The Bucks stop here

Tropical Storm Laura leaves destruction in its wake after striking Louisiana; a walkout stops the NBA in its tracks. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. TOP NEWS Life in the wake of Laura Joe Raedle/Getty Images - Early Thursday, Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwest Louisiana near the Texas border as a Category 4 Hurricane and the strongest recorded storm ever to strike that stretch of coastline. [[Vox / Roge Karma](] - Laura’s initial impact brought with it 150 mph winds and a deadly storm surge. At least four deaths have been confirmed so far in Louisiana. [[CNN / Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe](] - Since making landfall, Laura has slackened, and it was officially downgraded to a tropical storm midday Thursday. Nonetheless, winds of up to 70 mph are continuing as Laura moves deeper into the US. [[Twitter / Kweilyn Murphy](] - As a tropical storm, Laura is projected to move through Arkansas Thursday night and reach the mid-Atlantic states by this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. [[NPR / Bill Chappell](] - In its wake, buildings have been torn apart and trees uprooted. More than 700,000 people have been left without power in Texas and Louisiana, and tornado and flash flood warnings remain in effect in some places. [[Washington Post / Jason Samenow](] - The damage and death toll isn't surprising — not only did the National Hurricane Center issue urgent warnings leading up to the storm, but Laura passed through the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba last weekend, causing major flooding and leaving more than 20 people dead. [[Vox / Alex Ward](] - In the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Laura also toppled a Confederate monument that the city had only recently decided to leave up. Photos show the statue warped and blown clear off its plinth. [[Twitter / Davante Lewis](] - The hurricane may also have led to a potentially disastrous chemical fire at a chlorine plant in Louisiana. Though it’s still unclear how bad the fire is, chlorine can do severe damage to the lungs if inhaled, and Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued an emergency warning. [[NOLA / Tristan Baurick](] - Southeastern Texas, however, appears to have been spared, at least relative to parts of the Louisiana coast that were struck more directly. Though there is damage, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said Thursday that it’s “minimal.” [[Houston Public Media / Paul Debenedetto et al.](] - As the Federal Emergency Management Agency rushes to respond, Trump has said he will visit Louisiana and Texas this weekend to inspect the damage. [[PBS / AP](] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( "An inflection point among Black athletes" - On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play Game 5 of their first-round playoff series to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, and brought the NBA to a screeching halt in the process. [[CNN / Jill Martin, Leah Asmelash, and David Close](] - In the wake of the Bucks strike — which has also been referred to as a boycott — the four teams scheduled to play later that day announced that they would do the same, and the league quickly canceled games. [[Willamette Week / Matthew Singer](] - The strike even spread to other sports Wednesday, with teams in the WNBA, MLB, and MLS all postponing games in solidarity and tennis star Naomi Osaka announcing she would not play in a semifinal match. [[NYT / Marc Stein](] - The impact was immediate and sweeping: Though the players did not have a list of demands prepared, the strike drew media attention and widespread support for the players’ message of police reform and racial justice. [[Vox / Dylan Scott](] - After multiple player meetings and an overnight stretch of uncertainty about the future of the season, it appears the playoffs will continue — but it looks like the earliest another game will be played is this Saturday. [[SI / Sam Amico](] MISCELLANEOUS What it’s like to be thrown into one of China’s Xinjiang concentration camps. [[BuzzFeed / Alison Killing and Megha Rajagopalan](] - How Trump turned his back on efforts to combat far-right domestic terrorism. [[Politico / Betsy Woodruff Swan](] - Trump’s campaign against coronavirus testing makes it to the CDC. [[Vox / German Lopez](] - The Christchurch mosque shooter, who killed 51 people in New Zealand last year, has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. [[NPR / Suzanne Nuyen](] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( VERBATIM "I have a godson who has autism. I just had to explain to him why we aren’t playing. I have young nephews who I’ve had to talk to about death before they’ve ever seen it in the movies. If not now, when? If not during the pandemic and countless lives being lost? If not now, when?" [[Commentator and former NBA player Chris Webber on Wednesday's player strike / Washington Post](] LISTEN TO THIS [Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times by police and the protests escalated all the way to the NBA]( Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times by police, and the protests escalated all the way to the NBA. [[Spotify / Sean Rameswaram](] [Read more from Vox](#) [All hope of hitting global climate targets would be lost with a second Trump term]( [Those who like government least govern worst]( [Rapid $1 Covid-19 tests exist. Why can’t we get them?]( [Nobody saw summer 2020 coming. So how come it felt like the movies did?]( [Want to vote in 2020? Do it early.]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.