In 2020, we’re all pivoting business strategies, focusing on impact, and finding ways to “do it better and different” (coincidentally, a DataRobot core value.) Organizations across industries have needed to become more resilient and focus on reducing costs and risks, retaining customers, and finding new revenue streams.
In June, we held our first-ever virtual AI conference, AI Experience Worldwide to address these challenges. The conference was such a hit amongst attendees that we held another for our APAC audience. And now, we’re coming for EMEA.
November 10, 2020, join us for a full day of AI insights from our in-house experts and industry leaders from a wide range of industries.
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Network with industry peers facing the exact same challenges you are.
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Our goal is for you to walk away from the AI Experience EMEA Virtual Conference with actionable insights to take your organization to the next level of AI Success with trustworthy, impactful AI. Wherever you are on your AI journey, we’re committed to being your trusted partner every step of the way.
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AI Experience EMEA Virtual Conference: Accelerating Impact With Trusted AI
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President Donald Trump announced the news on Twitter early Friday morning
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.
Trump’s positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump tweeted.
Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a “quarantine process” after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasn’t clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four months before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.
Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate in Cleveland.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump said he was awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. “Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don’t know,” he said, adding that first lady Melania Trump was also awaiting results.
Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.
“I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,” he said told reporters back in May.
He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nation’s attention on efforts to revive the economy — not a growing death toll — as he seeks another four-year term.
U.S. President Donald Trump poses for the news media with Communications Director Hope Hicks on her last day of work at the White House before he departs March 29, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Some studies suggest COVID-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously sickened by the virus, although it’s unclear whether that’s because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.
The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.
Trump, the vice president and other senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.
Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn’t being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it and he initially resisted being tested. He has been reluctant to practice his own administration’s social distancing guidelines for fear of looking weak, including refusing under almost all circumstances to wear a mask in public.
Counselor to the President Hope Hicks walks from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump is not the only major world leader known to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care, where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for the virus, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill.
The White House got its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came in close proximity to the president at his private Florida club. That included members of the Brazilian president’s delegation, including the Brazilian chargé d’affaires, who sat at Trump’s dinner table.
In mid-March, as the virus continued to spread across the country, the White House began taking the temperature of everyone entering the White House complex, and in April, it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those in close proximity to the president, with staffers being tested about once a week. The frequent tests gave some staff the false impression the complex was safe from the virus, and few, as a result, followed recommended safety protocols, including wearing masks.
But then the bubble broke.
On May 7, the White House announced that a member of the military serving as one of the president’s personal valets tested positive for the virus, followed a day later by a positive diagnosis for Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Even then, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. But officials again stepped up safety protocols for the complex, directing everyone entering the West Wing to wear a mask.
“I think it’s very well contained, actually,” Trump told reporters on May 11.
But by June, concerns at the White House had dissipated once again, with few staffers bothering with masks even as more and more people tested positive for the virus, including campaign staffers preparing for a Tulsa rally and Secret Service agents.
On July 3rd, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. Guilfoyle, a former Fox News personality who works for Trump’s campaign, had not flown on Air Force One and had not been in direct contact with the president, though she had had contact with numerous top GOP officials.
In July, Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, tested positive.
While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted “a written declaration to the contrary.”
The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would “immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.
___
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
‘When I say ‘hut,’ you get that motherf—ing ball and you run!’
Ciara shared a new video on Instagram of herself, Vanessa Bryant and her 17-year-old daughter Natalia, and La La Anthony playing a fun game of football.
“Let’s go QB,” Ciara said to Anthony in the video. “So I’m about to go ‘danger, danger,’” the TV personality, 39, explained to Natalia and the R&B singer. “When I say ‘hut,’ you get that motherf—ing ball and you run!”
Bryant is not seen in the clip, as she may have been the one recording the excitement. Her youngest child, 15-month-old Capri, can be seen watching the game play out on a sprawling lawn.
