Monday, July 27th, 2020
Nationwide Protests, RIP Regis Philbin & Double Meteor Showers
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
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Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to review the latest happenings...
Weekend Protests Nationwide
In cities from Los Angeles to New York, marches were held all over the U.S. last weekend. Most were peaceful, but many got heated. For example, in Seattle over the weekend, some protesters lit construction trailers on fire and smashed windows of businesses. Police responded by rushing into crowds, knocking people to the ground, and showering protesters with pepper spray. The Seattle Police Department says nearly 60 officers were hurt and nearly 50 people were arrested.
Read More: NY Times, AP, Axios, WSJ, WaPo, ABC News
Pence Traveling to Miami Today
The nation’s top health experts are going to South Florida today. Members of the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, plan to meet with researchers at the University of Miami. They’re going to be talking about the progress of a COVID-19 vaccine, then holding a news conference.
Read More: Miami Herald, WOFL
New COVID-19 Records
Florida now has the second-most COVID-19 cases in the country. California became the state with the most cases last week. However, Florida has thousands more people than California being hospitalized. In Florida, the number of hospitalizations has reportedly gone up nearly 80% since the Fourth of July. More than 50 Florida hospitals have reached capacity.
Read More: Johns Hopkins, Reuters, CNN, Tampa Bay Times
Body of Rep. Lewis to Lie in State
Memorials are planned all week in honor of the late Congressman John Lewis. His body will lie in state at the U.S. capitol today and tomorrow. That’s one of the highest honors a U.S. citizen can receive. There will also be a public viewing on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia. Then his funeral happens Thursday.
Read More: CNN, FOX News, CBS News, WaPo, ABC News
John Lewis Memorial Services
Two memorials were already held for the late Congressman John Lewis over the weekend. The first was in his hometown of Troy, Alabama. The second was in Selma, where Lewis’ body, accompanied by a military guard, made its final journey across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. That’s also where Lewis helped lead a march for Black voting rights in 1965. He survived a brutal beating by law enforcement that day, which later became known as Bloody Sunday.
Read More: AJC, AP, Reuters, Axios
Regis Philbin Dies
Legendary broadcaster Regis Philbin died on Friday. His TV career spanned six decades. Philbin is probably most well-known for hosting Live! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. During his career, he was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards and won six. He died at 88-years-old from natural causes.
Read More: USA Today, CNN, FOX News
Fleetwood Mac Co-Creator Dies
An iconic guitarist died over the weekend. Peter Green passed away in his sleep at 73-years-old. He is famous for creating the band Fleetwood Mac. The AP says some people consider him the single greatest blues guitarist of the 1960s. B.B. King once said Green “has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”
Read More: AP, NY Times, Rolling Stone
‘Gone with the Wind’ Star Dies
Actress Olivia de Havilland died on Sunday. She was most well-known for playing Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. She was the last surviving lead of that movie. De Havilland also won two Academy Awards. She also passed away from natural causes.
Read More: AP, CBS News, Reuters
Hurricane Douglas Threatens Hawaii
So far, Hawaii has been spared the worst of Hurricane Douglas. However, it is still developing. If the hurricane’s path shifts, it could have a serious impact on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. Right now, Douglas is a category one storm. That means sustained winds are around 85 mph. Last night, the big island and Maui were given the “all clear.” The islands got a lot of rain as the hurricane passed, but no major damage was reported.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Weather Channel, NWS
Hanna hits Texas, Downgraded
A hurricane already made landfall in southern Texas over the weekend. It brought heavy rain, flooding, and some damage. Hurricane Hanna was the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Read More: NBC News, Reuters, Axios, WaPo
Space Force Debuts Official Logo
The U.S. Space Force revealed its official logo and motto. The new logo is a delta shape that is silver and black with a four-point star inside. The new motto is “Semper Supra,” which is Latin for “always above.” This logo is reportedly different from a separate image that was released in January. That one is only for the Space Force seal.
Read More: TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Fox News, Space Force
Double Meteor Showers
This week, two meteor showers are lighting up the night sky over the U.S. The first one is peaking now through Wednesday. Under ideal conditions, you will be able to see about 25 meteors an hour. A second shower will peak early this week too and produce about three meteors an hour. You will likely see the meteors best at around one a.m. local time.
Read More: CBS News, Miami Herald, USA Today
Twitter ‘Walkout’ Planned
Today and tomorrow, British celebrities and politicians are logging off Twitter in protest. They’re unhappy about how the platform handled recent anti-Semitic tweets from Wiley, a well-known British rapper. The tweets were eventually pulled and his account was suspended. Twitter said, “abuse and harassment have no place on our service.” However, critics say it took Twitter too long to take action, so they organized a boycott.
Read More: NBC News, NY Daily News, Reuters
Taylor Swift Album Sales
Pop star Taylor Swift’s new album is getting rave reviews and it broke a worldwide record. Folklore sold more than 1.3 million copies in its first 24 hours. Also, in just one day, it was streamed about 81 million times on Spotify. That’s a record for a female artist. Swift says she wrote the album the last few months since, in isolation, her imagination has run wild.
Read More: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, NY Daily News
Monday Monday: Home Purchases Record
The National Association of Realtors says between May and June, home sales spiked more than 20%, marking the largest monthly increase on record. That’s reportedly happening because apartment renters are moving to the suburbs and choosing to buy there. Also, mortgage rates are at a record low, which is encouraging people to buy again.
Read More: Axios, CNBC, Reuters, WSJ