| Trump calls for disenfranchising American voters, but his tweets are toothless Posted: 05 Nov 2020 10:12 AM PST  President Trump can call for votes to stop being counted all he wants. There's nothing illegal going on, and Biden would win the presidency if vote counting were stopped now, anyway.
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| ‘A nightmare case.’ Florida man thought he shot an intruder, but it was his pregnant wife, sheriff says Posted: 05 Nov 2020 03:04 PM PST  A Martin County man thought he heard someone outside his bedroom door in the middle of the night Wednesday. Thinking it was an intruder, the man shot at them. But it wasn't an intruder. It was his pregnant wife, reports say.
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| The Supreme Court heard a case concerning LGBTQ rights and religious liberty about one week after Amy Coney Barrett joined the bench Posted: 05 Nov 2020 12:00 AM PST  The case represents a "legal supernova clash" between the rights of LGBTQ people and the First Amendment right to religious liberty, one expert said.
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| 'Someone may have to pay a price' for USPS's refusal to sweep for ballots, judge says Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:01 AM PST  The United States Postal Service refused to listen to U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, and he isn't happy about it.After the USPS revealed more than 300,000 ballots had entered postal processing plants but subsequently failed to receive "exit scans," indicating they might have been misplaced within the mail system, Sullivan ordered the Postal Service to perform a final sweep for those ballots. But the USPS said Tuesday night it wouldn't follow Sullivan's order in time to ensure the ballots in 15 critical states were accounted for before polls closed.In a hearing Wednesday morning, a Department of Justice attorney representing the USPS told Sullivan it was "not operationally possible" to conduct the sweep, but that the USPS plants did try their best to ensure "ballots were expedited as quickly as possible."> JUST IN: Postal Service files a new explanation in court explaining its failure to comply with Judge SULLIVAN's order but says it complied in spirit anyway. pic.twitter.com/C1RzvS7dBM> > — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 4, 2020But Sullivan wasn't standing for the USPS's "11th hour" decision not to comply, he said. "Someone may have to pay a price for that," Sullivan said, namely Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee who has come under fire for mismanagement ahead of an election expecting an unprecedented number of absentee ballots. "The postmaster's going to have to be deposed or appear before me. I'm not going to forget it," he added.Sullivan and the DOJ lawyer then set up a 1:30 p.m. EST testimony from Kevin Bray, the head of mail processing for the USPS.More stories from theweek.com The left just got crushed Trump is feeling 'down,' starting to 'see this slip away' from him, CNN's Dana Bash reports A Biden presidency might essentially be over before it can begin
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| College student found dead in dorm after testing positive for coronavirus Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:04 AM PST  Bethany Nesbitt, 20, was found dead in a residence hall at Grace College in Indiana. The coroner said Covid-19 was a contributing factor while the cause of death was a pulmonary embolus.
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| Dems Burned Hundreds of Millions on Failed Senate Campaigns Posted: 03 Nov 2020 09:41 PM PST  Hundreds of millions of dollars plowed into Democratic Senate campaigns this year went up in flames on Tuesday as some of the party's most lavishly funded challengers came up short.In South Carolina, Democrat Jaime Harrison fell to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham despite breaking just about every Senate fundraising record with his $109 million cash haul. Kentucky state Senator Amy McGrath posted nearly as impressive fundraising numbers, bringing in about $90 million, but fell well short in her bid to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And in Iowa, Theresa Greenfield failed to unseat Sen. Joni Ernst in spite of a $47 million war chest. In Texas, Democratic challenger M.J. Hegar, who raised nearly $25 million, was easily defeated by incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.Democrats stunned political observers with unheard-of fundraising numbers this year, boosted by huge grassroots financial support in an election year that the party hoped would culminate in a blue wave. But as results trickled in on Tuesday evening, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden falling short of expectations, a number of down-ballot Democrats also succumbed to a Republican showing far stronger than most late-cycle polling had suggested.For Harrison and McGrath in particular, the losses represented an historic squandering of a massive chunk of Democratic resources. Harrison alone had raised more money in a single election cycle than any senator of either party—with the sole exception of McConnell—had ever raised in his or her entire career. Those funds boosted what Democrats hoped would be a seismic shift in the U.S. Senate map, a victory in a state historically dominated by Republicans, and the vanquishment of a senator (Graham) who has emerged as one of President Donald Trump's closest congressional allies—and who recently shepherded Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett through her successful confirmation process.But the election was called for Graham at roughly 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. Half an hour later, as returns showed Graham leading by about 12 points, Harrison called Graham to concede.Despite raising nearly as impressive sums, McGrath fared even worse. As of about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, she trailed McConnell by more than 20 points, with 95 percent of the state's precincts reporting. Her $90 million campaign haul was supplemented by huge outside spending by Democratic groups determined to take out the face of the Senate GOP. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, super PACs and other independent groups dropped $23 million while attacking McConnell and supporting McGrath.Democrats in the race even took to more unorthodox tactics to try to unseat McConnell. One prominent pro-McGrath super PAC spent $1.5 million late in the race to boost Kentucky's Libertarian Senate candidate.Some of the party's most vulnerable incumbents, who also enjoyed substantial backing from Democratic donors, also came up short. In Alabama, Democratic Sen. Doug Jones raised about $26 million, far outpacing Republican challenger Tommy Tuberville, but failed to hold onto his seat in the deep red state.Few expected Jones to prevail in his re-election contest, his first since his upset 2017 victory against former Alabama Supreme Court judge Roy Moore. But the substantial sums donated to his campaign and spent on his behalf dwarfed the roughly $8 million that Tuberville raised for his race. Jones was nonetheless defeated handily; with about 63 percent of the vote in on Tuesday night, Tuberville led by more than 25 points.Election 2020: Live ResultsRead 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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| Mississippi's new magnolia flag starting to fly after vote Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:02 PM PST  A new Mississippi flag without Confederate images was flying in parts of the state on Wednesday, one day after a majority voters approved the design that has a magnolia encircled by stars and the phrase "In God We Trust." Officials hoisted the flag outside Hattiesburg City Hall and on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford. "Mississippi voters sent a message to the world that we are moving forward together," former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson said in a statement.
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| YouTube's algorithm change successfully curbed misinformation ahead of the election — and boosted Fox News at the same time, new research has found Posted: 04 Nov 2020 04:48 AM PST  Researchers speculated this is because the algorithm now favors channels designated as authoritative news sources.
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| Trudeau and Macron speak after cartoon remark controversy Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:43 PM PST  The Canadian PM faced criticism for comments he made about terrors attacks in France.
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| Pennsylvania Republicans are already trying to cast doubt on the state's election results Posted: 03 Nov 2020 09:42 PM PST  Pennsylvania Republicans wasted no time Tuesday night in firing the first shot of what is likely to be at least a weeklong political knife fight in that state, potentially with the presidency at stake.
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| Georgia's most populous county stopped counting ballots at 10:30 p.m. Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:27 PM PST  It's bedtime in Georgia! In Fulton County — the state's most populous county, which includes Atlanta — officials said they would stop counting mail-in ballots at 10:30 p.m., with the plan of resuming in the morning, NBC News reports. Hey, that's fine, it's not like we're in the middle of an incredibly contentious election or anything!The count in Fulton County had already been delayed earlier in the evening, after a pipe burst near a room where some of the ballots were being held. Because the region is home to a tenth of all Georgians, the further hold-up will affect when the whole state is able to report its final tally. Trump leads in the Peach State as of 11 p.m. ET with 63 percent reporting, although his margin is expected to narrow or potentially flip, since mail-in ballots are projected to skew blue, especially in Atlanta.Still, Georgian officials' decision to hit the hay could result in sleepless nights for a lot of other Americans, as it makes the chance of having a definitive call on the president by Tuesday night even slimmer.More stories from theweek.com COVID-19 keeps proving everyone wrong Is this the year the New South turns blue? Democrats' first priority
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| Black men drifted from Democrats toward Trump in record numbers, polls show Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:45 PM PST  Most Black men supported Biden, but overall, Democrats have been losing Black male support since 2008, according to NBC exit poll data.
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| SCOTUS to hear dispute over Catholic organization’s refusal to allow LGBT parents to foster Posted: 04 Nov 2020 05:48 AM PST  In a case pitting LGBT rights against religious rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear arguments in a dispute over the city of Philadelphia's refusal to place children for foster care with a Catholic Church-affiliated agency that excludes same-sex couples from serving as foster parents.
