Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, September 24, 2020:
BREONNA TAYLOR DECISION
GRAND JURY: A former Louisville police office has been indicted on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in connection with the killing of Breonna Taylor. Brett Hankison was charged with endangering Taylor’s neighbors by shooting 10 rounds from outside her apartment, some of which entered adjacent apartments. The two other officers who shot Taylor six times were not charged. COURIER JOURNAL
PROTESTS: Demonstrations erupted in Louisville, New York, Chicago and cities across the country, with protesters enraged that none of the officers were directly charged with killing Taylor. Two Louisville police officers were shot; their injuries are non-life-threatening and a suspect is in custody. Protests in Seattle and Portland turned violent as people hurled Molotov cocktails at authorities. AP
SUPREME COURT & ELECTION
President Trump is predicting that the Supreme Court will decide the outcome of the election, telling reporters that’s why his yet-to-be-named nominee must be seated before Nov. 3. Lawyers for the Trump campaign have begun challenging mail-in voting rules in a number of states, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle if the margins are close on Election Night. The president also refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose. BLOOMBERG
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Johnson & Johnson has started the final stage of clinical trials for its vaccine. J&J's is the fourth trial in the U.S. to reach Stage 3, and it’s also one of the most promising. The trials will be the largest, enrolling 60,000 volunteers, and the vaccine requires only one shot, rather than two, and doesn’t need to be kept frozen -- a major logistical hurdle when it comes to mass distribution. Indiana will move to a full reopening on Saturday, with bars, restaurants and theaters allowed to open without any restrictions. In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson, an opponent of mask mandates, has tested positive. STAT
THE STATE OF SCHOOLS
It’s still early, but the first wave of data related to COVID-19 transmission in K-12 schools is promising. Researchers at Brown University have found extremely low levels of infection among both students and teachers nationwide -- around 0.1 percent. Because testing and reporting differ so widely among states, that analysis should not be taken to mean that schools are out of the woods, but one scientist said it suggests that “we’re not seeing schools as crucibles for onward transmission.” Transmission at colleges in another story entirely. WASH POST
CLIMATE & CALIFORNIA
CARS: Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for California to ban new gasoline-powered cars within 15 years, a move that would make the state the first to stop the sale of vehicles with internal-combustion engines. Newsom signed an executive order to establish regulations that would require all new cars sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035. SAC BEE
FIRES: Firefighters have been making solid progress in getting the massive Bobcat Fire north of L.A. under control. They’ve been helped by calmer weather, though dry and hot conditions are expected to return in the coming days. Up north, the Lightning Complex Fire is now fully contained. LA TIMES
NOT SO FAST...
Amazon is disavowing an announcement that it had co-developed a $500 connected exercise bike to undercut Peloton. Amazon says it had nothing to do with the Prime Bike, which Echelon Fitness announced in a press release that it had launched in partnership with the e-commerce giant. The bike was taken off Amazon and the original press release from Echelon has been deleted. TECHCRUNCH
IPHONE CUSTOMIZATION
Have you updated your iPhone software? The latest version of iOS lets users customize their home screens with color schemes, widgets and photo icons. The ability to give the screen you stare at all day a unique look has created a new mini-industry of personalization apps that have taken over Apple’s App Store. Here’s a step-by-step guide to changing your iPhone’s aesthetic to your taste: 9TO5MAC
PERFORMING ARTS IN CRISIS
New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera has decided to cancel its entire 2020-21 season, a worrisome sign that major cultural institutions from theater to the opera are still a long way from returning to normal. The Met, which is the largest performing arts organization in the country, will stay dark until next September, while Broadway is dark through at least the end of the year. This is all just more bad news for NYC’s hospitality industry; major hotels and tourist-friendly restaurants in the city have already started closing for good. PLAYBILL
SPOTTED...
...more than 100 former law clerks to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, lined up on the steps of the Supreme Court to receive her casket: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: TOM CRUISE IN SPACE
It’s been rumored for months that Tom Cruise was working on a secret project with Elon Musk’s SpaceX that would see him star in a movie shot in space. Now a well-regarded Twitter account that follows space missions has published a manifest that appears to show Cruise and his longtime collaborator, the director Doug Liman, are booked on a SpaceX trip to the International Space Station for next October. SEE TWEET
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