| Why a Black man from Louisiana is serving a life sentence for stealing hedge clippers Posted: 07 Aug 2020 04:42 PM PDT  Louisiana's highest court won't review a life sentence for Fair Wayne Bryant, who was convicted of attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers in 1997.
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| Bars over schools: Why your kids will probably learn from home this fall Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Lawmakers and educators battle over how to reopen schools safely this fall amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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| Should Judge Sullivan Be Disqualified from Flynn Case? An Appeals Court Is Asking Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Maybe Judge Luttig was right all along.I had the misgivings you'd expect back in late May, when I disagreed with J. Michael Luttig, the stellar scholar and former federal appeals court judge, regarding how the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals should handle the Flynn case.At the time, that court's three-judge panel had not yet heard oral argument on Michael Flynn's mandamus petition — i.e., Flynn's request that the panel find that federal district judge Emmet Sullivan was acting lawlessly. Sullivan had not only failed to grant the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn; he had appointed a former federal judge (the overtly anti-Trump John Gleeson) to posit the argument abandoned by DOJ — to wit, that Flynn should proceed to sentencing because he had pled guilty to a false-statements charge, waiving his right to contest the case any further in exchange for the government's agreement not to file any other charges. Basically, Flynn was asking the appellate court to order Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case.In a Washington Post op-ed, Luttig contended that "there are ample grounds in the actions the district court has already taken for the appeals court to order that the government's motion to dismiss be heard by a different judge, and it should so order."It is interesting to revisit this assessment in light of an order issued by the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday. The Circuit directed that the participants in the dispute over Judge Sullivan's actions, including Judge Sullivan himself, must address the question of whether Sullivan should either recuse himself or be disqualified by the Circuit. Arguments in the case will be heard this coming Tuesday, August 11, in a rare en banc review by the full Circuit (i.e., all active judges who have not taken senior status, minus one who has recused himself, so it will be a ten-judge panel).Let's back up for a moment.Back in May, I disagreed with Luttig because I thought the more important issue was prejudice to Flynn, not the harm Sullivan's apparent bias was causing to the court's integrity. At the time, the D.C. Circuit had given Sullivan ten days to respond to Flynn's mandamus petition. I argued that, rather than reassigning the case to another judge, the Circuit should give Sullivan a chance to explain himself. If he was unable to do that to the Circuit's satisfaction, I posited that the Circuit should then order him to dismiss the case.After Luttig and I, among other commentators, weighed in on what the appellate court should do, a three-judge panel heard argument. The panel granted Flynn's mandamus petition and ordered Sullivan to dismiss the case. The 2–1 majority reasoned that, with possible exceptions that do not apply in Flynn's case, the Justice Department's discretion to end a prosecution is unreviewable. A dissenting opinion countered that mandamus, which is an extraordinary remedy disfavored by courts absent truly egregious judicial lawlessness, was premature — i.e., that Sullivan should be permitted to conduct a hearing and, if he decided not to grant dismissal, Flynn could then appeal. That would be the normal route to appellate review in a criminal case.After the panel ruled for Flynn, Judge Sullivan asked the Circuit to rehear the case en banc. Sullivan's petition was remarkable because he is not a party in the case. The only parties in a criminal prosecution are the government and the accused. The judge is the arbiter, not a litigant. The court is not supposed to have a stake in the outcome. It is unseemly for a judge to act as if he has become invested in the outcome of a case the way a party is. It strongly suggests a loss of judicial perspective.Nevertheless, the D.C. Circuit granted Judge Sullivan's petition. It vacated the panel's ruling and agreed to full-court review.At first blush, this seemed like doom for Flynn. After all, the full court skews heavily Democratic: seven of the ten judges who will hear the case were appointed by Democratic presidents. There are only four Republican appointees, and as noted above, one (appointed by President Trump) has recused himself. In modern times, there are enough blatantly politicized judicial decisions that people can be forgiven for assuming that partisanship always trumps law. Indeed, in the three-judge panel decision, the two majority judges who ruled in Flynn's favor were Republican appointees, while the dissenter was a Democratic appointee.Nevertheless, the mandamus litigation in Flynn's case is not a brute political matter. Anyone who listened to the oral argument could tell how reluctant the judges seemed about issuing a mandamus writ against Judge Sullivan, even if they were convinced that he was wrong on the law. Furthermore, the main Circuit precedent, United States v. Fokker Services B.V. (2016), which clearly indicates that the Justice Department's dismissal motion should be granted, was written by Chief Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan. He is often touted as a potential Supreme Court nominee in a future Democratic administration. For him, then, the case is a Catch-22: Walking away from his own reasoning in Fokker would be a bad look, while ruling in Flynn's favor would be very unpopular among Democrats. In addition, we should note that any of the Circuit's judges could have asked for en banc review by the full court. None did. The case is being heard because Sullivan himself pressed the issue.The complications presented by the mandamus dispute were evident in the Circuit's initial order scheduling the rehearing en banc, which added an intriguing directive: "The parties should be prepared to address whether there are 'no other adequate means to attain the relief' desired" (quoting from the Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Cheney v. U.S. District Court). I interpret this somewhat cryptic assertion to indicate that, while the Circuit judges have agreed to reconsider the panel's ruling because courts are generally hostile to mandamus, that hardly means the judges approve of the circus that Sullivan has made of the Flynn proceedings.The judges seemed to be signaling that they know the case should be dismissed, but they'd prefer not to slam a longtime district judge if there is some way to avoid doing so. Perhaps they could deny the writ, but couch the denial in a way that reminded Judge Sullivan that a court must neither take over the prosecutor's role nor probe the executive's decision-making in a matter that the Constitution commits to executive discretion.That is what makes Wednesday's subsequent order regarding the en banc proceeding so interesting. The Circuit instructs counsel for Flynn, the Justice Department, and Judge Sullivan to consider the effect of Congress's disqualification statute (Section 455 of Title 28, U.S. Code). Specifically, the participants in the mandamus dispute are told to address the law's mandate that a judge be disqualified "in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned," particularly if the judge "is a party to the proceeding."Manifestly, at least some of the Circuit's judges (I'd wager most of them) are disturbed by the degree to which Judge Sullivan has exhibited bias and become invested in Flynn's case. This is exactly the problem on which Judge Luttig focused back in May.It could thus turn out that Luttig presciently homed in on the dispositive issue. I believe, though, that it's more a matter of new developments breaking, perhaps inevitably, in favor of disqualification. At the time Luttig wrote his op-ed, I still think it would have been premature for an appeals court to jump in and disqualify Judge Sullivan. The parties were not pushing for Sullivan to be removed, just that he be directed to grant the dismissal motion. And even in making his disqualification argument, Luttig conveyed some hesitation. He said the Circuit panel should grant the mandamus but in a more limited way than Flynn was suggesting: Have Judge Sullivan pick a different adviser (someone other than the explicitly biased Gleeson), then promptly rule on the motion to dismiss, explaining his reasoning in full so the appellate court could review it.That is not consistent with Luttig's other suggestion of having the case reassigned to another judge. But it was right: As things stood back in May, Sullivan should have been given an opportunity to do the right thing. Most of us were hoping he'd correct himself, rather than need to be corrected by a higher court.Plus, let's put personalities aside, as well as the understandable distaste judges have for mandamus (which essentially asks them to dress down a colleague). A federal appeals court also has very practical reasons for discouraging mandamus. The regular appellate process calls for a criminal case to be appealed only at the end of the lower court proceeding. At that point, the trial or plea is over, sentence has been imposed, the judgment has been entered, and the appeals court can deal with all the claims of error at once, with finality. Courts do not want to encourage litigants to start viewing mandamus as a way to appeal to the higher court in the middle of the lower court proceedings, any time a party claims a judge has made an error. Chaos would reign and cases would never end.That said, things have significantly changed in the nearly three months since we analysts first opined on the mandamus dispute.For one thing, Judge Sullivan retained his own counsel to argue the case on his behalf before the panel, as if he were a party. Then, when the panel's decision did not go the way he wanted it to go, he took the highly unusual step of seeking en banc review. As the Justice Department pointed out, Sullivan did not have standing to seek reconsideration; he is not a party and did not comply with the rules government officials are supposed to follow before seeking a rehearing.More to the point, by seeking full-court reconsideration of the mandamus matter when both the Justice Department and Flynn are seeking dismissal of the case, Sullivan is both causing prejudice to the defendant and stoking suspicion about the executive branch's motives. How, then, could Sullivan continue to be considered a fair and impartial judge, fit to rule on the Justice Department's dismissal motion?That question may signal something about the wisdom of the D.C. Circuit judges that I previously failed to appreciate. The Justice Department's contention that Sullivan lacks standing seemed compelling to me. I was surprised when the Circuit appeared to ignore it in granting Sullivan's request for full-court review; I thought they'd deny it and let the panel's ruling stand. But is it possible that the Circuit saw this as a graceful off-ramp? When none of the Circuit's judges asked for full-court reconsideration, that signaled to Sullivan that if he wanted it, he would have to ask for it himself. The Circuit judges probably calculated that if the irascible Sullivan made a formal application for rehearing en banc, it would be manifest that he had transformed himself into a party in the Flynn case. Then the Circuit could use the disqualification rule to nudge him aside for the sake of maintaining the judiciary's reputation for objectivity. That would avoid all the downsides of issuing a mandamus writ while gently reminding lower court judges that they are supposed to remain umpires in these contests, not become one of the players.To sum up, whatever one may have thought about the gravity of Sullivan's irregular behavior back in May, he has now clearly crossed the Rubicon. It is incumbent on him to recuse himself. If he can't bring himself to do that — a failure that would further demonstrate a lack of judicial detachment — the D.C. Circuit should disqualify him. Either way, the case should be reassigned to a new judge, who should promptly grant the Justice Department's motion to dismiss.I'll conclude with a verity that seems sadly lost on Judge Sullivan: Granting the Justice Department's dismissal motion would not be a judicial endorsement of the motion, much less a court ruling that Flynn is not guilty. Judge Sullivan is absolutely entitled to believe the Justice Department is wrong to dismiss the case, and that Flynn is as guilty as the day is long. What a judge is not entitled to do, however, is substitute his view for the prosecutor's on the question of whether a prosecution should continue. In our system, separation of powers principles make that the Justice Department's call.
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| Out of work and with families to feed, some Americans are lining up at food banks for the first time in their lives Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Food assistance programs across the country are preparing for another spike in need with federal unemployment benefits ending.
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| Woman confronting vandals covered in paint during renewed Portland protests Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:21 PM PDT  Protesters in Portland allegedly threw white paint over a woman, as demonstrators clashed with police for a third consecutive day.On Friday, following two days of protests marred by vandalism, more than 200 people clashed with police, as two other Black Lives Matter protests marched peacefully through the city.
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| A roar, an explosion, then a blank: An L.A. Times reporter's ordeal in the Beirut blast Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Los Angeles Times reporter Nabih Bulos was less than 500 yards from the center of the massive explosion in Beirut. He lived to tell the tale
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| Michigan Gov. Whitmer met with Biden as running mate announcement nears Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:10 AM PDT  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been said to still be among those under serious consideration for Biden's running mate.
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| County official uses racial slur, blames Black people for COVID-19 spread in Michigan Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:23 AM PDT  Locals are now calling for his resignation.
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| The US pledged over $17 million in initial disaster aid for Lebanon after an explosion devastated Beirut Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:40 AM PDT  Lebanese authorities are investigating the explosion that left more than 150 dead, thousands injured, and leveled a large portion of the city.
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| German schools forced to close after teacher and pupil test positive for virus Posted: 07 Aug 2020 06:35 AM PDT  Two of the first schools in Germany to reopen following the summer holidays were forced to close on Friday after a teacher and a pupil tested positive for the coronavirus. Authorities said there was no indication the infection had spread at either school but both were closed as a precaution. Pupils and staff at a primary school were ordered to self-isolate for two weeks after a pupil tested positive. Separately, a secondary school was closed for four days so staff could be tested after a teacher was found to be infected. "We said from the start that there would be suspected cases in schools," Bettina Martin, the regional education minister for Mecklenburg-West Pomerania said. "As long as the coronavirus has not been eliminated and there is no vaccine, we have to deal with it. The protection of pupils and staff comes first." Schools have been open across Germany since May, after the coronavirus lockdown was lifted. Although several have closed for short periods after individual infections were detected, so far there has been no serious outbreak. But many schools are returning to full class sizes for the first time following the summer holidays, and parents' and teachers' groups have expressed concern over the risk of transmission. Before the summer break, schools in most regions divided classes into smaller groups so social distancing could be observed, but parents complained after that left many children only able to attend classes for a few days a week, and the German authorities have now ordered full classes to resume.
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| Fort Hood commander's transfer on hold amid investigations Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:37 PM PDT  Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division. Command of a division is a key step in an Army officer's career.
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| Canada 'knows the root cause': China hints at Huawei retaliation as it sentences two Canadians to death Posted: 07 Aug 2020 12:16 PM PDT  A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Canada "knows the root cause" behind recent death sentences for Canadians facing drug charges, the latest escalation in conflict between both countries following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reportedly said the judicial system in China "handles cases independently" while discussing the recent death sentences for two Canadian nationals charged in separate cases with transporting and manufacturing drugs in China.
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| UN set for showdown over US Iran arms embargo push Posted: 07 Aug 2020 11:22 PM PDT  The UN Security Council is set next week to roundly reject a US resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo, diplomats say, setting up a lengthy showdown with repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the United States would put forward its long-awaited resolution despite ardent opposition from Russia and China. "The resolution takes a maximalist position on Iran," one diplomat told AFP.
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| Robber snatches California man's life savings in front of bank Posted: 07 Aug 2020 11:23 AM PDT  Francisco Cornejo walking to his car after making a hefty withdrawal from his account. He was carrying 200-thousand dollars when a robber attacked him and ripped away Conejo's bag of money. The thief escaped with the money and has yet to be arrested.
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| An Air India plane carrying 190 people crashed in Calicut after overshooting the runway Posted: 07 Aug 2020 08:56 AM PDT  An Air India Express plane carrying 190 people crashed on Friday in Calicut, India. Sixteen people were killed, India's civil-aviation minister said.
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| Hong Kong hits back at 'shameless' U.S. sanctions on leader Carrie Lam Posted: 08 Aug 2020 04:29 AM PDT  The Hong Kong government said it was being used as a "pawn" in the U.S.-China relationship.
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| Appeals court rules for U.S. House over subpoena for ex-White House lawyer Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:39 AM PDT  A U.S. appeals court on Friday dealt the administration of President Donald Trump a major legal setback, ruling against its bid to block a Democratic-led congressional panel's subpoena for testimony from former White House Counsel Donald McGahn. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on a 7-2 vote said the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee had legal standing to seek to enforce the subpoena. "Today's decision is a profound victory for the rule of law and our constitutional system of government," said Representative Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the committee.
