But first, finders keepers: An amateur treasure hunter uncovered one of the most significant Bronze Age hoards ever found in Scotland, including a 3,000-year-old sword.
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'This is a moment of real consequence for America'
The moment we've waited months for: Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris made their first appearance as running mates on Wednesday. "This is a moment of real consequence for America," Harris said, using her time to argue that mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic left an American dying every 80 seconds, 16 million people out of work and millions of children unable to return to school. Both Harris and Biden threw major shade at President Donald Trump's administration during their speeches. "America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him," Harris said.
Will Harris' groundbreaking qualities affect the outcome of Biden's campaign? There's a chance. She'll likely make more of a difference than usual by energizing African American and younger voters in a way Biden so far has struggled to do. She is both the first Black woman and the first Asian American person on a major party's ticket, and at age 55 she is a generation younger than her 77-year-old running mate. Will it be enough to win come November? Make sure you're registered to vote to help make that decision.
Democratic presidential nominee and former US Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, arrive to conduct their first press conference together in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 12, 2020.
OLIVIER DOULIERY, AFP via Getty Images
One-third of crops damaged in Iowa
More than 600,000 people remained without power Wednesday in the Midwest due to the powerful derecho that roared across the region Monday. Iowa was especially hard hit, as the windstorm devastated the state's power grid and flattened valuable cornfields. Officials said full recovery from the storm will take several weeks. The storm had winds of up to 112 mph near Cedar Rapids, Iowa – as powerful as an inland hurricane – as it tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, including Chicago and its suburbs. Early estimates say the derecho flattened at least one-third of Iowa's crops – about 10 million acres.
A painted sign, "2020 Strong" is placed in the backyard of a home that sustained damage from a tree after a derecho severe thunderstorm, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"So I guess Southwest has invented time travel": Airline sends passengers bizarre flight changes.
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A Virginia man said to be a KKK leader who drove a truck into a BLM protest got 6 years in jail.
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The NBA will allow guests to visit players in the bubble after the first round of playoffs. Here is how it will work.
Nasal spray to fight coronavirus?
While scientists scramble for a COVID-19 vaccine, researchers in San Francisco say they've developed an antiviral nasal spray that can fight off the virus right now – not as a cure or vaccine, but as an antiviral. Nanobodies in the spray are smaller than human antibodies, making them easier to manipulate in a laboratory setting, said co-inventor Dr. Aashish Manglik, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry. For this reason, nanobodies are less expensive and easier to mass produce. The researchers are currently working to get the spray manufactured and clinically tested.
Let's talk about those unemployment checks
The extra $400 in weekly unemployment benefits that President Donald Trump promised last week will likely be just $300 for many jobless Americans. A White House economic adviser said Tuesday that the administration has slightly modified its plans for the enhanced benefits after states raised concerns they could not afford their share of the cost. The average state unemployment benefit is around $400 per week, so with the extra $300 federal supplement, many Americans can expect to receive $700 in weekly unemployment benefits.
It's officially *checks notes* 83 days until Election Day, and there's a surprisingly heated debate going on over mail-in balloting amid a pandemic that isn't going away anytime soon. (Casting ballots after waiting in long lines unquestionably carries COVID-19 risks.) Recently, viral social media posts have made claims of intentional slowdowns of mail service and other attempts to short-circuit the election process. So, as many gear up to vote unlike ever before, I thought we'd break down what's true and what's false about mail-in voting:
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Voters should request ballots two weeks early: It's true that voters should request their ballots at least 15 days prior to Election Day, though some states have different deadlines. View your state's voting information here.
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Can the United States Postal service handle all those mailed ballots? The PostalService says it is "prepared and has ample capacity" to timely deliver election mail.
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Is President Donald Trump intentionally slowing USPS deliveries? It is false to say mail is intentionally being slowed. USA TODAY found no evidence of that claim being true.
With the coronavirus pandemic changing the overall conversation in the 2020 election, it's also changing the way millions of Americans plan to vote...by mail in balloting. And that increase in vote-by-mail is going to place the United States Postal Service in the spotlight.
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