| Fox News host baselessly claims that 'something's going to happen' to Joe Biden, forcing her colleague to walk her comment back Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:59 PM PDT  "I have a sense that something's going to happen before the election, and he's not even going to be on the ticket," she said.
|
| Police officers set dog on black man and say ‘good boy, good boy’ as it bites his leg Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:08 AM PDT  A police dog in Salt Lake City was ordered to attack an African American man who was on his knees with his hands in the air.Police officers arrived at Jeffery Ryans's house in April in Salt Lake City, Utah, after they responded to a call made by someone who said they had heard him arguing with his wife, according to the Daily Mail.
|
| This is what it looks like in Sturgis, South Dakota, where hundreds of thousands of unmasked bikers are partying like the coronavirus isn't real Posted: 12 Aug 2020 01:01 PM PDT  Bikers at the Sturgis Rally say they're enjoying the freedom and crowds they haven't been able to experience elsewhere during the pandemic.
|
| Chicago protests: Restrictions imposed after chaotic night of unrest Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:47 AM PDT  Chicago officials say over 100 arrests have been made after a night of violence and looting.
|
| China blasts US for Taiwan visit while virus spreads at home Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:14 AM PDT  A Chinese official lashed out at U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday for visiting Taiwan amid an ongoing pandemic back home, accusing him of putting politics ahead of the lives of the American people. The comments came a day after Azar accused China of failing to warn the rest of the world about the coronavirus. "He abandoned the millions of people who are struggling with illness and visited Taiwan instead to stage a political show," Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing.
|
| McConnell urges White House, Democrats to restart COVID-19 stimulus talks Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:54 AM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell accuses Democrats of 'playing hardball' against Americans who need help; Chad Pergram reports from Capitol Hill.
|
| In These Uncertain Hours, the Classic Cool of a Gentleman’s Watch Endures Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| Pro Poker Player Was Bound, Sexually Assaulted, ‘Lit on Fire’ After Motel Meeting Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:29 AM PDT  Susie Zhao, the professional poker player whose charred remains were found in a remote Michigan park in July, was allegedly bound with zip ties and sexually assaulted before she was "lit on fire until she died" after meeting with a convicted sex offender, according to new court documents. Zhao, 33, was last seen around 5:30 p.m. on July 12 by her mother, the White Lake Township Police Department previously told The Daily Beast. The next day, her "badly burned" body was discovered at around 8:05 a.m. in a parking lot near the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, about an hour outside of Detroit. Last week, Jeffrey Bernard Morris, 60, was charged from his hospital bed with first-degree premeditated murder. Authorities discovered the convicted sex offender allegedly met Zhao in a motel room the night before her body was found. Morris, who is homeless and has a "lengthy criminal history" is currently in jail after being denied bail. A Pro Poker Player Was Found 'Badly Burned.' Was She Murdered Over Gambling?"This is not the end of the investigation into Susie's death but the beginning of the pursuit of justice for her and her family," White Lake Township Detective Chris Hild said in a press conference. "We can only hope that where we are today brings some level of comfort to the healing process."In new court documents, first obtained by WXYZ, authorities revealed what occurred the night the pro poker player, known on the circuit as "Susie Q," went missing. Cell phone records indicate Morris and the rising poker star first met on July 12. In an interview with police the night of his arrest on July 31, Morris admitted to picking up Zhao on Watkins Lake Road before they both checked into the Sherwood Motel at around 9:26 p.m. Morris told investigators the pair left the motel at some point to buy some alcohol and that Zhao left the motel at around midnight and took everything with her. Cell phone records, however, show the 33-year-old's phone didn't leave the motel until around 5 a.m on July 13, according to the court documents. Surveillance footage near the motel and cell phone records also show Morris left the room at around 5 a.m., before driving to a secluded section of the Pontiac Lake Recreation area—where Zhao was found. Court documents say that evidence suggests Morris was at the 3,745-acre park for about seven minutes. When Zhao was found the following morning, she was identified by fingerprints and was bound with zip ties. She had been sexually assaulted with a large object before being "lit on fire until she died," the court documents state. A spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner told The Daily Beast that Zhao's cause of death is currently unknown, pending an autopsy and toxicology results. When authorities pulled Morris over on a warrant in Ypsilanti weeks later, investigators found several hairs and other evidence with possible bloodstains. They also found duffle bags with a fitted bed sheet that appeared to have blood on it and a wooden baseball bat that also appeared to have a bloodstain. The items were taken to Oakland County Crime Lab for testing. Authorities are now scrambling to understand the motive behind the "mysterious death" that occurred just weeks after Zhao moved back to her home state of Michigan from California on June 9. Two childhood friends of Zhao previously told The Daily Beast that the poker player bounced between several cities—including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Florida—both for her job and because she was "a jet-setter." According to PokerNews.com, Zhao was successful in the professional worker world, garnering several deep runs in the World Series of Poker Main Event—placing 90th in 2012 to earn $73,805. Over the course of her career, Zhao won $224,671, according to the poker database The Hendon Mob. Despite earlier speculation, authorities have said there is no evidence that Zhao's death was connected to her gambling."I don't think there was ever anything else that she wanted to do. She was playing poker from a very young age," Meredith Rogowski, a childhood friend, told The Daily Beast. "It was not a surprise. She was very bold and did whatever she wanted to do. Whenever we talked about her job, she was very nonchalant. But I do know it was exhausting to be in that world—it was long hours and some of the people she met weren't always genuine."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.
|
| Op-Ed: If Biden wins, don't expect Trump to accept defeat and head for the exit Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:00 AM PDT  The only way to guarantee Trump doesn't ignore election results is a Biden win so decisive it's apparent on election night.
|
| Coronavirus may spread farther than 6 feet indoors Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:25 AM PDT  A classroom simulation shows how the spread of the virus is significantly cut down simply by placing ventilation near a teacher.
|
| Can’t find Lysol disinfectant spray? Here’s what to buy instead Posted: 12 Aug 2020 06:31 AM PDT  Lysol products were approved by the EPA for protecting against the coronavirus, making them hard to find. Here are cleaning wipes and spray you can buy right now.
|
| Thunderstorms have hospitalized 52K Americans for breathing issues, study says. Why? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 10:46 AM PDT  As global warming continues, more respiratory hospitalizations are expected.
|
| South Dakota's Noem to build security fence around residence Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:22 PM PDT  South Dakota officials said Wednesday they plan to build a security fence budgeted for $400,000 around the official governor's residence to protect Gov. Kristi Noem. Noem's office did not give specifics on any threats, but her spokeswoman Maggie Seidel said her security team recommended the fence. Noem's administration had proposed the fence last year, but she abandoned the plan.
|
| Philippines' Duterte says will be Russia vaccine 'guinea pig' as talks begin Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:33 AM PDT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will be a guinea pig for a controversial Russian coronavirus vaccine, his spokesman said on Wednesday, as the Southeast Asian nation emerged as a frontrunner for overseas clinical trials. Duterte has also expressed "huge trust" in Russia's efforts to stop the contagion.
|
| Mother says son with autism was 'kicked out' of church by priest Posted: 11 Aug 2020 01:47 PM PDT  Julia Vicidomini said her son, Nicholas, was instructed to leave the church after he dropped a toy.
|
| Ghislaine Maxwell says she is being mistreated in jail and that she should be taken out of solitary confinement Posted: 11 Aug 2020 01:13 PM PDT  Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in jail awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, want her released into her jail's general population.
|
| Kamala Harris: How the former prosecutor who skewered Biden in the debates built her career on being first Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:54 AM PDT  Kamala Harris has made her political career out of being the first.When she was just 40 years old, Ms Harris – who started out as a prosecutor in Alameda County, California – was elected as the district attorney for San Francisco, making her the first woman and first person of colour to hold that position.
|
| China retaliates against US sanctions with its own, targeting 11 US citizens in ongoing political skirmish Posted: 10 Aug 2020 09:07 PM PDT  "That is little more than an effort to distract attention from its wholesale assault on the rights of the people of Hong Kong," Kenneth Roth said.
|
| Why the Mauritius oil spill is so serious Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:09 PM PDT  The location of the Mauritian oil spill means the environmental consequences of the incident could be wide-ranging
|
| Cop posted "Kill em all" on protest livestream, investigation finds Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:43 PM PDT  The CSPD police chief chose not to fire Sergeant Wrede, calling his actions "an isolated incident of an error in judgment."
|
| 13 Clever-Approved Bookshelves That’ll Make You Look Smart Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:00 AM PDT |
| Why are COVID-19 cases in kids rising? It's mostly the adults around them Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:07 PM PDT  The pediatric cases are a direct reflection of what's happening in their surrounding communities, experts said.
|
| Salmonella in shrimp ignites a recall at Costco, Fresh Market, BJ’s Wholesale and others Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:24 PM PDT  The FDA found salmonella in shrimp imported by Kader Exports, causing a recall of various frozen shrimp products, including those sold under the house brands Costco, BJ's Wholesale and Tops grocery chains.
|
| US contractor told Lebanese port official of chemicals risk Posted: 11 Aug 2020 02:16 PM PDT  About four years before the Beirut port explosion that killed dozens of people and injured thousands, a U.S. government contractor expressed concern to a Lebanese port official about unsafe storage there of the volatile chemicals that fueled last week's devastating blast, American officials said Tuesday. There is no indication the contractor communicated his concerns to anyone in the U.S. government. The cable, labeled sensitive but unclassified, dealt largely with the Lebanese responses to the blast and the origins and disposition of the ammonium nitrate, which ignited to create an enormous explosion.
|
| 3 charged with threatening R. Kelly accusers Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:58 PM PDT  Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against three men accused of threatening and intimidating women who have accused R&B singer R. Kelly of abuse, including one man suspected of setting fire to a vehicle in Florida.
|
| Factbox: Who is speaking at the Democratic National Convention - and why Posted: 11 Aug 2020 10:14 AM PDT  Here is a look at the speakers who will be featured during the four nights of virtual programming kicking off on Monday. The first night of programming represents an effort to display the country's full ideological spectrum uniting behind Biden's candidacy. Senator Bernie Sanders, a prominent liberal who fought the centrist Biden for the Democratic nomination, and Republican former Ohio Governor John Kasich, a two-time presidential candidate, will tell voters why they both support Biden as an alternative to Republican President Donald Trump.
|
| These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:37 AM PDT  States are opening back up, but some still require or recommend visitors self-quarantine for two weeks. Find out where.
|
| Agnes Chow: Hong Kong activist hailed as the 'real Mulan' Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:09 AM PDT  The 23-year-old democracy activist arrested under a new security law is a folk hero to her supporters.
|
| MBS is stamping out the final threat to his rule, bringing an end to his 3-year coup marked by power grabs, forced disappearances, and assassinations Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:23 AM PDT  Crown Prince Mohammed is gunning for Saad al-Jabri and Mohammed bin Nayef, but they are old friends of the US, who want answers from the kingdom.
|
| A Florida sheriff banned his deputies from wearing face masks the same day the county saw its highest number of COVID-19 deaths Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Deputies in Marion County, Florida, are prohibited from wearing masks, according to an email obtained by the Ocala Star-Banner. So are visitors.
|
| Residents of Chicago Neighborhood Eject Black Lives Matter Protesters Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:11 AM PDT  A small group of residents from Chicago's Englewood neighborhood ejected Black Lives Matter protesters who arrived for a demonstration at a local police precinct.Several activist groups had organized a march leading to the 7th police precinct in Englewood. However, an organizer later told Fox 32 that groups decided to leave after confrontations with nearby residents left them feeling "unsafe.""If you ain't from Englewood, get the f*** out of here!" resident Darryl Smith shouted at the protesters. Residents engaged in pushing matches with some of the protesters."They were…gonna come to Englewood, antagonizing our police, and then when they go back home to the North Side in Indiana, our police are bitter and they're beating up our little black boys," Smith told Fox. Charles McKenzie, of a community violence-prevention group called God's Gorillas, concurred, saying "We refuse to let anyone come to Englewood and tear it up."Protesters maintained that they had come to demonstrate peacefully in favor of defunding the police. Organizers from one of the protest groups, GoodKids MadCity, said that they were themselves residents of Englewood, but that others in the neighborhood did not support eliminating the police entirely.Englewood has long been plagued by gun violence, including this year as Chicago sees a spike in shootings and homicides. Chicago police recorded 440 homicides and 2,240 shooting victims in the first seven months of 2020, up from 290 homicides and 1,480 shooting victims the previous year.On Sunday, police shot and wounded a 20-year-old who allegedly fired on officers, an incident that sparked confrontations with police after rumor spread that the wounded suspect was a child. That night, what appeared to be organized looters ransacked Chicago's downtown."A lot of people saying the looting sparked from Englewood. We're not having that. It didn't spark from Englewood," Smith said. "Those [looters] are opportunists, and we're tired of Englewood getting a black eye for any and everything that happens."
