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The Florida Democratic Party will reportedly return roughly $780,000 received under the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, following bipartisan backlash about accepting the money appearing unethical.

The group made the announcement Wednesday that it would return the money, a small business loan made available under the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Plan that Congress made passed this spring to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, according to Politico.

“Like many employers during the shutdown, FDP was concerned about meeting payroll and keeping our staff employed, so we applied,” the group said in a statement. “The bank, the loan processor and agents of the Small Business Association approved the funding. It now seems they made a mistake in approving the funding so we are volunteering to return it.

In May, party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo, reportedly called the PPP a “disaster” that “funneled” money to large corporations but failed to disclose that the group had applied for a loan of $350,000 to $1 million.

The loan agreement was discovered earlier this week when the Small Business Administration released a report on recipients.

Among the prominent Florida Democrats to purportedly criticize the state party’s decision to apply for and accept the money is Rep. Donna Shalala.

She has demanded that the party return the money and has refused to participate in a news conference Friday about President Trump’s upcoming visit to Miami, two sources told Politico.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/florida-democratic?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators

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A Black Lives Matter mural was defaced and painted over to read, “All Lives Matter” in a village near Chicago this week, according to officials and a new report.

The mural, painted two weeks ago in Oak Park, Illinois, was vandalized overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, village officials said.

Portions of the mural were covered up so that it read “All Lives Matter,” according to The Chicago Tribune.

The graffiti was largely cleaned off by 10 a.m. Wednesday, but local officials and artists who created the mural said they will discuss whether additional work is needed to fully restore it, the outlet reported.

The mural was the idea of Cullen Benson, a graduate of the local Oak Park and River Forest High School.

The “Black Lives Matter” message is nearly 100 feet wide, according to the paper. Work began on June 24 and the project was completed in less than two days, Benson told the outlet.

The mural nods to the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag, as well as navy blue and orange, the high school’s colors, according to the report.

Village officials called the mural “a testament to community acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter movement that has focused public attention on the inequities and systemic racism that have such a negative impact on people of color.”

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8 year old Secoriea Turner was shot by Antifa & BLM for crossing their illegal boarder.

> “They say Black Lives Matter. You killed your own. You killed your own this time. Just because of a barrier? They killed my baby because she crossed a barrier and made a u-turn. You killed a child. She didn’t do nothing to nobody.”

https://twitter.com/NatishaLance/status/1279916014071959552

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-shooting-victim-secoriea-turner-was-full-joy-feisty-spirit/Gtp5Dy9zNKOGlyEQJNjCpO

New York is breaking bad.

Federal agents have been seizing an increased amount of methamphetamine in New York City and the surrounding area, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration told The Post on Tuesday.

The surge of the illicit stimulant into the Big Apple comes amid a proliferation of meth labs in Mexico feeding organizations in the Midwest — and even in the Northeast, acting DEA Administrator Timothy Shea said.

“That is a hideous drug with no treatment, so we have to do everything we can to stop the growth of meth labs,” he said.

Cont'd:
https://nypost.com/2020/07/07/dea-reports-fed-agents-seizing-meth-at-nyc-as-labs-thrive-midwest/

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Some 150 writers, academics and activists - including authors JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood - have signed an open letter denouncing the "restriction of debate".

They say they applaud a recent "needed reckoning" on racial justice, but argue it has fuelled stifling of open debate.

The letter denounces "a vogue for public shaming and ostracism" and "a blinding moral certainty".

Several signatories have been attacked for comments that caused offence.

That includes Harry Potter author JK Rowling who was fiercely criticised this month for comments about transgender people.

A diverse cross-section of figures from across the globe put their names to the letter which was published on Tuesday in Harper's Magazine.

It includes US intellectual Noam Chomsky, eminent feminist Gloria Steinem, Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov and author Malcolm Gladwell.

Several have had works banned in some countries, including British novelist Salman Rushdie, who lived in hiding after receiving death threats for his 1988 book Satanic Verses.

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The 2nd president of the confederacy does it again!

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/trump-requests-toppled-confederate-statue-put-back-up-in-dc/2343633/

President Donald Trump personally requested that a statue of a Confederate general be put back up, less than a week after cheering protesters toppled it and set it on fire in a Washington, D.C., park, NBC News reports.

