Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
September 11, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Wildfires rage on the West Coast, leaving 23 dead and dozens missing . . . Wildfires raced through more than a dozen Western states Thursday, incinerating homes, forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations, and burning a swath of land almost the size of New Jersey. At least 23 people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed by more than 100 major fires that have consumed nearly 7,000 square miles. Authorities in
Oregon say more than 500,000 people statewide have been forced to evacuate because of wildfires - over 10% of the state’s 4.2 million population. "Unprecedented weather conditions have created emergency situations near wildfires throughout California, Oregon, Washington and other states," the National Fire Information Center warned. "Almost half of the large fires reported today have evacuation orders in place." Nineteen deaths have been reported in California, three in
Oregon and one in Washington state. In Northern California's Butte County, Sheriff Kory Honea said at least 10 people have died, including seven more added to the death toll Thursday. Dozens are missing and hundreds of homes were feared destroyed by a series of blazes 125 miles northeast of San Francisco called the North Complex fires. USA Today
College Covid cases fuel top US outbreaks . . . Across the country, college students' mounting coronavirus outbreaks have become an urgent public health issue. Of the 25 hottest outbreaks in the U.S., communities heavy with college students represent 19 of them. They span the map from Georgia Southern University to the University of North Dakota, from
Virginia Tech to Central Texas College. In some of the college towns, like Pullman, Washington, home to Washington State, students aren't even taking classes in person, yet are still crowding apartments and filling local bars. USA Today
Dining out increases risk more than other activities . . . Dining out is one of the riskiest possible activities during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, citing the fact that masks are not used while people are eating and drinking. CDC officials interviewed about 314 people who experienced symptoms of the virus and got tests, about half of whom were
positive. Both the positive and the negative subjects said they had engaged in activities such as attending church and in-person shopping. However, people who tested positive were about twice as likely than those who tested negative to say they had dined at a restaurant. The Hill
Hey bartender, make mine a double.
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After their bill fails, GOP senators say coronavirus aid dead until after election . . . Republican senators on Thursday declared a fifth coronavirus relief bill all but dead, the latest signal that Congress is unlikely to pass any further pandemic assistance before the November election.
Senate Democrats on Thursday rejected a pared down GOP relief bill brought to the floor amid a weeks-long stalemate in discussions between congressional Democrats and the White House that shows no signs of breaking. GOP senators after the vote expressed pessimism about the possibility of getting a deal in the
coming months. "Congress is not going to pass another COVID relief bill before the election," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in a video posted on Twitter. The Hill
I don't quite believe it. Both sides have a reason to do this. I've just seen this movie too many times where everyone on Capitol Hill says nothing will happen, and then, something happens.
Dozens of phones belonging to Mueller team had info wiped . . . More than 15 phones belonging to the investigative team of then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller were 'wiped' during the probe, according to recently released documents from the Department of Justice. Phones were wiped of information before the Office of Inspector General had a chance to review the devices, according to documents released after a lawsuit from the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch. Andrew Weissman, Mueller's deputy, 'accidentally wiped' his phone on two occasions after entering the wrong passcode too many times in March 2018. The records show that Lawyer James Quarles'
phone 'wiped itself' without his intervention. Daily Mail
Oh, how clumsy of me! Dropped it in the koi pond at the hotel.
Trump and Biden both to visit 9/11 memorial in Pennsylvania . . . President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are each traveling Friday to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honor the nearly 3,000 casualties in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. Trump is scheduled to be at the memorial from 9:30-10:45 a.m. Meantime, Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will travel in the morning to New York City to attend
the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s 19th anniversary commemoration ceremony. The Bidens will then travel to Shanksville in the afternoon to pay their respects to the victims of the attacks. USA Today
Video || Batter up! MSM pitching softballs to Biden
Democrats amass lead in early voting . . . Democrats are amassing an enormous lead in early voting, alarming Republicans who worry they’ll need to orchestrate a huge Election Day turnout during a deadly coronavirus outbreak to answer the surge. The Democratic dominance spreads
across an array of battleground states. In North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Democrats have a roughly three-to-one advantage over Republicans in absentee ballot requests. In Florida — a must-win for President Donald Trump — the Democratic lead stands at more than 700,000 ballot requests, while the party also leads in New Hampshire, Ohio and Iowa. Politico
Video || Biden says 6,114 military have died from Covid; actually, it's seven
Federal court blocks Trump from keeping illegal immigrants out of census . . . A three-judge panel in New York is blocking President Donald Trump from excluding undocumented immigrants from the census count for the purpose of congressional reapportionment.
The federal judges ruled Thursday that excluding the immigrants would violate both the 14th Amendment, which requires the number of House seats each state is allotted to be based on “counting the whole number of persons in each State,“ and federal law, which permits the Commerce secretary to include only census figures in his report to the president. Politico
Pelosi: Trump let coronavirus kill people to help the stock market
You know how Republicans are. They’ll kill for money. Also eat babies if you pay in cash.
Osama Bin Laden's niece backs Trump . . . Osama bin Laden's niece has written an open letter saying America needs to keep President Trump at the helm to help restore prosperity and liberty. Noor bin Ladin, 33, threw her support behind the US President in a letter written on September 6 and uploaded to her website ahead of the presidential elections in November. She is a long-time Trump supporter and wears her MAGA hat
around her native Switzerland.
'With President Trump at her helm, America stands a chance of restoring her principles, pride, independence and true place in the world as a beacon for liberty and hope for all,' she wrote in the letter.
'This to me, is what "Make America Great Again" means. Looking back at your country's foundation, and preserving what makes it truly GREAT. Daily
Mail
Not sure which is more perilous, being Osama Bin Laden's niece or wearing a MAGA hat.
Democrats charge Medicare chief spent millions to bolster her image . . . Private consultants to the federal official who oversees Medicare billed taxpayers almost $6 million in less than two years to bolster her personal image, including efforts to win awards, place her on lists of
powerful women and arrange meetings with influential people, a report by congressional Democrats said Thursday. The consultants, many with Republican Party ties, billed taxpayers up to $380 per hour on work largely aimed at polishing the profile of Medicare administrator Seema Verma, the investigators wrote. Daily Mail
CNN's Jake Tapper accused of lying about urging Republican not to challenge Democrat . . . CNN anchor Jake Tapper is facing criticism for "lying" after denying that he urged Republican candidate Sean Parnell not to run against incumbent Democrat Rep.
Conor Lamb for a western Pennsylvania House seat. Tapper suggested that Parnell would be better off running in a safer district for Republicans, according to a source close to, but unaffiliated with, Parnell’s campaign. The source accused Tapper of unethically participating in political activism. Fox News obtained a Twitter direct message that Tapper sent to Parnell’s @SeanParnellUSA account on Nov. 8, 2019, after he
officially declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district against Lamb. “And best of luck in your race. For the record, I wasn’t trying to talk you out of running -- I was trying to talk you into running in a safer R district! Lol,” Tapper wrote to Parnell. Fox News
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Biden and Trump campaigns each targeted by hackers . . . Hackers linked to Russia, China, and Iran are trying to spy on people tied to both U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Microsoft said on Thursday. The report came as Reuters revealed one of Biden’s main campaign advisory firms had been warned by the software giant that it was in the crosshairs of the same Russian hackers who intervened in
the 2016 U.S. election. The Microsoft statement highlights how advisers to both presidential campaigns are at risk from digital spies around the globe, as the two candidates face off on Nov. 3 in one of the most consequential U.S. presidential elections in decades. Reuters
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Japan moves to a more aggressive military posture . . . Months before he announced his resignation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set in motion a policy change that could for the first time allow Japan’s military to plan for strikes on land targets in China and other parts of Asia. Japan’s Self Defence Forces are geared toward stopping attackers in the air and the sea. The policy change would direct the military to create a
doctrine for targeting enemy sites on land - a mission that would require the purchase of long-range weapons such as cruise missiles. Reuters
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Economic rebound becomes more fragile . . . America’s economic rebound is about to get a lot tougher after an initial series of gains from the depths of the pandemic. Applications for regular state unemployment benefits continue to number more than 800,000 each week and chances in Congress diminished for additional support for the jobless and businesses on Thursday. What’s more, funding for the temporary supplemental jobless benefit
payments authorized by President Donald Trump in early August is running out. Bloomberg
Disgraced Theranos found Elizabeth Holmes to use "mental disease" defense . . . Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes may argue that she was suffering from a 'mental disease' when she allegedly defrauded investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars with her fake blood testing technology. The tentative plan for a so-called insanity defense was revealed on Wednesday when the US District Court in San Diego ruled that experts selected by the
prosecution could examine Holmes. Daily Mail
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California man firebombs offices of Republican women's group . . . A California man was charged Thursday with firebombing the offices of a Republican women’s group earlier this year, federal authorities announced. Carlos Espriu, 23, is accused of using Molotov cocktails to set fire to the offices of the East Valley Republican Women Federated (EVRWF) on May 31. According to a criminal complaint filed against Espriu,
he used a baseball bat to break the windows of the group’s headquarters before lighting “an improvised incendiary device” and throwing it into the building. He returned to the building twice more to throw the Molotov cocktails into the offices. Daily Caller
Okay, where's all the press coverage? Imagine if someone had done this to a Planned Parenthood office.
Football fans boos and Chiefs and Texans lock arms for "social justice" . . . Fans appeared to be unsatisfied after National Football League players locked arms in solidarity for social justice causes.
At the NFL's kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, players from both teams locked arms in unity as part of protests against racism, prompting loud boos from fans. One person is heard yelling, "Trump 2020!" The moment followed a decision from the Texans to remain in their locker room during both the national anthem and "Lift
Every Voice and Sing," a song that's been dubbed the African American anthem. During "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Chiefs reportedly locked arms along one end zone. Washington Examiner
Yeah. Booooo!
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Lululemon holds "resisting capitalism" class while selling $128 yoga pants . . . High-end athletic apparel maker Lululemon has come under fire for inviting followers on Twitter to a workshop teaching people how to 'resist capitalism'. The Zoom meeting planned for later
this month is to be hosted by company brand ambassador Rebby Kern. The 'Decolonizing Gender' workshop is 'to unveil historical erasure and resist capitalism'. 'Lululemon hosting a workshop to "resist capitalism" while selling us $180 yoga pants is peak 2020 tweeted Kevin Duffey. Daily Mail
Dozens of Austrians receive stimulus checks . . . .Dozens of Austrian citizens have received $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks from the US government, according to a report. At least 100 of the checks were recently deposited at two different banks in the country, Austria’s public broadcaster ORF reported Monday. One of the recipients, 73-year-old retiree Manfred Barnreiter, of Linz, was puzzled when he opened his mailbox to
find a check from the US Treasury signed by President Trump — and initially believed it was a scam. New York Post
They'll probably get mail-in voting ballots too.
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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