Yale University historian Timothy Snyder condemned President Donald Trump’s militarized federal crackdown on protests in Portland and other U.S. cities, likening the Draconian moves to those of dictators and authoritarian leaders he studied for his book On Tyranny.

Appearing on The 11th Hour with Brian Williams on Friday, Snyder discussed the heavily armed response the Trump administration resorted to in Portland and the shocking images of the violent clashes with protestors, some of whom were snatched off the street by unnamed agents and whisked away in unmarked vans.

“Your book enumerates so much of what we’ve seen, I should hasten to add, before we saw it,” the MSNBC host said, referring to Snyder’s prescient, 2017 book on tyrannical political leaders. “Buildings with the leaders’ name on them, military parades and on and on. It also enumerates the sight we have now seen in Portland, Oregon,” Williams added, before pointing to the camoflauged, combat-style deployment that has ignited bipartisan outrage.

“Yeah. I mean the question is does the land of the free need a KGB? I would say the answer is no,” Snyder replied. “The United States of America does not need a secret police. We do not need a police force which appears without insignia, which doesn’t identify itself, and which pulls random people off the street. That’s the nightmare of an authoritarian or totalitarian state.”

Snyder went on to warn that this kind of conduct by a government can fast descend a slippery slope to other, more extreme provocations and abuses of power.

“History tells us that the people, the men who staff these kinds of organizations, are very often people with experience in lawless zones. That means concentration camps or places like our detention centers,” he noted. “It tells us that they are very often people of experience defending a border or working at a border, which again is the case here. And another thing which is concerning is that all of this is takes place not on the basis of law, but on the basis of a conspiracy theory. The president mouths dangerous words like ‘anarchists’ and so on and ‘terrorists.’ That’s all a conspiracisy theory. Nothing like that is happening in the United States. These are historical reasons to be very concerned. This is why in the book I said be wary of paramilitaries and also be reflective if you must be armed. These are things we should be keeping in mind. We, of course, can see the dangers, can still talk about it and can still stop it and we should do the right thing before it’s too late.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

MSNBC and CNN split total day ratings wins in overall and A25 – 54 viewers, respectively, on Thursday with audiences tuning in to watch the coverage of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis’ funeral. Fox News’ numbers were down 75 percent in the demo during the afternoon hours as it broadcast the funeral coverage.

According to Nielsen Media Research, CNN scored the best ratings in cable news from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., with 333,000 viewers in the demo. Fox News pulled into second with 301,000 A25 – 54 viewers. And MSNBC trailed behind with 252,000 viewers in the demo.

CNN’s best hour of programming for the entire day in the demo came in the 2:00 p.m. hour, during former President Barack Obama’s eulogy, with 479,000 viewers watching in the demo. That hour also came in fourth overall in cable news on Thursday in the demo, trailing only Fox News’ three primetime programs. Fox News’ ratings noticeably dropped during its coverage of the funeral, with its numbers falling to 81,000 A25 – 54 viewers during the 1:00 p.m. hour and 95,000 at 2:00 p.m. as Obama gave his remarks.

In overall audience, MSNBC earned a rare, total day victory on Thursday with 1.83 million viewers, edging out Fox News’ 1.81 million viewers, and easily outpacing CNN’s 1.34 million. MSNBC’s best daytime hours came between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. covering the end of the Lewis funeral coverage and the reaction on Deadline: White House. In those two hours, MSNBC pulled in 2.21 million and 2.34 million total viewers, respectively. Fox News, again, dropped to lows of 595,000 and 540,000 overall viewers during its funeral coverage.

During the increasingly competitive 7:00 p.m time-slot, MSNBC’s new entrant, The ReidOut won overall viewers on Thursday with 2.25 million and squeaking by Fox News for second place in the demo with 356,000 viewers. Fox’s The Story with Martha MacCallum came in third in the demo with 348,000 viewers and second overall, falling just short of MSNBC with 2.13 million viewers. CNN handily took first in A25 – 54 viewers with 434,000 but was third with 1.56 million overall.

However, Fox News continued its ratings dominance in primetime on Thursday, averaging 592,000 viewers in the demo, easily surpassing CNN’s 400,000 and MSNBC’s 371,000. Tucker Carlson Tonight topped all of cable news with 656,000 A25 – 54 viewers, while Hannity barely beat out its 10:00 p.m. successor, The Ingraham Angle, 567,000 to 553,000. Fox also won overall viewers in Thursday primetime, posting 3.63 million viewers to MSNBC’s 2.60 million and CNN’s 1.66 million. Among its primetime stable, Fox’s Tucker Carlson, Hannity, and Ingraham placed first, second, and third in total cable news viewers with 4.03 million, 3.78 million, and 3.08 million, respectively.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump dropped some big news on Friday night, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he plans to ban the popular social networking service TikTok.

There have been some security concerns over the Chinese-owned app, and Trump administration officials had hinted at action to come against TikTok. The Joe Biden campaign reportedly told staffers to not download TikTok, citing security and privacy concerns.

Earlier Friday there was reporting that TikTok was in talks to sell the company to Microsoft.

The president tonight said that “we’re banning them from the United States”:

President Trump told the Air Force One press pool he plans to ban TikTok from operating in the US.
“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump said.

— Steve Holland (@steveholland1) August 1, 2020

NEW: The President says he plans to sign something as soon as tomorrow to block @tiktok_us: “We’re banning them from the United States.” But he didn’t specify what mechanism he’ll use.

Trump also dismissed the reported spinoff deal involving @Microsoft buying TikTok.

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) August 1, 2020

Per pool, Trump said, “Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that.” The pool says Trump made clear he was not in favor of a deal to let a U.S. company buy TikTok’s American operations.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 1, 2020

Trump said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to ban TikTok. “Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that,” he said referring to emergency economic powers.

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) August 1, 2020

Tucker Carlson blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci Friday night following an exchange between the infectious disease expert and Congressman Jim Jordan over public gatherings, specifically protests.

Accompanied by a mocking “Dear Leader” graphic, Carlson said, “He’s one of the forces behind the mass quarantines that tanked the economy and put millions out of work. He says it’s worth it, though, because the threat is just so profound.”

He showed the exchange between Fauci and Jordan, when the Ohio Republican pressed Fauci about protests and Fauci said “I’m not going to opine on limiting anything.”

Carlson credited Jordan for the exchange and said, “There is nothing Dr. Anthony Fauci won’t opine on as long as it doesn’t offend the popular and fashionable left.”

He even said that, in response to Fauci’s comments about the measures Americans needs to take, “Fauci is 79, but maybe if he had like 22-year-old kids who were trying to make their way in this world in an economy that is headed down the tubes, thanks largely to his recommendations, he would feel differently. It’s not merely an inconvenience when your economy collapses. It’s the end of the American dream. That’s not a small thing. Maybe it’s worth it. Maybe it’s not, but if it is, then you probably shouldn’t take a pass on the question ‘are protests are riots okay?’ Unless you’re a total fraud, like a complete fraud.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson spoke with Alan Dershowitz Friday night and confronted him on his role in Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal.

Dershowitz has himself been accused of having sex with a minor, which he has adamantly denied. He has called accuser Virginia Giuffre a liar and claimed to Carlson “the evidence is overwhelming that she’s lying about me.”

Carlson brought up how Vanity Fair was going to report in 2003 about Epstein before they were “bullied” out of it. “A glossy magazine in New York had heard them, they were known, out there. You were friends with Jeffrey Epstein. You went to his home in New York, his home in Palm Beach, you went to his island — so-called ‘Pedo Island.’ You flew in his plane many times. How did you not know?”

“Of course I didn’t know,” Dershowitz said, again saying that when he went to the island he was with his wife and daughter. “I was not a close personal friend. He lived his private life very privately. The president of Harvard, the provost of Harvard… all had the same kind of academic relationship with Epstein that I did. As soon as I found out, when he was accused, my relationship with him totally changed.”

Carlson jumped in to say, “But when you were on ‘Pedo Island,’ or when you you borrowed his place in Palm Beach or were at his house in New York… every picture I’ve ever seen of his properties, you see young women around. Were there no young women when you were on his plane or any of his properties? None?”

“Absolutely not,” Dershowitz said. “I never saw him in the presence of a young woman. When I was there with my children and grandchildren, there was a housekeeper and the housekeeper’s wife. That’s it. Nobody else was there.”

Carlson went on to question Dershowitz about his representation of Epstein and the 2008 plea agreement, saying, “You did get him off the hook and you did so with a lot of other prominent people.. The accusations were clearly true. You knew that at the time. Did you have moral qualms about it? And why do you think the feds went along with it? It doesn’t make sense.”

Dershowitz responded:

“We had a very, very strong federal defense. It doesn’t matter how many women he may have had sex with in Palm Beach, the government had to prove that he transported them in interstate commerce, and they couldn’t do that. They had a very weak federal case and a very strong state case. So the deal we arrived at was he would plead to a state charge, serve 18 months, and would not plead to the federal charge. That’s very common. The job of the criminal defense lawyer is to get the best deal he can for his client.”

Dershowitz defended his actions and asked, “Would anyone want a lawyer who would not defend them zealously?”

Tucker continued pressing Epstein on the deal, and you can watch the full segment above, via Fox News.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes excoriated the Senate Republican leadership over adjourning that chamber for a three-day weekend even though it failed to pass an extension of the coronavirus relief bill that expires on Friday.

In his opening segment, Hayes pointed out the absurdity of the Mitch McConnell-led Senate packing up and leaving the capital as unemployment and eviction benefits run out, particularly after the Democratic-led House had passed its own extension of the pandemic relief package 10 weeks ago.

“Of all the crazy things happening right now, and there are a lot, the craziest might be something that’s not happening,” Hayes explained. “There is no one on the floor of the United States Senate. There is no one on their offices. They have all gone home for the weekend. Congress is in recess right now, on the very day that $600 a week of unemployment insurance bonuses for tens of millions of people has expired. It’s done as of today. It’s a shocking and disgusting slap in the face from the Republican Senate leadership, the struggling Americans. The Democratic House has passed a bill to re-up it.”

“Also think about how insane this is politically,” Hayes noted. “There is an election in less than 100 days, you might have noticed. The Republican Party currently has a majority in the Senate. It is defending a bunch of intensely-contested seats. There is a sitting Republican president. Probably heard about that, too. He’s up for re-election. The country is in a once in a century catastrophe.”

Hayes then ran through a laundry list of shockingly bad statistics:  tens of millions unemployed, 153,000 fatalities from Covid-19, schools struggling to open around the country, small businesses being destroyed, professional sports barely able to function.

“All of American life is torn asunder. We are drowning here, folks, and Senate Republicans are like: ‘Peace, summer Fridays! You know how we do!’ That reveals a deep truth about the Republican Party right now. At a governing level, they have no answers for the catastrophe. They are acting like a party who understands they are about to get creamed. It’s not an accident that half the Republican Senator caucus is rebelling against doing anything. Some of those prominent opponents are people who clearly have their eyes on the future. People like Senators Ben Sasse, Josh Hawley, and Ted Cruz, people who are already pivoting to be the tough, austerity opposition in a future Democratic presidency, after their own party basically destroyed the country.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

Read the rest of this entry »

CNN’s John Harwood offered a scathing review of the House Republicans’ “astonishing” performance at a House coronavirus hearing where they targeted the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Speaking Situation Room host Wolf Blitzer, Harwood ran through some of the angriest and bizarre moments of the highly contentious day on Capitol Hill.

