| New York attorney general unveils investigation into Trump company's finances Posted: 24 Aug 2020 03:33 PM PDT  Court documents made public on Monday reveal that the New York attorney general's office is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into alleged financial improprieties at President Trump's real estate company and is accusing the business of trying to stall the probe.
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| Sydney Sutherland: Suspect in death knew victim and joined search party Facebook group Posted: 24 Aug 2020 02:40 PM PDT  The farmer accused of killing Arkansas resident Sydney Sutherland was known to the victim and joined a Facebook group dedicated to finding her after she went missing.Sutherland was last seen running on State Highway 18, near Newport, Arkansas, on Wednesday, and the 25-year-old's body was found on Friday following a two day search involving helicopters and K-9 units, according to the Daily Mail.
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| 'Everybody just started running': 3 people shot at Fayette Mall in Kentucky, police say Posted: 23 Aug 2020 05:13 PM PDT  Three people were shot inside a Kentucky shopping mall on Sunday in an incident that "does not appear to be random," police said.
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| What is Tropical Storm Laura bringing to South Florida? Expect more gusts and squalls Posted: 24 Aug 2020 06:01 AM PDT  Although Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to stay south of South Florida as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, the region could still see gusty and squally showers, thunderstorms and rip currents through Monday, forecasters said.
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| Hillary Clinton Urges Biden Not to Concede ‘Under Any Circumstances’ in November Election Posted: 25 Aug 2020 06:53 AM PDT  After suffering a loss in the 2016 presidential election herself, Hillary Clinton is warning 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden not to concede "under any circumstances" in the upcoming election to avoid falling victim to Republican efforts to disrupt the vote count.In an interview with The Circus on Showtime, the former secretary of state accused Republicans of trying to "mess up" absentee balloting to gain "a narrow advantage in the electoral college." She claimed that in Wisconsin's primary in April, Republicans "did everything they could to mess up voting." "But because courts had ordered absentee ballots to be counted if they were postmarked on election day, Democrats actually won some important races there," she said. While Republicans had pushed back against Democratic governor Tony Evers' proposal to mail almost every voter in the state an absentee ballot application, more than 80 percent of GOP members in the Wisconsin Legislature voted by mail in April. Wisconsin Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald said in May that he opposed mailing people absentee ballot applications because the voter list had not been "cleaned up" to remove people who shouldn't be on there, primarily because they moved."Wisconsin has online registration, excuse-free absentee voting, early in-person voting, and Election Day registration, making it easier to vote in Wisconsin than most other states," Fitzgerald, who ultimately voted absentee in April himself, said.> Hillary Clinton has some advice for Joe Biden: Don't concede in a close race.> > The 2016 nominee sits down with @jmpalmieri and @sho_thecircus to urge Dems to pay close attention to GOP strategy. pic.twitter.com/REwfLf1QjS> > -- The Recount (@therecount) August 24, 2020While Democrats have been quick to push for mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, many Republicans have warned that voting by mail can leave elections open to widespread fraud or can lead to ballots being sent to people who have died and to incorrect addresses. Republicans' skepticism has led many Democrats to accuse the GOP of voter suppression."We have to have our own teams of people to counter the force of intimidation that the Republicans and Trump are going to put outside polling places," Clinton said, urging people to become poll workers in November. She later added, "Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances because I think this is going to drag out and eventually I do believe he will win if we don't give an inch and if we are as focused and relentless as the other side is."Earlier in the interview, Clinton also bitterly acknowledged the importance of the electoral college saying, "You can win 3 million more votes and still, you know, not get elected because of the electoral college."
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| Probe into British mansion of Spain ex-king's lover: report Posted: 24 Aug 2020 03:01 AM PDT  Swiss prosecutors are investigating the purchase of a mansion in Britain by ex-Spanish king Juan Carlos's former lover in 2015, three years after she received 65 million euros from him, a newspaper reported Monday.
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| James Comey: ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon 'in a world of trouble' Posted: 23 Aug 2020 10:40 AM PDT  * Former aide pleads not guilty to fraud charge over fundraiser * Ex-FBI director: 'They could almost start a crime family'The former FBI director James Comey has said Steve Bannon is "in a world of trouble", after the former Trump campaign manager and White House adviser was arrested on a charge of skimming donations from a fundraising campaign for a wall on the border with Mexico."It's another reminder of the kind of people this president surrounds himself with," Comey told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday.Bannon is the latest figure with close ties to the president to have found himself in trouble with the law. Others include former campaign chair Paul Manafort, former lawyer Michael Cohen and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.Comey is also a former US attorney for Southern District of New York, where Bannon was indicted last week."At this point they could almost start their own crime family," Comey told CBS, echoing the passage in his book A Higher Loyalty, released in April 2018, in which he famously likened Trump, who fired him in May 2017, to mafia chiefs including Sammy "the Bull" Gravano."It's a very serious case. The southern district of New York has laid it out in a very detailed indictment called a speaking indictment, and he's in a world of trouble."Bannon has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted."It's a very serious fraud case with a huge amount of money stolen from innocent victims," Comey said. "That'll drive up potential punishments."Bannon was released on a $5m bond, backed by $1.75m in cash or real estate. He has until 3 September to find the collateral. Three other men, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea, were also arrested in the alleged scheme to defraud the We Build the Wall campaign, which authorities said raised more than $25m.Kolfage, Badolato and Shea have not yet entered pleas. In a statement on his Facebook page on Saturday, Kolfage said he had "obtained one of the best super lawyers around who isn't afraid to fight back at the politically motivated assaults against me".Bannon, Comey said, was "in trouble because the indictment lays it out in such detail, including excerpts from texts. If you're Steve Bannon [or] you're his lawyers, you're reading this saying, 'I'm going down here.'"I don't know what the next steps are for him and his co-defendants, but that's what I meant by 'world of trouble.'"Comey has proved a troublesome adversary for Trump, who sought unsuccessfully, and infamously, to secure a pledge of personal loyalty before deciding to fire him as FBI director.Comey recently announced a new book, Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust, due for release in January. Also in January, after the presidential election, Showtime will release The Comey Rule, a two-part adaptation of A Higher Loyalty.Comey is played by Jeff Daniels, Trump by the Irish actor Brendan Gleeson. In published cast lists, Bannon does not appear.
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| Jerry Falwell Jr. says he was blackmailed because of wife's affair Posted: 24 Aug 2020 09:28 AM PDT  Jerry Falwell Jr., currently on a leave of absence as the leader of evangelical Liberty University, has released a statement saying that he is seeking help for the "emotional toll" from an affair his wife had with a man who he says later threatened his family.
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| Louisiana authorities are investigating the death of 31-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by police while his back was turned Posted: 23 Aug 2020 02:08 PM PDT  Louisiana state police announced an investigation into an incident where Trayford Pellerin was shot by police officers on Friday.
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| Fact-checkers shake their heads at the RNC's 'parade of dishonesty,' 'fire hose of false or misleading' claims Posted: 24 Aug 2020 11:24 PM PDT  "The first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention was a fire hose of false or misleading claims, mostly drawn from President Trump's arsenal of falsehoods," The Washington Post fact-checker team reported Monday night, focusing on a modest 19 such claims. The Associated Press concentrated on Trump's "dizzying array of misleading claims about voting fraud and health care," both pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic."At times," The New York Times reports, "the speakers and prerecorded videos appeared to be describing an alternate reality: one in which the nation was not nearing 180,000 deaths from the coronavirus; in which Mr. Trump had not consistently ignored serious warnings about the disease; in which the president had not spent much of his term appealing openly to xenophobia and racial animus; and in which someone other than Mr. Trump had presided over an economy that began crumbling in the spring."And the "parade of dishonesty" from the RNC speakers stood "in stark contrast with last week's Democratic convention," CNN's fact-check team wrote. "While CNN also watched and fact-checked the Democrats, those four nights combined didn't have the number of misleading and false claims made on the first night of the Republicans' convention." One member of the CNN team, Daniel Dale, tweeted that the RNC's first night has been "exponentially more dishonest than the entire four nights of the Democratic convention," and "it's important for objective journalists to note how wildly imbalanced the dishonesty is between the current parties."If you are interested in reading about or second-guessing the truth-squadding of the RNC's first night, read the fact-checks at The Washington Post, AP, CNN, and The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Melania Trump reportedly taped making 'disparaging' remarks about president and his children The West Wing is getting a reunion special to support Michelle Obama's voter participation organization The Late Show's Melania Trump previews her suspiciously familiar RNC speech
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| 'It's a miracle he's still alive': Jacob Blake, father of six, in stable condition after being shot by Kenosha police Posted: 25 Aug 2020 06:05 AM PDT  Jacob Blake's family launched an online fundraising effort Monday, quickly raising more than $150,000 in donations by late afternoon.
