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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

The coronavirus is running almost unchecked through Florida, in what has become the country’s fastest-growing outbreak to date. On Sunday, the state recorded 15,300 new cases of the disease in the prior 24 hours, the largest single-day increase in any state since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, his long-time friend and advisor who was convicted of numerous felonies, in one of the most shocking acts of open corruption to date. He hasn’t shot anyone on fifth avenue yet, but we’re not far off at this point.

And lastly, the oil and natural gas industry is starting to go down in flames -- but they might just take the world with them. The New York Times has a new report on how bankrupt gas companies are leaving taxpayers to clean up their mess.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Florida Covid Cases Skyrocket

The coronavirus pandemic has set in in Florida, and there’s almost no telling how bad it’s going to be. On Sunday, the state recorded 15,300 new cases of COVID-19, shattering the single-day record for any other state.

Governor Ron De Santis, meanwhile, is knowingly dooming his constituents. He’s ordered schools to re-open five days a week in the fall and allowed theme parks like Disney World and Universal Studios to start taking in guests again. Hospitals in his state are already starting to fill up, so it’s unclear what could possibly cause him to take more drastic measures to control the virus at this point.

In Washington, the current fight is over whether or not schools should open in the fall. Trump has been pressing hard to get classrooms open, despite the fact that experts say it’s not safe.

According to a report by CommonDreams dot com, the American Academy of Pediatrics has joined several teachers groups in proposing a massive investment plan that would allow schools to make themselves safe to re-open. The changes, like cleaning equipment, ventilation, and lower class sizes to allow for social distancing, would represent a huge jump in quality of life for students even outside of a pandemic.

The Trump administration doesn’t have any plan to do these things, of course. In an interview with CNN, Education Secretary Betsy De Vos couldn’t even say how bad an outbreak would have to be to get a school to close down. There’s no safety plan in place, which means kids in the fall could get fed right into petri dishes of disease with no ways to mitigate their risk.

Trump Pardons Stone

And now, to check in once again with the Donald Trump corruption meter: today’s reading: off the charts! That’s because on Friday, as you may have heard, Trump commuted Roger Stone’s 40-month sentence.

That’s right, Stone is scot free after being convicted of seven different felonies. A fun fact: Stone has a back tattoo of Richard Nixon’s face. At this point, Stone should be Nixon’s hero, not the other way around.

If you remember, Trump had already pressured his justice department to slash Stone’s sentence from the seven to nine years prosecutors recommended to just 40 months. On Friday, he decided even that was too long, and announced that Stone wouldn’t even be reporting to prison after all. Trump fired off a tweet to mark the occasion, claiming that Stone was the victim of a quote “witch hunt.”

So that’s where we’re at! It’s become increasingly clear that with Trump in office the Department of Justice will be explicitly serving the interests of the president, and isn’t accountable to the people in any way.

It’s possible, I suppose, that if Biden wins he could rekindle some of the many criminal investigations into Trump’s activities in office, but while the president is in power, the absolute best we can hope for is that he won’t contest the results of the election if he happens to lose. If he does, we’re in for a lot worse than a free Roger Stone.

Gas Companies Make Stink on Way Out

In an ideal world, oil and natural gas companies going bankrupt would be a good thing. But a new report by the New York Times suggests that instead of quietly drying up, the amoral industry is spilling its trash into the environment while executives run off with the money.

According to the Times, the coronavirus pandemic and a global price war has destroyed the profit margins for most oil and natural gas companies. If the global response to this was to double down on renewable energy, that’d be a great thing. But the unfortunately reality is that the vultures at the top of these companies are just using bankruptcy as an excuse to get out with a golden parachute, and leaving everyone else to clean up their mess.

Here’s how it works: an oil company goes bankrupt, and claims that because it’s in debt for so much money, it can’t possibly pay the fees in order to safely close its wells, fracking sites, and refineries. One Texas company, for instance, has a well that is as you listen to this most likely still leaking tons of methane into the atmosphere. But guess what -- its ceo made $8.5 million in consulting fees during the bankruptcy proceedings.

It’s pretty clear what’s going on here: the execs at the top are looting their own companies and letting the horrific machinery they’ve torn up the earth with for decades to rot. In many cases, it’s going to continue spreading poison into the environment until taxpayers front the bill to clean it up.

And we can’t look to Joe Biden to save us either, as he’s essentially promised that fracking jobs won’t be on the chopping block in his administration. Seems unlikely he’ll want to go after the executives either. That means it’s our job to remember what they did and make sure that they face consequences in the administration after Biden, or the one after that, or however long it.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The NFL Team in Washington, D.C. will retire its name, a racial slur for a Native American, on Monday. The team has yet to announce a new name, but any change is probably going to be an improvement on the former one.

Elsewhere in the world of sports, ESPN suspended perhaps the best-known basketball reporter in the world, Adrian Wojnarowsky, after he replied “F- you” in an email to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. In a just world, he’d have been commended for telling Hawley to stuff it, which everyone should do pretty much every time they have the opportunity.

the first federal inmate in 17 years is expected to be executed on Monday. The inmate, Daniel Lewis Lee, has been on death row for decades after being convicted of killing a family of 3 in the 90s. His family is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, which has until 4pm Monday to stop the execution.

And lastly, remember Robert Mueller? Well heeeee’s back! Sen. Lindsey Graham is expected to call the former special counsel before his bad-faith panel aimed to discredit Mueller’s original investigation. We’re sure this appearance will be productive for everyone involved, especially the American public.

July 13, 2020 - AM Quickie

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn