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Trump voter fraud commission's request for voter data alarms states

Politics

Trump voter fraud commission's request for voter data alarms states

President Trump's commission investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2016 elections has asked states for a list of the names, party affiliations, addresses and voting histories of all voters, if state law allows it to be public. Secretaries of state have about two weeks to provide about a dozen points of voter data. That also would include dates of birth, the last four digits of voters' Social Security numbers and any information about felony convictions and military status. Some Democratic officials refused to comply, saying the request invades privacy and is based on false claims of fraud.

At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump's alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe

Trump, who created the commission through an executive order in May, lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton but has alleged, without evidence, that millions of people voted illegally. In addition to the voter information, a letter from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asks state officials for suggestions on improving election integrity and to share any evidence of fraud and election-related crimes in their states. Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence, who is chairing the commission, described the intent of the request as "fact-finding" and said there were no objections to it by anyone on the 10-member commission, which includes four Democrats. Both California and Virginia officials said attention would be better spent upgrading aging voting systems or focusing on Russia's alleged election meddling.

California's participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud.

Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla

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Gunman kills at least 1 person inside NYC hospital, then shoots himself

US News

Gunman kills at least 1 person inside NYC hospital, then shoots himself

A man pulled a rifle from under his white lab coat and opened fire inside a Bronx hospital Friday, killing at least one person and wounding six others before apparently taking his own life, police said. Police say Dr. Henry Bello, who used to work at the hospital, opened fire inside the Bronx Lebanon Hospital injuring leaving five people seriously injured and one with a gunshot wound to the leg. Police Commissioner James O'Neill says the shooter then apparently tried to set himself on fire before turning the gun on himself. There was no immediate word on a motive. Bello was listed on the hospital's website as a family medicine physician, but it's not clear when he left the hospital.

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Jay-Z gets personal and deep on new album '4:44'

Entertainment

Jay-Z gets personal and deep on new album '4:44'

Jay-Z gets personal and deep on his new album, opening up about his relationship with Beyoncé, the elevator fight with Solange and his children. The icon released "4:44" on Friday, and it quickly became a trending topic online and on social media. On the title track, he apologizes to Beyoncé for some of his past decisions, admitting in his lyrics that he "often womanizes," more than a year after Beyoncé first shed light on his infidelities in her album "Lemonade." Jay-Z pens a remorseful ode to his fractured marriage in "4:44," rapping that it "took for my child to be born, see through a woman's eyes" in reference to the couple's daughter, Blue Ivy. "4:44" is Jay-Z's first since 2013's "Magna Carta... Holy Grail." The 47-year-old references his twins on several tracks, though neither he nor Beyoncé have officially commented on the births.

Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles, took me too long for this song, I don't deserve you.

Jay-Z

"4:44" was produced by No I.D., who has worked with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Common and others. The album is available on the streaming service Tidal, which the rapper co-owns with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna and other stars. The album is also available to Sprint customers who sign up for Tidal (Sprint bought a 33 percent stake in the service earlier this year). The 35-minute album, which has 10 tracks, is also available on 160 iHeartMedia radio stations.

What good is a menage a trois when you have a soul mate? You risked that for Blue? My heart breaks for the day I had to explain my mistakes.

Jay-Z

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Venus Williams faces lawsuit from victim’s family in fatal Florida car accident

Sports

Venus Williams faces lawsuit from victim’s family in fatal Florida car accident

Venus Williams is now facing a lawsuit from the family of the 78-year-old man who died from injuries sustained in a car accident in which police indicated the tennis star was “at fault.” The attorney representing the family of the victim in the accident, Jerome Barson, said he believes police have “impeded” their investigation into the car accident involving Williams that claimed the life of Barson and injured his wife, Linda Barson. Williams, 37, was driving to her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., when the accident occurred.

There are video cameras that were placed at guard houses where Ms. Williams lives and the police have refused, after multiple requests, to turn those over to us and we would like to see a visual portrayal of the accident on those videos.

