| Trump administration signs up new company to make COVID-19 drugs in U.S. Posted: 18 May 2020 11:04 PM PDT  The administration has been looking to build up the ability to produce drugs and their raw materials in the United States after the global pandemic exposed the industry's dependence on China and India for its supply chain. Navarro for months has been advocating that Trump issue an executive order to require federal agencies to buy U.S.-made medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.
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| Coronavirus: Trump gives WHO ultimatum over Covid-19 handling Posted: 19 May 2020 04:32 AM PDT  The US president accuses the UN agency of having an "alarming lack of independence" from China.
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| Huge fentanyl haul seized in Asia's biggest-ever drugs bust Posted: 18 May 2020 03:47 AM PDT  Myanmar police say they have seized a huge haul of liquid fentanyl - the first time the dangerous synthetic opioid that is ravaging North America has been found in Asia's Golden Triangle drug-producing region. In a sign that Asia's drug syndicates have moved into the lucrative opioid market, more than 3,700 litres of methylfentanyl was discovered by anti-narcotics police near Loikan village in Shan State in northeast Myanmar. The seizure of the fentanyl derivative was part of Asia's biggest-ever interception of illicit drugs, precursors and drug-making equipment, including 193 million methamphetamine tablets known as yaba. At 17.5 tonnes, that is almost as much yaba as has been seized during the previous two years in Myanmar. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the scale of the bust was unprecedented and Myanmar's anti-drug authorities had "dismantled a significant network" during a two-month operation involving police and military. Also seized were almost 163,000 litres and 35.5 tonnes of drug precursors - substances that can be used to produce drugs - as well as weapons. There were more than 130 arrests.
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| He thought the coronavirus was 'a fake crisis.' Then he contracted it. Posted: 18 May 2020 09:32 AM PDT  Brian Hitchens said he thought that the coronavirus "is a fake crisis" that was "blown out of proportion" and "wasn't that serious."
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| Grounded in Arizona: Flights arrive but don't leave as ailing airlines park fleets Posted: 18 May 2020 09:29 AM PDT  As the airline industry contracts during the COVID-19 crisis, carriers are grounding thousands of jetliners in the Southwest.
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| Apple slams 'false claims' after FBI says it provided 'effectively no help' accessing the Pensacola shooter's iPhones Posted: 18 May 2020 01:45 PM PDT  Apple is hitting back against the Department of Justice.Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray in a press conference on Monday announced they obtained new evidence regarding the 2019 shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida by accessing the shooter's iPhones. But Wray said Apple provided "effectively no help."Barr also slammed Apple in the presser, saying the fact that the company designs its phones "in a way that only the user can unlock the contents, no matter what the circumstances" has "dangerous consequences for the public safety and national security, and is, in my judgment, unacceptable." He also accused the company of being "willing to accommodate authoritarian regimes when it serves their business interests."Apple issued a response to this scathing press conference, saying in a statement it did support law enforcement during its investigation into the Pensacola shooting by providing "every piece of information" available to them."As a proud American company, we consider supporting law enforcement's important work our responsibility," Apple said. "The false claims made about our company are an excuse to weaken encryption and other security measures that protect millions of users and our national security."Wray had said during the press conference on Monday that although the FBI in this instance found a way to obtain the information it needed, "the technique that we developed" has "pretty limited application," and so it's "not a fix for our broader Apple problem."More stories from theweek.com The snake oil salesman cometh Trump spent hours retweeting, slamming Fox News, including profane attacks on host Neil Cavuto CBO estimates leisure and hospitality sector lost nearly 50 percent of its jobs in March and April
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| Evangelist who built global ministry dies in Atlanta at 74 Posted: 19 May 2020 07:26 AM PDT |
| China protests at support of U.S. and others for Taiwan at WHO Posted: 19 May 2020 06:41 AM PDT  The Chinese envoy to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday denounced the support shown by the United States and others to Taiwan during its annual ministerial assembly and said that was undermining the global response to the pandemic. Taiwan lobbied hard to be included as an observer at the two-day virtual meeting and received strong support from the United States, Japan and others, but says it was not invited due to opposition from China. "There are still a few countries determined to plead for Taiwan authorities, seriously violating relevant U.N. and WHO resolutions and undermining global anti-epidemic efforts," Chen Xu, the Chinese ambassador, told the virtual assembly.
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| China abductions: Parents find son snatched in hotel 32 years ago Posted: 19 May 2020 05:42 AM PDT  Li Jingzhi quit her job to search China for her son, Mao Yin, who went missing in 1988.
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| China says U.S. trying to shift blame and smear Beijing over WHO Posted: 19 May 2020 07:09 AM PDT  China said the United States was trying to shift the blame for Washington's own mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, responding to President Trump's letter threatening to halt funding to the World Health Organization.
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| Trump news: President says he has been taking hydroxychloroquine for weeks after insisting coronavirus vaccine announcement coming soon Posted: 18 May 2020 12:40 PM PDT  Donald Trump claims he takes a daily pill of the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine "as a preventative" against coronavirus, despite no evidence that links the anti-malaria drug as a preventative medicine to combat Covid-19 infection. "What do you have to lose?" he told reporters on Monday.The president also attacked his predecessor Barack Obama for his criticism of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus, saying the 44th president was "grossly incompetent" in office, despite Mr Trump overseeing the deaths of nearly 90,0000 Americans during the outbreak.
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| ‘They Came to Kill the Mothers.’ After a Devastating Attack on a Kabul Maternity Ward, Afghan Women Face Increased Dangers Posted: 19 May 2020 09:03 AM PDT  A deadly maternity ward attack and the outbreak of the coronavirus have hindered internationally-backed efforts to support women's health in Afghanistan.
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| Texas' coronavirus confinement enforcement was reportedly more strict in border cities than elsewhere Posted: 18 May 2020 07:22 AM PDT  While Texas GOP leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, openly railed against local officials for fining or even jailing (which is now forbidden) residents for breaching the state's stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Dallas Morning News reports that their criticism seems to have been disproportionately directed at the state's largest counties, while the order was more strictly enforced in border cities.The Morning News analyzed data from eight counties and nine cities across the state, finding that the most populous areas mostly relied on voluntary compliance with the order, while local authorities in just three border counties issued at least 2,600 citations and made 200 arrests for violations such as not wearing a face mask, having too many people in the same car, or breaking curfew.The city of Laredo, situated on the border, issued almost six times as many citations as Texas' five most populous cities — Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth — combined.But, the Morning News notes, it appears those incidents mostly flew under the radar. "The elephant in the room is it wasn't until a blonde-haired Caucasian woman got involved that the interests of our political leaders were piqued," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, referring to the criticism of the jailing of Shelley Luther, who opened her Dallas salon in defiance of the order.Two Laredo women, Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata, were arrested before Luther for offering cosmetic services, but it was Luther's arrest that sparked a change.Republicans pushed back against the idea that their criticism, or lack thereof, was racially motivated; Lt. Government Dan Patrick said government overreach was "egregious" wherever it occurred, while Matt Mackowiak, a Republican consultant, said the geography-based backlash was natural, since Dallas gets "a lot more attention than Laredo." Read more at The Dallas Morning News.More stories from theweek.com Florida COVID-19 data chief says she was removed from post after refusing to censor data New York's Democratic primary is back on, with both Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang on the ballot Trump's coronavirus National Guard order expires the day before many members would be eligible for key benefits
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| The sister of Ahmaud Arbery's accused killer posted pictures of his dead body to Snapchat, and said it's because she's a 'true crime fan' Posted: 19 May 2020 02:58 AM PDT  In an interview with The Sun, Lindsay McMichael admitted to sharing a photo of Arbery's body at the scene, but said she didn't do so maliciously.
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| Abu Dhabi's Etihad makes first known flight to Israel, carrying Palestinian aid Posted: 19 May 2020 11:12 AM PDT  An Etihad Airways plane flew from the United Arab Emirates to Israel on Tuesday to deliver coronavirus supplies to the Palestinians, a spokeswoman for the Abu Dhabi airline said, marking the first known flight by a UAE carrier to Israel. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with any of the six Gulf Arab countries, and there are no commercial flights between them.
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| Man abducted as child in China reunited with parents after 32 years Posted: 19 May 2020 06:33 AM PDT  A Chinese man kidnapped as a toddler 32 years ago has been reunited with his biological parents, after police used facial recognition technology to help track him down. Mao Yin was just two when he was snatched outside a hotel in Xi'an in central Shaanxi province in 1988 and sold to a childless couple in neighbouring Sichuan province who raised him as their own son, Xi'an's public security bureau said in a statement. Police "aged" one of Mao's childhood photos, according to state broadcaster CCTV, and used the model to scan the national database and find close matches.
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| Australian man fined for rescuing whale from sea nets Posted: 19 May 2020 12:40 AM PDT  After rescuers failed to arrive, the man launched his own rescue, driving his boat out to the whale.
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| Trump sons provoke outrage with baseless attacks on Biden and lockdown Posted: 18 May 2020 08:36 AM PDT  * Donald Trump Jr says pedophile allusion was 'joking around' * Eric Trump claims coronavirus is a political hoaxDonald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, the US president's oldest sons, have attracted fierce criticism for attacking Joe Biden and Democrats in terms most observers considered beyond the pale even in America's toxic political climate.Trump Jr posted to Instagram a meme which baselessly insinuated that Biden, his father's probable opponent at the polls in November, was a pedophile.Eric Trump claimed Democrats were using the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 90,000 in America, for political gain.Both claims were made on Saturday.In the face of fierce opprobrium, Trump Jr said he had been "joking around".But he also pursued the matter, accusing the former vice-president of "unwanted touching" and including in a tweet pictures taken from congressional swearing-in ceremonies and presented in misleading fashion.In a statement, Biden's spokesman, Andrew Bates, said: "No repulsive, manipulative tactic will change the subject from how almost 90,000 Americans have paid for Donald Trump's coronavirus negligence with their lives and how the booming economy he inherited from the Obama-Biden administration is now suffering from depression-level job losses."Biden has faced and acknowledged accusations of inappropriate touching from adult women. He is accused of sexual assault by Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer. The former vice-president flatly denies the claim.Donald Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct or assault by multiple women. Though he was recorded boasting about grabbing women by the genitals, he denies all such accusations.In 2016, five women who were contestants in the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant told BuzzFeed that Trump, who owned the event, barged into dressing rooms while they were changing and made no attempt to leave. Trump's campaign dismissed the claims. Trump has admitted to such behaviour at adult pageants.Earlier this year Trump Jr, 42, told Axios his father sometimes tells him to tone down his attacks on Twitter. His response, he said, was: "I learned it by watching you."Eric Trump, 36, spoke to the Fox News host Jeanine Pirro on Saturday night. He accused Democrats of using the coronavirus outbreak for political and electoral gain."You watch," he said, "they'll milk it every single day between now and 3 November [election day]. And guess what, after 3 November, coronavirus will magically, all of a sudden, go away and disappear and everybody will be able to reopen."Biden responded again, with his communications director, Kate Bedingfield, saying: "We're in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, with almost 90,000 Americans dead, 1.5 million infected and 36 million workers newly jobless."So for Eric Trump to claim that the coronavirus is a political hoax that will 'magically' disappear is absolutely stunning and unbelievably reckless."Most public health experts expect the pandemic to remain a serious problem in the US for months to come, with serious danger of a deadly resurgence later in the year.On Monday, the Associated Press reported on how the Trump campaign is revving up "smokescreen" efforts to distract voters from the pandemic and economic crisis as the election gathers pace.Attacks on Biden such as those pursued by Trump Jr are thereby part of a wide-ranging attempt to echo attacks on Hillary Clinton, Trump's opponent in 2016.The AP reported that "Biden's team doesn't believe a pervasive narrative like 'Hillary's emails' will shadow this campaign".Mike Donilon, a longtime Biden adviser, was quoted as saying: "We have a president who doesn't want to talk about the central issue in this campaign right now. This isn't new. It's not like Trump started attacking the vice-president today or yesterday. He's been at him all year long."Donilon said "people have a really good understanding of who Joe Biden is".But Jason Miller, a former Trump campaign adviser, said accelerating, aggressive and unscrupulous attacks on Biden were "a reminder that Trump is the outsider trying to take on those who were entrenched in power for decades".
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| A couple vanished the same night of a car wreck. Police took 2 weeks to find their bodies, car. Posted: 19 May 2020 12:02 PM PDT  Police said the crash site was not visible, but loved ones are questioning why they didn't search longer or come back in daylight.
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| Pandemic will change Communion for many Posted: 19 May 2020 09:21 AM PDT  Holy Communion will have a different look when in-person worship services resume at the end of May in the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn.: The wafers signifying the body of Christ will be placed in the hands of parishioners by priests and deacons wearing face masks and safety glasses.
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| Syria seizes assets of Assad cousin and business magnate Rami Makhlouf Posted: 19 May 2020 01:34 PM PDT  Syria's government seizes assets of Assad cousin Rami Makhlouf
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| Scientists discover 'immune scars' on patients with lung infections Posted: 18 May 2020 10:29 AM PDT  Patients recovering from severe lung infections develop "immunological scars" that stifle their body's immune response and heighten their risk of contracting pneumonia, a common killer of COVID-19 sufferers, researchers said Monday. Studies in both humans and mice showed that the body's immune response is temporarily switched off after some severe infections, rendering patients more vulnerable to new bacterial or viral diseases. A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the University Hospital of Nantes found that the cells that form the immune system's first line of defence -- macrophages -- were "paralysed" after severe infection.
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| Sheriff: Man gouges out neighbor's eyes over loud rooster Posted: 19 May 2020 09:27 AM PDT |
| Exclusive: In veiled warning to Iran, U.S. tells Gulf mariners to stay clear of its warships Posted: 19 May 2020 01:06 PM PDT  In an alert that appeared aimed squarely at Iran, the U.S. Navy issued a warning on Tuesday to mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being "interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures." The notice to mariners, which was first reported by Reuters, follows U.S. President Donald Trump's threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass Navy vessels. "Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a U.S. naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat," according to the text of the notice, which can be seen here https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?type=view&key=16694640/SFH00000/DailyMemPAC.txt.
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| 4 Modern Places of Worship That Elevate Architecture Posted: 19 May 2020 12:17 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus: Anger grows for stranded crew on forgotten cruises Posted: 19 May 2020 03:28 PM PDT  Months into the pandemic, thousands of cruise crew remain stuck at sea, desperate to get home.