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| Marco collapses after making landfall, but threat looms from Laura Posted: 24 Aug 2020 09:05 PM PDT  Ahead of Laura, hurricane and storm surge watches were issued for parts of the Gulf Coast. Marco made landfall but was expected to weaken further.
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| Joe Biden 'has not been tested' for COVID-19 but his campaign is confident 'he has not had the virus' Posted: 23 Aug 2020 02:17 PM PDT  A campaign official said Biden has followed the "strictest protocols" to prevent exposure and that those around him undergo 'the appropriate testing.'
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| US signals it will deport Colombian warlord to Italy Posted: 24 Aug 2020 01:59 PM PDT  Attorneys for the Justice Department signaled the U.S. would deport a former Colombian paramilitary warlord to Italy within the next two weeks despite a last-minute challenge by the South American nation to seek his extradition. The announcement came in a hearing Monday in Washington, DC federal court in which Salvatore Mancuso was seeking a judge's order to force Attorney General William Barr to immediately remove him to Italy, where he also has citizenship, after completing a 12-year narcotics sentence in March. Mancuso, the former top commander of the United Defense Forces of Colombia, known as the AUC, argued that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have "illegally detained" Mancuso beyond the maximum 90 days allowed for the removal of aliens, according to a pre-hearing memorandum filed by his attorneys.
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| Libya strongman labels GNA ceasefire announcement a stunt Posted: 24 Aug 2020 04:26 AM PDT  A spokesman for eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has slammed a ceasefire announcement by the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) as a media stunt, accusing it of preparing a new offensive.
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| Stolen branch on Yellowstone visitor’s SUV leads ranger to more illegal cargo, feds say Posted: 24 Aug 2020 04:10 PM PDT  The driver had already visited multiple national parks in several states, court documents said.
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| Long delays at U.S.-Mexico border crossings after new travel restrictions Posted: 24 Aug 2020 02:12 PM PDT  Americans who regularly cross the border from Mexico reported long wait times to re-enter the United States on Monday after U.S. officials imposed new COVID-19-related restrictions on cross-border travel by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The government closed lanes at select ports of entry on the border and began conducting more secondary checks to limit non-essential travel and slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) representative said on Friday. According to CBP data, wait times at some border crossings have doubled or tripled.
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| Iowa State University forced a professor to change his syllabus after he threatened to kick students out of class if they participate in racism, sexism, or homophobia Posted: 24 Aug 2020 12:50 PM PDT  The syllabus said "arguments against gay marriage, abortion, Black Lives Matter" will be "grounds for dismissal from the classroom."
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| 'If he says something is huge, it's probably small': Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen skewers the president in a Democratic ad on the opening night of the RNC Posted: 24 Aug 2020 04:43 PM PDT  Cohen also urged viewers to remember that Trump "thinks we are all gullible" and "a bunch of fools," adding, "I was a part of it, and I fell for it."
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| The Trump campaign: Re-elect the president because he is presiding over hellish chaos Posted: 24 Aug 2020 07:22 PM PDT  During the first night of the Republican National Convention, the party leaned heavily into apocalyptic scaremongering about a future Biden presidency. "They'll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). The Democrats have run Baltimore "into the ground," said Kim Klacik, a GOP nominee for Congress in Maryland. "Abandoned buildings, liquor stores on the corner, drug addicts, guns on the street, that's the normal in many neighborhoods," she added.Now, it is true there has been a moderate uptick in murders in some big American cities. The New York Times found that as of July they were up 16 percent relative to 2019 in a selection of 25 cities — though violent crime overall was down 2 percent, and overall crime was down 5.3 percent. This probably has something to do with the coronavirus pandemic, and the fact that, in many cities, police departments appear to be conducting a de facto work slowdown as collective punishment for being criticized by protesters.But the logic of the Trump campaign argument here makes no sense at all. It is true that Democrats run local governments in many big cities, but the president is the most powerful elected official in the country. It is his ostensible job to preserve law and order, and he has sweeping powers to do so. Instead, he has deliberately chosen to inflame the violence in cities like Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon with racist rhetoric and by siccing federal law enforcement on unarmed protesters.Effectively, the Trump campaign is simultaneously hysterically exaggerating the scale of the violence problem in American cities that is happening on his watch, and arguing that he should be re-elected to fight it. It's almost as though the argument is not made in good faith.More stories from theweek.com Melania Trump reportedly taped making 'disparaging' remarks about president and his children The West Wing is getting a reunion special to support Michelle Obama's voter participation organization The Late Show's Melania Trump previews her suspiciously familiar RNC speech
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| Wife of ex-California congressman sentenced for corruption Posted: 24 Aug 2020 09:57 AM PDT  The wife of former California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter was sentenced Monday in U.S. court to eight months of home confinement after pleading guilty to misusing more than $150,000 in campaign funds in a corruption case that ended her husband's career. Government attorneys noted Margaret Hunter's cooperation with the prosecution of her husband in arguing against putting her behind bars and for allowing her to serve the sentence at home.
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| Turkey extends prospecting in Aegean in move that risks sparking conflict with Greece Posted: 24 Aug 2020 08:52 AM PDT  The risk of conflict between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean is likely to escalate this week after Ankara said a Turkish vessel prospecting for oil and gas on the seabed would remain in the region until Thursday. The Oruc Reis exploration vessel, escorted by warships, had been expected to withdraw from the area on Sunday but the Turkish government said it would continue conducting seismic surveys, in a move that further antagonises already tense relations with Greece. Athens says the vessel, along with two auxiliary ships, is illegally exploring its waters and continental shelf. In such a volatile situation, a miscalculation by one side or the other could have serious consequences. "More than ever before, the latest cycle of escalation risks spiraling into a multinational conflict," Michaël Tanchum, a senior fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Studies, wrote in Foreign Policy recently. "Observers around the world fear that any further escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean could set off a Euro-Middle Eastern maelstrom."
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| 'First of Many:' Air Force Leaders Watch Flying Car Demo Posted: 24 Aug 2020 11:02 AM PDT  The Hexa is an eVTOL platform that consists of an open cockpit seat surrounded by a honeycomb of small rotors.
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| Guam needs Aegis Ashore Posted: 25 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Aegis Ashore is not a perfect solution, but it provides the best hope for addressing urgent threats and creating the space for the additional capabilities that will undoubtedly be necessary.
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| Fifteen years and $15 billion since Katrina, New Orleans is more prepared for a major hurricane – for now Posted: 25 Aug 2020 08:40 AM PDT  A $15 billion hurricane protection system guards New Orleans against flooding. Experts say it must be upgraded because of climate change and land loss.
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| Russia says armoured vehicle attacked during patrol in Syria: Ifax Posted: 25 Aug 2020 03:15 AM PDT |
| A 23-year-old Fort Hood soldier who has been missing for a week had reported sexual abuse before his disappearance Posted: 24 Aug 2020 11:28 AM PDT  Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, was last seen on August 17 when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen, Texas.
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| Most college students ‘absolutely certain’ they’ll vote, report finds. But for whom? Posted: 24 Aug 2020 01:17 PM PDT  The poll surveyed 4,000 full-time four-year students.
