Robotic Telescope Finds Closest Known Asteroid to Fly by Earth

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On August 16, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic survey camera located at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, spotted an asteroid that had, just hours earlier, traveled only 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. Designated 2020 QG, it is the closest known asteroid to fly by Earth without impacting the planet. The previous known record-holder is asteroid 2011 CQ1, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in 2011, which passed above Earth about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) higher than 2020 QG.

Asteroid 2020 QG is about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) across, or roughly the size of an SUV, so it was not big enough to do any damage even if it had been pointed at Earth; instead, it would have burned up in our planet’s atmosphere.

“The asteroid flew close enough to Earth that Earth’s gravity significantly changed its orbit,” says ZTF co-investigator Tom Prince, the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Physics at Caltech and a senior research scientist at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA. Asteroids of this size that fly roughly as close to Earth as 2020 QG do occur about once a year or less, but many of them are never detected. (Read more from “Robotic Telescope Finds Closest Known Asteroid to Fly by Earth” HERE)

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Four Years Later, Planned Parenthood Whistleblower Still Trapped in Kamala Harris’s Persecution

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Sen. Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday night, exactly three weeks after journalist and pro-life activist David Daleiden appeared in a San Francisco Superior Court, once again fighting the criminal charges Harris brought against him at the behest of her political donors four years prior. As Harris joins a campaign fighting for the “soul of our nation,” Daleiden continues a years-long battle for countless unborn souls and the First Amendment, both of which Harris has a record of fighting against.

In March 2016, as the California attorney general, Harris met with six Planned Parenthood officials in her Los Angeles office. Email records between Harris’s office and Planned Parenthood officials show the two were corresponding on orchestrating public responses, filing police reports, and even drafting legislation targeting Daleiden for his undercover videos exposing the abortion giant’s illegal practices. . .

Two weeks following that Los Angeles meeting, on April 5, 2016, Harris ordered state law enforcement agents to raid Daleiden’s home, tasking them with seizing his camera equipment, documents, and unreleased video footage. Daleiden’s attorneys argued Harris’s search warrant should have never been issued according to California’s shield law, which explicitly protects citizen journalists’ unpublished materials. . .

How blatant was Harris’s targeting of Daleiden and her disregard for a journalist’s First Amendment rights? For starters, Daleiden is the first person to ever be prosecuted for undercover video reporting in California. Her own deputy prosecutor later admitted in court that Daleiden was targeted solely because of the content his videos.

Harris’s own personal double standard goes even further. In 2013, she protected an animal rights group, Mercy for Animals (MFA), that used hidden cameras to expose alleged abuse at a poultry farm. Rather than seeking charges against MFA, Harris threw her support behind them, filing a notice to appeal against a federal judge’s previous ruling. (Read more from “Four Years Later, Planned Parenthood Whistleblower Still Trapped in Kamala Harris’s Persecution” HERE)

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WATCH: Here’s How President Trump Responded to All the Promises Biden Made in His DNC Speech

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Former Vice President Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president on Thursday night at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention. . .

While attacking the legislative accomplishments of the Trump administration, Biden promised to repeal the landmark tax cuts passed by the GOP-led Congress in 2017. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) cut taxes substantially for every income group aside from those earning over $1 million per year, and the middle-class overwhelmingly benefited from the law. The data does not back-up Biden’s claim that the Trump administration’s tax cuts were legislated as a tax break for the rich; in fact, the TCJA is just the opposite, and Biden’s promise to scrap the tax cuts would hardly benefit working American families.

(Read more from “Here’s How President Trump Responded to All the Promises Biden Made in His DNC Speech” HERE)

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A Naturally-Occurring COVID-19 Is the Real Conspiracy Theory

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There are new indications that China manufactured the novel coronavirus.

The unique structural features of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, produce an extremely high infection rate and multi-organ secondary infections making this virus more dangerous and challenging for therapeutic interventions.

Although sharing the same human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor, SARS-CoV-2 is more selective for the human receptor and is, overall, far more infectious than SARS-CoV-1, the coronavirus responsible for the 2002-2003 pandemic, which also originated in China.

