| Barack Obama reportedly said: 'Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f... things up' Posted: 15 Aug 2020 07:57 PM PDT  Barack Obama reportedly expressed private doubts about Joe Biden becoming the Democrat presidential nominee in 2020. According to Politico the former president told one Democrat: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f... things up." Mr Obama was also said to have spoken about his own understanding of the 2020 Democrat electorate in Iowa. "And you know who really doesn't have it? Joe Biden," he reportedly said. There were said to have been lingering tensions between the two after Mr Obama supported Hillary Clinton for the nomination in 2016. Leon Panetta, Mr Obama's defence secretary, told Politico: "He [Mr Biden] was loyal, I think, to Obama in every way in terms of defending and standing by him, even probably when he disagreed with what Obama was doing. "To some extent, [he] oftentimes felt that that loyalty was not being rewarded." Some of Mr Obama's aides were said to have believed Mr Biden took discussions in the wrong direction when he was vice president. In his book Ben Rhodes, Mr Obama's former deputy national security adviser, wrote that "in the Situation Room, Biden could be something of an unguided missile". Mr Biden's aides were said to have believed his skills getting things achieved in Congress were under-appreciated. Since Mr Biden secured the Democrat nomination Mr Obama has enthusiastically backed him and will be a keynote speaker at the Democrat Convention next week.
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| An angry bull chased a crew of firefighters down a Los Angeles road while they were responding to the Lake Fire Posted: 15 Aug 2020 10:00 PM PDT  The Ventura County Fire Department called the bull "Ferdinand," and said firefighters had been clearing the roads when the bull gave chase.
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| Far-Right Militia, Pro-Confederacy Groups, Anti-Facists Face Off in Tense Stone Mountain Protest Posted: 15 Aug 2020 10:15 AM PDT  Far-right militia, pro-Confederacy groups and anti-fascist counter-protestors faced off on Saturday in tense scenes at Stone Mountain, Georgia, home of the largest monument to the Confederacy. To prepare for the confrontation, park officials closed off entry to the giant rock carving of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson. The city suspended bus services and urged residents to avoid the city center entirely "out of an abundance of caution."Nevertheless, a small number of armed protesters from all sides descended on the city from 9 a.m. local time. Videos on social media showed far-right protestors attacking anti-facism protesters with pepper spray, and anti-facism protesters grabbing Confederate flags and setting them alight. Police presence was initially minimal outside a church where protesters converged, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Some fist fights broke out in the crowd.According to the AJR, a man with a "Don't Tread on Me" flag and an assault weapon pointed his gun on the crowd, though he was "charged down" by his opposition.Around 11:30 am, a message from counter-protesters came over a loudspeaker, warning them to be prepared for tear gas, the newspaper reported.The protest dispersed when police in riot gear moved in on the crowd at around 1 p.m., and ordered demonstrators to leave or be arrested. Photos from the scene showed the National Guard moving in as well.> "Go home, racists, go home!" Members of BLM, Antifa and independents chant during protest in the town of Stone Mountain @11AliveNews pic.twitter.com/Rr75W36hrv> > — Maura Sirianni 11Alive (@MauraSirianni) August 15, 2020> Today right-wing activists and militias are converging on Stone Mountain Park in Georgia to hold a "Defend Stone Mountain" Confederate rally. > > Antifascists are gathering to oppose them. > > Here, III% activists gather about a block East from Antifa, loading and prepping guns. pic.twitter.com/DjmVwBLBtc> > — Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 15, 2020A Georgia chapter of the Three Percenters militia, a far-right paramilitary group, initially applied to hold a 2,000-person rally at the Stone Mountain monument on Saturday but they were denied by police, in part because a 2016 Stone Mountain "pro-white" demonstration resulted in nine arrests. But some online groups vowed to turn up anyway, including a group of Confederate-loving protesters calling themselves "Defending Stone Mountain" and a rival group called Atlanta Antifascists.A protest in Kalamazoo, Michigan also turned violent on Saturday when the far-right, white nationalist group Proud Boys attempted to march but were overrun by counter-protesters. After the two groups fought in the street, police arrived and made "a few" arrests, according to local affiliate WOOD-TV. > Fights broke out between protesters and the Proud Boys group when they arrived in Kalamazoo. @wwmtnews pic.twitter.com/bgk0LGa6j7> > — Trisha McCauley (@TrishaWWMT) August 15, 2020Stone Mountain is the largest bas-relief statue in the world, completed in 1925 by Augustus Lukeman, with original work by Gutzon Borglum (who would go on to sculpt Mt. Rushmore). The Ku Klux Klan was a major donor to the project. Since the Charleston church shooting of 2015, many have called for the removal of the monument. The movement has grown urgency over the past few months, as more protestors take down Confederate monuments following the death of George Floyd. Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has called the carving "a blight on our state."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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| Trump makes call for new White House doctor's virus advice Posted: 16 Aug 2020 06:58 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has found a new doctor for his coronavirus task force — and this time there's no daylight between them. Trump last week announced that Dr. Scott Atlas, a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, has joined the White House as a pandemic adviser. Atlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a fellow at Stanford's conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in public health or infectious diseases.
