theblaze--2020-09-04--Commentary: A return to normal is the only ethical option for all of our nation's hurting people

Commentary : A return to normal is the only ethical option for all of our nation 's hurting people 2020 @ @ @ @ @ like this

You know how much I love football. And you know how much I want it back. It is my personal escape from the rigors of the world. It is a symbol of what makes America great. It marks the time from August to January with weekly ritual and passion and glory.
It was my normal.
But even as a column I wrote — filled with endless data and analysis to help bring the Big Ten version of college football back from the grave in 2020 — went viral last week, I have increasingly come to understand that much of my motivation for such an intervention has to do far more generally with lives I will never encounter and concerns far outside the world of sports.
Whatever their version of normal once was, those lives desperately need it to return. Because there are people whose inability to return to normal comes with strings attached that far outweigh any frustration I might feel about not watching the Michigan Wolverines on a fall Saturday. In fact, their very lives are put in jeopardy because of the chaos we have let the national lockdowns sow into our sense of how to care for ourselves and those around us.
I read letters from some of those people on my show last week. That, in turn, compelled another viewer to share a story from the state of Tennessee for whom any return to normalcy will simply be too late.
A group called Tennessee Caregivers for Compromise is her megaphone as she remembers the final days of her husband, a man in his 70s dealing with dementia. Their normal wasn't always easy before the lockdowns, but it was theirs to manage together after 52 years of marriage with long walks, simple conversations, and a loyal dog.
That ended abruptly one day in July with symptoms that suddenly took them to the hospital. The man, agitated and unable to effectively communicate due to his dementia, nonetheless was prevented from having his wife — his primary caregiver and source of peace and stability — by his side for long stretches of time, day after day, following a COVID diagnosis.
Were the ensuing hospital transfers, medications, and restraints to calm the man all necessary in her absence over the next five days? It's impossible to know for sure. But what we do know is that a mentally broken man was discharged in poor health after less than a week and died shortly thereafter at home.
I simply can't tell you with any degree of certainty if this outcome could have been prevented if his wife had been allowed to be there to help the hospital navigate this man's challenges. But I am here to tell you with certainty that his wife should have been there regardless. Because it was civilized. Because it was normal.
We have been deeply confused during this pandemic about what is in fact essential and what is not. Sure, much of the “normalcy" that we had carved out for ourselves before COVID could often be construed as silly or pointless, but much of it is essential to the extent that it defines the very nature of humanity itself.
We were created by our Maker for companionship, with both Him and one another. And the best of relationships, the ones that reflect our Maker most deeply, are the ones that humbly survive no matter the ferocity of the storm. Because their promise to one another is eternal.
For better or worse. Rich or poor. Til death do us part.
Too many damn “experts" have stood in the way of that ethos since March. And I've knocked plenty of these pseudo-scientists off their pedestal these past few months, using actual data to crush their panic porn. But it's a shame that I had to, and still do, because this pagan flat-earth voodoo separated a wife from her beloved when it never had to be like this.
Too much of 2020 didn't have to be like this.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Report claims the president called US military war dead 'losers' and 'suckers.' Trump fires off a sc

Report claims the president called US military war dead 'losers' and 'suckers.' Trump fires off a scathing response.

Report claims the president called US military war dead 'losers ' and 'suckers . '
Trump fires off a scathing @ @

A report claimed that President Donald Trump mocked U.S. military members who died defending the country as "losers" and suckers," but the president forcefully denied the accusations.
The claims were made in a report by Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic and were based on four anonymous sources.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as "suckers" for getting killed.
The report recounted how the president famously belittled the military service of the late Sen. John McCain, and offered additional claims that Trump became enraged when flags were flown at half-staff to honor him after his death.
Critics of the president quickly pounced on the report to further accuse Trump of being unable to understand or honor a personal sacrifice for the country that didn't lead to personal wealth or advantage.
"Now I get why @realDonaldTrump won't stand up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for bounties on our troops. Does Trump act as a Russia agent? Yes," tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
"But, Trump also thinks any US troops killed by Russia bounties are 'suckers' or 'losers.' He hasn't defended them. He never will," he added.
White House denies
A statement from the White House rejected the report completely.
"This report is false. President Trump holds the military in the highest regard," read the statement.
"He's demonstrated his commitment to them at every turn: delivering on his promise to give our troops a much needed pay raise, increasing military spending, signing critical veterans reforms, and supporting military spouses," the statement continued. "This has no basis in fact."
Trump tweets
The president offered a much more personal and scathing denial of the story from his official social media account.
"I was never a big fan of John McCain, disagreed with him on many things including ridiculous endless wars and the lack of success he had in dealing with the VA and our great Vets, but the lowering of our Nations American Flags, and the first class funeral he was given by our country, had to be approved by me, as President, & I did so without hesitation or complaint," he tweeted.
"I never called John a loser and swear on whatever, or whoever, I was asked to swear on, that I never called our great fallen soldiers anything other than HEROES," he added in a second tweet.
"This is more made up Fake News given by disgusting & jealous failures in a disgraceful attempt to influence the 2020 Election!" he concluded.


theblaze--2020-09-04--GOP House candidate Kimberly Klacik fires back at critics who claim she only got Trump nod because s

GOP House candidate Kimberly Klacik fires back at critics who claim she only got Trump nod because she's black

GOP House candidate Kimberly Klacik fires back at critics who claim she only got Trump nod because she 's black

Maryland Republican congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik delivered a scorching response Thursday to the abuse she has received online since President Donald Trump endorsed her last month, and she did not hold back.
What are the details?
"My favorite part about getting Trump's endorsement is reading the comments claiming Trump only did it because I am black.." Klacik tweeted, adding, "...as if we didn't spend 3 weeks watching modern day overseer @JoeBiden play Duck Duck Goose w/three black women to pick a VP solely based on complexion."
On Aug. 31, President Trump tweeted, "Kimberly Klacik is really working hard to help the people of Baltimore. She is running for Congress as a Republican, & if she wins she will be an inspiration to all. She is strong on inner city rebuilding, healthcare, our Military & Vets. She has my Complete & Total Endorsement!"
Twitchy.com compiled examples of some of the racist messages Klacik received in the aftermath.
One person wrote in reaction to one of Klacik's tweets, "stop being used as the black pawn for this weak little man. You're ruining your chances at having any kind of life of dignity and respect by enabling this fat ass moron. Well, perhaps you deserve that, eh?!"
Another wrote, "Lol your a joke Tap dancing for the Republicans Turn in your black card," while yet another added, "She is a black person that thinks she's white that can only find the time to put other black people down. @kimKBaltimore will always present as #black cause she is black and that's what people see first. Many proud black people died so she can have her freedom to stand on them."
Somebody tweeted of Klacik, "'She is running for Congress as a Republican.' How Trump describes a black congressional candidate. He can't believe a black person would be a Republican because he knows what being a Republican means, i.e. being white. He just can't hide his racism and bias."
One sicko reacted, "coons 4 trump."
Anything else?
Klacik has seen her profile rise nationally after receiving millions of views for her campaign ad calling out decades of failed Democratic leadership in the city of Baltimore, which she would represent if she wins in November. She also spoke at the Republican National Convention last month.
But she has, sadly, received plenty of abuse long before even launching her campaign. In July 2019, she was attacked online, in the media, and targeted by hackers after she dared to appear on Fox News to expose footage exposing the dilapidated conditions in many parts of Baltimore.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Rochester mayor says 7 cops have been suspended in the wake of asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude

Rochester mayor says 7 cops have been suspended in the wake of asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude Body camera footage @ @ @ @ @ to protests

Rochester, New York, Mayor Lovely Warren said that seven police officers were suspended in the wake of the asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude while in police custody. She also said that she had requested bodycam video of the incident from the police department.
Prude's death was the latest incident of a black man dying in police custody that sparked outrage and protest.
"Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me," said Warren. "I'm filled with grief, and anger at myself for all the failures that led to his death."
Police were called by Prude's brother in March because the man was suffering from a mental episode. They arrived to find the man naked and attempting to break into a vehicle. They apprehended him and placed him in a spit hood because he had reportedly told them that he had contracted the coronavirus.
Video of the altercation from police body cameras were released on Wednesday.
In the video, police push Prude to the ground as he becomes more agitated. They take a knee to his back, and press his face into the ground to subdue him, but he loses consciousness.
He was taken by paramedics to a hospital where he was declared brain dead, placed on life support, and died seven days later.
The Monroe County medical examiner's office found that Prude died from "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint," and noted acute PCP intoxication and "excited delirium" as contributing factors.
The videos were released after the family filed a Freedom of Information Act request, and they have called for the officers to be charged with murder.
Mayor Warren said that the death of Prude was caused by racism.
"Institutional and structural racism led to Daniel Prude's death. I won't deny it, I stand before it, and I call for justice upon it," she said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement in support of the investigation and denounced the death of Daniel Prude.
"What I saw was deeply disturbing and I demand answers," Cuomo said.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Here's the video of Prude's interaction with police:


theblaze--2020-09-05--County sends woman letter telling her she has COVID. But she died 6 months ago and was never tested.

County sends woman letter telling her she has COVID .
But she died 6 months ago and was never tested @

A Tennessee man is sounding the alarm after his local health department sent a letter addressed to his departed mother this week to notify her that she has tested positive for COVID-19, and that she must isolate.
But his mother died from other causes in February, and was never tested for the virus at all — and certainly not in June, as the letter claimed — leading to questions over how the county's notification was ever triggered in the first place and how tallies of cases are being calculated.
What are the details?
Troy Whittington showed KGW-TV the letter from the Shelby County Health Department addressed to his mother, Sandra Whittington, stating that two months prior she had tested positive for the coronavirus. But Ms. Whittington passed away from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in February as confirmed on her death certificate, weeks before anyone was even being tested in the county.
She had fought a long battle with the disease that took her life, and she passed away in hospice care.
Ms. Whittington had been cremated for months at the time the county claimed she had been tested, indicating that it is "clearly impossible" that she could have been tested on June 20 as the county told her son, according to the outlet.
"I'm just having a hard time understanding how they can say someone has COVID-19 when they are not even alive," Whittington said.
What's more, Whittington questions why — if the county truly believed his mother tested positive in June — did it take so long for the health department to send out a letter telling her to self-quarantine.
"We're talking two months later," Troy Whittington said. "She needs to be quarantined for 10, well we've got 60 days from the time of the test to get the letter out to her, which is unacceptable."
What else?
He pointed out that the notification from the health department came from the same county building that issued his mother's death certificate, adding further to his questions over how the letter was issued.
KGW also reported that "Whittington says this situation makes him question not only the Shelby County Health Department's COVID-19 statistics, but statistics across the country."
A spokesperson from the health department told KGW that a representative called Whittington on Thursday to apologize for their mistake, and that measures have been implemented to assure it does not happen to anyone else.


theblaze--2020-09-05--VIDEO: BLM protesters celebrate blocking Seattle highway until Washington State Patrol troopers take

VIDEO: BLM protesters celebrate blocking Seattle highway until Washington State Patrol troopers take them down hard

VIDEO : BLM protesters celebrate blocking Seattle highway until Washington State Patrol troopers take them down hard

Black Lives Matter protesters were stunned when Washington State Patrol troopers responded with swift and forceful action when they shut down a highway Friday morning.
Protesters taking part in the "Morning March" demonstration celebrated when they interrupted the morning commute of hard-working people on Interstate Highway 5.
Video posted on Twitter showed the highway coming to a complete standstill.
Protesters raised their fists in defiance and danced on the highway as one supporter played a trombone.
Image Source: Twitter video screenshot
"Make yourself independent from all the dependencies that America places amongst you!" said one protester through a bullhorn. "This is not a cry for help, this is a shake to wake you up to reality!"
Image Source: Twitter video screenshot
Washington State Patrol troopers arrived and arrested some of the drivers of the cars in order to clear the way for traffic. In one altercation captured on video, about five troopers forcefully dragged one driver out a car for the arrest.
In the video, another protester argues with a trooper who yells at her to "stand back!"
Instead, the female protester, who is black, berates a black trooper with a racial epithet.
"You are a f***ing house n***a! You are a house n***a!" she yells.
Trooper Rick Johnson, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol, said on Twitter that nine cars were impounded and traffic resumed after the arrests. He also indicated that the traffic backed up from the protest led to a collision, which hastened the decision to shut down the demonstration.
"The information I have is the distraction of the freeway being shut down in the [southbound] lanes was a contributing factor in this collision," said Johnson.
Despite the setback, an organizer for the protests told The Stranger that they would continue blocking traffic.
"They got some of our people, our cars, our property," Elisha Ewing said. "But we'll be back at it. I'm literally breathing right now, and that's protesting."
Nine people were arrested for suspicion of disorderly conduct.
Here's aerial footage of the arrests in Seattle:


theblaze--2020-09-04--'They've sold out': House GOP leader says he doesn't want US Chamber of Commerce endorsement

'They 've sold out ' : House GOP leader says he does n't want US Chamber of Commerce endorsement Minority @ @ @ @ @ ) made the remarks after the USCC backed nearly two dozen Dems

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he does not want the endorsement of the United States Chamber of Commerce, accusing the pro-business group of selling out by backing nearly two dozen Democrats this election cycle.
What are the details?
Earlier this week, The Hill reported that the USCC was set to endorse 23 House freshman Democrats for reelection, and eye-opening move for the organization typically known for backing Republicans. The group is also giving its seal of approval to 29 freshman GOP members.
During an interview on Fox News' "Lou Dobbs Tonight," the host asked McCarthy for his take on "the [U.S.] Chamber of Commerce choosing to fund Democratic — left-wing Democrats, point-of-fact — along with all the [Republicans in name only] Republicans."
"Well, I'll tell you this: I don't want the U.S. Chamber's endorsement," McCarthy replied, "because they have sold out."
The minority leader told viewers to listen to local chambers of commerce, but continued to lambaste the national chamber.
"It is hypocrisy that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would endorse these Democrats that are part of this socialist agenda that is driving this country out and is fighting this president," he continued. "Remember, these are the people who voted for impeachment."
Kevin McCarthy: Trump 'needs a Congress that will back him up' www.youtube.com
Fox News reported that "the move to support some Democrats by the USCC, which calculates its endorsements largely based on how frequently members of Congress support chamber-backed legislation, has drawn at least some pushback from the right-leaning factions within the pro-business lobbying group."
According to Politico, the USCC has been consumed with "turmoil" over its backing of Democrats.
The outlet reported:
There is particular concern the Democrats in question do not have the pro-business record an endorsement would convey. State Chamber of Oklahoma President Chad Warmington wrote a letter Tuesday to national Chamber leaders fervently opposing the proposal to back Rep. Kendra Horn, perhaps the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country.
Citing the Oklahoma congresswoman's voting record on energy issues, Warmington wrote, "I question how the U.S. Chamber could endorse a candidate who consistently voted against the largest industry in Oklahoma, employing over 90,000 workers throughout the state. That is hardly a pro-business record. I am also concerned the U.S. Chamber would endorse a congresswoman that voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats who are not pro-business nearly 90 percent of the time."
Neil Bradley, the USCC's executive vice president, addressed the criticism his organization has received this week, tweeting, "While some focus on @USChamber endorsing 23 freshmen Ds, take note, Chamber also just endorsed GOP challengers to 4 freshmen Ds b/c they were below 70% on scorecard & challengers earned endorsement. Announcements coming soon. We also continue to look at other races. #notpartisan"
He added, "Also, @USChamber just endorsed 29 freshmen Rs who are up for re-election. That is over 90% of freshmen R class," repeating the hashtag, "#notpartisan."


theblaze--2020-09-04--'This is atrocious': Ric Grenell lambastes the media for downplaying and ignoring peace breakthrough

'This is atrocious ' : Ric Grenell lambastes the media for downplaying and ignoring peace breakthrough '' Maybe it 's @ @ @ @ @ for you all ''

Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell lambasted reporters for their lack of interest in the historic peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration between Kosovo and Serbia.
Grenell, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the talks between Serbia and Kosovo, berated reporters on Friday during a White House media briefing when Steven Nelson of the New York Post tried to pivot toward a separate issue.
"Ambassador Grenell, clearly you were effective here as the special envoy to these talks between Serbia and Kosovo, but I wanted to ask you about another initiative you led," said Nelson. "Last year you kicked off the Trump administration push to decriminalize homosexuality..."
"Let me just talk about Kosovo and Serbia. I don't know if you can find it on a map. But this is atrocious," interrupted Grenell, who was clearly upset.
"You might be too young to understand what this issue is about. Maybe the older journalists should step up and say, 'This is a big deal. This is a big issue.' I'm astounded at what happens in Washington, D.C., and especially in this room," he continued.
"I gotta tell you, it's substantive, maybe it's too complicated of an issue for you all," Grenell added.
"But respectively, this is the first time we've had the opportunity to speak with these individuals," said another reporter.
"OK, but today's about Kosovo and Serbia, let's take a little time and talk about this 21-year issue," interrupted Grenell.
"We're getting the same questions that are all politics. You guys don't understand what's happening outside of Washington, D.C. People aren't listening to you, anymore. It's really a crisis in journalism, and I think it's because people are too young to understand issues like Kosovo and Serbia," he continued.
"How about a substantive question?" Grenell asked.
"I don't think any of us came here for a lecture about our questioning," said Jeff Mason, a Reuters White House correspondent.
"OK, well I didn't come here to not talk about anything about Kosovo and Serbia," responded Grenell.
The economic deal between leaders of Serbia and Kosovo also includes a mutual recognition agreement between Israel and Kosovo — a majority Muslim country. Serbia will also move its embassy to Jerusalem, which is seen as a great concession to Israeli interests in the region.
Here's the video of the intense interaction:


theblaze--2020-09-04--Crowder recounts a story of Andrew Breitbart sticking it to the media

Hands down, the late Andrew Breitbart, achieved a journalist's equivalent of the Rocky vs. Apollo Creed fight. Like a boss, Andrew Breitbart exposed media corruption to save America from a possible Anthony Wiener administration in real-time. Here's Steven Crowder to recount Breitbart's reason for hijacking a C-Span podium and microphone during a live press conference to expose fake news.
Use promo code LWC to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.
Want more from Steven Crowder?
To enjoy more of Steven's uncensored late-night comedy that's actually funny, join Mug Club — the only place for all of Crowder uncensored and on demand.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Trump brokers deal between Kosovo and Serbia — in which Kosovo recognizes Israel

