PoliticsBusiness InsiderAll the top Republicans who say they won't vote for Trump in 2020
Several Republican leaders have publicly voiced their opposition to Trump and signaled they will not support his 2020 reelection. The list includes ex-officials and those currently in office, such as former President George W. Bush and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the GOP presidential nominee in 2012. Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has stoked tensions within the Republican Party he leads, bashing party loyalists and even previous presidential nominees who dared to defy him with names like "loser" and "RINO," for Republican in name only.
ScienceThe Independent'Melting faster and faster': Greenland lost 1 million tonnes of ice for each minute of 2019
High temperatures saw Greenland lose enough ice to cover the US state of California in more than four feet of water in 2019 alone, a study which suggests the island lost a million tonnes of ice for every minute of the year has said. After two years in which the land masses' summer ice melt had been negligible, satellite measurements have suggested an excessively hot 2019 saw the loss of 586 billion tons of ice melt from the island. The loss represents more than 532 trillion litres of water according to a study published in Communications Earth & Environment - equivalent to 212.8 million olympic-sized swimming pools over the course of 2019, or seven for every second of the year.
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.
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentQAnon: Senior Republican says there is 'no place' for right-wing conspiracy theory in GOP
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has condemned the QAnon, saying there is “no room” for the conspiracy theory in the Republican party. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mr McCarthy, Republican representative for California's 23rd district, was asked whether he was worried about candidates who have won primaries who were affiliated with groups like QAnon. “Let me be very clear,” Mr McCarthy said.
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NYPD officer opens up on defund police movement, politics of law enforcement
An anonymous police officer sits down with 'Fox & Friends Weekend' co-host Will Cain to tell all.
WorldINSIDERThe $15 billion hit from the devastating Beirut explosion will be a gut-punch to Lebanon's hobbled economy
Officials in Lebanon estimated it would cost $15 billion to fix the damage from the Beirut explosion on August 4, The Washington Post reported. The explosion killed more than 180 people and wounded over 6,000 people. The damage from the explosion comes as Lebanon is reeling from a terrible economic crisis that has significantly devalued its currency.
PoliticsThe WeekIt turns out Mitch McConnell will appear at the RNC after all
After some back and forth, it's been confirmed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will make an appearance at next week's Republican National Convention. McConnell is up for re-election in November, and his campaign spokeswoman, Katharine Cooksey, said in a statement on Thursday that he would not be part of the convention. A few hours later, Cooksey changed course, saying there was a "miscommunication" and McConnell will be recording a message for the convention, The Hill reports.
BusinessBusiness InsiderTikTok confirms it will sue the US government, alleging Trump failed to provide 'due process' before issuing ban
TikTok confirmed Saturday that the company planned to sue the US government over President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the popular app. A company spokesperson said TikTok experienced "a lack of due process as the administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses." TikTok, which has surged in popularity over the past year, was known as Musical.ly until it was purchased by the Chinese company ByteDance in 2017 and renamed.
WorldAssociated PressPolitical parties vow to fight removal of Kashmir's autonomy
Half a dozen political parties vowed Saturday to fight for restoration of the special status that was stripped last year from Indian-administered Kashmir, setting off widespread anger and economic ruin amid a harsh security clampdown. Four pro-India Kashmiri political parties and two Indian political parties, including the main opposition Congress Party, said in a joint statement that India's move “unrecognizably changed the relationship” between the region and New Delhi. “We want to assure the people that all our political activities will be subservient to the sacred goal of reverting to the status of J&K as it existed on 4th August 2019,” the statement said.
WorldReutersAfter Hagia Sophia, Turkey's historic Chora church also switched to mosque
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora church, one of Istanbul's most celebrated Byzantine buildings, into a mosque on Friday, a month after opening the famed Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship. The mediaeval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, built near the ancient city walls of Constantinople, contains 14th century Byzantine mosaics and frescoes showing scenes from biblical stories. They were plastered over after the city was conquered by the Muslim Ottomans in 1453, but brought to light again when - like Hagia Sophia - the building was converted to a museum by Turkey's secular republic more than 70 years ago.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFormer Navy SEAL from Bin Laden raid banned by Delta for not complying with mask rule
Airlines have tightened mask policies, again: Here's what you need to know O'Neill confirmed he's no longer welcome on Delta flights in a Twitter post Thursday, though he says it was because he posted a now-deleted tweet of him posing maskless in his seat and insinuating that people who wear them are wimps (though his word choice was coarser). Mask ban: American Airlines temporarily bans passenger who refused to wear a face mask on flight O'Neill also claimed the post was made in jest: I had my mask in my lap. Everyone has gone crazy," he wrote in a later tweet linking to a Washington Times story about the Delta incident."
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.
BusinessBusiness InsiderTesla employees heading to Austin for the upcoming Cybertruck factory are in for a red-hot real estate market
In July, Tesla in July picked Austin, Texas, as the site for its eventual Cybertruck factory. The company's broken ground on the project, and one real-estate agent said employees are already looking for homes in the city. Unlike San Francisco or New York, home prices haven't dipped much in Texas.
