PoliticsYahoo NewsVaccination effort will not be complete until July, CDC director says
Even as private companies rush to test a coronavirus vaccine and both federal and state governments prepare for a massive distribution effort, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned on Wednesday that mass vaccination of the American public is still many months away. “I think that's going to take us April, May, June, you know, possibly July, to get the entire American public completely vaccinated,” CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield told the Senate health and education committee in a Wednesday hearing. Most public health experts do not believe that is a realistic promise, even though four vaccine candidates are currently undergoing human trials.
U.S.The Daily BeastTucker Carlson Accuses BLM of Lying About Breonna Taylor’s Death, Gets Major Fact Wrong
Fox News host Tucker Carlson reacted Wednesday night to Louisville police officers dodging charges in the killing of Breonna Taylor by claiming Black Lives Matter had peddled a “lie” about the 26-year-old's fatal shooting, all while falsely accusing Taylor's boyfriend of being a drug dealer. With protests erupting in Louisville hours after a grand jury decided not to charge three cops with killing Taylor, Carlson recapped the decision while complaining about the way Taylor's death had been portrayed by social justice activists and the press. “In March, three Louisville police officers served a search warrant at the apartment of a woman called Breonna Taylor,” Carlson said.
PoliticsPoliticoTrump falls into the trap he set for Biden
Donald Trump will face Joe Biden within days for the first of three presidential debates, and some of the president's supporters are already bracing for a humiliating loss. White House allies, Republican donors and some of Trump's closest advisers worry that a recent, frenzied push by his top lieutenants to portray Biden as a seasoned debater — with the goal of raising expectations for the Democratic presidential nominee — is too late and too disingenuous to have an impact when the two meet on the debate stage next Tuesday. Unlike the president, who has spuriously claimed Biden is “probably” on performance-enhancing drugs, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh attributed Biden's “quite good” performance in past debates to the Democrat's ability “to turn it on when the cameras come” after years of experience in politics.
U.S.Miami HeraldNeighbor angry over kids playing near his yard kills their grandma, Colorado cops say
A Colorado man is accused of shooting and killing a neighbor's grandmother because he was upset over children playing near his yard. Jason Arroyo, 33, was arrested and charged with first degree murder and attempted murder on Sept. 6 in Denver, according to CBS Denver. Witnesses told police that Arroyo shot a 55-year-old woman after a confrontation about the two children playing.
WorldThe Daily BeastU.S.-Trained Forces Are Raping Women in Cameroon—and Rebels Are Beheading Them
IKOM, Nigeria—Lucy was contemplating closing early for the day when soldiers—believed to be from the Cameroon government's notorious Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR)—stormed her shop in the northwestern Cameroon town of Bamenda at the end of August, dragged her outside, asked her to take off the shirt she was wearing, and forced her to sit on the bare ground for hours. “When I asked them what I had done wrong, one of them gave me a terrible slap and began to kick me all over my body,” Lucy, who sells foodstuffs close to a market in Bamenda, told The Daily Beast via telephone. On the same day Lucy was brutalized by government forces in Bamenda, about 80 other women—mostly traders at the local food market—were detained at a police station for three days, many of them beaten and wounded by soldiers who were searching for English-speaking separatists following the killing of a police officer days before.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump’s potential Supreme Court nominee slammed Obama for trying to ‘dramatically flip the balance of power’
President Donald Trump's potential nominee to the Supreme Court previously rejecting the idea of former President Barack Obama filling a vacancy during an election year that she said could “dramatically flip the balance of power” in a recently-resurfaced interview. The interview shows Amy Coney Barrett, a federal judge who sits on the Seventh Circuit, discussing the former president's nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 following the death of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative stalwart. Ms Barrett suggested in the interview with CBS News that she was against the idea of Mr Obama selecting Mr Garland, often considered an apolitical nominee and centrist judge, because he was not a conservative like justice Scalia.
U.S.Business InsiderThe partner of a protester who was shot and killed in Kenosha is suing Facebook alleging it enabled paramilitary violence against protesters
A federal lawsuit alleges Facebook was negligent when it failed to remove an event page encouraging armed vigilantes to attend protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. "Use hollow bullets," posted another. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four plaintiffs, including the partner of a man killed at the protests, argues that Facebook essentially enabled right-wing violence.
