Morgan Freeman Reads Rep. John Lewis’ Last Words | The Last Word | MSNBC

MSNBC

Jul 31, 2020

In a special Last Word, Morgan Freeman reads the words of John Lewis’ final essay, which he requested be published in the New York Times on the day of his funeral: “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation.” Aired on 7/30/2020.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary: GOP Relief Bill Is ‘Grossly Inadequate’ | MSNBC

MSNBC

Aug 2, 2020

Jack Lew, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Chief of Staff, says the idea that people are choosing not to work because of unemployment benefits is “ludicrous.”

SpaceX Crew Dragon splashes down in Gulf of Mexico | AFP

AFP News Agency

Aug 2, 2020

SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico on time after re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and deploying its parachutes without any glitches. “It’s truly our honor and privilege,” says Doug Hurley, one of the two astronauts on board.

Brazil’s government accused of “crimes against humanity” over coronavirus – BBC News

BBC News

Jul 27, 2020
Brazil is suffering the impact of coronavirus infections more than almost any other country. Health workers there have called on the International Criminal Court to investigate President Bolsanaro’s government.

They accuse it of crimes against humanity over its mishandling of the pandemic, which they say has led to thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Brazil has recorded almost 2.5 million cases of the disease since March and more than 87,000 people are known to have died.

The pressure is beginning to ease in big cities like Sao Paulo, but cases are rising rapidly in smaller towns and cities in Brazil’s vast interior, where health services are often basic.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting from Katy Watson in Campinas.

South Africa surpasses 500,000 Covid-19 cases, more than half of Africa’s tally

FRANCE 24 English

Aug 2, 2020

South Africa on Saturday surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, representing more than 50% of all reported coronavirus infections in Africa’s 54 countries.

NASA SpaceX: Astronauts splashdown to Earth after historic mission

euronews (in English)

Aug 2, 2020

The first astronauts to ride a SpaceX capsule into orbit splashed down back to earth on Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico. NASA pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken stayed on the space station for two months. The mission made history as it was the first time a private company, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, successfully sent humans into orbit.

McGrath On Running Against McConnell: Get Patriots Into Office | AM JOY | MSNBC

MSNBC

Aug 2, 2020

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Democratic opponent in the Kentucky U.S. Senate race Amy McGrath calls for change and safe mail-by-vote this November, adding, ‘It’s the Senate through McConnell that needs to provide the resources for no excuse absentee mail-in balloting in the fall. He has not done that.’

Lincoln Project Ad Slams Trump’s COVID-19 Response | NowThis

NowThis News

Published on Aug 2, 2020

This brutal ad by the Lincoln Project slams Pres. Trump’s COVID-19 response

How Conspiracy Theorists Have Tapped Into Race and Racism to Further Their Message | United States of Conspiracy | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site

July 28, 2020
by FRONTLINE

The claim making the rounds was false: That Barack Obama, elected in 2008 as America’s first Black president, had not in fact been born in the United States.

That didn’t stop the smear from gaining traction, in an effort fueled by people including hard-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars — and by future president Donald Trump himself, who fanned the “birther” flames in 2011 as he advanced in the political arena.

According to Trump’s longtime associate Roger Stone, it was an effective strategy: “Trump understands among Republicans there’s a very substantial majority who have questions about Obama’s origins and how he just pops up out of nowhere to become a national figure and whether he was, in fact, eligible to serve as president,” Stone told FRONTLINE in 2016.

Jones, Stone and Trump have all vigorously denied allegations of racism, with Jones saying he has protested against the KKK; Trump saying, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body!”; and Stone pointing among other things to his opposition of “the racist war on drugs.”

But the success of the false theory embraced by Jones and Trump has been found to be correlated to racial grievance. One academic study found that “among white Americans, birther beliefs are uniquely associated with racial animus”; another indicated that belief in “birtherism” is “a function of both partisanship and racial resentment.”

Experts FRONTLINE spoke with echoed that assessment.

“In ‘birtherism,’ what you see is a group of Americans who resent the fact that there is an African American president in the White House,” reporter Yamiche Alcindor of PBS NewsHour says in the FRONTLINE documentary United States of Conspiracy. “And Alex Jones and all sorts of other people hand them this excuse that it’s, well, he wasn’t born in this country, this is really all a lie, and he is actually not who he says he is.”

Anna Merlan, a journalist who has covered conspiracy theories and misinformation for years, is blunt. “The conspiracy caught fire because people were uncomfortable with the idea of a Black president, and they were eager to believe any number of racist smears against him,” says the author of Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power. “I mean just plainly, it was racism.”

“Birtherism” would not be the first or last time conspiracy theorists like Jones — whether wittingly or not — tapped into aspects of race or racism to further their message. Described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “almost certainly the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America,” Jones has at times stoked fears about racial conflict and the spread of Islam while making his primary argument that global “elites” are part of a secret conspiracy that controls the world. Jones has also made false claims about the LGBTQ community.

Additionally, critics say Jones has fanned anti-Semitic flames as part of his conspiratorial worldview. He has tapped into stereotypes about Jewish people, though he denies that he is an anti-Semite. The term “globalist,” heard often on his programs, has complex roots and has been described in some use cases as an anti-Semitic dog whistle.

…(read more).

See related documentary:

• United States of Conspiracy (full film) | FRONTLINE

LIVE on Aug. 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET | SpaceX CrewDragon returns to Earth

Washington Post

Started streaming 12 minutes ago

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is scheduled to return from the International Space Station on August 2 with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board. The Post’s Libby Casey will anchor live coverage featuring reporter Chris Davenport, SpaceX’s Elon Musk, and current and former astronauts.

Tropical weather barreling towards Florida could delay the planned return of the first SpaceX crew. Because Hurley and Behnken will aim for the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico just off Florida’s coast, the wind and waves must be relatively calm. It would be the first astronaut splashdown in 45 years. Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphi….