Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires jump Interstate 80 in Vacaville, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. The highway was closed in both directions shortly afterward. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, August 20, 2020:
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
LAST NIGHT: The Democratic Party formally nominated Sen. Kamala Harris for the vice presidency, capping the most policy-focused night of the DNC so far. Harris called this an “inflection point” in America and defined her role in the campaign as fighting “for the people,” a nod to her days as a prosecutor. Barack Obama delivered the sharpest condemnation of a sitting president from a former president ever, saying: “Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job, because he can’t.” An emotional Obama addressed voters directly, telling them that Republicans “know they can’t win you over with their policies, so they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote…That’s how they win.” HIGHLIGHTS
TONIGHT: Joe Biden will formally accept the nomination in the fourth and final night of programming. Other speakers include Sens. Cory Booker, Chris Coons and Tammy Baldwin, Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang. CBS NEWS
CALIFORNIA FIRES: Cal Fire has issued an extraordinary warning, telling all residents of California to “be ready to go” in the event of wildfires. There are now more than 350 fires across the state, sparked by lightning strikes and fanned by an historic heat wave and high winds. The worst of those are in Northern California and have sent a blanket of ash over San Francisco. Tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders in the wine country of Sonoma and Napa Counties. MERCURY NEWS
OPERATION LEGEND: The attorney general announced that there have been nearly 1,500 arrests made across eight U.S. cities in recent weeks, as part of a federal law enforcement initiative dubbed Operation Legend. AG Barr said most of those arrests are gun- and drug-related. This is a separate initiative from the controversial strategy of sending federal authorities into cities like Portland to quell civil unrest. That city continues to see violent protests nearly every night; Portland Police declared a riot this week after arsonists set fire to a government building. USA TODAY
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: A new study from researchers at Mass Gen suggests that children may play a larger role than thought as “super spreaders” of the coronavirus, even if they show no symptoms. The U.S. is still recording about 1,300 deaths a day. Meanwhile, the FDA has paused a plan to issue an emergency-use-authorization for convalescent blood plasma as a treatment for COVID-19, saying more study is needed. NATURE
TWO TRILLION CLUB: Apple is the first American company to reach a market valuation of $2 trillion. The iPhone maker has doubled its value in just two years, joining the Saudi state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco as the only companies to ever hit the milestone. Investors were worried that the coronavirus was going to majorly disrupt Apple’s supply chain, but the stock has been on fire, up more than 50 percent since the pandemic began. THE VERGE
NETFLIX SHUFFLE: Netflix is trying to make the days of arguing over what to watch a thing of the past. The streaming giant has been testing a ‘shuffle’ button that lets you roll the dice and have the algorithm play something random. TECHCRUNCH
PARTY ON, POWER OFF: The mayor of Los Angeles authorized the city to shut off power at a home in the Hollywood Hills that belongs to a trio of TikTok stars who have been throwing large parties in violation of public health orders. Mayor Eric Garcetti followed through on a warning that he would disconnect the utilities at homes that continued to host parties, calling the home in question a “nightclub in the hills.” TikTok personalities Bryce Hall, Noah Beck and Blake Gray reportedly live together in the house. CBS LA
SPOTTED...Bill Murray, reunited with Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola, in the trailer for Coppola’s new comedy, On the Rocks: WATCH
LOUGHLIN SENTENCING: Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli will be sentenced tomorrow in the college-admissions scandal (a.k.a. Operation Varsity Blues). Prosecutors are expected to argue that the couple’s daughters, Bella and Olivia Jade, were in on the scam and went along at their parents’ urging by doing things like posing for staged photos for their applications. THE CUT
LEFTOVERS: TRANSPARENT BATHROOMS: A famous Japanese architect is redesigning some of Tokyo’s public bathrooms with a novel approach. The bathrooms are entirely see-through, so that passersby can tell when they're empty and check out the cleanliness before they commit. Once in use, the walls turn a glowing opaque, ensuring privacy. SEE THEM
Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
