Monthly Archives: May 2021

Donald Trump, coronavirus news & more: Whats trending today – cleveland.com

Posted: May 20, 2021 at 4:40 am

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Get the coronavirus news from around the world, read more about the investigation into Donald Trump and his business interests and see more stories trending online today.

Trump organization now under criminal investigation, New York attorney general says (AP)

Fact check: False claim from Trump about Maricopa County election database (USA Today)

Trump ditches Florida and heads north for the summer (CNN)

House to Vote on Independent Panel to Probe Jan. 6 Attack (NBC NY)

Gas prices highest in 6 years as panic-buying prolongs shortages (CBS News)

No sign of Israel-Gaza ceasefire as fighting rages (Reuters)

Gulf Arab citizens express anger at Israel (AP)

Senate China Bill to Add $52 Billion for U.S. Chip Making (Bloomberg)

Covid cases dropping by 5% or more in nearly every U.S. state, vaccinations continue to fall (CNBC)

McCarthy, GOP Doctors Caucus to introduce resolution for vote to roll back House mask policy (Fox News)

Uneven vaccination rates across the US linked to Covid-19 case trends, worry experts (CNN)

Teens can now get their COVID vaccines, experts say it wont impact fertility (ABC)

Back to normal? Psychologists warn the pandemic could have lasting effects (NBC)

CDC back under scrutiny after new mask guidance (The Hill)

Millions face eviction when moratorium ends (CBS)

Rudy Giulianis son, Andrew Giuliani, running for governor of New York (ABC)

Robert Durst murder trial opens with L.A. shooting scene (LA Times)

Demi Lovato Comes Out as Non Binary, Announces Pronoun Change (ET)

Its official: Lollapalooza returning in 2021, bands to be announced Wednesday (Chicago Tribune)

Spain, Morocco square off after 8,000 migrants arrive by sea (AP)

Famed Darwins Arch collapses due to erosion in Galapagos Islands (CBS)

Princess Beatrice Expecting Her First Child (People)

Bank of America to boost minimum wage to $25 an hour for its employees by 2025 (USA Today)

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Donald Trump flies north for the summer to New Jersey golf club – The Guardian

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Donald Trump has moved his base operation from Mar-a-Lago in Florida to Bedminster, New Jersey, ahead of a fundraiser this weekend, according to a report from CNN.

Trump made the move last week and is expected to reside in the members only Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster through the summer.

The former president is expected to make an appearance at a fundraiser at Bedminster for the Make America Great Again Super Pac on Saturday.

The pro-Trump fundraiser, which is run by his longtime adviser Corey Lewandowski, will be Trumps first official appearance at the club this season, although he has been spotted playing the clubs 36-hole golf course. The fundraiser on Saturday will include reception and a dinner. The minimum price for entry is $250,000.

Former Trump aides have also set up base at Bedminster Township. The move will make it easier for the staff to visit the Trump offices in Trump Towers in Manhattan which is 45 miles east of Bedminster. Trumps daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, also have a property on the Bedminster resort.

Several lawmakers, including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, had visited the former president in his Mar-a-Lago residency, where he settled after he lost the presidency, seeking endorsement from him.

It is expected future pro-Trump fundraisers and visits from potential candidates seeking his endorsement will also shift from south Florida to New Jersey.

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Donald Trump Is An Exemplary Tenant, Says His Washington D.C. Landlord – Forbes

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Capital T: The Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue has a 60-year lease from the U.S. government.

Donald Trump, the landlord, was often accused of using his time in the Oval Office to pad his private business interests. His critics repeatedly decried his lack of transparency. The former president never had to publicly disclose who his tenants were because his commercial real estate portfolio was held by a collection of shell companies, and federal disclosure laws only apply to direct payments.

Last year Forbes revealed that 25 commercial tenants renting space in Trumps buildings were throwing him some $115 million a year. During the former presidents time in office, some of those tenantsfrom big investment banks to household-name consumer brands like Nike, Duane Reade and Starbuckshad either lobbied the federal government or bid for federal contracts, or sometimes both.

Meanwhile, the whiff of impropriety has also lingered over Donald Trump, the tenant. His lavish Washington, D.C. hotel is ensconced inside the spectacular Old Post Office, a federal building with a unique, historic importance to the country. From its completion in 1899, the impressive building, whose iconic clock tower houses the Bells of Congress, served for years at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue as the main post office for the nations capital. Yet in the modern era, the building had become an underutilized money pit.

