That’s all from me, Kari Paul, for today. Here are the top news stories to be aware of as you go into the evening. The US death toll has surpassed 75,000 people, making it more than twice the second highest death toll in the UK of 30,000 deaths. On Thursday, senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren joined New York City officials in calling for better protections of frontline workers, including sick pay and protection for whistleblowers. In a vote of 49 to 45 on Thursday, the Senate failed to override a veto from Donald Trump of a war powers resolution limiting his authority to use military force in Iran which was proposed in response to Trump’s killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. After being tapped today by Republican representative Kevin McCarthy to chair a new China task force, top GOP lawmaker Mike McCaul disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars of family holdings in a major Chinese tech company that has been linked to censorship and surveillance. A 1996 court document obtained by The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California indicates former Senate staffer Tara Reade told her ex-husband she was sexually harassed while working for Joe Biden in 1993. It is the first physical corroboration of Reade’s accusations. Outbreaks of coronavirus around the United States have been linked to people flying from New York City, a report from the New York Times today showed. Outbreaks of coronavirus around the United States have been linked to people flying from New York City, a report from the New York Times today showed. “We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country,” said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Some 72% of the cases in Minnesota, 78% of cases in Wisconsin, and 100% of cases in Iowa are genetically similar to those of New York City, implying that it was spread from that hotspot. New York’s failure to act quickly meant the virus was spread far and wide before it could be contained, the report showed: By mid-March, when President Trump restricted travel from Europe, the restrictions were essentially pointless, the data suggest, as the disease was already spreading widely within the country. A 1996 court document obtained by The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California indicates former Senate staffer Tara Reade told her ex-husband she was sexually harassed while working for Joe Biden in 1993. She did not specifically accuse Biden of the harassment, according to the document, nor did she make any mention of sexual assault. The document comes from Reade’s then-husband Theodore Dronen, who at the time was contesting a restraining order Reade had filed against him days after he filed for divorce. Drone wrote that Reade told him of “a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s office.” The filing marks the only known written record corroborating Reade’s account of sexual harassment by Biden. According to the document, Reade told Dronen she had “eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senator’s office and left her position.” “It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on (Reade), and that she is still sensitive and effected (sic) by it today,” Dronen wrote. Read the full report here. Wearing a mask in public to stop the spread of coronavirus, a precaution that is the official recommendation of the Centers of Disease control and prevention, has suddenly become a political statement in our strange times. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they’re wearing a mask when leaving home, 76% to 59%, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. From the Associated Press: While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for the debate pitting those willing to follow health officials’ guidance and cover their faces against those who feel it violates their freedom or buys into a threat they think is overblown. Inconsistent messaging from various government officials and health departments have contributed to the conflict over whether to wear a mask. Health officials initially said wearing masks was unnecessary, but weeks later the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending wearing cloth masks in crowded public situations. For weeks Donald Trump has refused to wear a mask, even while touring a mask factory that requires the use of masks. “I don’t think that I’m going to be doing it,” he said of the mask recommendation, when it was first announced. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. After being tapped today by Republican representative Kevin McCarthy to chair a new China task force, top GOP lawmaker Mike McCaul disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars of family holdings in a major Chinese tech company that has been linked to censorship and surveillance. The lawmaker disclosed ties to Tencent Holdings under Congressional ethics rules. The company owns Chinese social media platforms WeChat and QQ and signed a deal in Marchto collaborate with Huawei, a firm that has essentially been blacklisted by the Trump administration over security concerns. “Companies like Tencent and Huawei are espionage operations for the Chinese Communist party, masquerading as telecom companies for the 21st century,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz said previously. McCaul’s wife has purchased shares in the company as recent as late February, the disclosure revealed. An attorney for McCaul said that the lawmaker is not the owner of the shares. “Congressman McCaul did not purchase any shares in China’s Tencent Holdings or any other Chinese company,” the attorney said. “Congressman McCaul’s wife has assets she solely owns and a third party manager made the purchase without her direction.” The ties to Tencent have called into question McCaul’s ability to impartially lead a panel focused on scrutinizing China. In a statement, McCaul described his mission in being on the task force as developing “new and enduring policy solutions that, among others, enhance our economic strength and create jobs, protect our national security, rethink our supply chains and grow our competitive edge in technology.” Officials say at least 138 employees at a meat packing plant in Hanford, California have tested positive for coronavirus. The company, which employs about 900 workers at two plants in Hanford and Vernon, is continuing to operate, according to the LA Times. The meat industry is facing scrutiny as more Covid-19 outbreaks emerge from factories where employees work long hours in close contact with one another, putting them at higher risk for infection. Relatives of workers are calling on the plant to close due to the high number of cases, the LA Times reported. In a vote of 49 to 45 on Thursday, the Senate failed to override a veto from Donald Trump of a war powers resolution limiting his authority to use military force in Iran. The bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine in February, and later passed in the House in March and came as a response to Trump killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani without Congressional approval, leading to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Trump vetoed the bill Wednesday night, calling it a “very insulting resolution” introduced by Democrats “as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party.” On Thursday, senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren joined New York City officials in calling for better protections of frontline workers. “If these essential workers are willing to get out there and put their own health at risk — sometimes putting their families’ health at risk — then the very least the rest of us can do is make sure that they have some genuine protection,” Warren said during a virtual town hall. “That means both medical protection and it means economic protection.” Warren joined the lawmakers to push for frontline workers to receive paid sick leave, increased pay and whistleblower protections. She specifically cited Amazon’s firing of several whistleblowers who protested frontline conditions in recent weeks, including Chris Smalls, who staged a walk out from a New York City area warehouse to protest lack of protections. A worker from that warehouse has since died from Covid-19. “One of the things that this Covid-19 crisis has shown us is truly who are the essential workers in our country and, guess what, it turns out it’s not the investment bankers,” Warren said. “It turns out it’s the doctors and nurses — bless them all — but it’s also the people who are mopping the floors in the hospitals, the people who are making deliveries, the people who are stocking the grocery store shelves.” In some lighter news, US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has jumped on the bandwagon and started to play Animal Crossing, the Nintendo game that has taken our quarantined nation by storm. After it was reported she had joined the app, Ocasio-Cortez opened up her direct messages on Twitter to allow users to give her tips on the game and invite her to their virtual “islands”. She said the process has granted her “faith in humanity” as users took the opportunity to ask her to surprise spouses and loved ones with a virtual visit. Nurses are protesting the federal government’s failure to protect frontline healthcare workers outside the White House, with lines of 88 pairs of white nurse’s shoes to represent workers who have died on the job. The protest, organized by National Nurses United, comes as nurse appreciation week has fallen in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in America. How many of these nurses died … bc our government failed to act, to lead, to protect them,” protesters said, wearing masks and standing six feet apart. “We stand here today, our hearts full of pain, but also with determination and demanding action. It is past time for this president and Congress to act.” US death toll passes 75,000 The US death toll from coronavirus has now surpassed 75,000 people, according to the counter from Johns Hopkins University, marking a grim milestone in the global pandemic. Deaths in the US are the highest globally, followed by the UK at 30,000 deaths. The proceeding countries with the highest numbers of deaths are Italy with 29,958 and Spain with 26,000. The death toll is expected to continue to rise as the US begins to reopen, with up to 3,000 deaths a day forecasted. Kari Paul here, blogging from the West Coast for the next few hours. Stay tuned for more news.