“Wolf, it was astonishing,” Harwood said summarizing the day. “The president, the last couple of months has been demonstrating over and over again he’s not up to the job of leading effectively against the coronavirus. At this hearing today, the House Republicans did their best to made the same case against themselves. With regard to a solution to the pandemic that has wrecked the economy and caused 150,000 people to lose their lives, they wanted to vent their grievances against all the people they feel are unfair to them.”

“So you had [Rep.] Jim Jordan [R] of Ohio yelling at Dr. Anthony Fauci saying racial injustice protests should to be stopped,” Harwood explained, highlighting one of the fieriest clashes of the day. “You had a member from Tennessee who was complains about media hype about mask wearing. You had a member from Missouri saying that ‘Well, mortality from coronavirus is no worse than that or people who play football and nobody’s all upset about playing football’ and then finally you had a member from Indiana and pressing Fauci and saying ‘Aren’t the Chinese inhibiting our convenience program by hacking into researchers’ computers And Fauci said ‘No because we publish it anyway. It’s transparent, and they can read it in the New England Journal of Medicine whether they hack or not.’ And the member from Indiana said ‘Well, the people in my district believe otherwise.’ Well, that doesn’t matter because Dr. Fauci is the one who knows what he’s talking about.”

“When you look at the fact that Senate Republicans haven’t passed a bill and [Sen.] Lindsey Graham [R-SC] says half the caucus doesn’t want to pass any bill,” Harwood added. “It’s pretty clear that if that $600 unemployment benefit is going to be extended at the federal level, if you’re going to have relief for states and local government that seen their revenues decimated by the pandemic, it’s only going to happen if Democrats are going to be able to force the Republicans to do what they don’t want to do. They got the leverage with public opinion but that doesn’t always rule the day.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

As the Joe Biden VP vetting process continues, some unexpected news emerged about one of the top contenders.

Congresswoman Karen Bass (D- CA), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has been talked about as a potential pick for Joe Biden — who’s reportedly going to announce his decision the week prior to the convention.

The Daily Caller obtained video of Bass speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a new Scientology church in Los Angeles back in 2010.

The event featured a number of local officials, including Bass, who was at the time serving in the California State Assembly, where she was Speaker for two years. She said at the event, “The Church of Scientology I know has made a difference, because your creed is a universal creed and one that speaks to all people everywhere… The words are exciting of your founder, L. Ron Hubbard, in The Creed of the Church of Scientology: that all people of whatever race, color or creed, are created with equal rights.”

Per the Daily Caller:

Bass has praised the church as a U.S. congresswoman as well. In November 2011, she submitted a letter read at the opening of a Scientology center in South Los Angeles. According to reports of the event, Bass praised the church for its “many humanitarian initiatives and social betterment programs for the benefit of South Los Angeles.”

While scrutiny of Scientology has increased in recent years, it was under consistent criticism at the time Bass praised the organization. Former Scientologists have said that church operates as a cult, and that members face pressure to disassociate themselves from non-Scientologists.

Karen Bass in 2010 at a ribbon-cutting for a Scientology church:
"That is why the words are exciting of your Founder L. Rob Hubbard…The Church of Scientology I know has made a difference, because your creed is a universal creed and one that speaks to all people everywhere" pic.twitter.com/EghkCwqHi6

— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) July 31, 2020

This is partly an LA/CA politics thing.
The Church has a lot of powerful/rich ppl in it in the area she represents (or at least near it).

— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) July 31, 2020

There are political risks of picking a VP who hasn't undergone the vetting of a national campaign before like Kamala/Warren. There could be weeks of little, distracting stories like this under the national glare.
If he thinks she's the right person for the job it may not matter

— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) July 31, 2020

Bass is reportedly on Biden’s VP shortlist and was the subject of two new profiles on her activism and political leadership in Los Angeles over the decades.

Read the rest of this entry »

During a Covid-19 and hurricane preparedness roundtable in Florida, President Donald Trump brusquely dismissed as “another Russia hoax” recent U.S. intelligence reports that the Russian government was paying bounties to the Taliban for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Last month, the New York Times reported a blockbuster story that those intel reports had been included in Trump’s Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) in February. On Wednesday, Axios’ Jonathan Swan conducted a devastatingly thorough interview with Trump, during which the president ultimately acknowledged that he has never raised the issue of Russian interference in the US-Afghanistan War despite numerous phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past few months. Trump’s defense of his refusal to confront Putin included claims that “it was never brought to my attention” as well as, some media figures pointed out, what amounted to repeating Kremlin talking points.

On Friday, a reporter pressed Trump about the fact that the intel reports about the bounty programs had been considered serious enough to be included in his PDB. “Have you been reading that daily briefing?” Trump was asked.

The President is asked about Russian bounties and says he thinks it’s another Russia Hoax. He says it was never brought to his attention and if it is brought to his attention, he’ll do something about it pic.twitter.com/oCfaF1iGkp

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) July 31, 2020

In his response, Trump claimed that he reads the PDB all the time, but then refused to specifically acknowledge if he ever read the intel about the Russian bounty reports. Instead, he repeated his previous, vague defense that “it was never brought to my attention” and then quickly added “I think it’s another Russia hoax” without elaborating.

“They’ve been giving the Russia hoax, shifty Schiff and all these characters, from the day I got here,” Trump said. “But it was never brought to my attention because it didn’t reach the level, there were a lot of people, including Democrats, that said it never took place. If it did take place, it would’ve been brought to my attention and I would take very strong action, there’s been nobody tougher with Russia or China than I have. Not even by a long shot.”

Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Social media reaction exploded over unsealed documents in the Ghislaine Maxwell case implicating attorney Alan Dershowitz in the Jeffrey Epstein trafficking scandal.

Unredacted versions of the unsealed documents named Dershowitz as one of the men with whom underage girls were allegedly forced to have sex, a revelation that caused a tsunami of reaction from verified Twitter.

Some gloried in Dershowitz’s likely discomfort at the revelations, while other reactions pointed out his longstanding critique of statutory rape laws, and saw connections between the allegations against Dershowitz and his stalwart defense of President Donald Trump.

Alan Dershowitz should be on suicide watch tonight

— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) July 31, 2020

Virginia Roberts says she was trafficked to Glen Dubinn, Stephen Kaufmann, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew at the direction of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pic.twitter.com/sMdeZjIUBz

— Chris Spargo (@chrisonchris) July 31, 2020

“Statutory Rape Is an Outdated Concept” Op-ed by Alan M. Dershowitz.

Suddenly it all makes sense. pic.twitter.com/lbWKyAMo4Y

— Sarah Gad, JD (@SarahGad2020) July 31, 2020

#maxwelldocuments unsealed:
Alan Dershowitz not only witnessed the rape of minors but…wait for it:
abused minors himself…
and crafted the immunity agreement to protect himself pic.twitter.com/TSoiwfLLJA

— Amr Khalifa (@Cairo67Unedited) July 31, 2020

Remember when @AlanDersh argued that setting the age of consent at 16 was too high? Seems relevant when under age girls are accusing him of rape. #Dershowitz pic.twitter.com/bhatlOBJAK

— Omar Baddar (@OmarBaddar) July 31, 2020

Wow-wondering if Alan Dershowitz’s defense of Trump was in the hope of a pardon: https://t.co/ByIgnfVQb7

— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) July 31, 2020

Dershowitz defends trump at impeachment.

Barr fires Berman for seemingly no reason.

There are no accidents. https://t.co/YhFLwIfjnb

— (((evan shapiro))) (@eshap) July 31, 2020

Tomorrow at Trump’s mini-Rally Bullshit press gaggle..

He will “wish Alan Dershowitz well”.

And pretend he doesn’t know him. https://t.co/4oGVLhr81N

— Hal Sparks (@HalSparks) July 31, 2020

Alan Dershowitz is a Trump supporter because he needs all the help he can get to run out the clock on his history of alleged sexual assaults… https://t.co/cmyWrM5peH pic.twitter.com/y1zhMs30QE

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 31, 2020

Woah boy! Now we know why Dershowitz was so activated around the time Berman was getting fired. https://t.co/KNgEKQYOYY

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) July 31, 2020

Not a great vineyard August for Dershowitz #MaxwellDocuments

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) July 31, 2020

Oh, Professor Underpants…you in trouble. @AlanDersh https://t.co/LbgrnsX82P

— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) July 31, 2020

Will be fascinating to track Bill Barr when Trump moves to pardon Dershowitz. Trump’s good wishes to #GhislaineMaxwell didn’t get scrutiny they merited. https://t.co/T61PO7v06P

— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) July 31, 2020

Here’s the backstory of why Virginia Giuffre’s deposition was finally unsealed, and how it all connects to Alan Dershowitz. https://t.co/y3uaflhLEL

— Jacob Shamsian (@JayShams) July 31, 2020

Not a great night to be Alan Dershowitz. But then again, few of them are.

— Max Burns (@themaxburns) July 31, 2020

I would be very content never to have to think about Alan Dershowitz’s sexual behavior ever again.

— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) July 31, 2020

I think Dershowitz is lucky not be spending his summers in the other kind of yard, where you’re allowed to spend one hour a day trying not to get shanked. https://t.co/a5qscit43G

— Greg Pinelo (@gregpinelo) July 31, 2020

Zomg #MaxwellDocuments. How is Alan Dershowitz you going to be treated on a Martha’s Vineyard now??

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 31, 2020

For those wondering why Alan Dershowitz went from renowned legal scholar to Trump sycophant and Fox News contributor, tonight you have your answer.

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) July 31, 2020

On Friday morning, Dershowitz tweeted that he was the one who demanded the documents be released.

I demanded release of all documents because they contain emails and manuscripts proving in Guiffre’s own words that she never met me. I knew they would repeat her false accusations against me, Al and Tipper Gore and others, which her own lawyers admit are “wrong”.

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) July 31, 2020

That got a few responses as well.

lol, you’re up early

— Eric Lodal (@ericlodal) July 31, 2020

“I demanded release” might be the wrong choice of words for Alan Dershowitz. https://t.co/h5Dge7s7HP

— JeremyNewberger (@jeremynewberger) July 31, 2020

Mm hmmm, Alan. pic.twitter.com/XXcjw1pkTS

— Vic Berger IV (@VicBergerIV) July 31, 2020

Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s campaign has frozen a majority of its TV spending less than 100 days before the 2020 election. A campaign official said the demotion of former campaign manager Brad Parscale has led them to start a “review” and “fine-tuning” of their re-election strategy.

“With the leadership change in the campaign, there’s understandably a review and fine-tuning of the campaign’s strategy. We’ll be back on the air shortly, even more forcefully exposing Joe Biden as a puppet of the radical left-wing,” a Trump campaign official told NBC News.

Parscale was demoted from campaign manager to being a senior adviser on the campaign on July 15, while deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien was promoted. Nearly every nationwide poll has Trump facing an 7 to 9-point deficit to Biden before the start of August, and scrambling to break even in new battleground states like Georgia and Texas.

Advertising Analytics reports that Trump’s campaign has scaled back on its advertising in the last couple of days and has virtually no ad money currently lined up for August.

Multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday that both the Trump campaign and his super PAC have stopped buying television and radio ads in Michigan, a battleground state worth 16 electoral votes. Joe Biden’s campaign reportedly doubled its total advertising in Michigan from June to July.

Trump’s biggest current ad buy promotes a misleading claim that Biden wants to defund police departments. In an interview with Fox’s Chris Wallace, Trump said Biden supports defunding the police but Wallace pushed back and debunked the charge. Eventually, Trump couldn’t prove his claim in Biden’s charter signed with Bernie Sanders. Biden has also raged against inaccuracies in the campaign’s most-run advertisement, as well.

“That has never been my position, it is not my position now,” Biden said. “Where I stand on it is police have to clean up their act.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Legendary sports broadcaster and CNN contributor Bob Costas railed against forcing college football players participate in a fall season during the Covid-19 pandemic, calling the circumstances “unconscionable.”

His comments on Thursday night came as several major conferences, including the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference, announced their league’s football schedules with tentative starting dates beginning as soon as late September.

“Think of the size of football rosters, and think of the nature of the sport, with contact on every play,” Costas said on CNN’s Facts & Fears: Coronavirus Town Hall with Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “And then, think about college football. More and more, that seems less and less likely. It may be unlikely that the NFL can get in a full season. But the idea of playing college football under these circumstances, players not compensated, no union to protect them. That’s unconscionable.”

Outside of football, Costas was more open to the idea of some college sports returning, he said.

“Every sport differs,” Costas continued. “You can play tennis. You can play golf. There’s certain things you can do, more or less, safely … Whatever the flaws may be, whatever the hypocrisies may be, surrounding big-time college sports, it’s those two sports that pay for tennis and lacrosse and crew and all the rest. So that takes a hit, as well.”

Several professional leagues have started their seasons with mixed results. Major League Baseball is a week into its season, but has postponed almost a dozen games amid several outbreaks within teams, most notably more than a dozen players on the Miami Marlins who have tested positive for Covid-19. The NBA has had success with its Orlando bubble so far, and the NHL, which hasn’t yet restarted its 2019–20 season, hasn’t had a player test positive for the coronavirus since July 18.

Most colleges have limited their schedules to only playing teams within their conference in the fall, but travel for certain matchups would still require aircraft. With college students nearing their return to school, some schools have opted away from collegiate seasons. Others are still unsure when their sports will begin again.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo trained his fire on President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him out for holding an in-person campaign rally last month attended by a maskless Herman Cain, who just died of Covid-19.

The 74-year-old Cain passed away on Thursday after an extended battle against the virus. He had been entered the hospital on July 1 after being diagnosed with Covid-19. Ten days earlier, Cain had appeared at the June 20 Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, after which he posted photos of himself not social distancing or wearing a mask. Though it has not been confirmed when or where Cain was infected, many online critics of the president blamed him for possibly being the root cause of Cain’s diagnosis. However Fox News reporter John Roberts pointed out that Cain could not have shown any symptoms of the virus when entering the rally, since attendees who would be close to the president were tested for coronavirus.

The CNN host picked up these threads in his opening monologue, a damning indictment of Trump’s poor judgment and failed leadership.

“Why does Trump think he can do whatever he wants? Because he is a splendid marriage of ignorance and arrogance. It’s all about the me, and zero about the we,” Cuomo began. “The virus is, rapidly, swallowing us. All colors, all stripes, all creeds. It just took a former presidential candidate, Herman Cain. Yes, he supported the president. The president says he was a good friend of his. We wish his family well, and we wish that he rest in peace.”

Sufficiently warmed up, Cuomo then bored deeper into Trump.

“And I wish that this president have no peace, until he thinks about what he’s exposing people to,” Cuomo railed. “He didn’t even mention that Mr. Cain was at his rally among the maskless masses, right before he was diagnosed. Now maybe he didn’t get it there. Sure as hell didn’t help.”

“How many lives do we have to lose?” Cuomo demanded. “How many have to be sick? How many have to have their lives changed? How many businesses have to close? How many kids have to go underserved and fall behind? How much more inequality and inequity must there be for something that is within our control? When will you say enough? When will you demand action? This is not about our democracy being in doubt. This is about the strength of our leadership, absolutely, being in doubt.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

MSNBC primetime host Chris Hayes was called out by an NBC News reporter for characterizing an aggressively physical arrest of a New York City protester by undercover police as a “kidnapping” on Twitter Tuesday night.

A video from Tuesday showed a protester grabbed by several unidentified men, surrounded by NYPD bicycle cops, and thrown into an unmarked van as commotion ensued. The video, taken between E. 25th street and 2nd ave., instantly went viral. Several notable names shared the clip with their thoughts, including Hayes who wrote on Twitter, “This is…kidnapping.”

this is…kidnapping https://t.co/iT7SDb5RWx

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 28, 2020

Thirty minutes after Hayes’ tweet, the NYPD posted a series of posts explaining the scene. Its Twitter account said the person in custody was “wanted for damaging police cameras during 5 separate criminal incidents in & around City Hall Park” and that unmarked vans are used to “effectively locate wanted suspects.” The police also claimed rocks and bottles had been thrown at the officers, although no such attacks were evident in the video.

At 10 p.m. EDT, Tom Winter, an NBC News investigative reporter focused on police and courts among other subjects, fired back at Hayes with a very public rebuke.

“It could also be undercover detectives from a warrant squad making an arrest with probable cause for someone wanted for 5 specific crimes wearing visible weapons and vests in a car immediately surrounded by uniformed police officers with NYPD written on the back,” Winter wrote.

It could also be undercover detectives from a warrant squad making an arrest with probable cause for someone wanted for 5 specific crimes wearing visible weapons and vests in a car immediately surrounded by uniformed police officers with NYPD written on the back. https://t.co/CsKt5QMSmZ

— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 29, 2020

Hayes responded a little over an hour later, with a notably more circumspect tone.

Maybe? Seems there are ways to make this arrest that are not this.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 29, 2020

Tucker Carlson attacked former President Barack Obama on Thursday night for politicizing Rep. John Lewis’ memorial service with a eulogy that the Fox News host slammed as using a “fake accent” like a “greasy politician” in “desecrating” the funeral.

During his opening monologue, Carlson pulled no punches in criticizing the former president for giving a speech at the civil and voting rights activist’s funeral that condemned President Donald Trump’s voting rights rhetoric and actions in everything but name.

“Barack Obama showed up at congressman John Lewis’ funeral today and Obama claims he was there to eulogize his friend and that’s not true and that’s not what he did,” Carlson complained. “Instead Obama gave a divisive and deeply dishonest campaign speech in church.”

Coincidentally, Lewis also published an op-ed in the New York Times on Thursday, sent it in days before his death with instructions to run it on the day of his funeral. In it, he references his Civil Rights colleague Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who used the pulpit of his church as a beacon to call for racial justice and voting rights.

“It’s hard to believe that clip is real but it is, down to the cloying, fake accent, Mr. Hawaii Guy,” Carlson snarked. “But take three steps back. Imagine if some greasy politician showed up at your loved one’s funeral and started throwing around stupid partisan talking points about Senate procedure. Can you imagine that? You would be shocked if that happened. You’d probably walk out. Desecrating a funeral with campaign slogans? What kind of person would do that?”

But the Fox News host then noted that those attending Lewis’ funeral, contrary to his outrage, gave rousing ovations to Obama over his partisan tone at the memorial service for someone who urged Civil Rights protestors get into “good trouble.””

“Democrats in the audience didn’t seem offended, they didn’t blink, they cheered,” Carlson acknowledged. “It all seemed normal to them and why wouldn’t it? Political power is their religion. It’s not out of place in a church, it’s what they worship. People who politicize a funeral will do anything and they are trying to.”

The Fox host then made a series of incendiary claims about Democrats, implicating them for trying to “dismantle the core institutions of American life.” Included in his rant was a nativist charge that the party is attempting to “pack the electorate itself by importing tens of millions of new voters.”

“Why are they doing all of this? They’ll tell you it’s to make the country better and more just, but the country isn’t improving and it’s not more fair,” Carlson ominously warned. “They are doing this for one reason, to ensure they have complete control of the United States. We are watching it happen right now, though almost no one ever admits it and those who do come close to getting shut down.”

Watch the video above, via Fox News.

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley defended athletes who choose not to kneel during the National Anthem from being “vilified,” after the reopening of the NBA season on Thursday featured every player on the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz knelt on the court in protest.

Before the first game of the NBA’s 2019-20 season restart, players including Zion Williamson and Donovan Mitchell wore Black Lives Matter shirts as they knelt with their arms around each other while coaches and team personnel joined in. The demonstration was brought up on TNT’s halftime show after the Pelicans took a lead to the Jazz.

“That was beautifully done in unity,” Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal said. “Nice to see. Again, when you have your platform, I think it’s very important that you speak up. It’s very important that you speak your mind. When you talk about change, you have to talk about protocol.”

“We use our voice to bring awareness,” O’Neal continued. “You have to go vote … it doesn’t stop with just sending out a tweet or yelling all the time. We have to continue to fight, continue our movement, and you know follow and chase the protocol. Again, I’m proud of everyone.”

“My thing is the National Anthem means different things to different people,” Barkley responded to O’Neal. “I’m glad these guys are all unified, but if people don’t kneel, they’re not a bad person. I want to make that perfectly clear. I’m glad they had unity, but if we have a guy who doesn’t want to kneel because the anthem means something to him, he should not be vilified.”

Earlier in July, Barkley said that the NBA’s social justice efforts are “turning into a circus.”

“Instead of talking about racial equality, racial justice and economic justice, we spend all our time worrying about who’s kneeling and not kneeling, what things are being said on buses, what’s being said on jerseys. I think we’re missing the point,” Barkley said on CNBC.

Watch above, via TNT.

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Members of the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz knelt during the National Anthem of the first game of the National Basketball Association’s 2019-2020 season restart.

Players including Zion Williamson, Rudy Gobert, and Donovan Mitchell wore Black Lives Matter shirts as they knelt with their arms around each other. Coaches and team personnel knelt on the court with them, as well.

Every single person on the court takes a knee before the national anthem in protest of racial injustice. pic.twitter.com/xRjGt7PvG9

— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) July 30, 2020

A similar demonstration happened last week in Major League Baseball’s start of its 2020 season. Players from the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals knelt in unison after the National Anthem and held a long, black ribbon that traced around the diamond. Both of those team’s coaches joined in as well. The game — which featured the first pitch being thrown out by the nation’s top expert in infectious diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci — led ESPN to their best baseball ratings in nine years.

Gobert, who was one of the NBA players to participate Thursday night, was notably the first NBA player to test positive before the league suspended its season March 11. NBA players, coaches, and members of the media have been apart of the NBA bubble for over a month. The bubble features daily testing and physically limits their movements to certain areas in Orlando. Teams have played scrimmages over the last two weeks without any new Covid-19 cases.

The Jazz begin the NBA’s restart with a 41-23 record as the team nears another playoff run. The Pelicans, highlighted by the rookie Williamson, are 3.5 games from a playoff spot.

