Global: Total confirmed cases: ~17,117,000; deaths: ~669,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~4,465,000; deaths: ~152,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Another 1.43 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week – the 19th straight week that the tally exceeded one million and the second weekly increase in a row after nearly four months of declines. 17 million Americans filed for ongoing benefits. An additional 830,000 new claims were filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a benefit offered to gig and self-employed workers. (Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The U.S. suffered its worst quarterly economic contraction on record in the second quarter. GDP shrank 9.5% from April through June – the largest quarterly decline since the government started publishing data 70 years ago. On an annualized basis, GDP fell at a rate of 32.9%. The contraction came as states imposed lockdowns across the country to contain the coronavirus. Trump recently told Fox News that “We’re going to have a great year next year. We’re going to have a great third quarter. And the nice thing about the third quarter is that the results are going to come out before the election.� (New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Politico / The Guardian)

3/ Lawmakers are “nowhere close to a deal� on a new round of coronavirus aid, according to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. A last-ditch effort by Senate Republicans to pass a standalone extension of extension of federal unemployment insurance failed in the Senate. The Republican proposal would have renewed enhanced unemployment benefits, but slash them from $600 a week to $200. Democrats blocked the effort, pushing for the full $600 to go into next year, which was blocked by Republicans. The Senate is scheduled to leave Washington without any resolution on the expiring benefit, which would leave tens of millions of Americans in limbo as more than 1 million new unemployment claims filed for the 19th week in a row and after the economy recorded its worst quarter on record. (New York Times / Politico /