PoliticsSalonDemocrats have a plan to disrupt Trump’s convention and cripple his message: report
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 Alex Wong/Getty Images With the virtual Democratic National Convention in the rear-view mirror and the nomination handed to former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic strategists plan to do everything they can to disrupt the Republican National convention slated to start next week. After a week of Donald Trump taking daily shots at the Democratic ticket of Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), along with speakers who were live-streamed into the convention, the Democratic Party plans to hit the president with a daily barrage ...
U.S.NBC NewsPortland protest turns violent, federal police clear plaza
Federal authorities on Saturday forced demonstrators away from a plaza near a federal building as dueling demonstrations in Portland by right-wing and left-wing protesters turned violent. The area includes county and federal buildings and has been the site of numerous recent protests. Department of Homeland Security officers moved through the plaza across from an 18-story federal building.
U.S.INSIDERA Florida man tried to cash in a $30 lottery ticket from the same convenience store he stole it from, police said
Florida police arrested a man this week for attempting to cash in a winning scratch-off ticket at the same convenience store he stole it from,authorities alleged. The Clearwater Police Department said in an August 20 statement that the man was identified as 27-year-old Herbert McClellan. According to police, McClellan "stole 13 scratch-off tickets from the Speedway convenience store at 32 Bay Esplanade.
U.S.Business InsiderLeaked USPS email tells postal workers not to reconnect or reinstall sorting machines 'that have been previously disconnected'
A leaked email to United States Postal Service employees instructed them to not reassemble mail sorting machines that have been dismantled, CNN first reported. The note, written by Kevin Couch, a maintenance operations director, said that workers were "not to reconnect/reinstall machines that have been previously disconnected without approval from HQ Maintenance." Just hours before, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that all service changes will be paused until after Election Day.
PoliticsThe Independent‘You are an idiot’: Trump mocked for tweeting about ‘entrance requirements’ to virtual DNC
Donald Trump has been mocked for suggesting that people needed ID to attend this year's virtual Democratic National Convention (DNC). “To get into the Democrat National Convention, you must have an ID card with a picture...” In years gone by, those wishing to attend the DNC have been asked to buy a ticket and provide photographic ID to gain entry.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Kayleigh McEnany on DNC rhetoric, mail-in voting, leaked audio of Trump on Black voter turnout in 2016
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany joins 'The Story' to react to attacks made on the president at the Democratic National Convention and more.
- WorldReuters
Saudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile fired towards Najran: Saudi TV
The Saudi-led coalition on Thursday evening intercepted a missile and an explosive-laden drone launched by Yemen's Houthi group towards the kingdom's southern region close to the Yemeni border, Saudi state TV reported on Friday. Yemen has been locked in conflict since 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa, the capital, and then much of the country's north. Fighting escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
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.
WorldBBCIndia power plant fire: Nine reported dead in major blaze in Telangana
Nine people have reportedly died after a fire broke out at a hydro-electric power plant in the Indian state of Telangana. The bodies were found during a search for employees working underground at the Srisailam plant, the state power generation corporation said. Local media reports said the fire broke out late on Thursday night and burned into Friday, trapping workers.
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.
BusinessReutersU.S. international airline passenger contact tracing plan stalls, sources say
The Trump administration's efforts to require airlines to collect contact tracing information from U.S.-bound international passengers has stalled, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday, adding such a mandate is unlikely this year. Major airlines and administration officials have held talks for months over a long-standing effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to mandate the collection and reporting of tracing information from passengers arriving to the United States from foreign destinations. In June, Reuters reported the White House had tasked an interagency working group with adopting an interim solution that could be in place by Sept. 1 as the issue gained urgency with the coronavirus outbreak.
U.S.Associated PressCalifornia 'dream house,' decades in the making, is in ashes
When he closes his eyes at night, Hank Hanson hears sirens in his dreams -- a byproduct of living nearly 30 years in the wildfire-prone wilderness of Northern California between San Francisco and Sacramento. “It started pouring toward us like a waterfall,” Hanson, 81, said. The fire was one of the more than 500 wildfires ignited across California this week from what state firefighting officials are calling a “lightning siege” — summer thunderstorms that produce little or no rain but have prompted nearly 12,000 lightening strikes across sun-scorched terrain.
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.
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 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 PressQuarantines, closures: Confusion reigns as schools reopen
For countless families across the country, the school year is opening in disarray and confusion, with coronavirus outbreaks triggering sudden closings, mass quarantines and deep anxiety among parents. Schools in at least 10 states have had students and staff test positive for the virus since they began opening. The outbreaks have occurred in a variety of school settings: marching bands, high school football teams, elementary classrooms, high schools.
BusinessReutersExclusive: Photoshopping Obama - the company that wants to buy Newcastle United
The Singapore-registered company that says it is close to buying English soccer club Newcastle United admits it doctored photos of former U.S. President Barack Obama in marketing materials used to publicize the newly formed group. Bellagraph Nova Group (BN Group) also said some of the information in those materials was released prematurely or contained errors after Reuters found inconsistencies when speaking to firms and persons BN Group says it is involved with. Speaking on behalf of BN Group's principals, Nereides Antonio Giamundo de Bourbon, head of investor relations, acknowledged that the company had altered photos of Obama to make it look as though he had attended a meeting with its executives in Paris.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: DNC didn't leave out 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance
The claim: The phrase 'Under God' was skipped during the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention Following the four-day virtual convention, social media posts emerged claiming that Democrats abstained from saying "under God" during the Pledge of Allegiance. The claim was initially shared on Facebook by former U.S. Republican senatorial candidate Peggy Hubbard. "The DNC omitted, One Nation Under God.
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.
“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.”