Thursday, Sept 27, 2018
Trump calls Kavanaugh accusations ‘a big fat con job’ President Trump held an 80-minute press conference Wednesday evening, where he accused Democrats of being behind the allegations of sexual assault made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. This is a “big fat con job,” Trump said, adding that “they go into a room and I guarantee you, they laugh like hell at what they’ve pulled off on you and the public.” Three women have now accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, and one of them, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, along with Kavanaugh. Trump has himself been accused by at least 10 women of sexual misconduct, and he said these charges, which he described as “false,” have “absolutely” made him sympathetic toward Kavanaugh. Source: The Week
80,000 Americans died of the flu last winter Last winter, about 80,000 people in the United States died of the flu and its complications, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. This was the highest death toll in at least 40 years. Experts said it was such a deadly season because it was driven by a strain of the flu that typically sends more people to the hospital and particularly hits children and the elderly hard, and the vaccine did not work very well against that strain. The CDC said in recent years, between 12,000 and 56,000 people have died annually from the flu and its complications, including pneumonia, stroke, and heart attack. Source: The Associated Press
Wednesday, Sept 26, 2018
A third woman accuses US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Her lawyer submitted her sworn statement to the Senate’s judiciary committee. (The Wall Street Journal)
Investigative website Bellingcat releases information identifying one of the suspects involved in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal as Anatoliy Chepiga, a decorated Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate. (The Guardian)
NASA’s Opportunity rover is spotted on satellite imagery three months after it went silent during a Martian dust storm. (CBS News)
A ceasefire has ended heavy fighting in Tripoli that has killed over 100 people in a month from different militias. (Fox News)
Gunmen storm a prison in Cameroon, releasing up to 80 prisoners. (IOL)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that a Turkish court will decide the fate of American pastor Andrew Brunson. (Reuters)
American boxer Victor Ortiz is arrested for allegedly raping a woman in March, and is expected to be charged with three felonies. (EOnline)
Tuesday, Sept 25, 2018
American actor/comedian Bill Cosby is sentenced to three to ten years in a Pennsylvania prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. (The New York Times)
Pussy Riot activist Pyotr Verzilov states on Twitter that he is recovering after spending two weeks at Charité in the intensive care unit from a suspected poisoning. (CBS News)
Inspire Brands announces its purchase of fast food chain Sonic Drive-In for US$2.3 billion. (USA Today)
Dunkin’ Donuts announces it will drop the “Donuts” part of its name and be simply known as “Dunkin’ ” beginning in January 2019. (USA Today)
Russia acknowledges that it was notified of Ukraine’s decision not to renew the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty. (TASS)
The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong says that China denied a request for a port call to Hong Kong by the USS Wasp. China says that it handles approvals “case by case, in accordance with the principle of sovereignty”. (Reuters)
A court in Vietnam sentences 42-year old activist Doan Khanh Vinh Quang to 27 months in prison for writing anti-government Facebook posts criticizing the Communist Party of Vietnam. (Fox News)
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven loses a vote of confidence in parliament. (BBC)
Monday, Sept 24, 2018
Russian officials state that the country will send S-300 air-defense missile system to Syria within two weeks following the downing of Russian aircraft in Syria. Russia also stated it will commence jamming radar and satellite signals of planes that attack Syrian territory from the Mediterranean. (The Washington Post) (The National)
The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline expects construction to start in 2019. (CBS News)
US President Donald Trump expects a second summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un “quite soon”. (CNN)
The foreign ministers of Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China and Iran agree to the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle, a financial facility in the European Union, to facilitate payments and continue trade with Iran after the US withdrawal from the Iran deal. (Associated Press)
The government of Hong Kong bans the pro-independence localist party Hong Kong National Party. (BBC) (The Wall Street Journal)
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are expected to step down from the company. (UPI)
The End
Mykobar 