Month: August 2020

Cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States surpassed six million on Sunday, as many states in the Midwest reported increasing infections. Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota have recently reported record one-day increases in new cases while Montana and Idaho are seeing record numbers of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

New hotspots are in counties such as Iowa,  home to the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, which are holding some in-person classes. Colleges and universities around the country have seen outbreaks after students returned to campus, forcing some to switch to online-only learning. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said a New York (SUNY) campus in Oneonta in upstate New York has experienced a COVID-19 outbreak. Fall classes, which started last week at the college, were suspended for two weeks after more than 100 people tested positive for the virus..

More than eight months into the pandemic, the United States continues to struggle with testing, with at least 33 states rejecting the new COVID-19 testing guidance issued by the Trump administration last week. However, public health officials believe the United States needs to test more frequently to find asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers to slow the spread of the disease.

U.S. tops 6 million coronavirus cases as nation continues to struggle with pandemic

Via www.nbcnews.com

The country has recorded more than 183,000 deaths due to the virus since the outbreak began…

08/30/2020 3:54 PM

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During a press conference on Sunday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler urged individuals of all political persuasions to join in renouncing violence, after an escalation of protest-related violence caused one fatality. Officials are pointing to social media posts vowing revenge for a fatal shooting amid weekend street clashes between supporters of President Donald Trump and counter-demonstrators.

“For those of you saying on Twitter this morning that you plan to come to Portland to seek retribution, I’m calling on you to stay away,” said Wheeler.  He also lashed out at President Trump for political rhetoric that he said “encouraged division and stoked violence,” and criticized Trump’s Twitter posts, which criticized Wheeler and urged him to request help from the federal government to restore order. “It’s an aggressive stance. It’s not collaborative,” Wheeler said of Trump’s tweets. “I’d appreciate it if the president would support us or stay the hell out of the way.”

Wheeler and Police Chief Chuck Lovell said investigators were still working to establish the sequence of events leading to the fatal shooting late Saturday in downtown Portland. 

1 Killed In Portland Amid Clashes Between Pro-Trump Caravan And Counterprotesters

Via www.npr.org

President Trump blamed Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler for losing control, while the mayor responded…

08/30/2020 7:45 PM

 

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Hurricane Laura’s winds produced more damage than its storm surge as it hammered portions of Louisiana, killing at least six people. Laura came ashore as a Category 4 storm early Thursday near the Texas border, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands. Laura made landfall with sustained winds of 150 mph, devastating southern Louisiana communities for miles.

Laura was later downgraded to a tropical storm about 35 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas, with sustained winds of 40 mph as of Thursday evening. In addition to widespread reports of wind damage, some communities were affected from storm surge and flooding. More than 843,000 customers in Texas and Louisiana were without power Thursday evening, according to PowerOutages.us.

As Laura makes its way northeast, “flooding rainfall and tropical force winds” were spreading over parts of Arkansas, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked residents to “pay attention to the weather.” Laura still could deliver damaging wind gusts in parts of northern Louisiana and Arkansas though Thursday evening, the National Hurricane Center said, and was expected to drop another 4 to 8 inches of rain across parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Laura is the seventh named storm to make landfall in the US so far this year, a record for the most to do so before the end of August. There have been four tropical storms and three hurricanes.

Hurricane Laura leaves at least six dead and a trail of destruction

Via www.nbcnews.com

“We have thousands and thousands of our fellow citizens whose lives are upside down,”…

08/27/2020 10:06 PM

 

The Republican National Convention concluded on Thursday with President Donald Trump formally accepting the GOP nomination for a second term as president in a speech delivered from the White House South Lawn.  Chants of “four more years!” broke out at White House, after Pres. Trump called the upcoming presidential contest “the most important election in the history of our country.”  In stark contrast, however, as the president delivers his acceptance speech, protesters gathered at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House chanting “vote him out.”  

Other speakers on Day 4 of the RNC were the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, Alice Johnson, a 63-year-old woman whose life sentence was commuted by Trump after advocacy from Kim Kardashian West,  Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and personal attorney to the president.

Watch live: Republican National Convention — Night 4

Via www.cbsnews.com

President Trump will formally accept the Republican nomination and give a speech from the White…

08/27/2020 10:05 PM

 

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Day 3 of the Republican National Convention continued on Wednesday under the theme “America, Land of Heroes” with Vice President Mike Pence closing out the evening from Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

Pence spoke directly to those in the path of Hurricane Laura before accepting the nomination for vice president, saying, “Our prayers are with you tonight, and our administration is working closely with authorities in the states that will be impacted … this is a serious storm.” At the conclusion of Pence’s remarks President Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined the vice president on the stage.

In addition to VP Pence, speakers included Second lady Karen Pence; the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump; former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell; Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw; Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, who recently announced that she would be leaving her role at the White House in September.

Watch live: Republican National Convention — Night 3

Via www.cbsnews.com

Vice President Pence is the final speaker of the evening.

08/26/2020 10:05 PM

 

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The NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS took a stand against systemic racism and police brutality by boycotting games on Wednesday in response to the police shooting of a black man in Kenosha, Wis. 

The wave of boycotts and postponements was sparked by Milwaukee Bucks players’ responding to the shooting of Jacob Blake by refusing to come out of their locker room on Wednesday afternoon for a playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Two more NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday night were also postponed, inspiring players in other leagues to follow and causing professional basketball, baseball and soccer games to be called off because athletes would not participate.

In Major League Baseball, three games were called off: the Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Cincinnati Reds, the San Diego Padres playing the Seattle Mariners, and the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Five matches in Major League Soccer were postponed Wednesday after players objected to playing.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka said she would not play in a scheduled semifinal at the Western & Southern Open in New York,

Pro sports teams delay games after Milwaukee Bucks refuse to play in protest of Jacob Blake shooting

Via www.nbcnews.com

The announcement came after the Wisconsin-based team didn’t take the floor for its scheduled…

08/26/2020 10:07 PM