The Rundown: States Hit New Virus Highs

The nation's three biggest states -- California, Florida and Texas -- yesterday reported their largest single-day deaths from the coronavirus since the pandemic began, as they, along with Texas, are accounting for about 50 percent of new U.S. cases amid the ongoing surge across the South and West. The total number of U.S. deaths was more than 133,200 as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and the number of confirmed cases was more than 3,117,00. In state developments yesterday:

• Texas' 105 reported deaths was a new single-day high for the state, and Governor Greg Abbott warned the numbers might be worse next week. The state also reported a new high for hospitalizations for the 10th straight day.
• Florida reported 120 new deaths, its highest one-day total, and had its biggest 24-hour jump in hospitalizations, with 409 new patients admitted. Nearly 50 hospitals in the state had intensive care units at full capacity.
• Arizona reported 75 more deaths and more than 4,000 new confirmed cases, as the state reported new highs for hospitalizations and use of ventilators.
• Mississippi's five largest hospitals had no more intensive care unit beds available and four more had five percent or less open. Governor Tate Reeves said he will require people to wear masks in public places starting next week in the 13 counties with the highest increases in cases.
• Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said face masks will be required in public places starting today, as his state had two of the highest days of confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
• New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that indoor restaurant service will be stopped, state parks closed to non-residents, and fall season contact sports like football and soccer suspended at schools. Her orders came as cases have been surging in New Mexico and neighboring Texas and Arizona.

CDC Head: Won't Revise School Guidelines: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Dr. Robert Redfield said yesterday that the CDC won't revise its coronavirus guidelines for reopening schools, despite President Trump's criticism of them the day before as being too "tough," "expensive" and "impractical," and Vice President Mike Pence saying revised guidelines would be issued next week. Redfield said on Good Morning America they will instead be providing more information for states, local communities and parents, stating, "It’s really important, it’s not a revision of the guidelines, it’s just to provide additional information to help . . . use the guidance that we put forward." Trump has been pressuring state and local officials to reopen schools with in-person classes in the fall, including threatening to withhold federal funds if they don't.

WHO: Coronavirus May Spread Through the Air: The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday acknowledged the possibility that the coronavirus may spread under certain conditions via small respiratory particles that are exhaled by infected people and can float in the air. That came after more than 200 scientists urged them in an open letter to do so and revise their guidance. WHO has long dismissed the possibility of airborne transmission, but said studies have suggested it might happen, quote, "particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time."

➤SCOTUS RULES TRUMP CAN'T BLOCK RELEASE OF FINANCIAL RECORDS: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday (that President Trump can't block release of his financial records to a New York prosecutor or to Congress, rejecting the argument that he has immunity by virtue of his position as president. However, the justices returned the two cases to lower courts for further review, and it's unlikely that Trump's taxes or other financial records will be made public until at least after the election -- if at all.

NY Times 7/10/2020

Both cases -- the Manhattan district attorney seeking Trump's tax records and Congress seeking his banking and other financial records -- were decided in 7-2 decisions, with two of the conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissenting. It's unclear when a lower court judge might order the DA's subpoena to be enforced, and in the case related to Congress, Chief Justice John Roberts said lower courts need to again review the case, writing, "Congressional subpoenas for information from the President, however, implicate special concerns regarding the separation of powers. The courts below did not take adequate account of those concerns." Trump blasted the decision in a series of tweets, declaring, "It's a pure witch hunt, it’s a hoax."

➤CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS IN AUDIO FROM PROBE OF BREONNA TAYLOR'S DEATH: Audio from the internal investigation into the March shooting death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor by police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home was released yesterday that shows conflicting accounts of whether police identified themselves before breaking down Taylor's door.

Breona Taylor

The police were executing a warrant in a drug investigation that night when they broke down the door and ultimately shot Taylor eight times, killing her.

In the audio first obtained by NBC News, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, says in an interview with Louisville police on the night of the shooting said that there were multiple knocks on the door but no answer to both him and Taylor repeatedly shouting, "Who is it?"

Walker said as they walked toward the door, it was broken down and he fired a shot from his gun, saying, "I'm trying to protect her," and that he didn't realize until later that they were police officers. A lot of shots were fired by police in return and Walker said they dropped to the floor and his gun fell. Taylor was killed in the volley of bullets. Walker's gunshot hit Sergeant John Mattingly in the leg. The audio tapes also include an interview with Mattingly, conducted 12 days after the incident, in which he said the officers identified themselves repeatedly before breaking down the door. No drugs were found in the home of Taylor, who was an emergency medical technician.

➤SUPREME COURT RULES LARGE PART OF OKLAHOMA STILL AN INDIAN RESERVATION: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a large part of eastern Oklahoma is still an American Indian reservation, meaning state prosecutors can't pursue criminal cases against Native American defendants in areas of Oklahoma that are part of the reservation, which includes most of Tulsa.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who sided with the high court's liberal in the 5-4 decision, wrote, "On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise. Forced to leave their ancestral lands in Georgia and Alabama, the Creek Nation received assurances that their new lands in the West would be secure forever. . . . Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word." The Muscogee (Creek) Nation reservation once was made up of three million acres. State and federal officials had warned such a decision court could throw Oklahoma into chaos, but the state of Oklahoma issued a joint statement with the Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole nations in which they pledged to work together on an agreement to address any unresolved jurisdictional issues resulting from the decision.

➤BIG TEN WON'T PLAY NONCONFERENCE GAMES DUE TO PANDEMIC: The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday that it won't play any nonconference games in football and several other sports this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said just playing conference games makes it "much easier" in terms of things like scheduling and traveling. However, the conference said this plan would would only be implemented, quote, "if the conference is able to participate in fall sports." Warren said, "We may not have sports in the fall." The other sports affected include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball.

Nashville's MLS team has pulled out from the 'MLS Is Back' tournament in Orlando, Florida after nine players tested positive for COVID-19. https://t.co/ueCpgOxpFz

— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) July 10, 2020

➤NASHVILLE PULLS OUT OF MLS IS BACK DUE TO NINE WITH CORONAVIRUS: Major League Soccer announced yesterday that Nashville SC had pulled out of the MLS is Back tournament after nine players tested positive for the coronavirus. They are the second team to withdraw from the tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World, with FC Dallas pulling out earlier after 10 players and a coach tested positive. After the opening match was played Wednesday, there was two games yesterday, with the Philadelphia Union beating New York City FC 1-0, and the New England Revolution beating the Montreal Impact 1-0.

➤NBA PRACTICES BEGIN AT DISNEY WORLD COMPLEX: Full-scale NBA practices began at the Disney World complex on Thursday, with the Orlando Magic the first team to hit the court after being the first team to arrive earlier this week. All 22 teams participating in the NBA's restart from its coronavirus shutdown were to be at the complex by the end of the day, and by Saturday, all should have practiced at least once. Exhibition games will start on July 22nd, and real games on July 30th.