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| Meet the Republican-turned-Democrat who could flip a Senate seat in Kansas Posted: 24 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Barbara Bollier, a state senator and physician, is raising hopes for Democrats in deep-red territory: 'I'm an independent voice'In the heartland state of Kansas, long seen as deep-red territory where Democrats rarely have a shot at winning key elections, hope is beginning to stir that the party could pull off an unlikely win in a crucial Senate seat.The state senator Barbara Bollier, a former Republican and physician, is the vehicle for these ambitions – which if they came off could decide whether the party grabs overall control of the US Senate in January.Bollier has proved to be a formidable fundraiser and, in an interview with the Guardian, described how she plans to attract independents and Republicans in Kansas in the general election against an establishment Republican candidate, the US congressman Roger Marshall."What I want to highlight is the fact that as a physician, as a current legislator, I am an independent voice and work hard to listen to the people and bring their ideas and needs forward in a bipartisan fashion, cooperating and working together," Bollier said in an interview with the Guardian.Bollier left the Republican party in 2018. She said she had grown dissatisfied with the party's opposition to Medicaid expansion and record on balancing budgets. She said that those priorities "are still in place with me but they were not being followed by the Republican leadership in this state"."They were not following public education," Bollier said, adding that the then Republican Kansas governor, Sam Brownback, "put in a horrific tax plan that broke and caused us to have to borrow money to meet our bills. That is not a traditional Republican value, borrowing money. And at a point you realize: 'I can best represent our people following the values that they want as a Democrat.'"Democrats have not controlled a Senate seat in Kansas since 1939 and the state votes reliably Republican in presidential races. But in 2018 Laura Kelly, also a state senator, beat the anti-immigration hardliner Kris Kobach to win the Kansas governor's race, a sign that there is a precarious route for Democrats to win statewide.Bollier had also hoped to face Kobach, but Kobach lost to Marshall.The added rub now is that most campaigning for Bollier has had to be virtual or socially distanced because of the coronavirus pandemic."Campaigning has been very unique during Covid as we've done a tremendous amount … on the internet, Zoom, Facebook Live," Bollier said. "Of course tremendous numbers of phone calls. We did a virtual bus tour. Now that we're moving forward in understanding this disease and understanding that if I wear a mask and another person wears a mask and we're socially distancing, there will be opportunity to do more of me moving out of my home."Both Bollier and Marshall are physicians. They both graduated from the same medical school. But they have taken different approaches to campaigning during the pandemic. Bollier's campaign events are distanced and mostly virtual and Marshall's have been in person, mirroring the national strategies of the Donald Trump and Joe Biden campaigns.Marshall has also said every week he takes two tablets of hydroxychloroquine, the drug Trump has touted as a treatment for coronavirus. Research has found hydroxychloroquine does not prevent Covid-19 and the Food and Drug Administration has warned that there are serious health risks connected to taking the drug.The divergent approaches in campaigning and public stances on healthcare are what, Democrats hope, will boost Bollier and create an upset win for the party.Scott Fairchild, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, touted Bollier's background in a recent podcast interview with David Plouffe, former campaign manager for Barack Obama."I think we've recruited a stellar candidate," Fairchild said. "She's an impressive doctor, moderate Republican turned moderate Democrat. She's raising a lot of money. I think she's going to make that race really competitive."Polling generally shows Marshall leading Bollier by single digits. Democrats often point to the cash advantage Bollier had entering the general election – over $4m to Marshall's $600,000. When asked if she thought her chances of winning the seat had shrunk when Marshall beat Kobach, Bollier pushed back and pointed to Medicaid expansion."This state desperately wants and needs Medicaid expansion and healthcare access. And every one of them stood against it, including Roger Marshall. He still does. And has tried to end the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic," Bollier said.She added: "Four hundred thousand people in Kansas have pre-existing conditions, so you have to have another plan there for them to have insurance. So, no, my campaign speaks for itself."Another question for the general election is how much damage the divided primary did to Marshall. Trump refrained from weighing in on the primary, though he did congratulate Marshall after he won.But major Republican organizations have rallied around the Kansas congressman."Marshall's significant win was a huge, critical victory for the pro-business majority and the business community," Ashlee Rich Stephenson, the political director for the influential US Chamber of Commerce, said in an email.
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| Israeli teens find 1,000-year-old gold coins Posted: 24 Aug 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Hundreds of gold coins that are more than 1,000 years old have been unearthed in Israel.
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| Thai police summon 5 activists, arrest 1 for protests Posted: 23 Aug 2020 10:56 PM PDT  Thai police said Monday that they have issued summonses to five activists who spoke at an anti-government rally in front of army headquarters last month, accusing them of violating a coronavirus emergency decree that prohibits public gatherings. The growing protests have emerged as the most serious threat to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army general whose administration they accuse of incompetence and corruption. "They are being called in to hear charges as their rally breached the emergency decree," Police Col. Prasopchoke Aiempinij said of the five who were summoned.