In 2012, the U.S. government awarded a 60-year lease to the Trump Organization, which beat out bids by hospitality behemoths Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide. Trump said that he had paid too much, and history may prove that Uncle Sam got the best of him.

In striking a deal with the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that manages federally owned properties, the Trump Organization agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to painstakingly restore the buildings Romanesque Revival exterior and convert the interior into a luxury hotel. To cover the massive renovation costs, Trumps company invested $42 million, got an historic-preservation tax credit to cover roughly $40million, and took out a $170 million loan from Deutsche Bank, which appears to be in trouble. On top of all of that, the Trump Organization pays the government approximately $248,000 per month in rentwhich works out to a cool $3 million per year.

Throughout Trumps presidency, Democratic members of the U.S. Housesubcommittee tasked with oversight of federal real estate assets argued that Trump was in breach of the lease when he became president, on the grounds that the agreement prohibits any elected official from benefitting personally from the lease. They made 10 requests for financial statements relating to the Trump International Hotel, including a subpoena in 2019. All were blocked by the Trump-appointed GSA administrator.

But now it appears that the eleventh times the charm. With a Biden-appointed acting administrator now running the agency, the GSA is finally coughing up some of those documents, CNN reported last week. The GSA conveyed to House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio, the that it was turning over monthly financial statements from Trumps hotel, audits and lease amendments.

The GSA provided those documents on a confidential basis and have not released them publicly, though some older documents relating to the Old Post Office are available online. Many have been heavily redacted.

Yet despite the GSAs years of stonewalling and less-than-transparent paper trail, Trump foes hoping to discover a smoking gun may be disappointed.

The tenant is paying the rent as agreed to under the lease and has been making rental payments consistent with its obligations under the lease. Those payments have not been late, said a GSA spokesperson via email.

In April 2020, the Trump Organization requested rent relief on the property during the pandemic, The New York Times reportedbut that request was denied.

The tenant did not receive rent relief for the OPO lease, according to the GSA. And there have been no amendments to the lease to change the rental payments.

That is all 100% correct, a Trump Organization spokesperson confirmed via email.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in the grand lobby of Trump international Hotel on October 26, 2016. (Photo by Cheriss May)

In many ways, the fortunes of Trumps D.C. hotel have mirrored the former presidents political trajectory. Right after the 2016 presidential election, the hotel became instantly synonymous with schmoozy grift, as right-wing personalities and GOP elected officials made a point of frequenting the hotel and taking selfies in the Benjamin Bar. The hotel took in $18 million in the first four months of 2017 and another $34 million in the last eight,according to Trumps financial disclosure report.

But in time, the magic wore off. By 2019, the Trump Organization had quietly put the hotel on the market but failed to nab a bid even close to the $500 million asking price. Trumps lastfinancial disclosure report,released in the hours after his presidency ended, showed theTrump International Hotels revenue was down$33 million in 2020a 62% drop from the previous year. And while the hotel was eventually pulled off the market, Bloomberg reported last month that the Trumps were still open to offers.

Now, with Trump having exited D.C., the line of folks wanting to curry favor by spending a few nights at his hotel or making an appearance at the restaurant has dwindledleaving the hotels future unclear.

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Joe Biden proves an elusive target for Republicans. After Cheney fight, their focus is back on the president – USA TODAY

Posted: at 4:40 am

Correction: This article has been updated to correct which states Joe Biden won in 2020 that Donald Trump won in 2016.

WASHINGTONShortly after meeting at the White House on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., sent an aggressive fundraising text signaling a renewed effort to target his host, the president.

"I just met with Corrupt Joe Biden and hes STILL planning to push his radical Socialist agenda onto the American people," the text said.

McCarthy and other Republicans said intraparty squabbles, including the drama surrounding Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.,distracted them from presenting a unified front against Biden and his big spending plans.

Now that Cheney's been expelled from Republican congressional leadership, the GOP and its allies are renewing attacks on Biden on issues such as immigration, taxing the wealthy, foreign policyand the ability of a 78-year-old man to handle the political world's toughest jobs.

A number of factors, analysts said, have foiled those Republican attempts and could keep Republicans from landing a lasting punch.

