10 things you need to know today: July 1, 2020

1. Fauci warns U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Congress on Tuesday that the number of new COVID-19 cases is "going in the wrong direction." He said that unless Americans "turn around" the situation, the number of new cases could soar from about 40,000 a day to 100,000. With infections surging in much of the West and South, Fauci said, public health experts and local leaders around the country will have to follow key recommendations on fighting the spread of COVID-19 if they hope to resume normal activities like opening schools. Fauci said he couldn't make a specific prediction about the final U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic, "but it's going to be very disturbing."

CNBC The Associated Press

2. Hong Kong police make first arrests under new security law

Hong Kong police announced Wednesday that they had made their first arrests for violations of China's new national security law. The law, which China's top legislative decision-making body passed on Tuesday, says that anyone "undermining national unification" between Hong Kong and mainland China faces up to life in prison. The law would have covered many of the pro-democracy protests that have been taking place in Hong Kong since last year. Still, demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" in the streets on Wednesday, marking the 23rd anniversary of the former British colony's 1997 handover from the U.K. to Chinese rule. Police said more than 70 people were arrested for participating in "unauthorized assemblies."

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CNBC

3. EU to reopen borders to 14 countries, U.S. excluded

The European Union announced Tuesday that it will open its external borders Wednesday after finalizing a list of 14 countries — including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Canada — whose residents will now be able to travel to the bloc for non-essential reasons amid the coronavirus pandemic. The United States, along with Russia, Brazil, and India, has been left off the list (with exceptions) for at least 14 days due to surging infections, while China's inclusion is "subject to confirmation of reciprocity." The policy, which is based on country of residence rather than nationality, isn't legally binding. Member states could theoretically allow travelers from non-approved countries, but the EU could retaliate by closing borders within the bloc, hampering the reopening of free trade and travel.

The New York Times The Associated Press

4. Supreme Court rules religious schools can get state aid

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it is unconstitutional for states to deny religious schools state benefits available to other private schools. The 5-4 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, chipped away at the separation between church and state, potentially affecting laws or constitutional provisions in more than two-thirds of the United States. The decision marked a victory for the Trump administration, which has pushed for more taxpayer support for religious schools and their students. Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the teachers' union National Education Association, called the decision a disaster. "An extreme Supreme Court just joined the far-right effort to undermine one of our country's most cherished democratic institutions: public education," she said. The case involved a Montana program offering tax credits to anyone donating to private schools.

NBC News

5. McGrath wins Democratic nomination to challenge McConnell

Former Marine pilot Amy McGrath on Tuesday was declared the winner of the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Kentucky. McGrath was considered the favorite throughout the campaign, but had to fend off a challenge from progressive Charles Booker. In-person voting took place on June 23, but it took a week to confirm the result because the race was close and there was a flood of mail-in ballots. McGrath now will be the Democratic challenger trying to unseat Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. That contest is expected to be hard fought and expensive. Booker's campaign did not immediately comment, but McGrath reached out to his supporters, saying the differences separating Democrats "are nothing compared to the chasm that exists between us" and McConnell.

The Washington Post The Associated Press

6. Biden says Trump has failed in coronavirus response

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, denounced President Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying Trump has "surrendered" to the virus. Biden criticized Trump for his refusal to wear a mask in public, although others in the administration have stressed the importance of wearing them when social distancing is difficult. "You have a moral obligation," Biden said. "It's to protect other people. And it's called patriotism." Before Biden's speech, his campaign released an updated plan for fighting the pandemic to make up for "the current circumstances we face as a result of President Trump's persistent failures." The plan calls for keeping Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, on the job, and giving him "an uncensored platform to speak directly to the American people."

The New York Times

7. Trump-appointed judge strikes down his 3rd-country asylum immigration rule

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night struck down President Trump's third-country asylum rule in the latest setback for Trump's hardline immigration policies. The rule, enacted in 2019, effectively prevents mostly Central American migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. unless they have first sought asylum in Mexico. Kelly, appointed by Trump in 2017, said the Trump administration failed to comply with the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in what amounted to a wrongful attempt to sidestep the Immigration and Nationality Act, which Kelly said generally allows those reaching U.S. soil to apply for asylum. Kelly wrote that courts defer to presidents in many circumstances, "but determining the scope of an APA exception is not one of them."

NBC News

8. Hickenlooper wins nomination to challenge GOP Sen. Cory Gardner

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper beat former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to win the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner in the November election. Hickenlooper, popular after serving two terms as governor, out-raised Romanoff by roughly 7-to-1, scoring a victory for moderates in their latest showdown with candidates pushing progressive policies such as single-payer health care. Gardner is considered one of the Senate's most vulnerable Republicans, because of the state's recent shift to the left. In a GOP primary, a far-right challenger upset five-term incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.). The challenger, bar owner Lauren Boebert, will face Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush. In Oklahoma, voters narrowly approved a state constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid to 200,000 residents under the Affordable Care Act.

USA Today The Washington Post

9. Judge temporarily blocks Trump niece's tell-all book

A New York judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a tell-all book by President Trump's niece, Mary Trump. The president's younger brother, Robert Trump, requested the restraining order, arguing that Mary Trump was barred from writing the book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, because of a non-disclosure agreement she signed with other family members. Another court had declined to rule in the case, but Judge Hal B. Greenwald put a hold on the book's release and set a July 10 date to hear arguments on whether the book should be released. Mary Trump and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, have argued that barring publication permanently would violate her First Amendment rights.

USA Today

10. Carl Reiner, creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, dies at 98

Comedy legend Carl Reiner has died at age 98, his assistant confirmed Tuesday. Reiner died of natural causes on Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills. Reiner got his start acting in Broadway musicals, but moved on to write, direct, produce, and act in classic sitcoms and films. He worked on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour in the 1950s, then in 1961 created one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, The Dick Van Dyke Show. He also acted in the series. Reiner also directed movies, including Oh, God! and several Steve Martin films, including The Jerk and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. His acting credits included the Ocean's Eleven trilogy. Reiner won nine Emmy Awards, and a Grammy.

TMZ People