RNC: Decision on Private Trump Renomination Vote Not Final

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The vote to renominate President Donald Trump is set to be conducted in private later this month, without members of the press present, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention said Saturday, citing the coronavirus.However, a Republican National Committee official contradicted that assessment Sunday, emphasizing that no final decisions have been made and that logistics and press coverage options were still being evaluated, The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across themore

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Arts Students Lament COVID Shutting Down Practices, Performances

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A typical school day for Elon University junior Skyler Sajewski began at 7 a.m., starting with ballet, history, economics and tap classes, then rehersal for the upcoming musical. She would get back to her apartment around 11 p.m.     Then, the COVID pandemic hit.     The musical theater major who was used to “constantly running from place to place” returned home to Florida to shelter in place. She’s worried about missing out on “literally all of it” in terms of preparing for her future career.   “To be a well-rounded musical theater performer, you have to have amore

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White House, Democrats Remain at Odds Over Coronavirus Aid Deal 

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The White House and top congressional Democrats remained at odds Sunday over the scope of more assistance for 30 million American workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic. In back-to-back appearances on ABC’s “This Week” show, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, sparred over how much new aid the national government should approve beyond less generous state unemployment benefits. Motorists take part in a caravan protest in front of Senator John Kennedy’s office at the Hale Boggs Federal Building asking for the extension of the $600 in unemployment benefits to peoplemore

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GOP: Trump Renomination will be Held in Private

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The vote to renominate President Donald Trump is set to be conducted in private later this month, without members of the media present, a spokesperson for the Republican National Convention said, citing the coronavirus.While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country, 336 delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 24 to formally vote to make Trump the GOP standard-bearer once more.Nominating conventions are traditionally meant to be media bonanzas, as political parties seek to leverage the attention the events draw tomore

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Negotiators Report Progress in COVID-19 Aid Talks

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Lawmakers participating in rare weekend talks on a huge coronavirus relief measure reported progress Saturday, as political pressure mounted to restore a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen.“This was the longest meeting we had and it was more productive than the other meetings,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “We’re not close yet, but it was a productive discussion — now each side knows where they’re at.”Schumer spoke alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after meeting for three hours with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.Schumermore

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Trump To Ban TikTok

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President Donald Trump says he intends to ban the operation of TikTok in the U.S.Trump said Friday he could take action as soon as Saturday to stop the operation of the popular video-sharing social media app in the U.S.“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” he told reporters traveling with him Friday from Florida.He said he would likely use an executive order to prohibit the app.Trump does not support a deal that would allow a U.S. company to buy TikTok’s American operations.The app is extremely popular in both the U.S. and around the world.more

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Students Return to Campus Amid Virus Growth in Some States

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The first wave of college students returning to their dorms aren’t finding the typical mobs of students and parents. What they found Friday were strict safety protocols and some heightened anxiety amid a global pandemic where virus infections are growing in dozens of states.North Carolina State University staggered the return of its students over 10 days and welcomed the first 900 students to campus, where they were greeted Friday by socially distant volunteers donning masks and face shields.The rite of passage was a well-organized but low-key affair, as boxes were unloaded, luggage was wheeled and beds were hauled.”It’s just oddmore

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Key Takeaways from Trump’s Evolving Campaign Strategy

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With several polls showing Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden leading the U.S. presidential race nationally, in battleground states and among key demographics, President Donald Trump’s campaign is seeking a more effective strategy to win over voters.After spending weeks pushing to reopen the economy, the president now appears to be acknowledging the coronavirus pandemic will continue to drive news cycles through the final 100 days of the campaign.Here are a few key takeaways from Trump’s evolving re-election strategy.President Donald Trump wears a face mask as he participates in a tour of Bioprocess Innovation Center at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Monday, July 27,more

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Obama Takes Aim at Trump in Fiery Eulogy for Civil Rights Icon John Lewis

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In a fiery eulogy for longtime U.S. Representative John Lewis on Thursday, former President Barack Obama took a series of thinly veiled shots at the actions of his successor that he said tore at the legacy of the Black civil rights icon being laid to rest.     The funeral for Lewis, who played an instrumental role in passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, came on the same day Republican President Donald Trump suggested the Nov. 3 election could be delayed. Trump has also waged a war against mail-in ballots, a tactic critics say is aimed at suppressing votes.more

