Thursday, August 20th, 2020
DNC’s Final Night, California Burning & Apple Hits $2T
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
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 peruse the latest happenings...
DNC Night 3 Recap/Night 4 Preview
The main event of the Democratic National Convention happens tonight. Former Vice President Joe Biden will formally accept the nomination for president. Already, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris accepted the vice-presidential nomination, making her the first Black woman and first Indian American to do so. In her speech, Harris talked about her goal of creating a more inclusive country. Former President Obama also spoke last night. He talked about his former vice president by saying Biden made him a better president.
Read More: WSJ, Politico, WaPo
RNC Speakers
Next week, the focus shifts to the Republican National Convention. Speakers next week will include people like former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a man whose son was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Parkland, Florida high school, and at least one anti-abortion activist. Of course, President Trump will also speak. He’ll accept his party’s nomination from the White House.
Read More: USA Today, Forbes, The Hill
Operation Legend Status
Teams of federal and local authorities have now made nearly 1,500 arrests under Operation Legend. That’s the national crackdown on violent crime that started just more than a month ago in nine American cities. Attorney General William Barr gave an update yesterday, saying it has resulted in the arrests of 90 murder suspects so far. Operation Legend has also led to almost 400 guns seized in cities like Chicago, Cleveland, and St. Louis.
Read More: USA Today, ABC News, FOX News, CNN
CA Wildfires Growing
A series of wildfires in Northern California has now destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of evacuations. There were reportedly some frantic rescues into the night. The group of several fires is west of Sacramento. They doubled in size through the day yesterday and threatened 25,000 buildings in wine country. More than 350 fires are burning in the area. Many are believed to have been sparked by a historic amount of lightning strikes. Other states, like Arizona, Nevada, and Texas have sent firefighters and other resources to help.
Read More: SF Chronicle, LA Times, AP, Cal Fire
States with Most COVID Cases Per-Capita
Per capita, Georgia is the state reporting the most COVID-19 cases per day over a seven-day average. The specific number is more than 200 cases per 100,000 people. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a new White House coronavirus task force report that said the state should do more to fight the virus. For example, it says Georgia should close bars and gyms, impose a statewide mask mandate, and limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer. Just after Georgia, the states facing the most new cases per-capita are Texas, then Florida.
Read More: Johns Hopkins, CNN, ABC News, Miami Herald, Austin American Statesman, AJC
CDC to Monitor Sewage
The CDC and other federal agencies will start looking at sewage samples from around the country. That’s because studies have shown the virus can be found in human waste from people who are sick, even if they don’t have any obvious symptoms. Since about 80% of U.S. homes are connected to some kind of municipal sewer system, this could become a tool to track the spread of COVID-19 across the country. The federal government is now teaming up with local health departments to do the dirty work.
Read More: CDC, CNBC, Concord Monitor
Pharmacists Can Now Give Childhood Shots
Pharmacists in all 50 states can now give children routine vaccinations. The Health and Human Services department made the announcement this week, saying the new policy can help prevent vaccination rates from falling during the pandemic. Pharmacists will still only be able to give shots to kids older than three years old. Babies and toddlers will still have to get shots from their pediatricians or family doctors as usual.
Read More: AP, Reuters, HHS
FB Bans More QAnon Accounts
Facebook is the latest social media company to restrict the QAnon conspiracy movement. It’s the idea there’s a secret plot against President Trump and that there’s a large child sex trafficking ring within the U.S. government. It’s been debunked by the FBI, but it’s still circulating on social media. Facebook said it removed nearly 8000 QAnon groups because they apparently celebrated violence, showed intent to use weapons, or attracted followers with patterns of violent behavior. Still, Facebook is allowing nearly 2,000 other QAnon groups to stay.
Read More: AP, Reuters, NY Times, Facebook, NY Times
Airbnb Going Public
Airbnb has confidentially filed to go public. This starts the process of allowing every-day investors to buy shares in the company for the first time. There still aren’t a lot of details about what the public offering will look like, or what the share price might be. However, the home-sharing company is reportedly valued at $18 billion. That’s about half of what it was back in 2017.
Read More: TechCrunch, WSJ, Reuters
Apple Becomes First $2 Trillion Company
Apple has become the first American company to be valued at $2 trillion. Its market cap doubled in just over two years. The only other company in the world that has ever hit the $2 trillion mark was Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. However, Aramco has slipped lately, so Apple is now officially the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company.
Read More: AP, The Verge, CNN, CNBC
‘Tiger King’ Zoo Closed
The roadside zoo made famous by Netflix’s Tiger King docuseries is closing its doors for good. The USDA suspended the Oklahoma zoo’s exhibitor license and now it seems the new owner won’t be trying to get it back. USDA inspectors reportedly found several animal welfare violations at the zoo. For instance, some of the animals appeared weak and neglected. Now, the new owner says the park will be used as a private set for the new Tiger King scripted series in the works.
Read More: CNN, TMZ, Deadline, Variety
Sports Arenas Offered as Voting Supercenters
Empty sporting arenas, stadiums, and ballparks could be transformed into giant polling places this fall. At least 12 professional sports teams and their venues are reportedly preparing to open their doors to allow social-distanced voting. The nonpartisan Election Super Center Project is behind the idea. It’s in talks with baseball, basketball, football, and hockey teams around the country. Organizers are hoping thousands of furloughed stadium employees will be recruited and trained to run the new arena polling sites.
Read More: Politico, SB Nation, The Guardian, News Release
Become a Poll Worker: Work Elections
Thing to Know Thursday: Delegates
A delegate is considered a pledged voter who attends their national party’s convention to vote on who will become the presidential nominee. Delegates come from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and every U.S. territory. They have to vote according to how certain candidates did in their state primaries. They also work to write and adopt a comprehensive party platform that highlights the priorities for the next four years.
Read More: Council on Foreign Relations, NowThis, History.com