The Senate passed legislation on Thursday to slap sanctions on Chinese officials who restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy.

The legislation, spearheaded by Sens. Chris Van HollenChristopher (Chris) Van HollenSenate passes sanctions bill targeting China over Hong Kong law Trump’s 4th of July celebration double the cost from previous years: study Trump to host 4th of July event despite pleas from lawmakers to cancel MORE (D-Md.) and Pat ToomeyPatrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyGOP senators push for quick, partial reopening of economy NSA improperly collected US phone records in October, new documents show Overnight Defense: Pick for South Korean envoy splits with Trump on nuclear threat | McCain blasts move to suspend Korean military exercises | White House defends Trump salute of North Korean general MORE (R-Pa.), targets individuals and entities, as well as the banks they do business with, with sanctions if they encroach on Hong Kong’s semi-independence. 

“What the government of China is doing in Hong Kong is unacceptable. They are taking away the rights of the people in Hong Kong. They are snuffing out the freedoms that exist there right now,” Van Hollen said from the Senate floor. “They are moving forward in their process to take away the liberties of the people of Hong Kong. So time is of the essence.” 

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The bill comes as a national security law being proposed in China has sparked concerns, both on Capitol Hill and internationally, that Beijing will expand its control over the city and that it will lead to restrictions on civil and political freedoms. 

The senators tried to pass the bill earlier this month but Sen. Kevin CramerKevin John CramerSenate passes sanctions bill targeting China over Hong Kong law Cruz urges Trump to support Israeli annexation GOP warns against ramping down coronavirus testing MORE (R-N.D.) objected. Under the Senate’s rules, any one senator can try to pass a bill by unanimous consent but any one senator can also block it. 

Cramer told Politico that he did it at the request of the White House, even though he was a co-sponsor of the bill, because it had requested “technical” changes.

Toomey noted on Thursday that they had been working with the Treasury Department and had gotten “to the point where we are in agreement with this legislation.” 

The bill would still need to be passed by the House before it could go to President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE, who has had a fraught relationship with China. Former national security adviser John BoltonJohn BoltonBolton says Boris Johnson is ‘playing Trump like a fiddle’ Hillicon Valley: Democrats introduce bill banning federal government use of facial recognition tech | House lawmakers roll out legislation to establish national cyber director | Top federal IT official to step down Senate passes sanctions bill targeting China over Hong Kong law MORE claimed in his forthcoming book that Trump demurred from getting too involved on the Hong Kong protests, saying “we have human-rights problems too.” 

In addition to the sanctions legislation, the Senate also passed a resolution by Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleySenate passes sanctions bill targeting China over Hong Kong law Bipartisan senators introduce legislation to update tech liability protections Overnight Defense: Senate turns focus to defense bill | GOP senator pushes to remove Confederate provision | Trump signals US troops moving from Germany to Poland MORE (R-Mo.) condemning the proposed national security law. 

“This is, I think, a moment when we have been able to come together to speak with one voice and to send a clear message to Beijing that its attempts to steamroll and destroy the liberties of the people of Hong Kong will not go unnoticed and will not go unaddressed,” he said. 

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Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoEU set to ban American travelers when borders reopen due to COVID-19 spikes US puts visa restrictions on Chinese officials over tensions with Hong Kong Trump has ‘no final decision’ on Israeli plans for annexation MORE on Friday announced that the U.S. will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials found to be involved in Beijing’s efforts to exert more control over Hong Kong.

The move marks the first concrete steps taken by the U.S. against China over its expected national security legislation, which critics argue violates Hong Kong’s autonomy from Beijing outlined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and that established the “one country, two systems” rule. 

“President TrumpDonald John TrumpMiami-Dade to close beaches for July Fourth weekend over coronavirus fears Oklahoma reporter tests positive for COVID-19 after attending at Trump’s Tulsa rally Trump slams Illinois governor, mayor over violence in Chicago, calls for ‘law and order’ MORE promised to punish the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong’s freedoms,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Today, we are taking action to do just that.”

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The secretary said the visa restrictions will apply to current and former officials of the Chinese Communist Party “who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy,” in violation of the 1984 declaration, “or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.”

Pompeo added that the visa restrictions may also apply to family members. A State Department spokesperson said visa records are confidential under U.S. law and that the agency would not provide the names of any officials who fall under the restrictions.

The Trump administration announced in May that the U.S. would no longer view Hong Kong as autonomous from Beijing, setting up the State Department’s ability to impose sanctions and visa restrictions as outlined in the Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and reinforced with the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.

The new visa restrictions announced by Pompeo come one day after the Senate passed a resolution condemning Beijing for its moves over Hong Kong and passed legislation providing the ability to impose sanctions on individuals and “entities” that materially contribute to an erosion of freedoms in the territory.

Pompeo held a rare face-to-face meeting last week with Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, in Hawaii at a time where relations between Washington and Beijing are at an all-time low.

President Trump has called for holding China accountable for the spread of the novel coronavirus and criticized its influence over international bodies like the World Health Organization. Pompeo has also called on allied countries to reject Beijing’s efforts to invest in critical infrastructure projects, saying such deals pose threats to national security.

Miami-Dade County, Fla., officials announced on Friday that the county would close beaches for July Fourth weekend amid fears that gatherings will spark further coronavirus outbreaks.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced he was signing an emergency order to close beaches starting Friday and ending Tuesday.

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“As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk,” Gimenez said in a statement, according to a local NBC affiliate.

The decision comes as the state faces spiking cases in COVID-19. Florida shattered its single-day record of new coronavirus cases on Friday, adding an additional 8,942 confirmed infections, according to the Department of Health. 

In response to the massive spike, Florida announced Friday it is shutting down bars in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. 

Beaches in the area currently require social distancing by visitors. They had reopened earlier this month after closing due to the pandemic. 

The state came under fire earlier this year as the virus first began spreading across the U.S. and other states closed beaches but Florida’s remained open for spring-breakers.

Fourth of July celebrations have been canceled across the country, but President TrumpDonald John TrumpMiami-Dade to close beaches for July Fourth weekend over coronavirus fears Oklahoma reporter tests positive for COVID-19 after attending at Trump’s Tulsa rally Trump slams Illinois governor, mayor over violence in Chicago, calls for ‘law and order’ MORE will hold his second “Salute to America” celebration in D.C. this year. 

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a win on Thursday by ruling that asylum-seekers have no right to a federal court hearing before being removed from the U.S.

The 7-2 decision allows the administration to fast-track the removal process, and could affect thousands of immigrants.

At issue was whether a federal immigration law that aims to reduce meritless asylum claims through expedited proceedings violated immigrants’ due process rights under the Constitution.

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A majority of justices ruled that Congress had the power to authorize executive agencies to remove asylum-seekers without providing for a hearing in federal court.

“While aliens who have established connections in this country have due process rights in deportation proceedings, the court long ago held that Congress is entitled to set the conditions for an alien’s lawful entry into this country and that, as a result, an alien at the threshold of initial entry cannot claim any greater rights under the Due Process Clause,” Justice Samuel AlitoSamuel AlitoThe Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – US breaks daily COVID-19 case record Supreme Court permits fast-track removal of asylum-seekers The Roberts Court just gave Trump the authority to complete his agenda MORE wrote for the majority.

The majority comprised all but two of the court’s more liberal justices, Sonia SotomayorSonia SotomayorThe Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – US breaks daily COVID-19 case record Supreme Court permits fast-track removal of asylum-seekers On The Money: Small businesses falling behind in economic recovery | Supreme Court rules SEC may seize profits from fraudulent companies | Trump’s steel tariffs survive challenge MORE and Elena KaganElena KaganThe Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – US breaks daily COVID-19 case record Supreme Court permits fast-track removal of asylum-seekers Supreme Court blocks Trump plan to end DACA program MORE, who dissented.

The case arose when Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a native of Sri Lanka, was detained by U.S. authorities after entering the country from Mexico.

U.S. immigration officials conducted a so-called expedited removal proceeding and determined that Thuraissigiam did not qualify for asylum status because he lacked a “credible fear of persecution” if returned to Sri Lanka.

In federal district court Thuraissigiam filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, a procedure used to challenge the lawfulness of one’s detention. The judge dismissed his claim, finding that U.S. courts lacked the power to intervene in expedited removal proceedings under a 1996 federal statute.

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A U.S. appeals court reversed that decision, finding that the statute violated the Constitution’s prohibition on the suspension of habeas corpus. This prompted the Department of Homeland Security’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

The majority opinion found that a removal could be based on the fast-track process, without requiring an additional review by the courts.

In her dissenting opinion, Sotomayor said Congress had blocked the courts from carrying out a lawful judicial inquiry into asylum claims.

“Today’s decision handcuffs the judiciary’s ability to perform its constitutional duty to safeguard individual liberty and dismantles a critical component of the separation of powers,” Sotomayor wrote. “It increases the risk of erroneous immigration decisions that contravene governing statutes and treaties.”

Updated at 12:18 p.m.

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The Treasury Department is instituting sanctions against companies operating in Iran’s metal sector, officials announced Thursday.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions against five organizations owned or controlled by Mobarakeh Steel Company, Iran’s largest steel manufacturer. 

Specifically, it blacklisted Iran-based Metil Steel, Germany-based Tara Steel Trading GmbH, and three United Arab Emirates-based companies: Pacific Steel FZE, Better Future General Trading Co LLC and Tuka Metal Trading DMCC. 

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In total, the companies make tens of millions of dollars annually from selling Mobarakeh Steel products overseas and provide “significant contributions” to the billions of dollars in profits in Iran’s steel, aluminum, copper and iron sectors.

 

“The Iranian regime continues to use profits from metals manufacturers and foreign sales agents to fund destabilizing behavior around the world,” Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinTreasury institutes sanctions against companies in Iran’s metal industry Next COVID-19 bill depends on June jobs report On The Money: Trump, GOP clash over new round of checks | Dow sinks more than 700 points as COVID-19 surge shakes Wall Street | Senate Dems raise concerns about debit cards used for stimulus payments MORE said in a release. “The United States remains committed to isolating key sectors of the Iranian economy until the revenues from such sectors are refocused toward the welfare of the Iranian people.”

Mobarakeh Steel Company was designated for sanctions in 2018 for giving support to Iran’s Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company, which is owned by Bonyad Taavon Basij, an affiliate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The company was sanctioned in October for participating in Iran’s terror support.

The Treasury is acting upon a May 2019 executive order to implement the sanctions, which freeze any U.S. assets held by companies and prevent Americans from adjusting them. 

The U.S. also blacklisted three aluminum, steel and iron producers in Iran: South Aluminum Company, Sirjan Jahan Steel Complex and Iran Central Iron Ore Company. The Treasury Department alleges these companies contributed billions of dollars in sales and export of Iranian metals.

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Nearly 1.5 million U.S. workers filed new applications for unemployment benefits in the third week of June as states begin to ease coronavirus-related restrictions, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. 

In the week ending June 20, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 1,480,000, a decrease of 60,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,540,000 claims.

Another 728,120 U.S. workers filed claims for benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was designed to cover those who do not have jobs but don’t qualify for standard unemployment insurance. Roughly 1.6 million new claims for unemployment benefits have been filed on average in the past four weeks when not including the pandemic program.

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With last week’s claims, more than 6.6 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits through both programs since the start of June—almost triple the total jobs gained in 2019. 

“In other words, there are still more people claiming unemployment each week than there were net job gains all last year,” said Julia Pollak, labor economist at ZipRecruiter, in a Thursday tweet.

The number of weekly jobless claims has fallen substantially since the depth of the crisis in April, when as many as 6.8 million workers filed new applications for unemployment benefits in one week. The previous record was roughly 690,000 claims in the final week of October 1982.

The U.S. also added 2.5 million workers to payrolls in May, according to the Labor Department, despite widespread expectations of another month of steep job losses.

But the persistence of high weekly jobless claims almost two months into the loosening of restrictions remains a troubling sign for economists who have urged Congress not to let the $600 boost to unemployment benefits passed through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act expire on July 31.

