Friday, July 30 top stories

It is Friday, July 30. Here are today’s top stories.

The New York Times obtained an internal CDC document that said the Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and more contagious than the viruses that cause Ebola, the common cold, seasonal flu, and smallpox. The CDC said “the war has changed” because of the Delta variant’s ability to spread.

Today the CDC published data of a cluster of cases from the Cape Cod, Massachusetts area after the Fourth of July. There were 469 cases and 74% of the infected were vaccinated. Five people in that group were hospitalized, four of them vaccinated. None of them died.

The CDC said the viral load in the vaccinated people with breakthrough cases was similar to the level seen in unvaccinated people. This means that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can spread the virus, and this is the main reason why the CDC is recommending people to wear masks again in areas of high or substantial transmission. Those who are vaccinated are far less at risk of severe illness or death.

Politico said this is a “painful setback for the Biden administration” and said there is criticism towards the CDC for being too quick to drop masking recommendations in May.

About 200 interpreters from Afghanistan who worked for U.S. troops during the war have arrived in the U.S. BBC said they are the first group of about 2,500 Afghans being evacuated as the Taliban advances in the country. The U.S. Senate has authorized over $1 billion in funds to pay for the evacuations.

BBC said fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan government forces has increased over the past two months as U.S. and international troops pull out of the country. Those who used to work with American troops are at risk of retaliation.

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House Democrats released a handwritten document that says former President Donald Trump made a phone call on December 27 to press the then-attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen to “just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the R Congressmen.” The DOJ at the time had already said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

The notes were written by the then-AG Rosen’s deputy, Richard Donoghue.

Axios explained that the notes were released by the House Oversight Committee, who are investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election based on conspiracy theories about voter fraud. The chair of the committee, Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), said the notes show that Trump wanted to overturn a free and fair election in the final days of his presidency.

Axios reported that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will issue an executive order to bar local school districts from requiring students to wear masks when they return to school next month. The Broward County (Fort. Lauderdale area) school district board recently passed a new mask mandate due to updated CDC guidelines, which say all teachers, staff, and students should wear masks in K-12 schools.

DeSantis said masks should be a parent’s decision, not the government’s. He said he wanted to see his kids smiling and having fun. This is causing many to be concerned because every county in Florida is considered “high transmission” with Covid-19 infections.

The U.S. women’s soccer team defeated the Netherlands in penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals in Tokyo 2020. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is hailed as the hero for making two saves in penalties, paving the way for star Megan Rapinoe to seal the win with the fourth kick.

The U.S. team will play against Canada on Monday at 4 a.m. ET.

That is all the top stories for today. Have a good weekend and stay with the light.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/health/covid-cdc-delta-masks.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/30/cdc-releases-data-behind-latest-mask-guidelines-501791

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58019650.amp

https://www.axios.com/trump-voter-fraud-doj-pressure-42191546-f6b7-4e76-a833-274dca8e2f7a.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/us/politics/trump-justice-department-election.html

https://www.axios.com/covid-masks-florida-schools-desantis-1ed7d9c7-817a-47a9-8b62-06f2f056030d.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/uswnt-beats-netherlands-on-penalties-to-reach-olympic-semifinals