No Bull With Raging Robert.
4 Million Deaths
The global COVID-19 death toll has surpassed 4 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the US has the highest reported total at more than 600,000 deaths, current global hot spots include Brazil and Russia. Reported deaths across Africa have also tripled over the past month.
In the US, newly reported illnesses have risen by more than 30% over two weeks, to around 15,000 cases per day (see data). Deaths attributed to the virus have remained steady, averaging just over 200 per day.
Experts say the combination of loosened restrictions, a summer travel boom, and the new Delta variant have driven the rise. Preliminary data suggest vaccines available in the US and the UK remain more than 90% effective in preventing severe illness arising from the Delta variant. More than half of new cases in the US over the past two weeks have been linked to the strain (data here).
Almost 65% of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one vaccination dose. See how your state is doing here.
In related news, Japan declared a state of emergency through Aug. 22. The decision means almost no spectators will be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics, which begin July 23. Average new COVID-19 daily cases in the city have doubled since mid-June, surpassing 660 per day.
Avenatti Sentenced
Former high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced yesterday to two-and-a-half years in prison for a failed extortion scheme against apparel giant Nike.
Best known for his role representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, Avenatti had taken up the case of Gary Franklin, an amateur basketball coach who accused Nike of improperly paying star recruits. Avenatti then attempted to leverage those claims to secure a settlement with Franklin, as well as a separate $25M consulting contract for himself and an associate. Avenatti delivered a tearful apology in court; the sentence fell well short of the nine-year term sought by prosecutors.
Avenatti also faces charges in two separate federal trials alleging he embezzled millions from clients — including a mentally ill paraplegic — to fund side ventures and a lavish lifestyle.
Billionaires in Space
Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, is scheduled to travel to the edge of space Sunday aboard the first fully crewed flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity. The trip is meant to be a demonstration for a future space industry; New Mexico, which hosts the launch site, has invested almost $250M in Virgin’s Spaceport America.
Branson’s trip comes nine days ahead of fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos’s liftoff aboard his company Blue Origin’s inaugural flight. While Blue Origin utilizes a more traditional vertical liftoff (see our previous write-up), Virgin’s craft will ride aboard a dual-fuselage mothership that will travel almost 10 miles high before launching the spaceplane. See a demo here.
Some argue Branson isn’t technically reaching space — the 55-mile-high trajectory will fall short of the 62-mile-high Kármán line (though others, including NASA, would disagree).
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