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Protests/Racial & Social Issues
The House passed a measure sponsored by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) condemning anti-Asian bigotry and discrimination relating to the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to increased numbers of Asian Americans experiencing harassment and physical assaults.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the agency conducted research on whether it could pursue charges against Portland officials after nightly protests for police reform led to clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
Seattle’s Democratic Mayor Jenny Durkan fired back after a “chilling” report that Attorney General William Barr instructed prosecutors to consider charging her with crimes for allowing residents to establish a protest zone.
“The DOJ cannot become a political weapon operated at the behest of the President to target those who have spoken out against his actions. That is an act of tyranny, not of democracy.”
A Utah police officer has been charged with second-degree felony assault for an April incident that drew national attention in which he ordered a police dog to bite a Black man who was complying with orders and had already raised his hands.
In the video, the man can be heard saying “I’m on the ground. Why are you biting me?”
Trump Administration
A former model has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her at the US Open tennis tournament more than two decades ago, in an alleged incident that left her feeling “sick” and “violated”.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amy Dorris alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the tournament in New York on 5 September 1997.
Dorris, who was 24 at the time, accuses Trump of forcing his tongue down her throat, assaulting her all over her body and holding her in a grip she was unable to escape from.
Another 860,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Department of Labor reported
These numbers don’t include claims filed under the government’s various other jobless aid programs, such as the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides benefits for those who aren’t usually eligible, such as the self-employed.
President Trump’s town hall with ABC News on Tuesday only drew in 3.97 million viewers, less than “America’s Got Talent,” the NBA Playoff telecast on ESPN and Fox News prime-time programming featuring Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
President Trump announced he will soon be signing an executive order establishing a “national commission to promote patriotic education” called the “1776 Commission.” He said the commission will be aimed at establishing “patriotic” and “pro-America” education that will celebrate American history. In his remarks, Trump criticized the 1619 Project, a New York Times project that explores slavery’s legacy.
“Our youth will be taught to love American with all of their heart and all of their souls,” Trump said.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates who worked with President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to collect information on political rivals, were charged on Thursday with additional campaign finance crimes in connection with a company Parnas founded.
Judge Stanley Bastian issued a nationwide injunction against the controversial U.S. Postal Service changes that have delayed mail delivery across the country, calling it “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service.”
Attorney General William Barr belittled the idea that lower level attorneys within his own Justice Department have any power to make decisions on how the agency is run, equating that notion to toddlers running a preschool.
“Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency.”
Presidential Campaign
FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed Russia has made “active efforts” to influence the 2020 election. Wray told the House Committee on Homeland Security that Russia is continuing attempts to influence the upcoming presidential election, “primarily to denigrate” Joe Biden and his campaign.
Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who were appointed by President Trump voted to shelve a report on threats to minority voting rights during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. The report, which had been worked on for months, raised issues like difficulties with in-person and mail-in balloting faced by voters of color, people with disabilities, and those with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus.
Twitter added a label directing users to information about “safe and secure” mail-in voting methods to a tweet posted by President Trump attacking vote-by-mail. The social media platform said it added the label to the tweet for “making a potentially misleading statement regarding the process of mail-in voting.”
Olivia Troye, the former top homeland security aide to Vice President Mike Pence, endorsed Joe Biden and accused President Trump of weak leadership and of dramatically mismanaging the response to the coronavirus crisis.
Vice President Pence dismissed Olivia Troye, calling her a “disgruntled employee” playing politics.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s former chief of staff, Josh Venable, has joined the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, as an adviser.
Sources: ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, Forbes, Fox News,The Hill, Independent, MSNBC, NBC News, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
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