A Dallas megachurch whose pastor has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump was approved for a forgivable loan worth $2 million to $5 million, according to long-awaited government data released on Monday. Vice President Mike Pence spoke at a rally last month at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, whose pastor, Robert Jeffress, has been on Trump's evangelical advisory board. It was among the tens of thousands of religious organizations that received a total of $7.3 billion in pandemic aid from the Small Business Administration.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 23:18:32 -0400

"I think the country needs one last boost," the Senate majority leader said of another round of direct payments.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 18:00:00 -0400

It’s a win-win for the owner and dog.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:58:53 -0400

Mount Rushmore is considered one of the most famous monuments in the US, but the attraction appears disappointingly small in real life.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:58:37 -0400

Portland police have responded to 17 shootings so far this month, a 240 percent increase when the city saw five in the same timeframe last year, the department announced Monday.One shooting earlier this month injured a man, while another resulted in an infant child putting a spent bullet in her mouth, police revealed. In a statement, Portland police chief Chuck Lovell called the spike “alarming.”“Gun violence negatively impacts everyone in our community and the increase we are seeing is alarming,” he said. “As a community, we must come together to send a message that shootings in our City are unacceptable."Portland has faced weeks of unrest following the death of George Floyd in May. Over the weekend, police declared a riot after a bronze sculpture honoring Oregon’s pioneers was set ablaze outside the city’s justice center. The Fourth of July marked the city’s 38th consecutive day of civil unrest.The head of Portland’s police union released his own statement on Monday, calling on officials to take action."As riots continue, it is obvious to everyone that this is no longer about George Floyd, social justice, or police reform," Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner said. “This is about a group of individuals intent on causing injury, chaos, and destruction by rioting, looting, starting fires, throwing rocks, bottles, mortars, urine, and feces at peaceful protestors, as well as the police."Last month, protestors attempted to set up an “autonomous zone” in Portland’s Pearl District, near an apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler reportedly lives, but were stymied by police.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:46:48 -0400

The photo from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows how newborn stars have used up all the gas at this galaxy's center.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:33:00 -0400

Following months of legal drama, threats, and public controversy surrounding multiple books published by former Trumpworld insiders, yet another blockbuster Trump book is set to hit shelves this summer and contain “explosive” revelations about first lady Melania Trump, written by her once close adviser and friend of 15 years.According to people familiar with the project, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff—who was previously seen by the first lady as a loyal confidante and helped plan President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration in Washington, D.C.—will release a tell-all, Melania and Me, on Sept. 1. People with knowledge of the project say the content of the book is largely negative and that the manuscript heavily trashes the first lady.Winston Wolkoff previously worked for Vogue editrix and artistic director of Condé Nast Anna Wintour, who nicknamed her “General Winston” during her stint as the magazine’s special events director producing the celebrity-packed Met Gala. Mary Trump: You Can’t Gag Me Because Settlement Was a ‘Fraud’Mary Trump’s Tell-All Book Temporarily Blocked in CourtAfter playing a vital role in plotting Trump’s inaugural festivities, Wolkoff landed the gig of senior adviser to the first lady. However, shortly after the start of the Trump era, the noted New York socialite had a dramatic falling-out with Melania Trump, triggered by news that Wolkoff’s own firm snagged a cool $26 million from the Trump inaugural committee to help plan the events.“Was I fired? No,” Wolkoff told The New York Times last year. “Did I personally receive $26 million or $1.6 million? No. Was I thrown under the bus? Yes.”Following Wolkoff’s departure from the White House’s East Wing, the first lady sent her an email. “I am sorry that the professional part of our relationship has come to an end, but I am comforted in the fact that our [friendship] far outweigh[s] politics,” she said in an email. “Thank you Again! Much love.”According to the Times, the one-time Melania Trump confidante was also cooperating with Manhattan federal prosecutors investigating the Trump inaugural committee’s fundraising and spending. An SDNY spokesman declined to comment to The Daily Beast about the status of the investigation.Before Vanity Fair reported on the upcoming tell-all on Monday evening, the book was being teased online to little, if any, fanfare, though perhaps clandestinely or unintentionally so. On Monday morning, Wolkoff’s work was already available for pre-sale on Amazon, and Google searches at the time revealed that pre-announcement placeholder webpages existed for it, featured on Google Books and Simon & Schuster’s own website.As of Monday afternoon, the Google Books item read that the book, labeled “Untitled SWW” and placed in the “Autobiography” section, is expected on Aug. 11 and will be “a revealing and explosive portrayal of Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s fifteen-year friendship with Melania Trump and observations of the most chaotic White House in history.”Simon & Schuster has already published one book this summer about Melania Trump, The Art of Her Deal by Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan.The publishing giant also tangled with Trump administration lawyers to publish former national security adviser John Bolton’s book The Room Where It Happened, and after a weeks-long legal fight, it will next week publish a highly anticipated tell-all from Mary Trump, the president’s own niece, Too Much And Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.There is, of course, a chance Wolkoff will face a similar threat or legal hassle from Trumpworld attorneys. According to a person with knowledge of the matter, she signed a nondisclosure agreement—extremely common for those in the Trump political, business, and reality TV orbits, and even sometimes among the family members themselves—for her work on the 2017 inauguration and for her stint as a senior adviser to the first lady.Charles Harder, one of President Trump’s personal lawyers who also gained notoriety for fronting the legal team that took down the news and gossip outlet Gawker, also has done work on behalf of Melania Trump, including in her battle with media coverage.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:31:50 -0400

This was China’s introduction to the power and flexibility of the aircraft carrier, something it obsesses about to this day.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:30:00 -0400

New UK research has found eating a diet that includes probiotic foods, or a combination of both probiotic and prebiotic foods, may help ease depression and anxiety. To look at how pre- and probiotics could potentially be used as a therapeutic treatment for depression and/or anxiety disorders, UK researchers reviewed seven existing studies which had investigated the effect of eating a diet that includes pre- and probiotic foods on these mental health conditions.

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:08:07 -0400