WorldAssociated PressGaza militants fire 12 rockets, Israel strikes Hamas targets
Palestinian militants fired 12 rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight, nine of which were intercepted, and Israel responded with three airstrikes on targets linked to the territory's militant Hamas rulers, the Israeli military said early Friday. It was the most serious exchange of fire along the Gaza frontier in months, but there were no reports of casualties. Police said buildings and vehicles in Israel were damaged, and that bomb-disposal units had been dispatched to pick up shrapnel and rocket parts.
PoliticsThe IndependentJoe Biden willing to 'shut country down' again to stop Covid-19 as Trump pushes ‘deep state’ conspiracy for vaccine delay
Joe Biden said he would not hesitate to shut down the country again if scientists recommended the measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. In his first joint interview with running mate Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee criticised his opponent Donald Trump's rush to reopen after a nationwide lockdown as a “fundamental flaw” in his handling of the pandemic. “I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” Mr Biden told ABC, when asked how he would respond if experts recommended it.
U.S.Business InsiderAs many as 215,000 people in the US have died as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, new CDC figures suggest
As many as 215,000 more people than usual died in the United States between January and July 2020, the Associated Press reported Friday. The death toll, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest COVID-19 is killing more people than officially registered. People of color make up 40% of the US population but 52% of "excess deaths," according to an analysis by the AP and The Marshall Project.
PoliticsUSA TODAYOpen mic catches Sen. Tom Carper cursing during Senate hearing on U.S. Postal Service
Sen. Tom Carper experienced some technical difficulties Friday morning. The Delaware Democrat said the "F-word" three times during a virtual Senate hearing on the United States Postal Service, which aired uncensored over C-SPAN. Carper seemed to be unaware that he was unmuted – and on air – as he was turned away from his computer when he shouted the expletive in frustration.
PoliticsAssociated PressHouse passes bill to reverse changes blamed for mail delays
With heated debate over mail delays, the House approved legislation in a rare Saturday session that would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion to shore up the agency ahead of the November election. Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled lawmakers to Washington over objections from Republicans dismissing the action as a stunt. President Donald Trump urged a no vote, including in a Saturday tweet, railing against mail-in ballots expected to surge in the COVID-19 crisis.
HealthBusiness InsiderThe coronavirus pandemic could be over within the next two years, WHO chief hopes
The COVID-19 pandemic could be over within the next two years, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference on Friday that current advances in technology could help the world gain fight the virus "in a shorter time." Tedros compared the current pandemic to the 1918 Spanish flu, which took two years to overcome.
WorldReutersPhilippines protests China's 'illicit' warnings, coast guard conduct
The Philippines has lodged a diplomatic protest over what it said was China's illegal confiscation of fish aggregating devices from Filipino fisherman in a disputed lagoon held by Beijing in the South China Sea. The Philippine foreign ministry said the incident happened three months ago at the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing site seized by Beijing in 2012 after a standoff that prompted an unprecedented international legal challenge by Manila. In a statement late on Thursday, it gave no other details about that incident, but it also protested China's "continuing illicit issuances of radio challenges (to) Philippine aircraft conducting legitimate regular maritime patrols."
WorldThe TelegraphSweden stands firm on face masks as Anders Tegnell refuses to copy other countries' strategy
With face masks mandatory on public transport in Denmark from Saturday morning, Sweden is now in the position it has been in so often during the coronavirus pandemic - alone. The country, which chose not to close lower secondary schools, pubs, restaurants, and sports facilities at the peak in April, is again an outlier in not recommending the general public wear face masks. Dr Anders Tegnell, the country's state epidemiologist, told the Daily Telegraph that he did not expect the Public Health Agency of Sweden to follow Norway, Finland and Denmark and drop its opposition to masks when it recommends new measures to Sweden's government at the start of next month.
WorldBBCCoronavirus: Is the US the worst-hit country for deaths?
And making comparisons is tricky as countries record deaths in different ways. But experts say one of the most telling measures is how many extra deaths a country experiences above the number who would have been expected to die. This "excess" death data captures some potentially unrecorded coronavirus deaths, and other deaths that might be the result of strain on healthcare systems and other indirect effects of the epidemic.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRats reported feeding on packages of rotted fruit and meat as postmaster general's cutbacks unleash chaos at California's mail centers
Chaos has ensued at mail sorting facilities across California as employees struggle with the recent cutbacks in staffing and equipment. At one mail-sorting facility in South Los Angeles, employees reported seeing gnats and rodents picking apart containers of fruit and meat that had been left to rot, according to the Los Angeles Times. The reports come after recently-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy made a series of sweeping changes to the postal service.
U.S.Associated PressLawyers: Autopsy suggests inmate suffered during execution
An inmate suffered “extreme pain" as he received a dose of pentobarbital during just the second federal execution following a 17-year lag, according to court filings by lawyers representing one of the inmates scheduled to be executed next. The claim Wesley Purkey may have felt a sensation akin to drowning while immobilized but conscious is disputed by Department of Justice attorneys. This month's filings were part of motions to halt the execution of Keith Nelson, convicted in the 1999 rape and strangulation of 10-year-old Pamela Butler.
“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.”