Vox Sentences - Half a million American lives

The US has reached 500,000 Covid-19 deaths; Facebook faces increased oversight abroad.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum.

TOP NEWS

500,000 Covid-19 deaths

Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Almost a year after the first Covid-19 death was reported in the US, half a million Americans have died of the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. [Vox / Cameron Peters]
Approximately one in every 670 Americans has died of Covid-19. The coronavirus has claimed more American lives than World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. [NYT / Julie Bosman]
The US death toll far outpaces that of the rest of the world. Outbreaks cropped up across the country, from initial hot spots of New York City and Chicago to meat-processing plants in South Dakota to a case-heavy summer across Florida. [NBC News / Elliott Ramos, Pedro Barquinha, and Jiachuan Wu]
The number is so massive, it can be hard to grasp. It’s greater than the number of people buried in Arlington Cemetery and could fill a line of buses from Philadelphia to New York City. [Washington Post / Artur Galocha and Bonnie Berkowitz]
The death toll has accelerated rapidly this winter. After reaching 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 deaths in December, the next 100,000 deaths occurred in just over a month. About two months after that, the US has reached 500,000. [V ox / Youyou Zhou and Julia Belluz]
On CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci was struck by the magnitude of death the pandemic has wrought in the US, calling it a “terribly historic milestone.” [Guardian / Oliver Laughland]
Last spring, Fauci had initially predicted the death toll could rise to 250,000 and was criticized as being hyperbolic. [Vanity Fair / Eric Lutz]
Despite the grim figure, there are reasons for hope across the US. Cases and deaths have fallen dramatically, and the vaccination campaign is expected to ramp up significantly in the coming months. [CNN / Stephen Collinson]

The world is closely watching Facebook vs. Australia

Facebook is imposing harsh consequences on Australian users after its government proposed laws that would force Google and Facebook to pay Australian news outlets for using their content, a first attempt to regulate the tech giants’ control of news flow. [CNBC]
Last week, Facebook instituted a dramatic shutdown of Australian news, preventing all users from sharing links to Australian news sites, Australians from sharing news, and Australian news sites from posting their content. It’s a risky gamble to force Australian lawmakers back to the negotiating table, though they insist they will stand their ground. [Recode / Sara Morrison]
Other countries are taking notice as some consider tech regulations of their own. Officials in the UK, the US, Canada, and Germany criticized Facebook’s action, referring to it as bullying and promoting intensified regulation efforts. [CNN / Hanna Ziady]
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK government is concerned about Facebook’s actions and market exploitation. A meeting between Facebook and UK officials is expected this week. [Guardian / Peter Walker and Mark Sweney]
The EU wants to connect regulatory action against Facebook to a broader theme of building back democracy that US President Joe Biden has spoken about. The EU president and member governments say Facebook’s actions are anti-democratic and are calling for greater arbitration and regulation. [Politico / Ryan Heath]

MISCELLANEOUS

The Supreme Court will allow the state of New York to continue its criminal investigations into former President Trump’s businesses.

[Vox / Ian Millhiser]

Scripps announced the National Spelling Bee will be done mostly virtually this year after last year’s event was canceled, with the final 12 contestants being invited to compete in person in Florida. [AP / Ben Nuckols]
Tensions are raging at the private school where Sen. Ted Cruz’s children attend, with parents demanding the school enforce quarantine rules for the Cruz children after their trip to Mexico was publicly exposed. [Politico / Marc Caputo]
Kim Kardashian officially filed for divorce from Kanye West, seeking joint physical and legal custody of their four children. [Elle / Alyssa Bailey]

VERBATIM

“It's frustrating. The mask misstep cost us dearly.”

[Former US Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger, on the Trump administration’s decision to not advocate for mask-wearing]

LISTEN TO THIS

What would it take to fix America's police?

May 25 will be the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police, which sparked protests across the country. There’s more conversation about police violence in America right now than ever before, but what would it actually take, policy-wise, to address the problem? Vox editor Sean Collins discusses two proposals that activists say could make an important difference and what progress after the protests could look like. [Spotify / Sean Collins]

Vox Sentences - Half a million American lives

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