Spring

Trump Attacks Dr. Birx in an Attempt to Keep a Loyal Soldier in Line

President Donald Trump attacked Dr. Deborah Birx for the first time on Monday after the White House coronavirus task force coordinator said she believed the virus had entered a “new phase” and that counties with significant community spread should not reopen schools in the fall.Birx’s comments came on CNN just two days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized her in a meeting with administration officials, calling her “the worst.” One Democratic aide said Pelosi was referencing Birx’s apparent deference to the president’s inaccurate statements about the virus, including that ingesting bleach should be studied as a possible cure. “She’s not a straight shooter,” the aide said. “She sat there during the bleach [comment]. She just sat there!”Nancy Pelosi Tears Into Dr. Birx: ‘I Don’t Have Confidence’ in HerBy Sunday, Birx had done precisely what Pelosi accused her of sidestepping—something Hill Democrats took as affirmation of the Speaker’s decision to go after her. She challenged several White House talking points, which appeared to infuriate the president.“In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us,” Trump tweeted. “Pathetic!”The president’s reaction on Monday morning came as an early-in-the-week annoyance to some in the West Wing and others close to Trump, who interpreted his angry tweeting more as an impulsive attempt to keep her in line, and less so due to any personal grudge. Two advisers noted that this was yet another instance of President Trump trampling over his lieutenants’ crafted messaging strategy—which included attacking Pelosi for attacking Birx—and that in such cases, given how frequent they are, staff has limited recourse beyond ignoring their boss.By Monday afternoon, that is precisely what several top Trump aides decided to do, opting to look past the president’s own comment, and simply continue knocking Pelosi.Nevertheless, Trump’s denunciation of Birx didn’t just highlight his willingness to undermine his own coronavirus task force coordinator in an effort to push forward his agenda to reopen the nation’s economy and schools. The exchange also underscored how shaky the administration’s policy rationales have been on critical pandemic-related matters. Spokespersons for the White House and the coronavirus task force did not respond to repeated requests for comment.Trump’s Top COVID Adviser: Deaths Will Soon Start to RiseBirx’s comments marked a significant departure from the White House’s public stance on school reopenings. She pointed to the Center for Disease Control’s school guidelines during her comments, saying she agreed with the agency’s recommendations that schools should conduct virtual learning under certain circumstances. Those guidelines, though, only call for the consideration of virtual learning. Birx said that if there is “high case load and active community spread … we’re asking people to distance learn at this moment.”In her interview Birx said the U.S. was experiencing a “new phase” of the virus—a point Pence and others have resisted communicating or confirming as President Trump has pushed his allies to reopen the American economy. Birx said a slew of states across the country are experiencing new outbreaks and that case counts have steadily increased since Memorial Day weekend. “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread" in both urban and rural areas, she told CNN’s Dana Bash.The synopsis was the rare case of an administration official publicly painting a less-than-rosy picture about the virus’ spread. And it raises questions about how Pence specifically will respond. The VP has been loyal to Trump throughout the pandemic. But he has also praised Birx for months as one of the administration’s guiding forces in its coronavirus response.Since last month, Pence has echoed the president in pushing state leaders to reopen their economies as well as their schools, according to recordings of his calls with the nation’s governors previously obtained by The Daily Beast. He’s often been joined on these calls by Birx and CDC Director Robert Redfield, as well as other leading coronavirus task force officials, who have provided governors with readouts of the latest data, trends, testing initiatives, as well as the federal government’s recommendations on reopening. Since May, task force officials have in large part stayed on message with the president, pressing governors to consider implementing phased reopenings and pushing for school reopenings. During one phone call with governors on July 7, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told participants that schools should reopen even if there is some risk because “risk is embedded in everything we do” from “learning to ride a bike, to the risk of getting in a space capsule and getting shot off in a rocket into space.”In recent days Birx has taken a more aggressive approach in her debriefings, insisting that states experiencing significant upticks in positivity rates—more than 5 percent—implement strict new measures to contain the virus. On the call with governors last week, she said communities should enforce strict “100 percent mask mandates,” limit indoor gatherings, including dining, and close bars. Even before then, Birx warned state leaders that the upward tick in case counts in the South and Southwest could affect mortality rates. Since then, Birx has worked with a small group of officials to collect and analyze case counts, death rates and hospitalizations, and to coordinate with state officials on their virus responses. Over the last several weeks she has traveled across the country to states with increasing positivity rates and community spread in an effort to encourage local officials to enact stricter containment measures. Behind the scenes, Trump has fumed about the public outcry over the increasing number of positive cases throughout the country. The president has insisted repeatedly (and in contradiction with logic) that the uptick has been tied to an increase in testing. And he has launched public attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, who has been more openly pessimistic about the state of the pandemic fight. Birx had, for months, avoided such treatment. While Fauci became a lightning rod for censure and scorn from the president and his allies, Birx gained a reputation within Trumpworld not only as a talented doctor, but as a much savvier political player.“She is not some [MAGA] loyalist, but she knows how to play the game,” said one former senior Trump administration official. “And the president instinctively respects that.”For months, the president’s private remarks about Birx have generally been charitable, with Trump often emphasizing how much she will back him up about what great a job he and his team supposedly have done. During an Oval Office news conference in late April, when a Yahoo News reporter asked a question—based on misread data—about coronavirus testing, Trump mocked the journalist in front of the news cameras, saying, “Are you going to apologize, Yahoo?” and, “That’s why you’re Yahoo and nobody knows who the hell you are.” Dr. Birx, who was also seated in the Oval office that day, had corrected the reporter’s numbers, which led to the Yahoo News staffer later issuing a mea culpa on Twitter.In the weeks that followed, Trump continued to savor the moment, bringing it up repeatedly to those close to him, according to a person with direct knowledge of the comments. “The president saw this as something that showed how much of a team player [Dr. Birx] is, and that she wouldn’t put up with lies from the press,” this source said. “He greatly appreciated how she put [that reporter] in his place.”Still, by Monday morning, none of this mattered, at least not enough to spare her getting pilloried by @realDonaldTrump. -with reporting by Sam SteinRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Iran has been covering up its coronavirus death toll, according to BBC investigation which says the true figure is almost 3 times higher

