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TGIF, MarketWatchers! Here are today’s top top stories:
Personal Finance
5 critical mistakes that created the biggest public-health crisis in a generation
100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic: Don’t wear a mask! Everyone should wear masks!
Scientists estimate the speed and distance of coronavirus transmission when people cough, sneeze, speak — and run
A slew of studies examine the role of COVID-19’s contagiousness.
‘Being anti-racist is a verb, so it requires action’: Don’t stop demanding racial equality — how to become a lifelong ally
‘It’s really important for us to understand that we need to be always working for racial justice, whether there’s dramatic moments or not.’
‘They get a get-out-of-jail-free card’: How qualified immunity protects police and other government officials from civil lawsuits
‘Qualified immunity gives government officials a rubber stamp to violate your rights,’ said Robert McNamara, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice.
Taxpayers who wait to file their taxes this year can get interest on top of their refund — just don’t bank on getting much
‘These people will not be able to go on a vacation on this money. You might get a latte.’
Making sense of the new July 15 deadline for filing — and paying — your taxes
Warning: extending a return past July 15 does not extend the due date for paying any taxes due.
California voters will weigh in on affirmative action in November. Here’s what that means for the rest of the country
The state legislature advanced a measure that will put the state’s ban on affirmative action on the ballot.
Elsewhere on MarketWatch
No rubbing elbows on Wall Street for the ‘foreseeable future,’ even as firms start navigating back to office
Big banks this summer are testing out new safety protocols to slowly return staff to their Manhattan offices during the pandemic, but it will be a long road back to anything near ‘normal.’
Pressure builds on Senate Republicans to move in direction of $3 trillion coronavirus relief measure favored by Democrats
President Donald Trump’s weakness in the latest polls and other factors are seen as putting pressure on Senate Republicans to accept a larger coronavirus relief measure than they previously intended in the next package.
House approves bill that would make District of Columbia the 51st state
Washington, D.C., would become the 51st state in the Union under a bill passed by the House of Representatives Friday along a mostly party-line vote.
Peggy Noonan says Trump ‘cannot’ lead in a crisis — and calls on Biden to step up
The conservative columnist also writes that Trump ‘doesn’t understand his own base’