| 'No reason to think' 2020 election is rigged, AG Bill Barr testifies, breaking with Trump Posted: 28 Jul 2020 12:59 PM PDT  AG Barr: 'No reason to think' 2020 election is rigged; testimony at odds with Trump
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| The 11-carrier US Navy is mocking Iran as 'experts' at making a dummy aircraft carrier to shoot at Posted: 29 Jul 2020 10:10 AM PDT  The US Navy posted a photo on social media ridiculing Iran after it fired missiles on a mock-up of a US flattop on Wednesday.
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| Jim Jordan explodes when asked to put on a mask, pivots to 'unmasking' of Michael Flynn Posted: 29 Jul 2020 01:49 PM PDT  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has successfully twisted a public health concern into a conservative conspiracy theory -- but not the one of the dozens of COVID-19 conspiracies one might expect.During a Wednesday hearing with the country's four biggest technology companies, Jordan used his questioning time to claim Google tried to help Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.) was up next, and started her questioning by saying she would pivot from "fringe conspiracy theories" to anti-trust questions. Chaos predictably ensued."We have the email, there is no fringe--" Jordan interrupted before committee chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) cut him off. "Put your mask on," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) chimed in. Jordan then used Raskin's request to pivot to a favorite conspiracy: "You want to talk about masks? Why would the deputy secretary of the treasury unmask Michael Flynn's name?"> "Put your mask on!"> > Shouting breaks out among members of the House subcommittee during tech hearing, after Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon suggests Rep. Jim Jordan is pushing "fringe conspiracy theories" https://t.co/83sKht0bRx pic.twitter.com/E6fEZKT6tO> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) July 29, 2020Jordan's outburst came just hours after Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) tested positive for COVID-19 and then walked around the House office building knowing he had it. Jordan was also reminded, albeit more gently, to put on his mask during a Tuesday hearing with Attorney General William Barr. Gohmert was also at that hearing, and one of his aides -- and other Republican staffers -- have since anonymously complained about the lack of mask compliance among their congressmembers. > Ever since PM came out, Ive gotten a flood of emails from republican staffers who say they too are being forced to come to the hill without a mask now. > > If you're one of those people, email me or dm me.> > -- Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 29, 2020More stories from theweek.com The Pentagon wants a new nuke because it might fire off the old ones by mistake Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine ready for human trials after proving effective in monkeys Conservative propaganda has crippled the U.S. coronavirus response
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| Pakistani Muslim accused of insulting Islam killed in court Posted: 29 Jul 2020 02:14 AM PDT |
| Inside a Park Avenue Co-Op That Playfully Breaks With Convention Posted: 29 Jul 2020 09:44 AM PDT |
| No country for face masks: Nordics brush off mouth covers Posted: 30 Jul 2020 07:20 AM PDT  As most of the world either orders or recommends the use of face masks, with even US president Donald Trump seen wearing one, Nordic nations are the remaining holdouts. In supermarkets, on buses, and along the streets of capitals -- such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and Reykjavik -- face masks are a rare sight, worn only by a small minority, many of who are tourists. According to a recent survey by YouGov, only five to 10 percent of respondents in the Nordic countries said they used a mask in public settings, a figure that has remained stable since the start of the crisis in March.
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| MSNBC host angers Georgia Democrat with Trump support question Posted: 29 Jul 2020 11:45 AM PDT  Georgia Democrat angered by MSNBC host with Trump support question.
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| A Black videographer got stabbed at the Portland protests, and he says it is because he is pro-Trump Posted: 30 Jul 2020 03:13 AM PDT  The video was released on Wednesday as Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that federal agents would withdraw from Portland.
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| Fact check: Trump suggests delaying November election. 'Constitutionally impossible,' one expert says. Posted: 30 Jul 2020 07:41 AM PDT  The president, trailing Joe Biden in the polls, teased delaying the election over fears of the kind of voter fraud that does not exist.
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| 'Put your mask on!': Lawmakers erupt after Jim Jordan throws a temper tantrum during the big tech hearing Posted: 29 Jul 2020 12:36 PM PDT  Lawmakers slammed Rep. Jim Jordan at the antitrust hearing after he interrupted a colleague accusing him of raising "fringe conspiracy theories."
