PoliticsSalonFour years later, Republican senators admit, "yes, Trump conspired with the Russians"
It's a red-letter, if sad, day on the hypocrisy beat when after three years a Republican-majority Senate Intelligence Committee comes out with a 1,000-page report finding there was a whole lot of direct contact between the Trump 2016 campaign with Russian intelligence operators. You know, the opposite of what Donald Trump has argued forcefully over and over again is a hoax. Of course, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III also would not put the "collusion" label on myriad interactions with Russians, for different reasons, to avoid a political conclusion.
CelebrityINSIDERDouble tragedy for Larry King as his son and daughter die in the space of 3 weeks
Famed TV interviewer Larry King is mourning the loss of two children, who died in the space of three weeks, according to Page Six. Daughter Chaia, 52, died on Thursday after battling lung cancer, following the sudden death of his son, Andy, 65. Larry and his remaining three children were said to be "distraught."
CelebrityBusiness InsiderSteve Bannon was arrested on a $28 million yacht owned by an exiled Chinese billionaire — take a look inside
Former Trump associate Steve Bannon was arrested on fraud charges Thursday aboard a $28 million yacht. The vessel where the arrest took place, a 151-foot long yacht owned by an exiled Chinese billionaire, is just as remarkable as federal prosecutors' allegations that Bannon was a part of a group that used a campaign to raise funds for a wall on the US/Mexico border to defraud donors out of millions of dollars. Bannon pled not guilty to the charges.
U.S.NBC NewsMissing Fort Hood soldier a victim of 'abusive sexual contact,' Army says
Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, a Fort Hood soldier who has been missing for five days, was recently transferred to a different unit because he was the victim of "abusive sexual contact," U.S. Army officials said Saturday. "We can confirm there is an open investigation of abusive sexual contact involving Sgt. Fernandes," Lt. Col. Chris Brautigam, a 1st Cavalry Division spokesman, said in a statement to NBC News. "The unit sexual assault response coordinator has been working closely with Sgt. Fernandes, ensuring he was aware of all his reporting, care, and victim advocacy options," he said.
PoliticsPoliticoCommission rejects Trump camp’s request to help broker a fourth debate with Biden
The nonpartisan commission charged with setting presidential debates has shot down the Trump campaign's request for a conference call with Joe Biden's camp to discuss adding a fourth debate. In a letter Friday to Trump's personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Commission on Presidential Debates declined to get involved in any discussion between the campaigns about more debates and said they needed to work it out on their own. Biden's campaign long ago agreed to three debates, planned for Sept. 29 in Cleveland, Oct. 15 in Miami and Oct. 22 in Nashville.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news: Americans told to prepare for unprecedented dual hurricane threat as president rages against 'deep state' in baseless Covid vaccine conspiracy
Two tropical storms advanced across the Caribbean Saturday as potentially historic threats to the US Gulf Coast, one dumping rain on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands while the other was pushing through the gap between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. Tropical Storms Laura and Marco were both projected to approach the US Gulf Coast at or close to hurricane force, representing a very unusual threat to Americans in their paths. Devastating wildfires in California have torched nearly 1m acres, in areas totalling more than the size of the state of Rhode Island, with 100,000 residents under evacuation orders.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. closes lanes, adds checks at Mexico border to contain coronavirus
The United States on Friday closed lanes at select ports of entry at the border with Mexico and will conduct more secondary checks to limit non-essential travel and the spread of coronavirus, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official said. Non-essential travel has been restricted at the border since March, but U.S. citizens and permanent residents can still enter the United States from Mexico. The new measures are aimed at those travelers, the CBP official said.
U.S.INSIDERA Georgia police officer was fired after a viral TikTok showed him tasing a Black woman outside her home
A police officer from the Gwinnett County Police Department in Georgia was fired after a viral video on TikTok showed he used a Taser on an unarmed woman outside her mother's home. Former officer Michael Oxford had been placed on desk duty following the Tuesday incident but was later fired, the Gwinnett County Police Department announced on Friday, citing inappropriate conduct in the field. "The investigation in this case has shown that Officer Oxford violated our policy and did not meet our core values," the department said in a statement.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastRush Limbaugh: Biden’s ‘Flawless’ DNC Speech ‘Had to Be Taped’
On Thursday night, a series of Fox News hosts and commentators readily acknowledged that Joe Biden “blew a hole” in President Donald Trump's depiction of him as a demented old man by delivering a highly effective speech at the Democratic National Convention. Rush Limbaugh has a different theory. The conservative radio host who not so long ago received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump during a State of the Union address, spent his show Friday pushing the notion that Biden did not, in fact, deliver his speech live.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'Is this a joke?' North Carolina voters are being mailed absentee ballot request forms with Trump's face on them
The mailout by the North Carolina Republican Party asks for "immediate action" to "ensure your right to securely vote Absentee." Trump has previously also said that using mail-in voting is less secure than absentee voting, even though the two terms refer to the same method of using the mail to deliver ballots. Voters in North Carolina are receiving absentee ballot request forms that feature President Trump's face on them even though the president has continuously criticized mail-in voting in the run-up to the November election.
U.S.National ReviewSuspect in Portland Beating Turns Himself in
The suspect in the beating of a truck driver in downtown Portland turned himself in Friday morning, police said. “I am pleased the suspect in this case turned himself in and appreciate all of the efforts to facilitate this safe resolution,” Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said in a statement on Friday. A crowd of rioters in downtown Portland beat a man unconscious Sunday night after dragging him from his truck, video footage of the incident shows.
- WorldReuters
Israel's coronavirus chief urges Ukraine to ban Jewish pilgrimage
The head of Israel's coronavirus task force has asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ban an annual pilgrimage in which Hasidic Jews visit the central Ukrainian town of Uman over concerns the site may become a virus hotspot. Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews descend on Uman every Jewish New Year to visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who revived the Hasidic movement and died in 1810. This year, Jewish New Year celebrations run from Sept.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump struggles to use power of presidency to counter Biden
President Donald Trump spent the week of the Democratic National Convention forsaking what has historically been an incumbent's greatest advantage: He's in the job his challenger wants. It was a consequence of Trump's unwillingness to share the limelight, but also a necessary attempt to shift the November campaign from a referendum on his job performance to a choice between himself and Joe Biden. Ten weeks out from Election Day, as the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged Trump's reelection chances, aides have recognized that a vote on his presidency is not one he is likely to win.
- NewsFOX News Videos
College students admit Joe Biden's campaign is beholden to radical progressives
Campus Reform editor-in-chief Cabot Phillips shares the new video.
U.S.Business InsiderHealth officials in 3 states have traced new COVID-19 cases to the Sturgis motorcycle rally where hundreds of thousands of bikers gathered
Health officials in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota have now traced multiple new COVID-19 cases back to a motorcycle rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota between August 7 and 16. The rally, which drew hundreds of thousands of bikers to the 6,900-person city, has been tied to 15 new coronavirus cases in Nebraska, seven in Minnesota, and multiple incidences in South Dakota, according to CNN. The event was one of the largest public gatherings in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began.
U.S.The Daily BeastEmails Show Georgia School District Asked Students to Disinfect Classrooms for Volunteer Hours
The email from the principal had a lighthearted, friendly tone, but the news she delivered was alarming: Three more students at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia, had tested positive for the coronavirus—the fourth such letter sent to parents that week. “Come to CVHS to see our lady Grizzlies play at 9:00 10:00 or 12:30,” she wrote. Two days later, after 25 students tested positive and more than a quarter of the student body was placed in quarantine, the entire school was shut down.
PoliticsThe Independent‘The worst president’: 95-year-old Republican World War II veteran says he regrets voting for Trump and now backs Biden
A 95-year-old World War II veteran and longtime Republican, called Donald Trump the “worst” president the US has ever had and praised Democratic candidate Joe Biden, ahead of November's presidential election. On Thursday, Edward Good spoke at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and praised Mr Biden, after multiple other Republicans endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate earlier in the week. Mr Good revealed that he voted for Mr Trump in 2016, but told those watching the virtual convention that he regretted voting for the president and revealed that he is now backing Mr Biden, according to the Daily Mail.
WorldReutersExclusive: Draft EU methane strategy shies away from binding emissions standards
The European Union's long-awaited plan to curb emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane will not impose binding standards on natural gas sold in the bloc, according to a draft seen by Reuters. Methane is nearly 90 times more potent than CO2 in its first 20 years in the atmosphere, and is emitted from leaky pipelines and infrastructure, and is often burned off at oil and gas fields. As the world's biggest importer of natural gas, the EU is facing pressure from investors, climate campaigners and some fossil fuel companies to set binding methane emissions limits on gas sold in Europe.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden's polling remains steady after DNC, but favorability gets a boost
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, didn't see his general election polling numbers rise in the immediate aftermath of this week's Democratic National Convention, a new Morning Consult poll shows. The poll, which was conducted Friday (one day after Biden gave his acceptance speech completing the four-day DNC) and released Saturday, has Biden up nine points on President Trump, compared to the eight point advantage he enjoyed Monday. The lack of convention bump so far doesn't appear to be too concerning for the Biden campaign, however.
TechnologyBusiness InsiderA US Air Force F-16 pilot just battled AI in 5 simulated dogfights, and the machine emerged victorious every time
An artificial intelligence program developed by Heron Systems went head-to-head against a seasoned Air Force F-16 pilot in a simulated dogfight Thursday. Heron's AI achieved a flawless victory with five straight wins. The "WWII-style" dogfight was part of DARPA's AlphaDogfight competition, which is designed to advance the agency's efforts to build trust in AI and develop manned-unmanned teaming capabilities.
U.S.The IndependentMinneapolis police officer Thomas Lane didn’t check George Floyd’s ‘counterfeit’ $20 note
The alleged counterfeit $20 bill used by George Floyd wasn't inspected or collected before his fatal arrest in Minneapolis, according to one of the first officers at the scene. Former police officer Thomas Lane said in newly-released audio that he didn't obtain the bill before, during or after the incident that led to Mr Floyd's death on 25 May. In response to questioning by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Mr Lane said that he didn't look at the alleged $20 forgery being held by the Cup Foods worker identifying Mr Floyd.
- WorldAssociated Press
UN atomic watchdog chief heading to Iran; seeks more access
The head of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog agency will head to Tehran next week to press Iranian authorities for access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the organization said Saturday. It will be the first visit to Iran of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi since he took office last December, and comes amid intense international pressure on the country over its nuclear program. The focus will be on access to sites thought to be from the early 2000s, before Iran signed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
- WorldReuters
Earthquake of magnitude 6.9 strikes Banda Sea off Indonesia: EMSC
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck the Banda Sea off Indonesia on Friday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, as it revised upwards a prior figure of 6.8. The quake was at a depth of 640 km (398 miles), said the agency, which had earlier estimated a magnitude of 6.6. But it was not powerful enough to trigger a tsunami in the Indian Ocean region, said a monitor, Tsunami Service Provider Indonesia.
PoliticsSalonA judge asked Trump's lawyers to prove his claims about mail-in voting "fraud" — it did not go well
Donald Trump | Mail in Ballots Getty Images/Salon President Donald Trump has been obsessed with the idea that mail-in voting encourages voter fraud, and his campaign has filed lawsuits against Pennsylvania and other states because of their plans to encourage voters to use mail-in ballots in November's election. Journalist Richard Salame, in The Intercept, reports that in response to the Pennsylvania lawsuit, Trump's campaign was asked to show proof that voting by mail encourages voter fraud — and it was unable to.
HealthINSIDERCDC head says US coronavirus outbreak could be controlled if '90% of Americans' follow safety guidelines like wearing a mask
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director said the coronavirus could be managed if Americans follow preventative measures to stop the spread of the virus, CNBC reported. "But it is going to require all of us to embrace these mitigation steps," CDC head Robert Redfield said on a conference call. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director said the coronavirus could be contained if most Americans follow safety measures to help prevent the spread of the virus for the next couple of months, CNBC reported.
“Harris brings an unusual blend of social justice progressiveness and law-and-order conservatism.”
“It's hard to imagine Trump-skeptical independents now aching to pull the trigger for Biden with Kamala on the ticket.”
“If Biden wishes, he can delegate the daily barrage of rebukes against his opponent to her. Biden now can rise above the fray.”
“Voters viewed her as among the most qualified to be president on Day 1 — a key positive.”
“Here’s a reality check: Running mates have very little direct effect on voters.”