Some World Cup qualifying games moved to 2021 because of the pandemic
Honduras' Alberth Elis, in white, battles Panama's Alberto Quinteros for the ball during a World Cup qualifier in 2016. Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images
The governing body for soccer in North America has announced that it is rescheduling qualifying games for the 2022 FIFA World Cup that were slated for this fall.
The Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football, also known as CONCACAF, said first-round qualifiers scheduled for October and November will now be played in March of 2021.
“Many parts of the region continue to have very challenging public health situations, and that has been a key factor in this decision,” CONCACAF said in a statement Tuesday. “Additionally, several countries across the confederation have travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, which would make international football involving 30 national teams extremely difficult.”
CONCACAF will provide a new 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying schedule after consulting with FIFA, the global governing body for soccer.
1:17 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
US surpasses 6.3 million coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
There are at least 6,308,741 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 189,323 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far on Monday, Johns Hopkins has recorded 8,119 new cases and 115 reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
1:13 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
Pelosi says GOP stimulus plan "insults the intelligence of the American people"
From CNN's Haley Byrd
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during a television interview at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on September 8. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Senate GOP leaders for their plan to move later this week on a scaled-down coronavirus stimulus package.
“What they have is so meager that it insults the intelligence of the American people,” Pelosi said Tuesday during an interview with Bloomberg TV.
What is this about: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing a $500 billion measure, about half the size of Republicans’ initial offer. The bill is not expected to receive the 60 votes needed to pass, as Democrats are likely to oppose it. Democratic leaders have called instead for a $2 trillion relief package.
Pelosi alleged the bill is an attempt to give vulnerable GOP senators some political cover.
“It’s only to check the box so some of his endangered Republican senators can go home and say, ‘Well, see I tried.’ But it isn’t trying. It’s not even an attempt to do the right thing, and Mitch McConnell knows that because he has to satisfy those Republicans in his caucus who don’t want to spend one more dollar,” said Pelosi.
“Get serious. Get real, Mitch McConnell,” she added.
She said Republicans should negotiate among themselves to come to some consensus on how to move forward, noting that the new GOP plan differs from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s proposal to Democratic leaders. “They are in disarray,” Pelosi said.
She also claimed Republicans “don’t believe in science, and they don’t believe in governance.”
But Pelosi projected confidence on a separate front that Republicans and Democrats will move to keep the government funded ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
“We’ll come to agreement on that, I feel quite certain,” she said.
She said she believes it would be hard for President Trump to veto a clean continuing resolution.
“It’s not in anybody’s interest for the government to be shut down. It is to be avoided at all costs,” Pelosi said.
1:25 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
Connecticut governor says his state struggled to obtain supplies during the early days of the pandemic
From CNN’s Anna Sturla
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont participates in a panel discussion Tuesday at the Yale School of Public Health. Yale University
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont spoke candidly about his state's shutdown and struggle to obtain supplies during the early days of the pandemic while taking part in a panel today at the Yale School of Public Health.
"At that point, you had 50 governors scrambling," Lamont said, describing planes landing with ordered personal protective equipment, then taking off to another place with a higher offer.
The governor also described the days leading up to initial shutdowns in the United States, and the realization that Connecticut would not receive supplies promised by the federal government.
Lamont remarked on a speech by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the National Governors' Association meeting in early 2020, where Pompeo warned against making deals with China. Lamont described the speech as foreshadowing his realization that the federal government was not in control of supply chains for personal protective equipment.
"There was no supply down in Washington, DC. You probably heard, 'Don't worry, the cavalry's on the way,'" Lamont said. "There was nothing there."
Lamont added he had to convince his constituents that the virus was a matter of life or death.
"I could not just order people, 'Wear the mask, stay safe, stay home, or else I'm going to arrest you,’" said Lamont.
1:05 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
96% of NYC public school classrooms have passed ventilation inspection, mayor says
From CNN's Laura Dolan
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a press conference in New York on September 8. NYC Media
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that 64,550 classrooms in NYC public schools have been inspected for ventilation issues and 96% have passed.
