| Trump claims he won't participate in virtual debate Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:12 AM PDT  "I'm not going to waste my time doing a virtual debate," the president said shortly after organizers announced the Oct. 15 town hall would be held remotely. "That's not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate, it's ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want."
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| The ‘Wolverine Watchmen’ Accused of Targeting Michigan Guv Spooked Their Neighbors Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:41 PM PDT  MUNITH, MI—Seven Michigan men were arrested Thursday as part of a sprawling right-wing plot allegedly targeting the state's government and its embattled Governor Gretchen Whitmer in particular.The charges against the men, who allegedly called themselves the "Wolverine Watchmen," came in tandem with federal charges against six other men in an alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer. The group's involvement—or lack thereof—with those facing federal charges was murky at the time of the announcements. But social media posts and testimony from neighbors of the "Wolverine Watchmen" suggest they had a disturbing relationship with the far-right paramilitary movement.According to state prosecutors, the "Wolverine Watchmen" group plotted a violent attack on Michigan's government and sought to incite a civil war this summer, with plans to kidnap elected officials. Some of the defendants, who range in age from 21 to 42, had online presences hinting at violence.READ IT: FBI's Criminal Complaint in Militia Plot to Kidnap Gretchen WhitmerIn a Thursday afternoon arraignment, Michigan Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend called defendants Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico "founding members" of the Wolverine Watchmen, which he described as a group "committed to violence" against the government and politicians.Morrison used his property in Munith, Michigan, for militia training, according to Townsend. Members of the militia, according to Townsend, had participated in some of the same activity alleged against the federal defendants, including plotting to bomb bridges and surveilling Whitmer's home."There are multiple members of the Wolverine Watchmen," Townsend said. "Mr. Morrison was considered the commander."The property in question, a blighted home in rural Michigan, flies a Confederate and "Original 13" flag. (The latter has sometimes been adopted by racists, inviting controversy about its intended use in some cases.) Junk—rusted cars, a shop vac, coolers—fill the yard.Several neighbors of the pair wouldn't use their names for fear of retribution from the militia. But they told The Daily Beast they'd heard some shooting coming from the property. They described those who had lived at the house as "disrespectful" and said large groups regularly gathered on weekends and "bullets would be flying off their property in all directions."The neighbors said they suspected the people were part of a militia because of the number of visitors who would show up on weekends, and the number of high caliber rounds that they fired off, characterizing the household as "a nuisance.""I was in the Army," one neighbor told The Daily Beast. "I've got all kinds of guns in my house, some of them high caliber. But I don't shoot them around here."Another neighbor said the household didn't have many ties to the community. "They were the kind of neighbors you stayed away from," the neighbor told The Daily Beast. "They were mean. You knew they were involved with the militia. That was obvious from the constant shooting."Social media pages for the alleged militia members also suggested less-than-friendly posturing.A Facebook page for Eric Molitor, another Michigan man who faces state charges in the case, features praise for 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who's accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wis. Molitor also posted about conspiracy theories relating to the QAnon movement, posting the QAnon hashtag "Save Our Children" and images about human-trafficking conspiracy theories. Molitor had previously posted images indicating affiliation with "three-percenter" militias, a far-right paramilitary movement.Defendants Musico and Morrison, both 42-year-olds who lived together, had sparser online profiles, with neither of them liking anything on Facebook besides a Christian broadcasting group. But on YouTube, Musico was more vocal, sharing rambling tirades against taxes, gun control, and the "Deep State"—as well as a rant from 2019 entitled "Gretchen Whitmer Interview" in which he railed against her policies around auto ownership. In the video, he implied that he was going to obtain an in-person interview with Whitmer.A Pete Musico also has a page on the social media site Gab, popular among white supremacists and the alt-right, on which he promoted the unfounded claim that in South Africa "they are killing white people." Although many of the posts feature broken images (a hallmark of Gab), one of the user's favorite accounts was that of Joe Biggs, a Proud Boy organizer who has glorified violence against the left. Biggs and anti-Semitic Infowars personality Owen Shroyer are the only accounts he follows.A Michigan-based Pete Musico also has a Twitter account with a Tea Party-style "Don't Tread On Me" banner as the profile image and a number of posts from 2016 voicing support for Trump and calling for the imprisonment of then-Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. It also includes unfounded allegations that former President Bill Clinton fathered an "illegitimate black child" and that vaccines contain dangerous levels of mercury. Another post urges his 14 followers to visit right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' site Infowars.Michigan has been a hotbed of militia activity for decades, with over a dozen active militia groups. In 2010, members of a militia group called the Hutaree were indicted for sedition and weapons-related charges over an alleged plot to bomb a law enforcement officer's funeral. They were ultimately acquitted of the most serious charges.The state's militia movement surged back into the spotlight during the coronavirus pandemic, with militias joining other far-right groups to protest Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions.In April, armed men tried to break onto the floor of the state capitol, only to be stopped by security. In May, armed militia members rallied outside the capitol to protest Whitmer's pandemic orders.Molitor is facing charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony. Musico and Morrison each face counts of terrorism, gang membership, providing material support for terrorist acts, and firearms felonies.Co-defendants Paul Bellar, 21; Shawn Fix, 38; Michael Null, 38; and Wiliam Null, 38, all face charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and carrying a firearm during commission of a felony. Bellar also faces a count of gang membership.It was not clear whether any of the men charged had retained lawyers.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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| Trump yard sign rigged with razor blades left town worker needing 13 stitches Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:26 AM PDT  The worker was trying to move a sign that was too close to the road when "he was cut by razor blades that had been attached to the bottom edge of the sign," the sheriff's office said.
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| Former commander of Guantánamo Bay Navy base sentenced to federal prison Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:26 AM PDT  A federal judge sentenced a former commander of the Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday to two years in prison for trying to cover up a drunken fight with a commissary worker who was later found dead in the bay.
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| Woman says Southwest wouldn’t let her on plane due to ‘inappropriate’ outfit Posted: 09 Oct 2020 09:35 AM PDT  Kayla Eubanks said Southwest Airlines employees told her that she needed to wear a shirt over her outfit in order to board one of their planes.
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| Pompeo warns of China risks ahead of US-India talks Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:35 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday urged closer ties with India as he warned of China's growing might on its doorstep, amid a flurry of diplomacy between the world's two largest democracies.
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| Experts: Ballistics report shows Louisville officer was shot by Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, not by 'friendly fire' Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:45 PM PDT  Experts say Breonna Taylor's boyfriend must have been the one to shoot a Louisville officer because no one else fired the same type of ammunition.
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| After 46 years, Cypriot ghost town's beach opens to public Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:25 AM PDT  For the first time in 46 years, members of the public were permitted on Thursday to access the beach of Varosha in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of ethnically divided Cyprus. Hundreds filed through a gate manned by Turkish Cypriot police to walk on a freshly paved asphalt road leading to the beach that was the jewel of what was once Cyprus' premier tourist resort. For some, like one woman draped in the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags, it was a moment of joy to witness an "historic" moment.
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| Facebook's nudity-spotting AI mistook a photo of some onions for 'sexually suggestive' content Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Facebook said the onion-seed ad had been removed for breaking its rules on "products with overtly sexual positioning."
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| Coronavirus pushes Trump into a 'fiasco vortex' as events spin out of administration's control Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:15 PM PDT  The coronavirus outbreak at the White House has plunged Trump's presidency into what crisis relations expert Eric Dezenhall calls "the fiasco vortex," a phenomenon in which crisis overtakes a public figure, destroying any attempts to impose a favorable cast on developments.
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| Hunter Biden’s Former Business Partner to Be Sentenced after Court Revives Fraud Conviction Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:32 AM PDT  Hunter Biden's former business parter will face sentencing in a fraud case after a federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated his conviction.Devon Archer, a longtime business associate of Joe Biden's son, was convicted in June, 2018 on charges related to his involvement in a scheme to defraud a Native American tribe.The defendants, including Archer, are accused of pressuring the Wakpamni Lake Community Association, an affiliate of the Oglala Sioux Tribe to issue $60 million in economic-development bonds which the defendants then used for their own purposes, such as investing in their own businesses instead of investing it back into the tribe.After his conviction, a federal judge in New York overturned Archer's conviction later that year, saying the evidence was insufficient to prove that Archer was aware of the multi-million dollar bond fraud scheme.The three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Archer's conviction on Wednesday, ruling that the lower court "abused its discretion in vacating the judgment and granting a new trial" and stating that Archer "knew at least the general nature and extent of the scheme and intended to bring about its success."Archer is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21.Archer worked with Hunter Biden on various business ventures, including serving with the Democratic presidential nominee's son on the board of a Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings.Hunter Biden was appointed to Burisma's board in 2014 while his father was vice president and resigned from the board in April of last year after his lucrative position on the board drew scrutiny.In spring, 2016, Biden called on Ukraine to fire the prosecutor who had been investigating the energy company paying his son. The vice president threatened to withdraw $1 billion in U.S. military aid to Ukraine if the country did not fire the prosecutor, who was accused by the State Department and U.S. allies in Europe of being soft on corruption.
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| Most so-called “missing” ballots are simply unvoted ballots, Republican elections official says Posted: 09 Oct 2020 10:48 AM PDT  A prominent statistic cited by those concerned about election fraud — about millions of ballots that have supposedly gone missing over the last several years — is misleading and exaggerated, the top elections official in Washington state said in an interview.
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| $10m bail set for militia members accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer Posted: 09 Oct 2020 09:56 AM PDT  Pete Musico, and Joseph Morrison have been charged with threat of terrorism and providing material support for terrorist acts
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| Server asks customer to wear mask — then gets ‘mask’ as a tip, Pennsylvania pub says Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:24 AM PDT  She said she asked the customer to wear a mask until he was seated.
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| Bella Hadid looked like she stepped out of the early 2000s while wearing chunky hair highlights and a graphic tank top Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:21 AM PDT  Bella Hadid debuted her new, chunky highlights while walking around New York City in an early 2000s-inspired outfit on Tuesday.
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| Trump clings to bogus claim that he saved 2.2 million Americans from death by COVID-19 Posted: 08 Oct 2020 03:13 PM PDT  For months, President Trump has pushed the dubious idea that he and his administration have saved the lives of "potentially 2.2 million people" during the pandemic.
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| Joe Biden can't pass up opportunity to fundraise off the fly that landed on Pence's head Posted: 07 Oct 2020 08:17 PM PDT  A fly that took a liking to Vice President Mike Pence's head during the debate is Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's new muse, inspiring his campaign to not only do some fundraising but also get out the word about voting.Mere moments after the fly that spent two minutes nestled gently in Pence's head flew off, Biden tweeted a photo of him holding a flyswatter, along with the caption "Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly" and a link to donate. Biden went on to tweet out a link to flywillvote.com, which redirected to iwillvote.com, a website that helps people register to vote.So far, the Trump campaign has not capitalized on the moment, even though it could make the case that MAGA hats offer the ultimate in head protection. > Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly. https://t.co/CqHAId0j8t pic.twitter.com/NbkPl0a8HV> > -- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 8, 2020More stories from theweek.com Mike Pence was the unlikely winner of the vice presidential debate The myth of Mike Pence's appeal Trump is shockingly bad at this
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| Harry Litman: The Supreme Court is already pulling us back to the future Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  On the first Monday in October, the Supreme Court minus Ginsburg flexed its hard-right muscles.
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| Sheriff who appeared at rally with Michigan kidnapping suspect says alleged plot may have been an 'arrest’ Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:04 PM PDT  'A lot of people are angry with the governor and they want her arrested'
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| How to get your cat to like you: Smile like them, study says. Here’s how to do it Posted: 08 Oct 2020 01:37 PM PDT  Doing the "cat smile" might just get your cat to tolerate you.
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| California Democrat in Congress tests positive for COVID-19 Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:23 PM PDT  Rep. Salud Carbajal of California has tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into passing contact with Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who is among a growing number of lawmakers and White House staff now confirmed to have the virus, his office said. "I hope this serves as a reminder of how easily this virus can spread," Carbajal said. While he did not identify the person in public statements, Mannal Haddad, a spokesperson for the congressman, said in an email that he "interacted with Sen. Lee in passing a couple of times last week and was prompted to get a test after being informed Sen. Lee tested positive."
