| Arizona tells Pence it needs additional 500 health care workers as COVID-19 cases soar Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:24 PM PDT  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday that the state needed an additional 500 health care workers as the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to set records there.
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| After a Black protester is killed in Omaha, witnesses claim a rushed investigation ignored signs of the shooter's allegedly racist past Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:03 PM PDT  More than 300 people have been arrested in Omaha amid protests against police brutality in the past month. Jake Gardner, who shot and killed James Scurlock, is not one of them.
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| U.S. Supreme Court takes up Germany's appeal in Nazi art dispute Posted: 02 Jul 2020 07:53 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear Germany's bid to block it from facing a lawsuit in American court over medieval artwork that its former Nazi government pressured Jewish art dealers to sell in the 1930s. Germany had asked for the case to be thrown out on the basis of sovereign immunity, which generally prohibits U.S. courts from hearing claims against foreign governments. The justices will hear arguments arising from a 2015 lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Washington in which heirs of the art dealers said Germany owes them either the return of the artwork or more than $250 million in damages.
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| US tries to seize Iranian gas heading toward Venezuela Posted: 02 Jul 2020 09:46 AM PDT  U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking to seize four tankers sailing toward Venezuela with gasoline supplied by Iran, the latest attempt to disrupt ever-closer trade ties between the two heavily sanctioned anti-American allies. The civil-forfeiture complaint filed late Wednesday in the District of Columbia federal court alleges that the sale was arranged by a businessman, Mahmoud Madanipour, with ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. "The profits from these activities support the IRGC's full range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad," prosecutor Zia Faruqui alleges in the complaint.
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| Harvard Grad Says She Was Fired from Deloitte Job for Threatening ‘All Lives Matter’ Supporters Posted: 02 Jul 2020 05:54 AM PDT  A recent Harvard graduate who threatened to "stab" anyone who told her "all lives matter" has been fired from her job, she announced in a tearful video.Claira Janover, who said in a viral but since-deleted TikTok post that she would "stab" those with "the nerve" to say "all lives matter," posted several tearful videos explaining that her new employer, Deloitte, had fired her."I know this is what Trump supporters wanted because standing up for Black Lives Matter put me in a place online to be seen by millions of people," Janover explained. "The job that I worked really hard to get and meant a lot to me just called me and fired me because of everything."In a second video, Janover claimed that "Trump supporters took my job away from me.""I have gotten death threats, rape threats, violent threats and it's okay — but now it's just like my future is entirely compromised because Trump supporters have decided to come for my life," she stated. "I'm too strong for you. I am too strong for any of you, 'all lives matter' racist Trump supporters. It sucks but it doesn't suck as much as systemic racism."Janover also criticized Deloitte, calling out the company for "cowardice." The firm has not publicly commented on the situation.In the video that led to her firing, Janover warned "all lives matter" supporter that she would stab them. "While you're struggling and bleeding out, I'ma show you my paper cut and say, 'My cut matters too,'" she stated. After the video was picked up and circulated on Twitter, Janover posted a message on the video stating that "For legal reasons this is a joke." She also explained in subsequent videos that her threat was "clearly" an "analogous joke.""Apparently I'm threatening the lives of people — unlike cops, obviously," she added."Anyway, so If I get an email from the Department of Homeland Security or I get kicked out of Harvard or I get arrested or whatever — or I get murdered, according to the many death threats that I'm receiving right now — know that I appreciate you guys standing up for me," she said.
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| Sen. Scott on COVID-19 surge in Florida: We can beat this without the government taking away our rights Posted: 02 Jul 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott says citizens can responsibly combat the virus by being given more information from the government instead of just being told what to do.
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| Russian Bounties for Killing Americans Go Back Five Years, Ex-Taliban Claims Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:04 PM PDT  Taliban veterans like to laugh about the first time, according to their lore, that the Russians dumped a lot of American dollars on them. During the Taliban campaign to take over all of Afghanistan in 1995, they actually had a few fighter planes, and they used one to force a Russian cargo plane—a huge Ilyushin Il-76TD flying for a company called Airstan—to land in Kandahar. The Taliban held the Russian crew members prisoner for a year until, one day, they supposedly "escaped" and managed to take the plane with them. How many millions of dollars that took to arrange, the Taliban have never said, but after the long, bloody decade of the 1980s throwing off Soviet occupation, squeezing the Russians for money like that remains a source of amusement. Mullah Manan Niazi, who was the spokesman for Taliban leader Mullah Omar in those days, brought up the incident when The Daily Beast asked him about reports that the Russians have offered—and perhaps paid—bounties to Taliban who kill American soldiers."The Russians paying U.S. dollars—it's not odd for the Taliban," he said, his voice fraught with irony over the encrypted phone call as he recalled the Airstan incident. As for the current situation, "The Taliban have been paid by Russian intelligence for attacks on U.S. forces—and on ISIS forces—in Afghanistan from 2014 up to the present."In the world of intelligence gathering, such a statement from such a figure would be worth noting, and just the kind of thing that could lead to what the Trump White House has called "inconclusive" reporting the Russian offer of bounties to kill Americans. Mullah Manan Niazi was a very senior figure in the Taliban when they were in power, and also when they were driven into exile and underground after 2001. But since the death of Mullah Omar was made public in 2015, he has been a dissident and liable to be killed by the current Taliban leadership if it catches up with him. They have accused him of collaborating with the CIA and the Afghan government's intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which he denies.So, Niazi speaks as someone who knows the organization and its top people very well, but who also has an agenda very different from theirs, with his own reasons for confirming the bounty story, and he does not offer further specifics on that. But he does offer details about what he says are the longstanding ties between the Taliban and the Russians as well as the