PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN condemned racism in a visit to Atlanta Friday (Flickr/Gage Skidmore).

In a trip Friday to Atlanta, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed sympathy for Asian Americans who feel themselves the victim of anti-Asian bias and violence.

According to the Associated Press, the president condemned incidents of racism as well as the incident this week when a gunman killed eight people, six of them Asian women. The suspect is a white male.

“We have to change our hearts,” said Biden. “Hate can have no safe harbor in America.”

Harris, a person of South Asian descent, said, “Racism is real in America. And it always has been. Xenophobia is real in America, and always has been. Sexism, too. The president and I will not be silent. We will not stand by. We will always speak out against violence, hate crimes and discrimination, wherever and whenever it occurs.”

News: Another accuser of Cuomo

ANDREW CUOMO, governor of New York (Wikipedia).

An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo alleged Friday that he had made suggestive remarks to her, remarked about her appearance and gazed down the front of her shirt.

According to The New York Times, Alyssa McGrath made those allegations in an interview with the newspaper. Last week another aide accused the governor, a Democrat, of groping her breast.

Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and suggested that his comments may have been misinterpreted. He has resisted calls to resign his position. McGrath’s accusations are the latest in a string of claims by women of sexual harassment against them by the Empire State’s chief executive.

Three Feet Is Enough

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new guideline on social distancing in classrooms, stating that elementary school students need only keep a separation of three feet, as long as all parties are wearing masks.

The distance rule is important because the previous guidance of six feet made it difficult to fit an entire class of students in a typical classroom. The new distance rule can also be applied to students in middle/intermediate and high schools, as long as transmission rates in the community are not high, according to The New York Times.

Business: AMC opening; Regal not yet

The AMC movie theater chain announced it would have 98 percent of its cinemas open by today (Friday), with the balance opening by March 26.

REGAL CINEMAS in Garden Grove  (File photo).

AMC operates the Film City complex at The Outlets in Orange, just east of Garden Grove.  The safety measures in place, according to the Associated Press, will include social distancing, mandatory mask wearing, automatic seat blocking and mobile ordering for food and drinks.

The Regal 16 cinema at The Promenade in Garden Grove remains closed. A statement issued in January by the chain stated that its movie houses would reopen when “big movies” are released by Hollywood. Highly anticipated are the new James Bond film “No Time to Die,” the superhero flick “Black Widow” and the horror film “A Quiet Place II.”

Wall Street remained grumpy for the second consecutive day. Two of the three major stock indexes showed declines. Nasdaq gained 99.07 points to close at 13,215.24. However, the Dow slipped 234.33 points to close at 32,727.97 and the S&P 500 dropped 2.36 points to 3.913.10.

Sports: Oral Roberts stuns Ohio State

Oral Roberts University’s Golden Eagles upset second-seeded Ohio State 75-72 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball first round on Friday. Kevin Obanor scored 30 points for the No. 15 seed and made two free throws in overtime to seal the victory.  E.J. Liddell scored 23 points for the Buckeyes.

Thursday’s Results

UCLA 86, Michigan State (OT): The Bruins’ men’s team won its play-in game against the Spartans and qualified for the Final 64 NCAA basketball tournament. The blue-and-gold (18-9) will face Brigham Young (18-9) on Saturday in the first round.

USC (22-7) will open tournament play Saturday against Drake (26-4).

Ducks 3, Phoenix 2: Anaheim won its second consecutive game to see its record improve to 9-16-6, good for 24 points and to pull within one point of seventh place in the NHL West Division.

Lakers 116, Charlotte 105: LeBron James scored 37 points as LAL won a fourth straight game and moved into second place in the Western Conference. Dennis Schroder added 22. The Lakers are 28-13, and in second place in the NBA Western Conference and first in the Pacific Division.

Weather: Clouds, maybe a sprinkle

Clouds and sunshine will continue to wrestle for supremacy in the sky over West Orange County going into the weekend. There’s a 14 percent of rain on Saturday, diminishing to 5 percent on Sunday. Daytime highs will be in the mid-60s, heating up to 74 degrees by midweek next week. In coastal Huntington Beach, daytime highs will be in the low 60s and a small craft advisory is in place because of brisk breezes blowing up to 20 miles an hour.