An Ignoble Experiment: Global COVID-19 death toll now about equal to population of Los Angeles

By Liza Hearon

TOP STORIES

Thursday, July 8

PANDEMIC BECOMES RACE BETWEEN VACCINE AND DELTA VARIANT The global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 4 million Wednesday as countries race to vaccinate their populations while the mutant delta version spreads rapidly. The death toll is about equal to the population of Los Angeles or the nation of Georgia, but is likely to be an undercount. [AP]

POLICE KILL, ARREST SUSPECTS IN ASSASSINATION OF HAITIAN PRESIDENT A squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home Wednesday, with police killing four suspects and arresting two others hours later, plunging the nation into further chaos. Your questions about the situation are answered here. [AP]

TRUMP'S 'BIG TECH' LAWSUITS COULD LEAD TO HIS TESTIMONY Former President Donald Trump defended the domestic terrorists who assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6 as he announced lawsuits against social media companies. Experts say the cases are likely to be dismissed, but if not, Trump could be forced to explain his actions that day. [HuffPost]

FLORIDA CONDO SEARCH EFFORTS SHIFT FROM RESCUE TO RECOVERY Emergency workers who have spent 14 days pulling apart the rubble of a collapsed condo building near Miami said they were switching from rescue to recovery mode. "Our sole responsibility at this point is to bring closure," said Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah. [AP]

California Capitol reinstates mask mandate.
Thirteen TikToks about the real, funny struggle of returning to an office.
Americans purge pandemic wardrobes as life returns to normal.
Olympic torch relay scrapped over virus concerns.
Juvenile, Mannie Fresh recreate classic with pro-vaccine song "Vax That Thang Up."

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THEY REJECTED DEMOCRACY THEN CALLED THEMSELVES PATRIOTS The 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on lies about voter fraud spent the July Fourth holiday weekend boasting about their love for the U.S., a HuffPost review of their social media accounts found. You can find all of their messages collected here. [HuffPost]

1 DEAD AS TROPICAL STORM ELSA HITS A weakened but resilient Tropical Storm Elsa killed at least one person in Florida and injured several others when a possible tornado struck a campground at a Navy base in southeast Georgia. Elsa will move over Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina today. [AP]

WHAT'S BREWING

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING WINS STANLEY CUP FOR 2ND YEAR The Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Wednesday night to end the Stanley Cup final in five games. Captain Steven Stamkos hoisted the Cup in front of 18,110 fans -- 18,110 more than the last time he did back in September. [AP]

RUDY GIULIANI SUSPENDED FROM PRACTICING LAW IN D.C. Rudy Giuliani was suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C., just two weeks after he was barred from doing so in New York over his many lies related to the 2020 election. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals said the order would remain in effect until disciplinary hearings in New York concluded. [HuffPost]

SPONSOR OF 'BREONNA'S LAW' ANNOUNCES RUN FOR CONGRESS Progressive community activist Attica Scott announced a primary challenge to Rep. John Yarmuth, setting up a showdown against the powerful Kentucky Democrat who is now chairman of the House Budget Committee. If she wins, it would be the first time Kentucky sends a Black lawmaker to Congress. [HuffPost]

SENATOR SHARES PHOTOS OF INSURRECTION WRECKAGE Shattered glass. Overturned chairs. Broken furniture. This was some of the wreckage at the Capitol after the violent riot of Jan. 6, captured in newly released photos from Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. It was no "normal tourist visit," as Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde (Ga.) had tried to describe the events during a committee hearing on the insurrection in May. [HuffPost]

JUDGE: AIR FORCE LARGELY AT FAULT FOR TEXAS CHURCH MASSACRE A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is largely to blame for a former airman carrying out Texas' worst modern mass shooting after it failed to enter the gunman's criminal history into a federal background database, allowing him to legally purchase firearms. The judge's ruling is in response to survivors and victims' families filing a civil lawsuit against the federal government over the massacre that killed 26 people. [HuffPost]

PSAKI SLAMS SIDELINING OF SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON The complete sidelining of U.S. track star Sha'Carri Richardson from the Tokyo Olympics stinks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki agreed. "We know the rules are where they are; maybe we should take another look at them," Psaki suggested. [HuffPost]