NPR News: npr daily

Top Story: The importance of Kamala Harris.

Views expressed in this geopolitical summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.

Content supplied by NPR (National Public Radio).

For the latest BBC World News video, please go here:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/10462520/one-minute-world-news.

Accessed on 12 August 2020, 1351 UTC, Post 459.

Source (email subscription to NPR News: npr daily):

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/jazoj80rb7bd/?&th=173e2cf325b79c43&v=c

Please click link or scroll down to read your selections.

Thanks for joining us today.

Until next time,
Russ Roberts
https://www.hawaiigeopoliticalnews.com
https://hawaiiintelligencedaily.com

by Korva Coleman, Jill Hudson and Suzette Lohmeyer

First Up Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images Here's what we're following today. California Senator Kamala Harris is expected to appear alongside Joe Biden on Wednesday in Delaware — a day after Biden tapped her to be his vice presidential running mate. The choice is historic: Harris is the first Black and Asian woman to run on a major party ticket. But there’s more to it then that. Here are five takeaways on the new Biden-Harris pairing. Two major college conferences — the Big Ten and Pac-12 — announced Tuesday they are sidelining college football and other fall sports because of the coronavirus, just weeks before schools were scheduled to play their first games. Despite the huge fall off in air travel this year, the Transportation Security Agency says it’s finding three times the number of guns in luggage at airport checkpoints. About 80% of these weapons were loaded. President Trump is moving ahead with plans to cut payroll taxes starting next month. While the cut sounds like a great idea, some analysts are warning, not so fast. The cut is temporary and workers must repay the taxes next year. That is, if they still have a job where payroll taxes are being removed. Critics are also concerned the move will damage Social Security, which is funded through payroll taxes. Biopharma company Moderna has reached a $1.5 billion agreement with the federal government to purchase 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate, which is still in clinical trials. That works out to about $15 dollars a dose. Consumer advocates say that's a bad deal for American taxpayers, who've already footed the bill for a large chunk of Moderna's research and development of a vaccine. Moderna says it intends to make a profit, but will offer the vaccine below its value during the pandemic.

Newsletter continues after sponsor message

Today's Listen Scott Olson/Getty Images   The U.S. Postal Service is making major changes during an election that's expected to see more mail-in voting than ever before. Some postal workers were alarmed after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy reassigned or displaced 20 postal executives, changed delivery policies, banned overtime and made other changes cut costs at an agency that has had financial problems for years. Click here to listen or read the story. With Harry Styles' first #1 on the Billboard pop charts, One Direction has become one of just a handful of bands to ever produce multiple members with #1 solo records. Here’s a link to the audio story. If you haven't seen HBO’s miniseries Watchmen, now is a good time to catch up. The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast hosts delve into the show that’s set in a big, weird world that keeps getting bigger and weirder, even as it seeks to comment on some very contemporary, real-world issues. Here's a link to the podcast. Before You Go Adam Cossette Enormous "terror crocodiles" with “teeth the size of bananas” once roamed the earth and preyed on dinosaurs, according to a new study. The giant crocs lived 75 million years ago and were among the largest predators in the ecosystem. We've been using the term "Latinx" on NPR's Code Switch podcast regularly. But new research shows it hasn't really caught on among Latino adults in the U.S.: While one in four have heard of the term, only 3% use it. Media titan Sumner Redstone, who built the company Viacom into a global empire, died Tuesday. He was 97. Through shrewd investing and strategic deal-making, Redstone became one of the world's most powerful and unpredictable corporate leaders. Follow The New Normal on Instagram! What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: dailynewsletter@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more!