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Vice President Mike Pence, ignoring the experts, predicted on April 24 that the US would "have this coronavirus epidemic behind us" by Memorial Day weekend.

"If you look at the trends today, that I think by Memorial Day weekend we will have this coronavirus epidemic behind us," Pence, who is spearheading the administration's pandemic response, told conservative commentator Geraldo Rivera in April.

In fact, US deaths from the virus neared the devastating milestone of 100,000 over the holiday weekend, and US hospitalizations are ticking up again after two weeks of decline.

While new cases are on the decline in 14 states, they have plateaued in 28 states and are on the rise in eight states, according to data published by The New York Times. Puerto Rico is also seeing increasing case numbers, while Guam is seeing its numbers level off.

Scott Gottlieb, Trump's former Food and Drug Administration chief, noted on Twitter that hospitalizations have risen over the last week outside of the epicenters of the crisis in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

A White House Coronavirus Task Force official told Insider that the nation's overall declining daily death toll and infections, increased testing capacity, and overall downward trend in hospitalizations are evidence the pandemic is largely over.

Experts say the crisis is far from over and the World Health Organization on Tuesday warned that regions that reopen too quickly could experience an "immediate second peak" in infections.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert who is helping lead the administration's virus response, in late March warned against making predictions about the virus' future toll.

"I just don't think that we really need to make a projection when it's such a moving target that we could so easily be wrong and mislead people," he told CNN.

Many experts say they can't accurately predict what the US's infection rate and death toll will look like going forward, in part because much depends on how quickly and safely states reopen.

Pence's April statement is just one of a slew of predictions and declarations Trump administration officials have made downplaying the pandemic threat over the last few months.

Trump infamously predicted in late February that the US's virus cases would drop to zero "within a couple of days." On April 10, he said the total US death toll would be "substantially below" 100,000, predicting "50, 60, 65" thousand deaths. He repeatedly revised those numbers upwards in the following days, still putting the upper limit of deaths at 110,000.

Over the weekend, Trump misleadingly claimed "cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country."

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Mike Pence predicted the pandemic would be 'behind us' by Memorial Day - Business Insider - Business Insider

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. For President Trump, it was a chance to rewrite the story line from tragedy to triumph. Even as the United States reached the grim milestone on Wednesday of 100,000 dead from the coronavirus pandemic, he would help mark the nations trailblazing return to human spaceflight from American soil.

But Mr. Trumps hopes of demonstrating that America was back with the verve of a rockets red glare were doused by lightning-filled storm clouds that forced flight controllers to scrub the long-awaited launch of the SpaceX rocket even as the president watched helplessly from the Kennedy Space Center.

Only minutes after heralding what was to be the first launch of NASA astronauts into orbit from the United States in nearly a decade, a disappointed Mr. Trump scrapped planned remarks and made a hasty retreat to Air Force One to fly back to Washington and the misery of the health crisis. Still, just as the countrys reopening after months of lockdown proceeds with fits and starts, Mr. Trump vowed not to give up, promising to return this weekend when the launch will be tried again.

The scheduled launch of the Crew Dragon capsule aboard a Falcon 9 rocket was to herald a new beginning in Americas odyssey in space nine years after NASAs shuttle fleet was retired, which forced the United States to rely on Russia to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. In returning to space, the country is now turning to private sector transport, led by SpaceX, the company founded by the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

For Mr. Trump, the excursion to Florida was a family affair. In addition to the first lady, Melania Trump, he brought his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner; Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle; Eric and Lara Trump; and several grandchildren.

While Ivanka Trump and her children wore masks, her brothers and the president and first lady did not. Mr. Kushner wore one getting on and off the plane but not during a tour of the space center. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, who flew in separately, wore masks when seeing off the astronauts, but not later when in Mr. Trumps presence.

The president made no public mention of the virus death toll as it passed 100,000, in keeping with his habit of not focusing on those who have been lost to the pandemic. But before taking off for Cape Canaveral, he erupted on Twitter at criticism of his administrations initial response.

The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19, he wrote, referring to himself in the third person. Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!

The juxtaposition of the two milestones the toll of the pandemic and the promise of a new space future was a matter of happenstance, but they intersected in other ways, as well. NASA was forced to enact measures to ensure that the two astronauts did not take the virus with them to the space station. And the agency told fans who would normally turn out in large numbers to stay home and instead tune in online.

Mr. Musk has been a prominent voice against the economic restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus, defying California authorities who told him to keep his Tesla plant closed to protect workers against spreading the virus. Mr. Trump two weeks ago publicly backed Mr. Musk in his fight with the states Democratic leaders.

