| Biden's chances of defeating Trump improve Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:43 AM PST  Joe Biden's prospects looked strong in Michigan and Wisconsin, with him in the lead. The Associated Press has called Arizona for Biden. If he wins those three and holds Nevada, he will have 270 Electoral College votes and be the next president.
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| Mississippi's new magnolia flag starting to fly after vote Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:02 PM PST  A new Mississippi flag without Confederate images was flying in parts of the state on Wednesday, one day after a majority voters approved the design that has a magnolia encircled by stars and the phrase "In God We Trust." Officials hoisted the flag outside Hattiesburg City Hall and on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford. "Mississippi voters sent a message to the world that we are moving forward together," former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson said in a statement.
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| Another Fort Hood Soldier Has Been Arrested for Murder: Authorities Posted: 04 Nov 2020 09:54 AM PST  A Fort Hood soldier has been arrested for the murder of a 32-year-old woman found dead inside a Days Inn motel room last July, authorities said.Cory Gafton, 20, was arrested and charged Tuesday afternoon with the July 2019 murder of Chelsea Cheatham, ending an exhaustive year-long investigation. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, one of Gafton's co-workers told authorities the 20-year-old soldier confessed to killing Cheatham. Grafton is currently being held in Killeen City Jail.Dead Suspect in Disappearance of Fort Hood Soldier Sexually Harassed Her: Lawyer"Through the investigation, Detectives with the Homicide Unit received information from a witness that 20-year-old Cory Grafton was at the scene at the time Chelsea Cheatham was murdered," Killeen Police Department said in a Wednesday statement.A spokesperson for Fort Hood confirmed to The Daily Beast that Grafton is "an active duty Soldier assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division" at the Army post. "The unit continues to cooperate with the Killeen Police Department and the Texas Rangers," the spokesperson added.Killeen Police said on June 3, 2019, Cheatham was found around 10:40 p.m. unconscious and not breathing inside a Days Inn in Killeen, about six minutes away from Fort Hood. The 32-year-old was pronounced dead about an hour later and an autopsy from the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas later ruled her death a homicide.Authorities refused to identify Cheatham's cause of death.Despite the suspicious circumstances, the case quickly went cold, prompting authorities in June to appeal to the public for leads and offer a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.On Sept. 2, Texas Rangers informed the Killeen Police Department about the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Program, which uses advanced DNA testing to help solve cases. Authorities said through the program, investigators were about to identify Grafton as a possible suspect.> BREAKING \- We are getting our first look at the Fort Hood soldier charged in the 2019 murder of Chelsea Cheatham in Killeen. Cory Grafton, a 20-year-old soldier from Fort Hood, is charged with murder. pic.twitter.com/dHiWIWIEtF> > — KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) November 4, 2020After interviewing Grafton about the 32-year-old's death and collecting a sample of his DNA, the Texas Department of Public Safety said one of the 20-year-old's co-workers revealed that he had confessed to killing Cheatham. On Tuesday, the test results allegedly confirmed that Grafton's DNA matched the DNA found at the crime scene, and he was subsequently arrested."With the assistance from the Texas Rangers, DNA from the scene was submitted and the results confirmed that Gafton matched the DNA located on Cheatham. On November 3, 2020, detectives with the Homicide Unit obtained a warrant and shortly after 4:00 p.m., the warrant was executed," the Killeen Police Department said.Gafton's arrest marks yet another Fort Hood soldier who has been accused of being involved in a grisly murder.In July, the remains of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old Private First Class stationed in Fort Hood, were discovered in a shallow grave near Leon River.A day after her body was discovered, a military officer, Aaron Robinson, died by suicide after being confronted about his involvement in Guillen's disappearance. Before Guillen went missing, she allegedly told family members, friends, and colleagues that she had been sexually harassed by her superiors on two separate occasions. The family previously said Guillen's sexual harassment allegations led the military base to "cover-up" her initial disappearance.Officials named the suspect as Robinson, a fellow soldier. The Bell County Sheriff's Office identified the second suspect as Cecily Aguilar, who was charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence two days after her boyfriend, Robinson, died by suicide.According to Natalie Khawam, the family's attorney, Robinson savagely attacked Guillen at the armory after she remarked on his relationship with the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. When Guillen reminded him that the relationship was in violation of military rules, he allegedly picked up a hammer and began "bludgeoning her head over and over." Robinson then allegedly took Guillen's body to a river and enlisted the help of his girlfriend to dispose of the remains.Last month, Fort Hood officials determined Gullien's death occurred in the line of duty, paving the way for her family to be entitled to certain Army benefits. "Typically, these benefits include compensation to immediately help the family with expenses, funeral with full military honors, the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, and final pay and allowances,'' officials said in a statement.If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.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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| Most people are wearing N95s incorrectly when they fly. Here are 3 reason you should switch to a different mask for travel. Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:35 AM PST  N95 masks have been billed as the gold standard to prevent the spread of coronavirus but one doctor says they can do more harm than good.