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| Jeremy Corbyn failed to empathise with British Jews because they are 'prosperous' Posted: 24 Aug 2020 10:22 AM PDT  Jeremy Corbyn failed to empathise with British Jews because they are "prosperous", a former ally has said in a new anti-Semitism row. Andrew Murray, who was a senior adviser to the former Labour leader, insisted Mr Corbyn was "empathetic", but with those in society who are "at the bottom of the heap". According to the new book Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour under Corbyn, Mr Murray said: "He is very empathetic, Jeremy, but he's empathetic with the poor, the disadvantaged, the migrant, the marginalised, the people at the bottom of the heap."
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| US blasts WTO ruling in decades-old Canada lumber dispute Posted: 24 Aug 2020 09:34 AM PDT  The United States slammed a World Trade Organization ruling Monday that favored Canada in a longstanding battle over lumber imports, holding the case up as further justification for Washington's campaign to drastically reform the global trade body.
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| 'I'd Like to Punch You in the Mouth.' Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro Enraged by Reporter's Question About Payments to His Wife Posted: 25 Aug 2020 02:33 AM PDT  Yet despite mounting scandals, polls suggest right-wing leader's popularity is on the rise
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| A Florida man who thought the coronavirus was 'blown out of proportion' lost his wife to it Posted: 25 Aug 2020 07:38 AM PDT  Brian Lee Hitchens said he and his wife, Erin, had believed false claims circulating on social media that downplayed the disease COVID-19.
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| Fact check: Over 8,000 US trafficking arrests since 2017 have not included members of Congress Posted: 24 Aug 2020 12:54 PM PDT  Claims online of 3,100 arrests for human trafficking in the U.S. since 2017, including 38 members of Congress, are false.
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| 'Absolutely repugnant': Biden's campaign forcefully disavows an endorsement from neo-Nazi Richard Spencer Posted: 24 Aug 2020 12:38 PM PDT  A Biden campaign staffer tweeted that what Spencer stands for is "absolutely repugnant," adding, "Your support is 10,000% percent unwelcome here."
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| New Apache Program on Schedule in Spite of COVID-19, Army Says Posted: 24 Aug 2020 08:19 AM PDT  Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the Army's new AH-64E Apache V6 program is finding ways to get things done.
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| Former Virginia Lt. Gov. John H. Hager dies at 83 Posted: 24 Aug 2020 06:07 AM PDT  John H. Hager, a former Virginia lieutenant governor who served from 1998 to 2002, has died at the age of 83. Gov. Ralph Northam ordered state flags to be flown at half staff for 10 days in Hager's honor following his death Sunday, according to a statement from the governor. The Republican and former tobacco executive presided over a state Senate that was under GOP control for the first time in more than a century, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
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| Wisconsin city braces for third night of protests over police shooting of Black man Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:33 AM PDT  Authorities in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday were readying for a third night of unrest after arsonists torched much of the city's Black business district following the shooting of a Black man in the back by police. Kenosha County Board of Supervisors member Zach Rodriguez said the board would hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday on seeking federal help, such as U.S. Marshals Service officers, to quell the unrest after some 300 rioters looted businesses and set fire to buildings overnight. Smoke billowed over central Kenosha after police in riot gear clashed with protesters as they defied a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Monday night and Tuesday morning, near where police gunned down Jacob Blake, 29, on Sunday.
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| 'This feels different': Black postal workers on the USPS' fate Posted: 25 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Black people make up a disproportionate share of postal workers. That's why the Postal Service's fate will affect Black communities.
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| GOP congressional candidate exposes reality of liberal cities Posted: 24 Aug 2020 05:33 AM PDT  Maryland congressional candidate Kim Klacik speaks out on crime in U.S. cities.
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| Stricken ship behind oil spill sunk off Mauritius Posted: 24 Aug 2020 05:22 PM PDT  The broken stem of a Japanese-owned ship which ran aground causing a devastating oil spill in pristine waters off Mauritius, has been successfully sunk in the open ocean, the national crisis committee said Monday.
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| 'The forest ... is resetting': California wildfires burned hundreds of ancient redwoods, but much of the forest seems to have survived the blaze Posted: 24 Aug 2020 09:48 PM PDT  A wildfire ravaged through the historic Big Basin Redwood State Park Monday, taking down hundreds of ancient trees in a fiery blaze.
