Politics

Study Concludes That Death Toll For Hurricane Maria Is 70 Times Higher Than Trump Administration’s Figure

The New York Daily reports: The number of people killed in Puerto Rico amid Hurricane Maria is at least 70 times higher than the official government death toll, according to a study published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers in the United States and Puerto Rico estimated more than 4,645 people were killed as a result of …

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SCOTUS Rejects Challenge To Arkansas Abortion Law

Reuters reports: In a setback to abortion rights advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for Republican-backed restrictions on medication-induced abortions to take effect in Arkansas that could lead to the shuttering of two of the state’s three abortion clinics. The nine justices declined to hear an appeal by abortion provider Planned Parenthood of a lower court …

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Tom Steyer: Democrats Like Pelosi Are “Normalizing” Trump By Declining To Back His Calls For Impeachment

Politico reports: Tom Steyer says the Democrats telling him to call off his impeachment crusade are like those who told civil rights activists to be patient, and says Nancy Pelosi and others holding back on calling for impeachment are “normalizing” Donald Trump’s presidency. Steyer doesn’t care that Democratic leaders are worried that he could blow their chance at winning the …

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Trump: The North Korea Summit May Be Back On

Reuters reports: A senior North Korean official is headed to New York to discuss an upcoming summit, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, the latest indication that an on-again-off-again meeting between Trump and North Korea’s leader may go ahead next month. Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, was scheduled to fly to the …

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GOP House Rep To Retire Over His “Alcoholism” [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-Va.) announced Monday that he is struggling with alcoholism and will abandon his run for a second term in Congress so he can focus on recovery and his family. Garrett, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, is the 48th Republican to retire or announce they will not seek reelection to the House …

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China “Aggressively” Steps Up Nuclear Weapons Tests

The South China Morning Post reports: China is aggressively developing its next generation of nuclear weapons, conducting an average of five tests a month to simulate nuclear blasts, according to a major Chinese weapons research institute. Its number of simulated tests has in recent years outpaced that of the United States, which conducts them less than once a month on …

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GOP Senator: Trump Is No Role Model For My Kids

“I have been one that has said several times, I don’t consider the president a role model for my kids. I don’t want my kids to speak the way that he speaks, or how he makes some of the choices. It has been the challenge for quite a bit of time to say, ‘How do you balance this out between …

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FRANCE: Macron Awards Citizenship To “Spiderman” Migrant Who Rescued Dangling Child From Ledge

Politico reports: French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that a Malian migrant would be given French citizenship after climbing a building to save a child’s life in Paris. Videos on social media show Mamoudou Gassama climbing four stories by pulling himself from balcony to balcony in order to rescue the 4-year-old, who had been left unattended, according to the BBC. …

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China Grants 13 New Trademarks To Ivanka Trump

The Associated Press reports: Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found. On Sunday, China granted the First Daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, …

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Chelsea Manning “Safe” After Apparent Suicide Threat

The New York Daily News reports: Chelsea Manning alarmed her friends Sunday night with a pair of since-deleted tweets in which she contemplated suicide. The U.S. Senate candidate — a former soldier and whistleblower — who is hoping to unseat a Maryland Democrat shared a jarring photo of what appeared to be her poised to jump from the ledge of …

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Flake Won’t Rule Out 2020 Run Against Trump [VIDEO]

NBC News reports: The senator has been one of the president’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. He announced last fall he would not seek another term, citing, in part, the challenges that come with winning a GOP primary while speaking out against the president. He acknowledged Sunday that part of the reluctance of his fellow Republicans to also speak …

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Track Palin Seeks To Ban Media From Assault Trial

The Associated Press reports: The eldest son of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is seeking to bar the media from covering court hearings after he was accused of assaulting his father last year at the family home in Alaska. A lawyer for Track Palin, 29, filed a motion Friday to prohibit or limit media access to proceedings in …

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GOP Rep Compares NFL Protests To Nazi Salutes

The New York Daily News reports: Long Island Rep. Pete King kicked off a storm of outrage Saturday when he likened NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to Nazis. The repugnant remark came in response to acting Jets owner Christopher Johnson’s announcement that the team would not penalize players who took a pregame knee to protest police brutality against …

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FLORIDA: Democrats Sue Over “Ballot Order” Law

Courthouse News reports: Democratic organizations and activists claim in court that Florida’s “ballot order” law unfairly puts their candidates at a disadvantage by listing Republican candidates first year after year. In a federal lawsuit filed in Tallahassee, the Democrats contend the statute mandating candidates of the governor’s political party to be listed first on a ballot creates “position bias” and …

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IRELAND: Officials Confirm Abortion Ban Repeal

The Guardian reports: Ireland has voted by a landslide to legalise abortion in a stunning outcome that marks a dramatic defeat for the Catholic church’s one-time domination of the Republic. The Irish electorate voted by 1,429,981 votes to 723,632 in favour of abolishing a controversial constitutional amendment that gave equal legal status to the lives of a foetus and the …

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Spanish Police Provide FBI With Wiretaps Of Russian “Godfather” That Met With Junior At NRA Convention

Yahoo News reports: The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin [photo], a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, …

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BREAKING: Exit Poll Projects Ireland Has Repealed Abortion Ban In Landslide, Vote Count Is Tomorrow

The Irish Times reports: Ireland has voted by a landslide margin to change the constitution so that abortion can be legalised, according to an exit poll conducted for The Irish Times by Ipsos/MRBI. The poll suggests that the margin of victory for the Yes side in the referendum will be 68 per cent to 32 per cent – a stunning …

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Trump Signs Executive Orders Making It Easier To Fire Federal Workers, Cutting Amount Of Paid Union Time

The Washington Post reports: President Trump issued three executive orders Friday aimed at overhauling the federal bureaucracy by making it easier to fire poor performers, sharply curtailing the amount of time federal employees can be paid for union work and directing agencies to negotiate tougher union contracts. The orders could result in the biggest changes in a generation to civil …

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Christie Blocks Release Of Kushner Company Docs

Fast Company reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is blocking requests for copies of his office’s correspondence with the real estate company previously managed by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law. Christie, whose eight-year administration spent almost $1 million battling to keep public records secret, issued a letter in his last week in Trenton that declared any requests involving his …

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Gas Prices Have Spiked 31% Since Last Memorial Day

CNN Money reports: Get ready for sticker shock at the gas station if you’re one of the estimated 41.5 million Americans hitting the roads this Memorial Day weekend. Gone are the days of $2-a-gallon gasoline. A spike in crude oil prices has lifted the national average price of gas by 31% over the past year, according to AAA. The rebound …

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