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| Black men shift slightly toward Trump in record numbers, polls show Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:45 PM PST  Most Black men supported Biden, but overall, Democrats have been losing Black male support since 2008, according to NBC exit poll data.
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| NC man says he was told at polls to cast second ballot. ‘How was I able to vote twice?’ Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:33 PM PST  "There's definitely a flaw in the system, for sure. That's concerning."
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| The New York Times and Fox News election needles are completely at odds Posted: 03 Nov 2020 06:39 PM PST  Needle, needle, on the wall, who's the fairest candidate of all?Turns out, it totally depends on which needle you're asking. The New York Times rolled out its infamous election needle again on Tuesday night, with a competing needle available for election watchers on Fox News. But depending on which you were looking at, you'd have a very different impression of how the night is going for your preferred candidate:> Either NYT or Fox News is getting this very wrong right now pic.twitter.com/Rj6rSwZQf9> > — Will Oremus (@WillOremus) November 4, 2020Let's, uhh, take a closer look at that:> A tale of two needles in North Carolina.> > NYT's needle has Trump at 88% to win NC. > Fox's needle has Biden at 92% to win NC. pic.twitter.com/Hj7O9jWOvd> > — Mark Helenowski (@markhelenowski) November 4, 2020Nate Cohn, of The New York Times, offered some insight into why his publication's needles specifically might be skewing so much toward Trump. "[A]ll three states are in the same model," he explained, asking rhetorically if the results in Florida might "bias us a bit in [North Carolina and Georgia], especially in Latino areas? I think that's at least possible in [Georgia] burbs."Alexander Panetta of The Washington Post added his two cents, too: "Based on my comparison of counties [in North Carolina] in 2016 to counties in 2020 the Fox one makes more sense," he tweeted. "Except — it means SFA unless you know A) what the mail votes vs. in person are and B) how the votes by different methods break down."Maybe for 2024, we can get additional needles that project the odds of the needles being right?More stories from theweek.com COVID-19 keeps proving everyone wrong Is this the year the New South turns blue? Democrats' first priority
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| Election 2020: Live coverage, updates and results Posted: 05 Nov 2020 07:26 AM PST  Yahoo News is providing complete coverage of the election, with instant updates and real-time analysis as the votes are counted.
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| Pennsylvania Republicans are already trying to cast doubt on the state's election results Posted: 03 Nov 2020 09:42 PM PST  Pennsylvania Republicans wasted no time Tuesday night in firing the first shot of what is likely to be at least a weeklong political knife fight in that state, potentially with the presidency at stake.
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| After judge's order, Postal Service sweep finds 13 ballots Posted: 04 Nov 2020 01:34 PM PST  U.S. Postal Service inspectors found just 13 ballots — all in Pennsylvania — during an Election Day sweep of mail processing centers ordered by a federal judge. The ballots were found in two separate mail processing facilities and were expedited for delivery to local election offices, according to court records filed Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in Washington, D.C., had given the Postal Service until Tuesday afternoon to search 27 facilities in several battleground areas for outstanding ballots and immediately deliver any ballots discovered to election offices.
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| Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Supreme Court can root out Philadelphia's anti-Catholic bigotry Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:01 AM PST  Since this nation's very beginnings, the Church has gone to meet the needy, only to be met with opposition from those who disagree with its beliefs.
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| A senior TikTok executive admitted the company used to censor content critical of China, 'specifically with regard to the Uighur situation' Posted: 05 Nov 2020 06:04 AM PST  TikTok's UK director of public policy said Wednesday that the company had previously taken a "blunt instrument" approach to censorship.
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| Georgia voters ousted the district attorney who oversaw Ahmaud Arbery's case Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:03 AM PST  The longtime Republican prosecutor had declined to investigate the death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was followed, shot, and killed by a group of white men.
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| Huckabee: 'Would be a shame if Philadelphia became a place where liberty also died' Posted: 04 Nov 2020 06:28 AM PST  Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee blasts Philadelphia's election vote count delay.
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| Voters across the country are waiting on Nevada's election results, and hilariously tweeting Posted: 05 Nov 2020 08:37 AM PST  Waiting to see if Joe Biden or President Donald Trump wins in Nevada? These tweets will entertain you in the meantime.
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| Editorial: So much for California's racial reckoning. Voters reject affirmative action - again Posted: 05 Nov 2020 03:00 AM PST  The failure of Proposition 16 is a shame and a missed opportunity.
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| Trump signs executive order for ‘1776 Commission’ in response to ‘1619 Project’ Posted: 03 Nov 2020 10:15 AM PST  President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a 1776 Commission on the eve of the election that will create a curriculum that teaches "patriotic education" in schools. Trump has been vocal about his objection to the 1619 Project which detailed the history of the nation's first African slaves brought to Virginia and the legacy of slavery. Nikole Hannah-Jones launched the project and won a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for her work.
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| Vienna gunman was caught trying to buy ammunition in July Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:10 AM PST  The Islamic State gunman who murdered four people and injured 22 in a terror attack in Vienna on Monday was caught trying to buy ammunition in the summer, officials have admitted. Kujtim Fejzulai was not under surveillance despite having been released from jail only last December for attempting to join Isil. He had succeeded in convincing the authorities that he had been deradicalised, according to Karl Nehammer, the Austrian interior minister. It has now emerged that police in neighbouring Slovakia notified the Austrian authorities that he had been caught trying to buy ammunition there in July. The disclosure came as one of Fejzulai's victims was identifed as Nexhip Vrenezi, 21, a Muslim originally from the same Albanian immigrant community in North Macedonia as Fejzulai. On the night of Fejzulai's rampage, he was shot four times as he left a pub to have a cigarette. There is no indication that the two men knew each other. Meanwhile the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said that he would use an EU summit next month to urge fellow European Union leaders to unite together against political Islam. His words echoed those of President Emmanuel Macron of France, who has said in the wake of recent terror attacks on French soil that Islamism was incompatible with French values. "I expect an end to the misconceived tolerance and for all the nations of Europe to finally realise how dangerous the ideology of political Islam is for our freedom and the European way of life," Mr Kurz told Die Welt, a German newspaper. Fejzulai's attempts to buy ammunition in Slovakia has highlighted its reputation as one of the easier places in Europe to buy weapons. Two of the gunmen who carried out the 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris obtained assault rifles there. But the country has tightened gun controls since then and Fejzulai was refused ammunition because he did not have a valid gun license. He travelled there with another man in a car registered to the mother of another known Islamist. Mr Nehammer told a press conference the warning from Slovakia had been investigated by Austria's BVT domestic intelligence agency. He put the fact it was not acted on further down to a "failure of communication" and pledged to set up an independent inquiry.
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| 5 states just passed ballot measures to legalize marijuana, but policy experts say people already in prison on drug convictions have a hard path to freedom Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:34 PM PST  Five states — New Jersey, Mississippi, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota — voted to legalize marijuana on Tuesday.
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| Pope shakes up running of Vatican funds after London property scandal Posted: 05 Nov 2020 04:43 AM PST  Pope Francis has stripped the Vatican's Secretariat of State of control over its own funds, moving them to the supervision of its economic offices in an attempt to contain the fallout of a scandal over a luxury London property deal. The Secretariat of State is the most important department in the Vatican administration, overseeing the Holy See's diplomacy and general affairs inside the Vatican and has historically controlled its own funds, investments and real estate holdings. An investigation into the London deal, which involved several middlemen, led to the suspension last year of five Vatican employees, the resignation of its police chief and the exit of the former director of its Financial Information Authority.
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| New Zealand: Book pulled after author criticises Maori tattoo Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:09 AM PST  The woman called foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta's traditional tattoo "ugly and uncivilised".
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| New York elects first South Asian Americans to state Assembly Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:36 AM PST  There are more than 300,000 South Asians in New York City, and this is the first time the community has elected a desi representative.
