10 things you need to know today: July 22, 2020

1. U.S. single-day coronavirus deaths rise above 1,000

The U.S. coronavirus death toll rose by more than 1,000 on Tuesday for the first time since June 2, The Washington Post reported, citing data the newspaper compiled and analyzed. President Trump, who has insisted that the mortality rate is falling, struck a more somber tone as he restarted daily White House coronavirus briefings. "It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better," he said. The Post's analysis showed that the average daily number of deaths recorded in the country rose over most of July. As of early Wednesday, there had been 142,068 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with a total of just over 3.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The Washington Post Johns Hopkins University

2. Republicans begin negotiations on new coronavirus relief bill

Republican senators met Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to work on a new $1 trillion virus-relief proposal. The details remained unclear, although there is broad support for another round of stimulus checks for individuals, an extension of extra jobless benefits due to end July 31, and increased funding for coronavirus testing. Many lawmakers, however, oppose President Trump's push for a payroll tax cut. "We have a lot of work to do to get something passed by the end of next week," Mnuchin said. "That's our goal. Let's see if we can get there." After talking with senators, Mnuchin and Meadows met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Democrats support a larger, $3.5 trillion plan.

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Bloomberg

3. Trump tries to exclude undocumented immigrants in redistricting

President Trump on Tuesday signed a presidential memorandum calling for excluding undocumented immigrants from being counted when new congressional district maps are drawn next year. Trump said in the memorandum that he had "determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the president's discretion under the law." Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project said in a statement that the ACLU would challenge the policy. "(Trump's) latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional," Ho said. "We'll see him in court, and win, again."

CNN

4. Biden vows to spend $775 billion on caregivers

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a plan to spend $775 billion over 10 years to help provide caregiving programs for children, the elderly, and the disabled. The former vice president said the plan would help boost the coronavirus-ravaged economy by creating five million jobs. Biden said it also would include free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. "We're trapped in a caregiving crisis within an economic crisis within a health-care crisis," Biden told educators at a Delaware campaign event. "You're doing everything you can, but this president is not." Before the pandemic, President Trump suggested budgets to Congress with $1 billion to be spent on grants to help states build childcare and early-learning services.

Reuters

5. Study: Virus cases likely 6 to 24 times higher than reported

The actual number of U.S. coronavirus cases could be from six to 24 times higher than current confirmed total, according to a federal study published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study, based on data from 10 cities and states, concluded that the undercount could vary sharply in different places. The researchers looked at blood screens used to detect antibodies indicating previous exposure, rather than tests indicating current infection. The data supported a recent statement by Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that the true number of coronavirus cases was probably 10 times higher than the total of confirmed cases, currently 3.9 million. The researchers noted that it remained unclear how long people with coronavirus antibodies are immune to the virus, if at all.

Stat

6. Powerful Ohio House speaker charged in bribery case

Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) and four others in connection with a $60 million racketeering and bribery investigation. "This is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers. "This was bribery, plain and simple. This was a quid pro quo. This was pay to play." The charges are related to the defendants' alleged involvement in getting a bailout for two northern Ohio nuclear power plants that could cost the state's utility ratepayers $1 billion. The other people charged were lobbyists and Republican operatives. Householder is accused of creating an enterprise to collect money for those involved in the alleged conspiracy.

USA Today

7. U.S. tells China to close Houston consulate

The State Department confirmed early Wednesday that it had ordered China to close its Houston consulate within 72 hours, saying the move was necessary to protect American intellectual property and private information. Beijing said the U.S. was violating international law and threatened to retaliate unless Washington reverses the decision. The diplomatic clash escalated tensions between the world's two biggest economies. The Trump administration already has placed Cold-War-like travel rules on Chinese diplomats and required Chinese state news organizations to register as diplomatic entities. Within hours of the latest decision, consulate employees appeared to dump documents into flaming barrels, sending smoke billowing from a courtyard at the consulate. Houston fire and rescue crews responded to the scene but did not enter because the property is under Chinese sovereignty.

CNBC The New York Times

8. Dozens of Swedish doctors, scientists bash country's coronavirus approach

Dozens of Swedish doctors and scientists spoke out against their country's controversial coronavirus approach in an op-ed published Tuesday in USA Today. Citing Sweden's per capita death toll, which is higher than the United States and well above its fellow Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway — the experts lamented Stockholm's lax strategy that allowed the economy to go on mostly unimpeded during the pandemic and warned other nations against following the same path. "At the moment, we have set an example for the rest of the world on how not to deal with a deadly infectious disease," the piece reads. The signees did express optimism about potential breakthrough medical treatments and a vaccine, but until then, they said, don't do things "the Swedish way."

USA Today

9. Twitter bans 7,000 accounts in QAnon crackdown

Twitter on Tuesday said it is cracking down on accounts that spread the QAnon right-wing conspiracy theory, and has removed more than 7,000 of them over the last few weeks after they engaged in targeted harassment. A Twitter spokesperson told NBC News the company will stop recommending accounts and content related to QAnon and will keep QAnon information from appearing in trending topics or search results. It is also taking steps to keep QAnon followers from coordinating harassment campaigns against other people. Twitter said these actions will affect roughly 150,000 accounts. QAnon began with an anonymous person making the claim, without any evidence, that President Trump is fighting the "deep state," a group of Satan-worshiping elites who are part of an international child sex trafficking ring.

NBC News

10. Trump wishes Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell well

President Trump on Tuesday acknowledged knowing Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping sex offender Jeffrey Epstein recruit underage girls for abuse, and said he wished her well. "I wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach," Trump said. A judge last week denied Maxwell bail. Epstein committed suicide in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He and Maxwell socialized with rich and powerful people, including former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Trump. The president has denied he was friends with Epstein, although New York magazine quoted him in 2002 saying Epstein was "a lot of fun to be with."

The Washington Post