WHAT'S BREWING
WHITE EVANGELICALS 'MOST LIKELY' TO SUPPORT RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS About one-third of white evangelical Protestants ― a religious group with strong ties to Trump and the Republican Party ― support the idea of granting religious exemptions to stay-at-home-orders, according to a Public Religion Research Institute report. About one-quarter of nonwhite Protestants said the same, along with 18% of both white Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated of all races, and 15% of white mainline Protestants. [HuffPost]
OCASIO-CORTEZ WILL VOTE AGAINST STIMULUS BILL WITHOUT CHANGES Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she plans to vote against an emerging COVID-19 stimulus bill that Congress is negotiating with the White House. A draft of the bill reportedly includes new funding for hospitals, coronavirus testing and a small business loan program, but omits key progressive priorities. Ocasio-Cortez said her district’s suffering inspired her to insist upon more ambitious legislation. [HuffPost]
EX-RNC CHAIR FACT-CHECKS TRUMP ON COVID-19 PROTESTS Trump continues to defend people protesting stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele says those demonstrators aren’t just putting their own lives at risk, they’re also endangering the lives of vulnerable people around them. Trump claimed the demonstrators ― who are being goaded by right-wing media ― “love our country” and “want to get back to work.” [HuffPost]
U.S. MORE AT RISK THAN EVER OF MAJOR OIL SPILL On April 20, 2010 BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded while drilling an exploratory well off the coast of Louisiana. The catastrophic event killed 11 workers and unleashed more than 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico ― the largest oil spill in U.S. history. A decade later, experts and environmental advocates warn that the U.S. remains woefully unprepared for a major spill ― and is perhaps even more at risk of one due to the Trump administration’s relentless push to expand offshore drilling and gut environmental regulations. [HuffPost]
WHY SOME FARMERS ARE DITCHING LIVESTOCK AND GROWING PLANTS Experts have said we have to substantially reduce our meat production and consumption to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and improve population health. As people become increasingly aware of the environmental cost of raising livestock for food, plant-based diets are being embraced by the mainstream and alternative milks have gone from fringe request to flying off the shelves. Meanwhile, livestock farmers fear a war on their very ways of life. [HuffPost]
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS RAPIDLY GOING BROKE In communities around the country, schools may be the only institutions making sure that hungry children and their families are fed. They’ve opened grab-and-go lunch stations and started delivering meals to neighborhoods by bus. But some programs are also going broke, losing millions of dollars. School administrators fear that they’ll have to make deep cuts next year if the federal government doesn’t provide relief. [HuffPost] | 
