| Chicago police say attacks on officers at protest appeared organized as more than 20 complaints filed against cops Posted: 20 Jul 2020 05:59 PM PDT  CHICAGO - Chicago police released a video showing what they say are a group of protesters wielding black umbrellas and shields pelting officers with projectiles. Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Monday that officers will wear full protective gear when assigned to future protests after "agitators" hijacked a protest Friday at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park, injuring ...
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| I took a closer look at the cognitive test Trump claims to have aced Posted: 21 Jul 2020 07:46 AM PDT  The test the president boasted about passing does not measure IQ but is typically used to check for early signs of dementiaLike any smart, down-to-earth person, Donald Trump has been bragging about "acing" a simple cognitive test he took recently. He's been doing it for a while now, but it wasn't until his interview with Fox News's Chris Wallace on Sunday that he was challenged over it.As the president started boasting about his results, Wallace laughed. "I took the test too when I heard that you passed it," the Fox News host told Trump. "It's not – well it's not the hardest test. They have a picture and it says 'what's that' and it's an elephant.'"This, according to Trump, was "misrepresentation". "Yes, the first few questions are easy," he conceded. "But I'll bet you couldn't even answer the last five questions. I'll bet you couldn't, they get very hard, the last five questions." He added: "I guarantee you that Joe Biden could not answer those questions."So what is the test and are the last five questions, as Trump claims, really so difficult?The test is called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and was created by the neurologist Dr Ziad Nasreddine in 1996. Talking to MarketWatch on Monday, Nasreddine stressed that the test "is supposed to be easy for someone who has no cognitive impairment", stressing that "this is not an IQ test or the level of how a person is extremely skilled or not. The test is supposed to help physicians detect early signs of Alzheimer's."There are a few different versions of the test with small variations (such as the words to remember or animals to name), but the questions are generally the same. We can't tell for sure which version Trump took, but as he said he did it recently, I've taken the latest MoCA test from their website.Trump is right about the start of the test being easy. But when it comes to the last five questions, his claim that they're "very hard" is unsettling (although not surprising) in what it reveals about his relationship with reality.But before we dive into that, here's what the test involves: Drawing a clock and a cubeThe first few questions are indeed "easy" – although it goes without saying that anyone experiencing cognitive problems is supposed to find it hard, and the point of the test is to help diagnose their condition.First, you have to draw a line between numbers and their equivalent letters (1 to A, A to 2, 2 to B and so on). Then you have to draw a cube, and a clock at 10 past 11. Call it what you will – millennial-itis, lockdown brain – but this was actually a slight challenge as I can't remember the last time I looked at a clock that wasn't on my phone or laptop. So yes, it took me a second to remember that the minutes are all multiples of five – for 10 past the big hand points to two. But I figured it out in the end, and that's all that matters. The 'elephant' questionIf you're lucky enough to not have any cognitive impairment, this part is also easy. There are three drawings – a lion, rhino and camel. As mentioned, there are a few versions of the test with very minor differences – for example, the test Fox News showed during the interview had an elephant on it (you can see it here), but the latest test has a rhino instead. This has led some of Trump's critics to baselessly claim that he can't tell the difference between the two. Repeat after me – and do some mathsBoth of these sections are very simple, and involve repeating a series of numbers forwards and backwards, and remembering a string of five random words. The final part, which Chris Wallace mentioned, asks you to count back from 100 in multiples of seven (100, 93, 86). Like the clock, this took me slightly longer than I would have liked – but nowhere does it say this is a timed test. I did it in the end, slowly but surely. The difficulties beginThis is where things get a little concerning.If you remember, Trump bet Wallace that he "couldn't even answer the last five questions" of the test. But for a mentally healthy person, the last five questions should be as simple as the rest.The fifth-to-last question on the test asks you to repeat a sentence out loud, before naming as many words as you can starting with F. In the following "abstraction" section, you have to spot the similarity between different objects such as trains and bicycles (modes of transport), or a watch and a ruler (measuring devices).Next, you have to recall the random words that were included in the earlier memory section. This may be the part that's easiest to trip over.And finally, for the orientation part of the test, you have to … say what the date is.For Trump to claim these are hard is worrying because for any cognitively healthy person, they shouldn't be. But before we start any armchair diagnosis, you have to weigh up two probabilities against each other. Is it really likely that he found the last five questions hard? Or is it more likely that he's misrepresenting about how hard they were, in order to look "smarter" than Joe Biden?In the same interview, Trump got his team to pass him a chart that he said showed the US had "one of the lowest mortality rates in the world", when it didn't do anything of the sort. This is shocking, but not surprising – Trump has now made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims since he took office.So it seems more likely that Trump's difficulties at the end of the test tell us nothing that we don't know already. His prolific lying and self-aggrandisement, two things we have empirical evidence for, should be what worries us. For, similar to his "stable genius" claims, you've got to ask yourself: how many smart people brag about their supposed intellect so much, and in such a misguided way?
