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

Tuesday,  July 14th, 2020

California Governor Gavin Newsom orders further restrictions and prohibitions on indoor activities, building on previous orders. California has seen a sustained rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, resulting in the state pausing and rolling back some reopening plans. Source: ABC News (CNBC)

State media issues an order from the Ministry of Health mandating that all citizens wear masks to combat “dust”, and maintain a distance between persons of at least 3 feet. The Turkmen government maintains that the country remains free of COVID-19 but refuses to explain the purpose of these mandates. (CTV News)

Diageo plc announces that Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky will soon be sold in paper bottles. The bottles will be made from wood pulp and will be fully recyclable. A trial run is scheduled for spring 2021. In addition, Diageo is co-launching Pulpex with venture management firm Pilot Lite that will make paper bottles for beverage companies such as Unilever and PepsiCo. (BBC)

The U.S. State Department formally rejects most of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. (U.S. Department of State)

In response to the United States placing sanctions on Chinese officials for their roles in the internment of Uyghurs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announces it will place sanctions on several American politicians, such as Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and the government agency Congressional-Executive Commission on China for “wrong actions”. (BBC)

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law says he is in the United Kingdom after fleeing persecution from a controversial security law implemented by the Hong Kong government. (BBC)

The Washington Redskins announce they are dropping the team nickname and logo after decades of criticism of them being offensive to Native Americans. The new name will be announced later.  (USA Today)

5.4 million Americans lost their health insurance amid coronavirus pandemic A new study finds that due to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, an estimated 5.4 million Americans had their health insurance dropped between February and May. The analysis was conducted by the nonpartisan Families U.S.A., and will be released on Tuesday. During the recession of 2008 and 2009, 3.9 million adults lost their health insurance, and study author Stan Dorn told The New York Times he knew today’s numbers “would be big. This is the worst economic downturn since World War II. It dwarfs the Great Recession. So it’s not surprising that we would see the worst increase in the uninsured.” The study looked at laid-off adults younger than 65, when Americans become eligible for Medicare, and found that 46 percent of coverage losses from the pandemic hit people living in California, Texas, Florida, New York, and North Carolina. Source: The New York Times

 

The End

 

This Day in History

1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.

1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when wages of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers were cut for the third time in a year. The strike was ended on Sept 4 by local and state militias, and federal troops.

1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.

1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.^[4]

1958 – Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.

1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.

1969 – The Federal Reserve Banks begins removing large denominations of United States currency from circulation.^[6]

2015 – NASA‘s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.

2016 – A terrorist vehicular attack in Nice, France kills 86 civilians and injures over 400 others.

 

Monday, July 13th, 2020

For the 1st time in months, New York City reports zero coronavirus deaths On Sunday, for the first time in four months, New York City reported its first day with zero confirmed or probable coronavirus deaths. New York City was hit hard during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic — its first COVID-19 fatality was reported on March 11, and on April 7, the city hit its peak with 597 deaths. Overall, New York City has recorded 18,670 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 4,613 probable ones. “New Yorkers have been the hero of this story, going above and beyond to keep each other safe,” Avery Cohen, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, told Bloomberg in an email. Last Monday, New York City entered Phase 3 of its reopening plan, allowing nail salons and tanning facilities to reopen but postponing the start of indoor dining. Source: Bloomberg

Florida reports record 15,000 new coronavirus cases Florida on Sunday reported more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases, shattering its previous record of 11,336 set on Thursday. If Florida were a country only the United States, Brazil, and India would have recorded more new infections over that same span, Reuters reports. No European country recorded a daily number that high during the height of the pandemic there, while Florida also broke New York state’s previous record of 12,847 new cases on April 10 when it was the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States. The positivity rate did drop slightly in Florida thanks to an increase in testing even though the number of positive results increased. Source: Reuters

U.S. military officials report 61 cases of COVID-19 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen. Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Denny Tamaki said late on Saturday that “Okinawans are shocked by what we were told”, and demanded more action from the U.S. military which has since put the two bases under lockdown. (AP News)

The death toll in Mexico rose above 35,000, surpassing Italy. (Reuters)

Amid a series of reforms, Sudan bans female genital mutilation, decriminalizes apostasy, ends public flogging and lifts a 36-year ban on the consumption of alcohol for non-Muslims, according to Justice Minister Nasreldin Abdelbari. (BBC)

China releases law professor Xu Zhangrun, who had criticized President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, from detention. (Reuters)

New poll shows Biden with a 5-point lead over Trump in Texas A survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler has former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, leading President Trump by five points. UT-Tyler political scientist Kenneth Bryant Jr. described the jump as a result of Trump losing with independents and “weak partisans.” A CBS News poll conducted by YouGov indicated the loss of support likely has to do with how voters feel about Trump’s coronavirus response. In the CBS Poll, Trump holds a one-point advantage over Biden in Texas, but shows the former vice president is in the race there, as well as two other key Sun Belt states: Florida and Arizona. All three states are struggling with coronavirus surges, and the results show 69 percent of Arizonans, 65 percent of Floridians, and 62 percent of Texans think efforts to contain the virus are going poorly. Source:  CBS News

 

 

Sunday,  July 12th, 2020

Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom reopens at Walt Disney World with new safety guidelines despite rising cases in Florida. Masks are expected to be mandatory and capacity is expected to be limited. (CNBC)

The Karnataka government announces that Bengaluru will be on lockdown from July 14 to July 22. (Gulf News)

The COVID-19 hospitalizations and average three-day death toll in New York reaches lower levels for the first time since March. (CBS News)

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issues a executive order requiring people to wear face masks in public. (Axios)

Two Texas police officers are fatally shot in McAllen, Texas. (The Hill)

Serbians protest for a fourth consecutive day; the protest initially started out against the government COVID-19 measures but would morph into anti-government protests. 71 people are arrested. (DW News)

The End

587 BC – Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem ends following the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.

1573 – Eighty Years’ War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months.

1956 – The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.

1977 – Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War.

1977 – New York City: Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil experiences an electrical blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting.