Wednesday August 19 top news briefs
Hello! My name is Renca. I will sub for Alex this week. Today is Wednesday, August 19th. Ready for our top news?
Highlights of DNC on 2nd night
Joe Biden was formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee in a roll call that was done virtually. It is a process in which each state announces how many delegates they are giving to a presidential nominee. Biden won the delegates during the primary elections in early 2020. This virtual process was cool because people from various states showed the scenery behind them and spoke in various languages.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused confusion because she nominated Bernie Sanders for president. She later clarified in a tweet that it was just convention rules to formally nominate anyone who has earned a certain number of delegates while they ran for president. Bernie did get many delegates early in the race against Biden, but fell behind and dropped out. Ocasio-Cortez said in the tweet that she congratulates Biden and wants to win in November. However many people felt it was still confusing and divisive.
Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter said in speeches that they support Joe Biden.
The keynote speech was done by Dr. Jill Biden, Joe’s wife. She was filmed in an empty high school in Delaware where she used to teach English. Jill said she started dating Joe in 1975 after his first wife and daughter died in a car crash. Jill also talked about Joe’s son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, and said Joe found the strength to go back to work four days after his funeral. Jill said she couldn’t imagine how he could do it but understood that he was doing it for you.
Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State under Republican president George W. Bush, said in a speech that Donald Trump was purposefully causing division in the country and that we need to have a president who will unite us.
Cindy McCain, the wife of late Senator John McCain, shared a video tribute of the friendship between John and Joe Biden.
Tonight, the vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will give the keynote speech.
‘Tiger King’ zoo closes after feds suspends its license
Some of you might know the Netflix’s documentary miniseries, “Tiger King” that was released in March during the pandemic. It was a huge hit worldwide. The show is about the life of a zookeeper named Joe Maldonado-Passage, but known as “Joe Exotic” who was sentenced in April to 22 years in prison for murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin.
One of the stars of that show is Jeff Lowe, who now runs the “Tiger King” zoo in Oklahoma, has a federal animal exhibition license, but the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended it due to inadequate veterinary care and other conditions.
Some photos were leaked to the federal and local authorities about lions at that zoo who appeared to be suffering from a skin-eating condition called flystrike. Inspectors came and said that the zoo was not following the procedures of veterinary care. There were almost 3 dozen animals that were unaccounted for and some spoiled meat in a broken refrigerator.
Bobbi Brink, founder of California-based exotic animal sanctuary says it is extremely rare to see USDA take away a zookeeper’s license so this means this is a big deal.
On the zoo’s Facebook post, the zoo claims that they are targeted by animal rights groups.
Brittany Peet, PETA Foundation’s deputy general counsel, mentioned that Lowe’s license should be permanently revoked and looks forward to seeing all the long-suffering animals to be transferred to an appropriate facility.
LeBron James turns MAGA hat into social justice message about Breonna Taylor
The Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is known for making statements with what he is wearing when he enters an arena.
For yesterday’s game against Portland, LBJ and his teammates made a social justice statement by wearing the MAGA red hats, but crossing off “Great Again” and adding “arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.”
LBJ posted a photo of himself wearing that hat and a shirt that says “By Any Means.”
Lakers lost to the Portland Blazers by 100-93. After the game, LBJ explained why he wore the hat. He said that Breonna was an innocent woman and there has been no justice for her or her family. He said that he feels we must continue to shed light to this situation until justice is seen.
San Francisco blanketed in smoke as California fires rage
There are about 40 wildfires that erupted around the regions of the San Francisco Bay Area. Thousands of people are under orders to evacuate. Early this morning the police and firefighters went door to door to warn residents to evacuate.
Some of the fires are happening in regions like Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties. Many vineyards are threatened. Fire officials said at least 50 structures were destroyed, 50 damaged, and four people injured.
A state fire spokesperson, Will Powers, said that throughout the state of California, they are stretching “thin” for crews and air resources.
Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a statewide state of emergency yesterday.
The cause of these wildfires were by intense lighting storms.
Update on Belarus protests
As of today, the European Union (EU) leaders spoke out in solidarity with the Belarusians protesting for their rights and demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko.
EU officials said that they do not accept the results of the presidency that was presented by the Belarus authorities.
Today the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the elections were neither fair or free so they cannot accept the result that Lukashenko won. It is widely perceived that the voting procedure was rigged.
It is reported that Russia promised Lukashenko to provide military assistance if needed. Lukashenko blamed the EU for causing more “unrest” in Belarus because they declared their support for the protestors.
Neighboring countries such as Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia are also giving support for the Belarus protests.
That’s all for now. See you tomorrow. Stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/us/tiger-king-zoo-closes-trnd/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/tiger-king-star-jeff-lowes-federal-license-to-exhibit-big-cats-suspended
https://www.foxnews.com/world/belarus-pro-democracy-protests-european-union-lukashenko