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| Chinese military spokesperson tells U.S. to halt provocative actions Posted: 09 Oct 2020 08:27 AM PDT  A Chinese military spokesperson said on Friday that the U.S. destroyer John McCain had entered waters around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea claimed by China without China's permission. "We demand the U.S. immediately stop such provocative actions, (and) strictly control and restrict military operations in the sea and air," the spokesperson said in a post on an official WeChat account. The spokesperson also said it would take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
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| Homeless migrants sleep rough beneath Dubai's skyscrapers as Covid employment crisis bites Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:49 AM PDT  Dubai is witnessing a rare uptick in homelessness as migrant workers left destitute by the Covid downturn have begun sleeping out in parks under the glistening skyscrapers. Blue collar workers from Asia and Africa say they are trapped after losing jobs and running out of money to return home. Migrant workers who spoke to The Telegraph claimed they have been left abandoned after losing their jobs as the economy tightens. With no jobs and expired visas, many have congregated in parks in Dubai's poorer Satwa area, appealing for help for repatriation flights home. Homelessness and poverty are not typically visible in the United Arab Emirates' glitziest city. White collar jobs have also been threatened by the pandemic in UAE, with many UK expats returning home since coronavirus. Dubai's economy is geared towards heavy consumer spending in hospitality, luxury real estate and travel. Oxford Economics, a UK forecaster, estimates 900,000 jobs are under threat among a population of under 10 million.
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| Trump declares he's 'healed' of the coronavirus, bashes DOJ and curses in two-hour interview Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:26 PM PDT  The freewheeling interview with Rush Limbaugh was the longest the president has given since he tested positive last week.
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| Op-Ed: The world should not ignore the deadly attacks in the South Caucasus Posted: 08 Oct 2020 03:02 PM PDT  Artsakh, also called Nagorno-Karabakh, has endured a deadly barrage of Azerbaijani attacks. Armenians see them as an attempt to continue the Armenian genocide of 1915.
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| 'We all had a hand in this': Louisville police officer who got Breonna Taylor warrant in the hot seat Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:14 PM PDT  Joshua Jaynes' explanation to the Public Integrity Unit marks the first time the public has heard from the detective who obtained the search warrant for Breonna Taylor's apartment.
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| In this small town, police are looking for suspects. The crime? Stealing campaign signs Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Love your neighbor, unless he or she supports the wrong candidate.
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| Korean group must remove Berlin tribute to "comfort women" Posted: 09 Oct 2020 04:19 AM PDT  A Berlin district has ordered a local Korean group to remove a statue commemorating women used as sex slaves by Japan during World War II, saying Friday it goes beyond what had been approved. The issue of sex slaves, euphemistically called "comfort women," has been a major source of friction between South Korea and Japan, and the district's decision came after Japan expressed irritation about the statue depicting a woman sitting next to an empty chair. Stephan von Dassel, mayor of the central Mitte district, said permission had been given for the Korean organization to display a "peace statue" for one year, as a broad "statement against sexualized violence against women in armed conflicts."
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| Affidavit: Texas officer was offered handshake before fatal shooting Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:31 AM PDT  A Black man who was killed by a Texas police officer offered him a handshake prior to being shot, a court document said.
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| Trump would 'rant' about politics and media at COVID task force meetings, aide says Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:28 PM PDT  President Trump would interrupt coronavirus task force meetings with protracted and irrelevant "rants" about his coverage on Fox News, causing his aides to "look down at the floor" in embarrassment, says a former member of the task force.
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| Trump launches rare attack on loyal aides Pompeo, Barr Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:18 AM PDT  US President Donald Trump on Thursday voiced rare criticism of two of his most steadfast aides, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Bill Barr, less than a month before elections.
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| First-term Republican Dan Crenshaw faces off against Sima Ladjevardian in Texas' 2nd District Posted: 09 Oct 2020 10:56 AM PDT  Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL and now a visible rising star in the Republican party, is running for a second term in the Houston-based district.
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| Explosive texts found on phone of suspect in Ahmaud Arbery murder case Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:29 AM PDT  "48 Hours" uncovers the content of virulent, racial slurs found on the phone of William "Roddie" Bryan, the man who filmed the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Bryan's attorney says his client "doesn't have a hateful bone in his body."
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| Code enforcement crackdown: One officer arrested, others fired Posted: 09 Oct 2020 08:00 AM PDT  Derrick Erwin had been an Opa-locka code enforcement officer for over a decade before his career came crashing down last week. At around 1 a.m. last Friday, police took him into custody at his home less than half a mile from city hall, saying he committed fraud and theft by imposing thousands of dollars in fines on a property, then buying it himself before deleting the fines from the city's computer system.
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| Jordan returns to weekend lockdown as COVID-19 cases mount Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:58 AM PDT  Jordan will enter a nationwide 48-hour lockdown on Friday for the first time in months as health officials worry a major spike in coronavirus infections could threaten its stretched healthcare system, officials said. The IMF forecasts the economy, which was struggling even before the health crisis, will shrink 6% this year, the first contraction since 1990. "The last thing we want is a complete lockdown for two weeks or three weeks, we don't want to reach this ..It remains the last weapon if cases rise unbelievably high and lead to our hospitals being overwhelmed," Health Minister Saad Jaber told state television this week.
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| South Korea to replace Black Hawks with homemade Surion helos, says lawmaker Posted: 09 Oct 2020 09:15 AM PDT  The lawmaker has decried the effort as a means to support the local economy without considering performances and production cost.
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| The Latest: Hurricane Delta weakens to Category 1 storm Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:10 PM PDT  Hurricane Delta has weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moves inland along Louisiana's southwestern coast. Delta made landfall as a Category 2 storm about 6 p.m. Friday near Creole, with top winds of 100 mph (155 km/h). Delta blew ashore in an area where devastation remains widely evident from Hurricane Laura, which caused at least 27 deaths in late August.
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| White House aides fear Trump's medications have triggered manic behavior: report Posted: 09 Oct 2020 11:52 AM PDT  Many argue Trump should have already invoked the 25th Amendment to transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence
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| Republican senator says 'democracy isn't the objective' of US system Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:08 AM PDT  * Mike Lee makes inflammatory declaration in morning tweet * Lee claimed US 'is not a democracy' during Wednesday debateA top Republican senator has said that "democracy isn't the objective" of America's political system, sparking widespread outrage at a time when his party has been accused by Democrats of plotting voter suppression and questioning a peaceful transition of power in November's election.The Utah senator Mike Lee made the inflammatory declaration in an early morning tweet following Wednesday's vice-presidential debate."Democracy isn't the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that," he wrote, misspelling prosperity.It followed a series of tweets he made during the debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris in which Lee claimed "We're not a democracy" and questioned its role in US government.Lee, who is among a swath of Republicans who recently tested positive for coronavirus, wrote: 'The word "democracy" appears nowhere in the Constitution, perhaps because our form of government is not a democracy. It's a constitutional republic. To me it matters. It should matter to anyone who worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few.'He added: "Government is the official use of coercive force–nothing more and nothing less. The Constitution protects us by limiting the use of government force."His democracy tweet immediately prompted alarm, including from a number of former government officials.Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director, tweeted: "'Democracy isn't the objective'. Our suspicions are confirmed."Walter Shaub, former director of the US office of government ethics, said: "People of my grandfather's generation knew what to do about fascists. Now a member of Congress is urging us to join them. I wonder what made you hate America so much."The Bloomberg columnist Jonathan Bernstein wrote: "If we're not to have rule of the people, who exactly should rule? Throughout American history, from the Framers up to the present, the answer has always been the same: the people." It comes amid growing concerns over the integrity of the election on 3 November. In the vice-presidential debate Harris accused Donald Trump of promoting voter suppression, saying he "openly attempted to suppress the vote".During the presidential debate he prompted fears over potential voter intimidation when he told supporters to "go into the polls and watch very carefully".Meanwhile, Trump and Pence have refused to assure voters of a peaceful transfer of power if the Republicans lose November's election. The president has said: "Well, we're going to have to see what happens." And in the vice-presidential debate, when asked what he would do if Trump refused a peaceful transfer of power, Pence said: "First and foremost, I think we're going to win this election."With less than a month to go until the election, Democrats and civil rights groups have sought to make it easier to vote by mail during the pandemic, while Republicans and the Trump campaign have fought to keep restrictions in place. In Florida, a federal appeals court ruled in September that people with felony convictions could not vote unless they had repaid all outstanding debts – potentially blocking an estimated 744,000 people from voting.
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| FBI busts militia 'plot' to abduct Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer Posted: 09 Oct 2020 04:52 AM PDT  Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has become a target of coronavirus lockdown sceptics.
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| Trump administration hits 18 countries with aluminum tariffs Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:54 AM PDT  The United States on Friday imposed steep new tariffs on nearly $2 billion in aluminum from 18 countries the Commerce Department accuses of dumping into the American market, including Germany, Spain and Brazil.
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