How George Floyd's friends remember him

As the US hits 100,000 deaths, the epicenter has shifted away from NYC; the CDC is accused of releasing funny numbers, and RIP to George Floyd

THE BIG STORY   100,000 Coronavirus Deaths At around 6 p.m. ET yesterday, the US hit a grim milestone: 100,000 coronavirus deaths, according to numbers gathered by Johns Hopkins University. It's a number we knew was coming, and it's probably an underestimate. "Almost certainly it's higher," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, a White House coronavirus task force member, said about the death toll at a Senate hearing earlier this month. "There may have been people who died at home who were not counted as COVID because they never really got to the hospital." On April 27, the national death toll stood at just under 56,000. About 44,000 more people have died of the virus in the 30 days since. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS   The epicenter is shifting   The New York City metro area — which includes the city itself plus neighboring areas of New York state, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — was the national center of the coronavirus outbreak for months. By mid-April, it accounted for half of all US coronavirus deaths, in a region with just 6% of the national population   But the the tide has turned, and the city's daily death toll has been steadily declining. There are now more deaths in the rest of the country, due in part to a growing number of daily deaths in other states.  As the country moved toward 100,000 deaths, the role of the New York City metro area has changed significantly. Here's how it contributed to the first 50,000 deaths, and to the 50,000 that followed: HELP US KEEP QUALITY NEWS FREE FOR ALL BuzzFeed News is throwing everything we've got at covering the coronavirus pandemic, and more than ever before, we need your help to keep all this going. You can support our global newsroom by becoming a BuzzFeed News member. Our members help us keep our quality news free and available to everyone in the world, and you can join for just $5 a month (or whatever you can afford). If you've enjoyed our work and want to support it, please sign up. SNAPSHOTS   A Mexican woman says she was raped inside an ICE detention center in Texas shortly before being deported. "I hope the United States government and the directors of these private jails prevent this violence from happening to others," she told BuzzFeed News.   Peter Manfredonia, the 23-year-old college student accused of killing two people, was arrested last night. Police across three states have been searching for him since late last week.    A California doctor is walking back his claim that the coronavirus lockdown produced a year's worth of suicide attempts in one month. "If you contextualize in concrete numbers fashion, it's not accurate," he says.    New estimates of the coronavirus fatality rate released by the CDC are suspiciously low, according to some public health experts. "The CDC is determined to smash its credibility with the public health community of which it is supposedly a leader," one said.  Jessica Mcgowan / Getty Images IT'S NEWS O'CLOCK The podcast that's doing the most New Zealand has managed to empty its hospitals of coronavirus cases. There's a plan to reopen Disney World, but we're not sure if we would go on these rides. And BuzzFeed writer and DM 911 advice-giver Stephen LaConte is back to answer your most pressing questions about life and love. Check out the latest episode of News O'Clock! RIP How friends remember George Floyd George Floyd, 46, died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday; four police officers involved in his death have been fired and the city's mayor has called for them to be arrested. Video footage showed one of the officers kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost eight minutes until he eventually lost consciousness; he was pronounced dead soon after.   Here's how his friends remember him.  via Facebook / Christina U Dawson "He was articulate. He was grounded. He was spiritual. He was an athlete. He was an organizer. He was a comforter. He was an encourager," his friend Vanita Williams told BuzzFeed News. "I could just go on and on and on about who he was."   "Floyd was my brother. We called each other 'Twin,'" said former NBA player Stephen Jackson. "Floyd was loved by everybody," he posted on Instagram. "Rest Easy Twin, we riding for ya."   Floyd's cousin, Tera Brown, told CNN that it "warms my heart to see we have so many people willing to support and to protest and to give him a voice... He was a very loving person. And he didn't deserve what happened to him."   May he rest in peace, Tom P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. 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