| Trump’s Voter Fraud ‘Proof’ Turned Out to Be the Real Fraud Posted: 26 Aug 2020 07:24 PM PDT  Citizens throughout the nation are counting on using mail ballots to vote in November without placing their lives at risk. President Donald Trump is determined to prevent them from doing so, if they live in heavily Democratic metropolitan areas, that is. Trump claims that allowing widespread mail balloting is an invitation to massive and systematic fraud, saying: "What they're doing is using COVID to steal an election. They're using COVID to defraud the American people." But when a judge ordered Trump's campaign to come up with evidence for the president's fraud claims, the campaign produced absolutely nothing. Still, there's ample evidence that if Trump gets his way, hundreds of thousands of duly registered voters will not be able to vote, or will have their ballots go uncounted—more than enough to sway the outcome of a close election.On June 29, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit demanding the voiding of the efforts of Pennsylvania's state officials to facilitate mail voting during the pandemic, pursuant to a recently enacted law. Among other things, Pennsylvania is allowing the use of ballot drop boxes, so voters can avoid returning ballots through the mails. In light of revelations that Trump's recently installed Postmaster General (and fundraiser), Louis DeJoy, deliberately engineered new inefficiencies and delays at the Postal Service (particularly in Philadelphia), the need for drop boxes is even more clear. But that's only made the Trump campaign more determined to prevent their use. Al Gore: If Trump Refuses to Concede, the Military Would Run Him OutAccording to the Trump campaign's complaint, Pennsylvania voting officials "have sacrificed the sanctity of in-person voting at the altar of unmonitored and unsecured mail-in voting and have exponentially enhanced the threat that fraudulent or otherwise ineligible ballots will be cast and counted in the upcoming General Election." Trump's complaint uses the word "fraud" no fewer than 51 times. Given the centrality of Trump's fraud claims, on Aug. 13 the Pittsburgh federal judge hearing the case, Nicholas Ranjan (a Trump appointee), ordered the campaign to provide any and all evidence supporting its allegations "concerning potential or actual fraud or voter misconduct," including "from the use of drop boxes, absentee ballots, or vote-by-mail." When the Daily Beast asked the Trump campaign for a copy of the materials it produced, the campaign declined to share one. It later became clear why, when the campaign's interrogatory responses were disclosed. The filings contained virtually no evidence of mail-in or drop-box ballot fraud, let alone fraud of a nature and scale remotely sufficient to change the outcome of a statewide election. Instead, the document contained a grab bag of examples of campaign irregularities, errors and misconduct, many taken from newspaper articles, and none substantiating the massive mail voting fraud claims the campaign made in its complaint. Indeed, the campaign was reduced to making the absurd contention that it does "not need to demonstrate any evidence of fraud to prove" its case, even though the campaign's complaint was laced with, and grounded on, claims of a grave risk of fraud. Of course, it's nothing new for Trump and his associates to make claims without evidence. Apart from the president's now regular rants about "rigging" the upcoming election, Attorney General William Barr has repeatedly contended that "if you have wholesale mail-in voting, it substantially increases the risk of fraud." Barr has even joined Trump in asserting that foreign nations are poised to engage in massive counterfeiting of mail in ballots to sway the outcome of the election. But when asked if he had any evidence whatsoever to support his claims, Barr has repeatedly admitted, most recently before Congress, that he has none, and instead is relying entirely on what he calls "common sense." A senior official of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently contradicted Barr, stating that the intelligence community has no evidence that foreign powers intend to manipulate mail-in ballots. In fact, as election experts have demonstrated, Barr's claim that mail ballots are a likely source for massive, systematic fraud—let alone a foreign power's scheme to sway an election—is entirely contrary to common sense. A database maintained by the conservative Heritage Foundation indicates that, over a period of nine years, there were all of 15 cases of voter fraud in the five states that employ universal mail-in voting; furthermore, as election expert Rick Hasen has explained, it would likely require thousands of counterfeit or otherwise fraudulent ballots to sway the outcome of a state's election, something that would be virtually impossible to carry off. A senior FBI official similarly recently stated that "[i]t's extraordinarily difficult to change a federal election outcome through [coordinated] fraud alone."Trump lost a round when the Pennsylvania federal court case was temporarily stayed by the judge hearing it in favor of allowing the Pennsylvania law issues in the case to first be addressed by state courts; but it will likely be revised. In