On day Capitol was stormed, the United States recorded its highest daily COVID-19 death toll so far.
By CARLA K. JOHNSON AND LISA MARIE PANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAN 07, 2021 AT 3:09 PM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. registered more COVID-19 deaths in a single day than ever before — nearly 3,900 — on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic.

The virus is surging in virtually every state, with California hit particularly hard, reporting on Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths. Skyrocketing caseloads there are threatening to force hospitals to ration care and essentially decide who lives and who dies.

“Folks are gasping for breath. Folks look like they’re drowning when they are in bed right in front of us,” said Dr. Jeffrey Chien, an emergency room physician at Santa Clara Valley Regional Medical Center, urging people to do their part to help slow the spread. “I’m begging everyone to help us out because we aren’t the front line. We’re the last line.”

On Wednesday, the day a horde of protesters breached the U.S. Capitol, disrupting efforts to certify the election of Joe Biden, the U.S. recorded 3,865 virus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The numbers can fluctuate dramatically after holidays and weekends, and the figure is subject to revision.

Read more @ https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-covid-19-deaths-january-6-20210107-a3d3nn4tvfdwhnpyb2tqjyqquq-story.html

Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heat
By Associated Press | January 6, 2021 at 3:50 PM MST - Updated January 6 at 3:52 PM

PHOENIX (AP) — A project that maps the bodies of border-crossers recovered from Arizona’s inhospitable deserts, valleys and mountains said it documented 227 deaths in 2020, the highest in a decade after the hottest, driest summer in state history.

The previous annual high mapped by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tucson and the nonprofit Humane Borders was 224 migrant deaths in 2010.

Enforcement efforts in California and Texas over the years have pushed migrants into dangerous terrain in Arizona without easy access to food and water. Humanitarian groups like No More Deaths leave water jugs and other provisions in remote parts of southern Arizona in hopes of saving lives in a region where nearly 3,400 migrant deaths have been documented since 2004.

Read more @ https://www.kold.com/2021/01/06/arizona-border-deaths-hit-year-high-after-record-heat/

Democrat Jon Ossoff Has Defeated Republican David Perdue, Giving Democrats A Stunning Sweep Across Georgia’s Senate Races
Ryan Brooks
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on January 6, 2021, at 8:14 a.m. ET


Democrat Jon Ossoff won his tight Senate race, with both Georgia Democrats defeating their Republican runoff opponents in historic victories for a stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump in a state that had been a Republican stronghold for years. With Ossoff joining Democrat Raphael Warnock in the Senate, their party will be able to take total control of Congress.

Warnock is the first Black person elected to represent Georgia in the Senate and will be one of only three Black people in the Senate once his term begins. Ossoff, 33, would be the youngest member of the Senate.

The results are a testament to the decadeslong political organizing of Black women in Georgia who worked toward expanding the electorate and protecting voting rights in the state.

Read more @
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryancbrooks/georgia-senate-democrats-win-ossoff-warnock