‘Anti-Catholic Bigotry’: Rep Banks Demands Investigations into Anti-Catholic Crimes

Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks denounced incidents of vandalism of Catholic churches that have occurred throughout the United States in a Friday statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, and called on the Department of Justice to investigate the attacks.

The Indiana representative spoke out Friday following repeated instances of apparently anti-Catholic attacks in Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and many more locations. Banks said that as hate crimes increase throughout the country, not every hate crime is given the same amount of attention.

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Guest Lineups for the Sunday News Shows

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Govs. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., and Jared Polis, D-Colo.; Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.; Grenita Lathan, interim superintendent of the Houston Independent School District.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Polis; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health; Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio; Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md.; Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta; Dr. Michael Drake, incoming president of the University of California.
CNN’s “State of the Union” — Clyburn; Mayors Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles and Ted Wheeler of Portland, Oregon; Gov. Tate Reeves, R-Miss.; Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.
“Fox News Sunday” — President Donald Trump.

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Commentary: Why Sweden Succeeded in ‘Flattening the Curve’ and New York Failed

Coronavirus deaths have slowed to a crawl in Sweden. With the exception of a single death on July 13, no deaths in this nation of 10 million have been reported since July 10.

But the debate over Sweden’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, which relied on individual responsibility instead of government coercion to maintain social distancing, is far from over.

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Pandemic Triggered Massive Decline in US Prison Population: Report

More than 100,000 state and federal prisoners were released from custody between March and June as the coronavirus spread nationwide, according to analysis from a criminal justice organization.

The overall U.S. prison population declined by 8% over the course of those four months compared to the 2.2% decrease that occurred in the entirety of 2019, according to data compiled by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. The decrease was mostly a result of prisons not accepting individuals from county jails to stop the virus from spreading and court closures, although some facilities did elect to release some prisoners early, The AP reported.

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Vandalizing American History: A List of 64 Toppled, Defaced, or Removed Statues

The list of American statues and other monuments that have been toppled, decapitated, defaced, or removed since the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis grew longer almost daily through June and into July. 

A mob cheered as it pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In Washington, D.C., rioters used ropes to tear down a bronze depiction of Albert Pike, a Confederate general, and then set the 11-foot statue on fire. 

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All These Major American Companies with Hong Kong Footprints Weighed in on George Floyd’s Death, but Not China’s Hong Kong Takeover

Major American companies were quick to issue statements in support of Black Lives Matter or social justice causes in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, but dozens of those same firms that have operations in Hong Kong have yet to weigh in on the Chinese Communist Party’s de facto takeover of the city.

Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Marriott, McDonalds, Nike and Scholastic are among the dozens of major American companies with footholds in Hong Kong that weighed in after Floyd’s death but have yet to weigh in on the new security law Beijing recently imposed on the city, which impacts its employees working in the city and which critics say is designed to crack down on dissent of the ruling Communist Party.

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FBI Tore Apart NYT Report on Trump-Russia Contacts in Newly Declassified Memo

An FBI document released Friday details at least 14 inaccuracies in a New York Times report from early 2017 that leveled shocking allegations of Trump associates’ contacts with Russian intelligence officers.

The document shows then-FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok’s comments on a Feb. 14, 2017 article entitled “Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence.”

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Nearly 60 Percent of Ohio Now Required to Wear Face Coverings in Public

  Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that eight new counties were added to the Red Level 3 Public Emergency. When an Ohio county reaches this level its population is required to wear a face covering in public. Level 3 is considered an area where exposure and spread of the coronavirus is very high. According to the governor’s press release, almost 60 percent of the state’s population will be required to wear face coverings in public. The new counties added to Level 3 are Athens, Allen, Delaware, Licking, Lucas, Richland, Scioto and Union. Currently, 19 counties have reached Level 3. Trumbull County dropped down to Level Two which means people who live in this county aren’t required to wear face coverings in public. The other twelve counties in Level 3 are Butler, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Fairfield, Franklin, Hamilton, Lorain, Montgomery, Pickaway, Summit and Wood. These new counties were expected to follow this mandate on Friday. Athens County is approaching Purple Alert Level 4 which means the coronavirus has severe exposure and spread. The Ohio Department of Health uses seven indicators to determine what level a county is at in terms of coronavirus risk level alerts: New cases per capita Sustained increase…

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DNR Seeks Further Assurances from Enbridge Over Line 5 Risks

 The head of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has asked Enbridge to sign an agreement to cover all losses that might ensue should the company’s dual Line 5 pipeline fail in the Straits of Mackinac.

DNR Director Dan Eichinger sent a letter Friday to Enbridge Executive Vice President and President, Liquid Pipelines Veron Yu seeking a written agreement “to provide sufficient financial assurances to cover any loss, including a catastrophic release from the dual pipelines.”

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Walz Must Answer Abuse of Emergency Powers Charge Over COVID-19 Orders in Lawsuit

Over a dozen Minnesota state legislators have joined ranks with the Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition to stop what they argue are Governor Tim Walz’s unconstitutional abuses of power. A hearing in the case will take place, July 16, 2020, in Minnesota District Court.

Minneapolis attorney Erick Kaardal of Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, P.A. is representing the group in a lawsuit against Governor Walz, whom they are charging with overstepping his bounds and interfering in the legislative process, violating civil liberties of legislators, business owners, and the 5.6 million Minnesotans.

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