Vox Sentences - One million fewer Americans

One million Americans have died from Covid-19; Finland wants to join NATO.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

One million American lives lost

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

• Thursday, President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to remember at least 1 million Americans who have now died from Covid-19. [Axios / Ivana Saric]
• Due to inconsistencies in record keeping, it’s not clear when exactly the US passed the 1 million dead mark (some counts say it hasn’t yet been reached), but federal officials say the grim milestone was hit Thursday. [CBS News / Alexander Tin]
• Three-quarters of US deaths were among those 65 and older. And minorities have been twice as likely to die from the virus as white people. [ABC News / Arielle Mitropoulos]
• Globally, 6.7 million deaths have been recorded, but the World Health Organization estimates that the actual toll of the pandemic is closer to 15 million. [Reuters / Maria Caspani]
• The US vaccination campaign has helped to slow the rate of deaths, though they continue, currently averaging over 300 per day. [New York Times]
• Thursday, Biden pledged an additional $200 million to the World Bank's efforts to fight Covid-19 globally and prepare for the next pandemic — but any funding must pass Congress. [CNN / Sam Fossum,  Nikki Carvajal,  Maegan Vazquez and Deidre McPhillips] 

Finland wants to join NATO

• Thursday, Finland announced it would like to join NATO following Russia’s ongoing attack on Ukraine. [Associated Press / Jari Tanner]
• “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement. [BBC]
• Finland shares an 810-mile border with Russia; the invasion of Ukraine caused the Nordic country to reconsider its tradition of military neutrality. According to recent polling from public broadcaster Yle, 76 percent of Finns support joining NATO, up from 25 percent a few years ago. [Guardian / Jon Henley]
• Further NATO expansion is an outcome Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t want; Russia threatened Finland with military retaliation Thursday. [Politico / Victor Jack]
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO would swiftly and warmly welcome Finland. NATO members will likely discuss Finland’s application on June 28. [NBC News / Patrick Smith]

Thursday, the January 6 committee subpoenaed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans to testify about efforts to overturn the 2020 election. [ABC News / Benjamin Siegel]

• North Korea ordered a nationwide lockdown Thursday as it faces its first admitted coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic. [AP / Kim Tong-Hyung and Hyung-Jin Kim]
• Trump officials and the meatpacking industry reportedly worked together to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus to workers and prevent Covid-19 regulations. [Guardian / Nina Lakhani]
• The US canceled oil lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, which means no new offshore drilling this year. [Washington Post / Anna Phillips]

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“As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember.”

[President Joe Biden on US Covid-19 deaths / National Public Radio]

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