PoliticsThe IndependentMitch McConnell’s hand is discoloured and bandaged – but he insists nothing is wrong
After photos showing his hand discoloured and bandaged went viral earlier this week, Mitch McConnell denied that he had any health issues. The Republican Senate Majority Leader was pictured reaching down to pick up a face mask he had dropped, showing the skin on his right hand much darker than the rest of his body, and a bandage around his thumb. The Independent has contacted Senator McConnell's office for comment but was yet to receive a response.
PoliticsThe WeekFox News' Chris Wallace is 'jealous' of the final presidential debate
One thing is for sure: Thursday night's presidential debate was a far more civil and — dare we say — normal event than the first. Moderated by NBC's Kristen Welker, the candidates stayed more or less on topic, something the first debate's moderator, Fox News' Chris Wallace, didn't fail to notice. Asked for his response to the second and final debate, Wallace said: "First of all, I'm jealous.
U.S.National ReviewThird-Degree Murder Charge Dismissed against Derek Chauvin in Death of George Floyd
Video shows Chauvin pressing his knee onto Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while he is handcuffed and yelling that he can't breathe. Cahill also upheld the charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter against the officers – Tou Thao, Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng – who were present at the time of the video. More from National Review Atlanta Mayor Orders Protesters to 'Clear Out' After 8-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shot Portland DA Declines to Prosecute Host of Riot-Related Offenses, Citing 'Depth of Emotion' Surrounding Racial Justice Ammon Bundy Comes Out in Support of BLM, Calls to Defund the Police
PoliticsPoliticoBiden issues a pre-emptive strike on Giuliani, opening the door to Trump
For all the anticipation about how President Donald Trump would deploy Hunter Biden's business deals in the debate, it was Joe Biden who became the first to raise Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has been leading the effort to dig up dirt on the Bidens. "He's being used as a Russian pawn," Biden said, after name-checking Rudy and describing him as Trump's "buddy." Biden was referring to Giuliani's meeting in December in 2019 with Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker assessed by the U.S. government to be a Russian agent.
U.S.INSIDERA sheriff's sergeant is questioning the rescued Zion National Park hiker's story, saying there's no way she could have survived for 2 weeks off river water
Holly Courtier was found in Zion National Park in Utah on Sunday, nearly two weeks after she disappeared on a day hike. Sgt. Darrell Cashin, who helped the search-and-rescue effort, now says he has questions about Courtier's story and pointed out discrepancies. For example, Courtier's daughter told CNN that her mother hit her head early in the hike and became so dehydrated that she couldn't open her mouth.
U.S.Associated PressEx-49er Dana Stubblefield sentenced to 15 years to life
Former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Thursday for raping a developmentally disabled woman who prosecutors said he lured to his home with the promise of a babysitting job. The sentence was issued by a judge in San Jose after denying a defense motion for a new trial, the Mercury News reported. Last week, the Sixth District Court of Appeal denied a related petition filed on behalf of Stubblefield by his attorneys.
PoliticsThe IndependentLindsey Graham accused of dodging debate as polls show challenger Jaime Harrison closing in
Senator Lindsey Graham skipped a debate and insisted he would not return to his home state of South Carolina until Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the senate, as polls showed him facing an increasingly tough re-election bid. The senator did not attend the debate previously scheduled for Wednesday against his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, stating at a rally earlier in the week that he was “headed back to Washington” and adding: “I'm not coming back until Amy Coney Barrett is a Supreme Court Justice.” Recent polls have shown Mr Harrison, associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a former chair of the state's Democratic Party, rising in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent.
HealthBusiness InsiderA 28-year-old volunteer in AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine trial has died, but a report says he was in the control group and given a placebo
A volunteer in AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine trial in Brazil has died. The man, 28, died from complications of COVID-19, Brazil's O Globo newspaper and CNN Brasil reported. According to O Globo, he was in the control group and was given a placebo instead of the trial vaccine.
- WorldAssociated Press
NATO chief rules out rushed, early exit from Afghanistan
As rising violence threatens to derail Afghan peace talks, the head of NATO said Wednesday that the military alliance will not leave Afghanistan until security conditions allow, even as some U.S. troops might be hoping to be back home in time for Christmas. “We will make a decision together, coordinate our efforts based on the principle 'in together, adjust together, and when the time is right, when the conditions are met, then we will leave together,' but not before,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. President Donald Trump tweeted on Oct. 7 that “we should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas.”
PoliticsMiami HeraldAnother round of $1,200 stimulus checks? Pelosi says Dems, White House closer on deal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that there has been progress between Democrats and the Trump administration on a second stimulus package — but it could be “a while” until a bill is written and passed. On another round of stimulus checks, Pelosi said, “we've come, I think, to terms.” Democrats haven't reached an agreement with the White House on state and local funds, election and census provisions and business liability protections, the publication reported.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestKobe Bryant’s Widow Vanessa Lists Tuscan-Style Southern California Home
It's unclear how much the couple paid for the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house seven years ago. The exterior of the single-story abode features a charming brick façade with wall-climbing greenery; inside, the 2,300-square-foot home boasts lofted wood-beam ceilings, hardwood floors, and intricate chandeliers. The kitchen, which revolves around an oversize limestone-topped center island with a farmhouse sink, features a colorful patterned backsplash.
HealthBusiness InsiderA 26-year-old coronavirus patient who was pronounced brain dead in June just walked out of the hospital a survivor
A 26-year-old North Carolina coronavirus survivor returned home Tuesday after being declared brain dead in June. She had suffered complications including strokes, which have struck other young coronavirus patients for reasons doctors don't fully understand. Doctors also don't know why some critically ill young patients who were previously healthy die while others bounce back.
