2020年5月23日星期六

Yahoo! News: Terrorism

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Terrorism


Biden apologizes for telling radio host 'you ain't black' if you are considering voting for Trump

Posted: 22 May 2020 08:46 AM PDT

Biden apologizes for telling radio host 'you ain't black' if you are considering voting for TrumpFormer Vice President Joe Biden suggested Friday morning that an African-American radio personality "ain't black" if he was questioning whether he should support the presumptive Democrat nominee over President Trump in the upcoming general election.


'This is a bad practice': Doctors question FDA protocol for plasma treatment of coronavirus patients

Posted: 22 May 2020 02:00 AM PDT

'This is a bad practice': Doctors question FDA protocol for plasma treatment of coronavirus patientsThe story of convalescent plasma is one of a federal medical establishment wanting badly to compensate for its slow response to the coronavirus.


Khashoggi's sons forgive Saudi killers, sparing 5 execution

Posted: 21 May 2020 10:53 PM PDT

Khashoggi's sons forgive Saudi killers, sparing 5 executionThe family of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi announced on Friday they have forgiven his Saudi killers, giving legal reprieve to five government agents who had been sentenced to death for an operation that cast a cloud of suspicion over the kingdom's crown prince. "We, the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we forgive those who killed our father as we seek reward from God Almighty," wrote one of his sons, Salah Khashoggi, on Twitter. Salah Khashoggi, who lives in Saudi Arabia and has received financial compensation from the royal court for his father's killing, explained that forgiveness was extended to the killers during the last nights of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in line with Islamic tradition to offer pardons in cases allowed by Islamic law.


North Dakota governor on brink of tears as he decries ‘mask shaming’

Posted: 23 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT

North Dakota governor on brink of tears as he decries 'mask shaming'Republican Doug Burgum called out 'senseless dividing line' between Americans over whether masks should be worn in public * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updatesIn North Dakota on Friday, the Republican governor, Doug Burgum, decried a "senseless dividing line" between US citizens over whether masks should be worn in public during the coronavirus pandemic.As he pleaded with citizens of his state to "try to dial up your empathy and your understanding", Burgum was moved to the brink of tears."We're all in this together and there's only one battle we're fighting," he said. "And that's the battle of the virus."As Donald Trump encourages states to reopen their battered economies, federal authorities are recommending covering the face in public when social distancing is difficult, for example in grocery stores.Some states require residents to wear masks in public settings. North Dakota, where Burgum allowed reopening to start from 1 May, does not.The president has notably refused to wear a mask in public, although he was photographed wearing one on a visit to a Ford plant in Michigan this week.On Saturday, Secret Service officers who were with the president on a trip to a golf course were pictured wearing masks. Trump was not.Some rightwing protesters have attracted publicity by refusing to wear masks, while some shopkeepers have reportedly sought to deny service to people wearing face coverings.Speaking to reporters at the state capitol in Bismarck on Friday, Bergum said he "would really love to see in North Dakota that we could just skip this thing that other parts of the nation are going through, that they're creating a divide. Either it's ideological or political or something around mask versus no mask."This is I would say a senseless dividing line and I would ask people to try to dial up your empathy and your understanding. If someone is wearing a mask, they're not doing it to represent what political party they're in or what candidates they support."As he continued, Burgum struggled not to break down in tears."They might be doing it because they've got a five-year-old who's been going through cancer treatments," he said."They might have vulnerable adults in their life who currently have Covid-19 and are fighting."So again, I would just love to see our state, as part of being 'North Dakota smart', also be 'North Dakota kind', 'North Dakota empathetic', 'North Dakota understanding', to do this thing. Because if somebody wants to wear a mask, there should be no mask shaming."According to Johns Hopkins University, by Saturday North Dakota had recorded 2,317 coronavirus cases and 52 deaths.


Trump tells Fox News to 'fire their Fake Pollster' after network reports him 8 points behind Biden

Posted: 22 May 2020 09:38 AM PDT

Trump tells Fox News to 'fire their Fake Pollster' after network reports him 8 points behind BidenPresident Trump on Friday suggested Fox News should fire its pollster after the cable news network's latest national survey showed Joe Biden leading.


'We need answers': VA has given hydroxychloroquine to 1,300 vets with COVID-19 amid troubling studies

Posted: 22 May 2020 03:06 PM PDT

'We need answers': VA has given hydroxychloroquine to 1,300 vets with COVID-19 amid troubling studiesDemocrats are raising concerns over the Department of Veterans Affairs using hydroxychloroquine to treat veterans diagnosed with COVID-19, a path of treatment that has been shown to increase mortality in some patients.


Fauci just made his first TV appearance in over 2 weeks and says we'll be 'seeing a little bit more' of him

Posted: 21 May 2020 08:23 PM PDT

Fauci just made his first TV appearance in over 2 weeks and says we'll be 'seeing a little bit more' of him"We've been talking with the communications people, and they realize we need to get some of this information out," Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.


Palestinians report first coronavirus death in Gaza

Posted: 23 May 2020 09:07 AM PDT

Palestinians report first coronavirus death in GazaA woman has died in Gaza Strip after contracting coronavirus, the Palestinian enclave's first known fatality from the global pandemic, the health ministry said on Saturday. Blockaded and short on medical facilities, Gaza, run by the Islamist group Hamas, has reported only 55 coronavirus infection cases among its population of two million. Meanwhile, in the Israeli occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have limited self-rule, there have been two deaths and 423 cases.


Syria bars Assad's cousin from travel amid financial dispute

Posted: 22 May 2020 05:19 AM PDT

McConnell says coronavirus rescue package coming soon

Posted: 22 May 2020 10:03 AM PDT

McConnell says coronavirus rescue package coming soonSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday another stimulus package to deal with the impact of the coronavirus was "not too far off."


This Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents Furious

Posted: 22 May 2020 06:04 PM PDT

This Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents FuriousIn a dystopian bid to lure Tesla's Cybertruck Gigafactory to Tulsa, the Oklahoma state monument—a seven-story, 22-ton statue of an oil worker called The Golden Driller—has been redesigned as an effigy of Elon Musk. The likeness of X Æ A-12's multibillionaire father, now called The Driller 'Golden Elon,' is one of the largest free-standing statues in the U.S. "Tulsa is a city that doesn't stifle entrepreneurs - we revere them!" Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum wrote on Facebook, prompting an onslaught of enraged replies. "Golden @elonmusk is now the 6th-tallest statue in the United States. TulsaforTesla @Tesla." The gargantuan statue, unveiled earlier this week at a community event and on Bynum's social media, now features a red Tesla logo painted on its chest. The Driller's 48-foot belt, which once read "TULSA," was changed to read "TESLA." If you squint, the statue's head now looks like a low-budget YouTube cartoon of Musk. "I was told onsite it was an 'Elon Musk Face Skin,'" one worker wrote on Facebook. "It went on like a fruit roll-up." "It's this weird, ghostly, white mask-like thing," said Lucas Wrench, a 28-year-old Tulsa Artist Fellow, who runs an arts space called OK 1. "It sort of looks like if you FaceSwapped with some creature. I just couldn't believe it. I'm shocked at how transparent it is—the kind of a symbol they created in putting this enormous billionaire, literally a giant towering billionaire in Tulsa—the lack of self-awareness. They're groveling."The redesign was spearheaded by a "community-led group" called Tulsa For Tesla, in coordination with the Tulsa County Fairgrounds, a spokesperson for Bynum told The Daily Beast. The group has no online profile, although there is a Facebook page for a group called "Tulsa 4 Tesla," which was started May 17 and boasts 104 followers as of Friday. The administrator of that page told The Daily Beast they had not organized the redesign, but simply wanted Musk to move there. "I had no idea [the other Tulsa For Tesla] existed until a few days ago," the Tulsa 4 Tesla administrator wrote. "I would have thought they would have [a Facebook] page. When I named this one I looked [for others], even using '4' instead of 'For' Tulsa." "The City did not coordinate the Driller Golden Elon," the mayor's spokesperson wrote. "Mayor Bynum spoke at the community-led event earlier this week." Still, Bynum has made similar suggestions to redesign city structures in Musk's image. Earlier this week, reported by CBS News, Bynum posted an image of a Tesla Cybertruck sporting the Tulsa Police logo on Instagram, suggesting police officers would use the pixelated, sci-fi-looking monstrosities if the factory came to town. "The Golden Driller is something that's commonly decorated for special events and holidays," said Sydney Smith, a 22-year-old from Tulsa, who now studies at the Kansas City Art Institute. "Sometimes they paint it to look like wacky stuff, but painting it to paint like the face of Elon Musk is one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. It's asking a billionaire to come in and just bring his billionaire status to our town."The Golden Driller has undergone makeovers in the past. The first iteration was constructed in 1952 for the International Petroleum Exposition, an annual trade fair in Tulsa. At the time, the belt buckle read "MID-CONTINENT," after the company that commissioned it, The Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth. In 1959, after the statue attracted attention, the company built a second for that year's expo, before donating it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority. In 1966, the Trust had it installed permanently by the Tulsa Expo Center, to commemorate the city as the "Oil Capital of the World." When the state adopted it as its official monument in 1979, they changed the massive buckle to read "TULSA."White Anti-Quarantine Protesters Have Cruelly Co-opted an Enslaved Black Woman from the 18th CenturyThe Kentucky Miner Who Scammed Americans by Claiming He Was Hitler and Plotting a 'Revolt' With 'Spaceships'At the base of the statue, which "wears" a size-112 hard hat and size-393DDD shoes, an inscription reads, "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind."The redesign reorients a city literally nicknamed the "Oil Capital of the World" toward green energy, at least symbolically. Some residents are riled for precisely that reason. "What a fantastic use of tax dollars!! �� ," a Facebook user named Stacy Spohn Bay wrote. "Tulsa was built on oil, not electric/solar power. How degrading, desperate and embarrassing to see this." Progressives like Smith aren't sure how far the gesture goes. "Sure, they're making efforts to make a sustainable vehicle, but it's not necessarily something that's affordable," she said. "It's more of a status symbol and a way for a billionaire to make billions of dollars than something that's going to actually make a positive contribution to the environment, especially in a place like Tusla that's surrounded by refineries.""Our mayor, G.T. Bynum, I think he gets a lot of credit for being this sensible Republican," Wrench added. "Yeah, we're an oil town, but he's not afraid of clean energy. I think maybe, that is where this started. But they ignored the fact that Elon is just an insanely hated billionaire and that is by the far the dominant symbol that comes across to most people." Wrench plans to host a talk next Thursday called The Colossus of Musk, with Art History Professor Bill Anthes and Rome Prize Winner Classics Professor Michelle Berenfeld, both of Pitzer College, about the history of mega sculptures and what the "Golden Elon" means from an art perspective.The race to determine Tesla's new home came after Musk sued Alameda County in California, demanding to reopen his plant in Fremont, in flagrant violation of the state's stay-at-home order. On Twitter, Musk announced plans to move Tesla's "HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately." "While we love the idea of Tesla's Cybertruck plant moving to Tulsa, which would provide good paying jobs for Oklahoma families, move our state towards clean energy, and transition TPD to green vehicles, we have concerns pertaining to the fair treatment of workers," Tulsa activist publication The Progressive Report told The Daily Beast. "Led by Musk, Tesla committed several violations to the US National Labour Relations Act in 2017 & 2018\. Knowing Tesla's history of violating workers' rights, it's important we keep a watchful eye on them, especially if they decide to reside in T-Town."According to Electrek, Tesla plans to announce their new factory's site as soon as this month, and by July at the latest. "Maybe there's some benefit by bringing some jobs to Tulsa," Smith said, "But at the same time—outside of any opinions I have about Telsa or Elon Musk—a lot of times big corporations will propose bringing a headquarters to Tusla, and it will go to another city like Austin. The gentrification that comes to cities that used to have a similar vibe to Tulsa has the impact of raising the rent and raising the property taxes for the people that live there and call that place home." 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.


