- 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
Filings for jobless benefits rose to 1.1 million last week “New applications for unemployment benefits have eased in recent weeks but remain at historically high levels, indicating that the labor market is healing but still far from recovered from the economic shock caused by the continuing coronavirus pandemic.”
Putin Rival Alexei Navalny in Critical Condition After Suspected Poisoning “Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s political elite, was in critical condition at a Siberian hospital after being poisoned and falling unconscious, his spokeswoman said.”
Michigan to Pay $600 Million in Flint Water Crisis Settlement “The state of Michigan is expected to announce a settlement this week to pay residents of Flint $600 million to resolve civil claims from the city’s lead-tainted drinking water crisis, according to a person familiar with the settlement.”
Barack Obama’s break with post-presidential protocol and other takeaways from night three at the DNC “His decision was surely one he arrived at after years of President Trump laying waste to other political norms.”
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
🎧 LISTEN: Fortnite’s Battle Royale With Big TechSarah Needleman explains what led the maker of one of the most popular video games in the world to take on Apple and Google.
How China Targets Scientists via Network of Recruiting Stations “China is targeting top scientific and technological expertise in the U.S. and other advanced nations through an expanding network of more than 600 talent-recruitment stations around the world, a new report has found.”
Accepting Nomination, Harris Says U.S. Is at an ‘Inflection Point’
THE COMMENT
“The daughter of immigrants, she described her family’s only-in-America story. She also highlighted racial inequities that continue to plague American society, including the disproportionate suffering communities of color have endured during the covid-19 pandemic. But Ms. Harris, who has won several elections in the nation’s most populous state and boasts an impressive record as a prosecutor, state attorney general and U.S. senator, did not serve merely as an avatar of one demographic group or another. The vision she offered was of universal values — and the need to restore them after the presidency of Donald Trump. She lamented that “the constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone.” She offered an alternative in which “we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect.” - Washington Post Editorial Board
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM