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Friday's Daily Briefing: CDC guidelines, Michael Cohen, Taylor Swift

Editors  |  Paste BN

It's finally Friday, Daily Briefing readers! Do you have any fun weekend plans? Maybe toasting to National Tequila Day, celebrating Christmas in July or just listening to Taylor Swift's new album on repeat? If you plan on doing some shopping, remember that Bed Bath & Beyond and J.C. Penney are joining the growing list of stores requiring face masks.

Also today, tensions are heating up between the U.S. and China over consulate closures and three separate storm systems are brewing in the tropics.

It's N'dea and here's what you need to know today.

P.S. Paste BN is launching a new newsletter centered on issues of race and identity! But first, we want to hear from you. Please fill out this survey and become a part of helping us shape what this newsletter becomes. 

Michael Cohen released from prison into house arrest

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, will be released to home confinement Friday. A federal judge in New York found that he was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over his decision to write a tell-all book about his former employer. The self-described fixer for the president was furloughed to home confinement in May because of coronavirus fears in the federal prison system, but was sent back to prison after he refused the conditions of his home confinement. Cohen is serving a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to coordinating payoffs to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. 

US just hit 4 million cases of COVID-19

The USA hit the latest bleak milestone Thursday in the historic pandemic: 4 million confirmed cases of infections. Here's a look at the milestones and setbacks we've faced along the way. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for schools planning to reopen this fall and for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 Thursday. As the death toll approaches 150,000 in America, Senate Republicans said Thursday they plan to reveal a coronavirus relief package proposal next week after meeting to finalize details on the bill. So far, it will include another round of $1,200 stimulus checks and additional funding to help schools recover from the pandemic.

Tropical trouble: Douglas, Gonzalo and Tropical Depression 8 threaten US, Caribbean 🌀

The tropics are heating up as three separate systems are threatening havoc in the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Gonzalo is expected to become a hurricane Friday as it moves west toward the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. Far out in the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Douglas is churning west toward the Hawaiian Islands. And the Texas coast is bracing for the arrival of Tropical Depression Eight, currently spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. While 2020 has been crushing records for earliest named storms in the Atlantic, including Cristobal, Edouard, Fay and Gonzalo, hurricane experts noted that the storms so far have been weak and short-lived. 

The latest on the protests and more on race in America

Tensions between superpowers grow as China orders US to close consulate 

Tensions between China and the United States escalated Friday after China ordered the U.S. to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu. The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for Beijing to close its consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas. China has rejected the allegations as "malicious slander" and warned the Houston consulate’s closure was "breaking down the bridge of friendship" between the two countries. The Chinese foreign ministry appealed to Washington to reverse its “wrong decision.” Chinese-U.S. relations have soured amid a mounting array of conflicts including trade, the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, technology, spying accusations, Hong Kong and allegations of abuses against Chinese ethnic Muslims.

More news everyone is talking about 

Taylor Swift drops surprise new album, 'Folklore' 🎧

Less than a year after the release of "Lover," Taylor Swift released her eighth studio album, "Folklore," at midnight EDT. A music video for the song "Cardigan" was released at the same time. Swift said the entire 16-song album was written "in isolation," describing it as a project she "poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into." Swift fans are used to the singer dropping clues up to months in advance about her next musical endeavor, but she did away with the long buildup this time. 

Fact or fiction? ✔️

Are you seeing misinformation on social media? Find out what stories are legit with our latest newsletter, Checking The Facts.

Masks mandated at Bed Bath & Beyond, J.C. Penney 😷

Masks will be mandated at Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as J.C. Penney, starting Friday. Many of the nation's largest retailers have decided in recent weeks to do what some states and cities won't: require face coverings. Nearly 40 states now require masks in public places, with Alabama, Arkansas and Colorado adding mandates and Ohio requiring masks in a dozen counties. Individual businesses can choose to institute further restrictions, and the National Retail Federation is encouraging retailers to set nationwide mask policies to protect shoppers and employees. 

In better news: 'A handshake is a handshake' 🤝

When Tom Cook and Joe Feeney agreed to split their future lottery winnings years ago, the friends didn't think their handshake would mark a multimillion-dollar agreement.

But last month, Cook checked the numbers for his June 10 Powerball ticket and  discovered he had won $22 million. He didn't hesitate.

"A handshake is a handshake, man," Cook said of the arrangement in an interview with the Wisconsin Lottery.

Cook and Feeney are taking a cash payout of $16.7 million, and each will get about $5.7 million after taxes, the Wisconsin Lottery says.

The two didn't report any particularly extravagant plans for spending the money to the Wisconsin Lottery. Cook quit his job and is planning to spend more time with family and travel stress-free. He's still playing the Powerball, he said.

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