| Kentucky AG files motion to silence Breonna Taylor grand juror Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:59 AM PDT  "Allowing this disclosure would irreversibly alter Kentucky's legal system by making it difficult for prosecutors and the public to have confidence in the secrecy of the grand jury process going forward," the attorney general said.
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| Facebook finds pro-Trump group helped make hundreds of accounts to spam comments with attacks on Biden Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:39 AM PDT  Social media giant finds Turning Point USA enlisted marketing group for 'coordinated inauthentic behavior' campaign, Facebook says
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| Hurricane Delta: Storm to regain strength, impacts ‘limited’ along Mississippi Gulf Coast Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Gov. Tate Reeves declared a State of Emergency ahead of the storm Wednesday. Here's what to know.
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| High court nominee served as 'handmaid' in religious group Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:02 AM PDT  Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served as a "handmaid," the term then used for high-ranking female leaders in the People of Praise religious community, an old directory for the group's members shows. Barrett has thus far refused to discuss her membership in the Christian organization, which opposes abortion and, according to former members, holds that men are divinely ordained as the "head" of both the family and faith, while it is the duty of wives to submit to them. Portions of two People of Praise directory pages for the South Bend, Indiana, branch were shared with The Associated Press by a former member of the community on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and because this person still has family members in People of Praise.
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| "Jump ball": Cook Political Report shifts Lindsey Graham's Senate race to a "toss-up" Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:47 PM PDT  "Jaime is peaking at exactly the right time, and he's got a deluge of money," a state Republican strategist says
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| Pham Doan Trang: Vietnam arrests leading pro-democracy blogger Posted: 07 Oct 2020 12:08 PM PDT  Pham Doan Trang is accused of anti-state activities, which could see her jailed for years.
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| Harris attacks Trump for failing to condemn white supremacists: ‘It wasn’t like he didn’t have a chance. He didn’t do it and then he doubled down.’ Posted: 07 Oct 2020 08:06 PM PDT  Sen. Kamala Harris on Wednesday said that President Trump had had the opportunity to condemn white supremacy, but "he didn't do it — and then he doubled down."
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| Affirmative action debate ignores Asian American community college students Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:34 AM PDT  As California votes on affirmative action, nearly half the state's AAPI students who start off at community colleges would benefit, advocates say.
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| Transgender woman's killing in Georgia marks "grim milestone" Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:12 AM PDT  Felycya Harris, a beloved interior decorator and dancer, is being remembered by friends for her upbeat personality.
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| Pelosi hatches plan to oust Trump — but it requires McConnell and Pence to play ball Posted: 08 Oct 2020 01:59 PM PDT  Less than four weeks before the 3 November elections, House Democrats are pursuing an obscure constitutional provision to boot Donald Trump from office over perceived concerns about his health and his "capacity to discharge the powers and duties" of his office. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland will introduce legislation on Friday to create a so-called "Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office," the special committee and process called for in the 25th Amendment to remove a disabled president from office and replace him with the vice president. In order to sanction and establish such a committee, both the House and the GOP-controlled Senate would have to pass the requisite legislation, an unrealistic outcome considering Mitch McConnell controls the levers of the upper chamber.
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| Experts: Ballistics report shows Louisville officer was shot by Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, not by 'friendly fire' Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:45 PM PDT  Experts say Breonna Taylor's boyfriend must have been the one to shoot a Louisville officer because no one else fired the same type of ammunition.
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| A Florida Keys girl was being attacked by pit bulls. Her neighbor is getting a medal Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:08 PM PDT  When his neighbor was in danger one day in 2018, Donald Lowrie raced right into the fight. Now Lowrie, 50, is being celebrated as a national hero for rescuing the 8-year-old girl who was being attacked in her home by two pit bulls. Lowrie is one of 17 people awarded the 2020 Carnegie medal, which recognizes people who have risked their lives trying to save others.
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| Cash-strapped local officials reportedly rushed to secure part of Mark Zuckerberg's $250 million donation to cover debt and other costs incurred ahead of the election Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:12 AM PDT  Nearly 2,000 of the nation's election offices are seeking part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's $250 million donation to help offset election costs.
