‘It’s a miracle he’s alive’

Ashley Shaffer, USA TODAY
·6 min read

Jacob Blake’s father gives a grim medical update on his son. Hurricane Laura is forecast to intensify before making landfall. And new COVID-19 cases are down about 20% since August.

It's Ashley with the news to know.

But first, what a year to come out of hiding: For over 50 years, the elephant shrew has been considered a "lost species." Until now.

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Jacob Blake reportedly paralyzed, shot 8 times in Wisconsin

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot in the back multiple times Sunday by police in Wisconsin, is reportedly paralyzed from the waist down. Blake's father, who told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that his son was paralyzed, also said he was shot eight times. The shooting led to unrest in Wisconsin and around the country, and hundreds of protesters ignored the mobilization of the Wisconsin National Guard and an emergency curfew on Monday night to again protest at the Kenosha County Courthouse. A viral video of the shooting appears to show the officer grab Blake by the back of his shirt as he tried to get into a vehicle, then shoot him seven times at point-blank range. "It's a miracle he's still alive," said nationally known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Blake.

A man stands with a sign on August 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. This is the second night of rioting after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23.
A man stands with a sign on August 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. This is the second night of rioting after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23.

Laura is now a hurricane

Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Laura approaches the Gulf Coast. Spinning in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the storm could undergo what's known as "rapid intensification" before it hits land late Wednesday or early Thursday, potentially as a potent Category 3 "major" storm. On top of winds around 115 mph, the hurricane is expected to bring a huge storm surge of Gulf seawater ashore, forecasters warned, potentially as high as 13 feet near the Texas-Louisiana border. Evacuations were ordered across the Gulf as the storm approached, including the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, while state emergencies were declared in Louisiana and Mississippi. And a word of caution from Louisiana's governor: Do not throw a hurricane party.

Wesley Jacobs and David Bouillion board up the windows on a business before the possible arrival of Hurricane Laura on August 25, 2020, in Lake Charles, La.
Wesley Jacobs and David Bouillion board up the windows on a business before the possible arrival of Hurricane Laura on August 25, 2020, in Lake Charles, La.

What everyone’s talking about

We're ready for you, Melania

The second day of a quite unconventional Republican National Convention will kick off on Tuesday, capped by first lady Melania Trump delivering a speech from the newly renovated White House Rose Garden. She won't be the only Trump speaking: President Donald Trump is supposed to speak each night of the four-day convention, and his children, Eric and Tiffany, are also scheduled to give addresses Tuesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also plans to dive into politically fraught waters Tuesday when he addresses the RNC – breaking diplomatic protocol and perhaps the State Department's own policy on engaging in partisan political activity.

Let's recap Day 1 of the RNC:

64 protesters arrested in Louisville amid demonstration for Breonna Taylor

What organizers called a “massive demonstration" over the death of Breonna Taylor led to the arrests of more than 60 protesters on Tuesday, nearly three months after protesters first took to the city's streets. The demonstration will mark the end of BreonnaCon, a four-day event meant to draw attention to her case. Taylor is the 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician who was asleep in her apartment in March when Louisville Metro Police broke down the door and charged in with a hail of gunfire, killing her. Taylor has since become one of the most well-known faces of the national outpouring of outrage and protests over continuing police violence, especially against African Americans and other people of color.

Breonna Taylor portrait by Amy Sherald on the cover of the September Vanity Fair.
Breonna Taylor portrait by Amy Sherald on the cover of the September Vanity Fair.

Real quick

COVID-19 vaccine update: Experts see progress but worry about logistics

New COVID-19 cases are down about 20% since early August, but deaths remain alarmingly high, with nearly 1,000 Americans a day still dying from the virus. A closer look at testing reveals similarly mixed news: Positive tests rates are falling but fewer tests are being done. The good news: A coronavirus vaccine or even several could be ready in just a few months. But experts warn it’s about more than the shot. People have to want to get immunized. In order for the battle against the pandemic to succeed, public confidence in the effectiveness of a vaccine must be established, says USA TODAY's expert panelists. If this doesn’t happen now, the more than $10 billion in tax dollars spent on vaccines will have been wasted because not enough people will get them to matter.

Other COVID-19 developments:

People lie on the grass in the Malieveld to form a message that reads "help" during a protest in The Hague, The Netherlands, on August 25 to highlight the lack of work due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
People lie on the grass in the Malieveld to form a message that reads "help" during a protest in The Hague, The Netherlands, on August 25 to highlight the lack of work due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

A break from the news

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jacob Blake, Hurricane Laura, RNC, Trump, COVID-19: Tuesday's news