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Trump pushed back against a question on the police killing of George Floyd, whose death sparked nationwide protests over racism and police brutality.

In a CBS News interview, Trump described the killing of Floyd as “terrible.” He was then asked by reporter Catherine Herridge why black Americans are “still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country.”

Trump replied, “So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people.” He added, “More people, by the way. More white people.”

But a 2018 study showed black Americans are roughly 3.5 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement than white Americans.

In the CBS interview, Trump also described the debate over displaying the Confederate flag as a freedom of speech issue.

“All I say is freedom of speech. It’s very simple. My attitude is freedom of speech,” Trump said. “Very strong views on the Confederate flag. With me, it’s freedom of speech. Very simple. Like it, don’t like it, it’s freedom of speech.”

Critics have argued the Confederate flag is a symbol of white supremacy that has no place in modern-day America, and Nascar recently announced the flag would be banned at their races.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered a grim prediction for how coronvirus will impact the US in the months to come.

Speaking during a webinar with the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr Robert Redfield said, “I do think the fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are going to be the probably one of the most difficult times that we experienced in American public health.”

Redfield emphasized it was crucial that Americans do everything they can to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system. “Keeping the healthcare system from being overstretched, I think, is really going to be important,” Redfield said. “And the degree that we’re able to do that, I think, will define how well we get through the fall and winter.”

A number of public health experts have warned a “second wave” of coronavirus infections is likely later this year, but members of the Trump administration have downplayed or outright dismissed such predictions.

The Trump administration has agreed to rescind its controversial policy on foreign student visas during the coronavirus pandemic.

The policy had sparked multiple lawsuits, including one from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

According to Bloomberg News, District Judge Allison Burroughs announced at a hearing today that the government reached an argreement with Harvard and MIT to rescind the policy.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced last week that foreign students who were earning their degrees entirely online could not stay in the US.

That announcement sparked outcry from students, universities and Democratic lawmakers, with many critics insisting the policy was an attempt by the White House to pressure universities to reopen.

Trump has repeatedly urged universities and schools to welcome students back this fall, despite concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus in classrooms and on college campuses.

Joe Biden has just concluded his remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on his plan to rebuild the American economy, which has suffered greatly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee argued investing in clean energy could revitalize the US economy, describing the climate crisis as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jolt new life into our economy.”

Biden promised bold change, saying, “We won’t just tinker around the edges. We’re going to make historic investments that will seize the opportunity and meet this moment in history.”

The quote was noteworthy considering one of Biden’s former primary rivals, Eiizabeth Warren, has previously said Democrats “can’t afford to just tinker around the edges.” Warren has now been named as a potential running mate for Biden.

Joe Biden repeatedly mocked some of Trump’s past comments about clean energy, which the president has previously expressed skepticism of.

“He said he doesn’t like LED because quote: ‘The light’s no good. I always look orange,’” Biden said in Wilmington.

In Septemeber, Trump said of energy-efficient light blubs, “The bulb that we’re being forced to use, number one, to me, most importantly, I always look orange.”

Biden also mocked Trump for his baseless suggestion that the noise from windmills, one form of clean energy, can cause cancer.

Joe Biden is delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, criticizing Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and outlining his plan for the country’s economic recovery.

“It’s gotten bad enough that even Donald Trump finally decided to wear a mask in public,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said of the recent surge in new coronavirus cases. “I’m glad he made the shift. But Mr. President, it’s not enough.”

Biden advised Trump to listen to public health experts, even though the White House has recently sought to cast doubt upon the credibility of Dr Anthony Fauci.

“Mr President, ‘Open everything now’ isn’t a strategy for success. It’s barely a slogan,” Biden said. “Mr President, please listen to your public health experts, instead of denigrating them. Do your job, Mr President. Because if we can’t deal with a public health crisis. we can’t deal with the economic crisis.”

The White House announced the president will hold a press conference in the Rose Garden at 5 pm ET today.

It’s unclear whether Trump will actually take questions from White House reporters at the event, considering the president has not stayed for questions at some of his recent press conferences.

If Trump does take questions, he will likely be pressed on his push for schools to reopen this fall, despite the coronavirus pandemic, and the White House’s recent efforts to cast doubt upon the credibility of Dr Anthony Fauci.

Republican congressman Morgan Griffith announced he has tested positive for coronavirus, days after participating in a press conference on the need to reopen schools.

“Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today was informed that he tested positive for COVID-19,” Griffith’s office said in a statement.

“Upon developing possible symptoms, he took the test and has since been self-isolating. Although he does not currently have significant symptoms, he will continue to self-isolate as he performs his duties on behalf of Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District.”

The news comes less than a week after Griffith participated in a press conference to urge schools to reopen this fall, despite concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the classroom.

Griffith defended calls from the president and his allies to reopen schools by saying, “It’s about making sure that we mitigate the risks, which we can easily do. We can take care of the students; we can take care of the teachers.”

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• The US carried out its first federal execution in 17 years. Convicted murderer Daniel Lewis Lee was put to death at a federal prison in Indiana after the supreme court issued a late night, 5-4 decision allowing the execution to proceed.
• Florida reported a record 132 coronavirus deaths in a single day. The grim figure brings Florida’s total coronavirus death toll to 4,409, as the state struggles to respond to a recent surge in new cases.
• Adm. Brett Giroir pushed back against a baseless claim, retweeted by the president, that the CDC is lying about coronavirus. Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, acknowledged mistakes in the government’s response to the pandemic, but he added, “None of us lie. We are completely transparent with the American people.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

New York is expanding the list of states on its travel advisory, telling travelers from 22 states that they must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Cuomo, along with the governors or New Jersey and Connecticut, announced last month that travelers from states with high levels of community spread of coronavirus would have to quarantine after arriving.

Today, New York added Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin to the list of impacted states and removed Delaware from the list.

The update comes one day after Cuomo announced out-of-state travelers would be required to provide their contact information upon arrival in New York. The Democratic governor warned those who refuse to do so could face a $2,000 fine.

Attorney general William Barr said “justice was done” in the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, which took place this morning, making it the first federal execution since 2003.

“Today, Lee finally faced the justice he deserved,” Barr said in a statement released by the justice department.

“The American people have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in implementing the sentence for Lee’s horrific offenses.”

Barr announced last year that the federal government was resuming capital punishment, which has only been carried out three times since the federal policy was reinstated in 1988.

The Trump administration faced a number of legal hurdles in advancing the policy, but the supreme court said Lee’s execution should move forward in a late night, 5-4 decision.