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| Harvard professor accused of lying about China ties faces U.S. tax charges Posted: 28 Jul 2020 03:20 PM PDT  U.S. prosecutors brought tax charges on Tuesday against a Harvard University professor accused of lying to authorities about his ties to a China-run recruitment program and funding he allegedly received from the Chinese government for research. Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard's chemistry and chemical biology department, was charged in an indictment filed in federal court in Boston with failing to report income he received from Wuhan University of Technology in China. The four tax-related counts are in addition to two counts of making false statements to federal authorities that Lieber, 61, pleaded not guilty to in June.
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| Russia and China Are Catching Up on Hypersonic Missiles Amid US Neglect, Expert Says Posted: 29 Jul 2020 10:22 AM PDT  The U.S. is at risk of falling behind Russia and China on "game changer" hypersonic missile development.
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| Tennessee state senator charged with stealing federal funds Posted: 29 Jul 2020 02:01 PM PDT  A Tennessee state senator has been charged with stealing more than $600,000 in federal funds received by a health care company she directed and using the money to pay for her wedding and other personal expenses, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. A criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday charges state Sen. Katrina Robinson with theft and embezzlement involving government programs and wire fraud, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said in a news release. Robinson, a Democrat elected to the General Assembly in 2018 from a Memphis district, is also the director of The Healthcare Institute, which provides training for jobs in the health care field, prosecutors said.
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| Man arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix, police say Posted: 29 Jul 2020 02:15 PM PDT  Police have arrested a man in connection with a fire set at the Democratic Party Headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, last week.Officials announced on Wednesday that they had arrested 29-year-old Matthew Egler on arson charges that morning.
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| Three decades on, Iraq and Kuwait haunted by Saddam's invasion Posted: 29 Jul 2020 09:37 PM PDT  Thirty years have passed since Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait, but despite hints of a diplomatic rapprochement, people in both countries say the wounds have yet to heal. On August 2, 1990, Saddam sent his military, already exhausted by an eight-year conflict with Iran, into Kuwait to seize what he dubbed "Iraq's 19th province." From Baghdad to Basra, Kirkuk to Babylon, Iraqis agree that the incursion "marked the beginning of the end."
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| Police agencies are withdrawing from security at Democratic Convention after a ban was imposed on pepper spray and tear gas Posted: 29 Jul 2020 03:33 PM PDT  Over 100 police agencies dropped out as security for the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Milwaukee next month, WTMJ-TV reported.
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| Op-Ed: The U.S. faces new kinds of threats around the globe, but we have failed to adapt Posted: 30 Jul 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Our adversaries are increasingly using irregular means to undermine U.S. interests, but our foreign policy remains bound by static orthodoxies.
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| Former President George W. Bush at John Lewis' funeral: 'He will live forever in the hearts of Americans' Posted: 30 Jul 2020 09:11 AM PDT  "John Lewis believed in the Lord, he believed in humanity and he believed in America," Bush said in his speech at Lewis' funeral.
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| Maine shark attack: US woman killed by great white Posted: 29 Jul 2020 08:13 AM PDT  A retired New York fashion executive with a "zest" for life dies in a rare shark attack near Portland.
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| Ghislaine Maxwell loses 'extraordinary' last-minute appeal to stop release of 'embarrassing' confidential documents Posted: 29 Jul 2020 12:59 PM PDT  Ghislaine Maxwell has lost a desperate last-minute appeal to stop "embarrassing" confidential documents from being released. US District Judge Loretta Preska confirmed her ruling that the files must be unsealed and released to the public, despite Ms Maxwell's lawyers' "extraordinary request" for her to reconsider. The British socialite, 58, had tried to argue that the government wrongfully used depositions filed in her civil lawsuit to bring criminal charges. She is currently answering a number of suits brought by victims of associate Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier found dead in his prison cell last year. Her lawyers charged on Wednesday that prosecutors in a separate criminal case used confidential depositions she made in 2016 in the civil case that is now being consideration by Judge Preska. The defamation suit was filed in 2015 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was abused by Epstein and pimped out to powerful figures including Prince Andrew, and confidentially settled in 2017. The Duke of York has denied all allegations.
