Good morning. It's Tuesday, Sept. 8, and we're covering a Derby upset, protests at home and abroad, and California wildfires. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Derby Upset Amid Protests

Underdog Authentic scored a wire-to-wire victory in Saturday's unconventional Kentucky Derby, blocking favorite Tiz the Law's Triple Crown bid. The win was the third Derby victory for jockey John Velazquez and the sixth for owner Bob Baffert. The usual crowd of 150,000 was virtually nonexistent due to COVID-19 concerns; watch the full race here.

Meanwhile, hundreds marched outside the race at Churchill Downs on the 101st day of protests in Louisville, largely focusing on the March police shooting of Breonna Taylor. The night ended without significant incident despite armed groups from all sides—including the all-Black NFAC militia and various right-wing groups led by Dylan "Angry Viking" Stevens—descending on the city.

Elsewhere, protests in Rochester, New York—rocked by new footage in the March death of Daniel Prude—turned violent Saturday, with three police officers reportedly injured. Mayor Lovely Warren (D) blamed "outside agitators" for the violence. Separately, police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot Saturday and arrested at least 27 as the city passed its 100th day of demonstrations. 

Finally, a still-hospitalized Jacob Blake, whose August shooting by Wisconsin police sparked new waves of unrest, made his first public comments, urging people to "change their lives."  

100,000 March in Belarus

Protests continued to gain strength in the Eastern European country of Belarus, where authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has been widely accused of rigging August elections in which he claimed to have captured 80% of the vote. An estimated 100,000 turned out in the capital city of Minsk in what was the fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations, bolstered by fresh eyewitness accounts of election fraud. So far Lukashenko has refused to budge and has increasingly cracked down on protesters—witnesses say prominent opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova was abducted by masked men in an unmarked van. 

Some fear the situation may devolve into an international crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin offering military aid to help quell the pro-democracy movement (while extending Russia's influence in the region).

Separately, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, poisoned in late August, has been brought out of a medically induced coma.

Gender Reveal Sparks Fire

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency as record-breaking heat fueled a resurgence in wildfires across the state. Locations across Southern California saw record temperatures; Woodland Hills reached 121 degrees, the highest ever recorded in Los Angeles County. Farther north, roughly 200 campers were airlifted to safety after fires grew and rapidly closed in on a popular campsite in the Sierra Nevadas. Watch video of a couple escaping the fire by car here.

With months left in wildfire season, flames have already consumed the most acreage—more than 2 million—in a single year since the tally began in 1987. Temperatures are expected to cool somewhat this week.  

Officials said the El Dorado fire, east of Los Angeles, was ignited during a gender reveal party. More than 600 firefighters were battling the blaze, which had consumed at least 7,300 acres as of this morning. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” tops Billboard 200 for sixth week, ties Whitney Houston for most cumulative weeks at No. 1 for a woman with 46 (More) | Kevin Dobson, TV star known for "Kojak" and "Knots Landing," dies at 77 (More)

> Lou Brock, baseball Hall of Famer and six-time All-Star, dies at 81 (More) | Commentator and Hall of Fame poker player Mike Sexton dies at 72 (More)

> World men's tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic disqualified from fourth-round match at US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball (More) | Dustin Johnson wins golf’s Tour Championship and FedEx Cup along with $15M prize money (More)

Science & Technology

> Competing drugmakers including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna to issue pledge to not seek FDA approval for a vaccine until proven safe and effective (More) | India now recording 90,000 COVID-19 cases per day, the world's highest rate (More) | US reports 6.3 million total cases as of this morning, with 189,215 deaths; see averages (More)

> Study of Bronze Age warriors suggests lactose tolerance spread through Central Europe over a few thousand years, extremely fast for evolutionary changes; spread likely due to the evolutionary advantages of drinking nutrient-rich milk (More)

> Prolonged exposure to low-gravity environments caused structural changes in the brain of eight cosmonauts, with most experiencing increased dexterity but weaker vision (More)

Business & Markets

> August unemployment rate drops to 8.4% from 10.2% in July after economy adds 1.4 million jobs, but employment growth slows (More)

> US stock markets down Friday (S&P 500 -0.8%, Dow -0.6%, Nasdaq -1.3%) as Big Tech stocks see rout for second consecutive day (More) | Shares of Japanese tech giant SoftBank plunge 7% as sources say the company is investing in Big Tech stock options; sources suggest the activity could have partially led to recent tech stock surge (More)

> Pentagon will stick with Microsoft for its $10B JEDI—Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure—cloud-based contract; Amazon challenged the award arguing the White House improperly influenced the decision (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Saudi Arabia issues final verdict in slaying of US-based columnist and Saudi royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, sentencing eight people to seven to 20 years in prison; all accused spared the death penalty (More)

> Typhoon Haishen leaves more than 440,000 homes without power in Japan, batters the Korean peninsula; the Category 3 equivalent storm comes just days after Typhoon Maysak (More)

> President Trump refutes reports he made disparaging comments about troops, criticizes use of all anonymous sources (More) | Fox News reporter says she confirmed parts of original report; sources not named (More) | Original story here (More, $$, Atlantic)

IN-DEPTH

Forget TikTok—Look at WeChat

NYT | Paul Mozur. The White House has set an ultimatum on the sale of the Chinese-linked app TikTok, citing national security concerns. While TikTok may or may not be a threat, one only needs to look to the super-app WeChat for an example of how China uses tech platforms to expand its surveillance state. (Read, $$)

Was Dave Chappelle Crazy, or Were We?

MEL Magazine | Zaron Burnett III. Fifteen years ago, at the height of his popularity, comedian Dave Chappelle walked away from millions after feeling as though success had compromised his values. But the headlines—that Chappelle had gone crazy in Africa—obscured a deeper yearning for freedom. (Read)

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ETCETERA

The best memes of 2020 (so far).

The Ice Bucket Challenge may have actually worked.

Photographer captures the beautifully unusual flora of South Africa.

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More than half of young adults are now living with their parents.

Ranking the best barbecue in every state.

These mysterious stone structures dot the desolate Ustyurt plateau. 

Want to own a jelly bean factory? Join this treasure hunt.

When a baby sees a waterfall for the first time.

Clickbait: Tourist fined $1,200 for stealing sand from the beach.

Historybook: Michelangelo’s David statue unveiled to the public (1504); St. Augustine, Florida, becomes first permanent European settlement (1565);  Singer Patsy Cline born (1932); HBD Bernie Sanders (1941); HBD Ruby Bridges, first Black student to attend an all-white school in Louisiana (1954).

"When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength, and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you."

- Ruby Bridges

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