This Day in History | 1977

Studio 54 opens in New York City and goes on to become the epicenter of the disco era.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

We got more proof yesterday that Americans are going to do what Americans want, even under the threat of death from COVID-19. The video of California beaches yesterday is something else. 

Also today we have a report about Republicans who are getting nervous with President Trump’s increasing erratic handling of the pandemic response.  

We also have an update on the condition of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Japanese media reports his health may be worse than previously thought. 

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon

California Heat Wave Draws Large Crowds to Beaches Despite Stay-at-Home Order

(NBC News) – Summer-like weather across much of California drove large crowds to the beaches Saturday despite a statewide stay-at-home order intended to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Temperatures reached into the 80s and 90s in Southern California, where people were swimming in the Pacific and sunbathing on beaches that had previously been closed to discourage large gatherings. Not all were reopened but some counties had eased restrictions while warning people to maintain social distancing.

Read more here

Nervous Republicans See Trump Sinking, and Taking Senate With Him

(NY Times) – President Trump’s erratic handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the worsening economy and a cascade of ominous public and private polling have Republicans increasingly nervous that they are at risk of losing the presidency and the Senate if Mr. Trump does not put the nation on a radically improved course.

The scale of the G.O.P.’s challenge has crystallized in the last week. With 26 million Americans now having filed for unemployment benefits, Mr. Trump’s standing in states that he carried in 2016 looks increasingly wobbly: New surveys show him trailing significantly in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, and he is even narrowly behind in must-win Florida.

Democrats raised substantially more money than Republicans did in the first quarter in the most pivotal congressional races, according to recent campaign finance reports. And while Mr. Trump is well ahead in money compared with the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democratic donors are only beginning to focus on the general election, and several super PACs plan to spend heavily on behalf of him and the party.

Find out more here

Japanese Media: Kim Jong Un in ‘Vegetative State’, China Medical Experts Dispatched to North Korea

(FOX News) – Kim Jong Un’s health problems could be more serious than initially believed, according to reports. 

Reports emerged earlier this week that Kim was gravely ill following heart surgery, although that has since been disputed. However, Japanese media now claims that Kim is in a vegetative state following a stent procedure.

Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai reported that Kim collapsed during a visit to a rural area in April. Kim reportedly required a stent procedure following the incident.

Shukan Gendai subsequently detailed how the surgeon in charge of Kim’s operation was not used to dealing with obese patients and was too nervous during the operation, leading to delays that left Kim in a “vegetative state.”

Find out more here