Good morning! It’s going to be another hot one today, but it is July in Georgia, after all, so we should expect no less. However, there’s no chance for rain in my corner of the state, so what better day to spend some time in a shady spot (aside from midday!) and hang out outside than National Hammock Day? Perhaps your celebration could include reading the Morning Reads on an iPad in your hammock…
Let’s get on to the news, shall we?
Pat Conroy
- Civil rights leader C.T. Vivian will lie in state today at the state capitol. (Alternate link.)
- Yesterday, Georgia reported 78 deaths due to COVID-19 since the previous day, the largest daily increase in over two months.
- Since the National Guard has been activated to assist with the COVID-19 response in the state, 323 Georgia guardsmen have tested positive for the disease, mirroring a national trend. (Alternate link.)
- Grady Hospital is at full capacity and canceling some elective surgeries.
Alice Walker
- The actual number of COVID-19 cases in the United States is somewhere between six and 24 times higher than the confirmed number of cases, according to a CDC study.
- Here’s a look at what might be in the next stimulus plan. (Alternate link.)
- Unable to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, President Trump is now ordering Census workers not to count undocumented immigrants.
- The U.S. has ordered China to close its Houston consulate within the next 72 hours. (Alternate link.)
- Twitter cracked down on QAnon conspiracy accounts yesterday.
- Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and three others were arrested yesterday for taking $60 million in bribes over the state’s nuclear plant bailouts.
- The Bahamas has barred U.S. tourists due to COVID-19 concerns.
Flannery O’Connor
- A UGA student was allowed to retake an online exam after a falling meatball logged her out of the first attempt prematurely.