Iranians, and U.S. officials have been tracking those developments.A U.S. intelligence report about Russian assistance to the Taliban has circulated on Capitol Hill and throughout the national security apparatus over the last several days. According to three individuals who have read or who are familiar with the report, the assessment is long and covers the span of several years, focusing generally on how Russia provides support, including financial assistance, to the Taliban. The report also touches on the Russian bounties first reported by The New York Times, though those who read the report say that data point is circumstantial and that the investigation is ongoing. Two individuals who spoke to The Daily Beast, though, said it is clear from the report that there's an increased risk for U.S. troops in Afghanistan because of Russia's behavior.In important ways, this classified report mirrors an unclassified document produced last month by the Congressional Research Service which offered a crisp summation: "In the past two years, multiple U.S. commanders have warned of increased levels of assistance, and perhaps even material support for the Taliban from Russia and Iran, both of which cite IS [Islamic State, ISIS] presence in Afghanistan to justify their activities. Both nations were opposed to the Taliban government of the late 1990s, but reportedly see the Taliban as a useful point of leverage vis-a-vis the United States.""We introduced two Taliban to the Russians under cover as businessmen," said Niazai looking back on operations when he was still part of the Taliban insurgent leadership. "They went to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. With Russian-supplied funds, we purchased oil, wheat and flour and imported it to Afghanistan and then sold it there. That's how we converted Russians funds to cash in Afghanistan."Both men, contacted by The Daily Beast, vehemently denied such activity. "I don't want to comment—I don't even want to talk about Niazi," said one of them who, as a matter of fact, pays frequent visits to Moscow. "Niazi is our enemy and playing into the hands of the NDS."Other monies come through the hawala system, which originated in India and is used throughout South Asia and, now, in many other parts of the world. The U.S. treasury notes hawala is distinguished by "trust and the extensive use of connections such as family relationships or regional affiliations. Unlike traditional banking ... hawala makes minimal (often no) use of any sort of negotiable instrument. Transfers of money take place based on communications between members of a network of hawaladars, or hawala dealers."A senior Afghan security officer told The Daily Beast that he is "not aware of any Russians smuggling money," but noted that the international Financial Action Task Force combating support for terrorism recently put pressure on the Afghan government to take "practical" action against suspect hawala dealers, "so the Afghan security forces raided some of the money changers."Many sources, including Mullah Manan Niazi, note the Russian and Iranian role supporting the Taliban in the fight against the so-called Islamic State in Khorasan (a.k.a. ISIS-K or ISIL-K). Early on in the Trump administration, Gen. John Nicholson—then the commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan—warned Congress that Russia "has become more assertive over the past year" in Afghanistan and was "overtly lending legitimacy to the Taliban to undermine NATO efforts and bolster belligerents using the false narrative that only the Taliban are fighting ISIL-K."Russia reportedly complemented its public rhetorical support for the Taliban with a covert supply program. The Washington Post reported that year that U.S. intelligence believed Russia had sent machine guns to the Taliban. An anonymous military source told the Post that the U.S. had found Russian-provided weapons areas where the group was waging war on coalition forces and ISIS's Afghan affiliate had little presence. "We've had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders [who] said, 'this was given by the Russians to the Taliban,'" Nicholson said in a 2018 BBC interview. "We know that the Russians are involved."Indeed. Various Taliban have told The Daily Beast they were quite proud of the guns they were given as gifts or rewards—whether for specific acts or simply to cement relationships—is unclear. In 2018, Russia denied reports that it sent any arms but Russian special envoy Zamir Kabulov admitted that Moscow had established contacts with the Taliban because it was "seriously worried about possible terror threats for the Russian mission and Russian citizens in Afghanistan." But in September 2019, Russia elevated its talks with the insurgents to a formal visit by a Taliban delegation in September.According to a well-placed Taliban source, after some of the group's representatives made a trip to Moscow they were given 30 state-of-the-art guns, apparently large caliber sniper rifles powerful enough to shoot through walls. "I personally saw three of them in Helmand," said the source. "They were still full of grease," which is to say brand new out of the box.As military scholar David Kilcullen points out in his recent book The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West, the U.S. obsession with its "global war on terror" after 9/11 created an opportunity for Russia and other hostile powers. They were "exploiting our exclusive focus on terrorism, seeking to fill the geopolitical, economic, and security vacuum we had left as we became bogged down in the wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan."In the present day, it serves Russia's interests to keep the United States bogged down there, despite official Russian statements to the contrary. Trump Officials Didn't Want to Tell Him About the 'Russian Bounties'GOP Deny, Downplay Questions About Russian Bounty Scandal What others call "hybrid warfare" Kilcullen defines somewhat differently as exploitation of situations in flux, which certainly is the case in Afghanistan with a U.S. president determined to declare he's made a complete exit, even though there are only 8,600 U.S. troops left on the ground at the moment."Things that are in limbo, transitioning, or on the periphery, that have ambiguous political, legal, and psychological status—or whose very existence is debated—are liminal," write Kilcullen. "Liminal warfare exploits this character of ambiguity, operating in the blur, or as some Western military organizations put it, the 'gray zone.'"That, precisely, is where the Russians have learned to thrive.