| Gun sales spike among African-Americans: 'Our ancestors died for us to vote, they also died for us to be able to carry guns' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:59 PM PDT  When Americans panic, they buy guns — lots of them. During the first six months of 2020, amidst the global coronavirus pandemic, gun retailers reported a record 10.3 million firearm transactions, according to a new survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). And while various demographic groups are buying guns in 2020, African-Americans currently account for the highest increase in gun purchases.
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| Poll gives Democrats bad news in key Senate race Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:39 AM PDT  Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, running for reelection, holds a 6-point lead against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in a race that will help decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Monday by Emerson College.
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| Bill Gates: What Joe Biden should do on his first day in office to stop the coronavirus, if he is elected Posted: 03 Aug 2020 07:54 AM PDT  "You really have to view the pandemic as a problem that you're willing to talk about," Bill Gates said.
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| Burger King employee reportedly murdered after a woman complained about the drive-thru wait time Posted: 04 Aug 2020 06:07 AM PDT  Retired Dallas police officer C'mone Wingo reacts to the increase in crime and violence in major U.S. cities.
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| Direct-to-Consumer Furniture Brand Burrow Expands Its Offerings Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:00 PM PDT |
| ‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Talking to You’: Doomsday Mom Called Hubby From Jail as FBI Searched His Home Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:41 AM PDT  The day her two children's remains were found gruesomely buried in her new husband's Idaho backyard, Lori Vallow called her spouse from jail. "Are they seizing stuff again?" Vallow asked several times during the June 9, 2020 call from Madison County Jail, after Chad Daybell told her police were at his property. "What can I do for you?"Daybell, an author of apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience, somberly told his incarcerated wife—who was being held on charges related to the disappearance of her kids J.J Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17—that although police were at his home, he was "glad" that she called. Doomsday Mom Told Me to Lie to Cops Because Grandma Wanted to 'Kidnap' Son: Pal"I'm not really supposed to be talking to you," Daybell mumbled at one point, later stating that authorities were "searching for the kids." "We'll see what transpires.""I'm feeling pretty calm," he later added in the recorded call played in Fremont County Courthouse on Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in the case against Daybell.The two, who appeared unconcerned that officers were searching the home as part of a nearly nine-month investigation into Vallow's children, said "I love you" at least half a dozen times before hanging up. Less than an hour later, Daybell was arrested after investigators found the two children's remains—one "tightly" wrapped in plastic and the other badly burned—in his backyard. Court Docs Reveal How Police Found Bodies of Doomsday Mom's KidsDaybell, 52, is accused of hiding evidence when authorities began to investigate the disappearance of the kids. Daybell and Vallow, who are members of a community of doomsday preppers and were married two weeks after Daybell was widowed, have not been charged in the deaths of the two children. Both, however, are facing charges related to hindering the investigation.Authorities say Vallow's two children disappeared in September, but they weren't registered as missing until November. Two weeks before the children disappeared, Daybell texted his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell that stood out as longer and oddly detailed compared to their other messages regarding bills and errands, FBI intelligence Benjamin Dean testified Tuesday."Well, I've had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms," it said. "While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!"A month later, Tammy Daybell had died of unknown causes. Chad Daybell ultimately declined an autopsy—a move that raised eyebrows—and married Vallow weeks later.Wedding Ring Purchase Is Latest Twist in Doomsday Couple's SagaDavid Warwick, a friend of Daybell and Vallow, testified Tuesday that the day after J.J. was last seen on September 22, Vallow told him that the autistic 7-year-old he had been "acting like a zombie.""She said J.J. was being a zombie [and] that he climbed up on to the cabinets," Warwick testified Tuesday, adding that Vallow said "he was out of control" so she had her brother, Alex Cox, "come get him."In January, after Vallow repeatedly lied about the kids' whereabouts and then fled to Hawaii with her new husband, she was served an order instructing her to return the two minors. Idaho