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As President Trump’s rally in Portsmouth on Saturday approaches, elected officials and public health experts in New Hampshire are asking Governor Chris Sununu to require masks at the event, concerned that the large gathering could lead to an increase in COVID-19 infections. “Science says wear a mask or we’ll end up like Tulsa,” Portsmouth City Councilor Deaglan McEachern tweeted this week, referencing the apparent spike in coronavirus cases linked to a recent Trump rally in Oklahoma. “[Governor Sununu], your job isn’t only staying safe yourself, it’s keeping NH safe. Do your job.” (Annear, 7/9)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday the state is considering steps to ensure more Michiganders wear masks in public places, but she gave few details and made no announcements at a news conference. "Right now, the law requires that anyone in an enclosed public space has to wear a mask," Whitmer said, referencing an executive order she issued under Michigan's state of emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic. (Egan, 7/9)

Starbucks announced on Thursday that it would require all patrons to wear face masks at its locations across the United States.The order will take effect on July 15, according to a statement from Starbucks. (Horn, 7/9)

Face masks will be mandatory inside all University of Wisconsin campus buildings statewide under a policy adopted unanimously Thursday by the Board of Regents after interim President Tommy Thompson said there was no way to open safely amid the coronavirus pandemic without the mandate. (Bauer, 7/9)

But resistance to the idea continues -

A circuit judge ordered Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday to cease issuing or enforcing executive orders related to Covid-19 on the same day that the Democrat signed an executive order mandating that Kentuckians must wear a facial covering or mask in public in certain situations. Scott County Circuit Judge Brian Privett issued a temporary restraining order against Beshear in a case filed by Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and agritourism business Evans Orchard and Cider Mill, LLC, challenging the governor's use of executive power during the pandemic. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, joined the lawsuit last week. (Riess and Kelly, 7/9)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a mandatory face mask mandate last week, sparking a slew of controversy. Resistance towards masks has, to some, become a political statement or health concern, to which experts say there are no negative effects for most. However, public outcries over an enforced safety regulation is nothing new to Texans, who expressed similar sentiments over something that is a common, life-saving necessity — wearing a seat belt. (Fernandez, 7/9)

As more local officials wrestle with whether to mandate mask use in public, metro Atlantans are taking a clear stand with their own mouths and noses: Most already are wearing masks. About 80% of shoppers wore face coverings inside local groceries during spot checks by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The informal checks were made this week of 100 shoppers in each of certain Kroger stores in Duluth, Johns Creek, South Fulton, Marietta, Lithonia and Atlanta. (Kempner, 7/9)

Four in 10 Kansans live in counties that have overruled Gov. Laura Kelly’s statewide mask order even as coronavirus cases in the state soar.More than 90 of the state’s 105 counties have opted out of the mandate issued last week under a new state law that allows local leaders to follow or discard Kelly’s pandemic-related executive orders. (7/9)

In related news —

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital say they have designed a new mask that can be sterilized and used many times to protect the wearer from inhaling coronavirus particles. The mask is made of silicone rubber and includes one or two detachable N95 filters, but those filters require much less N95 material than a traditional N95 mask, the university said in a statement. Silicone rubber is used in baking sheets and a number of other products. (Finucane, 7/9)