| Trump on Supreme Court vacancy: 'When you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want' Posted: 21 Sep 2020 08:26 AM PDT  The president on Monday defended the Republican plan to bring his pick to replace the Supreme Court vacancy left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a vote so close to an election, even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to do the same in 2016.
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| China admits Uighur birthrate has dropped by nearly one-third Posted: 21 Sep 2020 10:48 AM PDT  Chinese officials have admitted that birth rates have plummeted among its ethnic Uighurs, fuelling claims that Beijing is subjecting its Muslim minority to a campaign of forced birth control. Official statistics show that in Xinjiang, the north-western province where most of the 10 million strong Uighur community live, birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018. The figures follow accusations that Beijing is attempting to reduce the Uighur population by threatening women with fines or spells in mass detention camps if they flout harsh family planning measures. At least a million Uighurs are believed to have passed through the detention camps in recent years, which Beijing insists are voluntary schools to teach Uighurs of the dangers of Islamic extremism. Human rights groups say they are used to eradicate Uighur culture, in tandem with forced abortion and sterilisation policies that amount to "demographic genocide".
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| Why We’re Never Buying Rectangular Rugs Again Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:32 AM PDT |
| Leaked files contain more evidence of Kremlin links to one of the biggest donors to Boris Johnson's Conservative party Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:47 AM PDT  The husband of a major donor to Boris Johnson's Conservatives has allegedly been secretly funded by a Russian oligarch with links to Vladimir Putin.
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| Israel court says woman can be extradited in child sex case Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:28 AM PDT  An Israeli court on Monday approved the extradition of a former teacher wanted in Australia on charges of child sex abuse, potentially paving the way for her to stand trial after a six-year legal battle. Malka Leifer, a former educator who is accused of sexually abusing several former students, has been fighting extradition from Israel since 2014. Leifer maintains her innocence and the battle surrounding her extradition has strained relations between Israel and Australia.
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| Black Lives Matter Removes Language about Disrupting the Nuclear Family from Website Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:56 AM PDT  The official Black Lives Matter website no longer includes language encouraging the "disruption" of the "Western-prescribed nuclear family structure."The language had been featured on the site's "What We Believe" page, in which the group had laid out its support for various extreme policies and ideals that went beyond police reform and brutality. Attempts to access the page now yield a message that reads, "Page Not Found. Sorry, but the page you were trying to view does not exist," the Washington Examiner first discovered on Monday.The page had described the group as a "global Black family" that engages "comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts," according to an archive."We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work 'double shifts' so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work," the organization wrote. "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and 'villages' that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable."The website still features an "About" page that explains the origin of the organization — it was founded in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin — and features a shorter list of its goals. The "About" page says the group's mission "is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.""We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum," the page reads."We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise," it adds.The organization has received criticism for its extremist views, including co-founder Patrisse Cullors 2015 admission that she and her fellow co-founders are "trained Marxists.""I actually do think we have an ideological frame. We are trained Marxists," Cullors said.
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| Revealed: evidence shows huge mail slowdowns after Trump ally took over Posted: 21 Sep 2020 08:30 AM PDT  Louis DeJoy's policies, which he said were intended to boost efficiency, led to widespread outcry this summerThe United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer.Shortly after taking the helm, DeJoy – a major Republican donor with no prior USPS experience – implemented operational changes he said were intended to make the financially beleaguered agency more efficient. Those changes included an effort to get USPS trucks to run on time and limiting extra trips to transport late mail, with the result that mail was often left behind.Many critics have noted that DeJoy chose to make these changes at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic and months ahead of a presidential election in which a record number of people are expected to vote by mail.In late August, DeJoy announced he was putting the changes on hold until after the election, and last week a federal judge in Washington blocked USPS from implementing them. The changes were clearly aimed at "voter disenfranchisement", given the increased role USPS will play in this year's presidential election, the US district judge Stanley Bastian