Trump Suggests Flu Of 1918 Ended WWII In 1945 | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Moving Day

Israel deserves a better friend than President Trump

 https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/08/10/israel-deserves-a-better-friend-than-president-trump/

 

Whether he likes it or not, Foxman still finds himself someone to whom American Jews turn to ask the age-old Jewish question: who and what is “good for the Jews?”

Presidential elections inevitably spawn this question, and this one is no exception. Asked whether it is President Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden whom American Jews should support, Foxman misses even fewer beats than usual. “I have always been asked before every election: who is better for Israel and the Jews?” Foxman says. “And my answer is always the same: Israel and the Jews need a strong, stable, credible and caring America. So vote for the candidate that will secure such an America.”  No longer encumbered by the need for discretion that comes with running a major nonprofit organization, Foxman says aloud what other Jewish leaders cannot. “There is no question in my mind,” he continues, “that the answer this time to all those concerns is Joe Biden.”

Foxman rightly observes that Jewish communities around the world are served well by an America that is democratic, respected and even feared, and served ill by an America that has lost its way and looks weak. Trump, himself a weakling, has turned America into one as well, the object of international derision. Beholden to Vladimir Putin and afraid to confront him, even when it comes to the subversion of American elections, Trump has made America not great but pitiable. Instead of pressing China when COVID-19 emerged, he gushed about it. His ring-kissing of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un hasn’t been merely embarrassing. It has been pathetic.

Trump says U.S. needs ‘more Jews that love Israel’

 https://forward.com/news/national/452340/trump-says-us-needs-more-jews-that-love-israel/

 

President Trump told a group of Jewish supporters at a fundraiser Sunday that “we need more Jews in the U.S. that love Israel,” the Orthodox news outlet Belaaz reported.

Chera also described the president as a warrior against Covid-19. He described the virus that killed his father as “recklessly or maliciously released onto our shores from China,” and thanked the president for making time to “offer your assistance to us.”

Stanley Chera was a real estate developer and a philanthropist for many Jewish causes, well-known in the Syrian Jewish community in New York City and in Deal, N.J. for his generosity. He was the owner of several high-end properties in Manhattan, including the St. Regis New York Hotel and the Cartier Mansion. Chera also donated more than half a million dollars to Trump’s election and re-election campaigns, The New York Times reported.

 

 

The Wedge Issue That’s Dividing Trumpworld

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/07/wedge-issue-dividing-trumpworld-392323

 A cohort of establishment Republicans, social libertarians and new GOP converts oppose the strategy. Among them are Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka. They point to a raft of evidence—from the volatile bathroom debate in North Carolina that lost the GOP the governor’s race in 2016 to a bitter Republican primary in Pennsylvania’s 2018 gubernatorial race—that pushing anti-LGBTQ issues is slowly destroying the Republican Party, one high-profile race at a time. Kushner, the de facto leader of Trump’s 2020 operation, and Ivanka have previously worked to kill anti-LGBTQ measures inside the White House. One of the president’s favorite officials, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, is a gay conservative who helped persuade Trump to use the power of American diplomacy to end the criminalization of homosexuality abroad.

 

 

Is Lindsey Graham Actually in Trouble in South Carolina?

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/11/jaime-harrison-lindsey-graham-south-carolina-391886

 On his desk, Jaime Harrison keeps a quote from Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman, the former South Carolina governor and senator who, in 1876, led a white paramilitary gang that murdered six innocent African Americans in what was known as the Hamburg Massacre. “We have done our level best,” Tillman said of the state’s efforts to disenfranchise Black voters. “We have scratched our heads to find out how we could eliminate the last one of them. We stuffed ballot boxes. We shot them. We are not ashamed.”

 

 

Trump’s Misleading Spin on Roger Stone’s Conviction

 https://www.factcheck.org/2020/07/trumps-misleading-spin-on-roger-stones-conviction/

Russia Investigation Was Not ‘Absolutely Baseless’

In its statement, the White House falsely described the special counsel’s investigation as “absolutely baseless.”

“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency,” the statement read. “There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia.”

It went on to say: “The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison.”

There was ample evidence to justify opening an investigation — even if the investigation “did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities,” as Mueller’s report said.

