U.S.The WeekDr. Birx reportedly asked Pence to remove COVID-19 adviser pushing 'junk science'
Dr. Deborah Birx has reportedly been trying to get controversial adviser Dr. Scott Atlas removed from the White House coronavirus task force. A new report in The Washington Post describes the "discord on the coronavirus task force" that has reportedly "worsened" ever since the arrival of Atlas, a neuroradiologist who has no background in epidemiology. Atlas has reportedly "succeeded in largely sidelining" other doctors on the White House coronavirus task force, has challenged analysis from Birx and others with what experts have dismissed as "junk science," and is seen by colleagues as "ill-informed, manipulative and at times dishonest."
WorldThe Daily BeastFamily of Moscow-Born Teen Who Beheaded Teacher Were from Chechnya Where Charlie Hebdo Cartoons Are Demonized
MOSCOW—The man known as "Putin's attack dog" has spent years promoting a violent response to the publication of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. When a teenager from a Chechen family beheaded a school teacher in France on Friday for sharing these images with his class, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin-backed ruler of Chechnya, took to social media to lecture France about its “unacceptable attitude to Islamic values.” With a white vest on, Kadyrov spoke to a crowd of about a million people, calling on Muslims to rise against those who “deliberately kindle the fire of religious hostility.”
U.S.USA TODAY'Smoke coming from everywhere': Colorado fights largest wildfire in state history, a second forces thousands to evacuate
Colorado crews scrambled Monday to gain ground against two blazes – including the largest in state history – as this year's historic wildfire season imparted more heartbreak and hardships on the West. The Cameron Peak Fire, which has torched more than 203,600 acres through the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests near Cameron Pass and Chambers Lake in Larimer County, was 62% contained as of Monday. Cloudy conditions and poor visibility kept fire aircraft grounded, but the weather also aided in making progress on a few hot spots, fire officials said.
U.S.The WeekJudge strikes down 'arbitrary and capricious' USDA rule ending food stamps for 700,000 unemployed
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., stuck down a Trump administration rule Sunday that had attempted to end food stamp benefits for up to 700,000 unemployed adults. The U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized the rule last year, but Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had put a hold on its implementation in March, on the same day President Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency. The USDA's rule, designed to stop states from waiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements during economic downturns, "radically and abruptly alters decades of regulatory practice, leaving states scrambling and exponentially increasing food insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans," Howell wrote.
U.S.NBC NewsSupreme Court justices chastise Vermont on the limits of police power in 'deer jacking' case
Three U.S. Supreme Court justices took the highest court in Vermont to task Monday for ruling that game wardens had a legal right to wander around the land of a homeowner suspected of illegally hunting at night. Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of the court's conservatives, joined by liberals Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, said the Vermont Supreme Court missed the mark in applying the law that governs law enforcement intrusion on private property. The game wardens suspected Clyde Bovat of unlawfully hunting a deer at night, an offense Vermonters call "deer jacking."
U.S.Business InsiderTrump says people 'have to flush their toilet 15 times' in a bizarre campaign rally rant about water restrictions
The president said that 'people have to flush their toilet 15 times' because of water restrictions. The Trump administration last year announced proposals to increase the maximum water-flow through shower-heads by rolling back water and energy conservation standards. President Trump launched into a lengthy monologue on the subject of water pressure on Sunday, insisting that Americans "have to flush their toilet 15 times" because of environmental water restrictions.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest12 Everyday Household Items That Are Worth the Investment
Small objects with big impact Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.The IndependentLisa Montgomery: Woman who cut pregnant woman’s body open to become first female prisoner executed in 67 years
A woman convicted of cutting a pregnant woman's body open before kidnapping her baby is set to be the first inmate who is a woman to be put to death by the American government in more than 60 years. The Justice Department said Lisa Montgomery, who was convicted of fatally strangling the woman, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on 8 December at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute in Indiana. She will be the ninth federal inmate put to death since the Justice Department resumed executions in July after a nearly 20-year hiatus.
U.S.USA TODAYIndiana police fire new officer after social media posts reveal link to neo-Nazi forum
Lafayette police fired a recently hired officer less than 24 hours after he was accused to having ties to racist posts made on a fascist web forum, LPD Chief Pat Flannelly confirmed Saturday afternoon. Flannelly said Officer Joseph Zacharek, hired by LPD in June, was called into the police station Friday night after claims started showing up on social media that he was linked to Iron March, a neo-Nazi forum disbanded in 2017 but that had its entire database exposed on the internet in late 2019. Flannelly said that after LPD internal affairs detectives found the social media tip “plausible and credible,” they confronted Zacharek about the claims and asking whether it was hoax.
PoliticsSalonPennsylvania’s rejection of 372,000 ballot applications bewilders voters and strains election staff
Pennsylvania, one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds in the presidential election, has rejected 372,000 requests for mail-in ballots, straining election offices and bewildering voters. More than 90% of those applications, or about 336,000, were denied as duplicates, primarily because people who had requested mail-in ballots for the state's June 2 primary did not realize that they had checked a box to be sent ballots for the general election, too. Voters have also been baffled by unclear or inaccurate information on the state's ballot-tracking website, and by a wave of mail ballot applications from political parties and get-out-the-vote groups.
ScienceTheGrioNeil deGrasse Tyson says asteroid could hit day before election
Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson posted a picture of an asteroid approaching Earth saying that it could strike the planet before the election on Nov. 3. “Asteroid 2018VP1, a refrigerator-sized space-rock, is hurtling towards us at more than 40,000 km/hr,” he wrote in a tweet Saturday. “It may buzz-cut Earth on Nov 2, the day before the Presidential Election.”
PoliticsThe WeekTexas Sen. John Cornyn likens relationship with Trump to 'women who get married and think they're going to change their spouse'
Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) admitted in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he's disagreed with President Trump on a number of major issues, but that he's kept the differences of opinion private. The comments come as Cornyn faces a tight reelection campaign against Democrat challenger MJ Hegar, who lags in the polls by only a handful of percentage points. The move fits a pattern of a number of threatened Republican senators who are now distancing themselves from Trump out of the concern that he risks their chances of holding their seats.
U.S.The IndependentParamount shooting: Police open fire on sexual assault suspect at Hollywood studios
Police in Hollywood have fired shots during a standoff with a man suspected of carrying out a sexual assault. Officers swarmed on Paramount Studios on Sunday night after the man barricaded himself into one of the buildings at the site. A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told CBS News that police opened fire before the suspect ran off.
BusinessBusiness InsiderMark Zuckerberg reportedly signed off on a Facebook algorithm change that throttled traffic to progressive news sites — and one site says that quiet change cost them $400,00 to $600,000 a year
Mark Zuckerberg signed off on a change to Facebook's algorithm in late 2017 that throttled traffic to progressive news organizations "more than previously planned," following concerns the algorithm change would otherwise disproportionately impact conservative media, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. In particular, the move affected Mother Jones, a left-leaning news outlet known for its investigations, WSJ reported. On Friday, the Mother Jones Editor in Chief said that the move had cost the outlet $400,000 to $600,000, and that Facebook had lied to them about the change in meetings in 2017.
U.S.USA TODAY'Overjoyed': Missing Zion National Park hiker Holly Courtier found alive after 12 days
A California woman who was missing for nearly two weeks at Zion National Park in Utah was found safely on Sunday and reunited with her family. Holly Suzanne Courtier, 38, hadn't been seen since riding a private shuttle into the park's Grotto area on Oct. 6. Park rangers located Courtier after receiving a “credible tip from a park visitor,” the National Park Service said in a news release, adding that Courtier has since left the park with her family.
PoliticsThe WeekMeadows directly contradicts Trump's claim that Senate Republicans would support a larger stimulus bill
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows doesn't sound too supportive of President Trump's optimism on another coronavirus stimulus bill. Meadows was pessimistic about stimulus talks on Monday, saying "Senate Republicans have been very vocal in terms of their lack of support of a number that isn't even close to what the President has already supported at the $1.8 trillion range." His view of the gridlocked negotiations are in line with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.
