Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
September 14, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
More than 35 dead in western wildfires . . . Lindsie and Brittany Cline didn't wait for an evacuation notice before fleeing their home just outside Blue River, Oregon. The Clines lost power. Then they saw an ominous orange glow in the sky. "I knew pulling out of the driveway I wasn't ever going to see anything in that house again," Brittany Cline said. The Holiday Farm Fire essentially destroyed the town of Blue River while damaging
nearby communities. The blaze is one of almost 100 raging through 12 Western states, driven by gusting winds that by Sunday had swept deadly flames across an area almost the size of New Jersey. At least 35 people have died — 24 in California, 10 in Oregon and one in Washington state — since a rash of fires began burning in drought conditions a month ago. No one knows yet how many homes have been destroyed. USA Today
Pfizer may seek vaccine approval next month . . . The CEO of America's largest pharmaceutical company has said he believes vaccine for COVID-19 could be ready for approval as soon as next month, and for distribution by the end of the year. Albert Bourla, CEO of New York-based Pfizer said he was optimistic.
He said there was a 60 per cent chance that his scientists will know by the end of October whether their vaccine was effective, and that once the green light was given, doses could be produced quickly. Daily Mail
Googling for gut symptoms reveals coronavirus hot spots . . . Internet searches on gastrointestinal symptoms predicted a rise in Covid-19 cases weeks later, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found, demonstrating a novel early warning system for hot spots of the
pandemic disease. Researchers at the top-ranked hospital in Boston compared search interest in loss of taste and appetite, and diarrhea with the reported incidence of Covid-19 in 15 U.S. states from Jan. 20 to April 20. Using Google Trends online tool, they found the volume of searches correlated most strongly with cases in New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Illinois -- states with high disease burden -- three to four weeks later. Bloomberg
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Nevada governor accused Trump of recklessness with indoor rally . . . President Donald Trump hosted a crowded indoor political rally Sunday in Nevada, ignoring objections by the governor and others that he might have spread COVID-19 to unknown numbers of people. "Tonight, President Donald Trump is taking reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada," said Gov. Steve Sisolak, a
Democrat. "The president appears to have forgotten that this country is still in the middle of a global pandemic." "Tell your governor to open up your state," Trump told hundreds of supporters – most of them packed together on a factory floor, many of them not wearing masks given out by the Trump campaign. USA Today
Bloomberg to spend $100M to help Biden in Florida . . . Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is committing at least $100 million to help Joe Biden's presidential campaign in the crucial battleground state of Florida. Bloomberg's late stage infusion of cash reflects Democrats' concerns about the tight race in a state that is a priority for President Donald Trump. A victory for Biden in Florida, the largest of the perennial
battleground states, would significantly complicate Trump's path to reaching the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure a second term. Daily Mail
Biden proposing massive new spending . . . Joe Biden won the Democratic presidential nomination running as a moderate, rejecting the big-government plans of progressive rivals as unaffordable. In the general election campaign, he has rolled out his own multi-trillion-dollar platform that a new study finds would push long-term Washington spending to its highest level in decades. The former vice president has proposed a total of
$5.4 trillion in new spending over the next 10 years. That includes historically high allocations for sectors from education and health to child-care and housing. Wall Street Journal
Trump is moving forward with executive action to lower drug costs . . . President Trump on Sunday announced his intention to move forward with an executive order he signed in July that intends to lower the price of prescription drugs. Trump said that the order seeks to have the government purchase drugs at the same prices given to countries designated as “favored nations” because they have a competitive disadvantage on a specific
product. “My Most Favored Nation order will ensure that our Country gets the same low price Big Pharma gives to other countries,” Trump wrote. New York Post
Justin Fairfax declares run for Virginia governor despite two sexual assault allegations . . . Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax declared his candidacy for governor following a scandalous term as the state's second in command. Fairfax, a Democrat, announced on Saturday that he would be running for governor less than two years after he was accused of sexual assault by two women. Fairfax has denied the allegations and told
the Associated Press that he would not let a "smear campaign" stop his gubernatorial dreams. Washington Examiner
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Iran plotting to kill US ambassador to South Africa . . . The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, according to a U.S. government official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen the intelligence. News of the plot comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for President Donald Trump’s decision to kill a
powerful Iranian general earlier this year, the officials said. U.S. officials have been aware of a general threat against the ambassador, Lana Marks, since the spring. Politico
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Israel to go into lockdown . . . Israel will reinstate a strict countrywide lockdown this week amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement in a televised speech last night. Beginning on Friday, the eve of the Jewish New Year, schools, restaurants, shopping centres and hotels among other businesses will shut down and restrictions on movement will be imposed. Members of the public
will be ordered to stay within 500 yards of their homes. Press Association
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Amazon to hire another 100,000 workers . . . Amazon on Monday said it is recruiting 100,000 more workers - the fourth hiring spree it has announced for the United States this year - to keep pace with e-commerce demand that jumped during the pandemic. The world’s biggest online retailer said the positions are for full and part-time work in its home country and Canada, and these will include roles at 100 new warehouse and
operations sites it is opening this month. The Seattle-based company employed 876,800 people as of June 30, excluding contractors and temporary personnel. Reuters
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LA deputies who were shot in ambush expected to survive . . . Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot in what authorities described as an ambush attack are expected to survive amid an intense manhunt for the gunman captured on video firing inside their patrol car and as the violence became a new flashpoint in the political debate about policing and crime. Both deputies were shot in the head near the Compton Metro station
but went through surgery and are now listed in stable condition. Los Angeles Times
Two lives destroyed. Are liberals ashamed yet for supporting a movement demonizing cops?
Biden calls for gun control . . . Joe Biden called for gun control less than 24 hours after two LA County deputies were shot in the head and wounded during an ambush in Compton. 'Weapons of war have no place in our communities,' the former Vice President tweeted. 'We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.' Donald Trump's comments were in stark contrast to Biden's, calling for a 'fast trial' and the death penalty for the
'animal' who carried out the attack. Daily Mail
Does he actually think this shooting had anything to do with legally acquired guns?
Georgia deputy fired after beating black man at a traffic stop . . . A sheriff's deputy in Georgia has been fired after being captured on video repeatedly punching a Black man during a traffic stop, authorities said Sunday. Roderick Walker, 26, was arrested and beaten after Clayton County sheriff’s deputies pulled over the vehicle he was riding in Friday with his girlfriend, their 5-month-old child and his stepson for an alleged broken
taillight, said his attorney. The deputies asked for Walker’s identification and got upset and demanded he get out of the vehicle when he questioned why they needed it since he wasn’t driving, Williams said. USA Today
Protests erupt after police shoot knife-wielding man . . . Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in Pennsylvania as protests over the fatal police shooting of a man during a domestic disturbance call turned violent early Monday. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Lancaster following the death of Ricardo Munoz, 27, on Sunday afternoon. The protests erupted after an officer with the Lancaster City Bureau of Police
responded to a call of domestic disturbance at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, when Munoz rushed out with a large knife, according to body cam footage released by the police department. New York Post
Fans angered by politicization of NFL . . . Fans of the NFL have been expressing their dismay at how the NFL has become 'politicized' in the wake of recent Black Lives Matter protests. Teams opening their seasons in empty stadiums on Sunday knelt, locked arms, raised fists in protest or stayed off the field entirely for the 'Star-Spangled Banner' and the Black anthem 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' as the once-reluctant league brought racial
injustice to the forefront on the NFL's first full slate of games. But the gesture has provoked strong feelings among a segment of fans. Daily Mail
New York school under fire for cartoon comparing police to KKK, slave owners . . . A Westchester County high-school teacher kicked off his first day of classes by handing out an image on the Black Lives Matter movement — comparing modern-day cops to slave owners and the Ku Klux Klan. Westlake HS educator Christoper Moreno gave his 11th-graders a handout Sept. 8 which included a five-frame cartoon panel. The first three frames show slave
owners and a member of the KKK with their knees on the backs of black men in shackles. The last two panels depict a sheriff and a police officer each with their knees on the neck of a black man in handcuffs. New York Post
Gulf Coast braces for another hurricane . . . Mississippi Coast residents were seen filling sandbags and people in New Orleans were topping up their cars with gas on Sunday as it was announced Tropical Storm Sally is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane with 100-mile-per-hour winds by the time it makes landfall in southeast Louisiana on Tuesday. The storm will move slowly across southeast Louisiana, possibly bringing flooding rains
to New Orleans, which lies below sea level, the National Weather Service office in New Orleans warned. Daily Mail
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YouTuber livestreams himself taking poop on Pelosi's driveway . . . A YouTube star appeared to relieve himself on the driveway of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco residence during a livestream on Saturday, calling the act a “peaceful protest.” The video, titled “Poopalosi,” had
garnered more than 19,000 views Sunday night. In the footage, a man who identifies himself as “Armando” walks through the streets of San Francisco in search of the Speaker’s house. Once there, he sets up a camera across the street and stands on what appears to be Pelosi’s driveway for several minutes, eventually saluting his viewers before squatting down to poop on the pavement. After walking out of the frame he says, “That was for President Trump.” New York Post
United accused of packing NFL charter flights with young, blond crews . . . United Airlines packs its charter flights for sports teams with young, blond crews and bars older flight attendants from working the plum routes, according to a new lawsuit. In so doing, the airline bases the value of workers “entirely on their racial and physical attributes, and stereotypical notions of sexual allure,” according to two veteran flight attendants
who sued Friday in California. The attendants -- a Black woman who has worked for the airline for 28 years and a Jewish woman with 34 years of tenure -- say that they both tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get assigned to work the charter flights. Bloomberg
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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