Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Chris King, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, is launching a new discussion series aimed at boosting progressive candidates ahead of the upcoming elections.
“Let’s Talk” debuts Sunday at 7 p.m. with Senate hopeful and current state Rep. Shevrin Jones taking top billing.
The show will stream live on Facebook weekly and focused on addressing the most significant challenges facing Florida and the nation while highlighting the campaigns and candidates King is backing this cycle.
Jones’ episode will see the pair talk about health care, the COVID-19 crisis, racial justice, economic opportunity as well as Jones’ campaign for SD 35.
The headliners for the next three episodes, all set to air ahead of the Aug. 18 primary: HD 70 candidate Michele Rayner, HD 14 candidate Angie Nixon and HD 88 candidate Omari Hardy.
King has endorsed all four for election — Rayner and Jones earlier this cycle and Hardy and Nixon on Tuesday.
After the primary, the series will continue with new guests weekly through Election Day.
“This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” King said of Let’s Talk, “and while we are all doing everything we can to elect Joe Biden in November, we also have an opportunity to elect a transformational slate of Democrats running for office throughout our state. Our goal is to highlight some of the most exciting candidates who will help usher in the new era Florida desperately needs.”
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Attorney General Ashley Moody is giving Floridians a new tool in the fight against fraud.
The Scams at a Glance outreach program features a webpage on the Attorney General’s website detailing common and emerging scams.
The webpage also hosts downloadable brochures designed to teach consumers how to avoid falling victim to fraud. The brochures and other information on the website are available in both English and Spanish.
Scams highlighted include from impostor scams, tech support scams and request for immediate payment by wire transfer, credit, prepaid debit or gift cards.
“One of the lessons we are learning from the current health crisis, is that scammers are willing to exploit any emergency to swindle consumers,” Moody said.
“Throughout this crisis, we have been working hard to stop scammers and prevent consumer fraud. I want Floridians to have the tools they need to fight back and that is why Scams at a Glance is so important. The new program is a tool of knowledge against common scams so that Floridians and their loved ones will be protected as we continue to battle the coronavirus.”
Scams at a Glance is a supplement to the Attorney General’s Consumer Alert program, which helps educate Floridians on new and upcoming scams.
Moody’s office maintains a list of recent Consumer Alerts online. Her office also urged Floridians to report fraud or file a complaint via MyFloridaLegal.com or by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 365,244 FL residents (+9,345 since Monday)
— 4,590 Non-FL residents (+95 since Monday)
Origin:
— 3,189 Travel related
— 94,901 Contact with a confirmed case
— 3,138 Both
— 264,016 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 21,780 in FL
Deaths:
— 5,319 in FL
Unemployment numbers
As of Monday:
Total claims: 3,214,809
— Confirmed unique claims: 3,008,106
— Claim verification queue: 290,610
— Claims processed: 2,717,496
— Claims paid: 1,765,204 (+11,765 since Sunday)
Total paid out: $10.99 billion (+$100 million since Sunday)
Evening Reads
“Donald Trump warns U.S. coronavirus outbreak will probably ‘get worse before it gets better’” via Berkeley Lovelace Jr. of CNBC
“Six months of coronavirus: Two states, two very different surges” via The Wall Street Journal
“Trump administration appears to back off opposition to Congressional demands for testing, CDC funding” via Erica Werner, Jeff Stein and Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post
“Coronavirus infections much higher than reported cases in parts of U.S., study shows” via Apoorva Mandavilli of The New York Times
“Florida Democrats running to boost Biden from the bottom up” via Bobby Caina Calvan of The Associated Press
“Trump campaign pooh-poohs RNC security concerns” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Joe Biden’s campaign ready to turn up effort in Florida” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“U.S. accuses hackers of trying to steal coronavirus vaccine data for China” via Julian E. Barnes of The New York Times
“Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez accosted by Ted Yoho over remarks: ‘That kind of confrontation hasn’t ever happened to me’” via Mike Lillis of The Hill
“9,440 new COVID-19 cases, more than 130 new deaths in Florida on Tuesday” via the staff of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“Florida sees record-high coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday” via Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times
“ICU capacity not a concern for Ron DeSantis, hospital experts” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“136 people dead from COVID-19 amid diagnostic reprieve” via Florida Politics
“Miami-Dade changes COVID reporting calculations to align with state” via Daniel Chang and Ben Conarck of the Miami Herald
“Nursing homes say more money needed for COVID-19 fight” via Christine Sexton of News Service of Florida
“Leading indicators show Florida’s COVID-19 curve starting to flatten” via Brian J. Burgess of The Capitolist
“Nikki Fried: ‘I absolutely stand with our teachers union’” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“Fred Piccolo is named Gov. DeSantis spokesperson” via the Miami Herald
“Convention moving forward after Sheriff’s warning” via Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida
“How Florida’s Ben Crump became the go-to attorney for Trayvon Martin, George Floyd cases” via Amy Martinez of Florida Trend
Quote of the Day
“Let’s not confuse calm with a lack of concern or commitment.” — Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew, confirming that public health experts have been developing ways to respond to the outbreaks.
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