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Trump's rallies define his view of liberty: The right not to care about other people

President Trump made a fateful decision last week to return to holding mass rallies despite warnings from health officials about doing so during a pandemic.

Rudy Giuliani said he released his Hunter Biden story to the New York Post because he knew other outlets would scrutinize it too much

Giuliani told The New York Times that he chose the Post because other publications would "spend all the time they could to try to contradict it."

Porn Stars Are Terrified of Amy Coney Barrett

Who fills the next Supreme Court vacancy matters—and it may even impact your sex life.Yes, if Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett becomes the next Supreme Court justice, the future of the commercial sex industry could be in grave danger—as could the viewing entertainment of millions of Americans since, according to Pornhub statistics, the U.S. consistently outranks all other countries in maintaining the highest rate of daily traffic to Pornhub. Thus, as the Senate hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett draw to a close, her seemingly inevitable spot on the bench has sparked panic among the sex-worker community.“If she’s confirmed, it could be catastrophic for the adult industry if and when any First Amendment-related cases reach the Supreme Court,” argues adult actress Siri Dahl. “Instead of supporting equal free speech for all Americans, she seems to support privileged free speech for religious Americans. There’s no way that will be good for the porn industry.”As if worrying about the career persecution wasn’t enough, Siri anticipates a worse threat will hit much sooner. “I’m worried most about reproductive rights. Our rights to important health care like birth control and abortion are in imminent danger. It’s especially scary to me as a sex worker who also happens to have a uterus,” says Dahl. “I’d like the government to stay away from my sex organs and my personal health decisions!”How Socialite India Oxenberg Escaped the NXIVM Sex Cult—and Leader Keith RaniereThat’s unlikely given the Supreme Court’s current conservative majority, which if Barrett is appointed, will become 6-3, reaching an imbalance that could last for decades. It’s a potentially frightening group with the power to reshape our legal framework but without the wisdom to effectively balance it. Pornography laws are a prime example of striking that necessary balance.Sexually explicit material is protected by the First Amendment except in such cases where it can be prosecuted for obscenity or child pornography. Obscenity, as the Supreme Court ruled in 1957 (Roth v. United States), is not protected by the First Amendment. To be obscene it must “be utterly without redeeming social value” and “of prurient interest.” However, much of this was decided case-by-case and left to the interpretation of the court, with Justice Potter Stewart famously explaining, “I’ll know it when I see it,” regarding his method of determination on a 1964 obscenity case involving the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Jacobellis v. Ohio).Without a measurable standard, obscenity could be even more subjective. It wasn’t until 1973’s Miller v. California case when the court engineered a three-part approach to measuring obscenity (known as the Miller test). These criteria continue to inform how the lines are drawn between adult entertainment protected as free speech verses similar, but prosecutable, content found to be “patently offensive,” and lacking in “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” The court’s interpretation of obscenity and freedom of speech nearly 50 years ago shaped the legal framework today’s adult industry operates within, which is why who fills that seat matters. In years to come they will be dictating the existence of porn—and quite possibly free speech with it.“The adult industry is founded on bodily autonomy and freedom of expression, freedoms that religious extremist Barrett will happily erode or remove. She will even be considering First Amendment cases that could outlaw porn. While she claims to be for freedom and liberty, it’s clear she will happily regulate the bedroom on- and off-screen,” warns adult actress and former Penthouse Pet Mary Moody. “We might hope that Barrett could separate her extremist religious beliefs from her judgments but while teaching law she argued justices should be allowed to judge based on these beliefs. Her history speaks for itself, and when given the option to rule on cases that will impact sex workers, it is clear she will lean on her radical conservative religious beliefs to aid her.“I have the integrity to act consistently with my oath and apply the law as the law,” Barrett claimed during the Senate confirmation hearings. Nonetheless, it’s nearly impossible to believe her religious views won’t impact her judicial duty to the law.“I suspect that from what we know of her religious beliefs, that any anti-porn cases that come before the court will stand a good chance of winning for the religious right agenda. This goes hand-in-hand with reproductive, women’s, and civil rights protections under the 14th Amendment,” says Angie Rowntree, founder of Sssh.com, the web’s first porn-for-women feminist site. “Considering that Supreme Court seats are ‘for life’ her religious/conservative agenda will push the U.S. back to 1960 for a generation in some societal and legal aspects. The TV show Mad Men is enjoyable to watch on television, but not to watch play out in the highest court in the land which affects the lives and rights of millions every day.” Adult model and content creator Bea York says she’s worried but still trying to be optimistic. “Here’s a person that might have the power to undo a lot of important things. As a woman, I’m most concerned with other women getting the help that they need, when they need it. After that, I worry about the impact of having someone on the Supreme Court that seems pretty far removed from the big issues that people are dealing with,” York muses.Having presided over 10,000 cases, Judge Herb Dodell, author of From the Trench to the Bench, understands the value of separation of church and state and the importance of it as a judge. He questions Barrett’s ability to disengage from her personal biases when deciding a case. “For the adult industry, her confirmation could have a substantial impact. For example, SESTA/FOSTA. That legislation will be before the Supreme Court. The whole subject of free speech versus prior restraint, including liability, especially concerning social media, will be dictated by the Supreme Court. My biggest concern was the equivalent of her saying she would not necessarily be bound by stare decisis (precedent). I would also be concerned about the lack of response regarding severability, which could lead to an all-or-nothing situation,” says Judge Dodell.“As judges, we are supposed to follow the law, whether we agree with it or not. I am not sure she can do that, given her strong views.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