the meantime, the Trump campaign can be expected to continue to peddle its bogus fraud claims in every court in which it can be heard. But there is now no doubt that the Trump challenges to mail voting are grounded on phantom, and indeed, fantastically fraudulent, claims of fraud. But there's nothing speculative about the consequences of allowing Trump to get away with his scheme to suppress and limit mail voting. If Trump succeeds, thousands of eligible voters will be prevented from casting their votes, or will complete ballots that are not counted. The Washington Post reported that more than 534,000 mail ballots went uncounted during the recent primaries, many in battleground states, including because signatures were rejected or ballots were received past the deadlines. The vast majority of these ballots were cast by duly registered citizens who had every right to vote. At the end of the day, of course, the Trump campaign has no actual interest in preventing voter fraud; rather, the president wants to make it even more difficult for people who reasonably fear going to crowded polling places in heavily Democratic metropolitan areas from effectively voting by mail, and thereby from voting at all. That is a classic voter disenfranchisement scheme, and it is directly at odds with the principles of democracy.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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| Iranian man sentenced to nine years in prison for beheading daughter while she slept in 'honour killing' Posted: 28 Aug 2020 06:25 AM PDT  An Iranian has been sentenced to nine years in jail for beheading his teenaged daughter in her sleep, local media reported Friday, adding that the mother wants him executed. The so-called "honour" killing of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi on May 21 sparked widespread outrage, with media condemning "institutionalised violence" in the Islamic republic. Media said Romina was decapitated at the family home in the village of Talesh in the northern province of Gilan. "Despite the judicial authorities' insistence on a 'special handling' of the case, the verdict has terrified me and my family," Rana Dashti, the mother, told ILNA news agency. "I don't want my husband to return to our village ever again," she said, calling for the verdict to be reviewed and changed to "execution". Having lived with the man for 15 years, Dashti said she now fears for the life of the rest of her family. Ebtekar newspaper said at the time of Romina's killing that Iran's "eye for an eye" retributive justice does not apply to a father who kills his child, for which the customary sentence is jail time and fines. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has "expressed his regrets" following the girl's killing and called for the speedy passing of several anti-violence bills. Romina had reportedly run away after the father refused to give permission for her to marry a man 15 years her senior. But she was detained by authorities and taken home, despite having pleaded with a judge that she feared for her life if returned. The man she wanted to marry, Bahman Khavari, was sentenced to two years in prison, local media said, without specifying the charge. The legal age of marriage for women in Iran is 13.
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| Hurricane Laura's 'unsurvivable' storm surge: It looks like Louisiana was spared, but some rural areas likely hit hard Posted: 28 Aug 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Gov. John Bel Edwards said Louisiana "caught a break" on storm surge. The National Hurricane Center says the surge was likely as bad as feared.
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| Invisible workers: Prison fire crews save lives while incarcerated then left to fend for themselves once released Posted: 28 Aug 2020 08:04 AM PDT  There are currently more than 14,000 firefighters struggling to battle roughly 7,000 blazes in California, many working 24-hour shifts. Among those pushed to the limit, as this year's fire season in California burns an area now the size of the state of Delaware, are approximately 3,100 inmates trained as wildland firefighters.
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| China arrests 12 fleeing Hong Kong by speedboat: city police Posted: 28 Aug 2020 05:33 AM PDT  A dozen people fleeing Hong Kong on a speedboat, including an activist arrested under the draconian new national security law, have been captured by China, police in the city said Friday.
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| Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Jacob Blake, is a former campus officer who investigated a hate crime, and said he liked being a cop because 'people trust us' Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:15 AM PDT  Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back on Sunday evening, prompting huge protests and a renewed national movement.
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| Fake cancer drugs were cooked up in Alabama man’s kitchen — some with hair, feds say Posted: 27 Aug 2020 04:01 PM PDT  Patrick Bishop, 54, earned millions selling the bogus cancer treatments, according to court filings. Prosecutors said he spent it on houses and luxury cars.
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| Judge voids 50,000 absentee ballot requests in Iowa county Posted: 28 Aug 2020 06:26 AM PDT  The ruling marks an initial victory for Trump's challenges to absentee voting procedures in three counties in Iowa, which is expected to be a competitive state.
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| Breonna Taylor’s ex-boyfriend says she had nothing to do with alleged drug crimes Posted: 28 Aug 2020 01:00 PM PDT  The ex-boyfriend of Breonna Taylor speaks out and claims she was not involved in illegal activities. Breonna Taylor's ex-boyfriend has come forward in an attempt to clear up her alleged involvement in any criminal activity. Jamarcus Glover, 30, was the target of the narcotics investigation leading to the execution of the no-knock warrant that resulted in the police shooting and killing Taylor, the Courier-Journal reports.
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| Neighbors with hoses target fires as crews urge them to stop Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:23 AM PDT  With California firefighters strapped for resources, residents have organized to put out flames themselves in a large swath of land burning south of San Francisco, defending their homes despite orders to evacuate and pleas by officials to get out of danger. The former head of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the effort near a cluster of wildfires around the city of Santa Cruz is larger and more organized than he recalls in previous blazes. The group of wildfires near Santa Cruz has burned 125 square miles (324 square kilometers) and destroyed more than 500 buildings.
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| Japan’s Longest-Serving PM, Shinzo Abe, Quits in Bid to ‘Escape’ Potential Prosecution Posted: 28 Aug 2020 05:29 AM PDT  Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, decided to resign Friday ostensibly because of his health, but also because he fears the unpleasant and unhealthy conditions of a Japanese prison. At a press conference, he cited his painful stomach condition ulcerative colitis as the reason for stepping down, but he leaves at a time when his ratings are plummeting and he is under at least one criminal investigation, with the public clamoring for the reopening of other cases.Abe is not resigning; he is escaping. He is under investigation by the Japanese prosecutors for violations of election laws, similar to those his former handpicked justice minister is now being tried for in the lower courts of Tokyo. Testimony in that case may implicate Abe in the political scandal as well. Abe's efforts to shield himself from investigation by Japan's authorities have fallen apart. A high-ranking member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), of which Abe also serves as president, told The Daily Beast on conditions of anonymity, "If Abe had been able to stack the prosecutor's office with his choice—he'd still be clinging to power. His choice for the next head of the National Police Agency, Itaru Nakamura, was sidelined this month and Abe fears being arrested by either the prosecutors or the police. Resignation now allows him to escape a lot of scrutiny." Nakamura was the high-ranking police chief that ended the rape investigation of Abe's unofficial biographer.A source in the Ministry of Justice told The Daily Beast, "It's a done deal. Abe resigns taking 'social punishment' and several criminal investigations into his conduct are going to be closed." Former special prosecutor Nobuo Gohara says, "It doesn't seem like a coincidence that he resigns the same week a criminal trial has started in which Abe's involvement will become a central issue." The Tweet of DefeatThis year, Abe's approval ratings sank as low as 27 percent in opinion polls. You'll see many things cited in the Japanese press in the coming days about what caused Abe's grip on power and popular support to fail. There have certainly been many gaffes this year. He ignored the growing threat of the novel coronavirus due to his obsessive desire to hold the Olympic Games, which meant that Tokyo had to appear safe. His plan to distribute two face masks to every household, when masks were in short supply, was an expensive disaster. The masks were too small, dirty, and they were slow to be delivered. They were ridiculed as "Abe No Mask," which sounds much like "Abenomics" when said in Japanese. Abenomics was the PM's much-touted fiscal policy that involved the imaginary "arrows" of monetary easing and financial reforms, but the overhaul never came and the policy was a total failure. Abe claimed that Japan's "if you don't test, you don't know" coronavirus policy had worked fantastically, until it failed and the infection rates began shooting up again. This was accelerated by his obstinate push for the implementation of a weirdly named promotional campaign,"Go to Travel," which ended up translating for many people to "Go to Quarantine" as the pandemic resurged. What has derailed his popularity isn't his poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but an ill-timed attempt to consolidate his power in the midst of it. SayonaraAbe (in Japanese) was trending on Twitter months ago. The end of the Abe era began with a single tweet that started his downward spiral in May. There is some irony in a prime minister who invested so much energy controlling Japan's mainstream media being taken down by social media. On the evening of May 9, there was a tweet by a 35-year-old female office worker that sparked an inferno of public dissent. The resulting tweetstorm was fueled by Japan's usually apolitical celebrities and former prosecutors. Even LDP members expressed dissent.The content of the tweet seems rather prosaic. "I protest the proposed changes in the Public Prosecutor Office Laws." There were 8 million tweets with the hashtag "I protest the proposed revision of the Public Prosecutors Office Law," by May 14. Here's the backstory. Abe has slowly exerted his control over government agencies, public broadcaster NHK, and even the media. In 2014, he created a Cabinet Personnel Bureau that gave the cabinet control over the appointment of hundreds of top-level bureaucrats. Ambitious government workers paid attention, and have since worked hard not to offend him and gain favor. He has incentivized them to cover up scandals without being directly asked. He has wined and dined the press to curry favor, and bullied them relentlessly when displeased. Japan's press-freedom ranking was No. 22 when he took office; it now ranks 66th. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Abe and the ruling LDP lobbied for changes in the constitution that would give the cabinet absolute authority in an emergency. The attempt failed but even conservative magazine PRESIDENT called it in an opportunistic and despicable grab for power. When he tried to put the public prosecutor's office under his thumb this summer, he was going too far. Fatally Wounded The move against the prosecutors began on Jan. 31, when the Abe cabinet decided to delay the retirement of Japan's second most powerful prosecutor, Hiromu Kurokawa. Kurokawa was reportedly very close to Abe and cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga. The press referred to him as "the guardian deity of the Abe cabinet." The majority of prosecutors are required by law to retire at 63; Kurokawa was allowed to stay on. Abe claimed this was not a problem because his cabinet had "reinterpreted the law" to make it possible. The opposition, legal scholars, and the public vehemently disagreed.The administration stood its ground but later proposed an amendment to the Public Prosecutor Laws. This was seen as a retroactive attempt to justify keeping Kurokawa in office, and clearing the way for replacing the top prosecutor in Japan. Former Prosecutor-General Kunihiro Matsuo and other ex-prosecutors wrote a protest letter to the Ministry of Justice stating explicitly that they believed the revisions were an attempt by the Abe administration to have prosecutors act in accordance with their will. The letter quoted John Locke: "Wherever law ends, tyranny begins." Abe defended the bill in parliament, "There will be no instances of [prosecutorial] personnel affairs being determined arbitrarily," he said. Only 16 percent of the public believed him.Typically, Abe would ramrod the bill into law anyway, as he has done with other unpopular legislation. By May 18, his approval ratings had plummeted to 34 percent. The same day, the LDP agreed to temporarily table the legislation. That evening, more than 600 lawyers submitted legal briefs to the Tokyo prosecutors office accusing Abe of misusing public funds to hold cherry blossom viewing parties for his constituents, a scandal that became known as "Cherryblossom-gate." Bad luck followed Abe's bad decisions. The weekly magazine Bunshun reported that Kurokawa had routinely played mahjong with reporters, gambling on the games in clear contravention of Japanese law. Kurokawa was given an admonishment and allowed to resign. After nearly a decade in power, Abe has become haughty, declaring in parliament last year "I am the nation." He has been winning for a long time, but no one's luck lasts forever. The legislative attempt to subvert the prosecutors may have been, to paraphrase the title of an epic war film, a bill too far. It was later abandoned entirely. Already on Trial? The current investigation of "Cherryblossom-gate" is not the only problem facing Abe. He is being dragged into the high-profile trial of a close friend and supporter. This June, Katsuyuki Kawai, 57, a House of Representative member and his wife, Anri Kawai, 46, a member of the House of Councilors, were indicted on suspicion of handing out millions of yen in cash to politicians and supporters in Hiroshima Prefecture. This was allegedly in return for their efforts to secure votes in the Upper House elections held in July 2019. Abe appointed Katsuyuki minister of justice in September 2019; Katsuyuki resigned on Oct. 31. Their trial began this week.The LDP headquarters provided nearly $1.5 million (150 million yen) or more in campaign funds to Anri Kawai, and some of that money may have been used in bribing local politicians to help round up votes. If Abe himself, as president of the LDP, approved the whopping funding for Anri, he will move into the spotlight.Former Special Prosecutor Nobuo Gohara told The Daily Beast, "It seems clear from the opening statements by the prosecutors in the case of Kawai, that they will show Prime Minister Abe's involvement in this case. For a former minister of justice, hand-picked by Abe to be involved in bribing other politicians—outrageous. Even if Abe can avoid criminal responsibility, he has a moral responsibility in the matter."Gohara sees Abe's inability to stomach his position as part of the stress of not knowing when or if he will be implicated in the current trial. There is a third fire burning under Abe's feet, one known as the Moritomo-gakuen case. In 2017, it became clear that government land valued at nearly $8 million had been sold to a right-wing school operator for $1 million, reportedly at the urging of the prime minister and his wife, Akie. The school was going to be named Abe Elementary. When the scandal came to light, bureaucrats in the ministry of finance altered and destroyed documents to cover up Abe's involvement. One government official, Toshio Akagi, refused to play along and killed himself in protest in March 2018. He left behind incriminating documents that his widow revealed this year. Over 70 percent of the Japanese public now wants a reopening of the investigation into the Morikake case. He didn't learnAbe virtually vanished for a month this summer, avoiding all press conferences and parliamentary discussions. He can now avoid discussing the scandals surrounding him very easily. He has seemingly timed his publicized visits to the hospital this week in a way to make sure that questions about his involvement in corruption cases were not asked. By visiting Keio Hospital on Aug. 24, the day before the Kawai trial, attention was shifted from his role in the case, to whether or not he was going to be able to continue as prime minister. Abe's great escape is not as dramatic as the flight of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, but it's a valiant effort. Abe was Japan's longest reigning prime minister in its constitutional history, but never has so little been accomplished in such a long period of time. If he leaves any legacy at all, it is a number of bills passed into law that were so unpopular they now lie like landmines and may blow up Japan's brittle democracy someday. Those laws include: a draconian conspiracy law that seems right out of the sci-fi film Minority Report; a repressive and Orwellian state secrets law that will muffle the press and whistleblowers; and the Peace Preservation Act, which allows ostensibly pacifist Japan to wage war.This was his second term in office after a disastrous stint from 2006 to 2007. He was able to resurface due to the support of the right-wing Shinto cult Nippon Kaigi, which will continue to yield great power in parliament long after Abe. They say those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps the root of Abe's folly is that he is a well-known historical revisionist, the grandson of a war criminal, who has never been able to admit to the atrocities committed by Japan in World War II; many of his political appointees and allies admired Hitler. He's been so busy trying to deny the past that it seems Abe can't even learn from his own history. His life is a re-run.He leaves office much the same way he did when he stepped down in 2007: unable to handle the job while mired in scandals involving his cronies; unpopular, considered incompetent, and irrelevant. He will not be missed. 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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| Kim Jong-un inspects the damage as North Korea reels from floods and Typhoon Bavi Posted: 27 Aug 2020 09:49 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a rice-growing area devastated by a typhoon on Thursday, as the reclusive country reels from back-to-back natural and manmade catastrophes. Photos released by state media of the authoritarian leader inspecting fields alongside mask-wearing officials appeared to be framed to convey his benevolence as citizens struggle to cope with the impact of severe monsoon flooding, and the economic toll of the pandemic and ongoing global sanctions. Typhoon Bavi slammed into the country's southwestern province of Hwanghae, dealing a damaging blow to its corn stalks, rice paddies and other crops, and raising fears of increased hunger among an already malnourished population. Ten million people are reported by the United Nations to be suffering from food insecurity, living from harvest to harvest. The country also suffers from years of neglected infrastructure, which exacerbates the effects of natural disasters.
