The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. topped 500,000 Monday, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined. The half-million lives lost, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University, are about equal to the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and greater than that of Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina; or Omaha, Nebraska. The U.S. toll is by far the highest reported in the world though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater, in part because of the many cases that were overlooked, especially early on in the outbreak.