The Rundown: Florida Sets Record For New Cases Reported

NATIONAL DEATH RATE INCREASING: Florida on Sunday reported 15,299 new coronavirus cases, breaking the previous daily record by a state which had been set by California five days earlier, with 11,694 new cases. That came as two top officials in Houston called for the city to lock down again, as hospitals have been inundated there with coronavirus patients. Houston's Harris County has been hit hardest by the virus in Texas, and Harris County Judge Line Hidalgo tweeted yesterday, "Not only do we need a stay home order now, but we need to stick with it this time until the hospitalization curve comes down, not just flattens." Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned on Friday that the state would need to lock down more if the numbers of cases doesn't go down.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths nationally from the coronavirus, which had been falling for months, even as cases began surging in recent weeks in Southern and Western states, including most prominently Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, has started to rise again. Since people usually die from the virus several weeks after first becoming infected, experts had expected an increase in deaths to follow the rise in cases. An AP analysis shows the seven-day rolling average for daily deaths from the virus in the U.S. has risen from 578 two weeks ago to 664 on July 10th. However, that's still significantly below its peak in April. There have been more than 135,200 deaths in the U.S. as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 3,304,000 confirmed cases.

NYC Reports No Coronavirus Deaths for First time Since Mid-March: New York City on Sunday reported no confirmed or probable coronavirus deaths for the first time since March 11th, when it had its first fatality. New York City was once the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., and had a peak of daily deaths on April 7th with 597.

White House Targeting Fauci: The White House is targeting Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, with several news organizations saying over the weekend that a White House official told them, quote, "several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things." The official also listed examples -- which CNN described as resembling "opposition research on a political opponent" -- that included Fauci downplaying the virus early on and saying in March, "People should not be walking around with masks." The attempt to discredit Fauci comes as he and Trump are reportedly no longer speaking and as Fauci has openly disagreed with Trump in some recent interviews. Trump has also recently spoken out against Fauci, saying last week, "Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes."

More than a dozen sailors and several civilians hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after explosion on Navy ship in San Diego, officials say. https://t.co/DhN6Gl61pU pic.twitter.com/KIsSOQY5kl

— ABC News (@ABC) July 13, 2020

➤EXPLOSION AND FIRE ON SHIP AT SAN DIEGO NAVY BASE LEAVES 21 INJURED: There was an explosion and fire on board a U.S. Navy ship at Naval Base San Diego Sunday morning that left 21 people injured. A Navy spokesman said 17 sailors and four civilians were hospitalized with non-life threatening injures. The cause of the explosion and fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard, a 23-year-old amphibious assault vessel, is being investigated, with Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck telling the San Diego Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored. The Bonhomme Richard was at its home port undergoing routine maintenance.

Robert Mueller

➤GRAHAM TO ASK MUELLER TO TESTIFY, AFTER MUELLER'S OP-ED FOLLOWING TRUMP'S COMMUTATION OF STONE'S SENTENCE: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he will grant a request by the panel's Democrats to ask former Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before them about his investigation. That comes after Mueller on Saturday made a rare public statement with a Washington Post op-ed following the commutation of Roger Stone's prison sentence a day earlier by President Trump. In the op-ed, Mueller defended his office's prosecution of Stone, a longtime friend and confidante of Trump, and said that despite the commutation, Stone is still a convicted felon, quote, "rightly so." Stone was convicted on seven felony counts, including lying to Congress and witness intimidation, in an effort to thwart Mueller's Russia probe, which prosecutors said Stone did to protect Trump. Stone had been set to report to prison this week to begin a 40-month sentence.

➤FEDERAL GOV'T.'S FIRST EXECUTION IN 17 YEARS SCHEDULED FOR TODAY: The federal government's first execution in 17 years is set to take place today after a federal appeals court lifted an injunction yesterday. The scheduled execution of Daniel Lewis Lee at a federal prison in Indiana this afternoon is taking place over the objection of the victims' family, who have long asked that he be given a life sentence. Lee was convicted in Arkansas for the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her eight-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. Two other federal executions are scheduled for later this week. Attorney General William Barr announced last year that an informal moratorium on federal capital punishment would end. The federal government has executed only three people since restoring the federal death penalty in 1988, the most recent in 2003.

➤LORI LOUGHLIN AND MOSSIMO GIANNULLI SELL HOME: Amid their college admissions scandal, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli listed their Bel-Air home for $28.65 million. The house recently sold for considerably less, People reports, though the amount was not specified. The pair purchased the home for $14 million in 2015. The pair pleaded guilty to paying $500,000 to get their daughters falsely designated crew recruits at University of Southern California. Loughlin and Giannulli face two months and five months in prison respectively.

Washington’s NFL team to announce Monday it will no longer be named the Redskins https://t.co/WEVUOwJr6Y

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 13, 2020

➤REPORTS: REDSKINS TO ANNOUNCE CHANGING NAME TODAY: The Washington Redskins will announce today that they are changing their name, according to media reports last night. However, Sports Business Daily, which first reported the news yesterday, said the new name won't be announced today because trademark issues are still pending. Despite calls for years from Native American organizations and others to change the name, which many consider offensive, team owner Dan Snyder had resisted. But after coming under pressure from prominent sponsors, the team said earlier this month that they were launching a "thorough review" of the name, which the NFL said it supported. 

Meanwhile, ESPN reported that MLB's Atlanta Braves said in an email to season-ticket holders yesterday that they won't be changing their name, but are considering whether to continue with the tomahawk chop rally motion that fans do in the stands.

➤NASCAR ROOKIE CUSTER WINS AT KENTUCKY: Cole Custer won the Quaker State 400 on Sunday at Kentucky Speedway, the 22-year-old's first career NASCAR Cup Series win, making him the first rookie regular to win in the Cup Series in nearly four years. Custer made a final-lap pass to grab the lead and get the win, beating out Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick.