Trump Calls Birx 'Pathetic' | Explaining 'Black Supremacy'

1. Birx Becomes Political Football

She’s getting hit from both sides. White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx was called “the worst” by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and “pathetic” by President Donald Trump. In his first public insult of the immunology expert, Trump objected to Birx calling U.S. coronavirus infections “extraordinarily widespread,” complaining it was a reaction to Pelosi’s critique that Birx didn’t challenge presidential misinformation. Dr. Anthony Fauci supported Birx’s assessment, while presidential challenger Joe Biden promised to spend Monday mornings working with top disease experts, “not insulting them on Twitter.”

Sources: Washington Post, NYT, Fox News

2. New York Trump Probe Goes Beyond Hush Money

He may not be immune. New York state prosecutors say their investigation into President Trump’s finances is about more than making hush money payments with campaign contributions. Prosecutors seeking access to the president’s tax returns and other records are also aiming at unspecified “extensive and protracted criminal conduct” by the Trump Organization going back 10 years. Meanwhile, lawmakers are looking into how a Kansas-based trucking firm with White House connections, YRC Worldwide, became one of the largest beneficiaries of pandemic relief, despite an ongoing Justice Department fraud investigation.

Sources: CNN, NYT

3. Philippines Sends 27M Back Into Lockdown

The pandemic has picked up pace worldwide, with Philippine officials ordering 27 million people back into a partial lockdown, especially on the main island of Luzon. New restrictions in Melbourne, Australia, prompted opponents to bait police by not wearing masks and then attacking officers, resulting in one policewoman being hospitalized with serious head injuries. Australian authorities are deploying 500 members of the military to aid police with enforcement. Around the world, governments have reported some 18.2 million infections — 280,000 in the last day alone — and nearly 700,000 deaths.

Sources: Al Jazeera, ABC Australia

4. Trump Says He Wants a Piece of TikTok Deal

Is he an honest broker? First, President Trump threatened to ban China-based TikTok from the U.S. over worries it was too close to the Beijing government. Then he gave his blessing to Microsoft to acquire the video-sharing app’s stateside operations, along with those in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Now he’s saying the U.S. Treasury should get “key money” — an inducement normally paid to a landlord. Beijing reacted angrily, with an editorial in a state-run newspaper saying China would not accept the Trump administration’s “planned smash and grab,” and would respond accordingly.

Sources: CNBC, Bloomberg

5. Also Important …

Hurricane Isaias hit North Carolina late Monday, bringing 85 mph winds and heavy rains before weakening to a tropical storm. Reporting 803 deaths within 24 hours, India now has the world’s worst daily COVID-19 fatality total. And Israel says its warplanes struck Syrian targets in retaliation for an attempted bombing attack in the Golan Heights.

Coronavirus Update: The U.S., by far the nation suffering the worst effects of the pandemic, has exceeded 152,000 deaths out of nearly 4.7 million cases.

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6. ‘The Carlos Watson Show’ Hits 1M Views

Thank you to the OZY subscribers who helped The Carlos Watson Show hit over 1 MILLION VIEWS in the first 24 hours! As one viewer commented, "This is what true discussions should look like." If you haven't already, click here to watch episode one, featuring "the Risk Taker," aka potential VP pick Rep. Karen Bass. In an exclusive interview just days before Joe Biden’s expected announcement, Carlos spoke to her about her unlikely journey, what it would mean to be VP and the tragic loss that brought her closer to Biden. Watch now.

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1. Can Terry Crews Get Past ‘Black Supremacy’ Tweet?

It was “too soon.” That’s what the embattled comedian and America’s Got Talent host told OZY co-founder Carlos Watson during the latest episode of The Carlos Watson Show about his tweet: “Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy.” And while he apologized for the timing, Crews insists it needed to be said, arguing, “We, as Black people, have to be able to have these conversations.” That won’t stop fellow celebrities like Amanda Seales from calling Crews an “enemy of the people” and worse, but Crews is committed to keeping the discussion open.

Sources: OZY

2. Northern Irish Peacemaker John Hume Dies

As head of Northern Ireland’s leading Catholic party, he helped bring an end to decades of violence pitting his people against Protestants and the British government. Hume died yesterday in a Londonderry nursing home at age 83 after a long illness. Instrumental in peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement ending the Northern Ireland conflict, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 along with Protestant leader David Trimble. The current leader of Hume’s party, Colum Eastwood, said he “taught us that it is far better to live for Ireland than to die for Ireland.” Hume’s funeral is planned for Wednesday in Londonderry.

Sources: Washington Post, Irish Times, BBC, UPI

3. Airliner Taxis Back to Gate for Mask Scofflaws

This won’t fly. Delta Airlines confirmed Monday that two passengers were kicked off a July 23 Detroit-to-Atlanta flight for refusing to mask up — even though the plane was headed to the runway and had to return to the gate to remove them. Face-covering is the rule on all U.S. airlines, but the incident hammers home how seriously carriers are taking it. Delta said it has added 120 people to its no-fly list for refusing to wear masks. The airline also said it was expanding employee safeguards to include home testing, especially for those in pandemic-slammed Florida and Texas.

Sources: CBS, Business Insider

4. Taylor Swift Crushes Records With New Album

It’s the 1. In fact, Swift’s new album Folklore has the distinction of being the first to debut atop the Billboard 200 the same week that one of its cuts, “Cardigan,” crowned the Hot 100 chart. Two other Folklore songs, “The 1” and “Exile,” featuring Bon Iver, landed at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively, while the album’s other 13 tracks also made the Hot 100. But the pop/country/folk siren has apologized for album merchandise mirroring a logo from a Black designer and pledged to change her products and make donations to the designer and the Black Fashion Council.

Sources: The Week, Forbes, USA Today

5. Refs Can Now Eject Soccer Players for Coughing

You should have that checked. The International Football Association Board says referees can issue red cards for players deliberately coughing on other players or officials. The board lumped coughing in with insulting language and gestures, saying refs will evaluate whether coughs are sanctionable. “Clearly accidental” coughing is permitted, but players who cough “close enough to be clearly offensive” can be booted from the pitch. Outside of the stadium, coughing can be a crime: A Florida woman was arrested after being caught on video intentionally coughing on a brain tumor patient in a Jacksonville store.

Sources: Australian AP, Miami Herald