theblaze--2020-10-15--Would-be debate moderator Steve Scully blames conservatives while admitting he lied about his Twitte

Would-be debate moderator Steve Scully blames conservatives while admitting he lied about his Twitter account being hacked The C-SPAN political @ @ @ @ @ by the network

C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully — who was slated to moderate the second debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden — has been suspended indefinitely by the network after admitting he lied about his Twitter feed being hacked, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
What are the details?
Scully became embroiled in controversy last week after a tweet posted on his Twitter account appeared to show him asking infamous Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci for advice on handling attacks from the president.
On Oct. 8, Scully tweeted, "@Scaramucci should I respond to trump." Scaramucci — who once served as President Trump's White House communications director for just 10 days before being fired and becoming a vocal critic of the president — responded, "Ignore. He is having a hard enough time. Some more bad stuff about to go down."
The next day, a top official on the Commission on Presidential Debates claimed that Scully's account was hacked. At the time it seemed a dubious claim and now we know it wasn't true.
CNN's Brian Stelter confirmed the news of Scully's admission by posting a statement from Scully regarding his suspension, in which the anchor amazingly takes time to blame conservative media and President Trump for the mishap.
Here's what he said:
For several weeks, I was subjected to relentless criticism on social media and in conservative news outlets regarding my role as moderator for the second presidential debate, including attacks aimed directly at my family. This culminated on Thursday, October 8th when I heard President Trump go on national television twice and falsely attack me by name. Out of frustration, I sent a brief tweet addressed to Anthony Scaramucci. The next morning when I saw that this tweet had created a new controversy, I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.
These were both errors in judgement for which I am totally responsible. I apologize.
These actions have let down a lot of people, including my colleagues at C-SPAN, where I have worked for the past 30 years, professional colleagues in the media, and the team at the Commission on Presidential Debates. I ask for their forgiveness as I try to move forward in a moment of reflection and disappointment in myself.
In a statement, C-SPAN said that Scully "understands that he made a serious mistake" and has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately.
What else?
Scully was indeed the subject of intense scrutiny ahead of the since-cancelled second debate after it was reported that he had served as an intern for then-Sen. Joe Biden in college and later worked on the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy's staff.
But his case was not helped by the tweet to Scaramucci. After the tweet surfaced, claims of Scully being a partisan and a "Never-Trumper" only increased.
Several came to his defense after it was claimed that his account was hacked. One tweet in particular, posted by former White House Press Secretary, Joe Lockhart, did not age well — at all.
Turns out the "liar" was Scully.
Cancel culture?
But that shouldn't be held against him, Scaramucci argued after news of his lies broke.
Scaramucci called Scully's suspension a "brutal outcome for a silly non political tweet" and argued that Scully is a victim of "cancel culture."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Boy, 12, dares to speak up for President Trump in class. Teacher asks student why he supports 'a rac

Boy, 12, dares to speak up for President Trump in class. Teacher asks student why he supports 'a racist and a pedophile.' Bad idea.

Boy , 12 , dares to speak up for President Trump in class .
Teacher asks student why he supports @ @ @ @ @ pedophile . '
Bad idea . '
I was just upset because other kids in @ @ @ @ @ on me , laughing at me , and she was laughing and would n't say @ @ @ @

Some teachers have a lot of learning to do.
Take, for example, a woman who was teaching a seventh-grade class for O'Maley Innovation Middle School in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Image source: WHDH-TV video screenshot
The subject was the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden — and 12-year-old Jackson Cody said he became a fast target not only of other students, but also the teacher.
What happened?
You see, Jackson supports Trump.
"I just feel like our country wasn't in a great place," he told WBZ-TV. "I just wanted to learn more about Donald Trump because it seemed like he was making our country rise again and become America again."
But supporting Trump isn't always the safest path to take. Then the seventh grader said the fateful moment happened.
"The teacher asked, 'Who supports Donald Trump?'" Jackson recalled to WHDH-TV. "And I was the only one to raise my hand."
He noted to WBZ that "a few kids were going to raise their hands, but then they heard the teacher say to me, 'Oh Mr. Jackson, I thought I liked you.'"
Image source: WHDH-TV video screenshot
It got worse.
"Then she asked why I support a racist and a pedophile," he noted to WHDH.
Jackson added to the station that "she also said, 'I am ashamed of any woman who voted for Donald Trump,' and I told her my mom and one of my grandmothers voted for Donald Trump."
Other kids in the class smelled blood — and apparently his teacher did, too.
"I was just upset because other kids in the class were ganging up on me, laughing at me, and she was laughing and wouldn't say anything to them," Jackson noted to WHDH.
Lawyering up
Once Jackson's family found out what went down in his class, they fought back.
They contacted a First Amendment attorney and asked the school for an apology, WBZ said — and got one.
Jackson told WHDH that the teacher later apologized to him in front of the entire class, and he said that helped.
"We tell them to stand up for yourself and don't be afraid to speak your opinion," Jackson's father, Jay Cody told WBZ. "Their opinions are theirs; they're not our opinions. They're very well read children. They like to educate themselves on their own topics. Unfortunately they do disagree with us very often."
What did the school district have to say?
Gloucester Public Schools Superintendent Ben Lummis told WHDH he was disappointed after first hearing about the incident.
"We always want our students and staff to feel safe — and that their point of view is understood and respected," he told the station in a statement. "Every day in our schools — we strive for tolerance, understanding, different perspectives and being civil."
More significant perhaps is the news Lummis broke that his staff will undergo training next week on how to address controversial topics with their students, WHDH reported.
And that's obviously good news for Jackson and his family.
"Certain topics — politics, religion, even sports nowadays — can sometimes be discussed and can very much make kids feel uncomfortable," Jay Cody told WHDH. "You would hope teachers could recognize that and take advantage of it the opposite way."
He also told the station that if teachers do discuss controversial topics, they should "stand in the middle and hear from both sides."
In the end, Jackson told WHDH "everyone has the right to their own opinion, and everyone should respect that."
(H/T: Hot Air)


theblaze--2020-10-15--NJ mayor calls Trump voters 'religious zealots' who want 'Christian Sharia law,' tells them to 'go f

NJ mayor calls Trump voters 'religious zealots' who want 'Christian Sharia law,' tells them to 'go f***' themselves. She refuses to resign — or even apologize.

NJ mayor calls Trump voters 'religious zealots ' who want 'Christian Sharia law , ' tells them to 'go f*** @ @ @ @ @ to resign — or even apologize .
Remarks went over like a lead balloon

A New Jersey mayor is under fire after she said that Trump supporters — and especially those who want to enact the "Christian version of Sharia law" — can "go f***" themselves.
Despite facing criticism — as well as calls for her censure and resignation — Flemington Mayor Betsy Driver (D) says she has no plans to resign.
What are the details?
In a recent social media post, Driver crassly explained that she has no love for Trump supporters.
The state's Republican Party shared a screenshot of Driver's offending remarks, which quickly went viral.
According to screenshots, Driver wrote, "This is day one of the new SCOTUS term — the religious zealots want to enact the Christian version of Sharia law. If you voted for the orange monster with COVID, go f*** yourself. If you plan on voting for him again, unfriend me and go f*** yourself again."
The state's Republican Party also called on Driver to issue an apology for her controversial remarks. Instead, she said that she would not resign from her position anytime soon.
'Too much to ask for her to apologize?'
In a statement, state GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt wrote, "President Trump earned nearly 43% of the vote amongst Mayor Driver's constituents. I think we all know she will never step down, but is it too much to ask for her to apologize? Her comments are bigoted and hateful and quite frankly the silence on the left speaks to the character of party leaders like Tom Malinowski and Phil Murphy who lack the courage to stand up to people in their own party."
Hunterdon County GOP Chair Gabe Plumer also castigated the mayor for her remarks, and in his own statement, said, "Your statement is antithetical to the principles of representative democracy. It is further proof that you do not represent the people of Flemington, the character of Hunterdon County and the values of at least a part of the Democrat party.
"While I trust Republicans agree with me, I also call on Freeholder Candidate (Patrick) Heller and all current Flemington candidates to join me and many others in a bipartisan call for Mayor Driver's immediate resignation," Plumer added.
According to WKXW-FM, Flemington Council Vice President Kim Tilly also called for the local government to censure Driver over the remarks.
Tilly said, "It's time the council take action to hopefully prevent Mayor Driver from bringing the wrong kind of attention to an already struggling borough. I am requesting to censure Mayor Driver."
According to My Central Jersey, the effort to censure Driver failed.
GOP is 'triggered and clutching their pearls'
After saying she has no plans to resign, Drivers said voters have the choice to "not vote for me next time I"m up for election."
Driver's term expires in 2022.
Driver also told Tap into Flemington/Raritan that the state GOP is simply "triggered" by the post, and pointed out that she and her family have received death threats following her social media snafu.
“That they are that triggered and clutching their pearls over my being upset and angry at the threats to my LGBTQ family by a Supreme Court enabled by their support of a president who is hate-filled and unhinged every day is sad," Driver said, according to the outlet.
“It reflects their privilege that refuses to acknowledge America's diversity and their own intolerance of anyone who disagrees with them," the mayor added.
Driver said that her remarks were in response to comments made by Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito about overturning same-sex marriages.
October 13, 2020 Borough Council Meeting www.youtube.com
(H/T: The Daily Caller)


theblaze--2020-10-15--Even math is tainted by racism, says Wake Forest professor as school launches ‘anti-racist uses of m

Even math is tainted by racism, says Wake Forest professor as school launches ‘anti-racist uses of math’ class

Even math is tainted by racism , says Wake Forest professor as school launches ‘ anti-racist uses of math ’ @

Even math is racist, according to the faculty at Wake Forest University.
A recent write-up in the school's newspaper, Old Gold & Black, outlines a one-credit course currently offered by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in which students learn about the many ways in which mathematical and statistical models have been employed to foment racism.
What are the details?
The course, officially titled "Racist/Anti-Racist Uses of Math & Stats," is taught by department chair Sarah Raynor and reportedly deals with "biases in math and statistics" that ultimately result in racist policies such as "over-policing in majority-minority areas to practices in hiring."
It has been run as a discussion-based course using the textbook, "Weapons of Math Destruction," written by mathematician and Occupy Wall Street member, Cathy O'Neil.
In an August memo obtained by the College Fix, Raynor informed colleagues that the course would be offered as a response to the "racism and bias to which so many are subjected on a daily basis, punishing bodies and minds through no fault of their own."
"Like all entrenched systems, our department is not innocent of racism," Raynor wrote in the memo. "The time has come for us to focus on fighting racism and making plans to create a more equitable educational space."
In addition to the brand-new class, Raynor noted that the department would be launching a department-level bias reporting system to help fight racism.
What else?
Raynor told the school paper that she and other math faculty hope that the course will expand into a variety of similar courses dealing with the intersection of math and societal issues such as racism, sexism, and anti-queerness.
"What we're probably going to create is a course called Mathematics and Society ... there are like 8 or 10 different topics that I think would be reasonable ways to go," she said.
She noted that while only eight students are currently enrolled in the class, she expects they'll "get more [students] as the word gets out."
"We didn't even know we wanted to do this until late-summer. We have 8 students, which I think is pretty good for a course that's weird and doesn't really help you graduate," Raynor said.
Yet even those who are not enrolled in the class can be a part of the effort to "decolonize the department," as the school paper puts it. Every other Monday at 4 p.m., Raynor and other interested parties meet to discuss the issues.
"You don't have to be a declared math major or an upper-level student or anything, you just have to have interest in how the math department is handling racism and antiracism and other systemic inequity issues to show up, and we would love to hear from students at all levels," she noted.


theblaze--2020-10-15--Federal judge rules inmates are now eligible to receive stimulus checks

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Internal Revenue Service to stop withholding $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks from people incarcerated in state or federal prisons.
What are the details?
According to a Thursday report in the New York Post, those inmates who are otherwise eligible to receive the stimulus checks under the CARES Act may receive them.
In April, the Internal Revenue Service distributed tens of thousands of stimulus checks totaling approximately $1 million to incarcerated taxpayers. Following the April release, the IRS revised the guidelines for the program, and insisted instead that incarcerated taxpayers did not qualify for the stimulus and should return the funds.
Following the announcement, a group of prisoners filed a class-action lawsuit in order to get the funds they felt they deserved. Yaman Salahi, partner at the law firm Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, represented the prisoners in the suit.
In the Wednesday decision, Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said that President Donald Trump's administration move to block prisoners from receiving the stimulus funds "solely on the basis of their incarcerated status" is "arbitrary and capricious."
The Post added, "Hamilton set an Oct. 24 deadline for the IRS to reconsider sending the payments to locked-up individuals whose checks have been withheld, intercepted, or returned. Incarcerated people who didn't file a 2018 or 2019 income tax return — which would allow the IRS to automatically distribute their checks — have until Oct. 30 to submit paperwork to claim the money."
Anything else?
Salahi told the Los Angeles Times that such funds are especially important to those imprisoned, because they often come from low-income households who are in dire needs of financial assistance.
"[Incarcerated people] rely heavily on their loved ones on the outside for support, and those are the same people who are less and less able to provide that support during the pandemic," Salahi told the outlet.
The federal government in response filed an appeal of the judge's rulings.
According to CNBC, the IRS stated, "The government has filed an appeal and request to stay the preliminary injunction. Any updates regarding the appeal will be posted on this webpage."
The outlet reported that those prisoners who are eligible and do not receive their stimulus payments this year will be able to receive a credit for those funds when filing their 2020 tax returns.


theblaze--2020-10-15--Elections chairman resigns after removing and defacing Trump signs in South Carolina

Elections chairman resigns after removing and defacing Trump signs in South Carolina 'We regret this lapse of judgment on our @ @

A neighborhood dispute in South Carolina over campaign signs escalated after an elections chairman and his wife removed and defaced "Trump-Pence" campaign signs.
Dean Smith was the chairman of the Georgetown County Board of Voter Registration and Elections up until his resignation this week. Constituents questioned whether Smith was fit to lead the elections commission following an incident where he vandalized Trump signs in Pawleys Island.
"People that called are concerned about the voting process with [the Smiths'] positions," said Karol Anderson, who chairs the county Republican Party.
Smith, who has been a member of the elections board for 15 years, resigned abruptly this week after admitting that he and his wife removed and defaced Trump-Pence campaign signs.
After his pro-Trump signs had been removed several times, a resident filed a police report with Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. The resident set up a deer camera on a neighbor's property to catch the culprit. The camera caught Dean and Rita Smith taking a Trump sign and defacing another sign by writing "Dump" above President Donald Trump's name.
The resident provided Georgetown and Beyond News with screenshots of the suspects, who shared the images with its readers. Someone identified the sign stealers as Dean and Rita Smith.
Last week, the resident told Rita Smith, "Smile you're on candid camera," according to the Coastal Observer. Smith was unsure what the meaning of the comment until she saw photos of herself on social media.
Dean Smith said the dispute originated over a homeowners association rule that prohibits signs on private property. Rita Smith is an HOA president, and said she and another board member asked the resident to remove a pro-Trump flag because of the rules. He refused, and Smith alleges that the man yelled at them "in a political tirade."
"This is actually an HOA issue. We have regulations against the signs," Dean Smith said. "The people that reported this, put a sign on someone else's property without their knowledge, and they insulted and attacked my wife who is the HOA president and asked them to get rid of the signs. The camera that took our picture was also put on someone else's property."
Rita Smith admits, "Our emotions got the better of us," regarding vandalizing the Trump signs.
"We regret this lapse of judgment on our part. I do not want to be a distraction to the conduct of this very important election," Dean Smith said. "It was because we were angry with the other resident."
Anderson commented on the sign drama, "If you drive around the county I don't think you can find 600 [Trump signs]. They cost a lot of money. I don't care whose signs, it's a candidate's signs."
Anderson added, "People with a lot of responsibility should have a lot of accountability."
"I've always prided myself that when I walk in that door I'm not a Republican or Democrat," Dean Smith said. "I'm just an American and a Georgetown County citizen."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Anti-Trump vandals going hog-wild in Arizona neighborhood. But Biden campaign signs? They're left al

Anti-Trump vandals going hog-wild in Arizona neighborhood. But Biden campaign signs? They're left alone.

Anti-Trump vandals going hog-wild in Arizona neighborhood .
But Biden campaign signs ?
They 're left alone .
'When they @ @ @ @ @ doorway and go into a hallway and rip a flag down , that made me @ @ @ @

One thing that's glaringly apparent in Kevin Beamon's neighborhood is the support for President Donald Trump.
Image source: KPHO-TV video screenshot
As KPHO-TV noticed upon visiting the Scottsdale, Arizona, enclave, pro-Trump flags, signs, bumper stickers, and banners are in numerous yards.
But on Monday night, several of those pro-Trump displays of support were slashed or stolen, the station said.
Not that there are only Trump supporters in this neck of the woods — a few folks have signs up for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, KPHO noted. However, the pro-Biden signs have been left alone, the station said.
Apparently it's an anti-Trump operation.
"They basically just defaced and destroyed a lot of political signs, which is obviously illegal," Beamon told KPHO.
What are the details?
Around midnight, Peter Cohen's security camera caught two people — who looked an awful lot like Antifa types with helmets and black clothing — who tried jumping and climbing up his flagpole, the station said. Soon enough they were able to scale the pole and tear down his Trump 2020 flag, KPHO said, after which they ran off with it.
Image source: KPHO-TV video screenshot
The same thing happened 30 minutes earlier in a different part of the neighborhood, the station aid.
It also appears vandals sliced in half Cohen's Trump signs in his yard because they couldn't pull the iron stakes from the ground, KPHO reported.
Image source: KPHO-TV video screenshot
Down the street, Randy Marema's Trump flag was left torn in half and hanging in tatters from the top of his front porch, the station said.
Image source: KPHO-TV video screenshot
"When they come right up to the doorway and go into a hallway and rip a flag down, that made me feel really violated," Marema added to KPHO.
'It's unacceptable'
Marianne Amato has Biden signs — and sympathy for her neighbors.
"It's unacceptable," she told the station in regard to the vandalism. "I would feel the same way if somebody took my sign. Everybody has the right to an opinion."
'We can disagree agreeably — apparently, they can't'
As for Cohen, he raised a spare Trump flag on the flagpole before most people even noticed, KPHO said.
"I'm well stocked, of course, just for this kind of case," Cohen told the station.
Beamon isn't impressed with the vandals' lack of civility, noting to KPHO: "We can disagree agreeably — apparently, they can't."


theblaze--2020-10-15--New York Post opinion editor speaks out after Big Tech censors bombshell story on Hunter Biden & Ukr

New York Post opinion editor speaks out after Big Tech censors bombshell story on Hunter Biden & Ukraine Sohrab Ahmari @ @ @ @ @ 's reporting on Hunter Biden 's emails in an interview with BlazeTV host Glenn Beck