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| Trump accidentally says the U.S. 'pioneered the fatality rate' — among other verbal slips Posted: 27 Aug 2020 09:30 PM PDT  When you speak for an hour and 10 minutes, you're bound to make a flub or two, and President Trump made a few notable ones during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.At the very beginning, Trump said he "profoundly" accepted this nomination for president of the United States, rather than "proudly." At another point, he should have said "personal protective equipment," but just uttered "personal" before trailing off. However, one slip stood out above the rest.When talking about the coronavirus pandemic, which has left at least 180,000 Americans dead, Trump was supposed to say, "Thanks to advances we have pioneered, the fatality rate has been reduced by 80 percent since April." Instead, Trump said, "Thanks to advances, we have pioneered the fatality rate." Whoops. > President Trump: "Thanks to advances, we have pioneered the fatality rate" pic.twitter.com/FOf6oBZRlH> > -- Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) August 28, 2020More stories from theweek.com McConnell inexplicably claims that Democrats want to tell Americans 'how many hamburgers you can eat' 5 more scathingly funny cartoons about the Republican National Convention The X-Files is getting an animated comedy spinoff
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| 17-year-old suspect in Jacob Blake protest shooting charged with 2 counts of homicide Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:09 PM PDT  Kyle Rittenhouse faces two first-degree homicide charges, as well as two charges of attempted homicide, according to Wisconsin court records..
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| Presidential historian Jon Meacham: I endorsed Biden because 'this is an existential election' Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:47 PM PDT  Historian and author Jon Meacham discusses why Trump is unfit for office and how he came to speak at the Democratic National Convention. He also shares his thinking on the Kenosha shootings and statue removals.
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| Detained Colombia businessman was negotiating with Iran for Venezuela, lawyers say Posted: 28 Aug 2020 05:13 AM PDT |
| Teen who held BLM event gets $2500 bill for police overtime Posted: 28 Aug 2020 02:36 PM PDT |
| An ex-Cisco employee pleaded guilty to causing damage to the tech giant's network which shut down over 16,000 Webex Teams accounts Posted: 27 Aug 2020 01:57 PM PDT  An ex-Cisco employee pleaded guilty to breaking into into the tech giant's network and wiped out thousands of Webex Teams accounts.
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| Letters to the Editor: Here's how police can end protests: Stop shooting unarmed Black people Posted: 28 Aug 2020 03:00 AM PDT  People who don't like sometimes nonpeaceful protests should put pressure on police to stop shooting unarmed Black people.
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| Arrest made after firefighter’s wallet stolen as he battled wildfires, CA officials say Posted: 28 Aug 2020 03:42 PM PDT  The thief drained the bank account of the firefighter after the wallet was lifted from his vehicle. officials said.
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| Donald Trump's convention speech: Black Lives Matter protesters outside White House vow to 'drown out' president Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:01 PM PDT  Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered in front of the White House on Thursday before Donald Trump's presidential nomination acceptance speech, shouting with anger and demanding his resignation. "We need to get Trump out, we need to destroy the whole system. We need a revolution," said Keheirra Wedderburn, 18, above the sound of banging drums and chants of "Trump/Pence out now!" "These presidents are not gonna do anything 'cause they are not the people of color in the streets being shot," the black student from Houston, Texas told AFP. "There are more people who are ready for Trump to leave office," said Washington native Michael Legend, a 33-year-old black man. Just a few yards away, shielded by large metal fences, the billionaire Republican was gearing up to accept his party's presidential nomination for re-election with a speech on the South Lawn of the White House.
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| Kenosha shooting: Kyle Rittenhouse to remain in Illinois; 2 officers tried to use stun guns on Jacob Blake Posted: 28 Aug 2020 04:43 PM PDT  Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the killing of two people at protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, did not appear in court Friday.
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| Mail ballots from nursing home residents, entire family didn’t count in Florida primary Posted: 28 Aug 2020 10:58 AM PDT  Wayne Tinker was among more than 262,000 Miami-Dade County voters who cast a mail ballot in last week's primary elections — and among the thousands of voters whose ballots didn't count.
