| Trump threatens prison time after protesters attempt to topple Andrew Jackson statue near White House Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:35 AM PDT  In the weeks since the initial demonstrations following George Floyd's killing, protesters have increasingly focused on removing monuments of figures in American history associated with racism.
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| Spate of shootings raises fears of a violent summer Posted: 23 Jun 2020 03:55 AM PDT  A spate of shootings over the past several days has law enforcement on edge, with some warning that a turbulent brew of a pandemic, protests against racism, historic surges in gun sales and a rancorous election year could make it an especially deadly summer. Although mass shootings — often defined as four or more killed, excluding the shooter — are down sharply this year, other non-suicidal gun deaths are on pace to exceed last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. "There's something going on at the moment, these underlying tensions," said James Densley, professor of law enforcement and criminal justice at Metropolitan State University.
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| Murder of Asian American decades ago newly relevant in era of 'Kung flu,' experts say Posted: 23 Jun 2020 01:08 PM PDT  AAPI history is built atop "faultlines of xenophobia," one expert said.
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| Letters to the Editor: Adam Schiff kowtows to the mob in pulling his endorsement of Jackie Lacey Posted: 23 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Adam Schiff should know there are many moderate Democrats who do not favor "defunding" the police or other radical reforms opposed by Jackie Lacey.
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| Ready to fly again? Southwest launches annual fall fare sale, with one-way tickets starting at $39 Posted: 23 Jun 2020 10:13 AM PDT  The three-day Southwest Airlines sale covers travel between Aug. 11 and Dec. 17, excluding Thanksgiving travel, on flights within the continental U.S.
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| In a move to make coronavirus cases trend downward, Trump is halting support for testing sites in 5 states. But that could have 'catastrophic cascading consequences,' health officials say. Posted: 24 Jun 2020 03:24 PM PDT  The Trump administration's decision to defund comes amid record-high numbers of new coronavirus cases.
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| Was Seattle’s Notorious Protest Zone Doomed by Recent Shootings? Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:32 AM PDT  After a few remarkable weeks of free food, far-right agitation, and most recently, multiple shootings, Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) looks like it might be on the rocks.The CHOP (formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ) is an approximately six-block zone in Seattle where, after a violent crackdown by police against racial justice protesters, the city agreed to withdraw police and clear the streets for demonstrations. Activists quickly set up tents and issued a list of demands including police abolition and de-gentrification measures like rent control. But Seattle never agreed to keep police out forever. And after a trio of shootings in and around the zone, the city is calling to dismantle the CHOP, leaving activists wondering how to keep the protest going.In a Monday press conference, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said the city would work with activists to dismantle the CHOP."It's time for people to go home. It is time for us to restore Cal Anderson [Park] and Capitol Hill so it can be a vibrant part of the community," Durkan said at the press conference. "We can still accommodate people who want to protest peacefully, come there and gather. But the impacts on the businesses and residents and community are now too much."She added that police would re-enter the neighborhood precinct, which was boarded up when cops left the area on June 8, although she did not elaborate on a timeline for the reintroduction of police. Seattle Police did not return a request for comment.A spokesperson for the CHOP-affiliated group, Seattle Organized Protest Support said the disbandment talk had led to divergent views within the neighborhood."There is a lot of uncertainty going around in the CHOP right now, different people have different opinions," the spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "As far as the groups that I'm in, it seems that the general consensus is to follow Black leaders for the next step, which is tricky in and of itself because we never know who is working with the city and who isn't."Other encampment-based movements have faced similar predicaments in the past. The Occupy Wall Street protests lasted approximately three months camped in a downtown Manhattan park before police raided the scene and sent the movement spiraling. Todd Gitlin, a Columbia University professor and author of the book Occupy Nation, said the uprooted camp sites face an ideological reckoning."The problem for manifestations that come together around an occasion, like a park to occupy, is 'well then what?'" Gitlin told The Daily Beast. "How do you sustain yourself when the occupation is over? In the case of Occupy, there were these hundreds of encampments, but they were all land-dependent. They had no other identity. They had no other connections."Some Occupy organizers turned to more electoral politics, like joining the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, or became active in issues like housing rights, Gitlin noted. Others appeared to leave the