The clip features the song “California Love” by Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre — check it out below. The video comes a day after Ciara shared a very candid photo of herself and Bryant breastfeeding their babies.
theGRIO previously reported, both women are draped with a blanket in the pic, as Bryant cradles her 15-month-old daughter Capri while Ciara is holding her 2-month-old son Win Harrison Wilson. The multi-platinum artist captioned the moment, “Got Milk?:)” along with the hashtag #MomLife.
Ciara and her NFL star hubby Russell Wilson welcomed their son on July 23. The couple are also parents to 3-year-old daughter Sienna, and the Grammy winning songstress shares 6-year-old son Future with her famous ex of the same name.
“There was a lot of love and thought put into it. Russ, we would talk about names, and Russ kind of always had this name Win in the rotation, years ago, before we knew we were having a girl,” she said. “He had all the good names and Win won. So Win is the name and he’s so cute. He’s so precious.”
On Tuesday, Bryant took to Instagram to share an adorable photo of her cuddling with Ciara’s baby boy.
“Sweet Baby, Win,” Bryant captioned the image. In the comment section, Ciara called Kobe Bryant’s widow “Auntie V,” while Wilson described the pic as “the sweetest.”
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This week, MIT began piloting a wastewater testing program as a new tool to help keep the campus community safe this semester. In a project that will run through the fall semester, wastewater from seven buildings on campus will be tested each day for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The project is designed to determine if wastewater testing can be an effective early warning system for Covid-19 outbreaks on campus, and is being evaluated as a complementary tool in the Institute’s response to the pandemic, along with clinical testing, contact tracing, and other measures.
Results of the wastewater testing will be communicated to MIT’s Covid Monitoring Team, a cross-Institute collaboration that looks at health trends on campus and makes recommendations to the Covid Decision Team, which is made up of MIT’s senior leadership, to determine next steps. Buildings will not be quarantined on the basis of the test results, but people in the buildings where the virus is detected may be asked to get tested at MIT Medical sooner than otherwise scheduled. The project team members stress that the sampling data is aggregate and cannot be used to identify individuals.
“We view the wastewater treatment data as a part of [the larger portfolio of data] that goes to the Covid Decision Team that helps make strategic choices about campus operations,” MIT Medical Chief of Staff Brian Schuetz says. “It gives us interesting insight into populations, which is really what we’re focused on. [Responding to Covid-19] is a population health initiative, and this fits into that.”
Wastewater testing offers complementary advantages to clinical testing because it reflects health at the community level, is not limited by clinical testing availability, and sheds light on both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. The lab of biological engineering Professor Eric Alm, which has been testing municipal wastewater for Covid-19 around the country since March, has shown that at the population level, wastewater data precede clinical observations of Covid-19 by four or more days.
“It makes a lot of sense when you think about the fact that there’s a lag between the time somebody gets sick and starts shedding the virus, and the time when they’re symptomatic enough to seek care and get a clinical test,” says Katya Moniz, a research scientist in the Alm Lab.
Wastewater testing is already being used at a number of colleges across the country. In one case, at the University of Arizona, wastewater testing helped detect an outbreak among asymptomatic individuals and officials were able to take precautionary measures before the virus spread.
At MIT, the following buildings have been selected for sewage testing during the pilot:
· MIT Sloan School of Management (E62)
· Random Hall (NW61)
· Sidney-Pacific (NW86)
· McCormick Hall (W4)
· Simmons Hall (W79)
· Tang Hall (W84)
· Westgate (W85)
Sampling ports installed on the sewage exit lines of each building will extract a small amount of wastewater from the pipes every two minutes. A subsample of that wastewater will be tested each day by the Alm Lab. The test results will then be sent to MIT’s Covid Monitoring Team.
“The goal of this pilot is to build this infrastructure for a subset of buildings on campus and use that data to decide if this is an effective method of monitoring Covid-19 outbreaks on campus,” says Moniz.
The wastewater-based testing project team has met with the faculty, student, and staff leaders of the buildings where the initiative is being piloted, explaining how wastewater-based testing monitors pathogens and guides interventions. The team members also explained that they will only be testing for Covid, and that detection will be aggregate — it will not identify individuals.
The program, which has been approved by the Legal, Ethical, Equity Committee for MIT Campus Planning, is part of a collaboration between MIT Facilities, the Environment, Health, and Safety Office, Housing and Residential Services, and the Alm Lab.
For more information, contact wb-pilot@mit.edu.
from MIT News https://ift.tt/3l5IU1z
via Gabe's Musing's
It’s an amazing moment when a topic learned in the classroom comes to life. For senior Darya Guettler, that moment came on a sweltering day while installing solar panels in low-income communities in Los Angeles, alongside workers who had been previously incarcerated.
Guettler was volunteering with an MIT Energy Initiative program called Solar Spring Break, which had partnered with Homeboy Industries, an organization that supports formerly incarcerated individuals through career opportunities in green energy. Drilling the panels into the roofs while sweat dripped down her neck, Guettler finally got a chance to see the utility of solar panels in action. When the volunteers switched on the lights, the members of the community got together and celebrated.
“I’ve never done that before, and it was a very unique experience,” Guettler says, recalling the internship. “As students, we’re usually designing the solar panels. Actually installing them and then turning the power on — it’s like all these families now have power for free and can finally run their air conditioning during the day. It made it all feel real.”
Guettler’s fascination with renewable energy began back in high school geography class. Listening to lectures on fuel scarcity, she wondered why renewable energy sources weren’t more widely implemented. Her curiosity encouraged her to research solar panel efficiency and galvanic cell temperature concentrations.
She arrived at MIT with the goal of mitigating climate change through technological innovation, and soon joined the MIT Undergraduate Energy Club, where she says she met inspiring and equally passionate students. Over time, they helped to shape her mindset about what her role could be in helping with the climate crisis. Now the club’s president, Guettler has been working to expand the club’s education outreach programs and encourage kids to get excited about ways they can use engineering to help the planet.
Although Guettler had long understood the need to improve solar technologies, it wasn’t until her Solar Spring Break experience that she made the connection between climate change and the need to involve many different parties in putting together solutions.
“After that, I was kind of hooked on the policy side as well, because I saw that there’s really a space for combining all these things,” she says. “Now all of a sudden it wasn’t just about employing the technology, which I had always been interested in, but also about who was going to be employing it, where it was going to be placed, and how we could make that process as equitable as possible.”
Guettler decided to combine her mechanical engineering major with a degree in political science and has gravitated to classes focused on the intersection of sustainable technologies and climate policy.
“They’re really interesting classes. I’ve got a class about engineering democratic development, one about election modeling, and one in energy storage,” she says. “Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to pick. There’s so many I want to take!”
But of all her classes, one that Guettler is most looking forward to now is her capstone for mechanical engineering, 2.s009 (Explorations in Product Design). The class — which this year challenges students to create social impact projects centered around kindness — begins by placing students into groups and giving them a budget. The groups then design a product and come up with a prototype and a business pitch for it.
“The kindness aspect is pretty much up to the group to decide,” Guettler explains. “It can a project centered around climate change, environmental protection, helping people with disabilities, assisting marginalized communities — I’m super excited to see what people come up with.”
Guttler spent the past summer working in consulting, and in her spare time taught middle and high school students about climate change from her remote cabin in Maine. The classes were taught through MIT Splash, which allows MIT students to teach any topic of their choice to interested younger students.
“It was all online, but it was really fun,” she says. “We just kind of talked about climate models and used this cool tool where you can adjust different policy factors and just see what happens. The kids had so many questions, and I loved getting to build their interest and talk about it with them.”
Talking with people of all ages and backgrounds about ways we can develop a more sustainable future has been a consistent theme throughout Guettler’s experience at MIT. Last year, she visited West Point for the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs, where she spoke with military advisors and generals about the concerns of climate change from a national security perspective.
