Global: Total confirmed cases: ~15,057,000; deaths: ~620,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,942,000; deaths: ~143,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ The U.S. reported more than 1,000 daily deaths from the coronavirus for the first time since May. The average number of daily deaths have been rising for most of July. Daily confirmed cases also rose by more than 64,000 Tuesday and the U.S. has regularly logged over 60,000 new daily infections over the past week. Starting with the first reported case on January 21, it took 99 days for 1 million Americans to become infected. It then took 43 days after that to reach 2 million cases. And then 28 days later, on July 8, the U.S. reached 3 million cases. The country is on pace to reach 4 million COVID-19 cases about two weeks after recording its 3 millionth case, and the CDC suggests that the actual number may be 10 times higher. Nationwide, the death toll is on track to surpass 200,000 by Election Day. (Washington Post / Politico / Axios / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

Hospitals had two days to stop reporting coronavirus data to the CDC and instead report data to a new portal maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. The abrupt change left many state officials and hospitals scrambling to adopt the new national reporting system. (CNBC)

Trump was seen maskless at the Trump International Hotel this week, prompting local authorities to investigate the hotel’s compliance with city rules. (Washington Post)

2/ Trump will expand “Operation Legend,� sending a “surge� federal law enforcement officers to Chicago and Albuquerque and claiming that “This bloodshed must end. We have no choice but to get involved.� Earlier this month, the Trump administration launched “Operation Legend� in Kansas City, Missouri, with agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to fight “the sudden surge of violent crime.� Trump claimed that the movement to defund traditional policing efforts had led to a spike in violent crime. He called the protests in Portland “worse than Afghanistan,� where the administration is using the Federal Protective Service, a Department of Homeland Security component that’s responsible for securing federal buildings around the country. Trump, conflating administration programs, defended the use of force in Pacific Northwest city, where officers clad in military fatigues have arrested and detained demonstrators for questioning in unmarked cars. Oregon’s governor, Portland’s mayor, and the protesters have all said that the DHS agents have only increased tensions in the city. And, mayors throughout the U.S. have called on the administration to pull back agents. Senior DHS officials, however, said agents of the department would remain in Portland until the unrest had sub...

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~14,822,000; deaths: ~612,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,859,000; deaths: ~142,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Trump told Americans that the coronavirus pandemic “will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better.� During his first White House coronavirus task force briefing in weeks, Trump directed Americans to “get a mask� because “they will have an effect and we need everything we can get.� Trump, who wasn’t wearing a mask himself, added: “We are asking everybody, when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask.� The U.S., meanwhile, recorded more than 1,000 deaths Tuesday – the first time the country has topped that mark in nearly 50 days when 1,052 fatalities were reported. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)

2/ The CDC estimates that the actual number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. is anywhere between 2 to 13 times higher than the reported cases. The higher estimate is based on a study of antibodies derived from blood samples drawn from 10 geographic regions. The findings suggest that large numbers of people who did not have symptoms or did not seek medical care may have kept the virus circulating in their communities. About 40% of infected people do not develop symptoms, but may still pass the virus on to others. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times)

3/ The Justice Department accused a pair of Chinese hackers of targeting U.S. firms involved in coronavirus research, saying the Chinese government was acting like “an organized criminal syndicate.� The indictment says Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, both Chinese nationals living in China, operated both for their own profit, as well as for the Chinese intelligence service. The 11-count indictment says the two hackers recently “researched vulnerabilities in the networks of biotech and other firms publicly known for work on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and testing technology.� (NBC News / ABC News / New York Times /

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~14,609,000; deaths: ~609,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,809,000; deaths: ~141,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ The Trump administration is trying to block funding for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, the CDC and the National Institutes of Health in the upcoming coronavirus relief package. The Senate Republican proposal would allocate $25 billion to states for conducting testing and contact tracing, about $10 billion for the CDC, and about $15 billion for the National Institutes of Health. The proposal would also provide $5.5 billion to the State Department and $20 billion to the Pentagon. White House officials, however, is seeking to zero out the funding in the upcoming bill and push states to take responsibility for testing. Trump has also repeatedly questioned the value of widespread testing, arguing that if there were fewer tests conducted, the number of infections would be lower. (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CNN)

