| Iran's navy shoots missile at mock-up of US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz Posted: 28 Jul 2020 01:30 PM PDT  Footage on Iranian state TV showed the replica being struck as part of an exercise Iran called "Great Prophet 14."
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| Police throw 15-year-old boy to ground after he allegedly blocked traffic and tried to flee Posted: 28 Jul 2020 12:52 AM PDT  A teenage boy allegedly resisting and attempting to flee police was grabbed by the neck and pulled to the ground in a video that has gone viral across social media.While the video showed a shortened version of the exchange, police said the boy was part of a larger group of bicyclists riding through New Jersey that were blocking traffic and causing a safety hazard.
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| Indian Matchmaking: The 'cringe-worthy' Netflix show that is a huge hit Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:24 AM PDT  Indian Matchmaking, a new Netflix show, has become a huge hit, spawning hundreds of memes and jokes.
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| Europe's last dictator got COVID-19 after telling people they could avoid it by drinking vodka and going to the sauna Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:41 AM PDT  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko previously dismissed fears over COVID-19 as a "psychosis" and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy.
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| Revised missile pact with U.S. to facilitate South Korean spy satellite Posted: 28 Jul 2020 02:06 AM PDT |
| Police departments withdraw from security agreements for Democratic convention, some citing directive on crowd munitions Posted: 28 Jul 2020 01:30 PM PDT  Some of departments cited orders to Milwaukee's police chief to cease the use of tear gas and pepper spray during demonstrations.
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| Trump Jr suspended by Twitter for posting 'misleading and potentially harmful information' about coronavirus Posted: 28 Jul 2020 06:37 AM PDT  Donald Trump Jr has been suspended by Twitter for posting "misleading and potentially harmful information" about coronavirus.The president also shared the same tweet. On his account, the post no longer appears, and has been replaced with a message indicating that it is "no longer available", but he still appears to be able to tweet.
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| Biden's notes: ‘Do not hold grudges’ against Kamala Harris Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:55 PM PDT  Joe Biden was uncharacteristically tight-lipped on Tuesday about the final stretch of his search for a vice president. As he took questions from reporters on Tuesday, Biden held notes that were captured by an Associated Press photographer. Harris' name was scrawled across the top, followed by five talking points.
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| Professor who announced retirement after racist and sexist tweets died by suicide Posted: 27 Jul 2020 05:11 PM PDT  UNCW's Mike Adams hadn't been heard from for days, before deputies found him dead inside his bedroom.
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| Trump targets Reagan Foundation after issues over ex-president's likeness Posted: 27 Jul 2020 06:47 AM PDT  RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party has used President Reagan's image for "decades."
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| Mnuchin, Pelosi talk virus relief; GOP cuts jobless aid Posted: 27 Jul 2020 05:08 PM PDT  Unemployment assistance, eviction protections and other relief for millions of Americans are on the table as White House officials agreed on Monday to begin negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a new virus aid package that's teetering in Congress ahead of approaching deadlines.
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| Mold from Chernobyl seems to feed on radiation, and new research suggests it could help protect astronauts in space Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:34 AM PDT  Researchers took mold that grows in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and blasted it into space. It may help protect astronauts from radiation.
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| A California man spent over two months in a hospital battling coronavirus and returned home with most of his fingers gone Posted: 27 Jul 2020 09:59 AM PDT  Gregg Garfield was the first coronavirus patient at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, local news reported.
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| Georgia governor withdraws emergency request to stop Atlanta mask mandate Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:38 AM PDT  Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday withdrew his emergency request for a court to stop enforcement of Atlanta's requirement that faces masks be worn in all public places, while mediation over the state's legal effort to block the mandate proceeds. Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the city two weeks ago to stop enforcement of the local mandate, aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Mayor Bottoms, a Democrat, has said that she would continue to defy the governor's orders, but hoped that the two sides could find a solution.
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| Andrea Bocelli, who had COVID, says lockdown humiliated him Posted: 28 Jul 2020 05:25 AM PDT  Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who recovered from COVID and whose moving Easter performance sought to raise hopes during the pandemic, is striking a different public note, saying Italy's lockdown made him feel "humiliated and offended" by depriving him of his freedom. Bocelli spoke at a panel Monday in a Senate conference room, where he was introduced by right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini, who has railed against the government's stringent measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, Bocelli said that when he learned on March 10 that he had tested positive, just as the nation was going into lockdown, "I jumped into the pool, I felt well" and had only a slight fever.
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| Texas 'is never going to happen,' Biden adviser admits. But 'Georgia is real.' Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:09 AM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his campaign team are playing it cool for now even as some Democrats are calling for bolstered efforts to potentially win in Georgia and Texas. But it doesn't sound like the latter will ever get much consideration, The Washington Post reports."Texas is 22 [expletive] media markets," one Biden adviser told the Post. "That is never going to happen. It's just not going to happen. Everyone knows that. I don't know why people are still even talking about it."Georgia, though, has more potential to be flipped blue, and the adviser admitted the campaign will eventually have to make a decision on whether to invest resources there. "Georgia is real," the adviser said.Still, the adviser said that choice won't be made until "we feel really comfortable about the six core states" — Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, and Florida — adding that there's "plenty of time" to get more involved in Georgia. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows AMC is ending its ban on Universal movies as part of a landmark agreement Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism
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| AG Barr Calls Black Lives Matter Protests in Portland ‘an Assault’ on U.S. Government in Testy Hearing Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:21 AM PDT  In his first appearance ever before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr declined to say that political concerns weren't animating the Trump administration's use of federal troops to crack down on Black Lives Matter demonstrators.Asked by Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) if he'd discussed the politics of the crackdown with Trump or anyone in his inner circle, Barr didn't specifically mention the Department of Justice operations but confirmed that the election "comes up" in his conversations with the president. "I'm a member of the Cabinet," said Barr, "and there's an election going on."Pressed further by Nadler on the topic, Barr demurred: "I'm not going to get into my discussions with the president." Bully Boy Bill Barr is America's Ultimate Chaos AgentAs well, Barr indicated he views protesters in Portland, Oregon, not as demonstrators demanding Black liberation or defending themselves from an unwanted federal intrusion but as insurrectionists."What unfolds nightly around the courthouse cannot reasonably be called a protest," Barr said in his highly anticipated testimony. "It is, by any objective measure, an assault on the government of the United States."Later, in response to GOP questioning, Barr thundered "is that OK?" in outlining demonstrators' alleged offenses against federal officers. "I reject the idea that the Department has flooded anywhere and attempted to suppress demonstrators… We are at the courthouse defending the courthouse, we're not out there looking for trouble." Barr's rhetoric represented the latest escalation by the Trump administration in demonizing the protests, which are part of what has become the largest sustained movement in American history. A Monday statement from the U.S. Marshals, a component of the Justice Department, called elements within the protesters "violent extremists," a term typically used by the U.S. government to describe domestic terrorists, though a Marshals spokesperson said the reference was unintentional. "In the wake of George Floyd's death, violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims," Barr contended. Democrats fumed through the hearing on what they saw as Barr's hypocrisy on that count. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) asked Barr whether he was aware of the pro-Trump protests in Michigan targeting Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which featured heavily armed demonstrators. Barr said no. "You are aware of certain kinds of protesters, but in Michigan when protesters carried guns and Confederate flags and called for the governor of Michigan to be shot and lynched, somehow you are not aware of that, somehow you didn't know about it, so you didn't send federal agents in to do to the president's supporters what you did to the president's protesters," charged Jayapal. The testimony from Barr, which has been more than a year in the making, has been hotly anticipated by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill as an opportunity to litigate a number of his actions as Trump's attorney general. Over the past year, Barr has overseen a reduction in the desired sentence and then the commutation of Trump ally Roger Stone's conviction; the withdrawal of the criminal case against another Trump ally, Michael Flynn; the tear-gassing of Black Lives Matter protesters in D.C.'s Lafayette Park; an effort to oust the New York federal attorney handling sensitive investigations into Trumpworld; the transference of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort from prison to home confinement; and the deployment of armed, militarized federal agents against protesters in Portland over the objections of local and state elected officials. The growing portfolio of outrages that Barr has assembled has been overwhelming for House Democrats, some of whom have embraced the idea that the only remaining avenue for holding the attorney general—who has already been held in contempt of Congress—to account is to impeach him. But getting Barr on the House Judiciary witness stand, which was originally set for March and then later postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, is widely seen as the first step in whatever House Democrats decide to do next.In his opening statement, Nadler previewed the crux of Democrats' case by arguing that Barr has been Trump's fixer. "Your tenure," Nadler told Barr, "is marked by a persistent war against the department's professional core in an apparent effort to secure favors for the president."Barr shot back that he was trying "to reestablish the rule of law."Trump Administration Plots Crackdown by Feds in Cities NationwideThe attorney general's handling of nationwide protests proved the focus of the hearing from the beginning. Federal agents, including the Marshals and others from the Department of Homeland Security, cited vandalism against the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland as a justification for their persistent presence. Barr, in his opening statement, called such vandalism the work of "hundreds of rioters." Yet the federal response has generated the majority of the violence at the protests, which has included shooting protesters in the head with rubber bullets; breaking the hand of an unarmed Navy veteran; frequent pepper-spray dousings and tear-gassings; and street arrests without probable cause by minimally identified federal agents driving unmarked vans. Barr equivocated on whether federal agents can arrest protesters without probable cause, saying they could "not strictly" arrest someone because they were proximate to someone they believed was violent. But he demurred about whether such a thing represented an actual arrest, saying "that would require an intensive review" into each circumstance. It remains unknown exactly how many people in Portland have been arrested by federal agents during the July deployments. At one point, late in the hearing, Barr called pepper spray a "very important nonlethal tool" against "rioters" and added, "When people resist law enforcement, they're not peaceful.""There is no precedent for the Department of Justice actively seeking out conflict with American citizens, under such flimsy pretext, or for such petty purposes," said Nadler. He said Barr "aided and abetted the worst failings of the president."Elected officials, from Oregon's governor to both its U.S. senators to the Portland mayor, have denounced the federal presence as a provocative escalation of violence. Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf have vowed to remain until the protests are quelled. 'Shaking in Their Boots': Trump Wanted a Portland-Style Offensive in ChicagoLast week, Barr justified a coming "surge" in federal law enforcement to Chicago, Albuquerque, and other cities—expected to last through the November election—by citing the Black Lives Matter protests as a source of public disrespect toward police. Black Lives Matter activists and their allies in Chicago are seeking an injunction against the use of Portland-style federal violence. After acknowledging "it is understandable" for Black Americans to distrust police, Barr said it was "an oversimplification" to view "some deep-seated racism generally infecting our police departments." Defunding police is "grossly irresponsible," he said, portraying crime as a "massively greater" threat to Black lives than police. Nadler countercharged: "At your direction, Department officials have downplayed the effects of systemic racism and abandoned the victims of police brutality; refused to hold abusive police departments accountable for their actions; and expressed open hostility to the Black Lives Matter movement."But later in the hearing, Democrats also pressed Barr over his handling of criminal prosecutions stemming from Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) repeatedly asked Barr why Stone appeared to get special exceptions for leniency based on his age and conduct. "Can you think of any other cases where the defendant threatened to kill a witness, threatened a judge... where the DOJ claimed those were mere technicalities?" asked Deutch. "Can you think of even one?" Barr raised his voice in response, asserting the judge agreed with his analysis, though the witness in question, Randy Credico, did say he felt threatened by Stone. Democrats also tried to nail down definitive answers from Barr on a number of other subjects, such as whether he believed increased voting-by-mail increased the risk of voter fraud as Trump has alleged. Barr said it did. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) also raised concerns Trump would move the date of the election or even reject the results, given Trump's arguments about absentee voting and the possibility that final results won't be known for some time after Election Day. Barr tersely responded, "if the results are clear, I would leave office." GOP Senators Will Say This Much: Trump Photo Op Wasn't a Good LookBarr also seemed to dismiss the convictions and guilty pleas reached by Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, saying that the Justice Department would not prosecute "some esoteric, made-up crime, but [rather] a meat-and-potatoes crime."On Tuesday, Barr—who wrote in his prepared opening statement that he is not "the President's factotum"—received a warm reception from Republicans, for whom the attorney general has become a hero. The top House Judiciary Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), said last month the attorney general was doing "the Lord's work." "Spying. That's why they're after you, Mr. Attorney General," Jordan said on Tuesday, before proceeding to portray the Black Lives Matter protests as violent through an extensive video that showed no police-induced violence. A day before Barr's hearing, a D.C. National Guard officer present at the Lafayette Park protest on June 1 told a different House committee that "the use of force against demonstrators in the clearing operation was an unnecessary escalation of the use of force." Barr has denied accounts placing him in command responsibility for suppressing the protest. But the officer, West Point graduate and Iraq veteran Adam DeMarco, recounted Barr conferring with the Park Police shortly before they advanced to clear protesters from the square for Trump's photo op. "From my observation, those demonstrators—our fellow American citizens—were engaged in the peaceful expression of their First Amendment rights," DeMarco told the House natural-resources committee on Monday. "Yet they were subjected to an unprovoked escalation and excessive use of force."Barr, questioned by Jayapal, dismissed his comments. "I don't remember DeMarco as being involved in any decision-making," he said, implying DeMarco was not credible since he "ran as a Democratic candidate in Maryland." 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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| Could America be seeing a 'K-shaped recovery' from the coronavirus crisis? Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:32 AM PDT  US economists have begun talking about a "K-shaped recovery" from the coronavirus crisis amid signs of stark differences in the impact on the richest and poorest Americans. It is based on the idea that wealthy Americans will quickly recover from the financial freeze triggered by the virus, keeping their jobs and seeing the value of assets rise. However those lower down the income scale, such as blue collar workers, are bearing the brunt of the redundancies and could be facing years of financial peril. Hence the idea that one cohort will bounce back from the economic impact of the pandemic rapidly - the upwards kick of the K - while another will drop down into long-term financial challenges. The model is being offered as an alternative to the "V-shaped recovery", where the economy as a whole quickly starts growing again - something Donald Trump, the US president, is targeting.
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| Hundreds of teens wrecked a Memphis mini-golf center after being told they wouldn't get refunds because of overcrowding Posted: 27 Jul 2020 12:08 PM PDT  A video appeared to show a young woman spitting on an employee. Some teens also threw plastic dividers and crowd-control stands at workers.
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| WE charity scandal - A simple guide to the new crisis for Trudeau Posted: 28 Jul 2020 03:38 PM PDT  How a multimillion-dollar scheme to help students embroiled Trudeau and his family in controversy.
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| Patio furniture is heavily discounted at Home Depot—here are the best deals Posted: 28 Jul 2020 07:38 AM PDT  Shop this patio furniture sale at Home Depot for markdowns on chairs, rattan furniture, dining sets and more—see the details.
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| 'We cannot stand idly by': Senators demand Mitch McConnell call vote on John Lewis voting rights bill Posted: 27 Jul 2020 03:08 PM PDT  The US House of Representatives has agreed to rename a bill that reinstates key elements of the Voting Rights Act after John Lewis, the late Civil Rights leader and congressman who died on 17 July.A group senators have also demanded Senate Republicans bring the measure to a vote after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tabled legislation in 2019.
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| Police searching for mother of boy found wandering alone Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:55 AM PDT |
| The Chicago Gun Myth Posted: 27 Jul 2020 01:12 PM PDT  The tragically incompetent mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, appeared on CNN's State of the Union this weekend to deflect attention from the horror show unfolding in her city by blaming interlopers for its spiking murder rate: "We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons -- that is hurting cities like Chicago."Although these accusations have leveled by Chicago politicians for decades now, they are a myth.For one thing, there is no state in the nation with "virtually no gun control" or "no background checks." Every time anyone in the United States purchases a gun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) -- a gun store, a gun show, it doesn't matter -- the seller runs a background check on the buyer through the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) database. In some cases, the FFL checks to see if the buyer has passed a background check via a state-issued concealed-carry permit. In states that allow individual private sales, it is illegal to knowingly sell to anyone who you believe is obtaining a firearm for criminal purposes.Those who cross state lines to buy guns undergo the same background check, and the sale is processed by an FFL in the buyer's home state. The exact same laws apply to all online sales.The vast majority of Americans obtain their guns in this manner, and they rarely commit crimes. Around 7 percent of criminals in prison bought weapons using their real names. Fewer than 1 percent obtained them at gun shows. As the Heritage Foundation's Amy Swearer points out, there have been around 18 million concealed-carry permit holders over the past 15 years, and they have committed 801 firearm-related homicides over that span, or somewhere around 0.7 percent of all firearm-related murders. Concealed-carry holders not only are more law-abiding than the general population as a group; they are more law-abiding than law enforcement.Studies of those imprisoned on firearms charges show that most often they obtain their weapons by stealing them or buying them in black markets. A smaller percentage get them from family members or friends.On top of all this, federal law requires every FFL license holder to report the purchase of two or more handguns by the same person with a week to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This is one of the reasons straw purchasers -- people with a clean record who buy for criminals -- spread their operations to other states. This is not unique to Illinois or Chicago. It has nothing to do with strict or lenient laws. It has mostly to do with cities and states failing to prosecute straw purchases.Lightfoot claims that 60 percent of the guns used in Chicago murders are bought from out of state. I assume she is relying on 2017's suspect "gun trace report," which looked at guns confiscated in criminal acts from 2013 and 2016. Even if we trusted the city's data, most guns used in Illinois crimes are bought in-state. If gun laws in Illinois — which earns a grade of "A-" from the pro-gun-control Gifford Law Center, tied for second highest in the country after New Jersey — are more effective than gun laws in Missouri, Wisconsin, or Indiana, why is it that FFL dealers in suburban Cook County are the origin point for a third of the crime guns recovered in Chicago, and home to "seven of the top ten source dealers"? According to the trace study, 11.2 percent of all crime guns recovered in Chicago could be tracked to just two gun shops.The only reason, it seems, criminals take the drive to Indiana is because local gun shops are tapped out. There is a tremendous demand for weapons in Chicago. That's not Mississippi's fault. And Lightfoot's contention only proves that criminals in her city can get their hands on guns rather easily, while most law-abiding citizens have no way to defend themselves.Lightfoot may also be surprised to learn that California borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. Yet no big city in California has quite the murder and criminality of Chicago. New York borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Yet NYC's murder rate is only fraction of Chicago's. Texas gets an "F" from Gifford Law Center, yet Houston and Dallas have murder rates that are half of that in Chicago. The rates in Austin and El Paso are tiny when compared to Chicago.Then, of course, the "assault-weapons bans" that Lightfoot brings up have absolutely no bearing on Chicago's murder rate, even if such prohibitions actually worked. There were 864 murders in the state of Illinois in 2018 (the last year for which the FBI has full stats). Of homicides where the type of weapon is reported by law enforcement, 592 were perpetrated using handguns, 14 with rifles, and four with shotguns. Over 100 murders were committed using knives, other cutting instruments, hands, feet, and other types of weapons. And of the 14 "rifles" used, it's almost surely the case that not all of them were "assault weapons." Among the illegal guns recovered by Chicago law enforcement in 2018, 12,220 were handguns of some kind and 1,769 were rifles and shotguns.In the states in Illinois's neighborhood with no bans on "assault weapons," the number of murders committed with a "rifle" is correspondingly small — ten in Indiana, eight in Tennessee, six in Kentucky, four in Wisconsin, and three in Mississippi.It's also worth pointing out that gun homicides dropped sharply in most cities after the national "assault weapons" expired in 2004, even though the AR-15 would correspondingly become one of the most popular weapons in the country. The AR-15 is an excellent home-defense weapon, but long guns aren't conducive to criminality, despite what we see in movies. Tragically, AR-15s are often favored by psychotic mass shooters, but rarely by the murderers who plague Lightfoot's city.It keeps getting worse. Nearly 400 people have already been murdered in Chicago this year, around 100 more than in the entire year of 2019. On the night of May 29, 25 people were murdered and another 85 wounded by gunfire, more than any day in 60 years. And yet the mayor is appearing on TV to blame Mississippi and Texas. It is far more likely that black-market guns find their way to Chicago because the place has been a poorly run criminal mecca for decades.
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| Trump says states 'should be opening up' amid worsening pandemic Posted: 27 Jul 2020 02:06 PM PDT  President Trump on Monday said that he believes "governors should be opening up states they're not opening."
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| The feds say they won't leave Portland until the violence stops. Privately, they concede they're fueling that violence. Posted: 28 Jul 2020 12:15 AM PDT  The top federal prosector in Oregon, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, said Monday that the federal agents aggressively policing protesters in Portland would remain in the city until the "attacks on federal property and personnel" cease. Oregon officials say the presence and shock-and-awe tactics of the federal agents are the main fuel for those attacks, and federal law enforcement officials privately concede they have a point, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.The nightly protests against racism and police violence in downtown Portland had dwindled to about 100 people before President Trump sent in federal agents over the July 4 weekend. The protests grew again after U.S. Marshals, ostensibly there to protect Portland's federal courthouse, shot 26-year-old protester Donavan La Bella in the head, fracturing his skull, and they exploded after news broke that anonymous militarized federal agents were detaining people on the street in unmarked vans. Thousands now gather nightly in Portland, and similar protests have been reinvigorated in other cities."Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it's going to be criticized," one federal law enforcement official told OBP. "That's not a controversial statement." Another told OBP, "Crowds were very small and the incident with La Bella." Still, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals confirmed Monday that about 100 new deputies have been lined up for deployment in Portland, either to bolster the current force or replace exhausted officers.The harsh crackdown and vilification of protesters in Portland may end up helping Trump politically, "but as a policing tactic, it has failed to suppress the protests," The Washington Post notes. "The escalation has been followed by larger, better-equipped, and more-aggressive crowds, and — as the new reinforcements showed — it exhausted federal resources before it exhausted the protesters.""Every time we go out into this, we get better at it," Gregory McKelvey, a community organizer in Portland, tells the Post. "When a flash bang first goes off in front of you, you run. But when you realize that one went off right in front of you and nothing happened to you, you're less likely to run the next time." In a bit of circular logic, law enforcement officials say they need even more people on the ground in Portland "to counter those increasingly sophisticated tactics" employed by protesters, OPB reports.More stories from theweek.com Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows AMC is ending its ban on Universal movies as part of a landmark agreement Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism
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| You may have to wait 18 months before taking delivery of your new Ford Bronco due to a plethora of preorders Posted: 27 Jul 2020 11:38 AM PDT  "Reservations have been so popular that some Bronco customers may not receive their Bronco until 2022," said Ford.
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| Trumpists Explode Over GOP’s Thirsty-for-Cash Texts Posted: 27 Jul 2020 03:45 PM PDT  Republicans have erupted over overwrought fundraising appeals from House GOP's campaign arm, with a spokesman for the group countering that critics of the strategy just need a hug. Dramatically phrased fundraising appeals are not new for either party. But pro-Trump pundits say the National Republican Congressional Committee has gone too far with "urgent" text message pitches warning that supporters are on the verge of letting the party down, saying the pitches talk down to the party's potential donors."Hey @NRCC - WTF is wrong with you?" right-wing columnist Kurt Schlichter tweeted on Sunday, as part of an ongoing series of complaints about Republican fundraising text messages. Schlichter included a screenshot of an NRCC text message warning the reader would have "1 more chance" to take advantage of a donation matching deal."We texted you TWICE," the text message read. "Why did you let your 500% Trump House Patriot match expire AGAIN? We'll give you 1 more chance. 500% match for 1 HR."Rather than mollify Schlichter, who has nearly 300,000 followers and a column at popular conservative website Townhall, the NRCC's Twitter account mocked him. NRCC spokesman Bob Pack tweeted a gif at Schlichter offering him a hug. NRCC deputy communications director Bob Salera tweeted that Schlichter should focus on electing Republicans, rather than "crying on Twitter." The NRCC shot back on its own Twitter account, accusing Schlichter of being a "Karen" who wants to speak to the campaign organization's "manager" and doesn't understand how political fundraising works. "This text raised $198,021 toward electing conservatives to Congress," the NRCC tweeted on Monday. "But we'll certainly pass your complaints on to our manager, Karen."The NRCC's text messages and its surprisingly dismissive reaction to Schlichter prompted outrage from Schlichter's fellow pundits and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who said he didn't approve of the fundraising tactics. Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused the NRCC of using an "ethnic slur," on the grounds that "Karen" is typically used to refer to a white woman. The NRCC didn't respond to a request for comment. While the vitriol in the spat between the NRCC and various pro-Trump personalities is unusual, the debate over how dramatically to phrase fundraising appeals isn't. Democratic groups became notorious in the 2014 election cycle for fundraising emails suggesting that the party or a supporter's favorite candidate was doomed—unless the donor opened the email immediately and gave money. But while the panicked emails subject lines are mocked on Twitter, they can also translate into higher donor totals, as they long as aren't overused.While email list members may have adapted to urgent fundraising emails, according to Democratic strategist Jared Leopold, the language deployed in the NRCC's text messages is unusual for text-message fundraising."People are used to that kind of language in an email, but this is pushing the boundaries of what people normally see in text messages," said Leopold, a former communications director at the Democratic Governors Association.Dramatically phrased fundraising appeals typically do work, according to Leopold, but they can also make subscribers more likely to unsubscribe from a text message or email list. Fundraisers monitor subscribers' reactions to the appeals to make sure they don't alienate too many potential backers, according to Leopold. "People do respond to the chicken-little, sky-is-falling emails," Leopold said. "People who do digital strategy watch very carefully for when the list is burning out." Several Democrats watched the fight between the NRCC and Schlichter with amusement. Rob Flaherty, the digital director for former Vice {resident Joe Biden's presidential campaign, tweeted that he would pay for a subscription of Twitter that consisted solely of Republican infighting over "grifty" text-message fundraising.The text-message fracas isn't the NRCC's only fundraising problem. With Republican prospects for retaking the House in November dimming in the face of a Democratic fundraising boom, the NRCC has reportedly failed to secure new contributions from the Republican National Committee or the Trump campaign.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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| Iter: World's largest nuclear fusion project begins assembly Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:35 AM PDT  The world's biggest nuclear fusion project has entered its five-year assembly phase.
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| Fact check: Hurricane Hanna did not collapse border wall in Texas Posted: 28 Jul 2020 01:14 PM PDT  A viral video falsely claims Hurricane Hanna was responsible for knocking down a border wall in southeast Texas.
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| Factbox: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners Posted: 28 Jul 2020 12:43 PM PDT  Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill.
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| Head of China CDC gets injected with experimental vaccine Posted: 27 Jul 2020 11:51 PM PDT  The head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention says he has been injected with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to persuade the public to follow suit when one is approved. "I'm going to reveal something undercover: I am injected with one of the vaccines," Gao Fu said in a webinar Sunday hosted by Alibaba Health, an arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant, and Cell Press, an American publisher of scientific journals. Gao did not say when or how he took the vaccine candidate, leaving it unclear whether he was injected as part of a government-approved human trial.
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| Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower defaced for fourth time in weeks as NYPD pays officers overtime to protect painting Posted: 27 Jul 2020 07:50 AM PDT  A Black Lives Matter mural painted outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan that has faced significant vandalism since it was unveiled earlier this month was defaced for the fourth time in weeks, according to police.Mark David Hutt was charged with criminal mischief after officials said he threw white paint over a section of the mural on Sunday morning.
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| Independent experts clear African Development Bank chief Posted: 28 Jul 2020 01:07 PM PDT  An independent panel of experts, headed by former Irish president Mary Robinson, has cleared the beleaguered leader of the African Development Bank (AfDB) of corruption, according to a report obtained by AFP. Akinwumi Adesina, 60, a charismatic speaker known for his elegant suits and bow ties, became the first Nigerian to helm the AfDB in 2015 -- but a 15-page report earlier this year claimed that under his watch the bank had been tarred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment and favouritism. The panel of three experts, led by Robinson alongside Gambia's Chief Justice Hassan Jallow and the World Bank's former integrity vice president Leonard McCarthy, cleared Adesina of all charges alleged by whistleblowers.
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| Mitch McConnell is in a terrible negotiating position on COVID-19 relief Posted: 28 Jul 2020 05:02 AM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released a $1 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Monday, days later than planned thanks to divisions within his own caucus. McConnell acknowledged this "embarrassing setback for the party at a critical moment," Politico reports, conceding that not all Senate Republicans will vote for his bill, "which is as close to a tell as McConnell gets to admitting his cards aren't very strong." Other Senate Republicans were more blunt."At the end of the day, [McConnell] has to accept the reality that probably half of our members in the Senate won't vote for it no matter what's in it," Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who helped negotiate the bill with the White House, told Politico. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in the "no" camp, told reporters "there is significant resistance to yet another trillion dollars."Democrats, meanwhile, are united behind a $3 trillion package passed under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last month. That gives her significant leverage in negotiations, Politico notes, and "her majority is safe in November, something McConnell can't say." The White House started negotiating with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on COVID-19 relief Monday evening.The pressure is building to pass a bill before supplemental federal unemployment benefits expire Friday. McConnell's bill would cut those benefits to $200 a week, from $600 a week, until states created a complicated formula to ensure unemployed workers get 70 percent of their pre-coronavirus wages. McConnell's other top priority is a COVID-19 liability shield for companies facing "an epidemic of lawsuits" that has not yet materialized, Politico reports.McConnell's bill also includes $1.75 billion for a new FBI headquarters and $29 billion for defense projects, including at least $7 billion for weapons programs. Asked about the FBI building funds Monday, McConnell told reporters they would have to ask the White House "why they insisted that be included." Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said it was a "good question." Pelosi had an answer: Republicans "didn't have money for food stamps, but they had money for an FBI building just so that they can diminish competition for the president's hotel."More stories from theweek.com Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows AMC is ending its ban on Universal movies as part of a landmark agreement Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism
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| A man who thought the coronavirus was a 'scamdemic' wrote a powerful essay warning against virus deniers after he hosted a party and got his entire family sick Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:51 AM PDT  Texas conservative Tony Green and most of his family, including two new parents, caught COVID-19 after he hosted a party at his house on June 13.
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| RNC: Enthusiasm for Trump is higher than 2016, Republicans are being under-polled Posted: 27 Jul 2020 05:28 AM PDT  RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel discusses the latest 2020 polling and plans for the 2020 convention.
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| Huawei executives accused of snubbing Commons Defence Committee over 5G Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:23 AM PDT  Huawei executives were last night accused of snubbing the Commons Defence Committee over 5G weeks after it received a grilling over freedom of speech. The Daily Telegraph understands that Jeremy Thompson and Victor Zhang, vice presidents of Huawei UK and Dr Yao Wenbing, vice president of business development, were all expected to give evidence before the committee, as they had done earlier this month when invited by the Science & Technology committee. During the meeting the executives refused to comment on the row with China over Hong Kong only moments after insisting that the company's UK leaders were free to express their opinions. Days later Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, confirmed the UK would ban Huawei from the its 5G network and set a new deadline for stripping it out of all infrastructure at the cost of £2bn, by 2027. Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Select Committee, told those gathered at Tuesday's meeting: "Huawei were supposed to join us, unfortunately they've declined to be here. This might be connected to the recent announcement in July. I'm sure they're here in spirit, if not, I'm certain they're going to be listening."
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| Rand Paul attacker sentenced to additional prison time over yard assault Posted: 27 Jul 2020 12:02 PM PDT  Rene Boucher broke the senator's ribs in 2017 in a dispute between neighbors over yard waste.
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| Taliban push to control private companies, aid agencies in Afghanistan Posted: 27 Jul 2020 04:01 AM PDT |
| Chinese scientist charged with visa fraud appears in court Posted: 27 Jul 2020 03:21 PM PDT  A Chinese scientist charged with visa fraud after authorities said she concealed her military ties to China in order to work in the U.S. made her first appearance Monday in federal court by video. Juan Tang, 37, was appointed a federal public defender and U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes ordered Tang to remain in custody, saying she is a flight risk, while her attorney prepares an argument to allow her release on bail. The Justice Department last week announced charges against Tang and three other scientists living in the U.S., saying they lied about their status as members of China's People's Liberation Army.
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| Nevada sheriff to library: Support Black Lives Matter? Don't bother calling 911 Posted: 28 Jul 2020 05:01 PM PDT  Douglas County, Nevada Sheriff Dan Coverley's open letter prompted a later press release saying the office will continue to respond to all 911 calls.
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