BREAKING: The Trump administration just finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in health care and health insurance.

Black Americans enrolled in Medicare were hospitalized with COVID-19 at rates nearly four times higher than their white counterparts, according to new federal data. Disparities were also striking among Hispanics and Asian Americans. trib.al/MrzMylI

Rudolfo Anaya, a writer who helped launch the 1970s Chicano Literature Movement with his novel “Bless Me, Ultima,” a book celebrated by Latinos, has died at 82. The World War II-era novel is about a Mexican American boy’s relationship with a curandera apnews.com/787d285f985159…

In California's hardest-hit county, fear and death mix with anger: sfchronicle.com/politics/artic… Longtime residents say Imperial County epitomizes the pandemic’s worst inequities. It’s a microcosm of the racial and economic disparities that exacerbate an uneven toll. San Francisco Chronicle

The Oregon Department of Justice is suing several federal agencies for civil rights abuses after an OPB report revealed that federal agents have detained protesters using unmarked vehicles, with little explanation of why they're being taken into custody. trib.al/QivLEEh

Just finished a night shift at a Bay Area hospital where Covid patients make up ~15% of all inpatients & nearly half of a full ICU All are either essential workers or live with someone who is & all but one is a person of color None of them got infected at a beach or outdoors

Populous states can generate large case counts, but if you look at the new cases per million today, 9 smaller states are showing more cases per million than California or Texas: AL, AR, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, NV, and SC.

Newsom, asked about a variety of issues in distance learning, again cites $5.3B in #cabudget on coronavirus crisis help for schools. But consensus among educators is that amount isn't enough & that distribution rules will leave some needy schools out. The real Q: is more coming?

A news release today from #CALeg Democrats touts a "$100 billion economic stimulus plan" that's been "developed" in recent weeks and which they intend to send to the governor by legislative adjournment in 35 days. So, how does it all add up? It's hard to tell...

You can forgive national press for missing this part of the Harris/Bass chatter: a VP Bass who chooses not to seek the presidency leaves the door open for Gavin Newsom in 2024. It would leave the possibility of another chapter in the friendly rivalry between Newsom & Harris...

Grace’s story, first published by ProPublica Illinois, prompted outrage and debate across the country. Though a judge refused to set the girl free, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release from a juvenile detention facility in Detroit. propub.li/2Pexg6O

Today, the Assembly approved a very limited form of proxy voting. This will help protect vulnerable Members from #COVID19 exposure, while allowing us to keep serving the people of California. Here's more information on how proxy voting will work in the Assembly.

I thought I was the only one who’d hit a wall, pandemically speaking. Nope. The data say it’s happening to most of us. Wrote a column about it: nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opi…

NEW: Last week, aides and advisers began pondering possible executive actions Trump could take to curb mail-in voting — everything from directing the postal service to not deliver certain ballots to stopping local officials from counting them politi.co/3koknFu

TODAY: 28% of Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, 66% believe U.S. is headed down the wrong track SAME-DAY 2012, Prez Obama's 1st term: 29% of Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, 63% believe the U.S. is headed down the wrong track

New CHEPS paper by Dhaval Dave Andrew Friedson Drew McNichols & Joe Sabia ("Contagion Externality of Super-spreader") finds Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a local & nationwide spreader of COVID-19. Estimated public health cost: ~$12B See: bit.ly/320amqX

Curtailing the time for conducting the census in the middle of a pandemic will lead to "fatal data quality flaws that are unacceptable," Census Bureau career officials warned in an internal document. trib.al/RJf5mCv

We have alarming news. The owner of The Sacramento Bee is trying to tie journalists’ pay to the number of clicks their stories get. We’re urging the company to reconsider. Here's our letter to McClatchy’s new CEO about how this could hurt our community. #NoPayForClicks 1/9

Department of Justice official in charge of Election Crimes, Richard Pilger, resigns after Attorney General William Barr agrees the federal government should intervene in so-far unfounded "election fraud cases" brought by President Trump

Farewell, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The legendary poet and co-founder of City Lights Books has died at age 101, according to City Lights publisher Elaine Katzenberger.