| Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: Trump's Tulsa rally likely fueled virus surge, Supreme Court backs White House on birth control, and Siberian Arctic temperatures smash all records—again.  Trump ups attacks on schools, CDC President Trump threatened to defund schools that don't bring students back in the fall on Wednesday and complained that his own administration's reopening guidelines were impractical and too expensive. In a pair of tweets, Trump accused Democrats of wanting to keep schools closed for political reasons, saying he "may cut off funding if not open!" and criticized the CDC's "very tough" protocols, saying he'll "be meeting with them!!!" Later, Vice President Pence announced the CDC would issue new guidance next week and that Trump is "looking for ways to give states a strong incentive to get kids back to school." Education Secretary Betsy DeVos added: "It's not a matter of if schools should reopen, it's simply a matter of how," which "is best left to education and community leaders." Both stopped short of providing detailed plans for how students can return to classrooms amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Trump has often been at odds with health officials during the pandemic, including in May when he blasted Anthony Fauci for saying schools may not be able to reopen—a key piece of his push to speed the reopening of the U.S. economy. Trump's threat also contradicts the traditional Republican ideology of giving more control to localities, rather than the federal government. On Tuesday, White House officials said reopening decisions would ultimately be up to local leaders, but later that day, Trump said his administration would "put pressure on governors to open the schools." More: - In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Trump doesn't have the legal authority to force schools to open, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that most students would return to classrooms only two or three days a week and learn online in between.
$ignificant figures 60,021. As confirmed Covid-19 cases topped 3 million, the U.S. reported that many new cases over the last 24 hours—mostly in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas—setting a fresh record for new single-day infections. 126,000. Up to that many women may lose free access to birth control after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold a White House rule giving employers broad rights to opt-out over religious objections. 463 million. The number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa may swell to that many after the African Development Bank forecast a cumulative GDP loss of $236.7 billion that'd result in in 30 million lost jobs. Highly quotable "Designed to pressure colleges to reopen." Harvard and MIT sued ICE to halt new visa rules that could force international students out of the U.S., saying they ignore "health concerns for students and instructors." "I guess we just connect the dots." Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, "likely contributed" to a big jump in new Covid-19 cases, city health officials said, after recording a one-day record high of infections. "I will run as an independent if Trump is there." Kanye West said he no longer supports Trump and intends to run for president under "the Birthday Party" but denied the plan was a publicity stunt for his upcoming album. This is not normal Cause for concern. The Siberian Arctic, already warming faster than the rest of the world, experienced record heat and fires for the second straight year in June, with average land temperatures 5°C above normal.  The future is now Pocket tracker. Singapore is set to become the first country to roll out a portable contact-tracing device to residents—on top of its app—that will come in different colors and have a battery that can last for nine months.  What's good "Together mode." To ease meeting fatigue, Microsoft unveiled new videoconferencing features like virtual "theater" seating and touch-screen and voice-control tools to help workers spot who's talking or who wants to.  Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive our newsletter five days a week. Follow QuickTake on Twitter , YouTube , Instagram, and Facebook . BTW: With New Jersey DMVs overwhelmed by long wait times, some people are selling their spots in line for up to $500. Watch. We want to know: How are you celebrating special events during the lockdown? Share your photos and videos, wherever you are. Submit here. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
Post a Comment