“Today’s unemployment report reveals a labor market that is still reeling from the continued COVID-19 crisis, and subsequent onset of a recession—even as some leaders are willing to allow an unprecedented cut-off of billions of dollars in enhanced unemployment just four weeks from now,” wrote Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at the progressive Century Foundation, in a Thursday analysis.

The future of enhanced unemployment benefits may depend on the strength of the June jobs report set to be released next week. Another month of strong job gains could sap support for extending the pandemic safety net despite rising coronavirus cases across the country. But a reversal from May’s rebound could reinforce Democratic calls for further aid.

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Facebook is launching a new feature to warn users if they’re about to share a news article that is more than 90 days old, the social media platform announced Thursday. 

Facebook said the feature is aimed at helping users have “the context they need to make informed decisions” about what to share on the platform. 

“Over the past several months, our internal research found that the timeliness of an article is an important piece of context that helps people decide what to read, trust and share,” Facebook said in the announcement. “News publishers in particular have expressed concerns about older stories being shared on social media as current news, which can misconstrue the state of current events.”

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With the new feature, a notification will pop up with a warning before people share an old article. The platform will still allow people to continue sharing the old article “if they decide an article is still relevant.” 

Facebook said it will also be testing other notification screens, including potentially adding a notification for links mentioning COVID-19. 

Facebook has been criticized for its role in the spread of misinformation. 

The platform has also opted out of fact-checking information shared by politicians, unlike Twitter which has placed fact-check warnings on posts shared by politicians, including President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE. 

Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergVerizon says it will pull ads from Facebook, Instagram Facebook to begin warning people when they share old news Hillicon Valley: Justice Department announces superseding indictment against WikiLeaks’ Assange | Facebook ad boycott gains momentum | FBI sees spike in coronavirus-related cyber threats | Boston city government bans facial recognition technology MORE defended the decision not to fact check lawmakers last month, after Twitter placed warnings on Trump’s tweets for the first time. Zuckerberg said he doesn’t think Facebook should be “the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.”

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The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the annual defense policy bill seeks to put roadblocks on withdrawing U.S. troops from Africa and South Korea.

The so-called chairman’s mark of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – the version of the bill drafted by Chairman Adam SmithDavid (Adam) Adam SmithOvernight Defense: Army to drop photos from soldier records to reduce racial bias | House defense bill backs B pandemic preparedness fund | Bill targets potential troop drawdowns House defense bill targets potential troop drawdowns in Africa, South Korea House defense bill backs B pandemic preparedness fund MORE (D-Wash.) – would require the Pentagon to report to Congress on the effects, implications and costs of a troop drawdown in Africa on military, diplomatic, development and humanitarian efforts.

It would also require a report on the effects of a drawdown within 90 days if the number of troops dips below 80 percent of current force posture.

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Reports first surfaced earlier this year that Defense Secretary Mark EsperMark EsperTrump administration to extend troops at the border through 2021 Overnight Defense: Army to drop photos from soldier records to reduce racial bias | House defense bill backs B pandemic preparedness fund | Bill targets potential troop drawdowns House defense bill targets potential troop drawdowns in Africa, South Korea MORE was eying slashing the number of U.S. troops in Africa as part of a global review of U.S. force posture to redirect troops to counter Russia and China. He later confirmed he was considering a reduction but insisted it would not be a full withdrawal.

The plan received bipartisan backlash from lawmakers who argued the troops are needed not only to fight terrorism, but also to serve as a buttress against Russian and Chinese efforts to increase their influence in Africa.

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More recently, President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE announced he plans to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany. Trump has framed the drawdown as a punitive measure in response to Germany not meeting NATO’s defense spending goal, while national security advisor Robert O’Brien argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed the forces are needed in the Indo-Pacific region.

The planned Germany withdrawal has also sparked a bipartisan backlash from lawmakers who say a drawdown would undermine U.S. alliances, be a gift to Russia and diminish a cost-effective launch point for operations around the globe.

The chairman’s mark of the NDAA does not address U.S. troops in Germany, which is an issue that likely came up too late in the process to include. But it is likely to come up as an amendment when the committee considers the bill next week.

