| 'She will shake the table': Black lawmakers explain what Kamala Harris means to them Posted: 02 Nov 2020 02:00 AM PST  For the first time, as the country is rife with racial turmoil, a vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket is a woman of color.
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| Why Beijing Hopes for a Biden Win Posted: 02 Nov 2020 03:30 AM PST  Elections have consequences, both domestic and foreign. There is a consensus among China observers that Beijing hopes for a Joe Biden win this November, because the last time Biden was in charge, as vice president of the United States, China completed its control of the South China Sea.The South China Sea is one of the most important bodies of water on the planet. Besides China, multiple nations including Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines have their own, sometimes overlapping, claims to portions of the South China Sea. In addition to historic claims, according to the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a nation has sovereignty over waters extending twelve nautical miles from its land and exclusive control over economic activities 200 nautical miles out into the ocean.However, using its own map with a "nine-dash line," China claims that it has historic rights to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, including those areas that run as far as 1,200 miles from mainland China and which fall within 100 miles of the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. No other country in the world either recognizes the legitimacy of China's nine-dash–line map or its historic claim.The disputes between China and its neighboring Asian countries are not simply about who has the rightful claim historically but are predominantly about economic rights. The South China Sea is rich with natural resources such as oil and gas. It accounts for 10 percent of the world's fisheries and has provided food and a way of living for millions of people in the region for centuries. The region is also one of the busiest trading routes, with about one-third of global shipping and more than $3 trillion worth of global trade passing through this area annually.When Xi Jinping became Communist China's supreme leader in 2013, he regarded transforming China into a maritime power, including the expansion in the South China Sea, as a key component to his great Chinese rejuvenation. According to the Chinese Communist Party's own publication, "On the South China Sea issue, [Xi] personally made decisions on building islands and consolidating the reefs, and setting up the city of Sansha. [These decisions] fundamentally changed the strategic situation of the South China Sea."China started land-reclamation efforts in the South China Sea in 2013. Beijing initially proceeded slowly and cautiously while evaluating the Obama-Biden administration's reaction. It sent a dredger to Johnson South Reef in the Spratly archipelago. The dredger was so powerful that it was able to create eleven hectares of a new island in less than four months with the protection of a Chinese warship.When it became clear that the Obama-Biden administration wouldn't do anything serious to push back, China ramped up its island-building activities. China insisted that its land-reclamation efforts were for peaceful purposes, such as fishing and energy exploration. However, satellite images show there are runways, ports, aircraft hangars, radar and sensor equipment, and military buildings on these manmade islands.Noticing the Obama-Biden administration's unwillingness to push back on China's island-building activities, China's smaller neighbors decided to find other means of addressing the crisis at hand. In 2013, the Philippines filed an arbitration case under the UNCLOS over China's claims of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected the majority of China's claim of the South China Sea. It also ruled that China's island build-up was not only unlawful but also a blatant violation of the Philippines' economic rights and that it "had caused severe environmental harm to reefs in the chain." Beijing chose to ignore the ruling and press ahead with more island construction and militarization.Without U.S. intervention, small countries such as the Philippines have little means to enforce the ruling and halt China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea. Former U.S. defense secretary Ash Carter criticized the Obama-Biden administration for giving Beijing a rare strategic opening for its island-building. As the Obama administration stood by, China was able to reclaim an estimated 3,200 acres of land on seven features in the South China Sea.The Obama-Biden administration bore the prime responsibility for not forcefully stopping China's South China Sea expansion early on. The administration's soft approach and wishful thinking gave China a four-year strategic window to turn the South China Sea into China's backyard pond and the most dangerous water on this planet, a reality the rest of the world now has to live with.It was reported that between 2010 and 2016, 32 out of the 45 major incidents reported in the South China Sea involved at least one Chinese ship. Fishermen from the Philippines and Vietnam can't even fish in their own nations' water safely without being harassed by Chinese coastal guards and militarized Chinese fishing boats. The Chinese Navy also has responded to the U.S. Navy's "freedom of navigation" operations in an increasingly defiant and aggressive manner. Some national-security experts predict that the first real Sino–U.S. war could be fought in the South China Sea.The Trump administration ended China's unchallenged expansion in the South China Sea by announcing in July that the United States supports the 2016 Hague ruling and opposes several of Beijing's claims in the South China Sea. In the same month, the U.S. Navy also sent two aircraft carriers to waters near the South China Sea when China held a large military exercise. Following the U.S. lead, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who had appeased Beijing since he came to office in 2016, recently told Beijing to follow international law, including The Hague ruling to resolve any dispute in the South China Sea.Biden might have adopted harsh rhetoric against China, but his past actions — and inactions — speak louder than his words. The last time when Biden was in charge, China completed its expansion in the South China Sea. Should Biden get elected this November, Beijing believes that Biden is someone it could do business with and expects him to revise the Trump administration's hard line policies toward China. The recent revelation of Hunter Biden's questionable dealings in China shows that Beijing has invested heavily to cultivate a good relationship with the Biden family for decades. A four-year Biden presidency will likely give China's Xi ample time to fulfill his ambition: putting the final building blocks of a Sino-centric world order, turning China into a technology powerhouse through the completion of the "Made in China 2025" initiative, and possibly taking Taiwan by force.
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| A WNBA star bailed a Florida woman out of jail after she was arrested for destroying Trump campaign signs Posted: 03 Nov 2020 09:41 AM PST  Tonya McRae — a 42-year-old self-proclaimed "anarchist" — was arrested and held on $500 bond for damaging a roadside "Women for Trump" campaign sign.
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| Huge whale's tail sculpture saves Dutch metro train from plummeting into water below Posted: 02 Nov 2020 04:20 AM PST  This really was a fluke. The driver of a metro train escaped injury when the front carriage rammed through the end of an elevated section of rails and was caught by a sculpture of a whale's tail near the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. The train was left perched upon one of two tail fins known as "flukes" several meters (yards) above the ground. It created such a stir locally that authorities urged sightseers to stay away, adding that coronavirus restrictions were in force.
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| Trump privately told a released American prisoner that 'Obama failed' and he deserved credit for her release, former captive says Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:41 PM PST  "I was honestly torn and disappointed," Aya Hijazi told Insider, adding that she was voting for Joe Biden.
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| Grizzly bear killed after "surprise" attack on father and son Posted: 02 Nov 2020 08:40 AM PST  The hunters "sustained significant injuries" before they shot and killed the bear, officials said.
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| New battleground for election 2020: Biden campaign jumps to 'Fortnite' with custom 'Build Back Better' map Posted: 02 Nov 2020 08:37 PM PST  Joe Biden's presidential campaign launched a custom map on the popular video game called "Build Back Better" in an effort to woo younger voters.
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| Disney World restaurants appeared to suddenly increase their indoor dining capacity, but representatives say it was just a technical issue with online reservations Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:48 PM PST  Disney-goers noticed an increase in reservation availability at restaurants across the Florida parks this morning, but Disney said it was a glitch.
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| Another four lots of a diabetes drug recalled for having too much of a carcinogen Posted: 03 Nov 2020 03:27 AM PST  Nostrum Laboratories announced Monday evening and Tuesday morning that four lots of its version of Type 2 diabetes drug metformin have too much of the carcinogen NDMA.
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| Mexico tried, failed to get warrant for ex-cabinet secretary Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:53 AM PST  Mexico's president confirmed Tuesday that federal prosecutors had tried to get an arrest warrant for former Treasury and Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray, but said a judge rejected the request. Videgaray, currently a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, is considered the political figure closest to former President Enrique Peña Nieto, in whose 2012-2018 administration he served. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday he did not know what the charges were because he maintains an arms-length relationship with the independent attorney general's office, though he said he had read they included a charge of treason.
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| LIVE RESULTS: Mississippi's Cindy Hyde-Smith seeks to defend her Senate seat in a rematch with Democrat Mike Espy Posted: 03 Nov 2020 05:00 PM PST  Polls have closed as Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces off against Democrat Mike Espy in a rematch of 2018.
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| See what the stars have in store for you this November Posted: 02 Nov 2020 10:24 AM PST  Our guest astrologist, Celia Sagastume, shares what you can expect this November.
