| US Navy investigates massive four-day USS Bonhomme blaze Posted: 17 Jul 2020 03:01 PM PDT  Temperatures on board raged up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit as flames ravaged the warship.
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| New Mexico officer facing second-degree murder charges in chokehold death of Antonio Valenzuela Posted: 17 Jul 2020 07:23 AM PDT  Las Cruces Police Officer Christopher Smelser is now facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of Antonio Valenzuela.
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| How a leading left-wing academic and activist wound up in the middle of a free speech debate Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:11 AM PDT  A once obscure internet debate over the limits of free speech and the rise of what critics call "cancel culture" has, somewhat improbably, become a significant 2020 campaign issue.
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| 'This is urgent': Second round of stimulus checks 'a necessity' in next coronavirus package, Pelosi says Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:32 AM PDT  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is demanding Congress send out a second round of stimulus checks for American taxpayers as negotiations heat up between Democrats and Republicans for a fifth round of federal coronavirus relief.Earlier this year, Congress approved the Treasury Department to cut $1,200 checks to every American taxpayer, with extra monetary benefits for parents with children under 18.
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| Pennsylvania voters raise concern over 'secret Trump voters' in their communities Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:21 AM PDT  Reaction from Black Voices for Trump member Paris Dennard and Democratic strategist Mustafa Tameez.
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| The California woman who refused to wear a face mask in Starbucks is considering suing to get half of the barista's $100,000 in GoFundMe tips Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:58 AM PDT  People raised more than $100,000 for Lenin Gutierrez, a Starbucks barista who was shamed by Amber Gilles for trying to enforce a face-mask rule.
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| Border agency fires 4, suspends 38 for social media posts Posted: 17 Jul 2020 02:50 PM PDT  The Border Patrol's parent agency said Friday that it fired four employees and suspended 38 without pay for inappropriate social media activity following revelations of a secret Facebook group that mocked members of Congress and migrants. The investigation began in July 2019 after posts surfaced in a secret Facebook group called "I'm 10-15." Customs and Border Protection said another 33 employees were disciplined with reprimands or counseling.
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| NYPD sergeants union chief Ed Mullins appears on Fox News with a QAnon mug behind him Posted: 17 Jul 2020 03:21 PM PDT  Mullins refused to say whether the mug was his or whether he endorses the QAnon conspiracy in a Friday call with Business Insider.
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| Facing up to 60 years for killing her 5-year-old, mom tells court: 'I miss him and there's nothing I wouldn't do to bring him back' Posted: 16 Jul 2020 05:52 PM PDT  CHICAGO - Near the top of a small hill in a Palatine cemetery rests the remains of a 5-year-old boy buried in Superman pajamas and in a casket handmade and blessed by Trappist monks. Etched in the flat marker is the image of a praying angel and the words, "Loving Brother Andrew Freund." The nickname "AJ" appears in the center of a Superman emblem on the top right side. There is no mention on ...
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| Rep. Justin Amash, who quit GOP over opposition to Trump, not planning to run for reelection to US House Posted: 17 Jul 2020 05:49 AM PDT  The Michigan lawmaker, a fierce Trump critic, had briefly toyed with a run for the presidency. He tweeted Thursday that he won't run for reelection.
