Tuesday Scoop: Hear Him Out

Welcome to the Morning Scoop for Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Today marks two wildly opposite events in U.S. news, and we’re here for it. But we have to say, #BeyDay is a lot catchier than #KavanaughDay. 

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Senate Begins Confirmation Hearings for Brett Kavanaugh

Picture perfect. (Image: YouTube)

The first confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who is up for taking a seat on the Supreme Court, will begin today in the Senate. The hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee will feature opening statements from both committee members and the SCOTUS nominee himself.

According to TIME, Kavanaugh was nominated to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy who retired from the bench at the end of July. Kavanaugh has a notoriously conservative record, making him a top pick for President Trump. He has served the last 12 years on the appeals court in Washington, D.C., which is the second highest court to SCOTUS.

Questioning form the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin tomorrow, and confirmation votes are likely to occur at the end of September. If the hearings run smoothly, Kavanaugh could be taking a seat on the Supreme Court bench by October 1.

Nike Faces Backlash for Using Colin Kaepernick in Advertisement

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has sparked boycotts of Nike products after sharing that he will be featured in the athletic company’s 30th anniversary ad campaign. According to Bloomberg, Kaepernick’s picture is captioned with the phrase, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” referring to his decision to kneel during the national anthem at football games.

Many conservative Americans have reacted harshly to Nike’s choice of advertising, calling for a boycott of Nike products and posting pictures of destroyed Nike items to Twitter with the caption #JustBurnIt. The uproar has even caused Nike’s stocks to fall 2.1% as of early today, with risk of losing more business for their partnership with Kaepernick.

Singer Lana Del Rey Postpones Performance in Israel after Backlash

Pop singer Lana Del Ray has recently postponed a scheduled performance at a local music festival in northern Israel over online criticisms from Palestinian rights activists. Initially scheduled to sing at the Meteor Festival in the Israeli community of Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan in the country’s Upper Galilee region, Del Ray defended her gig back in August and said that she hoped her presence and performance at the event would bring out a “loving energy with a thematic emphasis on peace.” Palestinian rights and pro-BDS groups such as the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel or PACBI pressured Del Ray to cancel her show.

Duane Murphy tells us more in his story here. 

Today in a Tweet: It’s BeyDay

The queen turns 37 today, and Twitter is demanding a national holiday in honor of the celebration. Happy birthday, Beyonce! 

Last But Not Least: South Korean Bans the Sale of Coffee in All of its Schools Nationwide

South Korea has recently decided to ban the sale of coffee in all of its schools nationwide in order to reduce over-consumption of caffeine among its adolescent youth and their educational instructors. The country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will impose the rule in order to encourage children and educators to have healthy food habits after cases of increased caffeine consumption during examinations. The East Asian country has also banned the sale of energy drinks as well.

Find out why South Korea did this in Duane Murphy’s report here. 

Tuesday’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Duane Murphy and the CMN Staff. It’s going to take us a while to recuperate from that long weekend, because we’re suffering from vacation syndrome. It’s a term we made up for the feeling of needing vacation from vacation. How many more times should we say the word vacation?