| Trump defends family separation in debate, says immigrant kids whose parents can't be found are 'so well taken care of' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:04 PM PDT  During a rare presidential debate exchange about immigration, President Trump defended his administration's family separation policy for undocumented immigrants, which has left hundreds of children without their parents for years, saying the kids are "so well taken care of" in federal facilities.
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| Treasure hunter dug through Yellowstone cemetery looking for famous bounty, feds say Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:03 PM PDT  He was allegedly seeking the coveted Forrest Fenn treasure, officials said.
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| Ghislaine Maxwell could not contain frustration as she 'pounded' desk during bad tempered deposition Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:05 AM PDT  Ghislaine Maxwell could not hide her frustration during an increasingly heated and bad tempered legal deposition that was unsealed in New York. Several times during the seven-hour exchange, which took place over two days, her anger boiled over as she was forced to answer repeated questions about allegations made by a woman she insisted was a serial liar. At one point, unable to contain her emotions, Miss Maxwell "very inappropriately and very harshly" pounded the desk, forcing them to take a break. She was being quizzed about Virginia Roberts Giuffre's claim that she was just 15 when she was first introduced to Jeffrey Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which she furiously insisted had been fabricated to make the story "more exciting." "Can we agree she was not the age she said… that is obviously, manifestly, absolutely, totally a lie," Miss Maxwell said. Sigfrid McCawley, for Ms Roberts Giuffre, interjected, stating for the record that Miss Maxwell had banged the desk "in an inappropriate manner." "I ask she take a deep breath and calm down," she said. "I know this is a difficult position but physical assault or threats is not appropriate so no pounding, no stomping, no."
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| Scott Peterson, who killed pregnant wife, faces death penalty at resentencing Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:22 PM PDT  "At this point in time, we are on track to retry" the death penalty case, a prosecutor told a judge in California on Friday.
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| Senators Collins, Murkowski Vote Against Moving Forward with Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Confirmation Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:36 PM PDT  Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine.) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) voted on Friday against moving the Senate into an executive session to allow McConnell to expedite the final confirmation vote that is expected to seat Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.The Senate ended up approving the move to executive session — which allows McConnell to file cloture, thereby overcoming any potential filibuster — by a vote of 51-46. Republicans are attempting to confirm Judge Barrett to the Court bench next week, cementing a 6-3 majority of conservative justices.However, moderate Republicans Collins and Murkowski did not support the motion. Collins has already stated she will not vote in favor of Barrett's nomination because of the vote's proximity to the presidential election.Additionally, the Maine senator is in the midst of a difficult reelection campaign against Sarah Gideon, the Democratic speaker of the state House. President Trump is deeply unpopular among Maine voters, and the senator has struggled to keep a level of ideological distance between Trump and herself.Murkowski has not stated definitively how she will vote during the confirmation, although she, like Collins, has repeatedly voiced opposition to holding the confirmation in the week before elections."I've shared for a while that I didn't think we should be taking this up until after the election, and I haven't changed," Murkowski told Newsweek on Thursday. When asked if her comments meant she intends to vote against Barrett's confirmation, the senator responded, "That means I haven't changed my mind on that."Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to confirm Barrett on Monday. While Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Il.) has acknowledged that the Democrats cannot effectively stop the confirmation, Democrats engaged in procedural delay tactics on Friday in an attempt to slow the process.
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| America's 1.3 million Jehovah's Witnesses will be sitting out this election Posted: 22 Oct 2020 12:56 PM PDT  Jehovah's Witnesses do not vote, run for public office, serve in the military, or take "any action to change governments."
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| Croatia accused of brutality, sexual abuse against migrants Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:14 AM PDT  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Danish aid workers stationed in the Balkans say dozens of migrants have alleged they were brutalized by Croatian law-enforcement officers when they tried to cross into the European Union nation, before being summarily expelled back to Bosnia. Nicola Bay, the head of the Danish Refugee Council in Bosnia, told The Associated Press Friday that 149 migrants of varying nationalities, independently interviewed by his staff in the country over the past 10 days, reported being exposed to "extremely abusive" treatment by Croatian police. The testimonies include allegations of brutal and prolonged beatings, of people being stripped naked and being forced to lie like logs stacked on top of each other, Bay said, adding: "In two cases, we have reports of severe sexual abuse."