Both coronavirus deaths and cases are significantly higher than Iran is publicly reporting, according to government figures seen by the BBC.

A California couple were arrested on hate-crime charges after they yelled 'white power' during an episode of road rage, police say

They yelled "white power" and "only white lives matter" at a Black man and his girlfriend in a racist altercation on the road on July 22, police said.

Florida man once bitten by alligator is chomped by 8-foot shark while on vacation

Justin Stuller is now sporting two dozen stitches and a small limp after tangling with an eight-foot lemon shark in the Florida Keys.

Emeritus Pope Benedict, 93, 'extremely frail' after visiting dying brother

Former Pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is "extremely frail", according to a report in the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Monday. Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pontiff's biographer, Peter Seewald. "According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the report said. "His thinking and his memory are quick, but his voice is hardly audible at the moment." Mr Seewald reportedly visited Benedict in Rome on Saturday to present him with his biography. "At the meeting the emeritus Pope, despite his illness, was optimistic and declared that if his strength increased again he would possibly take up his pen again," the paper said. Benedict visited his sick brother, Georg, in Germany in June, marking his first trip out of Italy since his shock resignation in 2013. Georg Ratzinger died two weeks later, aged 96.

Virginia gov faces new hurdle in bid to remove Lee statue

A judge dismissed a legal challenge Monday that had been blocking Virginia officials from removing a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the state's capital city, but he immediately imposed another injunction against dismantling the figure. The new 90-day injunction bars Gov. Ralph Northam's administration from “removing, altering, or dismantling, in any way” the larger-than-life statue of Lee on a prominent Richmond avenue while claims in a lawsuit filed by local property owners are litigated. Now covered in graffiti, the Lee monument has become a focal point and gathering spot amid Richmond's sustained anti-racist protests since the police custody death in Minnesota of a Black man, George Floyd.

Transcript: Mark Meadows on "Face the Nation"

The following is a transcript of an interview with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that aired Sunday, August 2, 2020, on "Face the Nation."

Who is Karen Bass?

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., has been mentioned as a potential running mate for former VP Joe Biden, who has vowed to pick a woman as his vice president.

GOP dread over possible Kobach nomination in Kansas

Republicans fear that Democratic meddling has helped to erase Roger Marshall’s lead in this week’s primary, potentially costing the party a Senate seat and perhaps its majority.

