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Iowa early News Headlines: 7/5/20

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July 5th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has reported another 786 confirmed coronavirus cases to push its total for the pandemic past 31,000. The state Department of Public Health said Saturday that one in every 102 Iowa residents has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while one in every 11 has tested negative. The total of confirmed positive cases was 31,141 as of Saturday afternoon, and the daily increase was 2.6%. The department reported one additional COVID-19 related death, bringing the total to 721. The agency’s data indicates positive case numbers had been in decline since early May but began a slow climb again around mid-June.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump’s campaign and allies have blocked efforts to expand mail-in voting, forcing an awkward confrontation with top GOP election officials promoting the opposite in their states. The rare dissonance between Trump and other Republican elected officials also reflects another reality the president will not concede: Many in his party believe expanding mail-in voting could ultimately help him. Trump’s campaign has intervened directly in Ohio, while allies have fired warning shots in Iowa and Georgia. Their moves are aimed at blunting Republican secretaries of state in places that could be competitive in November. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden supports mail-in voting.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Police say an Iowa man who successfully sued one of his sons for the shooting death of his wife has been assaulted by his other son. The Des Moines Register reports that 55-year-old Billy Dean Carter was arrested Wednesday and charged with assaulting his father, 74-year-old Bill Carter. Police say the younger Carter knocked his father to the ground and kicked him twice on a road near the elder father’s home following an argument. In 2017, a jury ordered another of Bill Carter’s sons, Jason Carter, to pay $10 million to the estate of of his mother, 68-year-old Shirley, who died in 2015 from two gunshot wounds fired by a rifle. Jason Carter was later acquitted of murder in the case.

CHICAGO (AP) — A Nigerian national has appeared in court in Chicago on charges that he orchestrated an international cyber fraud scheme that defrauded U.S. businesses in six states out of tens of millions of dollars. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said Friday that 29-year-old Olalekan Jacob Ponle, originally of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested last month in the United Arab Emirates, where he was living. He was expelled from the country and into FBI custody, and arrived in Chicago Thursday. He’s charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud against companies based in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California.