| Trump says he's paid 'millions' in taxes but rejects Biden’s demands to release his returns Posted: 29 Sep 2020 08:15 PM PDT  President Trump claimed he paid "millions" in taxes, as former Vice President Joe Biden pointed out during their debate Tuesday that Trump has refused to make his tax returns public.
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| For some tech workers seeking green cards, the wait just got a little shorter. But it still is measured in decades. Posted: 30 Sep 2020 04:28 PM PDT  High skilled Indian workers and their families make up three-quarters of the more than one million prospective immigrants in the United States who are currently stuck in what's known as the employment-based green card backlog.
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| Black woman called police officer ‘master’ as she begged for help upside down in patrol car Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:19 PM PDT  Shataeah Kelly repeatedly told the officer she could not breathe but was ignored
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| Suspect charged in shooting of 2 Los Angeles County deputies Posted: 30 Sep 2020 04:12 PM PDT  Prosecutors charged a 36-year-old man Wednesday with a brazen ambush of two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies earlier this month, an apparently unprovoked shooting as they sat in a squad car outside a rail station.
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| California wildfire scorches wine country as death toll rises Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:33 AM PDT  The Zogg Fire is burning in Shasta and Tehama counties and has scorched more than 51,000 acres.
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| Chinese rail stations and airports swamped during holiday, raising fears of fresh Covid outbreak Posted: 30 Sep 2020 06:36 AM PDT  People have begun swarming into China's rail stations and airports as the country where the coronavirus pandemic emerged enters into its first major public holiday week after lockdowns began easing, potentially raising the risk of new infections. Nearly half of the country's 1.4 billion people are expected to hit the road during China's "Golden Week," kicking off on Oct 1 as the nation celebrates its founding anniversary. Chinese authorities have relaxed some travel restrictions as the number of daily infections have begun dropping significantly. About 30 people were confirmed with the coronavirus through Tuesday this week, a figure that could rise given increased movement of people over the holiday. As such pandemic precautions remain in place, including detailed contact tracing via mobile phone apps that allow users to flash a green, yellow or red code – a health contagion profile that determines whether someone might pose an infection risk.
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| ‘He was screaming.’ 67-year-old uses martial arts on senior home intruder, CA cops say Posted: 01 Oct 2020 01:53 PM PDT  "He was screaming because that's one of my techniques, the bent fingers."
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| 'Basically nobody' turned off the 1st presidential debate while it was in progress Posted: 30 Sep 2020 11:20 AM PDT  Viewers apparently couldn't peel their eyes away from the first presidential debate Tuesday night.Despite widespread criticism of the chaos that unfolded on stage, the final 15 minutes actually rated slightly higher than the opening 15 minutes, and audiences fell just 2 percent from the 9:30 p.m. ET peak by the time it all wrapped up, Nielsen data shows. So, even if they were disappointed with what they witnessed, it seems like those who tuned in were prepared to finish what they started and stay engaged with the national political moment. > Debate rating and share by quarter-hour:> > 9:00 - 42.5/68 > 9:15 - 43.4/68 > 9:30 - 43.7/69 > 9:45 - 43.5/68 > 10:00 - 42.9/68 > 10:15 - 42.2/67 > 10:30 - 42.9/69> > -- Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) September 30, 2020Overall, though, Tuesday's ratings across the major networks dropped significantly from 2016's first presidential debate. > The early TV ratings for the debate last night are down BIG.> > A total of only 29 million viewers across ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS.> > The viewership on broadcast was nearly 43 million in 2016 for the first debate.> > Brutal numbers. Have people lost interest? (Source: TVLine)> > -- David Hookstead (@dhookstead) September 30, 2020More stories from theweek.com 7 savagely funny cartoons about the Trump tax revelations Late night hosts have a pretty good idea why Trump shockingly refuses to condemn white supremacists Texas governor cuts the number of ballot drop-off boxes to 1 in each county
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| Yorkie's death at airport facility fuels legal fight Posted: 01 Oct 2020 05:03 AM PDT  It may not rate as an international scandal, but the death of a Yorkshire terrier in U.S. custody is fueling a messy legal battle over the importation of a group of purebred canines imported from Russia. The dog died in September at a private facility at New York's Kennedy Airport used to hold animals from overseas that are denied entry to the U.S. by federal officials. "It's been really, really rough for me to deal with her death," Rachel Hobbs, of Dayton, Ohio, said in a recent interview.
