Monday Scoop: ‘Unite the Right 2’ was a dud
Welcome to the Morning Scoop for August 13, 2018. The failed white supremacist rally in DC, McDonald’s salad and the ‘Omarosa Tapes’ top the news this morning.
Over the weekend, we kept up our music coverage, publishing a review of the new Nicki Minaji album and an in-depth examination of British band Broadcast’s key record.
If you know someone who wants to sharpen their music journalism skills, we have created a one-of-a-kind course that starts on August 27. Pass along these details!
Unite the Right Rally Fizzles
Only a few dozen white supremacists and neo-Nazis showed up for the ‘Unite the Right 2’ event in Washington yesterday — the first anniversary of a rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly. Most of them left before the scheduled start time.
The rally began about two hours earlier than originally announced, and the alt-right supporters were dwarfed by counter-protesters. Organizer Jason Kessler said the small turnout was the result of “logistical issues and confusion regarding the group’s transportation,” according to CNN.
Yet, as Richard Fausset wrote in the New York Times wrote this morning, “even with the low turnout, almost no one walked away with the sense that the nation’s divisions were any closer to healing.”
Are the ‘Omarosa Tapes’ a Bombshell?
Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman revealed over the weekend that she made recordings inside the Situation Room, a supposedly strictly secure area where decisions at the highest level are made.
Omarosa played the tapes on NBC’s Meet the Press, where she was discussing her time in the Trump administration, which she details in her book “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House,” which goes on sale tomorrow. She also claimed she has heard a recording of President Trump using the N-word during filming for “The Apprentice,” a show on which she was a contestant.
In the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin wrote that the recordings “reflects the abject incompetence and sloppiness in the administration, both of which endanger the country,” while ABC reported that the White House is pondering legal action against Omarosa for making the tapes in the Situation Room.
Parasitic Illness Linked to McDonald’s Salads Leave 436 Sick, 20 Hospitalized
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 436 people have been diagnosed with a laboratory-confirmed illness linked to salads sold at McDonald’s.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement confirming 395 illnesses, and the number increased to 436 this week. The cyclospora infection is part of an ongoing outbreak that began in May.
Arianna Lynne has full details in her report.
Today in a Tweet
The Queen of Soul is on our minds this morning…
Last But Not Least: Why Warped Tour’s Closing Is a Good Thing
CMN’s Nicole Kitchens wrote an inspired viewpoint piece last week, taking a look at how the iconic Warped music tour has lost its charm.
“The traveling circus that represented the safest of spaces for the outcasts, the ska-lovers, the lost parents whose kids blared Black Veil Brides at ear splitting volumes in their rooms, and the awkward music fans like me, is coming to a sad and nostalgic end,” she writes.
Get the good, bad and ugly of Warped Tour right here.
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