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Wednesday, August 19

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Good morning.

Nolan Wells would have turned 19 today, and instead of celebrating his birthday, his family is gathering with supporters and civil-rights leaders in Mississippi while people around the country pray for him and keep asking how he died. Dr. Jamal Bryant is speaking tonight, Al Sharpton is leading a national prayer, and Nolan’s parents are still doing the work of trying to get answers more than six weeks after they lost their son.

That is what makes today so painful. They should be thinking about what Nolan wanted for his birthday, where they were going to eat, who was coming over, all the ordinary things families do. Instead they are dealing with lawyers, autopsies, investigators and rallies because they still do not know what happened to him. His birthday should not have become another day in the investigation. But here we are.

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A BIRTHDAY WITHOUT NOLAN

Supporters and civil-rights leaders are gathering in Mississippi today for a national prayer rally marking what would have been Nolan Wells’ 19th birthday. Dr. Jamal Bryant will speak at tonight’s event, and the National Action Network is holding a national prayer vigil led by Rev. Al Sharpton. Nolan’s family is still pushing for answers after an independent autopsy found the cause and manner of his death undetermined.

DON’S TAKE: This family should be blowing out candles with Nolan today. Instead they are holding prayer vigils and still trying to find out how their son died. More than six weeks of this is enough.

A STUNT ON THE COURT

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom says he has submitted paperwork declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, a stunt aimed at the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports. There is no indication the WNBA has accepted him as eligible, but Freedom says he is challenging the wording of the league’s rules and has been trolling WNBA players along the way.

DON’S TAKE: If you actually care about women’s sports, maybe start by respecting the women who play them. Turning the WNBA into your personal culture-war stunt and taunting its players is not exactly helping your argument.

THE MILLIONAIRE CABINET

Donald Trump has appointed 57 people worth at least $100 million to senior administration jobs and ambassadorships, according to a new Public Citizen report. That is more than four times the combined number under George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Eight members of Trump’s Cabinet alone fall into that $100-million-plus category.

DON’S TAKE: There is nothing wrong with being rich. But when the people making decisions about groceries, housing and health care live in a financial universe most Americans will never see, the disconnect is pretty obvious.

FIGHTING FOR THE AIRWAVES

ABC and Disney are suing the FCC, accusing the agency of violating the First Amendment by fast-tracking reviews of licenses for eight ABC-owned stations. The FCC says it is looking at issues including diversity policies and equal-time rules, while ABC says the unusual scrutiny is retaliation for programming the Trump administration does not like, including Jimmy Kimmel.

DON’S TAKE: The government has no business using broadcast licenses as leverage against television it does not like. If an administration gets to decide which jokes or opinions deserve a license, we have a much bigger problem than late-night TV.

A SINISTER SILENCE IN SIN CITY

The family of 63-year-old Alisa Goods is desperate to find her after she disappeared in Las Vegas on August 8 while heading to a CVS. Then strange messages began coming from her phone asking relatives for cash and Bitcoin, including requests for gas money even though Goods does not drive. Las Vegas police say the missing-person investigation is active.

DON’S TAKE: A missing woman’s phone is being used to ask her family for money. I would be treating that as a pretty urgent clue and finding out who has that phone.

BACK TO THE HOSTING CHAIR

Rosie O’Donnell is spending the week guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! while Kimmel is away, putting her back behind a talk-show desk and, naturally, back in Donald Trump’s orbit. She opened the week joking about her move to Ireland and made sure Trump knew she knew he was probably watching.

DON’S TAKE: Rosie knows television, she knows how to get under Trump’s skin and she clearly has not lost the nerve to do either. Late night could use a little unpredictability anyway.

BIG TECH ON TRIAL

Meta is facing a landmark federal trial in Oakland brought by 29 states accusing the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to keep children hooked while mishandling younger users’ data. The states want penalties and major changes to features including infinite scroll and likes. Meta denies the allegations and says the potential penalties being discussed are wildly excessive.

DON’S TAKE: For years Silicon Valley got ahead of lawmakers who barely understood the products they were supposed to regulate. Now Meta has to answer in court for what these states say it knew about kids and its platforms. That is worth watching.

LUCKY SLICES

Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33 percent, the lowest of his current presidency in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Eighty percent of Americans surveyed are worried the war with Iran will drag on.

Byron Donalds won Florida’s Republican nomination for governor and will face Democrat David Jolly in November. If Donalds wins, he would become Florida’s first Black governor.

A 10 Things I Hate About You musical is headed to Broadway. Performances begin in August 2027, with Carly Rae Jepsen helping write the music and Lena Dunham co-writing the book.

The Justice Department is investigating William & Mary over whether some scholarships and student programs unlawfully use race in determining eligibility.

Palm Beach County Clerk Michael Caruso was arrested Tuesday on five felony charges involving alleged sexual abuse of a child and was suspended from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The charges are allegations and the case is just beginning.

TODAY ON THE DON LEMON SHOW

At 10 a.m. ET on Hot Topics on YouTube, we’ll talk about what would have been Nolan Wells’ 19th birthday, the growing fight for answers in his case and the other stories moving this morning.

Then I’ll see you again at 5 p.m. ET for Lemon Live at 5 on YouTube. We’ll catch up on whatever changes during the day and whatever else Wednesday brings.

Whether you’re with us this morning, this afternoon or both…I’m glad you’re here.

Thank you for making Lucky Lemon part of your morning.

Something good is going to happen to you today.

Stay lucky.