House will be mostly absent until mid-November

The House will be in session just three weeks between now and Nov. 16, Democratic leaders announced Monday. The August recess now essentially in progress was extended one week, until Sept. 14, according to a schedule released by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat. The week of Sept. 7 will be dedicated to committee work, but no votes are scheduled, and lawmakers are allowed to participate remotely. Lawmakers will return in mid-September for three weeks of votes and will gavel out by Oct. 2, which Hoyer has set as the target adjournment date ahead of the November election. Hoyer has scheduled lawmakers to return the week of Nov. 16 for the “lame-duck” session following the Nov. 3 election.

The sparse schedule reflects both the coronavirus pandemic and the need for lawmakers to campaign in their districts. The House typically adjourns in October if it is an election year. The House has largely been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic in order to shield lawmakers from frequently flying back and forth to their districts and from exposing lawmakers to contracting the virus in the Capitol. The House may return if a deal is reached on a new round of coronavirus aid. Hoyer told lawmakers in a memo on Monday that he would provide 24 hours notice if any votes are scheduled during the extended recess.

Democrats and White House officials may resume talks on a coronavirus aid package they were unable to agree on earlier this month. President Trump announced on Saturday that he is taking executive action to extend federal unemployment, insurance, a payroll tax cut, and a moratorium on rental evictions and student loan payments. “I continue to urge Republicans to work with us to take immediate action to provide desperately needed relief during this coronavirus pandemic before we can begin the August district work period,” Hoyer said Monday. “The House continues to be on 24-hours notice to return for votes on COVID-related legislation.” The shortened schedule will make it difficult for the two chambers to pass spending bills by a Sept. 30 deadline. It's more likely Congress will agree on a short-term extension.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/house-will-be-mostly-absent-until-mid-november

Newspaper mogul and leading pro-democracy activist arrested in Hong Kong

With the arrests of a newspaper tycoon and a pro-democracy activist, Hong Kong authorities are testing the limits of the city's new "national security" law. On Monday, Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, a prominent pro-democracy newspaper, and Agnes Chow, leading pro-democracy activist, were arrested on suspicion of violating the law. Lai has been accused of "colluding with foreign forces" while Chow, 23, has been accused of "inciting secession." Both of these acts are considered criminal under the new law, and both Lai and Chow could face life in prison. In the morning, police arrested Lai at his home while 200 officers raided his newspaper's offices. Documents and research materials were confiscated from reporters. Lai's two sons and four of his employees were arrested as well. In response, Apple Daily printed 200,000 more copies of its next paper than it normally would. Readers began to line up overnight, just to get their hands on a copy.

Chow was also arrested at her home. Officers marched her in handcuffs out to a van, where with a mask-covered face and wide eyes, she looked back at a swarm of reporters one final time. Chow left the pro-democracy student group Demosisto after the law was implemented and didn't post again on Twitter, suggesting that the law may be retroactive despite Hong Kong officials originally saying it would not be applied retroactively. The "national security" law, implemented by China for the city several weeks ago, criminalizes secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism. Because the law is written so vaguely, authorities have been able to use it to crack down on dissidents. While many have already been arrested under the law, Monday's arrests are the most high-profile so far. Joshua Wong, the 23-year-old who has become the de facto face of the Hong Kong protest movement, posted a video on Facebook Monday. "Hong Kongers will not surrender," he said. "Now is not just a fight for democracy and liberty but also a battle between truth and lies. Now is the most urgent situation in Hong Kong. I hope that this is not the last video before I am arrested in the upcoming future. Perhaps the time for me to continue to fight for freedom in Hong Kong is already counting down, but no matter what happens, as a Hong Konger, I love Hong Kong a lot, and I will continue my commitment. My commitment to the democracy movement until the day we see the brighter future in our homeland."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/newspaper-mogul-and-leading-pro-democracy-activist-arrested-in-hong-kong

20,000 Fake IDs Seized In Chicago, Majority Smuggled in From China

Nearly 20,000 counterfeit IDs have been seized by U.S. officials in just six months, with the majority of shipments coming from China. And these boons for criminal activity are being funneled into the notoriously violent Chicago, ostensibly worsening the city’s chart-topping crime rates. Chicago O’Hare International Airport continues to be a hotbed for the transport of illicit IDs, which can be linked to serious crimes such as “human smuggling and human trafficking” and “used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures” per the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report. In full, the CBP press release reads: Fraudulent driver’s licenses, which are used for criminal activity or fraud, continue to be found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the International Mail Facility (IMF) at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Since the beginning of the year to June 30, CBP officers at the IMF have seized 1,513 shipments with fraudulent documents- a total of 19,888 counterfeit US drivers’ licenses. The majority of these shipments were arriving from China and Hong Kong, with other seized shipments arriving from Great Britain and South Korea. The driver’s licenses were for various people in different states with a vast majority destined for neighboring states. Most were for college-age students, and other licenses would share the same picture but have different biographical data. Another concern was the bar code attached to the Michigan licenses worked. These fraudulent identity documents can lead to identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures. “These counterfeit driver’s licenses can lead to disastrous consequences,” said Ralph Piccirilli, Acting Area Port Director, Chicago. “Criminal organizations use these counterfeit IDs to avoid attracting attention to their illegal activities. Our CBP officers were able to identify these very realistic counterfeits and stop them from reaching their destinations.” China’s act of smuggling unlawful items with a potential for serious harm is not an isolated incident: this comes on the heels of CBP officials busting assault weapons and gun silencer smugglers, all originating in China.

https://thenationalpulse.com/politics/20000-fake-ids-smuggled-from-china/

>>10249457 >>10249370

It was notable I believe on the of the explosion..I posted it.

https://qresear.ch/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F10%2F12%2Fworld%2Finvestigation-into-missing-iraqi-cash-ended-in-lebanon-bunker.html

>>10249860

>>>10249844 (You)

>Seen dis three times already

Hmm, checked Qresear.ch it turned up 0

>>10249832

Agreed and this is what they plan for the world, not right at all everyone every where shouldn't have to live in fear like this.

>>10249903

Weird.