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| Biden Staffer Suggests ‘Intolerant’ Views of Orthodox Catholics, Jews, Muslims Should Disqualify Them from Supreme Court Posted: 30 Sep 2020 06:31 AM PDT  A staffer on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign on Monday suggested that Orthodox Catholics, Jews and Muslims should not be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court because of their "intolerant" beliefs.The comments came during a Twitter conversation between Biden campaign deputy data director Nikitha Rai and Brookings Institute senior fellow Shadi Hamid in which Rai attacked Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's Catholic beliefs. A search for Rai's Twitter account now yields a message saying, "This account doesn't exist."Hamid had responded to a tweet that said Barrett was a trustee at a Catholic school that opposed same-sex marriage as homosexual acts are "at odds with Scripture." Hamid replied, "Wait, why is this news? Isn't this the standard position for any orthodox Catholic?" "Unfortunately yes," Rai said. When Hamid pointed out that Orthodox Muslims and Jews generally hold the same view, Rai said, "True. I'd heavily prefer views like that not be elevated to SCOTUS, but unfortunately our current culture is relatively intolerant. It will be awhile before those types of beliefs are so taboo that they're disqualifiers."> Here's a @JoeBiden staffer saying that orthodox Christianity, Islam, and Judaism should be made "taboo" and driven from the public sphere. Beneath all the talk of "interfaith" and "pluralism," this is what they really believe. pic.twitter.com/PrN8S1qaLG> > -- Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) September 29, 2020The former vice president often touts his Catholic faith on the campaign trail, though critics note that some of Biden's positions — such as his support for abortion and same-sex marriage — stand in opposition to Catholic teachings.Barrett's faith has been widely scrutinized in the media as "extreme" and cult-like since the president announced he would nominate the 48-year-old Notre Dame professor to fill the vacancy on the Court left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Barrett, a former clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, has been attacked for her faith for years now, beginning with her 2017 confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee when Democrats questioned whether her Catholicism should disqualify her from being a judge."Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that dogma and law are two different things, and I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different," Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said at the time."The conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you," Feinstein added. "And that's of concern."
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| Texas Dems Declare ‘Big War’ on Gov Over Mail-In Vote Restriction Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:19 PM PDT  HOUSTON—Texas Democrats are planning to take Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to federal court over his controversial move on Thursday to shutter locations across the state where voters can drop off their mail-in ballots to be counted for the general election."We're in a big war right now with the state of Texas," Gilberto Hinojosa, the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, told The Daily Beast. "We're probably going to be filing suit on that in the next day or so."Abbott announced Thursday that effective immediately until the Nov. 3 election, each county in Texas can only operate one site where voters are allowed to submit their mail-in ballots. Abbott said the move would "strengthen ballot security protocols.""The State of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections," Abbott said. "These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting." A spokesperson for Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the potential for a legal challenge to the governor's order.Election officials in Texas and nationwide have incorporated ballot drop-boxes as an important part of their plans to make voting safe and secure in an election year that is expected to see record turnout against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic.Some of Texas' largest counties had announced that voters would have the option of using multiple drop-off locations: in Harris County, home to 4.7 million residents and the city of Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., officials had set up a dozen sites where voters could hand in their ballots.Chris Hollins, the top elections official in Harris County, said in a statement that Abbott was "going back on his word" to give Texas voters more options to vote safely during COVID-19, and that the county's multiple drop-off sites had already been advertised publicly for weeks."Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations," said Hollins. "But to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2,000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous."The League of United Latin American Citizens, a national Hispanic advocacy group, also said it was filing a lawsuit, alleging Abbott was trying to "suppress the state's Hispanic vote."Texas Democrats said that the move from Abbott is a clear signal of GOP fears that they're in danger of losing key races in Texas, particularly down-ballot.Texas AG Claims Nearly 60,000 Non-Citizens Voted in State Elections Over Last Two Decades"It tells you that they're scared," said Hinojosa. "They know they're in trouble in the state. All the polling out there shows that they're in trouble. That they're likely going to lose the state House, they're likely going to lose a lot of congressional seats, and even [Senate candidate] MJ [Hegar] is in contention, she's within the margin of error."Julián Castro, who was the mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014 and ran for the Democratic nomination this cycle, told The Daily Beast on Thursday that the decision was made by "a nervous man doing the bidding of two other nervous men"—referring to President Donald Trump and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), whom Hegar is challenging.Recent polls have shown a tightening race in Texas, with Trump barely leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Cornyn's lead narrowing over Hegar. Democrats are also targeting several U.S. House seats in the state's shifting suburban areas, looking to build on the districts they flipped in 2018."The Republicans wouldn't be pulling these maneuvers if they didn't see Texas slipping away from them. In that sense, this is one encouraging sign they see what we see, which is that Texas is turning over," said Castro.While Castro was hopeful that courts might be sympathetic to a legal challenge against the order, he worried that the announcement itself, even if overturned, could have the effect of voter suppression."It causes a problem regardless of whether Abbott succeeds in limiting these drop-off boxes or not," he said. "It creates confusion."Dennis Borel, executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, said he's not sure how the governor's proclamation will prevent illegal voting. The majority of mail-in ballots that would be delivered in person come from elderly and disabled voters, Borel said."It's a mystery what he's trying to truly accomplish here," Borel said. "Why would we want to–late in the game–come in and restrict the number of valid drop off locations during a pandemic during which older adults and people with disabilities are considered at the highest risk?"Democratic candidates themselves are similarly skeptical. Julie Taylor, the Democratic nominee challenging Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) in the state's 25th District, echoed the point that Abbott's move was meant to sow confusion, calling it "naked voter suppression."In an interview with The Daily Beast, Taylor noted that since ballot drop-offs begin on Oct. 5, people have time to adjust. But she said "it's going to be a hassle if one location is much farther for [voters] to drive to than before" and said her campaign is encouraging people to vote early and in person if they are not at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus."We'll continue to let people know what their options are, and just help them work through their voting plan," said Taylor, who is running to represent a sprawling 13-county area that includes Austin's Travis County and Fort Worth's Tarrant County. In Travis, four drop-off locations for mail-in ballots were supposed to be available.Abbott's proclamation comes one week after a group of Texas Republicans led by conservative activist Steven Hotze asked the Texas Supreme Court to halt Abbott's move to extend both early voting and the period that people could deliver their absentee ballots in person.Hotze's petition for Writ of Mandamus was also filed on behalf of Allen West, chairman for the Republican Party of Texas, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, and six current members of the Texas legislature.It seems few counties designated more than one in-person drop off location for ballots. Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, is the third largest in Texas by population and only had one designated box. The same is true for Hidalgo and Webb, two large counties on the border.The Tarrant County Democratic Party posted on Twitter that they asked for more ballot drop off locations, but the county elections officials declined."In a flippable county with close to 1.5M voters, by which 60K vote by mail ballots have already been sent, we have to make due," the party said on Twitter. "We are relegated to one drop off location in the midst of COVID and uncertainty over the USPS system because Texas Republicans know they'll lose."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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| House passes COVID-19 stimulus bill opposed by Senate as negotiations stall out Posted: 01 Oct 2020 05:18 PM PDT  The bill will face opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate.
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| The family of one of the officers who killed Breonna Taylor started an online fundraiser so he can retire early and focus on his 'safety' Posted: 30 Sep 2020 02:57 AM PDT  The family of Detective Myles Cosgrove is trying to raise $75,000 so that he can buy out the rest of his service time and retire early.
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| Maritime operation challenges 'excessive' Venezuela claims: US Navy Posted: 01 Oct 2020 03:19 PM PDT  The United States Navy said on Thursday it had undertaken an operation off the coast Venezuela in an effort to challenge the South American country's "excessive maritime claims in international waters."
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| Narrabri gas field: Australia approves controversial project Posted: 29 Sep 2020 09:30 PM PDT  The major fossil fuel project was overwhelmingly opposed by local residents and environmentalists.
