely play out in the schools as well,” she said.
In Mississippi, where more than 20% of virus tests have been coming back positive, at least eight students and one staff member in Corinth have tested positive since school resumed last week. District officials used classroom seating charts to determine who needed to be quarantined.
The tally through Friday: 122 people.
Nurses, administrators and teachers have worked together to identify the infected students’ close contacts — anyone who was within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes. But at some point, contact tracing ceases to be practical, and a school might have to close, Childress said.
“I think if you have a large number, the process could quickly become unmanageable, and that would be something that we would know when we see it,” he said.
Joel Barnes and his wife are rethinking their decision to send their four kids back to Corinth schools after their son was exposed at the high school. They are awaiting the results of his virus test.
“We expected there to be some cases of COVID, but we’re honestly surprised that it happened so quickly and has spread to so many so rapidly,” said Barnes, who has lung and nerve damage from a car accident and worries about contracting the virus. “Now it’s taken off.”
The couple have pulled two of their children from school in favor of remote lessons.
“In hindsight, we wish we’d gone virtual from the start,” he said.
Joseph Allen, who directs a program at the Harvard University School of Public Health focused on healthy buildings, said masking, contact tracing and quarantining are all important — but so is proper ventilation and air filtration, which Allen said too many districts are ignoring.
Small, inexpensive steps like opening windows, equipping classrooms with box fans and portable air purifiers, and holding classes outside can make a big difference in keeping the virus at bay, even if an infected student or teacher shows up, Allen said.
“We need to get a bit more creative with schools,” he said. “If we don’t do those upfront things, we’re going to have cases.”
———
Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. Leah Willingham, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this story from Jackson, Mississippi. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.

A nonprofit organization wants to gain ownership of four Michigan dams, including two that failed in storms on May 19

By

ANNA LIZ NICHOLS Associated Press/ Report for America

August 8, 2020, 1:09 PM
4 min read

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LANSING, Mich. — Nature is returning to craters left from lakes drained by two dams that failed in May during torrential rain in mid-Michigan.
But not always in a good way.

“Shortly after the water receded, you could look out over the exposed bottom lands of the lake and it was like looking at the Sahara Desert,” said Dave Rothman, a board member with the Four Lakes Task Force, which is looking to obtain the four dams as well as the two lakes that were not drained. “That persisted on through about the middle of July. And then all that 90-plus degree weather that we had, then we started to get some rain and over the course of two weeks, the lake bottoms just mushroomed with plants.”
Four Lakes Task Force wants to use eminent domain to gain ownership of four Midland-area dams — including the Edenville and Sanford dams that failed in the May 19 storms, sending water raging down the Tittabawassee River and flooding homes and businesses.
It hopes to restore the infrastructure and shoreline of Wixom and Sanford lakes and prevent homes from being lost to the eroding edges of what were once the lakes.
It has filed requests in the courts to obtain the dams. Under eminent domain, the owners, Boyce Hydro and and Boyce Hydro Power, could be ordered to sell the properties to the task force as the governmental body representing the counties, task force spokesperson Stacey Trapani said.
The owners for years failed to invest and comply with government-set standards for health and safety on the hydroelectric Edenville dam. The two companies have since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They have blamed regulators and an insistence on high lake levels for the dam failures.
The state sued the owners, seeking fines for the destruction of natural resources as well as “gross mismanagement.”
The flooding destroyed 150 houses and caused more than $200 million in property damage in the Midland area.
Plants are now rising from the craters that were once the two lakes. Purple loosestrife, an invasive flowering plant, is sprouting up — a problem that Rothman said will be resolved by galerucella beetles that were released in the area in the 1990s and that eat purple loosestrife.
A bigger concern is that poplar trees are growing as dense as seven trees per square foot in what was once Wixom Lake, Rothman said.
“When we first started to get reports of these and go out and look at these seedlings just coming up this year, they were maybe 15 inches high in front of one of my friends’ houses,” Rothman said. “Two weeks later he went out and looked at the same trees and they’re now almost 30 inches high.”
Given the right conditions, fertile ground and moisture, poplar trees can grow to 5 feet (1.5 meters) in a year, Rothman said. If the lake doesn’t return for five years, the trees could be 20 feet (6 meters) high and will be harder to remove.
But the biggest issue by far is erosion, Rothman said. With the exposed ground drying out, the shoreline, now clifflike, is becoming increasingly unstable, crumbling in closer and closer to what were once lakefront homes.
Four Lakes Task Force estimates it will cost more than $30 million to stop the erosion, remove the debris left by the flooding and stabilize all four dams. The goal is do all this in two years before further damage can be done to the 6,000 homes on the lakes valued at about $800 million, Trapani said.
Rothman said that as the task force looks at plans to rebuild the two broken dams and strengthen the other two, safety will be the priority. He said they will meet contemporary requirements for dam construction and spillway capacity.
“Our No. 1 principle for doing work to bring the lakes back is to make sure that when we rebuild the dams, this can’t happen again,” Rothman said.
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Anna Liz Nichols is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The heat index in Oklahoma and Kansas is expected to be over 100 degrees.