- WorldAssociated Press
Top European court rules against German McCann suspect
Europe's top court issued a ruling Thursday that should ensure Germany can keep in prison a new suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who vanished from a Portuguese resort 13 years ago. The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice decided that German prosecutors were within their rights to try Christian Brueckner for a separate case, the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal, even though he had been extradited from Italy to be tried for another alleged crime. Although he is a suspect in the McCann case, he is currently in prison on a separate conviction and prosecutors have said they do not yet have enough evidence to hold him on the McCann case alone.
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Comer on House avoiding shutdown with stopgap bill
Rep. James Comer, House Oversight Committee ranking member, on lawmakers clashing over farm aid in spending bill.
PoliticsLos Angeles Times OpinionLitman: If Amy Coney Barrett is nominated and confirmed, it will be a shame for the Supreme Court
Get ready for the profound changes an even more conservative Supreme Court will make in the law and in American life. President Trump's short list of candidates to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat — his third Supreme Court selection in four years — are all judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals: 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 11th Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa and 4th Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing. They also all have ties to the Federalist Society, the club of ultraconservatives that's been calling the shots for all of Trump's choices for the federal bench.
WorldBBCGoogle removes Uluru virtual walk from Street View
Google has removed images on Street View that allowed people to virtually walk to the summit of Uluru, in Australia's Northern Territory. Parks Australia had requested user-generated images from the sacred site be immediately removed. Uluru was closed to visitors a year ago at the request of the indigenous Anangu people, to whom the Australian government returned ownership in 1985.
WorldThe TelegraphMarseille and Paris fury over French government Covid clampdown
Marseille and Paris on Thursday reacted furiously to fresh restrictions due to rising Covid infections, with local leaders in both cities saying they had not been consulted by the government about the clampdown. All bars and restaurants are to be shut for two weeks starting Saturday in Marseille, southern France after health minister Olivier Véran warned that swathes of the country, including Paris, risked reaching a “critical situation” within weeks without further restrictions. The Aix-Marseille area, along with the overseas French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, is now on “maximum alert”.
WorldAssociated PressOver 360 more detained in Belarus in protests against leader
Over 360 more people have been detained in Belarus during protests against the country's authoritarian president, who was unexpectedly sworn in to his sixth term in office after an election the opposition says was rigged. Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of the capital of Minsk and other cities on Wednesday evening, protesting the unannounced inauguration of President Alexander Lukashenko that took place in the morning. Police fiercely dispersed the crowds; in Minsk, officers used truncheons and water cannons, leaving dozens injured.
U.S.NBC News'Ashamed of this decision': Backlash toward Kentucky AG piles on after no charges are filed in Breonna Taylor's death
The death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman fatally shot by Louisville police in March, thrust Kentucky's top prosecutor, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, onto a national stage just a few months after he took office. In May, when the Louisville Metro Police Department turned over its files to Cameron as independent special prosecutor, scrutiny immediately began over how the untested attorney general would handle such a high-profile incident after months of public outcry to "arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" and whether he could satisfy a community cleaved by racial unrest and accusations of police brutality. He ultimately brought the criminal case before a grand jury this week.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'Why the hell did I do that?': Trump 'went s---house crazy' when criminal-justice reforms failed to improve his polling with Black voters, report says
President Donald Trump reportedly scolded his senior aides after criminal-justice reforms passed under his administration failed to energize Black voters. "Why the hell did I do that?" Trump said, according to administration officials who spoke with The Washington Post. Trump has tried to boost his standing among Black voters, though polling figures show he is trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in terms of support.
ScienceAFPNASA chief warns Congress about Chinese space station
NASA chief Jim Bridenstine told lawmakers Wednesday it was crucial for the US to maintain a presence in Earth's orbit after the International Space Station is decommissioned so that China does not gain a strategic advantage. The first parts of the ISS were launched in 1998 and it has been continuously lived in since 2000. "I'll tell you one thing that has me very concerned -- and that is that a day is coming when the International Space Station comes to the end of its useful life," said Bridenstine.
WorldAssociated PressRussia's Putin urges end to sanctions to boost world economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin argued Tuesday that ending “illegitimate sanctions” against countries like his could boost the coronavirus-hit global economy and create jobs, using his annual speech at the U.N. General Assembly to stress the need for multilateral cooperation against the pandemic. In a somewhat muted speech for the often tough-talking Russian leader, Putin told the U.N.'s 75th anniversary gathering that countries need to work together better to fight the virus and other global problems. Putin has been pushing for years to end U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, was accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections, and other actions.
HealthReutersPossible virus vulnerability discovered; about 20% of people with COVID-19 remain asymptomatic
The spike protein on the novel coronavirus that helps it break into healthy cells has a tiny "pocket" that could make it vulnerable to antiviral drugs, researchers have discovered. In a paper published on Monday in Science, researchers note that common-cold-causing rhinoviruses have a similar pocket, and drugs that fit into the pocket by mimicking fatty acids like LA have lessened symptoms in human clinical trials. This suggests, they say, that drugs developed to target the pocket on the coronavirus spike protein might help eliminate COVID-19.
U.S.USA TODAYTrump ally Pam Bondi calls Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, 'a little boy' trying to protect community
Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general and a prominent surrogate for President Donald Trump's campaign, on Tuesday defended Kyle Rittenhouse – the 17-year-old charged in the shooting deaths of two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin – as "a little boy out there trying to protect his community." Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, is facing six charges, including one count of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the shootings of three people, two of whom were killed. The shooting happened after 11 p.m. Aug. 25 during the third night of protests after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back. Bondi told FOX News' Hannity how that prosecutors have been too hasty to charge Rittenhouse, who had come to Kenosha armed with an assault-style rifle during demonstrations against police brutality.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Mourners pay respects to Ginsburg at U.S. Supreme Court
Mourners quietly filed past the flag-draped coffin of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the United States began three days of tributes to the liberal icon. Hundreds of people lined up for a chance to pay their respects to Ginsburg, who died on Friday at age 87. Dozens of her former clerks stood at attention when the coffin arrived at the courthouse...
WorldBBCTrudeau Throne speech: Here is what to expect
As Canada's parliament returns and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeks to put an ethics scandal behind him, his government will on Wednesday unveil its plans for the country's pandemic response and recovery. The last time Mr Trudeau's government held a Throne Speech - where a government outlines its policies and programmes as a parliamentary session begins - was less than a year ago. The prime minister also found himself bogged down over the summer by a charity ethics scandal that ended up costing his finance minister his job.
WorldAssociated PressSeoul: North Korea kills S. Korean official, burns his body
South Korea said Thursday that North Korean troops fatally shot a South Korean government official who may have attempted to defect and set his body on fire after finding him on a floating object near the countries' disputed sea boundary. South Korean officials condemned what they called North Korea's “atrocious act” and urged it to apologize and punish those responsible. North Korea is unlikely to accept the South Korean demand, and ties between the rivals — already strained amid a deadlock in broader nuclear diplomacy — will probably suffer a further setback, observers say.
WorldReutersEU rule of law action against Hungary, Poland to continue: Germany
The EU procedure over breaches of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland will continue after the EU executive showed neither had made sufficient improvements, the German presidency of the European Union said on Tuesday. "Today, based on extensive reports from the Commission on the situation in Hungary and in Poland, we have established that the conditions to end the Article 7 procedure are not present and the Article 7 procedure will be continued," Germany's Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth told reporters following a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump aides didn't tell him about RBG's death during Minnesota rally because they were afraid his supporters might cheer
President Donald Trump's aides refrained from informing him about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death while he was onstage during a rally Friday night because they were afraid the crowd would cheer if he announced it, according to The New York Times. Trump intends to fill Ginsburg's seat before the election and has the necessary support from Republicans in the Senate to move forward. President Donald Trump had barely taken the stage during a rally in Minnesota on Friday night when the news broke that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died at the age of 87.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Bald face lie’: Pence aide turned Covid-whistleblower fires back after White House attack
A former Mike Pence staffer who played a key role in advising the government on its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has accused Keith Kellogg of "bald faced" lies, after the retired Gen. claimed he gave the ex-aide her marching orders from the White House. Olivia Troye, an ex-Homeland Security official, left her role in August under a cloud. The White House reacted furiously to the video and launched a personal attack on Ms Troye, who has come out in support of the president's Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
“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.”