| THE BIG STORY Trump made school reopenings an election issue. The voters he needs just don’t agree with him. President Donald Trump is pushing for schools to resume normal operations this fall. His administration has urged Republicans to condition badly-needed federal stimulus money for schools on whether or not they reopen fully.
As the president works to turn school reopening into a black-and-white issue, many of the Republican voters he needs are not on the same page.
Our reporter spent time interviewing two dozen women voters in Onalaska, a small city outside of La Crosse in western Wisconsin, and found the issue has divided Republicans and blurred party lines — a rarity in an era of sharp political polarization.
This could signal trouble for Trump. These are the kinds of voters he will need to win over to hold onto the pivotal states of Wisconsin and Michigan. Most live in suburbs and small towns, in places that flipped to Trump in 2016, after voting for Barack Obama in 2012.
STAYING ON TOP OF THIS John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma one last time
Fifty-five years ago, John Lewis was beaten by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as he helped lead a historic march for voting rights. The day came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.”
In later years, Lewis led an annual march across the bridge with current and former presidents from both parties. On the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Lewis crossed the bridge with Barack Obama.
John Lewis died on July 17. On Sunday, the casket of the revered civil rights icon was transported across the bridge in a horse-drawn carriage over a scattering of rose petals as part of a six-day memorial tribute to honor Lewis.
John Bazemore / AP SNAPSHOTS TV host Regis Philbin has died at 88. The longtime television star who anchored a popular morning show for more than 20 years and served as the original host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the US died of natural causes, according to his family.
WNBA players didn’t kneel during the national anthem — they walked out. The players of two Women’s National Basketball Association teams — the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty — walked off the court as the national anthem was playing in an act of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
A man was fatally shot at a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas. Garrett Foster had protested “almost every day for the past 50 days” with his fiancé, Foster's mother said. Police said a suspect — who witnesses said tried to drive through the crowd of protesters before shooting the victim — was arrested.
A Black trans sex worker died after paramedics failed to take her to hospital. For friends of Alejandra Monocuco and others, the reason Monocuco died is clear: the paramedics didn’t provide appropriate care because Monocuco was a Black trans sex worker living with HIV.
Taylor Swift: she did the thing. Taylor’s new album Folklore is good, writes Shannon Keating. Ellie Bate wrote about how the album fits in with Taylor’s transformation. I am not impartial in this: I, too, have been playing it nonstop — including while writing this very newsletter.
Who knows, if she never showed up, what could've been. Republic Records CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM Here’s what we know and don’t know about coronavirus immunity We’re obviously not out of the woods yet when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. Having said that, medical experts are expressing increasing optimism about the human immune system’s ability to fight the virus.
Some of the good news: we’ve seen promising vaccine results, and new findings analyzing the immune response of people who survived the disease are giving scientists more encouragement. Experts caution this is only provisional given that we are still in the early months of a pandemic that has so far killed more than 600,000 people.
A big reason to be hopeful: one expert told us, “The coronavirus is starting to look a lot like other viruses that have led to good vaccines.”
Here’s what we know about coronavirus immunity.
SUMMERTIME SADNESS These photos of lonely baseball mascots in empty stadiums are a whole mood Baseball is back! Sort of! Major League Baseball games have resumed, but in front of exactly zero fans because of the pandemic.
That hasn’t stopped baseball mascots from doing their thing even when they don’t have an audience. As a result, images of the happy, cheerful mascots sitting alone have become a symbol of the times.
We’ve collected photos of baseball mascots struggling through it, like the rest of us.
St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird lays on the bleachers during a game. Jeff Curry / USA TODAY Sports Take a few minutes to share something that brought you joy with a friend, Elamin P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide). 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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