WHAT'S BREWING
SCIENTISTS DECRY TRUMP'S CLAIM THAT HE SAVED 2 MILLION LIVES Trump has boasted repeatedly that he saved 2.2 million lives from COVID-19, using a figure in a British modeling study to support his claim. That’s not true, the lead author of that report — epidemiologist Neil Ferguson — told HuffPost, adding that the number of American lives ultimately lost to the disease will depend on what states do from here on out. “Epidemics are not like hurricanes — you don’t hunker down for a few days (or for epidemics, weeks) and then they’re gone,” Ferguson said. [HuffPost]
MAYORS DECRY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S COVID-19 RESPONSE Trump, who last week said he thinks the virus will “just disappear,” has repeatedly undermined his own health officials fighting the virus. Until this month, he rejected the use of masks; in May, his administration shelved a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising states how to reopen safely; and in June, he told attendees at a rally that he asked officials in his administration to “slow the testing down.” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told ABC on Sunday that her city, which is averaging the country’s highest number of new coronavirus cases per capita, is receiving no help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, even after asking for assistance. [HuffPost]
'TOO SOON' TO SAY IF IT'S SAFE TO HOLD RNC IN FLORIDA With record numbers of people testing positive for the virus in Jacksonville and across Florida, Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, was asked if it would be safe to hold the typically large RNC gathering in just seven weeks. “I think it’s too early to tell,” Hahn said. The Republican Party moved most of the convention activities to Jacksonville from Charlotte after a battle over coronavirus safety concerns with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. [HuffPost]
TRUMP QUITS FOX NEWS AFTER NETWORK SHOWS HIM TRAILING IN THE POLLS Trump said he’s done with Fox News after the network on Sunday showed him trailing Joe Biden in the polls. Trump claimed he was leading in “real polls” but did not cite any. Trump has repeatedly claimed that 96% of Republicans approve of him. While he does enjoy high levels of support among members of his party, there are no recent polls that show him reaching that level. Last week, a Hill-Harris X poll found he had an 82% approval rating among Republicans, down from 91% in May. [HuffPost]
3 YEARS AFTER HARVEY, HOUSTON HOMEOWNERS DON'T KNOW WHO'S AT RISK Nearly three years after Harvey, Doris Brown and other longtime residents of her Houston neighborhood still live with the storm’s effects. One impact ― perhaps the one that surprises Brown the most― is all the new people who have moved in, buying up the destroyed houses that investors picked up for pennies, flipped and sold at a profit. Developers have come for hers, too. She still gets calls and letters offering to pay cash, sometimes as many as 10 a day. Signs offering the same are scattered throughout the Scenic Woods neighborhood. But she’s not going to sell. [HuffPost]
THE MOTHERS OF AMERICA NEED A BAILOUT "I’m grateful that our family has remained healthy these past months and we haven’t faced job loss and financial ruin," writes Katherine Goldstein. "While I had already planned to take unpaid time off from my work as a journalist and entrepreneur following the birth of the twins, it became abundantly clear that my ability to return to work in any significant way would hinge on our ability to get significant amounts of child care for all three kids that we felt was safe ― an extremely complex calculation given all of the nuances of COVID-19." [HuffPost] |
