| Trump's Tulsa rally will be held indoors despite Oklahoma's record spike in COVID-19 cases Posted: 16 Jun 2020 09:36 AM PDT  The Trump campaign said Tuesday it would stick with its plan for a giant indoor rally in Tulsa — on the same day the Centers for Disease Control reported that Oklahoma showed a 7.7 percent increase in COVID-19 cases, the highest in the country.
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| People of color account for majority of coronavirus infections, new CDC study says Posted: 16 Jun 2020 02:48 PM PDT  African-Americans and Latinos are vastly overrepresented when it comes to coronavirus infections, according to an analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control on Monday morning.
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| US fighters have rushed to intercept 8 Russian bombers approaching Alaska in the past week Posted: 17 Jun 2020 09:37 AM PDT  Russian military aircraft have penetrated NORAD air defense identification zones eight times this year, the commander said.
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| NYPD walks back claims Shake Shack employees 'intentionally poisoned' police officers' milkshakes Posted: 16 Jun 2020 06:39 AM PDT  The New York Police Department has walked back claims tweeted on Monday by a labour union representing 20,000 NYC detectives that employees at a Shake Shack in Manhattan "intentionally poisoned" three police officers' milkshakes.An ongoing investigation has found "no criminality" on the part of any Shake Shack employee, according to an NYPD statement released a day after the Detectives' Endowment Association wrote on Twitter: "Tonight, three of our fellow officers were intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack at 200 Broadway in Manhattan."
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| 23 Affordable Indoor Planters We Love Posted: 17 Jun 2020 11:27 AM PDT |
| Moon Jae-in Is Getting Tired of North Korea's Growing Aggression Posted: 17 Jun 2020 11:38 AM PDT  President Moon Jae-in is tired of taking abuse from the North—and he's starting to lose his patience.
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| Mexico president: Killing of federal judge will be punished Posted: 17 Jun 2020 07:34 AM PDT  Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday that those responsible for the murders of a federal judge and his wife in the western state of Colima will be punished, and a senior official said the judge was apparently killed because of his work. López Obrador said there will not be impunity for the killings of District Court Judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz and his wife, Verónica Barajas. Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero said that she knew Villegas personally and that his murder was particularly difficult for her.
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| Taiwan jets 'drive away' intruding Chinese fighter plane, third intrusion in days Posted: 16 Jun 2020 01:23 AM PDT  Taiwan air force jets "drove away" a Chinese fighter plane that briefly entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Tuesday, the defence ministry said, reporting the third intrusion in a week. The single J-10 fighter was given radio warnings to leave before the Taiwanese air force jets ushered the intruder out of the airspace southwest of the island, the ministry said. On Tuesday last week, the ministry said several Su-30 fighters, some of China's most advanced jets, crossed into the same airspace and were also warned to leave.
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| Trump on coronavirus: 'If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any.' Why he's dangerously wrong. Posted: 16 Jun 2020 06:06 AM PDT  Florida has certainly been finding more cases. On June 1, Florida's seven-day average stood at 726 cases per day. As of June 15, it had more than doubled to 1,775. However, Florida has been conducting roughly the same average number of COVID-19 tests every day for the last month.
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| Assad's British wife and 38 others hit by US sanctions as Trump tries to squeeze regime Posted: 17 Jun 2020 09:12 AM PDT  Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's British wife and dozens of members of his inner circle were on Wednesday hit with US sanctions, as the Trump administration heaped pressure on the beleaguered regime. Asma al-Assad, who was born and grew up in the UK, was designated for the first time by the US government, which described her as "one of Syria's most notorious war profiteers." The sanctions came into force on Wednesday under the Caesar Act - legislation which has been years in the making and named after a Syrian defector who documented horrific human rights abuses carried out by the regime. The first batch of designations target 39 people or entities with ties to the government, including Assad's sister Bushra, brother and military commander Maher, as well as other members of the extended family, senior military leaders and business executives. Many of them were already subject to US sanctions, but the new penalties also target non-Syrians who do business with them in an attempt to discourage foreign investment in the country. Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, said the designations represent "the beginning of what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue and support it uses to wage war and commit mass atrocities against the Syrian people."
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| 'Inaccurate and harmful': Texas Senators Cruz, Cornyn dismiss notions of systemic racism in police and society Posted: 16 Jun 2020 07:22 PM PDT  Speaking during a Senate Judiciary hearing about police violence, both the Senators dismissed the idea of systemic racism.
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| Munster hospital security guard killed by friendly fire during patient attack; patient also killed Posted: 16 Jun 2020 08:35 PM PDT  Ryan Askew was a retired Lake County (Ind.) Sheriff's Police Officer. He was shot while trying to break up a physical altercation between a psychiatric patient and a nurse, authorities said.
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| The Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks was reprimanded for using a firearm in 2017 Posted: 16 Jun 2020 10:23 AM PDT  Ex-officer Garrett Rolfe had been with Atlanta police for nearly seven years. He faced 12 investigations and was exonerated in nine of them.
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| Why Is North Korea Starting a Crisis Now? Posted: 16 Jun 2020 08:59 AM PDT  Something is going on in the North that is, as yet, invisible to outside observers. Remember that Kim Jong-un disappeared for three weeks in April-May, and has only rarely been seen since. His sister, Kim Yo-jong, has suddenly taken on a much more prominent—and much more militant—role in governing the country, even apparently taking it upon herself to issue orders to the military in her own name. Is brother Kim sick? Is sister Kim taking over the family business?
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| Federal judge, wife killed in cartel-plagued Mexican state Posted: 16 Jun 2020 01:12 PM PDT |
| France says working with partners to pressure Iran at IAEA on inspector access Posted: 16 Jun 2020 11:08 AM PDT  France said it was working with Britain and Germany to see the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog board of governors push Iran this week to cooperate fully and immediately to grant its inspectors access to sites Tehran has so far refused them to visit. "This is essential for preserving the authority of the IAEA and the strength of its verification regime."
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| Trump told China's president that building concentration camps for millions of Uighur Muslims was 'exactly the right thing to do,' former adviser says Posted: 17 Jun 2020 01:14 PM PDT  In a private meeting, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were only accompanied by their interpreters.
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| At least 20 Indian soldiers killed in hand-to-hand fighting on Chinese border Posted: 16 Jun 2020 12:37 AM PDT  Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in violent hand-to-hand clashes with Chinese troops on the disputed border in the Himalayas late on Monday as the threat of a full-blown war flared. The soldiers died after intense fighting in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh where there has been a tense stand-off for more than a month, and were the first at the disputed border in 45 years. The Indian army confirmed the higher total late last night after initially saying only three had died, including a colonel, and India blamed China for starting the fighting. Indian media reports suggested five Chinese troops had been killed, and eleven injured, cited later by a senior reporter for Chinese state newspaper Global Times in a post online, but that remained unconfirmed. Her editor at the state outlet, Hu Xijin, wrote on Twitter: "Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash. I want to tell the Indian side, don't be arrogant and misread China's restraint as being weak. China doesn't want to have a clash with India, but we don't fear it." They are the first casualties to be suffered by either Asian superpower along their 3,488km border since 1975. Chinese and Indian troops typically do not carry weapons on the Line of Actual Control, in an attempt to avoid fatalities or diplomatic escalation of tensions, and it is understood these clashes were with stones and batons. India and China have been facing-off for over a month in Ladakh in Kashmir after Chinese troops crossed the so-called Line of Actual Control on May 5 and 6 to occupy over 60 kilometres of Indian territory at four locations - Pangong Tso, Galwan River, Demchok and Hot Springs. The Indian foreign ministry released a statement blaming China for the fatalities: "The Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley. On the late evening and night of 15th June, 2020 a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side." A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that its troops had acted in self-defence after two Indian soldiers had crossed into Chinese territory on Monday: "provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides." It added that it had "solemnly demanded that the Indian side strictly restrain the frontline troops" and "maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas". An unnamed Indian officer has told Agence France Presse that no gunshots were fired and the fatalities were the result of "violent hand-to-hand scuffles". A former Indian Army officer told the Telegraph that contrasting statements from either side meant it was difficult to establish who was to blame at this stage. "The Chinese side is issuing aggressive statements and the Indian side has taken a defensive position," he said. "How these soldiers have been killed we have no idea because there are contradicting statements coming out. However, we can say the aggressive tone suggests China won't retreat and defensive tune means India doesn't want any escalation. They [People's Liberation Army] are aggressive, they won't retreat." The Indian Army has said talks between the two militaries are underway to defuse tensions and it will hold a press conference later today. Last week, the Telegraph revealed that at least 12,000 Chinese troops had occupied 60 square kilometres of Indian-administered Ladakh, in response to India's ever-closer relationship with the United States. The Chinese forces were able to cross the border and annexe unprotected territory after India had failed to recommence patrols due to the coronavirus outbreak. India and China fought the Sino-India war and agreed a ceasefire in 1962, establishing a Line of Actual Control which separates Indian-controlled Ladakh from Chinese-controlled Tibet. For decades, it has been an uneasy truce and troops from either side have sporadically engaged in fist-fights with one another.
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| Violent counter-protesters mobbed a small-town BLM demonstration in Ohio amid false rumors of antifa Posted: 16 Jun 2020 12:32 PM PDT  A small demonstration against racism in Bethel, Ohio, turned violent when hundreds counter-protesters arrived after learning of the event online.
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| 'He was trying to breathe': Mom of Oklahoma man who died in cop custody finds new footage hard to watch Posted: 17 Jun 2020 11:34 AM PDT  Derrick Elliott Olie Scott died in police custody in May, 2019. Scott's mother wants charges to be brought against officers.
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| By 2030, The World's Naval Power Will Have Shifted East Posted: 16 Jun 2020 11:00 PM PDT  China, India, Japan, and South KOrea
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| Family of Dreasjon Reed, Black Man Killed by Indianapolis Police Officer, File Lawsuit Against City's Police Department Posted: 16 Jun 2020 02:45 PM PDT  The lawsuit says that the Indianapolis police department did not correctly train officers on how to engage with civilians
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| French court finds Bashar al-Assad's uncle guilty of property fraud Posted: 17 Jun 2020 04:53 AM PDT |
| China Accuses India of 'Provocative Attacks' Posted: 16 Jun 2020 02:48 AM PDT  China says diplomatic talks are ongoing with India over a border dispute after it says India "seriously violated the consensus" and "carried out provocative attacks on Chinese personnel."
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| Man charged with murder after shooting woman and her boyfriend over dog poo dispute Posted: 17 Jun 2020 12:04 PM PDT  A man has been charged with murder and attempted murder over the shooting of a couple walking their dog to the bathroom outside his Colorado home.Michael R Close, 36, is alleged to have fatally shot Isabella Thallas, 21, and critically injured her boyfriend Darian Simon on 10 June after what prosecutors said was a verbal exchange over their dog defecating.
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| India-China clash: Diplomats 'strongly protest' over border clashes Posted: 17 Jun 2020 07:52 AM PDT  Diplomats blame each other for deadly fighting at the disputed border but agree to cool tensions.
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| British Airways is reportedly selling lounge artwork for cash, and some pieces are valued at more than a $1 million Posted: 16 Jun 2020 09:53 AM PDT  British Airways once flew the Concorde, but is now resorting to selling its valuable artwork as a new form of cash flow during the pandemic.
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| Letters to the Editor: Do 'defund' activists even know how impossible a cop's job is? Posted: 16 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  An ex-L.A. County sheriff's captain tells protesters they should understand how much social work has been dumped on police before demanding reform.
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| FAA explains why it's taking so long to fix the grounded Boeing 737 jetliner Posted: 17 Jun 2020 01:26 PM PDT  It's been over a year since the jet that figured in two crashes was last flown. On Wednesday, FAA chief Stephen Dickson gave the Senate an update.
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| UK COVID-19 death toll hits 53,077: Reuters tally Posted: 16 Jun 2020 01:55 AM PDT  The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll has hit 53,077, according to a Reuters tally of official data sources that underline the country's status as one of the worst hit in the world. The Reuters tally comprises fatalities where COVID-19 was mentioned on death certificates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to June 5, and up to June 7 in Scotland. It also includes more recent hospital deaths.
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| Former Head of Diversity: ‘Black Lives Did Not Matter at Morgan Stanley’ Posted: 17 Jun 2020 05:13 AM PDT  The investment bank Morgan Stanley is being sued by its former head of diversity, who claims its senior, "white male-centric leadership" refused to adopt her plan to address racial bias at the firm, and instead fired her in December.Marilyn Booker headed diversity at Morgan Stanley from 1994 to 2010 before taking on a project known as the Urban Markets Group, which sought to promote money management in inner cities by connecting minority financial advisers to minority communities.However the program was rendered ineffective after it was steadily stripped of its budget, with 71 per cent of its budget being removed by 2019, Booker said in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday and reported by the Financial Times, Fortune and other outlets. Booker said in her 47-page complaint that "her budget would not amount to a drop in the bucket for Morgan Stanley when compared to the money it threw at other initiatives and the massive revenue the firm generated."Booker argued in court documents that the initiative was needed because only about 100 of Morgan Stanley's 16,000 financial advisers are Black.Morgan Stanley's latest published disclosures on diversity show that 2.2 per cent of its most senior executives in the U.S. were Black or African-American, the second lowest representation recorded by any of the big five U.S. banks.Booker's complaint firmly painted the alleged discrimination as hypocritical in the context of Morgan Stanley's response to George Floyd's death, in the he wake of which the bank made a large contribution to the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund and promoted two Black women to senior leadership committees. Booker noted that CEO James Gorman had described the present moment as a "turning point in race relations."However Booker said the bank's actions told a different story, saying: "Clearly, Black lives did not matter at Morgan Stanley."Morgan Stanley told the FT it strongly rejected the allegations and intended to vigorously defend itself, adding that Booker was let go as part of a round of 1,500 lay-offs late last year.It said: "We are steadfast in our commitment to improve the diversity of our employees and have made steady progress — while recognizing that we have further progress to make. We will continue to advance our high-priority efforts to achieve a more diverse and inclusive firm."Booker is seeking unspecified financial damages.Booker also claims Morgan Stanley nixed her efforts to recruit a Black National Basketball Association player as a spokesperson and later signed up white golfer Justin Rose instead."It goes without saying that Mr Rose was believed to be better recognized among the community of White male affluent golf aficionados, and not most members of the Black and minority communities," she added."Morgan Stanley has had decades to get its house in order and improve its record on diversity and inclusion," Booker's lawyer Jeanne M Christensen, a partner at Wigdortod the FT. "No more excuses. The numbers speak for themselves and Morgan Stanley must be held accountable for looking the other way."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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| Coronavirus experts on what to do and U.S. response to the pandemic Posted: 17 Jun 2020 09:28 AM PDT  USA TODAY's Editorial Board sits down with doctors in the field of infectious diseases working to eradicate the pandemic. Read Q&As;, watch videos.
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| A Black pastor was arrested after pulling out a gun while under attack. The sheriff apologized, and now 5 alleged assailants face hate crimes charges. Posted: 16 Jun 2020 05:19 PM PDT  "How dehumanizing … to look at this mob of individuals cheering on the sidelines waving as I was carted off to go to jail," Leon McCray said.
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| EU says 'sovereign' UK has taken back control of its fishing waters Posted: 17 Jun 2020 09:59 AM PDT  The European Union has accepted that Britain will take back control of its waters after the end of the Brexit transition period, the president of the European Commission said on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen said that all Brussels wanted was a long-term agreement over fishing rights that gave guarantees to EU boats that had fished UK waters for years. The latest hint at an EU willingness to compromise over its demand for a status quo fishing deal "under existing conditions" still ruled out the annual negotiations over fishing opportunities demanded by the UK. "No one questions the UK sovereignty over its own waters," she told the European Parliament in Brussels, "but we asked for predictability and we asked for guarantees for fisherman and fisher women who have been sailing in those waters for decades". She said that Brussels was willing to be creative to find compromises in the trade negotiations after her meeting with Boris Johnson on Monday. Talks will intensify in July after months of deadlock. The former German defence minister was less conciliatory over the governance structure overseeing the free trade agreement, which the EU wants to also include fishing and foreign policy and security cooperation. A single dispute settlement system was vital for all aspects of the future agreement, she said in a signal the EU would not abandon that red line, despite the UK pushing for a different enforcement regime for each separate agreement. "Governance may sound like an issue for bureaucrats, it's not," she said, "It is central for businesses and our private citizens both in the UK, and the European Union. It is crucial to ensure that what has been agreed is actually done." Mrs von der Leyen told MEPs that the transition period would not be extended beyond the end of the year. Failure to reach a deal by then will mean both sides trading on less lucrative WTO terms. "We on our side have always been ready to grant extension, but it needs two to tango," she said. "This means that we are now halfway through these negotiations with five months left to go but we're definitely not halfway through the work to reach an agreement with little time ahead of us," she warned. "No one can say with certainty, where these negotiations will be at the end of the year. But I know for sure that we will have done everything to reach an agreement," she added. Mrs von der Leyen also insisted on the need for level playing field guarantees and a role for the European Court of Justice "where it matters", which the UK resists. . Mrs von der Leyen claimed that the EU's demand for level playing field guarantees for state aid, tax, labour rights and the environment were to ensure fair competition. The commitments, which are meant to prevent the UK undercutting EU standards, are rejected by Britain because they are more stringent than similar guarantees in EU trade deals with Japan and Canada. Brussels counters that the UK is closer to the EU market and is being offered a zero quota, zero tariff trade deal. "We're ready and willing to compete with British firms they're excellent and our firms are excellent too, but it cannot be a downward competition," she said. "It should be a shared interest for the European Union and the UK to never slide backwards and always advance together towards higher standards." Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, accused the UK of attempting to "cherry-pick" the advantage of membership of the bloc without the obligations. "It's up to the UK to choose what it wants, or whether it wants an agreement," he said before warning that Brussels would not strike a deal "at any price". "But I remain convinced, ladies and gentlemen, honorable members, such an agreement is possible for the long term," he said.
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| AccuWeather's 2020 US summer forecast Posted: 16 Jun 2020 05:00 PM PDT  What will the weather be like this summer? Find out in AccuWeather's 2020 summer forecast.
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| T-Mobile explains what caused the massive outage that disrupted voice and data service across the United States earlier this week Posted: 17 Jun 2020 06:52 AM PDT  T-Mobile said the outage that impacted voice and data service across the US was the result of a fiber circuit failure in the Southeast.
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| North Korea releases photos showing explosion of liaison office jointly run with South Korea Posted: 17 Jun 2020 08:05 AM PDT  The office building was erected just two years ago to serve as a breeding ground for diplomacy between North Korea and South Korea.
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| Fists, stones and clubs: China and India's brutal high altitude, low-tech battle Posted: 17 Jun 2020 07:35 AM PDT  India and China's militaries have some of the world's most sophisticated modern weaponry, but their deadliest scrap in over 50 years was fought using fists, rocks wrapped in barbed wire and clubs studded with nails. Colonel Babu was seriously injured.
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| U.S. to impose sanctions aimed at blocking Syria military victory Posted: 16 Jun 2020 10:52 AM PDT  The United States will impose sanctions on Wednesday aimed at cutting off revenue for Syrian President Bashar al Assad's government in a bid to push it back into United Nations-led negotiations and broker an end to the country's nearly decade-long war. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft told the Security Council on Tuesday that Washington would implement the measures to "prevent the Assad regime from securing a military victory." "Our aim is to deprive the Assad regime of the revenue and the support it has used to commit the large-scale atrocities and human rights violations that prevent a political resolution and severely diminish the prospects for peace," Craft said.
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| Sorry, China: U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Far From Obsolete Posted: 16 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT  The U.S. Navy is now operating three aircraft carriers in the Pacific in what appears to be a strong show of force following Chinese movements and comments regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea.
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| Cuomo: U.S. government making "historic mistake" on virus advice Posted: 17 Jun 2020 10:41 AM PDT  He announced Tuesday the U.S. Open will be held in New York City this summer, without fans.
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| Sex offender shoves 92-year-old woman to ground in New York Posted: 17 Jun 2020 03:51 AM PDT  A convicted New York sex offender has been arrested after shoving a 92-year-old woman to the ground.In a New York Police Department (NYPD) video uploaded on Monday night, the Manhattan woman can be seen walking down Third Avenue before she is shoved, and knocks her head.
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| Report: Kobe Bryant pilot may have been disoriented in fog Posted: 17 Jun 2020 01:54 PM PDT  The pilot of the helicopter that crashed in thick fog, killing Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, reported he was climbing when he actually was heading for the ground, federal investigators said in documents released Wednesday. Ara Zobayan radioed to air traffic controllers that he was climbing to 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) to get above clouds on Jan. 26 when, in fact, the chopper was plunging toward a hillside where it crashed northwest of Los Angeles, killing all nine people aboard. The report by the National Transportation Safety Board said Zobayan may have "misperceived" the angles at which he was descending and banking, which can happen when a pilot becomes disoriented in low visibility.
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| Deceased in Lejeune Shooting-Stabbing Incident Was Marine Spouse, Officials Say Posted: 16 Jun 2020 09:14 AM PDT  A Marine official confirmed to Military.com that the two people involved were not married to each other.
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