| Trump's rallies define his view of liberty: The right not to care about other people Posted: 19 Oct 2020 01:03 PM PDT  President Trump made a fateful decision last week to return to holding mass rallies despite warnings from health officials about doing so during a pandemic.
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| ‘Backhanded racism’: Biden supporters weigh in after GOP senator mocks Kamala Harris’s name Posted: 18 Oct 2020 02:12 PM PDT  After Sen. David Perdue mocked Kamala Harris's name, Democratic supporters launched a viral Twitter campaign and called the comments "backhanded racism."
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| Rudy’s ‘Russian Agent’ Pal Teases ‘Second Laptop’ With Hunter Biden Kompromat Posted: 18 Oct 2020 02:08 AM PDT  Rudy Giuliani has dismissed concerns that his latest anti-Biden smears are part of a foreign-election interference plot, but a Ukrainian lawmaker recently deemed an "active Russian agent" by the U.S. Treasury is now touting further details to come.Andrii Derkach, one of the key players in Giuliani's years-long dirt-digging mission against Joe Biden in Ukraine, piggybacked on the former New York City mayor's latest Biden smears—supposedly involving a forgotten laptop. Derkach claimed on Facebook that there is a "second laptop" with evidence of corruption involving the Biden family.Chinese Billionaire's Network Hyped Hunter Biden Dirt Weeks Before Rudy GiulianiThe claim appears to muddy the waters around Giuliani's latest "smoking gun" charge against Hunter Biden. He says they came to light after an obscure Delaware computer repair shop owner found Biden's laptop in his possession and copied the hard drive before alerting federal authorities and inexplicably Giuliani's own lawyer. Now, with Derkach jumping in with claims of a "second laptop," that would mean private computer contents allegedly connected to Hunter Biden have somehow found their way into the hands of three separate parties: A media empire controlled by a Chinese billionaire who's tight with Steve Bannon; a random Delaware shop owner who is outspoken in his support of Trump; and Derkach, a Ukrainian conspiracy theory peddler who studied at Moscow's FSB academy.Derkach wrote on Facebook about the questionable New York Post report that relied on unverified images of emails provided by Trump allies to supposedly prove a corruption scheme by Biden and his son involving Ukrainian gas company Burisma. He then said there was a second laptop, which was used by "two representatives for the interests of [Burisma founder Mykola] Zlochevsky.""That laptop was given to Ukrainian law enforcement," Derkach wrote, adding that the Burisma representatives who used the laptop were now serving as "witnesses in criminal proceedings." He said the witnesses were ready to testify about an international corruption scheme involving Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of the gas company. It has already been reported that Russian intelligence agents successfully hacked into Burisma computer networks last year, although it is not clear how much they were able to access and copy.Despite what Team Trump would have the public believe is a towering mountain of evidence, neither Joe or Hunter Biden have been charged with any wrongdoing, and Ukrainian prosecutors confirmed months ago that they had found no evidence of any crimes.Derkach is no newbie to the Biden saga. While cozying up to Trump allies like Giuliani during impeachment proceedings, he held repeated press conferences in Kyiv touting purported proof of corruption by the former vice president, and claiming it was not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election, but Ukraine. He also featured prominently in an "exposé" by the Trumpian One America News Network, and met with Giuliani in Kyiv last year as part of their anti-Biden mission. His claims have not held up under scrutiny. After Derkach was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in September for working as a foreign operative, Giuliani insisted he had not seen "any evidence" to conclusively say whether Derkach was working as a Russian agent or not. He told The Daily Beast this week that he believed it was a toss up whether his partner in the Biden smearing campaign was an active intelligence operative. "The chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50," he said.Rudy: Only '50/50' Chance I Worked With a 'Russian Spy' to Dig Dirt on Bidens and UkraineBut U.S. intelligence officials had begun warning in spring 2019 that Derkach was part of a Russian effort to worm their way into the U.S. presidential election and spread the narrative that Biden and his son were involved in nefarious corruption schemes overseas. Giuliani's allegations against Biden have evolved drastically since he first began his attacks on Trump's then presumed 2020opponent by claiming the former vice president improperly forced out a Ukrainian prosecutor. After numerous "exposés" on Biden's supposed abuse of power aired on OAN largely failed to gain much traction, Giuliani shifted his focus to Biden's son, Hunter, who he has now deemed a "national security risk."Bizarrely, even Giuliani's allegations against the younger Biden have pinballed all over the place, from his initial claim that Hunter used access to his father to line his own pockets, to his very personal attacks on his admitted struggles with substance abuse, and, perhaps most desperately, his latest smear that Hunter Biden engaged in "disgusting sexual behavior."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| Many homes likely lost in north-central Colorado fires Posted: 18 Oct 2020 10:50 AM PDT  Nearly 3,000 people were forced to flee from a fast-moving fire in north-central Colorado and authorities believe a large number of homes were destroyed. The CalWood Fire started around noon Saturday near the Cal-Wood Education Center, which is about 17 miles (27 kilometers) from downtown Boulder. The National Center for Atmospheric Research's Mesa lab recorded gusts of 59 mph (95 kph) on Saturday.
