CNN 10 8/24/2020 ~ 8/28/2020

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Monday, August 24, 2020

Last week, the Democrats held their National Convention, mostly online of course, and had their chance to promote their agenda. This week, the Republicans will hold their convention Monday through Thursday. Incumbent President and Vice President Donald Trump and Mike Pence will be nominated. In California, hundreds of fires are burning throughout the state after temperatures peaked and lightning hit multiple areas. Thousands of Cal Fire firefighters are attempting to contain the fire, but they need lots of help, more than they're getting. In fact, some residents decided to take matters into their own hands and prevent their homes from catching fire. COVID-19 has put many schools in a dilemma. Many of them are going virtual or hybrid, and colleges are being scrutinized over asking for full tuition fees. There have also been multiple cases of the virus due to sports or off-campus parties. Two asteroids have passed by Earth recently. One passed by at just 2000 miles, the closest ever, but NASA didn't know until it was gone. The most recent one is also pretty close, but the chances of it hitting us are less than a percent, and it won't do much damage.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

In the Gulf of Mexico, two tropical storms, Marco and Laura, are making their way to Texas and Louisiana. Marco was a Category 1 hurricane but was expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it made landfall today (the show was produced on Monday). Laura is expected to follow a few days later as a potential Category 2 storm, making recovery efforts more difficult. There are also concerns that having two storms in the same area at the same time could create a mega-storm. However, there are two things that make this impossible. First, the two storms have opposite rotations. Also, if the storms are just the right distance from each other, the Fujiwhara effect will occur, and the storms will either cancel each other out or move away. So, a mega-storm isn't one of the things to be worried about. Theaters, though, have a lot to worry about. Some of them have reopened, and many people are worried about whether it is safe to go. Many theaters have implemented social distancing rules, such as empty rows, along with mandatory masks and upgraded air filters. It's not something to recommend, but studies have shown that airplanes do not cause a huge amount of cases, probably because seats face forward, like in the theater.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Our first topic today concerns Kim Jong Un, the communist ruler of North Korea. Earlier this year, he disappeared for a few months without explanation, leading to speculations over his health. Now, new intelligence shows that Kim Yo Jong, his sister, is now the leader of one of the country's most important political organizations, which makes sure everyone is loyal to the state. This makes her the second most powerful person in North Korea, and it has raised fresh questions about her brother's health. The US government has given the Chinese owner of the app TikTok until September 20 to stop collecting user data or sell US operations to an American company due to privacy concerns. TikTok is suing over this. The problem isn't the data collection, which many apps do to make things like recommended lists; it's the fact that the Chinese government can take that information at any time because it is owned by a Chinese company. You might not have thought that some chalks are better than others, but top math professors reportedly prefer one brand over all the others. It's called Hagoromo, and it apparently has a smooth feel to that's completely different. It's super dense and has a special formula. Unfortunately, it went out of business some years back, and all those teachers hoarded supplies.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Hurricane Laura was expected to make landfall last night in Texas and Louisiana. It was a category 3 storm on Tuesday but strengthened to category 4 as it neared the coast. This means that it can do more severe damage to homes. Making things worse, Marco made landfall on Monday as a tropical storm, and although that one only dropped rain, Laura's winds and storm surges could cause a catastrophe. Some places were under mandatory evacuations. The Nancy Grace Roman telescope is expected to launch sometime this decade, and it will replace the Hubble Space Telescope with its 100 times wider views. Its current objective is to look for rogue planets, which meander through the universe instead of orbiting stars. NASA hopes to learn more about planetary activity through the telescope. Another one, called the James Webb telescope will be launched next year to study distant galaxies. In Los Angeles, there is a severe housing crisis. But several new companies are taking detached garages and converting them into rentable apartments at no cost to the homeowner. The homeowner will also get a portion of the rent, and many see it as a way to help the community at no cost to them. Also in southern California, bioluminescent microorganisms called dinoflagellates are creating blue waves.

Friday, August 28, 2020

The Republican National Convention wrapped up last night with incumbent President and Vice President Trump and Pence securing the nomination. Over the 4 days, prominent Republicans tried to convince voters to vote for their party in the November election and convince them not to vote for Biden. Like its Democratic counterpart, it was mostly virtual. Hurricane Laura made landfall in Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday; it was the strongest hurricane to hit the area in more than a century. It was a Category 4 storm, leaving thousands of residents without electricity. Unsurvivable storm surges and wind gusts were forecast for the areas to hit, and the winds appeared to cause more destruction after the storm was gone. COVID-19 also made it difficult to have lots of people in shelters. In Wisconsin, another Black shooting by a police officer has taken place amid the current civil unrest. A man was shot several times after some sort of dispute with the authorities on Sunday; he survived and is in a hospital. In June, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at creating stricter laws about the use of force and calming altercations while staying good with the police. Many have said it is not enough. Multiple sports leagues boycotted games, ending up in multiple postponements. A New York high school is attempting to reopen, like many others. What's different is that it's an aviation high school; it teaches students how to take care of airplanes in actual hangars along with all the regular classes.