One of those unique features of SARS-CoV-2 is a furin polybasic cleavage site that facilitates membrane fusion between the virus and the human cell and is widely known for its ability to enhance pathogenicity and transmissibility, but is not present in any closely related bat coronaviruses.

The enhanced ability for membrane fusion may be a cause for the multi-organ infection observed in SARS-CoV-2 patients.

A new scientific study published on August 19, 2020 suggests that other structures in SARS-CoV-2, similar to those found in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), may also contribute to that alternate infection process.

The MERS-CoV 2012 pandemic produced a total of 2519 cases and 866 deaths, an extraordinary 34% mortality rate.

Like SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV is believed to have originated in bats of the beta-coronavirus lineage, but may have passed through camels as an intermediate host before infecting humans.

Unlike SARS-CoV-2, which uses the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor for human infection, MERS-CoV uses a different receptor, Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), and its overall structure is only 40% similar SARS-CoV-2, meaning one could not have evolved from the other.

Yet, SARS-CoV-2 appears to possess a dual receptor strategy for the infection of human cells, similar to MERS-CoV.

In a comparative sequence analysis of the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that drives the binding and fusion process, the authors identified three extended “loop” regions in SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, but not in SARS-CoV-1, which may give SARS-CoV-2 additional capability to bind to and enter a variety of human cells.

Taken together the unique structural features of SARS-CoV-2 suggest a coronavirus that was highly adapted for human infection.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to provide conclusive evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is naturally occurring.

A recent non-peer reviewed article “A Proposed Origin for SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” written by Jonathan Latham and Allison Wilson and published on their own website has garnered some interest in the non-scientific media as a possible explanation for the natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.

This elegantly-written and well-documented review, which provides a unique and valuable translation of a Chinese clinical study, is nevertheless marred by offering an untenable theory of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 based on the serendipitous linking of a series of undocumented assumptions.

Although not concisely stated, the Latham-Wilson theory seems to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 originated as respiratory infections in miners working in a cave in Mojiang, Yunnan Province China in 2012, who were infected by a coronavirus while working among bat feces, presumably by RaTG13, SARS-CoV-2’s alleged closest relative,

Over time, RaTG13 rapidly evolved inside at least one of the miners to create SARS-CoV-2. Biological samples from that miner eventually found their way to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where unfrozen samples of the fully human-adapted SARS-CoV-2 infected a laboratory worker and began the COVID-19 pandemic.

First of all, the extent of viral evolution in a single patient that would be required to go from RaTG13 to SARS-CoV-2, about 1,200 nucleotides, is unprecedented in the annals of scientific inquiry.

Latham and Wilson attribute the adaptation to the viral load within a large lung surface area and, in particular, a lengthy infection lasting over four months.

Yet, despite the presence of an active infection of a coronavirus highly adapted for human infection, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, even though the Chinese clinical study provides no indication of special quarantine efforts and a therapeutic regime resembling that for ordinary respiratory infections, including fungal infections.

Although it seems likely that the miners experienced an initial viral respiratory infection and secondary, probably bacterial infections, tests for viral infections, including SARS-CoV-1, were negative during the course of hospitalisation.

It was only afterwards, that the Chinese clinical study mentions a positive test for an unidentified virus, one possibility being henipa-like virus, which was also discovered in the same cave along with numerous types of bat coronaviruses.

Strangely, the Wuhan Institute of Virology was experimenting with RaTG13 during 2017 and 2018, while SARS-CoV-2 was supposedly tucked away in a freezer, the Chinese scientists never making the connection between RaTG13 and the miners’ infection.

Finally, although not conclusive in itself, it seems that such a unique, direct bat-to-human natural coronavirus infection would have been big news in the virology community in 2012, yet it went practically unnoticed.

If the Latham and Wilson theory proves anything, it demonstrates the lengths one must go in evidence-stretching to show that SARS-CoV-2 is naturally-occurring, when one begins by precluding the possibility that it was manufactured in a laboratory. (For more from the author of “A Naturally-Occurring COVID-19 Is the Real Conspiracy Theory” please click HERE)

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Lawrence Sellin, PhD is a retired US Army Reserve colonel. He has previously worked at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and conducted basic and clinical research in the pharmaceutical industry. His email address is [email protected].

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U.N. Survey on Racism Asks Asians to Identify as ‘Yellow’

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United Nations staff members have accused the organization of racism after it issued a survey to employees on Wednesday that began with a question asking how staff identify themselves, offering “yellow” among the possible responses.

Titled “U.N. Survey on Racism,” the poll was carried out as part of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “campaign to eradicate racism and promote dignity,” according to a message accompanying the questionnaire, which was emailed to thousands of staff.

The survey’s first question “reflected an historic Western racist view of Asians by listing ‘yellow’ as an option,” several U.N. staffers told Reuters on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

The question also presented staff with the option to self-identify as “black, brown, white, mixed/multi-racial and any other,” according to the report.

“The first question is insane, deeply offensive, and hard to fathom how in an organization as diverse as the United Nations this question was approved for release in a system-wide survey,” an anonymous U.N. staff member told Reuters. (Read more from “U.N. Survey on Racism Asks Asians to Identify as ‘Yellow’” HERE)

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Tulsi Gabbard Snubbed by DNC

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) confirmed Thursday night, just before the last night of the Democratic National Convention, that she was completely snubbed by the party, despite being a Democrat presidential candidate and receiving delegates.

“You’re correct — I was not invited to participate in any way,” Gabbard tweeted, in response to an apparent supporter who reminded viewers that candidates who receive delegates traditionally are offered a speaking slot but Gabbard was not given a slot.

The supporter added: “Although I doubt she would have accepted, the lack of invitation once again exposes the blatant DNC bias and Hillary Clinton proxies that have pursued Tulsi this entire time.”

(Read more from “Tulsi Gabbard Snubbed by DNC” HERE)

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Democratic National Convention Night Three; WATCH: DNC Committee Omits ‘Under God’ From the Pledge of Allegiance; Trump Hammers DNC

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By Breitbart. . .[Kamala] Harris says we are a nation grieving–loss of lives, jobs, normalcy and certainty. Harris says the Coronavirus is “not an equal opportunity offender.” She says it is not a coincidence–it is because of “structural racism.” She speaks of injustices in reproductive health care and racial biases in criminal justice system. She says the virus has no eyes but it knows how we see and treat each other.

Harris says “there is no vaccine for racism. We’ve gotta do the work. For George Floyd. For Breonna Taylor… and for our children and all of us.” She says “none of us are free until all of us are free.” . . .

[Barack] Obama says he has sat in the Oval Office with Trump and Biden. He says he never expected Trump to continue his policies but he expected Trump to take some interest in taking the job seriously. That he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that was put in his care. But Trump never did. . .

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says working people have taken one gut-punch after another because of COVID. She’s focusing on child care and says she likes plans and Biden has plenty. Warren talks about an economic system being rigged to bail out billionaires and kick dirt in the face of everyone else. Warren says Biden will make the wealthy pay their “fair share” and hold corporations accountable.

[Hillary] Clinton says people tell her every day they did not know how dangerous Trump was and wishes they had voted in 2016. Hillary says we now know what we have to lose if we vote for Trump.

(Read more from “Democratic National Convention Night Three” HERE)
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WATCH: DNC Committee Omits ‘Under God’ From the Pledge of Allegiance

By The Federalist. A Democratic National Convention moderator omitted sacred words from the Pledge of Allegiance during a panel discussion Tuesday: “under God.”

During the Muslim Delegates Assembly, the video of the livestreamed event shows A.J. Durani led the pledge but left out an important part, saying, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Durani was elected to be a super delegate for the 2016-2020 term of the Democratic National Committee.

The pledge has included the phrase “one nation under God” since Congress passed a law, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1954 to add it to the recitation. So, regardless of this 2020 panel’s objectives, the official pledge includes the religious phrase. “Under God” was added largely in response to the Cold War era’s threats of communism and the ideas of Marxist-Leninist countries. Ironically, many leaders of the Democratic Party are once again advocating Marxism through revisionist history and the Black Lives Matter organization. (Read more from “WATCH: DNC Committee Omits ‘Under God’ From the Pledge of Allegiance” HERE)

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Trump Hammers DNC Committee for Omitting God from Pledge

By Jon Levine. President Trump accused Democrats of deliberately removing the word “God” from the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic convention last week.