The director of the CDC said the pandemic could be brought under control over the next four to eight weeks if “we could get everybody to wear a mask right now.� Researchers have found that wearing a basic cloth face covering is more effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 than wearing nothing at all. Meanwhile, in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said, “I don’t agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask everything disappears.� On Monday, however, Trump tweeted that face masks are “Patriotic� after months of refusing to wear a face covering in public. (Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

State and local officials warn that they lack key resources to confront a surge in coronavirus cases. Labs in some places are taking a week or longer to provide test results, which health experts say render tests near-useless. (Washington Post)

A South Korea study found that children between the ages of 10 and 19 can spread the coronavirus at least as well as adults do. Children under 10 were roughly half as likely as adults to spread the virus to others. (New York Times)

2/ The next coronavirus relief bill is expected to tie school funding to classrooms reopening and will likely include a payroll tax cut. The GOP plan is expected to include around $70 billion for elementary and secondary schools. About 10% will be set aside for nonpublic schools. Trump previously suggested he would not sign a new relief bill unless a payroll tax cut is included and the administration is also trying structure a payroll tax cut as a deferral ra...

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~13,927,000; deaths: ~594,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,623,000; deaths: ~139,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ The U.S. recorded more than 75,600 new coronavirus cases on Thursday – the 11th time in the past month that a new record has been set. The previous single-day record, 68,241 cases, was announced last Friday. As of Wednesday, the seven-day average case number in the U.S. exceeded 63,000, up from around 22,200 a month ago, and the number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24, when the country registered 37,014 cases. (New York Times / Reuters / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

2/ The White House blocked the CDC from testifying at a House hearing about reopening schools during the pandemic. The House Education and Labor Committee invited CDC Director Robert Redfield to testify before the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee on July 23 about safely reopening schools. The committee, however, was told – at the direction of the White House – that neither Redfield nor any other official would appear for testimony. A White House official later said: “Dr. Redfield has testified on the Hill at least four times over the last three months. We need our doctors focused on the pandemic response.� Separately, the CDC said more guidance for opening schools won’t be released until later this month. (Washington Post / Politico)

3/ White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed that “the science should not stand in the way� of sending American children back to school in the fall, but then claimed that “the science is on our side� and that the administration wants municipalities and states to “just simply follow the science, open our schools.� Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, however, found that one in four teachers risk becoming seriously ill if they contract COVID-19, and that around 3 million people over the age of 65 live in a household with a school-age child. (USA Today / The Guardian / NBC News)

4/ More than 25 U.S. states have issued statewide mask mandates. Face coverings will also be required at stores like Walmart, Target, and CVS, as well as in a number of Republican-led states where governors previously resisted issuing mask requirements. A handful of other states are also requiring visitors from high-infection areas to quarantine for at least 14 days upon arrival. (

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~13,671,000; deaths: ~587,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,550,000; deaths: ~139,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Another 1.3 million people filed unemployment last week – the 17th straight week that news claims exceeded 1 million. Continuing claims totaled 17.4 million and another 14.3 million people claimed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which brings the total number of people on all programs to 32 million unemployed. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the record for weekly unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982. (Washington Post / CNBC / CNN / ABC News / NBC News)

2/ The U.K., U.S., and Canadian governments accused hackers from Russia’s intelligence services of attempting to steal coronavirus vaccine research. The U.K. National Cyber Security Centre said the Russian hacking group, known as APT29, “the Dukes� or “Cozy Bear,� is targeting vaccine research and development organizations, and therapeutic sectors. The National Security Agency said the Russian hackers are using malware and fraudulent emails to trick people into turning over passwords and other security credentials in an effort to access the research. The hacking group is one of the two Russian intelligence groups that hacked the Democratic National Committee servers during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg)

