Breaking News Events

[homoe]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation’s biggest retreat yet as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol at such establishments. The two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either backtracking or putting any further re-openings of their economies on hold because of a comeback by the virus.

Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules. “It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” Abbott said. Abbott had pursued up to now one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any governor. The Republican not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

Texas reported more than 17,000 new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. In Florida, under GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, the agency that regulates bars acted after the daily number of new cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the record set just two days earlier.

[C0LLETTE]

[B]Indigenous Lives[/B

The police officer who shot and killed Chantel Moore during a so-called wellness check in Edmundston, N.B., wasn’t wearing a body camera, so it’s likely that many details of the encounter that left the 26-year-old Indigenous woman dead will never be known. Police say Ms. Moore, a member of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was brandishing a knife; Ms. Moore’s family say she was a slight, non-violent person, and that she was shot five times at close range.

But we do know that Indigenous women live particularly imperilled lives in this country, and that the police are too often part of the danger rather than a protection from it. We also know, that more than one-third of people fatally shot by the RCMP in the past ten years were Indigenous. We know that an Indigenous person is 10 times as likely to be shot dead by police as a white person in this country.

We know that the history of Indigenous women’s relationship with police, stewed in centuries of racism and sexism, has been marred by sexual misconduct, exploitation and a fatal lack of attention to the real dangers threatening them. This has been well documented, over and over again, But while the reports are being written and the press conferences held, nothing much actually changes to keep Indigenous women safe. So when Ms. Moore’s six-year-old daughter Gracie told one of her relatives that she doesn’t want to die like her mother, that’s not a child’s wild fantasy. That’s a calculation about the threats she may face one day as an Indigenous woman in this country."

Globe and Mail June 26, 2020

This is the story of indigenous lives since the 'White Man" got here,,,even before the African slavers added to the misery.

[Stone-Butch]

Good information COLLETTE. Indigenous people also have the highest rate of suicide and alcoholism. They can't buy or sell their property on the reservation as this is held in trust by the gov. They can't get a loan as they do not have collateral in the way of land to put up and if the bank can't take the home then it has no monetary value per se. Up into the early 70's many thousands of indigenous women were given hysterectomies often when they were in for appendectomies or if they had "female" problems then that was the solution. This was ok'd by the gov. of both Canada and the U.S.
Children were taken from homes and placed in residential schools where they were often beaten, sexually assaulted, forbidden to dance, sing or speak their own language, and taught that it was shameful to be "Indian". All were forbidden to do ceremonial dances and prayers up to today.

[homoe]

Native American activists are planning protests during President Trump’s planned July 3 visit to Mount Rushmore, already a longtime source of contention due to its location on sacred Lakota Sioux land.

“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the president of NDN Collective, a local activist organization, told The Associated Press. “It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”

[Stone-Butch]

That is a for sure moe. Not only was the land promised to the Sioux "forever" which meant till gold was found but that is one of the most sacred places. We can throw in also that two of the presidents (Jefferson and Washington) had their own parcel of slaves over 200. Now the faces can mock the Sioux and look down on the black Americans whos' ancestors were held by these men in slavery.

[homoe]

~~
Bring back memories of Nixon vs John Lennon doesn't it!

[C0LLETTE]

Lots of activity in the DOJ.

[homoe]

The Jacksonville order came on the same day the head of the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic is “not even close to being over.” The city of Jacksonville, Florida, where mask-averse President Donald Trump plans to accept the Republican nomination in August, ordered the wearing of face coverings Monday, joining the list of state and local governments reversing course to try to beat back a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Less than a week after Mayor Lenny Curry said there would be no mask requirement, city officials announced that coverings must be worn in “situations where individuals cannot socially distance.”

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany responded by saying the president’s advice is to “do whatever your local jurisdiction requests of you.”

Trump has refused to wear a mask during visits to states and businesses that require them.

In recent weeks, the Republicans moved some of the convention pageantry to Jacksonville after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina objected to the holding of a large gathering in Charlotte without social-distancing measures. The convention will be in late August.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has opposed a statewide mask requirement but said in response to Jacksonville’s action that he will support local authorities who are doing what they think is appropriate.

The Jacksonville order came on the same day that the head of the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic is “not even close to being over” and is accelerating.

“The worst is yet to come,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu. “With this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst.”

[homoe]

President Trump, confronted with a damaging report that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill American and allied troops in Afghanistan, declared Sunday on Twitter that he was never briefed about the finding by U.S. intelligence.

Democrats including Trump’s prospective presidential rival, Joe Biden, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized Trump’s seeming indifference to the explosive report in Friday’s New York Times. Neither Trump nor other administration officials have specifically denied the report, which has since been confirmed by several other news organizations.

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming joined in the criticism, saying that if the information was genuine, the White House needed to explain why Trump was not told, and why the administration has done nothing in response.

The core of the story is that U.S. spy agencies concluded several months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit had offered secret bounties for attacks on coalition troops. The matter was discussed in late March by the National Security Council, and European allies including Britain were also made aware of the findings, the story said. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the first word of the Russian plan came as early as January from military and intelligence officials in Afghanistan.

So far, the White House response to the story has not been to lay out any response to Russia, but simply to insist that Trump had not been personally briefed.

[C0LLETTE]

News Flash: " Canadians make millions selling their passports to Americans wanting to visit Europe. Canadian airport lounges load up on Budweiser, Coke Zero and Hawaiian Pizza.

[homoe]

A New York state judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a tell-book by the niece of President Donald Trump, which paints an unflattering portrait of her uncle and the family's history.

New York state Judge Hal Greenwald’s temporary restraining order blocks Simon & Schuster from "publishing, printing or distributing" Mary Trump's book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," scheduled to be released July 28. In the book, the daughter of Trump's brother, Fred Jr., paints as an "authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him."

Representatives for both parties have to meet on July 10 where the judge will evaluate Robert Trump's claims and decide whether to issue an injunction.

[homoe]

President Donald Trump expressed his support for more stimulus — potentially including a second round of checks and monetary incentives for Americans to return to work.

When asked by Fox Business News on Wednesday whether he supports another round of direct payments to Americans, he said: “I do. I support it but it has to be done properly. And I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats.” “I want the money getting to people to be larger, so they can spend it,” he said. “I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.”

[homoe]

Originally Posted by homoe

A New York state judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a tell-book by the niece of President Donald Trump, which paints an unflattering portrait of her uncle and the family's history.

New York state Judge Hal Greenwald’s temporary restraining order blocks Simon & Schuster from "publishing, printing or distributing" Mary Trump's book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," scheduled to be released July 28. In the book, the daughter of Trump's brother, Fred Jr., paints as an "authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him."

Representatives for both parties have to meet on July 10 where the judge will evaluate Robert Trump's claims and decide whether to issue an injunction.

As of July 1st
Harsh book about Trump family by president's niece, Mary Trump, can be published, judge rules.

OMG I can't keep up, my head is spinning!

[homoe]

Originally Posted by homoe

President Donald Trump expressed his support for more stimulus — potentially including a second round of checks and monetary incentives for Americans to return to work.

When asked by Fox Business News on Wednesday whether he supports another round of direct payments to Americans, he said: “I do. I support it but it has to be done properly. And I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats.” “I want the money getting to people to be larger, so they can spend it,” he said. “I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.”

Now when he says "quickly" I'm reading thru the lines as too that meaning in relative time to election time!

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that the White House is seriously considering another round of coronavirus stimulus checks for Americans on Thursday. “We’re going to seriously consider whether we need to do more direct payments,” Mnuchin told reporters on Thursday. On Thursday, Mnuchin said he’s discussing the need for future stimulus and is, “having conversations with certain members of Democrats and Republicans to get ideas.”

[C0LLETTE]

Oh, by the way, Hong Kong just disappeared.

You may have been distracted by other things, what with Canada Day celebrations and baseball’s pending return and all. Certainly you would not have been disturbed by anything your government did or said about it. But it is true: What once was the world’s freest city, a glittering tribute to the human spirit, has just been swallowed whole by Communist China, as surely as if troops and tanks had invaded.

The freedoms and autonomy of the former British colony, supposedly guaranteed under the agreement governing its handover to Chinese rule in 1997 – “one country, two systems” was the slogan – have been obliterated at a stroke. With the passage earlier this week of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong is no longer free or autonomous."

Andrew Coyne
Globe and Mail July 2, 2020

[homoe]

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has been hospitalized with COVID-19.

A spokesman confirmed the diagnosis Thursday afternoon, describing the 73-year-old as “resting comfortably” at an Atlanta-area hospital after his symptoms became serious enough Wednesday to require care, but not a ventilator.

Cain’s positive June 29 test came just over a week after he appeared at Donald Trump’s indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Addressing speculation he may have picked it up at Trump’s campaign event, Cain’s team said in a statement they are unsure how or where he contracted the virus.

“We honestly have no idea where he contracted it,” HermanCain.com editor Dan Calabrese wrote on the site. “I realize people will speculate about the Tulsa rally, but Herman did a lot of traveling the past week, including to Arizona where cases are spiking. I don’t think there’s any way to trace this to the one specific contact that caused him to be infected. We’ll never know.”

[C0LLETTE]

Australia's plan to consider giving safe haven to Hong Kong nationals under threat from draconian security laws has inflamed tensions with China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said cabinet would consider options after the United Kingdom opened a path to citizenship for millions of Hong Kong residents.
The Chinese foreign ministry hit back, urging Australia to look at the national security legislation in a "correct and objective" light.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia had similar perspectives to the UK about Hong Kong.

"We support the one country, two systems structure that was put in place," he told ABC television on Friday.

"We want to see respect for the basic law that underpins the way in which Hong Kong works as a unique but very important part of China."

Australia could fast track skilled migrant visas for Hong Kong nationals or offer safe haven through the refugee program.


SOURCE AAP - SBS

[homoe]

After Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a promise during a Fox News interview: “Senator Collins will be well funded, I can assure you.”

Maybe not well funded enough.

On Thursday, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, the most likely Democratic challenger to Collins, revealed she raised a whopping $9 million in the second quarter. Oh, and Gideon is set to receive an additional $3.5 million or more after she (presumably) wins the Democratic primary in the middle of July. A Federal Election Commission report filed that night showed Gideon with $5.5 million in the bank as of June 24.

Gideon’s financial advantage over Collins, who reported $5 million cash on hand, doesn’t guarantee a victory over the three-term Republican, who not long ago remained astronomically popular in the state and is trying to frame the race as a battle between a shaky upstart and a battle-tested veteran. But the Democrat’s financial advantage is the starkest example of the Trump-fueled wave of progressive energy and small-dollar donor cash that now threatens Collins ― and her party’s majority in the Senate.

“This is the hardest race Sen. Collins will ever have,” said Toby McGrath, a Democratic strategist who worked on President Barack Obama’s campaigns in the state and for independent Sen. Angus King, noting most public polls now show a toss-up race. “Single digits is not a place she’s ever been.”

Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy election Susan!

[C0LLETTE]

AND IN FRANCE.......

A special French court ordered an investigation Friday of three current or former government ministers over their handling of the coronavirus crisis.

COVID-19 patients, doctors, prison personnel, police officers and others in France filed an unprecedented 90 complaints in the Court of Justice of the Republic over recent months, notably over shortages of masks and other equipment as the virus sped across Europe.
The nine it deemed worth investigating target former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who resigned hours before the court’s announcement, Health Minister Olivier Veran or the former health minister, Agnes Buzyn.

They are accused of “failing to fight a disaster,” and could face up to two years in prison and fines, if tried and convicted.