“The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention. At first I thought they made a mistake, but it wasn’t. It was done on purpose,” Trump said. “Remember Evangelical Christians, and ALL, this is where they are coming from-it’s done. Vote Nov 3!” (Read more about Trump’s criticism of the DNC Committee HERE)

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U.S. Will Trigger ‘Snapback’ Mechanism to Reimpose Iran Sanctions

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President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he would demand that the United Nations reimpose all of the body’s sanctions on Iran, triggering a so-called snapback mechanism that could end the nuclear deal that he withdrew from in 2018.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would travel to New York on Thursday to meet with several key UN figures to inform them of the demand issued by Trump.

“I’ll meet with the Security Council president, and then the secretary general will provide notification of the snapback and then 30 days from now, all the sanctions that were in place will resume,” Pompeo said in an interview on Fox News.

“They have been temporarily paused because of the ridiculous nuclear deal, and the world will be a safer place.” (Read more from “U.S. Will Trigger ‘Snapback’ Mechanism to Reimpose Iran Sanctions” HERE)

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Ominous Signs: Where Have China’s Submarines Gone?; China Says Latest U.S. Sailing Near Taiwan ‘Extremely Dangerous’

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By The Drive. China’s massive Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island is one of the greatest strategic interests in the region. It is home to China’s nuclear ballistic missile submarine fleet—the backbone of its second-strike deterrent—as well as other submarines. It sits at the northern edge of the highly contentious South China Sea. To its east is the gateway to the open Pacific and Taiwan. The most intriguing feature of this facility is the mysterious submarine cave built into the side of a mountain that dominates the southern end of the installation. Although I have seen satellite images of the roadway barges removed from the opening, we have never seen one with a submarine actually using it, until now. . .

It isn’t clear exactly what type of submarine is seen in the image, but our best guess would be a Shang class/Type 093 nuclear attack submarine. The type seen is really beside the point, what’s important is that we finally get to see this James Bond-esque feature in action.

As for where all the other submarines are, we have no clue. Tensions are exceedingly high in the region and the U.S. has massively upped its presence there. Meanwhile, Taiwan has gone on elevated alert as China executes war games nearby. While some of those drills could and likely do involve submarines based at Yalin, it’s also possible that others have moved inside the mountain, as well. Why exactly remains unclear. (Read more from “Ominous Signs: Where Have China’s Submarines Gone?” HERE)

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China Says Latest U.S. Sailing Near Taiwan ‘Extremely Dangerous’

By US News & World Report. China’s military said on Wednesday the latest U.S. navy sailing near Chinese-claimed Taiwan was “extremely dangerous” and stirring up such trouble was in neither country’s interests.

The U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin sailed through the narrow and sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the U.S. navy said, in what have become relatively routine trips in recent months, though they always anger China.

The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said its air and naval forces followed and monitored the U.S. ship throughout its voyage.

“Any words or deeds that … cause trouble in the Taiwan Strait are not in line with the fundamental interests of China and the United States, harm the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the strait, pose real threats to peace and stability in the region and are extremely dangerous”, it said. (Read more from “China Says Latest U.S. Sailing Near Taiwan ‘Extremely Dangerous'” HERE)

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Operation Legend: More Than 200 Charged With Federal Crimes, 1,000 Arrested

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At least 217 people have been charged with a federal crime, and more than 1,000 arrests have been made in major metropolitan cities since the Department of Justice launched Operation Legend in July, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced on Wednesday.

Nearly 400 firearms have been seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Barr launched Operation Legend on July 8 as “a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime,” the DOJ said in a release.

It was named in honor of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept in the early morning of June 29 in Kansas City, Mo. Last week, a Jackson County prosecutor announced second-degree murder charges against his suspected killer, 22-year-old Ryson Ellis, who was being held in Tulsa County Jail.

“LeGend is a symbol of the many hundreds of innocent lives that have been taken in the recent upsurge of crime in many of our urban areas,” Barr said at a press conference in Kansas City. “His life mattered and the lives of all of those victims matter. His name should be remembered and his senseless death, like those of all the other innocent victims in this recent surge, should be unacceptable to all Americans.” (Read more from “Operation Legend: More Than 200 Charged With Federal Crimes, 1,000 Arrested” HERE)

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