Another Thursday means another set of unemployment claims numbers, and once again, it was bad. More than 2 million more Americans filed for unemployment, bringing the total to 40.5 million over 10 weeks—a number that might still be a significant undercount.
With those figures in mind, it’s no wonder the Trump administration has decided to skip the mid-year economic projection that’s been offered every year for decades. Just as Trump doesn’t want too much coronavirus testing because it might find more cases and make him look bad, he doesn’t want to let bad economic news get out there, either. As if it isn’t everywhere we look.
● Florida's COVID-19 death rate has seemed low. There's a reason for that. The state is lying about how many people have died.
● Trump honored himself on Twitter, tweeting clips of Lou Dobbs calling him “the greatest president in history.” With 100,000 people dead.
● In case you needed another reminder of Trump’s boundless ego, he’s planning another big July 4 celebration in Washington, D.C., despite the pandemic.
● Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with Trump on one issue, at least: He’s urging people to wear masks and stay six feet apart.
● Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is trying to require coronavirus relief money intended for public schools to go to private schools—especially religious ones.
● Mike Pence’s chief of staff’s stock holding includes some "red alarm" conflicts of interest.
● Dozens of companies that pay no corporate taxes, including 12 that use offshore tax havens, have gotten millions in emergency loans, Reuters reports.
● Joe Biden won Twitter with a reminder of how much more prepared for a pandemic the U.S. could have been, and where Trump’s priorities were instead.
● A Pennsylvania state representative told other Republicans he had COVID-19, but didn’t bother telling his Democratic coworkers.