Dan Patrick vowed Friday to never let the state turn Democratic, calling himself the "last man standing" electorally against future Democratic presidential candidates. Texas has 38 electoral votes, the most of any reliably Republican state and the second-most of any state next to California, which is a reliably Democratic state with 55 electoral votes. Texas last voted for a Democrat in a presidential election in 1976, when Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford. The last four presidential elections before that in Texas were double-digit wins for the Republican candidates. Fox Nation is a sponsor of CPAC and will be streaming live speeches from the most influential conservatives at CPAC 2021: America Uncanceled.

South Texas is once again seeing a surge of migrants crossing the Rio Grande, our border with Mexico. But his sudden decision to pick up where former President Donald Trump left off with a border wall — using state dollars — is terribly misguided. The idea that Texas should add to a border wall is foolish and ridiculously costly. Our border problem lies in Washington, not in South Texas. Texans, including Abbott, should support solutions that actually work and abandon billion-dollar political props such as an ineffective border wall.

Fox News Media, the company that owns the reactionary, climate crisis-skeptical Fox News, is launching a weather channel this year – a development that has climate crisis experts worried. Fox Weather, a 24-hour channel devoted to all things meteorological, promises “cutting-edge display technology”, according to a press release, with “forecasting experts surrounding every major weather event”. But it is Fox News’ output, and the potential for Fox Weather to adopt a similar tone to its sister channel, that has onlookers concerned. Sharri Berg, formerly the executive vice-president of news operations for the Fox News channel, will oversee Fox Weather, along with Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media. If Fox Weather does not interfere with the weather information its new staff is putting out, then Maibach said there is hope – for the weather channel at least.

A Laguna Hills event center canceled plans to host an “America First” rally on July 17 after learning the speakers were slated to be two of the most controversial Republicans in Congress: Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. “We just want to stay clear of that,” Javad Mirtavoosi, general manager of Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center, said by phone Friday. And they’re still selling tickets for a rally, though they’re still trying to find an Orange County venue for the same day. “We’re very close to securing a location that will proudly host our America First Rally with Congresswoman Greene and Congressman Gaetz,” Nick Dyer, spokesman for Greene’s campaign, said Friday afternoon. The flier lists the location as the Pacific Hills center on Moulton Parkway.

A years-long feud between Fuentes and CPAC organizers appeared to escalate on Wednesday after Fuentes' declaration. "I'm going to CPAC in Dallas on Saturday," he tweeted to his loyal "groyper army," many of whom responded with excitement. "Well, most likely, I'll be getting physically removed from CPAC in Dallas on Saturday, but you can come watch if you want," he added. I imagine if they have similar plans in Dallas ... their time inside the conference will be short-lived." Holt added that Fuentes and the "groypers" see CPAC as a way to "boost their own visibility" and attempt to "siphon off" attendees from more mainstream conservative groups.

Donald Trump is doing Dallas on Sunday, his second appearance at a CPAC conclave since leaving the White House. A committee formed to deal with the unusual request negotiated a price so potentially embarrassing to Trump he insisted on an NDA. Trump’s grifting nature and need to outsmart the chumps is so deeply ingrained, he’s actually making money off his ex-presidency. ”For the whole of his life, Trump has counted on other people doing the right thing—like paying their taxes—so there’s no need for him to do the same. When he can spare the time out of the limelight, he will be able to, gulp, build a library automatically branded Trump.

Former President Donald Trump called on “RINO Republicans” to stop working on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, warning that they are “just being played by the Radical Left Democrats.”“[T]hey will give you nothing!” Trump said in a statement issued late Friday. That move would enable Senate Democrats to skirt the legislative filibuster and force their legislation through with just 51 votes. “We’ve added quite enough to the national debt.”Republicans have insisted that the legislation not be paid for by undoing the 2017 tax cuts enacted by Trump, a point the 45th president emphasized Friday night. Former President Donald Trump called on GOP senators to stop working the bipartisan infrastructure plan. “Keep the Trump Administrations [sic] tax cuts just where they are,” he added.

along comes uber-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) with a warning Friday that health care workers coming to homes to vaccinate people could also be out to grab Americans’ guns and Bibles. “Now they’re talking about going door-to-door to take vaccines to the people,” Cawthorn complained in an interview with the Right Side Broadcast Network at CPAC in Dallas, adding that the plan would require a “massive” operation. Madison Cawthorn says Democrats are going to go door-to-door to every home in America and force vaccinate us, and it’s actually a dry run for when they show up to take away our guns and Bibles. — Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) July 9, 2021Madison Cawthorn says today that Biden’s plan to send people door to door to offer vaccines is really a plot to confiscate people’s bibles and guns. pic.twitter.com/h6CPdJwv9t — Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 9, 2021Madison Cawthorn said we are going to be going door to door to take people's guns and bibles?

The former governor is the front-runner in the growing field of Republican primary candidates hoping to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Roy Blunt. Greitens, they say, has successfully tied himself to former President Donald Trump, a popular figure in ruby-red Missouri. “Eric Greitens is a sexual assaulter and a blackmailer; if he’s the Republican nominee, there’s a real chance Democrats win this seat,” Missouri Republican strategist Gregg Keller said. Meanwhile, the Schmitt campaign raised $1.3 million in the second quarter to finish the period with $1.1 million in cash on hand. Washington Examiner VideosTags: News, Campaigns, Eric Greitens, Missouri, Republican Party, 2022 Elections, Donald Trump, Kimberly GuilfoyleOriginal Author: David M. DruckerOriginal Location: Republicans opposed to Eric Greitens lament growing strength in Missouri GOP Senate race

Reflecting Georgia’s new tossup status, Democrats are perhaps more bullish on Kemp’s ability to withstand the dynamics than some Republicans. Rep. Debbie Buckner, the last rural white Democrat in the General Assembly, said Kemp made an impression just by coming in 2019 to tour tornado damage in Talbotton, east of Columbus. Democrats also vowed to hammer Kemp over his handling of COVID-19, including an attempt to block local mask mandates, but aren't sure anymore of the issue's power as the pandemic fades. And Kemp can point to a strong economy and flush state coffers, even if buoyed by federal pandemic aid Republicans didn’t support. “I really feel like a lot of the race will be based on race,” said Buckner, explaining that most white voters in her district aren't willing to vote for a Black woman for governor.

On election night in 2016, Donald Trump paid homage to America’s “forgotten men and women”, vowing they would be “forgotten no longer”. Frankly, We Did Win This Election is his first book. But to most of Trump’s party, six months after the insurrection, what happened that afternoon is something to be forgotten or at least ignored. “I don’t care if he apologizes or not,” Trump says of his vice-president presiding over the certification of Biden’s win. According to Bender, Trump offered the job to Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee – and niece of Mitt Romney, the Utah senator, 2012 nominee and, in Trumpworld, persona decidedly non grata.

Caitlyn Jenner's first news conference event on Friday was held 77 days after she announced she would run for California governor. The event, held in a nondescript hotel conference room in Sacramento, California, ended in less than 15 minutes, without any campaign specifics regarding policy or her viewpoint on many issues. The Republican candidate, 71, met briefly with roughly two dozen reporters, with no visible security on hand. Jenner asserted herself as a serious candidate in the Sept. 14 recall election of first-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and claimed she is leading the field of Republican candidates – even though no independent polling has been done to corroborate that point.

Tax lawyers and former prosecutors say the references to his family members are a not-so-subtle tactic to suggest to Weisselberg that he should cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization. "And I think he's sending a message to the Trump Organization: Your people should come in and talk with us earlier rather than later if you want a business that you can leave to your children. Former President Donald Trump doesn't use email and Weisselberg was a trusted ally. The Trump Organization has vigorously denied any wrongdoing and said Vance's office is using Weisselberg "as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President." To date, Trump and Weisselberg have been aligned, and Weisselberg refused to cooperate before being charged despite pressure from prosecutors to do so.

So it is really disturbing that the White Christo-Fascists have now taken aim (again) at public education, specifically targeting “woke” teachers. Public education – and public school teachers who collectively are the most unionized of any profession and tend to support Democrats – has been a target of right-wing conservatives going back to Reagan, and the fight to force prayer in school and public tax money for parochial schools. Already, there have been literal attacks on school board members and meetings, and right wingers taking over seats on school boards. States have passed bans on teaching critical race theory but what does that mean practically? But because Texas has one of the highest populations of public school students (approximately 5 million) it carries undue influence on national textbook publishers and the content that they include — or do not include — in their textbooks.

However, in a rare display of honesty, another Fox News anchor delivered some factual information about the Biden outreach program. Gillian Turner interviewed Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen and presented him with what the program is actually doing. Thiessen, however, wasn't moved:Turner: In the Biden administration's defense, they're insisting with this door-to-door strategy they're not showing up with needles. x Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen complains that Trump wasn't included in the PSA featuring the other living former presidents promoting the vaccines. Thiessen went on to complain that Trump wasn't included in a public service ad that featured all of the living former presidents promoting the vaccine.

"The Conservative Political Action Conference is the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world. plan to restore Donald J. Trump in days, not years,” which involves installing Trump as speaker and ousting Biden & Harris. The value form of a commodity contrasts with its physical features as a 'use value' or good - e.g. x QAnon shirts are being sold at CPAC Dallas for $25. Some degree of confrontation is more than likely this weekend in Dallas, where Trump himself will deliver the keynote address on Sunday afternoon.

So, a short time before COVID hit me, I had what was supposed to be a minor, hah, elective, hah, outpatient surgical procedure. I shrieked like a fire siren), and that the followup was badly botched, leaving me with far more damage than I went in with. I countered that I wanted New Doc to be thinking about fixing the damage, not wondering if I’m litigious. What I *don’t* have, though, is any desire to see Trump, hear Trump, read about Trump, read about people who worked with Trump, read about what Trump has done or might do or might have done or would do if he were a decent person in a parallel universe, etc. So I am awarding myself a brief period of post-surgical Trump Respite.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2021x President Biden: "Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2021x President Biden is nominating Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be Ambassador to India. https://t.co/6Q4YSENmOY — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2021CHARLOTTESVILLEx CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Charlottesville says on Saturday it plans to remove statue of Confederate Gen. Lee that drew white supremacists to city. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2021NEW YORKx NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. public health officials say vaccinated teachers and students don't need to wear masks inside school buildings. @playbookdc — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2021

“Pursuing that goal includes reducing the factors contributing to domestic terrorism. But elsewhere, the Strategy shows a reliance on the FBI’s deeply flawed approach to categorizing domestic terrorist threats. This is a structural problem that was created in 2017, when Congress first began demanding that the FBI explain its categorization of domestic terrorism and report back with data. … By 2017, the FBI had invented a new domestic terrorism program category it called the “Black Identity Extremism movement”. But there’s not a lot in the Strategy that requires them to actually focus on violence.”The key, he says, will lay in whether the Biden administration can reshape an agency with a long history of resisting efforts to confront far-right domestic terrorism.

So while Democrats inoculate the country, put checks in people's bank accounts, and hone their messaging for the midterms, Republicans have capitalized on the Big Lie to tilt the electoral system even further in their direction. In light of Trump's deranged fantasies of being "reinstalled," she wrote, "we need to really start understanding the Big Lie as a terrorist ideology." Rangappa also linked to a CNN clip from last week, in which she teased out why the Big Lie should viewed as a terror threat. Of course, Republicans are also pushing that threat at the highest levels of government. "We have basically a domestic terror movement which is represented in Congress and is continuing to be promoted," Rangappa added.

2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die. You—or the leader of your party—may make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane. Even the White House press corps misses the chaos. “I think everyone probably misses the ease of it, having so many willing leakers,” said the young White House reporter. It claims credit for the economic progress the country has made and tells the Chinese people to be grateful.

Now we need a rally “to protect our election [lies]”—fixed it for him. Perhaps trump, who reportedly is “riveted” by the endless and illegal weirdness in Phoenix, will conduct his own recount. The nearby building they relocated to does not have A/C, only swamp coolers, which seems appropriate for trump. Three days before trump’s June 23, 2020 rally at Dream City Church the Phoenix City Council passed a mask ordinance as Covid deaths spiked. One death that followed soon after was the co-founder of Turning Points USA, Bill Montgomery, who died a month later of Covid.

I don’t know about y’all, but the first post-Turd Reich Independence Day felt pretty dang sweet to this masked drunkard. But then, just in the nick of time, along came critical race theory. And no, they couldn’t correctly define “critical race theory” if their lives depended on it, but I’m sure you’ve noticed, as the list of shit the American Right gets objectively wrong lengthens, their devotion to their disinformers only grows more fervent. Anyway, definitions are for cucks, these kids know CRT when they see it, and they see it absolutely fucking EVERYWHERE. Speaking of which HOLY CRAP LOOK OVER THERE IT’S CRITICAL RACE THEORY!

Donald Trump Jr.’s screeching banshee of a girlfriend? “Trump thinks Greitens is problematic, and that Kim is annoying,” said one Trump adviser. Donald Trump only supports sexual predators that he handpicks. Get them all, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE.

Make it easier and cheaper to repair items you own by limiting manufacturers from barring self-repairs or third-party repairs of their products. It directs the agencies to focus enforcement in particular "on labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the tech sector." The order also asks the FCC to limit excessive early termination fees ISPs charge for people switching providers. Biden insisted Friday that "competition works," and has made the U.S. the "wealthiest and most innovative nation in history." This executive order, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday, has the "overarching objective" of making sure the "President is encouraging competition in industries around the country."

And now, our feature presentation…-Cheers and Jeers for Friday, July 9, 2021Note: Tonight's C&J is paired with a 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Jeroboam. “Daily Kos imploding? I’d better put on my concerned face!” It appears that the post-Yearly Kos month from hell is continuing for Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the proprietor of the Internet's premier liberal blog Daily Kos. “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...psych!” Such internal squabbling comes at the same time that many prominent Democrats seem to be privately expressing concern about the direction the "netroots"—the self-described Internet grassroots movement of liberal bloggers and their loyal followers—are taking the Party. Fifteen years and fourteen successful Netroots Nation conventions later, "The" Daily Kos continues to not implode.

In 2012, back in my reporter days, an ICE spokesperson told me that they didn’t detain pregnant women at all. “Several women report being ignored by detention staff when requesting medical attention or experiencing serious delays even during health emergencies involving severe bleeding and pain,” the complaint said. Teresa, one woman described in the report, was four months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage while in detention. Yet ICE detention numbers have nearly doubled from April, despite pleas from lawmakers and advocates that it not again detain immigrants released due to the pandemic. ICE is endangering thousands through its actions, because it still has no official, nationwide vaccination plan in place.

And nine-in-ten Americans say China does not respect the personal freedoms of its people. Only on human rights-related issues – both the perception that China’s human rights policies are a major problem and support for promoting human rights in China – do Democrats and Republicans largely agree. Nearly two-thirds of conservative Republicans say China is an enemy (64%), while only 37% of moderate or liberal Republicans say the same. By a nearly four-to-one ratio, Americans think China has done a bad job handling climate change, with 45% saying China has done a very bad job. When asked whether the U.S. should prioritize economic relations with China or promote human rights in China, 70% of Americans choose human rights, even if it potentially harms economic relations with China.

Though there is no direct evidence for either idea, the natural origins hypothesis has scientific precedence. The coronavirus family of viruses, that SARS-CoV-2 is a part of, have spilled over into humans (SARS and MERS) and caused pandemics. Now, the lab-leak hypothesis has taken on the rhythm and melody of conspiracy theory. SARS-CoV-2 uses its spike protein to bind tightly to ACE2, a protein on cell surfaces in humans and other animals. The lab-leak hypothesis is a scientific deus ex machina, a narrative shortcut that points a finger at a specific set of bad actors.

The Covid-19 pandemic originated in the city of Wuhan, in China, in November or December of 2019. It’s the only lab in the country with Biosafety Level 4 facilities, the most secure on the BSL scale. Some scientists at that lab in Wuhan were doing coronavirus research under a lesser security grade, BSL-2 as opposed to BSL-4. These can be places where viruses evolve as they move from animal to animal. OK: Does that mean Covid-19 might have somehow leaked out of a laboratory to become a global scourge?

Now, though, the lab leak hypothesis seems to have found new life. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization released a joint report with Beijing on the origins of the pandemic following a four-week investigation in China. It concluded, among other things, that the lab leak hypothesis was "extremely unlikely." But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he does not believe the team's assessment of the lab leak possibility was extensive enough. In a joint statement, they did not mention the lab leak theory, but the Biden administration hasn't ruled it out.

Two in five Democrats (43%) believe it’s probably true the virus had a laboratory beginning, a 10-point increase since last year (33%). Two-thirds of Independents (65%) now think the coronavirus originated from a laboratory in China, up 17 points from last year. Former President Trump has asserted since April 2020 that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in China, but he did not provide evidence for the statements. About one in five Democrats (21%) believe the coronavirus emerged via natural mutation in the wild, something just 4% of Republicans stand behind. More Republicans approve of the Democratic president’s handling of COVID-19 than approve of his overall job performance.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald joined "Media Buzz" on Sunday to sound off on the media who "pretended to have scientific knowledge" on the origins of coronavirus, but who he says intentionally dismissed the Wuhan lab leak theory to keep "telling American liberals what they want to hear." "I think this is an extraordinary media debacle - probably one of the worst aside from Russiagate - over the last say five or six years," Greenwald said on Sunday. But the media "treated it as a conspiracy theory to the point where you should be kicked off social media." Nothing has changed, Greenwald observed, "except for the fact that Donald Trump is no longer president." "And American liberals didn't want to hear that maybe Trump was right about the origins of this virus, and so they just pretended they had scientific knowledge that that theory was a conspiracy theory," he added.

And China might even tell us.”Pressed to explain what evidence he had seen that the virus originated in a Chinese lab, Trump responded, “I can’t tell you that. On Friday, Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said: “What we have before us doesn’t suggest that (a lab in Wuhan) is a likely source”. Pompeo pressed China to let outside experts into the lab “so that we can determine precisely where this virus began”. After initially praising the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump has reversed course in recent weeks, blaming China for not containing the virus more quickly. The Chinese government said on Thursday that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory were “unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing”.

Comparisons to Iraq’s non-existent WMDs have been made by both critics and promoters of the lab leak theory. It's an even more potentially powerful narrative because the lab leak theory fits nicely into the new foreign policy doctrine of the United States: Great Power Competition. There are two main variants of the lab leak theory, one in which China’s incompetence is to blame and another in which it’s China’s malfeasance. It would therefore serve the American public to be critical of the motives driving coverage of the lab leak theory or risk being dragged further into confrontation. Origins of the lab leak theoryIt did not take long for the “lab leak theory” to get mainstream attention, even if dimmissive in the beginning.

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that the world’s climate is changing, the president-elect of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has long been on the side of the deniers. In 2012, he posted on Twitter a couple of messages that asserted that climate change was a hoax that China had devised to secure an unfair trade advantage, presumably because the Obama administration was seeking to curb coal consumption in the United States. “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” Mr. Trump wrote. That message has been reshared more than 104,000 times and “liked” nearly 66,000 times. On Wednesday, a deputy foreign minister of China, Liu Zhenmin, told reporters at a climate conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, that starting from the 1980s, the administrations of Mr. Trump’s Republican predecessors — Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush — supported climate change negotiations under a United Nations panel.

Her team goes out into the wild to find bat coronaviruses and bring them to Wuhan for study. There is a giant collection of hundreds of bat coronaviruses there. The U.S. National Institutes of Health funded studies on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. These may—or may not—have involved intentionally creating bat coronaviruses that were more easily transmitted to humans. We know that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved with gain of function experiments involving bat coronaviruses in the past.

At the very least, Wade demonstrates that the “lab-leak” theory ought not to be discounted. Nonetheless, Cotton aired a version of the lab-leak theory in early 2020. Moreover, Ebright affirmed in a declaration to me his view that the lab-leak theory has actually been the strongest hypothesis about the origin of COVID since… January 2020. But that wouldn’t then justify castigating as a “conspiracy theory” his other suggestions about the potential origin of the virus. Columnist Josh Rogin also just published an article May 6 lauding congressional investigations into the lab-leak theory.

AdvertisementYet the report offered no evidence linking the patients’ illness to COVID-19 research at the Wuhan lab. Biden’s directive to the intelligence agencies has been taken as a virtual endorsement of the laboratory origin claim. But the history of virological outbreaks points strongly toward a “zoonotic” transfer of the COVID-19 virus — that is, from animals to humans. The lab-leak theory gains from a superficial plausibility — especially to laypersons. AdvertisementAnother reason for journalistic skepticism was that many professional virologists labeled the lab-leak theory as implausible from the first.

China reported to the World Health Organization that the first patient with Covid-like symptoms was recorded in Wuhan on December 8, 2019. The director of the Wuhan National Biosafety Lab, which is part of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, issued a strong denial of the report on Monday. The lab has not been aware of this situation, and I don't even know where such information came from." The source declined to say whether the intelligence report mentioning the hospitalized researchers was discussed during the briefing. One critical avenue to finding an answer would be to run genetic sequencing on the original samples that staff at the Wuhan lab were working on.

A previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report says three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology got sick enough to visit the hospital in November 2019, around the time the COVID-19 outbreak first appeared in its Wuhan epicenter, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The report "could add weight to growing calls for a fuller probe of whether the COVID-19 virus may have escaped from the laboratory," the Journals says. That fact sheet was based on U.S. intelligence, the Journal says. China and the WIV maintain the virus did not leak from the lab. Politics aside, Politico spoke with several experts last week — molecular biologists, virologists, and an evolutionary biologist — about the lab leak theory, and they split between arguing it's possible and explaining why it's very unlikely.

Three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill enough with symptoms similar to COVID-19 that they sought hospital care in November of 2019, according to a U.S. intelligence report obtained by The Wall Street Journal. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has reportedly not provided raw data, safety logs or lab records on its work looking into coronaviruses in bats. Many consider the virus to have originated in bats before jumping to humans. “The U.S. continues to hype the lab leak theory,” China's foreign ministry told the Journal. "We must take hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers seriously until we have sufficient data."

"Does it care about traceability or is it just trying to distract attention?" Asked about the report, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said via email that the organisation's technical teams were now deciding on the next steps. He said further study was needed into the role of animal markets as well as the lab leak hypothesis. A joint study into the origins of COVID-19 by the WHO and China published at the end of March said it was "extremely unlikely" that it had escaped from a lab. Reporting by David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Newly reported US intel found three Wuhan lab workers fell ill with COVID-19 symptoms in fall 2019. Some experts have disputed a WHO inquiry's conclusion that dismissed a coronavirus lab-leak theory. US intelligence found that three researchers at a lab in Wuhan, China, became sick with COVID-19 symptoms in November 2019 and sought hospital care, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. It was known previously that some researchers at the Wuhan lab fell ill. "The lab has not been aware of this situation [sick researchers in autumn 2019], and I don't even know where such information came from."

Wuhan, however, is home of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a leading world center for research on coronaviruses. Its authors were a group of virologists led by Kristian G. Andersen of the Scripps Research Institute. These are the two arguments made by the Andersen group in support of their declaration that the SARS2 virus was clearly not manipulated. In all of China, the pandemic broke out on the doorstep of the Wuhan institute. I have been using the Wuhan Institute of Virology as a shorthand for all virological activities in Wuhan.

There was a time when the Covid pandemic seemed to confirm so many of our assumptions. There are strong hints that some of the bat-virus research at the Wuhan lab was funded in part by the American national-medical establishment — which is to say, the lab-leak hypothesis doesn’t implicate China alone. The social media monopolies actually censored posts about the lab-leak hypothesis. *“Let us pray, now, for science,” intoned a New York Times columnist back at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Maybe the lab-leak hypothesis will be convincingly disproven.

From Robert Reich BlogThe former guy is suing Facebook, Twitter, and Google for violating his 1st Amendment rights by keeping him off their platforms. The irony here is that in many respects Facebook, Twitter, and Google are mini-governments. I'm talking to you, lawmakers trying to prevent students from learning the role race has played in our history. Real patriotism means not flooding our politics with big money, so the voices of the people can be heard. Finally, real patriotism means using your position of power in the media to inform and educate the public rather than weaponize lies and promote extremism to get more clicks.

(Image by outtacontext from flickr) Details DMCAIn an oligarchy, the rich can get away with anything and average people who try to stop harm to themselves and their communities get crushed. In 2007, they reached a settlement with the government over their illegal and deadly marketing practices, promising to behave like good citizens. Then, as the Washington Post noted yesterday:"The family members -- including Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Some years ago, Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore (before he was Trump's advisor) was a guest on my radio/TV program. I asked him, "Which is more important, democracy or capitalism?"

A new analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows that the Republican-Democrat divide in COVID vaccination rates is stark — and growing. In April, according to the analysis, counties that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 election had a 20.6 percent vaccination rate while counties that voted for Joe Biden had a 22.8 percent vaccination rate. By May, the red counties had a 28.5 percent rate of vaccination while the blue counties had a 35.0 percent rate. And on July 6, KFF found, counties that went for Trump had a vaccination rate of 35.0 percent while those that went for Biden had a rate of 46.7 percent. “These findings show a widening divide of communities at risk for COVID-19 along partisan lines,” wrote KFF.

These symbols continue to be prominently displayed on the Northern Red website and on company-run social media accounts. Harrison left Northern Red in 2020 to form his own company, Hades Consulting LLC, which, like Northern Red, caters to police departments and military personnel. (Instagram-Northern Red)* Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New Jersey police shoot targets at Northern Red gun range. It is likely that other police departments and agencies have paid for the services of Potynsky, Harrison and similar far-right paramilitary contractors. All three men are either former or current Northern Red trainers and former US special operations soldiers.

On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden fired Social Security Administration Commissioner Saul after Saul refused to resign, and accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden fired Social Security Administration Commissioner Saul after Saul refused to resign, and accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

Scott Applewhite)Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, departs the Capitol after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appointed him to lead the new select committee to investigate the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, July 1, 2021. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has appointed eight members to the select committee, including seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Thompson said the panel welcomes Republican members, but will be moving ahead even if McCarthy chooses not to participate. Under the committee’s rules, the eight members appointed by Pelosi will be enough for the committee to have a working quorum. He said there will also be no foregone conclusions — on timing or otherwise — as the committee begins its work.

President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press before boarding Air Force One, Friday, July 9, 2021, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press before boarding Air Force One, Friday, July 9, 2021, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP) — When grieving with those who lost loved ones in a building collapse, President Joe Biden invoked the car crash that claimed members of his own family decades ago. In the first months of his term, he has drawn on that empathy to console those who have lost loved ones, including the more than 600,000 who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic. “I could tell it’s sincere, genuine caring for people that are hurt or have lost loved ones,” he continued.

When ex-president Donald Trump held a press conference this week to announce his class-action lawsuit against social media companies, most people shrugged. That site won’t actually sign anyone on to the lawsuit though. The fine print on the landing page explicitly says entering a name does not make someone a plaintiff. Instead, it’s a fundraising effort for the nonprofit, which as a 501(c)(3) organization is not required to disclose its donors. As for the nascent lawsuit against social media companies, legal experts immediately blasted it as a ploy.

The White House is defending an unusual arrangement to keep the identity of buyers of Hunter Biden’s artwork secret. The Manhattan gallery handling Biden’s art, Georges Bergès, told CBS News on Friday that Hunter Biden’s paintings could fetch between $75,000 and $500,000 each, even though Hunter Biden has no professional art training and has never before sold art on the commercial market, according to The Washington Post. White House officials believe keeping the identities of buyers secret, including from President Joe Biden and his son, would be a barrier to such influence. “What these people are paying for is Hunter Biden’s last name.”But White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the arrangement to reporters on Friday, The Hill reported. “After careful consideration, a system has been established to allow Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards,” she said.

The OPA Discipline Committee, which includes the officers’ chains of command, employment counsel and OPA Director Andrew Myerberg, recommended that the two officers be terminated. The two were among a group of six Seattle officers who traveled to D.C. to attend President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally. The Office of Police Accountability launched an investigation to determine whether the officers violated the law or department policy. But the OPA, using records, text messages, photographs, bank records and interviews with federal law enforcement, determined that two officers violated department policies and Washington, D.C., laws. “Accordingly, OPA recommended a finding of not sustained — inconclusive.”The investigation found that the other three officers did not violate the law or department policies.

Former President Donald Trump called Friday night for Senate Republicans to withdraw from negotiations over President Biden’s $1.2 trillion spending proposal, warning that "RINO Republicans" were "just being played by the Radical Left Democrats." Trump warned in his message, which was distributed by email under the banner of Trump’s "Save America" organization. BIDEN TARGETS AIRLINES, INTERNET, HEARING AIDS, PHONE REPAIRS AND MORE IN NEW ORDER"Keep the Trump Administration tax cuts just as they are," Trump advised. The GOP members of the group included several who are often labeled "RINOs," or "Republicans in name only." Democrats speaking out against the bipartisan deal have included Ocasio-Cortez as well as U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state.

Breyer is one of only three liberal members remaining on the nation’s highest Court. Schumer did not mention Breyer by name in his comments, but it’s widely assumed that he was referring to the justice, who is 82 years old and the oldest member of the liberal bloc of justices. He has time to do so, and his waiting for a few weeks after the Supreme Court term ends isn’t without precedent, as Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018, did so in late July of that year. MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan excoriated Breyer late last week, after the justice hadn’t announced his retirement at the end of the Court’s term. “Stephen Breyer didn’t retire yesterday,” Hasan wrote on Twitter.

Now that the Trump Organization and its CFO have been indicted, New York prosecutors are turning their attention to Ivanka Trump. According to a Daily Beast report, seven Trump Organization companies knowingly paid a "portion" of bonuses illegally, including a company where Ivanka held an executive role. MSNBC's Dr. Jason Johnson is joined by former New York Assistant Attorney General Tristan Snell and the Daily Beast reporter who broke the story, Roger Sollenberger.

WASHINGTON — Five people from Florida have been charged with attacking police officers and other offenses during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, according to documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday. Perkins, Doolin and Pollock made their initial court appearance in the Middle District of Florida on the day of their arrest. More: Feds have arrested 535 in Jan. 6 Capitol assault, but still hunting violent rioters six months laterFive people died during or soon after the riot. Doolin, armed with zip-tie handcuffs and a riot-control chemical canister, is the only defendant not accused of assaulting officers, according to the report. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five people from Florida arrested, charged in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

Donald Trump has had it with his oldest son’s “annoying” girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Politico reported Friday. He reportedly called Guilfoyle to thank her for that wild speech and compared her to Eva Perón, the controversial former first lady of Argentina. But now he’s upset that Donald Trump Jr.’s significant other is backing a candidate the former president has no intention of endorsing, according to Politico. He doesn’t appear to be a favorite of the Republican Party or Donald Trump. “Why the f**k is she working for him?” Trump reportedly asked.

Morales-Alfaro was one of several dozen women who miscarried after being placed in immigration detention centers under a Trump-era policy that critics said was aimed at deterring undocumented pregnant women from coming to the U.S. But under a new Biden administration policy, ICE will for the most part no longer arrest and detain pregnant women, postpartum women and women who are nursing. The policy also calls for pregnant women currently being held in immigration detention to be released while they await the outcome of asylum or immigration cases. "This policy change will have a direct impact on saving lives" because federal immigration detention centers are not equipped to provide care to pregnant women, said Joy Bertrand, a Phoenix lawyer. She called the Biden administration's policy change advising against detaining pregnant women a good step, "but it does not undo the damage that has already been done."

Someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference is handing out cards touting a 'seven-point plan' to return Donald Trump to the presidency 'within days'. In short, the plan calls for exposing the Democrats for monstrous crimes, electing Trump as House speaker, and impeaching and removing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The plan includes a link to a website that elaborates on the proposal, describing the seven 'dominoes' that must fall to reinstall Trump in the White House. plan to restore Donald J. Trump in days, not years,” which involves installing Trump as speaker and ousting Biden & Harris. Though the Constitution does not explicitly state that the House speaker must be a member of Congress, such a move would face intense legal challenges.

North Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for $80 million after federal agencies 'unlawfully canceled oil and gas leasing' auctions in the state. The state's Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Western Division. North Dakota is the second-biggest crude oil producing U.S. state, with the bulk of its tax revenues produced by oil and gas activity. In 2016, the Bismarck Tribune reported that Stenehjem's unsuccessful campaign for governor of North Dakota collected at least $50,000 in donations from oil companies' political action committees and oil executives. The news also came after a gas pipeline burst in the Gulf of Mexico and caused a huge fire in the water.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson responded Friday on "Fox News Primetime" to criticism after his revelation the National Security Agency had reportedly "unmasked" his name in communications that purportedly sought an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year. Carlson told host Mark Steyn that Weissmann is the last person that should be lecturing anyone about being "anti-American," given his overtly partisan behavior during Mueller's probe. "First of all, to be lectured by patriotism who think America is systemically racist is beyond belief," Carlson said. "Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air," the statement reads. Carlson elaborated that his team also tried repeatedly to get ahold of Gen. Paul Nakasone, the Trump-appointed head of the agency.

You could also think of it as a presidential race between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom. First, the current California governor and former San Francisco mayor needs to survive a gubernatorial recall. Call them the California way and the Florida way." Not only does Florida love traditional values, but Florida loves business and the people businesses employ. In everything it does, California now opposes traditional values with massive over-regulation and tax burdens on businesses.

Lucas Pipes, 36, a resident of Capitol Hill, walked his daughter's purple scooter up to the fence as workers drilled in front of them. The fencing is expected to be removed within three days and the Architect of the Capitol can "expeditiously reinstall the temporary fencing should conditions warrant," according to a memo sent to lawmakers Wednesday. Capitol Police will continue to monitor threats and the Capitol will still remain closed to public visitors, according to the memo. AdvertisementResidents of Capitol Hill have expressed concern for months with the fortification of their neighborhood and the restrictionsto the Capitol. “Don’t Fence the Capitol was concerned that continued presence of a fence would serve as kind of an acknowledgment that insurrectionists won in some ways,” Cunningham said.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration. “Social Security is in deep trouble,” Pascrell said. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

A White House official confirmed that Saul’s employment was terminated. “I consider myself the term-protected Commissioner of Social Security,” Saul told the Post in an interview Friday afternoon, denouncing the "Friday Night Massacre." "This was the first I or my deputy knew this was coming," Saul told The Post, referring to a Friday morning White House email. The Social Security Administration was established in 1935 as an independent agency but was moved under the Department of Health and Human Services for some time before former President Clinton signed legislation restoring its independent status in 1994. "DONT POLITICIZE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMIN,” Grassley tweeted.

Shortly after 11pm ET on 3 November, Wolff writes, Lachlan Murdoch was told by the Fox News decision desk it was ready to call the state for Biden. It was, Wolff writes, “still, by most measures, hotly contested and still a definite Trump win” in one forecasting model. But Lachlan Murdoch called his father and asked if he wanted to make a call which was sure to anger Trump. Wolff reported that Trump called Murdoch to enthuse about how he was going to help big tech more than Barack Obama. Murdoch, Wolff writes, got off the phone, shrugged and said: “What a fucking idiot.”

Not long ago, the nation celebrated our shared values and common interests while respecting dissenting opinions. Fact is, our shared sense of values is compromised when it comes to social-media platforms’ ad hoc and vague policies. Yet slamming free speech isn’t Facebook’s only abuse: The platform also serves as a primary tool for sex-traffickers. see also Facebook must face sex-trafficking suit, Texas judge rules Facebook may be held accountable for knowingly benefitting from sex... Americans cherish their traditional values; we shouldn’t let corporate hypocrisy and censorship by a bastion of self-anointed geeks destroy them.

A conspiracy theorist known for his high-profile shenanigans was busted Friday for vandalizing the Manhattan gallery where Hunter Biden’s art pieces are being sold. The street artist and filmmaker quips, “What, you’re arresting me ’cause your down with Biden’s war crimes?” He was referring to Hunter’s dad, President Biden. War crimes, baby! EPAThe Boston man made headlines in 2019 when he defaced an art installation featuring a duct-taped banana at Art Basel, scrawling “Epstien [stet] didn’t kill himself,” and gobbling up the fruit. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Webber sued the Trump campaign, alleging he’d been shoved by a staffer into a table, according to reports.

President Biden fired the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, a holdover from the Trump administration, after he refused to resign Friday. The Associated Press reported that Deputy Commissioner David Black, another Trump holdover, had agreed to resign. Biden named Kilolo Kijakazi as acting commissioner while the administration conducts a search for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner. Kijakazi currently is the SSA’s deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy. Congressional Republicans accused Biden of politicizing the agency, which pays out billions of dollars per year to more than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries, including seniors and the disabled.

When Hunter Biden's art is sold later this year, the public won't know who's buying his paintings —and neither will Hunter Biden, the White House, or his father, President Biden. Bergès estimates that Hunter Biden's work could fetch between $75,000 and $500,000 per painting, according to a spokesperson for the gallery. Story continuesIt is not clear the White House could legally stop Hunter Biden, a private citizen, from profiting on his art. "I don't paint from emotion or feeling, which I think are both very ephemeral," Hunter Biden told Artnet in June. In December, federal prosecutors announced they had been investigating Hunter Biden's taxes, beginning in 2018.

By Salman Saeed, Sophie Jeong and Amy Woodyatt | CNNAt least 52 people were killed when a massive fire ripped through a juice factory in Bangladesh, officials said Friday. The presence of chemicals and flammable substances like polythene and clarified butter contributed to the blaze in the factory, and made it more difficult to bring under control, the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency reported. Almost none of the bodies recovered on Friday could be recognized, BSS reported, citing fire service and civil defense director Lieutenant Colonel Zillur Rahman. At least 50 people, mostly factory workers and employees, were injured in the fire. The Narayanganj district administration has formed a five-member probe committee to examine the incident, Reuters reported, citing Al Arifin.

By Darlene Superville | Associated PressWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration. “Social Security is in deep trouble,” Pascrell said. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

If you get the line right, you get a scoop of ice cream.”Such mockery and red meat is typical both for Trump Jr. and CPAC, which Donald Trump himself will headline on Sunday afternoon. Michael Avenatti is going to prison,” Trump Jr. said. Trump Jr. glossed over his dad’s affair with Daniels, and his family’s own legal entanglements. While he own dad was right about “everything,” Trump Jr. said, Biden has set out a welcome mat for illegal migration. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News) (Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)“Addiction is terrible.

EditorialsThe big jump in applications came during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s the explanation being given by a federal agency, U.S. But such excuses don’t make thousands of so-called “Dreamers” any safer from being booted from the only country they’ve ever called home. The Trump administration attempted to abolish DACA in September 2017, and it took almost three years before the Supreme Court, in June of last year, blocked those efforts. The court did not rule that Trump, or any president, could not end the program, only that the Trump administration had failed to followed proper procedures in attempting to do so. Of all the enlightened immigration reforms being pushed in this country, there is none so right as DACA.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the personnel move an "unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration." The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. "President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing," de Juliis said.

The Social Security Administration, which operates independently, pays out more than $1T per year. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from President Donald Trump who regularly drew criticism from Democrats, unions and social welfare advocates. The Social Security Administration, which has operated independently since 1994, pays out more than $1 trillion to 65 million beneficiaries each year. “This removal would be an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted. In a joint statement, they said Social Security beneficiaries "stand the most to lose from President Biden’s partisan decision."

The White House fired Andrew Saul, the Social Security head, on Friday evening. President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his top deputy on Friday afternoon, sparking a face-off as Saul says he doesn't intend to step down from his post. Advocates said the Social Security Administration delayed releasing information to the IRS for stimulus checks earlier this year. "Social Security beneficiaries stand the most to lose from President Biden's partisan decision to remove Commissioner Andrew Saul from leadership of the Social Security Administration," Brady and Crapo said. He wrote on Twitter Saul's removal would be "an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration."

New evidence indicates that more than 10,300 illegal votes were cast in Georgia in the November 2020 general election — a number that will continue to rise over the next several months, potentially exceeding the 12,670 votes that separated Joe Biden and Donald Trump. This evidence also vindicates former President Trump and his legal team for the related public (and private) comments and legal arguments made in challenging the Georgia election results. Also like sister states, Georgia ignored various legislative mandates designed to prevent fraud and to ensure the integrity of the vote. Yet the media, the courts, and the Secretary of State’s Office ignored or downplayed the issue. Upon learning of this new development, the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office quietly opened an investigation into potentially illegal voting by residents who had moved between counties.

The Social Security Administration, which operates independently, pays out more than $1T per year. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from President Donald Trump who regularly drew criticism from Democrats. Biden appointed Kilolo Kijakazi, deputy commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy at SSA, as acting commissioner until the search for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner is completed. The Social Security Administration, which has operated independently since 1994, pays out more than $1 trillion to 65 million beneficiaries each year. “This removal would be an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted.

"If you're going to play the role of a paid private judge you have to play by the rules and the rules are very clear, they require full transparency," Olson said. Jolie sought Ouderkirk's dismissal in August 2020, alleging he was not impartial due to professional links between him and Pitt's lawyers. Ordinarily, an appellate court decision could be expected in about a month. Divorce cases in California, especially celebrity cases and those conducted under the aegis of a private judge, often take place behind closed doors and are not accessible online, even before the COVID-19 pandemic closed courthouses. Jolie's lawyer's brief in the case declared that even if she loses at the appellate level, she will keep fighting Pitt and the custody order.

Live Covid Live Updates: Mississippi Urges Masks for Indoor Gatherings as Delta Spreads Educators’ unions praise new C.D.C. Africa endures its “worst pandemic week ever.”Mississippi urges ‘high-risk’ residents to avoid indoor mass gatherings as Delta variant spreads. To use the S.D.R.s, countries can agree to trade this interest-bearing asset with other countries in exchange for cash. Researchers at Imperial College London also found that from June 24 to July 5, the number of coronavirus cases had quadrupled across England and had risen eightfold in London. The World Health Organization warned last week that the games, held in cities across Europe, had driven a rise in coronavirus cases.

Pandemic journal: Use Trump To Pitch Jabs“To convince the vaccine-hesitant to get immunized,” President Biden need only “Give Donald Trump the credit he deserves for the vaccines,” argues Marc Thiessen at The Washington Post. Meanwhile, Adams “attacked all his rivals without hesitation. He didn’t navigate Ranked Choice Voting with clever machinations. He steamrolled over it with pugnacious bravado. The former invite the latter.”— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

DALLAS – Rep. Mo Brooks, who is running in the Republican primary to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, slammed his competitor Katie Britt as a "pretender" from the "establishment" and also strongly criticized critical race theory in an interview with Fox News at CPAC on Friday. Brooks, R-Ala., is a firebrand congressman with former President Donald Trump's endorsement for the Alabama Senate seat. But he's facing a crowded primary field including Britt, who is Sen. Richard Shelby's former chief of staff, and Lynda Blanchard, former U.S. Brooks also addressed critical race theory in schools during his discussion with Fox News. "Critical race theory is the exact opposite of what we should be teaching people across the United States of America… skin pigmentation is not what defines a person," Brooks said.

DALLAS -- Donald Trump Jr. says he will be "everywhere" in the 2022 midterm elections, as Republicans aim to win back the majority in the House and Senate. And Trump Jr. pledged that "you’ll see me everywhere" in the 2022 cycle. "There’s not many people that have sort of the privilege of having a big platform," Trump Jr., who has 6.8 million followers on Twitter, said. Some political pundits see Trump Jr. as a potential contender for the next GOP presidential nomination if his father doesn't run. "I haven’t personally thought about it," Trump Jr. answered when asked by Fox News if he’s mulled a 2024 run if his father doesn’t launch a campaign.

A United Nations human rights investigator is being called anti-Semitic for remarks made Friday against Israel at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Then-President Trump took the U.S. out of the Human Rights Council in 2018. Blinken, in a statement, noted, "The United States has long been a champion of human rights. If elected to the Human Rights Council, we will use the opportunity to be a leading voice within the Council for promoting respect for human rights." Members of the 47-country Human Rights Council includes China, Cuba, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela.

EX-CBP DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAYS BORDER CRISIS 'UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN,' WARNS OF 'BROKEN' SYSTEM"There's nothing humane about encouraging human trafficking of infants and pregnant women," Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said Friday. But acting ICE Director Tae Johnson said the newest regulations preserve the "health and safety of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals" and reflect "our commitment to treat all individuals with respect and dignity." "Given the unique needs of this population, we will not detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist," Johnson said Friday. Under the Obama administration, pregnant women detained by immigration authorities were released from detention, though in 2017 Trump reversed the order. Opponents of detaining pregnant women argue it puts the health and safety of the mother and infant at risk.

On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden fired Social Security Administration Commissioner Saul after Saul refused to resign, and accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden fired Social Security Administration Commissioner Saul after Saul refused to resign, and accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

The Biden administration is erasing more than $55 million in debt for former students of Westwood College, the Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute. The chain told students their course could be transferred to other colleges, but that often was not the case, the Education Department said. It left many students stuck starting their college careers all over again after they transferred. Last month, the Biden administration erased student debt for more than 18,000 borrowers of the ITT Technical Institute, another defunct for-profit college. DeVos also implemented a new formula that offered only partial loan relief even if claims were granted.

Saul told the Post: "I consider myself the term-protected Commissioner of Social Security." Deputy Commissioner David Black, also a Trump appointee, was asked to resign and complied, the White House official said. Biden has appointed Kilolo Kijakazi as acting commissioner while the search for a commissioner and deputy commissioner is conducted, the official said. The Social Security Administration, which oversees programs that provide financial support to the elderly and disabled, referred questions about Saul and Black to the White House. "They've been trying to destroy Social Security," he said on Twitter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner's resignation, the White House said. Biden asked commissioner Andrew Saul to resign, and his employment was terminated after he refused the Democratic president's request, a White House official said. Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

Ed KahlWoodsideUrge Congress to spendmore on Peace CorpsIn 1961, President Kennedy founded the U.S. government agency known as the Peace Corps. Since then, 240,000+ citizens have served our nation as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), touching the lives of citizens in 142 countries. The Peace Corps is a vital part of the ambassadorial system, reaching portions of humanity that others cannot. President Biden announced the Peace Corps pending budget; the same budget as the last six years. As a nonpartisan agency that accepts citizens 18 or over, regardless of background or education, the Peace Corps crosses all boundaries.

This is precisely why I want to go solar and also to reduce our electricity bills. Either Sen. Feinstein is too senile to see that and should resign, or she is a White supremacist and should resign. Alan MarlingLivermoreTrump should embraceadvocating for vaccinesAccording to Marc Theissen, former President Trump’s greatest achievement was Warp Speed, and President Biden needs to acknowledge this to encourage vaccinations among Trump supporters (“If Biden wants to increase vaccinations, credit Trump,” Page A7, July 8). It needs to be done by the one we all know who has the most direct impact on his supporters — Donald Trump. If this indeed was such a great accomplishment, why isn’t Trump doing a public campaign encouraging his supporters to get vaccinated?

Dan Patrick said Friday that he expects the Legislature to approve an elections bill in short order, with the Senate passing its version of the controversial legislation next week. Patrick defended what he called Republican efforts to secure Texas elections, saying that critics of the legislation were distorting the issue. Former President Donald J. Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, flanked by Texas Lt. Gov. “I don’t know what Donald Trump is going to do in 2024, but I can assure you that his willingness to fight and standup is honored here in Texas,” Patrick said. “We will keep this a red state,” Patrick said.

All 13 Democratic Senators back the legislation. “This bill is designed to make voting and the election process more safe and more secure and more accessible,” said chief author Sen. Royce West of Dallas. A House hearing on its version of the voting bill begins at 8 a.m., while the Senate will take up its own proposal at 11 a.m. “My mom is 93 years old, she votes by mail,” said Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Carol Alvarado of Houston. It remains to be seen whether the legislation floated by Senate Democrats will get a hearing in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Updated 3 times AlertMeWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration. “Social Security is in deep trouble,” Pascrell said. The labor union that represents Social Security employees also welcomed the firings. “President Biden made the right call to send these Trump appointees packing,” de Juliis said.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden will speak in Philadelphia on Tuesday to discuss voting rights, the White House announced — a visit that comes as fights over the 2020 presidential election and election laws roil state and U.S. capitols. The White House's announcement Friday gave little detail, saying only that Biden's remarks will be on “actions to protect the sacred, constitutional right to vote.”Pennsylvania is one of the battleground states buffeted by former President Donald Trump's baseless conspiracy theories that attribute his loss to Biden in last year's election to widespread election fraud. Philadelphia, a heavily Democratic city, was baselessly accused by Trump in both of his elections of harboring voter fraud, in 2020 saying “bad things happen in Philadelphia" and in 2016 that it needed to be closely watched.

Republican senator Marsha Blackburn continued her long-running feud with Taylor Swift in a recent interview, warning that the pop star would be the “first victim” of the “Marxist” society she believes liberals are pushing for in America. “Taylor Swift came after me in my 2018 campaign,” Ms Blackburn, the GOP senator from Tennessee, recently told the right-wing news site Breitbart. In 2018, Swift bucked convention in the tacit and often explicitly conservative world of country music and revealed her deep opposition to Ms Blackburn in a lengthy Instagram post, when she was running to be Tennessee’s first female senator. Though she was born in Pennsylvania, Ms Swift relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her music career and is often associated with the state. In her 2020 Netflix documentary, Swift continued expressing her dismay, saying, “She gets to be the first female senator in Tennessee, and she’s Trump in a wig.

AdvertisementBarron Trump was seen towering over his mother, Melania, on Wednesday as the mother and son duo left Trump Tower, where the former first family has been staying while in New York. In photos obtained by DailyMail.com, Barron Trump, now 15, walked next to his mother and carried Melania's vintage limited edition orange Louis Vuitton x Richard Prince bag, while she toted a $11,000 black Hermes Birkin. Last month, former President Donald Trump told the crowd at the North Carolina GOP convention that Barron is now 6-foot-7 inches tall. 'For four years in the White House, it was never quite clear how much time she was spending at the White House or in a house in Maryland where she had settled her parents.' He also said New York prosecutors want Weisselberg to 'lie against Trump' and flip on the former president.

AdvertisementJeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez were spotted on Thursday arrving at the annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho, dubbed the 'billionaire summer camp'. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos inspects New Shepard's West Texas launch facility before the rocket's maiden voyage, in West Texas on June 7Bezos and Sanchez, who began dating in 2019, attended that year's Sun Valley conference together. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, cut a casual figure as he conferred with Facebook COO Sandberg. Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose was also seen arriving at the Sun Valley conference, which brings together many of the world's richest and most powerful figures. David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications spoke to reporters outside the Sun Valley conference on Tuesday, and NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell arrived to start off the five-day conference as well.

This White House has frequently promised full transparency in pursuit of the highest ethical standards. The Treasury Department advisory warned that the anonymity afforded to art buyers made it harder to track such illegal activity. 'Hunter Biden's Art Will Soon Hit the Market for Up to $500,000 Per Piece. Art consultant Martin Galindo said that he wasn't a fan of Biden's art but was confident the pieces would sell for hefty prices. Biden's art dealer's roster of artists includes Sylvester Stallone and Bahraini royal family member Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifa.

Rupert Murdoch personally made the decision to allow Fox News to broadcast that it had called Arizona for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, a new book reveals. Donald Trump and his aides were furious when Fox News became the first network on election night to call Arizona for Biden. Arnon Mishkin who leads the FOX News Decision Desk made the Arizona call on election night and FOX News Media President Jay Wallace was then called in the control room. And White House senior adviser Jared Kushner contacted Rupert Murdoch to try and get it retracted. It is just one of a slew of new accounts lifting the lid on Trump's turbulent time at the White House.

Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, who's been on Democrats' wish list for removal. Several leaders appointed by President Donald Trump are staying in their high-level postsSee more stories on Insider's business page. President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from the Trump administration who has been on Democrats' wish list for removal. Biden appointed Kilolo Kijakazi, currently the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy, as acting commissioner while the search for a commissioner and deputy commissioner is conducted, according to the official. But there are other officials appointed by President Donald Trump who are sticking around in their high-level posts in the Biden administration.

“Michigan State Police is also assisting in the matter.”The Michigan State Police separately confirmed to Law&Crime that the department is “providing investigative assistance” to the AG’s office. The other members of the oversight committee are majority vice chair Lana Theis (R), minority vice chair Jeff Irwin (D), and John Bizon (R). The report specifically addressed claims coming out of Antrim County, where the unofficial results were later discovered to be erroneous. A ‘Forensic Audit’ is ‘Not Justifiable’McBroom also specifically mentioned Antrim County in his opening letter. Read the Michigan State Senate Oversight Committee’s report, below.

The Social Security Administration, which operates independently, pays out more than $1T per year. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from President Donald Trump who regularly drew criticism from Democrats. Biden appointed Kilolo Kijakazi, deputy commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy at SSA, as acting commissioner until the search for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner is completed. The Social Security Administration, which has operated independently since 1994, pays out more than $1 trillion to 65 million beneficiaries each year. “This removal would be an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted.

It’s a significant amount of time apart for two men who live roughly 10 minutes apart and consider themselves close. The Biden administration has promoted social distancing during the pandemic, at times even discouraging visitors to the White House to keep the virus under control. Beyond COVID-19, the two camps have also collaborated on what the Biden administration considers important international progress, a final troop withdrawal out of Afghanistan by September. Earlier this year, during a CNN town hall, Biden admitted he’d never visited Obama in the residence when he was vice president. ADVERTISEMENTEarly into his first term, Biden has logged one main legislative success under a Democratic White House and Congress.

The White House fired Andrew Saul, the Social Security head, on Friday evening. President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his top deputy on Friday afternoon. Advocates said the Social Security Administration delayed releasing information to the IRS for stimulus checks earlier this year. "Social Security beneficiaries stand the most to lose from President Biden's partisan decision to remove Commissioner Andrew Saul from leadership of the Social Security Administration," Brady and Crapo said. He wrote on Twitter that Saul's removal would be "an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration."

He’s playing estranged twins in Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, an imaginative and intricately detailed young adult series that aims to dig into the appetite created by the Harry Potter-verse. Like so many stories for children, Benedict Society backgrounds the tragedy so that the story can focus on infernal machines and secret messages. Vanity Fair: Is your daughter old enough to watch Mysterious Benedict Society? When she was younger, she couldn’t watch Veep, she really couldn’t get into Arrested. Hale in The Mysterious Benedict Society.

In a new Mozilla study, thousands of crowdsourced volunteers reported that YouTube’s recommendation algorithm referred them to videos that they regretted watching. Seventy-one percent of such views were of videos recommended by YouTube’s artificial intelligence, which is designed to keep users glued to the app. also recommended users watch videos that it later removed from the site, the report said. In response to Mozilla, YouTube asserted that users are pleased with the site's algorithmic suggestions. To combat these algorithmic trends, Mozilla recommended that individual users review their personal YouTube history and delete content or searches that they feel could negatively influence the platform's A.I.

Frankly, we did win this election.” Obviously that wasn’t true at all—Trump hadn’t won anything because not all of the votes had been counted yet. Still, in some states it had become clear that he was very likely going to lose, hence Fox News’s decision to declare Arizona for Joe Biden. “The election desk,” Hemmer said, adding that the network’s decision was going to be aired imminently. Arnon Mishkin who leads the FOX News Decision Desk made the Arizona call on election night and FOX News Media President Jay Wallace was then called in the control room. Biden ultimately won Arizona by roughly 10,000 votes.

This week veteran Hive correspondent Chris Smith talks to cohost Joe Hagan about the winner of the Democratic primary for New York mayor, Eric Adams, his journey toward the most powerful office in the city, and what his prospective mayoralty means for Black Americans, the police department, the city’s youth, and the national conversation. Smith has been covering city politics for more than two decades, through Mike Bloomberg’s three terms and Bill de Blasio’s eight tumultuous years, and understands better than most the risks and opportunities for a city trying to reinvent itself after the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. Can a former policeman and savvy self-promoter like Adams lower crime and shepherd the city to prosperity? Smith explains it all. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.

Throughout the series, characters expel people from the Big Apple as punishment for getting too close to their inner circle. This was most famously done at the end of season three when Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen, looking to leave G.G. Did we mention that Blair and Louis’s royal reception is held at…New York City’s St. Regis Hotel? Despite the potential for juicy story lines surrounding a high-powered family’s attempts to enter the political sphere, this story line is ultimately toothless. Bart Bass Coming Back to LifeNo conversation about problematic papas would be complete without Bartholomew Bass (Robert John Burke), who is shockingly offed in Gossip Girl’s second season.

advertisement advertisementThis past weekend, Americans all across the country flew the American flag in celebration of July 4th. It’s a shared symbol of our country’s freedom, but the meaning behind the stars and stripes is increasingly fragmented. advertisementadvertisementWhen I look at the flag, as a designer, I see a collection of visual elements: stars, stripes, colors in an asymmetrically designed composition. Since then, the American flag has always communicated a message of strength during wartime. In the years following the attack, the American flag was everywhere, especially in New York City.

Hamdi Ulukaya never planned to move to America, much less start a yogurt business that would make him a billionaire. FULLY EQUIPPED YOGURT PLANT FOR SALE, it read, along with a few photos of the factory, a Kraft Foods facility located about 90 minutes away. With its bold colors and sharp graphics, Chobani yogurt would prove hard to ignore. “The next five years, I never left the plant,” Ulukaya says. Ulukaya hatched the Twin Falls plant with Marc Abjean, Chobani’s head of manufacturing and technology, in 2011.

Although there’s hundreds of creators that I look up to on TikTok, one person stands out to me: Dave Jorgenson, aka, “The Washington Post TikTok Guy.”Dave’s entire job is to make TikToks for The Washington Post. With TikTok, I’m actually able to create a 15 to 30 second video that’s actually about the news in real time. But, with TikTok, I’m getting immediate feedback, and most of the time, very positive feedback. Something we did more recently with The Washington Post was presidential TikToks. We are bringing The Washington Post to people, Gen Z, who may have not known anything about it until now.

President Biden on Friday fired the man President Donald J. Trump appointed to lead the Social Security Administration, triggering a legal showdown over who rightfully holds the position. Mr. Biden asked on Friday morning for the resignation of Andrew Saul, the Social Security commissioner, and David Black as deputy commissioner. Mr. Black resigned as requested but Mr. Saul refused to relinquish his position and was notified by the administration that he had been fired. Mr. Biden moved to appoint an acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi, while the administration looks for permanent replacements for the two jobs. The firing was the latest move by Mr. Biden to oust a Trump-appointed director of an independent executive agency.

President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a Trump administration appointee, after he refused to resign from the post. A White House official, in explaining the commissioner's termination, said Saul "undermined and politicized" Social Security disability benefits. Saul's deputy, David Black, another Trump appointee, resigned Friday upon request. Saul was known for his staunch anti-union attitude, a stance that became more controversial as the Social Security Administration dealt with federal employee unions amid the Covid-19 epidemic.

FILE PHOTO A sign is seen on the entrance to a Social Security office in New York City, U.S., July 16, 2018. Saul told the Post: "I consider myself the term-protected Commissioner of Social Security." Biden has appointed Kilolo Kijakazi as acting commissioner while the search for a commissioner and deputy commissioner is conducted, the official said. The Social Security Administration, which oversees programs that provide financial support to the elderly and disabled, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet prior to the announcement that firing Saul would be "an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration."

The Biden administration is insisting on the release of all Americans unjustly imprisoned in Iran and will not accept a "partial deal" in its negotiations with Tehran over detained citizens, according to the U.S. envoy, Robert Malley. Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S .out of the nuclear deal and Iran has since breached limits on its uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities. President Biden has offered to return the United States to the nuclear accord if Iran returns to compliance with its provisions. It was "distasteful" to have to negotiate for the release of Americans, Malley said, as he said they had committed no crime and should simply be released without conditions. Iran rejects that portrayal and says Washington must release Iranian nationals detained in the United States.

6 Months After The Insurrection, The Remaining Capitol Fencing Comes DownEnlarge this image toggle caption Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty ImagesJust over six months after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, the protective fencing erected in the wake of the siege is coming down. The U.S. Capitol Police will continue to monitor intelligence for any threats to the complex and if needed, the Architect of the Capitol can reinstall the temporary fencing. The Capitol, which discontinued public tours in spring of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will remain off-limits to most members of the public. Enlarge this image toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP Carolyn Kaster/APPittman also noted the force is expanding its wellness services for its members. Since the Jan. 6 attack, the government has brought charges against more than 530 individuals.

President Joe Biden’s administration is taking a big swing at Big Tech. “Without healthy competition, big players can change and charge whatever they want and treat you however they want,” Biden said in a speech Friday. The measure seeks to reign in big business and takes aim at agriculture, banking, transportation, healthcare, and other industries, according to a White House fact sheet. For example, the order seeks to rules to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter, and that the Transportation Department require clearly disclosed baggage fees. Biden’s order aimed at big business has been expected since last week.

Former President Donald Trump will apparently be in Las Vegas this weekend. UFC president Dana White told TMZ on Friday that Trump will be sitting Octagon-side for UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the third bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Trump has long history with UFC, Dana WhiteSaturday’s UFC event will be the second Trump has attended in recent years. [Don’t miss Poirier-McGregor 3 on July 10: Order UFC 264 on ESPN+ now!] Story continuesUFC president Dana White, seen here at a campaign rally in 2020, said that former President Donald Trump will sit with him for UFC 264 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from the Trump administration who had alienated crucial Democratic constituencies with policies designed to clamp down on benefits and an uncompromising anti-union stance. The Social Security Administration pays out more than $1 trillion a year to about 64 million beneficiaries, which include seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans. “This removal would be an unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration,” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell tweeted. The June decision raised the prospect that the head of the Social Security Administration would be next. “President Biden needs someone who can fulfill his promise of protecting and strengthening Social Security,” Representative John Larson, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Social Security subcommittee, said in an interview Thursday.

The eight-foot-high black mesh fencing at one point surrounded several blocks of Capitol Hill, interfering with pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The remaining sections, enclosing just the white-domed Capitol complex, will take about three days to remove, according to U.S. House of Representatives Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker. More than 535 people have been charged with taking part in the attack, when Trump supporters smashed windows, fought police and sent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety. Two police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. Walker said the temporary fencing can quickly be reinstalled if needed and that other restrictions on access to the Capitol will remain in place.

He has mentioned potential vote fraud more than 20 times in the past two months and even floated the idea of canceling the election altogether. “I don’t mind handing over the government next year, to whomever it is, but with an honest vote, not with fraud,” Bolsonaro told supporters July 1 outside the presidential residence. The president’s press office did not immediately comment on whether he will present evidence of past electoral fraud, with the deadline looming in August. Were the proposal implemented, a receipt for each electronic vote would be visible to the voter before being deposited into a sealed ballot box. In the event of alleged irregularities with the electronic vote, the president argues, results could be checked by manually counting the printouts.

Joe Biden has signed an executive order targeting anti-competitive practices across the economy that could have major ramifications for America’s largest tech companies. Friday’s order is the latest of Biden’s actions on anti-trust issues, which have pleased progressives pushing for more action on corporate power – particularly among big tech companies – for years. The measures targeting big tech acquisitions come weeks after Biden nominated the anti-trust scholar Lina Khan to the FTC, signaling a renewed effort to target big tech firms. “The executive order has a lot of great words, but we need to see some action for those words to mean anything,” she said. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the Senate judiciary subcommittee on competition policy, said that Biden’s executive order needed to be buttressed by congressional action.

• Announces a policy that enforcement should focus in particular on labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the tech sector. In the Order, the President:• Encourages the FTC to ban or limit non-compete agreements. In the Order, the President:• Encourages the Federal Maritime Commission to ensure vigorous enforcement against shippers charging American exporters exorbitant charges. In the Order, the President encourages the FCC to:• Prevent ISPs from making deals with landlords that limit tenants' choices. Though subject to federal review, federal agencies have not formally denied a bank merger application in more than 15 years.

The Biden administration will stop detaining migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth in a reversal of a Trump-era policyWASHINGTON -- U.S. immigration authorities will no longer routinely jail migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth, reversing a Trump-era immigration policy. The practice of detaining pregnant migrants has been condemned as a threat to maternal and fetal health by immigrant and women's advocacy groups critical of medical care at detention centers. ICE recently adopted draft guidelines to focus apprehensions on people in the United States illegally who recently entered the country, pose a national security threat or have committed serious crimes. Under Obama, ICE adopted a policy in August 2016 that pregnant migrants would be presumed eligible for release as their cases made their way through immigration courts. The number of pregnant women detained by ICE increased from 1,380 in 2016 to 2,098, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Their ideology is largely invisible but no less ideological for refusing to present itself out in the open. (As a recent Populace survey stated, Biden and Trump voters hold “collective illusions” about each other, and “what is often mistaken for breadth of political disagreement is actually narrow — if extremely intense — disagreement on a limited number of partisan issues.”) Biden’s ideology is, in fact, the old ideology of pragmatic progressive pluralism—the ideology of F.D.R. This is an ideology whose invisibility is guaranteed to disappoint all of us loudly articulate ideologues. This is a difficult wisdom—and one that, perhaps not accidentally, was offered often during the campaign by the man who is now Biden’s Transportation Secretary. Is Biden protected by the invisible armor of his ideology or merely naked to his enemies?

In 2016, the German historian and political philosopher Jan-Werner Müller published “What Is Populism?,” a well-timed examination of rising political movements, from the United States to India. Given the ways the world has changed over the past five years, has your conception of populism changed as well? Partly against the background of a European understanding of politics, I essentially want to argue that populism is really not just about criticizing élites or being somehow against the establishment. What about left-wing populism, which, as it’s generally understood, does not try to marginalize people by saying they’re not true members of the real people? I think that’s politically problematic because it violates a basic intuition about democratic equality, but then obviously I think it misunderstands how a lot of these outcomes came about.

Live Covid Live Updates: Mississippi Urges Masks for Indoor Gatherings as Delta Spreads Educators’ unions praise new C.D.C. Africa endures its “worst pandemic week ever.”Mississippi urges ‘high-risk’ residents to avoid indoor mass gatherings as Delta variant spreads. To use the S.D.R.s, countries can agree to trade this interest-bearing asset with other countries in exchange for cash. Researchers at Imperial College London also found that from June 24 to July 5, the number of coronavirus cases had quadrupled across England and had risen eightfold in London. The World Health Organization warned last week that the games, held in cities across Europe, had driven a rise in coronavirus cases.

Biden urges Putin to ‘take action to disrupt’ Russia-based hackers behind ransomware attacks. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:51 - 0:00 transcript Biden Calls for Putin to Act on Ransomware Attacks President Biden urged President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to act when ransomware attacks originate in his country and said the U.S. reserves the right to respond against hackers who launch attacks from Russia. Will there be, sir?” “Yes.” President Biden urged President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to act when ransomware attacks originate in his country and said the U.S. reserves the right to respond against hackers who launch attacks from Russia. Mr. Biden said he told Mr. Putin that during a face-to-face meeting in Geneva several weeks ago. The firing was the latest move by Mr. Biden to oust a Trump-appointed director of an independent executive agency.

At the time, Avenatti was representing California high school basketball coach Gary Franklin and prosecutors say the celebrity lawyer was $11 million in debt. The district attorney's office added that Avenatti told representatives for Nike that he would hold off on conducting the press conference if Nike made a payment of $1.5 million to his client. Several outlets reported that Avenatti "openly wept when he spoke to the court on Thursday." According to the statement from the district attorney's office, Avenatti was sentenced to 30 months in prison, along with three years of supervised release. Avenatti rose to national prominence when he took Daniels as a client in 2018.

Lauren Boebert Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/GettyGreene and Boebert are staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump. But Conway is not fond of the reality television-esque environment developed during Trump's presidency that Greene and Boebert continue to perpetuate. Lauren Boebert Lauren Boebert | Credit: Joe Raedle/GettyGreene and Boebert have sparked plenty of controversy during their first six months in office. "I'm truly sorry for offending people with remarks about the Holocaust," Greene said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. It is antics like this that have Conway and VIEW PAC keeping their distance from Greene and Boebert, she said.

Today is the beginning of our forever"Lil Wayne is putting an end to the rumors that he married on-and-off-again girlfriend Denise Bidot. In the tweet, Wayne wrote, "Happiest man alive! Just a week before his viral tweet, Wayne shared a sweet video of Bidot writing their names in the sand. The couple first made their relationship social media official in June 2020 with a series of photos that Bidot shared on her Instagram story. Most recently, Bidot shared a photo of her and Wayne to her Instagram in May, writing, "FOREVER."

Drug Pitched to Trump for Covid-19 Comes From a Deadly PlantAdded: 20.08.2020 20:10 | 16 views | 0 commentsSource: www.prnewswire.comThe chief executive of My Pillow, a Trump donor, claims oleandrin is a miracle cure for Covid-19. But no studies have shown that it is safe or effective, and the shrub it’s derived from is poisonous. More in www.nytimes.com »

Added: 29.07.2020 14:09 | 18 views | 0 commentsTrump's reelection campaign and campaign committee are accused of hiding nearly $170 million in spending to vendors and Trump relations by funneling money through firms led by Brad Parscale and campaign officials.

Added: 29.07.2020 16:29 | 18 views | 0 commentsMore chaos on the streets of Portland as peaceful protests turn violent overnight as federal agents unleash a massive response. President Trump is preparing to send at least 100 agents to Portland and other cities. Carter Evans has the latest.

Added: 29.07.2020 16:29 | 19 views | 0 commentsPresident Trump's national security adviser Robert O’Brien is in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. This comes as Mr. Trump touts progress in the race for a vaccine during a trip to battleground state North Carolina. Ben Tracy reports.

Added: 18.06.2020 19:47 | 15 views | 0 commentsU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday revelations in a book by a former top White House aide show President Donald Trump is unfit and unprepared to be president and Democrats will continue oversight of the Republican president's behavior.

Added: 18.06.2020 19:30 | 15 views | 0 commentsThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a major setback on his hardline immigration policies, blocking his bid to end a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants - often called "Dreamers" - who entered the United States illegally as children.

Added: 09.07.2021 22:18 | 5 views | 0 commentsGlenn Youngkin is doing everything he can to run as a Republican outsider in Virginia's gubernatorial election. But former President Donald Trump is muddling that strategy.

Added: 09.07.2021 22:16 | 13 views | 0 commentsGlenn Youngkin is doing everything he can to run as a Republican outsider in Virginia's gubernatorial election. But former President Donald Trump is muddling that strategy.

Rich Anderson, the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party wrote to the president of the University of Virginia yesterday. Anderson’s letter demands UVA open an ethics investigation into Larry Sabato, the director of the school’s Center for Politics. Sabato’s alleged ethics violation is a series of mean tweets from his personal account, concerning Donald Trump. Yet millions of people and 90%+ of GOP members of Congress, still genuflect before this false god. Letters like the one to Virginia are a small taste of their determination to use state power to intimidate critics.

Paul LePage will return to politics to challenge his nemesis, Janet Mills. But now, at the age of 72, LePage is back home and has announced he will challenge Mills in 2022. Leaders of his party seem resigned to resume their tutelage under this angry reactionary who is very far from the traditional image of mild-mannered Maine Republicans. But none of them so resembles the 45th president in brash nastiness and mendacity as much as LePage does. Maine voters may want to think about that before heading to the polls next year.

The music industry is changing rapidly, with new avenues arising for both creators and consumers every day. This begs the question: What will the music industry look like in the future? It’s easy to see how the music industry is evolving at an ever-increasing speed. In a sense, this is the future of the music industry. This desire for increasingly shocking material doesn’t just exist in the music industry, either.

Twice, Trump attempted to contact supervisors in Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, after the 2020 election. “We need you to stop the counting,” Ward texted Hickman soon after the election. “Here is Sidney Powell’s number,” Ward texted Hickman on November 17th. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state,” Trump told Raffensperger. In Arizona, Katie Hobbs’ call for a criminal investigation comes with a partisan tint, as she’s now running for governor.

“It’s unbelievable how offensive this administration is getting with a pandemic that is clearly on the run. This is a reason to keep vaccinating people, not to stop vaccinating people, especially as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading around the world. The right’s campaign to keep people unvaccinated is starting to extend beyond Fox News chyrons and tweets. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have for weeks been attacking the state’s health commissioner for “peer pressuring” teenagers about getting vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/J8fambqdoN — Brett Kelman (@BrettKelman) July 8, 2021The Tennessee Department of Health’s reversal — which has included the deletion of some pro-vaccine Twitter and Facebook posts — is especially concerning considering how quickly the Delta variant could spread.

The Value In Electing Women Political Action Committee, a prominent fundraising group for GOP women, is "intentionally" withholding campaign donations to Reps. Greene and Boebert. Boebert said she has "never heard of" the PAC, which she described as "DC insider." A prominent fundraising group for GOP women is “intentionally” withholding campaign donations to freshmen Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Insider reported Wednesday. We cannot let this work be erased by individuals who chose to be shameless self-promoters and carnival barkers. "I think that they would rather draw attention to themselves, and really Marjorie Taylor Greene more than Boebert, but they're cut from the same cloth," Conway added.

Former President Donald Trump is headlining an Aug. 5 fundraiser for the New York State Republican Party. State GOP chairman Nick Langworthy met with Trump at Trump Tower last month. Langworthy was one of Trump’s biggest boosters before becoming the state Republican Party chairman, while heading the Erie County GOP. FacebookThe fundraiser comes as Republican Party is fighting for influence in statewide politics, with races for governor, attorney general and comptroller up next year. Former President Donald Trump maintains strong ties to the leaders of the New York Republican Party.

Caitlyn Jenner, Republican candidate for California governor, speaks during a news conference on Friday in Sacramento, Calif. | Noah Berger/AP Photo Jenner insists she's leading California recall field despite pollingSACRAMENTO — Reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner said Friday that she's leading all contenders in the Gov. Gavin Newsom recall despite polling and fundraising totals that suggest otherwise, addressing California political reporters in her first campaign press conference. In a Fox News interview earlier Friday, Jenner argued that “Gavin Newsom keeps changing the rules ... he’s like a dictator out here," she said. Asked if she wants Trump’s endorsement in the recall, Jenner demurred. Faulconer's campaign on Friday issued a release on homelessness that called him "the leading candidate to recall Gavin Newsom."

He has mentioned potential vote fraud more than 20 times in the past two months and even floated the idea of canceling the election altogether. “I don’t mind handing over the government next year, to whomever it is, but with an honest vote, not with fraud," Bolsonaro told supporters July 1 outside the presidential residence. The president’s press office did not immediately comment on whether he will present evidence of past electoral fraud, with the deadline looming in August. Story continuesWere the proposal implemented, a receipt for each electronic vote would be visible to the voter before being deposited into a sealed ballot box. In the event of alleged irregularities with the electronic vote, the president argues, results could be checked by manually counting the printouts.

U.S. immigration authorities will no longer routinely jail migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth, reversing a Trump-era immigration policy. The practice of detaining pregnant migrants has been condemned as a threat to maternal and fetal health by immigrant and women’s advocacy groups critical of medical care at detention centers. ICE recently adopted draft guidelines to focus apprehensions on people in the United States illegally who recently entered the country, pose a national security threat or have committed serious crimes. Under Obama, ICE adopted a policy in August 2016 that pregnant migrants would be presumed eligible for release as their cases made their way through immigration courts. AdvertisementThe number of pregnant women detained by ICE increased from 1,380 in 2016 to 2,098, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Weber did not object to adding Newsom’s party affiliation if the judge ordered it. “I want people to see what’s happening up here in Sacramento and the things that are going on,” Jenner said. “I guarantee you I’m in the lead” when it comes to who should replace Newsom, Jenner said. Gray Davis, a Democrat who in 2003 became the only California governor to be recalled from office. AdvertisementThe attorney for the recall proponents in that case was Bradley Benbrook of Sacramento, a former partner in a Sacramento law firm with Arguelles.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former president Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. SURFSIDE, Fla. — When the coronavirus ravaged Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis defiantly bucked mask mandates. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. While effective responses to catastrophes can help burnish a governor’s political reputation, the boost can sometimes prove fleeting. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner who has also announced a bid for governor, praised local officials, Biden, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A Trump insider told Politico’s Playbook: “Trump thinks Greitens is problematic, and that Kim is annoying.” The insider added, “He (Trump) said, ‘Why the (expletive) is she working for him? Multiple advisers told Playbook that Trump is concerned that Guilfoyle’s affiliation with Greitens’ campaign will make it seem like an endorsement from him. Playbook added that Trump’s most frequent complaint about people is the perception that they are profiting off his name. After Guilfoyle joined Greitens campaign, the former president has become “increasingly short” with her, Playbook said. Meanwhile, the Playbook report doesn’t address whether Trump’s reported annoyance with Guilfoyle also stems from the ongoing controversy about her conduct when she was a top fundraiser for Trump’s re-election campaign.

Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t at CPAC in Dallas this weekend. “You’re our local celebrity!” one woman told Rafael Cruz, an 82-year-old pastor. Ted Cruz publicly put that behind him, transforming from bitter adversary to Trump wingman once the rancor of that primary faded, and at the CPAC event in Orlando in late February, where both the senator and Trump spoke, Cruz reiterated his fealty. “Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere,” Cruz told activists. Cheers erupted for clips of the late Rush Limbaugh, and of Ted Cruz accusing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of stifling conservative speech.

Despite the lack of success, McGregor remains one of the biggest stars in sports and is the showcase for the UFC’s official return to full capacity shows in Las Vegas. He started hosting events in empty venues last May at a time when most of the sports world was shut down and continued operations in Las Vegas over the last year. But the return to full shows on the Strip is still a monumental moment for the Las Vegas-based company. After Poirier stoically laughed off McGregor’s insults at Thursday’s news conference, McGregor posted sexually graphic comments about Poirier’s wife on social media hours later. Poirier and McGregor will headline the 7 p.m. main card on pay-per-view with nearly 20,000 people there to witness the action in person.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two high-ranking Trump political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency engaged in fraudulent payroll activities — including payments to employees after they were fired and to one of the officials when he was absent from work — that cost the agency more than $130,000, a report by an internal watchdog says. The two men, who have since left the EPA, arranged for former agency employees to continue collecting nearly $38,000 salaries even after they were fired, the report says. Separately, Munoz also received an improper raise and submitted “fraudulent timesheets” during periods when he was not at his work station that cost the EPA almost $96,000, the report said. The March 31 report was released this week. In a statement Friday to The Associated Press, Inspector General Sean O'Donnell said, “Continuing to pay fired political staff, creating fraudulent records and authorizing improper pay increases represent serious waste of taxpayer funds.''

The Lincoln Project has revealed its new mission: to destroy the Republican Party . In fact, Mr Galen spent much of his pre-Trump career working on Republican campaigns, including for George W Bush , John McCain , and Arnold Schwarzenegger . “The Republican party is irredeemable in its current form,” Mr Galen said. “We want them fighting,” Mr Galen said. And the biggest example of all, of course, is Mr Trump himself, who many saw as an easy opponent to beat in 2016.

Nearly half of Republican voters think it’s OK for state legislators to overturn election results, a new study has shown. Meanwhile, Mr Trump pressured individual election officials to reject their own vote counts, contravening their legal responsibilities. The Voter Study Group found that most Republican voters support these efforts to undo the election. Almost 62 per cent believe that Mr Biden is not a legitimate president, the survey found, and about two thirds believe Mr Trump actually won in 2020. Only 23 per cent of Americans believe state legislators are entitled to overturn an election, the study found.

Many factors might have shaped crime trends, including the pandemic, widespread summer protests, and a struggling economy. Republicans see a winning issue in linking crime to Democratic policies. Crime is escalating to a level we haven’t seen in decades as a direct result of Democrats’ defund the police movement and Biden-Harris open-border policies. — GOP (@GOP) June 29, 2021We asked the RNC for the data behind the claims in the tweet. But its biggest flaw is the unfounded assertion that crime rate trends were a "direct result" of Democratic policies.

After reviewing the oversight committee's report, the attorney general's office "accepted Sen. McBroom and the Committee's request to investigate," said Lynsey Mukomel, press secretary for Attorney General Dana Nessel. But the committee's report discredited many claims made in an election fraud lawsuit against Antrim County that served as a vehicle to advance election conspiracies. His website includes a link to donate to an "Election Fraud Defense Fund." The two were included in the speaker lineup for an "election integrity" fundraiser held in Antrim County in early June. And Colbeck's website, which includes false claims of election fraud, accepts financial contributions from readers.

The attorney general of Tennessee penned a letter — signed by twenty other states’ Republican attorney generals — that formally objects to an executive order by President Joe Biden on his first day in office that extended federal anti-discrimination protections to sexual orientation and gender identity. The attorneys general claim that the Department of Education (DOE) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have “misconstrued federal law and failed to adhere to the transparency and deliberative process” by following Biden’s directive. The actions that the DOE and EEOC have taken to enforce these rules against discrimination since are at issue. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and 18 other attorneys general — including those from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia — also signed the letter. It was sent to Biden as well as Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Congressional leaders of both parties in both chambers, and commissioners at the EEOC.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said first son Hunter Biden has “a right to an artistic career” — and that his upcoming art sales won’t be an avenue for influence-peddling with his father. Psaki said a “professional gallerist” brokering the sales won’t inform the first son of who is buying his debut artworks — for which he’s seeking up to $500,000 — and that any offers that exceed reason won’t be accepted. “After careful consideration, a system has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards. Jen Psaki said Hunter Biden can continue his artwork with “reasonable safeguards.” Georges Berges GalleryPsaki noted the broker of the sales won’t tell Hunter Biden who the buyers are. One of Hunter Biden’s pieces of art.

CBS CORRESPONDENT ADMITS 'MAYBE WE WENT ABOUT COVERING' MICHAEL AVENATTI 'THE WRONG WAY'ARI FLEISCHER: I think, frankly, he is a symbol of the anti-Trump era. And how many times did the mainstream media try to get Donald Trump through whatever vehicle they could, including somebody a scurrilous as Michael Avenatti, who they gave so much attention to? And it all turned out to be false, from the Steele dossier to Michael Avenatti to collusion. The damage the mainstream media did to America to get Donald Trump was fierce. I get Donald Trump was controversial, but it doesn't mean you should be unfair in your media coverage.

According to the Media Research Center, Kardashiani, Er, Avenatti, was booked on CNN 122 times. MSNBC wasn’t far behind with 108. Over one 10-week stretch, he was on the cheesy news network — CNN — 74 times. I don’t know… maybe don’t befriend a shady hustler who plays a lawyer on TV, only to proceed to "interview" him dozens of times if you’re a network "anchor." Avenatti hated Trump.

Contributing columnist to The Washington Post George Conway reacts to a new book detailing a tense exchange between Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

FILE - In this June 29, 2021 file photo, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attends a government ceremony at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. He has mentioned potential vote fraud more than 20 times in the past two months and even floated the idea of canceling the election altogether. “I don’t mind handing over the government next year, to whomever it is, but with an honest vote, not with fraud,” Bolsonaro told supporters July 1 outside the presidential residence. The president’s press office did not immediately comment on whether he will present evidence of past electoral fraud, with the deadline looming in August. In the event of alleged irregularities with the electronic vote, the president argues, results could be checked by manually counting the printouts.

Scott Applewhite)Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, departs the Capitol after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appointed him to lead the new select committee to investigate the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, July 1, 2021. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has appointed eight members to the select committee, including seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Thompson said the panel welcomes Republican members, but will be moving ahead even if McCarthy chooses not to participate. Under the committee’s rules, the eight members appointed by Pelosi will be enough for the committee to have a working quorum. He said there will also be no foregone conclusions — on timing or otherwise — as the committee begins its work.

The two men, who have since left the EPA, arranged for former agency employees to continue collecting nearly $38,000 salaries even after they were fired, the report says. A spokesperson for EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency “is evaluating the report and potential next steps.'' The Washington Post, citing an earlier version of the report, named the fired employees as Madeline Morris and Kevin Chmielewski. Munoz, who left the EPA in January when the Biden administration took office, also could not be reached for comment. Chmielewski, one of the fired employees, provided detailed information to House and Senate lawmakers about alleged wrongdoing by Pruitt.

How serious could the suborbital space race between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos get? (GeekWire Photos)Jeff Bezos has a longstanding rivalry with SpaceX’s Elon Musk, but now his Blue Origin space venture is upping the ante in its spat with fellow soon-to-be space traveler Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — and the Twitterverse is not amused. Today’s escalation came in the form of a tweet drawing distinctions between a suborbital ride on Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipOne rocket plane. (Although Branson insists he’s not in a race with Bezos, he couldn’t resist referring to “Jeff Who?” during an CNBC interview.) It also plays into the competition for suborbital space customers.

The Obama administration generally exempted pregnant women from immigration detention, but the Biden administration is also including women who gave birth within the prior year and those who are nursing, which could last longer than a year. Most pregnant women detained in recent years have been apprehended after crossing the US-Mexico border seeking refuge in the United States, according to the GAO. Advocates for immigrants counter that detaining pregnant and postpartum women endangers their physical and mental health. The new directive does not limit the “temporary placements” of pregnant women in “family staging centers” in South Texas, where several hundred pregnant women traveling with children have passed through this fiscal year, according to ICE data. AdvertisementThirteen pregnant women were in ICE custody as of Thursday, and they are being considered for release under the new policy, officials said.

Afternoon Edition Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. SubscribeThis afternoon will be sunny with a high near 75 degrees. More news you needA bright oneHumboldt Park claims a distinction that no other urban neighborhood shares: It is believed to be home to the oldest surviving outdoor community murals in the nation. Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition. Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

The governor has been in office more than two years and earlier served as lieutenant governor and San Francisco mayor. Jenner said she would spend the final month of the campaign on a bus tour of the state. She said Friday that she doesn’t want Trump’s endorsement and hadn’t spoken to him about the campaign. Meanwhile Friday, attorneys for Newsom were in court seeking a ruling that would allow him to list his Democratic Party affiliation on the recall ballot. He sued the Democratic secretary of state he appointed, Shirley Weber, after Newsom’s campaign failed to file the appropriate paperwork to list his party.

Lansing — Matthew DePerno, a lawyer who has been among the most vocal Michiganians pushing unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election, says he's considering running for attorney general next year. The interview came a day after Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said it would investigate individuals who spread false information about the election for their own financial gain. "The real reason Dana Nessel is doing this is she's heard that I'm talking to other people about running for attorney general," DePerno told Bannon. Later in the podcast, DePerno said, "We’ve got to get her out of office, and that’s why I’m looking at running for attorney general here in Michigan." Leonard and Matthew Schneider, former U.S. attorney for Michigan's Eastern District, are among the potential GOP candidates for attorney general next year.

Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch reportedly personally approved the network announcing that Donald Trump had lost Arizona on election night. The Daily Beast obtained an advanced copy of the book and reported on the election night decision approved by Mr Murdoch that signalled the end of Mr Trump's administration. Wolff writes that Fox News' CEO Lachlan Murdoch – operating with his father, Rupert's, support – made the decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night. Trump supporters were furious the day before the election when the network projected that Arizona would be won by Mr Biden, and were even more furious on election night when they called the state against Mr Trump. Some Republicans in Arizona have still not given up on the dream that Mr Trump actually won the state.

Today’s historic Executive Order established a whole-of-government effort to promote competition in the American economy. The Order includes 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies to promptly tackle some of the most pressing competition problems across our economy. Announces a policy that enforcement should focus in particular on labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance) , and the tech sector. Internet ServiceThe Order tackles four issues that limit competition, raise prices, and reduce choices for internet service. In the Order, the President:Encourages the FTC to establish rules barring unfair methods of competition on internet marketplaces.

A week later Netanyahu also placed a congratulatory call to Biden. According to Wolff, Trump told his aides that the tweet came before the ink was dry” and was an “ultimate betrayal.”“As in all Trump reactions, a variety of grievances welled up here,” Wolff writes in the book, due to be published on July 13. Despite his call to Biden after the elections, Netanyahu walked on eggshells to avoid a public rift with Trump. Even after Trump left office, Netanyahu avoided appearing too friendly with Biden and publicly, hesitated to speak as fondly of him as he spoke of Trump.. In the book, Wolff writes that Trump also complained about the lack of Jewish support he received in the 2020 election.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received a blunt reality check on Thursday after claiming he was puzzled by people who are opting not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. “I’m perplexed by the reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed,” McConnell told reporters, per CNN’s Ana Cabrera, as vaccination rates slow down nationwide. Sen. McConnell: “I’m perplexed by the reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed." https://t.co/l8r89ncYwg — Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) July 8, 2021And yet I’m not going do anything about it, except remain perplexed. — Jeffrey Levy (@jeffreymlevy) July 8, 2021He should realize that eventhough he’s telling people to get the vaccine, he’s also supporting people who say everything is a hoax and lie.

“Today’s executive order is built on the flawed belief that our economy is over-concentrated, stagnant and fails to generate private investment needed to spur innovation,” Neil Bradley, the business lobby’s executive vice president, said in a statement. The executive order directs the Justice Department and FTC to tighten their merger guidelines for hospital deals. The measure also asks for updated antitrust rules regarding companies that share wage and benefit information to avoid competing for workers. Freight railroad and shipping trade groups expressed opposition to Biden’s order, saying that there’s sufficient competition among their industries and the order would put them at a disadvantage. Unlike the Biden order, however, Obama’s didn’t direct individual agencies to take specific actions and instead required them to come up with their own plans.

He is neither for nor against the Cuban government; he is for the Cuban people, the Cuban families. Lazo portrays Cuba and the United States as his parents—Cuba is his mother, the United States his father. When Barack Obama became President and started normalizing relations with Cuba, Lazo thought his political work was over. The “profe,” as he is known, taught his students to sing Cuban love songs and dance salsa, winning the hearts of their Cuban hosts. Trump tried to please rightwing Cubans in Miami by reversing Obama’s openings and adding 242 additional coercive measures designed to torpedo the Cuban economy.

The Biden administration is limiting the detention and arrest of pregnant immigrants in the US, according to a notice sent to congressional staffers on Friday. The policy — which states that ICE should not detain pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals unless it is legally prohibited or there are exceptional circumstances — comes after the Trump administration lifted the presumption of release for such detainees in 2017. “Given the unique needs of this population, we will not detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. The memo represents the latest change pushed by a Biden administration that is intent on reshaping ICE. Soon, the proportion of immigrants with no prior criminal convictions who were being arrested and placed into deportation proceedings began to shoot up.

Live Covid Live Updates: Educators’ Unions Praise New C.D.C. Schools Guidance But Acknowledge Challenges Ahead Africa endures its “worst pandemic week ever,” as 16 African countries are reporting a resurgence in infections driven by the Delta variant. Africa marks its ‘worst pandemic week’ yet, with cases surging and vaccine scarce, the W.H.O. Credit... Brian Otieno for The New York Times Africa has just had its “worst pandemic week ever,” the World Health Organization said on Thursday. To use the S.D.R.s, countries can agree to trade this interest-bearing asset with other countries in exchange for cash.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, said the panel is looking to hold its first hearing the week lawmakers in the lower chamber return from their July recess. The House voted to establish the select committee late last month, with just two Republicans — Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 riot, said the panel is looking to hold its first hearing soon. APWhile Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md. It’s disgusting what transpired that day,” McCarthy told reporters shortly after Pelosi unveiled the makeup of the panel, which allows Democrats to select eight members to Republicans’ five.

In this June 30, 2021, photo Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks during a meeting with employees at Professional Computer Solution, in Denison, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — In dress shirts and pants, Chuck Grassley and Tom Cotton dropped to their knees on stage at a recent Iowa Republican Party fundraiser and began pumping out pushups. In announcing his retirement, two-term Republican Sen. “Right now, the Republican Party doesn’t have a leader. We’ve got people who have great influence within the party like Sen. Cotton, Sen. (Ted) Cruz, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

FILE - In this June 29, 2021 file photo, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attends a government ceremony at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. He has mentioned potential vote fraud more than 20 times in the past two months and even floated the idea of canceling the election altogether. “I don’t mind handing over the government next year, to whomever it is, but with an honest vote, not with fraud,” Bolsonaro told supporters July 1 outside the presidential residence. The president’s press office did not immediately comment on whether he will present evidence of past electoral fraud, with the deadline looming in August. In the event of alleged irregularities with the electronic vote, the president argues, results could be checked by manually counting the printouts.

The “free our patriots” rally has been organised by a Republican candidate challenging Marco Rubio for Senate and is billed as a “peaceful demonstration” against the “corrupt federal government”. According to a press release, protesters are planning to gather on 10 July at 1pm at the Florida Capitol Building in Tallahassee. Demonstrators will be “demanding the release of all the patriots being held as political prisoners by the corrupt federal government in relation to 6 January”. On 6 January, pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in Washington in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election result following a Save America rally hosted by former President Donald Trump. The former president has baselessly maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him without evidence and the “free our patriots” release pushed similar inaccurate sentiments.

President Donald Trump, right, smiles as he stands with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, left, before a ceremonial swearing in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 8, 2018. Susan Walsh/AP PhotoTrump slammed Kavanaugh after the Supreme Court dismissed an election-fraud lawsuit last year. But the Supreme Court dismissed the case, saying in a one-page opinion that it lacked standing. Trump nominated Kavanaugh, then a federal judge, to the Supreme Court in July 2018. What followed was one of the most contentious Supreme Court confirmation processes in recent history.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Caitlyn Jenner held her first news conference Friday as a Republican candidate for California governor, 77 days after announcing she was entering a recall election that could remove first-term Democratic Gov. “To be honest with you, I've been in a lot of races in my life, and I know how to win. Jenner said she would spend the final month of the campaign on a bus tour of the state. Jenner supported Trump in 2016 but later criticized his administration’s reversal of a directive on transgender people's access to public school bathrooms. She also split with Trump after he said transgender people would not be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on Thursday rejected the Biden administration's plan to send people door to door to urge residents to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The White House on Thursday had pushed back against Republican concerns with the door-to-door plan, saying conservatives are mischaracterizing the plan. By the numbers: About 43% of people in South Carolina are fully vaccinated, putting it in the lower half of states ranked by vaccination rate, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Mayo Clinic's vaccine tracker. Story continuesGo deeper: Trump country continues to fall behind on COVID-19 vaccinationsEditor's note: This story has been updated with Psaki's comments.

Hunter Biden paints. The idea is to discourage potential purchasers who might actually be more interested in buying favor with President Biden than in embracing the creative visions of his son. We thought Hunter's painting was so fine we mounted it in the lobby of our corporate offices! To its credit, the Biden administration has recognized that this is a problem, thus the new rules. But Hunter Biden is already under scrutiny: The Department of Justice is investigating his finances, and Republicans remain eager to use his problems to tear down his father.

In his 27 years with the FBI, Mr. Kallstrom helped convict the bosses of New York City’s five Mafia families with cleverly concealed wiretaps and spiked meatballs. Mr. Kallstrom initially thought that the plane, a Boeing 747-100, had been the target of a terrorist bomb or missile. He was chosen to lead the New York office, as the FBI’s assistant director, in February 1995. In addition to his wife, Mr. Kallstrom is survived by their two daughters, Erika Kallstrom Clancy and Kristel Kallstrom, and three grandchildren. Mr. Kallstrom retired from the FBI in December 1997, but after 9/11, he returned from the private sector when New York Gov.

The rioters screamed at officers and verbally abused them as they fought their way inside and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. AdvertisementHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi has appointed eight members to the select committee, including seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Thompson said the panel welcomes Republican members, but will be moving ahead regardless of whether McCarthy chooses to participate. Under the committee's rules, only eight members are required for the committee to have a working quorum. He said there will also be no foregone conclusions — on timing or otherwise — as the committee begins its work.

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Phoenix for a July 24 rally in the state he lost by about 11,000 votes to President Joe Biden. The event, dubbed the “Rally to Protect Our Elections,” marks Trump’s first trip back to the state since the election. Trump is expected to appear at the Arizona Federal Theatre in downtown Phoenix for an event hosted by Phoenix-based Turning Point Action, a politically active nonprofit affiliated with Turning Point USA. Martha McSally mum:Trump says she could be 'reinstated' to SenateThe time for the rally is not yet set. The rally will center on “restoring confidence” in the electoral system in Arizona and across the nation, Turning Point Action told The Republic.

Why, then, didn’t the U.S. see that Afghanistan has never been a nation state, but only a loose collection of warring tribes fighting each other within fake boundaries earlier drawn by Europeans? Senate Bill 2290 creates the Illinois Broadband Adoption Fund to support broadband access across all of Illinois. According to a study presented last December to the Illinois Broadband Advisory Council, only 70% of Illinois households are active subscribers to an internet service. This is why we need the Illinois Broadband Adoption Fund. We have the chance to do that right now with the Illinois Broadband Adopt Fund, and we urge Gov.

None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. A photo of Biden kneeling during the meeting with Rivlin and Ravitz circulated on social media with a false caption. On July 2, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Richardson had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for marijuana, The Associated Press reported. The misleading post was picked up by social media users on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, who framed it as presenting accurate information. After the tweet gained traction on social media, Victory News Network clarified that none of what it posts is real.

The rioters screamed at officers and verbally abused them as they fought their way inside and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has appointed eight members to the select committee, including seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Thompson said the panel welcomes Republican members, but will be moving ahead regardless of whether McCarthy chooses to participate. Under the committee's rules, only eight members are required for the committee to have a working quorum. He said there will also be no foregone conclusions — on timing or otherwise — as the committee begins its work.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley endorsed New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli on Friday. Haley will attend a fundraiser for Ciattarelli on Sunday, according to the candidate's campaign. Phil Murphy in November's election. “I’m proud to endorse Jack Ciattarelli to fix what Phil Murphy has broken. Haley was an “exceptional governor” and helped the Trump administration move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Ciattarelli said in a text message.

Photos provided in the lawsuit show the actor playing Gru display the "OK" hand gesture, a universally-known hate symbol, on two girls at Universal Orlando. ORLANDO, Fla. – Two families are suing Universal Orlando after separate incidents during which an actor playing the “Despicable Me” movie character Gru made a racist hand gesture while posing for photos and video with biracial children. The hand gesture was on display for an extended period of time on the biracial child’s shoulder, lawyers for the family wrote. The families say Universal Orlando has refused to disclose the actor behind the Gru character and for civil rights violations. The lawsuit claims Universal Orlando violated the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.

All she could do after seeing her sensational results from the US Olympic trials disqualified was say she was sorry. Who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with a pain or you’re dealing with a struggle that you’ve never experienced before or that you never thought you’d have to deal with. Harrington also discussed the irony that Richardson won the trials in a state where marijuana is legal for both medical and recreational use. And having to then go out and compete?”“Yes, rules are rules, and I will always acknowledge that. If your mother just passed away, who cares how you’re feeling, Sha’Carri Richardson.

The spread of Covid-19 is running rampant in Missouri as the threat from the Delta variant is growing in places where vaccine hesitancy is high. The Delta variant is considered to be a more deadly and about 50 per cent more contagious strain of Covid-19. And just 39 per cent of Missouri residents have been fully vaccinated. The Missouri Department of Health has stated that three counties near Lake of the Ozarks are Covid-19 hot spots. (Getty Images)The fire chief in Springfield, David Pennington, tweeted on Thursday: “This is a mass casualty event, happening in slow-motion.

Among those who Mr Trump is upset with is his own son's girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, according to the report. The aides claim that Mr Trump is no fan of Mr Greitens, calling him "problematic," and that he also finds Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend "annoying." The advisers said Mr Trump would not back Mr Greitens if the primary were held today due to allegations that he beat, sexually assaulted and blackmailed a St Louis hairdresser in 2015. Mr Trump is said to be seeking other candidates to back for the seat. Mr Trump is fully aware of how much weight his endorsements carry, and has been protective of who gets his stamp of approval as a result.

As of May, the Border Patrol has rescued more than 7,000 people this fiscal year, more than the same period in previous years. Officials from both border nations at an event in Yuma, Arizona, on Thursday warned that excessive heat is making the crossing extremely dangerous, against a backdrop of 110 degree weather. Since then, policies like the US-Mexico border wall have shunted migrants even further into the dangerous wilderness. The woman carried on the Border Patrol agent’s shoulders is likely to be immediately deported without a chance to seek asylum. The Independent has reached out to the Border Patrol to confirm.

Pregnant women could be detained if they represented a flight risk or a danger to the community, among other factors. The number of pregnant women detained increased by almost 50 percent from Obama's final year in office, reaching 2094 in 2018. Advocates for immigrants have warned frequently of the dangers of detaining pregnant women and condemned the Trump policy. They also largely ban the use of restraints on pregnant women in an I.C.E. Earlier this year, the Biden administration ended family detention.

This past Tuesday, July 6, marked the half-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, which many mourned as the democracy’s sunset. It was democracy itself, not simply the Capitol, that was under siege. Rep. Bennie Thompson Bennie Gordon ThompsonFive big questions about the Jan. 6 select committee Clyburn: Trump could be called to testify before Jan. 6 panel First hearing of Jan. 6 probe to feature Capitol Police testimony MORE (D-Miss.) The House committee should get clear answers to the complicated questions that surround the assault. Hopefully, the House inquiry and public reaction against the insurrection will stimulate a resurrection of American democracy.

Biden urges Putin to ‘take action to disrupt’ Russia-based hackers behind ransomware attacks. President Biden, right, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia greeted each other last month in Geneva, Switzerland, during their first meeting. Mr. Biden said he told Mr. Putin that during a face-to-face meeting in Geneva several weeks ago. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, offered few details about the call beyond what the White House released in the statement. White House officials announced some of the other initiatives on Wednesday, including action to restrict the widespread use of noncompete clauses and occupational licensing requirements that the White House has described as harmful to workers.

Women have taken up arms in heavily-contested regions of Afghanistan as the Taliban continues to make nationwide gains during the US military’s withdrawal. Government forces have already withdrawn from seven districts, focusing troops and resources around holding the capital province of Badakhshan. In response, hundreds of women have taken to the streets carrying guns and protesting the Taliban, The Guardian reported. “The majority of these women were those who had recently escaped from Taliban areas,” Faizzada said. The decision has drawn bipartisan criticism, with proponents saying the withdrawal will only increase the problems within the country.

In an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, the 45th president began by explaining, “The internet is the new public square. Trump is slamming platforms for being quick to moderate speech emanating from the US while excusing Chinese propaganda. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey eventually admitted it was a “mistake” to lock The Post’s Twitter account. AFP via Getty ImagesBoth President Biden and his son have continued to deny any wrongdoing. The then-outgoing president was banned from Twitter, Facebook and scores of other sites in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

On the podcast, Hill discussed the controversy alongside Amin Elhassan and quickly related the story to her own drama regarding ESPN. At the 12:50 mark, she shared her belief that ESPN was being led by "idiots" like Clay Travis. "They let the idiots in the room control the conversation, people like Clay Travis. However, many including Clay Travis have speculated her different position was a result of her frequent political statements. "If you did that, you would be far left-wing and far, far out of touch with what the real viewer is," Travis said.

First, Biden contended that he was bound by a 2020 Trump administration agreement with the Taliban to withdraw all US troops by May 2021. It was also predicated on the Taliban engaging with the Afghan government in real peace negations. Trump administration officials denied the allegations. The US military consists of 1.3 million active-duty personnel and yet it can't leave 2,500 troops in Afghanistan? To use another trademark Biden expression, his Afghanistan speech was a bunch of malarkey.

In 2014, as tensions were aflame in Ferguson, Mo., after the shooting of Michael Brown, then-private citizen Donald Trump took to Twitter to mock the President. “Obama is community organizing from the Oval Office on Ferguson today,” Trump tweeted with typical contempt and obvious amplification of conservatives’ favorite ding of Obama as an activist. Back then, “community organizing” was a shorthanded criticism of Obama’s non-traditional pathway to the White House and an unsubtle smack against the process of building communities and using a sense of unity to force change. But Trump, a leader of the Birther Movement against Obama and considering yet another White House run of his own, just wanted to feed the beast that was his online following, revving up for a future White House run. After all, as Obama showed us, one voice can change a room, but one room can change a country.

“You look at the Republican Party today, and it's not exactly positioned to come after Biden hard on Afghanistan.”Poll after poll show a majority of Americans supports Biden’s decision. Even many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who pushed for a drawdown himself, back a withdrawal. “When it comes to understanding the war on terror and the dynamics we face as a nation, President Biden has consistently been wrong,” he tweeted. “I fear that his Afghanistan decision will prove to be his biggest mistake yet.”But the politics of the war have dramatically shifted in recent years. There is not a large public outcry across the country calling for withdrawal the way there was during the Iraq war.

More Abortion Restrictions Have Been Enacted In The U.S. This Year Than In Any OtherEnlarge this image toggle caption Sergio Flores/Getty Images Sergio Flores/Getty ImagesMore abortion restrictions have been enacted across the U.S. this year than in any previous year, according to an analysis by a group that supports abortion rights. The previous record was set in 2011, when states passed 89 abortion restrictions over the course of the entire year. Reproductive rights proponents fear that the abortion providers and abortion rights activists will become the target in these cases. The Supreme Court prepares to take up abortion rightsThe push to weaken abortion rights comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that will put a longstanding legal precedent upholding abortion rights to the test.

President Joe Biden’s administration is taking a big swing at Big Tech. Beyond greater scrutiny of acquisitions, the Biden administration is encouraging the FTC to establish rules on the surveillance and accumulation of data. The measure seeks to reign in big business and takes aim at agriculture, banking, transportation, healthcare, and other industries, according to a White House fact sheet. For example, the order seeks to rules to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter, and that the Transportation Department require clearly disclosed baggage fees. The order aimed at big business has been expected since last week.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said it would be "difficult" to overturn the results of the election. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rejected the idea that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president. A conspiracy theory about Trump's reinstatement has gained traction among his supporters. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rejected the conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August. US officials are reportedly worried that the conspiracy theory might trigger violence.

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s executive order to bolster competition includes 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies, affecting everything from restricting noncompete agreements for workers to allowing imports of prescription drugs from Canada. The executive order directs the Justice Department and FTC to tighten their merger guidelines for hospital deals. The measure also asks for updated antitrust rules regarding companies that share wage and benefit information to avoid competing for workers. Freight railroad and shipping trade groups expressed opposition to Biden’s order, saying that there’s sufficient competition among their industries and the order would put them at a disadvantage. Unlike the Biden order, however, Obama’s didn’t direct individual agencies to take specific actions and instead required them to come up with their own plans.

AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, FileTrump aide David Bossie was "confused" and "appalled" when Trump tapped him to lead election challenges, a new book said. A longtime advisor to former President Donald Trump was less than enthused when Trump tapped him last year to lead a spate of lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results, according to a new book by author Michael Wolff. After mulling over who he wanted to spearhead the legal challenges, Trump finally settled on David Bossie, a 2016 campaign aide turned informal advisor. "I don't know if congratulations or condolences are in order," one campaign aide wrote to Bossie after Trump told him to lead the election lawsuits, according to Wolff. Giuliani, meanwhile, approached his new role as Trump's lead election lawyer with gusto.

President Biden on Friday afternoon signed a sprawling executive order designed to crack down on anti-competitive practices by Big Tech and other industries, part of what he called a "critical step" toward making the U.S. economy more inclusive. "That means if your companies want to win your business they have to go out and the have got to up their game," Biden said during remarks at the White House. "Better prices and services, better ideas and products. The competition keeps the economy moving and it keeps it growing. A competitive economy must mean that companies do everything they can to compete for workers."

On Friday, President Biden took aim at how businesses from cable TV firms to airlines to drug companies to cellphone makers push the little guy around. The executive order also fires a warning shot about airline mergers. Biden warns that just because some of these mergers have been approved, that doesn’t mean they can’t be unwound. Biden wants the FTC to ban or limit noncompete agreements, which currently handcuff as many as 60 million workers. There’s much more to the executive order, and even more than that to be done to rein in big business.

Biden pushed back against the notion the U.S. mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves. Advertisement“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. The Pentagon said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is expected to end his tour of duty this month as final arrangements are made for a reduced U.S. military mission. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

Hiding the evidenceDonald Trump got away with thwarting investigations of wrongdoing by his campaign and his White House. Without reforms, future criminals could exploit the powers of the presidency to even more dangerous ends.

After making a visual review of the marina towers on July 1, Los Angeles County inspectors said there’s no imminent danger of collapse. The proportion of older buildings is about the same for Southern California’s 25,389 HOAs and the Bay Area’s 12,453. The rule adopted by Dade and Broward counties requires structural and electrical inspections to ensure older buildings are sound. A recent study by the Community Association Institute found condo associations should do regular inspections of older buildings. That, in turn, prompted Supervisor Hahn and county building inspectors to respond, meeting with residents and touring the site July 1, and calling for a structural engineering report.

By Marshall Cohen | CNNThe Justice Department said this week that former President Donald Trump’s claims that he’ll be reinstated to the White House could fuel more political violence from his supporters. There is no legal or constitutional mechanism for that to happen, and Trump’s claims of a “stolen” 2020 election have been fully debunked. Federal prosecutors brought up Trump’s rhetoric this week in one of the US Capitol riot cases. The Justice Department opposes this request, saying Trump’s rhetoric could inspire Harkrider to become violent in the future. Earlier this spring, federal judges and prosecutors cited Trump’s rhetoric during detention hearings for some of the Capitol rioters.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich is pledging to stand for “election integrity” if only you will put him into the Senate next year. “We need you to stop the counting,” she wrote to then-Supervisor Chairman Clint Hickman on Nov 7, as the votes were being tallied. By Nov. 20 — the day the supervisors were scheduled to certify Biden’s over Trump — she was asking Hickman and Supervisor Steve Chucri to delay the certification vote. “Sounds like your fellow Repubs are throwing in the towel,” she wrote to Supervisor Bill Gates. “You know, I really think it's a shame that Republicans sort of are both in this kind of situation.

Nearly 80% of those in ICE custody have no criminal record, and a majority of those who do have committed largely minor offenses, according to TRAC. The American Civil Liberties Union called on the government to stop detaining anyone who might be at risk in detention. Under Obama, ICE adopted a policy in August 2016 that pregnant migrants would be presumed eligible for release as their cases made their way through immigration courts. President Donald Trump ended that policy of presumed release, part of his administration's heightened immigration enforcement, including arrests of anyone without legal residency regardless of whether they had committed some other offense. The number of pregnant women detained by ICE increased from 1,380 in 2016 to 2,098, according to the Government Accountability Office.

'But I also think it's ridiculous that Hunter Biden is even going forward with this sale as a first-time artist. The Treasury Department advisory warned that the anonymity afforded to art buyers made it harder to track such illegal activity. 'Hunter Biden's Art Will Soon Hit the Market for Up to $500,000 Per Piece. Art consultant Martin Galindo said that he wasn't a fan of Biden's art but was confident the pieces would sell for hefty prices. Biden's art dealer's roster of artists includes Sylvester Stallone and Bahraini royal family member Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifa.

The White House says that the new measures aim to “lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth”. Specifically, the executive order goes for quick wins by attempting to boost competition for many everyday items and services bought by Americans. Here are some of the highlights from the order which includes 72 initiatives involving more than a dozen federal agencies. Shockingly, the White House says that only 14 per cent of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss use hearing aids as they cost on average $5,000 and are often not covered by health insurance. The order also establishes a White House Competition Council, led by Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, which will monitor progress on finalising and implementing the initiatives.

The list includes internet providers, as broadband remains a key point of focus in the president's domestic agenda. Four of the order's parts relate specifically to broadband internet and call on the Federal Communications Commission to enact a number of measures to improve competition and transparency among all broadband providers. Partnerships between landlords and internet providers are a challenge when it comes to addressing and mitigating the digital divide. Restore net neutrality rulesIn 2017, the Trump administration repealed net neutrality protections enacted during the Obama administration, which once again allowed ISPs to slow internet access at their discretion. In this executive order, Biden specifically encourages the FCC to restore net neutrality, which would once again prohibit ISPs from intentionally blocking or slowing a customer's internet service.

That's a problem because, in the long run, climate change is the most serious problem we face. There's abundant evidence about the climate change problem. In the June Gallup Poll, climate change rated a measly 3 percent. For this reason, the White House press secretary, and other administration press channels, did not talk about climate change. In addition, for many years, Fox News (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/2021-fox-news-still-spreading-dangerous-climate-denial ) has denigrated climate change and spread the lie that human activity is not overheating our climate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn't made a similar announcement, having previously said that the House won't take up either bill until the Senate has passed both. So Democrats had better be ready for any eventuality, including dumping everything on infrastructure—the bipartisan package and everything else—into one big reconciliation bill. "It's possible that we could reach that point while Congress is out in August," Yellen warned in June. So, yes, it s a very good thing that some or part of the Senate's August recess is now on hold. "Maybe that will be used as a carrot on the end of a very big stick."

I propose that President Biden call his rural/underserved communities vaccine outreach program “Operation Warp Speed II” and, at the same time, double his efforts. As part of this, President Biden should address the nation. He should credit President Trump and Operation Warp Speed with the amazing achievement of funding the vaccines, reducing Covid and allowing this amazing economic recovery along with the Biden administration’s work to get the vaccines distributed and administered. Invite President Trump to make a statement encouraging vaccination, or play the clip from Fox News where he said people should get vaccinated. I realize that giving President Trump more credit than he deserves and minimizing his otherwise disastrous response to Covid may give President Trump a certain legitimacy he doesn’t deserve and potentially help him in 2024.

Greg Pence is the slightly more crooked brother to former VP Mike Pence, and the U.S. House Rep. for Indiana's 6th Congressional District. Did we mention he's voting on bills that show he's siding with the insurrectionists who want to hang his brother? On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled the U.S. House Representative from Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, Greg Pence, who yes, is the older brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, whom Greg would call “Bubbles” in their youth. (Frankly, that’s the most humanizing thing I’ve ever heard about either Pence, who have all the charisma of jars of mayonnaise past their expiration.) Indiana’s 6th Congressional District has a +18 Republican lean, and yes, that’s a tie for the most conservative lean of any district in the state.

We have people within our own country who are doing Putin’s work. In the U.S., one party has become a major illiberal outlier: The Republican Party. Trump is not just Putin’s puppet, he’s unwittingly acting in the interests of the Chinese government as well. President Biden, meanwhile, has been not only working to pass progressive legislative policies, he’s been working to strengthen our very system of democracy. In other words, he’s been doing America’s work.

Image by Gerd Altmann from PixabayIn an oligarchy, the rich can get away with anything and average people who try to stop harms to themselves and their communities get crushed. Then, as the Washington Post noted yesterday:“The family members — including Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. But because the crime they committed was mostly against average Americans rather than against big companies or rich people, they’ll quietly retire to one of their chalets or mansions. It has transformed America from a democracy to an oligarchy, and the point of no return is now visible. And that presents a true crisis for America, because oligarchy is almost always merely a transitional phase in the evolution of full-blown tyranny and/or fascism.

Working on the next stepWelcome ? to Friday’s Roundup of Good News! ? Out with the Bad, In with the Good ?Having tfg in office led to the deaths of so many. There`s this federal law that is designed to shield gun manufacturers from lawsuits, that this runs right up against. Here`s blue state New York today going on offense to say, hey, we`ll test it. 1, 2, 3: We open, share, and then savor the Roundup , because outreach, timing, acceleration, distractions, and the vicissitudes of memory.

Big Lie, Big Tech, and the Big Grift goes on… and the emoluments never got examined. Former president Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for guest rooms used by his protective detail during Trump’s first month at the club this summer, newly released spending records show. The records — released by the Secret Service in response to a public-records request — show that the ex-president has continued a habit he began in the first days of his presidency: charging rent to the agency that protects his life. "Trump seems always willing to attack anyone who disagrees with him, or whom he does not see as sufficiently supportive of him. As a result, it had a ripple effect, where targeted groups (due to immigration status, race, religion, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.)

The sources agreed that DeSantis and Trump are on an inevitable collision course as the 2024 GOP field takes shape. “There’s going to be a blowup,” a prominent Republican said. Not only did DeSantis narrowly defeat Trump in a recent conservative straw poll, Trump also insists DeSantis would be nowhere without Trump. For much of the 2018 gubernatorial primary, DeSantis trailed Florida agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam. According to Sherman, DeSantis has also shown a semblance of a backbone when dealing with Trump.

Taylor's campaign came to an end months later, though, when former state Rep. and eventual winner Barry Moore narrowly edged her out 20.5-19.9 for the second spot in the runoff. In the Senate race, Littwin mentions that some Republicans "are encouraging" former state Rep. Clarice Navarro to run, but there's no word on her interest. ? GA-Sen: Republican Rep. Governors? AK-Gov: Former Democratic state Rep. Les Gara announced Wednesday that he had formed an exploratory committee for a potential bid against Republican Gov. House? AZ-02: State Rep. Daniel Hernandez recently earned an endorsement from the Arizona Federation of Teachers for next year's open seat Democratic primary.

So there’s a lot of, “You know, I was a reporter.” Walter Hussman can legitimately say that—with a few important asterisks. When I was 27, I was a beat reporter going to fires, murder scenes, protests and government meetings. As a Black woman, she had to work longer and harder than I did to get ahead in newsrooms. In a new survey of 1,137 likely voters from June 30th to July 1st, Data for Progress examined likely voter support towards the components of the infrastructure bill. Voters support each individual component of the proposed bill, with notable support across parties.

As of yet the maximum number of senators who have been willing to buck him has been six. That's how many Republicans refused to grant his "personal favor," and voted for the Jan. 6 commission. With these battling far-right pressure groups lining up against one another, Politico is still going with the Democrats in disarray narrative. If Manchin is there, Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema is unlikely to be willing to stand on her own in opposition. "If you add the two plans together, it would be the biggest bill in the history of the country.

However, there's little discussion on the pushes and pulls that are making our world less safe and how to use arms control to dampen those tensions. In addition, there's little discussion of the history of diplomacy and the various times the world was plunged into war and how many lives were lost. As writer Daryl Kimball stated in this story "Engage China on Arms Control? As stated by Kimball, Biden should work toward a bilateral nuclear security with China that takes Chinese concerns into account. However, a real discussion will not take place without leadership, perhaps from Blinken.

That's a problem because, in the long run, climate change is the most serious problem we face. There's abundant evidence about the climate change problem. During the Trump Administration, it was well known that Donald Trump did not regard climate change as a serious problem. For this reason, the White House press secretary, and other administration press channels, did not talk about climate change. In addition, for many years, Fox News (Click Here ) has denigrated climate change and spread the lie that human activity is not overheating our climate.

Giuliani, Trump’s former personal attorney and former New York City mayor, urged Trump in 2017 to drop federal charges against Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader. If the DOJ concludes Giuliani lobbied on behalf of Turkish interests, Giuliani could be forced to register as a foreign agent. The Turkish government paid the firm over $1.2 million in 2017, $1.7 million in 2018 and $769,000 in 2019. Greenberg Traurig has claimed its lobbying was ethical and that it separated Guiliani’s legal work from its foreign lobbying. Giuliani wouldn’t be the only lobbying tie Turkey had to the Trump White House.

An inquiry the Justice Department has reportedly launched an inquiry into Rudy Giuliani may reveal even more undisclosed lobbying. Giuliani, Trump’s former personal attorney and former New York City mayor, urged Trump in 2017 to drop federal charges against Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader. If the DOJ concludes Giuliani lobbied on behalf of Turkish interests, Giuliani could be forced to register as a foreign agent. Greenberg Traurig has claimed its lobbying was ethical and that it separated Guiliani’s legal work from its foreign lobbying. Giuliani wouldn’t be the only lobbying tie Turkey had to the Trump White House.

Under President Trump, the Justice Department declared safe consumption sites illegal. Safe drug consumption sites operate in countries across the world and are known by many names, including supervised injection sites, supervised consumption services and overdose prevention programs. Safe consumption sites in Canada and other countries also provide pathways to addiction treatment for those who want it. During Senate confirmation hearings, Garland said he could not comment on safe consumption sites because the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Safehouse was still pending. Whether any of that money will eventually reach safe consumption sites may depend on how the Biden-Harris administration reacts to the news out of Rhode Island.

While missiles in flight and buildings collapsing to rubble make for engrossing evening news, the ongoing violence in occupied Palestine is far more quotidian in nature. The rule also prohibits Palestinians from publishing any political material without prior approval from the Israeli military. The United States is directly supporting a country administering a widespread ethnonationalist project punctuated by a brutal military occupation. The United States is directly supporting a country administering a widespread ethnonationalist project punctuated by a brutal military occupation. Again, we the tax-paying public of the United States are funding this.

“No president in history has been dealt a better hand on day one than President Biden,” Miller said on Fox News’ “Hannity” program. Miller went on to tout what he considered Trump’s major accomplishments, suggesting that they have helped Biden since he took office earlier this year. “Think about what President Trump left him and what it’s become,” Miller said. “He left him a Middle East that was at the dawn of a new peace, the most secure border in American history, energy abundance — and we had more energy than we knew what to do with.”Stephen Miller: No President in history has been dealt a better hand on day one than President Biden. However, the most obvious omission by Miller was the coronavirus pandemic, with the daily death rate in the U.S. at its highest during the weeks as Trump left office and Biden assumed the presidency.

And so, this is just, you know, again, one of the worst bills — this would make it the worst voter suppression bill in the country. Among them, “don’t come relying on activists to out-organize voter suppression to compensate for your legislative failures. We are litigating at the Legal Defense Fund in Georgia, challenging their voter suppression law. Twenty-five million dollars is not nearly enough to combat the kind of voter suppression that we’re seeing. The denial of the vote to D.C. is one of the oldest forms of voter suppression.

On the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. It is more difficult to come across blatant QAnon accounts on mainstream social media sites these days, at least from the publicly available data that does not include, for instance, hidden Facebook groups and private messages. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly. “If there were ever a time for a social media company to take a stand on QAnon content, it would have been like months ago, years ago,” DFRLabs’ Rizzuto said.

President Biden’s administration is expected to begin releasing pregnant women and those who recently gave birth after they are apprehended illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. Although fewer than 20 people currently held by the government would be released, prior Biden administration policy changes have been panned for unintentionally fueling the ongoing border crisis. “ICE is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals,” said acting ICE Director Tae Johnson. The number of US-Mexico border detentions hit a 21-year monthly high of more than 180,000 in May. Unaccompanied minors walk up the bank of the Rio Grande after crossing the US-Mexico border in Roma, Texas.

After running a report about Avenatti's prison sentence on Friday's "CBS This Morning," co-host Tony Dokoupil pointed out how the lawyer had "big financial problems." EX-CNN REGULAR MICHAEL AVENATTI'S FALL FROM STARDOM COMPLETE AS HE GETS PRISON TIME FOR NIKE EXTORTION PLOT"Maybe he needed some money and went about it getting it the wrong way," Dokoupil said. "And maybe we went about covering him the wrong way," correspondent Jamie Wax responded. However, no media organization gave Avenatti a bigger platform than CNN, which invited him for interviews a whopping 122 times, according to the Media Research Center. The network’s in-house media critic Brian Stelter declared Avenatti was a legitimate threat to challenge then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Senate Republicans have burned Democrats twice in filling Supreme Court vacancies. In 2016, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made the unprecedented decision to deny a Supreme Court seat to President Barack Obama for nearly a year, saying it was because it was a presidential election year. McConnell and Republicans kept the seat empty until Donald Trump was in the White House and could fill it with a GOP-backed nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Then, in 2020, McConnell broke from his own supposed standard for confirming Supreme Court nominees ? expediting confirmation of another Trump Supreme Court pick, Amy Coney Barrett, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election. McConnell seems intent on preventing Biden from filling a Supreme Court vacancy, too.

Since the start of the year, Twitter and Facebook have removed tens of thousands of accounts, groups and pages dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)On the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly . “If there were ever a time for a social media company to take a stand on QAnon content, it would have been like months ago, years ago,” DFRLabs’ Rizzuto said.

The Biden administration will stop detaining migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth in a reversal of a Trump-era policy. The Biden administration will stop detaining migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth in a reversal of a Trump-era policy. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities will no longer routinely jail migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth, reversing a Trump-era immigration policy. Women and immigrant advocacy groups have criticized medical care at immigrant detention centers and condemned the practice of detaining pregnant migrants as a threat to maternal and fetal health. Under Obama, ICE adopted a policy in August 2016 that pregnant migrants would be presumed eligible for release as their cases made their way through immigration courts.

Telecom and large-cap technology stocks on Friday shrugged off President Joe Biden's executive order partially aimed at promoting competition among Big Tech and internet service providers. The White House released a "fact sheet" on Friday morning as a precursor to Biden signing the executive order later in the day. The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission were among a dozen agencies targeted by the executive order. Technology Stocks: Internet Regulation Re-ImposedThe executive order encourages federal agencies to take a harder stance versus corporate consolidation and business practices that may stifle competition. The Nasdaq Composite, which includes many technology stocks, rose 0.8% to 14,680 in midday trading.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner who has also announced a bid for governor, praised local officials, Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

Here are the 7 markets his plan will target:LaborThe executive order will target policies and laws that prevent qualified workers from easily starting a new career or switching jobs within an industry in search of higher wages or better benefits and working conditions. TransportationThe order largely focuses on the airline industry, with the White House noting that just four commercial airlines control about two-thirds of the U.S. market. In a fact sheet explaining the executive order, it links recent consolidation in the industry with its ability to charge ever higher fees on things like ticket cancellation and baggage. “Though subject to federal review federal agencies have not formally denied a bank merger application in more than 15 years,” the White House said in a fact sheet explaining the executive order. “Importantly though,” they added, “The order will give the political cover necessary to the executive branch agencies to not only comply with Biden’s order but also explore previously underutilized authorities to pursue antitrust enforcement.”

Here are the 7 markets his plan will target:LaborThe executive order will target policies and laws that prevent qualified workers from easily starting a new career or switching jobs within an industry in search of higher wages or better benefits and working conditions. TransportationThe order largely focuses on the airline industry, with the White House noting that just four commercial airlines control about two-thirds of the U.S. market. In a fact sheet explaining the executive order, it links recent consolidation in the industry with its ability to charge ever higher fees on things like ticket cancellation and baggage. “Though subject to federal review federal agencies have not formally denied a bank merger application in more than 15 years,” the White House said in a fact sheet explaining the executive order. “Importantly though,” they added, “The order will give the political cover necessary to the executive branch agencies to not only comply with Biden’s order but also explore previously underutilized authorities to pursue antitrust enforcement.”

Alex Wong/Getty ImagesTrump called AG Bill Barr a "phony" and said he would "lick the floor if I asked him to," a new book says. Trump went on the warpath against Barr after Barr refused to back his election conspiracy theories. Former President Donald Trump accused Attorney General William Barr of being a "phony" when Barr refused to back his claims of election fraud, according to the book, "Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency," by Michael Wolff. In the weeks after he lost the 2020 election, Trump grew steadily more enraged with Barr, who had been on the chopping block for months. Story continues"We have to get rid of Barr," Trump reportedly told advisors including Jared Kushner, Mark Meadows, Pat Cipollone, and Eric Herschmann.

Patrick Semansky/Pool via REUTERSGOP congressmen were caught on tape telling activists to thank Manchin and Sinema for holding firm on the filibuster. In the newest video, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona said Democrats were "pushing as hard as they can" to enact President Joe Biden's agenda. He went on: "But thank goodness for Sinema and Joe Manchin," referring to Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both of whom have resisted a mounting chorus of Democratic calls to abolish the filibuster. "There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster," Manchin wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in April.

SheKnowsIt’s been a while since we’ve seen Melania Trump out in the wild, but she’s been spotted in public and running around New York City once again. Since leaving the White House in January, the former first lady has kept a very low profile in Palm Beach, Florida, where they’ve been residing at Mar-a-Lago.

Chris Christie, left, and Donald Trump. REUTERS/Scott AudetteTrump was "convinced" that Chris Christie gave him COVID-19, according to a new book. Chris Christie, according to a forthcoming book by journalist Michael Wolff. But he was furious with Christie following a final debate session in which Christie had assumed the role of Biden and attacked Trump, according to the book. After their bouts with COVID-19, Christie went on to criticize Trump's handling of the pandemic in the country.

Over the next three weeks, the Senate likely will vote on the infrastructure deal that Biden reached last month with a group of Republican and Democratic centrist senators. AdvertisementNewsletter Get our Essential Politics newsletter The latest news, analysis and insights from our politics teams from Sacramento to D.C. Enter email address Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. At least 10 Republicans will be needed to pass the bipartisan measure through the Senate, not a sure thing. “I’ve not historically been a Biden guy, but I’m astonished about how well he is doing,” said former Vermont Gov.

HIDALGO, Texas -- From a church outpost in this small border city, Roland and Megan Gonzalez navigate an obstacle course that would defeat many others. They supply food to desperate migrants across the green waters of the Rio Grande in the much larger city of Reynosa, Mexico. The violence was an emotional blow as news trickled out to migrants, Rhodes said. (Veronica Cardenas / Special Contributor)Before the pandemic, some of the Border Missions food would simply go to the poorer areas around Reynosa. Border Missions was trying to hustle up fresh blankets to replace the soggy, muddy blankets the migrants have in Reynosa.

While QAnon groups, pages and core accounts may be gone, many of their supporters remain on the big platforms — only now they're camouflaging their language and watering down the most extreme tenets of QAnon to make them more palatable. “There was a very, very explicit effort within the QAnon community to to camouflage their language," said Angelo Carusone, the president and CEO of Media Matters, a liberal research group that has followed QAnon’s rise. (That's a nod to former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, a three-star general). Facebook says it has removed about 3,300 pages, 10,500 groups, 510 events, 18,300 Facebook profiles and 27,300 Instagram accounts for violating its policy against QAnon. “We continue to consult with experts and improve our enforcement in response to how harm evolves, including by recidivist groups," the company said in a statement.

By contrast, in March 2020 just 29% of Americans accepted the lab leak theory. Whether or not they believe the lab leak theory, Americans are united about the need to investigate COVID's origins, with almost two-thirds of Republicans and Democrats calling the issue 'very' or 'extremely' important. Redfield, who was CDC director under the Trump administration, first revealed back in March that he believes the virus escaped from the Wuhan lab. Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, has flip-flopped on the issue, but recently said it was worth looking intoDid Covid leak from a Wuhan lab? He said his emails are 'ripe to be taken out of context' but he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab'.

The United States added 34 entities to its economic blacklist, including 14 Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang. The United States added 34 entities to its economic blacklist, including 14 Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims and high-tech surveillance in XinjiangWorkers walk around a camp for Uyghurs Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China. The Commerce Department is punishing companies for their involvement in human rights abuses against UyghursIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. In a Federal Registry update Friday, the Commerce Department said in total it was adding 34 entities listed under 43 entries. Generally, entities added to the economic blacklist are required to apply for licenses from the Commerce Department and face tough scrutiny when they seek permission to receive items from U.S. suppliers.

Donald Trump lashed out against attorney general Bill Barr after a fruitless attempt to recruit a federal attorney to probe the 2020 election and called him a 'phony', a new book claims. In the weeks following the November election, Barr - until then a staunch Trump ally - publicly began distancing himself from the former president's wild claims of widespread fraud. In the months leading up to the election Barr also echoed his boss's unfounded criticisms of mail-in voting. Kelly allegedly admonished Trump that 'You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler,' though the book claims Trump continued. Trump said in January 2021, according to an excerpt of Wolff's book in The Times.

(CNN) On Thursday, Mitch McConnell was asked about the sluggish Covid-19 vaccination rates among his fellow Kentuckians -- and why he believed it to be the case. "I'm perplexed by the reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed," he saidPerplexed, eh? Earlier this week, conservative talking head Charlie Kirk compared colleges and universities requiring the Covid-19 vaccine to an "apartheid-style, open-air hostage situation." Where Trump lost overwhelmingly -- Vermont, Massachusetts -- vaccination rates are some of the highest in the country. Blue states have the most heavily vaccinated populations; red states have the least vaccinated populations.

A related problem is landlords and Internet service providers entering exclusivity deals or collusive arrangements that leave tenants with only one option. AdvertisementRestoring net neutrality rulesFinally, Biden encouraged the FCC to "restore net neutrality rules undone by the prior administration." Without the Obama-era net neutrality rules, "big providers can use their power to discriminatorily block or slow down online services," Biden wrote. For example, former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's net neutrality repeal simultaneously wiped out the Obama-era price-transparency rules that Biden wants to bring back. The actual monthly price consumers pay to Internet service providers has been rising far faster than inflation for years.

“It seems to me that meeting with authors of the ridiculous number of books being written about my very successful Administration, or me, is a total waste of time,” Trump said in a statement in which he accused the authors of producing “pure fiction.”

(CNN) The Justice Department said this week that former President Donald Trump's delusional claims that he'll be reinstated to the White House could fuel more political violence from his supporters. Federal prosecutors brought up Trump's rhetoric this week in one of the US Capitol riot cases. The rioter, Marine Corps veteran Alex Harkrider , asked a judge to discontinue his GPS tracking and remove his ankle monitor. The Justice Department opposes this request, saying Trump's rhetoric could inspire Harkrider to become violent in the future. "Television networks continue to carry and report on those claims, with some actually giving credence to the false reporting."

From his parents’ Brooklyn home on Wednesday, Jonathan told CNN affiliate WPVI he remembers texting his mom moments after the collapse. “We extend our deepest condolences to Andreas’ family, friends, classmates and faculty as they deal with this unimaginable tragedy,” a statement read. “We don’t know anything, we don’t have any closure and that’s what hurts,” Fernández told CNN. 6 Colombian citizensSix Colombian citizens are unaccounted for following the collapse, Colombian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Camila Mugno told CNN on Friday. 3 members of Velasquez familyThree members of the Velasquez family are also believed missing after the building collapse, according to family members.

(CNN) The most populous county in the US is seeing "exponential growth" of Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant takes over as the dominant coronavirus strain, health officials in Los Angeles County said. "We do continue to see an uptick in cases and hospitalizations," Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. The Delta variant, first detected in India, has been found in 43% of new sequenced samples in California, the state said. A Pfizer spokesperson later told CNN the company planned to request FDA emergency use authorization for a booster shot in August. And if Americans ultimately need a booster shot, "people shouldn't get too worked up about that," he said.

Howie Kurtz on President Biden defending decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, Donald Trump denying he fought with Mike Pence over hiring Corey Lewandowski and FDA disagreeing with Pfizer over vaccine booster shot. Follow Howie on Twitter: @HowardKurtzFor more #MediaBuzz click here

FILE - In this March 17, 2021, file photo, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)FILE - In this March 17, 2021, file photo, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. The U.S. Education Department has announced it will forgive student loans for more than 1,800 borrowers who attended for-profit colleges that made false recruiting claims. ADVERTISEMENTLast month, the Biden administration erased student debt for more than 18,000 borrowers of the ITT Technical Institute, another defunct for-profit college. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued new rules meant to scale back loan forgiveness, which she said had become too easy to obtain.

Time's Molly Ball joins Morning Joe to discuss her recent interview with Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who was once an ardent Trump critic but is now no longer.

The Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee was unsparing, going point by point, systematically shredding one election conspiracy theory after another, exposing every right-wing claim as utterly bonkers. The Michigan Senate Oversight Committee's report specifically called on state Attorney General Dana Nessel's (D) office to consider investigating those "utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends." Nessel's office will be assisted by Michigan State Police, Mukomel said. At this point, it's difficult to say who'll draw scrutiny, and the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee's report did not refer to any individuals by name. That said, the Free Press' article referenced a variety of figures who've peddled false claims, held an "election integrity" fundraiser, and/or accepted financial contributions online.

Paypal PYPL, +1.79% co-founder Peter Thiel’s $5 billion Roth individual retirement account balance has some members of Congress second-guessing the tax policies of these investment vehicles. Also see: ‘I’m still not on the Roth IRA bandwagon’: Have you made these tax blunders? Neal isn’t the only critic of the ways in which some Roth IRAs are used. Sen. Ben Cardin also supports a change to the system, ProPublica reported. The senator is “considering reforms, such as banning the use of IRAs to purchase nonpublic investments,” his spokesman told ProPublica.

Amazon.com had accused then-President Donald Trump, alleging that the former president exerted improper pressure on military officials to steer the contract away from Amazon. The Pentagon said on Tuesday it expected the new multi-billion dollar contract would be split between Amazon and Microsoft. The Pentagon hopes to have the first awards by April 2022 for its new Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability (JWCC). John Sherman, acting chief information officer for the Defense Department, said on Tuesday he expects both Microsoft and Amazon will get cloud contracts. Amazon's Amazon Web Services cloud unit said it agreed with the Pentagon's decision to cancel the contract.

Many top US companies scrambled to cut ties with the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted against the election results following the January 6 Capitol siege. GettyToyota said it would stop donating to Republicans who had objected to Joe Biden's certification. The automaker's PAC had given tens of thousands of dollars to these lawmakers since January. In an ad this week, the Lincoln Project targeted Toyota for donating to the objectors. The vast majority of corporations who pledged to stop funding these GOP lawmakers have stayed true to their word.

In announcing the shift, Cardona said gay, lesbian and transgender students “have the same rights and deserve the same protections” as workers. The Biden administration is erasing more than $55 million in debt for former students of Westwood College, the Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute. The chain told students their course could be transferred to other colleges, but that often was not the case, the Education Department said. Last month, the Biden administration erased student debt for more than 18,000 borrowers of the ITT Technical Institute, another defunct for-profit college. DeVos also implemented a new formula that offered only partial loan relief even if claims were granted.

He said the ban allowed him "to make phone calls, and do other things and read papers that I wouldn't read." Former President Donald Trump said he was glad to be banned from Twitter because, among other things, it gave him time to read more. "It's really better than Twitter," Trump said, according to the book excerpt. Now I actually have time to make phone calls, and do other things and read papers that I wouldn't read." Trump on Wednesday announced that he is suing Twitter, Facebook and Google and their executives over what he described as censorship.

President Biden on Friday will sign a sweeping new executive order aimed at cracking down on anti-competitive behavior by Big Tech and other sectors including labor, health care and financial services. The order is intended to "reduce the trend of corporate consolidation, increase competition, and deliver concrete benefits to America’s consumers, workers, farmers, and small businesses," the White House said. Biden is expected to sign the order at 1:30 p.m. Big Tech is also under mounting pressure on Capitol Hill as lawmakers take up a series of sweeping new antitrust bills that could break up some of Silicon Valley's most powerful companies. It would also prevent the companies from favoring their own products over competitors using their services.

AdvertisementWidely believed to be the only person who personally knew both JFK and his assassin, Mrs. McMillan died Wednesday in her Cambridge home. Mrs. McMillan graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1950, the first at the school to major in Russian language and literature. “I think she’s the pioneer of the constructed family,” said her niece Holly-Katharine Johnson, who is writing a biography of Mrs. McMillan. Mrs. McMillan was convinced Oswald acted alone, and “oddly enough, Oswald liked John F. Kennedy. The assassination, Mrs. McMillan believed, was as much a crime of opportunity, because Oswald’s job was along JFK’s parade route in Dallas.

Republicans will select their nominee on Saturday. Three Greenwich Republicans are running — state Rep. Harry Arora, Ryan Fazio, who works in commodities markets and serves in the Representative Town Meeting, and Leora Levy, a Republican National Committeewoman. Levy was nominated by former President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Chile but a confirmation vote was never held.

A key difference between populism and fascism is that, for populists, actual electoral results matter. Despite coming to power by force, in 1943, Perón encouraged and participated in free democratic elections in 1946. So former fascists and militants of dictatorships tried to regain power through democratic electoral means. In short, fascism denied the very nature of democracy, the legitimacy of democratic procedures and their electoral outcomes. These differences matter today as Trump, and others, deny the electoral legitimacy of their opponents.

One of the biggest laughs at the movie’s Thursday night premiere came when Damon’s character is asked by a French woman if he voted for Donald Trump. On Friday, Damon said Baker absolutely would’ve supported Trump. “They’re in the oil business, of course he voted for Trump,” Damon said. They’re not six-pack ab guys, but they’re strong. In 2017, Damon called the former president’s response to Charlottesville “absolutely abhorrent.”Reviews of “Stillwater” emphasized how expertly the film shows how the world feels about America right now.

The annual Allen & Co. conference, known as “summer camp for billionaires,” is back in person this week in the mountain resort of Sun Valley, Idaho after COVID-19 put a pause on the event’s 37-year-run last year. The secretive annual gathering of tech and media moguls is known as where industry tycoons mix work with pleasure and mega-billion business deals often take place. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, a regular attendee of Sun Valley, was seen strolling across the resort grounds on Thursday, this year without his now ex-wife Melinda French Gates. Gates’s personal money manager Michael Larson, who’s also embroiled in scandals because of his boss’s divorce, was seen at the conference as well. Warren Buffett, a longtime trustee at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who recently resigned, appeared in Sun Valley this week as well.

Shortly after 11pm ET on 3 November, Wolff writes, Lachlan Murdoch was told by the Fox News decision desk it was ready to call the state for Biden. It was, Wolff writes, “still, by most measures, hotly contested and still a definite Trump win” in one forecasting model. But Lachlan Murdoch called his father and asked if he wanted to make a call which was sure to anger Trump. At the White House, Wolff writes, Trump was being assured by “merry” and “untroubled” aides “about how good everything looked”. Murdoch, Wolff writes, got off the phone, shrugged and said: “What a fucking idiot.”

Someone has been killed at The White Lotus resort in Hawaii. We join the hotel staff, headed up by perma-grinned Australian Armond (Looking’s Murray Bartlett), as they greet the latest guests. But lines are crossed, especially for Tanya, a self-described “alcoholic lunatic” who drives men away. Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O’Grady in The White Lotus. The White Lotus isn’t insisting itself as a state of the nation satire but White’s deft and unforgiving writing manages what so many others have tried and failed to do in the last five years.

As Donald Trump and his business empire face their most serious legal crisis in decades, his now-indicted longtime associate Allen Weisselberg has left his post as director of what is possibly Mr Trump’s highest-profile overseas property: the Trump International Golf Club in Scotland. Mr Weisselberg has been indicted in New York on 15 felony counts for what prosecutors claim is a 15-year tax fraud scheme. Mr Trump and his relatives have been on the offensive since the case was brought, with the president’s older sons leading the charge. Mr Trump’s golfing resort in Aberdeenshire has been controversial ever since the Scottish government gave it the green light in 2008, and even before that. Rows about the economic and environmental impact of its construction have raged for years, while Mr Trump famously sued the Scottish government over the construction of a wind farm offshore near his property.

'They write whatever they want to write anyway without sources, fact-checking, or asking whether or not an event is true or false.' Former President Donald Trump reacted with fury to a string of unflattering books on Friday, saying many of their stories were false or made-up. Two books, by journalist Michael Bender and Michael Wolff, are due to be published next weekTrump dismissed books about his administration as containing stories that are 'made up, or pure fiction.' Two are due to be published next week promising more unflattering headlines'Frankly, so many stories are made up, or pure fiction.' Bender's book, 'Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,' will be published next week.

Trump called AG Bill Barr a "phony" and said he would "lick the floor if I asked him to," a new book says. Trump went on the warpath against Barr after Barr refused to back his election conspiracy theories. Former President Donald Trump accused Attorney General William Barr of being a "phony" when Barr refused to back his claims of election fraud, according to the book, "Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency," by Michael Wolff. In the weeks after he lost the 2020 election, Trump grew steadily more enraged with Barr, who had been on the chopping block for months. "We have to get rid of Barr," Trump reportedly told advisors including Jared Kushner, Mark Meadows, Pat Cipollone, and Eric Herschmann.

The charisma-fueled hype reached such heights that the now 50-year-old lawyer mused that he might just run for president himself. Soon, controversy started to bubble around the newly appointed star lawyer and, in a Scaramuccian blink, Avenatti was gone. On Thursday, the Arc of Avenatti was completed, as a federal judge sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted by a jury for trying to extort Nike for more than $20 million. Avenatti, perhaps more than anyone outside Trumpworld, fit the Trump-era life cycle as outcast turned star turned criminal. That would be a fitting end to the Avenatti story, if he were not so thoroughly embroiled in other legal disputes.

To finish the wall along the Texas border, Abbott has put forth a $250 million “down payment” drawn from state disaster relief funds and crowdfunded almost another $500,000 as of June 23. It’s also not clear whether Abbott can use disaster funds to pay for the wall under Texas state law. Abbott’s push for a wall is as much a political stunt as an actual projectAbbott and the Texas GOP’s embrace of a border wall seems to be part of their strategy for the 2022 midterm elections. The Texas Republicans appear to be trying to appeal to their right-wing base in order to fend off potential primary challengers. “Nothing dominates the public opinion landscape of Texas Republicans like immigration and border security,” Henson said.

Trump was "convinced" that Chris Christie gave him COVID-19, according to a new book. Chris Christie, according to a forthcoming book by journalist Michael Wolff. But he was furious with Christie following final debate session in which Christie had assumed the role of Biden and attacked Trump, according to the book. Whether or not Christie gave coronavirus to Trump, the former president was "convinced" that he did, Wolff wrote. After their bouts with COVID-19, Christie went on to criticize Trump's handling of the pandemic in the country.

Suhail said following the departure of US troops it was “necessary [to] hold talks” with China, the biggest investor in Afghanistan. AdvertisementHe said the Taliban had “inherited al-Qaeda” from the former government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani when al-Qaeda swept into Afghanistan in the nineties. “We will not permit any open recruitment or any training or fundraising centre for any group in Afghanistan,” said Suhail. China had in one sense been a “friend” by maintaining diplomatic contacts with the Taliban, he said. “Whatever benign language the Taliban use, China remains highly concerned about the security situation there,” said Small.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch made the final decision for Fox News to call Arizona for Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election, a move that infuriated Donald Trump, according to a report in Business Insider. The controversial decision to call Arizona for Biden enraged Trump and his campaign officials, some of whom called for Rupert Murdoch to reverse the network's call. Trump personally called Murdoch, screamed at him and demanded a retraction, according to a report in Vanity Fair. Fox News put the head of its decision desk, Arnon Mishkin, on air to defend the call. However, during Trump's re-election bid, Murdoch complained Trump would lose due to his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sean Hannity called on U.S. sports fans to "take their sports back" from the divisions of politics Thursday after NHL fans were seen singing the national anthem during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At a time when far-left groups are polarizing everything from Independence Day observance to the American flag, Hannity encouraged fans across the sports spectrum to stand up and sing on behalf of the country. Fox News contributor Leo Terell told Hannity that the post only exposes "how racist Black Lives Matter is. 99.9% of black Americans support the flag and love it country and don't associate with black lives matter Utah," he said. The New York Times was ripped last weekend for publishing a piece that suggested the American flag has become a symbol of divisiveness.

Prosecutors said Verastigui also fantasized online about killing children while abusing them. Last November, a Trump Commerce Department political appointee, Adam Hageman, was arrested on charges he shared a child pornography video and commented on sexually abusing children. Hageman appears to have been set to enter a guilty plea in April, but court records do not indicate that hearing was ever held. Mehta accepted Verastigui’s guilty plea, but deferred a decision on whether to accept the roughly 12-to-15-year sentencing range prosecutors and Verastigui agreed to. He was also on the payroll of the RNC from 2017 to 2018, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

The memo, obtained by POLITICO, was based off of a series of focus groups conducted in battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They include suburban college-educated voters who supported Biden in 2020, Black voters who support Biden but are less likely to turn out in midterm elections, and white working-class voters, particularly women. The United the Country memo had some welcome findings for Biden in addition to the warnings. Their focus groups found strong support for cutting taxes by expanding the child tax credit, with the PAC describing the policy as “a home run even among the most hard-core” Trump supporters. “He hasn't told anyone to inject bleach yet,” one focus group member, identified only as “white non-college union man” from Pennsylvania said.

The student loan relief, which Biden extended on his first day in office, is set to expire at the end of September. Still, student advocacy groups have urged the Biden administration not to resume collecting student loan payments until the Education Department has enacted a series of reforms to the system. The pandemic relief is saving student loan borrowers approximately $5 billion in interest payments each month, according to the Education Department. Some progressives who are pushing for an extension of student loan relief hope that it’s a prelude to the widespread cancellation of student loan debt that they’ve been seeking. Some private student loan industry players are also hoping the Education Department turns on payments this fall, at least for some borrowers.

There were 13 pregnant women in ICE custody as of Thursday who are now being considered for release, officials told The Washington Post. During Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigration, no presumption of release was offered for pregnant women. The number of women who miscarried in ICE custody nearly doubled under Trump, the Daily Beast reported in 2019. Johnson’s new memo bars the use of restraints on pregnant women, except in extreme circumstances. ICE officers must obtain permission from a superior to request detention of a pregnant or nursing immigrant, the memo states.

Here are six things to know about the now-defunct cloud computing contract. WHAT WAS THE JEDI CONTRACT? WHAT WILL REPLACE THE JEDI CONTRACT? WHAT WAS TRUMP'S ROLE IN THE JEDI CONTRACT AWARD? Amazon in its lawsuit cited a 2019 book that reported Trump had directed the Defense Department to "screw Amazon" out of the JEDI contract.

Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg (EPA)In an excerpt from their forthcoming book published in the New York Times, reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang detail how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the company’s COO Sheryl Sandberg came under strain as they navigated first the fallout from the 2016 election and then the ever-rising pressure on Facebook during the Trump administration. “Mr Zuckerberg and Ms Sandberg continued to drift further apart,” write Ms Frenkel and Ms Kang, who cover technology for the Times. One of her primary roles had been to charm Washington on Facebook’s behalf, and protect and burnish its image. According to the authors, “Ms Sandberg did not try to explain, or justify, the decision to Ms Pelosi’s staff”. The book excerpt has been released just after Donald Trump launched legal action against Mr Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Google, claiming that by banning him from their platforms, they have breached his First Amendment rights.

ReutersPresident Joe Biden's planned executive order to promote greater U.S. competition will target bank mergers by pushing the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice to update merger guidelines and increase scrutiny of deals, according to a source familiar with the matter. It will also ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue rules giving consumers full control of their financial data to make it easier for customers to switch banks, the source said. The planned order, which is expected to be signed by Biden on Friday, is likely to chill M&A in the banking sector after a rash of deals unleashed by the Trump administration's more industry-friendly regulatory policy.

According to Trump, the lawsuits are intended to stop the platforms from censoring speech and from removing user accounts. The three suits claim the tech giants violated the First Amendment's free speech protections, though the amendment protects against censorship by the government and not censorship by private companies. Lawmakers have questioned whether it permits social media companies too much or too little freedom to regulate speech on their platforms. In addition to claiming that the tech companies violated the First Amendment, the suits ask the court to declare Section 230 unconstitutional. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.

Twitter users spotted a big contradiction in an opinion piece written by former President Donald Trump and published Thursday on The Wall Street Journal’s website. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.

Former President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google over claims of censorship. Video TranscriptDONALD TRUMP: Today, in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute I'm filing-- as the lead class representative-- a major class action lawsuit against the big tech giants, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter as well as their CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey, three real nice guys. [APPLAUSE]We're asking the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to social media companies illegal, shameful censorship of the American people. And that's exactly what they are doing. We're demanding an end to the chateau banning, a stop to the silencing, and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well.

President Biden on Friday will sign a sweeping new executive order aimed at cracking down on anti-competitive behavior by Big Tech and other sectors including labor, health care and financial services. The order is intended to "reduce the trend of corporate consolidation, increase competition, and deliver concrete benefits to America’s consumers, workers, farmers, and small businesses," the White House said. Biden is expected to sign the order at 1:30 p.m. Big Tech is also under mounting pressure on Capitol Hill as lawmakers take up a series of sweeping new antitrust bills that could break up some of Silicon Valley's most powerful companies. It would also prevent the companies from favoring their own products over competitors using their services.

Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit targeting Google, Twitter and Facebook will transform tech platforms, according to Parler CEO George Farmer. "I think this is the lawsuit that will redefine what free speech, when it comes to tech platforms, looks like," Farmer told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. "We've seen many times the authoritarian arm of Big Tech come down and censor people unwarranted," Farmer pointed out. Farmer believes that Trump’s lawsuit brings more awareness to how Big Tech censors free speech. "You saw Big Tech censor and control and try to de-platform the leader of the Republican Party who was the sitting president.

"ICE is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing individuals," acting ICE director Tae Johnson said in a statement. Most pregnant women detained in recent years have been apprehended after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border seeking refuge in the United States, according to the GAO. Advocates for immigrants counter that detaining pregnant and postpartum women endangers their physical and mental health. The new directive does not limit the "temporary placements" of pregnant women in "family staging centers" in South Texas, where several hundred pregnant women traveling with children have passed through this fiscal year, according to ICE data. AdvertisementThirteen pregnant women were in ICE custody as of Thursday, and they are being considered for release under the new policy, officials said.

It turns out Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner aren’t the only ones moving to the ultraexclusive “Billionaires Bunker” near Miami. According to Page Six, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are the latest couple to have purchased a slice of Indian Creek Island, for a cool $17 million.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund approved a $650 billion expansion in resources to support economically vulnerable nations as they battle the coronavirus pandemic. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Friday that the new support, the largest such expansion in the history of the 190-nation lending institution, would be a “shot in the arm for the world.”To put the size of the funding expansion in context, the IMF approved a $250 billion boost in SDR reserves following the 2008 financial crisis. It is a reversal of the stance taken by the Trump administration and it began in February when the Biden administration got behind the effort. Republican members of Congress have objected to the funding, saying that the expanded IMF resources would benefit U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran. Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious-affiliated development group Jubilee USA Network, said that the IMF action would allow developing countries to immediately receive more than $200 billion in support.

The Kentucky Capitol building is open again for visitors, but some new security regulations are now in place on the Frankfort campus. Spokespersons for the Republican leadership in the House and Senate did not respond to a request for comment on Beshear's new emergency security rules. Here's a rundown of the new regulations:Guns still allowed, with new limitsThough Capitol visitors were prohibited from carrying firearms two decades ago under an order from former Gov. Paul Patton, they have since been allowed to bring guns into the Capitol Building and Annex. Under the new emergency regulation from Beshear, Capitol visitors are explicitly allowed to carry handguns and long guns, as long as they are properly secured.

New aerial photos have given insight into Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s new $24m mansion, with the images revealing that the back of the property is a bit worse for wear. The photographs show damaged tiling and unmaintained pools, with one appearing a swamp-like green while the others are completely drained. The creek also hosts an 18-hole golf course and an elite country club with less than 50 residents in total residing on the island. Ms Trump and Mr Kushner moved out of Washington, DC, in January following the end of Donald Trump’s term as president. The couple had both served as senior White House advisors during Mr Trump’s four year terms in office.

The policy is a rollback of Mr Trump’s policy, which reversed the Obama administration’s policy that called for detaining pregnant immigrants only in extraordinary circumstances. Since 2016, the number of pregnant immigrants ICE has arrested increased more than 4,000-fold. “People who endure detention when they’re pregnant or nursing, you know, they really have very little recourse,” Ms Palmer told The Times. But the policy could easily be reversed in a future administration since Mr Biden’s administration did it through executive action. The Trump administration had previously tried to nullify birthright citizenship guaranteed through the U.S. Constitution.

“Mr Pence lost it.”“Mr Kushner had asked him to hire Mr Lewandowski, and he had discussed the plan with Mr Trump over lunch. Mr Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr Trump. Was there a bone saw?’”During his discussion about Hitler with Mr Kelly in 2018, Mr Trump reportedly kept defending the Nazi leader as Mr Kelly tried to explain who the allies and adversaries were in both World Wars. Mr Trump was allegedly “undeterred” and noted that Germany had made economic gains under the leadership of Hitler. When asked about it by Mr Bender, Mr Trump denied he had made the comments and that the conversation had occurred.

Rupert Murdoch personally made the decision to allow Fox News to broadcast that it had called Arizona for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, a new book reveals. Donald Trump and his aides were furious when Fox News became the first network on election night to call Arizona for Biden. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows phoned Fox News's decision desk while senior adviser Hope Hicks, who had returned to the White House after a spell working at Fox Corp., got in contact with Raj Shah, a former Trump White House staffer whom she hired at Fox, about getting the call reversed. Former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway reached out to Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier to complain. And White House senior adviser Jared Kushner contacted Rupert Murdoch to try and get it retracted.

Pro-Trump supporters have organised a rally in Florida this weekend at the state’s Capitol building, calling for the release of “political prisoners” who have been arrested in connection with the 6 January Capitol riots. The “free our patriots” rally has been organised by a Republican candidate challenging Marco Rubio for Senate and is billed as a “peaceful demonstration” against the “corrupt federal government”. According to a press release, protesters are planning to gather on 10 July at 1pm at the Florida Capitol Building in Tallahassee. On 6 January, pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in Washington in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election result following a Save America rally hosted by former President Donald Trump. The former president has baselessly maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him without evidence and the “free our patriots” release pushed similar inaccurate sentiments.

A year ago, after we watched the disastrous federal response to the crisis, I wouldn't have bet on that. That's the sort of dangerous fear-mongering conservative viewers see every day, even as thousands of them are still dying. We are seeing the beginnings of another COVID surge among the unvaccinated, and the largest cohort among them are Trump voters in red states with low vaccination rates. The Kaiser Foundation reported this week:One of the main factors driving differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country is partisanship. Lambda, the latest to be recognized by the WHO, is dominant in Peru and spreading rapidly in South America.

Texas Republicans Have A New Voting Bill. Republican leaders in the state vowed to take another pass at approving voting legislation after Texas House Democrats blocked a previous effort in May to pass more voting restrictions. The bills are part of a nationwide effort by state-level Republicans to enact more restrictive voting laws following former President Trump's loss in the 2020 election. 28 restrictive voting laws in 17 states have been enacted since January, according to the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice. "It's all in service of the big lie and enshrining the big lie even further into the laws of this most restrictive state in the country."

Barbara OrtutayThe Associated PressOn the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. It is more difficult to come across blatant QAnon accounts on mainstream social media sites these days, at least from the publicly available data that does not include, for instance, hidden Facebook groups and private messages. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly. “If there were ever a time for a social media company to take a stand on QAnon content, it would have been like months ago, years ago," DFRLabs' Rizzuto said.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangWASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday added 14 Chinese companies and other entities to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang. They include the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology; Xinjiang Lianhai Chuangzhi Information Technology Co; Shenzhen Cobber Information Technology Co; Xinjiang Sailing Information Technology; Beijing Geling Shentong Information Technology; Shenzhen Hua'antai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; and Chengdu Xiwu Security System Alliance Co., Ltd. The action follows the department's decision last month to add five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China. "The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and rejects U.S. attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Friday. This is not the first time the U.S. government has targeted Chinese firms linked to allegations of high-tech surveillance activity in Xinjiang.

WASHINGTON — A coalition of two dozen business and labor groups announced Thursday that they support the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan developed by a bipartisan group of senators and endorsed by President Joe Biden. “We urge Congress to turn this framework into legislation that will be signed into law, and our organizations are committed to helping see this cross the finish line,” the groups said in a joint statement. Other groups that signed the statement include the Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, American Association of Port Authorities, and American Public Transportation Association. Biden announced the deal in late June, which includes $579 billion in new spending on top of previously authorized funding. Meanwhile, conservative groups have sent a letter to GOP leaders in Congress urging them to oppose the bipartisan plan.

The scandals marred the Trump administration and led to the departure of the office’s chief. Before those scandals emerged, Trump administration officials curtailed the ability of DHS’ Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to oversee some of the intelligence office’s work. Under the Trump administration, officials also shut down a unit within the office focused on combating domestic terrorism. Earlier this year, DHS stood up a new team in the intelligence office to focus on that specific threat. She also provided on-air national security commentary for CNN.

The move comes after a social media backlash over the contributions, with threats to stop buying Toyota vehicles. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)DETROIT (AP) — Toyota has reversed itself and now says its political action committee will no longer contribute to the Republican legislators who voted against certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory. The Axios report, based on data gathered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Toyota donated $55,000 to 37 Republican objectors this year. Contribution data showed that 34 companies donated at least $5,000 to the campaigns and leadership political action committees of one or more election objectors this year, Axios reported. Six months later, many of those companies have resumed funneling cash to political action committees that benefit the election efforts of lawmakers whether they objected to the election certification or not.

Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty ImagesTrump got upset and threw a newspaper article at Pence, per a new book. Pence threw the crumpled up paper back at Trump. "So disloyal," Trump reportedly told Pence as he threw the newspaper article. Pence then picked up the scrunched newspaper article and tossed it back at Trump. "The story written by third-rate reporter Michael Bender, that Mike Pence and I had a big fight over Corey Lewandowski, is totally false," Trump said in a statement.

President Biden will sign a sweeping executive order designed to promote competition across American industries, calling on regulators to increase scrutiny of technology companies, drug prices, shipping and more. He will sign the order later Friday after delivering remarks on the American economy. Biden will urge the FTC Federal Trade Commission to stop pharmaceutical manufacturers from paying generic drugmakers to delay entry of lower-priced versions of medications into the market. That idea is part of pending legislation in the Senate and aligns with campaign promises Biden made last year. The executive order will also encourage the FTC to ban or limit noncompete agreements and ban unnecessary occupational licensing restrictions.

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Hickman’s fellow GOP supervisors Steve Chucri, Bill Gates and Jack Sellers were also approached individually with text messages or phone calls and also largely ignored them. Rather than talk to the president, Ducey certified state election results that helped defeat him. Like Ducey, Maricopa Country Recorder Stephen Richer has faced insults because he wouldn’t play ball with Republican Party leadership. And no doubt Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich will endure more of that pain if he decides to investigate these GOP intrusions into the Arizona election. Trump has already assailed Brnovich because he wouldn’t play trombone in Trump’s “Stop the Steal” parade.

After Oregon’s historic heat wave in late June, he noticed the sprouts atop every plant across nine acres of seedlings had been fried. Dillon said the hardest hit by the heat wave has been for growers of caneberries — including blueberries, blackberries and marionberries — and cherries, all high-value items. And while the heat wave did considerable damage on its own to agriculture throughout the state, he said its combination with the drought is likely to worsen immediate and longer-term effects. Smith Berry Barn in Hillsboro lost around half of its raspberries and 25% to 50% of its blackberries during the heat wave. Knowing broccoli heads would not survive the heat wave, she harvested broccoli she thought had reached full maturity.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. Since that victory, DeSantis has often taken his cues from Trump. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........PENSACOLA, Fla. — The co-founder of the “We Build The Wall” project aimed at raising money for a border wall has been indicted on a second tax charge in Florida, adding to an earlier tax charge and fraud charge. A federal grand jury in Pensacola indicted Brian Kolfage on Tuesday on a charge of filing a false tax return. He was previously charged with a separate count of filing a false tax return and a count of wire fraud related to the electronic filing of his tax return. The new charge is related to Kolfage filing a false amended tax return in December 2020, investigators said. Last year, a federal grand jury in New York indicted Kolfage and Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump.

The agreement sealed last week in global talks in Paris is up for discussion Friday and Saturday among the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice. While the tax deal is complex in its details, the idea behind the minimum tax is simple: If a multinational company escapes taxation abroad, it would have to pay the minimum at home. The OECD estimates tax avoidance costs anywhere from $100 billion to $240 billion, or from 4% to 10% of global corporate income tax revenues. Biden has proposed a 15% floor for the global talks, though it could be higher. The global minimum tax would be voluntary.

Brian Kemp won the 2018 Republican primary for Georgia governor propelled by grassroots conservatives and a late endorsement from then-President Donald Trump. Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. But look, my role — and I’m going to always do this — I’m going to follow the law and the Constitution. KEMP: I can’t really control what they’re casting me as, but I know what the truth is. And I think Georgians, at least a lot more of them than in November 2018, know what the truth is versus what they were saying.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren’t always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........On the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. It is more difficult to come across blatant QAnon accounts on mainstream social media sites these days, at least from the publicly available data that does not include, for instance, hidden Facebook groups and private messages. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly. “If there were ever a time for a social media company to take a stand on QAnon content, it would have been like months ago, years ago,” DFRLabs’ Rizzuto said.

In the first season of I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s superlative Netflix show, there’s a sketch that made me laugh more than any joke I have ever seen on social media. Over the past decade, television comedy has been gradually reshaped in the internet’s image – and I Think You Should Leave is no exception. The show’s sketches have also re-entered the social media fray to much fanfare. But sketch shows, however straightforwardly silly they appear to be, are usually drilling down into the granular details of social dynamics. I Think You Should Leave is a hall of mirrors: watch and reflect.

Ashton Kutcher has claimed that China could “create a problem” using TikTok in the South China Sea as the video-sharing app can be utilised to create “an anti-US propaganda”, and an “anti-Taiwanese propaganda effort”. While discussing how children need their own privacy, the actor claimed that he sees “a massive regulatory battle on the horizon” with regards to TikTok, which was created by the Beijing-based technology company ByteDance. Ashton Kutcher on Protecting Children and the Values for SuccessIn June, US president Joe Biden set about withdrawing Trump’s executive orders and ordered a new commerce department review of security concerns posed by the apps. “I think that most people believe that there is media manipulation happening and misinformation campaigns happening, just not through their sources,” Kutcher said in his interview. “I think that’s wrong and I think we’re about to face a reckoning in that particular domain and it’s going to probably change what social media looks like in the future.”

Then Mr Adams – likely to become the second-ever Black mayor of New York City – got his ears pierced. From 1997 through 2001, Mr Adams was registered to vote as a Republican. In 2019, Mr Adams, among his more colourful appearances in a career featuring many of them, demonstrated an extermination plan that involved a morbid display of bloated rat carcasses. The Brooklyn bossFollowing a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2016, Mr Adams pursued a vegan diet, reportedly shedding 30 pounds and reversing his diagnosis. Mr Adams also owns a home in Brooklyn and a condo in New Jersey.

Mark Zuckerberg and his deputy Sheryl Sandberg have 'drifted apart' following disagreements about his handling of Trump, according to a new book - with the staunch Democrat left 'burning with humiliation' at having to defend some of Facebook's policies. 'The fault lines that the authors depict between Mark and Sheryl and the people who work with them do not exist,' she said. Kang and Frankel claim this tested the relationship between Zuckerberg and Sandberg, the latter of whom had actively fostered a good relationship with Pelosi. 'Both Mark and Sheryl have spent more time on policy issues - and hired more senior members to the team, including Nick Clegg who reports to Sheryl,' she said. 'These areas demanded more time, attention and focus, which both Mark and Sheryl have given them.'

Even as he runs for a second term as governor of Florida, DeSantis is being mentioned as a top White House contender. Ron DeSantis at a July 1 briefing on the condo collapseHe's still the conservative populist who rarely parts with Trump. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. If DeSantis´ popularity rises and he threatens Trump´s status as the undisputed leader of the party, many Republicans privately expect Trump to turn on the governor. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis´ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

“All members are in the tunnel under” the Capitol read the message Mr. Caldwell received as he neared the building. In the years since Mr. Trump won the 2016 election, Facebook has struggled with the role it played in his rise and in the growth of populist leaders across the world. Facebook’s problems were features, not bugs, and were the natural outgrowth of a 13-year partnership between Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive and one of its founders, and his erudite business partner, Ms. Sandberg, its chief operating officer. The interviews paint a portrait of the Trump presidency as a trying period for the company and for its top leaders. The Trump era tested a central relationship at Facebook — between Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Zuckerberg — and she became increasingly isolated.

One of the main factors driving differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country is partisanship. To create a longer time series, we also looked at vaccination rates in April 2021. By May 11, the gap had increased to 6.5% and by July 6, 11.7%, with the average vaccination rate in Trump counties at 35% compared to 46.7% in Biden counties. Although there has been an overall significant slow-down in COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S., these findings show a widening divide of communities at risk for COVID-19 along partisan lines. A key component of any effort to boost vaccination rates among Republicans will be identifying the right messengers.

The Texas legislature began its second attempt to introduce new voting restrictions on Thursday, unveiling a pair of bills that could become some of the harshest election laws passed this year. Greg Abbott (R) announced the special session last month following a dramatic walkout by Democrats to block the initial barrage of restrictive legislation. Tamir Kalifa via Getty Images Members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus take part in a voting rights rally outside of the Texas State Capitol on July 8. The governor, however, was furious and vowed to pursue the voting restrictions as well as other issues such as bail reform and anti-transgender legislation. Republicans claim the bills are meant to ensure “election integrity.”This week, the White House unveiled a massive effort to counter such legislation.

The House Republican leader also believes keeping these fringe members in the fold — rather than ex-communicating them all together — is a better long-term leadership strategy for keeping them in check. Plus, the GOP leader may be reluctant to alienate a group of Donald Trump-aligned Republicans whom he may need to count on for speaker votes one day. But that management style also poses a risk for McCarthy and the GOP, especially as the battle for the House heats up. Controversies in the conferenceGreene is hardly the only source of heartburn inside the House GOP. "What I talk to my members is what I talk to my members personally about," McCarthy said at a recent news conference.

NBCUThe president is continuing his infrastructure push going to an Illinois county of that Trump won to try to build a coalition of support. Could his plan work? Peter Baker of The New York Times and Ron Insana of CNBC join to discuss.

Chinese companies, particularly those in tech-linked fields, are rethinking plans to go public in the United States in response to the Didi Global (DIDI) listing fiasco. Weeks before the Didi IPO, the cyberspace administration "suggested" that Didi delay the offering, according to The Wall Street Journal. The fallout suggests new U.S. listings of Chinese companies will stall, while existing companies come under pressure. Didi's US$4.4 billion IPO was the largest Chinese listing in the United States since then. The existing procedure for Chinese companies listing offshore was established in 2005, by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

But after a deadly building collapse, the Republican governor is largely hitting pause on the culture wars. And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. Jeb Bush of Florida and Chris Christie of New Jersey were widely praised for their response to devastating storms. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response.

Trump is entitled to Secret Service protection and there’s nothing illegal about the payments. But some ethics experts say Trump could waive the rent payments, especially since he routinely claims that he makes little or nothing for serving.

"He's from the heart of Trump country, he is very much part of that culture," Matt Damon told AFP in an interview. He doesn't understand the language, he doesn't understand the culture. He doesn't really understand where he is." "And now also for the French national team, but we won't go there," he added, referring to France's shock exit from Euro 2021 tournament. Although premiering in Cannes, "Stillwater" is playing out of competition at the festival, which runs to July 17.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. Since that victory, DeSantis has often taken his cues from Trump. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

It’s novel to claim that liability protection granted a corporation — in this case, Congress wisely deciding that websites and apps with millions of users aren’t on the hook for every single thing they let people post, while still encouraging standards to prevent harassment, hate speech and more — magically transforms it from a private entity into a public one. By the same logic, would gun manufacturers, shielded from suits by a rotten federal law Trump loves, also become agents of the government?

Trump reportedly sought to pressure US attorneys to investigate his election-fraud claims last year. The claim is in Michael Wolff's book about the final months of the Trump administration. Trump also grew furious when AG Bill Barr would not back his election-fraud claims, the book said. Liz Harrington, a spokeswoman for the former president, has dismissed Wolff's book as containing a series of falsehoods. "All these stories from the Michael Wolff book are not true.

A partner in that deal, Tony Bobulinski, has publicly stated that all the partners knew the “Big Guy” (or BG) was Joe Biden. It seems that Joe Biden was the key to all Hunter’s business deals. Actually, they have only one connection: Joe Biden. Yet Hunter Biden reeled it in, despite having no investment experience. The White House press team dismisses all this evidence and depicts Joe Biden as if he were Sgt.

The possibility that nuclear weapons could be used in regional or global conflicts is growing, said a newly disclosed Pentagon doctrinal publication on nuclear war fighting that was updated last year. “Despite concerted US efforts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in international affairs and to negotiate reductions in the number of nuclear weapons, since 2010 no potential adversary has reduced either the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy or the number of nuclear weapons it fields. See Joint Nuclear Operations, JP 3-72, April 2020. The document replaces a 2019 edition titled Nuclear Operations that was briefly disclosed and then withdrawn from a DoD website. “By design, nuclear weapons are highly destructive and have harmful effects that conventional weapons do not have.

Expensive hearing aidsToday, President Biden is issuing an executive order that tries to address the economy’s competition problem. It directs regulators to take specific steps to reduce monopoly rents in multiple industries. “Having healthy competition is vital to an effective capitalist system,” Brian Deese, Biden’s top White House economic adviser, told me. The problem of monopoly rents has grown so large that even a modest reduction in them could be significant. economist, has estimated that the economy’s lack of fair competition costs the typical American household more than $5,000 a year, through both higher prices and lower wages.

Waiting for Tish — NYPD won’t release Adams’ disciplinary records — Mayor sued over homeless moves Presented by Association of American UniversitiesA new-ish bit in New York political circles and Twitter feeds is naming the warmer months after whichever elected official has embraced leisure and recreation. And potential Democratic primary challengers are waiting to see if they’d face a wounded Cuomo, a vindicated Cuomo, or perhaps no Cuomo at all. WHAT CITY HALL'S READINGNYPD won't release Adams’ disciplinary records, by POLITICO’s Erin Durkin: The NYPD has refused to release disciplinary records for Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams despite a state law meant to lift the veil of secrecy around such documents. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, was an NYPD cop for 22 years, retiring as a captain in 2006. — The New York State Association of Counties and New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners have relaunched their “See the Signs, Save a Life” campaign.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to sign a sweeping executive order Friday aimed at cracking down on corporate consolidation and encouraging competition in the U.S. economy, the White House said. Families across the country are paying high prices for such things as internet service, prescription drugs and hearing aids, the White House said. Biden’s executive order seeks to ultimately “lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth,” it said. Under the order, the federal government would ban or limit non-compete agreements to make it easier for people to switch jobs. The president’s order will also form a White House Competition Council that will monitor progress on these initiatives.

Here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:TOP STORIESNewsom asks Californians to cut water usageGov. Only Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura are not under a regional drought state of emergency at this time. Enter email address Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. An influx of diverse, innovative dining options from Los Angeles is transforming the Strip. Support our journalism Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

Look to buy stocks that are rallying while the rest of the market is declining, Cramer said. “Pronouncing FAANG dead is to pronounce the 10-year dead in terms of appreciation,” Cramer said. TheStreet Quant Ratings rates Facebook as a Buy with a rating score of A-. The Street Quant Ratings rates Shopify as a Buy with a rating score of B-. TheStreet Quant Ratings rates Netflix as a Buy with a rating score of B.

After all, this is a heavily Democratic state, and all the major replacement candidates are Republicans — and past supporters of former President Trump to boot. But for what it’s worth — which should be a lot — the candidate most qualified by experience to replace Newsom is a throwback Republican: Kevin Faulconer. And he’s the kind of Republican who used to get elected to high office in California — like Govs. “Newsom wants to make this a campaign about Republicans versus Democrats because he has no record to run on,” the candidate replied. Give Faulconer credit: He’s running as a policy wonk — even if that does tend to bore voters.

TV reporter Dillon Collier went to cover the aftermath of a house fire in a San Antonio neighborhood Monday morning. In recent months, local TV news crews have faced verbal and physical abuse while on the job. ?Two armed culprits attempted to rob a San Francisco TV crew’s camera and equipment last month as they were conducting an interview outside Oakland City Hall. The episodes continued the trend of 2020, which may have been the most dangerous year in history for TV reporters in the United States. TV crews often travel to the scene of news stories in vans or satellite trucks splashed with station logos.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look England men’s teams that have played in finals in other sports. Rugby UnionEngland have fell short against South Africa in two Rugby World Cup finals (PA Archive)England have been in four Rugby World Cup finals, which is the highest number of appearances alongside Australia and New Zealand. Two years later it became the World Team Classic and the England team of Steve Davis, John Spencer and David Taylor triumphed over the Welsh trio in Reading. The same trio reached the final of the re-named World Team Cup in 1985 but lost to Ireland in Bournemouth. DartsPhil Taylor and Adrian Lewis guided England to World Cup success in four of the first six tournaments.

Murdoch made the decision to call Arizona for Biden in the 2020 election, Michael Wolff reported. "F--- him," the Fox News proprietor reportedly said of Trump when making the call. The decision was a pivotal moment on election night, indicating Trump was on course for defeat. The Fox News proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, personally gave final approval to the network's decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election, according to a Daily Beast report of Michael Wolff's upcoming book. Murdoch reportedly started to sour on Trump late last year, believing — according to reports — that Trump had botched his response to the coronavirus and was on course to lose the election.

But the most important fact remains unchanged: The events of Jan. 6 were a trial run, and proof of concept. Public opinion polls and other research shows that white Republicans (and especially Trump supporters) are committed to white racial authoritarianism, are afraid of the "browning of America." Thus, the Red Shirts came into being. However, it was in the Carolinas that the Red Shirts became a notable presence that persisted for decades. … However, the Red Shirts were far from finished.

Washington — Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Wednesday called for the state's attorney general to investigate possible efforts by former President Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others to pressure Maricopa County election officials during vote-counting in November. Giuliani, too, reportedly called Maricopa County supervisors and left voicemails that were obtained by the news outlet. President Biden defeated Mr. Trump in the state by 10,457 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Arizona since 1996. In addition to a possible investigation in Arizona, Mr. Trump is also under scrutiny by the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, for his alleged attempts to influence the outcome of the election in the state. In a January 2 call with its secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, Mr. Trump pressured him to "find" enough votes to crown him the winner.

Toyota said it would stop donating to Republicans who had objected to Joe Biden's certification. In an ad this week, the Lincoln Project targeted Toyota for donating to the objectors. Toyota said Thursday it would stop donating to Republicans who objected to Joe Biden's certification as president, after the automaker came under fire from watchdogs and activists for giving tens of thousands of dollars to these lawmakers. —The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 8, 2021"If [Toyota's executives] don't reconsider where they send their money, Americans will reconsider where we send ours," they added. Comcast refused to air the ad, the Lincoln Project said.

That is a priority.”Another focus will be attention to public housing, established to provide safe and affordable rentals for eligible low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. “About 70 percent of people who live in public housing are people of color,” Fudge said. Fudge, who’s part of what is informally known as President Joe Biden’s jobs Cabinet, has also been hitting the road to amplify Biden's infrastructure plan. “Some of our children have lost an entire year of education because they didn’t have broadband or high-speed internet where they lived, especially in public housing. So I’m especially pleased to be on the jobs Cabinet because, if we pass this infrastructure jobs plan, it’s putting people to work," she said.

Another $10,000 is on the line this weekend in the FOX Bet Super 6 "Quiz Show," a weekly contest that features six multiple-choice questions. The FOX Bet Super 6 app is free to download and the contests are free to enter. App users can also play other games answering questions on various sporting events, the stock market and more. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFOX Bet Super 6 is available nationwide with the exception of Washington state. FOX Bet is an online and mobile sportsbook originally developed through a first-of-its-kind national media and sports wagering partnership in the United States between The Stars Group Inc. and FOX Sports, a unit of Fox Corporation.

Open for businessThere will be no masks, no social distancing and no coronavirus-related health screenings for the thousands of attendees at the conference – Texas Gov. "During CPAC Orlando with [Florida] Gov. "When we got back from CPAC Orlando we said, look, Texas is the next big state, they're open. If there was a question whether Trump was still the leader of the GOP, it ended with CPAC Orlando – Trump won 55% of the vote in the 2024 presidential straw poll. TRUMP TO SPEAK AT DALLAS CPAC EVENT IN JULYSince the Orlando event, Trump's hold on the GOP has only become clearer.

A FoxConn logo is seen before the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump as he participates in the Foxconn Technology Group groundbreaking ceremony for its LCD manufacturing campus, in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, U.S., June 28, 2018. Foxconn and electric car manufacturer Fisker Inc (FSR.N) said in May that they had finalised a vehicle-assembly deal. They did not identify a location, but Fisker's CEO said Foxconn's Wisconsin site was a possibility. "Foxconn has engaged the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to discuss the company's plans for electric vehicle manufacturing. A month earlier, Foxconn's chairman said it may make EVs at the Wisconsin site, though could decide on Mexico, and would make a decision this year.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes thinks “MAGA World” is missing a key point when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines and ending the pandemic. That is, going all-in on promoting ex-President Donald Trump’s involvement in the development of the jabs. “Now, it’s not like Donald Trump himself developed the vaccine,” said Hayes. “That Donald Trump delivered us these miraculous vaccines and we should all thank him and go get our Trump shots.”“They should be telling everyone that the vaccines were the greatest achievement of the Trump presidency,” he added. It would be “closer to true than 95% of the things Donald Trump says.”“They should be hosting MAGA rallies with mass vaccinations and a free MAGA hat with every shot,” said Hayes.

Paypal PYPL, -0.70% co-founder Peter Thiel’s $5 billion Roth individual retirement account balance has some members of Congress second-guessing the tax policies of these investment vehicles. Also see: ‘I’m still not on the Roth IRA bandwagon’: Have you made these tax blunders? Neal isn’t the only critic of the ways in which some Roth IRAs are used. Sen. Ben Cardin also supports a change to the system, ProPublica reported. The senator is “considering reforms, such as banning the use of IRAs to purchase nonpublic investments,” his spokesman told ProPublica.

This is a golden political opportunity for Democrats, if they aren't too cowardly to take it. Trump's putsch apologia is extremely unpopular, but Republicans have already given themselves no choice but to go along with it. The insurrectionists are the symbols of grievance, the symbols of absolute loyalty to Trump and the angry and aggrieved victims who are at the center of every Trump political demand, every argument. It was only when she tried to climb over the barrier that the officer shot her, and only her. If the officer had not shot Babbitt, there's a strong possibility multiple members of Congress would have been hurt or killed.

With almost three months left to go in fiscal year 2021, the Coast Guard has caught more than 500 people from Cuba at sea. A U.S. Coast Guard crew member swims a woman to safety on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, off Key West. She was among 13 people rescued by the Coast Guard and a merchant vessel crew that afternoon. With the legal incentive to migrate to the United States long over, what is behind the latest influx of Cubans willing to take the risk to leave their homeland? Story continues? The all-but-total elimination of commercial and charter air travel from the United States to Cuba, with the exception of Havana.

And they lobbied state lawmakers into writing not one but two separate bills to ban the teaching of "critical race theory." James, who is Black, believes these "buzzwords" are code for critical race theory, which he says is a divisive and harmful narrative that has no place in Ohio schools. Supporters are split on whether what they're teaching fits under the umbrella of critical race theory, or CRT. Critical race theory is an academic field of study like philosophy, sociology or economics, said Ohio University professor Vince Jungkunz. The school board said in a statement that it wasn't teaching critical race theory or the 1619 Project.

But there are some signs that OANN and Newsmax are replacing Fox News as the primary news sources for at least some Republicans. Meanwhile, Fox News Republicans were often more in line with Republicans who got their news from other mainstream outlets. That said, all three groups of Republicans expressed similar levels of hesitancy about getting vaccinated — 31 percent of mainstream news Republicans and 29 percent of Fox News Republicans said they weren’t sure if they’d get vaccinated, compared to 37 percent of far-right news Republicans who said the same. The vast majority of both groups — 86 percent of Fox News Republicans and 96 percent of far-right news Republicans — said the election was stolen, compared to 66 percent of Republicans who do not watch television news and only 44 percent of mainstream news Republicans. We don’t yet know whether Republicans are choosing their different media sources based on preexisting views, or whether the media sources are actively shaping those views.

At least 14 Chinese companies are set to be added as early as Friday to the Entity List over reported abuses of Muslim Uighurs. The Biden administration is set to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist as early as Friday for alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told the Reuters news agency. One of the sources said the department plans to add 14 Chinese companies to the Entity List for reported abuses in Xinjiang. Some companies from other countries are also set to be added to the department’s blacklist as soon as Friday. The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Marshals-led Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force took 23-year-old Bryan Rhoden into custody when he surrendered in Chamblee, FOX 5 Atlanta reported Thursday evening. The site was about 25 miles southeast of where police found three bodies on the golf course July 3. Daniels alleged that she was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Trump's personal lawyer to stay silent about the fling. "Instead we will do the adult thing, which is take orders from fossil fuel exes & make you swim to work." Fox News’ Go Watch page is now available, providing visitors with Pay TV provider options in their area carrying Fox News Channel & Fox Business Network.

The eight-foot-high (2.4-m) black mesh fencing at one point surrounded several blocks of Capitol Hill, interfering with pedestrian and vehicle traffic. More than 535 people have been charged with taking part in the attack on Jan. 6, when Trump supporters smashed windows, fought police and sent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety. Two police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. Walker said the temporary fencing can quickly be reinstalled if needed and that other restrictions on access to the Capitol will remain in place. In March a task force studying security failures on Jan. 6 recommended the creation of a rapid-reaction force in Washington and upgrades to Capitol Police intelligence capabilities and training.

Chan School of Public Health who designed the poll. “Usually, our polls find a big split between Republicans and Democrats, so this is unique,” he said. Democratic lawmakers have also faced pressure to look more closely at the lab leak scenario, though they worry Republicans will stoke uncertainty about the virus origin for political gain. The finding also surprised Blendon, who said the public isn’t typically invested in such a scientific inquiry. The broad attention on the issue underscores the stakes for the Biden administration’s upcoming report on the virus origin, due in August.

It will also ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue rules giving consumers full control of their financial data to make it easier for customers to switch banks, the source said. Reuters first reported Biden's plan to issue a competition executive order. Biden's order also pushes to allow customers to switch banks by taking their financial transaction history data with them. In October, the CFPB sought comment on a potential proposal to increase consumers' access to their own financial data, which is collected by a growing number of financial institutions and apps. The source said the White House hopes the executive order would spur the agency to push ahead with the changes.

West downplayed the talk even as he organized an unprecedented anti-Covid-lockdown rally targeting the incumbent governor of the party he nominally chaired. “On day four of Allen West’s farcical campaign for governor of Texas, he finds himself 4,000 miles away in Alaska. West’s last day as party chair is Sunday. In addition to West, former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines and political commentator Chad Prather are challenging Abbott from the right, hoping to capitalize on that frustration. Florida state Rep. Chip LaMarca, a top Republican in West’s former home in Broward County, said West was sometimes his own worst enemy.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner who has also announced a bid for governor, praised local officials, Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

When Chinese authorities swiftly shut down one of its country’s most popular apps in an antitrust crackdown, there were immediate debilitating consequences for Chinese companies already trading in the U.S. But the longer-term ramifications of the move could sting the U.S. IPO market, as well as American tech giants like Apple Inc. Anyone who wants to do business there has to sell its soul.”The consequences for the U.S. IPO market, investors, and prospective Chinese tech companies could be disquieting. In May, Rubio introduced an act that would bar U.S. listings for Chinese companies out of compliance with American regulators. “Though they do have governmental surveillance, they want to make sure that’s not the case for the tech companies.

Former ambassador to the United Nationsand national security adviser to President Donald Trump,John Bolton, blamed the past three U.S. presidents Thursday for allowing public opinion to turn against the nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan. "I do think that public opinion has turned against this war and I blame it squarely on our political leadership for at least the last 12 years," Bolton told Chuck Todd, host of NBC News' "Meet the Press." Bolton's comments came on the day President Joe Biden announced his decision to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31. Story continuesBut Bolton indicated Thursday that withdrawal is in Americans' best interest when he told Todd the U.S. cannot win the war. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Bolton: Public opinion turned against war in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as the country appeared increasingly at risk of spiraling into civil war. When asked whether he trusted the Taliban, Biden responded: "Is that a serious question?" But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and more competent in terms of conducting war," Biden continued. Many military outposts have been surrendered without a fight, according to Afghan military and government sources. Afghan security forces are vowing to reclaim the lost territories from the Taliban and turn the tide.

Exclusive: White House to target bank mergers, financial data with competition order FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his proposed "American http://content.reuters.com/auth-server/content/tag:reuters.com,2021:newsml_RC2OGO9IPIXA:937523049/tag:reuters.com,2021:binary_RC2OGO9IPIXA-BASEIMAGE?action=download&mediatype=picture&mex_media_type=picture&token=%22tzhIULctfScN5uO50u8b%2BAhddamUP2s6ImvrSv5CoSE%3D%22Families Plan" legislation at McHenry County College during a visit to the northwest Chicago suburb Crystal Lake, Illinois, U.S., July 7, 2021. Reuters first reported Biden's plan to issue a competition executive order. Biden's order also pushes to allow customers to switch banks by taking their financial transaction history data with them. In October, the CFPB sought comment on a potential proposal to increase consumers' access to their own financial data, which is collected by a growing number of financial institutions and apps. The source said the White House hopes the executive order would spur the agency to push ahead with the changes.

Republicans in both chambers appear ready to start talking — and go a little bit further. But in truth, the climate caucus and its somewhat more solutions-oriented tone are far too little, coming this late in the game. Instead, the caucus calls those sources of greenhouse gases part of the solution to the need for stable sources of energy. The caucus’ other areas of interest — safe nuclear energy and carbon sequestration — are more promising, with caveats. If Republicans can somehow come up with a truly safe nuclear path, the nation will be all ears.

Me: In the kitchen.”“Wife: Feed the cat: Me: I mean the garage.”“Wife: Bring in the laundry. He took the ace and returned a diamond, and West won and led a low diamond. “He drew trumps, took the A-K of spades and ruffed a spade to drop my queen. DAILY QUESTIONYou hold: S Q 10 7 4 H 8 7 6 D A 2 C Q 10 9 5. A response of one spade would promise five or more spades.

The longtime coal lobbyist is among a group of Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in Ohio's 15th Congressional District. Carey has something his competitors don't — the coveted endorsement of former President Donald Trump sought by Republican candidates across the country. “I would not discount the importance of the Trump endorsement in the Republican Party," said Kevin Spiker, a political science professor at Ohio University. Eleven Republican candidates will appear on the ballot in the Aug. 3 primary, including Ohio Rep. Jeff LaRe and Sens. Besides Trump, other highly-anticipated GOP endorsement came from Stivers, who chose LaRe to succeed him after an extensive interview process.

Among the 10 biggest corporate PAC donors that pledged to pause their contributions to election objectors, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Verizon have followed through on their promises, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings. ADVERTISEMENTBut many companies that are focused more on government funding, and not consumer dollars, have resumed PAC donations to election objectors after a brief pause. For decades, corporate PACs avoided scrutiny while regularly donating to incumbents on both sides of the aisle. They’re part of the small group of corporations that pledged to pause donations to election objectors but never ruled out funding closely tied GOP groups. Pfizer, Walmart and Home Depot also donated to one or both of the GOP party committees, which are working to reelect Republican election objectors.

The one occasion that former Vice President Mike Pence properly “lost it” with Donald Trump was after the former president threw a crumpled newspaper article at him, a new book claims. Pence “lost it,” wrote Bender. The then-vice president reminded Trump that Jared Kushner, the then-president’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser, had asked him to hire Lewandowski and that they’d talked about it over lunch, per the book. Pence reportedly “picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump,” wrote Bender, citing administration officials. ‘We walked you through every detail of this,’ Mr. Pence snarled.

Former Vice President Mike Pence "lost it" after former President Donald Trump threw a crumpled newspaper article at him in frustration, according to a report. "Mr. Pence lost it," the essay continued, adding Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser, was the one who asked Pence to hire Lewandowski, and he planned to discuss the matter with Trump over lunch. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)"Mr. Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump," Bender wrote. Washington Examiner VideosTags: News, Donald Trump, Mike PenceOriginal Author: Daniel ChaitinOriginal Location: Pence 'lost it' in clash with Trump: Book

The one occasion that former Vice President Mike Pence properly “lost it” with Donald Trump was after the former president threw a crumpled newspaper article at him, a new book claims. Pence “lost it,” wrote Bender. The then-vice president reminded Trump that Jared Kushner, the then-president’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser, had asked him to hire Lewandowski and that they’d talked about it over lunch, per the book. Pence reportedly “picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump,” wrote Bender, citing administration officials. ‘We walked you through every detail of this,’ Mr. Pence snarled.

The U.S. Commerce Department action will follow its announcement last month adding five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China. "The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and rejects U.S. attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Friday. One of the sources for the economic blacklist additions said the Commerce Department plans to add 14 Chinese companies to the Entity List over reported abuses in Xinjiang. The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Generally, entity-listed companies are required to apply for licenses from the Commerce Department and face tough scrutiny when they seek permission to receive items from U.S. suppliers.

It sounds corny, but it’s a patriotic thing to do.”Last month, COVID-19 killed 130 people in Maryland, all unvaccinated . AdvertisementCOVID-19 vaccination rates have stalled. According to a Georgetown University study, five clusters with low vaccination rates, most of them in the South and Midwest, are fueling new COVID-19 cases. ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty ImagesEspecially in counties that voted for Donald Trump, vaccination rates are dire, and in this round more young people are getting infected and sick. Yet with stagnant vaccination rates, we’re witnessing a march of unnecessary infection, sickness, and death.

By contrast just 15% of cases, including the Voting Rights Act decision, were handed down along strictly polarized conservative-liberal lines. “This is one of the most conservative supreme courts that the US has ever seen,” he said. Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s third appointed to the supreme court, tilted the panel even further to the right. It sounds the alarm as the supreme court prepares for a fresh term in October in which it will hear potentially seismic cases over abortion rights and gun laws. But the supreme court that he molded in his own image appears to be quite open to the idea, and it may be only getting started.

A District of Columbia court has suspended former President Donald Trump’s most prominent attorney, Rudy Giuliani, from practicing law in the nation’s capital, roughly two weeks after a New York court took action against the former New York mayor for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A New York court suspended Giuliani from the New York bar on June 24 for his “false and misleading” statements on behalf of Trump and the 2020 election. Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s suspension. He acknowledged the news on Twitter Thursday, retweeting posts from others condemning his suspension. He added the hashtag #politicalpersecution to one of the posts he shared.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received a blunt reality check on Thursday after claiming he was puzzled by people who are opting not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “I’m perplexed by the reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed,” McConnell told reporters, per CNN’s Ana Cabrera, as vaccination rates slow down nationwide. Sen. McConnell: “I’m perplexed by the reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed." — Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) July 8, 2021Critics suggested McConnell look at his own party, whose members have for months routinely downplayed the threat of the virus that’s now killed at least 4 million people worldwide. https://t.co/l8r89ncYwg — Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) July 8, 2021And yet I’m not going do anything about it, except remain perplexed.

Scott J. Applewhite/APConservative groups are escalating their opposition to Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal. Prominent conservative groups are gearing up to pressure Republicans to oppose President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal, blasting it as a "basic betrayal of conservative values." Stephen Moore, one of the signatories, assailed the extra IRS funding in the bipartisan infrastructure deal. Story continuesRead the letter below:Dear Conservative Member of Congress: As conservative leaders, we are troubled that Republicans fell into the Democratic trap on an infrastructure spending bill. This budget-busting bill is only the gateway to another $2 trillion spending bill and a $3 trillion tax hike.

Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform or what he perceived the power of his platform to be,” he said. “I’ve learned that all the fame and notoriety in the world is meaningless,” Avenatti told the court, referring to his months-long stint in the spotlight. Avenatti's lawyer Danya Perry told the court the hard-charging barrister “is a completely humbled man.”“He lost his way,” she said. “I’m not fucking around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games,” Avenatti warned in a recorded conversation with Nike lawyers. Avenatti also owed a former law partner at Eagan Avenatti a $10 million judgment.

Avenatti still faces three other criminal fraud trials, including for defrauding Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. Recordings showed Avenatti telling Nike lawyers he would "blow the lid" on the company and wipe $10 billion off its stock market value unless it bowed to his demands. Avenatti was also convicted of defrauding the coach, Gary Franklin, by not telling him he wouldn't settle unless there were a probe. Franklin had been upset Nike stopped sponsoring his program, and said he wanted simply to restore their relationship. He also faces a January trial in Manhattan for allegedly cheating Daniels out of proceeds from a book contract.

Don Trump Jr has issued a fundraising appeal asking for donations to support his father's class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google. Trump Jr wrote in a post Thursday on Telegram, an alternative social media platform. Trump Jr's fundraising appeal was largely met with supportive comments on his Telegram channel, with many vowing to donate and questions about how to join the class-action suit. Some replies were harshly critical of the fundraising appeal, however, calling Trump Jr a 'grifter'. Twitter, Facebook and Google are all private companies, and users must agree to their terms of service to use their products.

Rep. Tim Ryan Timothy (Tim) RyanJD Vance: Trump views people who 'kiss his a-- all the time' as 'weak' TIm Ryan raises .28 million for Ohio Senate bid JD Vance says he regrets past criticism of Trump MORE (D-Ohio) has raised nearly $2.3 million since launching his Senate bid in April, his campaign announced Thursday. Ryan, a former presidential candidate who has represented a swath of northeastern Ohio for nearly 20 years, pulled in $2.28 million in the second quarter. The vast majority of contributions to Ryan’s Senate campaign — 96 percent — were under $100, and the average donation was $27. Other top Republican contenders include former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, investment banker Mike Gibbons and businessman Bernie Moreno. Republicans need to gain only one seat in the Senate to recapture the majority, making Ohio an even more tempting target for Democrats.

Former Stormy Daniels lawyer and Donald Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Thursday for a failed scheme to extort Nike of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe handed down the sentence in a Manhattan court while chiding Avenatti as "drunk on power," according to Reuters. Prosecutors argued that Avenatti told Nike lawyers that his information would wipe $10 billion of market off the publicly traded company. Michael Avenatti was reportedly in tears as the judge handed down his sentence on Thursday. Avenatti rose to fame in 2018 after representing porn star Stormy Daniels in civil action against former President Trump.

Ron DeSantis of Florida. Ron DeSantis is the biggest rising star in Republican politics today. Brian Ballard, the president of the top lobbying firm Ballard Partners: Ballard is considered Florida's most powerful Republican lobbyist, fundraiser, and political consultant. He opposed DeSantis during the 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary but now calls himself a "big fan" of the governor. She's a former TV journalist who hit airwaves in 2018 with an ad touting DeSantis' support for Trump that later went viral.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor's race in 2018. Since that victory, DeSantis has often taken his cues from Trump. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis' handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

A colossal entertainment lineup is giving Las Vegas the opportunity to have big tourism weekends back to back. Garth Brooks sings during President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Country singer Garth Brooks performs during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. “(Garth Brooks’ stadium show) has about as high a production value as anything out there,” Swissman said. “But Garth Brooks is a flagship, marquee sellout event for that arena.

In his first run for governor in 2014, Greg Abbott garnered just over 91% of the Republican primary vote. In his re-election bid in 2018, his primary vote was just over 90%. Now comes former Florida Rep. Allen West, fresh off a year as chairman of the Texas Republican Party. The second question: Do these challenges from the right of Abbott divide the opposition, making his primary prospects even stronger? But Dewhurst was not an incumbent, and Cruz brought specific attributes that Republican voters clearly craved.

AdvertisementJeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez were spotted on Thursday arrving at the annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho, dubbed the 'billionaire summer camp'. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos inspects New Shepard's West Texas launch facility before the rocket's maiden voyage, in West Texas on June 7Bezos and Sanchez, who began dating in 2019, attended that year's Sun Valley conference together. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, cut a casual figure as he conferred with Facebook COO Sandberg. Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose was also seen arriving at the Sun Valley conference, which brings together many of the world's richest and most powerful figures. David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications spoke to reporters outside the Sun Valley conference on Tuesday, and NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell arrived to start off the five-day conference as well.

Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. Brian Kemp won the 2018 Republican primary for Georgia governor propelled by grassroots conservatives and a late endorsement from then-President Donald Trump. Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. But look, my role — and I’m going to always do this — I’m going to follow the law and the Constitution.

By Humeyra Pamuk and David ShepardsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters. The U.S. Commerce Department action will follow its announcement last month adding five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China. One of the sources said the department plans to add 14 Chinese companies to the Entity List over reported abuses in Xinjiang. Some companies from other countries are also set to be added to the department's blacklist as soon as Friday. The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By Barbara Ortutay | Associated PressOn the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. Where Facebook groups once openly referenced QAnon, you’ll now see others like “Since you missed this in the so-called MSM,” a reference to the mainstream media. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. It is more difficult to come across blatant QAnon accounts on mainstream social media sites these days, at least from the publicly available data that does not include, for instance, hidden Facebook groups and private messages. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly.

But while QAnon groups, pages and core accounts may be gone, many of their supporters remain on the big platforms — only now they're camouflaging their language and watering down the most extreme tenets of QAnon to make them more palatable. “There was a very, very explicit effort within the QAnon community to to camouflage their language," said Angelo Carusone, the president and CEO of Media Matters, a liberal research group that has followed QAnon’s rise. (That's a nod to former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, a three-star general). Facebook says it has removed about 3,300 pages, 10,500 groups, 510 events, 18,300 Facebook profiles and 27,300 Instagram accounts for violating its policy against QAnon. “We continue to consult with experts and improve our enforcement in response to how harm evolves, including by recidivist groups," the company said in a statement.

“Although the Florida Division of Emergency Management has been working around the clock to support search and rescue efforts, it was unfortunate that Governor DeSantis diverted first responders to the southern border during this incredibly difficult time for the Miami community and our entire state,” she said. While Trump decides whether to run again in 2024, those with presidential ambitions are making aggressive moves to position themselves as his heir should he opt against a campaign. For now, Trump remains happy to be aligned with DeSantis. But several people in touch with the former president and his team said he has paid close attention as DeSantis has wooed donors at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida and gained traction in some conservative circles. If DeSantis’ popularity rises and he threatens Trump’s status as the undisputed leader of the party, many Republicans privately expect Trump to turn on the governor.

“I’m acting like I’m on some big-budget press tour. She can’t bullshit.” Kirby is squirming, but Waterston stands her ground: “It’s what I think!”“I always feel like the pantomime ham,” Kirby says. “Acting in the Corridor: Memories from Stage and Screen by Vanessa Kirby.” They collapse into giggles. ‘Working with Katherine was an education’ ... Kirby with Waterston in Venice in September for the city’s film festival. All we’re doing is trying not to suck, right?”The sexual frontier ... watch the trailer for The World to Come.

Using playful charts, it showed that traffic at the Ministry of Public Security was among the busiest, while China’s anti-corruption agency was relatively quiet. At the time, it looked like an innocuous peek at the potential of big data to make the government more efficient. More broadly, the crackdown shows how big data is quickly turning into the next major battleground in a clash of superpowers, with implications that potentially could reshape the global economy for decades to come. | REUTERSPerhaps more than any other major country, China has sought to harness the potential of data to transform its economy. That includes everything from personal health information to genetic information to “harm from access to large data repositories” — not unlike those held by China’s big tech firms.

PHOENIX — Democrats are calling for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate allegations State Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward and former President Donald Trump among others, tried to interfere with the vote count in the 2020 election in Maricopa County. Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego is urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate. Whether the Attorney General chooses to open an investigation or ask a County Attorney to do so remains to be seen. If Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego has his way, Brnovich won’t be the one doing the investigation, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will. In a letter to Garland, Congressman Gallego wrote, “I urge your department to investigate any potential illegal activity on the part of these campaign and party officials…”

Even that formidable effort, however, couldn’t defeat the murky politics of heroin, marked by a nexus of crime and official collusion that made mass drug abuse among GIs possible. * Finally, instead of reducing domestic use, the drug war actually helped stimulate a 10-fold surge in the number of American heroin users from just 68,000 in 1970 to 745,000 in 2019. In addition, the drug war has had a profound impact on American society by perpetuating, even institutionalizing, racial disparities through the raw power of the police and prisons. Three years later, they launched a relentless expansion of the drug war, policing, and prisons. In the 20 years since the drug war took final form under Clinton, politicians have made some relatively inconsequential reforms.

Bit leaves on Sunday to go spend a week with Mom while she goes to CNA school. It’s so ... 2 RecsA Moment Together I can’t really talk about everything that went on, not yet, anyway. But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous.... 21 RecsPWB Peeps Open Thread: Too Darn Hot! It’s too darn hot It’s too darn hot I’d like to sup with my baby tonight And play the pup with my baby tonight but I ain’t up to my baby tonight, ‘cause it’s too darn hot.

- President Joe BidenIn a desperate plea for attention ex-FOX Radio bum Jon Decker asked the President, “Do you trust the Taliban?” at today’s presser regarding troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. He’s a veteran White House correspondent and professor at Georgetown, after all:Adweek:Fox News Radio White House correspondent Jon Decker has moved to Gray TV and is now its senior national editor and White House Correspondent. Decker joins Gray after a six-year stint as the White House correspondent for Fox News Radio. He joined FNR from SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s White House Insider, and previously worked as a White House correspondent for Reuters TV, and previously hosted PBS’ This Week in Business. What’s “Gray TV”?

For those too young to remember, it’s where the phrase “drinking the Kool Aid” came from and its appropriate to the bizarre and sad relationship between Donald Trump and his cult followers. We have got to be wary of anyone who can have such control over people that they lose their ability to think independently.”Generally, “drinking the Kool Aid” suggests a person who’s been taken in by fantastical ideas or theories. But its Trump’s lies about Covid that genuinely qualify as Kool Aid in the original context of the saying. Dozens to hundreds of Trump followers died of Covid today. But Trump, unlike Jones, now has an entire political party and a massive media machine following him to the Kool Aid pails.

But undeterred by rational legal analysis, Fox News jumped eagerly into supporting Trump's futile legal antics. On Wednesday evening Sean Hannity invited Alan Dershowitz to comment on the litigation. Dershowitz was a member of Trump's impeachment defense team, so his prejudices and intellectual deficiencies are apparent. He began his remarks by portraying the case as "the most important First Amendment case of the 21st century," when it isn't actually a First Amendment case at all. For it to be a First Amendment case there would have to be government involvement in suppression of free speech.

President Biden: "Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31st." — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 8, 2021x President Biden: "We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build." — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 8, 2021KAMALA HARRISx VP Harris is announcing a $25 million expansion of the DNC's 'I Will Vote' initiative. https://t.co/3gHlaHJbU8 — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 8, 2021PENNSYLVANIAx Penn. https://t.co/6INFA3NDVl — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 8, 2021

In significantly sadder news, even as COVID infections and deaths continue to plummet in much of the country, both are now spiking in pockets of Trump Country where his duped followers are refusing to get vaccinated. Republican Governor Mike Parson just signed a law passed by the GOP-dominated state legislature to shield businesses and churches from COVID-related lawsuits. He spoke to criticism from those who believe he's pulling out from America's longest war too soon, with the Taliban already taking back control of the country as the U.S. leaves. "So now you can get not only rightwing media news, you can get your rightwing weather, that will tell you only things about the weather that you want to hear!" That includes "the unnecessary deaths of many Americans" fueled by sowing doubt about COVID-19 and spreading lies about the 2020 Presidential election.

Who are we to think it would be any different here, in a town which borders Mt. I thought this year would be really low-key, as my town had canceled its annual fireworks show (though San Francisco went ahead with their event). I even, for a minute, imagined them hanging out at one of the parties, maybe setting off a few themselves. Last year, her first in the house, neighbors had started with the fireworks a week ahead of time. Were the people who drive the hoity-toity cars in my community the same people who were setting off fireworks?

One of those two Republicans is Mark Moores, who won re-election 53-47 as Biden was taking his Albuquerque-based seat 51-46. We’ll now turn to the House, which is up every two years and where Biden won 47 districts compared to 23 for Trump. Democrats won a 44-26 majority in 2020 after the GOP netted two seats, but Republican state Rep. Phelps Anderson became an independent in February after he voted to repeal the state’s anti-abortion law. Altogether, there are three Republicans in Biden seats. Anderson, meanwhile, won re-election as a Republican without opposition last year in a Roswell-area seat that Trump took by a giant 74-23.

ICE was sued over the practice of transferred detainees just days ago, after officials transferred immigrants from a New Jersey facility to unknown locations. Essex County Correctional Center in Newark announced this past April that it would be ending its contract of more than a decade with ICE. Officials could just release detained immigrants to shelter at home; instead, they transferred them elsewhere, likely adding to the numbers reported by the Times. Rather than releasing detained immigrants, ICE flew a number of people from facilities in New York and Pennsylvania to Texas, BuzzFeed News reported in April 2020. “News of Covid spreading in detention centers … feels like deja vu to a year ago except it's Biden and not Trump and instead of detention numbers going down, they're going up,” tweeted Detention Watch Network executive director Silky Shah.

Fox is also not a comedy network. And Greg Gutfeld is only a comedian if you think that crude mockery of people who are disadvantaged or suffering is funny. The subject was Trump's January 6th insurrection in Washington, D.C. On that day more than a hundred police officers were injured, some with permanent disabilities. His monologue (video below) attacked reporters who are now struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by Trump's Capitol Hill rioters. He refers to them contemptuously as "these poor souls" and maligns them for thinking that January 6th was worse than 9/11.

Trump...became fixated on the conclusion by U.S. officials that the Saudi-born journalist's body was hacked up with a bone saw. 'Was there a bone saw? Was there a bone saw?'" "'Have you ever had to take a bone saw into negotiations?'" "'No Mr. President, ha ha,' and pressing, pressing, pressing, and every time, 'No, no, no, Donald, we didn't know anything about it.

Now the Arizona Republic reports that the Arizona Senate will recount the ballots after Cyber Ninjas finishes its recount. The Arizona Senate will conduct its own recount of the total number of Maricopa County ballots cast in last fall's election, Senate President Karen Fann said Thursday. The Senate has purchased two paper-counting machines to serve as a check on the work done by its contractor, Cyber Ninjas, as well as the count done by county elections officials. Sen. Fann says Cyber Ninjas is a private firm so they don’t have to reveal their procedures, funding, or security measures. Yup, this process is certainly instilling confidence in the election process.

Detectives are still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed. Zaila twirled and leaped with excitement after spelling the winning word, “murraya,” a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees. Seven other suspected assailants were killed in a gunfight with police, according to Haiti’s director of National Police Léon Charles. Avenatti, 50, rose to prominence by sparring publicly with Trump, but criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent. Both would require that voters have identification for mail voting and would ban drive-thru and overnight options for early voting.

Allen Weisselberg was fired from one of Trump’s Scotland golf courses today. Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been terminated as the director and controller of one of Donald Trump’s Scotland golf courses. A notice filed on Thursday at Companies House, the UK registry of private companies, showed that Weisselberg had been terminated as a director of Trump International Golf Club Scotland, a holding company that owns Trump's Aberdeenshire golf resort, Trump International Golf Links. If I was the Sith Apprentice, I’d have long ago gotten my light saber out and taken Trump’s head off by cutting a deal with prosecutors. But Sith Apprentice Weisselberg may be more Jar Jar Binks than Darth Maul.

He has to switch gears, and luckily, we have documentary evidence of how a Trump deposition would likely go. Last September, Mother Jones obtained a copy of Trump’s deposition in the Trump University fraud case. They ask probing questions, and Donald Trump is among the most probe-able tubs of goo in the whole wide world. There aren’t many things I can do faster than Donald Trump can lie, but popping popcorn kernels happens to be one of them. Get them all, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link.

Unfortunately for Norton, the GOP-led state Senate in his own state issued a report just last month that found "no evidence" of systemic fraud in 2020. But the flood of opportunism coming from people like Norton—whether it's driven by shameless ambition or self-delusion—has entirely eclipsed reality for many voters. Audra Johnson, another pro-Trump activist who plans to challenge Meijer, seems more than keen to capitalize on conservative voters' deep-state paranoia. is going to come knock on their door,” Johnson said of the people who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. “To say that there’s no evidence of widespread fraud I think is wrong,” Carra said, while providing zero evidence of widespread fraud.

Windsor appeared on Wednesday's The ReidOut on MNBC, which showed the video and talked to the American Independent. Windsor pressed him on issues like "getting a fetal heartbeat bill here like they did in Texas, or defunding Planned Parenthood." And the abortion issue is an issue that the Democrats use to divide us," he said in the video. What you'll hear me talk about is actually taking back the radical abortion policies that Virginians don't want. That's from Youngkin spokesman Matt Wolking, and not at all cribbed from Trump's "rip-roaring" endorsement.

The Arizona fraudit is the Republican cause célèbreIn the news Thursday: The Republican insistence on bowing to the altar of Trump may cost them any hope of retaking the Senate in 2022. The martyrdom of Ashli Babbitt has taken the right by storm. Tennessee Republicans are calling Ruby Bridges’ life critical race theory because they don’t want her story taught in schools. The Democratic secretary of state from Arizona is demanding that its Republican attorney general investigate Donald Trump’s election interference in their state. Some things you may have missed:Senate GOP candidates' election conspiracypalooza dims Republican takeover hopesDonald Trump jumps on the Ashli Babbitt conspiracy theory bandwagonTennessee Republicans deem Ruby Bridges' story critical race theory in effort to ban it in schoolsArizona secretary of state puts GOP attorney general in hot seat over Trump's election interferenceAnd from the community:An unknown fatal disease is killing multiple species of birds and is spreading across the countryThe plane that saved the world

, some Senate Republicans are actually trying to hold some of the grifters in that state who pushed the Big Lie of Trump not losing the November election accountable. She’s even bringing the state police into the mix, since this is a bona fidecriminal investigation an all. Wrecking Ball : And it just wouldn’t be a Statehouse Action update without the latest from Arizona, now, would it? Of course, this would essentially create a loophole in the state’s public records statute big enough to drive a tank through. … and “people” happens to include me, so please don’t be alarmed by any brief Statehouse Action gaps over the next few months.

The Post estimated that Trump actually charged $566.64 per night for a four-bedroom “cottage” at Trump’s Bedminster. A White House spokesman told the newspaper President Biden hasn't charged the Secret Service rent since he became president, but he reportedly charged the Secret Service $2,200 a month to rent a cottage on his Delaware property when he was vice president. Nearly 14% of the Secret Service workforce was infected with COVID-19 between March of 2020 and March of 2021, Talking Points Memo reported. "The Secret Service’s essential law enforcement mission required agency employees to remain in continuous contact with the public during the pandemic," Secret Service spokesperson Justine Whelan told ABC News last month. “Now and throughout the pandemic, the Secret Service was fully prepared and staffed to successfully meet these challenges.”RELATED: Newly released records show just how many Secret Service agents contracted COVID-19 under Trump

Last year, Trump's racist lab leak theory was thrown out by both the Democratic establishment and most of the mainstream media. A CNBC headline screamed: "Biden orders closer review of Covid origins as U.S. intel weighs Wuhan lab leak theory." While just a couple weeks ago, Yahoo News quietly reminded us: "There's still no evidence of a Chinese lab leak." So they, uh, perpetrated a biological attack on American citizens to find out what would happen in the event of a biological attack on American citizens?! " Apparently we wanted to deter biological weapons attacks on Americans by dropping biological weapons on Americans first.

This time we will talk about China, a backwards country that turned into one of the most influential nations in the world. China is digging its talons into the crumbled Russia slowly and steadily. It will be able to formally keep its national symbols, but China will de facto rule the country. Ironically, Russia currently believes China to be its greatest ally in the fight against the West. If we look at the resources available to both nations, we can't talk about Russia cooperating with China, but instead China cooperating with Russia.

The abhorrent assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has exposed the political instability long plaguing the Caribbean nation. The last time a Haitian president was assassinated, Jean Vilbrun Guillame Sam in 1915, the United States’s military occupation followed. The last time a Haitian president was assassinated, Jean Vilbrun Guillame Sam in 1915, the United States’s military occupation followed. Chaotic political rule, as we know well from living in the United States under the Trump administration, destroys trust among fellow citizens and in democratic institutions. The health impact extends beyond the health infrastructure of Haiti, it impacts future health and increases emigration (“brain drain”).

Former President Donald Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 in May while agents stayed at his golf club in New Jersey to protect him, new financial records show. According to public records, Trump has charged the Secret Service $50,000 in rent from when he left office in January to May. At various points in 2017, the Secret Service was charged $650 a night, The Washington Post found. In total, Trump charged the Secret Service $2.5 million while he was in office. The rates are also much higher than anything modern presidents have charged the Secret Service to protect them.

The National Education Association (NEA), the largest union in the US with roughly 3 million members, concluded its annual Representative Assembly (RA) on July 3. The teachers unions have admitted that over 1,000 educators have perished from the virus so far, but refuse to publish precise numbers or the names of those lost. Last summer, the two national American teachers’ unions, the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), cynically used the COVID-19 crisis to insist that union-administration partnerships must be expanded to embed the union apparatus more firmly in districts and government. Teachers, students, and families protest against school reopenings in New York City on Aug. 3, 2020. These immense bureaucracies had ample resources to raise the alarm at the start of the pandemic by educating and mobilizing parents, educators, students and workers nationally.

At that time, it appeared that the contract would be awarded to Amazon because the company had won other major cloud computing bids with the US military-intelligence state. However, before the arrangements with Amazon could be finalized, then-President Donald Trump intervened and forced the contract to be signed with Microsoft in October 2019. Amazon sued and, in February 2020, a judge imposed an injunction on the deal with Microsoft. The conflict over the JEDI contract remained unresolved when Biden was sworn in as president. A primary concern of the Pentagon is to maintain technological superiority over international rivals such as Russia and China.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman (Twitter)The prince is the first senior member of the Saudi ruling family to visit the US since Democratic President Joe Biden took office last January. The Biden administration ordered sanctions against the assassins and the senior advisor who supervised their bloody work, but took no action whatsoever against MBS himself. At the State Department, he held talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Counselor Derek Chollet. At the Pentagon, he met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley. The official statements issued by the different US government agencies hosting the Saudi prince were all virtually identical.

Scott Applewhite)Biden has sought to counter this criticism by naming Vice President Kamala Harris to lead his efforts on voting rights and pledging to campaign publicly on the issue, but he has not actually done anything. Thursday’s meeting was the first White House event of the year devoted to the issue. While visiting in Florida earlier this week, where he met with families who lost relatives in the Surfside building collapse, Biden reiterated his pledge to take action on voting rights. That decision significantly limited the scope of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, eight years after the high court gutted the main enforcement mechanism in the law, Section 5. They do not expect either the courts or the Congress to overturn the new straitjackets on voters being established by Republican state governments.

The paper, entitled “The Origins of SARS-CoV-2: A Critical Review,” was published as a preprint on Zenodo. The “Wuhan Lab” theory consists of piling speculative leaps on top of one another and claiming they add up to a convincing argument. The scientists’ response takes each of these speculations—for which there is no evidence to begin with—and explains their impossibility. With the resurgence of the pandemic caused by the Delta variant, governments around the world are doubling down on the demand that the population “live with” the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wuhan Lab theory has never been a real “theory,” in the sense of a scientific explanation rooted in empirical evidence.

On this day, July 9 …2018: President Trump nominates federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Also on this day:1776: The Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York. The Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York. 1850: Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies after serving only 16 months of his term. Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies after serving only 16 months of his term.

The NSA has reportedly leaked private emails from "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host Tucker Carlson to reporters, and legal scholar Jonathan Turley argued this could be a serious breach of federal law. "If reporters were given that information, it would be even more serious because even if your email itself was not classified, the intercept is," he said. I do national security work and it takes years for me to get access to a FISA warrant, I should say, or an NSA surveillance document." Turley explained that Tucker’s emails could have been lawfully intercepted if they had been shared with someone subject to NSA surveillance, or forwarded to someone who was intercepted. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"We have journalists who are investigated in the Bush administration, the Obama administration, the Trump administration, the Biden administration," he said.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren’t always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

Since the start of the year, Twitter and Facebook have removed tens of thousands of accounts, groups and pages dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)On the face of it, you might think that the QAnon conspiracy has largely disappeared from big social media sites. When DFRLab analyzed more than 40 million appearances of QAnon catchphrases and related terms on social media this spring, it found that their presence on mainstream platforms had declined significantly in recent months. Carusone, for instance, noted that Facebook banned QAnon groups tied to violence six weeks before it banned QAnon more broadly . “If there were ever a time for a social media company to take a stand on QAnon content, it would have been like months ago, years ago,” DFRLabs’ Rizzuto said.