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| ‘Overwhelmed and Terrified’: Las Vegas’ Reopening Backfires Terribly Posted: 17 Jul 2020 11:53 AM PDT  As the coronavirus pandemic continues to pummel the United States, Las Vegas seems to be operating business as usual. Casinos have been open since June 4—undeterred by the 123 visitors who have tested positive for the highly contagious virus and the 51-year-old Caesars employee who died in late June.But it's not business as usual for doctors and nurses in Las Vegas' besieged health-care system, who say they are "overwhelmed and terrified" about the massive influx of new cases in a state officially deemed a "red zone" by the White House. "I would say in the last month we've been completely overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and our hospital is running out of space," one Las Vegas emergency room doctor, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of professional retaliation, told The Daily Beast on Friday. "Not only are we overwhelmed and terrified, but based on the numbers for the rest of the country, it's only going to get worse for us."'A Sinking Ship': Arizona Docs Say Ducey Steered State Into COVID-19 SurgeOne of the states that loosened coronavirus restrictions in May, Nevada has set records for new cases throughout July. The rate of new cases per 100,000 residents is higher than the national average, putting Nevada in the top ten states for cases per capita—alongside Arizona, Texas, and Florida, now the epicenter of the pandemic. In Las Vegas, where local officials protested against the stay-at-home order, the hospital system is starting to feel the effects of the cascading outbreak. The Las Vegas area set a new record of 1,315 new cases on Thursday, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.And Sin City is a microcosm for the whole state—which also shattered COVID-19 numbers on Thursday with 1,447 new cases and six new deaths. ICUs are at about 84 percent capacity. "It's even more troubling that COVID-19 in Nevada is disproportionately impacting communities of color," Bethany Khan, the communications director for the Culinary Union in Las Vegas, told The Daily Beast on Friday. "Workers fear that they will contract the virus and bring it home to their families or possibly die from it."At least 626 people have died from the coronavirus and 31,915 have been infected in Nevada—continuing a trend across much of the South and West after states lifted lockdown measures. Worse still, the rate of positive COVID-19 test results has reached a staggering 24.3 percent, rising continuously over the last month.Las Vegas Not-So-Politely Declines Mayor's Bonkers Offer to Become Virus 'Control Group'To curtail the surge, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has rolled back premature reopening plans, introduced a mask mandate, and closed down bars in seven counties, including Vegas. But he left it up to local leaders to enact more restrictive measures—and Las Vegas seems to be operating as usual. In the weeks after Nevada's casinos reopened on June 4, after being shuttered for three months, at least 123 visitors have tested positive for the coronavirus.Brian Labus, a professor of public health and outbreak investigation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told The Daily Beast that while cases in the state are surging, state officials have "stepped up" and taken "the main steps" to ensure the spread is curtailed. "The problem comes down to the fact that people didn't take the social distancing seriously when we reopened," Labus said. "I think the mask mandate will have a big dent on cases."Labus also stressed that Sin City "exists for tourism" and therefore has a unique issue of balancing "its economy with the safety issues.""You have to remember the kind of people who are coming to Las Vegas right now. It's the people who are the least concerned about this outbreak right now—least likely to follow the social distancing," he said, noting that tourists are not counted in Nevada's numbers."When you are on vacation, you want to forget about all your problems—and that includes the coronavirus. But there is still a pandemic, and not following health guidelines puts everyone at risk."Khan said the pressure on reopening the strip has meant "hotel and casino workers are working in fear every day." Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has been notably silent after calling the state shutdown in March "total insanity" and suggesting Las Vegas could be a "control group" to test the impact COVID-19 would have on a community that didn't close its doors. Over 500 Employees at Trump's Las Vegas Hotel Have Been Laid Off Amid Coronavirus"We would love to be that placebo side so you have something to measure against," she said during a wild April interview on CNN that prompted residents to begin efforts to remove her. Goodman's office did not respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment.Late last month, Adolfo Fernandez, a 51-year-old employee at Caesars Entertainment on the strip, died after testing positive for COVID-19. The utility porter died just two days after getting his virus diagnosis—and before the casino implemented a company-wide mask policy.The Culinary Union has since filed a lawsuit against several major casinos—including The Signature at the MGM Grand—to protect workers returning to work. The lawsuit states that the casino hotels have not adopted precautions to address the virus, have not conducted adequate tracing, and haven't informed employees of positive tests among co-workers. Khan, who said 20 union members and their spouses or kids had died from COVID-19 in the last three months, stressed that the lawsuit was aimed at ensuring that hotel and casino workers don't have to live "with the same fear every day they go to work."The