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| A California teen who seemed to be recovering from his coronavirus symptoms died in self-isolation despite testing negative for the virus Posted: 21 Jul 2020 11:25 AM PDT  The teen's mother took him for coronavirus testing and was "a little bit confused" by the negative results, KCBS-TV reported.
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| China’s Monstrous Abuse of Uighur Women Posted: 21 Jul 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Slavery and genocide are ancient bedfellows. I first became aware of this fact as a child while watching the opening number of DreamWorks's 1998 film, The Prince of Egypt. In the first five minutes of the movie, enslaved Hebrew men construct monuments to the Pharaoh as their wives beg for their infant sons' lives. All, save Moses, are ripped from their mothers' arms and tossed into the Nile.Of course, with 21st-century technology, crocodile-infested rivers are no longer needed to get rid of minority children. We have "medicine" for that.Last week, drone footage, verified by Western intelligence agencies, emerged from Northern China. It showed Uighur Muslims bound and blindfolded, with shaven heads, being loaded onto trains that were likely headed for detention camps. In a BBC interview, British journalist Andrew Marr demanded answers from Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom. Xiaoming accused "so-called Western intelligence agencies" of making "false accusations against China." The population of Xinjiang had doubled in 40 years, he said, which clearly proved that "ethnic cleansing" and "so-called forced abortions" had not occurred. Marr, unconvinced, retorted, "According to your own local government statistics, the population growth in Uighur jurisdictions in that area has fallen by 84 percent between 2015 and 2018. 84 percent."How can that be so? A recent report by the Associated Press, compiling "government statistics, state documents and interviews with 30 ex-detainees, family members and a former detention camp instructor" gives an idea.Over the past four years, the Chinese government has spent tens of millions of dollars to violently hijack the functioning reproductive systems of minority women. In 2017, according to official directives uncovered by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, government officials backed by armed law-enforcement officers were instructed to "leave no blind spots," "contain illegal births and lower fertility rates," "test all who need to be tested," and "detect and deal with those who violate policies early."The AP report found that "having too many children" is a "major reason people are sent to detention camps," that "parents of three or more [children] are ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines," and that "police raid homes, terrifying parents as they search for hidden children." The report also contains shocking witness testimony: * "Tursunay Ziyawudun said she was injected until she stopped having her period, and kicked repeatedly in the lower stomach during interrogations. She now can't have children and often doubles over in pain, bleeding from her womb." * "Gulbahar Jelilova confirmed that detainees in her camp were forced to abort their children. She also saw a new mother, still leaking breast milk, who did not know what had happened to her infant. And she met doctors and medical students who were detained for helping Uighurs dodge the system and give birth at home." * Gulzia Mogdia was also forced to have an abortion when she became pregnant with her third child. "Medics inserted an electric vacuum into her womb and sucked her fetus out of her body," after which she was "taken home and told to rest, as [officials] planned to take her to a camp."Some survivors recalled being suddenly "force-fed birth control pills" and "injected with fluids." One had to recite her crimes ("I gave birth to too many children") whenever officials came near her cell. Another remembered that a pregnant woman in her camp's "class" had suddenly disappeared.In The Prince of Egypt, when Moses demands an explanation, Pharaoh retorts that the victims were "only slaves." Since slavery doesn't go down so well any more in the West, the Chinese government justifies its actions as a means of preventing terrorism, which is likewise blatant nonsense. These are victims of the state: innocent women and children, the most vulnerable members of an already vulnerable minority. As for the men, one Uighur, Abdushukur Umar, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for the crime of having seven children. Umar's cousin, who fled China, said that Umar "spent all his time taking care of his family, he never took part in any political movements."In the past, Westerners have been too squeamish to issue a full-throated condemnation of China's inhumane population policies. During the era of the so-called one-child policy, sex-screening technology meant widespread gendercide, since baby girls were seen as less valuable. The Nobel economist Amartya Sen estimated that the policy resulted in 100 million aborted girls. Where was the feminist outcry then?For that matter, where is the outcry now? China's treatment of the Uighurs is reminiscent of the kind of abuse fictionalized in The Handmaid's Tale, yet even the AP report is replete with Western euphemisms, such as involuntary "birth control" and "population control." Get into the details and what the Egyptians did to the Israelites almost seems tame by comparison. Men and women of conscience in the West have a duty to call this out for what it is -- evil.
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| Labour Admits It Smeared Jewish Whistleblowers Under Jeremy Corbyn Posted: 22 Jul 2020 03:28 AM PDT  The British Labour Party has admitted it defamed Jewish whistleblowers who spoke to the BBC Panorama program about anti-Semitism in the party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.The program featured a number of Jewish whistleblowers who condemned the party's practices on anti-Semitic complaints under the direction of Corbyn, claiming that several high ranking officers in the party interfered with investigations into alleged perpetrators who were members of the party. Labour responded at the time by accusing those who participated in the program of just being "disaffected former staff" who harbored "personal and political axes to grind" and made malicious and false claims in order to damage the party.Seven of the whistleblowers and the Panorama program presenter John Ware then sued Labour for defamation. In Ware's suit, he claims that Labour defamed him when they accused him and his team of "deliberate and malicious representations designed to mislead the public."Labour's 28-page complaint to the BBC complained that the program contained "the tendentious and politically slanted script; the bias in the selection of interviewees; and the failure to identify the political affiliations or records of interviewees in a highly controversial, sensitive and contested subject produced a programme that was a one-sided authored polemic."Allegations of anti-Jewish racism dogged the Labour Party under Corbyn, although he always denied it. One Jewish lawmaker quit the party over his failings, he was linked to anti-Semitic speakers and Facebook posts, and he was widely condemned for failing to drive anti-Semitic members out of the party.Jeremy Corbyn, the U.K. Labour Leader, Was In Three Secret Anti-Semitic Facebook GroupsOn the day that Keir Starmer was elected to replace him, the new Labour leader announced that convincing the Jewish community that the party had changed was his top priority. He said he would root out anti-Semitism in the party. The latest step in that process was to retract their incendiary complaint made to the BBC, and admit they had defamed and mistreated the whistleblowers. "We acknowledge the many years of dedicated and committed service that the Whistleblowers have given to the Labour Party as members and as staff," the statement, issued Wednesday, reads. "We unreservedly withdraw all allegations of bad faith, malice and lying. We would like to apologise unreservedly for the distress, embarrassment and hurt caused by their publication. We have agreed to pay them damages."The statement goes on to admit that anti-Semitism within Labour has "been a stain" on the party in recent years. "It has caused unacceptable and unimaginable levels of grief and distress for many in the Jewish community, as well as members of staff."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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| Congress weighs kicking racist chief justice from Capitol Posted: 21 Jul 2020 09:23 PM PDT  The House will vote on whether to remove from the U.S. Capitol a bust of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared African Americans couldn't be citizens. The 2-foot-high marble bust of Taney is outside a room in the Capitol where the Supreme Court met for half a century, from 1810 to 1860. It was in that room that Taney, the nation's fifth chief justice, announced the Dred Scott decision, sometimes called the worst decision in the court's history.
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| Protesters set fire at Portland courthouse Posted: 20 Jul 2020 04:40 PM PDT  Protesters outside the U.S. courthouse in Portland, Ore., set a fire in the building's entryway early Monday.
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| Betsy DeVos just crossed another line. She's an ongoing danger to teachers and students. Posted: 22 Jul 2020 05:11 AM PDT  Schools must look inward, assess local COVID-19 conditions and ignore pressure from DeVos. They have authority over whether to reopen. She doesn't.
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| U.S. seeking arrest of Venezuela chief justice, offers reward for info Posted: 21 Jul 2020 01:47 PM PDT  The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Venezuelan Chief Justice Maikel Moreno and announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction for allegedly participating in transnational organized crime. In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the chief justice of Venezuela's supreme court was being offered through the State Department's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
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| Lawyer suspect in killing of Esther Salas' son may have been targeting enemies following cancer diagnosis Posted: 21 Jul 2020 09:40 AM PDT  The lawyer that shot and killed the son of a federal judge may have been hunting down his enemies after learning he'd been diagnosed with cancer.Law enforcement officials believe Roy Den Hollander — a "men's rights" attorney that once sued bars and nightclubs for offering "ladies' nights" on the grounds that it violated the 14th Amendment — was responsible for shooting federal Judge Esther Salas' husband and son after breaking into their home.
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| What we know about the manhunt for killers of three Florida friends on fishing trip Posted: 20 Jul 2020 06:56 PM PDT  Florida police are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of suspects who killed three friends on a fishing trip in Florida.
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| More than 50 Florida hospitals have run out of ICU beds as coronavirus cases soar Posted: 20 Jul 2020 02:16 PM PDT  The Florida Education Association filed a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis over his order to reopen schools and resume in-person classes in August.
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| Fort Hood soldier's body found near base; 3rd death in month Posted: 21 Jul 2020 06:56 PM PDT |
| Fox News Host Confronts Kellyanne Conway on Trump’s Sudden Mask Embrace Posted: 22 Jul 2020 08:51 AM PDT  Kellyanne Conway went on Fox News Wednesday morning to heap praise on her boss for what news anchors have been calling his "new tone" in the previous day's coronavirus task force briefing—his first in several months. She was met with some unexpectedly tough pushback from host Martha MacCallum. "I think it was incredibly important for the president of the United States to provide information to the public, not confrontation with some press people there who were asking questions that had nothing to do with the development of vaccines and therapeutics," Conway said, perhaps alluding to the question about alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell that prompted Trump to admit he's met her "numerous times over the years" and "wish her well." When the White House counselor started lecturing "all those people out there who are resisting wearing a mask," telling them, "you'll get your liberties back sooner if you wear your mask," MacCallum cut in to press her on why it's taken so long for the president to arrive at this messaging. Kayleigh McEnany Urges Fox News Viewers to 'Follow Trump's Lead' on Masks"But Kellyanne, I guarantee you there are people at home who will listen to that and say, why didn't the White House have this message for all of us two months ago?" MacCallum asked pointedly. "Why now? Why wasn't this pushed and emphasized and encouraged by the president back then when it might have made even more of a difference?" "The president did say in April if people want to wear a mask, they should wear a mask," Conway replied, though that is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the basic safety precaution. She then pivoted, as Trump did in his Chris Wallace interview last weekend, to blaming health officials who "early on" said it "wouldn't help." That guidance, of course, was revised long before the president first wore a mask in public this month. Conway then revealed that just yesterday in the Oval Office, Dr. Deborah Birx had to explain to the president that the research is conclusive that wearing cloth masks help stop the spread of the virus. Noting that Trump, unlike most Americans, has the luxury of getting tested and receiving rapid results daily, Conway said, "We know that the president is COVID-negative, we don't know that about the rest of the country. So we're asking people to wear masks." Kellyanne Conway Loses It Over Mary Trump Book on Fox NewsRead 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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| Former Bush DHS secretary rips Trump for treating department like 'the president's personal militia' Posted: 21 Jul 2020 01:05 PM PDT  America's first secretary of homeland security thinks his former department has gotten its mission twisted.The Trump administration has sent federal agents into Portland, Oregon, and has suggested sending them to other cities in what it claims is an attempt to quell violent protests there. But Tom Ridge, a former two-term Republican governor of Pennsylvania who former President George W. Bush tapped as the first DHS head, told Sirius XM host Michael Smerconish on Tuesday that's not what DHS is meant to do."The department was established to protect America from the ever-present threat of global terrorism. It was not established to be the president's personal militia," Ridge said, alluding to the department's creation after the 9/11 attacks. Ridge did say he would "welcome the opportunity to work with any federal agency to reduce crime or lawlessness in the cities" if he were governor. But "it would be a cold day in hell before I would consent to an uninvited, unilateral intervention into one of my cities," he added, specifically calling out how the federal authorities were unwelcome in Portland.Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has defended the agents by saying they were stopping "violent extremists" from destroying property. But the agents, some of them unmarked, have reportedly arrested people off the streets in Portland even if they aren't near federal property or seemingly doing anything criminal.More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official Trump declares war on America Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19 a 3rd time
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| Editorial: Trump's census order defies the Constitution. Is he gaslighting, or just desperate? Posted: 21 Jul 2020 01:21 PM PDT  President Trump's directive to strip non-citizens from the census' redistricting count defies the Constitution.
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| What we know about Joe Biden's plans to announce his running mate Posted: 21 Jul 2020 10:31 AM PDT  There have been few updates on Joe Biden's vice presidential pick since the candidate announced his selection committee in April.
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| Bolivia police recover 420 dead in possible COVID-19 cases Posted: 21 Jul 2020 06:02 PM PDT  A special police unit collected 420 bodies over the preceding five days in two Bolivian cities, and 80% to 90% of the deceased were thought to have succumbed to COVID-19, authorities said Tuesday. Col. Ivan Rojas, director of the special crime-fighting force, said his officers recovered the bodies from streets, vehicles and homes in the capital, La Paz, and in Bolivia's biggest city, Santa Cruz. Bolivia's Institute of Forensic Investigations said that nationally from April 1 through Sunday, its workers had recovered 3,016 bodies of people in possible COVID-19 cases.
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| Powerful Ohio lawmaker arrested for role in 'largest bribery scheme' in state history, officials said Posted: 21 Jul 2020 02:14 PM PDT  FBI agents raided the farm of House Speaker Larry Householder in connection to his support of nuclear power plant bailouts.
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| Earliest evidence for humans in the Americas Posted: 22 Jul 2020 09:35 AM PDT  Humans settled in the Americas much earlier than previously thought, according to new finds from Mexico.
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| 'There's no corona in the water': Floridians are partying on boats to escape COVID-19, but it's only making the outbreak worse Posted: 21 Jul 2020 12:25 PM PDT  Florida is the third worst-hit state by the outbreak and has the most current coronavirus cases. Some reopening guidelines have been largely ignored.
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| Rep. Scalise on violent protests: Americans deserve to feel safe Posted: 21 Jul 2020 07:56 AM PDT  House Minority Whip Steve Scalise weighs in on federal forces being deployed amid violent protests.
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| U.S. records over 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day for first time since early June Posted: 21 Jul 2020 04:14 PM PDT  After weeks of declining fatalities, there were more than 5,200 U.S. COVID-19 deaths in the week ended July 19, up 5% from the previous seven days, a Reuters analysis found. Nearly 142,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, a toll that experts warn will likely surge following recent record spikes in case numbers and an alarming rise in hospitalizations in many states. While some of the increase in new cases can be attributed to more testing, hospitalizations, which are not tied to testing numbers, began to surge in late June as well.
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| 'I don't need invitations': Homeland Security chief says he has authority to deploy more Feds to shut down protests across the US Posted: 20 Jul 2020 03:47 PM PDT  "This siege can end if state and local officials decide to take appropriate action instead of refusing to enforce the law," the DHS said.
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| Vice President Mike Pence `wouldn't hesitate' to send his kids back to school Posted: 21 Jul 2020 01:55 PM PDT  Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said he "wouldn't hesitate" to send his own children back to the classroom, despite the rise in coronavirus cases.
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| Virus antibodies fade fast but not necessarily protection Posted: 21 Jul 2020 11:13 AM PDT  New research suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the new coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness, but that doesn't mean protection also is gone or that it won't be possible to develop an effective vaccine. "Infection with this coronavirus does not necessarily generate lifetime immunity," but antibodies are only part of the story, said Dr. Buddy Creech, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. The immune system remembers how to make fresh antibodies if needed and other parts of it also can mount an attack, he said.
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| Foreign Journalists Covering Anti-Netanyahu Protests Attacked by Police Posted: 22 Jul 2020 08:06 AM PDT  JERUSALEM—Israeli police roughed up international journalists and used water cannons and mounted police to ram peaceful protesters close to Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence early Wednesday morning in the latest round of demonstrations demanding the Israeli prime minister's resignation.The protests began about six months ago, in the wake of Netanyahu's indictment on several corruption charges. They escalated in recent weeks as the government appeared to lose control of the coronavirus pandemic. After midnight, as police attempted to disperse the activists, officers struck at least two journalists, including Guilhem Delteil of Radio France International, who was shoved into the street from the sidewalk.Delteil, who was wearing a T-shirt, was manhandled by the police despite the fact that he was interviewing protesters using a bright red professional microphone clearly marked with the logo of his radio station. He repeatedly told the officers in Hebrew that he was a journalist. After deciding to leave because of the police's violent actions, he realized he was bruised and bleeding from scratches on his arm where he had been pulled by two officers.As the police launched the operation to disperse the public, this journalist was also kicked and thrown to the ground by two female border police officers. I landed by a tree on Agron Street, one of the exits from Paris Square.Delteil filed a complaint with the Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign journalists working in Israel. FPA Director Ellen Krosney said she was passing the complaint to the organization's board "for further action."Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said members of the media are always taking a chance if they choose to cover protests. "Journalists were doing their job, stayed away from trouble, but there is always a risk factor for them—that they are aware of—when protests take place," he said.The activists have been protesting against the government's mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis, and about Netanyahu's status as a criminally indicted head of government. Besieged Netanyahu Blames Israel's Protests on Epstein Money Conspiracy TheoryTuesday's rally began with restaurant owners and workers angered by the zigzagging COVID-19-era restrictions imposed on their businesses, and conditions they say make their economic survival impossible. The Israeli government has changed the rules regarding restaurant operations three times since the weekend.Rama Ben-Zvi, owner of a landmark restaurant in the Judean Hills outside Jerusalem, said: "We feel there is no leadership. There is no one we can talk to. It feels like the government just wants to finish with restaurants."The restaurant workers' protest was later joined by activists from the Black Flag organization, a group that has been leading biweekly marches and protests against the prime minister, who is on trial for three counts of corruption, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.After a two-month break, Netanyahu's trial resumed on Sunday.Protesters had been granted permission to demonstrate until 11 p.m., but refused to leave Paris Square, the plaza adjacent to Netanyahu's official residence. Many were singing, dancing, or calling on him to resign. At about 12:30 a.m., police units began dispersing protesters with water cannons and mounted police officers rammed into demonstrators started to fill the plaza. Unlike similar rallies in American cities in recent weeks, the police did not deploy any weapons.Roi Yanovsky, a reporter for Israel's Kan News broadcaster, filmed border police and members of an elite policing unit removing protesters from the plaza in what he called "a deployment of excessive force. Police said 38 arrests were made for suspected disorderly conduct and for alleged violence against police officers.Eran Etzion, a former deputy national security adviser of Israel, who participated in the protest, wrote on Twitter: "There was not a hint of violence among the thousands of young people who filled Paris Square and the square and street in front of the Knesset. There is no logical reason to use police violence. None." He called on police and protest organizers to appoint a mediator to prevent future violence as the protests continue to grow.Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Yadid said in a statement that "a smoke grenade was activated and bottles and stones were thrown at the police." A video released by the police did not show any violence aimed at officers.Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said arrests were made among "protesters that remained in the area, blocking roads, and were involved in disturbances," despite police informing them the rally was illegal.On Wednesday morning, several dozen protesters threw themselves to the ground in front of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, briefly blocking three entrances to the site as legislators inside debated a bill proposed by the Netanyahu government, which would allow it emergency powers to bypass the Knesset on coronavirus issues. These demonstrators, who belong to the global Extinction Rebellion movement, were forcefully removed by the police, who said four had been detained.The Black Flag protests are expected to resume in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem on Saturday night. 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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| Sydney police 'asked woman to remove tampon' in strip-search Posted: 21 Jul 2020 10:13 PM PDT  A review into police conduct during five controversial strip-searches has called for an official apology.
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| Marine Corps Begins Shutdown of All Tank Battalions Posted: 21 Jul 2020 08:51 AM PDT  The end of the Marine Corps' tank missions has officially begun.
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| INDOPACOM head wants Aegis Ashore in Guam by 2026 Posted: 22 Jul 2020 09:44 AM PDT  The missile defense capability would form the "backbone" of Adm. Phil Davidson's highest priority: a new defense system around the American territory.
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| After fatal UK crash, 'anomaly' over U.S. diplomatic immunity is removed Posted: 22 Jul 2020 04:10 AM PDT  Britain has agreed with the United States to remove an "anomaly" which allowed the wife of a U.S. official to claim diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution after she was involved in a road accident in which 19-year-old Briton Harry Dunn was killed. The crash last August has caused friction between London and Washington after Britain criticised the United States for refusing to extradite Anne Sacoolas.
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| Fauci says contradicting Trump 'not helpful,' avoiding 'being overtly at odds' Posted: 22 Jul 2020 04:34 AM PDT  "Then all of a sudden, you don't hear from me for a while," Fauci said.
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| Former Fox News producer alleges then-host Ed Henry violently raped her and asked her to be his 'sex slave' in lawsuit filed against the network Posted: 20 Jul 2020 12:59 PM PDT  Jennifer Eckhart alleged in the complaint that Ed Henry "psychologically manipulated and coerced" her into a sexual relationship.
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| Spying, election hacks, assassinations: British report details scale of Russian subversion campaigns Posted: 21 Jul 2020 12:33 PM PDT  Britain publishes a long-delayed report into Russian meddling allegations over Brexit, general election and Scottish independence votes.
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| Powerful quake jolts Alaska towns, produces small tsunami Posted: 22 Jul 2020 12:33 AM PDT  A powerful earthquake off Alaska's southern coast jolted coastal communities late Tuesday, and some residents briefly scrambled for higher ground over fears of a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of damage in the sparsely populated area of the state, and the tsunami warning was canceled after the magnitude 7.8 quake off the Alaska Peninsula produced a wave of a less than a foot. Because of the temblor's location, nearby communities along the Alaska Peninsula did not experience shaking that would normally be associated with that magnitude of a quake, said Michael West, Alaska State Seismologist.
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| America is seeing a surge in anti-Catholic vandalism Posted: 22 Jul 2020 02:55 AM PDT  A monument to the victims of abortion inscribed with a verse from Isias knocked over in a village in Sullivan County, New York. A crucifix smashed with a hammer in Rockford. A statue of the Virgin Mary beheaded in Gary. Another statue of her, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, desecrated with garbage; yet one more in the same city burned after plastic flowers in the hands of the Blessed Mother were set aflame. Satanic symbols and obscene messages scrawled on the doors of a parish in New Haven. More statues of Christ and Our Mother toppled, decapitated, or otherwise besmirched in Florida, Tennessee, New York, and Colorado. Representations of St. Junipero Serra tumbling down across the state that would not have existed without his glorious apostolate. The cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Nantes burning, with arson suspected. Priests attacked as far afield as Fargo and Washington, D.C. A vehicle driven into a church in Florida by a masked lunatic who filled the narthex with gasoline, igniting a blaze with parishioners inside.Most of these are headlines from the past week; all date from no later than a month ago. They do not represent an exhaustive list, nor are they meant to do so. I am ashamed to say that it was not until very recently that I saw any of this for what it so obviously was. When words that cannot even be printed in this space were scrawled on the exterior of St. Patrick's in Manhattan, I thought the incident, while regrettable in itself, at least harkened back to an earlier age when cathedrals were the natural repositories for inchoate social energy — the Florence of Savonarola, say.It was always wishful thinking, but the more realistic assertion that such vandalism was evidence not of hatred but of indifference, of churches being (reasonably or otherwise) indistinguishable from post offices or courthouses as generic symbols of authority was briefly a source of comfort. This, alas, was also untenable. Catholic buildings are being burned and our sacred images destroyed for the not very complicated reason that we are increasingly the objects of suspicion and loathing in the United States and Western Europe, just as we have long been in the Middle East and parts of East and Southeast Asia.This has nothing to do with any protest movement, worthy or otherwise. It is about one thing: hatred of the Church, Her sacraments, Her immutable teachings, Her glorious saints, Her bishops and priests and religious brothers and sisters, and the faithful themselves. Why such a painfully obvious conclusion has not been more widely drawn, much less broadcast and made the object of public regret, seems to me not especially mysterious. The unmistakable corollary is that it is because such hatred is considered eminently reasonable in polite society, a piece of received wisdom comparable to finding cigarettes distasteful.In this country it is now considered unremarkable for a senator to declare belief in Catholic "dogma" an immovable obstacle to participation in our civic and political life, for membership in anodyne charitable organizations such as the Knights of Columbus to be considered tantamount to belonging to the Ku Klux Klan (which had its own problems with us). Revealing among other things risible ignorance of the almost impossibly rich diversity of images