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| Angry Lebanese blame politicians for destruction Posted: 07 Aug 2020 03:44 AM PDT 
"We can't go to the upper floor because it might fall on us," she said. She is among thousands of angry Lebanese reeling from a blast that killed at least 145 people, injured 5,000 others and left up to 250,000 without habitable homes. Officials said the figure was likely to rise. At the port, destroyed by Tuesday's giant mushroom cloud and fireball, families sought news of the missing, amid mounting anger at the authorities for allowing huge quantities of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, used in making fertilisers and bombs, to be stored there for years in unsafe conditions. There was a small but violent protest near an entrance to parliament in central Beirut, where riot police deployed after some demonstrators burned objects and hurled rocks at security forces, footage from local broadcasters showed. The government has ordered some port officials be put under house arrest. State news agency NNA said 16 people were taken into custody. A judicial source and local media said Beirut Port General Manager Hassan Koraytem was among them. The central bank said it had decided to freeze the accounts of Koraytem and the head of Lebanese customs along with five others.
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| Former US soldiers sentenced to 20 years for bungled Venezuelan coup plot Posted: 07 Aug 2020 10:35 PM PDT  A Venezuelan court sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro, prosecutors announced late on Friday. Former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by a third ex-US soldier who remains in the United States, Venezuelan's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter. "THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS," Saab wrote, adding that the case will continue for dozens of other defendants. He did not offer details. "Operation Gideon" was launched from makeshift training camps in neighbouring Colombia and left at least eight rebel soldiers dead while a total of 66 were jailed. Former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, who operated a private, Florida-based security firm called Silvercorp USA, claimed responsibility for the failed attack. Venezuelan prosecutors announced that Denman and Berry, both decorated former US service members, were found guilty of conspiracy, trafficking in illegal arms and terrorism.
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| New York is moving homeless people into luxury hotels to protect them against coronavirus and wealthy neighbourhoods aren't happy Posted: 07 Aug 2020 01:29 PM PDT  New York was in the midst of a record homelessness crisis even before the coronavirus hit. Some 60,000 people were filling municipal shelters across the city every night. Nearly a third of that number was living in dorm-style facilities for single adults, sharing bathrooms, dining areas and sleeping facilities."When Covid struck, we recognised very quickly this was a recipe for disaster," said Jacqueline Simone, of Coalition for the Homeless, a New York charity. The problem was only going to get worse, they warned, as the economic crisis caused by the pandemic deepened.
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| New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media Posted: 08 Aug 2020 01:53 PM PDT  A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported. The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region. Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.
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| Nasa to change 'harmful' and insensitive' planet and galaxy nicknames Posted: 08 Aug 2020 12:01 PM PDT  Space agency says 'certain cosmic nicknames are insensitive' and vows to drop any reference to themNasa has signaled it is joining the social justice movement by changing unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems such as planets, galaxies and nebulae.In a statement last week, the space agency said that as the "community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive, but can be actively harmful".Nasa added that it is "examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion".One of the steps Nasa would immediately take would be to drop references to planetary nebula NGC 2392 known as the "Eskimo Nebula", a dying Sun-like star that is blowing off its outer layers. "Eskimo", the agency said, "is widely viewed as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous people of Arctic regions."It will also cease to refer to a pair of spiral galaxies, NGC 4567 and NGC 4568, in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster referred to as the "Siamese Twins Galaxy", as part of its effort to align cosmic objects with current thinking and conventions."These nicknames and terms may have historical or culture connotations that are objectionable or unwelcoming, and Nasa is strongly committed to addressing them," said Stephen Shih, associate administrator for diversity and equal opportunity at Nasa. "Science depends on diverse contributions, and benefits everyone, so this means we must make it inclusive."In future, Nasa said it will use only the official, International Astronomical Union designations in cases where nicknames are inappropriate. Cosmic objects, such as Barnard 33, nicknamed "the Horsehead Nebula" would be retain their names.The "Siamese Twin Galaxy" was so-named by Frederick William Herschel, the British, German-born astronomer and composer. Herschel also identified and named the "Eskimo Nebula" which he described in January 1787 as "a star 9th magnitude with a pretty bright middle, nebulosity equally dispersed all around. A very remarkable phenomenon."Herschel then spent nine years surveying the heavens for double stars, publishing catalogues of nebulae in 1802 (2,500 objects) and in 1820 (5,000 objects). Among Herschel's achievements was to note a new object in the constellation of Gemini.It was confirmed to be a new planet, named Uranus, and considered to be the first planet to be discovered since antiquity. He also identified the planet's moons, Titania and Oberon, as well as Enceladus and Mimas, both moons of Saturn.But his nomenclature will now fall from official use at the US agency, said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of Nasa's science mission directorate in Washington."Our goal is that all names are aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, and we'll proactively work with the scientific community to help ensure that. Science is for everyone, and every facet of our work needs to reflect that value," Zurbuchen said.
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| Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. is taking an 'indefinite' leave of absence Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:48 PM PDT  Falwell Jr. was heavily criticized this week after he posted and deleted a photo of himself on a yacht with his pants unzipped and arm around a woman.
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| Unknown gunman kills 2 Lebanese in Iranian capital Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:49 AM PDT |
| The Postal Service’s Routine Reforms Are Recast as the Latest Plot to Help Trump’s Reelection Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:51 AM PDT  Prominent Democrats have pushed a conspiracy theory that the Postal Service is implementing cost-cutting changes to its service in order to bolster President Trump's reelection prospects, despite the agency's insistence that a recommitment to "existing operating plans" will not affect its ability to meet the 2020 election demand.Last week, Barack Obama claimed during a eulogy for the late congressman John Lewis that "those in power" are "undermining the Postal Service in the run-up to an election that's going to be dependent on mail-in ballots."This week, Hillary Clinton tweeted that reports of slower Postal Service delivery times amounted to a "Republican sabotage of the USPS" and "a Trump strategy to make voting by mail more difficult this fall." And on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it was a "sine qua non" for the USPS to reverse a slowdown in delivery times amid negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package.Senator Gary Peters (D., Mich.) also told the Washington Post that he would open a probe into the matter.But when asked about the allegations, USPS spokesman David Partenheimer categorically denied the nefarious characterizations of the agency's longstanding service problems. "We are not slowing down Election Mail or any other mail," David Partenheimer told National Review in an email. "Instead, we continue to employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling of all Election Mail consistent with our standards."Partenheimer explained that the agency has "taken immediate steps to better adhere to our existing operating plans," and acknowledged that "temporary service impacts can occur.""But any such impacts will be monitored and temporary as the root causes of any issues will be addressed as necessary and corrected as appropriate," he explained. On Monday, USPS said in a statement that it "has ample capacity to adjust our nationwide processing and delivery network to meet projected Election and Political Mail volume, including any additional volume that may result as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic."The majority of the attacks on the USPS have ignored a damning audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office, which was released in May and detailed the numerous inefficiencies within the agency that have led to its insolvency and poor service."Absent congressional action on critical foundational elements of the USPS business model, USPS's mission and financial solvency are increasingly in peril," the report states. "USPS's growing difficulties to provide universal postal service in a financially self-sustaining matter provide Congress with the need to consider fundamental reform of the entire framework of postal services in the United States.Experts have warned that the Postal Service will be out of funds within the next year without action, and Partenheimer told National Review that "it is imperative for the Postal Service to operate efficiently and effectively."While Democrats have called for additional funding of the Postal Service, the resistance to any attempt to implement cost-saving efforts runs against the sustainability goals of the agency."High quality service and efficient service are not mutually exclusive, but in fact necessarily go hand-in hand if we are to be self-sustaining as required by law," Partenheimer explained. "Indeed achieving both is the only way that the Postal Service can continue to survive as a self-funded entity and to provide prompt, reliable, and reasonably-priced universal postal services for all Americans over the long-term."Ultimately, much of the conspiratorial noise appears to stem from two alleged USPS memos that were leaked last month, which were widely taken as fact, even by some Republicans. The first, titled "New PMGs expectations and plan," detailed policy changes for the agency, including cutting employee overtime, with the goal of "making the USPS financially solvent." The second, called "Pivoting For Our Future," warns that new policy directives could result in temporary situations where "mail is left behind…on the workroom floor or docks (in P&DCs), which is not typical." Followup coverage by mainstream outlets detailed anecdotal reports of delays, without confirming whether the USPS had actually implemented agency-wide changes.The Post, which first reported the memos, said they were "verified" by the American Postal Workers Union, even as the USPS told the paper its plan was not finalized, while the New York Times emphasized the political leanings of USPS's new postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a longtime Republican donor, implying that he was acting at the behest of President Trump.Partenheimer pushed back on allegations of political interference, saying that "the notion that the Postmaster General makes decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the President is wholly misplaced and off-base." Regardless of his proximity to Trump, DeJoy is not an appointee of the president, as that authority does not fall under presidential purview.According to Ronnie Stutts, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, DeJoy vehemently denied that his role was being influenced by Trump, saying "my relationship with the president is not going to have anything to do with me doing my job."Following news of the memos, House Oversight Committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D., N.Y.) sent a letter to DeJoy, demanding answers over the alleged changes. According to a USPS response, however, the memos that were leaked to the press should not be described as "official Postal Service memoranda" and did not come from DeJoy."The document entitled 'PMG's Expectations and Plan' was prepared by a mid-level manager in one district, and the 'stand-up talk' was prepared by Southern Area leadership and was distributed in the Southern Area," the USPS explained. "Therefore, the documents should not be treated as official statements of Postal Service policy."So far, the USPS's clarification to Maloney has received very little attention from the press and politicians.
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| U.S. sanctions branded 'clowning actions' as Hong Kong vows it won't be intimidated Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:06 PM PDT  Beijing's top representative office in Hong Kong said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Washington on senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials were "clowning actions" that would not frighten or intimidate Chinese people. Separately, the Hong Kong government said the sanctions were "shameless and despicable" and represented "blatant and barbaric" interference in China's internal affairs. The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Luo Huining, the head of China's Liaison Office, as well as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and other current and former officials that Washington accuses of curtailing political freedoms in the global financial hub.
