| Poll gives Democrats bad news in key Senate race Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:39 AM PDT  Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, running for reelection, holds a 6-point lead against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in a race that will help decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Monday by Emerson College.
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| Gun sales spike among African-Americans: 'Our ancestors died for us to vote, they also died for us to be able to carry guns' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:59 PM PDT  When Americans panic, they buy guns — lots of them. During the first six months of 2020, amidst the global coronavirus pandemic, gun retailers reported a record 10.3 million firearm transactions, according to a new survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). And while various demographic groups are buying guns in 2020, African-Americans currently account for the highest increase in gun purchases.
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| Bodies Strewn on the Ground After Apocalyptic Blast in Beirut Posted: 04 Aug 2020 08:46 AM PDT  A huge explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday destroying entire blocks of high-rise buildings and leaving at least 73 people confirmed dead, more than 3,700 wounded, and scores more feared buried under rubble and ash. The country's interior minister said early indications were that highly explosive materials, seized and stored at Beirut's port, had detonated. Footage of the blast showed a large plume of dark red flames and smoke before a massive explosion threw up a mushroom cloud. Powerful shock waves shattered glass, collapsed ceilings and pulled down balconies—even residents on the island nation of Cyprus, 110 miles away, heard the blast.A witness on the ground who works for the United Nations, but does not speak on their behalf, was near the port when the explosion happened. She told The Daily Beast that bodies were scattered from the blast. "There was dark smoke from a fire and then a massive blast and everyone fell to the ground," she said. "A lot of people didn't get up."Entire buildings collapsed, streets glistened under blankets of shattered glass, and injured residents wandered the city covered in blood. Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble. Residents rushed the injured to hospital any way they could, carrying them on their shoulders, on the trunks of cars and on ash-covered pieces of debris."What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe," George Kettani, head of Lebanon's Red Cross, told local TV network Mayadeen. "There are victims and casualties everywhere."Abbas Ibrahim, director of General Security, told Lebanese media at a press conference that Israel was not to blame for the explosion. He pointed the finger at a depot at the port where highly explosive materials were stored after being confiscated.Local media reports also indicated that the blast may have ripped through a fireworks warehouse. It was not yet clear what ignited a fire that could be seen shortly before the main explosion.CNN's Ben Wedeman, who is based in Beirut, was in the bureau about a kilometer away before the blast. He reported on CNN that people were tweeting photos of a fire in the port about 15 minutes before a massive blast shook the building, destroying the bureau. He described a large red cloud hanging low over the city. "The city is in a state of panic," he said on CNN. "The city is in a state of shock."France 24 correspondent Leila Molana-Allen wrote on Twitter that her apartment was blown apart. "All the buildings in my block are destroyed. Huge explosion in Beirut. Everyone covered in glass and blood," she wrote.Hours after the blast at 6 p.m. local time, fires were still burning in the port district. Hospitals, already buckling under the coronavirus pandemic, were overwhelmed with patients.The blast came as the city braces for the verdict in a long-awaited trial over the assassination of former Sunni prime minister Rafik al-Hariri who was killed in a truck bomb 15 years ago. The defendants, from the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, are being tried in absentia. That verdict is expected Friday. Beirut has been under siege by angry protesters demonstrating against economic strife and alleged corruption since the October Revolution kicked off in the fall of 2019. Daily demonstrations and widespread resignations have crippled the government. Before that, the city buckled under the a civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990. Tuesday's blast was by far the biggest explosion to hit the city since the 2006 war with Israel. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| Burger King employee reportedly murdered after a woman complained about the drive-thru wait time Posted: 04 Aug 2020 06:07 AM PDT  Retired Dallas police officer C'mone Wingo reacts to the increase in crime and violence in major U.S. cities.