Doomsday Couple Found in Hawaii—Without Missing KidsVallow was eventually arrested in Hawaii after failing to produce her children. Authorities tracked the cellphone movements of her brother, Alex Cox, which showed he was on Daybell's property on September 23, the same day Vallow told friends he had allegedly taken the 7-year-old. The cellphone data led authorities to locate the children's remains on June 9, Rexburg Police Department Detective Ray Hermosillo testified on Monday.Cox died in his bathroom in December. The prior July, he shot Vallow's ex-husband, Charles Vallow, dead in what he said was self-defense during a domestic dispute. While Cox and his sister were questioned by police, neither was charged. Wedding Ring Purchase Is Latest Twist in Doomsday Couple's SagaOn Monday, Hermosillo described in graphic detail how authorities found a small child's body in a "shallow grave" near a tree that had "three large white flat rocks" placed "in a row" with "thin wood paneling" underneath during the June 9, 2020, search of Daybell's property."As soon as we lifted the wood paneling out of the hole in Chad Daybell's backyard, I could immediately smell the odor of a decomposing body," Hermosillo said, noting that the 7-year-old was "tightly" wrapped in a black plastic bag. Idaho Attorney General Takes Over Doomsday Couple InvestigationSeveral feet away, authorities discovered "a mass of burnt flesh and charred bone" they later determined to be the remains of Tylee, in a "pet cemetery" on Daybell's property.FBI Special Agent Steven Daniel, who was also at Daybell's property on June 9, said that the "pet cemetery" was marked with a small dog statute and was near a fire pit. Soon after excavating the area, Daniel said that he instantly smelt decomposing flesh and investigators began to use hand tools in what he called "a mess of burned human remains.""Eventually we're able to excavate a few pieces; the major piece ends up being a pelvic piece," Daniel said. "At the bottom of the mass we found a melted green bucket and in the bucket a skull and mandible with teeth."During his closing statement in Tuesday's hearing, Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood urged Judge Faren Eddins to send Daybell's case to a district court for trial, stating that the testimony of over a dozen witnesses show the graphic state that Tylee and J.J. were found and the mysteriousness around their disappearance. "Those bodies were concealed. One of them was destroyed. They were located on Chad Daybell's property. Alex Cox, whose phone pinged near those locations, became his brother-in-law less than two months later," Wood said. However, defense attorney John Prior argued that being married to Vallow was "not an overt act" and the state didn't "come close" to having enough evidence to prove Daybell committed any wrongdoing.After less than 15 minutes of deliberation, Eddins sided with the state and ruled there was "sufficient cause" that Daybell committed the four counts against him. As Eddins gave his ruling, J.J.'s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, high fived and embraced one another behind Daybell, who remained emotionlessRead 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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| Australia: British-Australian woman in Iran prison 'is well' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:18 PM PDT  Australia's ambassador to Iran has visited a British-Australian academic who was convicted of espionage before being moved recently to a notorious Iranian prison, and found that she "is well," Australia's government said Tuesday. Kylie Moore-Gilbert was a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies when she was sent to Tehran's Evin Prison in September 2018 and sentenced to 10 years. Australia sought urgent consular access and its ambassador to Iran, Lyndall Sachs, visited Moore-Gilbert in Qarchak Prison on Sunday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, said in a statement.
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| Florida man once bitten by alligator is chomped by 8-foot shark while on vacation Posted: 02 Aug 2020 06:41 PM PDT  Justin Stuller is now sporting two dozen stitches and a small limp after tangling with an eight-foot lemon shark in the Florida Keys.
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| US jails man who bought Lamborghini with government loan Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:57 PM PDT  Instead of speeding off in a $200,000 Lamborghini Urus, a Texas man got a slower ride to jail Tuesday after US authorities arrested him for using $1.6 million in government pandemic aid to go on a spending spree. Lee Price III, 29, was charged with fraud after he secured two government loans under the Paycheck Protection Program to pay employees he did not have, the Justice Department said in a statement. Price secured two loans: Price Enterprises Holdings allegedly received more than $900,000, while 713 Construction was approved for over $700,000, but neither has employees and "the individual listed as CEO on the 713 Construction loan application died in April 2020, a month before the application was submitted," according to the complaint.
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| Republicans fear Kobach primary win in Kansas could jeopardize Senate GOP control Posted: 04 Aug 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Voters in five states head to the polls on Tuesday, including Arizona where pardoned Joe Arpaio is making another run for sheriff.
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| The Maryland county where Barron Trump attends school ordered private schools to stay closed until October, but the governor overrode the decision Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:44 AM PDT  In rejecting the Montgomery County order, Gov. Larry Hogan said it was "overly broad and inconsistent with the powers" of the county health officer.
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| Apple Fire: Massive California wildfire forces evacuations Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:04 AM PDT  Around 7,800 people are told to leave their homes in southern California because of the fire.
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| Massive Beirut Explosion Shows Mushroom Clouds Aren't Just for Nukes Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:31 PM PDT  Physics explains why the intense blast produced the menacing mushroom shape.
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| An Arkansas Black Lives Matter group was confronted by an armed militia. One protester carried a flamethrower as a 'deterrent.' Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:22 PM PDT  An organizer told Insider that he received more than 100 death threats from people who oppose the Black Lives Matter movement.
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| Mexico hails 'Sledgehammer' arrest but murder crisis still a tough nut to crack Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:11 AM PDT  The capture of José Antonio 'El Marro' Yépez, a top gangster in violence-stricken Guanajuato state, gives a boost to the presidentMexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has hailed the capture of one of the country's most notorious gangsters as an important victory in his so far fruitless struggle to slash murder rates.In a Sunday night video message to the nation, López Obrador said security forces had seized "El Marro" or "the Sledgehammer" – the head of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel – at about 6am that morning in the violence-stricken state of Guanajuato."How is it that this cartel was able to grow so much – to the extent that Guanajuato became our country's most violent state?" asked Mexico's populist leader, who took power in late 2018 vowing to slow the killing with a policy of "hugs, not bullets"."If there were 100 murders each day, 15 were being committed in Guanajuato – and some days there were 20 or 25 murders. How could this happen?" added López Obrador, who is best known as Amlo.Sledgehammer – whose real name is José Antonio Yépez Ortiz - was the widely feared head of a gang of fuel thieves that controlled large swaths of the central Mexican state and was also involved in drug trafficking, cargo theft and extortion.When the Guardian visited one of the villages at the heart of El Marro's empire in 2018, the driver refused to enter, warning: "We wouldn't make it out again."The Guanajuato-based group grew rich siphoning off billions of dollars worth of petrol from pipelines that crisscross the state, which is located to the north-west of Mexico's capital and is home to one of its most important refineries.El Marro, who had run the group since 2017, was reportedly apprehended on a rural ranch where he had been hiding following a brief gunfight with his security chief.The newspaper El Universal claimed he had unsuccessfully tried to flee on a quad bike as a spy drone hovered overhead and troops closed in."Who betrayed me?" the "wild-eyed" kingpin reportedly asked his captors before conceding: "Everything has a beginning and an end – and my end has come."Experts called El Marro's capture a triumph for López Obrador, whose security policy has come under growing scrutiny following a series of humiliating challenges from Mexico's cartels, although few believe it will fundamentally solve the crisis facing his country.Last year, as Latin America's No 2 economy suffered a record 34,582 murders, gunmen working for the Sinaloa cartel seized control of the northern city of Culiacán and forced the release of one of the group's key leaders, the son of the jailed capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.In June assassins, reputedly deployed by the ascendant Jalisco New Generation cartel, launched a brazen attempt to murder Mexico City's police chief in one of the capital's wealthiest neighbourhoods.Jalisco cartel infantrymen subsequently appeared in a viral video, toting automatic rifles and swearing allegiance to their leader, El Mencho."It's undoubtedly an important victory [for Amlo] … and he will no doubt use this in next year's midterm elections to show he's effective when it comes to security," said Eduardo Guerrero, a Mexico City-based security specialist.In fact, Guerrero said he believed El Marro's arrest was part of a shrewd political gamble on the