According to today's data release, in Colorado there have been 562,086 people tested, 48,988 positive cases, 6,536 hospitalized, 1,851 deaths among cases (1,717 deaths due to COVID), 502 outbreaks at residential and non- hospital health care facilities, 63 of 64 counties with positive cases. In Adams County we have 6,248 cases and 175 deaths. Read More from CDPHE HERE

Adams County has expanded its free coronavirus testing program to more locations and rapid testing. That testing is available for Adams County and Jefferson County residents who do not have health insurance, want a COVID-19 test, believe they have symptoms or have been exposed to coronavirus. Read More from CBS4 Denver HERE

The number of new coronavirus cases in Colorado dropped 18% last week, marking the first week-over-week decline since confirmed infections began increasing in the state a month-and-a-half ago. The state health department recorded 3,243 new COVID-19 cases between July 27 and Sunday, down from 3,961 cases the prior week. The drop in new cases comes after Colorado saw infections rise for six consecutive weeks following a long decline, as more residents left their homes while the state reopened, which can increase the chances of exposure to the novel coronavirus. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

Colorado voters will have many decisions to make in November, and not just about their elected officials. The state will also decide on topics ranging from abortion to voting and taxes. And with the deadline now passed for groups to turn in signatures to the Secretary of State’s office, the list of ballot measures could rise to an even dozen. Five initiatives made it in by Monday's deadline and will now have their petitions reviewed by state officials. Read More from CPR HERE

Sometimes it's close in election-year politics, sometimes it's not. The latter was the case Tuesday when it came to getting a ballot initiative on expungement of eligible criminal records on the November ballot. Proponents of Initiative 200 needed 124,632 signatures from registered voters to qualify. They got 255, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said late Tuesday afternoon. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

On Tuesday Gov. Polis provided an update on Colorado’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the mask-wearing order and the decision to close bars, Colorado is seeing COVID-19 cases plateau, but the Governor cautioned Coloradans that the state is in a precarious position and everyone must remain vigilant and continue following social distancing requirements, wearing masks, and washing hands. The Governor announced that starting Thursday, August 6, the Colorado COVID Relief Fund will begin accepting applications for the sixth round of funding. New to this deadline, the Fund will also accept applications from collaborative efforts that include three or more organizations to encourage community and regional coordination. Governor Polis was excited to announce that after speaking with Vice President Pence over the weekend, the National Guard’s deployment has been extended until the end of the year. Governor Polis also extended an Executive Order declaring a state of disaster emergency and providing additional funds for the pandemic response. Read More from Governor Jared Polis HERE

Governor Jared Polis and Treasurer Dave Young sent a letter urging members of Colorado’s Congressional Delegation to provide additional funding in the next stimulus package in areas that will protect the health and wellbeing of Coloradans. Read More from Governor Jared Polis HERE

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser continues to fight against the spread of COVID-19 through the use of his pen. A report by the Colorado Sun shows that Weiser sent out his 33rd and 34th cease-and-desist letters to two planned concerts: one by Adixion Music in Denver and the other by Imperial Horse Racing Facility. Adixion is reported to have been hosting large events and preparing for two upcoming shows on Aug. 8 and Aug. 16 at the Imperial Horse Racing Facility near Pierce in northern Colorado. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday raised the tax it levies on oil and gas production in the state to fill a $3.4 million hole created by declining commodity prices – with the support of both industry and environmental groups. The support on the part of industry was the product of the commission deciding to reduce the size of the new levy as a result of improving oil and gas prices. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

While it won’t be the same as all the years prior, the Colorado State Fair is still coming soon. The Colorado State Fair Board of Authority recently voted to hold a variety of competitive activities physically at the Colorado State Fairgrounds, in addition to many virtual events as part of a “reimagined” 2020 event, planned for Aug. 28-Sept. 7. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

Today, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA, faces its first serious test since the reforms took effect — a pandemic-driven economic crisis that some fear could look more like the Great Depression than the Great Recession. But the new pension oversight committees haven’t met since the pandemic hit — and they won’t until 2021 after state lawmakers put a moratorium on committee work to save money. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

Homes sales in metro Denver surged in July as pent-up demand and a lack of choices pushed buyers to make a deal. A record 6,664 homes sold in July, surpassing the previous monthly high set in June 2017, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. The average price rose to $601,863, a 7.68 percent increase from June, the association said in a report today. Read More from CPR HERE and 9 News HERE

For those wishing to have a say in the future of transportation, Arapahoe County is providing an opportunity. With the hopes of updating the existing Arapahoe County Transportation Master Plan with “an eye toward 2040,” the county will hold a virtual public meeting on Wednesday to gather information on what the plan should look like. The plan, which is updated every 10 years, provides an opportunity for the public and County stakeholders to identify issues and opportunities. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE 

