US treasury secretary says Congress could reach deal if Democrats are ‘willing to be reasonable’ – live

The latest coronavirus totals are bad

For every 4 person in the world with coronavirus, one is an American. That’s a not-so-fun fact.

According to he US recorded a total of 5,079,453 confirmed coronavirus cases as of 2pm ET Monday, amounting to with 163,854 deaths. States experiencing highest percentage increase of cases over past 14 days?

• Hawaii: 313%
• New Jersey: 81%
• Rhode Island: 66%
• South Dakota: 35%
• Massachusetts: 34%

We’ll see how those numbers evolved as an estimated 250,000 unmasked and unbothered bikers descend on a small town in South Dakota this week.

According to the Pacific Daily News, Guam governor Lourdes “Lou” Leon Guerrero has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Guerrero, along with health officials in the US territory, confirmed the governor’s condition Monday. She had tested negative for the virus shortly after being exposed 5 Aug.

“On August 8th, I began to exhibit some symptoms. I was tested again this afternoon and received a positive result this evening. I have been in home quarantine since this weekend and will be isolated pending my recovery. I remain in good health despite exhibiting moderate symptoms of the virus.”

Guerrero insisted she followed all recommended health protocols, including wearing a mask and socially distancing. She implored others to “use [her] experience as a reminder of just how serious and contagious this virus is”.

“Help our island protect our loved ones,” Leon Guerrero said in a statement.

Guam, a small island of nearly 168,000 residents, is located in the north Pacific ocean. Its total coronavirus cases have risen sharply since the start of the pandemic, confirming 6 new cases Monday for a total of 416.

Sonam Sheth, Business Insider’s political correspondent, talked with former ambassador John Bolton Monday. In the interview, they discuss everything from this year’s impeachment trial (which feels like a decade ago), the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming election.

Key takeaways?

• When it comes to Trump, “substance was not so important as politics”
• Donald Trumps gets an ‘F’ grade for his coronavirus response
• Bolton’s “not voting for Biden for philosophical reasons,” but also not for Trump “because he’s not competent”
• He found it “very troubling that the president would even talk about” delaying the election

Apparently Bolton weighed resigning several times before nobly choosing to withhold information essential to the president’s impeachment for a literary payday instead. Check out more of Bolton’s talk with Business Insider here.

Ted Cruz has thoughts on Americans’ spending amid the pandemic

It’s worth noting that, last week, Cruz was among those in Congress to pass a US $740bn defense policy bill – or an estimated $2bn daily.

No sports? No spa? Critics want you to #BlameTrump

Online sports fans aren’t thrilled that the coronavirus will likely mean the cancellation of a fall favorite: college football. Led by The Lincoln Project, a group of defected Republicans now campaigning against the Donald Trump, users are responding with what they’ve missed most since the outbreak, and what they’re not looking forward to going without this fall.

The public rebuke comes as Trump has been active on the platform throughout the day, tweeting attacks against house speaker Nancy Pelosi, senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Republican senator Ben Sasse.

As far as sports? The president seems to be taking it all in stride. Even as the country’s largest college football conferences discuss canceling the season, the president called on schools to allow student athletes to play.

According to the CDC, young people (including college students) are one of the fastest growing age groups from contracting the coronavirus.

More on the worrying issue of public health officials leaving, across the US.

Some health officials said they were leaving for family reasons, others had planned to retire, and some left for jobs at other health agencies, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, many left amid threats and a pressure-cooker environment, The Associated Press further reports.

After West Virginia Governor Jim Justice demanded the resignation of Dr. Cathy Slemp in June over what he said were discrepancies in the data, the move was criticized by public health experts at Johns Hopkins University.

Slemp said the department’s work had been hurt by outdated technology like fax machines and slow computer networks.
“We are driving a great aunt’s Pinto when what you need is to be driving a Ferrari,” Slemp said.

Since 2010, spending on state public health departments has dropped 16% per capita, and the amount devoted to local health departments has fallen 18%, according to a KHN and AP analysis.

At least 38,000 state and local public health jobs have disappeared since the 2008 recession, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems.

