WHAT'S BREWING
TRUMP ADMIN. OFFICIAL DEFENDS TESTING DESPITE WIDESPREAD DELAYS Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, refused to admit that the administration is not doing enough to boost testing capacity. During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, he attributed widespread frustration over delayed tests to would-be travelers. “‘I feel like going somewhere, so I need a test.’ That is not where we are,” Giroir said. There is no evidence prospective travelers are responsible for the surge in tests. [HuffPost]
SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AFTER AUSTIN PROTESTER SHOT DEAD A suspect is in custody following the fatal shooting of an anti-racism demonstrator in Austin, Texas, police said. The victim’s mother identified him as Garrett Foster. Witnesses said Foster was killed shortly before 10 p.m. by a motorist who had threatened protesters with his car. Police said they believe Foster was armed and had approached the car before being shot. [HuffPost]
TRUMP'S FEDERAL COPS STEAL LEAF BLOWER IDEA FROM PORTLAND PROTESTERS Protesters calling themselves “Fathers Against Fascism” joined the “Wall of Moms” last week with garden leaf blowers to blast tear gas back at federal forces. Days later, the federal agents assailing the protesters appeared with their own leaf blowers, sparking a war of the noisy yard appliances. [HuffPost]
TRUMP TO SKIP YANKEES PITCH BECAUSE OF 'STRONG FOCUS ON THE CHINA VIRUS' Trump on Sunday backed out of his commitment to throw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game with the Boston Red Sox, claiming he’ll be busy addressing what he called the “China virus” — meaning COVID-19. Trump had said on Thursday that he would throw out the ceremonial pitch on Aug. 15. The turnabout came a day after Yankees players Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks took a knee during the national anthem before a game at Washington’s Nationals Park in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. [HuffPost]
WEARING MASKS IS MORE POPULAR AND LESS PARTISAN THAN YOU'D THINK An increasingly broad majority of Americans are wearing masks in public, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, which finds far more of a consensus on the benefits of masks than high-profile skirmishing over the issue might suggest. Democrats, especially, are prone to overstate the level of GOP opposition to masks, the survey finds. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say that generally people should wear face masks around others. A similar 71% say they would favor a government rule where they live requiring people to wear a face mask when in public around other people. [HuffPost]
30 YEARS LATER, DISABLED AMERICANS STILL FIGHT FOR THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS More than 61 million people with disabilities live in the United States. Before the ADA was passed, accessible public restrooms and transportation weren’t mandated. Restaurants could deny service to people with disabilities. Employers could legally fire — or refuse to hire — someone because of their health conditions, and many disabled kids couldn’t attend schools alongside nondisabled children. But many disabled Americans are still fighting for their civil rights, partly due to persistent ableism, and partly because adhering to the ADA requires enforcement from a dedicated White House administration. [HuffPost]
INSIDE THE WORLD'S LARGEST ICE EXPEDITION Launched in September, the $160.3 million MOSAiC program is the largest Arctic expedition in history. A collaboration among a consortium of international polar research institutions led by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, it is the first time scientists will be able to measure climatic conditions in the Arctic at every point in the year — including in the middle of winter, when it is dark 24 hours a day, the ice is at its thickest, and temperatures fall as low as minus 40 degrees (which, in addition to causing the malfunction of critical machinery, is the temperature at which the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales converge). [HuffPost] | 