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| Massive spider web seen in Missouri photo has some asking: Could it ‘catch’ humans? Posted: 01 Oct 2020 10:01 AM PDT  "Those are the kind that literally 'catch' people if they walk through them at night."
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| Hundreds of Honduran migrants set out for US amid pandemic Posted: 01 Oct 2020 08:38 AM PDT  GUALÁN, Guatemala (AP) — About 2,000 Honduran migrants hoping to reach the United States entered Guatemala on foot Thursday morning, testing the newly reopened frontier that had been shut by the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities had planned to register the migrants as they crossed and offer assistance to those willing to turn back, but the group crossed the official border at Corinto without registering, pushing past outnumbered Guatemalan police and soldiers who made little attempt to stop them. In one group were four teenagers, all friends and neighbors from San Pedro Sula, from which hundreds of migrants had set out the previous night.
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| Fox host Chris Wallace blames Trump for "awful" debate: He bears "responsibility" for what happened Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:41 PM PDT  "I was really hoping for the debate that America wanted to see, which was a serious exchange of views"
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| Marine Corps F-35 and C-130 Collide During Refueling Exercise, All Personnel Found Safe Posted: 29 Sep 2020 07:02 PM PDT  All nine personnel -- one in the F-35B and eight in the KC-130J tanker -- are accounted for.
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| West Virginia mail carrier guilty of election fraud after altering ballot requests to Republican Posted: 01 Oct 2020 03:02 PM PDT  Thomas Cooper admitted to having tampered some of the requests he delivered "as a joke." He did not know any of the voters whose requests he changed.
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| Kentucky Attorney General Moves to Delay Release of Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Records Posted: 30 Sep 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office on Wednesday announced that it is moving to delay the public release of grand jury records in the case of Breonna Taylor, whose fatal shooting by police in March has ignited protests across the nation.Cameron's office filed a motion Tuesday night to delay the release of the grand jury records by a week with the aim of protecting the identities of witnesses, especially private citizens, named in the audio recording. The recording was originally slated to be released publicly later on Wednesday.The motion requests to "redact personal identifiers of any named person, and to redact both names and personal identifiers of any private citizen."Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Ann Bailey Smith is expected to rule on Cameron's motion on Wednesday.Taylor, a black 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was shot eight times in her Louisville, Ky. apartment on March 13 as police officers executed a search warrant for two men who were known to reside there. The warrant was issued because police suspected that a man connected to a drug ring was receiving packages containing drugs at Taylor's apartment, but no drugs were found in the botched raid.Last week, the Kentucky attorney general's office announced first-degree wanton endangerment charges against one of the officers who shot into Taylor's apartment. The officer was not charged with murder, and the other two officers involved in the fatal shooting were not charged.Hours after the charges were announced on Wednesday of last week, protesters took to the streets in Louisville and "set fires, caused property damage and failed to disperse after being warned," police said. Two Louisville police officers were shot and sustained serious injuries, and nearly 100 protesters were arrested during the night's demonstrations.
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| Turkey, Iran deploy 'game-changing' drones in north Iraq Posted: 30 Sep 2020 10:02 PM PDT  Turkey and Iran are increasingly adopting "game-changing" drones as their weapon of choice against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, prompting fears for the safety of civilians and stoking geopolitical tensions.
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| Pennsylvania voters react to Joe Biden's debate attacks on Trump Posted: 30 Sep 2020 09:04 PM PDT  Raymond Arroyo recaps Democratic nominee's 'trainwreck' of a day on 'The Ingraham Angle'
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| Hundreds of earthquakes continue to rattle Southern California, USGS says Posted: 30 Sep 2020 05:50 PM PDT  The area south of the Salton Sea has been shaken relentlessly since Wednesday afternoon, data shows.
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| House expected to vote on revised coronavirus relief bill Thursday Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Thursday that she was "hoping we will be voting on it today."
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| Hong Kong police arrest 60 for protesting on China holiday Posted: 01 Oct 2020 12:43 AM PDT  Online calls urged people to join protests, and crowds turned up at Hong Kong's Causeway Bay shopping district, some people chanting "Disband the police" and "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our time," a popular pro-democracy slogan that has been banned by the Hong Kong government for alleged secessionist sentiments. A heavy police presence outnumbered the protesters at the scene.
