| 4 takeaways from a less abrasive — but more revealing — debate between Trump and Biden Posted: 22 Oct 2020 11:10 PM PDT  On Thursday evening, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met in Nashville for the second — and final — socially distanced debate of the 2020 presidential campaign.
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| 'A flat-out lie': Breonna Taylor attorneys seek new prosecutor after jurors speak out Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:47 PM PDT  The two anonymous grand jurors in the Breonna Taylor case who spoke out this week about the deliberations had no agenda other than to pursue the truth, their lawyer said. But their disclosures have spurred calls for a new prosecutor in the case.
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| Turkish burgers off the menu in Saudi Arabia as trade boycott bites fast food industry Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:38 AM PDT  With its spicy sauce and Ottoman-themed packaging, the "Turkish burger" is one of the more exotic choices on the menu at Saudi Arabian restaurant Herfy. Or, at least, it was. This week, the Turkish patty has vanished from the menu and been replaced with an identical "Greek burger," the latest casualty of Saudi Arabia's unofficial boycott of Turkish products. "It's the same thing," one Herfy worker, Mahmood Bassyoni, told customers as he offered them a taste of the burger, according to Bloomberg news agency. "Just the name changed." The boycott reportedly began after Recep Tayyip Erdogan outraged Riyadh, one of its main rivals in the Middle East, by claiming that "Arab countries in the Gulf will not exist for long but Turkey will always remain powerful." Tensions have also simmered over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and differing attitudes towards Islamist groups in the region. Mr Erdogan has accused Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, of ordering the murder personally, something that he vehemently denies. The Telegraph approached Herfy for comment on whether the rebranding was related to the boycott but had not received a response at the time of publication. According to Arab News, a Saudi news website, the boycott has been gaining steam in recent weeks, with major supermarket Al Sadhan Group expressing support for the campaign. This was followed by dairy firm Tamimi Markets adding its voice to the backlash against Turkish goods, along with a number of online fashion retailers.
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| Two largest wildfires in Colorado history are burning at the same time, 10 miles apart Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:34 AM PDT  About 700 square miles of wildfires are actively burning in Colorado. Wildfires have scorched more than 1,000 square miles since July 31.
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| Delta brutally subtweets rival airlines like American and United for not blocking middle seats during a pandemic Posted: 22 Oct 2020 12:22 PM PDT  Delta's tweet, which read "A haunted house, but they're not blocking middle seats," appeared to call out competitor airlines.
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| Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, describes meeting her as 'love at first sight.' Here's a timeline of their relationship. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:39 PM PDT  Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff met in 2013 on a blind date set up by one of Harris' friends.
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| ‘Shy’ Trump voters will power his win, says pollster who called 2016 race Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:34 PM PDT  Thanks to the hidden support from voters who are embarrassed to admit they will vote for Donald Trump, the president will be narrowly reelected on Nov. 3, says one of the few pollsters who correctly predicted his 2016 victory.
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| Senator Hirono’s Double Standard Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:48 AM PDT  The biggest controversy arising from Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings last week was the fact that she said she "would not discriminate on the basis of sexual preference."How was that controversial?According to some Senate Democrats, using the term "sexual preference" is "shameful and offensive."Patty Murray, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, wrote on Twitter: "Judge Barrett using this phrase is shameful and offensive—and it tells us exactly what we need to know about how she views the LGBTQIA+ community."Democratic senators Cory Booker and Mazie Hirono, both members of the Judiciary Committee, criticized Barrett for saying "sexual preference" at the hearing. "Let me make clear, 'sexual preference' is an offensive and outdated term," Hirono said to Barrett.> Let me make clear - sexual preference is an offensive and outdated term.> > To suggest sexual orientation is a choice? It's not. It's a key part of a person's identity.> > The LGBTQ+ community should be concerned with WhatsAtStake with Judge Barrett on the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/4TWyATMX0Y> > -- Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) October 13, 2020Barrett apologized: "I certainly didn't mean and would never mean to use a term that would cause any offense to the LGBTQ community.""Amy Coney Barrett used an offensive term while talking about LGBTQ rights. Her apology was telling," read the headline at Vox. But as it turns out, there's little reason to think the term was offensive before Democrats pounced on Barrett for using it on October 13.Joe Biden used the term "sexual preference" in May 2020, and the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg used it in 2017. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Dick Durbin — both Judiciary Committee members — have used the term in Senate floor speeches over the past decade.On Thursday afternoon, I caught up with Hirono in the Capitol and asked her about the apparent double standard. The Hawaii senator stands by her condemnation of Barrett for saying "sexual preference," but won't call on Biden to apologize for using the same term in May 2020:> National Review: Senator, last week at the hearing you mentioned that you thought it was "offensive and outdated" when Amy Barrett used the [term] "sexual preference." It turns out that Joe Biden said it in May. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it in 2017. Some of your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee said it maybe in 2010, 2012. Do you stand by that criticism?> > Mazie Hirono: Well, of course.> > NR: Do you think Joe Biden should apologize for saying that in May?> > Hirono: Well, look, it's a lesson learned for all of us. But when you're going on the Supreme Court and you've been a judge, as one of my judge friends said, you should know what these words mean.> > NR: Should Joe Biden apologize, too, like Amy Coney Barrett did?> > Hirono: Joe Biden is not up for the Supreme Court.> > NR: He's up for the presidency. So, he shouldn't apologize?> > Hirono: People will decide.> > NR: You don't want to call on him to apologize?> > Hirono: Oh, stop it. The world is in flames.Of course, the state of the world is the same this week as it was last week when Senators Murray and Hirono smeared Barrett as a bigot for using the term, and the argument that either Barrett or Biden did anything wrong is very weak.The Huffington Post and The Atlantic have printed "sexual preference" instead of "sexual orientation" in the last six years. A gay-rights advocate used the term in a September 25, 2020, interview with the gay-rights magazine The Advocate. No one condemned or criticized any of the media outlets or Democratic politicians who used the term in the past decade.In Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the word "preference" carried no negative connotation when used to refer to sexual orientation on October 12, 2020. On October 13, 2020 — immediately after the media and Senate Democrats pounced on Barrett — Merriam-Webster redefined the word "preference" as "offensive" when used to refer to "sexual orientation."Amy Coney Barrett and Joe Biden may not owe anyone an apology. But Senator Hirono and several of her Democratic colleagues do.
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| Houston officer killed two weeks before retirement Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:03 AM PDT  Sgt. Harold Preston, who led 'from the front,' died at an area hospital with his family by his side. A longtime Texas police officer just two weeks away from his retirement was shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a domestic violence call. Houston Police Sgt. Harold Preston, 65, suffered multiple head wounds after the 41-year force veteran responded to a call at a local apartment complex.
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| Elderly couple who wouldn't evacuate killed in Colorado wildfire Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:20 PM PDT  The couple, in their 80s, cherished their home and refused to leave, the sheriff and family said. There are no other known missing people in the blaze.
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| Hundreds of protesters clash with police over coronavirus restrictions in Naples Posted: 23 Oct 2020 08:47 PM PDT  Hundreds of protesters in Naples threw projectiles at police and set rubbish bins on fire late on Friday during a demonstration against coronavirus restrictions in the southern Italian city. Calls were issued on social media to challenge a curfew that took effect in the Campania region ahead of the weekend, enacted in response to a spiralling second wave of infections that saw nearly 20,000 new cases detected in the last 24 hours. A mostly young crowd marched through the streets of the regional capital and chanted as the curfew started at 11pm, with some lighting smoke bombs. One carried a makeshift sign that read: "If you close, you pay."
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| Will Voters Make Colorado Part of U.S. ‘Abortion Desert’? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:07 PM PDT  By Priscilla Blossom, Kaiser Health NewsColorado voters are deciding a ballot question that seeks to limit how far into pregnancy an abortion can be legally performed. While the measure would change the law only in Colorado, it would resonate throughout the Rocky Mountain states and Midwest amid an intensifying national fight, fueled by a Supreme Court vacancy, over the future of abortion.In 1967—six years before the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision protected the right to an abortion in the U.S.—Colorado became the first state to pass a law widening access to legal abortion. More than 50 years later, it remains one of just seven states without gestational limits on the procedure, making Colorado one of the few options for people nationwide who need abortions later in pregnancy.Proposition 115 seeks to change that. It would outlaw abortion in the state after 22 weeks. The proposition makes an exception to save the life of the pregnant person, but none for cases of rape or incest or to protect the health of the pregnant individual or fetus.But the impact of the measure also would be felt by neighboring states where people have little or no access to abortion. Kelly Baden, vice president of reproductive rights at the left-leaning policy group State Innovation Exchange, called the surrounding region an abortion desert."Colorado really plays an important role in the region in being a haven for access for people who live in those highly restrictive states, some of which neighbor us, like Kansas, Nebraska—that whole swath of the Midwest from the Dakotas on down to Texas," Baden said.Both Sides Contradict Trump: Abortion Is on the Ballot in 2020A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in 2018 found the Midwest has fewer abortion clinics per capita than any other U.S. region, with 92 facilities across 10 states.Colorado providers have stepped in, and approximately 1 in 10 abortions are performed on people from out of state. A billboard on Interstate 70 welcomed visitors from Utah with the message "Welcome to Colorado, where you can get a safe, legal abortion."Colorado voters have rejected three abortion-related ballot measures since 2008, which advocates pointed to as evidence that the state's residents are fine with the status quo."Colorado has already voted on ridiculous abortion restrictions multiple times and said, 'We don't want them.' It's insulting that these extremists keep trying," said Whitney Woods, speaking on her own behalf while on maternity leave from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.Over the past decade, however, those measures have been rejected by smaller and smaller margins, said Bob Enyart, a spokesperson for Colorado Right to Life—one of several groups pushing for Proposition 115 to pass."Coloradoans increasingly voted to recognize each unborn child as a person from 2008 to 2010 to 2014," said Enyart.Indeed, 2008's Amendment 48, which proposed redefining personhood in the state constitution as starting at conception, received support from 27% of voters. Six years later, that support grew to 35 percent for Amendment 67.A recent poll by 9News in Denver and Colorado Politics showed that voters are more evenly divided about the new proposition, with 45 percent saying they'll vote no, 42% planning to vote yes, and a crucial 13 percent still undecided.Reproductive Rights Groups Go High-Tech With 'Uber for Abortion' and EncryptionRandi Davis, a mom in Aurora, is one voter whose own experience illustrates how personal and nuanced the question can be. When she was pregnant, Davis was advised to have an abortion, as her baby's odds of survival were slim to none. She said she opted against abortion and went on to give birth to a full-term stillborn baby."I'm not necessarily for abortion," Davis said. "However, I do believe every woman should have their own choice to abort for whatever reason."She said she's voting against the proposition.Dr. Thomas Perille heads the medical advisory team for the Coalition for Women and Children (also known as Due Date Too Late), the group that petitioned to put Proposition 115 on the ballot and calls abortions later in pregnancy "too extreme." Perille contends the new proposition "bears no relation" to the previous measures, giving it a better chance of passing."Those were bans on abortion, and Prop 115 is a reasonable restriction of abortion after fetal viability," he said.Abortion-rights activists worry that late-term bans aim to gradually shift public opinion and gain traction to fully outlaw the procedure."They're hoping that they can slide this under the radar and really cast it as a compromise between anti-abortion and pro-choice voters," said Fawn Bolak, spokesperson for ProgressNow Colorado. "But that's not what this is. This is a violation of Roe v. Wade."Perille said that, while first-trimester abortions are "relatively safe," late abortions pose a "substantial risk" to the people having them. Advocates for the initiative said studies show the risk of death to the pregnant person from an abortion increases with each week of gestation.How Amy Coney Barrett Would Cancel Abortion, LGBTQ Rights and Much MoreOpponents point to another study that shows legal abortions overall tend to be safer and pose less of a threat to pregnant people's lives than childbirth.Colorado isn't the only state voting on an abortion initiative this election cycle. Voters in Louisiana are considering a constitutional amendment that says nothing in the state constitution can be interpreted as protecting a right to, or requiring funding of, abortion.The measure's advocates say that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, the legality of abortion in Louisiana would be up to state lawmakers. Opponents say the measure, if it passes, would eliminate legal access to abortion in the state if Roe v. Wade is dismantled."Constitutions are supposed to be about preserving and enshrining freedom, but this amendment takes away freedom and rights while allowing the government to tell people what they can and cannot do with their body," said Michelle Erenberg, executive director for Lift Louisiana, a group that advocates for abortion rights.Abortion-rights advocates also point out that Louisiana passed its own 22-week abortion ban a decade ago, and worry that Colorado could follow a similar path toward even greater restrictions.The decisions before voters in Colorado and Louisiana come amid renewed attention nationwide on abortions since Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death last month. Senate Republicans are now pushing through President Donald Trump's nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. That has led voters and activists on both sides of the issue to become heavily focused on what Barrett's appointment could mean for the future of Roe v. Wade.Abortion opponents contend it's not clear that Barrett's confirmation would doom Roe."We have seen no evidence that Amy Coney Barrett has ever recognized that the unborn child is a person or has a right to life," Enyart said. "We are concerned that she may disagree with the Roe opinion merely as a matter of process, not morality."But The Guardian recently reported on Barrett's previous involvement with an anti-abortion organization, noting she signed a newspaper ad that called Roe "barbaric," which put abortion-rights advocates on edge.Erika Christensen, who helped pass New York's Reproductive Health Act, said she is concerned but added that these new threats to abortion rights have become a rallying point for advocates.Baden agreed, saying the renewed energy is particularly strong locally."We need to turn to the state level, and do whatever we can to prepare for what might come one day, be it from the Supreme Court or from another Trump executive order, or something else coming," she said. "Roe is the floor, not the ceiling, right?"KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.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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| Armenian-Americans march in Miami Beach to condemn Azerbaijan, demand Artsakh liberty Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:09 PM PDT  As voters inside Miami Beach City Hall used the ballot box to decide their country's future, a group of Armenian-Americans took part in a more public display of patriotism right outside.
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| Report: Pope comments on same-sex marriage initially not broadcast Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:40 AM PDT  A Mexican television broadcaster confirmed Thursday that Pope Francis' bombshell comments endorsing same-sex civil unions were made during a May 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety.
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| Scoop: Rudy Giuliani declined offer of compromising Hunter Biden emails and images in May 2019 Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:59 PM PDT  Giuliani turned the offer down out of credibility concerns, a source familiar with the meeting tells Salon
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| Judge moves criminal case against Texas attorney general Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:56 PM PDT  A judge on Friday ordered the long-running criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to his home county in a legal victory for the Republican. Judge Jason Luong ruled that the securities fraud case should continue in Collin County, north of Dallas, siding with Paxton's defense attorneys who argued the case should be returned there after it was moved to Houston. Paxton pleaded not guilty in 2015 and the case has been stalled for years over legal challenges.
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| US embassy in Turkey issues a warning about 'potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings' of Americans and foreigners in Istanbul Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:23 AM PDT  In response to the threat, the embassy suspended its services and urged American citizens to be careful, avoid crowds, and keep a low profile.
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| Minneapolis Residents Sue City Over Alleged Police Department Rollbacks Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:04 PM PDT  The lawsuit counters the widespread calls to defund police departments and take officers off the streets
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| A Christian School Sued Over Michigan’s Mask Mandate. Officials Just Shut It Down. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:14 PM PDT  The Libertas Christian School, a "Bible-based" institution that local officials say is grappling with an "ongoing" coronavirus "outbreak," has had enough of Michigan's COVID-19 guidelines.In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week against top state officials—including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan attorney general, and the director of the Department of Health and Human services—the school alleges the state government has made "repeated, unreasonable demands" since it re-opened last month, including requiring all 265 students to wear masks."It is inappropriate, unwise, and unconstitutional to try to fit the State's current designs of how an industrialized state-run school should operate to this Bible-based association," the lawsuit alleges. The school accuses Michigan officials of "violating the constitutional rights of Libertas, its students, their families, and their teachers through a pattern of threats and intimidation."Over the last several weeks, Ottawa County officials have been at war with the educational institution—which says it serves a "close-knit community grown primarily from grassroots homeschool families"—for refusing to adhere to coronavirus guidelines. On Thursday, health officials took their battle one step further: shutting down the Hendersonville school entirely.Trump Rips Gov. Whitmer—Again—as 14th Suspect Charged in Kidnap PlotThe Ottawa County Department of Public Health told The Daily Beast it shut down the school after several unsuccessful cease-and-desist orders and multiple attempts to help manage the school's coronavirus "outbreak." But the school "refuses to mask or engage in social distancing" or provide information about possible COVID-19 exposures, a health department spokesperson said.While health officials declined to detail how many cases have been linked to the Christian school, they allege it has an "ongoing outbreak." Meanwhile, Libertas' headmaster insists there are no active cases—and the school's civil liberties are being violated.Even so, Libertas Christian is now closed until an emergency hearing in Grand Rapids on Wednesday."Late last night, under the cover of darkness, the County issued a fourth unlawful order against Libertas and posted placards on entrances, attached as to church property," the school alleged in court documents filed Friday. "More than threats, this time the County has closed the school indefinitely."The school's litigation is just one of several legal battles being waged in Michigan, where public health and elected officials have desperately tried to contain the virus that may only get worse this winter. So far, the pandemic has killed almost 220,000 Americans.Even President Donald Trump has weighed in on Michigan's COVID-19 plan, comparing the state's restrictions to a "prison" during Thursday night's presidential debate. The restrictions also inspired a thwarted conspiracy to overthrow the government, kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for "treason.""It is my responsibility—in my capacity as a public health official—to help people in our community remain as safe as possible during a pandemic using the best information we currently have available about our common opponent the novel coronavirus," OCDPH Deputy Health Administrator Marcia Mansaray said.Sheriff Pal of Militia Twins: Whitmer Kidnap Plot Could've Been a Legal 'Citizen's Arrest' AttemptTo date, 7,129 people have died and another 152,862 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Michigan, a spokesperson for the state's health department told The Daily Beast. After aggressive lockdown measures implemented by Whitmer—including