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| Direct-to-Consumer Furniture Brand Burrow Expands Its Offerings Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:00 PM PDT |
| Mexico hails 'Sledgehammer' arrest but murder crisis still a tough nut to crack Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:11 AM PDT  The capture of José Antonio 'El Marro' Yépez, a top gangster in violence-stricken Guanajuato state, gives a boost to the presidentMexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has hailed the capture of one of the country's most notorious gangsters as an important victory in his so far fruitless struggle to slash murder rates.In a Sunday night video message to the nation, López Obrador said security forces had seized "El Marro" or "the Sledgehammer" – the head of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel – at about 6am that morning in the violence-stricken state of Guanajuato."How is it that this cartel was able to grow so much – to the extent that Guanajuato became our country's most violent state?" asked Mexico's populist leader, who took power in late 2018 vowing to slow the killing with a policy of "hugs, not bullets"."If there were 100 murders each day, 15 were being committed in Guanajuato – and some days there were 20 or 25 murders. How could this happen?" added López Obrador, who is best known as Amlo.Sledgehammer – whose real name is José Antonio Yépez Ortiz - was the widely feared head of a gang of fuel thieves that controlled large swaths of the central Mexican state and was also involved in drug trafficking, cargo theft and extortion.When the Guardian visited one of the villages at the heart of El Marro's empire in 2018, the driver refused to enter, warning: "We wouldn't make it out again."The Guanajuato-based group grew rich siphoning off billions of dollars worth of petrol from pipelines that crisscross the state, which is located to the north-west of Mexico's capital and is home to one of its most important refineries.El Marro, who had run the group since 2017, was reportedly apprehended on a rural ranch where he had been hiding following a brief gunfight with his security chief.The newspaper El Universal claimed he had unsuccessfully tried to flee on a quad bike as a spy drone hovered overhead and troops closed in."Who betrayed me?" the "wild-eyed" kingpin reportedly asked his captors before conceding: "Everything has a beginning and an end – and my end has come."Experts called El Marro's capture a triumph for López Obrador, whose security policy has come under growing scrutiny following a series of humiliating challenges from Mexico's cartels, although few believe it will fundamentally solve the crisis facing his country.Last year, as Latin America's No 2 economy suffered a record 34,582 murders, gunmen working for the Sinaloa cartel seized control of the northern city of Culiacán and forced the release of one of the group's key leaders, the son of the jailed capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.In June assassins, reputedly deployed by the ascendant Jalisco New Generation cartel, launched a brazen attempt to murder Mexico City's police chief in one of the capital's wealthiest neighbourhoods.Jalisco cartel infantrymen subsequently appeared in a viral video, toting automatic rifles and swearing allegiance to their leader, El Mencho."It's undoubtedly an important victory [for Amlo] … and he will no doubt use this in next year's midterm elections to show he's effective when it comes to security," said Eduardo Guerrero, a Mexico City-based security specialist.In fact, Guerrero said he believed El Marro's arrest was part of a shrewd political gamble on the part of the federal government to force down the country's sky-high murder rate."Guanajuato is responsible for about 15% or 16% of the total number of murders in the country. So if you can reduce violence in this state you can have a considerable impact on the national statistics," said Guerrero who runs the group Lantia Consultores."If you can cut Guanajuato's murders in half you can bring down the nationwide levels of violence by 7% or 8%. This would be a major PR coup for this administration," added Guerrero, predicting that the city of Tijuana, where murder rates are also soaring, might also be targeted for the same reason.Guerrero said security chiefs appeared to be wagering that dealing a body blow to El Marro's faction would allow the more powerful Jalisco cartel to seize monopoly-like control over Guanajuato, thus reducing violence."El Marro was a very skilful, elusive and strategic leader and it seems to me that his replacements – who will certainly be relatives – don't have the skills he had to keep this organization afloat," said Guerrero, who expected the Santa Rosa cartel to splinter into dozens of smaller groups."It's possible that by the end of the year there has been a significant drop in violence in Guanajuato and this would give the federal government something to show off ahead of next July's elections."Other observers are less sure the arrest will do anything to end Mexico's seemingly interminable conflict, which saw more than 2,800 peopled murdered in Guanajuato last year – 73 of them law enforcement officers."It's a temporary victory," said Chris Dalby, the managing editor of InSight Crime, which tracks Latin American organized crime."The violence in Guanajuato was the most important criminal threat to surge during López Obrador's presidency and this allows him to show that he has done something about it – but it's a very narrow victory."Yes, El Marro was a major, savage factor in the violence in Guanajuato. But removing him probably doesn't change much," Dalby added, noting that before taking power Amlo had explicitly vowed not to pursue the so-called "kingpin strategy" of targeting cartel leaders which critics say does little to reduce violence or stop drugs flowing north into the US.On Monday, Mexican newspapers stamped photographs of the fallen capo across their front pages.El Universal called El Marro's arrest the end of a "dark chapter" for Guanajuato, which is home to several of Mexico's best-known tourist destinations, including the picturesque colonial town of San Miguel de Allende.But in his video message Mexico's president, who is facing growing criticism over his handling of the coronavirus epidemic, admitted there was more work to do."We must continue tackling the root causes of violence – first of all poverty, and secondly, making sure there is no corruption and no impunity," López Obrador said. "Our authorities must not protect these criminals."
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| Netanyahu warns Hezbollah after Israeli strike in Syria Posted: 04 Aug 2020 05:21 AM PDT |
| Florida man once bitten by alligator is chomped by 8-foot shark while on vacation Posted: 02 Aug 2020 06:41 PM PDT  Justin Stuller is now sporting two dozen stitches and a small limp after tangling with an eight-foot lemon shark in the Florida Keys.
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| ‘You can’t do that’: Trump refuses to discuss coronavirus death rate and says US beating rest of world on cases Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:43 AM PDT  Donald Trump has maintained that the US is beating the rest of the world on the coronavirus death rate, even as thousands of Americans are still dying every week.Mr Trump's analysis, which he advanced during a discussion with Axios interviewer Jonathan Swan, is based on deaths as a proportion of cases but ignores deaths per capita — a measure that puts the US among the worst countries in the world.
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| Navarro Throws Another White House Health Expert Under Bus Over Hydroxy Posted: 03 Aug 2020 09:25 AM PDT  White House trade adviser Peter Navarro publicly bashed yet another White House public health expert on Monday while touting an unproven anti-malarial drug, saying he took "exception" to coronavirus testing czar Brett Giroir dismissing hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment.Days after CNN cut short a Navarro interview after he kept repeating the racist phrase "China virus," the network invited him on for yet another contentious segment that featured the combative Trump aide disseminating coronavirus disinformation.Navarro, who has been an outspoken proponent of hydroxychloroquine and has repeatedly attacked top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci for warning about the drug's lack of efficacy, doubled down on his embrace of the drug while taking aim at Giroir."One of the president's chief advisers on the coronavirus pandemic, Adm. Giroir, he said given five studies now that have found the drug hydroxychloroquine—that there's no proof that it helps with COVID-19 patients," host Jim Sciutto noted. "I just wonder, given your past public support for it, is it time for the administration to focus on proven treatments for COVID rather than one that has not been proven?"Navarro—who recently groused that the government is "sitting on millions of doses" of the drug—shot back that he takes "exception to Giroir's analysis, adding that the HHS official "hasn't looked at the data" within the past two weeks."It's his job to look at data," Sciutto interjected.After demanding that CNN bring on a couple of doctors who claim the drug is beneficial for COVID-19 patients—CNN had actually interviewed one of them hours earlier—Navarro brushed off the large number of experts criticizing hydroxychloroquine."My view of this now is doctors' opinions are a dime a dozen and some doctors say it doesn't work," he exclaimed. "You've got some doctors who say it does."The CNN host, meanwhile, retorted that this isn't a "both sides thing," prompting Navarro to insist that is exactly what it is."No, it is a both sides. It is—it is both sides," he declared.Sciutto went on to note that several high-quality double-blinded clinical trials show that there is no benefit to the drug and that the FDA has revoked emergency use of hydroxychloroquine due to concerns over potentially deadly side effects."This hasn't passed muster so why all the focus on that drug," the CNN anchor wondered aloud. "Why not focus on things that work like remdesivir?"Undeterred, Navarro claimed that there is now a study that shows hydroxychloroquine "works better" than remdesivir—even though White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said just last week that randomized trials have shown the anti-viral drug has no efficacy as a treatment. She also reiterated that there appears to be no benefit to hydroxychloroquine.Team Trump has suddenly rallied back around the controversial malaria drug after a fringe doctor—who believes that demon sperm causes female medical problems and "alien DNA" is being used in medication—proclaimed it a coronavirus "cure" in a viral video last week. Despite that doctor's bizarre past claims, President Donald Trump has called her "spectacular," "very respected," and an "important voice."Chris Wallace Confronts Trump Campaign Spox Jason Miller: Admit 'You're Losing'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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| US jails man who bought Lamborghini with government loan Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:57 PM PDT  Instead of speeding off in a $200,000 Lamborghini Urus, a Texas man got a slower ride to jail Tuesday after US authorities arrested him for using $1.6 million in government pandemic aid to go on a spending spree. Lee Price III, 29, was charged with fraud after he secured two government loans under the Paycheck Protection Program to pay employees he did not have, the Justice Department said in a statement. Price secured two loans: Price Enterprises Holdings allegedly received more than $900,000, while 713 Construction was approved for over $700,000, but neither has employees and "the individual listed as CEO on the 713 Construction loan application died in April 2020, a month before the application was submitted," according to the complaint.
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| REVIEW: The Jeep Gladiator pickup truck is a monster off road, but might be too beastly for its own good on the highway Posted: 03 Aug 2020 06:17 AM PDT  The Jeep Gladiator is the Jeep of all pickup trucks, rugged and ready for off-roading. But highway cruising is a completely different story.
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| Dan Rodricks: Note to Republicans in Congress: 'It's an awesome blessing to provide for people in need' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:31 AM PDT  If you're out of work and struggling, fearful that Congress won't come up with more help for you and millions of other Americans during the pandemic, then you're probably worried about where your next few meals will come from - not whether you can deduct the full cost of them from your income taxes. And yet, there it is: In the Republican version of the next big relief package, a proposal to ...
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| An Arkansas Black Lives Matter group was confronted by an armed militia. One protester carried a flamethrower as a 'deterrent.' Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:22 PM PDT  An organizer told Insider that he received more than 100 death threats from people who oppose the Black Lives Matter movement.
