|
With just 99 days left until the election, President Trump and his Republican allies have recommitted to slashing unemployment benefits for millions of struggling Americans, and ignoring ongoing testing problems that have allowed the U.S. coronavirus epidemic to spread unchecked. The voters will go nuts for Melania’s new Rose Garden, though.
- The U.S. has seen a daily death toll of over 1,000 for five straight days, which has brought the total confirmed death toll to over 146,000. Florida’s case count has surpassed that of New York and now ranks behind only California’s, a state with nearly twice Florida’s population. Even Trump’s frequently tested inner circle has (once again) been breached: President Trump’s national security advisor Robert O’Brien has tested positive, reportedly after contracting the virus during a family gathering.
- Unlike O’Brien, most Americans don’t have the luxury of confirming their infection in time to isolate effectively. Testing backlogs at private labs and health agencies have led to disastrous delays, with many people waiting two weeks or longer for their results. Those delays render testing pretty much useless for slowing outbreaks, but it’s hard to imagine that mattering much to Trump, who couldn’t even be compelled to adopt his latest New Tone until his advisors hauled out maps of coronavirus spikes in red states, and projections of surges in midwestern swing states. Thus far, the administration has been content to kick back and blame the states for the delays.
- The White House was thankfully unsuccessful in blocking additional funding for testing in the GOP Senate stimulus plan, but that’s about the only good thing we can say about it. Republicans have proposed cutting unemployment payments down to $200 a week, because, in the words of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, “It just wouldn’t be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home.” Imagine using taxpayer dollars to keep taxpayers fed and housed during a historic national crisis, when we could be using them for corporate executive bonuses, or to fly Steve Mnuchin (net worth: $400 million) hither and yon in his special airplanes.
|
|
|
In addition to fighting for $600 unemployment payments, Senate Democrats will try to add a provision to limit the Trump administration’s deployment of federal goons into cities that don’t want them.
- That effort comes as protests heat up around the country in response to the violence in Portland, OR. At least 45 protesters were arrested Saturday in Seattle, WA, where thousands of people marched peacefully, and some stopped to set fires at a youth-detention center under construction. The Trump administration sent a team of border officers to Seattle “on standby” last week, and is, in all its de-escalatory wisdom, considering a plan to send 50 more DHS agents into Portland.
- If you’ll cast your mind back 500 years, you’ll recall that the Trump administration’s unconstitutional use of force against protesters began on June 1, when law enforcement officials tear gassed protesters in Lafayette Square so that Trump could hold a prop bible. DC Army National Guard commander Adam DeMarco is set to tell Congress on Tuesday that those protesters were peaceful, and that the administration did speed up their removal for Trump’s photo op, which contradicts Attorney General Bill Barr’s account of the day.
The somehow brand-new revelation that coronavirus could affect his voters was enough to keep Trump glued to his talking points for a day, but if the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that he’s pathologically incapable of changing course, even in the service of his own re-election. The country won’t begin to heal until Trump is voted out, and we’re in the final days to get it done → votesaveamerica.com.
|
|
|
We're officially less than 100 days away from Election Day, and between voter suppression and this pandemic, we’re up against a lot. But yesterday Vote Save America officially kicked off the Every Last Vote week of action to fight back and make sure that every last vote is counted.
Tomorrow is National Vote By Mail Day and if you head to votesaveamerica.com/everylastvote, you can request your vote by mail ballot, and while you’re there, you can sign up to call or text young voters in swing states and tell them to do the same. This election will come down to every last vote, and we can’t afford to lose a single one. Head here for everything you can do to help: votesaveamerica.com/everylastvote
|
|
|
Attorney General Bill Barr effectively outed an FBI source who had been promised anonymity. An expert in Russian politics who had been a key source for the 2017 Christopher Steele dossier agreed to tell the FBI what he knew about its contents, on the condition that the FBI keep his identity secret for his safety, and that of his family and sources. Last week, Barr ordered the FBI to declassify a redacted report about the expert’s interview, and fork it over to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who immediately made it public. A newly created blog published the expert’s identity within two days, and the Kremlin-controlled RT amplified it. Barr’s move not only put the source’s life at risk, but will make it harder for the FBI to gain the trust of potential sources in the future—something you’d hope an attorney general would prioritize over handing Republicans fuel to attack the Russia investigation, but here we are.
|
|
- The Supreme Court has rejected a Nevada church’s request to block the state’s cap on attendance at religious services. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the four liberal justices.