limits on large gatherings—curtailed the virus over the summer, Michigan is once again seeing a surge in cases. Last week, the state saw its highest rate of new cases since the pandemic began, and hospitalizations have spiked 80 percent."It is very possible that this is the beginning of a second wave," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun said last week. "That is why we are asking everyone to remain vigilant and do these basic things: wearing masks, avoiding the social gatherings. It's very important."But the surge in cases has not stopped Libertas Christian from demanding the freedom to institute its own COVID-19 policies. In the lawsuit filed Sunday, the school insisted it has increased cleaning at its facilities, encouraged hand washing, and made masks and hand sanitizer available for students and faculty. The school said it has also implemented "prayer, fasting, almsgiving and traditional spiritual aids to combat disease."Earlier this month, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned several of Whitmer's executive orders related to COVID-19, ruling she lacked the authority to declare a state of emergency in the pandemic. But the Department of Health and Human Services has also issued a sweeping order that largely mirrors Whitmer's original mandate, including requiring masks at any public gathering of more than two people."Compliance... would prevent Libertas, its teachers, its students, and their parents from fully engaging in religious and biblical education, practice, and worship and force its immediate closure," the school's lawsuit states.In an email to the school's legal counsel obtained by The Daily Beast, Douglas Van Essen, the county corporation counsel, claimed two teachers had tested positive for COVID-19—but the cases were never reported. According to the cease-and-desist orders, the school continued to operate as normal despite the outbreak."We must all continue to put safety first, leverage science, data, and public evidence to inform the decision we make to serve each and every student in our community well," Mansaray said in a Sept. 25 email obtained by The Daily Beast. "If complaints continue with evidence of continued neglect to follow the requirements for all schools, this could result in enforcement from legal or state officials."In one supplemental brief to the lawsuit, filed by the school on Oct. 20, Libertas admits it has received multiple cease-and-desist letters that prompted it to sue the county and state executive over "civil liberties violations" and request an emergency injunction.On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney rejected Libertas' request for an emergency injunction and ordered both sides to expedite filings for a hearing Oct. 28 on a request for a preliminary injunction."The Court is well aware of the fluid and evolving nature of this situation," Maloney wrote in the order, according to MLive. "Teachers at the school have tested positive to COVID-19. The parties dispute whether students and other staff have been exposed and whether certain contact tracing measures are appropriate. Libertas generally opposes the various social distancing, gathering size limitations, and facial covering requirements, on religious grounds, and also on state-law grounds. And, Ottawa County has threatened to shut Libertas down if Libertas does not comply with several orders issued by the Ottawa County Board of Public Health."According to Bob Davis, the school's headmaster, state officials came "under the cover of darkness" to shut the institution down on Thursday night. Ian Northon, lead counsel for the school, told The Daily Beast the final cease-and-desist order was issued after families concluded a potluck church social inside the school to celebrate "the end of the fall season for upper school girls' sports with prayer and fellowship."Men Accused in Whitmer Plot Also Discussed 'Taking Out' Virginia Guv: FBI"They showed up on our cameras at 9 p.m. when everyone was gone, very cowardly, actually. Now we have people with personal property in our building unable to retrieve it. But, par for the course for petty tyrants and bullies," Davis told The Daily Beast on Friday, adding he believes officials were "hiding in the weeds waiting for us to leave."While insisting that the school has no current cases of COVID-19, Davis admitted that since it opened on Sept. 8 "two faculty" members tested positive but "stayed home as required and have received their return to work permission documents from our county health department." The supplemental brief filed Friday reiterates the headmaster's claim, adding that the decision to close down Libertas has "scattered more than 250 healthy children and their parents who are now left without access to their chosen religious services."Threatening legal action against local officials who "keep moving the goal post," the Friday brief asks the court to grant the school an injunction against the county's "pattern of rash efforts to bring conscientious objections and those seeking to enforce their civil liberties to heel, which does not stop or slow the spread of COVID-19 and fails to promote a free and virtuous society."Davis also told The Daily Beast he has not heard from health officials since the Thursday night shutdown."Our county alleges that there is an 'outbreak' at our school, yet this is malicious, misleading, and false," Davis said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Polish President Duda infected with coronavirus; thousands protest against curbs Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:32 PM PDT  Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Saturday, and police used tear gas on several occasions as thousands of people protested in Warsaw against restrictions aimed at curbing the surging epidemic. Duda's infection was announced in the morning and he said in televised remarks later he was feeling fine.