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| Protesters Prevent Police from Investigating Stabbing Outside of Portland Courthouse Posted: 04 Aug 2020 06:00 AM PDT  A "hostile crowd" prevented Portland police from investigating a stabbing at the site of nightly racial justice protests and rioting on Monday. A woman had walked into Lownsdale Square park in downtown Portland and was taking photos or recording video just before 6:30 p.m. when an argument began between the woman and other people in the park. The woman who had been taking photos then brandished a knife and stabbed another woman in the chest.Officers were met with a "hostile crowd" on the scene and were forced to bring in reinforcements to the area. As police were trying to secure the crime scene, someone picked up the knife used in the stabbing and ran off with it, Portland police said. Supervisors made the decision to disengage after officers could not safely conduct an investigation in the presence of the crowd.The suspect fled the area but later returned and was interviewed by police. The victim, whom officers found a few blocks away at SW 5th Ave and SW Taylor Street, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The city has experienced months of rioting and unrest following the death of George Floyd, leading to the deployment of federal agents to the city. Rioters have repeatedly used violence to target the federal courthouse there, attacking federal law enforcement with various weapons including Molotov cocktails, and in some cases blinding officers with lasers.While Oregon elected officials demanded the removal of federal law enforcement from the city, President Trump said "there would be no Portland" if Department of Homeland Security personnel had not been sent in.A phased removal of federal law enforcement from the city began last week.
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| Australia: British-Australian woman in Iran prison 'is well' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:18 PM PDT  Australia's ambassador to Iran has visited a British-Australian academic who was convicted of espionage before being moved recently to a notorious Iranian prison, and found that she "is well," Australia's government said Tuesday. Kylie Moore-Gilbert was a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies when she was sent to Tehran's Evin Prison in September 2018 and sentenced to 10 years. Australia sought urgent consular access and its ambassador to Iran, Lyndall Sachs, visited Moore-Gilbert in Qarchak Prison on Sunday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, said in a statement.
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| Modi, Muslims to attend temple ceremony on contested India site Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:14 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and two prominent Muslims who lived through deadly riots following the razing of a mosque in 1992 plan to attend the foundation-laying ceremony for a Hindu temple on Wednesday on the same site. Modi, whose Hindu nationalist party had led demands for a temple there dedicated to the god-king Ram, will unveil a plaque, his office said in a statement. Construction of the temple was made possible by a verdict last year from the Supreme Court awarding the disputed site to the Hindus.
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| California takes starring role in VP search as Karen Bass ascends and Kamala Harris comes under fire Posted: 04 Aug 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Joe Biden's shortlist for vice president includes two prominent Californians — Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Karen Bass — and politicos in the Golden State are divided over the choice.
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| Millions return to lockdown in Philippines as virus cases soar Posted: 02 Aug 2020 09:51 PM PDT  More than 27 million people in the Philippines -- about a quarter of the population -- will go back into lockdown Tuesday after overwhelmed health workers warned the country was losing the battle against the coronavirus. Since the beginning of June, when much of the country emerged from one of the world's longest stay-at-home orders, confirmed infections in the archipelago have increased fivefold, surging past 100,000. The new restrictions announced by President Rodrigo Duterte late Sunday apply to the capital Manila and four surrounding provinces on the main island of Luzon.
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| Miner who discovered the largest tanzanite gems ever has now found a third - and it's worth millions Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:59 AM PDT  A Tanzanian miner, who became a millionaire off of his first findings in June 2020, discovered a third rare Tanzanite gem.
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| Tropical Storm Isaias is bringing tornadoes and heavy rain to the East Coast after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane Posted: 04 Aug 2020 04:20 PM PDT  Tropical Storm warnings are in place all the way up the East Coast, from Surf City, North Carolina, to Eastport, Maine.
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| ‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Talking to You’: Doomsday Mom Called Hubby From Jail as FBI Searched His Home Posted: 04 Aug 2020 11:41 AM PDT  The day her two children's remains were found gruesomely buried in her new husband's Idaho backyard, Lori Vallow called her spouse from jail. "Are they seizing stuff again?" Vallow asked several times during the June 9, 2020 call from Madison County Jail, after Chad Daybell told her police were at his property. "What can I do for you?"Daybell, an author of apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience, somberly told his incarcerated wife—who was being held on charges related to the disappearance of her kids J.J Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17—that although police were at his home, he was "glad" that she called. Doomsday Mom Told Me to Lie to Cops Because Grandma Wanted to 'Kidnap' Son: Pal"I'm not really supposed to be talking to you," Daybell mumbled at one point, later stating that authorities were "searching for the kids." "We'll see what transpires.""I'm feeling pretty calm," he later added in the recorded call played in Fremont County Courthouse on Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in the case against Daybell.The two, who appeared unconcerned that officers were searching the home as part of a nearly nine-month investigation into Vallow's children, said "I love you" at least half a dozen times before