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| Unmasked man in Washington grocery store speaks out after video goes viral Posted: 19 Oct 2020 09:08 AM PDT  In the viral video, an employee confronts Scott, who said his medical condition prevents him from wearing a mask.
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| JetBlue just revealed its newest jet, the controversial Airbus A220 that the airline will be the second in the US to operate Posted: 19 Oct 2020 09:34 AM PDT  JetBlue will only the second US airline to the fly the Airbus A220, which has been a fan favorite for travelers and will give flyers a much-needed upgrade.
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| Lindsey Graham uses Amy Coney Barrett hearing to complain about Democratic rival's fundraising Posted: 17 Oct 2020 11:14 PM PDT  "I'd like to know where the hell some of it is coming from," Graham said of his opponent's campaign funds
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| 6 Russians charged over most 'destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group' Posted: 19 Oct 2020 12:03 PM PDT  The Department of Justice has announced charges against six Russian intelligence officers in connection with a series of majorly "disruptive and destructive" cyberattacks.The DOJ on Monday said that a federal grand jury had indicted six Russian computer hackers, officers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), for their role in a series of "computer intrusions and attacks" conducted from 2015 through 2019 "for the strategic benefit of Russia." This allegedly included malware attacks against Ukraine's electric power grid, as well as efforts to disrupt France's 2017 elections and the 2018 Winter Olympics.Officials also said the defendants were responsible for "destructive malware attacks that infected computers worldwide" and led to nearly $1 billion in losses.The alleged hackers, The Washington Post notes, are a part of the same intelligence agency previously charged over interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, although the indictment unsealed on Monday didn't include charges related to U.S. election interference. NBC News' Kevin Collier wrote that "naming six officers (allegedly) responsible for election meddling and destruction two weeks before the election seems a pretty clear sign." The Post reports that "officials said the announcement was not timed to the current political schedule," however. Johns Hopkins University professor Thomas Rid also described the indictment as an "incredible document," which suggests intelligence communities "must have stunning visibility into Russian military intelligence operations if today's disclosures are considered dispensable."Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers in a statement on Monday said "no country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite," saying the defendants were charged over the "most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group" and adding, "No nation will recapture greatness while behaving in this way."More stories from theweek.com Will Kansas go blue? What happened to third party candidates? If Roe falls
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| Republican candidate suggests Democrats will win Senate as Trump looks on Posted: 19 Oct 2020 04:19 PM PDT  Mark Kelly favourite to take Arizona seat
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| A preschooler who spotted a missing endangered lemur gets a lifetime pass to the San Francisco Zoo Posted: 18 Oct 2020 07:27 AM PDT  The 5-year-old, James Trinh, was walking out of school on Thursday when he spotted the elderly and endangered lemur on the loose.
