| Trump in 2016 considered Pence a 'loser,' says a former top campaign official Posted: 05 Oct 2020 06:42 PM PDT  Donald Trump for months resisted naming Mike Pence as his vice president during the 2016 campaign because he considered him a "loser," according to a forthcoming book and interview with Rick Gates, the president's former deputy campaign manager.
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| CDC finally acknowledges airborne spread of coronavirus Posted: 05 Oct 2020 12:03 PM PDT  In late September, the CDC was forced to delete a guidance describing the airborne qualities of the coronavirus. The new guidance comes as President Trump remains hospitalized with what could be a serious case of COVID-19.
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| In California: Newsom’s nominee for state Supreme Court would make history Posted: 05 Oct 2020 06:11 PM PDT  If confirmed, Martin Jenkins would be the court's first gay Black member. Plus, California is the 6th happiest state and Uber and Lyft spend nearly $100M to overturn a state law that would make them classify drivers as employees.
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| The Texas cop who shot Black man Jonathan Price — who family say was breaking up a fight — has been charged with murder Posted: 06 Oct 2020 03:15 AM PDT  Officer Shaun Lucas was arrested and jailed three days after shooting Jonathan Price at the Kiwk Check gas station in Wolfe City, Texas.
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| Susan Collins trails Democratic challenger by just 1 point, new Maine poll shows Posted: 06 Oct 2020 11:07 AM PDT  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) just had one of her best external polls in a while, as she finds herself mired in a tight re-election race against her Democratic challenger, Maine's House Speaker Sarah Gideon. The poll, conducted by the Portland, Maine-based Digital Research Insights for The Bangor Daily News, found Collins trailing Gideon by just one point, a boost following a series of polls in which Gideon led by several points. The previous BDN poll in August, for example, showed Collins trailing by five points.> BDN: Gideon 44, Collins 43https://t.co/KQfXQbaucr> > Internals aside, this is the best poll for Collins in awhilehttps://t.co/eWDey88UHn> > — Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 6, 2020Collins' race is crucial for Republicans, who are looking to hold on to the majority in the upper chamber. The poll surveyed 500 registered voters between Sep. 25 and Oct. 4. The margin of error was 4.4 percentage points. Read more at The Bangor Daily News.More stories from theweek.com President Superspreader Trump is finally doubling down on COVID skepticism 5 worrying red flags from Trump's doctor
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| Canada suspends weapons sales to Turkey Posted: 05 Oct 2020 12:35 PM PDT  Canada announced Monday the suspension of arms exports to NATO ally Turkey as Ottawa investigates the alleged use of its military technologies in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
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| Beirut blast was 'historically' powerful Posted: 05 Oct 2020 10:26 AM PDT  The port area of Beirut was destroyed by one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history.
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| Venice successfully stopped a flood for the first time by raising a mile-long network of barriers to hold back the sea Posted: 06 Oct 2020 09:37 AM PDT  The mile-long network of barriers, named MOSE in a nod to the the Biblical figure Moses, blocked high water from entering Venice's lagoon.
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| How damaging is Trump's illness to his reelection chances? Posted: 05 Oct 2020 11:12 AM PDT  President Trump trails Joe Biden in polls with less than a month to go before election day. Will his illness make it impossible for him to mount a comeback?
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| Arkansas Republican County Chair Dies of COVID-19 Weeks After His Committee Hosted Maskless Gathering Posted: 06 Oct 2020 10:28 AM PDT  The chairman of an Arkansas county Republican committee died from complications associated with COVID-19 on Tuesday—less than one month after his organization hosted a maskless gathering with other elected leaders. Steven Farmer, who served as the chairman of the Craighead County Republican Committee, died on Tuesday after a weeks-long battle with the coronavirus that resulted in a stay at the ICU and a ventilator, his daughter and the organization announced. The news comes just three weeks after his committee hosted an event with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX), who contracted COVID-19 in July, for Reagan Day. Photos of the event show few attendees wearing masks and minimal social distancing. Arkansas state Rep. Dan Sullivan, who is currently spearheading a lawsuit to overturn the mask mandate and other health directives in his state, also appears to have spoken at the event.A committee spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Farmer, who also served as the superintendent of the Jonesboro Human Development Center, did not attend the Sept. 14 event. Now Kayleigh McEnany Has COVID, Making a Dozen From Rose Garden Ceremony"Dad's soul is singing today even though ours aren't. But grief is the price you pay for being blessed enough to experience the kind of love that dad gave and lived through his actions every day," Audrey Haynie, Farmer's daughter, said in a Tuesday Facebook post. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you....but I know that you're even more perfect now than when you were here. We will see your face and hear your voice in everyone and everything you left here.....in your legacy. Thank you for that. For the gift of you. We'll be seeing you."Haynie has chronicled her father's illness since Sept. 18, posting on Facebook that he was admitted to the ICU the same week as the Reagan Day event. Over several posts, Farmer's daughter described how the GOP county chair had been showing some signs of recovery until Sept. 25—when his condition took a turn for the worse. "We got a horrible report this morning. The doctor called me and said he was very worried that dad was not going to make it through this," Haynie wrote, adding that her father was beginning to show signs of shock. On Monday, Haynie posted, "Breathe easy, dad. Just breathe," while sharing that his EEG showed that Farmer had minimal brain activity.Following Haynie's announcement about her father's passing, the Craighead County Republican Committee released a statement, calling Farmer a "great caring friend to all and a dedicated leader." In addition to his duties as chairman of the GOP committee, Farmer has also served as coordinator for the Craighead County Crisis Response Team. According to KAIT, Farmer was a former board member of the Arkansas Crisis Response Team, and served as a chaplain for the Jonesboro Fire Department.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.
