| UN official: Catastrophe looming from oil tanker off Yemen Posted: 15 Jul 2020 04:51 PM PDT  The U.N. environment chief said Wednesday that "time is running out" to avert an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe from a deteriorating oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen. Inger Andersen told the U.N. Security Council that an oil spill from the FSO Safer, which hasn't been maintained for over five years, would wreck ecosystems and livelihoods for decades. Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied U.N. inspectors access to the vessel so they could assess the damage and look for ways to secure the tanker by unloading the oil and pulling the ship to safety.
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| 'You're not welcome here.' The painful racial reckoning playing out in a Wendy's parking lot Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:25 PM PDT  The death of an 8-year-girl near a Wendy's fast-food restaurant that was taken over by protesters after the shooting of Rayshard Brooks has left this city, already bruised after weeks of protests against racial inequality, grappling with how to bring about lasting, meaningful change.
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| Flight delay melee: Spirit passengers arrested after kicking and punching employees and tossing phones, food and shoes at them Posted: 15 Jul 2020 01:27 PM PDT  Three Philadelphia women who were mad about a flight delay were arrested at Fort Lauderdale Airport after kicking and throwing items at Spirit staff.
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| The California woman who refused to wear a face mask in Starbucks is considering suing to get half of the barista's $100,000 in GoFundMe tips Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:58 AM PDT  People raised more than $100,000 for Lenin Gutierrez, a Starbucks barista who was shamed by Amber Gilles for trying to enforce a face-mask rule.
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| Zambia health minister denies corruption charges in court Posted: 16 Jul 2020 04:40 AM PDT |
| Sen. Tammy Duckworth finally lifts her block against 1,123 military promotions after reassurances that Alexander Vindman was not retaliated against by the Army Posted: 14 Jul 2020 06:05 PM PDT  Sen. Tammy Duckworth effectively stalled the promotions and demanded an answer on whether Vindman's promotion was sandbagged by the military.
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| Fox News Host Admits She Doesn’t Trust Fox Polls, Deliberately Misleads Pollsters Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:27 PM PDT  Fox News host Melissa Francis admitted on Thursday that she doesn't trust her own network's polling—conducted by a group considered among the industry's most trustworthy pollsters—while also claiming on-air that she deliberately misleads pollsters when they call her.With President Donald Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by double digits in many national and battleground state polls, a narrative has formed that there are so-called "secret Trump voters" who don't feel comfortable expressing their support for the president. A recent Monmouth poll in Pennsylvania, which finds Biden up by 13 points, shows that a majority of voters in the state believe a secret Trump vote exists."The media consistently reports that Biden is in the lead, but voters remember what happened in 2016. The specter of a secret Trump vote looms large in 2020," Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray wrote upon the poll's release.During a Thursday afternoon Fox News discussion on Brad Parscale's demotion as Trump campaign manager, Francis expressed her distrust of political polling by citing her own experience with deceiving pollsters.After fellow Fox host Lisa "Kennedy" Montgomery said the 2016 polls were "completely wrong" and that current polls are using that same methodology, Francis noted that she is "familiar" with the polls because she has been polled twice recently."Because I'm not affiliated with a party, I am married, I have three children," she said. "I think I am a woman of a certain age, so I am sort of the vote that people are looking for. I have a blast when they call me.""None of the information—sometimes I'm somebody who voted for [New York Mayor Bill] de Blasio but now I was thinking about Trump," Francis continued. "Sometimes it just depends how I toy with these folks."After this writer tweeted out a clip of Francis' comments while asking "are Fox News hosts now claiming they openly lie to pollsters to help push the narrative that all the polls are wrong," the Fox News personality responded that polling is "garbage.""Any pollster who calls me - I do not tell the truth," she wrote. "It's not their business. But I misled them left and right in equal measure. Polling is in fact garbage. I also do *always* disclose where I work and ask from whom they purchased my information."When asked whether this meant that she believed her own network's polls are also "garbage," Francis replied: "I don't trust any polling at all based on my personal experience."Interestingly, despite claiming to find all polling to be "garbage," Twitter sleuths pointed out that she has a history of boosting polling data that supports various Fox-friendly narratives.Francis later tweeted that she has never heard anyone tell her they've been contacted by a pollster but that she personally has been polled "20 times in the past 5 years." She added that this has "undermined my own personal confidence in polling, that is my opinion."According to poll analysis digital outlet FiveThirtyEight, Fox News is rated as one of the most accurate polling organizations, with an A rating. Furthermore, much has been made about the inaccuracy of the 2016 presidential election polls. Post-election analysis, however, shows that the accuracy of the national polls was pretty much on par with every election of the past 50 years. The average of the final polls was also largely in line with Hillary Clinton two-point popular vote win.Beyond that, polling since the 2016 election has been even more accurate. During the 2018 midterm elections, which resulted in a blue wave in the House of Representatives, non-partisan polls were far more accurate than any average poll since 1998. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Pennsylvania voters raise concern over 'secret Trump voters' in their communities Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:21 AM PDT  Reaction from Black Voices for Trump member Paris Dennard and Democratic strategist Mustafa Tameez.
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| African American History Museum Publishes Graphic Linking ‘Rational Linear Thinking,’ ‘Nuclear Family’ to White Culture Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:46 PM PDT  The National Museum of African American History and Culture has published a graphic on its website that suggests concepts such as "rational linear thinking," the "nuclear family," and an emphasis on "hard work" are specific to "white culture."The article, titled "Talking About Race," delves into white privilege and "the way that white people, their customs, culture, and beliefs operate as the standard by which all other groups" are "compared.""Whiteness and the normalization of white racial identity throughout America's history have created a culture where nonwhite persons are seen as inferior or abnormal," the article reads.The accompanying graphic describes "white culture" as adopting certain aspects and assumptions, such a "work before play" attitude and the belief that "hard work is the key to success." The "nuclear family," described as a mother, father, and 2.3 children, is the "ideal social unit" embraced by white culture, the graphic says.White culture also emphasizes respect for authority, delayed gratification, self-reliance, independence and autonomy, the value of property rights and ownership, progress, planning for the future, politeness, and decision-making, according to the graphic.> The National Museum of African American History & Culture wants to make you aware of certain signs of whiteness: Individualism, hard work, objectivity, the nuclear family, progress, respect for authority, delayed gratification, more. (via @RpwWilliams)https://t.co/k9X3u4Suas pic.twitter.com/gWYOeEh4vu> > -- Byron York (@ByronYork) July 15, 2020 The graphic cites data from a 1990 paper by Judith H. Katz titled, "Some Aspects and Assumptions of White Culture in the United States."Since 2007, Katz has worked as an advisor for a nonprofit organization called Net Impact, which says it partners with some of the country's most powerful companies, including ExxonMobil, 3M, McDonalds, the Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, Microsoft, the Walt Disney Company, Bank of America, Monsanto, and Nestlé Waters North America.The company also partners with the U.S. National Park Service, which the group listed as having contributed more than $100,000 to the organization during fiscal year 2013.Net Impact focuses on promoting "equity and inclusion" and "working across sectors for a more just and sustainable world," and runs chapters across the globe on university campuses, in cities, and in companies."We believe in the power of the business sector to drive social and environmental change, and we welcome a variety of companies to partner with us," Net Impact says on its website.The National Museum of African American History & Culture did not respond immediately to a request for comment on whether it stands by the assertions made in the graphic.
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| Ethiopia says rising waters at mega-dam a 'natural' part of construction Posted: 15 Jul 2020 02:11 PM PDT  Ethiopia on Wednesday acknowledged that water levels behind its mega-dam on the Blue Nile River were increasing, though officials said this was a natural part of the construction process. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been a source of tension in the Nile River basin ever since Ethiopia broke ground on it in 2011, with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan worried it will restrict vital water supplies. Addis Ababa has long intended to begin filling the dam's reservoir this month, in the middle of its rainy season, though it has not said exactly when.
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| California to release rules for reopening schools on Friday as coronavirus cases mount Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:42 PM PDT  California Governor Gavin Newsom will release new guidelines for opening schools as coronavirus cases continue to mount in the most populous U.S. state, his office said Thursday. The guidelines, to be released on Friday, come amid an intense debate across the United States about whether it would be safe to send children and teachers back into the classroom amid an ongoing pandemic. The discussion has taken on a political tinge, as Republican President Donald Trump urges a return to regular school schedules, while many Democrats urge a more cautious approach, such as a continuation of virtual lessons.
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| Kentucky Democratic party stalwart sentenced to prison Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:01 PM PDT  Kentucky businessman and Democrat Party stalwart Jerry Lundergan was sentenced on Thursday to 21 months in prison for making illegal contributions to the failed U.S. Senate campaign of his daughter, former Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. Prosecutors said Lundergan, 73, orchestrated a scheme to funnel more than $200,000 in illegal contributions to Grimes' 2014 campaign against Republican Mitch McConnell.
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| Florida breaks single-day coronavirus death toll record, still has no mask mandate Posted: 16 Jul 2020 11:19 AM PDT  Florida's coronavirus problem keeps getting worse.The state reported its highest-ever single-day death toll on Thursday, with 156 people reported dead from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. The numbers have Miami, recently called the "new epicenter of the pandemic," considering mandatory lockdowns, but Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) doesn't seem inclined to push many statewide restrictions at all.Thursday marked the second time this week Florida broke its coronavirus death toll record, with 132 people reported dead on Tuesday. The state's death toll now sits at 4,677. A total of 13,965 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past day as well, putting Florida's total case numbers at 315,775.Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Thursday he was planning to meet with business leaders to weigh "the possibility of a future lockdown" if these numbers don't improve soon, the Miami Herald reports. Suarez specifically raised concerns about hospitals and ICU beds filling up. Yet the state as a whole still has relatively relaxed social distancing guidelines, and no mandatory mask order, putting it behind the restrictive measures New York took to eventually cut its massive coronavirus spread.More stories from theweek.com Maryland's GOP governor publishes a scathing indictment of Trump's coronavirus response Trump attacks Biden's housing desegregation proposal as a plot to 'abolish our suburbs' Donald Trump is destroying the Post Office
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| 'Disturbing': Trump USPS head announces major changes, amid calls to increase service for mail-in voting Posted: 16 Jul 2020 10:14 AM PDT  The new head of the United States Postal Service (USPS) has established some major operational changes in a Monday memo, including slowed mail delivery in an effort to cut costs.Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump, took over the mail service last month and has since enacted "difficult" changes to help the USPS financial situation.
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| A Black social worker is suing American Airlines, alleging employees accused her of kidnapping the white toddler she was escorting on a flight Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:33 PM PDT  A Black social worker alleged American Airlines employees accused her of kidnapping the white toddler she was bringing home from a parental visit.
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| Amid spike in crime, a question of who owns the streets Posted: 15 Jul 2020 09:38 AM PDT |
| Sign at Michigan shop warns masked customers of armed employees. 'Lighten up,' owner says. Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:57 AM PDT  The sign asks customers to "remove your mask or raise both hands high" to avoid being mistaken as a robber. It's a joke, the owner says.
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| Ex-Pemex boss faces hearing over graft charges on return to Mexico Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:33 AM PDT  A former boss of Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos faces an initial court hearing on Friday, an official said, as he lands in Mexico from Spain to answer corruption charges that could engulf leaders of the last government. Emilio Lozoya has been charged with bribery and money laundering dating back to his 2012-16 tenure at the helm of the firm known as Pemex. Under Mexican law, Lozoya, 45, must make an initial statement to a judge once he enters the country.
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| It started like any other Kremlin crackdown. This time anti-Putin protests followed. Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:45 AM PDT  Demonstrators have held banners saying "Free Sergei Furgal," while others have called on President Vladimir Putin to resign.
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| National Association of Police Organizations president explains decision to endorse President Trump Posted: 15 Jul 2020 08:26 PM PDT  Major law enforcement lobbying group throws weight behind President Trump.
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| Chinese executives get 'pre-test' injections in vaccine race Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:10 PM PDT  In the global race to make a coronavirus vaccine, a state-owned Chinese company is boasting that its employees, including top executives, received experimental shots even before the government approved testing in people. "Giving a helping hand in forging the sword of victory," reads an online post from SinoPharm with pictures of company leaders it says helped "pre-test" its vaccine. Whether it's viewed as heroic sacrifice or a violation of international ethical norms, the claim underscores the enormous stakes as China competes with U.S. and British companies to be the first with a vaccine to help end the pandemic — a feat that would be both a scientific and political triumph.
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| Fox Host Neil Cavuto Cuts Away From Trump Speech to Note It ‘Mischaracterized’ Obama’s Record Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:36 PM PDT  Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto cut into a White House speech by President Donald Trump on Thursday to once again correct some mischaracterizations the president made, specifically over former President Barack Obama's economic record, which Cavuto noted was very solid.In what was yet another campaign-type speech on White House grounds, the president blasted regulations put in place by the Obama administration in the wake of the 2008 recession, claiming the former president had destroyed jobs in the process.While the speech aired live on Fox News, Cavuto cut away in order to issue a fact-check for his viewers."I do want to clarify a couple of things he said, that no president in history has cut regulations as much as he has. That is true," he noted, adding: "I think [Trump] might have mischaracterized the regulations that were added under Barack Obama."Cavuto, who regularly draws Trump's ire for his critical coverage, pointed out that his audience "might recall we had this little thing called the financial meltdown" and that many of the regulations were put in place to prevent banks from selling risky mortgage securities, which helped cause the financial crisis.The veteran Fox anchor then dispelled the notion that the post-meltdown regulations damaged the economy under Obama."The unemployment rate did, under Barack Obama, go down from a high of 10 percent to around 4.7 percent," Cavuto stated. "President Trump, of course, sent that even lower, eventually getting us down to a 3.5 percent unemployment rate. But I didn't want to leave you with the impression that during those eight years when Obama first came into office and we were bleeding about a million jobs a month that that was standard fare and that characterized the whole eight years."Additionally, the Fox host said, "it was not a disaster under Barack Obama," pointing out that the Dow Jones tripled during the 44th president's tenure and that companies did "very well.""Americans did very, very well," he concluded. "So I just want to put that in some context here."Fox News Host Grills Betsy DeVos on 'Reckless' Plan to Reopen SchoolsRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Facebook is adding a label to all posts about voting from federal officials and political candidates, including the president Posted: 16 Jul 2020 07:28 AM PDT  Facebook will label any post about voting from a politician or federal official, whether the posts contain accurate or inaccurate information.
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| Berkeley moves toward removing police from traffic stops Posted: 15 Jul 2020 07:59 AM PDT  After hours of emotional public testimony and a middle-of-the-night vote by Berkeley leaders, the progressive California city is moving forward with a novel proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in a bid to curtail racial profiling. The City Council early Wednesday approved a police reform proposal that calls for a public committee to hash out details of a new Berkeley Police Department that would not respond to calls involving people experiencing homelessness or mental illness. The committee also would pursue creating a separate department to handle transportation planning and enforcing parking and traffic laws.
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| Breonna Taylor protesters want police in jail. Instead, 435 of them have been arrested. Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:35 PM PDT  The 87 arrested Tuesday were the latest example of protesters in the Breonna Taylor movement being unfazed by punishment from a justice system they don't endorse.
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| India coronavirus: Kuwait's new expat bill has Indians worried Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:10 PM PDT  Kuwait's expat quota bill, if approved, will force nearly 800,000 Indians to return home.
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| Gokada app founder died of multiple stab wounds, NY medical examiner says Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:53 PM PDT  The body of Fahim Saleh, 33-year-old founder of the popular motorbike-hailing app Gokada, was discovered in his apartment on Tuesday afternoon, police say. Security camera video showed Saleh in the apartment building's elevator with a man in a dark suit, mask and gloves, the media reports said. Video footage showed the suspect following Saleh into the seventh-story apartment, where a struggle began.
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| US Navy carries out second 'freedom of navigation' op off Venezuela coast Posted: 15 Jul 2020 04:11 PM PDT  The US Navy on Wednesday deployed a warship off the coast of Venezuela to challenge what it called Caracas' "excessive maritime claim in international waters." It was the second time in three weeks that the US Navy has carried out such a "freedom of navigation" operation, a move that Venezuela previously called a "provocation." "Today, the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) challenged Venezuela's excessive maritime claim in international waters during a successful freedom of navigation operation in the Caribbean Sea," US Southern Command said in a statement.
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| Back to school: Working parents will need help from employers Posted: 16 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  COVID-19 and going back to school will bring complications to working parents so employers should be finding ways to help.
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| Bangladesh hospital owner arrested over fake coronavirus test results Posted: 15 Jul 2020 08:40 PM PDT  A Bangladesh hospital owner accused of issuing thousands of fake negative coronavirus test results to patients at his two clinics was arrested on Wednesday while trying to flee to India in a burqa, police said. The arrest marked the end of a nine-day manhunt for Mohammad Shahed over allegations of giving fake certificates to patients saying they were virus free without even testing them. Mr Shahed, 42, was one of more than a dozen people detained by authorities over the past few days in connection with the scam. Experts warn the false documents have worsened the already dire virus situation in the country of 168 million people by casting doubt about the veracity of certificates issued by clinics. "He was arrested from the bank of a border river as he was trying to flee to India. He was wearing a burqa," Rapid Action Battalion spokesman Colonel Ashique Billah told AFP. "His hospitals carried out 10,500 coronavirus tests, out of which 4,200 were genuine and the rest, 6,300 test reports, were given without conducting tests." Mr Shahed is also accused of charging for the certificates and virus treatments even though he had agreed with the government that his hospitals in the capital Dhaka would provide free care. A well-known doctor and her husband were also arrested by police and accused of issuing thousands of fake virus certificates at their Dhaka laboratory. The alleged scams could badly hurt migrant workers seeking to go abroad and whose remittances are key to Bangladesh's economy, said Shakirul Islam of migrant rights group OKUP. Italy last week suspended flights to Rome from Bangladesh to stem the spate of coronavirus cases within the community. Several passengers arriving from Dhaka had tested positive for Covid-19. "Some of the Bangladeshis who were tested positive in Italy were allegedly carrying negative Covid certificates from Bangladesh," Shakirul Islam claimed. "The government must ensure quality of Covid-19 tests in local laboratories for the sake of its overseas job market." Nearly $19 billion was sent back to Bangladesh by an estimated 12 million migrant workers last year, according to the central bank. Bangladesh has reported just more than 193,000 infections and 2,457 deaths so far. But medical experts say the real figures are likely much higher because so little testing has been carried out. The impoverished country has restarted economic activities after lifting a months-long virus lockdown at the end of May, even as the number of cases continues to rise.
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| Democratic voters have chosen establishment pragmatism over idealism to take back the Senate Posted: 16 Jul 2020 07:03 AM PDT  The battle lines for control of the US Senate came into clearer focus on Tuesday, as primary voters in Texas, Maine, and Alabama made their picks to face a trio of vulnerable incumbents this fall. Democratic voters across the country put pragmatism over the kinds of progressive ideas pushed by the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.One thing is clear after Tuesday's results: the national Democratic party continues to have its way in senatorial primaries, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's picks sweeping every swing state so far this cycle.
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| Analysis: Risks grow after blast hits Iran's nuclear program Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:21 PM PDT  A mysterious explosion and fire at Iran's main nuclear facility may have stopped Tehran from building advanced centrifuges, but it likely has not slowed the Islamic Republic in growing its ever-increasing stockpile of low-enriched uranium. Limiting that stockpile represented one of the main tenets of the nuclear deal that world powers reached with Iran five years ago this week — an accord which now lies in tatters after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from it two years ago. The larger that stockpile grows, the shorter the so-called "breakout time" becomes — time that Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon if it chooses to do so.
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| In historic move, North Carolina city approves reparations for Black residents Posted: 16 Jul 2020 05:10 AM PDT  The Asheville City Council said it will provide reparations for Black residents for historic wrongs, including slavery and discrimination.
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| Woman Who Ran Away to Join ISIS As Teenager Can Return to U.K. to Fight Citizenship Decision, Court Rules Posted: 16 Jul 2020 08:32 AM PDT  Shamima Begum, the woman who ran away from her London home as a teenager to join ISIS in 2015, has won the right to return to the U.K.
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| Second group of U.S. diplomats fly back to China amid frayed ties Posted: 15 Jul 2020 02:52 PM PDT  A chartered commercial aircraft left Dulles airport outside Washington for the South Korean capital, Seoul, where passengers would transfer to another aircraft outfitted for medical operations before flying to the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The flight, only the second of many required to return more than 1,200 U.S. diplomats with their families, was the first since negotiations hit an impasse two weeks ago over conditions China wanted to impose on the Americans, prompting the State Department to postpone flights tentatively scheduled for the first 10 days of July. The U.S. is working to fully restaff its mission in China, one of its largest in the world, which was evacuated in February because of COVID-19.
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| Jerry Falwell Jr. joins Hannity to discuss Liberty University's lawsuit against the New York Times Posted: 15 Jul 2020 06:53 PM PDT  Liberty University files defamation suit against the New York Times over COVID coverage, accuses paper of falsely reporting coronavirus outbreak on campus.
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| 'We have nothing': Ethiopia's ethnic unrest leaves destruction in its wake Posted: 15 Jul 2020 08:38 PM PDT  Girma had no choice but to watch from afar as a crowd chanting "This is our place!" set fire to the school he founded more than a decade ago. The unrest that left Girma's school a charred ruin was kicked off by the murder two weeks ago of Hachalu Hundessa, a pop star beloved by Oromos for giving voice to deep-rooted feelings of political and economic marginalisation. Similar property damage has been reported in towns across Oromia, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa.
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| I'm a public school teacher and I want to return to my classroom. But not like this. Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:16 PM PDT  My school didn't even have enough toilet paper or soap before the pandemic. How will we implement proper measures to protect against the coronavirus?
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| Hospitals told to send coronavirus data to Washington, not CDC Posted: 15 Jul 2020 05:03 AM PDT  "The new faster and complete data system is what our nation needs to defeat the coronavirus," Department of Health and Human Services official says.
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| California city moves to replace police with unarmed civilians for traffic stops Posted: 15 Jul 2020 06:48 PM PDT  Berkeley city counci lmembers approve landmark reform measure aiming to fight racial profilingThe city of Berkeley is moving forward with a first-of-its kind proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in an effort to curb racial profiling.After hours of emotional public testimony, council members in the northern California city approved a reform measure that calls for a committee tasked with police reforms. They include removing the police department from responding to calls involving people experiencing homelessness or mental illness and finding ways to eventually cut the police budget by half. The vote also called for the creation of a separate city department to handle the enforcement of parking and traffic laws.The plan appears to be a landmark move in a US city and comes as many regions across the country are facing growing calls to defund and dismantle police departments in the wake of George Floyd's death.Numerous studies have shown Black drivers are much more likely to be stopped by police than white people for minor traffic infractions, with sometimes deadly results. Philando Castile, for example, was fatally shot after the 32-year-old was stopped for a broken tail light in 2016 in Minnesota. And Sandra Bland, 28, died in a jail cell three days after being stopped for failing to signal when changing lanes in Texas in 2015.At the council meeting, after residents shared personal accounts of police violence, Berkeley's mayor, Jesse Arreguin, said he did not expect a new transportation department overnight because conversations will be hard and detailed with complicated logistics to figure out. But he said communities of color in his city feel targeted by police and that needs to change."There may be situations where police do need to intervene, and so we need to look at all that," he said. "We need to look at if we do move traffic enforcement out of the police department, what does that relationship look like and how will police officers work in coordination with unarmed traffic enforcement personnel?"Some progressive Bay Area activists said the move was a step in the right direction, but did not go far enough. The majority of commenters during a nearly nine-hour meeting that ended in the middle of the night had called for a more radical proposal of immediate defunding of the Berkeley police.Veena Dubal, a University of California law professor and former Berkeley police review commissioner, noted that traffic enforcement is one of the most common ways that police interact with community members, which can lead to harmful consequences: "Black and Brown men are disproportionately pulled over for minor traffic violations, and that's when we see this escalation … That is where you see the violence unfold."Mohamed Shehk, with the abolitionist group Critical Resistance, said he supported the idea of removing police from traffic enforcement, but said it was vital that the alternative department Berkeley creates does not replicate the same problems: "We also need to be dismantling the systems of fines and fees that keep communities that are targeted by these policies in poverty."Residents speaking at the council meeting made clear that they wanted something "much bolder", he added. "We've seen how incrementalism and cosmetic reforms are not substantial enough to reduce or reverse the enormous amounts of damage, violence, harm and racism that policing has inflicted on communities for decades."It could take months, even years, to create a new department, but police and other law enforcement leaders rebuked the idea."I think what Berkeley is doing is nuts," said Mark Cronin, a director with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union for officers. "I think it's a big social experiment. I think it's going to fail."The Berkeley police department said it did not comment on council legislation. But police unions for Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose issued a statement opposing the proposal.Arreguin, the mayor, said creating a new department was a phase-two development that was at least a year away and would probably involve making changes to state law.Agencies contributed reporting
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| Deputies: 3 women attacked airline workers over flight delay Posted: 16 Jul 2020 05:39 AM PDT |
| Florida reported 100% positive COVID-19 tests from some labs. That's wrong, hospital system says. Posted: 16 Jul 2020 11:29 AM PDT  The Lee Health hospital system says that its lab testing of potential COVID-19 cases has shown an overall positivity rate of about 18%.
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| Head of Air Combat Command to Visit Flying Wings After Series of Crashes Posted: 16 Jul 2020 06:22 AM PDT  Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, on Wednesday began the first in a series of meetings with airmen.
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