The Overnight News Digest is a nightly series chronicling the eschaton.
126,302 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM CORONAVIRUS IN THE U.S.
123 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY
The Washington Post
More coronavirus patients are being hospitalized and capacity is stretched
Patients suffering from covid-19 are rapidly filling hospitals across the South and West, with Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada and Arizona setting records for hospitalizations Thursday, a sign that the coronavirus pandemic is entering a dangerous new phase.
In Arizona, where the virus appears to be spreading out of control, hospitals rushed to expand capacity and adopted practices similar to those employed at the height of the outbreak in New York City and Italy, including doubling up hospital beds in rooms, pausing elective surgeries and bringing in health-care workers from other states.
Perhaps most chillingly, at the urging of doctors and advisers, state officials this week activated “crisis standards of care” protocols, which determine for hospitals which patients get ventilators and care as the system becomes overwhelmed under the crush of patients.
Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, charged in sex abuse case
Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime confidante of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested Thursday in New Hampshire on charges she recruited and groomed underage girls for abuse by her then-boyfriend, officials said.
A grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday charged Maxwell, daughter of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell, with perjury and conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in sex acts. […]
Beginning in at least 1994, the indictment alleges, Maxwell “enticed and groomed multiple minor girls to engage in sex acts with Jeffrey Epstein, through a variety of means and methods.”
Bloomberg
Stadium Sponsor FedEx Tells Washington Redskins to Change Name
FedEx Corp. on Thursday asked the Washington Redskins to rename the NFL team following protests against racial injustice that have shaken the U.S. and pushed many companies to increase efforts to combat racism.
The team plays at FedExField after a deal in 1999 gave the company naming rights to the stadium and other marketing rights. In 2003, Fred Smith, FedEx’s founder and chief executive officer, acquired a 10% stake in the team and joined its leadership council, which is similar to a board of directors.
Climate Change Fuels U.S. Dust Storms With Dire Health Consequences
Dust storms—those billowing walls of sand and dirt often seen seen in the more arid regions of the world—doubled in the American Southwest between the 1990s to 2000s.
Data now suggest these weather systems in the U.S. may be associated with increased intensive care unit admissions.
The phenomenon, worsened by accelerating climate change, was the subject of the first national study on how they affect the U.S. Dust storms were associated with a 4.8% increase in local admissions to ICUs on the day of the event. Respiratory admissions increased by 9.2% on the day of the storm and again by 7.5% five days later. This second increase could be due to several causes, the authors write, including a slowly worsening respiratory condition, a lack of access to care, or conditions with a longer incubation period such as meningitis or influenza.
Los Angeles Times
As coronavirus cases soar, Trump continues cheerleading for reopening the economy
While celebrating better-than-expected economic numbers at the White House on Thursday, … Trump conceded that the coronavirus outbreak wasn’t over but insisted “we’re putting out the fires.”
It’s more like a blaze raging out of control.
The president appears to be in denial as the country racks up record numbers of confirmed cases every day, with 50,000 reported Wednesday. Although Trump has continued to blame the rising caseload on increased testing, a larger percentage of tests are coming back positive than before, a clear sign that more people are growing sick.
Florida reported more than 10,000 new cases Thursday, with nearly 17% of tests coming back positive. Arizona had more than 3,300, with 25% being positive.
It’s not just coronavirus: America repeatedly fails at public health
[…] “We are much more willing to put money toward treating something than preventing it,” said Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who now heads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
It is a mindset that helps explain the nation’s more than $3.6-trillion annual healthcare tab, by far the highest in the world.
It also accounts for some of America’s struggles with the current pandemic, which is exploding across the country, threatening to claim tens of thousands of additional lives, even as it fades in Europe and other wealthy nations.
Similarly, the long-standing American resistance to public health measures hampers efforts to restrain diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses that are driving hundreds of billions of dollars of medical spending.
Vox
Russia just paved the way for Putin to be president for life
Russian President Vladimir Putin just got what he’s wanted from a recent vote: the veneer of a popular mandate on a plan that allows him to stay in power far beyond his current term limit — and could essentially make him president for life.
On July 1, Russia tallied the results of a week-long national vote on a slew of constitutional reforms, including a constitutional amendment that allows Putin to nix term limits and remain president until 2036. Such an outcome was expected, and largely predetermined, given Russia’s long track record of electoral fraud. This latest vote also saw some, well, irregularities.