“I was really interested to see that climate change is also a really big issue to them too, since there’s a lot of bases near coastal waters that will be under threat when sea levels rise,” she says. “There’s definitely been a wide range of people I’ve interacted with about the climate change crisis, but at the end of the day, it’s always the same core concepts. I love hearing people’s different ideas, because more people means more potential solutions, and honestly, at this point, we need any solutions we can get.”
As an elected student to the MIT Committee on Outside Engagements, as well as a founding member of MIT Divest, Guettler hasn’t been shy about the importance of holding political leaders and officials accountable for their decisions.
“I was talking a lot with students to see what they held as important values and what they wanted MIT to represent. Climate action kept on coming up, which led to a bigger discussion of who MIT engages with.”
Her experience so far has been positive overall, and she notes that student representatives have been given a seat on MIT’s Climate Action Advisory Committee, as well as been able to contribute to the MIT Climate Action Plan. The inclusion has allowed students to advocate for ways MIT can take initiative to reduce and offset their energy emissions.
While Guettler recognizes that major institutions have the largest immediate impact on improving the climate crisis, she still wants everyone to recognize the importance of individual actions as well.
“My message to everyone right now is just go and vote, just please go and do that. I’ve been phone banking for different state races right now and people have been hanging up in my face or cursing me out, saying it’s not that serious. I’m like, are you serious?” she laughs. “I honestly think voting right now is the best thing you can do for the climate. Even if you’re feeling overwhelmed, even if you don’t feel like you can make an impact — you have an important decision that you can make. Now just go and vote for it!”
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2Si1rvh
via Gabe's Musing's
The rapper served 24 months in prison on fraudulent credit card charges before she was released last year.
Rapper JT of the Miami-based duo City Girls has noted her frustration over not being able to vote in the upcoming presidential election because she’s a felon.
JT (born Jatavia Shakara) served 24 months in prison on fraudulent credit card charges before she was released late last year.
She was jailed in May 2018 after turning herself into authorities. The rapper confirmed the news via Instagram Stories at the time, writing, “Did more than I thought I could imagine in this short period of time out on bond. Now it’s time for me to knock this down and come back strong forever. Hold my baby down y’all.”
JT was out of prison in October 2019 and she celebrated by dropping a track titled “JT’s First Day Out.”
“As a felon I feel our votes should still count I mean I do still live here in America & pay taxes as well,” JT tweeted Sept. 29. Her post gained mixed reactions from fans. Many commented with alternative options and so-called laws that appear to give felons the green light to hit the polls — but JT wasn’t impressed.
In a follow-up tweet she added, “You guys (I) can not vote! Thanks for all the pointers but I’m not allowed to this election. All other felons look into what option is best for you in your state! I apologize if y’all understood me wrong.”
One follower responded to the post, “I did 10 years flat from 2009 to 2019 starting when I was 19 and I wish I could vote and I wish I had the opportunity to find a job because it’s been hard for me to find employment very hard When u a felon a lot of sh*t is off the table.”
Another fan suggested the hip-hop star get involved with the voting process by way of community outreach “to try and help people directly impacted” by the current civil unrest rocking the nation.
In Florida, after you finish probation or parole and pay all your fines you can register to vote. The deadline is October 5th in FL. Each state has its own laws but more than 30 states allow formerly incarcerated to vote after some sort of condition: https://t.co/YDRUIIsaPEpic.twitter.com/wKwIR4U10M
The ACLU even weighed in on JT’s dilemma, writing ”We completely agree. Currently, SIX MILLION Americans are unable to vote because they are incarcerated, completing probation or parole, or have a past felony conviction. Our right to vote shouldn’t be taken away.”
There are reportedly 16 states that strip felons of their voting rights only while incarcerated. In 21 states, felons can’t vote while locked up or while on parole/probation. Individuals convicted for certain crimes lose their voting rights indefinitely in 11 states. Only Maine and Vermont allow inmates to vote while incarcerated, per Ace Showbiz.
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After receiving criticism, Singapore Airlines canceled plans to launch so-called "flights to nowhere" in favor of other flying-related activities, such as eating and watching in-flight entertainment on an A380.
from Wealth https://ift.tt/30pBUot
via Gabe's MusingsGabe's Musings
Fred Gerteiny, who is white, was out of a job hours after posting the racially insensitive tweet.
A veteran television sports reporter was fired by News 12 Connecticut this week after referring to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as “Uncle Tom” over his support of Donald Trump.
Scott, the only Black GOP senator, defended Trump’s refusal to disavow white supremacist groups during Tuesday’s presidential debate, theGRIO previously reported.
“I think he misspoke in response to Chris Wallace’s comment. He was asking Chris what he wanted to say. I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak,” Scott said Wednesday.
Reporter Fred Gerteiny, who is white, reacted to Scott’s remarks in a since-deleted tweet, writing “Thanks Uncle Tom.”
“After reviewing the incident, the network released sports reporter, Fred Gerteiny, as a result of a racially insensitive comment,” News 12 Connecticut said in a Wednesday statement. “News 12 Networks has a zero tolerance policy for racism or improper conduct based on race, and prides itself on being an objective and unbiased multi-platform news company.”
Amid the backlash over his commnet, Gerteiny returned to Twitter to issue an apology.
“Earlier today, I tweeted a racially insensitive comment, when I referred to @SenatorTimScott as an ‘Uncle Tom,'” Gerteiny tweeted on Wednesday. “I apologize to the Senator, my colleagues @News12CT, and anyone else I may have offended with this deeply offensive tweet.”
It was great to meet with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett earlier today. I am certain that she is devoted to our core American principles and will serve as a fantastic addition to the Supreme Court. I look forward to supporting her nomination. pic.twitter.com/WSKqlQknPi
During the first Trump-Biden debate on Tuesday, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and say that they need to stand down amid ongoing protests against police violence in the country. Wallace specifically pointed to Kenosha and Portland, where people have been killed during protests.
“Sure, I’m willing to (tell them to stand down), but I would say almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing. I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” Trump said.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump added. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Senator Lindsey Graham said the president should “make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals.”
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Hicks traveled with President Donald Trump to a rally, and is the closest aide to test positive so far.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump‘s closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Hicks, who serves as counselor to the president and traveled with him to a Wednesday rally, tested positive Thursday, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private health information. She is the closest aide to Trump to test positive so far.
In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, “The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.”
U.S. President Donald Trump poses for the news media with Communications Director Hope Hicks on her last day of work at the White House before he departs March 29, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Ohio to deliver a speech on infrastructure before continuing on to Palm Beach for the Easter holiday weekend. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling,” Deere said.
Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate.
Former White House communications director Hope Hicks reacts following U.S. President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump gave the speech in front of 1500 invited guests. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Hicks, one of the president’s most trusted aides, previously served as White House communications director and rejoined the administration this year ahead of the election. The story was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, as well as one of the president’s personal valets.
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The Department of Homeland Security was given talking points when referring to the teen accused to killing two men
President Trump has sparked outrage for showing sympathy for Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with fatally shooting two protesters with an AR-15 rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Now it’s being reported that Trump officials were also directed to put a positive spin on the alleged crimes of the anti-BLM gunman as well.
According to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News, the president’s team sent documents to federal law enforcement officials urging them to be favorable and complimentary when commenting publicly about Rittenhouse.
This paper trail also outlines how Homeland Security officials were told to note that the young man “took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners,” when speaking to the media.
While it remains unclear whether any of these media talking points originally came from the White House or from Homeland Security’s own press office, it is worth noting that they are in alignment with the president’s public messaging.
“What strikes me about the talking points is that they didn’t call for calm among the public,” Elizabeth Neumann, the former assistant secretary for threat prevention and security policy for DHS who left the Trump administration in April, told NBC News.
“Even in the early hours after the incident, it was known private militias had self-deployed. …They seemed more interested in Rittenhouse’s reputation than calling for calm and actual law and order.”
However, Homeland Security officials were also told to play up the need for law and order in any conversations about Rittenhouse, NBC News reported. Those instructions read like this:
“This is also why we need to stop the violence in our cities. Chaotic and violent situations lead to chaotic, violent, and tragic outcomes. Everyone needs law and order.”
Asked by NBC for a comment, a spokesman for Homeland Security said the agency does not comment on “alleged leaked documents.”
The president’s questionable messaging choices have been an ongoing dialogue throughout his time in office, but this week many believe he hit a new low during his performance at the first 2020 presidential debate against his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.
As reported by theGrio, on Wednesday, following a tidal wave of public dismay regarding what one CNN pundit characterized as a “dumpster fire,” former first lady Michelle Obama took to Instagram to offer advice to her followers on how to keep hope alive even as their president appears to be coming undone.
“If you were turned off by the President’s behavior last night, I feel you. Believe me, I do,” Obama wrote. “But we can’t let him win by tuning out altogether. That’s what he wants. So turn those feelings into action—turn them into votes for my friend, @JoeBiden. It’s the only way we can get out of this chaos and restore some stability to this country.”
The passage comes after failed negotiation talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats controlling the House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Thursday night, a move that came as top-level talks on a smaller, potentially bipartisan measure dragged on toward an uncertain finish. An air of pessimism has largely taken over the Capitol.
The Democratic bill passed after a partisan debate by a 214-207 vote without any Republicans in support. The move puts lawmakers no closer to actually delivering aid such as more generous weekly unemployment payments, extended help for small businesses and especially troubled economic sectors such as restaurants and airlines, and another round of $1,200 direct payments to most Americans.
Passage of the $2.2 trillion plan came after a burst of negotiations this week between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The Trump administration delivered concessions Wednesday, including a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and a markedly higher overall price tag of $1.6 trillion, but that failed to win over Pelosi.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters during her weekly news conference in the House Visitors Center at the U.S. Capitol on October 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“This isn’t half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf,” Pelosi said in a televised interview Thursday. Pelosi spoke after the White House attacked her as “not being serious.”
The ramped-up negotiations come as challenging economic news continues to confront policymakers. The airlines are furloughing about 30,000 workers with the expiration of aid passed earlier this year, and a report Thursday showed 837,000 people claiming jobless benefits for the first time last week. Most of the economic benefits of an immediate round of COVID relief could accrue under the next administration, and failure now could mean no significant help for struggling families and businesses until February.
The vote was advertised as a way to demonstrate Democrats were making a good faith offer on coronavirus relief, but 18 Democrats abandoned the party and sentiment remains among more moderate Democrats to make more concessions and guarantee an agreement before Election Day. Republicans controlling the Senate remained divided.
Talks between Mnuchin and Pelosi were closely held and the Speaker told reporters that no deal would come on Thursday. Mnuchin’s offer of a $400 per week jobless benefit put him in the same ballpark as Democrats backing a $600 benefit. Mnuchin’s price tag of $1.6 trillion or more could drive many Republicans away, however, even as it failed to satisfy Pelosi.
“We raised our offer to $1.6 trillion,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Thursday. “It’s one that she is is not interested in.”
Mnuchin and Pelosi spoke by phone Thursday, but the speaker was publicly dismissive of the latest White House plan. Discussions are continuing, Pelosi said.
The White House plan, offered Wednesday, gave ground with a $250 billion proposal on funding for state and local governments and backed $20 billion in help for the struggling airline industry.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin departs from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. Mnuchin met with Democrats and Republicans about coronavirus relief legislation. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Details on the White House offer were confirmed by congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door discussions.
As the talks dragged on, House leaders announced a Thursday evening vote on their scaled-back “HEROES Act,” which started out as a $3.4 trillion bill in May but is now down to $2.2 trillion after Pelosi cut back her demands for aiding state and local governments. The legislation came after party moderates openly criticized her stance.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has drawn a line in the sand and warns that Trump won’t approve legislation that approaches a $2 trillion threshold. But there’s plenty of wiggle room in numbers so large, and the revenue picture for many states is not as alarming as feared when Democrats passed more than $900 billion for state and local governments in May.