By

Daniel Manzo

August 8, 2020, 12:54 PM
4 min read

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Summer storms brought another round of heavy rain, flooding and damaging winds to parts of the eastern U.S. on Friday.
An 89 MPH wind gust was reported in Cumberland County, New Jersey, on Friday night, and damaging winds downed some trees in Delaware as well. Over 4 inches of rain also fell in Winterthur, Delaware.

These summer storms come just days after Isaias went through the region, bringing damaging winds and torrential rainfall. A city like Allentown, Pennsylvania, has seen more than 7 inches of rain so far in August, which is 6 inches above its month to date average.
The good news is the summer storms are calming down in the eastern U.S. The threat for additional flash flooding is quite slim now, with only isolated storms possible.
Attention turns to a new severe weather threat, this time in the Midwest.

A couple of systems will combine to cause summer thunderstorms to develop later Saturday and into early Sunday. The threat Saturday will be from Nebraska to Minnesota

A couple of systems will combine to cause summer thunderstorms to develop later Saturday and into early Sunday. The threat Saturday will be from Nebraska to Minnesota
ABC News

A couple of systems will combine to cause summer thunderstorms to develop later Saturday and into early Sunday. The threat Saturday will be from Nebraska to Minnesota, and then will move into central Minnesota and Wisconsin by Sunday.
The main threat will be damaging winds and large hail. Any slow-moving thunderstorm could produce flash flooding as well.

The threat Saturday will be from Nebraska to Minnesota, and then will move into central Minnesota and Wisconsin by Sunday.

The threat Saturday will be from Nebraska to Minnesota, and then will move into central Minnesota and Wisconsin by Sunday.
ABC News

Meanwhile, in the south-central U.S., some of the summer heat will try to build this weekend. The heat index in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas is expected to be over 100 degrees. Therefore in some spots, a heat advisory has been issued.

Meanwhile in the south-central U.S., some of the summer heat will try to build this weekend. The heat index in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas is expected to be over 100 degrees.

Meanwhile in the south-central U.S., some of the summer heat will try to build this weekend. The heat index in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas is expected to be over 100 degrees.
ABC News

After Isaias, the Tropics are briefly much quieter. There is a system that is being monitored for development in the Atlantic, which only has a 10% chance of developing further. It is almost guaranteed that the Atlantic will fire up again with activity as we head further into August.

President Donald Trump’s continued embrace of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug with unproven efficacy against the novel coronavirus, directly contradicts guidance from the nation’s top public health agencies and officials.Approved decades ago to prevent and treat malaria, the prescription medicine hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug chloroquine are used to treat autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

But the drugs have not shown to benefit coronavirus patients or proved effective as a prophylactic, according to the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and scientific community at-large — despite the president’s persistent push.