part of the federal government to force down the country's sky-high murder rate."Guanajuato is responsible for about 15% or 16% of the total number of murders in the country. So if you can reduce violence in this state you can have a considerable impact on the national statistics," said Guerrero who runs the group Lantia Consultores."If you can cut Guanajuato's murders in half you can bring down the nationwide levels of violence by 7% or 8%. This would be a major PR coup for this administration," added Guerrero, predicting that the city of Tijuana, where murder rates are also soaring, might also be targeted for the same reason.Guerrero said security chiefs appeared to be wagering that dealing a body blow to El Marro's faction would allow the more powerful Jalisco cartel to seize monopoly-like control over Guanajuato, thus reducing violence."El Marro was a very skilful, elusive and strategic leader and it seems to me that his replacements – who will certainly be relatives – don't have the skills he had to keep this organization afloat," said Guerrero, who expected the Santa Rosa cartel to splinter into dozens of smaller groups."It's possible that by the end of the year there has been a significant drop in violence in Guanajuato and this would give the federal government something to show off ahead of next July's elections."Other observers are less sure the arrest will do anything to end Mexico's seemingly interminable conflict, which saw more than 2,800 peopled murdered in Guanajuato last year – 73 of them law enforcement officers."It's a temporary victory," said Chris Dalby, the managing editor of InSight Crime, which tracks Latin American organized crime."The violence in Guanajuato was the most important criminal threat to surge during López Obrador's presidency and this allows him to show that he has done something about it – but it's a very narrow victory."Yes, El Marro was a major, savage factor in the violence in Guanajuato. But removing him probably doesn't change much," Dalby added, noting that before taking power Amlo had explicitly vowed not to pursue the so-called "kingpin strategy" of targeting cartel leaders which critics say does little to reduce violence or stop drugs flowing north into the US.On Monday, Mexican newspapers stamped photographs of the fallen capo across their front pages.El Universal called El Marro's arrest the end of a "dark chapter" for Guanajuato, which is home to several of Mexico's best-known tourist destinations, including the picturesque colonial town of San Miguel de Allende.But in his video message Mexico's president, who is facing growing criticism over his handling of the coronavirus epidemic, admitted there was more work to do."We must continue tackling the root causes of violence – first of all poverty, and secondly, making sure there is no corruption and no impunity," López Obrador said. "Our authorities must not protect these criminals."
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| Iran has been covering up its coronavirus death toll, according to BBC investigation which says the true figure is almost 3 times higher Posted: 03 Aug 2020 03:34 AM PDT  Both coronavirus deaths and cases are significantly higher than Iran is publicly reporting, according to government figures seen by the BBC.
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| From Manhattan to Hiroshima: the race for the atom bomb Posted: 03 Aug 2020 08:41 PM PDT  The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki capped six years of top-secret work by scientists from Europe and North America. In 1939, Albert Einstein signs a letter warning US president Franklin D. Roosevelt of the destructive potential of nuclear fission, which was discovered by the German chemist Otto Hahn. Roosevelt creates the Advisory Body on Uranium.
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| Beirut explosions: Blast detonated 2,000 tons of chemicals - latest news and video Posted: 04 Aug 2020 09:57 AM PDT  At least 78 dead and more than 4,000 injured, officials say Fears that thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate were detonated Everything we know so far 'It was like a nuclear explosion': How terrified residents fled the fireball In pictures: Ancient city ripped apart The president of Lebanon has said that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate were detonated in massive blasts in Beirut that have killed 78 and injured at least 4,000. Explosions shook Lebanon's capital on Tuesday and the death toll is expected to rise. Lebanon's health minister said residents who are able to leave should, saying the hazardous materials in the air after the explosion can have long-term deadly effects. Officials said the chemicals were stored in a warehouse for six years without safety measures. Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that those responsible for would "pay the price" and said the warehouse at the epicentre of the blast had been "dangerous". "I promise you that this catastrophe will not pass without accountability," he said in a televised speech. "Facts about this dangerous warehouse that has been there since 2014 will be announced and I will not preempt the investigations."