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| Anglo-Saxon skull found with nose and lips cut off is first physical evidence of brutal punishment for adultery Posted: 30 Sep 2020 04:03 AM PDT  An Anglo-Saxon skull found in Hampshire with its nose and lips cut off is the first physical evidence of the brutal medieval punishment for adultery. Remains of the young girl, thought to have been aged between 15 and 18, were discovered during a search of a site in the village of Oakridge, in Basingstoke, in the 1960s. Her facial injuries (below) included a cut across her mouth and one through the nose which was so deep it sliced through the surrounding bone, archaeologists and scientists have discovered in a fresh analysis of the cranium. A prominent cut across her forehead also suggests someone had attempted to scalp her. Gruesome punishments were known to have been part of the legal system in Anglo-Saxon times, with thieving slaves and adulteresses among those who could be mutilated for their crimes. However, this is the first time physical evidence of such punishments has been uncovered.
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| Joe Biden tweets joke mocking 'earpiece' and 'drug' allegations with photo of headphones and ice cream Posted: 29 Sep 2020 05:43 PM PDT  "I've got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready," Biden wrote on Twitter with a photo of tangled earbuds and a pint of ice cream.
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| Trump campaign removes all mention of former head Brad Pascale from its website after arrest Posted: 30 Sep 2020 11:36 PM PDT  Police say Pascale's wife called 911 to report that he was threatening to commit suicide
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| MQ-9 Reaper Drone Flies with Double Hellfire Missiles in New Test Posted: 30 Sep 2020 11:36 AM PDT  A new software update on the MQ-9 Reaper allows the hunter-killer drone to carry eight AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
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| People of Praise, a faith group, deletes mentions and photos of Barrett from its website Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:38 AM PDT  An analysis by the Associated Press was able to track the changes through the Internet Archive.
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| Thieves trying to take marijuana end up with bags full of hemp, Oregon cops say Posted: 01 Oct 2020 12:49 PM PDT  "One subject was carrying a large bushel of plants in his arms in addition to his bagful," the sheriff's office said.
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| As Brazil's wetlands burned, government did little to help Posted: 30 Sep 2020 07:12 AM PDT  After hours navigating Brazil's Pantanal wetlands in search of jaguars earlier this month, Daniel Moura beached his boat to survey the fire damage. "We used to see jaguars here all the time; I once saw 16 jaguars in a single day," Moura, a guide who owns an eco-tourism outfit, said on the riverbank in the Encontro das Aguas state park, which this year saw 84% of its vegetation destroyed. The world's largest tropical wetlands, the Pantanal is popular for viewing the furtive felines, along with caiman, capybara and more.
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| The White House is upping its offer to Democrats to pass a new stimulus bill including $1,200 direct payments, report says Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:06 AM PDT  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are yet to strike a deal but say they are hopeful and talks will continue.
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| Parrots at zoo separated after swearing profusely at visitors Posted: 30 Sep 2020 10:14 AM PDT  "If they teach the others bad language and I end up with 250 swearing birds, I don't know what we'll do," said the wildlife sanctuary's chief executive.
