A super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

Trump goes after the WHO again; India and Bangladesh brace for a cyclone. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. TOP NEWS Trump vs. the WHO Doug Mills/Getty Images - In a letter to World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to permanently suspend US funding for the organization if the WHO didn’t commit to “major substantive improvements.” [[Twitter / Donald J. Trump](] - Trump also said that he might “reconsider” US membership status in the organization if the WHO failed to make an unspecified set of improvements. [[CNN / Paul LeBlanc](] - The letter follows Trump’s decision to temporarily suspend WHO funding in April. At the time, he accused the organization of “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.” [[Stat / Nicholas Florko](] - Experts, however, warn that the administration’s move could not only cede US influence within the WHO to China, but make it harder for the organization to respond to the coronavirus and to future pandemics. [[Vox / Alex Ward](] - On Tuesday, The Lancet, a top medical journal cited in the letter, pushed back against Trump’s claims and disputed a factual issue, saying in a statement that “the allegations levelled against WHO ... are serious and damaging to efforts to strengthen international cooperation to control this pandemic.” [[Politico / Caitlin Oprysko](] - As Lois Parshley points out for Vox, the WHO did make some missteps in its pandemic response; the US response, though, is a disaster of the Trump administration’s own making, not the WHO’s. [[Vox / Lois Parshley](] - The letter coincides with the WHO’s annual World Health Assembly, which began Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off the summit by announcing $2 billion in new funding to combat the coronavirus and support health care in the developing world. [[NYT / Andrew Jacobs, Michael D. Shear and Edward Wong](] - China also threw its support behind an investigation into the global coronavirus response, a reversal of its previous stance on the issue. The inquiry will be conducted after the end of the pandemic and was also backed by Russia and the European Union. [[Washington Post / Gerry Shih, Emily Rauhala, and Josh Dawsey](] Social distancing in emergency cyclone shelters - A powerful cyclone is expected to make landfall in the Indian state of West Bengal Wednesday, but the coronavirus is complicating evacuation efforts both in India and in neighboring Bangladesh. [[Washington Post / Andrew Freedman and Joanna Slater](] - The storm is said to be equivalent to a category 4 hurricane with “sustained winds surpassing 130 mph.” India’s meteorological agency warned in no uncertain terms Tuesday that the cyclone will cause “extensive large scale damage” when it makes landfall. [[NPR / Colin Dwyer](] - And Indian officials have said it has the potential to be the worst storm in more than two decades. In 1999, a cyclone killed more than 9,000. [[NYT / Sameer Yasir and Jeffrey Gettleman](] - According to Satya Narayan Pradhan, the director general of India’s National Disaster Relief Force, the capacity of cyclone shelters in West Bengal has been reduced by more than half because of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. [[CNN / Ben Westcott, Vedika Sud, and Manveena Suri](] - Currently, India is reporting more than 100,000 coronavirus cases, and its highest single-day number of cases came just this Sunday with more than 5,000. [[Business Insider / Mia Jankowicz](] MISCELLANEOUS The Senate Intelligence Committee approved the nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe for director of national intelligence in a party-line vote Tuesday. [[Washington Post / Shane Harris](] - President Donald Trump claims to be taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug with no clear benefits for combating the coronavirus that can also cause heart problems. [[Politico / Caitlin Oprysko](] - “I don’t know how anyone can defend this graph”: How Georgia fumbled crucial public health data [[AJC / Willoughby Mariano and J. Scott Trubey](] - The pandemic has sent bicycle sales through the roof. [[NYT / Christina Goldbaum](] VERBATIM "As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didn’t speak up for myself, no one else would. My mission is to say out loud if I am asked the question — 'Yes.'" [[Stacey Abrams on her vice presidential ambitions](] LISTEN TO THIS [Ezra Klein has some thoughts]( Ezra Klein has some thoughts. [[Spotify / Ezra Klein and Sean Rameswaram](] [Read more from Vox](#) [The stimulus law’s student loan payment freezes, explained]( [How to bake bread]( [Trump’s remarks about firing the State Department IG show how he’s destroyed the norm of oversight]( [Why Attorney General Bill Barr is mad at Apple]( [Essential workers are losing their hazard pay even though the hazard isn’t over]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.