5 things to know for July 29: Stimulus, William Barr, election 2020, DACA, tech hearing
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1. Stimulus
Republicans aren’t happy with their Senate leaders’ new coronavirus relief proposal, and they aren’t trying to hide it. Among the biggest complaints was the $1.75 billion allotted to a new FBI building, which even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes. The bill also allots a controversial $8 billion for the Department of Defense, including funds that would go toward military programs cut in order to pay for the Trump administration’s southern border wall. GOP lawmakers have made it clear there is going to have to be a lot of negotiating if they want to get the bill off the ground. Stimulus or no stimulus, the pandemic isn’t slowing down. The World Health Organization now says Covid-19 is spreading in “one big wave.” That’s good news because the organization doesn’t think the virus is affected by seasonal trends. It’s bad news because it means the spread of the virus is dependent more on personal responsibility and human behavior.
2. William Barr
Democrats clashed with Attorney General William Barr in a tense House Judiciary Committee hearing. The Democratic-led committee grilled Barr on recent episodes that some lawmakers say raise concerns about whether or not the Justice Department has become politicized and overstepped its power. Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler grilled Barr about his handling of recent nationwide protests and accused the Attorney General of bringing in federal forces to bolster President Trump’s reelection profile. Barr said he has a federal duty to protect American property in places where protests are still going on, like Portland. He also accused the committee of seeking to discredit him. Nadler has said the House is looking into impeaching Barr for his actions.
3. Election 2020
Joe Biden says he’ll announce his running mate for this fall’s presidential election next week, putting an end to months of feverish speculation on who the presumptive nominee will pick as his potential VP. Could it be Sen. Kamala Harris? Biden was photographed holding handwritten notes with Harris’ name at the top along with a set of talking points about her. However, other Democratic leaders are worried about something completely different. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the heads of the Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and the Interior departments to commit to not using federal agents if protests erupt in American cities after November’s election — specifically if President Trump loses and refuses to leave office. Meanwhile, the President has completed a full about-face and announced he will accept the Republican presidential nomination in North Carolina as originally planned.
4. DACA
The Trump administration has announced it will not accept new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. The administration also will limit renewals to one year instead of two while it reviews the program. President Trump has spent the last three years trying to end the Obama-era program, which shields some undocumented immigrants from deportation if they came to the US as a child. Last month, the Supreme Court blocked his latest attempt to pull the plug, so the administration’s decision to simply put the program on pause could be seen as a stopgap until they figure out a new approach.
5. Tech hearing
The House Judiciary Committee will host four of the world’s most powerful tech CEOS today during a hearing meant to hammer out the future of online platform dominance. It sounds dry, but if you think about it, the four companies involved — Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook — make up a staggering amount of our online activity, especially during a time when we’re physically isolated. Today’s hearing is designed to determine whether the companies have abused that dominance to overtake the online marketplace. Among other things, Amazon is under scrutiny for its use of seller data; Apple, over its app store policies; Facebook, for its acquisition strategy and its dominance in online advertising; and Google, for its own practices in search and advertising.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
Here is the list of 2020 Emmy nominees
Did your favorite quarantine binge watch make it?
Tempers flared at the Dodgers-Astros game after sign-stealing payback
Even a pandemic can’t erase juicy sports scandals and grudges.
Budweiser is launching an alcohol-free, low-calorie beer
For when you want that beer taste, without that beer brain.
A serial runaway bear nicknamed ‘Papillon’ is on the loose again in Italy
Looks like someone really wants a charmingly illustrated children’s book about themselves.
Is sitting on the floor better than sitting on a chair?
If “the floor” is on the curb of a parking lot at 5 a.m. because there’s a massive internet outage in your area and you have to write CNN’s 5 Things this morning and the only place with WiFi is a Starbucks that’s not even technically open yet, then no. The floor is not better than a chair.
TODAY’S NUMBER
1,000
That’s approximately how many pilgrims will attend the Hajj, Â Islam’s most important annual pilgrimage, this year due to new crowd control restrictions put in place by Saudi Arabia. On a normal year, the journey to the holy sites in the cities of Mecca and Medina would attract about 2 million people of faith.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“Like many, I watched the first half of 2020 with a mixture of heartbreak and horror. What fills me with hope is the thought of what will come if each of us reflects on what we can offer.”
MacKenzie Scott, formerly MacKenzie Bezos, who has already donated nearly $1.7 billion of her fortune to a variety of organizations and causes after pledging last year to give most of it away during her lifetime.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
The origin stories behind beloved childhood obsessionsÂ
What geniuses came up with Pokémon, or Super Soakers, or the plastic recorders that were mandatory learning in every single school for some reason? All of your questions will be answered.
