10 things you need to know today: September 4, 2020

1. Officers kill man suspected in fatal Portland shooting

Law enforcement officers on Thursday fatally shot self-described antifa supporter Michael Forest Reinoehl, the suspect in the fatal weekend shooting of Aaron Danielson, one of the Trump supporters who clashed with anti-racism protesters in Portland. Officers were trying to take Reinoehl, 48, into custody in Lacey, Washington. He reportedly ran when officers fired shots, pulling a gun and firing back. Portland police had issued an arrest warrant for Reinoehl earlier in the day. Reinoehl appeared to confess to the shooting in an interview with Vice News published Thursday. The self-described antifa supporter told Vice that he shot Danielson in self-defense, thinking he and a "friend of color" were about to be stabbed. "I had no choice," he said.

The Oregonian The New York Times

2. Biden visits with Jacob Blake's family in Kenosha

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Thursday, where he met with the family of Jacob Blake, the unarmed Black man who was shot by police and left partially paralyzed. Biden told the family "we need to value all our differences as we come together in America's great melting pot," the family's lawyer, Ben Crump, said. Biden addressed the civil unrest that broke out after the shooting, promising a police reform commission, and saying President Trump has been "legitimizing a dark side of human nature" instead of addressing the "underlying racism" that divides the country. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh criticized Biden for failing to offer "any denunciation of antifa or any other left-wing agitators who have rioted in American cities."

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The Hill Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

3. 7 Rochester police officers suspended after video shows hooded Black man who died

Rochester, New York, Mayor Lovely Warren on Thursday suspended seven police officers over the suffocation death of a naked, handcuffed Black man, Daniel Prude. Body-camera video showed Prude with a white "spit hood" over his head, placed there to protect officers from bodily fluids. Prude, who had traveled from Chicago to visit his brother, died several days later in a hospital. Prude's family on Wednesday released the March body-camera video footage, which showed one officer with his hands on Prude's head and another with a knee on Prude's back. "You're trying to kill me!" he cried, pinned to the ground. Prude was mentally ill. His brother, Joe Prude, said he called police that night "to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched."

The Washington Post The Associated Press

4. Twitter, Facebook flag Trump's call for people to vote by mail and in person

Twitter and Facebook on Thursday flagged morning tweets by President Trump repeating his call for Americans to vote twice, by mail and in person, to test anti-fraud measures in their states' election systems. Twitter said the remarks "violated the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity." Facebook said it would not let people share a video of Trump making the remarks a day earlier in North Carolina, saying the call for illegally voting twice "violates our policies prohibiting voter fraud." White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a Thursday briefing that Trump "does not condone unlawful voting." Another White House spokesman said the media was taking Trump's remarks out of context, and that he was not actually urging people to vote twice when he said they should vote by mail, then go vote in person to see whether poll workers would let them.

NPR The Washington Post

5. DOJ reportedly poised to launch antitrust case against Google

The Justice Department plans to launch an antitrust case against Google-parent Alphabet within weeks, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing five people briefed on internal DOJ discussions. Most of the roughly 40 career lawyers working on the complaint reportedly said they needed more time to put together a strong case against such a powerful technology company, but Attorney General William Barr decided on filing it quickly, telling the lawyers to wrap up their preparations by late September. Barr, a former telecom industry executive, has requested frequent updates and shown intense interest in the department's investigation of Google, one of several tech giants that President Trump has accused of bias against him.

The New York Times

6. Trump denies report he referred to fallen soldiers as 'losers'

President Trump has privately said on several occasions that U.S. military personnel captured or killed in battle are "losers" and "suckers," The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg reported Thursday, citing several people with first-hand knowledge of Trump's comments. Trump called the reports, corroborated by The Associated Press and The Washington Post, "totally false." In one anecdote confirmed by at least five people, Trump begged out of a trip to pay respects to U.S. World War I dead at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery outside Paris because "it's filled with losers" and "suckers." On a 2017 Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery with John Kelly, then homeland security secretary, Trump reportedly turned to Kelly at the grave of his son, Lt. Robert Kelly, and said: "I don't get it. What was in it for them?" Trump also reportedly called the late Sen. John McCain "a f---ing loser."

The Atlantic The Associated Press

7. Biden picks up endorsements from nearly 100 Republicans, independents

Nearly 100 Republican and independent leaders, including former 2020 GOP presidential hopeful Bill Weld, endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president on Thursday. Republican former governors of Michigan and New Jersey, Rick Snyder and Christine Todd Whitman, also are among GOP leaders rejecting President Trump, who is running for a second term. "Biden is a decent man, he's a steady man," said Whitman, who is heading the group, "Republicans and Independents for Biden." "Trump is trying to paint the world of Joe Biden as horrific — but that's Trump's America now." She said Trump had betrayed conservative values. Snyder described Trump as a "bully," and said Biden would "bring back civility." The latest endorsements boosted an effort by the Biden campaign to highlight the former vice president's bipartisan support.

The Hill Reuters

8. 881,000 filed new jobless claims last week, lowest since March

About 881,000 Americans filed new applications for jobless benefits last week, fewer than any other week since the coronavirus crisis hit the United States in March, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had forecast 950,000 new claims. The figure was down from 1.2 million the previous week, although the drop was largely due to a change in how the government makes seasonal adjustments to employment figures. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected the August jobs report being released Friday to show that U.S. employers added 1.4 million jobs last month, with some gains stemming from hiring for the 2020 Census. Employment would remain about 11.5 million below its level before the start of the coronavirus crisis. Many of the new hires have been people returning from furloughs.

CNBC Reuters

9. Facebook to refuse new political ads in week before election

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced that the social network will reject new political ads in the week before the November presidential election. Zuckerberg said the policy change was among several the company would implement ahead of the vote. The changes will include placing labels on posts from candidates prematurely declaring victory, removing posts claiming that people will contract COVID-19 if they vote, and informing users that there will be "nothing illegitimate" if a result is not clear on election night, because of an increased number of mail-in ballots being cast due to the pandemic. Zuckerberg said Facebook would take these steps to "reduce the chances of violence and unrest" across the country.

The New York Times Facebook

10. California faces heat wave, complicating fight against wildfires

California is bracing for another blast of extreme heat starting Friday that could make work harder for firefighters after they made progress toward containing the second- and third-largest wildfires in the state's history. Much of California, Arizona, and Nevada are under extreme heat watches and warnings expected to last through Sunday. The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles warned that the conditions could cause deadly heat illness and increase the likelihood of large wildfires. Temperatures are forecast to come near or exceed the hottest ever recorded for these dates, with widespread highs up to 115 degrees. "These extreme max[imum] temps combined with lows in the mid 70s to lower 80s will make Sunday one of the most hazardous in recent memory," the Weather Service said.

The Washington Post