| Postmaster general says he'll pause cutbacks that threatened voting — but service slowdowns might persist Posted: 18 Aug 2020 12:03 PM PDT  The embattled postmaster general is set to testify in front of the Senate on Friday and the House on Monday over concerns about funding and the election.
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| Barr announces 1,000 arrests, including suspects in 90 murders under Operation Legend Posted: 19 Aug 2020 01:02 PM PDT  Suspects in 90 homicides have been arrested under Operation Legend, the Trump administration deployment of federal officers to nine U.S. cities so far
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| McConnell challenges McGrath to socially distanced debate Posted: 19 Aug 2020 12:00 PM PDT  Republican Mitch McConnell laid down a challenge Wednesday to his Democratic opponent in Kentucky — a socially distanced debate with no notes on statewide television. McConnell, the Senate majority leader who is seeking a seventh term in the November election, issued the debate challenge in a letter to Democrat Amy McGrath's campaign. "This would be a debate just between the two of us," McConnell wrote.
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| Teens with nearly $2 million in narcotics arrested at border, feds say Posted: 18 Aug 2020 06:45 PM PDT  The 18-year-olds, who were not immediately identified, were caught after others loaded up the vehicle and then slipped away, authorities said.
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| Disappointed UNC students are making tragic TikToks about their dorm rooms, bills, and roommates after campus housing closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks Posted: 19 Aug 2020 09:27 AM PDT  After the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill switched to remote learning, its students took their frustrations to TikTok.
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| Austrian Airlines fires a flight attendant for chanting anti-Semitic slogans at a far-right rally Posted: 19 Aug 2020 08:26 AM PDT  The ousted flight attendant, Christina Kohl, is running for a seat on the Vienna municipal council on a far-right ticket.
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| DNC Brings Back Women’s March Leaders Ousted over Anti-Semitism Allegations Posted: 18 Aug 2020 07:40 PM PDT  The Democratic National Convention has brought in two speakers who were ousted from the Women's March in 2019 over allegations of anti-Semitism.Tamika Mallory, a former co-president of the march, spoke on Monday at a virtual meeting of the Democratic Black Caucus. In 2018, Mallory attended an address by anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, during which Farrakhan labeled Jews "satanic" and called them his "enemy." Mallory posted on social media after the event that Farrakhan was the "GOAT," or greatest of all time.In January 2019, Mallory refused to denounce Farrakhan when pressed by Megan McCain during an appearance on The View. The DNC dropped its sponsorship of the Women's March following the refusal. Additionally, according to an investigation in Tablet, Mallory and co-chair Carmen Perez blamed Jews as a collective for exploiting people of color at the first meeting of the Women's March.Linda Sarsour, another march organizer, spoke at a Tuesday meeting of the DNC's Muslims and Allies Assembly. Sarsour who has a history of controversial comments on Jews and Israel, and apologized in 2018 for failing to condemn anti-Semitism among march organizers."If what you're reading all day long, morning and night, in the Jewish media is that Linda Sarsour and Minister Farrakhan are the existential threats to the Jewish community, something really bad is gonna happen and we gonna miss the mark on it," Sarsour said at a November 2017 event on combating anti-Semitism.
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| Former counterterrorism chief: Trump defeat may prompt right-wing terror attacks Posted: 18 Aug 2020 12:09 PM PDT  The former head of the National Counterterrorism Center said he would not be surprised if right-wing domestic terrorist groups stage attacks in the United States around this November's presidential election.
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| Girl who prayed for end to gun violence is killed in shooting, Wisconsin police say Posted: 18 Aug 2020 01:10 PM PDT  "God, can you make it better?" Anisa Scott prayed. "They won't stop shooting, they won't stop killing."
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| Hot, dry and dangerous: Firefighters are battling 29 wildfires across California amid triple-digit temperatures Posted: 17 Aug 2020 07:49 PM PDT  There are 29 active fires across the state as of Monday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
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| Then there were 5: Mississippi group narrows flag options Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:46 AM PDT  A group recommending a new Mississippi state flag chose five final designs Tuesday — three with a magnolia blossom, one with a magnolia tree and one with a shield that has wavy lines representing water. Mississippi legislators voted in late June to retire the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem that's broadly condemned as racist. The law shelving the old flag created the commission to come up with a new design that cannot include the Confederate battle emblem and must have the phrase, "In God We Trust."
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| Hiker rescued in New Mexico after being lost in the woods for two weeks Posted: 18 Aug 2020 12:57 PM PDT  The man suffered from chronic back pain and again injured his back while hiking and could not stand or walk," the Santa Fe Fire Department said.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams NBC News for 'totally false and divisive' clickbait on her DNC speech Posted: 18 Aug 2020 11:22 PM PDT  The Democratic National Convention formally nominated Joe Biden as its presidential candidate on Tuesday night, but the roll call of states and territories also included the votes for runner-up Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a prominent Sanders supporter, seconded his nomination, and this is how NBC News recapped her short nominating speech: "In one of the shortest speeches of the DNC, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez did not endorse Joe Biden." After being criticized for political illiteracy, NBC News deleted the tweet and issued a clarification about how conventions work.> Editor's note and clarification (1/2): > > This tweet should have included more detail on the nominating process.> > We have deleted the tweet to prevent its further spread, but it can be seen here for the record. pic.twitter.com/txXo4CCMOt> > — NBC News (@NBCNews) August 19, 2020The framing had already spread by that point:> now the misleading headline gets picked up by the partisan FB pipeline. pic.twitter.com/Qx49vBw0Yk> > — Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) August 19, 2020And Ocasio-Cortez — who tweeted her congratulations to Biden and said she "deeply look[s] forward to fighting for our future together and reclaiming our democracy in November" right after her speed aired — was not impressed with NBC's "clarification."> You waited several hours to correct your obvious and blatantly misleading tweet.> > It sparked an enormous amount of hatred and vitriol, & now the misinfo you created is circulating on other networks.> > All to generate hate-clicks from a pre-recorded, routine procedural motion. https://t.co/crDlEymgMD> > — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 19, 2020"This is completely unacceptable, disappointing, and appalling," Ocasio-Cortez added. "The DNC shared the procedural purpose of my remarks to media WELL in advance. @NBC knew what was going to happen & that it was routine." And she finished with a question: "So @NBCNews how are you going to fix the incredible amount of damage and misinformation that you are now responsible for? Because a 1:15am tweet to slip under the radar after blowing up a totally false and divisive narrative across networks isn't it."More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden is already planning a failed presidency 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's assault on the Post Office The elephant in the room at the DNC
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| A 19-year-old who admitted to blackmail, revenge porn, and bullying won his primary race for the Kansas House and is now running unopposed Posted: 18 Aug 2020 10:15 AM PDT  Aaron Coleman, a 19-year-old who admitted to blackmail, revenge porn, and bullying, has won his primary race for the Kansas House of Representatives.
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| 8 Top-Rated Wireless Headphones Deals You Don’t Want to Miss Today Posted: 19 Aug 2020 11:15 AM PDT |
| Lebanon's Hezbollah 'got power but lost the country' Posted: 19 Aug 2020 06:39 AM PDT  Fifteen years after the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, Hezbollah has risen to become the overarching power in a country that is now collapsing under its feet amid a series of devastating crises. A U.N.-backed tribunal on Tuesday convicted a member of the Iranian-backed group of conspiring to kill Hariri in a 2005 bombing and acquitted three others. The verdict came at a time when Lebanon's economy has collapsed.
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| A Yale administrator told students to prepare for 'possibly deaths' — and it shows what a predictable disaster reopening is Posted: 19 Aug 2020 11:39 AM PDT  "We all should be emotionally prepared for widespread infections," a residential college head wrote in early July, the Yale Daily News reports.
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| Portland protesters set fire to county government building Posted: 18 Aug 2020 10:55 PM PDT  Protesters in Portland broke out the windows of a county government building, sprayed lighter fluid inside and set a fire in a demonstration that started Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning with clashes with police, officials said. The fire at the Multnomah Building damaged the county government's office of community involvement, where Oregon's first gay marriage took place and where protective gear has been distributed to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury. "This is the heart of our County, where people in our community come to get married, get their passports, and celebrate their cultural traditions and diversity," she said in a statement.
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| Disapproval of Trump COVID response hits new high — and many aren’t hopeful, poll says Posted: 19 Aug 2020 08:47 AM PDT  A majority of people said they were embarrassed by the response to the pandemic.
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| Fact check: Fake Trump quote about ending up in prison if Biden wins had its origin in satire Posted: 19 Aug 2020 03:35 PM PDT  The satirical claim started out as a tweet then moved onto Facebook. We rate it false.
