August 9, 2020

The U.S. crosses 5 million confirmed cases as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws hundreds of thousands of bikers to South Dakota, an event the New York Times covers with visible unease despite most attendees showing little concern for the virus. Pelosi and Mnuchin open the door to a narrower COVID-19 aid bill that would cover needs only through the end of 2020, a sign that the broad relief package talks have stalled out.

NPR runs a piece headlined “COVID-19 May Never Go Away — With Or Without A Vaccine,” quoting a coronavirus researcher who suggests the virus might eventually behave more like the common cold—a quiet acknowledgment that the elimination rhetoric of early 2020 is giving way to a more realistic long-term outlook. Meanwhile California releases some inmates serving time for murder as part of its pandemic decarceration push, and a doctor runs 22 miles wearing a face mask to prove masks don’t impair breathing, a publicity effort that does little to address the concerns of those who object to mandates on principle.