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| Southwest empties flight at Nashville airport after passenger refuses to wear a mask Posted: 03 Nov 2020 04:14 PM PST  Nashville airport authorities said a female passenger refused to wear a face mask or exit a Southwest flight when it returned to the gate.
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| MSNBC’s Joy Reid: Tight Presidential Race Shows ‘Great Amount of Racism and Anti Blackness’ Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:14 AM PST  MSNBC host Joy Reid said Wednesday that "there's a great amount of racism and anti-blackness" in the United States, as made evident by the close presidential race, which she called "disappointing.""I think partly because we knew the red wave was a thing, the red mirage, I should say, we all knew it was coming," Reid told host Rachel Maddow. "In the moment, it's aggravating. And I think partly, and I said this last night, I do think it's because we've been reporting for five years, Rachel, about Russia … undermining our national security, the impeachment, the racism, the Nazis, all of it and then COVID laying on top of it, [it] felt like a repudiation was coming.""I think even though we intellectually understand what America is at its base, right?" she said. "That there is a great amount of racism, anti-blackness, anti-wokeness, this idea that political correctness is some scheme to destroy white America, right?"She continued: "We know what this country is, but still part of you, I think part of your heart says, you know what, maybe the country's going to pay off all of this pain, the children that were stolen with a repudiation. And as the night wore on and I realized and it sunk in, okay, that's not happening, we are still who we thought, unfortunately.""It's disappointing. And I emerged from this disappointed," she added.Reid's diagnosis of the election is contradicted by exit poll figures, which show that Trump garnered a larger share of the non-white vote than any Republican presidential candidate since 1960. Trump expanded his margins relative to 2016 with black males and females, latino males and females, and gay voters; the only demographic in which he lost voters was white males.Reid's comments came late Wednesday after she had landed in hot water earlier in the day for calling Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, "Uncle Clarence," repurposing the "Uncle Tom" slur in reference to the justice.With votes still being counted in Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads Trump in electoral votes 264-214, needing only Nevada's six electoral votes to capture the presidency.Democrats have been disappointed as Trump has put up a stronger-than-expected fight, compared to what polls had shown ahead of Election Day. FiveThirtyEight, a website run by polling analyst Nate Silver, had heavily favored Biden, giving Trump just a 1-in-10 chance of holding the presidency. The president would need a bigger-than-normal polling error in his favor to win, Silver explained ahead of Election Day, "but the real possibility that polls are underestimating Trump's support is why he still has a path to win reelection."
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| SCOTUS to hear dispute over Catholic organization’s refusal to allow LGBT parents to foster Posted: 04 Nov 2020 05:48 AM PST  In a case pitting LGBT rights against religious rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear arguments in a dispute over the city of Philadelphia's refusal to place children for foster care with a Catholic Church-affiliated agency that excludes same-sex couples from serving as foster parents.
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| Trump ally Angela Stanton-King loses Georgia House race with less than 15% of the vote Posted: 04 Nov 2020 06:37 PM PST  Nikema Williams defeated Angela Stanton-King in a landslide victory in the race for the late Congressman John Lewis' seat in Georgia. Williams won the seat with 85.1% of votes to Stanton's 14.9%, The New York Times reports. The landslide victory was by a margin of 71%.
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| Mitch McConnell says a coronavirus relief package should be passed by the end of the year — and opens the door to including a key Democratic demand Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:50 AM PST  The Senate Republican leader said another coronavirus relief package should be passed by the end of the year, and could include state and local aid.
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| Moscow mayor says COVID-19 situation worsening, extends home learning Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:36 PM PST  Moscow's mayor said on Thursday that the city's coronavirus situation was getting worse, and extended a remote learning period for secondary schools as infections climbed nationwide at a near-record daily rate. The Kremlin said the situation was alarming, but that it was nonetheless under control. "In general the situation is alarming..."
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| North Korea bans smoking in public places - will it help Kim kick the habit? Posted: 05 Nov 2020 03:17 AM PST  North Korea has introduced smoking bans in some public places to provide citizens with "hygienic living environments," raising questions about whether the nation's chain-smoking supreme leader may kick the habit himself. The new law introduced on Wednesday by the governing Supreme People's Assembly aims to protect the lives and health of North Koreans by tightening the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes, state media KCNA reported. The law stipulates that smoking is banned in specific venues, such as political and ideological education centres, theatres and cinemas, and medical and public health facilities. KCNA added that the law indicates penalties for breaking rules. North Korea has notoriously high smoking rates. Some 46 per cent of men smoked tobacco as of 2017, according to a World Health Organization survey. Apparently, no women smoke. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, is the nation's most famous smoker, and has been frequently seen on state media lighting up a cigarette.