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| Trump security adviser warns against foreign military involvement in Libya Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:27 PM PDT  The United States on Tuesday condemned all foreign military involvement in Libya, including the use of mercenaries and private military contractors, and said Libyans themselves must rebuild a unified country. U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with several world leaders about Libya in past weeks, and it was clear there was "no winning side," U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien said in a statement on Tuesday.
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| Miner who discovered the largest tanzanite gems ever has now found a third - and it's worth millions Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:59 AM PDT  A Tanzanian miner, who became a millionaire off of his first findings in June 2020, discovered a third rare Tanzanite gem.
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| Protesters Prevent Police from Investigating Stabbing Outside of Portland Courthouse Posted: 04 Aug 2020 06:00 AM PDT  A "hostile crowd" prevented Portland police from investigating a stabbing at the site of nightly racial justice protests and rioting on Monday. A woman had walked into Lownsdale Square park in downtown Portland and was taking photos or recording video just before 6:30 p.m. when an argument began between the woman and other people in the park. The woman who had been taking photos then brandished a knife and stabbed another woman in the chest.Officers were met with a "hostile crowd" on the scene and were forced to bring in reinforcements to the area. As police were trying to secure the crime scene, someone picked up the knife used in the stabbing and ran off with it, Portland police said. Supervisors made the decision to disengage after officers could not safely conduct an investigation in the presence of the crowd.The suspect fled the area but later returned and was interviewed by police. The victim, whom officers found a few blocks away at SW 5th Ave and SW Taylor Street, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The city has experienced months of rioting and unrest following the death of George Floyd, leading to the deployment of federal agents to the city. Rioters have repeatedly used violence to target the federal courthouse there, attacking federal law enforcement with various weapons including Molotov cocktails, and in some cases blinding officers with lasers.While Oregon elected officials demanded the removal of federal law enforcement from the city, President Trump said "there would be no Portland" if Department of Homeland Security personnel had not been sent in.A phased removal of federal law enforcement from the city began last week.
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| Trump’s Convention Chaos Leaves Small Biz Owners Seething Posted: 03 Aug 2020 12:50 AM PDT  Donald Trump's decision to largely cancel the original RNC convention in Charlotte keeps disappointing Larry Farber. Before the president torpedoed the long-planned event, Farber, the owner of Middle C Jazz, envisioned a much-needed economic stimulus for the area's businesses, including his own, which was slated to be an official convention venue location. Any chance of that happening fell apart when Trump vengefully moved the festivities and quickly settled on Jacksonville after feuding with North Carolina's Democratic governor because he refused to guarantee a "full convention."But instead of finding a better fate in Florida, Trump caved to the reality of the pandemic and canceled his Jacksonville plans, leaving two different cities to face the fallout. For Farber, it was a painful reminder of the opportunity missed."It was a gut punch to all of us that it left, just from an economic standpoint," said Farber, who grew anxious when Trump first threatened to move the convention back in May. "And now when you see that it was moved to Florida and it's not going to happen there, as a business owner you of course look back in hindsight and go it's a shame it didn't work out for Charlotte, it's a shame that the RNC couldn't have come to an agreement with our state and our governor to make it work."No Show! Trump Cancels Jacksonville GOP ConventionTrump's now abandoned push to hold a major RNC convention during the coronavirus pandemic has turned what is normally a historic commemoration of political triumph into one that has become mired in backlash and criticism in two key swing states. Small businesses that had been selected as vendors for either city's convention had found themselves in the tense position of having to decide between financial gains and health concerns. Now they find themselves gaining nothing at all for their troubles. Andy Thompson, the president of Charlotte's Rose Chauffeured Transportation, called Trump's original move to threaten and flee his state a "short-sighted, short notice, bully tactic"—noting that the convention would have been a boost for small businesses from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."He's not thinking about us," said Thompson, who is still hoping the remnants of the convention next month will bring his company some business. "He's just thinking about himself." And in Florida, Bonnie Arnold, the owner of Bonnie's Floral Designs, said she felt Trump would face backlash for how he'd managed the festivities. Her business had been selected as a local vendor, but Arnold said she wasn't surprised the convention didn't come to pass. "I think it will hurt him politically," Arnold said of Trump. "(He) did that decision in Charlotte rather quickly… and then to turn around and even in a shorter period of time repeat that, I don't think builds confidence in his re-election." Officials Terrified That Trump's Jacksonville Convention Will Be 'Another Tulsa'By canceling the RNC's convention plans in Jacksonville, the president further illustrated the sharp tension that now exists between public health and politics—a tension that came into sharp focus in May, when Trump first challenged North Carolina's Democratic governor to allow him a full-scale convention. When that governor, Roy Cooper, declined to do so, the RNC and Trump pulled the plug on those plans. Republicans in other states readily embraced the decision and lawmakers lobbied for their states to become the next host. Trump settled on Jacksonville, where both the mayor's seat and the governor's office were held by Republicans unlikely to publicly oppose his desire for packed halls.. But Florida quickly became a coronavirus hotspot, forcing Trump to make the kind of major concession he refused to do to keep the Charlotte plans intact. The late cancelation came roughly a week after the RNC posted names of registered vendors online that could be used when the convention was held. "It hurt, but it didn't hurt," to see the convention get canceled, said Annie Banks, the vice-president of Ms. Annie's Catering. The extra cash would have been nice for her business struggling during the pandemic. But Banks said it was still good to see the convention plans abandoned, adding that while her business had been listed as a vendor they did not know exactly what parties they would have been providing services for when it came to the convention. "I think we would have been way worse if it had come… in the sense that it would have brought an even higher rise in the coronavirus here in Jacksonville," she said. The Trump campaign referred a request for comment on the vendors to the RNC, who emphasized that "small business support continues to be a top priority" of the president. "The RNC worked through every possible avenue to continue to hold a more traditional convention and showcase the great businesses, venues and people of Charlotte and Jacksonville, but ultimately, the safety and well-being of the American people has to come first," RNC National Press Secretary Mandi Merritt said in an email to The Daily Beast. The decision by Trump to cancel the Jacksonville convention may have been done—as Merritt said—out of caution. But it also came after a June comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that became both a PR and public health nightmare for the Trump campaign. That rally featured thousands of empty seats as potential attendees stayed home amid rampant COVID-19 fears. Trump had pledged to keep campaigning. But his team subsequently canceled a New Hampshire event, citing inclement weather. And then it pulled out of Jacksonville after the area's sheriff said in a statement: "We are simply past the point of no return to execute the event with safety and security that is our obligation." Charlotte is expected to at least see a portion of activity later this month with 336 delegates appearing in person to officially nominate Trump, according to an RNC official. For at least one Florida vendor, the cancellation was merely symbolic. At Beacher's Lodge Oceanfront Suites in St. Augustine, Florida, there had been "slim to none" bookings made specifically for the convention, office manager Jill Ursini told The Daily Beast. While the oceanfront condo hotel is roughly 50 miles from the once planned convention location, the spot was still just one of only roughly 20 vendors appearing on an accommodations list posted online by the host committee. "I just don't think that it really was the right time to even be planning something like that especially in the state of Florida," Ursini said, pointing to frightening upticks in coronavirus cases. "Maybe go to Montana in the middle of nowheresville or something like that." 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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| Governor Cuomo begs wealthy New Yorkers to come home to save ailing city Posted: 04 Aug 2020 08:09 AM PDT  The governor of New York has begged the city's wealthy, who fled the coronavirus outbreak, to return and help it recover. Andrew Cuomo said he was extremely worried about New York City weathering the Covid-19 aftermath if too many of the well-heeled taxpayers who fled to second homes decide there is no need to move back. "They are in their Hamptons homes, or Hudson Valley or Connecticut. I talk to them literally every day. I say. 'When are you coming back? I'll buy you a drink. I'll cook,' " Mr Cuomo told MSNBC, naming popular getaways for the rich. "They're not coming back right now. And you know what else they're thinking, if I stay there, they pay a lower income tax because they don't pay the New York City surcharge. So, that would be a bad place if we had to go there." Lawmakers have proposed a wealth tax targeting the city's 100 billionaires to help fill a $30 billion (£23bn) budget shortfall created by the Covid-19 crisis.