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| Coronavirus case at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally prompts health department warning Posted: 19 Aug 2020 11:37 AM PDT  A person visited One-Eyed Jack's Saloon in Sturgis "while able to transmit the virus to others," officials said.
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| U.S. sailing near Taiwan 'extremely dangerous' says China Posted: 19 Aug 2020 05:17 AM PDT  China has told the U.S. Navy that its recent sailing near Taiwan is "extremely dangerous."
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| 15 Home Decor Styles We’re Shopping at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Posted: 19 Aug 2020 06:45 AM PDT |
| US tells Russia that China has secret and rapidly expanding nuclear warhead arsenal Posted: 19 Aug 2020 10:01 AM PDT  Arms control discussions between the US and Russia concluded Tuesday in Vienna, with both countries walking away from the table with concerns unaddressed.The most contentious element of the discussions involved China, and whether or not the country should be included in any future arms treaties.
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| The Air Force Recovered a Live French Missile in Florida Posted: 19 Aug 2020 05:45 AM PDT  The missile was "like having a gun with a bullet in the chamber, but on safety."
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| Senator: 'I will be vindicated' in Confederate monument case Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:04 PM PDT  A Virginia state senator charged with damaging a Confederate monument said Tuesday that she will beat the case against her. Police in the city of Portsmouth said Monday that they charged Lucas and several others with conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000. The charges stem from a June 10 protest that drew hundreds of people to a Confederate monument in Portsmouth.
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| Chinese politics students at Princeton 'will be given code names to protect identity from Beijing' Posted: 19 Aug 2020 10:54 AM PDT  American universities will reportedly offer Chinese students code names and the opportunity to opt-out of political discussions to protect them from being targeted under Beijing's new draconian national security law for Hong Kong. Several of America's top institutions will offer warning labels when their classes resume in the autumn, according to the Wall Street Journal, amid fears the new law could lead to students and teachers facing prosecution from Chinese authorities. Chinese politics students at Princeton University will be given codes to use instead of their names when submitting their work, while Harvard Business school will allow students to sit out class discussions on politically sensitive issues, the newspaper reported. The new national security law, aimed at stamping out anti-government protests in Hong Kong, gives the authorities the ability to impose lengthy jail terms for vaguely defined national security crimes, like subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces. Its reach has already been felt outside the city - with Beijing targeting Hong Kong activists based in the US earlier this month. The new rules also apply to those who are not Hong Kong residents, suggesting that foreigners who speak in support of the city's independence or criticise the administration could be prosecuted upon entering Hong Kong or mainland China.
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| Reluctantly, Jill Biden Steps Onto Stage as a Potential First Lady Posted: 18 Aug 2020 10:59 AM PDT  Jill Biden knows her political value to her husband's presidential bid.
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| Trump critics say he should be facing widespread 'outrage' over his embrace of Laura Loomer Posted: 19 Aug 2020 10:31 AM PDT  Some of President Trump's critics are confused as to why his embrace of self-described Islamophobe Laura Loomer, who just won a GOP congressional primary in Florida, hasn't elicited more outrage.The Intercept's Mehdi Hassan asked why there haven't been "demands for an apology," calls for GOP lawmakers to condemn Loomer and Trump's praise-filled tweet congratulating her victory, or editorials about the "mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hatred." Ultimately, he concluded, the incident shows "nobody really cares about Islamophobia."> People get upset when some Muslims compare our plight/current situation to Jews in Europe circa 1920s/early 1930s. But the president tonight praised/endorsed a woman who calls Islam a 'cancer' & demands Muslims be banned from public office. And most journalists have said nothing.> > -- Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 19, 2020The Washington Post's Greg Sargent agreed Trump's reaction to Loomer "should be a much bigger story," deeming it "reactionary illiberalism, naked bigotry, and nativist incitement of anti-immigrant hate." Loomer, for context, has called Muslims "savages" and was banned by Twitter, Uber, and Lyft after making blatantly Islamophobic comments, though that's just a snapshot of her extremist intolerance. Sargent ended his Wednesday column in the Post by arguing "we need to get the language right this time" when discussing Trump since his words and actions are an example of "extreme radicalization" rather than just being part of "culture war politics" or an attempt to stoke divisions.Finally, The National Journal's Josh Kraushaar said it "speaks volumes" that Trump lauded Loomer, who he predicts will lose her election, while simultaneously ignoring the victor in another Florida GOP primary race, Rep. Byron Rooney (R-Fla.), who is Black. > Laura Loomer isn't going to be heading to Congress.> > Donalds, who also won a GOP primary last night, will be. https://t.co/r6T8Le6ysn> > -- Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) August 19, 2020More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden is already planning a failed presidency 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's assault on the Post Office The elephant in the room at the DNC
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| The Coast Guard and police are on the hunt for a renegade pilot who flew a plane under a busy Michigan bridge Posted: 19 Aug 2020 03:02 PM PDT  Coast Guardsmen on patrol less than a few miles from the bridge witnessed and filmed the illegal stunt, but could not identify the plane.