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| College student found dead in dorm after testing positive for coronavirus Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:04 AM PST  Bethany Nesbitt, 20, was found dead in a residence hall at Grace College in Indiana. The coroner said Covid-19 was a contributing factor while the cause of death was a pulmonary embolus.
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| Are yams and sweet potatoes the same? 5 questions answered about the favorite fall food Posted: 05 Nov 2020 07:00 AM PST  Sweet potato and yam are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Here's how to tell the difference.
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| US election 2020: Beer and angst as White House party defies another protocol Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:14 AM PST  The evening got off to an anxious start for staffers but settled a little after the Florida result.
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| Mom gets 40 years in deaths of 2 babies left in trash bags Posted: 05 Nov 2020 09:07 AM PST  A South Carolina mother who skipped the trial where she was convicted of homicide by child abuse for throwing two of her newborns away in trash bags moments after they born will spend 40 years in prison. Alyssa Dayvault turned herself in the day after her trial ended and remained in jail until Thursday, when Circuit Judge Steven John opened the envelopes where he placed her sealed sentences after the jury verdict Oct. 15. Dayvault hid her pregnancies in 2017 and 2018 from everyone, including her boyfriend and her mother, gave birth at her North Myrtle Beach home alone then put the newborns into trash bags and threw them away, prosecutors said.
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| Baltimore to pay $2 million settlement for police hiring discrimination Posted: 04 Nov 2020 06:40 PM PST  The DOJ claimed that a written test given to recruits was intentionally biased against Black applicants. The Baltimore County Police Department has reached a $2 million dollar settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a discrimination lawsuit against Black American applicants. The agency believes the ploy worked because Blacks failed the test at a much greater rate than white counterparts, resulting in fewer Black police officers making it into the force.
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| Protests erupt as election count continues Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:57 AM PST 
Protests erupted across the U.S. on Wednesday evening as ballots for the election continued to be counted. Trump supporters in Nevada chanted "Count every vote," meanwhile in Michigan, demonstrators shouted "Stop the count."
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| California just passed a major privacy law that will make it harder for Facebook and Google to track people and gather data Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:34 AM PST  While Prop 24 will be active only in California, it will effectively apply to all of the US because of the state's huge influence on the tech industry.
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| Mauritius oil spill clean-up likely to be completed by January: ship owner Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:35 PM PST  The clean-up of a massive oil spill in August from a vessel off Mauritius will likely be mostly completed by January, the bulk carrier's owner, Japan's Nagashiki Shipping, said on Thursday. Of the roughly 1,000 tonnes that spilled from the Panamanian-flagged MV Wakashio, all of the oil that had been floating in the ocean had been recovered, Nagashiki Shipping said in a statement. Work to remove the oil along approximately 30 km (18.6 miles) of coastline was proceeding smoothly and would likely be completed by January, it said.
