Pelosi gives the White House a 48 hour deadline to address 'differences' in stimulus talks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has reportedly given the White House a deadline of 48 hours to address an "array of ... differences" in stimulus negotiations, Bloomberg reports. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for an hour and 15 minutes on Saturday night, with the agreement of speaking again on Monday about a package to help the economy through the COVID-19 crisis."While there was some encouraging news on testing, there remains work to do to ensure ... additional measures to address the virus' disproportionate impact on communities of color," Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, said in a tweet.> The Speaker and Secretary Mnuchin spoke at 7:40 p.m. by phone tonight for just over an hour. While there was some encouraging news on testing, there remains work to do to ensure there is a comprehensive testing plan that includes contact tracing and additional measures to...(1/3)> > — Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) October 18, 2020> ... address the virus’ disproportionate impact on communities of color. There remains an array of additional differences as we go provision by provision that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours. Decisions must be made by the White House... (2/3)> > — Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) October 18, 2020> ... in order to demonstrate that the Administration is serious about reaching a bipartisan agreement that provides for Americans with the greatest needs during the pandemic. (3/3)> > — Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) October 18, 2020Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), meanwhile, "has said he would not put a potential $1.8 trillion+ deal struck by Democrats and the Trump administration on the Senate floor," Axios reports.More stories from theweek.com Why this libertarian is voting for Biden The town halls weren't a debate — but Trump still won Is America ready for a boring president?

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Rudy’s ‘Russian Agent’ Pal Teases ‘Second Laptop’ With Hunter Biden Kompromat

Rudy Giuliani has dismissed concerns that his latest anti-Biden smears are part of a foreign-election interference plot, but a Ukrainian lawmaker recently deemed an “active Russian agent” by the U.S. Treasury is now touting further details to come.Andrii Derkach, one of the key players in Giuliani’s years-long dirt-digging mission against Joe Biden in Ukraine, piggybacked on the former New York City mayor’s latest Biden smears—supposedly involving a forgotten laptop. Derkach claimed on Facebook that there is a “second laptop” with evidence of corruption involving the Biden family.Chinese Billionaire’s Network Hyped Hunter Biden Dirt Weeks Before Rudy GiulianiThe claim appears to muddy the waters around Giuliani’s latest “smoking gun” charge against Hunter Biden. He says they came to light after an obscure Delaware computer repair shop owner found Biden’s laptop in his possession and copied the hard drive before alerting federal authorities and inexplicably Giuliani’s own lawyer. Now, with Derkach jumping in with claims of a “second laptop,” that would mean private computer contents allegedly connected to Hunter Biden have somehow found their way into the hands of three separate parties: A media empire controlled by a Chinese billionaire who’s tight with Steve Bannon; a random Delaware shop owner who is outspoken in his support of Trump; and Derkach, a Ukrainian conspiracy theory peddler who studied at Moscow’s FSB academy.Derkach wrote on Facebook about the questionable New York Post report that relied on unverified images of emails provided by Trump allies to supposedly prove a corruption scheme by Biden and his son involving Ukrainian gas company Burisma. He then said there was a second laptop, which was used by “two representatives for the interests of [Burisma founder Mykola] Zlochevsky.”“That laptop was given to Ukrainian law enforcement,” Derkach wrote, adding that the Burisma representatives who used the laptop were now serving as “witnesses in criminal proceedings.” He said the witnesses were ready to testify about an international corruption scheme involving Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of the gas company. It has already been reported that Russian intelligence agents successfully hacked into Burisma computer networks last year, although it is not clear how much they were able to access and copy.Despite what Team Trump would have the public believe is a towering mountain of evidence, neither Joe or Hunter Biden have been charged with any wrongdoing, and Ukrainian prosecutors confirmed months ago that they had found no evidence of any crimes.Derkach is no newbie to the Biden saga. While cozying up to Trump allies like Giuliani during impeachment proceedings, he held repeated press conferences in Kyiv touting purported proof of corruption by the former vice president, and claiming it was not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election, but Ukraine. He also featured prominently in an “exposé” by the Trumpian One America News Network, and met with Giuliani in Kyiv last year as part of their anti-Biden mission. His claims have not held up under scrutiny. After Derkach was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in September for working as a foreign operative, Giuliani insisted he had not seen “any evidence” to conclusively say whether Derkach was working as a Russian agent or not. He told The Daily Beast this week that he believed it was a toss up whether his partner in the Biden smearing campaign was an active intelligence operative. “The chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50,” he said.Rudy: Only ‘50/50’ Chance I Worked With a ‘Russian Spy’ to Dig Dirt on Bidens and UkraineBut U.S. intelligence officials had begun warning in spring 2019 that Derkach was part of a Russian effort to worm their way into the U.S. presidential election and spread the narrative that Biden and his son were involved in nefarious corruption schemes overseas. Giuliani’s allegations against Biden have evolved drastically since he first began his attacks on Trump’s then presumed 2020opponent by claiming the former vice president improperly forced out a Ukrainian prosecutor. After numerous “exposés” on Biden’s supposed abuse of power aired on OAN largely failed to gain much traction, Giuliani shifted his focus to Biden’s son, Hunter, who he has now deemed a “national security risk.”Bizarrely, even Giuliani’s allegations against the younger Biden have pinballed all over the place, from his initial claim that Hunter used access to his father to line his own pockets, to his very personal attacks on his admitted struggles with substance abuse, and, perhaps most desperately, his latest smear that Hunter Biden engaged in “disgusting sexual behavior.”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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Women spoke out in support of Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin after she received backlash for posing topless in a blazer

Social media users called the backlash sexist and pointed to other world leaders who have posed topless without repercussions.

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Vietnam landslide hits army camp, buries 22 personnel

A landslide in central Vietnam on Sunday buried at least 22 army personnel, just a week after another landslide killed 13 as heavy rains continued to pound the region, state media reported. The latest landslide sent rock and earth crushing into an army camp at the foot of a mountain following a week of incessant rain in Quang Tri province, the official Vietnam News Agency reported. On Thursday, rescuers recovered 13 bodies, 11 of them army officers, from a landslide in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri’s neighboring province.

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Twitter botched its own moderation policies by banning a New York Post story and added fuel to the right's baseless belief that Big Tech is waging a war against conservatives

It's an example of the danger that can result when tech firms take inconsistent action in how it moderates content, especially ahead of an election.

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Biden focuses on the plight of shuttered bars and clubs in a new ad faulting Trump.

By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3mc1oOL

Donald Trump Is Losing His Touch. So Is the TV Producer Who Shaped His Image.

By BY BEN SMITH from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3kefLS2

Polling calm before the final debate.

By BY NATE COHN from NYT The Upshot https://ift.tt/3j85uFl

After Shutout Loss to Miami, Jets Stand as Only Winless Team

By BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3jeWrm1

The Morning

By Unknown Author from NYT Briefing https://ift.tt/3kefTRw

Coronavirus

By Unknown Author from NYT World https://ift.tt/347SD1K

Democrats Dare to Believe

By BY CHARLES M. BLOW from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3o5flQc

Column: A Biden presidency may seem normal, but it won't be boring

After the wrecking ball of Trump's four years in office, what would President Biden do?

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A Kansas man was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kidnap and kill the mayor of Wichita over the city's mask mandate

Mayor Brandon Whipple said he believed that the threat against his life from was credible and not just "some guy popping off on social media."

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Archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site

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Republican National Committee chair says QAnon is 'something the voters are not even thinking about'

In a recent poll, most voters who said they were familiar with QAnon characterized the movement as "very bad" for the country.

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Harrisonburg explosion: Three people injured as firefighters battle explosion in Virginia

At least three people were injured after an explosion levelled a shopping centre in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Saturday morning. The explosion damaged several stores and sent a thick column of smoke from Miller Circle, roughly a mile from the James Madison University campus. Two people are in serious condition, according to Harrisonburg authorities.

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Iran announces its virus death toll passes 30,000

Iran announced Saturday that its death toll from the coronavirus has passed the milestone of 30,000, in what has been the Mideast region's worst outbreak. Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced that the total death toll from the outbreak had reached at least 30,123. Iran has been struggling with the coronavirus since announcing its first cases in February, with more than 526,000 confirmed cases to date.

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Trump sets hectic campaign pace, while frontrunner Biden stays home

President Donald Trump campaigned at a frenetic pace Saturday in a three-state trip that started with a Michigan rally where he called opponent Joe Biden a "criminal" and pounded his claim that the Democrats are anti-American.

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Not enough or double the prejudice: On being Black and Asian American in 2020

12 multiracial people discuss the messy, complicated conversations they’re having about identity in this political moment.

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White House responds to Joe Biden's claims that NY Post report on Hunter is a 'smear campaign'

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany joins 'Fox & Friends.'

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A tabloid got a trove of data on Hunter Biden from Rudy Giuliani. Now, the FBI is probing a possible disinformation campaign.

The FBI is examining whether the material supplied to the New York Post by Rudy Giuliani is part of a disinformation campaign by Russia.

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Karabakh rivals trade accusations of breaking new truce

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating a new ceasefire on Sunday, as they tried for the second time in a week to bring a halt to fighting over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

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