And he even skipped a rally in Sarasota headlined by former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement was crucial in helping DeSantis win the governor’s race in 2018. But unlike the former president, DeSantis is showing that he can tone down some of his most extreme partisan rhetoric during a disaster. DeSantis’ handling of the tragedy appears to have caught some Democrats off guard, leaving them with no unified response. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner who has also announced a bid for governor, praised local officials, Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Friction between the two spilled into the public for the first time last week when Trump rebuffed DeSantis’ entreaties to postpone the rally in Sarasota.

President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a Thursday speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. Brian Kemp won the 2018 Republican primary for Georgia governor propelled by grassroots conservatives and a late endorsement from then-President Donald Trump. Ahead of his Saturday reelection campaign launch, The Associated Press talked to Kemp about the race ahead, Abrams, Trump and the new Georgia political landscape. But look, my role — and I’m going to always do this — I’m going to follow the law and the Constitution.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki lobbed a parting shot at former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google. A reporter, referencing Trump's lawsuit, asked Psaki if Biden stands by comments he made on the 2020 campaign trail about the need to "immediately" revoke Section 230. Trump contends those social media giants unfairly censor him and other influential conservatives — while also promoting liberal viewpoints. "I think it's safe to say that the president spends a lot less time obsessing over social media than the former president." Washington Examiner VideosTags: News, Joe Biden, Jen Psaki, White House, Donald Trump, Section 230, Facebook, Big Tech, Twitter, GoogleOriginal Author: Christian DatocOriginal Location: Psaki ends press briefing with a parting shot at Trump's long shot social media lawsuit

President Joe Biden has reversed many of former President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration and border enforcement policies. More than 2,000 migrants crossed the Yuma border during the Fourth of July weekend, according to the Yuma Sun. The point of heightened border enforcement is to deter migrants from crossing the border, he said. They specifically point to prevention through deterrence, the set of policies the Border Patrol implemented in the 1990s. "But the way the Border Patrol goes about resolving this problem just exacerbates the problem."

The merit of the concerns animating Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Facebook and its chances of success are unfortunately two different things. “No longer are Big Tech giants simply removing specific threats of violence,” he wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed explaining his lawsuits. Throughout the pandemic, Big Tech companies cracked down on users who shared information they deemed to be inaccurate. This protection is appropriate for social media companies that act like platforms, but not for those that function as publishers. That’s a more direct connection to government than social media companies have.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)In 2020, it was widely reported that Joe Biden wanted to be a “transitional” president. At a campaign event in Detroit, appearing with several younger, more progressive Democratic politicians, he seemed to endorse this idea. Only his gains among moderate to conservative voting groups allowed him to prevail.”That brings me to why Biden needs a do-over. The base of the Democratic Party is obsessed with the idea that a massive transformation of American government is possible. Moreover, the longer the Democratic Party is committed to this fantasy, the longer it will be a minority party.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)I mostly disagreed with Steve Sebelius’ Sunday column (“Lombardo has a Donald Trump problem”), but one paragraph in particular stood out like a sore thumb. Mr. Sebelius writes that left-wing figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “make a lot of noise but don’t exercise the same chokehold” over the Democrats that Trump did in the GOP. Joe Biden ran and campaigned as a moderate who would unite the people and heal the country’s wounds. Try to be a little more honest, Mr. Sebelius.

Biden pushed back against the notion the U.S. mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a Thursday speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. The Pentagon said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is expected to end his tour of duty this month as final arrangements are made for a reduced U.S. military mission. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

AdvertisementLouisiana teenager Zaila Avant-garde, 14, has made history by becoming the first African American student to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its 96-year history. Zaila has described spelling as a side hobby, although she routinely practiced for seven hours a day. 'In sixth grade, I was my school's spelling bee champion. The Scripps National Spelling Bee later tweeted: 'No one envies the judges on having to make these calls. Walker is a Heisman Trophy winner and helped steer the University of Georgia to a college football national championship.

Top White House officials said the order seeks to ensure small businesses and consumers have access to fair markets. “The overarching objective with the executive order is to make sure the president is encouraging competition in industries around the country,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday. That order — largely the work of Jason Furman, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers — came near the end of Obama’s presidency. Biden’s order will go a step beyond Obama’s by offering pointed suggestions for steps to take, rather than leaving implementation entirely to the agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has yet to issue standards that would govern consumer requests and transfers, however, although it started a potential rulemaking on the subject in October.

(CNN) Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wants the state attorney general to investigate whether allies of former President Donald Trump violated state laws by conducting a pressure campaign against county officials in the wake of the November 2020 election. In a Wednesday letter to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich , she wrote that contacts made by the Trump White House and the then-President's political supporters were a "potential crime" because of the election officials they tried to influence. Hobbs calls those contacts "clear efforts to induce supervisors to refuse to comply with their duties" and a "possible crime." "I got a phone call from the White House switchboard" in early January, Hicks explained to CNN's Michael Smerconish on "Cuomo Prime Time" Monday. Trump narrowly lost the state to Joe Biden.

Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulDemocrat Charles Booker launches Senate challenge against Rand Paul The Hill's Morning Report - Bidens to visit Surfside, Fla., collapse site Republicans raise early concerns over Biden infrastructure deal MORE (R-Ky.) vowed on Thursday to fight part of the public transportation mask mandate that requires passengers to wear face coverings when traveling on planes. "When the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes," Paul wrote on Twitter. ADVERTISEMENTWhen the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes. — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 8, 2021Paul's promise to tackle air travel masks requirements targets a portion of the public transportation executive order signed by Biden on his first day in office that requires face coverings on all public transportation, including airports and airplanes. https://t.co/NDCRUE3wCV — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 7, 2021Paul in May announced that he would not be getting the COVID-19 vaccine because he had already contracted the disease in March 2020.

The GOP Senate campaign arm released a 30-second ad Thursday accusing Warnock of failing to prevent Major League Baseball (MLB) from moving next week’s All-Star Game to Denver from Atlanta amid protests of Georgia’s new elections law. The ad shows baseball stadium scenes as a voiceover narrates: “Baseball’s Midsummer Classic: The All-Star game. A $100 million boost to Georgia’s economy, until the radical left woke crowd took it all away, forcing the MLB to boycott Georgia. Donate today.”The NRSC said the ad would air in Georgia during Monday’s Home Run Derby on ESPN and during Tuesday’s All-Star Game on Fox. MLB shifted the All-Star Game to Coors Field in Denver.

The truth is just the opposite: The West cannot survive without a strong Europe. During the Cold War, Washington wasn’t shy about exercising its power in a more naked fashion when dealing with Japan, Indonesia or the Philippines. First, as China replaced Russia as the main rival to the United States, Europe is now far removed from the center of the action. If Europe is at risk of being taken over by Russia or China, who is in a position to stop them? The European Union would be in a position of weakness.

REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters. The U.S. Commerce Department action will follow its announcement last month adding five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China. One of the sources said the department plans to add 14 Chinese companies to the Entity List over reported abuses in Xinjiang. Some companies from other countries are also set to be added to the department's blacklist as soon as Friday. The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Today I will tell you as West Virginians, I can't help you anymore being a Democrat governor," Justice said at the rally . "If you're out there in West Virginia, and you're not vaccinated today, what's the downside?" If you're not vaccinated, you're part of the problem rather than part of the solution." This isn't the first time that Justice has broken with his Party when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. (West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's vote to pass the $1.9 trillion measure via budget reconciliation shortly after the Justice public prodding.)

"He was a man you wanted to trust and believe in, but the longer I knew him I began witnessing his lies and dishonesty until I realized I too became his victim," Stormy Daniels said in a statement Thursday. Let’s hope that that leads to [an] honest realization that he must change his life." Daniels alleged that she was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Trump's personal lawyer to stay silent about the fling. Prosecutors said Avenatti eventually only paid Daniels half of the $300,000 advance she was owed for her book. Avenatti, meanwhile, contended at the time that no money was "ever misappropriated or mishandled" and that his agreement for representing Daniels "included a percentage of any book proceeds."

Marjorie Taylor Greene appears on Newsmax where she compares the killing of Ashli Babbitt to the murder of George Floyd. During the segment, Ms Greene was complaining about big tech companies and about how she is being compared to Nazis by the media. Ms Greene told the Newsmax host that if she knew Ms Babbitt – who she called a "passionate patriot" – the two of them likely would have been friends. An investigation into the incident found that the officer who shot Ms Babbitt was justified in their action. Psaki takes down Marjorie Taylor Greene for yet another Nazi Covid referenceYouTuber who joined Capitol riot accompanied Republican members of Congress on border trip

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has sparked outrage after comparing the death of White House insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt to the death of George Floyd. She was shot by a Capitol police officer while climbing through a broken window that led to the Speaker’s Lobby. Green called her a “passionate patriot.”U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at an America First Rally also attended by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on May 27, 2021 in Dalton, Georgia. Meanwhile, Rep. Greene condemned President Joe Biden’s announcement to mobilize officials to go door-to-door to reach unvaccinated individuals on Tuesday. The post Marjorie Taylor Greene compares death of George Floyd to Ashli Babbitt appeared first on TheGrio.

NEW YORK — A tearful, repentant Michael Avenatti, the brash lawyer who once represented Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti, 50, rose to prominence by sparring publicly with Trump, but criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent. Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Avenatti pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained he was a victim of politically motivated attacks. An attorney for Franklin released a statement saying that his client was grateful to the court for “honoring the very painful experience he went through at the hands of Michael Avenatti.”

Biden and Lightfoot met after a brutal July 4 weekend with 104 people shot and 19 of them killed. Lightfoot was in San Francisco on a trip to promote Chicago as a national tech center. “And no, we don’t need federal troops; we need federal resources of a different kind. I asked Lightfoot if she expected the Biden team to need the whole month. The strike force will likely focus on illegal gun trafficking to stop the flow of illegal weapons to the city.

Group mind-reading, especially when directed toward such a disparate section of the political media, is hazardous. Stewart’s declaration demolished the charges of racist bigotry on the part of the former president, on this subject at least. Trump has retained the support of more than 40 percent of Americans, and larger percentages of Republicans, in polling since leaving office. Conrad Black is an essayist and author of 10 books, including three on Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. He co-hosts the "Scholars & Sense" podcast with former Education Secretary Bill Bennett and Hoover Institution scholar Victor Davis Hanson.

And that’s why he’s on the hunt for new legal representation and doing his meticulous vetting by… asking randos at his club. But if this did happen, who exactly did Trump think he was going to find? The Mar-a-Lago crowd seems more like where you’d hunt for a securities or tax lawyer. Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

Next year’s midterms have the potential to stock the Republican Party at all levels with rabble-rousers that make the Gingrich revolutionaries of 1994 and the Tea Partiers of 2010 look like RINO squishes. But under Donald Trump, the Republican Party set aside policy and principles to become a cult of personality. This requires embracing the fiction that the election was stolen from Mr. Trump and that MAGA loyalists are duty-bound to fight to right this wrong. Over half believe that election audits will “probably” or “definitely” reverse the outcome, according to a Morning Consult poll from mid-June. And a poll from early June found that 29 percent of Republicans consider it at least somewhat likely that Mr. Trump will be reinstated as president this year.

The possibility that nuclear weapons will be used in a regional or global conflict has increased over the past decade, according to a newly released report from the Pentagon. In an eye-catching introduction to the first chapter, the report states that while the US has tried to “reduce the number and salience of nuclear weapons, others, including Russia and China, have moved in the opposite direction. “They have added new types of nuclear capabilities to their arsenal, increased the salience of nuclear forces in their strategies and plans, and engaged in increasingly aggressive behavior,” the report continues. Meanwhile, the U.S. envoy to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva said Thursday that China is “looking at” developing naval and aerial autonomous nuclear weapons systems. The report name-checks North Korea and Iran as potential nuclear threats.

The cleavages in American society have become so extreme that where one lives and how one votes increasingly has life and death consequences. And no recent issue better exemplifies this phenomenon than the growing red state/blue state divide over Covod-19 vaccinations. So far, only 18 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have surpassed the 70 percent marker for vaccinations. Decades ago, most American states saw similar improvements in life expectancy; all boats tended to rise as one. On the anniversary of our independence, America is less a country united and far more a house divided.

President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

Five from Florida charged with violent acts during Jan. 6 riots at U.S. Capitol. Group members carried zip-ties, punched and hit officers with flagpoles, according to Justice Department officials. WASHINGTON — Five people from Florida have been charged with attacking police officers and other offenses during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, according to documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday. Doolin, Perkins, Hutchinsonand Pollock were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, among other charges. Doolin, armed with zip-tie handcuffs and a riot-control chemical canister, is the only defendant not accused of assaulting officers, according to the report.

He observes that Republicans have moved slightly to the right, but Democrats have moved way, way to the left on social issues. The Democrats are increasingly the party of the college- and graduate-school-educated white gentry class. The Republicans are increasingly the party of the working class, which includes a lot of . For a long time, the Democrats were able to have it both ways, pretending solidarity with the working class while promoting policies that undercut it. His support came from the working class.

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Microsoft founder Bill Gates isn’t going to let a little scandal stop him from hobnobbing with his fellow billionaires. On Friday, Gates is expected to address conference attendees with a speech on climate change, sources told The Post. Warren Buffett, another Sun Valley attendee, recently resigned as a trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation amid a messy divorce between Gates and his wife of 27 years. An ongoing and messy divorce from wife Melinda Gates added to contentions that perhaps Bill Gates would be a no-show at Sun Valley. Bill Gates is expected to address Sun Valley conference attendees with a speech on climate change, sources told The Post.

The Conservative Political Action Conference is holding a second event in Dallas, Texas, this weekend, with a headline speech from former President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon. CPAC is adding a summer event to its annual conference that usually takes place each February. Matt Schlapp, head of the American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC, told The Post that “to not have Donald Trump at CPAC would be disgraceful.”Schlapp went on to say that the former president has been leading the fight on the border, and against big tech. On Wednesday, Trump announced a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google and Twitter, alleging the mammoth tech companies have violated his First Amendment rights. This February it took place in Orlando, Fla., in part because of COVID restrictions in the nation’s capital.

The figures were based on records released by the Secret Service in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the newspaper. No law prevents Trump from charging the Secret Service — and there are no caps on what he can charge, the Post reported. But it’s highly unusual for a former president to earn income from Secret Service charges. The Post could find only one other individual under Secret Service protection who had charged the agency rent: Joe Biden. The former president extended Secret Service protection to 13 family members and at least three of his top appointees for an additional six months after his term expired.

Trump's legal woes are skyrocketing. His lawyers promoting litigation to overturn the election now face sanctions hearings in Michigan for making false claims in court filings. Trump also plans to sit for a deposition in his social media lawsuit as the criminal probe into his namesake company continues. Dr. Jason Johnson is joined by former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance to discuss the legal storm Trump faces.

“They should be telling everyone that the vaccines were the greatest achievement of the Trump presidency," says Chris Hayes of right-wing media. "They should be hosting MAGA rallies with mass vaccinations. A free MAGA hat with every shot. They could do that if they wanted to."

Arizona's top elections official is calling for a criminal investigation into potential election interference by Donald Trump and his allies. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs joins MSNBC's Dr. Jason Johnson to discuss the bombshell reports revealing a campaign to intervene in Trump's favor.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans on Thursday brought back efforts to ban 24-hour polling places and drive-thru voting as Gov. Republicans unveiled the details of the overhaul of the voting laws, a do-over of a push thwarted by Democrats when they walked out of statehouse. Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain, the author of May’s blocked voting legislation, declined to comment on the special session’s approach to voting laws. The new House voting bill is being carried by Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, who did not respond to an interview request Thursday. The GOP’s overwhelming majority in the Texas Capitol makes it likely that a voting bill will pass.

Their frustration with the White House stems both from its response to Richardson’s disqualification and from the general lack of movement forward on marijuana policy. In response, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) called Biden’s strategy “impractical at best and disingenuous at worst,” in part because the group argues that it would do little to harmonize state and federal marijuana laws. At the same time, they said they wished the White House had tried to do more to push legalization forward. In March, The Daily Beast reported that the White House had punished dozens of young staffers for marijuana use. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)Some advocates for marijuana legalization also expressed disappointment with Vice President Kamala Harris.

After college, he went to work for a few years at a Minnesota film production company called Hodder, before moving in 2002 to a marketing job for Target, the retail giant headquartered in Minneapolis. Turnbull told The Post that his videos at that time were "a labor of love" and "a hobby on the side." While his wife called him a "truth teller" in an exchange on their porch as Turnbull weighed a Post interview, Turnbull has said other family members have not listened to his warnings. In the interview with The Post, Turnbull said he told his employer, "Look, I'm making a bit of money here on YouTube. His YouTube videos regularly garnered more than 100,000 views and some received more than one million during Trump's presidency, according to archived copies on altCensored.com.

The stock market has been booming. ‘Biden World’ wants to tax profits to death. They want to raise, capital gains tax, the estate tax, the individual tax, and Lord knows what else they will propose. We were the swing producers in the global oil market but now we've given that key role back to Saudi Arabia, Russia and OPEC. I will wonder out loud if it's affecting the stock market, the economy, business etc.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is finalising which members he will select to serve on the select committee to look into the 6 January insurrection on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans suggested Mr McCarthy is considering selecting more pragmatic members to lend credibility to their narrative, including one member who voted to certify the election results, to inoculate the GOP from criticisms from Democrats. “If you don't (appoint Republicans), the reality is, then there's only one news story,” Representative Kelly Armstrong, a Republican from North Dakota, told CNN. “I've never been a 'take your ball and go home' type of guy.”McCarthy is less likely to appoint Republican firebrands like Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida or Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Mr McCarthy could also appoint Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, an ally of his and chairman of the Republican Study Committee, or Rep. Mike Johnson, who also defended Mr Trump during the 2019 impeachment.

In the lead-up to the 2016 US election, then-candidate Donald Trump claimed to be the “king of the tax code”. Around the same time that summer, he said: “Look, nobody knows the tax code better than I do. Fast-forward several years, and the now-former president, whose company, the Trump Organization, is facing charges in a criminal tax case, claims to be clueless when it comes to certain tax rules. If his company’s defence team does try to argue that any tax violations made were mistakes, it is possible that Mr Trump’s past comments could come back to haunt him. The former Trump attorney said he believed the former president would have likely been aware of the existence of the tax scheme the Trump Organization is accused of having carried out.

Former President Donald Trump has launched class-action lawsuits against Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook, respectively, in retaliation for his bans from their platforms. The lawsuits focus on what Mr Trump alleges is a pattern of bias against his supporters on the platforms. “These companies have been coopted, coerced, and weaponized by government and by government actors to become the enforcers of illegal, unconstitutional censorship,” Mr Trump charged. At his press conference, Mr Trump also resumed his longstanding criticism of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet providers and social media companies from liability over posts made by users of their platforms. Our Country can’t take this abuse anymore!” Mr Trump said at the time in response.

Mr Biden was a young man when the Vietnam War raged. Those words echoed when Mr Biden mentioned in his address on Thursday that the US would exit by 31 August of this year. At the same time, Mr Biden also has the opportunity to rectify his own sins in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. “I feel put upon in being presented an all-or-nothing number,” Mr Biden said at the time. There are pros and cons to both: Mr Biden risks being a captive to the past.

Former Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti wept in court as he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison over his attempt to extort Nike . On Thursday, Judge Gardephe said this fame was part of the problem. Avenatti said he’d go public with the allegations unless Nike paid him to conduct an internal investigation for an enormous sum – between $15 million and $25 million – and pay an additional $1.5 million to the client. At Thursday’s sentencing, Judge Gardephe read many of those conversations aloud. Avenatti will spend 30 months in prison and three years under supervised release, the judge ruled.

"I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,” said the president. Biden vows, "I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome." “There is a home for you in the US if you so choose,” Mr Biden said on Thursday, addressing the Afghans. But the Taliban, Mr Biden, added, lack the capability to overwhelm Afghanistan’s government and do not pose a significant threat of taking over. They're not remotely comparable in terms of capability,” Mr Biden asserted.

The opening of the special session in Austin came as the Conservative Political Action Conference convened a few hours north in Dallas, where Trump was scheduled to speak on Sunday. The urgency among Texas Republicans to try again to enact one of the most far-reaching election laws in the country reflects the former president’s continuing popularity within the GOP — and the enduring power of his false claim that his defeat in the 2020 election was tainted by fraud. The conservative gathering is likely to amplify those claims, with sessions titled “Detecting Threats to Election Integrity: How to Collect Evidence of Fraud,” and “Spare the Fraud, Spoil the Child: The Future of American Elections.”

In June, the European Union officially recommended its member countries reopen their borders to American tourists after more than a year of tight restrictions. The United Kingdom has also placed the United States on an “amber” list, which means American travelers are allowed in, but must quarantine for 10 days and show proof of a negative coronavirus test. Although President Donald J. Trump briefly ordered an end to the ban on European travelers during his last week in office, President Biden quickly rescinded the move. Discussions about when to resume inbound travel have been opaque. In late June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was too soon to say when the United States would lift travel curbs for European Union citizens.

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took what appeared to be a casual stroll with his long-time No. 2, Sheryl Sandberg, on Thursday following a damning report claiming the Trump presidency has damaged their relationship. Zuckerberg also declined to comment on the story when spotted earlier walking the grounds donning khaki shorts, a hoodie, flip flops and aviator sunglasses. Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg take a walk together amid reports Sandberg’s role as Zuckerberg’s second-in-command became less certain as her political influence diminished during the Trump presidency. Trump this week sued Facebook and Twitter, which banned him permanently, claiming censorship.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, arguably the most vulnerable Senate Democrat running for reelection in the 2022 midterm elections, unveiled some eye-popping fundraising figures on Thursday. Thanks to her tie breaking vote as president of the Senate, the Democrats grabbed a razor-thin majority. While Ossoff won a full six-year Senate term, Warnock is serving the final two years of retired GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term. Republicans, needing a net gain of just one seat to regain the Senate majority, see Warnock as one of the most vulnerable Democrats running for reelection next year. The Senate race in Georgia is likely to be one of the most competitive and expensive showdowns in the 2022 midterms.

As disgraced firebrand anti-Trump attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a multi-million-dollar scheme to extort Nike, Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera said that he has hurt the credibility of his longtime admirers in the mainstream media. "I don't like to kick a guy when he is down, but this is a truly loathsome creature," Rivera remarked Thursday after New York District Judge Paul Gardephe sentenced Avenatti as the convict openly wept in a Lower Manhattan courtroom. Rivera called Avenatti, 50, a "former media darling" against a montage of mainstream figures gushing over the fiery lawyer, who most notably represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in her case against former President Donald Trump. Former Jeb Bush adviser Ana Navarro, a frequent guest host on "The View", called Avenatti "like the Holy Spirit" when he appeared on the ABC talk show. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIn court, Gardephe further called Avenatti's conduct "outrageous."

Over the past week, the White House has trickled out information on various aspects of the order and how it will encourage greater consumer protections and competition. Top White House officials said the order seeks to ensure small businesses and consumers have access to fair markets. “The overarching objective with the executive order is to make sure the president is encouraging competition in industries around the country,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday. That order — largely the work of Jason Furman, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers — came near the end of Obama’s presidency. Biden’s order will go a step beyond Obama’s by offering pointed suggestions for steps to take, rather than leaving implementation entirely to the agencies.

Toyota says it will stop donating money to lawmakers who contested the results of the 2020 presidential election following recent pushback over its contributions. The contributions include those made to the campaigns and leadership PACs of the lawmakers. The next highest amount was from Koch Industries, which contributed $17,500 to seven such lawmakers, CREW says. “The Lincoln Project will inform employees, shareholders and customers of these companies’ egregious anti-American behavior,” the organization said, according to The Hill. The Lincoln Project later tweeted that Toyota “made the right choice today.”“They put democracy ahead of transactional politics.

So it should come as no surprise that Jimmy Carter, a one-term president like Trump, is having his day in court. He still buys his clothes at Dollar General, a convicted murderer was his daughter’s White House nanny, he lived in public housing long before he moved into the White House, he loaded 300 tons of fertilizer into 100- and 200-pound bags to make a living. (Lyndon B. Johnson, who ascended to the White House after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, doesn’t count.) And Bird’s biography redeems his presidency and reminds us of how callous we might have been during his years in office. THE OUTLIER: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy CarterBy Kai BirdCrown, 784 pages, $38David M. Shribman, for a decade the Globe’s Washington bureau chief, is a nationally syndicated columnist.

At the same time, if Baker doesn’t run, the open seat creates a lot of opportunities: If politicians seeking higher office leave their current positions to run, then there are even more open seats for others to seek, and so on. The swirl of the 2022 midterm elections in the Commonwealth begins the moment Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announces a decision on whether to seek a third term. Diehl, the Republican nominee for US Senate against Elizabeth Warren in 2018, announced over the weekend that he will run for governor. This week Baker told reporters he had yet to decide what he will do, but will announce his decision “soon.” Whatever “soon” means. In theory, Diehl would need a Donald Trump endorsement, a galvanized Republican base, and polls showing him with momentum.

Household income increased $164 billion and the state’s GDP outpaced the United States. Matt JohansonCastro ValleyBay Area should leadon optional maskingThe percentage of Bay Area vaccinated adults is now more than 70%, with some counties above 80%. The Bay Area has the opportunity to lead California into the next phase of the COVID recovery. Let the Bay Area lead the way with our high vaccination rates and go maskless where allowed. The SCOTUS that has served the United States extremely well since the inception of our Constitution has been replaced with SCOTCS.

She wrote a letter to the sentencing judge and, as a crime victim, gave an impact statement during the defendant's sentencing. Ducey's appointment of King fills a vacancy created by the retirement earlier this year of now-former Justice Andrew Gould, whom Ducey appointed to the state high court in 2016. Gould is now running as a Republican for state attorney general. King was among seven nominees selected by a state court screening panel. Another former lawyer in Ducey's office, Michael Liburti, also is now a judge after former President Donald Trump appointed him to the U.S. District Court in Arizona.

Doug Ducey on Thursday announced he is filling an Arizona Supreme Court vacancy by appointing Kathryn Hackett King, a Phoenix lawyer who previously worked on his staff. King, a fellow Republican whom Ducey appointed to the state Board of Regents in 2020, was Ducey’s deputy general counsel from 2015 to 2017. Ducey’s appointment of King fills a vacancy created by the retirement earlier this year of now-former Justice Andrew Gould, whom Ducey appointed to the state high court in 2016. Gould is now running as a Republican for state attorney general. King was among seven nominees selected by a state court screening panel.

She wrote a letter to the sentencing judge and, as a crime victim, gave an impact statement during the defendant's sentencing. Ducey's appointment of King fills a vacancy created by the retirement earlier this year of now-former Justice Andrew Gould, whom Ducey appointed to the state high court in 2016. Gould is now running as a Republican for state attorney general. King was among seven nominees selected by a state court screening panel. Another former lawyer in Ducey's office, Michael Liburti, also is now a judge after former President Donald Trump appointed him to the U.S. District Court in Arizona.

The co-founder of the 'We Build The Wall' project aimed at raising money for a private border wall has been indicted on a second tax charge in Florida, adding to an earlier tax charge and fraud charge. Brian Kolfage, 38, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola on Tuesday on a charge of filing a false tax return. He was previously charged with a separate count of filing a false tax return and a count of wire fraud related to the electronic filing of his tax return. The new charge is related to Kolfage filing a false amended tax return in December 2020, investigators said. Bannon and Kolfage are pictured in a video on the We Build The Wall websiteKolfage launched the private wall effort in December 2018.

AdvertisementJill Biden donned the dress she wore for her Vogue cover during a trip to Georgia to push people to get their COVID vaccine. She toured a pop-up vaccination site at a Savannah high school with Senator Raphael Warnock. You know, you've already delivered for this state,' she said, adding that Warnock invited her to come visit his home town. Biden and Warnock toured a vaccine site at A. E. Beach high school. There Biden offered to call the family members of a man after he said some of his relatives had gotten the COVID vaccine but some hadn't.

After raising a paltry sum of money from supporters and attracting little interest from former President Donald Trump, a web page created to fundraise for Rudy Giuliani’s legal defense fund has vanished. As of early Thursday evening, the “Rudy Giuliani Legal Defense Fund” page had yet to return. But links to the legal defense fund page they gave to now automatically redirect to Fundly’s general landing page for “politics and public policy” causes. In addition to the now-MIA Fundly page, portals at credit card processors Square and Rallypay are also advertising donations for the Giuliani fund. As the dispute over Giuliani’s legal bills spilled into the Times, web registration records collected by DomainTools show Kerik reserved rudygiulianifreedomfund.com, a website to solicit donations for Giuliani’s legal fund.

Mark Brnovich claims to be concerned with election security. So why, then, does this self-styled crusader for election integrity seem so unconcerned about an actual, documented instance of attempted fraud? That, of course, should not be surprising: None of this bluster—by Brnovich and by others in states like Pennsylvania, where Republicans are seeking their own Arizona-style “audit”—has ever actually been about election security. That Brnovich can talk about the need to secure elections—hobbling the Voting Rights Act in the process—while apparently ignoring an actual, documented threat to election security, one that targeted a fellow Republican, underscores just how brazen this all is. “It looks to me as if attempted election tampering is now legal in Arizona,” as the Arizona Republic’s EJ Montini put it in a column Monday.

Right-wing media outlets have, in turn, pounced on the controversy, making campus vaccine requirements the latest front in their insurgency against the White House’s herd immunity plan. During a Wednesday night appearance on Fox News, Charlie Kirk, the cofounder of the pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA, drew a parallel between student vaccine requirements and the racist caste system once mandated in South Africa. “It’s almost this apartheid-style open-air hostage situation, like, Oh, you can have your freedom back if you get the jab. “Rogue administrators are trying to thwart [students’] educational goals and force them to publicly share their medical history,” the group’s website states. “If the current rate of weekly vaccine initiation continues through August, coverage among young adults will not reach the coverage level of older adults,” the report continued.

One week after being hit with more than a dozen criminal charges, and the prospect of more than a decade in prison, Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime CFO, has stepped down as a director of Donald Trump’s Scottish golf club. At this time, it’s not clear what Weisselberg’s stepping down means with regard to Trump’s chances of staying out of prison. Is the company trying to distance itself from Weisselberg, and laying the groundwork to claim he acted alone? Given Trump’s long history of pretending not to know people who could get him in serious trouble, it’s entirely possible! The news could also have nothing whatsoever to do with the recent charges against Weisselberg and the company, though that seems somewhat unlikely.

The sources agreed that DeSantis and Trump are on an inevitable collision course as the 2024 GOP field takes shape. Asked for comment, Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington said: “Governor DeSantis has shown great respect.”Part of Trump’s irritation with DeSantis is that Trump famously claims credit for anyone in his orbit who gains attention. For much of the 2018 gubernatorial primary, DeSantis trailed Florida agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam. But after Trump endorsed DeSantis in June, DeSantis zoomed 12 points ahead. “Heading into 2024, DeSantis is primed to push Trump off the throne,” former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg told me.

Rivera recalls the unresolved demise of her friend Marsha P. Johnson and their lifelong journey to find and build housing for themselves and their community members. This first-of-its-kind effort set out to provide housing and other support for people experiencing homelessness within their communities, prioritizing people of color, drag queens, youth, and sex workers. Some 50 years later, homelessness continues to plague trans people, particularly of color, almost as deeply as it did during the Stonewall era. Of course, it doesn’t help that trans people experiencing homelessness are often at the whim of whichever executive is in the White House. But then the department provided reductive guidelines on how to identify a trans person according to physical characteristics like height and facial hair.

It's been an interesting few days for Jacob Roloff. Although, if the former Little People, Big World star were to be honest, he'd probably use a different adjective to describe things. And here's why:Roloff nearly got evicted from his apartment last week! "All my homies say abolish landlords," added Jacob. "It must finally be emphasized that all fault lies with the predator, and no fault lies with any of my family," wrote Roloff.

But that’s scheduled to change starting Oct. 1, when federal student loan payments are set to resume. That has many wondering whether President Joe Biden will extend federal student loan forbearance again. The answer: a big, fat “maybe.”Advocates Push for Another Student Loan Forbearance ExtensionAs one of his first moves as president, Biden extended the federal student loan forbearance through Sept. 30 to give struggling student loan borrowers some extra breathing room. Whether or not student loan payments restart on a tiered basis, borrower advocates are worried about the nearing deadline. The Loan Forgiveness Debate, ExplainedLeft out of Pandemic Relief, Private Student Loan Borrowers Are Still Struggling a Year Later

Americans support implementation of stricter voting laws, including voter ID requirements and restrictions on accepting ballots after Election Day, according to a new poll obtained by The Post Thursday. Former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway spearheaded the poll. “Stacey Abrams in April was against voter ID, it was voter suppression, all of the sudden she says, I was always for voter ID,” she said. EPASixty-six percent of voters surveyed agreed that early-voting ballots should be counted as they are received, with just 18 percent saying they disagree. Fifty-three percent said special voting measures put in p[lace due to the pandemic should be lifted due to the vaccination rate and precautions available like wearing masks.

ADVERTISEMENTThe OPA Discipline Committee, which includes the officers’ chains of command, employment counsel and OPA Director Andrew Myerberg, recommended that the two officers be terminated. The two were among a group of six Seattle officers who traveled to D.C. to attend President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. The Office of Police Accountability launched an investigation to determine whether the officers violated the law or department policy. But the OPA, using records, text messages, photographs, bank records and interviews with federal law enforcement, determined that two officers violated department policies and Washington, D.C., laws. “Accordingly, OPA recommended a finding of not sustained — inconclusive.”The investigation found that the other three officers did not violate the law or department policies.

A New York judge has sentenced the combative California lawyer Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe announced the sentence Thursday in Manhattan, where a jury in early 2020 convicted Avenatti of charges including attempted extortion and fraud. A New York judge has sentenced the combative California lawyer Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe announced the sentence Thursday in Manhattan, where a jury in early 2020 convicted Avenatti of charges including attempted extortion and fraud. Avenatti, 50, rose to prominence by sparring publicly with Trump, but criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent.

Donald Trump Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesFormer Vice President Mike Pence reportedly "lost it" and "snarled" at former President Donald Trump in 2018 after getting a crumpled up newspaper article thrown at him. Trump reportedly then "crumpled the article and threw it at his vice president," saying, "So disloyal." "Mr. Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump," Bender reports. 'We walked you through every detail of this,' Mr. Pence snarled. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

AdvertisementThe two were among a group of six Seattle officers who traveled to D.C. to attend then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. The Office of Police Accountability launched an investigation to determine whether the officers violated the law or department policy. The officers told investigators that they went to the Capitol to support Trump and hear him speak. “Accordingly, OPA recommended a finding of not sustained — inconclusive.”The investigation found that the other three officers did not violate the law or department policies. Advertisement“Absent any illegal acts, the officers’ presence at this rally was absolutely protected by the Constitution,” OPA Director Andrew Myerberg said.

Things don’t seem so funny now, after last week’s call by two US Supreme Court justices for the court to revisit a bedrock libel law ruling that has protected the free press for more than half a century. That decision and its progeny created an “actual malice” standard for libel suits brought by public officials and other well-known public figures or those who insert themselves in public controversies. “Now, private citizens can become ‘public figures’ on social media overnight,” Gorsuch lamented. But in a libel case, Sullivan allows the impact of that fame can be limited based on its duration and reach. The Supreme Court shouldn’t make it worse.

Since Trump left office in January, US taxpayers have paid Trump’s businesses more than $50,000 for rooms used by Secret Service agents, records show. The Secret Service released a bill it paid to Trump Bedminster in May, totaling $10,199.52. AdvertisementSeparately, the Secret Service also released other bills showing $3,400 in charges from Trump Bedminster before Trump himself arrived. Those receipts — from January, February, and early May — did not say why the Secret Service was at the club. A Secret Service spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the agency does not talk about protective operations.

Biden pushed back against the notion the US mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the US leaves. Advertisement“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging US military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw US troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. Biden, answering questions from reporters after his remarks on Thursday, said that Kabul falling to the Taliban would not be an acceptable outcome. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

“It was a period of turmoil,” said Meijer, who was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But western Michigan does have one distinction: It is home to 20 percent of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump — that is, two of 10. Both men followed their impeachment votes with votes to create a bipartisan commission to examine the Capitol riot, two of 35 House Republicans to do so. His father, Hank, and his uncle, Doug, took over the Meijer chain in 1990 as Forbes-listed billionaires. “I can’t come to an understanding with somebody when we’re dealing with completely separate sets of facts and realities.”

Biden pushed back against the notion the U.S. mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. The Pentagon said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is expected to end his tour of duty this month as final arrangements are made for a reduced U.S. military mission. “We went for two reasons: one, to bring Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, as I said at the time,” Biden said.

WASHINGTON – Ex-president Donald Trump will headline the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hilton Anatole near downtown Dallas. (Stephen M. Dowell / TNS)Schlapp said the Dallas event was planned on fairly short notice and many party leaders already had vacation plans. So I do think they’re probably each thinking about how they approach Donald Trump and plan a run for president. Cruz cited a family commitment for skipping CPAC Dallas; earlier this week he posted a vacation photo from Northern California, and he’s been spotted at a resort near Lake Tahoe. Fuentes tweeted that he plans to try to get into the Dallas event on Saturday.

Late in the day, the House posted notices that the election and bail bills will be heard Saturday. At 1:30 p.m. on Friday in Capitol Extension Room E1.010, House Appropriations will hear the measure restoring the Legislature’s money, House Bill 1. Abbott has justified his veto of lawmakers’ funding by pointing to the late-May walkout by House Democrats that killed the election bill in the regular session. The Texas Senate meets for about 90 minutes during Thursday's opening day of the special session. During the rally, Dallas Democratic Rep. Toni Rose said she and other House Democrats would oppose proposals for more sweeping bans on teaching critical race theory in schools.

The agreement by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection allows 33 packages of unapproved waste to remain at at the site. The agreement by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection allows 33 packages of unapproved waste to remain at at the site. Energy Department officials agreed to a number of changes to better screen, identify and label waste so that similar mistakes are not repeated in the future. The consent agreement includes language to prevent the state and the Energy Department from taking legal action. A federal court also ruled for Nevada and ordered the Energy Department to remove the weapons-grade material from the state.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren’t always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

Biden pushed back against the notion the U.S. mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. The Pentagon said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is expected to end his tour of duty this month as final arrangements are made for a reduced U.S. military mission. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

AdvertisementJill Biden donned the dress she wore for her Vogue cover during a trip to Georgia to push people to get their COVID vaccine. She toured a pop-up vaccination site at a Savannah high school with Senator Raphael Warnock. You know, you've already delivered for this state,' she said, adding that Warnock invited her to come visit his home town. Biden and Warnock toured a vaccine site at A. E. Beach high school. There Biden offered to call the family members of a man after he said some of his relatives had gotten the COVID vaccine but some hadn't.

Arizona secretary of state Katie Hobbs has written the state attorney general seeking a criminal investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and key allies in their efforts to 'stop the counting' of state ballots. 'Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters,' wrote Hobbs. In Arizona, interfering with election officials is a felony,' she tweeted. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is heard on voicemails calling Arizona county election officials and telling them Trump wants to talk to them'Just a check in from the President of the United States ... Hickman told the paper he heard similar audio when Trump sought to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

AdvertisementFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looked relaxed in $35 Adidas flip flops while walking with his No. 2, Sheryl Sandberg as a report emerged that claimed the two are no longer as close as they once were. The conference features some of the top names in tech, entertainment and sportsDisney board Chairman Bob Iger also appeared for day one of the conference. So too will Microsoft co-founder Bill GatesAmazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is expected to attend this year's event at Sun Valley Lodge. The conference began in 1982, and in its early days founder Herbert Allen - who co-founded Allen & Company with brother Charles - had to beg invitees to come.

A century and multiple interventions later, some Haiti watchers say it's time for new ideas. After the assassination, President Joe Biden's administration reiterated that Haiti should go ahead with elections in September to bestow legitimacy on a new leader. "If Biden had intervened sooner, Jovenel Moise would not have been shot." Fatton, however, said that Haiti could be of vital interest to Biden as a further implosion could set off boat people further inflaming the domestic debate on immigration. "To put it crudely, I doubt that the US would allow chaos and massive disorder in its backyard," he said.

A major fundraising group for GOP women is taking aim at Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor GreeneGOP efforts to downplay danger of Capitol riot increase The Memo: What now for anti-Trump Republicans? The Value In Electing Women (VIEW) PAC, founded in 1997 to increase the number of Republican women in Congress, is condemning the actions of both GOP lawmakers, Business Insider reported Wednesday. "While we rightfully celebrate the number of GOP women serving in the House, I've always professed quality over quantity," VIEW PAC Executive Director Julie Conway told the outlet. We cannot let this work be erased by individuals who chose to be shameless self promoters and carnival barkers," she said. "I think that they would rather draw attention to themselves, and really Marjorie Taylor Greene more than Boebert, but they're cut from the same cloth," Conway said, according to Insider.

Photo : Drew Angerer ( Getty Images )Former President Donald Trump and alleged attorney Rudy Giuliani have been down bad since last November. Trump is apparently still fixated on what was probably the biggest L of his life, and Giuliani is currently the subject of multiple state and federal investigations. The hits keep coming, as Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs requested the state attorney general launch an investigation into potential efforts by Trump, Giuliani, and several others to interfere with the state’s vote counting last November. AdvertisementCBS News reports Hobbs sent a letter to state Attorney General Mark Brnovich saying the alleged conduct by Trump, Giuliani, lawyer Sydney Powell, and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward may have violated a state law regarding interfering with election officials. “Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters,” Hobbs wrote in the letter.

Babbitt’s death set off an immediate firestorm that was, at first, limited to the fringes, including the QAnon faithful, white supremacists, and anti-government extremists. “Using Ashli Babbitt, you can recast the events of that day,” Alex Friedfield, an investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, told TPM. Almost immediately, a mix of conspiracy theorists, white supremacists and anti-government extremists began to treat her death as an example of tyranny. Within days of her death, for example, far-right Telegram accounts and chats began to post images of supposed shrines to her around the country. Here was an average, small white woman climbing through a door on the other side of which sat the government.

Women have taken up arms in heavily-contested regions of Afghanistan as the Taliban continues to make nationwide gains during the U.S. military's withdrawal. Government forces have already withdrawn from seven districts, focusing troops and resources around holding the capital province of Badakhshan. In response, hundreds of women have taken to the streets carrying guns and protesting the Taliban, The Guardian reported. "The majority of these women were those who had recently escaped from Taliban areas," Faizzada said. "A lot of gains have been made, and so I'm deeply concerned about the plight of women and girls in that country."

PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Claiming that he has been “treated very unfairly,” Donald Trump is suing eighty-one million American voters for banning him from the White House. “This was all part of a Big Tech conspiracy,” he said. “Many of these eighty-one million people were users of Facebook, Twitter, and TicketyTock.”Trump called the decision by eighty-one million people to ban him from the White House “a bad thing. A very bad thing.”“This would mean that it’s up to millions of Americans to decide who gets to use the White House and who doesn’t,” he said. “This should never be allowed to happen in this country.”The lawsuit was delayed for several weeks, sources said, while Trump sought to determine which, if any, of his attorneys still had a law license.

Still, it’s not necessarily a stupid thing to use Big Tech as a punching bag, which is not a new trick for Mr. Trump and many others in politics. Florida’s governor and a potential 2024 presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, signed the equally performative Stop Social Media Censorship Act in May, which sought to bar certain social media sites from banning political candidates. Their longtime inaction has left consumers, including Mr. Trump, very few alternatives across a range of areas. Of course, ever the shortcut taker and consistently shoddy at execution, Mr. Trump has chosen to create a time-wasting circus when it comes reining in tech power, which has long been his modus operandi. Here’s what’s actually going on: Mr. Trump has behaved badly for years and now is paying a price he is trying to avoid, as always.

Biden makes his case on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban gain ground. President Biden argued that the U.S. had achieved its military objectives against Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and that the drawdown would continue on schedule even as the Taliban gained ground. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,’’ Mr. Biden said. “The young woman said ‘you can’t leave, you can’t leave’ — it was heartbreaking,” Mr. Biden said. In a speech on Wednesday, Mr. Biden gave no hint that he was scaling back his ambitions.

Drug Pitched to Trump for Covid-19 Comes From a Deadly PlantAdded: 20.08.2020 20:10 | 14 views | 0 commentsSource: www.prnewswire.comThe chief executive of My Pillow, a Trump donor, claims oleandrin is a miracle cure for Covid-19. But no studies have shown that it is safe or effective, and the shrub it’s derived from is poisonous. More in www.nytimes.com »

Added: 29.07.2020 14:09 | 13 views | 0 commentsTrump's reelection campaign and campaign committee are accused of hiding nearly $170 million in spending to vendors and Trump relations by funneling money through firms led by Brad Parscale and campaign officials.

Added: 29.07.2020 16:29 | 13 views | 0 commentsPresident Trump's national security adviser Robert O’Brien is in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. This comes as Mr. Trump touts progress in the race for a vaccine during a trip to battleground state North Carolina. Ben Tracy reports.

Added: 29.07.2020 16:29 | 13 views | 0 commentsMore chaos on the streets of Portland as peaceful protests turn violent overnight as federal agents unleash a massive response. President Trump is preparing to send at least 100 agents to Portland and other cities. Carter Evans has the latest.

Added: 18.06.2020 19:30 | 11 views | 0 commentsThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a major setback on his hardline immigration policies, blocking his bid to end a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants - often called "Dreamers" - who entered the United States illegally as children.

Added: 18.06.2020 19:47 | 11 views | 0 commentsU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday revelations in a book by a former top White House aide show President Donald Trump is unfit and unprepared to be president and Democrats will continue oversight of the Republican president's behavior.

AZ secretary of state asks for probe into whether Trump and allies tried to interfere in election resultsAdded: 08.07.2021 21:46 | 10 views | 0 commentsArizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wants the state attorney general to investigate whether allies of former President Donald Trump violated state laws by conducting a pressure campaign against county officials in the wake of the November 2020 election.

The Steady Erosion of Trump-Hate Is a Problem for BidenAdded: 08.07.2021 19:38 | 16 views | 0 commentsDonald Trump has retained the support of more than 40 percent of Americans in polling since leaving office.

AZ secretary of state asks for probe into whether Trump and allies tried to interfere in election resultsAdded: 08.07.2021 21:46 | 14 views | 0 commentsArizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wants the state attorney general to investigate whether allies of former President Donald Trump violated state laws by conducting a pressure campaign against county officials in the wake of the November 2020 election.

Criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted Avenatti’s rapid ascent to fame. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti’s lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges.

Though many have questioned how QAnon will survive without their anonymous “leader,” Q, the event signaled a new phase as online conspiracy theories transform into in-person actions and events. And while QAnon has struggled to recruit online, the movement has found new communities to target, including evangelical Christians. WIRED OPINION ABOUT Jacob Gursky is a research associate at the Center for Media Engagement. Many attendees and speakers also shared stories of being at the Capitol on January 6 with pride, nostalgia, and invariably cheers. Evoking the QAnon motto, Griffin exclaimed, “Because where we go one …” and the audience shouted back, “we go all!”

This is a show called The Good Fight, but the title is often suffused with irony. Keep in mind, the alarm over Carmen taking over as Rivi’s chief attorney — and surely with Wolfe-Coleman — is not the stink over the firm representing a murderous cartel boss. Whether or not fighting for Cord is “the good fight,” the firm can dip into that money well indefinitely. She watched Carmen get summoned to a major client while she’s working overtime collating documents that are ultimately not necessary. • Note to Starkey over how the Conways, like Diane and Kurt, make their politically contentious marriage work: They are professional political operatives.

Among the reasons they cite to defund the tax police is the fabled Obama IRS targeting scandal. In any case, the Obama IRS targeting scandal was never real. In 2013, right-wing political groups began complaining publicly that the IRS was harassing them for using tax-deductible donations for political campaigns, which is illegal. Instead of insisting they had acted legally, the groups charged that the agency was “targeting” conservative groups. The misimpression was confirmed because Republicans in Congress ordered the Treasury Department to audit the IRS’s scrutiny of conservative groups.

Photo: JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockMichael Avenatti, the pugnacious lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels against Donald Trump and even flirted with running for president, is headed behind bars. On Thursday, a federal judge sentenced him to 30 months in prison for his attempt to extort more than $20 million from Nike. Avenatti was found guilty last year on multiple charges including attempted extortion. In March 2019, during the height of his fame, Avenatti threatened to hold a press conference about misconduct perpetrated by the sportswear company unless Nike paid him and his client millions of dollars. In a phone call with Nike representatives that was recorded by the FBI, Avenatti could be heard saying, “I’m not fucking around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games.

And the magnitude of these differences dwarfs other divisions in society, along such lines as gender, race and ethnicity, religious observance or education. As Pew noted, partisan polarization (between Democrats and Republicans) is partly attributable to the ideological sorting out of the two parties that began during the civil-rights era. But nostalgia for the good old days ignores the price that many Americans had to pay for this suspension of political hostilities. Is partisan polarization dangerous? Is an absence of partisan polarization dangerous too?

Before the last presidential election cycle, northeast Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Total Landscaping was a go-to business only for shrubbery enthusiasts and great garden maintainers. Now, after eight months of Four Seasons Total Landscaping jokes and merchandising (including a Super Bowl ad), the location has jumped into the pop-up concert booking business. Fellow singer-songwriter Brendan Kelly of the Lawrence Arms will open for Grace, in a show booked by Philly promoter Dave Kiss Presents. Of the unique booking, Michael Siravo – operations manager at Four Seasons Total Landscaping – says: “When everything first hit in November we were in a pandemic, and couldn’t do anything fun, even though we had thought about doing events. And the outreach from people supporting and appreciating the event has been overwhelming.”As for booking additional concerts at Four Seasons Total Landscaping beyond the Grace pop-up, both Siravo and Kiss agree that they’re open to additional live music events.

Bolton said terrorist forces in Afghanistan will not allow the U.S. to win the war. "I do think that public opinion has turned against this war and I blame it squarely on our political leadership for at least the last 12 years," Bolton told Chuck Todd, host of NBC News' "Meet the Press." "When people explain the reason and the reasons are good, the American people will support the disposition of American forces to protect them," he continued. But Bolton indicated Thursday that withdrawal is in Americans' best interest when he told Todd the U.S. cannot win the war. Unfortunately, the disposition of terrorist forces in Afghanistan and many other parts of the world hasn't allowed that to happen," he said.

We leaned into it, and we stood strong," DeSantis told Fox News host Tucker Carlson last month. He has authorized a host of economic, cultural, and law-enforcement initiatives that are buoying Florida and transforming him into the Great Right Hope. DeSantis signed legislation that requires prison for rioters. In June, he urged Florida’s state school board to kill Critical Race Theory (CRT) on government campuses. "We want all students to understand the difference," DeSantis told journalists on June 22.

Local reporting recently uncovered intense efforts to interfere with the tabulation of ballots and canvass of the 2020 election in Maricopa County. Hobbs’ request cited reporting by The Arizona Republic, which obtained public records of phone calls and text messages from Trump and his political allies in the wake of the election. Clint Hickman, who was chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said Trump called him two times but he didn’t answer. On Jan. 2, one day before Trump called Hickman for a second time, Trump was recorded calling Georgia’s secretary of state and asking him to recalculate his state’s vote so that Trump could win. Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward also sent text messages to election supervisors that directed them “to stop the counting” of ballots.

The move comes after a social media backlash over the contributions, with threats to stop buying Toyota vehicles. The move comes after a social media backlash over the contributions, with threats to stop buying Toyota vehicles. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)DETROIT (AP) — Toyota has reversed itself and now says its political action committee will no longer contribute to the Republican legislators who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. Contribution data showed that 34 companies donated at least $5,000 to the campaigns and leadership political action committees of one or more election objectors this year, Axios reported. ADVERTISEMENTSix months later, many of those companies have resumed funneling cash to political action committees that benefit the election efforts of lawmakers whether they objected to the election certification or not.

The move came after an announcement by the Lincoln Project, a PAC formed by Republicans to defeat then-President Donald Trump in 2020, that it would target corporations that donated to Republicans who opposed the formalization of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory. "Toyota made the right choice today," the Lincoln Project posted on Twitter after Toyota's reversal. The Lincoln Project also criticized the cable company Comcast for refusing to air their advertisement and "opting instead to shield corporate advertisers," the group said in a tweet. After the mob had been cleared from the building, 147 Republicans voted to sustain the objections to the counting of the results in Arizona. "We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification.

Avenatti, the judge added, "had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived the power of his platform to be. Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. Avenatti's lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, the judge rejected a request by Avenatti's lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges.

Former Stormy Daniels lawyer and Donald Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Thursday for a failed scheme to extort Nike of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe handed down the sentence in a Manhattan court while chiding Avenatti as "drunk on power," according to Reuters. Prosecutors argued that Avenatti told Nike lawyers that his information would wipe $10 billion of market off the publicly traded company. Michael Avenatti was reportedly in tears as the judge handed down his sentence on Thursday. Avenatti rose to fame in 2018 after representing porn star Stormy Daniels in civil action against former President Trump.

They are private companies. Former President Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The First Amendment protects social media companiesGenerally, the First Amendment guarantee of free speech applies to state and local governments. Most social media platforms require users to abide by terms of service, something YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter argued Trump failed to do the day of the attack on the Capitol. The theory has already been raised by plaintiffs arguing that social media should be designated as government actors.

“We understand that the PAC decision to support select members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders,” Toyota said in a statement Thursday. DETROIT — Toyota has reversed itself and now says its political action committee will no longer contribute to the Republican legislators who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. AdvertisementLast week the website Axios reported that Toyota led companies in donations to the 147 members of Congress who voted in January against certifying election results on the false grounds that the election was stolen from then-president Donald Trump. The Axios report, based on data gathered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Toyota donated $55,000 to 37 Republican objectors this year. Contribution data showed that 34 companies donated at least $5,000 to the campaigns and leadership political action committees of one or more election objectors this year, Axios reported.

Biden pushed back against the notion the U.S. mission has failed but also noted that it remains unlikely the government would control all of Afghanistan after the U.S. leaves. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech from the White House’s East Room. Biden said that prolonging U.S. military involvement, considering Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops, would have led to an escalation of attacks on American troops and NATO allies. The Pentagon said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is expected to end his tour of duty this month as final arrangements are made for a reduced U.S. military mission. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

Lansing — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has agreed to investigate individuals who've pushed false claims about the 2020 election to raise money or publicity for themselves. The GOP-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee recommended the probe as part of its wide-ranging report on the election, which debuted in June. The Michigan State Police are assisting with the investigation, Mukomel said. "If you are profiting by making false claims, that's pretty much the definition of fraud," McBroom said. The Senate committee labeled DePerno's claims "demonstrably false and based on misleading information and illogical conclusions."

Michael Avenatti, a celebrity attorney who even briefly considered running for president of the United States, constantly made waves on most cable news stations. “Not only did Avenatti attempt to weaponize his law license and celebrity to seek to extort payments for himself, he also defrauded his own client. Avenatti will now serve substantial time in prison for his criminal conduct,” said Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement about Avenatti’s 30-month sentence. Per prosecutors, Avenatti’s plan to extort Nike was done by threatening to use the media influence that he obtained throughout the years to damage the big brand. According to The Media Research Center, Avenatti has appeared on major news outlets 254 times in the year leading up to his crime.

LA Lakers basketball star LeBron James has received more negative online comments in the past year than any other sports star, according to a new survey. Mr James called Mr Trump a “bum” after he withdrew a White House invitation to Stephen Curry. Most recently, Mr James faced backlash when he tweeted about the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio. Mr James later took the tweet down saying: “I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. Race car driver Bubba Wallace came fifth on the list, with 21,750 abusive tweets; followed by basketball player Damian Lillard, with 20,904 abusive tweets; baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer, with 14,083 abusive tweets; Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo with 11,757 abusive tweets; basketball player Steph Curry, with 11,203 abusive tweets; and German footballer Mesut Ozil, with 11,192 abusive tweets.

Of course, Trump’s first major fixer was the attorney Roy Cohn, the infamous former chief counsel during Joseph McCarthy’s witch hunt. Similarly, it appears that the former president’s current coterie of lawyers are far from experts on technology, given their backgrounds. According to Justia, he is primarily a personal injury attorney. His website cites him as a “nationally-recognized personal injury lawyer.” He also represented the mother of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old who disappeared in Aruba in 2005. Roland A PaulMr Paul also works at Ivey, Barnum & O’Mara, though he seems to have more experience and is not a personal injury lawyer.

Marjorie Taylor Greene compared the police killings of George Floyd and Ashli Babbitt on Wednesday and said she's treated like a 'Nazi' on social media. Babbitt was a military veteran who Greene described as 'a passionate patriot,' while she said Floyd was a black man with a criminal record. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (center) on Wednesday compared the police-killings of Ashli Babbitt (right) and George Floyd (not pictured). Despite claiming she's called a Nazi, Greene likened the Biden administration's coroanvirus policies to Nazi Germany. Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to prove that there is no limit to her brutal trivialization of the Holocaust for her own personal politial power,' the group wrote.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a colleague 'crazies' had taken over as Donald Trump pursued election fraud claims in his final weeks in office, a report on Thursday claimed. 'The crazies have taken over,' Pompeo warned a colleague amid fears that foreign adversaries he spent his time contending with as the nation's top diplomat might exploit the volatile situation. According to the book, Pompeo organized daily calls with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. But other reporting since Biden took office has revealed Meadows' own efforts to contact state election officials seeking to get them to hear Trump's claims of fraud. Trump was making personnel moves inside the Pentagon, he and Meadows were reaching out to state and local election officials overseeing vote counts, and according to the book Trump was personally phoning prosecutors urging them to focus on election fraud claims.

Avenatti was found guilty by a New York jury in February 2020 of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. "I and I alone have destroyed my career, my relationships and my life," a tearful Avenatti told Manhattan federal judge Paul Gardephe, according to reporters in the courtroom. The judge said Avenatti had become "drunk on the power of his platform —- or what he perceived his platform to be" as he handed down the sentence. Just over a year after making his splash on the national scene, however, Avenatti was arrested in March 2019 for the attempted extortion of Nike, as well as tax evasion. He faces a fraud trial in California and embezzlement charges in New York where he is accused of stealing funds intended for Clifford.

The United States resettled 1,530 refugees in June. President Joe Biden has set a goal of resettling as many as 62,500 refugees by this fall. More refugees were resettled in the United States last month than at any other point in the current fiscal year, a sign President Joe Biden and his administration are rebuilding a program that was decimated by the previous administration. The Biden administration has a stated goal of resettling as many as 62,500 refugees by the end of September. "The Biden administration will need to continue to prioritize re-building the pipeline for refugee resettlement that starts with overseas processing," he added.

Former Trump spokesperson Jason Miller launched a new social media platform called Gettr late last week, only to see it quickly mocked online, particularly for its uninspired name. But before the dust even got a chance to settle, Gettr became the target of hackers who saw the site security as laughable. The hacker told Salon that the breach took him less than 20 minutes to carry out in subsequent conversations. One would be remiss not to mention the extraordinary amount of "furry" porn involving Sonic the Hedgehog that has flooded Gettr. Early on Wednesday, numerous account postings reviewed by Salon accused Gettr of "censoring" user content under the respective hashtags "#sonic" and "#sonic_came_in_my_bussy."

They have largely been replaced by Americans who do not list any religious affiliation, a group that has tripled in proportion since the 1990s. White evangelicals began aligning politically with Republicans during the 1980s, meaning millennials were the first generation to grow up seeing the Christian right as the most public expression of religion, Jones says. The survey is called The 2020 Census of American Religion. On the Republican side, the preferences of white evangelicals loom large, even as the overall number of white evangelicals in America continues to decline. The findings show that historical forces — such as slavery in the South, the Civil War dividing white Protestants, and 19th century immigration patterns — continue to shape the geography of American religion, Jones says.

John Dean, a central figure in the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon, said Donald Trump just created a huge trap for himself with his latest court filing. The former president on Wednesday sued Twitter, Facebook and Google for banning him from certain websites, claiming they could pay out “trillions” in damages. Former cable TV host and sportscaster Keith Olbermann tweeted a reminder that even a frivolous lawsuit such as this one could lead to a days-long deposition:This is the dumbest thing Trump has ever done. https://t.co/fg46WsEXKV — John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) July 7, 2021Dean, who served as White House counsel under Nixon, was dubbed the “master manipulator” of the Watergate affair by the FBI. However, he ultimately cooperated with prosecutors and played a key role in the investigation that led to Nixon’s resignation.

The nation’s second-largest teachers union is placing itself at the center of the national debate around critical race theory this week — taking aim at GOP opposition to it while hosting one of its most prominent advocates, who referred to former President Donald Trump as racist. At day two of the American Federation of Teachers’ TEACH 2021 conference Wednesday, author and prominent critical race theory advocate Ibram X. Kendi and AFT president Randi Weingarten defended the academic theory while going on offense against CRT opponents. Weingarten, who spoke first, denied that critical race theory was being taught to American students while vowing to stick up for any educator’s right to teach it. “Let’s be clear: Critical race theory is not taught in elementary schools or high schools. Randi Weingarten defended the academic theory while going on the offense against CRT opponents.

Guilty:Michael Avenatti, ex-attorney for Stormy Daniels, convicted in Nike extortion caseAvenatti, the judge added, "had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived the power of his platform to be. Stormy Daniels' attorney against Donald TrumpAvenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. Avenatti's lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. The lawyers said Avenatti threatened to do billions of dollars of damage to Nike and then falsely tweeted that criminal conduct at Nike reached the "highest levels."

Former CNN mainstay Michael Avenatti won’t appear on the liberal network anytime soon after he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of trying to extort Nike. "Looking ahead to 2020, one of the reasons why I'm taking you seriously as a [2020 presidential] contender is because of your presence on cable news," Stelter told Avenatti on-air. Avenatti’s time as a CNN regular ended when he was arrested in 2019. He showed a Trump-like mastery of the media last year," Stelter said about Avenatti’s presidential chances. He represented a Los Angeles youth basketball league organizer upset that Nike had ended its league sponsorship.

Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt agreed with fellow disgruntled ex-Republican Matthew Dowd Wednesday that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was worse than the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans and launched multiple wars. "He couldn't be more right," Schmidt said at a town hall for the Lincoln Project. "The 1/6 attack for the future of the country was a profoundly more dangerous event than the 9/11 attacks. And in the end, the 1/6 attacks are likely to kill a lot more Americans than were killed in the 9/11 attacks, which will include the casualties of the wars that lasted 20 years following. ANTI-TRUMP LINCOLN PROJECT ‘REPUBLICAN’ SAYS HE'S REREGISTERING DEMOCRATSchmidt has resumed a public role with the left-wing, anti-Trump Lincoln Project, a media favorite in 2020 that was beset by a series of humiliating scandals in 2021.

What's more, Axios' report added that the outlet has not confirmed whether any communications from Carlson were actually intercepted. Under such a scenario, the NSA wasn't monitoring Carlson's communications; it was monitoring the communications of the person Carlson was talking to. If you connected with a member of Vladimir Putin's team, the NSA would probably be aware of that, too. If the reporting is correct, and something similar happened to Carlson, it wouldn't be shocking in the slightest. Perhaps the better question is who reached out to the Fox News host in the first place and why?

will be playing a solo set at Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Total Landscaping on Aug. 21, the groundskeeping company and others tweeted on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/VxXnVwcPgP — Four Seasons Total Landscaping (@therealfstl1992) July 8, 2021Laura Jane Grace and Brendan Kelly are playing a show at Four Seasons Total Landscaping: https://t.co/RSJrMtWer8 pic.twitter.com/5SYLFFQoqL — BrooklynVegan (@brooklynvegan) July 8, 2021According to Grace, tickets for the show, which went on sale Thursday, sold out in 17 minutes. Four Seasons Total Landscaping is now hosting concerts and I hope everyone comes to the show dressed as Rudy Giuliani and moshes super hard. — Sean Gibson (@TunafishTiger) July 8, 2021please god i hope this four seasons total landscaping story line continues to pop up in the most random ways for the next 30 years https://t.co/YEX7tVLAhT — Matt DeMichiel (@mattdemichiel) July 8, 2021Four Seasons Total Landscaping is having concerts between the orange hose and fire extinguisher now. — Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) July 8, 2021my hope is that four seasons total landscaping becoming a concert venue is the only enduring legacy of the trump administration https://t.co/TyOpHl3hOZ — BPLewis (@BPLewis) July 8, 2021Four Seasons Total Landscaping also had some fun on Twitter with the announcement.

Michael Avenatti departs a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. A New York judge has sentenced the combative California lawyer Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)Michael Avenatti departs a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. A New York judge has sentenced the combative California lawyer Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike. He said it would not be justice for Avenatti to face a lengthy prison term when his co-conspirator was not even charged.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren’t always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. He added, “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan, with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome." Biden said he didn't trust the Taliban but trusted the capacity of the Afghan military to defend the government. Story continuesThe president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

"He hijacked his client's claims, and he used those claims to further his own agenda, which was to extort millions of dollars from Nike for himself." Recordings showed Avenatti telling Nike lawyers he would "blow the lid" on the company and wipe $10 billion off its stock market value unless it bowed to his demands. Avenatti was also convicted of defrauding the coach, Gary Franklin, by not telling him he wouldn't settle unless there were a probe. Franklin had been upset Nike stopped sponsoring his program, and said he wanted simply to restore their relationship. He also faces a January trial in Manhattan for allegedly cheating Daniels out of proceeds from a book contract.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren't always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

WASHINGTON — Conservative political groups are mobilizing against a key element of a bipartisan infrastructure deal, and their opposition could make it harder for the US government to collect unpaid taxes. AdvertisementAmong the conservative groups spearheading the opposition are the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the Conservative Action Project, and the Leadership Institute. But former president Donald Trump spent aggressively while in office, blowing past the warnings of the party’s libertarian wing and deflating conservative opposition to new programs. Senior Republicans are under intense pressure from business groups to approve an infrastructure deal that corporate America has long sought. Animating Republican opposition is more than a decade of ill will between the GOP and the IRS.

Kolfage is facing additional federal charges in New York. Last year, a federal grand jury in New York indicted Kolfage and Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump. Bannon was pardoned by Trump on his last day in office. The case still continues against Kolfage and others. The New York prosecutors have said Kolfage and others worked to divert some of the $25 million raised for the wall project for their own personal use.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying "speed is safety" as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. "We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build," Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. Biden said he didn't trust the Taliban but trusted the capacity of the Afghan military to defend the government. The president added that there is no "mission accomplished" moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. “But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and more competent in terms of conducting war.”

Sophie Alexander and Ben StupplesBloombergAllen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, has stepped down as a director at Donald Trump’s Scottish golf club a week after Manhattan’s District Attorney charged him with tax crimes. It’s the first sign of Trump’s longtime finance chief relinquishing duties after he was charged alongside the Trump Organization. Weisselberg and the Trump Organization both pleaded not guilty to all charges on July 1. The Trump Organization didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Vance has been probing possible bank and insurance fraud at the company as well, and Weisselberg has unique insight into his boss’s finances and business dealings.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigrant advocates say they have reached a settlement with the U.S. government so they can keep operating a free hotline that lets detained immigrants report concerns about custody conditions. Freedom for Immigrants said Thursday that a settlement was reached last week and approved by a federal court in Los Angeles. The group said it can keep running the hotline provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for at least five years. “This settlement is a victory for the First Amendment rights of Freedom for Immigrants and immigrants in detention,” said Moez M. Kaba, an attorney for the group. The agency previously said the group had let immigrants engage in three-way calling on the line to speak with family and that was not permitted.

His group, which works out of a cramped office in the shadow of Disney World, is targeting Latino would-be voters. We’re in the community and we’re staying.”Even as Joe Biden flipped heavily Hispanic Arizona to Democratic to clinch the presidency last November, he underperformed with many Latino voters elsewhere. But Democrats say a problem for them was that they waited until just before the election to intensify outreach to Latino communities. More Latino voters aren’t always a boon to Democrats in other parts of the country, either. Still, some conservative groups already have achieved the kind of ever-active Latino outreach campaigns Democrats envision.

“As we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual,” the U.S. Embassy said. The case drew attention to Israel’s policy of punitive demolitions of the homes of alleged Palestinian attackers. Israeli officials say the demolitions deter future attacks, while rights groups view them as a form of collective punishment. “This certainly includes the punitive demolition of Palestinian homes,” it said. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said “he acts solely in accordance with the security considerations of the State of Israel and to protect the lives of its citizens.”

Avenatti, 50, rose to prominence by sparring publicly with Trump, but criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent. Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. He said it would not be justice for Avenatti to face a lengthy prison term when his co-conspirator was not even charged.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is filing suits against three of the country's biggest tech companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their CEOs. Trump said he was serving as lead plaintiff in the class-action suits, claiming he has been wrongfully censored by the companies. The suits were filed in U.S. District Court for Florida's southern district. Trump was suspended from Twitter and Facebook after his followers stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The companies cited concerns that he would incite further violence.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigrant advocates say they have reached a settlement with the U.S. government so they can keep operating a free hotline that lets detained immigrants report concerns about custody conditions. Freedom for Immigrants said Thursday that a settlement was reached last week and approved by a federal court in Los Angeles. The group said it can keep running the hotline provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for at least five years. “This settlement is a victory for the First Amendment rights of Freedom for Immigrants and immigrants in detention,” said Moez M. Kaba, an attorney for the group. A message seeking comment was left for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

President Biden delivered an update on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on Thursday, saying the mission would end by Aug. 31. Afghan troops are trying to prevent the Taliban seizing their first provincial capitalAfghan commandos gather in Kunduz, Afghanistan. 'Our military mission Afghanistan will conclude on August 31. And changing the date of the end of the military mission was a welcome move. And militants have exhibited weapons captured from Afghan forces to international journalists as they try to demonstrate their growing power.

Conservative groups are escalating their opposition to Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal. They're sending a letter to GOP leaders like McConnell, which can be read below. Prominent conservative groups are gearing up to pressure Republicans to oppose President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal, blasting it as a "basic betrayal of conservative values." The groups leading the effort include FreedomWorks, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, the Conservative Action Project, and the Leadership Institute. Stephen Moore, one of the signatories, assailed the extra IRS funding in the bipartisan infrastructure deal.

Former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly "lost it" and "snarled" at former President Donald Trump in 2018 after getting a crumpled up newspaper article thrown at him. Trump reportedly then "crumpled the article and threw it at his vice president," saying, "So disloyal." "Mr. Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump," Bender reports. 'We walked you through every detail of this,' Mr. Pence snarled. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

A mother in Tennessee has set up a GoFundMe page claiming that her seven-year-old daughter was severely “traumatised” by learning “critical race theory” in school, and is seeking $5,000 to pay for counselling and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) allegedly caused by the curriculum. According to the post, the seven-year-old was exposed to critical race theory at a school in Williamson County, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, and began questioning her identity. School officials have said that despite concern from some parents, the new curriculum is quite popular. Totalitarianism scholar Timothy Snyder recently argued in the New York Times Magazine that the right has embraced criticising critical race theory as a way justify its larger project of restricting voting access and other political liberties of minority groups, since many anti-critical race theory efforts make it more challenging for public officials to talk about US history. Republican states around the country have passed laws ostensibly about preventing the teaching of critical race theory in schools, with terms broad enough that they make any teaching of US history on subjects like racism, segregation, and slavery difficult.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump announced he is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter for banning his accounts, and claimed that they could pay "trillions" in damages. "In this case, like [Mr Trump's] role inspiring the 1/6 coup," he wrote in a tweet. Many legal observers believe that Mr Trump's lawsuit will ultimately go nowhere, but is instead a means for him to rally his base and fundraise. Mr Trump and his allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr, have been asking supporters to donate money to aid in the lawsuit. Some users on Twitter questioned why Mr Trump, a self-proclaimed billionaire, would need to fundraise from his supporters.

More than seven months after Arizona officials certified the 2020 presidential election results, the state senate’s ongoing partisan review of Maricopa County’s results has received national attention. In fact, there are similar efforts by partisan, political actors to conduct these reviews in jurisdictions around the country. In each state, the partisan review efforts have taken different forms and are in different stages. While details differ, in every case, the proposed election reviews fail to satisfy basic security, accuracy, and reliability measures that should be in place for any election review. Standard Election Integrity MeasuresElection officials across the country incorporate numerous election security and integrity measures into every step of the election cycle, including voter registration record management, election administration, and results certification.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed a meeting on Tuesday between Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister. Bin Salman is also meeting Tuesday with officials from the State Department and the Pentagon. As the crown prince’s younger brother, Khalid bin Salman was the kingdom’s ambassador in Washington at the time of Khashoggi's murder. More:Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman complicit in Jamal Khashoggi's murder, US report saysThe Biden administration authorized the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to release its findings on the crown prince's role in Khashoggi's murder in February. The Trump administration had refused to release the unclassified report on Khashoggi's murder, even though it was mandated by Congress.

But when the Socialist Party formed in 1901, it wasn’t simply as a reincarnation of Populism. In 1912, Debs received a total of eighty thousand votes (about one-tenth of his national total) from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Two years earlier, in 1910, Oklahoma party leaders campaigned against the Democrats’ successful referendum to disenfranchise black voters in the state. In 1914, lumber barons smashed the BTW in Louisiana, which effectively defeated the Socialist movement in the state. By 1918, the once-mighty Oklahoma Socialist Party was crushed.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the lead impeachment manager, arrives for the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Feb. 9, 2021. “We satisfied the burden of proving” Trump incited the invasion, Raskin said in the July 7 session, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Jews United for Democracy and Justice. Some 110 of the “overturn” voters have received money, as have the campaign finance committees for both House and Senate Republicans. Senate Republicans, led by Hawley and Ted Cruz of Texas, did. And it takes only 41 GOP votes to keep filibusters, and filibuster threats, going.

Photo provided Kate HuddlestonHe has turned to the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 to hype his anti-immigrant campaign and grant him additional powers. Texas law enforcement has continued to hand over many undocumented immigrants to Border Patrol, but Abbott’s declaration allows the use of state law to jail them on minor charges. Where would the children of undocumented immigrants go if their parents are in an adult prison for trespassing? Six Republican governors are sending law enforcement officers to the border as a way to bolster Abbott’s anti-immigrant campaign. Where would the children of undocumented immigrants go if their parents are in an adult prison for trespassing?

Soldiers patrol in Pétion-Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moïse lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 7, 2021. | Joseph Odelyn / APIn the pre-dawn hours of July 7, the president-turned-dictator of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was gunned down in his home by assassins. Many Haiti observers warn the stage may be set for the U.S. to resume its long history of intervening in the country’s internal affairs. Pledging to combat the corruption endemic to Haitian politics, Moïse eventually became a symbol of it himself. New U.S. intervention possibleWashington’s initial reaction to Moïse’s murder indicates that more aggressive intervention could be under consideration.

Experts said these findings strongly suggest a link between air pollution and cane burning. Both companies criticized our finding that the state air monitor in Belle Glade was malfunctioning as far back as eight years ago. Instead, we aimed to better understand the air quality in the Glades during the burning season. Both companies criticized our decision to use low-cost PurpleAir sensors instead of data from the state monitor in Belle Glade. Ultimately, we connected with dozens of residents who spoke about the air quality in the agricultural community.

Michael Avenatti was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison on Thursday, more than a year after the brash California attorney was convicted of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. But federal prosecutors said the attorney used his newfound fame and national audience as a weapon against Nike, trying to extort millions of dollars from the company with threats to accuse employees of misconduct. "Not only did Avenatti attempt to weaponize his law license and celebrity to seek to extort payments for himself, he also defrauded his own client." "I'll take ten billion dollars off your client's market cap," he told Nike attorneys, according to the complaint. The 50-year-old attorney also faces federal charges for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in profits from Daniels' book, Full Disclosure.

Four state attorneys general have begun looking into the online fund-raising practices of both political parties, specifically seeking information about the use of prechecked boxes to enroll contributors in recurring donation programs that spurred a wave of fraud complaints and demands for refunds last year. The attorneys general for New York, Minnesota, Maryland and Connecticut have sent letters to WinRed, which processes online donations for Republicans, and ActBlue, its Democratic counterpart, asking for documents related to the practices, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter. WinRed revealed the existence of the letter from the attorneys general in a Federal District Court filing this week, as the firm is seeking to stop any state-level investigation, arguing federal law should pre-empt any such effort. The letters were sent in late April, shortly after a New York Times investigation showed how the Trump operation had deployed — and then obscured with extraneous text — prechecked boxes that automatically enrolled contributors into recurring donation programs, taking out money as often as every week. A second prechecked box took out what the campaign called a “money bomb” donation.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday declined to say what the US would do if Afghanistan falls to the Taliban — as President Biden prepared to speak on the pullout of US troops. The long-running insurgency by the Islamic fundamentalist group is picking up steam ahead of the US withdrawal after nearly 20 years of war. The Afghan military is widely regarded as corrupt and inept and has suffered a humiliating series of recent defeats. The Taliban insurgency is picking up steam ahead of the US withdrawal after nearly 20 years of war. Biden said in April that he would pull US troops from Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Michael Avenatti, the one-time celebrity lawyer who rose to national fame by representing porn star Stormy Daniels, was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison Thursday for attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike. Avenatti, 50, addressed the judge at the hearing, pausing a number of times to wipe tears away from his eyes. Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on July 8, 2021. Michael Avenatti is the former lawyer of adult film actress Stormy Daniels. AFP via Getty ImagesThe US Probation Department, meanwhile, asked for an eight-year sentence, court filings show.

Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti’s lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges. “The fact that a white collar federal criminal case was brought despite this fact is itself an important mitigating factor.”

Attorney Michael Avenatti arrives for his sentencing hearing in an extortion scheme against Nike, at the United States Courthouse in the Manhattan borough of New York City, (SDNY) in New York, U.S., July 8, 2021. Recordings showed Avenatti telling Nike lawyers he would "blow the lid" on the sportswear company and wipe $10 billion off its stock market value unless it bowed to his demands. Avenatti was also convicted of defrauding the coach, Gary Franklin, by not telling him he wouldn't settle unless there were a probe. Before being sentenced, Avenatti lost his composure as he admitted to having "lost his way," and apologized to Franklin and others. Avenatti sought no more than six months in prison, and his lawyers have said he will appeal his conviction.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have arrested a group of Florida residents and charged them with attacking police officers during the deadly Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents made public on Thursday. More than 535 people have been arrested and charged with joining the attack, an unsuccessful attempt to stop Congress from certifying former President Donald Trump's election defeat. Doolin was charged because he traveled with the group to Washington, but he is not accused of assaulting officers, prosecutors said. They charged Jonathan Pollock with dragging two police officers down a set of stairs and ramming a stolen police shield into an officer's throat. The defendants, except for Jonathan Pollock, were expected to appear at a court hearing in Washington on Thursday.

As they began a special session that's expected to last a month, Republican lawmakers filed a pair of bills, dubbed House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1. Democrats said they did so because the bill would have resulted in voter suppression, particularly of voters of color and disabled voters. Both would require voters have identification for mail voting and would ban drive-thru and overnight options for early voting. Harris County, a heavily minority and liberal area of the state, embraced those expanded early voting options during the 2020 general election. The House bill would allow early voting until 10 p.m., while the new Senate bill proposes ending early voting at 9 p.m.

Michael Avenatti arrives for a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)Michael Avenatti arrives for a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment.

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti to 2 1/2 years behind bars for his efforts to extort tens of millions of dollars from Nike. Avenatti had threatened to ruin Nike’s reputation and crater its stock price unless it agreed to pay him and his client millions of dollars, prosecutors said. He was caught on a recorded call, hurling expletives as he pressured Nike reps to pay him. “I’m not f---ing around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games,” Avenatti told Nike reps, according to court papers. But prosecutors said Avenatti deserved a “very substantial” prison sentence of eight years for callously using his high profile persona to "enrich himself."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war in Afghanistan. He added, “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan, with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome.”Biden said he didn’t trust the Taliban but trusted the capacity of the Afghan military to defend the government. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge sentenced the combative California lawyer Michael Avenatti to 2 1/2 years in prison Thursday for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening to use his popularity to damage the company’s reputation. Talk of those aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in Los Angeles and New York charged him with fraud in March 2019. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti’s lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest-services fraud charges. In written sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Avenatti tried to enrich himself by “weaponizing his public profile” to try to force Nike to submit to his demands.

(AP)Retailers Sears and Kmart have pulled a T-shirt from their websites that called Ashli Babbitt, the woman shot and killed by a police officer during the 6 January US Capitol riot, an “American Patriot”. Both Sears and Kmart are owned by the same parent company, Transformco. The shooting of Ms Babbitt was captured in graphic footage at the height of the chaos during the 6 January insurrection as rioters attempted to disrupt Congress confirming the election result formally naming Joe Biden as the next US president. Mr Trump and other Republicans have joined the family of Ms Babbitt in calling for the name of the officer who shot her to be made public. Read MoreJudge refuses QAnon Shaman’s third attempt to get out of jailTrump says Capitol riot suspects being treated ‘unbelievably unfairly’Alleged leader of 6 January riot had Lego model of Capitol and book on hometown militias

Rudy Giuliani, a former attorney for ex-U.S. President Donald Trump, has been suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C. The D.C. Court of Appeals issued the order citing the suspension of Giuliani's New York license two weeks ago. A court there found he had lied when arguing that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Giuliani had slammed the New York court order, calling it a quote "double standard justice system." After the ruling on June 24, Giuliani said he would go to court to fight the New York suspension.

Reuters VideosRudy Giuliani, a former attorney for ex-U.S. President Donald Trump, has been suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C.The D.C. Court of Appeals issued the order citing the suspension of Giuliani's New York license two weeks ago.A court there found he had lied when arguing that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.The New York Appellate Division said Giuliani's false claims of widespread voter fraud threatened the public interest and could erode public confidence in elections, and cited the Capitol riot by Trump supporters earlier this year.One of those false statements alleged that hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots had been improperly counted.Neither Trump nor Giuliani have produced any evidence to support those claims, and several courts, election officials and members of Trump's own administration have debunked them.Giuliani had slammed the New York court order, calling it a quote "double standard justice system. "After the ruling on June 24, Giuliani said he would go to court to fight the New York suspension.

Donald Trump Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesFormer Vice President Mike Pence reportedly "lost it" and "snarled" at former President Donald Trump in 2018 after getting a crumpled up newspaper article thrown at him. The report describes how Pence "wasn't practiced in confronting" Trump, with the only example that administration officials could think of dating back to 2018. Trump reportedly then "crumpled the article and threw it at his vice president," saying, "So disloyal." "Mr. Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump," Bender reports. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Avenatti, 50, gained fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump. Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Avanatti’s political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged him with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment.

Criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted Avenatti's rapid ascent to fame. AdvertisementThose political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti's lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges.

Recordings showed Avenatti telling Nike lawyers he would “blow the lid” on the sportswear company and wipe $10 billion off its stock market value unless it bowed to his demands. Prosecutors said Avenatti was counting on a big payday to cover his own debts. Avenatti was also convicted of defrauding the coach, Gary Franklin, by not telling him he wouldn’t settle unless there were a probe. Before being sentenced, Avenatti lost his composure as he admitted to having “lost his way,” and apologized to Franklin and others. Avenatti sought no more than six months in prison, and his lawyers have said he will appeal his conviction.

“Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future.”WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” President Joe Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the US war in Afghanistan. AdvertisementThe president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

I am moved to these impolite observations by a terrific profile in The Atlantic of previously obscure Michigan state Sen. Ed McBroom, a conservative Republican dairy farmer from the state’s remote Upper Peninsula. As head of the senate’s Oversight Committee, McBroom led an exhaustive, eight-month investigation of alleged fraud in Michigan’s presidential election. Available online, despite its deadpan style, the McBroom report often makes for funny reading. Is it even necessary to say that the Great Pretender has made Ed McBroom into MAGA Enemy No. 1, denouncing him as a sellout, giving out his phone number at rallies and urging Trump Chumps to ruin him politically?

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. “But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and more competent in terms of conducting war.”

Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, the judge rejected a request by Avenatti’s lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden in recent days has bristled at reporters when asked about the drawdown and the security situation in Afghanistan. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

Avenatti represented Daniels in 2018 in lawsuits against Trump, appearing often on cable news programs to disparage the Republican president. Those political aspirations evaporated when prosecutors in California and New York charged Avenatti with fraud in March 2019. California prosecutors said he was enjoying a $200,000-a-month lifestyle while cheating clients out of millions of dollars and failing to pay hundreds of thousands to the Internal Revenue Service. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. In written sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Avenatti tried to enrich himself by “weaponizing his public profile” to try to force Nike to submit to his demands.

Washington — Toyota Motor Corp. will no longer donate to members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election in January, the company said Thursday, after facing blowback over corporate contributions. Like many other companies, Toyota announced it would temporarily withhold and review PAC donations after Trump supporters mobbed the U.S. Capitol building and after 147 Republicans objected to the Electoral College results from select states later that evening. "The Lincoln Project will not sit by and watch as companies like Toyota — companies that have benefited from America’s economic strength and freedom — give money to politicians who are working to overthrow that same system," Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen said in a statement Thursday morning. The Lincoln Project ad aimed at Toyota is slated to be the first in a series that would run in markets relevant to the company it's targeting, the organization said. We understand that the PAC decision to support select Members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders.

Updated 6 times AlertMeWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. The president added that there is no “mission accomplished” moment as the U.S. war comes to an end. Biden added that 2,500 Afghans have been granted special immigrant visas since he took office in January.

In this instance, it was evidence of historical neglect for Texas border communities. In 2016, McAllen, in south Texas, was selected by an amateur sports federation as a two-year venue for a statewide competition that typically attracts thousands of young athletes . But before the Games of Texas, as it’s called, began that year, south Texas got word that parents in different parts of the state were concerned about border violence. Word got around that some parents were even talking about organizing spinoff games in north Texas to avoid having to expose their families to the treachery of the south Texas borderlands. “We can’t do that until we stop these immigrants from crossing,” one senator told the local official.

And Mr Biden has been cagey when reporters have asked him questions about the drawdown. In an infamous 2010 profile of Mr McChrystal in Rolling Stone, the then-general was quoted joking that he misheard Mr Biden’s name is “Bite Me”. Like many Democrats, Mr Biden supported the War in Iraq before eventually souring on the venture. At the same time, Mr Biden’s choice to withdraw from Afghanistan shows he doesn’t see it as worth spending national resources. Mr Biden’s plan will likely continue to be criticized, especially if Afghanistan unravels or descends into chaos once the last troops leave the region.

Former Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti wept in court as he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison over his attempt to extort Nike . “I’m not f***ing around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games,” Mr Avenatti told Nike’s lawyers in 2019. “I betrayed my own values, friends, family and myself.”The sentence marked a stunning downfall for Mr Avenatti, who just a few years ago was a fixture of US cable news. The case, which Mr Avenatti aggressively championed on TV news channels, made him into a hero of the anti-Trump resistance. “Mr Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived the power of his platform to be,” the judge said.

The dialogue would be mediated by international parties and is supported by Norway, which acted as a mediator in a previous negotiation attempt in 2019 and is currently in touch with both sides to set the agenda, the sources said. Guaido, by contrast, has said his delegation is seeking conditions for free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections. The government withdrew from the 2019 round, held in Barbados, after former U.S. President Donald Trump tightened sanctions aimed at ousting Maduro. The delegations for both sides will be larger compared with the Barbados round, the sources said. “It’s a more complete and complex process that has not existed until now,” one of the sources said.

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who gained fame by representing porn star Stormy Daniels against President Donald Trump, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison over a $25 million Nike extortion scheme. He allegedly forged Stormy Daniels' signature to steal $300,000 in payments from her book. Following his release on bond in March 2019, Avenatti took to Twitter and followed through with his threat to expose Nike. Ayton played a single season at the University of Arizona before becoming the first pick in the 2018 draft, while Bol Bol is the son of the late 7ft 7in NBA great Manute Bol, who died in 2010. Avenatti claimed Bol Bol 'and his handlers' took 'large sums' to play for The University of Oregon, which is a Nike sponsored school.

It was late last week when the public first learned of new records documenting an important dimension in Donald Trump's scandalous post-election schemes. As the Arizona Republic reported overnight, one leading official in the Grand Canyon State believes the answer may be no. In her request to the state attorney general, Hobbs also cited at least one potential felony charge under Arizona law. In Arizona, for example, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich is an ambitious Republican who recently launched a U.S. Senate campaign. If those efforts sparked a criminal probe, there's no reason Team Trump's gambit in Arizona shouldn't receive similar scrutiny.

Harris and President Biden planned to meet later in the day with civil rights leaders to discuss policing, voting and other issues. AdvertisementThe White House focus on voting comes at a time when Democrats and voting rights advocates are despairing over the legal and political setbacks. An ambitious Democratic voting rights bill in Congress, which would bar some of the state efforts to limit voting access, was blocked in the Senate last month amid Republican opposition, shortly after Biden had tapped Harris to lead on the issue. “Democrats refuse to join Republicans in supporting common-sense policies like voter ID, because their sole agenda is more power and partisan control.”Some Democrats, including voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, have said they would consider identification requirements as part of a comprehensive federal voting rights law. In late May, Texas Democrats blocked Republicans’ initial attempt at passing a bill by walking out during the regular legislative session.

President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war. Biden in recent days has bristled at reporters when asked about the drawdown and the security situation in Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S. war in Afghanistan. “The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said.

Under the July 1 settlement, federal immigration authorities agreed to provide uninterrupted access to the National Immigration Detention Hotline for at least a five-year period and pay $100,970 to resolve the plaintiff's claims for attorney fees and costs. Without access to money, they find out about the Freedom for Immigrants hotline and start passing out the number to others in the facility. The hotline, which is considered the nation’s largest immigration detention hotline, receives 600 to 14,500 calls a month from people detained around the country, according to the group. “The hotline remains an indispensable tool in providing people in detention a secure way to report abuses and advocate for their freedom." But Freedom for Immigrants claimed that authorities shut down the hotline in retaliation for its advocacy work.

When Chinese authorities swiftly shut down one of its country’s most popular apps in an antitrust crackdown, there were immediate debilitating consequences for Chinese companies already trading in the U.S. But the longer-term ramifications of the move could sting the U.S. IPO market, as well as American tech giants like Apple Inc. Anyone who wants to do business there has to sell its soul.”The consequences for the U.S. IPO market, investors, and prospective Chinese tech companies could be disquieting. In May, Rubio introduced an act that would bar U.S. listings for Chinese companies out of compliance with American regulators. “Though they do have governmental surveillance, they want to make sure that’s not the case for the tech companies.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a White House event last week. Harris' comments, at a Democratic Party event at Howard University in Washington, her alma mater, came after months of Democratic losses on voting rights in the Supreme Court and some Republican-controlled state legislatures. Harris and President Biden planned to meet later in the day with civil rights leaders to discuss policing, voting and other issues. The White House focus on voting comes at a time when Democrats and voting rights advocates are despairing over the legal and political setbacks. An ambitious Democratic voting rights bill in Congress, which would bar some of the state efforts to limit voting access, was blocked in the Senate last month amid Republican opposition, shortly after Biden had tapped Harris to lead on the issue.

The reason is the Delta variant, which is much more contagious and possibly more deadly and now makes up the overwhelming majority of U.K. infections. So far, no U.S. state has seen that kind of explosion in cases. But the Delta variant has been detected across the country, and many conservative states are far behind the U.K. in getting vaccinated. But that is not remotely true in any conservative state. Thousands and thousands of Americans are going to die of an easily preventable illness in the second half of this year, and the bulk of them are going to be conservative vaccine refuseniks who got tricked by idiots and charlatans.

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg looks on as then-U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, on May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri//File PhotoTrump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was terminated from one of Trump's Scotland golf courses. Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has been terminated as the director and controller of one of ex-President Donald Trump's Scotland golf courses. Allen Weisselberg was terminated as the director of Donald Trump's Scottish golf company. Eric remains the sole director of Trump's other Scottish golf company, Golf Recreation Scotland.

Things don’t seem so funny now, after last week’s call by two US Supreme Court justices for the court to revisit a bedrock libel law ruling that has protected the free press for more than half a century. That decision and its progeny created an “actual malice” standard for libel suits brought by public officials and other well-known public figures or those who insert themselves in public controversies. “Now, private citizens can become ‘public figures’ on social media overnight,” Gorsuch laments. But in a libel case, Sullivan allows the impact of that fame can be limited based on its duration and reach. The Supreme Court shouldn’t make it worse.

Moore argued that she should be paid and invoked a 2019 SJC decision that restored salary to Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph, who is also facing federal felony charges. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday that judges can continue to be paid when charged with a felony, but clerk magistrates, court officers, and clerical workers who face felony charges are “not situated similarly” and must be suspended without pay. Moreover, Budd wrote, judges and clerk magistrates have different roles. AdvertisementAccording to court records, Moore was indicted on federal drug charges in 2019 along with two relatives. “The Trial Court has a substantial interest in maintaining public confidence in the judiciary, which is eroded when employees of the Trial Court are themselves indicted on felony charges, whether for conduct in or out of office.”AdvertisementJohn R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s approval in 2017 cleared the way for the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the permit. And without that agency’s backing, he wrote, the Army Corps “has determined that it is in the public interest to suspend” the permit. Fish and Wildlife Service officials did not respond to emails seeking additional comments about the decision. The about face came after revelations by retired Fish and Wildlife Service official Steve Spangle led to a reexamination of the process. Spangle spoke out in newspaper interviews in 2019, revealing how he changed his decision on the proposed development near Benson.

And 2021?s bumpy return to air travel is leaving customers to wonder how to get relief when their travel plans are sidelined. Ebenhoch said airlines have been historically stingy about giving refunds to customers whose flights are canceled or delayed. Airlines are required to compensate customers if a flight is canceled for any reason and the customers choose not to take a replacement flight. Phone banks have been the busiest on days with heavy travel delays as thousands of customers try to change flights or get refunds. Now that customers are booking travel, many have to contact airlines over the phone to cash in those credits.

It amazes me that the liberal mainstream media have declared me a polarizing figure. Often times, it is truth the liberal mainstream media do not want to hear. RELATED:Senator Ron Johnson calls editorial about him 'unhinged and uninformed.' The mainstream media would not allow it. Ron Johnson, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Wisconsin.

My brother has been a hostage of the Taliban’s Haqqani network since Jan. 31, 2020 — but you may never have heard his name. Mark Frerichs, who is from the Chicago suburb of Lombard, has been a civil engineer living in Afghanistan for the past decade. We haven’t even heard from Khalilzad, who remains the point man in negotiations with the Taliban since Biden took office. He was grabbed because he’s a U.S. citizen and the Taliban wanted something to trade. And we dearly hope the diplomatic efforts we’re hearing about now, finally, will not be too little and too late.

Michael Avenatti arrives for a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)Michael Avenatti arrives for a scheduled sentencing at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in New York. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti’s lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud charges. In written sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Avenatti tried to enrich himself by “weaponizing his public profile” to try to force Nike to submit to his demands.

A Fox News host called out her colleagues on air for their fawning praise of Donald Trump, saying that their love for him was “like family”. Mr Trump also called for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – which means tech companies are not held responsible for the material they host – to be ruled “an unconstitutional delegation of authority”. This sentiment was echoed by Mr Watters, who gushed that he saw Mr Trump as an “avenger” and presidential to the point that he forgot who was president. Ms Turner on the other hand had a more sceptical take, throwing a little bit of shade towards her colleagues’ assessment of the ex-president’s motivation. She added: “I think this lawsuit’s a little more self-serving than maybe Jesse and Kayleigh laid out for us a moment ago.”“We know you love the guy, the former president, like family.

“We do not teach critical race theory, we don’t embrace critical race theory and I think that’s a spurious conversation,” Austin told lawmakers in June. “Secretary Austin has testified at least twice that our military does not teach, instruct, or condone critical race theory,” Cotton said. “Critical Race Theory isn’t a history lesson, it’s indoctrinating our future military leaders that America and the military are systemically racist. “Professor García’s comments on Critical Race Theory are utterly unacceptable and incompatible with the mission of our United States Military Service Academies,” Green wrote. The reaction to Garcia’s comments comes just weeks after lawmakers demanded that another military school, the U.S. Military Academy West Point, stop teaching critical race theory.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given a scathing public assessment of former President Donald Trump in an official statement following his expression of sympathy for Capitol rioters. In a statement released to the Democratic speaker’s website on Thursday, Ms Pelosi chastised Mr Trump as a “twice-impeached Florida retiree” in her official capacity as speaker. Mr Trump on Wednesday said he believed that many of those facing charges for their alleged involvement in the 6 January insurrection “are being treated unbelievably unfairly”. They said that case is closed.”The former president’s reference to Ms Babbitt being shot “right through the head” is inaccurate. Five people died as a result of the violence at the Capitol, including one Capitol police officer and Ms Babbitt.

Trump erupted at his impeachment lawyers for making spelling mistakes in a legal brief. The typos in question came from the 14-page legal brief filed for Trump's second impeachment trial in the Senate in February. In one line, Trump's lawyers accused the House of Representatives of "ignoring it own procedures." Castor attempted to explain the flubs to Trump by claiming that: "Spell-check, Mr. President, doesn't pick up italicized words," according to the book. The episode came shortly after Trump similarly was upset at spelling mistakes in lawsuits filed on his behalf to challenge the 2020 election results.

And so, a new conservative scheme is born: the drive to make Trump the next speaker. We already know how those go—they goose the liberal base vote without any corresponding Republican vote unless Trump is on the ballot. And without Trump being literally on the ballot, the chances of Republicans turning out the hidden deplorables are dramatically lowered. Right now, this “Speaker Trump” discussion is floating on the edges of the political debate. “Will you vote for Trump for Speaker” could be yet another item on the conservative litmus test, to go with “who really won the 2020 election.”

It’s not like they lived in Florida when Trump was in Florida, and are heading to New Jersey now that Trump is in Jersey. We then learn that Trump is wondering whether Kushner was all that effective being the guy in charge of everything at the White House. Speaking of Trump, CNN informs us that the loser former president is casting about for new people to run his rickshaw operation, as incompetent and chaotic as everything else he touches (remember his blog?). CNN’s crack investigative team reports that “[Ivanka Trump] is focused on her children, and spending time with them, period." Is anyone going to really pretend that they’d be right back at daddy’s side if he ever, god forbid, retook the White House?

All this points to the conservative inability to quit Trump. But there’s another factor at play: We know that Trump can’t get his people to vote in elections when he’s not on the ballot. Without him on the ballot, even Trump’s begging and pleading won’t turn out his people. What if the conservative message is, “We get Trump back, AS SPEAKER, if you vote!” Would that turn out his hidden deplorables? Now he’s sitting there looking like a chump as Trump tells him—repeatedly—that he wants his job.

This evening, for my Nonfiction Views, I’m taking a quick overview of a number of books on Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Author Alexander Norman has a long relationship with the Dalai Lama, having been a co-author of several of his books, including his autobiography Freedom in Exile. He pulls the same trick in his new bio of the Dalai Lama (bear with me here):“It is tempting to begin our story with the first Saturday in July, 1935, when, by the Gregorian calendar, the present Dalai Lama was born….In a way, it would be more accurate to begin with the evening of the seventeenth of December 1933 [as] the death of the previous Dalai Lama is what precipitates the birth of the next….Yet there is also a case for beginning with the birth of the First Dalai Lama, since, after all, each incarnation is considered to share the same mental continuum. Thomas Laird’s The Story of Tibet: Conversations With the Dalai Lama, is an interesting take on all of Tibetan history, as it was created through 60 hours of conversation with the Dalai Lama. This story provides a good preview of what will unfold when the current Dalai Lama dies.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Westchester County to order Daily Kos to disclose the true name of “Downeast Dem” — a blogger who libeled Kennedy on the Daily Kos platform last year. Justice Mary H. Smith ruled in Kennedy’s favor in April, ordering Daily Kos to unmask Kennedy’s incognito attacker. Judge Smith (in New York) did not order Daily Kos to “unmask” DowneastDem. Ironically, the Daily Kos founder, who has been relentlessly bobbing and weaving to dodge any confrontation with Kennedy, is suddenly challenging Kennedy to engage. Daily Kos presents itself as a serious forum for liberal debate, but the fact is that no one dares to debate Kennedy.

Under the ban, the number of prison education programs plummeted from 772 in the early 1990s to just eight by 1997. In 2015, an initiative launched by the Obama administration helped offer some relief for a handful of incarcerated students. A particularly unique challenge that speaks to the uneven landscape of prison education opportunities is the frequency of facility transfers. “I think there is less [pushback] when you’re dealing with need-based financial aid, because it’s an equal playing field for people inside prisons and outside prisons,” Delaney said. However, these critiques fail to acknowledge the noted success of prison education programs and the role they play in rehabilitating people’s lives.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie HobbsThis should be interesting—well played by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is running for governor. The Arizona Republic is reporting that today Hobbs sent a letter to the state’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich, urging him to investigate trump’s interference in the state’s 2020 election. Normally the Secretary of State would investigate election shenanigans, and if Hobbs did Republicans would say it’s a partisan witch hunt. But the Republican Legislature just passed a law that removes most investigatory powers from her office—that is, until next year when they expect a Republican SoS. It’s all yours, GOP, investigate and alienate your trump base, or don’t investigate and tick off most general voters.

Indeed, it doesn't matter whether Republicans are playing offense or defense, whether there's an open seat or a GOP incumbent, Trump’s 2020 election conspiracies are dominating campaigns and defining Republican candidates in the process. Walker has avidly backed Trump's 2020 conspiracies but he isn't exactly known for his political prowess—and that has Peach State Republicans worried. But Ducey’s dreams were dashed by his inability to illegally overturn the 2020 election results in Trump's favor. In Nevada, former Attorney General Adam Laxalt has gone above and beyond to associate himself with Trump’s election fraud lies from the get-go. Democrats on offenseIn North Carolina, Trump upended the GOP field by endorsing Republican Rep. Ted Budd, who voted against certification of the 2020 election results.

Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, July 8, 2021Note: Got a text last night from the International Space Station: ”Send oxygen now! The Hometown Heroes Parade kicked off at 11 a.m. along a stretch of downtown Manhattan known as the Canyon of Heroes, which has hosted parades for over a century. So let's check in with our Democrat-led legislative branch and see how their ironclad 2020 campaign promises are progressing:House of Representatives Voting rights bills — PASSED Immigration bill — PASSED Climate change bill — PASSED LGBTQ rights bill — PASSED Health care bill — PASSED Infrastructure bill — PASSED-Senate [Beep!] CHEERS to today's edition of On What F*cking Grounds, You Idiot? -Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial GOP Rep. Chip Roy Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: "18 More Months of Cheers and Jeers…That’s What We Want!"

Statewide sanctuaries are in blue, county sanctuaries are in green, both county and state sanctuaries are in purple. “Sanctuary widened from the idea of a church to sanctuary communities who confronted immigration policies and intolerance as manifested in immigration policies,” writes Rhonda Shapiro-Rieser in the 2017 paper The Sanctuary Movement: A Brief History. These had their genesis in the gun sanctuary movement but went even further, back to the Posse Comitatus movement that began in the late 1960s. Analysis: Insurrection by other meansThe anti-federal, anti-abortion sanctuary movement has remained largely under the media radar, spreading in rural areas among small towns that rarely get national attention. By denying the jurisdiction of federal law, the nullifying sanctuary movements are actually practicing insurrection by other means.

Because the second rule of the web is, “Do not feed the trolls,” this is not about Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson had a weird, weird accusation that the National Security Agency was “monitoring” him and wanted to destroy his show. On July 2, April Falcon Doss wrote “The Tucker Carlson Disinformation Show” at Just Security. Now Tucker Carlson is getting offers of help from Kim Dotcom, the slightly indicted Internet pirate. Why Carlson should be stripped nakedAs David Frum pointed out, Tucker Carlson is not above Munchausen syndrome tactics.

“We have come to live in a society based on insults, on lies and on things that just aren’t true. I long ago gave up searching for common ground with anyone on the other side of this political divide. I get my facts from science, literature, mainstream news, and general living experiences that teach me to use human reasoning powers. We can invite those from across the divide to join us, but past behavior says they probably will not. The job is ours, and if we do it right, maybe the truth will out.

In fact, as Karen Greenberg wrote recently at the American Prospect, “The refusal to distinguish war from hostilities overall has been a landmark piece of the war on terrorism architecture. But let Greenberg tell you this sorry tale of a system that seems to become less accountable by the moment. Biden and his team entered office facing a brand-new list of irregularities and abuses by high-ranking officials, including President Trump. Similarly, the 1975 Church Commission investigation into the abuses of the intelligence community, among them the FBI’s notorious counter-intelligence program, COINTELPRO, was also a select committee project. Otherwise, this country will have to face a new reality: that we are now living in the age of impunity.

By now readers of Daily Kos and other progressive websites all know the meaning of “confirmation bias” and how it applies to Trump cultists, an of course to Trump himself. Once a person engages in a set of behaviors -- even something as simple as voting for someone -- the tendency is to want to have confirmation bias. To maintain that belief, a given person will systematically ignore information which challenges the bias. The article explains what confirmation bias is and then goes into detail with nine examples of ways you may engage or enounter this type of cognitive bias in your everyday life. Introduction:Confirmation bias is often still evolutionarily efficient, as reinforcing things we already believe to be true helps us make fast and accurate decisions.

If you are someone using even the basest of critical thinking, you have to wonder what the hell Rep. Buck is saying here. The fact that Google manipulates its search engine to help squash competition in their various enterprises is not a new fact. But Buck takes this a step further by asserting that Google is a part of the Big Lie, rigging the election in favor of Joe Biden. You can watch the clip below 1,000 times and it still won’t make a lick of sense how “you know, ‘Donald Trump. Hunter Biden?’” swayed 15 million voters to vote for Joe Biden.

“Paul entered the United States with his parents when he was just five years old,” legislators said. “He lived in the United States for 35 years, and worked as a financial consultant. Yet he found himself unjustly deported to Haiti, a country he was not born in and had never been to before—on the basis of a decades-old conviction for a non-violent offense. The administration is also reportedly mulling a review process that could set the stage for returning to the U.S. some immigrants unjustly deported by the previous administration, Julia Preston reported last month. “The reviews will proceed on a painstaking case-by case basis, officials said.” Advocates have also urged the administration to extend that review to immigrants unjustly deported by the Obama administration.

“The people of my district are more than smart enough to make their own decisions about the experimental vaccine and don’t need coercion by federal agents. Polling and research has found that many people aren’t necessarily opposed to being vaccinated, but they do want more information or need convenience and reassurance that it won’t cost them anything. Let me be clear: the House Republican Conference condemns this language.”Your move, Kevin. (Ha ha ha, yeah, right.) You just can’t.” Trump praising Hitler plus Trump’s most diehard followers constantly talking about Nazis is … a disturbing fixation to have surfacing in the Republican Party.

Since Donald Trump said he’d deliver the miracle cure, almost as many Americans have died of COVID as were lost in all four years of World War II, both from combat and all other causes. Once the virus is finished in their holler, it might not emerge as the same virus, but something worse. A school board meeting turned into an anti-mask riot, but why would you expect school board meeting attendees to be concerned about education? Governance is the last thing Trump voters are looking for. Donald Trump’s present legal representatives are pretty stupid also, and you know, Donald isn’t that much of a genius himself.

“Radicalized’ anti-abortion movement poses increased threat … militant anti-abortion groups gain legislative influence”“… leaders of affiliated groups such as Defy Tyrants, led by Matt Trewhella, were signatories to a statement which described murdering abortion providers as “justifiable homicide”. “pro-gun anti-abortion theocratic militant groups who seek to prosecute women who have abortions under murder statutes have gained increasing legislative influence in the US. States enacted 90 abortion restrictions in 2021, breaking the previous record of 89 in 2011. At the same time, the constitutional right to abortion has never been so perilously close to being removed since 1973, when the supreme court decided the landmark case Roe v Wade. Lots more at The Guardian: Anti-Abortion Movement Radicalized

There are many single-issue Republican voters who don’t care about the other issues or the factions that are concerned with them. Political positions of the Democratic PartyNote that most Democrats are in favor of action on all of these issues, supporting each other. There are, of course, clear differences on certain points between the Democrats called Progressive and those called Moderate or Centrist. Many old issues have largely fallen away, or are in that process, like opposition to marijuana or marriage equality. More and more it is impossible to avoid meeting us and seeing us in the media and more generally online.

Earlier in July, Trump talked to his chief of staff Mark Meadows about the idea of “calling it off,” referring to the election. Right?” Trump said, per Wolff’s book. “I’m sure there might be a way, but … well …” Wolff quoted Trump as saying. Christie thought he meant the debate prep, but Trump elaborated that it was the election that he was considering canceling. You do know that, right?” Christie apparently added.

Trump’s implication, of course, is that had Babbitt been a Black Lives Matter protester, the officer would not have been cleared of wrongdoing. We’ve repeatedly seen officers not face charges for killing unarmed Black people going about their daily business. So no, if that were the opposite, that case would not be going on for years and years. “That’s the way it has to be,” Trump said after U.S. marshals killed the suspect in the killing of a Trump supporter. “There has to be retribution when you have crime like this.”It makes total sense, in Trump’s twisted psyche, to become an Ashli Babbitt cheerleader.

Most notably, Uihlein gave $2.5 million to support Illinois state Rep. Jeanne Ives' longshot primary bid against Gov. ? NM-Gov: State Rep. Rebecca Dow announced Wednesday that she would campaign for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Gov. ? MN-01: Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn announced Wednesday that his kidney cancer had returned, saying, "The new diagnosis was surprising considering that just 14 weeks ago no cancer was detected." ? VA-07: 2020 candidate Tina Ramirez announced last week that she would once again seek the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger. However, he was defeated four years later by Republican Rep.