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| Trump news: President accuses Democrats of anti-Catholic bias at charity event after Biden speaks of his faith Posted: 01 Oct 2020 05:11 PM PDT  Campaign rages at debates commission plans to add 'structure' to next events
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| Police reportedly invited Border Patrol snipers to monitor George Floyd’s burial service Posted: 01 Oct 2020 11:34 AM PDT  George Floyd's death in the hands of Minneapolis police led to nationwide protests and pledges from some police to cut back on heavy-handed crowd control tactics. But that message didn't make it to Floyd's burial service, where local and federal law enforcement forces were prepared to use "deadly force" if they encountered civil unrest, documents obtained by Vice News reveal."As a horse-drawn carriage took Floyd's body to its final resting place" earlier this year in Pearland, Texas, "at least six 'sniper teams' were in place on rooftops and authorized to open fire if the situation spiraled out of control," Vice reports via planning records. Pearland officials also brought in U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to the city to monitor the situation. That included members of the tactical BORTAC unit equipped with "military-grade firepower," Vice writes.The documents spell out the conditions under which certain types of officers could take action. "Officers in soft uniforms" were ready to monitor to "large, peacefully assembling" crowds, while BORTAC was "geared up ready to deploy" if "verbal aggressive language and empty water bottles" were seen. "Deadly force is authorized anytime," the planning records concluded. All of this was done in anticipation of tens of thousands of mourners showing up to the service, the records show. Just a few hundred arrived.Ben Crump, an attorney for the Floyd family, said he and the family didn't know about the sniper teams and other oversight. Pearland police spokesperson contradicted the documents in saying the sniper teams were brought on in anticipation of "protests from Second Amendment groups or counter-protesters to those groups." Read more at Vice News.More stories from theweek.com 7 savagely funny cartoons about the Trump tax revelations Late night hosts have a pretty good idea why Trump shockingly refuses to condemn white supremacists Texas governor cuts the number of ballot drop-off boxes to 1 in each county
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| Colombian fishermen rescue 94 Haitian migrants adrift at sea Posted: 30 Sep 2020 08:03 AM PDT  Fishermen spot the migrants' boat adrift in the Caribbean sea and tow it to safety.
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| Supreme Court of Texas hears Harris County mail-in ballot application case Posted: 30 Sep 2020 01:47 PM PDT  The state's high court heard arguments over whether Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins can mail applications to registered voters.
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| Father and son chase and shoot at two teens riding ATVs, Mississippi police say Posted: 30 Sep 2020 04:44 PM PDT  Police are looking into possible hate crime charges
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| US says it will block palm oil from large Malaysian producer Posted: 30 Sep 2020 06:49 AM PDT  The United States will block shipments of palm oil from a major Malaysian producer that feeds into the supply chains of iconic U.S. food and cosmetic brands. It found indicators of forced labor, including concerns about child workers, along with other abuses such as physical and sexual violence. The order against FGV Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia's largest palm oil companies and a joint-venture partner with American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, went into effect Wednesday, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade.
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| Mnuchin reports movement on COVID-19 relief; House delays vote Posted: 30 Sep 2020 06:50 AM PDT  U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday said talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made progress on COVID-19 relief legislation, and the House of Representatives postponed a vote on a $2.2 trillion Democratic coronavirus plan to allow more time for a bipartisan deal to come together. Less than five weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential and congressional elections, Mnuchin and Pelosi both said negotiations would continue toward a bipartisan agreement to deliver aid to millions of Americans and businesses reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
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| US makes fresh pitch to Latin America in bid to counter China's influence Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Experts say Growth in the Americas programme is attempt to reassert US control – and seems likely to anatagonise Beijing Growing tensions between the US and China have prompted clashes at the United Nations, accusations of spying and rumblings of a global trade war.In Latin America, the rivalry has recently prompted a public relations battle over which superpower could provide ventilators and PPE during the pandemic, outcry over a Chinese deepwater fishing fleet and renewed pressure over the adoption of Huawei technology in 5G networks.Now, the US seems intent on countering China's growing commercial influence in the region, with a program challenging Beijing's involvement in infrastructure developments and energy mega-projects.On a recent visit to Suriname and Guyana – which have both recently made major offshore oil discoveries – Mike Pompeo made a direct sales pitch on behalf of US companies."No state-owned operation can beat the quality of the products and services of American private companies," said the US secretary of state. "We've watched the Chinese communist party invest in countries, and it all seems great at the front end and then it all comes falling down when the political costs connected to that becomes clear."Pompeo – the first secretary of state to visit either country – also used the