| One of Trump's favorite pollsters shows his approval plummeting Posted: 27 May 2020 11:39 AM PDT  President Trump's approval rating has plummeted since late February, according to the Rasmussen daily tracking poll, which the president frequently cited during his first three years in office.
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| Here are the likely contenders on Biden's vice president shortlist Posted: 27 May 2020 10:27 AM PDT  While Joe Biden has committed to selecting a female running mate, few further details are confirmed. Here's a look at five women in the picture.
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| Protests, looting erupt in Minneapolis over racially charged killing by police Posted: 27 May 2020 08:58 AM PDT  The video, taken by an onlooker to Monday night's fatal encounter between police and George Floyd, 46, showed him lying face down and handcuffed, groaning for help and repeatedly saying, "please, I can't breathe," before growing motionless. The second day of demonstrations, accompanied by looting and vandalism, began hours after Mayor Jacob Frey urged prosecutors to file criminal charges against the white policeman shown pinning Floyd to the street. Floyd, who was unarmed and reportedly suspected of trying to pass counterfeit bills at a corner eatery, was taken by ambulance from the scene of his arrest and pronounced dead the same night at a hospital.
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| The Chinese CDC now says the coronavirus didn't jump to people at the Wuhan wet market — instead, it was the site of a super-spreader event Posted: 28 May 2020 03:49 PM PDT  The origin of the new coronavirus still isn't known. But according to the Chinese CDC, it isn't the wet market in Wuhan.
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| Iran outraged by 'honour killing' of 14-year-old girl Romina Ashrafi Posted: 28 May 2020 03:36 AM PDT  The killing of an Iranian teen by her father after she eloped with an older man sparked outrage on Wednesday, with local media denouncing "institutionalised violence" in "patriarchal" Iran. Iranian media covered the apparent "honour" crime extensively, with Ebtekar newspaper leading its front page with the headline "Unsafe father's house". According to local media, Romina Ashrafi was killed in her sleep on May 21 by her father, who decapitated her in the family home in Talesh in northern Gilan province. The reports said her father had refused her permission to marry a man fifteen years her senior, spurring her to run away, but she was returned home after her father reported her. The legal marriage age in Iran is 13 for women. Iranian media reported that after authorities detained the teenager, she told a judge she feared for her life if she was returned to home. But what most outraged public opinion was the lenient punishment the father is likely to face, Ebtekar wrote. The newspaper notes that Iran's normal "eye for an eye" retributive justice does not apply to fathers who kill their children. Accordingly, he is likely to face three to 10 years in prison, a sentence that could be reduced further, the newspaper wrote, denouncing the "institutionalised violence" of Iran's "patriarchal culture". With the farsi hashtag Romina_Ashrafi focusing outrage on Twitter, President Hassan Rouhani "expressed his regrets" in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, pleading for the speedy passing of several anti-violence bills, his office said. On Twitter, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, said a bill on the protection of young people was in the "final phase" of validation by Iran's Guardian Council. The council, which vets legislation to ensure compliance with Iran's constitution and Islamic sharia law, has thrice previously called for changes to the law after it was passed by lawmakers, Ebtekar newspaper wrote. The publication fears that if the council sends back the bill, it will be buried by Iran's new parliament, which held its first session Wednesday and is dominated by conservatives and hardliners opposed to Rouhani.
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| ICC allows former I.Coast president Gbagbo to leave Belgium Posted: 28 May 2020 03:02 PM PDT  The International Criminal Court on Thursday said former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo can leave Belgium under certain conditions following his acquittal last year over post-electoral violence that killed 3,000 people. Gbagbo and his deputy Charles Ble Goude were both cleared of crimes against humanity a year ago, eight years after the former West African strongman's arrest and transfer to the Hague-based court. Belgium agreed to host Gbagbo, 73, after he was released in February last year under strict conditions including that he would return to court for a prosecution appeal against his acquittal.
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| Failed Maduro coup leader flew on pro-govt magnate's plane Posted: 28 May 2020 05:15 AM PDT  It was mid-January and Jordan Goudreau was itching to get going on a secret plan to raid Venezuela and arrest President Nicolás Maduro when the former special forces commando flew to the city of Barranquilla in Colombia to meet with his would-be partner in arms. To get there, Goudreau and two former Green Beret buddies relied on some unusual help: a chartered flight out of Miami's Opa Locka executive airport on a plane owned by a Venezuelan businessman so close to the government of Hugo Chávez that he spent almost 4 years in a U.S. prison for trying to cover up clandestine cash payments to its allies. The owner of the Venezuela-registered Cessna Citation II with yellow and blue lines, identified with the tail number YV-3231, was Franklin Durán, according to three people familiar with the businessman's movements who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
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| Coronavirus infections are rising as states reopen, potentially signaling a second wave Posted: 27 May 2020 08:48 AM PDT  Twenty states reported an increase in new infections during the week ending May 24, up from 13 states the week before.
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| So-called honor killing of teen girl sparks outcry in Iran Posted: 27 May 2020 02:53 PM PDT  The so-called honor killing of a 14-year-old Iranian girl by her dad, who reportedly beheaded her as she slept, has sparked a nationwide outcry.
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| First Latina U.S. senator withdraws name from Biden's running mate list Posted: 28 May 2020 04:22 PM PDT  Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, said on Thursday she is not interested in being Joe Biden's running mate in November's presidential election. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has said he will chose a woman as his running mate, as he prepares to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.
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| As politicians in DC condemn China for crackdowns on Hong Kong protests, US police use tear gas on demonstrators in Minneapolis Posted: 27 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  Tear gas — also known as CS gas — is considered a chemical weapon and is banned in warfare by most countries, including the US.
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| 911 call from Breonna Taylor shooting released: 'Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend' Posted: 28 May 2020 02:57 PM PDT  "I don't know what is happening," Kenneth Walker said. "Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend."
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| Five UK mercenaries offered $150,000 each to fly helicopters for Gen Haftar in Libya, say UN Posted: 28 May 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Five British mercenaries involved in an operation to fly assault helicopters for Libya's renegade General Khalifa Haftar were offered bounties of up to $150,000 each for their role in the daring plot which went awry. The men, comprised of former Royal Marines and RAF personnel, were among 20 foreign mercenaries who traveled to Libya last June in an operation to pilot assault helicopters and speed boats to intercept Turkish ships ferrying weapons to Haftar's opponents – the UN-backed government in Tripoli. A source with knowledge of the secret UN report which revealed the plot told The Daily Telegraph that the men involved were believed on sums of "$30,000 to $50,000 a month, or $20,000 to $40,000 per month depending on whether you were pilot or aircrewman". "It was a three-month contract". The Telegraph can reveal that the UN investigation concluded that the operation was led by Steven Lodge, a former South African Air Force officer who also served in the British military. Mr. Lodge, who now resides in Scotland, is a director of Umbra Aviation, a South-Africa based company that has recently supplied helicopters to the Government of Mozambique, where the country is battling a jihadist insurgency in its restive north. Speaking to The Telegraph over the phone, Mr. Lodge flatly denied the chronicle of events detailed in the UN report. "All the info is incorrect - the whole facts behind the whole thing," he said.
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| Why India must battle the shame of period stain Posted: 28 May 2020 10:38 AM PDT  Award-winning photographer Niraj Gera takes on stigma surrounding menstruation in India.
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| Iran Guards warn US after receiving new combat vessels Posted: 28 May 2020 06:15 AM PDT  Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned the United States against its naval presence in the Gulf as they received 110 new combat vessels. "We announce today that wherever the Americans are, we are right next to them, and they will feel our presence even more in the near future," the Guards' navy chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said during a ceremony in southern Iran. Iran and the United States have appeared to be on the brink of an all-out confrontation twice in the past year.
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| Spread of coronavirus fuels corruption in Latin America Posted: 26 May 2020 09:08 PM PDT  From Argentina to Panama, a number of officials have been forced to resign as reports of fraudulent purchases of ventilators, masks and other medical supplies pile up. "Whenever there's a dire situation, spending rules are relaxed and there's always someone around looking to take advantage to make a profit," said José Ugaz, a former Peruvian prosecutor who jailed former President Alberto Fujimori and was chairman of Transparency International from 2014-17. Coronavirus clusters are still spreading in Latin America, fueling a spike in deaths, swamping already-precarious hospitals and threatening to ravage slumping economies.
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| Trump press secretary says president always tries to tell truth as she attacks social media Posted: 28 May 2020 12:31 PM PDT  Donald Trump's press secretary said the president always intends to give truthful information as he prepares to sign an executive order against social media tech giants.Kayleigh McEnany said if anyone should be fact checked more it should be the mainstream media.
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| Huawei CFO Meng loses key court fight against extradition to United States Posted: 27 May 2020 02:08 AM PDT  Huawei Technologies Co's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was dealt a setback by a Canadian court on Wednesday as she tries to avoid extradition to the United States to face bank fraud charges, dashing hopes for an end to her 18-month house arrest in Vancouver. The ruling, which could further deteriorate relations between Ottawa and Beijing, elicited immediate strong reaction from China's embassy in Canada, which said Canada is "accomplice to United States efforts to bring down Huawei and Chinese high-tech companies."
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| China ignores U.S. threats and claims new powers over Hong Kong Posted: 28 May 2020 09:25 AM PDT  Trump administration warned Beijing's adoption of new laws in Hong Kong would bring "significant consequences." But China never flinched.
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| Gang of 26 arrested for allegedly smuggling people from Vietnam to Europe in investigation prompted by Essex lorry deaths Posted: 27 May 2020 07:29 AM PDT  A gang of 26 suspected people smugglers have been arrested in France and Belgium in an investigation prompted by the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found in the back of a lorry in Essex last year. The early morning raids took place in Paris and Brussels, with 13 people detained in each country. In Belgium, 11 Vietnamese and two Moroccans were held, while in France, authorities said the suspects were "mostly Vietnamese and French". The suspects are allegedly part of an organised crime group that smuggles refugees from Asia, particularly from Vietnam, and that likely has transported up to several dozen people every day for several months, Europol said in a statement. "Prompted by the discovery of 39 deceased Vietnamese nationals inside a refrigerated trailer in Essex in the United Kingdom in October 2019, a joint investigation team (JIT) was created between Belgium, Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Eurojust and Europol," Europol said.
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| Tucker Carlson: Minnesota Protests Over Police Killing a ‘Form of Tyranny’ Posted: 27 May 2020 07:48 PM PDT  Fox News host Tucker Carlson condemned the protests that have broken out in Minneapolis following the killing of George Floyd by police, claiming on Wednesday night that they are a "form of tyranny" and "oppression."With demonstrations growing violent and chaotic as protesters have clashed with riot gear-clad police—who have cracked down on the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets—Carlson devoted most of his attention to the actions of the demonstrators, who are protesting the death of a black man who was pinned down by a cop."So we know that George Floyd died in police custody, and when an investigation is done we will do a lot more," the conservative primetime host declared "It's possible that at least one police officer will be charged in the case. So as of tonight, those are the facts. Here's another fact: What happened last night in Minneapolis was not a political protest—it was a riot."Showing footage of demonstrators breaking windows and cursing, Carlson told his viewers that this is "what rioting looks like," insisting he wasn't trying to defend the behavior of the police officers involved in Floyd's death."We are defending society itself," he said. "Rioting is one thing you don't want. Ugly opinions, police brutality, officious birdwatchers, rude entitled ladies walking their dogs in big city parks—all of that is bad, but none of it is nearly as bad as what you just saw.""The indiscriminate use of violence by mobs is a threat to every American of all colors and backgrounds and political beliefs," Carlson continued. "Democracy cannot exist when people are rioting. Rioting is a form of tyranny. The strong and the violent oppress the weak and the unarmed. It is oppression."The Fox News host went on to accuse CNN and other media outlets of trying to fan racial flames, complaining that CNN labeled the demonstrators as "protesters" rather than "rioters."While Carlson said that these recent demonstrations against police brutality are riots and not political protests, the Fox News host—who said last summer that white supremacy is a "hoax"—was singing a different tune during the anti-lockdown protests staged by armed, largely white, right-wingers storming the Michigan capitol."This is America," Carlson said at the time. "We're allowed to disagree with what our leaders do however we like, and we're allowed to express that disagreement in public."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Russia slams 'dangerous' US foreign policy moves Posted: 28 May 2020 03:00 PM PDT  Russia said on Thursday the United States was acting in a dngerous and unpredictable way, after Washington withdrew from a key military treaty and moved to ramp up pressure on Iran. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the comments after Washington announced it would end sanctions waivers for nations that remain in a nuclear accord signed with Iran.
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| Protester who hung effigy of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear fired from job at car dealership Posted: 27 May 2020 12:39 PM PDT  Terry Bush, president of the Kentucky 3 Percenters group, only hoisted the effigy, his wife Patsy said Wednesday morning.
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| WH press secretary: Trump says he’s feeling ‘absolutely great’ after taking hydroxychloroquine Posted: 28 May 2020 02:14 PM PDT  At a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters President Trump said he's feeling "absolutely great" after completing his treatment with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. In April, the FDA cautioned against using the drug to treat COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial.
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| Venezuela's Maduro vows to raise gasoline price as Iranian tanker nears Posted: 27 May 2020 08:03 AM PDT  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday pledged to begin charging citizens for gasoline, as the fourth cargo of a five-tanker flotilla bringing fuel from Iran approached the South American nation's exclusive economic zone. Iran is providing the country with up to 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components to help it ease an acute scarcity that has forced Venezuelans to wait in hours-long lines at service stations or pay steep prices on the black market. With the arrival of the gasoline, Maduro said he would end the policy of providing fuel effectively for free after more than two decades of frozen pump prices.
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| Outrage in Iran over gruesome 'honour killing' of teenage girl Posted: 28 May 2020 05:03 AM PDT  Iran's president has called for so-called honour killings to be outlawed following the gruesome murder of a teenage girl, allegedly by her father, for running away from home with an older man. Romina Ashrafi, 14, was allegedly beheaded by her father as punishment for fleeing her home in Talesh, near Tehran, with a 29-year-old man. The couple were detained and Romina was handed back to her family as her father appeared to have forgiven her, according to the state news agency IRNA. But on May 21, the girl's father attacked her while she was sleeping and cut off her head with a sickle, according to a local news website called Gilkhabar. The father has since been arrested, as well as the man Romina eloped with according to local media reports. Under Iranian law, young girls can marry from 13 although most women get married in their early 20s according to the Associated Press. If convicted, the girl's father would face a prison sentence of ten years. Iran's penal code currently reduces the penalties for fathers, or other family members, who carry out honour killings on their relatives. Romina's death has shocked Iran and prompted Hassan Rouhani, the president, to order his Cabinet to speed up legislation against so-called honour killings.
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| Minneapolis mayor calls for calm after a 2nd night of protests over George Floyd's death collapses into chaos, leaving a Target looted and an AutoZone on fire Posted: 28 May 2020 12:25 AM PDT  "Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy," Mayor Jacob Frey said after a night that left shops looted and on fire.
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| Double murder suspect arrested after multistate manhunt Posted: 28 May 2020 10:45 AM PDT  The manhunt for the 23-year-old college senior had spanned Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
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| Another cruise crew member in coronavirus limbo dies of apparent suicide Posted: 27 May 2020 02:33 PM PDT  A cruise ship crew member died last week of self-inflicted harm, the US Coast Guard said Wednesday as it confirmed the latest in a series of apparent suicides among such workers trapped at sea because of the coronavirus pandemic. A 32-year-old Filipino worker on a ship called Scarlet Lady, the only cruise ship owned by Virgin Voyages, died of "apparent self-harm," the Coast Guard told AFP. The Florida-based company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson expressed its condolences over the death of its employee but gave no details of what happened.
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| Attorney General William Barr has tapped an outside prosecutor to investigate allegations of 'unmasking' related to the Russia probe Posted: 27 May 2020 10:16 PM PDT  The inquiry "can shed light on and give us a better understanding of what happened with respect to President Trump" and his campaign, a DOJ spokesperson said.
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| U.S. coronavirus deaths top 100,000 as country reopens Posted: 27 May 2020 01:48 PM PDT  In about three months, more Americans have died from COVID-19 than during the Korean War, Vietnam War and the U.S. conflict in Iraq from 2003-2011 combined. The new respiratory disease has also killed more people than the AIDS epidemic did from 1981 through 1989, and it is far deadlier than the seasonal flu has been in decades. The last time the flu killed as many people in the United States was in the 1957-1958 season, when 116,000 died.
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| New tropical hotspot may emerge in Atlantic amid busy start to hurricane season Posted: 28 May 2020 01:21 PM PDT  Two tropical storms have already formed prior to the official start of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1- and AccuWeather meteorologists say there are two factors behind the unusual occurrence. These weather factors could soon cause more storms to brew, but this time, forecasters are watching a new tropical hotspot of the basin.Tropical Storm Arthur, the first storm of the season, was named by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on May 16, the earliest-named tropical system to form in the Atlantic since Tropical Storm Arlene in April 2017. The system first developed into a tropical depression about 125 miles off Melbourne, Florida. As the disturbance gained strength and moved northward over warm waters in the western Atlantic, Arthur avoided landfall in North Carolina. But, the system still unleashed wind gusts of up to 49 mph in the state. Fortunately, no major impacts were reported, and Arthur went out to sea before it could directly strike land.Less than two weeks later, Tropical Storm Bertha became the second-named storm of the season on May 27 in a similar area to where Arthur had developed. Bertha will also go down as the first-named storm to make landfall in the U.S. this year. Bertha struck about 20 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, and unleashed flooding rainfall across the Carolinas and portions of the mid-Atlantic. Before officially being named the system drenched South Florida with flooding rainfall, which pushed monthly rain totals to more than two times the normal amount for May in places like Miami.The last time two named storms preceded the official start of hurricane season in the Atlantic was in 2016, when Hurricane Alex and Tropical Storm Bonnie both formed before June 1. This GOES-16 satellite image taken Wednesday, May 27, 2020, at 11:40 UTC and provided by THE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Tropical Storm Bertha approaching the South Carolina coast. (NOAA via AP) "You get early season development when you get an interaction between the jet stream and the tropics," AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. "It's still early enough in the year that, at times, the jet stream can take pronounced dips into the south."A southward plunge in the jet stream causes weather systems to interact with the warm water of the Atlantic, explained Rayno."The jet stream brings down frontal boundaries that stall, frontal boundaries are locations where showers and thunderstorms could form, and in time, if you can get that area to sit, you start to get lower pressure to form, and in time this could turn into a tropical system," said Rayno.Arthur and Bertha both formed from a similar set of weather factors, and a third-named tropical storm could form as early as next week, fueled by another big dive of the jet stream."On Monday, this dip in the jet stream [is] gonna push a frontal boundary into the northwest Caribbean. That frontal boundary will stall as we get into Monday. [On] Tuesday, showers and thunderstorms start to form and by mid- to- late-next week, I think we are going to get an area of low pressure to form," said Rayno. The Miami skyline is shrouded in clouds as a cyclist rides along Biscayne Bay at Matheson Hammock Park, Friday, May 15, 2020, in Miami. A trough of low pressure moved through the Florida Straits and organized over the northwest Bahamas to become Tropical Storm Arthur. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Rayno said that he believes there is a 50/50 chance that the third named storm, which would be called Cristobal, could be the result of this setup.AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist David Samuhel said tropical trouble could first brew in the East Pacific before emerging into the Atlantic. Forecasters have been monitoring an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific this week that could soon churn out a tropical entity, which could take an unusual track into Central America."We are watching an area south of Mexico and Central America. It is expected to become a tropical depression or even a named storm as it approaches the coast of El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico," Samuhel said.Even though the storm that is being monitored will likely dissipate over land, Samuhel said that, "There will be abundant moisture associated with the system and when that moisture moves northward into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, it could reform into a new tropical system."The last three tropical cyclones to make landfall in the U.S. during the month of June were all Gulf of Mexico storms, similar to the hotspot currently being monitored. The most recent Gulf of Mexico storm to result in a June landfall was Tropical Storm Cindy, which came ashore in western Louisiana in 2017.Samuhel advised that while the reformation of the storm would not happen until several days into June, the conditions could be favorable for development as water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are above normal and upper-level conditions in the atmosphere could remain favorable.It has been a few years since the third-named storm of the season formed as early in the season as June and made landfall in the U.S., with the last occurrence being Tropical Storm Cindy in 2017 and then again in 2016 when Tropical Storm Colin developed and slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, north of Tampa.Before that, it had been several decades since this happened with the last time prior to 2016 being back in 1968, when Tropical Storm Candy formed in late June.Having three named storms this early in the season is a rare occurrence, and only twice in the last decade has a fourth-named storm formed in June with Tropical Storm Danielle in 2017 and Tropical Storm Debby in 2012. Tommy and Dorothy McIntosh walk away from their daughters flooded home in Live Oak Fla., Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Dozens of homes and businesses were flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) Landfalling hurricanes are even more rare during the month of June. Hurricane Bonnie in 1986 was the last hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. during the month. The Category 1 storm generated peak winds of 85 mph before rolling into High Island, Texas. Bonnie claimed five lives in the U.S. and it triggered more than a foot of rainfall in parts of Texas, including 13 inches in Ace, Texas."Only one major hurricane has made landfall in June anywhere in the U.S.," Samuhel said, adding that Hurricane Audrey dealt a devastating blow to southwestern Louisiana when it crashed onshore as a Category 3 storm, packing 125-mph winds, in 1957, and killed more than 400 in the U.S. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Bonnie ranks as the seventh deadliest storm to make landfall in the U.S. and the third deadliest in Louisiana history.Dan Kottlowski, AccuWeather's top hurricane expert, and his team of long-range meteorologists, have been hard at work analyzing weather patterns for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season since late in winter. Kottlowski warned about early season risks in the Gulf of Mexico in his initial forecast for the season, which was released on March 25.Kottlowski upped the numbers projected for the 2020 season in an early May forecast update. He expressed "growing concern" for an active season due to a La Niña pattern that is expected to develop during the season. La Niña is the cool phase and counterpoint to El Niño -- and it is characterized by three consecutive months of below-normal temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, near the equator. The team is now predicting 14 to 20 tropical storms and seven to 11 hurricanes, since La Niña patterns can limit episodes of high winds that can disrupt tropical development in the Atlantic.Four to six of the storms could strengthen into major hurricanes - Category 3 or higher. And Kottlowski warned that four to six named tropical systems could make direct impacts on the U.S mainland, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.The AccuWeather TV Network on Thursday night will host its first-ever hurricane town hall. The exclusive one-hour event will be moderated by AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Brittany Boyer who will lead a roundtable discussion with several of the top minds in hurricane forecasting and weather preparedness.Among those joining the discussion will be National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham, AccuWeather's own hurricane expert Dan Kottlowksi and Trevor Riggen of the American Red Cross, along with several others. Chief among the topics being discussed will be the impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on preparing for hurricanes this season, which AccuWeather forecasters believe will be very active. Tune in to the AccuWeather TV Network at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday evening and check AccuWeather.com for highlights and a recap.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios
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| Child grooming: Police record 10,000 social media offences Posted: 28 May 2020 04:08 PM PDT  In just two-and-a-half years, police in England and Wales recorded 10,119 online grooming offences.
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| Rights group urges inquiry into Philippine drug war killings Posted: 26 May 2020 11:50 PM PDT  Human Rights Watch is calling on the U.N.'s top human rights body to launch an independent investigation into the Philippine government's drug war that has left thousands dead, pointing in particular to its harmful effects on children. The advocacy group made the call alongside Wednesday's launch of a report timed for the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council session next month. The 48-page report is based on nearly 50 interviews and examines the impact of about two dozen killings under President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.
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| 'Orwell is rolling in his grave': Anger and disbelief at strict new lockdown rules in Moscow Posted: 28 May 2020 04:15 AM PDT  The Moscow City Hall on Wednesday promised to re-open parks and finally allow walks after nine weeks of coronavirus lockdown but the incredibly strict rules regulating outdoor activities have been met with universal derision. Sergei Sobyanin, the Moscow mayor, announced something that could be a cause for celebration on Wednesday, telling Vladimir Putin, the president, in a televised conference call that the Russian capital was poised to begin lifting some of the lockdown restrictions. The number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in Moscow on Thursday, was just over 2,000, the lowest in five weeks, and the number of hospitalisations dropped by 40 per cent in a fortnight, according to the mayor. Most of Moscow's shops and parks will re-open on Monday, and walks and outdoor exercises will finally be allowed but with a caveat. The details of what the City Hall dubbed an "experiment" have angered even the mayor's supporters who have credited him for stemming the outbreak. Each apartment building will be assigned three days a week when residents will be allowed to venture outside but only between 9 am and 9 pm, exercising will be permitted only before 9 am, and face masks will be mandatory.
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| Minneapolis Man: Cop Who Kneeled on George Floyd ‘Tried to Kill Me’ in 2008 Posted: 28 May 2020 09:27 AM PDT  Ira Latrell Toles didn't immediately recognize Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin in the now-viral video of him holding his knee on George Floyd's neck as the handcuffed black man repeatedly told him he couldn't breathe.But when news outlets identified the officers involved, Toles, 33, realized the man responsible for Floyd's death was the same police officer who barged into his home and beat him up in the bathroom before shooting him in the stomach 12 years earlier while responding to a domestic violence call. "The officer that killed that guy might be the one that shot me," Toles texted his sister on Tuesday night, according to messages shared with The Daily Beast. "They said his last name and I think it was him.""It's him," his sister instantly replied.On Tuesday, Chauvin was one of four officers fired for his involvement in Floyd's death, which has sparked protests across the country and calls for a federal hate-crime investigation. Local outlets reported that Chauvin was the officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes—as the 46-year-old pleaded, "I'm about to die." Floyd had no pulse when he was finally put into an ambulance.'Burn It Down. Let Them Pay': Deadly Chaos Erupts in Minneapolis as Fires Rage Over Police ViolenceMinneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday called for Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to arrest and charge Chauvin with Floyd's death. "Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now," Frey said in a news conference.Toles believes that Floyd's horrific death could have been prevented if Chauvin was properly punished for his violent arrest in May 2008. He said that while he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge—and still suffers pain from the bullet hole in his lower stomach—Chauvin continued his career at the Minneapolis Police Department with nothing more than a slap on the wrist."If he was reprimanded when he shot me, George Floyd would still be alive," the IT professional said. Authorities said that just before 2 a.m on May 24, 2008, officers responded to a domestic violence call at an apartment complex on Columbus Ave South. The 911 operator could hear a woman yelling for somebody to stop hitting her, local media reported at the time. Toles, who was then 21, admits that the mother of his child called the cops on him that night, but he was surprised when several officers showed up without announcing themselves. "When I saw that he breached the front door, I ran in the bathroom," Toles told The Daily Beast. "Then [Chauvin] starts kicking in that door. I was in the bathroom with a cigarette and no lighter."The 33-year-old said that Chauvin broke into the bathroom and started to hit him without warning. Toles said he returned blows to the officer because "my natural reaction to someone hitting me is to stop them from hitting me." "All I could do is assume it was the police because they didn't announce themselves or ever give me a command," he said. "I didn't know what to think when he started hitting me. I swear he was hitting me with the gun."According to local news reports, Chauvin shot and wounded Toles after he allegedly reached for an officer's gun. Toles said he doesn't remember being shot—just "being walked through the apartment until I collapsed in the main entrance where I was left to bleed until the paramedics came." "I remember my baby mother screaming and crying also," he added.Toles was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said he stayed for about three days. There, he learned Chauvin had shot him at such close range that the bullet went through his groin and came out his left butt cheek before hitting the bathroom wall. The wound, he said, left a hole that "never really closed" and is so large he can still stick a finger inside. Once he was released from the hospital, Toles said he was taken directly to court, where he was charged with two felony counts of obstructing legal process or arrest and a misdemeanor count of domestic assault. "I would assume my reaction would be to try to stop him from hitting me. If his first reaction was hitting me in the face that means I can't see and I'm too disoriented to first locate his gun and then try to take it from him and for what?" Toles said. "To turn a misdemeanor disorderly situation into a felony situation that could have resulted in me dying? He tried to kill me in that bathroom." Toles said he only spent a day or two in jail—where he was denied pain pills—for the charges before he was released. Three months later, he said he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge as part of a deal.Chauvin and the other officers involved were put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting—a standard procedure for the Minneapolis Police Department—but were later placed back into the field. "I knew he would do something again," Toles said. "I wish we had smartphones back then."The Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment. Chauvin, 44, is one of four officers who responded to a suspected "forgery in process" on Monday night—along with Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao.In the gut-wrenching, 10-minute video recorded by a bystander, Chauvin is seen pressing his knee on Floyd's neck while Thao stands guard, trying to keep upset bystanders at bay. "Please, please, please, I can't breathe. Please, man," Floyd says in the footage that does not show the beginning of the arrest. "I'm about to die," he says. A Minneapolis Fire Department report said Floyd did not have a pulse when he was loaded into an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after in what police described as a "medical incident.""We are looking and demanding that these officers be arrested and charged with the murder of George Floyd," Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the 46-year-old's family, told The Daily Beast on Thursday. "My hope is that there will be effective and courageous leadership that will speak to the value of George Floyd's life as an example to the world that black lives matter. It's time for a change in Minneapolis."Chauvin, who joined the force in 2001, has also been involved in several other police-involved shootings throughout his career. According to Communities United Against Police Brutality, 10 complaints have been filed against the now-former police officer—but Chauvin only ever received two verbal reprimands.In 2006, Chauvin was involved in the fatal shooting of 42-year-old Wayne Reyes, who allegedly stabbed two people before reportedly turning a gun on police. Chauvin was among six officers to respond to the stabbing. A year prior, Chauvin and another officer were also chasing a car that then hit and killed three people, according to Communities United Against Police Brutality.In 2011, the officer was also one of five officers placed on a standard three-day leave after the non-fatal shooting of a Native American man. The officers returned to work after the department determined that they had acted "appropriately."The city's Civilian Review Authority, which lists complaints prior to September 2012, shows five more complaints against Chauvin, which were closed without discipline. A prisoner at a Minnesota correctional facility sued Chauvin and seven other officers for "alleged violations of his federal constitutional rights" in 2006, although the case was dismissed and the details were not clear.Toles said that while he has not protested himself, he believes this horrific incident is a watershed moment for the Minneapolis Police Department—an agency that he says has become the butt of a joke in the black community."We joke about it in the black community but we know that a white person calling the cops on us is gonna go in their favor," he said. The 33-year-old added that while he believes Floyd's death will finally bring change and reform that is necessary for Minneapolis, it's outraged residents who will ensure that justice is finally seen. He added that while he never filed a complaint in 2008, he is now looking to sue the Minneapolis Police Department for the violent incident. "We've all reached our tipping point. Water boils at 212 degrees," he said. "We're at 600."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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| English court to weigh recognition of Maduro, Guaido in Venezuela gold case Posted: 28 May 2020 11:52 AM PDT  An English court on Thursday said it would need to decide which of Venezuela's dueling political factions to recognize before ruling on President Nicolas Maduro's request for the Bank of England to hand over gold the country has in its vaults. Venezuela for decades stored gold that makes up part of its central bank reserves in the vaults of foreign financial institutions including the Bank of England, which provides gold custodian services to developing countries. The bank since 2018 has refused to transfer the funds to Maduro's government, which Britain does not recognize.
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| Blood test nears for COVID-linked syndrome in children Posted: 27 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT  Findings from a large, multinational study could help speed development of an accurate diagnostic blood test for the mysterious inflammatory illness.
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| Tesla slashes prices to boost demand Posted: 27 May 2020 09:06 AM PDT  Tesla Inc. has cut prices of its electric vehicles by as much as 6% in North America following a decline in auto demand in the region during weeks of lockdown that have now started to ease.
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| India sidesteps Trump mediation offer over China border showdown Posted: 28 May 2020 09:35 AM PDT  India Thursday sidestepped US President Donald Trump's offers to mediate the country's border showdown with China, saying it was already engaged with Beijing to "resolve this issue". Trump's offer on Wednesday came after Indian defence sources said hundreds of Chinese troops had moved into a disputed zone along their 3,500 kilometre-long (2,200 mile) frontier. "We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this issue," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told reporters during a weekly media briefing when asked about Trump's tweet.
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| Justice Department clears 3 senators in stock sales investigation, but Burr's case appears ongoing Posted: 27 May 2020 07:46 AM PDT  Investigations into Sens. Feinstein, Loeffler and Inhofe have been dropped. Sen. Richard Burr appears to still be under investigation.
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| Navy admiral submits results of probe on virus-infected ship Posted: 27 May 2020 04:09 PM PDT  The Navy's top admiral on Wednesday received the results of an internal investigation into the spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the firing of the aircraft carrier's skipper in April. The report is not expected to be made public until decisions are made about potentially restoring Capt. Brett Crozier to command of the Roosevelt or disciplining other officers. It was submitted Wednesday to Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations.
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