More than 20 million private-sector jobs vanished last month
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
American private-sector payrolls fell by 20.2 million jobs in April, the worst month on record, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
ADP has been reporting private-sector payrolls each month since 2002.
The losses were broad-based across small-, medium- and large-sized businesses as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country and forced companies to shut down. The services sector was hit the hardest: 16 million service jobs were lost last month.
“Job losses of this scale are unprecedented. The total number of job losses for the month of April alone was more than double the total jobs lost during the Great Recession,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
The ADP report comes two days before the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report, which is expected to paint an equally bleak picture of the American labor market during the pandemic.
8:37 a.m. ET, May 6, 2020
Farmers are still waiting for $19 billion in coronavirus aid
From CNN's Katie Lobosco
A pile of zucchini and squash is seen after it was discarded by a farmer in Florida City, Florida, on April 1. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
By the time the US Department of Agriculture announced a $19 billion aid package on April 17, farmers were already dumping milk and destroying fresh produce as demand from restaurants evaporated.
It could be weeks longer before any of the money, most of which was appropriated by Congress in March as part of its $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package, gets to the farmers who need it.
USDA is working as quickly as possible to implement the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program," a spokesperson said in an email to CNN.
What's more, family farmers likely missed out on getting loans from the small business program because it was unclear at first whether agricultural producers qualified.
The USDA is using the $3 billion in aid purchases to address that problem. It is partnering with private distributors who will buy a variety of food and package it into boxes that it will deliver to food banks. The USDA says it will spend $100 million a month on fruit and vegetables, $100 million on dairy products, and a $100 million on meat products.
In the meantime, states have tried to step in. Florida has created a system to help connect farmers directly with buyers, consumers, and food banks. Iowa and Minnesota have launched programs to connect pork producers with local processors as bigger plants shut down because their workers are getting sick.
Washington governor "infuriated" by Trump's coronavirus leadership
From CNN's Sara Sidner and Jason Kravarik
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on April 13. Ted S. Warren/AP
Washington state governor Jay Inslee said he's become "infuriated " by President Trump's leadership during the coronavirus crisis, citing his state's continued shortages in personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and materials to test for the virus.
"We did not have enough PPE for nurses and many facilities and to some degree still don't," Inslee said in an interview with CNN.
The Washington state governor, who ran for the Democratic nomination for president last year, criticized the Trump administration for not widely invoking the Defense Production Act, which gives the government more control during emergencies to direct industrial production.
Inslee said that Washington and other states have been forced into "scrambling around the world" to purchase PPE, "because the the federal government would not accept the responsibility to help purchase this material. And most importantly they would not help to manufacture it."
Some background: The wartime-era law has been a point of contention between states and the Trump administration. While President Trump has invoked the law in some instances during the coronavirus pandemic, the shortage of critically needed supplies has fueled calls to use the law in its full capacity.
"There was only one person in the United States who can do that. That is the president of the United States. Governors cannot do that," Inslee said. "We do not have authority to do that. So we've had to rely on the president making this decision and as I've indicated, he refused to do so for weeks and weeks."
8:37 a.m. ET, May 6, 2020
NYC mayor says Trump is "politicizing a pandemic"
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on CNN's "New Day" on May 6. CNN
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized President Trump for “turning his back” on the country's largest city because of partisan affiliation. According to de Blasio, the city has lost $7.4 billion, and there is no guarantee of financial help from the federal government.
“It's astounding that [Trump] even introduces the question of red states and blue states. He's saying it out loud. He's politicizing a pandemic. Not being patriotic, not talking about all Americans and how to bring us back together,” de Blasio said in an interview with CNN’s John Berman.
“What we need is a stimulus that puts us all back on our feet so we can succeed together,” de Blasio said. “… If there is not a strong fourth stimulus for cities and state, there will not be a national economic recovery, period.”
If he doesn’t get it, the mayor said he could be forced to furlough or lay off people who have been at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic recovery — first responders, police, firefighters and teachers.
“I’ve lost $7.4 billion already and my economy can't come back until I get that stimulus and get back to normal and provide the basic services. It's a Catch-22. No stimulus, no recovery,” de Blasio said.
If the President announced that the country needs a fourth stimulus to help fund cities and states, de Blasio said, the Senate would fall in line and work on it immediately.
While de Blasio also said he wants to see New York City kids back in school in September, the city is is no place yet to let up on social distancing guidelines yet.
“We're still not there yet to even begin to loosen up the restrictions,” he said.
De Blasio warned the rest of the country to continue to be vigilant.
“Right now, what I fear is there's a rush to reopen — in some places at least — that's going to end up with people losing their lives who didn't have to lose their lives,” he said.
Watch more:
8:21 a.m. ET, May 6, 2020
Widow of security guard shot after telling customer to wear face mask calls the killing "senseless and stupid"
From CNN's Christina Maxouris
Latryna Munerlyn, wife of security guard Calvin Munerlyn who was killed while enforcing a coronavirus mask rule at a Michigan store. CNN via Cisco Webex
"He was devoted, loving, kind-hearted, courageous, brave, just committed," she said. "He was just loved everywhere," Munerlyn's widow, Latryna Munerlyn, told CNN's Don Lemon.
Three members of the same family have been charged.
That was senseless and stupid. And now my babies (are) without a father for the rest of their life," Latryna Munerlyn said.
The family had eight children. "My children are very, very strong," she said. "They are strong, and I say that man instilled something in them that can't nobody take away. My babies are super strong. They have been trying to cope with this and my baby boy said, 'As long as he's with God he's OK.'"
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Munerlyn was "simply doing his job" to uphold the governor's orders.
"My king always acted honorably," Munerlyn's widow said, "whether he was at that job, a club job, restaurant job, he was an honorable man. Period. They can't take that from him."
