NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Virtual convention: Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept the Democratic presidential nomination because of concerns over the coronavirus, party officials said Wednesday, signaling a move to a convention that essentially has become entirely virtual. It is the latest example of the pandemic’s sweeping effects on the 2020 presidential election and the latest blow to traditional party nominating conventions that historically have marked the start of fall general election campaigns. A DNC official said all speakers and presenters for the Aug. 1724 convention are now expected to speak from remote locations.
2 Kanye 2020: Rapper Kanye West filed signatures in Madison, Wis., this week to run for president as an independent candidate in November. The Wisconsin Elections Commission said signatures were submitted on behalf of West on the last day for independent presidential candidates to submit the required 2,000 signatures of Wisconsin voters to get on the ballot. West and running mate Michelle Tidball listed themselves as candidates of the BDY, The Birthday Party. A former supporter of Republican President Trump, West broke with Trump and announced his own presidential bid last month.
3 Officer sues: The former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks is suing the mayor and interim police chief, saying his firing violated his constitutional rights and the city code. Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke his bond. Garrett Rolfe was fired June 13, the day after he fatally shot Brooks outside a Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Fulton County Superior Court, he says he was fired “without an investigation, without proper notice, without a disciplinary hearing, and in direct violation of the municipal code of the City of Atlanta.”
4 Trump post removed: Facebook removed a video posted on President Trump’s account on Wednesday because it made false claims about children being immune to the deadly coronavirus, according to CNN. In the video — which was a clip from an interview Trump conducted with Fox News on Wednesday morning — Trump said, without evidence, that, “If you look at children, children are almost — and I would almost say, definitely, but almost — immune from this disease,” which Facebook said was a violation of policies concerning harmful coronavirus misinformation. Twitter officials said Wednesday that they banned Trump’s campaign account, “Team Trump,” from tweeting until it removed a post containing the same video.
5 Deadly fire: Five people were found dead Wednesday after an early morning fire destroyed a suburban Denver home — a blaze that authorities said they suspect was intentionally set. Three people escaped the fire by jumping from the home’s second floor. Investigators believe the victims were a toddler, an older child and three adults. Their bodies were discovered after firefighters extinguished the fire. Police are investigating the fire because there are indications that it was arson, said Joe Montoya, division chief of investigations for Denver police.