New York Post opinion editor Sohrab Ahmari on Thursday defended the Post's reporting on Hunter Biden's emails, responded to the Joe Biden presidential campaign's denial of allegations in the Post's report, and spoke out about Facebook and Twitter censoring the story in a radio interview with BlazeTV host Glenn Beck.
On Wednesday, the New York Post published a story about a "smoking gun" 2015 email that appears to show Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, thanking Hunter Biden for setting up a meeting with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic nominee for president. The story explained that this email and others were recovered from a computer allegedly connected to Hunter Biden. The Post also obtained from this computer personal photos of Biden using drugs and engaging in sex acts with an unidentified woman.
The Post's story was swiftly suppressed by both Facebook, which limited the article's distribution on its platform pending an independent fact-check, and Twitter, which outright banned users from sharing the story. After much public outcry over the censorship of the Post story, Twitter explained the rationale for preventing users from sharing the story.
"The images contained in the articles include personal and private information — like email addresses and phone numbers — which violate our rules. As noted this morning, we also currently view materials included in the articles as violations of our Hacked Materials Policy," Twitter said.
"Commentary on or discussion about hacked materials, such as articles that cover them but do not include or link to the materials themselves, aren't a violation of this policy," the social media platform added. "Our policy only covers links to or images of hacked material themselves."
Ahmari pushed back on Twitter's claim, defending the Post's sources.
It "was very clear from the beginning, how we got a hold of this material," Ahmari said. "It was reported deeply. Fairly. Meticulously. And it — it was based on much more solid sourcing than mountains of stories published in center left outlets over the past four years, that collapsed and were based on unalienable sources, telling unnamed sources, telling the reporter."
"None of those got censored by the major — social media platforms, the way this story is," he added.
The Joe Biden campaign for president fiercely denied the allegations in the Post story.
"Investigations by the press, during impeachment, and even by two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was decried as 'not legitimate' and political by a GOP colleague have all reached the same conclusion: that Joe Biden carried out official U.S. policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing. Trump administration officials have attested to these facts under oath," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said.
"The New York Post never asked the Biden campaign about the critical elements of this story," Bates continued. "They certainly never raised that Rudy Giuliani — whose discredited conspiracy theories and alliance with figures connected to Russian intelligence have been widely reported — claimed to have such materials. Moreover, we have reviewed Joe Biden's official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place."
Ahmari dismissed the denial, responding to three points in Bates' statement.
"The first element says, a bipartisan committee found that, you know, Joe Biden had done nothing wrong in Ukraine. Concluded that. That's a non sequitur. We have new evidence. Whatever the various congressional bodies found, fine, that's very nice, but we have new evidence. We have the smoking gun or the smoking crackpipe, if you will," Ahmari said.
"The second one was, the Post did not tell us that Rudy Giuliani was involved in obtaining this underlying material. Plenty of newspapers don't go around saying who their sources are. So that again is a non sequitur," he continued.
"The third thing they said was that the meeting, and this is — you know, if you know lawyers. You know PR people. They choose words very, very carefully," he said. "They said, the meetings did not take place, as alleged by the New York Post. As alleged by the New York Post. So — OK. But then in a political story, they said, they couldn't rule out the possibility that an informal get-together took place."
Ahmari pointed out that the Biden campaign's statement did not dispute the facts of the Post report.
"So Twitter and Facebook, are acting on a case, where even the person being accused in the story, isn't really denying the core facts," he said.
After discussing the actions Facebook and Twitter took to censor the Post story with Beck, Ahmari defended the legacy of the New York Post.
"We are talking about America's oldest continuously published newspaper, that was founded by one of our Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. I get goose bumps when I say that about the Post," he said. "So this is not some sketchy website, where they can do this to you, without consequences. This is an old newspaper. A beloved newspaper, in New York City. A paper that is a local paper. But also has a national and global voice and imprint."
"The closest thing to an argument I saw from a Twitter safety thread they had put up, they said, this includes — you know, information that was unauthorized for release," Ahmari said. "Well, my Twitter friends, let me tell you about the Pentagon papers. Let me tell you about the Trump tax story. All of journalism is practically built on disclosing things that people don't want disclosed. That's the line of work that you and I are in, Glenn."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Atlanta Falcons shut down facility after single confirmed COVID-19 case

The Atlanta Falcons have shut down the team 's facility due to a confirmed COVID-19 case , according to various reports .
What are the details ?
On Thursday morning , ESPN sports reporter Adam Schefter initially reported , `` Falcons are shutting down their facility after multiple positive tests , sources tell ESPN . ''
However , NFL Network 's Tom Pelissero wrote , `` The # Falcons ' one confirmed positive COVID-19 test today is not a player , per source .
Team working remotely today as a precaution . ''
ESPN later reported that the team shut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abundance of caution '' following news of the positive result .
In a statement published to Twitter , the Falcons said , `` Out of an abundance of caution following one new positive test , we have made the decision to stop all in-person work at IBM Performance Field Thursday and will conduct all operations virtually . ''
The statement added , `` This decision was made in consultation with the NFL and medical officials .
The health and safety of our team is our highest priority . ''
According to ESPN , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team had `` multiple positive tests '' for COVID-19 .
`` One source told Schefter that there were four positive tests , '' the outlet reported , `` but a Falcons official said the team is 'not at four confirmed . '
The official also told Schefter that the Falcons are 'still working through details . '
'' The outlet reported that two Atlanta Falcons players have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the regular season .
This Sunday 's Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings game in Minneapolis remains scheduled at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NFL Network 's Mike Garafolo .
In a tweet , Garafolo wrote , `` From @ NFLprguy : No change to # Falcons- # Vikings game at this time . ''

The Atlanta Falcons have shut down the team's facility due to a confirmed COVID-19 case, according to various reports.
What are the details?
On Thursday morning, ESPN sports reporter Adam Schefter initially reported, "Falcons are shutting down their facility after multiple positive tests, sources tell ESPN."
However, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero wrote, "The #Falcons' one confirmed positive COVID-19 test today is not a player, per source. Team working remotely today as a precaution."
ESPN later reported that the team shut the facility down out of an "abundance of caution" following news of the positive result.
In a statement published to Twitter, the Falcons said, "Out of an abundance of caution following one new positive test, we have made the decision to stop all in-person work at IBM Performance Field Thursday and will conduct all operations virtually."
The statement added, "This decision was made in consultation with the NFL and medical officials. The health and safety of our team is our highest priority."
'Still working through details'
According to ESPN, sources told Schefter earlier Thursday that the team had "multiple positive tests" for COVID-19.
"One source told Schefter that there were four positive tests," the outlet reported, "but a Falcons official said the team is 'not at four confirmed.' The official also told Schefter that the Falcons are 'still working through details.'"
The outlet reported that two Atlanta Falcons players have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the regular season.
This Sunday's Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings game in Minneapolis remains scheduled at the time of this reporting, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
In a tweet, Garafolo wrote, "From @NFLprguy: No change to #Falcons-#Vikings game at this time."


theblaze--2020-10-15--'Unmasking' probe ordered by AG Barr into Obama-era officials reportedly ends without any charges or

'Unmasking' probe ordered by AG Barr into Obama-era officials reportedly ends without any charges or conclusive findings

'Unmasking ' probe ordered by AG Barr into Obama-era officials reportedly ends without any charges or conclusive findings

The federal prosecutor tasked with probing the "unmasking" of President Donald Trump's transition team by Obama administration officials has concluded his investigation without finding evidence of any substantive wrongdoing, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
What are the details?
Attorney General William Barr assigned U.S. Attorney John Bash in May to look into whether Obama officials had improperly "unmasked" Trump team members — that is, requested their identities be revealed after they were incidentally picked up in the federal government's surveillance of foreign officials.
The matter, now reportedly closed without charges or a report, was already being investigated as a part of U.S. Attorney John Durham's probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, but Barr believed it to be worthy of further consideration.
In a statement announcing the investigation in May, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said: "Unmasking inherently isn't wrong, but certainly, the frequency, the motivation and the reasoning behind unmasking can be problematic. And when you're looking at unmasking as part of a broader investigation — like John Durham's investigation — looking specifically at who was unmasking whom, can add a lot to our understanding about motivation and big picture events."
At the time, newly unsealed documents purportedly showed that several high-ranking Obama officials had submitted unmasking requests for former Trump national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn — including then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-FBI Director James Comey, and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
News of the probe's conclusion came as Bash stepped down from his post as U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas last week to accept a job in the private sector.
At the time, Kupec made a statement, saying, "Without commenting on any specific investigation, any matters that John Bash was overseeing will be assumed by Gregg Sofer." The Washington Post reported that when asked whether Bash's resignation was related to the unmasking probe, Kupec responded, "No, that is not my understanding."
What else?
According to NBC News, Brennan and another unnamed key figure in the unmasking controversy reported that they were not interviewed by Bash or Justice Department investigators as a part of the probe.
"I was never interviewed by anyone in the Department of Justice about unmasking, which was a politically motivated probe initiated by William Barr to please Donald Trump," Brennan told the news outlet.
The New York Times, in its report, added that Bash's findings were handed over to Durham's team, according to Justice Department officials. It is important to note that the Post, which first reported the news about Bash's conclusions, "was unable to review the full results of what Bash found."
It was not immediately clear why a public report about Bash's findings has not been made available by the Justice Department. The Post noted that while not reporting the findings of probes that conclude without criminal charges is not unusual, a public report was considered more likely given the public nature of the investigation.
Why does it matter?
The conclusion of Bash's report without any charges is likely to rankle President Trump as well as Republicans on Capitol Hill who had hoped the Justice Department would expose what they believed to be wrongdoing by the Obama administration in unmasking individuals before and after the 2016 election.
"The big story is the 'unmasking and surveillance' of people that took place during the Obama Administration," Trump tweeted early on in his presidency.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) declared in May that Biden had been "caught red-handed" after the list of Obama officials who had requested Flynn's unmasking was released.
"This is Vice President Biden using the spying powers of the United States to go after a political opponent. He's caught red-handed here. Vice President Biden is caught red-handed eavesdropping on a political opponent's phone calls," Paul said.


theblaze--2020-10-15--Republicans declare war on Facebook and Twitter censorship of New York Post, announce Senate hearing

Republicans declare war on Facebook and Twitter censorship of New York Post, announce Senate hearings next week

Republicans declare war on Facebook and Twitter censorship of New York Post , announce Senate hearings next week 'What the @ @ @ @ @

After Facebook and Twitter sparked outrage by censoring several New York Post reports on emails allegedly from Hunter Biden's laptop, Republican lawmakers want Big Tech CEOs to testify in Congress and explain why the Post's stories are being suppressed.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) formally requested on Thursday that the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook both appear before the U.S. Senate to testify on their companies' individual decisions to censor the Post's reports. The letters, written to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, invite the Big Tech bosses to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism in a hearing called "Digital Platforms and Election Interference."
Hawley's letters announce an inquiry into whether Facebook and Twitter violated federal election law by suppressing the distribution of the New York Post story, "Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad."
"As your company is no doubt aware, corporations are forbidden from contributing anything of value — financial or otherwise — to support the election of candidates for federal office," each letter states.
The letter to Dorsey noted that Twitter "asymmetrically" applied its terms of service against the Post story and suspended the official Donald Trump presidential campaign account for sharing the article. The hearing "will also consider [Twitter's] decision to double down on that potential violation by, on October 15, 2020, suppressing the Post's follow-up story."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and committee member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also announced Thursday that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Tuesday to serve Dorsey a subpoena to testify the following Friday. Cruz characterized Twitter's actions as "election interference."
"The Senate Judiciary Committee wants to know what the hell is going on," Cruz said, noting that the Nov. 3 election is 19 days away.
In the House, Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Facebook CEO Zuckerberg saying the actions taken by Facebook "raises questions about Facebook's commitment to free speech and free and fair elections."
Additionally, all House Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans called on the committee's chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to hold an emergency hearing before the Nov. 3 election on "Big Tech's censorship and election interference."
"Facebook and Twitter's censorship of American journalism is part of a broader pattern by Big Tech to selectively suppress news and silence conservative views that don't square with their liberal agenda. This is not the American way and cannot be tolerated," Oversight and Reform Committee ranking member James Comer (R-Ky.) said. "Big Tech's censorship is election interference and we call on Chairwoman Maloney to hold an emergency hearing immediately in order to hold them accountable and protect the integrity of the election."
On Wednesday, the New York Post published a story about a "smoking gun" 2015 email that appears to show Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, thanking Hunter Biden for setting up a meeting with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic nominee for president. The email, if accurate, is significant because the elder Biden has repeatedly claimed he's never had discussions with his son about Hunter's "overseas business dealings," a claim that this email directly contradicts.
Biden's critics and the Post's reports accuse the former vice president of having used his office as leverage to pressure the Ukrainian government to adopt policies that were favorable to Burisma while Hunter Biden served on the company's board, benefiting the younger Biden.
After the Post's initial report on the email was published, Facebook limited the distribution of the story pending a third-party fact check review, preventing users from seeing it in their news feeds. Twitter followed suit and went even further, banning the story from being shared by users and locking the accounts of prominent users who shared it, including the Trump campaign, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and the New York Post itself. On Thursday, Twitter even restricted access to an official government website after House Judiciary Committee Republicans re-posted the Post story and shared it on Twitter.
In response to the backlash Twitter received, Twitter CEO Dorsey admitted the "communication around our actions on the @nypost article was not great." He also said blocking the Post article's URL with "zero context" was "unacceptable."
Sen. Hawley found Dorsey's mea culpa unacceptable.
Speaking on Fox News Wednesday evening, Hawley accused Facebook and Twitter of wanting to "rig an election."
"It's basically at this point, Laura, Big Tech versus democracy," Hawley told host Laura Ingraham. "These tech companies want to rig an election, they want to control what we read. They want to control journalists in this country. They want to control the news. And we just can't let them.
"That's why I will be inviting and asking Facebook and Twitter to come testify under oath to my subcommittee in the United States Senate," he added. "The American people deserve answers."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Amy Coney Barrett's sorority deletes tweet recognizing her Supreme Court nomination, apologizes for

Amy Coney Barrett's sorority deletes tweet recognizing her Supreme Court nomination, apologizes for being 'hurtful to many'

Amy Coney Barrett 's sorority deletes tweet recognizing her Supreme Court nomination , apologizes for being 'hurtful to many' 'Thank @ @ @ @ @ , ' Kappa Delta added

Among her many accomplishments while attending Rhodes College back in the day — Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Honor Council, Rhodes Student Hall of Fame — Judge Amy Coney Barrett also is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.
So as one might expect, the sorority last month noted Barrett's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court with a tweet. Characterizing it as congratulatory, however, is probably taking it a bit far.
"KD alumna Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to serve on the Supreme Court," the Sept. 28 tweet read, according to the College Fix. "While we do not take a stand on political appointments, we recognize Judge Coney Barrett's significant accomplishment. We acknowledge our members have a variety of views and a right to their own beliefs."
It isn't clear if the author held her nose or not while pressing the "tweet" button.
Oops
But given that Barrett is conservative — and everything else that comes along with that — some loud voices apparently were beside themselves over Kappa Delta daring to say "we recognize Judge Coney Barrett's significant accomplishment."
The College Fix reported that that original tweet was deleted — and the day after the original post went up, the sorority wrote an apology tweet to those who offended by the original tweet as well as those upset by its removal.
"Our approach was disappointing and hurtful to many," the sorority wrote.
"We did not intend to enter a political debate, take a stand on the Supreme Court nomination, cause division among our sisters, or alienate any of our members," the message continued.
Then after explaining how the sorority will redouble its efforts to increase inclusivity and diversity and encourage members to speak out, the tweet ended with this sentence: "Thank you for holding us accountable."
What was the reaction?
Amy Siskind — an author, feminist, and activist — said she's "embarrassed" that Barrett "is in any way associated with our sisterhood. She does not stand for our values, and that goes well beyond a half century old decision. [B]ut I appreciate national addressing the hurt this has caused."
Others, however, didn't appreciate Siskind's sentiments:
"Crybaby radical Leftist whines about the ascent of a truly extraordinary woman," one commenter replied. "Pathetic, and nasty, too. A semi-normal person apart from politics would congratulate ACB and be honored a sorority sister had attained such success."
"If she doesn't represent your values, it's time for you to get some new ones," another commenter wrote.
Other commenters ripped Kappa Delta's apology:


theblaze--2020-10-15--Emails show Hunter Biden pursuing 'lucrative' deal with Chinese energy company that would be 'intere

Emails show Hunter Biden pursuing 'lucrative' deal with Chinese energy company that would be 'interesting to my family': Report

Emails show Hunter Biden pursuing 'lucrative ' deal with Chinese energy company that would be 'interesting to my family ' @ @

