| Coronavirus is coming for the red states too Posted: 06 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT  The New York metro area's seven-day average has been declining for weeks. For the national daily case count to stay the same, other areas must be making up the difference. In other words, the virus isn't receding. It's relocating.
|
| Democrats press Trump for answers on foiled Venezuela raid Posted: 07 May 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Three Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how much it knew about an attempted raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, an operation they said potentially violated U.S. law and ran counter to American support for negotiations to end the South American country's political standoff. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, the lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut expressed "alarm" about the raid led by a former Green Beret and which has resulted in the detention in Venezuela of two American citizens.
|
| ‘It’s Wrong’: Biden Vows to Overturn DeVos’s Due Process Protections for Students Accused of Sexual Assault Posted: 07 May 2020 06:25 AM PDT  Former vice president Joe Biden promised on Wednesday that as president he would reverse new due process protections that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos put in place to protect university students accused of sexual assault, saying they "shame and silence survivors, and take away parents' peace of mind."Biden, who has recently been accused of sexual assault in 1993 by a woman who worked for him, said the new rules give colleges and universities a "green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights."The Title IX rule, issued on Wednesday, is intended to enhance due process for accused individuals on college campuses as well as in elementary and high schools. One part of the reforms ensures the right of the accused to "submit, cross-examine and challenge evidence at a live hearing." The rule protects alleged victims from having to physically face the person they say assaulted them or answer questions written personally by the accused, but it does allow the accused to ask questions through a surrogate as well as question other witnesses."Survivors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced." Biden's campaign said in a statement."It's wrong," Biden continued. "And, it will be put to a quick end in January 2021, because as president, I'll be right where I always have been throughout my career — on the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld."Tara Reade claims that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked for him as a Senate staffer. She alleges that she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also condemned the Education Department due process rules, said last month that she is "satisfied" with how Biden has responded to the allegation.
|
| Supreme Court struggles to find balance between religious freedom, reproductive rights Posted: 06 May 2020 10:50 AM PDT  Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as the potential swing vote in a battle that has stretched for nearly a decade.
|
| Russia overtakes Germany, France after record rise in coronavirus cases Posted: 07 May 2020 12:58 AM PDT  Russia's coronavirus cases overtook France and Germany on Thursday to become the fifth highest number in the world after a record daily rise, and Moscow's mayor said the real figure, not captured by official statistics, was much higher. The official tally surged to 177,160, meaning Russia now has more registered cases than Germany or France, as the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus jumped by 11,231 in the past 24 hours.
|
| The killing of Ahmaud Arbery highlights the danger of jogging while black Posted: 07 May 2020 01:37 PM PDT  Unsteady cellphone footage follows a jogger – an apparently young, black man – as he approaches and attempts to run around a white pickup truck parked in the middle of a suburban road. Moments later he lies dead on the ground. The killing of Ahmaud Arbery took place on Feb. 23, after the 25-year-old was confronted by Gregory McMichael, a 64-year-old former police officer and investigator for the Brunswick, Georgia district attorney's office, and his 34-year-old son, Travis. It took 10 weeks to gain widespread attention with the circulation of video footage on social media, prompting revulsion and calls for justice. On May 5 was it announced that the case would go to a grand jury, which will decide if the McMichaels will be charged with a crime. Death in suburbiaThe killing of Arbery by people with links to law enforcement raises important questions over immunity and the so-called blue wall of silence that extends from law enforcement agencies to prosecutor's offices and courtrooms.But there is a separate question that needs to be asked: Why do these incidents seem to occur in certain types of neighborhoods? Satilla Shores, where Arbery was killed by the McMichaels, is predominately white and suburban. It evokes memories of the killings of Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride and Tamir Rice.As a sociologist and public health scholar, I have studied physical activity and how it varies by race and social class. I know that the exact behaviors that are encouraged to extend life for all are the exact ones that can end the life of men like Ahmaud – in short, jogging while black can be deadly. In 2017, I published a study on physical activity – focusing on where