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Protest & Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose to nearly 10.23 million yesterday (up ~560k from Friday), with nearly 504,000 deaths (up ~15.1k). The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose above 2.63 million (up ~130k), with 128,412 confirmed deaths (up ~3.6k).

• Florida & Texas shut down all bars in the state on Friday due to a rise in cases, while Los Angeles and 6 other California counties closed their bars yesterday. See how cases are changing in your state.
• New data shows that people over the age of 75 comprised ~80% of COVID-19 deaths in Europe. Separately, new data shows that 43% of U.S. deaths come from nursing homes.
• Mississippi’s state legislature passed a bill to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state’s flag. The governor has said he will sign the bill into law.
• The DOJ announced felony charges against four men on Saturday after they attempted to topple an Andrew Jackson statue in D.C.
• Princeton University voted on Friday to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from its School of Public and International Affairs due to his racist policies and behavior.

Court News

The Trump administration filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) late Thursday night, claiming that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Separately, the Supreme Court denied Texas Democrats’ bid to expand mail-in voting to all residents amid the pandemic.

More Court News: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that President Trump lacked the authority to use $2.5 billion in military funds to help construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Even More Court News: On Friday, a federal judge ordered the U.S. to release accompanied children held in immigration detention centers, citing a recent spread in COVID-19 at two facilities.

NYT Reports On Russian Bounty Scheme

A New York Times report published Friday alleges that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Afghan militants to kill American troops in 2019. The report cites unnamed U.S. officials who say they were briefed on the matter, though the story is still largely unconfirmed. A total of 20 American soldiers were killed in combat in Afghanistan last year.

More: President Trump on Sunday denied the article’s claim that he was briefed on the reported bounties in late March and presented with a list of potential responses.

The Coronavirus Effect

• Chesapeake Energy - once the second-largest gas producer in the U.S. - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday.
• Warner Bros. postponed the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet until Aug. 12. Likewise, Disney pushed back the release date of Mulan until Aug. 21.
• These five charts help illustrate the U.S.’ economic recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gap (ft. Yeezy)

Gap announced a 10-year partnership with Kanye West on a Yeezy Gap collection that will include apparel for men, women, and children available in 2021. Shares of Gap - which have fallen more than 31% over the past year - closed Friday up nearly 19%.

More: West has long expressed an interest in the Gap brand (where he worked as a teen), saying in a 2015 interview that he’d “like to be the Steve Jobs of Gap.”

Introducing: AmaZoox

Amazon announced the acquisition of self-driving startup Zoox on Friday in a deal reportedly worth ~$1.2 billion. Zoox was valued as high as $3.2 billion in a financing round two years ago, though in recent months the company has cut ~20% of its workforce. Amazon said it plans to use Zoox to help realize its vision of an autonomous passenger transport service.

The Iron Student

When Ashanti Palmer’s school district in White Plains, NY, stayed open during a blizzard, the high schooler was faced with a daunting decision. She could either trudge through the storm to her undoubtedly deserted school building, or miss a day of school for the first time in her academic career.

Despite the storm, Ashanti, who chose to attend class that day, is now the valedictorian of Nellie A. Thornton High School’s class of 2020, having graduated with perfect attendance. The accomplished academic, who did not even miss a day of preschool, will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on a four-year scholarship.

Sanitation Shindig

The contributions of sanitation workers are crucial to the health and safety of our day-to-day life, but they are often unglamorous and thankless responsibilities. Thus, when trash collectors Saul Scruggs and Keon Richardson of Miami Beach, FL, responded to a citizen call on Friday morning, they expected to be greeted with a complaint.

Instead, Saul and Keon arrived at a surprise celebration organized by the neighborhood to thank the men for their exceptional service. With the town mayor looking on, residents praised the stellar sanitation workers for their commitment to collecting garbage and spreading joy through their delightful demeanors.

Be(a)st Friends Forever

Over the past year, two marsupials at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, South Wales, lived in relative isolation from other animals. Elsa, a koala whose mother died soon after she was born, was taken in by one of the facility’s zookeepers. Meanwhile, a wombat named Hope arrived at the park after her mother was hit by a car.

During the reptile park’s closure in April and May due to COVID-19, the facility’s staff introduced Elsa and Hope to one another, and the two quickly became best friends. In an adorable video posted to the park’s social media pages, the inseparable buddies can be seen cuddling and playing together.