Putin, who’s been in power in Russia one way or another since 1999, was scheduled to leave office in 2024, though most observers figured he’d likely find a way to drag that out.
Breonna Taylor was killed by police in March. The officers involved have not been arrested.
It has been more than 100 days since Breonna Taylor was killed by police in her own home in Louisville, Kentucky. Thousands of protesters have chanted her name across the country, demanding justice for the EMT, who would have turned 27 on June 5.
As the country is reckoning with its history of racist police violence, many advocates want to know why charges still haven’t been filed against the officers who shot her dead. Meanwhile, those who want to abolish the carceral state are rethinking what justice in the Taylor case should actually look like.
Most advocates agree that another Black woman is dead because of a lack of police accountability — and something needs to change.
AP News
Democrats say troop threats should be pursued ‘relentlessly’
The two top Democrats in Congress said Thursday that any threats to U.S. troops must be pursued “relentlessly,” rebuking … Donald Trump after receiving a highly classified briefing about intelligence that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump, who has downplayed the threat, was “soft” on Russian President Vladimir Putin and distracted by less important issues. Trump has called reports of the intelligence assessments a “hoax” and has so far declined to address whether the U.S. has or will respond to Russia.
“Our armed forces would be better served if … Trump spent more time reading his daily briefing and less time planning military parades and defending relics of the Confederacy,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.
New Zealand’s health minister resigns after virus blunders
New Zealand’s health minister resigned Thursday following a series of personal blunders during the coronavirus pandemic.
David Clark had earlier described himself as an “idiot” for breaking the nation’s lockdown measures and then last week appeared to blame a beloved health official for border lapses, generating an angry response from the public. […]
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern …
appointed Education Minister Chris Hipkins to temporarily take over the role.
The move comes less than three months before New Zealanders vote in a general election.
Deutsche Welle
Germany takes helm of EU presidency, Merkel urges resolve on virus recovery plan
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday called for a speedy agreement on the coronavirus recovery fund for the European Union.
The two Germans held a joint virtual press conference where they outlined the goals for Germany's six-month presidency of the EU, which Germany officially took over on Wednesday.
"We have an unprecedented crisis and it needs an unprecedented response," von der Leyen said.
"Every day we lose will see people losing their jobs, companies going bust, the weakening of our economy. Every single day counts," she said, calling for urgency on the agreement.
What will Israel's West Bank annexation plans mean for the region?
In a highly controversial move, Israel may soon begin the process of declaring sovereignty over parts of the occupied territory. It could set back a two-state solution by years and trigger another war in the region.
Speculation is rife as to whether Israel will proceed with the originally envisioned plan or with an "annexation light" in the occupied West Bank.
The opaque situation has left young Palestinian millennials like Salem Barahmeh in the West Bank city of Ramallah utterly frustrated. "I come from the Oslo generation, we were promised a state and never got one," says Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, an independent NGO in Ramallah. "We are extremely frustrated and angry, but we are also disappointed that the world hasn't been listening to us: the land has been settled for very long and you have done nothing about it."
The Guardian
US seizes items thought to be made from hair of Muslims in Chinese labor camps
US federal authorities have seized a shipment of products made from human hair believed to have been taken from Muslims in labor camps in China’s western Xinjiang province.
Customs and Border Protection officials said that 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of weaves and other hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment.
“The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation, and the detention order is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that illicit and inhumane practices will not be tolerated in US supply chains,” said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s office of trade.
Hundreds of elephants dead in mysterious mass die-off
More than 350 elephants have died in northern Botswana in a mysterious mass die-off described by scientists as a “conservation disaster”.
A cluster of elephant deaths was first reported in the Okavango Delta in early May, with 169 individuals dead by the end of the month. By mid June, the number had more than doubled, with 70% of the deaths clustered around waterholes, according to local sources who wish to remain anonymous.
“This is a mass die-off on a level that hasn’t been seen in a very, very long time. Outside of drought, I don’t know of a die-off that has been this significant,” said Dr Niall McCann, the director of conservation at UK-based charity National Park Rescue.
