Smart news for busy people
Important | 1 | | U.S. cases of COVID-19 rose 25 percent last week — and in 10 states, they soared more than 50 percent. Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress that the coming weeks are critical, and that testing will increase — though President Donald Trump said yesterday that he wasn’t joking when he said he’d ordered testing to slow down to make the numbers look less dire. As Europe lifts lockdowns and opens borders, it may keep a ban on U.S. citizens until the outbreak improves. Meanwhile, Fauci said he was “cautiously optimistic” there could be a vaccine by the end of the year. | |
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| 2 | | Mexico’s southern coast was shaken by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake yesterday, which was followed by 147 aftershocks. Small villages in the Oaxaca region have been isolated by rockfalls on mountain roads, and the shaking was even felt in Mexico City, 190 miles away. Five people were confirmed killed, but while the death toll may rise, authorities expect fewer than 100 fatalities and less than $100 million in damages. Meanwhile, hospitals on the coast were damaged as Mexico’s COVID-19 outbreak continued, with a record 6,000 new cases and 800 deaths reported yesterday alone. | |
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| 3 | | A Justice Department prosecutor is scheduled to tell the House Judiciary Committee today that Attorney General William Barr put inappropriate pressure on those involved with the case of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone to “cut Stone a break” because of his proximity to the president. Barr, whose management of the Justice Department has come under heavy scrutiny, has refused to testify before Congress in the past, and his scheduled testimony set for March was scrapped as COVID-19 gained steam. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler says Barr will be receiving a subpoena in the coming days. | |
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| 4 | | Sticker shock is here to stay. The Trump administration won a legal victory yesterday when a U.S. District Court sided against hospital groups that had challenged new rules requiring them to disclose the prices they negotiate with insurers. Those rates have long been considered trade secrets, and critics of the new policy fear the ruling with further strain the already struggling hospital industry. “This may very well be bigger than healthcare itself,” President Trump tweeted. The American Hospital Association says it plans to appeal the decision. Read OZY’s deep dive on India’s bid to dominate health care. | |
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| 5 | | Major League Baseball has announced a 60-game season this year, kicking off on July 23 or 24. Results in yesterday’s primary elections in Kentucky and New York may be delayed for days. And workers for Zara and Primark in Myanmar say they were fired for trying to form a union. Coronavirus update: At a rally in Arizona yesterday, President Trump claimed his border wall “stopped COVID.” Arizona has the highest percentage of positive tests of any state. Go figure: What’s the connection between Little House on the Prairie and the Koch Brothers? Find out on the latest episode of OZY’s hit podcast, Flashback, which each week unravels the surprising connections and unintended consequences that the history books never told you about. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
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| Intriguing | 1 | | Which of the ten plagues is this? A cloud that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June has drifted across the Atlantic, where it cast a shadow over Barbados. Now it’s headed north and should arrive in Texas and Louisiana today. The phenomenon isn’t rare — it happens most summers, depositing dust that helps build Caribbean beaches — but this one’s particularly intense, and so big it’s visible from space. These dust clouds are also known to create amazing sunsets, though people with health conditions like asthma and COPD are advised to wear masks while enjoying them. | |
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| 2 | | Call it unfriending. A growing list of companies, including North Face, Magnolia Pictures and Ben & Jerry’s, have joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign to cease advertising on Facebook and Instagram to protest the company’s reluctance to moderate misinformation and hate speech. In a survey last year, 55 percent of Americans reported experiencing harassment and hate on Facebook, more than any other social platform. Twitter’s recent moves to fact-check misleading or violent tweets from President Trump have placed Facebook’s refusal to do so in the spotlight. The ad boycott is expected to last the entire month of July. | |
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| 3 | | In the booming 2019 economy, the proportion of American families who don’t get enough to eat fell to just 11 percent. But experts say COVID-19 and the recession it’s engendered are likely to change that, sending food insecurity through the roof for kids and parents. That’s a problem not just for them but for their future kids, OZY reports: Malnutrition in parents is the biggest factor in children’s growth being stunted. That means the next generation of Americans could be shorter than we are now — unless the country figures out a way to adequately feed people. | |
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| 4 | | They rose to the occasion. After Spain lifted its general lockdown Sunday, allowing cultural venues to open their doors, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu brought a string quartet to its stage to play Puccini’s “Crisantemi” to an audience of 2,292 potted plants. Humans tuned in via livestream, and each plant was given a certificate and donated to a local health care worker. The opera house called the performance, designed by conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia, a prelude to the upcoming season, which is expected to have human spectators. OZY investigates ways your phone can help you identify mystery plants. | |
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| 5 | | This was a real unforced error. After flouting lockdown rules, speaking out against potential coronavirus vaccines and throwing an exhibition tournament to packed crowds with no social distancing, the world No. 1 tennis star and his wife have both tested positive for COVID-19, along with other players on the tour and one player’s pregnant wife. “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said. But many are calling for his resignation as president of the Player Council, pointing out that protecting players’ interests doesn’t include exposing them to coronavirus. | |
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| caught up? now vault ahead ... | To get more fresh stories and bold ideas in your inbox, check out The Daily Dose. | | True Stories The latest episode of OZY's chart-topping 'Flashback' podcast reveals how the 'Little House' series of children's classics entwined itself with the growth of free-market conservatism. | READ NOW |
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