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USA TODAY: A million US coronavirus cases in 15 days

Thursday, July 23

Health care workers use a nasal swab to test a person for COVID-19 at a pop up testing site in Pembroke Park, Florida, on July 22, 2020.

A million US coronavirus cases in 15 days

The USA hit 4 million COVID-19 cases. The mayor of Portland was tear-gassed. Hurricane Douglas heads for Hawaii. It's Thursday's news.

The USA hit the latest dark milestone in the pandemic. Portland's mayor was tear-gassed by federal officers. And the Washington Football Team's new name is ... That's it. That's the team name. (For now.)

It's Ashley with the news everyone is talking about.

But first, what is this thing? There's a mysterious "blue hole" in the ocean floor off the coast of Florida that's wowing scientists.

The Short List newsletter is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe here!

USA hits 4 million COVID-19 cases

The USA has more than 4 million official COVID-19 cases, doubling its total in a little more than a month. That marks an additional 1 million infections since July 8, when the USA confirmed 3 million cases. Experts agree the number of cases is actually much greater – potentially 10 times higher than the 4 million reported. Almost 144,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the USA, which leads the world in deaths and cases.

Where are we on a vaccine? Early success of COVID-19 vaccine candidates fuel optimism, but our expert panel says "a lot has to go right" before a vaccine will be available to all Americans.

•	4 million COVID-19 cases: A look at the milestones and setbacks.

The mayor of Portland was tear-gassed

Mayor Ted Wheeler was tear-gassed by federal officers along with a large crowd of protesters Wednesday night after he tried for hours to calm down angry activists demanding police reform and the withdrawal of federal authorities from the city. The mayor was caught in the mayhem after protesters threw flaming bags of garbage over a fence protecting the federal courthouse, prompting the federal officers to fire tear gas at the crowd. "It's hard to breathe, it's a lot harder to breathe than I thought," Wheeler told The Washington Post after he was tear-gassed.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was exposed to tear gas fired by federal officers while attending a protest against police brutality and racial injustice in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 22 in Oregon. State and city elected officials called for the federal officers to leave as clashes between protesters and authorities escalate.

Nathan Howard, Getty Images

What everyone's talking about

•	Get excited, Swifties: Taylor Swift drops new music tonight. ✨
•	Demi Lovato is officially engaged to "Young and the Restless" actor Max Ehrich. 💍
•	Fox News parted ways with "Fox & Friends First" host Heather Childers, who sparked controversy after coming to work visibly sick.
•	Amber Heard says she "did not want to expose" years of alleged abuse by Johnny Depp.
•	Mike Tyson is headed back to the boxing ring. 🥊

Hurricane Douglas heads for Hawaii

Hawaii is bracing (at least, my mother on Maui is) as Hurricane Douglas intensifies in the Pacific, on a track to potentially bring strong winds, heavy rainfall and flash flooding to the islands over the weekend, forecasters said. The National Weather Service said Douglas, a Category 3 hurricane, is likely to be at hurricane or near-hurricane strength when it arrives in Hawaii. There are more storms where that came from: Tropical Depression Eight is spinning about 400 miles from Port O'Connor, Texas. In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Gonzalo is likely to become a hurricane Friday as it moves west toward the Windward Islands of the Caribbean.

The forecast track of Hurricane Douglas shows the system moving over the Hawaiian Islands by the weekend.

National Hurricane Center

Introducing the 'Washington Football Team'

Washington's NFL team decided to call itself the … "Washington Football Team" while their new name and logo get figured out. Washington dropped its old name and logo this month amid pressure from activists and sponsors. The change followed decades of simmering frustration from many Native Americans and activists, who criticized the name as either insensitive or racist. We're not sure when a new name might be revealed, but "Warriors," "Red Tails" and "Red Wolves" are among names floated by fans.

Real quick

•	Michael Cohen was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over his tell-all book about Trump, a federal judge ruled.
•	The FBI suspects a Chinese researcher with links to Beijing's military is hiding out in China's consulate in San Francisco.
•	Cameron Diaz is in "heaven" with her new baby girl, Raddix.
•	Release the Kraken: Allow me to introduce you to the NHL's newest team in Seattle.
•	Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick ran a sex ring for clerics in New Jersey, a lawsuit alleges.

The Senate backs more relief checks

Senate Republicans scrambled Thursday to finalize details of a $1 trillion coronavirus relief package that will include another round of checks and additional funding to help schools recover from the pandemic. Will they extend the extra $600 for weekly unemployment benefits? The GOP plan will likely extend the bonus benefits, but probably for far less than $600. One item missing from the GOP plan is Trump's demand for a payroll tax cut, even though he suggested he might not sign a bill that doesn't include it.

How not to file your taxes

The former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd was hit with tax evasion charges Wednesday as prosecutors alleged he and his wife didn't report their incomes from various jobs over several years. Derek Chauvin and his wife, who filed for divorce after Floyd's death, were each charged with nine felony counts of filing false tax returns or failing to file tax returns. The two allegedly underreported their joint income in state tax returns by $464,433 from 2014 through 2019. Chauvin is one of four Minneapolis police officers who were fired and charged in connection to the death of Floyd.

Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin pins George Floyd to the ground on May 25. Floyd later died. Chauvin was fired the next day.

Darnella Frazier via Storyful

A break from the news

•	⚡️🗽 It's lit: Shocking video captured a lightning strike just behind the Statue of Liberty.
•	🤝 "A handshake is a handshake." Two friends split a $22M Powerball jackpot, honoring a years-old agreement.
•	☄️ Six telescopes you can buy on Amazon to view the Neowise comet.
•	😷 Those face masks with breathing valves? They aren't effective, doctors say.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.