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7 Things: NYT gets story about UAB/coronavirus wrong, Jones starts hitting Tuberville, ‘vandal’ cleans Confederate monument and more …

7. Why isn’t Biden traveling?

  • Democrat strategist Christy Setzer has recently raised the question of why former Vice President Joe Biden has mostly remained in Wilmington, Delaware, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Other political figures, such as former President Barack Obama, have traveled for speaking engagements for the Democratic National Convention while Biden stayed in Delaware.

6. The WNBA exists and also refused to play basketball

  • The sports world was plagued by multiple “forfeits” and postponements yesterday in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Reports indicate that Blake was the subject of a domestic violence call before he was tased, wrestled with cops and was then shot 7 times as he reached for a knife in his vehicle.
  • Some athletes have decided they can force “change” if they cancel games and potentially the season as a response, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that their goals can be accomplished this way.

5. You don’t always have to get tested anymore

  • New guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that people who have been exposed to the coronavirus in close contact “do not necessarily” need to be tested, just so long as they aren’t showing symptoms.
  • The CDC is still reminding people that they can develop symptoms several days after being exposed, and you can eventually test positive even after an initial negative test.

4. RNC last night

  • Night three of the Republican National Convention saw a focus placed on law and order and offered a direct rebuke of the chaos that has taken over American cities this summer with very little pushback from Democrat mayors and governors who either allowed their cities to burn or actively impeded a federal government response.
  • This issue continues to be one that the American people agree is important. Vice President Mike Pence used his time at the RNC to demand, “the violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha. Too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see Americans strike each other down.” This is clearly having an impact as Democrats, including Joe Biden, have started speaking out against the violence after remaining silent during their convention.

3. Monument cleaned overnight

  • The Confederate monument in downtown Huntsville outside of the Madison County Courthouse was vandalized over 20 days ago, and overnight “a concerned citizen who owns a local power washing company” cleaned the monument.
  • The Madison County Commission has made it clear that while they want the monument removed, it has to be done legally, and there has been speculation that it could be removed for cleaning and put back in another location.

2. Tommy Tuberville is dealing with hedge fund allegations again

  • U.S. Senator Doug Jones’ (D-AL) campaign has released a new ad against former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville that focuses on his co-owned hedge fund that led to his partner being sentenced to prison time.
  • While Tuberville did settle a federal civil suit brought by investors for an undisclosed amount, Tuberville has maintained that he was a victim in the situation, and Alabama Securities Commission Joseph Borg has said that there was no evidence Tuberville participated in the fraud.

1. No, UAB doesn’t have the most coronavirus cases in the nation

  • An article published by the New York Times ranks colleges and universities throughout the United States based on how many coronavirus cases have been found on campus and erroneously found the University of Alabama at Birmingham is ranked No. 1 with 972 cases.
  • This information isn’t correct, though, as a spokesperson for UAB said that there have been 148 students and 91 faculty and staff diagnosed, but only 6 of those have been since August 19, and a majority of cases counted by NYT are from UAB medical operations.

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