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| Before 'Coup 53,' the US and Iran were old friends Posted: 19 Aug 2020 02:47 PM PDT  The British- and American-backed plot to overthrow Iran's prime minister in 1953 laid the groundwork for the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and decades of hostility with the U.S. A documentary about the plot released on Aug. 19 offers new details of what happened.I believe it is worth recalling the time before the events chronicled in "Coup 53," when the two countries had a distinctly different relationship.In the 1800s, American missionaries journeyed to what was then called Persia. The missionaries helped build important institutions – schools, colleges, hospitals and medical schools – in Persia, many of which still exist. Dr. Joseph Plumb Cochran, an American physician fluent in Persian, Turkish, Kurdish and Assyrian, founded a hospital in Urmia in 1879, as well as Iran's first medical school. When Cochran died at Urmia in northwestern Iran in 1905, over 10,000 people attended his funeral. This image clashes with most American stereotypes of Iran and its people, and is at odds with decades of anti-Iranian sentiment emanating from Washington. Iran and the United States, in fact, have a deep history of mutual respect and friendship.From 1834, when the first Protestant American mission was established in Urmia, until 1953, when the CIA's involvement in Iran's internal affairs set the United States on the road to conflict with Tehran, Americans were the good guys. Imperial bad guysMy interest in the history of Iranian-American relations stems from 45 years as an archaeologist specializing in Iran, and from research on Iranian history in the context of changes undergone by Iran's nomadic population through time.For years, Americans have seen images of Iranians shouting "Death to America." Now it's the country's lawmakers doing it. President Trump returns the sentiment, recently threatening Iran with death and destruction.But before all that happened, when Americans were the good guys, there were other countries who were instead reviled by Iran. The bad guys, at whose hands Iran suffered most, were Russia and Great Britain. Those two nations – often at the invitation of Iran's leaders – economically exploited Persia to further their own imperial ambitions, using sustained diplomatic, military and economic pressure.After two ill-judged wars fought against Russia – the First (1804-1813) and Second Russo-Persian Wars (1826-1828) – Persia (the name Iran was officially adopted in 1935) lost large amounts of territory to the czar.Much later, Russia found another means of exerting control over the Persian crown, loaning millions of rubles to its rulers, like Mozaffar ed-Din Shah, who reigned from 1896-1902 and needed capital to fund his lavish lifestyle.With the exception of the Anglo-Persian War (1856-1857), Persian relations with Great Britain were less openly hostile. But what they lacked in martial vigor was more than compensated for by economic exploitation. Towards the end of the 19th century, the shah granted exclusive concessions to the British for everything from telegraph lines to tobacco. Rights to Iran's oil were given to the Anglo-Persian (later Anglo-Iranian) Oil Company. So assured were Britain and Russia in their control of Persia that, in 1907, they signed the infamous Anglo-Russian Convention. That agreement divided the country – unbeknownst to its Parliament, let alone its inhabitants – into Russian, British and "neutral" spheres of influence. After it became public it provoked the outrage of ordinary Persians and the international community at large. America the goodIran's relations with the United States were completely different. The 19th- and early 20th-century history of British and Russian imperial ambitions and involvement in Iran put Iran in a dependent, exploited position at the hands of the governments of these two countries. But the presence in Iran of American missionaries and, later, invited government technocrats was of an entirely different quality. These were Americans offering aid, with no expectation of advantage to be gained officially for the United States government. American Presbyterian missionary efforts in Iran began in 1834 and focused on education, with 117 schools established around Urmia by 1895. Efforts were also directed at medical and social welfare. These were nongovernmental missions. The U.S. government was conspicuous by its absence in Iran and Iranian affairs. By the late 19th century, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions had opened new stations in cities across northern Iran, from Tehran to Mashhad. American diplomatic relations with Persia were established in 1883. A decade later the American Presbyterian Hospital was founded in Tehran by John G. Wishard.After the First World War, Presbyterian schools for both boys and girls proliferated, the most famous of which were the American College of Tehran for boys, established in 1925, and Iran Bethel School for girls. In 1910, the Persian Parliament, aware that their country's finances were in disarray, invited the U.S. to identify a "disinterested American expert as Treasurer-general to reorganise and conduct collection and