| Media can't fall into 'opposition party' trap in covering Trump, argues White House reporter Jonathan Karl Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, writes in his new book that President Trump is waging "an assault on truth," but also details the ways in which the celebrity star turned commander in chief strategically baits the press into personal grudge matches that undercut the credibility of the media.
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| Coronavirus conspiracy theories make Fauci the villain, because someone has to be Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Dr. Anthony Fauci has emerged as the latest target in the vast web of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories that have been circulating on social media.
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| Prague's mayor, a critic of Russia, is under police protection after a magazine alleged a Russian assassin had entered the country to kill him Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:10 PM PDT  The report hasn't been confirmed by Czech authorities, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the report was "fake."
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| 20+ Cocktails To Celebrate Moms Everywhere Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT |
| Prominent Democratic women, including Stacey Abrams and Kirsten Gillibrand, are standing by Joe Biden amid sexual assault accusation Posted: 28 Apr 2020 04:33 PM PDT  "He's devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation," Gillibrand, a MeToo champion, said Tuesday.
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| Turkish president backs cleric who said homosexuality 'brings disease' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:06 AM PDT  The cleric claimed thousands of people are exposed to HIV annually due to homosexuality and adultery and called on worshipers to fight "this kind of evil."
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| Infectious disease expert warns people are treating coronavirus models 'too seriously' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:35 AM PDT  You've probably noticed that graphs and charts are having a moment during the coronavirus pandemic. Governments are using them to make informed decisions about when to re-open economies, and they pop up daily to present people around the world with a look at how the pandemic is trending. But some would argue people are putting a little too much stock in models without accounting for their potential pitfalls.Carl Bergstrom, an expert on both emerging infectious diseases and networked misinformation from the University of Washington, told The Guardian in an interview he doesn't think people have done a good job of "thinking about what the purpose of models are, how the purposes of different models vary, and then what the scope of their value is." That's led people to over-rely on them and "treat them too seriously," and when reality eventually differs from the projections, models tend to get criticized "for not being perfect at everything."Bergstrom's point is that science, especially in fast moving scenarios like the pandemic, is "provisional" and "can be corrected." He believes researchers can improve at communicating that point by "deliberately stressing the possible weaknesses of our interpretations." A really good paper, he said, will lay out all the reasons why it could be wrong. Read more at The Guardian.More stories from theweek.com How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden The perils of Hooverism This visualization shows how droplets from a single cough can infect an entire airplane
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| Hundreds at funeral spark NYPD response and mayor warning Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:35 AM PDT  Hundreds of people gathered in Brooklyn Tuesday evening for a rabbi's funeral, sparking a stern warning for New York City's mayor.
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| India coronavirus lockdown: Stranded migrants can return home Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:40 AM PDT  Millions of people stranded by a lockdown to curb coronavirus can return to their home states.
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| Trump urges states to consider reopening schools before end of academic year Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:32 AM PDT  President Trump suggested Monday in a call with governors that states "seriously consider" reopening schools before summer.
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| South Korea minister, U.S. sources, say Kim may be sheltering from virus Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:14 PM PDT  Fear of the coronavirus could have been keeping North Korean leader Kim Jong Un out of public sight, a South Korean minister and U.S. sources said on Tuesday, following intense speculation and concern as to his whereabouts and health. Under Kim's rule since 2011, North Korea has expanded its arsenal of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, and with no obvious successor, any change in leadership in the secretive, authoritarian state would raise concerns about instability that could impact other North Asian countries and the United States. Speculation about Kim's health erupted after his unprecedented absence from April 15 celebrations to mark the birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung.
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| Sri Lanka faces cash crunch without parliament amid virus lockdown Posted: 29 Apr 2020 03:25 AM PDT  Sri Lanka's opposition Wednesday called on the government to urgently recall parliament which was dissolved in March ahead of elections now postponed to June due to a coronavirus curfew. State spending will become illegal from Friday if the legislature remains in recess, they said, accusing strongman President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of using the virus lockdown to sidestep constitutional requirements. Opposition MP and former finance minister Mangala Samaraweera called for the immediate return of the 225-member assembly to avoid a financial crisis.
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| Gov. Andrew Cuomo showed a mural of donated masks to New York. Then social media weighed in Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:36 AM PDT  New York Cov. Andrew Cuomo displayed hundreds of donated masks sent to his office from across the country. It drew mixed reviews.
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| San Francisco seems to have flattened the curve, but an outbreak at a nursing home, jail, or homeless shelter could change everything Posted: 28 Apr 2020 12:01 PM PDT  COVID-19 outbreaks in close-quarters living facilities across San Francisco could "start the clock all over again," one emergency physician said.
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| Florida governor announces plans to reopen state Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:55 PM PDT  DeSantis' announcement came as 350 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Florida, along with 47 new deaths.
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| Hillary Clinton endorses Joe Biden: 'Think of what it would mean if we had a real president' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 12:52 PM PDT  Hillary Clinton joined former Vice President Joe Biden for a virtual town hall event on Tuesday to officially offer her endorsement.The former secretary of state and Democratic candidate for president was Biden's guest during a live stream on Tuesday focused on the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on women, and Biden introduced Clinton as the "woman who should be president of the United States right now.""Think of what it would mean if we had a real president, not just somebody who plays one on TV, but somebody who gets up every morning worried about the people that he's responsible for leading during this crisis," Clinton said after officially endorsing Biden.Biden, Clinton went on to say, "has been preparing for this moment his entire life," describing her experiences working with him during the Obama administration."I've been not only a colleague of Joe Biden's, I've been a friend, and I can tell you that I wish he were president right now, but I can't wait until he is, if all of us do our part to support the kind of person that we want back in the White House," Clinton said.This is the latest in a series of Democratic endorsements Biden has received since becoming the party's presumptive nominee including from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). As news of the Clinton endorsement broke, President Trump's 2020 campaign manager said in a statement, "There is no greater concentration of Democrat establishment than Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton together. President Trump beat her once and now he'll beat her chosen candidate."More stories from theweek.com How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden The perils of Hooverism Mass workplace, rent strikes planned for May 1
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| Footage shows Chicago police shooting unarmed man twice on subway escalator Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability have shown the moment Chicago police shot an unarmed man twice at a subway station.The footage from the Chicago Transit Authority and police body-cams demonstrate in detail how the shooting of Ariel Roman took place on 28 February after he was pulled up for violating a city ordinance.
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| To Confront China After Coronavirus, We Must See the Bigger Picture Posted: 29 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I n a popular movie two decades ago, hard-eyed criminals released into Sydney a woman infected with a virus, knowing that unsuspecting Australians would catch the highly contagious disease and, traveling on, unwittingly spread death across a hundred homelands. This past winter, the hard-eyed leaders of China did worse. They allowed not one, but thousands of infected to leave China and enter an unsuspecting world, a world lulled by Beijing. The crucial question is: Why?"China caused an enormous amount of pain [and] loss of life . . . by not sharing the information they had," Secretary of State Pompeo said on April 23. America is angry, he added, and while much remains to be known, China "will pay a price."No subpoenas, no oversight committees, no tell-all books will expose President Xi's calculations as the novel coronavirus spread inside China. The unelected of Beijing guard well their secret debates. The CCP knows the virtues of opacity, of letting uncertainty, complacency, and wishful thinking paralyze the West. Exploiting these has been its way.In 2018, a major Trump-administration speech called CCP misdeeds to task. Some, including, notably, Japan's prime minister, applauded. But many nations looked toward their feet, too reluctant, too sophisticated, perhaps too intimidated to bestir. Staggering COVID-19 losses may yet remind the world of the dangers of drift as great powers go astray.Today's American, European, Japanese, and Asian policymakers, like those of centuries past, bear the burdens of judgment. Uncertainty has ever been the statesman's curse. America's famed diplomat, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, has written, "Nations learn only by experience, they 'know' only when it is too late to act. But statesmen must act as if their intuition were already experience. . . ."A reassessment of Xi and the CCP looms. From their actions and practices, from assessments of their motives and apparent long-term aims, today's statesmen, like their forebears, must judge future risks and craft the surest course ahead. These are early days, but the picture of Beijing presented so far is troubling.Even before the virus spread in Wuhan, Xi brooded over a worrying hand. The CCP could not intimidate prolonged protests on the streets of freedom-loving Hong Kong. And the Party's oppression there, in determined violation of treaty commitments, spurred voters in Taiwan to rebuff Beijing's hopes for a more amenable regime in Taipei. The world was finally awakening to Xi's increasingly autocratic surveillance state, his harsh repression of Uighur Muslims, and his predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China's economy, essential to Xi's hold on power, had stumbled, in part because of the Trump administration's move to counter China's unfair, neo-mercantilist practices and to condemn their grim geopolitical implications. Worse yet, America's markets hummed, raising reelection hopes within the Trump administration, which had also surpassed modern predecessors in challenging China. Rumors of Party dissatisfaction with Xi seeped out.COVID-19's outbreak in Wuhan further darkened Xi's prospects. As long as the virus raged primarily inside China -- derailing only her economy, stigmatizing only her government -- his troubles would soar. All the while, the world predictably would have leapt ahead, taking Chinese customers, stealing China's long-sought glory.The disease's spread to Berlin and Paris, New York and Tokyo, improved Xi's prospects, at least in the near term. Pandemic diverted foreign eyes from Hong Kong's and the Uighurs' plight. Desperate needs rendered disease-weakened nations more susceptible to China's goods and BRI's short-term appeal. Asian states, wary of Beijing, had new cause to doubt the commitment of a pandemic-preoccupied Washington, while a weakened economy and vastly increased debts would likely constrain future U.S. defense spending, essential to Asian security. An unpredictable element had entered into America's 2020 election.As events unfolded, might Xi have recognized that COVID-19's leap into the wider world promised such political and geopolitical gains? Some say a desire to protect itself first fed a CCP cover-up, as if putting this before the health of innocents were not bad enough. But were CCP leaders blind, as days passed, to other benefits? It is the Chinese way, the noted French Sinologist François Jullien has written, to exploit the potential inherent in unfolding situations. CCP leaders still study China's legendary strategist, Sun Tzu, who advised centuries ago that if, "in the midst of difficulties, we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune."As the CCP realized the imminent disaster COVID-19 posed inside China, Xi suppressed the world's appreciation of its dangers. By sometime in December, Chinese authorities had learned that a novel, highly infectious coronavirus similar to deadly SARS was on the loose. Yet for weeks PRC authorities, including China' National Health Commission, suppressed inquiries and, directly or through the WHO, misled the world about the risks. When Chinese authorities finally acknowledged human-to-human transmission, the CCP took steps to isolate Wuhan from other parts of China, but continued to permit international travel. After the U.S. on January 31, and later Australia, restricted travelers from China, Beijing's spokesmen, artful and indignant, rose to denounce such acts as ill-founded and ill-intentioned.For days, even weeks, after the CCP first knew of the danger, Chinese authorities and customs officers let tens of thousands of travelers, infected among them, leave China and enter an unwary world. In late January, China extended Lunar New Year celebrations, inviting greater international travel. PRC border guards stamped more exit papers. When America restricted such travelers, Beijing allowed more to leave for less cautious lands.Then, as pandemic gripped the world, the CCP brazenly blamed America for COVID-19. Xi once more preened over his authoritarian "China model's" efficiencies, now cauterizing troubles he denies having caused. In Europe, Beijing postured as a savior offering needed medical supplies -- albeit that its sales favored states where it sought geopolitical gains, often bore high prices, included defective products that could undermine defenses, and drew on CCP surpluses bolstered by January purchases of world supplies at pre-pandemic prices. In Southeast Asia, Beijing proved "relentless in exploiting the pandemic," a respected, former high-level Filipino bemoans, as it pushed its "illegal and expansive" territorial claims. Inside China, the Party seized the moment to round up leaders of Hong Kong's democracy movement and reassert unilateral efforts to curtail the city's special, self-governing status.Even after the virus began to spread inside China, events might have taken a different course. Many had once hoped for better from CCP leaders. Dreams of a mellowing CCP had floated widely among academics and policy elites, perhaps buoyed by the way such illusions avoided, rather than imposed, hard choices. Some yet hold to such views. The benign CCP of their reveries would have alerted others promptly as the novel virus's dangers became known, shared information, welcomed foreign scientists, ceased reckless practices, and guarded against the pandemic's spread.Indeed, under different leadership, China could have followed such a path. Traditions of humane governance, venerable and Confucian, are not alien to that land. China's ancient text, the Tao-te Ching, favors just such a response:> A great nation is like a man:> > When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.> > Having realized, he admits it.> > Having admitted it, he corrects it.> > He considers those who point out his faults> > As his most benevolent teachers.The learned will debate how much such leadership would have eased the wider world's suffering. Metrics and estimates will vary, but the consensus will be clear enough: The harm would have decreased manyfold.Such openness and grace have not been Xi's way. As he built up islets in the South China Sea, he promised never to militarize them, then dishonored his promise, disregarded international rulings, and dispatched ships in packs to intimidate neighboring states and expand Beijing's writ. Pledging to protect intellectual property, he enabled ongoing theft and coercion, ineluctably undermining industries of the advanced democracies, and then pressed forward on China's newly gained advantages. His BRI professes to aid, then exploits poor countries' weaknesses. Citing the betterment of all in the cause of greater China, he has imprisoned Uighurs, undermined Tibetan culture, and threatened the peaceful regional order that had enabled China's rise. He violates treaty commitments to curb Hong Kong's freedoms. Behind an anti-corruption façade, his prosecutors ruined scores of his rivals, as he consolidated and extended his personal powers. These wrongs he continues still. Xi's are not the ways of grace and remorse.An angry narrative drives this man. Under his hand, the CCP highlights Chinese suffering and humiliation roughly a century ago under Western and Japanese imperialists, while eliding the democratic world's helping hand and Japan's benign democracy over four generations since. He slides past the Chinese millions massacred in the intervening decades by the CCP and Mao -- China's legendary leader who spread cruelty and death as he judged useful. In imitation of Mao, Xi has issued his own "little red book" of wisdom. Mao's iconic image looms over Tiananmen still. Coveting Mao's autocratic power, Xi strove and won it; now he dare not let it go.The bitter recall of ancient Chinese glories; resentment of past humiliations; insecurity bred by corruption and illegitimacy; disdain, even hatred of America's easy ways -- these are the pathogens coursing through Xi's circle. A fever for Chinese primacy burns among them. For a time, they might pander to a Western-inspired, rules-based order, a liberal conceit; but this is not their dream. A historic economic rise, technological mastery, a rapidly expanding navy, all causes to be proud of, have freed them to be brazen. Xi now bares the teeth Deng Xiaoping's smile hid. From South China Sea islets to the New Silk Road's arid ends, the CCP, ruthless and defiant, pounds the stakes it holds to advance its aims. For Xi's CCP, it is the fate of small states to bend to the strong.Rules should soon be theirs to set, the CCP believes, and not without some reason. Before Trump, a subtle and experienced Chinese diplomat confessed, CCP leaders marveled at America's ineffectual response. In the South and East China Seas, on India's long border, Beijing's hostile and determined quest had followed Lenin's line: "Probe with bayonets, if you find mush, you push; if you find steel, you withdraw." It is to our shame, Trump observed on China's unfair trade practices, that Beijing had not been held to account by prior administrations. Unanswered, history has shown, the ambitious calculate and, at times, miscalculate.In past American forbearance, CCP leaders have seen a once great power on the wane. In foreign capitals they confided, inside China they proclaimed: It will soon be America's turn to bend. They claim their own version of the right side of history.The keys to victory, Sun Tzu counseled, lie in knowing your enemy and deceiving them. The cunning men of Beijing have taken heed. They have an instinct for a divided, self-doubting, and weary West. Cloaking their aggressions in ambiguity, they weigh the likely costs against desired gains.Straining to contain COVID-19, President Trump and Secretary Pompeo rightly extend a hand to international, including Chinese, cooperation. But in post-pandemic days to come, the democracies must carefully take the measure of the CCP and hold it to account, crafting strategies for what it is, not what they wish it to be. That is leadership's task.The late, great professor Fouad Ajami warned, "Men love the troubles they know" -- too ready to slip into a comfortable neglect, too reluctant to face strategic change. Some cite an arc of history, he lamented, to hide behind, hoping it might bear the burdens they would rather shun.With all doubts resolved in their favor, the untouchable leaders of the CCP have much for which to answer. Perhaps in reality, even more.In a time of death, Ajami cautioned: "There is no fated happiness or civility in any land." As a great river may abruptly rise or fall, "Those gauges on the banks will have to be read and watched with care."
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| Ignorance, fear, whispers: North Korean defectors say contacts in the dark about Kim Posted: 28 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Defectors from North Korea say many of their relatives and contacts were unaware of the international speculation over leader Kim Jong Un's health or were unwilling to discuss the issue in clandestine calls made from the South. Two defectors told Reuters their relatives in North Korea did not know that Kim has been missing from public view for almost two weeks, said they didn't want to discuss the issue, or abruptly hung up when the supreme leader was mentioned. Kim's health is a state secret in insular North Korea and speculation about him or his family can invite swift retribution.
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| Trump orders meat processing plants to remain open Posted: 28 Apr 2020 11:24 AM PDT  President Donald Trump took executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation's food supply. The order uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers' health.
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| New Zealand health official claims 'elimination' of coronavirus as new cases hit single digits Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:53 AM PDT  New Zealand's top health official said that the country has "achieved our goal of elimination" of coronavirus as the country eased its lockdown.
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| Miss the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flyby? Check out the footage people captured of the jets roaring over New York City to honor essential workers. Posted: 28 Apr 2020 02:56 PM PDT  The jets flew a 35-minute path across the Northeastern states as a part of "Operation America Strong" to honor essential workers.
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| Cuomo on McConnell: 'We bail them out every year' Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:25 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during his Wednesday press briefing.
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| Tupac Shakur filed for unemployment, but officials could hardly believe it Posted: 28 Apr 2020 11:37 PM PDT  The governor thought it was a joke when a man named Tupac Shakur filed for unemployment. The governor has since apologized.
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| US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist Posted: 28 Apr 2020 11:02 PM PDT  A US government panel on Tuesday called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a "drastic" downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally. In an annual report, the bipartisan panel narrowly agreed that India should join the ranks of "countries of particular concern" that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.
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| Inmate who gave birth on ventilator dies of Covid-19 Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:13 AM PDT  The 30-year-old appears to be the the first US federal female prisoner to die from coronavirus.
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| Mnuchin blasts Lakers for taking PPP loan, says every company receiving over $2 million will get a 'full audit' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 06:59 AM PDT  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he's adamant he doesn't support the NBA's second most valuable franchise taking a $4.6 million loan as part of the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant for small businesses.The Lakers gave the money back, which Mnuchin appreciated, but during a Tuesday appearance on CNBC, the secretary said it was "unfortunate" and "inappropriate" for large companies to take the money, especially because the fund ran out so quickly. The Lakers were not the only large business that initially received loans.> It was "outrageous" that the LA Lakers took a $4.6 million PPP loan, Treasury Sec. Mnuchin says. "I'm glad they've returned it." https://t.co/snISVRyg5z pic.twitter.com/RImnCrGpXG> > — CNBC (@CNBC) April 28, 2020He said the fault lies with the recipients, not the banks who doled out the cash, but the government is going to change things going forward. "We're going to do a full audit of every loan over $2 million," Mnuchin said. "This was a program designed for small businesses. It was not a program that was designed for public companies that had liquidity." Read more at CNBC.More stories from theweek.com Scientists are perplexed by the low rate of coronavirus hospitalizations among smokers. Nicotine may hold the answer. How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden AMC says it will no longer show Universal Pictures films because of Trolls World Tour move
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| Russia flies nuclear-capable bombers over Baltic Sea in training exercise Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:27 AM PDT |
| China Accuses U.S. Politicians of Telling ‘Barefaced Lies’ about Beijing’s Coronavirus Response Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:23 AM PDT  The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday accused U.S. politicians of telling "barefaced lies" regarding China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, after President Trump suggested that the U.S. might seek damages from China because of the outbreak."American politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling barefaced lies," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press conference. "They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures, and divert public attention."U.S, politicians should "reflect on their own problems and find ways to contain the outbreak as quickly as possible," Geng added.President Trump, who initially praised Beijing's handling of the virus, on Monday said the U.S. could seek to hold China "accountable" for the outbreak."We are not happy with China," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We are not happy with that whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source."The coronavirus has infected at least 3,000,000 people worldwide since it originated in Wuhan, China. According to one study, China could have prevented or at least slowed a wider outbreak of coronavirus if it had quarantined at-risk populations several weeks earlier.U.S. officials have proposed various strategies to compel China to compensate Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic, whether through infection or loss of work due to business closures. Last week, Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt announced that his office would sue China for damages to state residents."I think as people take a look at the complaint, I wouldn't be surprised at all if other states follow suit," Schmitt told National Review.
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| Court: Kansas can't require voters to show citizenship proof Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:28 AM PDT  A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that Kansas can't require voters to show proof of citizenship when they register, dealing a blow to efforts by Republicans in several states who have pursued restrictive voting laws as a way of combating voter fraud. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Salt Lake City upheld a federal judge's injunction nearly two years ago that prohibited Kansas from enforcing the requirement, which took effect in 2013. The appeals court, in a ruling that consolidated two appeals, found the statute former Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the "motor-voter law."
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| Rear-facing plane seats could be the future of air travel as airlines seek to make flying safer in a post-pandemic world Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:56 AM PDT  With passengers outraged with the lack of social distancing in the sky, airlines may soon adopt new practices and products to ensure safe skies.
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| The fossil of a bizarre mammal, called 'crazy beast,' has been discovered in Madagascar Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:12 PM PDT  The first near-complete skeleton of a bizarre mammal that lived on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana has been discovered in Madagascar.
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| U.S. forces surprise Holocaust survivor, play Israeli national anthem via Zoom Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:23 AM PDT  "The most important thing in life is life itself," Holocaust survivor Abba Naor told NBC News.
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| Singapore Was a Coronavirus Success Story—Until an Outbreak Showed How Vulnerable Workers Can Fall Through the Cracks Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:23 AM PDT  "This will continue to fuel our epidemic."
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| Pompeo criticizes S.Africa, Qatar for taking Cuban doctors Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:59 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday criticized South Africa and Qatar for accepting doctors from Cuba to battle the coronavirus, accusing the communist island of profiting from the pandemic. Cuba's globe-trotting doctors have long been a source of diplomatic soft power and pride for Havana, but Washington says the medical workers only benefit the government and has encouraged them to defect. "We've noticed how the regime in Havana has taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to continue its exploitation of Cuban medical workers," Pompeo told reporters.
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| British PM Johnson's fiancée gives birth to boy amid coronavirus crisis Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:07 AM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fiancée, Carrie Symonds, gave birth to a baby boy at a London hospital on Wednesday, slightly earlier than had been expected. Symonds, 32, had said previously that their baby was due in the early summer. "The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning," the couple's spokeswoman said.
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| Teachers union: 'Scream bloody murder' if schools reopen against medical advice Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:44 AM PDT  Schools in most states have been ordered to stay closed the rest of the year or strongly urged to do so.
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| Incumbent Democrat Joyce Beatty wins Ohio primary against liberal Morgan Harper Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:17 AM PDT  Ohio held mostly mail-in primaries due to the coronavirus pandemic after voting originally scheduled for March 17 was delayed and in-person voting curtailed, as the outbreak further disrupted the U.S. election season. The contest in the district, which includes most of the city of Columbus, saw a four-term incumbent Beatty, 70, facing a challenge from Harper, 36. After 100% votes being reported and posted early on Wednesday, the results showed that Beatty won about 68% of the vote share with just under 44,000 votes, compared to Harper's 32%.
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| Biden's high-profile Democrat supporters stay silent on sexual assault allegations Posted: 28 Apr 2020 04:44 AM PDT  Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino reacts to the double standard on the story.
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| 6 monkeys given an experimental coronavirus vaccine from Oxford did not catch COVID-19 after heavy exposure, raising hopes for a human vaccine Posted: 28 Apr 2020 02:41 AM PDT  A team from the University of Oxford is leading the way in the search for an effective vaccine for the coronavirus. Human trials started last week.
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| 'Crazy beast' lived among last of dinosaurs Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:56 AM PDT  The discovery that the badger-like animal lived alongside dinosaurs challenges ideas about mammals.
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| US Navy ship sails through Chinese-claimed waters in South China Sea Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:07 AM PDT  A US Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed through waters near the Paracel islands in the South China Sea challenging China's claim to the area, the Navy said Wednesday. The USS Barry undertook the so-called "freedom of navigation operation" on Tuesday, a week after Beijing upped its claims to the region by designating an official administrative district for the islands. "Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," it said.
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| A 1st: US study finds Gilead drug works against coronavirus Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:22 AM PDT  For the first time, a major study suggests that an experimental drug works against the new coronavirus, and U.S. government officials said Wednesday that they would work to make it available to appropriate patients as quickly as possible. In a study of 1,063 patients sick enough to be hospitalized, Gilead Sciences's remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31% — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care, officials said. The drug also might be reducing deaths, although that's not certain from the partial results revealed so far.
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| Islamic Terrorists Confront Coronavirus Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE J ihadi leaders are telling their militants that the coronavirus is their friend, a fellow soldier of Allah, and that is good news for us. With a bit of luck, these lunatics will forego any health precautions, and there won't be any respirators available for them when that soldier of Allah comes to take them to paradise. Jihad magazines are now calling on their lone wolves to take advantage of this crisis and attack the West, pointing to places such as Paris, London, Brussels and Chicago. And it certainly is an excellent time for them to attack, especially if they choose self-immolation: My advice would be to do so in stadiums, nightclubs, or large venues, before the end of this mandatory confinement. I have spent the last few days monitoring radical messages for this article, and I suspect that this viral-jihadist plan might have some gaps in it, but I can't quite put my finger on them. From the point of view of a freedom-loving Westerner and enemy to scum in general, it seems like a perfect plan."The last thing [the Crusaders] want is for the horrible pandemic experience to coincide with attacks on their countries," they say in their pamphlets. ("The Crusaders" are you and I.) "America, France, Britain, and other countries are rechanneling their armed forces towards fighting the virus," they celebrate, claiming that this keeps them from concentrating on their anti-jihadi surveillance. As I read their propaganda, I receive a message on my cell phone from a source in the police: "One of Europe's most wanted jihadists has just been arrested in Almeria [southern Spain]. He was wearing a mask to hide his identity from the police!" I light a cigar, smiling like Hannibal Smith.The terrorist arrested in Spain is Abdel Majed. He is a former British rapper. After listening to some of his music, I wonder if perhaps he should have faced execution long before he decided to leave everything to go to Syria and join Islamic State (or at least a ban on public performance). There, he became infamous for posting gruesome images on Twitter of him holding the heads of decapitated hostages. This led the police to wrongly suspect, for a time, that he might be Jihadi John, the bloodthirsty individual who became notorious for his video of the disgusting murder of American journalist James Foley. Abdel Majed had arrived in Spain ten days ago. In a demonstration of state forces being "very distracted" by coronavirus, as Islamist leaders suggest, about 20 police officers armed to the teeth raided Abdel Majed's house in the early hours of the morning, arresting him without having to fire a single shot.For the most part, both Al Qaeda and Islamic state are convincing their terrorists that the coronavirus is Allah's punishment for infidels, inferring that the faithful are not harmed. Within this trend, there are two lines of theological discourse: one, more cautious, which points out that although it does not harm jihadists, "it is better to wash your hands," and another, more seductive from our point of view, that insists the coronavirus "is a friend of the jihad" and that, in the worst case, pneumonia is nothing more than a passport to paradise.As usual, these diatribes of jihadi leaders are the product of relentless predicating from radical clerics. On April 8th, the Egyptian "scholar" Mohammed Al-Hefnawi Al-Ansari posted a video on YouTube where, overjoyed, he signaled the way forward for the more ominous of his viewers. "Thank you coronavirus," he said, "by order of Allah, who has imposed this plague on us, the coronavirus has managed to close all the pubs." And he added with evident enthusiasm: "The coronavirus has closed the pubs and has banned bongs and cigarettes. Thank you coronavirus!" A guy who is happy about a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people worldwide is, by definition, a bad person. But if he also celebrates that the bars have had to close, personally, and as a Spaniard, I consider Al-Ansari to be the damned offspring of a hyena.It is easier to sympathize with what a Canadian cleric, I think his name is Younus, said to his disciples. This Islamist leader claims that mingling with non-Muslims is "more dangerous than the coronavirus." This idea is interesting for two reasons: On the one hand, it could keep the jihadists away from us, which is exactly what we want, and on the other hand, it could keep the terrorists close to the coronavirus, which won't keep us awake at night either.Encouraged by such messages, a radical Islamist claimed that, thanks to the popularization of the mask, Europeans and Americans are finally discovering the benefits of the burqa. Meanwhile, in another forum, an enthusiastic Islamist writes a long message in which he repeats the same statement over and over again: "Muslims don't kill, they infect. That's only for infidels!" Brilliant. A definite candidate for the Darwin Awards 2020. The best thing is that there are hundreds like him all over the various forums and social networks.Far from our borders, in Iraq, Islamic State terrorists are taking advantage of the pandemic to intensify their attacks, especially against security forces, due to the fact that they are "distracted" in streets and town squares forcing civilians to respect the confinement. In Tunisia, two Islamists were arrested last week on charges of attempting to infect the police with coronavirus. The first of these masterminds hatched his brilliant plan and spread it among his followers. The second, who was already under police surveillance, was instructed to cough like crazy every time he visited the police station, so as to spread the virus. He was arrested for being unhygienic but ended up going to jail for jihadi terrorism.I stumbled across a prayer to Allah, written by a lunatic imam, asking the Almighty to annihilate all the infidels with the coronavirus, causing them as much pain as possible, and to protect the Muslims from the virus. Contrast that plea with another prayer that has also accidentally fallen into my hands, from European bishops, in which the faithful are invited to pray for an end to the pandemic and for the healing of all affected people in all countries of the world. All of this just reminds me that, when this pandemic is over, the cultural battle in the West will continue to live on. It's important to remember which side we want to be on.
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| Under pressure by Trump, elite colleges turn down emergency coronavirus financial aid Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:23 AM PDT  The nation's most selective and richest colleges are turning down millions in federal money meant to aid students in crisis because of coronavirus.
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| Germans urged to stay home as coronavirus infection rate edges back up Posted: 28 Apr 2020 01:18 AM PDT  Germany's coronavirus infection rate has edged up from earlier this month and people should stay at home as much as they can despite a lockdown relaxation last week, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Tuesday. The virus reproduction rate, dubbed 'R', is now at 1.0 in Germany, said Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute. The education ministers of Germany's 16 federal states agreed on Tuesday that schools across the country would slowly reopen classes for all grades until the summer holidays, although pupils would have to work and learn in smaller groups.
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| Judge blocks 30-day extension of Illinois stay-at-home order Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Governor J.B. Pritzker, however, has vowed to appeal the ruling.
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