Instead, the FDA has warned against its use outside of a hospital setting due to the risk of heart rhythm problems.
Here’s a timeline illustrating Trump’s longstanding battle with health experts alongside scientific developments on hydroxychloroquine during the pandemic:

The drug hydroxychloroquine, pushed by President Donald Trump and others in recent months as a possible treatment for people infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is displayed by a pharmacist at the Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 27, 2020.

The drug hydroxychloroquine, pushed by President Donald Trump and others in recent months as a possible treatment for people infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is displayed by a pharmacist at the Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 27, 2020.
George Frey/Reuters, FILE

March 19: Trump declares drug a ‘game changer’
As parts of the country start shutting down in an effort to curb virus spread, Trump announces the FDA will fast-track approval of unproven coronavirus treatments, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
“The nice part is, it’s been around for a long time, so we know that if it — if things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody,” Trump says at a task force briefing.
The drugs are already in short supply in the U.S., as word spreads of their potential benefit to COVID-19 patients. Manufacturers say they are ramping up production.
March 20: Trump banks on ‘a feeling’ as Fauci calls evidence ‘anecdotal’
Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci says, “the answer is no” when asked at a task force briefing if hydroxychloroquine is an effective coronavirus treatment, explaining signs of the drug’s promise were purely “anecdotal evidence.”
“But I’m a big fan, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump steps forward to add. “I feel good about it. That’s all it is, just a feeling, you know.”

President Donald J. Trump listens as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with members of the coronavirus task force, April 22, 2020 in Washington, DC.

President Donald J. Trump listens as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with members of the coronavirus task force, April 22, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

March 21: Trump cites success of small French study, publisher later says data ‘did not meet its standards’
Trump tweets to his roughly 84 million followers that hydroxychloroquine taken with the antibiotic azithromycin could be “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine” and should “be put in use immediately.”
He cites a French study of three dozen patients published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents on March 17. Twenty patients took hydroxychloroquine and just six received the combo.
The publisher issues a notice two weeks later saying the study “does not meet the Society’s expected standard, especially relating to the lack of better explanations of the inclusion criteria and the triage of patients to ensure patient safety.”

March 24: Arizona man dies after ingesting non-medication chloroquine
A man in Arizona dies after ingesting a form of chloroquine used to clean fish tanks in an apparent attempt to self-medicate for the coronavirus, according to hospital system Banner Health.

The man’s wife, who says they learned of chloroquine’s connection to coronavirus during one of Trump’s press conferences, tells NBC News they took it because they “were afraid of getting sick.”
“I had it in the house because I used to have koi fish,” she says. “I saw it sitting on the back shelf and thought, ‘Hey, isn’t that the stuff they’re talking about on TV?'”
March 28: FDA approves emergency use of hydroxychloroquine
The FDA issues an emergency use authorization to allow “hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate products” donated to the Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed to hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The agency says the drugs will be distributed to certain patients when clinical trials are not feasible.

April 5: Trump on hydroxychloroquine: ‘What really do we have to lose?’
The president doubles down on his defense of hydroxychloroquine, acknowledging he’s “not a doctor” but has seen “good signs.”
“We don’t have time to go and say, ‘Gee, let’s take a couple of years and test it out. And let’s go and test with the test tubes and the laboratories,'” Trump says at a task force briefing.
“If it works, that would be great,” he adds. “But it doesn’t kill people.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a meeting of his coronavirus task force in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2020 in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a meeting of his coronavirus task force in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

