WHAT'S BREWING
JUDGE ORDERS UBER, LYFT TO CLASSIFY DRIVERS AS EMPLOYEES A judge in California granted a preliminary injunction on requiring major ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as employees, rather than as independent contractors — which would mean the companies have to provide them with additional benefits. In the ruling, the San Francisco judge accused the companies of a “prolonged and brazen refusal to comply with California law,” saying it was “high time that they face up to their responsibilities to their workers and to the public.” Uber and Lyft have been fighting the measure. [HuffPost]
NEW VIRUS HOT SPOTS EMERGE IN U.S. At least 20 million people around the globe have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. It's just over a month after the world passed 10 million cases. Over 733,000 people have died from COVID-19 globally. The U.S. leads with over 5 million confirmed cases and more than 163,000 deaths, making up about a quarter of all COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world. The U.S. saw nearly 48,000 new cases on Aug. 3, with many of them concentrated in the South. An infectious disease expert predicted when U.S. cases will again explode -- and Dr. Fauci has warned of a "difficult" winter. [HuffPost]
MARKEY SLAMS CRUZ'S COMMENTS IN SENATOR SPAT OVER RELIEF Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) came under fire for jokes he made about giving coronavirus relief payments to struggling Americans. Cruz’s comments came in response to a tweet by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who suggested Congress prop up the faltering U.S. economy by sending every person in the country money until three months after the pandemic ends. Cruz sarcastically countered that Markey was thinking too small. Some conservatives have argued, despite evidence to the contrary, that giving Americans money to survive when there aren’t enough jobs will make them lazy. [HuffPost]
LEBANON'S PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS IN WAKE OF BEIRUT EXPLOSION, PROTESTS Lebanon’s prime minister stepped down from his job in the wake of the disastrous Beirut port explosion that triggered public fury, saying he has come to the conclusion that corruption in Lebanon is “bigger than the state.” In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that he is taking “a step back” so he can stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them.” The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. [HuffPost]
CHICAGO LOOTING LEADS TO OVER 100 ARRESTS Hundreds of individuals who participated in widespread looting and vandalism across downtown Chicago engaged in “abject criminal behavior” and were not part of an organized protest, the mayor said. Dozens of stores, banks and other businesses were broken into and burglarized. More than 100 people were arrested and at least 13 officers were injured, according to police. The unrest followed an officer-involved shooting on Sunday. Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the overnight chaos as an “assault on our city.” [HuffPost]
PROGRESSIVE GROUPS PREPARE TO RESHAPE COURTS UNDER BIDEN PRESIDENCY Three months out from the presidential election, progressive groups are coming up with names and key criteria for the kinds of judicial nominees they want Biden to appoint if he wins the White House. “I would be lying if I said ― in fact, any civil rights or progressive organization would be lying ― if they said there aren’t people they would prefer to see on the bench,” said Myesha Braden, director of Alliance for Justice’s Building the Bench program, which recruits candidates for federal court seats. [HuffPost] | 
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