Trump called Interior Sec. David Bernhardt and asked the Park Service to restore a statue of Brigadier General Albert Pike, two sources told NBC News.

The White House did not provide a comment, NBC News reported.

But an Interior Department spokesman reiterated Bernhardt's call for law and order.

"The Secretary has made his position quite clear when it comes to lawlessness, violence against police, and destruction of public property," the spokesman said.

The fight over statues and public memorials in the capital reached a boiling point this week, putting the White House, city officials and protesters at odds with each other.

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>It's the Top Ten list no one wants to be on.

>Moments after the feds busted Ghislaine Maxwell Thursday for allegedly roping in underage girls for pal Jeffrey Epstein's perverted pleasure, fireworks started going off in the lives of certain billionaires and playboys who palled around with the two.

>And not the happy Fourth of July kind.

>Since no one was closer to the billionaire pedophile than Maxwell, whose network spanned from New York to France, Israel, Buckingham Palace and the Caribbean, those in the know are undoubtedly fretting over the dirt she could dish to keep herself out of jail.

>Particularly after prosecutors vowed to "bring justice" to other potential enablers of Epstein's sex abuse and trafficking.

>And her friend, TV host Christopher Mason, said he believes she had access to videotapes from all of Epstein's properties - and the footage has gone missing.

>"I'm sure she has access to the videos," Mason said. "A lot of powerful people will be more than a little worried."

>So who among Epstein's infamous black book will need a good lawyer if "G-Max" - the alias Maxwell used when moving around money - starts singing?

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https://apnews.com/651b85a438d142858cefc2e1ab3640d4

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled broadly Wednesday in favor of the religious rights of employers in two cases that could leave more than 70,000 women without free contraception and tens of thousands of people with no way to sue for job discrimination.

In both cases the court ruled 7-2, with both liberal and conservative justices ruling in favor of the Trump administration and religious employers.

In the more prominent of the two cases, involving President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, the justices greenlighted changes the Trump administration had sought. The administration announced in 2017 that it would allow more employers to opt out of providing the no-cost birth control coverage required under the law, but lower courts had blocked the changes.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany joined conservative groups in cheering the court’s contraception decision. “Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a big win for religious freedom and freedom of conscience,” she said in a statement.

Liberal groups and Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, decried the decision, which she called a “fundamental misreading” of the health care law.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority of the court, said in Wednesday’s decision that the administration had the authority to make the changes and followed appropriate procedures in doing so.

The government had previously estimated that the rule changes would cause between 70,000 women and 126,000 women to lose contraception coverage in one year.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/07/08/court-some-employers-can-refuse-to-offer-free-birth-control-2/

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Life with the possibility of parole, that’s the sentence agreed upon in a plea deal for a man charged with the 2018 murder of a Savannah Police officer and his wife.

Michael Anthony Barber pled guilty to felony murder today for stabbing Luis and Akia Molina to death in their Chatham County home.

Because of restrictions because due to coronavirus, the plea hearing played out over video conferencing.

Appearing over a live stream along with a public defender, Michael Anthony Barber agreed to a guilty plea for felony murder, voluntary manslaughter and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.

All told, the sentence carries life with the possibility of parole plus five years served consecutively.

Presiding Judge Benjamin W. Karpf said, “I’m going to go ahead and accept the plea of guilty on those counts as entered by Mr. Barber. I’m going to find that the pleas were entered freely, knowingly, voluntarily with full knowledge of all the consequences. And I’m also going to find that there is sufficient factual basis to support the pleas.”

Barber, Akia Molina’s brother, was staying with the Molina’s in 2018.

Investigators found that he fatally stabbed Luis while he slept, then when confronted by his sister, fatally stabbed her too.

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https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/07/06/former-airman-pleads-guilty-in-scheme-to-offer-information-to-russia/

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia woman who previously served in the Air Force planned to offer top-secret information from the National Security Agency to the Russian government, prosecutors said Monday in announcing her conviction in federal court.

Elizabeth Jo Shirley pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement to one count each of willful retention of national defense information and international parental kidnapping, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release.

Shirley, 46, of Hedgesville, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the national security charge and up to three years and a $250,000 fine on the kidnapping charge. The statement did not say whether a sentencing date was set in federal court in Martinsburg.