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| Missouri governor says again he will pardon St. Louis couple Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:44 PM PDT  Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Wednesday he "most certainly would" pardon a St. Louis couple if they are convicted of gun charges after waving guns at protesters walking in front of their home this summer. Mark and Patricia McCloskey were indicted Tuesday on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence arising from their confrontation with the demonstrators in their private neighborhood. Parson had said earlier that he would pardon the couple and he repeated that pledge during a news conference Wednesday.
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| Hurricane Delta bears striking resemblance to Atlantic's most intense storm Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:41 AM PDT  Perhaps the most astonishing similarity is its extremely small eye. The smaller the eye, the faster the winds can circulate around the center.
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| Elderly couple kidnapped, smuggled into Canada and held hostage by ‘cocaine ring' Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:44 PM PDT  'My understanding from the family is that they're shook up, but doing fine,' says friend Justus Martin
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| Mitch McConnell admits White House has engaged in "risky behaviors" during Fox News interview Posted: 07 Oct 2020 12:23 PM PDT  "So you're saying you think the White House has taken too many risks?" Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked
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| South Korean tower block engulfed in flames Posted: 08 Oct 2020 01:32 PM PDT  Hundreds fled the inferno in the city of Ulsan, with dozens affected by smoke inhalation.
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| Putin Is Facing the Toughest Fight of His Presidency as Former USSR Goes up in Flames Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Tuesday, October 7, was Russian President Vladimir Putin's 68th birthday, and, in keeping with his Soviet-style personality cult, it would normally have been an occasion for Putin to bask in public fanfare. But this year was different. Putin is holed up at his residence outside Moscow, where he has been since early April, avoiding infection from the coronavirus that is again rampant in Russia, while unrest surges in three countries of the former Soviet Union, and France and Germany are pushing for new EU economic sanctions against Russia because of the poisoning of Russian democrat Alexei Navalny.In honor of Putin's birthday, the Russian news agency Tass released the final episode of a series entitled 20 Questions with Vladimir Putin, a special interview project to commemorate Putin's twenty years as leader. In this episode Putin does not discuss pressing economic issues or international affairs, but rather his hobbies, family and other personal matters. Significantly, while Putin mentions that he enjoys his "sweet" grandchildren, he also confesses to his interviewer that "when you occupy this position, sometimes it feels like you cease to be a human being and become nothing more than a mere function."Funeral for Reporter Who Set Herself on Fire Reawakens Russia's Passion to Stand up to PutinNo wonder Putin has begun feeling like an automaton. Bad things have been happening to Putin in battalions lately. On July 9, just as the number of coronavirus cases in Russia had begun to decline and the virus seemed under control, mass protests erupted in the Siberian district of Khabarovsk over the arrest on unsubstantiated murder charges of the popular governor, Sergei Furgal.The unrest in Khabarovsk, a cause for deep concern in the Kremlin, was soon overshadowed by events in Belarus, where the largest political rally in over a decade took place in Minsk on July 30 in support of the opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Opposition protests, accompanied by mass arrests, plunged Belarus into turmoil after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, reported a landslide victory in the August 9 presidential elections. Despite a severe crackdown, the protests have continued. On October 4, 100,000 people marched in Minsk demanding Lukashenko's resignation.The events in Belarus, a neighboring country that serves as Russia's strategic buffer to NATO states, pose a huge dilemma for Putin. The overthrow of an authoritarian leader like Lukashenko by a grassroots democratic movement would set a dangerous example that Russians might at some point follow. But if the Kremlin sends paramilitary forces into Belarus to support Lukashenko, as Putin suggested last month might be done, such a move could result in more Western sanctions against Russia, which would further damage Russia's faltering economy.Adding to the Kremlin's troubles, a violent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies in Azerbaijan, but is controlled by ethnic Christian Armenians who are backed by the Armenian government. Russia would like to put an end to what is the deadliest fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 25 years, but both countries are ignoring appeals for a cease-fire.Just days later, a political uprising engulfed the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan, yet another former Soviet republic. As with Belarus, claims of rigged elections ignited the turmoil. On October 5, following parliamentary elections the previous day, masses of demonstrators took to the streets, eventually seizing government