Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, July 31, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Herman Cain, a prominent Republican businessman who ran for president in 2012 and was close with President Trump, has died following a long hospitalization with the coronavirus. There’s no way to know how or when Cain got infected, but he posted photos of himself without a mask while attending the Trump rally in Tulsa, two weeks before he was hospitalized. Federal jobless benefits run out today and senators have left D.C. for the weekend without coming to an agreement on a new rescue package. Dr. Fauci testifies in front of the House this morning on the topic of vaccines, testing and school reopenings. NY TIMES
ISAIAS IS COMING: Isaias (pronounced ee-sah-ee-as) is now a Cat 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds as it tracks toward Florida after pounding Puerto Rico with heavy rain and winds, knocking out power. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are under tropical storm watches. The latest projections have Isaias swiping southern and eastern Florida this weekend, and then riding up the eastern seaboard next week. TRACK
OBAMA ON LEWIS: Former President Obama eulogized John Lewis as a “founding father” of America’s future, delivering a rousing tribute to the civil rights icon while simultaneously condemning those in power for their record on Lewis’ legacy of voting rights. Obama, who has reportedly been increasingly candid in private about what he thinks of the current administration, also called for the elimination of the filibuster, statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico, and making Election Day a holiday. AXIOS
TRUMP FLOATS ELECTION DELAY: Top Republicans rejected President Trump’s suggestion, floated as part of a tweet complaining about mail-in ballots, that the November election be delayed. (The president does not have the authority to delay an election.) The tweet came minutes after the government reported the worst economic data ever recorded, and as polls show Trump losing to Joe Biden both nationally and in swing states. AP
ECONOMIC DISASTER: The U.S. economy had its biggest collapse on record last quarter. GDP -- the measure of all the goods and services produced in the country-- dropped 9.5 percent, or the equivalent of an annual drop of about 33 percent. That’s twice the rate of GDP decline during the Great Recession, and it happened in three months as opposed to three years. Nearly all of the recent economic data suggests that the recovery is stalling. MARKETWATCH
BLOWOUT TECH EARNINGS: A day after the top four tech CEOs took a lashing from Congress, all of their companies reported earnings, and the results were eye-popping. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google each easily topped expectations for the quarter, which was about as unusual as a fiscal quarter can get. Combined, the four companies made $28 billion in profits. The one big catch: for the first time, Google reported a decline in its revenue as many companies cut back on advertising. THE STREET
NBA BUBBLE GOES LIVE: Players may have looked a bit rusty, but the NBA’s return to play gave fans two close, exciting games. The Jazz pulled off a comeback victory against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, followed by LeBron James and the Lakers delivering a crunch time win against the Clippers. Players from all four teams knelt during the national anthem. ESPN
OPRAH GIVES UP COVER: One face has been on every cover of O Magazine since it launched 20 years ago -- until now. Oprah Winfrey gave the cover of the September issue of her namesake mag to Breonna Taylor, the Black woman in Kentucky who was shot to death by police while sleeping in her bed. In an essay, Oprah explains that she couldn’t stay silent about Taylor’s death, writing: “We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice.” READ IT
MORE 'ELLEN' ALLEGATIONS: Warner Bros. has been investigating The Ellen DeGeneres Show after several media reports highlighted what former employees called a “toxic” workplace environment at the syndicated daytime talker. A new report from BuzzFeed cites dozens more former employees who say the show’s executive producers engaged in “rampant” sexual misconduct behind the scenes. DeGeneres has apologized to the show’s staff in a letter. BUZZFEED NEWS
LEFTOVERS: TOPO CHICO, BUT WITH BOOZE: Topo Chico, the Texas sparkling water brand with a cult following, will release a hard seltzer this year, first in Latin America and then in the U.S. in 2021. Coca-Cola bought Topo Chico in 2017 to get a leg up on the seltzer craze. This will be Coke’s first foray into alcohol in the Americas (they sell an alcoholic soda in Japan). AUSTIN 360
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