| QAnon follower wins Senate primary in Oregon Posted: 20 May 2020 08:38 AM PDT  Jo Rae Perkins is a former county chairwoman for the party who prevailed in a four-candidate race and will face incumbent Democrat Jeff Merkley in November.
|
| White House says the Trump administration is 'keeping people safe' at airports despite a lack of coronavirus screening Posted: 20 May 2020 04:14 PM PDT  Amid growing concerns over a lack of screening for the coronavirus at U.S. airports, WH press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday the Trump administration was taking the issue seriously.
|
| China does not seem to understand independence of Canada's judiciary: Trudeau Posted: 21 May 2020 09:46 AM PDT  China does not appear to understand that Canada's judiciary is independent, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, taking a rare public swipe at Beijing at a time when bilateral ties are poor. China says Canada must free Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition to the United States.
|
| Tornado in Indonesia kills 2, damages hundreds of homes Posted: 20 May 2020 11:42 PM PDT |
| This Stunning Home in the Middle of Los Angeles Was Inspired by Louis Kahn Posted: 21 May 2020 01:42 PM PDT |
| Michael Flynn asks appeals court to intervene in his case and assign him to a different judge Posted: 21 May 2020 02:24 PM PDT  Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn's attorneys argued that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has abused his discretion.
|
| Crump wants Ahmaud Arbery prosecutor to see young man as someone who ‘could have been her child’ Posted: 20 May 2020 05:07 PM PDT  Ahmaud Arbery family attorney Benjamin Crump is "cautiously optimistic" that the newly appointed prosecutor, Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, will ensure justice. "We want this black woman to think of Ahmaud as somebody who could have been her child," Crump said.
|
| Elizabeth Warren signals she might be willing to set aside Medicare-for-all as part of Biden VP bid Posted: 21 May 2020 09:10 AM PDT  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is seemingly trying to get on former Vice President Joe Biden's good side.During the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Warren consistently shouted down Biden's centrist policies, especially when it came to her and Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) shared demand for Medicare-for-all. But as recently as this week, Warren argued that "expanding the Affordable Care Act" is the first step in getting to single-payer health care — the latest in a series of compromises and compliments that could signal she wants to be Biden's No. 2, Politico reports.While the other women who ended their 2020 campaigns and Stacy Abrams are still being discussed as potential running mates for Biden, Warren's chances have seemingly risen over the past few weeks. Biden has repeatedly complimented her dozens of coronavirus policy plans, as well as her questioning of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin regarding coronavirus relief funds. Biden and Warren even co-wrote an op-ed criticizing the Trump administration's lack of oversight of those funds. Sources also tell Politico that Biden and Warren's camps have been collaborating on economic policies over the past few weeks.This reported collaboration doesn't seem to be driving Warren to the center, though. She was quick to add that expanding Obamacare is only a stepping stone in getting to Medicare-for-all, which isn't so different from how she praised the Obama administration's health care work during primary debates. Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Is QAnon the newest American religion? Trump's lethal aversion to reading We should be grateful for good news in Georgia
|
| Nearly 600 workers from Tyson chicken plant test positive for virus Posted: 21 May 2020 07:20 AM PDT  More than 2,200 from the Wilkesboro, North Carolina processing plant were tested. It had been shut five days for deep cleaning.
|
| Whitmer says she's not ready to welcome Trump, but he's coming to Michigan anyway Posted: 20 May 2020 02:22 PM PDT  Virtually every poll has found that most of Michigan supports the measures Whitmer has implemented, with one placing her approval rating for coronavirus response at 72 percent.
