Shifting Sands: As the number of coronavirus cases in the US topped 1 million yesterday, the White House coronavirus task force issued a projection that 74,000 Americans will die of the disease by August.

  This morning there are 1,012,583 cases and 58,355 deaths in the US. The number of deaths has risen by 13,280 in the last seven days.

  New York had a better day; 167 deaths in the past 24 hours.

  Models and projections are shifty, depending on a changing set of facts. One thing they cannot account for is reductions in contaminating contacts, but it’s certain that many more deaths can be expected.

  The Centers for Disease Control also says that a surge in death statistics suggests that the virus has killed more people than authorities know. 

  President Trump continues to congratulate himself for the amount of coronavirus testing done in the US so far. He tweeted, “We are doing far more, and better, Testing than any other country in the world, and yet the media does nothing but complain.” 

  Trump brags about the raw numbers because the US is a big country with a lot of people. But by percentage of population tested, the US is 10^th behind Portugal at #1, as well as  Italy, Spain, Ireland, Germany, and Russia.

Unorthodox: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio sent the police last night to break up the crowded funeral of an orthodox Jewish rabbi where the attendants were not social distancing.

  The police have previously broken up large weddings and funerals, but last night’s breakup of an Hasidic funeral was a major incident. De Blasio went to see the crowd for himself and later tweeted, “I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”

  The orthodox Jewish, and particularly the Hasidim, were outraged. They noted that thousands of New Yorkers had gathered yesterday for a flyover of fighter jets. The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said in a tweet that “people failed to social distance at a funeral the same day that thousands of New Yorkers failed to distance for 45 minutes to watch a flyover.”

Where’s the Beef: The meat department in the groceries, particularly the beef, is looking thin. With meat processing plants around the country becoming hot zones for spread of the coronavirus, President Trump said he’s going to use the Defense Production Act to keep the plants working.

  What Trump did not say is how he proposes to protect the workers who stand shoulder to shoulder on the production lines. 

The Silent Gavel: House Democratic leaders decided not to bring the members back into session next week after determining it’s too dangerous. Majority leader Steny Hoyer said, “The House physician’s view was that there was a risk to members that is one he would not recommend taking.”

  Republicans have been urging a re-opening. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is calling the Senate back to session on Monday.

Him Too: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has a nagging problem that won’t go away. Accusations and evidence that Biden once sexually groped an office aide keep dribbling out, damaging his squeaky clean image.

  A woman named Tara Reade, who was 29 when she worked for Biden in the early 1990s, has claimed that  the then-senator pushed her up against a wall and put his hand up her skirt. Initially she said Biden stroked her neck and shoulders, which is perfectly believable about a guy who is known to be inappropriately handsy, but not a sexual predator.

  Reade has changed her story over time, but some friends now say she told them about it at the time, backing up her current accusation. 

  Democratic leaders have taken a position of intolerance toward sexual harassment, but now some of the most vocal, including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, are standing by Biden. She said, “He’s devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation.”

  The truth of the accusation might never be determined. But it’s already been demonstrated that a sexual creep can be elected President.

The Bulletin Board: Vice President Mike Pence flouted the Mayo Clinic’s facemask policy when he toured the facility yesterday while everyone around him was wearing one. Pence told reporters he wanted to be able to look people “in the eye.” — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he is discussing the possibility of starting the next school term in July. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that the city’s 1.1 million students would not return until September. — American citizens married to undocumented immigrants are finding out that a clause in the federal relief bill disqualifies them from receiving stimulus checks. — No surprise, Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden for president.

Dumb and Dumberer: The board of the Mat-Su Borough School District north of Anchorage, Alaska voted to exclude five famous books from instruction because they are considered too controversial. The five: “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” 

  “Caged Bird” was criticized for “anti-white’ messaging,” “Gatsby” and “Things” are loaded with “sexual references,” “Invisible Man” has bad language and “Catch-22” includes violence, according to school district summaries of the books.

  “Catch-22” includes violence because it’s about World War II. 

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