disbursement of revenue." Despite Russian attempts to block the initiative, W. Morgan Shuster, a distinguished career civil servant, was appointed by Persia in February 1911. He arrived in Tehran in May, bringing with him four other Americans. The mission was a failure, lasting only eight months, and, unsurprisingly, was adroitly sabotaged by the combined efforts of British and Russian diplomats in Tehran.The country's financial situation after the First World War was still precarious. With none of the colonialist baggage associated with the two European superpowers, America was turned to, almost as a last resort, to fix what ailed Iran. Riza Shah (father of the last shah) appointed an American, Arthur C. Millspaugh, as the administrator-general of the finances of Persia. When Millspaugh arrived in Tehran in 1922, a newspaper editorial addressed him with these words: "You are the last doctor called to the death-bed of a sick person. If you fail, the patient will die. If you succeed, the patient will live."Despite his often testy relations with foreigners, Riza Shah acknowledged Millspaugh's American Financial Mission was "the last hope of Persia." The fact that the mission was far from an unqualified success does not detract from its importance. Nor did it diminish America's image as an honest broker in Iranian eyes, in contrast to that of Russia and Great Britain.Of course, not every Iranian-American interaction during this period was positive. Robert Imbrie, the American consul in Tehran, was brutally murdered in 1924, allegedly because a fanatical religious leader accused him of being a Baha'i and poisoning a well. Riza Shah used the episode to crack down on dissidents and impose strict controls on public gatherings. America the badAmerica's benign image in Iran was forever shattered in 1953 when the CIA, working with Great Britain, engineered a coup against Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister, who had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Even though the overthrow of Mossadegh damaged Iranian trust in America, the years just prior to Iranian revolution in 1979 saw the number of Iranian students in the United States steadily rise. Over one-third of the approximately 100,000 Iranian students pursuing university degrees abroad in 1977 were in the U.S. By the time of the Islamic revolution two years later, that number had climbed to 51,310, making Iran by far the biggest single source of foreign students in America, with 17% of the total foreign student population. The next-largest contributor of foreign students, Nigeria, accounted for only 6%. "Iranian students have been here for nearly a century … there are deep and abiding connections that reveal themselves when you look at the historical record," researcher Steven Ditto, who wrote a report on Iranian students in the U.S., told The Washington Post in 2017. Even today, some Iranians still manage to overcome the hurdles they face in studying in America. Two of my current Ph.D. students in Near Eastern archaeology come from Iran. In 2019, there were over 12,000 Iranian students in the U.S. The legacy of American goodwill, personal friendship and doing the right thing by Iran has not been completely lost, although scenes of anti-American demonstrations against the Great Satan on the streets of Tehran – some organized by the government – may make it seem as though America's good relationship with Iran has been lost irretrievably. Deep friendships dating back well over a century can withstand a great deal. A reservoir of goodwill and affection may lie dormant while political storms rage. Iran and America were good friends in the past, and for good reason. I believe that Americans would do well to remember that.This is an updated version of an article originally published on July 31, 2018.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Iran: decades of unsustainable water use has dried up lakes and caused environmental destruction * US and Iran have a long, troubled historyProf Daniel Thomas Potts is not currently in receipt of any external grants but received funding in former employment at the Univ. of Sydney (Australia) from the Australian Research Council, specifically for fieldwork in Iran, from 2003-2012.
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| Iowa governor's push to reopen schools descends into chaos Posted: 19 Aug 2020 12:35 PM PDT  An aggressive push by Iowa's pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe. At issue is Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' mandate in July that districts offer at least 50% classroom instruction. The conflict intensified Wednesday when the statewide teachers union announced a lawsuit challenging the governor's ability to make such decisions for local districts.
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| Syria agrees to let Russia expand Hmeimim air base Posted: 19 Aug 2020 11:02 AM PDT |
| Golden State Killer faces his victims in court on first day of hearings Posted: 18 Aug 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Former Police Officer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, faces his victims in court Tuesday on the first of four days of hearings before he is sentenced to life in prison.
