Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
1. Coronavirus
Coronavirus cases in the US South and Southwest are rising so fast that contact tracing is no longer possible, according to a health expert. And because infection numbers never dropped to where officials hoped they would, the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said the rapid rise is considered a surge — not a second wave. In Texas, at least 1,300 people have tested positive from child care facilities alone. As national case counts hit new records daily, at least 24 states have paused or rolled back reopening plans. Florida’s Miami-Dade County decided it was done playing by the state’s rules and moved to shut down restaurants again. Atlanta’s mayor says she tested positive. Nationally, the death toll has now topped 130,000.
2. Election
Despite the pandemic, President Trump is employing a reelection strategy of divisive rhetoric with inflammatory speeches, tweets and statements. He recently condemned NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag and called to preserve statues of Confederate generals who took up arms against the US, among other claims that American history is under attack. The President is pinning his hopes for another four years on the idea that his silent majority of voters in rural parts of swing states and in the suburbs will respond to his warnings, writes CNN’s Stephen Collinson. But his support among well-educated voters is eroding — and recent national and district-level polls suggest that voters souring on Trump could turn on Republican congressional candidates, too.
3. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Though the justices cleared the way for many pipeline projects to proceed while environmental reviews are done, they ruled that the Keystone XL Pipeline must still undergo the lengthy permitting and regulation process.
