Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from across the United States. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.
White House aides defending the president’s use of a potentially fatal malaria drug, updates on the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, flooding in the Midwest, the pandemic affecting communion rituals and the 2020 Webby Awards make up this week’s five national stories.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on the food supply chain amid the coronavirus pandemic May 19, 2020, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Aides scramble to defend Trump’s use of unproven drug
Making himself an example for using a malaria drug against the coronavirus, President Donald Trump sent the White House scrambling Tuesday to defend his decision amid medical concerns the unproven treatment could spark misuse of a medication with potentially fatal side effects. Trump’s announcement a day earlier that he was taking the drug, hydroxychloroquine, caught many in his administration by surprise and set off an urgent effort by officials to justify his action.
Read More: Donald Trump
Malik Muhammad, center, joins a group of people marching from the Glynn County Courthouse in downtown to a police station after a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery May 16, 2020, in Brunswick, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
2017 video shows Georgia officer tried to stun Ahmaud Arbery
More than two years before he was fatally shot in a Georgia subdivision, Ahmaud Arbery had a tense confrontation in a public park with police officers who attempted to use a stun gun on him after Arbery angrily protested being bothered and refused to let them search his parked car. Arbery was killed Feb. 23 by a white father and son who armed themselves and gave chase after seeing the 25-year-old black man running down their street.
Read More: Georgia
The Chicago River overflowed its banks and flooded the Riverwalk after overnight showers and thunderstorms across the city May 18, 2020, in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Flooding hits parts of Midwest, with evacuations in Michigan
People living along two mid-Michigan lakes and parts of a river were evacuated Tuesday following several days of heavy rain that produced flooding and put pressure on dams in the area. Two Midland-area schools were opened for evacuees and more than 50 roads have been closed. The evacuations in Michigan followed days of heavy rains in parts of the Midwest that also brought flooding to Chicago and other parts of Illinois, as well as Ohio and other states.
Read more: Floods
Rev. William A. Mentz, pastor of the Scranton, Pa.-based St. Francis and Clare Progressive Catholic Church, wears a mask and gloves while distributing prepackaged communion to the faithful attending Mass while sitting in their cars March 22, 2020, in Moosic, Pa. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP)
Pandemic will alter Communion rituals for many US Christians
Holy Communion will have a different look when in-person worship services resume at the end of May in the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee: The wafers signifying the body of Christ will be placed in the hands of parishioners by priests and deacons wearing face masks and safety glasses. Striking changes in Communion will take place at Catholic and Protestant churches across the United States over coming weeks as restrictions are gradually eased.
Read more: Religion
Jimmy Fallon attends the Time 100 Gala April 23, 2019, in New York. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced that Fallon is among the 2020 Webby Award winners. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
LeBron James, Spotify, HBO among 2020 Webby Award winners
LeBron James, Jimmy Fallon, Spotify and HBO are among the 2020 Webby Award winners for internet excellence. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the winners Tuesday. Fallon’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” won a Webby for best social media for promoting a celebrity, while James was honored for his ESPN’s “Welcome to Bron Bron Land,” which took home the best user interface award.
Read More: Entertainment