Biden hosts 'big four' Congressional leaders at WH

President Joe Biden hosts the first formal gathering of the "big four" congressional leaders on Wednesday. Biden's sit-down Oval Office meeting comes as the White House accelerates its efforts to reach a bipartisan infrastructure agreement. (May 12)

AP

After more than three months in office, Biden enjoys approval ratings of more than 50%, and polling showssupport for his ambitious spending plans that include $1.9 trillion approved for COVID-19 relief and $2.3 trillion proposed for jobs and infrastructure.

'I don't understand the Republicans': Joe Biden says GOP in middle of 'mini-revolution' amid Cheney dustup

'Stop the Spending Spree': Fiscal conservatives mobilize to block Biden's jobs and families plans

The Republicans' success or failure in tarnishing Biden and his team could determine whether they win back Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024. History is on their side: Midterm electionsfrequently see control of Congress change hands.

Ex-President Donald Trump, deprived of Twitter and other social mediabut still viewed by many as the most powerful Republican voice in the country, increased his outputof written statements, many of them attacking his successor over a variety of issues.

Stepped-up Republican attacks may not resonate, analysts said,especially if more people get back to work, inflation is checked, and the economy rebounds after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lara Brown, director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, said most Americans "approve of the job President Biden is doing and believe that the country is on the right track."

"It is difficult for the Republicans to raise a ruckus and rile the public," she said, "when most are either satisfied or feeling optimistic about the future.

Republicans have had little success demonizing Biden with independent voters because so many people feel they know him, analysts said.

The president has been a fixture in American politics for more than a half-century. A senator from Delaware for more than three decades, Biden participated in many high-profile hearings and congressional debates. He served eight years as vice president to President Barack Obama.

After winning the Democratic nomination for president last year, Bidenracked up more than 80 million votes to unseat Trump despite Trump and his Republican allies lobbing constant allegations of malfeasance against Biden and his sonHunter, as well as attacks on Biden's fitness to hold office.

Some of those attacks have continued into the Biden presidencybutto little avail.

An average of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics gives Biden an average job approval rating of 54.2%.

The underlying data in those polls shows a common theme: Republicans tend not to like Biden, and Democrats support him strongly, including those who backed more liberal candidates such as Bernie Sanders in last year's primaries.

Americans have a generally positive view of the president who casts himself as the product of a working-class environment in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a practical politician willing to work with Republicans on legislation to help Americans.

"There's nothing new (Republicans) can say that's going to change anybody's mind," saidPatrickMurray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., head opposition to President Joe Biden's big spending plans.Evan Vucci, AP

Many Republicans expect Americans will become dissatisfied with record levels of government spending and debt, an increasingly crowded U.S.-Mexican borderand new rules and regulations promulgated by the Democratic Congress and the Biden administration.

Pledging to work with the Biden administration on an infrastructure bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he is "hopeful" that "we may be able to do some things on a bipartisan basis but they got off to a pretty hard left-wing start."

"We don't intend to participate in turning America into a left-wing,kind of Bernie Sanders vision of what this country ought to be like," McConnell told Fox News after the meeting between Biden and congressional leaders.

Conservative groups are stepping up campaigns against Biden and his spending proposals.

The organization Americans For Prosperity is preparing ads for competitive House elections in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia. Biden wrested those states from Trump in the 2020 election, providing him his margin of victory in the Electoral College.

Some Republican criticism plays off Biden's age and his occasionally mangled syntax, but that strategy has met limited success. Some of the attacks mirror the ones Trump made in 2020 against "Sleepy Joe."

"Trump never found a salient way to brand Biden, and Republicans continue to struggle after the election," Republican strategist Alex Conant said.

"Conservatives main angle of criticism is Bidens age," he said, "but nobody is afraid of their grandfather."

Republicans said they were distracted in making the case against Biden by a lack of cohesion, including internal disagreements over what to do about Trump.

Some blamed Cheney, the now-former House Republican Conference chair who argued that the party should move past Trump and stop echoing his lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him. She said those claims triggered the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, an incident Democrats would surely use against Republicans when elections roll around.

'Just the Trump party':Liz Cheney's demotion proves Trump still rules Republican politics, experts say

'I will not sit back': In fiery speech, Rep. Liz Cheney calls Trump a 'threat'

House Republicans voted Wednesday to demote Cheney from her role as third-ranking Republican. She responded that the GOP would struggle against Biden and his agenda if it continues to embrace Trump and his conspiracy theories.

"To be as effective as we can be to fight against those things, our party has to be based on truth," Cheney told NBC News.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who supported demoting Cheney, said voters are disenchanted with Biden and the Democrats. Scalise told Fox News he sees "a lot of really serious concern about the direction that the socialist Democrats are taking us," and "Biden has embraced that far-left Bernie Sandersagenda."

"People don't want this to become a socialist nation, yet you see how far theyre moving," Scalise said.

Republicans had success taking control of Congress in the elections of 1994 and 2010, the first midterms for Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and BarackObama.

Both of those presidents were more polarizing than Biden, analysts said, and Republicans made great use of hot-button issues, such asDemocratic health care proposals.

The success of attacks on Biden may depend on overarching factors, particularly the state of the economy, analysts said. A massive event could also shake politics, as 9/11 did in the run-up to the 2002 elections.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Republicans is they lack the megaphone of the White House to promote themselves and denigratetheir opponents.

"It's always difficult to generate a unifying message when you're the party out of power," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said.

Published9:30 am UTC May. 15, 2021Updated9:01 pm UTC May. 18, 2021

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Joe Biden proves an elusive target for Republicans. After Cheney fight, their focus is back on the president - USA TODAY

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Donald Trump Bashes 2020 Presidential Election As ‘Crime Of The Century’ – HuffPost

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Donald Trumpcalled the 2020 presidential election the crime of the century on Saturday, even as Republican leaders scrambled to dodge the fallout from the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that supporters of the former president carried out earlier this year.

Trump also blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as weak and pathetic in a post on his so-called communications platform. He went after former Vice President Mike Pence for lacking the courage to reverse the results of the election, which Joe Biden won.

Screen Shot/Donald J. Trump blog

If Pence and McConnell had reinstalled Trump as head of the nation, we would right now have a Republican President who would be VETOING the horrific Socialistic Bills that are rapidly going through Congress, including Open Borders, High Taxes, Massive Regulations, and so much else! Trump wrote.

There are no open borders. Taxes have not been increased, though Biden is planning to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 25% to 28% after Trump arranged to slash the corporate tax rate by 40%. Its unclear what massive regulations Trump was referring to.

Trump also claimed that polling ahead of the election was rigged. He argued that his supporters didnt bother to vote because polls made him look like such an incredible winner or that polls made him look like such an astounding loser that his supporters didnt think it was worthwhile to vote. The position that not enough of his supporters turned out to vote would seemingly contradict Trumps claims that ballots were somehow miscounted.

Trumps latest rant about the election results comes at an awkward time for fence-straddling Republican leaders, who have both been feeding oxygen to the big lie that the election was rigged and sort of denying it exists.

I dont think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday after he and other congressional leaders met with Biden. I think that is all over with. Were sitting here with the president today.

However, several Republicans indeed have continued to undermine the legitimacy of the democraticpresidential election.

On Wednesday,House Republicans voted to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership role aftershe refused to go along with Trumps lies about the election. The former presidents rhetoric about election fraud motivated rioters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) said Biden was legitimately elected, but added in a dig that we need to make sure that we have unquestioned elections moving forward.

And Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) tried to deny that the Capitol riot occurred. There was no insurrection, he said last week. He also described rioters violent behavior as a normal tourist visit to the Capitol.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has called the rioters peaceful patriots.

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Does Donald Trump Know He Could Be Arrested This Year? – Yahoo Entertainment

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The Daily Beast

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo GettyBill Gates enjoyed holding court at Jeffrey Epsteins Manhattan mansion, allegedly seeking refuge from his marriage and talking with the sex offenders circle of high-profile dinner guests about philanthropy and other worldly topics.But the Microsoft mogul may have been angling for another perk by networking with Epstein: Gates hoped the well-connected pervert could help him secure the Nobel Peace Prize, one former Gates Foundation employee told The Daily Beast.This person said members of the foundations communications team were alerted to Gates relationship with Epstein and were told it was a maneuver to try to get himself a Nobel Peace Prize. They said the tech mogul had even kept some employees on call on prize day in years past just in case he was awarded the distinction.We were aware of things that were potential reputational risks for the foundation and the co-chairs, Bill and Melinda, said the former employee. Even back then, people knew this guy wasnt squeaky clean, the person said, referring to Epstein.He [Gates] thought that Jeffrey would be able to help him, that he would know the right people, or some kind of way to massage things, so he could get the Nobel Peace Prize, which is what Bill wants more than anything else in the world, the staffer said.I think he was ultimately disappointed it didnt work out, the person added.Epstein was known for cultivating a rolodex of elite contacts from around the globe: billionaires, royals, celebrities, politicians, and prominent scientists, including Nobel laureates Frank Wilczek, Gerald Edelman and Murray Gell-Mann. The money-manager also opened various nonprofits over the years to steer millions to his friends projects and to fund research at institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Researchers continued taking Epsteins money despite widespread reports of his abuse of underage girls and young women.The former staffers claim that Gates thought Epstein was his ticket to the prestigious prize adds fuel to a Norwegian newspapers report last year that highlighted a 2013 meeting with Gates, Epstein, and the Norwegian Nobel Committees chairman at the time, Thorbjrn Jagland.A spokesperson for Bill Gates, however, denied the billionaire philanthropist was seeking Epsteins help in obtaining the award.While a Nobel Prize would certainly be a great honor, it is false to state that Bill Gates was obsessed with the honor, set it as a goal, or campaigned for it in any way, the spokesperson told The Daily Beast. If Epstein had a plan or motivation to insert himself into any processes related to any awards or honors on behalf of Gates, neither Gates nor anyone he works with was aware of his intentions and they would have rejected any offers for assistance.Jeffrey Epstein Gave Bill Gates Advice on How to End Toxic Marriage, Sources SaySince his divorce announcement this month, Gates has faced a torrent of scrutiny over his ties to Epstein, whom he met dozens of times after Epstein went to jail for soliciting a minor and had to register as a sex offender. Over the weekend, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal published reports on Gates alleged history of hitting on employees and his extramarital affair with a Microsoft engineer.It was not a secret within the foundation that he had dalliances, the former foundation employee told The Daily Beast. Of Melindas attitude toward the infidelity, the employee added, I dont think it was a wink-wink permissive thing at all. I think she was humiliated and did not like it.According to People, Bill and Melinda Gates will continue as co-chairs of their foundation, even as they divide their $130 billion in marital assets, because of their shared ambition for the Nobel Prize. One source told the magazine: They were really interested in trying to win a Nobel Prize. So one thing that was part of this is, if it gets worse, then it ends that. It seems as if that was on the agenda, and thats for both of them.Melinda Gates Warned Bill About Jeffrey EpsteinBill Gates may have had the prize on his mind in March 2013, when he and Epstein reportedly visited Jaglands home in Strasbourg, France.The rendezvous was revealed by Dagens Nringsliv, Norways largest business newspaper, in an October 2020 report. At the time of the meeting, Jagland was chair of the committee which awards the Peace Prize, and Gates was a potential candidate for the honor.The meeting also included members of the International Peace Institute (IPI)a think tank run by former Norwegian diplomat Terje Rd-Larsen that Epsteins secret charity lavished with a $375,000 donation in 2017. (Rd-Larsen resigned from the New York-based IPI last October after it was revealed his group received $650,000 in donations from Epstein, who also provided him with a $130,000 personal loan.)According to DN, Jagland said Gates and Epstein arrived at the Strasbourg meeting together, and Epstein introduced Gates to IPI for a polio eradication project. Rd-Larsen didnt attend the meeting but is a longtime friend of Jagland.Rd-Larsen also had longstanding ties to Epstein, who issued press releases touting his support of IPI while he worked to rehabilitate his image following his 2008 conviction in Palm Beach, Florida. (As The Daily Beast reported Sunday, Gates allegedly encouraged Epstein to revamp his reputation in the media.)In an email to DN, Jagland claimed Gates asked to meet him while he was in France and that their discussion centered not on the Nobel, but around human rights organization Council of Europes work on counterfeit vaccines. Asked if he thought it was a conflict to socialize with a possible Nobel laureate, Jagland told the newspaper: Bill Gates was not nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.Not long after the Strasbourg gathering, the Gates Foundation granted IPI millions of dollars; records on the foundations website show IPI received a $2.5-million grant in October 2013, $5.5 million in March 2014, and $256,968 in June 2019 and July 2020.And, in September 2013, Bill and Melinda Gates spoke at IPIs Eighth Annual Ministerial Working Dinner on the Middle East. A writeup of the event indicates the couple were special guests who discussed the ongoing efforts of their foundation to eradicate polio and cited the connection between health and security.When asked about Gates meeting with the Nobel committee chairman, a spokesperson for the billionaire directed The Daily Beast to a 2019 statement, which says: Multiple high-profile people suggested that Bill Gates meet with Epstein because he made claims of being able to bring billions of dollars into philanthropy based on his status as an agent and advisor to wealthy individuals with respect to their giving strategies.Given the prospect of helping catalyze significant increases in charitable giving, Gates met with Epstein and others multiple times to discuss philanthropy and the work of his foundation. Although Epstein pursued Gates aggressively, Gates had absolutely no business partnership or personal friendship with Epstein. Gates never socialized with Epstein or attended parties with him.Its become clear that Epstein misrepresented the nature of his meetings with Gates while also working to insert himself behind-the-scenes without Gatess knowledge. Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgement to do so.Melinda Gates Called Divorce Lawyers in 2019 After Epstein Report: WSJThe Strasbourg meeting may not have been Gates only visit abroad with Epstein.In August 2019, the French news outlet Franceinfo reported on a roster of famous visitors to Epsteins Parisian apartment, which included Bill and Melinda on at least one occasion, according to the financiers former butler. A spokesperson for Melinda Gates told The Daily Beast that Melinda has never been to Epsteins Paris home.In spring of 2013, Epstein and his friend Lawrence Krauss appeared to be touting Gates appearance at a future panel at Arizona State University in 2014.Krauss, a theoretical physicist who led ASUs Origins Project and left the university amid sexual misconduct allegations, name-dropped Gates in an email to a prospective panelist for the event, which was later canceled. (Epstein had donated $250,000 to the Origins Project, while his buddy, billionaire hedge-funder Leon Black, donated $2 million, according to Buzzfeed.)In an email obtained by the Daily Mail, Krauss indicated Epstein was organizing a panel on the Origins of Money" and that "right now he has Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Larry Summers on board. Through a spokesperson, Branson denied having anything to do with the event, while Summers apparently didn't comment for the article.Reached by The Daily Beast, Krauss would only say that the panel never happened. Since I dont know Gates or these people, I cant comment, he said. with additional reporting from William BreddermanRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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What it means to be a ‘Jew of No Religion’ it’s not what you think J. – The Jewish News of Northern California

Posted: at 4:40 am

Im thrilled that atheist/agnostic, nonreligious Jews like me seem to be growing in numbers. Im concerned, though, that our full set of values is not made apparent by the new Pew Research survey of American Jews.

Pew splits the community between Jews by Religion and Jews of No Religion. It suggests an increase among Jews of No Religion to 27 percent of all Jewish adults, up from 22 percent in their 2013 survey, with a whopping 40 percent among Jews ages 18-29.

I was not surveyed. But had I been, I wouldve had a tough choice with the screening question used to make that determination. Pew asked, What is your present religion, if any?

Im strongly Jewishly identified and want to be counted as a Jew. But Im equally vocal about my atheism and humanism, and in some ways, those are the more marginalized identities in American society and need greater representation. Had I checked atheist, I certainly would have answered affirmatively to the follow-up question, Aside from religion, do you consider yourself Jewish in any way (ethnically, culturally, family background)? A yes to that wouldve included me among Jews of No Religion.

Unfortunately, most of the questions posed by this survey will portray Jews of No Religion as less than, when compared with Jews by Religion. On average, Jews of No Religion are less Jewishly educated, less synagogue affiliated, less ritually practicing, less emotionally attached to Israel, place less emphasis on being Jewish or belonging to the Jewish people, care less about having Jewish grandchildren, and have fewer Jewish friends than Jews by Religion.

This narrative of less than emerges because Pew only measured activities and values cared about by the organized Jewish community and not necessarily by the broader Jewish population.

For example, one question not asked is how strongly Jews believe in the universal equality of all people. One indicator that Jews of No Religion would average more than Jews by Religion on universalism is the way we enact that value through our family configurations: Nearly 80 percent of married Jews of No Religion are intermarried (married to spouses who arent Jewish), and nearly 60 percent of Jews of No Religion were raised by intermarried parents.

As an intermarried Jew, I see universalism as a positive value. Most of the organized Jewish community is not universalist in approach, though, it is particularistic. And thus, the conflicting narrative.

Im strongly Jewishly identified and want to be counted as a Jew. But Im equally vocal about my atheism and humanism.