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| Airbus unveils B-model Lakota helos to enter US Army fleet next year Posted: 28 Aug 2020 01:31 PM PDT  A new Lakota will join the Army National Guard in 2021.
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| Laura victims may go weeks without power; deaths climb to 14 Posted: 27 Aug 2020 09:06 PM PDT  The Louisiana coastline devastated by Hurricane Laura began a long and gloomy recovery Friday as hundreds of thousands of people still without water and power confronted the possibility that basic services may not return for weeks or even longer. Eight people died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to unsafe operation of generators, including three inside a Texas pool hall, where authorities say the owner had let seven Vietnamese shrimp boat laborers and homeless men take shelter. Lawrence "Lee" Faulk came back to a home with no roof in hard-hit Cameron Parish, which was littered with downed power lines.
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| Bollywood star Aamir Khan under fire over China, Turkey links Posted: 27 Aug 2020 12:43 AM PDT  Muslim Bollywood star Aamir Khan has long been a hate figure for India's Hindu far-right, but now they have a new line of attack -- his massive popularity in China.
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| Virtually the Best: Kids’ Furniture for an A+ Home-Learning Setup Posted: 28 Aug 2020 08:00 AM PDT |
| A former SpaceX intern says she reported sexual harassment to HR — and it cost her the opportunity for a full-time job Posted: 28 Aug 2020 08:43 AM PDT  In a new lawsuit, the former SpaceX intern says her manager made inappropriate comments and wanted to take her to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
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| Biden's latest ad puts Trump's weirdest moments and empty rallies to a Bad Bunny song Posted: 28 Aug 2020 09:56 AM PDT  Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's latest ads take direct aim at swing states and Latinx Americans across the country.Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is backing the former vice president and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the 2020 election, and lent one of his hits to a new ad for the Democrats. The ad features footage of excited President Trump fans in 2016 juxtaposed with a sparsely attended recent rally, as well as Trump's Bible photo-op and that time he hugged and kissed a flag. Video of police cracking down on protesters as Trump cheers them on. Bad Bunny's Pero Ya No plays underneath, with its incredibly straightforward lyrics translating to "I loved you before, but not anymore / I liked you, but not anymore."> This is the ad pic.twitter.com/Q28BKybRDd> > -- David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 28, 2020Also on Friday, the Biden campaign debuted a run of ads capitalizing on empty sports stadiums across America's swing states. Text reading "Trump put America on the sidelines. Let's get back in the game," flows over drone footage of stadiums, with locations customized for ad runs in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. A nationwide version also features an ghostly beach and church. > NEW: Biden digital ad targets sports fans, showing footage of empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic> > The campaign has taken over the YouTube masthead nationwide w/ a 30-second version, as well as CBS Sports> > Targeted versions running in AZ, PA, MI, and WI pic.twitter.com/uJQFcHL9uR> > -- Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) August 28, 2020More stories from theweek.com McConnell inexplicably claims that Democrats want to tell Americans 'how many hamburgers you can eat' 5 more scathingly funny cartoons about the Republican National Convention The X-Files is getting an animated comedy spinoff
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| Delhi 2020 religious riots: Amnesty International accuses police of rights abuses Posted: 28 Aug 2020 03:54 AM PDT  Amnesty International finds police beat protesters and rioted with Hindu mobs against Muslims.
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| Virginia Senate Approves Bill to Downgrade Penalty for Assaulting a Police Officer Posted: 27 Aug 2020 11:22 AM PDT  The Virginia Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that would downgrade the legal penalty for a suspect found guilty of assaulting a police officer.Senate Bill 5032 would, if signed into law, eliminate the state's six-month mandatory minimum prison sentence for assaulting an officer, and also gives a local judge or jury the authority to downgrade the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. The Virginia Senate voted 21-15 to approve the bill.Senator Scott Survell, a Democrat who proposed the legislation, said the bill was not meant to apply in cases of serious injury suffered by police officers."What we're talking about here are situations that involve much more insignificant minor touches," Survell said in comments reported by the Associated Press. However, state Republicans slammed the legislation in light of ongoing efforts nationwide to "defund" police departments."What in the world are we doing?" Senator John Cosgrove Jr. said. "Have you seen the attacks on police officers?"The bill will now move to the House, where Democrats hold a 55-45 majority.Democrats took control of the Virginia legislature in 2019 for the first time in decades, with Democrat Ralph Northam in the governor's office. That newfound power has led state Democrats to attempt to pass a flurry of liberal legislation, including stricter gun-control laws. The Washington Post noted in February of this year that Democrats were submitting so much legislation that lawmakers were working overtime trying to process the proposals.