NPR News
As China Imposes New Hong Kong Law, U.S. And Allies Take Steps To Retaliate
Attempts to dissuade China's ruling Communist Party from asserting more authority over Hong Kong didn't work. Now that China is imposing a new national security law on the territory, world powers are looking to punish Beijing.
The law hands the central government almost unchecked legal power in the former British colony, which was promised a "high degree of autonomy" for 50 years when it was returned to China in 1997. Drafted secretly and enacted swiftly on Tuesday, it is considered by many analysts to be even harsher than expected.
Policymakers, activists and analysts outside China say it's critical now for governments from Washington to Tokyo to back their words with action by cranking up pressure on China's leadership while trying to help the people of Hong Kong.
Supreme Court Acts To Postpone More Controversies, From Mueller Report To Abortion
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear arguments this fall in a case that pits the Trump administration against the House Judiciary Committee and its efforts to see redacted portions of report on Russian interference prepared by special prosecutor Robert Mueller. The decision is a significant blow to House Democrats' efforts to see the material before the November election.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia had ruled that the House Judiciary Committee was entitled to see usually secret grand jury material that was redacted by the Trump Justice Department from the Mueller report on the 2016 election when it was handed over to the committee.
Dallas Morning News
American Airlines warns it’s overstaffed by as many as 8,000 flight attendants
American Airlines told workers Wednesday that it will be overstaffed by 7,000 to 8,000 flight attendants based on projected flying levels.
Leaders at Fort Worth-based American have warned that the company is facing a 30% reduction in flying in the fall compared to previous years. They have been working furiously to reduce staffing through early retirements and buyouts, but have already begun trimming administrative and support positions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Mayor Bottoms joins other mayors exploring guaranteed income
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced on Thursday that she would join 10 other mayors from across the nation to explore providing guaranteed incomes to disadvantaged residents.
The mayor’s office issued a press release with few details about how such a program would work in Atlanta, and provided a link to a website called Mayors For Guaranteed Income, which listed Stockton, Calif. and Jackson, Miss. as having pilot programs.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Social media policy forbidding term 'Black Lives Matter' prompts Minneapolis ad agency walkout
Periscope ad agency's parent company changed a rule forbidding employees from using "Black Lives Matter" in social media posts after 179 Minneapolis workers walked off the job on Thursday.
Employees said they wanted to use the term to show solidarity with Black and racial-justice protesters in the wake of the George Floyd killing, but were repeatedly told no by Wisconsin-based parent company, Quad.
After the walkout, Quad agreed to give Periscope editorial independence over its social media posts and promised to release employment data by race and sex. Leaders also said they would undergo diversity training and planned to increase the number of people of color hired throughout the company.
The Denver Post
New state board to reconsider racially insensitive names of Colorado mountains, public places
Amid a renewed public interest in removing symbols of racism, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis created a board Thursday to evaluate proposed name changes for geographic and public places across the state.
“This new board will play a critical role in the ongoing celebration of our Colorado history through place names and ensure that we have inclusivity and transparency around the naming process,” Polis said in a statement announcing the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board through an executive order.
“This bipartisan board will ensure that a broad spectrum of Coloradans, local communities and Colorado’s land-based Tribes can collaborate on any potential naming or renaming of Colorado geological points or landmarks.”
The Information
Zuckerberg Tells Facebook Staff He Expects Advertisers to Return ‘Soon Enough’
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he was reluctant to bow to the threats of a growing ad boycott, saying in private remarks that “my guess is that all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough.”
Zuckerberg gave his thoughts on the boycott, which now includes large brands like Starbucks and Coca-Cola, during a video town hall meeting last Friday, according to employees who attended.
In the previously unreported remarks, Zuckerberg said the boycott is more of a “reputational and a partner issue” than an economic one, according to a transcript obtained by The Information. He noted that large advertisers participating in the boycott make up a small portion of Facebook’s overall revenue, and he said, “We’re not gonna change our policies or approach on anything because of a threat to a small percent of our revenue, or to any percent of our revenue.”
CNN
Biden campaign readying hundreds of lawyers in expansive vote protection effort
Joe Biden's campaign is assembling hundreds of lawyers nationwide to monitor potential voting issues as part of its extensive voter protection efforts heading into the general election.
Speaking at a virtual fundraiser Wednesday, the presumptive Democratic nominee said his team has organized 600 lawyers and others across the country to "try to figure out why the chicanery is likely to take place." He also said they have recruited 10,000 people as volunteers.
