Wall of Vets

Nearly 100 days from Election Day the fight over free and fair elections, and faith in the outcome, has become a cornerstone of the race.

“Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nation’s history unless this stupidity is ended,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

The President further opined on Friday that mail-in voting leads to fraud and preemptively cast doubt on the credibility of the final results. Joe Biden has warned of foreign interference and cautioned that his opponent might seek to disrupt or upend the election result by refusing to leave the White House. “This president is going to try to indirectly steal the election by arguing that mail-in ballots don’t work. They’re not real. They’re not fair,” Biden said during a Thursday virtual fundraiser.

Casting doubt on a presidential election is not new. Throughout the course of U.S. history, accusations of voter fraud have been made and published by 47 incumbents and candidates for President of the United States.

A Wall of Military Veterans Protect Portland Protesters Amid Federal Crackdown

A group of Military Veterans showed up at protests outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on Friday, saying they were there to support demonstrators. “Our veterans are here specifically to support the rights of the protesters to protest,” said Marine Corps veteran Duston Obermeyer.

What began as a movement for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing has expanded into a protest to expel federal forces from the states.

Demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd began in the city of Portland, Oregon, on May 28. Protests there have been held every day since, and drawn more than 1,000 participants. A tipping point came when unidentified Federal forces were seen grabbing at least one person off the street and dragging him into an unmarked van. Customs and Border Protection later countered accusations by stating that officers were wearing CBP insignias. The video went viral on July 15.

Trump has defended deploying federal agents and characterized protesters as violent extremists by arguing that Portland and Seattle have “lost control of the anarchists and agitators.” State and local officials in both have widely condemned the presence of federal agents.

Gov. Kate Brown said the “federal agents are adding gasoline to a fire,” and Gov. Jay Inslee said the “Department of Homeland Security had communicated no plans to send federal forces to Seattle and promised to notify local officials if that changed.”

By that evening, however, local photojournalists captured images of two federal planes arriving at Boeing Field, carrying an unknown number of agents from Customs and Border Patrol, that were dispatched into the city of Seattle. "Let me be clear,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, “this community rejects Trump's unconstitutional use of federal force.”

Wedding Bells and Pandemic

Finally, Princess Beatrice (31) tied the knot with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (37) in Windsor last Friday in the first low-key royal wedding of the Pandemic Era.

Following a small ceremony at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, guests accompanied the couple to an outdoor wedding reception in the grounds of Royal Lodge. While the ceremony was reportedly attended by approximately 20 people, the reception's guest list was extended to include 30.

Live music is currently banned due to the coronavirus pandemic, nor can a bride be walked down the aisle by her father. However, the couple did stream music from their iPhone’s to speakers set up outside, and HRH Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi both referred to their nuptials and After Party as "intimate and impossibly more perfect than their long planned and otherwise traditional affair."