| Biden sexual assault claim divides Democrats as Republicans pounce Posted: 10 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  While high-profile Democrats voice support for the presumptive presidential nominee, some progressives call for a closer look at Tara Reade's allegationsThe allegations of sexual misconduct by Tara Reade against the former vice-president Joe Biden have caused new fault lines within the Democratic party, especially between its left wing and the establishment.Reade is a former Biden Senate staffer who has accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her while she worked in his office in the 1990s. Biden and his campaign have flatly denied the allegations and major news outlets have continued to investigate.Meanwhile, liberal grassroots activists have clashed with centrist Democrats and senior party figures over how to respond to the allegations. The arguments often point to how Democrats approached previous high-profile sexual assault allegations, such as the accusations by Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh during the now supreme court justice's contentious confirmation hearings.Peter Daou, a Democratic strategist who has argued that the "Democratic establishment" has moved to undercut Reade's allegations, said three basic factions had emerged."You have Biden's opponents on the Republican side and they're going to seize on this," Daou said, adding that there was also "the left – progressives and leftists" who want to see Reade's allegations taken more seriously, and then the Democratic party establishment figures who are trying to undermine Reade. The latter group, Daou said, is "just absolutely wedded to Biden right now, will not let go, so they'll defend him at all costs – even if that means completely destroying the MeToo movement".Daou pointed out that other women have accused Biden of unwanted touching. In response to those accusations, Biden has said he would work to better respect other people's personal spaces.Republicans have been eager to confront as many rank-and-file Democratic politicians as possible with the allegations. The National Republican Congressional Committee has been blasting out emails targeting specific Democratic House candidates over Reade's claims.The subject line of a Friday email from the NRCC read: "Why does McBath not believe Tara Reade?" It asked why the Georgia congresswoman Lucy McBath was "yet to say whether she'll stand by her endorsement of Biden amidst allegations of sexual assault, although she was quick to support Dr Ford during the Kavanaugh hearings".Similar questions are being asked by progressives and some more moderate Democratic party leaders. David Sirota, a former speechwriter and senior strategist for Bernie Sanders, has argued that Democrats have been too eager to discount Reade's allegations.A small group of insurgent Democratic congressional candidates have begun to raise concerns that Reade's allegations are not being taken seriously enough. Rebecca Parson, a liberal Democrat challenging the Washington state congressman Derek Kilmer, said in an interview on Friday that Biden should step down over Reade's allegations. Parson said she believes Reade and thinks the charges create too much of a vulnerability for Biden in the 2020 presidential election."I want to defeat Donald Trump in November and yes, I'm a progressive and I'm in the left-wing of the party, but something that really unites the people in the centrist wing and the progressive wing is we all want to defeat Trump," Parson said. "I don't think we do that with somebody who has all these allegations against him, especially because Donald Trump has assault allegations against him and unfortunately with Donald Trump, Trump doesn't care about being a hypocrite."Parson added: "I think that Biden should withdraw and any one or more of the candidates who aren't running should restart their campaign because the Democratic primary isn't over yet."Those arguments aren't shared by many of the most high-profile figures in the Democratic party. The New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a leading advocate against sexual harassment and sexual assault, told reporters on Tuesday that she supported Biden amid the allegations."So when we say believe women, it's for this explicit intention of making sure there's space for all women to come forward to speak their truth, to be heard. And in this allegation, that is what Tara Reade has done," Gillibrand said, according to CNN. "She has come forward, she has spoken, and they have done an investigation in several outlets. Those investigations Vice-President Biden has called for himself. Vice-President Biden has vehemently denied these allegations and I support Vice-President Biden."The former Georgia state house minority leader Democrat Stacey Abrams also said she believed Biden."The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden," Abrams said in late April.Others, including the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, have also said they support Biden in response to Reade's allegations.But Parson is not alone in arguing that at this point Biden should drop out of the race. A Politico/Morning Consult poll found that over a third of Democratic voters surveyed say the party should switch out Biden as their presumptive nominee because of the allegations.Other Democrats argued that Biden can both adequately address Reade's allegations and still be a viable opponent against Trump. The Massachusetts congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a progressive favorite, wrote a Medium post arguing that the allegations can be examined without undercutting Biden's chances of beating Trump."I reject the false choice that my party and our nominee can't address the allegations at hand and defeat the occupant of the White House," Pressley wrote.
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| China berates New Zealand over support for Taiwan at WHO Posted: 11 May 2020 02:35 AM PDT |
| Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets Posted: 10 May 2020 06:15 AM PDT  The Senate's top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine. President Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19.
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| Not Feeling the iPhone? Consider One of These Android Phones Instead Posted: 11 May 2020 09:00 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus: Mexican jailed gang leader Escamilla dies Posted: 11 May 2020 06:04 AM PDT  Mexican Moisés Escamilla was serving a sentence for crimes including the decapitation of 12 people.
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| South Dakota tribes defy governor and maintain checkpoints in coronavirus fight Posted: 11 May 2020 03:36 PM PDT  "We have every legal right to do what we're doing," said Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier. "We're just doing preventative action."
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| More than 50% of Spain's population will enter the first phase of the country's reopening plan after seeing the lowest daily coronavirus death toll since March Posted: 10 May 2020 08:13 AM PDT  While specific provinces will see restrictions ease, urban cities like Madrid and Barcelona will remain under strict lockdown.
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| Pork Chops vs. People: Battling Coronavirus in an Iowa Meat Plant Posted: 10 May 2020 11:00 AM PDT  On April 10, Tony Thompson, the sheriff for Black Hawk County in Iowa, visited the giant Tyson Foods pork plant in Waterloo. What he saw, he said, "shook me to the core."Workers, many of them immigrants, were crowded elbow to elbow as they broke down hog carcasses zipping by on a conveyor belt. The few who had face coverings wore a motley assortment of bandannas, painters' masks or even sleep masks stretched around their mouths. Some had masks hanging around their necks.Thompson and other local officials, including from the county health department, lobbied Tyson to close the plant, worried about a coronavirus outbreak. But Tyson was "less than cooperative," said the sheriff, who supervises the county's coronavirus response, and Iowa's governor declined to shut the facility."Waterloo Tyson is running," the company said in a text message to employees April 17. "Thank you team members! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!"Five days later, the plant was closed. Tyson said the reason was "worker absenteeism." As of Thursday, the county health department had recorded 1,031 coronavirus infections among Tyson employees -- more than one-third of the workforce. Some are on ventilators. Three have died, according to Tyson.The plant didn't stay closed for long. As meat shortages hit grocery stores and fast-food restaurants, political pressure built to get the dozens of plants across the country that had shut down because of virus outbreaks up and running again. After an executive order by President Donald Trump declared the meat supply "critical infrastructure" and shielded the companies from certain liability, Tyson reopened its Waterloo facility Thursday.New safety precautions have been added, like plexiglass barriers along the production line, infrared temperature scanners to detect fevers, and face shields and masks for the workers.Now the question is: Will America's appetite for meat be sated without sickening armies of low-wage workers, and their communities, in new waves of infection?Workers and their advocates say Tyson's actions -- and recent federal safety guidelines -- have come far too late. They point to lapses that Tyson made in the first three weeks of April as the virus tore largely unimpeded through the Waterloo plant.As high-level executives lobbied the White House to help protect Tyson from lawsuits, the company was failing to provide adequate safety equipment to Waterloo workers and refusing the requests of local officials to close the plant, according to more than two dozen interviews with plant employees, immigrant-rights advocates, doctors, lawyers and government officials.While Tyson began changing its policies on short-term disability benefits in late March to encourage sick workers to stay home, many employees were not certain of the rules, and some went to work sick to avoid losing pay. Rumors and misinformation spread among workers, many of whom are not native English speakers. As the workforce dwindled, fear gripped the plant.Steve Stouffer, head of Tyson's beef and pork operations, said in an interview that the company had made the best safety decisions it could in a rapidly evolving situation. But he acknowledged that the company might have done more."Looking at it in the rearview mirror, you can always be better," he said.Thompson said that he was thankful for the new safety precautions but that Tyson had been too slow to act."Which is more important?" he asked. "Your pork chops or the people that are contracting COVID, the people that are dying from it?"'A Time of Fear and Panic'A squat gray building branded with the slogan "A Cut Above the Rest," the Waterloo plant is Tyson's largest pork operation in the United States, responsible for almost 4% of the nation's pork supply. Before the pandemic, it operated around the clock, breaking down up to 19,500 hogs a day into cuts of meat that traveled on a fleet of trucks across the country.It is tough, demanding work, usually performed by workers standing close together.During a conference call March 9, union leaders in the meat industry discussed how to spread out workers in plants and take other precautions to prevent an outbreak. But at the time, the problem seemed a long way away from eastern Iowa, said Bob Waters, president of the local union for the Waterloo plant."We thought it might come, but we hoped it didn't," he said. Iowa, like several other Midwestern states, never issued a statewide stay-at-home order.By early April, however, the Black Hawk County emergency operation center had started getting complaints about dangerous conditions at the plant.Workers and their relatives reported a lack of protective gear and insufficient safety protocols and said employees were starting to test positive for the virus.Tyson had put some precautions in place. In March, it began checking workers for fevers as they entered the plant and relaxed its policies so workers who tested positive or were feeling unwell would be paid a portion of their salary even if they stayed home.But workers were still crowded together on the factory floor, in the cafeteria and in the locker room, and most did not wear masks. Tyson said it offered cloth bandannas to workers who asked, but by the time it tried to buy protective gear, supplies were scarce.At least one employee vomited while working on the production line, and several left the facility with soaring temperatures, according to a worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, and local advocates who have spoken with workers at the plant.Because of patient privacy laws, Tyson and the union had difficulty obtaining information from state officials about which workers had tested positive -- hampering their efforts to isolate colleagues in close contact with them.Older employees, as well as those with asthma or diabetes, became increasingly afraid of entering the plant."It was really a time of fear and panic," said state Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, who works at a coronavirus clinic in Waterloo. "They had not slowed the line down. They were not practicing any sort of social distancing."On the night of April 12, she said, nearly two dozen Tyson employees were admitted to the emergency room at a hospital, MercyOne.Tyson employed interpreters to communicate with its diverse workforce, which includes immigrants from Bosnia, Mexico, Myanmar and the Republic of Congo. But misinformation and distrust spread.One worker who died had taken Tylenol before entering the plant to lower her temperature enough to pass the screening, afraid that missing work would mean forgoing a bonus, said a person who knows the worker's family and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their privacy.Workers at the plant were confused about why so many colleagues seemed to be getting sick and missing work. Supervisors told them that it was the flu, some said, or warned them not to talk about the virus at work.In an emailed statement, Tyson said it had "worked with the information available to us at the time to help keep our team members safe." The company said earlier information from the Black Hawk County Health Department would have helped its decision-making.Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye, director of the Black Hawk County Health Department, said that before the state changed the rules on April 14 to help speed public health investigations, she was legally prevented from sharing the names of employees who had tested positive with the company. But she said that she had been in constant communication with the plant and shared her concerns."I think they had enough information," she said, "to take the necessary measures."A Vulnerable WorkforceIowa, an overwhelmingly white state, has long had a complicated relationship with meatpacking plants. While the industry is an engine of the state's economy and the country's food supply, it also employs many immigrants, who have faced periodic raids to enforce immigration laws.Even with union representation, immigrants at the plant say they are afraid to raise concerns about working conditions."The narrative is shifting the blame to the workers instead of focusing on the true incompetence, in my opinion, of the government -- not just the governor, but also leaders here at Tyson," said Nilvia Reyes Rodriguez, president of the Waterloo chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "It was their responsibility to protect their workers."She added, "Because of the population in those industries, I think there is a disregard for those communities."Tyson said in a statement that it took pride in its diversity and that its immigrant workers have advanced to management positions, including at the Waterloo plant. But some of those tensions simmered as local politicians became locked in a struggle with the state and then the federal government over closing the plant.After Thompson's visit, he and other local politicians began lobbying Tyson and Gov. Kim Reynolds for a shutdown. The governor sided with Tyson. She issued an executive order April 16 stating that only the state government, not local governments, had the authority to close businesses in northeast Iowa, including the Waterloo plant."We're making sure that the workforce is protected and, most importantly, that we're keeping that food supply chain moving," Reynolds said.But the number of infections continued to increase. After Tyson closed the plant, the company invited workers back for coronavirus testing. But that process may have infected more workers, said Christine Kemp, chief executive of a local health clinic. Employees bunched together outside the plant and crowded the stairwells. Some left without being tested, afraid they would catch the virus in line.The virus had already spread through the community, including to a nursing home where several workers are married to Tyson employees. The Tyson employees who have died included a Bosnian refugee, survived by a grieving husband, and a man with three daughters. The mother died from cancer last year, and the oldest daughter, 19, will take guardianship of her sisters.A maintenance worker at the plant, Jose Ayala, 44, is lying unresponsive on a ventilator. Zach Medhaug, 39, a fellow worker, has been calling him to talk to him and play his favorite music.Medhaug also caught the coronavirus but has recovered and said he was ready to return to work. "But I'm also in a different position than some other people are," he said. "I'm over COVID. For other people, it's very scary."Reopening the PlantThe political stakes of the reopening in Waterloo are high.With meat supplies disrupted nationwide, the White House has pushed Tyson and other meat companies to continue operating. And Tyson officials have had plenty of chances to air concerns, dining at the White House and participating in several calls with the president and vice president in recent months.Since he issued the executive order April 28, Trump has been quick to declare that the supply chain is back on track.Asked Wednesday about a hamburger shortage at Wendy's, he turned to the secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue. "Basically, you're saying, in a week and a half, you think everything is going to be good, or sooner?" the president asked."Yes. These plants are opening as we speak," Perdue said."You're going to have to push them," the president replied. "Push them more."But the reopening may have to proceed in fits and starts. Tyson executives cautioned that it would take time to return to normal. The Waterloo plant reopened Thursday at about 50% capacity. And ramping back up could take weeks as workers return from quarantine.Stouffer, the Tyson executive, said he hoped the worst was over. But health officials warn that a rush to full production could cause a second wave of infections."History will be the judge, eventually," Stouffer said. "But we have attempted very hard -- our entire team, our entire organization, from the chairman of the board on down -- to do the right thing."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| House punts return until Friday at the earliest Posted: 11 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  Some Democrats predict a vote on the next coronavirus package may slip into next week.
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| NYC deaths from non-COVID causes rise over 5,000 above normal rate: CDC Posted: 11 May 2020 10:26 AM PDT  The deaths could be due to several factors, the CDC said https://bit.ly/2WNQpjc, including delays in seeking or getting life-saving care for fear of exposure to the coronavirus. Tracking excess mortality is vital in understanding the contribution to the death rate of both COVID-19 and poor availability of care for people with non-COVID conditions, noted researchers, who reported their findings in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The CDC used data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which has an electronic reporting system with a near complete count of all deaths in the city.
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| Guaidó advisers quit following bungled Venezuela raid Posted: 11 May 2020 10:36 AM PDT  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Monday that two U.S.-based political advisers have resigned in the fallout from a failed incursion into the Caribbean nation led by a former-Green Beret aimed at capturing President Nicolás Maduro. Guaido said he accepted the resignations of Juan José Rendon and Sergio Vergara, who had signed an agreement for a mission to arrest Maduro with U.S. military veteran Jordan Goudreau. While that deal fell apart, Goudreau has taken responsibility for going ahead with a failed attack launched May 3 on a beach outside the capital, Caracas.
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| India, China in high-altitude fistfight at disputed border Posted: 10 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT  Several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a high-altitude cross-border clash involving fistfights and stone-throwing at a remote but strategically important mountain pass near Tibet, the Indian Army said Sunday. There have been long-running border tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, with a bitter war fought over India's northeastern-most state of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962. The "stand-off" on Saturday at Naku La sector near the 15,000-feet (4,572-metre) Nathu La crossing in the northeastern state of Sikkim -- which borders Bhutan, Nepal and China -- was later resolved after "dialogue and interaction" at a local level, Hooda said.
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| Ahmaud Arbery: Man who recorded deadly shooting says he was in 'complete shock' Posted: 11 May 2020 06:25 AM PDT  A man who who recorded the viral video that showed a white father and his son allegedly shooting a black 25-year-old named Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging has spoken out about the fatal incident.William Roddie Bryan said in a new interview he was in "complete shock" when he witnessed the shooting in Brunswick, Georgia that took place on 23 February, and has received threats since the video he recorded drew national media attention.
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| Iran accidentally fires missile at its own military ship, killing 19 Posted: 11 May 2020 03:18 AM PDT  An Iranian ship fired a missile during a training exercise which accidentally struck another vessel, killing 19 sailors, state media reported.
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| 'It is scary to go to work': Top White House official reacts to staffers with coronavirus Posted: 10 May 2020 08:24 AM PDT  "I think everybody knows that going to work" in the White House is "a little bit risky," Kevin Hassett said.
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| Texas Salon Owner Admits to ‘The View’ She Received PPP Funds Before Court Date Posted: 11 May 2020 10:10 AM PDT  Shelley Luther, the Texas hair salon owner who received national attention for defying orders to keep her shop temporarily closed during the coronavirus pandemic, admitted on Monday morning that she had received $18,000 in stimulus funds days before her fateful court appearance.Luther became a conservative hero when she was briefly jailed last week following her refusal to apologize to a Texas judge after she was found guilty of civil and criminal contempt for violating a temporary restraining order by keeping her shop open despite stay-at-home orders. Sentenced to seven days in jail and a $7,000 fine, Luther was quickly freed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and her fine was paid by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.Appearing on the popular ABC talk show The View, Luther was confronted on her previous claims that she violated the state's shelter-in-place orders because she and her shop's stylists were facing financial hardships."You applied for small business loans and unemployment, and you did receive some aid from the government," co-host Sunny Hostin noted. "You received $18,000 from the government.""So I understand why people feel so strongly about going back to work because they feel that the government isn't doing its job and taking care of people, but in this instance, two days before you went to court, the money went into your account," Hostin added. "So I'm troubled by that."Luther replied that she could understand why the View host "would be troubled" before claiming that she didn't know what to do with the money she applied for and received through the Paycheck Protection Program."What happened was I already had the court date, and I already had been open the entire time," the salon owner asserted. "There was $18,000 dropped in my bank account with no notice of what it was. So I get no instructions."Saying that she thinks the money is from "one of the loans," Luther went on to claim that she doesn't "know how I'm supposed to spend it," adding that she is aware that there are a number of regulations and guidelines that come with the funds."I didn't want to put myself in deeper debt by spending it the wrong way, you know, and also having to close the salon," Luther said. "So until I got further instruction on that, I didn't want to spend it.""And giving me $18,000 to spend when my stylists aren't actual employees of mine, they're actually subleasing," she concluded. "So I wasn't sure if I was even able to give them any of that money as employees because I don't pay them."Besides the widespread adulation she received from the right over her defiance of stay-at-home orders, which included praise from President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) flying in for a haircut at her salon, Luther was also the beneficiary of a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $500,000 on her behalf.Texas Monthly, however, recently reported that the crowdfunding effort for Luther, which labeled her an "American hero," was actually created back on April 23, one day before she reopened her salon. The campaign organizer wrote that they "researched her and her cause" and decided that "we would approach her and offer to support her as our first patriot cause."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| North Korea outbreak fear as Chinese border city locked down Posted: 11 May 2020 02:02 AM PDT  China has enforced a lockdown on a city bordering North Korea, raising suspicions about a coronavirus outbreak in the isolated country. Residential compounds have been closed and transportation shut down in Shulan, a city of 700,000 in the north-eastern province of Jilin, state broadcaster China Central Television reported on Sunday. Students who already had returned to school, were sent back home again to study, and the city's threat level has been raised from medium to high risk. As of Saturday, Jilin province had reported a total of 105 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases and 19 imported ones. There were 11 new coronavirus cases in Shulan on Saturday, local health authorities said. North Korea closed its borders in January when Covid-19 first began to take hold in China, and has consistently stated that nobody inside the country has been infected.
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| Russia's Putin orders gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown despite surge in cases Posted: 11 May 2020 01:40 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures despite a new surge in infections which took Russia's tally past Italy's, making it the fourth highest in the world. Putin, in a televised nationwide address, said that from Tuesday he would start lifting restrictions that had forced many people to work from home and businesses to temporarily close. The Russian leader emphasised the lifting of restrictions would be gradual and that individual regions in the world's largest country would need to tailor their approach to varying local conditions.
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| New York City recorded 24,000 more deaths than normal over 2 months this spring. About 5,000 of those are still a mystery. Posted: 11 May 2020 02:05 PM PDT  Some of the unexplained deaths could still be attributed to the coronavirus, but public-health experts say we may never know for sure.
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| Israel demolishes home of alleged Palestinian attacker Posted: 11 May 2020 12:42 AM PDT |
| Violence Against Asian Americans Is on the Rise—But It’s Part of a Long History Posted: 11 May 2020 02:13 PM PDT  A new docuseries on PBS calls attention to how Asian Americans have often been violently scapegoated for larger societal issues
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| Killing of rare river dolphins sparks poaching fears in Bangladesh lockdown Posted: 10 May 2020 08:37 AM PDT  The gutted carcass of a freshwater dolphin has been found in a river sanctuary in Bangladesh, officials said Sunday, sparking fears fishermen are taking advantage of the virus lockdown to poach the endangered creatures. Locals in the southeastern town of Raojan found the remains of the 62-inch (157-centimetre) long Ganges river dolphin on the banks of the Halda River, fishery department official Abdullah al Mamun told AFP. The dolphin is the second to be found dead in the same sanctuary since Bangladesh imposed its lockdown to tackle the coronavirus, said Manzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL).
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| More checks? A payroll tax cut? Trump and Congress split on next coronavirus relief plan Posted: 11 May 2020 01:37 PM PDT  Another round of relief checks? A payroll tax cut? Republicans and Democrats have pitched a number of ideas for the next coronavirus relief package.
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| Southern California birthday party blamed for virus cluster Posted: 09 May 2020 08:35 PM PDT  One attendee joked that, because she was coughing, she probably had the virus, a city of Pasadena spokeswoman said.
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| Asia latest: China's ground zero reports new cases, virus pauses long-running cartoon Posted: 11 May 2020 03:51 AM PDT  China reported a new cluster of coronavirus cases in the city of Wuhan. Five new infections were confirmed in one district of Wuhan, the city believed to be ground zero for the global pandemic. Officials reported 35 new infections, taking the total to 10,909, after recording only single-digit increases for eight of the preceding 12 days.
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| Pandemics have 2 endings, says historians Posted: 11 May 2020 10:29 AM PDT  When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? And how? According to historians, pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical, which occurs when the incidence and death rates plummet, and the social, when the epidemic of fear about the disease wanes.
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| This Home Beautifully Blends Traditional and Modern Japanese Architecture Posted: 11 May 2020 04:01 PM PDT |
| More than 90% of Tokyo hospital beds for COVID-19 patients filled: government Posted: 10 May 2020 08:59 AM PDT  More than 90 percent of hospital beds secured for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo have already been occupied, the Japanese Health Ministry said on Sunday, underscoring the pressing need to curb the further spread of the new coronavirus. The Tokyo Metropolitan government aims to boost the number of beds for COVID-19 patients to 4,000 eventually. About 5,000 people in Tokyo were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, representing nearly one-third of Japan's total infections of around 16,000, according to public broadcaster NHK.
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| Biggest US solar project approved in Nevada despite critics Posted: 11 May 2020 03:57 PM PDT  The Trump administration announced final approval Monday of the largest solar energy project in the U.S. and one of the biggest in the world despite objections from conservationists who say it will destroy thousands of acres of habitat critical to the survival of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise in Nevada. The $1 billion Gemini solar and battery storage project about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas is expected to produce 690 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 260,000 households — and annually offset greenhouse emissions of about 83,000 cars. It will create about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and inject an estimated $712.5 million in the economy as the nation tries to recover from the downturn brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said.
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| Interpol issues red notice for US diplomat's wife charged with killing Harry Dunn Posted: 11 May 2020 08:49 AM PDT  Interpol have issued a red notice for the wife of a US diplomat charged with killing Harry Dunn, as police told his parents she was "wanted internationally". British prosecutors charged Anne Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving after a car crash that knocked the 19-year-old off his motorbike outside a US military base in Northamptonshire last year. It is alleged the 42-year-old suspect had been driving on the wrong side of the road before the crash. Ms Sacoolas is the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton and claimed diplomatic immunity to allow her to return to America, sparking an international row. An extradition request submitted by the Home Office was rejected by the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January. In a significant escalation of Britain's stance on the issue, it emerged on Monday that Interpol had issued a request to police forces worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest Ms Sacoolas if she crossed their borders. Number 10 said the refusal by the US to extradite Ms Sacoolas, who was charged in December, amounted to a "denial of justice". Red notices are issued by the international policing organisation - of which both the UK and US are members - at the request of a member country. They are distinct, however, from an international arrest warrant and Interpol cannot compel police in any country to arrest someone who is the subject of a red notice. In an email sent by Northamptonshire Police, the 19-year-old's parents were told the suspect is "wanted internationally" and "should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted". Reacting to the development, Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles said: "It's been a terrible time for us. "We are utterly bereft and heartbroken and miss our Harry every minute of every single day. "This is important news that (our spokesman) has just passed on to us and we are in pieces. "I just want to urge Mrs Sacoolas to come back to the UK and do the right thing. Face justice and maybe then our two families can come together after the tragedy and build a bridge." A spokeswoman for the US state Department last reiterated its position on April 30, saying that, at the time of the accident and for the duration of her time in the UK, the driver had immunity from criminal jurisdiction. Mr Dunn's parents had separately written to Donald Trump, the US President, asking him to review the decision to block the extradition request. News of the Interpol notice came just hours after the head of the armed forces told the grieving family that he will make representations to his US colleagues about setting up a meeting after claims of "near misses" involving American military staff. General Sir Nick Carter penned a letter to Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn promising to raise the matter - saying "I am very supportive of positive engagement between you and the US base commander". His parents had issued a plea to arrange a meeting with the base following claims of "three near misses" involving their staff since the teenager's death.
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| New York state to ease virus lockdown but not Big Apple Posted: 11 May 2020 11:21 AM PDT  Some areas of New York -- the state worst affected by America's coronavirus outbreak -- will be allowed to gradually reopen later this week, but New York City will stay closed until at least June, leaders said Monday. COVID-19 has killed around 22,000 people in New York state, which has been shut down since Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all non-essential businesses ordered closed on March 22. "We start a new chapter today," Cuomo told reporters, adding, "It's an exciting new phase, we're all anxious to get back to work."
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| Trump walks out of press conference after clashing with female reporters and failing to reveal what crime he is accusing Obama of Posted: 11 May 2020 09:33 AM PDT  Donald Trump abruptly ended a press conference on coronavirus testing after a testy exchange with a female reporter of Asian descent who questioned why he advised her to "ask China" about the global death rate. Trump then left the Rose Garden.The event began with the announcement that the White House will devote $11bn to bolster coronavirus testing across the country, with officials saying 9 million new tests will be available later this month. Staff and visitors to the White House are now required to wear masks — the president still won't wear one.
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| Iran raises death toll in friendly fire missile strike to 19 Posted: 11 May 2020 03:38 AM PDT  The friendly fire incident happened on Sunday near the port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran.
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| Coronavirus cases are rising in Germany again just days after it relaxed its national lockdown Posted: 10 May 2020 07:27 AM PDT  Germany could be forced to bring back its coronavirus lockdown just days after shops and schools were allowed to re-open.
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| Virus symptoms multiply as pandemic deepens Posted: 11 May 2020 06:44 AM PDT  Every week, it seems, the list of coronavirus symptoms -- ranging from disagreeable to deadly, from "COVID toes" to toxic shock -- grows longer. What began as a familiar flu-like cluster of chills, headaches and fever has rapidly expanded over the last three months into a catalogue of syndromes affecting most of the body's main organs. The new coronavirus can also push the immune system into overdrive, unleashing an indiscriminate assault on pathogens and their human hosts alike.
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| Sioux tribe rejects governor's request to remove checkpoints Posted: 10 May 2020 02:51 PM PDT  "I absolutely agree that we need to work together during this time of crisis, however you continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation," Chairman Harold Frazier said in a statement.
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| China warns of countermeasures to new U.S. rule for Chinese journalists Posted: 11 May 2020 10:57 AM PDT  China warned on Monday that it will take countermeasures in response to a U.S. decision to tighten visa terms for Chinese journalists and urged the United States to immediately "correct its mistake."
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| Markets teem as Pakistan's lockdown eases despite infection surge Posted: 11 May 2020 07:59 AM PDT  Markets across Pakistan were teeming on Monday after opening up for the first time in over a month as the country began to lift its lockdown despite a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections. Pakistan announced last week that it would begin a phased lifting of its lockdown because of the effect it was having on the economy and an impoverished workforce. "We opened today after almost two months; I am almost bankrupt and owe workers their salaries," said Muhammad Sattar, a garment shop owner in one of the busiest commercial areas of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and financial capital.
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| Supreme Court appears divided in Catholic schools case Posted: 11 May 2020 02:04 AM PDT  The Supreme Court on Monday seemed divided over how broadly religious institutions including schools, hospitals and social service centers should be shielded from job discrimination lawsuits by employees. On Monday, the high court heard a case stemming from a unanimous 2012 Supreme Court decision in which the justices said the Constitution prevents ministers from suing their churches for employment discrimination. Lawyer Eric Rassbach, representing two Catholic schools sued by former fifth grade teachers who taught religion among other subjects, told the justices that the women count as ministers exempt from suing.
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| Trump claims coronavirus numbers 'are going down almost everywhere.' That's not the case. Posted: 11 May 2020 08:16 AM PDT  As the United States nears 80,000 COVID-19 deaths, President Trump enthusiastically claimed Monday that things are looking "much better" in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, with "numbers" -- presumably new infections, deaths, and hospitalizations -- improving across the board.> Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020In reality, that's not the case. While the U.S. has made some progress overall, and increases in confirmed infections can be attributed in part to an increase in testing, there are many places across the country that are actually on an upward trajectory. California, for example, has seen cases and deaths rise, and researchers are now concerned the virus' toll in the Golden State will be worse than originally predicted.When the New York area, the U.S. epicenter which has shown sustained improvement, is removed from the equation, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise nationally.> Nationally, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise once New York region is excluded from totals. New cases across the nation also continue to build, although some of that is function of more widespread testing. New York is showing sustained declines for more than two weeks pic.twitter.com/mPP2TwhBdh> > -- Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) May 10, 2020And, of course, the virus has infected people who work at the White House, though Trump doesn't seem perturbed by the development. > It is absolutely bonkers that we're already having conversations about opening up society when we can't control the spread of the virus within our own political system. pic.twitter.com/cjKf0Y7fJU> > -- Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) May 11, 2020More stories from theweek.com The dark decade ahead The making of a coronavirus conspiracy theory 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's coronavirus strategy
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| IS regional leader Sheikh Khorasani 'arrested in Afghanistan' Posted: 11 May 2020 08:12 AM PDT  Sheikh Omar Khorasani is reportedly captured with two other IS leaders in a special operation in Kabul.
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| Fox News Hosts: Americans Need ‘Military Mindset’ to ‘Reopen Right Now’ Posted: 11 May 2020 08:59 AM PDT  A few days after Fox News host Pete Hegseth called on "healthy people" to muster up the "courage" to go get infected with coronavirus in order to achieve "herd immunity," Hegseth agreed with Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade on Monday that Americans need to take on a "military mindset" and enter public spaces.Promoting his latest military-themed special on Fox Nation, the network's online streaming service, Hegseth was asked by the Fox & Friends crew if there was a similarity between military combat and the current pandemic that has killed roughly 80,000 Americans."I was going to say, all of you guys in the special, you're used to fighting an enemy who you can see coming at you, but this is so different because it's invisible," co-host Steve Doocy noted.After Hegseth said that his "Modern Warriors" special shows the need for people to "have some courage to be out and get open and be responsible," Kilmeade explicitly asked if the American public could learn a lesson from soldiers in terms of confronting the disease as states rush to reopen businesses."About 78,000 are dead, we understand how many got the virus and will. I get it," Kilmeade stated. "But at the same time, can you get the military mindset with the masses of, take on the enemy because we have no choice—sitting on the sideline will destroy the country. How do you get the military mindset for the everyday American?"Hegseth, an informal adviser of President Donald Trump who was once under consideration to run the VA administration, responded that the "military mindset is a patriotic mindset.""It's what forged and founded this country," he continued. "It is courage. We can be responsible, we can follow guidelines—while also reopening. We have to reopen, guys, right now, even in some of the more difficult places, or the livelihoods of people is going to crush more folks, or as many—I'm not talking in a statistical sense—as the actual virus itself."Hegseth's remarks come on the heels of him calling for healthy Americans to embrace the "American spirit" and help open back up the economy by willingly going out in public and risking infection."Now that we are learning more, herd immunity is our friend," he declared last week. "Healthy people getting out there—they are going to have to have some courage!"The vast majority of the public, meanwhile, still believe it is too soon for the nation to be reopened, feeling it will result in a higher death toll. Current models now project a sharp upturn in deaths after taking into account the relaxation of social distancing guidelines and increased mobility.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Yazidi girl returns home to Iraq after years of IS captivity Posted: 10 May 2020 01:22 PM PDT  A Yazidi girl abducted by the Islamic State group returned to Iraq Sunday to be reunited with her family after the coronavirus lockdown in Syria delayed her homecoming, a community member said. Layla Eido, 17, was among dozens of women and girls from Iraq's minority Yazidi community who were abducted by IS from their ancestral home of Sinjar in 2014. The women were enslaved, systematically raped, or married off by force to jihadists, but for Eido the nightmare came to an end when the jihadist group's so-called "caliphate" collapsed last year.
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| A tooth offers evidence modern humans reached Europe earlier than previously thought Posted: 11 May 2020 08:00 AM PDT  New research pushes back the date of the arrival of our species in Europe — and highlights questions about the Neanderthals already there.
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| White House considers more coronavirus stimulus, with conditions - officials Posted: 10 May 2020 09:46 AM PDT  The White House has started informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about next steps on coronavirus relief legislation, officials said on Sunday, but they stressed any new federal money would come with conditions. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox New Sunday he was having discussions with lawmakers from both parties to understand their concerns about state budgets. "Let's take the next few weeks," Mnuchin said.
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| After controversy, parole grant in officer's slaying delayed Posted: 10 May 2020 10:04 PM PDT |
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