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| FDA chief admits he oversold COVID-19 plasma effectiveness Posted: 25 Aug 2020 05:57 AM PDT  Scientists were immediately skeptical when Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn, Health Secretary Alex Azar, and President Trump announced Sunday evening that the FDA had given emergency use approval for plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, right before the Republican National Convention. And they were baffled when all three men claimed plasma had been shown to reduce deaths by 35 percent, meaning, Hanh said, that 35 out of 100 COVID-19 patients "would have been saved because of the administration of plasma."That impressive statistic was evidently excavated from a small subsample of a large observational study from the Mayo Clinic, and it doesn't mean what Trump, Azar, and Hahn said it does. Hahn and whoever else came up with the number "appeared to have mixed up absolute risk and relative risk, which are basic concepts in economics and in the presentation of data from clinical trials," The Washington Post notes, explaining:> Essentially, the Trump administration figures had compared one group of patients who got a certain kind of plasma with a group who got a different concentration at a different point in the disease, thus showing the relative difference between those groups. It was not a measure of what happens when some patients get plasma and some don't — the kind of research necessary to send a signal of whether a treatment is truly helping. The FDA also considered data from other studies. [The Washington Post]After facing criticism from incredulous medical scientists, Hanh acknowledged his error:> You need to correct the 35 lives saved per 100 sick with covid-19 so people understand that was absolutely wrong, Steve. That there is no evidence to support that. That there is no evidence at this juncture to support *any* survival benefit. That we need RCTs.> > — Eric Topol (@EricTopol) August 25, 2020Scientists have reasonable hopes that convalescent plasma, a century-old treatment, will be effective at helping COVID-19 patients recover, at least until a reliable treatment is found or developed. But so far the evidence is "still very low-quality" and "not conclusive, World Health Organization chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan cautioned Monday.It isn't really the exaggeration of plasma's benefits that worry medical experts, The New York Times reports. It's that, given how "Trump has appeared to politicize the process of approving treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus," nobody will believe "the scientific judgment of the FDA" when it says a vaccine is safe and effective.More stories from theweek.com Melania Trump reportedly taped making 'disparaging' remarks about president and his children The West Wing is getting a reunion special to support Michelle Obama's voter participation organization The Late Show's Melania Trump previews her suspiciously familiar RNC speech
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| Dictator’s Gun-Toting Son, 15, Is Being Groomed as Belarus’ King Joffrey Posted: 25 Aug 2020 01:49 AM PDT  From the age of 5, he has rubbed shoulders with the most feted and feared world leaders, from the Obamas and two successive popes to Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin. By 7 he had been gifted a handgun made of gold by Dmitry Medvedev, who was Russia's president at the time. This week, Nikolay Lukashenko, the youngest son of the "last dictator in Europe," came of age during the worst period of his father's reign. With 100,000 protesters demanding Alexander Lukashenko's resignation and free and fair elections in Minsk, the 15-year-old flew over the crowds in a helicopter, all dressed up in the tactical gear of an elite commando. Another image released by the regime showed him sitting at a table opposite his father with an automatic rifle at his side, apparently ready to defend his life.Like much of his 26-year rule, the bravado does not match the reality, but it's clear that Lukashenko Sr. is warning a rebellious nation that he is going nowhere. Amid popular outcry over corrupt elections earlier this month, he told protesters they would have to kill him before a fresh presidential election would be granted. With his heavily armed son waiting in the wings, even the death of Lukashenko may not signal the end of Europe's only surviving autocracy west of Moscow. "Lukashenko said publicly many times that he would fire back until the very last bullet," a Belarusian political insider told The Daily Beast. "The appearance of Lukashenko with his son was supposed to demonstrate that they are not cowards and will fight till the very end."Video footage of the surreal scene on the helicopter was released on Sunday. Lukashenko Jr., widely known as Kolya, struggled to adjust his combat gear as if it was a school backpack. "So, where are they?" he asked of the protesters below. Lukashenko responded: "They learned you'd be here, so they've escaped like rats." It was Kolya's most prominent appearance during the weeks of protest. The conversation between father and son summed up the family's attitude to their subjects."This child grew