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2. RNC
Jacksonville’s portion of the Republican National Convention this summer is off. President Trump said the timing of the event “just wasn’t right,” but added that other convention activities will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is a big change for Trump, who has been promoting his planned speech in Jacksonville since he moved major events from the Charlotte convention after the city voiced concern about coronavirus precautions. It’s no secret that Florida has been a coronavirus hot spot for a while, and several Republican lawmakers had said they weren’t going to travel to convention activities in the state. A person familiar with the situation said that could have made the president wary of getting caught up in another sparsely attended event, such as last month’s disappointing rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
3. police
President Trump says he wants to send up to 75,000 federal agents to quell what he describes as violent crime in major U.S. cities. In other words, MANY federal agents: According to the latest data, there were approximately 100,000 federal law enforcement agents across the United States in 2016. The President has leaned heavily toward a “law and order” person. lately, despite the rejection of local leaders. He seems especially interested in Chicago, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot has resisted warnings that the President would send federal officials to his city. Meanwhile, the Justice Department’s independent watchdog agency says it will investigate the use of force by federal law enforcement officers during the recent protests in Portland, Oregon and Washington, DC.
4. China
China ordered the closure of the United States Consulate in Chengdu, which is a direct response to the imminent closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston, Texas. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry blamed the United States and accused staff at the Chengdu location of “interfering in China’s internal affairs and damaging China’s national security interests.” Among these dueling consulate closings, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released stronger words in the country after a senior Chinese diplomat at the Houston consulate suggested that staff there could defy United States orders to evict. Apparently, he launched these wavering tensions between the United States and China as a modern Cold War and said that “ensuring our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time.”
5. ISIS
ISIS appears to be exploiting security breaches in Iraq caused by the pandemic to launch more attacks on the country and its neighbor, Syria. A new report presented to the UN Security Council says the group is consolidating in Iraq and Syria, which used to make up their central region. Their activities there appear to be increasingly brazen, suggesting that the group is more confident in their ability to carry out successful attacks. Iraq has seen a huge increase in Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks, and has only exceeded 100,000 cases. The country’s military leaders have long warned that a major outbreak there would reduce its ability to counter ISIS activity.
BREAKFAST NAVIGATION
Princess Cruises cancels navigation until mid-December
If your idea of getting away from it all involves a cruise, your short-term options are diminishing.
Disney delays major releases of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Avatar’ movies
Because let’s face it, they will be best enjoyed with a crowd.
TikTok has presented a $ 200 million fund to pay its creators
The company wants to keep the best talent on its platform, so people will keep moving (and moving and moving).
The new NHL team has a name, and it’s the Seattle Kraken!
Release the “Drop the Kraken!” jokes!
The Washington football team has a new interim name and is …
… the Washington soccer team.
TODAY’S NUMBER
701 million
That’s the amount of tons of plastic waste that will pollute the environment by 2040, and that is if the world embarks on an immediate and globally coordinated effort to reduce consumption. If not, that number could be much higher.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“As one of the leaders of this league, I want her family to know, and I want the state of Kentucky to know that we feel for her and want justice. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.”
NBA star Lebron James, who is among a growing number of NBA players taking time during media interviews to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman killed during a police raid in her Kentucky department in March.
TODAY’S TIME
Check your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
Incredible tricks, from simple to amazing
There are no plans for this weekend? You can always try to recreate some of these clever cheat settings. (Click here to see.)
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