Week In The News: The RNC, Hurricane Laura, Protests In Wisconsin

President Trump defies the Hatch Act at the Republican Convention, the Gulf Coast is slammed by one of the most powerful storms in decades, and a police shooting in Wisconsin rocks communities across the country. We’ll talk about all that and more in our weekly news roundup.

Guests

Jane Coaston, senior politics reporter for Vox, with a focus on conservatism and the American right. (@cjane87)

Mary Bruce, ABC News senior congressional correspondent. (@marykbruce)

Paula Reid, CBS News White House correspondent. (@PaulaReidCBS)

From The Reading List

The Washington Post: “First item on the RNC agenda: Make the case that Trump is okay on race” — “One of the most enduring legacies of the Trump presidency will probably be his approach to matters touching on race, and what his words, actions and policies say about the country that elected him. Republicans spent a considerable portion of the first night of their convention attempting to recast that legacy, making the case that not only is President Trump not racist but that he also will be a better president for people of color than Democratic nominee Joe Biden.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Jacob Blake Shooting: What Happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin?” — “Video that went viral Sunday showed police shooting Jacob Blake, a Black man who lives in Kenosha, Wis., seven times in the back. In the video, Mr. Blake is walking away from officers with weapons drawn as bystanders yell in the background.”

The New York Times: “Many Fear the Worst as Forecasters Issue Dire Warnings for Hurricane Laura” — “More than 500,000 residents in Louisiana and Texas were urged to flee their homes on Wednesday as Hurricane Laura roared toward the Gulf Coast, fueling grave warnings that the storm would deliver a calamitous assault with powerful winds and a storm surge that meteorologists declared ‘unsurvivable.’”

The New York Times: “Justice Dept. to Open Investigation Into Kenosha Shooting” — “The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wis., as new details emerged in the case, a white teenager who confronted demonstrators was arrested in connection with two deaths, and protests spread to athletes in three pro sports leagues.”

CNN: “Kenosha shooting suspect is a former member of a youth police cadet program, Illinois police say” — “The suspect in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, fatal shooting is a former member of a youth police cadet program with an affinity for guns, according to police and online profiles. Antioch, Illinois, police identified the suspect Wednesday as 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse. In Grayslake, Illinois — about 10 miles from Antioch and 30 miles from Kenosha — police chief Phillip L. Perlini said the suspect in the shooting was a former Public Safety Cadet.”

Politico: “Pence goes full MAGA” — “‘Boring is his camouflage,’ a longtime acquaintance of Mike Pence once told the vice president’s biographer. Pence is both ideological (he was a favorite of both the tea party and the Christian right at the peak of both movements) and ambitious (he’s been running for office since 1988), but this acquaintance seemed to suggest that his lack of charisma and aversion to Trumpian spectacle masked these raw political traits.”

Vox: “How the Milwaukee Bucks kicked off a historic NBA protest” — “The NBA postponed playoff games Wednesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play in their matchup in solidarity with Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police seven times in the back this weekend in Kenosha, Wisconsin.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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