Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
August 26, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Melania uses convention speech to smooth away Trump's rough edges . . . The first lady intervened directly in unfolding events, as violence flared for a second night in Kenosha, WI, in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. 'I urge people to come together in a civil manner so we can work and live up to our standard American ideals. I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice,' she said. Unlike
Trump, she said of racial division: 'Like many of you, I have reflected on the racial unrest in our country. We are not proud of parts of our history.' That set a tonal contrast to her husband, who clapped from the front row of the Rose Garden as she spoke, with her parents just behind him. And she paid explicit tribute to the dead of the coronavirus pandemic - never using his 'China virus' phrase' - saying she mourned with those left behind. Daily Mail
Nick Sandmann: I would not let the media cancel me . . . Covington Catholic High School graduate Nick Sandmann Tuesday night stood before the Lincoln Memorial and introduced himself to the nation. "Good evening everyone. My name is Nick Sandmann, and I'm the teenager who was defamed by the media," Sandmann said. Sandmann in 2019 found himself in the middle of a nationwide controversy after a video of him and a Native
American elder facing each other in a crowd went viral. "How could I have possibly imagined the simple act of putting on that red hat would unleash hate from the left and make myself the target of network and cable news networks nationwide," Sandmann said. USA
Today
Republican convention packs a punch without the Dems' fancy footwork . . . It lacks the glossy production values of its Democratic counterpart, but the Republican National Convention evening connects with voters on a deeper level. I believe it is going to succeed in a way the Democratic confab did not. Without the Hollywood star hosts, the box-TV set video applause, and the slick editing, the Republican convention had a ring of authenticity. It is
old fashioned person-to-person appeal, just speaker after speaker trying to convince the public that the country is a great nation, that Trump deserves reelection, and that putting Joe Biden in office will lead to disaster. Many of the speakers offer emotional, unvarnished – or barely varnished – personal testimony. White House Dossier
Bette Midler roasted for mocking Melania Trump as an "illegal alien" . . . Entertainer Bette Midler was ripped on social media after mocking Melania Trump's accent during the first lady's Republican National Committee speech from the Rose Garden late Tuesday and for referring to her as an illegal alien. “#beBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!”
Midler tweeted to her 1.9 million followers. The Hill
Trump pardons bank robber and swears in new Americans . . . The second night of the Republican National Convention tried to set a positive tone of optimism Tuesday as President Donald Trump pardoned a convicted bank robber and attended the swearing in ceremony of five new U.S. citizens. The now former felon, Jon Ponder, and the FBI agent who arrested him, Rich Beasley, appeared for a video together before prerecorded footage of them speaking
alongside the president from the White House began. At the end of the joint remarks with the three men – the president surprised Ponder with a pardon. 'I'd like to invite Jon's wife Jamie to join us as I grant John, I'm not sure you know this, a full pardon. So I don't know if you know that,' Trump said before sitting down and signing the pardon. 'You have done incredible work,' Trump told Ponder as the former prisoner got teary eyed. Ponder served a five-year sentence for bank robbery, and
after his release he dedicated his life to helping those getting out of prison by starting a reentry program for newly freed individuals. Daily Mail
Democrats cry foul as Trump uses White House backdrop for convention . . . Trump made use of the White House as the backdrop and soundstage for events at Tuesday night's convention as he made the case for reelection, drawing howls from Democrats and watchdog groups that he was misusing government property. Daily Mail
"Angel mom" RNC speech canceled after retweeting anti-Semitic tweet . . . An “Angel Mom” whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant was pulled from speaking at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night after she retweeted a social media post containing an anti-Semitic message. Mary Ann Mendoza said on Twitter shortly before the second night of the convention began that she had “retweeted a very long thread earlier without reading every
post within the thread.” Her tweet linked to a lengthy thread from a QAnon devotee that espoused anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Washington Times
Employers may force you to get the vaccine . . . Some companies concerned about liability issues, health and safety may need to decide whether to force their employees to get vaccinated if they want to continue working or return to the office, experts say.
And some experts are already calling on employers to make it mandatory, which, they say, would generally be legal. But others caution against mandates, saying that they could backfire by making Americans more resistant to a vaccine they're already concerned about and more likely to embrace anti-vaxxer sentiment. USA Today
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Democrats nervous as Biden refuses to travel . . . Some Democrats say they’re increasingly nervous watching Trump on the go. Last week, in an effort to counter the Democratic National Convention, the president traveled to Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the state where Democrats had planned to have their convention. All three states are considered swing states in the presidential race.
Biden, who leads Trump in a string of recent polls in Wisconsin and other battleground states, said this week that he will forgo traditional travel and remain close to home. “We're going to follow the science, what the scientists tell us,” he told ABC's David Muir. The Hill
He'll get out in October once he sees his poll numbers falling.
Biden gets no convention bounce . . . Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saw no bounce in popular support after last week’s Democratic National Convention, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, pointing to Americans’ hardened political views. Biden held his lead over President
Donald Trump in the national opinion poll taken Aug. 19 to 25, with 47% of registered voters backing the Democratic challenger and 40% supporting the Republican incumbent. That was a similar edge to what Biden had before his party’s convention, a scaled-back, virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters
Vic Berger Video || The Best of Joe Biden and the Clintons
Video || Hillary Clinton to Biden: Don't concede if the election is close . . . Hillary Clinton says Joe Biden should not concede if he loses in the Electoral College and the vote count is close in a number of states. You know, like what happened to her. Which is also Hillary saying: If I didn’t concede, I might have won. Hillary, let it go, please. Driven by her fury, she has nothing to lose,
and as good Clinton’s do, will subvert the interests of the nation for their own. White House Dossier
Susan Rice faults Pompeo for being "overly religious" . . . Former Obama-era national security adviser Susan Rice said Tuesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo being an "overtly religious" member of President Trump's cabinet was "problematic." "Mike Pompeo has been an overtly religious secretary of state, which in itself is problematic, because, again, he's supposed to represent all of America, all of our religions, all of our threads,"
she said in an interview on MSNBC. Members of the Trump administration have frequently been faulted for their Christian faith over the past four years by liberal officials and members of the media. Washington Free Beacon
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US, China tensions raise Taiwan conflict fears . . . Numerous Chinese and U.S. military exercises, Taiwan missiles tracking Chinese fighters and plummeting China-U.S. ties make for a heady cocktail of tension that is raising fears of conflict touched off by a crisis over Taiwan. In the last three weeks, China has announced four separate exercises along its coast, from the Bohai Gulf in the north to the East and Yellow Seas and
South China Sea, along with other exercises it said were aimed at “the current security situation across the Taiwan Strait”. Reuters
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German schools reopening successfully . . . Social distancing and face masks are mandatory on most school grounds, but rarely inside classrooms. If students had to wear masks for several hours a day, the argument in Germany goes, their ability to learn would suffer. Instead, schools aim to better ventilate classrooms and keep classes separate so that each student has contact with only a few dozen others, and outbreaks
can be contained. Several weeks into returning to school, educators and even virologists who were skeptical about reopening say that early results look hopeful. Despite individual infections popping up in dozens of schools, there have been no serious outbreaks — and no lasting closures. New York Times
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Fed likely to hold rates at zero for five years . . . The Federal Reserve looks likely to keep short-term interest rates near zero for five years or possibly more after it adopts a new strategy for carrying out monetary policy. The new approach, which could be unveiled as soon as next month, is likely to result in policy makers taking a more relaxed view toward inflation, even to the point of welcoming a modest, temporary rise
above their 2% target to make up for past shortfalls. Bloomberg
Fed official says economy show signs of life . . . Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George says the U.S. ec onomy is in a recession now, but we may not have a double-dip downturn.
“I think my forecast is the economy will continue to grow, given the right supports. And so that's what I'm looking forward to,” she said in an interview with FOX Business. George sees a rebound after a historic drop in GDP growth in the second quarter of an estimated 32.9%, as forecasted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She
sees unemployment getting into high single digits by the end of the year after hitting 10.2% in July. Fox Business
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Two killed as Kenosha rioting spirals . . . Kenosha police are now confirming that two people are dead following a shooting amid unrest in the city that began Tuesday night and spilled into early Wednesday. At about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday police responded to the area of 63rd Street and Sheridan Road for reports of shots being fired and multiple gunshot victims. The shooting resulted in two fatalities and a third gunshot victim was
transported to a hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries, according to Nosalik. He said the shooting investigation is "active and ongoing." Kenosha News
BLM protestors accost white diners outside DC restaurants . . . A large crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters have accosted white diners outside several Washington, D.C. restaurants, demanding that they raise their fists to show solidarity with the
movement. Footage showing the demonstrators aggressively yelling at one woman in the Adams Morgan neighborhood went viral on social media and sparked a widespread backlash. Many accused the protesters of acting like an 'aggressive mob' and using 'intimidation tactics' to order diners into submission. Daily Mail
Watch the liberal elite start to take BLM more seriously as the rioting gets closer to them.
Spread of California fires slows . . . Fire crews are achieving better containment and growth is slowing on the LNU Lightning Complex, one of the two largest among several hundred wildfires that have sparked across California in the past week and a half amid widespread thunderstorms, state fire officials said Tuesday morning. The complex of fires burning primarily in Napa, Lake and Sonoma counties has killed at least five people, destroyed
more than 930 structures, damaged 250 others and continues to threaten about 30,000 more buildings. Sacramento Bee
Hurricane Laura strengthens as it barrels toward Texas and Louisiana . . . Hurricane Laura is growing and "rapidly" strengthening off the Gulf Coast, with "no signs it will stop soon." It t is forecast to bring life-threatening storm surge, fierce winds winds and flash flooding to eastern Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center says. Laura will "rapidly strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane" as it barrels
toward the Upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts Wednesday evening. USA Today
Falwells deny Jerry Jr. watched his wife has sex with the pool boy . . . Becki Falwell claimed Tuesday that she and the husband she cheated on, evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., are “more in love than ever” — and insists he never watched her have sex with her much younger lover. “We have the strongest relationship, and Jerry is the most forgiving person I’ve ever met,” said Becki, 53, who began an extramarital affair with a
Miami pool boy around 2012 — trysts that allegedly excited her spying evangelical hubby. Becki denied to the Washington Post that her husband ever watched her have sex with pool boy Giancarlo Granda, 29. New York Post
Okay, I know you've had enough of this, I just had to get their denial in.
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Man fights off California fires with Bud Lite . . . A California man attempting to defend his home from a wildfire said he turned to an unusual source of help when his water was shut off: several cases of Bud Lite beer. Chad Little said he decided to stay behind when his family evacuated their Vacaville home last week as the LNU Lightning Complex Fires approached their neighborhood. I was just shaking it up, popping it
just and spraying them, popping it out and grabbing another one," Little told KCRA-TV. "My buddies all tease me about drinking water beer, and I say, 'Hey, saved my shop.'" He said firefighters eventually arrived in the neighborhood and helped keep the flames away from his home.
Little said his carport burned to the ground, but his home was untouched by the flames. UPI
I've always found that Miller Lite works better when I need to put out a fire.
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Keith Koffler
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