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.
Fears of disinformation amid the vote-by-mail debate, states with few COVID-19 cases receiving a big share of the coronavirus relief aid, the confirmation hearing or the president’s nominee for intelligence chief, summer camps being closed this year and mother’s day celebrations make up this week’s five national stories.
Wearing gloves, a King County Election worker collect ballots from a drop box March 10, 2020, in the Washington State primary in Seattle. Washington is a vote-by-mail state. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
Vote-by-mail debate raises fears of election disinformation
A bitterly partisan debate unfolding on whether more Americans should cast their votes through the mail during a pandemic is provoking online disinformation and conspiracy theories that could undermine trust in the results, even if there are no major problems. With social distancing guidelines possibly curtailing in-person voting at the polls in November, states are drawing up plans to rely more heavily on a mail-in system that has until now seen only limited use.
Read More: Voting
Hawaii State Department of Health microbiologist Mark Nagata demonstrates the process for testing a sample for coronavirus March 3, 2020, at the department's laboratory in Pearl City, Hawaii. An Associated Press analysis shows that some of the least-populated states received an out-sized proportion of federal money designed to address virus-related expenses. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)
States with few virus cases get big share of relief aid
Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming are among the least-populated states with the lowest numbers of residents testing positive for the COVID-19. But despite their small size, they scored big this spring when Congress pumped out direct federal aid to the states. An Associated Press analysis shows those four, along with other small states, took in an out-sized proportion of the $150 billion in federal money designed to address coronavirus-related expenses
Read More: Virus outbreak
Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May. 5, 2020. The panel is considering Ratcliffe's nomination for director of national intelligence. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Intel chief nominee says he won’t be swayed by politics
Rep. John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, pledged at his confirmation hearing Tuesday to deliver intelligence free of bias or political influence. Democrats repeatedly pressed him on whether he could stand up to the president and defend the agencies he would oversee. Ratcliffe aimed to quell concerns that the ardent Trump loyalist would be swayed by political pressure from the president.
Read more: John Ratcliffe
Games instructor John Griffin, right, shouts directions through a megaphone as campers look on July 6, 2015, at Camp Kiwanis in the Ocala National Forest near Ocala, Fla. Camp Kiwanis will not open this summer for the first time in 72 years due to concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Scott Mitchell/Camp Kiwanis via AP)
With camps shut, families face summer in the great indoors
Parents around the country are learning their children’s summer camps will be canceled, delayed or moved online due to fallout from the coronavirus. Camps and parents are scrambling as Zoom campfires and “virtual cabins” in the living room become more likely. It’s a blow for children and their parents who have spent weeks cooped up during school closures and had considered camp a reward for adhering to weeks of social isolation and homeschooling.
Read more: Lifestyle
Steve Turner and his sisters, Carla Paull and Lisa Fishman, hold up a Mother’s Day banner emblazoned with images of their mom, Beverly Turner, May 3, 2020, in front of her assisted living facility in Ladue, Missouri. They were “practicing” how their Mother’s Day surprise will look on the holiday. (Shelly Solomon via AP)
Mother’s Day this year means getting creative from afar
Mother’s Day this year is a mix of love and extra imagination as families do without their usual brunches and huggy meet-ups. As the pandemic persists in keeping families indoors or a safe social distance apart, online searches have increased for creative ways to still make moms feel special. Uninitiated dads are on homemade craft duty with the kids. Other loved ones are navigating around no-visitor rules at hospitals and senior-living facilities.
Read More: Mother’s Day
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The closure of the historic Mark III Tap Room impacts Muncie’s LGBTQ+ community.
By Meghan Holt / 2 hours agoPatrons of the oldest gay bar in Indiana reflect on how it affected their lives.
A 40-year alliance: Brian Dudley is a staple with Wapahani baseball
By Zach Carter / 3 hours agoBrian Dudley spent 40 years as the Wapahani varsity baseball coach and finished his career with an 828-320 record.
Top-seeded Cardinals’ postseason run ends with upset loss to Lindenwood
By Adam Altobella / 13 hours agoNo. 10 Ball State was upset by No. 18 Lindenwood in a five-set battle (25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 11-15) on the Cardinals’ home court Thursday night. With how scarce at-large bids to the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament are, it is likely that the red and white’s 2024 campaign is over.