Trump’s Executive Orders On Coronavirus Relief May Not Be As Helpful As He Portrays Them | MSNBC

Is it okay to ask a deceased tzaddik to pray on my behalf?

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/562222/jewish/Is-it-okay-to-ask-a-deceased-tzaddik-to-pray-on-my-behalf.htm

 

Question:

I was always under the impression that Judaism firmly believed that there are no intermediaries between man and G‑d, and to pray to the deceased is blasphemous and outlawed by the Bible. If so, why is it permissible to ask the Rebbe to intercede on one's behalf at the Ohel?

 

 

What To Watch For In Michael Flynn’s Case On Tuesday

 https://www.justsecurity.org/71936/what-to-watch-for-in-michael-flynns-case-on-tuesday/

 

The Flynn case has become about much more than Michael Flynn.  It’s become, as Katyal and I explained, the most concrete instantiation of President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr’s assault on federal law enforcement and attempt to portray it as the villain.  What’s more, the Flynn episode has become emblematic of the claim Trump and Barr insist on making repeatedly that somehow federal law enforcement acted improperly in 2016 when it tried to investigate counterintelligence threats to the United States that, ultimately, proved all too real.  But, on Tuesday, all of that will be merely the backdrop. The spotlight will be on the law.  And it’s worth Americans listening carefully for what ten judges will be saying as they grapple with what particular areas of law that intersect in this unusual matter mean for the next steps in the Flynn case.

 

 

Bill Barr's Remarkable Interview on Fox News and a Preview of Tomorrow's Court Hearing in Flynn Case

Homes explode in Baltimore, killing 1 and injuring 6 others

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/10/us/baltimore-maryland-house-explosion/index.html

 One woman died and six people were hospitalized in serious condition after a major explosion in a residential area of Baltimore, according to Baltimore City Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Adams.

Three homes were reduced to rubble in the major gas explosion, Adams said.

'Yo Semite' t-shirts are a big hit for one Jewish museum following President Trump's blunder

 https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/yo-semite-shirt-trnd/index.html

 Boosted by President Trump's blooper mispronouncing the name of Yosemite National Park, the National Museum of American Jewish History has seen sales for a t-shirt with the saying "Yo Semite" skyrocket.

During the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act on August 4, Trump pronounced Yosemite ("yo-sem-it-ee") as "yo semites" while extolling the beauty of the park's trees, and then repeated it -- bungling the name even more -- for good measure a moment later.

The "Yo Semite" shirt has been for sale since 2011, and it has been a popular item at the museum's physical and online stores, according to Emily August, its director of communications and public engagement.

 

Regret

Trump walks out of news conference after reporter asks him about Veterans Choice lie he's told more than 150 times

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/trump-veterans-choice-paula-reid/index.html

 President Donald Trump abruptly ended a Saturday news conference after a reporter challenged him on a lie about veterans health care he has told more than 150 times.

Trump, speaking at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, had claimed again that he is the one who got the Veterans Choice program passed -- adding, "They've been trying to get that passed for decades and decades and decades and no president's ever been able to do it, and we got it done."

In fact, former President Barack Obama signed the Choice program into law in 2014. The law, which allowed eligible veterans to be covered by the government for care provided by doctors outside the VA system, was a bipartisan initiative spearheaded by two senators Trump has repeatedly criticized, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and the late John McCain of Arizona.

 

 

Fox News clip discredits talking point of right-wing radio

Trump's executive actions 'unworkable, weak and far too narrow': Schumer | ABC News

Chris Wallace rips Trump's executive order as unconstitutional ON AIR

President Trump’s Order Would Leave States on the Hook for Billions in Unemployment Claims

Mnuchin warns Democrats against challenging Trump's executive orders

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mnuchin-warns-democrats-against-challenging-trumps-executive-orders

 "No, in fact, what the president did is -- I agreed what the Republican senator said -- is unconstitutional slop," Pelosi, D-Calif, said, alluding to a statement Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., put out criticizing Trump's executive actions.

Pelosi said Republicans' proposal in its current form doesn't come close to doing enough to help Americans.

