U.S. corona deaths top 200,000

The death toll from coronavirus in the United States has hit 200,000

According to Johns Hopkins University, the number is at 200,477 the highest in the world. That’s roughly the population of Huntington Beach.

The University of Washington is predicting an eventual U.S. death toll of 400,000 by the end of the year as schools and colleges reopen and winter weather has its effects. Approximately 400,000 Americans died in World War 2.

As of now, deaths in the U.S. are almost 770 a day. “The idea of 200,000 deaths is really very sobering, in some respects stunning,” said infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. also has 6,882,969 confirmed cases, also highest in the world.

India is second in cases with 5,562,663 and Brazil is second in deaths with 137,272.

Romney’s choice may be enough

A decision by Sen. Mitt Romney to vote on a “qualified candidate” for the now-vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court could clear the way for President Donald Trump to make his third conservative appointment to the high court. Romney, who was the 2012 Republican candidate for president and a sometimes critic of Trump, nevertheless backed the president in this case, making it more likely that a Senate vote would take place before the election. Republicans have 53 seats in the upper body, and two have stated they would not vote for a nominee before Election Day.

In the news: Federal budget bleeds red ink

The Congressional Budget Office issued a report on Tuesday warning that big spending cuts would be necessary to head off historically high deficits. The CBO is recommending annual cuts of $900 billion a year for decades. • Early September or at least early October are the best times, to get a flu shot, according to medical experts. Early inoculation should allow time for a person’s body to build up an immune response and help avoid a combination of flu and coronavirus. •  A state of emergency has been declared in Louisville, Kentucky in anticipation of an expected grand jury decision on whether police officers should be indicted in the death of Breonna Taylor on March 13 in a raid that went awry. • Wall Street bounced back on Tuesday from a bearish Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 140.48 points, while the S&P 500 rose by 34.51 points. Nasdaq climbed by 184.64 points.

Slooooowwww cooling trend in the weather

We’re starting to settle into typical West Orange County early autumn weather. Tuesday night will see some patchy fog with a low of 61. Wednesday will start with the fog, followed by the sun in the afternoon, with a high of 82. The overnight low will be 61, says the National Weather Service. Thursday’s high will dip to 81 in the day but go to 62 at night. Coastal highs will be cooler.

Sports Today: Nuggets battle back

Here’s the schedule for area pro sports teams. Times are Pacific Daylight. Scores are posted as they become available.

• Denver Nuggets, 114, Lakers 106. In the Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets beat back a late LA rally to get their first win in three games of the series. Jamal Murray scored 28 points for Denver and Jarami Grant added 26. The Lakers got 30 points from LeBron James and 27 fro Anthony Davis. The next game is Thursday at 6 p.m.
• Angels 4, San Diego Padres 2. The Halos continued their too-late surge with a win over the Padres in San Diego. The bottom third of the lineup collected eight of the team’s 10 hits, including a home run by Max Stassi. Griffin Canning (2-3) had a quality start, working six innings and giving up just two hits and one run. He struck out 10 and walked five. The Angels are 25-31 and in third place in the AL West.
• Dodgers 7, Oakland 2: It gets to seem routine, but the Dodgers won their eighth consecutive NL West title with the win. They got four homers and Dustin May (2-1) pitched well, working five innings and giving up three hits and two runs. He struck out five and walked three, The Dodgers are 39-16 and in first in the NLW.