Tuesday, August 25th, 2020
Police Shooting Protests, First Confirmed Reinfection & Zoom Outage
All the news 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 read the latest happenings...
Kenosha, WI Shooting
Outrage is growing over the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Protesters took to the streets for a second night in a row. What started as a peaceful protest turned violent with some looting and fires downtown. The Wisconsin National Guard has been deployed. It all comes after police officers shot 29-year-old Jacob Black in the back as he was getting into his SUV. Police haven’t released many details about the incident. Protesters are demanding the officers involved be arrested. The state’s Department of Justice is investigating.
Read More: Kenosha News, AP, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Reuters, Axios
Lafayette, LA Police Shooting
Protests continued for a third straight day in Lafayette, Louisiana. They’re in response to a deadly officer-involved shooting there. Police shot Trayford Pellerin over the weekend because they say he had a knife, walked away when officers tried to talk to him, then tried to run into a convenience store. Police opened fire outside the store and Pellerin died shortly after. The ACLU called the shooting an “inappropriate and excessive use of force” by police. Louisiana’s state police are investigating.
Read More: Lafayette Daily Advertiser, AP, CNN
COVID-19 Reinfection
For the first time, scientists have documented a case of someone getting COVID-19 twice. The patient lives in Hong Kong and he tested positive for COVID-19 four months after his first infection. The good news is he only had mild symptoms the first time and no symptoms the second time. Still, more research is needed to know how common reinfection could be. Still, the fact that the man had a milder case the second time could mean his immune system provided more protection.
Read More: Stat, BBC, CNN, AP
RNC Day 2 Preview/Day 1 Recap
On the first day of the Republican National Convention, President Trump and Vice President Pence were officially nominated for reelection. Trump will formally accept that nomination Thursday night as the grand finale for the RNC. The president is also taking an unusually active role this year and is speaking every night of the convention. Tonight, we’ll also hear from First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and more.
Read More: AP, WSJ, The Hill
More Republicans Endorse Biden
Some Republicans are publicly siding with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. A group of more than two dozen former GOP members of Congress joined the “Republicans for Biden” movement. Also, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, joined a group of anti-Trump Republicans called “The Lincoln Project.” So far, no response from President Trump.
‘Republicans for Biden’ Group Forms: FOX News, Politico, CBS News
Michael Steele Joins Lincoln Project: CNN, Axios, USA Today, Steele Statement
Tropical Storms Update
More hurricane watches are in effect along the gulf coast of the U.S. The National Weather Service expects Tropical Storm Laura to strengthen into a hurricane today. By tomorrow or Thursday, it could pose a serious threat to the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, bringing winds over 100 miles an hour, heavy rain, and flash flooding. Already, Laura is responsible for at least 24 deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Read More: WSJ, WaPo, AP, Weather Channel, Miami Herald
Fewer U.S. Kids in Foster Care
New federal data shows the number of children in foster care is going down in the U.S. The new report from the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services showed about 424,000 kids in foster care as of last year. Back in 2012, the number was 524,000 kids in the system. Also, a record number of kids were adopted out of the child welfare system in 2019. More than half of those 66,000+ adoptions were carried out by foster parents.
Read More: AP, HHS
Zoom Outage
The video conferencing app Zoom is having issues. It wouldn’t work for a lot of people in the U.S. and Europe for about two and a half hours yesterday. Some users weren’t able to load the Zoom website. Others couldn’t host or join scheduled meetings. The outage reportedly impacted the first day of the fall semester for Atlantic Public Schools. It also affected classes at the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State University. The problem has since been fixed.
Read More: AP, The Verge, WSJ, Zoom Status, CEO Apology
Airlines Amplify Cleaning
Two major airlines are stepping up their cleaning protocols. First, American Airlines announced it is the first airline that will start using a spraying solution called SurfaceWise2 which is specifically meant to kill the virus. The EPA gave American Airlines emergency approval to use it and the agency will then study whether it works. If it does, the same solution might be used elsewhere, like in schools. Meanwhile, Delta just announced it is doubling its cleaning crew staff to handle pre-flight pit stops.
AA Anti-COVID Surface Coating: Reuters, FW Star-Telegram, Fortune, American Airlines
Delta Extra Cabin Cleaners: Reuters, FOX Business, Delta
‘Powerpuff Girls’ Live-Action Reboot
There is a new Powerpuff Girls reboot in the works. Variety says a live-action version of the classic Cartoon Network series is now in development at the CW. It says in this version, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are now 20-somethings who resent having lost their childhoods to crime-fighting. No word yet on a release date.
Read More: Variety, Deadline, CNET
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Which animal would win in a long-distance race: a cheetah or a greyhound?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories Quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: Which singer’s real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?
A: Lady Gaga
Read More: Biography, Insider, Billboard