wrote in his ruling."It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services' changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections," Bastian wrote.Map of USPS first-class on-time delivery rates dropping just weeks after DeJoy was appointed.Describing the data, Philip Rubio, a history professor at North Carolina A&T university who is also a former postal worker, said: "This is a remarkable graphic illustration that reveals the decline of on-time first-class mail from the very first day after Postmaster General DeJoy's policies were announced and implemented.""Not only do we see the national picture for first-class mail delivery worsening over time after DeJoy's policies become effective, but we also see locally conditions varying and even emerging for the worse."Of note, some areas in key swing states saw significant declines in on-time delivery rates of first-class mail. In the postal district for northern Ohio, on-time delivery rates dropped as low as 63.60% in mid August. In the Detroit postal district, on-time delivery fell to 61.01% the same month.USPS has pledged to facilitate timely delivery of mail-in ballots for the election and work closely with election officials to ensure that happens. But the relationship has been rocky recently; some election officials fumed when the agency sent out a mailing to every household with information about mail-in voting without thoroughly consulting with them. The generalized mailer was misleading for voters in the handful of US states that automatically mail all registered voters a ballot.Although DeJoy's changes have been paused until after the election, the new data shows that first class mail continued to be delivered late across the country after his reversal. In the Baltimore postal district, for example, the on-time delivery rate remained at less than 60% at the end of August."Unfortunately, even though on-time performance improved after those changes were put on pause, delivery speed is still well below normal and far below the postal service's own targets," said Steve Hutkins, a professor at New York University who runs Save The Post Office, a blog that monitors the agency."The harms that were done have not yet been undone."David Partenheimer, a USPS spokesman, declined to comment specifically on the data, citing ongoing litigation. USPS released a statement on Friday saying that on-time delivery for first class mail continued to improve in September and that on time departures for trucks continued to improve."The improvements are a result of the Postmaster General's commitment to drive operational discipline and improve efficiencies across processing, transportation and delivery," the agency said in its statement.
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| Rush Limbaugh calls for GOP to skip hearings for Trump SCOTUS pick and go straight for floor vote Posted: 21 Sep 2020 02:19 PM PDT  The conservative radio host hopes to avoid confirmation hearings like Brett Kavanaugh's or Clarence Thomas's
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| Florida man fights off attacking alligator by poking its eyes; survives with 65 stitches Posted: 21 Sep 2020 10:04 AM PDT  Mark Johnson, 61, was attacked by alligator and survived with 65 stitches. Here's the trick he used, which FWC warns doesn't always work.
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| Tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts traveled to the Lake of the Ozarks for a bike rally weeks after a similar event in Sturgis was linked to COVID-19 cases in 8 states Posted: 20 Sep 2020 08:39 AM PDT  Lake Ozark Mayor Gerry Murawski said last week that he didn't expect motorcyclists to wear masks to Bikefest because "that's just the way they are."
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| Egypt discovers 14 ancient sarcophagi at Saqqara Posted: 20 Sep 2020 05:25 PM PDT  Egypt's antiquities ministry announced Sunday the discovery of 14 sarcophagi in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo that had lain buried for 2,500 years.
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| Solomon Islands: Men working for WW2 bomb clearing agency die in explosion Posted: 20 Sep 2020 08:07 PM PDT  The men were working to help dispose of the many unexploded World War Two bombs on the islands.
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| 'Never be seen again': Where Confederate statues go after being taken from public spaces Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:26 AM PDT  More than 130 Confederate monuments and other historic statues were taken down across three dozen states amid a wave of protests and calls for racial justice over the past four months.
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| Trooper wounded in crash faced firing in Black man's death Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:32 PM PDT  A Louisiana state trooper was critically injured early Monday in a single-vehicle highway crash that came hours after learning he would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a Black man. Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth received word Sunday that State Police intended to terminate him following an internal investigation into the May 2019 death of Ronald Greene, a case that has drawn mounting scrutiny and become the subject of a federal civil rights investigation. State Police, despite growing pressure, have repeatedly declined to release body-camera footage and other records related to Greene's arrest, citing the ongoing investigations.
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| U.S. Space Force deploys troops to the Arabian Desert Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:51 AM PDT  The newly formed U.S. Space Force is deploying troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula.