These 43-square-foot pods were originally for travelers to take a nap at the airport, but now the company is selling them for $50,000 each

NapCity's pods are modular and customizable, starting at $50,000.

Mexico crime: Mexican police seize alleged oil theft crime boss The Sledgehammer

"The Sledgehammer" is caught after releasing a bizarre, tearful video declaring war on security forces.

‘Murder hornets’ trapped in US for first time as officials race to eradicate colonies before breeding season

As the US grapples with the world's worst coronavirus outbreak, a new threat is emerging as Asian giant hornets – known as “murder hornets” due to their lethal sting to humans – are gaining a foothold in the country.After they were first found in Washington State in May this year, the 2-inch (5cm)-long hornets have now been trapped for the first time – giving officials an indication – firstly that their traps work, and secondly of where nests could be situated.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva tests positive for COVID-19, is symptom-free

Rep. Raúl Grijalva has tested positive for COVID-19 after days in D.C. that included a hearing with Rep. Louie Gohmert, who also tested positive.

Homicides Spike in 50 Largest Cities across Nation

Homicides and gun violence have spiked in major cities around the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, spurred by an economic recession and unrest that arose from protests against police brutality.Across the nation’s 50 largest cities, homicides are up 24 percent this year, totaling 3,612 so far, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of police department data. In 36 of those cities, the homicide rate increased by double digits.Shootings have also surged, but other kinds of violent crime have declined, including robberies, which sank 11 percent across the 41 cities that provided such data.Chicago saw the largest jump in homicides, reporting more than 400 more homicides than last year, an increase of more than 50 percent. Philadelphia and New York City came in just behind the country's third-largest city, both tallying more than 200 more homicides this year. Along with Chicago, Austin and Fort Worth, Tx. saw the largest increase in murders.The staggering increase in violence comes after months of protests against police departments that have included calls to defund and dismantle departments in Minneapolis, where the police custody death of George Floyd sparked national outrage. Homicides in Minneapolis have nearly doubled, with 41 homicides compared to 21 by this time last year.Police and crime experts have attributed the spike in violence to a variety of factors, including a rise in gang violence, an economic recession caused by the shutdown of businesses, and the lack of activity during the pandemic by social institutions that historically help tamp down crime, such as churches and schools.Meanwhile, lockdown orders that have kept residents in their homes may help explain the decline in robberies and rapes, since burglars are less likely to target a home with residents inside, and fewer potential victims were on the streets, experts said. The rise in shootings and murders was particularly stark in disadvantaged neighborhoods rather than the sites of protests against racism and police brutality in many cities.The homicide rate in the nation's major cities is still a far cry from the crime levels of previous decades, such as in 1990, when New York City recorded a total of 2,262 murders.

Annual Sturgis rally expecting 250K, stirring virus concerns

Sturgis is on. The message has been broadcast across social media as South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, braces to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to rumble through western South Dakota, seeking the freedom of cruising the boundless landscapes in a state that has skipped lockdowns.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Says She Has No Confidence in COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx

"The president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee," Pelosi said

Fauci says states seeing surge in COVID-19 cases should reconsider some lockdown measures

In some states with moderate case counts, experts are seeing "that same insidious increase in percent positive that we had seen and pointed out ... in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota and others", Fauci said during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Fauci said last week that he was seeing signs the surge of COVID-19 cases could be peaking in the South and West while other areas were on the cusp of new outbreaks. Fauci said that it is crucial that the outbreak be contained before autumn, when influenza cases are likely to spike alongside COVID-19 and more people begin to move indoors, increasing the risk of contagion.

Biden has edge in North Carolina, race is tight in Georgia — CBS News poll

Concern about President Trump's handling of coronavirus pandemic is continuing to take a political toll on him.

These are the safest and most reliable used cars for teens under $15,000

Consumer Reports and the IIHS jointly put out a list of the best used cars for teens. They're all dependable, reliable, and relatively affordable.

Egypt tells Elon Musk its pyramids were not built by aliens

Egypt invited the billionaire to visit, after he appeared to tweet support for conspiracy theorists.

Verdict looms in killing of Lebanon ex-PM Hariri

A UN-backed tribunal will give its verdict Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, but questions will remain over a long and costly trial whose suspects remain at large. Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people. The judgment harks back to an event that changed the face of the Middle East, with Hariri's assassination triggering a wave of demonstrations that pushed Syrian forces out of Lebanon after 30 years.

Splash Mountain log flume ride sinks at Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain hit rough waters Sunday as Twitter users posted video of a submerged log flume ride they were in moments earlier.

Outbreak hits Norway cruise ship, could spread along coast

A Norwegian cruise ship line halted all trips and apologized Monday for procedural errors after a coronavirus outbreak on one ship infected at least 5 passengers and 36 crew. Health authorities fear the ship also could have spread the virus to dozens of towns and villages along Norway's western coast. The confirmed virus cases from the MS Roald Amundsen raise new questions about safety on all cruise ships during a pandemic even as the devastated cruise ship industry is pressing to resume sailings after chaotically shutting down in March.

New York City has already had more shootings in 2020 than in the whole of 2019

New York City has recorded more shootings so far in 2020 than the whole of last year, authorities have confirmed.There were 777 shootings between January and 2 August 2020, compared with 776 in 2019, according to figures compiled by the New York Post, and later confirmed by New York Police department (NYPD).

Russia says suspected mercenaries detained by Belarus were going to Latin America

A Russian diplomat said on Monday a group of more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were only passing through Minsk and were on their way to an unnamed Latin American state. Belarusian authorities have said they suspect the men entered their country to plot "acts of terrorism" and destabilise it before an Aug. 9 presidential election. The Russian state says it does not use mercenaries.

Trump says coronavirus is "receding" even as deaths rise

The president continues to to tout his administration's actions even as one of his top health advisers warns the outbreak "is extraordinarily widespread"

Clyburn calls for long-term extension of unemployment, saying "this jerking people around" is "not the way we ought to be conducting ourselves"

The House Majority Whip says he would support any measure that extended beyond a one-week extension of benefits.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said a US company should buy TikTok to prevent the Chinese government from accessing user data

"With TikTok in China, it's subject to Chinese Communist Party laws that may require handing over data to their government," the senator tweeted.

Navarro Throws Another White House Health Expert Under Bus Over Hydroxy

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro publicly bashed yet another White House public health expert on Monday while touting an unproven anti-malarial drug, saying he took “exception” to coronavirus testing czar Brett Giroir dismissing hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment.Days after CNN cut short a Navarro interview after he kept repeating the racist phrase “China virus,” the network invited him on for yet another contentious segment that featured the combative Trump aide disseminating coronavirus disinformation.Navarro, who has been an outspoken proponent of hydroxychloroquine and has repeatedly attacked top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci for warning about the drug’s lack of efficacy, doubled down on his embrace of the drug while taking aim at Giroir.“One of the president’s chief advisers on the coronavirus pandemic, Adm. Giroir, he said given five studies now that have found the drug hydroxychloroquine—that there’s no proof that it helps with COVID-19 patients,” host Jim Sciutto noted. “I just wonder, given your past public support for it, is it time for the administration to focus on proven treatments for COVID rather than one that has not been proven?”Navarro—who recently groused that the government is “sitting on millions of doses” of the drug—shot back that he takes “exception to Giroir’s analysis, adding that the HHS official “hasn’t looked at the data” within the past two weeks.“It’s his job to look at data,” Sciutto interjected.After demanding that CNN bring on a couple of doctors who claim the drug is beneficial for COVID-19 patients—CNN had actually interviewed one of them hours earlier—Navarro brushed off the large number of experts criticizing hydroxychloroquine.“My view of this now is doctors' opinions are a dime a dozen and some doctors say it doesn’t work,” he exclaimed. “You’ve got some doctors who say it does.”The CNN host, meanwhile, retorted that this isn’t a “both sides thing,” prompting Navarro to insist that is exactly what it is.“No, it is a both sides. It is—it is both sides,” he declared.Sciutto went on to note that several high-quality double-blinded clinical trials show that there is no benefit to the drug and that the FDA has revoked emergency use of hydroxychloroquine due to concerns over potentially deadly side effects.“This hasn’t passed muster so why all the focus on that drug,” the CNN anchor wondered aloud. “Why not focus on things that work like remdesivir?”Undeterred, Navarro claimed that there is now a study that shows hydroxychloroquine “works better” than remdesivir—even though White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said just last week that randomized trials have shown the anti-viral drug has no efficacy as a treatment. She also reiterated that there appears to be no benefit to hydroxychloroquine.Team Trump has suddenly rallied back around the controversial malaria drug after a fringe doctor—who believes that demon sperm causes female medical problems and “alien DNA” is being used in medication—proclaimed it a coronavirus “cure” in a viral video last week. Despite that doctor’s bizarre past claims, President Donald Trump has called her “spectacular,” “very respected,” and an “important voice.”Chris Wallace Confronts Trump Campaign Spox Jason Miller: Admit ‘You’re Losing’Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

