Hillary Clinton Has No Idea How She Loves Bill Clinton

Coronavirus Deaths Are Catching Up to the Case Surge

By Adam K. Raymond

As New York City has its first day in months without a COVID-19 death, the country’s new hot spots are seeing deaths spike.

1:57 p.m.

Republican National Convention Becoming a Dumpster Fire

By Ed Kilgore

Options for safely holding a big Trump celebration in Jacksonville are shrinking as it becomes a major COVID-19 hotspot.

1:27 p.m.

There’s a lot going on here

Photo: @NickReisman/Twitter

11:08 a.m.

The only good news is it’s less than the 15,000 plus cases recorded on Sunday

Florida reported 12,624 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the second-highest total for a single day in the pandemic, out of more than 112,200 test results.

—@PatriciaMazzei

10:40 a.m.

Is this a winning pitch?

Thom Tillis’ message at the (virtual) NCGOP convention: “The stakes are very high this election, but you know why I know we’re going to win? Because people remember how good their lives were back in February.”

—@igorbobic

10:25 a.m.

new york city

One-Year-Old Shot and Killed at Brooklyn Cookout

By Adam K. Raymond

The 22-month-old was shot in the stomach while sitting his stroller at the end of another violent New York City weekend.

9:59 a.m.

2020 election

Kanye West and the Media Are Once Again Playing a Dangerous Game

By Craig Jenkins

There needs to be a reckoning about the toxic relationship between Kanye West and the vox populi.

9:44 a.m.

Pivoting to Trump TV?

So hard to watch @FoxNews anymore. They are working so hard against the people (viewers) that got them there. Their contributors are a disaster, and all over the place. The Radical Left has scared Fox into submission, just like they have so many others. Sad, but we will WIN!

—@realDonaldTrump

8:59 a.m.

the national interest

Trump Warns That Biden Presidency Would Be Disaster (for Ratings)

By Jonathan Chait

Finally, a second-term agenda Trump can credibly commit to.

8:49 a.m.

At long, long last

The N.F.L. team in Washington plans to announce Monday that it will drop Redskins from its name, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision, yielding to sponsors and Native American activists who have long criticized it a racist slur.

The person who confirmed the decision spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to make the official announcement. The anticipated move was first reported by Sports Business Journal on Sunday and followed by other news organizations.

The team, one of the oldest in the N.F.L., was not expected to announce a new name on Monday as it continues to evaluate possibilities.

Redskins to Drop Name, Yielding to Pressure From Sponsors and Activists

—The New York Times

7:00 a.m.

Can Trump Make the Supreme Court a Campaign Issue Again?

By Ed Kilgore

Trump-appointed justices didn’t give conservatives everything they hoped for. That only raises the stakes in November.

12:25 a.m.

Polls Raise Hopes of Biden Turning Texas Blue

By Matt Stieb

New polls, including one that has Trump down by five points, suggest the Lone Star State may not be off the table for the Biden campaign.

Trump Administration Transitions From Ignoring to Undermining Anthony Fauci

By Matt Stieb

For the last month, the White House has disregarded the NIAID head. But over the weekend, the administration began to bad-mouth their own expert.

7/12/2020

The island ahead of the world

New Zealand has lifted almost all of its coronavirus restrictions after reporting no active cases in the country. At midnight local time, all of New Zealand moved to level one, the lowest of a four-tier alert system. Under new rules, social distancing is not required and there are no limits on public gatherings, but borders remain closed to foreigners.

New Zealand has reported no new Covid-19 cases for more than two weeks. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she did “a little dance” when she was told the country no longer had any active virus cases.

New Zealand lifts all Covid restrictions, declaring the nation virus-free

—BBC

How Ski Resorts Hope to Operate Under COVID-19 This Winter

the top line

By Josh Barro

Skiing is a naturally low-risk activity, but concerns about sudden lockdowns and traveling to, getting up, and eating on the mountain remain.

7/12/2020

Great, hard-earned news

Yesterday was the first day since March that there were no new Covid-19 deaths in New York City. Keep wearing your masks and keep social distancing. It works.

—@MarkHarrisNYC

Coronavirus Hot Spot States by the Numbers

By Matt Stieb and Adam K. Raymond

A rundown of states — like Arizona, Florida, and Texas — facing alarming summer outbreaks, including closures, caseloads, and hospitalizations.

Florida Sets New U.S. Record With Over 15,000 COVID-19 Cases

By Chas Danner

The previous record of 12,274 daily cases was set by New York on April 4.

7/12/2020

Full of beans

Illustration: Screencap/Twitter

7/11/2020

the pandemic president

99 Days Later, Trump Finally Wears a Face Mask in Public

By Chas Danner

It only took more than three months, 3.2 million COVID-19 infections, and 134,000 deaths for Trump to follow and model CDC guidance a single time.

7/11/2020

Not waving but drowning

[A]fter a prolonged battle against what Trump’s biggest supporters see as a rigged judicial system staffed by Obama-era bureaucrats, [Michael] Flynn’s status as a deep state-fighting warrior has only grown. And with Flynn on the verge of potentially having criminal charges dismissed altogether, Trump allies are pushing the campaign to give Flynn the ultimate comeback: hitting the campaign trail for the president, according to nine people inside or close to the Trump campaign. …

Three people affiliated with the campaign said they would welcome Flynn back — perhaps reprising his role as an opening act at Trump rallies or a TV surrogate — between now and Election Day, although a Trump campaign official said the campaign has not approached Flynn about taking a formal position.

The move would bring Flynn back to where it all started in 2016, but this time emboldened by his journey — from little-known campaign surrogate, to White House national security adviser, to indicted Russia probe target, to, potentially, the man who defeated Robert Mueller’s prosecutors.

Trump allies want Michael Flynn to stage a campaign trail comeback

—Politico

7/11/2020

And here comes the heat

A long-lasting, widespread and intense heat wave is set to swallow the nation, arriving right at the historical peak in annual temperatures. While hot weather is expected in the summertime, the magnitude, duration, and intensity of the upcoming heat wave will be impressive.

A wide swath of the Lower 48 will be engulfed by temperatures 10 or more degrees above normal, with a sprawling heat dome likely to park over the nation’s heartland, lingering for weeks. The combination of heat and stifling humidity could even catapult heat index levels into the triple digits near the coasts. …

With the heat will come collateral impacts, including the risk of strong to severe windstorms for some. Climate change continues to worsen and extremity heat events, increasing their severity. A recent analysis by Climate Central found that the number of days each year with overlapping high heat and humidity has doubled across much of the United States since 1980.

Massive heat dome forecast to swell over much of Lower 48 within a week

—Capital Weather Gang @ WaPo

7/11/2020

The death tolls are catching up

BREAKING: 188 new deaths reported in Florida. Highest single day toll yet.@CNN

—@JohnBerman

7/11/2020

Simply put

An American private citizen worked with foreign spies to damage one presidential candidate and help the other. That president accepted the help. When caught, the private citizen lied. When the private citizen was punished, the president commuted his sentence.

Stone Walks Free in One of the Greatest Scandals in American History

—David Frum @ The Atlantic

7/11/2020