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What Does a Black Agenda Look Like in 2024?

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  • Olympics: The Men's and Women's basketball teams beat Paris to end the United States Olympic journey on a high note. Meanwhile, USA Gymnastics will appeal the decision that stripped Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal. The Olympics wrapped with a star-studded closing ceremony, passing the torch to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games.
  • Stolen helicopter crashes hotel roof: A helicopter that appears to have been stolen crashed into the roof of a hotel in Australia, killing the pilot. See the footage.
  • NATO jets intercept Russian spy plane: NATO members Germany and Sweden scrambled fighter jets over the weekend to intercept a Russian spy plane that failed to respond to radio communications, the German Luftwaffe said.
  • Border patrol warns of attacks: The U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector said it has seen a "significant rise" in attacks on border agents by migrants and issued a warning on the legal consequences of assaulting a federal officer. Here's what it means for border security.
  • U.S. Navy spots Chinese ships: Newsweek has learned that a U.S. Navy destroyer encountered Chinese navy ships on a Western Pacific patrol last month, a sign that China's forces were regularly operating further from its shores. Find out more.
  • American Airlines flight turbulence: Four American Airlines flight attendants were injured during turbulence on Thursday, August 8. Flight 2905, bound from Tampa International Airport in Florida to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, hit turbulence. Get more details.
  • In the ongoing war in Ukraine, footage purporting to show a Ukrainian "Baba Yaga" drone attacking Russian fortifications in the border Kursk region has surfaced online as Kyiv steams ahead with its surprise cross-border incursion.

TL/DR: Support for the proposal crosses party lines, with 68 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Democrats in favor of ending the taxing of tips.

The rundown: Vice President Kamala Harris' chances of winning battleground Nevada have soared, according to recent polls.

Why it matters: It comes as Harris promised to work to eliminate taxes on tips paid to hospitality and service industry employees at a rally on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus on Saturday. Her promise echoed one that her opponent, Donald Trump, made in June. The former president had pledged that one of the first things he would do if he won the White House in November is to end the taxation of income service workers earn through tips. Meanwhile, an average of five recent polls show that Harris is leading Trump, with 45.2 percent to 44.6 percent in Nevada, according to 270towin.com.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Kamala Harris Breaks Record in Key Swing State, Poll Shows

What happens now? The proposal to end taxes on tips has garnered significant public support, according to a recent poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek.

TL/DR: Project 2025 has faced intensifying scrutiny in recent weeks following the resignation of its director, Paul Dans, and attempts by Trump to disavow any connection to the initiative.

The rundown: A cache of previously undisclosed training videos produced for Project 2025 has come to light, raising alarm among government watchdogs and Democratic groups. Get more details about this controversial initiative.

Why it matters: The revelation comes amid increasing efforts by former President Donald Trump to distance himself from the project and recent leadership changes at The Heritage Foundation, which spearheads Project 2025. The videos, totaling over 14 hours of content across 23 separate recordings, were obtained by ProPublica on Saturday and documented by an individual with access to the materials. They offer an unprecedented look into the preparations being made by conservative groups to implement far-reaching policy changes rapidly should a Republican candidate win in this year's election. Here's what the videos reveal.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Project 2025 Leader's Book Blurbed By JD Vance Pushed To After Election

What happens now? As the 2024 presidential election approaches, these Project 2025 training videos will likely intensify debate over the potential policy directions and governance approaches of a future Republican administration. While supporters argue the initiative represents necessary preparation, critics view it as a blueprint for radical changes to federal government operations and policies.

TL/DR: China's summer Olympic success is largely derived from six sports: table tennis, shooting, diving, badminton, gymnastics and weightlifting.

The rundown: China made history in Paris as the only country, other than the United States and the former Soviet Union, to top the Summer Games gold medal chart away from its home soil. Find out how they achieved this monumental feat.

Why it matters: Team USA's dramatic, 67-66, win over host France in the women's basketball final sealed a 40-40 tie for the most gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The tie between the U.S. and China marks the first tie at the top of the table in Summer Olympics history. The only previous Olympics gold medal tie occurred in the Winter Games in 1948 between Norway and Sweden. China's entry into the elite club of Olympic great powers comes as it challenges the U.S. dominance of the world much as the Soviet Union did during the Cold War.

Read more in-depth coverage:
2028 Olympics: Simone Biles, USA Athletes May Consider LA28 as Last Hoorah

What happens now? China's effort in Paris shows that it is also serious about the development of its women's programs. The 2028 Summer Games will be held in Los Angeles as Team USA will look to dominate on its home turf.

TL/DR: As tensions escalate, Moscow has begun evacuating residents from border areas, with the Emergency Situations Ministry reporting that more than 76,000 people have been relocated so far.

The rundown: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of deliberately starting a fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine on Sunday. See the footage here.

Why it matters: This incident comes amid a series of cross-border attacks and counterattacks that have intensified in recent days, raising fears of a potential nuclear disaster and drawing international attention. Zelensky shared footage on Telegram showing a large plume of smoke billowing from one of the plant's towers. While radiation levels reportedly remain normal, the Ukrainian leader blamed Moscow for using the nuclear plant "to blackmail Ukraine, and all of Europe and the world." While Russian official claimed the fire was caused by Ukrainian shelling and asserting there was no radiation threat to the plant or the city. Here's what we know so far.

Read more in-depth coverage:
From the archive: Ukraine Made Three Attempts to Free Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant: Intel Chief

What happens now? Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the Ukrainian-controlled military administration in the nearby Nikopol district, characterized the incident as a possible provocation or attempt to create panic, while reassuring the public that the plant continues to operate as normally as possible under occupation conditions.

TL/DR: Texas suffers from busy roads and a high number of traffic deaths, and high-speed rail could help alleviate that problem. According to Patino Law Office, 4,254 people died in car accidents in Texas in 2023.

The rundown: The Texas Central high-speed rail line, which would look to link together Houston and Dallas, has long been considered unachievable. In other states like California, high-speed rail is taking off, but the public aren't on board in Texas. Here's what's going on.

Why it matters: Despite the potential benefits such as reduced travel time, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, and economic growth, the project has been mired in challenges that hinder its progress and acceptance. One of the primary issues is the financial burden and feasibility of the project. Initially estimated at $10 billion, the cost has ballooned to over $30 billion by 2020, according to the Reason Foundation. Kirbie Ferrell, a policy analyst for the Eno Center for Transportation and a native Texan, noted that a lot of Texans have responded to high-speed rail with concerns that their land and property will be infringed upon. Meanwhile, here's how high-speed rail transformed Japan.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Texas Map Shows Where High Speed Rail Route Would Travel

What happens now? Ferrell told Newsweek that "Texans do respond to economic impact" and suggested "having some kind of emphasis on employing Texans to do that construction. "This project is going to be challenging. Funding this project long-term is going to be challenging. Getting the land for this is going to be challenging.”

Map Reveals World's 10 Fastest Growing Populations

Our global population continues to rise, hitting 8 billion in November 2022. However, the increase has been very uneven across the globe, with some countries showing explosive population growth while others have seen significant declines.

"Most countries with high rates of population growth...share a combination of young population structure (that also means many women are in their reproductive ages) and high fertility rates (i.e., high number of children per woman)," Tomas Sobotka, a senior researcher at the Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital and deputy director of the Vienna Institute of Demography, told Newsweek.

"Although fertility rates have been declining everywhere, countries with young population structure will continue experiencing high population growth in many decades to come," he said.

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