Wednesday,  July 15th, 2020

Miami becomes ‘epicenter of the pandemic’ with 2,090 new cases Florida reported 9,194 new coronavirus cases in the past day on Tuesday afternoon, bring its total case count to 291,629. A total of 132 new deaths were reported, bring that count to 4,409. Miami-Dade County led the new case count at 2,090, leading one infectious disease expert to deem Miami the new “epicenter of the pandemic.” “What we were seeing in Wuhan six months ago, five months ago — now we are there,” said Lilian Abbo, of the Jackson Health System, during a Monday news conference held by the Miami-Dade County mayor. The county has seen coronavirus hospitalizations grow by 68 percent and and the number of ICU beds used go up by 69 percent in the past two weeks, while the use of ventilators has more than doubled.  Source: CNN

The University of Mississippi removes a monument of Confederate soldiers from the campus. The monument is expected to be relocated to a cemetery. (NBC News)

France is expected to make masks compulsory in indoor public spaces. (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump signs legislation and an executive order that will “hold China accountable” for recent “oppressive actions” in Hong Kong by ending its preferential economic status with the United States. (AP) (Reuters)

Following a social media campaign that generated 7.5 million posts with the hashtag #do_not_execute, the Iranian authorities halt the impending executions of three anti-government protestors who were arrested during street protests in November 2019 in which hundreds of demonstrators were killed. A retrial is ordered. (BBC)

Nearly 100 people protesting the police killing of Breonna Taylor are arrested outside the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. (NBC News)

Best Buy is expected to mandate face coverings in their stores nationwide. (CBS News)

President Donald Trump signs legislation and an executive order that will “hold China accountable” for recent “oppressive actions” in Hong Kong. (AP)

Exit polls results show a strong support for young pro-democracy candidates, including independent activist Joshua Wong and League of Social Democrats candidate Jimmy Sham. A spokesperson for the Liaison Office of China in Hong Kong says that the election could be in violation of the new security law and could be nullified. (NHK-World)

The Trump administration reverses its student visa policy, announced on July 6, to deport international students whose courses move fully online. The plan met stiff opposition. At least 59 universities and the attorney generals of 18 states sued to block this directive. Federal district judge Allison Burroughs dismisses the first case brought to court as moot because the federal government has agreed to rescind the policy. (BBC)

UK Digital Media minister Oliver Dowden announces to the House of Commons that the country’s mobile providers will be barred from buying 5G equipment from Huawei starting December 31, and will be required to remove it from their networks by 2027. Lord John Browne resigned from his position as chairman of Huawei’s UK branch shortly before the announcement. (BBC)

Biden unveils $2 trillion climate plan Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a climate plan that includes eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035, a push that is far more aggressive than Biden’s previous climate positions. The plan also outlines $2 trillion in spending over the next four years intended to simultaneously address the coronavirus economic crisis and transition the country to renewable energy, according to the Biden campaign. The policies closely reflect the recommendations last week from task forces created by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former primary-season rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as part of an effort to win over voters from the party’s progressive wing. Source: Axios

Michigan begins tighter restrictions on public face mask usage, including $500 fines for refusal to wear one and the potential loss of business licenses for failure to enforce their usage. (MLive.com)

The End