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| Schools Touted by DeSantis Now in a Quarantine Nightmare Posted: 19 Aug 2020 01:10 AM PDT  MIAMI—On Sunday afternoon, South Fork High School teacher Karen Resciniti fielded a phone call from principal Jay Blavatt. Sometime in the previous week, when thousands of students returned to public schools across Martin County, Florida, where South Fork is located, she had come in contact with a teen who was a presumed positive coronavirus case, Resciniti recalled her boss telling her. "I knew it was coming," Resciniti told The Daily Beast. "But I was still shocked that a student in my classroom was actually one of the first. I was like, 'Here we go!'"Now Resciniti is among three teachers and 95 students from South Fork who have been placed into quarantine based on the strong probability they had close interactions with the teen in question. (Blavatt did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.) Looking to contain possible outbreaks at Resciniti's school, another high school, and three elementary schools, Martin County Public Schools officials have quarantined 292 students and 16 employees since brick-and-mortar schooling resumed last Tuesday, according to district spokeswoman Jennifer DeShazo. Two other school districts in north Florida had also quarantined a total of 10 students and teachers.The situation might not seem outwardly remarkable in a country where two major colleges—UNC Chapel Hill and Notre Dame—have already halted in-person classes and thousands of public-school students have quickly been thrust into COVID-19 quarantine. But Martin County Public Schools have earned a dramatic leading role in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign for children, teenagers, and teachers to return to classrooms, the latest chapter of his months-long push for the Sunshine State to reopen despite dire warnings from public-health experts.During a briefing last Wednesday, DeSantis relayed a conversation he had with Martin County Superintendent Laurie Gaylord in which she suggested reopening public schools was a mission akin to a Navy SEAL operation. DeSantis, himself a Navy veteran, intoned, "Just as the SEALs surmounted obstacles to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, so, too, would the Martin County school system find a way to provide parents with a meaningful choice of in-person instruction or continued distance learning—all in, all the time."The problem is that the already-high number of quarantined kids and employees entering just the second week of school could spell cascading COVID-19 chaos—no matter how cinematic the governor's metaphor. After posting daily positivity rates in the low single digits between Aug. 11 and Aug. 15, Martin County's daily rate jumped to 12.2 percent on Monday. The county has tallied 3,967 total cases since the pandemic began. These Florida Counties Are Feeling the Heat From DeSantis to Reopen SchoolsA few days after making them, DeSantis played down his remarks, and DeShazo told The Daily Beast that Gaylord's comments about the Navy SEALs were designed to inspire her executive staff. "She shared with the Governor that she had encouraged our district leadership team to approach the reopening of schools using the characteristics of leadership, risk mitigation, and diligence exhibited by SEALs as guiding principles," DeShazo said. "Her intent was to honor the commitment and bravery displayed by SEAL Team Six while also demonstrating to the Governor the district's commitment to safely reopening schools."But DeSantis critics argued comparing everyday learning with wartime covert missions was just a window into how local and state leaders are unnecessarily putting children, teachers, and school personnel at risk. "Those comments are so tone-deaf," said St. Petersburg, Florida, physician Mona Mangat, who is also a member of the activist group Committee to Protect Medicare. "Schools are being forced to make decisions that don't put human life at the top of the algorithm. That scares me." The governor's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Resciniti, who is also president of Martin County's public schools teachers union, said the Navy SEALs comparisons were not well received by rank-and-file employees, either. "Navy SEALs sign up for the most dangerous duty," she said. "The analogy does not reflect what teachers do at all."What's more, exposed teachers are not exactly going into isolation at home. Rescinitti said she and exposed colleagues who are not exhibiting symptoms still have to report for work while exposed students do online classes at home. The teachers in question are isolated in classrooms by themselves: Rescinitti said that for the last two days, she has gone into a quiet room to teach lessons via a computer.Her students who are not in quarantine and are in the physical classroom are taught by another South Fork teacher who takes on an additional workload, Rescinitti explained. "It's very unfair to the other teachers," she said. "It's a logistical nightmare, beyond silly and poor planning."DeShazo said Martin County Public Schools considers all district employees to be essential workers and that they may be asked to continue working to maintain staffing for critical services as long as they are not experiencing any symptoms of illness. Sick Schoolkids Could Send Florida Off a Coronavirus Cliff"If continuing to report to work because they are not ill, employees will have their temperature checked upon arrival, keep a mask on, and remain socially distanced at all times," DeShazo said. "Employees may not report to work if they are exhibiting symptoms of illness, awaiting test results, or have tested positive for COVID-19."However, the district does not test students or employees for COVID-19, DeShazo said. The district only learns of possible positive cases from the state health department's Martin County office, but all public schools employees are eligible for free testing with 24-hour results through a partnership with local hospital, Cleveland Clinic Martin Health, DeShazo said. A health department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The school district takes this very seriously," DeShazo said. "The health and safety of students and staff is our top priority." For her part, Rescinitti said no one had checked her temperature when she went to work the last two days. "I am nervous," she said. "I am high risk and compromised because I have asthma." Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Official who briefed Trump on Hurricane Florence said president was obsessed with which way storm was spinning 'like a 3rd grader' Posted: 19 Aug 2020 10:57 AM PDT  Former US Department of Homeland Security Chief Miles Taylor claimed Donald Trump was unfocused during security briefings, likening him to a distracted elementary school student.During an interview on CNN, Mr Taylor recounted a story about an interaction with Mr Trump during which he claimed the president became fascinated by the way hurricanes spin rather than staying focused on the potential damage and loss of life the storm could cause if the White House did not act.