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| US Postal Service blows court-ordered deadline to check for missing ballots. About 300,000 can't be traced Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:54 PM PST  The window is closing fast. The deadline for mail-in ballots either ends as the polls close tonight or has already passed in 29 states.
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| ‘Even $15 an hour is a joke.’ Are Miami restaurants ready for the new minimum wage? Posted: 05 Nov 2020 09:08 AM PST  Zak Stern didn't flinch when he saw Floridians vote for a $15 minimum wage.
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| Thom Tillis Declares Victory in North Carolina Senate Race Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:17 AM PST  Senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) has declared victory in his reelection bid against Democrat Cal Cunningham.The North Carolina Senate race has not been called by the Associated Press as of Wednesday afternoon. However, Tillis currently holds 48.7 percent of the vote to Cunningham's 46.9 percent, with 93 percent of the total vote counted.Most North Carolina counties have already reported greater than 98 percent of their results, according to the New York Times. Several populous Democratic counties have reported about 90 percent of their results, indicating that Cunningham may be able to narrow Tillis's lead. However, Tillis decided to declare victory."Senator Thom Tillis won the most expensive United States Senate race in history," the Tillis campaign said in a statement. "Tillis' victory proved pollsters, pundits and the media wrong, as North Carolinians once again chose a problem solver who keeps his promises and delivers results."In a victory speech delivered to supporters on Tuesday night, Tillis thanked supporters and his family, calling the results of the race a "stunning victory."Polls consistently showed Tillis trailing Cunningham coming into Election Day. Polling numbers did not change significantly even after revelations that Cunningham, an army officer and married father of two, carried on an extramarital affair as recently as July.The race was simultaneously thrown into turmoil after Tillis revealed he had contracted coronavirus, and was forced to hold campaign events and interviews virtually until his recovery.
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| Australian bookmaker pays out $17 million on Biden victory ahead of official result Posted: 04 Nov 2020 05:29 PM PST  An Australian bookmaker said on Thursday it has paid out A$23 million ($16.5 million) to people that had bet on Joe Biden becoming the next U.S. president though the official result is still to be determined. Former Vice President Biden has said he is headed to victory, though President Donald Trump has claimed that he has won and is pursuing lawsuits and a recount. "We have supreme confidence that Biden will end up in the Oval Office," a spokesman for the Australian bookmaker said.
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| Clown coup: Trump's effort to overthrow democracy as well-run as his business (and presidency) Posted: 05 Nov 2020 10:00 AM PST  Trump had many tools at hand for a coup — SCOTUS, Bill Barr, the GOP Senate — but went with Twitter "declarations"
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| Georgia voters ousted the district attorney who oversaw Ahmaud Arbery's case Posted: 04 Nov 2020 10:03 AM PST  The longtime Republican prosecutor had declined to investigate the death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was followed, shot, and killed by a group of white men.
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| A senior TikTok executive admitted the company used to censor content critical of China, 'specifically with regard to the Uighur situation' Posted: 05 Nov 2020 06:04 AM PST  TikTok's UK director of public policy said Wednesday that the company had previously taken a "blunt instrument" approach to censorship.
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| Vienna gunman was caught trying to buy ammunition in July Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:10 AM PST  The Islamic State gunman who murdered four people and injured 22 in a terror attack in Vienna on Monday was caught trying to buy ammunition in the summer, officials have admitted. Kujtim Fejzulai was not under surveillance despite having been released from jail only last December for attempting to join Isil. He had succeeded in convincing the authorities that he had been deradicalised, according to Karl Nehammer, the Austrian interior minister. It has now emerged that police in neighbouring Slovakia notified the Austrian authorities that he had been caught trying to buy ammunition there in July. The disclosure came as one of Fejzulai's victims was identifed as Nexhip Vrenezi, 21, a Muslim originally from the same Albanian immigrant community in North Macedonia as Fejzulai. On the night of Fejzulai's rampage, he was shot four times as he left a pub to have a cigarette. There is no indication that the two men knew each other. Meanwhile the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said that he would use an EU summit next month to urge fellow European Union leaders to unite together against political Islam. His words echoed those of President Emmanuel Macron of France, who has said in the wake of recent terror attacks on French soil that Islamism was incompatible with French values. "I expect an end to the misconceived tolerance and for all the nations of Europe to finally realise how dangerous the ideology of political Islam is for our freedom and the European way of life," Mr Kurz told Die Welt, a German newspaper. Fejzulai's attempts to buy ammunition in Slovakia has highlighted its reputation as one of the easier places in Europe to buy weapons. Two of the gunmen who carried out the 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris obtained assault rifles there. But the country has tightened gun controls since then and Fejzulai was refused ammunition because he did not have a valid gun license. He travelled there with another man in a car registered to the mother of another known Islamist. Mr Nehammer told a press conference the warning from Slovakia had been investigated by Austria's BVT domestic intelligence agency. He put the fact it was not acted on further down to a "failure of communication" and pledged to set up an independent inquiry.
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| Judge 'shocked' USPS disregarded order for postal inspectors to search for undelivered ballots Posted: 04 Nov 2020 06:23 PM PST Judge orders USPS to provide more information on ballots and whether they were delivered in time
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| Eta's second act: Florida now in storm's path after it made landfall in Nicaragua as Category 4 Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:48 AM PST  While it's too soon to determine Eta's intensity, timing and impacts from wind and rainfall, Florida should pay attention to this system.
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| A man was banned from Yellowstone after trying to fry chicken in a hot spring Posted: 05 Nov 2020 02:13 PM PST  Park Rangers found the man near Yellowstone's Shoshone Geyser Basin region with cooking pots and two chickens in a burlap sack.
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| Pope shakes up running of Vatican funds after London property scandal Posted: 05 Nov 2020 04:43 AM PST  Pope Francis has stripped the Vatican's Secretariat of State of control over its own funds, moving them to the supervision of its economic offices in an attempt to contain the fallout of a scandal over a luxury London property deal. The Secretariat of State is the most important department in the Vatican administration, overseeing the Holy See's diplomacy and general affairs inside the Vatican and has historically controlled its own funds, investments and real estate holdings. An investigation into the London deal, which involved several middlemen, led to the suspension last year of five Vatican employees, the resignation of its police chief and the exit of the former director of its Financial Information Authority.
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| Why the polls were wrong about Trump (again) Posted: 04 Nov 2020 03:41 PM PST  Pollsters systematically underestimated President Trump's support — again. And this time, they missed by an even bigger margin than in 2016.
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| Mexico police arrest man over 2019 Mormon killings Posted: 05 Nov 2020 07:08 AM PST  Three women and six children from the US were killed, in a possible case of mistaken identity.
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| The ultimate guide to marijuana legalization Posted: 05 Nov 2020 06:17 AM PST  Four states voted to legalize recreational cannabis, and Mississippi voted to allow medical marijuana.
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| A Buffalo, New York, mail carrier made a wrong turn and was arrested at the Canadian border with 800 pieces of undelivered mail in his trunk Posted: 05 Nov 2020 02:37 PM PST  Investigators believe that the postal service employee had stolen mail more than four times since September.
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| Tired of blue state life, rural Oregon voters eye new border Posted: 04 Nov 2020 03:30 PM PST  As a hotly contested election highlights the United States's deep divisions, rural voters in liberal blue-state Oregon have approved a radical solution -- splitting off to join neighboring deep-red conservative Idaho.
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| Fact check: Photo shows Philadelphia police officer helping toddler, who wasn't lost Posted: 04 Nov 2020 04:24 PM PST  Pro-law enforcement social media accounts posted a photo of an officer holding a toddler and claimed the child was "lost."
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| Key West voters put limits on cruise ships — but a lawsuit is pending Posted: 05 Nov 2020 04:00 AM PST  Key West voters on Tuesday changed the way the island will do business with the cruise industry.
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| Heavy shelling hits Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city: sources Posted: 05 Nov 2020 10:37 AM PST  Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city came under heavy shelling on Thursday, three sources working there said, as Reporters Without Borders called for the safe evacuation of civilians who it says are trapped in Stepanakert. Writing on Twitter, Reporters Without Borders, a nonprofit group, called on the United Nations, the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan "to do everything possible" to allow an evacuation of civilians, including 80 local and foreign journalists.
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| Biden's chances of defeating Trump improve Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:43 AM PST  Joe Biden's prospects looked strong in Michigan and Wisconsin, with him in the lead. The Associated Press has called Arizona for Biden. If he wins those three and holds Nevada, he will have 270 Electoral College votes and be the next president.
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| Pelosi reportedly declares election a 'big win' for Democrats. Moderate Democrat profanely disagrees. Posted: 05 Nov 2020 01:57 PM PST  Democrats gathered on a Thursday call to discuss the results of the 2020 election, and at least one lawmaker reportedly bluntly made her disappointment known.Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) on a Democratic caucus call on Thursday afternoon reportedly went off on what she described as House Democrats' "failure" in this year's election, ABC News' Ben Siegel reports. Democrats are expected to maintain their House majority, but after the election, the party will "likely have fewer seats in January than it does now," CNBC reports. Still, Pelosi deemed Tuesday a "big win," per CNN's Manu Raju. Spanberger clearly disagreed, reportedly saying, "We need to be pretty clear ... it was a failure. It was not a success. We lost incredible members of Congress." She also angrily told Democrats that "no one should say 'defund the police' ever again" and "nobody should be talking about socialism," adding that if the party doesn't change course for 2022, "We will get f---ing torn apart," Politico reports. > Spanberger on the Dem caucus call: We lost races we shouldn't have lost. > Defund police almost cost me my race bc of an attack ad. > Don't say socialism ever again. > Need to get back to basics. > (Is yelling.)> > — Erica Werner (@ericawerner) November 5, 2020Pelosi reportedly rejected the idea that the election was a "failure" for Democrats, saying that "we won the House." She also reportedly told Democrats that "we did not win every battle but we won the war" and that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden "has a mandate," although a winner in the 2020 presidential race has not been declared.But the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reportedly also said on the call that "I'm furious" because "something went wrong here across the entire political world," promising to conduct a "post mortem." More stories from theweek.com Fox News brings Trump to his knees The left just got crushed Biden's potential Cabinet picks may be limited 'to those who Mitch McConnell can live with'
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| Crenshaw: Despite being outspent, Texas Republicans stopped blue wave in its tracks Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:55 AM PST  Texas remains red despite the Democrats' push to flip the state blue; reaction and analysis from Rep. Dan Crenshaw on 'Fox & Friends.'
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| 5 states just passed ballot measures to legalize marijuana, but policy experts say people already in prison on drug convictions have a hard path to freedom Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:34 PM PST  Five states — New Jersey, Mississippi, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota — voted to legalize marijuana on Tuesday.
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| Mom gets 40 years in deaths of 2 babies left in trash bags Posted: 05 Nov 2020 09:07 AM PST  A South Carolina mother who skipped the trial where she was convicted of homicide by child abuse for throwing two of her newborns away in trash bags moments after they born will spend 40 years in prison. Alyssa Dayvault turned herself in the day after her trial ended and remained in jail until Thursday, when Circuit Judge Steven John opened the envelopes where he placed her sealed sentences after the jury verdict Oct. 15. Dayvault hid her pregnancies in 2017 and 2018 from everyone, including her boyfriend and her mother, gave birth at her North Myrtle Beach home alone then put the newborns into trash bags and threw them away, prosecutors said.
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| Michigan says a 'dead voter' conspiracy theory shared by Donald Trump Jr. is probably the result of a records error Posted: 05 Nov 2020 02:45 PM PST  Michigan's Department of State denied a viral conspiracy theory alleging that a deceased person voted in the 2020 presidential election.
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| North Korea bans smoking in public places - will it help Kim kick the habit? Posted: 05 Nov 2020 03:17 AM PST  North Korea has introduced smoking bans in some public places to provide citizens with "hygienic living environments," raising questions about whether the nation's chain-smoking supreme leader may kick the habit himself. The new law introduced on Wednesday by the governing Supreme People's Assembly aims to protect the lives and health of North Koreans by tightening the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes, state media KCNA reported. The law stipulates that smoking is banned in specific venues, such as political and ideological education centres, theatres and cinemas, and medical and public health facilities. KCNA added that the law indicates penalties for breaking rules. North Korea has notoriously high smoking rates. Some 46 per cent of men smoked tobacco as of 2017, according to a World Health Organization survey. Apparently, no women smoke. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, is the nation's most famous smoker, and has been frequently seen on state media lighting up a cigarette.
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| Missing mountain biker found dead after falling from hillside, California cops say Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:53 PM PST  Rescuers initially couldn't reach the mountain biker, officials said.
