Jun 8, 2020 - Sports

Only 5 major U.S. sports teams haven't directly spoken out about the George Floyd protests

Kendall Baker, author of Sports
Data: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook; Graphic: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

118 of 123 teams (96%) across the big four American sports leagues have issued statements regarding George Floyd's murder and the ensuing nationwide protests.

Why it matters: A week ago, that number was 74 of 123 (60%), though we only reviewed Twitter last time. This week, we also included Instagram and Facebook.

  • Despite not issuing a formal team statement, we counted the Dolphins because they promoted head coach Brian Flores' strong statement before most teams had said anything. Could go either way with them, though.

The five holdouts: The Knicks and Rangers participated in #BlackoutTuesday, the Redskins participated in #BlackoutTuesday and retweeted a few players, the Yankees posted a Nelson Mandela quote and the Bengals posted on their website but not on social.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the Bengals' statement on their website.

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Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:15 p.m. EST: 32,062,182 — Total deaths: 979,701 — Total recoveries: 22,057,268 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:15 p.m EST: 6,967,103 — Total deaths: 202,558 — Total recoveries: 2,670,256 — Total tests: 97,459,742 — Map.
  3. Health: Cases are surging again in 22 states — New York will conduct its own review of coronavirus vaccine.
  4. Business: America is closing out its strongest quarter of economic growth.
  5. Technology: 2020 tech solutions may be sapping our resolve to beat the pandemic.
  6. Sports: Here's what college basketball will look like this season.
  7. Science: During COVID-19 shutdown, a common sparrow changed its song.
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Jacob Knutson
3 hours ago - Sports

Pac-12 will play football this fall, reversing course

A view of Levi's Stadium during the 2019 Pac-12 Championship football game. Photo: Alika Jenner/Getty Images

The Pac-12, which includes universities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington state, will play football starting Nov. 6, reversing its earlier decision to postpone the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The conference's about-face follows a similar move by the Big Ten last week and comes as President Trump has publicly pressured sports to resume despite the ongoing pandemic. The Pac-12 will play a seven-game conference football season, according to ESPN.

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Dave Lawler, author of World
4 hours ago - World

Global coronavirus vaccine initiative launches without U.S. or China

Data: Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; Map: Naema Ahmed/Axios

A global initiative to ensure equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines now includes most of the world — but not the U.S., China or Russia.

Why it matters: Assuming one or more vaccines ultimately gain approval, there will be a period of months or even years in which supply lags far behind global demand. The COVAX initiative is an attempt to ensure doses go where they're most needed, rather than simply to countries that can produce or buy them at scale.

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