Late Sunday, Trump amplified a tweet that contained audiotapes of a 2016 dialog between Biden and then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko — materials that was launched earlier this 12 months by Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker named by the US intelligence group in its August 7 assertion about Russia’s disinformation marketing campaign in opposition to Biden. US authorities labeled Derkach’s efforts as disinformation as a result of they’re deliberately designed to unfold false or deceptive data about Biden.
By retweeting materials that the US authorities has already labeled as propaganda — and doing so with the 2021 Democratic Nationwide Conference kicking off on Monday — Trump demonstrated as soon as once more that he is keen to capitalize on overseas election meddling for his personal political achieve.
There is no proof of wrongdoing on the tapes of Biden and Poroshenko. However Trump and his allies, in addition to Kremlin-controlled media retailers, have used the tapes to foment conspiracies about Biden’s dealings with Ukraine.
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Sen. Mark Warner, the highest Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, responded to Trump’s retweet Monday by calling out the President for amplifying Russian disinformation.
“The President of the US ought to by no means be a keen mouthpiece for Russian propaganda,” Warner wrote in a tweet of his personal.
Trump’s amplification of this disinformation comes as Biden is set to settle for the Democratic presidential nomination this week, and it poses a major problem for US intelligence and nationwide safety officers tasked with defending the 2021 election from overseas interference.
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Whereas related US agencies have adopted a whole-of-government strategy centered on countering overseas disinformation and seeks to inform the American public about such efforts, there appears to be no plan in place for addressing false data coming from the President himself.
The Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence referred questions about the President’s tweets to the White Home. The White Home responded to CNN’s request for remark by directing inquiries to the Trump marketing campaign. The Trump marketing campaign has not responded to CNN’s request.
After this story was printed, Biden marketing campaign spokesman Andrew Bates instructed CNN in an announcement that Trump “habitually attacked the sovereignty of American elections” and mentioned the President has “irrevocably proven his true colours but once more” by retweeting Russian propaganda.
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Nonetheless, high US intelligence officers made clear within the August 7 statement on foreign election interference that Derkach is a part of the Russian disinformation effort intended to harm Biden’s candidacy.
“We assess that Russia is utilizing a spread of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘institution.’ This is in keeping with Moscow’s public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his position within the Obama Administration’s insurance policies on Ukraine and its assist for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia,” William R. Evanina, director of the Nationwide Counterintelligence and Safety Middle, mentioned in an announcement earlier this month updating the election risk panorama heading into the November election.
“For instance, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption — together with by means of publicizing leaked cellphone calls — to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Get together,” Evanina mentioned.
Derkach denies that he is working for the Kremlin.
The anti-Biden content material retweeted by Trump forward of this week’s Democratic Nationwide Conference was posted by an account with the identify “Walt Kowalski,” Clint Eastwood’s character within the 2008 movie “Gran Torino.”
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The account was created in September 2019, across the similar time that the anti-Biden disinformation marketing campaign ramped up, coinciding with the impeachment inquiry into the President. The account has only some hundred followers, and the consumer’s biography part is solely centered on anti-Biden disinformation.
Kremlin connections
Derkach is amongst a small group of Ukrainian political figures who’ve, in latest months, injected themselves into the 2021 US presidential election by releasing and selling alleged audiotapes of Biden. A few of these figures are related to Kremlin pursuits or to Russian intelligence agencies, in accordance to consultants and the intelligence group, which says they’re a part of a Russian-backed misinformation marketing campaign.
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The recordings are of Biden’s dealings with Poroshenko, the previous Ukrainian President, and so they seem genuine. However the materials reinforces Biden’s claims that he promoted US pursuits and did not do something improper in Ukraine. There is no proof of wrongdoing on the tapes, and the Biden marketing campaign maintains that these releases are blatant Russian meddling in opposition to the previous vp.
