| 1. VIDCON ADDRESSES YOUTUBE CONTROVERSIES: The 10th edition of VidCon took place in Anaheim, California, over the weekend, and panels, creators, and event organizers used the digital video conference to address the numerous controversies that YouTube has faced in the past year. On Thursday, the conference began with a panel led by the executive director for Uplift, an organization that offers resources for YouTube creators dealing with sexual violence, about the ways online video communities have changed over the years. BuzzFeed: “Panels devolved into group therapy sessions, as YouTubers commiserated over shared experiences with harassment and exploitation. Jim Louderback, the C.E.O. of VidCon, told BuzzFeed News that the conference doesn’t shy away from issues that matter for creators and attendees: harassment, mental health, and exploitation. ‘We’ll talk about it because it’s on people’s minds,’ he said. He thinks that tough conversations that happen at VidCon can help create positive change on these platforms. ‘We spark change through these discussions,’ he said.” 2. BATTLE BETWEEN BURNING MAN AND FEDERAL REGULATORS HEATS UP OVER FESTIVAL CAPACITY: Organizers of Burning Man, the annual music, arts, and communal living festival in Nevada, want to obtain a new 10-year permit that will allow the event’s capacity in Black Rock Desert to increase from 80,000 to 100,000. But the Bureau of Land Management wants to cap the attendance at 80,000 citing large amounts of trash left by attendees and numerous safety concerns on the federally protected land. NPR: “A preliminary report from the B.L.M. called for new regulations, including an attendance cap, mandatory security screenings, and a concrete barrier to encircle the perimeter. Federal officials have since eased those controls for now, except for the population cap. Still, longtime participants say the government tightening its grip on the growing event threatens the anarchic principles that underpin the festival. … An increase of 20,000 participants over the next 10 years would be unmanageable, Rudy Evenson, a spokesman for the B.L.M., said. Federal and local authorities are already strained handling other events taking place over the Labor Day weekend. One-third of all B.L.M. law enforcement officers nationwide patrol Burning Man, and federal officials say if the event jumped to 100,000, half of the country's B.L.M. officers would have to be deployed to the event.” 3. MANHATTAN BLACKOUT LEADS TO CALLS FOR INVESTIGATIONS: Manhattan experienced a mass power outage for a few hours on Saturday evening, which has led to calls for investigations on what caused the incident. The outage impacted numerous venues and subway stations, and it also canceled Broadway shows and a Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden. Associated Press: “Con Ed president Tim Cawley insisted the Saturday night blackout that darkened more than 40 blocks of Manhattan including Times Square wasn’t due to high demand on the electrical grid, but said it would take some time to determine what exactly did happen. … In the theater district, marquees darkened just before evening performances were set to begin. Most Broadway musicals and plays canceled their Saturday evening shows, though some cast members staged impromptu performances in the street. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity should investigate the work being done by Con Edison to maintain and upgrade the city’s power grid.” | 