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| Russia's coronavirus tests show false negatives up to 40% of time, official says Posted: 04 Nov 2020 11:42 PM PST  Russia's coronavirus tests give false negative results up to 40% of the time, a health official said on Thursday as new infections rose and Moscow's mayor warned of a worsening situation. Sergei Avdeev, the health ministry's lead external consultant on pulmonology, said coronavirus tests often showed false negatives, not because of a problem with the tests, but because the swabs were not taken properly.
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| Trump campaign spews lawsuits to stop the clock on voting Posted: 04 Nov 2020 03:54 PM PST  As the vote count ground on Wednesday in an excruciatingly tight presidential race that seemed to be moving inexorably against him, President Trump took to the courts in an increasingly desperate effort to challenge the results.
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| 'It was a failure': Furious House Democrats unload as leadership promises answers after election losses Posted: 05 Nov 2020 02:45 PM PST  House Democrats talked through the aftermath on a private caucus call Thursday afternoon, where lawmakers blamed the media, polling and one another for the losses.
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| Meet Adrian Tam, the Gay Man Who Beat a ‘Proud Boys’ Leader in Hawaii’s Election Posted: 05 Nov 2020 01:34 AM PST  Adrian Tam was not worried for himself while out on the campaign trail in Hawaii, he said. Instead, he was concerned for the safety of his volunteers and supporters, wearing shirts and face masks bearing his name, because his opponent was Nick Ochs, the leader of a Hawaii chapter of the far-right paramilitary group the Proud Boys."Fortunately, nothing bad happened," Tam, 28, told The Daily Beast. "We were met with happiness and joy by people." Tam was ultimately victorious in his bid to represent District 22—covering Waikiki, Ala Moana, and Kakaako on Oahu—in the Hawaii House of Representatives. He won the seat with 63 percent of the vote, and is now the only out LGBTQ representative in the statehouse.The Demented Drama Behind a Chart-Topping Band Going Full Proud BoyOn Wednesday, Tam told The Daily Beast that he was happy there had been a record turnout in Hawaii. "As a first-time candidate, like many first-time candidates, there may have been a little anxiety going into it. I am just grateful that we won, the anxiety is lifted. Now the hard work begins today." The major issues he is focusing on are around homelessness, public safety, condominiums, coronavirus, the economy, and diversifying the regional economy away from tourism.The biggest challenge he faced was not Ochs, said Tam, but defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Tom Brower in the primary. "This was a 'change election,'" said Tam. "A lot of new candidates are younger, and won races or open primaries."He is also the only out LGBTQ member of the legislature. "It feels great," said Tam. "I always say representation matters. I am glad that I can bring that perspective to the legislature when it comes to making decisions. I always say a legislature should reflect what a state looks like. I am glad to be the only one, but I hope I am not the last one."LGBTQ issues did not come up with constituents, Tam said. "People were more concerned about the economy and their livelihoods. But I had a lot of people who are LGBTQ tell me that they were excited about our campaign. They really wanted us to win."Ochs' campaign had "thrown a lot of insults and attacks" at him, Tam said, "but we stayed on message, with the plans and ideas we had to move Hawaii forward. I'm really glad our message got through, and the community voted resoundingly to send me to the legislature. I am grateful for this opportunity that was given to me by the voters, and I promise I am going to work hard for them."It concerns Tam that the Proud Boys have a presence in Hawaii. "But I am happy and very hopeful that members of the community realized they didn't represent the values of Hawaii. Groups like these will always exist, but it's up to us to not only tune them out, but to get our message out there and change minds so more people don't join them."Tam muted Ochs on social media, although friends told him when his opponent attacked him online. In September, Facebook deleted Ochs' campaign page for violating terms of service and community standards, a move Ochs condemned. (The Daily Beast reached out to Ochs for comment via Hawaii's GOP, and received no response.)Local ABC news station KITV reported that the Democratic Party of Hawaii had denounced Ochs "for a history of offensive posts on social media about the Black, Jewish, and LGBT communities, as well as a video showing Ochs urinating into active lava fissure at the Kilauea volcano."At his first presidential debate with Joe Biden, President Trump infamously asked the Proud Boys to "stand by." In a 2018 interview with Hawaii Public Radio, Ochs said of the Proud Boys: "We are a social club, a fraternity. Proud Boys are what you'd call the 'new right' or, to make it simpler to understand, the 'alt lite.' The only thing you have to do to become a Proud Boy is declare yourself to be a proud Western chauvinist. It's just to say that we think Western culture is the best and we need make no apology