Nevada city fines Trump rally venue $3,000 in COVID-19 flap

 https://apnews.com/dbbc1114fde84bb3f839e3ae57b224c7

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada city where President Donald Trump held an indoor campaign rally said Monday the venue owner is being fined $3,000 for violating coronavirus prevention mandates imposed by the state’s Democratic governor.

Henderson officials told Xtreme Manufacturing owner Donald Ahern that the event that drew thousands of people to a warehouse in suburban Las Vegas violated Gov. Steve Sisolak’s coronavirus emergency directives.

State rules prohibit gatherings larger than 50 people, require “social distancing” of 6 feet (1.8 meters), and mandate masks or face coverings in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 

 

Trump says he had 'a shot' to take out Syria's Assad, but ex-Defense chief Mattis opposed it

Democrats launch probe into Trump officials' Covid-report tampering

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/democrats-investigate-trump-cdc-414272

 House Democrats are launching an investigation into how Trump appointees have pressured officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change or delay scientific reports on coronavirus, citing POLITICO reporting that found political interference in the publishing process.

"During the pandemic, experts have relied on these reports to determine how the virus spreads and who is at greatest risk," Rep. Jim Clyburn, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and his Democratic colleagues write in a letter shared first with POLITICO. "Yet HHS officials apparently viewed these scientific reports as opportunities for political manipulation."

 

Trump ad asks people to support the troops. But it uses a picture of Russian jets.

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/trump-ad-asks-people-to-support-the-troops-but-it-uses-a-picture-of-russian-jets-414883

 A digital ad released by a fundraising arm of the Trump campaign on Sept. 11 calling on people to “support our troops” uses a stock photo of Russian-made fighter jets and Russian models dressed as soldiers.

The ad, which was made by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, features silhouettes of three soldiers walking as a fighter jet flies over them. The ad first appeared on Sept. 8 and ran until Sept. 12.

Trump campaign ad used stock photo of Russian fighter jets

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-ad-stock-photo-russian-fighter-jets-report

 A fundraising ad for President Trump’s reelection campaign reportedly used a stock photo featuring Russian fighter jets and weapons, as part of a call to “support our troops."

Made by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, the ad first appeared on Sept. 8 and ran until Sept. 12.

Trump dubs Carl Bernstein a ‘total nut job’ after Watergate legend calls president 'homicidal'

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-bernstein-homicidal-president

 Trump ripped CNN’s Carl Bernstein as a “nut job” on Tuesday after the famed Watergate reporter labeled him a “homicidal president” for holding an indoor rally amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was a total nut job and I see him,” Trump continued. “He’ll say anything. No matter what you did. Like today, I’m doing a great deal with Israel... no matter what you do, with some of the fake news, it doesn’t make any difference.”

Trump then spent a moment condemning the mainstream media for not spending enough time reporting that he was nominated for a pair of Nobel Peace Prizes before returning to his thoughts on Bernstein.

“Carl Bernstein is a dummy. He’s a dumb guy and Woodward’s book, last night I read it, it’s like lightweight reading and he doesn’t get it. When my policies turn out to be right, as they have... the [Woodward] book was really boring, I have to tell you,” Trump said.

 

NIH 'very concerned' about serious side effect in AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine trial

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/15/health/covid-19-vaccine-trial-astrazeneca-nih-fda-kaiser/index.html

 A great deal of uncertainty remains about what happened to the unnamed patient, to the frustration of those avidly following the progress of vaccine testing. AstraZeneca, which is running the global trial of the vaccine it produced with Oxford University, said the trial volunteer recovered from a severe inflammation of the spinal cord and is no longer hospitalized.

AstraZeneca has not confirmed that the patient was afflicted with transverse myelitis, but Nath and another neurologist said they understood this to be the case. Transverse myelitis produces a set of symptoms involving inflammation along the spinal cord that can cause pain, muscle weakness and paralysis. Britain's regulatory body, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, reviewed the case and has allowed the trial to resume in the United Kingdom.

 

 

Top HHS spokesman runs through conspiracies in video and claims without evidence CDC scientists are working to resist Trump

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/14/politics/michael-caputo-coronavirus-sedition-election/index.html

 The top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services issued an extraordinary broadside on Sunday against career government scientists, accusing them of "sedition" in their response to coronavirus and claiming without evidence that a critical federal health agency has a "resistance unit" against President Donald Trump.

Michael Caputo, a fierce defender of Trump who was appointed to the agency earlier this year by the President, made the accusations during a live video hosted on his personal Facebook page, which -- along with his Twitter account -- was deactivated at some point following the Sunday diatribe. Caputo confirmed the comments he made during the video, which were first reported by The New York Times, to CNN on Monday.

Trump Official's Facebook Meltdown Raises Concerns About CDC Communications | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports are authored by career scientists and serve as the main vehicle for the agency to inform doctors, researchers and the general public about how Covid-19 is spreading and who is at risk. Such reports have historically been published with little fanfare and no political interference, said several longtime health department officials, and have been viewed as a cornerstone of the nation's public health work for decades.

But since Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background, was installed in April as the Health and Human Services department's new spokesperson, there have been substantial efforts to align the reports with Trump's statements, including the president's claims that fears about the outbreak are overstated, or stop the reports altogether.

Sketchy Trump Official Reportedly Hijacking CDC Scientific Reports On Coronavirus | MSNBC

Broke

Deri: 'It is murder to ignore coronavirus regulations'

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/287289

 A leading haredi lawmaker said that not following the country’s lockdown rules to slow the spread of the coronavirus is comparable to murder.

Aryeh Deri, the head of the Shas Party who also serves as Israel’s interior minister, made his comments Saturday night and posted a clip of the speech on his Facebook page.

He criticized the members of the haredi community who deny that the coronavirus is a threat. Israel is preparing for a lockdown to contain an outsized second wave of COVID-19 cases.

 

 

Revenge of the Never Trumpers: Meet the Republican Dissidents Fighting to Push Donald Trump Out of Office

 https://time.com/5870475/never-trumpers-2020-election/

Jack Spielman has been a Republican his whole life. But over the past four years, he has come to two realizations.

Increasingly upset by President Donald Trump’s “appalling” behavior, his cozy relationships with dictators and the ballooning national debt, Spielman says his first epiphany was that he couldn’t cast a ballot for Trump again. But for the retired Army cybersecurity engineer, the final straw was the President’s retaliation against impeachment witness Lieut. Colonel Alexander Vindman, who retired in July after Trump fired him from the National Security Council in February. Spielman decided he had to do more than just vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden; he had to persuade others to do the same. So Spielman filmed a video for a group called Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), explaining his views. “I want to do some part,” Spielman tells TIME, “to try to correct the wrong that I did in voting for this man.”