Attorney Michael Steinger

Palm Beach Gardens police on Thursday released a report saying Williams caused the June 9 crash that left Barson seriously injured. He died two weeks later. Investigators say witnesses and Barson's wife, Linda, told them Williams' SUV crossed in front of the Barsons' sedan after the couple's light turned green. Williams told investigators her light was green when she entered the six-lane intersection but she got stopped midpoint by traffic and didn't see the Barsons' car before she crossed their lane. The accident happened just days after Williams was eliminated from the French Open. Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, is scheduled to begin play at Wimbledon next week.

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Trump sows fresh uncertainty on health care as bill teeters

Politics

Trump sows fresh uncertainty on health care as bill teeters

President Trump urged divided congressional Republicans on Friday to break their logjam over dismantling President Barack Obama's health care law by "immediately" repealing it and replacing it later, a formula that GOP leaders dismissed months ago as politically unwise. Trump's early-morning tweet embraced a sequential approach favored by only a handful of conservatives eager to take quick action on one of the party's foremost priorities — repealing Obamacare, something Republicans have long promised to do. But his suggestion threatened to sharpen divisions between conservatives and moderates, who are leery of stripping coverage from millions of constituents without something to substitute for it.

If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!

President Trump on Twitter

House and Senate leaders long ago abandoned initial thoughts of first erasing Obama's law, and then replacing it. Such a step-by-step approach would leave Republicans vulnerable to Democratic accusations that they were simply tossing people off coverage without helping them obtain medical care. It could also roil insurance markets by prompting insurers to flee or boost premiums because of worries over whether, when and how Congress would replace the statute. And the idea would leave unresolved the quandary stumping lawmakers today — how to replace Obama's system of online insurance markets, tax subsidies and an expanded Medicaid with something that will get enough Republican votes to pass Congress. Senate leaders had set Friday as the target for reaching a deal over the legislation. But that deadline seemed unlikely given that by Friday most senators had already left town ahead of next week's recess without an agreement on a clear direction for the health care bill.

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Trump's 'Morning Joe' feud escalates with more tweets, blackmail accusation

Celebrity

Trump's 'Morning Joe' feud escalates with more tweets, blackmail accusation

Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough questioned the president's mental health on Friday and accused him of trying to exert pressure on them over unfavorable coverage. The two MSNBC personalities postponed a vacation in order to respond to Trump's tweet, which drew broad condemnation a day earlier because he called Brzezinski "crazy" and said she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he saw them at his Florida estate. The hosts, who also co-bylined a column that was posted on the Washington Post's website on Friday, said they had known Trump for more than a decade and have "fond memories" of their relationship, but that he's changed in the past two years. The couple were on friendly terms with Trump during the 2016 election campaign but have been critical of him since he took office.

It's been fascinating and frightening and really sad for our country. ... We're OK. The country's not.

Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough

In a stunning accusation, Scarborough said that the National Enquirer had been working on a story about him and Brzezinski and that he was told by White House aides that if he called Trump and apologized for his show's coverage, the story would go away. He said he refused and the story ran. The National Enquirer is owned by David Pecker, a close friend of Trump’s. Trump, in his Friday tweet, directly contradicted that claim. "He called me to stop a National Enquirer article," Trump wrote. "I said no!" But in a detail that eerily mirrored Trump's similar problematic encounters with fired FBI Director James Comey, NBC said later Friday that "Joe & Mika kept senior executives apprised as the events unfolded." The saga has revived concerns about Trump's sexist behavior at a time when he is struggling for any support he can get for his proposals on health care, immigration and other controversial issues.

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GOP operative sought Clinton emails from hackers before election, report says

Politics

GOP operative sought Clinton emails from hackers before election, report says

A Republican opposition researcher embarked on an independent campaign before the 2016 election to obtain emails purportedly stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private server by hackers and get them to an adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, according to a report published Thursday by the Wall Street Journal. The Journal said a GOP operative, Peter W. Smith, was convinced emails missing from Clinton's server were in the hands of Russian hackers, and implied in conversations that he was working with Michael Flynn, then an adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign. Flynn went on to serve briefly as Trump's national security adviser before being fired for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. It was unclear if Flynn played a role as he did not respond to requests, the White House declined comment and Smith died shortly after giving the interview, the paper said. The Trump campaign said Smith never worked for it and that any such action undertaken by Flynn, if true, was not on its behalf.

