Friday, August 21st, 2020
Biden’s Big Speech, Airbnb’s New Guest Limit & Indy 500
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 reading the latest happenings...
DNC Final Night Recap
Former Vice President Joe Biden has now formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president. His acceptance speech came on the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention. He promised that if the American people make him president, he will “draw on the best of us, not the worst.” Biden’s adult children also chimed in at the DNC. They portrayed their father as a family man who has weathered personal tragedies and can relate to Americans suffering during the pandemic.
Read More: WSJ, AP, Politico
Trump’s Pennsylvania Speech
President Trump made more campaign appearances yesterday. Near Biden’s childhood hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump called his opponent a “puppet of the radical left movement that seeks to destroy the American way of life.” The president has spent the week touring battleground states and looking to counter the Democrat’s convention. Next week, it’s the Republicans’ turn in the spotlight. The RNC starts Monday and runs through Thursday.
Read More: FOX News, NY Times, Philadelphia Inquirer
Steve Bannon Charged with Fraud
A former chief strategist in the Trump administration was arrested and charged with fraud. Authorities say the issue goes back to a crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall.’ The campaign promised to finance sections of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It raked in more than $25 million, but prosecutors say Steve Bannon and three co-conspirators used nearly a million of it for their personal expenses that had nothing to do with the campaign.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, USA Today, Axios, Dept. of Justice
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Decline
States all across the U.S. are starting to see the number of COVID-19 cases go down. At the end of July, the average number of new cases per day was more than 67,000. However, over the past week, that average daily case count declined to about 47,000. The Trump administration’s testing czar, Adm. Brett Giroir, credits safely protocols like masks and social distancing. However, he warned that things could quickly change again if Americans aren’t careful.
Read More: Johns Hopkins, CNN, Reuters, CDC
Jobless Claims Rise
The nation is still dealing with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. New jobless claims surpassed a million again last week, after a slight dip the week before. Overall, more than 28 million Americans are now getting some sort of government unemployment assistance. This time last year, fewer than two million Americans were collecting unemployment.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, ABC News, Labor Department
Northern California Wildfires Update
Wildfires are still burning out of control in Northern California. So far, more than 1,000 square miles have been scorched. At least five people have died so far and more than 500 buildings, including homes, have been destroyed. Thousands of homes are still threatened, so tens of thousands of people are evacuated in the area. More than 10,000 firefighters are on the front lines, but as of early this morning, the worst of the fires are still 0% contained.
Read More: SF Chronicle, LA Times, AP, Reuters, Cal Fire
KC Chiefs to Ban Headdresses
The Kansas City Chiefs announced they’re going to ban fans from wearing Native American headdresses or sporting Native American-themed face paint at home games. The organization is also reviewing the "Arrowhead Chop,” which is a one-arm movement popular among fans at Arrowhead Stadium. Already this summer, the former Washington Redskins retired its name, after years of complaints that the moniker was offensive to Native Americans.
Read More: ESPN, NPR, WaPo, Chiefs
Uber and Lyft Avoid CA Shutdown
Uber and Lyft will no longer be immediately suspending service in California. They had threatened to do so earlier this week because of a new law, and a judge’s ruling, that would force the ride-hailing services to classify their drivers as employees, instead of independent contractors. However, in a last-minute turn of events, an appeals court delayed that judge’s order. Uber and Lyft still plan to fight the state law in court, but this gives them more time to do so, while still operating.
Read More: LA Times, CNN, NY Times, Engadget
Uber Starts Rx Delivery
Uber is now able to deliver prescription medicines in two American cities. The company is partnering with pharmaceutical delivery service NimbleRX in Dallas and Seattle. It has plans to expand to more cities in the coming months. This puts Uber in direct competition with big pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens. They have also started delivery services recently.
Read More: Forbes, Engadget, Business Insider, Uber
DoorDash Gets into Groceries
DoorDash announced it will start delivering groceries and it will be able to complete orders in under an hour. Previously, the app was just known for getting food from restaurants and a few convenience stores. Now, it says it will offer more than 10,000 grocery items. Right away, it’s going to be available throughout California and in parts of the Midwest.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch, FOX Business, DoorDash
Airbnb Bans All House Parties
Airbnb has put a global ban on all parties and events. It says more than 16 people should never be in one rental house at a time, even at the largest of the available listings. Airbnb cites the global pandemic in its reasoning, saying it’s “in the best interest of public health.” The parties ban is in effect now for all future bookings. It lasts until further notice.
Read More: TechCrunch, AP, Cnet, USA Today, Airbnb
DC FanDome Preview
DC Comics, which is home to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, is kicking off DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes tomorrow. It was supposed to be a big in-person convention, but it was moved online because of the pandemic. Still, there’s a lot on the agenda, including panels from anticipated movies like Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, and The Batman.
Read More: Variety, Deadline, AV Club, Forbes, DC FanDome
Indianapolis 500 Preview
Get ready for an unprecedented Indy 500. For 103 years, it has been held in May and it usually has more than 300,000 racing fans in attendance. This time, it’s being run without any fans for the first time in history. It was also rescheduled because of the pandemic. Still, some things are staying the same. The drivers will take on 500 miles over 200 laps. The action starts Sunday afternoon on NBC.
Read More: AP, NBC Sports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, AP
Feel Good Friday: Expired Beer Turned Renewable Energy
Unsold beer in Australia is now being used for renewable energy. Recently, expired ales and lagers have been used at a wastewater treatment plant. The plant has been pouring the beer into digester tanks. There, it’s mixed with sewage sludge which produces biogas. The biogas is used to feed the site’s gas engines, creating electricity. The facility says it accepts about 40,000 gallons of beer each week and that’s the equivalent of powering about 1,200 houses.
Read More: CNN, ABC News