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Category: Politics

As Americans fear for their lives and livelihoods, Trump stokes divisions and pursues personal vendettas

As Americans fear for their lives and livelihoods, Trump stokes divisions and pursues personal vendettas

The New York Times reports: Even by President Trump’s standards, it was a rampage: He attacked a government whistle-blower who was telling Congress that the coronavirus pandemic had been mismanaged. He criticized the governor of Pennsylvania, who has resisted reopening businesses. He railed against former President Barack Obama, linking him to a conspiracy theory and demanding he answer questions before the Senate about the federal investigation of Michael T. Flynn. And Mr. Trump lashed out at Joseph R. Biden Jr.,…

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Secretary of State Pompeo under investigation; Trump fires State Department Inspector General

Secretary of State Pompeo under investigation; Trump fires State Department Inspector General

Politico reports: President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months. Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night. The president said he “no…

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American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase

American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase

Adrienne LaFrance writes: The origins of QAnon are recent, but even so, separating myth from reality can be hard. One place to begin is with Edgar Maddison Welch, a deeply religious father of two, who until Sunday, December 4, 2016, had lived an unremarkable life in the small town of Salisbury, North Carolina. That morning, Welch grabbed his cellphone, a box of shotgun shells, and three loaded guns—a 9-mm AR-15 rifle, a six-shot .38‑caliber Colt revolver, and a shotgun—and hopped…

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Elizabeth Warren is making a case for herself as Joe Biden’s vice president

Elizabeth Warren is making a case for herself as Joe Biden’s vice president

Edward-Isaac Dovere writes: The coronavirus has transformed Joe Biden’s campaign, and his search for a running mate. And it has transformed Elizabeth Warren’s chances of being picked for the job. The Massachusetts senator and the former vice president don’t have much of a personal relationship. She was determined to run for president by swearing off big donors; the first event of his campaign was a high-dollar fundraiser at the home of a top executive at one of the country’s biggest…

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Growing friction between White House and CDC hobbles pandemic response

Growing friction between White House and CDC hobbles pandemic response

The Washington Post reports: The meager guidelines for safely reopening the country released this week are the latest sign of the Trump administration’s efforts to sideline the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the increasing tension between the White House and the world-renowned public health agency. With Americans waiting for expert advice on how to resume a semblance of normal life during the pandemic, the CDC released just six short “decision trees” Thursday while the rest of its lengthy…

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Former federal judge who brought down crime boss, John Gotti, steps into Flynn case

Former federal judge who brought down crime boss, John Gotti, steps into Flynn case

CNN reports: Nearly three decades ago, John Gleeson made his name by successfully prosecuting the man known as “The Teflon Don.” Now he finds himself mixed up in a case tied to the modern-day inheritor of that nickname. On Wednesday, Gleeson became the latest participant in the turbulent criminal case against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the federal judge overseeing the case appointed Gleeson to oppose the Justice Department’s effort to drop it. An esteemed…

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Vitamin D determines severity in Covid-19

Vitamin D determines severity in Covid-19

Trinity College Dublin: Researchers from Trinity College Dublin are calling on the government in Ireland to change recommendations for vitamin D supplements. A new publication from Dr. Eamon Laird and Professor Rose Anne Kenny, School of Medicine, and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), in collaboration with Professor Jon Rhodes at University of Liverpool, highlights the association between vitamin D levels and mortality from COVID-19. The authors of the article, just published in the Irish Medical Journal, analyzed all…

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Sweden’s Covid-19 outbreak has been far deadlier than those of its neighbors

Sweden’s Covid-19 outbreak has been far deadlier than those of its neighbors

The New York Times reports: By late March, nearly every country in Europe had closed schools and businesses, restricted travel and ordered citizens to stay home. But one country stood out for its decision to stay open: Sweden. The country’s moderated response to the coronavirus outbreak has drawn praise from some American politicians, who see Sweden as a possible model for the United States as it begins to reopen. “We need to observe with an open mind what went on…

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‘We’re the Wild West,’ Gov. Tony Evers says after Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks stay-at-home order

‘We’re the Wild West,’ Gov. Tony Evers says after Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks stay-at-home order

The Washington Post reports: On Wednesday night in the heart of downtown Platteville, Wis., just hours after the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out the state’s stay-at-home order, Nick’s on 2nd was packed wall to wall, standing room only. It was sometime after 10 p.m. when “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” by the Hollies came over the sound system and a bartender took out his camera. In a Twitter broadcast, he surveyed the room of maskless patrons crammed together,…

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Michigan cancels legislative session to avoid armed protesters

Michigan cancels legislative session to avoid armed protesters

Bloomberg reports: Michigan closed down its capitol in Lansing on Thursday and canceled its legislative session rather than face the possibility of an armed protest and death threats against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The gathering, meant to advocate opening the state for business despite the coronavirus pandemic, followed one April 30 that resulted in pictures of protesters clad in military-style gear and carrying long guns crowding the statehouse. They confronted police and taunted lawmakers. The shutdown was done with little…

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Judge slams the brakes on William Barr’s abuse of power

Judge slams the brakes on William Barr’s abuse of power

Elie Honig writes: Just when it seemed that Attorney General William Barr would get away with intentionally tanking his own Justice Department’s conviction of President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a federal judge on Wednesday slammed on the brakes and now is demanding real answers. There’s a common saying that the courts are the final bulwark against tyranny. “Tyranny” may be a bit much here, but Judge Emmet Sullivan certainly seems to be taking a stand against…

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Burr to step down as intel panel chairman as stock scandal deepens

Burr to step down as intel panel chairman as stock scandal deepens

Politico reports: Sen. Richard Burr will step down temporarily as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while under investigation by the FBI for his stock trading, a political earthquake that shocked Republican senators on Thursday and upended the Senate’s daily business. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Burr informed him he would step aside at the end of the day on Friday, news that followed the FBI serving him a search warrant and seizing his cell phone Wednesday evening…

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EPA opts against limits on toxic water contaminant tied to fetal damage

EPA opts against limits on toxic water contaminant tied to fetal damage

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration will not impose any limits on perchlorate, a toxic chemical compound that contaminates water and has been linked to fetal and infant brain damage, according to two Environmental Protection Agency staff members familiar with the decision. The decision by Andrew Wheeler, the administrator of the E.P.A., appears to defy a court order that required the agency to establish a safe drinking-water standard for the chemical by the end of June. The policy,…

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‘Blue state bailouts’? Some states like New York send billions more to federal government than they get back

‘Blue state bailouts’? Some states like New York send billions more to federal government than they get back

Eight states send far more to the federal government through taxes than they see in annual federal spending. Noam Galai/Getty Images By Laura Schultz, SUNY Empire State College When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, expressed reluctance to fund coronavirus relief for hard-hit cities and states, suggesting they would be “blue state bailouts,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had a quick retort. “We put into that pot $116 billion more than we take out,” Cuomo said. “Kentucky takes…

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The value of leaders who can lead

The value of leaders who can lead

The Atlantic reports: In March, when the severity of the coronavirus pandemic was becoming clear but many of the world’s leading nations had yet to formulate a response to it, one country was springing into action. Within 10 days of identifying its first case, it went into lockdown: Its borders were sealed, schools and restaurants were closed, and face masks were made mandatory in public places, with some of the country’s most visible public figures, including its president and prime…

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CDC is ‘almost certainly underestimating’ Covid-19 death toll but Trump wants numbers even lower

CDC is ‘almost certainly underestimating’ Covid-19 death toll but Trump wants numbers even lower

The Daily Beast reports: President Donald Trump and members of his coronavirus task force are pushing officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change how the agency works with states to count coronavirus-related deaths. And they’re pushing for revisions that could lead to far fewer deaths being counted than originally reported, according to five administration officials working on the government’s response to the pandemic. Though he has previously publicly attested to the accuracy of the COVID-19 death…

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