"Federal government employees and contractors with high level security clearances pledge to protect classified information from foreign adversaries. It's an essential responsibility in guarding our country's national security," said Michael Christmas, the FBI's special agent in charge in Pittsburgh.

"Ms. Shirley had a duty to safeguard classified information. Instead, she chose to break the law and trust placed in her and made plans to pass national defense information to Russian officials, which could have put our citizens at risk."

Prosecutors said Shirley leased a storage unit and kept a document — without authorization — relating to national defense that outlines intelligence information regarding a foreign government's military and political issues.

Shirley worked on assignments with the National Security Agency while serving in the Air Force.

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https://www.theadvocate.com/image_f6864a2a-befe-11ea-9b43-63d06d893b2a.html

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Facebook and Twitter have confirmed they have suspended processing demands for user data from Hong Kong authorities following the introduction of a new Beijing-imposed national security law.

A spokesperson for Facebook told TechCrunch it will “pause” the processing of data demands until it can better understand the new national security law, “including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with human rights experts.” The spokesperson added: “We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and support the right of people to express themselves without fear for their safety or other repercussions.”

Facebook said its suspension will also apply to WhatsApp, which it owns.

News of the suspension was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Soon after, Twitter also confirmed it followed suit. “Given the rapid pace at which the new National Security Law in China has been passed and that it was only published in its entirety for the first time last week, our teams are reviewing the law to assess its implications, particularly as some of the terms of the law are vague and without clear definition,” said a Twitter spokesperson.

“Like many public interest organizations, civil society leaders and entities, and industry peers, we have grave concerns regarding both the developing process and the full intention of this law,” the spokesperson said.

Twitter said it suspended transfers of user data subject to Hong Kong demands immediately after the law went into effect.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/06/facebook-whatsapp-hong-kong-data/

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WASHINGTON — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday praised President Trump as “respectful” and “kind” to our neighbors to the south as the two signed a new trade agreement at the White House.

Lopez Obrador, a veteran of leftist politics who is often compared to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, effusively praised Trump in the Rose Garden.

“Thank you, President Trump, for being increasingly respectful to our Mexican fellow man,” he said through a translator. “To you, President Trump, I want to thank you for your understanding and the help you’ve given us in issues related to trade, commerce, oil, as well as your personal support for the acquisition of medical equipment that we needed urgently to treat our patients of COVID-19.”

Lopez Obrador said that he defied criticism and made the trip because he wanted to deliver a message about Trump to US residents.

“You have never sought to impose anything on us violating our sovereignty. Instead of the Monroe Doctrine, you have followed in our case the wise advice of illustrious and prudent George Washington, who said, ‘nations should not take advantage of the unfortunate condition of other people.’

“You have not tried to treat us as a colony. On the contrary, you have honored our condition as an independent nation and that’s why I’m here: to express to the people of the United States that their president has behaved with us with kindness and respect,” the Mexican leader added.

Lopez Obrador did not directly address Trump’s past condemnation of crime linked to Mexican illegal immigrants and his vow to make Mexico pay for his border wall.

Trump also gushed over Lopez Obrador, describing him as a fellow corruption-busting populist.

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Mount Rushmore has come under fire from liberals in recent weeks for its depiction of presidents who were slaveholders, but before President Donald Trump gave a speech there, it was revered by figures on the left.

While covering Trump's Mount Rushmore visit over the weekend, CNN reporter Leyla Santiago described the famed South Dakota site as a "monument of two slaveowners and on land wrestled away from Native Americans," and MSNBC's Tiffany Cross criticized Trump for picking the "most grandiose symbol of U.S. imperialism on earth."

It's a far cry from how it was described when Democratic politicians were mentioned alongside it.

MSNBC's Al Sharpton wondered in 2013 if President Barack Obama deserved a spot alongside Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, as did MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

Matthews also cut a "Lean Forward" ad for MSNBC in front of Mount Rushmore in 2012, praising the four presidents as makers of American history.

In 2008, CNN's Jim Acosta covered Obama's visit during the Democratic primary as "a fitting campaign stop for a presidential contender looking to make history." Another CNN anchor called it "quite a sight if you haven't seen it."

In office, Obama referred to Mount Rushmore as one of the nation's "most iconic landmarks," on par with the Statue of Liberty.

In 2016, CNN's Jeff Zeleny covered Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) visit there and noted he took in the "majesty of the moment."

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