Sep 25, 2017

Trump predicts "Ray" Moore will struggle in Alabama Senate race

President Trump says he doesn't know much about Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (right) on Monday. Photos: AP

President Trump says he doesn't know much about Roy Moore, and seemed to unwittingly emphasize the point by twice referring to the Republican front-runner for Senate in Alabama as "Ray" during a radio interview on the "Rick and Bubba Show" ahead of Tuesday's primary, per Politico. Moore is up against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who Trump has publicly endorsed.

"Luther Strange is going to be a great senator. He loves Alabama, he loves the states and he loves the country," Trump said Monday, according to AL.com. "He will absolutely win against the Democrat. Ray will have a hard time. If Luther wins, the Democrats will hardly fight. If Ray wins, [Democrats] will pour in $30 million."
  • An 0ptimus poll given exclusively to Axios showed Moore leading Strange by 11%, despite 86% of voters knowing Trump endorsed
  • Whoever wins the primary will be up against Democrat Doug Jones in a Dec. 12 election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Senate.
  • At a rally for Luther Strange in Huntsville Friday, Trump said despite thinking Moore "has a very good chance of not winning" he will "campaign like hell for him" if he beats Strange.
  • But Trump is still confident Strange will prevail: "I'm 5-0 in these races," he said. "I want to make it 6-0."

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Hong Kong police fire pepper pellets at demonstrators

Hong Kong riot policeissue a warning as they aim to clear away people gathered downtownon Wednesday. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong riot police have fired pepper pellets at activists and surrounded the Legislative Council during demonstrations against a bill proposing to criminalize "disrespect of the Chinese anthem" on Wednesday, per Reuters.

Why it matters: The bill is the latest concern pro-democracy protesters have that Chinese authorities are encroaching on the high degree of autonomy the former British colony has retained since it was returned to China in 1997.

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Minneapolis unrest as hundreds protest death of George Floyd

Tear gas is fired as police clash with protesters demonstrating against the death of George Floyd outside the 3rd Precinct Police Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Minneapolis police used tear gas during clashes with protesters demanding justice Tuesday night for George Floyd, an African American who died in police custody, according to multiple news reports.

Driving the news: The FBI is investigating Floyd's death after video emerged of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck for several minutes, ignoring protests that he couldn't breathe. Hundreds of protesters attended the demonstration at the intersection where Floyd died, per the Guardian.

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U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans Tuesday to make wearing face coverings mandatory statewide for most people over the age of 10 when inside public places like retailers, on public transportation and government buildings. He announced the measure, effective Friday, as coronavirus case numbers increased to 39,342.

By the numbers: More than 98,900 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 384,900 Americans have recovered and more than 14.9 million tests have been conducted.

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