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| Shark attacks a snorkeler in the Florida Keys, sheriff’s office says Posted: 20 Sep 2020 11:16 AM PDT |
| Trump and Mitch McConnell move closer to securing GOP support for Senate vote on Supreme Court pick before election Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:57 AM PDT  'No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican president's Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year,' key GOP senator says
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| Lindsey Graham insists he hasn't changed his mind on SCOTUS nominations — but also that Kavanaugh's treatment changed his mind Posted: 21 Sep 2020 01:52 PM PDT  When Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, Republicans steamrolled former President Barack Obama's nominee because they said the next president should choose the nominee. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) even invited Democrats to "use my words against me" if there was an election-year vacancy come 2020 -- but he seems to have changed his mind.In a Monday letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham claimed he still felt the same about election-year vacancies. He looked back a few years to claim Americans "elected a Republican Senate majority in 2014" because they wanted a check on the end of Obama's lame duck presidency. Likewise, since the 1880s, no Senate "has confirmed an opposite-party president's Supreme Court nominee during an election year," he continued. Americans renewing a Republican Senate majority in 2018 points Graham in the same direction this time around, he said, as well as the fact that Trump is up for re-election.But Graham went on to say that he actually had changed his mind about the nomination process after the "treatment" of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. When comparing the overwhelming confirmations of Ginsburg and the testy nominating processes for Robert Bork, Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas, "it's clear that there already is one set of rules for a Republican president and one set of rules for a Democrat president," Graham finished. > Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC to Committee Democrats: "After the Treatment of Justice Kavanaugh I Now Have a Different View of the Judicial-Confirmation Process" https://t.co/qzXgSbgW8S pic.twitter.com/IWAclmrQED> > -- Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) September 21, 2020More stories from theweek.com McConnell unexpectedly rejects Democrats' funding bill, leaving U.S. on the verge of government shutdown The audacious case for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett Why Trump reportedly prefers to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court over Barbara Lagoa
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| The cruise industry will implement these COVID-19 precautions: testing, masks, ventilation, more Posted: 21 Sep 2020 10:03 AM PDT  The cruise industry has announced mandatory changes designed to make it safe to sail during the COVID-19 pandemic – ideally by the end this year.
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| New Zealand ends all pandemic restrictions outside main city of Auckland Posted: 20 Sep 2020 06:33 PM PDT  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday lifted all coronavirus restrictions across the country, except in second-wave hotspot Auckland, as the number of new infections slowed to a trickle. "Our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control," she told reporters in Auckland. New Zealand, a nation of five million, appeared to have halted community transmission of COVID-19 earlier this year, but a fresh outbreak in Auckland in August prompted the government to place the city back in lockdown.
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| Jawar Mohammed: Top Ethiopia opposition figure 'proud' of terror charge Posted: 21 Sep 2020 06:15 AM PDT  Jawar Mohammed did not admit guilt in court but accused the government of targeting opponents.
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| Navalny says nerve agent was found 'in and on' his body Posted: 21 Sep 2020 06:20 AM PDT  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny demanded Monday that Russia return the clothes he was wearing on the day he fell into a coma in Siberia, calling it "a crucial piece of evidence" in the nerve agent poisoning he is being treated for at a German hospital. In a blog post Monday, Navalny said the Novichok nerve agent was found "in and on" his body, and said the clothes taken off him when he was hospitalized in Siberia a month ago after collapsing on a Russian flight are "very important material evidence." Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic, fell ill on a domestic flight to Moscow on Aug. 20, was brought to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk and was transferred to Germany for treatment two days later.
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| What time is Boris Johnson's announcement today, and what will he say? Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:59 PM PDT  Boris Johnson will today announce new national restrictions as Britain fights to repel a second wave of coronavirus. After a spike in cases across the UK – including a surge in North-East and North-West England – the Prime Minister is set to tighten the rules on social gatherings and daily life. This is everything we know about what he will announce – and when. What will be in Boris Johnson's speech? The Prime Minister is set to announce: A 10pm curfew on pubs and hospitality venues from Thursday A return to working from home, where possible A drive to encourage mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing Hospitality sector restricted to table-service only There could also be new restrictions on social gatherings and some sectors will be bracing for bad news about business closures. At their meeting this morning, the Cabinet is expected to discuss the closure of indoor concert venues and a further delay to trials of spectators returning to professional sports, such as Premier League football. Rules will be finalised in the Cabinet meeting before being delivered in Mr Johnson's speech.
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| More thyroid medicines recalled for being too weak. People have reported problems Posted: 20 Sep 2020 06:09 AM PDT  Testing and customer complaints of medical problems resulted in two lots of NP Thyroid tablets getting recalled by manufacturer Acella Pharmaceuticals.