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| Dow soars by 600 points as investors bet on clear election winner and swift passing of stimulus bill Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:09 AM PST  "Ultimately, the markets want clarity, and the main threat this week is the emergence of a contested election," one analyst said.
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| Typhoon Goni: Fears after Philippine town said to be 90% damaged Posted: 02 Nov 2020 12:00 AM PST  The Red Cross says initial assessments of Philippines municipality suggests widespread destruction.
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| Police unable to quiz Nice terrorist after he tests positive for Covid-19, as four more detained Posted: 03 Nov 2020 03:51 AM PST  The Tunisian who knifed three people to death in a church in Nice, southern France, last week has tested positive for Covid-19, which could further delay him being questioned, according to judicial sources. Ibrahim Issaoui, 21, remains in hospital after being shot 14 times by police following the knife rampage at Nice's Notre-Dame basilica on Thursday. He is reportedly no longer in a critical condition but police have not been able to question him to date. Shouting "Allahu Akbar", he beheaded a woman and killed two other people in Nice's Notre-Dame Basilica last Thursday, in France's second deadly knife attack in two weeks with a suspected Islamist motive. Known to Tunisian police for violence and drug offences, he arrived in France only last month, having first crossed the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Four more people were detained for questioning on Tuesday morning, including a 29-year-old man suspected of being in contact with Issaoui, say judicial sources. They were taken into custody in the Val-d'Oise department just north of Paris.
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| Supreme Court throws out First Amendment ruling against Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson Posted: 02 Nov 2020 07:21 AM PST |
| My final election prediction: Reality wins Posted: 03 Nov 2020 02:45 AM PST  The Trump era has been a deranging time — and not least because the president practices a perspectival form of politics. He talks and acts as if there is no objective truth, no common world of reality and facts out there setting the boundaries of the possible. Instead, there are only "takes" — different partisan perspectives, none of which has more or less purchase on what's happening in the world.So, for Trump and his supporters it doesn't matter that his approval rating has been about 10 points under water for the entirety of his presidency, or that he's never once taken the lead in head-to-head national polls, or even once been within 3 points of Joe Biden, or that Biden has led in nearly every swing state, week after week, month after month. For Trump and his supporters, this is all irrelevant. It's just a mirage concocted by the president's opponents — a competing narrative that isn't truer than the account put forth by the Trump campaign.According to the Trump campaign's alternative narrative, the proof is in the pictures. Just look at how many thousands of people are showing up for the president's rallies in swing state after swing state! Look at how many Trump supporters stopped traffic in solidly blue New York and New Jersey on Sunday afternoon with their imposing-looking trucks! Biden should be terrified! A red wave is forming!Don't believe the gaslighting.We've been bombarded by it day-in and day-out for four interminable years, with the president and his media echo chamber amplifying and repeating it endlessly. That, combined with PTSD from the outcome of the 2016 race, has left us prone to self-doubt. "Maybe it's true," we worry. "Maybe we just tell ourselves our own made-up stories. Sure, our narratives make use of reporting and polling data and math and probability theory. But why should those be more trustworthy than what we see with our own two eyes? Just look at those crowds in Pennsylvania! How could Biden possibly prevail there? It's hopeless! We're doomed!"Yes, it's possible that Trump could win. But it isn't likely. At all. One necessary condition of him eking out a victory was the polls narrowing in the final two weeks of the race. It hasn't happened by nearly enough. Two weeks ago, Biden was up by 10.5 points in FiveThirtyEight's polling average. And now? He's up by 8.4. For comparison, on Election Day four years ago, Hillary Clinton led by 3.9 points in the final polls, less than half of Biden's lead today. (Clinton ended up beating Trump by 2.1 points in the popular vote.)So we're expected to believe that a guy who won last time by a grand total of 80,000 votes scattered across three states when he was almost 4 points behind in national polls is now going to win when he's more than 8 points behind in national polls? Sure, that could happen. But only if Trump benefits from the most drastic, consistent, systematic error in the history of modern polling.That's it. That's Trump's path to victory.The reality of American life for the past four years is that Trump barely won the White House, it took less than a month for a majority of the country to disapprove of his presidency, and that has hardly ever changed. (For a brief period in late March and early April 2020, during