The pandemic has taken graduation ceremonies away from students all over the country. For many, celebrations haven’t been what they expected. But some alums at historically Black colleges or universities did get to celebrate, in a very special way. Mark Strassmann reports. Source

In two of the top targeted seats for Democrats, the candidates each pulled in over $7 million. Source

The U.S. government will pay Novavax $1.6 billion to develop a coronavirus vaccine as part of its Operation Warp Speed program. The goal is to produce 100 million doses by early 2021, but the vaccine is still undergoing trials and there’s no guarantee it will work. Dr. Jon LaPook has the details in our “Racing to a Cure” series. Source

The rise in coronavirus cases is taking a toll across the West Coast with long waits for testing and hospitals running critically low on personal protective equipment and hospital beds. Jamie Yuccas takes a look. Source

President Trump claims that the U.S. has the lowest coronavirus mortality rate in the world, but according to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has the sixth-highest death rate. Dr. Anthony Fauci says “it’s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death” from the coronavirus. Ben Tracy reports. Source

Here’s a look at the top stories making headlines on the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.” Source

The violence continued into the July 4th weekend, as the NYPD reported 44 shooting incidents. Source

Emergency room doctors and nurses say they are running critically low on personal protective equipment — again. Source

Florida issued a statewide order for schools to reopen next month even as the state reports a worrisome rise in coronavirus cases. Data scientist Rebekah Jones was in charge of tracking Florida’s cases until she was fired in May. Jones joins “Red and Blue” to discuss what is behind the spike in cases, the coronavirus dashboard she created, and Florida’s push to reopen. Source

New York and Florida are the only other states to surpass 10,000 new cases in a single day. Source