Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.
Read MoreBREAKING: Supreme Court Says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer at Age 87
Day: September 18, 2020
U.S. Bans WeChat, TikTok from App Stores Citing Security Risk
The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it will ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores on Sunday and will saddle the apps with technical restrictions that could seriously limit their functionality in the U.S.
The order, which cited national security and data privacy concerns, follows weeks of dealmaking over the video-sharing service TikTok. President Donald Trump has pressured the app’s Chinese owner to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to a domestic company. It is not clear how the latest prohibitions will affect a deal recently struck by California tech giant Oracle aimed at satisfying U.S. concerns over TikTok’s data collection and related issues.
Read MoreWhile Gun Sales Soar, Tone Deaf NOVA Pols Vote for More Bans
Joining the ranks of other urban jurisdictions, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (FCBOS) voted nine-to-one on Tuesday to enact a gun ban in city buildings, parks, and at or near permitted events. Also on Tuesday, the Loudoun County Board (LCBOS) of Supervisors voted four-to five against evaluating a potential ordinance controlling gun noise.
Read MoreCommentary: Virginia Dems Turn Budget Session into Social Planning Parade
After four weeks of being called into a special session to reconcile the Commonwealth’s budget woes, Virginia legislators have yet to tackle the $2.7 billion budget shortfall. Instead, the new Democrat majority in the General Assembly is hyper-focused on cutting $51 million in law enforcement funding.
Read MoreCommentary: The Weak Case for Biden v. Trump’s Strong Record
The best and probably only valid argument for voting to make Joe Biden president of the United States is that he is not Donald Trump. Unlike Mr. Trump, Biden’s personal behavior — except occasionally toward women — is rarely boorish, and his utterances, though often confused, incoherent, and inane, usually are not tasteless or insulting.
Read MoreConservative Clergy of Color Offers Corporate Training Program As Alternative to Racist Narrative Pushed by Black Lives Matter
The Conservative Clergy of Color wants businesses to know they have an alternative to the racist rhetoric being thrown around for diversity training.
The organization this week announced the “Getting to All Lives Matter,” a fact-based, six-step training program that operates on the assumption all Americans want to build a better society. This is an alternative to the rhetoric pushed by Black Lives Matter, which attempts to scare businesses, they said.
Read MoreCommentary: Critical Race Theory Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Woke Government Training
The Trump Administration put critical race theory on notice this month. The White House issued a directive outlawing the inclusion of exercises based on this theory in government training. “These types of ‘trainings’ not only run counter to the fundamental beliefs for which our Nation has stood since its inception, but they also engender division and resentment within the Federal workforce,” the directive declared.
Read More‘Nothing Left in the Bucket’: Wildfire Resources Run Thin
Justin Silvera came off the fire lines in Northern California after a grueling 36 straight days battling wildfires and evacuating residents ahead of the flames. Before that, he and his crew had worked for 20 days, followed by a three-day break.
Silvera, a 43-year-old battalion chief with Cal Fire, California’s state firefighting agency, said he’s lost track of the blazes he’s fought this year. He and his crew have sometimes been on duty for 64 hours at a stretch, their only rest coming in 20-minute catnaps.
Read MoreIn Leaked November 2016 Phone Call with Ukraine President, Biden Sought to Undermine Trump Administration
In November of 2016, then-Vice President Joe Biden belittled and sought to undermine the incoming Trump administration, a recently leaked phone call between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reveals.
In the call, which was brought to light by Ukrainian politician Andriy Derkach, the outgoing veep told Poroshenko that he had withheld certain information regarding Ukraine from the Trump transition team because they lacked foreign policy experience. Biden also promised to stay “deeply engaged” in Ukraine policy even after he left office.
Read MoreSupport for BLM Drops Among Hispanics, White Voters, and Republicans, New Poll Shows
Support for the Black Lives Matter movement has fallen since June, dropping more than 12 percentage points over the past three months among non-black Americans, according to a poll published Thursday.
Roughly 55% of American adults said that they supported BLM in September, compared to 67% of people who said the same thing in June, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center. White American support fell the most, dipping from 60% in June to 45% in September, the poll found.
Read MoreAnalysis: Is the Official COVID-19 Death Toll Accurate?
Roughly two-thirds of U.S. residents don’t believe the CDC’s official tally for the number of Covid-19 deaths. This distrust, however, flows in opposing directions. A nationally representative survey conducted by Axios/Ipsos in late July 2020 found that 37% of adults think the real number of C-19 fatalities in the U.S. is lower than reported, while 31% think the true death toll is greater than reported.
Read MoreModel That Predicted Five of Past Six Presidential Elections Has Trump in 2020 by ‘Landslide’
A professor of political science whose controversial election model has correctly called five of the last six U.S. presidential elections says President Trump will win reelection in 2020 in a “landslide.”
Helmut Norpoth, who teaches at Stony Brook University, is giving Trump “a 90-percent chance of being re-elected in a landslide,” the Long Island, N.Y., school said in a recent press release.
Read MorePassionately Catholic: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Ponder this…
Did you know that Catholics don’t go to church services on Sundays?
We crazy Catholics actually do something called assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If you don’t understand this, don’t feel bad. Many Catholics don’t understand what the Mass is all about.
Read MoreSenate Committee Squashes Paid Quarantine Leave Bill
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor killed a bill on Wednesday that would have required employers to provide paid quarantine leave during the COVID-19 pandemic.
House Bill 5116, sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William), was passed by indefinitely by a vote of 14-Y 1-N.
Read MoreFacing Defiance and Hostility, Arlington County Cancels Social Distancing Ordinance
Facing enforcement problems, Arlington County’s Board of Supervisors voted four-to-one to cancel an emergency ordinance outlawing grouping on sidewalks in specific areas of Arlington. The cancellation is effective at the end of September, ending a $100 fine for people failing to socially distance in specific Arlington restaurant districts.
Read MoreTRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 18
Welcome to the Friday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).
It’s officially 46 days until the election on November 3 – and 11 days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.
Read MoreVCU Poll: Four in Ten Virginians Not Likely to Get COVID-19 Vaccine – If They Want It
A new statewide poll released and conducted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) offers a glimpse at the opinions of Virginians on two separate policy issues: COVID-19 vaccines and in-person education.
The Survey of 804 adults, age 18 or older, living in Virginia was conducted between August 28 and September 7 using telephone interviews.
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