Month: June 2020

The White House said on Monday that President Trump has not directed any slowdown in coronavirus testing. The president had said at a political rally in Oklahoma on Saturday that he had directed his people to slow down testing for the virus because the process had led to an increased number of known COVID-19 cases.

The White House said at the time that he was kidding and made clear on Monday that no such request was made. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a news briefing “It was a comment that he made in jest,” adding that Trump had not told officials to slow the rate of testing. “He has not directed that,” McEnany said. “Any suggestion that testing has been curtailed is not rooted in fact.”

Trump Has Not Directed Slowdown in Coronavirus Testing: White House

Via www.usnews.com

President Donald Trump has not directed any slowdown in coronavirus testing and does not regret…

06/22/2020 4:08 PM

 

In an interview on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says the trade deal with China is “over.”  When asked about the trade agreement, Navarro pointed to Washington’s anger over Beijing not sounding the alarm earlier about the coronavirus outbreak.

Navarro also said the “turning point” came when the United States learned about the spreading coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the Phase 1 deal on January 15.

“It was at a time when they had already sent hundreds of thousands of people to this country to spread that virus, and it was just minutes after wheels up when that plane took off that we began to hear about this pandemic,” Navarro said.

President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly have accused Beijing of not being transparent about the outbreak.

White House advisor Peter Navarro says China trade deal is ‘over’

Via www.cnbc.com

He said the “turning point” came when the United States learned about the spreading coronavirus…

06/22/2020 9:40 PM

 

Tik-Tok users and K-Pop fans are said to be behind the small turnout at President Donald Trump’s first campaign rally in months. Mr Trump’s campaign manager had blamed “radical” protesters and the media, but political strategists say that teenagers across the US ordered tickets without intending to turn up to ensure there would be empty seats.

The campaign had reported at least one million ticket requests for the event and anticipated large crowds, but the 19,000-seat arena at at Tulsa’s Bank of Oklahoma Center was far from full and plans for him to address an outside “overflow” area were abandoned.

It is unclear how many of the hundreds of thousands of ticket reservations touted by the Trump campaign were fake, but one TikTok video encouraging people to sign up for free tickets to ensure there would be empty seats at the arena has received more than 700,000 likes.

Teens on TikTok Reserved “Fake” Tickets For Trump’s Tulsa Rally

Via www.msn.com

President Donald Trump and his team expected a huge turnout at his Tulsa campaign rally on…

06/21/2020 2:52 PM

 

Editorial credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

Authorities said that three people who were stabbed to death at a park in a town just outside London is considered a “terrorist incident;” three others were left seriously injured in the attack.

The attack took place in Forbury Gardens, a public park in Reading, a large town around 40 miles west of London. The park was full of groups sitting on the grass when “one lone person walked through and “suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went around a large group of around 10, trying to stab them.” Shortly after the incident, a 25-year-old man from Reading was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said, adding that they were not looking for any other suspects. The man’s name was not released. The stabbing was later declared a “terrorist incident.”

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that his thoughts were with those affected by the attack, adding Sunday that he was “appalled and sickened that people should lose their lives in this way.”

        

Deadly park stabbing was a terror attack: UK police

Via abcnews.go.com

Police say a stabbing rampage in Britain that killed three people as they sat in a park on a…

06/21/2020 4:40 PM

 

Editorial credit: Tomasz Kowalski / Shutterstock.com

The U.S. Naval Academy has launched an investigation into tweets allegedly made by a midshipman in the wake of protests over the police custody death of George Floyd in Minnesota. The posts were allegedly made on a since-deleted Twitter account identified as belonging to Chase Standage, a Midshipman 1st Class from California. Screenshots posted online appear to show one tweet allegedly about a police officer firing tear gas at an unarmed protester demonstrating after the death of Floyd, and another post allegedly commented on a black woman’s fatal shooting by police in Kentucky.

The tweets surfaced on the same day academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck posted a video message condemning separate racial remarks made earlier this month by a retired captain and former Naval Academy trustee that disparaged admission by the academy of African Americans, Asian Americans and women.  Depending on the results of the investigation, the midshipman could be disciplined under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or be dismissed from the academy.

         

Naval Academy opens investigation into midshipman’s tweets in wake of Floyd killing

Via www.washingtontimes.com

The U.S. Naval Academy has opened an investigation into social media posts allegedly made by a…

06/18/2020 9:49 PM

 

Editorial credit: Polina LVT / Shutterstock.com

On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to end legal protections for 650,000 young immigrants. Young immigrants will retain their protection from deportation and their authorization to work in the United States.

Chief Justice John Roberts and the four liberal justices were in the majority in 5-4 outcome. The justices rejected administration arguments that the 8-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program is illegal and that courts have no role to play in reviewing the decision to end DACA. The program covers people who have been in the United States since they were children and are in the country illegally. In some cases, they have no memory of any home other than the U.S.

Supreme Court blocks Trump from ending DACA in big win for Dreamers

Via www.nbcnews.com

06/18/2020 10:04 AM