From one goy to another: Oy, Michele.
the top line
Nikola Says It’s Not the Next Theranos
THE FEED
power
The Grand Jury Decision on the Officers Who Killed Breonna Taylor Is Imminent
the national interest
Trump, Orbán, and Putin Are Forming an Authoritarian Alliance
Trump is upset that Republicans only back some of his authoritarian efforts
President Donald Trump said Monday he was furious with Republicans in Washington for not doing enough to take up his unsubstantiated claims about former Obama administration officials and Hunter Biden.
“Does anything happen? Nothing happens,” Trump said at an event in Dayton, Ohio. “I’m so angry at Republicans. I am. I’m so angry. I am so angry, but a lot of things are happening.”
supreme court
How the Timeline for Confirming Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee Will Play Out
supreme court
If the McConnell Rule Is Dead, Court-Packing Is Permitted
trump rally
Ohio Lt. Governor Booed at Trump Rally for Promoting Trump 2020 Masks
trump tax returns
Manhattan District Attorney Says Trump Could Be Investigated for Tax Fraud
ruth bader ginsburg
Anti-Abortion Zealots Demand a Vote to Fill Ginsburg’s Seat
None of the early polling suggests a majority of Americans want Republicans to fill RBG’s seat right now
🚨 New 🚨 Supreme Court polling:
53% - 39% Don’t fill before election
51% - 39% Don’t fill in lame duck if Biden wins
40% - 39% Expand Court if Trump fills
Democrats more likely to say Supreme Court increases their motivation. https://t.co/IgEgoLZD4U
—@DataProgress
53% - 39% Don’t fill before election
51% - 39% Don’t fill in lame duck if Biden wins
40% - 39% Expand Court if Trump fills
Democrats more likely to say Supreme Court increases their motivation. https://t.co/IgEgoLZD4U
centers for disease control
CDC Reverses on COVID-19 Airborne Transmission Guidelines
2020 elections
Loeffler Ad Boasts She’s More Conservative Than Attila the Hun
supreme court
How a New Conservative Justice Could Affect the Supreme Court
Crews told the CDC he would “retire” from his post in the aftermath of this article
The managing editor of the prominent conservative website RedState has spent months trashing U.S. officials tasked with combating COVID-19, dubbing White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci a “mask nazi,” and intimating that government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed.
But that writer, who goes by the pseudonym “streiff,” isn’t just another political blogger. The Daily Beast has discovered that he actually works in the public affairs shop of the very agency that Fauci leads.
William B. Crews is, by day, a public affairs specialist for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But for years he has been writing for RedState under the streiff pseudonym. And in that capacity he has been contributing to the very same disinformation campaign that his superiors at the NIAID say is a major challenge to widespread efforts to control a pandemic that has claimed roughly 200,000 U.S. lives.
Either way, McConnell says there will be a vote
McConnell notably not committing to get SCOTUS nominee confirmed before the election. He points out the number of days left for that (43) and in this Senate session/year (104). He says it COULD be done quickly enough for the former, but leaves the door open for the latter
—@GarrettHaake
Plans are set for RBG’s funeral
Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose Wednesday and Thursday, the court announced Monday morning.
The longtime jurist’s casket will arrive to the court around 9:30 Wednesday morning ahead of a private ceremony that will include family, friends and members of the court, the court said in a statement. Coverage of the ceremony will be provided by a press pool, though details are still to be announced.
The casket will lie in repose under the building’s portico to allow for the public to pay respects outdoors from the hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. The last justice to die while serving on the court, Antonin Scalia, laid in repose in the high court’s Great Hall before being interred.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also announced that a ceremony for Ginsburg will be held Friday morning at the U.S. Capitol, where she will lie in state for the day. However due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pelosi’s office said the proceedings “will be open to invited guests only.”
politics
Justice Department Designates NYC an ‘Anarchist Jurisdiction’
Republicans are already talking about how they’ll thwart Democrats’ potential response to GOP rushing to replace RBG
Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), who is competing for a Senate seat from his state, said Monday that he plans to introduce a constitutional amendment that would effectively delay any efforts by Democrats to expand the size of the Supreme Court in retaliation for Republicans muscling through a Trump nominee.
“By threatening to pack the Supreme Court, Democrats are eroding the integrity of our nation’s highest court,” Collins said in a tweet. “I will be introducing a Constitutional Amendment to prohibit any changes to the size of #SCOTUS until 10 years after any such legislation is signed into law.”
The odds of adoption of a constitutional amendment in such a divided political environment are extremely long. Such a measure requires a two-thirds vote from both chambers of Congress and approval from three-fourths of state legislatures.
rbg
Where GOP Senators Stand on Filling Ginsburg’s Seat Before the Election
supreme court
Trump Contradicts White House, Says Supreme Court Pick Coming Friday or Saturday
the national interest
RBG Is Gone, and Trump’s Attack on Preexisting Conditions Is Alive
rbg
How Flood of Democratic Money in Wake of RBG Death Is Changing Senate Map
“When you’re a star, they let you do it”
“When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want as long as you have it,” says Trump, defending moving ahead with SCOTUS nomination 44 days until the election after GOP wouldn’t move ahead with Garland eight months before an election
—@mkraju
first person
When Coronavirus Came to Sing Sing
vision 2020
Virginia Trump Supporters Help Trump in His Push to Make It Harder to Vote
ruth bader ginsburg
RBG’s Death: Latest Updates on Reaction, Political Aftermath
tiktok
Trump Wants $5 Billion From TikTok Deal to Go to ‘Patriotic Education’
Federal judge blocks Trump’s WeChat ban
A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning WeChat downloads in the United States. In issuing the preliminary injunction, Judge Laurel Beeler wrote that the plaintiffs — a group of US-based WeChat users who stand to be affected by Trump’s ban — had shown “serious questions” in their claim that the executive order threatens the users’ First Amendment rights.
“The plaintiffs’ evidence reflects that WeChat is effectively the only means of communication for many in the community, not only because China bans other apps, but also because Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency have no options other than WeChat,” Beeler wrote.
Nor does the order escape First Amendment scrutiny under an easier standard known as intermediate scrutiny, the judge said, because the ban on WeChat does not provide enough evidence that it is narrowly tailored to resolve the US government’s national security concerns with respect to the app.
“And, as the plaintiffs point out,” Beeler wrote, “there are obvious alternatives to a complete ban, such as barring WeChat from government devices, as Australia has done, or taking other steps to address data security.”
It won’t be the last time this happens, or the worst instance
A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting “four more years” as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site.
County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts.
Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.
rbg
Ginsburg’s Example Shows Us How to Save Our Democracy
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