| Former head of pandemic response team speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared' Posted: 23 May 2020 09:31 AM PDT  "Isolating cases, tracking contacts, all of those things we're talking about now, we really should have been talking about in January," Beth Cameron said on Yahoo's "Skullduggery" podcast.
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| Survivor recalls horror of Pakistan plane crash that killed 97 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:47 PM PDT  One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people on board has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighbourhood. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on Friday after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, the airline said. Pakistan's deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days after commercial flights resumed ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
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| Jacinda Ardern stays cool as earthquake rattles New Zealand capital Posted: 24 May 2020 01:21 PM PDT  An earthquake struck near New Zealand's capital on Monday morning, shaking many residents including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who continued with a live TV interview at the parliament building. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake was 37 kms deep and the epicentre was 30 km northwest of Levin, a city in New Zealand's North Island close to the capital Wellington, according to Geonet. Geonet first classified the earthquake as magnitude 5.9.
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| Warren reportedly turning back to wealthy donors in effort to boost Biden Posted: 24 May 2020 04:48 AM PDT  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is reportedly reaching back into her old toolbox in an attempt to help former Vice President Joe Biden.Warren has agreed to host a gathering of big money donors for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, The New York Times reports. The event, which will take place online because of the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled for June 15, three people with knowledge of the plans told the Times on condition of anonymity.During Warren's own presidential campaign, which ended shortly after Super Tuesday in March, the senator progressive Democratic senator vowed not to attend private events or call wealthy potential donors for contributions. She subsequently relied heavily on grassroots donations for the rest of her run.But Warren, considered a possible vice presidential candidate who has shown a willingness of late to move a little closer to some of Biden's more centrist policy ideas, built a network of high-dollar donors during her Senate campaigns, so she's no stranger to that world. Now, she'll reportedly turn back to that group to aid Biden in his battle against President Trump.A spokeswoman for Warren declined to comment, and Biden's campaign did not respond to the Times' request. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com How pandemics change society 17 extra-easy dessert recipes to make in quarantine There's always a bigger scandal
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| France to retaliate over British quarantine measures Posted: 23 May 2020 03:43 AM PDT  France is to impose a quarantine on British travellers after the UK announced all new arrivals will have to spend two weeks in self-isolation. The French government made it clear it would retaliate in kind after Britain announced the 14-day quarantine period for new arrivals to the UK from June 8, including the French. In response French ministers said they "regretted" Britain's decision and would introduce their own reciprocal measures. The British decision to impose quarantine measures had already angered the travel industry and the French response will only compound its despair at the prospect of international travel being disrupted further. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, announced on Friday travellers entering the UK would have to self-isolate for 14 days or they could face a £1,000 fine. Passengers will be required to fill out an online contact form providing details of where they will spend their self-isolation. If a person does not have suitable accommodation they will be required to stay in "facilities arranged by the government" at the person's own expense. It was confirmed France would not be exempt from the rules, despite reports earlier this week its citizens may not be forced to self-isolate. In response a spokesman for France's Interior Minister said: "We take note of the British government's decision and we regret it. France is ready to put in place a reciprocal measure as soon as the system comes into force on the British side." Unlike many other countries, Britain has until now carried out few tests and checks on visitors, with quarantine limited only to arrivals from China at the start of the outbreak. Spain and Italy already have rules that mean international arrivals must self-isolate for two weeks, while Greece currently instructs arrivals to quarantine if they test positive for Covid-19. Italy will lift its quarantine measures on June 3. Raffaele Trombetta, the Italian ambassador to the UK, said no discussions had yet taken place between Italy and Britain. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We believe that this pandemic is a global problem so the best thing to do is to tackle it with a coordinated approach. We have made it clear what we are going to do and it's important for British people to know that they can come to Italy. "We understand that the UK's new rules will be reassessed after three weeks so hopefully there will be an easing of the measures as we are doing in Italy." Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in his weekly Saturday televised address that "the entry of foreign tourists will restart in July in a safe manner". Germany imposed blanket quarantine for arrivals in April, although many regions of the country have since decided to ignore it. But there are now fears that other countries will consider introducing restrictions on British travellers, especially if our Covid-19 infections and deaths remain higher than theirs. As part of Britain's quarantine regime, travellers will be asked to fill in a form with their contact information and health officials will perform spot checks to ensure they are complying with the measures. Road hauliers and medical officials will be exempt, while the common travel area with Ireland will be unaffected. Ms Patel defended the British move, stating: "We are not shutting down completely. We are not closing our borders. This is absolutely not about booking holidays. We want to avoid a second wave and that is absolutely vital." But the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the quarantine plans were "deeply concerning" and could be avoided with strong safety measures. The airline industry has also been particularly critical, warning they would have a damaging impact on the livelihood of thousands. Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, said: "Introducing a quarantine at this stage makes no sense and will mean very limited international aviation at best. It is just about the worst thing government could do if their aim is to restart the economy."
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| Taliban leverages pandemic to burnish image as violence in Afghanistan surges Posted: 23 May 2020 04:14 PM PDT  "Some districts don't have doctors," said Kate Clark, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network. "It's confusing, it's a mess."
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| Judge demands ICE better explain why it won't release kids Posted: 22 May 2020 06:27 PM PDT |
| Letters to the Editor: Why is the Trump administration working so hard to deport immigrant children? Posted: 24 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  There's nothing that can justify preventing a 16-year-old immigrant from seeing her lawyer and suddenly deporting her by herself.
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| Former head of pandemic response team at the NSC speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared' Posted: 23 May 2020 01:46 PM PDT  The official who oversaw epidemic preparedness for the National Security Council under President Obama said the absence of public guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic leaves her "frankly scared." She also believes and that eliminating her position weakened the American response to the coronavirus when it emerged 18 months later.
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| Just two survivors in Pakistan plane crash; bodies of 97 passengers and crew recovered Posted: 23 May 2020 08:07 AM PDT  97 bodies have been pulled from rubble in Karachi, Pakistan, where a plane crashed Friday. All are believed to be passengers and crew. Two survived.
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| Dr. Birx warns of emerging coronavirus hotspots in LA, Chicago, and DC despite the cities remaining closed Posted: 23 May 2020 11:47 AM PDT  DC and its suburbs have the highest rate of positive coronavirus tests in the country. LA and Chicago continue to report high daily case counts.
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| Iranian fuel starts arriving in Venezuelan waters despite U.S. warning Posted: 23 May 2020 05:47 AM PDT  The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the South American country's exclusive economic zone on Saturday, despite a U.S. official's warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment. "The ships from the fraternal Islamic Republic of Iran are now in our exclusive economic zone," tweeted Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela's economy vice president and recently named oil minister. The defense minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
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| Western Australia battered by worst storms in a decade Posted: 24 May 2020 05:17 AM PDT  Homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of people left without power as a "once in a decade" storm pummelled the western half of Western Australia on Sunday night, with worse expected overnight and on Monday morning. The storm, which is expected to continue well into Monday, was described by Bureau of Meteorology state manager James Ashley as a "dynamic and complex" weather formation caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga interacting with a cold front. Winds of more than 100kmh destroyed power lines and tore roofs from homes and businesses late on Sunday and the storm was expected to worsen overnight as it moved south along the coast, with winds up 130kmh predicted. Western Power spokesperson Paul Entwistle told WA Today that about 37,000 homes and businesses in Perth, the state capital, had lost power by Sunday evening, along with 13,000 properties are in Western Australia's Mid West region, including the port city of Geraldton, where it was reported that rooftops torn from homes collided with power lines. In Perth, a radio tower was believed to have fallen onto power lines in the city's eastern suburbs, contributing to the disruption of supply. Dozens of traffic lights across the city were knocked out. The entire town of Margaret River, a popular tourist destination about 240km south of Perth and home to 8,000 people, lost power. By late Sunday afternoon, the state's emergency services had received more than 200 calls for help. A deep low-pressure system was forecast to form off the south-west corner of the state. Mr Ashley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that "in a broad area, the south-west of the state will be hit really severely overnight, tonight and into tomorrow". "Really quite severe conditions will still be experienced in Perth tomorrow morning… (And) in small pockets up in the north of the state they are still likely to experience those 130 kilometre per hour [winds], those really severe conditions. "I should emphasise it's pretty much the whole western half of the state that's getting strong northerly winds at the moment," he said. The Bureau of Meteorology also predicted ten-metre high waves would hit the south west coast of the state on Monday morning, following seven-metre waves along the Gascoyne to Geraldton coast further north. In Geraldton, more than 400km north of Perth, winds of 113kmh were recorded as the city, along with surrounding areas, were shrouded with dust. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jessica Lingard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the "wind is picking up the dust through parts of the Gascoyne and the Central West, but the rain should increase in the coming hours so hopefully that will dampen that down… We are expecting conditions to worsen down the west coast as we move into this afternoon". The dust storm caused low visibility which complicated efforts to tackle an out-of-control bushfire in the southern part of Waggrakine, in the City of Greater Geraldton. "There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching in the area and conditions are changing," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services warned on Sunday afternoon.
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| Biden strikes a populist tone but stops short of embracing Warren's economic plans Posted: 23 May 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The apparent Democratic nominee weighed in this week on some signature policies of his primary season rival — and rumored vice presidential contender.
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| Navajo Nation enters 57-hour lockdown as virus death toll rises Posted: 23 May 2020 11:04 AM PDT  Even essential businesses must remain closed as the entire tribe enters a strict lockdown for Memorial Day weekend.
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| Chief justice says pandemic teaches humility, compassion Posted: 23 May 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Chief Justice John Roberts told graduating seniors at his son's high school that the coronavirus has "pierced our illusion of certainty and control" and he counseled the students to make their way with humility, compassion and courage in a world turned upside down. Roberts didn't talk at all about the Supreme Court's hefty load of high-profile cases that include disputes over President Donald Trump's taxes, abortion, LGBT rights and protections for young immigrants. Instead, the 65-year-old Roberts said students should show compassion, and not just for those who were sickened by or died of the virus.
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| Hong Kong police fire tear gas as protesters decry China security law plan Posted: 24 May 2020 07:28 AM PDT  Thousands rally in Hong Kong for the first time since China announced plans for a new security law.
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| Spain to reopen to tourists as South America named virus hotspot Posted: 23 May 2020 11:50 AM PDT  Spain said on Saturday it would let in foreign tourists and restart top league football in the coming weeks, accelerating Europe's exit from strict virus lockdown, as South America was labelled "a new epicentre" by the World Health Organization. Brazil led the surge across South America, its death toll passing 21,000 on Friday from 330,000 infections, the third biggest caseload of any country in a pandemic that has infected 5.25 million globally and killed more than 338,000.
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| How the Restaurant Industry Viciously Exploits Its Workers, From Wage Theft to Sexual Abuse Posted: 23 May 2020 02:08 AM PDT  For labor organizers working within the restaurant industry, there's another NRA: the National Restaurant Association. This NRA "represent[s] and advocate[s] on behalf of more than 500,000 restaurant businesses," including some of the biggest chains in the country. For decades, this has meant keeping tipped workers earning a minimum of $2.13 an hour in 43 states (in California, where I live, tipped workers must earn at least the state-wide minimum wage of $12.00 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $13.00 per hour for employers with more than 25 employees). During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many restaurant and cafe workers are realizing that they are much better off financially leaving their jobs and collecting unemployment insurance, there's a renewed focus on how service work is systemically devalued in the U.S.The so-called logic behind this $2.13 tipped worker minimum wage is that tips will meet or exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and, legally speaking, when they don't, employers must make up the difference. According to many employees in the industry, in practice, the latter almost never happens—the restaurant industry specifically is notorious for wage and tip theft. Throughout the U.S.—excluding West Coast states, Nevada, Montana, Minnesota, and Alaska—if tips aren't good or are nonexistent, good luck making rent. In director Abby Ginzberg's documentary Waging Change, streamable on Women Make Movies from May 22 to May 31, the NRA's machinations to keep the tipped minimum wage at $2.13 an hour in as many states as possible is exposed for its strategic seediness. In a "Save Our Tips" campaign, the NRA funded an astroturf movement that convinced many restaurant workers that One Fair Wage legislation in Washington, D.C., would compromise their earnings—the idea being that if customers know servers and bartenders are earning the minimum wage or more, they will be less likely to tip or tip well. In fact, studies have shown that in cities where there is one minimum wage across all industries—and when that minimum wage is on the high end of the current spectrum—tipping is much better. White Anti-Quarantine Protesters Have Cruelly Co-opted an Enslaved Black Woman from the 18th CenturyThis Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents FuriousThere's also a prevailing idea that most restaurants cannot afford to pay even the minimum wage, let alone a living wage, and if they did, they would have to lay off many workers. Waging Change goes to small, local restaurants around the country to show that living wage structures and even co-ops (in which the workers own the business) are possible and in fact can improve business. It's also telling that many of the restaurants with the worst wages and practices are the huge chains, from IHOP to McDonald's to TGI Friday's. Even high-end restaurants that charge in the hundreds for a single meal have settled lawsuits for wage theft and other unfair labor practices. In many cases, the problem is at best incompetent management and at worst, greed. The One Fair Wage movement, which has been backed by bartender-turned-congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also aims to address the rampant sexual harassment and abuse that the tipped minimum wage structure doesn't simply exacerbate, but provides the foundation for. If servers and bartenders have to make tips to make rent, then they're especially vulnerable to abuse. According to 20 years of government data reported by BuzzFeed in 2017, more sexual harassment claims are filed in the restaurant industry than in any other industry. And according to a survey by Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC), the labor organization prominently featured in Waging Change, 60 percent of women report that they have experienced some form of sexual harassment on the job, and over half say they experience it on a daily basis. This same study also reports that "one-fifth of women working in the restaurant industry live below the poverty line, and nearly one-half (46%) live below twice the poverty line, compared to 40% of men in the restaurant industry and 20% of women in other industries." One strategy proposed—beyond the organizing that restaurant workers do with ROC and other organizations to spur legislative change—is to vote with your wallet, to only patronize business that pay workers a living wage both in the front and back of house (racism in the restaurant industry is also rampant, with bussers, dishwashers, and prep cooks often being black and brown, and servers, hosts, and bartenders usually being white). But voting with your wallet often means relying on restaurant marketing to "know" who is treating their workers fairly; now that touting fair labor practices—like "sustainability" in the fashion industry—is trendy, it's hard to know who is just talking the talk. In fact, supporting labor organizations, unions, and campaigns run by restaurant workers themselves is often the most direct way to either vote with your wallet or actions. (You'd also do well to tip in cash, a more reliable way to ensure your server and other workers in the restaurant actually get your tip, and quickly.)Waging Change addresses the curveball thrown by coronavirus on the gains made by the One Fair Wage and $15 minimum wage movements, since many restaurant workers have been furloughed or laid off due to restaurant shutdowns. The documentary points out that are relief funds for those workers ineligible for unemployment insurance (because, cruelly enough, they earn too little to qualify), and as inequity in the U.S. is sharply revealed through this crisis, workers are still protesting for fair wages, including hazard pay and sick leave.But what coronavirus has made clear is how unnecessary worker vulnerability is. In many other countries, robust social safety nets—with free health care, well-appointed public housing, free university, free childcare, and more—mean that even in hard times, workers can still pay the bills and businesses are more incentivized to provide good compensation and working conditions to retain staff (the reality, however, is usually much different for "unskilled" immigrant workers, who are not often provided social benefits no matter where they go). But in the U.S., where business lobbies like the other NRA hold enormous power and regular people are dependent on whatever wages these businesses decide to hand out—anything that might compromise this precarious arrangement, even when it's as justified as public health protocol, compromises us. As a result, social welfare is looked down upon, and both local and federal governments typically do all they can to make those benefits hard to receive and insufficient for a decent quality of life. To wage change, we'll also have to look beyond the wage itself. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Bad weather might delay SpaceX's historic launch of NASA astronauts to May 30 Posted: 23 May 2020 01:25 PM PDT  Rainy forecasts leave just a 40% chance of meeting safety criteria for SpaceX's launch. Lightning strikes or high winds could endanger astronauts.
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| Brazil registers 965 new coronavirus deaths, confirmed cases hit 347,398 Posted: 23 May 2020 04:32 PM PDT  Brazil registered 965 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,013, the Health Ministry said. The country now has 347,398 confirmed cases, according to the ministry, up 16,508 from Friday, when it surpassed Russia to become the world's virus hot spot behind the United States. Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has been fiercely criticized for his handling of the outbreak, which has led to the exit of two health ministers amid his insistence in opposing social distancing measures while advocating the use of unproven drugs for treatment.