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called slavery a “necessary evil” while discussing his proposed legislation to ban schools from teaching the 1619 Project.
- John Lewis made a final trip across the Edmund Pettus bridge on Sunday. Today Lewis became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda, and you’ll never guess which racist asshole president declined to pay his respects. (OTOH, maybe better no respects than fake ones?)
- A man was fatally shot at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, TX, on Saturday night. Austin police detained and questioned the alleged gunman, but later released him “pending further investigation.” In Richmond, VA, white supremacists instigated riots while posing as Black Lives Matter protesters.
- Sinclair Broadcast Group planned to air a segment on its local station amplifying the dangerous and false coronavirus conspiracy theory that Dr. Anthony Fauci may have created the coronavirus. Sinclair backed down following a public outcry, but the controversy alone has already given conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits a wider audience.
- Major League Baseball canceled games scheduled for tonight after at least 14 Miami Marlins players and coaches tested positive for coronavirus. Probably a baseball-specific phenomenon, no reason to pause and rethink the whole reopening schools thing. At least the insane revival of professional sports has brought us these photos of baseball mascots having existential crises.
- Trump has backed out of throwing the first pitch at a Yankees game next month, citing his heavy coronavirus workload, which has not made a dent in his golf schedule.
- Legendary television host Regis Philbin died Friday night, at age 88.
|
|
|
A bipartisan group of political operatives, former government and military officials, and academics secretly gamed out what might happen in a contested election, and, uh, yikes. “All of our scenarios ended in both street-level violence and political impasse,” said Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law school professor, former Defense Department official, and ray of sunshine. Playing out a variety of possible scenarios in a war game, the group found that if Trump contests the results of the election—something he’s repeatedly suggested he’ll do—the legal system doesn’t provide many guardrails against a constitutional crisis, especially if Trump uses every apparatus at his disposal to hold onto power. It’s a possibility worth thinking about and preparing for, but the best way to circumvent it is putting in the work to assure that Joe Biden wins a decisive victory. votesaveamerica.com.
|
|
|
Ready to invest better? Then you’re ready for Motley Fool Stock Advisor. Stock Advisor is the destination for market-beating stock picks, investor reports, industry analysis, and a thriving, talkative community of investors ready to nerd out about stocks with you. Whether you’re looking to buy a new house, pay college tuitions, or retire early, Stock Advisor can help you on the road to financial freedom.
It's hard to believe, but 2020 marks the 27-year anniversary of the founding of The Motley Fool by those two legendary investors, David and Tom Gardner. And David and Tom have put together a heck of a run. They consistently lead investors to some of the most life-changing investment returns the market has ever seen. I’m talking, of course, about companies like:
Amazon (up 19,553%)
Netflix (up 28,119%)
Nvidia (up 2,544%)
Tesla (up 4,755%)
Shopify (up 2,868%)
Those are actual investment recommendations David and Tom have shared with The Motley Fool community over the years – and the list goes on!
You see, David and Tom Gardner independently research and pick their own stocks – what David picks has nothing to do with what Tom picks and vice versa.
However, every so often the two of them will land on the exact same stock. Many of us around the office have come to call this formal agreement between these two legendary investors the “All In” buy sign.
Invest better. Click To Learn More.
|
|
|
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate has begun final-stage testing, with 30,000 participants across the U.S.
A “Wall of Vets” has joined the front lines of the Portland, OR, protests.
The House approved a bill to create a National Museum of the American Latino, as part of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
A record number of Black women are running for Congress this year.
|
|
|
|
|