up without his mother. He was spoiled, allowed anything he wanted," Pavel Marinich, an exiled opposition leader, told The Daily Beast. "This boy has heard that the Belarusian nation is 'little people;' that women cannot be presidents; that the real role of women is 'to decorate the world.' He also heard his father say: 'People do not become presidents, they are born to be presidents.'"Technically, Kolya cannot become president until he is 35 under the Belarusian constitution, but Lukashenko has shown scant regard for the rule of law in the past.As a baby, very little was known about Kolya. Until 2007, his existence was scarcely acknowledged and his mother has never been publicly identified, although he is believed to be the child of Lukashenko's former personal physician. Once he was 5, he became a mascot taken wherever Lukashenko went. Explaining why he brought Kolya, dressed in a tiny military uniform, to so many formal parades, the president said: "If I am not at home, he cannot sleep, he cannot eat, he is not a child at all."He attended meetings with heads of states and sat at the General Assembly of the United Nations, where he met Michelle and Barack Obama. He shook hands with his dad's political partners in Russia, Asia, and Latin America. The photographs taken when he met Chavez showed a handgun in a holster under his child-sized suit. > Best awkward photo ever at UNAssembly: Belarus tyrant Lukashenko with 11yrold son and the Obamas pic.twitter.com/Jmgsi1dS1G> > -- Lorcan (@Lorcan_Lovett) October 2, 2015Lukashenko has said that of his three sons, Nikolay, who "has the sharp character of his father," is the likely successor. The other two boys, from a failed marriage, have had relatively little public prominence. Kolya "might become the president in some 20 years," Lukashenko once said. Since Kolya was a toddler, his father has jailed his opponents and potential presidential rivals. But this year Lukashenko's KGB and police demonstrated outrageous violence. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 7,000 people were detained in just four days. "All of them suffered abuse, male detainees were beaten, in most cases both by detaining officers and at the detention center," said Tanya Lokshina, associate director for Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division. "The women were ill-treated, humiliated, some were beaten; several cases of rape have been reported."Kolya, a tall blond teenager, is familiar with his father's poor treatment of women. His mother has been erased from public life— Lukashenko explained to the nation that his son was "from God"—and an ex-wife was also sidelined. Women, the president believes, should have no fewer than three children and should all be a specific height: "A woman should be 165-175 centimeters, that is normal for a woman," he has said. There was a time when Kolya's supposed mother, Irina Abelskaya, appeared in public alongside the president but then other women, much younger than his mother but also blonde, took her place. Lukashenko prefers to be seen with models; several of his temporary partners were winners of beauty contests. He regularly took an escort of four striking women to his official meetings, in the fashion of Gaddafi's bevvy of nurses. He argued that it was a beneficial work practice. "My beauties are coming, one is blond, another one brunette and everybody around forgets about the paperwork and just stares at them. So, I got it: they are my real weapon," he once said, about the female members of his service. Even Kolya's memories of his childhood fade, there are ample photographic and video reminders all over the internet. It is unclear if the teenager runs his own social media accounts, as most of the images on his Instagram and VK accounts look to have been officially collated, but there are scores of images elsewhere, often posted by Russian fans of the boy who is growing into a dashing young man.> View this post on Instagram> > Ваш самый любимый Николай. Надеюсь он справится с хейтом в его сторону��❤ Помните,что он ни в чем не виноват. Дети НЕ должны отвечать за поступки родителей. ЯМыКоля колялукашенко колялукашенкокраш николайлукашенко kolyalukashenko принцбелорусский лукашенкоколя лукашенкониколай крашвсеяруси> > A post shared by Николай краш (@___kolya.lukashenko.fan___) on Aug 17, 2020 at 1:59pm PDTWhether it's a sweetheart image posted by Russian fangirls on VK or a state-issued photograph of a future leader with a semi-automatic, it's hard to know what Kolya is really thinking. Some Russian speaking internet users have been joking about saving the boy from his father: "Kolya Lukashenko, shoot into the air, if the old man holds you a hostage," Alexander Litreyev wrote on Twitter.The harm done to a child growing up in this kind of environment is impossible to calculate from the outside, it is unknown if he has his father's thirst for power or wishes to fade into the background when Lukashenko finally leaves office. Whatever this potential boy-king is thinking, hundreds of thousands of Belarusian protesters are determined that the county's next president will be elected, not born into power.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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