CORONAVIRUS UPDATES… The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. has reached 36,190,342 and the nation’s death toll stands at 618,479, according to figures released last night by Johns Hopkins University. Over the past 28 days, there have been 2,242,949 new cases and 10,465 deaths… The FDA plans to amend the emergency use authorization orders for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines today to allow a third dose for certain immunocompromised people who may not have had adequate protection from just two doses… California yesterday became the first state in the country to require all teachers and other school employees to be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get regularly tested.
SENATE PASSES BUDGET RESOLUTION… Senate Democrats yesterday approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution. The final vote was 50-49 following series of amendment votes. The budget resolution is on its way to the House, where it will be considered after the chamber returns from recess in two weeks.
JUDGE ORDERS SOME OF TRUMP’S TAXES TURNED OVER… A federal judge ruled yesterday that the accounting firm Mazars USA must hand over some of former President Trump’s personal financial records to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The judge, however, limited the scope of the panel’s request to information regarding Trump’s lease with the General Services Administration for Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The committee has been investigating whether Trump’s businesses had profited from his time in the White House. It had sought records dating back to 2011, but the judge limited the transactions to those since 2018.
VOTING-LIE LAWSUITS CAN PROCEED… A federal judge ruled yesterday that defamation lawsuits against election-disinformation pushers Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell can proceed. The three were sued by Dominion Voting Systems after they toured the country spreading Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen. The plaintiffs sought to have the suits dismissed. Dominion has sued each of the three for $1.3 billion and previously sued cable networks Fox News, OAN and Newsmax.
337 MIGRANT CHILDREN REMAINED SEPARATED… Lawyers trying to reunite migrant families separated at the U.S. southern border say they have yet to make contact with the parents of 337 children. Lawyers for the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union lawyers told the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California in a court filing that they have contacted the parents of 31 separated children since their last report in June. According to the filing, the parents of 250 children are believed to have been removed from the U.S. while the parents of 75 children are believed to still be in the country.
ENTERTAINMENT
DOLLY PARTON NOVEL COMING… Dolly Parton is teaming up with bestselling author James Patterson for her first novel. “Run, Rose, Run” is scheduled for release on March 7, 2022 and will tell the story of a young woman’s journey in the music world as she escapes her dark past. The release of the novel will coincide with an album of the same name with songs based on characters and plot points in the book.
JURY SELECTION IN R. KELLY TRIAL… Prosecutors and defense lawyers have selected seven men and five women to served as jurors in R. Kelly’s trial in Brooklyn federal court. The 45-year-old R&B singer is accused of leading a “criminal enterprise” consisting of his own employees to help him recruit women and young girls for his own sexual gratification. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin on August 18.
SPORTS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
N.Y. METS 8 – Washington 7… The Mets rallied past the Nationals in the resumption of a game suspended by rain on Tuesday. Last night’s regularly-scheduled game was washed out by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today.
Miami 7 – SAN DIEGO 0… Sandy Alcantara (7-10) limited the Padres to four hits over seven innings and two Marlins relievers held them hitless the rest of the way. Lewis Brinson went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBIs. Bryan De La Cruz also went deep.
St. Louis 4 – PITTSBURGH 0… Adam Wainwright (11-6) tossed a complete-game two-hitter and the Cardinals cruised past the Pirates. Wainwright helped himself at the plate with an RBI single. Paul DeJong doubled home two runs.
L.A. Dodgers 8 – PHILADELPHIA 2… Cody Bellinger homered twice and knocked in four runs to lead the Dodgers past the Phillies. AJ Pollock had three hits, including an RBI single.
ATLANTA 8 – Cincinnati 6 (11 innings)… The Braves recovered to outlast the Reds after blowing a 5-0 sixth-inning lead. Ozzie Albies belted a walkoff three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning. Guillermo Heredia homered with a runner aboard. Austin Riley had two hits and drove in a couple of runs.
