And another day of echoing efforts to undermine the election, Republicans supporting Harris, nonverbal learning disorder, fake AI endorsements, new Covid vaccines, and the end of a most joyful week at the DNC comes to a close:
“Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.” -- Adam Kinzinger
“"How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election?" -- Adam Kinzinger
“Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you're not a Democrat; you're a patriot." — GOP former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan
“Because the vast majority of us don’t want to live in a country that’s bitter and divided.” -- Former President Barack Obama
“We need a president that actually cares.” -- Former President Barack Obama
Trump says his focus is ensuring Democrats 'don't cheat,' not voter turnout — echoing efforts to undermine election. The former president has been laying the foundation to ultimately claim that the 2024 election was stolen if he doesn't win in November. Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his strategy for the fall is less geared toward turning out supporters to vote and more focused on ensuring Democrats “don’t cheat” in the general election. -- Win or lose, Trump will try to destroy the country. Harris and down ballot Democrats must win by overwhelming numbers. Make sure your vote is one of them.
Former Trump staffers get prime-time speaking spots — at Democrats' convention. His one-time aides plead with Americans not to elect their former boss. Trump isn't backed by his former vice-president; his second and third national-security advisers; several White House press officials; a chief of staff; and half his previous cabinet. Now two officials from the Trump White House have spoken at the Democratic convention in Chicago to plead with Americans not to elect their former boss. They included Trump's press secretary and a national-security official. That's atop other Republicans who addressed the convention.
RFK Jr. as Trump’s health secretary? Here’s what he wants to do. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, appears to be angling for a Cabinet role. He has advocated dismantling core functions of federal health agencies. -- RFK Jr. needs to be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Arkansas Supreme Court upholds rejection of abortion-rights ballot measure. A majority of justices agreed with the secretary of state's decision last month to block the proposed constitutional amendment over issues with the signature-gathering process.
Walz's family relied on Social Security when his father died. Many don’t know kids are eligible for benefits. ‘Lots of kids ... do not claim their survivor benefits’. About 3.7 million children receive Social Security benefits, according to recent Social Security Administration data. Children can receive benefits if they are unmarried and younger than 18; between 18 and 19 and are full-time students in grades 12 or below; and age 18 or older with a disability that started before age 22.
Sudden fame for Tim Walz’s son focuses attention on challenges of people with learning disabilities. There has long been tension between Washington and local school districts over federal funding of special education. Federal law requires schools to provide special education services, but doesn’t come close to covering the costs. When passed in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) committed the federal government to paying 40% of the average per-pupil expenditure for special education. But currently it’s more like 13%. That’s one reason the Democratic Party platform adopted at the convention this week says, “We support fully funding IDEA to prioritize students with disabilities and the special educator workforce.” This year’s Republican Party platform doesn’t mention special education. But dozens of national education groups have long called for fully funding the costs that IDEA imposes on local schools.
What is a nonverbal learning disorder? Tim Walz’s son Gus’ condition, explained. Almost 3 million kids in North America have the learning disability NVLD. It affects spatial-visual skills and has nothing to do with speaking abilities...The number of people who receive a diagnosis is likely much smaller than those living with the disability...“These individuals are very intelligent and articulate well verbally, but they are typically clumsy with motor and spatial coordination,” he told NBC News. “It’s called a learning disorder because there are a lot of cues other than verbal cues that are necessary for us to keep information in our memory.” People with NVLD often struggle with visual-spatial skills, such as reading a map, following directions, identifying mathematical patterns, remembering how to navigate spaces or fitting blocks together. Social situations can also be difficult...Unlike other learning disabilities such as dyslexia, signs of the disability typically don't become apparent until adolescence.
Trump says he will make 'provisions' for mixed-status families but doesn't rule out separations with mass deportations. Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said the cost to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is justified and would not rule out separating families made up of citizens and noncitizens...When pressed, Trump provided no details on how he would pay for his plan, which could cost billions of dollars to implement at scale. -- He has no plan. He just says shit.
Fake celebrity endorsements become latest weapon in misinformation wars, sowing confusion ahead of 2024 election. Taylor Swift didn’t endorse former President Donald Trump last weekend. Ryan Reynolds wasn’t photographed wearing a pro-Kamala Harris shirt. And the Communist Party USA never backed President Joe Biden’s now-defunct campaign. But these false claims about the 2024 campaign, and dozens of other posts with similar fake endorsements, have exploded on social media in the run up to the election, according to researchers at the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education group that launched a new database Thursday chronicling more than 550 unique instances of election-related misinformation.
Gov. Abbott sent zero migrant buses from Texas to blue cities in July. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed at the RNC on July 17 to keep sending the buses, but state government data obtained by NBC News shows no buses left Texas in July.
MIT's Black student enrollment drops significantly after Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. The university’s white and Asian American student populations have increased, while all others have declined — some even down to zero, according to MIT. -- Which was the Republican plan all along.
Utah lawmakers want voters to give them the power to change ballot measures once they’ve passed. Utah’s Republican-controlled Legislature will ask voters in November to relinquish some of their rights to lawmakers who want the ability to change state ballot measures after they’ve passed. Frustrated by a recent state Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers called a special session Wednesday in which both chambers swiftly approved an amendment to Utah’s constitution that would grant them greater power over citizen initiatives. The Legislature used its broadly worded emergency powers to hold the session. If a majority of Utah voters approves the amendment this fall, it would give lawmakers constitutional authority to significantly rewrite voter-approved ballot measures or repeal them entirely. Democrats decried the decision as a “power grab,” while Republicans argued it would be dangerous to have certain laws on the books that cannot be substantially changed. The proposal would let lawmakers apply their new power to initiatives from past election cycles. -- Oh this will never be abused now, will it? Hopefully the people of Utah see through this Republican power grab and say no, they will not give up their rights.
Transgender people in Texas blocked from changing gender on state IDs. The Texas Department of Public Safety has stopped accepting court orders for the purpose of changing gender markers on driver’s licenses, Texas DPS said.
Canadian government forces rail lockout to end. The Canadian government stepped in to end a shutdown of the nation’s two major freight railroads less than 17 hours after it started, ordering binding arbitration to end the labor dispute that threatened severe disruptions in both the US and Canadian economies.
FDA approves the new Covid vaccine. Here's the best time to get it. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the new Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. It’s the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. The shots should be available within days. The agency hasn't yet approved a third vaccine, from drugmaker Novavax.
FTC’s bid to ban noncompete agreements rejected by federal judge in Texas. A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Federal Trade Commission that would have made it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor.
Former patient testifies doctor told her future husband would regret it if she got tubes tied. A woman who sought a surgical procedure to prevent pregnancy testified Wednesday that a Cape Breton gynecologist told her the choice should be up to her future husband and that "no other doctor in Canada" would perform it on her. The former patient, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, said she was seeking to get her "tubes tied" in 2017 and was given a consultation with Dr. Manivasan Moodley, who is currently facing a multi-day professional misconduct hearing in Bedford, N.S. The woman was in her early 20s when she met with Moodley in his Sydney office, and is one of three former patients who have testified before a five-member panel at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia hearing.
Doctor charged with filming women and children in hospital with hidden cameras. He spied on people in changing rooms, closets, bathrooms and bedrooms at hospitals and at a local swim club..."This is one of the most disturbing sexual predator cases I have seen in my very long career," Sheriff Michael Bouchard told a press conference Thursday. "He violates literally anyone and everyone he can. From a 2-year-old boy to grown women, no one is immune from his disgusting predatory behavior." The number of victims is unknown “because there are so many of them,” he said.
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