April 8: Medical societies warn of COVID-19 combo
The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society warn in a joint guidance that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may not be appropriate for patients with existing heart problems.
“We are united in our mission to achieve optimal, quality care for our patients, and we must continue to be vigilant in assessing the potential complications of all medications during this crisis,” says Dr. Athena Poppas, president of the American College of Cardiology.
April 9: NIH begins clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine
The National Institutes of Health begins a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus with patients enrolled in Tennessee.
The study, later dismantled, was not estimated to be completed until July 2021.
April 13: Study in Brazil linking hydroxychloroquine to fatal heart problems makes headlines
A small research trial in Brazil abruptly ends after coronavirus patients taking a higher dose of chloroquine in combination with azithromycin developed irregular heart rates.
Within three days of beginning treatment, researchers started noticing heart arrhythmias in patients taking the higher dose of chloroquine. By the sixth day, 11 had died.

April 14: Trump touts drug in meeting with recovered patients
While meeting with recovered coronavirus patients at the White House, some of whom had taken hydroxychloroquine, Trump praises the drug as “an unbelievable malaria pill” and an “unbelievable lupus pill.”
“We have tremendous endorsements, but if it was somebody else other than President Trump that put it forward, if some other person put it forward that said, ‘Oh, let’s go with it.’ You know, what do you have to lose?” Trump says.
April 22: Vaccine chief ousted
The head of the federal agency charged with overseeing the rapid production of a coronavirus vaccine says he’s removed from his post after trying to push back on problems he saw infecting the federal response, including being handed “misguided directives” to push the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
Dr. Rick Bright says in a statement his transfer was retaliation “in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit.”

Dr. Richard Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss protecting scientific integrity in response to the coronavirus outbreak, May 14, 2020. in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Richard Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss protecting scientific integrity in response to the coronavirus outbreak, May 14, 2020. in Washington, D.C.
Greg Nash/Pool via Getty Images, FILE

April 24: FDA warns against hydroxychloroquine use outside hospitals
The FDA issues a warning against using hydroxychloroquine outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial due to the risk of heart rhythm problems.
The agency says in a statement that the treatment has “not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19.”
“Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can cause abnormal heart rhythms such as QT interval prolongation and ventricular tachycardia. These risks may increase when these medicines are combined with other medicines known to prolong the QT interval, including azithromycin,” the FDA says.

President Donald Trump gestures to Vice President Mike Pence as Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, steps back to the podium to answer a question during a briefing about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 24, 2020.

President Donald Trump gestures to Vice President Mike Pence as Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, steps back to the podium to answer a question during a briefing about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 24, 2020.
Alex Brandon/AP, FILE

April 26: Despite FDA warning, states stockpile hydroxychloroquine
As hospitalizations surge, state and local governments across the country obtain roughly 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, despite warnings more research is required.
At least 22 states and Washington, D.C., secure shipments of the drug, but health experts worry having it widely available could make it easier to misuse, The Associated Press reports.
May 11: Study shows hydroxychloroquine associated with cardiac arrest
The results of a retrospective study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show that hydroxychloroquine is not effective against COVID-19 and is associated with cardiac arrest.

Researchers examined more than 1,400 patients with COVID-19 in New York City area hospitals found that patients treated with hydroxychloroquine had a similar death rate to those not treated with the drug.
When patients received a combination treatment of hydroxychloroquine and an antibiotic, the combo Trump promoted, they were more than twice as likely to experience cardiac arrest as those who took neither drug.
May 18: Trump says he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine
The president says he’s taking hydroxychloroquine in an effort to ward off the coronavirus, despite the FDA warning it should only be administered for COVID-19 in a hospital or research setting.
“At some point, I’ll stop. What I’d like to do is, I’d like to have the cure and/or the vaccine, and that’ll happen, I think, very soon,” he says.

