AstraZeneca still expects to know about Covid vaccine by end of year . . . AstraZeneca should still know by year-end whether its experimental vaccine protects people against coronavirus, as long as it is cleared to resume trials soon, its chief executive said on Thursday amid doubts over its rollout. Governments desperate to put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused more than 900,000 deaths and huge economic and social disruption during 2020 are pinning their hopes on a vaccine. However British drugmaker AstraZeneca suspended late-stage trials on its potential vaccine this week after an illness in a participant in Britain. Reuters

 

 

Woodward under attack for sitting on Trump comment that coronavirus was deadly . . . Bob Woodward, facing widespread criticism for only now revealing President Donald Trump’s early concerns about the severity of the coronavirus, said he needed time to be sure that Trump’s private comments from February were accurate. In Woodward’s upcoming book on Trump, “Rage,” the president is quoted saying the virus was highly contagious and “deadly stuff” at a time he was publicly dismissing it as no worse than the flu. On Twitter and elsewhere online, commentators accused Woodward of valuing book sales over public health. “Nearly 200,000 Americans have died because neither Donald Trump nor Bob Woodward wanted to risk anything substantial to keep the country informed,” wrote Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce. Associated Press

 

US to end Covid screening for arriving international travelers . . .

The US government is set to end enhanced screening of some international passengers for COVID-19 and drop requirements that travelers coming from the targeted countries arrive at 15 designated US airports, according to US and airline officials and a government document seen by Reuters. The administration earlier this year imposed enhanced screening requirements on travelers who had been in China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Iran and the Schengen region of Europe. Daily Mail

 

 

 

Top Trump officials say Democrats behind DHS whistleblower allegation . . .  Two senior Trump administration officials suspect Democrats are the hidden hand behind a Department of Homeland Security official’s claim that agency leaders manipulated internal intelligence reports to match up with false statements President Trump made about antifa and anarchists. Brian Murphy, the acting undersecretary who was recently booted from the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, is attempting to save face amid a congressional investigation, both officials alleged. They separately said that they were concerned that the sudden cooperation between Murphy and congressional Democrats may have more to do with Democrats trying to take down the Trump administration two months out from the election than rectifying a smaller matter of how Murphy carried out his job following other complaints. CNN reported earlier Wednesday that Murphy accused acting Secretary Chad Wolf and acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Director Ken Cuccinelli of ordering intelligence officials to modify internal reports so that they back up Trump's claims on liberal movements and far-left threats. Washington Examiner

 

Trump releases Supreme Court list and challenges Biden to do the same . . .  President Trump has most of his party united behind him and can easily release a list of nominees who will satisfy almost everyone. Biden is a liberal pretending to embrace socialism, and so his list will anger one of those wings of his party. And it would make the election more about policy and less about Trump’s Twitter feed, which is where Biden wants to stay focused. Among those added to his 2016 list include 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bridget S. Bade, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley. White House Dossier

 

Pelosi's San Francisco salon goes out of business . . . San Francisco hair salon owner Erica Kious is shutting her doors for good after controversy over a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week destroyed her business. “I am actually done in San Francisco and closing my doors, unfortunately,” she announced. Fox News obtained surveillance video last week of Pelosi visiting the salon for a hair wash and blowout, despite the fact that San Francisco salons were closed at the time due to the coronavirus pandemic. The video showed Pelosi walking through the interior of the salon without wearing a mask. Fox News

 

Trump bragged to Woodward about secret nuclear weapons . . . President Donald Trump reportedly revealed the existence of and bragged about a supposedly secret nuclear weapons system during an interview with Bob Woodward, according to an excerpt published Wednesday from his new book “Rage.” Trump was speaking to Woodward about how close the U.S. had come to war with North Korea in 2017 when he brought up the nuclear weapons system. “I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before,” Trump reportedly told Woodward, according to The Washington Post. “We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about.” Daily Caller

 

Russian hackers suspected of targeting Biden-allied firm . . . Microsoft recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers, according to three people briefed on the matter. The hacking attempts targeted staff at Washington-based SKDKnickerbocker, a campaign strategy and communications firm working with Biden and other prominent Democrats, over the past two months, the sources said. Reuters

 

Navalny getting better, able to speak . . . Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has made further progress in his recovery after what Germany said was poisoning with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent, and is able to speak again, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday. The Kremlin critic is being treated in Berlin’s Charite hospital after falling ill on a Russian domestic flight last month. Reuters

 

India records nearly 96,000 coronavirus infections in a day . . . India reported record jumps in new coronavirus infections and deaths on Thursday, taking its tally of cases past 4.4 million, health ministry figures showed. In the last 24 hours, 95,735 new infections were detected, with 1,172 deaths accounting for the highest single-day mortality figures in more than a month, to push the toll beyond 75,000. Infections are growing faster in India than anywhere else in the world and the United States is the only nation worse affected. Reuters

 

Amazon hiring 33K people at salaries averaging $150K . . . Amazon is inviting the public to take part in a virtual career fair next week where prospective hires can submit resumes for its corporate and tech divisions as the retailing juggernaut continues its expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the latest sign of how it's prospering while others are faltering during the global public health crisis, Amazon said on Wednesday it is seeking to bring aboard 33,000 people for corporate and tech roles in the next few months. Daily Mail

 

Watchdog says Amazon raised prices on essentials amid the pandemic . . . Amazon charged inflated prices for hand sanitizer, disposable gloves and other essentials months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a consumer watchdog said in a report accusing the world’s largest online retailer of price gouging. The report, released Thursday by Public Citizen, examines roughly two dozen products on Amazon’s site. Relying on its own observations and data from price-tracking sites, the nonprofit public interest group documented price increases of as much as 1,000% when compared with pre-pandemic levels or prices at other large retailers. Bloomberg

 

Netflix releases "Cuties" movie sexualizing children . . . “Cuties,” the award-winning French film featuring young teen dancers was released Wednesday on Netflix and is receiving another round of backlash from viewers for its depiction of children in sexual situations. The film, which is directed by French movie maker Maïmouna Doucouré, centers around Amy, 11, joining young underage female dancers in a group “named ‘the cuties’ at school, and rapidly grows aware of her burgeoning femininity – upsetting her mother and her values in the process,” according to the films description. Footage of the movie began to go viral Wednesday night with many viewers accusing Netflix of promoting pedophilia and sexualizing children for allowing “Cuties” on their streaming platform. Daily Caller

 

 

NY gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, including Andrew Yang's wife . . . A former Columbia University gynecologist accused of sexually abusing more than two dozen patients, including the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, has been released on $1 million bail. Robert A. Hadden, 62, faces federal charges including six counts of inducing others to travel to engage in illegal sex acts in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday. The sexual abuse allegations against Hadden date back as early as 1993. Daily Mail

 

Woman votes topless after being told anti-Trump T-shirt not allowed . . . A woman voting in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary found an unorthodox way of protesting an election official who ruled her T-shirt was a form of electioneering: She took it off and voted topless. Exeter Town Moderator Paul Scafidi said the woman walked into the Talbot gymnasium Tuesday wearing a “McCain Hero, Trump Zero” T-shirt. As a ballot clerk was checking her name off the voter list, Scafidi said he informed the woman she could not wear a shirt with a political candidate featured on it while she voted. State law states no person “shall distribute, wear, or post at a polling place any campaign material,” in part, and if convicted, is subject to a fine up to $1,000. USA Today

 

Man saved by floating Tiki Bar of priests after praying to Jesus for help . . . A man at a New York lake thought he was going to die stranded in the water, until a floating Tiki bar of priests happened to come by, saving his life, numerous sources reported. Jimmy MacDonald was at Lake George in Albany paddling his kayak, and drifted away from his wife and step kids while taking pictures. But choppy water made it difficult for him to get back to shore, and then he tipped over and lost his kayak paddle. He was stranded in 30 feet of water, with his life jacket coming up over his head as he desperately held on to the kayak and his new $1,400 smartphone. He tried to regain control of the kayak, but soon enough, began to lose hope that he’d survive. “That’s when I said, ‘Alright, I think I might die today. I think this might be it.’ I prayed to my lord and savior Jesus Christ for help,” MacDonald said. Daily Caller