hanging up. Less than an hour later, Daybell was arrested after investigators found the two children's remains—one "tightly" wrapped in plastic and the other badly burned—in his backyard. Court Docs Reveal How Police Found Bodies of Doomsday Mom's KidsDaybell, 52, is accused of hiding evidence when authorities began to investigate the disappearance of the kids. Daybell and Vallow, who are members of a community of doomsday preppers and were married two weeks after Daybell was widowed, have not been charged in the deaths of the two children. Both, however, are facing charges related to hindering the investigation.Authorities say Vallow's two children disappeared in September, but they weren't registered as missing until November. Two weeks before the children disappeared, Daybell texted his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell that stood out as longer and oddly detailed compared to their other messages regarding bills and errands, FBI intelligence Benjamin Dean testified Tuesday."Well, I've had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms," it said. "While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!"A month later, Tammy Daybell had died of unknown causes. Chad Daybell ultimately declined an autopsy—a move that raised eyebrows—and married Vallow weeks later.Wedding Ring Purchase Is Latest Twist in Doomsday Couple's SagaDavid Warwick, a friend of Daybell and Vallow, testified Tuesday that the day after J.J. was last seen on September 22, Vallow told him that the autistic 7-year-old he had been "acting like a zombie.""She said J.J. was being a zombie [and] that he climbed up on to the cabinets," Warwick testified Tuesday, adding that Vallow said "he was out of control" so she had her brother, Alex Cox, "come get him."In January, after Vallow repeatedly lied about the kids' whereabouts and then fled to Hawaii with her new husband, she was served an order instructing her to return the two minors. Idaho Doomsday Couple Found in Hawaii—Without Missing KidsVallow was eventually arrested in Hawaii after failing to produce her children. Authorities tracked the cellphone movements of her brother, Alex Cox, which showed he was on Daybell's property on September 23, the same day Vallow told friends he had allegedly taken the 7-year-old. The cellphone data led authorities to locate the children's remains on June 9, Rexburg Police Department Detective Ray Hermosillo testified on Monday.Cox died in his bathroom in December. The prior July, he shot Vallow's ex-husband, Charles Vallow, dead in what he said was self-defense during a domestic dispute. While Cox and his sister were questioned by police, neither was charged. Wedding Ring Purchase Is Latest Twist in Doomsday Couple's SagaOn Monday, Hermosillo described in graphic detail how authorities found a small child's body in a "shallow grave" near a tree that had "three large white flat rocks" placed "in a row" with "thin wood paneling" underneath during the June 9, 2020, search of Daybell's property."As soon as we lifted the wood paneling out of the hole in Chad Daybell's backyard, I could immediately smell the odor of a decomposing body," Hermosillo said, noting that the 7-year-old was "tightly" wrapped in a black plastic bag. Idaho Attorney General Takes Over Doomsday Couple InvestigationSeveral feet away, authorities discovered "a mass of burnt flesh and charred bone" they later determined to be the remains of Tylee, in a "pet cemetery" on Daybell's property.FBI Special Agent Steven Daniel, who was also at Daybell's property on June 9, said that the "pet cemetery" was marked with a small dog statute and was near a fire pit. Soon after excavating the area, Daniel said that he instantly smelt decomposing flesh and investigators began to use hand tools in what he called "a mess of burned human remains.""Eventually we're able to excavate a few pieces; the major piece ends up being a pelvic piece," Daniel said. "At the bottom of the mass we found a melted green bucket and in the bucket a skull and mandible with teeth."During his closing statement in Tuesday's hearing, Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood urged Judge Faren Eddins to send Daybell's case to a district court for trial, stating that the testimony of over a dozen witnesses show the graphic state that Tylee and J.J. were found and the mysteriousness around their disappearance. "Those bodies were concealed. One of them was destroyed. They were located on Chad Daybell's property. Alex Cox, whose phone pinged near those locations, became his brother-in-law less than two months later," Wood said. However, defense attorney John Prior argued that being married to Vallow was "not an overt act" and the state didn't "come close" to having enough evidence to prove Daybell committed any wrongdoing.After less than 15 minutes of deliberation, Eddins sided with the state and ruled there was "sufficient cause" that Daybell committed the four counts against him. As Eddins gave his ruling, J.J.'s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, high fived and embraced one another behind Daybell, who remained emotionlessRead 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 committees subpoena top Pompeo aides over IG firing Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:12 AM PDT  House Democrats have subpoenaed four top aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying that the Trump administration is stonewalling their investigation into the firing of the State Department's top independent watchdog earlier this year. Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick appeared for a closed-door interview in the probe in June and told investigators that top department officials tried to bully him and dissuade his office from conducting a review of a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia before he was fired. Linick also said he was looking into previously reported allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife may have misused government staff to run personal errands and several other matters.
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| Joe Biden says he's certain he has been arrested Posted: 03 Aug 2020 05:34 PM PDT  Has Biden spent in prison? The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway explains.
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| Experts no longer expect seasonal coronavirus waves: The pandemic is like 'a forest fire looking for human wood to burn' Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:01 PM PDT  In April, US experts suggested there might be a second peak of coronavirus infections in the fall. But new data suggests it's not seasonal.