In Oklahoma, both the state health commissioner and state epidemiologist have been replaced since the outbreak began in March. The governor’s first pick for health commissioner was forced out in May because lawmakers were concerned he wasn’t qualified.

In rural Colorado, Emily Brown was fired in late May as director of the Rio Grande County Public Health Department after clashing with county commissioners over reopening recommendations. The person who replaced her resigned July 9.

She said she knows many public health department leaders who are considering resigning or retiring because of the strain.

“I think there’s a leadership gap. Our elected officials in positions of power, whether presidents, governors or mayors, they aren’t supporting staff better or aligning messages,” forcing public health officials to bear the political pressure, Brown said. “It’s really hard to hear that we could be losing that expertise.”

Vilified, threatened with violence and in some cases burned out, dozens of state and local public health officials around the country have resigned or have been fired amid the coronavirus outbreak, a testament to how politically combustible issues such as masks, lockdowns and infection data have become.

The latest departure came Sunday, when California’s public health director, Dr. Sonia Angell, quit without explanation following a technical glitch that caused a delay in reporting virus test results information that was used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools, the Associated Press reports.

Last week, New York City’s health commissioner was replaced after months of tension with the Police Department and City Hall.

A review by the Kaiser Health News service and AP finds at least 48 state and local health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. The list has grown by more than 20 people since the AP and KHN began tracking departures in June.
As of Monday, confirmed infections in the United States stood at over 5 million, with deaths topping 163,000, the highest in the world.

The departures of so many top leaders around the country make a bad situation worse, at a time when the US needs good public health leadership the most, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
“We’re moving at breakneck speed here to stop a pandemic, and you can’t afford to hit the pause button and say, ‘We’re going to change the leadership around here and we’ll get back to you after we hire somebody,’” Freeman said.

Many of the firings and resignations have to do with conflicts over mask orders or social distancing shutdowns, she said. Many politicians and ordinary Americans have argued that such measures are not needed, contrary to the scientific evidence and the advice of public health experts.
“It’s not a health divide; it’s a political divide,” Freeman said.

The president is trying to decide which controversial location to use to accept his party’s official nomination for the presidency, at the end of the not-in-person Republican convention.

This is where some Republicans are with the deadlocked negotiations on Capitol Hill over more coronavirus relief, and what some Democrats think of that.

Fiscal conservative of Texas Ted Cruz, who’s in the thick of the Republican infighting over the size of a new relief package, with comment from Democratic Senator from Massachusetts Ed Markey, who’s facing a challenge from Joe Kennedy.

Here’s what we’ve been following throughout the day:

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all that’s happening throughout the day right here on the politics live blog.

More than 100 Black male leaders have signed an open letter calling on Joe Biden to pick a Black woman as his vice president, saying “for too long, Black women have been asked to do everything” for the Democratic party.

Failing to select a Black woman in 2020 means YOU will the election. Black women are defining the future of politics, so it’s time you let one define the future of your campaign.”

Some notable figures include a diverse array of industry professionals, including civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, Democratic strategist Bakari Sellers and athlete Chris Paul. Entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs leads the list with his signature.

Some readers noted that although Barack Obama became the first Black person to win the presidency in 2007, and inaugurated in 2008, it was a Black woman who was first to run.

That woman? Shirley Chisholm, Already the first Black women elected to Congress, in 1972 Chisholm ran a monumental campaign on anti-racism, anti-sexism and initiatives to combat poverty.

“I am not the candidate for Black America, although I am Black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and I’m equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests. I stand here now without endorsement from many big name politicians or celebrities or any other kind of prop. I do not intend to offer you the tired and glib cliches that have too long been an accepted part of our political life. I am the candidate of the people of America

Fun Fact: Current frontrunner, California senator Kamala Harris’ logo during her own bid for president was in tribute to Chisholm.

Bill Gates rebukes US’s coronavirus ‘testing insanity’

Tech guru and philanthropist Bill Gates continued his charge against the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, insisting “no other country has the testing insanity, because [US officials] won’t talk about fixing it”.

A variety of early missteps by the US and the political atmosphere meant that we didn’t get our testing going. We are paying a pretty dramatic price, and not just in deaths. We also pay it in terms of the economic toll, which is up in the trillions.

Check out more from Gates’ interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria here.