Stop AAPI Hate announced there have been 832 self-reported incidents of discrimination and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California in the last three months.
The big picture: During the coronavirus pandemic, harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are "becoming the norm." The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action, which launched Stop AAPI Hate, said there have been 2,120 hate incidents across the country, but 40% of them occurred in California, CBS News reports.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "if we don't get our hands around this virus quickly, in about two weeks, our hospital system could be in serious, serious trouble."
Why it matters: Turner said they can always add more beds, but the "major problem" will be ensuring there is enough medical staffing to care for the sick. In Harris County, where Houston sits, there are more than 34,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 190,000 cases in the state, according to Johns Hopkins University.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J) on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday called for a national face mask mandate to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Why it matters: Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends but does not require people to wear masks in public — despite recent spikes in new coronavirus cases around the United States.
FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn didn't provide any evidence to support President Trump's claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are "totally harmless" while speaking with ABC's Martha Raddatz.
What he's saying: "Well, what I'd say is, you know, any case, we don't want to have in this country. This is a very rapidly moving epidemic. A rapidly moving pandemic. And any death, any case, is tragic. And we want to do everything we can to prevent that," Hahn said.
When MLB teams arrived at the ballpark this weekend for the first summer workouts of 2020, the comforting sounds of baseball brought smiles to players' faces.
Between the lines: Even the loudest crack of the bat couldn't mask the eerie silence or distract from the ever-present coronavirus threat.
A group of 239 scientists in 32 countries is calling for the World Health Organization to revise its recommendations to account for airborne transmission as a significant factor in how the coronavirus spreads, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: The WHO has said the virus mainly spreads via large respiratory droplets that fall to the ground once they've been discharged in coughs and sneezes. But the scientists say evidence shows the virus can spread from smaller particles that linger in air indoors.
NIAID director Anthony Fauci and five other public health experts explained their daily coronavirus rituals and precautions to the Washington Post in a Q&A published Friday.
The big picture: The experts gave unanimous answers to some questions — on when they wear a mask and how they avoid eating inside restaurants — but differed on sending kids back to school in the fall.
The U.S. has already celebrated Easter, graduations and so much more during the coronavirus pandemic, and now it can add July 4 to the list.
The state of play: Axios' Stef Kight writes public parades and fireworks displays around much of the country are being canceled to prevent mass gatherings where the virus could spread. Hot-dog contests and concerts will play to empty stands and virtual audiences — all while American pride treads an all-time low.
The U.S. has reached new highs in single-day coronavirus infections for three consecutive days this week, per data from Johns Hopkins and the COVID Tracking Project.
The big picture: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states plus the District of Columbia, Axios' Andrew Witherspoon and Caitlin Owens report.
Mexican leaders are calling for stronger enforcement on its northern border as the number of coronavirus cases in the southwestern U.S. continues to rise, The Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Mexico worries the growing number of COIVD-19 cases in the U.S. could threaten their communities' own safety and ability to combat the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people living in the U.S. have continued to cross into Mexico during the pandemic, the Post notes.
President Trump signed off on Saturday to give businesses another five weeks to apply for funds through the Paycheck Protection Program.
Why it matters: Roughly $130 billion in PPP funding is still available. The Small Business Administration's inspector general found in May that some rural, minority and women-owned businesses may not have gotten loans due to a lack of prioritization from the agency.