In this weeks episode of which Trump kid flips on Daddy first I think Roger Stone may be giving us a heads up as to who it is.

But Hobbs' formal ask of Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich is also an ingenious bit of political jujitsu. Brnovich has announced his candidacy for Senate, hoping to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, and he has been laboring to endear himself to Trump as a loyal soldier to his cause. Hobbs emailed the request to Brnovich Wednesday and his office declined to comment at the time. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona lodged a similar request with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch an inquiry into the "pressure campaign" mounted by Trump and his allies. Their efforts "reflect a disturbing trend following the 2020 election of Trump advisors and allies, and even former President Trump himself, committing potential crimes to overturn the election," Gallego wrote.

Biden's statement comes amid a surge in interest in the lab-leak theory -- once dismissed as a fringe conspiracy. Q: How has the lab-leak theory become credible and what does it mean for social media? A: While the possibility that the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab was originally downplayed or dismissed entirely, the idea is gaining new credence. First, investigations into whether a natural origin or an accidental lab leak caused the coronavirus pandemic have yielded no firm conclusions. A new study has found that most severe Covid-19 cases had long-term symptoms, underscoring the importance of vaccinating more people.

What she is saying is what more scientists have grown comfortable discussing publicly: There's no clear evidence either way. The letter helped kick-start a new round of calls to investigate the "lab leak hypothesis," including demands from President Joe Biden and several leading scientists. Still, he cautioned that while a lab leak is plausible, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the most probable explanation. The team also downplayed the theory that the virus leaked from the Wuhan institute, describing the scenario as "extremely unlikely." During the WHO-led investigation this year, officials at the Wuhan institute said all staff members had tested negative for Covid-19 antibodies.

Return of the Lab Leak Conspiracy Shows Biden is a Democrat with Trumpian Characteristics on ChinaNow Biden and his top allies have given credence to the lab leak conspiracy, as they escalate their confrontation with China. The lab leak conspiracy has resurfaced in recent months after Trump’s former CDC Director Robert Redfield stated that he believed COVID-19 emerged from a lab. The lab leak conspiracy, like Russiagate, has been a key cog in the U.S. propaganda war against China. The lab leak conspiracy is an effective psychological operation because it is difficult to imagine evidence that could disprove or prove the claim. The lab leak conspiracy is serving similar ends in a moment of intense crisis for the United States.

Last year, Trump’s racist lab leak theory was thrown out by both the Democratic establishment and most of the mainstream media. US military researchers at the Camp Detrick (later Fort Detrick) bioweapons facility, doing sketchy top-secret stuff, no doubt. Plus, why would our global nemeses attack us with germ warfare if we do it to ourselves? Hit commuters with germ warfare — they just brush it off and keep moving. Every day to a New Yorker is germ warfare.

He is neither for or against the Cuban government; he is for the Cuban people, the Cuban families. Lazo portrays Cuba and the U.S. as his parentsCuba is his mother, the U.S. his father. Lazo spent a few years in Miami working in restaurants, delivering pizzas and driving trucks, but moved to Seattle in 1998 to seek more economic opportunities. When Obama became president and started normalizing relations with Cuba, Lazo thought his political work was over. Trump tried to please right-wing Cubans in Miami by reversing Obama's openings and adding 242 additional coercive measures designed to torpedo the Cuban economy.

Only recently, more than 18 years after President George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq and quickly declared victory ("Mission accomplished! "), Joe Biden once again ordered U.S. air strikes, three of them, against Iranian-backed Iraqi militias in that country's borderlands with Syria. In fact, as Karen Greenberg wrote recently at the American Prospect, "The refusal to distinguish war from hostilities overall has been a landmark piece of the war on terrorism architecture. But let Greenberg tell you this sorry tale of a system that seems to become less accountable by the moment. True to the president's word, the Obama administration refused to hold former officials responsible for violations of fundamental constitutional and legal issues.

After reports that former President Donald Trump and his allies had apparently tried to call election officials in Arizona to get them to overturn election results in the state, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is calling on state Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate the alleged calls. Around the same time, the Arizona Republic reported last week, Giuliani made a couple of calls to election supervisors. In one voicemail, he pleaded with the officials to help him turn the tide toward Trump. And I think there may be a nice way to resolve this for everybody.”The state Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward also tried to pressure election officials through text messages. “We need you to stop the counting,” Ward texted Hickman — an incident cited by Hobbs in her letter.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has been declared the winner of the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, two weeks after the June 22 primary election. Brooklyn Borough President and a Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams greets NYPD officers, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in New York. The victor in the Democratic primary is virtually certain to be elected mayor next November, with Republicans heavily outnumbered among city voters and especially hated after the Donald Trump presidency. This was designed to avoid any serious discussion of the issues facing the working class. This poses the urgent need for the political independence of the working class, which requires the building of a new revolutionary leadership.

Since Trump left office, the Secret Service has paid more than $50,000 to Trump-affiliated businesses and resorts, according to the Post. In May, the Post reported that Trump has charged the Secret Service more than $40,000 to conduct security at his resort in Mar-a-Lago since leaving office on Jan. 20. Taxpayers routinely paid Trump propertiesOther Trump properties around the world have also taken in large sums of taxpayer money for various reasons. In 2020, the Secret Service was charged nearly $1 million for its security expenses while staying at Trump's Scotland resort. Throughout his presidency, Trump used his resorts as meeting grounds for foreign leaders and political allies, as well as powerful donors and lobbyists.

Fox Nation is bringing the action from Texas to your home screens for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), as the network has your exclusive, all-access pass to stream the weekend’s events. Join former President Donald Trump and other influential conservatives as they take the stage in the Lone Star State to deliver their personal messages to America starting tomorrow Friday, July 9 through Sunday, July 11. Notable event attendees and speakers will include Donald Trump Jr., Texas Lt. Gov. The 2021 event will be sponsored by the network's on-demand streaming service and will be available for live streaming on the subscription-based site. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to close the event out on July 11 at 3:35 p.m. CDT.

MSNBC host Joy Reid continued her attacks this week on those opposed to the teaching of critical race theory (CRT), conflating them with QAnon conspiracy theorists and describing them as "radicalized parent activists." "Look no further than the ongoing hysteria over race conscious education, what they are shamelessly and falsely misrepresenting as critical race theory." Collins joined Reid in claiming the passion in the meetings was being driven by QAnon followers. "What we've seen recently is QAnon followers as well going to these meetings and seeing this big public spectacle … and they can say, ‘Hey we need to rile people up. The two then attempted to draw a line between QAnon followers and what they described as evangelical Christians, claiming the group was a target to infiltrate by QAnon followers, and suggesting that people associated with Bible studies become associated with QAnon and "move over from there."

Sean Hannity, host of "Hannity," slammed President Joe Biden and the left for now supporting a push for voter ID laws. SEAN HANNITY: "Really Jim Crow, Joe, what all these Democrats are failing to mention? … At this point, the laws in Delaware are far more restrictive than Georgia's new so-called ‘Jim Crow 2.0,’ racist new rules. It's far more inclusive in Georgia, far more accessible for voting in Georgia, the state of Georgia, their new law that mandates 17 days of in-person early voting. As a matter of fact, the state of Delaware is one of the most restrictive states in terms of voting accessibility.

Americans have a big appetite for news about the weather, and climate change is making weather events more frequent and extreme. Now, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation, a media empire with a long history of peddling climate disinformation, is entering the world of 24-hour weather coverage. The billionaire media mogul plans to launch Fox Weather later this year, with the intent that it will rival the popular Weather Channel. Whether a Fox weather network would frown on that is yet to be seen. We know we have a partisan gap on climate change, and this stands to only make that worse.”

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan reached an agreement Thursday to purchase an additional 50 million cubic meters of water from Israel and to increase its exports to the occupied West Bank from $160 million a year to around $700 million, the two countries announced in official statements. Lapid called Jordan an “important neighbor and partner,” and said Israel would work to strengthen ties and expand economic cooperation. Jordan is one of the driest countries on earth and its water shortages are expected to worsen with climate change. Both Jordan and the Palestinians were adamantly opposed to the Trump administration's Mideast plan, which would have allowed Israel to annex up to a third of the occupied West Bank. Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians want as part of their future state.

Joshua Roberts/Getty ImagesTrump told a caller that Giuliani drank too much and often said things that weren't true, a new book says. The book continued to say that Giuliani enjoyed unfettered access to Trump even though there was "deep resentment" and "hatred" toward him in the West Wing. Former President Donald Trump once told a caller in the days after the November 2020 election that he knew his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani drank too much and often said things that weren't true. According to Bender's book, Trump routinely mocked Giuliani for falling asleep during meetings and gave him harsh feedback on his TV interviews, telling him he "sucked" and was "weak." Giuliani's legal reputation, meanwhile, has been in freefall since he spearheaded Trump's failed crusade to nullify the results of the 2020 election.

As has been the case virtually since the dawn of the Space Age, crewed spaceflight is all about public relations. Since then, the practical rationale for human spaceflight has only receded. Almost every goal cited for crewed spaceflight, Weinberg observed, could be performed today more efficiently and more cheaply by uncrewed flights. Crewed space missions are customarily justified by the advances in science and technological know-how thrown off by the space race. Answers to global warming and disease are still much more accessible than fleeing Earth for space.

The caterwauling ex-president and sore loser nonpareil poses a vexing riddle for Republican candidates. Fail to excite the Trump faithful, the thinking goes, and they’ll skip voting and give Democrats an overwhelming turnout advantage. Should a candidate hug Trump too tightly, the theory goes, those voters will stay home — or, worse, vote Democratic once again. It’s a quandary that is particularly acute in California, where Trump lost to Biden by 30 percentage points and no Republican has won statewide office in well over a decade. AdvertisementEven those carefully couched and obviously true statements may disqualify Chen in the eyes of some Trump loyalists.

Harris’ comments, at a Democratic Party event at Howard University in Washington, her alma mater, came after months of Democratic losses on voting rights in the Supreme Court and some Republican-controlled state legislatures. Harris and President Biden planned to meet later in the day with civil rights leaders to discuss policing, voting and other issues. The White House focus on voting comes at a time when Democrats and voting rights advocates are despairing over the legal and political setbacks. An ambitious Democratic voting rights bill in Congress, which would bar some of the state efforts to limit voting access, was blocked in the Senate last month amid Republican opposition, shortly after Biden had tapped Harris to lead on the issue. The latest broadly written bill would ban drive-in voting, prevent election officials from sending out mail-in ballots unless voters request them and stiffen potential criminal penalties for election officials, among other provisions.

With only six weeks left before opening day at the Humboldt County Fair, organizers are racing to assemble one of the community’s most beloved events. After an unprecedented year under the COVID-19 pandemic and not knowing whether or not the fair would even happen, Humboldt County Fair Association board president Andy Titus said things are finally looking up. We’re hoping for a very positive outcome.”The last time Titus spoke to the Times-Standard, more than two months ago, the Humboldt County Fair Association had no idea what COVID-19 restrictions would look like come August. Although the 2021 Humboldt County Fair will be virtually the same as years past with horse races, hat day and all the other staples, Ziemer said this year will be extra special. “This is his way of giving back and we get to keep all the proceeds.”Ziemer said Fieri will also film an episode of his show Guy’s Grocery Games at the fair.

Brian NiemietzNew York Daily NewsA new book alleges that former President Donald Trump frustrated four-star general and then-White House chief of staff John Kelly by praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. “You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler,” Kelly allegedly said. A Trump spokesperson calls that allegation “totally false.”“President Trump never said this,” Trump rep Liz Harrington told the Guardian. “It is made-up fake news, probably by a general who was incompetent and was fired.”Kelly served 17 months in the Trump White House before leaving his job at the start of 2019. The 75-year-old conservative firebrand has on more than one occasion falsely claimed his Bronx-born father Fred was from Germany.

During the segment, Ms Greene was complaining about big tech companies and about how she is being compared to Nazis by the media. At that point Kelly and Ms Greene began discussing the fact that Mr Trump has offered a sliver of a defence for his supporters who attacked the Capitol on 6 January. Ms Greene told the Newsmax host that if she knew Ms Babbitt – who she called a "passionate patriot" – the two of them likely would have been friends. An investigation into the incident found that the officer who shot Ms Babbitt was justified in their action. Ms Babbitt was shot once in the shoulder, while actively participating in a violent riot and trying to climb through a broken window into a chamber where lawmakers were still being evacuated.

President Joe Biden will announce a plan to house Afghan translators outside their homeland in foreign countries as they await admission into the US as part of his address regarding the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We have [launched] an operation to physically relocate thousands of these Afghans and their families before the US military mission concludes,” Ms Psaki said. “That operation has identified facilities outside of the continental United States as well as third countries. Former President Donald Trump had last year agreed upon a May 1 date for all US troops to leave, a date that was extended by Mr Biden. Earlier this year, a Republican congressman and former Green Beret warned that Mr Biden would have “blood on his hands” if he did not order an evacuation of Afghan interpreters from the region.

Former President Donald Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for guest rooms at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort during his first month living at the club this year. Former President Donald Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 to stay at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort during the first month of his stay there this year. Trump charged the Secret Service $396.15 a night to rent one room at his Mar-a-Lago resort that they use as an office. The Trump Organization has never disclosed how rates the Secret Service are charged are determined. The Post has analyzed more than 3,600 nights the Secret Service has stayed at Trump properties and never found rates that low.

Rashida Tlaib called for the defunding of the whole of DHS as she slammed immigration enforcement for their handling of the border crisis. 'We must eliminate funding for CBP [Customs and Border Protection], ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and their parent organization DHS [Department of Homeland Security],' the progressive 'squad' member demanded. The budget increase request comes as the number of illegal border jumpers has sky-rocketed in the last few months, leading to overwhelmed and under-staffed border protection agencies and facilities along the southern border. Seven different states, all with Republican governors, have also pledged law enforcement and National Guard troop deployments to assist with securing the border. North Dakota’s Doug Burgman is deploying 135 National Guard, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is sending 185 members and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem is sending 175 soldiers.

Washington (CNN) A version of this story appeared in CNN's Race Deconstructed newsletter. Spare a thought for critical race theory. In this bastardized telling, CRT is whatever Republicans want it to be; it comes in many guises. The backlash to CRT echoes the 1960sThe panic over CRT is hardly the first time that the US has seen such ethnonationalist fearmongering. In publicly advocating for the birther conspiracy theory about a decade ago, Trump wasn't merely slandering one of his political opponents.

Polychroniou: In our last interview, you analyzed the political identity of today’s Republican Party and dissected its strategy for returning to power. Meanwhile, the Democrats abandoned the working class, handing working people over to their class enemy. That would expand the Democratic base, just as social-democratic New Deal-style measures have done in the past. I worry about reports about some immigrant neighborhoods showing increased enthusiasm for the ideals and values expressed by the Republican Party of Donald Trump. People resented being taken for granted by the Democratic Party (“You’re Latino, so you’re in our pocket”).

An Old Friend Of Law Enforcement, Biden Walks A Thin Line On Police ReformEnlarge this image toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images Win McNamee/Getty ImagesPresident Biden is trying to tread a thin, tangled line. "For people of my era, we still feel an affection for Biden," said Pasco, who's in his mid-70s and points out that law enforcement skews young. But with such raw tensions, some in law enforcement and the civil rights community are not sure there is a middle ground to land on. But eliminating the doctrine of qualified immunity as it applies to rank-and-file officers is a nonstarter for some in law enforcement. Biden, no doubt, still has friends in law enforcement.

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2021. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups. Instead, the United States plans to leave 650 troops in Afghanistan to provide security for the U.S. Embassy. read moreThe senior administration official said the United States plans to move the interpreters to temporary locations while awaiting valid U.S. visas. Biden met Afghan leaders at the White House on June 25 and said U.S. support for Afghanistan would continue despite the pullout.

To the Editor:Re “Maybe Trump Wasn’t the Worst President Ever?,” by Mark K. Updegrove (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, July 1):James Buchanan has long occupied last place in the rankings of U.S. presidents, but thanks to Donald Trump, it looked as if he was on the verge of surrendering that ignominy. After all, Mr. Trump seemed to be the strongest candidate in the last 100 years to displace Buchanan. Unfortunately for Buchanan, the 142 presidential historians who participated in C-SPAN’s just released 2021 Presidential Historians Survey decided otherwise. For the country’s sake, there will hopefully be no future contenders for the title of Worst President Ever. But time will not be as kind to Donald Trump.

Teenage former first son Barron Trump was photographed in the Big Apple this week — towering over his 5-foot-11-inch mom, Melania. The rarely photographed youngest son of former President Donald Trump is already 6 feet 7 inches tall — even though he only just turned 15. At 6 feet 7, Barron is already four inches taller than his dad, who is 6 feet 3. Teenage former first son Barron Trump was photographed in the Big Apple this week — towering over his 5-foot-11-inch mom, Melania. APBarron is the rarely photographed youngest son of former President Donald Trump.

Howie Kurtz on Donald Trump suing social media sites Twitter and Facebook for banning him, former NYPD Police Captain Eric Adams winning the Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor and a new book claiming Donald Trump praised Hitler. Follow Howie on Twitter: @HowardKurtzFor more #MediaBuzz click here

Fox News contributor Joe Concha ripped the media on "The Faulkner Focus" Tuesday for disregarding an Obama-era White House Ethics chief calling out Hunter Biden’s plans to sell his paintings to anonymous buyers at ‘inflated’ prices. JOE CONCHA: Maybe a reporter today, Harris, can circle back at today’s press briefing and ask the White House press secretary how the whole unwinding thing is going because obviously, it hasn’t happened yet. Look, it bears repeating that the White House ethics chief that has been criticizing Hunter Biden’s art sales served in the Obama Administration, so, this isn’t a partisan thing here, right? This was a precedent was set in October before the election when the "New York post" had the laptop of hunter Biden and had the contents of the emails showing influence peddling. You would think ABC, NBC, CBS, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN would report on this sort of stuff.

Attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at the United States Courthouse in New York, October 8, 2019. Michael Avenatti, the brash attorney who became a leading foe of then-President Donald Trump, faces criminal sentencing in New York on Thursday afternoon for a brazen botched scheme to extort athletic apparel giant Nike out of up to $25 million. Avenatti's troubles won't end after Manhattan federal court Judge Paul Gardephe sentences him in the Nike case, in which prosecutors have asked a prison term of around eight years. The 50-year-old California lawyer faces two more pending federal criminal trials. He gained widespread fame, and infamy, for his bombastic representation of Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump once years before he ran for president.

In McCarthy’s GOP, the attack on democracy is memory-holed, while a Fox News conspiracy theory is hyped. In McCarthy’s GOP, the attack on democracy is memory-holed, while a Fox News conspiracy theory is hyped. “I was shocked that she would accept something from Speaker Pelosi,” McCarthy said. I don't know.” (Far from being close to Pelosi, Cheney actually has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress.) It’s not clear whether the GOP leader intends to follow through with his threat.

The suit is predicated on the assumption that in booting Trump, these companies violated his First Amendment rights. Trump’s main difficulty here is that Facebook, Twitter and Google, while indisputably powerful, are private companies, not part of the government. Facebook, Twitter and Google by definition can’t trample on your First Amendment rights because only the government, and not corporations, can do so. Facebook, Twitter and Google have their own First Amendment rights to set the terms of their platforms’ use, free of government intrusion. Facebook, Twitter and Google offered Trump a significant megaphone.

A Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker requested "information and materials" from multiple counties for a "forensic investigation" of the 2020 election, marking the first step toward creating a copycat of the partisan audit in Maricopa County, Arizona. Like in Arizona, post-election audits by election officials showed no widespread fraud, but Trump and his allies are calling for more in-depth partisan investigations while calling into question several facets of the election, including the voting machines used. Not only is the 2020 election mentioned, but also the 2021 primary, during which there were problems with machines in Luzerne County. "This illogical, partisan effort to overturn the 2020 election will only lead to the decertification of voting machines that are compromised, additional expense for counties, and more partisanship that only seeks to undermine Pennsylvania’s elections. Washington Examiner VideosTags: News, Pennsylvania, 2020 Elections, Donald Trump, Election FraudOriginal Author: Mike BrestOriginal Location: Pennsylvania 'forensic investigation' seeks election materials

Trump supporters rally outside the ballot counting headquartersDemocracy relies on winners and losers - but there is a section of the US electorate that won't trust results when Donald Trump is the loser. About a dozen Trump supporters pray as the audit goes on"There's a lot of people in Arizona that questioned whether the 2020 election was done correctly and so the State Senate asked for an audit," said Ken Bennett, a former Arizona Secretary of State and an audit spokesman. The temperature outside the stadium stood at 111°F (44°C), but despite the sweltering heat, a dozen Trump supporters were gathered to pray. We just want the truth," said one of the men in the shade, surrounded by Trump 2020 signs. Signs hung up by Trump supporters outside the stadium where Arizona's 2020 election audit is taking placeYet the audit has become a regular stop on the campaign trail of Republicans trying to align themselves with Mr Trump and his supporters.

But that’s scheduled to change starting Oct. 1, when federal student loan payments are set to resume. That has many wondering whether President Joe Biden will extend federal student loan forbearance again. The answer: a big, fat “maybe.”Advocates Push for Another Student Loan Forbearance ExtensionAs one of his first moves as president, Biden extended the federal student loan forbearance through Sept. 30 to give struggling student loan borrowers some extra breathing room. Whether or not student loan payments restart on a tiered basis, borrower advocates are worried about the nearing deadline. The Loan Forgiveness Debate, ExplainedLeft out of Pandemic Relief, Private Student Loan Borrowers Are Still Struggling a Year Later© Copyright 2021 Ad Practitioners, LLC.

AP Photo/Manuel Balce CenetaA judge has put MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's lawsuit against Dominion on hold. A federal judge in DC is weighing whether to dismiss Dominion's original lawsuit. A federal judge in Minnesota has pressed pause on pro-Trump pillow mogul Mike Lindell's lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems. Lindell's countersuit, now on hold, doubles down on the false election claims and alleges that Dominion's lawsuit violated racketeering laws. Schiltz also, on Tuesday, put on hold a separate lawsuit from MyPillow against Dominion using the same reasoning.

SAN FRANCISCO — A new pack of gray wolves has been identified in Northern California, becoming the third pack to establish itself in the state in the last century, state wildlife officials and conservationists said. Gray wolves are native to California, but disappeared in the 1920s. The species is protected under the California Endangered Species Act. In January, the Trump administration removed endangered species protections from gray wolves, ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators. Scientists involved in the study said the findings should serve notice to wildlife managers in other states with wolves.

Trump revealed Wednesday that he is suing Facebook , Twitter and Google , as well as their respective CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, in class-action lawsuits. The suits want the court to order the media companies to let Trump back on their platforms. Legal experts doubt whether Trump's latest attack on big tech companies will succeed. The tech platforms are private entities, not government institutions, and therefore the plaintiffs' claims about constitutional violations do not hold up, Fitzpatrick said. "I think this is just a public relations lawsuit," Fitzpatrick said, "and I'll be honest with you, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends with sanctions against the lawyers for filing a frivolous lawsuit."

GETTR, the new social media platform launched by allies of former President Donald Trump, is facing problems with content moderation, illustrating the obstacles in front of conservatives eager for alternatives to Big Tech sites. In the past year, Republicans, most prominently Trump, have alleged social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter engage in unfair bias and censorship. But conservatives say GETTR is an example of how challenging it is to create a platform that adheres to the First Amendment. 1 most downloaded app on the Android App Store and Google Play with more than 1 million users, according to its founder Jason Miller , a senior adviser to Trump. Conservatives are also worried GETTR might only attract Trump supporters and Republicans, which could doom the platform.

As receipts seen by The Washington Post revealed, the former US president charged the Secret Service $10,200 (£7,400) for staying at his hotel in Bedminster. As a former commander-in-chief, Mr Trump has Secret Service protection paid for by the US federal government for life. The Secret Service have also incurred costs to protect Mr Trump’s adult children, who had Secret Service protection for six months following his departure from the White House in January. Secret Service agents are due to stay at Bedminster until July, although there is no confirmed date for Mr Trump’s departure from New Jersey. The Trump Organization and US Secret Service were approached for comment by The Independent.

Four of the Saudi operatives who murdered dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi reportedly received paramilitary training in the US under a contract approved by the State Department. Now a report claims that four of the dozen-strong “kill team” received paramilitary training in the United States, as part of a contract approved by the State Department. The New York Timessaid the men received the training from the Arkansas-based security company Tier 1 Group, which is owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. ? Trump says he is not satisfied with Saudi account of journalist Jamal Khasoggi's deathThe company has said the training, which included “safe marksmanship” and “countering an attack”, was intended for the protection of Saudi leaders. “The ruthless torture and murder of Mr Khashoggi shocked the conscience of people throughout the world.

Yet the audit has become a regular stop on the campaign trail of Republicans trying to align themselves with Mr Trump and his supporters. Delegates from more than 12 battleground states have visited the audit site in the last few weeks and many have called for something similar to be replicated in their states.

Donald Trump was fixated on intelligence that Saudi Arabian agents had used a bone saw to dismember journalist and activist Jamal Khashoggi when he was killed in 2018, according to a former official. His death threw the Trump administration’s Middle East plans and peace efforts into disarray. Was there a bone saw?’”Mr Trump reportedly said: “‘I’ve been in difficult negotiations. Lawyers for Hatice Cengiz, Mr Khashoggi’s fiancee, have since served MBS with a legal complaint – allowing proceedings against the Saudi royal to proceed. Ms Cengiz and members of a non-profit group the Saudi journalist established in Washington DC, filed a lawsuit against the crown prince, accusing him and others of the kidnap, drugging, torture, and assassination of Mr Khashoggi.

AdvertisementBarron Trump was seen towering over his mother, Melania, on Wednesday as the mother and son duo left Trump Tower, where the former first family has been staying while in New York. In photos obtained by DailyMail.com, Barron Trump, now 15, walked next to his mother and carried Melania's vintage limited edition orange Louis Vuitton x Richard Prince bag, while she toted a $11,000 black Hermes Birkin. Last month, former President Donald Trump told the crowd at the North Carolina GOP convention that Barron is now 6-foot-7 inches tall. 'For four years in the White House, it was never quite clear how much time she was spending at the White House or in a house in Maryland where she had settled her parents.' He also said New York prosecutors want Weisselberg to 'lie against Trump' and flip on the former president.

Donald Trump pressed Saudi Arabian leadership in 2018 on whether a bone saw was used to dismember the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Thursday report revealed. 'We're standing behind Saudi Arabia,' Trump said during a call, 'but we've got to get to the bottom of this.' Donald Trump pressed Saudi's several times on whether a bone saw was used to dismember journalist Jamal Khashoggi's body after after he was murdered. I've never had to take a bone saw,' Trump said at the time, according to Fontenrose. I've never had to take a bone saw,' Trump said of the intelligence, according to a Thursday report.

President Joe Biden has snapped at reporters who peppered him with questions about Taliban advances and the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Military leaders wanted to leave a larger presence in the country but Biden announced in April that he wanted all U.S. troops out by Sept. 11. And militants have exhibited weapons captured from Afghan forces to international journalists as they try to demonstrate their growing power. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden would meet his national security team for an update ahead of delivering his remarks. 'The president will make comments on our continued drawdown efforts and ongoing security and humanitarian assistance to the [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] and the Afghan people,' she said.

The White House helped broker the deal that would allow buyer's of Hunter Biden's paintings to remain confidential, despite widespread concerns it could lead to bribery and influence peddling, it was revealed on Thursday. 'But I also think it's ridiculous that Hunter Biden is even going forward with this sale as a first-time artist. All sales of Biden's artwork will be kept confidential - despite his alleged corruption over prior business deals in Ukraine and China. The Treasury Department advisory warned that the anonymity afforded to art buyers made it harder to track such illegal activity. 'Hunter Biden's Art Will Soon Hit the Market for Up to $500,000 Per Piece.

U.S. Capitol Police has said the security fencing would return if authorities believe there is an appropriate threat to the landmark building. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License PhotoSecurity fencing is seen around the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4. The 7-foot fencing and razor wire have been on the Capitol grounds since shortly after the January 6 attack. Some of the fencing has come down and the U.S. Capitol Police said the rest will be removed as soon as Friday. U.S. Capitol Police had initially proposed making the security fencing permanent, drawing pushback from some lawmakers, and in February said it should remain in place until at least September amid lingering security concerns.

The Lincoln Project, a group focused on antagonizing President Donald J. Trump during his re-election bid, is targeting corporations linked to Republicans who disputed the 2020 presidential vote and played down the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The group said on Thursday that it would start the campaign with television and online ads directed at Toyota, which it accused of donating $55,000 to 37 Republican Congress members who resisted certification of the 2020 election results. The Lincoln Project, known for its scathing anti-Trump videos and memes during the 2020 campaign, said it planned to release more ads in the following weeks naming companies that “have broken their pledges to withhold campaign funds to members of Congress who enabled, empowered, and emboldened former President Trump and the insurrectionists.”The first spot includes footage of a vehicle crash test interspersed with images of the Jan. 6 riot. A narrator warns Toyota executives that “if they don’t reconsider where they send their money, Americans will reconsider where we send ours.”

Though Mr. Podesta’s firm had disclosed the client under less-detailed congressional lobbying rules and retroactively registered with the Justice Department, that did not stop the special counsel’s office from subpoenaing the records and employees of his firm and others that worked with Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates. Mr. Podesta questioned the motives and methods behind the special counsel’s investigation. Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates were charged with unregistered foreign lobbying, tax fraud and other crimes in October 2017. Within a day, the Podesta Group’s bank, citing the special counsel’s investigation and the draining of the firm’s accounts to pay the staff’s legal fees, canceled its credit line, rendering the firm illiquid, Mr. Podesta said. He told his employees in a staff meeting that he was stepping back from the firm, citing attacks from Mr. Trump and his allies in the conservative media as making it “impossible to run a public affairs shop,” according to people in attendance.

Still, it’s not necessarily a stupid thing to use Big Tech as a punching bag, which is not a new thing for Mr. Trump and many others in politics. Florida’s governor and a potential 2024 presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, signed the equally performative Stop Social Media Censorship Act in May, which sought to bar certain social media sites from banning political candidates. Their longtime inaction has left consumers, including Mr. Trump, very few alternatives across a range of areas. Of course, ever the shortcut taker and consistently shoddy at execution, Mr. Trump has chosen to create a time-wasting circus when it comes reining in tech power, which is his modus operandi. Here’s what’s actually going on: Mr. Trump has behaved badly for years and now is paying a price he is trying to avoid, as always.

Trump filed lawsuits Wednesday against YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, each purporting to be a class action. “There's no Constitutional protection for using social media to incite an insurrection. First, that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are “state actors” and, therefore, bound by the First Amendment. And, in fact, it underscores the silliness of Trump’s obsession with eliminating Section 230 in the misguided hope of restoring his social media accounts. So if these lawsuits are so factually and legally shaky, why did Trump file them?

Latino Republicans are speaking out after an MSNBC contributor called Hispanic GOP gains in the 2020 election a "cultural identity crisis." Paola Ramos was responding to a Pew Research study that found former President Donald Trump gathered more Hispanic votes in the 2020 election than in 2016. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., and "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy called Ramos’ comments "insulting" and "slanderous." Countering Ramos’ commentary on MSNBC, Campos-Duffy said the Hispanic community is well-aligned with their values and overall identity. "The American-Hispanic community is on to it, and they're responding, and the left is mad."

Fox News contributor Lara Trump joined "Fox & Friends" Thursday, suggesting that critical race theory is teaching children to "judge people on the color of their skin" and stating it’s "dead wrong." The daughter-in-law of former president Donald Trump made these comments after the head of the teacher’s union, Randi Weingarten, accused Republican lawmakers of "bullying" teachers on race. It is her husband who is also the president of the United States, pushing critical race theory, not just in our schools, also in our military. But for anybody to suggest somehow that critical race theory is positive, to teach our kids to judge one another on the color of their skin, first and foremost, is wrong. We're going to stand up for our kids and we're going to push back on critical race theory.'

Parler interim CEO Mark Meckler argued on "Fox & Friends First" on Thursday that former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Big Tech companies "could break new ground." The lawsuit will be a class-action filing, with Trump as the lead plaintiff, claiming that he's been censored by the companies. Trump called social media companies "the de facto censorship arm of the U.S. Meckler said that he agrees with Trump "that the existing law says that the First Amendment protections do not apply in censorship by private companies." He then pointed to "a theory budding in academic communities," in which "large, all-encompassing social media companies, act as essentially a state actor when they censor people."

Hunter Biden is expected to sell some of his artwork this fall for as much as $500,000 — but he may never learn who buys it. Berges has previously said that Hunter Biden's artwork ranges in value from $75,000, for works on paper, to $500,000, for his larger paintings. Hunter Biden is also facing a federal investigation into his tax affairs. Hunter Biden's emerging art career comes as he has sought to take on a larger public role. Despite slow sales, Hunter Biden has said he is working on a sequel to his memoir.

Greg Abbott on Wednesday began a hurried second attempt to toughen election laws in Texas, weeks after Democrats’ dramatic walkout from the state capitol thwarted one of America’s most restrictive voting measures. Still, Republicans are expecting many of the sunken bill’s provisions to return once the special session begins Thursday. That previous bill, known as Senate Bill 7, included bans on drive-through voting, 24-hour polling places and empowered partisan poll watchers. The GOP’s overwhelming majority in the Texas capitol means an elections bill will probably pass, although Democrats have vowed to continue fighting and have not ruled out breaking quorum again. Dan Patrick, perennially viewed as pressuring Abbott from both the right and pro-Trump flanks, said hearings on a new elections bill in the state Senate will begin Saturday.

“The most important fact is that all the costs that are reimbursable by FEMA will now be reimbursed 100%,” New York City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, who sits on the Council’s Committee on Finance and represents the Upper West Side, told MarketWatch. “New York City’s outlook looks better with the new incarnation of Washington in the White House as well as on Capitol Hill,” said New York state Sen. John C. Liu, a Democrat who is the chairman of the New York City Education Committee and represents northeast Queens. Prior to the passage of the March stimulus bill, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a 2022 budget based on a projected $5.25 billion budget gap. “You’ve got a lot of money for the city, the state, the education system” from the latest stimulus, Champeny said. “If we can make the city safe, people are going to come to New York because it’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else.

Donald Trump GettyDonald Trump became distracted by the word "nuclear" during a press conference. "We don't use the word 'nuclear.' Former US President Donald Trump became distracted by the word "nuclear" during a press conference announcing his lawsuit against big tech firms. "So we don't use the word 'nuclear.' It is unclear what Trump was referencing or why he was insisting that he did not use the word "nuclear."

Indeed, there were calls for Trump’s removal from social media long before January 6, due to his repeated violation of these platforms’ published community guidelines. I also think that Trump’s complaints about social media, while based on false allegations, bring up some important questions about the power of big-tech and the need for some type of regulation. Figuring out a way to use social media to encourage spirited debates while minimizing toxicity and harm is hard and requires a great deal of thought. Lawsuits like the one that Trump has filed won’t solve the problems, but a national conversation about the role and power of social media is definitely appropriate. Disclosure: Larry Magid is CEO of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit internet safety organization that receives support from Facebook, Google, Twitter and other tech companies.

It occurred weeks after Biden made clear to Putin that the U.S. was growing impatient with cyberattacks emanating from Russia. The administration is mindful that punitive actions against Russia can escalate into tit-for-tat exchanges that heighten tensions between nuclear superpowers. The latest hack also comes after some Republicans accused the Democratic president of showing deference to Putin by meeting with him and making America weaker in the process. There are also practical limits to what the U.S. can do to thwart Russian cyber gangs. Nevertheless, the incident shows that ransomware attacks, even if they don’t target critical infrastructure, have the potential to be damaging when done on a massive scale.

According to a recently released financial disclosure report signed by the Democratic leader on July 2, Paul Pelosi, who owns a real estate and venture capital investment firm, exercised 40 call options to gain 4,000 shares of Alphabet at a strike price of $1,200. Paul Pelosi gained $4.8 million from the trade, which has since risen to $5.3 million, Bloomberg reported. The options, which have a June 2022 expiration date, suggest that Paul Pelosi expects Amazon and Apple to continue their gains. Late last month, the Judiciary Committee voted in favor of moving forward bills aimed at addressing concerns over a lack of competition amid the overwhelming influence of a small group of tech giants. The bills include one aimed at prohibiting platforms from giving their own products and services precedence, and another that would prevent tech giants from acquiring competitor companies.

Donald Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for its use of guest rooms at his New Jersey golf club in May, newly released records indicate. The Secret Service is required by law to pay whatever is required to rent rooms near its clients. Joe Biden is the only other protected person who has charged the Secret Service rent. During his vice-presidency, Biden charged a monthly rent of $2,200 for its use of a cottage on his Delaware property. However, since becoming president, Biden has not charged the Secret Service rent.

‘And prepare for the worst because it is coming!’Another Twitter user slammed Facebook for allowing BLM Utah to post the message. ‘Welcome racists,’ the account belonging to BLM Utah wrote in response to the backlash generated by its July 4th post. You will not be heard here.’The message continued: ‘You will be blocked and your comments will be deleted.’BLM Utah then thanked the commenters ‘for contributing to the re-election of AOC.’In another Facebook message, BLM Utah referred to its critics as ‘Karen.’‘Listen Karen,’ BLM Utah wrote. 'I am telling you when I see an American flag, I begin to feel fear for the simple fact that every time I am faced with hatred, it is at the hands of someone carrying an American flag.' Nir examined how the American flag 'once a unifying symbol' has become a divisive symbol in the United States along political party lines.

Commanders from the Hashed, which is integrated into state forces and has become a major political player, often praise the attacks -- without ever claiming responsibility. Experts warn that, even if neither side wants the conflict to escalate, the attacks have turned into a dangerous tit-for-tat violence. - 'Cycle to continue' -"We can expect the cycle to continue", said Marsin Alshamary, an Iraq specialist at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think-tank. Iraq researcher Hamdi Malik of the Washington Institute said recent attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Eastern Syria was a way of bolstering support. The Iraqi state has repeatedly condemned the rocket and drone attacks, but has been unable to put any of the perpetrators on trial, Alshamary said.

Vance—the author and Ron Howard muse turned GOP gubernatorial candidate—tried to repent for committing the cardinal sin of post-2016 Republican politics: having said anything slightly critical of Donald Trump in the past. Trump, Vance argued, was “unfit,” his attacks on immigrants were “reprehensible,” and his policies ranged from “immoral to absurd.” When it came time to offer an endorsement, Vance backed Evan McMullin. Vance’s decisions back then probably ensured he’d seamlessly float through the elite aeries to which he’d become accustomed. Republicans have been purged for less since 2017: In contemporary GOP politics, total allegiance to Donald Trump is mandatory. Vance is hoping to reinvent himself as a Trump Republican and has adopted the language of the new total culture war.

Today's Republican Party is a fascist, criminal, sociopathic, anti-democratic, white supremacist, theocratic, plutocratic and cultlike organization. As I have previously written, "white identity politics and white rage are more important than pocketbook issues for many of today's Republican voters." To work with Republicans is to legitimize them as responsible partners in government, when in reality today's Republican Party is an extremist, anti-democratic and white supremacist criminal organization. Today's Republican Party is ultimately incapable of being a partner in responsible governance. What does Roy's "18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done" mean in practice?

Ultimately, when Texas went to the Supreme Court on December 8 and asked it to overturn the election results in four swing states, South Carolina would join the suit. South Carolina was one of 17 states to sign onto an amicus brief in the case, signaling its support for Texas’ fight. And in the days leading up to his announcement that South Carolina would join that brief, emails show Wilson’s thinking, and the legal thinkers in his orbit. ‘The Highest Levels’Three days later, on Nov. 27, Brown was back in touch with the South Carolina attorney general. “In my personal capacity and on my own time, I communicated with Attorney General Wilson about legal and constitutional questions regarding the election,” he continued.

The sun rises while an Israeli army unit demolishes the house of Palestinian American Muntasser Shalaby using controlled explosions, in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, Thursday, July. Israeli forces on Thursday demolished the family home of Shalaby who is accused of being involved in a deadly attack on Israelis in the West Bank in May. Israeli forces on Thursday demolished the family home of Shalaby who is accused of being involved in a deadly attack on Israelis in the West Bank in May. Israel says Muntasser Shalaby carried out a May 2 drive-by shooting that killed Israeli student Yehuda Guetta and wounded two others. The case drew attention to Israel’s policy of punitive demolitions of the homes of alleged Palestinian attackers.

Republican Party members are silhouetted against the Republican National Committee (RNC) logo at the RNC annual winter meeting at a hotel in Washington. Jason Reed | ReutersTwo national Republican Party organizations rushed to Georgia's defense in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, which alleges that a recently passed election law violates voting protections for minorities. The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a press release Thursday that they were intervening to defend Georgia against the "politically-motivated lawsuit." President Joe Biden and other Democrats are "weaponizing the Justice Department by trying to strong-arm the state of Georgia into making its elections less secure," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement in the release. Pastor Timothy McDonald III speaks during a rally against the state's new voting restrictions outside the Georgia State Capitol, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 8, 2021.

That makes the initiative more of a digital sales tax for all firms, rather than one that solely targets tech companies — a key concern for Washington. As far as Washington is concerned, that should also include the EU digital levy. However, Commission officials are adamant that the EU levy as envisaged won’t discriminate against American companies or conflict with the G20 deal. If Washington decides to retreat from the global tax deal on account of the new proposals from Brussels, that would deal a heavy blow to Europe’s crusade against tax avoidance. “[The digital levy] will not create any form of discrimination and double taxation so I don’t see a risk of trade tensions because of this.”POLITICOPOLITICO

The NFAC is an all-black militia that began as a defense against far-right militias during the Trump administration. NBC’s Morgan Radford gives MSNBC’s Craig Melvin an inside look into the group.

That’s according to a new analysis from researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Chief driverIn all cases, the “chief driver” was the supplemental $600 weekly unemployment benefits that came on top of a state’s jobless benefits, the researchers said. The package authorized supplemental unemployment benefits through July 2020, $1,200 stimulus checks and potentially forgivable loans to small businesses. The CARES Act’s recurring jobless benefits “supported household resilience to a much greater extent” than the one-time direct checks, the researchers said. Economists say the labor shortage may be attributed to a mix of factors, like the jobless benefits sidelining would-be workers and a lack of childcare options.

Asian and Chinese-American Trump supporters rally in Manhattan in 2016Wu Qian can't take her eyes off her phone. She tirelessly checks a dozen Chinese-language Telegram chat rooms, where thousands of conservative Chinese-Americans discuss news, politics - and sometimes QAnon conspiracies. "They are very politically active, and often act collectively," Ms Wu says. Ms Wu doesn't post anything in the chat rooms. The fundraising message was shared in multiple Telegram chat rooms within hours, reaching tens of thousands of Chinese-American conservatives.

Dozens of congressional candidates planning challenges next year are promoting the false claims of election fraud pressed by Trump. But western Michigan does have one distinction: It is home to 20% of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump — that is, two of 10. Both men followed their impeachment votes with votes to create a bipartisan commission to examine the Capitol riot, two of 35 House Republicans to do so. “When Fred Upton voted to impeach President Trump, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me,” Carra said, sitting on a park bench in Three Rivers, Michigan. The anti-incumbent vote may be badly split, allowing Meijer and Upton to survive their primaries and sail to reelection.

Former Trump deputy national security adviser KT McFarland argued Afghanistan is part of China’s plan to expand its global power on FOX Business’ "Mornings with Maria" Thursday. Well, now America's built an infrastructure in Afghanistan and the Chinese are just going to come right in. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE…One, they're going to go after the rare earth minerals. China needs a lot of these rare earth minerals that Afghanistan has, China doesn't have. They would have a land-based route called the Belt-Road Initiative, and they're going to do a maritime route through the South China Sea.

But five months later, it was largely center-left Democrats whose wins helped flip the House of Representatives to their party in the general election. More moderate Democrats — and even some Republicans in Louisiana’s open primary — backed centrist candidate Troy Carter as he defeated fellow State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, a more liberal pick. But while moderate Democrats have racked up recent victories, some triumphant candidates are not so ideologically clear cut . When combined with New York City voters’ tendency to elect mayors with an emphasis on local issues and not ideological purity, it makes drawing national conclusions complicated. He then quickly pivots to, ‘but it can’t just be cops and Black people, we have to address Black on Black crime,'” Greer said.

Boris Johnson warned of "perils" on the ground as he signalled the end of the UK's 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan and promised not to turn his back on the country. He said the international military presence in Afghanistan was never intended to be permanent and there could "never be a perfect moment" to leave. Speaking separately, the UK's military chief, himself a veteran of the Afghan conflict, described the reality on the ground as "pretty grim". The chief of the defence staff insisted the 150,000 British military personnel who served in the country since 2001 should "hold their heads up high" over what had been achieved. It will retain a small number of military personnel to support a US-led effort to protect diplomats who are staying in the country.

The fencing installed around the Capitol after the January 6 riot will start being removed as soon as Friday, but most visitors are still not allowed inside the iconic building. The fencing installed around the Capitol after the January 6 riot will start being removed as soon as Friday, but most visitors are still not allowed inside'Although the temporary fencing will be removed, current building access restrictions will remain in place,' according to the memo. On April 2, driver Noah Green, 25, rammed into barricades outside the Capitol and killed Capitol Police officer William Evans.. 'The Architect of the Capitol has the ability to and will expeditiously reinstall the temporary fencing should conditions warrant,' according to the memo. The memo came six months after the attack and followed consultations with the Capitol Police Board, the Capitol Police and congressional stakeholders.

A veteran badly burned in an Afghanistan IED blast has slammed Twitter for flagging his July 4 post of him saluting in uniform as 'potentially sensitive content'. While the tweet itself was not restricted, the photo was slapped with a warning by Twitter reading: 'The following media includes potentially sensitive content.' 'Hey @Twitter, I didn't realize my face was 'sensitive content',' he tweeted Tuesday, sharing a grab of the tweet with the warning. Brown accused the social media giant of carrying out 'egregious and un-American actions' by 'censoring' his right to free speech. According to the Twitter Help Center, if a tweet is reported to contain sensitive content it is sent to Twitter for review which may label it as being potentially sensitive.

Donald Trump raged against his then-campaign manager Brad Parscale in the aftermath of his disastrous Tulsa campaign rally, complaining his top re-election official 'f***ed up everything.' 'Stupid, stupid, stupid . It was to be the first campaign event after the original round of COVID lockdowns and since Joe Biden secured the Democratic nomination. The Trump campaign blamed the 'fake news media' for 'warning people away from the rally' over COVID-19 and protests against racial injustice around the country. Ahead of the rally, Tulsa health officials warned there could be a spike in COVID cases from it - several Trump campaign staff members had to quarantine after it due to possible exposure.

He also currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Ohio Coal Association, which long had close ties to Murray Energy. Bob Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, died in October 2020. In exchange for the largesse, according to court documents, Householder used the speaker’s gavel to pass HB 6. Murray Energy of course didn’t get everything they wanted from the Trump administration. “Somebody like Mike Carey is absolutely the last person that should be a member of Congress—literally he’s the swampiest swamp creature around.”

Biden’s first successful federal judicial appointment was Regina Rodriguez to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on June 8. President Donald Trump’s (R) first judicial confirmation was on April 7, 2017, when the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. By the end of his first year in office, the Senate confirmed 16 of Trump’s judicial nominees. Keep readingNew Mexico Supreme Court Justice Barbara Vigil retiresNew Mexico Supreme Court Justice Barbara Vigil retired on June 30. All five New Mexico Supreme Court justices have been either elected as Democrats or appointed by a Democratic governor.

[Note: This article includes sexually explicit language and a gross screenshot from Gettr users.] It is the successor to, among others, Gab, a “free speech” platform frequented by neo-Nazis, and Parler, a dystopian hellscape I ventured into a year ago. What I found is that Gettr has the same exact problems that have tormented every platform in the history of the internet. Rep. Matt Gaetz got ensnared in a controversy when a Gettr account presumed to be a catfish called for pardons for the January 6 insurrectionists. The most revealing part of the Gettr experience wasn’t what was on the platform—but what wasn’t.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has rejected the idea that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president. A conspiracy theory about Donald Trump's reinstatement has gained traction among Trump supporters. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rejected the conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August. The conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will soon be reinstated as president has gained traction among several prominent Trump supporters, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and lawyer Sidney Powell. But, Greene said, she wanted to distinguish between believing the the election results should be overturned and any expectation that it would actually take place.

Yet even a bad lawsuit can make for a good talking point. In taking legal action, Trump is refreshing a narrative that has served him and other conservatives well for years: that the big social media platforms are biased against them. While evidence for the claim is hard to come by — some metrics suggest that conservative outlets actually find a larger audience on Facebook than liberal outlets do — it plays to the fear among many on the right that they no longer can speak freely. And it has helped to fuel a long-running Republican pressure campaign that seeks to deter social media platforms from enforcing policies on misinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence, policies of which Trump eventually ran afoul. By some accounts, that campaign has had a significant impact.

On Wednesday, Afghan officials said Taliban fighters had entered Qala-e-Naw, the capital of the Badghis province in the northwest of the country. "They’re spinning Afghanistan and trying to tell us that what we can all see happening isn’t happening," Roggio said. US FORCES PULL OUT OF BAGRAM AIR BASE IN AFGHANISTANThe administration insists it is not abandoning Afghanistan or its people. Kirby told Fox News that even after the U.S. pulls out, there will be continued assistance provided to Afghan forces. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMeanwhile, as the U.S. withdraws, Iran has emerged to host peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government.

The New York Times was ripped on Saturday for publishing a piece that suggested the American flag has become a symbol of divisiveness. "Reading the New York Times regularly is far more divisive than our American flag will ever be," ForAmerica responded. If the American flag offends you, move elsewhere," agreed Erick Erickson. Her argument was that Trump and many of his supporters have politicized the American flag. The flag isn't the only symbol of freedom that's been questioned by the media as of late.

New York (CNN Business) Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen called on US financial regulators to probe the disastrous IPO of Chinese ride-hailing company Didi. "The SEC should thoroughly investigate this incident to see if investors were intentionally misled by Didi's public disclosures," Van Hollen told CNN Business in a statement. Didi raised $4.4 billion by listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, marking the biggest US IPO by a Chinese company since 2014. Didi's market value tumbled to $57 billion by Wednesday's close, down from nearly $70 billion on its first day of trading. Republican Senator Marco Rubio told the Financial Times that it was "reckless and irresponsible" for Didi to be allowed to sell shares.

‘Deeply alarmed’: China now ahead of U.S. on privacy lawWelcome, China Watchers. Some in Congress are “deeply alarmed” that China is outpacing the U.S. on a national privacy standard. “The rest of the world is leaving us behind.”Congress has been slow-moving on a comprehensive national data privacy law, and the Biden administration has yet to formally call for such protections. But prospects for a national privacy law are looking worse by the day. But the imminent privacy law, the largest effort yet in a flurry of privacy-related activity in China, could be another step in that direction.

Donald Trump’s biggest challenge in his company’s looming criminal case may not be prosecutors, but rather himself. A new supercut video compiled by progressive PAC MeidasTouch highlights Trump’s past and present comments on taxes and the tax laws his company and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg , are accused of violating. Since that indictment, Trump has essentially claimed the tax laws his company is accused of violating were complex and impossible to understand. “I don’t even know,” Trump said at a rally after ticking off the various perks he’s accused of failing to pay taxes on. Does anybody know the answer to that stuff?”Turns out someone does: Trump himself, according to his own comments in the video above.

For one thing, if Newsom manages to beat back the recall, it won’t be with the support of 80% of Californians. (Feinstein’s attempted removal was rejected by 82% of San Francisco voters, to be precise.) Should Newsom prevail — which Reilly expects — “Gavin’s going to be reelected on the night of the recall,” he predicted. The effort to oust Feinstein was the kind of weird spectacle that helped give San Francisco its quirky reputation as the odd-sock drawer of America. We’re on the Marxist, Leninist, Maoist, Castroist side of most questions.”Which was pretty out there, even by San Francisco standards.

I've never had to take a bone saw.' We're standing behind Saudi Arabia ... but we've got to get to the bottom of this. In speaking with his team of national security advisers, Trump was stuck on discussing the bone saw. 'Have you ever had to take a bone saw into negotiations?' I've never had to take a bone saw,' Trump said of the intelligence, according to a Thursday report.

Taxpayers paid $10,199.52 in May for Secret Service agents staying at Trump's New Jersey club. The Washington Post reported the figures, part of a string of bills since Trump left office. Former President Donald Trump has charged the Secret Service $10,199.52 for rent at his New Jersey golf club in a single month of his post-presidency, The Washington Post reported. In total, taxpayers have covered more than $50,000 in Secret Service rent to Trump since he stepped down, the Post reported. Just before he left office in December, Trump's Florida residence Mar-a-Lago charged the Secret Service almost $16,000 while they protected the First Family over Christmas.

Former President Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter, and Google, claiming the tech giants violated his First Amendment rights by banning him from their social media platforms following the deadly January 6th Capitol riot. NBC News’ Danny Cevallos breaks down whether the former president has a freedom of speech case against private companies.

An Old Friend Of Law Enforcement, Biden Walks A Thin Line On Police ReformEnlarge this image toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images Win McNamee/Getty ImagesPresident Biden is trying to tread a thin, tangled line. "For people of my era, we still feel an affection for Biden," said Pasco, who's in his mid-70s, and points out that law enforcement skews young. But with such raw tensions, some in law enforcement and the civil rights community are not sure there is a middle ground to land on. But eliminating the doctrine of qualified immunity as it applies to rank-and-file officers is a nonstarter for some in law enforcement. Biden, no doubt, still has friends in law enforcement.

Enter email address Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. FROM THE ARCHIVESDuring their 90-minute performance in 1979, the Bee Gees included more than a dozen of their Top 20 hits. AdvertisementTimes pop music critic Robert Hilburn reported in the July 9, 1979, edition:“Thank goodness for the Bee Gees. (George Rose / Los Angeles Times)CALIFORNIA— Abandoned L.A. buildings have become MS-13 gang “destroyers” — places to sleep, party and kill. The multicolored design was trumpeted as reflecting the diversity of Los Angeles with punchier script and a tropical palette.

After all, this is a heavily Democratic state, and all the major replacement candidates are Republicans — and past supporters of former President Trump to boot. But for what it’s worth — which should be a lot — the candidate most qualified by experience to replace Newsom is a throwback Republican: Kevin Faulconer. Newsom is running against Trump, while Faulconer and other Republican candidates are trying to make the Sept. 14 recall election a referendum on the Democratic governor. If you’re going to run as a Republican for California governor, you’ve got to protect your right flank. Roughly 6 million Californians voted for Trump.

