Thursday, August 27th, 2020
Laura Makes Landfall, NBA Players Protest & Apple’s Augmented Reality
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 peruse the latest happenings...
Hurricane Laura Update
Hurricane Laura made landfall early this morning as a historic Category 4 storm. The eye of the hurricane came onshore just after midnight south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. When it did, Laura’s wind speeds reached 150 miles an hour, just seven miles per hour shy of the Category 5 threshold. The National Hurricane Center says storm surges could be ``unsurvivable.” Waves could soar as high as 20 feet in some places with as much as 15 inches of rainfall. President Trump says his administration is working with state and local governments to do what it can for the people of Texas and Louisiana, as well as those in Arkansas where the storm seems to be headed next.
Read More: AP, WSJ, National Hurricane Center
Kenosha, Wisconsin Unrest
For a fourth straight night, crowds marched in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, now upset over the shooting deaths of three men. The outrage started when a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, Sunday night. Then a 17-year-old allegedly shot into the crowd of protesters Tuesday night. Two people died and another was hurt. The teen was arrested. President Trump says he sent federal agents and National Guard troops to Kenosha, calling it necessary to “restore law and order.”
Teen Arrested for Killing Protesters: Milwaukee Sentinel, WaPo, AP, Axios
Trump Sent Law Enforcement to Kenosha: ABC News, Politico, FOX News, Axios
Jacob Blake Shooting Updates
Wisconsin’s attorney general revealed the name of the officer who shot Jacob Blake. Ofc. Rusten Sheskey has been on the police force for seven years. The attorney general also said Blake had a knife on him when the shooting happened. The officer was not wearing a body camera. The Justice Department has now opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting.
Read More: CBS News, Milwaukee Sentinel, NY Times, Kenosha News
CDC Changes Testing Guidelines
The CDC released controversial changes to its coronavirus testing guidelines. It now says people who get exposed to COVID-19 may not need to be tested anymore, as long as they don’t start showing symptoms. The New York Times cites two federal health officials who say the Trump administration ordered the CDC to make the revisions. Some experts have questioned whether the new guidelines were politically motivated. However, the nation’s testing czar pushed back on that, saying it was decided by science.
Read More: Reuters, WaPo, NY Times, CDC
RNC Night 3 Recap/Night 4 Preview
The fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention is tonight. President Trump will accept his party’s nomination in a speech at the White House. Vice President Mike Pence formally accepted his nomination for a second term last night. He spoke about Trump, saying “He’s certainly kept things interesting, but more importantly, he’s kept his word” to the American public. Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris campaign is looking to pull some attention away from the RNC. This Afternoon, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris will speak in Washington, D.C.
Read More: WSJ, Politico, WaPo, FOX News, AP
Africa Declared Polio-Free
In a historic public health achievement, Africa has been certified as free of wild polio. The World Health Organization made the announcement this week, 24 years after the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign launched. Back in 1996, it was estimated that wild poliovirus paralyzed an estimated 75,000 children on the continent each year. Now, Africa hasn’t reported a single case since August 2016.
Read More: BBC, NY Times, NPR, WHO
Bucks Boycott Playoff Game
The Milwaukee Bucks never showed up to yesterday’s NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Instead, they released a statement, saying they were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Then the NBA postponed the other two playoff games scheduled last night. The league told ESPN it scheduled a special Board of Governors meeting for this morning to decide what comes next. Reports say it's already unlikely that today’s playoff games will go on as planned.
Read More: ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC News, NBA, Bucks Statement
Fortnite New Season Rollout
Fortnite’s new season arrives today, but because the popular game’s owner, Epic Games, is in a court battle with Apple, the rollout will be a little messy. Apple still isn’t allowing any Fortnite updates. That means people who play on different Apple products, like iPhones, iPads, or Macs, will be playing a different version of the game than those who play on Android devices, or gaming systems like Playstation or Xbox. The two versions won’t be compatible with each other.
Read More: The Verge, CNET, Engadget, New Season Trailer
Apple Working on AR Content
Apple’s video streaming service could soon be interactive. The tech giant is adding augmented reality to Apple TV+. For example, someone watching Apple’s moon exploration show might be able to hold up their phone or tablet to see what looks like a virtual lunar rover landing in their living room. The feature is expected to launch early next year.
Read More: Engadget, Bloomberg, Forbes
TTKT: 2020 Census Response Rates
35% of U.S. households still haven’t been counted in the 2020 census yet. People still have one more month to get their data in. The Census Bureau says it will stop collecting data on September 30. The census is essentially a population count of the U.S. every ten years. The results impact how much representation your area could get in Congress and where federal tax dollars end up. You can fill out the census online, by phone, or by mail.
Read More: Census.Gov