Volunteers line up to be infected . . . When Gavriel Kleinwaks was a child, she was captivated by the story of Jonas Salk, the vaccine pioneer who tested a potential polio shot on himself, his wife and children in 1953. Now, the doctoral student at the University of Colorado is one of almost 30,000 volunteers willing to deliberately expose themselves to the coronavirus to test a potential vaccine, should researchers decide to proceed. The idea of purposely infecting people with a dangerous pathogen that has no cure is fueling a debate over what kind of sacrifice is acceptable and the benefits such trials could bring. Known as human-challenge studies, these tests can hasten research by placing volunteers in the path of the virus, rather than waiting for accidental exposure. Bloomberg

 

Trump: Coronavirus will "fade away" . . . The coronavirus pandemic will “fade away” even without a vaccine, but researchers are close to developing one anyhow, President Donald Trump said. "We’re very close to a vaccine and we’re very close to therapeutics, really good therapeutics,” Trump said Wednesday night in a television interview with Fox News. “But even without that, I don’t even like to talk about that, because it’s fading away, it’s going to fade away, but having a vaccine would be really nice and that’s going to happen.” Trump’s comments come as the U.S. continues to see 20,000 new daily cases from a pandemic that so far has killed 117,000 people in the country. Bloomberg

 

Trump: No more shutdowns . . . President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would not close businesses again as several states reported rising numbers of new coronavirus infections. 

“We won’t be closing the country again. We won’t have to do that,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel. Trump’s comments come after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin both said the United States could not shut down the economy again. Reuters

 

Meat plants offer employees steak, cash to work . . . Throughout the industry this spring, bonuses of steak and cash were instrumental in keeping workers on the job as the coronavirus rampaged through U.S. meatpacking plants. The payouts forced people on the lowest rung of the economic ladder to assess their pocketbooks against the health of their families and themselves. Bloomberg 

 

Bolton book says Trump asked China for help with reelection . . . Among the main revelations were that Bolton charged that President Trump regularly gives "personal favors to dictators he liked," backed the idea of more concentration camps in China, and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him in the 2020 election by buying more U.S. agricultural goods. Trump also apparently was unaware that Britain is a nuclear power and asked whether Finland is part of Russia, according to Bolton -- who further claims that during Trump's 2018 meeting with North Korea's leader, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo handed Bolton a note saying of Trump, “He is so full of sh--."

A source close to Pompeo told Fox News late Wednesday: “Bolton is about selling books, not about telling the truth.“ The source added that Pompeo isn’t a note-passer, and suggested Bolton should prove his claim by producing the purported note. Fox News

 

Oh come on. Everyone knows Finland is part of Russia. Sweden too.

 

Today's Trump Schedule 

 

Trump: "Washed up" Bolton "broke the law" . . . President Trump lashed out at former national security adviser John Bolton in an exclusive interview on "Hannity" on Wednesday night, saying Bolton "broke the law" by writing a forthcoming book about his time in the Trump administration. "He was a washed-up guy," Trump told host Sean Hannity, referring to Bolton. "He couldn't get Senate-confirmed. So I gave him a non-Senate-confirmed position. I could just put him there, see how we worked. And I wasn't very enamored." Fox News

 

 

DOJ proposes crackdown on tech industry legal shield . . . The Justice Department proposed a major update Wednesday to the law that shields internet companies from liability for content on their sites. DOJ's proposal, which would need Congress' blessing, would address a wide range of criticisms of the protections that digital companies have enjoyed under the 1996 Communications Decency Acyr. Among the changes: Sites or platforms that facilitate third-party content that violates federal law would no longer be able to claim immunity from lawsuits. Users could sue companies in cases that involve child sexual abuse, terrorism and cyberstalking. It also would be easier for users to sue over platforms' decisions to take down their content, a change intended to push companies to be more fair in removing content they find objectionable. Politico

 

Bob Woodward will publish a second book on Trump before election
 

Kente cloth worn by Democrats "does have ties to slavery" . . . 

es, that’s the conclusion of USA Today. You know, that horrible, right-wing fringe outlet. Now, you may remember this little display of sad, obsequious pandering. On June 8, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led senior Democrats in kneeling during nearly eight minutes of silence for George FloydIn order to add a layer of icing to the cake, they knelt wearing African kente cloths. These, it turns out, were all the fashion rage for the Asante people, who at one point during the 18th century were providing 6,000 to 7,000 individuals a year to serve as slaves overseas. White House Dossier

 

Kellyanne Conway gets a makeover . . . Kellyanne is that you? It sure looks like Kellyanne Conway has made some changes to her beauty regimen. The White House counselor was like a new woman when she appeared on Fox News this week, with more makeup on than usual, including contouring at her cheeks, glossy, full lips and smooth skin on her forehead and under her eyes. “What the hell happened to Kellyanne Conway??” radio host Stephanie Miller tweeted on Wednesday, one of several people to take notice of the apparent makeover. New York Post

 

Al Qaeda leader taken out with "Ninja bomb" . . . The journey of two senior Al Qaeda-aligned commanders in northwestern Syria on Sunday was suddenly cut short by a targeted U.S.-led strike — only it doesn't appear that they were killed by explosives, but a missile packed with knives. Video of the aftermath circulating on social media shows that the vehicle of the terrorist leaders – Jordanian Qassam ul-Urdini and Yemeni Bilal al-Sanaani – was mostly untouched, with just one side severed and the roof smashed in, prompting defense analysts to point to the use of a "secret" missile jointly developed by both the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. Fox News

 

Massive spying on users of Google Chrome . . . A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google’s market-leading Chrome web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry’s failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions. Google said it removed more than 70 of the malicious add-ons from its official Chrome Web Store after being alerted by the researchers last month. Reuters

 

China-India confrontation escalates . . . China today broadcast live-fire military drills on the Tibetan plateau as India warned of a 'befitting reply' after 20 of its soldiers were killed in bloody hand-to-hand combat at the disputed Himalayan border.

Communist state TV showed footage of artillery and tanks blowing apart the desert landscape. Beijing announced it had suffered 43 casualties, but did not specify whether any of its men had been killed in the first deadly combat between the two nuclear-armed countries since 1975. As hawks in Delhi demanded retribution for the skirmish, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned 'the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go in vain. India wants peace but if antagonised it can and will give a befitting reply whatever the situation is.' Daily Mail

 

Lloyd's of London to pay for sins of slave trade . . . The Lloyd’s of London insurance market has apologised for its “shameful” role in the 18th and 19th Century Atlantic slave trade and has agreed to fund charities and organisations promoting opportunities for black and ethnic minority groups.  About 17 million African men, women and children were torn from their homes and shackled into one of the world’s most brutal globalised trades between the 15th and 19th centuries. Many died in merciless conditions. “We are sorry for the role played by the Lloyd’s market in the 18th and 19th Century slave trade - an appalling and shameful period of English history, as well as our own,” Lloyd’s said. Reuters

 

Vatican urges Catholics to drop investments in fossil fuels and arms . . . The Vatican urged Catholics on Thursday to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to closely monitor companies in sectors such as mining to check if they are damaging the environment.  The calls were contained in a 225-page manual for church leaders and workers. The compendium suggests practical steps to achieve the goals of the encyclical, which strongly supported agreements to contain global warming and warned against the dangers of climate change. Reuters

 

Unemployment claims still high but have eased substantially . . .  A historically high number of workers continue to seek unemployment benefits each week, but applications have decreased substantially since an early spring peak amid signs the labor market and broader economy are recovering from the coronavirus-induced shock. New jobless claims have eased as states allowed businesses to reopen and employers recalled workers. Others signs of economic growth have emerged, including a May rebound in retail spending. But with the economy having slipped into recession this year, many firms have remained cautious about rehiring, leaving millions of people out of work since the pandemic hit.

 

Gallup: Most Americans happy with their financial situation . . . Most Americans rate their finances as good or excellent, according to a new Gallup survey. The numbers have come back up after dipping this spring. And what’s more, they are better now than any time during the Obama presidency. According to there survey, 53 percent rate their finances as "excellent" or "good," while 233 percent say they are "fair" and 14 percent say "poor." White House Dossier

 

Aunt Jemima to change name . . . The pancake syrup company Aunt Jemima is changing its name and imaging in the wake of renewed calls for racial equality. The Quaker Oats-owned company said Wednesday that the iconic Aunt Jemima figure on its packaging is "based on a racial stereotype" and acknowledged that its prior work to update the character was "not enough." "We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand," said Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America. Shoppers will start to see new packaging at the grocery store without the Aunt Jemima image in the fourth quarter of this year. The company's new name for the syrup and other products will be announced soon after. USA Today

 

 

Austrian man fined for farting "with full intent" at police . . . A man in Vienna has been fined 500 euros ($565) for breaking wind loudly in front of police — a move that the Austrian capital’s police force was at pains to defend on Tuesday.

The Oesterreich newspaper reported that the fine stemmed from an incident on June 5 and that the offender was fined for “offending public decency.” City police wrote on Twitter that “of course no one is reported for accidentally ‘letting one go.’” He got up from a park bench, looked at officers and “let go a massive intestinal wind apparently with full intent,” they said. “And our colleagues don’t like to be farted at so much.” Associated Press