870,000 U.S. Workers File New Unemployment Claims, Overall Rate Dips Slightly

About 870,000 workers filed new unemployment claims last week, a slight increase from the week prior though the overall unemployment rate continues its slow decline.

According to U.S. Department of Labor data released Thursday, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.6% for the week ending Sept. 12, with 12.58 million workers filing continued claims for benefits.

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Blackburn Joins Senators in Questioning Netflix Over Decision to Create Show Based on Scifi Novels by Liu Cixin, Who Supports Communist China’s Internment of Uyghurs

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is sounding the alarm about Netflix over the streaming service’s plans to adapt and promote a Chinese sci-fi book series written by an author who expresses support for the Communist government’s “re-education” camps for Muslim Uyghurs.

On Wednesday, Blackburn and U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) signed a letter to Ted Sarandos Jr., co-CEO and chief content officer for Netflix.

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Protesters Arrested in Louisville After Grand Jury Indicts Only One of Three Officers in Breonna Taylor Shooting

In a decision that has inflamed Black Lives Matter activists in Louisville, a grand jury has indicted only one of three officers involved in  the March 13 fatal police shooting of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor.

Former detective Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment for showing “extreme indifference to human life” when he fired his gun into three apartments. The charges were not for killing Taylor, but for putting her neighbors in danger.

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Minnesota Bail Fund Promoted by Kamala Harris Helped Free Serial Domestic Abusers

A bail fund promoted by Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris helped bail out of jail six men accused of domestic violence between June and August, court documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.

Two of the men face felony charges for allegedly strangling women in their own homes, and another stands accused of beating his girlfriend upwards of six times with a closed fist, records show. All but one of the individuals had been convicted of prior domestic violence-related charges when the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) helped bail them out of jail, according to court records.

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High School Football Team Banned from Waving Pro-Police Flag After Online Backlash

A Florida High School has reportedly banned their football team from waving a flag meant to memorialize a police officer after critics said the display is racist.

The Fletcher High School football team had been running onto the field with the pro-law enforcement sign since last year to honor one of the player’s late father, a former cop who died suddenly in August 2019 after 29 years on the job. However the display was stopped this week after complaints, News4Jax reported.

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Johnson & Johnson Begins Final Stage of Testing for Its Single-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

Johnson & Johnson began its final round of testing for its COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday.

The study is one of the most expansive to occur so far, involving 60,000 volunteers across the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico and South Africa, the Associated Press reported. The vaccine is the latest to begin its final testing phase, joining candidates developed by Moderna and Pfizer, and is the only vaccine that would be administered as a single dose.

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Analysis: Disruption and Defamation in the Mortgage Industry

A few weeks ago, Anthony Casa began sending lewd text and video messages to Austin Niemiec, an executive vice president at the world’s largest non-bank lender, Quicken Loans and third-parties including other bankers.

In one video, Casa said, in her college days, Niemiec’s future wife, Theresa, had performed oral sex on a man in college named Mat Ishbia and congratulated Austin for “marrying up.” 

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State Rep. Grendell’s ‘Restore Ohio Now’ Bill Gains Momentum in Ohio House, Needs Speaker’s Guidance

Nineteen state representatives signed on to support law that would effectively put an end to COVID restrictions, the bill’s author, State Representative Diane Grendell (R-Chesterland) told The Ohio Star Wednesday.

“Government cannot protect us from every single one of life’s risks,” Grendell said.

The Star reported that the Representative-crafted a bill that would immediately cancel Governor Mike DeWine’s Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in Ohio.

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U.S. Attorney’s Office Drops Charges Against Visiting Chinese Scientist Accused of Trade Secret Theft

The Charlottesville U.S. Attorney’s office dropped all charges of trade secret theft and computer intrusion against visiting Chinese scientist Haizhou Hu. The prosecution determined that some of the trade secrets were within Hu’s authorized access while at University of Virginia (UVA).
Hu has ties to the Chinese military. The researcher works for the Chinese Key Laboratory for Fluid Dynamics at China’s Beihang University, which the Chinese government and military both fund.

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Letter to the Editor: Why I Am Voting Republican This Fall

I am not voting for a man. I do not give blanket or tacit approval to everything our President has done or said in the past and certainly what he will say or do in the future. I at times cringe at his tweets nor condone some of his actions. Like the fireman who drops the “f bomb” and uses other “salty” language while putting out the fire in your house, I can live with President Trump’s foibles. He gets the job done and at the end of the day it is results that count as our Commander-in-Chief. Nor do I approve of what Vice President Biden has said or done in the past or promises to do in the future. He has had forty-seven years in government to get it right and he has failed miserably. As Robert Gates stated, “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” I challenge you to name one of Joe’s accomplishments.

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Self Serve Is Back, at Risk No Longer Cautioned in Dine Safe Order

Ohio’s Interim Health Director Lance D. Himes released an amended version of the “Dine Safe Ohio” order Wednesday.

The new order has permitted the use of “self service” food stations at “retail food establishments. The order stated that all “Retail food establishments that are regulated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture are permitted to resume use of their self-service food stations in accordance with guidance from the Department of Health.”

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Child Abuse Reports Are Down, But It Might Be Because Schools Are Closed

Since COVID-19 hit, official reports of child abuse and neglect have decreased nationally and in Virginia, but pediatrics experts warn that might not mean fewer cases of abuse.

“When families and parents are under greater stress, generally abuse increases,” President of the Virginia Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics Michael Martin told The Virginia Star.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 24

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 40 days until the election on November 3 – and five days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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More Than a Third of Michigan Voters Have Requested Absentee Ballots

A third of active Michigan voters have requested absentee ballots so far, a spokesperson from Michigan’s Secretary of State (SOS) office announced on Tuesday.

More than 2.39 million Michigan voters have requested ballots, more than 31 percent of the 7.7 million people registered to vote in Michigan and 35 percent of the state’s 6.7 million active voters, according to state data released by the SOS. Detroit City has requested the highest number of absentee ballots at 109,561 ballots, followed by Ann Arbor City at 40,786 ballots and Sterling Heights City at 32,083.

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Virginia House Caves on Anti Police Bill

Democratic and Republican legislators on the House Courts of Justice Committee killed legislation on Tuesday that would have eliminated the six month mandatory minimum sentence for assaulting a law enforcement officer. 

Senate Bill 5032, sponsored by Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax County) was passed by indefinitely by a vote of 18-Y 1-N 1-A, ending any chance of being signed into law during the 2020 special session. 

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Gade Abandons Trump on Key Immigration Policy in First Debate U.S. Senate with Warner

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Republican challenger Daniel Gade appeared virtually on NBC4 for their first debate. NBC News’ Chuck Todd moderated the debate from Washington, D.C. with a live Zoom audience.
Topics included the Supreme Court nominations, COVID-19, the digital divide, policing, racial justice, immigration, and the election.

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Whitmer Signs Orders Wednesday to Make Michigan Carbon Neutral by 2050

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two executive orders on Wednesday aimed at making Michigan carbon-neutral by 2050.

The first order creates an advisory council within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) called the Council on Climate Solutions, which will be tasked with developing and implementing the MI Healthy Climate Plan. The second order creates EGLE’s Office of Environmental Justice Public Advocate, which will “ensure fairness for and representation from underserved communities,” the governor’s office said.

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UVA to Students: Lockdown! But…Pay Us!

University of Virginia (UVA) President Jim Ryan announced new COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday prohibiting student gathering of five or more people, mandating constant use of masks or face coverings and banning  travel and visitors coming to campus for at least the next two weeks. 

The restrictions apply to students, faculty and staff, living on and off campus, and went into effect on Wednesday at 9 a.m. 

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