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| Trump is hemorrhaging older voters, polls show Posted: 18 May 2020 07:24 AM PDT  Several of President Trump's previously reliable voting blocs are starting to slide into former Vice President Joe Biden's territory.Trump proved popular among older voters, and unexpectedly so in Rust Belt states like Michigan and Wisconsin, back in the 2016 election. But polls show Trump is sliding among those once-promising voting blocs, and even in formerly solid Republican states such as Arizona.The age gap between the two main political parties has been clear for decades: Younger voters tend to go for Democrats, while older people vote Republican, FiveThirtyEight notes. That proved true once again in 2016, where Trump won not only voters over 65 but also those between 45 and 64. But recent polls — and even reportedly Trump's private polling — show he's faltering among those age groups. Trump's average margin of four percent over Hillary Clinton in 2016 among voters age 45-64 has fallen to give Biden a 1.4 percent average advantage in that group. And while Trump won voters over 65 by 13.3 percent the last election around, he's now losing them by a percentage point to Biden, polls show.The New York Times has suggested those floundering numbers could stem from Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and older voters aren't the only group that could turn on him because of it. Republican leaders in states that went for Trump in 2016 warn he could lose this year if voters are worried about their health and the economy; top advisers and GOP officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all shared this prediction with Politico.More stories from theweek.com Florida COVID-19 data chief says she was removed from post after refusing to censor data New York's Democratic primary is back on, with both Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang on the ballot Trump's coronavirus National Guard order expires the day before many members would be eligible for key benefits
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| Navy Cruiser Commanding Officer Fired After 4,000-Gallon Fuel Spill Posted: 18 May 2020 05:10 PM PDT  Capt. Erica Hoffmann, commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser Philippine Sea was relieved of her duties.
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| 'Not a mask in sight': thousands flock to Yellowstone as park reopens Posted: 19 May 2020 11:01 AM PDT  With support of the Trump administration, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have partially reopened after Covid-19 closures * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageOn Monday, thousands of visitors from across the country descended on Yellowstone national park, which opened for the first time since its closure in March due to the coronavirus pandemic."We have been cooped up for weeks," Jacob Willis told the Guardian near a crowd of onlookers at the Old Faithful Geyser. "When the parks opened, we jumped at the opportunity to travel," said Willis, who had arrived from Florida.Yellowstone, America's oldest national park, and the nearby Grand Teton national park are the most recent to have partially reopened with the support of the Trump administration."I hope everybody is listening," Donald Trump announced earlier in May. "The parks are opening, and rapidly, actually."While many have celebrated the reopening of the revered landscapes, others have raised health concerns about large, possibly maskless, groups of out-of-state visitors arriving and potentially skirting social distancing guidelines."We checked the webcam at Old Faithful at about 3.30pm yesterday," said Kristin Brengel, the senior vice-president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association. "Not much physical distancing happening and not a single mask in sight.""I think we're the only car from Teton county," said Mark Segal, a Wyoming local, noting the prominence of out-of-state license plates in Yellowstone on Monday.At the Moran entrance station in Wyoming – the entrance to both Grand Teton and Yellowstone park – cars began to line up at 5.30am. By 11am, an hour before opening, vehicles with license plates from as far away as New York, Washington State and Alaska sprawled along the highway leading to the park entrance.Park fees were waived and masked rangers cheerfully welcomed visitors who streamed through the gate.Many of the visitors drove directly to Old Faithful, Yellowstone's most popular attraction, to watch the 2.20 geyser eruption. The Guardian witnessed rangers having to disperse large groups of onlookers twice.Amy, a 19-year-old from San Diego, traveled to Yellowstone with four college friends. They planned to visit many of the parks that have recently reopened."We wanted to get out and see the country," said Amy, as hundreds of visitors sat on the semi-circle of benches that surround Old Faithful.According to the National Park Service, Yellowstone's phased reopening includes a ban on tour buses, overnight camping and lodging. Only the Wyoming gates into the park are currently open, and the park will provide protective barriers "where needed" and encourage "the use of masks or facial coverings in high-density areas". "The park's goal is to open safely and conservatively, ensure we take the right actions to reduce risks to our employees and visitors, and help local economies begin to recover," said the Yellowstone superintendent, Cam Sholly.For Segal, who came on opening day in hopes of a quiet Yellowstone experience, the number of out of state visitors was disturbing."What if everyone that leaves here goes and gets a bite in Jackson?" he asked, referring to a nearby town and speaking to the Guardian from his car as he and his family waited to get into the park. "This is exactly what we're afraid of."
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| Syria rebel, regime forces face off in Libya Posted: 19 May 2020 12:42 PM PDT  While a ceasefire in Syria has reduced combat between rebels and government forces, mercenaries from the two sides are still fighting in Libya on behalf of their Russian and Turkish backers. Turkey supports some Syrian rebels and Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord, while Russia supports Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and Libya's eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar.
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| India's coronavirus outbreak may soon trigger an unprecedented recession as millions of migrant workers travel from packed cities to rural villages Posted: 18 May 2020 12:54 PM PDT  Social distancing is nearly impossible in packed, unhygienic slums at the center of the country's outbreaks.
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| Family of missing Wisconsin brothers settles lawsuit Posted: 18 May 2020 03:00 PM PDT  The family of two Wisconsin brothers who were killed in Missouri last year has reached a $2 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the man charged with killing them and his mother. The family of Nicholas and Justin Diemel of Shawano County, Wisconsin, filed the lawsuit in December against Garland Nelson of Braymer, his mother, Tomme Feil, and the family's cattle business, J4S Enterprises. A Callaway County judge approved the settlement Friday, The Kansas City Star reported.
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| Exclusive: Delta will add flights to keep planes no more than 60% full as demand rises - sources Posted: 18 May 2020 07:43 PM PDT  The move is part of a longer-term bet that CEO Ed Bastian highlighted to investors last month: that consumers' perceptions of safety will be instrumental in reviving more routine travel, and that they will be willing to pay a premium for comfort. Specific details could still change, the people said on condition of anonymity, citing the uncertain timing of a recovery from the coronavirus crisis that has decimated air travel demand. Delta has publicly said that it will limit first class seating capacity at 50% and main cabin at 60% through June 30, and earlier announced that it was resuming some flights next month.
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| Anonymous donors pay off $8 million of college loans Posted: 19 May 2020 05:59 PM PDT  The money will pay off college loans of up to 400 students who overcame personal hardship – from homelessness and extreme poverty – to become first-generation college students.
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| Trump slams 'double standard' after Barr says it's unlikely Obama, Biden will be investigated Posted: 19 May 2020 10:37 AM PDT  Reaction and analysis from former House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz and former DNC spokesman Mo Elleithee.
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| Researchers are learning to predict your chances of surviving COVID-19 Posted: 18 May 2020 03:59 AM PDT  Not everybody who gets COVID-19 has symptoms, and not all symptomatic patients get equally sick. Hospitalization rates have stabilized in hard-hit areas like northern Italy and New York City, but if the next wave is even bigger and more destructive — one of three scenarios envisioned by University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm and his colleagues — that "would absolutely take the health system down," Osterholm told Stat News. Two studies released last week offer tools that might help hospitals better triage patients.Researchers in China reported in the journal Nature Machine Learning that an analysis of blood samples taken from 485 coronavirus patients in Wuhan discovered there biomarkers that can predict whether a coronavirus patient will die within 10 days, with more than 90 percent accuracy, Business Insider reports. A computer model the researchers developed looks for high levels of the enzyme lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), linked to lung damage; lymphopenia, or low levels of infection-fighting white blood cells; and a rise in inflammation-signaling high-sensitivity C-reactive proteins (hs-CRP)."In crowded hospitals, and with shortages of medical resources, this simple model can help to quickly prioritize patients, especially during a pandemic when limited healthcare resources have to be allocated," the researchers report.A second paper published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found 10 biomarkers they said could predict a COVID-19 patient's risk levels. They turned risk predictors — high LDH levels and low levels of lymphocytes plus history of cancer, age, shortness of breath, and other factors — into a coronavirus risk "calculator."More stories from theweek.com Florida COVID-19 data chief says she was removed from post after refusing to censor data Jimmy Kimmel pays emotional tribute to the late Fred Willard, with Willard's co-stars and collaborators Obama reportedly 'has no interest' in having his White House portrait unveiled while Trump is president
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| MGM Resorts unveils free parking as it prepares for return of guests amid coronavirus Posted: 19 May 2020 04:51 AM PDT  MGM Resorts, operator of a dozen properties in Las Vegas, announced Monday the return of free parking amid coronavirus.
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| Vladimir Putin Is in Deep Trouble Posted: 18 May 2020 02:18 AM PDT  MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin is suddenly seen to be weaker than he has been in years, and economic pain from COVID-19 is one big reason, but not the only one. "Putin's approval rating began to decline even before the coronavirus crisis, with oil prices collapsing and the economy deteriorating—and I don't see what can stop this perfect storm this year," says Denis Volkov, deputy director of the Levada Center, which does independent polling.Meet Russia's Dr. Oz, the COVID Skeptic Who Has Putin's Ear"We see the public mood is changing the way we saw it during the crisis of 2008. (About 25 percent of our respondents say their salaries have been cut.)," Volkov told The Daily Beast. But Putin, like U.S. President Donald Trump, has die-hard fans, and "there is still a big group of people who say there is no alternative [to him]." Putin's biggest challenge is poverty, that old Russian disease. During his best years, when oil prices were astronomical and revenues were very high indeed, the Russian president was able to provide people with money—and with pride. He was building the armed forces, sending them abroad, overtly or covertly, to Ukraine, Syria, and Africa, and developing very expensive new weapons systems. Putin seemed able to provide, as economists say, both guns and butter. But this year the nation's rapidly shrinking economy has pushed millions below the poverty line, and Putin—whose approval rating was 80 percent in 2014, has seen his numbers, already in decline, drop precipitously. The current number of 59 percent would be positive in the West, but here in Russia, Putin has been used to nearly complete control over television news coverage, and he's been losing that grip. The Kremlin's major newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, claims that 70 percent of people still get their news from Kremlin controlled TV, but 58 percent follow news on the internet as well—or instead of—on state media.So far, dozens of independent news websites have managed to keep functioning, covering news from all angles. But they are under threat, Kirill Kharatyan, editor of Vedomosti, one of Russia's few independent newspapers, told The Daily Beast. As the Putin government's popularity declines, he said, concern grows "there will be more pressure on independent newspapers"Where the economy is concerned, the government is quick to point out it has reserves for the state budget, and will meet public sector payrolls. But propping up the economy as a whole is another matter. Last year, even before the pandemic, the Federal State Statistics Service reported 20.9 million Russians, more than 14 percent of the population, living on less than $200 a month. HUNGER PANGSSmolensk lies about halfway between Moscow and Minsk, in Belarus. It is the poorest region in Russia's central federal district, and it is in trouble these days. Simply put, unemployed people cannot afford food. From the first weeks of the pandemic shutdowns, Nadezhda Petrusiva and her charity, Mercy, have been overwhelmed with pleas for help from single mothers with several hungry children, people with disabilities, and people who are simply terrified by the pandemic. They call her center asking for food as early as 5 a.m. The center's volunteers or, as they prefer to call themselves, "people of goodwill," begin their mornings packing and delivering basic foods—parcels with cereal, flour, bread—for those in trouble. Grandmothers arrive with small pails to pick up their hot meals; homeless people eat at the center's table. More than 16 percent of the population in Smolensk lives in poverty, trying to survive on less than $5.50 a day. The coronavirus crisis made their situation even more desperate. The Kremlin's head of the Accounting Chamber, Aleksey Kudrin, predicts that the number of unemployed in Russia as a whole will triple in the coming months. "Never in my eight years of work in charity have I seen so many hungry and desperate people as during these months of coronavirus pandemic," says Mercy's Petrusiva.Putin declared the economic shutdown in late March, after visiting Moscow's new coronavirus hospital. That was the last time the nation saw the leader in action, dressed in full anti-plague gear, inspecting the so-called "red zone" full of patients with pneumonia. Since then Putin's key men, including the hospital chief doctor Denis Protsenko, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov have been diagnosed with coronavirus one after another. BODY COUNTSRussia's official death toll has not been nearly as bad as in the United States, Italy, or the United Kingdom, for reasons that are still unclear. District clinics monitor every positive patient at home, possibly providing early care that reduces deaths, but experts say that not all statistics are fully transparent. In April, Moscow's COVID-19 death toll was 695 people, while the total number of deaths recorded that month was 1,800 higher than usual. "There are people who die from cancer, cardio-vascular disease, but the autopsy shows that they also had COVID-19; their names are not included in the statistics and that's where, of course, politics appear here, when governors report to the president, to the federal authorities on the COVID-19 death toll," Aleksey Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow radio station, told listeners on Saturday. "There will be more dying," he said. "We are in the middle of the process."Last Monday Russia saw a huge spike in infections—it is now second only to the United States in total numbers. And Russian authorities seem to have stumbled in protecting medical workers. Nobody, not even the most skillful propagandists, would be able to hide that fact. Due to sloppiness and disorganization, 190 Russian doctors and medics have died from COVID-19, according to a list called "We Remember" compiled by fellow physicians. Last month, Putin promised $300 bonuses for medics working with coronavirus patients and $600 bonuses for doctors treating patients in so-called "red zones;" but when doctors received their salaries for April, the bonuses were missing. Russian medical workers, repeatedly called "heroes of our times" by state television, are calling for Putin to pay them the promised bonuses. So far 106,762 people have signed their petition. OPPOSITION OPPORTUNITYPutin's opponents on both left and right are using this shaky pandemic moment to try to rock Putin's world. "The power is in agony, their authority is running through their fingers," says a young communist parliament member, Nikolai Bondarenko. Liberal opposition leader Aleksey Navalny is pressuring the Kremlin online to help poor Russians to stock their empty refrigerators with concrete financial aid in his "Five steps for Russia" program. Might the Kremlin put more pressure on the independent press and the opposition to shut down critics and help Putin's approval rating?Probably not."Authorities cannot afford to tighten more bolts now, people already are gritting their teeth," the founder of Transparency International's Russian office, Yelena Panfilova, told The Daily Beast. "They might whip a few ministers for a show and maybe put a bit more pressure on the media—they need to look nice for the public."That's getting harder and harder for the Putin regime to do.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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| Brazil indigenous tribe fights coronavirus with plants Posted: 19 May 2020 08:37 AM PDT  Far from lab coat and face mask territory, a group of indigenous healers with feather and leaf headdresses is working its way up the Amazon river, looking for medicinal plants to treat the new coronavirus. In a small motor boat, five men from the Satere Mawe tribe are trying to help their people survive without using the saturated state health system in Amazonas, in northwestern Brazil, which despite its remoteness is one of the places hit hardest by the pandemic. "We've been treating our symptoms with our own traditional remedies, the way our ancestors taught us," said Andre Satere Mawe, a tribal leader who comes from a small village on the far outskirts of the state capital, Manaus.
