Awesome Baker
Officials urged to cancel reported plans for Trump’s July 4th parade; Northam plans to allow Northern Virginia to begin easing restrictions Friday;
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/26/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-live-updates/
Here are some of the most significant recent developments as the region responds to the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19:
• Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he will allow the state’s Washington suburbs to move into Phase 1 of reopening later this week, two weeks after most of the state. The region that includes Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun counties, as well as Alexandria, was not included in the state’s May 15 reopening, but regional officials say criteria have been met to support a gradual reopening that would include restaurants, barber shops and beauty salons operating with significant restrictions.
• Members of Congress representing the capital region on Tuesday urged secretaries of Defense and Interior departments to suspend reported plans for President Trump’s second annual July 4 military parade, which lawmakers called a “vanity project.”
• Virginia reported 28 deaths and 1,615 new infections Tuesday, marking the second day in a row the state has posted record increases in new cases. D.C. reported 109 new cases Tuesday — slightly below the seven-day average of 129 — and no new deaths. This is the first time in 49 days the city has added zero covid-19 deaths in a day.
• D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said that the city is “back on track” to move toward a gradual reopening after seeing a slight spike in new cases over the weekend. She said she would wait until Wednesday to decide whether to move to Phase 1 of the city’s reopening Friday. The city did not report a new coronavirus death for the first time in 49 days.
7:16 p.m.
Trump’s July 4 military parade unsafe amid coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers say
Members of Congress representing the capital region urged the secretaries of the Defense and Interior departments May 26 to suspend plans for President Trump’s second annual July 4 military parade, which lawmakers called a “vanity project.”
They said holding the parade in the District, which has experienced one of the nation’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, contradicts public health professionals’ guidance about social distancing. Although D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is inching closer to reopening parts of the nation’s capital and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) have relaxed some policies, all three jurisdictions maintain stay-at-home orders, the federal lawmakers noted.
The letter was led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and signed by Democrats including Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen; House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer and Reps. Jamie Raskin, Anthony G. Brown and David Trone, of Maryland, as well as Reps. Gerald E. Connolly and Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, and the District’s nonvoting representative, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Read the lawmakers' letter to President Trump
“Given the current COVID-19 crisis, we believe such an event would needlessly risk the health and safety of thousands of Americans. Further, this event would come at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars while we are facing an unprecedented economic downturn due to the pandemic,” they wrote in the letter.
Last year’s “Salute to America” event attracted thousands of out-of-town visitors, and a similar event this year would compromise the safety of not only “those that live in the National Capital Region, but all those who travel in from other areas of the country to attend,” lawmakers wrote.
In response to questions about the lawmakers’ letter, White House spokesman Judd Deere wrote in an email that planning is continuing for a July 4th celebration.
“As President Trump has said, there will be an Independence Day celebration this year and it will have a different look than 2019 to ensure the health and safety of those attending,” Deere wrote. “The American people have shown tremendous courage and spirit in the fight against this global pandemic just as our forefathers did in the fight to secure our independence, and both deserve celebration on America’s birthday this year.”
Bread #11935 notable >>9325761 Trump urges GOP to vote against bill reauthorizing surveillance powers
(article in OP has more detail; sputnik give a foreign perspective)
Trump Calls On House Republicans to Vote Against FISA Renewal Bill
(sputniknews May 26 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/us/202005271079425981-trump-calls-on-house-republicans-to-vote-against-fisa-renewal-bill/
On 14 May, the US Senate passed a bill by a single vote that gives government agencies such as the FBI and CIA the right to access citizens' browsing histories without a warrant.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to vote against legislation extending Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions. The vote in the House of Representatives is slated for Wednesday.
“I hope all Republican House Members vote NO on FISA until such time as our Country is able to determine how and why the greatest political, criminal, and subversive scandal in USA history took place!” Trump tweeted, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Earlier in the month, the Senate voted 80-16 to reauthorize three expired surveillance programs under the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 intelligence reform law.
The upcoming bill’s reforms require the attorney general to sign off on surveillance of government officials and paves the way for additional outside expert testimony before the FISA court.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 prescribes procedures for requesting judicial authorization for the electronic surveillance and physical search of persons engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power.
POTUS twitter 7:21pm May 26 2020
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1265422768625123335
H.R.6172 - USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6172