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| The family of the rescued Zion National Park hiker spoke out after a sheriff's sergeant questioned her survival story — but it's still confusing Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:41 AM PDT  Holly Courtier was found 12 days after disappearing on a hike. Her sister spoke to reporters after a sheriff's sergeant questioned the survival story.
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| Giuliani's Hunter Biden material was apparently being sold in Ukraine 18 months ago Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:48 AM PDT  "Explicit photos and emails purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden were circulating in Ukraine last year at the same time that Rudy Giuliani was searching for dirt there on former Vice President Joe Biden," Time reports, citing two people approached with the material in May and September of 2019. "The two people said they could not confirm whether any of the material presented to them was the same as that which has been recently published in the U.S.," or whether any of the documents were authentic.One of the people said when the New York Post published a story about material purportedly taken from a water-damaged laptop left at a Delaware repair shop, "it brought back memories of the same information that was being introduced to us a year ago." The second person told Time the material was offered for sale at a price of $5 million, with the unidentified seller looking to sell it to Republican allies of President Trump, but "I walked away from it, because it smelled awful."In January, the U.S. cybersecurity firm Area 1 reported that Russia's GRU military hackers had broken into the computer systems of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company Hunter Biden worked for. Selling pilfered private information is so commonplace in Ukraine now it's the "national sport," said Igor Novikov, a former adviser to Ukraine's president, and it really exploded when Giuliani put out the call for dirt on the Bidens. One of the people Giuliani worked with, Andrii Derkach, has been identified by the U.S. government as an "active Russian agent.""For months, Derkach has been peddling allegations of criminality against Biden that are remarkably similar to the broad strokes of the initial New York Post story," Politico reports. "If Borat was able to compromise Rudy, imagine what a trained intelligence officer could do," quipped former CIA officer Alex Finley.Russian intelligence often mixes in forged documents with real ones, and anything coming from Ukraine's kompromat market should be treated with caution, as it's "extremely hard to verify, yet very easy to fake," Novikov told Time."For those not steeped in the byzantine maze of reporting on Hunter Biden, the story can be pretty hard to follow," Politico notes, but in short, "there are giant blinking warning signs about the documents, their provenance, and the timing of their disclosure." Read more about the "hard drive from hell" at Politico and Time.More stories from theweek.com Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Trump vividly reminds us that he doesn't know how tariffs work Joe Biden's hokey virtue signaling is good politics
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| Fact check: Harris said her work as California's AG is a 'model of what our nation needs' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:02 AM PDT  Kamala Harris never said that "California is a model of what the country should be." She did, however, say her work on criminal justice reform is "a model of what our nation needs to do."
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| ‘Nature can sure throw some curveballs.’ Two deer die with antlers locked in Kansas Posted: 22 Oct 2020 01:21 PM PDT  The deer evidently met each other's match.
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| Derek Chauvin, ex-officer in George Floyd case, has 3rd-degree murder charge dismissed Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:03 AM PDT  The former police officer seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for about eight minutes still faces the more serious charge of second-degree murder.
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| China threatens retaliation over US-Taiwan arms sale Posted: 22 Oct 2020 01:55 PM PDT  China on Thursday threatened to make a "legitimate and necessary" retaliation over the US sale of $1 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan as Beijing becomes increasingly strident over its claims to the self-ruled island.
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| US embassy in Turkey issues a warning about 'potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings' of Americans and foreigners in Istanbul Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:23 AM PDT  In response to the threat, the embassy suspended its services and urged American citizens to be careful, avoid crowds, and keep a low profile.
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| Trump: The only undocumented immigrants who appear for their court dates have the 'lowest IQ' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:54 PM PDT 
Following a debate question on immigration, President Trump said that the only undocumented immigrants who appear for their court dates are those with the "lowest IQ."
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| Turkish burgers off the menu in Saudi Arabia as trade boycott bites fast food industry Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:38 AM PDT  With its spicy sauce and Ottoman-themed packaging, the "Turkish burger" is one of the more exotic choices on the menu at Saudi Arabian restaurant Herfy. Or, at least, it was. This week, the Turkish patty has vanished from the menu and been replaced with an identical "Greek burger," the latest casualty of Saudi Arabia's unofficial boycott of Turkish products. "It's the same thing," one Herfy worker, Mahmood Bassyoni, told customers as he offered them a taste of the burger, according to Bloomberg news agency. "Just the name changed." The boycott reportedly began after Recep Tayyip Erdogan outraged Riyadh, one of its main rivals in the Middle East, by claiming that "Arab countries in the Gulf will not exist for long but Turkey will always remain powerful." Tensions have also simmered over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and differing attitudes towards Islamist groups in the region. Mr Erdogan has accused Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, of ordering the murder personally, something that he vehemently denies. The Telegraph approached Herfy for comment on whether the rebranding was related to the boycott but had not received a response at the time of publication. According to Arab News, a Saudi news website, the boycott has been gaining steam in recent weeks, with major supermarket Al Sadhan Group expressing support for the campaign. This was followed by dairy firm Tamimi Markets adding its voice to the backlash against Turkish goods, along with a number of online fashion retailers.
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| North Carolina man plotted to assassinate Biden, FBI claims Posted: 22 Oct 2020 02:28 PM PDT  A North Carolina man had plans to assassinate Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden before he was ultimately arrested by the FBI, according to federal court documents. Federal officials detailed the shocking plot in court filings in a case against Alexander Hillel Treisman, who was arrested in May on child pornography charges. The FBI requested that Treisman remain behind bars until his trial, using the alleged assassination plot as justification.
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| The Lincoln Project savages Trump's debate claim that separated migrant kids are 'so well taken care of' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 10:58 PM PDT  Just minutes after President Trump declared during Thursday night's debate that migrant kids separated from their parents are "so well taken care of" inside U.S. facilities, the Lincoln Project released a searing four-second ad combining his words with the wails of children.This week, lawyers tasked with reuniting migrant kids with their families told a court they haven't been able to track down the parents of 545 children. They were separated under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy, and when asked about this by moderator Kristen Welker, Trump claimed the government is working to find the parents, but added that many are smuggled into the country by coyotes and when kids are placed in U.S. facilities, they are "so well taken care of."Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pushed back, saying the children in question were ripped away from their parents, not smugglers, and called the act "criminal." On Twitter, PBS NewsHour reporter Amna Nawaz said that she has "been inside the border processing centers where many kids and families were held. They were under resourced. Crowded. Staff overwhelmed. Groups of young kids crammed into windowless rooms."The Lincoln Project wasted no time bringing attention to Trump's claim. Their video uses footage from facilities, showing young children wrapped up in mylar blankets inside cages, and the audio is Trump's claim that "they're in facilities that were so clean ... so well taken care of," mixed with the sounds of kids crying. Watch the ad below. > "They're so well taken care of." pic.twitter.com/IysMjSvE0g> > -- The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 23, 2020More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| Fukushima: Contaminated water could damage human DNA, Greenpeace says Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:41 AM PDT  The group says the water has a radioactive substance amid reports it could be released into the sea.
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| China's President Xi Jinping issues a warning to potential ‘invaders’ Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:33 AM PDT  President Xi Jinping has issued a sharp warning to potential "invaders" on the 70th anniversary of the Chinese entry into the Korean War.
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| Judge moves criminal case against Texas attorney general Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:56 PM PDT  A judge on Friday ordered the long-running criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to his home county in a legal victory for the Republican. Judge Jason Luong ruled that the securities fraud case should continue in Collin County, north of Dallas, siding with Paxton's defense attorneys who argued the case should be returned there after it was moved to Houston. Paxton pleaded not guilty in 2015 and the case has been stalled for years over legal challenges.
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| AOC's snub of a tribute to an assassinated Nobel Peace Prize winner sure makes it seem like all Israeli leaders are too problematic for the progressive left Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bailed on a left-wing peace advocacy group's memorial for former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin after online backlash.
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| Fauci says as coronavirus infections swell, federal task force is meeting just weekly Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:59 AM PDT  The infectious diseases doctor who has become a central figure in the pandemic told MSNBC the frequency of meetings has "diminished" over time.
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| Lindsey Graham accused of dodging debate as polls show challenger Jaime Harrison closing in Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:57 AM PDT  'I'm not coming back until Amy Coney Barrett is a Supreme Court Justice,' senator says
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| Venezuelans 'dying slowly' in rat- and roach-infested homes Posted: 22 Oct 2020 06:15 PM PDT  Sunlight cannot penetrate, the air is fetid and fellow residents include rats and cockroaches -- but that's how 14 families are "dying slowly" in government accommodation in Venezuela's capital Caracas.
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| I’ve never endorsed a candidate for president before. This year, I must | Opinion Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:59 PM PDT  Allow me, please, a point of personal privilege.
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| How has China avoided a coronavirus second wave? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 04:31 AM PDT  Europe is the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic once again, with the number of daily infections doubling in the past 10 days as a second wave hits. But China has avoided a second wave. The question is why? The answer is that its authorities, after being overwhelmed in Wuhan, have fine-tuned an emergency response for surprise cluster outbreaks. Many subsequent waves of infection have emerged in China, a country of 1.4 billion people and nearly 40 times the size of the UK. Cases have cropped up across the country, as far apart as in the south along the border to Vietnam, and in the north near Russia.
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| Trump quietly closed the U.S.'s vaccine safety office last year. Researchers are scrambling to replace it. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:33 PM PDT  Developers will start rolling out their COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months, leaving U.S. health officials to test their long-term safety. But that won't be easy, especially given that the Trump administration quietly shut down the office responsible for ensuring the safety of vaccines last year, The New York Times reports.Before the late 1980s, vaccine safety relied on parents, doctors, vaccine makers, and hospitals to step forward and report symptoms they feared were connected to a vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then worked out a new system that sought out clusters of symptoms among people who receive a vaccine, and expanded that oversight during the H1N1 epidemic of 2009. This system helped the U.S. figure out which symptoms actually popped up long after a vaccine was injected, and which were just coincidental.But in 2019, the National Vaccine Program Office was shut down in an effort to cut costs and "eliminate program redundancies," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar wrote at the time. The shortsightedness of that shutdown has come into clear view amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Dr. Nicole Lurie, who who was assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS during the 2009 pandemic. FDA and CDC staffers have reportedly been meeting up on their own time to cobble some safety projects together. "There's no sort of active coordination to bring all the information together," Lurie told the Times.Other vaccine experts and political scientists have their own concerns: foreign disinformation campaigns, a lack of transparency, proper communications to clear up health issues unrelated to vaccines, to name a few. A coordinated vaccine office would be tasked with handling all of that. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| Disney California Adventure will reopen select stores, eateries as part of Downtown Disney Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:47 PM PDT  Good news, Disney fans: A small portion of Disney California Adventure Park will soon be open to the public, as part of the Downtown Disney District.
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| Judge slashes bond for man linked to plot to kidnap Whitmer Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:06 AM PDT  A judge on Friday slashed bond from $10 million to $100,000 for a man accused of assisting in a scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and commit other violence against state government. A defense attorney argued that Pete Musico was kicked out of the group in the early summer because he was too "soft" and wouldn't commit to violence after participating in armed but legal spring rallies at the Capitol. "He was telling them you cannot accomplish what we're trying to accomplish through violence," Kareem Johnson said.
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| North Korea told citizens to stay inside, claiming (with no scientific basis) that a storm of yellow dust coming from China was carrying COVID-19 Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:21 AM PDT  On Wednesday, North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned people of the "danger of invading malicious viruses" inside an approaching storm.
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| Russia gives whistleblower Edward Snowden permanent residency rights Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:02 AM PDT  Russia has granted U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden permanent residency rights, his lawyer said on Thursday, a step towards Russian citizenship if he wants it. Snowden, 37, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency where he was a contractor. U.S. authorities have for years wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges brought in 2013.
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| Lindsey Graham stands firm behind Amy Coney Barrett - but back home his bid for re-election is on shaky ground Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:56 AM PDT  'Lindsey Graham flip flops. You've gotta stick to your guns, man,' Harrison voter says of senator's handling of Supreme Court pick
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| All US Navy destroyers will get hypersonic missiles, says Trump’s national security adviser Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:01 AM PDT  All three flights of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are going to get the weapons, according to Robert O'Brien.
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| Trump commutes sentence of ex-Georgia teacher convicted of $8 million food stamp fraud Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:32 AM PDT  The then-Atlanta Public Schools educator was sentenced in 2013.
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| Fact check: Biden owns 2 of the 4 homes pictured in a viral meme Posted: 22 Oct 2020 06:39 PM PDT  A viral meme purports to show four $3 million-$7.5 million homes Biden owns. He only owns two of them, neither of which cost more than $3 million.
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| Letters to the Editor: Protesters showed up at David Lacey's home. He had a gun. Can you blame him? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Readers say David Lacey's action against the predawn Black Lives Matter protest at his home on March 2 was understandable, if regrettable.
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| The Indian doctor taking care of thousands of elephants Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:17 PM PDT  Kushal Kunwar Sharma is affectionately known as the "elephant doctor" in India's wildlife community.
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| Houston officer killed two weeks before retirement Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:03 AM PDT  Sgt. Harold Preston, who led 'from the front,' died at an area hospital with his family by his side. A longtime Texas police officer just two weeks away from his retirement was shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a domestic violence call. Houston Police Sgt. Harold Preston, 65, suffered multiple head wounds after the 41-year force veteran responded to a call at a local apartment complex.
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| Stunning photos show Special Forces snipers taking tough high-angle shots way up in the mountains Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT  These shots require a little extra math before the sniper pulls the trigger. Snipers also have to get a little creative with their shooting positions.
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| China and Germany heading for superpower status as U.S. influence wanes, says Putin Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:27 AM PDT  The era when the United States and Russia decided the world's most important questions is in the past, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, saying China and Germany were now heading for superpower status. Addressing a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin suggested that the role of the United States had waned, along with that of Britain and France, while Beijing and Berlin - in terms of political and economic weight -- were heading for superpower status. If Washington was not prepared to discuss global problems with Moscow, Russia stood ready to have that discussion with other nations, said Putin, who was speaking via video link.
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| Report: Pope comments on same-sex marriage initially not broadcast Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:40 AM PDT  A Mexican television broadcaster confirmed Thursday that Pope Francis' bombshell comments endorsing same-sex civil unions were made during a May 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety.
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| Even if Joe Biden misspoke about 'Proud Boys,' social media embraces 'poor boys' Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Joe Biden's unintentional blunder ignited a small social media frenzy — and a lot of sandwich humor — from both sides.
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| Wild hogs running amok in California city. Can bow hunters help get rid of them? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:22 PM PDT  Wild pigs are destroying land due a population boom.
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| A Christian School Sued Over Michigan’s Mask Mandate. Officials Just Shut It Down. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:14 PM PDT  The Libertas Christian School, a "Bible-based" institution that local officials say is grappling with an "ongoing" coronavirus "outbreak," has had enough of Michigan's COVID-19 guidelines.In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week against top state officials—including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan attorney general, and the director of the Department of Health and Human services—the school alleges the state government has made "repeated, unreasonable demands" since it re-opened last month, including requiring all 265 students to wear masks."It is inappropriate, unwise, and unconstitutional to try to fit the State's current designs of how an industrialized state-run school should operate to this Bible-based association," the lawsuit alleges. The school accuses Michigan officials of "violating the constitutional rights of Libertas, its students, their families, and their teachers through a pattern of threats and intimidation."Over the last several weeks, Ottawa County officials have been at war with the educational institution—which says it serves a "close-knit community grown primarily from grassroots homeschool families"—for refusing to adhere to coronavirus guidelines. On Thursday, health officials took their battle one step further: shutting down the Hendersonville school entirely.Trump Rips Gov. Whitmer—Again—as 14th Suspect Charged in Kidnap PlotThe Ottawa County Department of Public Health told The Daily Beast it shut down the school after several unsuccessful cease-and-desist orders and multiple attempts to help manage the school's coronavirus "outbreak." But the school "refuses to mask or engage in social distancing" or provide information about possible COVID-19 exposures, a health department spokesperson said.While health officials declined to detail how many cases have been linked to the Christian school, they allege it has an "ongoing outbreak." Meanwhile, Libertas' headmaster insists there are no active cases—and the school's civil liberties are being violated.Even so, Libertas Christian is now closed until an emergency hearing in Grand Rapids on Wednesday."Late last night, under the cover of darkness, the County issued a fourth unlawful order against Libertas and posted placards on entrances, attached as to church property," the school alleged in court documents filed Friday. "More than threats, this time the County has closed the school indefinitely."The school's litigation is just one of several legal battles being waged in Michigan, where public health and elected officials have desperately tried to contain the virus that may only get worse this winter. So far, the pandemic has killed almost 220,000 Americans.Even President Donald Trump has weighed in on Michigan's COVID-19 plan, comparing the state's restrictions to a "prison" during Thursday night's presidential debate. The restrictions also inspired a thwarted conspiracy to overthrow the government, kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for "treason.""It is my responsibility—in my capacity as a public health official—to help people in our community remain