Read Time: 6 Minutes
Protests/Racial & Social Issues
- A white, 17-year-old was taken into custody in Illinois on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of two people gunned down during a third night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.
Two people were shot to death Tuesday night in an attack carried out by a young white man who was caught on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a semi-automatic rifle.Witness accounts and video show that the shootings took place in two stages: The gunman first shot someone at a car lot, then jogged away, stumbled and fell in the street, and opened fire again as members of the crowd closed in on him.
- In another widely circulating video, police can be seen tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets. One of the civilians appears to be the gunman who later shot protesters.
“We appreciate you being here,” an officer is heard saying to the group over a loudspeaker.
- In the wake of the killings, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) authorized 500 members of the National Guard to support local law enforcement around Kenosha, doubling the number of troops sent in. The governor’s office said he is working with other states to bring in additional National Guard troops and law officers. Authorities also announced a 7 p.m. curfew.
- The sheriff of Kenosha, WI, said he rejected requests to deputize armed citizens amid protests and violence in the city following the police shooting of Jacob Blake: “I had a person call me and say why don’t you deputize citizens who have guns to come out and patrol the city of Kenosha, and I’m like, ‘oh hell no.'”
- President Donald Trump announced he will order additional federal forces to tamp down violence in Kenosha.
“We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets,” Trump tweeted. “TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!”
- In a tweet, the NBA announced, “The NBA and the NBPA today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today’s three games – MIL-ORL, HOU-OKC and LAL-POR have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled.”
Discussions within teams are ongoing about postponing Thursday’s three games too – and beyond. “The season is in jeopardy,” one veteran player told ESPN.
The entire NBA season is currently at risk of being cancelled, with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers both reportedly voting to boycott the remainder of the 2019- 2020 season as a way to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
- NBA star LeBron James, who has been a leading voice for social justice in the NBA, joined other prominent basketball players in voicing support for the Milwaukee Bucks’ boycott of the NBA following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.
“FUCK THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT” James tweeted.
- News of the Bucks walking out has sent a ripple effect across sports in the United States. Here’s a look at all of the games postponed as a sign of protest:
NBA: Orlando Magic vs. Milwaukee Bucks (Game 5 — first round)
NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets (Game 5 — first round)
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Game 5 — first round)
WNBA: Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream
WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Minnesota Lynx
WNBA: Connecticut Sun vs. Phoenix Mercury
MLB: Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers
MLB: Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres
MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants
MLS: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami
MLS: FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids
MLS: Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles FC
MLS: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers
MLS: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders
- The ACLU is suing the Trump administration over federal agents’ conduct in responding to Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon, claiming the illegally detained veterans and that they used excessive force to silence demonstrators.
- A Florida woman has been charged with child abuse after she allegedly slapped an 11-year-old Black boy and called him a racial slur at a go-kart track.
Three employees said that they witnessed Haley Zager, 30, step out of her go-kart and smack the boy after his kart slammed into hers, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.She told police that the child did not apologize and she “tapped” him in the face, according to a police report. The report also claimed that Zager told an employee “that fucking nigger hit me in the back.”
- A federal appeals court has ruled that schools cannot bar students from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity, handing a major victory to supporters of LGBTQ rights.
- A mixed-race couple in Florida whose home in Jacksonville had initially been valued by an appraiser at $330,000 back in June said the same residence was valued at over 40 percent higher at a second appraisal after they removed images of their Black family members. They instead put up paintings of her husband and his white family, and left him home to handle the appraisal alone.
Trump Administration
- A West Palm Beach USPS processing center recently had four mail sorting machines dismantled, even as postage centers across the country prepare for a record number of mail-in ballots cast ahead of Election Day.
- The House Intelligence Committee has announced that it would narrow its subpoena for President Trump’s financial records after the Supreme Court dealt a temporary setback for the congressional investigation last month. The House panels won every round of the court fights until they reached the Supreme Court, which ruled 7-2 that the lower courts did not adequately balance the interests of both branches in the dispute.
- Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, the twin brother of impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, has filed a complaint with a Pentagon watchdog raising concerns that he was retaliated against for reporting that the national security adviser and his chief of staff “committed several ethics and legal compliance violations” late last year and into 2020.
- Amid deteriorating relations with Beijing, the Commerce Department has blacklisted 24 Chinese companies, saying that they are helping the ruling Chinese Communist Party construct artificial islands in the South China Sea, which the U.S. sees as a military provocation.
- Chicago and three other cities on Wednesday sued the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, demanding it correct how it interprets what is a firearm and halt the sale of untraceable “ghost gun” kits increasingly used in crimes.
- Trump administration officials reportedly floated using a microwave heat ray — a military-designed device that makes people’s skin feel like it is burning — to deter migrants from crossing the border illegally in the days leading up to the 2018 midterm elections.
- A coalition of 13 groups sued the Interior Department and National Park Service over its decision to ease restrictions on hunting bear cubs and wolf pups at national preserves in Alaska.
Presidential Campaign
- President Trump is calling for drug tests to be administered before the first presidential debate between him and Democratic nominee Joe Biden next month.
Trump made the demand in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Examiner Wednesday, saying he noted a sudden improvement in Biden’s primary debate performance against Sen. Bernie Sanders in March.
- A senior FBI official said the agency has not seen any “coordinated” mail-in voter fraud effort ahead of the November election, undercutting President Trump’s repeated attacks on voting by mail.
- “Burning down communities is not protest, it’s needless violence,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said after protests erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. “Violence that endangers lives. Violence that guts businesses and shutters businesses that serve the community. That’s wrong.”
Sources: ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, Forbes, Fox News,The Hill, Independent, MSNBC, NBC News, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
The Past 24 Hours Or So 