—with additional reporting by Sam BrodeyRead 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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| 'We're not going anywhere': Seattle's Chop zone dismantled but cause lives on Posted: 02 Jul 2020 06:33 AM PDT  The special police-free zone set up by protesters has now been cleared, but activists say they won't stop the fight for justiceThe occupied protest zone near downtown Seattle known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or "Chop", effectively came to a swift end early on Wednesday morning when officers largely cleared the area of people and encampments, despite some protests lingering overnight into Thursday.Now activists say the relationships built and lessons learned over the last three weeks in the self-proclaimed police-free zone have already had a lasting impact that will live on past the physical presence of Chop."We won, we're winning, we made history," said Rick Hearns, who had become head of security at Chop. "Look what we did here. The world saw it."But the protest area also became the location of a series of night-time shootings, which left a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man dead and several others seriously injured.In a series of tweets on Wednesday afternoon, Seattle's mayor, Jenny Durkan, highlighted the violence in the zone, saying "the recent public safety threats have been well documented" and "this violence demanded action".She said: "Our conversations over the weekend made it clear that many individuals would not leave, and that we couldn't address these critical public safety concerns until they did."The autonomous zone emerged organically following a series of dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement during marches against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd, and African American, by a white police officer, in Minneapolis in May.Officers in Seattle abandoned their east precinct building as demonstrations closed in, after which protesters camped out around it, with the intention of protecting the building from possible destruction that might be blamed on them.In the days that followed, hundreds more joined, and suddenly several blocks of the city's streets were teeming with people of different ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, focused on calling for the defunding the city's police department – echoing such protest cries emerging coast to coast, which can mean diverting money budgeted for police departments to social and education services, or even dismantling an entire department and restructuring the law enforcement system.And they wanted an end to police brutality against black people, explained Tarika Powell, an organizer with Seattle Black Collective Voice.> We're going to organize sit-ins, we're going to spam the city officials, we're going to show up> > Jessie Livingston"It was a space where people came to learn. We screened documentaries, we put on people's assemblies every day where people had the opportunity to speak and share their feelings and ideas … we put on educational events every single day," she told the Guardian."We had a space called the conversation cafe where people could come to learn about racism and to talk about it in ways they don't get to do in their daily lives."It spurred not only important conversations and learning, but also lasting bonds, which have since resulted in the organizing of anti-racist protests and the creation of social justice groups.The Seattle Black Collective Voice, for example, was formed after a group of organizers and protesters met in the Chop, explained Powell.Today, there are about 40 people involved with the collective, and they hold weekly educational events, and organize neighborhood cleanups and mental health outreach for people in the African American community."We would have not been able to come together and engage in the work that we're doing if it had not been for Chop," she said.Pay the Fee Tiny Library was launched in a tent at the Chop, and now organizers have set up the library, which includes black, indigenous and people of color and LGBTQ literature, around the city and held events. And a garden started in the Cal Anderson Park is now expected to become a permanent addition to the neighborhood.Protesters have repeatedly stressed that the shootings and violence was not directly connected with Chop, and may have happened anyway . But it resulted in a dramatic decline in occupiers, it concerned local businesses and residents, and amplified officials calling on occupants to disperse.By the time police cleared Chop on Wednesday, following Mayor Durkan's emergency executive order, the area had largely been reduced to a small number of activists and many homeless people, explained Powell.The truth is they "went in and did a violent sweep on homeless people, throwing away their tents and belongings", she said."Those homeless people had come into Chop to be safe from the sweeps. That is the vast majority of people that were in that space since the shooting started."Officers reported on Twitter that they arrested 31 people during the sweep.Some activists have argued that the police precinct was needed as a bargaining chip in order to get their three main demands met, which involve defunding the police, using that money to invest in community health and services, and dropping criminal charges against protesters. Others say another occupation in the city could be a future possibility.Jessie Livingston, 36, a protester who has been camped at Chop almost every day since it was founded, said she didn't know exactly the form the movement might take, but said: "We're going to organize sit-ins, we're going to spam the city officials, we're going to show up to city council meetings, we're going to do everything we know how to do."She added: "We're not going anywhere."
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| Descendants of Confederate soldiers sue city over removal of Florida’s oldest Civil War statue Posted: 01 Jul 2020 03:26 AM PDT  Descendants of Confederate soldiers have sued St. Augustine city leaders over their decision to remove a monument honoring the fallen ancestors.
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| Trump reportedly briefed on Russia paying militants to kill US troops the same day he had a 45-minute meeting on the dramatized CPAC play 'FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers' Posted: 30 Jun 2020 09:01 PM PDT  President Donald Trump denies he was briefed on a Russian military intelligence unit paying Taliban-linked militants to kill US forces in Afghanistan.
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| The Best Bike Lights to Illuminate Your Ride Posted: 02 Jul 2020 10:26 AM PDT |
| Terrifying: Why France Once Pointed Its Nuclear Weapons at Germany Posted: 02 Jul 2020 09:53 AM PDT  Any Soviet invasion route would have gone through Germany.
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| Finland's air force drops swastika emblem after century in use Posted: 02 Jul 2020 04:57 AM PDT  Finland's air force has quietly removed the last swastikas from unit emblems after over a century in use. Until recently the country's Air Force Command emblem depicted a pair of wings around a swastika, a symbol which pre-dates its associations with Nazism. The change was first observed by Teivo Teivainen, a politics professor at the University of Helsinki, who argued its negative associations made the swastika's ongoing use politically fraught. Professor Teivainen, who has written widely on the issue, said using the swastika could cause difficulties for the Nato country, particularly if worn on the uniforms of deployed personnel. "I have not found many reasonable arguments to support its military usefulness," Mr Teivainen wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The symbol's association with Finland's air force dates to its founding in 1918, when Swedish count Eric von Rosen donated a plane painted with swastikas to the newly independent country. The German Nazi Party adopted the swastika as its logo in 1920. Finland removed the swastika from its aircraft following a postwar armistice with the Soviet Union, but until recently the symbol remained on Air Force Command emblems and some flags and decorations. A spokesman for Finland's air force told the BBC, "as unit emblems are worn on uniform, it was considered impractical and unnecessary to continue using the old unit emblem, which had caused misunderstandings from time to time."