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| Coronavirus spread in Georgia is 'widespread and expanding,' says report Posted: 15 Aug 2020 01:19 PM PDT  Georgia's governor is expected to sign a new order Saturday that will allow local governments to require masks on public property but not in businesses.
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| An 'irate' woman struck an American Airlines employee after she was barred from boarding her flight without a face mask, police said Posted: 15 Aug 2020 04:53 PM PDT  Yolanda Yarbrough was arrested and charged with assault after she struck the American Airlines employee in the face, police said.
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| Coronavirus has exposed extent of slavery in UK, says Sir Iain Duncan Smith Posted: 14 Aug 2020 12:44 PM PDT  Coronavirus has shone a light on a "lawless state" within Britain, where people are held as slaves and criminal gangs steal from the taxpayer, says Sir Iain Duncan Smith. The former Conservative Party leader tells of the "enormous criminal sub-society thriving in the UK", whose practices have been exposed during the pandemic. Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Iain says: "A significant and well-organised network of gangs brings people into this country by different methods, including illegal passports. But the gangs don't just go away when the migrants land in the UK. Too many migrants are then forced into slavery in disgusting conditions." He made the comments after a report was published by the Centre for Social Justice, the think tank, on slavery and exploitation of workers in Leicester. It follows reports of a clothing factory in Leicester that allegedly paid staff illegally low wages and flouted safety measures.
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| Diplomatic flurry in blast-hit Lebanon as aid effort expands Posted: 14 Aug 2020 05:34 PM PDT  Top diplomats criss-crossed Beirut on Friday to supervise growing aid efforts and weigh in on Lebanon's political future, following a deadly port explosion blamed on state corruption.
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| Angola orders Brazil evangelical churches to close Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:40 AM PDT  Prosecutors seize buildings run by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, alleging corruption.
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| 'Mysterious' disappearance of mom of toddler is probed by FBI Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:35 AM PDT  Leila Cavett was last seen on July 26, a day after she arrived in South Florida with her 2-year-old son, who was later found wandering outside barefoot and alone.
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| Coronavirus updates: Teacher creates database of school closings, cases, deaths; Birx says wear a mask 'inside, outside, every day' Posted: 15 Aug 2020 05:55 PM PDT  The prospect of safely reopening U.S. schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic has faced a torrent troubling news in recent days. Latest news.
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| Iran threatens 'dangerous future' for UAE after Israel deal Posted: 15 Aug 2020 01:20 AM PDT  Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard vowed Saturday there would be dangerous consequences for the United Arab Emirates after it announced a historic deal with Israel to open up diplomatic relations. The UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to establish normalized relations with Israel, Iran's regional archenemy.
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| Saudi-led coalition downs ballistic missile aimed at kingdom: SPA Posted: 16 Aug 2020 06:47 AM PDT |
| Philippine security forces 'alert' for reprisals after militant held Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:05 PM PDT  Philippine security forces were on alert Saturday for possible reprisal attacks after arresting a key leader of an Islamic State-linked militant group accused of kidnapping and beheading several foreigners.
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| 8 Years After Proving Racism Affected His Trial, North Carolina Inmate Taken Off Death Row Posted: 14 Aug 2020 02:09 PM PDT  Marcus Robinson, who proved in 2012 that racism affected his sentence, was re-sentenced to life
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| Germany intensive care unit occupation at lowest level since pandemic even as cases increase Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:12 AM PDT  The number of intensive care beds occupied by Covid-19 patients has hit a new low in Germany despite an uptick in recorded cases in recent weeks. The pattern is similar in other Europe countries. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's official disease control body, confirmed in its daily report on Friday evening that 230 intensive care beds were currently being occupied by coronavirus patients - less than one percent of the total number. It marks the continuation of a decline in the need for intensive care among Corona patients since early April when close to 3,000 of the country's ICU beds were taken by the virus. The drop in serious cases comes despite an uptick in daily cases since mid-July from around 400 to over 1,400 today, with the RKI describing the trend as "very concerning." That serious symptoms in Germany are dropping despite an overall rise in positive test results is backed up by figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention. These put hospital admissions per 100,000 people for the week August 3rd-9th at lower than the first week of February when the virus had barely gained a foothold in Germany.