A cartel war has transformed once-tranquil Guanajuato into one of Mexico's deadliest states

Homicides soar as two gangs battle it out in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

Two sisters who hadn't seen each other in more than 50 years were reunited by coronavirus

One long-lost sister was being treated for her COVID-19 infection at a rehab center while the other worked as a medical aide.

Shoprite: Africa's biggest supermarket considers pulling out of Nigeria

Shoprite is the latest high-profile South African retailer to struggle in the Nigerian market.

Mysterious seeds sent from China to the US identified by the USDA

The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.

Judge rejects Trump restrictions on coronavirus sick leave for employees

A U.S. judge on Monday voided parts of a Trump administration rule that restricted paid sick leave and emergency family leave for potentially millions of workers affected by the coronavirus. Ruling in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan said the Department of Labor overstepped its authority in denying eligibility for benefits to several groups of workers. The rule was adopted in April to implement the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which made as many as 61 million employees eligible for up to two weeks of paid sick leave and 12 weeks of mostly paid emergency family leave.

Biden urged not to debate Trump so president doesn't have another platform to 'lie'

Republican strategist Joseph Pinion and Democratic political analyst Kelly Hyman react.

An impassioned obituary for a 79-year-old coronavirus victim blames Trump for his death, then calls out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and people who refused to wear masks

"Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not," David W. Nagy's widow wrote in her husband's obituary.

Philippine capital returning to lockdown as virus surges

The Philippine president has agreed to place the capital and outlying provinces back under a lockdown after medical groups warned that the country was waging “a losing battle” against the coronavirus amid an alarming surge in infections. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Monday that metropolitan Manila, the capital region of more than 12 million people, and five densely populated provinces will revert to stricter quarantine restrictions for two weeks starting Tuesday. President Rodrigo Duterte relaxed the country’s lockdown on June 1 in an effort to restart the stalled economy.

Spanish police launch investigation after DJ filmed spitting beer in to a crowd

Police have launched an investigation after a video emerged of a DJ spitting beer onto dancers at a beach club in a Spanish resort as the country battled to reduce a spike in coronavirus cases. Video film showed a man spraying the crowd with beer then offering some dancers drinks from the same bottle at the club in Torremolinos, a destination popular with British tourists near Malaga in southern Spain. Many people dancing do not appear to be wearing masks according to the images which were shared widely on social media. One member of the Spanish DJ duo called Les Castizos was said to be the person who spat the beer at the crowd during part of their act. Police said they were investigating the pair for alleged “behaviour which does not abide by the measures of protection and security against coronavirus”. Torremolinos council has closed the beach bar Kokun Ocean Club for 15 days after the video emerged.

Portland, America's 'whitest' big city, is an unlikely hub of Black Lives Matter

Portland, Ore., where more than 72% of the population is white, has been transformed into a national center of the movement for racial justice.

Boeing wins $265 million to build more special ops Chinook helos

The Army has minted another deal with Boeing for more special ops Chinooks.

Under ICE rules and visa complications, a semester with no new international students awaits

As the resurgence of coronavirus pushes some schools to go fully online, the latest ruling leaves new international students with hard choices.

Trump administration includes nearly $400m to remodel West Wing in coronavirus relief bill

The Trump Administration wants to include $337m in its next coronavirus relief bill to pay for a renovation of the White Houses’ West Wing.The administration says the work would “increase the White House campus’s ability to detect, mitigate and alleviate external security and pandemic threats.”