opportunity to sign up both nations to the Growth in the Americas programme, more frequently referred to as America Crece, its Spanish translation, which seeks to "catalyze private-sector investment in Latin America and the Caribbean".The project is seen as a direct response to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the $1.5tn foreign and economic policy to establish maritime trade and invest in infrastructure projects in dozens of countries.Nineteen countries in the region have signed up to the BRI, with Chinese firms – many of them partly state-owned – winning major mining, energy and transport projects. Since 2005, China-based firms have invested over $123bn in the region and Chinese banks have loaned $137bn."It's clear that America Crece is a US response to the BRI; Pompeo has consistently criticized what he considers onerous conditions attached to Chinese infrastructure loans," said Rob Soutar, managing editor of Diálogo Chino, a website specialising in China-Latin America relations."Inside China, a number of academics see America Crece as the US attempt to reassert control over Latin America as its unique area of influence – a new version of the Monroe doctrine," he said.In September 2018 the US recalled its top diplomats in Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic after the countries each ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established ties with China.But since then, US pressure appears to have increased, the growth of BRI partnerships has slowed, and Chinese investments in strategic countries such as Panama appear to have hit a speed bump.The America Crece program offers no new budget for regional infrastructure projects, but it does give the US policy a name and a direction."The BRI wants to create infrastructure that supports Chinese interests – built by Chinese companies and with Chinese banks making money on the loans. America Crece, by contrast, involves projects with business cases that make sense for the region and support good governance," said Dr Evan Ellis, a professor of Latin American Studies at the US Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute.But the view that Chinese investment relies solely on backroom deals with Beijing is no longer correct, said Soutar. "In recent years there's been a major shift in the way Chinese firms invest in the region. Increasingly, they invest in equity or form international consortiums to win competitive tenders, such as the Bogota metro system."> We advise Mr Pompeo to respect facts and truth and stop spreading rumors about China> > Chinese embassy in SurinameAnd while America Crece is theoretically open to investment from all countries, Colombian president Ivan Duque's description of the programme as a "new phase of Plan Colombia" has given ammunition to those who view it as a way to secure lucrative contracts for US companies.Under the 2000-16 Plan Colombia – which focused on tackling the country's twin guerrilla and narco-trafficking problems – much of the $10bn in aid went to US arms and security firms.Having fallen down the list of US foreign policy priorities under the Obama administration, US diplomatic efforts in Latin America have been revived in recent years. Donald Trump has sought to attract votes in Florida by taking a tough stance on socialist governments in Cuba and Venezuela, but the need resist China's "predatory trade practices" is one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree on.The new, straight-talking strategy seems designed to antagonise China."We advise Mr Pompeo to respect facts and truth, abandon arrogance and prejudice, stop smearing and spreading rumors about China," the Chinese embassy in Suriname said.And while geopolitical rivals search to gain influence over natural resources, infrastructure and trade routes, the best interests of Latin America itself could be sidelined, said Soutar."Both the BRI and America Crece invest overwhelmingly in fossil fuel infrastructure, locking Latin America into a high-carbon development pathway. The region desperately needs investment to rebuild after Covid, but this should be channelled towards low-carbon, climate-resilient development if it's to generate sustained, long-term benefits."
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| One KC-46 delivery has been halted due to electrical system problems Posted: 01 Oct 2020 08:26 AM PDT  The KC-46 tanker has yet another issue, a Senate hearing has revealed.
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| Joe Biden's campaign says it received record-breaking donations after his debate with Trump Posted: 01 Oct 2020 05:12 AM PDT  Biden's campaign raised $3.8 million in an hour on fundraising website Act Blue following his ill-tempered televised debate with Trump.
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| In California wine country, wildfire-fatigued residents weigh the unthinkable: Moving out Posted: 30 Sep 2020 08:52 PM PDT  The thought of leaving the picturesque wine country is not typically tempting. But as wildfires become a repeat occurrence, some say it's time to go.
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| Sturgeon faces backlash after saying it may have been better if Eat Out to Help Out had not happened Posted: 01 Oct 2020 12:57 PM PDT  Nicola Sturgeon is facing a backlash from Scotland's crisis-hit hospitality industry after she suggested a popular discount scheme credited with saving businesses and livelihoods should have never been set up. The First Minister questioned whether the Eat Out to Help Out initiative, which saw diners across the UK receive discounts for dining in at pubs and restaurants in August, had contributed to a surge in coronavirus cases. However, representatives of businesses north of the border said the UK Government subsidy scheme, which cost taxpayers £522m, had been a huge success and accused Scottish ministers of failing to listen to their concerns. Stephen Montgomery, spokesman for the Scottish Hospitality Group, said much of the cost of the scheme had been offset by increased tax receipts through VAT and alcohol duty and that it was seen within the industry as a lifeline.
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