and how people exercise, and breaking this down by race and gender. I surveyed nearly 500 middle-class black and white professionals around the United States. The research also included in-depth interviews, focus groups and observations of public spaces in cities with varying racial and class compositions including Oakland and Rancho Cucamonga, California; Brentwood, Tennessee; Bowie, Maryland; and Forest Park, Ohio. I found that race and place significantly inform where people engage in physical activity: White men, white women and black women living in predominately white areas were significantly more likely to engage in physical activity in their neighborhoods. Black men living in predominately white neighborhoods, however, were far less likely to engage in physical activity in the areas surrounding their own homes. Good neighbors?Black men I interviewed who had jogged in white neighborhoods where they lived reported incidents of the police being called on them, neighbors scurrying to the other side of the street as they approached, receiving disgruntled looks and seeing the shutting of screen doors as they passed. Similar experiences have been documented in public places like stores, restaurants and coffee shops.Black men are often criminalized in public spaces – that means they are perceived as potential threats and predators. Consequently, their blackness is weaponized. Moreover, black men's physical bodies are viewed as potential weapons that could invoke bodily harm, even when they are not holding anything in their hands or attacking. In fact, black people are 3.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by police in situations where they are not attacking nor have a weapon.My research highlights that the social psychology of criminalization – the inability to separate concepts of criminality from a person's identity or role in society – is important here. Often, physical features such as skin tone are used to guide attitudes, emotions and behaviors that can influence interactions between people of different races and lead to oversimplified generalizations about a person's character. For black men, this means that negative perceptions about their propensity to commit crime, emotional stability, aggressiveness and strength can be used as justification for others to enact physical force upon them. Signaling or survival?Some black men attempt to make themselves less threatening. When it comes to jogging in white neighborhoods, some of the black men I spoke to wore alumnus T-shirts, carried I.D., waved and smiled at neighbors, and ran in well-lit, populated areas. This is hardly surprising. Black men do this at work by thinking consciously about their attire, tone and pitch of voice, and behavioral mannerisms. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, many black men are going to great lengths to reduce criminalization by staying in the house, wearing colorful masks and even forgoing masks altogether.Sociologists call it a signaling process. Black men call it survival.An irony in the case of Ahmaud Arbery is that it has set in motion a campaign that could see more black men putting on their running shoes. The IRunWithMaud social media campaign is encouraging people to jog 2.23 miles – a reference to the date on which Arbery was killed.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]
Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas:
Rashawn Ray has received funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Brookings Institution.
|
| New evidence suggests the coronavirus was likely spreading in the US and France as early as December Posted: 07 May 2020 08:45 AM PDT  The coronavirus seems to have been spreading through Florida by January. A December patient who coughed up blood in France later tested positive.
|
| Climate change: More than 3bn could live in extreme heat by 2070 Posted: 06 May 2020 12:26 AM PDT  Areas such as India, Australia and Africa are predicted to be among the worst affected.
|
| EU’s pivot to China falls foul of Beijing’s censors Posted: 06 May 2020 08:16 PM PDT  Europe learns the risks of courting China as a letter by its envoys is censored in an official newspaper.
|
| Trump claims he inherited a 'bare' national stockpile. Former Obama officials beg to differ. Posted: 06 May 2020 04:06 PM PDT  Trump has repeatedly said an empty stockpile hampered his pandemic response. Budget cuts had affected it, but shelves weren't bare, former officials said.
|
| Dallas salon owner jailed for defying virus shutdown order Posted: 06 May 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Texas' Republican governor and top law enforcement officer on Wednesday came to the defense of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of the governor's restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shelley Luther was booked in the Dallas County jail on Tuesday following a video hearing during which she refused to apologize for repeatedly flouting the order, leading the judge to find her in contempt of court and sentence her to a week behind bars. Luther was cited last month for keeping her salon open despite state and local directives that kept nonessential businesses closed, but she continued to defy the order and tore up a cease and desist letter in front of TV cameras.
|
| Mother and sister of missing Idaho kids' mom break silence Posted: 06 May 2020 11:15 AM PDT  According to investigators, 7-year-old JJ vanished without a trace on September 23 — but Janis Cox claims she briefly spoke with him on October 1.
|
| Biden accuser Tara Reade tells Megyn Kelly she wishes he'd drop out of the presidential race Posted: 07 May 2020 04:52 PM PDT  "I wish he would (withdraw from the race)," Reade said. "But he won't. But I wish he would. That's how I feel emotionally."
|
| U.S. strengthens arms to nullify China's missile supremacy Posted: 06 May 2020 02:33 PM PDT  A long-term struggle between China and the United States is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China.
|
| Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Successor Accused of Using Social Distancing ‘Snitch Line’ Posted: 06 May 2020 01:27 AM PDT  President Trump might have been welcomed to Arizona on Tuesday by the fellow truther once known as his political soul mate.But Joe Arpaio had trouble explaining misspent millions and hundreds of uninvestigated sex crime cases, and numerous civil rights violations during his long tenure as Maricopa County sheirff.Arpaio was voted out the same day Trump was voted in. The new Maricopa sheriff is Paul Penzone, who seeks to live up to his sworn duty to enforce the laws of Arizona as well as defend the U.S. Constitution. That includes a situation where, in Penzone's words "the governor, acting under his authority in a constitutional manner, executes an executive order.""You can't pick and choose which laws to enforce when you're in law enforcement," Penzone told The Daily Beast.He is not one of the Arizona sheriffs who declared they would not enforce Gov. Doug Ducey's "stay home, stay safe" emergency COVID-19 restrictions. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Mohave County Sheriff Douglas Schuster are among at least a half-dozen sheriffs in other states who have made similar declarations, deeming stay-at-home and business shutdown orders unconstitutional. The so-called constitutionalist stance is embraced by Gerard "Jerry" Sheridan, Arpaio's former chief deputy. Sheridan is seeking to unseat Penzone in November. "The Sheriff of a county is elected by and reports only to the citizens in the county," Sheridan tweeted. "No governor or mayor can tell him how to do his job. Sheriff Penzone of MCSO drop your snitch line to catch law abiding citizens doing Constitutional things."What Sheridan calls a "snitch line" is an online system that Penzone set up that allows people to report violations of the pandemic restrictions. Snitch is a pejorative used by criminals to describe people who cooperate with law enforcement. One longtime street rhyme is "snitches get stitches." And here is someone using the word in an effort to get elected a county's top lawman. Initially, reports of violations of the governor's stay-at-home, business shutdown order were handled via 911. Deputies were dispatched to the scene with instructions to begin by educating violators about the danger they were creating. Deputies were to summon a supervisor before taking any further actions. And citations were to be issued only where there was what Penzone terms "aggressive and repeated behavior" that left the deputies with no other choice."You have to find that balance, not to criminalize but also to promote health and safety, to save lives," Penzone said.The situation became more nuanced when the governor began to relax some business restrictions. Penzone had already become worried that the use of 911 tied up police resources when crime had remained essentially constant. Under the present system, citizens who call 911 with a COVID-19 restriction complaint are directed to file a report online. Some people just went directly to the sheriff's website."If you wish to contact MCSO with questions or concerns regarding the emergency order..." reads a line at the top.A click on "Contact Us" brings the person to a "Tips" page. A civilian investigator will then respond to confirm there is a violation before any further action is taken. Penzone reports that only a minority of the people visiting the page report violations. "The majority of that traffic has been the people who are complaining about the site," Penzone said.He added, "We've allowed politics to become divisive, even more so during a pandemic."He also said, "If we want to see the economy come back and also be safe, we can't let politics decide how we behave." Penzone has emailed the county attorney to confirm that the governor's order is indeed constitutional. The county attorney has not yet responded.The issue is likely to come up in court May 30, when Mertia Kraya, proprietor of Euro Pizza Cafe in Fountain Hills, contests a citation she received on April 5. Deputies visited her establishment on several occasions regarding patrons eating at outdoor tables and drinking beers from a bucket of ice marked "To Go." She insisted that nobody was "dining in" as prohibited by the restrictions."[Kraya] told me that my interpretation and her interpretation were different and that if I had to cite her for this, a judge would have to decide whose interpretation was right," a sheriff's captain wrote in a report. Kraya was issued summons 0700033420009801 charging her with violation of Section 26-317 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. "A violation of an order, rule, or regulation issued pursuant to a State of Emergency is a Class 1 misdemeanor," the law reads.That was the lone such summons issued by the sheriff, so Kraya had no trouble figuring out who Penzone was talking about when he accused an unnamed restaurant owner who violated the order of being "selfish." She faces a maximum $2,500 fine. She told The Daily Beast she intends to fight it. "I'll see my day in court," she said. "We'll see what happens."She noted that she has a medical condition that leaves her immunocompromised, with particular reason to fear COVID-19. She added that she would never want to endanger her customers or her employees or her family at home, who include an EMT in the Air Force Reserve. She reported that her cause has been taken up by those who oppose the restrictions."They took my case and ran with it," she said. "The Rosa Parks that stand up to the police."The anti-shutdown folks who are seeking to capitalize on the case will have reason to wish that the evidence did not include body camera footage that shows the deputies being only reasonable. Meanwhile, Sheridan is denouncing Penzone's "snitch line." He may be hoping to make voters forget his former boss' many transgressions."It is typical of his liberal mentality to have people snitch each other out for going to get something to eat or go for a walk in the park," Sheirdan told The Daily Beast.Sheridan said that "when I get elected," he will tutor his deputies on "what the Founding Fathers meant when giving the people freedom and liberty."Sheridan said he would oppose a shutdown even in his native Queens, New York, where his father was an NYPD lieutenant and where thousands have died in the pandemic. Sheridan said it is up to people to take their own precautions.NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Houses—and Soon They Will Be Counted"There is a degree of personal responsibility that people have," he said.Lest anyone think Penzone is anti-business, the establishments that will soon reopen include a beauty parlor owned and operated by Penzone's wife. He has been helping her install safety additions. He reports that her customers are clamoring to come back."There are a lot of roots out there," he said.As his wife goes back to work, the man who unseated Trump's political soulmate will be out enforcing the law in accordance with this oath. 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.
|
| The coronavirus can be found in semen, raising questions of whether it can be sexually transmitted, new research says Posted: 07 May 2020 08:00 AM PDT  New research found that 16% of male patients studied had coronavirus particles in their semen, but it's unclear if it can be sexually transmitted.
|
| Don't forget past, Jewish leader warns Germans on eve of WW2 anniversary Posted: 07 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT  Many young Germans have failed to learn the lessons of history, and anti-Semitism is becoming entrenched in the land responsible for the Holocaust, a Jewish leader warned, a day before the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe. As Germany's leaders prepare to lay wreaths to mark the "Day of Liberation" on May 8 - the day in 1945 when German generals signed an unconditional surrender - many Jews are worried about the popularity of the far right. "Germany's government knows its enduring responsibility for the Nazi era," Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung paper.
|
| Coronavirus deals 'powerful blow' to Putin's grand plans Posted: 07 May 2020 07:09 PM PDT  The bombastic military parade through Moscow's Red Square on Saturday was slated to be the spectacle of the year on the Kremlin's calendar. Standing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, President Vladimir Putin would have overseen a 90-minute procession of Russia's military might, showcasing 15,000 troops and the latest hardware. Now, military jets will roar over an eerily quiet Moscow, spurting red, white and blue smoke to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
|
| Missouri to seek death penalty in Wisconsin brothers' deaths Posted: 06 May 2020 04:10 PM PDT  The state of Missouri plans to seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing two brothers from Wisconsin, according to the man's new attorney. Garland Nelson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and several other counts in the deaths of Nicholas and Justin Diemel, of Shawano County, Wisconsin. Patrick Berrigan, a public defender who handles only death penalty cases, told the St. Joseph News-Press Wednesday that the state would seek the death penalty.
|
| More than 12,000 Catholic churches applied for PPP loans Posted: 07 May 2020 06:36 PM PDT  More than 12,000 Catholic churches have now applied for the government's small business loans – and 75% of those applications have been approved.
|
| Biden pledged to put a black woman on the Supreme Court. Here's what he might have to do. Posted: 06 May 2020 06:12 AM PDT  There are few black women serving on the federal judiciary, and none younger than age 67 in appeals courts, the usual stepping stone to the high court.
|
| Tesla worldwide production suspended after China shutdown, reports say Posted: 07 May 2020 08:13 AM PDT  Tesla production has come to a worldwide standstill after the sudden shutdown of its China plant as US workers, meanwhile, prepare to reopen its California factory in the next week, according to reports.Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that the electric car manufacturer informed workers at its Gigafactory near Shanghai on Wednesday that their five-day Labor Day holiday would be extended.
|
| Satellite images reveal North Korea is building a giant facility which could hold nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States Posted: 07 May 2020 05:10 AM PDT  Satellite images suggest North Korea has almost built a facility large enough to store all of its nuclear missiles.
|
| Over 500 Employees at Trump’s Las Vegas Hotel Have Been Laid Off Amid Coronavirus Posted: 07 May 2020 12:09 PM PDT  Over 500 workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas have temporarily lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.The resort, which is part-owned by the Trump Organization, broke the news to employees last month in a letter to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation."Based on the fluid and rapidly evolving nature of this situation, however, at this time we are unable to provide a specific date at which we will be able to recommence regular hotel operations and return affected employees to work," Human Resources Director LaDawndre Stinson wrote in the letter posted to the agency's website.The April 3 letter added that because of the "sudden, dramatic, and unexpected nature of this unforeseen emergency" and the demands of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak's decision to shut down non-essential businesses amid the pandemic, the hotel would be "unable to provide employees with additional notice of these temporary layoffs." Cuomo Blasts Trump: Your Bailout Strategy Will Doom Us AllAs first reported by The Washington Post, the president's properties in New York, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Honolulu have all laid-off workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has gutted the hospitality industry. To date, 1,500 employees at hotels owned by the Trump Organization have been laid off or furloughed."You can't have many hundreds of employees standing around doing nothing," Trump said at the White House on April 21, addressing job cuts. "There's no customer. You're not allowed to have a customer."During the same press conference—which took place two weeks after the Las Vegas employees learned they were out of a job—Trump expressed his support for Sisolak's decision to lock down Sin City, despite its cold reception from other elected officials and the Las Vegas mayor, who called it "total insanity.""They closed a big hotel down in Nevada that I have in Las Vegas. It's a very severe step he took. I'm OK with it," Trump said. "But you could call that one either way."Bethany Khan, the communications director for the Culinary Union in Las Vegas—which represents nearly all of the Trump employees who were laid off—told The Daily Beast on Thursday that 98 percent of their members are currently furloughed or laid off. The Culinary Union is Nevada's most powerful labor organization, representing about 60,000 hotel-casino workers.In addition to Las Vegas, more than 200 employees were laid off at the president's hotel in Vancouver, and over 75 percent of his Chicago hotel was placed on leave. "In an effort to conserve energy, most common areas...are illuminated and heated at a minimum level," the Chicago hotel told its investors in a letter, stating that the "heartbreaking decision" to lay off two-thirds of its staff also included suspending 401(k) contributions. Trump Shakes Everyone's Hands at Coronavirus Press Conference—Ignoring CDC GuidelinesAccording to the Post, the combined closed properties used to generate about $650,000 every day for the Trump Organization. The family business, which is now managed by the president's two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, racked up a property-tax bill in April of more than $1.8 million.The group reportedly reached out to the Deutsche Bank in March to ask about delaying payments on at least some of its hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and other financial obligations.According to The New York Times, a Florida-based company executive also emailed and called Palm Beach County officials to talk about whether they had planned to keep asking for payments on land the Trump Organization rents from the county for a 27-hole golf club."These days everybody is working together," Eric Trump told the Times. "Tenants are working with landlords, landlords are working with banks. The whole world is working together as we fight through this pandemic."Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which sits just blocks away from the White House, is also looking for a government break on its rent payments. On April 21, the Times also reported the hotel has asked to delay its monthly rent payments of about $268,000 a month in an effort to curtail their ongoing money troubles. The hotel is housed in the Old Post Office Building, a federally-owned property.The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment.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.
|
| Iran's president says an end to United Nations arms embargo is a 'right' Posted: 07 May 2020 11:22 AM PDT  The Iranian president said Wednesday that lifting a U.N. arms embargo on Tehran would be an "obvious right" and added a veiled warning of unspecified steps Iran could take if the embargo is extended, as the United States wants.
