200,000. Model predicts this many U.S. coronavirus deaths by October 1.

DEXAMETHASONE. Corticosteroid seen as first “major breakthrough” in coronavirus treatment: “For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%. For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%. Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said: ‘This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality – and it reduces it significantly. It’s a major breakthrough.'”

LEGALLY QUEER. Towleroad legal editor Ari Ezra Waldman has started a new social media project focused on the history of LGBTQ-related legal cases.

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HUGE WIN! – Can an employer fire someone just because they’re gay or trans? Earlier today, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision written by, of all people, Neil Gorsuch, said no. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans sex discrimination in employment, also bans sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. Sexual orientation and gender identity are inextricably bound up with sex. This was the right (and obvious) call, but that didn’t stop Alito, Thomas, and Kavanaugh from dissenting. _ The Court’s decision reads: “It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” It gives the hypothetical example of two employees, both of whom are attracted to men. One is a woman, the other is a man. If an employer fires the man for being attracted to (or marrying) a man (something the employer would totally tolerate if the woman did it), that is discriminating against the man on the basis of his sex or gender. Period. _ The decision is pretty much based on the text of the statute, so it follows a traditional conservative approach to deciding cases: whatever the text says goes. It also recognizes that original intent may matter, and that a lot of people thought Title VII banned sexual orientation discrimination when it was passed. That said, both of these interpretive tools are not always very friendly to LGBTQIA people. Textualism often results in conservative ends. But not in this case. _ More coming over the next few days. Oddly, the Supreme Court website completely crashed, so few of us can read the opinion. _ #employmentdiscrimination #onthebasisofsex #sexualorientationdiscrimination #sexdiscrimination #TitleVII

A post shared by Legally Queer (@legally_queer) on Jun 15, 2020 at 7:38am PDT

WHEN IS IT ENOUGH? Trevor Noah delivers powerful monologue on Rayshard Brooks, the black Atlanta man who was gunned down by police after falling asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru.

ILHAN OMAR. The Minnesota congresswoman’s father dies of COVID-19: “It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away due to complications from COVID-19,” Omar said in a statement. “No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him.”

YOUNG INVESTOR. Barbra Streisand makes George Floyd’s daughter a Disney shareholder.

SUPPRESSION? Instagram investigating if platform suppresses black voices: “Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, posted that he is ‘hearing concern about whether we suppress Black voices and whether our products and policies treat everyone equally. The irony that we’re a platform that stands for elevating Black voices, but at the same time Black people are often harassed, afraid of being ‘shadowbanned’, and disagree with many content takedowns, is not lost on me. This is a moment when people around the world are rightfully demanding actions over words, and we owe the same to our community.'”

THE SH*T I DID WAS F**KING CRAZY. Howard Stern addresses racist behavior from 30 years ago.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. Obama lauds SCOTUS ruling on LGBTQ rights.

BORDER TENSIONS. North Korea blows up liaison office building at South Korea border: “The demolition of the building, which is located on North Korean territory and had no South Koreans working there, is largely symbolic. But it’s still the most provocative thing North Korea has done since it entered nuclear diplomacy in 2018 after a U.S.-North Korean standoff had many fearing war.”

MICHIGAN. Second 2020 poll shows Trump further behind Biden: “Two weeks ago, EPIC-MRA of Lansing, a polling firm that does work for the Free Press, released a survey showing former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, leading Trump 53%-41% in Michigan, a 12-point edge. But a second poll, started on May 31, a day after the first poll began, and concluded a day later than the first poll, on June 4, showed Biden leading Trump 55%-39% in Michigan, a 16-point margin.”

‘VERY STRONG CRIMINAL PROBLEM‘. Trump warns Bolton not to publish tell-all book. “If he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he’s broken the law and I would think you would have criminal problems. I hope so. … If this guy is writing things about conversations or about anything — and maybe he is not telling the truth. He’s been known not to tell the truth, a lot.”

SHAKE SHACK. NYPD finds no wrongdoing by Shake Shack employees after officers are sickened by milkshakes: “The shakes may have been tainted with bleach, according to a statement from the NYC Police Benevolent Association.The NYPD launched an investigation after the officers fell ill and determined early Tuesday morning that there was no criminality by employees, according to a tweet from NYPD Detective Chief Rodney Harrison.Investigators believe a cleaning solution used to clean the milkshake machines wasn’t fully cleared and may have gotten into the officers’ drinks.”

BRONCO BUSTING. Ford to unveil redesigned Bronco on OJ Simpson’s birthday: “Simpson, a former football star, is known internationally for being in a white Ford Bronco that aired on live TV leading a massive police chase on June 17, 1994, after being charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.”

TAKE THE KNEE. NFL commissioner urges teams to sign Colin Kaepernick: “If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s gonna take a team to make that decision. I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that,” Goodell said during his interview with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.

IT’S CALLED LYING. Pence urges governors to toe Trump’s line on coronavirus: “Vice President Mike Pence encouraged governors on Monday to adopt the administration’s explanation that a rise in testing was a reason behind new coronavirus outbreaks, even though testing data has shown that such a claim is misleading.”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Netta “Cuckoo”.

LYRIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Lady Gaga and BLACKPINK “Sour Candy”.

TALK TO ME TUESDAY. Eric Commette Evans. Photo by Nicolai Kornum.

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Skin If you want to have a discussion. Feel free to inbox me! So many great talks with so many people this week! Hopefully I can create more understanding and change! : @nicolaikornumphotography

A post shared by Eric Commette Evans (@cometevans) on Jun 6, 2020 at 10:29am PDT

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