July 3, 2020

Sara Gideon expands fundraising lead over Susan Collins in Maine U.S. Senate race

House Speaker Sara Gideon, the frontrunner in an upcoming Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, raised $8.1 million during the pre-primary period, extending her fundraising lead over the incumbent Republican.

Updated fundraising reports were due to the federal government on Thursday covering the period from April 1 through June 24. Gideon’s fundraising surge put her over $23 million in total money raised. She spent $7.2 million in the period, leaving her with $5.5 million in cash on hand. It is the first time she has been left with more cash than Collins after a fundraising period.

Collins raised $3 million while spending $3.6 million, according to federal filings. That brings her total fundraising this cycle to $16.2 million. Her campaign had $5 million in cash on hand at the end of the period.

The U.S. Senate race is already the most expensive in Maine’s history. Gideon’s total raised for the period exceeds the $8 million spent by Collins during her 2008 race against then-U.S. Rep. Tom Allen. She won easily in what was previously the priciest campaign in state history.

Read more: https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/02/politics/sara-gideon-expands-fundraising-lead-over-susan-collins-in-maine-u-s-senate-race/

July 3, 2020

'We Can't Withstand Another Surge': San Antonio Leaders Warn Against COVID-19 Spread

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg held a special press conference with government and medical leaders to make another plea for social distancing during the Fourth of July weekend.

"We’re all aware of the status of the public health crisis facing our city," said Nirenberg. "Residents are lining up for tests which are being conducted by the thousands every single day."

He noted the spike of increased COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that came almost exactly 14 days after Memorial Day.

"We cannot withstand another surge two weeks after Fourth of July," he said.

Read more: https://www.tpr.org/post/we-cant-withstand-another-surge-san-antonio-leaders-warn-against-covid-19-spread

July 3, 2020

Did the Military World Games Spread COVID-19?

Opening ceremonies of the seventh Military World Games, in Wuhan, China, October 18, 2019


WASHINGTON – Less than a month before data shows the first Chinese citizen became ill with coronavirus, nearly 300 members of the U.S. military, Department of Defense, and support personnel attended the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan, China. When the games ended, they returned to at least 219 home bases in 25 states, without ever being screened for possible COVID-19 infection.

According to the Pentagon, there was no reason to do so then, or subsequently. A spokesperson issued a terse email response to the question, saying there was no screening because the event—held from October 18 to 27, 2019—“was prior to the reported outbreak.”

The spokesperson cited December 31, 2019, as the critical outbreak day and that no testing was deemed necessary for any possible exposure prior to February 1, 2020.

Since that email, Pentagon officials have repeatedly declined to speak on or off the record regarding the subject.

Read more: https://prospect.org/coronavirus/did-the-military-world-games-spread-covid-19/
(American Prospect)

July 2, 2020

McGrath and Booker move toward unity after contentious Democratic primary

Days after a contentious Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate, Democratic nominee Amy McGrath and state Rep. Charles Booker, who lost by almost 3 percentage points, are moving to unify the party heading into November’s general election.

While McGrath alienated progressive voters through much of the primary, on Twitter Thursday, Booker signaled he is willing to support McGrath’s campaign.

“Our common enemy is Mitch,” said Booker, D-Louisville. “We must beat him, so we can do the real work. I understand that, and am reaching out to @AmyMcGrathKY to discuss how we can truly work together.”

McGrath later chimed in, saying Booker’s “voice and perspective are much needed.”

https://twitter.com/AmyMcGrathKY/status/1278741440110243842

Read more: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article243960717.html

July 2, 2020

Pro-Biden super PAC expands ad buy in Arizona as Trump's support slips

A deep-pocketed group backing Joe Biden will begin pouring additional money into Arizona this month, expanding its effort in the battleground state as Democrats try to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s recent decline in support with voters.

Priorities USA, the primary super PAC supporting Biden, is investing an additional $831,000 in TV ads in Arizona this month, spokeswoman Daniela Martins said, nearly as much money as the group has spent over the airwaves in the state the entire election cycle.

Combined with digital ads, Priorities now plans to spend more than $1 million total in Arizona in July. To date this cycle, the group had spent $900,000 total on TV ads in the state.

Priorities officials say the extra spending comes after its internal data showed Trump’s support dropping fast in Arizona amid the public’s increasingly sour view of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, subsequent economic fallout, and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Read more: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article243912297.html

July 2, 2020

'Burned to the ground': Anti-Trump Republicans set new goal of defeating the GOP Senate

WASHINGTON -- A loose association of current and former Republicans working to sink President Donald Trump’s re-election now see another political feat that’s necessary for them to have a shot at reclaiming their party: flipping the U.S. Senate to the Democrats.

The emerging belief, based on more than a dozen interviews, is that defeating Trump alone is insufficient to spur the reckoning required to salvage a party that will almost undoubtedly confront a crossroads if the president loses to Joe Biden this fall. Many argue that GOP senators must pay a steep price for their unabating fealty to Trump, even if it hands Democrats complete control of the federal government.

“The analogy would be in the same way that fire purifies the forest, it needs to be burned to the ground and fundamentally repudiated,” said Steve Schmidt, a Republican-turned-independent political strategist who now works for The Lincoln Project, one of the most pugnacious of the anti-Trump GOP groups. “Every one of them should be voted out of office, with the exception of Mitt Romney.”

Not every Republican Trump critic agrees with the unsparing approach, contending that many of the GOP senators most vulnerable in 2020 are the sort of lawmakers who least embody Trump’s worldview.

Read more: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/article243939577.html

July 2, 2020

Choices

July 2, 2020

Vanilla Ice to perform Fourth of July weekend concert near Austin as coronavirus cases surge

by Cassandra Pollock, Texas Tribune


As coronavirus cases continue to surge in Texas, one venue outside Austin says it still plans to host an in-person concert Friday with rapper Vanilla Ice.

But while news of the show has sparked concerns about social distancing, the concert venue's organizer told The Texas Tribune that only 84 tickets had been sold as of Wednesday night. Barret Brannam, owner of Emerald Point Bar & Grill on Lake Travis, said that contrary to reports suggesting that the number of fans at Friday's show will be roughly 2,500, the maximum occupancy for the event has been set to 450 people.

"We're not trying to buck the system — we're going within the guidelines we've been given," Brannam said. "Music is part of Emerald Point — and it will always be part of us going forward."

An event promoter told the Austin Chronicle, which first reported the plans for the concert, that Emerald Point is officially categorized as a restaurant because at least 51% of its sales are food. That would mean it can operate at 50% capacity under Gov. Greg Abbott's latest executive order aiming to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Under that order, bars were forced to close their doors, but restaurants can still operate at half their capacity. Local officials have the power under his order to cancel public outdoor events with more than 100 people.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/01/vanilla-ice-austin-concert/

July 2, 2020

California accuses Cisco of job discrimination based on Indian employee's caste

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - California regulators sued Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) on Tuesday, accusing it of discriminating against an Indian-American employee and allowing him to be harassed by two managers because he was from a lower Indian caste than them.

U.S. employment law does not specifically bar caste-based discrimination, but California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing contends in the lawsuit that the Hindu faith’s lingering caste system is based on protected classes such as religion.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose, does not name the alleged victim. It states he has been a principal engineer at Cisco’s San Jose headquarters since October 2015 and that he was born at the bottom of caste hierarchy as a Dalit, once called “untouchables.”

Like other large Silicon Valley employers, Cisco’s workforce includes thousands of Indian immigrants, most of whom were born Brahmins or other high castes.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cisco-lawsuit/california-accuses-cisco-of-job-discrimination-based-on-indian-employees-caste-idUSKBN2423YE

July 2, 2020

Why Amy McGrath could cost Republicans the U.S. Senate, even if she loses to Mitch McConnell

(Reuters) - Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath’s long-shot bid to unseat U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could help undermine Republican efforts to retain their majority in the chamber, even if the former Marine Corps fighter pilot fails to beat McConnell in November.

Political analysts see the chances of Democrats winning enough seats to seize control of the Senate in the Nov. 3 U.S. election rising, with President Donald Trump’s sliding poll numbers endangering a growing number of Republican incumbents.

McConnell, a tenacious political survivor, has endured election challenges in the past and is still expected to defeat McGrath, who on Tuesday emerged as her party’s nominee to challenge him.

But McGrath has raised more campaign funds than McConnell and poses a threat. That means the Republican Party and Republican-aligned political action committees may be forced to spend more to bolster McConnell’s re-election bid than they may have planned, potentially limiting resources that could go to help incumbents in eight other states who are seen as vulnerable, analysts and officials from both parties said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-senate-mcconnell-analysi/why-amy-mcgrath-could-cost-republicans-the-u-s-senate-even-if-she-loses-to-mitch-mcconnell-idUSKBN2426QQ