political scene.The CHOP zone's cop-free cred is one of its main attractions. But several shootings in or near the CHOP in recent days have left some Seattle officials, Durkan included, calling for resumed police details. Early Tuesday morning, a man was injured in a non-life-threatening shooting near—but apparently not in—the CHOP. The incident followed a Saturday morning shooting that left a 19-year-old dead and a 33-year-old critically wounded in the CHOP. A 17-year-old was also shot in the arm Sunday night.Some activists and at least one Seattle City Council member have sparred with officials over the characterization of the incidents."We completely reject the characterizations – by right-wing & corporate media, Trump administration, and Seattle Police Officers Guild president – of the CHOP as a violent place & the claims that the presence of police would have prevented either shooting," Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant tweeted on Monday. She noted that neither of the weekend shootings appear to have been committed by protesters. (Police have not made arrests in either case.)Other activists have taken issue with the police chief's claim that a "hostile crowd" of protesters prevented officers from responding to the Saturday shooting. "No one within the CHOP denied entry to PD within any organizational capacity," organizers told KOMO News after the shooting. "Officers deciding on their own not to enter an area is not the same as being denied entry." (Police body camera footage from the incident appears to show some people yelling at police, but officers moving without obstruction.)Nevertheless, the shootings have placed new challenges on a protest movement that was already a favorite villain of conservative voices and far-right groups, some of which have entered the CHOP armed and been involved in a fistfight near the zone.After the Saturday shooting, the group Voices of CHOP issued a letter "acknowledg[ing] that no organizations, protests, or revolutions are perfect. We must be willing to collectively learn and react quickly to mistakes within our movement. We do not want to see what was started with the intention of lifting the BLM message destroyed."The group suggested two changes to curb unruliness in the CHOP, including "safe [drug] use areas near the outskirts of C.H.O.P.," along with signage asking people to "keep safe distance away from C.H.O.P. while intoxicated." The letter also acknowledged that "the late hours of C.H.O.P. tend to give way to some problematic behavior." The group suggested reducing the CHOP's operating hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., clearing the zone out overnight but leaving enough people "for peace keeping and occupy purposes."Sawant tweeted that her City Council office supports the proposal to cut operating hours in half. But momentum behind the protest zone shifting to part time also comes as attendance has apparently begun to fizzle out. A live-streamer who has closely covered the protests told the Washington Post attendance has dwindled since its beginning in early June.Amid the mayor's calls to dissolve the CHOP, and the reportedly organic dissolution by protesters who've stopped showing up, some CHOP backers are emphasizing the protest's more abstract qualities as a way to keep the movement alive."As socialists," Sawant tweeted, "we recognize capitalism is a deeply violent system, and that an occupation in a few city blocks cannot by itself form a society separate from the violence, trauma, and ills that absolutely pervade capitalist society as a whole."For some protesters, that means returning to the protests extensive demands. As of Monday, a handmade sign on the zone's abandoned precinct announced some activists' stance not to leave until the city defunds its police force by 50 percent, introduces new funding for Black communities, and releases people arrested in the protests that erupted after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.The CHOP has been in place fewer than three weeks. Occupy Wall Street stayed in its encampment nearly three months—and even still, Gitlin characterized the protest as "more of a moment than a movement."That said, Occupy made enduring political waves because "it was a moment that dovetailed with other moments, and we can see retrospectively that they contributed to a kind of revitalization or awakening outsider energy looking for ways to get traction in the American scene."The CHOP might be short-lived, some organizers have indicated, but it stems from sweeping, nationwide protests, into which activists might continue their energy.The Seattle Organized Protest Support released its own statement on Monday reiterating those three demands, noting that, as an occupied area, "CHOP may not be a sustainable fight."The six blocks weren't the point of the original protest, the SOPS spokesperson said."CHOP wasn't the goal, and the people who are fighting the fight recognize that," the representative said. "The people came up with three demands that were the original goal, everything born out of that is temporary and was never meant to distract from the purpose of the fight."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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| JK Rowling has 'fallen in with the wrong crowd', says trans activist Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:03 PM PDT  An author who quit JK Rowling's literary agency in a row over transgender issues claims that the Harry Potter author has "fallen in with the wrong crowd". Fox Fisher, a trans activist, suggested that Rowling is "fearful" of trans people. Fisher was one of four writers who left the Blair Partnership in protest at the agency's refusal to issue a public statement in support of the trans community, or to put its employees through a transgender training programme. Rowling has been accused of "hate speech" for posts on social media, including one that stated "biological sex is real". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Fisher said of Rowling: "I think she's fallen in with the wrong crowd. I think she is very scared, very fearful of things when actually she just needs to spend some time with some transgender people who might also have been her fans. "I respect all women's rights and when I talk about women I mean all women, including transgender women. I just think if she opened her eyes and saw that trans women are women, maybe we'd be able to move forward." In a statement this week, the Blair Partnership said it had declined to meet the four authors' demands "to be re-educated to their point of view". Fisher said: "It sounds pretty severe that we wanted them to be 're-educated' - I think our words have been changed a little bit. We invited them to have an open and honest conversation with us, to reaffirm their support for transgender authors and employees in a statement, as well as possibly doing training with the organisation All About Trans." Fisher insisted: "It was never about denouncing anyone's views or going against JK Rowling… Of course I'd never be able to change her views. I'd never demand to change her views. All we wanted really was an open conversation." Baroness Nicholson, the Tory peer, was last night stripped from her position with the Booker Prize Foundation after tweeting her views on trans issues and same-sex marriage. She was honorary vice-president of the foundation and also co-founded the Lumos charity with JK Rowling. Following a meeting by the foundation's trustees yesterday, the Booker Prize Foundation issued a statement which said: "We deplore racism, homophobia and transphobia and do not discriminate on any ground." Baroness Nicholson's honorary title "should with immediate effect, cease to end", they added. Authors including Marlon James, who won the Booker Prize in 2015 with A Brief History of Seven Killings, called for her removal in the wake of her remarks. Baroness Nicholson told The Guardian that she had voted against same-sex marriage in 2013 but rejected accusations of homophobia. Lumos, the children's charity, said she had not played any part in Lumos since 2010.
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| Ghana apologises to Nigeria for embassy demolition Posted: 24 Jun 2020 09:16 AM PDT  Armed men reportedly stormed the compound and destroyed a building under construction.
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| U.S. agency prepares for massive staff cuts in blow to legal immigration system Posted: 24 Jun 2020 11:42 AM PDT  The U.S. agency in charge of processing immigration applications said on Wednesday it was preparing to furlough nearly 70% of its workforce unless it received fresh funding, a move employees say could bring an already backlogged system to a virtual halt. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is dependent on fees from new immigration applications for its operations and is facing a historic budget shortfall. Republican President Donald Trump has made cutting legal and illegal immigration a centerpiece of his 2020 re-election campaign.
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| Fixture Forecast: Barcelona to suffer major title blow, while City will maintain furious form vs. Chelsea Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:30 PM PDT  Barcelona can't afford a slip-up in La Liga, but one is coming their way. And it's unwise to bet against Manchester City.
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| Woman accused of burning Wendy's after shooting granted bond Posted: 24 Jun 2020 10:57 AM PDT  A woman charged with arson in the burning of a fast food restaurant in the wake of Rayshard Brooks' killing was granted bond Wednesday but must wear an ankle monitor and remain at home, a judge said. Natalie White, 29, appeared in court by video from the Fulton County jail, where she has been held on a first-degree arson charge since she turned herself in Tuesday. An arrest warrant accuses her of setting fire to the Wendy's restaurant using a torch made with a lighter and some type of can.
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| Putin throws military parade to declare victory over virus Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:11 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly was frightened of the coronavirus and hid behind the Kremlin walls, emerges to declare victory.
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| Senate Democrats block movement on Republican policing bill in Wednesday vote Posted: 24 Jun 2020 02:56 PM PDT  Democrats have blocked the Senate from moving forward on a Republican policing bill that they argued did not go far enough.
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| Mark Cuban: Donald Trump wants to run a campaign, Joe Biden wants to run a country Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:00 PM PDT  Dallas Mavericks owner and 'Shark Tank' star Mark Cuban joins Sean Hannity to explain why he's supporting presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
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| The founder of CrossFit — who just exited the CEO role amid controversy two weeks ago — is now selling the iconic gym brand Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:26 AM PDT  CrossFit founder Greg Glassman to sell company after "FLOYD-19" and sexism controversies. The new owner will be the third CEO in a month.
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| Schools to scrap social distancing in September Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:03 PM PDT  Social distancing will not be applied in schools and "bubbles" will be expanded to enable all pupils to return to their classes full-time in September, the Government will announce next week. Pupils will not be expected to keep two metres or even one metre apart at all times while in the school building, The Telegraph understands. Instead, schools will be asked to focus on limiting the extent to which children mix outside of their class or year group and on implementing strict hygiene regimes. The solution to reopening schools will involve groups of children being placed in "bubbles"- as is already the case in primaries - and is seen by the Government as removing the need for social distancing. The Prime Minister told the Commons this week that primary and secondary schools will reopen in September with "full attendance", but declined to explain how this will be achieved. His remarks came as ministers face rising criticism over their failure to reopen schools ahead of shops, cinemas, theme parks and zoos.
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| Seattle to take back ‘occupied’ CHAZ protest area after multiple shootings Posted: 23 Jun 2020 12:14 AM PDT  Seattle's mayor says she wants to take back an "occupied" protest area in which three people have been shot.Jenny Dunkan said on Monday that the shootings had been a distraction amid campaigners' demands to end police violence and institutionalised racism.
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| Trump asks what the '19' in COVID-19 stands for Posted: 23 Jun 2020 04:52 PM PDT 
"I said, 'What's the 19?' COVID-19. Some people can't explain what the 19. COVID-19. I said, 'that's an odd name'," Trump told young supporters in Phoenix. "I've never seen anything like it." There are more that 2.3 million cases and over 120,000 fatalities in the United States, according to a Reuters tally on Tuesday.
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| A police officer charged with assaulting Black youths has worked for 9 different police departments, collecting use-of-force incidents and complaints along the way. Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:34 PM PDT  Camden County prosecutors charged Officer Ryan Dubiel with assault, alleging he pepper-sprayed the youths "without provocation" on June 4.
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| Kosovo president, 9 others indicted on war crimes charges Posted: 24 Jun 2020 07:05 AM PDT  Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted Wednesday on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by an international prosecutor probing their actions against ethnic Serbs and others during and after Kosovo's 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. Because of the indictment, Thaci has postponed his trip to Washington, where he was to meet Saturday for talks at the White House with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
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| Powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocks Mexico; at least six dead Posted: 23 Jun 2020 02:25 PM PDT  A hospital dedicated to caring for COVID-19 patients suffered enough damage that it will likely have to be evacuated, Oaxaca's governor said.
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| Inside the Homes and Studios of 13 American Artists Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:30 PM PDT |
| Europe's travel ban on Americans could be a sign of disastrous things to come for US airlines Posted: 24 Jun 2020 02:03 PM PDT  The European Union's ban on American travelers could mean business and international travel take longer to recover — a bad sign for airlines.
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| Confederate statues are 'billboards for racism.' Let's take them down the right way. Posted: 24 Jun 2020 11:23 AM PDT  Americans are outraged that their communities would still honor those who fought to preserve slavery.
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| Comey Told Obama that Flynn’s Conversations with Russian Ambassador ‘Appear Legit,’ According to Strzok Notes Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:47 AM PDT  Former FBI director James Comey told President Obama that the 2016 conversations between Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and incoming national-security adviser Michael Flynn were not criminal in nature, according to notes from former agent Peter Strzok released by Flynn's legal team.The page of notes was taken by Strzok appears to describe a January 5, 2017 meeting of President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and national security officials. This meeting occurred amid accusations that incoming Trump administration officials had colluded with Russian operatives. Strzok was not present at the meeting, and it is unclear what record of the meeting he consulted in taking the notes.Strzok writes that "P," presumably President Obama, asked, "Is there anything I shouldn't be telling transition team?"Strzok records that "D," or Director Comey, responded "Kislyak calls but appear legit."> ALSO JUST IN: Flynn legal team files a page of Strzok's notes, which appear to describe the Jan. 5 meetign with Obama and natsec team> > Notes indicate Biden mentioned the Logan Act, but entirely devoid of context. pic.twitter.com/lGsj0DepHm> > -- Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 24, 2020In transcripts of conversations between Flynn and Kislyak released on May 29 of this year, Flynn is recorded asking the Russian ambassador not to escalate tensions in response to U.S. sanctions. Those sanctions were implemented by the Obama administration following reports that Russia attempted to interfere in the U.S. general election.Strzok's notes also indicate that "VP" Biden mentioned the "Logan Act" during the meeting, although the context of Biden's remark is unclear. The Logan Act of 1799 forbids U.S. citizens from intervening in disputes with foreign nations without authorization. The law has been cited only twice in U.S. history in two cases in the 1800's and no one has ever been found guilty of violating the statute.While the FBI had monitored Flynn's conversations with Kislyak, the agency moved to close the case on January 4, 2017, indicating it had found "no derogatory information" on Flynn. However, that same day Strzok intervened to keep the case open. Strzok told an unknown individual that day that the "7th floor [is] involved," apparently referring to senior FBI leadership at the bureau's headquarters.Strzok was fired by the FBI after anti-Trump texts between him and agency lawyer Lisa Page were revealed."Your excessive, repeated, and politically charged text messages while you were assigned as the lead case agent on the FBI's two biggest and most politically sensitive investigations in decades, demonstrated a gross lack of professionalism and exceptionally poor judgement," the Justice Department said in 2019.
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| Fact check: Officer in Breonna Taylor killing not shot by friendly fire Posted: 24 Jun 2020 02:26 PM PDT  The claim that a Louisville officer was hurt by friendly fire at Breonna Taylor's apartment is false.
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| Pakistani police kill 4 in raid on militant hideout Posted: 23 Jun 2020 02:48 AM PDT |
| Universal Orlando laying off workers just two weeks after reopening Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:21 PM PDT  The cuts come after Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal's Volcano Bay reopened with reduced capacity and new safety measures.
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| Young adults are driving the surge in coronavirus cases in Arizona, Florida, and Texas, officials say. Patients' median ages are dropping. Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:28 AM PDT  Coronavirus cases are rising among people under 40 years old, possibly because young people are forgoing social distancing.
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| Missing Amish Teen Went to Church on Sunday—and Never Came Home Posted: 24 Jun 2020 09:36 AM PDT  Pennsylvania authorities on Wednesday continued their massive search for an Amish teenager who disappeared on Sunday after attending a church service—a move friends and family have described as "out of character" for the "sweet girl" who never caused trouble. Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, was last seen around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at a farm on Stumptown Road in the heart of Pennsylvania's bucolic Amish country, the East Lampeter Township Police Department told The Daily Beast. Authorities said that when Stoltzfoos—who was wearing a tan dress, white apron, and white cape—failed to return to her Beechdale Road home after attending a church service just down the road, her parents became concerned and contacted police. The story was first reported by LancasterOnline. "She was a sweet, quiet girl who would never put herself in a troublesome situation," one family friend told The Daily Beast. "We are shocked—her even leaving without informing anybody where she was going is out of character. This is all out of character."Authorities also believe the teenager's disappearance is unusual, and while she is still being treated as an endangered missing person, several law enforcement agencies have joined the search. According to Pennsylvania State Police, which is also involved in the search effort, Stoltzfoos "may be at special risk of harm or injury."A spokesperson for the East Lampeter Township police said at least 100 volunteers and trained search personnel have put in 1,500 man hours into the search for the missing teenager in rural Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, the FBI joined the search, allowing authorities to use "more tools" in addition to dogs, horses, ATV equipment, and drones. East Lampeter Township detectives are interviewing family members and friends for further information about Stoltzfoos.While foul play has not been ruled out, police are "still attempting to figure out what may have happened" and are investigating "all angles" of the incident," East Lampeter Township police said."There is no reason for us to believe that she wanted to just leave," a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "That's what makes it an unusual circumstance—it's totally out of character for Linda. This is not a normal missing person's investigation for us, I will say that. It's not typical to be receiving a missing person's case from the Amish community here."The spokesperson added that authorities Wednesday are issuing a "plea to Linda that she is not in any trouble, in the case that she left on her own free will. We just want her to contact us and let us know she is OK."Air Force Member Charged With Kidnapping, Murdering Missing Mennonite WomanTo help with the search, a Facebook page titled "Amish Girl Missing - Linda Stoltzfoos" has been created to provide updates in the teenager's case. "A new day.....the family and community will continue searching for Linda," one Wednesday post said, along with a photo of an open field. The page, adorned with photos and videos of community members volunteering to help with the search and praying for her safe return, also includes information on community prayer meetings. On Tuesday evening, a meeting was held behind the Smucker homestead in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania—where over 100 came out to pray, cry, and sing in the open field, according to LancasterOnline."Thank you everyone for your prayers and support," the Facebook post states. "We will be holding another evening of prayer and worship on behalf of Linda, her family, and the local community. Please join us in person or on Facebook Live as we intercede for Linda this evening."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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| The Dalai Lama on COVID-19, Trump, and "old thinking" in America Posted: 24 Jun 2020 06:24 AM PDT  Tibet's exiled Buddhist spiritual leader knows a thing or two about forced isolation, and he shares some wisdom with CBS News ahead of his 85th birthday.
