Big Time News Blog: 05/23/20

Saturday, May 23, 2020

RNC Pours Millions Into Convention Plans. Will It Go Ahead?

Even as Republicans contemplate the prospect of scaling back their presidential nominating convention this summer, the national party is pouring millions into the group charged with financing and organizing the event, financial records show.The Republican National Committee transferred a whopping $6.4 million to its convention committee in April, according to records released on Wednesday. That was more than 10 times the sum that the Democratic National Committee transferred to theirs last month. It also represented the biggest month of RNC funding for its convention committee so far this cycle, and more than a three-fold increase over the prior month. The DNC’s convention transfer in April, meanwhile, was $634,000. In March, the committee had steered more than $1 million there.Both convention committees spent roughly the same amount in April—Republicans $835,000 and Democrats $860,000—but the outsized sums steered by the RNC into its convention account indicate a far larger down payment on future expenses associated with putting on the party’s biggest event of the cycle.The money disparity is the latest illustration of the different mindsets the parties are taking about the conventions being planned for later this summer. Democrats already have moved their convention back from July to August to adjust for the spread of coronavirus. And several sources tell The Daily Beast that the planning committee has canceled contracts with vendors in anticipation that they may not have the same transportation, food, and entertainment demands even at that latter date. Delegates have continued to express concern about the prospect of even a scaled-down gathering in Milwaukee. And presumptive nominee Joe Biden has been open about contemplating the possibility that an in-person convention may not even happen at all. COVID-19 Has the Democratic Convention in Milwaukee on the RopesRepublicans have been less overtly cautious. RNC chair Ronna McDaniel left open the possibility of a pared-back convention during a phone call with reporters this week, The New York Times reported on Thursday.But the RNC pointed to the numbers in this week’s FEC reports as evidence of its opponents’ uneasiness. “The money speaks to the massive enthusiasm gap that exists between President Trump and Joe Biden,” RNC spokesman Michael Ahrens said in a statement. “There is such little enthusiasm for Biden’s nomination that the DNC has barely been able to raise any money and had to lay off its convention staff.”President Donald Trump has been adamant that the 2020 Republican National Convention—or some version of it—go on. For months, he’s demanded that back-up options for less crowded gatherings be fully explored by his staff, if a full-blown convention isn’t ultimately possible or safe, according to three people familiar with his private insistence. But he has scoffed at the notion of a virtual convention in recent weeks, saying that it sounds like “something Joe Biden would do from his basement,” said a source who heard Trump mock the idea.Trump’s desire to have some sort of coronation moment fits his love of pageantry and spectacle. But various staffers working on plotting the Republican gathering aren’t quite so optimistic that it’s doable, knowing that they are entirely at the mercy of the virus and that the convention may end up even sparser than some expect.“I don’t want to be the one to tell the president,” the White House official said, envisioning a scenario in which a disappointed, possibly angry Trump is informed he would have to be livestreamed into his own convention. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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Group: Texas naval base shooter voiced support for clerics

The suspect killed during what the FBI is calling a “terrorism-related” attack at a Texas naval air base voiced support for hardline clerics, according to a group that monitors online activity of jihadists. The attack Thursday at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead. The gunman was identified on Friday by the FBI as 20-year-old Adam Salim Alsahli of Corpus Christi.

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Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

It registered 1,001 daily coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking total deaths to 21,048. President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his handling of the outbreak and is at the center of a deepening political crisis.

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Before and after: See destruction of Michigan flooding in satellite images

The Landsat 8, an American observation satellite, depicts the two mid-Michigan dams — Edenville and Sanford — that failed and the Tittabawassee River.

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Decision not to extend Pa. vote-by-mail deadline could lower AAPI turnout

With the primary less than two weeks away, community organizers are scrambling to mobilize socially and linguistically isolated AAPI voters.

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A haunting image of a body abandoned in the street in coronavirus-racked Rio shows how Brazil's health system is struggling to cope

Brazil is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, with a rocketing death toll and leadership crisis.

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Georgia reopened first. The data tell a different story than residents have heard

Experts warn that it is too early to judge the impact of reopening after businesses were shuttered to contain the coronavirus.

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Trump heads to golf course, says will attend space launch

Donald Trump on Saturday underlined his push for a return to normal life in the US by making his first visit to a golf course in two months and confirming he would attend a space launch next week. Trump took a 35-minute drive from the White House to the Trump National club in Sterling, Virginia, in reportedly his first visit to a golf property since March 8. The White House on Saturday also confirmed the president would attend the May 27 launch in Florida of two astronauts on a SpaceX mission -- the first crewed space flight from US soil in nine years.

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Police: Remains IDed in Long Island serial killer case

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Ahmaud Arbery: Third man charged over death of black jogger

The motorist is accused of murder and attempted false imprisonment over the shooting in Georgia.

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Restrictions eased while virus deaths decline in New York

New Yorkers experiencing cabin fever after two months of coronavirus quarantine received an unexpected reprieve when Gov. Andrew Cuomo eased the state's ban on gatherings in time for the Memorial Day weekend. New York state on Saturday reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths — 84 — in weeks in what Cuomo described as a critical benchmark. “In my head, I was always looking to get under 100,” Cuomo said.

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CanSino coronavirus vaccine appears safe in first human trial

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Republicans call for DOJ investigation into Planned Parenthood over coronavirus relief loans

Republican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to look into how Planned Parenthood affiliates received Paycheck Protection Program loans.

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Coronavirus: New York state daily death toll drop below 100

A total of 84 people died in 24 hours, the lowest daily toll since March in the worst-hit US state.

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Brazil passes 20,000 virus deaths after record 24-hour toll

The novel coronavirus death toll in Brazil surpassed 20,000 on Thursday, after a record number of fatalities in a 24-hour period, the health ministry said. Brazil has now recorded more than 310,000 cases, with experts saying a lack of testing means the real figures are probably much higher. The death toll -- the sixth highest in the world -- has doubled in just 11 days, according to ministry data.

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FBI director orders internal review of Flynn investigation

FBI Director Christopher Wray has ordered an internal review into possible misconduct in the investigation of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, the bureau said Friday. The after-action review will examine whether any current employees engaged in misconduct during the course of the investigation and evaluate whether any improvements in FBI policies and procedures need to be made. In announcing the review, the FBI, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s wrath, is stepping into a case that has become a rallying cry for Trump supporters — and doing so right as the Justice Department pushes back against criticism that its recent decision to dismiss the prosection was a politically motivated effort to do Trump's bidding.

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'She's Doing Well:' Esper Discusses Young Sailor Who Took Down Corpus Christi Gunman

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that, when the gunman tried to get through the gate, he was stopped by a young sailor.

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Guatemala president scolds U.S. for deporting migrants with coronavirus

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei criticized the United States on Thursday for sending back migrants infected with the novel coronavirus to his Central American country and straining its weak health system. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and Giammattei's attempts to curb deportation flights from the United States, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been sending Guatemalan migrants back to their home country.

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US presses advancing Libya government to end fighting

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday pressed Libya's Turkish-backed government for a ceasefire and criticized the flow of weapons as Tripoli pushes back against a year-old rebel offensive. Pompeo placed a phone call to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj to "reiterate US opposition to the continued level of weapons and munitions being brought into the country," the State Department said. Pompeo and Sarraj "emphasized the importance of an immediate halt to the fighting and return to political dialogue," a statement said.

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11-year-old girl says racism behind white woman’s assault

An 11-year-old African American girl from South Carolina said she didn't think a white woman who accused her of stealing mail was being racist until the woman's husband told the girl that if she were “a different type,” things would have turned out differently. Elizabeth Shirey, 38, was charged with assault and battery after grabbing Skhylur Davis' arm as she walked back to her grandmother's house in Aiken with her mail, according to a police report. When Shirey saw the address on the mail she let the girl go, apologized and then offered Skhylur cookies, the girl told officers.