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| The former Dallas police officer who killed Botham Jean in his own apartment is appealing her murder conviction Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:28 AM PDT  Lawyers for Amber Guyger, who is serving 10 years for Jean's murder, argue in the appeal she had the "right to act in deadly force in self-defense."
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| How Nicola Sturgeon has secretly massaged Scotland’s coronavirus record Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:48 AM PDT  Nicola Sturgeon spent much of July telling anyone who would listen that the prevalence of coronavirus in England was "five times" higher than in Scotland. The figure was deployed to justify her refusal to rule out effectively closing the border by imposing quarantine on travellers from England, and her highly controversial move to set her a Scotland-only policy on air bridges, which airports warned put livelihoods at risk. The day after she first made the claim, masked nationalists in hazmat suits descended on the border near Berwick-upon-Tweed, shouting abuse at English "plague carriers".
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| Migrants adrift after camp at France-Italy border shut Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:45 AM PDT  Sudanese migrant Soulaimen has been sleeping on the beach in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia for 10 days now. With his only shelter a sleeping bag and pasta meals donated by a charity, the 20-year-old is getting by as best he can after a transit camp run by the Italian Red Cross was ordered to stop welcoming new arrivals and cease operations. Now, the migrants who continue to flock to this town hoping to cross into France are on their own, faced with strengthened border police and an uncertain future.
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| Sales of pricey New York City apartments plunge as the suburbs become cool again Posted: 08 Aug 2020 04:55 AM PDT  Homes in Connecticut and Westchester's suburbs are flying off the market as wealthy New Yorkers flee to greener pastures.
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| Could a World War II Shipwreck Cause the Next Beirut-Like Explosion? Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:36 AM PDT  The SS Richard Montgomery is basically a bomb waiting to go off.
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| How Is New York Having Crazy Parties With No COVID Surge? Posted: 07 Aug 2020 01:36 AM PDT  Bikini-packed pool parties. Insane backyard blowouts. Unhinged prom bashes.Spectacular scenes of COVID-19 recklessness have emerged from New Jersey in recent weeks, alarming state leaders into implementing new restrictions to curb the tide of rising coronavirus cases and prompting plenty of snickering about the Jersey Shore. But a looming question has plagued experts as similar signs of non-compliance have been witnessed across the Hudson River in New York—without the same upticks.New Jersey and New York have had similar regulations, travel restrictions, and contact tracing efforts. Giant, raucous boat parties in New York are making headlines, too. So why aren't infection rates following suit the same way? Why are two states that were both early coronavirus hot spots on seemingly divergent courses all these months later?As of Thursday, New Jersey's case rate per 100,000 people was 30 over the past seven days, according to The New York Times. The state had a positivity rate of 1.77 percent on its tests over the past week, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. For the past month, that number was 1.52 percent. The state was testing 2.3 people per 1,000, a rate that was trending downward according to Johns Hopkins.Those figures might seem perfectly fine in the abstract, but they amounted to an ominous trend."The numbers are setting off alarms," New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy said last Friday. "We are standing in a very dangerous place."Meanwhile, New York's case rate per 100,000 was 24 over the past seven days, according to the Times. This week, the state had a positivity rate of 0.97 percent on its tests, according to Johns Hopkins. For the past month, that number was 1.06 percent. The state was testing 3.5 people per 1,000, a rate that was trending upward according to Johns Hopkins.Conversations with a wide array of public health experts, local health officials, and disease modelers suggested the reasons for the split were still very much out of focus. But hypotheses ranged from subtle differences in pandemic restrictions to the perception of New York as being more inclined toward aggressive enforcement, deterring non-compliance and would-be spreaders from traveling there.'Worse Than New York': How Coronavirus Exploded in South Carolina"Up until this week the restrictions on indoor gatherings were way too high" in New Jersey, said Dr. David Rubin, the director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which has modeled the pandemic in collaboration with the White House Coronavirus Task Force. "That was really problematic, particularly with people gathering on the Jersey Shore, which also has a long coastline and is a big vacation destination."Of course, New Jersey's cases and test positivity rates were nowhere near as concerning as those in hot zones like Texas or Florida. And New York is still finding more COVID-19-positive people on any given day than its neighbor, thanks to its much larger population. But the trendlines in Jersey have concerned state authorities, and last Friday, Murphy squarely placed the blame for new cases on residents not following the rules."Everyone who walks around refusing to wear a mask, or who hosts an indoor house party, or who overstuffs a boat, is directly contributing to these increases," Murphy told reporters. "This has to stop."It didn't.Just one day later, about 300 bikini-clad and maskless guests spilled out of a massive pool party in Alpine, New Jersey, when police showed up to break up the crowd, NBC New York reported. The party was advertised on social media and by DJs as "The Lavish Experience Pool Party," and the unidentified host told local reporters that "it got out of control."Promoters had posted about the party, and party buses pulled up outside. "It's been happening all summer," one neighbor told The New York Post. "The owner of the house doesn't care, the mayor doesn't care. There's cursing, loud music, drugs."Alpine Mayor Paul Tomasko, for what it's worth, told the local NBC station that such parties were under investigation by local police, state officials, and the county prosecutor's office.A few weeks earlier, a "BikiniPalooza" event was held at the same mansion, with some neighbors calling it "a night club." It received the same promotional treatment, according to posts on Instagram.Murphy has said the event involved "close congregation and not a lot of face covering, if any."In the aftermath, the governor announced on Monday that he would reduce the limit on indoor gatherings to 25 percent capacity, capped at 25 people total. Until this week, it had been capped at 100. By contrast, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order on COVID-19 has for some time prohibited crowds of non-essential