Trump tells reporters he has “zero symptoms” but has been taking hydroxychloroquine along with a zinc supplement daily “for about a week and a half now.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response, in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 18, 2020.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response, in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 18, 2020.
Evan Vucci/AP

May 24: Trump says he’s finished taking hydroxychloroquine and is ‘still here’
Trump tells “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” that he “just finished” his two-week regimen of hydroxychloroquine and zinc and continues to claim “hydroxy” has had “tremendous, rave reviews.”
“And by the way, I’m still here,” he adds.
May 28: Prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine on rise
Research published in JAMA finds that during the 10-week period from Feb. 17 to April 27 doctors wrote approximately 483,000 more prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine than in the same time period in 2019.
Researchers says the surge is “likely due to off-label prescriptions for COVID-19.”
June 15: FDA revokes its emergency use authorization
The FDA revokes emergency use authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine citing in a statement that the drugs are “unlikely to be effective in treating COVID-19 for the authorized uses.”
“Additionally, in light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other potential serious side effects, the known and potential benefits of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the authorized use,” it continues.

The federal government has now stockpiled millions of excess doses of the drug.
Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to Trump who helped distribute the drug tells The New York Times in response: “This is a Deep State blindside by bureaucrats who hate the administration they work for more than they’re concerned about saving American lives.”

Peter Navarro appears on “Good Morning America,” July 29, 2020.

Peter Navarro appears on “Good Morning America,” July 29, 2020.
ABC News

June 20: NIH ends hydroxychloroquine trials
The NIH abandons clinical trials of the drug after finding that hydroxychloroquine “was very unlikely to be beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19,” the organization says in a statement.
“Study shows treatment does no harm, but provides no benefit,” the NIH says.
July 1: FDA publishes findings of safety issues
Two weeks after revoking emergency use authorization of the drug, the FDA publishes a summary of safety issues tied to using hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
It includes “reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.”
July 28: Trump tweets video on hydroxychloroquine flagged by Twitter as misleading
Twitter flags and later takes down a video retweeted by Trump and directly shared by Donald Trump Jr. that featured a woman identifying as a doctor promoting hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 “cure,” for violating the company’s policies on misinformation related to the pandemic.
Donald Trump Jr.’s account is “temporarily limited” for the action, a Twitter spokesperson confirms.

That same morning, Fauci tells “Good Morning America” that clinical trials have shown hydroxychloroquine is “not effective.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci appears on “Good Morning America,” on July 28, 2020.

Dr. Anthony Fauci appears on “Good Morning America,” on July 28, 2020.
ABC News

“The overwhelming, prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease,” Fauci says.
Aug. 2: Another task force doctor says he ‘can’t recommend’ hydroxychloroquine
Assistant Secretary of Health Adm. Brett Giroir, who was tasked in March to lead the administration’s testing efforts, tells NBC News he “can’t recommend that as a treatment” when asked about the increasingly controversial drug.
“We need to move on from that and talk about what is effective,” he says. “At this point in time, we don’t recommend that as a treatment.”

Aug. 3: Trump doubles down
The president continues to claim hydroxychloroquine has been criticized as a treatment “because I supported it.”
“Hydroxy has tremendous support, but politically it is toxic, because I supported it. If I would have said, ‘Do not use hydroxychloroquine under any circumstances,’ they would have come out and they would have said it’s a great thing,” Trump tells White House reporters.

President Donald Trump calls on a reporter during a briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Aug. 5, 2020.

President Donald Trump calls on a reporter during a briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Aug. 5, 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP

Aug. 4: FDA commissioner notes ‘politicization’ of hydroxychloroquine
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn tells ABC News’ Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview with “Good Morning America” that the decision to take hydroxychloroquine should “rest with physicians and patients” in privacy.
“There’s been a lot of politicization, or political political back-and-forth about this, and George, this is about science and data. There are randomized trials that show that it doesn’t work. There are observational trials that show that it might work,” he says. “And we’ve put out information that we want doctors to have about both the safety and the risks, as well as the potential of benefits or not.”
“I have had conversations with the president about this,” Hahn adds, “and the president’s been very clear: It might work, it might not.”

An executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei says it is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to U.S. sanctions

By

JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer

August 8, 2020, 12:01 PM
3 min read

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BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Huawei is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to U.S. sanctions and will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive says, in a sign of growing damage to Huawei’s business from American pressure.
Huawei Technologies Ltd., one of the biggest producers of smartphones and network equipment, is at the center of U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security. The feud has spread to include the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok and China-based messaging service WeChat.

Washington cut off Huawei’s access to U.S. components and technology including Google’s music and other smartphone services last year. Those penalties were tightened in May when the White House barred vendors worldwide from using U.S. technology to produce components for Huawei.
Production of Kirin chips designed by Huawei’s own engineers will stop Sept. 15 because they are made by contractors that need U.S. manufacturing technology, said Richard Yu, president of the company’s consumer unit. He said Huawei lacks the ability to make its own chips.
“This is a very big loss for us,” Yu said Friday at an industry conference, China Info 100, according to a video recording of his comments posted on multiple websites.
“Unfortunately, in the second round of U.S. sanctions, our chip producers only accepted orders until May 15. Production will close on Sept. 15,” Yu said. “This year may be the last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips.”
More broadly, Huawei’s smartphone production has “no chips and no supply,” Yu said.
Yu said this year’s smartphone sales probably will be lower than 2019’s level of 240 million handsets but gave no details. The company didn’t immediately respond to questions Saturday.
Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former military engineer, denies accusations it might facilitate Chinese spying. Chinese officials accuse Washington of using national security as an excuse to stop a competitor to U.S. tech industries.
Huawei is a leader among emerging Chinese competitors in telecoms, electric cars, renewable energy and other fields in which the ruling Communist Party hopes China can become a global leader.
Huawei has 180,000 employees and one of the world’s biggest research and development budgets at more than $15 billion a year. But, like most global tech brands, it relies on contractors to manufacture its products.
Earlier, Huawei announced its global sales rose 13.1% over a year ago to 454 billion yuan ($65 billion) in the first half of 2020. Yu said that was due to strong sales of high-end products but gave no details.
Huawei became the world’s top-selling smartphone brand in the three months ending in June, passing rival Samsung for the first time due to strong demand in China, according to Canalys. Sales abroad fell 27% from a year earlier.
Washington also is lobbying European and other allies to exclude Huawei from planned next-generation networks as a security risk.
In other U.S.-Chinese clashes, TikTok’s owner, ByteDance Ltd., is under White House pressure to sell the video app. That is due to fears its access to personal information about millions of American users might be a security risk.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a ban on unspecified transactions with TikTok and the Chinese owner of WeChat, a popular messaging service.

The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez is requiring face masks outdoors starting Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties

By

Associated Press

August 8, 2020, 10:34 AM
2 min read

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SAINT-TROPEZ, France — The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez is requiring face masks outdoors starting Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties.
More cities and towns, especially in tourist areas, are imposing mask requirements as France’s coronavirus infections creep up again, with more than 2,000 new cases reported on Friday — the biggest single-day rise since May.

The uptick corresponds with France’s summer holidays, when vacationers head off in droves, often to seashores, for festive gatherings with family and friends.
As of Saturday, wearing a mask outdoors is also compulsory in some crowded parts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city.
Paris is expected to announce similar measures in the coming days.
In Saint-Tropez’s famed resort, a top spot for the international jet set, several restaurants had to close for two weeks after some staff tested positive for the virus.
The area where mask-wearing is mandatory includes the picturesque port, the open-air farmers market and the narrow streets of the old town lined with chic shops and art galleries.
A 135-euro ($159) fine applies to those who don’t comply. The measure does not apply to children under 11.
France has already made mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor public spaces nationwide.
Health authorities on Friday reported 9,330 new cases this week and said the virus is increasingly spreading ‘’especially among young adults.’’ More than 593,600 tests were carried out during the week.
France has reported a total of more than 30,300 deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes.

Their vehicle sank during a July training exercise.

