Coronavirus updates: Obama criticizes US response again; tourist arrested in Hawaii; North Carolina churches ruling

Doug Stanglin and Joel Shannon, USA TODAY
·14 min read

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday again criticized the United States' coronavirus response and said the crisis "spotlights the underlying inequalities" in the nation.

Addressing a virtual event for historically black colleges and universities, Obama said many U.S. leaders "aren’t even pretending to be in charge" during the pandemic. About a week ago, Obama called the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic an "absolute chaotic disaster" in a call with 3,000 people who served in his administration. During a virtual "Graduate Together" event Saturday, Obama told the Class of 2020, "This is your generation's world to shape."

As some parts of the nation prepare to attend worship services in person Sunday for the first time in weeks as states lift stay-at-home orders, a federal judge in North Carolina blocked Gov. Roy Cooper's order that no more than 10 people could gather to worship indoors. The judge ruled Cooper's order treated churches differently than other public spaces such as retailers, which were allowed to open.

The U.S. has the largest coronavirus outbreak in the world by far. There are more than 88,000 deaths and 1.4 million confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. Worldwide, the virus has killed more than 311,000 people and has infected more than 4.6 million.

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Here are some highlights to know:

  • The House of Representatives passed a historic measure allowing remote voting amid the coronavirus pandemic and also approved a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package. The Senate is not expected to take up the bill.

  • Five sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam have tested positive for the coronavirus a second time, raising questions about how the vessel can return to sea safely.

  • Graduates around the country deprived of a traditional graduation were treated to a star-studded virtual graduation ceremony, including a commencement address from Oprah Winfrey.

What we're talking about: Are you ready to leave your basement and re-enter society? We answer questions and offer advice on life after quarantine. Things are tough right now, and we want to help you get through it. Get tips on Staying Apart, Together.

Something to smile about: I used this time to turn my lonely feeder into a bird hotspot.

Obama says crisis spotlights inequalities

Former President Barack Obama made several surprisingly political comments and touched on current events when he spoke on “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour livestreaming event for historically black colleges and universities.

As he congratulated graduates and commiserated over the difficult world they face, the former president noted the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was killed while jogging on a residential street in Georgia.

“Let’s be honest: A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communicates have historically had to deal with in this country," Obama said. "We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”

Obama's brief criticism of U.S. leaders' response to the virus — in which he said many leaders "aren’t even pretending to be in charge" — did not name President Donald Trump or any other federal or state officials.

About a week ago, Obama called the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic an "absolute chaotic disaster" and promised to campaign "as hard as I can" for former Vice President Joe Biden in a call with 3,000 people who served in his administration.

Obama also delivered a televised prime-time commencement address later Saturday for the high school Class of 2020 during an hourlong event that also features LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai and Ben Platt, among others.

Federal judge in Nc rules in favor of churchgoers

A federal judge in North Carolina on Saturday sided with conservative Christian leaders and blocked the enforcement of restrictions that Gov. Roy Cooper ordered affecting indoor religious services during the coronavirus pandemic.

The order from Judge James C. Dever III came days after two Baptist churches, a minister and a Christian revival group filed a federal lawsuit seeking to immediately block enforcement of rules covering religious services within the Democratic governor’s executive orders. Dever agreed with the plaintiffs, who argued that the limits violate their rights to worship freely and treat churches differently from retailers and other secular activities.

– The Associated Press

Italy to open its borders in June

The Italian government announced Saturday that it will throw open its borders next month, effectively ending Europe’s longest and strictest coronavirus lockdown just as the summer tourism season gets under way.

Both regional and international borders will open June 3, with the government eliminating a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving from abroad. Many hope the move will revive a decimated tourist industry, which is worth 13% of Italy’s gross domestic product.

Not everyone is satisfied with the guidelines set out overnight by the government, which foresees the opening Monday of bars, restaurants, shops, hairdressers and beauticians. Restaurant owners in Milan protested in front of the main train station Saturday, saying that the rules remain unclear and that the entire sector needs more concrete help, including an abolition of taxes. Many worry they will reopen only to have to close again because of lack of business.

