Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The Rundown: Ex-Senior Trump Administration official Endorses Biden

CALLS WHAT HE SAW 'TERRIFYING': Former senior Trump administration official Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, endorsed Joe Biden for president yesterday in a video put out by the group Republican Voters Against Trump. Taylor, a longtime Republican who worked at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, also spoke about Trump's conduct, charging that he repeatedly used his office for political purposes, including telling FEMA to cut wildfire disaster relief money to California because people in the state overwhelmingly voted against him in 2016.

➤VIRTUAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION BEGINS WITH MICHELLE OBAMA, SANDERS AS MAIN SPEAKERS:  This year's Democratic National Convention, being held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, began last night (August 17th), with former first lady Michelle Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders the main speakers. As it will be each of the four nights, the presentation was two hours of speeches, documentary-style pieces, interviews, musical pieces and more, some of it live, but with much of it recorded, with Eva Longoria acting last night as a host. Themes for the first night included the coronavirus, racial justice, and the current Postal Service controversy.


 THE SPEAKERS:


NY Times 8/18/20
  • Michelle Obama:  The former first lady gave a passionate and direct condemnation of President Trump, describing him as "in over his head" in the job, saying, "He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is." She also decried chaos and division from the White House, and warned that things could get even worse if Trump is re-elected, saying, "If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it." She praised the presumptive Democratic nominee, saying, "I know Joe," and calling him a "profoundly decent man." Obama also responded to those who questioned if her 2016 convention mantra of "When they go low, we go high," still applies, saying it does, but making clear: "Going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty."
  • Senator Bernie Sanders:  In his remarks, Sanders urged his fervently loyal progressive supporters to vote for Biden, saying that progress that's been made on issues they care about will be hurt if Trump is elected again. He also warned about the state of the nation under Trump, saying, "authoritarianism has taken root in this country," and warning, "The future of our democracy is at stake."
  • New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Cuomo, who gained a high national profile during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in New York for his daily news conferences, blasted Trump for his handling of the pandemic, saying, "We saw the failure of a government that tried to deny the virus, then tried to ignore it and then tried to politicize it."
Also speaking about the coronavirus was an Arizona woman named Kristin Urquiza, who lost her father to the virus. She spoke about how her father had voted for Trump and believed in his insistence that the pandemic would go away. He went to a karaoke bar and contracted the coronavirus, which killed him. In a blistering rebuke, she said: "My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. "His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life."

➤HARRIS REPORTEDLY CHOOSES 'PIONEER' AS SECRET SERVICE CODE NAME: Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris has chosen "Pioneer" as her Secret Service code name, CNN reported Monday, citing a law enforcement official. Harris started receiving Secret Service protection last week, soon after Joe Biden announced her as his running mate. People under Secret Service protection choose their code names from a list that has been approved by the White House Communications Agency. "Pioneer" is a reference to Harris being the first Black woman and the first Indian-American woman on a major party ticket. Biden's code name is "Celtic," the same one he had when he was vice president. President Trump's code name is "Mogul," and Vice President Mike Pence's is "Hoosier." Among the spouses, Jill Biden's name is "Capri," First Lady Melania Trump's is "Muse" and Second Lady Karen Pence's is "Hummingbird."

 ➤TRUMP MAY HAVE FUNERAL SERVICE FOR BROTHER AT WHITE HOUSE: President Trump is considering holding a funeral service at the White House for his younger brother Robert Trump, who died Saturday at age 71. Trump told reporters Monday, "We’re looking at Friday. And we may do just a small service right here at the White House." He continued, "I think he’d be greatly honored. He loves our country. He loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country." Trump spoke about his brother's death on Fox News Channel yesterday, saying, "He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was my friend. I guess they say best friend, and that’s true. And losing him, not easy."

➤300 PIZZA HUTS CLOSING DUE TO BANKRUPTCY: As many as 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closing due to the bankruptcy of one of the chain's biggest franchisees. NPC International announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement with Pizza Hut owner Yum! Brands to close about one-quarter of its restaurants and sell the rest. Pizza Hut has been moving away from having restaurants with dining rooms and encouraging customers to place pick-up orders through its website or third-party apps, and NPC said a "substantial majority" of the 300 locations closing have dining rooms.


➤MICROSOFT RELEASING NEW VERSION OF 'FLIGHT SIMULATOR' GAME AFTER 14 YEARS: Microsoft is releasing a new version of its Flight Simulator video game for the first time in 14 years, updating its oldest franchise that was first launched nearly 38 years ago. The game lets people pretend to be pilots and "fly" anywhere in the world. The new version, due out on August 18th for both Windows and Xbox, includes new features like live weather and traffic, and includes 37,000 airports, 1.5 billion buildings and 2 trillion trees.


➤WRIGHT HIRED BY WASHINGTON AS FIRST BLACK NFL TEAM PRESIDENT: The Washington Football Team announced yesterday (August 17th) that it had hired Jason Wright as its new team president, making him the first Black president in the NFL. The 38-year-old, who will run business operations while coach Ron Rivera maintains control over football decisions, will also be the NFL's youngest president. Wright was a running back for seven years with Atlanta, Cleveland and Arizona, and, with an MBA from the University of Chicago business school, has been working for several years at a strategy and management consulting firm.

➤NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round playoff games yesterday:
  • Denver Nuggets 135, Utah Jazz 125 (OT) - Denver leads series 1 game to 0
  • Toronto Raptors 134, Brooklyn Nets 110 - Toronto leads series 1 game to 0
  • Boston Celtics 109, Philadelphia 76ers 101 - Boston leads series 1 game to 0
  • L.A. Clippers 118, Dallas Mavericks 110 - Los Angeles leads series 1 game to 0
➤NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round playoff games yesterday:
  • Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - Tampa Bay leads series 3 games to 1
  • Colorado Avalanche 7, Arizona Coyotes 1 - Colorado leads series 3 games to 1
  • Boston Bruins 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 - Boston leads series 3 games to 1
  • St. Louis Blues 3, Vancouver Canucks 1 - Series tied at 2-2
➤HALEP TO SKIP U.S. OPEN BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS: Romania's Simona Halep, the world's second-ranked women's tennis player, said Monday that she won't play in the U.S. Open that will begin on August 31st in Queens, New York, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Six of the top eight women in the WTA rankings won’t play in the U.S. Open, including the world's No. 1, Ash Barty, and defending champion Bianca Andreescu. The men's defending champion, Rafael Nadal, will also not play in the Open.
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