Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from around the world. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.
The U.N.'s first virtual meeting is expected to begin with prerecorded speeches, tropical storm Beta stalls along the Texas coast, former Wisconsin police chief to consult with prosecutors on Jacob Blake's shooting, Mike Bloomberg raises money for Florida felons to pay off fines to vote and Amy Coney Barrett is the polarizing front-runner for the vacant Supreme Court seat.
World powers set to take the stage, virtually, at UN debate
The U.N.’s first virtual meeting of world leaders was set to start Tuesday with pre-recorded speeches from some of the planet’s biggest powers, kept at home by the coronavirus pandemic that will likely be a dominant theme at their video gathering this year. Among those expected to speak Tuesday are U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose countries have reported the highest and second-highest coronavirus death tolls, respectively. Also on deck are President Xi Jinping of China, where the virus originated, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which has raised international eyebrows with its rapid vaccine development.
Tropical Storm Beta stalls along Texas coast, brings floods
Tropical Storm Beta stalled out Tuesday along the Texas coast, flooding streets in Houston and Galveston hours after making landfall amid an unusually busy hurricane season. The storm made landfall late Monday just north of Port O’Connor, Texas, and has the distinction of being the first time a storm named for a Greek letter made landfall in the continental United States. Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names last week, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to stall inland over Texas through Wednesday.
Former Wisconsin police chief to review Jacob Blake shooting
Wisconsin’s attorney general announced Monday that he has selected a former Madison police chief to serve as an independent consultant for prosecutors weighing whether to file charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake, a Black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down. The shooting of Blake on Aug. 23 by a white Kenosha police officer made Wisconsin the epicenter of the nation’s ongoing debate over police violence and racial injustice. Noble Wray, the expert who will review the file, is Black. Following his retirement as Madison’s chief in 2013, Wray has become a national leader in working on police reform, fighting racism and educating about implicit bias.
Bloomberg raises millions to help Florida felons vote
Just days after after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won a court victory to keep felons from voting until they’ve paid off fines, restitution and court fees, billionaire Mike Bloomberg has stepped in to help them pay off the debts. The former Democratic presidential candidate has helped raise more than $20 million so that felons who completed their prison sentences can vote in the presidential election. Bloomberg also has pledged $100 million to help Joe Biden win Florida. Florida has 29 electoral college votes that are crucial to President Donald Trump’s hopes of staying in the White House.
High court front-runner hailed by right, feared by left
A front-runner to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a federal appellate judge who has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic, is hailed by religious conservatives and others on the right as an ideological heir to conservative icon Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court justice for whom she clerked. Barrett met with Trump at the White House on Monday, according a person familiar with the vetting process who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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