California hospital admitting only COVID-19 patients . . . The COVID-19 spike in California’s agricultural breadbasket is so steep that a hospital in Lodi is not accepting some patients who have other illnesses, as infections mount at nearly four times the rate called for in state guidelines for reopening the economy. The rapid rise of hospitalizations in San Joaquin County comes as infections from the novel coronavirus continue to soar in California, which on Monday reported a record increase of over 6,000 new cases, according to a Reuters tally. Reuters

 

Oregon country: Nonwhites don't need to wear facemarks . . . An Oregon county has said non-white people don't need to wear coronavirus face masks in public if they have 'concerns about racial profiling and harassment', as racial tensions mount across America following the Memorial Day 'murder' of black man George Floyd at the hands of a white cop. Health officials in Lincoln County, Oregon, announced Tuesday that people of color are exempt from the order issued last week that requires all residents to wear a face covering if they come within six feet of someone who does not live in their household. Daily Mail

 

Fauci says that "none of us have ever been told to slow down testing" . . . White House coronavirus advisor Anthony Fauci told Congress unequivocally that there had been no instructions to slow down on testing for the virus. President Trump joked during the rally in Tulsa that he had asked his people to not test so much because it was making the virus look so prevalent. But the media are sure he was serious, and the Biden campaign is already putting it to use. White House Dossier

 

Schoolchildren don't spread virus: French study . . . School kids don’t appear to transmit the new coronavirus to peers or teachers, a French study found, weighing in on the crucial topic of children’s role in propagating Covid-19. Scientists at Institut Pasteur studied 1,340 people in Crepy-en-Valois, a town northeast of Paris that suffered an outbreak in February and March, including 510 students from six primary schools. They found three probable cases among kids that didn’t lead to more infections among other pupils or teachers. The study confirms that children appear to show fewer telltale symptoms than adults and be less contagious, providing a justification for school reopenings in countries from Denmark to Switzerland. Bloomberg

 

Local leaders tell Trump his wall is working . . . Arizona leaders rained down praise on President Trump during a meeting by the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday, touting how hundreds of miles of newly constructed barrier have boosted public safety and led to a decline in illegal crossings. “I worked on the road back in the early 2000s, and I understand firsthand the calls for service related to undocumented immigrants and how high those calls for service were," Yuma, Arizona, Police Chief Susan Smith told Trump during the briefing. "After the border enhancements were put in place, I can tell you we saw a marked decline in many of those calls associated with undocumented immigrants. Washington Examiner

 

 

White House correspondents' annual dinner canceled due to the coronavirus . . . The White House Correspondents Association announced Tuesday that its annual dinner, which has already been postponed from its usual spring date, has now been canceled because of the coronavirus. From a statement by WHCA President Jonathan Karl of ABC News: "With great regret, we will have to cancel our planned dinner on Aug. 29. We do not want to let this moment pass, however, without telling the truly inspiring story of journalism in 2020, particularly White House journalism." White House Dossier

 

 

Prosecutor says he was pressured to cut Roger Stone a break because of ties to Trump . . . A prosecutor who withdrew from the Roger Stone case after Justice Department leaders intervened to recommend a lighter sentence intends to testify before Congress that he and his colleagues were repeatedly pressured to cut Stone "a break," and were told that it was because of his relationship with President Donald Trump. "What I heard – repeatedly – was that Roger Stone was being treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the President," Aaron Zelinsky, one of four prosecutors who quit the case, plans to tell the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, according to his prepared testimony. "I was also told that the acting U.S. Attorney was giving Stone such unprecedentedly favorable treatment because he was 'afraid of the President.'" Politico

 

 

Facebook moderators brag about deleting pro-Trump posts . . . A Project Veritas video featured an interview with former content moderator Zach McElroy of Cognizant, a third-party firm used by Facebook to police the platform, who said that about three-quarters of the posts flagged for “civic harassment” tilted to the right. “I saw a stark contrast between Republican versus Democrats in that queue,” said Mr. McElroy. “I saw upwards of 75% to 80% of the posts in that queue were from Republican pages, politicians, journalists, and pages that supported the president or supported conservatives.” He said the content moderators, who lean heavily to the left, “are essentially in charge of what gets said and what gets stifled.” Washington Times

 

AOC cruises to primary win . . . Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looks set to waltz to a second term as the self-described Democratic socialist dominated her primary competition Tuesday night. The incumbent — almost better known by her initials, AOC, than her actual name — rolled to victory, claiming 73 percent of the ballots cast at the polls during early voting and on primary day, with 74 percent of precincts reporting. Her best-funded opponent — Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former Republican and financial news reporter — had nabbed just 20 percent of the vote. New York Post

 

Veteran Democrat Eliot Engel may be on the way out . . . Insurgent Jamaal Bowman all but declared victory over veteran Rep. Eliot Engel in a fiery victory-like speech Tuesday night. Bowman led Engel by about 4,000 votes in early returns in the Democratic primary for the 16th Congressional District encompassing portions of the Bronx and Westchester. But tens of thousands of unopened absentee ballots have yet to be counted. “You know what Donald Trump is afraid of more than anything — a black man in power!” Bowman, 44, a former Bronx middle school principal, thundered. New York Post