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| After Arbery shooting, black parents are rethinking 'the talk' with sons to explain white vigilantes Posted: 19 May 2020 09:25 AM PDT  "I told him, 'Son, don't run when you are confronted with a gun. I don't want to go to your funeral.' "
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| Trump signs order directing agencies to cut federal regulations Posted: 19 May 2020 12:39 PM PDT  U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing federal agencies to cut regulations, a move he said would help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Trump, who signed the order at a Cabinet meeting, said it instructed agencies to eliminate "unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery." "I'm directing agencies to review the hundreds of regulations we've already suspended in response to the virus and make these suspensions permanent where possible," he said.
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| Appeals court clears way for execution of Missouri inmate Posted: 18 May 2020 06:07 AM PDT  A federal appeals court has cleared the way for a Missouri death row inmate to be executed Tuesday and ordered his petition for post-conviction relief dismissed, despite questions raised about evidence used to convict him. The Sunday decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a 30-day stay of execution granted Friday to Walter Barton by a federal judge. Barton, 64, is set to die by lethal injection for the 1991 killing of 81-year-old trailer park operator Gladys Kuehler.
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| India is about to get hit by a super cyclone at the same time as its coronavirus outbreak is peaking Posted: 19 May 2020 04:10 AM PDT  Super Cyclone Amphan is due to make landfall on the coast of West Bengal, on Wednesday. Thousands are being evacuated.
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| J.C. Penney to close 242 stores Posted: 18 May 2020 03:39 PM PDT  J.C. Penney is planning on closing 242 stores — more than a fourth of its locations.The beleaguered department store chain filed for bankruptcy last week. J.C. Penney has 846 stores, and will close 192 locations during this fiscal year and 50 over the next. In a document filed with the Securities and Exchanges Commission on Monday, the retailer said the 604 stores that will remain open "represent the highest sales-generating, most profitable, and most productive stores in the network."J.C. Penney has not shared which stores will close. In March, the company shuttered all of its locations because of the coronavirus pandemic, but has slowly started to reopen; a spokesperson told USA Today 115 stores will open their doors again on Wednesday.More stories from theweek.com Trump spent hours retweeting, slamming Fox News, including profane attacks on host Neil Cavuto The snake oil salesman cometh Belmont Stakes to be held June 20
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| 'A true emergency:' Covid-19 pushes homeless crisis in San Francisco's Tenderloin to the brink Posted: 19 May 2020 04:00 AM PDT  The number of tents in the historic neighborhood has exploded by 285% since the start of the coronavirus outbreak * Coronavirus – latest US updates * Coronavirus – latest global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageOn the streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, social distancing does not exist.Tents and blankets cram the narrow sidewalks, even set right against sun-faded buildings. Occupants of these encampments loll on the pavement nearby, hyper cognizant they risk losing their belongings if they leave.Makeshift shelters and overflowing carts are in constant conflict with pedestrians for six feet of space. Passing through sometimes means pushing through crowds, weaving around camp debris, blankets and waste as flies bounce off face coverings.In the Tenderloin, social distancing does not exist because many of the neighborhood's unhoused residents have nowhere else to go. Weeks into the global coronavirus pandemic, as San Francisco prepares to cautiously reopen, the historically low-income and underserved neighborhood once again finds itself experiencing a very different reality than the rest of the city.While other parts of the Bay Area look like "outtakes from The Good Place", the Tenderloin "isn't even third world at this point", said Kathy Looper, owner of the Cadillac Hotel in the neighborhood. "I've been to third world countries that look better than this," Looper said.The Tenderloin has long been a refuge for some of San Francisco's most vulnerable, displaying a vicious cycle of homelessness, addiction and mental illness in the heart of the city. But the pandemic – and the city's homeless policies during the pandemic – helped create a perfect storm within the neighborhood's 35 blocks. In order to be able to enforce social distancing guidelines, San Francisco's overcrowded homeless shelters drastically reduced their capacity. The city made hotel rooms available to homeless people, but only those who had tested positive for the virus or ranked among the most vulnerable. Many unhoused people suddenly had no other choice but to take to the streets, some fortunate enough with tents and others making do with what they could find. Amid a lack of testing, it's unclear how widespread the virus is in the neighborhood, among the housed and unhoused."I really don't know what to do," said Roger Moussa, 51, who has been sleeping on the streets since his shelter bed reservation ran out a month ago. "I feel completely helpless. I have nowhere to go, and every other night I get robbed."Tents have sprung up throughout San Francisco's 49 sq miles since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, but in the Tenderloin, the number of tents had exploded by 285% – 268 tents total. Neighborhood residents believe this to be an undercount, with some tallying 432 tents as of last week."This is not a way for people to live, especially now, and the city is not providing any solution," Looper said. "They herded everyone into this one neighborhood and said it's OK, but it's not OK. They created their own Warsaw ghetto."Several unhoused people said they weren't trying to make life difficult for the housed Tenderloin residents. Many have community ties, with some living in the supportive housing offered