workers over 50 people indoors. The rate of transmission in New Jersey jumped from 0.87 a month ago to 1.48 on Monday, Murphy said, meaning that people were spreading the virus more readily."This is no time for complacency, for selfishness, or for thinking that someone else can wear a mask but not you," Murphy tweeted on Wednesday. "Do your part."Carrie Nawrocki, executive director at the Hudson Regional Health Commission, which oversees a population of about 675,000 and includes Jersey City, said her area has seen "extensive delays with testing turnaround time," making it "difficult to get an accurate picture of the daily cases we have."Nawrocki said that there has not been a significant increase in case numbers among the 18-29 age group, but that she doesn't "think that's necessarily the age group that's going to get tested as often, especially if they are not adhering to social distancing.""We have enough contact tracers and disease investigators for every new case that comes in, so we are reaching out to everyone and we haven't identified one specific reason why people are getting COVID," said Nawrocki. "My guess would be that they have to do with travel."That being said, NJ.com reported that state officials warned in recent weeks that the 18-29 age group was the fastest-growing in the state to test positive for COVID-19, and Murphy has certainly pointed the finger at large indoor parties hosted by younger people. Dozens of new cases have been traced to house parties in towns like Westfield and Middletown.Still, the same recklessness—yelling, cheering, drinking and singing without masks—has been reported in New York City. On bistro patios, on crowded boats, and in the middle of crowded streets."We're drinking to everyone's health," a 31-year-old consultant who was drinking a beer with running buddies at a sports bar told Bloomberg News last month. "We could've stopped the virus a long time ago if they gave us clear directions. Now, they want to blame it on us."Last weekend, officials in New York City broke up an alleged sex party of about 30 people in Midtown on Friday and then, a day later, busted a party boat filled with 170 revelers. Authorities arrested the owners of the ship, the Liberty Belle, for allegedly violating the state's ban on large crowds and for running a bar without a license.On Sunday, the New York State Liquor Authority issued violations for 24 city establishments that violated social distancing guidelines, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. The state has also reportedly opened an investigation into a July 25 outdoor charity concert in the Hamptons that was attended by more than 2,000 people. As of this weekend, the total number of pandemic-related charges in the state had hit 503, according to ABC News."It's disrespectful," Cuomo said Monday. "It's illegal. It violates public health. It violates public decency. What if one of the people on that cruise gets sick and dies?"Rubin posited that the main difference between both states could be a matter of enforcement. Or, just as important when it comes to deterrence in the context of disease containment, the perception of enforcement."My impression of Gov. Cuomo is that kind of tough stance with anyone who might try to defy the rules," said Rubin. At the very least, the two states' travel advisory websites show a tonal difference on that score. That matters because, according to Dr. Brittany Kmush, an assistant professor at Syracuse University and expert on epidemiology and infectious diseases, "the biggest risk in both states is importation from higher risk areas.""The self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected," according to the New Jersey public health department website's travel advisory page. The New York health department meanwhile, "expects all travelers to comply and protect public health by adhering to the quarantine.' But, significantly, it also stipulates that it reserves "the right to issue a mandatory quarantine order" on any given individual, for which a violation is subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to 15 days, according to the state's website. New York City also made a show of announcing checkpoints to enforce a quarantine on out-of-state travelers this week."If people don't believe there's any penalty, they're just going to defy orders," said Rubin. "These are very important differences.""Even though both states have the same travel restrictions, the perception of the consequences differ by the states," Kmush added.New Jersey has made its own show of enforcement, too—or, at least, it did in the past.N.J. Gym Owners Drop F-Bombs in Off the Rails CNN InterviewFrom April through June, State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan released regular round-ups of enforcement actions against violators of Murphy's executive orders. Just in the first weekend, they reported that officers had issued more than 200 summonses in Newark alone, each carrying a sentence of up to six months and a fine as large as $1,000. Local police also famously busted a party of 30 people at a house in the town of Rumson and arrested the homeowner and an allegedly unruly guest. Cops cuffed a Toms River man after crashing another party of 20 at his abode. Authorities in West Windsor took a 16-year-old year into custody who they accused of hacking on a 52-year-old in a Wegmans supermarket. And 13 people were charged with second-degree terroristic threats during an emergency in as many incidents in just the first half the month, after they reportedly coughed or spit on police and claimed to be carrying the virus. The round-ups went from daily to weekly in May, to ending entirely after June 5 as the state moved forward with reopening.Asked for comment, Murphy's office deferred to Grewal's team, who did not provide a response by press time. The New Jersey Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment for this story."I got the sense that New Jersey was not enforcing things as strongly as New York is, where Cuomo has cracked down on bars and is wielding more penalties than other governors are, and that's keeping people in line," said Rubin. For guidelines and restrictions in other states, what will matter in case counts, he said, is: "Are these just empty threats? Or is there just more teeth to them?"In any case, Rubin said, "Our models are seeing sea levels rise everywhere around New York, but we don't know exactly why New York has been insulated from the resurgences we're seeing in New Jersey and Pennsylvania." Or, as Kmush put it: "I really don't think we'll know the answer to this for years."—With additional reporting by William BreddermanRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. 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| Hillary Clinton says NYT writer had 'too much pot brownie' after forgetting her 2016 White House run Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:56 AM PDT  Hillary Clinton roasted The New York Times and their columnist Maureen Dowd - for apparently forgetting that she ran on a mixed-gender presidential ticket in 2016.She joined a chorus of Twitter mockery after the paper's Opinion Twitter account posted a now-deleted message promoting Ms Dowd's latest column, which looked back at the Walter Mondale–Geraldine Ferraro ticket of 1984.
