2020-09-19: News Headlines

RT (2020-09-19). Tulsi Gabbard goes OFF MESSAGE from fellow Dems again, introduces bipartisan bill to deter fraud with mail-in ballots. rt.com Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, branded a "Russian asset" by Hillary Clinton for her anti-war views, is again refusing to blindly follow her party's talking points — this time over fears of election fraud. | "Whether in the midst of a pandemic, as we are now, where mail-in voting is likely to drastically increase, or even in a normal election, no one should get in between a voter and the ballot box," the Hawaii congresswoman said Friday on Twitter. | Banning ballot harvesting is not a partisan issue. It's been used & abused in states like North Carolina and California & is ripe fo…

Hans P. Verkerke, Cheryl L. Maier (2020-09-19). [Commentary] Towards characterized convalescent plasma for COVID-19: The dose matters. thelancet.com Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19, remains a global health crisis with limited treatment options. While randomized controlled trials have demonstrated some efficacy of the antiviral agent remdesivir and the corticosteroid dexamethasone in COVID-19 treatment, any beneficial role of convalescent plasma (CP) has been less clear [1,2]. Since the early 20th century convalescent blood products and their antibody derivatives have been used for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

yenisafak (2020-09-19). Former Turkish PM tests negative for virus. yenisafak.com The former Turkish prime minister recovered from COVID-19 and now tested negative.Binali Yildirim said on Twitter his test results came negative about two weeks after contracting the novel coronavirus.Yildirim hailed those who asked about his health status during quarantine days and supported him, saying: "May Allah bless you all."Wishing remedy for all patients going through COVID-19 treatment, he praised healthcare staff working day and night, making many sacrifices from their personal lives.He concluded that people should stick to adopting measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, and personal hygiene…

_____ (2020-09-18). New York: Protest At ICE Headquarters Over Forced Hysterectomies. popularresistance.org A security guard brandished her gun at demonstrators who forced their way into ICE headquarters in New York City to protest claims of 'mass hysterectomies' being performed on immigrant women. | The video of the female guard pointing the weapon at Abolish ICE protestors as they chanted inside the city's Jacob K Javits Federal Building in Manhattan was posted on social media. | The guard reportedly works for private security firm Paragon Systems, which provides protection for the building that also houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI offices.

RT (2020-09-18). Facebook sued for allegedly spying on Instagram users through phone cameras. rt.com Social media giant Facebook secretly used iPhone cameras to obtain "extremely private and intimate" information about the uses of its Instagram picture and video sharing app, a new US lawsuit claims. | The legal action follows Instagram users reporting in July that they had noticed the FaceTime symbol, which indicates that an iPhone camera is on, was showing up when they scrolled their feeds. | At the time, Facebook denied spying accusations and blamed the issue on a bug, which, it said, triggered false notifications that Instagram was accessing cameras. | However, now a lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Sa…

RT (2020-09-18). Devastating storm WASHES BEACH AWAY on Greek island of Kefalonia (VIDEOS). rt.com Storm Ianos made landfall in Greece on Friday and entirely washed away a beach on the island of Kefalonia. Videos posted by locals on social media showed massive destruction. | The Mediterranean hurricane ('Medicane') hit Kefalonia on Friday. Footage posted to Twitter shows the once-beautiful Jerusalem Beach being entirely washed away by the catastrophic flooding. | At one point in the video, a car can be seen being pushed over a ridge by the sheer force of the water. | Catastrophic flooding in Greece today (

RT (2020-09-18). French finance minister tests positive for Covid-19, as country grapples with record new infections. rt.com France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has tested positive for the coronavirus and is isolating at home. Meanwhile, France recorded its worst day for new cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. | Le Maire announced his diagnosis via Twitter on Friday, noting that he has no symptoms of the virus, but saying he will still "stay in solitary confinement for 7 days," per government regulations. | J'ai été testé positif à la COVID-19 ce soir. Je me suis immédiatement mis à l'isolement à mon domicile conformément aux règles sanitaires édictées par le gouvernement. Je ne présente aucun symptà¥me. Je resterai…