We knew the people who had these were probably around the Russian government.

Peter W. Smith

Congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating Russian influence in the election and potential coordination with the Trump campaign. Russia has been blamed for stealing emails of Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta and of the DNC. But the newspaper said Smith and the hackers were focused on some 33,000 emails that Clinton said had been deleted and that Smith believed, with no proof, were acquired by hackers. Officials have said there is no evidence Clinton's private email server was hacked. Smith admitted that he was unsure of the authenticity of emails hackers eventually did send to him. He then told them to pass the emails to WikiLeaks, the same outfit that published the emails taken from Podesta and the committee. In emails Smith sent to potential recruits for his project, and which the newspaper reviewed, he referenced Flynn and Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn, several times.

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Texas court sides against same-sex couple marriage benefits

US News

Texas court sides against same-sex couple marriage benefits

Same-sex couples may not be entitled to government-subsidized workplace benefits, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to backers of marriage equality, who have vowed to fight the decision. In a unanimous decision, the Republican-dominated court overturned a lower court's decision that favored same-sex marriage benefits, ordering the issue back to trial. Social conservatives hope the case will help them chip away at the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage, while gay rights groups denounced the ruling as an "absurd distortion" of established law regarding marriage equality. The decision doesn't effectively block same-sex spousal benefits but said the Supreme Court decision did not decide the issue.

Courts can change their mind. ... From time immemorial, family law has been left to the states.

Jared Woodfill, a conservative activist at the center of the case

In 2013, a coalition of religious and socially conservative groups in Houston sued the city after then-Mayor Annise Parker gave municipal spousal benefits to same-sex couples married in places where the unions were recognized. At the time, Texas had a constitutional amendment that barred same-sex marriage. That law was later struck down. The groups argued that the Supreme Court didn't declare spousal benefits a fundamental right of marriage and that it should be up to states to decide. Houston has been paying the benefits, and Friday's decision doesn't stop them, but Woodfill said opponents will use the ruling to ask a judge to block them pending a trial on the issue. LGBT rights groups have said they intended to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if Texas courts decide against them.

Marriage is marriage and equal is equal. We will take steps to protect these families.

Kenneth Upton Jr., Dallas-based attorney for Lambda Legal

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After meeting with S.Korean president, Trump declares 'patience is over' with North

World

After meeting with S.Korean president, Trump declares 'patience is over' with North

President Trump warned Friday that America’s “strategic patience” with North Korea has run out — a rhetorical escalation amid increasing U.S. pressure on China to rein in its smaller neighbor. The comments came as he welcomed South Korea's new leader Moon Jae-In to talks at the White House. While Moon has been arguing for greater engagement with Pyongyang as the best way to put the brakes on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Trump made clear that he was in no mood to pursue diplomacy with a regime he accused of having no respect for human life. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime has staged a barrage of missile tests in recent months.

The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed, many years it has failed. Frankly, that patience is over.

President Trump

Trump had been pinning his hopes on China — North Korea's main diplomatic ally — to bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang but declared last week that their efforts had failed. China is the key to North Korean policy because it’s the smaller country’s patron, its source of food and fuel. Beijing doesn’t want North Korea to collapse, which would potentially send refugees streaming into China, to say nothing of raising doubts about the security of the country’s nuclear weapons. It also doesn’t want North and South Korea to reunite, fearing that the result would be a U.S.-aligned country on its border. Moon made clear there was no dispute between his government and Trump over the nature of the threat posed by North Korea, but the two leaders failed to map out any kind of joint strategy on how best to deal with North Korean leadership.

The United States calls on other regional powers and all responsible nations to join us in implementing sanctions and demanding that the North Korean regime choose a better path and do it quickly and a different future for its long-suffering people.

President Trump

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Trump says he is sending federal help to fight Chicago crime 'epidemic'

US News

Trump says he is sending federal help to fight Chicago crime 'epidemic'

Chicago police, federal agents and prosecutors are launching a new initiative Friday to stem the flow of illegal firearms in the city as part of efforts to curb rampant gun violence that President Trump says is at "epidemic proportions." Trump's remark on Twitter came ahead of an announcement by Chicago police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about the formation of the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force. State police, intelligence analysts and state and federal prosecutors will target illegal guns and repeat gun offenders. Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement that "we are foundationally changing the way we fight crime in Chicago." The president, who in January decried the high crime rate in America's third most populous city as "carnage," was even more emphatic.

Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!

President Trump on Twitter

Adam Collins, spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said the city wants federal help. "Six months ago we made it clear that we would welcome additional federal support, and six months later we appreciate the 20 new ATF agents that are now arriving," Collins said in an email. But as the police department released figures that show the number of homicides, shooting incidents and shooting victims have dropped, Collins said "the progress CPD has made this year has happened without any of the new resources from the federal government we requested." Attorney General Jeff Sessions, speaking Friday on the Fox News Channel's morning show "Fox & Friends," said the Justice Department is "sending in additional gun investigators" to Chicago and that he has urged the U.S. attorney's office to prosecute gun cases aggressively.

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Germany Parliament votes for same-sex marriage — with Merkel against it

Politics

Germany Parliament votes for same-sex marriage — with Merkel against it

German lawmakers have voted to legalize same-sex marriage in a snap vote only days after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her longstanding position. Merkel, who will seek a fourth term in a national election on Sept. 24, told reporters after the landmark decision that she had voted against the measure because she believed that marriage as defined under German law was between a man and a woman. But she said her decision was a personal one, adding that she had become convinced in recent years that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.

I hope that the vote today not only promotes respect between the different opinions but also brings more social cohesion and peace.

Angela Merkel

Many other European countries, including France, Britain and Spain, have already legalized same-sex marriage. Merkel's announcement on Monday that she would allow lawmakers to vote on same-sex marriage according to their individual conscience drew the ire of some in her traditionally Catholic conservative bloc. But political analysts say the issue will likely have faded from voters' minds by the time the September election comes around. Friday's vote marks a rare victory for Merkel's Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners, who are trailing the conservatives in opinion polls. They had seized on Merkel's unexpected comments on Monday to say they would push for an early vote on the issue before Parliament's summer recess.

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China 'outraged' by U.S. plan to sell $1.42 billion in arms to Taiwan

Politics

China 'outraged' by U.S. plan to sell $1.42 billion in arms to Taiwan

China urged the United States to immediately revoke its "wrong decision" to sell Taiwan $1.42 billion worth of arms, saying it contradicted a "consensus" that President Xi Jinping had reached in April with President Trump during Xi's visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The sale would send a very wrong message to "Taiwan independence" forces, China's Embassy in Washington said. The Trump administration told Congress of seven proposed sales to Taiwan, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The Chinese government and Chinese people have every right to be outraged.

Statement by the Chinese Embassy

China's anger over the U.S. plan to supply Taiwan with weapons risks undermining Trump's attempts to press China to help rein in North Korea. The proposed U.S. package for Taiwan includes technical support for early-warning radar, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and missile components. Asked about the sale at an event on Thursday evening in Washington, China's Ambassador Cui Tiankai said the United States was "incorrigible" when it came to Taiwan, the official Chinese Communist Party People's Daily newspaper reported on its website.

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'Disrespectful': Kendall, Kylie Jenner withdraw music icon T-shirts after backlash

Celebrity

'Disrespectful': Kendall, Kylie Jenner withdraw music icon T-shirts after backlash

Reality TV celebrities Kendall and Kylie Jenner apologized on Thursday after causing an uproar for selling pricey T-shirts featuring their faces over images of famed music groups and artists including The Doors, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne and slain rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. In the second recent marketing misstep involving members of the Kardashian family, Kendall and Kylie Jenner said they had withdrawn their $125 T-shirt line from sale a day after it was launched.

We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in any way.

Kendall and Kylie Jenner in a statement

The move followed outrage from relatives of some of the artists, and cease-and-desist letters from other musicians over the unauthorized use of the images. Violetta Wallace, the mother of the Notorious B.I.G, accused the sisters of exploitation and said no one had contacted the rapper's estate for permission. "This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!" Wallace said in an Instagram post.

