FOUR YEARS OF MAGA TERROR Last week, 13 men belonging to paramilitary groups were arrested in a horrifying plot to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Based on what can be gleaned from the men’s social media pages, they fit a familiar profile of far-right vigilantism in America. They are white men. Most appear to be supporters of President Donald Trump. They consume disinformation and conspiracy theories online with abandon. They see a new American civil war on the horizon, and they’re more than eager to fire some of the first shots. [HuffPost]
DEMS CONDEMN ‘COURT PACKING,’ CALL ON DOJ TO ADDRESS ‘OMISSIONS’ On Sunday, multiple Democratic senators used the term “court packing” to describe Republican efforts to seat Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice while ballots are being cast for this year’s presidential election. Trump, trailing in polls in key battleground states, has said he hopes Barrett, if confirmed, will hand him this year’s election. Barrett on Sunday released her prepared opening statement ahead of Senate confirmation hearings. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have since called on the Justice Department to address “omissions” from the questionnaire Barrett submitted to lawmakers. [HuffPost]
LA LAKERS WIN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 17th NBA championship. The Western Conference champions beat the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Orlando, Florida, securing their first championship win since 2010. The Lakers clinched the title after a down-to-the-wire battle at Friday’s Game 5, when the Heat staved off elimination in a last-minute win. It comes after a tumultuous 74th NBA season. The league was brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic in March, but restarted in late July in an isolated bubble at Orlando’s Disney World. [HuffPost]
BRITISH PM SET TO ANNOUNCE NEW RESTRICTIONS British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce new measures to tackle a growing coronavirus crisis on Monday, moving to work more closely with local leaders from England’s worst affected areas. With Johnson reluctant to repeat a national lockdown that would further hurt a struggling economy, the government is trying to contain a surge in cases, as well as growing anger, in parts of northern and central England. [Reuters]
WHITE HOUSE DOC GIVES TRUMP ALL-CLEAR WITH FEW DETAILS Trump’s physician issued a statement declaring that the president no longer poses a risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others. But he failed to provide the critical detail about whether Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus. “By currently recognized standards,” Trump is “no longer considered a transmission risk to others,” noted the unsigned statement by White House physician Dr. Sean Conley. He added that the “assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus.” [HuffPost]
TRUMP SIGNS 2 LAWS ADDRESSING MISSING, MURDERED, INDIGENOUS WOMEN Trump signed two bills into law that will finally do something about a terrifying and largely invisible crisis: Hundreds of Indigenous women are disappearing or being murdered. The first bill, Savanna’s Act, will help law enforcement better respond to a devastating situation. At least 506 Native women and girls have gone missing or been murdered in 71 U.S. cities, including more than 330 since 2010, according to a November 2018 report by Urban Indian Health Institute. And that’s likely a gross undercount. [HuffPost]
MAN FATALLY SHOT DURING DUELLING PROTESTS A shooting during dueling weekend rallies in Colorado has left one man dead and another man, identified as a private security guard, in custody. Authorities were already at the scene of the “Patriot Rally” and “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive” in downtown Denver when they said a verbal altercation in a nearby courtyard led to a gun being fired around 3:30 p.m. Photos taken by a Denver Post photographer showed a man, who was reportedly supporting the “Patriot Rally,” appearing to punch and mace a man who was armed with a gun. Seconds later, the man with the mace was fatally shot. [HuffPost]
2ND WAVE OF COVID-19 INFECTIONS SWEEPS OVER EUROPE Europe’s second wave of coronavirus infections has struck well before flu season started, with intensive care wards filling up again and bars shutting down. Making matters worse, authorities say, is a widespread case of “COVID-fatigue.” Spain this week declared a state of emergency for Madrid amid increasing tensions between local and national authorities over virus containment measures. Germany offered up soldiers to help with contact tracing. Italy mandated masks outdoors and warned that the health system was facing “significant critical issues.” [AP]