|
| Booze battle for Pakistan's drinkers during lockdown and Ramadan Posted: 07 May 2020 07:45 PM PDT  Drinking alcohol in Pakistan can be a complicated affair at the best of times, but for 25-year-old student Iram, the coronavirus pandemic has made getting a beer all but impossible. "There is no more beer!" lamented Iram, an Islamabad resident who asked AFP to use a pseudonym for fear of reprisals in this conservative country where drinking is illegal for Muslims, even though many people enjoy a tipple. The sum is equivalent to the monthly wage for many people, and Iram initially baulked at the price.
|
| Senior scientist says administration ignored virus warnings Posted: 05 May 2020 09:13 PM PDT  The Trump administration failed to prepare for the onslaught of the coronavirus, then sought a quick fix by trying to rush an unproven drug to patients, a senior government scientist alleged in a whistleblower complaint. Dr. Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, alleges he was reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by President Donald Trump.
|
| 20,000 migrants have been expelled along border under coronavirus order Posted: 07 May 2020 05:35 PM PDT  More than 90% of the families, children and single adults that Border Patrol encountered in April were swiftly expelled under a public health order.
|
| Asian American woman harassed by self-identified Trump supporter thanks bystanders Posted: 06 May 2020 02:08 PM PDT  "Americans said we don't want you here," the harasser said in a video. "That's why we elected President Trump."
|
| 77 cell phone towers have been set on fire so far due to a weird coronavirus 5G conspiracy theory Posted: 06 May 2020 07:26 AM PDT  Engineers have also had cars driven at them, and one was stabbed and hospitalised per the CEO of BT.
|
| U.S. says Russia is working with Syria's Assad to move militia to Libya Posted: 07 May 2020 11:22 AM PDT  The United States does not support the offensive of Libya's eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar against Tripoli and believes Russia is working with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer militia fighters and equipment to Libya, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. Haftar launched a war a year ago to grab the capital Tripoli and other parts of northwestern Libya.
|
| A Kansas farmer who donated one of his only N95 masks to New York was given a bachelor's degree by the same university he dropped out of in 1971 Posted: 06 May 2020 01:10 PM PDT  Farmer Dennis Ruhnke wrote New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo a letter and urged him to pass along the unused N95 mask to a worker who needed it.
|
| N. Korea lashes South as Kim praises China's Xi Posted: 07 May 2020 07:11 PM PDT  North Korea condemned the South Friday for holding military drills, saying the situation was returning to before the diplomatic rapprochement of 2018, as leader Kim Jong Un -- whose health was the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks -- reached out to traditional ally Beijing. Kim sent Chinese leader Xi Jinping a diplomatic communication congratulating him for China's "success" in controlling the novel coronavirus epidemic, the state news agency KCNA reported. Kim told Xi he was as pleased with China's successes as his own, KCNA reported, adding he "sent militant greetings to every member of the Communist Party of China".
|
| Meghan McCain Goes Off on Kayleigh McEnany for ‘Spinning Propaganda’ Posted: 07 May 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Meghan McCain, The View's resident conservative host, tore into Kayleigh McEnany for "spinning propaganda" on Thursday morning after the new White House press secretary dismissed the need for increased coronavirus testing as the economy reopens.During her press briefing on Wednesday, McEnany said it was "nonsensical" to think that every American should be able to get tested for coronavirus, even though President Donald Trump said two months earlier that "anybody that wants a test can get a test." The hosts of The View took the press secretary to task over those remarks.Co-host Sunny Hostin said she found it "shocking" that the White House spokesperson would say that considering recent news that one of the president's personal valets just tested positive for the virus."So it's obviously important enough for everyone in the White House and surrounding the president to be tested for the coronavirus, but it's not important to the press secretary and to the administration for Americans to be tested for the coronavirus," she declared. "And so that tells me that she is just spinning lies to the American people rather than being honest with the American people."After first saying there has been "mixed messaging" coming not just from the White House but from medical experts since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, McCain went on to blast McEnany as a propagandist."I think in regards to Kayleigh McEnany, she was hired for this job because she's good at spinning propaganda, and she was good spinning propaganda before she got hired," she exclaimed. "And you can make the argument that's the role of any press secretaries but it's probably a little more egregious with this particular president."The conservative co-host then worried aloud that we were reaching a tipping point on saving the economy, criticizing the Trump administration for not taking the necessary steps to safely reopen the country."If we don't start getting a plan to get testing, to somehow pull ourselves out of this and get America back to work," she proclaimed. "This is going to be far more egregious than any crisis any of us have seen in all of our lifetimes." "If the tests aren't important, why is the White House, and everybody else getting tested before they go before the president?" McCain concluded. "I would like to go back to work. I know you would, and I would be comfortable doing that if we all had the capacity to get tested."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.