Girls, you haven't earned the right to put your face with musical icons. Stick to what you know … lip gloss.

Sharon Osbourne, the wife of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, on Twitter

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Trump, Putin prepare for high-stakes meeting in Germany next week

Politics

Trump, Putin prepare for high-stakes meeting in Germany next week

President Trump will convene a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit of industrial and emerging-market nations in Germany next week, the White House said Thursday. National security adviser H.R. McMaster confirmed that the two leaders will meet along the sidelines of the annual Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg. Trump's first in-person encounter with Putin has been highly anticipated in light of allegations that some of his associates had contact with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. McMaster would not say whether Trump intends to address accusations that Moscow interfered in the election.

We have no specific agenda. It’s whatever the president wants to talk about.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster

The U.S.-Russian relationship deteriorated during Barack Obama's eight years in office, and Trump frequently said that he was hopeful of improving American ties with Russia. But major disagreements remain over Ukraine and Syria, and Trump said in April that U.S.-Russian relations "may be at an all-time low." The meeting will also come as the U.S. House of Representatives considers imposing economic penalties against Russia and Iran, a bill that the Senate passed overwhelmingly.

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Nike launches 'pilot program' to sell items on Amazon

Business

Nike launches 'pilot program' to sell items on Amazon

Nike will sell a limited number of items directly on Amazon, executives said Thursday, in a sign of the growing importance of the e-commerce platform. Nike executives described the venture as a "pilot" project to sell some shoes, apparel and accessories. Shares of Nike surged in after-hours trading as it reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.0 billion, up 19 percent from the period a year ago.

It's just the start. As we continue to work with them and we see success, we will see how we can scale it.

Nike brand president Trevor Edwards

Nike earlier this month unveiled a new global sales structure targeting growth in the biggest cities and speeding the development time on new fashions and products in response to consumer demand. Nike executives sidestepped questions about the products going on Amazon, so it is not known if they include the popular Michael Jordan sneakers or are "middle tier" or "premium."

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Sarin used in deadly attack on Syrian town, watchdog group says

World

Sarin used in deadly attack on Syrian town, watchdog group says

An investigation by the international chemical weapons watchdog confirmed Friday that sarin nerve gas was used in a deadly April 4 attack on a Syrian town, the latest confirmation of chemical weapons use in Syria's civil war. The attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Syria's Idlib province left more than 90 people dead, including women and children, and sparked outrage around the world as photos and video of the aftermath, including quivering children dying on camera, were widely broadcast. The investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons did not apportion blame. A joint United Nations-OPCW team will assess who was responsible.

The perpetrators of this horrific attack must be held accountable for their crimes.

Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

The U.S. State Department said Thursday night, after the report was circulated to OPCW member states, that "the facts reflect a despicable and highly dangerous record of chemical weapons use by the Assad regime." President Trump cited images of the aftermath of the Khan Sheikhoun attack when he launched a punitive strike days later, firing cruise missiles on a Syrian government-controlled air base from where the Syrian military was said to have launched the chemical attack. It was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Trump's most dramatic military order since becoming president.

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Tump's travel ban takes effect, but less chaos is expected

US News

Tump's travel ban takes effect, but less chaos is expected

A scaled-back version of President Trump's travel ban took effect Thursday evening, stripped of provisions that brought protests and chaos at airports worldwide in January yet still likely to generate a new round of court fights. The new rules, the product of months of legal wrangling, aren't so much an outright ban as a tightening of already-tough visa policies affecting citizens from six Muslim-majority countries. Refugees are covered, too. Under the temporary rules, citizens of Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen who already have visas will be allowed into the United States.

The federal government here, I think, has taken steps to avoid the havoc that occurred the last time.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer

But people from those countries who want new visas will now have to prove a close family tie or an existing relationship with an entity like a school or business in the U.S. It's unclear how significantly the new rules will affect travel. In most of the countries singled out, few people have the means for leisure travel. Those that do already face intensive screening before being issued visas. Immigration and refugee advocates are vowing to challenge the new requirements, while the administration struggles to explain how they will make the United States safer.