COVID-19 Update: Rumor Has It

As the political parties remain far apart on a stimulus bill, the president returns to hydroxychloroquine, spreading baseless rumors that it is a proven cure for COVID-19 and Anthony Fauci worked to suppress it. It's another day in the US during the pandemic, where 151,000 people have died from the coronavirus.

The latest:

It's official: The GOP relief plan would cut the enhanced unemployment benefit by two-thirds, and, ultimately, removed in favor of state unemployment insurance of up to 70% of a worker's salary. Many more details, including a one-time payment ranging between $1,200 and $2,400 can be found at cnb.cx/3hHcfhc.

Here's the state of negotiations between the parties on the bill: cnb.cx/3hO24Y3.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Moderna vaccine may have results as early as November: bit.ly/3jJid37.

Under assault from the president -- who, among other things, makes baseless claims about the suppression of data about hydroxychloroquine -- Dr. Fauci keeps his cool: bit.ly/2BB2XDZ.

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube delete a video, from Breitbart News, that claims, against all the evidence, that hydroxychloroquine is a cure for COVID-19: cnn.it/39HsyrG.

The Major League Baseball season is suddenly in doubt: nyti.ms/3g8KaPy.

Film box office in Asia is down 92%: bit.ly/336Diyn.

Food for thought:

Declining antibody levels may mean that tests are looking for the wrong things: nyti.ms/2X6B5zj.

The difficulties of parsing the mountain of COVID-19 data: nyti.ms/2P2lLzb.

Around the country:

In California:

Warner Bros. will release Christopher Nolan's Tenet internationally: bit.ly/3hHBCiY.

A man survives COVID-19 but loses his fingers in the process: bit.ly/30PTLEq.

A San Francisco bus driver and his Asian passengers endure abuse for insisting on masks: bit.ly/3jNUZsr.

In Florida:

The state records 9,230 new cases and 186 more deaths, pushing the total of deaths past 6,000: hrld.us/331Sa0R.

Cases of children with coronavirus have suddenly spiked by 34%: bit.ly/3hJYs9y.

Negotiations between Actors' Equity and Disney World turn sour, spawning dissension in the ranks: bit.ly/333NwPV.

In Illinois:

The mayor of Chicago announces $33 million in housing assistance: bit.ly/3193l5F.

The governor expresses alarm about the pandemic in downstate counties: bit.ly/2X4lPTm.

Visitors from Wisconsin will have to quarantine for 14 days: bit.ly/32YQYeR.

In New Jersey:

Police in Jackson Township spend hours breaking up a 700-person house party: bit.ly/39yAWcO.

In New York:

A Chainsmokers concert in the Hamptons, billed as Safe and Sound, causes a backlash, led by New York's health commissioner: nyti.ms/2P48GWg.

In Pennsylvania:

The Miami Marlins remain in Philadelphia, as 15 team members test positive: hrld.us/3jUIjjN.

In Tennessee:

Dr. Deborah Birx urges the state to shut down bars and limit indoor dining to prevent a looming spike in cases; the governor declines: bit.ly/2BAkIDo.

Around the world:

In Brazil:

Frontline health workers and Catholic bishops denounce the government's handling of the pandemic: n.pr/330lHbq.

In Spain:

The country races to save its tourist season as new cases surge: bbc.in/2X0Qa59.

In the UK:

Boris Johnson has a new plan to fight the pandemic -- lose weight: nyti.ms/3hNLM1l.

Andrew Lloyd Webber calls on the government to provide clarity about the Christmas pantomime season: tinyurl.com/y2kqnm9a.

The Phantom of the Opera closes in London, a victim of the pandemic: bit.ly/39yu7Ip.

Training:

"Adapting Higher Education for COVID-19:" Wednesday, July 29, at 3:00pm. Audinate's Joshua Rush speaks with Joe Way, director of learning environments-information technology services for USC to discuss the school's migration to AV-over-IP using Dante. They will cover how this approach has helped to position USC to support a hybrid learning model in response to COVID-19 that combines limited on-campus student attendance with distributed classrooms and robust at-home experiences. They will cover details of the various learning scenarios that are being contemplated at USC, the technology and products used, and how this Dante-driven model can be extended to other colleges and universities: Register at bit.ly/39xUu0S.

New webinars from JBL: "Network Design Considerations and Techniques for AV Systems with Thomas Hejnicki," August 6, 11:00am CDT; register at bit.ly/3gcDBeM. "Mixing the Main Stage with Raphael Williams," FOH engineer for Stormzy, August 10, 7:00am CDT; register at bit.ly/2P9aoW1.

The next webinar from Martin by Harman: "Programming Essentials: Workflows and Views with Benny Kirkham," August 13, at 11:00am; register at: bit.ly/3gaOygT.

Entertainment:

Here's the lineup of this week's streams from Metropolitan Opera: bit.ly/39xb7tM.

The latest from Tanglewood Online: July 29 at 8:00pm: "Recitals from the World Stage" features Silkroad Ensemble in two world premieres. July 31 at 8:00pm, "BSO Musicians in Recital" features the world premiere of American composer Ulysses Kay's Sonatine for Viola and Piano, which was discovered 20 years after his death. August 1 at 8:00pm, "Great Performers in Recital," features Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax performing Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn: www.tanglewood.com.

For your pleasure:

Actors from both sides of the Atlantic deliver "Make Them Hear You," from Ragtime: bit.ly/30TJZBl.

That's all for today. Stay safe. -- DB

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Previous LSA COVID-19 Updates: plasa.me/lsacovid19resources.