presidential daily brief

Coronavirus cases have risen an estimated 15 percent nationwide in two weeks, with 12 states hitting single-day records in the last week alone. Nearly 120,000 Americans — and more than 466,000 people worldwide — have died so far, and while the White House continues to theorize that COVID-19 will simply “go away,” officials say they’re stockpiling supplies for a second wave this fall. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in a speech that he’d asked officials to “slow the testing down” since it was discovering so many new cases, which others in his administration characterized as a joke.

Protesters and police squared off Sunday in Gardena, California, over yet another police shooting of a person of color. The victim this time was 18-year-old Andres Guardado, who was shot six times on Thursday by a sheriff’s deputy after he fled from an official police vehicle. He was reportedly working as a security guard at an auto body shop, and police said he was carrying a weapon. Investigators say they’re still gathering evidence and have confiscated several security cameras from the scene, but Guardado’s family, protesters and multiple politicians have called for a thorough inquiry.

After being told of his alleged resignation on Friday and refusing to step down, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman was officially fired. Now he’s expected to be called to testify before Congress about suspicions that the Trump administration is purging the U.S. Department of Justice, as Berman had been investigating President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Berman’s deputy is expected to take over his role in the interim. Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has been nominated as his replacement — though some suspect he’ll be turned off by the controversy and bow out.

Fake it until you … get caught. German payments startup Wirecard saw its CEO quit Friday when it claimed more than $2 billion on its balance sheet went missing in the Philippines. But the country’s central bank says no such sum ever entered their system, and Wirecard now admits that it “probably” just made the money up. It’s also withdrawing its 2019 and 2020 financial results and says it will try to figure out a way forward via restructuring or cutting costs. The company has until Friday to produce a correct 2019 financial statement or risks losing billions in credit.

NASCAR has launched an investigation into a noose found in the garage of Bubba Wallace, one of the only Black drivers in the sport. Archaeologists have discovered a huge Neolithic circle of deep shafts near Stonehenge. And North Korea says it will use thousands of balloons to drop propaganda leaflets on South Korea.

Coronavirus update: China has suspended poultry imports from an Arkansas plant, concerned that the products may be contaminated with COVID-19.

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The stans are taking a stand. President Trump’s campaign crowed that more than 1 million people would be at Saturday’s rally in Tulsa, and planned overflow events to accommodate them. But only about 6,200 people showed up, leaving the 19,000-capacity arena looking bare — and a movement of teens on TikTok and K-pop superfans say they purposefully registered, never intending to go, to throw off expectations and mess with campaign data collection. Still, tickets were both free and unlimited, so the trolling wasn’t responsible for the low turnout. The campaign blamed that on protesters, though there were few in the area.

With the U.S. at a tipping point, check out OZY’s compilation of the 86 people you should be paying attention to right now as they attempt to put the country on a new path. Spanning sports, entertainment, politics and activism, from all sides of the political spectrum and every age, these troublemakers have one thing in common: They’re working for change, and in this volatile environment, they may just get what they’re after. A peek at this list might give you a glimpse into the country’s future.

This was out of the blue. Epic Games says it has taken all police cars out of its wildly popular online video game — not as a political statement, but to be sensitive to potential trauma that users may be dealing with as America and the world are racked by protests against police brutality toward Black people. While some game industry high rollers have made public statements in support of Black Lives Matter and protesters, this may be Epic’s attempt to play both sides and keep from alienating potential customers.

Read OZY’s deep dive into Fortnite’s insane popularity.

In the last few days, two women have claimed on social media that pop star Justin Bieber sexually assaulted them, while another wrote on Twitter that The Fault in Our Stars actor Ansel Elgort raped her when she was underage. Both stars have denied the allegations: Elgort says the relationship was consensual and Bieber posted hotel receipts showing he was elsewhere the night in question — though they’re under the alleged alias Mike Lowery. Bieber says he’ll be taking legal action against his accusers.

Read OZY’s profile of a woman who designed an app to help assault victims.

Grigor Dimitrov, ranked No. 19 worldwide, is the highest profile tennis player to announce he has the coronavirus — which means everyone who’s come in contact with him will have to be tested. The news caused the swift cancellation of the Adria Tour exhibition, which the Bulgarian player took part in last week in a fan-filled Serbian stadium with no social distancing in place. Yesterday, fans already seated in a Croatian stadium to watch Novak Djokovic play were instead treated to the announcement that the match (and the tour) wouldn’t be going ahead.