3/ Previously public data disappeared from the CDC’s website after the Trump administration directed hospitals to submit information on COVID-19 patients directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than through a longstanding CDC reporting system. The information removed from the website includes the current inpatient and intensive care unit bed occupancy, health care worker staffing, and personal protective equipment supply status and availability. Since the pandemic began, the CDC has published data on availability of hospital beds and intensive care units across the country. [Update: Hours after the data disappeared, HHS directed the CDC to re-establish their public hospital data.] (CNBC /

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~13,406,000; deaths: ~581,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,466,000; deaths: ~137,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Trump’s senior trade adviser criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci’s handling of the pandemic, accusing the nation’s top infectious disease expert of being “wrong about everything� related to the coronavirus. The White House tried to distance itself from Peter Navarro’s USA Today op-ed, saying Navarro wasn’t speaking on behalf of the administration and that he “didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes.� Trump also lightly rebuked Navarro’s remarks, saying “He made a statement representing himself. He shouldn’t be doing that.� Fauci, meanwhile, responded: “I can’t explain Peter Navarro. He’s in a world by himself.� The Trump administration has tried to raise questions about Fauci’s credibility in recent days, including sending reporters a list of instances in which they alleged Fauci had been wrong about aspects of the pandemic. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / CNBC)

2/ Dr. Anthony Fauci called the White House’s attempts to discredit him “bizarre,� saying “it doesn’t do anything but reflect poorly on them.� The nation’s top infectious disease expert said undermining a top health official in the middle of a pandemic “ultimately hurts the president […] Rather than these games people are playing,� Fauci said, “let’s stop this nonsense […] We’ve got to figure out, How can we get our control over this now, and, looking forward, how can we make sure that next month, we don’t have another example of California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona?� (The Atlantic / Washington Post / NBC News / Axios / NPR)

3/ At a press conference to announce new measures against China, Trump quickly veered into a rambling, stream-of-consciousness set of remarks, drifting from one topic to another for 54 minutes. Trump briefly addressed the coronavirus – vaguely promising a vaccine and demanding that Beijing be held responsible for “unleashing [the coronavirus] upon the world� – as he wandered from China, to trade, to Joe Biden, to military spending, to his friendship with Mexico’s president, to crime in Chicago, to the death penalty, to energy taxes, to climate change, to historical statues, to European trade, and more. At one point Trump paused and said: “We could go on for days.� Nevertheless, he persisted, suggesting that Biden would get rid of w...

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~13,201,000; deaths: ~576,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,407,000; deaths: ~137,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

An experimental coronavirus vaccine has been found to trigger an immune response with mild side effects – fatigue, chills, headache, and muscle pain –– in all 45 participants in the first human tests. Whether that immune response, however, is enough to protect someone from the coronavirus remains unclear. (Washington Post / USA Today / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

1/ The Trump administration rescinded its rule barring international students from living in the U.S. while taking classes online this fall. The policy change, issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, required international college students to take at least one in-person class or leave the country. The White House will instead apply the rule to new students. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia, and Harvard University and MIT sued the administration over the requirement. (NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Wall Street Journal / USA Today / Bloomberg / Washington Post)

2/ Ivanka Trump announced a White House-backed ad campaign that encourages people who are unemployed due to the coronavirus to “find something new.� The campaign, which encourages people to “learn a completely new skill,� has reportedly been in the works for some time, but gained new urgency after efforts to slow the coronavirus outbreak left millions of people unemployed. Meanwhile, the federal program that provides a $600-per-week increase to unemployment benefits will expire in less than two weeks. More than 30 million people receive this benefit. Trump and White House officials have argued the $600-per-week unemployment bonus disincentivizes people from working. (Associated Press / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CNN)

3/ The Trump administration ordered hospitals to ...