Denver International Airport’s marquee terminal renovation is headed for a severe budget crunch that threatens to leave core components of the project unfinished or significantly curtailed. Construction resumed on the first phase of the Great Hall project in March under a new team of contractors following DIA’s decision last year to boot its original project partners on the troubled project. But just $170 million of the project’s $770 million budget remains for later phases, including the security checkpoints’ relocation and the reconfiguration of some airlines’ check-in areas. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

CPR reviewed teacher surveys from 25 districts and found big variations in how much districts tapped into what teachers thought. The surveys revealed that educators’ anxiety isn’t just about staying healthy, it’s about new and complex academic plans that could make teaching challenging and widen achievement gaps. Read More from CPR HERE

Denver city officials, including police, on Wednesday morning cleared out a homeless encampment outside Morey Middle School. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment posted a temporary area restriction, meaning “environmental conditions are hazardous." The area will be temporarily closed so city workers can clean up. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

In a Colorado Sun survey of five major public and private institutions — University of Colorado, Colorado State, University of Denver, Colorado College and University of Northern Colorado — none are lowering tuition or other costs, and there’s been only a mixed effort to boost financial aid to reflect the dire financial straits of many paying families. Only Colorado College mentioned any kind of deal at all. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

While many hospitals have struggled financially during the pandemic, few have struggled more than hospitals in rural areas. Yet if many rural hospitals close this year, COVID-19 will be only one straw that broke the camel’s back. There are 1,821 rural hospitals in the United States. Since 2005, 171 have closed. Twelve have closed thus far in 2020. Read More from Colorado Politics HERE

A majority of the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors indicated Tuesday that they would consider redirecting future savings for a commuter rail line to Boulder and Longmont to instead pay for service in the more immediate future. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated RTD’s budget and much of its ridership. More than $230 million in federal relief helped stave off tough cuts this year. But, according to a staff presentation, the agency is preparing to make $166 million in cuts for next year in lieu of more federal help. Read More from CPR HERE

As the pandemic drags on, many businesses have outlasted federal financial relief and initial enthusiasm to adapt to a stay-at-home way of life. Recovery appears further away than many restaurants believe they can hold on. The restaurant industry already had a reputation as a challenging market with low margins and high turnover. The latest survey by the Colorado Restaurant Association found that 56% of restaurant members fear that if coronavirus conditions don’t improve, they’ll permanently close within three months. Read More from The Colorado Sun HERE

Rapper Kanye West filed as a presidential candidate for Colorado’s November ballot on Wednesday after his campaign enlisted help from a local Republican operative. Betsy Hart, a spokesperson for the Colorado secretary of state’s office, confirmed just before 1:30 p.m. that West’s campaign had submitted the paperwork electronically, ahead of a mid-afternoon deadline. Read More from The Denver Post HERE 

The GAOA devotes nearly $3 billion annually to conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of national parks and other public lands. Supporters call it the most significant conservation legislation in nearly half a century and officials promised that an additional 100,000 direct and indirect jobs will come from the act. Opponents say the spending is not enough to erase an estimated $20 billion maintenance backlog. The bill has been celebrated as a bipartisan measure even though many politicians have been working on it for years. Read More from CPR HERE

It’s been more than seven months since China first reported a cluster of unexplained cases of pneumonia, and we’re still learning how the novel coronavirus spreads and what we can do to defeat it. The situation with COVID-19 is both better and worse than we knew a few months ago, because many people experience mild symptoms and some report no symptoms. The good news is that that means the odds any particular person who gets the virus will be hospitalized or die are lower than we originally thought. Read More from The Denver Post HERE

New coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed above 50,000 for the first time in three days, though the tally remained lower than during recent peaks and some previously hard-hit states saw signs of improvement. The U.S. reported more than 57,000 new cases as the death toll neared 157,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll rose above 700,000 on Wednesday and total cases topped 18.5 million, with the U.S. accounting for about a quarter of that number, according to Johns Hopkins. Read More from Wall Street Journal HERE

With nearly 4 million coronavirus cases across the United States and hospitalizations surging in different parts of the country, there continues to be a growing demand for tests. According to a new, extensive review of testing sites by ABC News,1 FiveThirtyEight and ABC-owned television stations, sites in communities of color in many major cities face higher demand than sites in whiter or wealthier areas in those same cities. The result of this disparity is clear: Black and Hispanic people are more likely to experience longer wait times and understaffed testing centers. Read More from FiveThirtyEight HERE

The coronavirus has given birth to internet-fueled myths and self-tests for detecting the disease, usually involving holding one’s breath. But a real-life breathing test called the Roth score is dividing the medical community over whether people with Covid-like symptoms can be accurately screened by phone or video chat. If enough of them work, new possibilities for rural patients could open. If they fail, it could set back the entire telehealth sector. Read More from Politico HERE

