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Good morning. The Trump administration forecasts a rise in deaths. An Amazon executive quits. And Costco limits meat sales. Let’s start with a look at the virus in New York versus the rest of the U.S.
Where cases are still rising
Most countries with severe coronavirus outbreaks have come well down from their peak in new cases each day. It’s happened in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Turkey and, if you believe the official numbers, China.
But it has not happened in the United States. Here, the number of both confirmed new cases and deaths has fallen only slightly in the last few weeks. Every day since April 2, there have been at least 22,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths.
Now, with many states preparing to reopen their economies, the toll is likely to start rising again, according to a private Trump administration forecast obtained by The Times. It projected about 3,000 deaths per day on June 1.
Why has the United States failed to bring down its caseload as much as most other countries?
The answer isn’t completely clear, given the complexity of the virus. But the leading suspect, many experts say, is the uneven nature of the U.S. response — like the shortage of tests so far and the mixed approach to social distancing.
“The problem with the American response is that it’s so haphazard,” Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told me.
One way to see the pattern is to look at the U.S. caseload outside the New York metro area. New York has been hit harder than any other city in the world, thanks to its large number of foreign visitors, its high population density and a slow initial response from its political leaders.
But New York has since engaged in fairly rigorous social distancing, and its caseload trend looks like that of a European country: up and then down.
The story is different in the rest of the country. Outside of the New York region, the caseload still has not peaked:
In other publications: I found both of these articles helpful in understanding the big picture: “Three potential futures for Covid-19,” by Sharon Begley of Stat; and “Why the Coronavirus Is So Confusing,” by The Atlantic’s Ed Yong.
THE MORNING FIVE
1. A crackdown on antibody tests
Many antibody tests — used to determine whether people have been exposed to the coronavirus — have yielded unreliable results. In response, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday it was giving companies that sell the tests 10 days to prove their products work or pull them from the market.
2. An Amazon executive quits in protest
An Amazon executive quit his high-ranking job after the company fired employees who raised concerns about worker safety during the pandemic. “Remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised,” the executive, Tim Bray, wrote in a blog post. “So I resigned.”
3. The virus hits the meat counter
Costco has limited sales of fresh meat, apparently in response to potential meat shortages stemming from virus outbreaks among slaughterhouse workers. Each customer can buy only three fresh beef, pork or poultry products.
Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain, has also limited meat purchases in some stores.
4. Seeking social-distance justice
In Alabama, a woman called the police on teenagers goofing off outside a bowling alley. In Utah, officials closed tattoo parlors and salons after fielding more than 500 complaints. And in Wisconsin, a doctor was suspended from work after attending a packed rally without a mask.
Call it virus snitching: A growing number of frustrated Americans are calling the authorities on people they believe are flouting social-distancing guidelines.
5. Stories from the front lines
Health care workers around the world continue to risk their lives to care for people infected by the coronavirus. The Times has collected stories from dozens of nurses, doctors and E.M.T.s — about what keeps them up at night and what inspires them to keep fighting.
Here’s what else is happening
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More than a dozen countries eased virus-related restrictions on Monday, including Italy, which has been under strict lockdown since early March.
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In New York, 15 children have been hospitalized with a mysterious illness that may be tied to Covid-19.
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A federal judge opened the door to an inquiry into whether Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, inappropriately encouraged judges to retire.
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In Opinion, a behavioral economist offers advice for overcoming quarantine fatigue.
BACK STORY: Pulitzer day
The day that the Pulitzer Prizes are awarded is the closest thing to an annual celebration at The New York Times.
Shortly before 3 p.m., the staff gathers in the main newsroom — an open area that stretches over three floors — and awaits the official announcement of the prizes by Columbia University. The paper’s executive editor, the winners and their editors then take turns giving remarks.
This year, of course, that gathering didn’t happen. We instead logged onto a Google Livestream to celebrate The Times’s three winners, three additional finalists and other journalism from the past year. Our winners were:
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Nikole Hannah-Jones, for her “sweeping, deeply reported and personal essay” in the 1619 Project, on slavery.
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Brian Rosenthal, for his exposé of the New York taxi industry and its predatory loans that ruined drivers’ lives.
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A team of international reporters, for coverage of Russia under Vladimir Putin.
The New Yorker won two prizes this year, and The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica won the Public Service prize for their joint investigation of sexual violence in Alaska.
A special citation went to Ida B. Wells, the investigative reporter who was born into slavery and exposed the horrors of lynching. On Twitter, Hannah-Jones — who uses Ida Bae Wells as her account name — exulted: “Ida B. Wells & I were awarded the Pulitzer on the same day. How can I not believe that the ancestors intervened on this moment?”
For more: Concepción de León of The Times discusses the books winners here, and the full prize list is here. Photographer Jose R. Lopez went behind the scenes at the selection process.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT, READ
Win the war on bland
Do yourself a favor and buy a jar of chile crisp, the superstar Chinese condiment that our food editor Sam Sifton calls “magical” in just about any savory dish, including the baked tofu and green beans pictured above.
If you need a little extra convincing, Eater reports that many shuttered restaurants are selling their own brands of chile crisp and chile oil. Try these packs from Xi’an Famous Foods.
The end of J. Crew?
The first major American retailer to declare bankruptcy during the pandemic was not a fading department-store chain. It was J. Crew, a household name recently championed by Michelle Obama.
In its heyday, the company’s designs represented “the myths of American heritage, bootstrapping and independence,” The Times’s Vanessa Friedman writes. But a loss of brand identity — and an inability to stay relevant in a changing retail landscape — contributed to its decline.
Foreshadowing: In 2017, our pop music critic Jon Caramanica asked, “What Happened to J. Crew?”
Console yourself with horror
Since the pandemic began, fans of Stephen King keep telling him it feels as if they’re living in one of his novels.
He has written more than 70 books, so we’ve put together a beginner’s guide for every mood, from “I’m a scaredy-cat” to “I want pure suspense.” If you prefer your scares delivered onscreen, our TV critic Mike Hale spotlighted seven eerie shows that go beyond “Black Mirror.”
A personal recommendation: “The Stand,” King’s post-apocalyptic opus. I just bought a new copy this week.
In memoriam: Don Shula
He won more games than any other N.F.L. head coach. His teams had losing records in only two of his 33 seasons. And he is still the only coach in the modern era to oversee an undefeated season, by the 1972-73 Miami Dolphins.
Diversions
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Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg surprised the class of 2020 with some advice.
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A high school principal in Alabama expressed his feelings about the pandemic through song.
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After President Trump compared himself to Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Kimmel said, “Just for the record, you’re not allowed to say you’re being treated worse than Lincoln if you are still alive.”
Games
Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Love, in Italian (five letters). Or check out my favorite Times game: Spelling Bee.
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David
P.S. For the first time in our 169 years of publishing, the word “vitaparcours” — fitness trails interspersed with exercise stations — appeared in The Times yesterday, as spotted by the Twitter bot @nyt_first_said.
Today’s episode of “The Daily” is about how the pandemic has exposed inequalities among university students.
Lauren Leatherby, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Sanam Yar, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Adam Pasick contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at [email protected].