"How do you justify tens of billions of dollars to feed the hungry to $250,000," she said, contrasting the bills. "You understand how far apart we are. just by that example." She also noted the GOP proposal didn't include help for the Post Office or states as they run elections this fall.

When asked what Democrats might be willing to give up to reduce the price tag of the bill, Pelosi said they might shorten the timeline that some benefits would be available, allowing Congress to address whether to renew them earlier next year rather than later.

CNN anchor to Trump supporter: What you're saying is unscientific

Trump Criticizes Media In Front Of His Club's Members | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Russian Election Interference Finds Ready Conduit In GOP Senators | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Professor who's been right about every election since 1984 reveals his 2020 prediction

Report: Trump upset at Adelson

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/284943

Republican officials worried US President may have alienated important GOP donor in tense phone call.

 

 

 

Chronic fatigue syndrome a possible long-term effect of Covid-19, experts say

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/07/health/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-covid-19-survivors-wellness/index.html

"Even after you clear the virus, there are post-viral symptoms. I know, because I follow on the phone a lot of people who call me up and talk about their course," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a July 17 interview with Medscape.

 

 

Trump signs executive actions after stimulus talks break down on Capitol Hill

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/trump-executive-order-stimulus/index.html

 President Donald Trump tried to assert executive power by signing four actions on coronavirus relief Saturday, one of which will provide as much as $400 in enhanced unemployment benefits after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill this week.

But that memorandum on enhanced unemployment benefits -- 25% of which states are being asked to cover -- has more strings attached than the White House acknowledged and is seen as a cumbersome effort that may not help a lot of the unemployed.

The other three actions he signed include a memorandum on a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, an executive order on "assistance to renters and homeowners" and a memorandum on deferring student loan payments.

Jewish groups take aim at Trump’s pick for ambassador to Germany

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/jewish-groups-take-aim-at-trumps-pick-for-ambassador-to-germany-637883 

 Jewish groups have put the man under fire for his past statements about Muslim immigrants and for downplaying the importance of Nazi history.

 The nomination of Douglas Macgregor, a decorated combat veteran who now frequently appears on Fox News, made headlines this week after CNN’s K File unearthed a long history of the retired colonel’s comments. In 2018 he said “There’s sort of a sick mentality that says that generations after generations must atone sins of what happened in 13 years of German history and ignore the other 1,500 years of Germany.”

Doctor vs doctor

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/magazine/covid-drug-wars-doctors.html

 In the absence of conclusive research for Covid-19 treatments, many doctors are having to rely on their experience to make judgment calls about medications.

Appeals court rejects key argument against McGahn subpoena

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/07/appeals-court-rules-mcgahn-must-testify-392562

A federal appeals court dealt a major setback Friday to President Donald Trump’s bid to prevent his former White House counsel Don McGahn from being forced to testify to a House committee.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday, 7-2, that the House has legal standing to use the courts to compel McGahn to appear in response to a House Judiciary Committee subpoena.

 

Fact check: Trump makes multiple false claims about Covid-19 relief as he signs executive actions

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/fact-check-trump-covid-executive-actions-bedminster/index.html

 President Donald Trump made multiple egregious false claims about Democrats during a Saturday "news conference" at his New Jersey golf club where he signed a series of pandemic-related executive actions.

Trump also denied having said something he said on camera during a news conference Friday. And he walked out of the room after he was challenged on one of his favorite lies -- the claim that he is the one who got the Veterans Choice health care program created.

Mitzvah of Torah study - how to resolve contradiction pf Rashbi?