– Associated Press

Researchers hope to train dogs to detect coronavirus by odor

British researchers hope to train dogs to detect the coronavirus by odor in humans before symptoms appear, the Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

The project, involving a mixture of Labradors and Cocker Spaniels, will bring together leading disease control experts with medical detection dogs, who have already successfully trained to detect the odor of many different diseases, such as cancer, malaria and Parkinson’s disease.

The department said researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine will carry out the first phase of a trial in collaboration with the charity dogs and Durham University.

In the initial phase of the government-funded project, National Health Service staff in London hospitals will collect odor samples from people infected with the coronavirus as well as uninfected individuals. The six bio detection dogs will then undergo thorough training to identify the virus from the samples.

More than 10 years of research on such dogs finds they can be trained to detect the odor of disease at the equivalent dilution of one teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic-sized swimming pools of water. They can each screen up to 250 people per hour, the department said.

5 sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier test positive for virus a second time

Five sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt that was sidelined in Guam by the COVID-19 outbreak have tested positive for the virus for the second time and have been taken off the ship, according to the Navy.

The resurgence of the virus in the five sailors underscores the baffling behavior of the highly contagious virus and raises questions about how troops that test positive can be reintegrated into the military, particularly on ships.

All five sailors had previously tested positive and had gone through at least two weeks of isolation. As part of the process, they all had to test negative twice in a row, with the tests separated by at least a day or two before they were allowed to go back to the ship.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt has been at port in Guam since late March after the outbreak of the virus was discovered. More than 4,000 of the 4,800 crew members have gone ashore since then for quarantine or isolation. More than 2,900 sailors have reboarded the ship, and about 25% of the more than 1,000 who had tested positive have now recovered, according to the Navy.

Tourist arrested in Hawaii after posting beach photos to Instagram

A 23-year-old New Yorker was arrested in Hawaii after violating the state's mandatory 14-day quarantine rules for out-of-state visitors, the Hawaii governor's office said in a statement. The man posted photos on social media showing him hitting beaches to surf and sunbathe.

Tarique Peters, from the Bronx, arrived in Oahu on Monday and posted numerous pictures on Instagram that were spotted by local residents, the governor's office said. He was arrested Friday by special agents from the Department of the Attorney General after they questioned hotel personnel about his movements.

Out-of-state visitors must sign a form at the airport agreeing to remain in their hotel room or residence for 14 days or face a possible one-year prison sentence and $5,000 fine, according to the state Department of Transportation. Gov. David Ige has extended the mandatory quarantine through the end of June.

More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAY

Kroger will hand out more 'Thank You' pay to front-line supermarket workers

Kroger says it will give "thank you" pay to front-line workers through mid-June – just days after saying it would end extra "hero" hazard pay to workers that have kept the grocer humming through the coronavirus outbreak.

The one-time Thank You Pay, which will be $400 for qualified full-time associates and $200 for qualified part-time associates, will be paid out in two installments on May 30 and June 18, Kroger said.

The previous plan to stop bonus pay on Saturday had drawn the ire of Kroger's union, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which said the pandemic crisis was far from over and its workers are still risking their lives and health coming to work.

- Alexander Coolidge

India surpasses China in virus cases

India’s Health Ministry said Saturday that the country has surpassed China in the number of coronavirus cases, with a spike to 85,940 infections and 2,752 deaths.

China has reported 82,941 confirmed cases and 4,633 deaths since the virus was first detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan. The Johns Hopkins University worldwide tally, compiled later on Saturday, showed India in 11th place in the world with over 86,000 cases, two places ahead of China.

The worst-hit Indian states are Maharashtra with 29,100 cases, Tamil Nadu with 10,108, Gujarat with 9,931 and New Delhi with 8,895. In the last 24 hours, India had confirmed 3,970 new cases and 103 fatalities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is due to announce a decision this weekend on whether to extend the 54-day-old lockdown. Early this month, the government started gradually easing the restrictions to resume economic activity by allowing neighborhood shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming to resume. It also has resumed limited train services across the country to help stranded migrant workers, students and tourists.

