Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
- The Republican National Convention ended on Thursday night with a dark, misleading speech by Donald Trump, in which he painted a bleak picture of what the country would be like under Joe Biden. He spoke with the White House as an official backdrop, with a crowd gathered on federal property, despite a law that limits using federal spaces for politicking. [CNN]
- According to a study released by the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA Health, coronavirus death rates among Latinos of different working-age populations in California saw a five-fold increase. The death rate is highest among Latinos of late middle-age, with 54.73 deaths per 100,000 people. [NBC Latino]
- Ivy Queen put out a call asking fans to find old memorabilia or merchandise from the early days of her career since she lost her own archive of memories years ago. Two fans obliged and surprised Queen with an original cassette tape of En Mi Imperio, her album from 1997. The Queen thanked them through a sweet video call. [Mitu]
- As the U.S. continues to see high coronavirus contagion numbers, many countries have banned American tourists from entering their borders. Costa Rica, however, has taken on a different approach: Starting Sept. 1, Costa Rica will allow residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to visit. [CNBC]
- A new report by the Human Rights Watch charges found that dozens of journalists, health professionals, lawyers, and others in Venezuela have been detained and prosecuted since the South American country declared a state of emergency because of COVID-19. [Guardian]
- Evangelical pastors have died at alarming numbers in Bolivia and Nicaragua, after allegedly convening their congregations despite social distancing warnings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In Nicaragua, approximately 40 evangelical leaders have died since March, and that number is closer to 100 in Bolivia. [HuffPo]
- Selena Gomez joined forces with K-pop sensation Blackpink for a bright new summer song called “Ice Cream.” [E! Online]