|
| Air Force helicopter shot at from ground while flying over Virginia, crew injured Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:13 AM PDT  FBI investigating shot fired at UH-1N Huey flying over Virginia which injured a crew member.
|
| Iraq fumes against Turkey over deadly drone strike Posted: 11 Aug 2020 03:21 PM PDT  Iraq cancelled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey's ambassador as it blamed Ankara for a drone strike that killed two high-ranking Iraqi officers on Tuesday. Iraqi officials labelled the strike a "blatant Turkish drone attack" in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, where Ankara has for weeks been raiding militant positions. Two border guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle were killed, the army said in a statement, marking the first Iraqi troop deaths since Turkey launched the cross-border operation in mid-June against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.
|
| Economic clout makes China tougher challenge for U.S. than Soviet Union was - Pompeo Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:07 AM PDT  China's global economic power makes the communist country in some ways a more difficult foe to counter than the Soviet Union during the Cold War, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on a visit to the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Pompeo called on countries around Europe to rally against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which he said leverages its economic might to exert its influence around the world. "What's happening now isn't Cold War 2.0," Pompeo said in a speech to the Czech Senate.
|
| Wave of evictions sweeps US amid impasse over coronavirus protections Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:02 AM PDT  * Moratorium in federal housing expired at end of July * Trump stopgap measures seen as of doubtful efficacyA huge wave of evictions is gathering pace across the US, with tens of millions of people facing the looming prospect of being ejected from their homes with the expiry of federal government protections.A moratorium on evictions from most federally backed housing, along with a $600-a-week unemployment benefit, helped ensure many Americans avoided being made homeless from an economic crash sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.But these protections expired at the end of July and a slew of evictions are starting to unfurl across the country, while party leaders are at an impasse over further economic relief and a slew of stopgap measures from Donald Trump are on an uncertain path.A picture shared widely on the internet described "eviction cairns" in New Orleans, showing belongings heaped beside the road, reportedly from a family of six that had been evicted from their home after being unable to pay rent.According to the Aspen Institute, a non-profit thinktank, at least 30 million Americans out of the 110 million who live in rental housing are at risk of eviction by the end of September.The organization warned the Covid-19 crisis will cause "long-term harm to renter families and individuals, disruption of the affordable housing market and destabilization of communities across the United States".The lapsing of eviction protections means that many people, unable to afford rent or mortgages, have been plunged into a precariously vulnerable situation. "There's tremendous urgency," Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told NPR. "There are millions of renters who can't sleep at night because they don't know what they're going to do if they become homeless."The fresh disaster to stem from the pandemic is set to reach all corners of the US. A study by UCLA found that as many as 120,000 households in Los Angeles county, including up to 184,000 children, will probably become homeless when evictions resume.Meanwhile, in South Carolina, 52% of renters cannot afford their rent and risk eviction, with about 185,000 evictions possible across the state by the end of the year, according to Stout Risius Ross, a consultancy firm."A lot of the safety net things that people relied on are gone," said John Pollock, coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. Stripped of federal assistance, and with many states also scaling back help, many people are having to rely upon savings or credit in order to retain their homes.On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order on evictions that the White House said would address the situation. In the action, the president vowed to defer payroll taxes, waive student loan payments and secure unemployment benefits, albeit at a lower rate of $400 a week. The order also pledged to help renters facing eviction, although all of the measures were provisional on other actions or studies, and sowed confusion and controversy about certainty and timescale."I'm protecting people from eviction," Trump said on Saturday. "You've been hearing a lot about eviction, and the Democrats don't want to do anything having to do with protecting people from eviction."However, the order doesn't actually extend the moratorium on evictions, nor provide any rental assistance to those unable to pay. Instead, it orders federal agencies, such as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, to look at options for protecting renters. Housing advocates attacked the order as a toothless gesture."The president alluded to 'stopping evictions', but the executive order fails to provide any meaningful relief to the millions of renters who are at risk of losing their homes," Yentel said. "President Trump failed even to use his existing authority to reinstate the limited federal eviction moratorium that expired on July 24, which covered 30% of renters nationwide."Deferring evictions is only one part of the action required, advocates argue. Even though many landlords have been barred from removing renters unable to pay until now, the owed amount of rent has continued to accumulate, meaning that tenants will face a huge bill once protections are lifted. About half of landlords are small, family-run operations, meaning that they, along with renters, may require substantial financial assistance to avoid ruin.
