In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
S&P 500 rises to a record close, fully wiping out its coronavirus losses
The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Tuesday, capping off its incredible recovery from the coronavirus-induced sell-off that knocked it off its previous record back in February.
“There has been a lot of good news seemingly validating” this move higher, said Andrew Slimmon, managing director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Slimmon noted the economic data has been strong recently and corporate earnings have topped analyst expectations.
The Nasdaq Composite also hit a record,
We’re organizing… You won’t stop us’ — California citizen is done with Covid restrictions…
Manhunt underway for attacker in Portland truck assault: police
Portland Police Bureau is on the hunt for Marquise Love, who also goes by the name “Keese Love,” for his alleged involvement in the vicious assault that was caught on video and circulated on social media
Officials said in a press release they have made several attempts to reach 25-year-old Love, but have so far been unsuccessful. They have said they have probable cause for his arrest.
“Investigators learned that the victim may have been trying to help a transgender female who had some of her things stolen in the area of Southwest Taylor and 4th Ave, the location where this incident began,” police said late Monday.
The O’Reilly Update: August 18, 2020
Here’s what’s happening across our nation.
- Governor Cuomo blames New York’s growing crime wave on President Trump
- Majority of Americans now avoid watching the nightly news
- New study shows media coverage of Trump 150 times more negative than for Biden
- COVID outbreaks shutdown some colleges
- The temperature in Death Valley, California hits a record
- Bill’s Message on religion and Kamala Harris.
Profs to white parents: Keep your kids in public schools to show you’re not racist
“White America owes Black students a large educational debt,” Rombalski and Chikkatur argue. Maintenance of public school enrollment, along with “yes” votes for property tax increases (a major source of education funding), are ways to help pay that debt.
“Funding for public schools is a societal good and supports our democracy, now and in the future,” the professors continue.
“[C]ulturally relevant public schools are an important facet of society that values Black lives and BIPOC children.”
Chirlane McCray enjoys $2M staff of 14 amid NYC budget crisis
There’s no money for regular trash pickups or to maintain city parks, but Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife enjoys a 14-member staff — including a $70,000 videographer who captured her baking cookies during the pandemic.
Some of the Chirlane McCray staffers, who cost city taxpayers a combined $2 million a year, work for the first lady’s $1.25 billion mental health initiative ThriveNYC, which has come under fire for its lack of metrics.
“Whatever happened to ThriveNYC?” asked City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens).
Postmaster general says Postal Service suspending operational changes until after election
“I came to the Postal Service to make changes to secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability,” DeJoy said in a Tuesday statement.
“I believe significant reforms are essential to that objective, and work toward those reforms will commence after the election.”
“In the meantime, there are some longstanding operational initiatives — efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service — that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic. To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,” he added.
Internal Google “investigative unit” voluntarily gives “far-right” users’ YouTube and Gmail data to police
That’s according to the Guardian which cites a document it has seen that come from a recent hacking effort, known as Blueleaks, containing hundreds of thousands of documents spanning the period between 1996 and 2020.
What’s referred to as detailed personal data that was handed over to a Bay Area, California anti-terrorist unit came from user accounts on Google, YouTube, Gmail, and the behemoth’s other properties.
One way Google goes about identifying its users in order to report them to law enforcement is by cross-referencing different Gmail accounts that eventually lead them to a single Android phone.
Bill Clinton leans back and smiles while receiving neck massage from Epstein victim, 22, in never-before-seen photos during trip on pedophile’s plane to Africa in 2002 – as he addresses Dem convention
Bill Clinton is seen with a satisfied smile as he leans back to enjoy a neck massage from a Jeffrey Epstein victim in never-before-seen photographs obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
The pictures emerged as Clinton is set to make a rallying speech in support of Joe Biden at the Democratic convention on Tuesday night.
In the photos, the former President sits comfortably and laughs as Chauntae Davies, then a 22-year-old massage therapist who acted as Epstein’s personal masseuse, rubs her hands into his shoulders to get out the kinks in his neck.
Lara Logan: Why the media is ‘not doing a good job’ covering violent protesters
News outlets covering the violence at protests are just producing Antifa propaganda, said Fox Nation host Lara Logan on Tuesday, emphasizing the lack of attention to a brutal attack in Portland, Ore., Sunday night.
“I spoke to the journalist Drew Hernandez who actually filmed that video, who was there throughout the entire attack and he was available to talk to any journalist who wanted to know what really happened,” Logan told “Fox & Friends.”
“When you look at the reporting, those people who have covered it, really haven’t done a good job. They haven’t bothered to dig very far, they don’t have the faintest idea what actually took place, and what they keep doing is reproducing Antifa’s talking points.”
Acting CBP commissioner calls out lack of media coverage of brutal Portland assault: ‘Putting politics over public safety’
Morgan made the comment reacting to the brutal assault captured on camera late Sunday just blocks from the federal courthouse in Portland where the driver of a pickup truck crashed, was reportedly pulled from the vehicle and then brutally beaten by a mob after a confrontation with protestors.
Host Steve Doocy noted that the video is “not getting a lot of mainstream media airplay, whereas if that had happened at say, a Trump rally, or one of those Trump flotillas, it would be the lead story on every channel for the next three weeks.”
Morgan said Doocy’s assessment is “absolutely right.”
He went on to say that the violent situation caught on camera should “absolutely” be “prosecuted as attempted murder.”
Politics:
Abbott: Cities that defund police will have property taxes frozen
(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced a legislative proposal being considered to discourage the defunding of law enforcement by local leaders in Texas.
“Any city that defunds its police department will have its property tax revenue frozen at the current level,” according to the proposal, which has yet to be described in detail.
The governor was joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Sen. Jane Nelson, and Reps. Giovanni Capriglione, Charlie Geren, Craig Goldman, and Stephanie Klick.
De Blasio admin. skipped the permit process to paint BLM mural in front of Trump Tower
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted his administration skipped the permit process required to paint Black Lives Matter murals in front of Trump Tower and city streets.
One Americas John Hines has the reaction from New York residents.
Ted Cruz rips Dems for lack of message towards ‘working men and women’
Commentary/Opinion:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joins Laura Ingraham to respond to first night of Democratic National Convention.
Tucker: Elected Democrats have tacitly endorsed violence in our streets
FOX NEWS VIDEO: Commentary/Opinion:
U.S. tumbling backward as chaos overruns cities.
Four Democrat Conspiracy Theories, Debunked!
Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler on OAN.
Tucker: Media go all-in on mailbox conspiracy
Commentary/Opinion:
No one is stealing mailboxes.
Biden ‘is just lost,’ says Obama’s White House doctor
Commentary/Opinion:
“I won’t make any particular diagnosis about dementia. … But what I will say is that something is not right,” added the retired Navy rear admiral who recently won a House GOP primary in Texas.
And it is getting so bad that he is “not comfortable” with Biden being commander in chief. “I’m not,” he said of the top Democrat, set to be nominated by the Democratic Party for president on Thursday.
“Speaking as someone who was in the White House, [I] saw him frequently around the West Wing and other places like that. I know he’s always been prone to gaffes, but these aren’t gaffes anymore.
California’s Blackouts Display The Results Of Kamala Harris’s Favored Energy Policy
Commentary/Opinion:
Biden’s past energy policies were fairly standard fare for old-school Democrats: massive government spending and regulations to pick winners and losers—the $535 million Solyndra collapse is illustrative.
His current plan is more of the same, spending $2 trillion, some of which will go to buy the silent acceptance of Big Oil.
By comparison, Harris’ policies are a radical departure, and, as can be seen in California, fail when confronted with the real world.
Harris partnered with New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the multi-trillion-dollar Green New Deal, an energy plan so ambitious it envisioned a continental network of government-run high-speed trains while grounding America’s commercial air fleet.
The Democratic Party Forgot To Turn Off Comments On Its Convention Live Stream
Comments during New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s speech at the convention show the rapid pace of comments from people trolling the livestream.
“Americans for Trump!!!” one viewer said.
The comments were disabled midway through the livestream. A separate channel dedicated to the convention had comments turned off from the start, and had more viewers than the party’s channel.
Why John Brennan, Peter Strzok and DOJ Needed Julian Assange Arrested – And Why UK Officials Obliged…
Commentary/Opinion: To understand the risk that Julian Assange represented to CIA interests, it is important to understand just how extensive the operations of the CIA were in 2016. It is within this network of foreign and domestic operations where FBI Agent Peter Strzok is clearly working as a bridge between the CIA and FBI operations.
By now people are familiar with the construct of CIA operations involving Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese professor now generally admitted/identified as a western intelligence operative who was tasked by the CIA (John Brennan) to run an operation against Trump campaign official George Papadopoulos in both Italy (Rome) and London. {Go Deep}
In a similar fashion the CIA tasked U.S. intelligence asset Stefan Halper to target another Trump campaign official, Carter Page. Under the auspices of being a Cambridge Professor Stefan Halper also targeted General Michael Flynn. Additionally, using assistance from a female FBI agent under the false name Azra Turk, Halper also targeted Papadopoulos.
Jordan: John Kasich has been a sore loser ever since he lost in 2016
Kasich, Sanders push contrasting messages at DNC; Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan reacts.
Janice Dean finally testifies on NY nursing home deaths, demands full investigation ‘with subpoena power’
Last week, Dean found out that she was taken off the list to testify at a hearing geared toward understanding why and how the pandemic took root in New York nursing homes.
She said New York State Sen. Thomas O’Mara, a Republican, had admitted to her “that they [the Senate Majority] were uncomfortable having [her] as a witness,” so they took her off the list. Speaking on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” last week, Dean said she believed Cuomo or his administration were behind the decision.
In a statement sent to Fox News last week, Rich Azzopardi, senior adviser to Gov. Cuomo, said that the legislature is “a separate branch of government and they run their hearings how they see fit.”
On Monday, New York Senate Republicans held a forum where Dean’s voice was heard.
Virginia state senator charged with ‘injury’ to Confederate monument in June protest chaos
Sen. Louise Lucas faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene said during a news conference. The protest occurred in June.
Lucas is a longtime Democratic legislator and a key power broker in the state Senate, joining the chamber in 1992. The charges were filed the same week Virginia lawmakers are taking up dozens of criminal justice reforms during a special legislative session.
The reaction from some of her fellow Democrats was swift.
Senate Intel says FBI gave ‘unjustified credence’ to Steele dossier, Russia ‘took advantage’ of Trump transition team
“We can say, without any hesitation, that the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election,” Rubio said. “What the Committee did find, however, is very troubling.”
Rubio detailed the committee’s findings, which included “irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling” and “deeply troubling actions taken” by the FBI, “particularly their acceptance and willingness to rely on the ‘Steele Dossier’ without verifying its methodology or sourcing.”
The committee found that the FBI gave the dossier, authored by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, “unjustified credence, based on an incomplete understanding of Steele’s past reporting record.
Michelle Obama Gets Fact Checked Over Issue ‘Democrats Have Persistently Distorted’
On illegal immigration, Mrs. Obama lamented “putting kids in cages” as she claimed President Trump has no empathy.
But the facts and her husband’s history as president tell a different story. It was the Obama administration that first instituted the policy of separating children from adults at the border. President Obama was the first to “put kids in cages.”
Her statement on the issue was so misleading, it landed her a fact-check from the Associated Press.
World News:
Israel, Germany honor Holocaust victims with historic joint flight over former Nazi concentration camp
The moment that the Luftwaffe commander, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhatz, welcomed the Israeli air force into German airspace was captured in a video.
“On behalf of the German air force, it is an honor for me to welcome the Israeli air force entering German airspace for the first time in history,” Gerhatz can be heard saying in the video released Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, the leader of the Israeli jets, responded by saying he was “proud” to lead his country’s first deployment into Germany.
Missing Texas mother of 2 found dead, tortured in Mexico: authorities
Lizbeth Flores, 23, left her home in Brownsville, Texas, on August 9 to visit her boyfriend in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, her mother, María Rubio, told Telemundo 40 McAllen.
She crossed the U.S.-Mexico border through the Brownsville Veterans Port of Entry, according to the station. When Flores didn’t return home, her mother reported her missing to the Brownsville Police Department the next day.
Mexican authorities found Flores’ body within the Matamoros city limits on August 11. Her body showed signs that she had been tortured, as it was covered in bruises and her teeth and part of her scalp appeared to have been forcefully removed, KRGV reported.
Mauritius arrests captain of oil spill ship
“We have arrested the captain of the vessel and another member of the crew. After having been heard by the court, they have been denied bail and are still in detention,” Inspector Siva Coothen told Reuters.
Emergency crews managed to remove most of the ship’s remaining oil before it split in two on Saturday.
The Mauritius coastguard had repeatedly tried to contact the ship to warn that its course was dangerous, but received no reply, a maritime official with knowledge of the incident who asked not to be named told Reuters.
China partygoers cram into Wuhan water park
Thousands of partygoers packed out a water park over the weekend in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, keen to party as the city edges back to normal life.
The popular Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park was filled with people frolicking in swimsuits and goggles for an electronic music festival, many perched on rubber dinghies or wading up to their chest in water.
To try and boost the local economy, the Hubei government has been offering free entry to 400 tourist sites across the province.
Commentary/Opinion:
Remember the Ladies! No. 86 featuring Heather R. Higgins by The Federalist Society
Independent Women’s Voice CEO Heather R. Higgins offers a glimpse at the history of women’s hard-won right to vote in “Remember the Ladies!” a video produced by The Federalist Society.
On the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, IWV celebrates the progress women have made in politics, in education, the workplace, and at home since suffragist women won the right to vote.
Independent Women’s Forum, IWV’s C3 sister organization, released the commemorative book, The Women Who Won the Vote, featuring a foreword by Ambassador Nikki R. Haley. The book, published by IWF Press, tells the story of 12 courageous suffragist women who contributed to the passage of the 19th Amendment.