Trump wants tougher “law and order”

President Donald Trump on Monday declared himself “the president of law and order” even as protestors clashed with military and civilian police not far from the White House.

The protestors – who, according to The Associated Press, were peaceful – were cleared from the area so the president  could walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he said, “We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going to keep it safe.”

Trump said he would mobilize military forces if governors didn’t use the National Guard to restore peace in the face of protests, disturbances and looting in the wake of the controversial death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last week in Minneapolis.

Earlier in the day, the president spoke to governors in a videoconference in which he criticized some of them. “Most of you are weak. You have to arrest people.”

In other developments related to the Floyd protests:

• Two autopsies released on Monday agreed that Floyd’s death was a homicide – the killing of one person by another – but differed in details, according to The New York Times. The county medical examiner fixed the cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.” • The autopsy commissioned by the Floyd family listed the cause as asphyxiation caused by a police officer kneeling on his neck, while other officers held him down.

• Two prominent Democratic leaders were in the public eye Monday, commenting on the George Floyd protests. Former President Barack Obama wrote – in a post on his webpage – that “violence was putting innocent people at risk” and that the tragedy offered a chance for lasting political change, according to United Press International. • Joe Biden, Obama’s vice president and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was at a predominantly African American church Sunday. He vowed to attack “institutional racism” within the first 100 days of being elected president.

• A citywide curfew for New York City was proclaimed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill deBlasio beginning at 11 p.m. local time (8 p.m. Pacific time) Monday and continuing until 5 a.m. Tuesday. Cuomo left open the possibility of extending the curfew if violence did not abate, according to CBS News.

The tragedy of nursing homes seen in report

A new report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that 26,000 deaths – that’s nearly one-quarter of the nation’s total coronavirus fatalities – have taken place in skilled nursing centers.

The report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed a count of 60,000 cases of sickness at such places, which are predominately occupied by older people with health issues. Statistics in the report were compiled through May 24.

As of today (Monday), the Johns Hopkins University count of global deaths is at 374,003, with the United States having the most at 105,003. Following the U.S. are the United Kingdom (Great Britain) with 39,127, Italy with 33,475, Brazil with 29,314 and France with 28,836.

Warm weather will give way to cooler days

The same pattern of clouds and patchy fog in the morning with sun and wind in the afternoon should continue this week in Orange County through Wednesday. Highs will be in the low 80s, according to the National Weather Service.  A cooling trend will start on Friday and extend into the weekend.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––