1. Coronavirus
The United States could see “more suffering and more death” if steps are not taken to contain the coronavirus, says Dr. Anthony Fauci. Given that the country has been averaging more than 1,000 deaths per day for a few days, it is not a surprise. Florida alone is approaching half a million cases, and a group of more than 5,000 health professionals is pleading with Governor Ron DeSantis to issue a mask rule across the state. Covid-19 children’s hospitalizations in the state also increased, just a few weeks before students are expected to return to schools. The situation in the US is even more sinister when you consider that other countries that seemed to have the virus under control, such as China, Japan, Vietnam and Australia, are suddenly experiencing resurgences. The director general of the World Health Organization called the pandemic “easily the most serious public health emergency” the organization has ever faced.
2. Encouragement
3. Vaccine
The first phase 3 clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine in the United States is already underway. The trial is expected to enroll about 30,000 adult volunteers and will assess the safety of the vaccine and whether it can prevent symptomatic Covid-19. The drug is being developed by the Moderna pharmaceutical company and a group within the National Institutes of Health. It is one of 25 potential vaccines in clinical trials worldwide, and Dr. Anthony Fauci says this may be the fastest the medical community has yet achieved to develop a vaccine after such a short period of work with a known virus. There is so much enthusiasm for something to stop this pandemic that thousands of people have expressed an interest in participating in clinical trials that expose them to the virus, even if it means potentially putting themselves at risk.
4. Election 2020
The path to the November presidential elections seems increasingly unknown. The Democratic National Convention will take place in mid-August, and people close to the event say the convention will feature just two hours of televised programming per day. That’s a huge departure from the usual lists of events, speakers, and one-day political rampage. The University of Notre Dame has also announced that it will withdraw from hosting the first presidential debate in late September due to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, President Trump continues to reject the wave of support for voting by mail sparked by pandemic concerns.
5. North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says “there will be no more war on this earth” and that “the security and future of North Korea will be assured forever” due to the country’s nuclear arsenal. These claims were made during a ceremony marking 67 years of the armistice that ended the Korean War. While the tenor of Kim’s comments is nothing new, they are a reminder that leaders of the international community have a lot of work to do if they want North Korea to accept any kind of diplomatic deal that requires a reduction in its nuclear program. . The North Koreans have hinted that they are open to yet another diplomatic summit between Kim and President Trump, such as the one that generated so much optimism in 2018. But there is no indication that the two sides are willing or able to meet on common ground anytime soon. .
BREAKFAST NAVIGATION
A group of players in the Miami Marlins tested positive for Covid-19 and some games had to be canceled. Now the entire baseball season is in question.
Hmm, didn’t baseball used to be a lot more fun than this?
NFL has canceled preseason games ahead of the 2020 season
Sorry, you will have to find a different way to overreact to your team’s potential.
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas welcome a girl
It is a joyous day for Casa Jonas and the Queen of the North.
Melania Trump wants to renovate the rose garden
Sorry, it promises us a new rose garden.
Google will allow employees to work from home until at least next summer
Did you hear that, Google gang? Yoga pants FOREVER.
Passing after
Nominations are …
Emmy nominations will be announced today, setting the stage for an unprecedented virtual ceremony in September.
TODAY’S NUMBER
51,512
This is how many prints have sold, at least, of the limited-edition Topps baseball card with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s first pitch during the first game of the season for the Washington Nationals last week. That makes it the best-selling card in the history of ToppsNow, the company’s limited-edition card collection.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“As the founding fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the road to its final extinction.”
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who described slavery as a “necessary evil” in an interview with the Arkansas Democratic Gazette. Cotton was trying to criticize Project 1619, a New York Times initiative that reformulates the history of the United States around the year 1619, when the first slave ship arrived on the shores of the United States. Instead, immediate comments and vehement criticism are invited.
TODAY’S TIME
Check your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
That horse has good taste
Feeling anxious? Overworked? Here is violinist Ray Chen serenading a horse. See? Everything better now.
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