The federal government’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic has been mixed at best. Government officials arguably underestimated the threat, made key missteps in implementing testing systems and social distancing protocols, and failed to ensure the kind of coordinated response that might have prevented COVID-19 from having such a devastating effect on Americans. But within the federal ranks, there were people working behind the scenes who had a positive, immediate and ongoing impact on response efforts. Read More from Government Executive HERE

Travelers from 35 states are now required to quarantine for 14 days when traveling to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, per New York state's health department. What's new: New York City will set up bridge and tunnel checkpoints to enforce the quarantine order, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, per the Wall Street Journal. The tri-state area, the original hub of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., has successfully flattened its curve and is reopening. Officials fear, however, that the surge of cases in others states across the country could erase progress. Read More from Axios HERE

President Trump indicated support Wednesday for renewing enhanced unemployment benefits that have expired for 30 million workers, saying he wants to “get funds to people so they can live." But in an interview on Fox News, he also said he didn’t want the benefits to be structured in a way that he believed would “disincentivize” people from going back to work. Trump’s comments came as negotiations over a new coronavirus relief bill ramp up on Capitol Hill, with top administration officials and congressional Democratic leaders setting a goal of reaching a deal by the end of this week, so it could pass Congress next week. Read More from The Washington Post HERE

D.C. remains deadlocked on the next stimulus package, days after extended unemployment benefits ended and days before PPP is set to expire. One unresolved issue that hasn't gotten enough attention is a proposed expansion of the employee retention credit, which could have a significant impact for companies that have experienced severe revenue declines. The CARES Act established the initial version, a refundable payroll tax credit that could cover up to $5,000 per employee, for businesses that had suffered at least 50% revenue loss. Read More from Axios HERE

Democrats are attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and Senate Republicans in their negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are employing a divide-and-conquer strategy, betting that Trump’s eagerness for a big COVID-19 bill that could bolster the faltering economy will override Senate GOP concerns about adding trillions more to the federal debt. Read More from The Hill HERE

Many economists expect last week’s expiration of $600 in enhanced weekly unemployment benefits to lead to a sharp drop-off in household spending and a setback for the U.S. economy’s near-term recovery, even if the lapse turns out to be temporary. The payments, economists say, allowed consumers to pay rent, utilities, car loans and credit-card bills, protecting the economy from the cascading effects of a sudden drop in consumer demand as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the U.S. Read More from Wall Street Journal HERE

Confidants of Joe Biden believe his choices for vice president have narrowed to Sen. Kamala Harris and Susan Rice — and would be surprised if he picks anyone else. This is a snapshot of the nearly unanimous read that Axios get from more than a dozen people close to him. Of course, it comes with a giant asterisk: Only Biden knows for sure, and the more insiders know, the less they say to reporters. He's not expected to announce his choice for another week or so — the Democratic convention begins Aug. 17 — so that reality could certainly change. Read More from Axios HERE and Politico HERE

Democrats are once again dialing back plans for their party convention, announcing on Wednesday that the event will effectively be entirely virtual. On the advice of health officials working for the party, no national Democratic officials — not even former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — will travel from out of state to participate in events, which will begin on Aug. 17. Mr. Biden will accept the party’s presidential nomination from his home state, Delaware. Read More from The New York Times HERE 

The coronavirus will make the 2020 presidential election different from any in modern history: Voting that begins earlier, results that take longer, mail carriers as virtual poll workers and October Surprises that pop in September. Perhaps 80 million Americans will vote early, by mail or in person. That's going to set up more of an Election Season than an Election Day — and increase the odds of national turmoil over the vote count. Read More from Axios HERE

Congressional Democrats introduced new legislation on Wednesday that would make reducing racial inequality in the U.S. economy an official part of the Federal Reserve’s mission. The Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act requires the central bank to take action “to minimize and eliminate racial disparities in employment, wages, wealth, and access to affordable credit.” It would be the first major change to the Fed’s mandate since 1977 and would significantly alter the central bank’s focus. Read More from The Washington Post HERE

The House passed two bills aimed at easing the financial burden for child care amid the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday. The first, titled Child Care Is Essential Act, would provide grant money to child care providers in an effort to help the facilities reopen safely amid the coronavirus pandemic and stabilize the sector’s operations on Wednesday. The second, called the Child Care for Economic Recovery Act, includes a number of tax provisions that are aimed at making child care more affordable for families and providing assistance to child-care providers. Read More from The Hill HERE

President Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, a measure with broad bipartisan support that guarantees maximum annual funding for a federal program to acquire and preserve land for public use. Mr. Trump — who has exited the Paris Agreement on climate change, loosened restrictions on toxic air pollution and removed climate change from a list of national security threats — heralded the new law as a groundbreaking environmental achievement that he deserved credit for. Read More from The New York Times HERE

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at boosting struggling health care providers in rural areas, as he also proposed a permanent extension of some telehealth policies that helped fuel virtual care’s explosive growth amid coronavirus lockdowns. Trump’s new executive order comes as his administration has rolled out multiple health care announcements in recent weeks, in a pre-election effort to bolster the president’s record on an important issue to voters. Read More from Politico HERE

The U.S. Census Bureau is ending all counting efforts for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month sooner than previously announced. That includes critical door-knocking efforts and collecting responses online, over the phone and by mail. These last-minute changes to the constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the U.S. threaten the accuracy of population numbers used to determine the distribution of political representation and federal funding for the next decade. Read More from NPR HERE

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday after White House negotiators said they aim to reach a deal on a new coronavirus-relief package by the end of the week. The S&P 500 gained 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.2%, or about 330 points, boosted by a big gain in shares of Walt Disney. Read More from The Wall Street Journal HERE

Despite strong opposition from Republicans and rural voters, Missouri on Tuesday joined 37 states and the District of Columbia in expanding its Medicaid program. Voters in Missouri approved Amendment 2, creating a state constitutional amendment that will open Medicaid eligibility to include healthy adults starting on July 1, 2021. Voters approved expansion by a vote of 53.25% to 46.75%. A total of 1,263,776 voters weighed in on the measure. Read More from NPR HERE

Bringing back the students least able to learn independently and who are less likely to transmit the virus may seem like a no-brainer, especially in places where virus caseloads are low enough to allow schools to open at all. But for now, the approach is still a relatively rare one, as district leaders are finding it comes with the standard challenges of reopening schools right now and some difficult additional tradeoffs. Read More from Chalkbeat HERE

Public school students in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest district, will begin the academic year remotely in September, leaving New York City as the only major school system in the country that will try to offer in-person classes when schools start this fall. Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Dr. Janice Jackson, the chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, made the announcement Wednesday morning, as the Chicago Teachers Union was in the midst of tentative preparations for a strike over school safety. Read More from The New York Times HERE

Traveling around town used to be a lot simpler. But then a wave of mobility innovation arrived, and new services entered the mix — car-sharing startups Zipcar and Turo, ride-hailing firms like Uber and Lyft, public bikeshare systems, and then a candy-colored rainbow of companies offering shared rides on electric scooters, bicycles and mopeds. The good news was that city residents had many new ways to travel without a car; the bad news was that navigating so many options complicated the process of getting from point A to point B. Read More from CityLab HERE

Most Americans support Trump administration efforts to stop immigrants from coming to the United States as long as it's done in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll. But Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric during the pandemic has done little to budge public opinion on other immigration policies, the poll found. Most of Trump's policies, including his border wall, remain unpopular except among Republicans. Read More from NPR HERE

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest disruption of education in history, with schools closed in more than 160 countries in mid-July, affecting over 1 billion students. In addition, the U.N. chief said at least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on education “in their critical preschool year.” As a result, Guterres warned that the world faces “a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities.” Read More from Time HERE

By and large, economic forecasters are a sunny bunch. They rarely predict a downturn. Human nature, incentives and political pressure get in the way. Yet rosy forecasts by the IMF and the World Bank can have serious consequences. That is especially the case in poor countries today, where COVID-19 is ravaging economies, and governments, international organizations and investors are using forecasts to guide their decisions. Read More from The Economist HERE

Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $1,200 checks in error during the first round of stimulus payments, and many of them are spending the money in their home nations. One tax preparation firm told NPR that it has clients from 129 countries who mistakenly received stimulus checks, including Brazil, Canada, China, India, Nigeria and South Korea. Read More from NPR HERE

The death toll from Tuesday's explosion in Beirut, Lebanon has now surpassed 130, including at least one U.S. citizen, amid a search for answers as to why a huge store of ammonium nitrate was left unsecured near the city's port for nearly seven years. The government says around 5,000 people are injured. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said current indications are that the massive explosion was accidental, despite President Trump's puzzling claim on Tuesday evening that it appeared to be a bomb attack. Read More from Axios HERE

Throughout the pandemic, one lodestar of public-health advice has come down to three words: Do things outside. For nearly five months now, the outdoors has served as a vital social release valve—a space where people can still eat, drink, relax, exercise, and worship together in relative safety. Later this year, that precious space will become far less welcoming in much of the U.S. “What do you do when nobody wants to go to the beach on some cold November day?” Andrew Noymer, a public-health professor at UC Irvine, said to The Atlantic. Read More from The Atlantic HERE