Hey there! It’s Wednesday, and I’ve finally finished binging all 12 seasons of “Bones,” which I started in March. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. What would be the economic fallout of 100,000 coronavirus cases a day?

Recent data show the quick resurgence of America’s economy is stalling as coronavirus cases spike across the country and states begin to close back down. The findings come a day after Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Congress that the U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day.

The national jobs report, scheduled to be released Thursday, is expected to show the economy added 3 million jobs in June — nowhere close to the more than 20 million jobs that have been lost this year, according to The New York Times. And in states that are currently seeing infection surges, businesses have already begun a new round of layoffs and closings.

“The path forward for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on our success in containing the virus,” Fed. Chair Jerome H. Powell told a House committee yesterday. “A full recovery is unlikely until people are confident that it is safe to re-engage in a broad range of activities.” [New York Times]

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate reached a deal to extend the small-business loan program through Aug. 8. [Washington Post]

And Vice President Mike Pence finally urged wearing face masks in public. [NPR]

2. What’s missing in real-time COVID-19 data? Scientists say ‘compassion’

The scientists behind a popular coronavirus data tracker, built and published by John Hopkins University, say the public, media and policymakers have failed to see the bigger picture: racial and economic disparities between the hardest- and least-hit communities.

Since launching in January, the site has gotten millions of page views with its nearly real-time picture of how the virus is silently moving across the globe.

“This is the first time data has been such a central part of the narrative,” said Beth Blauer, the executive director of the university’s Centers for Civic Impact. “It just feels like the compassion is getting lost.” [Washington Post]

And the lack of a “unified, national approach to communicating risk” has led to confusion, says one of the scientists behind a new dashboard released today by Harvard University, which allows you to evaluate how severe the spread is in local communities. [NPR]

In Illinois, officials today announced 828 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 30 additional confirmed deaths. That brings the state’s total to more than 144,000 cases and 6,900 fatalities. [WBEZ]

3. Trump has lost supporters in battleground states, new poll finds

A significant portion of President Donald Trump’s supporters who voted for him in the last election say they will do so again. But a small percentage say they won’t, and those voters may explain why Trump could lose some states that he easily won in 2016, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll.

The poll looked at six battleground states, and found that 6% of former Trump voters said there was “not really any chance” they’d support the president.

There was very little demographic difference between those who say they will, and won’t, vote for Trump again. But data reveal the top issues for these lost voters are disapproval of Trump’s handling of the pandemic and the protests over George Floyd’s killing. [New York Times]

4. Chicago police activity slowed while murders rose sharply in June

As murders in Chicago soared in June — up 83% compared to the same period in 2019 — there was a huge slowdown of police activity, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

In one West Side neighborhood in June, arrests were down 55% and murders up 71% compared with 2019. The number killed or wounded in shootings citywide rose 110%.

Police Supt. David Brown said police activity slowed because fewer people were on the streets “due to COVID[-19].” But Police Union President John Catanzara blamed Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s criticism of officers who slept on a couch during the first weekend of unrest and looting.

There was a similar decline in police activity after the release of the video showing Laquan McDonald being shot by a Chicago police officer. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, an annual walk was held last night to raise awareness of the dozens of Black women and girls who have gone missing in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department has come under criticism in recent years as many of these cases remain unsolved. [ABC7]

5. Beijing quickly enforces controversial security law

Police started making arrests in Hong Kong today, just 24 hours after a new Beijing law went into effect that carries up to a life in prison for “subversion of state power, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities.”

Thousands gathered in Hong Kong for an annual pro-democracy rally marking the anniversary of the handover of the former British colony to Chinese rule. Ten people were arrested and more than 360 were detained. [BBC]

The secretive and controversial law allows Beijing to set up a national security agency in Hong Kong that reports directly to China, which can extradite suspects to the mainland for trial. It also allows China to waive trial-by-jury and public access if the case contains “sensitive information.”

The law also applies to anyone, anywhere in the world — and media outlets and other international organizations could face more severe censorship in Hong Kong.

Read more about the implications of the law. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Chicagoans are mourning children killed in summer violence. [WBEZ]

• Chicago ticketing enforcement resumes today. [ABC7]

• There’s about to be a hiring frenzy for contact tracers in Chicago. [WBEZ]

• Rudolfo Anaya, a founding father of Chicano literature, died at 82. [NPR]

LA cuts police staffing to its lowest level in 12 years. [Los Angeles Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

My husband and I are buying a house this week. But now I know I’m going to have nightmares that something like this will happen.

In a bizarre, couldn’t-make-this-up story, a man who was helping a friend move fell through her floor and into a well. A 20-foot-deep well. In the middle of a bedroom.

“I could hear a crackling noise,” said Chris Town. “And I looked, and I felt myself starting to fall. My feet were going right through the floor. I fell, and then I kept falling. I thought, ‘You know, there’s ground down here someplace.’ ”

Town only ended up with minor injuries but had to tread in 7 feet of water until firefighters arrived with a life jacket. [New York Times]

Tell me something good …

Since my first high school performance in ninth grade, I’ve loved everything about the stage. Do you have a favorite theater performance?

Paul Lockwood writes:

“I’ve been lucky enough to be in quite a few community theater shows in the last 20 years or so. Hard to pick a favorite, but maybe because it’s so out of character for me, I’d say Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace. He’s a serial killer whose victim count isn’t any higher than the victims his two elderly aunts have poisoned. Considering the number of times I’ve been metaphorically ‘dying’ on stage, it was fun to be ‘killing’ it!”

And Suzanne Meyering writes:

“Looking back, American Blues Theater’s staged radio play production of It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite. I see it as soon as it opens in previews every year. It always helps me get in the holiday spirit early and leaves me remembering how lucky I am to have my life and the impact I can have on others.”

And Katie Schmitt tweets:

“I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard in a theatre as I did when my family saw #ThePlayThatGoesWrong. Adding to my joy: my 9-year-old son giggling in his seat next to me.”

What’s your favorite theater memory? Feel free to tweet or email me your responses, and they might be shared here this week.

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you tomorrow.