Friday, May 22nd, 2020

The number of worldwide cases of COVID-19 surpasses five million. The United States remains the global epicenter, accounting for approximately 31% of all reported and confirmed cases in the world. (CNN)

The Trump administration announces it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty within six months, alleging continuous violations by Russia. (BBC)

The European Court of Justice rules that Hungarian authorities circumvented EU law by holding Afghan and Iranian asylum-seekers in unlawful detention at a camp near the Serbian border (DW)

A military court in Vietnam sentences former deputy defense minister Nguyễn Văn Hiến to four years in prison for allowing three plots of land in Ho Chi Minh City to be illegally transferred from the Navy to private investors. He is also stripped of his Communist Party credentials. (Reuters)

The Regents of the University of California votes unanimously to scrap the use of SATs and ACTs for admission to any of the college system’s campuses, effective 2025. (The New York Times)

Beijing moves to crack down on Hong Kong with new security law

China’s Communist Party announced Thursday it will move forward with a new security law for Hong Kong, cracking down on dissent in the region and taking one of its most aggressive steps yet in asserting control over Hong Kong’s relative autonomy. The law is somewhat vague at this point, but a spokesperson in Beijing said “the law would improve legal and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong,” writes The Wall Street Journal. It will reportedly likely define and criminalize seditious behavior. The crackdown follows persistent wide-scale protests in Hong Kong, led by pro-democracy opposition groups. A similar security law was shelved in 2003 after mass protests. The law will reportedly take effect as soon as next week. Source: The Wall Street Journal, NPR

2.4 million Americans file jobless claims, bringing pandemic total to 38.6 million

Approximately 2.44 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, Labor Department figures released Thursday show. The new numbers added to previous weeks make for a total of 38.6 million initial jobless claims since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. “That two-month total is roughly equivalent to all of the initial claims filed during the Great Recession,” writes Bloomberg. However, the pace of the filings has slowed since the previous week. Despite stock futures falling ahead of the report, major indexes turned positive at opening, rising marginally. Analysts say investor optimism may come from possible progress on a COVID-19 vaccine, and a sense jobless numbers have nearly bottomed out. Source: Bloomberg, CNBC

Senate confirms Ratcliffe as new director of national intelligence

The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) as the new director of national intelligence. Senators voted 49-44 to confirm Ratcliffe, after the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voted to advance his nomination to a full Senate vote. Ratcliffe, who was first nominated by President Trump last year, had garnered some Republican skepticism over his propensity toward right-wing conspiracy theories. During his nomination hearing, however, Ratcliffe was more dismissive of so-called “deep state” conspiracies, leading all eight Republicans on the subcommittee to vote in his favor. Ratcliffe will take over for acting DNI Richard Grenell, who began filling in after the departure of Joseph Maguire. Maguire was also acting DNI, holding the role after Dan Coats was seemingly pushed out in August. Source: NBC News

Bolivian Minister of Health Marcelo Navajas is dismissed and arrested in graft probe over ventilators bought in a Spanish company. (Bloomberg)

The End Thursday