The U.S. celebrates its Independence Day
On the day lengthy earmarked as a milestone within the struggle in opposition to the coronavirus, the White Home hosted a celebration of about 1,000 people yesterday to commemorate the July 4 vacation and herald the administration’s progress towards overcoming the pandemic.
Talking on the occasion, President Biden in contrast the nation’s struggle for independence with the battle in opposition to the coronavirus. “200 and 45 years in the past, we declared our independence from a distant king,” he mentioned. “Immediately, we’re nearer than ever to declaring our independence from a lethal virus.”
Regardless of celebrations throughout the nation, the U.S. remains deeply divided. The American flag, as soon as a unifying image, is now alienating to some, its stripes fault traces between individuals who kneel whereas “The Star-Spangled Banner” performs and people for whom not pledging allegiance is an affront.
By the numbers: Reviews of recent coronavirus instances within the U.S. are regular at 12,000 a day, the bottom since testing turned broadly accessible, with fewer than 300 every day deaths. The U.S. didn’t meet Biden’s deadline of 70 % of adults a minimum of partly vaccinated by July 4.
From Opinion: Each Juneteenth and the Fourth of July belong to all People, writes Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor at Harvard. However whereas one celebrates the independence of the American nation, the opposite celebrates the independence of a nation inside the American nation.
Associated: Stacie Marshall, who inherited a Georgia farm, is descended from a household that enslaved individuals. She is making an attempt on a small scale to deal with a generations-old wrong that also bedevils the nation.
A lethal airplane crash within the Philippines
A navy airplane within the Philippines crashed yesterday, with 96 troopers and crew members onboard, after lacking a runway whereas making an attempt to land on the island of Jolo. At the least 50 individuals died, together with three civilians on the bottom. Officers worry the dying toll will climb.
The troopers have been heading to Jolo to bolster navy operations in opposition to Abu Sayyaf, a small Islamist group that the Philippine authorities considers a terrorist group.
Context: The Philippine navy has been making an attempt to modernize its ageing air fleet. The airplane that crashed first flew in 1988 and was utilized by the U.S. Air Drive till the Philippines purchased it in January. Three helicopters have additionally crashed this 12 months.
An in a single day vaccination drive in Rome
Almost 900 individuals confirmed up on Saturday within the Italian capital for an overnight vaccination drive, referred to as Open Evening, which aimed to succeed in “individuals on the margins of society, probably the most fragile,” a neighborhood well being official mentioned.
Medical doctors and nurses administered the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to homeless individuals, undocumented migrants, overseas college students and authorized migrants who should not registered with the nationwide well being service. The vaccine is very helpful for individuals who could be tougher to succeed in or may not return for a second dose.
At the least 700,000 individuals in Italy should not registered with the nationwide well being service, which is managed by regional governments, based on the Nationwide Institute for Well being, Migration and Poverty.
Particulars: To assist attract crowds, a jazz pianist serenaded these current on Saturday evening, whereas free espresso and cornetti — the Italian croissant — have been provided yesterday morning.
Listed below are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
In different developments:
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Iran’s president warned of a possible fifth wave because the Delta variant unfold.
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Since April, well being care suppliers in France have routinely given a third dose of a two-dose vaccine to individuals with sure immune circumstances.
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Britain is trying to reopen regardless of the spreading Delta variant. Deer are running rampant across England after the pandemic halted searching and culling.
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The Indian police are investigating whether or not scammers gave out 1000’s of pictures of salt water as an alternative of Covid-19 vaccines.
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Why American politics aren’t budging
The nation is recovering from a pandemic and an financial disaster, and its former president is in authorized and monetary peril. However no political realignment seems to be at hand, writes Alexander Burns, a nationwide politics correspondent for The Instances.
It’s unclear whether or not the American voters remains to be able to large-scale shifts in opinion, or whether or not the nation is basically locked right into a schism for the foreseeable future, with roughly 53 % of People on one facet and 47 % on the opposite.
“I believe we’re open to small strikes; I’m unsure we’re open to massive strikes,” mentioned Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster. “Partisanship has made our system so sclerotic that it isn’t very conscious of actual modifications in the true world.”
Although the pandemic restoration had helped voters really feel higher concerning the route the nation is shifting in, it didn’t appear to be altering occasion preferences, mentioned Russ Schriefer, a Republican strategist. “If something, since November individuals have retreated additional and additional again into their very own corners.”
Final 12 months, Donald Trump presided over an out-of-control pandemic that killed a whole bunch of 1000’s of People and devastated the economic system. In his subsequent presidential marketing campaign, he outlined no agenda for his second time period and delivered one of the most self-destructive debate performances in fashionable historical past — however nonetheless received 25 states.