of Christ and His Mother, activists who call for the destruction of millions of pieces of religious art find their views presented as a meaningful contribution to discussions about race relations. Worse still, there is even a kind of self-loathing Catholic who has more contempt for the pious sensibilities of his brethren than for the iconoclastic rage of those who despise the faith, and heaps scorn on anyone who expresses outrage about any of this.How should Catholics respond to the unmistakable realities of the present? By quietly acknowledging that there is nothing especially new about our current situation, that the era in which Catholics hold a majority of seats on the Supreme Court may well prove a brief interval between the old Know-Nothing era persecution of Catholics of the 19th century and something perhaps even more terrifying that is to come. The United States is not a Catholic country, nor has she ever been one; the very watchwords of her founding were understood by the men who uttered them as talismans against the Romish menace of priestcraft. This is why I do not even remotely hope for deliverance from anti-Catholic violence at the hands of the public authority, why it seems to me likely that when crimes even more hideous than those enumerated above become commonplace they will be reported (if at all) as mere "local crime stories."Should this be the occasion for despair? Hardly. Nor should it lead us to retreat from political life. If anything, in an age in which the norms of liberal discourse no longer obtain, we should take heart in our ability to speak truth unburdened by the fetters of compromise with an establishment that rejected us long ago, does so now, and will do so in the future.Here my mind turns to the words of the late Cardinal George, who told a group of reporters in 2010 that while he expected to die comfortably in his bed, "my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square." It may well be that another generation or two will pass before this grim prophecy is fulfilled, if indeed it ever is.What is often omitted from this popular quotation is what the cardinal said next, about the successor of the martyred bishop: "His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history."Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official Trump declares war on America Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19 a 3rd time
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| Nunes says investigation into Russia probe origins continues Posted: 21 Jul 2020 09:15 AM PDT  House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes on possible Durham investigation indictments.
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| Nazi eagle in Uruguay auction 'should go to museum' Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:53 AM PDT  A US Holocaust centre warns that a bronze eagle in Uruguay could be bought by white supremacists.
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| Leaked Documents Show the DNC’s Plans for a ‘Reimagined’ Convention Posted: 20 Jul 2020 12:58 PM PDT  Airtime cut in half. A Zoom-style backdrop the size of a tennis court. Celebratory car-honking. And most of it won't even be in the host city.These are the Democratic National Committee's current plans for the party's convention in four weeks, according to a ten-page preview outline for the event obtained by The Daily Beast. The plans, marked for internal use only, feature digital renderings of convention attendees seated at distant tables and separated by see-through partitions, a "Convention Across America" speaking lineup that is both dramatically shorter in length and vastly more ambitious in scale, and a program that emphasizes former Vice President Joe Biden, the party's presumptive nominee, to a degree rarely seen in national political conventions."The 2020 Democratic National Convention is being re-imagined to connect with voters from across America using satellite events from the swing states that are linked to a working convention floor in Milwaukee," the deck reads, with the goal of positioning Biden "as the right leader for this moment, to lead us out of crisis, bring us together, and build toward a kinder, stronger, and better America."As expected, the convention, which begins on August 20, amounts to a radical departure from traditional party convention planning, with an emphasis on digital participation by delegates, speakers, and attendees. Held amidst the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the Democratic primaries since March, the convention will primarily feature speakers, video, and images beamed in from outside Milwaukee's Wisconsin Center, and largely from outside the state.According to the plan, while the convention will feature "major programmatic elements" each night of the convention, one or more of the "main" speakers each night will address the nation from an unnamed "message-based location" in swing states around the country.The current slate of speakers, according to those familiar with the DNC's planning, includes former first lady Michelle Obama and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking on the convention's first night, Dr. Jill Biden delivering remarks on the second night, the as-yet-unnamed running mate speaking on the third night, and finally Biden's acceptance speech on the final night of the convention. Of those, only Biden is currently expected to speak from the convention state in Milwaukee.Among the others reportedly set to speak include Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, likely on the first night of the convention, with other "surprise" speakers as well.For the few who will be on-site in Milwaukee, renderings of the convention stage show a set reimagined for the Zoom age, with a 64-panel screen for delegates, dignitaries, and Americans from key demographics to participate in the roll-call vote.The roll call is currently set to take place remotely and live, broadcast from "iconic or message-based locations in 57 states and territories across America," the deck reads, starting from the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, the site of the "Bloody Sunday" protest against segregation in 1965. In addition to party