WHAT'S BREWING
COLORADO GOV. CALLS NATIONAL COVID-19 TESTING A "DISGRACE" Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Sunday called the national COVID-19 testing system a “complete disgrace” that is “practically useless.” The governor levied the harsh criticism toward the president after reports surfaced that Trump is battling increased funding for testing and tracking coronavirus cases. The administration is trying to block billions of dollars in an upcoming coronavirus relief bill to help states carry out testing and tracing — and extra aid for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [HuffPost]
PETITION TO RENAME 'BLOODY SUNDAY' BRIDGE FOR JOHN LEWIS GATHERS PACE More than 460,000 signatures appeared on an online petition that calls for putting the name of late Rep. John Lewis on the Selma, Alabama, bridge where police beat civil rights marchers bloody in 1965. Lewis, who died Friday after a monthslong battle with pancreatic cancer, led hundreds of activists across the Edmund Pettus Bridge ― named for a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader ― during a civil rights march on March 7, 1965. Police charged at the marchers, beating them with clubs and firing tear gas at them in an incident that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” [HuffPost]
MNUCHIN WANTS TO FORGIVE BILLIONS IN PPP LOANS Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested that taxpayer-funded COVID-19 business loans under a certain amount could be automatically forgiven without compliance checks. That would likely mean an unprecedented $130 billion in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program would turn into grants to private businesses. The PPP loans, which were part of a $2 trillion coronavirus relief act passed in March, were designed to be forgiven once borrowers proved the money was used for certain business expenses, like payroll, rent and utilities. That wouldn’t be necessary if loan forgiveness becomes automatic. [HuffPost]
DON'T BLAME PROTESTERS FOR THE RISE IN VIOLENT CRIME Since the start of the protests ignited by the police killing of George Floyd in May, cities across the country have seen an alarming spike in violent crime. In New York, 64 people were shot over the Fourth of July weekend. Brooklyn’s Canarsie neighborhood had three drive-by shootings in a single day. In total, the recent shootings in New York City represent a 210% increase over the same time period in 2019. In Dallas, violent crime has increased more than 14% since April. Police and politicians have blamed protesters. But while the increase in crime is real, there is no evidence to suggest that the protests are to blame. [HuffPost]
TRUMP STILL OPPOSES RENAMING BASES HONORING CONFEDERATES Trump on Sunday again expressed support for symbols honoring the Confederacy, and upheld a previous threat to cut critical funding authorized for the military if officials decide to rename bases that currently commemorate Confederate generals. In recent weeks, as Trump has tried to shift America’s attention from a worsening pandemic and spiraling economy, he has amplified a bevy of white racial grievance issues. His Sunday remarks are the latest in a string of full-throated appeals he has made to sympathizers of the Confederacy, which sought to secede from the U.S. and uphold legal slavery during the Civil War. [HuffPost]
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HAZARD PAY? Four months into the coronavirus pandemic, the only curve the U.S. has managed to flatten is wage growth for essential workers. Many front-line employees in grocery stores and other essential businesses received hazard pay increases at the start of the crisis. But most of those temporary pay bumps have since been phased out, which effectively amounts to a pay cut for many workers amid a record-setting surge in COVID-19 cases. And most workers in hospitals and other health care facilities never received any additional pay at all, despite being hailed as “heroes” by politicians. [HuffPost] | 