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| Barrett lived in house owned by co-founders of faith group Posted: 06 Oct 2020 05:14 PM PDT  As a young law student, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett lived in a house owned by co-founders of People of Praise, a religious community that teaches that men are divinely ordained as the "heads" of both family and faith. Barrett has not publicly discussed her role with the secretive organization founded in South Bend, Indiana, which some former members have alleged subjugates women. Barrett also did not list the group as among her affiliations on Senate judicial questionnaires filed last month or in 2017, when she was confirmed to her current seat as a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
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| Man faces charges after 80-year-old dies following mask dispute Posted: 06 Oct 2020 09:05 AM PDT  "We see it everywhere, where people are confronting one another and having arguments about not wearing masks," the district attorney said." It's unfortunate "this escalated" into a man's dying.
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| Surgeon general reportedly cited for violating Hawaii's coronavirus policies Posted: 06 Oct 2020 11:54 AM PDT  Surgeon General Jerome Adams went to Hawaii to aid in its coronavirus response — and reportedly ended up violating the state's coronavirus policies himself.According to a police citation dated Aug. 23, Adams was spotted in Kualoa Regional Park, which was closed amid the pandemic, Axios reports. Adams told the officer he was there to work with the governor, but was still issued a citation and has a court date set for Oct. 21.Adams was seen "with two other males standing, looking at the view taking pictures," the citation said. He put on his mask once he started to walk back to his car. When the officer confronted Adams, he said he didn't know the park was closed, per the citation. But Adams joined Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell just two days later when he announced Honolulu's parks, beaches, and trails had been and would remain closed.Adams is among tens of thousands of Honolulu residents who have recently faced citations for violating pandemic rules, Honolulu Civil Beat reports. Violators face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Hundreds of cases have been dismissed, but Adams' is still listed as active on the court system's website, Axios reports.Axios also notes Adams' violation "is very minor," even in comparison to instances where Trump administration officials have violated coronavirus safety protocols.More stories from theweek.com President Superspreader Trump is finally doubling down on COVID skepticism 5 worrying red flags from Trump's doctor
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| Trump administration will cease federal funding to hospitals that do not report COVID-19 data Posted: 06 Oct 2020 03:10 PM PDT  Starting Wednesday, hospitals will be given 14 weeks to provide daily reporting to HHS on COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as other information such as influenza cases and use of personal protective equipment, the officials said. Hospitals that fail to comply will lose access to reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, federal insurance programs for seniors, the disabled, and people with low incomes, they said. The data will help coordinate the federal government's response to COVID-19, including helping allocate supplies of antiviral drug remdesivir, and distribute its stockpile of personal protective equipment, such as surgical masks, said Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator.
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| Japan’s feared ‘yakuza’ gangsters banned from Halloween festivities Posted: 06 Oct 2020 06:37 AM PDT  One of the most fearsome "yakuza" underworld groups in Japan has been told it cannot hand out sweets to trick-or-treating children at Halloween. The local government of Hyogo Prefecture, in central Japan, on Monday unanimously approved a new provision to existing anti-gangster legislation that makes it illegal for members of the Yamaguchi-gumi to hand out treats at its headquarters in the city of Kobe on Halloween. The local authority was acting on a proposal from the prefectural police, which has been waging a war of attrition against the largest "yakuza" group in Japan. The gang operates across Japan, earning millions every year from extortion, underground gambling, the sex industry, weapons trafficking, drug sales and kickbacks in the property and construction sectors. Despite their reputation as violent criminals, members of the gang have been enthusiastic participants in Kobe's Halloween festivities for many years, with gangsters in costumes handing out sweets outside their offices. The new ordinance makes that illegal, with children also banned from entering the gang's offices. Members are also banned from giving money or gifts to children, and contacting minors by phone or email with the intention of encouraging them to join the group. Any gangster found guilty of violating the ordinance faces a sentence of up to six months in prison and fines of as much as £3,640. "The authorities are acting to deprive the Yamaguchi-gumi of any good public relations that might make them appealing to young people", said Jake Adelstein, author of 'Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan' and an authority on the nation's underworld groups. "They have been trying to ostracise this gang from society for some years and this is just the latest measure to do that." "By clamping down like this, they are hoping to deprive them of new blood because the average age of a 'yakuza' is now 50 and they're struggling to attract new members", he said. Authorities are also attempting to keep people away from the gang's facilities out of concern that passers-by might be injured or killed in the Yamaguchi-gumi's ongoing feud with a rival group. In October last year, two members of an affiliated group were shot dead on a street in Kobe, while a senior member of the splinter group, the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, was killed in November 2019 in the nearby city of Amagasaki. In the last five years, police say there have been 127 incidents of violence involving gangs in and around Kobe.
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| Kidnapped Mexican model’s body found in mass grave Posted: 06 Oct 2020 10:27 AM PDT  The disappearance led to street protests in Mexico demanding justice, with police since arresting three men over the crime
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| Joe Biden Logs Biggest Polling Lead Yet and Has Donald Trump On the Defense Posted: 06 Oct 2020 10:20 AM PDT  Even before his COVID-19 diagnosis, this is not the fall that President Trump had anticipated
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| Misleading India-China claims being shared online Posted: 06 Oct 2020 05:22 PM PDT  Videos of the India-China border stand-off have been circulating - but they are not what they claim to be.
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| Husband of South Korean Foreign Minister Breaks Her Rules—to Fly to America to Buy a Yacht Posted: 05 Oct 2020 06:07 AM PDT  It is one thing to flout a coronavirus travel ban to fly overseas for the purposes of buying a yacht.It's altogether another matter to do so when your wife is the one who made the rules.South Korea's foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, came under pressure to resign Monday after her husband defied her ministry's advice against all but essential travel overseas and flew to the United States on Saturday to buy himself a new boat.Lee Yill-Byung, a university professor, has now become the focus of considerable outrage in Korea after he was confronted by a television crew as he prepared to fly to the U.S. on Saturday, saying, "The coronavirus epidemic is not going to disappear any time soon. I can't sit at home all the time. I can't keep worrying about other people's lives as I live my own."His mission, as described on his now-deleted blog, was to buy himself a small yacht and enjoy a "cruising life" and be able to say that he "lived in a beautiful place" for several years before he dies.The opposition People Power Party was quick to condemn Lee's actions, with a party official telling the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, "Small businesses are suffering from the epidemic, but a family member of a high-ranking government official is traveling and buying a yacht."The paper accused Kang of "flagrant hypocrisy" as her ministry, just days before, had ordered Koreans to stay home for this year's Chuseok holiday, saying that people's "private lives are not an absolute right."Broadcaster KBS initially broke the news Saturday evening of Lee's travel, screening astonishing footage of reporters at Incheon International Airport confronting a defiant Lee, who told the reporters that he had "packed many masks."When asked if he was concerned about being the husband of a public figure and prominent lawmaker, Lee reportedly replied, "It could be a burden if I am doing something bad, but I am doing what I believe is right, and I am living my own life, so I don't have to compromise on this because of what others think." Lee was asked if Kang had spoken to him about the trip, and he replied, "We are both adults, so she didn't particularly tell me not to go."The following day, Kang told reporters that she was "sorry" about her husband's decision to travel overseas, adding, "He has planned the trip for such a long time and postponed it several times, so it's difficult for me to tell him not to go."The Korea JoongAng Daily said that sailing the world on a yacht was at the top of a bucket list on Lee's now-scrubbed blog, and that he has been planning the purchase for nearly a year. Lee reportedly was traveling to New York to purchase a 51-foot 1990 Kanter 51-foot Mistress V yacht, estimated to cost around $120,000.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.
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| Democrat's personal scandal roils N. Carolina Senate race Posted: 06 Oct 2020 02:24 PM PDT  A race in North Carolina critical to control of the U.S. Senate has been thrown into turmoil over allegations of personal misconduct by Democrat Cal Cunningham, a married man who had an extramarital relationship this summer with a consultant. Previously undisclosed text messages obtained by The Associated Press and additional interviews show that the relationship extended beyond suggestive texts, as was previously reported, to an intimate encounter as recent as July. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and the contest between Cunningham and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has been among the most watched in the country, with polls showing a tight race and both parties investing heavily in the outcome.
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| California wildfires spawn first ‘gigafire’ in modern history Posted: 06 Oct 2020 09:11 AM PDT  August complex fire expanded beyond 1m acres, elevating it from a mere 'megafire' to a new classification: 'gigafire'California's extraordinary year of wildfires has spawned another new milestone – the first "gigafire", a blaze spanning 1m acres, in modern history.On Monday, the August complex fire in northern California expanded beyond 1m acres, elevating it from a mere "megafire" to a new classification, "gigafire", never used before in a contemporary setting in the state.At 1.03m acres, the fire is larger than the state of Rhode Island and is raging across seven counties, according to fire agency Cal Fire. An amalgamation of several fires caused when lightning struck dry forests in August, the vast conflagration has been burning for 50 days and is only half-contained.The August complex fire heads a list of huge fires that have chewed through 4m acres of California this year, a figure called "mind-boggling" by Cal Fire and double the previous annual record. Five of the six largest fires ever recorded in the state have occurred in 2020, resulting in several dozen deaths and thousands of lost buildings.There is little sign of California's biggest ever fire season receding. The state endured a heatwave this summer, aiding the formation of enormous wildfires even without the seasonal winds that usually fan the blazes that have historically dotted the west coast.Vast, out-of-control fires are increasingly a feature in the US west due to the climate crisis, scientists say, with rising temperatures and prolonged drought causing vegetation and soils to lose moisture.This parched landscape makes larger fires far more likely. Big wildfires are three times more common across the west than in the 1970s, while the wildfire season is three months longer, according to an analysis by Climate Central."We predicted last year that we were living with the chance of such an extreme event under our current climate," said Jennifer Balch, a fire ecologist at the University of Colorado Boulder. "Don't need a crystal ball."The 2020 fire season has caused choking smoke to blanket the west coast and at times blot out the sun. But experts warn this year may soon seem mild by comparison as the world continues to heat up due to the release of greenhouse gases from human activity."If you don't like all of the climate disasters happening in 2020, I have some bad news for you about the rest of your life," said Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University.Parts of California are expected to receive some relief this week, with temperatures in northern California dropping up to 15F by Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists are forecasting some light to moderate showers that could aid in firefighting efforts in the north, but climate scientists warn that it likely won't be a season-ending storm."The temperatures will start dropping closer to seasonal normals, the relative humidity will slowly start climbing up and we'll start to see lighter winds," said Tom Bird, incident meteorologist on the Glass fire, which has devastated parts of wine country and continues to burn. Rain forecasted for this weekend would be a "temporary dip" in the fire weather, but, come next week, "we will warm up, dry up again", Bird said. "By no means are we looking to end the fire season with this event."> CA fire weather update: pattern change still looks likely for Fri-Sat, but models trending drier (as ensembles had suggested was possible). Still a good chance of light-mod showers from Bay Area northward. Will help w/fires & smoke, but will not be season-ending. CAwx CAfire pic.twitter.com/TAASIhj5OQ> > — Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) October 6, 2020Much of the Central Valley is still under an air quality alert because of wildfire smoke from the Creek fire, which has burned more than 326,000 acres, and the SQF Complex fire, which has burned nearly 159,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest.Northwest California, where the August Complex fire rages, had air quality "in the unhealthy to locally hazardous category" as well. Meanwhile, coastal swathes of the state woke up to dense fog on Tuesday, a confusing contrast to the smoke-filled haze that many got used to seeing during the peak of the wildfires.
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| Report: White House chief of staff blocking new coronavirus vaccine guidelines Posted: 05 Oct 2020 08:13 PM PDT  The White House is blocking strict new coronavirus vaccine guidelines proposed by the Food and Drug Administration due to a provision that would likely prevent any vaccine from being authorized before the November election, several people familiar with the matter told The New York Times. The guidelines are intended to reassure the public that coronavirus vaccines are being held to a common standard, the Times reports. They were submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval on Sept. 21, but White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has intervened, questioning the need for researchers to follow vaccine trial volunteers for two months after they receive their final dose. Per the guidelines, this would have to happen before authorization is granted for a vaccine, with FDA officials saying it's necessary to determine if there are side effects and to make sure the vaccine protects people for longer than a few weeks.Trump has been promising a vaccine and pushing for one to be released before the Nov. 3 presidential election, and under the guidelines it is highly unlikely a vaccine would be authorized before then. The FDA is now going around the White House, the Times reports, and will share the guidelines with an outside advisory committee with the hope that they will enforce the standards. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com President Superspreader Trump is finally doubling down on COVID skepticism 5 worrying red flags from Trump's doctor
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| India police book hundreds over 'foreign involvement' in gang-rape protests Posted: 06 Oct 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Indian police on Tuesday accused foreign human rights groups and Muslim organisations of inciting caste tensions after widespread protests against their handling of a gang-rape and murder of a young Dalit woman.
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| Interpol issues 'red notice' for Thai Red Bull heir over hit-and-run Posted: 04 Oct 2020 08:24 PM PDT  Interpol has issued a "red notice" to arrest the fugitive Thai heir to the Red Bull billions for his role in a fatal hit-and-run, police said on Sunday. The move by the international police organisation is the latest in the years-long saga surrounding Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya who crashed his Ferrari in 2012, killing a police officer. The charges against Vorayuth, who is the grandson of Red Bull's co-founder, were dropped in July - sparking public outrage from Thais who saw it as an example of impunity enjoyed by the kingdom's elite. It spurred probes by various government agencies, including the Attorney General's Office which last month announced fresh charges against Vorayuth of reckless driving causing death and cocaine use. National Police deputy spokesman Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen confirmed Sunday a red notice - Interpol's most urgent alert - was issued earlier this week. "After we received the confirmation, we then passed our request to 194 member countries asking for assistance from them," he told AFP.
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| NBC News Gives Biden a Pass at Townhall, Ignores Court-Packing Possibility Posted: 06 Oct 2020 09:54 AM PDT  Joe Biden's campaign team would have been hard-pressed to script a more favorable event for the Democratic presidential nominee than NBC News' town hall in Miami on Monday.The town hall, staged outdoors in front of a crowd of supposedly undecided voters, teed up softball question after softball question and gave Biden plenty of rope to attack President Donald Trump. At the same time, moderator Lester Holt studiously avoided any difficult topics that might have been inconvenient for the former vice president or enlightening for real fence-sitters.Biden was asked how he planned to unify the country during a pandemic. He was asked how he planned to stop white supremacist groups and reform policing. He was asked how he planned to ensure schools are safe to reopen.One first-time voter wanted to know if Biden could "guarantee me that the American Dream still exists." It does, Biden assured him.The town hall featured questions from voters who allegedly haven't made up their minds in this election. But the undecided voters whose leanings were identified were either leaning toward Biden or were one-time Republican voters who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.Not a single undecided voter was identified as leaning toward Trump.And none of the questions from the crowd, or from Holt, touched on controversial topics where Biden has been equivocal or that he has simply refused to address.Holt started the conversation with a series of not-so-hard-hitting questions about Trump's recent coronavirus diagnosis. Among them:"When you heard that this president was infected with COVID-19, were you surprised?" and "A recent poll said 65% of Americans think the president bears some responsibility for contracting this virus. Do you agree?"Biden said he wasn't surprised Trump contracted the virus, and said "anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter, I think is responsible for what happens to them." He called wearing masks Americans' "patriotic duty."An unemployed flight attendant who lost his job with American Airlines asked Biden "what will you do to restore the travel and tourism industry?"Another questioner who acknowledged she was leaning toward voting for Biden said she was worried that Trump's alleged bullying during last week's presidential debate knocked Biden off his game. "How do I know that you are able to forcefully lead this country moving forward when being faced with unforeseen challenges and other bullies?" she asked.Biden assured her that he's used to dealing with bullies."I used to stutterer when I was a kid," he said. "I learned how to fight."Biden was never asked about packing the Supreme Court, a radical proposal several members of his party have endorsed. He has refused to say where he stands on court packing because he has said he doesn't want it to "become the issue."Holt declined to broach the topic even when seemingly given a perfect opportunity to follow up a questioner who asked Biden about his plans to protect women's reproductive rights "considering the new Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett."Biden said nothing about court packing, and instead said "the only responsible response to that would be to pass legislation making Roe (v. Wade) the law of the land. That's what I would do."Biden was never asked about abortion, or why he dropped his support for the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for the procedure.He was never asked about gun control, entitlement reform, China, or his equivocal position on fracking. No one brought up the sexual assault complaint leveled against him earlier this year by a former Senate staffer.Two questioners asked similar questions about police reform, with one, an African-American woman, asking what Biden would do to "stop extremists and white supremacist groups." But no one asked how he would stop violent leftwing demonstrations and riots in American cities.The town hall received criticism for being overly friendly to Biden."It was a TV show that doubled as a Biden infomercial. Can't blame him for doing it," tweeted Marc Caputo, a reporter with Politico and a longtime Miami Herald staffer.Dave Catanese, a political correspondent for McClatchy, called the town hall questions "pretty underwhelming."
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| Sisters of man killed by Vallejo PD arrested outside Newsom's home Posted: 05 Oct 2020 08:56 PM PDT  'WE POSED NO THREAT': The two girls were arrested during a protest outside the Governor's home. It was on the 4-month anniversary of their brother being shot and killed by Vallejo Police.
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| White Male Prof Allegedly Posed as Woman of Color to Bully Women Posted: 06 Oct 2020 01:45 AM PDT  "The Science Femme" claimed to be a female academic. She claimed to have upended efforts by her social justice-obsessed department to draft a statement condemning racism.And when Twitter users accused her of racism, she claimed to be a woman of color herself—and an immigrant to boot.But The Science Femme, who tweeted from the handle @piney_the, wasn't any of those things, digital sleuths began alleging late last month. Instead, they claimed, "she" was Craig Chapman, a white male assistant professor of chemistry at the University of New Hampshire. The allegations, bolstered by an internal chemistry department email, would make Chapman at least the fourth white academic revealed to have posed as a person of color in recent weeks.In three of those cases, academics are accused of shamelessly trying to further their own careers. But in Chapman's case, Twitter users who came into contact with @piney_the say the account harassed real women working in science.The University of New Hampshire said the incident was under investigation."UNH was recently made aware of allegations on social media about a member of its faculty," a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "We are deeply troubled by what we've learned so far and immediately launched an investigation. The employee at the center of allegations on social media is on leave and not in the classroom. In order to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation the university is unable to comment further."Chapman did not return repeated requests for comment for this story. Both his account and @piney_the were deleted last week.Susanna Harris, a microbiology Ph.D. holder who currently works in science communications, first noticed the @piney_the Twitter account in July."They put out this huge long thread about how they, as a woman of color in science, a professor, made a big change in their university by shutting down diversity, equity, and inclusion work," Harris, who is white, told The Daily Beast.Harris wasn't the only person to make note of the thread, in which @piney_the claimed to have been "successful in killing my dept's woke statement on recent social unrest." The viral thread earned write-ups in conservative publications like RedState, which lauded the efforts to derail an anti-racism statement. Some academics were suspicious of the claims, coming from an anonymous professor at an unnamed university."I did a little bit of poking around to see if there was any chance this was a real person," Harris recalled. "I've been on Twitter for a while and nothing about their account said anything to make me think this is a genuine account."Other Twitter users had raised similar concerns earlier this year. @piney_the was an especially combative Twitter personality, who frequently tangled with the left online. The account described a female opponent in explicit anatomical terms on at least one occasion, repeatedly railed against transgender people, and posted censored nude pictures of former Rep. Katie Hill. Hill, a former California politician, resigned last year after those pictures were made public in an alleged revenge-pornography campaign.When users accused the account of "attacking POC [people of color]," as one did in September, @piney_the frequently claimed to be one. "You know I'm a woman of color, right? Racist," the account responded.But some of @piney_the's tweets teased highly specific personal details, like that their brother owned a brewery. Later, the account tweeted a recommendation for a small New Jersey brewery, owned by Craig Chapman's brother, as Twitter sleuths like the account @drama_science noted. (His brother could not immediately be reached for comment.) Other similarities between @piney_the and Chapman, like fandom for Chicago sports teams, New Jersey origins, and knowledge of niche chemistry fields, abounded.Some of the similarities were more glaring than others.In April, both @piney_the and Chapman tweeted the same picture of a coffee homebrewing setup, within minutes of each other, with similar captions. The picture does not appear to have been uploaded anywhere else on the internet. And both accounts tweeted about marinating meat, with both appearing to tweet pictures of the same baking tray on the same marble countertop.Although a few Twitter users had noted their suspicions about the account for nearly a year, those whispers grew louder in late September, after @piney_the came into conflict with several female academics, Harris included. She was among those who had previously tweeted in opposition to Mike Adams, a University of North Carolina professor, who was famous for his anti-feminist stances. Adams and UNC arrived at an agreement by which he would retire in August and receive a half million-dollar settlement upon leaving. He died by suicide in July.@piney_the, which had more than 13,000 followers at the time of its deletion last week, was one of the key actors stoking what Harris said was a subsequent harassment campaign against her."They were were literally saying that I had killed [Adams], that I had blood on my hands, that I had pushed him into suicide," she said. "That was when the tide changed, and when I started getting emails from anonymous people saying that they hope I die, that they will dox me."The bile renewed some of Harris's previous suspicions about @piney_the's authenticity. If she was right that this was a bogus twitter personality claiming to speak for the marginalized, it wouldn't be the first time.White academics faking their racial or ethnic identity has emerged as a troubling trope in a year of racial justice protests. In September, white George Washington University professor Jessica Krug resigned after she was revealed to have faked a series of Black and Hispanic identities in order to further her career as an Africana academic. Later that month, University of Madison-Wisconsin graduate student CV Vitolo-Haddad resigned from a teaching position after it was revealed that they had also falsely claimed to be Black.Those scandals came a month after former Vanderbilt University assistant professor BethAnn McLaughlin was revealed to have been behind a long-running Twitter account that claimed to be a Native American science professor at Arizona State University. McLaughlin had previously used the fake professor's popular Twitter account to promote a petition to give McLaughlin a tenure position at Vanderbilt. The ruse was only exposed when McLaughlin claimed the non-existent professor died of COVID-19.Ironically, @piney_the made fun of race-faking when it came from liberals, sharing a meme of Sen. Elizabeth Warren with the caption "growing up Chinese in South Detroit I struggled as an African American Jewish Boy." (Warren has dubiously claimed Native American ancestry, and subsequently apologized.)Harris was thinking about McLaughlin's case in late September when she decided to tweet her doubts about @piney_the. She asked the anonymous account to provide evidence that they were a woman of color, and offered to delete her own account if proven wrong. Other academics soon seized on the similarities between @piney_the's account and Craig Chapman's, shortly before both accounts were deleted last week.An internal email (shared by department members and previously reported by local media) from UNH chemistry chair Glen Miller suggests those fears were well-founded."The fake twitter account was in fact set up and run by Craig," read the email, obtained by The Daily Beast. "There were a large number of things written by Craig that ranged from unfortunate to hurtful to deeply offensive. These statements do not represent me, nor the collegial, collaborative, accepting department in which I have had the privilege to work for the past 25 years. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but when those opinions are dismissive or hurtful or harmful to others, it is not ok with me. I reject those statements and their intent, wholeheartedly. But even so, I do not reject Craig. I am not giving up on Craig."The letter went on to describe Chapman as "embarrassed and overwhelmed and shell shocked. He fears that this could be the end of his academic career. I hope it is not and I told him so." Chapman would "come clean" and express remorse to colleagues soon, Miller wrote.Miller, who did not return requests for comment, also accused Chapman's accusers of being "highly motivated to reveal Craig as the person responsible for the fake twitter account, and to inflict damage on him." He urged readers not to speak to the media about the incident.Some UNH graduate students protested what they believed to be the rogue professor's Twitter activities last week, marching with signs on campus. "Craig Chapman does not speak for us," one sign read."Miller said sorry, we say get out," read another.Harris argued the incident—and other recent cases of academics feigning their identities—sap resources from some of the very people Chapman posed as."It's sort of the extreme version of cultural appropriation," she said. "They take the small protections or the scraps of support that women of color and other people have, and they use them as leverage against that exact population."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.
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| US court: Iran owes $1.4B over ex-FBI agent presumed dead Posted: 05 Oct 2020 09:04 PM PDT  A U.S. judge has ordered Iran to pay $1.45 billion to the family of a former FBI agent believed to have been kidnapped by the Islamic Republic while on an unauthorized CIA mission to an Iranian island in 2007. The judgment this month comes after Robert Levinson's family and the U.S. government now believe he died in the Iranian government's custody, something long denied by Tehran, though officials over time have offered contradictory accounts about what happened to him on Kish Island. Tensions remain high between the U.S. and Iran amid President Donald Trump's maximalist pressure campaign over Tehran's nuclear program.
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| College student: I was in quarantine on campus. They gave me a bag lunch and little help. Posted: 06 Oct 2020 04:00 AM PDT  I thought the end of my senior year of high school was disappointing. But then I noticed coronavirus symptoms on my first day of college classes.
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| Delta went from tropical storm to Cat 4 hurricane in 24 hours. How did that happen? Posted: 06 Oct 2020 01:53 PM PDT  Meteorologists are comparing it to Wilma, the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. Here's what you need to know.
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| Singapore PM takes the stand in defamation case against blogger Posted: 05 Oct 2020 08:11 PM PDT  Singapore's prime minister testified in court on Tuesday in his defamation case against a blogger who shared an online article linking him to Malaysia's 1MBD money-laundering scandal. As the head of a government that has pledged zero tolerance of corruption, Lee Hsien Loong, 68, is no stranger to seeking to protect his reputation via legal channels. Lee is suing financial adviser Leong Sze Hian, 66, over a since-deleted November 2018 Facebook post that linked to an article by Malaysian news site, the Coverage.
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| Case of biracial woman saying she was set on fire by white men closed for lack of evidence Posted: 06 Oct 2020 03:19 PM PDT  The U.S. attorney's office in Madison, Wisconsin, said that "authorities could not establish that the attack, as alleged by the complainant, had occurred."
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| Cardinal sent Vatican money to intelligence expert who 'spent it on handbags and shoes' Posted: 06 Oct 2020 08:22 AM PDT  A cardinal sacked by the Pope for alleged embezzlement has been accused of funneling €500,000 to an Italian woman who spent some of the cash on luxury shoes, handbags and accessories. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was stripped of his rights as a cardinal by Pope Francis last month, allegedly paid the money from Vatican funds to Cecilia Marogna, who claims to be an intelligence operative with links to the Italian secret services. She reportedly spent it on buying shoes, clothes and luxury items from brands such as Prada, Tod's, Moncler and Mont Blanc, according to Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily, basing its report on leaked Vatican documents. Ms Marogna admitted to receiving the €500,000 in Vatican funds through a company she runs that is based in Slovenia. But she said she had spent it on "diplomatic trips, paying sources for information, mediation and donations to humanitarian organisations." It was the latest tangled web of claims and counter-claims to involve Cardinal Becciu, 72, a once powerful Vatican figure who is being investigated for his role in the buying of a £400 million pound property in London. Cardinal Becciu has denied any wrongdoing in the London sale.
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| Trump rejects Democrats' COVID-19 stimulus offer, says no deal until after the election. Pelosi says White House in 'complete disarray' Posted: 06 Oct 2020 01:08 PM PDT  "Clearly, the White House is in complete disarray," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after Trump spiked negotiations over a COVID-19 stimulus plan.
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| Bernie Sanders interrupted at Biden rally after Trump supporter waves flag in his face Posted: 05 Oct 2020 06:52 PM PDT  The senator's mic is temporarily cut off after a maskless MAGA supporter interrupted his speech
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| ‘Vanished Into Thin Air’: Florida Mom Disappears After Withdrawing $20 From ATM Posted: 06 Oct 2020 12:11 PM PDT  Authorities on Tuesday continued their frantic search for a Florida mother who disappeared over a week ago after withdrawing $20 from an ATM.Stephanie Hollingsworth, 50, left her home around noon on Sept. 25 and drove to a local Bank of America to withdraw $20, the Belle Isle Police Department said. The mother of three then stopped by a Walmart around 2 p.m., where she was caught on store cameras walking through an aisle near the entrance. Belle Isle Police Chief Laura Houston told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that during her brief trip to the superstore, Hollingsworth was caught on camera buying "a small bottle of vodka.""She's a beautiful soul that was dedicated to her family and community," one family friend told The Daily Beast. "It's completely out of character for her to just completely disappear without telling anybody."Missing Amish Teen Went to Church on Sunday—and Never Came HomeThe Belle Isle Police Department has launched a massive multi-county search and announced a $5,000 reward for helpful information related to the case. Despite coordinating with the woman's family, who have created a makeshift "command post" and distributed hundreds of flyers throughout the Orlando area, a police spokesperson told The Daily Beast their office has not yet received any "meaningful leads.""I am extremely concerned about her well-being, but we have no idea what happened yet. Did someone accost her? We don't know. It could be anything," Houston told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. > PLEASE SHARE: Belle Isle PD & the family of the mother of 3 StephanieHollingsworth need your help locating her. She was last seen on Friday, Sept. 25th in her Chevy Tahoe FL/ Y50XUR at a nearby Walmart on S Goldenrod Rd. Any info? Contact @CrimelineFL or call 407-836-4357. pic.twitter.com/3cdnJBenAi> > — Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) October 6, 2020Multiple municipalities in Central Florida have joined the search and are hoping to locate the yoga instructor's silver Chevy Tahoe."Right now, we got 50 tips today, so things are moving along, and we have the support from the governor's office and other Florida counties. So we are hopeful," Houston said. She added that while Hollingsworth's husband suspects foul play was involved in his wife's disappearance, police are "not there yet."On Sept. 25, Hollingsworth left her house, which is about 20 minutes outside of Orlando, in her Tahoe and went to the Bank of America drive-thru to withdraw $20 in cash. "Stephanie took her purse and left her cell phone at the residence," police said in a Sept. 29 statement, adding that Hollingsworth "suffers from some mental conditions and needs care."Houston said that additional footage from Walmart shows Hollingsworth using a $20 bill to purchase a small bottle. Authorities believe the purchase and her hasty departure from home implies she was in an "vulnerable state.""We don't have any more information than that," her husband, Scott Hollingsworth, told People. "But she couldn't have made it far with only $20. She hasn't been seen, and the Tahoe hasn't been picked up on any intersection or toll road cameras.""She basically vanished into thin air. It makes no sense," he added.Larry Miles, another family friend, told The Daily Beast that it was completely out of Hollingsworth's character to leave for several hours without a way to be reached.Police Search for Missing Texas Mom and Her 2-Week-Old BabyPolice say surveillance video from the bank does not seem to show Hollingsworth in distress. According to a surveillance video released Monday, Hollingsworth entered an Orlando Walmart around 2 p.m. wearing a face mask and dark clothing and then abruptly walked out. The 50-year-old appeared to be holding something in her hand.Hollingsworth's friend said she has a "heart of gold," and her family is desperate to find her. Since her disappearance, hundreds of community members have helped the Hollingsworth family pass out flyers and conduct searches. Miles added that Hollingsworth was "very spiritual" and "a very strong Christian woman."Hollingsworth's family did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment."She's got three boys and we just want her back safe," the friend added.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.
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| Microsoft plans $1 billion data center venture in Greece Posted: 05 Oct 2020 01:23 AM PDT  Microsoft has announced plans to build three data center sites in greater Athens, providing a badly needed investment of up to $1 billion to the Greek economy which has been hammered by the pandemic. The news was announced Monday by the U.S. tech giant and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis and follows nine months of confidential negotiations for an agreement that also includes digital-skills training programs for some 100,000 government and private sector workers as well as educators and students. "This significant investment is a reflection of our confidence in the Greek economy, in the Greek people and the Greek government," Microsoft President Brad Smith said at a ceremony held in the Acropolis Museum, facing the ancient site in central Athens.
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| Rapidly strengthening Delta could cross Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane Posted: 05 Oct 2020 05:17 AM PDT  Hurricane Delta strengthened a day earlier than initially expected, and a western swing in the track now has the storm crossing the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday morning.
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| Indian government names Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, Jayanth Varma as new MPC members Posted: 05 Oct 2020 06:40 PM PDT  The Indian government named Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal and Jayanth Varma as its nominees on the central bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) late on Monday. The Reserve Bank of India was forced to delay the bi-monthly committee meeting set to take place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, as it required at least four MPC members to proceed and the Indian government had failed to name replacements for three previous appointees whose tenure ended in September. The committee, of three government nominees and three RBI members, had been scheduled to announce India's key interest rates and monetary policy for the next two months on Oct. 1.
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| Police are searching for a man who they say used an anti-gay slur before punching someone filming a TikTok Posted: 05 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT  The assailant uttered an anti-gay slur before punching the victim in the face and the back of the head, according to police.
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| ‘Proud Boys’ alt-right group reportedly furious at gay men for taking over #ProudBoys hashtag on Twitter Posted: 05 Oct 2020 12:41 PM PDT |
| Trump coronavirus: Morning Joe host says president could be guilty of ‘manslaughter’ if he infects Secret Service and White House staff Posted: 06 Oct 2020 11:26 AM PDT  'At some point isn't this manslaughter?' Ms Brzezinski said
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| Volcanic eruption turned man's brain into glass, 'froze' brain cells 2,000 years ago, scientists find Posted: 06 Oct 2020 06:09 AM PDT  Italian scientists found intact brain cells in a man who was killed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
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| Sen. McConnell formally sidelines Senate floor action through October 19 Posted: 05 Oct 2020 05:01 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., offered a unanimous consent request to retool the upper chamber's schedule on Monday, blocking floor action through Oct. 19 due to health concerns and senators quarantining after being exposed to COVID-19.
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| US, Australia, India, Japan discuss China's growing power Posted: 05 Oct 2020 08:40 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that China's increasingly assertive actions across the region make it more critical than ever for four Indo-Pacific nations known as the Quad to cooperate to protect their partners and their people from Chinese "exploitation, corruption and coercion." Pompeo made the remark at a meeting in Tokyo with the foreign ministers of Japan, India and Australia, who together make up the Quad. Pompeo accused China of covering up the pandemic and worsening it, while threatening freedom, democracy and diversity in the region with its increasingly assertive actions.
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