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| Florida's governor is proposing a law that would protect drivers who kill or injure people if they're fleeing a 'mob,' following a spate of incidents of people driving through protest crowds Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:11 PM PDT  People have hit protesters with cars dozens of times since the US erupted with protests following the death of George Floyd in May.
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| Finnish cruise ship evacuated after running aground in Baltic sea Posted: 20 Sep 2020 09:08 AM PDT  A Finnish passenger cruise ship was evacuated on Sunday after it ran aground off the island of Aland in the Baltic Sea, the cruise line and emergency services said Sunday.
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| Bull rider killed in Texas rodeo Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:01 AM PDT  Rider was studying animal sciences at Oklahoma State University
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| Botswana says toxins in water killed hundreds of elephants Posted: 21 Sep 2020 01:31 AM PDT  Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year, officials said on Monday, announcing the result of an investigation into the deaths which had baffled and alarmed conservationists. Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures.
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| The CIA sent a team of 4 operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back. Posted: 20 Sep 2020 06:48 AM PDT  In 2008, the CIA sent a team of four operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back. Internally, the CIA officers blamed the mission failure and deaths of four of their men on Bob Kandra, the Special Activities Division chief at the time.
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| Wisconsin Black man falsely arrested at his own home sues city Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:47 PM PDT  As reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Keonte Furdge was arrested in his home after a neighbor called the police because he was sitting on the patio. Two police officers entered the house with their guns drawn and handcuffed Furdge, 23.
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| L.A. County's Bobcat fire grows to nearly 100,000 acres Posted: 20 Sep 2020 06:42 PM PDT  The Bobcat fire in Los Angeles County has grown to nearly 100,000 acres, and continues to threaten the historical Mt. Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains.This is one of the largest fires ever recorded in the county; the biggest blaze, 2009's Station fire, burned 160,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest. The Bobcat fire is only 15 percent contained, and is moving through communities in the Antelope Valley, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are more than 1,600 firefighters on the scene, with some coming from as far away as New York."We're still in the thick of a good firefight," Andrew Mitchell, public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said on Sunday. There were some flare-ups around Mt. Wilson Observatory overnight, but crews were able to stamp them out. Forecasters expect lower temperatures and calmer winds over the next few nights, and Mitchell said he thinks "the next couple days we'll start to really get a handle on this fire because the conditions will be right and we'll be able to really start backing it with all our assets."There are 27 major wildfires now burning in California, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Sunday. Since mid-August, blazes in the state have killed 26 people and destroyed more than 6,100 structures.More stories from theweek.com McConnell unexpectedly rejects Democrats' funding bill, leaving U.S. on the verge of government shutdown The audacious case for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett Why Trump reportedly prefers to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court over Barbara Lagoa
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| Three jailed after being caught with 109 undersized lobsters in the Keys, police say Posted: 21 Sep 2020 02:39 PM PDT  Three Lower Keys residents were jailed Friday after state fish and wildlife police said they were found with more than 100 undersized lobsters and a haul of out-of-season stone crab claws.
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| US Supreme Court: Trump told Woodward judge appointments are 'golden nuggets' Posted: 20 Sep 2020 09:37 PM PDT  The US president bragged about appointing judges, audio reveals, talking to journalist Bob Woodward.
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| Letters to the Editor: These Californians are having issues with USPS — and it's making them worried about the election Posted: 20 Sep 2020 05:00 AM PDT  'The system is broken and we know why.'
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| Australian journalist says he fled China after authorities threatened to detain his teenage daughter Posted: 21 Sep 2020 05:35 AM PDT  Chinese authorities threatened to detain an Australian journalist and his 14-year-old daughter two years ago, in apparent retaliation for his coverage of China. Matthew Carney, then the Australian Broadcasting Corp's Beijing bureau chief, was already bracing for trouble after being reprimanded by Chinese foreign ministry representatives upset over his coverage, which they had deemed unfavourable to the country. The last meeting he had with representatives ended with him being told he had personally broken Chinese laws and was now under 'investigation.' The problems continued when Carney sought to renew his journalist visa. During the process, he was instructed to report to a facility and to bring his daughter, where a lead interrogator later alleged she had broken visa rules. He was told because his daughter is an adult under Chinese law, that "as the People's Republic of China is a law-abiding country, she will be charged with the visa crime."
