- Stranger Than Fiction
- Posts
- Stranger Than Fiction
Stranger Than Fiction
A brief daily note of things you might find interesting or useful
You can support the newsletter that you’re reading right now using PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or purchase a subscription on Substack.Don’t forget to join us in the Stranger Slack for access to source documents and a running feed of news throughout the day. (this link was broken for awhile and has now been fixed)TOP NEWS
China Becomes First Major Economy to Return to Growth Since Pandemic “China’s economy expanded 3.2% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, rebounding from a historic coronavirus-induced contraction in the first three months of the year.”
Hacker Convinced Twitter Employee to Help Them Hijack Accounts “A Twitter insider was responsible for a wave of high profile account takeovers on Wednesday, according to leaked screenshots obtained by Motherboard and two sources who took over accounts.”
Dire Numbers of Coronavirus Cases Prompt Mask Orders Across the U.S. “As the country reported its second-highest single-day total of new cases, leaders scrambled to order masks and limit gatherings.”
More states, businesses make masks mandatory “Masks moved closer to becoming a new national reality as states, businesses and health experts preached their promise as the country’s last line of defense.”
Georgia nullifies local mask mandates as U.S. cases approach 3.5 million
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
🎧 LISTEN: James Arthur Ray was an Oprah-endorsed self-help teacher who achieved fame, fortune, and influence. But friends and family members of his followers questioned his unorthodox methods, and tried to stop him. From Wondery, the makers of “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death,” and “The Shrink Next Door,” comes GURU, a story about the dark side of enlightenment. Hosted by journalist Matt Stroud.
9 charts that show the good, the bad and the alarming of this early economic recovery “Parts of the economy have rebounded more than 80 percent, but others are barely 25 percent recovered.”
A teen led a Black Lives Matter protest in his small town. A cross was burned in his yard. Travon Brown, 17, organized the march in Marion, Va. Then came death threats, a neighbor’s arrest and another, even bigger demonstration.
THE COMMENT
“During the retreat in D.C., the Republican Governors Association sponsored a private dinner with the president. Backstage beforehand, I said hello to him. We took a photo together. He was perfectly cordial, even though we’d criticized each other in the past. Then he came out and gave one of his unscripted rally speeches that seemed to go on at least an hour too long. I don’t remember him mentioning the virus, but he talked about how much he respected President Xi Jinping of China; how much he liked playing golf with his buddy “Shinzo,” Prime Minister Abe of Japan; how well he got along with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Then, the jarring part: Trump said he really didn’t like dealing with President Moon from South Korea. The South Koreans were “terrible people,” he said, and he didn’t know why the United States had been protecting them all these years. “They don’t pay us,” Trump complained.
Yumi was sitting there as the president hurled insults at her birthplace. I could tell she was hurt and upset. I know she wanted to walk out. But she sat there politely and silently.” - Larry Hogan, Republican governor of Maryland
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM