Politics
The Daily Beast‘I Have 12 Masks’: Teacher Stuck Between Rogue Guv and Biker Shitshow
R.I.P.Ms. Hansen.1997-2020.Masks Save Lives.The words appeared on a tombstone-shaped sign 23-year-old rookie special education teacher Lizzie Hansen carried at a demonstration last month, urging her South Dakota school board to mandate masks when the school year begins.The board did go from terming masks “recommended” to deeming them “expected.” But it stopped short of what all the authoritative science says it should do.“It’s not a requirement,” Hansen noted in an interview.To make it worse, Hansen recently began spotting bikers rumbling through her part of eastern South Dakota on their way to the once legendary, and now notorious, annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis. A quarter-million people or more are currently in the middle of nine days of partying, often completely without masks or social distancing, as if there were no pandemic. She calculated the threat as if it were a school math problem a fifth-grader could handle. She began by estimating that only 1 percent of the partiers in Sturgis will be infected with COVID-19.“One percent of 250,000 is 2,500,” she said.This meant 2,500 people will be carrying the virus back the way they came. And they will have already proven themselves unlikely to wear masks or observe social distancing. Thousands more people they encounter are likely to be infected, she argued.“I’m terrified of what’s to come in the next couple weeks,” Hansen told The Daily Beast, asking that her school district not be named to avoid any impression that she was offering anything but her personal opinions.Anybody who doubts the danger need only go online and take a look at the videos and photos of Sturgis at full tilt in August 2020.But schools cannot offer the excuse made by a host of officials and sheriffs across the country who say they cannot enforce a mask mandate. Schools have dress codes.“If you can enforce a dress code, you should be able to enforce a mask requirement,” Hansen said.Students arriving at school wearing jeans with holes or a sleeveless blouse or some other proscribed item of clothing are liable to be sent home if they cannot get somebody to bring them an acceptable alternative.Under the board’s new mask code, students who arrive without a mask are liable to be sent to the office, at which time an administrator calls the parents. Should the parents say their kid does not have to wear a mask, it ends there. The kid is allowed to go about endangering others with an uncovered face from then on.That prospect has Hansen fearful for her students and for herself as she approaches the start of her first school year as a teacher.“It’s a day I’ve been dreaming about for four years, but this is not the way I thought it would go,” Hansen told The Daily Beast. “I am extremely excited, but also extremely nervous.”She has already planned one of the first classroom topics of discussion.“We’re going to be talking about why we wear masks,” she reported.Hansen said she goes on the assumption that the scientists, who have almost universally come around to embracing the use of masks to mitigate COVID-19, are right.“If they’re wrong, I look silly for a couple of weeks,” she said. “So, I don’t lose anything by wearing a mask.”She intends to teach that everyone wearing a mask for the sake of everyone else is an example of ubuntu, a southern African concept of collective humanity that means in part, “I am because we are.”Hansen’s effort, along with the safety of her students as well as kids throughout her state, has been jeopardized by Gov. Kristi Noem, who has actually said families should send their kids back to school without masks.South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s COVID-19 Inaction Has Made Her a Right-Wing Hero“We believe that when it comes to children, masks have the potential to do more harm than good,” Noem wrote in a fundraising email, which a spokesperson later said was “in-artfully crafted.”On July 29, Noem held a press conference in a fourth-grade classroom at a Sioux Falls elementary school, not far from where Hansen will be teaching. The venue had apparently been chosen because it looked particularly well prepared for reopening during a pandemic. A veteran teacher, Jessica Peterson, had enlisted her husband, Chris, in constructing plexiglass partitions for each child at her own expense. This extra effort to contain the virus imparted some irony when Noem again questioned the value of masks that can in fact help do the same thing.“The science has not proven what's effective and what isn't," Noem falsely asserted. In an Aug. 7 press release about their visit to that school, Noem made no mention of the teacher-conceived-and-financed partitions. She instead focused on something the teacher installed four years ago. And she used it to spin further the same reckless politics that led her to eschew masks and host Donald Trump’s fireworks extravaganza at Mount Rushmore on July 3—and endorse the mass gathering in Sturgis.“I saw a great bulletin board in a 4th grade classroom,” Noem reported. “It said, ‘Put your positive pants on.’ That message reminded me of a lesson that is often easy to forget: an optimistic outlook can be tremendously helpful when responding to life’s challenges. That’s especially true in the fight against COVID-19.”She launched into the standard Trumpian spiel that the virus is not so bad, that most of us are not at risk. She once again plugged the drug hydroxychloroquine despite it being discredited as a COVID treatment. She latched onto some early thinking and ignored more recent evidence when she baldly asserted, “Kids are less likely to contract the virus.”“So let’s remember to put our positive pants on,” Noem said by way of conclusion. “We need to emphasize facts, not fear. Let’s tell the story of what works in the fight against this virus, and let’s continue to get through this together.”But Peterson was quick to tell The Daily Beast that she put up that board years before COVID-19. She added that the affirmations that went up on it—“Life is Tough. So Are You”.. “Only You Can Control Your Future”...''Believe You Can...”—were intended to help her students handle everyday classroom challenges.“More for the kids who think math is hard or spelling it hard,” she said.“It was not intended for a pandemic.”Peterson, who will be teaching fifth grade in the same classroom this year, is as distressed as Hansen and many other teachers about the absence of a mask mandate. “They’ll have lists of students whose parents said their children will not be wearing masks,” Peterson said. “Once the parents say, ‘No mask…’”Peterson hopes the partitions will provide some protection even if a kid is on the list. Her own children, 8-year-old Cooper and 6-year-old Will, attend her school and will definitely be wearing masks when they return this year.“We’ll wear our masks even if somebody sitting next to us is not wearing a mask,” she reported. For her part, Hansen is particularly concerned about the virus at one of the two schools where she is assigned. It has kids from families who work at a meatpacking plant that was a COVID -19 epicenter. And some of the kids come from such modest means that she worries they will not be able to acquire clean masks.“I have 12 masks,” she said.Hansen shares Peterson’s view that positive thinking is powerful if it is well directed. Hansen actually started college wanting to become a lawyer. She then became close friends with a fellow student who has Down Syndrome. Her friend proved to be the most positive person she had ever met, seeming to see all the good in the world where too many others see all the bad. “It’s going to be a great day!” the friend exclaimed at the start of each new one.Four years later, Hansen is a special education teacher. As she begins the school year on Aug. 27, Hansen will join Peterson in putting on both her mask and her positive pants. Their way of positive thinking is to protect and educate their kids as best as they possibly can, grounding the class in truth and fact.“I’m going to be the best teacher they ever had,” Hansen said. “That’s the goal.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
PoliticoIs Lindsey Graham Actually in Trouble in South Carolina?
Anger at his support for Trump and a strong Democratic challenger have some wondering if the three-term Republican is in real jeopardy of losing in November.
PoliticoIlhan Omar faces toughest Squad primary test
Her race in Minneapolis and a controversial GOP runoff in Georgia headline another busy primary day.
Associated PressDems say Trump's payroll tax break weakens Social Security
President Donald Trump’s move to defer Social Security payroll taxes could be taking him into treacherous political territory. Democrats seized on it Monday as a signal that Trump would cut the social safety net and break a promise he made as a candidate in 2016 not to touch Social Security and Medicare. Deferral of the 6.2% payroll tax on employees for the last three months of this year could mean that up to $100 billion in payments to the Social Security Trust Fund would be delayed, according to an updated estimate by the nonpartisan Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates for reducing government deficits.
Associated PressDemocrats, Biden still juggling virtual convention details
Joe Biden’s presidential nominating convention will highlight the U.S. political spectrum from the left flank of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Republican old guard of former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Instead, Biden’s campaign and other convention planners are continuing negotiations with various power players over how to produce a truncated virtual convention with just eight hours of programming over four nights from Aug. 17-20. The virtual production is slated for 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT each day, leaving Biden and his aides an unusually narrow window to satisfy a range of egos within the party while trying to project a cohesive message to voters ahead of his general election campaign against President Donald Trump.
The Daily Beast‘Daily Show’: Why Cardi B Should Be Joe Biden’s ‘Wet-Ass VP’
Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to make his highly anticipated running-mate pick any day now. But before he does, The Daily Show made the case for one more out-of-left-field candidate.“All of those candidates are definitely qualified to be Biden’s VP,” Trevor Noah said Monday night of the presumed shortlist. “But when making his choice, Biden has to consider all of their potential landmines for him.” Susan Rice? “Benghazi baggage.” Kamala Harris? “Strict prosecutor.” Elizabeth Warren? “Could turn off moderates.” Gretchen Whitmer? “Is white.” The host joked that Biden’s decision is “like The Bachelor, but here there’s a chance a Black woman might get picked.” With all of that in mind, Noah decided to engage in some more “pointless speculation” with the help of correspondent Jaboukie Young-White. Why Conservatives Like Ben Shapiro Are Triggered by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’The Fierce Backlash to Kylie Jenner’s Cameo in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’“You know, Trevor, there’s a very obvious choice here,” Young-White said, arguing that Biden should be looking at someone “fresh” and “exciting.” For him the “only person” who can round out the Democratic ticket is rapper Cardi B. He predicted that she could attract young voters as well as progressives because she openly campaigned for Bernie Sanders during the primary. “And she brings in a huge community that has exploded since the beginning of quarantine, which is the horny community” he continued. When Noah protested that conservatives will be horrified by her new song “WAP,” AKA “Wet-Ass Pussy,” Young-White had the perfect retort. “Those conservatives are being hypocrites,” he said. “They were perfectly OK with Trump saying he would grab people by the pussy.” “So you really, really think that Cardi B should be Biden’s VP?” Noah asked. “Definitely, Trevor,” Young-White replied. “Think about how great it would be to see Cardi B on that stage, in that dress, debating Mike Pence. He would evaporate into a puddle of oat milk immediately.” “Look, clearly, Cardi is the pick that America needs,” he added. “She’s someone who can inspire people—inspire women to believe in themselves. And take what’s rightfully theirs. And she lets all of us know that in America, we’re ready for some big, veiny, throbbing, juicy structural change. Cardi B for W.A.V.P.: Wet-Ass Vice President.” For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
The Daily BeastBiden Aides Will Stiff-Arm GOP’s Burisma Probe, Sources Say
Two key witnesses in Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) probe into corruption allegations involving presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter are unlikely to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee before the 2020 presidential election even if subpoenaed, according to an individual familiar with the matter and another individual with knowledge of the probe. Johnson, the chair of the Senate committee, is leading two separate but related investigations, one into the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and one into Joe Biden’s former dealings in Ukraine and Hunter Biden’s financial relationship with Burisma, a gas company in the country. Johnson told The Hill he plans to publish a report on the Biden probe in the coming weeks, possibly by mid-September.Staffers working on that investigation have interviewed numerous witnesses, including David Wade, the former chief of staff to Secretary of State John Kerry, and Liz Zentos, a foreign service officer working at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. Zentos formerly served as the Eastern Europe director for the National Security Council, according to three people familiar with the matter. Johnson is expected to move to issue subpoenas for two other witnesses, former Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Amos Hochstein, a former energy adviser for then Vice President Biden. Per committee rules, Johnson would have to officially inform Democrats of his intention to issue the subpoenas. The ranking member, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), would have 72 hours to disapprove, which would trigger a committee vote. One individual familiar with the matter said Republicans on the committee, in anticipation of Peters’ disapproval, have in recent weeks honed in on securing the vote of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If the subpoenas are issued, individuals familiar with the matter say Hochstein and Blinken are unlikely to appear for questioning before the November election, particularly given recent acknowledgment by Democrats and by senior officials in the Trump administration that the probe involves materials from a known disinformation peddler. Those individuals pointed to a recent statement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that highlighted ongoing Russian efforts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, specifically to “undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy.” The statement pointed to Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker with close ties to Russia who has previously met with President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.Rudy Giuliani—and Russia—Pay Close Attention to This Ukrainian Conspiracy-Peddler“Pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption—including through publicizing leaked phone calls—to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party,” the statement said. “Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”For weeks now Democrats have accused Johnson and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is leading his own probe into the FBI investigation of Russia meddling in the 2016 election, of relying on information compiled by Derkach to help inform the probe. Johnson has consistently denied the allegations.On Friday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) published an op-ed in The Washington Post, claiming the Trump administration “is keeping the truth about a grave, looming threat to democracy hidden from the American people.” Blumenthal specifically referenced his attendance at classified briefings on attempts by foreign countries, including Russia, to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. “The facts are chilling,” he said, pointing to Johnson’s probe into the Bidens as a “forum for debunked conspiracy theories peddled by Kremlin proxies.”On Monday, Johnson released an 11-page letter explaining the two probes and defending the investigation into the Bidens. Johnson called out Blumenthal for his Post op-ed, saying the Connecticut senator’s allegations about him receiving materials from Derkach are unfounded.“It is neither me, Chairman Grassley, nor our committees that are being used to disseminate Russian disinformation,” Johnson wrote. “Instead, it is Democrats and the media that have been doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s work for him.” Johnson and Grassley signaled in a letter last week that they have received information from Andrii Telizhenko, a former Ukrainian diplomat who has worked closely with Giuliani. Telizhenko was previously involved in the release of recordings and transcripts of Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Telizhenko told the Post in July there would be additional call leaks this summer.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
ReutersOil edges higher on hopes for U.S. stimulus, demand recovery
Crude oil gained more ground on Tuesday, with prices underpinned by expectations of U.S. stimulus and a rebound in Asian demand as economies reopen. "Crude oil gained amid signs of further stimulus measures," ANZ said in a note. Prices found support after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that top congressional Democrats wanted to meet with him on coronavirus-related economic relief.
ReutersGold hastens retreat, dips below $2,000 on firm dollar
Spot gold was down 1.1% at $2,004.61 per ounce by 0727 GMT after falling as much as 1.9% earlier, accelerating a retreat from a record high of $2,072.50 hit last week. U.S. gold futures fell 1.3% to $2,013.10 per ounce. China on Monday had imposed sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens, including lawmakers from President Donald Trump's Republican Party, after Washington's sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials last week.
The Daily BeastTucker Warns ‘Demographic Shifts’ Will Make Cities ‘Broke, Dirty, and Dangerous’
Remember when Fox News star Tucker Carlson lost a big chunk of advertisers when he loudly asserted on-air that immigration makes America “poorer and dirtier”? It appears the top-rated cable news host was drinking from the same well Monday night.Continuing his show’s relentless campaign to demonize anti-police brutality protests and blame them for a recent rise in urban crime, Carlson kicked off his Monday night broadcast by blasting other media outlets for not dedicating enough airtime to a mass shooting in Washington, D.C., or looting in Chicago’s shopping district.“In other words, shootings are acceptable as long as the police don’t commit them,” Carlson grumbled after claiming D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was more concerned about coronavirus restrictions than violence in her city.“The media wholeheartedly agrees with this, violence does not bother them, they encourage it regularly,” he added. “Disobedience bothers them.”Carlson went on to criticize CNN for its negative coverage of tens of thousands of bikers crowding in a small South Dakota town amid a deadly pandemic, insisting it was due to the bikers being “unapologetically male.” The Fox host then wondered aloud why cable news didn’t cover chanting Black Lives Matter protesters marching through a rich Georgetown neighborhood on Saturday night.“A group of thugs marched on a residential street to make certain no one was sleeping,” Carlson huffed. “People who lived there must’ve been confused, as in Georgetown ‘Black Lives Matter’ yard signs are about as common as designer dog breeds.”“The residents apparently thought they had bought themselves peace by paying their indulgences with the correct political slogans, but they hadn’t,” he continued. “The fact their neighborhood is still safe is now considered a crime, and the mob made that very clear.”The ultra-right Fox News star spent the next few minutes contrasting the Chicago looting—which was likely sparked by false reports revolving around a police shooting—with racial justice protest movements, asserting they are all based on lies.“We are so used to violence justified by lies that few people seem to notice a difference,” Carlson exclaimed. “Speaking of, just this weekend, Joe Biden honored Michael Brown—that was the man killed in Ferguson, Missouri, after he violently attacked a store owner on tape and then a cop. Joe Biden apparently doesn’t remember that part. He seems to consider Michael Brown a martyr.”Pointing to the recent civil unrest and violence, Carlson then warned that the “aftermath” of all the “boarded-up windows and terrified neighbors” is that there’s “no question people will flee Georgetown” and other urban neighborhoods. He then dropped any sense of subtlety over the message he was delivering.“No matter what they tell you, no matter what signs they put in their yard, they will leave, and many of them have already left,” Carlson declared. “We are about to see one of the great demographic shifts in American history unless the insanity stops, and soon, our biggest cities will revert to what they were 50 years ago: broke, dirty, and dangerous.”“On the bright side, we will have resolved the gentrification problem,” he snarkily concluded.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
ReutersBiden expected to announce U.S. presidential running mate this week: source
Biden and his potential vice president will formally accept the party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for Aug. 17-20, and he is expected to announce his pick before it begins. The New York Times reported earlier on Monday that Biden's campaign plans to announce a decision as soon as Tuesday, but more likely on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the selection process. It noted that Biden has missed previous deadlines to announce his pick, and that the timeline could "slip again."
ReutersTrump: order on pre-existing conditions a 'double safety net' despite Obamacare law
President Donald Trump said on Monday an executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover patients with pre-existing conditions would emphasize Republican support for the practice even though it is already part of existing law. Trump said on Friday he planned to pursue such an order in the coming weeks. The Affordable Care Act, Democratic President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, prohibited insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
USA TODAYTrump abruptly taken out of briefing room as White House goes into lockdown following a shooting
President Donald Trump was abruptly taken out of the briefing room on Monday during a daily session with reporters.
ReutersUAW president, Sanders divided over convention event
The largest U.S. auto union and onetime Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders clashed Monday ahead of what is billed as this month's planned celebration of party unity to defeat President Donald Trump in the November elections. United Auto Workers (UAW) President Rory Gamble and Sanders sparred on Monday in a phone call over the senator's plan to have a former autoworker union leader nominate him for president at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), people briefed on the matter told Reuters. Democrats for months have been carefully crafting a made-for-television pageant to make their case in front of millions on national television for former Vice President Joe Biden to be elected.
The Daily BeastTrump Whisked Out of Strangest COVID Briefing Yet
The president was moments into a briefing that before long would become filled with familiar Trump mistakes and hyperbole when the scene was disrupted by something new, unexpected, and imminently concerning: a Secret Service agent who soon whisked the president and his staff from the briefing room. What became clear, only after the president returned to the briefing room later, was that there had been a shooting nearby, one that the president dubbed “an actual shooting,” that he said resulted in someone being taken to the hospital after apparently being shot by the U.S. Secret Service. But, after focusing on the shooting and taking a few questions on it, Trump returned to normal as he went through his coronavirus talking points. He trudged through the briefing as usual, touting vaccine candidates for the coronavirus pandemic, trumpeting his recent executive actions, calling on schools to reopen, and attacking former Vice President Joe Biden, his Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential race “I didn’t even think about not coming back,” Trump told reporters when asked why he came back to the briefing after the worrying scene. He was only able to provide scant details of the incident. “The suspect is now on the way to the hospital,” Trump told reporters. “I can’t tell you the condition of the suspect. There was nobody else injured. There was no other law enforcement injured.” Violent incidents involving the Secret Service are infrequent but not unheard of. An agent shot a Pennsylvania man in May 2016 when the man approached the 17th and E streets NW gate while carrying a .22 caliber gun. An off-duty agent shot a dog in a controversial incident in Brooklyn in January.Efforts to improperly access the White House grounds are more common, and the Secret Service arrested three people for scaling the fence in 2017 alone. Among the more serious incidents in the past decade were the shots fired at the building while then-President Barack Obama was away in November 2011, and a white minivan a woman crashed into the 17th and E streets gate in February 2018.When a reporter asked if Trump was concerned that the incident had come close enough that he had to be removed from the briefing room, he said he didn’t believe anything had been breached.As the president’s briefing continued, the Secret Service tweeted confirmation that “there has been an officer involved shooting at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. Law enforcement officials are on the scene. More information to follow.” Just before 8 p.m. the Secret Service gave an update, tweeting: “A male subject and a USSS officer were both transported to a local hospital. At no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger.”It didn’t take long before Trump tried to push the strangeness of the start of the briefing away as he returned to his familiar comforts. He mused about possible sites for his presidential nomination acceptance speech, which he had earlier tweeted were down to “the Great Battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the White House.” When one reporter asked Trump if he would have called on Obama to resign if he had been president when 160,000 people died as they already have in the United States during the pandemic, Trump answered, “No, I wouldn’t have done that,” before declaring he thought “it’s been amazing what we’ve been able to do.”If the country hadn’t shut down, he said, there could have been 1.5 million to 2 million people “already dead.” Trump added, “We’ve called it right, now we don’t have to close it, we understand the disease,” though the virus continues to kill and spread throughout the United States.“Nobody understood it because nobody’s ever seen anything like this,” Trump said. “The closest thing is in 1917, they say, right, the great pandemic certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people. Probably ended the Second World War, all the soldiers were sick. That was a terrible situation.”World War II began in 1939, while the pandemic he’s pointing to started in 1918. The president concluded things bizarrely by indulging in the Trump-era equivalent of comfort food, taking a question from One America News Network that allowed him to vent conspiracies about the Obama administration and criticize Susan Rice. The former national security adviser is considered a possible choice to become Biden’s vice presidential nominee. “Frankly, if he chooses her that’s fine,” Trump said before ending one of his strangest briefings yet. “But that’s a potential liability.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Associated PressTrump wants to host G-7 — and Russia — after election
President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to host the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations after the November presidential election and still wants to invite Russia, which was kicked out of the G-7 after it annexed Crimea. “I'm much more inclined to do it sometime after the election,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing, adding that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting could be held in person or via teleconference. In June, the European Union joined a growing chorus of G-7 members insisting that Russia must not be allowed back into the fold.
HuffPostEd Markey Slams Ted Cruz's Comments In Senator Spat Over Coronavirus Relief
"It's not a goddamn joke," the Democrat tweeted after the Republican said maybe everyone should get $1 million, three soy lattes "and a foot massage."
USA TODAYWho is speaking at the Democratic National Convention? Here's what we know so far.
Biden will accept the presidential nomination and attend the convention from Delaware. Other speakers will attend virtually as well.
Politico‘He better pick a Black woman’: Biden faces Whitmer backlash
African American activists and operatives say Biden would pay a steep price if he chooses a white woman for the ticket.
USA TODAYIt's decision time for Joe Biden: His VP pick could make history, with Harris, Rice among top contenders
Joe Biden has a crucial decision to make and the stakes are high for whichever woman he chooses as his running mate.
ReutersTencent Music revenue jumps 18%, beats estimates, as paid subscribers flock to expanded library
The strong performance comes amid a growing rift between Beijing and Washington that has overshadowed Chinese firms in the United States. Asked whether TME had a plan to deal with a recommendation from President Donald Trump's administration over auditing U.S.-listed Chinese firms, Chief Strategy Officer Tony Yip told analysts in a briefing that it was "premature" to speculate over a potential delisting. Controlled by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd <0700.HK>, TME's capitalisation on the New York market is about $26 billion.
USA TODAYBlack male leaders say Biden will lose election if he doesn't choose Black woman as VP
The urgency for Biden to choose a Black woman has gone from something that "SHOULD happen to something that HAS to happen," the letter said.
Yahoo NewsTrump says he is considering the 'Great Battlefield' at Gettysburg for his convention speech
President Trump tweeted on Monday that he is choosing between two locations, Gettysburg, Pa., and the White House, for his speech accepting the Republican nomination, slated for Aug. 27.
Associated PressGeorgia governor: School openings going well _ mostly
Georgia’s governor said Monday that the reopening of some of the state’s schools amid the coronavirus outbreak has gone well — except for the widely shared photos of students crowded together without masks. “I think quite honestly this week went real well other than a couple of virtual photos,” Gov. Brian Kemp said at a news conference with U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. Democrats strongly pushed back against the assessment that school reopenings were proceeding safely, blaming Kemp and President Donald Trump for failures.
Yahoo FinanceTrump's tricky tax ploy
By "deferring" the payroll tax, Trump is hoping to label Joe Biden a middle-class tax raiser if he lets the deferral lapse
“It may be a campaign tactic, but older workers, be forewarned. Ageism runs deep in our culture.”
“Genuine concerns about the capacities of people who want the world’s most powerful job mingle bizarrely with insults.”
“Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both old. But the media should not be making mental illness a campaign issue, on either side.”
“The Trump campaign is now betting his reelection’s already slim chances on Biden proving Trump’s diagnosis is right.”
“The nightmare scenario for Democrats is that, at a pivotal moment, Biden will struggle to put together a coherent thought.”