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| Rudy’s ‘Russian Agent’ Pal Booted from Facebook for U.S. Election Interference Posted: 19 Oct 2020 08:18 AM PDT  Facebook has suspended the account of Ukrainian politician—and alleged Russian agent—Andrii Derkach for election interference activity.The member of Ukraine's parliament has been working with President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to gather allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson told The Daily Beast, "We removed this account and this Page for violating our policy against the use of our platform by people engaged in election-focused influence operations."Derkach was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in September for allegedly acting as an agent of Russian intelligence and being "directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in an attempt to undermine the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election."Rudy: Only '50/50' Chance I Worked With a 'Russian Spy' to Dig Dirt on Bidens and UkraineThrough his "Nabu Leaks" website, Derkach began spreading leaked recordings of conversations between Vice President Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussing a $1 billion loan to Ukraine and the need to fire an allegedly corrupt former prosecutor. Derkach and a number of Republican politicians have spread unsubstantiated allegations that Biden's internationally backed pressure on Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general was part of a corruption scheme involving Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company where Biden's son, Hunter, sat on the board.Giuliani has come under increasing scrutiny for his relationship with Derkach, as revelations swirl about the U.S. intelligence community's concerns that Russian spies may have tried to use the former mayor of New York as a conduit to launder disinformation from Moscow.Giuliani's relationship with Derkach blossomed as he traveled around Ukraine in search of dirt on Biden's son. Giuliani interviewed Derkach for a video series about his Hunter Biden conspiracy theories and recently told The Daily Beast, "The chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| Tourist seen hand-feeding a bear on TikTok has been charged, Tennessee officials say Posted: 19 Oct 2020 08:47 AM PDT  She appeared to give the animal chocolate and watermelon, footage from a mountain town shows.
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| Journalist went undercover with French police. He found racism, brutality and a toxic culture. Posted: 19 Oct 2020 03:13 AM PDT  "It's a police force where you can do whatever you want," Gendrot told NBC News.
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| 3 billion people could struggle to get a COVID-19 vaccine because the world doesn't have enough fridges to store it Posted: 19 Oct 2020 03:45 AM PDT  Large parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa lack sufficient cold storage facilities to keep a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
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| China denies report it may detain Americans, says U.S. mistreats its scholars Posted: 19 Oct 2020 12:56 AM PDT  China denied on Monday that foreign nationals are under threat of arbitrary detention, following a newspaper report that Beijing had warned Washington it might arrest Americans in China. The Chinese foreign ministry said it was Washington that was mistreating foreign citizens, accusing the United States of "outright political repression" of Chinese academics. "The U.S. claim that foreign nationals in China are under threat of arbitrary detention is playing the victim and confusing black and white," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing.
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| 12 Everyday Household Items That Are Worth the Investment Posted: 19 Oct 2020 10:31 AM PDT |
| 'Overjoyed': Missing Zion National Park hiker Holly Courtier found alive after 12 days Posted: 18 Oct 2020 03:05 PM PDT  Park rangers located Courtier after receiving a "credible tip from a park visitor," the National Park Service said in a Sunday news release.
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| Texas Republican becomes latest to attack Trump as senate races tighten Posted: 19 Oct 2020 06:01 AM PDT  Senator compares dealing with president to unhappy marriage, says change 'doesn't usually work out very well'
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| A Texas woman in her 30s died of COVID-19 earlier this year while waiting for her plane to take off Posted: 19 Oct 2020 01:28 PM PDT  The woman reportedly had trouble breathing and required supplemental oxygen before she died while her plane was on the tarmac in Arizona.
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| Tropical Storm Epsilon becomes the 26th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season Posted: 19 Oct 2020 05:26 AM PDT  Tropical Depression 27 has strengthened into Tropical Storm Epsilon, the 26th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season. It could become a Category 1 hurricane as soon as Thursday.