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~13,027,000; deaths: ~571,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,347,000; deaths: ~136,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Trump’s advisers anonymously sent media outlets a “lengthy list� of remarks made by Dr. Anthony Fauci in an effort to discredit him and stop him from making additional statements about the dangers of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One White House official said several Trump administration officials are “concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things,� citing Fauci’s comments in January that the coronavirus was “not a major threat� and his guidance in March that “people should not be walking around with masks.� The scientific and medical consensus on how to respond to the virus, however, has evolved over time, both in the U.S. and around the world. Many of Fauci’s “wrong� statements highlighted by the White House official were based on the best available data at the time and were widely echoed by Trump, other members of the coronavirus task force, and senior White House officials. Fauci, meanwhile, said that the states recently reopening had driven a spike in cases across the country. “We did not shut down entirely,� Fauci said. “And that’s the reason why — when we went up, we started to come down, and then we plateaued at a level that was really quite high, about 20,000 infections a day. Then, as we started to reopen, we’re seeing the surges that we’re seeing today as we speak.� (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News)

2/ Internal CDC documents warned that fully reopening K-12 schools and universities would be the “highest risk� for the spread of coronavirus. The 69-page document was circulated within the administration as Trump attacked the CDC guidelines around reopening schools as “too tough� and he, Pence, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos increased their pressure on schools to fully reopen by the fall. During a White House task force briefing last week, Pence announced that the CDC would issue new guidance on reopening schools next week because “we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough.� CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, however, later said that the CDC would not be releasing new guidance nor changing the guidance. (New York Times / CNN)

Betsy DeVos refused to say whether schools should follow the CDC guidelines on reopening, saying the guidelines are meant to be “flexible.� DeVos also told “Fox News Sunday� that “If schools aren’t going to reopen an...

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~12,383,000; deaths: ~558,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,164,000; deaths: ~134,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

Trump the victim: President complains in private about the pandemic hurting him. Trump has complained about the coronavirus destroying “the greatest economy,� which he claims to have personally built, laments the unfair “fake news� media, and he bemoans the “sick, twisted� police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of an unarmed black man in their custody provoked the nationwide racial justice protests. (Washington Post)

1/ The United States set another single-day record for coronavirus cases – the sixth time in 10 days – as new cases rose more than 63,000. At least 33 states saw an increase in new cases compared to last week, while Miami-Dade County in Florida reported a 28% positivity rate of people tested. (CNBC / CNN / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Dr. Anthony Fauci last saw Trump in person at the White House on June 2 and hasn’t briefed Trump on the coronavirus in at least two months. Trump, meanwhile, publicly criticized Fauci, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the nation’s top infectious disease experts “has made a lot of mistakes.� Earlier this week, Trump said he disagreed with Fauci’s characterization that new cases could surpass 100,000 a day if the virus continues to spread at its current pace, saying “I think we are in a good place […] We’ve done a good job […] I think we are going to be in very good shape.� (CNBC / NBC News / Financial Times)

3/ The White House has pressured the FDA to reverse itself and grant a second emergency authorization for the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The FDA revoked the emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine last month after major studies found the medication wasn’t effective. Trump, however, praised a new study on Twitter this week, which scientists have widely criticized as flawed, urging the FDA to “Act Now.� White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has led the administration’s effort press the FDA to approve the antimalarial drug. There are 60 million doses of hydroxychloroquine in the Strategic National Stockpile that can’t be distributed unless the FDA issues an emergency authorization. (

Global: Total confirmed cases: ~12,129,000; deaths: ~552,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,089,000; deaths: ~133,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

1/ Another 1.3 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment benefits last week – the 14th straight week of declines. More than 48 million people have now filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the past 16 weeks. (CNN / Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The Supreme Court cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to enforce a subpoena for Trump’s financial and tax records, rejecting Trump’s assertion that he enjoys “absolute� immunity from investigation while in office. The decision allows Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to subpoena Trump’s accounting firm for years of financial documents and tax records as part of a criminal investigation into hush-money payments made before the 2016 election to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. “No citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding,� Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not see many of the same records, citing “significant separation of powers concerns.� Both cases will now go back to the lower courts to determine if Trump needs to turn over any documents, making it unlikely that Americans will see Trump’s taxes before Election Day. In a series of tweets, Trump called the rulings “a political prosecution� that were “not fair to this Presidency or Administration!� (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico / NPR / CNBC / Associated Press)

3/ Dr. Anthony Fauci advised states “having a serious problem� with a surge in coronavirus cases to “seriously look at shutting down.� The government’s top infectious disease expert said some states “went too fast� with reopening a...