Advertisement“His method of governing is joined intimately with electioneering,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University who has followed Newsom’s political career. Newsom’s defense against the recall has been to tell voters everything he’s trying to do for them right now. The videos highlight the same budget proposals — stimulus payments, small-business assistance, housing for homeless people and universal prekindergarten. AdvertisementBeyond the ads and fundraising emails, Newsom hasn’t done much official, public campaigning against the recall. “Californians want to see their governor doing the job,” said Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom’s political campaign against the recall.

Last Tuesday President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers published a blog post warning everyone not to make too much of any one month’s employment report. As it happened, however, the report came in strong: The economy added an impressive 850,000 jobs. The job gain was especially impressive given widespread claims that businesses couldn’t expand because generous unemployment benefits were discouraging workers from taking jobs. Oh, and so much for Donald Trump’s warnings that there would be a “Biden depression” if he weren’t reelected. We’ve gained 3 million jobs since Biden took office, or 600,000 jobs a month.

Among the slew of signs seen at the Sarasota rally on Saturday headlined by former President Trump was the following, which caught our eye: "Make America Florida." State of play: Turns out, that's the name of a new political action committee, per Florida Politics. We couldn't find much about Melissa Peters, the woman listed in FEC documents as the PAC's treasurer, but the P.O. Box she used to register the committee is the same one used in the past by Evan Power, an FSU alum and chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. "Florida has become a model for the nation for conservative politics," Power told Axios.

(CNN) As they start the process of standing up a select committee to investigate security failings and circumstances surrounding the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol, House Democrats aim to use a strategy that avoids turning the investigation into a spectacle. They hope to keep some of their work behind closed doors, outside the glare of the fiery public hearings that defined the Republican select committee on Benghazi during the Obama administration. Select committee members met last week after Pelosi named them to the new panel, and then met virtually Wednesday to discuss strategy and make a plan for hiring staff. Last week, McCarthy said it was "shocking" that Cheney would accept a committee assignment from Pelosi, while accusing the speaker of playing politics with the select committee. Key Republican members could also be sought, including McCarthy and others who spoke to Trump as the insurrection unfolded.

We’ve all heard the old adage that “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”With Ashli Babbitt, Donald Trump and the GOP have found a perfect martyr to rationalize their perpetual victimhood and inspire future “freedom fighters” to assist in their full-scale assault on democracy. Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year old Trump and QAnon supporter, was also killed while participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection. On right-wing social media platforms she is being called “the first victim of the second Civil War” and a “freedom fighter.” Until last week, Sears and Kmart were selling “Ashli Babbitt American Patriot” T-shirts on their websites. Ultimately, the purpose of anointing Ashli Babbitt, and demonizing the officer who shot her in the process, is to justify the GOP’s goal of attacking our democratic institutions to ensure minority rule. A martyr like Ashli Babbitt is what they need to inspire future “freedom fighters” for the next coup.

Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. SubscribeThursday, July 8, 2021Quits have never been a bigger part of restaurant worker churnBy now, Morning Brief readers have likely become familiar with everyone's favorite hipster economic data report: JOLTS. It was one of former Fed Chair Janet Yellen's preferred sources of additional labor market data. The quits rate — which measures the number of quits relative to the total labor force — stood at 2.5% in May, down from 2.8% in April. Story continuesThe number of workers quitting jobs in the restaurant industry relative to the total number of separations in May hit a record high, another sign that leverage remains with employees in the early stage of this recovery.

But the result of the pandemic-induced recession is turning out to be vastly different for older workers than for their younger counterparts. “So the fact that boomers were staying in the labor force has been an important contributor to economy-wide growth. “But it’s really an important question.”For some older workers, it’s a quality-of-life issue: They have found being at home fulfilling. Reduced availability of older workers will complicate the Federal Reserve’s ability to steer interest rate policy and manage inflation. There are reasons to think the sharp break in older workers’ labor participation could be a lasting trend.

The trend marks a shift from the period after the 2007-09 Great Recession, when older workers often took such jobs and teens were sometimes squeezed out. The eruption of coronavirus produced a new low: Only 26.3% of teens had jobs last summer, according to the Drexel researchers. The U.S. economy includes fewer low-skill, entry-level jobs — ready-made for teens — than it did in the 1970s and 1980s. Foreign workers, brought in on J-1 work-and-study visas, typically filled many such summer jobs. In past years, for example, foreigners visiting the U.S. on visas took filled 180 summer jobs at Big Kahuna’s water park in Destin, Fla. Last year, there were just three.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has filed suit against three of the country's biggest tech companies, claiming he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored. But legal experts say the suits are likely doomed to fail, given existing precedent and legal protections.

Google retaliated against the lawsuit in a blog post: “Google Play … helps people download apps on their devices”, the search giant wrote. “If you don’t find the app you’re looking for in Google Play, you can choose to download the app from a rival app store or directly from a developer’s website. “Popular Android devices such as the Amazon Fire tablet come preloaded with a competitive app store and no Google Play Store”, Google also writes – although as of March 2017 the Google Play Store had approximately 2,800,000 apps, compared to 600,000 in the Amazon App Store, and that number has likely risen far more for Google than it has for Amazon. While Huawei has its own developing app store (the AppGallery), the company’s market share has declined nearly 60 per cent in Europe. "Google Play is not fair play.

For most of modern political history, a state party chair’s role has been confined to raising money and building an organization that can contact voters and elect candidates. ADVERTISEMENTIn Arizona, state Republican Party chair Kelli Ward has carried out a long-running feud with Gov. Asked in an interview in May about state House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R) and state Sen. Paul Boyer (R), two Republicans who oppose the recount, Ward laughed. “State party chairs are elected by the grassroots. The state Republicans who have adopted Trump’s approach, Vance said, are putting the broader party’s chances of reclaiming seats in the coming midterm elections at risk.

Although there’s hundreds of creators that I look up to on TikTok, one person stands out to me: Dave Jorgenson, aka, ”The Washington Post TikTok Guy.”Dave’s entire job is to make TikToks for The Washington Post. With TikTok, I’m actually able to create a 15 to 30 second video that’s actually about the news in real time. But, with TikTok, I’m getting immediate feedback, and most of the time, very positive feedback. Something we did more recently with The Washington Post was presidential TikToks. We are bringing The Washington Post to people, Gen Z, who may have not known anything about it until now.

But in PwC’s June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, half of all global consumers surveyed say they’ve become even more eco-friendly. Consumer packaged goods companies, retailers, and grocers have long been paying attention to their customers’ growing demand for eco-friendly products. As businesses continue to launch eco-friendly innovations in products, packaging, and production, some nuances in PwC’s consumer data might help leaders chart a path forward. Key survey findingsPwC’s survey reveals that consumers in the Asia-Pacific region are more eco-friendly than the global average. In PwC’s June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, half of all global consumers say they had become even more eco-friendly.

Hunter Biden’s case is much less far-reaching, but experts said it still must be scrutinized. “None of this gets close to the magnitude of the Trump problem,” Painter said. “But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do everything they can to not create the appearance that people are buying art just to ingratiate themselves with the Biden family.”

Brazil’s Congress is two months into an explosive investigation into far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s denialist handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. All the while, Brazil’s pandemic continues to wreak havoc on South America’s largest country. In the next two months, Brazil will likely surpass the United States as the global leader in COVID-19 deaths, one of the country’s top scientists projects. Brazil and the United States are the only two countries to have officially recorded more than 500,000 deaths during the pandemic. Whether Brazil ultimately passes the United States in coronavirus deaths doesn’t alter the scale of the tragedies that have hit both countries.

DelBene recalled celebrating on the steps of the Capitol with her allies on the child credit push after the one-year expansion passed in March and using that moment to make sure the benefits didn’t disappear in 2022. Democrats consider it “incredibly important to see that made permanent,” the chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition said. Few things are more popular than children and tax cuts — and not a single Republican can claim credit for the bigger child credit. The messaging arm of the House Democratic caucus has honed its outreach for months, with another nationwide push coming next week. And the caucus discussed the tax credit at every meeting it held last month, aides say.

In a rush of gubernatorial one-upmanship, National Guard troops and state police officers are being sent from around the country to fortify Texas and Arizona — sort of. When Trump first signed an order to deploy National Guard troops to the southern border, it was at a time when border crossings were at their lowest since 1971, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics. DeWine isn't the only Republican governor sending troops south — but most of the other recent announcements have been political theater, pure and simple. Last month, the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona asked states to send help in light of an emergency at the southern border. And isn't that exactly what men and women sign up for National Guard service to do?

China was indeed awakening, though less from “torpor” than from centuries of economic exploitation by Western powers and Japan. In the first half of the 20th century, China was looked upon as a great untapped labor market. As U.S. soldiers faced “battle-hardened veterans of China’s Red army,” Barron’s wrote in July, there was “panic buying” back home of “sugar, coffee, nylons, automobiles, tires, television sets, refrigerators,” and more. Relations reached a nadir during the Trump administration, which accused China of currency manipulation, provocatively referred to the Covid-19 virus as the “Kung Flu,” and began a trade war that continues. Yet the dream of opening the Chinese market to American business hasn’t died.

It is the first Chinese firm known to have pulled back from IPO plans since China's cybersecurity regulator toughened its approach to oversight last week with an investigation into ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc just two days after its New York debut. Beijing also said on Tuesday it would strengthen supervision of all Chinese firms listed offshore, a sweeping regulatory shift that triggered a sell-off in U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. Backed by Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd, LinkDoc filed for its IPO last month and was due to price its shares after the U.S. market close on Thursday. Eight Chinese companies including home service platform Daojia Ltd and Atour Lifestyle Holdings have made public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list in the U.S. later this year, a review of the filings showed. Analysts also note the tougher stance coincides with new U.S. regulations being rolled out that could see Chinese companies delisted if they do not comply with U.S. auditing rules.

(Rod Lamkey/CNP/Shutterstock)Khashoggi’s murder sparked a crisis inside the Trump White House. “If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it will be a terrible mistake.They’re buying hundreds of billions of dollars worth of things from this country. And I’m not going to destroy the economy for our country by being foolish with Saudi Arabia. It’s about America First.”Then-President Donald Trump talks to reporters about a meeting with the king of Saudi Arabia, Oct. 15, 2018. “I would say the relationship with Saudi Arabia is an important one,” Blinken said.

That you don’t need to be smart or experienced or level-headed or decent to win an election. You don’t need a rationale or a plan. Matthew McConaughey — yes, the actor — is polling surprisingly well as he mulls a run for for governor of Texas. Outsiders with no political experience have run for president from William Jennings Bryan in 1896 to Wendell Willkie in 1940 to Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996. AdvertisementBut in September 2015, a year before the Trump election, it was at some kind of crazy new high.

Economically-sensitive stocks are trading in the red this mornings as investor concern shifts to slowing growth signals amid the ongoing rise in Delta-variant coronavirus infections around the world. The Thursday Market MinuteGlobal stocks slide as growth concerns trump inflation fears amid the ongoing surge in Delta variant coronavirus infections. China lawmakers hint at rate cuts in the world's second largest economy as domestic demand slows and infection increases tame regional trade. Oil prices slump as demand concerns offset OPEC uncertainty ahead of Energy Department data on crude stockpiles later this morning. Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields trade at a five-month low of 1.261% in overnight dealing, while the dollar index slips 0.1% from its three-month high to 92.543.

To the editor: Jonah Goldberg complains that California’s single-party rule leaves Republicans with no alternative except a recall. I have an idea for the state GOP: Become an American political party living in the 21st century. The solution for California Republicans is not to complain about Democrats; it’s for them to fix their party. The California GOP doesn’t need recalls or petty grievances; it needs ideas, for a change. The expensive, gratuitous recall campaign against Newsom by the all-but-irrelevant California Republicans should not be without consequences should it fail.

In today’s deal, West led a spade against four hearts, and East took the ace and returned the deuce: queen, king. If he led a spade, South would ruff in dummy and pitch a diamond. MAKING FOURSo West tried leading the queen of diamonds, but South went right: He won with the king and led to his ten. DAILY QUESTIONYou hold: S Q 8 H K J 10 7 6 2 D A 10 7 C A 5. Your partner opens one spade, you respond two hearts, he bids three clubs and you rebid three hearts.

There is no way that first lady Jill Biden could do any worse than Vice President Kamala Harris. And Joe Biden, who created the border crisis when he trashed Donald Trump’s strict immigration policy, has not deigned to visit the border either. Democrat-friendly Politico wrote last week: “The handling of the border visit was the latest chaotic moment for a staff that has become mired in them. What could help save the day is a visit by Jill Biden, who is accomplished in her own right. Unlike Harris, Jill Biden is a warm, sympathetic and experienced figure who knows Joe Biden better than anyone else.

One of the Democratic shouting points during the Trump administration was the conditions in which migrants — particularly children — were detained on our southern border. If surges were to continue, then at least conditions for children would improve. The complaint describes a chaotic situation for the nearly 5,000 children housed in tents at the facility in May. The complaint also said contractors on site repeatedly fought attempts to help children at the facility access medical care. As border czar, Vice President Kamala Harris should have gotten the wheels in motion to better conditions for children long before this.

But only in 2019 after Trump tweeted at Megan Rapinoe did the disinformation-fueled bizarro world fully take shape around the USWNT. To anyone outside of the bizarro world, there’s an absurd irony to lies designed to paint the USWNT as lacking American values. And that’s when I first stumbled into the USWNT bizarro world of right-wing disinformation. The host then pulled out a popular lie about the USWNT and women’s soccer: the men’s World Cup earns more money than the Women’s World Cup, thus the women don’t deserve more prize money. In bizarro world, the USWNT is hostile to Christianity.

Amid the backlash, Mr. Amash left the Republican Party in 2019 to try to run as an independent. Then, when Mr. Amash found no quarter, he retired. But Mr. Meijer will have his name, the support of the Republican apparatus and a formidable money advantage. “Was he necessarily the leader on moving the Republican Party in a direction? I can’t speak to what his internal conversations were,” Mr. Meijer said.

“All members are in the tunnel under” the Capitol read the message Mr. Caldwell received as he neared the building. In the years since Mr. Trump won the 2016 election, Facebook has struggled with the role it played in his rise and in the growth of populist leaders across the world. Facebook’s problems were features, not bugs, and were the natural outgrowth of a 13-year partnership between Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive and one of its founders, and his erudite business partner, Ms. Sandberg, its chief operating officer. The interviews paint a portrait of the Trump presidency as a trying period for the company and for its top leaders. The Trump era tested a central relationship at Facebook — between Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Zuckerberg — and she became increasingly isolated.

Melania Trump 'happiest with family' and 'knows how to handle her life', says sourceAdded: 08.07.2021 2:30 | 23 views | 0 commentsMELANIA TRUMP is "happiest when she is with her own family members, including her son", a source close to her husband has said.

Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesRudy Giuliani’s election lies on behalf of Donald Trump have cost him the ability to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C.On June 24, an appellate court in New York suspended his law license, because of conduct that “immediately threatens the public interest,” the court said in a 33-page decision. On July 7, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled that Giuliani would not be able to practice law in the district as long as the suspension in New York is upheld. Andrew Giuliani, Rudy’s son and current Republican candidate for governor, posted a statement about his father’s suspension. Earlier this hour, 5 Leftist judges decided to suspend my father @rudygiuliani’s law license. Here is my statement: pic.twitter.com/A3O0buL6LG — Andrew H. Giuliani (@AndrewHGiuliani) June 24, 2021

"There are legislators, mostly from the Republican party, who are currently bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching kids honest history," Weingarten told the audience. "Look, maybe they are just trying to raise the temperature on race relations because of the next election," she continued. In her remarks during the opening session of the conference, she touched on how, "culture warriors are labeling any discussion of race, racism or discrimination as [critical race theory] to try to make it toxic. They are bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history." The rhetoric around teachers getting bullied has been a common theme during the first two days of the conference.

President Joe Biden taunted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday for having acknowledged his home state of Kentucky will receive money from the Biden administration-backed American Rescue Plan -- despite McConnell not having voted for it. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega asked the president about remarks McConnell made Tuesday on his infrastructure packages. "Mitch McConnell says you're in for a heck of a fight on this one," Vega said to Biden. MORE: Lawmakers face time crunch on infrastructure deals"Mitch McConnell loves our programs," the president said with a smile. Biden taunts McConnell for 'bragging' about relief bill he voted against originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The president and chief executive of an international reproductive rights non-profit has warned that the American anti-abortion movement has significantly radicalized and is working to spread its ideology around the world. The comments came as pro-gun anti-abortion theocratic militant groups who seek to prosecute women who have abortions under murder statutes have gained increasing legislative influence in the US. “What they’re militant about is defying the courts, defying the constitution and defying the rule of law,” she said. “From the insurrection we saw on 6 January to the racial uprisings to the uptick in anti-abortion legislation [in the US],” she said. Kumar added that, while the most militant groups have small direct memberships, their ideology has proved sufficiently appealing to attract legislators and new followers.

Donald Trump’s biggest challenge in his company’s looming criminal case may not be prosecutors, but rather himself. A new supercut video compiled by progressive PAC MeidasTouch highlights Trump’s past and present comments on taxes and the tax laws his company and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg?, are accused of violating. Since that indictment, Trump has essentially claimed the tax laws his company is accused of violating were complex and impossible to understand. “I don’t even know,” Trump said at a rally after ticking off the various perks he’s accused of failing to pay taxes on. Does anybody know the answer to that stuff?”Turns out someone does: Trump himself, according to his own comments in the video above.

As Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., said in May, “There's no way this party is going to stay together without President Trump and his supporters." As president, Trump only cared about helping the GOP insofar as it boosted him, whether politically or psychologically. Less discussed was Miller or the Ohio GOP Senate candidates seeking to replace the state's retiring incumbent, Rob Portman. But as Trump increasingly trains his fire on Republicans, the cracks in the “Trump can do no wrong” strategy are starting to show. Trump’s actions arguably cost Republicans both races and control of the Senate.

Iran has taken steps to enrich uranium metal to a 20 percent purity and manufacture nuclear reactor fuel, the United Nation’s top nuclear watchdog announced Tuesday. With the use of "indigenously-produced uranium" Iran will reportedly use fuel to supply the Tehran Research Reactor, but the U.S. and allied nations have called the move "worrying." BIDEN SAYS IRAN WILL NOT GET A NUCLEAR WEAPON ON HIS WATCHUranium-235 can be used to fuel nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors that run naval ships, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Iran has no credible civilian need for uranium metal R&D and production, which are a key step in the development of a nuclear weapon," the group said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThere are no set plans for direct talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Views of the United States and China have diverged sharply in parts of the world. This analysis focuses on public opinion of the U.S. and China in 17 advanced economies in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Positive views of the United States have rebounded while views of China remain largely negative. In many places, these unfavorable views are at or near historic highs, though they are largely unchanged since last year. In fact, except for Japan, no public views the United States’ handling of the virus as better than China’s.

Standing alongside the president on that day when America’s drug war officially began was John Erlichman, White House counsel and Nixon confidante. Three years later, they launched a relentless expansion of the drug war, policing, and prisons. In the 20 years since the drug war took final form under Clinton, politicians have made some relatively inconsequential reforms. So, even 50 years later, this country is still fighting a war on drugs and on nonviolent drug users. In a 2018 plebiscite, Florida voters restored electoral rights to that state’s 1.4 million ex-convicts, including 400,000 African Americans.

Donald Trump filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google on Wednesday, accusing the companies of violating his and other conservatives’ First Amendment rights. But winning these lawsuits seems to be beside the point for Trump. Shortly after he announced the lawsuits, Trump started sending “breaking news alert” text messages directly to his followers that asked them to donate to his Save America PAC. Prosecutors allege that Weisselberg and Trump’s company did not pay taxes on $1.7 million in indirect employee compensation. But there’s no doubt that at least for now, these lawsuits serve as a welcome break from news of Trump’s tax-related legal affairs — as well as a prime opportunity to raise some cash.

But this REvil ransomware attack is one of the biggest yet. “Responsible countries need to take action against criminals who conduct ransomware activities on their territory,” Biden said after the meeting. Foreign cooperation, Painter said, was a key component to making progress, as both the ransomware groups and their victims exist all over the world. When you’re lining up for gas because of a ransomware attack, and you can’t get your food because of a ransomware attack, that brings it home as a priority. Jen KirbyYou also mentioned the United Nations and its norms, but are they just a step behind all of these ransomware groups?

In the two years since the 2019 decision in Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck came down, lower courts have applied its reasoning specifically to reject First Amendment claims filed by conservatives against social media platforms. Federal cooperation and coercionBesides the “public forum” claim, Trump’s lawsuits allege that the social media companies are state actors in part because they acted in coordination with federal officials. Trump has defined the proposed classes in his lawsuits as all US-based members of the platforms he’s suing who “had their access to their social media accounts wrongly restricted or curtailed” from June 1, 2018, through the present. Trump’s cases don’t include a definition for what it means to be “wrongly” kicked off of a social media platform. Federal circuit courts have split on whether these laws can apply to cases in federal court.

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2021. A White House official said Biden would update the American people on the situation and that no major policy pronouncements were expected. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups. Some Republicans are criticizing Biden for the pullout, although Trump had also sought to end American involvement in the war. Biden met Afghan leaders on June 25 and said U.S. support for Afghanistan would be sustained despite the pullout.

Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who publicly sparred with then-President Trump before criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent to fame, faces sentencing in one of those cases Thursday. AVENATTI SENTENCING POSTPONED UNTIL JULY 9 IN NIKE CASEProsecutors have requested a "very substantial" sentence, citing the U.S. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. On Tuesday, Gardephe rejected a request by Avenatti's lawyers to toss out his conviction in the Nike case on attempted extortion and honest services fraud charges. In written sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Avenatti tried to enrich himself by "weaponizing his public profile" to try to force Nike to submit to his demands.

More recently, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group reported a “likely association” between the vaccinations and cardiac inflammations in a small number of younger Americans. Such glitches were hardly surprising, given the unprecedented goal of vaccinating more than 300 million Americans in less than a year. Of course, the Democrats are not innocent of taking political advantage of vaccine efforts. The Biden administration built upon those efforts, expanding vaccination sites, convincing vaccine makers to increase production and constantly urging compliance. But the vaccination numbers are lower for younger Americans and in many Southern and mountain states.

Lawyers, reporters and other people who still have access to social media went to town Wednesday on former President Donald Trump’s moonshot lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google. He says the companies violated his right to freedom of speech by disabling his social media accounts in January. — George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021It’s stupid on so many levels it’s head-spinning. — George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021It’s insane enough that he’s claiming Facebook’s a state actor. — Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) July 7, 2021And finally, critics poked fun at the on-brand, motley crew of lawyers Trump assembled for the case.

Avenatti faces sentencing Thursday over a year after a jury concluded he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, attorney Michael Avenatti, speaks outside court in New York. Avenatti faces sentencing Thursday over a year after a jury concluded he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti’s lawyers said six months in prison and a year of home detention was enough punishment. ADVERTISEMENTIn written sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Avenatti tried to enrich himself by “weaponizing his public profile” to try to force Nike to submit to his demands.

An Appeals Court Has Suspended Rudy Giuliani's Ability To Practice Law In D.C.Enlarge this image toggle caption Mary Altaffer/AP Mary Altaffer/APA Washington D.C. court has suspended the law license for Rudy Giuliani, former President Donald Trump's attorney, just weeks after New York similarly took action against him. Giuliani's law license will remain suspended in the nation's capital pending the resolution of his case in New York, according to the D.C. appeals court. The suspension by a New York court two weeks ago and now a D.C. court stems from Giuliani's attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He was a part of a major effort by Trump's campaign to undo President Joe Biden's victory in November. Giuliani made no public statement regarding the D.C. court suspending his law license, but he did retweet a post on Twitter criticizing the temporary suspension as "just another gross miscarriage of Justice."

America's White Christian Plurality Has Stopped Shrinking, A New Study FindsEnlarge this image toggle caption Chris Seward/AP Chris Seward/APTwo dramatic trends that for years have defined the shifting landscape of religion in America — a shrinking white Christian majority, alongside the rise of religiously unaffiliated Americans — have stabilized, according to a new, massive survey of American religious practice. White evangelicals began aligning politically with Republicans during the 1980s, meaning millennials were the first generation to grow up seeing the Christian right as the most public expression of religion, Jones says. The survey is called The 2020 Census of American Religion. On the Republican side, the preferences of white evangelicals loom large, even as the overall number of white evangelicals in America continues to decline. The findings show that historical forces — like slavery in the South, the Civil War dividing white Protestants, and 19th century immigration patterns — continue to shape the geography of American religion, Jones says.

But five months later, it was largely center-left Democrats whose wins helped flip the House of Representatives to their party in the general election. More moderate Democrats — and even some Republicans in Louisiana’s open primary — backed centrist candidate Troy Carter as he defeated fellow State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, a more liberal pick. But while moderate Democrats have racked up recent victories, some triumphant candidates are not so ideologically clear cut . When combined with New York City voters’ tendency to elect mayors with an emphasis on local issues and not ideological purity, it makes drawing national conclusions complicated. He then quickly pivots to, ‘but it can’t just be cops and Black people, we have to address Black on Black crime,’” Greer said.

It occurred weeks after Biden made clear to Putin that the U.S. was growing impatient with cyberattacks emanating from Russia. The administration is mindful that punitive actions against Russia can escalate into tit-for-tat exchanges that heighten tensions between nuclear superpowers. The latest hack also comes after some Republicans accused the Democratic president of showing deference to Putin by meeting with him and making America weaker in the process. There are also practical limits to what the U.S. can do to thwart Russian cyber gangs. Nevertheless, the incident shows that ransomware attacks, even if they don’t target critical infrastructure, have the potential to be damaging when done on a massive scale.

Ten years ago: Former first lady Betty Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93. Atlantis thundered into orbit on a cargo run that would close out the three-decade U.S. space shuttle program. Ohio State vacated its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and a victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, as it responded to the NCAA’s investigation of a memorabilia-for-cash scandal. Ten states (Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming) sued the federal government over rules requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms conforming to their gender identity, joining a dozen other states in the latest fight over LGBT rights. (Nebraska, which led the effort, later asked to drop the lawsuit after the Trump administration ended the protection.)

On Wednesday, Beijing continued its crackdown with a collection of fines against 22 companies over alleged breaches of antitrust laws. We will see a lot more Hong Kong floatings and more dual listings. “The biggest concern is that the power of these technology companies is becoming more and more concentrated. Whether it's Alibaba, Tencent, JD, Baidu, Huawei, these companies have massive power. The crackdown on Didi has drawn comparisons to late last year when Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba, saw its massive planned Shanghai and Hong Kong listing thwarted.

A White House official said Biden would update the American people on the situation and that no major policy pronouncements were expected. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups. Some Republicans are criticizing Biden for the pullout, although Trump had also sought to end American involvement in the war. Biden met Afghan leaders on June 25 and said U.S. support for Afghanistan would be sustained despite the pullout. The United States plans to leave 650 troops in Afghanistan to provide security for the U.S. Embassy.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will not be held in supermax prison conditions if he is allowed to be extradited to the United States, American officials have assured British authorities. The judicial office said Wednesday that the appeal had been granted and the case would be listed for a High Court hearing. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied extradition on health grounds, saying Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Moris, who has two young sons with Assange, said outside the High Court that the WikiLeaks founder was 'very unwell' in prison. She added: 'Six months ago, Judge Vanessa Baraitser blocked the extradition of my partner, Julian Assange, because consigning him to the US prison system would have amounted to signing his death warrant.

One of Donald Trump's three golf courses in New Jersey has agreed to pay a $400,000 fine for breaking the terms of their liquor license and serving a customer, who later crashed his car and killed his father. Andrew Halder, now 41, had been drinking at the Colts Neck course on August 30, 2015, before getting behind the wheel of his car and flipping it, killing his father, Gary. Halder was already drunk when the Trump staff served him alcohol, and he was given drinks other than beer from a cart on the course. Colts Neck club will pay the $400,000 penalty, which is equivalent to 6.5 per cent of its total revenue in 2020, according to Trump's presidential disclosure filings obtained by The Washington Post. It will also lose its right to sell alcohol from carts on the course until December 31, settlement papers said.

In the clip, Windsor poses as a fierce opponent of abortion who speaks with Youngkin about so-called fetal heartbeat bills and defunding Planned Parenthood. He hasn’t been very straight with voters but this much is clear: he stands with Donald Trump and the extremists in his party. The short answer is in this campaign, I can’t,” Youngkin replies. “Glenn Youngkin wants to defund Planned Parenthood and ban abortion,”McAuliffe wrote on Twitter. “If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s now admitted he’s lying to voters about his radical views.

Mike Pompeo will tell you, lies are much safer than the truth. Matt Walsh knows that the truth is in fact more dangerous than any gun. We all know that’s a lie… but on the other hand, who knows what risk truth carries? Old people understand the truth about the fragility of life and stay safe. Waves come and go, but the more people who are safe, the more people stay safe.

Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson, a distant heir to the Swanson frozen-food fortune, is as slimy and indigestible as a pile of cream chip beef on toast (ask your veteran grandparent). It has gotten to be an almost nightly event of being subjected to the blank incredulous stare of Carlson while liberal news anchors tell us what we already know, Tucker is an intemperate liar. Tucker has as much as admitted that he is a shill and a liar. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal was accused by Mr. Carlson as having extorted Donald Trump and stated it as fact, “Remember the facts of the story. Ignoring a liar until he or she becomes a danger may find us one day standing on the steps of the Capitol against poles, bats, and bear spray.

From his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort, Trump delivered a nearly hour long address to reveal his intention to file a lawsuit against "Big Tech" companies, Twitter, Facebook, and Google. We're asking the district court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to social media companies' illegal, shameful censorship of the American people. So many people have said to me, 'Please sir, do something about big tech. This is more conspiracy mongering that now includes a cabal comprised of the government, tech companies, the media, and Democrats. “President Trump is filing a LAWSUIT against Facebook and Twitter for UNFAIR CENSORSHIP!” it proclaimed."

https://t.co/OvQ7puPMXC — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 7, 2021REPUBLICAN ADAM KINZINGERx Republican Adam Kinzinger: "I think the vast majority, if not all of them—my colleagues, believe that this was a Trump-incited insurrection. https://t.co/qusixoEHmG — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 7, 2021TEXASx Former Marine Derrik Gay is launching a challenge to Republican Beth Van Duyne, the first Democrat to declare his bid for the Texas 24th. https://t.co/zBbniSnatz — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 7, 2021WEST VIRGINIAx Republican Gov. https://t.co/Vx7lVtYkeK — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 7, 2021MONTANAx Montana Republicans have passed voter restrictions that could have stark effects for Native American reservations. https://t.co/jrLPCs5Anx — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 7, 2021x Assuming the lawsuit advances (which is a big if), Trump will have to give sworn testimony about January 6 https://t.co/olegHBbqQN — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) July 7, 2021

I’m running to remove my radical right delegate, Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper), from the House District 30 seat. Two weeks ago, the Culpeper County GOP leadership attempted to bar a reporter from entering a public event in a public building. After the event, the committee chairman called the reporter and asked her not to report about his confrontation with her. Republicans idea of “free press” is just like Trump’s. This is the Trump way: attack and ban the press, trample the Constitution, and promote the Big Lie.

Section 230 is a section of the United States Communications Decency Act that generally provides immunity for website platforms from third-party content. Section 230 is a section of the United States Communications Decency Act that generally provides immunity for website platforms from third-party content. Trump’s delusion is that the National Guard in the US operates like national guards in other nations more susceptible to military coups. Pelosi’s spokesman said she was not consulted about the National Guard before Jan. 6. And the former House sergeant-at-arms, who reported to Pelosi, testified that he had no discussions about National Guard troops with any congressional leaders before Jan. 6.

Today, Donald Trump himself filed a lawsuit against social media companies for banning him after he used his accounts to incite an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Today on The BradCast, we discuss both issues and more, including our conversation with a former Asst. U.S. Attorney who is dubious about the legal expert consensus that NY prosecutors plan to file additional charges against other "senior executives" at the Trump Organization. In fact, as one legal expert notes today, "Trump has the First Amendment argument exactly wrong. It was next to impossible to find coverage of the lawsuit today which quoted any legal expert unrelated to the suit or the disgraced former President, who supported Trump's legal theory.

“The list — not a test, the majority hastens to assure us, with delusions of modesty — stacks the deck against minority citizens’ voting rights,” Justice Kagan wrote. What this shows is that it is time to reform of the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justices are not the Pope, and even the Pope is not infallible. And in this instance, he is resurrecting states rights, a throw-back to what the Civil War was fought over (no coincidence). Voting rights are under multi-pronged assault (you might call it a conspiracy), in which the radical right-wing Supreme Court is one agent.

—In the six months since his coup attempt, many of us have begun to view Trump in the past tense. This is a fatal mistake. For groups like Patriot Front have been given license by Trump, and have been embolden by Trump. And they will not go away -- until we make them go away.

Indeed, it doesn't matter whether Republicans are playing offense or defense, whether there's an open seat or a GOP incumbent, Trump’s 2020 election conspiracies are dominating campaigns and defining Republican candidates in the process. Walker has avidly backed Trump's 2020 conspiracies but he isn't exactly known for his political prowess—and that has Peach State Republicans worried. But Ducey’s dreams were dashed by his inability to illegally overturn the 2020 election results in Trump's favor. In Nevada, former Attorney General Adam Laxalt has gone above and beyond to associate himself with Trump’s election fraud lies from the get-go. Democrats on offenseIn North Carolina, Trump upended the GOP field by endorsing Republican Rep. Ted Budd, who voted against certification of the 2020 election results.

Pillow Man Mike Lindell may be out of his wee, one-track mind, but one thing you can say about him is he’s determined. Lindell, a veritable cyclone of guileless zeal and inadequately masticated bratwurst detritus, is now guaranteeing that his upcoming cyber symposium will convince the Supreme Court to vote 9-0 to “pull down” the 2020 election and immediately reinstate Trump. The new red letter day is Aug. 13, the day after his symposium wows the wide world into acquiescence, forcing Joe Biden to pack up his hacky sacks, Che Guevara T-shirts, and horde of Chinese Communist body doubles and scurry back to the catacombs under Comet Ping Pong. But now an unlikely figure is throwing cold water on Lindell’s febrile fantasies. None other than Jewish Space Laser Queen Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s never seen a public health official who couldn’t somehow be compared to Hitler, is saying Lindell is way off base.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie HobbsThis should be interesting—well played by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is running for governor. The Arizona Republic is reporting that today Hobbs sent a letter to the state’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich, requesting that he investigate trump’s interference in the state’s 2020 election. Normally the Secretary of State would investigate election shenanigans, and if Hobbs did Republicans would say it’s a partisan witch hunt. But the Republican Legislature just passed a law that removes investigatory powers from her office—that is, until next year when they expect a Republican SoS. It’s all yours, GOP, investigate and alienate trumpers, or don’t investigate and tick off most general voters.

In the news today: Shocking absolutely no one, Donald Trump reportedly had high praise for Adolf Hitler. And speaking of Hitler, Majorie Taylor-Greene compares COVID-19 prevention to the Holocaust. Republicans continue to admit that their only goal on infrastructure is to delay and destroy any chance of a deal. Ohio’s Republican governor says it’ll be easy for LGBTQ people to get other health coverage after he screws them over in his budget. Crazed White-wing Mom claims CRT will make 'Antifa Kids' attack her children

The Washington Post reported two weeks ago that: "The term 'critical race theory' was mentioned just 132 times on Fox News shows in [all of] 2020. "This [Critical Race Theory thing] is the Tea Party to the 10th power," Steve Bannon told Politico recently. Twenty-three states have already banned teaching Critical Race Theory, and more are on the edge. And this isn't their first time trying to use Critical Race Theory as a political weapon. His daughter Rebekah has donated large sums of money to two think tanks that seem to be behind the newest weaponization of critical race theory.

But they were vulnerable to attack because of what is called the "New York Times problem." Indeed, the Obama administration, which prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all prior presidents combined, declined to indict Assange. If U.S. prosecutors could portray Assange as a hacker instead of a journalist, they could get around the "New York Times problem." Notwithstanding the Obama-Biden administration's refusal to charge Assange, President Joe Biden has refused to dismiss Trump's appeal of the British judge's denial of extradition of Assange to the United States. That is the basis for 17 charges against Assange under the Espionage Act.

The class-action suits would allow Trump to include others’ complaints against the social media sites over being “wrongly” banned. Nevertheless, the lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all allege that the companies should be considered in the same light as the federal government. “Trump’s Facebook lawsuit is filed in federal court in Florida,” Reuters reporter Brad Heath tweeted. “The only claims in the lawsuit are violations of the First Amendment (by Facebook [and other social media companies]) and that Section 230 is unconstitutional. That’s… an argument,” Gray wrote, heavily implying in his comments that the legal disputes of being improperly banned on social media were questionable, at best.

On Monday, a Honduran court issued the eighth guilty verdict in the March 2016 killing of Berta Cáceres, a world-renowned environmental and indigenous rights activist. David Castillo Mejía, a US-trained military intelligence officer and president of a hydroelectric firm, DESA, was found guilty as an “intellectual co-author” of the murder. Supporters of slain Honduran environmental and Indigenous rights activist Berta Caceres protest during the trial against Roberto David Castillo Mejia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Monday, July 5, 2021. The Cáceres murder exposed the fascistic forces that have been set up over decades by US imperialism to repress opposition to the interests of finance capital and that are aimed chiefly against the working class. With all candidates for the November presidential elections basing their campaigns on worn-out anti-corruption slogans, none offers any solution for the deepening social crisis.

Stella Moris, the partner of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, spoke outside Britain’s High Court yesterday warning he is “still at risk of extradition” after a judge decided the US government can appeal an earlier court ruling that blocked his extradition on health grounds. Baraitser ruled January 4 that Assange’s extradition to a US federal prison would be “oppressive” because of his compromised mental health and risk of suicide. Britain’s High Court has reportedly granted a right of appeal to the US on three grounds. They denounced his ongoing imprisonment due to the US appeal as “amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in the UK.”They noted: “Today, the UK High Court granted the US limited permission to appeal the earlier UK ruling against the U.S. extradition request. Assange’s freedom cannot be won via moral appeals to the state.

"We also built an app store, Google Play, that helps people download apps on their devices. "Google has not only targeted potentially competing app stores but also has ensured that app developers themselves have no reasonable choice but to distribute their apps through the Google Play Store." And in 2020, the Android app economy, including Google Play, helped create nearly 2 million American jobs." It’s about boosting a handful of major app developers who want the benefits of Google Play without paying for it," Google said. In a series of tweets, James said Google has left millions of Android users and app developers with no option but to use the Google Play Store.

Ashton Kutcher has a strong opinion about China's influence via social media. The 43-year-old actor recently appeared on the American Optimist YouTube channel and spoke about protecting children from various crimes on the internet. "If I'm China and I want to create a problem in that area of the world – specifically a Naval problem in the South China Sea, I would probably want to utilize TikTok in order to influence the minds of Americans …" said the actor. "My sense is that what social media is today is not what social media is going to be in five years," he added. "If the trendline continues on the path that it's on today, my kids will not be on social media.

Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald reacted to claims by Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the National Security Administration (NSA) wrongfully identified him through communications intended to set up an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." On Wednesday, Carlson alluded to an Axios report that laid out such allegations about the NSA. The host noted that he is not the first U.S. journalist to seek an interview with the leader of Russia. Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air. an emergency), NSA may not target a US citizen without a court order that explicitly authorizes the targeting."

During a press conference where he announced he's suing tech giants over his social media bans, Trump was asked about what he did to stop the Capitol riot. He dodged the question while calling it an 'unfortunate event.' We discuss that with Peter Baker of The New York Times.

Adams bested a large Democratic field in New York’s first major race to use ranked choice voting. Adams bested a large Democratic field in New York’s first major race to use ranked choice voting. More moderate Democrats — and even some Republicans in Louisiana’s open primary — backed centrist candidate Troy Carter as he defeated fellow State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, a more liberal pick. But while moderate Democrats have racked up recent victories, some triumphant candidates are not so ideologically clear cut . When combined with New York City voters’ tendency to elect mayors with an emphasis on local issues and not ideological purity, it makes drawing national conclusions complicated.

It occurred weeks after Biden made clear to Putin that the U.S. was growing impatient with cyberattacks emanating from Russia. The administration is mindful that punitive actions against Russia can escalate into tit-for-tat exchanges that heighten tensions between nuclear superpowers. The latest hack also comes after some Republicans accused the Democratic president of showing deference to Putin by meeting with him and making America weaker in the process. There are also practical limits to what the U.S. can do to thwart Russian cyber gangs. Nevertheless, the incident shows that ransomware attacks, even if they don’t target critical infrastructure, have the potential to be damaging when done on a massive scale.

Capitalism: God Wants You To Be RichHide caption The prosperity gospel is a mix of theology and capitalism that equates wealth with goodness, prosperity with virtue. Previous Next Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesHide caption Donald Trump and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale in 1988 in New York, New York. Previous Next Tom Gates/Getty ImagesHide caption Evangelist Oral Roberts seen praying for the healing of a baby in 1964. Previous Next Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesHide caption Televangelist switchboard in the 1960's. In what's known as the prosperity gospel, wealth is a sign of virtue and God's favor.

Rock musician Jaimoe Johanson is 76. Rock musician Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) is 60. Rock singer Joan Osborne is 59. Rock musician Jamie Cook (Arctic Monkeys) is 36. President Donald Trump threatened to hold back federal money if school districts did not bring their students back in the fall.

Even with its removal, the Capitol will remain closed to most visitors, the memo said. “Although the temporary fencing will be removed, current building access restrictions will remain in place,” according to the memo. The U.S. Capitol Police will continue to monitor intelligence information and potential threats, and new fencing could be swiftly erected, the memo said. “The Architect of the Capitol has the ability to and will expeditiously reinstall the temporary fencing should conditions warrant,” according to the memo. The memo came six months after the attack and followed consultations with the Capitol Police Board, the Capitol Police and congressional stakeholders.

(CNN) House Republicans are done pretending and aren't even trying to disguise their identity as the party of extremism, conservative media stunts and obstruction. And the California Republican is amplifying claims by Fox host Tucker Carlson that he's being spied on by government eavesdroppers. The impression was already fostered by House Republicans' efforts to shield the ex-President and rewrite history over the mob assault on Congress by his supporters. But the GOPs radicalism might also embolden progressives who think him naive to try to work with Republicans. Still, it's possible that some Republicans could peel off , even in the House, and back the infrastructure stand-alone package.

"With a team of high-powered attorneys, President Trump is now taking aim at what we have discussed at length on this program, that's Section 230 protections," Fox News host said on Wednesday’s "Hannity." READ IT: TRUMP LAWSUITS AGAINST TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE OVER ALLEGED BIG TECH CENSORSHIP"Supposedly they don't involve themselves in editorial, but in reality, they do," he said. "But this Section 230 is a legal liability shield and it protects these platforms. Hannity argued that Big Tech should be held to the same standards as broadcast news, editorial networks when considering the deployment of "so-called fact-checkers." "As President Trump just stated, well, if the tech giants can censor of the president, then there's nothing stopping them from doing it to you.

The president is continuing his infrastructure push going to an Illinois county of that Trump won to try to build a coalition of support. Could his plan work? Peter Baker of The New York Times and Ron Insana of CNBC join to discuss.

Tim O'Brien, who won a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, explains to Lawrence O'Donnell why Donald Trump will end up "as he always does, shooting himself in the foot" with his new doomed lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

According to Kelly, Trump interrupted a discussion of Nazi atrocities to say, "Well, Hitler did a lot of good things." Bender describes Kelly giving the former president a rapid history lesson and, per The Guardian's reporting , an "undeterred" Trump noting Germany's economic gains under Hitler. President Trump never said this. During the 2016 election, when Barack Obama was president, Trump said Putin has "been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader." What's most alarming is the possibility that this could be just what Trump, Greene and others want.

Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C., following a similar suspension in the state of New York. An appeals court filing released Wednesday said Giuliani, who was most recently the personal attorney for Donald Trump, is suspended pending “disciplinary proceedings” in New York. Giuliani’s license to practice law in New York was suspended in June, citing “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts” while working with Trump to overturn 2020 election results.

The effort is facing strident opposition from Democrats, and any Senate-issued subpoenas for a partisan Arizona-style “election audit ” will almost certainly be challenged in Pennsylvania’s courts. No county election board, prosecutor or state official has raised a concern over any sort of widespread election fraud in November’s election in Pennsylvania. Critics say an election audit is duplicative, given the legal requirements for each county and the state to review election results for accuracy and investigate any discrepancies. Mastriano led a Senate Republican Policy Committee hearing in Gettysburg in November to which Trump called in, and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was the featured speaker. In December, he signed a statement with 63 other Republican state lawmakers urging members of Congress to block Pennsylvania’s electoral votes from being cast for Biden.

Mastriano said that he was undertaking the review as chair of the state Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee, giving counties until July 31 to respond. A Philadelphia official confirmed to POLITICO that it had received a letter from Mastriano but declined to comment further. Mastriano's push is inspired by a similar effort in Arizona, which recently concluded its review of millions of ballots from Maricopa County. Trump himself has pushed for reviews in Pennsylvania and other states, attacking Republicans who did not back his calls. Biden carried Pennsylvania by 81,000 votes — more than twice the margin that would have triggered an automatic recount.

Democratic President Joe Biden won the state by about 81,000 votes, four years after Trump's victory there helped propel the Republican to the presidency. "The Department of State encourages counties to refuse to participate in any sham review of past elections," the statement said. Story continuesPennsylvania has already conducted a so-called risk-limiting audit of the 2020 election involving the statistical sampling of ballots. Mastriano said the state's audit involved a small sample of ballots and was not sufficient. Mastriano, seen as a contender for Pennsylvania governor in 2022, hosted a hearing on the 2020 election in November in Gettysburg at which Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, made a series of baseless statements about fraud.

In excerpts from the book published Monday, Wolff, 67, alleges that Trump, 75, took "sudden interest" in Maxwell when discussing who to pardon near the end of his tenure. Maxwell, 59, the former companion of Epstein, is currently awaiting trial on multiple charges for her involvement with Epstein's sex trafficking of minors. An excerpt from Wolff's book reads: "One 'oh, s---' moment involved [Trump's] sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein now facing years in prison over allegations of her role in the Epstein sex-abuse scandal. RELATED: President Trump Says the Explosive Fire and Fury Book Is 'Full of Lies'Wolff made several headline-making accusations about Trump in his bestselling bombshell book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House back in 2018. Trump has previously said that Wolff's book was "phony" and "full of lies, misrepresentation, and sources that don't exist."

“Well, Hitler did a lot of good things.”This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Bender writes that Kelly “told the president that he was wrong, but Trump was undeterred,” citing German economic recovery in the 1930s as Hitler rose to power. President Trump never said this. Click here to see all the times Donald Trump has gone off about celebrity women’s looks. Donald TrumpLaunch Gallery: These Trump Family Tell-All Books Are Impossible to Put DownBest of SheKnowsSign up for SheKnows' Newsletter.

Donald Trump is certainly good for the publishing industry as another book about the former president has hit bookstores. Michael Wolff’s latest publication, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, tackles a topic many people would like answers to — his connection to Jeffery Epstein. Once that court case officially begins, there are quite a few public figures who could be implicated by Maxwell. Click here to see Melania’s quotes about Donald Trump, from their marriage to the presidential race. Donald Trump, Melania TrumpLaunch Gallery: See Donald Trump & More of the Trump Family in This Photo AlbumBest of SheKnowsSign up for SheKnows' Newsletter.

In widely circulated video from that day, the 35-year-old Navy veteran appeared to try to breach a door leading to the House Chamber and was shot by an officer on the other side. There was an outcry online Tuesday after the “Ashli Babbitt: American Patriot” shirts were first discovered on the Sears and Kmart websites, though a few online observers pointed out the companies may not have been directly involved, but rather allowed third-party vendors to sell shirts on their platforms. A representative for TransformCo did not immediately respond to requests for comment from TheWrap. Sears did weigh in Tuesday with a tweet that read, “Thank you for bringing this product to our attention. This item is no longer available for purchase on Sears.com or kmart.com.”Read original story Sears, Kmart Pull Shirts Calling Ashli Babbitt an ‘American Patriot’ At TheWrap

Former President Donald Trump said protesters from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are being treated "unbelievably unfairly" in comparison with antifa and claimed he knows who shot Ashli Babbitt. A U.S. Capitol Police officer shot and killed Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran and Trump supporter, as she tried to climb through a broken door inside the building. "There were no guns in the Capitol ... except for the gun that shot Ashli Babbitt, and nobody knows who that man were [sic]." "Who shot Ashli Babbitt?" Story continuesWashington Examiner VideosTags: News, Donald Trump, Capitol Hill, January 6, Riots, U.S. Capitol PoliceOriginal Author: Jeremy BeamanOriginal Location: Trump claims he knows who shot Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt

Conservatives are demanding to know the identity of the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol Riot in January. Conservatives and far-right activists are posting the identity of the cop they say killed Babbitt. Six months after the riot at the US Capitol, conservatives - encouraged by former President Donald Trump - are spamming social media with the alleged name of the police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt. Insider is not sharing the name of the alleged officer, as it has not been verified. The renewed online attention comes after Trump invoked Babbitt's name in a four-word email to his supporters last Thursday: "Who killed Ashli Babbitt?"

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's secretary of state on Wednesday asked the state attorney general to investigate whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law in their efforts to pressure Maricopa County officials after the 2020 election. Trump twice called Clint Hickman, who was then the Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, in the days before Congress certified President Joe Biden's victory, the Arizona Republic reported last week. Giuliani also called Republican supervisors. Ward texted them aggressively, at one point telling Hickman, “We need you to stop the counting," according to public records. A spokesman for Brnovich, Ryan Anderson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Johnson, according to CNN's KFILE, said at a Republican luncheon earlier this summer, “I think climate change is — as Lord Monckton said — bullshit.”"By the way, it is," Johnson reportedly added. Lord Christopher Monckton is a British climate change denier and conservative political pundit. ADVERTISEMENTIn a statement to The Hill earlier Wednesday, Johnson said his opinions on climate change have been "consistent," through his years in public life. "I am not a climate change denier, but I also am not a climate change alarmist," he said. Or President Biden saying the 'greatest threat' to U.S. security is climate change."

A Cleveland man has been charged with threatening to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "committing treason" against the US, court documents show. "You tell that dirty f—–g c— I’m gonna work her over with brass knuckles," Staudohar said, the affidavit shows. "And by the time, I’m done … I gonna beat [the congresswoman] to death with brass knuckles," Staudohar continued, according to the affidavit. Staudohar, who has been charged with interstate threatening communications, faces up to five years in prison if convicted, WEWS-TV reported. Messages left for a spokesman for Pelosi and a federal public defender for Staudohar were not returned Tuesday, the website reported.

Donald Trump filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google on Wednesday, accusing the companies of violating his and other conservatives’ First Amendment rights. But winning these lawsuits seems to be beside the point for Trump. TakeOnBigTech.comShortly after he announced the lawsuits, Trump started sending “breaking news alert” text messages directly to his followers that asked them to donate to his Save America PAC. Donate NOW” — and it links to a website taking donations to the Save America PAC. The Save America PAC donation request.

But instead of giving Trump credit for this accomplishment, Biden has tried to play down Trump’s role, falsely declaring that “my predecessor — as my mother would say, ‘God love him’ — failed to order enough vaccines.” Indeed, Biden has tried to take credit not only for vaccine distribution but also vaccine development, noting in a recent speech that “the science was done under Democratic and Republican administrations.” This is childish. Operation Warp Speed gave us the vaccines. Trump led it. Acknowledging this fact does not require Biden to gloss over what he considers Trump’s other manifold failures in office or his terrible behavior after the election. Biden is the one who promised to usher in a new era of bipartisanship, so why can’t he admit his Republican predecessor’s role in delivering the vaccines that are saving us?

“It looks fishy in essentially a swap of tax fraud. That’s what makes me think that’s where they are going to look,” says former federal prosecutor Cynthia Alksne on Ivanka Trump’s potential legal exposure based on Trump Org payments.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has filed suit against three of the country’s biggest tech companies, claiming he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored. Trump announced the action against Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, along with the companies’ Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, at a press conference Wednesday in New Jersey, where he demanded that his accounts be reinstated. The suit against Facebook and CEO Zuckerberg says Facebook acted unconstitutionally when it removed Trump from the platform. As president, Trump last year signed an executive order challenging Section 230 that was seen as largely symbolic. Ron DeSantis, that sought to punish large social media companies like Facebook and Twitter for removing content or banning politicians.

President Donald Trump Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesFormer President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Facebook as he remains banned for at least another two years, and in it, he asserts the social media company is actually a "state actor." Trump on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, alleging all three companies have unlawfully censored conservatives, according to The Associated Press. His lawsuit targeting Facebook alleges it "rises beyond that of a private company to that of a state actor" because of its "willful participation in joint activity with federal actors," and it is, therefore, constrained by the First Amendment. That claim quickly drew raised eyebrows, with Columbia University's Jameel Jaffer asking, "In what constitution universe can it be the case that Trump wasn't a state actor when he blocked critics from his social media accounts but the social media companies were state actors when they blocked him?" The lawsuit also claims that Democrats in Congress "feared" Trump's "skilled use of social media as a threat to their own re-election efforts," and it asserts that Trump's Facebook page was a "digital town hall" where "no one was excluded, regardless of their views."

A new pack of gray wolves has been identified in Northern California, becoming the third pack to establish itself in the state in the last century, state wildlife officials and conservationists said. Gray wolves are native to California but disappeared in the 1920s. The species is protected under the California Endangered Species Act. In January, the Trump administration removed endangered species protections from gray wolves, ending long-standing federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators. Scientists involved in the study said the findings should serve notice to wildlife managers in other states with wolves.

In a visit of a little over three hours, Biden waded into far northwest suburban “Trump Country” — an area won by his Republican predecessor but represented by Democrats in Congress. The president promoted Pell Grants and pre-school, met with local college students, was greeted by friendly Democrats and razzed by Republican demonstrators. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood — were also on hand to greet Biden at McHenry County College, the community college where the president promoted his American Families Plan. Demonstrators waved flags bearing those words, as well as “Trump Country” and “Make America Proud Again” to cheers and honks from onlookers and passersby. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Biden and his fellow Democrats are in for “a hell of a fight” over the passage of the plan.

On June 23, Biden unveiled proposals to curb gun trafficking in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, D.C. “I know it’s a boring speech,” Biden said after his address at McHenry County College. Underwood represents part of Crystal Lake, and Biden’s recent travels have been to congressional districts with vulnerable House members like Underwood. Biden came to McHenry County to bolster Underwood, with that county, a sort of Trumpian stronghold, Underwood’s political Achilles heel. Her team wants to, in the pending remap, create a new congressional district that cuts out McHenry County.

Kamala Harris has not lived up to the hype. The two don’t often appear together and Harris has largely been silent on major decisions and important issues — like Biden’s handling of the pandemic. If it’s one thing we’ve learned during the Biden presidency, it’s you don’t want to mess with Jill Biden. White House officials reportedly described Harris’s operation as a “(bleep)show,” according to Axios. It’s not too late for Harris to turn things around, but with Biden hanging her out to dry, her hopes for