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| Declining infection rate provides challenge for Oxford coronavirus vaccine Posted: 24 May 2020 07:37 AM PDT  Just days ago, scientists leading the University of Oxford's coronavirus vaccine development expressed optimism about their progress — more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom have been inoculated already, and 10,000 more will be given the vaccine in May and June. But there's some cause for concern, The Telegraph reports.Professor Adrian Hill, director of the University's Jenner Institute, said what was formerly an 80 percent chance of developing an effective vaccine by September — possibly in time for a potential second wave of infections — has dwindled to 50 percent. That's not because the team no longer believes in its work, which is reportedly still going well. Instead, the U.K.'s infection rate decline may make it tough to gauge the vaccine's efficacy. "It's a race against the virus disappearing, and against time," Hill said.Hill only expects fewer than 50 of the 10,000 trial volunteers to catch the virus, which has faded since the U.K. and other countries implemented strict lockdowns, and if it turns out that fewer than 20 test positive, the study's results may be useless.The vaccine showed promise when it was tested in six rhesus macaque monkeys earlier this year, but it will obviously need to show that it provides the same protection in humans before it can be distributed.More stories from theweek.com How pandemics change society 17 extra-easy dessert recipes to make in quarantine There's always a bigger scandal
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| Suffolk County police set identify one of Gilgo Beach victims Posted: 23 May 2020 07:13 AM PDT  Suffolk County police say they've positively identified a victim nicknamed Jane Doe number six in the nearly decade-old Gilgo Beach murders.
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| The Statue of Liberty as you've never seen her before Posted: 24 May 2020 06:43 AM PDT  With the monument currently closed due to COVID-19, this is the perfect time to experience a new virtual tour, featuring every nook-and-cranny of the statue's interior, including areas traditionally off-limits to visitors
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| Joe Biden wins Hawaii presidential primary delayed by virus Posted: 23 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  Joe Biden won the Democratic Party of Hawaii's party-run presidential primary on Saturday, which was delayed by more than a month because of the coronavirus. Biden defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 63% to 37%. Biden won 16 of Hawaii's delegates and Sanders will take eight.
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| Iran oil tanker reaches Venezuela amid US tension Posted: 24 May 2020 04:54 PM PDT  Five tankers are being escorted by the Venezuelan military as the country struggles with shortages.
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| 'A wake-up call': How the pandemic has Native Americans turning to the earth Posted: 24 May 2020 03:17 AM PDT  A "Seeds and Sheep" project in Utah is one of many innovative programs seeking to help Native communities become more food sovereign and self-reliant.
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| In the largest-ever study of coronavirus cases outside China, 26% of patients died. Their symptoms came in 'clusters.' Posted: 23 May 2020 09:53 AM PDT  A study of over 20,000 coronavirus patients in the UK revealed that obesity may be a risk factor, and patients appeared with "clusters of symptoms."
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| White House limits travel to U.S. from Brazil due to coronavirus Posted: 24 May 2020 08:13 AM PDT  The White House on Sunday said it was prohibiting most non-U.S. citizens from traveling to the United States if they had been in Brazil in the last two weeks, two days after the South American nation became the world No. 2 hot spot for coronavirus cases. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the United States, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the two countries. National security adviser Robert O'Brien earlier on Sunday told CBS' "Face the Nation" he hoped the move could be reconsidered at some point.
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| Firefighters Battle Major Warehouse Fire on San Francisco's Famed Fisherman's Wharf Posted: 23 May 2020 09:59 AM PDT  So far, no injuries have been reported
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| Is international travel allowed yet? See when Spain, Mexico, Iceland plan to reopen borders Posted: 23 May 2020 12:34 PM PDT  Spain has announced that it will reopen its borders to foreign tourists in July and Mexico will start reopening in June. See when others will follow.
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| Outbreak at Washington food plant puts halt to reopening plan Posted: 23 May 2020 08:33 PM PDT  According to Clark County Public Health, 38 workers at Firestone Pacific Foods in Vancouver have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.
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| Restrictions eased while virus deaths decline in New York Posted: 23 May 2020 05:06 AM PDT  New Yorkers experiencing cabin fever after two months of coronavirus quarantine received an unexpected reprieve when Gov. Andrew Cuomo eased the state's ban on gatherings in time for the Memorial Day weekend. New York state on Saturday reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths — 84 — in weeks in what Cuomo described as a critical benchmark. "In my head, I was always looking to get under 100," Cuomo said.
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| Decision not to extend Pa. vote-by-mail deadline could lower AAPI turnout Posted: 23 May 2020 01:24 PM PDT  With the primary less than two weeks away, community organizers are scrambling to mobilize socially and linguistically isolated AAPI voters.
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| Western Australia hit by 'once-in-a-decade' storm Posted: 24 May 2020 07:58 AM PDT  The country's entire western coast is expected to be affected by torrential rain and massive waves.
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| Shiite Iran marks end of Ramadan on two different days in rare event Posted: 24 May 2020 06:01 AM PDT  Shiite Iranians in a rare event mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan this year on separate days -- Sunday or Monday -- depending on different religious authorities' edicts. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Saturday evening on his official website that the Eid al-Fitr festival would fall on Sunday this year.
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| Oxford scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine say there is now only a 50% chance of success because the number of UK cases is falling too quickly Posted: 24 May 2020 03:08 AM PDT  The Oxford mission to find a COVID-19 vaccine is in "a race against the virus disappearing, and against time," scientists Adam Hill said.
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| More than 40 diagnosed with COVID-19 after Frankfurt church service Posted: 23 May 2020 08:38 AM PDT  More than 40 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus following a church service in Frankfurt, Germany's financial center, earlier this month, the head of the city's health department told a news agency on Saturday. The service took place on May 10 at a Baptist church, the department's deputy chief Antoni Walczok told local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. Churches in the German state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, have been able to hold services since May 1 provided they adhere to official social distancing and hygiene rules.
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| Barack Obama poised to add his star appeal to Joe Biden's campaign Posted: 23 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The former president, the most popular politician in America with a huge social media following, can bolster the Democratic nominee with key groups and drive voter registrationFormer president Barack Obama has dipped his toes into the 2020 presidential campaign recently and is positioned to do more in the coming months as Joe Biden's effort to defeat Donald Trump gathers steam.Interviews with about a dozen Democratic strategists, officials and people close to Obama indicated members of the party want the popular former president to use his powerful online presence and focus on rallying key Democrat constituencies that are critical to a Biden victory.Obama is regarded as one of the most popular figures in American politics and a huge asset within the Democratic party. He left the White House with a near-60% approval rating. His endorsement for any candidate is the political campaign equivalent of an oilman and hitting a gusher.Obama would be most effective, interviewees said, in highlighting his former vice-president's résumé, rallying key Democratic groups like African American women, and pushing voters to register.The situation is unique. There hasn't been a popular former two-term president eager to hit the trail for his former running mate for years. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic limits in-person campaigning and rallies. Still, the strategists interviewed say Obama is valuable and should be used everywhere."You rarely have a former president that is more popular than the now-sort-of-nominee," Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher said. "Barack Obama is the most popular political figure in America right now."Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior adviser to Obama during his time in the White House, said Obama is "committed to helping Vice-President Biden in any way the Biden campaign thinks is helpful. The pandemic is forcing everyone to be more creative since the conventional ways of doing business, including campaigning, are not possible."Obama has a robust social media presence with millions of Twitter followers, and Jarrett pointed to Obama's endorsement of Biden, which took the form of an online video now that campaign rallies have become a thing of the pre-pandemic past."I think you can tell from the video that he rolled out with his endorsement, one very useful platform is President Obama's social media platform where he has more followers than any other politician by far."According to a Democratic strategist familiar with Obama's thinking, the former president is eager to campaign for Democrats "up and down the ballot" in 2020. He plans to follow the lead of the Biden campaign as well as that of the main Democratic campaign arms – the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other umbrella organizations.Obama was an active surrogate to boost Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections but since then has taken a more restrained approach to the national spotlight. He has only waded into current politics a few times and