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| US commander affirms US support for Japan on China dispute Posted: 29 Jul 2020 03:32 AM PDT  The United States supports Japan's protests over Chinese ships venturing into the economic waters near disputed East China Sea islands, the commander of the U.S. Forces in Japan said Wednesday. "The United States is 100% absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation in Senkaku," Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider said of the group of islands, which are controlled by Japan. China also claims the islands, which it calls Diaoyu.
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| GOP intransigence in Michigan could lead to a chaotic presidential election Posted: 30 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  A top Michigan official warned that, unless the Republican-controlled state Legislature passes a law to speed up the reporting of election results, it would be responsible for a chaotic and destabilizing election this fall.
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| Pelosi says House members who refuse to wear masks will be thrown out Posted: 29 Jul 2020 11:55 PM PDT  Nancy Pelosi has said lawmakers will be thrown out of the House of Representatives if they refuse to wear a mask, after the US recorded more than 150,000 coronavirus cases.Under new regulations announced on Wednesday, representatives must wear a mask at all times while in the chamber, removing it only to address the house. Face coverings may be removed temporarily in office buildings to eat, drink, hold meetings and do interviews.
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| Trump attended a fundraiser in Texas without a mask on the day the US hit 150,000 coronavirus deaths Posted: 29 Jul 2020 08:52 PM PDT  Trump was expected to attend the fundraiser with GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, but the congressman tested positive for the coronavirus.
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| Letters to the Editor: If Joe Biden picks Karen Bass as his VP, L.A.'s major loss would be America's gain Posted: 29 Jul 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Karen Bass is a proactive member of Congress who serves her constituents as well. She would make an excellent vice president.
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| Half of violence against African migrants is by law enforcers, U.N. says Posted: 29 Jul 2020 10:59 AM PDT  Nearly half of all the violence visited on African migrants during their journey to the Mediterranean coast is perpetrated by law enforcers, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Wednesday. According to a report by UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council's Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), thousands of refugees and migrants suffer extreme abuse including torture and sexual or gender-based violence, and in some cases death. "In 47% of the cases, the victims reported the perpetrators of violence are law enforcement authorities, whereas in the past, we believe that it was mainly smugglers and traffickers," Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR special envoy for the central Mediterranean, told a news conference in Geneva.
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| Hong Kong students arrested on suspicion of inciting secession Posted: 29 Jul 2020 02:02 PM PDT  China's new "national security" legislation, which came into force in Hong Kong on July 1, outlaws a variety of vaguely defined offenses like "sedition" that can carry sentences of life in prison.
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| Trump: approval of Fauci high, 'nobody likes me' Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:10 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said it's "curious" that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx enjoy high approval ratings as it relates to their handling of COVID-19 while he does not. "They're highly thought of but nobody likes me," he said Tuesday. (July 28)
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| Former U.S. Marine sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison for assaulting police officer Posted: 30 Jul 2020 07:23 AM PDT  The U.S. ambassador to Moscow has called the evidence against Reed "flimsy," and the latest example of Russia treating American citizens unfairly.