By

William Mansell

August 8, 2020, 10:32 AM
5 min read

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The remains of seven Marines and a Navy Sailor who were killed when their amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) sank during a training exercise on July 30 off of San Clemente Island in Southern California have been recovered, the Marine Corps announced Friday night.
After initially saying recovery efforts would likely be unsuccessful, officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) positively identified the AAV on Aug. 3, nearly 400 feet underwater. Specialized equipment on a diving and salvage ship to recover the remains and AAV arrived Aug. 6, officials said. Their remains were recovered Friday.

“Our hearts and thoughts of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are with the families of our recovered Marines and Sailor,” Col. Christopher Bronzi, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement Friday. “We hope the successful recovery of our fallen warriors brings some measure of comfort.”
The recovered Marines and Sailor will be transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for preparation by mortuary affairs teams for burial.

There were 16 aboard the AAV when it began taking on water during a shore-to-ship maneuver about a mile off the coast of San Clemente Island last month. Eight were rescued that day, one of whom was pronounced dead at the scene. The eight other on board were presumed dead after a lengthy and intense search and rescue operation.
The Marines were making their way back to the U.S. Navy amphibious ship USS Somerset on their AAV, according to three defense officials, when the incident began.
The AAV was among a group of 13 AAVs returning to the ship, which was approximately a mile from shore, Lt. General Joseph Osterman, commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, said at a July 31 press conference.
Osterman said that the personnel aboard the AAV signaled to other AAVs that they were taking on water. Immediate aid provided by personnel on two other AAVs and those on a safety boat accompanying the vehicles helped rescue eight of the imperiled Marines.
“It sank completely,” said Osterman, adding that “the assumption is it went all the way to the bottom,” several hundred feet below the surface, too deep for divers.
The cause of the training accident is still under investigation.

This US Marine Corps photo obtained Aug. 2, 2020 shows Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Joseph Rivera, a search and rescue swimmer participating in search and rescue relief operations following an AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle mishap off the coast of Southern California, July 30, 2020.

This US Marine Corps photo obtained Aug. 2, 2020 shows Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Joseph Rivera, a search and rescue swimmer participating in search and rescue relief operations following an AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle mishap off the coast of Southern California, July 30, 2020.
US Marines/AFP via Getty Images

The Marine Corps released details of the nine dead service members. All eight Marines served as riflemen in 1st Battalion, 4th Marines based in Camp Pendleton. The sailor was a Fleet Marine Force corpsman serving alongside them in the infantry unit.
Their names, ages and hometowns are as follows:
LCpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas (pronounced dead at the scene) Cpl Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California U.S. Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California LCpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California LCpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 18, of Corona, California Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon

ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.

Amid the fallout from comments by former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden about a lack of diversity of thought and heritage within the African American community, some worry that a pattern of blunders could impact support within the Black community.Biden drew criticism on Thursday when he compared the diversity of African American and Latino communities at a pretaped virtual talk with the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

“What you all know, but most people don’t know. Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things,” Biden said. “You go to Florida you find a very different attitude about immigration in certain places than you do when you’re in Arizona. So it’s a very different, a very diverse community.”

Just hours after the taped remarks, during a live discussion with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Biden reiterated similar comments: “We can build a new administration that reflects the full diversity of our nation, the full diversity of Latino communities. And when I mean full diversity, unlike the African American community and many other communities, you’re from everywhere. From Europe, from the tip of South America, all the way to our border and Mexico, and in the Caribbean.”
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said it’s important to acknowledge that Black Americans, including those with roots in the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and the American South have cultures that should be celebrated.
“To diminish those cultures and the richness of those cultures is such a wildly ignorant thing to do and insulting on so many levels,” said Williams, who is the son of immigrants from Grenada. “But I wish I was surprised.”