for that."He said the Proud Boys believed America to be "the greatest country on Earth, Canada, Western Europe. Let's not overcomplicate this. What's today's big controversy? The president is in trouble for, I know you have polite listeners, calling certain parts of the world crap holes, specifically, Haiti… and Africa, sure. Objectively these countries don't have anywhere near the standard of living that countries in the West do. Everyone agrees that Haiti is a crap hole. I think speaking honestly is just speaking honestly, and the fact a controversy erupts from that is why we exist."Ochs, who was endorsed by Roger Stone, Donald Trump's former informal campaign adviser and longtime ally, told KITV that he was not a racist or white supremacist. "I'm happy to talk to anyone. And again, I am either the world's worst racist, or I'm not a racist. You have to acknowledge that a white supremacist does not marry a Black woman and have a mixed family, that is not what that word means and the people that are throwing it around are disingenuous."* * *"It was the biggest leap I had ever made in my life."Tam was born and raised in Honolulu; his mother and father, he writes on his website, "were hard-working immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Taiwan who fled with their families from hardships in their home countries in search for a better life in the United States." His father was an assistant to a draftsman, and his mother was a saleswoman at Maui Divers. His family went on to open Central Pacific Properties Inc., a local small real estate firm.Tam left Hawaii to attend Penn State University, where he studied history, thinking he might go to law school or do a master's degree. He returned to Hawaii—aged 23—to work at his family's real estate business. He felt he wasn't making enough money, and left after a year to take on an administrative job at the state legislature, "where I immediately fell in love with public service," he told The Daily Beast. In 2016, Tam served as a legislative aide, and in 2017 he was appointed to manage the office of Sen. Stanley Chang. The Victory Fund, which supported a number of successful LGBTQ candidates in election races including Tam, said that during his tenure Tam "has been instrumental in the passage of Hawaii's conversion therapy ban for minors, as well as working with stakeholders in passing a ban on gay panic defense."Tam told The Daily Beast that last year he decided he would run for public office himself. "I saw that our community and state were hurting, and needed new voices, new leadership, new ideas, and new innovations, and so I threw my hat into the ring. It was the biggest leap I had ever made in my life."Tam came out as gay while at college. He said he had "never faced many challenges in terms of employment. It's never been an issue for me really, but I understand it's important to have a seat at the table. As Elizabeth Warren once said, 'If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu.'"His family—mom, dad, sister, and grandmother—"are my biggest supporters. They are ecstatic, over the moon, right now, and have been in this with me since the primary." Tam is single. Right now, he is focused on his new job, "and whatever happens happens in that part of my life."Tam believes the victories of young, first-time candidates shows Hawaii was "definitely in the mood for change this election cycle. I am also happy that when we join the legislature, long-time legislators will also be there. I truly believe we have lot to learn as new candidates, and I want to learn from the more experienced ones. We're not there to destroy everything and start from scratch. We want to build on what we have so far."Hawaii, said Tam, like the rest of America was extremely divided. He quoted Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "A great man once said that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle. It is the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it will go back." Tam hopes this election will prove to be once such moment."I believe there have been heated exchanges between family members, friends, peers, and colleagues in Hawaii. There are definitely a lot of people who voted for Biden and others who voted for Trump who do not see eye to eye. But in Hawaii we respect each other. We have this thing called the 'Aloha Spirit,' which means that at the end of the day, no matter what our beliefs are, we remain friends and cordial and respectful. We have not had riots or unrest here. There have been protests, but it hasn't escalated to what I've seen on the mainland."This reporter asked if Ochs had call Tam to concede, or if the the pair had spoken since Tam's victory."We have not spoken," Tam said. His tone suggested he didn't much mind about that, this reporter said."I am fine either way, said Tam. "I know it is not easy being a candidate, so I understand."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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| Rocket Lab will soon attempt its first-ever recovery of a rocket booster — a SpaceX-like capability that could save the company millions per launch Posted: 05 Nov 2020 12:33 PM PST  Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and CEO, hopes the planned test on November 15 will help the company turn around missions faster and cut costs.
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