What A Day

The CEO’s of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet will testify before Congress today in hearings that will examine whether their companies hurt consumers and stifle competition.

The Trump administration isn't getting rid of DACA (yet) but it is trying to restrict it. And the country’s second largest teachers union says they’ll support their members if they want to strike rather than go back to schools that are unsafe. 

And in headlines: China suspends their extradition treaty with three countries, Trump’s supporters don’t want to vote by mail and that could be bad if he wants their votes, and a man in Florida goes on PPP spending spree.

Pharmaceutical company Moderna entered phase three trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, and plans to test the efficacy of their drug on 30,000 healthy participants. The director of the NIH said they plan to reach out to communities that have been hardest hit by the virus to form that sample group. 

Major League Baseball has already announced that it’s postponing two games after players and coaches tested positive for Covid-19. Vietnam moved to evacuate 80,000 tourists from one city after a man there tested positive for the virus. 

And in headlines: Kyrie Irving commits to cover salaries of WNBA athletes, Chainsmokers wreak havoc in the Hamptons, and Melania Trump’s goth rose garden.

Florida has now passed New York in total known coronavirus cases, making it the second worst-hit state behind California which is nearly twice its size. In Europe, the UK is imposing a two week quarantine on anyone who’s been in Spain after an uptick in virus spread there. 

Republicans are set to propose their bill for the next round of coronavirus relief today. As federal unemployment benefits expire, we examine how we got to $600 per week in federal aid, and why Republicans want to reduce that going forward.

And in headlines: the 30th anniversary of the ADA, a reduced-capacity Hajj, and more info on a government UFO program.

The federal eviction moratorium from the CARES Act expires today, leaving up to 12 million people vulnerable to eviction if they can’t pay rent. Trump cancelled the Jacksonville portion of the RNC, after he moved the event there from North Carolina. 

The Justice Department’s Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security will investigate federal law enforcement actions in Portland. This comes days after Portland’s mayor was tear gassed by federal agents along with protestors in the city. 

And in headlines: Trump repeals and replaces the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, Michael Cohen will be released from prison again, and virtual Matrix baseball fans.

NBA games start next week with just 22 qualifying teams finishing off the season that the pandemic put on hold back in March. We interview Tania Ganguli, who covers the Lakers for the LA Times and is reporting live from the Disney World basketball “bubble” where games will be held.

The world passed 15 million coronavirus cases yesterday, with the US accounting for a quarter of that total. 

And in headlines: Trump announced he’ll be sending more federal officers to Chicago and Albuquerque, the US Army backs away from its twitch channel, and 7,000 QAnon devotees get kicked off Twitter.