|
| Regulators waive $200M fine on PG&E for causing deadly fires Posted: 07 May 2020 01:58 PM PDT  California regulators on Thursday suspended a $200 million fine against Pacific Gas & Electric as punishment for the utility's neglect of electrical equipment that ignited a series of deadly wildfires in Northern California. The waiver approved in a unanimous vote by California's Public Utilities Commission will deprive the state coffers of money to help offset losses income and sales taxes as the coronavirus pandemic pushes the state into a $54 billion budget deficit. PG&E resisted the fine on the grounds that it would threaten its ability to raise the tens of billions of dollars needed to finance its complex plan to emerge from bankruptcy by a June 30 deadline.
|
| Gypsy moth: US has another bug to worry about after ‘murder hornets’ Posted: 07 May 2020 10:25 AM PDT  Washington governor Jay Inslee has issued an emergency warning about a possible infestation of gypsy moths, just days after scientists revealed dangerous Asian hornets had been spotted in the state.Both Asian gypsy moths and Asian-European hybrid gypsy moths pose a threat to Washington, according to the governor.
|
| Tara Reade calls on Biden to 'be held accountable' and exit the race Posted: 07 May 2020 07:08 PM PDT  In her first on-camera interview since the former vice president "unequivocally" denied the sexual assault allegation, Reade says she's willing to be questioned under oath.
|
| GOP Sen. Richard Burr's brother-in-law, a Trump appointee, dumped up to $280,000 in stocks the same day Burr did before the market plunged Posted: 06 May 2020 05:27 PM PDT  Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has access to the federal government's most classified and sensitive information.
|
| New Jersey 'Bridgegate' scandal convictions tossed by U.S. Supreme Court Posted: 07 May 2020 07:12 AM PDT  Two aides to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who were at the center of the "Bridgegate" scandal engaged in corruption and abuse of power but not criminal acts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday as it unanimously threw out their convictions and placed new limits on political corruption prosecutions. The justices sided with Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, both convicted for their roles in a scheme to engineer traffic chaos in September 2013 on the world's busiest bridge to punish a local Democratic mayor who refused to endorse Republican Christie's gubernatorial re-election bid.
|
| Scared to Return to Work Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic? These Federal Laws Could Grant You Some Protections Posted: 06 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT  Federal labor laws also offer protections to American workers who feel unsafe. Here's what to know about those rights
|
| Virus crisis leaves thousands of cruise ship crew stuck at sea Posted: 07 May 2020 06:35 PM PDT  The cruise industry has taken a beating during the coronavirus crisis -- on-board outbreaks, refusal of port access and now no clear idea of when ships can sail once again. While the passengers have headed home, the journey drags on for tens of thousands of crew members who are stranded at sea aboard their vessels, with no end in sight. Saldanha shares a cabin with his 29-year-old girlfriend Jessica Furlan, who hosted on-board activities for passengers.
|
| Texas governor amends lockdown and orders salon owner freed from jail Posted: 07 May 2020 05:44 PM PDT  The governor's order names the Dallas hairdresser who was jailed on Tuesday for staying open.
|
| New Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Most Americans deny Trump’s response is a ‘success story’ Posted: 06 May 2020 04:26 PM PDT  Nearly half of Americans believe the United States would be faring better in the current coronavirus pandemic if Barack Obama were president instead of President Trump, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
|