Pew found the individual rate of Jewish intermarriage remaining at a sky-high 72 percent of non-Orthodox Jews over the past decade. While the report does not share the outcome of such a rate, the result is that today in America, among households with at least one married Jew, there are hundreds of thousands more intermarried than so-called in-married (two Jewish spouses) households. A case can therefore be made that universalism is a Jewish value! Which may be one reason why affiliation rates with synagogues and other Jewish organizations remain low. Can the organized Jewish community better appeal to Jewish universalists?

Diversity is another value I believe in. Along with being religiously intermarried, Im interracially married; my wife is from Japan and our kids are mixed race. While the American Jewish community is still overwhelmingly white, Jews of No Religion are more than twice as likely as Jews by Religion to live in multiracial households. Thats something to celebrate! Jews of No Religion also have twice the rate of LGBTQ+ individuals than Jews by Religion.

While demographic studies cant measure such things, Im confident that Jews of No Religion are living their lives just as ethically as Jews by Religion. The great challenge to all religions in our increasingly secular world is the growing recognition that being religious doesnt automatically make you a better person (and neither does being atheist).

We know that Jews dont need religion to be good, because the Pew survey demonstrates that even among Jews by Religion, religious belief is significantly weaker than Americans in general. Pew asked whether you believe in God as described in the Bible, and only 33 percent of Jews by Religion said yes. While most Jews do believe in some other higher power or spiritual force, if that force is not a God that makes specific commandments about how to behave, why are most Jews good? Id argue its their humanistic values, even if theyve never heard the word humanist before.

Its humanism the innate human ability to make decisions based on reason, knowledge, empathy and consideration for whats best for most people that fosters the liberal political approach among most American Jews. For example, Jews overwhelmingly support gay marriage and LGBTQ equality. That was not dictated to us from on high, and it wasnt even the case a few decades ago. It is because of our growing humanism and despite our religious tradition that Jews have come to those conclusions.

So then why still be Jewish at all? Thats the question that some Jews of No Religion already have clarity about, with our continued Jewish identity and participation. For me, its about empathy fostered from being part of an at-times marginalized minority, even as I benefit from unsought white privilege. Its about knowing where I fit into the grand timeline of human history, and a fascination with the unique Jewish story. And its about family and celebration.

The organized Jewish community could be providing this and more to the Jews of No Religion it currently is not reaching, but first there must be a recognition and acceptance of the different yet equally valid set of values we hold. Were not less than. Our differences can be celebrated equally, if only the communal umbrella were stretched wider.

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What it means to be a 'Jew of No Religion' it's not what you think J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Southern Baptists Love This Atheist Who Trashes Feminism and Racial Justice – Friendly Atheist – Patheos

Posted: at 4:40 am

Several years ago, an atheist author named James Lindsay was putting out books and articles that were pretty uncontroversial, at least as far as atheism goes.

And then, at some point, he snapped and became one of those atheists whose every sentence includes a noun, a verb, woke, and cancel culture.

In 2017, he published an article with some colleagues (including fellow anti-woke activist Peter Boghossian) claiming to have exposed academic journals especially in the field of gender studies but that article was riddled with exaggerations and left out key details. It exposed nothing of significance.

Yet that didnt stop other members of the Intellectual Dark Web the same people often referred to as public intellectuals or science advocates from hyping it up. Thats nothing new. Those people bend over backwards to praise each other and act like all criticism against one of their own is illegitimate. (More recently, they defended Richard Dawkins after he faced a mild consequence for a transphobic tweet.)

Anyway, back to Lindsay. Hes the sort of guy beloved by the people who eventually go down YouTube rabbit holes into right-wing extremism. The sort of guy who describes himself as classically liberal as he pushes conservative propaganda. The sort of guy who advises atheist groups whose activism involves recruiting members at CPAC (the conference where attendees took pictures with a golden bust of Donald Trump).

And wouldnt you know it: Many of Lindsays biggest supporters are Southern Baptists who love that someone outside their bubble is promoting their own harmful views.

In an eye-opening article by Bob Smietana of Religion News Service, we find out that Lindsays anti-woke crusade is getting rave reviews from the most conservative members of the largest Protestant denomination in the country because they love that he routinely condemns feminism, social justice, and the fight to address racial inequalities. They like him because they get to act like their bigotry isnt merely an extension of religious extremism: Look, they can say, heres an atheist who also believes were onto something!

(This is the case even though Lindsays Ph.D. is in mathematics, not the subjects hes now talking about.)

In Southern Baptist circles, Lindsay has become a key critic of Resolution 9, a statement about critical race theory and intersectionality passed at the SBCs annual meeting in 2019. That resolution refers to those two theories as analytical tools that can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences. The resolution also says those theories are insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills that they identify, which result from sin.

That resolution was mild, even for Southern Baptists. All it did was acknowledge that theres knowledge to be gained from understanding our nations racist past and the way peoples ethnic/gender/etc. background informs their lives.

But Lindsay said that resolution was some kind of woke infestation, aligning himself with the most conservative members of the SBC in the process.

Even more damning? Lindsay has close ties to a Christian Nationalist group called Sovereign Nations.

According to a report filed with the Florida secretary of state, [Sovereign Nations president Michael] OFallon is the owner and registered agent for New Discourses LLC, which runs the website that promotes Lindsays work. Lindsay is also featured in a series of videos about critical theory and the SBC, posted on the Sovereign Nations website.

Nothing like an atheist activist funded by a Christian Nationalist. Lindsay, whose allegiance to the truth shattered a long time ago, has no problem working directly with someone like OFallon (who spreads George Soros conspiracy theories) while basking in the praise of Southern Baptists.

As Smietana notes, if Southern Baptists wanted to have a dialogue about these issues, there are perfectly qualified people within their fold, including many of the Black believers who left the Southern Baptist denomination due to its racism. But instead of listening to criticism from within, people like Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, are promoting an atheist from the outside.

Mohler is so desperate for validation, hes turning to a known atheist hoaxer. And Lindsay is so desperate for approval, hes welcoming the love from religious conservatives.

Lindsay refused to speak with Smietana for his article. But he had no problem lashing out once it was published.

As Ive pointed out many times before, being an atheist doesnt mean youre a good critical thinker. Weve unfortunately seen many examples of that in recent years. You would think the outsized praise from the same people you once denounced would raise some red flags in your mind, but when youre a professional troll, Im sure its hard to notice.

(Screenshot via YouTube)

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Southern Baptists Love This Atheist Who Trashes Feminism and Racial Justice - Friendly Atheist - Patheos

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Residents of Duncan have a voice in planning the future – My Cowichan Valley Now

Posted: May 18, 2021 at 4:28 am

The City of Duncan has initiated Small Town. Bright Future., and Small Town. Going Places., processes to update the Citys Official Community Plan (OCP) and create a Transportation and Mobility Strategy (TMS). The TMS is planned for completion in the Fall of 2021, followed by the OCP in the Spring of 2022.

The OCP will be used as a guiding document to support decisions around where housing is located, what social, environmental, and economic priorities are, and how recreational and municipal services are provided. Ultimately, the OCP will map out how we as a City want to grow as a community.

The TMS will identify guiding principles, establish multi-modal transportation policies and networks, and establish a path forward to implementation.

Community engagement is an integral part of both processes, and the City looks forward to hearing from residents.

Now is the time to get involved in the process, said Mayor Staples. We invite you to join us, we need your voice to plan for the best vision we can imagine for our future. One that reflects the ideas, priorities, hopes and dreams of each of us within it.

Public participation is highly encouraged. Due to the ongoing health crises, engagement will take place primarily online. Please visit the City PlaceSpeak engagement platform and select the project(s) you are interested in to participate: https://duncan.ca/public-engagement-join-the-conversation/

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Residents of Duncan have a voice in planning the future - My Cowichan Valley Now

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Talent Management Software (TMS) Market | Covid-19 Impact Analysis | 2021 | Current Trends, Opportunity, Growth Potential, Industry Size, and Forecast…

Posted: at 4:28 am

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Table of Contents:

Global Talent Management Software (TMS) Market Overview Economic Impact on Industry Market Competition by Manufacturers Production, Revenue (Value) by Region Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Market Analysis by Application Cost Analysis Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Market Effect Factors Analysis Global Talent Management Software (TMS) Market Forecast

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The final part of the market research report aims to focus on the existing competitive analysis of the global market. The experts have even added useful information for the customers and industries. All the key manufacturers manage the expanding operations in the specified regions. Quince Market Insights acknowledges the assistance and support from the industry experts and surveys and conventions.

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Talent Management Software (TMS) Market | Covid-19 Impact Analysis | 2021 | Current Trends, Opportunity, Growth Potential, Industry Size, and Forecast...

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