The Daily Valet. - 7/2/20, Thursday

✔️ Here We Go Again

July 02, 2020

Thursday, July 2nd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

At least there’s a three-day weekend coming up.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

↦ We’ll be off Friday for the long weekend.
↦ Be safe over the Fourth of July, enjoy yourself but keep your distance and remember to wear a mask.
↦ I’ll see you back here on Monday.

Today’s Big Story

Coronavirus Cases Spiking in 45 States

U.S. sets single-day case record for 5th time in 8 days

As confirmed coronavirus cases top 10.5 million globally and as many as 45 U.S. states are seeing increases in new case numbers, it makes you wonder ... Is this the second wave health experts warned of since the pandemic began?

The short answer? No. According to the top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, no, this is not the second wave. The virus is actually still very much on its first pass.

But the United States reported more than 48,400 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the fifth single-day case record in eight days. North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas hit new daily highs, with Texas reaching more than 8,000 positive infections in the last 24 hours alone, reports the New York Times.

So far, at least 19 states have paused or reversed their reopening plans in response to surging COVID-19 numbers.

There are several explanations for why coronavirus cases are now rising. A greater portion of the population is being tested, for example, so there is a larger volume of positive test results in total. However, an analysis by ProPublica in late June demonstrates that the rate of results coming back positive is outpacing the rate of expanded testing, meaning testing alone can’t be blamed for the recent surge.

More likely, it was loosened lockdown restrictions and social gatherings where people were closer than the requisite six feet. And the virus is now circulating widely in new populations—specifically, young people under the age of 35.

Stonewall Jackson Statue Removed in Richmond

City says others will come down ‘soon’

Richmond's grand statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson came down Wednesday in a sudden thunderstorm and a burst of mayoral muscle, becoming the latest Confederate monument toppled amid a national reckoning on racism, reports the Washington Post.

Richmond's mayor, Mayor Levar Stoney, ordered all Confederate statues across city land to be removed after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam demanded the removal of the state's most prominent and imposing one: Gen. Robert E. Lee, which sits on state land. (Several pending lawsuits had stalled the process.)

According to the Post, demonstrators across the country have seized on Confederate monuments—many erected during the Jim Crow era as an intimidation tactic—as “instruments of the same racial oppression they see in the death of George Floyd under a white officer's knee.”

It makes you wonder ... where will these statues end up? A museum, where a greater context can be given to the history? Or perhaps somewhere all grouped together like those airplane boneyards?

↦ Meanwhile: Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it will protect statues and monuments from vandalism amid ongoing protests.

Second Stimulus Check Could Come Soon

But probably not as soon as people would like

Whether or not Americans will get a second stimulus check will be decided later this month. According to Forbes, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will discuss another stimulus round when it returns from a two-week recess on July 20.

He implied that they would try to work quickly to get something on the way before Congress recesses again from August 10 to September 7. They'd better. With reopenings stalled across nearly half of America and an economy already in recession, people could certainly use the financial help.

Meanwhile, benefits such as delayed eviction and enhanced unemployment are scheduled to wind down this month, unless the government takes action.

So who will get a second check? We won't really know until another rescue bill is made official, but CNET put some pieces together to get a sense of the possibilities.

↦ Meanwhile: President Trump said Wednesday that he supports another round of direct payments to Americans—and claimed he wants to give out more money than Democrats have already proposed.

The Wolf of Instagram

Influencer arrested for $430 million ‘cyberscam’

We know social media shows a very edited, occasionally distorted view of reality. But this takes it to a whole new level: An Instagram star who boasted about his lavish lifestyle has been arrested in a $431 million cyber scam, according to the Times of London.

Raymond Abbas's Insta grid is a slew of private jets, luxury hotels, and, of course, lots of luxury watches and exotic cars ranging from G-Wagens to Ferraris and several Rolls-Royces.

According to The Drive, it's a lavishly impressive fleet for a “property developer” who apparently started out trading second-hand clothes in Lagos, Nigeria. Unfortunately, that's also what police probably thought when they started their investigation a few months ago.

He was arrested last week by the FBI, Interpol and Dubai police over an alleged scheme that involved “money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking and scamming” to the tune of $430 million. A raid while Abbas slept uncovered more than 37 million dollars in cash inside his apartment, along with more than a dozen luxury cars. In any case, it seems like it was fun while it lasted.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Tudor’s new Black Bay Fifty-Eight

Spiking our Arnold Palmers

The Magic of Rick Rubin

Your Weekend Pairing

Hamilton + a Founder’s Fizz Cocktail

You were either lucky enough to score tickets to Hamilton, or were resigned to the fact that you were never getting tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda's epic historical hip-hop musical. Either way, the filmed version arrives on Disney+ this Friday, to the delight of fans and newbies who are aching to see it.

The show is hailed as a modern retelling of Alexander Hamilton's journey to becoming a founding father of the U.S. This filmed adaptation features the original cast and Miranda insists provides you a better view “than the best seat in the house.” The New York Times says “the close-ups and camera movements in this version enhance the charisma of the performers, adding a dimension of intimacy that compensates for the lost electricity of the live theatrical experience.”

↦ Your Pairing:To fully give yourself the Hamilton experience, whip up one of the show's popular lobby cocktails. The Founder's Fizz is a refreshing, easy-drinking gin-based cocktail that can be enjoyed anytime after noon. To make it, combine 1 ½ oz. gin, 1 oz. simple syrup, a few squeezes of lime juice and ice in a cocktail shaker. Cover and shake. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice, top with seltzer (or grapefruit La Croix in my case) and garnish with a lime wedge.