there before becoming homeless again. Given the option, most of them wouldn't be sleeping on the sidewalk; they didn't have a choice."I tried to go into the men's shelter but they said the corona had came out," said Abdull Best, 25. "You can't get into a new shelter while it's quarantined. No new residents during the quarantine."The city has responded with a Tenderloin Neighborhood Plan that includes more public restrooms and hand-washing stations. It launched several "safe-sleeping sites," city-sanctioned encampments with access to some amenities and services and identified 13 of the hardest hit blocks for cleaning and clearing. "I want to really recognize that this is going to be a targeted plan, a challenging one, and we are set to be as aggressive as we can in implementing it so that the people in the community can see a difference," said Mayor London Breed.For many in the neighborhood, it's yet another empty gesture in a long history of empty gestures. Residents have grown accustomed to being overlooked by the powers that be. Located just three blocks from the towering beaux-arts majesty of city hall, the neighborhood has long been written off as an open-air drug market and homeless hub. Tourists are warned to avoid it. Fox News and conservative media relish in attacking it, splashing live shots of feces and syringes on the pavement as proof of the city's failings.But it's also one of the most diverse and densely populated communities in the city: 31% of the neighborhood is Asian, 23% is Latino and 10% is black. In San Francisco, a city with the most billionaires per capita in the world, the median household income is $104,552. In the Tenderloin, where 30% of the neighborhood is in poverty, the median household income is $23,513.A term frequently used with the Tenderloin is "containment zone". For years, residents have viewed this as the city's tactic in dealing with the neighborhood. "There's inherent pressure in urban life, with homelessness and drug dealing and mental illness – just urban realities," explained David Faigman, dean and chancellor of the UC Hastings Law School, which is located in the neighborhood. "And if we can keep it in the Tenderloin, we're not going to see it in the Marina. We're not going to see it in Pacific Heights."Earlier this month, UC Hastings filed a federal lawsuit against the city, joined by the merchants and property association and some other residents. The lawsuit seeks to compel the city to clear the sidewalks and clean the streets by providing healthy and safe options for the unhoused population in the encampments."We could have brought a lawsuit 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago and we probably could have had standing," Faigman said. "We would have had neighbors who were fed up with what they were dealing with. But what they're dealing with now is at such a much more profound level. We have a virus that could possibly be deadly, and we don't know how prevalent the pandemic is out on the streets. You have people in wheelchairs, children and the elderly who need to maneuver around a population that may have a very high rate of Covid-19."There has always been an underlying health crisis," he continued. "But now it's a true exigent emergency."To many in the neighborhood, the city's homelessness policies amid the pandemic have continued to institutionalize homelessness within the neighborhood borders, rather than try to solve the issue with housing. "The time they spent writing the plan they could have spent moving people into hotels or sanctioned encampments," said Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.And many recognize that nothing will change until those without shelter can safely get off the streets. "There is a literal plague sweeping the country and our city and we are only as safe and as protected as our most vulnerable residents," said local lawmaker Matt Haney, who represents the Tenderloin.The crisis unfolding in the Tenderloin has created light tension in the world of homeless outreach. Residents' demands for clearing tents and sweeping encampments can come across as anti-homeless, but many of those advocating for the measures work in homeless outreach. It's not that they're against homeless people – it's that "no one should be in those tents", Shaw said. "Everyone should agree they should either be in hotels or in supervised encampments. They shouldn't be on sidewalks in the Tenderloin."There needs to be concern for the housed residents of the Tenderloin as well, Shaw said, many of whom do not have the luxury to work from home and have to make their way through the crowded streets every day."There's a level of despair in the Tenderloin that I've never seen before," Shaw said. "What does it say to these families that the city government will allow these conditions to proliferate right on the sidewalks? It sends a message that they're not valued at all."One week after the city announced its Tenderloin Neighborhood Plan, tents and makeshift structures still crammed the sidewalks, their occupants never too far away. The few public restrooms available had lines down the street.The city has recommended establishing a testing site as part of its Tenderloin assessment report and has begun setting up the sanctioned encampments. Homeless outreach advocates worry that it won't be enough. The camps must still adhere to social distancing, so they will only accept a limited number of people. Priority is going to the medically vulnerable and those who are already in the city system.Haney, the local lawmaker who represents the Tenderloin, believes that what happens in this neighborhood will determine how long the city's stay-at-home order will last. "Can San Francisco meet the metrics the governor has put forth if we have so many people who cannot shelter in place?" he said.Because what Haney and homeless outreach advocates have been saying since the mayor declared a state of emergency is that viruses don't stay within income brackets or sociological boundaries. The impact on the Tenderloin already demonstrates the direct effect that the unhoused population in a pandemic can have on a housed population."This isn't even about doing the right thing for disenfranchised people, or charity," Haney said. "When they get sick, you and your families will get sick as well."
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