10 things you need to know today: September 12, 2020

1.

West Coast fires continue to rage, with 'mass fatality incident' expected in Oregon

Fires are continuing to rage along the West Coast, with dozens of blazes spreading in California, Oregon, and Washington. Oregon Emergency Management officials said Friday they are preparing for a "mass fatality incident" in the state once the damage can be surveyed. Dozens of Oregonians have been reported missing due to the fires, and about 10 percent of the state's residents have been told to evacuate their homes. In northern California, the August Complex fire is the largest fire in state history, and thousands of homes are threatened by the flames. As smoke fills the air across the region, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco have the worst air quality of all major cities in the world as of Friday. In some positive news, though, weather conditions are improving and authorities expect cooler air and moisture to aid firefighters in the coming days. [The Washington Post, USA Today]

2.

First direct peace talks between Afghan government, Taliban begin

At long last, the first direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began Saturday in Doha, Qatar. The actual face-to-face negotiations to end the nation's nearly two-decades old conflict will start Monday, but during Saturday's opening ceremony, Abdullah Abdullah, the chair of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, said "if we give hands to each other and honestly work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end." Taliban Deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also made brief remarks, reiterating the Taliban's demand for an "independent, developed" Afghanistan with an "Islamic system" of government "where all its citizens see themselves reflected." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the start of the talks a "truly momentous occasion" and told the Afghan sides "the choice of your future political system is, of course, yours to make." [Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal]

3.

Fauci warns U.S. must 'hunker down' for challenging fall and winter

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that Americans will need to "hunker down" for a difficult fall and winter amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter because it's not going to be easy," Fauci said on a panel with Harvard Medical School doctors. He went on to observe that "every time" restrictions are lifted during the coronavirus crisis, "we get a blip," adding, "it's whack-a-mole." The United States is reporting an average of around 36,000 new COVID-19 cases a day. Previously, when the number of daily cases was around 50,000 or more, Fauci stressed the need to get this down to 10,000 by September. [CNN, The Hill]

4.

Court rules Florida ex-felons can't vote without paying off fines

A federal circuit court ruled Friday that Floridians with felony convictions are only allowed to vote if they have paid off all fees and fines associated with their conviction. Nearly two years ago, Floridians voted to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions who'd been released from prison and weren't convicted of murder or sexual assault. But the 11th Circuit court ruled 6-4 in favor of a policy pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) saying the amendment only applied to former felons who have paid restitution, fees, and fines. Opponents argued the "pay-to-vote" requirement violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as well as the 24th Amendment's bar on implementing poll taxes. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are estimated to have outstanding fees. The state doesn't have to tell people how much money they need to pay to vote, the court ruled. [ABC News, Axios]

5.

India reports nearly 100,000 new coronavirus cases after another record-breaking day

India on Saturday reported a record rise in new coronavirus infections for the second consecutive day after registering 97,570 new cases. The world's second most populous country now has 4.65 million confirmed cases, which is second behind the United States' 6.4 million infections. Although the U.S. still leads in raw totals, India's epidemic is now the fastest-growing in the world. Meanwhile, the U.S. over the past week saw an average of 35,028 new COVID-19 cases per day, a 17-point decrease from the average two weeks earlier. In England, coronavirus cases are doubling every seven to eight days, The Guardian reports, an indication the virus' resurgence is accelerating in the country. [Reuters, The Guardian]

6.

CDC says eating at restaurants is most likely way to be exposed to coronavirus

Dining out is one of the most likely ways you can contract COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Friday report. Coronavirus-positive patients in a study were twice as likely to have gone to a bar or restaurant in the last two weeks than those who were negative, suggesting those locations drastically increased their chances of getting coronavirus. When looking at just people who had no close contact with someone who had coronavirus, eating at a restaurant tripled their chances of infection, and going to an indoor bar quadrupled it. That's because "masks cannot be effectively worn while eating and drinking," while the rest of the activities on the list — shopping, using public transportation, and others — "do not preclude mask use," the CDC said. [CDC]

7.

Bahrain and Israel agree to establish diplomatic relations

Bahrain agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel on Friday, President Trump announced. A joint statement between the two countries and the U.S. said "This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East." Last month, the United Arab Emirates also normalized ties with Israel, and Israel agreed to temporarily suspend its plans to annex West Bank territory. "I am very hopeful that there will be more [peace agreements] to follow," said Trump. Bahrain and Israel will open embassies and exchange ambassadors for the first time. "Like most other Arab states," writes The Washington Post, "Bahrain had until now officially considered Israel to be an illegitimate usurper of Palestinian land and rights." [The Washington Post]

8.

China reportedly prefers a TikTok shutdown in the U.S. to a forced sale

As President Trump's deadline approaches on a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations, Reuters reports China would rather the app shut down in America than be forced to sell. ByteDance, the social platform's Chinese parent company, has reportedly been in talks with Microsoft and Oracle, but is reportedly likely to miss Trump's Sept. 20 deadline for a sale. Beijing "opposes a forced sale of TikTok's U.S. operations," says Reuters, because Chinese officials feel a "forced sale would make both ByteDance and China appear weak in the face of pressure from Washington." Trump has said TikTok will be banned in the United States due to national security concerns unless ByteDance sells the app's U.S. operations to an American company. He said he would not extend the deadline. [Reuters, Bloomberg]

9.

Iran executes wrestler despite suspicions of coerced confession

Iranian state news media on Saturday reported the state execution of Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old wrestler, at a prison in the southern city of Shiraz. Afkari was accused of fatally stabbing a water supply company employee during a 2018 antigovernment protest in Shiraz, and his case received international attention. Iran broadcast his confession last week, but The New York Times reports Afkari can be heard on an audio tape smuggled from prison saying that he had been tortured until he falsely confessed. The televised segment resembled many other suspected coerced confessions aired over the last several years in Iran, The Associated Press reports. President Trump, whose administration has clashed with the Iranian government, had previously called on Tehran to spare Afkari's life. [The New York Times, The Associated Press]

10.

Celtics knock out defending champion Raptors, advance to Eastern Conference finals

The Boston Celtics defeated the defending champion Toronto Raptors 92-87 in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals in the Orlando bubble Friday night. After a hard-fought, back-and-forth series, Boston outlasted Toronto in the fourth quarter of the decisive game behind a 29-point performance from young star Jayson Tatum and clutch defensive plays from Marcus Smart. The Celtics move on to play the Miami Heat, who are fresh off an impressive upset over the East's top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, with a spot in the Finals on the line. Both Western Conference semifinals are still ongoing — the Denver Nuggets staved off elimination against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, setting up a sixth game, while the Los Angeles Lakers will look to close out the Houston Rockets in Game 5 on Saturday night. [ESPN]