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| Poll shows Mitch McConnell with large lead over Democratic Senate rival Amy McGrath Posted: 04 Aug 2020 12:42 PM PDT  Independent polling firm Morning Consult shows Sen. Mitch McConnell with a commanding 53% to 36% lead over his Democratic challenger Amy McGrath.
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| Apple Fire: Massive California wildfire forces evacuations Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:04 AM PDT  Around 7,800 people are told to leave their homes in southern California because of the fire.
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| Husband of LA district attorney charged after pointing gun at Black Lives Matter protesters Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:15 PM PDT  David Lacey, whose wife Jackie Lacey is running for re-election, has been charged with multiple firearm assaults The husband of the Los Angeles district attorney has been charged with multiple firearm assaults after he pointed a gun at Black Lives Matter activists and said, "I will shoot you."David Lacey, whose wife Jackie Lacey is the elected prosecutor currently running for re-election, is facing three misdemeanor charges for pointing his firearm at three organizers who were protesting outside their house on 2 March, the day before the primary election. The charges come from the state attorney general's office.The incident was captured on video and showed David Lacey opening his door and threatening the demonstrators, saying, "Get off of my porch. I will shoot you … I don't care who you are … We're calling the police right now." He appeared to have his finger on the trigger.Close to the door was Melina Abdullah, a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles leader, who said on the video: "He pulled a gun and pointed it at my chest."Abdullah, who has been protesting against Jackie Lacey for years over her refusal to prosecute officers who kill civilians, told the Guardian on Tuesday that she was surprised to learn of the charges from the media, and said she had not had any contact with the attorney general or the district attorney.She also pointed out that the charges were misdemeanors and that prosecutors typically file more serious felony charges for firearm threats like the one clearly captured on footage against her."Had it been anyone else who pointed a gun at someone's chest, at three people in fact, and said the words, 'I will shoot you', we know they'd be getting more than misdemeanors," said Abdullah, who is also a professor of Pan-African studies at Cal State LA. "The system is there to protect themselves."Samuel Tyre, an attorney for David Lacey, said in an email that his client was "disappointed that the attorney general's office felt that the conduct at issue amounted to criminal behavior", adding, "We disagree entirely with their assessment, but we have the utmost faith in the justice system, and we are confident that the correct result will be reached."Tyre declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but added, "my client's human instinct is forever and always to protect his wife and his family and to keep them safe from physical harm".Lacey had promised last fall to meet with Black Lives Matter activists who have long called for her to address police violence, but the meeting never happened, organizers said at the time. Using a tactic that has become common in recent protests, a group of about 30 protesters showed up to Lacey's Granada Hills home in the early morning. They brought chairs with them saying they were going to hold the community meeting that they had been promised. There were no threats of violence from the demonstrators.Abdullah said it seemed the charges were meant to "placate the community", adding, "It's trying to give us the illusion that there is justice."She also said it had taken time for her to process what happened, though she has continued to be a vocal presence at the demonstrations against police violence in recent months. The incident affected her whole family, she said, noting that her children had to leave their classrooms when it happened: "It's not only weighed on me."Hours after the original incident, Jackie Lacey offered a tearful apology to reporters, saying she and her husband were frightened.The DA's office declined to comment on Tuesday and Lacey's campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry. Lacey is facing a tough re-election fight in November and has long faced criticism for her handling of killings by police, her aggressive pursuit of the death penalty and other tough-on-crime strategies.
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| Trump’s Convention Chaos Leaves Small Biz Owners Seething Posted: 03 Aug 2020 12:50 AM PDT  Donald Trump's decision to largely cancel the original RNC convention in Charlotte keeps disappointing Larry Farber. Before the president torpedoed the long-planned event, Farber, the owner of Middle C Jazz, envisioned a much-needed economic stimulus for the area's businesses, including his own, which was slated to be an official convention venue location. Any chance of that happening fell apart when Trump vengefully moved the festivities and quickly settled on Jacksonville after feuding with North Carolina's Democratic governor because he refused to guarantee a "full convention."But instead of finding a better fate in Florida, Trump caved to the reality of the pandemic and canceled his Jacksonville plans, leaving two different cities to face the fallout. For Farber, it was a painful reminder of the opportunity missed."It was a gut punch to all of us that it left, just from an economic standpoint," said Farber, who grew anxious when Trump first threatened to move the convention back in May. "And now when you see that it was moved to Florida and it's not going to happen there, as a business owner you of course look back in hindsight and go it's a shame it didn't work out for Charlotte, it's a shame that the RNC couldn't have come to an agreement with our state and our governor to make it work."No Show! Trump Cancels Jacksonville GOP ConventionTrump's now abandoned push to hold a major RNC convention during the coronavirus pandemic has turned what is normally a historic commemoration of political triumph into one that has become mired in backlash and criticism in two key swing states. Small businesses that had been selected as vendors for either city's convention had found themselves in the tense position of having to decide between financial gains and health concerns. Now they find themselves gaining nothing at all for their troubles. Andy Thompson, the president of Charlotte's Rose Chauffeured Transportation, called Trump's original move to threaten and flee his state a "short-sighted, short notice, bully tactic"—noting that the convention would have been a boost for small businesses from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."He's not thinking about us," said Thompson, who is still hoping the remnants of the convention next month will bring his company some business. "He's just thinking about himself." And in Florida, Bonnie Arnold, the owner of Bonnie's Floral Designs, said she felt Trump would face backlash for how he'd managed the festivities. Her business had been selected as a local vendor, but Arnold said she wasn't surprised the convention didn't come to pass. "I think it will hurt him politically," Arnold said of Trump. "(He) did that decision in Charlotte rather quickly… and then to turn around and even in a shorter period of time repeat that, I don't think builds confidence in his re-election." Officials Terrified That Trump's Jacksonville Convention Will Be 'Another Tulsa'By canceling the RNC's convention plans in Jacksonville, the president further illustrated the sharp tension that now exists between public health and politics—a tension that came into sharp focus in May, when Trump first challenged North Carolina's Democratic governor to allow him a full-scale convention. When that governor, Roy Cooper, declined to do so, the RNC and Trump pulled the plug on those plans. Republicans in other states readily embraced the decision and lawmakers lobbied for their states to become the next host. Trump settled on Jacksonville, where both the mayor's seat and the governor's office were held by Republicans unlikely to publicly oppose his desire for packed halls.. But Florida quickly became a coronavirus hotspot, forcing Trump to make the kind of major concession he refused to do to keep the Charlotte plans intact. The late cancelation came roughly a week after the RNC posted names of registered vendors online that could be used when the convention was held. "It hurt, but it didn't hurt," to see the convention get canceled, said Annie Banks, the vice-president of Ms. Annie's Catering. The extra cash would have been nice for her business struggling during the pandemic. But Banks said it was still good to see the convention plans abandoned, adding that while her business had been listed as a vendor they did not know exactly what parties they would have been providing services for when it came to the convention. "I think we would have been way worse if it had come… in the sense that it would have brought an even higher rise in the coronavirus here in Jacksonville," she said. The Trump campaign referred a request for comment on the vendors to the RNC, who emphasized that "small business support continues to be a top priority" of the president. "The RNC worked through every possible avenue to continue to hold a more traditional convention and showcase the great businesses, venues and people of Charlotte and Jacksonville, but ultimately, the safety and well-being of the American people has to come first," RNC National Press Secretary Mandi Merritt said in an email to The Daily Beast. The decision by Trump to cancel the Jacksonville convention may have been done—as Merritt said—out of caution. But it also came after a June comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that became both a PR and public health nightmare for the Trump campaign. That rally featured thousands of empty seats as potential attendees stayed home amid rampant COVID-19 fears. Trump had pledged to keep campaigning. But his team subsequently canceled a New Hampshire event, citing inclement weather. And then it pulled out of Jacksonville after the area's sheriff said in a statement: "We are simply past the point of no return to execute the event with safety and security that is our obligation." Charlotte is expected to at least see a portion of activity later this month with 336 delegates appearing in person to officially nominate Trump, according to an RNC official. For at least one Florida vendor, the cancellation was merely symbolic. At Beacher's Lodge Oceanfront Suites in St. Augustine, Florida, there had been "slim to none" bookings made specifically for the convention, office manager Jill Ursini told The Daily Beast. While the oceanfront condo hotel is roughly 50 miles from the once planned convention location, the spot was still just one of only roughly 20 vendors appearing on an accommodations list posted online by the host committee. "I just don't think that it really was the right time to even be planning something like that especially in the state of Florida," Ursini said, pointing to frightening upticks in coronavirus cases. "Maybe go to Montana in the middle of nowheresville or something like that." 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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| Fire breaks out at Iranian industrial area, no casualties: state TV Posted: 04 Aug 2020 12:43 AM PDT |
| Bill Gates: What Joe Biden should do on his first day in office to stop the coronavirus, if he is elected Posted: 03 Aug 2020 07:54 AM PDT  "You really have to view the pandemic as a problem that you're willing to talk about," Bill Gates said.
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| Governor Cuomo begs wealthy New Yorkers to come home to save ailing city Posted: 04 Aug 2020 08:09 AM PDT  The governor of New York has begged the city's wealthy, who fled the coronavirus outbreak, to return and help it recover. Andrew Cuomo said he was extremely worried about New York City weathering the Covid-19 aftermath if too many of the well-heeled taxpayers who fled to second homes decide there is no need to move back. "They are in their Hamptons homes, or Hudson Valley or Connecticut. I talk to them literally every day. I say. 'When are you coming back? I'll buy you a drink. I'll cook,' " Mr Cuomo told MSNBC, naming popular getaways for the rich. "They're not coming back right now. And you know what else they're thinking, if I stay there, they pay a lower income tax because they don't pay the New York City surcharge. So, that would be a bad place if we had to go there." Lawmakers have proposed a wealth tax targeting the city's 100 billionaires to help fill a $30 billion (£23bn) budget shortfall created by the Covid-19 crisis.