|
| Terrorism Motive Suspected in Naval Base Shooting, Second Suspect at Large Posted: 21 May 2020 05:21 AM PDT  Authorities believe a shooting that injured one person at a south Texas naval base on Thursday morning was terrorism-related.The suspect attempted to ram a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi with a vehicle at around 6:15 a.m., a U.S. defense official told CNN.Security guards deployed a barrier to stop the vehicle but the suspect then got out and started firing, the official said.The gunman was then "neutralized" by a security guard, the FBI said. One member of the naval security forces was injured but was in "good condition," the U.S. Navy said. It wasn't immediately clear if the injured person was also the person who took the shooter down.FBI Senior Supervisory Agent Leah Greeves said in a Thursday afternoon briefing that the agency believed the incident was motivated by terrorism, and they were looking for a second person of interest.The base sounded the alarm with a Facebook post early Thursday, writing that an apparent shooter had been sighted near the station's north gate. The warning instructed anyone who was close to the gate to "get out and away to safety" as the rest of the base was ordered to go into its lockdown procedure.Shortly after the initial statement, the base confirmed in a separate Facebook post that the immediate danger appeared to be over.The statement read: "Naval Security Forces at NAS Corpus Christi responded to an active shooter at approximately 6:15 a.m. this morning. The shooter has been neutralized. All gates on the installation remain closed while first responders process the scene. NCIS and local law enforcement are on scene."In a further update, the base wrote, "The active shooter is neutralized, however the scene is not clear. Remain in a lockdown status. For your safety, do not move around the base unless cleared to do so."It's the second terrorism-related attack on a U.S. naval base in less than six months.In December, a gunman killed three men and injured eight others at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. The shooter, Saudi Arabian aviation student Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, was participating in a training exchange program with the U.S. Navy. He was killed at the scene.Prior to the shooting, he'd reportedly hosted a dinner party with three other Saudi students and had watched videos of U.S. mass shootings.Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the December shooting. The FBI had confirmed just three days ago that it was the first terrorist attack on American territory that had been directed by a foreign actor since 9/11.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.
|
| Italy arrests Sicily's coronavirus tsar on corruption charge Posted: 21 May 2020 07:51 AM PDT  Sicily's coronavirus emergency coordinator was arrested along with nine other people on Thursday on suspicion of corruption and rigging of health sector tenders while in his previous role, police on the Italian island said. Antonino Candela was allegedly part of a "power base made up of businessmen and corrupt public officials" the police statement said, referring to activity before he became head of Sicily's coronavirus response unit. Candela, who is under house arrest, was not immediately available for comment.
|
| India-Nepal territorial dispute flares over road to Tibet Posted: 21 May 2020 02:36 AM PDT  A long-running territorial dispute between India and Nepal has flared over a new Indian-built road to a revered Hindu pilgrimage site in Tibet that Nepal says passes through its territory. India has issued a strongly worded statement in which it objected to a new map issued by the Nepalese government showing the disputed areas as part of Nepal. "This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence," India said in the statement late Wednesday.
|
| N.J. woman accused of fatally beating wife with wine chiller captured in Texas Posted: 21 May 2020 01:01 PM PDT  Officials said Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus traveled to Houston by bus from New York City.
|
| Woman 'knocked to the ground and injured' by bison at Yellowstone, two days after national park's reopening Posted: 20 May 2020 08:12 PM PDT  Two days after Yellowstone National Park reopened amid the coronavirus outbreak, the park reported its first bison-related injury of the year.
|
| ‘Almost hard to believe’: Joe Biden attacks antisemitism on the left in US and UK Posted: 20 May 2020 05:47 AM PDT  Joe Biden has issued criticism against those whose condemnation of Israeli politics veered towards antisemitism."Criticism of Israel's policy is not antisemitism," the presumptive Democratic nominee for president told donors on Tuesday. "But too often that criticism from the left morphs into antisemitism."