a fleeting moment when it seemed like Trump was attempting to exercise leadership against the COVID-19 pandemic, his disapproval rating fell slightly below 50 percent. It took about two weeks for the numbers to revert to the norm.) The pattern is clear and incredibly consistent: A little more than two-fifths of the country laps up Trump's B.S. like it's a gourmet meal. But a solid, consistent majority opposes him and wants to kick him out of the people's house.That isn't a "take." That isn't a "narrative." That isn't a "story." It's a fact.Yes, Trump can get several thousand people to show up for a rally, just as if you live in a very pro-Trump area you may see nothing but Trump yard signs and encounter people who think Biden's a senile socialist who smiles every time a riot breaks out in an American city. In my neighborhood in suburban Philadelphia, I see Biden signs in every direction. That doesn't mean he's going to win 98 percent of the popular vote. It's a big country! My perspective is severely limited, as is that of any particular voter in any particular place. I live in a pro-Biden area. But if I drive ten minutes further out from the city, I'll see a mixture of Biden and Trump signs. If I go a half-hour further, the Trump signs will dominate. None of this can be taken as determinative about the overall results in Pennsylvania or in the country as a whole.That doesn't mean we're epistemologically at sea, or blindly groping around in the dark. We can know things about the world. The sun appears to circle the Earth, but by combining observation with mathematical calculations, we can know that in fact that Earth circles the sun. Likewise, by polling the American electorate, we can know more than we would if we simply relied on our senses, hopes, wishes, and fears. And on that basis, we have every reason to think — based on a mountain of redundant evidence — that significantly more Americans want Trump to lose than want him to win re-election.That's real. As real as the knowledge that the United States has not "turned the corner" on the COVID-19 pandemic, no matter how many times the president repeats the lie, and no matter how loudly crowds applaud it. We know this because more and more Americans are testing positive for the virus every day, because hospitalizations are rising, and because daily deaths from the virus (a lagging indicator) have begun to rise as well. Our senses don't tell us this, and neither does our individual experience. We know it because we live in a civilization that keeps track of things, that aspires to understand the truth about what's really happening in the world, and we get slowly better at both over time, even if we make plenty of mistakes and often judge badly when our own interests are at stake.Whatever the final outcome of the election, we need to remember one thing above all others: Reality is what it is, and it doesn't care one bit about what you want to be true. We either devote our lives to living in the world as it is or we flee into fantasy.Those are the options, and that is the ultimate choice before us.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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| 'Trump trains' and 'MAGA drags' snarl traffic and raise tensions in multiple states Posted: 02 Nov 2020 02:23 PM PST  Caravans of Trump-supporting motorists in 'Trump trains' caused chaos in multiple states over the weekend.
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| Letters to the Editor: Liberals are buying firearms. Will they admit they were wrong about 'gun nuts'? Posted: 03 Nov 2020 03:00 AM PST  It takes a lot of cognitive dissonace for people who voted against gun rights to now arm up because they want to defend themselves.
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| Azerbaijan claims to have retaken enough land in Nagorno Karabakh war to resettle 500,000 Azeris Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:51 AM PST  Azerbaijan has recaptured enough land in its war with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh to rehouse up to half a million displaced Azeris, a senior government advisor has said. Hikmet Hajiyev, the chief foreign policy aide to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev, told the Daily Telegraph that Azeri forces had now retaken four key territories during the five-week long war. It means that up to 500,000 Azeri citizens would eventually be able to return to the area, which was seized by Armenian forces in the early 1990s when Nagorno Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijani control. "We are talking about a substantial region that has been retaken, and a potentially substantial number of people being able to return to their homes once the conflict is finally over," Mr Hajiyev said. "For nearly 30 years we have been waiting for the return of these territories. There is a lot of building and de-mining work that will have to be done, but every village that is retaken is a success for the Azeri people."
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| 'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Eta threatens Central America Posted: 03 Nov 2020 04:23 AM PST  Hurricane Eta was hours from making landfall in Central America on Tuesday after gaining strength in the Caribbean Sea, threatening Nicaragua and Honduras with catastrophic winds and floods.
