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| Monday, September 07, 2020 | |
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| | | | 1. Kenosha Victim Speaks Out: Your Life ‘Can Be Taken’ For the first time since he was shot by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer Aug. 23, reigniting Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, Jacob Blake issued a public statement this weekend. “Your life … can be taken from you like this,” the 29-year-old said, snapping his fingers in a video from his hospital bed. Blake said he’s in constant pain and doctors expect he’ll be paralyzed from the waist down. On Sunday, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said that based on video of Blake’s shooting, the officer who shot him seven times in the back should be charged. Sources: AP, Newsweek |
| 2. Epic California Airlift Rescues Fire-Trapped Campers There was no way out — except up. More than 200 people celebrating Labor Day weekend camping at Mammoth Pool Reservoir in the Sierra Nevada found their only road out blocked by the fast-moving Creek Fire on Saturday. So a collection of agencies worked overnight with the California National Guard, which supplied two helicopters to fly campers, along with 11 pets, out of danger in the largest such operation in memory. As the state copes with a record fire year, with more than 2 million acres scorched, Los Angeles County reported its highest temperature ever, 121 degrees Fahrenheit. Sources: LA Times, CNN |
| 3. UK Moves May Derail Brexit Talks British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil legislation that goes against the January deal that took his nation out of the European Union. According to the Financial Times, the internal market bill would override the agreement on state aid and customs for Northern Ireland. The measure would be triggered by the EU’s failure to agree on trade arrangements with Britain, which were put off until the end of this year by the divorce accord. Little progress has come from trade talks, and Johnson is expected to recommend no-deal trading if there’s no progress by Oct. 15. Sources: DW, Reuters |
| 4. Report: DeJoy Paid Employees to Fund Campaigns There’s still a law against it. The Washington Post reports that Louis DeJoy, the Trump-appointed postmaster general already under scrutiny for slowing mail delivery ahead of record mail-in voting, used his former company’s workers to funnel illegal campaign contributions. The report says New Breed Logistics employees were pressured to attend Republican fundraisers and make donations, which were then reimbursed as company bonuses. DeJoy’s spokesperson said the businessman “fully complied with any and all laws,” but Democratic legislators are demanding an investigation from authorities in North Carolina, where the firm is based. Sources: Washington Post, Reuters |
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| | | | 1. America’s Extremes Go Mainstream Long before he became OZY editor-at-large, Eugene S. Robinson freelanced for Gavin McInnes at Vice magazine. Since then, McInnes has gone from defining a rebellious strain of hipster culture to empathizing with klansmen and organizing the Proud Boys, a designated hate group. Now Robinson wonders how this happened, in conjunction with this week’s two-part OZY Sunday Magazine: It examines how America’s extremes are becoming almost normal, sucking in followers on Facebook and other platforms — and hitting the streets with more frequent and deadlier consequences — and what’s being done blunt their destructive influence. Source: OZY |
| 2. US Firms Get Workers to Staff Polling Stations They’re stocking the vote. With the pandemic keeping many poll workers, who are mostly older Americans, locked down, companies like Starbucks, Old Navy and Target are tapping their young employee reserves. A coalition called Civic Alliance says it’s signed up 350,000 poll workers from these companies — which are providing paid time off to volunteer. It’s a way for firms to show civic engagement, organizers say, but in a nonpartisan fashion. Meanwhile, Ohio election officials are considering recruiting accountants and National Guard troops, while the Atlanta Hawks are staffing their arena as an early-voting site. Sources: WSJ (sub), Bloomberg |
| 3. Denver Expects Historic 60-Degree Dive Tonight Today’s forecast: hot and hazy. Tomorrow: snow. Forecasters anticipate the Mile High City and environs, where it was near 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, will remain in the 90s today, dropping to the low 30s overnight — with a possible accumulation of 6 inches of snow. While Denver’s been hit by big swings in the past, this would be the earliest dramatic plunge on record, enabled by Arctic winds blowing along the Rocky Mountains’ Front Range from the north. The previous earliest drop came on Sept. 19, 2010, when the mercury plummeted 55 degrees in one day. Sources: Accuweather, Fox 31 Denver |
| 4. As ‘Mulan’ Opens, Hongkongers Revive Boycott They can all attack her later. Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan, the 1998 animated hit about a mythical medieval warrior who impersonates a man to protect her family, opens in Chinese theaters this Friday. But in the 21st century, democracy warriors in Hong Kong aren’t keen on Chinese star Liu Yifei, who spoke out in support of Hong Kong police last year, saying, “You can all attack me now.” With last week’s pandemic-induced Disney+ streaming debut, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong tweeted, “I urge everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan,” leaving fans to choose sides. Sources: Harper’s Bazaar, Yahoo, THR |
| 5. US Open Ejects Djokovic for Hurting Line Judge Heavily favored to win the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Novak Djokovic was booted Sunday for “recklessly” batting away a ball, injuring a line judge. Undefeated this year, the Serbian superstar appeared frustrated at losing a serve in a fourth-round game against 20th-seed Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain. Trailing 6-5, the world No. 1 took a ball from his pocket and hit it behind him, smacking the female official in the throat. After the disqualification, No. 5 seed Sascha Zverev called it “very unlucky for Novak,” but observed that now the tournament “gets interesting.” Sources: BBC, Forbes, The Guardian |
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