delegates and high-ranking Democrats, the roll call vote will also be reported by "a variety of voices," with examples including a DREAMer, a Teamster, and first responders.The roll call vote will conclude with a "big celebratory moment," according to the deck, featuring a surprise musical act, fireworks, and "people in their cars honking and flashing lights."Reached for comment about the plans, Katie Peters, the communications director for the Democratic National Convention Committee told The Daily Beast that Democrats are "exploring all options to host an inspiring event that unites the nation around Joe Biden's vision for America. Our plans are not yet confirmed and will continue to take shape over the next several weeks as we make adjustments to best protect public health."Despite the shortened broadcast time and remote-broadcast plan, the DNC is still making a major fundraising play for the slimmed-down convention, which has a budget of $20 million—compared to the $86 million convention in Philadelphia four years ago.Even with its smaller pricetag, fundraising for a massive event that's nearly entirely digital has proved to be tricky for the DNC. During normal conventions, major donors can expect a plush suite near the center of the action, with exclusive events and opportunities to network with the likely leaders of the next administration. But the perks of cutting a major check to the Democratic National Convention Committee aren't in play this year—rubbing shoulders being pretty much the opposite of social distancing—and with one month until opening night, the DNCC is still seeking to raise north of $8 million for the convention, according to a Democratic donor who has been asked to kick in for the event.Despite the slashed budget and airtime, a few aspects of the convention will continue as they would in a normal election year. Each night of the convention features a generically patriotic theme—"A United America" for the first night, "A Future for All" for the third night—and the convention program still aims to highlight issues at the top of Democratic concerns, including racial justice, gun violence, health care, voting rights and the environment. But the event will still be a jarring contrast to the business-as-usual—albeit slimmed down—Republican National Convention set to take place the following week in Jacksonville, Florida, which has local elected Republicans worried that the party's biggest fête of the election cycle will amount to a star-studded superspreader event.Officials Terrified That Trump's Jacksonville Convention Will Be 'Another Tulsa'The Democratic convention, meanwhile, will be broadcast for a mere two-to-three hours per night, rather than the usual six-hour speech-a-thon, with an emphasis on pre-recorded segments, which the DNC says in the deck will allow it "to keep the message tight and integrated," more of a mini-movie than "a series of long speeches."The programming is currently set to be more candidate-centric than recent conventions, which typically hold back on emphasizing the nominee until the closing night. Potential moments for the convention, according to the deck, include clips of Biden throughout the years, with one "framing clip" intended to highlight the theme of the evening. There will be a total of five biographical videos about the former vice president, as well as pre-taped segments—basically commercials—featuring Biden "having intimate, unscripted, and potentially tough conversations" with voters about the future of the country.President Donald Trump, meanwhile, will largely be relegated to interstitial "contrast" videos, lest the convention turn into a four-night screed against the president. "Time is better spent talking about what America 'can' be under the experienced and steady leadership" of the former vice president, according to the DNC's plan."With the new 'virtual' format, viewers are unlikely to tune in night after night to hear Trump bashing," the deck declares.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. 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| Greenland voters want to keep coloniser's vandalised statue Posted: 22 Jul 2020 03:04 AM PDT  A vote in Greenland showed on Wednesday a majority in favour of keeping up a statue of Danish-Norwegian coloniser Hans Egede that was vandalised as anti-racism protests reached the Arctic. The statue had red paint and the word "decolonize" daubed on it last month when Black Lives Matter protests were sweeping the world over the death of African American George Floyd after a white policeman pressed a knee on his neck. Critics say the statue in Greenland's capital Nuuk is a symbol of oppression by former colonial ruler Denmark and some want it put in a museum.
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| White House touts coming executive order on healthcare, saying it will 'have teeth' Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:20 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's coming executive order on healthcare will "have teeth," White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Wednesday. Conway said that the rollout of the executive order would be accompanied by a major speech by the president. With a re-election race underway and the country hit hard by the coronavirus, the White House is reportedly considering an executive order that could lower drug prices by linking them to the prices paid by consumers outside the United States.
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| What we know about the death of Fahim Saleh, the 33-year-old tech millionaire who was found decapitated and dismembered in his Manhattan condo Posted: 21 Jul 2020 01:50 PM PDT  On July 14, 33-year-old tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh was found decapitated and dismembered in NYC. On July 18, his assistant was charged with murder.
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| Pandemic lawsuits from voters, worshipers, prisoners meet roadblock at Supreme Court Posted: 22 Jul 2020 08:36 AM PDT  The high court's actions signal a desire to leave the pandemic in public officials' hands – an effort that may prove difficult as Election Day nears.
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