Following Wednesday's release of "smoking gun" emails from a laptop computer that contained photos of Hunter Biden and emails purporting to belong to him, the New York Post released more emails allegedly from Joe Biden's son. The latest batch of emails purportedly show Hunter pursuing "lasting and lucrative" deals involving a Chinese energy company that he said would be "interesting for me and my family."
According to the reported emails from 2017, the son of the Democratic presidential nominee communicated with high-ranking officials from China Energy Fund Committee, which at one time was the largest private energy company in China. In 2017, Fortune noted that CEFC had nearly $44 billion in revenue.
Ye Jianming is the former chairman of China Energy Fund Committee. Ye is rumored to have ties to China's People's Liberation Army, and a 2018 Financial Times report links him to Chinese military intelligence.
"Ye's company, CEFC China Energy, aligned itself so closely with the Chinese government that it was often hard to distinguish between the two," CNN wrote in 2018.
Hunter Biden was reportedly a recipient of an email sent on May 13, 2017, with the subject line: "Expectations." The email, which was written by James Gilliar of the international consulting firm J2cR, details "remuneration packages" for six people in a business venture.
Hunter Biden was identified as "Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC (China Energy Co)." His pay was "850" and the email noted: "Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate."
"In addition, the email outlined a 'provisional agreement' under which 80 percent of the 'equity,' or shares in the new company, would be split equally among four people whose initials correspond to the sender and three recipients, with 'H' apparently referring to Biden," the Post reported.
The deal listed "10 Jim" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" Neither "Jim" nor "big guy" were identified.
Gilliar wrote, "I am happy to raise any detail with Zang if there is [sic] shortfalls ?"
"Zang" is an apparent reference to Zang Jian Jun, the former executive director of CEFC China, according to the Post.
Alleged emails from Hunter on Aug. 2, 2017, show him discussing a three-year consulting contract worth $10 million annually "for introductions alone."
"The chairman changed that deal after we me[t] in MIAMI TO A MUCH MORE LASTING AND LUCRATIVE ARRANGEMENT to create a holding company 50% percent [sic] owned by ME and 50% owned by him," Biden wrote, according to the email. "Consulting fees is one piece of our income stream but the reason this proposal by the chairman was so much more interesting to me and my family is that we would also be partners inn [sic] the equity and profits of the JV's [joint venture's] investments."
Biden's alleged email was sent to Gongwen Dong, whom the Wall Street Journal wrote about in October 2018, in regard to the purchase of two luxury Manhattan apartments that "show no financing on either deal."
"Companies linked to Ye Jianming, a Chinese oil entrepreneur with ties to China's military, spent roughly $83 million on New York City's priciest properties," the Journal reported. "Both of the transactions were executed in the names of limited liability companies that are registered at a Long Island home of Asian financier Gongwen Dong. Mr. Ye's name doesn't appear on the business registration document, but the people familiar with the transactions describe him as controlling the companies. Mr. Dong couldn't be reached for comment."
Ye reportedly planned to buy $80 million more in New York City real estate, but the former chairman mysteriously disappeared in early 2018, when he was reportedly taken into custody by Chinese authorities.
CEFC China Energy Co. and three of its subsidiaries went bankrupt in April 2020.
The New York Post also obtained an "Attorney Engagement Letter" between Hunter and one of Ye's "top lieutenants." Former Hong Kong government official Chi Ping Patrick Ho became the deputy chairman and secretary general of China Energy Fund Committee.
In September 2017, Ho reportedly agreed to pay Biden a $1 million retainer for "Counsel to matters related to US law and advice pertaining to the hiring and legal analysis of any US Law Firm or Lawyer."
In March 2019, the Department of Justice announced that Ho was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison for "his role in a multi-year, multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe top officials of Chad and Uganda in exchange for business advantages for CEFC China Energy Company Limited ('CEFC China')."
In December 2019, Ho was convicted of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money-laundering, and conspiracy to commit the same. Ho reportedly bribed high-ranking government officials in Africa for oil rights in Chad and lucrative business deals in Uganda.
"Patrick Ho bribed officials at the highest levels of government in Chad and Uganda in pursuit of lucrative oil deals and other business opportunities, all while using a U.S.-based NGO to conceal his criminal scheme," Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said. "This kind of corruption undermines world markets and tilts the playing field against law-abiding companies and individuals. The Department will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals and corporations that engage in foreign bribery."
"Patrick Ho schemed to bribe the leaders of Chad and Uganda in order to secure unfair business advantages for the Chinese energy company he served," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Berman. "His actions were brazen, including offering the president of Chad $2 million in cash, hidden in gift boxes. Foreign corruption undermines the fairness of international markets, erodes the public's faith in its leaders, and is deeply unfair to the people and businesses that play by the rules. Today's sentence recognizes the severe harm caused by Ho's actions."
Ho served a three-year prison sentence and was deported to Hong Kong in June.
Also from the laptop, there is allegedly a photo that is dated Aug. 1, 2017. The image shows a handwritten flowchart of the ownership of a business named "Hudson West." The image shows a 50/50 split between two entities controlled by Hunter Biden and someone identified as "Chairman."
Hudson West was cited in a report released last month by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) titled "Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns."
"On the same day that the impending Rosneft deal was announced, Hunter Biden and Gongwen Dong, a Chinese national who has reportedly executed transactions for limited liability companies controlled by Ye Jianming, applied to a bank and opened a line of credit under the business name Hudson West III LLC (Hudson West III)," the report stated.
"Hunter Biden, James Biden, and James Biden's wife, Sara Biden, were all authorized users of credit cards associated with the account," the report continued. "The Bidens subsequently used the credit cards they opened to purchase $101,291.46 worth of extravagant items, including airline tickets and multiple items at Apple Inc. stores, pharmacies, hotels and restaurants. The cards were collateralized by transferring $99,000 from a Hudson West III account to a separate account, where the funds were held until the cards were closed. The transaction was identified for potential financial criminal activity."
The report states that Hudson West III changed ownership at some point and was "divided between Hunter Biden's law firm Owasco PC (50%) and Coldharbour Capital LLC (50%)."
"Although ownership in Coldharbour Capital is equally divided between two individuals, Mervyn Yan and Tian Zhang, it has a business address identified as the address of Gongwen Dong."
Hudson West has since been dissolved.
The emails and documents were reportedly found on a MacBook Pro laptop that was dropped off at a computer repair shop in Delaware in April 2019 and never picked up. The contents of the laptop were released by the New York Post and Rudy Giuliani.
Emails released on Wednesday allege that Joe Biden met with a top executive at Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company, when he was vice president and during his son Hunter Biden's tenure on the company's board.
George Mesires, Hunter Biden's lawyer, previously told the Post, "There is no need for comment on any so-called information provided by Rudy Giuliani."
Twitter locked the official account of the New York Post on Wednesday for the publication of the bombshell report on Hunter Biden. Facebook suppressed the distribution of the Post's article on Wednesday.


theblaze--2020-10-15--Shirtless, reportedly intoxicated New York state Supreme Court justice shoves cop while name-droppin

Shirtless, reportedly intoxicated New York state Supreme Court justice shoves cop while name-dropping mayor. He faces no charges.

Shirtless , reportedly intoxicated New York state Supreme Court justice shoves cop while name-dropping mayor .
He faces no charges @

New York state Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti was seen shoving at least one Buffalo, New York, police officer during an incident that took place outside his home in June.
What are the details?
According to the New York Post, officers responded to a call that ended up at the Grisanti home after the judge and his wife reportedly engaged in an altercation with neighbors.
On Thursday, the Daily Beast reported that the incident took place following a fight with a neighbor over a parking spot.
Bodycam footage obtained by WKBW-TV shows the judge's wife, Maria Grisanti, shouting across the street at neighbors as they speak with the responding officers.
One officer tells Maria, "Ma'am, if you don't stop yelling, this is gonna be a problem for you."
The woman continues to shout across the street, responding, "I don't care!"
Her remarks prompt the officer to cross into the Grisantis' yard and move as if he is planning to arrest Maria. The unnamed officer attempts to handcuff Maria, but Mark — who is shirtless and later described by an officer on the scene as "intoxicated" — can be seen entering the scene and begins shouting at the officer, shoving him in the process.
The footage later shows Mark pushing an unnamed police officer and mentioning that he is friends with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown (D). Mark also name drops his son-in-law and daughter, who are both on the police force.
Mark shouts, "You better get off my f***ing wife! My daughter and my son are both Buffalo police officers. ... I'll call them right now!"
What did the officer say?
Another officer at the scene grabs Mark's arm, and says, "Keep your hands off of a cop."
A clearly angry Mark continues raging, and another officer begins telling the judge and former state senator off.
"Let me give you some constructive criticism," the officer says. "You want to drop another copper's name? You scream about how you ... know the mayor? Why don't you shut the f*** up?"
The officer then moves in to cuff Mark as well.
The officer continues, "You want to say, 'I know all these coppers, I know all these things.' You want to make us look dirty? Is that what you want to do? So how am I helping you now? ... Tell me how can I help you!"
Authorities handcuffed Mark and Maria, and placed them in the back of two separate police cruisers.
One officer can be heard telling Mark, "You're dropping everybody's name with a badge and you're expecting special treatment. How does that look like to everybody in this environment right now? You smell like cheap beer. It doesn't look good."
No charges were filed against either Grisanti in connection with the June incident.
The outlet reported that Erie County District Attorney John Flynn's office announced several weeks after the incident that it would not charge anyone involved in the altercation.
You can watch several other bodycam videos in connection with the incident here.
State judicial board holds Grisanti's future in its hands www.youtube.com
What else is there to know?
A spokesperson for the mayor's office told the Post that he refuses to get involved.
"It has been, and remains, my policy as mayor not to interfere in any police investigation," the spokesperson said on Brown's behalf. "I have not spoken to the Buffalo Police Department, District Attorney Flynn, or Judge Grisanti regarding this matter. I believe that the District Attorney's office is in the best position to determine the appropriate course of action."
Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo told WKBW that the officers involved decided not to charge the judge because he "didn't tackle anyone, he didn't punch him — he gave him, like, a shoulder shove."
Following the incident, the judge's neighbors spoke with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to report Mark's actions, according to WKBW.
The unnamed neighbors told the station that the commission reached out to them.
The Grisantis' attorney, Leonard Zaccagnino, told the Washington Post that he did not receive a request for comment from the commission and said his clients are "embarrassed" and "very unhappy" about the June incident.
"The officer was grabbing her and putting her on the ground. He reacted to that, as I believe any husband would react if anybody saw their loved one being handled that way," Zaccagnino said. "They obviously didn't want this to happen."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Twitter now restricting access to an official government website in order to censor NY Post's bombsh

Twitter now restricting access to an official government website in order to censor NY Post's bombshell Hunter Biden story

Twitter now restricting access to an official government website in order to censor NY Post 's bombshell Hunter Biden story @ @ @ @ @ people to read it

In an amazing development Thursday morning, Twitter restricted user access to an official government website in order to censor a bombshell report on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
What are the details?
On Wednesday, the New York Post ran a story about a "smoking gun" email allegedly indicating former Vice President Biden did in fact meet with a top Burisma executive while in office despite repeatedly claiming the contrary.
Twitter went to great lengths to censor the story, blocking users from sharing it on the platform, barring users from sending it in direct messages, and suspending high-profile accounts that shared the story — including accounts operated by the New York Post, the Trump campaign, and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
In response to the censorship, the Republican House Judiciary Committee decided to publish the story on their website so that interested Americans could read it.
The committee then posted a link to the publication on Twitter, redirecting users to their website, not the New York Post's. But it didn't matter, Twitter censored that, too.
Users who tried to access the link had their screens flashed with a warning page, which said "this link may be unsafe," and users who tried to share the link were stopped from doing so.
"The link you are trying to access has been identified by Twitter or our partners as being potentially spammy or unsafe, in accordance with Twitter's URL Policy," the warning page stated.
The page also included a list of reasons for which the link could be considered unsafe:
malicious links that could steal personal information or harm electronic devices
spammy links that mislead people or disrupt their experience
violent or misleading content that could lead to real-world harm
certain categories of content that, if posted directly on Twitter, are a violation of the Twitter Rules
Image Source: Twitter screenshot
In a thread posted by its "Safety" account, Twitter alleged that images and materials contained in the Post's article violated its "private information policy" and its "distribution of hacked materials policy."
What else?
Interestingly enough, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged the social media giant's handling of the situation was "unacceptable."
In a tweet Wednesday evening, he said: "Our communication around our actions on the [New York Post] article was not great. And blocking URL sharing via tweet or DM with zero context as to why we're blocking: unacceptable."
The Daily Caller's Geoffrey Ingersoll pointed out the hypocrisy in a tweet Thursday morning.
Jason Buttrill, a former intelligence analyst who now works as the chief researcher for "The Glenn Beck Program," wrote in a tweet: "WOW. Now Twitter is blocking access to government sites as well."
Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy noted in a tweet that Twitter is not only restricting viewing access to the link on the Judiciary Committee's website, but it is also restricting users from sharing the link on the platform.
Anything else?
Instead of facing questions from the media about the report Wednesday, Biden's campaign called an early morning press "lid."
Then later in the afternoon, the campaign released a prepared statement to Politico that read, "We have reviewed Joe Biden's official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place."
Though Politico added that "Biden's campaign would not rule out the possibility that the former VP had some kind of informal interaction with [Vadym] Pozharskyi, which wouldn't appear on Biden's official schedule. But they said any encounter would have been cursory. Pozharskyi did not respond to a request for comment."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Huge Trump flag unfurled over Black Lives Matter mural on NYC street in front of Trump Tower and par

Huge Trump flag unfurled over Black Lives Matter mural on NYC street in front of Trump Tower and paraded around city

Huge Trump flag unfurled over Black Lives Matter mural on NYC street in front of Trump Tower and paraded around @ @ @ @ @ the flag to Times Square also trolled leftists with a 'Whose streets ?
Our streets @ @ @

Supporters of President Donald Trump decided to get together Tuesday in New York City and march around town with what they said is the largest Trump flag ever, the Daily Mail reported.
And because turnabout is fair play, the group unfurled the flag over the infamous Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue directly in front of Trump Tower, the outlet said.
Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @AJ_Cats_
You might recall far-left Mayor Bill de Blasio helped with the BLM paint job in July.
Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
The controversial mural — generally viewed as a slap in Trump's face — has been vandalized at least four times since then.
So dozens of Trump supporters dressed in Make America Great Again hats and Trump 2020 T-shirts made sure the flag covered the Black Lives Matter mural for several minutes before beginning a march toward Times Square, during which they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, shouted "Four more years!" and trolled left-wing rioters by parroting their "Whose streets? Our streets!" chant, the outlet noted.
The march of the 75-feet-by-50-feet flag, which says "Trump: Law and Order" and sports a Thin Blue Line design, was organized through a project called "Operation Flag Drop" on Facebook, the Daily Mail said.
'We love all of you so much!'
Trump's son Eric tweeted his appreciation to the president's supporters:
"We love all of you so much! If I was there today (I'm campaigning in Michigan and Minnesota) I would come down and give you all a big hug!" he wrote before adding, "Happening RIGHT NOW in NYC in front of Trump Tower!"
'No burning, no killing, no fighting, just a peaceful demonstration'
One attendee, Mariano Labsaoy of Puerto Rico, told the Daily Mail he was there to "support our great president Donald J Trump. He has made America the best country on the face of the Earth. Low unemployment, we are safer, we are better, we are stronger. That's why I'm here to support four more years."
Labsaoy also told the outlet that "it's a great feeling knowing that we can use our freedom of expression, to have the freedom to do whatever we want to — all under the law. No burning, no killing, no fighting, just a peaceful demonstration. This is what is called a peaceful demonstration. At the same time, we are not insulting anyone; we are just marching exercising our constitutional right."
Another attendee, Tina Forte, told the outlet that she and her fellow Trump supporters are "not to be ridiculed for loving our country and loving our president because we are not the party of division, we're the heart of America. Loud and proud because Trump supporters need to get loud and proud."
She also told the Daily Mail that "we shouldn't be silent and called racist because we support a president who loves everyone. He loves everyone, he loves America, and you know what? He's the leader of the free world. Under [Democratic presidential nominee Joe] Biden and [Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala] Harris, we won't be free anymore. We will all be communists and socialists, and that is not going to happen, not on my watch."
The outlet noted that some onlookers cheered and clapped for the Trump supporters and no incidents were reported.
When the Trump supporters reached Times Square, they played Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," and a woman holding an "Indonesian American for Trump" sign gave a speech berating those who oppose the president, the Daily Mail said.
"We are immigrants," she said, according to the outlet. "We came here because we want a successful life."
(H/T: Western Journal)


theblaze--2020-10-15--Horowitz: Is the border heating up again?

Horowitz : Is the border heating up again ?

The honeymoon is over. The one ancillary benefit of the pandemic and the torrent of shocking news throughout this grueling year was that the border numbers dropped, and thanks to a restoration of order at the border, the surge in bogus asylum claims finally dropped. However, new data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows a consistent surge in border apprehension numbers in recent months, now beginning to approach the crisis levels we saw in fiscal year 2019.
Yesterday, CBP released its full data set for FY 2020, which ended Sept. 30, showing a total of 458,088 apprehensions at the southwest border. That number is well in line with the annual totals of recent years and is obviously much lower than the crisis level of close to 1 million apprehensions in FY 2019. But the trajectory is concerning, especially given the ongoing slowdown of migration and travel in general because of the pandemic.
The number of total apprehensions for September, the final month of the fiscal year, was 57,674. That is the highest level since August 2019, when the crisis of family units from Central America was just starting to subside. It's also more than a threefold increase since the low levels of April amid the global pandemic.
To be clear, this is not all bad news. Thanks to policy changes implemented in March because of public health interests under Title 42 U.S.C. 265, border agents now expel most single adults attempting to cross here rather than placing them into the cumbersome judicial process that often results in their release. So, while the number of apprehensions of single adults has exploded, 87% of them were turned back under Title 42. Thus, the burden that resulted from this surge is much less than in the past.
However, the numbers of those not turned back have gone up a little, and the apprehensions of unaccompanied minors and family units are back to pre-pandemic levels, which should concern us all. While the pandemic has definitely weakened since the spring, it's still shocking that the number of international border-crossers is this high among continuing pandemic fear and staying home, both in the United States and other countries.
This means that if Joe Biden wins the election, there is already a growing wave ready to overwhelm our border under the assumption that all border-crossers will get to stay. Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published its first annual "Threat Assessment," in which the agency acknowledged "an increase in illegal immigration flows to pre-pandemic levels." Among the culprits potentially driving the impending surge, according to the DHS, is "perceptions of U.S. and Mexican immigration and enforcement policies and measures," as well as "inter-governmental division and inconsistent messaging" that "continue to impede Congressionally mandated immigration enforcement policies."
Let me translate that for you. The more people perceive that they can come here and live in sanctuary cities and enjoy the benefits of U.S. citizens in contravention to our laws, the more they will continue to come. And if Biden wins and we have sanctuary policies at the national level, the flood at our border will look like New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Although Trump did complete 360 miles of wall, there are still plenty of places for them to sneak in or downright "surrender" to a welcoming Biden administration.
After dominating the news in 2019, the border and illegal immigration have largely been ignored this year and during the presidential election. Not a single question about illegal immigration was asked during the presidential or vice presidential debates. However, that doesn't mean the problem has disappeared. If Trump wins a second term, there is a lot of unfinished work at the border, but more importantly, on interior enforcement and sanctuary cities. And of course, if Biden wins, we will have a sanctuary nation.
So long as illegal aliens are incentivized to come and the enforcement laws duly passed by Congress continue to be ignored, this problem will not abate any time soon. Just one of the many casualties of our "inter-governmental division and inconsistent messaging," even on the most foundational issues pertaining to our national sovereignty and security.


theblaze--2020-10-15--BREAKING: Biden campaign halts Kamala Harris travel after 2 in campaign circle — including Harris co

BREAKING: Biden campaign halts Kamala Harris travel after 2 in campaign circle — including Harris communications director — test positive for COVID-19

BREAKING : Biden campaign halts Kamala Harris travel after 2 in campaign circle — including Harris communications director — test @ @ @

The Biden campaign is pausing all travel of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris through the weekend after two people in Harris's circle have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to various sources.
What are the details?
On Wednesday, a campaign spokesperson announced that a flight crew member and Harris communications director Liz Allen tested positive for the virus late Wednesday evening, according to The Hill.
Biden spokesperson Jen O'Malley Dillon said that Harris was not in "close contact" with either the flight crew member or Allen.
"Neither of these people have had contact with Vice President Biden, Senator Harris, or any other staffers since testing positive or in the 48 hours prior to their positive test results," Dillon said according to CNN.
"After being with Senator Harris, both individuals attended personal, non-campaign events in the past week," the spokesperson noted. "Under our campaign's strict health protocols, both individuals had to be tested before returning to their work with the campaign from these personal events. These protocols help protect the campaign, the staff, and anyone who they may have contact with; the importance of having such protocols — which include testing before resuming duties, regular testing while working in-person, isolation after time off, and masking and distancing while on campaign duties — have been illustrated once again."
The spokesperson also said that Harris has taken "2 PCR tests since October 8th, and the tests have all been negative, most recently on Wednesday, October 14th."
The statement added, "Regardless, out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign's commitment to the highest levels of precaution, we are canceling Senator Harris's travel through Sunday, October 18th, but she will keep a robust and aggressive schedule of virtual campaign activities to reach voters all across the country during this time.
Harris is reportedly set to return to the campaign trail on Monday.
At the time of this reporting, Democratic nominee Joe Biden still plans to go ahead with Thursday night's ABC town hall meeting, which was scheduled in lieu of a second presidential debate.


