Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, July 8, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: The United States has given formal notice of its plan to leave the World Health Organization next year, even as the country’s coronavirus caseload tops 3 million. Dr. Fauci is warning against taking comfort in the “false narrative” of a declining death rate, saying the virus is still extremely infectious and dangerous. Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has dismissed the severity of the virus for months, tested positive but said he feels fine. NY TIMES
BACK TO SCHOOL: The Trump administration is demanding that K-12 schools reopen in the fall, putting the onus on state and local officials to figure out how to do it safely and without any new concrete actions from the federal government. In a call with governors, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos blasted school districts that haven’t promised to physically reopen, or have made plans for a hybrid model that she called “playing both paradigms.” AP
NEW KIND OF COVID TEST: Several new COVID-19 testing technologies that could give results in minutes, rather than days, are in development, and they could substantially reduce the backlog in testing labs. One such test was just given emergency use authorization from the FDA: it uses existing medical devices that are already in thousands of “point of care” facilities, like doctor’s offices and pharmacies, to analyze nasal swabs in 15 minutes. CHEDDAR
ANOTHER TRUMP TELL-ALL: President Trump’s estranged niece, Mary, has written a scathing book about her uncle that’s been the subject of a legal dispute between Mary and the Trump family. Ahead of the planned publication date next week, copies of Too Much and Never Enough have made their way into the hands of media outlets and the White House has issued a blanket denial of the claims. They include Trump paying someone to take the SATs for him and his own sister calling him a “clown.” BI
DISNEY REOPENING: Disney is moving forward with its plan to reopen Walt Disney World in Orlando on Saturday despite coronavirus cases in Florida blowing past the 200,000 mark this week, with a death toll fast approaching 4,000. The Mouse House will limit attendance and require face masks, among other protocols. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he has “no doubt” the theme park will be safe. CLICK ORLANDO
TIKTOK BAN? The popular social media app TikTok is pulling out of Hong Kong over concerns about a draconian new national security law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the U.S. is considering a ban of Chinese social media apps that would include TikTok (TikTok is owned by a Chinese company with an American CEO). ARS TECHNICA
SOCCER RETURN: Major League Soccer returns today, the first time a major men’s pro sports league will play games in the U.S. since March. Like the NBA and WNBA, MLS will play under a protective “bubble” in Florida without fans in attendance. Orlando City plays Inter Miami tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN to kick things off. STAR TRIB
JOHNNY DEPP IN COURT: Johnny Depp’s libel trial in the UK is underway, and it’s already off the rails. He and ex-wife Amber Heard came face to face in court, where Depp testified that even though he’s taken “every drug known to man,” he is not the “monster” she has alleged. Depp is suing a British tabloid that called him a “wife beater” after Heard claimed that she was a victim of domestic abuse for years. Depp testified that they got divorced only after Heard or “one of her friends” defecated in their bed. YAHOO ENT
WELCOME TO THE WORLD Olympia Lightning Bolt! Jamaican track star Usain Bolt revealed the name of his and girlfriend Kasi Bennett’s adorable two-month-old daughter: SEE PIC
She already broke the 40-yard-crawl record.
LEFTOVERS: CAN YOU PRONOUNCE THAT? LinkedIn has begun rolling out a new feature that lets you create a recording of the correct pronunciation of your name for people to hear when they click your profile. It could spell the end of an awkward internal debate known to anyone who is blessed/cursed with a unique name: Do I correct this boss/teacher/interviewer when they mangle it? ADWEEK
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