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo reached an economic deal brokered by President Donald Trump on Friday, in a major step toward improving the relationship between the two nations who both also extended an olive branch to Israel.
What are the details?
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti were able to come to deal signed in the Oval Office of the White House that includes Serbia following the United States' lead in moving its embassy to Jerusalem, and Kosovo — a majority Muslim country — and Israel agreeing to mutual recognition in what the Associated Press called "a diplomatic win" for President Trump.
Fox News noted that "Kosovo had declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted an airstrike campaign against Serbia in a bid to end the persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo."
The outlet reported that "While most Western nations have recognized Kosovo's independence, Serbia, Russia and China have not — keeping tensions high in the Balkan region."
The European Union has overseen talks between Serbia and Kosovo for more than a decade without success, making Friday's agreement a significant achievement.
Vucic admitted at the signing, "We haven't resolved all our issues, but this is a huge step forward," while Hoti added, "This is a great moment for the region."
President Trump declared during the ceremony, "I'm pleased to announce a truly historic commitment. Serbia and Kosovo have each committed to economic normalization." He added, "Truly, it is historic."
Following the signing, President Trump promised further deals working toward peace in the Middle East, tweeting, "Another great day for peace with Middle East – Muslim-majority Kosovo and Israel have agreed to normalize ties and establish diplomatic relations. Well-done! More Islamic and Arab nations will follow soon!"
Anything else?
The deal between Kosovo and Serbia comes just weeks after another major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration.
Last month, the president and his advisors mediated a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that made the UAE the third Arab nation to establish ties with Israel.
A joint statement released by the U.S., Israel, and the UAE on the agreement read, in part:
This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region. All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today's historic achievement.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Depression has more than tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic

Depression has more than tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on people in a @ @ @

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only taken a toll on the physical well-being of many Americans, but also the mental health, according to a new study. During the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of depression in U.S. adults has more than tripled, a study published in JAMA Network Open found.
There was psychological trauma caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns, social isolation, employment worries, financial concerns, and an unpredictable future. A recent study, led by researchers from Boston University, set out to discover the emotional damage that people encountered during the coronavirus pandemic.
Researchers examined data from a survey of 1,441 U.S. adults conducted from March 31 to April 13. By mid-April, there were over 600,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, and there were nearly 28,000 coronavirus deaths. Stay-at-home orders were issued in most states at the time, and a record 20.5 million jobs were lost in April.
A pre-pandemic poll of 5,065 respondents in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 2017 to 2018, found that 8.5% of Americans showed depression symptoms. During the coronavirus pandemic, that figure skyrocketed to 27.8% of people who said they were experiencing depression symptoms.
Both surveys are based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, "the most commonly used self-administered depression screening tool," according to The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Women were most likely to have depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, at 33.3%, compared to 21.9% of men. Individuals who were widowed, divorced, or separated had 2.1-fold increased odds of depression symptoms compared to those who were married.
People with a household income of $19,999 or less had 2.4-fold increased odds of depression symptoms. Individuals with household savings less than $5,000 had 1.5-fold increased odds of depression symptoms, according to the paper.
"In 2020, 38.8% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 39 had at least one symptom of depression, up from 9% in the earlier years," according to the Los Angeles Times. "That increase was mirrored among Americans in their 40s and 50s (jumping from 8.5% to 26.8%) and those 60 and above (rising from 7.9% to 14.9%)."
Signs of depression include feeling down or hopeless, loss of interest in things that generally bring joy, lethargy, lack of concentration, or thinking about self-harm, according to Time.
"As an event that can cause physical, emotional, and psychological harm, the COVID-19 pandemic can itself be considered a traumatic event," the authors wrote. "In addition, the policies created to prevent its spread introduced new life stressors and disrupted daily living for most people in the U.S.
"We imagine that as the virus spreads and more cases of COVID-19 are confirmed, so too may mental illness increase among those with COVID-19 and those around them," the authors stated. "This burden is being borne by economically and socially marginalized groups, suggesting that individuals with low income and with fewer resources may benefit from particular policy attention in coming months."
"Post–COVID-19 plans should account for the probable increase in mental illness to come, particularly among at-risk populations," the authors concluded.
"Depression in the general population after prior large scale traumatic events has been observed to, at most, double," said senior study author Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. Galea cited the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Ebola outbreak, and civil unrest in Hong Kong.
"These findings serve to alert our attention to yet another impending public health crisis as a result of this pandemic — the increase in cases of major depression," Dr. Ruth Shim, an expert on cultural psychology at UC Davis, wrote in the commentary attached to the study.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Video of Aaron Danielson shooting shows moments that led to his murder by Antifa member

Video of Aaron Danielson shooting shows moments that led to his murder by Antifa member What 's really going on @ @

Video of the moments before Patriot Prayer's Aaron Danielson was shot and killed in Portland casts some doubt on the narrative that the alleged shooter, Michael Reinoehl, was defending himself or a friend against Trump supporters who were instigating violence.
Danielson was shot in the chest on Aug. 29 during on the same night some right-wing demonstrators were driving through the city and, at times, clashing with left-wing protesters.
A man named Justin Dunlap, who throughout his video expresses support for Black Lives Matter protesters, was livestreaming on Facebook and captured the shooting.
The first nearly 13 minutes or so of the video are relatively uneventful, with Dunlap walking around downtown Portland, Oregon, interacting at times with other protesters, and wondering where the pro-Trump caravan he was expecting was.
At the 13:45 mark, Dunlap comes across a white pickup truck, which he identifies as a truck he saw earlier from which someone shot paintballs.
The man who later shoots Danielson is seen standing with some others by the truck, apparently having words with whoever is inside. Dunlap gets the truck's license plate number as it drives off.
After a few more minutes of congregating in this spot, the protester with the megaphone announces to Black Lives Matter supporters in the vicinity that they're heading to the Justice Center, which is back in the direction that Dunlap was at earlier in the video.
The protesters, including the shooter, walk by Dunlap to go toward the Justice Center. Dunlap pauses for a moment before following directly behind the shooter as they walk down the sidewalk. It's unclear whether Dunlap knew or was affiliated with the protesters, or whether he was just observing and attempting to follow potential action in the protests. As he walks, he stops a few times to comment on graffiti that has been painted on some businesses.
At 17:45 in the video, Dunlap stops at an intersection. He has the camera pointed away from the shooter and the other protesters at this point. A black SUV passes in front of him toward where the shooting is about to occur, and he follows that vehicle with the camera for a few seconds, saying "oh, good" and commenting that he hears the sound of engines revving and it makes him nervous.
A few seconds later, shouting is heard off camera. Dunlap turns the camera toward the commotion, and the shooter and several others are seen in an apparent confrontation with Danielson and others down the street. The black SUV stops near the altercation. The video is not totally clear because of the distance, but there is a hissing sound as it appears Danielson approaches the shooter and sprays what may be mace toward the shooter.
A split second after the spraying begins, the shooter fires twice. Danielson stumbles away for a few steps before falling to the ground. The shooter runs away in the other direction, unimpeded. Another person with a skateboard walks by and appears to pick some objects off the ground, possibly shell casings, then walks away off camera with his skateboard held in front of his face as police arrive.
Here is a shorter clip showing the shooting:
A Portland livestreamer captured a fatal shooting near downtown protest youtu.be
Chandler Pappas, a friend of Danielson's who was at the scene when Danielson was killed, said he believed they were hunted.
"They hunted him down — they hunted us down," Pappas said, according to the New York Post. "It didn't even register that someone was pointing a gun at us until the shots went off and he took off running. ... I think it was planned. I think they were looking for someone to hurt."
Reinoehl, the suspected shooter, talked to Vice News about what happened shortly before he was killed Thursday night by police who tracked him down in Washington state to arrest him for the murder. He indicated that he thought Danielson was threatening harm.
"I had no choice. I mean, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn't going to do that," Reinoehl said.


theblaze--2020-09-04--USC communications prof booted from class for uttering Chinese word that sounds like racial slur in

USC communications prof booted from class for uttering Chinese word that sounds like racial slur in English School actually released @ @ @ @ @ historical , cultural , and harmful impact of racist language '