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| Marines ID all 9 people killed in sea-tank sinking Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:34 AM PDT  The Marine Corps has identified all nine people killed when a Marine landing craft sank in the water off the Southern California coast.
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| Experts no longer expect seasonal coronavirus waves: The pandemic is like 'a forest fire looking for human wood to burn' Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:01 PM PDT  In April, US experts suggested there might be a second peak of coronavirus infections in the fall. But new data suggests it's not seasonal.
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| FAA spells out design changes needed in grounded Boeing jet Posted: 03 Aug 2020 12:28 PM PDT |
| Pompeo vows to protect Hong Kong activists sought abroad Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:39 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday vowed to protect Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners who have fled the city and denounced China after Beijing said that police had ordered the arrests of overseas activists. "The Chinese Communist Party cannot tolerate the free thinking of its own people, and increasingly is trying to extend its reach outside China's borders," Pompeo said in a statement. "The United States and other free nations will continue to protect our peoples from the long arm of Beijing's authoritarianism."
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| Cause of California's Apple Fire determined Posted: 03 Aug 2020 05:21 PM PDT  Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department investigators said Monday that the Apple Fire — which has burned more than 26,000 acres so far — was caused by a malfunctioning vehicle. CBS Los Angeles reports.
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| CNN Anchor Drags Trump Campaign Adviser: ‘You’re Just Saying a Bunch of Crap!’ Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:17 PM PDT  CNN anchor Brianna Keilar on Tuesday got fed up with Trump campaign senior advisor Mercedes Schlapp during a heated exchange on mail-in voting, eventually telling the longtime lobbyist that their conversation was "pointless" because she was "just saying a bunch of crap."Keilar, who in recent weeks has held various pro-Trump figures' feet to the fire in combative interviews, brought on Schlapp to talk about President Donald Trump's sudden pivot to encouraging Floridians to vote by mail after baselessly warning for months that mail-in ballots are rife with fraud."Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True," Trump tweeted on Tuesday. "Florida's Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail!"Schlapp was left with the unenviable task of defending the president's whiplash-inducing hypocrisy, attempting to not only make the distinction between absentee and mail-in voting but also trying to justify why some states' mail vote is "safe and secure" while others are not.Schlapp continually insisted to definitively claim that a persistent "fraud issue" with mail-in voting exists, prompting Keilar to fire back that voter fraud is "statistically insignificant" with mail ballots. The CNN anchor also called out Schlapp for conflating the problems with mail-in voting in recent New York City primaries—which largely revolve around delays in counting a surge of ballots—with voter fraud.Schlapp eventually veered away from alleging widespread voter fraud to expressing concerns that Democrats would harvest ballots this election, causing the CNN host to note that "only evidence of ballot harvesting was by Republicans in North Carolina.""You know that," Keilar added. "They had to redo the election."Nevertheless, the Trump flack continued to fret that mail-in voting would cause problems "like we've seen in states like New York," again pushing Keilar explaining to viewers that those issues have nothing to do with fraud.At one point, when Schlapp said it was "very problematic" to move towards universal mail-in voting while simultaneously claiming voters should have options that include mail and absentee ballots, Keilar asked her if she could explain the difference between absentee and mail-in voting."I've learned this as well as we go through this process, there are some that are interchangeable and then absentee voting is you're absent from your home state and you request a ballot and you send it back and it is verified," Schlapp replied. "And in mail-in voting, you're mailing in these ballots across the board unverified and that is where it produces a problem.""They're not unverified," an exasperated Keilar snapped back. "You know there are safety precautions in place such as barcodes. There are some people who even worry