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| North Korea's Kim suspends military plans against South: KCNA Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:29 PM PDT  In recent weeks, Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul over anti-North leaflets, which defectors based in the South send across the border -- usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. Last week it blew up a liaison office on its side of the border that symbolised inter-Korean rapprochement, while its military said it would take multiple measures against the South. The moves included re-entering areas of the North that it had withdrawn from as part of inter-Korean projects, restoring guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone that forms the border, and stepping up exercises.
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| Nigeria police rescue workers 'locked in rice factory' Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:57 AM PDT  The Nigerians were allegedly forced to work throughout a Covid-19 lockdown that began in March.
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| Mississippi gov might not block change to rebel-themed flag Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:23 PM PDT  Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday, for the first time, that he probably would not stand in the way if legislators muster a large enough majority to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. Amid the backdrop of national protests over racial injustice, Mississippi is under increasing pressure from business and religious leaders, sports leagues and others to divorce itself from a symbol that many see as racist. "If they get those votes, a veto would be pointless," Reeves wrote on Facebook.
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| A massive dust cloud is barreling toward the U.S. The health impacts could be deadly. Posted: 24 Jun 2020 07:48 AM PDT  The enormous dust cloud could be the biggest and most intense Saharan plume in 50 years, say some experts.
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| 'It was so crazy': Man grabs shark with bare hands on Delaware beach in viral video Posted: 24 Jun 2020 09:45 AM PDT  A swimmer was captured in a viral video holding a shark with his bare hands off the coast of Cape Henlopen State Park Beach in Delaware.
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| WHO warns of oxygen shortage as COVID cases set to top 10 million Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:48 AM PDT  The world faces a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of worldwide cases of coronavirus infection nears the 10 million mark, the World Health Organization head said on Wednesday. "Many countries are now experiencing difficulties obtaining oxygen concentrators," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. The new coronavirus has hit 9.3 million people and killed more than 480,000 so far and is rising by about 1 million cases per week.
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| Black man suing police department for $700,000 over mistaken identity arrest that left him with broken arm Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:52 PM PDT  A 46-year-old black man in Georgia who claims police officers used excessive force while wrongfully arresting him has sued the Valdosta Police Department.Antonio Arnelo Smith is suing the department for $700,000 after a city police officer grappled him from behind and slammed him to the ground. Officers said they were "investigating suspicious activity" and mistook Mr Smith as a suspect.