Berachos (35b)Our Rabbis taught: And thou shalt gather in thy corn.6 What is to be learnt from these words? Since it says, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth,8 I might think that this injunction is to be taken literally. Therefore it says, ‘And thou shalt gather in thy corn’, which implies that you are to combine the study of them9 with a worldly occupation. This is the view of R. Ishmael. R. Simeon b. Yohai says: Is that possible? If a man ploughs in the ploughing season, and sows in the sowing season, and reaps in the reaping season, and threshes in the threshing season, and winnows in the season of wind, what is to become of the Torah? No; but when Israel perform the will of the Omnipresent, their work is performed by others, as it says. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks. etc.,10 and when Israel do not perform the will of the Omnipresent their work is carried out by themselves, as it says, And thou shalt gather in thy corn.11 Nor is this all, but the work of others also is done by them, as it says. And thou shalt serve thine enemy etc.12 Said Abaye: Many have followed the advice of Ishmael, and it has worked well; others have followed R. Simeon b. Yohai and it has not been successful. Raba said to the Rabbis: I would ask you not to appear before me during Nisan and Tishri13 so that you may not be anxious about your food supply during the rest of the year. Menachos (99b)R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai, Even though a man but reads the Shema’23 morning and evening he has thereby fulfilled the precept of ‘[This book of the law] shall not depart’. It is forbidden, however, to say this in the presence of ‘amme ha-arez.24 But Raba said, It is a meritorious act to say it in the presence of amme ha-arez.25 Ben Damah the son of R. Ishmael's sister once asked R. Ishmael, May one such as I who have studied the whole of the Torah learn Greek wisdom?26 He thereupon read to him the following verse, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.27 Go then and find a time that is neither day nor night and learn then Greek wisdom. his, however, is at variance with the view of R. Samuel b. Nahmani. For R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan, This verse is neither duty nor command but a blessing. For when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the words of the Torah were most precious to Joshua, as it is written, His minister Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tent,28 He said to him, ‘Joshua, since the words of the Torah are so precious to thee, [I assure thee,] ‘this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth’! 