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| Meet Adrian Tam, the Gay Man Who Beat a ‘Proud Boys’ Leader in Hawaii’s Election Posted: 05 Nov 2020 01:34 AM PST  Adrian Tam was not worried for himself while out on the campaign trail in Hawaii, he said. Instead, he was concerned for the safety of his volunteers and supporters, wearing shirts and face masks bearing his name, because his opponent was Nick Ochs, the leader of a Hawaii chapter of the far-right paramilitary group the Proud Boys."Fortunately, nothing bad happened," Tam, 28, told The Daily Beast. "We were met with happiness and joy by people." Tam was ultimately victorious in his bid to represent District 22—covering Waikiki, Ala Moana, and Kakaako on Oahu—in the Hawaii House of Representatives. He won the seat with 63 percent of the vote, and is now the only out LGBTQ representative in the statehouse.The Demented Drama Behind a Chart-Topping Band Going Full Proud BoyOn Wednesday, Tam told The Daily Beast that he was happy there had been a record turnout in Hawaii. "As a first-time candidate, like many first-time candidates, there may have been a little anxiety going into it. I am just grateful that we won, the anxiety is lifted. Now the hard work begins today." The major issues he is focusing on are around homelessness, public safety, condominiums, coronavirus, the economy, and diversifying the regional economy away from tourism.The biggest challenge he faced was not Ochs, said Tam, but defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Tom Brower in the primary. "This was a 'change election,'" said Tam. "A lot of new candidates are younger, and won races or open primaries."He is also the only out LGBTQ member of the legislature. "It feels great," said Tam. "I always say representation matters. I am glad that I can bring that perspective to the legislature when it comes to making decisions. I always say a legislature should reflect what a state looks like. I am glad to be the only one, but I hope I am not the last one."LGBTQ issues did not come up with constituents, Tam said. "People were more concerned about the economy and their livelihoods. But I had a lot of people who are LGBTQ tell me that they were excited about our campaign. They really wanted us to win."Ochs' campaign had "thrown a lot of insults and attacks" at him, Tam said, "but we stayed on message, with the plans and ideas we had to move Hawaii forward. I'm really glad our message got through, and the community voted resoundingly to send me to the legislature. I am grateful for this opportunity that was given to me by the voters, and I promise I am going to work hard for them."It concerns Tam that the Proud Boys have a presence in Hawaii. "But I am happy and very hopeful that members of the community realized they didn't represent the values of Hawaii. Groups like these will always exist, but it's up to us to not only tune them out, but to get our message out there and change minds so more people don't join them."Tam muted Ochs on social media, although friends told him when his opponent attacked him online. In September, Facebook deleted Ochs' campaign page for violating terms of service and community standards, a move Ochs condemned. (The Daily Beast reached out to Ochs for comment via Hawaii's GOP, and received no response.)Local ABC news station KITV reported that the Democratic Party of Hawaii had denounced Ochs "for a history of offensive posts on social media about the Black, Jewish, and LGBT communities, as well as a video showing Ochs urinating into active lava fissure at the Kilauea volcano."At his first presidential debate with Joe Biden, President Trump infamously asked the Proud Boys to "stand by." In a 2018 interview with Hawaii Public Radio, Ochs said of the Proud Boys: "We are a social club, a fraternity. Proud Boys are what you'd call the 'new right' or, to make it simpler to understand, the 'alt lite.' The only thing you have to do to become a Proud Boy is declare yourself to be a proud Western chauvinist. It's just to say that we think Western culture is the best and we need make no apology for that."He said the Proud Boys believed America to be "the greatest country on Earth, Canada, Western Europe. Let's not overcomplicate this. What's today's big controversy? The president is in trouble for, I know you have polite listeners, calling certain parts of the world crap holes, specifically, Haiti… and Africa, sure. Objectively these countries don't have anywhere near the standard of living that countries in the West do. Everyone agrees that Haiti is a crap hole. I think speaking honestly is just speaking honestly, and the fact a controversy erupts from that is why we exist."Ochs, who was endorsed by Roger Stone, Donald Trump's former informal campaign adviser and longtime ally, told KITV that he was not a racist or white supremacist. "I'm happy to talk to anyone. And again, I am either the world's worst racist, or I'm not a racist. You have to acknowledge that a white supremacist does not marry a Black woman and have a mixed family, that is not what that word means and the people that are throwing it around are disingenuous."* * *"It was the biggest leap I had ever made in my life."Tam was born and raised in Honolulu; his mother and father, he writes on his website, "were hard-working immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Taiwan who fled with their families from hardships in their home countries in search for a better life in the United States." His father was an assistant to a draftsman, and his mother was a saleswoman at Maui Divers. His family went on to open Central Pacific Properties Inc., a local small real estate firm.Tam left Hawaii to attend Penn State University, where he studied history, thinking he might go to law school or do a master's degree. He returned to Hawaii—aged 23—to work at his family's real estate business. He felt he wasn't making enough money, and left after a year to take on an administrative job at the state legislature, "where I immediately fell in love with public service," he told The Daily Beast. In 2016, Tam served as a legislative aide, and in 2017 he was appointed to manage the office of Sen. Stanley Chang. The Victory Fund, which supported a number of successful LGBTQ candidates in election races