The Analyzer News Roundup For May 22, 2020
President Trump announced Thursday that flags on federal buildings will be lowered to half-staff in honor of coronavirus victims and members of the military.
According to CNN, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent Trump a letter that morning urging him to make the move when the U.S. death toll from the pandemic reaches 100,000.
Meanwhile, a Mississippi church that defied social distancing guidelines was burned to the ground. Mississippi police are led to believe that the burning of the First Pentecostal Church is a case of arson, after discovering a spray-painted message at the scene that said in part, “Bet you stay at home now”.
The church had previously sued the city of Holly Springs, Miss., arguing that its social distancing guidelines had violated their right to free speech and expression of religion. According to the New York Times, the judge declined the church’s request citing the drive-in church services which were still available at the time.
Elsewhere, The University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted to suspend the standardized testing requirements for incoming students though 2024. Instead, the U.C. system will focus on creating its own test which according to the officials better aligns with their expectations of college readiness.
USA Today writes that by 2025 both testing requirements will be eliminated for California students regardless of their progress on the new testing scheme.
In world news, human trials of British coronavirus vaccine have reached 10,000, writes Reuters, while Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases top daily record at 973 new cases.
According to WHO, there are now 5,242,148 coronavirus cases globally, while the total number of reported recoveries has reached 2,115,542.
