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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
GOP, Democrats Remain at Odds Over $600 Jobless Benefit “Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads in weekend negotiations on a new coronavirus economic relief package, including aid to replace the federal $600-a-week boost to unemployment benefits that expired Friday.”
U.S. Counts Smallest Daily Rise in Coronavirus Cases in Weeks “The U.S. reported more than 47,000 new coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase in almost four weeks, after posting a record number of new infections in the month of July.”
Scientists Worry About Political Influence Over Vaccine Project “The coronavirus vaccine initiative in the United States, called Operation Warp Speed, has moved along at a rapid clip. But scientists fear that White House pressure to deliver by the election may compromise safety and effectiveness.”
The Public Needs to Realize Election Night is not Going to Provide a Winner “I don’t think it’s penetrated enough in the average viewer’s mind that there’s not going to be an election night. The usual razzmatazz of a panel sitting around discussing election results — that’s dead,”
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
🎧 LISTEN: How Portland Became a National BattlegroundOregon and the Trump administration today reached a deal for federal agents to begin withdrawing from Portland. Miriam Gottfried explains.
What will school be like in the Fall. Summer school in Detroit offers a preview.
Defense contractor with billions in sales got millions in pandemic small-business loans
From Minecraft Tricks to Twitter Hack: A Florida Teen’s Troubled Online Path
THE COMMENT
“I think it is clear that Trump’s own racist instincts are driving his strategy, and this is becoming abundantly clear to the American public. Remarkably, last fall a PRRI survey found nearly 6 in 10 Americans said that his words and behavior were encouraging white supremacists. But it’s also true that Trump is dusting off an old Republican playbook that many in a former incarnation of the Republican Party were hoping to leave behind. He’s certainly had help crafting this appeal. His 2016 campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for example, was also the Southern political coordinator for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, which symbolically was launched with a speech lauding “states' rights,” the mantra of segregationists, at Mississippi’s Neshoba County Fair, a site just a few miles from where Freedom Riders James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner were killed in 1964.” - Robert P. Jones, chief executive and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM