On this July 1st we turn the corner and start looking at the back half of what's been a crazy 2020. Most of us are asking "it's gotta get better right?" Dr. Charles Pemberton with Louisville Dimensions Family Therapy and host of the podcast "Counseling in 30 Minutes" available now on the iHeart app joins us to talk about optimism when life completely sucks".

A judge in Dutchess County, New York, has imposed a preliminary injunction that temporarily prevents President Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, and Simon & Schuster from publishing her forthcoming book. “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” is slated to be published by Simon & Schuster on July 28 by the 45th president’s niece, the daughter of his late older brother Fred. According to a description of the book on Amazon, “she describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office.” This was the second time Robert Trump, the president’s younger brother, tried to halt the book’s publication. The first attempt, in Queens Surrogate’s Court where the estate of the president’s father was settled, failed when the judge said the outcome would not affect the administration of the estate “one iota.” ABC News' Aaron Katersky is following and joins Joe to break it down.

The European Union is set to reopen its borders to visitors from 15 countries on Wednesday, but the United States did not make the list. European officials cited the ratio of infections in the U.S., the trend in cases, and insufficient social distancing measures. The U.S. joins Russia and Brazil on a long list of counties considered too risky. The decision means direct flights to Europe from the U.S. are likely to be cancelled. What’s more, no American tourists means no American tourist dollars either. The decision is set to be reviewed every two weeks. ABC News' Tom Rivers is in London and talks to Joe about the decision.

NBC News Radio's Michael Bower joins Joe Elliott with the latest on reports that the Russians placed bounties on the lives of American soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. What do we (or what did we) know?

Is there a new pandemic in the making? Why are medical experts sounding the alert over a new virus? NBC News Radio's Bill Zimpfer talks with Joe, plus the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic.

A flurry of issues at hand for Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. He sits down with Joe Elliott to talk about those issues and more.

Amid a bevy of troubling coronavirus headlines in recent weeks, many are beginning to wonder how some key states will react in the runup to the 2020 election. Cases are rising in Florida, Arizona, and Texas following aggressive reopening measures there. The three states all voted for President Trump in 2016, but recent polling has former Vice President Joe Biden with a commanding lead in all three. Other battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan paint a similar polling picture. On the other hand, the president was trailing Hillary Clinton at this stage of the race last cycle (though not as significantly), and plenty can still happen before November. Which states matter most in the race for 2020? ABC News Political Analyst Alex Castellanos joins Joe Elliott with his take.

A divided Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics on Monday. The Louisiana law required any doctor who performs an abortion to hold active admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Justice Stephen Breyer said the law imposes an undue burden and is thus unconstitutional. Justices Ginsburg, Kagan and Sotomayor joined the opinion. Meanwhile, the Court also dealt a blow to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as conceived by President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren, making it easier for the agency’s leader to be removed for any reason. ABC News' Aaron Katersky joins Joe Elliot to discuss.

Nineteen years after Mississippi voters decided to keep the Confederate battle emblem on their state flag, the state legislature has voted to remove it. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves says has no problem with lawmakers’ decision and will happily sign the bill. The call to remove the symbol intensified over the past month after protests for racial justice spiked across the country, including in Mississippi. ABC News' Jim Ryan is following and breaks it down with Joe Elliott filling in for Tony Cruise.

Several large companies have joined a growing advertising boycott of Facebook. NBC News Radio's Michael Bower will explain why