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| Biden says he picked Harris as his running mate because 'the government should look like the country' Posted: 18 Aug 2020 05:48 PM PDT  In their first joint interview together, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) shared with People how they see their partnership working, should they be elected in November.Harris said she and Biden have already agreed she will be "the last one in the room — and there to give him honest feedback. Being vice president to Joe Biden to me means supporting his agenda and supporting him in every way." Biden said it was important to him that he have someone like Harris on the ticket because she has an extraordinary "intellectual capacity, educational background, backbone, and stature. It's going to change a lot."While serving as attorney general in California, Harris became friends with Biden's late son, Beau Biden, who was attorney general of Delaware. Harris said that "this is how I got to really know Joe as a person, hearing about him through his son. But I also want to add this: Joe Biden had the audacity to say he was going to have a woman as his vice president. He didn't apologize for it. In a country where we still have so much to do to fight toward our ideals, he just fast-forwarded the whole thing."Biden says it just made sense for him to select a woman as his running mate. "The government should look like the country," he told People. "There's a new law of physics in politics: Any country that does not engage more than half their population in sharing the full responsibilities of governance and power is absolutely going to lose."More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden is already planning a failed presidency The elephant in the room at the DNC 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's assault on the Post Office
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| NY AG Letitia James called the NRA a 'terrorist organization.' Will it hurt her case? Posted: 19 Aug 2020 11:47 AM PDT  NY AG Letitia James said investigating the NRA would be her "top issue" if elected. She made good on her pledge, but will her comments hurt her case?
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| Seized trawler had Australia's largest cocaine haul on board Posted: 18 Aug 2020 08:24 PM PDT  Cocaine pulled from a seized trawler was confirmed Wednesday to be Australia's largest haul of the illicit drug. The Coralynne was intercepted Saturday night after Australian intelligence officers saw it receive drugs transferred from a larger Chinese fishing boat that might have come from South America. The haul had been estimated at up to 1 metric ton (1.1 U.S. tons) of cocaine before it was weighed.
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| How Ukraine's audacious secret service successfully scammed Putin and his mercenaries Posted: 19 Aug 2020 08:30 AM PDT  Ukraine tricked 32 Russian mercenaries into confessing their jobs and almost flying straight into Ukrainian custody.
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| Pakistan's PM Khan plays down differences with ally Saudi Arabia Posted: 19 Aug 2020 02:04 AM PDT  Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has played down differences with longtime ally Saudi Arabia after his army chief visited Riyadh in a bid to ease a row over policy towards the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. The dispute, brought on by Pakistani demands for Saudi Arabia to take a firmer line against India for what Pakistan says are its human rights violations in Kashmir, has threatened Riyadh's financial support for Islamabad. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had no differences, Khan said in a late Tuesday interview, backing away from criticism by his foreign minister this month who suggested Saudi Arabia was indifferent on Kashmir.
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| A New York couple was charged with harassment after their Black neighbor said they threw feces and planted 'dead squirrels' on her property Posted: 19 Aug 2020 02:22 PM PDT  The community is uplifting Jennifer McLeggan by way of protests, fundraisers, and men standing guard outside her house every night for over a month.
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