Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
May 14, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Biden and other Obama officials received unmasking information on Flynn . . . Joe Biden and other top Obama officials received information in response to "unmasking" requests targeting retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in the final weeks of the previous administration, according to a memo declassified by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell. Thirty-seven of the 49 unmasking requests appear to have taken place prior to the Flynn's
controversial phone calls with Russia's ambassador as he was under investigation as part of the FBI's inquiry into ties between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. The list shows Biden received information at least once in response to such an unmasking request on Jan. 12, 2017, but it is not clear whether he made the request or even looked at the information. The date on which Biden received the information about Flynn, Jan. 12, was the same day the Washington Post ran a column by David Ignatius containing leaked classified details from Flynn's call with the Russian ambassador. Former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper,
former CIA Director John Brennan, former Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough, and former FBI Director James Comey are all on the list. Washington Examiner
Trump disagress with Fauci on school reopening . . . President Trump responded to top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci’s fears that spikes during the reopening process could turn into outbreaks if activities, like schooling, resume too quickly.
“We have to get the schools open, we have to get our country open, we have to open our country," Trump said. "Now we want to do it safely, but we also want to do it as quickly as possible. You're having bedlam already in the streets, you can't do this," he said. “I was surprised by his answer actually because it’s just to
me it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools,” Trump said. Fox Business
WHO: Virus may never go away . . . The World Health Organisation has warned that coronavirus “may never go away” as its experts predicted that a global mental health crisis caused by the pandemic was looming. The global health body on Wednesday cautioned against trying to predict how long coronavirus would keep circulating, and called for a “massive effort” to overcome it. “It is important to put this on the table: this
virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” said Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief. The Guardian
Test used by White House dogged by accuracy questions . . . The Abbott coronavirus test hailed by President Trump and used by the White House failed to detect infected samples in a large number of cases that were caught by a rival firm, a preliminary study says.
The speedy Abbott test, which is supposed to determine in five to 13 minutes whether a person has the virus, missed a third of the positive samples found by the diagnostic company Cepheid when both tests used nasopharyngeal swabs, said the study done by a group from New York University. It missed more than 48 percent when both firms’ tests used dry nasal
swabs. The study is preliminary and not yet peer-reviewed. Washington Post
Ousted vaccine official to warn of "darkest winter" . . . Rick Bright, a former top vaccine official removed from his post last month, will testify to Congress on Thursday that the United States faces the “darkest winter in modern history” if it does not develop a more coordinated national response to
the coronavirus before an expected resurgence later this year. “Our window of opportunity is closing,” Bright says in prepared testimony submitted to a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. “If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities. Washington Post
Talking can spread the virus . . . The droplets from simply talking can be enough to spread the coronavirus, according to researchers. By using lasers, scientists found that one minute of talking loudly can produce more than 1,000 virus-containing droplets that could linger in the air for
over 8 minutes, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. USA Today
Telling people to "shut up" now considered good for your health
NYC health chief tells top cop: "I don't give two rats’ asses about your cops” . . . New York City’s health commissioner blew off an urgent NYPD request for 500,000 surgical masks as the coronavirus crisis mounted — telling a high-ranking police official that “I don’t give two rats’ asses
about your cops,” The Post has learned. Dr. Oxiris Barbot made the heartless remark during a brief phone conversation in late March with NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Monahan asked Barbot for 500,000 masks but she said she could only provide 50,000, the sources said. “I need them for others.” New York Post
Wisconsin court invalidates state's stay-at-home order . . . The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order on Wednesday, siding with a legal challenge from Republican lawmakers who said the state’s top public health official exceeded her authority by imposing the
restrictions. While lockdown orders meant to quell the pandemic have been challenged in court in several states, the decision in Wisconsin marked the first such lawsuit to succeed in a larger political debate over social distancing that has grown increasingly partisan. Reuters
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Senate GOP to ask Biden, other Obama officials to testify on unmasking . . . Senate Republicans say they will call former senior Obama officials to testify about their multiple requests to "unmask" former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn’s identity on intercepted calls with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Atop the list of former senior Obama administration officials that GOP senators want to
hear from are former Director of National Intelligence John Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Obama White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and, possibly, former Vice President Joe Biden. “Right now we’re in the information gathering phase of this and this obviously,” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters. The Hill
Flynn judge appoints partisan lawyer to argue against dropping case . . . D.C. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an unusual order Wednesday appointing a law firm partner "to present arguments in opposition to the government's motion to dismiss" the matter -- and to consider whether the court should hold Flynn in contempt for perjury. The partner, retired federal judge John Gleeson,
has openly criticized the Trump administration's handling of Michael Flynn's case, raising concerns that he was selected to improperly bolster Sullivan's efforts to keep the Flynn case alive even though both the government and defendant want it dismissed. Fox
News
If this judicial overreach continues, Trump will surely just pardon him
FBI serves warrant on senator who sold stocks at coronavirus outset . . . Federal agents seized a cellphone belonging to a prominent Republican senator on Wednesday night as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into controversial stock trades he made as the novel coronavirus first struck. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, turned over his phone to agents after they served
a search warrant on the lawmaker at his residence in the Washington area, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a law enforcement action. The seizure represents a significant escalation in the investigation into whether Burr violated a law preventing members of Congress from trading on insider information. Los Angeles Times
Biden campaign manager: "Voters don't give a shit about where he's filming" . . . Such pleasant people, these young Democrats. Not that Republicans can tout President Trump for un-coarsening the dialogue. But Joe Biden has no plans to stop hiding in the basement. “Voters don’t give a shit about where he’s filming from,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon told the Associated Press. “What they care about is what he’s saying and how
we connect with them.”
Meantime, Trump is set to start traveling the country. I think voters do care. Part of what got him elected last time is his dynamism. White House Dossier
He still thinks all Republicans are rich and entitled
Republican election victories ignored by the MSM . . .The GOP clinched major victories in two special elections held on Tuesday but was largely ignored by the mainstream media. Mike Garcia managed to flip California's 25th District, becoming the first Republican to do that in the state since 1998. The congressional seat was previously held by Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned last year. Wisconsin state senator Tom Tiffany was able
to maintain the GOP's control over the state's conservative-leaning 7th district. Past special elections in recent memory generated plenty of news coverage, particularly when Democrats pick up congressional seats. However, there was little to zero mention of Garcia and Tiffany's victories on any of the major news networks. Fox News
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China military action plausible as its leaders feel backed into a corner . . . China’s anger at taking international blame for the coronavirus pandemic has raised the likelihood that Beijing will order a rare assault against a smaller neighbor, U.S. observers worry.
“They're doing things they haven't done before,” said Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican who chairs the Foreign Relations subcommittee for East Asia and the Pacific. “I could imagine the Chinese making a move in the South China Sea. I could imagine them making a move, say, against the Vietnamese or the
Malaysians,” the Heritage Foundation’s Dean Cheng said. Washington Examiner
Hopes for Trump Aghanistan peace plan low after maternity ward attack . . . The Trump administration’s hope for a lasting cease-fire in Afghanistan has dipped to a low point this week after a vicious attack on a Kabul maternity ward that shocked the world and led Afghan government officials to publicly declare that they have all but given up trying to make peace with the Taliban. While the militant group has
denied responsibility for the brutal assault that left 24 dead, including at least two newborns, Afghan leaders announced a fresh round of military offensives against the Taliban on Wednesday. National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said there is “little point” in continuing peace negotiations. Washginton Times
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More than a million children at risk of dying as health services overtaxed . . . About 1.2 million children in more than 100 countries are at risk of dying from preventable causes every six months because health services are overstressed or curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF said this week. The figure is in addition to the 2.5 million children age 5 or younger who already die every six months in 118 low- and
middle-income countries. Put another way, the roughly 13,800 young children who die every day will be joined by more than 6,000 others whose lives could have been saved. New York Times
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Vast numbers of workers continuing to file for unemployment . . . Two months into disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, millions of U.S. workers continue to apply for unemployment benefits each week. More than 33 million Americans have filed unemployment claims in the seven weeks since the coronavirus led to widespread business closures in mid-March, and economists expect another 3 million filed last
week. The number of Americans seeking jobless aid is still at historically high levels but has subsided since an initial surge in layoffs drove claims up to a weekly peak of nearly 7 million at the end March. Wall Street Journal
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Fired Parkland sheriff who hid in car to be reinstated . . . A sheriff’s sergeant who was fired for sitting in his parked car while a gunman slaughtered students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will get his job back. An arbitrator has dismissed the case against Brian Miller. According to a statement from the union that represents deputies and sergeants, the arbitrator’s ruling found that the Broward County
Sheriff’s Office violated Miller’s due process rights when Sheriff Gregory Tony terminated him. Miller will receive back pay since his termination in June, 16 months after the school shooting in Parkland. He was paid more than $137,000 a year in 2018. Former student Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people and wounded 17 more after entering Stoneman Douglas with an AR-15 rifle on Feb. 14, 2018. He is awaiting trial. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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CNN to use Greta Thunberg as expert on coronavirus panel . . . CNN’s expert panel for a Thursday town hall on the novel coronavirus features two doctors, a former Health and Human Services secretary, and a teenage climate activist who has yet to graduate from high school. CNN announced Wednesday that its Global Town Hall, “Coronavirus: Facts and Fears,” would feature Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swede known for her
global-warming protests, not her medical expertise. The other three panelists are CNN contributor Dr. Sanjay Gupta; Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control; and Obama-era Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Washington Times
She also can peform several different surgical procedures and has an excellent recipe for Swedish meatballs
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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