about they don't necessarily want to use snail mail. There are places that they could drop off ballots. You know there are precautions to ensure that the ballots will be counted."As the increasingly hostile back-and-forth wound down and Keilar accused Schlapp of "sowing doubt" and fear into the minds of voters, the CNN anchor finally let her frustration boil over when the Trump flack claimed people will vote after Election Day."This is just pointless, okay," Keilar exploded. "This is pointless. I get it, you're just saying a bunch of crap! Okay. You're saying a bunch of crap."As Keilar pointed out that we're in the middle of a pandemic and Team Trump appears to be trying to put obstacles in the way of voters rather than providing more options, Schlapp asserted that Nevada was making it legal to vote after the date of the election."We'll be checking that. Mercedes, it is very nice to have you," Keilar snarked at the end.Nevada, which recently approved a plan to mail ballots to all registered voters, has extended the deadline for ballots to be counted up to one week after Election Day. The ballots, however, must be postmarked no later than the day of the election.'Tooning Out the News' Busts Matt Schlapp for His Big 'Pandemic Payday'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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| Detained 'drug smuggler' cat escapes Sri Lanka prison Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:40 AM PDT  A cat detained at Sri Lanka's main prison while allegedly trying to smuggle drugs and cell phone SIM cards has escaped, media reports said Monday. The feline was detected by jail intelligence officials on Saturday at the high-security Welikada Prison, a police official said. He said nearly two grams of heroin, two SIM cards and a memory chip were found in a small plastic bag tied around the cat's neck. But it escaped on Sunday from a prison room where it was kept, the Aruna newspaper said. There was no immediate comment from prison authorities. The prison had reported an increase in incidents of people throwing small packets of drugs, cell phones and phone chargers over the walls in recent weeks. Sri Lanka is battling a major drug problem with some anti-narcotics detectives also implicated in selling confiscated drugs. Police last week seized an eagle allegedly used by drug traffickers to distribute narcotics in a suburb of Colombo.
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| Despite What the White House Says, Unemployment Aid Doesn’t Encourage Americans to Stay Out of Work Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:39 AM PDT  In almost every political fight, you can count on one thing: the creation of a stereotype to summon critics' outrage.
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| Fire breaks out at Iranian industrial area, no casualties: state TV Posted: 04 Aug 2020 12:43 AM PDT |
| Tropical storm Isaias leaves four dead and sends tornadoes spinning into New England Posted: 04 Aug 2020 12:11 PM PDT  Four people are dead after Tropical Storm Isaias made landfall and strengthened to a category one Hurricane on Tuesday.The deadly storm has spawned tornadoes and left communities without power as it surges up the US East Coast, killing individuals in New York, Maryland and North Carolina according to The Associated Press.
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| REVIEW: The Jeep Gladiator pickup truck is a monster off road, but might be too beastly for its own good on the highway Posted: 03 Aug 2020 06:17 AM PDT  The Jeep Gladiator is the Jeep of all pickup trucks, rugged and ready for off-roading. But highway cruising is a completely different story.
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| Army Special Forces Colonel Faces Court-Martial on Sexual Assault Charges Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:31 PM PDT  Col. Kevin M. Russell is facing five counts of violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
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| Being a Chinese student in the US: ‘Neither the US nor China wants us’ Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:30 PM PDT  Amid a global pandemic and diplomatic tensions, Chinese students in the US are feeling anxious.
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| Officials: School laptops held up ahead of new academic year Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:03 AM PDT |
| 'Sorry to burst the magic bubble' says Florida lawmaker of hydroxychloroquine as he battles COVID-19 Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:06 AM PDT  "I think perhaps some people are clinging to this to psychologically manage their anxiety over the disease," State Rep. Randy Fine said.
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