promoearn: Civil rights icon C.T. Vivian to be remembered in private funeral

Thursday, July 23

In this June 19, 2014, file photo, Civil Rights pioneer Rev. C.T. Vivian preaches during a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in Knoxville, Tenn. The Rev. C.T. Vivian, a civil rights veteran who worked alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and served as head of the organization co-founded by the civil rights icon, has died at home in Atlanta of natural causes Friday morning, July 17, 2020, his friend and business partner Don Rivers confirmed to The Associated Press. Vivian was 95.

Thursday's Daily Briefing: C.T. Vivian laid to rest, MLB Opening Day

Civil rights icon Rev. C.T. Vivian to be laid to rest, baseball is back and more news to start off your Thursday.

Good morning, sports fans! Last night, basketball made it's official comeback with the first night of NBA scrimmages played with no fans in the stands. Today, baseball is back and America's most famous infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will be throwing the ceremonial first pitch.

Also today, friends and family will attend a funeral for legendary civil rights activist C.T. Vivian,Tropical Storm Gonzalo may strengthen into a hurricane, and fans are losing their minds because it's One Direction's 10th anniversary.

It's N'dea and here's today's biggest news brought to you while I listen to "What Makes You Beautiful."

Civil rights icon Rev. C.T. Vivian to be laid to rest

The funeral for the Rev. C.T. Vivian, the Baptist minister and close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., will be held Thursday in a private service in Atlanta . The funeral, set for 11 a.m. ET at the Providence Missionary Baptist Church, will be open only for family due to the coronavirus outbreak. Local news channel WSB-TV will livestream the event. Vivian worked alongside King and later served as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization founded by King. He died Friday at age 95, the same day as fellow civil rights leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

•	Remembering John Lewis: Younger civil rights activists vow to carry on the work
•	C.T. Vivian remembered in Georgia capitol, taken to Martin Luther King Jr.'s tomb

Race in America: Portland protests, Confederate statues and Breonna Taylor

•	Portland mayor tear-gassed by federal officers, warns 'somebody's going to die' during chaotic protests
•	What you need to know on the federal response in Portland and the legal questions it raises
•	'Symbols of bigotry and racism': House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol
•	Louisville police: Releasing records in Breonna Taylor case hurts impartial investigation
•	Sierra Club confronts its racist, white-supremacist past
•	Was your Uber, Lyft fare high because of algorithm bias?

Microsoft to launch new Xbox games amid pandemic-era video game bump 🎮

Microsoft will host an Xbox Games Showcase on Thursday where it is expected to unveil games for its upcoming console . Xbox will likely unveil titles expected to launch with the Xbox Series X, scheduled to debut this holiday season. Fans can watch the event on Xbox's website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch. The console will inject new excitement into the video game space, though it also arrives during a global coronavirus pandemic. But as more people remain at home due to the pandemic, they are discovering or renewing their interest in video games. In May, video game spending totaled $977 million, a 52% increase from a year ago, according to market research company NPD Group.

•	Out of stock: Nintendo Switch sales skyrocket during the pandemic, leaving many aspiring gamers bereft

A $1.95 billion COVID-19 vaccine deal

The U.S. government has placed an initial order for 100 million doses of a vaccine candidate being developed by Pfizer and a German firm, BioNTech, for $1.95 billion, the companies announced Wednesday. Meanwhile, federal unemployment benefits are taking a hit at a time when more states are abruptly pausing their reopening plans. The $600 weekly jobless benefits bonus, approved in March, is about to expire and likely won't be extended or replaced before next month.

•	Trump blames spike in COVID cases on protests, increased travel and cases from Mexico, even as experts point to early reopenings
•	'I need that extra little bit of money to keep the lights on': How unemployed Americans will cope without an extra $600
•	Rookie middlemen muddle the government's effort to buy coronavirus supplies
•	Over a million more expected to file jobless claims as coronavirus pauses reopenings
•	Back to school? Most major schools are heading toward online class as COVID-19 cases spike
•	'We ask for your prayers': 13 nuns at Michigan convent who died from COVID-19 memorialized

MLB is back, but with no fans in the stands ⚾

MLB's longest-ever offseason is finally over with a pair of opening day games kicking off Thursday in an unprecedented 60-game sprint to October . The Washington Nationals begin defense of their World Series title at home against the powerful New York Yankees, but as with all games for the foreseeable future, the teams will play with no fans in the stands. Players have to follow strict social-distancing rules, so no spitting, high-fives or up-close arguments with umpires. And the Toronto Blue Jays, after failing to receive clearance from health officials to play their games in Canada (or Pittsburgh), are still looking for a place to call home.

More news to know

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•	Amazon introduces boxes that can be recycled into cat condos, forts and other creations
•	Are half-sheet cakes back at Costco? There are reports the popular cakes are back at some clubs 🎂
•	Mookie Betts signs mammoth 12-year extension with Dodgers

Kobe Bryant basketball footage to be auctioned 🏀

Kobe Bryant's time in high school will be showcased when about 22 hours of footage of the late basketball star playing games and giving interviews will be sold Thursday by the auction house Profiles in History. The footage is from the media library of Stu Ross, who produced "High School Sports Show," a syndicated weekly television series seen in 35 cities. Ross' library includes 130 hours and more than 700 athletes. The footage will be sold in one lot, and the auction house estimates the price will be $250,000 to $350,000. Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star, died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. He was 41.

•	Love from beyond: Vanessa Bryant finds the dress her late husband gifted her

Residents wait for a bus with a mural of Kobe Bryant painted on the wall behind them in Koreatown on Feb 24, 2020, in Los Angeles.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

Fact or fiction? ✔️

Are you seeing misinformation on social media? Find out what stories are legit with our latest newsletter, Checking The Facts.

•	Fact check: Viral photo shows Obama, Fauci visiting NIH lab in 2014, not a 'Wuhan lab' in 2015
•	Fact check: Britney Spears' 12-year-long conservatorship is not taking advantage of her

Tropical Storm Gonzalo may form into a hurricane 🌀

Tropical Storm Gonzalo is expected to become a hurricane Thursday as it makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean . The tropical storm is the earliest "G" storm in any Atlantic hurricane season on record. As of 5 a.m. Thursday, it was about 970 miles east of the Southern Windward Islands of the Caribbean. The system had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving to the west at 12 mph. In addition to Gonzalo, forecasters were also monitoring a system in the Gulf of Mexico, which could spin up into a tropical depression or storm in the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center said. Meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas gathered strength as it barreled west toward the Hawaiian Islands on a track to potentially bring strong winds and flash flooding to the island chain over the weekend, weather forecasters said.

•	Hot summer: 'Dangerous' heat wave scorches East but cooler weather on the way

In better news: Celebrating 10 years of 1D 🎉

It's been a decade since the "Perfect" boy band got together on "The X Factor," and One Direction fans on Twitter can hardly contain their excitement. It's unclear what exactly the band has in store, but a new website and video are among the things fans can look forward to. One Direction has announced it will launch a new anniversary website on Thursday which includes an archive of music videos, behind-the-scenes content, and, of course, a much-anticipated 10-year celebration video highlighting the group's historic moments.

The biggest question on everyone's mind: Are Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik finally getting back together? They aren't saying, but it seems like they intend on making "History."

In the meantime, here are 10 of their best songs to celebrate the milestone and a look back at their best photos through the years.

Members of the musical group One Direction, Niall Horan, left, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. The band will release a new album entitled "Take Me Home" in the fall of 2012.

John Wright, NONE