An intelligence memo sent by the Department of Homeland Security to law enforcement officials around the country on May 29 warned that extremists groups may try to exploit protests in the wake of George Floyd's death, Politico reports.
The memo, citing the FBI, revealed that on May 27, two days after Floyd died in police custody, "a white supremacist extremist Telegram channel incited followers to engage in violence and start the 'boogaloo' — a term used by some violent extremists to refer to the start of a second Civil War — by shooting in a crowd." One of the messages reportedly encouraged potential shooters to "frame the crowd around you," the document said.
That wasn't the only warning found in the memo. It also said the FBI had information that "suspected anarchist extremists and militia extremists allegedly planned to storm and burn the Minnesota State Capitol." The definition of those groups was somewhat vague, with Politico noting the memo didn't specifically distinguish between left- or right-wing in this instance, despite the Trump administration's fixation on Antifa. Politico did suggest the description of the "anarchists extremists" seemed to hint at an association with the far left, while the "militia extremists" appeared to represent the far right. Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to make sure an eventual coronavirus vaccine is affordable for everyone.
The foundation has donated $150 million to the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker, the Gavi vaccine alliance announced Friday. The money will help speed up the development and distribution of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine and make it available to 92 poorer countries for no more than $3 per dose.
"Too many times we've seen the most vulnerable countries left at the back of the queue when it comes to new treatments, new diagnostics and new vaccines," said Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley. But the consequences of such inequities when distributing a COVID-19 vaccine would be devastating. "If only the wealthiest countries in the world are protected, then international trade, commerce and society as a whole will continue to be hit hard as the pandemic continues to rage across the globe," Berkley continued.
The Serum Institute of India is one of several manufacturers working with AstraZeneca to make its candidate vaccine. It's also the go-to supplier for the World Health Organization, The Wall Street Journal notes. A total of 92 countries will be eligible to receive the discount vaccine as Gavi seeks $2 billion total to further support vaccine access. Kathryn Krawczyk
A top intelligence official says Russia is using a "range of measures" to take down former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election, while China prefers that President Trump doesn't win.
William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, released a statement on Friday detailing the "intentions and activities" of U.S. adversaries in the presidential election, which describes how intelligence officials are "concerned" primarily about China, Russia, and Iran.
By the U.S. assessment, China "prefers that President Trump — whom Beijing sees as unpredictable — does not win re-election," Evanina wrote. Additionally, Russia is "using a range of measures to primarily denigrate" Biden, and "some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump's candidacy on social media and Russian television," the statement said.
Finally, Evanina said that Iran seeks to "undermine U.S. democratic institutions, President Trump, and to divide the country in advance of the 2020 elections," driven by its belief that Trump being re-elected would "result in a continuation of U.S. pressure."
Senate Intelligence Committee Acting Chair Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Friday said this statement "highlights some of the serious and ongoing threats to our election." They also said that additional information has been provided to members of Congress in recent weeks and that more of it "can, and at the appropriate time should, be shared with the voting public." Brendan Morrow
President Trump would love to have dinner with you, for the low, low price of a $10,000 fine.
The Trump campaign blitzed supporters this week asking for donations in exchange for the chance to attend a "VIP dinner" with the president in Southampton, New York on Aug. 8, but Popular Information's Judd Legum, who investigated the contest, says the fundraising attempt is a pretty blatant "scam."
The ads, which reportedly cost the campaign $100,000 to run on Facebook, failed to mention that anyone residing in one of 35 states is legally barred from attending the fundraiser (or any event in the state of New York, for that matter).
Since late June, visitors to New York who are coming from states with surging COVID-19 numbers have been told they need to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine to help prevent the virus' spread. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has since doubled down on that requirement, imposing fines and installing checkpoints for visitors.
It's unlikely that Trump, who has gone head-to-head with Cuomo throughout the pandemic, has forgotten these restrictions. Still, that didn't stop the campaign from advertising its one-of-a-kind deal to those very people.
"In one heavily promoted version of the ad, 73 percent of the impressions were targeted at users in states subject to New York's quarantine order," Legum writes.
The Trump campaign seems to have advertised the fundraiser knowing much of its targeted audience wouldn't be in a position to actually attend, as the contest rules give the campaign permission "to suspend or cancel the Promotion" if any "viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's control" interfere.
Essentially, anything from the mandatory quarantine order to a fruit fly infestation could give Trump reason to bail. Marianne Dodson
The rain continues to pour on the Friends reunion special.
The planned reunion of the hit sitcom's original cast on HBO Max has yet again been delayed, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Filming of the unscripted special was scheduled to occur in March, but production had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hope in recent weeks, though, was that the special could finally be filmed in August.
"It's supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August," David Schwimmer recently said on The Tonight Show. "But honestly, we're gonna wait and see another week or two, if we all determine it's really safe enough to do. And if not, then we'll wait until it's safe."
It looks like they will indeed be waiting, as the special reportedly won't be filmed in August anymore, and no new date has been announced. According to the Reporter, everyone involved wants the reunion to take place on the show's original soundstage in California, so doing the special virtually isn't in the cards.
The idea with the Friends reunion special was for it to debut with HBO Max and be a major draw to the streaming service in May. Since then, the cast of tons of shows from Community to Parks and Recreation have come together for virtual reunions during the pandemic, while the Friends reunion has been continuously held up. Could the executives at HBO Max be any more disappointed? Brendan Morrow
The U.S. is once again escalating tensions with China over Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong freedoms.
The U.S. Treasury and State Departments levied sanctions against 11 Hong Kong and China officials on Friday, most notably Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam. The sanctions are in response to severe crackdowns on freedoms those officials have taken against Hong Kongers at the mainland's direction.
These officials all helped implement Hong Kong's "draconian" national security law in late June, and were involved with "actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability or autonomy of Hong Kong," the Treasury Department said. It lets China monitor Hong Kongers more closely and punish people who protest for democracy in the area, who speak to journalists, or who otherwise oppose China's government. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said at the time the U.S. would likely sanction China over the law. Thursday's decision will let the U.S. seize any assets these officials have in the U.S., though experts tell the South China Morning Post the decision is largely symbolic.
Just last month, the U.S. also sanctioned government officials in Beijing over China's human rights abuses of the Uighur Muslims and other minority groups. China barred entry to some U.S. lawmakers in response. Trump aides have reportedly told Trump that appearing tough on China, including by blowing up a trade deal with the country, could help him win re-election. Kathryn Krawczyk