Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark A. Milley holds a news briefing at Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 18. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
“President Biden on Wednesday threw his full support behind the Pentagon’s top uniformed officer, who has come under fire after a new book revealed he privately conferred with his Chinese counterpart to avert armed conflict late in the Trump administration.
‘I have great confidence in General Milley,’ Biden told reporters at the White House, following calls from former president Donald Trump and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill for the removal of Gen. Mark A. Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Biden’s declaration, coinciding with efforts by the chief spokespersons for the White House and the Pentagon to stage a similar defense of the embattled general, effectively ends speculation that Milley’s assignment may be cut short. But the controversy surrounding his fitness for the job rages on — and thus far is falling mostly along party lines.” Read more at Washington Post
A dose of Covid-19 vaccine is prepared in New Jersey.
“Three reports published yesterday support the argument that booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine would be safe and effective and may be needed. These and other reports will be on the docket tomorrow when FDA vaccine advisers meet to discuss booster doses, though the agency has signaled it has a lot of factors to consider before making an official move on the subject. What’s not up for debate, experts say, is that the vaccines work to reduce infection, spread and serious illness. Meanwhile, the rise of child cases of Covid-19 is sounding alarm bells. About 60% of all cases in Georgia over the last 60 days occurred in K-12 schools, representing about a sevenfold increase. In the past week, Ohio has seen a 44% increase in cases among school-age children, compared to a 17% jump in the rest of the population.” Read more at CNN
“The Biden administration’s attempt to block temporarily Texas’ ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will almost certainly put the contentious law back before the Supreme Court – potentially in a matter of weeks, legal experts said.” Read more at USA Today
“The Justice Department has announced that federal law enforcement officers will be banned from using neck restraints (commonly known as chokeholds) during arrests and using no-knock entries while executing warrants except in rare cases. As the federal government looks to increase policing accountability, some states are facing issues within their own justice systems. In Colorado, a 14-month investigation into the Aurora police department found a pattern of practicing racially biased policing and excessive force. In Georgia, the US Justice Department announced a statewide investigation into the state’s prisons, focusing on prisoner-on-prisoner violence and sexual abuse of gay, lesbian and transgender prisoners by prisoners and staff.” Read more at CNN
“Acclaimed gymnasts who were abused by former physician Larry Nassar testified yesterday in a powerful Senate hearing. Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman all accused the FBI of botching its investigation into allegations against Nassar and called out intimidation by the sport's governing bodies. The gymnasts gave new insight into how the FBI had mishandled their allegations. For instance, Maroney said when she related graphic details of her abuse to the FBI in 2015, the formal summary from the agent contained false information that she said minimized the abuse. They also expressed anger over the decision by the Justice Department not to charge two former FBI employees involved in the investigation who were referred by the department's inspector general for potential prosecution.” Read more at CNN
“The clock is ticking on raising the debt ceiling. In short, if Congress doesn't raise the limit on federal borrowing soon, the government will default on its debt by the end of next month and risk serious damage to both the US economy and its international reputation. However, the issue has created divisions in Congress. Many Republicans don’t want to be involved in the vote to raise the debt ceiling because they say Democrats have driven up spending with Covid-19 relief plans and their domestic agenda. Democrats are considering tacking the borrowing increase onto a must-pass spending bill to keep the government open to force the GOP’s hand. But if Republicans block that plan, things would get even uglier.” Read more at CNN
“Major powers are pushing back on China’s increasingly aggressive military posturing. President Biden and the UK government will work together on an effort to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines to try to counter Beijing’s influence in the region. While the trilateral partnership isn’t specifically about responding to issues with China, the US says it’s important to have an allied front against possible Chinese aggression. Meanwhile, Japan has asserted that the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, are unquestionably Japanese territory. These islands are also claimed by China, so Japan’s pushback could set up a new conflict between the region’s two biggest powers.” Read more at CNN
“GENEVA (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Thursday for ‘immediate, rapid and large-scale’ cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to curb global warming and avert climate disaster.
Ahead of the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting next week, Antonio Guterres warned governments that climate change is proceeding faster than predicted and fossil fuel emissions have already bounced back from a pandemic dip.
Speaking at the launch of a U.N.-backed report summarizing current efforts to tackle climate change, Guterres said recent extreme weather — from Hurricane Ida in the United States to floods in western Europe and the deadly heatwave in the Pacific Northwest — showed no country is safe from climate-related disasters.” Read more at AP News
“Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina lawyer who found the bodies of his wife and son in early June plans to turn himself into police Thursday to face charges in a plot to arrange his own death that ended with the shooter only grazing him in the head, his defense attorneys said. The charges are connected to insurance fraud, lawyer Jim Griffin said. If Murdaugh is arrested Thursday, it would culminate a tumultuous 36 hours which saw Curtis Edward Smith, 61, arrested on assisted suicide, insurance fraud and other charges for firing the shot, then state police open a sixth investigation into him and his family — this time over the death of a housekeeper and nanny who died in his home.” Read more at USA Today
“SpaceX launched four ordinary citizens into orbit Wednesday night without any professional astronauts along for the ride, an unprecedented feat. The crew will spend three days of orbiting the Earth with their first full day being Thursday. It's the first time an all-civilian crew will have orbited the planet. Paying for it all is Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire, who is promoting the flight as a fundraising effort for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Joining Isaacman are Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude who was treated for bone cancer at the hospital as a child; Chris Sembroski, an aerospace worker and Sian Proctor, an educator and trained pilot.” Read more at USA Today
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — The results of Tuesday’s recall election in which California Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated an attempt to remove him from office look all too familiar to the state’s enfeebled Republicans — they were embarrassed again by Democrats, who haven’t lost a statewide race in 15 years.
The returns were incomplete Wednesday — about 26% remained uncounted — but Newsom’s 2.5 million-vote lead gave him an insurmountable lead. It was business as usual for him a day after his victory. He visited an Alameda County school to talk about the pandemic and investments in education, two key issues for him.
For the state GOP, it once again was a time to evaluate what went wrong. Despite pre-election polls showing high enthusiasm among Republican voters for an election that was driven by GOP activists, only 36% voted to remove Newsom. That preliminary result fell into a predictable range for statewide elections in recent years – an unwelcome sign for the party as it looks for a comeback.” Read more at AP News
“A 20-year Marine veteran and former marksmanship instructor from Florida became the second defendant in the largest Jan. 6 Oath Keepers conspiracy case to plead guilty and agree to cooperate fully with prosecutors in hopes of reducing his prison term.
Jason Dolan, 45, of Wellington, Fla., admitted Wednesday to two federal counts of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the obstruction of Congress as it met to confirm President Biden’s 2020 election win, felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, both sides agreed that Dolan, who has no prior convictions, could face 63 to 78 months under advisory federal sentencing guidelines. However, the government agreed to request a lower term at sentencing in exchange for his ‘substantial assistance.’
Dolan, a former security guard at the Four Seasons resort in Palm Beach, was the second of 18 alleged associates of the extremist anti-government group charged in a single indictment in the assault on the U.S. Capitol to plead guilty, following Graydon Young, 55, of Englewood, Fla.” Read more at Washington Post
“Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Wednesday approved subpoenas for a wide range of data and personal information on voters, advancing a probe of the 2020 election in a key battleground state former president Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted with baseless claims of fraud.
The move drew a sharp rebuke from Democrats who described the effort as insecure and unwarranted and said they would consider mounting a court fight. Among other requests, Republicans areseeking the names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses and methods of voting for millions of people who cast ballots in the May primary and the November general election.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) called Wednesday’s vote ‘merely another step to undermine democracy, confidence in our elections and to capitulate to Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.’” Read more at Washington Post
“Boston voters will choose between two women of color when they elect their next leader — a contest that has always been won by White men, until now — after Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George emerged victorious from a diverse slate of candidates in a preliminary election Tuesday.
The race is a milestone that reflects a shift in the city’s demographics and self-image. It also sets up a showdown between the progressive and moderate factions of the Democratic Party.
Wu, a Harvard-educated daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, is a longtime city council member. A proponent of rent control, free public transportation and a new Green Deal for the city, she counts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as a supporter and mentor.
Essaibi George, who identifies as Arab American, grew up in the diverse neighborhood of Dorchester, where she was raised by immigrant parents from Tunisia and Poland. Although her candidacy is pathbreaking, analysts say her base of support — particularly among older, moderate Democrats and White voters — represents more continuity.” Read more at Washington Post
“Gordon Ernst, a former Georgetown University tennis coach, agreed to plead guilty to taking bribes to help students get into the school as part of the Varsity Blues scandal.” Read more at
Yellowstone National Park had its busiest August, recording more than 920,000 recreational visits.
“Sequoia National Park will remain closed Thursday as a pair of wildfires get closer to its gigantic trees , some of the largest on Earth. The closure led to the evacuations of all park employees from facilities and nearby housing areas. The Colony and Paradise fires, ignited by lightning strikes last week, covered about 14 square miles in California’s steep Sierra Nevada. The Colony Fire was a threat to Giant Forest, home to more than 2,000 sequoias, but not imminently, said Mark Ruggiero, fire information officer for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The Giant Forest houses more than 2,000 giant sequoias, including the General Sherman Tree, which is the largest tree on Earth by volume, according to the National Park Service.” Read more at USA Today
“Fact check: Let's tackle a few lingering issues
The claim: The COVID-19 vaccine caused one man's swollen testicles and impotence, as described by rapper Nicki Minaj on social media. Our rating: Missing context. Without knowing the specifics of the case, it's not possible to know for sure what caused the symptoms. But medical experts say there have been no reports linking the vaccine to swollen testicles and impotence.
The claim: Emergency rooms in Oklahoma are backed up with people overdosing on ivermectin. Our rating: False.
The claim: Ivermectin causes sterilization in 85% of men. Our rating: False
The claim: Thousands of ‘lost votes’ and ‘ghost votes’ in Arizona indicate the 2020 election was stolen. Our rating: False” Read more at USA Today
“MANILA — Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday authorized an investigation into possible crimes against humanity conducted during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent ‘war on drugs,’ saying alleged extrajudicial killings represented a ‘widespread and systematic attack’ against civilians.
The investigation opens a potential path for accountability in the Philippines, though any prosecution is likely to take years. Duterte, whose term as president expires next year, is maneuvering to find a successor who can protect him from prosecution.
Duterte, a populist who rose to power in 2016, is perhaps best known internationally as the architect of a drug war that has killed thousands. Official figures count some 6,000 dead, but the ICC prosecutor previously estimated that between 12,000 and 30,000 civilians were killed between July 2016 and March 2019.” Read more at Washington Post
“HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — The draft of a new family code for Cuba released Wednesday proposes allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as giving children greater participation in decisions that affect them.
The preliminary draft, which must be approved by Cuba’s parliament then go to a grassroots plebiscite, comes almost three years after the island’s communist government backed away from enshrining gay marriage protections in its new constitution in the face of opposition.
Evangelical groups objected to the constitutional proposal to eliminate the description of marriage as a union of a man and woman, and change it to the union of ‘two people ... with absolutely equal rights and obligations.’
‘We consider this version to be consistent with the constitutional text, and develop and update the various legal-family institutions in correspondence with the humanistic nature of our social process,’ Justice Minister Óscar Silveira Martínez said in announcing the draft.” Read more at AP News
“Sept. 16 is the anniversary of Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain . The day commemorates when Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 made the cry for independence hours after midnight by giving a riveting speech in the town of Dolores and ringing the church bells. The moment, which became known as the ‘Grito de Dolores,’ was the start of the 11-year Mexican War of Independence that resulted in Mexico gaining freedom from Spain after being under colonial rule for over 300 years. Every year during the late night of Sept. 15, the president of Mexico stands on the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City and delivers a speech similar to Hidalgo's and honors those who fought for the country’s independence.” Read more at USA Today