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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

School is already back in session in some states. You know what that means: coronavirus is already spreading through the schools.

Meanwhile, Border Patrol tactical teams raided a humanitarian camp in the southern Arizona desert where migrants were receiving water and medical care. Worse yet, it looks like the agents used the occassion as an excuse to film some action shots for propaganda purposes.

And lastly, Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is in shambles. It seems like some of those much-sought after suburban voters simply may not hate Joe Biden all that much.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Within hours of opening on the first day of classes last Thursday, officials at Greenfield Central Junior High School in Indiana got word from the county health department that one of their students had coronavirus. The student was put into isolation. Then everyone who came into close contact with the student was ordered to quarantine for fourteen days. Families with students the school were given the option of attending classes online. But only fifteen percent opted for online learning.

Against the best advice of public health experts, some school districts are beginning to reopen with classes in person, as though there wasn’t a pandemic to worry about. According to the Washington Post, at least four schools across the country have had a student test positive for coronavirus during the first week back in session. Three of the schools are in Indiana and one is in Mississippi. There are no consistent policies across districts, cities, counties, and states for how to deal with this situation. There is not even consistent data collection. According to the Mississippi Free Press, school-age children are now the primary drivers of the state’s increasing COVID-19 caseload. Experts there fear a pediatric COVID crisis will overwhelm schools and hospitals this fall if schools hold classes in person. In Oregon, over ten percent of COVID cases were children younger than eighteen. The New York Times cited some sobering research from the University of Texas at Austin. They estimate that more than eighty percent of Americans live in a county where at least one

infected person would be expected to show up to school in the first week. The highest-risk areas include Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Las Vegas, Nevada. In Tennessee, officials have decided not to collect data on coronavirus cases and deaths in schools. In Arizona, one school superintendant told the Post that a quarter of his students live with grandparents, who are at high risk for COVID complications. The super said QUOTE It’s not safe. There’s no way it can be safe. If you think anything else, I’m sorry, but it’s a fantasy. Kids will get sick, or worse. Family members will die. Teachers will die. ... So why are we getting bullied into opening? ... Why are they threatening our funding? I keep waiting for someone higher up to take this decision out of my hands and come to their senses. I’m waiting for real leadership, but maybe it’s not going to happen ENDQUOTE.

Arizona migrant camp raided

Customs and Border Patrol’s goon squads are at it again. This time, instead of engaging in open-ended urban warfare on Black Lives Matter protesters, tactical Border Patrol units have returned to an old favorite: Depriving desperate border-crossers of water and medical care. On Friday night, Border Patrol raided a humanitarian aid camp in southern Arizona. The camp was set up and operated by No More Deaths, a religious aid group that based in Tucson, Arizona.

According to the Intercept, camouflaged, rifle-toting agents in armored vehicles were backed up by at least two helicopters during the raid. Agents zip-tied volunteers’ hands behind their backs and reportedly confiscated their cellphones, as well as the organization’s medical records. More than thirty undocumented immigrants were receiving treatment at the camp after a long trek through the desert in the middle of heat wave. All were arrested.

It wasn’t the first time Border Patrol targeted No More Deaths. The same camp was targeted in a raid three years ago. This latest raid came only two days after No More Deaths published a set of documents related to the first raid. So it’s possible the raid was retaliatory. After seizing volunteers’ phones, agents proceeded to film the raid themselves, at times seeking out dramatic angles for filming as their colleagues made arrests. Nobody thinks you’re cool, Border Patrol guys. Nobody is ever going to think you are cool.

Trump's reelection prospects dimming

As if his idea to delay the election wasn’t a big enough clue, the Washington Post reports that Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is in crisis. There is talk of an August reset. On account of the coronavirus, Trump isn’t able to hold the large hate rallies he loves so much. Following a major staff shakeup at the top, the campaign is pulling ads from the airwaves. New ads targeting the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, are set to begin running today, after six days of broadcast silence. Biden still leads by double-digits in national polls. And in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that’s important for Trump’s victory strategy, Biden has led Trump in all twelve public polls released since the beginning of June, per Politico. Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016. But Biden’s lead in that state now stands at six percentage points. And remember, these are the older white voters Trump covets most. More than half the electorate lives in the suburbs. As one Democratic Congressman put it, hating Joe Biden doesn’t juice up their base in quite the same way as going after Nancy Pelosi or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

One more clear sign of Trump’s weakness: news broke over the weekend that journalists would be banned from attending the Republican National Convention. The convention, first scheduled for Florida, was relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s supposed to happen on August 24. It’s unclear even if C-SPAN will be allowed to have a camera running during the Republican’s nominating party. Party officials initially blamed coronavirus restrictions for the decision – then said no final decision had been made on whether to allow journalists. Either way, the Democrats are still making room for media coverage at their convention, set for Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 17 through the 20th.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

Tropical Storm Isaias skirt the Eastern Seabord of the US yesterday, after being downgraded from a hurricane. The strong storm with winds of sixty-five miles per hour has already caused damage in the Caribbean. It is expected to make landfall in the Carolinas on early Tuesday and exit by way of Maine late on Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center has warned of possible flooding along the entire East Coast.

A US citizen was murdered while facing trial for blasphemy in Pakistan late last week. Tahir Naseem of Illinois had claimed to be a prophet. It is unclear how the killer smuggled a weapon into the heavily guarded courthouse in Peshawar, but he surrendered to police immediately following the murder. Online video showed thousands rallying in support of the killer. Naseem belonged to a minority group regarded as heretical by the Muslim majority.

Thousands of people marched outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s house over the weekend, calling for the Israeli prime minister to resign. I should say houses, because there were protests both at his official residence in Jerusalem and at his beach house in Tel Aviv. With an estimated ten thousands participants, it was reportedly the largest protest to date calling for Netanyahu’s removal, and it has been a long summer of protests in Israel.

According to NBC News, citing government statistics, in the third week of July, thirty percent of adults reported symptoms of depressive disorder, as compared to six point six percent last year. Further, thirty-six percent had symptoms of an anxiety disorder, compared to eight point two percent last year. Gosh. Wonder why.

That’s all for the AM Quickie. Join us this afternoon on the Majority Report.

August 3, 2020 - AM Quickie

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn