| Contrasting responses to COVID-19 restrictions highlights split among evangelical Christians Posted: 24 Oct 2020 05:01 AM PDT  In May, journalist Mindy Belz was frustrated by the way she saw white conservative Christians in America responding to the pandemic. Belz, by contrast, told Yahoo News that her tweet in May was driven by disappointment in the response of many American Christians to COVID-19.
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| Why is QAnon more obsessed with an imaginary sex-trafficking ring than with Jeffrey Epstein’s real one? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:31 PM PDT  Epstein's long history of sexual misconduct, on private islands, in his Florida mansion, aboard yachts and and his private jet, with a who's who of powerful "elites" including former President Bill Clinton (who denies having had a close relationship with Epstein or any knowledge of his crimes), is probably the closest real-world analogue of the imaginary global sex-trafficking ring at the core of the QAnon conspiracy.
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| Family of hiker missing for 2 weeks in Mount Rainier pushes for active search Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:09 PM PDT  Sam Dubal, 33, went missing while on an overnight trip that began Oct. 9. His family is pleading for three more days of searching.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is heavily favored to win her reelection race. Her challenger has still raised $10 million because Republicans are desperate to beat her. Posted: 25 Oct 2020 09:22 AM PDT  "I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him," a Republican strategist told The New York Times.
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| Nigeria protests: Police chief deploys 'all resources' amid street violence Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:43 AM PDT  The shooting of unarmed protesters this week sparked the worst street violence in two decades.
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| Archbishop Pizzaballa appointed Jerusalem Patriarch Posted: 24 Oct 2020 12:05 PM PDT  Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Vatican's apostolic administrator in the Holy Land, has been named as the new Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Francis. Pizzaballa, 55, a Franciscan friar, has served as the acting Patriarch for four years and has steered the diocese through a financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, when the churches at the birthplace of Christianity were closed throughout its holiest season, Easter. In ordinary years, the Holy Land would be preparing for an influx of pilgrims over Christmas - but the outbreak has dealt a heavy blow to tourism in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth, home to some of its most famous churches.
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| JetBlue bans white man, donning Burger King crown, after racist scene on New York-bound flight Posted: 24 Oct 2020 07:12 AM PDT |
| Voting across the US live updates: Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in Texas poll; New Hampshire can't ban armed voters; Facebook threat Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:17 PM PDT  The latest in voting news, including Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in a new Texas poll and New Hampshire saying it can't keep armed voters away.
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| Gottlieb warns of "dangerous tipping point" as virus spread accelerates Posted: 25 Oct 2020 09:29 AM PDT  "These cases are going to continue to build. There's really no backstop here," Gottlieb said on "Face the Nation."
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| Singapore Airlines doesn't want to dethrone its original world's longest flight even though the new one is 3 miles longer – here's how the two will differ Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:45 AM PDT  The new Singapore-New York route is one of the few new international routes to launch during the pandemic, but the airline is keeping it low-key.
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| Elderly couple who wouldn't evacuate killed in Colorado wildfire Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:20 PM PDT  The couple, in their 80s, cherished their home and refused to leave, the sheriff and family said. There are no other known missing people in the blaze.
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| Black contractor braves threats in removing Richmond statues Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:07 AM PDT  Devon Henry paced in nervous anticipation, because this was a project like nothing he'd ever done. An accomplished Black businessman, Henry took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do: lead contractor for the now-completed removal of 14 pieces of Confederate statuary that dotted Virginia's capital city. "You did it, man," said Rodney Henry.
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| Cameroon: Children killed in attack on school in Kumba Posted: 24 Oct 2020 12:13 PM PDT  Officials have blamed Anglophone secessionists for the attack on a private school in a restive region.
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| 'Murder hornet' nest vacuumed out of tree in Washington Posted: 24 Oct 2020 06:01 PM PDT  The state's agricultural department said it had spent weeks searching for and trapping the hornets, which attack honeybee hives and could pose a threat to humans, because they can sting repeatedly with venom that is stronger than a honeybee's. The state's entomologists succeeded by attaching radio trackers to three hornets they had trapped earlier in the week, one of which they followed to the nest, located in a tree near Blaine, Washington, on Thursday.
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| Ethiopia blasts Trump remark that Egypt will 'blow up' dam Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:10 AM PDT 
Ethiopia on Saturday denounced "belligerent threats" by President Trump over the huge dam it has nearly completed on the Blue Nile River. This comes a day after Trump said downstream Egypt will "blow up" the project it has called an existential threat.
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| Trump reportedly doesn't 'want to help some' GOP senators amid warnings of 'potentially catastrophic' election Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:13 AM PDT  Josh Holmes, a top adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), told Politico he thinks the Republican Party could win more Senate races than people expect on Nov. 3, but the fact that there are so many close contests means "you could have a whole bunch of scenarios play out on Election Day." The worst-case scenario for the GOP, he said, is "potentially catastrophic."As it turns out, the party may not get that much help from President Trump when it comes to avoiding such a fate. Trump privately told donors this past Thursday at a fundraiser in Nashville, Tennessee, that he isn't sure the party will maintain its Senate majority, The Washington Post reports. "I think the Senate is tough actually," Trump said at the event, an attendee told the Post on condition of anonymity. "The Senate is very tough. There are a couple senators I can't really get involved in. I just can't do it. You lose your soul if you do. I can't help some of them. I don't want to help some of them."Instead, the president reportedly said he believes the GOP will "take back the House," a stance that he made clear during Thursday's presidential debate, as well. Trump's optimism about the lower chamber isn't shared by many Republican officials and strategists, who consider it a long shot. Read more at Politico and The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| 'An incredibly tragic day for Ocala': Florida police chief Greg Graham killed in plane crash Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:15 PM PDT  The death of Greg Graham, who became Ocala's 30th police chief in January 2012, stunned the central Florida city northwest of Orlando.
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| 'Toxic': CDC staffers say morale inside the agency has plummeted during the pandemic Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  One CDC staffer said a Trump victory in November could be a "tipping point" for a mass exodus of employees.
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| CNN's Jake Tapper presses White House chief of staff after new round of coronavirus cases among top officials Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:20 AM PDT 
CNN's Jake Tapper grilled White House chief of staff Mark Meadows after it was revealed that top aides to Vice President Pence tested positive for COVID-19. Under CDC guidelines, this development would call for Pence, who has been in close contact with them, to self-isolate. But Pence is still hitting the campaign trail.
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| Nigeria's police order massive mobilization after unrest Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:46 AM PDT  Nigeria's top police official on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilization of all officers to "reclaim the public space from criminal elements masquerading as protesters" after days of unrest and demonstrations over police abuses that left at least 69 people dead. The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa's most populous country after some of its worst turmoil in years. Nigeria's inspector general of police, M.A. Adamu, ordered colleagues to "dominate the public space" while announcing that enough is enough, a statement said.
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| More mass testing in China after 137 virus cases in Xinjiang Posted: 25 Oct 2020 09:40 AM PDT  Chinese officials were racing Sunday to smother a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the country's far northwest after 137 new infections were discovered.
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| Majority of Biden, Trump supporters will accept election results no matter who wins, poll shows Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:41 AM PDT  President Trump has stirred up controversy by giving some evasive answers on what he'll do if he fails to win re-election on Nov. 3 (or whenever the presidential race is called). The president has said he will accept a peaceful transition of power, but he continues to suggest the election may not be "honest" or "clean," with a particular focus on the mail-in voting process, which he believes is vulnerable to fraud.Regardless, the majority of his supporters are prepared to accept the election results no matter who wins, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed Sunday. In the survey, 59 percent of those who are backing Trump said they'll accept a win from his Democratic competitor, former Vice President Joe Biden, and the data is pretty much the same on the other side of things, where 57 percent of Biden supporters said they'd accept a Trump victory.That does theoretically leave a significant amount of people who would refuse to accept the results, but not all of those folks would take action to challenge the outcome. Among Trump backers, 16 percent said they would try to do something about a Biden victory, while 22 percent of Biden voters said they'd make an effort to dispute a Trump win.The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online between Oct. 13-20. It gathered responses from 2,649 American adults. The margin of error was 4 percentage points. Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| Amy Coney Barrett faces recusal questions over links to Shell Posted: 24 Oct 2020 01:15 AM PDT  Barrett previously recused herself from cases because her father worked for Shell but has failed to commit to doing so in futureAmy Coney Barrett is poised to make critical rulings on whether oil and gas companies will be held accountable for the effects of the climate crisis once she is confirmed to the supreme court, even though she has acknowledged in the past that she has a conflict of interest in cases involving Royal Dutch Shell.As an appellate court judge, Barrett – who is expected to be confirmed to the supreme court on Monday – recused herself from cases involving four Shell entities because her father worked at Shell Oil Company as a lawyer.Industry experts and lawyers have expressed concern – and doubt – whether Barrett would recuse herself from the cases again once she joins the court, in part because there are no rules for supreme court justices that would force her to do so.Pressed on the matter in written questions by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, Barrett would not commit to recusing herself from cases in the future."The question of recusal is a threshold question of law that must be addressed in the context of the facts of each case," she wrote. "As Justice Ginsburg described the process that supreme court justices go through in deciding whether to recuse, it involves reading the statute, reviewing precedents, and consulting with colleagues. As a sitting judge and as a judicial nominee, it would not be appropriate for me to offer an opinion on abstract legal issues or hypotheticals."Barrett has not recused herself in the past from cases involving the oil industry's most powerful lobby group, the American Petroleum Institute, even though her father was an "active member" of the group's subcommittee of exploration and production law as recently as 2016, and twice served as its chairman.Environmentalists have already expressed alarm at Barrett's handling of environment-related questions at her confirmation hearing, in which she refused to accept science that shows humans are dangerously heating the planet and said she could not opine on the issue of climate change because it was a "very contentious matter of public debate". She separately stated that she did not hold "firm views" on climate change.Her views are behind even most mainstream Republicans, many of whom have stopped denying climate change and instead begun to downplay its impacts or suggest that a free market and new technology will be enough to fix the problem.In the very likely event that she is confirmed, Barrett's decision about whether she will recuse herself from cases involving Shell given her conflict will be known relatively soon because the supreme court recently agreed to hear a case in which the city of Baltimore is suing major oil companies, including Shell, for damages related to the climate crisis."Judge Barrett's evasions last week and in responses to our questions for the record may be what Senate Republicans needed to jam this nominee through for their big donors, but that's no good for a court that must be seen as giving every litigant a fair proceeding and impartial ruling," said Whitehouse. "As the Senate rushes headlong to get her confirmation done before the election, we are left to wonder whether she will recuse herself in matters involving Shell subsidiaries, or the American Petroleum Institute, once in a court with no code of ethics; particularly where her evasions on climate change aligned with industry propaganda."At the heart of the Baltimore case – whose outcome will probably influence similar legal challenges in a dozen other lawsuits across the country – is the question of whether cities and states can seek damages through state laws for harms due to the climate crisis, which they blame on the companies.According to Scotusblog, the case before the supreme court is centered on a narrow and technical procedural matter about federal law. But the handling of the case by Barrett will nevertheless be closely watched, in part because another conservative justice, Justice Samuel Alito, recused himself from the case.Of 16 lawsuits from state and local governments who want the courts to hold oil and gas companies accountable for the effects of the climate crisis, 13 name Shell.Jean Su, energy justice director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said if Barrett does not recuse herself on cases involving the company "it is a true reflection of the unraveling of the ethics of that court.""If you now have the supreme judicial branch and judges who completely flout pretty cut and dry ethical rules, you are discrediting the judiciary very heavily," Su said. "It'll be a sign that the highest court in the land is political."Helen Kang, a law professor and director of the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law, said that if Barrett has recused herself previously "unless there has been a change of circumstances, it appears that she should recuse herself".