including Tam, said that during his tenure Tam "has been instrumental in the passage of Hawaii's conversion therapy ban for minors, as well as working with stakeholders in passing a ban on gay panic defense."Tam told The Daily Beast that last year he decided he would run for public office himself. "I saw that our community and state were hurting, and needed new voices, new leadership, new ideas, and new innovations, and so I threw my hat into the ring. It was the biggest leap I had ever made in my life."Tam came out as gay while at college. He said he had "never faced many challenges in terms of employment. It's never been an issue for me really, but I understand it's important to have a seat at the table. As Elizabeth Warren once said, 'If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu.'"His family—mom, dad, sister, and grandmother—"are my biggest supporters. They are ecstatic, over the moon, right now, and have been in this with me since the primary." Tam is single. Right now, he is focused on his new job, "and whatever happens happens in that part of my life."Tam believes the victories of young, first-time candidates shows Hawaii was "definitely in the mood for change this election cycle. I am also happy that when we join the legislature, long-time legislators will also be there. I truly believe we have lot to learn as new candidates, and I want to learn from the more experienced ones. We're not there to destroy everything and start from scratch. We want to build on what we have so far."Hawaii, said Tam, like the rest of America was extremely divided. He quoted Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "A great man once said that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle. It is the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it will go back." Tam hopes this election will prove to be once such moment."I believe there have been heated exchanges between family members, friends, peers, and colleagues in Hawaii. There are definitely a lot of people who voted for Biden and others who voted for Trump who do not see eye to eye. But in Hawaii we respect each other. We have this thing called the 'Aloha Spirit,' which means that at the end of the day, no matter what our beliefs are, we remain friends and cordial and respectful. We have not had riots or unrest here. There have been protests, but it hasn't escalated to what I've seen on the mainland."This reporter asked if Ochs had call Tam to concede, or if the the pair had spoken since Tam's victory."We have not spoken," Tam said. His tone suggested he didn't much mind about that, this reporter said."I am fine either way, said Tam. "I know it is not easy being a candidate, so I understand."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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| Videos show a humpback whale nearly gulping down 2 kayakers off the coast of California Posted: 03 Nov 2020 02:07 PM PST  Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel were whale-watching and filming in a kayak near the shore of Avila Beach when a humpback swam up from underneath them.
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| Divergent Colorado and Louisiana Abortion Votes Set the Tone for a Possible Post-Roe America Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:04 PM PST  Abortion rights supporters and anti-abortion advocates demonstrate in front of the the Supreme Court during the 47th annual March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C. in decades on the controversial subject of abortion. Abortion rights were on the ballot in two states on Election Day, and the results went in opposite directions. In Louisiana, voters approved a measure that will amend the state's constitution to read that it does not guarantee the right to abortion or the right to funding for abortions.
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| How Joe Biden or Donald Trump can secure victory - and what happens if neither gets 270 votes Posted: 05 Nov 2020 04:14 AM PST  As the US presidential election enters its final stretch, rivals Donald Trump and Joe Biden have very different routes to claim power. In a close-fought campaign which upset predictions from polling data, President Trump must win all the states yet to declare. Former Vice President Joe Biden - who had been widely tipped to win comfortably - is closing in on the 270 votes needed in the electoral college to become president-elect. The Democrat challenger would need to win just two of the six states available (except Alaska) - Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump would need five of them. The eventual outcome is almost certain to come down to millions of mail-in votes, the counting of which has seen President Trump's early lead whittled away. Joe Biden is slightly ahead in Nevada, with the result just hours away. Trump's path to victory The President needs to take Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada on his arduous route to victory. As of Thursday morning, he currently leads in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where he won in 2016. However, Trump's lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania has been steadily reduced while the postal ballots are counted. Alaska, with only three votes in the electoral college, is expected to back Trump.
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| Is it safe to stay in hotels during the pandemic? Posted: 05 Nov 2020 12:01 AM PST  In a recent travel update, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes it clear: Staying home is the best way to protect yourself against the coronavirus. Try to find a rental that guarantees a 72-hour buffer between guests, says Dr. Natascha Tuznik, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, Davis. Rentals might also have more access to fresh air than hotel rooms, Tuznik said.
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| US Postal Service blows court-ordered deadline to check for missing ballots. About 300,000 can't be traced Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:54 PM PST  The window is closing fast. The deadline for mail-in ballots either ends as the polls close tonight or has already passed in 29 states.
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