The chairman’s mark does continue a prohibition on funds to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea absent a certification from the Defense secretary, which lawmakers fear Trump will also do. The provision was first included in last year’s bill, with this year’s version adding additional certification requirements such as ensuring a reduction is commensurate with a reduction in the threat posed by North Korea.

The issue has become more pressing this year as Washington and Seoul have yet to reach a new cost-sharing agreement after the last one expired Dec. 31 amid the Trump administration’s demands for South Korea to pay significantly more to base U.S. troops there.

The White House coronavirus task force will hold a press briefing on Friday, marking the first time the group has spoken on camera to the public in roughly two months.

The briefing will take place at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be led by Vice President Pence, who chairs the task force.

The announcement comes as cases are spiking in several states. 

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The task force has been publicly absent for the last two months after the White House halted what had been near-daily briefings on the pandemic. The last task force briefing occurred on April 27, just a few days after President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE sparked widespread backlash by suggesting scientists study injecting light and chemicals into the body as a potential treatment for the virus.

Trump is not expected to be present at Friday’s briefing.

The White House has shifted its messaging around the virus in the time since to largely focus on the economic recovery after states shuttered businesses to slow the spread of the disease.

While case numbers, hospitalizations and death tolls dropped significantly in April and May, they have started surging again in Texas, Florida, California, Arizona and North Carolina, among other states, as businesses have reopened and citizens begin mingling again.

The U.S. on Wednesday recorded the largest single-day increase of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2.4 million.  

Texas on Thursday paused the reopening of its economy, but Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has resisted calls to mandate the use of masks and close or reduce capacity at restaurants and bars that are already open. GOP governors in Florida and Arizona have also resisted such measures, which health officials have said can reduce the transmission of the disease.

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Still, Trump and Pence have projected optimism about the administration’s handling of the virus. Pence penned an op-ed last week declaring that fears of a second wave of the virus were “overblown” and largely manufactured by the media.

Trump has stirred fresh controversy by saying at a campaign rally last weekend in Tulsa, Okla., that he told officials to slow down testing because it was identifying too many cases and making the U.S. look bad.

White House officials have said the president was kidding, but Trump has in recent days doubled down on his belief that testing is a “double-edged sword.” 

“If we didn’t want to test, or if we didn’t test, we wouldn’t have cases,” Trump said Thursday in Wisconsin, while touting the administration’s investment in manufacturing. “But we have cases because we test. Deaths are down. We have one of the lowest mortality rates. We’ve done an incredible, historic job.”

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Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care.

More states are becoming hot spots for the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Texas is pausing reopening, and the CDC says there are even more cases than we know about. We’ll start with Texas: 

An escalating situation: Texas pauses reopenings amid COVID-19 spike

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Thursday the state will pause its efforts to reopen the economy as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections spikes and hospitals begin to fill.

Abbott has been warning of a mounting catastrophe for days, as new cases rise precipitously in Houston, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and in cities like Austin, San Antonio and El Paso.

Is it enough? It’s worth noting Texas is pausing, but not yet going back to previous phases of reopening. Abbott said businesses that are already allowed to operate under the current reopening phase will continue to be able to do so.

“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said in a statement. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.”

Read more here.

Also being paused in Texas: elective procedures 

The governor issued an executive order Thursday suspending elective surgeries in four counties where surging COVID-19 outbreaks threaten to overwhelm hospitals.

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The order takes effect Friday at midnight in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties, which hold some of the state’s largest cities.

All hospitals are ordered to postpone surgeries or procedures that are not “immediately, medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient.”

“These four counties have experienced significant increases in people being hospitalized due to COVID-19 and today’s action is a precautionary step to help ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients,” Abbott said.

COVID-19 hospitalizations reached a new high of 4,389 in Texas on Wednesday, continuing a nearly two-week streak of record-breaking numbers.

A note about “elective” procedures from an infectious disease specialist:

 

Read more here.

 

A new stat: CDC says virus may have infected 10 times more Americans than known 

Nearly 25 million Americans may have contracted the coronavirus, a figure 10 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday.

