Wednesday morning news - May 27, 2020

Deaths drop in N.Y. as trading floor reopens on Wall St. » In a Tuesday press conference, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state is turning the corner in the battle against the coronavirus. 

CUOMO: We’re going to turn the page on COVID-19, and we’re going to start focusing on reopening. 

The governor said 73 New Yorkers died on Monday from COVID-19. That’s the lowest number recorded since his state became the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak. And he added “In this absurd new reality, that is good news.” 

Cuomo spoke to reporters from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the opening bell. 

AUDIO: [SOUND OF OPENING BELL] 

That marked the reopening of the NYSE trading floor after a two-month shutdown. 

The floor is now dotted with plexiglass barriers as masked traders remain at least 6 feet apart. 

Stocks surged on Tuesday amid optimism over a rebooting economy and prospects of a coronavirus vaccine. The S&P 500 broke 3,000 for the first time since early March. 

WHO warns of possible second coronavirus peak » But as optimism about a recovery swells in many countries, the World Health Organization is warning the world not to get complacent. 

The WHO’s Emergency Program Director Mike Ryan spoke to reporters Tuesday in Geneva. He said just because the disease is on its way down right now does not mean it’s on its way out. 

RYAN: We may get a second peak during this wave. This happened during pandemics in the past. It certainly happened in the pandemic of 1919 in the Spanish Flu. We got a second peak, not necessarily a second wave. 

The WHO says social distancing and other safety measures are still critical. 

According to Johns Hopkins University, so far, there have been about five-and-a-half million confirmed cases globally. And infections continue to mount in countries like Brazil and India.  

Minneapolis P.D. fires officers involved in death of black man » The Minneapolis Police Department has fired four officers involved in the arrest of a black man who died in police custody.

A bystander’s video of the Monday arrest sparked outrage. The footage showed a white office pressing his knee down on the man’s neck. He repeatedly complained that he couldn’t breathe before losing consciousness. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday applauded the city’s chief of police for terminating the officers. 

FREY: We’ve stated our values and ultimately, we need to live by them. It’s essential for accountability now and going forward. I appreciate it and I support you in that decision. 

Police said the man matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case at a grocery store, and that he resisted arrest. 

The FBI and state law enforcement authorities are investigating the matter. 

GOP sues to stop Calif. mail-in election » The Republican Party is suing to block California’s governor from sending mail-in ballots to all voters in the Golden State for the general election. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit this week against Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Alex Padilla, both Democrats. 

Newsom signed an executive order earlier this month stating that California will send mail-in ballots to all registered voters in the state. He said that’s necessary to protect the health of voters amid the pandemic. 

But the GOP called the move a “brazen power grab.” And the lawsuit states that only the Legislature has the power to determine the “time, place and manner” of the election. It also says the order “violates both the Elections Clause and Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

The White House has complained that mail-in elections are ripe for voter fraud. 

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

(Colin Zimmer/New York Stock Exchange via AP) In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Aman Patel wears a protective face mask as he works on the partially reopened trading floor, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. 

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