Two statues of Christopher Columbus are removed from Chicago's Grant Park and Arrigo Park, in the city's Little Italy. Chicago mayorLori Lightfoot said these temporary removals are a response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police. Injuries and arrests resulted when, on July 17, police clashed with protesters who attempted to topple the Grant Park statue. Activists say that monuments of Columbus, blamed for the genocide and exploitation of the Americas' Indigenous people, should not be on public display. Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police criticized these removals. (BBC News)(The New York Times)
Hong Kong reports 123 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The new cases include 115 cases that were locally transmitted, making it another record for three consecutive days. (Reuters)
Spain reports its highest daily rise of cases since the end of the state of emergency with 971 new infected cases. (El País)
The World Health Organization reports a record increase in global COVID-19 cases with 284,196 new cases in last 24 hours. United States and Brazil account for almost half the total. (France24)
A "Wall of Vets" join the front lines of the city's growing protests to support the rights of the protesters, to counter the demonstrators' "violent anarchists" label, and to support Navy veteran Christopher J. David, who, on Monday, was struck by federal officers as he approached them to ask a question. A "Wall of Moms" in yellow shirts and a "Wall of Dads" in orange shirts line up behind the vets, who stayed together until a cloud of tear gas scattered much of the crowd. (The New York Times)(The New York Times)²
Prominent opposition leader Valery Tsepkalo and his two sons flee to Russia after being barred from running in the election and alleged threats of prosecution by the prosecutor's office, which declined to comment on Tsepkalo's escape. (Reuters)
Roughly half of the staff of index.hu, Hungary's biggest news site, resign in protest of the firing of the editor-in-chief last week. The termination happened months after 50% of the site's advertising was purchased by media executive Miklos Vaszily, who has close ties to Prime MinisterViktor Orbán. (The New York Times)