|
| Colombia: outrage as warlord's son picked to lead victim support project Posted: 21 May 2020 03:15 AM PDT  * Jorge Rodrigo Tovar's appointment 'offensive' – survivors * Father 'Jorge 40' terrorised civilians along Caribbean coastThe son of a notorious death squad leader has been appointed to run the Colombian government's programmes for victims of the country's long civil war, prompting fury among survivors.Jorge Rodrigo Tovar was this week put in charge of a scheme for compensating victims of the conflict – many of whom were terrorised by his father, Rodrigo Tovar, better known in Colombia as "Jorge 40".During the late 90s and early 2000s, the elder Tovar led the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (or AUC) – which was responsible for a string of massacres and the murder of hundreds of civilians along Colombia's Caribbean coast.In February 2000, militiamen under his command tortured and dismembered over 60 peasant farmers in the isolated village of El Salado, in one of the worst single acts of violence in the five-decade war. Victims – including a six-year old girl and an elderly woman – were stabbed, beaten and strangled to death.Iveth Jiménez's father, Víctor Manuel, a union leader, was forcibly disappeared in 2002 by members of Jorge 40's militia. She was aghast at the news that his son was now coordinating the government's response to victims."They have no right to play with the memory of all those that Jorge 40 has murdered, tortured, disappeared and displaced," said Jiménez. "It's offensive, it's insensitive and it's plain wrong."Her sentiments were echoed by Luz Marina Hache, the spokeswoman for Movice, a group representing victims of crimes committed by state agents."What justice can victims hope for with this announcement?" Hache asked.The conflict between the Colombian state and leftist rebel groups including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or Farc) left 260,000 dead and displaced over 7 million. State-aligned paramilitary groups, like the one led by Jorge 40, committed some of the bloodiest atrocities of the 52-year civil war.In 2004, Jorge 40 participated in a controversial demobilisation programme and confessed to about 600 crimes, though he took no blame for any murders. Evidence on his laptop showed that the AUC often collaborated with members of the government.Jorge 40 was extradited to the US in 2008 and is serving a 16-year sentence for drug trafficking offenses. He did not face any charges in American courts related to his militia's conduct during the war.Little is known about the younger Tovar, 30, a lawyer who has participated in several events with former members of the Farc, who themselves demobilised in 2016 following a historic peace deal.Speaking to local magazine Semana, Tovar said he has no intention to resign from his new job. "Everything that is going on fills me with the promise," he said, "to show that I do good work and that the work can speak for me."Some observers saw his new post as evidence of reconciliation in action. Political scientist Katherine Miranda described his appointment as "an example of reconciliation and peace", tweeting: "He shows that hatred and useless wars cannot be inherited, instead turning the page and moving on."
|
| Whitmer says Michigan will 'hold people responsible' for dam failures Posted: 20 May 2020 01:39 PM PDT  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said Wednesday that the state will "hold people responsible" for two dam failures Tuesday that caused severe flooding and forced 10,000 evacuations in areas along the Tittabawassee River.Whitmer said the dam failures were a known threat (regulators had revoked the Edenville dam's license in 2018 over its ability to handle floods) and Michigan will review "every legal recourse that we have" in its investigation into what caused the catastrophe.The flooding, which Whitmer said has been described by experts as a "500-year event," will likely have lasting consequences for the state, which is already dealing with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic. The governor promised to take aggressive action and procure aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal outlets, the Detroit Free Press reports.As for the flooding, Midland, Michigan's city manager said the peak is expected by Wednesday evening when water will have flooded an additional three feet. Read more at the Detroit Free Press.More stories from theweek.com Is QAnon the newest American religion? Trump's lethal aversion to reading We should be grateful for good news in Georgia
|
| White House senior staff wore face masks with 'Made in Taiwan' tags, signaling a diplomatic victory for the country over China Posted: 20 May 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Jared Kushner and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany wore face masks from Taiwan, despite China's demand Taiwan be kept out of WHO.
|
| Judgment on key aspect of Huawei CFO's extradition trial in Canada due next Wednesday Posted: 21 May 2020 02:32 PM PDT  Meng was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport at the request of the United States on charges of bank fraud, and is accused of misleading HSBC about a Huawei Technologies Co Ltd-owned [HWT.UL]company's dealings with Iran. Meng, 48, has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
|
| Trump administration prepares to leave Open Skies Treaty Posted: 21 May 2020 04:16 PM PDT  The Trump administration has made a final decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty.
|
| Tech giants are embracing remote work. Others may follow Posted: 21 May 2020 01:56 PM PDT  Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter — were the first to send their employees home as the virus spread to the U.S. Now they're among the last to return them to the office. The companies are studying what their highly-paid, highly-valued employees want, using their own technology to make remote work easier and looking to hire new workers outside of big city hubs. It's a potentially huge turnaround after years in which companies like Amazon and Google chased scarce tech talent by opening or expanding offices in hip urban locations such as San Francisco and New York.
|
| The US father-son duo accused of masterminding Ghosn's Japan escape Posted: 20 May 2020 12:39 PM PDT  The American men accused of smuggling former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn out of Japan are a former US special forces operative who spent time in prison and his football-playing son. On the surface, Michael Taylor, 59, and Peter Taylor, 27, appeared to be living a quintessential American middle-class life in the small, wealthy town of Harvard, Massachusetts.
|
| Brutal beating in Iowa should be investigated as hate crime, NAACP says Posted: 20 May 2020 05:05 PM PDT  A black man was leaving his girlfriend's house when he was attacked by white men who accused him of being a burglar, according to the civil rights organization.
|
| Biden asks Amy Klobuchar to undergo vetting to be running mate Posted: 21 May 2020 01:25 PM PDT  She's one of several potential contenders now being scrutinized by Biden aides ahead of a final decision.
|
| A tourist was injured after approaching a bison at Yellowstone just days after the park reopened Posted: 20 May 2020 07:21 PM PDT  From 2000 to 2015, at least 25 people were injured by bison at Yellowstone, 21 of them tourists, most of whom approached the animal.
|
| The Voices of Black and Brown People Matter–and They're Finally Being Heard Posted: 21 May 2020 03:24 AM PDT  The voices of black and brown people matter--and they're finally being heard
|
| An Apple whistleblower has publicly slammed the company, claiming it violated 'fundamental rights' after Siri recorded users' intimate moments without consent Posted: 20 May 2020 01:51 AM PDT  Thomas le Bonniec revealed last year that while working for Apple he overheard Siri users' private moments including drug deals and people having sex.
|
| China will not flinch in face of U.S. confrontation: government official Posted: 21 May 2020 08:50 AM PDT  China will not flinch from any escalation in tensions with the United states, but believes economic cooperation and recovery should be the top priority, a Chinese government official said on Thursday. Bilateral ties between China and the United States have soured as Washington has accused Beijing of mishandling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and blamed it for job losses and business closures caused by the pandemic. "China won't start any trouble, but won't flinch from trouble either," Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the Chinese parliament, told reporters at a media briefing ahead of the start of the annual parliamentary session on Friday.
|
| U.S. aircrafts gather in Japan Posted: 21 May 2020 09:17 AM PDT  U.S. Air Force transport aircraft on Thursday massed at Washington's key Asian military air transportation hub, Yokota Air Base in Japan, to show potential foes and allies it was ready for action despite the coronavirus emergency.
|
| Study: Philippines a global hot spot for online child abuse Posted: 21 May 2020 12:40 AM PDT  The Philippines has emerged as a global hot spot for online child sexual exploitation, and coronavirus lockdowns that restrict millions to their homes may be worsening the abuses, a U.S. official said Thursday. A new study released by the Washington-based International Justice Mission on Thursday said Philippine cases of online child sexual exploitation have increased sharply in recent years with parents agreeing to have their own children victimized for the money. The private group has helped track down and prosecute offenders in the Philippines.
|
| Trump steps up anti-China rhetoric threatening 'very strong' response if Hong Kong law passes Posted: 21 May 2020 11:20 AM PDT  Donald Trump warned China that the US would respond "very strongly" if Beijing imposed tighter control over Hong Kong, as tensions rise between the two countries amid fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. China's government announced that national security legislation for Hong Kong will be proposed at its annual 'rubber stamp' parliamentary sessions, which opened yesterday, in the latest sign from Beijing plans to crack down on pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous territory. "If it happens, we'll address that very strongly," Mr Trump said as he took questions from the White House on Thursday. Mr Trump has stepped up his attacks on China over the coronavirus pandemic in recent days, appearing to directly blame Chinese president Xi Jinping for a campaign of "disinformation" that helped spread Covid-19 around the world. In a rare shot at his Chinese counterpart, the US president tweeted on Wednesday night: "It all comes from the top. They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn't!" Mr Trump's comments came as a study suggested that around 36,000 fewer Americans would have died from the pandemic if the US had imposed social distancing measures just one week earlier than it did in mid-March.
|
| Waffle House suspect was told to wear mask, Colorado police say Posted: 20 May 2020 04:28 PM PDT  A cook at the eatery was hospitalized and released, authorities said.
|
| How Joe Biden is working to win over progressive voters Posted: 21 May 2020 02:18 PM PDT  While Biden is making inroads with top progressive groups, several leaders noted they still want to know more about Biden's plans for incorporating their values into his agenda.
|
| Grandmother ordered to delete Facebook photos under GDPR Posted: 21 May 2020 10:09 AM PDT  Privacy laws mean a grandmother needs her daughter's permission to post photos of her grandchildren.
|
| Rand Paul, Andy Biggs: Anthony Fauci wants America closed until there's nothing to reopen Posted: 21 May 2020 08:18 AM PDT  Maybe Anthony Fauci is out of touch with how many Americans are suffering due to our economic shutdown, but our country cannot afford to stay closed.
|
| Wuhan has banned eating wild animals and nearby provinces are offering farmers cash to stop breeding exotic livestock Posted: 21 May 2020 04:30 AM PDT  China's fur trade will continue, though, and farmers can still raise wild animals for medicine, entertainment, or research.
|
| US warns India of China 'aggression' at border Posted: 20 May 2020 01:34 PM PDT  The United States on Wednesday accused China of employing border clashes with India to try to shift the status quo, and encouraged New Delhi to resist. Alice Wells, the top US diplomat for South Asia, drew parallels between the growing skirmishes in the Himalayas and Beijing's years of increasing assertiveness in the dispute-rife South China Sea.
|
| New infections mar South Korean students' return to school Posted: 19 May 2020 07:45 PM PDT  The discovery of new coronavirus cases in two students marred the reopening of South Korean schools on Wednesday, forcing 75 high schools to turn pupils away amid fears among some teachers that it was unsafe for classes to resume. The beginning of the spring semester had been postponed several times since March as South Korea battled the first large coronavirus outbreak outside China, with classes held online.
|
| Lawmakers: FAA certification of new planes needs an overhaul Posted: 20 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  The Federal Aviation Administration outlined steps to change how it approves new passenger planes, but lawmakers said they will push ahead with legislation to change the current system that lets aircraft makers including Boeing play a key role in the certification process. The FAA has been under pressure to change its certification process after failing to catch problems with new flight-control technology on the Boeing 737 Max. Design problems have been blamed for two crashes that killed 346 people. For decades, the FAA has relied on employees of aircraft makers to vouch for the safe design of components on planes.
|
| ‘Bill Gates Wants Us to Get It’: The Deranged Scene at Trump’s Ford Factory Tour Posted: 21 May 2020 02:10 PM PDT  YPSILANTI, MI—There may have been only a few hundred MAGA faithful gathered Thursday afternoon for Donald Trump's latest visit to a factory churning out essential gear for the fight against COVID-19, but the right-wing carnival energy essential to his bygone arena rallies was in full effect.So was the bizarro circus over the president of the United States' distaste for protective masks. Loud country music blared from a pickup truck. A supporter waved a flag portraying Trump as a muscle-bound GI Joe with a machine gun. Another held a sign portraying Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer—who has emerged as a bête noire of the right for her aggressive efforts to rein in the coronavirus outbreak—with a Hitler mustache. It was a small-but-mighty welcome for a president making a legally fraught visit to the nearby Ford Rawsonville Plant, a facility that has been retooled to produce the same ventilators the president has suggested panicked governors may not even need.FEMA Tells States to Hand Public Health Data Over to PalantirSome Trump fans wore masks, and the president actually claimed to wear one at one point. But plenty of true believers followed their man's lead in flouting the bare minimum for protective equipment amid a raging outbreak."Remember Pig Pen, who had a cloud of dust around him at all times?" Ann Arbor resident Joe Miriani asked The Daily Beast. "That's what the virus is like. A mask isn't going to stop that." A slew of controversies preceded this latest presidential foray to the Wolverine State. The Ford tour technically came in violation of Whitmer's emergency order to avoid tours of manufacturing plants, and Ford noted its policies required mask use. Trump, of course, would not commit to doing so. Trump's visit also came a day after he threatened to cut off funds to Michigan because of alleged (and likely nonexistent) voter fraud; the president falsely claimed that Secretary Of State Jocelyn Benson was mailing absentee ballots to voters. And it was immediately preceded by the state Attorney General Dana Nessel warning that if the president failed to mask up, he might be obstructed from such visits in the future.Surrounded by masked Ford executives and reporters, however, Trump insisted—as he's done other times—that he placed the mask on in an area away from the press. "I had one on before. I wore one in this back area," he loudly asserted. "But I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. No, I had it on in the back area—I did put a mask on."After the president waved off the need to wear a mask—despite the facility's policies—by pointing to a recent negative coronavirus test, he was asked if wearing one would at least set a good example to other Americans."I think it sets an example both ways," the president declared before once again claiming he was masked earlier."I think I look better in the mask," Trump told reporters, holding up a mask that was handed to him. Trump, however, did not place the mask on his face.Ford later released a statement backing Trump's claim that he was briefly masked, noting that executive chairman Bill Ford encouraged the president to wear a mask throughout the tour, and Trump later removed it for the rest of the visit. Images also emerged of the president wearing a face mask while viewing classic cars.But some of the Trump supporters on hand had more fringe concerns. Miriani, for one, said he had no interest in being vaccinated against the disease that has killed over 90,000 Americans."One primary reason why—Bill Gates wants us to get it," he told The Daily Beast, referring to the conspiracy theory that the Microsoft founder is somehow behind the coronavirus. "That's going to make him a ton of money." In reality, few regions in the nation have been hit harder by COVID-19 than southeast Michigan, and Whitmer in March enacted some of the nation's strictest stay-at-home orders to slow the virus' deadly spread. That's led to protests on the right, and those in attendance on Thursday echoed ongoing rage at the government's insistence on limiting movement."I'm totally against that," Kathryn Prater, 42, a Bernie Sanders-to-Trump voter in 2016 who said she'll vote for Trump again because she can't stomach Joe Biden, told The Daily Beast. "After about 30 days of this, I started losing my mind a bit, so I was like, You know what: If I'm going to get sick, then I'm going to get sick. It's mostly affecting old people. We've got to live our lives." Unlike Trump, his supporters in Michigan didn't seem to think the president should withhold emergency aid from the state, especially in light of recent flooding that displaced tens of thousands of residents near Midland. When asked about the threat during his tour of the Ypsilanti plant, the president said, "I'm not gonna discuss that, there are so many forms of funding, we're not going to discuss that—what we want is good, straight, honest voting." But, like Trump, his assembled fans were suspicious of mail-in ballots despite a lack of evidence that they have been used to carry out fraud—and the obvious appeal during a pandemic. Prater claimed her mother who recently died got an application in the mail, while Todd Elwart, of Sanford in Midland County, said the method simply wasn't trustworthy.More than anything else, though, strange takes on the science behind the outbreak were inescapable. Miriani questioned governors in coastal states who closed beaches, arguing—without any basis in science or epidemiology, of course—that they should be encouraging people to go in the ocean. "That's saltwater. Salt kills things. It's a cleans-ifier. Here we got the governor of California saying, 'You can't go to the beaches, instead you can stay home and fester with your viruses.' That don't make sense." With reporting from Justin BaragonaRead 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.
|
| Sept. 11 convict now says he renounces terrorism, bin Laden Posted: 20 May 2020 08:18 AM PDT  The only man ever convicted in a U.S. court for a role in the Sept. 11 attacks now says he is renouncing terrorism, al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Colorado after narrowly escaping the death penalty at his 2006 trial. Instead, prosecutors pinned responsibility on Moussaoui because they said he could have prevented the attacks if he had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of al-Qaida and its efforts to attack the U.S. when he was arrested in August 2001.
|
| Biden's vice president shortlist emerges, as Demings says she's being vetted Posted: 21 May 2020 03:49 PM PDT  Biden has said he expects the vetting process to take five to eight weeks, which would point to an announcement occurring no sooner than July.
|
| Cyclone kills at least 82 in India and Bangladesh Posted: 21 May 2020 09:48 AM PDT 
The most powerful cyclone to strike eastern India and Bangladesh in over a decade has killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes. Cyclone Amphan barrelled in from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday (May 20) with winds of up to 115 miles per hour. It caused a storm surge of around five meters and mass flooding across low-lying coastal areas. At least 82 have been killed, according to rescue officials, but that number is expected to rise. Authorities in both countries managed to evacuate more than 3 million people, moving them to storm shelters before the cyclone struck. But the evacuation effort was focused on communities that lay directly in the cyclone's path. Many villages on the edges were left vulnerable. The airport in West Bengal's state capital of Kolkata is under water. According to residents there, several neighborhoods in the city of 14 million people have had no electricity since the storm struck. Rescue operations have been complicated by efforts to avoid the spread of coronavirus. Police said some people were unwilling to go to the shelters out of fear of contracting the disease. Designated a super cyclone, Amphan has weakened since making landfall. Moving inland through Bangladesh, it was downgraded to a cyclonic storm on Thursday (May 21) by the Indian weather office. The storm is expected to subside later into a depression.
|
| Swimming during the pandemic: What the CDC wants you to know before you hit the pool Posted: 21 May 2020 08:31 AM PDT  The CDC has published recommendations for reopening swimming pools, including frequent disinfection of surfaces like ladders, showers and deck chairs.
|
| Facebook is 'opening up remote hiring aggressively' and expects half of its employees may be remote by 2030 Posted: 21 May 2020 10:37 AM PDT  Facebook just announced one of the most ambitious remote-work policies of any major tech company yet.
|
| Chechen leader hospitalised with suspected coronavirus: reports Posted: 21 May 2020 01:11 PM PDT  The strongman leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was in hospital in Moscow on Thursday suffering from suspected coronavirus, news agencies reported. News agency RIA Novosti also quoted a medical source as saying that Kadyrov, 43, was in hospital in Moscow, while Interfax quoted a Moscow medical source saying he was being treated and was "suspected of having coronavirus".
|
| Coronavirus: New rules for flyers as India looks to start domestic flights Posted: 21 May 2020 12:20 AM PDT  Flights were stopped two months ago when India imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
|
| U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bid to halt Idaho transgender inmate's surgery Posted: 21 May 2020 04:18 PM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a transgender prison inmate in Idaho to go ahead with sex reassignment surgery, rejecting the state's bid to put it on hold. The decision by the justices means that the surgery for the inmate, Adree Edmo, which is scheduled for July, will remain on the calendar while they consider whether to hear the state of Idaho's appeal in the case. The brief court order noted that two of the nine justices, conservatives Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, would have granted the state's request that the surgery be put on hold.
|