Ventilation inspections are completed in all 1,485 public school buildings, according to the mayor.
“Work will continue on the classrooms that need a little more to be done before school opens,” said de Blasio at his news conference. “There is time, obviously, to make the improvements.”
New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said a total of 10 buildings need repairs across the board. The city is working to get them “up to par” before the start of school on Sept. 21. Staff at those buildings will be temporarily working from home, said Carranza.
“Any repairs that aren’t complete by the first day of full time teaching and learning with not be used. It’s a simple as that," he said.
The “Learning Bridges” free childcare program announced by the mayor earlier this summer will have access for 30,000 students starting Sept. 21 for children taking part in the hybrid learning program.
The city will prioritize those who have the greatest need for pre-K-8 children.
Seventy percent of families considered high priority will have access by the end of September, according to de Blasio, and 100,000 seats will be available by December.
12:29 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
Senate will vote Thursday on advancing GOP stimulus bill
From CNN's Ted Barrett
The Senate will vote Thursday on a procedural motion to advance the GOP's scaled-down Covid stimulus bill, a Republican leadership aide told CNN.
Here's where the votes stand: The $500-billion measure would need 60 votes to advance, but is not expected to reach that number because of broad Democratic opposition to the bill, which they say is too small.
Republican leaders are hoping to get at least 51 GOP votes so they can tout the measure would have passed If not for Democrats filibuster of the relief.
But for Republicans up for re-election, especially those in tight races, being able to vote for more stimulus will be an important signal to their voters that they tried to act, even if the bill falls short.
12:37 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
New York will give each school a Covid-19 "report card," governor says
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press briefing in New York on September 8. Pool/WNBC
New York will publicly disclose a Covid-19 "report card" for every school in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
“Every school district has to report every day to the department of health as to how many tests were taken, what type of test, what was the result,” and all that information will be available online, he said.
The state will keep track of the data provided by the school district, local health department, and lab that does the testing. He is signing an executive order today to ensure this data is collected.
The governor demonstrated the platform and what will be available including the following:
Positive cases by date of student and staff by school and school district
Whether that school district is remote, in person or hybrid
The number of students and staff on-site
The percentage of on-site students and staff who test positive
The number of tests being administered by the school, the test type, the lab used and lag time
The date of the last submission and update.
As K-12 schools reopen with a bevy of combinations from remote, to hybrid, to in-person learning, Cuomo said its “imperative” to track the infection rate by school and district to determine potential spread.
Cuomo said parents and teachers are still nervous, and the school plans are only as good as their implementation.
12:24 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
More than 37,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported at colleges and universities in all 50 states
From CNN's Annie Grayer
Mend Urgent Care workers perform drive-up COVID-19 testing for students and faculty at Woodbury University on August 24 in Burbank, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
As college students begin their fall semester, all 50 states have now reported positive cases of Covid-19 at colleges and universities.
This represents more than 37,000 cases of Covid-19 among students and staff at colleges and universities across the country.
These numbers represent cases that CNN has reported so far. There are likely many others, and this total will continue to be updated.
One thing to note: Many schools update their data every few days, or even once a week in some cases, so there can be a lag in data.
12:09 p.m. ET, September 8, 2020
New York health department will require colleges to notify state when they have 100 Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
The New York Department of Health will require colleges to notify the state when they have 100 Covid-19 cases and could be required to transition to remote learning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
The governor said in New York that SUNY Oneonta, Cornell University, University at Buffalo, Hofstra University, SUNY Oswego, Colgate University and SUNY Fredonia have all seen outbreaks.
“That’s all across the state, that’s the entire state, that goes from Long Island all through Upstate.”
“So this is going to be a problem, I am telling you that,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cuomo cited a large gathering in Washington Square park in New York City this weekend allegedly involving New York University students, and called out the school administrators and city police for not stepping in.
“Frankly NYU security didn’t do anything about it, local police didn’t do anything about it.”
NYU this weekend said in a statement it was investigating.