At the space center on Wednesday, Mr. Trump hailed Mr. Musk, calling him a friend of mine for a long time. The two shared the excitement of the moment as the president asked Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, about the flight status.

We are a go for launch right now, Mr. Bridenstine told him optimistically, as it turned out.

Just 16 minutes and 54 seconds before the scheduled 4:33 p.m. liftoff came word over loudspeakers that the launch had been scrubbed because of weather.

Since Apollo, presidents have embraced the space program as a manifestation of the American ideal, a rockets-roaring, television-friendly expression of national determination, ingenuity and the spirit of adventure. But only some occupants of the Oval Office backed that with a real commitment of political will and resources, resulting in a stutter-step journey that has had impressive progress at times even as humanity has remained restricted to low-earth orbit for nearly 50 years.

Mr. Trump is the latest to promise to end that, embracing an ambitious goal of returning to the moon as a way station for an eventual mission to Mars. While demonstrating no particular affinity for the science or engineering of the enterprise, he has eagerly associated himself with the image of space heroism, inviting Apollo 11 moon-walker Buzz Aldrin to his State of the Union address and creating a Space Force within the military. Only two weeks ago, he happily displayed the new Space Force flag during a photo opportunity in the Oval Office.

Before the scrub on Wednesday, Mr. Trump boasted that he had revived NASA. They had grass growing in the runways between the cracks, the president said of the launchpads that have sat unused for NASA crewed flights for nine years. Now we have the best the best of the best.

Mr. Bridenstine said the administration had backed up its commitment with large budget requests. Were bringing America back as it relates to human spaceflight, he said, adding, Todays a big day for the nation.

But independent analysts said Mr. Trumps enthusiasm was not enough, recalling the old Mercury-era adage, no bucks, no Buck Rogers.

Trump is a bit of a spaceflight fan, of course, said Roger D. Launius, a former NASA historian. But, he added: Im not sure how much Trump desires to make his moon landing announcement a reality. There is not much of a reflection of this initiative in the budgets he has proposed.

Nor has Congress jumped on board. Thats not a partisan issue, Mr. Launius said. Neither party seems to be lining up to support it.

Attending a launch in person has always been fraught for presidents. They would happily share the glory of a landmark launch, but they recognize the risks of being on hand if something were to go wrong. As a result, only two sitting presidents have personally attended. President Richard M. Nixon was there when Apollo 12 took off in 1969, and President Bill Clinton witnessed the astronaut John Glenns return to space aboard the shuttle in 1998.

Lyndon B. Johnson, who did more for the space program than any president other than perhaps John F. Kennedy, attended the historic Apollo 11 launch in 1969 as a private citizen, only months after leaving office. Otherwise, presidents tend to send vice presidents. Spiro Agnew witnessed four Apollo launches.

While Mr. Trump was happy to take credit for this weeks prospective launch, it has its origins under two previous presidents. After President George W. Bush ordered an end to the shuttle program, he initiated the development of new rockets with the goal of returning to the moon, while turning to the private sector for cargo launches. President Barack Obama canceled Mr. Bushs rocket program, judging it too expensive, but signed contracts with SpaceX and other private companies to transport crews to the space station.

Dava J. Newman, a former deputy NASA administrator under Mr. Obama who now teaches at M.I.T., said the achievement of this new phase in Americas space program was really a result of all of the great work over the past decade across multiple administrations and Congresses.

Once it happens, that is.

Peter Baker reported from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Michael D. Shear from Washington.

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At Cape Canaveral, Trumps Search for a Heroic Narrative Is Thwarted - The New York Times

As the US inches closer to the grim landmark of 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, Vice President Mike Pence said that the country has seen real progress and that it is on the far side of the coronavirus pandemic in many places.

More than 98,000 Americans have lost their lives, our hearts are with their families on this Memorial Day as well. But I think we also do well to reflect on the fact that because the American people embraced the presidents leadership, listened to state and local authorities, tens of thousands of families have been spared the heartache of that loss. We have seen real progress all across the country. Hospitalizations are declining, we have seen a steady decline in cases, new cases across the country. Most importantly, fatalities continue to decline, Pence told Fox & Friends on May 25.

We are on the far side of this epidemic in many of the places most impacted. Thats given us an opportunity not just to issue, as we did now more than a month ago, the guidelines to open up America again, but the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the (US coronavirus) task force will continue to produce useful information about how we can bring back our schools, how we can bring back summer camps, how we can go back to churches, synagogues, and mosques, and enjoy safely and responsibly our freedoms of religions, he said.

Currently, all US states have started the process of reopening. Pence said that while there may be instances where people would do well to be reminded about the importance of social distancing and the importance of continuing regular hygiene, both President Donald Trump and he are very confident that as these restrictions are loosened in the days ahead, the American people will step forward and put this country back to work in a safe and responsible way.