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| Thousands of volunteers neck-deep in oil battle noxious fumes amid cleanup efforts Posted: 15 Aug 2020 09:47 AM PDT  "It's a people's factory, a mobilization zone for Mauritians," said environmental activist David Sauvage.
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| Potential Biden voters are becoming more committed to their choice, poll shows Posted: 16 Aug 2020 08:18 AM PDT  As President Trump and his likely challenger and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, gear up to accept their party nominations in the next two weeks, polling has remained steady in favor of Biden.CBS News' Battleground Tracker, as of Sunday, shows 52 percent of Americans backing Biden compared to 42 who support Trump. That would give him 279 electoral college votes, slightly more than the 270 required to win, thanks to states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin flipping blue again after Trump won them in 2016. Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and Iowa, all appear to be in play for both candidates.What appears to be key for Biden, though, is a consistently increasing number of voters who say they're "very strong in their support" of the former vice president, despite less-than-universal enthusiasm for the candidate. At the end of June, Trump led Biden 78 percent to 72 percent in the category, indicating more people were on the fence about the latter, but the two are now even at 82 percent.> Ahead of @DNC convention, we estimate Biden leading in states worth 279 electoral votes> > Multiple paths for him to hit 270, w/ widespread shifts relative to 2016> > Doesn't mean he *will* win — this is now> > More @CBSNews/@YouGov Battleground Tracker results: https://t.co/Semy1vXlgO pic.twitter.com/ulOdOwkGut> > — Kabir K. (@kabir_here) August 16, 2020The CBS News survey was conducted in partnership with YouGov between Aug. 12-14 when 2,210 U.S. registered voters were interviewed. The margin of error is 2.4 percentage points. Read the full results here.More stories from theweek.com 5 achingly funny cartoons about Trump's post office upheaval Gretchen Whitmer is America's most incompetent politician Trump's Post Office meddling is plainly illegal
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| Forecasters look to learn from deadly Midwest wind storm Posted: 15 Aug 2020 06:19 AM PDT  The unusual wind storm that damaged farms, homes and cities across the Midwest this past week could offer lessons for forecasters and the public on how to better prepare for something that packed the power of a category 3 hurricane but lacked the days of warning a typical hurricane offers. The land hurricane, known as a derecho, caught farmers in fields, bicyclists on trails and travelers on highways — unaware that a series of thunderstorms that had formed the night before in South Dakota had picked up strength as it moved across Nebraska. At least three people in Iowa and one in Indiana were killed, including a bicyclist on a trail and a woman sitting on her front porch — both struck by trees.
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| American tourists are further banned from entering Canada until September and 'citizen detectives' are on the lookout Posted: 15 Aug 2020 07:36 AM PDT  Fear of Americans bringing the coronavirus across the border has led Canadians to report cars with foreign license plates to the police, or vandalize them.