The efforts come as Biden repeatedly has warned President Donald Trump may work to disrupt the election, and he's accused the President and Republicans of pursuing a "systemic program on vote suppression." The campaign is also bracing for how the coronavirus pandemic could impact voting in the fall, from in-person voting to mail-in ballots.
Politico
Duckworth to hold up confirmations to ensure impeachment witness Vindman's promotion isn't blocked
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday announced she'll hold up the confirmation of more than 1,000 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of impeachment witness Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman won't be blocked.
Duckworth, a retired Army officer who lost both legs because of injuries sustained in the Iraq war, said she intends to block 1,123 promotions until Esper "confirms in writing that he did not, or will not, block the expected and deserved promotion" of Vindman to colonel.
The move by the Illinois Democrat raises the stakes amid reports that the White House could nix Vindman's promotion from a list of officers set to move up the ranks.
The Atlantic
Do Americans Understand How Badly They’re Doing?
[…] America… is an utter disaster. Texas, Florida, and Arizona are the newest hubs of contagion, having apparently learned nothing from the other countries and states that previously experienced surges in cases. I stared at my phone in disbelief when the musician Rosanne Cash wrote on Twitter that her daughter had been called a “liberal pussy!” in Nashville for wearing a mask to buy groceries.
That insult succinctly conveys the crux of the problem. American leadership has politicized the pandemic instead of trying to fight it. I see no preparedness, no coordinated top-down leadership of the sort we’ve enjoyed in Europe. I see only empty posturing, the sad spectacle of the president refusing to wear a mask, just to own the libs. What an astonishing self-inflicted wound.
The Birdsong That Took Over North America
The birds were singing something strange.
Ken Otter and Scott Ramsay first noticed it in the early 2000s, when they were recording white-throated sparrows in Prince George, a city in western Canada. The birds are so ubiquitous across the country, and the male’s song so distinct, that bird-watchers have put words to it: Oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada. But the white-throated sparrows in Prince George were singing something different. They had lopped a note off Canada, so the song sounded more like Oh sweet Cana, Cana, Cana.
At first, Otter and Ramsay, biologists at the University of Northern British Columbia and Wilfrid Laurier University, respectively, thought they had simply discovered a new song dialect unique to sparrows in Prince George. But an even stranger pattern emerged when they and a small team of researchers spent the next two decades gathering archival recordings, crowdsourcing bird songs, and driving hundreds of miles through Canada to record white-throated sparrows. According to a new study out today, the song they first heard in Prince George had spread east across the country—at remarkable speed. By 2017, all white-throated sparrows in western Canada were singing the new song variant and half were singing it as far east as Ontario. Oh sweet Cana, Cana, Cana is taking over Canada.
The New Yorker
Populists Inflame the Coronavirus Outbreak Across Latin America
In mid-May, Brazil secured a grisly world record: it had the fastest-growing coronavirus infection rate of any country on earth. Within a month, it surpassed a million confirmed cases. This milestone made it second only to the United States in everything related to the pandemic, including total fatalities, with around a thousand people dying every day. By some estimates, Brazil may eventually see as many as thirty-four million infected and three hundred thousand dead.
The country’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, has made no effort to curb the pandemic. Instead, he has belittled the threat of the virus, calling it mere “sniffles,” and responded to reports of sufferers by declaring, “We all have to die someday.” When state governors encouraged social distancing, Bolsonaro joined rallies with supporters to demonstrate against them.
Ars Technica
Commerce Inspector General says “Sharpiegate” report being blocked
Last month, we covered the results of a NOAA investigation into scientific integrity violations associated with its handling of … Donald Trump’s self-inflicted hurricane controversy. […]
Enter the Commerce Department Inspector General, who started a parallel investigation. On Monday, agency Inspector General Peggy Gustafson posted a memo summarizing her conclusions. Curiously, the memo—dated June 26—said that the full report was set to be posted at the same time on Monday. Yet the full report wasn’t there, and the memo itself contained several redactions “pending privilege review.”
On Wednesday night, Gustafson posted a second memo with the subject “The Department Is Actively Preventing OIG from Completing an Evaluation.” In it, Gustafson effectively alleges that the office of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is stonewalling the report’s release.