|
| Mexico City lets bars open as restaurants to boost economy Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:40 AM PDT  "I repeat, the bars are not opening," said Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, stressing they are opening as establishments that serve food and follow social distancing measures.
|
| Air circulation can fight coronavirus transmission — or help it spread. Here's how to spot a faulty system. Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:30 AM PDT  Air inside a building could carry coronavirus particles if it's not getting filtered or ventilated. Here are signs the air may not be safe.
|
| Downfall: BP worker sacked after Hitler meme wins payout Posted: 11 Aug 2020 12:03 AM PDT  Scott Tracey used the scene from Downfall to portray scenes from company wage negotiations.
|
| Fact check: Viral post claiming Dems didn't wear masks at John Lewis' funeral uses photo from 2015 Posted: 11 Aug 2020 04:16 PM PDT  A viral post falsely claims Democrats were maskless at Rep. John Lewis' funeral but actual photos of the event show what really happened.
|
| Do Americans trust the police? It could depend on your political beliefs, poll finds Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:13 PM PDT  For the first time in 27 years, the majority of American adults do not trust the police.
|
| An admitted KKK leader has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after driving a truck through a crowd of protesters in June Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:48 AM PDT  A Virginia man who boasted to police of his Ku Klux Klan rank was sentenced to six years in prison after driving his truck into a crowd of protesters.
|
| Black N.Y. City Council Members Claim Progressive Calls to Defund Police ‘Have Overshadowed Our Fight’ Posted: 11 Aug 2020 10:00 AM PDT  In the wake of calls to address racism and police brutality, some black and Latino lawmakers in New York and New Jersey are urging their colleagues to pump the brakes on proposals to slash police department budgets.City councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, a liberal Democrat who represents a West Bronx district where over half of residents are Hispanic and 40 percent are black, said her constituents "want to see cops in the community.""They don't want to see excessive force. They don't want to see cops putting their knees in our necks," Gibson said. "But they want to be safe as they go to the store."New York City passed a new budget last month that cut $1 billion from the police department budget and re-purposed the funds for education and social services. The decision came amid calls from activists to slash even more funding from the police budget and as the city suffers a $9 billion revenue loss due to coronavirus lockdown measures."I don't want anyone to misunderstand and think that we don't care and that we have not been working our behinds off to get to a place of equity," Gibson said in early July when the city's new budget was passed, adding that communities must not be "left behind with crime, violence, illegal guns in our communities, no programs, no activities, and no hope for a better tomorrow."Laurie Cumbo, the city council's black Democratic majority leader who represents parts of several Brooklyn neighborhoods including Bedford-Stuyvesant, compared the demands of activists to "colonization.""These are individuals that have never been seen before, active before," she said. "This takeover is very similar to many of the movements that we've seen in colonization."Alicka Ampry-Samuel, a black councilwoman who represents Brownsville, one of Brooklyn's poorest neighborhoods, expressed concern that the new voices pushing for reform could overshadow those in her community."We have fought for police reform and more funding every single budget cycle," she said. "This debate is not new to me. What is new are the additional voices of concern added to the conversation, which at times have overshadowed our fight."Other black and Latino council members, including Antonio Reynoso of Brooklyn, who represents the more gentrified areas of Williamsburg and Bushwick, were more open to cutting funding to the NYPD."We have wrongly been told our whole lives that police keep us safe," Reynoso said.In New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, the state's largest city, dismissed calls to dismantle police departments as a "bourgeois liberal" solution to the problem of racism."I think it's kind of a knee-jerk reaction," said the Democratic mayor, who is black."I think there needs to be significant reforms," he continued. "To get rid of the police department — who would respond to calls for service for violence and domestic abuse?""At the end of the day, I think that the city and the residents here need police officers in their communities," Baraka said.
|
| Few U.S. firms see Trump's Phase 1 China trade deal as worth tariff costs, survey shows Posted: 11 Aug 2020 11:19 AM PDT  The trade group said that just 7% of respondents to its annual membership survey said that the benefits from the Phase 1 agreement outweigh the costs of tariffs incurred along the way. The Phase 1 trade deal, activated on Feb. 15, calls for China to increase purchases of U.S. farm and manufactured products, energy and services by $200 billion over two years, along with increased U.S. access to China's financial services markets, and some improvements in intellectual property protections.
|
| Rudy Giuliani on weak leadership and crime in cities Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:24 AM PDT  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks out.
|
