Daniel Radcliffe Plans to Return to Broadway

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

vision 2020

State and Local Budget Shortfalls Adding to Potential Election Chaos

By Ed Kilgore

Congress needs to act to keep November’s pandemic-hampered election from becoming an epochal disaster.

7/11/2020

joe biden

The Biden-Trump Race Is a Tale of Two Populisms

By Eric Levitz

One speaks to the temporarily embarrassed millionaire, the other to the proud laborer.

7/10/2020

How high will the second peak of U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations go?

Illustration: Screencap/Twitter

7/10/2020

This may or may not come as a surprise

The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has for years been using a pseudonym to post bigoted remarks on an online forum [called AutoAdmit, also known as XOXOhth,] that is a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content, CNN Business learned this week.

Just this week, the writer, Blake Neff, responded to a thread started by another user in 2018 with the subject line, “Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?” Neff wrote, “I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no.” (The subject line was not censored on the forum.) On June 5, Neff wrote, “Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down.” On June 24, Neff commented, “Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep.” On June 26, Neff wrote that the only people who care about changing the name of the NFL’s Washington Redskins are “white libs and their university-’educated’ pets.”

And over the course of five years, Neff has maintained a lengthy thread in which he has derided a woman and posted information about her dating life that has invited other users to mock her and invade her privacy. There has at times also been overlap between some material he posted or saw on the forum and Carlson’s show.

Tucker Carlson's top writer resigns after secretly posting racist and sexist remarks in online forum

—CNN Business

Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone, Who Refused to Testify Against Him

obstruction of justice

By Chas Danner

The president has made sure that his loyal friend and longtime collaborator will not face justice after he was convicted of obstructing justice.

COVID-19 Is Changing Many Things — But Not Apartment Rents

the top line

By Josh Barro

Even during this extremely unstable time, the cost to rent a home has so far remained surprisingly stable.

7/10/2020

Georgia reported another record number of cases on Friday (almost 5,000)

[Atlanta] Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is preparing to roll back the city’s reopening plans as coronavirus cases surge, a spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News Friday. The city will go back to Phase 1, in which all residents are ordered to stay home except for essential trips. Atlanta entered Phase 2 at the end of May, which was described as an “easing” of restrictions phase. …

On Wednesday, Mayor Bottoms signed an executive order mandating that people wear face masks or coverings in the City of Atlanta. Bottoms and her family members have tested positive for the virus. The Mayor’s orders are just guidelines and are not enforceable. Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive orders, which have allowed many businesses to fully reopen with new safety and social distancing guidelines, supersede any orders by Mayor Bottoms.

Mayor to roll back Atlanta’s reopening plan to Phase 1

—WSB-TV Atlanta

Disney World Is Reopening. Some Workers Are Worried.

covid-19

By Sarah Jones

The Disney’s flagship theme park reopens this weekend. But has the company done enough to protect workers from the coronavirus?

7/10/2020

Not shady at all

Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn’t want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. “He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”

—@howardfineman

7/10/2020

It’s normal in some other countries

NEW: Facebook is considering a ban on political ads on its social network in the days leading up to the U.S. election in November. No decision yet, but it’s being discussed, according to sources

—@KurtWagner8