5 things to know for August 25: RNC, Kenosha protests, Covid-19, Falwell Jr., India
Marco is petering out, but Tropical Storm Laura is churning into a major hurricane as it heads toward the US Gulf Coast.
Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
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1. Republican National Convention
Night one of the RNC is complete. Our fact-checkers noted that the event started off with a parade of dishonesty, presenting a misleading portrait of Donald Trump’s presidency. Many speakers warned of socialist doom and rampant violence if Trump were not reelected, despite the President and his campaign advisers promising a more optimistic convention than what they claimed Democrats staged last week. Still, there were some aspirational moments, like the speeches from former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Here are the hits and misses from CNN’s Chris Cillizza, and four takeaways from the first night.
2. Wisconsin shooting
Protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, took to the streets to vent their anger over the shooting of Jacob Blake by police. Buildings and cars were set on fire last night. Blake, a 29-year-old Black father, was shot in the back multiple times by an officer on Sunday as he tried to enter an SUV. Blake’s three young children were in the car when he was shot, the attorney representing his family said. Blake was still in intensive care late yesterday, the lawyer said. Two Wisconsin police officers have been put on administrative leave as authorities investigate. The shooting comes as protesters continue to decry police violence on US streets after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
3. Coronavirus
Some good news: The average number of new cases and daily deaths from Covid-19 are on the decline, signaling that the virus’ surge throughout the US is waning. But now isn’t the time to ease up on precautionary measures, experts say. Forecasts for what the fall and winter in the US could look like are grim, and officials warn of some troubling signs across the heartland. Kansas’ governor said the state was reporting at least one Covid-19 case in every county, while Kentucky’s governor said the state reported more deaths from the virus last week than any other week since the pandemic began. The US has recorded more than 5.7 million infections and more than 177,000 deaths.
4. Jerry Falwell Jr.
Embattled evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. agreed to resign as Liberty University’s president yesterday but withdrew his resignation when news reports about the decision emerged, the Christian university founded by his late father said. The conversations about his fate followed a series of public controversies about Falwell Jr.’s behavior, including an affair a Miami man said he had with Falwell Jr.’s wife that went on for eight years. Falwell Jr. acknowledged the affair in a statement to CNN. The revelation adds new depth to Falwell Jr.’s swift and remarkable fall from grace. In June, he apologized after deleting a much-criticized tweet that showed one person in black face and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
5. India
Rescue workers in western India are hopeful they can save 19 people still trapped under the rubble of a five-story apartment building that collapsed yesterday in the state of Maharashtra. State and federal first responders are using specially trained dogs to help dig through the remains of the structure, about 90 miles south of Mumbai. Though several floors of the building had completely collapsed, officials believe it’s possible survivors still remain. It’s not clear what caused the building to collapse. August is monsoon season in India, when intense rains and floods wreak havoc on infrastructure, but authorities also appear to be investigating negligence.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
A Black professor said campus security asked her to prove she lived in her own house
Santa Clara University is launching an investigation.
Internet searches for anxiety symptoms spiked early in the pandemic
KFC is suspending its ‘finger lickin’ good’ slogan over the coronavirus
Earth’s core is younger than previously believed, new research suggests
A mere 1 billion to 1.3 billion years old!
NASA is on the hunt for rogue planets
And the agency’s new space telescope could help identify hundreds of them.
TODAY’S NUMBER
1.1 million
The number of acres that have been scorched by California’s wildfires since August 15. That’s more than five times the size of New York City, or like the entire state of Rhode Island getting set ablaze.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“I’ll submit that I know very little about a postage stamp.”
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, when questioned by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter on the cost to mail a greeting card
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check your local forecast here>>>
AND FINALLY
Just a man and his dog
This man and his pup have walked more than 18,000 miles through dozens of countries. Suddenly, that morning walk doesn’t sound so bad, huh? (Click here to view.)