Pelosi said Thursday that the administration is still far short on aid to state and local governments and in other areas.
“Some of you have asked, ‘Isn’t something better than nothing?’ No,” Pelosi told reporters, citing the “opportunity cost” for provisions sought by Democrats but potentially lost in any rush to agreement.
At issue is a long-delayed package that would extend another round of $1,200 direct stimulus payments, restore bonus pandemic jobless benefits, speed aid to schools and extend assistance to airlines, restaurants and other struggling businesses. A landmark $2 trillion relief bill in March passed with sweeping support and is credited with helping the economy through the spring and summer, but worries are mounting that the recovery may sputter without additional relief.
Pelosi has largely assumed a hard line so far. But she’s never had a reputation for leaving large sums of money on the table and her tactical position — facing a White House and Senate controlled by Republicans — is not as strong as her demands might indicate.
The White House also seems far more eager for a deal than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Any compromise that could pass both the House and Senate is sure to alienate a large chunk of the Senate GOP. McConnell expressed support for the talks and another bill but isn’t leaning into the effort. But some of his members appear worried that the deadlock is harming their reelection bids.
“I’d like to see another rescue package. We’ve been trying for months to get there,” McConnell told reporters Thursday. “I wish them well.”
Even if Pelosi and Mnuchin were able to reach a tentative agreement on “top line” spending levels, dozens of details would need to be worked out. A particularly difficult issue, Pelosi told her colleagues earlier in the day, remains McConnell’s insistence on a liability shield for businesses fearing COVID-related lawsuits after they reopen their doors.
The latest Democratic bill would revive a $600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and send a second round of direct payments to most individuals. It would scale back an aid package to state and local governments to a still-huge $436 billion, send $225 billion to colleges and universities and deliver another round of subsidies to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program. Airlines would get another $25 billion in aid to prevent a wave of layoffs.
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The former first lady says ‘lying is first nature’ for the president.
Hillary Clinton has implored voters to hit the polls on Nov. 3rd following the “maddening” Trump-Biden debate.
Appearing on James Corden’sLate Late Show on Wednesday, the former secretary of state said watching the debate was both “nerve-wracking” and “sad.” Clinton also revealed that she explained to Biden’s campaign that “you cannot let Trump knock you off your game.”
“Now, he will, as we saw last night, as we saw in my debates with him, try to dominate, try to interrupt, try to control whatever the conversation is,” she continued. “And so you have to be really focused and very disciplined about not getting totally off the reservation all the time because he’ll attack you in the middle of you answering a question — totally against the rules — and you want to continue answering your question but you don’t want to look like you’re avoiding his.”
Clinton shared the debate stage three times with Trump during the 2016 presidental election. She told Corden… “I know he will do or say anything.”
Referring to Tuesday’s debate, Clinton said, “I was watching but every so often I’d kind of be cringing or I’d be going ‘oh!’ A lot of dramatic moments. And there were a couple of times I just had to get up and walk [out] because it’s very sad to think that we’re having the most important election in maybe our history coming up and the president, one of the two candidates, can’t be bothered to answer the questions, put forward any kind of agenda for the future. It’s all insult and attack and braggadocio. It was sad, James. It was maddening and sad at the same time.”
The former first lady also weighed in on the New York Times report on Trump’s tax returns.
“We now know definitively something that I said back in 2016, he’s not as rich as he claims, he doesn’t pay income tax, and everything else that we learned. So, lying is not just second, it’s first nature to Donald Trump,” Clinton told Corden.
Following the first Trump-Biden debate, Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, tweeted “Has anyone checked in on [Hillary Clinton]? Girl I’m so sorry,”
Clinton replied, “Thanks, I’m fine,” Adding “But everyone better vote.”