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| Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters Posted: 02 Jul 2020 03:52 AM PDT  Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday criticised China's holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China, warning it could create tension in the region and impact Beijing's relationship with its neighbours. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China's exercises in the waters near the Paracel Islands were "highly provocative", while Vietnam's Foreign Ministry called them a violation of sovereignty that could be "detrimental" to Beijing's relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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| Kentucky election: Democrats flip state Senate seat held by Republicans for 25 years Posted: 01 Jul 2020 09:05 AM PDT  Democrats have flipped a state Senate seat previously held by Republicans for the last 25 years.Dr Karen Berg won the special election for Kentucky's 26th Senate District after Republican Senator Ernie Harris announced he was retiring following 25 years in office. She beat Republican candidate Bill Ferko by 14 points.
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| With 'Partial Human Remains' Found in Texas, Family of Missing Soldier Vanessa Guillen Say They Believe She Is Dead Posted: 01 Jul 2020 01:53 PM PDT  An attorney for the family missing solider Vanessa Guillen said during a press conference that they "believe that her remains were found"
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| Turkey: Up to 60 migrants feared dead in lake after sinking Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:21 AM PDT  Up to 60 migrants may have been trapped in a boat that sank in an eastern lake last week, Turkey's interior minister said Wednesday. Turkey launched a search-and-rescue mission involving helicopters and boats after the boat carrying migrants across Lake Van was reported missing on June 27. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who traveled to Van to oversee the rescue operation, told reporters Wednesday that authorities estimated the boat was carrying between 55 and 60 migrants when it went down in stormy weather.
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| Pence: Florida can thank President Trump for being prepared to handle COVID cases Posted: 02 Jul 2020 02:32 PM PDT  The coronavirus case numbers are worse than ever in Florida.
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| Feds Arrest ‘Ringleader’ in Attempt to Topple Andrew Jackson Statue Near White House Posted: 02 Jul 2020 09:07 AM PDT  Federal authorities on Thursday reportedly arrested a male suspect they say was the "ringleader" of an effort to destroy a statue of Andrew Jackson near the White House.Jason Carter, whom authorities said is connected to the loose knit anarchist group Antifa, was arrested Thursday morning at his home and charged with destruction of federal property, Fox News first reported. Carter allegedly led the June 22 effort to topple the statue in Washington D.C.'s Lafayette Square near the White House, which protesters said they attacked because Jackson owned slaves and because of his treatment of Native Americans."They were very organized," an unidentified federal law enforcement official told Fox News. "Carter was on top of the statue and directing people.""They had acid, chisels, straps and a human chain preventing police from getting to the statue," the official said.The Justice Department on Saturday announced that four other men face felony destruction of federal property charges for their roles in attacking the statue. According to the department, the four were caught in video footage attempting to pull the statue to the ground.President Trump on Friday signed an executive order to protect American monuments, memorials, and statues in the wake of recent attacks on several monuments of historical figures in cities around the country."Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country," Trump wrote in a tweet announcing the order.At least a dozen other monuments to historical figures have also been targeted, including several Christopher Columbus statues. Statues of Columbus were attacked in recent weeks in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Minnesota as protests continue against racism and police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.
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| Military Mystery: What Happened to Russia's New T-14 Tank in Syria? Posted: 01 Jul 2020 07:00 PM PDT  Last month multiple media reports suggested that the Russian military's new T-14 Armata tank had been "battle-tested" in Syria.
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| Sweden's prime minister orders an inquiry into the failure of the country's no-lockdown coronavirus strategy Posted: 02 Jul 2020 04:44 AM PDT  The number of new COVID-19 cases in Sweden, where the government opted against a strict lockdown, has increased significantly in recent weeks.
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| Weibo deletes Indian Prime Minister's social media account Posted: 01 Jul 2020 09:33 PM PDT  Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, said it had deleted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's account at the request of the Indian embassy, as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer over a border skirmish. Since posting on Sina Weibo the first time in 2015 during a visit to China, Mr Modi has been an infrequent user of the Chinese social media platform. He had more than 200,000 followers and 100 posts before the account was shut. Sina Weibo announced the closure of the account late on Wednesday and the removal comes a few days after India banned dozens of Chinese apps, including Sina Weibo and ByteDance's TikTok, following the border clash between the two nations. The Indian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. Mr Modi was among a handful of foreign leaders with a Weibo account. Others include Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. Notably, Mr Modi revealed the birth dates of both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang by wishing them "Happy Birthday" on Weibo. The discussion of senior leaders' private lives is extremely rare in China and the exact birth dates of most of them are not revealed publicly. In contrast, Chinese leaders are rarely active on social media. Foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China. READ MORE: China annexes 60sqkm of India in Ladakh as simmering tensions erupt between two superpowers
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| U.S. files suit to seize gasoline in four Iran tankers headed to Venezuela Posted: 02 Jul 2020 07:43 AM PDT |
| U.S. says leaking nuclear waste dome is safe; Marshall Islands leaders don't believe it Posted: 01 Jul 2020 01:14 PM PDT  The DOE says that radioactive leakage from Runit Dome, a respository for U.S. atomic waste, is insignificant. Marshall Islands leaders are skeptical.
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| Rights activists say Danes unaware of racism in their nation Posted: 02 Jul 2020 05:56 AM PDT  Rights activists on Thursday accused Danish officials of being unable to recognize racism after authorities said the killing of a biracial man by two white men was not racially motivated. A biracial man was killed last month on a Danish Baltic Sea island.
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| Fox’s Neil Cavuto Grills GOP Rep Who Wants to Disband Coronavirus Task Force Posted: 02 Jul 2020 03:05 PM PDT  Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto had an intense confrontation with Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Thursday over his demand that the White House coronavirus task force disband, calling the Trumpian congressman out over his home state's exploding COVID-19 cases and his own lack of health expertise.Biggs recently called for the Trump administration to scrap its pandemic task force over his belief that its public health experts, namely Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, were undermining President Donald Trump as the president pushes for the economy to continue to reopen.Interviewing Biggs on Thursday's broadcast of Your World with Neil Cavuto, the veteran Fox anchor—who has frequently been the target of the president's ire over his critical Trump coverage—immediately pressed Biggs on whether he thought masks could help stem the spread of coronavirus.Hospital Workers to 'Complacent' Americans: Stop Right Now"I have to tell you, I'm reticent to believe that if a mask works so well, then why is L.A. spiking and surging with COVID cases when they've had a mandatory mask regulation in effect for seven weeks now," the Arizona congressman replied. "There is no empirical evidence that that is the case."Cavuto, meanwhile, pointed out that while localities may have had mask ordinances, the issue may have been enforcement and getting residents to follow the guidelines. Biggs, however, insisted that the actual problem was that masks themselves aren't very effective, despite copious studies showing otherwise. "You don't think it has any benefit at all?" Cavuto shot back. In recent days, Republicans and even some of Trump's staunchest Fox allies have attempted to get the president to embrace mask-wearing to keep the economy open amid a spike in cases.The Fox host pivoted to Biggs' demand that the task force shutter, asking the Freedom Caucus chair whether or not he thought it was risky."No, I don't. I appreciate what the vice president has done and I think he is done a great job," he replied before criticizing Fauci, complaining that the top infectious disease expert has been "inconsistent" with his message.Cavuto, however, implored Biggs to "forget Dr. Fauci for a second" and think about what's happening in his home state, which is currently suffering from the worst coronavirus surge in the nation."You have hospitalizations and ICU bed use, the highest of this crisis," Cavuto exclaimed. "You are telling people to get rid of it? People are listening to you and you're saying we can ease up!"After Biggs accused the Fox anchor of "cherry-picking data," Cavuto retorted he was doing no such thing before accusing Biggs of just wanting to get rid of the commission because it is saying things he doesn't like.The far-right lawmaker argued that they were "undermining" Trump, prompting Cavuto to ask whether it was the president's job to have health experts he defers to. Biggs, meanwhile, downplayed Birx and Fauci's expertise by wondering aloud about when they last saw patients."When's the last time you have?" Cavuto snarked back."I'm not a trained physician," Biggs replied."But you're telling the ones who are to get out!" Cavuto shouted in response. "To get off the commission!"Read 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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| Carlos Ghosn: Japan ask US to extradite ex-Green Beret and son over Japan escape Posted: 02 Jul 2020 04:21 PM PDT  The ex-soldier and his son are held in the US for allegedly helping the ex-Nissan boss flee Japan.
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| Minnesota state senator reacts to city council members voting to disband police: ‘Hypocrisy’ Posted: 01 Jul 2020 08:19 AM PDT  Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka tells 'America's Newsroom' it's 'hypocritical' that the city council members want to defund the police, yet have their own protection.
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| America's New B-21 Stealth Bomber Is Just Two-Years Away Posted: 02 Jul 2020 12:01 PM PDT  These are much better than the older B-2s and should be ready in the early 2020s.
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| India opens vast railway network to private players Posted: 02 Jul 2020 04:20 AM PDT  India has opened up its vast railway sector to private companies, allowing firms to operate trains on certain routes, in a bid to boost its stuttering, virus-hit economy. The 167-year-old train network carries 20 million passengers daily but is plagued by deadly accidents, rickety infrastructure, lack of modern amenities and poor investment. In an announcement late Wednesday, the railway ministry said it would now permit businesses to run trains along 109 routes, inviting bids from firms weeks after New Delhi opened up coal mining to the private sector.
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| Judge Blocks Trump Admin. Rule on Third-Country Asylum Seekers Posted: 01 Jul 2020 05:03 AM PDT  A federal judge has overturned a Trump administration policy mandating that asylum seekers first apply for asylum in countries they pass through on their way to the U.S.-Mexico border.The policy was aimed at deterring illegal immigration from Central American countries including Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly of Washington, D.C., a Trump appointee, said that the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act when adopting the policy. The APA requires that the federal government allow time for Americans to weigh in on certain proposed federal policy changes."There are many circumstances in which courts appropriately defer to the national security judgments of the Executive," Kelly wrote in his opinion. "But determining the scope of an APA exception is not one of them."Among the plaintiffs were advocacy groups for migrants as well as individual petitioners, who argued that the Trump administration policy violated the Immigration and Nationality Act. Kelly wrote that the law generally allows asylum seekers to petition no matter what country they passed through.The Trump administration will likely appeal the ruling. However, it is unclear if the ruling will have any immediate effect because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on illegal immigration.U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement has since mid-March returned almost all migrants caught crossing the border back to Mexico, fearing possible outbreaks of coronavirus in holding facilities. As a result, the pace of illegal immigration has drastically slowed during the pandemic. ICE has also refrained from arresting migrants who do not pose a public danger, and has not attempted arrests at health care facilities to allow migrants to receive medical care.
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| Nerve agent fear as hundreds of elephants perish mysteriously in Botswana Posted: 01 Jul 2020 09:08 AM PDT  The mysterious death of hundreds of elephants in Botswana has left experts alarmed that there could be a dangerous neurotoxin spreading through one of Africa's largest conservationist areas. Around 400 African elephants have died since April in the Okavango Delta, a wetland area in the northwest of the country often referred to as 'Africa's Last Eden.' Powerful poaching syndicates from Zambia and South Africa regularly cross into Botswana to shoot the animals with high-calibre rifles before hacking their tusks off with axes. But these deaths are different. Pictures show dozens of rotting calves and fully grown adult elephants studding grasslands and waterholes. Their tusks, which can be worth tens of thousands of pounds, have been left untouched. "The elephants have no visible wounds. Before they die, we've seen them wander around confused, emaciated and in distress. Their legs often don't work properly or are paralysed," Dr Niall McCann, Director of conservation for National Park Rescue, a UK-based charity.
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| 3 teens accused of arson, looting during Santa Monica protest arrested Posted: 02 Jul 2020 07:31 AM PDT  Three teenagers suspected of starting a restaurant fire and looting in Santa Monica during a day of civil unrest were arrested Wednesday, authorities said.
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| US jobs surge: Trump sees sunshine, Biden 'no victory yet' Posted: 02 Jul 2020 01:28 PM PDT  U.S. unemployment is at one of its worst points since the Great Depression. As Republicans and Democrats fought to spin Thursday's jobs numbers to their advantage, both sides face tremendous political risks in navigating a delicate and defining issue heading into the presidential campaign's final months. Democrats, led by presumptive nominee Joe Biden, seized on the growing threat presented by coronavirus after the better-than-expected numbers were released, a stance the Republicans called rooting against America's recovery.
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| Alabama college students are throwing 'COVID parties' where they invite infected people and gamble on who gets sick first, officials say Posted: 02 Jul 2020 02:48 AM PDT  As of Thursday, Alabama reported more than 38,000 coronavirus cases. State health authorities have warned intensive-care-unit beds might run out.
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| Yes, Iran Has a (Fake) Stealth Fighter Posted: 02 Jul 2020 09:34 AM PDT  A terrible fake.
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| Fact check: Democratic Party did not found the KKK, did not start the Civil War Posted: 01 Jul 2020 07:20 PM PDT  Frequent claims that the Democratic Party of the 19th century either started the Civil War or formed the KKK are false, according to historians.
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| Turkey wants French apology over Mediterranean warships incident Posted: 02 Jul 2020 03:21 AM PDT  Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday Turkey expects France to apologise after an incident between Turkish and French warships in the Mediterranean prompted Paris to request a NATO investigation. Relations between the NATO members have soured over the Libya conflict, where Turkey supports the internationally recognised government and accuses Paris of backing the eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar who tried to capture Tripoli. France denies backing Haftar's offensive on the capital, and accused Turkish warships of aggressive behaviour after its own warship tried to inspect a vessel in June that it suspected was violating a UN arms embargo on Libya.
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| 'Significant number' of people may have some natural immunity to coronavirus Posted: 01 Jul 2020 10:40 AM PDT  Large numbers of the population may have natural immunity against coronavirus even if they have never been infected, scientists believe. Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, who is leading an Oxford team to develop a vaccine, said there was likely to be a "background level" of protection for a "significant number of people". Recent studies have suggested the immune system can be primed by other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, giving the body a head start in fighting off Covid-19. Research shows that a separate part of the immune system, T-cells, respond to chains of amino acids produced by different types of coronaviruses and may be responsible for stopping the virus in people who never show symptoms. Crucially, those T-cells die off in older people, which may be why they are far more likely to develop a more serious illness. Speaking to the Commons science and technology select committee, Sir John said: "What seems clear is you do have cross-reaction from T-cells that are activated by standard endemic coronaviruses. I think they are present in quite a significant number of people.
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| Los Angeles sheriff's department faces a reckoning after another police shooting Posted: 01 Jul 2020 03:00 AM PDT  One of the most powerful local police agencies in the US has a history of abuse. Families of those killed by LASD want systematic changeOne of America's most powerful local law enforcement agencies is facing a reckoning after decades of reports of violence and corruption.The Los Angeles sheriff's department (LASD) is the largest county police agency in the US, with 9,000 officers who patrol nearly 200 different southern California cities and towns in a region bigger than most states. It controls a $3.3bn budget and runs the world's largest jail system.LASD's history of abuse and scandal is as overwhelming as its size. Two weeks ago, amid national protests over the killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, LASD killed 18-year-old Andres Guardado at his security job at an autobody shop, allegedly shooting him in the back as he fled.The department also faces questions over its handling of the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man found hanging on a tree.The incidents have reinvigorated demands for systemic reforms, with activists and victims' families calling for the defunding and dismantling of the department. Fueling their anger is a widening scandal surrounding alleged gang members and white supremacists within LASD's own ranks; the rehiring of deputies accused of misconduct; "Trumpian" outbursts by the top sheriff; an exploding Covid-19 crisis in LASD jails; and allegations that deputies are intimidating victims' families when they speak out."We should never have let it get to this point," said Jaylene Rea, whose teenage brother was killed by an LASD deputy last year. "I know that our voices are now being heard." 'They run because they're afraid'LA sheriff's deputies have killed more than 330 people since 2000, according to the Youth Justice Coalition LA. In recent years, the LA region has been one of the deadliest in the country for police violence. Between LASD and LAPD – the department that polices the city – officers have on average shot one person every five days.LASD alone has killed six people since the start of anti-brutality protests in May. The shooting of Andres Guardado took place on 18 June. Police say Guardado ran away when they approached him at work and appeared armed. When deputies caught up with him, one fired six rounds, according to police. The department has refused to disclose basic details about why police approached Guardado and why he was killed, and have kept the autopsy report and surveillance footage secret. The family has disputed the department's story, and the deputy who fired the fatal shots was previously accused of making false statements.It's not the first time LASD has provided minimal explanation for why deputies decided fatal force was necessary. Last year, deputies fired 34 times at Ryan Twyman, 24, who was unarmed in his car. In 2018, Anthony Vargas, 21, was shot a dozen times from behind after he fled.PhotosEighteen-year-old Paul Rea was killed on the evening of 27 June 2019 when two deputies pulled over a car that allegedly ran a stop sign in East LA. Rea, who grew up nearby, was a passenger. The officers accused the driver of being high on marijuana and demanded he exit. The officers threatened to kill him if he didn't comply, the driver told prosecutors.Rea broke free and ran, and deputy Hector Saavedra fired a round of shots, fatally hitting him in the neck, authorities said.Prosecutors concluded the shooting was justified "self-defense", citing Saavedra's claims that Rea "punched" him and was armed with a handgun. But in its report approving the killing, the district attorney's office also noted that surveillance video did "not depict a struggle" and did not show Rea punching the officer. Rea also never pulled out a firearm, and the deputy was "unable to describe what the gun looked like", prosecutors said.Rea was 5ft 2in and grew up terrified of police, said Leah Garcia, his mother."They run from you not because they are guilty, but because they are afraid," said Garcia, 39, about the young men in the neighborhood . Garcia said the father of her youngest son was also killed by LASD. She has one memory of getting stopped by deputies with Paul when he was around seven years old: "He screamed, 'Please don't take my mom.'" 'Gangs' of deputiesThe brutality extends beyond killings. Residents have long complained of day-to-day racist harassment, including arbitrary stops and searches, unjustified interrogations and hostile patrolling.In 2013, the FBI charged 18 sheriff's deputies implicated in the systematic beatings of prisoners and accused of collaborating with white supremacists. The top sheriff was later imprisoned. David Diaz, a 69-year-old lifelong East LA resident and the great-uncle of Paul Rea, said that he and nearly every man in his family was at one point arrested and booked by the local sheriff's station, the same division that killed Rea. During the Chicano power movement in the 60s and 70s, it felt as if deputies were competing to arrest as many people as possible, he said. At least nine of his friends were killed by police, he said. "I don't know if this will ever end in my lifetime," he added."I've grown numb to [the police brutality]," said Ceddy Mack, a 31-year-old South LA native whose friend was killed by deputies last year. "They throw me out of my car, tear the whole thing apart, rip my seats out, and there's nothing I can do about it."The historic toxic culture is exemplified in reports of secret societies that operated like criminal gangs and were known for extremely aggressive tactics within LASD's ranks. In the 1990s, one sheriff's station in a Black part of South LA was home to officers with matching neo-Nazi gang tattoos.The LA county sheriff in 2018 announced an investigation into the extent to which such cliques were still operating. The inquiry came after allegations that officers at the Compton station wore matching tattoos of a skeleton holding a rifle. An officer who fatally shot a Black resident during a pursuit, and was allegedly a member of the group, admitted that he had "ill-feelings" toward African Americans, though he later walked back this statement.Among residents, the station is also known for a group of officers that has been nicknamed "the Jump Out Boys". The deputies have a reputation for driving around with their doors partially open so they can jump out at any moment to confront people on the street. The grieving families who can't escape policeThe warfare mentality of some officers means many Black and Brown residents say they fear calling LASD when they need help.Jaylene Rea, Paul's 22-year-old sister, said she and her younger sister both once aspired to join the police force. Jaylene imagined herself as the "officer all the kids know". "I literally thought I could be a good cop for the community. But after learning everything they do, there's no hope."Leah Garcia, Paul's mother, alleged that she has been pulled over twice in recent months, and was forced to sit in the back of the police car before she was released both times. Officers said that they pulled her over due to an issue with her car registration, but then questioned her about whether she belonged to a gang, according to Garcia: "I try not to dwell on it, but I start thinking about my son's last moments. I can't put nothing past them."After Jaylene spoke at a rally on 30 October, deputies drove by the memorial site and moved to arrest two of Paul's friends, according to a lawsuit. As one of them was getting handcuffed, he handed Jaylene a blunt he had been smoking, at which point the deputies detained