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| Now Is Not the Time to Silence America’s Best Global Press Ambassadors Posted: 16 Aug 2020 03:30 AM PDT  At a time when access to accurate information is more critical than ever, leadership at Voice of America (VOA), the government-funded international news broadcaster, is actively undermining America's ability to reach those around the globe who need it most.VOA produces journalism in 46 languages around the globe, providing news through an American lens about the critical issues of the day. VOA frequently hires international journalists because they not only have a mastery of critical languages but also are knowledgeable of the journalistic landscape and have sources in the countries VOA serves. Often, their reporting is among the only news that reaches beyond the iron curtain of propaganda in despotic strongholds such as Russia or Venezuela, providing impartial news about the world and their home countries that is untainted by local regimes.But the new head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, who oversees VOA, has quietly refused to sign international journalists' contract renewals, forcing the impacted journalists to leave the country within 30 days unless they have already found a new job that provides a visa.Dozens of VOA employees now find themselves in limbo. Already, many have found their contracts have not been renewed, with no explanation given, often with only a few days' notice that they will soon need to leave the country. Journalists from places such as Iran face severe persecution for their work for the American government; sending them back puts their lives at great risk because of their commitment to our values.In a press release last month, CEO Pack has couched his non-decision in a broad accusation against VOA, citing "systemic, severe, and fundamental security failures" within the agency. But if this is the cause for Pack's decision to allow the contracts to expire, he should say so; instead, not only the press and the American people but also his employees are met with silence. The lack of specificity and evidence to support his claims make the accusations seem illegitimate.The organization has faced criticism, most recently over its reporting related to coronavirus that was perceived by many conservatives and the Trump administration as too soft on China for refusing to interrogate China's falsified coronavirus death count. But this concern has also been applied, with no less egregious examples, to many news organizations at home and abroad. The answer shouldn't be to strip bare the department in the dead of night.The White House's concerns about VOA -- real as they are -- are endemic to the current media environment, not a foreign influence threat metastasizing within the agency. The growth of and threat from foreign propaganda within American media is a topic that VOA covered in detail not even two months ago. What the concerns demand is reform -- thoughtful leadership that can reinvigorate an organization that has been broadcasting an American viewpoint to those suffering under the yoke of repressive governments dating back to Nazi Germany.In a moment where America is pulling back from its global leadership mantle, VOA serves as an indispensable communication outlet charged with "telling America's story." This is particularly true in places where hostile foreign governments actively spread disinformation about the United States. Reducing the international staff of VOA will undermine America's ability to broadcast our values and promote freedom as autocratic and anti-democratic forces gather steam around the globe.The urgency to act is critical. The loss felt by a gutting of our international journalistic capabilities will surely be felt in the years and decades to come -- but the window to act to address it is quickly shrinking. With foreign journalists already in limbo, and with only a 30 days before deportations can begin, Congress must act immediately.Leaders from Capitol Hill have come to the aid of the embattled agency in recent months. In defending the agency, they not only pointed out the bravery of journalists who face down dictators within their home countries but also called on the guiding principles set forth for VOA to "act as a bulwark against disinformation through credible journalism."Four Republicans signed on to this letter: Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Jerry Moran, and Susan Collins. They urged CEO Pack to not "invest in an enterprise that denigrates its own journalists and staff to the satisfaction of dictators and despots, nor can it be one that fails to live up to its promise of providing access to a free and independent press."Achieving these goals -- to the frustration of dictators and America's adversaries around the globe -- requires the aid of VOA's indispensable foreign journalists, a point the staff at VOA have made repeatedly. Particularly when those who want to create false, negative perceptions of America have spared no expense to co-opt, bribe, and otherwise entice journalists, now is no time for America to voluntarily surrender the moral high ground that our democratic press freedoms afford.The most compelling advantages America has in the global war against disinformation and propaganda is the freedom of our voices and the righteousness of our cause. These exist in spite of the problems we have domestically and within our own journalistic ranks. What sets us apart is our capacity to improve, to better live up to our ideals. This differentiator is no less accurate in describing what currently ails VOA.Senators Rubio, Graham, Moran, and Collins should take a stand for these ideals, and actively push back against Pack's irresponsible approach. As members of the president's party, they are the only ones in a position to apply the kind of pressure that could avoid hamstringing America's international legacy and global reception. Never has it been more important to tell America's story, and do it in a way that reflects the truth to a world desperately in need of it.
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| U.S. Navy carrier conducted exercises in South China Sea on Aug. 14 Posted: 14 Aug 2020 07:33 PM PDT  A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier conducted exercises in the contested South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. navy said in a statement. A strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan conducted flight operations and high-end maritime stability operations and exercises, the statement said. "Integration with our joint partners is essential to ensuring joint force responsiveness and lethality, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Navy Commander Joshua Fagan, Task Force 70 air operations officer aboard USS Ronald Reagan, was quoted as saying.
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| Taiwan finalizes $62bn purchase of F-16 jets from Lockheed Martin Posted: 14 Aug 2020 05:33 PM PDT  Taiwan finalized the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Friday, a source confirmed to AFP, in a $62 billion, 10-year deal sure to anger Beijing.
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| Don't use Asians to maintain white privilege, critics say after DOJ letter to Yale Posted: 14 Aug 2020 02:33 PM PDT  "This announcement is pure politics — a signal once again that the Trump administration will take extraordinary steps to protect white privilege," a former DOJ official said.
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| Putin agrees to prop up Belarus dictatorship, claims leader Posted: 15 Aug 2020 02:43 AM PDT  Belarus's embattled dictator Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday claimed Vladimir Putin had agreed to provide military support if needed as he clung onto power in the face of a growing pro-democracy revolution. Police launched a violent crackdown on protests that broke out last weekend when Mr Lukashenko claimed 80 percent of the vote in a presidential election, results largely seen as completely fabricated. But authorities failed to contain the demonstrations and pressure is mounting at home and abroad on Mr Lukashenko to step down, after ruling the Eastern European country with an iron fist for 26 years. Mr Lukashenko said on Saturday night that Russia and Belarus remained tied with a treaty with a "military component". "I had a long, thorough conversation with the Russian president today," he said. "He and I agreed comprehensive aid to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus will be provided at our first request," he said in comments carried by the Belta news agency on Saturday. Moscow sees Belarus as a strategically important buffer against NATO and the European Union, and will have no desire to see the current leadership replaced with a Westernising reformer. The Kremlin has, however, remained tight-lipped throughout the crisis on whether it would seek to prop up the regime. Analysts say direct intervention of the type seen during the 2014 Ukraine crisis, when pro-democracy protests ousted a Moscow-backed leader, is unlikely at this stage.
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| Floyd's death spurs push to train cops to stop police abuse Posted: 15 Aug 2020 07:27 AM PDT  Despite policies on the books for years that require officers across the United States to stop colleagues from using excessive force, there has been little or no effort to teach officers how to intervene, law enforcement officials and experts say. Police departments nationwide are showing new interest in training officers how they should stop, or try to stop, abuse in their own ranks. "I don't think departments have prepared their officers sufficiently to deal with that sort of situation," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank.
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| Gunmen kill son of legendary Mexican drug capo Amado Carrillo Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:26 AM PDT  Prosecutors in northern Mexico say that gunmen have killed Julio César Carrillo — a son of legendary drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
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| A parasite feasts on a fish's tongue until it's gone. Don't worry, humans can't get it. Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:37 AM PDT  When it latches itself onto the fish's tongue, it feeds on the tongue's blood vessels until it replaces the tongue. But it's nothing to worry about.
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| Iran's president says UAE made 'huge mistake' with Israel deal Posted: 15 Aug 2020 12:18 AM PDT  The UAE-Israel agreement announced on Thursday, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped to broker, is seen as aimed at bolstering opposition to regional power Iran. In his televised speech, Rouhani warned the UAE against allowing Israel a "foothold in the region".
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| A North Carolina man was charged with murder in the shooting death of his 5-year-old neighbor Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:43 AM PDT  Cannon Hinnant's father told local news the child was riding his bike outside when he was shot in the head.
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| COVID-19 live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on August 15 Posted: 15 Aug 2020 05:44 AM PDT  We're keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
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| Truck driver in school bus crash helps free trapped kids, then collapses Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:30 AM PDT  The 25-year-old driver of the rental truck died of his injuries at a hospital.
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| Exclusive: China continues to harass exiles on British soil, claim victims Posted: 15 Aug 2020 10:09 AM PDT  China is suspected of orchestrating a sinister campaign to suppress prominent critics living in Britain from speaking out against the ruling Communist Party by harassing, intimidating, and surveilling them while they are in the UK, the Telegraph can reveal. Simon Cheng Man-kit, a former British consulate employee in Hong Kong who was tortured by Chinese secret police, said he had been followed at least three times in the last two weeks. Mr Cheng, who has been granted asylum in the UK, has been vocal about eroding freedoms in Hong Kong. A threatening email also arrived in Mr Cheng's inbox this week. "Chinese agents will find you and bring you back," read the subject line. In the body, the message said: "Only a matter of time." The email alias was 'CY Leung', the name of Hong Kong's former chief executive who pro-democracy protesters accused of cosying up to Beijing. Azis Isa Elkun, a British Uighur who has campaigned from the UK about China's internment camps for Muslim minorities, revealed he had been sent messages from his mother, apparently under duress. He believes it is a warning to remain silent. Frances Eve, deputy director of research for Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a network of advocacy groups, said: "These kinds of threats are definitely to try to silence them from using their voices outside of China to raise awareness of these human rights violations. It's intimidation. It can take different forms, but the purpose is to silence them."
