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.

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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.

 

 

‘Republican AOC’ Laura Loomer gains steam in congressional run

 https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/republican-aoc-laura-loomer-gains-steam-in-congressional-run/

 “She’s the Republicans’ AOC,” longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone gushed to The Post. “She’s young. She’s energetic. She’s feisty. She’s anti-establishment, and she has an enormous national following, as does AOC, which can help finance a congressional race.”

Critics have frequently labeled Loomer’s commentary racist and Islamophobic. After news emerged that Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in a terrorist attack in New York City that killed eight people, was an Uber driver, Loomer called for the creation of ride-share apps that would not employ Muslims. She told The Post the remark was intended to “raise awareness” about vetting drivers and that she was “not sorry” about it.

 

Far-right activist Laura Loomer banned from Uber, Lyft for anti-Muslim tweets

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/far-right-activist-laura-loomer-banned-from-uber-lyft-for-anti-muslim-tweets/

‘Proud American Jew’ complains the companies hire Islamic extremists, refuses to ride with Muslim drivers

Thousands said to attend Jerusalem Hasidic wedding in violation of virus rules

https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-said-to-attend-jerusalem-hasidic-wedding-in-violation-of-virus-rules/

Thousands of people reportedly attended a wedding for the grandson of the leader of the Belz Hasidic sect in Jerusalem on Wednesday night in violation of coronavirus restrictions.

There were conflicting reports about whether the event was held indoors or outdoors, but video said to be from the scene appeared to show attendees in an open air structure. Government rules limit indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoors to 20.

'Yo, Semite': Trump Mispronounces Yosemite While Touting National Parks Legislation | NBC News

Donald Trump mispronounces 'Yosemite' at White House event

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/04/trump-mispronounces-yosemite-white-house-event/3289122001/

President Donald Trump turned heads on Tuesday when he mispronounced the word "Yosemite" at a White House event to sign a bipartisan conservation bill.

"When young Americans experience the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon, when their eyes widen in amazement as Old Faithful bursts into the sky, when they gaze upon Yosemite's — Yosemite's towering sequoias, their love of country grows stronger and they know that every American has truly a duty to preserve this wondrous inheritance," Trump said.

But he stumbled over Yoh-sem-it-ee, pronouncing it YO-se-MIGHT, and then adding a syllable, "YO-se-min-NIGHT."

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