 

Political newcomer wins GOP primary in rare loss for a Trump pick . . . Madison Cawthorn breezed past President Donald Trump’s pick for Mark Meadows' seat in Congress in a two-person GOP runoff election on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Henderson County Republican roundly defeated Haywood County’s Lynda Bennett in the primary runoff for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. “I do not believe this election has been a referendum on the president’s influence,” Cawthorn wrote in a statement on election night. “The people of western North Carolina . . . simply made the choice you believed is best for our district,” he said. Cawthorn won roughly two-thirds of the vote over Bennett, who received the backing of the president in a June tweet. USA Today

 

Melania slams Food Network host who went after Barron . . . Melania Trump has blasted a comedian for making 'inappropriate and insensitive comments' about her son after he tweeted that he hopes 'Barron gets to spend today with whoever his dad is'. John Henson, who brings his comedy to ABC's 'Wipeout,' E!'s 'Talk Soup' and hosts Food Network's 'Halloween Baking Championship,' made the remarks as President Donald Trump's four other children from two prior marriages wished him a happy Father's Day via social media. 'Sadly we continue to see inappropriate and insensitive comments about (President Donald Trump's) son,' Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. Daily Mail

 

 

EU may ban US travelers over coronavirus . . . 

European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers. That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country. New York Times

 

Mnuchin says recession could last until end of the year . . . Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expects the U.S. recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic will end by the end of the year.

“I do,” Mnuchin said Tuesday in an interview during the Bloomberg Invest Global virtual event. President Donald Trump has sounded similar optimism about a recovery by the end of the year even as many economists say a rebound likely will take much longer. The national unemployment rate is 13.3%, the result of layoffs and business closures imposed because of stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures. Bloomberg

 

Segway to stop making Segway . . . Segway, which boldly claimed its two-wheeled personal transporter would revolutionize the way people get around, is ending production of its namesake vehicle. The Segway PT, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes, will be retired on July 15, the company said in a statement. Associated Press

 

North Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem vows to defend Mount Rushmore from radicals . . . South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Tuesday promised to defend Mount Rushmore from radical leftists, who have been demanding the removal of several historic monuments and statues across the nation and, in some cases, lawlessly destroying the structures themselves. “Not on my watch,” Noem said in response to a question regarding the possibility of far-left activists targeting the famed sculpture: Four U.S. presidents are featured on Mount Rushmore — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln — all of whom have been subject to activist wrath over the last month. Breitbart

 

 

Wisconsin protestors tear down statue of — an abolitionist . . . 

Fury exploded outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday night as protesters smashed windows at the statehouse, attacked a state senator, and tore down two iconic statues — including one of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War. The unrest began earlier Tuesday following the arrest of a Black man who was arrested after bringing a megaphone and a baseball bat into a Capitol square restaurant. It followed weeks of mostly peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a white police officer. During the melee late Tuesday, Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter was assaulted after taking a photo of protesters. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

Are they going to deface the MLK memorial in Washington next? Maybe they'll just start tearing down all statues, like the Taliban

 

Chik-fil-A CEO shines rap stars shoes in act of contrition . . . During a June 14 roundtable discussion about racism at Atlanta’s Passion City Church involving Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, Atlanta megachurch pastor Louie Giglio and hip-hop musician Lecrae, Cathy stunningly whipped out a brush and began to shine the singer’s sneakers. “I invite folks to put some words to action here,” said Cathy before approaching Lecrae. “And if we need to find somebody that needs to have their shoes shined, we need to just go right on over, and shine their shoes, whether they got tennis shoes on or not — maybe they have sandals on — but it really doesn’t matter.” Cathy then knelt down to shine while Lecrae, appearing stunned, sat still. New York Daily News

 

 

Dude calmly refuses care with knife sticking out of head . . . A Harlem man escaped a stabbing with minor injures Tuesday — one of which was the massive kitchen knife left sticking upright out of his scalp, authorities said. Viral Instagram video of the gory aftermath shows the unidentified man appearing to talk calmly with horrified onlookers and walking towards an FDNY ambulance — seemingly unaware of his blood-drenched undershirt and the kitchen knife protruding from the top of his head. “He looked like he didn’t even feel it,” said one witness to the nightmarish scene, which unfolded around noon at East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem, according to authorities. “The guy was refusing to go inside the ambulance,” continued the witness, declining to be identified by name. New York Post

 

Man with horse and cart refused service at KFC drive-through in UK . . . A traveller says he was left ‘humiliated’ after KFC refused to serve him at a drive-through while he was riding a horse and cart. Ian Bell, 55, made it as far as the kiosk window last week only for a manager to come out and say he would have to leave for the health and safety of other customers.He says he doesn’t understand, as his horse Jon Jon is as ‘good as gold.’ Ian said: ‘I had queued up behind some cars and was about to order a Bargain Bucket when all of a sudden this manager came out and said “you’re not allowed through”. Metro