RT (2020-09-18). Pair of Russian military servicemen arrested after viral video shows them washing their shoes with holy water. rt.com A criminal case has been opened in the western Russian city of Kaliningrad after two servicemen from the Baltic fleet were filmed washing their shoes with holy water, after a clip of them caught in the act went viral. | According to the Kaliningrad garrison's military investigation department, both suspects are natives of Dagestan, a Caucasian republic on the southern border of Russia. One of the accused is a conscript soldier, and the other is a contract employee, Interfax reported. | They were arrested on charges of insulting the feelings of religious believers, at the city's Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Staff (2020-09-18). TikTok and WeChat Apps Banned by Trump Administration Starting This Sunday. truthout.org The Trump administration announced a ban on downloading two popular social media apps owned by China-based corporations starting this Sunday, citing national security and consumer privacy concerns. | WeChat and TikTok

yenisafak (2020-09-18). Forrest Gump author dies in Alabama at age 77. yenisafak.com Winston Groom, author of the novel Forrest Gump, which was made into a Hollywood blockbuster and multiple Oscar winner, has died at age 77 in US state of Alabama."Saddened to learn that Alabama has lost one of our most gifted writers. While he will be remembered for creating Forrest Gump, Winston Groom was a talented journalist noted author of American history. Our hearts prayers are extended to his family," Alabama Governor Kay Ivey wrote on Twitter.Karin Wilson, the mayor of Fairhope, Alabama, wrote on Facebook that the south Alabama town has "lost an iconic author," adding that a local funeral home confirmed G…

yenisafak (2020-09-18). Calhanoglu named MVP of 2019-2020 season at Milan. yenisafak.com Italy's Milan has named Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu their Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2019-2020 season.The Serie A side congratulated Calhanoglu on Twitter."You're our first Emirates MVP of the season," they said, using the name from the club's airline sponsorship deal.Calhanoglu, 26, scored 11 goals and made 9 assists in 38 games for Milan last season.

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-09-18). 'Unprecedented Abuse of Emergency Powers': Free Speech Advocates Denounce Trump Effort to Ban TikTok, WeChat Apps. commondreams.org The move, says one advocate, is "shortsighted, ridiculous, and likely unconstitutional." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-tiktok.jpg

commondreams (2020-09-18). ACLU Comment on TikTok and WeChat Transaction Prohibition. commondreams.org ______________________________…

RT (2020-09-17). Does it feature a Benghazi chapter? Obama's supposed 'honest account' memoir is both hailed & derided online. rt.com 'A Promised Land' will apparently reveal Barack Obama's professional "highs and lows," according to the man himself. Though fans are delighted, some online users doubt the memoir will touch on Obama's many controversies. | "There's no feeling like finishing a book, and I'm proud of this one," Obama

Norman Solomon (2020-09-17). Trump's Climate Denial Gains Strength If We're in Denial About His Neo-Fascism. commondreams.org "Trump's right-wing base and leading Republicans are in lockstep with both types of denial. They embrace the most absurd claims about climate … And they refuse to recognize or deplore his autocratic moves," writes Solomon. (Photo: Oil Change International/Twitter) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_climate_hotel_0_1.jpeg

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-17). 'Israel-firsters betray their own people for votes'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 17 (MNA) — In a tweet on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammd Javad Zarif named US President as an 'Israel-firster' who has betrayed Americans just for votes.

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-09-17). 'Existential Threat to Our Democracy': Trump Openly Telegraphs Intent (Once Again) to Delegitimize 2020 Election Results. commondreams.org The president's latest baseless attack on mail-in ballots drew yet another warning from Twitter. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/twitter_trump_0.jpg

Kevin Matthews (2020-09-16). The True Facts About the Oregon Fires, With a Video Proving It. counterpunch.org Okay, this flood of forest BS is pissing me off. Hear me: The national reporters helicoptering in have not got this right. NPR, Reveal tonight, etc., even the fine Pro Publica. By coincidence, I flew over the Holiday Farm Fire burn area six weeks before it burned. Take a look at the clip on YouTube,

RT (2020-09-16). 'Non-scientific': Chinese 'whistleblower' claiming Beijing released 'man-made' Covid-19 roasted by virologists, blocked by Twitter. rt.com American virologists ridiculed a bombshell claim by Chinese scientist-turned-'whistleblower' Li-Meng Yan that Covid-19 was produced in the Wuhan laboratory, as the news went viral across US media and social networks. | Yan certainly grabbed the headlines when she told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that she has "solid evidence" that the dreaded Covid-19, which infected almost 30 million people around the world and killed more than 935,000, was "deliberately" produced in the Wuhan laboratory. She did not stop at that and went on to claim that Beijing also released the deadly virus "intentionally" to inflict "dama…

yenisafak (2020-09-16). US congresswoman honored for helping Palestine. yenisafak.com A US congresswoman has been honored for defending the rights of Palestinians in the face of Israeli human rights abuses."Honored to receive the Champion of Palestinian Rights Award from @AMPalestine today as part of Palestine Advocacy Day," US Democratic Representative Betty McCollum said Tuesday on Twitter, referring to the group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)."Advancing peace human rights for Palestinian children all children should be a shared priority! #HR2407."House of Representatives Resolution 2407 is the Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, a…

Dean Baker (2020-09-16). Repeal Section 230 to Fix Facebook. counterpunch.org The quickest way to fix the problem is the repeal of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. This provision exempts Facebook from being liable for material that is passed along through its network, either as ads or through individuals' or groups' Facebook pages.

Raul Diego (2020-09-16). Facebook Live Rant by Trump Coronavirus PR Guru Deepens Fears of Election Violence. mintpressnews.com Recently-appointed HHS spokesperson, Michael Caputo, went on a wild rant over social media to plant a number of bizarre ideas in Americans' minds as the partisan Coronavirus messaging wars intensify.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-16). Russia says US 'fully isolated' on international scene. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 16 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov in a tweet on Wednesday said the US is "practically fully isolated" on the international scene.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-16). Hands stained with Iranians' blood to end in cemetery. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 16 (MNA) — Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani in tweet addressing US Trump said those who have bloods of the Iranian children on their hands will end in cemetery, as did Saddam.

yenisafak (2020-09-16). TV series 'Ertugrul' fuels Pakistanis' love for Turkey. yenisafak.com On a sunny afternoon, red flags bearing a white star and crescent fluttered in the breeze as they hung from businesses and homes in northern Pakistan, a testament to the region's love for Turkey spurred by a Turkish drama series.Dirilis (Resurrection) Ertugrul is gaining wide popularity across the country after being dubbed in Urdu and broadcast on state television.A YouTube channel launched in mid-April specifically for the series has nearly 8.5 million subscribers, while its viewership had climbed to over 1.3 billion as of Sept. 15.It was after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Turkey that he ordered…

yenisafak (2020-09-16). 'Hotel Rwanda' hero could face maximum life in prison, prosecution says. yenisafak.com Rusesabagina, who once called for armed resistance to the government in a YouTube video, was charged in a Kigali court on Monday with 13 counts including terrorism, complicity in murder and forming or joining an irregular armed group."For some of the crimes, he may face 25 years, and some even go up to life imprisonment," Faustin Nkusi, spokesman of Rwanda's prosecution authority, told Reuters on phone.Rusesabagina declined to respond to all the charges on Monday, saying he wanted to take a plea to each individual count. The court will rule on bail on Thursday.His case has thrust a spotlight on to President Paul…

yenisafak (2020-09-16). Turkish forces nab senior terrorist in east. yenisafak.com A senior terrorist was arrested Wednesday in eastern Turkey, according to the country's Interior Ministry.Gendarmerie and anti-terror teams in eastern Van and southeastern Sirnak provinces conducted a joint operation to nab Ercan Yacan, codenamed Ferman, who was detected to be carrying out activities as the so-called team commander in northern Iraq's Qandil Goshine region last year, the ministry said on Twitter.Yacan was arrested in Van province, it added.The terrorist was active in youth branch of the organization. He received so-called special forces training in 2014, joined the rural branch of the terror group…