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.
WorldAssociated PressBannon's Chinese host an irritant to Communist Party
The self-exiled Chinese tycoon on whose 150-foot (45-meter) yacht President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was arrested is a high-profile irritant to the ruling Communist Party. Guo Wengui left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping that ensnared people close to Guo, including a top intelligence official. Chinese authorities have accused Guo of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other offenses.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastCNN Corners Mike Pence on QAnon: ‘Do You Believe They Love America?’
As the Democratic National Convention came to a rousing close and the Republicans geared up to start their four-day affair next week, Vice President Mike Pence went on a whopping five morning shows on Friday to help make the case for another four years of Trump. On Fox & Friends, Pence fielded softball questions about Goodyear tires and Star Wars metaphors. The vice president dramatically shook his head as CNN's John Berman reported the fact that the FBI has labeled that conspiracy-theory cult a domestic terror threat.
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.
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.
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 Daily BeastEven if Biden Wins Big, Trump Has 77 Days to Wreck America
If Joe Biden wins big in November, no one should breathe easily until he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. The period from Election Day until Inauguration Day will be ugly, according to a range of experts from both political parties who anticipate President Trump's refusal to accept defeat could destroy any semblance of a peaceable transfer of power. There is occasional mischief, like when the Clinton people supposedly removed the “W's” from some computer keyboards to irritate the incoming George W Bush administration.
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.
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.
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.
PoliticsBBCDNC 2020: Joe Biden convention speech fact-checked
Joe Biden has made his first major speech as the Democratic presidential nominee at the party's convention. Mr Biden criticised President Trump's response to the coronavirus outbreak saying he had failed to protect American people. The US does have the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, with more than 5.5 million confirmed cases and 174,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
U.S.Christian Science MonitorPower pivot: What happens in states where wind dethrones King Coal?
Laine Anderson scans the Wyoming prairie, a dusty expanse of sagebrush and prairie dogs scowling from atop their mounds. “They always cut in front of you,” Mr. Anderson says, shaking his head. Mr. Anderson doesn't see this dry plateau near Medicine Bow as empty; he sees it as the future.
WorldReutersEU, Britain trade blame after scant progress towards post-Brexit deal
Britain and the European Union made scant progress towards a deal on future ties in talks this week, and their chief negotiators blamed each other for the stalemate as time ticks down to an end-of-year deadline. "Those who were hoping for negotiations to move swiftly forward this week will have been disappointed," the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a news conference after two full days of talks in Brussels. His British counterpart David Frost said a deal on post-Brexit relations was "still possible" and was still London's goal but would not be easy to achieve.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'They're not needed, sir': Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says USPS won't replace removed mail-sorting machines
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a testimony to the Senate on Friday that these machines will not be replaced. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Related video: The rise and fall of USPS The US Postal Service will not replace the mail-sorting machines it has removed, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told the Senate's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Friday.
PoliticsThe WeekPelosi says Trump's 'deep state' FDA tweet was 'beyond the pale'
President Trump on Saturday morning accused "the deep state, or whoever, over at" the Food and Drug Administration of slowing coronavirus vaccine and therapy development until after the November election to keep him from securing a second term. The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. The FDA, drug companies, and researchers, on the contrary, are moving at an unprecedented pace to produce vaccines and other groundbreaking treatments in the hopes of curbing the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
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.
- NewsKCRA - Sacramento Videos
How smoke is impacting businesses in the Sacramento area
The smoke from wildfires burning across California is impacting several types of businesses in the Sacramento area. Businesses that are already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic have had to find new ways to readjust due to the air quality. Take a look at the video above to see how different organizations are dealing with the situation.
PoliticsUSA TODAYHere are the prominent Republicans not supporting Trump, and those who are supporting Biden
WASHINGTON – Several prominent Republicans have publicly endorsed or shown support for former vice president and Democratic nominee Joe Biden instead of their party's incumbent, President Donald Trump. They include elected officials, former Trump administration officials and other prominent Republicans who have slammed Trump for everything from a "bungled" response to the coronavirus pandemic, "terrifying" national security approaches and general divisiveness in the country. Democrats have worked to use this as an advantage, trying to show Biden as the unifying candidate who can appeal to not just Democrats.
HealthThe Daily BeastMost Russians Say ‘Hell, No!’ They're Not Taking Putin’s COVID-19 Vaccine
MOSCOW— Vladimir Putin has registered the world's first state-approved vaccine against the coronavirus and probably expected congratulations—at least at home—for winning the global race for a vaccine, but even Russians aren't so sure this is a good idea. Epidemiologists, pharmacologists, and doctors in Russia have responded to the alleged breakthrough with skepticism, and they certainly aren't lining up to be injected first. Russian scientists plan to start the final stage of the trials on Monday, planning to begin the mass vaccination in October.
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.
HealthBusiness InsiderDoctors are finding striking similarities between chronic fatigue syndrome and long-term coronavirus symptoms
Researchers are just beginning the understand the link between the coronavirus and chronic fatigue. "I basically relapsed upon arrival," Oliver, a 36-year-old manager for an arts organization in New York City, told Business Insider. It reminds them of another condition that's also still somewhat mysterious: chronic fatigue syndrome.
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.
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."
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.
“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.”