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| Was Belarus’ Arrest of Russian Wagner Soldiers Staged in a Ploy to Postpone Elections? Posted: 30 Jul 2020 04:04 AM PDT  MOSCOW—The videos were certainly not what Russians have come to expect from their country's secret warriors abroad: powerful men in unmarked uniforms imposing Russian influence on Syria, Ukraine, and Africa. These men were caught on camera by Belarusian security officers totally unprepared. Some were naked except for underwear, with documents, propaganda leaflets, and condoms strewn around their hotel rooms. Others wore vaguely marked uniforms. All 33 of them were military-age Russians hunkered down just outside Minsk a few days before Belarus' presidential elections.Belarusian state news agencies reported the soldiers served as Russian security contractors with Wagner, a Russian private military group close to the government. They were in the country for "destabilization" purposes before the elections, Belarusian officials said. Moscow denied any military involvement in Belarus, and some believe the mercenaries were simply using the country as a staging post on their way to or from their latest assignment. By arresting the Wagner soldiers, Belarus' embattled president Alexander Lukashenko is likely to be making many enemies in Russia. The Belarusian Security Council accused the arrested Wagner soldiers of preparing "a terrorist attack," the Russian Interfax news agency reported Thursday. The arrest and subsequent broadcast of the footage, which was aired by a Belarusian state channel, Agency of Television News, was all the more confusing as Belarus and Russia have been allies in an arrangement called the Union State for decades. Some of the men were shown in their underwear with hands twisted behind their backs. They had tattoos on their arms, and one uniform patch read: "Our business is death and the business is good." The state media report said there were more than 200 such soldiers plotting to upset the presidential elections next month. The Russian private security contractor, Wagner, has reportedly been sending combatants to eastern Ukraine, Syria, and African countries, including Libya, on deadly secret missions that give the Kremlin plausible deniability. When the Belarusian state media published the names of the 33 arrested soldiers, 17 of them matched up to a Ukrainian list of "war criminals" who fought on the Russian-backed side in the Ukraine war. Belarusian weekly newspaper Nasha Niva reported that one of the mercenaries, Andrey Bakunovich, was a commander of Wagner's group of snipers. The Belarus-1 channel quoted a source in the Belarusian intelligence agency, still called the KGB, as saying that several of the arrested private soldiers were Russian citizens who tried to avoid punishment by demonstrating their paperwork confirming they were serving in various Russian military forces. A well-known Russian nationalist novelist, Zakhar Prilepin, who fought in Ukraine, also said he recognized several of the arrested soldiers. "Hundreds of these people work in the private military forces and take part in various conflicts," Prilepin told a nationalist website, Russian Spring. The soldiers were merely using Belarus for transit on the way to foreign missions, he said. "It is going to be weird if now the Union State will start some political hysterics because of this story."But later on Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service, Russia's successor to the KGB, seemed to accuse Prilepin of talking too much. "I am surprised that some of our idiots confirmed that the arrested men are soldiers of our private military forces," a retired FSB general-major, Alexander Mikhailov, told reporters.The private forces known as Wagner are financed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's close friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, who owns catering companies and is known as "Putin's chef." "Whenever Putin needs to solve an issue abroad, his personal chef and close ally Prigozhin sends his soldiers," Sergey Parkhomenko, a political commentator, told The Daily Beast. "Prigozhin's corporation feeds the Kremlin and fights its wars." Longtime Belarus watchers, familiar with the almost three-decades-long rule of Lukashenko, suggested the arrests were a well-staged "performance" by Lukashenko, to perhaps win support from domestic opponents to Russia before the election on Aug. 9. For nearly 30 years, Lukashenko claimed up to 80 percent of public support, but his popularity has recently faded, along with his loyalty to the Kremlin, to Moscow's frustration.The macho leader, who is known for mocking women—and, recently, those who succumb to coronavirus—as weaklings, is now challenged by three liberal, pro-Western women in the election. For weeks, thousands of people have been protesting in Belarus, demanding to end Lukashenko's dictatorship; his approval rating has melted down to 24 percent, according to some polls. Lukashenko may be losing favor in the Kremlin, but in Putin's eyes, there is no doubt he is a better prospect than any of the liberal pro-Western female candidates.Lukashenko's longtime rival, ex-presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, is convinced that Lukashenko and Putin had both been aware of the plans to arrest the Wagner mercenaries ahead of time. "Putin gives Lukashenko the license to stay in power and helps him with this Wagner scandal, to pretend the threat is too serious to continue the election race," Sannikov told The Daily Beast. "Putin is making a mistake, Lukashenko is a nutcase."At the meeting with the head of Belarusian KGB, Lukashenko commented on the arrests of Russian soldiers: "I'm looking at the reaction of the Russians. They are already making excuses, saying that we brought them here ourselves. Clearly, they try to, somehow, to justify their dirty intentions."Whether he was in on the plan to bring the soldiers to Belarus or not, Lukashenko is certainly trying to capitalize on the apparent Russian meddling. He could even try to postpone the election or cancel it altogether. "You and I should be worried about destabilization of the situation in our country most of all," he said after the arrests. "The issue of the presidential election is secondary."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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| India and China race to build along a disputed frontier Posted: 29 Jul 2020 08:03 PM PDT  The rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.
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| Chinese long-range bombers join drills over South China Sea Posted: 30 Jul 2020 04:27 AM PDT  China said Thursday that long-range bombers were among the aircraft that took part in recent aerial drills over the South China Sea amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the strategic waterway. The exercises included nighttime takeoffs and landings and simulated long-range attacks, Defense Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said. Ren's statement appeared to distance the drills from recent accusations exchanged between the sides over China's claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, which it has buttressed in recent years by building man-made islands equipped with runways.
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| Mike Pence and Kellyanne Conway give conflicting messages about Trump's RNC speech plans Posted: 29 Jul 2020 01:27 PM PDT  Will he or won't he?President Trump on Monday told Raleigh, North Carolina, NBC affiliate WRAL that he was committed to accepting the Republican presidential nomination in the Tar Heel state in August, but added he wasn't sure where exactly it would be. Then, on Wednesday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway appeared to nix the idea it would take place in Charlotte, the site of the Republican National Convention. Conway said it was "highly doubtful" the president would appear in the city because North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) made it "unattainable" with his insistence on maintaining coronavirus restrictions for the event, which led Trump to move recently called-off celebratory events to Jacksonville, Florida.The situation grew even more confusing on Wednesday afternoon, when Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said his boss would be making the speech in Charlotte after all. Pence's word on the subject may indeed be final, but the situation has changed so frequently over the last few months, it's probably safer to wait and see. > At least three Trump officials gave local interviews and touched on this topic today:> > \- Kellyanne Conway told @BoThompsonWBT it is unlikely > \- Lara Trump wouldn't say in an interview with @AllisonWSOC9 > \- VP Mike Pence told multiple reporters the speech will happen in Charlotte> > -- Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) July 29, 2020More stories from theweek.com Jim Jordan explodes when asked to put on a mask, pivots to 'unmasking' of Michael Flynn The Pentagon wants a new nuke because it might fire off the old ones by mistake Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine ready for human trials after proving effective in monkeys
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| Archaeologists have solved a longstanding mystery about Stonehenge: the origin of the monument's iconic sandstone boulders Posted: 29 Jul 2020 12:47 PM PDT  The origin of the 25-ton boulders that make up most of Stonehenge once baffled experts. A new study shows they came from a woodland 15 miles away.
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| Israel charges man who fled Gaza by swimming Posted: 30 Jul 2020 07:40 AM PDT  An Israeli court Thursday charged with "serious security offences" a Gazan who swam to Israel a month ago after falling out with Hamas, the domestic security agency said. Izz al-Din Hussein, a 24-year-old resident of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, was formerly a member of the Islamist group's air defence wing, Shin Bet said in a statement. Hussein, the Shin Bet said, later fell out with the Palestinian coastal territory's Hamas rulers and also had "personal problems with his family" and fled by swimming to nearby Israel on June 28.
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| Carbon monoxide fumes from a generator killed 4 family members in Texas after Hurricane Hanna knocked out power Posted: 29 Jul 2020 09:36 AM PDT  Neighbors realized they had not seen the family in some time and could not spot their generator outside, so they grew alarmed and called police.
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| Eastern Asia on alert for tropical downpours, more flooding concerns Posted: 29 Jul 2020 11:01 AM PDT  One flood-weary area of the world is likely to get another dose of heavy rainfall and potentially serious flooding this week.A tropical low developed just east of the Philippines during midweek, and meteorologists expect it to track over the nation's northern island of Luzon, which is the largest and most populated island of the country, through late this week before it emerges and eyes other recently flooded areas. A tropical low formed east of the Philippines during the middle of the week. (NOAA / HIMAWARI-8) "Even without being an organized tropical system, this tropical low will bring waves of heavy and tropical rainfall through the northern parts of the Philippines through Friday," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.Any area facing the rounds of downpours from Luzon to Panay could pick up 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) of rain by the end of the week.On Wednesday, the city of Romblon, on one of the smaller islands in the Philippines, already experienced drenching rain and reported more than 180 mm (7 inches) of rainfall in just 36 hours.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPRain that intense could easily cause flooding, and areas with more rugged terrain could even face dangerous mudslides.Some communities in the northern Philippines are still cleaning up from Tropical Storm Nuri, known as Butchoy in the Philippines, that made multiple landfalls and unleashed torrential downpours during the middle of June.Once the tropical low emerges over the South China Sea on Friday, AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned that a more organized tropical system could develop. It will enter an atmosphere conducive for tropical development, including sufficiently warm water and relatively light wind shear, or changing winds with altitude, across the South China Sea. There is a moderate chance for this tropical low to strengthen further into a depression or a tropical storm in this zone by Tuesday, AccuWeather forecasters said."There are some indications that the track the tropical system will continue northwestward and making landfall in southern China or northeastern Vietnam in the first week of August," Nicholls said.If the feature becomes a more organized system, such a track into China could also unleash the threat of damaging winds, especially near the center of the storm. However, heavy rain could be a major problem for the region, whether the tropical low becomes a tropical storm or not."Regardless of development, southern China could end up with the greatest impacts into early next week with another dose of heavy rainfall returning the risk of flooding," said Nicholls.With current forecasts indicating that the tropical rain could linger for several days from northern Laos and Vietnam to far-southeastern China, cities including Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Hanoi may be the target of some of the heaviest rainfall.Widespread rainfall amounts of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) are possible with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 250 mm (10 inches), especially over Hainan Island, and in western Guangdong province and Guangxi province of China. A vehicle travels through a flooded section of a road following heavy rainfall in Wuhan, Hubei province, China July 6, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS Much of central and eastern China has been dealing with major flooding since June, with rivers overflowing and fears of collapsed dams.The Xi River basin was devastated by recent flooding in southern China, and the region could pick up more heavy rain from the developing system.The river overflowed its banks and levees in a deadly round of flooding back in early July. More than 141 people were killed or missing, 28,000 homes were damaged and thousands of residents were forced to evacuate, according to the Los Angeles Times.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| Protester arrested while opposing removal of Confederate statue in Georgia Posted: 29 Jul 2020 10:04 AM PDT  A protester was arrested and charged with obstruction for refusing to leave as a Confederate statue was removed a public square in the city of McDonagh, Georgia.The monument was taken down overnight on Wednesday by workers who used a crane to winch it from its pedestal in McDonagh Square.
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| Father, son with COVID-19 forced to quarantine in Hawaii Posted: 29 Jul 2020 08:20 PM PDT  Hawaii's public health director said a rarely used special health order was used to force them into isolation.
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| Hong Kong bans Joshua Wong and 11 more pro-democracy campaigners from legislative council elections Posted: 30 Jul 2020 06:42 AM PDT  Hong Kong yesterday banned 12 pro-democracy campaigners from standing in forthcoming elections to the city's parliament as China stoked tensions by re-iterating its threat to refuse up to three million residents eligible for British travel documents the right to leave. Carrie Lam's Hong Kong administration, operating under Chinese rule, said the campaigners could not "genuinely" uphold the former UK colony's mini-constitution because they oppose the imposition of Beijing's draconian national security law. Those barred include Joshua Wong, founder of the now disbanded Demosisto Party, and Lester Shum. It came as Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, re-affirmed that China was considering not recognising the British National (Overseas) passport. Up to three million Hong Kong residents are eligible for the document, and Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, has promised holding one would pave the way for residency in the UK. Beijing imposed new legislation a month ago to introduce possible life sentences for 'secession, subversion, terrorism, and foreign collusion'. The move threatens the 'one country, two systems' approach agreed when Britain handed control of Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Mr Raab's made the residency offer after new laws came into force. He later indefinitely suspended Britain's extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and instituted an arms ban. Ms Lam is suspected of wanting to cancel September's elections to the legislative council. On Wednesday, she raised the prospect of postponing them because of s second wave of coronavirus, which, she said, threatened to overwhelm the territory's hospitals. Pro-democracy candidates, like Nathan Law, have previously been stopped taking up their seats in the council, but only after they have been elected. Mr Law is now in exile in London, opening up a new front in the pro-democracy strategy. Mr Wong, a close ally of Mr Law, issued a defiant response. "I'm a bit surprised how they disqualified candidates without any notification. The Hong Kong legislature should not be the place to gather Beijing loyalists, but, right now, the pro-Beijing camp are just trying all their ways and tactics, hoping to kick us out from the election. But no matter what happens, I still have faith and trust in Hong Kong people." He shared on twitter an 18-page long letter from electoral officer Alice Choi, who said his resignation from Demosisto "was to avoid being caught under the newly passed national security law". Mr Wong said: "The excuse they use is that I describe the national security law as a 'draconian law', which shows that I do not support this sweeping law." Dennis Kwok, another banned candidate, said: "They try to drive fear and oppression into our hearts and for this, we must not let them succeed. Do not give up." The Hong Kong authorities said in a statement: "There is no question of any political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some members of the community." More candidates may be banned.