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| More heavy rain is coming to South Florida and the Keys. Why, when and how much? Posted: 24 Oct 2020 06:05 AM PDT  South Florida woke to bright skies and a comfy 79 degrees.
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| Trump defends family separation in debate, says immigrant kids whose parents can't be found are 'so well taken care of' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:04 PM PDT  During a rare presidential debate exchange about immigration, President Trump defended his administration's family separation policy for undocumented immigrants, which has left hundreds of children without their parents for years, saying the kids are "so well taken care of" in federal facilities.
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| Protests continue in Rhode Island after moped driver was critically injured in a crash involving police Posted: 22 Oct 2020 12:58 PM PDT  Protests continued in Providence, Rhode Island, after a man was critically injured in a crash involving a moped being followed by a police cruiser.
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| Dems' Senate hopefuls are raising serious cash — and spending it Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:21 PM PDT  Even as Democrats raked in cash, a Republican Senate super PAC had more cash on hand than most of those candidates combined heading into the final stretch.
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| Indian farmers step up illegal fires as Delhi air crisis worsens Posted: 24 Oct 2020 03:46 AM PDT  Delhi's smog crisis headed for a new toxic peak on Saturday but farmers are refusing to stop the stubble burning that is widely blamed for the poisonous clouds engulfing the Indian capital.
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| Pennsylvania ballots can't be tossed out over voters' signatures, court says Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:36 PM PDT  The prospect of disqualified mail-in ballots poses a greater threat to Biden's candidacy.
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| Inside the Refugee Camp on America's Doorstep Posted: 24 Oct 2020 06:55 AM PDT  MATAMOROS, Mexico -- A butter yellow sun rose over the crowded tent camp across the river from Texas, and a thick heat baked the rotten debris below, a mixture of broken toys, human waste and uneaten food swarming with flies.Clothing and sheets hung from trees and dried stiff after being drenched and muddied in a hurricane the week before.As residents emerged from the zipper-holes of their canvas homes that morning in August, some trudged with buckets in hand toward tanks of water for bathing and washing dishes. Others assembled in front of wash basins with arms full of children's underwear and pajamas. They waited for the first warm meal of the day to arrive, though it often made them sick.The members of this displaced community requested refuge in the United States but were sent back into Mexico and told to wait. They came there after unique tragedies: violent assaults, oppressive extortions, murdered loved ones. They are bound together by the one thing they share in common -- having nowhere else to go."Sometimes I feel like I can't hold on anymore," said Jaqueline Salgado, who fled to the camp from southern Mexico, sitting outside her tent on a bucket as her children played in the dirt. "But when I remember everything I've been through, and how it was worse, I come back to the conclusion that I have to wait."Salgado is one of about 600 people stranded in a place that many Americans might have thought would never exist. It is effectively a refugee camp on the doorstep of the United States, one of several that have sprung up along the border for the first time in the country's history.After first cropping up in 2018, the encampment across the border from Brownsville, Texas, exploded to nearly 3,000 people the following year under a policy that has required at least 60,000 asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for the entirety of their legal cases, which can take years.Those who have not given up and returned home or had the means to move into shelters or apartments while they wait have been stuck outside ever since in this camp, or others like it that are now strung along the southwest border.Many have been living in fraying tents for more than a year.The Trump administration has said the "remain in Mexico" policy was essential to end exploitation of American immigration laws and alleviate overcrowding at Border Patrol facilities after nearly 2 million migrants crossed into the United States between 2017 and 2019.The Mexican authorities have blamed the U.S. government for the situation. But they have also declined to designate the outdoor areas as official refugee camps in collaboration with the United Nations, which could have provided infrastructure for housing and sanitation."It has been the first time we have been in this situation," Shant Dermegerditchian, director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' office in Monterrey. "And we certainly don't support this."The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to review the policy after it was successfully challenged in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will not be resolved until after the election, so those living in the camp have months of waiting ahead, if not longer.The camp drew attention during Thursday night's presidential debate, when former Vice President Joe Biden noted, "This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country," he said. "They're sitting in squalor on the other side of the river."The arrival of the coronavirus has made things much worse. Though only a few cases broke out at the camp, most of the American aid workers who entered regularly to distribute supplies stopped