PoliticsBusiness InsiderWisconsin Republicans tried to stifle a plan for poll workers to collect absentee ballots in parks across Madison
Poll workers in Madison, Wisconsin, are expected to appear at more than 200 different locations over the weekend to allow residents the opportunity to register to vote, apply for an absentee ballot, and turn in their ballots, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported. Republicans in the state have opposed the "Democracy in the Park" event because of a restriction on in-person voting until October 20 and have suggested the event would not properly protect the ballots. Madison city officials said they planned to go ahead with the event as ballots would be safe and protected.
PoliticsThe IndependentProud Boys Portland rally: Fred Perry tells right-wing group to stop wearing its iconic T-shirts
Fred Perry has told Proud Boys to stop wearing its iconic T-shirts ahead of a rally the right-wing group has organised in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. "It is incredibly frustrating that this group has appropriated our ... twin tipped shirt and subverted our Laurel Wreath to their own ends," the company said in a statement on its website. "To be absolutely clear, if you see any Proud Boys materials or products featuring our Laurel Wreath or any Black/Yellow/Yellow related items, they have absolutely nothing to do with us, and we are working with our lawyers to pursue any unlawful use of our brand."
WorldAssociated PressYom Kippur synagogue attack leaves German Jews still uneasy
As Jews around the world gather Sunday night to mark the beginning of Yom Kippur, many in Germany remain uneasy about going together to their houses of worship to pray, a year after a white-supremacist targeted a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the holiest day in Judaism. Since then, security has been increased at Jewish institutions across the country, but many wonder whether it is enough amid reports of increasing anti-Semitism and the Halle attack still fresh in their minds. Naomi Henkel-Guembel was inside the building that day a year ago, and didn't immediately understand what was happening when she heard a loud bang outside.
U.S.INSIDERKyle Rittenhouse's mom reportedly received a 'standing ovation' from the crowd at a Republican event in Wisconsin
Wendy Rittenhouse, the mother of accused Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, reportedly received a standing ovation at a GOP event in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, on Thursday. Rittenhouse was invited by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who was speaking at the event about "safety and self-defense" organized by the Republican Women of Waukesha County. Police say Kyle Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, from his home in Illinois where he shot three people, killing two of them, at demonstrations following the caught-on-camera police shooting of Jacob Blake.
U.S.The IndependentCoronavirus: More than 1,000 New Yorkers test positive in a day for first time since June
More than 1,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for Covid-19 in a single day on Friday. On Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced there were 1,005 positive cases out of nearly 100,000 tests on the previous day. Mr Cuomo called for continued practice of virus-mitigation guidelines.
WorldThe Daily BeastKremlin’s World War III Propaganda Meltdown Shows Putin Is Cornered
The looming potential for World War III has become a regular topic on Russian state propaganda shows. Night after night, Vladimir Soloviev, who is often described as the Kremlin's top propagandist, condemns the West's “economically suffocating” strategy of imposing sanctions and suggest war is the logical outcome. The conclusion reached by Soloviev and his like-minded panel of guests is that the country's politicians and titans of business should break all ties with the West, including communicating with their relatives.
WorldReutersMexico issues arrest warrants on sixth anniversary of disappearance of 43 college students
Mexican authorities have issued dozens of arrest warrants for police and soldiers whom they believe may have participated in the 2014 disappearance of 43 Mexican college students, head of the investigation said on Saturday. Omar Gomez, head of the special prosecutor's office for the case, told a new conference in Mexico City the warrants had been issued for the "material and intellectual authors" of the crime, including military members, and federal and municipal police. The announcement came during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on the sixth anniversary of the students' kidnapping.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
McConnell on SCOTUS vacancy: ‘We can’t pick and choose when big decisions are foisted upon us’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defends his decision to move forward on the SCOTUS nomination ahead of President Trump's announcement; reaction from 'Outnumbered.
WorldAssociated PressUkraine plane crash death toll rises to 26, with 1 survivor
Searchers combing the area where a Ukrainian military aircraft crashed found two more bodies on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared Saturday to be a day of mourning for the crash victims and ordered that flights of An-26 planes be halted pending investigation of the crash cause. Zelenskiy, who visited the crash area on Saturday, called for a full assessment of the condition of the country's military equipment and said he wanted an official report on the crash by Oct. 25.
U.S.INSIDERA pregnant woman jumped into the ocean to save her husband from a shark attack 'without hesitation' after she saw blood in the water
A pregnant woman saved her husband from a shark attack by jumping into the water and pulling him to safety. The couple were on a private boat at Sombrero Reef in the Florida Keys when her husband got into the water and bitten by a bull shark, the Miami Herald reports. Margot Dukes-Eddy sprang into action after seeing the shark's dorsal fin and blood spilling into the water next to where her husband had gotten in.
WorldThe IndependentYitzhak Rabin memorial: AOC pulls out of event honouring former Israeli leader
New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) on Friday pulled out of an event commemorating the former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995 at a Tel Aviv rally. A spokesperson for AOC told The Times of Israel (TOI) the popular congresswoman, 30, would not attend the event, organised by Americans for Peace Now (APN), and scheduled to take place next month. The spokesperson did not explicitly outline to the TOI why AOC, considered a rising star in the Democratic party, cancelled her appearance.
PoliticsUSA TODAYRep. Justin Amash, the ex-Republican who tussled with Trump and the GOP, reflects on what's next
There are few members of Congress as critical about Washington politics as Rep. Justin Amash, the Libertarian from Michigan. In the last year, he left the Republican Party, considered a run for president as the Libertarian candidate and on July 16 announced he would not seek reelection. “I want to engage in opportunities that will teach people about Congress, politics and our constitutional system.”
WorldReutersTaiwan's armed forces strain in undeclared war of attrition with China
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited a low-key but critical maintenance base for fighter jet engines on Saturday, offering encouragement as the Chinese-claimed island's armed forces strain in the face of repeated Chinese air force incursions. This month alone, China's drills have included its jets crossing the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait and exercising near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratic island under its control.
WorldAssociated PressAt UN, India vows to help produce virus vaccine for world
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to help the world produce and deliver potential coronavirus vaccines while making no mention Saturday of the heavy toll the pandemic has taken on his own country, where the enormous population has suffered among the highest numbers of cases and deaths in the world. Modi's remarks to the U.N. General Assembly — pre-recorded because the gathering is virtual this year — also said nothing about growing tensions with neighboring Pakistan, whose prime minister, Imran Khan, devoted much of his speech Friday to assailing India, leading to a sharp exchange between the two countries' diplomats in the Assembly hall.
ScienceMiami HeraldExperts witness birth of 2nd orca baby in Pacific Northwest pod that lost calf in 2018
Naturalists aboard the Pacific Explorer were headed back to Washington on Thursday when they saw a lone orca in the Salish Sea. After doing that three or four times, the researchers became concerned, considering all the possibilities that could befall the orca known as J41, or Eclipse, from the Pacific Northwest's J-pod, a release from the PWWA said. “We did question whether this was a Biggs killer whale with a seal, or if we were seeing a buoy and this was an entanglement, and then we were concerned we could be reliving the tragic situation with J35 and her deceased calf from 2018,” Goodyear said.
CelebrityUSA TODAYFact check: Kentucky attorney general is not married to a relative of Mitch McConnell
The claim: Daniel Cameron's wife is related to Mitch McConnell Following outrage over the grand jury charges in the deadly police shooting of Breonna Taylor that sparked a new wave of nationwide demonstrations for racial equality, online posts have surfaced that claim a family connection between two prominent Kentucky politicians. Social media users say Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's new wife and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. are related.
U.S.The Daily BeastCNN’s Brianna Keilar Fires Back at Tucker Carlson and Kayleigh McEnany
CNN's Brianna Keilar spent more than 10 minutes of her broadcast on Friday dismantling the smears she has received from both Fox News and the Trump White House this week. “Yesterday, White House Press Secretary implied that I am responsible for two police officers being shot in Louisville,” the anchor began. After recapping for viewers the devastating details of that police shooting, which left the 26-year-old EMT from Kentucky dead without any of the three officers being held responsible, Keilar said, “The White House wants us talking about racism and the justice system because they use it as a springboard to scare Americans about looting, aided by Fox News running episodes of violence on an incessant loop, that their hearts and minds won't be able to look past the fear to see injustice.”
- PoliticsAssociated Press
East Texas county commissioner accused of vote-harvesting
An East Texas county commissioner and three other people have been indicted on charges that they fraudulently solicited mail-in votes from able-bodied voters by claiming they were disabled, often without the voters' knowledge or consent. Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown and three paid workers of Brown's 2018 Democratic primary campaign — Marlena Jackson, Charlie Burns, and DeWayne Ward — were charged in a 35-page, 134-count indictment returned last week with multiple counts of election-related fraud and record tampering. The case arises from the Precinct 4 commissioner's primary race between Brown and his opponent, Kasha Williams, a race that drew more than 2,000 votes.
U.S.The IndependentMother of alleged Kenosha shooter gets standing ovation at GOP event
The mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager charged with fatally shooting two people and injuring a third in August during Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, received a standing ovation at a Wisconsin GOP event on Thursday. Rittenhouse, 17, is being charged as an adult for six counts, including two of first degree murder, for allegedly shooting Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum with a semi-automatic, military-style rifle. Michelle Malkin, an alt-right figure and political commentator who invited Rittenhouse's mother and lawyer to the event Republican Women of Waukesha County event, is associated with a variety of white supremacist figures and ideas, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
U.S.USA TODAY OpinionI've known Amy Coney Barrett for over 20 years. Her intellect and heart are unrivaled.
And we certainly could not have imagined that, 22 years later, she would be nominated to serve on the United States Supreme Court. But looking back, everything has changed, except Amy Coney Barrett. The very same qualities that struck me as remarkable on that spring afternoon are the qualities that make her an exceptional judge, award-winning teacher, generous colleague, loyal friend and loving mother.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderJohn Legend says that Americans 'will have to start thinking about going somewhere else' if Trump is reelected
In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, John Legend says that Americans may have to consider leaving the country if President Trump is reelected. Trump has feuded with Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, throughout his presidency. Legend, a strong supporter of 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, has been a prominent political activist for years, with a particular passion for criminal justice reform.
WorldAssociated PressRussia, China block release of UN report criticizing Russia
Russia and China blocked the official release of a report by U.N. experts on Libya that accused its warring parties and their international backers -- including Russia -- of violating a U.N. arms embargo on the conflict-wracked country, U.N. diplomats said Friday. Germany's deputy U.N. ambassador, Günter Sautter, said he brought the issue to the Security Council after the two countries blocked the report's release by the committee monitoring sanctions on Libya, which Germany heads. Many delegations have asked for the publication of the panel of experts' interim report,” he said.
U.S.Miami HeraldFlorida’s death toll now exceeds 14,000 as state reports 2,795 new COVID-19 cases
Saturday morning, the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Florida in Phase 3 of the Plan for Florida's Recovery, the state's COVID-19 dashboard reported 2,795 new cases and 107 more deaths. Since the state began counting, Florida has had 698,682 total cases, 14,090 total deaths, 14,022 of which were residents. Two days this week, the Florida reported days of over 5% positive test rate and the average daily positive test rate rose for the first time in weeks, 4.25% to 4.68%.
WorldINSIDERTikTokers are being called out for a 'ghost photoshoot' trend that critics say reminds them of KKK robes
A "ghost photoshoot" challenge went viral on TikTok, with people from around the world taking and posting photos of themselves dressed in a bedsheet ghost costume. The trend drew criticism online, most intensely on Twitter, with some saying the outfit reminded them of KKK robes, which are undeniable signifiers of racist terrorism is the United States. While the trend has ridden a wave of wholesomeness on TikTok and seems to be driven by genuine participation, criticisms have noted the power of unintended consequences of viral imagery.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastJust-Nominated Amy Coney Barrett: I'll Be Scalia 2.0
Moments after President Trump formally nominated her to fill the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court on Saturday, Judge Amy Coney Barrett promised to “be mindful” of Ginsburg's legacy while also employing the “judicial philosophy” of Justice Antonin Scalia. The flag is still flying at half-staff for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg...She was a woman of enormous talent and consequence...Particularly poignant to me was her long friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, my own mentor. “[Scalia's] judicial philosophy is mine too.
“Enfranchising 16-year-olds would be good for them and good for our democracy.”
“At 16, most kids have little awareness of politics, civics, or American history.”
“Voting is habit forming...which underscores the importance of having as stable an environment as possible for the youngest voters.”
“Keeping the voting age at 18 is not a slap at 16-year-olds. It is recognition that an informed electorate is the best kind.”
“When young people’s participation lags badly, issues important to them receive short shrift in the public discourse.”