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| Joe Biden narrows down his choice for vice president Posted: 03 Aug 2020 03:44 PM PDT  Which woman will be Biden's running mate? Peter Doocy reports.
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| Thailand calls for new probe in Red Bull heir hit-and-run case Posted: 04 Aug 2020 06:27 AM PDT  Thailand's attorney general says new evidence has been found, allowing the case to be reopened.
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| Trump weighs executive action as negotiations progress on next coronavirus stimulus package Posted: 03 Aug 2020 04:26 PM PDT  The president on Monday said he was weighing executive action as Congress and the White House struggle to break the impasse.
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| Pompeo vows to protect Hong Kong activists sought abroad Posted: 04 Aug 2020 02:39 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday vowed to protect Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners who have fled the city and denounced China after Beijing said that police had ordered the arrests of overseas activists. "The Chinese Communist Party cannot tolerate the free thinking of its own people, and increasingly is trying to extend its reach outside China's borders," Pompeo said in a statement. "The United States and other free nations will continue to protect our peoples from the long arm of Beijing's authoritarianism."
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| Army Special Forces Colonel Faces Court-Martial on Sexual Assault Charges Posted: 04 Aug 2020 01:31 PM PDT  Col. Kevin M. Russell is facing five counts of violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
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| Trump Adm Bails Out Charter Jet Firm That Helps Deport Migrants Posted: 04 Aug 2020 09:01 AM PDT  The Trump administration's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants en masse just got more expensive. And the agency charged with loading people onto planes and flying them back to their home countries is blaming the coronavirus pandemic for the price hike.In April, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, increased its payments under a contract awarded in 2017 to Classic Air Charter, a company that subcontracts chartered deportation flights out of the country, primarily to Mexico and Central and South America, but also, more recently to other regions.ICE attributed the price hike to the novel coronavirus. The increase swells the already high cost that the federal government pays to fly undocumented immigrants out of the country. The two awards to Classic Air under its ICE contract since the pandemic began, each for $50.7 million, were the largest it's received under the contract since it was inked three years ago. The next largest, for $46.6 million, came in May 2019, but prior to the coronavirus pandemic, ICE awards under the contract averaged just $12.7 million.Trump Deportations Helped Spread COVID 'Disaster' to Central AmericaICE would not provide a comment on the record for this story. Classic Air did not respond to inquiries. But in federal procurement notices beginning in April, ICE said the new contract's "guaranteed minimum values have been temporarily adjusted to maintain vendor operability during COVID19 pandemic."Classic Air has brokered deportation flights for ICE for years, primarily by way of two subcontractors that have charged extremely high rates for the service, due largely to the lack of air carriers willing to work with the controversial immigration enforcement agency.According to internal Classic Air records reported by Quartz last year, ICE was paying Classic Air and its subcontractors as much as $33,000 per flight-hour to deport migrants from Arizona to Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam. It's unclear if those same rates apply to other countries. "Many carriers are discouraged by the potential of public backlash or negative media attention," Classic Air wrote. "As a result, our carrier selection pool has been reduced to a single operator," the Oklahoma-based Omni Air International.Under an indefinite delivery vehicle, which is the type of contract that ICE awarded to Classic Air in 2017, the government agency sets a price range for the goods or services it's purchasing, explained Jim Nagle, of counsel at the law firm Oles Morrison and an expert in federal procurement law. "The government decides that it will need a particular product or service but doesn't know exactly how many," he wrote in an email. "So it gives a minimum which is the only amount that is guaranteed to the contractor and a maximum which should be large enough to cover the amount the government might very well have to order."The federal procurement records noting the increase in minimum awards to Classic Air did not provide details on why or how its fee structure has changed. But additional public records indicate that the company has sought federal assistance to maintain its operations as a result of the coronavirus and the resulting economic downturn.According to data released by the Treasury Department last month, Classic Air received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program worth between $150,000 and $350,000. The loan helped the company retain 18 jobs, according to Treasury records. Omni Air also got a PPP loan worth between $350,000 and $1 million.Nagle said the hike in ICE payments to the company could provide additional financial benefits for Classic Air. "The only amount that the contractor can reliably count on and show its bankers or creditors is the guaranteed minimum," he wrote. "So sometimes the government, to assist its contractor, will raise the guaranteed minimums to a higher number to reflect the government's increased demand for a particular item or service but also to enable the contractor, especially a needed contractor, to be able to get necessary financing from his bankers."Classic Air has received $322 million from ICE through its deportation contract since 2017, according to federal procurement records. Nearly a third of that, more than than $100 million, has come since March.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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| Republicans fear Kobach primary win in Kansas could jeopardize Senate GOP control Posted: 04 Aug 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Voters in five states head to the polls on Tuesday, including Arizona where pardoned Joe Arpaio is making another run for sheriff.
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