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The Trump administration’s greatest obstacle to sending a clear message on coronavirus may be Trump himself

As leading public health experts from across the government have tried to provide clear and consistent information about the deadly coronavirus, they have found their messages undercut, drowned out and muddled by President Trump’s push to downplay the outbreak with a mix of optimism, bombast and pseudoscience.

Almost 30 people have been killed after unidentified gunmen opened fire during a ceremony attended by top politicians in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah escaped unharmed, but at least 55 people were injured, officials said.

The Taliban - which signed a deal with the US last week aiming to bring peace to Afghanistan - denied responsibility.

The same event, commemorating the death of an Afghan Shia leader, was attacked by Islamic State militants in 2019.

The shots were fired from a nearby building which is under construction, according to police. The ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of ethnic Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari's death at the hands of the Taliban was being broadcast live, and people were seen fleeing as the sound of gunfire rang out.

Wahidullah Mayar, health ministry spokesman, told news agency Reuters that "27 bodies" had been recovered. The number could rise, he added.

Special forces rushed to the scene, where fighting is said to be continuing.

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"Suit up!" radio host Janet Parshall told attendees at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. "It's war!"

Haaretz.com
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"Let me blow his head open in front of his whole family. Let him spurt blood. And then maybe for a month I won’t have to take off another 20 knees" | Israeli snipers talk about shooting Gaza protesters

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been called off because of concerns that a staff member may have been infected by the coronavirus.

Trump told reporters Friday that concerns were raised Thursday about “one person who was potentially infected” who worked at the CDC. ”Because of the one person they didn’t want me going,” he added, explaining why a planned stop at the agency, which is working with state and local officials to help combat the spread of the new virus, was left off his schedule.

Trump said the person has since tested negative for the new virus. He said he still hopes to visit the agency.

Haaretz.com
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"Let me blow his head open in front of his whole family. Let him spurt blood. And then maybe for a month I won’t have to take off another 20 knees" | Israeli snipers talk about shooting Gaza protesters

The bigotry and moral infamy of modern Israel.

"Let me blow his head open in front of his whole family. Let him spurt blood. And then maybe for a month I won’t have to take off another 20 knees" | Israeli snipers talk about shooting Gaza protesters

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Mr. Barr could not be trusted, Judge Reggie B. Walton said, citing “inconsistencies” between the attorney general’s statements about the report when it was secret and its actual contents that turned out to be more damaging to President Trump. Mr. Barr’s “lack of candor” called into question his “credibility and, in turn, the department’s” assurances to the court, Judge Walton said

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Among the issues Judge Walton flagged: Mr. Barr declared that the special counsel had not found that the Trump campaign had conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, and left it at that.

But while Mr. Mueller did conclude that he found insufficient evidence to charge any Trump associates with conspiring with the Russians, Mr. Barr omitted that the special counsel had identified multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and people with ties to the Russian government and that the campaign expected to benefit from Moscow’s interference.

Judge Walton also wrote that the special counsel “only concluded” that the investigation did not establish that the contacts rose to “coordination” because Mr. Mueller interpreted that term narrowly, requiring, in the report’s words, agreement that is “more than the two parties taking actions that were informed by or responsive to the other’s actions or interests.”

In addition, Mr. Barr told the public in March that Mr. Mueller had made no decision about whether the president obstructed justice, then pronounced Mr. Trump cleared of those suspicions.

But Mr. Barr “failed to disclose to the American public,” Judge Walton wrote, that Mr. Mueller had explained that it would be inappropriate to make a judgment while the president was still in office about whether he committed obstruction crimes. The report also said that if the evidence had cleared Mr. Trump, Mr. Mueller would have said so, but he was unable to exonerate him.

(...)

that Mr. Mueller had explained that it would be inappropriate to make a judgment while the president was still in office about whether he committed obstruction crimes.

Larry Kudlow put on an incredible display of scientific ignorance Friday, asserting on cable news that COVID-19 was “contained” and that Americans should go on with their lives.