During a briefing on May 23, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr Deborah Birx said that Covid-19 mortality is decreasing over time in the US. The other thing that has decreased significantly over the last month is new hospitalizations. We can see now that theres over a 50% decline in new hospitalizations. Although every region of the country is different, we are encouraged to see these new hospitalizations declining, said Dr Birx. However, she said that cases are also going up in many places. Maryland, the District, and Virginia are states with a high number of positive cases. This is followed by Nebraska and Illinois. The number one metro with the highest positivity rate is the District of Columbia, which includes Northern Virginia and Maryland, Montgomery County and PG County. That is followed by Baltimore, Chicago, and Minneapolis. And so these are the places where we have seen an increase of cases, said Dr Birx.

A recent report said that the coronavirus pandemic is not under control in much of the US, and 24 states still have a reproduction number above the critical threshold of one, meaning that each coronavirus patient is infecting more than one person. Any reproduction rate above one means the virus spreads exponentially. The analysis by Imperial College London also found that increased mobility following the relaxation of social distancing rules could lead to the doubling of Covid-19 deaths over the next two months. As of May 26, over 1,662,760 coronavirus cases have been reported from across the US, and more than 98,220 have died in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins.

Meanwhile, Dr Michael Ryan, executive director, World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme, has cautioned that the world is in the middle of the first wave and that countries could see the second peak of coronavirus cases in this wave itself if they let up too soon on measures to halt the outbreak.

Right now, we are not in the second wave, we are right in the middle of the first wave globally. In many countries, we are very much in a phase where the disease is on the way up. The actual number of people who have been infected in each country remains relatively low. When we speak about a second wave classically, what we often mean is that there will be a first wave, the disease by itself effectively goes to a very low level, and then it curls a number of months later, and that may be a reality for many countries in a number of months' time, said Dr Ryan during a briefing.

Dr Ryan emphasized that countries need to be also cognizant of the fact that the disease can jump up at any time. We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now, it is going to keep going down, and we are going to get several months to get ready for a second wave. We may get a second peak in this wave. This happened during pandemics in the past, and it certainly happened for the Spanish flu pandemic. We got a second peak, not necessarily a second wave, he said.

Accordingly, said the WHO experts, right now, countries in Europe, North America, many other countries around the world in South-East Asia, have to continue to put in place public health and social measures, surveillance measures, testing measures and a comprehensive strategy to ensure that they continue on a downward trajectory and that there is no immediate second peak. We will then have to look later in the year whether or not there is a possibility of a second wave of infections coming. And thats particularly of concern when we look at the possibility of having a second wave of infections that may be also associated with the influenza season, which will greatly complicate things for disease control, said Dr Ryan.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHOs technical lead on Covid-19, also said that all countries need to remain on high alert. All countries need to be ready to rapidly detect cases, even countries that have had success in suppression. Even countries that have seen a decline in cases must remain ready, she said. Dr Kerkhove said studies indicate that a large proportion of the population remains susceptible, and that means the virus will start an outbreak if given the opportunity. A hallmark of coronaviruses is its ability to amplify in certain settings, its ability to cause transmission, or super spreading events. And we are seeing in a number of situations in these closed settings when the virus has an opportunity, it can transmit readily, she said. Dr Kerkhove said that countries must remain vigilant, and have systems in place to readily detect those cases, care for those cases, as well as find, trace, and quarantine contacts.

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Mike Pence says US on 'far side' of Covid-19 pandemic even as WHO warns of second peak if nations are careless - MEAWW

Washington, D.C. As the U.S. special representative for Iran, I receive complaints regularly about Voice of Americas Persian service. Iranian viewers say its American taxpayer-funded programming often sounds more like the Voice of the mullahs than the Voice of America, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook writes in the New York Post.This is a priority for the Donald Trump administration, because supporting the Iranian people includes giving them access to independent and truthful reporting.

Exactly three months since President Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to head the White House Coronavirus Task Force, it is shifting focus to reopening the American economy, Paul Bedard reports. Vice President Pence explained that America will be ready this fall for any potential second wave. Read more in the Washington Examiner.

If states try now to implement an entirely vote-by-mail system and mail every voter on their outdated registration lists a ballot, they are inviting fraud into our elections. My message to Twitter: Before you decide to censor speech by throwing a label on the president of the United Statesor any Americanmake sure you know the facts yourself, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) writes for Fox News.