Watch above, via TNT.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

A White House group tapped to create a national testing plan in the beginning months of the coronavirus pandemic reportedly scrapped their proposal in part because the virus was hitting “blue states” the hardest, according to Vanity Fair.

Katherine Eban reported on the group’s secret testing plan in a new report, which included the revelation that the team, led by White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, bought 3.5 million Covid-19 tests for $52 million from an Abu Dhabi–based artificial intelligence company. They were never used, deemed “contaminated and unusable.”

Kushner’s team created a report designed for President Donald Trump to read aimed at fixing challenges like “uneven testing capacity and supplies throughout the U.S., both between and within regions, significant delays in reporting results (4-11 days), and national supply chain constraints, such as PPE, swabs, and certain testing reagents.”

The plan was a “starting point,” Eban writes, but it didn’t come together because people in April thought the virus would soon go away. Vanity Fair continues:

Against that background, the prospect of launching a large-scale national plan was losing favor, said one public health expert in frequent contact with the White House’s official coronavirus task force.

Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.

That logic may have swayed Kushner. “It was very clear that Jared was ultimately the decision maker as to what [plan] was going to come out,” the expert said.

Kushner’s plan to create a federal testing operation was officially tossed when Trump announced his plan to shift testing responsibilities to individual states on April 27 during a press briefing.

Other organizations, like the Rockefeller Foundation, have attempted to create a national testing plan as over 150,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 so far. On Friday, the House’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus will hold a hearing to advocate for a national testing plan, more than three months after Kushner’s initial plan was scrapped.

Lindsey Graham’s Democratic Senate opponent, Jaime Harrison, slammed the South Carolina Republican for his 180-degree conversion from Trump critic to cheerleader, likening the flip-flop to “a live version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

During an appearance on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, Harrison, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, decried Graham for his failure to do a single town hall in three years while taking every opportunity to golf or dine with President Donald Trump. In an internal poll released by Harrison earlier this week, he was down by only two points — within the margin of error — to Graham, 41% to 43%.

“In 2016, Lindsey Graham was a vocal critic of then candidate Trump,” Lemon noted. “He famously tweeted: ‘If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed and we will deserve it.’ Now Graham has become one of the president’s most loyal backers in Congress. How do you explain this transition?”

“Listen, it’s almost like watching a live version of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” Harrison snarked.

“He is just — the flip-flopping is amazing. I’ve never seen it in all of the years that I’ve been studying politics,” Harrison added. “So to see someone go from having a backbone to not having one at all. And that’s what we see in Lindsey Graham. And that’s why he is vulnerable in this election. Because there are a lot of people in the state who are just like me, who respected Lindsey Graham, thought he stood up for the state, but this guy has been a missing in action senator. He hasn’t had a town hall in this state in over three years. He does more fighting against the people of South Carolina than he does helping us.”

“He has just said over his dead body will he allow an extension of the federal unemployment insurance benefit,” Harrison pointed out, alluding to a South Carolina business forum in May where Graham boasted he would block any attempt to extend the Covid relief unemployment bonus. “That’s $600 a week for folks who otherwise would only get less than $320 a week. We need that money into our economy. But we got a senator who cares more about his tee times with the president or having some fancy dinner over at the Trump Hotel rather than going to Washington, D.C. and working for the people of South Carolina. So we’re going to beat him because he hasn’t been here. And I’m talking about the issues that people really are concerned about.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

Axios’ Jonathan Swan appeared on MSNBC Wednesday night to discuss his new interview with President Donald Trump and the preview already released showing him confronting the president on the alleged Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops.

Lawrence O’Donnell played the full exchange for his audience, commending the way Swan grilled Trump on the subject — something that other journalists noted the president wasn’t getting asked about in several recent interviews.

Trump told Swan he didn’t raise the matter in his recent call with Vladimir Putin.

“To go that long without being questioned seriously on this matter,” Swan said, “was unacceptable. And it’s not a matter that’s sort of boutique or niche or outside the realm of American life. This relates to U.S. service members. This is the lives of U.S. service members. This is the Taliban, which until recently has been killing U.S. service members.”

He noted that there isn’t consensus on the intel, but said that’s not itself unusual and pointed out this was taken seriously and certainly carried more weight than “some flimsy piece of gossip.”

“And what I found striking in the interview was that he was incurious about this. He dismissed it on its face. He wrote it off as fake news,” Swan continued. “And it did not comport with his world view in the way that he thinks about Putin and Russia. So, therefore, it was immediately off the table.”

He was also struck by Trump’s reaction to his own former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan saying Russia was supplying arms to the Taliban. “And for him to say that he hadn’t heard about it or that he maybe heard about it but it hadn’t reached his desk, I don’t know what it requires to reach his desk, but I would have thought that when the top military officer in that region says something publicly, that that information, by definition, should be on his desk.”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

Fox News scored strong daytime ratings on Tuesday, averaging more than 400,000 viewers in the coveted 25 – 54 age demographic for four straight hours in the afternoon, as the network went all-in covering the House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Bill Barr.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News easily won total day in the demo with 412,000 viewers, powered by its highly rated Noon to 4:00 p.m. coverage of the highly contentious hearing, which pulled in 434,000, 441,000, 451,000, and 433, 000 viewers, respectively, in the demo. The network’s total day number outpaced CNN’s 316,000 and MSNBC’s 233,000 among A25 – 54 viewers. In overall viewers, Fox News also scored a big victory thanks to its strong afternoon numbers, which averaged near 2.9 million for those same four hours. On average, Fox News had 2.52 million total viewers from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., besting MSNBC’s 1.61 million and CNN’s 1.24 million.

In primetime, Fox easily won among the A25 – 54 audience on Tuesday, averaging 705,000 viewers across the three hours from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Leading the charge was Tucker Carlson Tonight, which amassed 827,000 viewers in the demo (4.52 million in total), tops in cable news and the second-most watched show in all of TV. Fox’s Hannity came in second in cable with 713,000 A25 – 54 viewers (4.38 million overall), and the network’s 10:00 p.m. primetime show, The Ingraham Angle, placed third with 575,000 (3.53 million overall).

CNN was the primetime runner-up on Tuesday with 447,000 viewers in the demo, while MSNBC trailed far behind with just barely more than half of Fox’s ratings, with 381,000 in the demo. In overall viewers, that phenomenon continued as Fox dominated with 4.14 million viewers, which was greater than MSNBC’s (2.47 million) and CNN’s (1.62 million) primetime ratings combined.

It is not a normal cable news segment that mentions both demon sperm and demon sex several times in discussing a global pandemic. But then, 2020 is anything but a normal cable news year.

Anderson Cooper’s opening monologue proved both of those points on Wednesday, as he took President Donald Trump to task for stubbornly defending a Houston doctor/minister who both falsely touts hydroxychloroquine as a “cure” for Covid-19 and has regaled fans of her online ministry with claims of how witches and demons use astral projection to have intercourse with humans from afar.

“Once again, today, he did have plenty to say about this woman who he has praised for her public embrace of hydroxychloroquine,” Cooper noted, alluding to video of a woman doctor Trump twice retweeted in a late-night Twitter binge about the drug on Monday. “She is a doctor who also preaches about alien DNA and the sperm of demons.”

“When she’s not preaching about demon sperm and alien DNA, she’s part of a group of doctors talking about unproven and… potentially dangerous Covid treatments,” he added, before running footage of Trump fleeing Tuesday’s White House press briefing when confronted about for Immanuel’s reckless and baseless claims. “He would not or could not face questioning the support of this person he knows nothing about and today he made no mention of demon sex but like a man possessed, he was still praising her.”

Cooper then played a clip of Trump at a press gaggle on Wednesday, again simultaneously praising and disowning Immanuel.

“‘I’m impressed with her; he says, ‘I know nothing about her’ he says. It been 24 hours and if the president did want to know something about this person that he is now promoting on a global stage, he’s had plenty of time to Google her or have someone else do it and tell him about her and the demon sex and astral sex,” Cooper said, the sarcasm in his voice stiletto sharp. “Hard to imagine this president’s ears wouldn’t perk up with those topics. Clearly, what doesn’t interest him is medical studies and the action of the FDA removing authorization of the drugs she’s touting. What clearly doesn’t interest the president is scientists and guidelines on social distancing or wearing masks. Things that actually can save lives.”

After a clip of Dr. Anthony Fauci reminding Americans that a preponderance of clinical trials have found no efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating the coronavirus, Cooper threw in one last shot at a White House on a day when the national death toll from the pandemic surpassed 150,000 and shows no signs of slowing down.

“Not effective. Doesn’t work. That bunch of people, by the way, they got an audience yesterday with Vice President [Mike] Pence,” Cooper explained about the group of doctors that Immanuel had appeared with outside the Supreme Court. “Yeah, the vice president met with them. Not sure if it was in person or they beamed in via astral projection, but there was a meeting. Don’t worry, though, it was part of the whole-of-government effort that the vice president always talks about under the ‘strong and decisive leadership’ as the vice president always says of a self-proclaimed wartime president who’s continuing his own metaphor makes no mention the 150,000 lives lost on the battlefield that he himself is absent from.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

Tucker Carlson questioned Congressman Jim Jordan Wednesday over what actual “consequences” Republicans will make sure big tech companies face, following the day’s hearing with top tech CEOs.

Carlson opened the segment panning some of the Republicans on the committee for “embarrass[ing] themselves,” singling out Jim Sensenbrenner in particular after the cringeworthy moment when he asked Mark Zuckerberg why they limited Donald Trump Jr.’s account… only for Zuckerberg to point out that was Twitter, not Facebook.

Jordan was one of the most combative Republicans at the hearing, getting into one exchange with Google’s Sundar Pichai about political bias that set off a fiery spat after Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon remarked, “I’d like to redirect your attention to antitrust law rather than fringe conspiracy theories.”

At one point Carlson also referenced a memo that circulated among Republicans with lines like “Antitrust law should be used to promote freedom, competition, and the American dream, not to punish success or attack companies.”

Carlson started off his interview with Jordan by bringing up Jordan’s tweet saying big tech needs to “face the consequences.” He asked, “To the many frustrated viewers out there who don’t think Republicans have forced them to face any consequences for the past four years, tell us, specifically, if you would, what the conseuquences are going to be.”

“You got to work on Section 230, we’4e looking at that right now,” Jordan responded. “The Justice Department is looking at current antitrust laws to go after these companies right now, and frankly we may have to change the law, and we also have to continue to do what you’ve been doing and thank you for doing that, calling them out every time we see the bias, everyt time we see them become the facilitators of the mob to cancel people, we have to continue to call them out.”

Carlson countered at one point that it’s one thing to talk about it, but lawmakers are running the country.

“These companies operate with a special carve-out provided them by Congress and Congress has never done anything to rein them in and so we’ve got, what, 96 days until the election. Are there going to be any consequences until then?” he asked again.

Jordan started his answer by talking about the importance of winning the election and taking back the House because Democrats aren’t going to do anything.

“It seems very difficult for any candidate or party to win anything if all the information about the race is controlled by people who are working for the other side, which is where we are now,” Carlson said.

He brought up how Google has actually donated to Jordan and asked why he thinks they would do that. Jordan insisted they can give him money if they wan’t but “that doesn’t change who I am.”

You can watch the full interview above, via Fox News.