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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
Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris as Running Mate Harris Named as Biden’s Running Mate in Historic Vice Presidential Choice “Joe Biden named Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his running mate, picking his former Democratic primary opponent to be the first Black woman and the first woman of Asian descent nominated for vice president by a major party.”
Coronavirus-Hit State Budgets Create a Drag on U.S. Recovery “Spending cuts by state and local governments grappling with the coronavirus pandemic pose a headwind to the U.S. economic recovery as lawmakers consider how much federal aid to provide.”
Funding for $300-a-Week Unemployment Benefits Could Run Out in Six Weeks “An extra $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits is likely to take a couple of weeks to reach workers and funding could be exhausted a month and a half later, a senior Labor Department official said.”
U.K. Economy Shrinks by More Than Any Other Rich Country “The U.K. recorded a steeper second-quarter contraction than its peers, a performance that means it suffered the worst economic hit from coronavirus in Europe as well as reporting the highest death toll.”
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
🎧 LISTEN: In a World Without Touring, Musicians Get CreativeArtists from Pitbull to the Dropkick Murphys explain how they're trying to reach fans and make money when they can't hold big concerts.
TikTok skirted a privacy safeguard in Google’s Android operating system to collect unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices, allowing the app to track users online without a way to opt out
Town votes to rescind license of N.J. gym whose owners repeatedly defied coronavirus restrictions
Facebook removes seven million posts for sharing false information on coronavirus
THE COMMENT
“When she entered the presidential race, many handicappers picked her as the likely winner. The campaign that followed was something of a disappointment. Like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who also had served as a prosecutor before joining the Senate, Ms. Harris found herself somewhat wrong-footed by the Democratic Party’s turn toward criminal justice reform. She wavered on how much to embrace her own law enforcement record, as she did on Medicare-for-all and a few other fraught issues. None of that is all that unusual in a first-time presidential candidate, and she exited the presidential field with her integrity and reputation intact. She showed herself to be a tough debater, including when she challenged Mr. Biden; it’s to both of their credit that they are ready to move on from that. She also exited as a plausible ideological soul mate for Mr. Biden, who has worked hard to accommodate the left wing of his party without acceding to all of its wishes.” - Washington Post Editorial Board
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM