Politics

Politico reports: The Monterey County District Attorney’s office has launched an investigation into whether Tara Reade lied on the witness stand while acting as an expert witness. Reade, under the name Alexandra McCabe, for years testified as an expert in domestic violence cases for the California D.A.’s office. Among the issues is whether she lied about her credentials to qualify …

CBS News Minneapolis reports: Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has announced that four officers are now “former employees” with the department, following the death of George Floyd in South Minneapolis Monday evening. George Floyd was arrested Sunday night for an alleged forgery at a deli. Officers say he resisted arrest before one of the officers kneeled on Floyd’s neck. The …

The Wrap reports: Talk about not being rattled: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern smiled her way through an earthquake during an interview on Monday — and it was all captured on live TV. Ardern was being interviewed by Newshub host Ryan Bridge when the quake hit. “We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan, quite a decent …

The New York Post reports: Joe Biden sex assault accuser Tara Reade and her lawyer have parted ways. Attorney Douglas Wigdor announced the split Friday just weeks after Reade, a former Senate sytaffer of Biden’s, hired the high-profile sex-harassment lawyer. In a statement, the Manhattan litigator did not provide a reason for the decision but said it had nothing to …

CBS News reports: The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance Congressman John Ratcliffe’s nomination to be the next director of national intelligence (DNI) on Tuesday morning, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote by the full Senate. Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved behind closed doors along party lines in a vote of 8 to 7, with all Democrats voting against. …

NBC News reports: It’s been a White House tradition for decades: a first-term president hosts his immediate predecessor in the East Room for a ceremony to unveil the portrait of the former president that will hang in the halls of the White House for posterity. Yet this modern ritual won’t be taking place between Obama and President Donald Trump, according …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party last year, said on Twitter that he will not run for president this year after saying last month that he would seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination. “After much reflection, I’ve concluded that circumstances don’t lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this …

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: Nevada plaintiffs backed by a conservative voting-watch group are trying again to block the state’s all vote-by-mail June 9 primary, arguing that mail-only balloting is no longer necessary to limit the risk of COVID-19 spreading among voters. The True the Vote group’s revised complaint seeking an injunction also argues that Clark County’s procedures for distributing …

Politico reports: Over the past decade, Tara Reade has left a trail of aggrieved acquaintances in California’s Central Coast region, who say they remember two things about her — she spoke favorably about her time working for Biden, and she left them feeling duped. As part of an investigation into Reade’s allegations against Biden — charges that are already shaping …

The Guardian reports: Brazil’s supreme court has overturned rules that limit gay and bisexual men from donating blood in a decision considered a human rights victory for LGBT+ people in the country. The move came as more nations review restrictions on blood donations imposed during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, with some countries applying blanket bans, some have waiting periods after …

Politico reports: Hungary is no longer a democracy, Poland is about to go down the same path, democracy in the Balkans is eroding because of Chinese and Russian influence, and the EU is doing nothing to stop it all, according to the NGO Freedom House’s latest Nations in Transit report, out Wednesday. In the study, which covers 29 countries from …

Haaretz reports: Although proselytizing can be against the law in Israel, a brand-new evangelical channel dedicated to taking “the gospel of Jesus into the homes and lives and hearts of the Jewish people” had its official launch last week on cable television. Shelanu (Hebrew for “Ours”) TV is the new Hebrew-language channel of GOD TV, an international Christian media network …

The Week reports: President Trump will visit Mount Rushmore on July 3 to see the fireworks display he helped facilitate, even as uncertainty over the pandemic stretches into the summer. Earlier this week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) confirmed the Independence Day celebration would go forward. “We’re excited that this will be happening at Mount Rushmore,” Noem said, as …

The New York Post reports: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham offered a robust defense of former Vice President Joe Biden, telling Fox News he was skeptical of the sexual assault allegations leveled against him by a former Senate staffer. “The Joe Biden I know, I’ve never seen anything [or] believed that he would do anything like this until you convince …

Politico reports: “I have been falsely accused by people that I’ve never even seen,” Trump said on conservative media personality Dan Bongino’s podcast Friday. “I’ve never even seen many of these people, and some of them, I’ve met them and zero interest. OK? Like zero. And all of the sudden you become a wealthy guy. You’re a famous guy, and …

Reuters reports: North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Saturday leader Kim Jong Un attended the completion of a fertilizer plant in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in the first report of his public activity since April 11. Reuters could not independently verify the KCNA report. There has been speculation about his health after he missed the …

The Guardian reports: Canada has banned assault-style weapons following the murder of 22 people in the worst mass shooting in the country’s history, Justin Trudeau announced on Friday. “These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for …

NBC News reports: Mesa Police Department spokesman Jason Flam said the department’s homicide unit is involved because it “investigates all reported deaths within the City of Mesa” — from deaths related to car accidents to the elderly in hospice. “It’s still an active, ongoing investigation,” he said. On Tuesday, the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative outlet, published an article reporting …

The right wing Washington Free Beacon reports: The Mesa City Police Department’s homicide division is investigating the death of Gary Lenius, the Arizona man whose wife served him soda mixed with fish tank cleaner in what she claimed was a bid to fend off the coronavirus. A detective handling the case confirmed the investigation to the Washington Free Beacon on …

The New Jersey Advance reports: Some 17 hours later, and hours after a ruptured 36-inch water main was repaired, there are many in Jersey City with no water or low pressure, residents are saying. In a 7:50 a.m. update, Suez Water officials say the company that services the city’s water is investigating outages at locations across the city. The 3-foot …