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Trump Contrasts his Energy Dominance with Biden’s Climate Plan

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President Donald Trump was in Texas oil country this week, promoting his policy of “restoring energy dominance” in the U.S. while criticizing the clean energy climate plan of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara looks at how the two candidates plan to deal with an energy industry ravaged by the pandemic and tackle the challenges of global climate change. …

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One-Time US Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain Dies From COVID

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Herman Cain, a maverick conservative Republican businessman who briefly led the race for the U.S. party’s 2012 presidential nomination, died Thursday from the coronavirus. He was 74.Cain had been hospitalized for a month in the southern city of Atlanta and initially appeared to regain strength but faltered again in recent days.Cain attended President Donald Trump’s political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20 that led to numerous coronavirus infections. But Cain, who was seen not wearing a mask during the rally, said he had traveled extensively elsewhere about the same time.  It is not known where he contracted the virusmore

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Pelosi Mandates Masks in US House of Representatives

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The U.S. House of Representatives begins a new mandated face mask policy Thursday, following an order from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was facing increasing pressure to address safety concerns in one of the nation’s most high-profile office complexes.  Pelosi issued the order late Wednesday after U.S. FILE – Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert studies notes during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, July 28, 2020.Gohmert said in an interview with CNN last month he did not wear a mask because he was being tested regularly for the coronavirus.  “I don’t have the coronavirus, turns out as of yesterday I’ve never had it,”more

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Trump Suggests Delaying US Presidential Election

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U.S. President Donald Trump says he does not want to wait “weeks, months or even years” for the results of this November’s election because of problems he predicts will occur with mailed-in ballots.”I don’t want a delay,” Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon at the White House. “But I also don’t want to have to wait for three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing, and the election doesn’t mean anything. … Smart people know it. Stupid people may not know it.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can “Trump has attemptedmore

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Finance Company Founder Gets 6 Months in Prison in US College Admissions Scandal

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The former chief executive of specialty finance lender Hercules Capital Inc was sentenced on Wednesday to six months in prison for paying $450,000 to help his daughters gain an unfair edge in the college admissions process.Federal prosecutors in Boston say Manuel Henriquez and his wife, Elizabeth Henriquez, sought to rig their two daughters’ college entrance exam results and secure the older one’s admission to Georgetown University in Washington as a fake tennis recruit.Lawyers for Henriquez, who co-founded Palo Alto, California-based Hercules Capital, sought leniency during a hearing held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. He apologized for crimes that hadmore

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Hong Kong Police Arrest 4 for Alleged National Security Breach Under New Law

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Four young activists who belonged to a disbanded pro-independence group have been arrested on secessionist charges in Hong Kong’s first crackdown on political figures after the enactment July 1 of a sweeping national security law.Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah, with Hong Kong police’s newly formed National Security Department, told reporters late Wednesday that four students between the ages of 16 and 21 had been arrested under the new national security law for “organizing and inciting secession” by their advocacy of independence.He declined to name them and their group, but the group Studentlocalism announced on social media that its former convenor, Tonymore

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US Colleges Plan for Virus Testing, But Strategies Vary Widely

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For students heading to Colby College in Maine this fall, coronavirus testing is expected to be a routine part of campus life. All students will be required to provide a nasal swab every other day for two weeks, and then twice a week after that. All told, the college says it will provide 85,000 tests, nearly as many as the entire state of Maine has since the pandemic started.Colby, a private school of 2,000 students, joins a growing number of colleges announcing aggressive testing plans to catch and isolate COVID-19 cases before they spread. Harvard University says all students livingmore

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Young Independent Voters Focus on Issues, Not Party

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While a majority of voters in the United States identify as either Republican or Democrat — the two major political parties — a growing number of voters see themselves as independent or unaffiliated with any party.     “Personally, I’ve never really felt either major party represents my interest,” Ellen Moorhouse, who identifies as an independent voter, told VOA.      Moorhouse, 30, is deputy communications director at RepresentUs, a political and government reform advocacy group which aims to reduce corruption and gridlock.  Thirty-five percent of Americans under the age of 30 say they are independent or unaffiliated, according tomore

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