buildings and the office of the president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who is now in hiding. Kyrgyzstan has seen years of political conflict, characterized more by fighting among elite rival groups and clans than by struggles for democracy, so the situation there is not comparable to that in Belarus, which has much greater implications for the Kremlin. Nonetheless, the Kremlin cannot ignore the chaos in a country that depends economically on Russia and houses a Russian military base.The spread of COVID-19, which has caused significant unemployment and economic disruption in Kyrgyzstan, contributed to the political discontent there, as it has elsewhere, including in Russia. (From January to September 2020, the number of bankruptcies of Russian citizens and individual entrepreneurs increased by 64.9 percent, to 77,000.) According to Russia's Levada-Center, a polling organization, Putin's approval ratings dropped to an all-time low of 59 percent when the coronavirus reached pandemic levels in April and May of this year, only to climb back up as the rates of infection declined. So the recent steep rise in Russia's coronavirus cases, with daily totals approaching the record high of 11,656 on May 11, is further cause for disquiet among Putin and his government.But of all the problems Putin faces as he continues to isolate, communicating with his political and military advisors mainly through video conferences, the most troubling may be that of Navalny, who the Kremlin failed to eliminate as planned on August 20. As with GRU defector Sergei Skripal, Russia's security services botched their job, and Navalny not only survived, but is speaking out publicly about the poisoning, which he attributes to Putin directly. And he is urging tougher western sanctions on members of Putin's inner circle. In a recent interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, cited by Radio Liberty, Navalny stressed that "the most important thing is to impose entry bans against those who profit from the regime and freeze their assets… They embezzle money, steal billions, and at the weekend they fly to Berlin or London, buy expensive apartments, and sit in cafes."Although the fearless Navalny plans to return to Russia once he has recovered from the poisoning to continue his opposition to the Putin regime, he does not pose an immediate political threat to Putin. According to an in-depth analysis last week by Levada-Center Deputy Director Denis Volkov, only one third of the 77 percent of Russians who had heard about Navalny's poisoning believe that it was a deliberate attack. Most think that it was a provocation by western security services or something Navalny did to himself. This is because of long-formed views of older Russians, who get their news on Russian state-controlled television, from which Navalny and other opposition politicians are banned. Navalny's audience comes from younger Russians who regularly consult the internet. Volkov points out that: "Russian television and the Internet do not just differ in interpretation, but present two different pictures of what is happening."But, Volkov says, this situation is changing: "For his supporters, Navalny is important, first of all, because he 'speaks the truth,' 'gives an alternative point of view,' 'fights against the authorities' and 'is not afraid.' Although Navalny gained his fame as the author of high-profile anti-corruption investigations, in his current image this characterization fades into the background. In the context of declining public support for top officials, his image as an alternative to the current government and its policies is becoming increasingly important. And this makes the Kremlin nervous."Volkov goes on to point out that Navalny's positive image is a result of his painstaking work on the internet, his effective team of like-minded colleagues and his network of regional headquarters: "For some of his supporters from the regions, Navalny was the first politician from Moscow whom they saw in person. All this allowed him to slowly but surely build up his authority." Although current Russian political views are dominated by the older generation, which is afraid of change and dislikes Navalny, it is only a matter of time, Volkov says, before the younger generation becomes more politically active.It is worth noting that Putin's birthday also marks the fourteenth anniversary of the as yet unsolved murder of Russian journalist and fierce Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006. Referring to this "coincidence"—some say the killing was a birthday gift to Putin—St. Petersburg Parliamentary deputy Boris Vishnevsky, a member of the liberal Yabloko party, had this to say:"Today, sitting in his bunker, Putin will receive flattering congratulations from the stalwarts of his 'vertical' power base, who assure him that 'without Putin there will be no Russia.' But the event that happened on a previous October 7 [Politkovskaya's murder] will be remembered for a very long time. As well as Anna Politkovskaya herself. And today's event [Putin's birthday] will be forgotten as soon as the birthday boy loses power."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Former intelligence officials condemn Trump administration's selective releases about Russia probe as a risk to sensitive sources Posted: 07 Oct 2020 05:43 PM PDT  As the Trump administration continues to declassify selective CIA documents on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, former intelligence officials are expressing concern that the releases are politically motivated and potentially damaging for national security.