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| Harris County closes 9 of 10 drive-thru polling sites amid Republican attempts to invalidate votes Posted: 03 Nov 2020 10:19 AM PST  Republicans are still trying to throw out valid votes despite rejections from state, federal and appellate courts
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| Cold air allergy nearly kills man stepping out of shower in Colorado, study says Posted: 02 Nov 2020 12:35 PM PST  The 34-year-old was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed on the bathroom floor
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| McDonald's worker, 16, killed in 'random' shooting by man at drive-thru Posted: 03 Nov 2020 10:45 AM PST  The 24-year-old suspect walked up to the drive-thru window of the Nevada restaurant and opened fire, killing a 16-year-old girl, police said.
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| Results of South Dakota amendment to legalize marijuana for people over 21 Posted: 02 Nov 2020 08:14 AM PST  The amendment would legalize the "possession, use, transport, and distribution of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia by people age 21 and older."
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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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| Obama says if a Democrat behaved like Trump, 'I couldn't support him' Posted: 02 Nov 2020 04:58 PM PST  Former President Barack Obama told a crowd in Miami on Monday that he puts country over party, and if there was a Democrat behaving "the way our current president does, I couldn't support him."Obama has spent the last several days on the campaign trail for the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, visiting battleground states like Florida and Georgia. In Miami, Obama railed against President Trump, and said that if he "saw a Democrat who was lying every single day — the fact checkers can't keep up, it's like, just over and over again — I would say that's not the example I want, I don't trust that person to manage the country's affairs because it's violating the values that we try to live by. And those are values we try to teach our kids."Since Trump entered office, The Washington Post has been tracking how many false and misleading claims he has made, and in July, he hit 20,000.Obama also brought up the GOP talking point that Biden is a socialist in disguise, an accusation that is being pushed hard in Florida, which has a high Cuban American population. "Here in south Florida you see these ads, 'Joe palling with Communists, palling with socialists,'" Obama said. "You'd think he was having coffee with Castro every morning. Don't fall for that. Joe Biden served as a senator from Delaware, he was my vice president. I think we'd all know if he was a secret socialist by now."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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| I moved from the US to Canada — here's why I'll never go back Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:11 AM PST  From legalized marijuana to great healthcare, here are some of the reasons this writer thinks Canada is better than the US and why she plans to stay.
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| Cyprus leaders, in first encounter, back five-way U.N. meeting Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:54 AM PST  The leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on Tuesday agreed to support the possibility of a five-party meeting under the auspices of the United Nations to resolve the island's decades-old division. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who is the Greek Cypriot leader, met with newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar late Tuesday at a United Nations compound in the capital Nicosia. It was their first encounter since Tatar was elected head of breakaway northern Cyprus in October.
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| Kim Kardashian Shows Off Over-the-Top Halloween Decor Posted: 02 Nov 2020 01:35 PM PST  The KKW beauty founder had her entire sleek, minimalistic home covered in spiderwebs
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| America braces for election violence with shops boarded up and National Guard on standby Posted: 02 Nov 2020 01:11 PM PST  Cities across the United States were battening down the hatches as they prepared for potential riots in the wake of the election on Tuesday. With the country more bitterly divided than at any time since the Vietnam War in the 1970s it was feared a disputed result could set off nationwide clashes. In Washington businesses near the White House, including hotels, banks and restaurants, boarded up their windows, as did those in iconic New York locations including Times Square and Fifth Avenue. Alex Provenzano, who owns a nail salon two blocks from the White House, said it was "pretty scary," adding: "I hope for the best, but the people are very stressed out." Officials were removing bins and bicycle stands so they couldn't be used as projectiles. The secret service is to erect a "non-scalable" fence around the entire White House perimeter. A National Park Service spokesman said the fence was required due to the "unique security requirements with the upcoming presidential election" and the "need to quickly de-escalate potentially violent encounters". Students at George Washington University in the capital were told to hunker down.
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| Headstones in Jewish cemetery spray-painted with ‘Trump’ graffiti, Michigan photos show Posted: 03 Nov 2020 06:36 AM PST  "We are appalled."
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| Hurricane Eta blasts Nicaraguan coast as Category 4 storm Posted: 03 Nov 2020 04:34 PM PST  A Nicaraguan official said there were reports of swollen rivers, corrugated metal roofs flying off homes and fallen trees, poles and power lines.