White House, according to a report obtained by the Center of Public Integrity, believes Nevada is already facing catastrophic virus consequences. In a July 14 document from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, public health officials said Nevada had reached "red zone" status—meaning there were more than 100 new cases for every 100,000 residents in the prior week. Nevada had about 173 new cases per capita in the previous week, compared to the national average of 119. "Las Vegas continues to have [a] concerning rise in cases," the report said, noting that its county is one of the top three in the state with the highest COVID-19 cases. (Clark County, Washoe, County and Elko County represent 97.9 percent of the new cases in Nevada.)In order to combat the surge, the White House document suggested Nevada—and 17 other states—limit large gatherings, close down indoor establishments, and issue a mask mandate. A New York Times study also showed Nevada's surge to be among the highest in the world. The study of the number of daily infections between June 28 and July 5 showed Arizona and Florida are the two most infected places in the world. Nevada placed ninth, before Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and the country of Panama. Nevada also ranked before Brazil, a country seen as one of the world's most severe hot spots with more than 2 million cases recorded since March. "The big surge in cases in Nevada [is] among Las Vegas residents—but even if Las Vegas puts a bunch of measures in place, it wouldn't matter unless it was implemented statewide. You can't just focus on one jurisdiction, because people move around," Labus said. Las Vegas hospitals are feeling the surge of new cases and are overwhelmed, understaffed, and short on supplies—unable to keep up with what researchers believe is the "tipping point" before a state loses control of the pandemic. For the ER doctor, who said he had worked over 100 hours this week alone, the fear is knowing that the worst of the virus is yet to come for Las Vegas. He also said that some of the hospital's beds are being taken up by patients from out-of-state, like Arizona."This is uncharted waters and it seems like everyone in Las Vegas has been too lax about the pandemic," the doctor said, stressing that local officials have not taken the necessary precautions to ensure they "stop the virus in its tracks months ago.""People here in Las Vegas don't see this pandemic as an issue—well, once the hospitals are filled and there is nowhere to go, they will realize they should have been more careful."A spokesperson for University Medical Center in Las Vegas confirmed to The Daily Beast the hospital's ICU occupancy had exceeded 90 percent but stressed they "have the ability to significantly expand this capacity." "Following a detailed planning process, we have teams in place to activate alternative surge space throughout UMC as needed. We are currently using extra space within a large PACU [post-anesthesia care unit] to care for a small number of patients with non-COVID-related medical concerns," the spokesperson said, adding that the hospital had not received any virus patients from Arizona. The hospital does take out-of-state trauma patients who need additional care.According to the Nevada Hospital Association, the state recorded its highest day for hospitalizations this week, with 1,051 on Tuesday. By Thursday, about 77 percent of staffed beds across the state were occupied, and 785 confirmed virus patients were admitted. About 40 percent of the state's ventilators are in use.Sixto Zermeno, a bellman at The Signature at MGM Grand, said in a video announcing the union's lawsuit, that he hadn't been able to see his daughter for three weeks while he recovered from COVID-19."[G]etting this disease has been extremely difficult for me and my family," he said. "I have not been able to see my nine-year-old daughter in person since I tested positive—I haven't been able to hug my daughter or see her for 3-weeks now."The Signature at MGM Grand had three months to prepare and they didn't. None of our upper management had a clue what to do and that's unfortunate. They put a lot of us and our families at risk."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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| Top House Republican threatens to cut funding to states, cities that don't protect statues Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:58 AM PDT  The Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Thursday that would cut federal aid to state and local governments if they do not protect statues, after protesters attacked monuments to people who owned slaves or fought for the Confederacy. "It is wrong to erase our history," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement, criticizing "left-wing mobs" who have attacked statues across the United States. Under his bill, introduced with fellow Republican Representatives Jim Jordan and Sam Graves, some federal funds would be withheld if local governments do not "restore order or arrest rioters."
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| U.S. extends ban on cruise ships as CDC says coronavirus 'continues to expand rapidly' Posted: 16 Jul 2020 04:11 PM PDT  The prohibition was extended from July 24 to Sept. 30.
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| China says US moves against Huawei are 'dirty play' Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:10 AM PDT  Beijing on Thursday slammed the US clampdown on Chinese telecom giant Huawei as "dirty play" and took a shot at Washington's own human rights record by pointing to racism in the United States. The pushback from Beijing came a day after the US announced visa restrictions for Huawei employees and those of other Chinese firms if they were involved in human rights abuses.