Trump’s willingness to capitalize on Russian meddling within the 2021 election is an analogous tactic to the one that Trump’s marketing campaign embraced in 2016, as Trump advisers strategized round WikiLeaks disclosures that had been facilitated by Russia, in accordance to particular counsel Robert Mueller.
4 years in the past, the primary WikiLeaks releases arrived on the eve of the Democratic conference in July 2016, and Trump used the stolen emails to inflame divisions throughout the Democratic Get together, tweeting, “The Wikileaks e-mail launch at present was so unhealthy to Sanders that it can make it unattainable for him to assist her.” Mueller’s investigation later revealed that this intraparty rigidity was precisely what the Russians had been hoping to stoke.
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The key distinction is that, this time round, the US intelligence group has publicly put Trump and all the world on discover early on of what the Russians are up to.
Even so, some Republicans and right-wing information retailers have embraced the baseless claims being levied by these controversial Ukrainian figures, a few of whom, together with Derkach, have labored carefully with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Many of those false narratives being promoted by Derkach and others, and now being amplified by the President, performed a central position in his impeachment proceedings. At that time, Fiona Hill, who was Trump’s high adviser on Russia, testified that some Republicans had been selling a “fictional narrative” that was concocted by Russian intelligence agencies, and had been thus peddling “politically spinoff falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian pursuits.”
Passionate news enthusiast with a flair for words. Our Editorial Team author brings you the latest updates, in-depth analysis, and engaging stories. Stay informed with their well-researched articles.
Meteor Showers evokes both fantasy and awe and often when we see a meteor which is also sometimes referred as a shooting star we make a wish and hope that it is fulfilled. However meteors are an unpredictable phenomenon but wait what if someone says that today a star gazer can see up to 40 meteor showers in an hour? Sounds like fiction but it is true.
What is an Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Event?
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower are the remnants of the Halley’s comet which left a trail of debris as it made its long and elliptical journey around the Sun. Halley comet visits the solar system once in 75 to 79 years. Last time it visited the solar system was in 1986 and it is expected to return in 2061. The comet as it enters the inner solar system and nears the sun, its ice layers break off as a long tail. The debris remains in the solar system long after the comet has returned to deep space. When the Earth passes through this debris left by the comet, a meteor shower event occurs. There are two annual meteor shower events which happen every year- the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October.
The Eta Aquarids meteor showers are spectacular and the meteors which move incredibly fast at speeds in excess of 44 miles per second leave glowing trains behind them which are a sight to watch.The space rocks travel at high speeds into the atmosphere where friction heats them up until they start to burn and leave a fiery trail behind. Most meteors will burn while they enter the earth’s atmosphere but some rocks survive this fiery ordeal and land on earth. They are known as meteorites.
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Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, May 2024 Date
The ETA Meteor Showers are best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere where the number can reach 40 to 50 meteors per hour. The Meteor shower starts from April 15 but its peak will be reached on May 5th and 6th. The shower will originate more from the Aquarius constellation and hence the name Eta Aquariid’.
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower 2024 Timing
The meteor shower is more likely to be visible in the night sky from 2:00 a.m. local time. From then on, the rates will continue to increase until dawn. However the visibility will be dependent on how much the sky is clear and there should be minimum light pollution. It is best to view the showers in the rural location since both pollution of the air and illumination by street lights are minimal.
A Texas family whose house was devastated on Thursday by a tornado is currently requesting for support. In the wake of this, a GoFundMe page has been launched.
According to Times Now, the Texas Tornado hitting Oklahoma and Iowa on Thursday has killed at least 5 individuals, including a baby.
The family has been identified as Kasey and Wes Lambert, and their children, Allie and Lane, are currently seeking donations.
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Their GoFundMe campaign’s caption reads,
“Hi, my name is Bradye McQueen, and I am helping coordinate the recovery for my cousin and her family. Wes & Kasey Lambert, and their kids Lane and Allie. They will need funds to help with the transition and rebuilding their lives and cover ER bills.”
Who is Freddy McKinney in Limelight?
The bravery of a storm chaser Freddy McKinney is everywhere on the internet. He is being appreciated for his heroics when he helped a family in need following a tornado that destroyed the latter’s Texas home.
On May 2, Thursday, in Hodges, Freddy McKinney was live-streaming and chasing a tornado.
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There, right before his eyes, he witnessed a large pile of water obliterating a house. This incident occurred on County Road 458.
The entire incident was captured on McKinney’s live YouTube page. It featured the YouTuber approaching the damage. The tornado was at a safe distance away.
When McKinney stopped in the middle, he saw a bunch of people running up the street. He witnessed a woman carrying a baby in her arms.
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He shouted, “Get in!” as the members of the family were approaching his vehicle. Then he asked a woman to enter his vehicle.
Subsequently, her son and husband followed shortly.
I’ve never met a more courageous family in my life. Kasey and Wes you guys are absolutely rock stars. I’m so glad you guys are doing better. Thank you for sharing this update Bradye. https://t.co/7Psdo1EEzZ— Freddy McKinney (@FreddyMcKinneyR) May 3, 2024
Freddy McKinney drove the entire family to a nearby healthcare center.
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What Happened Next?
A relative of the family, Bradye Lynn McQueen, shared hospital photos on Friday by extending gratitude to McKinney for his bravery, reported People.
She stated,
“Thank you, Freddy, for taking care of my cousin & her family. We are all so grateful you were out there. As an update for everyone, they are very banged up, but they have all been discharged & are spending the night at grandparents’.”
The YouTuber replied,
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“I’ve never met a more courageous family in my life. Kasey and Wes, you guys are absolutely rock stars. I’m so glad you guys are doing better. Thank you for sharing this update, Bradye.”
Notably, until now, the GoFundMe campaign has raised $85,669 USD out of a target of achieving a goal of $100,000.
Andrew Dudum, CEO and founder of Telemedicine Company Hims & Hers is facing flak on the social media after his reported statement that he wants to hire students and protestors who are taking part in the protest in support of Palestinians in Universities across the US.
A number of tech sector founders has also condemned his statements.
Dudum had posted on X,
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“If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people and for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working. There are plenty of companies and CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline.”
He also posted a link to a page showing open positions at Hims & Hers.
X users have expressed their disapproval and have even called for a boycott Hims & Hers, and others said they are selling their stock in the company.
Cofounder of Palantir Technologies as well as the managing partner of early stage venture capital firm 8VC Joe Lonsdale responded on X and said
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“Real moral courage doesn’t involve joining a mindless mob, chanting anti U.S. and other woke pablum, following instructions not to debate or discuss your positions at all yet being indignantly righteous, while large numbers in the mob chant for violence and block Jewish students.”
While Hims & Hers spokesperson said Dudum were not available for comments, old posts by Dudum have been unearthed which puts in context his actions. Days before the horrific attack by Hamas’ terrorist against Israel on October 7, Dudum had posted –
“In pursuit for peace: Our leaders need to embrace nuance.”
Dudum further explained that he is a Palestinian American and had roots in and family in the West Bank and Gaza and said Hims & Hers’ values are based on a respect for human dignity and life.
Dudum wrote
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“It is upon those values that I believe all leaders and CEOs should use their platform today to call for an immediate cease fire. To actively recognize Israel’s right to defense and also recognize the means and manner in which they are responding violates international law. I ask us to find nuance, and share our voice today to help save innocent lives.”
Deadly protests have hit U.S. college campuses through last month and protest encampments have sprung across more than 40 colleges nationwide.
Police crackdown is on and there have been more than 1,900 arrests or detainments following a wave of activism at universities across the country.
Hims & Hers is a Telemedicine Company that links consumers with licensed healthcare professionals, enabling access to high-quality care for conditions related to sexual health, mental health, and more. It also offers its own range of products and is in a partnership with Los Angeles-based Hustle & Co. on media relations.
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