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden departs after speaking about his plans to combat racial inequality at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., July 28, 2020.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden departs after speaking about his plans to combat racial inequality at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., July 28, 2020.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

After receiving backlash for his comments, Biden later took to Twitter to apologize for the comments.
“In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith — not by identity, not on issues, not at all,” Biden wrote. “Throughout my career I’ve witnessed the diversity of thought, background, and sentiment within the African American community. It’s this diversity that makes our workplaces, communities, and country a better place.”
Biden took heat in May after comments he made during an interview with “The Breakfast Club” radio show, in which he joked that if African American voters support Trump over him in November, they “ain’t Black.”

Some argue that these comments could have an impact on turnout for voters who aren’t enthusiastic about Biden’s candidacy.
“It’s an erasure of Black immigrants, it’s a conflation of the Black experience, it’s ignorant,” said Nadia Brown, a professor of political science at Purdue University and author of “Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making.” “Biden is not doing himself any favors and the people that are captive Democratic voters, who have no other option but to vote for the Democrat or stay home, aren’t enthusiastic about him.”
Nneka Apachu, the founder of AfriPAC, a nonpartisan political group that aims to improve policies affecting African immigrants in the U.S., said the stakes are too high to care about Biden’s gaffes, pointing to Trump’s travel bans from some African countries and attempted repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

In this file photo taken on March 9, 2020, supporters line up to see Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speak at a campaign stop at Renaissance High School in Detroit.

In this file photo taken on March 9, 2020, supporters line up to see Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speak at a campaign stop at Renaissance High School in Detroit.
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images, File

“I can’t imagine another four years of this, I can hear a million gaffes,” said Apachu. “But the suffering that I’m seeing right now with my people, it’s not worth [jeopardizing a Biden win].”
There are 2.3 million eligible Black immigrant voters in the U.S., about 10% of immigrants eligible to vote, according to Pew Research. Black immigrants vote at roughly the same rates as U.S.-born Blacks. Black voters overall, both immigrants and U.S. born, overwhelmingly identify with the Democratic Party. Only 7% of Black voters report they are Republican or lean toward the Republican Party, in comparison to 87% who say they identify as or lean toward the Democratic Party, according to a 2016 Pew Research study.
Among those criticizing Biden’s language was Trump, who has focused on courting African American voters with his “Black Voices for Trump” initiative. The president said in a tweet that Biden was “no longer worthy of the Black Vote,” though Trump has often been criticized for racist comments, including recently referring to a Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower as a “symbol of hate.”

Williams, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primary, but said he will vote for Biden in November, believes that Biden’s comments illustrate an insensitivity to Black people.
“It is just who he is. He obviously is better than Donald Trump,” said Williams. “But we didn’t have to settle for that.”
Still, he urges voters on the fence to turn out for Biden.
“Those folks shouldn’t stay home. Those folks should come out,” he said.

Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Del., July 28, 2020.

Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Del., July 28, 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

There are several Black members of Congress, all Democrats, who are immigrants or are the children of immigrants. Most didn’t respond to ABC News’ requests for comment on Biden’s statements. Staff for Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., whose father was from Bermuda, declined to comment on Biden’s statements.
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., whose mother is from Trinidad and Tobago, endorsed Biden’s presidential bid in February. He believes Biden’s comments were misconstrued.
“Vice President Biden’s comments were taken out of context, he was in no way suggesting that all African Americans are the same — not by our identities or the issues we care the most about,” Horsford said a written statement to ABC News. “A big reason why I was an early supporter of his campaign is his extensive work on these issues while in office, in which he championed diversity of thought, celebrated different backgrounds, and has always maintained a sincere relationship with the Black community.”
Biden campaign co-chair Rep. Cedric Richmond told ABC News that Biden apologized to ensure that people know he understands why people called his language “problematic.”
“He’s the first to admit that he doesn’t always articulate exactly what he’s meaning in the way that he means it,” said Richmond. “And so what real leadership is is you acknowledge when something comes out wrong, you correct it and I think that he did that immediately.”