ONE WORD

As he considers who to pick to be his running mate, Joe Biden says he's looking for someone who is "ready to be president on day one." Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, made the comment in an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said the events across the country over the last two weeks haven't necessarily affected how he'll pick his running mate or who it will be, but they have given him a "greater focus and urgency on the need" to select a person who is "totally simpatico" with him philosophically. Still, the former vice president said he wants someone who's also comfortable enough with him to argue with him privately when they disagree. Biden has publicly committed to selecting a woman for the job and hopes to announce his decision by early August. "It's really important that whomever you pick as a vice pr

A total of 14 states and the US territory of Puerto Rico have recorded their worst week yet for new coronavirus infections, with Texas hitting a record high in  Covid-19  hospitalizations, all while restrictions to curb the pandemic are being relaxed across America. A resurgence in new infections has been detected in states including  Florida ,  Texas  and  California , as authorities allow certain businesses and public places to reopen. According to  data tracked by the Washington Post , since the start of June, 14 states and Puerto Rico have experienced their highest seven-day average of new  coronavirus  cases since the pandemic began. The states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. The surge in cases, which public health experts have described as worrying, and had  warned  about repeatedly, shows that while Covid-19 is now  in retreat  in New York City and other majo

File: Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has tested positive to COVID-19, and has gone into isolation. This was revealed in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Abia State, John Kalu on Monday. The statement noted that Governor Ikpeazu had sent his sample for a COVID-19 test on May 30th and had directed members of the State Executive Council (EXCO) and the inter-ministerial committee on COVID-19 to do the same. According to the statement, the Governor’s first test result returned negative on Tuesday, 2nd June 2020. The Commissioner, however, said that the Abia leader did another COVID-19 test on Thursday, 4th, June 2020 with the sample returning positive. “As a result,” the statement added, “Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has gone into isolation, as required by relevant NCDC protocols, and he is being managed by a competent team of medical practitioners with a view to nursing him back to good health. “Consequent on the above, the Go

Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP Since George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May,  around 140 cities  in  all 50 states  throughout the US have seen protests and demonstrations in response to the killing. More than 10,000 people  have been arrested around the US during the protests, as police forces regularly use pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons on protesters, media and bystanders. Several major US cities have  enacted  curfews in an  attempt  to stop demonstrations and curb unrest. Jarah Gibson was arrested while non-violently protesting in Atlanta, Georgia, on 1 June. “The police were there from the jump and literally escorted us the whole march,” said Gibson. She said around 7.30pm, ahead of Atlanta’s 9pm city-wide curfew, police began boxing in protesters. While protesters were attempting to leave, Gibson tried to video record a person on a bicycle who appeared to be hit by a police car and was arrested by police. She was given a cit

What’s happening Throughout America’s long history of racial violence, certain names have stood out as markers of the struggles of a particular period in time.  Emmett Till’s  lynching in 1955 drew attention to the brutality of the pre-civil rights era in the South. The beating of  Rodney King  and acquittal of the officers involved sparked the Los Angeles riots in 1992. The police killings of  Eric Garner  and  Michael Brown  in 2014 brought the Black Lives Matter movement into the national consciousness. They were, of course, not the only black people to be lynched, beaten or killed in those eras. But a combination of circumstances, timing and the context of the moment turned them into enduring figures. George Floyd’s name will almost certainly join that list given the extraordinary nationwide reaction to the way he was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Floyd’s death was part of a string of recent controversial killings.  Ahmaud Arbery  was gunned down by a white father and son

The mayor of Buffalo has said that the elderly protester filmed being knocked to the ground by police in a now viral video was an “agitator” who has been asked to leave the area “numerous” times. Byron Brown said that the 75-year-old man, Martin Gugino, was trying to “spark up the crowd of people”. Two officers appeared to push Mr Gugino, who hit his head on the pavement and was seen to be bleeding from a head wound after the incident near Niagara Square in Buffalo,  New York . Mr Gugino was rushed to Erie County Medical Centre, where he is in a stable but serious condition. Both officers have been suspended without pay and an internal affairs investigation launched. Explaining why they had not been fired, Mayor Brown told WBEN Radio: “I don’t want to jump ahead of the investigation. It is very important for officers to know they are getting due process.” Mr Brown spoke about the violence and vandalism that had erupted after protests over the death of  George Floyd  and said that Mr Gu

Former President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the  nationwide protests  over the death of George Floyd, praising the “overwhelming majority” of peaceful demonstrators, condemning the violence brought on by a “small minority” and calling on a “new generation of activists” to “bring about real change.” “The waves of protests across the country represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States,”  Obama wrote in an essay published on Medium.com . “The overwhelming majority of participants have been peaceful, courageous, responsible, and inspiring. They deserve our respect and support, not condemnation.” The former president then lauded police in Camden, N.J., and Flint, Mich., for publicly supporting peaceful protests before he criticized demonstrators who have been acting violently. “On the other hand, the small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence in various forms