The United States has dipped under 50,000 new daily infections for the first time in four days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, but experts fear celebrations for the July 4th weekend will act like rocket fuel for the nation’s surging coronavirus outbreak.   Johns Hopkins on Sunday counted 45,300 new coronavirus infections reported Saturday in the U.S. after three days in which the daily count reached as high as 54,500 new cases. The lower figure does not mean the situation in the U.S. is improving, it could be due to reduced reporting on a national holiday.   The United States has the most infections and virus-related deaths in the world, with 2.8 million cases and nearly 130,000 dead, according to the university. Experts say the true toll of the pandemic is significantly higher, due to people who died before they were tested and missed mild cases.   Worldwide, nearly 11.3 million people have been infected and over 531,000 have died, with outbreaks surging in India, South Africa, Pakistan, Brazil and several other Latin American countries. In a first, South Africa on Sunday reported more than 10,000 new confirmed cases in a single day.   Marvin Turcios puts out American flags at Ocean’s 10 restaurant on Miami Beach, Florida’s famed Ocean Drive on South Beach, July 4, 2020.To show just how steep the U.S. infection curve is, authorities were reporting under 20,000 new infections a day as recently as June 15. On Saturday, Florida and Texas reported more record daily increases in confirmed cases and virus-related deaths have begun to rise.   Despite warnings by health experts to limit gatherings, President Donald Trump went ahead with a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday and an evening of tribute and fireworks Saturday on the National Mall in Washington. Trump used the nation’s Independence Day as an occasion to assail those who do not support him and did not mention the horrific death toll from the pandemic.   U.S. President Donald Trump holds 4th of July U.S. Independence Day celebrations at the White House.Pat Lee of Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania, and two friends, none in masks, gathered near the event in Washington.   “POTUS said it would go away,” Lee said of the pandemic, using an acronym for president of the United States. “Masks, I think, are like a hoax.”   In another worrying sign, the World Health Organization said member states reported more than 212,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world on Saturday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. The Geneva-based organization said more than 60% of the confirmed cases reports it received were in the Americas, which includes the United States and Brazil.   Faced with rising infections, many U.S. communities canceled parades and fireworks and cautioned people against hosting large gatherings.   Texas, which reported a record daily increase of 8,258 confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday, is retreating from what had been one of the country’s swiftest reopenings. Much of the state began mandating face coverings Friday, with a $250 fine for scofflaws.   In Florida, which reported 11,445 confirmed infections on Saturday, bars statewide are shut down and some regional attractions, such as Zoo Miami and Jungle Island, have closed. Officials in South Florida — including in Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys — also closed beaches through the weekend.   Other beaches remained open. At St. Pete Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, parking spaces were scarce and hundreds clustered under umbrellas and in cabanas on the sand. Keisha Pereira came to the beach from Osceola County — more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) inland — with her daughter and two other children.   “We’re going to stay with each other,” she said. “I feel pretty safe outside.”   The holiday weekend coincided with a big step back this week for California’s efforts to reopen the state’s economy. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a three-week closure of bars and many indoor establishments in counties where some 30 million people live.   Patrons observing social distancing rules sit outdoors at the Guerrilla Tacos restaurant in Los Angeles, July 3, 2020.In several California regions, economic woes prompted campaigns to convince state residents to travel within its borders. But public health experts and mayors of popular beach towns Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay pleaded with people to stay home for the holiday.   Crista Luedtke said demand has been “bonkers” since reopening the 14-room Boon Hotel and Spa that she owns in the Sonoma County town of Guerneville. Guests must stay at least two nights and are assigned lounges near the pool.   “Tourism is not dangerous,” Luedtke said. “I think people not following the rules is dangerous.”   In Britain, pubs and barbers reopened Saturday for the first time in months. It did not overwhelm emergency services as many had feared, but one senior police officer said Sunday it was “crystal clear” that drunk people struggled, or ignored, social distancing rules.   Rafal Liszewski, a store manager in central London, voiced concerns about the swelling crowds on Saturday.   “Quickly everything got out of control and by 8-9 p.m. it was a proper street party with people dancing and drinking,” he said. “Barely anyone was wearing masks and nobody respected social distancing …. to be honest, with that many people on one street, it was physically impossible.”   In Australia and northeast Spain, authorities ordered lockdowns for specific counties or communities to stomp out local outbreaks.   In the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, the relatives of one apparent virus victim left his coffin in the street for hours to protest the difficulties in having him buried. Police Col. Iván Rojas said the demand “is collapsing the police personnel and funeral workers” in the city of 630,000 people. 
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President Donald Trump kicked off a “Salute to America” Saturday night on the grounds of the White House with a speech that took on the “angry mob” as he revisited the language and themes of his address a night earlier at Mount Rushmore.“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters, and the people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing,” he said. “We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children.”And we will defend, protect and preserve (the) American way of life, which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America,” he said.Earlier Saturday, Democrat Joe Biden, Trump’s presumptive opponent in the November election, used a different tone, tweeting: “Our nation was founded on a simple idea: We’re all created equal. We’ve never lived up to it — but we’ve never stopped trying. This Independence Day, let’s not just celebrate those words, let’s commit to finally fulfill them.”Crowds of spectators turned out along the National Mall for the event, which included a large fireworks display, despite the city’s concerns about the coronavirus. Crowds started to form Saturday morning along the mall but were smaller than a year ago and many individuals wore masks, according to the Associated Press.Among them was nurse Zippy Watt from Riverside, California, who came to see the military flyover and fireworks with her husband and their two daughters. The family wore matching American flag face masks even when seated together on a park bench.”We chose to wear a mask to protect ourselves and others,” Watt told the AP. She said she is “more of a Trump supporter” because of what she sees as socialist tendencies and high taxes in her state.Streets were blocked off around the White House, Lincoln Memorial and Black Lives Matter Plaza, where protesters peacefully marched for racial equality and police reform.Among the protesters were the Freedom Fighters DC.”We’re marching today to showcase that Black folks are still fighting for the simple liberties that the constitution is said to provide,” Kerrigan Williams, 22, one of the founders of the group, said to Reuters.Earlier at the White House, several hundred invited guests, most not wearing masks, gathered on the South Lawn around tables decorated with flowers and small U.S. flags.The attendees were doctors, nurses, law enforcement officers and military members as well as officials from the administration, said Judd Deere, deputy White House press secretary. He said the event was a tribute to the “tremendous courage and spirit” of front-line workers and the public in the pandemic.Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the July Fourth celebrations included a milelong firing of 10,000 fireworks that he called “the largest in recent memory.”Bernhardt said visitors would be encouraged to wear masks and keep a 2-meter distance from one another.D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has criticized the plans, saying they go against established health guidelines.“We know this is a special event for the Department of Interior. We’ve communicated to them that we do not think this is in keeping with the best CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Department of Health guidance,” she said.She noted the event would take place entirely on federal property, which means she does not have the right to shut down the holiday festivities.Bowser asked city residents to avoid large crowds and to celebrate July Fourth near their homes.In his speech, the president did not mention the U.S. deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, but he did say that China must be “held accountable.”Many other U.S. cities have canceled or scaled back their firework displays this year because of the pandemic and concerns of large groups of people gathering.However, sales of fireworks have been strong, indicating that many Americans are planning to celebrate the holiday in their backyard, according to the Associated Press. 
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Mississippi just ditched its Confederate-themed state flag. Later this year, the state’s voters will decide whether to dump a statewide election process that dates to the Jim Crow era.Facing pressure from a lawsuit and the possibility of action from a federal judge, legislators are putting a  state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.  The amendment would simplify elections for governor and other statewide officials by erasing an Electoral College-type provision from Mississippi’s 1890 constitution — one that was written to dilute Black voting power and maintain white control of state politics.Mississippi Lawmakers Vote to Remove Rebel Emblem From State FlagIt’s the last state flag that included a Confederate symbol that many people condemn as racistMississippi is the only state with such a system for state elections.If voters adopt the amendment, a statewide candidate receiving a majority of the popular vote would win. If nobody receives that in a race with at least three candidates, the top two would go to a runoff.Legislators’ final action to put the amendment on the ballot happened Monday, a day after they took historic votes to retire a 126-year-old state flag  that was the last in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem. Amid widespread protests over racial injustice, Mississippi faced growing pressure to drop a symbol that’s widely condemned as racist.A commission will design a new Mississippi flag without the rebel symbol and with the phrase, “In God We Trust.” Voters will be asked to accept or reject the new flag Nov. 3, the same day the amendment and the presidential race are on the ballot.Mississippi Center for Justice is one of the groups representing plaintiffs in a 2019 lawsuit against the state. The center’s president, Vangela M. Wade, said documents show the complex electoral process was created to uphold white supremacy.”As you go back through these documents, there’s language that clearly shows intent to circumvent the rights of African Americans,” Wade said Thursday.About 38% of Mississippi’s residents are Black. The lawsuit — backed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder — argues that Mississippi’s election system violates the principle of one-person, one-vote.The Mississippi Constitution currently requires a statewide candidate to win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of electoral vote. One electoral vote is awarded to the candidate receiving the most support in each of the 122 state House districts.Mississippi Takes Step Toward Dropping Rebel Image from FlagState lawmakers vote to file a bill to change the flag If no candidate wins both the popular vote and the electoral vote, the race is decided by the state House. But representatives are not obligated to vote as their districts did, so arm-twisting could decide the outcome.The process was written when white politicians across the South were enacting laws to erase Black political power gained during Reconstruction. The electoral vote was promoted as a way for the white ruling class have the final say in who holds office.Plaintiffs argued that Mississippi’s history of racially polarized voting means that candidates preferred by Black voters must receive a higher share of the statewide vote to win a majority of House districts.U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III wrote last November that he has “grave concern” about the constitutionality the electoral vote provision. Jordan wrote that the plaintiffs’ argument about violation of one person, one vote is “arguably … their strongest claim.”Jordan put the lawsuit on hold in December, saying he would give legislators a chance to remedy the system by putting a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. The amendment will need approval from a simple majority of voters.  The last time a governor’s race was thrown to the Mississippi House was 20 years ago. Nobody received the required majorities in a four-person race for governor in 1999. The top two candidates were white, and each won 61 electoral votes. In January 2000, House members chose Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, who led the popular vote, over Republican Mike Parker. At the time, the House was controlled by Democrats. It is now controlled by Republicans.Some Democrats thought the electoral provision might come into play in a tight 2019 governor’s election, but Republican Tate Reeves easily defeated Democrat Jim Hood and two lesser-known candidates.  
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