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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, thinks that Republicans have a lukewarm chance of flipping the Senate in November, citing "candidate quality" as a factor. The senator made the honest prediction at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday afternoon. "I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate," the minority leader anticipated. "Senate races are just different, they're statewide. Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

The United States has surpassed the sobering milestone of 750,000 COVID-19 deaths despite the widespread availability of vaccines. According to Johns Hopkins University’s official count, the U.S. had 750,431 confirmed deaths due to the coronavirus as of Thursday morning. The U.S. has had over 46 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. reached 700,000 COVID-19 deaths - another staggering figure highlighting the severity of the pandemic on Americans - just a month ago.

President Joe Biden was defiant in reaction to the grim jobs and unemployment report released Friday. “Today there is more evidence that our economy is moving in the right direction, but it’s clear we have a long way to go,” he said. The president dismissed media commentary pointing out the disparity between the estimated job creation numbers and the jobs actually created in April. “Listening to commentators today as I was getting dressed, you might think that we should be disappointed,” Biden said with a chuckle.

WASHINGTON — US intelligence officials are painting a dark picture of the world’s future, writing in a report released Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic has deepened economic inequality, strained government resources and fanned nationalist sentiments. Those assessments are included in a Global Trends report by the government’s National Intelligence Council, a document produced every four years. This year’s report is designed to help policymakers and citizens anticipate the economic, environmental, technological and demographic forces likely to shape the world through the next 20 years

The United States set new records Wednesday for coronavirus cases and deaths, according to reports. There were 268,840 cases reported, and 3,920 deaths, higher numbers than on any previous day, NBC News reported. The new numbers bring the nation’s total 2021 case count to 1,345,873. There have been 15,120 deaths from the virus in 2021.

New York City has surpassed more than 25,000 deaths linked to the coronavirus, officials announced Monday. The city Health Department reports that 25,008 deaths were confirmed or likely cases of COVID-19. The breakdown includes 20,214 confirmed deaths from the virus and 4,794 probable deaths. “It’s incredibly painful. These are people who were part of our families, part of communities,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his Tuesday press briefing. “It’s shocking still.”

This is the grim state of our military’s readiness: An Air Force F-15C that broke in half during flight, two F-18s that have caught fire aboard ships, every single cruiser with cracks in its hull, A-10C Warthogs with fuselage cracks, the UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter fleet that is regularly grounded, and over half the navy’s deployed aircraft not ready for combat. That is the picture of the U.S. military in disrepair—what The Heritage Foundation’s Mackenzie Eaglen calls a “readiness crisis” among all U.S. military services, including the National Guard and reserves. Readiness is “dangerously lower,” she writes, leading to “delayed,...

The latest stark confirmation that California’s public employee compensation practices are unsustainable and have been horribly managed came this week with the release of a report that warned the University of California’s retirement system faced a $20 billion shortfall. The report contained this astounding fact: Employees and UC didn’t pay a penny into the system for a 20-year span that only ended earlier this year. Why? Apparently, because there was a presumption the system was adequately funded. In a recent letter to employees, UC President Mark Yudof blamed this massive oversight on state officials. He said he will work with...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Just two months before November elections, President Barack Obama's Democratic allies insist they will defy predictions of a Republican romp that could cripple the White House's still-ambitious agenda. "Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated," House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson told reporters on a conference call Thursday, scoffing at a growing chorus of warnings the party could lose the US Congress. "Let me be very clear about it: We are going to hold the House of Representatives and we are going to hold the United States Senate and we're going to do it each district...

'Grim Sleeper' Suspect Collected $300K in Pension Payments, ReportLonnie Franklin Jr. is suspected of killing 10 women and one man over a 22 year period. KTLA News 11:37 AM PDT, August 20, 2010 LOS ANGELES -- The man accused of being the notorious " Grim Sleeper" serial killer has reportedly collected $300,000 in pension payments, and will continue to collect them until he dies. City documents obtained by L.A. Weekly show that Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, has been collecting monthly disability pension checks from the L.A. pension system for 19 years after being injured while working as a garbage collector....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's Democratic Party on Friday will hold one of its most lucrative fundraisers at a prestigious golf resort as the governor releases what is expected to be a grim state budget that will include eliminating health and social programs for the poor. The two-day "Speaker's Cup" starts Friday at Pebble Beach, headlined by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles. Meanwhile Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will release his revised budget plan to address a deficit forecast at more than $20 billion. ... Lobbyists and business executives have paid between $10,000 and $45,000 in the past for a weekend with...

USAville, — October 9, 2009 — In a surprise development, after venting for several hours because of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Barack Obama, Freepers nationwide, sighed in unison, "Ah, I feel better now," and got back to business.

The Reno Gazette Journal has a sit-down with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who addresses the Ted Kennedy question in, um, an interesting way. Q: How will U.S. Sen. (Edward) Kennedy's death affect things? A: I think it's going to help us. He hasn't been around for some time. We're going to have a new chairman of that committee, it'll be, I don't know for sure, but I think Sen. (Chris) Dodd, (D-Conn.). He has a right to take it. Either him or (U.S. Sen. Tom) Harkin, (D-Iowa), whichever one wants it can have it. I think he (Kennedy)...

MASSIVE WTC COST OVERRUNS LOOK 'GRIM'FREDRIC U. DICKER State Editor June 28, 2008 Last updated: 5:00 am ALBANY - New Yorkers will be told the "grim truth" Monday about new delays and cost overruns at the World Trade Center redevelopment site by Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward, state officials and real-estate industry sources said yesterday. Ward, in what one source called "the coming grim truth," is expected to outline for Gov. Paterson and the PA more than 20 major problem areas facing the $16 billion redevelopment efforts, including massive cost overruns and unrealistic construction timetables. At least one project,...

There's an old joke that says inside every German there's a Nazi yearning to get out. While a gross overstatement, there is, I'm unhappy to report, more than a little truth to that old chestnut.

US targets al-Qa'eda with 'grim Reaper' By Tim Shipman in Washington Last Updated: 3:23am BST 17/07/2007 The world's first attack squadrons of unmanned aircraft are shortly to deploy in Iraq and Afghanistan to take the fight to al-Qa'eda. A Reaper plane at the Creech Air Force base in Nevada. The unmanned aircraft will be used for attacks on insurgents The menacingly named Reaper planes can carry up to a ton and a half of precision weapons for attacks on insurgents and terrorists - but the pilots of the "hunter killer" drones will be 7,000 miles away from their targets. They...

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future Richard Norton-Taylor Monday April 9, 2007 The Guardian (UK) The MoD predicts more use of chemical weapons. Photograph: Paul J Richards/EPA Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx's proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe's drops as fertility falls. "Flashmobs" - groups rapidly mobilised by criminal gangs or terrorists groups. This is the world in 30 years' time envisaged by a Ministry of Defence team responsible for painting a...

The future is looking grim for time warp town By Catherine Elsworth in Scotia (Filed: 12/07/2006) One of the last surviving company towns in America, a 19th century relic where everything from the houses and streets to the churches and school is owned by a single firm, is about to move into the 21st century. Scotia, a logging community in the redwood forests of northern California, has been owned by the Pacific Lumber Company (Palco) since it was founded in the 1860s. Its 800 residents either work for the company, are retired from it or related to an employee. All...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

Bush’s giant Right Wing Noise Machine (RWNM) loves to preach about the Bush economic miracle. In fact, the RWNM’s current thinking is Bush doesn’t spend enough time talking about his economic triumphs. If only he did, then everyone would fall in line and believe in the great Bush economic miracle. There is one problem with this argument: it’s a lie. Any way you look at the Bush economy, it comes up short. Today, I want to compare Bush’s job creation record with other economic recoveries. As usual, Bush comes up way short. The national Bureau of Economic Research has identified...