As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, nations face a stark choice about what vision of artificial intelligence will prevail. As Group of Seven nations meet this year under the organizations U.S. presidency, there is a critical opportunity to shape the evolution of AI in a way that respects fundamental rights and upholds our shared values,U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios writes inThe Wall Street Journal.

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Why are US Taxpayers Funding a 'Voice of the Mullahs' in Iran? - Clarksville Online

The vice president is in town today to meet Gov. Brian Kemp and restaurant industry leaders.

MARIETTA, Ga. The Vice President is back in Washington after spending Friday in metro Atlanta. He came to see how Georgia is doing three weeks after the state began to reopen.

During his visit with Gov. Brian Kemp, Pence participated in a round-table discussion with restaurant executives at Waffle House's headquarters near Norcross.

The restaurant industry, hard hit by the pandemic, was a focus of the conversation, as well as the important Paycheck Protection Program passed in Congress to help businesses stay afloat.

During the discussion, restaurant owners discussed how they have managed to stay in business and reopen during the pandemic.

Watch the full round-table below.

Waffle House's CEO said in the first two weeks of the statewide shelter-in-place order, the chain's revenue dropped 80 percent.

Since the state's reopening, revenue is back up, with Waffle House able to re-hire 2,000 Georgians.

Georgia started relaxing strict guidelines for businesses and Georgians on May 1, after allowing the statewide shelter-in-place order, issued back at the beginning of April to expire April 30.

Vice President Pence praised Georgia and said the state is setting the example for reopening.

"I hope if you heard no other message, I wanted to come to Georgia to say thank you to the people of Georgia, thank you to the Governor of Georgia. Georgia is leading the way to opening up America again," Pence said.

The tone of Pence's comments marked a drastic change from President Donald Trump several weeks ago, who at one point criticized Kemp for perhaps reopening too soon.

After the roundtable, a reporter asked Kemp if he felt vindicated to receive Pence's praise, after being criticized by Trump.

"I will let history be the judge of what ends up being right and wrong," Kemp said. "I believe every governor, just like the president and vice president is making the best decisions with the information and data that they have. Sometimes I've had local elected officials disagree with what I'm doing, but I haven't been critical of them because I believe they're doing what is in their best interests. They're governing their local community, I'm governing the state and the president, vice president, and (White House coronavirus) task force are trying to deal with the whole country."

Pence said one-in-four jobs lost nationally during the pandemic were restaurant-related jobs.

The Georgia restaurant owners on hand Friday said the managed to stay in business during the pandemic, and most kept many if not all of their employees.

Each credited federal funding through the Payroll Protection Program, or PPP, for allowing them to stay afloat.

Pence gave his word he is working to extend the window of time owners have for using PPP loans, as right now, businesses need to spend their loans in eight weeks; there are calls to increase that window.

"I'm looking at one of your senators and one of your congressman, and they can confirm we are looking at a possible phase-four bill that would include a number of things, but before that, we are working with members of Congress of both parties to extend Paycheck Protection for just the reasons you have said. The President has made it a priority and we are working on it in real-time," Pence said.

The senator and congressman Pence referred to in his comments were Senator Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins.

The two republicans attended Friday's round-table and were in assigned seats at opposite ends of the room. Loeffler is running to keep her Senate seat, appointed to her by Kemp. Collins is challenging her.

11Alive asked both Loeffler and Collins about Congress' work on extending the PPP.

"Hopefully, (it's) going to be coming back next week to make some slight adjustments, but I think the bigger issue is where do we need to go and how do we need to get there, and I think that is important," Collins said. "The Vice President said the President is working on it and we are working on it in Congress."

"There is a will to do something to extend PPP," Loeffler added. "When we set the parameters on PPP, we didn't know the duration of what the shutdowns would be. Now we know, we can go back and re-look at that."

On the topic of restaurants, Kemp said, including grabbing lunch with Pence at an Atlanta restaurant Friday, he has dined at Georgia restaurants three times in the past two weeks, and on a fourth occasion picked up food to-go.

Based on reports he is receiving, the governor expects restaurants along Georgia's coast will be busy for Memorial Day weekend.

"The hotels are booked down there," Kemp said. "Which is great for those hotel owners and their employees. I feel like restaurants are going to have a big weekend. I feel like they will be very busy, but I also feel like there will be people that aren't comfortable dining in, they will pick-up or cook at home and that is okay, too. We have to keep easing back into this."

Kemp added his office has been working this week to make sure business owners in the coastal area understand the guidelines and rules for being open.

11Alive is focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. We want to keep you informed about the latest developments while ensuring that we deliver confirmed, factual information.

We will track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgiaon this page. Refresh often for new information.

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Mike Pence arrives on Air Force Two in Atlanta | 11alive.com - 11Alive.com WXIA