mostly on an indirect basis.Most recently, though, he delivered a commencement speech for college graduates where he said the coronavirus pandemic had "finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing". Obama didn't mention Trump by name but the speech was widely regarded as a direct allusion to the president. It could also herald what Obama's public appearances in the final months of the 2020 presidential campaign would be like.Separately, during a closed event with thousands of supporters and Obama alumni, the former president warned that the justice department's decision to drop charges against the former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn put the rule of law at risk.Campaign veterans and strategists say Obama is useful less as an attack dog going head to head with Trump and more as someone who highlights a positive vision of why voters should elect Biden."To me, Obama is the world's best character witness," said Teddy Goff, who was digital director for Obama's second presidential campaign. "Yeah, he can make the case that Trump is bad. He can certainly validate the case for Biden's policies. But essentially he's the most popular political figure on planet Earth and the one guy he entrusted with the single most important appointment of his life was Joe Biden."But Obama could also persuade more people to vote.Meg Ansara, who was national regional director for Obama's first presidential campaign and more recently battleground states director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, said one of the key priorities, especially in this environment, is voter registration."I think voter registration is a huge place," Ansara said, adding that persuading undecided voters is important for someone like Obama as well. "I'm a big believer that you need to do both in the bulk of these battleground states."There have been moments during the last three years when Democrats had wondered why Obama didn't speak out more against Trump or weigh in more during the Democratic primary. That's actually an asset now and adds weight to when Obama does speak out, said Guy Cecil, who runs the Priorities USA Super Pac."I think in some respects the Biden campaign benefits from the fact that Obama has not spent three and a half years in the political limelight, attacking the president, attacking the administration, engaging in a back-and-forth with [Trump]," Cecil said. Corey Platt, a veteran Democratic strategist and campaign manager, said that Obama and Biden have done a good job of appearing together so far and he should keep doing that rather than just focusing on going head-to-head with Trump."I think he if continues to remind people about competency and progress under his administration it will make people feel good about Biden, change and sanity. If he engages Trump I think that could backfire," Platt said. "He can help articulate Biden's vision for what happens next year and promote confidence in getting through this crisis together."
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| Plasma from recovered coronavirus patients boosts others' survival rate, study says Posted: 23 May 2020 12:04 PM PDT  Plasma transfusions work better if done before a COVID-19 patient's lungs are severely damaged.
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| Why minority business owners are struggling with PPP loans Posted: 23 May 2020 03:04 AM PDT  Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith joined "CBS This Morning" to talk about why minority-owned businesses have been struggling with the government's PPP loan program.
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| Virus spread feared where water is scarce around the world Posted: 23 May 2020 12:06 AM PDT  "Social distancing here?" Manuel asked tartly. Such choices underscore the challenges of preventing the spread of the coronavirus in slums, camps and other crowded settlements around the world where clean water is scarce and survival is a daily struggle.
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| Parts of New York dip toes into the water of reopening Posted: 24 May 2020 03:09 PM PDT  Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the daily death toll in New York has risen above 100 again.
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| Two dead in severe storms in Carolinas; thousands without power Posted: 23 May 2020 11:04 AM PDT  A man in Charlotte, North Carolina, died when a tree crashed into his home, and in Lancaster County, South Carolina, a utility pole and tree fell on a driver's truck, killing him.
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| Brazil surges to second in coronavirus cases worldwide Posted: 22 May 2020 06:09 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazil overtook Russia Friday as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections worldwide behind the United States, as the Americas emerged as a new epicenter of the pandemic. The South American country has now registered 330,890 infections and 21,048 deaths from the new coronavirus, though experts say under-testing means the real figures may be 15 times higher or more. Brazil's death toll rose by 1,001 in 24 hours, the third time in four days it has come in over 1,000.
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| Trump administration asks Supreme Court to stop release of inmates at risk for COVID-19 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:31 PM PDT  If COVID-19 poses risks to elderly inmates, may a judge order their release? Trump administration lawyers say no and ask Supreme Court to intervene.
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| Defiant protesters chanting 'liberate Hong Kong' flood the streets to oppose China's grab for control Posted: 24 May 2020 02:36 AM PDT  Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands protesting on Sunday, against Beijing's plan to directly impose security laws.
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