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| 'We need to take away children': Bombshell report alleges former AG Jeff Sessions and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein were aggressively in favor of separating migrant families at the US-Mexico border Posted: 06 Oct 2020 10:15 PM PDT  "No, this is not President Xi talking about incarcerating Uighurs. This is the former US AG," Hans Kristensen said.
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| Before attack, a Pakistani teen sought better life in France Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:11 PM PDT  Ali Hassan was only 15 when he left Pakistan to be smuggled to Europe, following the path of his older brother and many other young men from his home country dreaming of a better life. Before the Sept. 25 attack, he proclaimed in a video he was seeking vengeance after the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo published caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Little is known about Hassan's time in France.
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| China will exploit new sailing routes to the Atlantic and threaten UK interests, warns First Sea Lord Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:14 AM PDT  The First Sea Lord has warned that China will exploit new sailing routes to the Atlantic that are being opened up as a result of melting polar ice caps. In a speech on board the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales Admiral Tony Radakin said the effects of climate change on the northern sea passage would create "new maritime trade routes across the top of the world" which would halve "the transit time between Europe and Asia". Admiral Radakin said: "When China sails its growing Navy into the Atlantic, which way will it come, the long route, or the short?" He cautioned that the free movement of "nations, their navies, and above all their merchant ships" could be put at risk when China starts to use these routes as it would "threaten this concept" of free maritime movement. "The world is getting more competitive, more contested," he added. "We will have to play our role in that world. As the High North becomes more open and accessible it's going to be more contested and competitive as well."
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| Hurricane Delta expected to hit Louisiana on Friday as a big, powerful Cat 3 Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:26 AM PDT  Hurricane Delta, now a Category 3 storm, grew bigger and stronger on Thursday ahead of its likely landfall in Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center said.
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| Slain Black man's family vows legal fight against police Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:31 AM PDT  An attorney for the family of a Black teen killed by a suburban Milwaukee police officer vowed Thursday to keep fighting and working to prove racism pervades the officer's department, after a prosecutor declined to file charges in the case. Attorney Kimberley Motley said she plans to file a federal lawsuit against Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah in 17-year-old Alvin Cole's death. Motley sued in state court on Tuesday seeking department documents that she believes will show Mensah's supervisors are racist and that officers have racially profiled Black drivers for years.
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| Ex-GOP senator talks over only woman on CNN panel while defending Mike Pence’s interruptions in VP debate Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:44 AM PDT  VP and senator Harris clashed on Wednesday night
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| US Army Europe and US Army Africa to merge as commander pins on fourth star Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:40 AM PDT  The U.S. Army Europe commander pins on his fourth-star and brings U.S. Army Africa into the fold.
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| New portrait of Queen Victoria's African goddaughter sheds light on forgotten Black history Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:32 AM PDT  Sarah Forbes Bonetta, born to an African ruler as Aina, became Queen Victoria's goddaughter in the mid-19th century.