An answer is found in the Igros Moshe שו"ת אגרות משה יורה דעה חלק ד סימן לו ה. אם חייב לצמצם בפרנסתו רק כפי ההכרח ולעסוק בתורה בכל הזמן שיכול ולא מצינו שאיכא מי שפטור מחיוב מצוות תלמוד תורה שאיכא ללמוד כל התורה כולה ולידע אותה כראוי ואסור לשוכחה, שמטעם זה הא כתב הרמב"ם שחייב ללמוד כל הימים עד יום מותו דאם לא כן הוא שוכח. ורק מחמת שמוכרחין כל אחד ואחד לאכילה ולשתיה ולבגדים ולדירה, איכא איזו שעות ביום שפטור מללמוד, וגם איזה זמן שאסור ללמוד. שהזמן שצריך לעבוד לאכילה ולשתיה ולדירה כפי ההכרח, לכדי חייו בעצמו, ולנשוי גם לצורך אשתו ובניו, אסור מללמוד. אבל רשאי לעבוד גם להרוויח כפי מה שדרך האינשי לאכול ולשתות גם מאכלים טובים לבריאותם כבשר ומיני חלב, וגם למעט תענוג שהוא ג"כ להרחיב ליבו של אדם, ולאשתו ובנים הקטנים לכל מה שצריכים ומתאווים כדרך הבינונים. אבל ליותר מזה הוא אסור, דהא הוא עובר על מצוות עשה דלימוד התורה. ולא היה שייך שיהא אדם עשיר בדרך הטבע, אלא בברכת ה' ליותר מדרך הטבע, שהיה נותן לעושי רצונו בהכרי קודם המדידה כדאיתא בב"מ דף מ"ב ע"א, ת"ר ההולך למוד את גורנו אומר יהי רצון וכו' שתשלח ברכה במעשה ידינו. התחיל למוד אומר ברוך השולח ברכה בכרי הזה. ואם היה לו איזה קרקע לא היה רשאי לעובדה אלא רק כפי הצריך לו לכדי חייו וחיי בני ביתו, כדעשו בדורו של חזקיהו המלך, כדאיתא בגמרא, ועל אותו הדור הוא אומר והיה ביום ההוא יחיה איש עגלת בקר ושתי צאן וגו', ואומר והיה ביום ההוא יהיה כל מקום אשר יהיה שם אלף גפן באלף כסף לשמיר ולשית יהיה, אף על פי שאלף גפן באלף כסף (שהן יקרים שאין להם רוב כרמים - רש"י) לשמיר ולשית יהיה (שמניחין אותן לאיבוד ומביירים אותן והיו עוסקין בתורה). ונמצא שדורו של חזקיהו עשו כחיוב התורה. אבל בכל הדורות אף היותר טובים כדורות של דוד ושלמה, לא קיימו כל ישראל חיוב לימוד התורה כדין, דהיו הרבה אלו שעסקו בהרווחת ממון. אבל בימי חזקיהו עסקו כל ישראל רק בתורה, כדאיתא בסנהדרין דף צ"ד ע"ב. ואין החידוש בדורו של חזקיהו אלא זה שעשו כל ישראל כחיוב התורה במצוות לימוד התורה, משום שכל הדורות אף בדורות שאר מלכים הצדיקים נמצאו אינשי שעסקו בהרווחת כסף וזהב, ובדורו של חזקיהו עסקו כל ישראל בתורה. אבל הא לא נאמר ברמב"ם בלשון איסור, לכתוב אסור לעשות במלאכה אלא לכפי מה שצריך להוצאתו לעצמו ולאשתו ולבני ביתו כדרך הוצאת אנשים בינונים וכל המבטל זמנו מלימוד התורה יותר מזה עובר בעשין דלימוד התורה ובלאוין דשכחה. אלא נאמר בלשון חשיבות, בפ"ג מת"ת ה"ו, מי שנשאו ליבו לקיים מצווה זו כראוי ולהיות מוכתר בכתר תורה לא יסיח דעתו לדברים אחרים ולא ישים על ליבו שיקנה תורה עם העושר והכבוד כאחת. הרי הוא כמפורש שליכא חיוב זה על כל אחד ואחד מישראל, אלא דמי שנשאו ליבו לקיים מצווה זו דלימוד התורה כראוי ולהיות מוכתר בכתר תורה, עליו לידע דלא יסיח דעתו לדברים אחרים ולא ישים על ליבו שיקנה תורה עם העושר והכבוד כאחת. ואין זה ממילא דין וחיוב, אלא דהרמב"ם מורה הדרך למי שנשאו ליבו לקיים מצוות לימוד התורה כראוי, אבל אינו מחייב לכל אדם שינהגו כן. ונעשה גם ממילא חיוב למי שנשבע שיקיים מצוות לימוד התורה כראוי שיתנהג כן. ואם כן משמע שליכא איסור לאלו שעוסקין במלאכה ובפרגמטיא גם ליותר מכדי חיים של אינשי בינונים, אלא גם להתעשר, אף שלא מקיים מצווה זו דלימוד התורה כראוי. שלכן ניחא בפשיטות מה שהיו גם אלו שלא נתעסקו בתורה בדורות שאר מלכים הצדיקים. ואף שפרק אחד שחרית ופרק אחד ערבית הוא חיוב ודאי, לא שייך להעשות תלמיד חכם בזה. וחזקיהו המלך עשה שכל ישראל ילמדו התורה להיות תלמידי חכמים, שהוא לעבוד כל אחד מישראל רק מה שצריך לעצמו ולבני ביתו לפי דרך אנשים בינונים, אך לא יותר בשביל להתעשר, והיה זה יותר מהחיוב כדי שיקיימו כל ישראל מצווה זו הגדולה ביותר כראוי. וממילא מובן שגדולי התורה ויראי ה' ביותר לא עבדו לפרנסתם אלא לכדי חיים המוכרחים. וכן הוא דעת הטור והש"ע (יו"ד סי' רמ"ו סעיף כ"א) וכל הפוסקים. אבל מ"מ איתא ברמב"ם ובכל הפוסקים לשון חיוב, דבפ"א ה"ח כתב כל איש מישראל חייב בתלמוד תורה, ובה"י עד אימתי חייב ללמוד תורה עד יום מותו, ובהי"א וחייב לשלש את זמן למידתו, וכן הוא הלשון בטור וש"ע (סימן רמ"ו סעיפים א', ג', וד') שלכאורה תמוה. וצריך לומר דהוא משום דבעצם הוי חיוב לימוד התורה עליו חיוב קבוע בלא זמן וגבול. אבל חיובו הוא כזה שרשאי לילך לפרנסתו ולכל צרכיו, אפילו שהוא רק לתענוגים בעלמא, ולשכיבה ולישיבה לנוח בעלמא כשנהנה מזה, ואין בזה בטול המצווה.

Trump 1AM Rant: Biden Hates God, Guns, Yo-semites, Thighland, The Bible, Energy, but Loves Chyna!

Here’s What Trump Got Wrong About America’s COVID-19 Death Rate

https://time.com/5875411/trump-covid-19-death-rate-interview/

During an interview with Axios on HBO that aired Monday night, President Donald Trump mischaracterized the U.S. COVID-19 death rate and underplayed the high rate of deaths in proportion to the U.S. population.

During the interview, which was filmed on July 28, Axios reporter Jonathan Swan brought up the recent surge in COVID-19 related deaths in the U.S., pointing out that, at the time the interview was recorded, the U.S. was reporting over 1,000 deaths per day.

The President pushed back against Swan’s statement, referring to charts he had brought with him and saying, “Right here, the United States is lowest in numerous categories, we’re lower than the world, we’re lower than Europe.”

Doctors Combat Disinformation Campaign Against HydroxychloroQuine

 https://yated.com/doctors-combat-disinformation-campaign-against-hydroxychloroquine/

 

As the FDA and the media continue to insist that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is not a viable treatment for Covid-19, a coalition of doctors from across the United States gathered for a two-day summit to reach out to the American public with information about the drug’s safety and efficacy in treating the disease.

The group, calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors,” held a press conference on July 27 in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. to combat what they call a “massive disinformation campaign” about HCQ.

 Sponsored by Tea Party Patriots, a conservative Republican group, and broadcast by Breitbart, the video was posted to the three biggest social media platforms and quickly went viral, attracting 18 million viewers on Facebook alone.

A Trump campaign ad used doctored photos of Biden

President Donald Trump Attacks Joe Biden, Claims He’s “Against God.” | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

'The Daily Show' mocks Fox News' one-sided treatment of gaffes in Trump montage

 <iframe width="590" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qG-njDHXZuw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Judge Denies Trump's Bid to Delay Defamation Suit From Woman Alleging Rape

 https://time.com/5877213/donald-trump-defamation-lawsuit-delay-denied/

 A New York judge knocked down President Donald Trump’s bid to delay a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of rape, ruling in a decision released Thursday that the presidency doesn’t shield him from the case.

Pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the president isn’t immune from a New York prosecutor’s criminal investigation, Manhattan judge Verna Saunders said the same principle applies to E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit, in which Trump’s lawyers have argued that the Constitution bars presidents from being dragged into lawsuits in state courts.

“No, it does not,” Saunders wrote.

The decision allows Carroll — who’s seeking Trump’s DNA as potential evidence — to keep pursuing her suit. She says he slurred her in denying her claim that he raped her in the 1990s.

 

 

Multi-thousand Belz wedding: Police open criminal investigation

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/284847

Israeli police have decided to open a criminal investigation following the mega-wedding that hosted thousands last night (Wednesday) at the headquarters of the Belzer Rebbe’s grandson in Jerusalem, held in a closed hall in Jerusalem, in violation of the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

Although police were on hand for the occasion, they refrained from intervening in the event.

Participants were instructed not to carry devices that could document the ceremony into the hall, and an official order was presented to wear masks.

 

 

 

Did Floyd Protests Lead to a Virus Surge? Here’s What We Know

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-protests.html

 

For more than two months, the authorities had been urging New Yorkers to stay indoors and keep their distance from others. But after the police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, tens of thousands of New Yorkers poured into the streets, day and night, to protest police brutality and racism.

Epidemiologists braced for a surge of new coronavirus cases. But it has not come yet.

On May 27, the day before the protests began in New York City, some 754 Covid-19 cases were diagnosed, according to the city’s Department of Health. That was the last time the city recorded more than 700 cases on a single day.

 By the end of the first week of protests, the city was recording slightly more than 500 cases a day. By the end of the second week of protests, the case counts were in the low 400s or high 300s a day. They’ve continued to drop slightly. According to revised numbers the city released on Wednesday, the last time New York City recorded more than 300 cases was on June 23.

“We’ve been looking very closely at the number of positive cases every day to see if there is an uptick in the context of the protests,” Ted Long, executive director of the city’s contact tracing program, said. “We have not seen that.”

Ex-acting AG Sally Yates defends FBI investigation into Flynn, calls Barr move to drop charges 'highly irregular'

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/05/politics/sally-yates-testimony-capitol-hill/index.html

 

Yates clashed with Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham over the FBI's interview of Flynn in January 2017. The South Carolina Republican charged that the FBI had moved to close its counterintelligence investigation into Flynn, before relying on allegations surrounding the Logan Act -- an obscure law that private citizens cannot interfere in foreign affairs -- but Yates argued that the interview was necessary to determine why Flynn had "neutered" then-President Barack Obama's administration sanctions against Russia in his calls with Kislyak.

Yates said that the recommendation to close the Flynn case came "before they knew about the conversations" between Flynn and Kislyak.

"They were absolutely material to a legitimate investigation," Yates said of the interview with Flynn. "Interviewing General Flynn was right at the core of the FBI's investigation at this point to try to discern what are the ties between the Trump administration and the Russians."

 

 

Yates says Obama, Biden didn’t influence Flynn investigation

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/05/sally-yates-obama-biden-flynn-investigation-391817

 Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told lawmakers Wednesday that neither President Barack Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden attempted to influence the FBI’s investigation of incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn during a January 2017 Oval Office meeting with top national security officials.

The testimony counters repeated insinuations by President Donald Trump and his top allies that Obama and Biden took a leading role in steering an investigation into the incoming national security adviser, a charge Trump has used to claim he was the victim of an unspecified crime he has dubbed “Obamagate.”

Trump has provided no evidence to support the claim, and Yates said under oath that Obama’s only interest in Flynn was to ensure that it was safe to share sensitive national security information with the incoming administration while the FBI was probing concerns that Flynn was attempting to undermine sanctions leveled by Obama in response to Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerusalem mayor: Anti-Netanyahu protests more dangerous than huge Haredi wedding

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/citing-health-woes-jerusalem-mayor-raps-anti-netanyahu-protests/

 “We must enforce the rules. But it isn’t fair. Every Thursday and Saturday there are more serious violations. Is the entire area of Balfour [the street Netanyahu lives on in the Rehavia neighborhood] free of coronavirus? When it comes to a Haredi area, there are headlines and photos right way. I certainly don’t support it, but let’s not enforce things selectively,” Lion told the Kan public broadcaster.

 

 

Gantz to haredim: Draft Law in exchange for preventing elections

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/284813

 Blue and white chairman Benny Gantz has recently begun holding meetings with senior members of the haredi parties in which he proposed an agreement on the Draft Law in the outline agreed upon by the haredim, in exchange for them pressuring Netanyahu not to deteriorate the political situation and lead to elections, Channel 12 News reported.

According to the report, Gantz was prepared to pass the Draft Law in the outline that the haredim wanted, so that the draft quotas would be set by the government and not in the Knesset.

In addition, Gantz agreed to amend the law so that if the haredim do not meet the draft quotas that will be set, the law will not expire but will return to the Knesset.

Breaking Down Trump's Recent Virus Remarks | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Trump Repeatedly Insists COVID-19 Will "Disappear" | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Trump Talks Tik Tok to Distract from the Real Agenda - Setting Up Election Interference Narrative

He Predicted a Trump Win in 2016. What's His Forecast For 2020? | NYT Opinion

Right now, polls say Joe Biden has a healthy lead over President Trump. But we’ve been here before (cue 2016), and the polls were, frankly, wrong. One man, however, was not. The historian Allan Lichtman was the lonely forecaster who predicted Mr. Trump’s victory in 2016 — and also prophesied the president would be impeached. That’s two for two. But Professor Lichtman’s record goes much deeper. In 1980, he developed a presidential prediction model that retrospectively accounted for 120 years of U.S. election history. Over the past four decades, his system has accurately called presidential victors, from Ronald Reagan in ’84 to, well, Mr. Trump in 2016.

Biden will beat Trump, says historian who predicted every presidential race since 1984

 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/biden-will-beat-trump-says-historian-who-predicted-every-race-since-1984.html

 

• Historian Allan Lichtman has announced his pick for 2020: Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
• Lichtman’s prediction model looks at 13 different categories, dubbed the “Keys to the White House,” that have more to do with the record of the incumbent party occupying the White House than the nominees themselves.
• “The keys predict that Trump will lose the White House,” Lichtman said in an op-ed video for The New York Times.