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| The White House has halted mandatory COVID-19 temperature checks and symptom screening for most visitors and staff Posted: 23 Jun 2020 02:54 AM PDT  Checks will remain for those in "close proximity" to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
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| ISIS Gloats About U.S. Pandemic and Protests Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:33 AM PDT  By Brian Glyn Williams, The ConversationAn Islamic State follower posted the hashtag "AmericaBurning" in a discussion on the Telegram chat system in early June, and another posted a message that read "You are waking up this morning to news of the destruction of America, the dismantling of its States, and civil war."Another Islamic State website proclaimed "Destruction, fragmentation. America is burning," while an Islamic State supporter posted photos in the same Telegram forum of the riots, writing "O Allah, burn them like they burned the lands of the Muslims."IS supporters are rejoicing at tensions from both peaceful protests and occasional violence in U.S. streets in the wake of George Floyd's May 25 death. As a scholar who tracks the Islamic State group and its affiliates, I have followed how the Islamic State has been exploiting the effects of the coronavirus on its enemies and celebrating the effects of racial tensions and the pandemic in America.Islamic State followers are excited at the prospect of a massive Western death toll from the coronavirus, which they defined as "God's smallest soldier."They also see the virus at work in U.S. military pullbacks related to the coronavirus—such as the March announcement from the Pentagon that it would stop sending troops to Iraq for at least two months.In addition, the U.S. pulled some troops out of Iraq, withdrew many more from six frontline operating bases and ordered the troops remaining in the country to stay on their bases—moves that ended most joint missions with local Iraqi and Kurdish troops.ISIS Has Made a Terrifying Comeback in COVID-Plagued IraqIn Iraq, the Islamic State has reacted by stepping up attacks. They have targeted pro-government Shiite militia members and Iraqi and Kurdish troops, who now have less U.S. support to help defend them.British and U.S. air strikes are, however, still targeting the group's fortified cave hideouts in northern Iraq, which Iraqi ground troops are also continuing to attack, albeit with fewer troops due to coronavirus base lockdowns.In Syria, emboldened Islamic State forces have recently attacked government troops with land mines, heavy weapons and car bombings killing hundreds.For all the opportunities the pandemic seemingly offers the Islamic State, the group is also worried about how the virus affects them. In Syria, Kurdish forces are holding captive as many as 12,000 Islamic State fighters and 70,000 of their family members, mostly women and children, in vast, cramped, unhygienic internment camps. There is no possibility of social distancing.The prisoners live in terror of the pandemic breaking out among them and have been rioting in efforts to escape the camps. In May, Islamic State prisoners briefly rose up and took control of a prison holding as many as 5,000 captives before they were suppressed.Islamic State leaders have not only called for their fighters to attack the lightly guarded camps to free the prisoners, but also expressed concern about the disease spreading among their own forces.Coronavirus Bungling Breathes New Life into Terrorist MovementsA U.S. Department of Homeland Security bulletin in late March warned that the Islamic State's newsletter had called for attacks on U.S. and European health care targets that are strained by the pandemic. The Islamic State has ordered its followers not to travel to Europe, where the virus outbreak is far worse than in the Middle East. But the group has suggested that its followers who are already in Europe exploit the chaos, calling for "new strikes… similar to the strikes of Paris, London, Brussels and other places" where followers have used bombs and firearms to kill dozens of people in recent years.The Islamic State is even suggesting that killing "infidels" could be a way for followers to protect themselves from the virus, stating, "They should also remember that obedience to God – the most beloved form of which is jihad—turns away the torment and wrath of God."Those calls may have had some response.On March 11, German authorities arrested four suspected members of an Islamic State cell who were allegedly planning an attack on American military facilities with explosives. In April, a Sudanese man stabbed seven people, killing two, in southeastern France. Most recently, on June 20, a Libyan man stabbed six people in a park in Reading, England, killing three.I do not believe these attacks in France and Britain or the disrupted plot in Germany signal a resurgence in Islamic State activity in the West. IS's messaging has lost much of its galvanizing appeal since the group lost its transnational state, which had inspired many followers, in a five-year war in Syria and Iraq.My research shows that calls for attacks on the FIFA World Cup soccer finals in Russia in 2018 and against Fourth of July festivities in the U.S. in 2019 were never acted on. While the Islamic State group can still carry out attacks in the Middle East and through its affiliates around the world, their gloating at American coronavirus deaths and racial tensions does not necessarily translate to a real threat to the U.S.Brian Glyn Williams is a professor of Islamic history at the University of Massachusetts DartmouthRead 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: New York imposes quarantine on nine US states Posted: 24 Jun 2020 02:27 PM PDT  It comes as a US university predicts 180,000 US deaths from the virus by October.
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| Mike Huckabee slams Shaun King for saying statues of Jesus Christ are 'form of white supremacy' Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:11 PM PDT  Former governor of Arkansas and ordained minister, Mike Huckabee, reacts to a Black Lives Matter activist's call to take down all images of "white" Jesus.
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| Kentucky Senate Democratic primary to decide who challenges McConnell too close to call Posted: 24 Jun 2020 02:33 PM PDT  In New York, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel is trailing progressive newcomer Jamaal Bowman in the early count.
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