She says even though her husband is now gone, his legacy will "live on."
8:21 a.m. ET, May 6, 2020
Trump pivots from fight against growing pandemic
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
President Donald Trump takes part in a roundtable in Phoenix on May 5 about supporting Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also participated in a tour of a Honeywell plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump wants to move on. "Wartime" leadership in a national crisis no longer fits his political timetable.
No matter that coronavirus cases are rising in many states and that governors are ignoring his guidelines about when it's safe to open. Trump is shrugging off warnings by scientists that the easing of restrictions across the country could cause tens of thousands of deaths.
The White House gave its clearest sign yet Tuesday, just less than six months from Election Day and as the US death toll topped 70,000, that it is moving from pandemic management to a message of revival and an aggressive pitch for a second term. And Trump is thwarting oversight efforts of how he and his administration responded to the pandemic that could reveal failures that worsened the outbreak.
Vice President Mike Pence revealed conversations about scaling back the administration's coronavirus task force perhaps around Memorial Day at the end of the month. Officials said that advisers like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx would remain on board. But closing the task force would make experts whose science-based arguments have sometimes contradicted Trump's overly optimistic projections far less visible.
"We're now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening, and we'll have a different group probably set up for that," Trump told CNN's Jim Acosta.
Trump all but admitted that he was reconciled to the deaths that epidemiologists say would result from a premature effort to open the economy.
No one doubts the cataclysmic impact of the stay-at-home orders on the economy -- or the need to somehow find a way to resume daily life, even in some reduced form.
But Trump's White House is showing signs of moving toward the opening in exactly the same slapdash, politically polarizing manner that it used in the early months of the year, when the President was in denial about the problem.
It's 7 a.m. in eastern US and 12 p.m. in London. Here's the latest.
President Donald Trump tours a Honeywell plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks, in Phoenix on May 5. Evan Vucci/AP
If you're just joining our live coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic, here are some key headlines today:
At home
Trump to disband task force: The White House coronavirus task force will begin winding down close to Memorial Day on May 25, according to a senior White House official. This comes just after new models show the US could see 3,000 people die of the virus each day, doubling the death toll to 134,000 by August 4.
Trump makes his case: Visiting a plant manufacturing medical masks in Arizona — a battleground state in the 2020 presidential election — Trump says he wants to reopen the economy.
States may have to close again: More than half of the country's states have started reopening, including many that have not met White House guidelines on when to do so. They may need to shut down again though.
US infection forecast: Covid-19 will likely infect 60% to 70% of the US population before it slows down, according to a top infectious disease epidemiologist. Michael Osterholm estimates that between 5% and 15% have been infected so far.
Black Americans more affected: More black Americans may be dying from coronavirus than white people or other ethnic groups, according to a new study.
Disney's parks are closed: The company's movies aren't in theaters and its cruise ships aren't at sea either. It's one of many companies struggling as the pandemic brings businesses to their knees.
Around the world
UK resignation: Neil Ferguson, the leading epidemiologist who advised the UK government on the coronavirus response, resigned on Tuesday after the Telegraph newspaper reported he broke lockdown rules by allowing a woman to visit his home.
Germany lockdown: Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss loosening lockdown measures with the 16 state prime ministers today.
Economic pain of "historic proportions": The European Union is forecast to contract by a record 7.5% this year, according to a new forecast from the European Commission, as the coronavirus batters economies around the world.
Back to school: Nearly 58,000 students returned to school today in Wuhan, China, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Wuhan began lifting restrictions in early April, after more than two months of total lockdown.
Infection slowdown: South Korea and mainland China both recorded no new local transmissions yesterday.
In Japan: New guidelines for social distancing are provoking public backlash. The suggestions include mandatory face masks and outdoor dining at restaurants.
New findings: A genetic analysis found that the virus' jump from animals to humans was "very recent," and ruled out the possibility that it had been infecting people long before it was identified.
6:21 a.m. ET, May 6, 2020
Opinion: Trump's anti-China theory implodes
From Jeffrey D. Sachs
Editor's note: Jeffrey D. Sachs is a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. The opinions expressed here are his own.
The big lie of the Trump administration is that China is the cause of America's problems. The meme has worked for a while, since it plays into American smugness that if China is succeeding, they must be cheating.
Trump and his right-wing allies upped this game recently by claiming the Covid-19 pandemic was the result of an accidental release from a Chinese laboratory and that China's "cover up" blocked an effective global response.
According to CNN, the still-secret findings of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies (the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) pour cold water on this claim. So too does Trump's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Yet just this past Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted, "There is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan."
Such charges by the Trump administration and by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas are reckless and dangerous. They could push the world to conflict just as the Bush administration's lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq pushed the US into war in 2003.
The US is unprepared to protect residents when states reopen, former acting CDC director says
From CNN's Christina Maxouris
Store manager Natalie Hijazi temporarily closes off the entrance to a Pet Fair store inside The Woodlands Mall on May 5 in The Woodlands, Texas. David J. Phillip/AP
"I don't think you can say, how much suffering are you willing to bear in order to restart the economy until you have done everything possible to ensure that every single person in America can take measures to protect their own health, the health of their families and the health of their communities," Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday. "That's just not the case right now."
Governors across the country have allowed residents to return to some semblance of normality after weeks of shutdowns to stop the spread of the virus. But thecountry's death toll continues to rise and public health experts have warned relaxing restrictions could cost thousands of lives.
"We don't have the testing capacity now to know where this disease is," Besser said. "We have not scaled up the thousands and thousands of contact tracers that we need, we don't provide safe places for people to isolate or quarantine if they are identified as either having an infection or being in contact.
We are saying, if you have money and you are white, you can do well here," he said. "If you are not, good luck to you."