as safe as possible during a pandemic using the best information we currently have available about our common opponent the novel coronavirus," OCDPH Deputy Health Administrator Marcia Mansaray said.Sheriff Pal of Militia Twins: Whitmer Kidnap Plot Could've Been a Legal 'Citizen's Arrest' AttemptTo date, 7,129 people have died and another 152,862 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Michigan, a spokesperson for the state's health department told The Daily Beast. After aggressive lockdown measures implemented by Whitmer—including limits on large gatherings—curtailed the virus over the summer, Michigan is once again seeing a surge in cases. Last week, the state saw its highest rate of new cases since the pandemic began, and hospitalizations have spiked 80 percent."It is very possible that this is the beginning of a second wave," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun said last week. "That is why we are asking everyone to remain vigilant and do these basic things: wearing masks, avoiding the social gatherings. It's very important."But the surge in cases has not stopped Libertas Christian from demanding the freedom to institute its own COVID-19 policies. In the lawsuit filed Sunday, the school insisted it has increased cleaning at its facilities, encouraged hand washing, and made masks and hand sanitizer available for students and faculty. The school said it has also implemented "prayer, fasting, almsgiving and traditional spiritual aids to combat disease."Earlier this month, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned several of Whitmer's executive orders related to COVID-19, ruling she lacked the authority to declare a state of emergency in the pandemic. But the Department of Health and Human Services has also issued a sweeping order that largely mirrors Whitmer's original mandate, including requiring masks at any public gathering of more than two people."Compliance... would prevent Libertas, its teachers, its students, and their parents from fully engaging in religious and biblical education, practice, and worship and force its immediate closure," the school's lawsuit states.In an email to the school's legal counsel obtained by The Daily Beast, Douglas Van Essen, the county corporation counsel, claimed two teachers had tested positive for COVID-19—but the cases were never reported. According to the cease-and-desist orders, the school continued to operate as normal despite the outbreak."We must all continue to put safety first, leverage science, data, and public evidence to inform the decision we make to serve each and every student in our community well," Mansaray said in a Sept. 25 email obtained by The Daily Beast. "If complaints continue with evidence of continued neglect to follow the requirements for all schools, this could result in enforcement from legal or state officials."In one supplemental brief to the lawsuit, filed by the school on Oct. 20, Libertas admits it has received multiple cease-and-desist letters that prompted it to sue the county and state executive over "civil liberties violations" and request an emergency injunction.On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney rejected Libertas' request for an emergency injunction and ordered both sides to expedite filings for a hearing Oct. 28 on a request for a preliminary injunction."The Court is well aware of the fluid and evolving nature of this situation," Maloney wrote in the order, according to MLive. "Teachers at the school have tested positive to COVID-19. The parties dispute whether students and other staff have been exposed and whether certain contact tracing measures are appropriate. Libertas generally opposes the various social distancing, gathering size limitations, and facial covering requirements, on religious grounds, and also on state-law grounds. And, Ottawa County has threatened to shut Libertas down if Libertas does not comply with several orders issued by the Ottawa County Board of Public Health."According to Bob Davis, the school's headmaster, state officials came "under the cover of darkness" to shut the institution down on Thursday night. Ian Northon, lead counsel for the school, told The Daily Beast the final cease-and-desist order was issued after families concluded a potluck church social inside the school to celebrate "the end of the fall season for upper school girls' sports with prayer and fellowship."Men Accused in Whitmer Plot Also Discussed 'Taking Out' Virginia Guv: FBI"They showed up on our cameras at 9 p.m. when everyone was gone, very cowardly, actually. Now we have people with personal property in our building unable to retrieve it. But, par for the course for petty tyrants and bullies," Davis told The Daily Beast on Friday, adding he believes officials were "hiding in the weeds waiting for us to leave."While insisting that the school has no current cases of COVID-19, Davis admitted that since it opened on Sept. 8 "two faculty" members tested positive but "stayed home as required and have received their return to work permission documents from our county health department." The supplemental brief filed Friday reiterates the headmaster's claim, adding that the decision to close down Libertas has "scattered more than 250 healthy children and their parents who are now left without access to their chosen religious services."Threatening legal action against local officials who "keep moving the goal post," the Friday brief asks the court to grant the school an injunction against the county's "pattern of rash efforts to bring conscientious objections and those seeking to enforce their civil liberties to heel, which does not stop or slow the spread of COVID-19 and fails to promote a free and virtuous society."Davis also told The Daily Beast he has not heard from health officials since the Thursday night shutdown."Our county alleges that there is an 'outbreak' at our school, yet this is malicious, misleading, and false," Davis said.Read 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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