ACTION ITEM OF THE DAY. Why asylum matters for LGBTQ people: “With the Trump-Pence administration attacking the American asylum process, the Human Rights Campaign looks at the story of one Nigerian asylum-seeker who fled persecution for being LGBTQ. Text ASYLUM to 472472 to submit your comments to the Trump-Pence administration by July 15.”
ARGENTINA MYSTERY. 57 sailors aboard fishing ship test positive for coronavirus after being at sea for weeks. “Argentine fishing boat docks in Ushuaia after 35 days at sea, after crew begin showing signs of coronavirus. Reports say 57 of the 61 crew-members onboard the ‘Echizen Maru’ – who all isolated for 14 days before setting sail – have tested positive for coronavirus, puzzling experts.”
NASHVILLE. Photographer warns of false coronavirus immunity, says he contracted it twice.
RUSHING. Trump health officials plan to start manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine by end of summer: “The U.S. is aiming to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine for Covid-19 by early 2021. The manufacturing process is already underway even though they aren’t sure which vaccine, if any, will work, the official told reporters on a conference call.”
CONFUSED. Chance The Rapper wants to know why Joe Biden is a better candidate than Kanye West.
VIOLA DAVIS. Vanity Fair has published its first-ever cover shot by a black photographer, Dario Calmese.
DOWN THE DRAIN. Trump campaign official posts cartoon mocking Dr. Anthony Fauci. “Dan Scavino, the Trump administration’s deputy chief of staff for communications, posted a Ben Garrison cartoon to his Facebook page on July 12….Garrison is a popular right-wing cartoonist who was invited by Trump to a July 2019 White House social media summit. Days later, the White House said Garrison was no longer attending after Garrison’s past work elicited outrage and was labeled as anti-Semitic.”
RIP. Mythbusters host Grant Imahara has died at 49.
COLORADO. Squirrel tests positive for bubonic plague. “The town of Morrison, Colorado, in Jefferson County, which is just west of Denver, made the startling announcement saying that the squirrel is the first case of plague in the county.”
LINCOLN PROJECT AD OF THE DAY. Walk of Courage. “The new campaign ad shows Black Lives Matter protesters carrying signs peacefully walk past a group of armed white men during a demonstration last month in rural Crown Point, Indiana — and contrasts their bravery to GOP senators scurrying past reporters seeking comment about President Donald Trump’s conduct.”
TEXAS. Joe Biden launches first general election ads in Texas. “Joe Biden is launching his first general-election TV ads in Texas as a growing number of polls show a close presidential race here. As part of a four-state ad buy that Biden’s campaign is announcing Tuesday, the presumptive Democratic nominee is going up with a 60-second spot in Texas that addresses the increasingly dire coronavirus situation here.”
RICHARD ROSE. Anti-mask veteran dies of COVID-19: “Rose, who refused to wear a mask because he thought the virus was over-hyped, died just three days after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 1.”
DANIEL LEWIS LEE. U.S. executes first federal inmate since 2003.
MEMORY. Andrew Lloyd Webber demands Trump stop using his Cats anthem. “Buckley and Webber are just the latest recording artists to object to their tunes being played at Trump rallies after the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Tom Petty’s estate, Rihanna, and Panic! at the Disco have all objected.”
LUXURY PRIDE OF THE DAY. This rainbow Bentley. More HERE.
COVIDIOT WELCOME BACK VIDEO OF THE DAY. Disney Parks.
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Palm Springs.
TEMPTATION TUESDAY. Austin.
