Viral News: With the state’s governor fighting and even banning mask mandates and other Covid safety precautions, Florida yesterday broke its own one-day record with 10,207 people hospitalized for confirmed cases of COVID-19.  

  Florida’s previous record of 10,170 was set on July 23d last year at the height of the pandemic and more than a half-year before vaccinations became readily available.

 With that going on, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he will withhold state money from school districts that require kids to wear masks this fall. Broward and Gadsden counties say they will require students to wear masks.

  But DeSantis has decided to make public health a political issue. On Friday, standing behind a lectern with a sign reading “Free to Choose,” the governor said he will issue an executive order instructing the departments of education and health to write rules protecting parents’ right to decide whether their children will wear masks in school.

  Over the weekend, the US surpassed 35 million cases of Covid-19. That’s more than 10 percent of the population. A total of 613,228 Americans are dead of the virus, and 4.2 million worldwide. 

  Across the country, new cases in the past week were up 54.2 percent, deaths up 31.6 percent.

2024: In the starkest indication that Donald Trump isn’t done, the former president raised $100 million for his political war chest in the first half of this year. Federal records show that Trump has collected much more than the $82 million reported by his organization a few days ago.

  Trump has based his fundraising on the claim that the 2020 election was rigged and a second term was stolen from him. “On behalf of the millions of men and women who share my outrage and want me to continue to fight for the truth,” Trump said in a statement, “I am grateful for your support.”

Purged: Police in southern California have a suspect in the evidently random murder of two teenagers as they sat watching a movie in a Corona, California theater. Rylee Goodrich, 18, died where she sat and Anthony Barajas, 19, died later on life support. Both had been shot in the head, execution style, and were left to be found by the cleanup crew.

  Barajas was a social media influencer on TikTok with almost a million followers. 

  A man named Joseph Jimenez, 20, has been charged and could face the death penalty. Whether the killings have any connection to the movie remains to be seen. The film is the fifth installment in a franchise of horror movies in which murder and other violent crimes are legal for one day every year.

The Spin Rack: The Biden administration is teaming up with popular YouTubers and internet influencers to push the Covid vaccination campaign. — A Hong Kong singer has been arrested and charged with violating election laws for performing at a political rally where refreshments were offered. It’s illegal in Hong Kong to solicit votes using food, drink, or entertainment. “Providing others with refreshments and entertainment at an election is a corrupt conduct and a serious offense,” the anticorruption body said in a statement. — Two Americans have been fined $16,000 each for flying to Toronto last month and showing false proof of Covid vaccination.

Five Ring Roundup: America’s star gymnast Simone Biles says she’ll compete in the balance beam tomorrow, her last chance to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She has pulled out of every other event saying she had lost her ability to twist in the air.

  Meanwhile, team mate Jade Carey won the gold medal for the floor exercise.

  Canada beat the US women’s soccer team 1-0, eliminating them from the finals and contention for gold.

  Last night, Raven Saunders, the silver medal US shot putter, delivered the first political demonstration on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics raising her arms and crossing  them in an X as a sign of support for oppressed people. Officials are discussing whether there will be repercussions.

  Over the weekend, Caeleb Dressel of the United States won gold in the 50-meter freestyle, his fourth gold in these Olympics.

  Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won gold in the vault, bringing Brazil its first gold medal ever in women’s gymnastics. She’s had three surgeries on a knee to fix ligament damage. 

 Jumping in for Simone Biles, who pulled out of the event, MyKayla Skinner won silver in the the vault.  She generously said, “I dedicate this medal to Simone. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for her.”

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