| THE BIG STORY
Trump returned to the White House and took his mask off while infected with COVID-19
President Donald Trump’s doctors admitted they are in “uncharted territory,” when it comes to their patient. Despite that, the president has left Walter Reed Medical Center and returned to the White House.
Trump’s doctors justified his departure after the president tweeted from the hospital that people should not “be afraid of Covid” or let it “dominate your life.”
The president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, ducked questions about whether chest scans showed damage to the president’s lungs, or when he had last tested negative for COVID-19. The latter would help establish where Trump is in the course of his illness.
Not long after he returned to the White House, the president posted a video message and defended his decision to relocate to the White House, adding, “I know there's a risk, there's a danger, but that's OK.”
The big question now: We spoke to doctors who warned that Trump could experience the worst COVID symptoms in the next week. Robert Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told us: “For the next few days, I’d want him 50 feet away from an ICU, not a helicopter ride.”
You should also know:
👉 White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is the 12th person of Trump’s circle to have COVID-19. McEnany has spoken to reporters outdoors frequently, including as recently as Sunday afternoon, while not wearing a mask.
👉 Joe Biden said he’s not surprised Trump got COVID-19. During a town hall, Biden said, “Anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying ‘masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter’ is responsible for what happens to them.”
President Donald Trump takes off his face mask after he arrives at the White House. Nicholas Kamm / Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS The CDC finally acknowledged that the coronavirus could spread through the air
The health agency finally acknowledged what scientists increasingly see as a key form of virus transmission: the CDC says the coronavirus can spread via particles in the air.
The agency updated its “How COVID-19 Spreads” guide to state that infections can occur as a result of viruses present in small droplets suspended in the air for minutes to hours.
The guidance reads, in part, “These viruses may be able to infect people who are further than 6 feet away from the person who is infected or after that person has left the space.”
The CDC indicates that close contact with a person who has been infected is still believed to be the primary route of infection.
SNAPSHOTS Congress is close to ending anonymous shell companies. After years of inaction, Congress is looking to pass substantial reforms of the financial system. Our FinCEN Files investigation spotlighted the pivotal role of shell companies in moving dirty money.
Politicians in line behind Trump say they’re coronavirus-free. But it may be too soon to know if that’s true. The leaders who would take over if Trump’s incapacitated, from Vice President Mike Pence to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been releasing their negative test results. But in the first few days of being infected, those results are not as conclusive as they may seem.
Is it dangerous to have debates? Two of the most important people in the world stood in an enclosed room for hours. Now one has the coronavirus. Will there be any more debates?
A senator wrote an impassioned letter to her colleagues about her IVF treatment and Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Sen. Tammy Duckworth cited her own experience with IVF, in response to reports that Judge Amy Coney Barrett publicly supported an organization that believes in vitro fertilization should be criminalized.
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT His landlord evicted him during the pandemic and then demanded $1,100 for him to get his belongings
The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable people. It also pushed many who were on the brink of vulnerability over the edge, as tens of thousands of people were suddenly without work.
Venessa Wong wrote about the thousands of Americans who have already been, or soon will be, evicted from their homes since the pandemic led to widespread job and income loss in March.
The combined forces of the economic fallout from the pandemic, tenuous contract employment, poor protections for tenants, and lack of access to affordable healthcare collided to create conditions that have disproportionately impacted those already living in a precarious state.
As one person she spoke to put it, “When it’s just constantly storming over your head, and you can’t seem to find an umbrella … what’s the point of the struggle?”
LOVE TAKES OVER The “Proud Boys” hashtag has been taken over by gay men
Last week, Donald Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right men's organization with a history of violence, to “stand back and stand by.”
In response, people have taken over the #ProudBoys hashtag with photos of gay men celebrating their lives and their love.
So now, if you search the hashtag on Twitter, you won’t find many references to the extremist group with ties to white supremacy — instead, you’ll find sweet stories of love.
Make time to reconnect with what makes you feel like yourself, 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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