First Thing: US marks record high in daily coronavirus deaths

US recorded more than 3,000 Covid-19 deaths for the first time yesterday and is expected to pass 14m coronavirus cases today. Plus, why Obama doesn't approve of calls to defund the police'

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Good morning.

The US recorded its highest daily tally of coronavirus deaths yesterday, and the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid exceeded 100,000 for the first time. According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, there were 3,157 new deaths recorded on Wednesday - much more than the previous high of 2,607 deaths, which was recorded on 15 April. Joe Biden said earlier this week that there could be a further 250,000 lives lost between now and January.