Read Time: 6 Minutes
Coronavirus/COVID-19
- The U.S. reported 28,477 new cases and 224 additional deaths.
- The pandemic peaked once in late April before settling at about 20,000 new cases a day. When the country rushed to reopen, the virus pounced, this time in the South. Infections peaked again around July 24, at a whopping 60,000 cases daily and then slowly flattened to around 40,000 now. That’s still dangerously high; one influential model just upped its estimate for U.S. deaths by January to more than 400,000 — just over double the current death toll of nearly 190,000.
- Despite initial reports warning people that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted from contaminated surfaces, the CDC has told Americans in no uncertain terms that the virus is primarily transmitted person-to-person, through breathing, speaking, shouting and singing. While it may be possible to catch the coronavirus from a doorknob or a package, it’s a long shot.
The most important things that will help avoid catching the virus? Wearing masks, staying more than six feet apart, avoiding enclosed spaces.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) said a mask mandate is the “single biggest weapon” in fighting coronavirus.
- In a racially charged tweet, the president stated without any evidence: “Starting to get VERY high marks in our handling of the Coronavirus (China Virus), especially when compared to other countries and areas of the world. Now the Vaccines (Plus) are coming, and fast!”
- President Trump, accused by Joe Biden of putting lives at risk in his handling of the coronavirus, on Monday called his Democratic rival “stupid.”
- President Trump suggested Kamala Harris is sabotaging a prospective coronavirus vaccine for political ends.
He argued that his political foes are using the unprecedented rapid speed of vaccine research to attack him, creating doubts that may mean people are afraid to take it.
Harris told CNN over the weekend that she would not necessarily trust a vaccine approved by the Trump administration before Election Day, unless a “credible” source agreed it was safe.
- For the sixth consecutive week the NHL reported zero positive COVID-19 tests during the Phase 4 portion of its Return To Play plan.
- Despite the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in France, the French Tennis Federation announced the 2020 French Open will be open to fans on a limited basis when play begins later this month.
- The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World and other hotels are trying to corner the stressed-out parent market by tempting them with “schoolcation” promotions.
Overnight hotel guests can send their child to supervised schoolwork sessions in settings that promise natural light, private terraces and ample physical distancing between each desk.
Monday through Friday, guests can choose from a half-day or full-day school schedule, at $50 and $100.
- Classes for undergraduate students at West Virginia University will move online amid concerns about a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Protests/Racial & Social Issues
- An officer-involved shooting of a 13-year-old autistic boy, who is recovering in the hospital after getting shot several times, is under investigation with the Salt Lake City Police Department. The boy’s mother, Golda Barton, said she was the one who called the police and asked for a crisis intervention team. She said her son, who has Asperger’s, was having a mental breakdown.
On the phone with officers, Barton told officers the best way to approach her son: “I said, he’s unarmed, he doesn’t have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming. He’s a kid, he’s trying to get attention, he doesn’t know how to regulate.”
A police spokesman said he knew of no indication that there was a weapon found.
- Six naked, or near-naked, demonstrators gathered early Monday morning in downtown Rochester, in upstate New York, wearing “spit hoods” over their heads in solidarity with Daniel Prude, a Black man who died there in March days after police put a mesh hood over his head as he knelt naked and restrained on the street.
- Following a pro-Trump car rally, participants congregated at the Oregon State Capitol Building, some carried firearms and baseball bats. The pro-Trump group attacked a counterprotester with a baseball bat and pepper spray. After a second similar attack, Salem police officers and Oregon State Police troopers arrested at least two men with the conservative demonstrators.
- In her first visit to a battleground state since she became the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) met privately in Wisconsin on Monday with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot repeatedly in the back by police officers.
Family members at the meeting included Mr. Blake’s father and sisters; his mother and Mr. Blake himself participated by phone.
- Vice President Mike Pence used a Labor Day visit to Wisconsin to attack JoeBiden for criticizing law enforcement, claiming that Mr. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, would perpetuate “policies that have literally led to violence in our major American cities.”
Pence scorned Biden for not criticizing Democratic mayors or mentioning Antifa by name in his condemnation of violence.
The vice president said Mr. Trump had “quelled the violence” by sending in federal troops to assist local law enforcement.
While acknowledging that the police use of force should be “thoroughly investigated,” Pence did not mention Mr. Blake and instead focused on the violent aftermath of his shooting.
“Rioting and looting is not peaceful protest, burning businesses is not free speech,” he said, vowing that those who do so “will be prosecuted to fullest extent of the law.”
- According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, a majority of Americans believe that Joe Biden would do a better job handling protests, along with reducing violence in the country, and handling racial discrimination. At the same time, over half feel that what President Trump has said about the protests makes the situation worse.
- Professional tennis player Naomi Osaka donned a mask bearing the name of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida in 2012, ahead of her U.S. Open match.
- Nearly 20% of new Covid-19 cases in Kentucky are from children ages 18 and younger, according to a news release issued by Gov. Andy Beshear’s office.
Trump Administration
- Trump said today that he would be open to investigating the head of the U.S. Postal Service over allegations of campaign finance violations. He also said he’d be OK with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s dismissal if he were found to have violated campaign finance law.
- Trump accused the United States’ military leadership of being beholden to arms manufacturers, in an attack on his own administration only days after reports that he had mocked fallen soldiers.
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
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