Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
October 19, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Ex-Facebook and Twitter execs working for Biden campaign . . . The Biden campaign is facing renewed criticism over its deep connections with Big Tech after both Twitter and Facebook censored a story from The New York Post detailing allegedly corrupt business deals by Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. The move prompted fresh criticism on social media over the Biden transition team’s hiring of top
Facebook executive Jessica Hertz, which reportedly came days after the 2020 Democrat’s campaign penned a letter to the social media giant urging them to censor President Trump’s posts. Twitter’s suppression of the Hunter Biden revelations also came days after the company’s director of public policy, Carlos Monje, reportedly left his post to work for the Biden transition team. Fox News
Covid vaccine rolling off Pfizer production line by the thousands . . . Drug giant Pfizer has already manufactured 'several hundred thousand doses' of the jab at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. They are being stockpiled ready to be rolled out worldwide if clinical trials are a success, and regulators deem it safe and effective. The US giant hopes to make 100 million doses available this year, of
which 40 million are destined for the UK – a figure that will be dwarfed by the 1.3 billion jabs the company aims to manufacture in 2021. Daily Mail
Twitter raps Trump Covid advisor Atlas over masks . . . Twitter on Sunday removed a “misleading” tweet downplaying the efficacy of masks posted by a top coronavirus adviser to President Donald Trump, while U.S. cases surged before the Nov. 3 election. As the Trump administration fends off accusations that its mixed messaging on wearing masks hampered the fight against the coronavirus, Dr. Scott Atlas continued to minimize the importance of masks
with a Twitter post on Saturday, saying, “Masks work? NO.” Reuters
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Trump says US would be in "massive depression" if he'd listened to the experts . . . President Trump said the US would be in the throes of a “massive depression” if he had “totally” heeded advice from scientists on coronavirus-related lockdown measures. Trump made the economic prediction at his Sunday rally in Carson City, Nevada, adding that the country would endure another Great Depression if Joe Biden is elected president. “He’s
gonna lock down. This guy wants to lock down,” Trump said of Biden, referring to the coronavirus lockdowns for public safety. New York Post
Here's is Biden's fake argument. He says Trump ruined the economy. And he says we needed a bigger lockdown. Well, which is it?
Trump to tone it down during upcoming debate . . . Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller signaled Sunday that President Donald Trump will take a less combative tack toward Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during their televised debate this week. “When you talk about style and you talk about approach, I do think that President Trump is going to give Joe Biden a little bit more room to explain himself on some of these issues,”
Miller said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” Politico
Okay, but Trump needs to make the arguments and debate. Because he can't count on Biden acting senile, because he has seemed quite coherent at the last debate an in his town hall.
Ron Johnson demands FBI confirm Hunter Biden laptop . . . Senator Ron Johnson demanded that FBI Director Christopher Wray reveal details surrounding Hunter Biden's hard drive as he claimed the Biden campaign's response to the scandal was 'pretty odd.' 'The FBI has a duty to inform us. If they believe this was maybe Russian disinformation, they should give us a defensive briefing,' Johnson told Fox News' Maria Batiromo on 'Sunday Morning
Futures.' Daily Mail
Trump goes to church, drops huge donation in the plate . . . President Trump made a sizable offering to the collection bucket while attending church services on Sunday in Las Vegas. Trump, who was in Nevada on a campaign trip to the crucial battleground state, was attending a service at the International Church of Las Vegas before a campaign event in Carson City later in the day. As the collection was being taken up, Trump
reached into his back pocket a pulled out a number of $20 bills, which he later deposited into a bucket that was being passed around. Fox News
Kirstie Alley attacked for supporting Trump . . . Kirstie Alley came under attack on Twitter Saturday night after declaring: 'I’m voting for Donald Trump because he’s NOT a politician.' The Cheers actress, 69, shared her views on the presidential race, tweeting: 'I voted for him 4 years ago for this reason and shall vote for him again for this reason. 'He gets things done quickly and he will turn the economy around
quickly. There you have it folks there you have it'. Daily Mail
Brian Wilson disavows Beach Boys benefit for Trump . . . Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has disavowed a concert staged at a Donald Trump fundraiser in California on Sunday, insisting that neither he nor Al Jardine support the president in any way. Wilson, 78, formed the band with his brothers Dennis and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Dennis died in 1983 aged 39, and Carl in 1998, aged 51.
Following Carl's death Love, now 79, was given permission to tour as the Beach Boys, and it was his band that played on Sunday for the president. Daily Mail
Biden attacks reporter for question about NY Post report . . . Biden lashed out at a CBS reporter Friday night who asked a question about the New York Post’s report on his son, Hunter Biden. “Mr. Biden, what is your response to the New York Post story about your son, sir?” CBS reporter Bo Erickson asked during a press gaggle outside Biden’s plane Friday. “I know you’d ask it,” Biden responded. “I have no response, it’s another
smear campaign.” The former vice president went on to criticize the question from Erickson as “right up your alley.” “Those are the questions you always ask,” he complained. Daily Caller
John Kelly says Trump the "the most flawed person" he's ever met . . . Former White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, has told friends that President Donald Trump "is the most flawed person" he's ever known. "The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it's more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met
in my life," the retired Marine general has told friends. CNN
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Ex-Mexican defense minister arrested for drug and money laundering . . . A former Mexican defense minister was arrested on Thursday night after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport with his family, according to the Mexican government, becoming the first high-ranking military official to be taken into custody in the United States in connection with drug-related corruption in his country. Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos
Zepeda, who was Mexico’s defense minister from 2012 to 2018, was arrested by American officials at the request of the Drug Enforcement Administration and will face drug and money-laundering charges in the United States. New York Times
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China's economy plows on as world's only major growth engine . . . China’s recovery from the coronavirus slump continued in the third quarter and showed signs of broadening in September. Gross domestic product expanded 4.9% in the third quarter from a year ago, missing economists’ forecast for a 5.5% expansion. Both retail sales and industrial production gained momentum in September, reassuring markets that the recovery is
intact. The numbers show China’s early and fierce containment of the virus has set the economy up for a faster rebound than any of its peers. Bloomberg
Yes, having a totalitarian regime helps you do certain things, like lock down you entire population. But it's a loser in the long run. We've seen them come and go.
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Stimulus deal possible this week . . . The fate of additional stimulus for the U.S. economy before next month’s election will be decided this week, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi setting a Tuesday deadline to reach an agreement with the White House -- though it remains doubtful that the Republican-controlled Senate will accept any deal they strike. President Donald Trump said he’s ready to match the $2.2 trillion spending
levels demanded by Democrats -- or go higher -- despite repeated warnings by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that most GOP senators will oppose any coronavirus relief package that big. Bloomberg
Wave of evictions may be on the way . . . Unless Congress and the Trump administration move past their deadlock over the contours of a new COVID-19 relief package and include financial relief for tenants and landlords, January will bring a surge in displacement and homelessness “unlike anything we have ever seen,” said John Pollock, a Public Justice Center attorney and coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. Reuters
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San Diego schools change grading practices to reduce racial disparities . . . Starting this school year San Diego Unified will eliminate non-academic factors, such as student behavior, from academic grades, following a unanimous vote by the school board Tuesday to overhaul the district’s grading practices. The changes are partly to address racial and other disparities in current grading practices, officials said. With
the new policy adopted Tuesday, academic grades will only be about showing progress toward “mastery of standards,” rather than rewarding students for completing a certain quantity of work. San Diego Tribune
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Bobcat found wandering Dollar General store in Kentucky . . . A Kentucky sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a Dollar General store to evict a wild bobcat found perusing the toiletries aisle. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded alongside Kentucky State Police and Martin Police Department personnel when the bobcat was reported inside the Dollar General store in Floyd County. The
emergency responders were able to “safely capture this bobcat and remove him from the store,” the sheriff’s office said. The bobcat “was released without injury,” the sheriff’s office said. UPI
Leave him alone, he's just looking for a good deal.
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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