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Protests/Racial and Social Justice
- President Trump insisted that federal agents would not leave Portland until Democratic Oregon Gov. Kate Brown “clear[s] out” protesters from the city, a day after Brown announced that she had reached an agreement with Trump’s administration to begin a phased withdrawal of federal tactical teams.
- A middle school teacher in Kentucky has resigned instead of facing disciplinary proceedings, after making racist online comments. Responding to a video of protestors apparently in a road or parking lot, she suggested that, if run over, the victims would “blend in with the pavement.”
- Amid the ongoing clashes between protesters and federal officers in downtown Portland, the Department of Homeland Security created intelligence reports about two U.S. journalists it claims reported on leaked, damning information about law enforcement operations.
- Michael Jordan and his Jordan Brand are set to donate $2.5 million to organizations combating voter suppression of Black Americans across the country.
- Players with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz restarted the NBA’s season by kneeling during the National Anthem.
Moments before tipoff on Thursday evening, the players, who were joined by coaches and game officials, all took a knee.
The players also wore black “Black Lives Matter” shirts both during warm-ups and the National Anthem.
- Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has been permanently banned from Twitter for repeatedly breaking the social media site’s rules blocking hate speech.
Trump Administration
- President Trump expressed his sadness over the death of Herman Cain, who passed away from Covid-19 after spending nearly a month in the hospital with the virus. “He was a very special person, and I got to know him very well.”
- Amazon has received authorization from the FCC to proceed with Project Kuiper, its initiative to launch a fleet of low-orbiting satellites that would be used to provide broadband internet access to underserved communities in the U.S.
- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and other top officials reportedly worked to preserve memos by former FBI Director James Comey and other key documents in the Russia investigation amid fears that President Trump would interfere in the probe.
- Federal prosecutors lifted a gag order on Michael Cohen, allowing President Trump’s former attorney to continue writing a tell-all memoir as he serves out his three-year prison sentence at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) has proposed a new bill aiming to prevent oil and gas drilling near polar bear dens, targeting the Trump administration’s plans to open up a wildlife refuge in Alaska for drilling.
- A federal appeals court will revisit an earlier decision ordering a district court judge to allow the Department of Justice to withdraw its criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Presidential Campaign
- Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) reportedly declined to answer at a closed-door committee hearing whether he has received materials from Ukrainian sources meant to damage former Vice President Joe Biden’s reputation ahead of the 2020 election.
- The Trump campaign has paused its digital advertising efforts to “review” its strategy, a campaign official told NBC News. The campaign official pointed to the recent changes in staff as the reason.
- 47 percent of Democratic or left-leaning Generation Z voters said in a new poll that they have seen far more ads from President Trump’s reelection campaign online than ads from former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign.
Sources: ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, Independent, NBC News, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
The Past 24 Hours Or So 