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| Porn Stars Are Terrified of Amy Coney Barrett Posted: 19 Oct 2020 01:47 AM PDT  Who fills the next Supreme Court vacancy matters—and it may even impact your sex life.Yes, if Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett becomes the next Supreme Court justice, the future of the commercial sex industry could be in grave danger—as could the viewing entertainment of millions of Americans since, according to Pornhub statistics, the U.S. consistently outranks all other countries in maintaining the highest rate of daily traffic to Pornhub. Thus, as the Senate hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett draw to a close, her seemingly inevitable spot on the bench has sparked panic among the sex-worker community."If she's confirmed, it could be catastrophic for the adult industry if and when any First Amendment-related cases reach the Supreme Court," argues adult actress Siri Dahl. "Instead of supporting equal free speech for all Americans, she seems to support privileged free speech for religious Americans. There's no way that will be good for the porn industry."As if worrying about the career persecution wasn't enough, Siri anticipates a worse threat will hit much sooner. "I'm worried most about reproductive rights. Our rights to important health care like birth control and abortion are in imminent danger. It's especially scary to me as a sex worker who also happens to have a uterus," says Dahl. "I'd like the government to stay away from my sex organs and my personal health decisions!"How Socialite India Oxenberg Escaped the NXIVM Sex Cult—and Leader Keith RaniereThat's unlikely given the Supreme Court's current conservative majority, which if Barrett is appointed, will become 6-3, reaching an imbalance that could last for decades. It's a potentially frightening group with the power to reshape our legal framework but without the wisdom to effectively balance it. Pornography laws are a prime example of striking that necessary balance.Sexually explicit material is protected by the First Amendment except in such cases where it can be prosecuted for obscenity or child pornography. Obscenity, as the Supreme Court ruled in 1957 (Roth v. United States), is not protected by the First Amendment. To be obscene it must "be utterly without redeeming social value" and "of prurient interest." However, much of this was decided case-by-case and left to the interpretation of the court, with Justice Potter Stewart famously explaining, "I'll know it when I see it," regarding his method of determination on a 1964 obscenity case involving the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Jacobellis v. Ohio).Without a measurable standard, obscenity could be even more subjective. It wasn't until 1973's Miller v. California case when the court engineered a three-part approach to measuring obscenity (known as the Miller test). These criteria continue to inform how the lines are drawn between adult entertainment protected as free speech verses similar, but prosecutable, content found to be "patently offensive," and lacking in "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." The court's interpretation of obscenity and freedom of speech nearly 50 years ago shaped the legal framework today's adult industry operates within, which is why who fills that seat matters. In years to come they will be dictating the existence of porn—and quite possibly free speech with it."The adult industry is founded on bodily autonomy and freedom of expression, freedoms that religious extremist Barrett will happily erode or remove. She will even be considering First Amendment cases that could outlaw porn. While she claims to be for freedom and liberty, it's clear she will happily regulate the bedroom on- and off-screen," warns adult actress and former Penthouse Pet Mary Moody. "We might hope that Barrett could separate her extremist religious beliefs from her judgments but while teaching law she argued justices should be allowed to judge based on these beliefs. Her history speaks for itself, and when given the option to rule on cases that will impact sex workers, it is clear she will lean on her radical conservative religious beliefs to aid her."I have the integrity to act consistently with my oath and apply the law as the law," Barrett claimed during the Senate confirmation hearings. Nonetheless, it's nearly impossible to believe her religious views won't impact her judicial duty to the law."I suspect that from what we know of her religious beliefs, that any anti-porn cases that come before the court will stand a good chance of winning for the religious right agenda. This goes hand-in-hand with reproductive, women's, and civil rights protections under the 14th Amendment," says Angie Rowntree, founder of Sssh.com, the web's first porn-for-women feminist site. "Considering that Supreme Court seats are 'for life' her religious/conservative agenda will push the U.S. back to 1960 for a generation in some societal and legal aspects. The TV show Mad Men is enjoyable to watch on television, but not to watch play out in the highest court in the land which affects the lives and rights of millions every day." Adult model and content creator Bea York says she's worried but still trying to be optimistic. "Here's a person that might have the power to undo a lot of important things. As a woman, I'm most concerned with other women getting the help that they need, when they need it. After that, I worry about the impact of having someone on the Supreme Court that seems pretty far removed from the big issues that people are dealing with," York muses.Having presided over 10,000 cases, Judge Herb Dodell, author of From the Trench to the Bench, understands the value of separation of church and state and the importance of it as a judge. He questions Barrett's ability to disengage from her personal biases when deciding a case. "For the adult industry, her confirmation could have a substantial impact. For example, SESTA/FOSTA. That legislation will be before the Supreme Court. The whole subject of free speech versus prior restraint, including liability, especially concerning social media, will be dictated by the Supreme Court. My biggest concern was the equivalent of her saying she would not necessarily be bound by stare decisis (precedent). I would also be concerned about the lack of response regarding severability, which could lead to an all-or-nothing situation," says Judge Dodell."As judges, we are supposed to follow the law, whether we agree with it or not. I am not sure she can do that, given her strong views."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| U.S. government tries to block Titanic expedition as archeologists say human remains could exist Posted: 19 Oct 2020 06:22 AM PDT  A plan to retrieve the ocean liner's radio received pushback as archaeologists say human remains could still be there.
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| Montana federal prosecutor warns of dangers of pot legalization ahead of vote Posted: 19 Oct 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Montana's top federal prosecutor is urging voters to tread carefully before voting to legalize recreational marijuana, taking the unusual step of jumping into a political debate about a ballot initiative in the weeks before the election. In an op-ed published in several newspapers in recent days and posted on the Justice Department's website on Monday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme told voters they should "review in detail" a pair of ballot initiatives that would legalize cannabis for adults ages 21 and older, warning that marijuana is addictive, could lead to more traffic accidents and could even "increase the risk of severe complications from COVID-19." Smoking, whether marijuana or tobacco, could increase risk of severe COVID-19 due to potential for lung inflammation.
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| Top infectious-disease expert says 'the next 6 to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic' Posted: 18 Oct 2020 01:12 PM PDT  Dr. Michael Osterholm predicted that by the holidays, the US "will see numbers much, much larger than even the 67,000 to 75,000 cases."
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| Michigan Republican fundraised at DeVos family home while trying to downplay financial ties Posted: 19 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  John James bought ads to distance himself from Betsy DeVos as super PAC funded by family poured millions into race
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| Paramount shooting: Police open fire on sexual assault suspect at Hollywood studios Posted: 19 Oct 2020 02:12 AM PDT  LAPD is advising the public to stay away from the area
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| Sen. Schumer, McConnell spar over COVID relief bill Posted: 19 Oct 2020 02:12 PM PDT  Schumer is not impressed with McConnell's latest proposal. The Senate minority leader, Charles Schumer, believes Republicans and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell are the reason an agreement on a COVID-19 relief hasn't been made. On a call with reporters on Sunday, The Hill reports that Schumer says Senate Republicans are the "No. 1 reason there's no agreement," and they "won't even go along with what Trump is willing" to get done.
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| Trump reportedly invited a waiter into a top secret intelligence briefing room to order a milkshake Posted: 19 Oct 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Look, sometimes a man just needs a malted milkshake. Admittedly, there are less opportune moments to indulge in such a craving — say, when you're in a highly classified briefing about Afghanistan with your country's senior defense and intelligence officials.Nevertheless, President Trump reportedly brought such a huddle to a halt a few months after he took office in 2017, Politico reports. "Does anyone want a malt?" the commander-in-chief supposedly asked the top-ranking officials who'd assembled for the briefing at his New Jersey golf club, including the head of the CIA's Special Activities Center, "a little known unit" that is "responsible for operations that include clandestine or covert operations with which the U.S. government does not want to be overtly associated," Spec Ops Magazine explains.Trump urged, "We have the best malts, you have to try them," before inviting a waiter into the code-word-secure briefing room to satisfy his sweet tooth. "The malt episode ... became legendary inside the CIA, said three former officials," Politico writes, explaining that "it was seen as an early harbinger of Trump's disinterest in intelligence, which would later be borne out by the new president's notorious resistance to reading his classified daily briefing." (That is to say, pictures were added to the briefings to help keep him engaged).Still, this is a man who has flexed the power of the nation's highest office to … install a button on his desk in the Oval Office that summons a butler to bring him a Diet Coke. The briefings can wait! To paraphrase a queen of France who was similarly burdened with the trivialities of running a country when there were sweets to consume, let them drink milkshakes.More stories from theweek.com Will Kansas go blue? What happened to third party candidates? If Roe falls
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| Supreme Court justices chastise Vermont on the limits of police power in 'deer jacking' case Posted: 19 Oct 2020 08:40 AM PDT  Vermont's high court ruled that game wardens had a legal right to wander around the land of a homeowner suspected of illegally hunting deer at night.
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| U.S. Postal carrier charged with stealing Miami-Dade mail-in ballot, debit cards Posted: 19 Oct 2020 01:45 PM PDT  A U.S. Postal Service carrier has been arrested on charges of stealing one Miami-Dade County mail-in ballot that was sent to a Miami Beach resident earlier this month, federal authorities said Monday.
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| Tennessee poll worker fired after turning away voters in Black Lives Matter shirts, masks Posted: 19 Oct 2020 04:30 PM PDT  A poll worker at the Dave Wells Community Center in Memphis was fired after turning away voters wearing 'Black Lives Matter' gear. Another worker quit shortly afterward.
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| U.S. borders with Canada, Mexico to stay closed to non-essential travel until Nov. 21 Posted: 19 Oct 2020 06:58 AM PDT  The United States' land borders between Canada and Mexico will remain closed to all non-essential travel until Nov. 21, the U.S. Homeland Security Department said Monday. The extension comes as the United States remains one of the worst-affected countries in the world and is reporting the second-highest number of new cases daily.
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| Family of Moscow-Born Teen Who Beheaded Teacher Were from Chechnya Where Charlie Hebdo Cartoons Are Demonized Posted: 19 Oct 2020 06:15 AM PDT  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."Kadyrov has worked hard to make the French controversy a cause célèbre in the Muslim-majority region of Russia. He gathered hundreds of thousands of Chechens for an anti-Charlie Hebdo rally, just a few days after terrorists killed 12 and injured 11 people at the satirical newspaper's office in January 2015. That was the biggest rally ever seen in the Northern Caucasus. 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."When Charlie Hebdo republished the cartoons on September 2 to mark the opening of a trial of those involved in the terror attack, Chechnya's official Instagram account responded with a call in the Chechen language saying, "May the Almighty punish them for their deeds as quickly as possible." Two days later Chechen Islamic jurist Salakh Mezhiyev condemned the French publication as part of "the West's well-planned attack against Islam." A rain of angry statements followed, and Instagram users called to make Charlie Hebdo "burn in hell."Parents of Student Arrested After Teacher Beheaded for Showing Anti-Muslim CartoonSvetlana Gannushkina, the head of Moscow's Civic Assistance Committee, said there could be no doubt what the Chechen leader was advocating. "The message Kadyrov has been sending his people is pretty clear, she told The Daily Beast. "He calls for Muslims to take measures against those mocking Muhammad."The son of a Chechen émigré family in the suburbs of Paris did just that on Friday. A French teacher of geography and history, 47-year old Samuel Paty, was decapitated in the street in the Conflans Saint-Honorine neighborhood by Abdullah Anzorov, 18, about a week after Paty had shown the Muhammed cartoons to his students.Witnesses heard Anzorov yell during the attack, "Allahu Akbar!" The attacker was later shot dead after firing a plastic pellet gun at police. The authorities have arrested at least ten members of Anzorov's Chechen family.The teenager himself was born in Moscow and only visited Chechnya as a young child, but Grigory Shvedov, editor-in-chief of the Caucasian Knot media site, told The Daily Beast that Kadyrov's influence stretched well beyond the republic's borders. "It has to do with so-called 'Kadyrovtsy,' they are responsible for spreading intolerance, hatred of critical thinking," he said. "The murder in France took place after Chechnya's main mufti condemned Charlie Hebdo."Kadyrov, whose hardline policies are fully supported by President Vladimir Putin, did condemn the terrorist attack at the end of his social media tirade, but he also doubled down on his criticism of the cartoonists and those who would challenge Islamic fundamentalism. "While speaking out categorically against any manifestation of terrorism," he wrote. "I also urge not to provoke believers, not to offend their religious feelings."Kadyrov has been lecturing on public morality and behavior for years. Enjoying Kremlin-backed power in his republic, he forbade smoking and drinking, banned women from entering state buildings without scarves on, and called for a crusade against his own LGBT citizens in order "to purify our blood."Chechen nationals across the world continue to follow Kadyrov, watching his videos and messages on Telegram and Instagram. His own Instagram account was blocked after U.S. sanctions, but he continues to spread his message via the republic's official account.Yekaterina Sokirianskaya, the founder of the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Center think tank, has been researching Chechen émigrés in Europe and the U.S. "Many Chechens in the West are shocked, ashamed, they condemned the murderer for spoiling their nation's reputation," she said. "As my own research showed, most young Chechen refugees blend in, learn languages, study and work on the West. They have no other home, since returning to Chechnya would be too dangerous for most of them."Judging by how much Anzorov rushed to photograph his beheaded victim and publish photographs on Twitter, he was prepared for a demonstratively violent act for some time, using the teacher as a pretext."The shocking photographs were published on Twitter in a post addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron, which read, "I have executed one of your dogs."Chechnya watchers in Russia believe that many Muslims who oppose Kadyrov's domestic policy have been seduced by his criticism of Charlie Hebdo and French politicians who support tolerance and freedom of speech. "Kadyrov makes statements about Muslims in Myanmar, Muslims in Palestine, he has ambitions of becoming the leading voice for all Russian Muslims," Sokirianskaya told The Daily Beast.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| President curses and rages at coronavirus coverage during crowded rally Posted: 19 Oct 2020 04:52 PM PDT  Follow the latest updates
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| Aeroflot Airlines crew members helped smuggle $50 million worth of stolen iPads, iPhones, and more into Russia, a government investigation has found Posted: 19 Oct 2020 12:16 PM PDT  The Department of State has revoked 113 visas of Aeroflot employees in connection to the smuggling scheme.
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| Neil deGrasse Tyson says asteroid could hit day before election Posted: 19 Oct 2020 08:01 AM PDT  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."
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| An idle Venezuelan tanker with millions of gallons of oil is creating panic in Trinidad Posted: 19 Oct 2020 04:23 PM PDT  More than 20 months after a Venezuelan oil tanker carrying nearly 55 million gallons of crude oil was abandoned off the country's northern coast following tightened U.S. sanctions, inspectors from neighboring Trinidad and Tobago will finally get a chance to see for themselves if the idle vessel's cargo could lead to a major ecological disaster off the Caribbean coast of South America.
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| Bloomberg Gun Control Group Pours $4.4 Million into Battleground States in Final Weeks Posted: 19 Oct 2020 09:05 AM PDT  Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control advocacy group founded by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, is spending $4.4 million on ads in six battleground states in the final weeks of the presidential election campaign, Politico reported on Monday.The group is spending a total of $60 million on ads in 2020 election races. In Texas, Everytown is running $2 million worth of ads attacking Republican candidates in the state's 22nd and 24th congressional districts over their support for gun rights. Another $1.4 million has been devoted to flipping state legislatures in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa, and Minnesota, while $1 million is focused on voter mobilization efforts in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas.Some of the ads attempt to connect the coronavirus pandemic with casualties of gun violence."Deaths from Covid-19 and gun violence are on the rise, but Republicans in the North Carolina state legislature have failed to take the action required to keep us safe," one digital ad reads."At the onset of the pandemic, "everyone asked, 'was the political zeitgeist scrambled?' And we asked ourselves the same question," Everytown president John Feinblatt told Politico. "Our polling showed us, when you couple the dual carnage of Covid and gun violence to legislative failure to address both emergencies, it's particularly potent."Gun sales have surged across the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. The FBI has conducted record numbers of background checks, with 2.7 million in March at the start of the pandemic and 3.9 million in June, after widespread demonstrations and riots broke out in various cities.
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| Chief: Indiana police recruit fired for ties to neo-Nazis Posted: 18 Oct 2020 12:45 PM PDT  A police recruit in Indiana was fired less than 24 hours after the department was notified that the officer had been involved in a neo-Nazi online chat forum.
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| French police target Islamist networks after teacher's beheading Posted: 19 Oct 2020 01:32 PM PDT  French police on Monday launched a series of raids targeting Islamist networks, three days after the beheading of a history teacher who had shown his pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.
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| Lopez Obrador criticizes DEA role in Mexico after ex-army chief's arrest Posted: 18 Oct 2020 03:00 PM PDT  Mexico's president has criticized the historic role played by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in his country, days after a former Mexican army chief was arrested in Los Angeles on drug charges at the behest of the DEA. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador described Thursday's arrest of ex-Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos as evidence of rampant corruption in past governments. Speaking in the southern state of Oaxaca on Saturday, Lopez Obrador said the DEA had dealt for years with Cienfuegos and Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico's security minister from 2006 to 2012, who has also been charged in the United States with drug-trafficking offenses.
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| Elon Musk says SpaceX has a 'fighting chance' of sending its giant Starship rocket to Mars in 2024 — 2 years later than previously hoped Posted: 19 Oct 2020 08:28 AM PDT  SpaceX founder Elon Musk previously set an "aspirational" timeline for a Mars launch by 2022. Its Starship rocket is still a prototype.
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