California governor says COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, trending down

The rates of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions were all trending downward in California in the latest counts, the governor said on Monday. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said that despite that good news, the state's Central Valley agricultural region was still being hit hard by the coronavirus. "This virus is not going away," Newsom said at a daily coronavirus briefing.

Scientists and environmental groups 'alarmed' by huge rise in Amazon wildfires

“It’s a terrible sign,” said Ane Alencar, science director at Brazil’s Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).

An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus criticized Republican lawmakers for refusing to wear masks in the Capitol

Arizona Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday but is currently asymptomatic.

Sen. Murkowski Says Confirming Supreme Court Nominee in 2020 Would Be ‘Double Standard’

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent health problems have revealed a rift among Senate Republicans over what to do if a Supreme Court seat becomes vacant before the end of President Trump’s first term.While Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has indicated his intent to fill any Supreme Court vacancies in 2020, other Republicans are more hesitant.Senator Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), expressed concern that confirming a Trump nominee before the end of the president’s term would create a “double standard” after Republicans in 2016 declined to appoint then-president Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, to fill the seat vacated by conservative justice Antonin Scalia’s death.“When Republicans held off Merrick Garland it was because nine months prior to the election was too close, we needed to let people decide. And I agreed to do that. If we now say that months prior to the election is OK when nine months was not, that is a double standard and I don’t believe we should do it,” Murkowski told The Hill. “So I would not support it.”Republicans, who control 53 Senate seats, wouldn’t be able to confirm a justice with more than three defections of a confirmation vote if all 47 Democratic senators stay unified.When Scalia died in mid-February of 2016 and Obama nominated Garland one month later, McConnell and then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) blocked Garland from even getting a hearing.McConnell has said confirming another Trump nominee would be different because Republicans control both the White House and the Senate, while in 2016 Democrats controlled only the White House. For his part, Grassley, who now serves as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he would likely maintain Republicans' 2016 position if the situation arises, though he stressed that the decision is ultimately up to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.).Graham told The Hill that while he’d be willing to fill a vacancy, his decision would depend upon what his Republican colleagues think. Senate Republican whip John Thune (S.D.) said he would support filling a vacancy before the election but was less certain about a course of action should Trump lose the election. Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) expressed support for confirming a Trump nominee in 2020.Graham expects Trump to release a list of conservative nominees in the coming weeks, which he would pick from should a Court vacancy occur this year or in Trump’s second term, if he wins reelection. “I don’t know. We’ll see,” he said. “I hope everybody stays healthy on the Supreme Court and we don’t have to worry about it.”

Panama proposes flying Haitian migrants home after clash

The government of Panama said Monday it has proposed giving some Haitian migrants flights back to their homeland after frustrations boiled over at the remote camps where they are stuck. The camps in Panama’s southern Darien province also house some Cuban and African migrants, but about 80% of the 2,000 migrants there are from Haiti. Public Safety Minister Juan Pino said Monday he offered improved medical services or repatriation flights to the migrants, who want to travel overland to the U.S. border but cannot do so because of coronavirus restrictions.

Drug-Smuggling Cat Escapes High-Security Sri Lankan Prison

A cat that was detained at Sri Lanka’s high-security Welikada Prison on suspicion of smuggling drugs to inmates has escaped, according to local media reports in Aruna.The feline delinquent was detained last week with two grams of heroin, two SIM cards and a memory chip hidden in a plastic bag tied to its collar on the prison grounds. Police suspect that the drug traffickers who trained the cat are part of the same cartel that was caught using an eagle to smuggle drugs in a suburb of Colombo. The menagerie of accomplices were associated with the underworld crime boss Angoda Lokka.Lokka died while hiding from the authorities in early July, according to local media. A man and a woman, aged 30 and 19, were arrested Sunday for illegally cremating him and forging identity documents, according to the New Indian Express.While there is no stipulation for animal arrest under Sri Lankan law, police were hoping the cat could lead them to the smugglers’ den, the media reports suggest. The cat reportedly scampered out of its holding room and escaped through a fence when prison guards came in to feed it.Last week, police raided a farm owned by an associate of Lokka and found an air-rifle, bullets and the eagle previously seen delivering drugs. Prison authorities say they have noted an increase in people trying to smuggle drugs, cellphones and chargers into the prison in recent weeks, allegedly to sell within the prison system. Authorities say they are not searching for the narco cat.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.