Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, September 21, 2020:
THE DEATH OF RBG
IN MEMORIAM: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Court and a liberal and feminist icon, died on Friday of pancreatic cancer. She was 87. RBG, as she became known, was appointed in 1993 by Bill Clinton (the confirmation vote was 96-3). She was admired by colleagues and scholars on both sides of the aisle for her powerful dissents from the bench. Her family says the justice’s dying wish was that she not be replaced “until a new president is installed.” OBIT
WHAT NOW? Republicans immediately moved to replace RBG before the election. Sen. Maj. Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement an hour after her death was announced in which he vowed that a Trump nominee would get a vote on the Senate floor this year. (When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, McConnell famously blocked President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, on the grounds that it was an election year.) President Trump says he plans to put a nominee forth “without delay,” and that it will be a woman. RBG’s death has changed the dynamic of the presidential election -- though it’s not clear yet just how. AXIOS
STATE OF PLAY
Four Republican Senators would have to say they wouldn’t vote to confirm a nominee before the election for the process to stall out. As of now, two have: Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, the latter of which is facing a tough re-election in November herself. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who runs the Judiciary Committee and has said multiple times that he would hold off on a confirmation in the run-up to an election, now says he will advance the president’s nominee without delay. WASH POST
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
As the U.S. marks 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, epidemiologists are warning that the country is headed in the wrong direction as winter approaches. The latest Johns Hopkins data has weekly case numbers rising by at least 10 percent in 31 states and holding steady in 15, while the test positivity rate is rising in 25 states. This would all track with infections spreading during Labor Day, just as they did during the July 4th and Memorial Day holiday weekends. CNN
CLIMATE
TROPICS: Tropical Storm Beta is inching toward the Texas coastline, where it will make landfall later today. Beta is forecast to rake the Gulf Coast over the next few days, where flooding will once again be a major concern. Hurricane Teddy has been downgraded and is no longer expected to impact the Northeast. TRACK
FIRES: Most of Oregon has seen its air improve after rain finally came. In California, the Bobcat Fire north of L.A. has been growing for two weeks and now threatens some desert towns as it surpasses 100,000 acres burned. LA TIMES
THE FINCEN FILES
A trove of leaked government documents shows how major banks have helped criminals move dirty money around the world. The documents come from a government agency called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which compiles reports about suspicious banking activity but doesn’t have the authority to shut down any money laundering activities. The leaks show examples of banks like JPMorgan, HSBC and Deutsche Bank allowing huge sums of money from scammers, oligarchs, drug cartels and others to move between accounts without oversight. BUZZFEED
IPO BLOWOUT
The federal government has delayed the ban on TikTok downloads by one week as a deal for the social media app appears close to getting finalized. The latest iteration has Oracle and Walmart forming a partnership with TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to create a new company, TikTok Global, to be based in the U.S. WSJ
US OPEN
The American Bryson DeChambeau won the US Open Championship, validating his controversial approach to golf in the process. DeChambeau had physically transformed himself in the off-season in order to be able to hit the ball as hard and fast as possible, earning him the nickname “The Incredible Bulk.” The experiment worked: DeChambeau finished with a six-shot victory at Winged Foot for his first major title. SKY
SPOTTED...
Eagles QB Carson Wentz getting booed after a failed third-down throw, even though there were no fans in the stadium (whoever was in charge of the crowd noise at Fox Sports perfectly capturing the Eagles fandom): WATCH
EMMY WRAP
Succession, Watchmen and Schitt’s Creek were the big winners at the Primetime Emmys, which featured a mix of in-person and remote segments, no audience or red carpet, and went off mostly without incident. Succession won for Best Drama, Schitt’s Creek swept the comedy awards, Watchmen took Best Limited Series, and Zendaya made history as the youngest person to win Best Lead Actress in a Drama for her role in Euphoria. GMA
LEFTOVERS: FLIGHT TO NOWHERE
It’s the journey, not the destination, they say. The hottest trend in air travel right now is a “flight to nowhere,” where you can book a flight that departs from and arrives at the same airport. With the pandemic making international travel difficult, people are booking trips just for the thrill of the flying experience. Qantas says a one such flight that will depart Sydney and fly around Australia for seven hours before returning to Sydney sold out in 10 minutes. CNN
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