‘Backhanded racism’: Biden supporters weigh in after GOP senator mocks Kamala Harris’s name

After Sen. David Perdue mocked Kamala Harris’s name, Democratic supporters launched a viral Twitter campaign and called the comments “backhanded racism.”

Unmasked man in Washington grocery store speaks out after video goes viral

In the viral video, an employee confronts Scott, who said his medical condition prevents him from wearing a mask.

Michigan Republican fundraised at DeVos family home while trying to downplay financial ties

John James bought ads to distance himself from Betsy DeVos as super PAC funded by family poured millions into race

Tropical Storm Epsilon becomes the 26th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season

Tropical Depression 27 has strengthened into Tropical Storm Epsilon, the 26th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season. It could become a Category 1 hurricane as soon as Thursday.

Neil deGrasse Tyson says asteroid could hit day before election

Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson posted a picture of an asteroid approaching Earth saying that it could strike the planet before the election on Nov. 3. “Asteroid 2018VP1, a refrigerator-sized space-rock, is hurtling towards us at more than 40,000 km/hr,” he wrote in a tweet Saturday. “It may buzz-cut Earth on Nov 2, the day before the Presidential Election.”

Ghislaine Maxwell loses bid to keep her Jeffrey Epstein testimony secret

A U.S. appeals court on Monday dealt Ghislaine Maxwell a blow by refusing to block the release of a deposition she gave concerning her relationship with the late financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said there was a presumption the public had a right to see Maxwell's 418-page deposition, which was taken in April 2016 for a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit against her. In an unsigned order, the court also said U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan did not abuse her discretion in rejecting Maxwell's "meritless arguments" that her interests superseded that presumption.

‘You’re a criminal for not reporting it’: Trump targets media while continuing to push unverified Hunter Biden story

President lashes out over controversial New York Post report

Queen grants rare royal pardon to murderer who fought off a terrorist knife attacker with a 5-foot narwhal tusk on London Bridge

Steve Gallant was on his day release at a conference set up to help rehabilitate prisoners when the terror attack took place last November.

Tennessee poll worker fired after turning away voters in Black Lives Matter shirts, masks

A poll worker at the Dave Wells Community Center in Memphis was fired after turning away voters wearing 'Black Lives Matter' gear. Another worker quit shortly afterward.

Elon Musk's SpaceX keeps winning US military contracts — here's why, according to an aerospace expert

Steve Nutt, professor at the University of Southern California, says Elon Musk's SpaceX is now the main alternative to traditional contractors.

The Unhinged Scene at Miami Strip Club Tootsie’s After Curfew

MIAMI—Shortly after midnight on Sunday, a line of at least 50 men and women snaked from the entrance of Tootsie’s Cabaret to the sidewalk lining the perimeter of the massive strip club in Miami Gardens, a small city in South Florida that has clocked nearly 5,000 coronavirus cases since the coronavirus pandemic began. Two Miami Gardens police cars directed traffic to a satellite parking lot because Tootsie’s main lot was completely full.Less than 24 hours earlier, Tootsie’s owners had won a court injunction at least temporarily nullifying Miami-Dade County’s 12 a.m. curfew. The party was just getting started.Johnny Fernandez, a 33-year-old Miami Gardens resident waiting in the line and sporting a wide grin, explained young Miamians like him were nocturnal creatures. He wasn’t surprised to see so many people waiting to get inside Tootsies after being forced for months to stay indoors during the wee hours on weekends.“You can see the angst in their faces,” Fernandez told The Daily Beast. “Miami people want to go out. Thank God for Tootsie’s.”MAGA-Crazy Retirement Village Now Fears COVID—and PenceOn Friday, Miami-Dade Judge Beatrice Butchko sided with the strip joint in its legal challenge of a curfew imposed by county Mayor Carlos Gimenez in August, one of a slew of measures meant to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in one of Florida’s pandemic epicenters. In her order, Butchko concluded that Miami-Dade could not force Tootsie’s to close at midnight because of a September executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that barred cities and counties from enacting stricter business restrictions than the state, according to the Miami Herald.Since midsummer, when Florida was racking up more than 10,000 new cases a day and record-breaking deaths, the Sunshine State’s coronavirus daily outbreak numbers have curbed considerably. Then, on Saturday, Florida reported 4,044 new cases, the highest single-day increase in coronavirus infections since Aug. 22, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Still, over the past 14 days, Florida’s health department has mostly reported a daily positivity rate of 5 percent or lower—the World Health Organization standard for safe reopening.However, a Sun-Sentinel investigation last week found that the state agency was employing “a misleading measure of positive cases” that DeSantis and his administration had used to justify the reopening of schools and businesses. Other health organizations, like Johns Hopkins University, publish data that shows Florida’s daily positivity rate has actually been higher than 5 percent for 14 consecutive days. And now the city’s party nexus is taking full advantage of new leniency to dive into late-night partying, feeding exactly the kinds of conditions—drunk people in confined spaces—epidemiologists have long warned about.In a press statement released Saturday afternoon, Gimenez said the county was appealing Butchko’s order but that, as of now, “the curfew is unenforceable.” Spokespersons for Gimenez and DeSantis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.In a statement, a Tootsie’s spokesperson said the strip club sought the injunction to operate at its normal hours so that its employees and entertainers can make a living. “Tootsie’s continues to take seriously COVID-related safety measures, and urges others to do so,” the statement said. “These measures include temperature check screening of guests, employees, and entertainers; requiring them to wear masks; social distancing; and limiting occupancy to 50 percent.”But the judge’s ruling has implications beyond Tootsie’s. Around 1 a.m. Sunday, bars and lounges in Wynwood, Miami’s most popular destination, were running full-tilt, with long lines outside traditional hotspots like El Patio and Wood Tavern.LIV Miami, the popular nightclub in the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel name-dropped in Drake and Lil Wayne rap songs, announced on its Instagram page early Saturday afternoon that it would soon reopen and operate under normal business hours until 5 am. Shortly before 2 am on Sunday, more than 40 people, many sans facemasks, danced to a DJ playing music near the hotel’s lobby bar. A Fontainebleau Miami Beach spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Back in Miami Gardens, Fernandez wasn’t heeding Gimenez’s memo about covering your face despite the lifting of the curfew. He didn’t wear a mask, but no one, including the bouncers, appeared to tell him he had to put one on. “I don’t like the whole mask thing,” Fernandez said, though he added: “But when I walk in, I will put on a mask. I understand businesses have a right to enforce it just like they enforce ‘no shoes, no shirt means no service.’”Before arriving at the strip club, he had been at downtown Miami bar Mama Tried having drinks with friends. “I live a couple blocks away from here and I wasn’t ready to go home,” Fernandez said. “So I decided to come hang out at Tootsie’s.”He wasn’t the only late night reveler itching to resume partying on a pre-pandemic clock. Rene Millan, his girlfriend, Rosalin Gutierrez, and four friends decided to keep going after hitting golf balls at Top Golf, also in Miami Gardens. “What are we gonna do? Go home and sleep?” Millan said sarcastically. “Here, we can stay until whenever and enjoy a nice, entertaining atmosphere.”Gutierrez and Millan said they are fully aware the pandemic was not over, but that they felt safe going inside Tootsie’s. They had already gone to the strip club when it reopened last month and was operating from 6 a.m. to midnight—under the curfew. “We don’t want to get infected,” Gutierrez said. “But they are very strict with the precautions. They enforce the mask rule and keep tables of other people six feet apart.”The couple said they don’t buy lap dances and pay for their drinks with a credit card.Another patron, Maurice Jones, said he and his girlfriend took the risk so they could celebrate his 25th birthday. “It’s a nice vibe,” he said. As far as Tootsie’s fighting in court to resume its normal operating hours, Jones said that’s what capitalism is all about: “Money rules.”Fernandez said he wasn’t worried about catching the coronavirus while turning up inside Tootsies. He also said he believed that restarting Miami’s nightlife scene was not going to accelerate a surge in new cases. “Not at all,” he said, veering off the deep end, “The numbers have been fudged since the beginning. We have been bamboozled.”The 33-year-old went on to claim the death toll linked to the disease is inflated, echoing right-wing conspiracies from Donald Trump on down.“There is a big difference between dying from Covid and dying from something else while you had Covid,” Fernandez said, adding, falsely, “I’m not worried about catching it because if you are under 70, teh chances of you dying are 0.5 percent.”Meanwhile, a burly bouncer walked the perimeter of the line, shouting at people to put some distance between themselves and other individuals in front of and behind them. The bouncer, who did not want to give his name because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said the 75,000 square-foot- strip-club was only allowing 50 percent of its maximum capacity—an indicator Tootsie’s was still abiding by other county restrictions.He warned patrons that it would be a while before they could get inside. “We are at capacity,” he said. “There is a one hour to two hour wait.”No one left the line.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Shanghai zoo fatal bear attack: Visitors see worker being killed

The fatal attack in Shanghai Wild Animal Park's "wild beast area" is under investigation.

Woman rescued in Zion National Park is 'getting her strength back'

"She was unable to take more than a step or two without collapsing," the woman's daughter said. "She told me she was so dehydrated she couldn't open her mouth."

Cruise ship rescues 24 people from boat off Florida coast

A Carnival Cruise Line ship rescued two dozen people, including two children, from a sinking boat 37 miles off the Florida coast, the cruise line reported Saturday.

Spain's regions tighten COVID-19 measures as one million case milestone looms

Several Spanish regions toughened their coronavirus restrictions on Monday, seeking to curb a second wave of contagion that looks set to drive the country with Western Europe's highest case load above one million infections this week. Authorities in the northern region of Castile and Leon announced they would seal off the city of Burgos and nearby Aranda de Duero to all but essential travel from Tuesday night after infection rates in the area surpassed 500 cases per 100,000 people. "We are in circumstances similar to those of March or April," Burgos Mayor Daniel de la Rosa told state broadcaster TVE, recalling the beginning of the pandemic, when many Spaniards were confined to their homes to stop the spread.

Sen. Schumer, McConnell spar over COVID relief bill

Schumer is not impressed with McConnell’s latest proposal. The Senate minority leader, Charles Schumer, believes Republicans and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell are the reason an agreement on a COVID-19 relief hasn’t been made. On a call with reporters on Sunday, The Hill reports that Schumer says Senate Republicans are the “No. 1 reason there’s no agreement,” and they “won’t even go along with what Trump is willing” to get done.

A preschooler who spotted a missing endangered lemur gets a lifetime pass to the San Francisco Zoo

The 5-year-old, James Trinh, was walking out of school on Thursday when he spotted the elderly and endangered lemur on the loose.

ExxonMobil responds to Trump claiming he could phone company and ask for $25m

US president says he could raise a billion dollars for his election campaign through bribery ‘if he wanted to’

Fact check: True claim about Harris failing bar exam on first try and Barrett's law school rank

A post compares the early career qualifications of Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Sen. Kamala Harris. We rate this claim true.

Family of Moscow-Born Teen Who Beheaded Teacher Were from Chechnya Where Charlie Hebdo Cartoons Are Demonized

MOSCOW—The man known as "Putin’s attack dog" has spent years promoting a violent response to the publication of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. When a teenager from a Chechen family beheaded a school teacher in France on Friday for sharing these images with his class, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin-backed ruler of Chechnya, took to social media to lecture France about its “unacceptable attitude to Islamic values.”Kadyrov has worked hard to make the French controversy a cause célèbre in the Muslim-majority region of Russia. He gathered hundreds of thousands of Chechens for an anti-Charlie Hebdo rally, just a few days after terrorists killed 12 and injured 11 people at the satirical newspaper’s office in January 2015. That was the biggest rally ever seen in the Northern Caucasus. With a white vest on, Kadyrov spoke to a crowd of about a million people, calling on Muslims to rise against those who “deliberately kindle the fire of religious hostility.”When Charlie Hebdo republished the cartoons on September 2 to mark the opening of a trial of those involved in the terror attack, Chechnya’s official Instagram account responded with a call in the Chechen language saying, “May the Almighty punish them for their deeds as quickly as possible.” Two days later Chechen Islamic jurist Salakh Mezhiyev condemned the French publication as part of “the West’s well-planned attack against Islam.” A rain of angry statements followed, and Instagram users called to make Charlie Hebdo “burn in hell.”Parents of Student Arrested After Teacher Beheaded for Showing Anti-Muslim CartoonSvetlana Gannushkina, the head of Moscow’s Civic Assistance Committee, said there could be no doubt what the Chechen leader was advocating. “The message Kadyrov has been sending his people is pretty clear, she told The Daily Beast. “He calls for Muslims to take measures against those mocking Muhammad.”The son of a Chechen émigré family in the suburbs of Paris did just that on Friday. A French teacher of geography and history, 47-year old Samuel Paty, was decapitated in the street in the Conflans Saint-Honorine neighborhood by Abdullah Anzorov, 18, about a week after Paty had shown the Muhammed cartoons to his students.Witnesses heard Anzorov yell during the attack, “Allahu Akbar!” The attacker was later shot dead after firing a plastic pellet gun at police. The authorities have arrested at least ten members of Anzorov’s Chechen family.The teenager himself was born in Moscow and only visited Chechnya as a young child, but Grigory Shvedov, editor-in-chief of the Caucasian Knot media site, told The Daily Beast that Kadyrov’s influence stretched well beyond the republic’s borders. “It has to do with so-called ‘Kadyrovtsy,’ they are responsible for spreading intolerance, hatred of critical thinking,” he said. “The murder in France took place after Chechnya’s main mufti condemned Charlie Hebdo.”Kadyrov, whose hardline policies are fully supported by President Vladimir Putin, did condemn the terrorist attack at the end of his social media tirade, but he also doubled down on his criticism of the cartoonists and those who would challenge Islamic fundamentalism. “While speaking out categorically against any manifestation of terrorism,” he wrote. “I also urge not to provoke believers, not to offend their religious feelings.”Kadyrov has been lecturing on public morality and behavior for years. Enjoying Kremlin-backed power in his republic, he forbade smoking and drinking, banned women from entering state buildings without scarves on, and called for a crusade against his own LGBT citizens in order “to purify our blood.”Chechen nationals across the world continue to follow Kadyrov, watching his videos and messages on Telegram and Instagram. His own Instagram account was blocked after U.S. sanctions, but he continues to spread his message via the republic’s official account.Yekaterina Sokirianskaya, the founder of the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Center think tank, has been researching Chechen émigrés in Europe and the U.S. “Many Chechens in the West are shocked, ashamed, they condemned the murderer for spoiling their nation’s reputation,” she said. “As my own research showed, most young Chechen refugees blend in, learn languages, study and work on the West. They have no other home, since returning to Chechnya would be too dangerous for most of them.“Judging by how much Anzorov rushed to photograph his beheaded victim and publish photographs on Twitter, he was prepared for a demonstratively violent act for some time, using the teacher as a pretext.”The shocking photographs were published on Twitter in a post addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron, which read, “I have executed one of your dogs.”Chechnya watchers in Russia believe that many Muslims who oppose Kadyrov’s domestic policy have been seduced by his criticism of Charlie Hebdo and French politicians who support tolerance and freedom of speech. “Kadyrov makes statements about Muslims in Myanmar, Muslims in Palestine, he has ambitions of becoming the leading voice for all Russian Muslims,” Sokirianskaya told The Daily Beast.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

6 Russians charged over most 'destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group'

The Department of Justice has announced charges against six Russian intelligence officers in connection with a series of majorly "disruptive and destructive" cyberattacks.The DOJ on Monday said that a federal grand jury had indicted six Russian computer hackers, officers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), for their role in a series of "computer intrusions and attacks" conducted from 2015 through 2019 "for the strategic benefit of Russia." This allegedly included malware attacks against Ukraine's electric power grid, as well as efforts to disrupt France's 2017 elections and the 2018 Winter Olympics.Officials also said the defendants were responsible for "destructive malware attacks that infected computers worldwide" and led to nearly $1 billion in losses.The alleged hackers, The Washington Post notes, are a part of the same intelligence agency previously charged over interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, although the indictment unsealed on Monday didn't include charges related to U.S. election interference. NBC News' Kevin Collier wrote that "naming six officers (allegedly) responsible for election meddling and destruction two weeks before the election seems a pretty clear sign." The Post reports that "officials said the announcement was not timed to the current political schedule," however. Johns Hopkins University professor Thomas Rid also described the indictment as an "incredible document," which suggests intelligence communities "must have stunning visibility into Russian military intelligence operations if today's disclosures are considered dispensable."Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers in a statement on Monday said "no country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite," saying the defendants were charged over the "most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group" and adding, "No nation will recapture greatness while behaving in this way."More stories from theweek.com Will Kansas go blue? What happened to third party candidates? If Roe falls

US schedules first federal execution of woman since 1953

Lisa Montgomery is due to become the first woman to face federal execution in the US in 67 years.

No immediate ruling from judge after Lee statue trial

A judge heard hours of arguments and witness testimony Monday but did not immediately issue a ruling in a lawsuit seeking to prevent Virginia's governor from removing an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond. Saying he recognized the history and the strong emotions the case involves, Marchant told the attorneys he had “plenty to consider,” and would issue a written ruling likely within seven to 10 days. The plaintiffs, a group of Richmond residents who live near the monument in this former capital of the Confederacy, filed suit after Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans to remove the statue in June amid the outcry and unrest caused by the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Supreme Court justices chastise Vermont on the limits of police power in 'deer jacking' case

Vermont's high court ruled that game wardens had a legal right to wander around the land of a homeowner suspected of illegally hunting deer at night.

U.S. Postal carrier charged with stealing Miami-Dade mail-in ballot, debit cards

A U.S. Postal Service carrier has been arrested on charges of stealing one Miami-Dade County mail-in ballot that was sent to a Miami Beach resident earlier this month, federal authorities said Monday.

Aeroflot Airlines crew members helped smuggle $50 million worth of stolen iPads, iPhones, and more into Russia, a government investigation has found

The Department of State has revoked 113 visas of Aeroflot employees in connection to the smuggling scheme.

Black officers break from unions over Trump endorsements

Police unions have largely supported President Trump’s reelection, amid mass demonstrations over police brutality and accusations of systemic racism. But a number of Black law enforcement officers are speaking out, saying their concerns over entering the 2020 political fray were ignored.

'Smoke coming from everywhere': Cameron Peak, Calwood fires continue to rage in Colorado

Colorado crews scrambled to gain ground against two blazes as this year's historic wildfire season imparted more heartbreak and hardships on the West.

Rudy’s ‘Russian Agent’ Pal Booted from Facebook for U.S. Election Interference

Facebook has suspended the account of Ukrainian politician—and alleged Russian agent—Andrii Derkach for election interference activity.The member of Ukraine’s parliament has been working with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to gather allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson told The Daily Beast, “We removed this account and this Page for violating our policy against the use of our platform by people engaged in election-focused influence operations.”Derkach was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in September for allegedly acting as an agent of Russian intelligence and being “directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in an attempt to undermine the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election.”Rudy: Only ‘50/50’ Chance I Worked With a ‘Russian Spy’ to Dig Dirt on Bidens and UkraineThrough his “Nabu Leaks” website, Derkach began spreading leaked recordings of conversations between Vice President Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussing a $1 billion loan to Ukraine and the need to fire an allegedly corrupt former prosecutor. Derkach and a number of Republican politicians have spread unsubstantiated allegations that Biden’s internationally backed pressure on Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general was part of a corruption scheme involving Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company where Biden's son, Hunter, sat on the board.Giuliani has come under increasing scrutiny for his relationship with Derkach, as revelations swirl about the U.S. intelligence community’s concerns that Russian spies may have tried to use the former mayor of New York as a conduit to launder disinformation from Moscow.Giuliani’s relationship with Derkach blossomed as he traveled around Ukraine in search of dirt on Biden’s son. Giuliani interviewed Derkach for a video series about his Hunter Biden conspiracy theories and recently told The Daily Beast, “The chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Georgia: two rightwing Republicans face Democrat in special election debate

* GOP’s Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins face Raphael Warnock * Virtual debate for Senate seat race with no primaryKelly Loeffler, the Republican US senator from Georgia who has embraced a follower of the toxic rightwing conspiracy theory QAnon in a desperate bid to hang on to her seat, squared off with her Trump-supporting rival and the leading Democratic candidate in their first debate on Monday.The virtual debate, staged through separate video links to ensure safety amid the pandemic, was a chance for voters to get to grips with one of the most volatile and chaotic races in the nation. Some 20 candidates are standing in a race which, as a special election, had no primary.Loeffler, who was appointed to the seat in January following the resignation of Johnny Isakson, is having to fend off a fierce challenge from Doug Collins, an avidly Trump-supporting congressman. The pair have been scrambling over each other in a rapid dash to the right, trying to outdo the other in their radical conservative credentials.An exchange between Collins and Loeffler featured sparring on a personal angle.“You’ve attacked my hair, my makeup, how I talk, my clothes, where I’m from,” Loeffler said, adding: “I am the true conservative. I don’t have to have a record I have to lie about,” the Gainesville Times reported.Collins shot back: “I’ve never mentioned anything personally – her fixtures, hair or anything else. But it’s amazing what she [says] about me.” Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King preached for eight years, asked Collins if he would condemn QAnon.That is the virulent conspiracy theory rapidly which claims a cabal of Democrats and billionaires is running a paedophile and human trafficking ring and which the FBI has warned is a domestic terrorism threat.“I don’t agree with QAnon … and don’t support them,” Collins said.Loeffler said: “I don’t know anything about QAnon.”However, last week Loeffler appeared at a press conference with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has spoken favorably about QAnon in the past, to accept the latter’s endorsement.Greene, who has no Democratic opponent in a staunchly conservative House district in north-west Georgia, has made racist statements and was an early adopter of QAnonFrom 2017 Greene was an active proponent of QAnon, publicly praising its anonymous originator as a patriot who “very much loves his country” and is “on the same page as us”. More recently she claimed to have moved away from the movement, telling Fox News she was not a QAnon candidate.At last week’s event, Loeffler tried to bat away the controversy, telling reporters: “No one in Georgia cares about the QAnon business.”Warnock, by contrast, has successfully united his party. Recent polls put Warnock at around 31%, Loeffler at 23% and Collins at 22%. Under special election rules, the race will go into a January run-off between the top two should none of the candidates secure at least 50% of the vote.Most observers expect a head-to-head between Warnock and the winner of Loeffler and Collins’s bitter fight on the right.QAnon’s fantasies have caused considerable difficulties for Republicans in the 2020 election cycle. Last week Trump declined to denounce the conspiracy theory, praising it for being “strongly against paedophilia”.On Sunday, the chair of the Republican national committee, Ronna McDaniel, similarly sidestepped questions on QAnon during an appearance on ABC News. Asked if she would condemn it, she replied: “ I knew you were going to ask me that question. I knew it because it’s something the voters are not even thinking about. It’s a fringe group. It’s not part of our party.”The Loeffler battle is one of two US Senate races in Georgia that goes to the polls on 3 November. In the second contest, the incumbent Republican David Perdue is in an exceptionally tight fight against the Democrat Jon Ossoff.Perdue he took the stage at a Trump rally last week and mangled Kamala Harris’s name, which unleashed a flood of almost $2m into Ossoff’s already swollen campaign coffers.Perdue’s insulting jab also earned a riposte from Doug Emhoff, Harris’s husband. He said: “Let me help what’s-his-face pronounce this: M-V-P. If he can’t remember her name, how about Madam Vice-President?”

Trump reportedly invited a waiter into a top secret intelligence briefing room to order a milkshake

Look, sometimes a man just needs a malted milkshake. Admittedly, there are less opportune moments to indulge in such a craving — say, when you're in a highly classified briefing about Afghanistan with your country's senior defense and intelligence officials.Nevertheless, President Trump reportedly brought such a huddle to a halt a few months after he took office in 2017, Politico reports. "Does anyone want a malt?" the commander-in-chief supposedly asked the top-ranking officials who'd assembled for the briefing at his New Jersey golf club, including the head of the CIA's Special Activities Center, "a little known unit" that is "responsible for operations that include clandestine or covert operations with which the U.S. government does not want to be overtly associated," Spec Ops Magazine explains.Trump urged, "We have the best malts, you have to try them," before inviting a waiter into the code-word-secure briefing room to satisfy his sweet tooth. "The malt episode ... became legendary inside the CIA, said three former officials," Politico writes, explaining that "it was seen as an early harbinger of Trump's disinterest in intelligence, which would later be borne out by the new president's notorious resistance to reading his classified daily briefing." (That is to say, pictures were added to the briefings to help keep him engaged).Still, this is a man who has flexed the power of the nation's highest office to … install a button on his desk in the Oval Office that summons a butler to bring him a Diet Coke. The briefings can wait! To paraphrase a queen of France who was similarly burdened with the trivialities of running a country when there were sweets to consume, let them drink milkshakes.More stories from theweek.com Will Kansas go blue? What happened to third party candidates? If Roe falls

Vaccine storage issues could leave 3B people without access

The chain breaks here, in a tiny medical clinic in Burkina Faso that went nearly a year without a working refrigerator. From factory to syringe, the world’s most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates need non-stop sterile refrigeration to stay potent and safe. The vaccine cold chain hurdle is just the latest disparity of the pandemic weighted against the poor, who more often live and work in crowded conditions that allow the virus to spread, have little access to medical oxygen that is vital to COVID-19 treatment, and whose health systems lack labs, supplies or technicians to carry out large-scale testing.

Senior PLO official Erekat taken to hospital after COVID-19 condition worsens

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel on Sunday for treatment of a worsening case of COVID-19, the Palestine Liberation Organization said. Witnesses said Erekat, 65, was on a stretcher when he was placed inside an Israeli ambulance outside his home in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank. Erekat, who is also secretary-general of the PLO, disclosed on Oct. 8 that he had contracted coronavirus.

They caught thousands of flying squirrels in Florida and sold them illegally, cops say

Four Florida men and two men from Georgia participated in a scheme to illegally catch and export to Asia flying squirrels and other protected species.

A Texas woman in her 30s died of COVID-19 earlier this year while waiting for her plane to take off

The woman reportedly had trouble breathing and required supplemental oxygen before she died while her plane was on the tarmac in Arizona.

No such thing as the internet

The digital rivalry between the US and China is nothing short of a tech cold war.

Trump delivered his SCOTUS promise, but his pandemic response cost him support among Christians

The president’s response to the coronavirus pandemic appears to be softening support for his re-election among Christians who supported him in 2016.

National steelworkers union shines 'Biden Harris' sign on Trump Tower in Chicago

The 98-story Chicago skyscraper previously sparked controversy from the public after an enormous, LED "TRUMP" logo was stamped on it.

Florida company warns employees they might lose jobs if Trump doesn’t win

Boss has given hundreds of thousands to Republican political causes

Japan to export defense tech to Vietnam under new agreement

Japan has been pursuing such pacts in recent years to bolster ties with Southeast Asian countries and sustain its own defense industry.

Chief: Indiana police recruit fired for ties to neo-Nazis

A police recruit in Indiana was fired less than 24 hours after the department was notified that the officer had been involved in a neo-Nazi online chat forum.

Duterte says he can be held responsible for drug killings

The Philippine president has said he has no problem with being held responsible for the many killings under his anti-drugs crackdown, adding that he was ready to face charges that could land him in jail, though not charges of crimes against humanity. President Rodrigo Duterte’s televised remarks Monday night were among his clearest acknowledgement of the prospects that he could face a deluge of criminal charges for the bloody campaign he launched after taking office in mid-2016.

An idle Venezuelan tanker with millions of gallons of oil is creating panic in Trinidad

More than 20 months after a Venezuelan oil tanker carrying nearly 55 million gallons of crude oil was abandoned off the country’s northern coast following tightened U.S. sanctions, inspectors from neighboring Trinidad and Tobago will finally get a chance to see for themselves if the idle vessel’s cargo could lead to a major ecological disaster off the Caribbean coast of South America.

Journalists Share Deceptively Edited Clip of GOP Michigan Senate Candidate John James’ Answer on Health Care

A number of prominent journalists shared a deceptively edited video that purported to show Republican Michigan Senate candidate John James fumbling his response to a question about protecting patients with pre-existing health conditions."I don't see a full health care plan on your website. What do you want to replace it with?" anchor Devin Scillian of Detroit's Local 4 News asked James during an interview on Sunday."So here's the thing. I'm not a politician," James begins his response, at which point the video ends.During the rest of his answer that was not included in the clip, James goes on to outline his vision for health care and the proposals he believes could replace the Affordable Care Act."Health care is unaffordable for too many Americans, and I believe that by increasing competition, increasing choice, increasing quality of care, lowering costs, I think we can do that with some of the ways I proposed," James said.The Michigan Republican said he proposes "broadening the risk pools across state lines," as well as reforming the tort and regulatory hurdles that raise costs and allowing business association health plans "so people can make their own choice.""Those are the types of things through a legislative requirement that must protect preexisting conditions," James said.The video was put out by Michigan Democrats and subsequently shared by several prominent journalists and others with large Twitter followings.CNN White House correspondent John Harwood shared the video, as did Emily Singer and Oliver Willis of the American Independent and veteran broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien. Several former government officials and entertainment personalities also shared the video along with Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's communications director and incumbent Gary Peters, James's opponent in the Senate race.The Michigan Senate race is now considered a toss up between James and Peters, according to RealClearPolitics.James has been advocating for replacing Obamacare since his first unsuccessful run for Senate in Michigan three years ago.In November 2017, James called the Affordable Care Act a "monstrosity" and declared Washington needs "someone who will go and work their tail off" to repeal and replace it.“Our failure to repeal and replace Obamacare is the surest sign that we need new conservative leadership in Washington,” James said at the time.

Scientists have measured time in zeptoseconds more than a century after Einstein's theory

A theory from Albert Einstein has been put into practice to observe extremely shortest time intervals between two events.