The annual Aspen Institute Security Forum got underway virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. In this session, technology and security experts talked about the impact of disinformation campaigns on the 2020 presidential campaign and the coronavirus pandemic.
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Democratic primary challenger Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-M), participated in separate virtual town hall forums on the U.S. justice system. The two U.S. Senate candidates fielded questions from justice reform activists, formerly incarcerated people and the public. Both candidates talked about their support to end solitary confinement, decriminalization of sex work, and restoration of voting rights for Massachusetts inmates. The virtual forum was presented by Suffolk University, the Justice Reform Coalition, the WGBH Forum Network, Lowell University and involved a group of Massachusetts-based advocacy organizations including Black & Pink Boston, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and Sisters Unchained. It was the first organized debate by formerly incarcerated people in Massachusetts.
U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook spoke at the annual Aspen Institute Security Forum. He discussed the Trump administration's policy toward Iran and urged the U.N. Security Council to extend the international arms embargo on Iran. The event was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer blamed Republicans and the Trump administration for a deal not being reached on a COVID-19 Economic Relief plan. He also spoke about the rise in the number of cases of the coronavirus in the U.S.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) spoke about the coronavirus relief talks, and criticizes GOP leadership for putting the Senate in a "standby" mode and sending members home for the weekend.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer said President Trump's lack of leadership has caused the coronavirus to spread rapidly across the U.S. while other countries were able to contain it. He blamed Republicans for delaying a vote on the next coronavirus economic relief fund. And Senator Schumer said the Trump administration is trying to block people from voting by mail.
Nevada Senator Cortez-Masto todl the Senate that her constituents are need of housing assistance and rental stabilization amid the coronavirus pandemic. She added that lawmakers should be negotiating the next COVID-19 economic relief package.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the president's pick for several ambassadorial positions, including nominees James Story to be U.S. ambassador to Venezuela and William Douglass to be U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. Other ambassadorial nominees included Melanie Harris Higgins (Burundi), Jeanne Maloney (Eswatini), and Michael McCarthy (Liberia). Manisha Singh was nominated to be the U.S. representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
A House Financial Services subcommittee held a virtual hearing to discuss minority-owned businesses having issues with access to financial services during the coronavirus pandemic. Witnesses who testified included officials from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to discuss the involvement of federal law enforcement's role in addressing ongoing unrest in Portland, Oregon, which began as protests after the death of George Floyd. Acting Secretary Wolf rejected claims that federal law enforcement were attacking peaceful protesters and asserted that federal officers were in Portland to protect federal property in that city. He also answered questions about reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was compiling intelligence reports on journalists, processing DACA applicants, ICE detention centers, and efforts to combat white supremacist extremism.
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Democratic primary challenger Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA, 4th), participate in a televised debate on the candidate's generational differences, health care reform and prioritizing racial justice.
Erik Larson looked at Prime Minister Winston Churchill's leadership during the London Blitz. This was a virtual event hosted by Future Tense, a partnership of New America, Slate, and Arizona State University.
Katherine Sharp Landdeck provided a history of the female pilots who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. This was a virtual event hosted by the National World War II Museum.
Journalist Jack Fairweather recounted the efforts of Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance during World War II, who volunteered to be deliberately captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to sabotage the Nazis' operations and report back on the atrocities within the camp. This was a virtual event hosted by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
Author and Vanity Fair contributing editor Howard Blum recounted the failed Nazi plot to kill the three Allied leaders at a secret meeting they attended in Tehran in 1943. This was a virtual event hosted by Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida.
Margaret MacMillan was interviewed about her book "Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World," published by Random House. She described then President Nixon's 1972 trip to China, details of planning the trip, the meetings between President Nixon and Chairman Mao, and U.S. views on the accomplishments of the meetings.
Margaret MacMillan, international history professor at Oxford University, talked about her book, "The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914," in which she examines the lead-up to World War I. In her book, the author recounts the tension and transformed political and social landscape that marked Europe from the turn of the 20th century to the beginning of the war in 1914. Margaret MacMillan spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.
Authors and historians Jon Meacham, Margaret MacMillan, and Douglas Brinkley discussed their favorite historical figures at the 2018 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival in California.
Erik Larson looked at Prime Minister Winston Churchill's leadership during the London Blitz. This was a virtual event hosted by Future Tense, a partnership of New America, Slate, and Arizona State University.
Katherine Sharp Landdeck provided a history of the female pilots who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. This was a virtual event hosted by the National World War II Museum.
Journalist Jack Fairweather recounted the efforts of Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance during World War II, who volunteered to be deliberately captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to sabotage the Nazis' operations and report back on the atrocities within the camp. This was a virtual event hosted by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
Author and Vanity Fair contributing editor Howard Blum recounted the failed Nazi plot to kill the three Allied leaders at a secret meeting they attended in Tehran in 1943. This was a virtual event hosted by Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida.
Margaret MacMillan was interviewed about her book "Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World," published by Random House. She described then President Nixon's 1972 trip to China, details of planning the trip, the meetings between President Nixon and Chairman Mao, and U.S. views on the accomplishments of the meetings.
Margaret MacMillan, international history professor at Oxford University, talked about her book, "The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914," in which she examines the lead-up to World War I. In her book, the author recounts the tension and transformed political and social landscape that marked Europe from the turn of the 20th century to the beginning of the war in 1914. Margaret MacMillan spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.
