5 things for August 8: Primaries, immigration, China, Puerto Rico, New Mexico
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 8/8/2018, 9:20 a.m.
By AJ Willingham, CNN
(CNN) -- Poor Hawaii. Just as the 3-month-long volcano eruption slows down, a hurricane comes along. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
1. Primary elections
It was another night of tight races and close calls in primary and special elections ahead of November's midterms. The big takeaways: Two Trump-backed candidates are locked in tight, tight races. A special election for a congressional seat in Ohio is still too close to call, with the GOP's Troy Balderson (left, above) fewer than 2,000 votes ahead of Democrat Danny O'Connor. In Kansas, the Republican gubernatorial primary is also too close to call, with Trump-backed Kris Kobach fewer than 1,000 votes ahead of incumbent Jeff Colyer. Political experts are looking to these races as barometers for what may happen in the midterms. And though the President's candidates may win, Ohio's close race could be an ominous sign for the GOP.
2. Immigration
White House adviser Stephen Miller reportedly is pushing to make it harder for legal immigrants to get citizenship. Basically, if immigrants waiting for citizenship use some public benefits -- which they are legally entitled to do -- rules now on the books allow the government to reject them for citizenship on the grounds they could become a "public charge." Now, Miller wants to expand these loosely-defined benefits to include even the most basic (and public) of services, like Medicare and food stamps.
3. China
A landmark law protecting children has landed in China. The country's first laws designed to protect minors from sexual harassment on school campuses, including excessive physical contact and suggestive messages and images, are now in effect in the city of Hangzhou. The measures also outline "relief" options for victims of sexual harassment, including psychological support and legal aid. The treatment of children in schools is a serious problem in China, and advocates hope these laws will hold teachers and school staff -- the country's leading perpetrators of this kind of abuse -- accountable.
4. Puerto Rico
It's finally happened. Eleven months after Hurricane Maria hit, power has been restored to almost everyone on the island. Of nearly 1.4 million customers who lost electrical service after September's storm, just 25 remain in the dark. This is a huge step forward for the people of the US territory, as well as the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The utility courted controversy when it signed a $300 million contract with a tiny Montana firm to help restore power. After the contract was cancelled, the company's executive director stepped down.
5. New Mexico
The remains of a little boy have been found at the New Mexico compound where 11 other children were found last week, starving and locked in a trailer. The compound was raided as part of a search for 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, whose father allegedly abducted him in November from Georgia. The boy's father was among the people arrested at the site, but the young boy was nowhere to be found. Authorities are waiting on positive identification to see if the remains are his.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
Demi Lovato has left the hospital and entered rehab
The singer suffered an overdose of some kind in July. A
Papa John's is blaming, well, Papa John for a dip in sales
Turns out racial slurs taste pretty bad on pizza.
Leonardo da Vinci may not have painted many of his most famous works
Assistants: Underrated and underappreciated since 1500 AD!
Why middle-aged men are renting themselves out in Japan
Don't worry, it's completely honorable -- and actually really wholesome.
HGTV buys the 'Brady Bunch' house
~ Here's the story ~ of a fixer-upper! ~
TODAY'S NUMBER
14,000
The number of firefighters battling 17 major wildfires now burning across California
TODAY'S QUOTE
"I know a lot of people who say, 'F politics, they're all crooks, whatever.' But to me, that says 'defeatist attitude.'"
Director Spike Lee, who says he hopes his new movie, "Black KkKlansman," makes Donald Trump a one-term President
AND FINALLY
Do ... not ... disturb ...
This husky is fully aware that a visit from a butterfly is a little flappy blessing.