| THE BIG STORY
Joe Biden promised a way out of the darkness — and the coronavirus crisis — as he accepted the Democratic nomination for president
Joe Biden has spent months railing against the darkness of President Donald Trump. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, as he accepted the presidential nomination, Biden promised to lead America down a “path of hope and light.”
Biden’s major speech, broadcast from Wilmington, Delaware, tied the existential themes Biden and Democrats have pushed since the beginning of his campaign into a tight, forward-looking case to move the country past a moment of great crises.
The former vice president framed Trump as a threat to democracy and decency. Biden also spoke of his personal losses, making a connection to those grieving and suffering in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 170,000 Americans.
Biden also put forth a national approach to tackling the virus: fast testing, American-made medical and personal protective equipment, and a national mandate to wear masks.
Here are the highlights of Biden’s speech.
Also from the convention:
👉 Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang were unknown two years ago. Now they’re helping shape the Democrats’ future.
👉 Comedian Sarah Cooper lip-synched Trump at the DNC. The creator of the viral Donald Trump lip synch videos imitated the president before dropping the skit to warn about Trump’s attacks on voting by mail.
👉 Mike Bloomberg pissed off everyone. He still got a prime spot at the convention.
Olivier Douliery / Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Former Trump aide Stephen Bannon and “Build The Wall” founder Brian Kolfage have been charged with fraud
Federal prosecutors said Bannon and Brian Kolfage, the leader of the crowdfunded "We Build the Wall" effort, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Bannon, Kolfage, and two other men “received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds from We Build the Wall, which they each used in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations,” prosecutors said.
Before his arrest, Bannon had been at sea on a boat since May, recently sailing off the East Coast.
In a twist only the producers of 2020 could pull off, it was US Postal Service agents who took Bannon into custody on a boat off the coast of Westbrook, Connecticut, a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
SNAPSHOTS A judge once again ruled that New York prosecutors can get Trump’s tax returns. A federal judge in New York rejected Trump's latest challenge to a grand jury subpoena after the US Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court.
The LA mayor reportedly turned off the power at the home of three TikTok stars to stop them from holding parties during lockdown. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he had “authorized the city to disconnect utility service” to a property in Hollywood Hills. Multiple reports quickly surfaced claiming that it was the property of TikTok stars Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, and Blake Gray.
Beauty YouTuber James Charles said Lauren Conrad “has no business” launching a makeup line and people aren’t happy. Charles has apologized yet again after going on a rant on his Instagram story blasting Conrad's new makeup line, Lauren Conrad Beauty.
College students are sharing Fyre Fest-like meals in quarantine while others say they’re not even getting those. Students from New York University and the University of Georgia are posting TikToks of sad meals their schools are supplying as they're quarantining before classes officially start.
Delicious. TikTok. THE CONSEQUENCES OF FALSE MESSAGING Trump’s false rhetoric about mail-in voting is spooking voters in a vital state
Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state in the 2020 presidential race — voters there backed Barack Obama twice and then backed Donald Trump in 2016.
We interviewed more than two dozen prospective voters in the state. We found that the cloud of skepticism around mail-in voting — driven both by President Donald Trump and a recent spike in reporting about troubles with the US Postal Service — is giving potential voters pause.
The fear we found — of votes not being counted — signals the president’s frequently false messaging on mail-in voting is having a broader impact on Americans.
This unfounded idea, incited by the president, that fraud and an ineffective Postal Service will taint the election and somehow invalidate the results is now another crisis onto itself.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH Clear your schedule for some longreads
How Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” flipped the script. For obvious reasons, “WAP” took the world by storm. Niela Orr unpacks the reaction to the banger: “It’s a subversive song in almost every way, even as it plays with the limits of explicit expression.”
I’m alone in my house crying over Billie Eilish’s new song. Shannon Keating reflects on Eilish’s new song and how it “managed to pierce through my depressive fugue state in the vegetable aisle, and when I paid attention to the lyrics, I started to cry into my already sweat-dampened face mask.”
To be Black in this country is to live a life of trespass. Elwin Cotman offers a beautiful meditation on why wandering around the abandoned Pittsburgh of his youth instilled a desire to go wherever he wanted — even as a Black man living in America.
I hope your day and your weekend are crowded with expressions of love, Elamin P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide). 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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