PoliticsAssociated PressElection 2020 Today: Election strategies, ballot issues
Here's what's happening Wednesday in Election 2020, 13 days until Election Day: HOW TO VOTE: AP's state-by-state interactive has details on how to vote in this election. ON THE TRAIL: President Donald Trump will be in North Carolina; Democrat Joe Biden preps for debate in Delaware; Vice President Mike Pence will be in New Hampshire and Ohio; and Kamala Harris will be in North Carolina. TODAY'S TOP STORIES: DIFFERING PRIORITIES: President Donald Trump is hopping from one must-win stop on his electoral map to the next in the leadup to a final presidential debate that may be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign.
- WorldReuters Videos
Pope Francis's first public appearance with mask
Pope Francis wore a mask for the first time in public Date: October 20, 2020 at a prayer service with other religious leaders Location: Rome, Italy He has previously been criticized for not wearing a mask at his general audiences
WorldAssociated PressUN envoy hails early agreements in Libya talks
The U.N. envoy for Libya said Wednesday the two warring factions have agreed on issues that “directly impact the lives and welfare of the Libyan people,” noting that the thorny work to cement a cease-fire in the restive North African country will continue. Stephanie Turco Williams, the U.N. envoy, cited agreements to open air and land routes in the country, to work to ease inflammatory rhetoric in Libyan media, and to help kickstart Libya's vital oil industry, as talks in Geneva continued this week under her mediation. “I am pleased to report that the two sides have reached agreement on several important issues which directly impact the lives and welfare of the Libyan people,” she said.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest26 Neutral Rugs That Make the Case for Beige
Warm up any room with a wallet-friendly classic. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
BusinessMiami HeraldCoke bids adieu to 200 drink brands, slashing portfolio in half
The Coca-Cola Company is cutting its portfolio in half, kicking at least 200 beverage brands to the curb by end of year. The money-saving move will allow Coke to focus on its most profitable products so that it may “emerge stronger from the pandemic,” the company said in a news release Thursday. The news comes nearly a week after the beverage giant announced it would discontinue its once popular sugar-free soft drink Tab after more than 60 years on shelves across the world.
BusinessBusiness InsiderA California appeals court unanimously upheld a ruling that Uber and Lyft must reclassify their drivers as employees under the state's gig work law
A California appeals court on Thursday unanimously upheld a lower court ruling requiring Uber and Lyft to reclassify their drivers as employees under the state's gig work law, AB-5. Uber and Lyft have sought to avoid being forced to comply with the ruling by trying to convince voters to exempt them from AB-5 via a ballot measure into which the companies have poured nearly $200 million. A California appeals court handed Uber and Lyft a major legal defeat on Thursday, ruling that a lower court was correct in granting an injunction forcing the companies to reclassify their drivers as employees under the state's gig worker law AB-5.
TechnologyBBCHuawei Mate 40 phones launch despite chip freeze
That means that once its stockpile of the new Kirin 9000 processors runs out, it faces being unable to make more of the Mate 40 handsets in their current form. At present, only Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung have the expertise and equipment to manufacture 5nm chips, and both are forbidden to supply Huawei with them or any other semiconductor product whose creation involves "US technology and software". The States says the move has been taken on national security grounds, but Huawei denies posing a threat.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Former President Obama campaigns while Biden stays off the trail
Fox News contributors Lisa Boothe and Richard Fowler weigh in on President Obama campaigning for Joe Biden.
PoliticsThe WeekIntelligence officials think the Trump administration's election interference warnings are focused on the wrong country
American intelligence officials described the Trump administration's decision to focus on Iran's election disinformation campaign on Wednesday night as "concerning," characterizing efforts by Russia to be a bigger threat to destabilizing Americans' faith in the integrity of election results come Nov. 3. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe shared on Wednesday that both Russia and Iran have obtained voter registration information and that Iran specifically is using it to email Americans and "intimidate voters, incite social unrest, and damage President Trump."
- WorldAssociated Press
Germany grants Hong Kong pro-democracy protester asylum
A 22-year-old university student from Hong Kong says she has been given refugee status by Germany after demonstrating against the city's extradition law. Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees would neither confirm nor deny granting the protester asylum, citing the country's strict privacy laws. However the woman, who identified herself only as Elaine and declined to give other personal details to protect her family in Hong Kong, showed The Associated Press paperwork confirming her refugee status was granted Oct. 14.
ScienceAssociated PressNASA spacecraft sent asteroid rubble flying in sample grab
NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials said Wednesday. Scientists won't know until next week how much was gathered at asteroid Bennu — they want at least a handful of the cosmic rubble. “We really did kind of make a mess on the surface of this asteroid, but it's a good mess, the kind of mess we were hoping for,” said lead scientist Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona at Tucson.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden called Trump 'a very confused guy' during the debate when the president falsely claimed he's a far-left liberal who wants 'socialized medicine'
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden described President Donald Trump as "a very confused guy" when the president falsely claimed Biden supports "socialized medicine" during Thursday's debate. Trump repeated the false claim that 180 million Americans stand to lose their private health insurance under Biden's plan. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called President Donald Trump "a very confused guy" when the president falsely claimed Biden supports "socialized medicine" during Thursday night's presidential debate.
WorldAssociated PressUS approves $1 billion in new arms sales to Taiwan
The Trump administration has approved the sale of more than a billion dollars worth of advanced weaponry for Taiwan in a move that will enrage China and further exacerbate tensions between Washington and Beijing that have are already heated over issues such as trade, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea. The State Department announced Wednesday it had greenlighted the sale of 135 precision land attack missiles, associated equipment and training to Taiwan to improve its defense capabilities. The package is worth just over a billion dollars, it said in a statement.
“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.”