THE BIG STORY

The Trump administration says it will not accept new DACA applications

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program shields young immigrants from deportation. The Trump administration tried to end it before, but the Supreme Court ruled that the administration violated federal law in its attempts to do so.

Now it’s round two. The Trump administration is reviving its efforts to end — or at least significantly scale back — DACA.

Ever since the Supreme Court's ruling, immigrants and advocates had been pushing the government to process new applications. But a senior administration official said the government will not be accepting new DACA applications while it conducts a review of the Obama-era program.

Immigrants who have already had deportation protection and a work permit through DACA will be allowed to renew their status, but only for a year. Previously renewals lasted two years.

The announced changes are expected to spur a new round of legal challenges, with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra releasing a statement saying he will be ready.

Michael Brochstein / Sipa USA via AP

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Videos appear to show federal officers shooting and macing reporters and legal observers, despite a judge’s order

On July 23, US District Judge Michael Simon entered a temporary restraining order that blocks federal officers from arresting or using physical force against clearly marked journalists and legal observers in Portland, Oregon.

But in first-person declarations, journalists and legal observers covering protests in Portland say federal law enforcement officers have shot at them, maced them, and forced them to move, in violation of the judge's order. In some instances they provided video footage of the incidents.

Lawyers for the journalists and legal observers are asking the judge to hold the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Marshals Service in contempt of court.

SNAPSHOTS

Police say the “Umbrella Man” at the George Floyd protests was a white supremacist trying to incite violence. After videos of the masked, umbrella-carrying man smashing windows went viral, Minneapolis investigators said the man is a member of the Hells Angels biker gang who started violence at what had been a peaceful protest.

A man allegedly used coronavirus small business loans to pay for a Lamborghini, jewelry, and dating sites. Investigators said David Tyler Hines was given nearly $4 million in loans under a program to help small businesses during the pandemic and then used the money for personal expenses.

Kate Beckinsale posted videos of the “pretty unsettling” moment an anonymous fan sent a pet rabbit and flowers to her house. The actress asked fans not to send gifts to her house after the package appeared at her front door. “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE however much someone loves animals please never send an unsolicited pet to someone's house,” she wrote.

Please welcome the 2020 Emmy nominees. The most-nominated shows were Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Succession, and The Mandalorian. The most nominated show in my heart is Schitt’s Creek. Here are all the nominees. The awards ceremony will be held Sept. 20.

Emmys recognize Catherine O'Hara's talent challenge. CBC / Pop

“IT AFFECTED MY SELF-ESTEEM”

Viewers binged Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking, but for some the show brought up painful memories

Are you watching Indian Matchmaking? The Netflix hit series is getting a lot of attention. The show follows Sima Taparia, a professional matchmaker from Mumbai, who finds marriageable partners for single Indian people in India and the US.

The show is a hit, but it is also received with a lot of complex feelings. As Tasneem Nashrulla writes, “it is challenging, and likely impossible, to condense and critically evaluate how arranged marriages work across the South Asian subcontinent within the format of one article or TV show.”

In fact one of the major drawbacks of Indian Matchmaking, critics say, is that it focuses on matchmaking within the selective bubble of mostly wealthy, upper-caste North Indian Hindus, and uncritically normalizes many aspects of a deeply complex system.

Here’s Nashrulla on how the show “prompted several South Asian women to share their own problematic, and at times traumatic, experiences” with arranged marriage.

JUST LOUNGING, WRITING HITS

Taylor Swift shared a cryptic Instagram post the same day she wrote “Cardigan” and her fans have trust issues now

In the rollout of Taylor Swift’s new surprise album Folklore, fans learned that the singer wrote the first single, “Cardigan,” on April 27 of this year.

But because Swifties have no chill, they went back and checked Taylor’s Instagram account — and noticed that on the same day she wrote the sad banger, she shared an innocuous post with a simple caption: “Not a lot going on at the moment.”

Not a lot. Just writing one of the best songs of my career. The big lie had fans beside themselves at this incredible deception.

Don't rush yourself today — you deserve to let yourself breathe,

Elamin