☀ August 17: House called to DC, wildfires grow in size, Democratic convention begins
Good morning! It’s Monday, August 17, 2020. Here’s a look at your news across the nation:
1️⃣📬 U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is recalling the chamber later this week to vote on legislation to protect the Postal Service. In a letter to lawmakers, Pelosi said the House would vote on legislation to prohibit the Postal Service from implementing any changes to services it had in place on Jan. 1, 2020. Why it matters: Concerns over voter suppression, voting fraud and the USPS’ ability to deliver ballots in time are at the center of the debate.
2️⃣🚔 Multiple Texas police officers were shot while responding to a scene where a man barricaded himself inside a home with three people, believed to be family members, on Sunday afternoon. Three police officers were shot with non-life-threatening injuries. Why it matters: More than 14 hours later, the standoff situation continued Monday morning.
3️⃣🔥 A rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning that sparked several small blazes in Northern California on Sunday and stoked a huge forest fire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles. Fire officials said 33 buildings had been destroyed, including at least a dozen homes. Why it matters: More than 4,500 buildings remained threatened by the large wildfire.
4️⃣🌽 Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has requested nearly $4 billion in an expedited Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to help the state recover from last week’s derecho. An estimated 8,273 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage. Why it matters: Most of the federal aid will go to the agriculture community in Iowa. 3.57 million acres of corn and 2.5 million acres of soybeans were impacted.
📱 [Trending] across the nation
💨☁ Eyewitnesses captured video from inside of a car and on a dairy farm during a dust storm that hit Arizona on Sunday.
Videos taken by Graham Matthews showed the sky tinted with an orange glow and several other vehicles stopped on the interstate waiting for the storm to pass, as well as tumbleweed hitting the side of his car.
Meanwhile, a staff member at the Du-Brook Dairy farm located in Casa Grande captured on camera the dust storm at its peak, scaring cows at the farm with its gusty winds and collapsing one shelter, with no injuries reported.
📅 What to watch for today
🔴 The Democratic National Convention begins today. Speakers include former first lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH). The convention will be mostly virtual. The speeches are from 9-11 p.m. (ET). The Republican National Convention is next week.
🔴 President Donald Trump will be on the campaign trail. He will be visiting Mankato, Minnesota and Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
💻📲 We’ll bring you 🔴 LIVE news updates throughout the day on the News Nation Now app and NewsNationNow.com.
📺 Watch News Nation beginning September 1 at 8/7(CT) on WGN America.