Jaylene and refused to tell her where they were taking her, the suit said.Her mother said she threw up when she found out Jaylene was arrested, fearing she was about to lose another child. Jaylene was cited for "obstruction of evidence" and released in the morning.Ryan Twyman's family has alleged similar harassment in Compton, noting that at a family gathering on his birthday last month, deputies showed up outside their house and accused them of blocking the street: "My grandkids were in the house. Why did they have to do this?" said Tommy Twyman, Ryan's mother.Ceddy Mack, Ryan's friend, said that two days after he organized a community event in his honor, police arrested him for a parole violation: "I do feel like they wanted to silence me. And they actually did."LASD did not respond to requests for comment. Hundreds of 'justified' killingsSo far, sheriff's deputies have faced little accountability over the brutality.LA county's elected district attorney, Jackie Lacey, has filed criminal charges only once for an on-duty shooting in 2018. It was the first prosecution in nearly two decades and 1,500 police shootings. Lacey declined to comment on Rea's case, but noted she has filed excessive force charges against 24 officers, adding, "I will not be pressured into filing criminal charges when I do not believe they are warranted."The current sheriff, Alex Villanueva, vowed to clean up the department. But since taking office, the Democrat has consistently disappointed the progressives who endorsed him. Villanueva closed internal misconduct investigations before they were concluded, including cases involving deputies accused of crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault of prisoners and child abuse. He also broke a campaign promise by continuing to allow the local jails to collaborate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). He has defied subpoenas, stonewalled the inspector general and recently attacked the politicians trying to hold him accountable on Twitter.Although some county governments have limited authority to remove sheriffs, there are no such mechanisms in LA. A civilian oversight commission created in 2016 also has minimal power. State and federal authorities can intervene, but rarely do."Villanueva is the Trump of LA law enforcement," said Andrés Dae Keun Kwon, the senior counsel and policy counsel with the ACLU of southern California. Some activists have discussed attempting a recall, which would be difficult to accomplish, Kwon said, adding, "That gets rid of the head of the monster. But it's just going to grow another head. Who is to say we won't get somebody worse?" Struggling to mournOn Saturday, the anniversary of Paul Rea's death, his family gathered at the site of his killing, joined by a group of LA mothers who also lost their sons to police. One by one, they took the bullhorn and told stories of gruesome killings, falsehoods spread by police about their sons, and their fruitless fights for justice. They called for DA Lacey to be voted out in November.Before the speeches began, Jaylene told the Guardian it was too hard for her to speak publicly. "I can't even say my brother's name at a protest, because it hurts," she said. "I snap into reality every time I say his name out loud."The families said prayers and released red balloons into the air.Minutes later, three sheriff's cars drove slowly by the vigil.
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| Lindsey Graham Uses Benghazi to Defend Trump on Russian Bounties Posted: 02 Jul 2020 08:49 AM PDT  Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was among the loudest Republican voices in Congress screaming about the attack on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya back in 2012. But he apparently has no problem with President Donald Trump's decision to ignore intelligence about Russian bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan. In fact, during a Thursday morning appearance on Fox & Friends, Graham actually used the Benghazi attack to defend Trump and accuse his Democratic colleagues of hypocrisy.After co-host Brian Kilmeade quoted Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who accused Trump of committing "treason," Graham fired back by asking: "Where were all these Democrats when Benghazi was on fire, when they were calling for help from the consulate? The president of the United States Obama was briefed and went to bed and never called anybody for a day and a half while our people were being slaughtered in Benghazi. Where was the outrage then?!" Graham went on to say that in his view the "conflicting intelligence" in this case "does not justify a nation stage conflict with Russia." He also defended Trump's apparent lack of knowledge about the bounties by saying, "You don't tell the president of the United States everything you would tell a second lieutenant!" Co-host Steve Doocy then gave Graham an assist by adding, "It should surprise anybody that it's a big story in The New York Times. I mean, that's what they do! They come up with these big stories to make Donald Trump look bad." "And it's all B.S.," Graham replied. "He wasn't briefed. And there was no consensus." While Trump may not have been verbally briefing about the bounties, the intelligence was reportedly in his Presidential Daily Briefing, which he apparently declined to read. Despite this, Graham said Trump has an "unwavering desire and commitment to protecting our troops on the ground." Fox & Friends ended its interview with Graham by asking about his recent golf outing with Trump. "Who won?" Doocy inquired."I've never seen him play this well," Graham said with a straight face as the co-hosts giggled. "I mean, he's got more on his shoulders—I'm hoping, OK, he's a little distracted. He beat me like a drum." Jake Tapper Exposes Pompeo, Graham and Giuliani's 'Stunning' HypocrisyRead 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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| Israeli lawmakers approve phone tracking of virus cases Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:24 PM PDT  Israel's parliament approved a law Wednesday granting the country's internal security agency limited authority to use phone surveillance to track coronavirus cases as the country struggles to contain a second outbreak. The Israeli government had authorized the Shin Bet to use the technology in March during the peak of the country's coronavirus outbreak, despite public outcry over privacy concerns. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, voted 51-38 in favor of granting the Shin Bet power to use phone surveillance to retrace the steps of people infected with COVID-19 and identify others who came in contact with them in the previous two weeks.
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| The rate of positive coronavirus tests is increasing. Here's a state-by-state breakdown. Posted: 01 Jul 2020 01:32 PM PDT  The rate of positive coronavirus tests is increasing, mostly in states with an uptick in cases.
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| Texas sets another record for new daily coronavirus cases, with more than 8,000 new infections Posted: 01 Jul 2020 11:16 PM PDT  Texas recorded an all-time single-day record of 8,076 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, local outlet KTRK reported.
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| How America Bombed Nazi Germany Back into the Stone Age (And Won World War II) Posted: 01 Jul 2020 04:00 PM PDT  By the time the invasion of France began, American bomber losses had dropped to negligible proportions, and the Luftwaffe had been virtually driven from the skies over its own homeland.
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