Big Time News Blog: 10/02/19

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

New whistleblower comes forward regarding Trump’s tax audit

A new whistleblower complaint alleges that "possible misconduct" occurred in an effort to influence the audit of President Trump's taxes.

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State Department watchdog report on Ukraine 'raises more questions than it answers,' Rep. Jamie Raskin says

The Trump-Ukraine situation just got even more muddled.On Wednesday, the State Department Inspector General held an "urgent" briefing with several House and Senate committees regarding Ukraine during a congressional recess. But Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who's on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, said he's not sure how "urgent" it actually was.Instead of discussing President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the department watchdog discussed an "amateurish" packet of misinformation about the ousted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. In fact, the briefing contained "nothing relating to the president's impeachable conduct," Raskin continued. The packet was delivered to and circulated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Raskin says it "raised more questions than it answers" because it's unclear just why Pompeo had it.> Rep. Jamie Raskin says State Dept. inspector general briefing on Ukraine "raises more questions than it answers" https://t.co/lBDzUqnH88 pic.twitter.com/YeFkUQ4cNp> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2019Yovanovich was fired around the time Pompeo got this packet, but Trump had already expressed his displeasure with her in months prior. In any case, Raskin says he understands why the inspector general "wanted to turn over" the information at some point.

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Trump ally suing reporter for $75m over claims of undocumented workers on his family’s farm

A top ally of Donald Trump has sued a journalist for $75m (£61.3m) in damages for alleging his family’s farm partially relied on undocumented workers.Devin Nunes, a California representative and former dairy farmer, filed the lawsuit in federal court against Hearst Magazines, the publisher of Esquire, and reporter Ryan Lizza.

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Trump Tanks, Republicans Dither

By BY GAIL COLLINS from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2pvOrXR

Is Age Only a Number, Even When You’re Running for President?

By BY LISA LERER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2n2iLZa

Impeachment Bombshell That Wasn’t: Mysterious Packet Sends Rumor Mill Into Overdrive

By BY CATIE EDMONDSON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2nOnvSP

Missouri executes killer despite concern about painful death

A Missouri inmate was executed Tuesday for killing a man in 1996 in a string of violence that included several other crimes, despite concerns that the prisoner's rare medical condition would cause a gruesome lethal injection. Russell Bucklew was put to death at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It was Missouri's first execution since January 2017.

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Harvard affirmative action case: University does not discriminate against Asian-Americans, judge rules

America's prestigious Harvard University has been cleared of discriminating against Asian American applicants by a court, in a ruling seen as a major victory for supporters of affirmative action.US universities are permitted to consider race, alongside other factors, in order to create diversity on campuses.

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'Pure insanity': Intelligence veterans are floored by Barr's 'off the books' overtures to foreign officials about the Russia probe

"I have not heard of so much involvement by the attorney general in this sort of investigation," a former CIA lawyer said.

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Trump berates reporter, refuses to answer question about Ukraine and Biden

At a press conference with the president of Finland, President Trump berated Reuters reporter Jeff Mason and refused to answer a question about what he wanted the Ukrainian president to do regarding former Vice President Joe Biden.

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Planned Parenthood to open large Illinois clinic as Missouri readies abortion ban

Planned Parenthood has been secretly building the 18,000-square-foot clinic in Fairview Heights since August 2018, using shell companies to avoid attention and protests, CBS first reported. The new healthcare center will provide abortion and other health services to women in western Illinois and eastern Missouri, and is located just 13 miles from Planned Parenthood's St. Louis clinic.

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Trump suggested shooting migrants and creating border moat with alligators and snakes, report claims

Donald Trump reportedly suggested shooting migrants in the legs as they crossed the US-Mexico border, in order to slow them down.The president is said to have pushed for the illegal action during a private meeting.

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Rush Limbaugh Blasts Fox News: They Should Change Name to ‘Fox Never Trumper Network’

REUTERSConservative radio star Rush Limbaugh inserted himself directly into the middle of the Fox News civil war between the network’s news division and opinion personalities, complaining on Wednesday that the conservative-leaning network isn’t completely on board with the president.Blasting the House Democrats impeachment inquiry during Wednesday’s broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show, the right-wing talker bellowed about the coverage of President Donald Trump’s now-infamous July 25 call in which he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.“They’re trying to create the illusion that Trump is a mob boss,” Limbaugh exclaimed. “And he was ordering someone to make up dirt or else we’re not going to give you the money. Or worse. None of what they’re saying happened in that phone call!”Limbaugh then took aim at Fox News, complaining that there are “Never Trumpers all over” the network, mocking those at Fox who have said the call is hard to defend or inappropriate.“There’s nothing hard to defend about the phone call,” the radio host yelled. “You just don’t want to defend it! You know, Fox really ought to change the name of the network from the Fox News Channel to the Fox Never Trumper Network! Because that’s who’s getting the highlights, and they’re bringing in Democrats like Donna Brazile!”In the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement last week that the House Democrats were pursuing an impeachment inquiry, there have been several notable on-air scuffles between Trump-supporting Fox News hosts and Fox anchors and analysts. Anchor Shep Smith, for instance, took issue with primetime host Tucker Carlson allowing Trump-defending guest Joe diGenova to call Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano “a fool” unchallenged, prompting Carlson to return fire by mocking Smith while suggesting he’s a “partisan opinion host.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Privacy group says tech giants not delivering on political ads pledges

Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet's Google have failed to provide adequate transparency for global users around political advertising on their platforms, a privacy advocacy group said on Tuesday.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2nY7dGT

San Francisco man accused of being agent for China held without bail

A San Francisco tour guide charged with being an undercover agent of the Chinese government was ordered held without bail on Tuesday after a federal magistrate judge found that he presented a potential flight risk.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2n9d6Ri

UPDATE 4-Missouri executes man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend's lover

Missouri on Tuesday executed a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's lover more than 20 years ago, local media reported, after a court rejected his argument he faced cruel and unusual punishment because of a rare medical condition that would make lethal injection severely painful. Russell Bucklew, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. CDT at the state's death chamber in Bonne Terre for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders, shortly after he moved in with Bucklew's ex-girlfriend Stephanie Ray, CBS affiliate KFVS12 reported. The Missouri Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Andrew Gillum Calls ‘Castle Doctrine’ Decision by Black Judge ‘Racist’

Andrew Gillum said Tuesday on Twitter that a decision by Judge Tammy Kemp to permit the use of the “Castle Doctrine” defense in the murder trial of former cop Amber Guyger was “plain racist.”Gillum, the former Democratic mayor of Tallahasee, retweeted a CNN tweet explaining the Castle Doctrine and claimed the decision stemmed from racism.“So you can break into someone else’s home (b/c you were distracted by porn from your boyfriend), pull a weapon, shoot and kill the home owner, and claim Castle doctrine in SOMEBODY ELSE’s HOUSE?!?! Perversion of the law? How about just plain racist. SMDH,” the tweet reads.Guyger, a white Dallas police officer, shot her African American neighbor Botham Jean in his own apartment on September 6, 2018, but claims in her defense that she mistakenly entered thinking she was in her own apartment, which was located one floor below Jean’s.Judge Tammy Kemp announced Monday that the jury would be allowed to apply the Castle Doctrine in a final verdict on the case, as the defense has argued “a mistake of fact,” meaning Guyger erroneously believed she was defending her own home from an intruder.Kemp, who is in her second term on the bench, is a black Democrat. She declined to be interviewed in the buildup to the trial, according to The Dallas Morning News, but made a name for herself by taking on difficult cases.Gillum, who lost a Florida gubernatorial contest to Ron DeSantis last year despite a recount, made headlines last October when he called the Republican a “racist” during a debate and stated that DeSantis had “neo-Nazis helping him out in this state.”Gillum lost the race by a mere 32,000 votes, but was dragged down by corruption scandals, including hosting a fundraiser sponsored by an undercover FBI agent. In August, prominent Democratic fundraiser John Morgan “threatened to sue” if Gillum ran again, claiming the Democrat had sat on fundraising money and refused to return it after the race.

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Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney: Ukraine phone call is 'starting to seem like a political set up' against Donald Trump

“What did you know and when did you know it?” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney asked in a tweet, referencing Nancy Pelosi's interview on “60 Minutes."

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The Danger of Donald Trump’s Ignorance

Ignorance is different than deceit and sometimes more dangerous.

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View Photos of the Nissan IMk Concept

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Drugmakers look to use Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy to settle U.S. opioid suits: WSJ

Endo, J&J, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Allergan Plc and Mallinckrodt Plc - are looking to enact a global settlement of the litigation that would be implemented through Purdue's Chapter 11 case, the WSJ reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The mechanism, if successful, would allow the companies to contribute money into a trust set up through the bankruptcy in exchange for a complete release from liability, according to the report.