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Monday’s Headlines From All Over Our Nation

Moscow Mitch. Jackbooted cops. And one overprivileged white guy in Washington. And that's only some of the news in today's digest.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on July 27, 2020

Moscow Mitch is really pushing the deadline. The Senate Majority Leader says the GOP will introduce a coronavirus relief measure this week — just days before federal unemployment benefits expire (CNBC). The package is expected to include another round of $1,200 checks, but reduced unemployment payments because Republican leaders don’t want to use “taxpayer” money to help other taxpayers … whose paychecks contain contributions to the unemployment fund in the first place (CNN).
Boris Johnson knows the cure for COVID-19: biking! Activities like cycling reduce obesity, which in turn drastically reduces the risk of dying from the virus, as well as many other things. Johnson will announce today that he’s encouraging doctors to prescribe biking, among other fitness measures. (Forbes)
On top of COVID fears, capacity limits on buses are adding time to transit riders’ commutes. More buses could solve the problem, but because ridership is down, agencies don’t have the money. (TIME)
When you’re done with your disposable mask, throw it away properly — PPE litter on the ground and in the ocean is a threat to the environment. (New York Times)
Thirty years after the ADA passed, most curb ramps and half of sidewalks still aren’t accessible for people with disabilities. Most cities and states have taken a piecemeal approach to compliance. (Fast Company)
Elon Musk’s dumb Las Vegas tunnel just got even dumber. Instead of 12-person “pods,” the tunnel will carry five-seat Teslas, making it essentially a glorified valet service that won’t accomodate wheelchairs. (Curbed)
On the bright side, Denver’s RTD is retrofitting 172 light rail cars to make them more accessible. (Mass Transit Mag)
Thanks to the pandemic, Austin is considering scaling back its ambitious transit plan from $10 billion to $7 billion, converting a light rail line to bus rapid transit and delaying four BRT lines. (KUT)
The Utah Transit Authority is restoring most of its pre-COVID service next month, but it won’t look the same as before. Some routes are being cut entirely, while others will get more frequency. (Salt Lake Tribune)
St. Petersburg will test driverless shuttles this fall. (Tampa Bay Times)
A Nashville pro-transit group calls for dedicated funding for WeGo. (Tennessean)
An upper-middle-class white guy in Washington, D.C. penned the hate read of the century: a 2,000-word rant that, he claims, was inspired because Muriel Bowser wrote Black Lives Matter across the street from where he has tea. (Human Events)
Meanwhile, in Seattle, cops on bikes are plowing through groups of protesters. Maybe that will make bike companies think twice about selling their products to be abused by police departments? (Bicycle Lobby via Twitter)
Portland may have found a way to fight back against President Trump’s federal agents, who have been roughing up protesters: the fence they put around their base is blocking a bike lane — and the city is threatening fines. (Willamette Week)

Blake Aued

Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.

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