theblaze--2020-10-15--Man who discovered Hunter Biden emails speaks out, says he fears for his life now

Man who discovered Hunter Biden emails speaks out , says he fears for his life now ' I 'm pretty @ @ @ @ @ get murdered '

John Paul Mac Isaac, an independent Mac repair shop owner in Wilmington, Delaware, has spoken out about reports on emails purporting to show that Hunter Biden introduced a Ukrainian businessman to his father, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, when the elder Biden was vice president.
What's a brief history here?
On Wednesday, the New York Post reported that shop owner Mac Isaac was asked to repair a laptop computer that allegedly contained a variety of nefarious and possibly incriminating emails and photos reportedly confirming a meeting between the former vice president and a top Burisma executive.
The Post report said that the email appears to confirm that Hunter brokered the meeting between his father, then vice president, and Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi.
Mac Isaac was unable to positively identify the computer's owner, but said a Beau Biden Foundation sticker was on the laptop device.
The outlet also reported that personal, explicit photos of Hunter existed on the computer's hard drive.
You can read more on the contents as well as the ensuing controversy here and here.
The report from the New York Post sparked heavy controversy after Twitter blocked users from its link.
What are the details?
Mac Isaac said that an unidentified customer left three laptops for water damage repair in April 2019 but never returned for them despite multiple attempts at contact. The customer or customers also reportedly did not pay the $85 bill for recovering the computer's data.
Mac Isaac said that he was able to retrieve the data from just one of the laptops despite the damage. When he recovered the files, Mac Isaac said "it was a mess."
"I would have been responsible for dragging and dropping the contents onto a hard drive," he said, pointing out there was a bevy of personal information on the laptops.
According to the Daily Mail, Mac Isaac, who spoke with reporters on Wednesday, said that he feared he would be murdered after he turned over the laptop computers to FBI investigators.
During one instance, Mac Isaac said that he contacted FBI agents over the laptops, but in a second instance, he said that FBI agents came to him in 2019.
According to the Daily Mail — which describes the man as a Trump voter — Mac Isaac said he retained a copy of the laptop's contents because he "feared he would be killed by people who 'work for [Joe] Biden' and having it was 'protection.'"
As the year progressed, he said he became concerned over the media coverage of the alleged ties between the Biden family and the Ukrainian businessmen.
"Middle of summer, I started to get concerned because you see stuff in the papers and the news and online," he said.
Following the related news stories, Mac Isaac said he reached out to a friend and asked for advice.
During an interview recorded by a Daily Beast reporter, Mac Isaac said, "I was afraid, I reached out to some people that I trusted that could possibly get me in touch with the FBI. Then they showed up."
The outlet reported that two FBI agents with a subpoena showed up at his shop in December and took the laptop.
Several weeks later, Mac Isaac said he heard from the agents.
"One of the agents called me up three weeks later," he said, and revealed that the agent warned him against speaking to anyone who came asking about the laptop or its contents — specifically "anybody representing Hunter."
He passed the laptop information to Rudy Giuliani
The outlet noted, "Mac Isaac said he had acted to pass on the laptop to [Rudy] Giuliani because he feared being killed because of what was in his possession saying: 'I'm pretty vocal about not wanting to get murdered.'"
He also insisted that he believed those who work for Joe Biden could possibly place his life in danger, and suggested that he didn't want to be shot while "jogging in the morning."
"I think that it's not the government as an entire entity, but I think there's a history in this country of people with political motives doing horrible things," he admitted. "I don't want to be on the receiving end of that."
On Wednesday, the Post reported that it was President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who turned over the information to the outlet.
Giuliani reportedly obtained the information from his own personal lawyer, Robert Costello. According to reports, Costello obtained the laptop's contents from Mac Isaac himself.
It is unclear at the time of this reporting how Mac Isaac got in touch with Costello, or vice versa.
As highlighted by the Daily Beast, "Mac Isaac refused to answer specific questions about whether he had been in contact with Rudy Giuliani before the laptop drop-off or at any other time before the Post article's publication. Pressed on his relationship with Giuliani, he replied: 'When you're afraid and you don't know anything about the depth of the waters that you're in, you want to find a lifeguard.'
"Seeming to realize he'd said too much," the outlet reported, "[H]e added: 'Ah, s**t.'"
The outlet concluded, "So Rudy was your lifeguard? the reporters asked. 'No comment,' he replied."
'I just don't know what to say'
According to Fox News, at least one of the laptops reportedly contained "disturbing" items.
On Wednesday, Mac Isaac told the outlet, "I just don't know what to say, or what I'm allowed to say. I know that I saw, I saw stuff — and I was concerned. I was concerned that somebody might want to come looking for this stuff eventually — and I wanted it out of my shop."
Fox News reported that a spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment on the matter, "citing the bureau's practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation."
"Representatives for Delaware's U.S. Attorney's office did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment," the outlet reported. "When contacted by the New York Post, a spokesperson for the Delaware U.S. Attorney's office said, 'My office can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.'"
The Biden campaign has previously denied all related allegations, and has continually insisted that no such meeting was found in the former vice president's schedules from 2015.


theblaze--2020-10-16--Chris Christie reveals he spent 7 days in the ICU following COVID-19 diagnosis: 'No one should be ca

Chris Christie reveals he spent 7 days in the ICU following COVID-19 diagnosis: 'No one should be cavalier about being infected'

Chris Christie reveals he spent 7 days in the ICU following COVID-19 diagnosis : 'No one should be cavalier about @ @ @ @ @ to take very seriously '

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Thursday revealed that he spent seven days in a New Jersey intensive care unit before he recovered from COVID-19.
What are the details?
According to a CNN report, Christie, 58, warned that the virus is no joke.
"Having had this virus, I can also assure those who have not had it of a few things. It is something to take very seriously," he said. "The ramifications are wildly random and potentially deadly. No one should be happy to get the virus, and no one should be cavalier about being infected or infecting others."
Christie announced his positive diagnosis just a day after President Donald Trump announced his own positive test.
Christie was in also attendance at a Supreme Court nomination ceremony for Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett, during which he and many others did not wear masks.
The outlet notes that following the event — which is widely believed to be a "super-spreader event" — at least 12 attendees tested positive for COVID-19.
In his remarks on the diagnosis, Christie said he wrongly approached the potential for coronavirus.
"[W]hen I entered the White House grounds [I thought] I had entered a safe zone, due to the testing that I and may others underwent every day," he said. "I was wrong. I was wrong to not wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement, and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the president and the rest of the team. I hope that my experience shows my fellow citizens that you should follow CDC guidelines in public no matter where you are, and wear a mask to protect yourself and others."
The former New Jersey governor — who is overweight and suffers from asthma — added, "Every public official, regardless of party or position, should advocate for every American to wear a mask in public, appropriately socially distance, and to wash your hands frequently every day. At the same time, we should be reopening in every corner of this nation under these guidelines."
He concluded, "It is never too late to start. It will take leadership that both challenges and trusts the American people. After all, we are America, the world's greatest hope."


theblaze--2020-10-16--Joe Biden appears to imply that children as young as 8 should be able to change their genders

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appeared at a Thursday night town hall event where he spoke to the parent of a transgender daughter about rights in the U.S.
During his discussion, Biden seemed to suggest that a child should be able to change their gender if they decided it was something they wanted to do.
What are the details?
During the town hall event, the mother of a transgender child asked Biden how he would protect the LGBTQ community if he were elected president.
According to CBS News, Mieke Haeck, parent of a transgender child, asked Biden, "The Trump administration has attacked the rights of transgender people, banning them from military service, weakening nondiscriminatory protections, and even removing the word 'transgender' from some government websites."
"How will you, as president, reverse this dangerous and discriminatory agenda and ensure that the lives and rights of LGBTQ people are protected?" Haeck concluded.
Biden, in response, said he would "flat-out change the law."
"I would just flat-out change the law," he said. "I would eliminate [Trump's] executive orders, number one."
The Democratic nominee also highlighted a story from his childhood, where he said he witnessed a gay couple kissing and embracing. Biden said he recalled his father very simply explaining the show of affection between the two men.
"You may recall I'm the guy who said, uh, I was raised by a man who — I remember I was being dropped off, my dad was a high school-educated, well-read man who was a really decent guy, and I was being dropped off to get an application in the center of our city, Bloomington, Delaware, the corporate capital of the world at the time," Biden said during the event. "And these two men — I'm getting out to get an application to be a lifeguard in the African-American community because there was a big swimming pool complex — and, uh, these two men, well dressed, leaned up and hugged one another and kissed one another, and I'm getting out of the car at the light and I turned to my dad, and my dad looked at me and said, 'Joey, it's simple, they love each other.'"
Biden also said that Haeck's daughter should not suffer any discrimination for who she is.
"The idea that an 8-year-old child or a 10-year-old child decides, 'You know, I decided I want to be transgender, that's what I think I'd like to be. It'd make my life a lot easier.' There should be zero discrimination," Biden said. "And what's happening is too many transgender women of color are being murdered. They're being murdered."


theblaze--2020-10-16--NBC's Savannah Guthrie accused of bias after contentious Trump town hall

The Trump campaign referred to the host afterward as the president 's 'debate opponent '

NBC's Savannah Guthrie received gushing reviews from leftists and scorn from conservatives after being visibly combative toward President Donald Trump during the network's town hall for the president Thursday night.
The moderator pushed back forcefully against the president's responses, in stark contrast to the tone set by ABC's George Stephanopoulos in his dueling town hall for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Critics accused Guthrie of having a clear agenda against Trump.
What are the details?
Fox News reported that "Viewers who tuned into the Peacock Network expected to hear questions from voters, but similarly to the NBC town hall with Biden, questions for nearly the first 20 minutes of the program came from the moderator." The outlet noted that, "Guthrie spent much of that time grilling Trump on masks and white supremacy," and "that didn't sit well with many."
Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik tweeted, "The @DNC propaganda press, I cannot even fake it. @SavannahGuthrie Look like an unhinged as*, and it's a shame. I thought she was better than that. The good thing for President @realDonaldTrump... Any reasonable viewer could see she was biased, obnoxious and on a mission."
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary, wrote, "I just switched to NBC since ABC is in a commercial. Savanah Guthrie has interrupted Trump in these 60 seconds more than Stephanopulos has done to Biden in 40 mins. NBC is an interrogation. ABC is a picnic."
The Hill's Joe Concha tweeted during the event, "Trump denounces White Supremacy multiple times. Savannah Guthrie follows by accusing Trump of dodging. This is already an absolute joke. And does the audience get to ask questions?" Concha followed up, "Trump denounces white supremacy a good four times. Guthrie: "It sounds like your dodging."
President Trump's campaign declared victory after it was all over, with spokesman Tim Murtaugh saying in a statement, "Even though the commission canceled the in-person debate that could have happened tonight, one occurred anyway, and President Trump soundly defeated NBC's Savannah Guthrie in her role as debate opponent and Joe Biden surrogate."
Anything else?
NBC had received widespread criticism from Democrats and its own employees for even holding the event and giving air time to President Trump, after he refused to participate in the Commission on Presidential Debates' proposed "virtual" matchup between him and Biden.
But, according to The Washington Post, Guthrie's "grilling" of Trump took "the heat off NBC for its town hall."


theblaze--2020-10-16--EXCLUSIVE: Giuliani tells Steven Crowder he has proof Hunter Biden's hard drive is authentic

EXCLUSIVE : Giuliani tells Steven Crowder he has proof Hunter Biden 's hard drive is authentic

In an exclusive interview, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped a bombshell that may add more evidence of Joe Biden's first-hand knowledge of business his son, Hunter Biden, conducted in Ukraine. This comes despite the Biden campaign and Big Tech lashing out at New York Post reports of Hunter Biden's secret emails found on a hard drive.
BlazeTV host Steven Crowder spoke to Guiliani on his livestream Thursday night and asked Guiliani to explain how he obtained the alleged Hunter Biden hard drive.
"Here's how I got it," Guiliani began. "Hunter Biden dropped a laptop off to a repairman to repair it. The repairman took it, and Hunter Biden signed a receipt for it, which I have right here."
Guiliani explained that Hunter Biden never returned to pick up the computer, and per store policy, after 90 days, the laptop became the property of the merchant.
According to Guiliani, the merchant became concerned when he heard talk about the Biden Ukraine scandal on TV, so he opened up the laptop to see if he had evidence in a criminal case. He says the merchant found information that contradicted the Biden narrative on Ukraine.
Crowder continued to press the former mayor to verify the authenticity of the hard drive and emails alleged to belong to Hunter Biden. Guiliani claimed, "The very morning this [New York Post story] came out, Hunter Biden's lawyer called the [computer repair] merchant and asked him if he could have the hard drive back."
Crowder asked Guiliani if he had evidence of the correspondence between Hunter Biden's lawyer and the computer repairman.
"[Biden's lawyer] actually did it by telephone and by email and we have the email," Guiliani said.
Crowder added that if true, this story is more significant than Watergate.
Background
On Wednesday, the New York Post published a "smoking gun" article that raised questions about how much Joe Biden knew of his son's dealings in Ukraine.
An email obtained by the New York Post mentioned a "never-before-revealed" meeting between Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, Hunter Biden, and Joe Biden that took place in Washington, D.C.
"Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to D.C. and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It's realty [sic] an honor and pleasure," the email reads.
According to the New York Post, "An earlier email from May 2014 also shows Pozharskyi, reportedly Burisma's No. 3 exec, asking Hunter for 'advice on how you could use your influence' on the company's behalf."
"The blockbuster correspondence — which flies in the face of Joe Biden's claim that he's "never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings" — is contained in a massive trove of data recovered from a laptop computer."
Watch the video for the full story.
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theblaze--2020-10-16--Twitter caves and reverses policies on NY Post story ban after furious backlash

Twitter caves and reverses policies on NY Post story ban after furious backlash They are changing policies on banning content @ @

Twitter reversed course on Thursday and said that the social media giant would allow users to post a controversial New York post story damaging to the Joe Biden presidential campaign.
Twitter's head of legal, policy, trust and safety, Vijaya Gadde, tweeted Thursday evening that after much public input, they would be changing their policies to allow people to post the story and others like it.
On Wednesday Twitter clarified that they had banned the posting of the story because it included personal and private information, something that is prohibited by Twitter's terms of use. Critics of the social media giant accused it of banning the story in order to help Democrats and influence the election.
Gadde explained why the company decided to change course.
"Over the last 24 hours, we've received significant feedback (from critical to supportive) about how we enforced our Hacked Materials Policy yesterday. After reflecting on this feedback, we have decided to make changes to the policy and how we enforce it," she tweeted.
Gadde explained that the ban policy was implemented in 2018 but that Twitter had since then developed new tools to aid in stopping the spread of unsubstantiated reports.
"We believe that labeling Tweets and empowering people to assess content for themselves better serves the public interest and public conversation. The Hacked Material Policy is being updated to reflect these new enforcement capabilities," Gadde continued.
"So, what's changing? 1. We will no longer remove hacked content unless it is directly shared by hackers or those acting in concert with them 2. We will label Tweets to provide context instead of blocking links from being shared on Twitter," she added.
She went on to thank everyone for their input.
Some, like reporter Andrew Feinberg, were critical of the decision.
"How much did the bullying from GOP senators factor into this decision," he tweeted to Gadde.
CNN analyst and former FBI agent Asha Rangappa accused Twitter of aiding foreign adversaries in spreading fake news.
Here's more about the controversial New York Post story:


theblaze--2020-10-16--New York Jewish leaders sue Gov. Cuomo alleging 'blatantly anti-Semitic' coronavirus restrictions

The three rabbis say their congregations are being targeted

Three New York rabbis have filed suit against their state and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) over his recent executive order mandating targeted coronavirus restrictions in Jewish communities, calling it "blatantly anti-Semitic."
What are the details?
Last week, Cuomo issued major new restrictions on schools, businesses, and houses of worship in 20 COVID-19 "hotspots" in New York, after a rise in cases that he referred to as mainly an "ultra-Orthodox" Jewish problem, according to the New York Post.
The restrictions came just ahead of celebration of Jewish holidays Hoshanah Rabbah, Shmini Atzerees and Simchas Torah, and led to protests in the streets of Brooklyn.
In a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, Rabbis Moshe Rosner, Samuel Teitelbaum, and Chaim Leibish Rottenberg — representing their respective congregations — claim that the governor's new order was "blatantly anti-Semitic, creating religious-observance based color coded 'hot-spot' zones directed towards particular Jewish communities."
The defendants went on to argue that Cuomo's order "specifically singles out the Orthodox Jewish community in what has proven to be the latest extension of Governor Cuomo's streak of anti-Semitic discrimination."
The Center for American Liberty, the group representing the congregations, say that his move is unconstitutional on several grounds, writing that the governor's actions "violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, the Freedom of Assembly Clause of the First Amendment, Substantive and Procedural Due Process Rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause."
According to the Associated Press, "Cuomo, who has said he has 'respect and love' for the Orthodox community, told reporters Thursday that he was not targeting Orthodox Jewish communities. He said red zones are based on addresses of residences where more individuals are testing positive for Covid-19."
In reaction to a similar lawsuit from separate Jewish group last week, a senior adviser to Cuomo told The Post, "We've been sued virtually every day for every action taken. We're concentrating on reducing the virus in these hot spots and saving lives, period."


theblaze--2020-10-15--Nancy Pelosi LOST her composure during a live interview with Wolfe Blitzer

After failing to pass a coronavirus stimulus package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a meltdown this week on live cable news, and it was not a good look. Here's what happened.
A recent survey found that most Americans blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a failure to reach a deal on a coronavirus stimulus package. Of those polled, 43 percent of Americans blamed Pelosi, while 40 percent blamed President Trump.
In this clip, guest host Hilary Kennedy, Jason Buttrill, and Blaze TV host Elijah Schaffer discussed why Pelosi rejected President Trump's offer to sign a stand-alone stimulus bill. The $1.8 trillion stimulus bill would have provided another round of the $1200 stimulus checks to Americans.
Later, the panel discussed a contentious exchange between Pelosi and CNN's Wolf Blitzer during a one-on-one live interview. Here's an excerpt from the meltdown.
"It's not about me. It's about millions of Americans who can't put food on the table. Who can't pay the rent. Who are having trouble," Blitzer said.
"And we represent them, and we represent them," Pelosi interrupted. "Thank you for your sensitivity to the needs of our constituents."
"It is a sad day when CNN cares more for the American people," Elijah said.
Watch the clip for more from the panel.
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