– Associated Press

House passes $3T relief bill deemed DOA in the Senate

The Democratic-led House narrowly passed a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package late Friday that exposed some division within their ranks even as Republicans overwhelmingly voted against it amid a veto threat from the White House.

Fourteen House Democrats opposed the bill, most of them moderates representing GOP-leaning districts. One Republican, retiring Rep. Peter King of New York, voted for the measure, which passed 208 to 199.

The bill, which would steer billions to financially socked states and local governments and provide a second round of direct payments to millions of Americans, was panned by Senate Republicans and declared "dead on arrival" by President Donald Trump. More help will eventually come, Trump said Friday, but “it’s going to happen in a much better way.”

In addition to attacking the bill as a “liberal wish list,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans say they want to see the results of the trillions of stimulus dollars already approved before they take up another package.

– Maureen Groppe and Ledyard King

Oprah, Cardi B share advice to grads on Facebook's #Graduation2020

Facebook and Instagram stepped up to give graduating students the celebration they deserve – complete with an Oprah Winfrey commencement address Friday and advice from dozens of celebrities.

The star-studded virtual event, #Graduation2020, went live on Facebook Watch Friday, streaming to more than 50,000 Facebook users. Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak hosted the show that acknowledged every high school and college in every state and shared stories and inspiration from graduates, parents, principals and more.

And, of course, there were many stars you probably didn't have at your own commencement ceremony: Winfrey, Miley Cyrus, Hugh Jackman, Sterling K. Brown, Cardi B and Awkwafina.

– Amy Haneline

‘This is not the time to do nothing’: Volunteers risk lives to deliver food to needy

People who have long struggled to get enough to eat have been joined by people who suddenly lost their jobs as the economy crumbled or who cannot get food from their usual sources due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Food insecurity is a major issue across America. Many Americans have stepped up to help. Through an occasional series of intimate portraits in the coming weeks, USA TODAY Network journalists are shining a light on their lives and work of America's food chain. Read more.

Are lockdowns being relaxed in my state? Here's how America is reopening

Looking ahead to Memorial Day: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Friday that the state's beaches are opening up. Cuomo's announcement came a day after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his state's beaches would open May 22. The latest happenings, state-by-state.

Parents counting on athletic scholarships have been left in a terrible lurch

Teenager Jordan Montgomery is a dribbling sensation. A video of him dribbling like a mini-Globetrotter at 6, when he began performing at halftime of high school games, has been viewed on YouTube more than 600,000 times. During an interview in the family’s backyard, Jordan's father, Craig Montgomery, estimated he has spent $200,000 on his son’s basketball career. That includes the cost of private coaches, trainers and travel for tournaments in more than a dozen states. Now, he said, the family could have to pay up to $30,000 for Jordan’s education for the next academic year.

A survey by the Harris Poll on behalf of TD Ameritrade shows competitive athletes ages 15 to 29 and parents have seen their plans upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Among the findings:

  • Almost 20% say their scholarships have been delayed or canceled.

  • Many families worry they will no longer be able to pay for elite sports if the economic downturn persists.

– Josh Peter

Foster care teen's death draws scrutiny: Who is looking out for these children?

Across the country, foster parents are in short supply, at-risk kids aren’t able to get in-person services they need and courts are closed, leaving adoptions and family reunifications in limbo. Only a handful of states have issued moratoriums on aging out of the system, which means 18 and 21-year-olds could suddenly find themselves without a home or job in the worst economy in decades, with 36.5 million Americans filing unemployment claims since March. It’s unclear how many children in the U.S. foster care system have coronavirus. But the death of a 16-year-old boy in Michigan highlights one of the many problems America’s foster care system is facing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more.

– Lindsay Schnell

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Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus update: Obama criticizes US response again; N.C. churches