FDA OKs Plasma Treatment | Peru Raid Prompts Deadly Panic

1. Trump Gains Virus Treatment, Loses Key Spokesperson

Starting the week of the Republican National Convention with a bang, President Donald Trump is raving about the FDA’s emergency approval of a coronavirus treatment. While experts say using plasma from COVID-19 survivors needs more testing, Trump called it a “powerful therapy.” But he’s also losing a stalwart aide: Kellyanne Conway said she and her husband are stepping down from their jobs — he ran the Republican anti-Trump Lincoln Project — to focus on family issues. Their 15-year-old daughter tweeted Saturday she was “DEVASTATED” her mother would be an RNC speaker, adding that she’s seeking emancipation from her parents.

Sources: Fox News, CNN, Today

2. New Zealand Mosque Killer Had Third Target

The man who killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques in March 2019 had intended to murder many more, survivors heard at the first day of his sentencing hearing today. A prosecutor told the court in Christchurch, where the attacks occurred, that Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant wanted to burn down both mosques and attack a third. The son of one of those killed testified of flashbacks, “seeing dead bodies all around me.” Maysoon Salama, whose son was murdered, told Tarrant, “You transgress beyond comprehension. I cannot forgive you.” Tarrant faces life in prison, possibly without parole.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera

3. Police Shooting Stirs Rage in Wisconsin Town

The small city of Kenosha is the latest site of unrest following the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer. Video of the incident showed Jacob Blake walking away from officers and trying to enter his car before being shot from behind seven times as his three sons watched. He remains in serious condition. Gov. Tony Evers said that while details are unknown, Blake “is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed” by police. The shooting sparked protests and property damage, while the city declared an emergency curfew.

Sources: CNN, Kenosha News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

4. Zuckerberg Stoked Washington’s Fear of Chinese Rival

In Facebook we trust. The Wall Street Journal reports that a prime mover in the U.S. government’s campaign to crack down on TikTok was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. While planning a competing Instagram feature, he attended a private White House dinner in October and lobbied officials that the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform wouldn’t protect freedom of expression and threatened U.S. technological supremacy. TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer shot back in a blog post, characterizing Zuckerberg’s campaign as “disguised as patriotism and designed to put an end to our very presence in the U.S.”

Sources: WSJ (sub), MarketWatch

5. Also Important …

Tropical Storm Marco is expected to hit the Gulf Coast of the U.S. today, followed by Tropical Storm Laura in an unprecedented one-two punch. A federal judge has put on hold a lawsuit by the Trump campaign seeking to prohibit Pennsylvania from providing ballot drop boxes that would bypass the U.S. Postal Service. And another massive demonstration in Minsk yesterday demanded that Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko step down.

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6. Meet the Freedom Fighter

Dubbed the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman joins Carlos today to talk about wanting to join “The Squad” and whether he can work with Trump. Here’s a secret — this is Carlos’ favorite episode so far, so you don’t want to miss it. Subscribe to the OZY YouTube channel to be notified when it’s live. New subscribers could win an invitation to a Zoom taping with a celebrity guest!

1. Peru Lockdown Party Raid Ends in Tragedy

Their fun had deadly consequences. But it wasn’t COVID-19 that killed 13 of the 120 people who gathered illegally at the Thomas disco in Lima Saturday night. Twelve women and one man died when police enforcing a pandemic lockdown raided the party, sparking a stampede for the club’s only exit, such that police had to force the door open. President Martín Vizcarra expressed sympathy for relatives of the deceased, but “anger and indignation” with the event’s organizers. Eleven of the dead reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, along with 15 of the 23 people arrested.

Sources: AP, Reuters

2. President’s Sister Called Him ‘Cruel’ on Tape

This couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving? Calling him “a man with no principles” and noting “the lying, the holy sh*t!” former federal Judge Maryanne Trump Barry’s feelings about her brother in the Oval Office came out for the first time in newly revealed recordings. The Washington Post said it received the secret tapings from Mary Trump, presidential niece and author of a recent tell-all about her uncle. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows called it “just another day and another attack,” and pointed out that Barry didn’t attend her brother Robert Trump’s funeral on Friday.

Sources: Yahoo, Vox

3. Candy Magnate Hits the Electoral Sweet Spot

Bob Asher is a real-life Willy Wonka, running the board of Asher’s Chocolate Co. in Pennsylvania. But he also inhabits the dark side of the state’s Republican politics, having spent a half-century as the party’s funding guru, OZY reports. After serving 10 months in prison for a 1987 bribery case that climaxed with the state treasurer killing himself at a press conference, Asher worked his way back into the party’s good graces. Now he’s the state’s finance co-chair for President Trump’s effort to reprise the Keystone State’s role as the capstone of his 2016 electoral surprise.

Sources: OZY

4. ‘Peeping Toms’ Mural Covered Amid Israeli Rape Case

It was never OK. Tel Aviv’s “Peeping Toms beach” was nicknamed after the 1972 film Metzitzim (“peepers” in Hebrew), filmed there and commemorated with a mural of two young men spying in the windows of an actual women’s changing room. After years of complaints that it encouraged misogyny, the city yesterday painted over the artwork, spurred by the ongoing case of a 16-year-old girl reportedly gang-raped in Eilat, a Red Sea beach resort. While some complained covering the mural “erases the past,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai argued it sends “a clear message to the next generations.”

Sources: Times of Israel, BBC

5. Bayern Beats PSG for European Cup

It was a Frenchman who won it for the Germans. Kingsley Coman, 24, who also plays for the French national soccer team, headed the winning goal for Bayern Munich against Paris Saint-Germain in the 59th minute of the Champions League final Sunday. The game’s 1-0 conclusion in Lisbon left the world’s most expensive player, PSG’s Brazilian superstar Neymar, in tears — and prompted dozens of angry Parisian fans to set fires and clash with police on the Champs-Élysées. It was the sixth trophy for the unbeaten Bavarian side, while PSG has yet to hoist the European Cup.

Sources: ESPN, AP, CBS Sports