In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order postponing in-person voting for tomorrow's state elections until June 9 due to the dangers presented by the ongoing pandemic. The archconservative state Supreme Court followed by blocking the move, demanding the election (which includes the reelection effort of one of its own conservative justices) go forward despite the risks.
In today's other pandemic-related news:
• Lawmakers and retired military officials are calling for the removal of acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly after an audio recording of Modly's offensive address to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was made public. In the rambling and seemingly contemptuous remarks, Modly defended his firing of Capt. Brett Crozier after Crozier's four-page request for emergency quarantine quarters for his crew was leaked to the press, calling Crozier "either too naive or too stupid" to command.
• In New York City, a public health official warned that the city may next turn to "temporary interment," temporarily burying the bodies of the deceased in city parks as morgues and temporary morgues both fill. The bodies would be moved to permanent resting spots as the pandemic abated.
• Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro went on CNN to defend himself after news of a White House fight between himself and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci over the effectiveness of the Trump-promoted drug hydroxychloroquine. (Navarro has no medical expertise.) It did not go well. On Fox News, Navarro said that he would be betting on "Trump's intuition" over Dr. Fauci's own calls for caution.
• Local Georgia officials are furious with Gov. Brian Kemp for reopening the state's beaches during the pandemic, overriding their own closure decisions and potentially endangering their communities. One Republican county commissioner said it "undid all the good we did in March."
• The next wave of the pandemic is likely to be centered in rural areas around the nation, including in Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Arkansas, where reluctance to implement social distancing measures is combining in dangerous fashion with already overstressed rural health systems.
• A Louisiana pastor who had previously been arrested for holding church services despite state orders to limit crowds of over 50 people again held services in defiance of those orders, attracting more than 1,200 people despite stay-at-home orders.
• House Democrats have introduced legislation to help ensure pandemic relief packages are extended to vulnerable immigrant communities.
• Rep. Devin Nunes emerged from his burrow to dismiss concerns about homeless Americans during the pandemic, comparing the "homeless population" to a "zombie apocalypse" and saying they are safer "outside."
• In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to a hospital's ICU due to "worsened" COVID-19 symptoms.
• Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar is asking the Department of Homeland Security to immediately look into conditions inside Border Patrol detention facilities amid reports of crowding of detainees with "flu-like conditions" and inadequate access to soap and toilet paper.
• An internal government report says hospitals are facing "unprecedented" struggles to get medical supplies during the pandemic, despite statements by Trump and other top officials downplaying those shortages. Among the problems are a "severe shortage of test kits" that have extended patient hospital stays while the hospitals await the results.
• Franchise owners associated with big hotel and restaurant chains are eligible for the "small business" loan program passed by Congress in its pandemic relief package, leaving other small businesses "worried they'll be edged out."
• Despite the pandemic, the Supreme Court has set opening briefs in the Republican lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," as due on May 6. This is despite postponing all other cases scheduled to start this term.
• Stay-at-home orders are resulting in increased police calls related to domestic violence nationwide.
• Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and COVID-19.
• The cast of Hamilton surprised a young fan—via Zoom.