Is it really the fourth Friday in July? Well, I guess it must be!

I’ve had a cough and sore throat since Saturday. The temperatures were scalding hot for a few days, and then we got a few days of overcast cooler days, though the forecast says that will soon pass. And, of course, the slow burn apocalypse of the real world drags on.

Which brings us to the Friday Five. This week I bring you:the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our alles, five stories about the pandemic, five stories about the alleged president of the republic, five stories about science fact and fiction, and five videos (plus notable obituaries).

Stories of the Week:

How Portland Could Undermine Trump’s Urban Crackdown – The arrests in Portland now give courts a chance to expose the unconstitutionality of the president’s June executive order. The fight is already underway.

Steve Wozniak sues YouTube over ongoing bitcoin scams.

David Shor’s Unified Theory of American Politics. “In the postwar era, college-educated professionals were maybe 4 percent of the electorate. Which meant that basically no voters had remotely cosmopolitan values. But the flip side of this is that this educated 4 percent still ran the world. Both parties at this point were run by this highly educated, cosmopolitan minority that held a bunch of values that undergirded the postwar consensus, around democracy and rule of law, and all these things.”

Murder map: Deadliest U.S. cities. And the cities most people expect to be at the top of the list don’t even crack the top ten…

WWE Star Dave Bautista Calls Senator Ted Cruz an Ass-Sucking Nazi.

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked.

Dem AGs sue Trump admin. to stop reversal of transgender health protections.

Number of Out U.S. Elected Officials Grows by 21 Percent in Past Year.

Transgender man named Michigan Teacher of the Year – He knows as a transgender man that “everything else takes a back seat” when you don’t feel safe in school.

COVID-19 is quietly ravaging the LGBTQ community.

This Week in the Pandemic:

Ex-FDA Chief Says US Could Hit 300K Deaths In 2020.

Known Coronavirus cases surpassed four million in the United States. The White House and Senate Republicans neared agreement on a proposal for the next round of virus relief.

173 new coronavirus deaths reported Thursday in Florida’s largest daily increase; over 10K cases added.

Republicans Keep Flunking Microbe Economics – Getting other people sick isn’t an “individual choice.”.

Fox Sports To Add Virtual Fans To Baseball Stadiums.

This Week in the Deplorable Thug Occupying the White House:

When Trump Is Gone the US Can Finally Grieve For the Pandemic Dead.

‘They Realize the Bully Is Just Kind of an Empty Suit’ .

US Attorney Demands DHS Investigation Into Arrests Of Protesters By “Secret Police”.

White House portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush moved from prominent space to rarely used room.

Stephen Miller’s Grandmother Died of COVID-19. Her Son Blames the Trump Administration.

This Week in Science Fiction and Science Fact:

My Science Fiction Rabbi – How the prolific writer Barry N. Malzberg showed me my passion was just Judaism in a spacesuit.

The best science fiction and fantasy of the year so far — plus what we’re looking forward to next.

Humans settled in the Americas much earlier than previously thought, according to new finds from Mexico.

This is the first picture of a sunlike star with multiple exoplanets.

Study: Staring at Deep Red Light Can Improve Naturally Declining Vision.

In Memoriam:

Civil Rights Icon, American Hero, and Committed LGBTQ Ally John Lewis Dead at 80.

Obama on his ‘hero’ Rep. John Lewis: ‘I was only there because of the sacrifices he made’.

Rep. John Lewis, civil rights icon, original Freedom Rider, has died.

John Robert Lewis, the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, to become a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime US congressman, has died after a six-month battle with cancer.

Flossie Wong-Staal, Who Unlocked Mystery of H.I.V., Dies at 73 – A molecular biologist, she helped establish the virus as the cause of AIDS, then cloned it and took it apart to understand how it evades the immune system.

Manzanar survivor Yuki Llewellyn dies at 81.

Naya Rivera Confirmed Dead at 33 in Drowning Accident at Calif. Lake.

Videos!

A Socially Distanced Conversation: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden:

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A Desperate Trump Promises New Covid Strategy, Sends Bizarre Well Wishes To Ghislaine Maxwell:

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Trump’s Insane Chris Wallace Interview; Secret Police in Portland: A Closer Look:

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‘Unbelievable!!!!!’ Produced By Snoop Dogg Stars 40 Former ‘Star Trek’ Cast Members And A Puppet:

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GEE, ANTHONY FAUCI! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody:

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