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| 2 Oklahoma tribal leaders say they don't support agreement Posted: 17 Jul 2020 04:29 PM PDT |
| Minneapolis City Council Declares Racism a ‘Public Health Emergency’ Posted: 17 Jul 2020 12:45 PM PDT  The Minneapolis City Council on Friday declared racism a public health emergency, a move that comes after weeks of unrest following the police custody death of George Floyd in May that sparked national outrage.The council approved a resolution that states the city of Minneapolis will recognize "the severe impact of racism on the well-being of residents and city overall and allocate funding, staff, and additional resources to actively engage in racial equity in order to name, reverse, and repair the harm done" to black, Indigenous and people of color."Racism has various forms including historical, individual, systemic and that has not only continued to present day, but has been institutionalized to ensure the concentration of material, power and resources into the hands of white bodied individuals," reads the resolution, written by council members Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham.Minneapolis has some of the "starkest racial inequities in the country," the resolution says, including in the areas of poverty, home ownership, and obtaining a high school diploma.Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as he pleaded for air, during which time he passed out. Within days, demonstrations and riots against racism and police brutality broke out in the city and in metropolitan areas around the country. Rioters burned a police precinct building in Minneapolis and damaged businesses around the city."It's past time that we begin to address these systemic issues that have been plaguing our society for decades," Jenkins said. "Naming this issue allows us to begin to dismantle its structures moving forward."In June, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights filed a civil rights discrimination charge against the city's police department, launching an investigation into the department's polices and practices over the last decade with an eye to determining whether it has used "systemic discriminatory practices towards people of color."After Minneapolis faced calls to overhaul and defund the city's police department, the city council last month announced that a veto-proof majority had voted to dissolve the department. That proposal was opposed by both the Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo.
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| Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls White House press secretary 'Karen' Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:45 PM PDT  "Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth," the mayor tweeted in response to the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, describing her as "derelict."
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| Maxwell could "squeal" on "well-known names," Epstein accuser says Posted: 16 Jul 2020 01:22 PM PDT  Maxwell is facing criminal charges in connection with Epstein and was denied bail this week.
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| Unidentified federal agents in camo and rented minivans are grabbing people off Portland's streets Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:56 PM PDT  President Trump has sent an unknown number of federal agents to Portland, Oregon, ostensibly to project federal property amid weeks of protests against racism and police brutality. But federal officers "are also detaining people on Portland streets who aren't near federal property, nor is it clear that all of the people being arrested have engaged in criminal activity," OPB reported Thursday evening. One civil rights lawyer, Juan Chavez, described the federal tactics as "like stop and frisk meets Guantanamo Bay" and "more like abduction" than lawful arrest."Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14," OPB reports. "Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off."Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf visited Portland on Thursday and slammed the mayor and governor, claiming "Portland has been under siege for 47 straight days by a violent mob while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city." He released a list of the "lawless destruction and violence" from these "violent anarchists," and most of it was graffiti. Trump praised the federal incursion Monday, saying "Portland was totally out of control" and federal agents "very much quelled it." Federal agents shot one 26-year-old man in the head with "less lethal" munitions last Saturday, fracturing his skull.Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Gov. Kate Brown (D), and Oregon's congressional delegation were pretty clear the feds are not welcome. Wheeler said Tuesday that the federal officers had brought only violence and "life-threatening tactics" to Portland streets, and "we do not need or want their help." Brown said Thursday said she told Wolf he should remove "all federal officers from our streets" and criticized Trump's "political theater" and "blatant abuse of power" in Portland. Sen. Ron Wyden (D) echoed that critique:> A peaceful protester in Portland was shot in the head by one of Donald Trump's secret police. Now Trump and Chad Wolf are weaponizing the DHS as their own occupying army to provoke violence on the streets of my hometown because they think it plays well with right-wing media.> > — Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) July 16, 2020You can read more about the Portland situation, including details of one murky arrest of a pedestrian by federal agents in a rented minivan, at OPB.More stories from theweek.com Our time of dread 7 scathing cartoons about the push to reopen schools New York City enters final reopening phase as California, Florida, and Texas cases surge
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| A Las Vegas man has been arrested after police said he 'goaded' a homeless man into performing a fatal backflip for $6 Posted: 16 Jul 2020 02:11 PM PDT  In a video livestreamed on Facebook, the man could be heard telling viewers he had offered the homeless man cash for the deadly stunt.
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| Veteran U.S. Congressman Engel defeated by liberal Bowman in New York primary Posted: 17 Jul 2020 08:42 AM PDT  Liberal Black former middle-school principal Jamaal Bowman has ousted veteran Democratic U.S. Representative Eliot Engel from the congressional seat representing parts of New York City that he was first elected to in 1988. The primary race was closely watched as a test of the strength of the Democratic Party's left wing after moderate Joe Biden became the presumptive presidential nominee. The New York Times and the Associated Press both called the result of the June 23 election on Friday.
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| Ohio veteran, 37, who went viral for refusing to wear a mask, died of COVID-19 Posted: 17 Jul 2020 03:44 AM PDT  A friend of Richard Rose III's, said in a Facebook post his friend was believed to be healthy. Ohio does not have a mandate for wearing masks.
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| Abu Dhabi crown prince targeted by French torture probe: sources Posted: 17 Jul 2020 09:56 AM PDT  French authorities are opening an investigation into accusations of complicity in acts of torture against the powerful crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, sources said Friday. Multiple sources with knowledge of the case told AFP that a French investigating magistrate had been mandated to take on the probe, which will notably look at acts allegedly committed in the war in Yemen. An initial investigation had been opened in October 2019 against the prince, who is known as MBZ, after two complaints were filed when he came to Paris on an official visit in November 2018.
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| Details released in crash of plane carrying Earnhardt Jr. Posted: 17 Jul 2020 10:56 AM PDT  Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a pilot struggled to open a crashed airplane's wing emergency exit as the aircraft began to burn and fill with smoke before the race car driver and his family managed to escape from the main door, according to new details about the 2019 accident released by the National Transportation Safety Board. Documents released Thursday by the NTSB provide pilot, passenger and witness statements about the Aug. 15, 2019 plane crash at an airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Earnhardt was with wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, two pilots and the family dog when their Cessna Citation Latitude crashed.
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| India coronavirus: Kuwait's new expat bill has Indians worried Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:10 PM PDT  Kuwait's expat quota bill, if approved, will force nearly 800,000 Indians to return home.
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| Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sues Atlanta's mayor to stop her from requiring masks as COVID-19 cases skyrocket Posted: 16 Jul 2020 03:32 PM PDT  "I am not afraid of the city being sued," Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said earlier in the day.
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| Kellyanne Conway Urges Trump to Resume Coronavirus Briefings to Boost Approval Ratings Posted: 17 Jul 2020 08:17 AM PDT  White House counselor Kellyanne Conway urged President Donald Trump on Friday to resume giving regular coronavirus briefings, claiming his sinking approval ratings on the pandemic will surge if the public hears from him daily on the crisis.Amid a bevy of recent polls showing the vast majority of the American public strongly disapproves of the president's handling of the virus that's killed nearly 140,000 Americans, Conway appeared on the president's favorite morning show Fox & Friends to react to the current surge in coronavirus cases.After Conway brushed off the spike in cases as "hotspot surges" while assuring the Fox audience that the White House had the virus under control, co-host Steve Doocy wondered aloud why the president's ratings were "underwater" on coronavirus."You look at the data, from public and private polling, and Joe Biden actually beats the president on COVID response and Joe Biden is in the basement not doing anything," Doocy added.The senior Trump aide first snarked about the former veep's campaign strategy before saying the reason Trump's "numbers may be a little softer" on COVID-19 is due to the end of Trump's daily task force briefings."The president's numbers were much higher when he was out there briefing everybody on his day by day basis about the coronavirus," she said. "Just giving people the information.""They were out there every day when we had at some point 2,500 deaths in one day, at the highest level and I guess it was April or so, March and April, and the president and the task force were there most days, giving the information," Conway continued. "I think the president should be doing that."Doocy, meanwhile, jumped in to ask why the president stopped with the daily briefings in late April, prompting the White House official to say "some people are encouraging him to stop."Doocy agreed that Trump should resume with his regular task force briefings, adding that the president was "fully engaged" on the pandemic. Conway, meanwhile, noted that the briefings don't need to be "two hours" but that they shouldn't be "zero minutes, either."In a follow-up gaggle with reporters at the White House, Conway repeated her assertion that the president needs to bring back the briefings, explicitly stating that his "numbers were much higher when he was out there briefing everybody on a day by day basis about the coronavirus."The daily task force briefings featuring the president came to an abrupt end in late April after the president openly suggested that injecting disinfectants and ultraviolet light into the body could be used as a way to kill the virus.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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| LAPD officers throw black protester from his wheelchair and damage it, video shows Posted: 16 Jul 2020 12:28 PM PDT  An officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), appeared to push a disabled Black Lives Matter protester out of his wheelchair, before one of his colleagues damaged it.The incident was filmed by a demonstrator at a protest in California on Tuesday and the footage has been circulated on social media.
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| Kids, safety and schools: A pandemic debate plays out in California county Posted: 17 Jul 2020 04:29 AM PDT  In Sutter County in California's bucolic Sacramento Valley, coronavirus cases are rising, but Mike Ziegenmeyer wants his kids back in the classroom. Unlike big-city school districts that plan to offer only remote learning this fall as COVID-19 rages through the state, several school districts in this agricultural region - once part of the 19th century gold rush - intend to accommodate that wish. "I want my kids in school," said Ziegenmeyer, a county supervisor and political conservative.
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| Republicans fear coronavirus will force scaling back Trump's Florida convention Posted: 16 Jul 2020 09:50 AM PDT  Coronavirus concerns have sparked fear within GOP circles that convention festivities moved to Jacksonville may have to be vastly pared back.
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| China's mighty Yangtze nears crest again, new floods feared Posted: 17 Jul 2020 12:18 AM PDT  Engorged with more heavy rains, China's mighty Yangtze River is cresting again, bringing fears of further destruction, as the seasonal floods that already have left 141 people dead or missing have grown in force since last month. The heavy rains are putting renewed pressure on the massive Three Gorges Dam that straddles the river upstream of the city of Wuhan in Hubei province. The official Xinhua News Agency said the rate of flow in the reservoir behind the dam would hit a record for the year on Friday night, at 55,000 square meters (almost 600,000 square feet) per second.
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| It’s do or die for Germany’s new missile defense weapon Posted: 17 Jul 2020 09:18 AM PDT  The ongoing negotiations with industry suggest there is still no common ground on the legal framework for costs and risks associated with the next-generation program.
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| Vodafone calls for 5G auction to be scrapped Posted: 16 Jul 2020 08:00 AM PDT  It cites the need to strip out Huawei equipment coupled with economic uncertainty as reasons
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| The US government spent $1.75 million on an Airbus A321 passenger jet just to blow it up — here's why Posted: 17 Jul 2020 05:56 AM PDT  The US government typically purchases aircraft that are built in the US or by American manufacturers. Except when it just wants to blow them up.
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| Cuomo slams Trump over coronavirus response, says CDC report shows 'terrible failing on behalf of the federal government' Posted: 16 Jul 2020 07:53 PM PDT  ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, citing a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, took President Donald Trump to task Thursday over the federal coronavirus response. The governor touted the report because it backs his argument that the virus came to New York through Europe, not China. "It will be a double-barreled shotgun of incompetence," Cuomo told ...
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| A California man got nearly $9 million in coronavirus relief loans through fraud and spent 'hundreds of thousands' on gambling, prosecutors say Posted: 17 Jul 2020 11:31 AM PDT  Prosecutors are going after people scamming the Payment Protection Program, which is designed to give coronavirus relief loans to small businesses.
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| CNN Anchor Shreds Trump Spox on President’s COVID Response: ‘Here Are the Facts’ Posted: 17 Jul 2020 09:30 AM PDT  CNN anchor Poppy Harlow on Friday shut down Trump campaign spokesperson Mercedes Schlapp over the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, pointing out how many times the president has said the virus that's killed nearly 140,000 Americans would just "go away" and "disappear."In a contentious 15-minute CNN interview, Schlapp was steamrolled almost immediately by Harlow, who came prepared with a list of facts to push back on the Trump flack's inevitable spin.After tangling over the issue of mask mandates and how experts show they could stem the spread of the disease, Harlow brought up a patient who recently died, noting he expressed regret for believing coronavirus was a hoax."For months and months, why did the president continue to downplay the severity of this?" Harlow pressed the Trump spokesperson, prompting her to blow up."He never downplayed it," she yelled. "That you're saying that he downplayed the severity of this, this president has taken decisive and bold actions from the beginning. When his medical experts said, look, we need to put the travel restrictions on China, the president acted immediately. You know what Joe Biden said?!"The CNN anchor, however, told Schlapp to stick to the president's handling of the virus and not pivot to Biden, telling Schlapp that she thinks "it does a disservice" to viewers to deflect and argue.Kathy Griffin Almost Threw Down With Mercedes Schlapp at the WHCD"Let's not fight, let's talk about the facts," Harlow said. "Here are the facts. You said the president didn't downplay this. Exactly one month ago today, the president said, 'It's fading away.'""January 22 in Davos, Switzerland, 'It's totally under control,'" the CNN anchor continued. "February 22, 'We shut it down.' February 10, it 'goes away in April with the heat, a lot of people think.' February 26, 'The risk to the American people remains low.' February 28, quote, 'This is their new hoax.' May 8, 'It is going to go away without a vaccine.' That's what I'm talking about."Schlapp reacted by claiming the president has ensured that both Democratic and Republicans governors across the nation have received necessary supplies and resources, causing Harlow to note that Maryland's GOP governor had to go to South Korea to get masks."He praised the president," a desperate Schlapp interjected. "He praised the president beforehand."Later in the interview, Harlow listed off a series of recent polls that show that a vast majority of the American public doesn't trust the president's handling of the pandemic, noting that Trump "has a serious credibility crisis here."Having already asked why Trump and his advisers have recently attacked top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and dumped oppo research on him, Harlow highlighted that public polling shows that far more people trust Fauci over Trump.Schlapp's response: Attack the pollsters themselves, specifically Quinnipiac, which she claimed was way too "skewed" towards Democrats. Harlow, however, brought up several times in the past where the president has praised Quinnipiac.'Tooning Out the News' Busts Matt Schlapp for His Big 'Pandemic Payday'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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| Scientists unravel secrets of ultra-black fish swimming the deepest depths Posted: 16 Jul 2020 08:14 AM PDT  "In the deep, open ocean, there is nowhere to hide and a lot of hungry predators," said zoologist Karen Osborn of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, a co-author of the research published in the journal Current Biology. At such depths, bioluminescence - light emission by living organisms - is the only light source.
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| Commentary: Anti-Trump ads are all the rage. But they work better as comedy than politics Posted: 17 Jul 2020 02:18 PM PDT  The Lincoln Project and other "Never Trump" Republican groups are taking on the president. Like Sarah Cooper's web videos, they are as much comedy as politics.
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| Prosecutor in Jodi Arias murder case agrees to disbarment Posted: 17 Jul 2020 02:58 PM PDT  A former Arizona prosecutor known for winning a conviction in the Jodi Arias murder case agreed Friday to be disbarred in an ethics case in which he was accused of leaking the identity of an Arias juror and sexually harassing female law clerks in his office. Juan Martinez agreed to give up his license to practice law, ending the ethics case that was scheduled to go to trial in November. The State Bar of Arizona, which regulates lawyers and was seeking discipline against Martinez, said the outcome was just.
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| Florida reported 100% positive COVID-19 tests from some labs. That's wrong, hospital system says. Posted: 16 Jul 2020 11:29 AM PDT  The Lee Health hospital system says that its lab testing of potential COVID-19 cases has shown an overall positivity rate of about 18%.
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| Female suspect taken into custody in assault on NYPD officers during protest Posted: 16 Jul 2020 10:46 AM PDT  Four NYPD officers are assaulted during a clash with protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge; Laura Ingle has the latest.
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| Plague squirrels spread ‘Black Death’ in Colorado and kill teenage boy in Mongolia Posted: 17 Jul 2020 10:48 AM PDT  The "Black Death" has returned to Colorado after an infected squirrel passed the bubonic plague onto a human in the state for the first time in five years.It comes as health authorities continue to monitor an outbreak of bubonic plague after a 15-year-old boy died in Mongolia from eating an infected marmot, a type of ground squirrel.
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| Fox's Harris Faulkner is used to people making presumptions Posted: 16 Jul 2020 11:45 AM PDT  As a Black journalist who works at Fox News Channel, Harris Faulkner is accustomed to people who presume to know where she stands on issues. "When anybody looks at you and looks at your position and think they know who you are, you have the advantage of being able to surprise them," said Faulkner, centerpiece of two weekday hours at Fox and host of a special on America's racial reckoning that airs at 10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Faulkner is the most prominent Black personality at Fox as moderator on "Outnumbered" at noon each weekday, reaching an audience that is overwhelmingly white and conservative during a season of racial unrest over police brutality and calls for a more equitable society.
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| No, Gavin Newsom says, Orange County won't reopen its schools (as long as infections are this high) Posted: 17 Jul 2020 01:40 PM PDT  In a Friday press conference, Newsom said all 32 counties on the coronavirus "watch list" will have remote learning, as San Francisco joined the list.
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