Stranger Than Fiction

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• Coronavirus Cases Top 9.1 Million Globally; Second Wave Hits Seoul “Rising infections in the U.S. bring nationwide confirmed cases to more than 2.3 million and the death toll to more than 121,000. South Korean health authorities said 30 of the country’s 46 new infections were imported.” - WSJ

• Price-Transparency Rule Covering Hospitals Upheld “The American Hospital Association lost its legal bid to stop the Trump administration from requiring hospitals to disclose secret rates they negotiate with insurance companies, a victory for President Trump’s health policy.” - WSJ

• Fauci Warns of Dangerous Winter Ahead for COVID-19 “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci told Congress on Tuesday that he was seeing a “disturbing surge” of infections in some parts of the country, as Americans ignore social distancing guidelines and states reopen without adequate plans for testing and tracing the contacts of those who get sick.” - NYT

• Prosecutor to tell Congress of pressure from ‘highest levels’ of Justice Dept. to cut Roger Stone ‘a break’ “House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler wants the attorney general to testify in the Democrats’ investigation into what they warn is dangerous politicization at the agency.” - WaPo

• Seven states report highest coronavirus hospitalizations since pandemic began

WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO

• Investigation: On June 1, two military helicopters roared over demonstrators in Washington, producing winds equivalent to a tropical storm. The Post reconstructed their movements using flight-tracking data, images and videos.

• The WSJ tested a bunch of new coronavirus contact-tracing apps. It didn’t go so well. An MIT app mistakenly traced a reporter to the Gulf of Guinea, hundreds of miles off the coast of Ghana.

• President Trump took office as an unknown quantity in China. Soon, donors with ties to the Chinese state showed up in Washington seeking access.

THE COMMENT

“America has not benefited from great national leadership during this pandemic. We have endured denials of risk, confusing information and inadequate tools, with tragic consequences: needless deaths, shamefully inequitable outcomes for minority communities, and widespread fear and anxiety. But we need not succumb to fear. Instead, we should harness it to minimize transmission while making judicious efforts to serve higher goals — educating our children, reducing inequities, and doing what we can to support local businesses and each other — to avoid compounding the tragedy.” - Abigail Marsh

THE STRANGEST

• Police look for woman who deliberately coughed on a 1-year-old baby after argument with mother

THE AV ROOM