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| Vehicles burned in Mexico to protest US water payment Posted: 30 Jul 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Demonstrators in northern Mexico have burned several government vehicles, blocked railway tracks and set afire a government office and highway tollbooths to protest water payments to the United States. Mexico has fallen behind in the amount of water it must send north from its dams under a 1944 treaty, but farmers in the northern state of Chihuahua want the water for their own crops. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that the protests were being fanned by opposition politicians for their own motives.
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| Democrats Make Mockery of Barr ‘Hearing’ Posted: 28 Jul 2020 07:13 PM PDT  If it's a "hearing," Bill Barr asked with an irked tongue in cheek, "aren't I the one who's supposed to be heard?"His frustration was more than justified. Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) and the other Democrats who control the House demanded for months that Barr come to a "hearing" and "testify." But of course, it wasn't anything like an actual hearing, and they didn't want him to testify -- as in actually answer questions. The session was a coveted election-year opportunity for Democrats to berate the attorney general of the United States in five-minute installments, accusing Barr of corruption, perjury, violating his oath, betraying the Constitution -- at one point, even of killing thousands of COVID-19 victims (apparently, by being attorney general during a pandemic).Especially at the beginning of the hearing, Barr easily parried the hostile questions -- soliloquies with question-marks at the end. He picked apart their misstatements and disingenuous premises, and answered with aplomb. Democrats thus dropped the threadbare pretense that this was a hearing. In the main, the rest of the afternoon was devoted to raging, mock-anguished perorations about how Trump is a dictator and how Barr is helping him destroy our democracy.These were punctuated by the occasional petulant demand that Barr answer "yes or no" a question that was either loaded or incoherent. When Barr would begin to answer, there would be foot-stomping, indignant, "I'm reclaiming my time" interruptions, claims that there was no question pending (usually after a question had just been posed), and then more Democrat filibustering about how the American people could clearly see that Barr was afraid to answer their questions . . . that they wouldn't let him answer.It was an embarrassing spectacle.Some days, it just feels like we're doomed. Today is one of those days. And not simply because this should have been an important oversight hearing featuring an important witness -- one whom a serious committee would have wanted both to hear out and to challenge. It is, after all, the nature of the Justice Department's work that there are many tough judgment calls; no one gets them all right.What happened on Capitol Hill Tuesday was a debacle to despair over because Democrats do not act this way because they are preternaturally rude. They act this way because their voters expect and demand that they act this way.It is not hard to understand, even if it is hard to accept. Democrats do not merely disagree with Donald Trump. They abhor him. Their supporters and media friends so loathe him that each "hearing," each issue, becomes a contest of who can be the most indecorous and contemptuous. Who among us can spew the most bile?Barr brings out the worst in them, which is saying something. He is learned and quick, he is prepared, and he doesn't get rattled. Unlike many government officials, he thrives in the give-and-take of civil discourse.So then we obviously must not permit civil discourse.The pols are becoming indistinguishable from the ends of the spectrums where they draw their support. In the Democrats' case, these include people who see America as a despicable, incorrigibly racist force for imperialism and exploitation. They see Republicans and their "deplorable" supporters, Trumpists in particular, as the instantiation of these abominations.Again and again, Barr explained that in Portland, a federal courthouse is under siege. The executive branch of the federal government has a duty to protect such installations. The very Congress to which Barr was trying to testify has enacted law that obliges the executive branch to safeguard federal courthouses. It is simply a fact that, had the Trump administration not acted to send more law enforcement agents -- not "troops" as Democrats claim, not "stormtroopers" as House speaker Nancy Pelosi slanderously put it, but law enforcement officers -- the courthouse would now be destroyed. And the taste of destroying it would have whet the anarchic appetite for more destruction.It is impossible that Democrats do not know the difference between peaceful protesters and rioters, but they mulishly pretend the latter are the former. They either turn a