Laura strengthened Wednesday into a menacing Category 4 hurricane, raising fears of a 20-foot storm surge that forecasters said would be “unsurvivable” and capable of sinking entire communities. Authorities implored coastal residents of Texas and Louisiana to evacuate and worried that not enough had fled. https://apnews.com/bac3a77342fb9d59ada088e9133cb748

Democrats win with a big tent. Fareed argues the diversity displayed at the Democratic National Convention is the party's strength, & pursuing big tent policies is a winning strategy. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/08/23/exp-gps-0823-fareeds-take.cnn

Good by RV! https://edition.cnn.com/videos/weather/2020/08/27/hurricane-laura-brandon-clement-storm-chaser-rv-flips-over-sot-vpx.cnn

New daily infections in the UK increased to 1,522 on Thursday - the highest since mid-June
US President Donald Trump pledges a vaccine before the end of the year, "or maybe even sooner"
About 24.5 million cases have officially been confirmed worldwide so far, with 831,000 deaths - https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-53943522

Coronavirus: Germany's Angela Merkel warns of hard months to come
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the coronavirus pandemic is likely to worsen in coming months. She promised her government would respond by fostering a spirit of social solidarity. https://p.dw.com/p/3hd2r

Some prominent Republicans have even publicly switched party allegiances. In mid-August, the group Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden, which includes former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Burt and James Kelly, who was Assistant Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, issued a statement saying that the current president had "imperiled American security."
"Through his actions and his rhetoric, Trump has demonstrated that he lacks the character and competence to lead this nation and has engaged in corrupt behavior that renders him unfit to serve as president." https://p.dw.com/p/3hbjt

A team of veterinarians from University of California Davis have treated over 1,000 animals rescued from the wildfires raging in northern California.
The school’s veterinary hospital has been housing 30 of the most severely injured animals for additional care.
The animals were harmed in the Lightning Complex Fire, which has burned over 1.25 million acres of land, an area larger than the Grand Canyon and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes. - https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-53941518

A 25-year-old man has tested positive twice for coronavirus, in what officials think may be the first instance of coronavirus reinfection in the US.
The man was found to have the virus in April after showing mild symptoms. He recovered and tested negative twice, and then tested positive again in June — this time requiring hospitalization.
Similar cases of reinfection have been recently reported in Hong Kong and in Europe.
Here's what else you need to know about the pandemic from around the world: https://p.dw.com/p/3hib3

The vacation lights are going out all over Europe.
Just weeks after many countries opened their borders to travelers within the continent, some have been closing again, often at such short notice that people are left scrambling to get home before quarantine orders are put in place. http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/europe-travel-windows-closing/index.html

At first, the front line of Europe's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic was fought in hospitals by overstretched health care workers. Now as European countries seek to avoid the long-dreaded second wave, that line has shifted to the streets and is being manned by police forces. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/29/europe/europe-covid-restrictions-intl/index.html

The Italian coastguard sent help on Saturday to a rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy after the vessel issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with migrants.https://reut.rs/2QAkRdV

Amazon says it’s buying 1,800 electric delivery vans from Mercedes-Benz, the biggest such order for the German automaker to date.
In announcing the order Friday, Mercedes said it would also join a climate initiative established by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. By signing up to The Climate Pledge, Mercedes-Benz commits itself to going completely carbon neutral by 2039 — a move the company had already signaled last year. https://apnews.com/5461ae1b0aed8a18a2a3464bba00db84

That's all what #Cheetos wanted!! One person has been shot dead in Oregon as a large procession of supporters of President Trump clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53963625

It wasn't only humans who were hurt and terrified by the massive blast when a Beirut warehouse containing a highly explosive fertiliser went up in smoke, many animals ran for their lives. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-53951675

Trump’s America. It’s not safe. It’s not sane. It’s not healthy. It’s not getting better. And it won’t heal unless they make real changes. https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1299874056318210050

Photographer Dina Litovsky has been photographing the Amish on holiday since 2018. Hailing from as far as Indiana or Ohio, Amish and Mennonite families come to Pinecraft, Florida to spend their time off.
During the days and sometimes months that they spend together, they relax rules and come into contact with other Anabaptist communities. https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08p2rws/where-the-amish-go-on-holiday

Many states in the Midwest reported increasing infections. Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota have recently reported record one-day increases in new cases while Montana and Idaho are seeing record numbers of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients. https://reut.rs/32Ive5j

The annual World Tango Championship is usually held in Buenos Aires, but this year it took place online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of competing in crowded dance halls, couples submitted video footage of them performing their intricate steps at home or in the street. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-53979666

Donald Trump is diving head-first into the latest eruption in the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice with a trip Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the objections of local leaders.
The city has been riven by protests since the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man hit seven times in the back by police. On the eve of his visit, Trump defended a teenage supporter accused of fatally shooting two men in Kenosha last week https://apnews.com/4a58a15c9955bb6312c1fbe42215110d

Dr. Seema Yasmin is back to help answer 50 of the most popular coronavirus questions being searched right now. Do coronavirus symptoms come and go? Why is it called coronavirus? Has this virus been around before?
https://youtu.be/JnD5nGbGW4g