In a briefing with reporters, CDC Director Robert Redfield said surveys of blood samples taken from around the country suggest that millions of Americans may have contracted the virus either without knowing it or with only minimal symptoms.

For every one confirmed case, Redfield said, the CDC estimates that 10 more people have been infected.

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“This virus causes so much asymptomatic infection,” Redfield said. “We probably recognized about 10 percent of the outbreak.”

Read more here.

 

Whistleblower says Trump administration continues to retaliate against him

A whistleblower says the Trump administration continues to retaliate against him, stating in an updated complaint on Thursday that top officials are actively trying to discredit him and prevent him from being successful in a new role.

Rick Bright, who led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) until he was demoted in late April, said in an amended complaint that he has been “deliberately impeded” in his role at the National Institutes of Health, which “does not remotely utilize his expertise or experience.”

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According to the updated complaint, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told HHS employees to refrain from doing anything that would help Bright be successful in his new role, and HHS employees were warned that Azar was “on the warpath” in response to Bright’s allegations.

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Reminder: Bright’s initial complaint alleged his early warnings about the virus were met with indifference at the Department of Health and Human Services, and that his efforts to push back on the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus contributed to his removal.

Read more here.

 

Biden goes on attack amid deadline for Supreme Court filing on ObamaCare

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenFox News polls: Trump, Biden neck and neck in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas A Gen Z awakening at the ballot box Verizon says it will pull ads from Facebook, Instagram MORE attacked President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE on Thursday for his legal efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act even amid the coronavirus pandemic, calling it “cruel” and “heartless.”

“I think it’s cruel, it’s heartless, it’s callous and it’s all because in my view he can’t abide the thought of letting stand one of President Obama’s greatest achievements, the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said in a speech in Lancaster, Pa., a key swing state.

The speech was timed to coincide with the deadline on Thursday for the Trump administration to file its legal brief in the Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit brought by GOP-led states seeking to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act.

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The politics: The Biden campaign and Democrats more broadly, who had already seized on the GOP lawsuit, are now linking it to the coronavirus crisis, saying people should not lose their health coverage during a pandemic. Democrats won back the House in 2018 in large part because of their focus on health care and are now repeating the emphasis in 2020.

Read more here.

 

The Hill event

On Tuesday, June 30 The Hill Virtually Live hosts a Pride month summit to discuss the fragility of civil rights in America today with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community. Olympic medalist Adam Rippon, Rep. Sharice DavidsSharice DavidsOvernight Health Care: Texas pauses reopening amid COVID-19 spike | CDC says there could be 10 times more cases than known | Biden hits Trump on ACA lawsuit The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Geopolitical adviser Parag Khanna criticizes US, China leadership on virus; US COVID-19 cases reach highest single-day level The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – US breaks daily COVID-19 case record MORE, Chasten Buttigieg, Alphonso David, Sen. Kirsten GillibrandKirsten GillibrandOvernight Health Care: Texas pauses reopening amid COVID-19 spike | CDC says there could be 10 times more cases than known | Biden hits Trump on ACA lawsuit The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Geopolitical adviser Parag Khanna criticizes US, China leadership on virus; US COVID-19 cases reach highest single-day level SEC’s Clayton demurs on firing of Manhattan US attorney he would replace MORE and more join Editor-at-Large Steve Clemons. Register Now! 

 

What we’re reading

How the virus won (New York Times)

Pandemic is wrong reason for keeping Obamacare: GOP states (Bloomberg Law) 

As Covid-19 cases peak, a virus once again takes advantage of human instinct (Stat News) 

Packed bars serve up new rounds of COVID contagion (Kaiser Health News)

Trump says the coronavirus is ‘going away.’ His own task force disagrees. (NBC News)

Republicans push Trump administration to step it up on coronavirus (Politico) 

 

State by state

Florida is seeing Covid-19 cases skyrocket among young people (CNN)

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest plans to sue NC Gov. Roy Cooper over coronavirus executive orders (News & Observer)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says Hamilton County’s coronavirus trend is ‘chilling’ (Cincinnati Enquirer) 

Arizona ‘overwhelmed’ with demand for tests as U.S. system shows strain (New York Times)