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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it very clear who was in charge as coronavirus began to infiltrate his state. The governor — in near-daily nationally televised appearances — said he would make difficult but necessary choices to contain the spread and would take the blame for any negative effects on New Yorkers' lives. “The buck stops on my desk,” Cuomo said to both a New York and national audience on March 17, after ordering bars and restaurants to close across the state. “Your local mayor did not close your restaurants, your bars, your gyms or your schools. I did. I did. I assume full responsibility. ... If you are upset by what we have done, be upset at me.” (Gronewold and Durkin, 5/29)

The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to seize private property for President Trump’s border wall, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to survey land while its owners are confined indoors, residents along the Rio Grande say. “Is that essential business?” asked Nayda Alvarez, 49, who recently found construction markers on the land in Starr County, Texas, that has been in her family for five generations. “That didn’t stop a single minute during the shelter in place or stay at home.” (Kanno-Youngs, 5/29)

A sharp political and public policy rift emerged Thursday between Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats in the California Legislature over how to navigate the bleak economic road ahead after a state Senate panel rejected more than half of the spending cuts in the $203.3-billion proposed budget he unveiled two weeks ago. The alternative budget adopted by Senate Democrats differs from the governor’s proposal to address the state’s pandemic-generated deficit in several key ways. It exceeds Newsom’s plan in its funding for K-12 schools, though it delays full payment of those funds. (Myers, 5/28)

Democratic state leaders in Pennsylvania are accusing GOP counterparts of endangering everyone at the statehouse after a representative, who'd attended meetings, announced he tested positive for the coronavirus. Rep. Andrew Lewis, who represents Dauphin County, revealed on Wednesday he tested positive for COVID-19 on May 20 after he experienced flu-like symptoms two days earlier. (Pereira, 5/28)

Kaiser Health News: As COVID Cuts Deadly Path Through Indiana Prisons, Inmates Say Symptoms Ignored 
Scottie Edwards died of COVID-19 just weeks before he would have gotten out of the Westville Correctional Facility in Indiana. Edwards, 73, began showing symptoms of the disease in early April, according to the accounts of three inmates who lived with him in a dormitory. He was short of breath, had chest pain and could barely talk. He was also dizzy, sweaty and throwing up. (Harper, 5/29)

The union representing workers at a meatpacking plant near Los Angeles where at least 153 employees have come down with COVID-19 called on Thursday for the plant’s immediate closure, saying measures to control the outbreak were not working. The outbreak has hit over 10% of the workforce at the Smithfield-owned Farmer John plant, said John Grant, president of the local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. (Ross, 5/28)

The Oklahoma State Department of Health more than quadrupled its COVID-19 testing in May, delivering results on over 90,000 specimens as the rate of positive cases dropped to its lowest point since the pandemic began, according to Oklahoma State Health Department leaders. The actual number of COVID-19 cases has “flatlined” in recent weeks rather than dropping, but that is primarily because of outbreaks in isolated areas, interim state epidemiologist Aaron Wendelboe said. (Casteel, 5/29)

A new map on Ohio's coronavirus website, coronavirus.ohio.gov, shows where you can go for a test. The map pinpoints testing centers – private companies that offer testing – and community health centers across the state, according to the website. The map also provides an address and phone number for each testing location. (Mitchell, 5/28)

Investigators in Michigan with the Department of Homeland Security are refocusing some of their efforts on fraud tied to the coronavirus pandemic as scammers seek to take advantage of an anxious public. Federal agencies "have multiple investigations going on" at ports of entry in Michigan of fake or shoddy personal protective equipment, said Jared Murphey, the Homeland Security Investigations assistant special agent in charge of Michigan and Ohio. HSI is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is under the Department of Homeland Security. (Warikoo, 5/28)