It used to be that college professors found themselves in hot water after uttering racial slurs as part of classroom discussions — you know, speech that's part of the learning process.
Well, now it appears that if a professor utters a word in class from a foreign language that sounds like an English-language racial slur, the prof might be toast, too.
What are the details?
Don't believe it? Well, a communications professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business is now on a short-term break after saying a Chinese word during an online class that sounded like a version of a well-known racial slur in English, Campus Reform said.
Seems that Greg Patton — a professor of clinical business communication who's an "expert in communication, interpersonal and leadership effectiveness" — was explaining the usage of a Chinese filler word for "that" and comparing it to English fillers such as "like" and "um," the outlet reported.
And when Patton uttered the Chinese word, its pronunciation apparently sounded too close to a version of the N-word.
Here's the clip:
DO YOU THINK THIS PROFESSOR SHOULD BE FIRED? youtu.be
How did USC respond?
USC's Marshall School of Business confirmed to Campus Reform in a statement that Patton isn't teaching his course at present.
"Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English," the statement noted, according to the outlet. "We acknowledge the historical, cultural, and harmful impact of racist language."
Patton "agreed to take a short-term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps," the statement added, according to Campus Reform.
The outlet noted that another instructor is temporarily teaching the class.
Oh, and USC is "offering supportive measures to any student, faculty, or staff member who requests assistance" and is "committed to building a culture of respect and dignity where all members of our community can feel safe, supported, and can thrive," Campus Reform added.
'This is a whole new level of stupidity'
The outlet said Patton didn't immediately reply to a request for comment, but other folks who viewed the video were quite enthusiastic about offering their two cents on the kerfuffle:


theblaze--2020-09-04--Woman harassed by Black Lives Matter protesters speaks out against chilling incident, explains why s

Woman harassed by Black Lives Matter protesters speaks out against chilling incident, explains why she refused to raise her fist

Woman harassed by Black Lives Matter protesters speaks out against chilling incident , explains why she refused to raise her @

Lauren Victor, the woman who refused to be intimidated by Black Lives Matter protesters, has spoken out against the bullying she endured last week.
A video of Victor facing off with rambunctious, demanding Black Lives Matter protesters went viral last week after she refused to put her fist in the air in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Protesters converged on Victor and a friend, who were dining outside at a Washington, D.C., restaurant on Aug. 24.
What are the details?
In a Thursday op-ed in the Washington Post, Victor said that the group's bullying tactics are not effective.
Titled, "I was the woman surrounded by BLM protesters at a D.C. restaurant. Here's why I didn't raise my fist," Victor explains that the group didn't even identify themselves when they approached her table.
"I asked who they were and why they were marching," she writes. "No one would answer me. Why march and hold back your message?"
Victor, a 49-year-old urban planner who says she does support Black Lives Matter, adds that the group went about their activism entirely in the wrong way, insisting that it's "never OK to coerce people's participation."
"That is just bullying," she adds.
"When [protesters] crowded around my table and started demanding that I raise my fist, it was their insistence that I participate in something that I did not understand that led me to withhold my hand," Victor explains. "In retrospect, I would have done the same thing even if it was crystal clear to me who they were and what they stood for. If you want my support, ask it of me freely. That's what we do in a democracy."
Sometimes 'those thing turn on a dime'
At the time, Victor initially admitted, "I felt I was under attack."
"To have a crowd — with all that energy — demand that you do this thing," Victor added. "On one level my best guess was no one was going to hurt me but those things turn on a dime."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Woman faces felony hate crime charges over viral video showing her demanding a beach pass from a bla

Woman faces felony hate crime charges over viral video showing her demanding a beach pass from a black patron

A woman is facing hate crime charges after she allegedly harassed and struck a black man at a beach in Winnetka, Illinois.
The alleged incident was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
What are the details?
In August, the video of 65-year-old Irene Donoshaytis went viral after she approached Otis Campbell, a black male, at a Winnetka beach, demanding that he show his beach pass.
The male — who was with friends on a bike ride — did not have a pass, because the beach is public access.
"This is America. This is America, you can't do this," Donoshaytis insisted. "I'm from Winnetka. You need to go back where you're from."
Campbell called authorities and reported the exchange in which Donoshaytis can be seen lunging at him, reportedly striking him twice. During the exchange, she can also be heard admitting she felt threatened because Campbell is black.
"You want to kill me?" she says in the video. "No? It feels like."
Campbell fires back, "Why would I try to kill you? Is it because I'm black?"
In the video, Donoshaytis answers in the affirmative.
Woman forced to surrender passport
Prosecutors allege that the elderly woman's actions were racist and illegal.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Deputy Police Chief Brian O'Connell said that Donoshaytis turned herself in on the hate crime charge on Wednesday morning.
She was previously charged with battery in connection with the August incident.
The outlet reports that the Cook County state's attorney's office filed the Class 4 felony hate crime charge that morning.
She was released Wednesday on bond. As part of the conditions, Judge Anjana Hansen ordered Donoshaytis to have no contact with either the victim or any eyewitnesses. Donoshaytis is also required to surrender her passport.
Her attorney, Jeffrey Fagan, says Donoshaytis was a refugee of the Soviet Union — and she isn't racist.
"Her story and version of events amounts to a misunderstanding between the parties that was escalated based on the timing of where we are as a culture," Fagan explained.
'Stand up for yourself'
Campbell said that Donoshaytis' punishment should serve as an "example."
"It should be something that's an example and let people know — hey, when you see this, stand up for yourself, or see your friend going through this, stand up for him and anybody going through this," he said. "Make a difference."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Seattle cops find machete, mortar, hatchet, spike strips, shields in tent at public park during prot

Seattle cops find machete, mortar, hatchet, spike strips, shields in tent at public park during protest-related cleanup

Seattle cops find machete , mortar , hatchet , spike strips , shields in tent at public park during protest-related @ @ @ @ @ a protester — was caught on video yelling at a cop , 'You 're a @ @ @ @ @ piece of s**t !
I hope you die tonight , b***h ! '

Seattle police officers found various weapons as well as homemade spike strips and dozens of makeshift shields in a tent at a public park Tuesday morning, police said.
What are the details?
Police said they were providing security during a Seattle Parks Department cleanup at Cal Anderson Park where workers were set to repair a damaged field house and pick up trash that had been piling up since the park's closure June 30.
The damage and subsequent repairs were related to ongoing protests, the Seattle Times said.
A camper packs up belongings while preparing to leave Cal Anderson Park in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone on June 30, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. City crews removed barriers at one entrance to the CHOP and placed park closure notices throughout Cal Anderson Park. Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images
But when workers with the parks department were cleaning out a tent in the area, police said they found what they believed were weapons.
So officers obtained a warrant to search the tent and recovered a machete, hatchet, homemade spike strips, an unexploded mortar, and multiple makeshift shields, police said.
Image source: Seattle police
Image source: Seattle police
Officers removed the items from the tent and placed them into evidence, police said, adding that no arrests have been made although an investigation is ongoing.
Protest hub
The park has been a hub for some protesters, the Times noted, adding that in recent weeks a camp grew in the park where protesters gathered for marches, handed out goggles and helmets, and occupied a previously locked and boarded-up city rental facility to distribute food to people living in the park.
Not the kindest of welcomes
A video was posted to YouTube showing officers gathered at the park while several people — presumably protesters — went verbally ballistic on the cops for their presence amid the park cleanup.
"Are you a white supremacist?" one man yells at the officers.
"That's a registered f***ing hate symbol recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center!" a woman screams at one cop. "You're a f***ing white supremacist, you piece of s**t! I hope you die tonight, b***h!"
The woman can be heard calling another officer a "f***ing coon" and declares, "I'm taking your job, b***h!"
(Content warning: Language:)


theblaze--2020-09-04--We're in the 'pandemic era' now, and the solution is for us to live 'in greater harmony with nature'

We're in the 'pandemic era' now, and the solution is for us to live 'in greater harmony with nature', Fauci says

We 're in the 'pandemic era ' now , and the solution is for us to live 'in greater harmony @ @ @ @ @ says 'COVID-19 is among the most vivid wake-up calls in over a century '

In a report co-authored by Dr. Anthony Fauci and David M. Morens of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, they write that the world is now in a "pandemic era" and suggest that the only solution is to live "in greater harmony with nature."
The remarks are part of a 16-page report in Cell that was published in August titled, "Emerging Pandemic Diseases: How We Got to COVID-19."
"COVID-19, recognized in late 2019, is but the latest example of an unexpected, novel, and devastating pandemic disease," they write. "One can conclude from this recent experience that we have entered a pandemic era. The causes of this new and dangerous situation are multifaceted, complex, and deserving of serious examination."
The report goes on to examine various pandemic diseases and the variety of factors that led to them, eventually getting to a conclusion that many of these "disease emergencies reflect our increasing inability to live in harmony with nature," pointing out that a number of pandemics have been exacerbated by "urbanization and crowding."
"Living in greater harmony with nature will require changes in human behavior as well as other radical changes that may take decades to achieve: rebuilding the infrastructures of human existence, from cities to homes to workplaces, to water and sewer systems, to recreational and gatherings venues," Fauci and Morens write. "In such a transformation we will need to prioritize changes in those human behaviors that constitute risks for the emergence of infectious diseases.
"Chief among them are reducing crowding at home, work, and in public places as well as minimizing environmental perturbations such as deforestation, intense urbanization, and intensive animal farming," they continue.
Acknowledging that diseases spread much more easily in a world that is more interconnected than ever, Fauci and Morens conclude that humans must think through how to avoid activities and developments that may lead to the emergence or spread of new diseases.
"COVID-19 is among the most vivid wake-up calls in over a century," they write. "It should force us to begin to think in earnest and collectively about living in more thoughtful and creative harmony with nature, even as we plan for nature's inevitable, and always unexpected, surprises."
The World Economic Forum recently published an article titled, "5 things COVID-19 has taught us about fighting climate change." The first takeaway was that "the planet will not wait."
"We need to set bold and ambitious targets to drive change the planet needs," writes the author, Salesforce Executive Vice President for Corporate Relations Suzanne DiBlanca. "Coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, we have an opportunity to combine a safe recovery with a sustainable recover. The EU has led the way by proposing a green recovery plan, which will use digitalization to boost jobs and growth, secure the resilience of societies, and put the health of our environment first."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Sheriff's office releases bodycam video of deputy shooting allegedly armed man running from traffic

Sheriff's office releases bodycam video of deputy shooting allegedly armed man running from traffic stop in Chicago

Sheriff 's office releases bodycam video of deputy shooting allegedly armed man running from traffic stop in Chicago Man 's @ @ @ @ @ had a gun

A police officer shot an allegedly armed man who fled a traffic stop Wednesday in Chicago. On Thursday, the Cook County Sheriff's Office released bodycam footage of the incident after the man's family disputed that he had a gun.
Cook County Sheriff's deputies pulled over a driver for speeding in Chicago's LeClaire Courts neighborhood at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday. The vehicle is said to be missing a front license plate and had illegally tinted windows, as reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The driver stopped, opened his door, but refused to exit the vehicle. He then allegedly drove off and turned down an alley. He abandoned his car and fled on foot. The Cook County Sheriff's Office alleges that the man had something in his hand, and dropped a black cellphone while fleeing police.
The man, identified as Durel Foster, reportedly ignored deputies' commands to stop. Bodycam footage appears to show Foster, 27, brandishing a handgun as defies orders and runs past cops.
After Foster runs past one of the police officers with what looks like a firearm, the cop fires four shots at the man. Foster was hit by two shots, one struck him in the shoulder and the other in the buttocks. Foster falls to the ground, sits back up, then flails back down.
Deputies claim that Foster resisted arrest after being shot, and ran to a nearby porch. Foster was eventually taken into custody after a police officer used a Taser on him.
He was handcuffed, arrested, and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he is said to be in good condition. The Cook County Sheriff's Office claims a handgun and bags of suspected cocaine were found near Foster.
Foster's father, Maurice Foster, said, "Police stopped him because of the way he looked."
"He's a young Black man, he had nice jewelry on, nice clothes," Maurice Foster said. "They didn't even tell me when they put him in the ambulance, he was already shot twice and tased, he had the handcuffs on ... and they put him in the ambulance for 10 minutes."
The father denied that his son was armed and disputes that he had a gun during the incident.
"I can't see real good from the footage," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I can't see what's in his hand. I see him toss a bag. It goes by real fast, and it's blurry also."
The father said he hasn't been able to speak with his son since the arrest. He added that his son is "an excellent basketball player, he's smart, he's intelligent, he's respectful, and he's good to his family."
Cook County Sheriff's Office said the suspect had three prior felony convictions, including aggravated battery on a police officer in 2018, according to the New York Post. He was sentenced to four years in prison and had been on parole in Illinois at the time of Wednesday's arrest.
Chicago police are conducting an independent investigation into the shooting.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Phil Robertson: President Trump is 'caustically BRILLIANT'

'He 's rough around the edges but straight to the point '

On "In the Woods with Phil," Phil Robertson, of "Duck Dynasty" fame, had news for the Donald J. Trump haters of the world: This president is "caustically brilliant" and remarkably shrewd — whether you like it or not.
"I'm a Trump supporter," Phil said. "My definition for him in two words ... caustically brilliant. [...] He's rough around the edges but straight to the point. I give him an A+ in keenness and quickness and understanding, I don't care what the situation is."
Watch the video below to hear Phil's full explanation:
Want more from Phil Robertson?
To enjoy more of this "Duck Dynasty" star's 70 years of unfiltered wisdom and uncensored common sense, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Air Force veteran ordered to remove American flag face covering for grocery store job — but he's not

Air Force veteran ordered to remove American flag face covering for grocery store job — but he's not having any of it

Air Force veteran ordered to remove American flag face covering for grocery store job — but he 's not having @ @ @ @ @ anybody for any reason be offended by the American flag , the stars and stripes @ @

Air Force veteran Gary Dean told WCTI-TV he'd been wearing his American flag face covering for his job at the Food Lion in Havelock, North Carolina, without any problems for months.
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
But Dean said a manager informed him Tuesday afternoon out of the blue that his patriotic face covering was verboten — specifically because it showed the stars and stripes, the station said.
"Apparently corporate came down and said 'somebody was offended by the image of the American flag on the face covering,'" Dean recalled to WCTI.
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
But the station said the 69-year-old military vet wasn't having any of it — and Dean quit.
'Out of principle'
"As a veteran, my dad being a World War II hero, my best friend killed in Vietnam, out of respect for them I can't just say ... 'I'll take my flag and put it in my pocket,'" he told the station, noting such a concession would be against his values. "I had to quit, out of principle."
Dean added that it also was shocking that the sight of an American flag would be offensive to anyone, particularly in a military town, WCTI noted.
"Why would anybody for any reason be offended by the American flag, the stars and stripes?" he asked the station.
What did Food Lion have to say?
WCTI said it reached out to Food Lion, and the company replied that while it respects the American flag, corporate policy "prohibits associates from wearing clothing with writing, insignia, or symbols."
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
Here's the company's full statement via the station:
At Food Lion, we have great respect for the American flag. Like many other organizations, we also have policies that guide the attire and conduct of associates in the workplace. As part of our effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the well-being of our associates and customers, we've required associates to either wear reusable face masks provided by Food Lion or choose to wear a different face covering while working. However, all face coverings must adhere to standards set by the company and communicated to each of our more than 77,000 associates. The policy prohibits associates from wearing clothing with writing, insignia or symbols. The dress code is meant to ensure a consistent and professional representation of our associates inside of our stores.
But WCTI noted that the Havelock store does feature reserved parking spaces for military veterans marked with American flags.
'An emotional subject for me'
Dean told the station he served in the Air Force from 1970 to 1976: "Four of those were active, two of those were inactive reserve."
But while many years have passed since then, he keeps those memories alive in his home, which is full of patriotic objects. Dean showed a reporter from the station a photo album of images from when he was in the service — and some of them aren't easy for Dean to revisit.
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
"That's my friend who was killed in Vietnam, he was a ranger," he told WCTI, pointing at a picture of himself and another man. "David Toler. Got shot right through the heart, they brought him home. That's an emotional subject for me. When you lose a friend that is fighting for your freedoms, you get angry."
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
Dean added to the station, "You get very angry when people disrespect the flag."
He also told WCTI that the American flag face covering he was using is a print and wants to make sure it's clear he wasn't using an actual American flag to cover his face. But while he's not angry at the store managers, Dean is still perplexed at why it was so offensive.
"I love this country," he told the station. "I love that my dad went off and fought for my country, nearly got killed for this country but came back and raised a family."
Image source: WCTI-TV video screenshot
"I love everything about that flag," Dean told WCTI. "So, yeah, that is my priority."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Atheists demand GOP senator stop posting Bible verses on Twitter. Senator responds: 'Their request i

Atheists demand GOP senator stop posting Bible verses on Twitter. Senator responds: 'Their request is denied.'

Atheists demand GOP senator stop posting Bible verses on Twitter .
Senator responds : 'Their request is denied . '

An atheist group is going after a Republican senator over his repeated posting of Bible verses on social media and demanding that he stop with his "sermonizing."
The undeterred lawmaker sent a message to the group this week: get bent.
What's all this now?
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) has tradition of posting scripture to Twitter and Facebook on weekends. Here are his verses from the last three weekends in August:
Naturally, this upset the radical Freedom From Religion Foundation activist atheist organization.
The group claimed that a "concerned Louisiana resident contacted FFRF" to report the senator's regular offense of posting verses to social media. FFRF posted on item on its website, accusing Cassidy of violating "the spirit of the First Amendment" with his actions and insisting that he "cease sermonizing" on social media:
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking a U.S. senator to cease sermonizing on his official social media accounts.
A concerned Louisiana resident contacted FFRF to report that every Sunday, bible verses are posted to Sen. Bill Cassidy's official government Facebook page.
When a government official uses his elected office, including governmental platforms such as an official Facebook page, to promote his personal religious beliefs, he violates the spirit of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution[.]
In an August letter to the senator, FFRF's co-presidents, Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, told Cassidy that he needed to "refrain from posting messages that proselytize or endorse religion on [his] official government social media accounts" because such postings, they said, are a violation of the separation of church and state.
According to Gaylor and Barker, Cassidy's actions "needlessly alienate" his constituency and a third of Americans:
As a senator, you represent a diverse population that consists of not only Christians, but also minority religious and nonreligious citizens. Religious endorsements made in your official capacity send a message that excludes the 35 percent of Americans who are not Christian, which includes the 26 percent who identify as nonreligious. These messages needlessly alienate the 1 non-Christian and nonreligious citizens you represent, turning them into political outsiders in their own community.
It would be entirely possible, of course, for you to send uplifting and motivational messages to your constituents without ostracizing a significant portion of those you represent. By couching your sentiments in exclusively religious terms, and by quoting exclusively from one religion's holy book, you unnecessarily exclude a significant portion of the community. Regardless of your intent, this social media post sends the message to your minority religious and nonreligious constituents that their participation in the political process is less valued than that of their Christian counterparts.
The duo closed their letter requesting that Cassidy remove all of his religious posts from his government social media accounts and to "avoid making similar posts in the future."
How did Cassidy respond?
Sen. Cassidy offered his response to FFRF's demands in a tweet Tuesday afternoon.
"The Freedom From Religion Foundation has demanded that I stop sharing Bible verses with you," he wrote. "The left won't bully me into canceling Christianity."
"Their request is denied," he concluded.
FFRF responded Wednesday by advising Cassidy to "cool it on all the religion" and calling him "unconstitutionally stubborn" while labeling his response to their demands as "obstinacy."
Gaylor said the senator "is willfully misunderstanding the issue," but she did not indicate whether her organization planned to take any future steps to stop the senator's sharing of scripture.
(H/T: Pure Flix)


theblaze--2020-09-04--Facebook will ban new political ads week before the election; Zuckerberg warns of possible 'civil un

Facebook will ban new political ads week before the election; Zuckerberg warns of possible 'civil unrest'

Facebook will ban new political ads week before the election ; Zuckerberg warns of possible 'civil unrest' 'We 've already @ @ @ @ @ , conspiracy networks like QAnon , and other groups that could be used to organize @ @ @ @ @ the period after the elections '

Facebook will ban new political ads for the week leading up to Election Day, Nov. 3, in an effort to "help secure the integrity of the U.S. elections by encouraging voting, connecting people to authoritative information, and reducing the risks of post-election confusion."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement Thursday, outlining the steps the social media platform is taking to combat voting misinformation and meddling. Zuckerberg started his communication by saying that "our nation is so divided" and that the election results could potentially take weeks to be finalized, which could open the door for "increased risk of civil unrest across the country."
"We're going to block new political and issue ads during the final week of the campaign," Zuckerberg stated. "It's important that campaigns can run get out the vote campaigns, and I generally believe the best antidote to bad speech is more speech, but in the final days of an election there may not be enough time to contest new claims."
Zuckerberg noted that campaigns can still run political ads that were promoted before the week preceding the election, but no new advertisements will be permitted on the social network.
Facebook will remove anything it considers misinformation about voting and will consult with state election officials to verify voting claims.
Facebook promises to remove any messages attempting to suppress or discourage voting, such as incorrectly informing people that "you can send in your mail ballot up to 3 days after election day." Facebook will delete any posts that try to scare people by asserting that voters will contract COVID-19 if they vote in person.
Zuckerberg said the platform would limit how many messages Facebook users can forward on Messenger, to prevent misinformation or harmful content from going viral.
Because of the anticipated increased use of mail-in ballots, Facebook warned that the final results might not be available on election night.
"We'll use the Voting Information Center to prepare people for the possibility that it may take a while to get official results," the press release read. "This information will help people understand that there is nothing illegitimate about not having a result on election night."
The Facebook founder warned that candidates could claim election victory before the official results are made public. Zuckerberg cautioned that the time frame of waiting for the election results "could be a very heated period."
"If any candidate or campaign tries to declare victory before the results are in, we'll add a label to their post educating that official results are not yet in and directing people to the official results," Zuckerberg wrote.
Facebook said it would "attach an informational label to content that seeks to delegitimize the outcome of the election or discuss the legitimacy of voting methods, for example, by claiming that lawful methods of voting will lead to fraud."
Zuckerberg touted that Facebook "took down a network of 13 accounts and 2 pages that were trying to mislead Americans and amplify division." The network was linked to "individuals associated with past activity by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA)" that focused primarily on the U.S., U.K., Algeria, and Egypt, in addition to other English-speaking countries and countries in the Middle East and North Africa."
"We've already strengthened our enforcement against militias, conspiracy networks like QAnon, and other groups that could be used to organize violence or civil unrest in the period after the elections," the news release stated. "We have already removed thousands of these groups and removed even more from being included in our recommendations and search results. We will continue to ramp up enforcement against these groups over the coming weeks."
Facebook will also promote video tutorials on how to vote by mail and information on deadlines for registering and voting. Facebook proclaimed that it has a "goal of helping 4 million people to register and then vote" and has directed "almost 24 million clicks to voter registration websites" in three days.
"I believe our democracy is strong enough to withstand this challenge and deliver a free and fair election – even if it takes time for every vote to be counted. We've voted during global pandemics before," Zuckerberg concluded. "We can do this. But it's going to take a concerted effort by all of us – political parties and candidates, election authorities, the media and social networks, and ultimately voters as well – to live up to our responsibilities. We all have a part to play in making sure that the democratic process works, and that every voter can make their voice heard where it matters most – at the ballot box."
The Trump campaign released a statement Thursday, commenting on Facebook's decision to ban political ads in the final week before the presidential election.
"In the last seven days of the most important election in our history, President Trump will be banned from defending himself on the largest platform in America," Samantha Zager, the campaign's deputy national press secretary, said. "When millions of voters will be making their decisions, the President will be silenced by the Silicon Valley Mafia, who will at the same time allow corporate media to run their biased ads to swing voters in key states."
Facebook has removed political ads by President Donald Trump as recently as June. One Trump campaign ad was removed for "violating our policy against organized hate."
Facebook pulled a pro-Trump ad in March, arguing that the ad didn't meet the platform's advertisement standards and could cause confusion about the U.S. Census. President Trump has nearly 31 million followers on his main Facebook page.
Facebook has received scrutiny from the media, politicians, and its own employees for not fact-checking political ads that run on its social media platform.
In June, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for Facebook to "proactively stem the tide of false information" by fact-checking political ads during the two weeks before Election Day. Biden's official Facebook page has 2.8 million followers.
Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives have defended their decision to not fact-check political ads by saying that they don't believe the network should be the "arbiter of truth."
"Fact-checking partners do not rate content that does not include a verifiable claim, or content that was true at the time of writing. In addition, opinion and speech from politicians is not eligible to be fact-checked," Facebook's policy says.
"Our approach is grounded in Facebook's fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process, and the belief that, especially in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is the most scrutinized speech there is," the statement states. "Just as critically, by limiting political speech we would leave people less informed about what their elected officials are saying and leave politicians less accountable for their words."
"We rely on third-party fact-checkers to help reduce the spread of false news and other types of viral misinformation, like memes or manipulated photos and videos," a Facebook press release from 2019 stated. "We don't believe, however, that it's an appropriate role for us to referee political debates and prevent a politician's speech from reaching its audience and being subject to public debate and scrutiny."
"That's why Facebook exempts politicians from our third-party fact-checking program," the statement said.
Last October, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that his social media platform would no longer allow political ads.
"We've made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally," Dorsey tweeted. "We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Former 'View' co-host says she'd rather share Jesus with people than return to the hit ABC show

Former 'View ' co-host says she 'd rather share Jesus with people than return to the hit ABC show

Actress Candace Cameron Bure, who spent nearly a year as a co-host on "The View," told Fox News that she would much rather spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ than return to the long-running daytime TV show.
What are the details?
Bure, 44, told the outlet that she has no interest in returning to the show, which she appeared on between 2015 and 2016.
"I just don't publicly want to talk about politics," she reasoned. "Not because I don't believe that my viewpoints and opinions are important, but I would much rather share Jesus with people. That's really my passion."
Bure, an outspoken Christian, added that she'd sooner focus on sharing her faith rather than engaging in discourse that has been increasingly proven to lead to further and further divide in America.
"I don't want to get into the political debate because it is just about division and separation," Bure explained. "And I want to learn. I want to be [part of] a conversation about how to build a bridge."
What else?
In April, Bure said producers of the hit show approached her several times about co-hosting duties before she agreed in 2015.
"The funny thing is, sometimes what you end up doing is what you least expected," she told Good Housekeeping in an interview. "I never pursued that show, but they pursued me, and it was very unexpected. I tried to say no, I did say no several times."
She admitted that she always loved a challenge, so it eventually made sense for her to take producers up on their offer to feature her on the show.
"I love to grow and be challenged," Bure said. "And that's exactly what it was. So I was up for the challenge and I'm glad that I did it."
On her decision to take part in the show, the conservative Christian concluded, "I am really happy for the experience. It helped me grow a lot."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Grandma suffers medical emergency while taking a walk. Her 11-year-old grandson comes to the rescue

Grandma suffers medical emergency while taking a walk. Her 11-year-old grandson comes to the rescue and drives her home.

Grandma suffers medical emergency while taking a walk .
Her 11-year-old grandson comes to the rescue and drives her home @ @ @ @ @ be telling for a long time to come

Angela Brewer-Laye credits her 11-year-old grandson with saving her during a recent medical emergency.
What are the details?
Brewer-Laye told WXIA-TV that she and her grandson were taking a walk last week when her blood sugar dropped to concerning levels.
She said her 11-year-old grandson, PJ, jumped into action when he saw that she needed medical attention, and drove her — in her Mercedes-Benz — home to recover.
"PJ always rides his four-wheeler or his go-kart or dirt bike while I'm getting exercise in," she told the station. "He noticed my demeanor, and right when I was about to go down to the ground, that's when he springs into action."
The youth was able to help Brewer-Laye stabilize herself, and then he took off.
His grandmother said that she was resting at a stop sign when she saw her grandson approach the corner in her vehicle.
"I made it to the stop sign," she recalled. "I was leaning against the stop sign, and all of a sudden, I look to my right, and I see my car; my Mercedes-Benz coming towards me! Just in an easy, calm, manner, it was coming towards me. And I looked in the car and it was PJ."
The child — who Brewer-Laye described as calm — encouraged her to get into the vehicle so he could drive her home.
What happened next?
"This child is only 11 years old and drives like a pro," she added. "He drove me home, and he pulled in the driveway. And when I saw he pulled in the driveway so precise, because my driveway is kind of narrow. ... He didn't go up the curb, in the grass, nothing. He pulled in the driveway, in the garage, and helped me out of the car."
When the two arrived at Brewer-Laye's home, PJ ran into the house to get his grandmother her glucose tabs and peanut butter crackers.
Brewer-Laye told the station's Kaitlyn Ross that her grandson is an "extra special little boy" with "humble ways" who can do anything to which he sets his mind.
"He's an easygoing little fella," she said during a recent interview with WXIA. "He loves to play outside."


theblaze--2020-09-04--Poll: What is the most important issue for you in the 2020 election?

Poll : What is the most important issue for you in the 2020 election ?
Cast your vote and do @ @ @ @ @

POLL: What is the most important issue for you in the 2020 election?
Cast your vote and don't forget to share!


theblaze--2020-09-04--Bill Clinton: Trump will 'be stacking sandbags in front of the White House' during Biden's inaugurat

Bill Clinton: Trump will 'be stacking sandbags in front of the White House' during Biden's inauguration

Bill Clinton : Trump will 'be stacking sandbags in front of the White House ' during Biden 's inauguration ' @ @ @ @ @ is going to cheat and sneak and try to do everything they possibly can , @ @ @ @

Former President Bill Clinton said President Donald Trump will "be stacking sandbags in front the White House" while Democrat Joe Biden is being sworn in as president next January — yet another propagation of the conspiracy theory that Trump won't give up the presidency if he loses the election.
The comment came during an Instagram Live video interview Tuesday conducted by White House correspondent April Ryan, which also included Clinton's wife, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Toward the end of the interview Ryan suggested that inauguration TV coverage would include a "split-screen" of Biden being sworn in and "the military going in" to pry open Trump's "orange-knuckle" grip upon the Oval Office desk.
"I was just thinking ... he probably won't even come to Biden's inauguration," Bill Clinton responded. "He'll be stacking sandbags in front of the White House."
What else was said during the interview?
Ryan — long known for her deep dislike of Trump — amazingly referred to herself as "objective" and still found time to attack Fox News, characterize America in 2020 as "almost like a third-world country," and accuse Trump of "stoking a race war" with "ground zero" in Portland.
"Am I wrong?" she said.
Bill Clinton replied that she's not wrong, and Hillary Clinton said Ryan is "profoundly right" that "fear" is a major weapon Trump uses.
Bill Clinton noted Trump's "proven ability to manipulate the psyche of the people that he is trying to scare the hell out of. This is a person who says, 'OK, I can't win on my own, but people will believe whatever I tell them as long as it's bad.'"
The former president also said Trump "can't live without somebody to badmouth," and without that dynamic "he'd have to get up every morning and decide to go to work and figure out what to do. And that's boring ... he doesn't know how to do it."
Hillary Clinton jumped in to note former first lady Michelle Obama's point during the Democratic National Convention that Trump "doesn't know how to be president. All he knows to do is be a reality TV star, and that's what he's going to continue to do."
Bill Clinton conceded that Trump "cannot help who he is" but added that Trump also sees the American people as "suckers" who will buy anything he's selling.
"He believes he can say anything and make it work. He believes he can do anything, and no one will stop it," he said.
'The other side is going to cheat and sneak and try to do everything they possibly can'
The Clintons not surprisingly sounded the alarm to vote Trump out of office in November.
"The only answer is to beat this guy," Bill Clinton said. "There is no other answer."
Hillary Clinton added that Trump "is a clear and present danger to our freedoms, our liberties, our unity, and we've got to defeat him." She also said people have to vote for Biden in overwhelming numbers as though their "lives and livelihoods depend on it."
Still, Bill Clinton worried about the Trump camp, saying its members are "cold-blooded calculating people."
"I believe the other side is going to cheat and sneak and try to do everything they possibly can," Hillary Clinton added, underscoring her recent advice to Biden to not concede the election "under any circumstances."


theblaze--2020-09-04--US adds 1.4 million jobs, unemployment rate drops — but there's a long way to go to full recovery

US adds 1.4 million jobs , unemployment rate drops — but there 's a long way to go to full @ @ @ @ @ deep hole caused by COVID-19

The unemployment rate dropped into the single digits for the first time since March and the economy added 1.4 million jobs in August as a potentially long economic recovery from the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
"We are still moving in the right direction and the pace of the jobs recovery seems to have picked up, but it still looks like it will take a while — and likely a vaccine — before we get back close to where we were at the beginning of this year," said Tony Bedikian, head of global markets at Citizens Bank, according to Fox Business. "We continue to be optimistic that the economy has turned a corner and that we'll continue to see steady progress."
Unemployment drop exceeds expectations
The unemployment rate dropped from 10.2% to 8.4% in August. Economists had projected it to drop to 9.8%. The unemployment rate was as high as 14.7% in April, when most of the United States was locked down during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The unemployment was at a decades-low 3.5% in February, before the COVID-19 lockdowns began in the U.S.
Slow(er) but steady job growth
After 2.7 million jobs added in May and another 4.8 million added in June, job growth has slowed down in the past two months, indicating the potential for a longer-term economic recovery rather than a quick bounce-back.
The economy added 1.4 million jobs in August, which follows a gain of 1.8 million in July.
In August, the retail industry added 249,000 new jobs, professional and business services added 197,000 jobs, and leisure and hospitality added 174,000 jobs.
The furlough factor
The number of people who are on temporary layoffs has continued to decline. That number dropped by 3.1 million down to 6.2 million in August, after peaking at 18.1 million in April when businesses were shutting down for an indefinite period of time in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Some of those furloughs, however, are becoming permanent. The number of people who have gone from temporary job loss to permanent job loss rose to 3.4 million, which is an increase of 534,000.
More stimulus needed?
Congress has gotten nowhere in negotiations for another COVID-19 economic stimulus package, something President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wanted. Democrats in the House passed a $3.4 trillion bill months ago, while Republicans and the White House want something closer to $1 trillion.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Horowitz: Politicians indicating that flu season is the new threshold for emergency powers & panic

Horowitz : Politicians indicating that flu season is the new threshold for emergency powers & panic

The notion that we would lock down our society until a vaccine is introduced to counter a virus with a 0.3% infection fatality rate and near-zero risk for non-immunocompromised individuals was shockingly insane. Then we were told that even after a vaccine is in place, the social control will not end because the vaccine will not fully work against COVID-19 for all people. Now, we are beginning to see that because indeed COVID-19 is not that much different from a pandemic flu, the flu itself will now constitute the new threshold for social control and panic in perpetuity. In other words, the totalitarianism that we blissfully accepted in March is here to stay forever, unless we reclaim our sovereignty.
"[Arizona] State officials Monday laid out a plan for 'aggressively' combating the upcoming influenza season as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, with the first step being to urge people to get a flu shot as soon as possible," wrote the Copper Courier on Tuesday. "The state plans to increase funding for Medicaid recipients to get flu shots, combine flu-shot sites with coronavirus testing facilities, and more, while also advocating many of the same measures meant to head off the spread of COVID-19" (emphasis added).
The Arizona paper was reporting on a press conference held by liberal Republican Governor Doug Ducey and Arizona health department director Dr. Cara Christ, when they warned about "a perfect storm" of lingering COVID-19 mixing with the flu season in the coming months. They warned about mask-wearing and shutting down businesses that don't participate in their unproven social control rituals. They also revealed that indeed hospitals get overwhelmed to a degree during the flu season and now that fact, which we always lived with every year, will be used to control our lives.
Folks, we have come full-circle. When this all began in early March, we were warned by the World Health Organization that COVID-19 was the worst epidemic in generations, with an infection fatality rate of 3.4% and a hospitalization rate exponentially higher that was going to swamp all of our big-city hospitals. As such, there was no way to compare it to the flu. Anyone who did was treated almost like a Holocaust denier.
Now, those same control freaks are comparing COVID to the flu! See, if they were right about the threat level of this virus, the contrast between it and the flu would be black and white. Talking about the perfect storm between COVID-19 and the flu would be tantamount to tethering the health care concerns of cancer to those of a cold. But now the truth comes out that this virus really is not that much different from a pandemic flu and that hospitals are always crowded at the peak of even a seasonal flu, much less a pandemic flu.
In July, Justin Hart, founder of RationalGround.com, which promotes a rational approach to the virus, posted on Twitter a series of articles describing emergency measures in various ERs throughout the nation during the 2018 pandemic flu. Yet the media coverage at the time wasn't incessant, it never became political, and the politicians never gave any thought to shutting down our lives. We lived with it, and few people ever heard of the 2018 pandemic flu.
That is all about to change. Now the flu is the new threshold for perpetual mask-wearing, draconian regulations on businesses and houses of worship, and government mandates of every facet of our lives.
Those who said the fatality rate of COVID-19 was much lower than the WHO claimed were right all along. This week, Icelandic researchers came out with a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine pegging the fatality rate at 0.3%. Lest you think that this might be the result of luck in Iceland, an analysis of COVID-19 in Indiana published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Wednesday estimates the IFR in that state at 0.26%, right around what Stanford epidemiologist and leading lockdown skeptic John Ioannidis predicted long ago.
But even that number is extremely lopsided and almost exclusively weighted toward people with several known immunocompromising conditions. According to the CDC, 94% of those who have died from the virus had at least one serious underlying condition. For healthy people, especially those under 65, the fatality rate is really no greater than the flu.
Hence, the politicians have gone from "Don't you dare compare this to the flu" to "We should be doing this for the flu as well." In other words, there's a reason why politicians and the media warn about a "new normal." It's not because COVID-19 will necessarily be with us forever; it's because the tyranny of the government response had nothing to do with COVID-19. That was simply the perfect pretext because so much was unknown about it earlier this year. Now that everyone is conditioned to go along with the suspension of democracy for "public health," it's not even a political leap to use the flu as the next excuse.
Consider how low the threshold is to continue the current quasi-martial law policies and invasion of personal privacy and bodily integrity. One university after another is discovering hundreds of "cases" of COVID with zero hospitalizations. This happens every flu season, and the students usually get sicker with more disruptive symptoms than they have now, when most of them only know they are "sick" because of mandatory testing. Yet this is the new threshold to turn colleges into prisons.
As my friend Kyle Lamb observes, according to the Kessel-Cohen-Milgroom study that PCR tests have a median false positive rate of 2.3%, in places like New York where the entire positive rate is under 2.3%, that could mean the number of real cases may be close to zero – or at least low enough that nobody would notice without this testing regime and dashboard obsession.
As far back as October 2019, according to the CDC, at least 1% of emergency room visitors exhibited COVID-like symptoms (CLI), even before the virus was known in the U.S. A certain number of people always come in with fever, coughing, sore throats, and trouble breathing all year round every year, and most certainly during the late fall and winter. Those numbers existed before the discovery of this particular virus and will continue to persist forever.
At present, we are at the point in this COVID "epidemic" where the flu season, which is driven more by symptoms and not testing, more definitely disrupts people's daily schedules with illness. As Lamb notes, "By this logic, the virus would never go away and emergency powers will be indefinite."
And indeed, that is exactly the point. That is their plan … if we let them get away with it.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Man in military fatigues flattens man with haymaker, sits on his chest after suspect reportedly spit

Man in military fatigues flattens man with haymaker, sits on his chest after suspect reportedly spits on car, disparages military

Man in military fatigues flattens man with haymaker , sits on his chest after suspect reportedly spits on car , @ @

A video featuring a man dressed in military fatigues sitting on the chest of a black man has gone viral.
In a video obtained by the Daily Mail, the white male can be seen sitting on the chest of the black male until officers with the Buffalo, New York, Police Department arrive.
What are the details?
Witness Said Hamideh — who recorded the clip — told the outlet that he witnessed the black male approaching the white male on the street and lunged at him.
According to Hamideh, the unnamed black male reportedly spat on the white male's car and "made disparaging remarks about the military."
The white male apparently did not take too kindly to the black male's sentiments, and reportedly punched the black male in the face, forcing him to the ground and sitting on his chest to restrain him.
The white male can be heard yelling for bystanders to call authorities as others rush to the scene and demand the white male get off of the black male's chest.
The black male can be heard demanding the white male "get the f*** off of me."
At least one bystander can be heard hysterically asking the white male if he is a "white supremacist."
A second bystander counters, "This isn't about race! Don't make it about race," and adds that the black male had been causing problems on the Buffalo street long before he picked a fight with the white male.
The bystander adds, "You do not know what's been happening all day. At least understand the facts before you open your mouth. You have no business here, back away."
Black male says he can breathe
The black male can later be heard telling bystanders that he can breathe.
"Oh yeah, man, I'm good," the black male says. "I've been waiting for this."
At one point during the exchange, a black male in a wheelchair rolls up to the white male and demands, "Are you hitting people? Are you hitting our people?" He then goes on to accuse the white male of racism.
The white male responds, "Oh, yeah. I hit him. ... I see a man as a man. He's yelling and shouting at people in the street, then he comes over and spits on my car. Then he turned around on me. I'm not going to let him hit me first, man."
Officers arrive on the scene and the white male immediately stops restraining the black male and allows police to take over.
Hamideh told the outlet that he cannot confirm if any arrests were made in connection with the incident.
UPDATE: 9/3/2020, 10:44 a.m.
Captain Jeff Rinaldo of the Buffalo Police Department tells TheBlaze that the incident is under investigation.
This story has been updated.


theblaze--2020-09-04--VIDEO: Car rams into crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Times Square

VIDEO : Car rams into crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Times Square

A car rammed into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City. Videos on Twitter show the chaotic scene as a black Ford Taurus drives through a crowd of approximately 350 people protesting in Times Square against police brutality shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.
Video shows the vehicle, which has blacked-out windows and a push bumper in the front of the car, stop in front of demonstrators who blocked the street with their bikes. Then the driver suddenly accelerates into the group of protesters, forcing demonstrators to jump out of the way. Some people used their bicycles to try to smash the car as it sped down 46th Street.
With the crowd chasing the car, the Taurus zipped down the street and made a right onto another road.
The NYPD said there were no reports of injuries from the event, but there is one Twitter video of a woman in the crowd yelling, "We need a medic!" An alleged witness wrote, "A few people and bikes hit but I only see minor injuries."
The NYPD said they had launched an investigation and stressed that the vehicle "is NOT an NYPD vehicle."
Thursday night's protests in New York City focused on Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old black man who died in March after being arrested by Rochester police.
Prude's brother called 911 to request help after the man was suffering from a mental episode. Through the Freedom of Information Act, the family released bodycam footage of Prude's arrest, which shows police officers placing the naked man in a spit hood after he refused to stop spitting. Police held Prude on the pavement for two minutes, and one officer is seen placing a knee on his back.
The Monroe County medical examiner's office determined Prude's cause of death from "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint." Other factors, such as acute PCP intoxication and "excited delirium," also contributed to the man's death.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced on Thursday that the seven police officers involved in the arrest of Prude had been suspended.
"Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me," Warren said. "I'm filled with grief, and anger at myself for all the failures that lead to his death."
Prude had been taken into custody for a mental health evaluation about eight hours before the encounter.
This story has been updated.


theblaze--2020-09-04--Antifa member suspected of killing Aaron Danielson killed during attempted arrest by FBI, US Marshal

Antifa member suspected of killing Aaron Danielson killed during attempted arrest by FBI, US Marshals

He was found just outside Seattle Antifa member suspected of killing Aaron Danielson killed during attempted arrest by FBI , @ @ @ @ @ was killed by law enforcement as they attempted to arrest him for allegedly killing Aaron @ @ @ @ @ Image source : Vice News video screenshot )

Michael Forest Reinoehl, the Antifa member who was suspected of killing a Trump-supporting demonstrator in Portland, was killed by law enforcement agents who came to arrest him in Washington state Thursday, Fox News reported.
A federal fugitive task force comprised of FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, Lakewood Police, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies, and the Washington State Department of Corrections was attempting to arrest Reinoehl on a murder warrant for the Aug. 29 killing of Aaron Danielson, who was a supporter of the conservative group Patriot Prayer.
What happened?
Reinoehl reportedly pulled a weapon when he was confronted by law enforcement, and multiple officers opened fire.
"Initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers," a statement by the U.S. Marshals Service said. "Task force members responded to the threat and struck the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene."
Thurston County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ray Brady told the New York Times that four officers shot at Reinoehl.
How did we get here?
A pro-Trump caravan drove through Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 29, at the same time as Black Lives Matter and Antifa were protesting. The two groups clashed downtown, and Danielson, who was wearing a Patriot Prayer hat and a Blue Lives Matter satchel, was shot in the chest and killed.
Those who were with Danielson at the time believe they were targeted for their conservative beliefs.
"We have a First Amendment in this country," Chandler Pappas told the Common Sense Conservative. "And for whatever reason, there seems to be this opposition that thinks we can't do that. They have been attacking us for years. Really for decades in the grand scheme of things but very heavily in Portland."
Conflicts, sometimes violent, between right- and left-wing groups have been an ongoing issue in Portland for years.
Admitted to the shooting?
A Vice News interview with Reinoehl was published earlier the same day he was killed. Reinoehl told Vice he believed he was being hunted.
Reinoehl also said he believed he killed Danielson in self-defense because he and his friend were about to be attacked.
"You know, lots of lawyers suggest that I shouldn't even be saying anything, but I feel it's important that the world at least gets a little bit of what's really going on," Reinoehl told Vice. "I had no choice. I mean, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn't going to do that."
Reinoehl described himself as "100% Antifa all the way" on social media and expressed a willingness to "fight for my brothers and sisters."
"We do not want violence but we do not run from it either!" he wrote in a June 16 social media post.