coming, hoping to avoid transporting the virus.The Gulf Cartel, which traffics drugs across the border and is as powerful a force as local law enforcement, moved in to fill the void.The gang charges tolls to camp residents who decide to swim across the river on their own and sometimes kidnaps them for ransom. Beatings and disappearances have also become more common -- sometimes to protect women or children who are being abused, but other times because camp residents have violated the gang's rules about when and where they are permitted to roam outside their tents.Nine bodies have washed ashore on the banks of the Rio Grande near the camp in the last two months; the Mexican authorities said most of the deaths were a result of a rise in gang activity during the pandemic."I haven't done anything, I haven't stolen anything, and still I have to keep escaping. Why?" Salgado said that day in August.She said she and her children were on the run from her abusive husband, who drank excessively and would beat them when he was upset, and because her brother had been kidnapped and killed. Just then, her 11-year-old son, Alexander, who seemed to have only vaguely been paying attention, put down his toys and started to heave."He is constantly nervous," his mother said. "Every time we fought, his anxiety would make him sick and he would end up vomiting."Most children in the camp have not attended formal schooling since they left home. Parents agonize over whether they will be able to make up for the lost time. Some have become worried enough to launch their children across the river on the backs of smugglers, sending them alone on the last leg of their dangerous journey to the United States.Those who cannot bear to make such a decision are often tormented by second-guessing."I was scared I would never see him again because he's all I have," said Carmen Vargas, clinging to the arm of her 13-year-old son, Cristopher, who has a mop of curly brown hair and is tall for his age. "But my son needs to go to school. He's only 13 years old, and practically he has lost two years already."Cristopher teared up listening to his mother describe the life they had left behind. She pulled out identification cards showing that she had been a municipal police officer in Honduras, but said her success became a liability when she put a powerful drug cartel member in jail in 2018. Within hours, the cartel announced a hit on Vargas. She and Cristopher fled, leaving behind the ornate wooden furniture she had saved up to buy and a refrigerator full of food.With cupped palms, Vargas caught beads of sweat that dripped down her forehead as she spoke. She apologized for the stench; just outside her tent, insects crawled around a pile of feces that had washed up when the river flooded. "You have to withstand everything here: sun, water, cold, heat, we have it all."The camp residents are chronically sick with flulike viruses and stomach bugs that wend endlessly through the tents and with respiratory problems aggravated by the dusty air. Their skin is pockmarked from the throngs of mosquitoes that overwhelm the camp after it rains.Most acknowledge that life on the other side of the border would hardly be charmed -- especially if they lost their asylum cases and had to live in the shadows."Without papers, is it still better to be in the U.S. rather than here? Yes, it's a thousand times better," said Lucia Gomez, from Guerrero, Mexico, as she picked up clothing and toys that had been scattered outside their tent by hurricane winds. "They might find you, detain you and deport you," she said. "But if you manage to avoid them, you will be able to put food on the table."In her arms, she held her youngest child, an 8-month-old boy named Yahir, whose back was covered in a bumpy heat rash. Her son William, 16, plopped cherries into his mouth from a plate that was covered in flies.Gomez said her family had made a run for the camp from southern Mexico after their home was ransacked and her husband and father-in-law were shot to death. "A man came in and shouted, 'Put your hands up!'" her 8-year-old son Johan chimed in, holding his arms up as if he were holding an imaginary gun."That is why we wait," she said. "We try to get through this unworthy life. And we try to resist for our children's sake."Volunteer groups bought the laundry basins and water tanks, as well as hand-washing stations and a row of concrete showers that, after months of laying dry in the middle of the camp, were recently connected to a water source.But their efforts have often felt futile. Since the camp appeared, the invisible wall of policies blocking its inhabitants from being allowed into the United States has only grown taller and more fortified.Some have found ways to improvise a modicum of comfort. Antonia Maldonado, 41, from Honduras, stood in a kitchen she had cobbled together under tattered blue tarps suspended from trees. She placed raw chicken onto a grate over an open flame, using a scavenged piece of wood resting on two stacks of upside-down buckets as a countertop.She said she had been looking toward the election for hope that a new administration might ease some of the restrictions put into place by President Donald Trump."Not a leaf gets into that country without his permission," Maldonado said, adding, "I just want to live with dignity. I'm not asking for riches."Some parents pinch pesos to buy decorations and treats from supermarket reject bins for their children's birthdays. But many walk around the camp with bloodshot eyes, constantly on the brink of tears, or in a zombielike state, as if they have shut down emotionally.When Rodrigo Castro de la Parra arrived in Matamoros, he alternated between emotional extremes. In the span of a year, he had gone from being a shy high school student who liked to stay up late at night and draw flowers in his notebook