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| Texas testing drops as schools reopen, prepare for football Posted: 15 Aug 2020 07:20 AM PDT  Anyone can get a coronavirus test at the CentroMed clinic in San Antonio, but on a recent day, the drive-thru was empty. With hundreds of deaths reported each day, students returning to class and football teams charging ahead with plans to play, Texas leaders who grappled with testing shortages for much of the pandemic are now facing the opposite problem: not enough takers. "We're not having enough people step forward," Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said.
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| Greenland's melting ice sheet has 'passed the point of no return,' scientists say, dooming it to disappear Posted: 15 Aug 2020 05:27 PM PDT  Rising temperatures have driven Greenland's glaciers past a critical tipping point, where snowfall can no longer replenish melting ice.
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| New Jeffrey Epstein Victims, Including 11-Year-Old Girl, Come Forward in Lawsuit Posted: 14 Aug 2020 02:30 PM PDT  A Florida woman who alleges Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted her when she was 11-years-old is among nine accusers who have filed a new lawsuit against the millionaire pedophile's estate.The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges Epstein sexually abused them from as early as 1978—far earlier than Epstein's previously known instances of abuse—and continued until 2004. Five of the women in the lawsuit claim they were underage when they were abused, including a Tennessee woman who says she was 13 when the financier raped her multiple times. The other four women in the lawsuit were over 18. They were part of a "massive sex trafficking network" run by Epstein for him and his wealthy and powerful friends, it claims.Victoria's Secret Mogul May Finally Have to Explain His Epstein Ties"These nine Plaintiffs come forward to stand up for themselves and others, after they were sexually abused and assaulted by Epstein," the lawsuit says. "Some... were raped by Epstein, repeatedly."Epstein, 66, was found dead by suicide in his jail cell at Manhattan Correction Center last month. The sex offender was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of underage girls over two decades, beginning in the 1990s. The charges came 12 years after the disgraced businessman pleaded guilty in state court in Florida to soliciting prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in a widely criticized plea deal, and served 13 before he was released.Some of the most shocking claims detailed in the new suit relate to the woman from Tennessee, whose alleged abuse started in 1978 when she was 13, and continued for a long period. Epstein "sexually assaulted, abused, battered and raped her multiple times," the lawsuit says.This assault is the oldest abuse allegation against Epstein, who would have been 25 at the time and working on Wall Street after leaving his teaching gig at the Manhattan prep school Dalton. A woman from Florida alleges in the suit that, in 1993, when she was just 11 years old, Epstein "sexually assaulted, abused, battered and digitally penetrated her on three, separate occasions." She also alleges Epstein forced her "to perform oral sex on him," according to the lawsuit. How We Got the Scoop on Jeffrey Epstein's Arrest"As a result of the aforementioned sexual abuse, [the woman] suffered and continues to suffer from severe and serious injuries including... severe emotional distress and physical manifestations thereof," the lawsuit states.The women were allegedly sexually abused by Epstein and his associates in New York, Florida, New Mexico, California, and the United States Virgin Islands—but the suit also claims abuse happened in South Carolina, a location not mentioned in previous lawsuits and criminal cases against Epstein. The suit doesn't detail how the females met Epstein, or how they came to file a lawsuit together. They were able to sue Epstein's estate due to New York's Child Victims Act—which allows individuals abused as children to bring claims regardless of the statute of limitations.Dozens of victims have laid claim to Epstein's estate, which includes his unsold $88 million Manhattan mansion.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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| Masks are on superintendents' back-to-school shopping lists. Some leaders wonder if there will be enough. Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:34 AM PDT  Rising COVID-19 cases are putting the first day of school in limbo. Some leaders worry about having enough masks and cleaning supplies.
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| Top two Democrats in Congress call on U.S. postmaster general to reverse course: statement Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:34 AM PDT  The top two Democrats in Congress called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Friday to reverse postal service changes they say have led to mail delays. "Postmaster General DeJoy must quickly reverse his operational changes that have led to delays and service reductions for too many Americans and threaten to undermine our democracy," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. DeJoy, who has donated $2.7 million to Trump and his fellow Republicans since 2017, in July ordered operational changes and a clampdown on overtime in a bid to fix the financially troubled service.
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| Can Trump do the impossible? He thinks so Posted: 15 Aug 2020 10:17 AM PDT  Maybe it was the beautiful sunset, or the crowd of tough-looking men cheering his name, or even some reassurance from secret polling, but Donald Trump did not sound like a president who risks humiliation in less than 80 days.
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