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There are some troubling policies and practices from the Trump years that President Joe Biden has chosen to carry forward, even as hes aggressively worked to undo others. In at least one case, though, theres an unrealistic and expensive Trump-era goal that Biden is pushing forward with, even in opposition to his own experts: A 2024 human landing on the moon.

Thats according to a new piece published Friday by Marina Koren in The Atlantic. Koren convincingly argues that the proposed lunar landing in late 2024which the Trump administration saw, at least partially, as a political feather for Trumps cap, along with the creation of Space Forceis clearly behind schedule. Delays in the development in the modern redesign of the spacesuit, along with budget overruns coupled with budget shortfalls, may make the 2024 no longer a realistic target, Steve Jurcyzk, the acting NASA administrator in February, told Ars Technica. As such, Koren argues, the Biden administration could slough off the 2024 goal easily enough.

Instead, the administration is pushing forward with the 2024 goal, even if its a stretch and a challenge, according to current Administrator Bill Nelson.

Koren points out that Biden has plenty to deal withthe pandemic, infrastructure, climate changeand noted in an earlier piece that 2018 polling found the public preferred that NASAs main focus be climate research. In 2019 just 8 percent of Americans said a moon landing should be the agencys top priority, with a majority supporting climate research and national security-related missions.

Perhaps the answer has more to do with national security than national pride. On the same day that Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva to discuss election meddling, human rights, and ransomware, the Chinese government was showing off its success in getting its new space station operational. Former Vice President Mike Pence said in 2019 that there was a new space race afoot akin to the 1960s, and the stakes are even higher.

Even still, NASAs internal investigator said this week that the 2024 landing is not feasible. Koren reported that a NASA spokesperson said that the budget and timeline for the mission are being evaluated and that the agency will provide an update later this year. Safety is a priority, the spokesperson said, and NASA will put humans on the moon when it is safe to do so.

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We're not going to the moon anytime soon, but Joe Biden won't kill Trump's dream - Mother Jones

A top U.S. intelligence official is reporting an "alarming uptick" in "incredibly dangerous" online chatter calling for violence associated with former president Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, CNN reported Friday.

The report comes on the same day (Aug. 13, or "Reinstatement Day") when some QAnon followers believed Trump would somehow return to the White House.

John Cohen, the chief of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security, said the chatter is "strikingly similar to what was out there before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol," according to CNN anchor Pamela Brown.

Alex Marquardt, CNN's senior national security corespondent, called the report "really disturbing news."

"What he's saying is that some of this online chatter, so on social media and in different online platforms, they include phrases like, 'The system is broken.' They call on people to take action into their own hands and to 'bring out the gallows,'" Marquardt said. "It is hard to underestimate how significant these comments can be because as you know, on Jan. 6, we heard calls by the Capitol insurrectionists to hang Mike Pence. There were actually makeshift gallows on the national mall."

According to Marquardt, Cohen said the concern is not only that the chatter is similar to before Jan. 6 it's that there has been an "uptick in these calls for violence."

Cohen also said while the chatter is associated with "a number of conspiracy theories," they all revolve around Trump's false claim of widespread election fraud, known as the "big lie."

"And that lie simply won't die, because people continue to talk about it," Marquardt said. "We still see the former president going around the country saying that the election was stolen from him. People like Mike Lindell, a big supporter of the former president, saying he has proof that the election was illegitimate which of course has been widely debunked."

Marquardt noted that the DHS has repeatedly warned in recent months about the threat of violence associated with Trump's false claim.

"There is no specific threat, they say, but they have said it could lead to deadly violence, and now you have the head of intelligence at DHS pointing to these comments and saying they are incredibly dangerous and they are growing," he said.

Read more here, and watch below.

CNN on DHS intelligence chief's warningwww.youtube.com

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'Bring out the gallows': Intelligence official warns of 'alarming uptick' in calls for violence on 'Trump Reinstatement Day' - Raw Story

A group linked to the Republican Party has released a report, seemingly indicating that Rep Ilhan Omar married her own brother to get around the US immigration laws. The report does not identify either Omar or her former husband Ahmed Elmi, but simply as 'Sibling 1' and Sibling 2'. The report indicates there is 99.999998% that the two individuals are siblings, and it is believed that they are Omar and Elmi.

The rumor that Omar and Elmi were siblings gained traction in 2020 after a Somali man made the claim. In March 2020, the man claimed he "feared for his life" after Omar's friends made threats. Those claims surfaced after Omar divorced her first husband Ahmed Hirsi for the second time in 2019. That messy second divorce came after Hirsi reportedly found Omar cheating on him with her chief strategist.

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The outspoken far-left Congresswoman's personal life has been as controversial as her politics, and neither seems to be dying down any time soon. Omar is still a frequent target for the GOP and conservatives since she is a member of the "Squad". Now it appears as if her personal life too is being attacked. The report believed to be linking Omar and Elmi was published by GOP strategist Anton Lazzaro, who was recently arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.

As we have said before, the report does not name the two individuals listed. The test was conducted by Endeavor DNA, based in El Paso, Texas. It was uploaded by Lazzaro's group Big Tent Republicans PAC, on Wednesday, August 11. It says sibling 1's DNA sample was collected from a cigarette butt, and sibling 2's from a drinking straw. The Daily Mail reported that sibling 1 was identified as Omar, and 2 as Elmi.

The report should be taken with a pinch of salt for a few reasons. For one, Omar is not a known to be a smoker, while her third husband Tim Mynett is. For another thing, the report was released by a group with known times to the GOP. As we have previously reported, Lazzaro has funneled more than $22,000 to political committees in California, Minnesota, Michigan, and New Mexico through Big Tent. He is a strong GOP supporter and has even met with Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Thirdly, The Mail has claimed the test links Omar and Elmi but does not provide any proof to back up the claim.

According to The Daily Mail, which broke the story, Lazzaro uploaded the test and an undated photo of Omar smoking on a website. We could not find this website, it doesn't appear to be linked on Lazzaro's Twitter or Instagram account. There is also no link available on the Big Tent PAC's website. It is unclear if it has since been taken down. "DailyMail.com understands that a shadowy Republican group was planning to release details of a DNA report in the next day or two," the publication wrote. Ever since the claims first emerged, Omar has been frequently targeted over the immigration "scam". Many believe she married her own brother so he could come to the US and study, bypassing the need to apply for a separate visa. The Lazzaro website reportedly says, "this is purely a crime of convenience, by an individual with extremely poor ethics now representing hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans in Congress."

It is important to note that Lazzaro was arrested, just over 12 hours after the report was published. He was arrested for trafficking five minors and has been slapped with five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, one count of attempting to do so, and three counts of obstruction of justice. It is not clear if Big Tent will release any further information on this matter, or provide conclusive proof. Omar is one of the several Dems in Congress the GOP are trying to unseat in 2022, in a bid to take back the House and Senate. So far, the biggest name to take on Omar is Danielle Stella, who had her Twitter account banned in 2019 for "violent rhetoric".

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Did Ilhan Omar REALLY marry her brother? DNA 'proof' lifts the lid on alleged immigration scam - MEAWW

Former vice president Mike Pence has repeated his attack on critical race theory, claiming that it teaches kindergarten-age children to be "ashamed of their skin color."

Pence made his latest remarks on critical race theory, or CRT, during a speech at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines on Friday. He accused Joe Biden's administration of replacing "patriotic education" with "political indoctrination."

He said: "They abolished our 1776 Commission and authorized teaching critical race theory in our schools. Instead of teaching all our children to be proud of their country, critical race theory teaches children as young as kindergarten to be ashamed of their skin color.

"Critical race theory is state-sanctioned racism, pure and simple, and it should be opposed by every American, every day."

CRT is an academic framework that examines history through the lens of racism and argues that racism is embedded in U.S. law and institutions.

But conservatives have turned it into a political rallying cry, claiming it is an effort to rewrite U.S. history and persuade white people that they are inherently racist.

Pence repeated his claims about critical race theory at Friday's inaugural Feenstra Family Picnic in Sioux Center.

"It's far past time to discard the left-wing reflex to find systemic racism in every institution in the country," he said. "America is not a racist country. America is the most just, noble and inclusive nation ever to exist on the face of the earth."

There is little to no evidence that critical race theory is being taught to K-12 public school students, according to the Associated Press.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, has said it is mostly taught in universities and not in elementary, middle and high schools.

But so far, 26 states have introduced bills or taken other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught in classrooms, according to an analysis by Education Week. Eleven Republican-led states have enacted bans, either through legislation or other actions.

Friday's speech wasn't the first time Pence has decried critical race theory and claimed it was being taught to children in kindergarten.

In a speech last month, he said the Republican Party must look to "restore the classics to education in our schools" and "eliminate critical race theory at every level."

"Critical race theory teaches children as young as kindergarten to be ashamed of their skin color. It represents a full-throated assault aimed at the heart of the American experiment," Pence added.

Earlier this week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I Have A Dream" speech while decrying critical race theory.

It prompted his daughter, Bernice King, to respond by advising the Republican leader to study her father's teachings more closely.

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Mike Pence Claims CRT Teaches Kindergarteners to Be 'Ashamed of Their Skin Color' - Newsweek

After reporters requested Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkans text messages in June 2020, they were told those messages had been deleted. KUOW has received a log for those text messages, which show some of her messages the mayors office says that most of her messages were via iMessage, which are not included in the log.

We have fresh insight into who Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan was text messaging last year previously a question mark after it was discovered that 10 months worth of Durkans text messages had disappeared.

Following this revelation, we requested the citys telecom provider's text message logs, which included the names and numbers of people in communication with the mayor from January to August of last year. Missing from the logs are the text messages themselves.

Among the most notable names in the text logs is Zach Bauer, close aide, or body man, to former Vice President Mike Pence. The log shows at least 100 messages exchanged between Mayor Durkan and Bauer during March and April of last year, as the coronavirus pandemic was first beginning.

According to Stephanie Formas, the mayors chief of staff, Durkan met with former Vice President Mike Pence last year. Pence was, at the time, leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Durkan remained in contact with Pences office over procuring Covid-19 test kits, personal protective equipment, and the field hospital at CenturyLink Field.

The mayor also exchanged 13 text messages with Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, on July 23 and 24, 2020.

Formas said their conversation seemed to center on scheduling a call to discuss public safety and the Seattle City Council's proposed actions. Formas noted that in July 2020, the City Council was considering cuts to the Seattle Police Department and Chief Bests salary.

The Seattle City Council also passed the JumpStart Seattle tax on big businesses like Amazon, in July, two weeks before the text message conversation appeared to take place.

In mid-June, as protests against police brutality were ongoing, the mayor was in contact with Ray Duda, the FBIs special agent in charge in Seattle at that time. Weeks before, on May 31, she received a couple messages from Gen. Brett Daugherty, adjutant general and director of the Washington Military Department.

Missing from the text message logs, however, is any record of conversations the mayor had between June 1 to June 9 a contentious time between protesters calling for the defunding of police and Seattle officers. It was on June 8 that Seattle police abandoned their East Precinct on Capitol Hill.

KUOW had requested the mayors text messages from early June 2020, in hopes of learning what transpired when Seattle police left their East Precinct on Capitol Hill, and who made the call. (Last week, we published a story that pointed to Assistant Chief Thomas Mahaffey.)

Unbeknownst to us at the time, we were given text messages involving the mayor, obtained from other city employees devices. Some of these recreated messages were sent between June 1 and June 10. When asked why these records werent noted on the text message log, Formas said the log only included the mayors text messages, and not iMessages, messages sent directly from iPhone to iPhone. Thats because cellular companies do not track iMessages, just SMS messages.

The mayors missing text messages, and a related whistleblower complaint alleging public records law violations, came to light in May of this year.

Public records staff in the Mayors Office reported that they had been recreating the mayors text messages, narrowly interpreting requests asking for the mayors texts, and not informing requesters. This was done under the direction of Michelle Chen, who at the time was overseeing how the mayors records requests were handled, and also acted as the mayors legal counsel.

Chen has since been removed from public records work, a spokesperson with the mayors office said.

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Who Seattle Mayor Durkan texted with last year: Mike Pence's body man, and an Amazon CEO - KUOW News and Information