NBA Teams: No Justice, No Games

1. The Bucks Stop Here

The Milwaukee Bucks forfeited their playoff game against the Orlando Magic last night — exactly four years after Colin Kaepernick took a knee for the first time — to protest Sunday’s police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black father of three in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which left him paralyzed. Following the Bucks’ move, the NBA postponed other games while teams in other sports leagues also boycotted games. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old was arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of two protesters in Kenosha. The Justice Department will investigate Blake’s shooting.

More than 620,000 residents of Texas and Louisiana were ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Laura was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds before making landfall last night. Some experts predict it could cause as much devastation as Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This is 2020, after all.

3. Battle Ram

A Russian military convoy deliberately crashed into an American armored vehicle in Syria Wednesday according to the U.S. military, injuring soldiers and underscoring the potential for an armed escalation at a time when nerves are taut across the world. The incident came hours after China launched two missiles into the South China Sea as a warning to America amid growing tensions over the disputed waters. A war is all we need, right?

4. Setting an Example

A New Zealand court has sentenced a white supremacist terrorist who killed 51 people in last year’s Christchurch mosque attacks to life imprisonment without parole, the most stringent punishment ever handed out in the country’s history. Don’t even get me started on all that America can learn from New Zealand on both mass incarceration and zero tolerance for hate crimes.

5. Taxing Tech

African governments are devising strategies to tax tech giants like Google and Facebook more as they struggle against the recession sparked by the pandemic that’s now claimed more than 820,000 lives globally. Meanwhile, Mexico is poised for its worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

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From Evanston, Illinois, Blake was a member of his high school wrestling team and is part of a family that has long been associated with community activism.

2. Father and Son

His three sons were sitting in the car when Blake was shot while trying to enter the vehicle. His father, Jacob Blake Sr., who began a Tuesday press conference by reading a verse from the Quran, said the family is seeking psychological support for the traumatized children. “They [the children] are stuck right now,” he said.

3. Shooter

Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Blake, is a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department. The son of a teacher, Sheskey has in the past participated in labor protests. In 2015 he was sued by a woman for $50,000 after his police car hit a teenage girl in a Jeep.

4. “No Angel”

It’s not entirely Sheskey’s fault, if Wisconsin’s Attorney General Josh Kaul is to be believed. Kaul said Blake was near a knife when Sheskey fired. Blake also has warrants out for domestic violence and sexual assault, documents seen by OZY show. And police were responding to a  911 call for himover a complaint of “family trouble.”

5. What’s Next?

“Defund the police” sounds great. But the original idea, say critics, has been watered down by both the left and the right to pacify those who deem it extreme. The real need of the hour, according to organizations like Critical Resistance is to break the “prison industrial complex” that incentivizes imprisonment and militarized law enforcement. Will the Kenosha shooting give fresh momentum to this idea?

6. Learn From Others

To Make America Great Again, lessons from beyond its borders might be in order:

• Finlandrequires officers to seek permission from superiors before firing in most cases. The result? It’s the most trusted police force in the world.
• Chile suspended the use of rubber bullets by officers last year amid protests in that country. Officers have repeatedly used rubber bullets in recent U.S. protests.

Can't get enough of The Carlos Watson Show? Well you're in luck. The chairs are flipped: Your favorite host, Carlos Watson, is going to be the one answering questions this morning on Good Morning America. Tune in to hear from Carlos about his favorite interview so far, plus a special announcement about a celebrity guest coming up later this week. Watch live at 8:45 a.m. ET.

I know it’s hard to believe sometimes, but there’s plenty of beauty in this world. You might not be able to travel just yet, but give your eyes a break and imagine you’re on some of the world’s most majestic rooftops, soaking in landscapes straight out of your dreams.

An endless expanse of sand (and some shrubs) greets you as you step onto the roof of this hotel in Tinerhir, Morocco. You’re in the middle of the Sahara desert. And you’re at peace.

2. Yoo2 Hotel

You’re facing the Botafogo beach, you’ve got the Sugarloaf Mountain ahead of you and you’re in arguably the biggest party city in the world. What more do you need out of this Rio de Janeiro view?

3. The Summit

This Hanoi hotel is literally that. Overlooking the Red River and the Vietnamese capital’s multiple lakes, its view was love at first sight for me.  

Now it’s your mind’s turn to get stimulated.

She’s not on TikTok learning challenges. But the author of books like Bad Feminist and Difficult Women is a powerful influencer. Watch her on The Carlos Watson Show today.

2. George Lopez

He’s a comedian the authorities take seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the Secret Service landed at his doorstep once. Watch him on The Carlos Watson Show.

3. Yennenga

She’s a champion from history you’ve likely never heard of. The stallion-riding princess in what is today Ghana was the greatest warrior of the empire, but her story is also about sacrifice for that ultimate quest: love. Read more.

Finally, let us tickle your taste buds ...

You’ll only find the maultaschen in the southern German province of Baden-Württemberg. But it’s worth traveling — or dreaming — for. Stuffed with beef or veal, these dumplings were apparently conceived by monks in the Middle Ages to hide meat from God during Lent. Read more.

2. Chengdu Acrobatics

You’ll never want to try another dumpling again — but you’ve got to work to get this one. The Dry Chili Chao Shou is a hole in the wall, and you can access it only by climbing a ladder. Their dumplings, folded in beautiful crescent shapes and typically filled with pork, sell out every night. Read more.

3. Lamb Labor of Love

The Lamb manti is made throughout Turkey and Central Asia. The smaller the manti, the more skilled the cook: The best ones can fit multiple dumplings on a single spoon.

Yesterday we asked you which guest said what on The Carlos Watson Show. Carter Hammett-McGarry, you were spot on!

a. America needs higher taxes: Andrew Ross Sorkin

b. Can’t work with Trump: Jamaal Bowman

c. Hate social media: Maggie Siff