Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
July 6, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Violence rages across New York over July 4th . . . Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has blamed Bill de Blasio for the city's recent surge in gun violence, accusing the mayor of 'surrendering' the city with hefty cuts to its police force as shootings surge across the US. At least
41 people were injured and at least nine killed following a troubling spike of shootings in the Big Apple across the holiday weekend. A spokesperson for the NYPD said the majority of the incidents occurred within a 15-hour time period. Shootings in New York City have doubled every week for the last three weeks. In the last seven days alone, the city has experienced a 142 percent surge in shootings compared to the same time period last year. Kelly blamed the chaos on de Blasio's
decision to slash $1 billion from the NYPD budget earlier in the week. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has previously disbanding an anti-crime plainclothes unit that had focused on stopping people and searching for guns. Daily Mail
COVID-19 virus may have been sent to Wuhan lab in 2013 . . . Virus samples sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology seven years ago closely resemble Covid-19, according to a report in the Sunday Times that highlights unanswered questions about the origins of the global pandemic. Scientists in 2013 sent frozen samples to the Wuhan lab from a bat-infested former copper mine in southwest China after six men who had been
clearing out bat feces there contracted a severe pneumonia, the newspaper said. Three of them died and the most likely cause was a coronavirus transmitted from a bat, the Sunday Times reported, citing a medic whose supervisor worked in the emergency department that treated the men. Bloomberg
FDA commissioner refuses to back Trump claim 99% of coronavirus cases harmless . . . Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to defend a claim from President Trump that most cases of the coronavirus are "harmless." "I'm not going to get into who is right and who is wrong," Hahn told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday when pressed on the matter. During his remarks at the White
House on Independence Day, the president said that "99% of which [cases] are totally harmless" without presenting any evidence to support the claim. Washington Examiner
Trump again taken literally. He meant the overwhelming majority are harmless. He speaks like a regular person, okay?
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Biden threatens to "transform" the country . . . Joe Biden tweeted Sunday night that if he gets elected, his administration “won’t just rebuild this nation — we’ll transform it,” raising speculation online about what exactly in the country will be transformed. The tweet comes after a politically charged Fourth of July weekend, as the country works to manage a new surge in COVID-19 cases and
tries to emerge from weeks of tense protests that have resulted in a widening divide between Democrats and Republicans. Biden’s tweet did not specify what exactly he means by transforming the country. Fox News
Transform the country . . . into what?
Potential Biden running mate: Removing George Washington statues worth discussing . . . Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., was asked about recent calls to remove monuments commemorating American founding fathers like Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they were slave owners. Rather than answer directly, Duckworth first changed the subject, then made inaccurate references to President Trump’s speech at
Mount Rushmore on Friday evening. “Well let me just say that we should start off by having a national dialogue on it at some point. Fox News
Trump plans outdoor rally in New Hampshire . . . President Donald Trump plans an outdoor rally in New Hampshire on Saturday, the campaign’s second of the coronavirus era following one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month that failed to draw the crowds his advisers predicted. The campaign’s announcement on Sunday of the planned rally comes at the end of a holiday weekend that saw the Republican reaffirm his vow to defeat what he called the
“radical left,” as polls show him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Reuters
Trump voters think America is great, Biden voters say average or worse . . . When you see a flag on someone’s porch, do you assume the people inside are Republicans or Democrats? Be honest. Liberals would say they are devoted to “making the United States better” and to “social justice.” No excuse. You can recognize this country is flawed, as all of humanity is, and still celebrate is as the greatest on earth. Ever. According to
USA Today: Almost 9 of 10 Trump voters, 87%, said the United States was the greatest or one of the greatest countries in the world. Almost 6 in 10 Biden voters, 59%, said it was average, has fallen behind, or is one of the worst. White House Dossier
Soros set to double 2016 spending . . . Liberal billionaire George Soros is on pace to double his 2016 election spending as he works to oust President Donald Trump, public records show. Soros's big investments in the 2020 race have gone into the coffers of the Democracy PAC, a super PAC that passes money to other liberal PACs working to defeat Trump and congressional Republicans. The super PAC has received $40 million— double the $20 million Soros spent on Democratic efforts during the 2016 election cycle—from both Soros and a nonprofit in his sprawling network. Washington Free Beacon
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China threatens to destroy US aircraft carrier groups . . . Chinese state media said Saturday the double US aircraft carrier deployment to the South China Sea is 'at their pleasure'. In a tweet The Global Times also warned: 'China has a wide selection of anti-aircraft carrier weapons like DF-21D and DF-26 "aircraft carrier killer" #missiles.' Two U.S. aircraft carriers were conducting exercises in the
disputed South China Sea on Saturday, the U.S. navy had said, as China also carried out military drills that have been criticized by the Pentagon and neighboring states. Daily Mail
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India has third-highest number of coronavirus cases . . . India has surpassed Russia to report the world’s third-highest number of coronavirus cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The news came as plans to reopen the Taj Mahal monument were scrapped amid the rising number of cases, especially in the northern city of Agra, where the international tourist attraction is located. The white marble
mausoleum was closed to visitors in March. As of early Monday, India had reported 697,413 total infections to date, compared with 686,777 in Russia. Washington Post
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Coronavirus accelerates move toward cashless economy . . . Cash was already being edged out in many countries as urban consumers paid increasingly with apps and cards for even the smallest purchases. But the coronavirus is accelerating a shift toward a cashless future, raising new calculations for merchants and enriching the digital payments industry. Fears over transmission of the disease have compelled consumers to rethink
how they shop and pay. Retailers and restaurants are favoring clicks over cash to reduce exposure for employees. New York Times
Kind of concerning. If you don't see the money, you don't feel the spending.
World stocks rally to four-week high as investors bet on China revival . . . Global stock markets rallied to four-week highs and China’s yuan headed for its best day against the dollar since December on Monday as investors counted on a revival in China to boost global growth, even as surging coronavirus cases delayed business re-openings across the United States. MSCI’s All-Country World Index, which tracks shares across 49 countries, rose 0.7% to
its highest since June 6, by midday in London. Reuters
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United States population growth driven only by minorities . . . Population growth in the United States has been driven only by minorities in the last decade, according to a new report. Data analysis by Brookings suggests the last decade will also be the first in America's history where the white population declined in numbers. Estimates released by the US Census Bureau ahead of the 2020 results show that last year, for the first time,
more than 50 per cent of those under 16 also identified as a racial or ethnic minority. Daily Mail
White House people too busy with video games.
Atlanta mayor demands violence end after child shot near where Rayshard Brooks died . . . Following the deadly shooting of an 8-year-old girl over the holiday weekend near where Rayshard Brooks was killed last month in Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) demanded an end to the violence that has beset the city amid protests over racism and police brutality. “You shot and killed a baby,” Bottoms said Sunday evening at a news
conference, speaking to the young girl’s killers, who have yet to be identified or arrested . “If you want people to take us seriously, and you don’t want us to lose this movement, then we can’t lose each other in this. Washington Post
Oh, okay, now she's mad. So does she finally support police officers defending themselves against being shot with their own taser?
Virginia officials order American flag removes from construction site . . . State officials in Virginia ordered the removal of a large American flag from a construction site ahead of the Fourth of July, calling it a potential target for people protesting racial injustice and police brutality. Dena Potter, spokeswoman for the state Department of General Services, said officials asked a contractor to take down the flag from a new office building
for state lawmakers under construction in Richmond. “Over the past month we’ve seen buildings and structures around Capitol Square vandalized and flags, dumpsters, a bus and other items set ablaze during demonstrations around the city,” Potter said in an email. Washington Times
How symbolic. Taking down the flag over fear of the mob. Did they put a white flag in its place?
Black armed protestors march through Confederate memorial park in Georgia . . . A predominantly Black group of heavily armed protesters marched through Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta on Saturday, calling for removal of the giant Confederate rock carving at the site that civil rights activists consider a monument to racism. Scores of demonstrators dressed in black - many in paramilitary-style clothing and all wearing face scarves - quietly
parading several abreast down a sidewalk at the park. Many of the protesters carried rifles, including military-type weapons, and some wore ammunition belts slung over their shoulders. One video clip showed a leader of the demonstrators, who was not identified, shouting into a loudspeaker in a challenge to white supremacists who historically have used Stone Mountain as a rallying spot of their own. “I don’t see no white militia,” he declared. “We’re here. Where ... you at? We’re in your house.
Let’s go.” Reuters
#CancelHamilton begins . . . Calls have been made to 'cancel Hamilton' just days after the Broadway musical's streaming debut on Disney+, after a renewed focus on it's lead character, Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The show, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, portrays Hamilton as a 'young, scrappy, and hungry' immigrant and someone who was passionate about the abolition of slavery. However, in light of recent Black Lives
Matter protests, the story has now come under greater scrutiny - with some pointing out that Hamilton was a slave trader. Daily Mail
Can't we just put the show in a museum instead of canceling it?
Case of brain eating-amoeba in Florida . . . A case of a rare brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in Florida, according to health officials in the US state. The Florida Department of Health said one person in Hillsborough County had contracted Naegleria fowleri. The microscopic, single-celled amoeba can cause an infection of the brain, and is usually fatal. Commonly found in warm freshwater, the amoeba enters the body through
the nose. BBC
Brain-eating amoeba. Hmm. So THAT's what's been going on in the country.
Broadway actor Nick Cordero succumbs to coronavirus after long struggle . . . Nick Cordero, a musical theater actor whose intimidating height and effortless charm brought him a series of tough-guy roles on Broadway, died on Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 41. His death was announced on Instagram by his wife, Amanda Kloots. The couple, who moved from New York to Los Angeles last year, have a 1-year-old
son, Elvis. “My darling husband passed away this morning,” she wrote. “He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth.” She did not cite a cause, but he had been hospitalized for three months after contracting the
coronavirus. New York Times
Composer Enrico Morricone dead at 91 . . . Morricone's innovative and influential scores revolutionised the music of the film industry.
He became famous for scoring the Spaghetti Westerns directed by his friend Sergio Leone, such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. His sparse soundtracks were a vital component of Leone's revolutionary take on the Western genre. Yet this association often pained him because he was, in fact, a composer of great versatility with more
than 500 film and TV scores to his credit. BBC
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Congressional candidate claims Beyonce is not black, but Italian . . . A congressional candidate is receiving widespread ridicule for sharing an outlandish conspiracy theory about Beyoncé's heritage in a bizarre Twitter rant on Saturday. KW Miller, who is running to represent Florida’s 18th Congressional District in November, claimed the 24-time Grammy winner is 'not even African American.' 'She is faking this for
exposure. Her real name is Ann Marie Lastrassi. She is Italian,' he tweeted. 'This is all part of the Soros Deep State agenda for the Black Lives Matter movement.' Daily Mail
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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