to the head of his entire family. That was after the 18th Street Gang, the most brutal and powerful gang in Guatemala, murdered his mother and sister -- signaling a grudge that meant he and the rest of his relatives could be next on its kill list."I can't sleep," he said one afternoon, sitting outside the tents where he lived with his wife, daughter, grandmother, orphaned niece and his 16-year-old-sister, who had given birth after arriving at the camp. "Sometimes I feel hysterical." He said he worried that someone else in his family could be killed.But only two weeks later, it was Castro de la Parra's body that washed out of the river at one edge of the camp. His death was a mystery. The police investigated it as a possible homicide but ultimately determined that he had drowned.His wife, Cinthia, was still in shock when she took a bus back to Guatemala City for the repatriation of her husband's body. She also hoped to replace her travel documents that had been soaked in his pants when he died.She would need them when she went back with their 2-year-old to try again.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Trump is expected to make the debate about Hunter Biden. Even Trump's allies think that's a bad idea. Posted: 22 Oct 2020 04:11 PM PDT  From his infamous call with Ukraine's president more than a year ago to a very questionable New York Post story this week, President Trump has turned much of his re-election campaign into a crusade against Democratic nominee Joe Biden's son. Trump is even expected to throw a few references to Hunter Biden into Thursday night's debate — and some of his allies think it's an awful idea.Fox News, the New York Post, and other right-wing outlets have started sharing dubious screenshots of what they claim are conversations between Hunter Biden and business partners. They allegedly show the Biden family conspiring on a deal in China, with references to Hunter's former business partner Tony Bobulinski and references to a "chairman" apparently supposed to refer to the former vice president. Trump is expected to double down on those attacks at the last presidential debate Thursday night by referring Biden "the big guy" and "the chairman," and also by bringing Bobulinski as his special guest, Axios reports.If you thought that short description of the allegations against the Bidens was vague or hard to follow, you're not alone. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a consistent ally of Trump, criticized the president's Hunter campaign as a "mistake" on Wednesday. "The average person doesn't understand it, it is too complicated," Huckabee said.Republican pollster Frank Luntz was more blunt in a Tuesday Mediaite interview. "Hunter Biden does not help put food on the table. Hunter Biden does not help anyone get a job. Hunter Biden does not provide health care or solve COVID. And Donald Trump spends all of his time focused on that and nobody cares."More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| How S.Africa farm murder sparked violence, then soul-searching Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:35 AM PDT  A white farmer's murder in a rural town in early October touched off a series of racially charged events that has drawn comparisons with South Africa's apartheid past, but the truth is far more complex.
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| The South was a lost cause for Democrats. Now eight key Senate seats are in play. Posted: 24 Oct 2020 03:01 AM PDT  "You'd sometimes have a good candidate run, but they had no capacity to raise money or get involvement from the national party. That's changed now," one Democratic strategist said.
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| Caribbean system near Florida now at 70% chance to develop; Hurricane Epsilon's swells to affect East Coast Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:09 PM PDT |
| Venezuelan opposition figure Lopez abandons Caracas residence to flee abroad Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:34 AM PDT  Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas to leave the country, more than a year after seeking refuge there to escape house arrest, three people familiar with his exit said. Lopez was jailed in 2014 after leading protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, before his provisional release in 2017. From his house arrest, he mentored Juan Guaido, then a young delegate in their hardline Popular Will party.
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| US Army base says it's sorry for claiming its Twitter account was hacked after an 'administrator' sent sexual messages at an OnlyFans creator Posted: 22 Oct 2020 10:55 AM PDT  The OnlyFans performer described the incident as "wild" and told Insider she was disappointed the tweets were removed.
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| Man gets 20 years for buying guns used in 2015 terror attack Posted: 23 Oct 2020 08:22 AM PDT  The man who bought two rifles that husband-and-wife assailants used to kill 14 people in a Southern California terror attack nearly five years ago was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison. Enrique Marquez Jr. supplied the weapons that Syed Rizwan Farook and Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, used on Dec. 2, 2015, to open fire on a meeting and holiday gathering of San Bernardino County employees who worked with Farook. Minutes later, a post on a Facebook page associated with Malik pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State terror group.
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| Wild hogs running amok in California city. Can bow hunters help get rid of them? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:22 PM PDT  Wild pigs are destroying land due a population boom.
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