10 things you need to know today: June 24, 2020

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1. Fauci 'quite concerned' about coronavirus surge
2. Ex-prosecutor: Stone sentence reduced because U.S. attorney 'afraid' of Trump
3. EU reportedly prepared to block Americans from entry after borders reopen
4. Brooks mourned in Atlanta funeral at MLK's former church
5. Strong earthquake hits Mexico's Oaxaca state, killing at least 5
6. Absentee ballots to decide 2 key Democratic primaries
7. Obama, Biden bring in $11 million in virtual fundraiser
8. Trump family asks court to block book by president's niece
9. FBI says NASCAR's Bubba Wallace was not targeted by 'noose' in garage
10. Tennis champion Novak Djokovic tests positive for COVID-19

published 24 June 2020

1. Fauci 'quite concerned' about coronavirus surge

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday he is "quite concerned" about a "disturbing" surge in COVID-19 cases in numerous states. Fauci, testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said some states are "doing really well," while others are "in trouble," noting that Arizona, Texas, and Florida have just reported a record number of new coronavirus cases. Fauci said the White House coronavirus task force had never been told to scale back testing, contradicting President Trump's assertion at his Saturday rally in Tulsa that he had ordered a testing slowdown to reduce the rise in new cases. Aides later said Trump was joking, but Trump said Tuesday, "I don't kid."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky said in prepared congressional testimony to be delivered Wednesday that Attorney General William Barr and other top DOJ officials pushed for favorable treatment of Republican operative Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Trump, because of his "relationship with the President." Zelinsky said prosecutors involved in Stone's trial for lying to Congress faced "heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break" and request a light sentence. Zelinsky, one of four federal prosecutors who withdrew from the case, also will testify that then-acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea complied with pressure and reduced Stone's sentencing recommendation. Zelinsky says he was "explicitly told" Shea was "afraid of the president."

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The European Union is preparing to open its borders on July 1, but will reportedly continue blocking Americans from entering because a recent surge in new COVID-19 cases shows the U.S.'s infection rate is still too high. The EU is compiling two potential lists of countries — one that only includes nations with an infection rate lower than the EU average of 16 per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, and another with some that are slightly higher (the U.S. is at 107), although that's not the sole criterion for which countries will be allowed. Either way, the U.S. seems likely to join Russia, Brazil, and China on the list of countries whose travelers will be denied entry. Brussels will reportedly be revising the list every two weeks, so any ban could be lifted as soon as a country's infection rates drop.

Scores of people mourned Rayshard Brooks, a black man fatally shot in the back by a white police officer, at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King once preached. Brooks was shot after struggling, grabbing an officer's non-lethal Taser, and running when two officers tried to arrest him for DUI in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant. "We are here because individuals continue to hide behind badges and trainings and policies and procedures rather than regarding the humanity of others in general and Black lives specifically," the Rev. Bernice King, the civil rights leader's daughter, told the mourners. Shortly after the service, police took into a custody a woman, Natalie White, who was one of several people suspected of setting fire to the Wendy's after Brooks' death.

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca on Tuesday, killing at least five people. Several hospitals treating COVID-19 patients suffered unspecified damages. The tremor was felt as far as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami alert covering Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and minor tsunamis were reported in Acapulco (2.2 feet) and Salina Cruz (2.3 feet). Mexican authorities said within hours of the quake, magnitude 5.2 aftershocks shook Oaxaca. Damage in Oaxaca state was classified as light to moderate on the U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap.

Voters went to the polls in five states on Tuesday, and two key Democratic primaries remained too close to call. It could take a week to determine the winners of a Kentucky primary to pick the Democrat who will challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R). Party favorite Amy McGrath, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, led state Rep. Charles Booker, a progressive candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), by nine percentage points with most in-person ballots counted. The final count will take days because many people voted absentee due to the coronavirus pandemic. In another showdown between the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive wings, 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel of New York trailed educator Jamaal Bowman by 31 percent to 65 percent, although absentee ballots won't be counted for a week.

During their first joint fundraiser of 2020, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden brought in more than $11 million for Biden's campaign. Obama, in his first campaign appearance with Biden since endorsing him in April, warned Democrats not to be "complacent or smug" heading into the November election. Donors were told they could give any amount in order to participate in the virtual event on Tuesday, and the Biden campaign said more than 175,000 grassroots contributors gave a total of $7.6 million. There was a separate online event for donors who gave large amounts of money, The Guardian reports, and that brought in more than $3.4 million. This was the most money Biden has raised during a single event since he launched his campaign.

President Trump's family on Tuesday asked a court to block publication of a book by Mary Trump, the president's niece. Her tell-all book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, is due to be published July 28 by Simon & Schuster. The publisher says the book by the daughter of President Trump's late brother, Fred Trump Jr., provides a revealing portrait of President Trump "and the toxic family that made him." President Trump's younger brother, Robert Trump, requested a temporary restraining order, saying his niece was violating a nondisclosure agreement signed to settle the estate of his father, Fred Trump Sr. Mary Trump's lawyer said the family was violating the First Amendment by trying to "suppress" an important book.

The FBI determined Tuesday that no federal hate crime charges were warranted over a pull rope tied into a noose on the door of a Talladega Superspeedway garage assigned to Bubba Wallace, the NASCAR's only fulltime black driver. NASCAR said agents sent to investigate found that the pull rope had been tied that way since last fall, long before Wallace's team was given the garage to use in a race this week. "We appreciate the FBI's quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba," NASCAR said in a statement. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing."

Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic announced Tuesday that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19. The news came after Djokovic organized and played in a series of exhibition matches in Serbia and Croatia, where crowds and competitors did not practice social distancing despite the coronavirus pandemic. Djokovic was the fourth player infected after playing in the exhibitions. Djokovic previously criticized tennis officials for planned safety measures and in May broke local lockdown rules by practicing at a tennis club a week before lockdown restrictions were lifted. "Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with," Djokovic said in a Tuesday statement. "I am extremely sorry for each individual case of infection."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.