PoliticsThe IndependentA secret identity, hid in an overhead plane bin and potentially the first First Lady to work: Everything you need to know about Jill Biden
She may be on the verge of becoming America's first lady if her husband wins the White House, but don't expect Dr Jill Biden to give up her teaching career. For Dr Biden, who has four university degrees, says she plans on continuing to work full time as a community college professor even if her husband becomes the world's most powerful politician. If that plays out Dr Biden, who has five grandchildren, would become the first first lady to to have a career outside of the White House.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Black officers break from unions over Trump endorsements
Police unions have largely supported President Trump's reelection, amid mass demonstrations over police brutality and accusations of systemic racism. But a number of Black law enforcement officers are speaking out, saying their concerns over entering the 2020 political fray were ignored.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: True claim about Harris failing bar exam on first try and Barrett's law school rank
The claim: Kamala Harris failed the bar exam on her first attempt, while Amy Coney Barrett graduated at the top of her law school class Some of the most-watched moments from Judge Amy Coney Barrett's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee were her exchanges with Sen. Kamala Harris. One user took to Facebook to compare the qualifications of the conservative Supreme Court nominee and the Democratic vice presidential nominee. "Kamala Harris failed the bar 1st time.
U.S.NBC NewsWhat police plan to do about armed men at the polls on Election Day
The situation is compounded by the increasing threat of right-wing militia groups and a president who has called for an “army” of poll watchers to monitor contested election areas. In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has cast doubt about the integrity of the election and repeatedly refused to say that he'd accept the results. Federal authorities, meanwhile, disrupted an alleged militia plot to kidnap Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and target a second Democratic governor, Ralph Northam of Virginia.
U.S.INSIDERA Hasidic Jewish wedding in New York that expected 10,000 guests is stopped by New York officials over coronavirus infection fears
New York officials have stopped a Hasidic Jewish wedding that was expected to have 10,000 people attend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. "Look, you can get married, you just can't have 1,000 people at your wedding," Cuomo said in a press conference on Saturday. Tensions between the Orthodox community and New York City have escalated since local authorities put some of their neighborhoods on lockdown earlier this month after a spike in infections.
BusinessBusiness InsiderChipotle is killing one of customers' favorite ways to get free food
Chipotle is now charging $0.25 for a side tortilla. The free tortilla hack has historically been one of customers' favorite ways to get free food from the chain. Chipotle has been able to monitor ingredient costs and portion control more closely during the pandemic, as more people order online and via app.
PoliticsThe Independent‘It's beautiful’: Trump says women like him because he improved dishwasher pressure
Donald Trump has suggested that his administration's actions on dishwasher pressure meant women supported him. Without providing details on policy, the US president told supporters on Sunday that “the women come up to me, the women they say dont like me, they actually do like me a lot”. And that, said the Republican candidate, was because he “freed up” dishwashers to dispense more water.
- LifestyleYahoo News Video
Cruise ship rescues 24 people from boat off Florida coast
A Carnival Cruise Line ship rescued two dozen people, including two children, from a sinking boat 37 miles off the Florida coast, the cruise line reported Saturday.
HealthINSIDERFormer clients of ex-'Real Housewives' star Teddi Mellencamp's extreme diet program say they were limited to 700 calories, ate mostly soup for dinner, and had to do an hour of cardio each day
In September, anonymous allegations surfaced online that All In, the diet and "accountability" program created by the former Bravo star Teddi Mellencamp, encouraged unhealthy eating, with coaches who weren't certified. Three different women who signed up for the program told Insider about their experiences with All In, which they said encouraged them to eat fewer than 700 calories a day, and do an hour of cardio each day. "All In has always made the safety and wellbeing of our clients our top priority, and while we certainly encourage feedback as part of our efforts to constantly improve, we strongly object to these claims that our methods and practices were the cause of any of these alleged issues," a representative for All In wrote in an email.
“Until solar and wind power take more of the energy load, I like not paying an arm and a leg to heat my house.”
“It is imperative to ramp down greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.”
“Any kind of ban on fracking would cause severe damage to our stressed economy.”
“Climate scientists are urging us to leave all fossil fuels in the ground so that they’ll never be burned. That includes natural gas.”
“Any immediate economic repercussions to the economy can be offset if oil-and-gas companies are made to pay their fair share.”