| ‘I just don’t understand how any of them can sleep’: Parents of seven-year-old allegedly maced at Seattle protest speak out against police Posted: 15 Jun 2020 08:42 AM PDT  The parents of a seven-year-old child who was allegedly sprayed with mace by police at a peaceful protest in Seattle have spoken out about the traumatising incident.Footage of the protest that showed the boy screaming in pain while protesters attempt to help by using a milk-like substance to wash the child's eyes went viral online at the beginning of June.
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| U.S. presidential candidate Biden scores best fundraising month ever in May Posted: 15 Jun 2020 10:44 AM PDT  Biden, who raised significantly more than April's $60.5 million, has built a lead over Republican President Donald Trump in national opinion polls, amid the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest over police brutality in many U.S. cities. The campaign said it had tripled its online donors since February and recorded an average online donation of $30 in May. But Trump still holds a massive cash advantage, after three years of fundraising efforts. On Monday night, one of those former rivals, Senator Elizabeth Warren, helped Biden raise $6 million from 620 donors for an online fundraiser featuring both politicians - the most for any Biden event thus far.
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| Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations Spike in States across U.S. Posted: 15 Jun 2020 05:12 AM PDT  Several states across the country saw record spikes in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as many continue to reopen their economies.Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina all saw record highs of coronavirus cases last week, while Alabama saw its fourth straight day of record cases on Sunday. Cases have also been on the rise in Texas and Louisiana.More than 25,000 new cases were reported across the country on Saturday. State health officials have partly attributed the spikes to the Memorial Day gatherings that took place at the end of last month. The rising number of positive cases of the virus is affected by the increased availability of testing, but many states have also seen increased hospitalizations, a measure not influenced by increased testing.Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah all had record hospitalizations due to the coronavirus as of Saturday.President Trump plans to hold his first campaign rally in months in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, a plan that has sparked concern among health officials. Tulsa has seen the number of coronavirus cases on the rise in recent days."I think it's an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic," Dr. Bruce Dart, the Tulsa City-County Health Department's director, told Tulsa World. "I'm concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I'm also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well."Oregon and Utah are pausing their reopening processes as coronavirus cases spike within their borders, their governors announced Thursday.
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| China's enormous response to a localized coronavirus outbreak at a market shows it's taking COVID-19 far more seriously than the rest of the world Posted: 15 Jun 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Brazil, Mexico, and many US states are reopening despite reporting record new daily cases of the coronavirus.
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| Reconsider reparations. We need them morally and economically, and we can afford them. Posted: 14 Jun 2020 05:38 AM PDT  Money alone can't right the monumental wrong of slavery. But reparations are justifiable and affordable, and they'd give the economy a needed jolt.
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| 'Disinfecting non-stop' as Italy faces two new virus outbreaks Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Yellow police tape -- a familiar sight across Italy since the coronavirus began sweeping the country in March -- reappeared at the weekend outside a Rome squat where around 15 new cases have emerged. Health workers insist the outbreak among squatters including a Peruvian family is under control, at a time when Italy is cautiously relaxing measures to contain the disease that has claimed more than 34,000 lives. A second outbreak was far bigger and occurred at a hospital on the western edge of Rome, with 109 cases and five deaths.
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| U.S. fighter jet crashes into North Sea during training exercise Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:17 AM PDT  A U.S. fighter jet has crashed into the North Sea on the east coast of England while on a routine training mission.
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| Woman apologises for telling man he was illegally defacing his own home with ‘Black Lives Matter’ slogan Posted: 15 Jun 2020 03:16 AM PDT  A San Francisco woman who questioned a man writing "Black Lives Matter" on his own home has apologised for assuming he did not live there and calling the police on him."I want to apologise directly to Mr Juanillo," Ms Alexander said in a statement. "There are not enough words to describe how truly sorry I am for being disrespectful to him last Tuesday when I made the decision to question him about what he was doing in front of his home. I should have minded my own business."
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| Philippine American journalist Maria Ressa convicted in cybercrime case Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:04 PM PDT  Ressa's conviction was seen as a severe blow to press freedom in the Philippines under strongman President Rodrigo Duterte.
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| U.S. General Throws Mike Pompeo’s Iran Policy Under the Bus Posted: 15 Jun 2020 09:59 AM PDT  "There's actually no military component of what's known as the maximum pressure campaign."
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| House GOP Report Finds WHO ‘Complicit’ in Beijing’s COVID Coverup, Calls for Director Tedros’s Ouster Posted: 15 Jun 2020 10:12 AM PDT  China violated the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee allege in a new report on the origins of the pandemic.The interim 50-page report, a copy of which was obtained by National Review, also raises new questions about the complicit role the WHO played in allowing the Chinese Communist Party to delay crucial information about the novel virus. It recommends that WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus be removed from his position for his "full-throated defense of the CCP's response and embrace of their revisionist history," and calls for an international investigation into the CCP's failure to slow the spread of the disease."It is highly likely the ongoing pandemic could have been prevented," it states. "As such, it is incumbent upon the United States and likeminded WHO Member States to ensure the accountability and reforms necessary to prevent the CCP's malfeasance from giving rise to a third pandemic during the 21st century."One study has found that China could have prevented 95 percent of coronavirus infections if it had immediately implemented travel restrictions, containment measures, and social distancing after Wuhan laboratories sequenced the novel virus and discovered its resemblance to SARS by December 27. Instead, health officials ordered the labs to hand over or destroy the samples.The House Foreign Affairs Minority, led by Representative Michael McCaul (R., Texas) — leader of the China Task Force — claims that, despite reports to the contrary, the CCP never told the WHO of the outbreak, in direct violation of Article 6 of the IHR, which requires a member country to inform the WHO of all events occurring within their borders that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The argument that China violated the IHR was first raised by Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of McCaul's China Task Force who asked the State Department and Department of Justice in April to bring a case to the United Nations International Court of Justice.Based on the fact that the initial outbreak in Wuhan was "caused by an unknown agent and from an unknown source," Republicans argue that the WHO's guidance criteria for reporting potential incidents was not met. A timeline of the virus's early days shows that Wuhan doctors noticed a "cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause" on December 21."In sum, as early as mid-December, and no later than December 27th, the CCP had enough information to assess it was legally obligated to inform the WHO that the outbreak in Wuhan was an event 'that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,'" the report argues. "Had the CCP not been committed to covering up the outbreak, it would have answered YES to all four of the criteria and notified the WHO. The CCP failed to do so."The report points to comments made by Dr. Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, who said in an April press conference that the organization learned of the new disease from "our epidemic intelligence from open-source platform partners PRO-MED" — not the CCP — on December 31. It also points to the WHO's COVID-19 Technical Lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who said on April 13 that "right from the start, from the first notification we received on the 31st of December" she believed "that of course there may be human-to-human transmission.""It is hard to reconcile the WHO's own Technical Lead saying that on December 31st she knew that 'of course' human-to-human transmission could be occurring with the WHO's January 13th statement that 'there has been no suggestion of human-to-human transmission,'" the report states. "Either the WHO willfully ignored their experts, or they deferred to CCP pressure."
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| A picture and its story: Black personal trainer carries suspected far-right protester to safety Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:27 AM PDT  Protests have erupted across British cities and around the world after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
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| First Covid-19 lawsuit filed against Chinese government in latest sign of bubbling unrest Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  When Zhang Hai checked his father into a hospital in Wuhan mid-January, he had no idea a novel coronavirus was sweeping through the city. Chinese authorities had yet to sound the alarm, despite mounting evidence the virus was fatal and transmitting quickly – at least two were dead, and infections had spread abroad. But police pressured doctors to stay silent, and hospitals wouldn't allow extra protective gear, even as medical staff fell ill. So Mr Zhang never imagined his father, a 76-year-old veteran, would be infected with Covid-19 at the hospital while having a thigh fracture repaired, and die within a week. "If the government didn't cover up the disease in the early stages, my father wouldn't have died," Mr Zhang, 50, told the Telegraph. "I am furious... so many people lost their lives during this pandemic. What they did amounts to murder." On Wednesday, Mr Zhang filed the first lawsuit in China against the government that seeks restitution for its cover-up of the pandemic, according to lawyers and documents reviewed by the Telegraph.
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| Indian embassy staff arrested over 'hit-and-run' in Islamabad Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:25 AM PDT  Reports say a pedestrian was critically injured and the two High Commission employees tried to flee.
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| Argentine bishop resumes work as Vatican abuse probe wraps Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:52 AM PDT  An Argentine bishop close to Pope Francis has gone back to work at the Holy See's financial administration office while under investigation in his native Argentina and at the Vatican for alleged sexual abuse. The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, confirmed Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta had resumed work at the APSA patrimony office but said it in no way interferes with the investigations. The developments came as Francis on Monday named a new No. 2 at the office, an Italian layman and auditor, Fabio Gasperini.
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| Rayshard Brooks shouldn't be dead 'because he was drunk at a freaking Wendy's': Atlanta protests continue after fatal police shooting Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:18 PM PDT  Outrage at the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta continued, with protesters returning to the place where Brooks was shot by a former police officer.
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| 'Nobody is going to defund the police': Top black congressman says Democrats want to 'deconstruct' US policing Posted: 14 Jun 2020 07:16 AM PDT  The top black US congressman has signalled in clear terms he does not support calls to "defund the police," despite a wave of activism calling for such measures in the wake of the death of George Floyd and other black people during incidents involving police."Nobody is going to defund the police. We can restructure the police forces — restructure, reimagine policing. That is what we are going to do," House Minority Whip James E Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the chamber, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
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| Supreme Court rejects cases over 'qualified immunity' for police Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:00 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear eight cases involving a legal defense called qualified immunity that can be used to shield government officials from lawsuits, including seven involving police accused of excessive force or other misconduct. In six of the seven cases involving police, plaintiffs who sued officers were challenging actions in lower courts that protected the defendants through qualified immunity. Among the cases the justices declined to hear was a dispute over whether officers in Tennessee can be sued for using a police dog that bit a man who has said he had put up his hands in surrender.
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| Earth's Core: We Now Have An Idea of What Is Down There Posted: 14 Jun 2020 10:00 PM PDT  Structures made of hot, dense materials that wrap around our planet's core are much more widespread than previous research suggests.
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| Ben Carson Defends Atlanta Police Officer Who Killed Rayshard Brooks on ‘Fox News Sunday’ Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace opened his interview this weekend with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson by asking about the "terrible incident" in Atlanta that ended with the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks after he was found sleeping in his car.As Wallace put it, Brooks was "clearly resisting arrest" when he apparently grabbed one of the officer's Tasers and ran away from them. But, he asked, "was it appropriate to use deadly force against somebody whose original offense was that he fell asleep in the drive-thru lane at a Wendy's?" After suggesting that perhaps he was not knowledgeable enough about this situation and police shootings in general, Carson weighed in anyway. "I think this is a situation that is not clear cut, you know, like the callous murder that occurred in Minnesota," Carson said. "And it really requires the heads of people who know what should be done under the circumstances to make judgement."Stephen Colbert Confronts Fox News' Chris Wallace for Defending Trump Tear-Gassing ProtestersPressed by Wallace on why he didn't believe the shooting was "clear cut," Carson started comparing this shooting to the police killing of George Floyd, but the host cut him off. "No, no, I understand that, but why was the Atlanta case not clear cut?" he asked. "Because we don't know what was in the mind of the officer," Carson answered. "When somebody turns around, points a weapon at him, is he absolutely sure that's a non-lethal weapon?" "You know, this is not a clear-cut circumstance," he continued, repeating that phrase for the third time. "Now could it have been handled better? Certainly, in retrospect, there are probably other ways to do things. But we, the public, don't know." Carson's comments closely resembled those of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who told Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday, "That situation is certainly a far less clear one than the ones that we saw with George Floyd and several other ones around the country." Announcing the resignation of her city's police chief on Friday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took a far more decisive stance. "I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do," she told reporters. "I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer." In a separate interview on ABC News' This Week, Carson declined to back Trump's claims that he has been the best president since Abraham Lincoln for the African-American community, saying the debate was "not productive.""To get into an argument about who has done the most probably is not productive, but it is good to acknowledge the things that have been done," he said.Trump Goes After George Floyd Protesters and Lincoln's 'Questionable' Legacy in Bizarre Fox News InterviewRead 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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| Trudeau says in talks to extend Canada-US border closure Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:01 AM PDT  Ottawa and Washington are in talks to extend the closure of the Canada-US border, as concerns persist over the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. "It is clear that there is broad consensus across the provinces that we need to continue to keep our current border measures in place," Trudeau said after consulting with provincial leaders. The world's longest international frontier -- at 8,900 kilometres (5,500 miles) -- was closed to all non-essential travellers on both sides on March 21 in response to the coronavirus crisis.
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| Who is Paul Whelan, the ex-US Marine jailed in Russia? Posted: 15 Jun 2020 02:07 AM PDT  The former US Marine has been sentenced to 16 years of hard labour in Russia on suspicion of spying.
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| Atlanta police chief resigns following fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks Posted: 13 Jun 2020 08:21 PM PDT  Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields after Rayshard Brooks was killed by an Atlanta officer in a struggle following a field sobriety test.
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| Couple apologizes after confronting man over 'Black Lives Matter' chalk in front of his home Posted: 15 Jun 2020 05:53 PM PDT  Lisa Alexander, founder and CEO of LaFace Skincare, apologized and her husband was fired after questioning a neighbor's Black Lives Matter chalk.
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| Australia voices concern over man sentenced to die in China Posted: 15 Jun 2020 02:04 AM PDT  Australia's prime minister said Monday that his government is "very sad and concerned" by China's sentencing of an Australian man to death for drug trafficking, and that he had repeatedly raised with China the case of the 56-year-old former actor and motivational speaker. Karm Gilespie was arrested in 2013 at Baiyun Airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on charges of attempting to board an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds) of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and other Australian officials had raised his case with their Chinese counterparts on a number of occasions.
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| Trump news – live: President responds to accusations in John Bolton's new book as he dismisses rise in US coronavirus cases Posted: 15 Jun 2020 12:00 PM PDT  Donald Trump is complaining he is being "Covid Shamed" after facing pressure to cancel his upcoming election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, since the city's health director, Dr Bruce Dart, expressed anxiety over the spread of coronavirus and the president's own adviser, Larry Kudlow, admitted that attendees would be well advised to wear a face mask."Covid is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently," Dr Dart said over the weekend. "I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
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| Thai PM warns against criticism of the monarchy Posted: 15 Jun 2020 04:27 AM PDT  Thailand's prime minister on Monday warned political activists not to criticize the monarchy, saying doing so could damage their job prospects even though the king had asked him not to make prosecutions under a law protecting the royal family. Insulting the monarchy is a crime under Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The suspected kidnapping of a Thai democracy activist in Cambodia this month ignited small protests by university students, with some questioning in online comments the "lese majeste" law.
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| Japan suspends Aegis Ashore deployment, pointing to cost and technical issues Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:52 AM PDT  The decision drastically alters the country's plans for defending itself against ballistic missiles.
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| Police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta ruled a homicide Posted: 15 Jun 2020 10:16 AM PDT  The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office said Brooks, 27, died after he was shot twice in the back.
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| Spain says will reopen EU borders, barring Portugal, on June 21 Posted: 14 Jun 2020 11:23 AM PDT  Spain, one of the world's leading tourist destinations, will next Sunday re-establish free travel with fellow EU countries, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced. The land border with Portugal will however remain closed until July 1. Portugal has suffered a much lower death rate than Spain from the coronavirus epidemic.
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| Mars: Green glow detected on the Red Planet Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:50 AM PDT  A joint European-Russian satellite observes a light in Mars' atmosphere that's generated by oxygen.
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| Bobby Rush: Chicago police union and KKK ‘are like kissing, hugging and law-breaking cousins’ Posted: 14 Jun 2020 04:33 PM PDT  The Democratic congressman's remarks came after officers were seen lounging in his Chicago office while violent police protests roiled the city.
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| Israel army says targets Hamas infrastructure after rocket fire Posted: 15 Jun 2020 01:17 PM PDT  Israel retaliated by air and tank fire Monday against Hamas positions after rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, the army said. The tensions came after Gaza rulers Hamas called for unity among Palestinians and "resistance" against Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
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| Pilot of US Air Force jet that crashed in North Sea is dead Posted: 15 Jun 2020 03:11 AM PDT The pilot of a fighter jet that crashed into the North Sea, off the coast of northern England, has been found dead, the U.S. Air Force said Monday. In a statement hours after the crash, it said "the pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing has been located, and confirmed deceased." It said this is a "tragic loss" for the 48th Fighter wing community and sent condolences to the pilot's family.
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| U.S. embassy in Seoul displays Black Lives Matter banner in support of anti-racism protests Posted: 13 Jun 2020 09:35 PM PDT |
| Supreme Court refuses to hear new challenge to gun restrictions Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:59 AM PDT  By refusing to take a new case so soon, the justices denied gun rights groups a chance to put state and local limits before the conservative court.
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| Billionaire Shari Redstone’s Son, 35, Deported From Israel for Flouting Quarantine to See Teen Lover Posted: 15 Jun 2020 04:24 AM PDT  You know how it is. Your mom's the billionaire boss of the ViacomCBS media empire, having emerged victorious from a messy, Succession-style family feud.You've spent your life criss-crossing the globe on airplanes. You're 35, and you're dating an 18-year old Israeli model. You don't think the normal rules apply to you. Perhaps it is not entirely surprising then that Brandon Korff, son of Shari Redstone and grandson of Sumner Redstone, thought he could get away with flouting Israel's tedious quarantine regulations.His pressing need to break the health and safety guidelines amid a deadly global pandemic? Hooking up with his beautiful young girlfriend, Yael Shelbia, an 18-year-old Instagram star who has appeared in campaigns for Kim Kardashian's KKW Beauty makeup line.No doubt Korff wasn't expecting to be caught, and, having been caught, it seems unlikely that the scion of one of America's most prominent billionaire families would have ever imagined he would be thrown out of the country in disgrace.But that is exactly the fate that befell Korff, who was unceremoniously ejected from Israel on Sunday night after he violated the terms of an "exceptional permit," which allowed him into the country to visit and stay with his brother, who is serving with the Israeli army.Korff promptly abandoned his brother's company in favor of the more compelling charms of his girlfriend.A statement from the Israeli government said Korff "violated the isolation orders from the moment he entered the country and met his Israeli partner," and "stayed with her in the same apartment."It said Korff, whose mother is the chairwoman of ViacomCBS, was ordered to leave the country immediately.The Times of Israel said the official statement did not identify Korff's partner, but Korff is known to be dating Shelbia, a part-time model who is also doing compulsory military service.Israel banned entry to non-citizens and non-residents in March in an effort to clamp down on the spread of the coronavirus. Israel requires all individuals entering the country to remain in quarantine for two weeks following their arrival.Unluckily, perhaps, for Korff, the country's leaders had every reason to come down hard on him; last week, Israel's health ministry came under fire after an Israeli billionaire businessman, Teddy Sagi, was granted an exemption from the isolation orders only to be spotted attending a party with Israeli celebrities.Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein issued a statement late last week saying: "No one is above the guidances, not even celebrities or the one percent. No one! The virus does not differentiate between celebrities and ordinary people."And nor, it seems, does the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority.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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| Sri Lanka holds coronavirus-proof test vote ahead of election Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:32 AM PDT  Voters wear face masks and observe social distancing in queues to prepare for a general election.
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| US Forces Korea Bans Display of Confederate Flag on Bases, Vehicles Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:04 AM PDT  The display of the Confederate battle flag has been banned for U.S. troops in South Korea.
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| Qatar Airways to slash foreign pilots' pay: memo Posted: 15 Jun 2020 09:50 AM PDT  Qatar Airways will slash some pilots' salaries and make others redundant to offset the revenue collapse caused by the novel coronavirus travel crisis, it said in a memo seen by AFP Monday. The Gulf airline, which flew to more than 170 destinations with 234 aircraft as of March, has been hit by airport closures and travel bans imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease. The International Air Transport Association warned in April that air traffic in the Middle East and North Africa would plummet by more than half this year.
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| Virus lockdown ends in El Salvador amid clash of authorities Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:12 AM PDT  El Salvador's president says that a stringent quarantine imposed to fight COVID-19 has legally expired and a gradual reopening of the economy will begin on Tuesday. The Central American nation's Supreme Court ruled that the strict measures decreed by President Nayib Bukele were unconstitutional and Bukele said Saturday night that he is going to veto the alternative restrictions passed Friday by the National Assembly. Under Bukele's stay-at-home decrees, violators were sent to government-run containment centers for month-long stays.
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| Chinese consulates deploying 'mask diplomacy' in U.S. communities Posted: 15 Jun 2020 02:00 AM PDT  With China on the defensive over the coronavirus pandemic, its diplomatic missions in the United States are on a charm offensive.
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| Increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations in states explained Posted: 14 Jun 2020 04:49 AM PDT  Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel breaks down the latest numbers and what Americans can do to keep themselves safe.
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