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| Missing Georgia mom may have met man she was speaking to online before disappearance Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:19 AM PDT  A Georgia mother missing for nearly two weeks after her son was found in a Florida parking lot may have met a man she was speaking to online, according to her father.
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| George Floyd: US protesters charged as 'gang' face life sentence Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Black Lives Matter protesters in Utah were accused of acting as a gang to vandalise a building.
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| A stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of fuel has breached and is leaking oil into the pristine, azure waters of the Indian Ocean Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:23 AM PDT  The MV Wakashio ran aground off Mauritius on July 25. Cracks emerged in the hull on Friday after the ship was battered by strong winds.
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| Protesters and S.African police clash at Zimbabwe embassy Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:19 AM PDT  Close to 100 mainly Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa gathered to protest economic hardship and a recent crackdown on dissent and political opposition back home. Earlier this week Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed to "flush out" critics who he described as "dark forces" and "terrorists" after the authorities thwarted anti-government protests. On Friday police were seen pushing and shoving the protesters from the front of the Zimbabwean embassy building, situated in a leafy Pretoria suburb not far from the Union Buildings, the seat of South Africa's government.
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| The US Space Force is getting an official second in command Posted: 07 Aug 2020 02:31 PM PDT  A familiar face is set to become the service's first vice chief of space operations.
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| El Salvador supreme court rebukes president's decree to reopen economy Posted: 07 Aug 2020 07:09 PM PDT  The constitutional chamber of El Salvador's Supreme Court of Justice on Friday declared an executive decree that would establish protocols for the gradual reopening of the economy as unconstitutional. President Nayib Bukele and Congress have clashed over how to manage the pandemic and the country's gradual reopening. Bukele had released an executive decree on July 29 that set out a calendar for a gradual reopening of the poor Central American economy.
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| Ship Called ‘Trump D’ Moored in Ukraine Brought Triple the Explosives of ‘Floating Bomb’ That Blew Up Beirut Posted: 07 Aug 2020 04:29 AM PDT  An American-owned cargo ship named after the president of the United States docked in a Ukrainian port has just offloaded 10,000 metric tons of the same chemical substance that nearly leveled the city of Beirut this week, according to the Liveuamap news source. The hangar in Lebanon only had 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, which caused catastrophic damage to the Lebanese capital. > Sea ports administration of Ukraine says that almost 10 000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that is being stored at pier 1 and 2 of Yuzhi port near Odesa is totally safe cause of "Big-bags" pic.twitter.com/rxftR5TbKB> > — Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) August 7, 2020The ship docked in Ukraine, which was previously named Seabreeze before a Florida company registered as Pilin Fleet Management LLC purchased it in 2018, and renamed it Trump D, was registered by Marine Traffic tracking website in the Yuzhi port near Odessa on Friday.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has now ordered "relevant checks" on the storage condition of the substance, which is primarily used for agricultural fertilizer or high-powered explosives after port officials claimed it was safely stored in "big bags." > Video that was published yesterday, both with photos became viral in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/AXeRvBJs6g> > — Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) August 7, 2020Photos online suggest that the ammonium-nitrate powder was also stored in similar "big bags" in the port of Beirut when it detonated, likely sparked by a nearby fire Tuesday afternoon. The Trump D was placed under investigation three months ago by Ukrainian prosecutors in Crimea after the previous owners were suspected of stealing sand from the Crimean coast. That investigation has since been closed without charges. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued a statement ordering authorities to ensure that the ammonium nitrate is securely stored and to "carry out extraordinary measures for government supervision" for work safety and "security against manmade disasters and fires." 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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| A coronavirus vaccine by November? Severe outbreaks may speed up research, Fauci says Posted: 07 Aug 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Surging coronavirus cases may actually speed up vaccine development, Dr. Anthony Fauci told McClatchy in an interview on Friday.
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| 7 killed in Mexico's most violent state despite capo arrest Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:04 PM PDT |
| Police Officer Fired After Allegedly Mishandling Explicit Photos of Slain University of Utah Student Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:22 AM PDT  The Salt Lake Tribune had reported that the officer had downloaded, shared and bragged about the photos
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