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| Teacher reinstated after parents complained about Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ posters Posted: 27 Aug 2020 12:13 PM PDT  A Texas school district backtracked after placing English teacher Taylor Lifka on leave over the posters in her virtual classroom.
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| Kenosha police union gives its version of Blake shooting Posted: 28 Aug 2020 03:33 PM PDT  The Kenosha police union on Friday offered the most detailed accounting to date on officers' perspective of the moments leading up to police shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back, saying he had a knife and fought with officers, putting one of them in a headlock and shrugging off two attempts to stun him. The statement from Brendan Matthews, attorney for the Kenosha Professional Police Association, goes into more detail than anything that has been released by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is investigating. The Sunday shooting of Blake, a Black man, put the nation's spotlight on Wisconsin and triggered a series of peaceful protests and violence, including the killing of two people by an armed civilian on Tuesday.
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| Remote Andamans tribe with just 53 members reports nearly one-in-ten have fallen sick with coronavirus Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:08 AM PDT  Four members of a remote tribe living on India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands have tested positive for Covid-19, sparking fears for the group's survival. The Greater Andamese number as few as 53 and have limited immunity to viruses like Covid-19 due to their isolated nature. They numbered more than 5,000 in the 1850s but when the British colonised the islands successive outbreaks of diseases like measles caused their numbers to plummet. Two of the Great Andamese who have tested positive have been admitted to hospital and two have been quarantined in a care centre. "It is extremely alarming that members of the Great Andamanese tribe tested positive for Covid-19," said Sophie Grigg, a Senior Researcher at Survival International, an NGO campaigning for the rights of tribal people. "They will be all too aware of the devastating impact of epidemics that have decimated their people".
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| US defence chief says China 'destabilising' Pacific Posted: 28 Aug 2020 04:27 AM PDT  US Defense Secretary Mark Esper accused China of "destabilising" the Pacific region Friday on a whistle-stop trip to the tiny island nation of Palau.
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| A soup kitchen in Pakistan has been serving hot meals for 20 years, but is being pushed to the limit in the pandemic Posted: 28 Aug 2020 08:32 AM PDT  The kitchen, Khana Ghar, charges a token amount for each meal so that customers feel like they've earned it and "their self-respect remains intact."
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| Boeing grounds several 787 planes after manufacturing defect found Posted: 28 Aug 2020 09:50 AM PDT  Boeing has found manufacturing defects on some of its 787 long-range airliners in areas where parts of the fuselage are joined together, the latest setback for the aircraft maker whose 737 Max is still grounded after two deadly crashes.
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| I'm Billy Graham's granddaughter. Evangelical support for Donald Trump insults his legacy. Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:15 PM PDT  By supporting Donald Trump, evangelical leaders are failing us and failing the Gospel. Christian women must step up where our church leaders won't.
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| West Mathewson: South African conservationist killed by white lions Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:06 AM PDT  Police say two lions attacked the lodge owner as he was taking them for a walk, in front of his wife.
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| Poland calls Lukashenko's words unacceptable as relations become tense Posted: 28 Aug 2020 12:35 AM PDT  Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's comments that Warsaw may be plotting to seize part of the country if its political crisis worsened are unacceptable, Krzysztof Szczerski, an aide to Poland's president, said on Friday. Relations between Warsaw and Minsk have become tense in recent days following Lukashenko's suggestions quoted by state news agency Belta that Poland planned to take over the Grodno region bordering Poland and Lithuania if Belarus falls apart.
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| Israel strikes Gaza after Palestinian militants fire rockets Posted: 27 Aug 2020 10:15 PM PDT |