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| Whale swims free of Australian river as 270 are stranded Posted: 20 Sep 2020 06:10 PM PDT  A humpback whale has found its way back to sea weeks after getting lost in a murky, crocodile-infested river in northern Australia, while an estimated 270 pilot whales became stranded in the country's south. There have been no previous recorded sightings of whales in remote East Alligator River in the Northern Territory's World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, and no one can explain why at least three of the blue water mammals ventured so deep inland in a river with little visibility. In a more common phenomenon, about 270 pilot whales were reported stranded Monday on sandbars off Australia's southern island of Tasmania state.
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| Two key GOP senators propose $28.8 billion in airline assistance to avoid job cuts Posted: 21 Sep 2020 01:50 PM PDT  Two key Republican senators on Monday introduced legislation that would authorize $28.8 billion in payroll assistance to avoid thousands of airline industry layoffs set to begin on Oct. 1. Senators Roger Wicker, who chairs the Commerce Committee, and Susan Collins, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee overseeing airline issues, introduced the measure that would grant airlines a new bailout days before existing payroll support runs out. Airlines are making a last-ditch effort to win funding, but face an uphill battle with Congress shifting its attention to the pending Supreme Court vacancy, congressional aides say.
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| Armed and Black. How a group of men licensed to carry guns say they are seeking racial justice Posted: 21 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Armed Black groups like the Minnesota Freedom Fighters work to protect the streets as calls for racial justice mount.
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| Sen. Kelly Loeffler stages historically dubious re-enactment to claim she's 'more conservative than Attila the Hun' Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:49 PM PDT  Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is willing to reimagine history to prove how conservative she is.Loeffler is trying to fend off both Democrats and Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) to protect her relatively new seat, and rolled out a campaign ad Monday trying to prove she's the real conservative in the race. Playing off the idea that she's "more conservative than Attila the Hun," Loeffler's ad features a grunting Attila and a "liberal scribe" who translates for him: "Fight China" and "attack big government" are among his wishes.> It's true. pic.twitter.com/Yea3phqB2s> > -- Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) September 21, 2020The ad begs a lot questions about the accuracy of Loeffler's ad. For starters, Attila didn't have much to do with China; Genghis Khan is probably who Loeffler was going for. Attila was instead focused on attacking western societies -- the sort of thing conservatives usually don't like.The New York Times' Paul Krugman meanwhile wasn't even sure if Attila could be considered conservative, at least for his time. > Of course there was the whole sacking cities and slaughtering their inhabitants thing. And I guess that's the part that appeals to modern Republicans 3/> > -- Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 21, 2020More stories from theweek.com McConnell unexpectedly rejects Democrats' funding bill, leaving U.S. on the verge of government shutdown The audacious case for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett Why Trump reportedly prefers to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court over Barbara Lagoa
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| Driver fleeing cops slams into rideshare, killing 2 backseat passengers, Texas cops say Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:04 PM PDT  The man faces murder charges.
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| Pelosi says she won’t rule out impeaching Trump to halt Supreme Court pick Posted: 21 Sep 2020 07:49 AM PDT  Pelosi noted that Democrats' main goal is protecting the 'integrity of the election as we protect the American people.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to rule out the option of impeaching President Donald Trump or Attorney General William Barr if Trump attempts to push through a Supreme Court nominee following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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| Trump supporters try to obstruct early voters at polling site in Virginia Posted: 20 Sep 2020 02:45 PM PDT  WATCH: Trump supporters descend on early voters in Virginia — and try to obstruct polling site
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| US faces ticking ‘feral swine bomb’ as millions of wild pigs run rampant across country Posted: 21 Sep 2020 09:58 AM PDT  The wild boars cause $2.5bn in damages annually
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| Fact check: Anti-maskers in Indonesia were required to dig graves for COVID-19 victims Posted: 21 Sep 2020 04:13 PM PDT  A Facebook post is truthful in saying Indonesian leaders ordered eight non-mask-wearers to dig graves.
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| Drought-hit Mexicans demand that water sharing with U.S. end Posted: 21 Sep 2020 11:00 AM PDT  The treaty of 1944 details water sharing between Mexico and the United States, but Mexico is currently behind on their end of the deal.
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