blind eye toward the ongoing mayhem or maintain, straight-faced, that the destruction is a righteous reaction to Trump. That is the deal: No stratagem that paints the president and his administration as deserving of anything more than contempt is beyond the pale.The transparent point is a cynical political one: Don't engage the opposition, don't talk out our disagreements. Portray the opposition as such anathema that voting for the incumbent president in November would be too monstrous to contemplate.At a minimum, it means there is no point in having congressional hearings. What it portends, though, is far more dire than that. It doesn't matter how you feel about Donald Trump or Bill Barr. A faction that would rather delegitimize than debate its opposition can do that to anyone or anything. At that point, it's about power, not policy or progress. Anyone who wants power that badly shouldn't be anywhere near it. A Haven for the Sane If you think there should be a corner of our journalistic and intellectual life that defends right reason and is an alternative to the unhinged mainstream media, and if you have been alarmed at the sound of the American mind slamming shut at so many institutions recently, please lend National Review your support. SUPPORT NR TODAY
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| Guam’s air defense should learn lessons from Japan’s Aegis Ashore Posted: 30 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Although the current Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on Guam can defend against some ballistic missiles, its single AN/TPY-2 radar is vulnerable and cannot provide 360-degree coverage.
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| US warns of 'consequences' if Brazil picks Huawei 5G Posted: 29 Jul 2020 12:16 PM PDT  The US ambassador in Brasilia warned of "consequences" if Brazil chooses Chinese telecoms company Huawei to develop its 5G network, in an interview published Wednesday. "I wouldn't say there would be retaliation, but there would be consequences" if Brazil goes against US advice and picks the Chinese firm, Ambassador Todd Chapman told newspaper Globo. Brazil is due to launch a tender next year for the project to develop the next generation of telecommunications technology in Latin America's most populous country, home to 212 million people.
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| Kavanaugh reportedly tried to find middle ground in Louisiana abortion case, but other justices weren't having it Posted: 29 Jul 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh reportedly didn't want to be on the losing side of a major case.In late June, the court ruled 5-4 that a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have "active admitting privileges" at a hospital within 30 miles was invalid. Chief Justice John Roberts joined with liberals to provide the pivotal vote in the case, but as people familiar with court discussions tell CNN, that's not how Kavanaugh wanted it to go down.Abortion rights were a big focus of Kavanaugh's 2018 confirmation hearing, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) saying Kavanaugh's promise to uphold Roe v. Wade was a big reason the pro-choice Republican overlooked a sexual assault allegation and cast a deciding vote to confirm him. The Louisiana ruling in late June brought Kavanaugh's stance into question, as he joined conservatives to claim the law protected women's health.But as CNN reports, "Kavanaugh wanted the justices to sidestep any ruling on the merits" of the law and avoid having to "put their own views on the line." In an internal memo and in conversations, Kavanaugh tried to convince the justices to return the case to a trial court judge to gather more facts on just how burdensome the law would be on abortion doctors, sources say. That would stop the law from going into immediate effect, but also spare the justices from making a clear determination on abortion restrictions. But even Roberts, who upheld a Texas law just like Louisiana's 2015, didn't go for it.Kavanaugh also reportedly tried a similar strategy in cases regarding subpoenas for President Trump's financial records, but ultimately sided with the majority to declare Trump wasn't absolutely immune to those subpoenas. Read more about Kavanaugh's attempt to keep the middle ground at CNN.More stories from theweek.com Jim Jordan explodes when asked to put on a mask, pivots to 'unmasking' of Michael Flynn The Pentagon wants a new nuke because it might fire off the old ones by mistake Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine ready for human trials after proving effective in monkeys
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| Man interviews Bernell Tremell on his support for Trump hours before he was killed Posted: 29 Jul 2020 09:20 AM PDT  On July 23, Adebisi Agoso was one of the last people to speak with Milwaukee community fixture and Trump supporter, Bernell Trammell, before he was senselessly killed.
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