Milwaukee 10 – CHI. CUBS 0… The Brewers opened with a seven-run top of the first inning and never looked back in their romp over the Cubs. Corbin Burnes (7-4) matched a major league record by recording 10 of his 15 strikeouts consecutively. He allowed just four hits over eight innings. Omar Narvaez hit a two-run homer and finished with five RBIs.
SAN FRANCISCO 7 – Arizona 2… DeMonte Wade, Jr., homered with a runner aboard and the Giants got solo shots from Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford ad Alex Dickerson in downing the Diamondbacks. Kevin Gausman (11-5) allowed two runs on four hits over five innings. One of the runs was unearned.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MINNESOTA 1 – Chi. White Sox 0… Jorge Polanco’s one-out homer in the bottom of the sixth inning accounted for the game’s only run as the Twins clipped the White Sox. Minnesota managed just four hits in the victory.
N.Y. Yankees 5 – KANSAS CITY 2… Six pitchers held the Royals at bay and the Yankees breezed to the win. Luke Voit singled home two runs during a three-run top of the first inning.
Detroit 5 – BALTIMORE 2… Tarik Skubal (8-10) pitched five-hit ball over six scoreless innings and the Tigers handled the Orioles. Miguel Cabrera opened the scoring with a solo homer and Niko Goodrum stroked a two-run double in the top of the fifth inning. Cabrera also lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Oakland 6 – CLEVELAND 3… Elvis Andrus led off the top of the eighth inning with a game-tying homer and Jed Lowrie added a three-run shot to power the Athletics past the Indians. Matt Chapman had a couple of hits and an RBI.
BOSTON 20 – Tampa Bay 8… The Red Sox built a 14-0 lead through five innings and scored six more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to wallop the Rays. Xavier Bogaerts lined a run-scoring double and belted a three-run homer. Hunter Renfroe also knocked in four runs. Nathan Eovaldi (10-7) gave up just a run on three hits and fanned 10 over seven innings.
Toronto 10 – L.A. ANGELS 2… Teoscar Hernandez unloaded a grand slam to cap a five-run top of the fifth inning that put away the Angels. George Springer slugged a pair of solo homers. Lourdes Gurriel also homered with the bases empty.
SEATTLE 2 – Texas 1… Luis Torrens singled home Jarred Kelenic in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Mariners over the Rangers. Kelenic drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth to force home J.P. Crawford with a tying run.
INTERLEAGUE
HOUSTON 5 – Colorado 1… Framber Valdez (8-3) held the Rockies to a run on four hits over six innings. Aledmys Diaz went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs for Houston.
TODAY’S MLB SCHEDULE…
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington (TBA; TBA) is at the N.Y. Mets (Marcus Stroman, 7-11; Trevor Williams, 4-2) for a doubleheader…
Pittsburgh (JT Brubaker, 4-11) hosts St. Louis (Wade LeBlanc, 0-1)…
the L.A. Dodgers (Julio Urias, 13-3) are at Philadelphia (Ronger Suarez, 5-3)…
the Chi. Cubs (Kyle Hendricks, 13-4) host Milwaukee (Brandon Woodruff, 7-6)…
Cincinnati (Vladimir Gutierrez, 7-3) is at Atlanta (Kyle Muller, 2-3)…
Arizona (TBA) hosts San Diego (Yu Darvish, 7-6)…
Colorado (German Marquez, 10-8) is at San Francisco (Logan Webb, 5-3)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland (Chris Bassitt, 11-3) is at Cleveland (Eli Morgan, 1-4)…
Baltimore (John Means, 5-3) hosts Detroit (Matt Manning, 2-5)…
Tampa Bay (Drew Rasmussen, 1-0) is at Boston (Nick Pivetta, 8-5)…
Seattle (Marco Gonzales, 3-5) hosts Texas (Mike Foltynewicz, 2-10)…
the N.Y. Yankees (Andrew Heaney, 7-8) are at the Chi. White Sox (Lance Lynn, 10-3)…
the L.A. Angels (Shohei Ohtani, 6-1) host Toronto (Jose Berrios, 8-5)
Bob Sarber 