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| British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert detained in Iran moved out of desert prison Posted: 25 Oct 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran for the past two years, has been moved from the notorious desert prison of Qarchak to an unknown location. Her move was first reported by the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, who said that she was moved, along with all of her belongings, on Saturday. A source close to the case confirmed the move, but did not know any further details. There has been no official word from the Iranian government. Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Islamic Studies, was arrested for espionage after attending a conference in Qom in 2018. She was charged in a secret trial and given 10 years imprisonment. Both Dr Moore-Gilbert and the Australian government reject the charges, which they say are politically motivated. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim that someone she interviewed for a research project flagged her as suspicious so they stopped her from returning to Melbourne. Qarchak prison, in the desert on the eastern outskirts of Tehran, has a reputation for being the most dangerous of the country's women's prisons. Dr Moore-Gilbert had been moved from Evin prison in Tehran to Qarchak in August, which activists at the time believed to be a "punishment". It was not immediately clear where Dr Moore-Gilbert has been taken. Just 11 days prior to her movement she had been transferred to Ward Eight (formerly known as the Mothers' Ward) of Qarchak, alongside at least 15 other political prisoners. While those campaigning for her release see her move as a sign of hope, not knowing where the mystery location she has been sent to or the reason behind the move, gives little to base it on.
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| Stimulus checks could take weeks or months to arrive as Pelosi and Mnuchin remain locked in negotiations Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:14 AM PDT  "It'd take a colossal get-together, just a huge get-together, to put a stimulus package together, and I don't see it happening."
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| 'Not just numbers': The women disappearing in Peru Posted: 24 Oct 2020 04:17 PM PDT  Thousands of women go missing in Peru every year and many are never found.
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| UK 'SBS' special forces storm tanker and detain stowaways in Channel Posted: 25 Oct 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Troops from the Special Boat Service, a navy special forces unit whose headquarters in just a few miles away from where the vessel began showing signs of distress, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorised the armed forces to board the ship "to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspected hijacking", the defence ministry said. The defence ministry declined to confirm or deny the involvement of the SBS - in line with British government policy of not commenting on special forces operations.
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| Texas boy, 3, dies after accidentally shooting himself in the chest at birthday party Posted: 25 Oct 2020 07:18 AM PDT  The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said its "thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this tragic accident."
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| Hurricane force gusts prompt extremely critical fire risk in California Posted: 24 Oct 2020 07:28 PM PDT  Meanwhile, record shattering cold brings heavy snow and wind chills below zero to Colorado.
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| Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee dies at 78 Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:32 PM PDT  Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, who transformed the South Korean firm into a global tech titan, died at the age of 78 on Sunday, the company said.
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| Trump kept on declaring the US is 'rounding the turn' on COVID-19, even as it recorded its 2 worst-ever days of infections Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:06 AM PDT  Over and over, the president has suggested the country is on the cusp of overcoming the pandemic. In reality, it keeps getting worse.
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| Hotels are trying to attract families with gourmet cooking classes, cabana classrooms, and yoga breaks as kids continue with remote schooling across the US Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:53 AM PDT  Hotels are beckoning families with "schoolcation" packages that tap into their newfound flexibility to travel during the school year.
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| New cease-fire announced in 4-week Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced a third attempt to establish a cease-fire in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh starting from 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Monday. The new agreement was announced Sunday night in a joint statement by the governments of the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The statement said the agreement came after a meeting between Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun.
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| Brexit talks could see Merkel intervene after France refused fishing compromise Posted: 25 Oct 2020 12:45 PM PDT  Brexit talks face a roadblock this week after France refused to compromise on fishing, with Government sources hoping Angela Merkel will intervene to break the impasse. Sources close to the negotiations said that Emmanuel Macron was refusing to soften his stance and had adopted an "egregious" position on the issue. The UK has proposed adopting a similar arrangement to Norway, whereby fishing quotas would be agreed annually in shared fishing zones. However, sources said that Brussels negotiators, under pressure from France, have "not moved at all" leading to fresh deadlock. The Government hopes the German Chancellor will manage to persuade the French President to budge. A Whitehall source said: "We are relatively optimistic but that doesn't mean it won't end in tears. Fisheries is the biggest thing. We are hoping Merkel can unlock Macron on fisheries."
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| Miami nurse sues doctor colleague, says he ‘deliberately’ infected her with COVID-19 Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:06 AM PDT  A Miami-Dade nurse practitioner and mother of a 2-year-old said she was deliberately exposed to COVID-19 by a Miami physician at their place of work. She has filed a lawsuit against him, the medical office and the hospital that owns the medical office.
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| Lebanese Christian cleric to Hariri: avoid 'secret deals' in forming cabinet Posted: 25 Oct 2020 04:37 AM PDT  Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Sunday to avoid back-door deals and to quickly form a new government that will start lifting the country out of financial crisis. Veteran Sunni politician Hariri was named premier for a fourth time on Thursday, a year after huge protests against the ruling elite pushed him to quit. Hariri promised a cabinet of specialists to enact reforms set out in a French plan to unlock foreign aid.
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| Mississippi health official links rise in white virus cases over Black cases to mask views Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:12 AM PDT  At the outset of the pandemic, more African Americans in Mississippi were being infected and killed by coronavirus than white people, a disparity that medical experts blamed on racial health disparities. Initially, Black Mississippians made up approximately 60% of the state's cases and deaths, according to the state health department. In roughly the past month, white people have surpassed Black people in the overall reported COVID-19 death toll for the first time since the state health department started publishing data by race in June, according to CNN.
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| Police chief: Illinois officer who shot Black couple in car fired Posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:00 AM PDT 
A police officer who shot a Black couple inside a vehicle — killing a 19-year-old man and wounding his girlfriend — has been fired, the police chief announced Friday.
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| The operator of this Boeing 767 private jet says the plane has an air system so advanced it kills pathogens so passengers don't need to wear a mask onboard – see inside Posted: 25 Oct 2020 05:16 AM PDT  This luxury flying apartment costs an hour what a New York City studio costs for an entire year. The difference being this one kills COVID in the air.
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| Colombia surpasses one million Covid-19 cases: ministry Posted: 24 Oct 2020 05:05 PM PDT  Colombia on Saturday surpassed the benchmark of one million cases of Covid-19 registered in the country since the beginning of the pandemic, the health ministry announced.
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| Afghan bombing: Kabul education centre attack kills at least 24 Posted: 25 Oct 2020 03:46 AM PDT  The suicide attack outside the private facility in the Afghan capital has wounded dozens more.
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| Foreign students show less zeal for US since Trump took over Posted: 25 Oct 2020 08:13 AM PDT  On a recruiting trip to India's tech hub of Bangalore, Alan Cramb, the president of a reputable Chicago university, answered questions not just about dorms or tuition but also American work visas. The session with parents fell in the chaotic first months of Donald Trump's presidency. After an inaugural address proclaiming "America first," two travel bans, a suspended refugee program and hints at restricting skilled worker visas widely used by Indians, parents doubted their children's futures in the U.S.
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| Florida reports 2,385 new COVID-19 cases. Three South Florida counties report 0 deaths Posted: 25 Oct 2020 10:26 AM PDT  The Florida Department of Health reported 2,385 new cases of novel coronavirus and 12 deaths from COVID-19. Most of those deaths came from Miami-Dade County.
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| Hungary's coronavirus daily tally tops 3,000 for first time Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:49 AM PDT  Hungary reported 3,149 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, its highest single-day tally and jumping above 3,000 for the first time, the government said. Although coronavirus cases have been rising sharply since late August, Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seeking to avoid a repeat of the spring lockdown that sent the economy crashing by 13.6% in the second quarter. Hungarian schools are operating as normal, and apart from closing borders to foreigners, the government has not imposed significant limitations on events.
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