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| Trump files 'emergency' appeal to the Supreme Court to halt the Census count Posted: 07 Oct 2020 05:41 PM PDT  The Trump administration filed an emergency application on Wednesday night with the Supreme Court, asking it to halt an earlier appeals court decision that extended the count of the 2020 Census to the end of the month.> BREAKING: Trump administration files emergency application to halt census count at the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/YHW7yknwcE> > — Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) October 8, 2020In late September, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that due to hurdles faced during the coronavirus pandemic, the Census Bureau could continue counting through the end of October; plaintiffs argued that the extension would reduce the risk of undercounting harder-to-access populations such as immigrants, minorities, and lower-income groups, The Washington Post reports. The Trump administration nevertheless set a "target date" of Oct. 5 to end the count, which Koh called a "violation" of her order."Defendants' dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census. This must stop," Koh said.Koh's order to extend the census count would bump back an analysis of the data from the end of the year to April 30, 2021; the Trump administration has argued against this, saying Census workers won't have enough time to analyze the data if counting extends to the end of the month. That's a concern for the administration because, as NPR notes, Trump wants to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the total and "if the bureau delivers the state counts by Dec. 31, Trump would be able to attempt to make that unprecedented change to who counts when reapportioning House seats among the states, even if he does not win re-election."More stories from theweek.com Mike Pence was the unlikely winner of the vice presidential debate The myth of Mike Pence's appeal Trump is shockingly bad at this
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| Trump got Walter Reed hospital staff to sign NDAs during 2019 surprise visit, report says Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:20 AM PDT  At least two staff were reportedly not allowed to treat president after NDA refusal last November
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| In midst of cardinal scandal, pope seeks to reassure money inspectors Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:17 AM PDT  Pope Francis sought to assure external inspectors of the Vatican's financial operations on Thursday that he was pushing ahead with reforms, as the Holy See reeled from a scandal in which he fired a powerful cardinal. In an address to Moneyval, the Council of Europe's financial monitoring arm, Francis listed recent actions he had taken to make Vatican finances more transparent. Last month, the pope fired Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, accusing him of embezzlement and nepotism.
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| Strippers agreed to a private dance for $1,000, but the men wanted more, Miami Beach cops say Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:37 PM PDT  A $1,000 private dance involving two hired strippers in a Miami Beach hotel room turned into a car chase and a shooting after the two women refused to have sex with their clients, Miami Beach police said.
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| Dems crushing GOP incumbents in ad spending in key Senate races Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:38 PM PDT  In some cases, the Democrats have outspent Republican incumbents by as much as 2 to 1.
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| Ask the Captain: College vs. flight school; plus, what airlines want to see on your resume Posted: 07 Oct 2020 01:53 PM PDT  Retired airline captain John Cox answers questions from aspiring pilots about college vs. flight school and the traits airlines look for in trainees.
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| A federal judge has ordered Twitter to reveal the identity of an anonymous account linked to a conspiracy theory about murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Since his death in 2016, Seth Rich has been the subject of a conspiracy that claims, without evidence, that he was killed as part of a cover up.
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| Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani ‘spotted maskless at Manhattan fundraiser’ after coughing in Fox News interview Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:07 AM PDT  A number of the president's key aides have tested positive for coronavirus
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| Russia evacuates villages as huge blaze breaks out at arms depot Posted: 07 Oct 2020 05:50 AM PDT  Russian authorities evacuated more than 2,300 people from villages in the region of Ryazan on Wednesday and five people were taken to hospital after a blaze broke out at an ammunition depot, sending thick smoke belching into the air. Fires and explosions at ammunition depots have plagued the Russian army for years and drawn criticism of lax safety standards.
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| A transgender man is suing Amazon, claiming he was denied a raise after disclosing he was pregnant Posted: 07 Oct 2020 12:02 PM PDT  Shaun Simmons, a transgender man in New Jersey, told NBC News he was passed over for a promotion when he told his manager he was pregnant.
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| Court documents call for Parkland parents to prove mental anguish after school shooting Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:53 AM PDT  Parents who sued a school district after their children died in a mass shooting at a Florida high school are being asked to turn over their psychiatric records to prove they have suffered mental anguish.
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| In San Francisco, voters to decide if noncitizens can serve on city boards Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:00 AM PDT  The proposed amendment would allow noncitizens — including green card holders and undocumented residents — to serve on commissions and boards.
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| Correctional officer pressured female inmates into sexual activity, Mississippi cops say Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:58 AM PDT  The jailer is now out of a job.
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