Clinton has joined forces with Steven Spielberg to develop a new anthology drama for CW about the women’s suffrage movement. The series is titled The Woman’s Hour, and USA Today reports that the first season is based on Elaine Weiss’ best-selling 2018 nonfiction book “The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote.”
“Each season of ‘The Woman’s Hour’ will celebrate those who changed history and have strong contemporary reverberations, appealing to today’s rising tide of young, politically active audiences,” a press release states.
“Rights for the book were optioned by Amblin Television in 2018, after Clinton brought the project to long-time supporter and Amblin Chairman Steven Spielberg,” the release says. “Clinton first discovered the book after Weiss made it her mission to get the novel to the former Secretary of State, after realizing the striking parallels between the women’s suffrage movement and the 2016 presidential election between Clinton and Donald Trump.”
On Tuesday, Clinton launched her first podcast, “You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton,” and was joined by vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
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A Philadelphia man who received a police escort to help get a shooting victim to the hospital has now been charged with her murder.
Mia Green, 29, was shot Monday morning per NBC Philadelphia. She was being taken to a nearby hospital when police officers first discovered her. The 2016 Jeep Wrangler she was riding in had just run a stop sign, so when officers approached the vehicle, the driver, 28-year-old Abdullah Ibn Elamin Jaamia, told them he was rushing Green to the hospital because she’d been shot in the neck.
Police then escorted them to Penn-Presbyterian Hospital where she was pronounced dead. After police questioned Jaamia’s odd recounting of the events, he was charged with murder. It is believed the two were in a relationship.
“She was very well-loved and respected and from all accounts from everyone in the community, she was an amazing, beautiful person,” said community activist Deja Lynn Alvarez. “We’re a family so when this happens to one of us, we all feel it in a very profound way.”
Thirty people who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming were murdered across the country this year. 91% of them were Black, according to Human Rights Campaign, an organization leading the fight for LGBTQ rights. The website says 81% of the victims were under 30 and 68% lived in the South.
“This is not America, this is not Philadelphia, the ‘city of brotherly love and sisterly affection,’ and this is not a city for our trans and loved ones. This is hell on earth. No one deserves to be put through hell because of who they are or who they love,” said Sen. Larry Farnese of Pennsylvania at a Thursday press conference in front of City Hall, as reported by NBC Philadelphia.
The senator is working on a state law that will ban “gay panic” as a defense for killing those in the LGBTQ community.
California takes a big first step toward corporate equality
In a move that is being lauded as the first of its kind, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring all publicly traded corporations headquartered in the state to make diversity a priority by appointing directors from underrepresented communities to their boards.
According to USA Today, this is the first law in the nation that’s mandated the racial make-up of corporate boards. It was reportedly inspired by a gender-focused piece of legislation from 2018 that required publicly-held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their all-male boards.
“When we talk about racial justice, we talk about power and needing to have seats at the table,” Newsom said Wednesday during a press conference.
Not surprisingly, in 2018, when the state mandated that company boards could no longer be a ‘boy’s club’ that systemically kept women at bay, the law was faced with opposition and legal challenges from conservative groups. But in the wake of nationwide protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the buy-in for this newest mandate along the lines of race appears to be widely understood as a sign of the times.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that will require the boards of publicly traded companies based in the state to have at least one racially, ethnically or otherwise diverse director by 2021 https://t.co/WrustaKG0l
Granted, corporate attorney Keith Bishop testified against the bill, saying “it violates the Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. and California Constitutions and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” but this time, no major groups or organizations made a concerted effort to undermine the law’s passage.
A new study by USA Today found that less than 2% of top executives at the 50 largest companies are Black. But moving forward, at least one person from an “underrepresented community” has to have a seat on corporate boards in California by the end of 2021.
“The new law represents a big step forward for racial equity,” one of the bill’s authors, Assemblyman Chris Holden, a Democrat from Pasadena, said in a statement. “While some corporations were already leading the way to combat implicit bias, now, all of California’s corporate boards will better reflect the diversity of our state.”