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| Here's why Republicans are 'red' and Democrats are 'blue': USA TODAY may have contributed to it Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:23 PM PST  Prior to 2000, red and blue did not always respectively denote Republicans and Democrats.
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| Former Clintonite David Rothkopf on how Biden and the Democrats can redeem themselves Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:00 PM PST  Onetime neoliberal leader recants: Now Democrats must go "scorched earth" and embrace "voices of change"
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| Former Republican Texas House speaker calls GOP effort to throw out drive-thru votes 'patently wrong' Posted: 02 Nov 2020 08:35 AM PST  Joe Straus, the former Republican speaker of the Texas House, on Sunday voiced his opposition to a GOP lawsuit seeking to throw out around 127,000 drive-thru votes in the state's most populous county."The lawsuit to disenfranchise more than 100,000 voters in Harris County is patently wrong," Straus said in a statement that he shared on Twitter, adding that "the Republican Party needs to return to a place where we win with ideas and persuasion rather than trying to intimidate and silence our fellow citizens."> The lawsuit attempting to disenfranchise more than 100,000 voters in Harris County is patently wrong. txlege pic.twitter.com/rk6eWXgPrK> > — Joe Straus (@SpeakerStraus) November 1, 2020Straus also teamed up with another prominent Texas Republican, lawyer Ben Ginsberg, to file an amicus brief opposing the suit, in which they cited the 2000 election recount as an example of the party's past efforts to ensure the ballots of "every qualified voter" get counted.> Longtime GOP lawyer Ben Ginsberg and former Texas House Speaker filed an amicus opposing a GOP suit to toss 127K drive-thru ballots in Texas, arguing it violates federal law. > > Concludes by noting this is same argument Ginsberg and Amy Coney Barrett used in 2000 recount pic.twitter.com/ANDRe6Vsy0> > — Jane C. Timm (@janestreet) November 2, 2020The Texas Supreme Court did throw some cold water on the suit Sunday, denying the petition to toss the votes without comment, but the amicus could still factor into the decision by a federal judge, who will hear the case Monday morning.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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| 2 girls pulled out of rubble in Turkey three days after earthquake Posted: 02 Nov 2020 03:38 AM PST  In what one rescue worker called "a miracle," extraction teams brought two girls out alive Monday from the wreckage of their collapsed apartment buildings in the Turkish city of Izmir, three days after a strong earthquake hit Turkey and Greece.
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| Fargo, North Dakota, mayor clashes with governor over whether the state should require people to wear face masks as COVID-19 cases multiply in the state Posted: 02 Nov 2020 05:57 PM PST  "All the major mayors ... feel the mask would be very helpful to make it uniform throughout the state," Mayor Tim Mahoney said.
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| Archbishop of Canterbury joins faith leaders' outcry over lockdown ban on worship Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:02 AM PST  Religious leaders have challenged the government's decision to ban "essential" communal worship during lockdown. Continuation of public worship is "essential", the leaders of the Church of England, the Roman Catholic church and orthodox Judaism, along with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Pentecostal representatives, have warned. In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, and Minister of State Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, the coalition of England's most senior faith leaders conclude: "We strongly disagree with the decision to suspend public worship during this time." In comments which mark a dramatic shift in tone from the first lockdown earlier this year, the faith leaders revealed that they disagree with the Government's policy to close places of worship which, they claim, have proved they can be "made safe from Covid transmission". "Given the significant work we have already done, we consider there to be, now, no scientific justification for the wholesale suspension of public worship," they added. In the letter, made public as the second national lockdown is set to come into force on Thursday, the faith leaders set out how public worship can play a vital role in supporting social cohesion and mental health and offer "an essential sign of hope". They conclude: "We call on government to recognise and support this, and enable us to continue to worship safely, as part of the essential fabric of the nation."
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| Fort Lauderdale attorney suspended after posing online as opposing attorney’s client Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:49 AM PST  Much of the six-month suspension Fort Lauderdale attorney Tracy Newmark began serving Sunday comes down to lying, according to the referee's reports of Newmark's Florida Bar discipline cases. Lying about:
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