Black Americans are in an abusive relationship with the Democratic party

Posted: 22 May 2020 01:02 PM PDT

Black Americans are in an abusive relationship with the Democratic partyAn offensive comment by the Democratic presidential candidate is a reminder that black people – all people – deserve better than Joe BidenI am very tired of Joe Biden. My vote for him was already hanging by a thread before his disastrous interview with Charlamagne tha God on Friday. Interrupting the Breakfast Club host's explanation that black people needed assurances that our communities will benefit from his presidency, Biden asserted: "If you've got a problem figuring out whether you're for me or for Trump, then you ain't black."Again, I am very tired of Joe Biden. Not because I am a purist, or have inflexible ideological commitments of what it will take to remove Donald Trump from office. But rather because Biden's condescension towards black communities is intolerable.I want to believe that Biden's condescension started after the respected Representative James Clyburn called the former vice-president an "honorary black man" at a private dinner in March. But his mistreatment of black people, verbally and politically, is decades old, and is a reflection of the Democratic party in general.Throughout Biden's career, he has boasted about his ability to bridge partisan divides by sacrificing the needs of black people and poor people in the name of "compromise". For the last 30 years, Biden has repeatedly talked about freezing, cutting, or raising the age for social security and other benefits – as much as $2tn one time. His response to concerns that these cuts would hurt the poor? "We're going to do lots of hard things … we might as well do this."Social security is an important program for black people, especially as we age. Among African Americans receiving social security, 35% of elderly married couples and 58% of unmarried elderly persons relied on it for 90% or more of their income. The reliance is not due to laziness or spending habits – people of color and white people make similar choices and contributions to retirement – but due to racism, lack of workplace retirement plans and barriers to accessing high-paying jobs."They know where my heart is," Biden has said, of black voters.But do we?Senator Kamala Harris was severely scrutinized for her treatment of poor black women as a prosecutor – yet Biden's criminal justice record makes Harris look like Thurgood Marshall. Biden authored and successfully passed the $30bn 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Besides putting 100,000 additional police officers in the streets, the crime bill distributed funding for new prison construction, encouraged prosecutors to charge children as adults, and even added the death penalty for 28 new areas, including drug-related offenses. Pushing for further criminalization, then senator Biden argued that George HW Bush's crime plan did not go far enough because it did not "include enough police officers to catch the violent thugs, not enough prosecutors to convict them, not enough judges to sentence them, and not enough prison cells to put them away for a long time". An older black generation fought through Jim Crow only for Biden to help make sure that their children and grandchildren lived through a new Jim Crow.On the House floor, Biden compared his criminal justice approach to Richard Nixon's law and order stance: "I would say, 'Lock the SOBs up.'" Black people were arrested in droves following this bill, despite comparable drug use rates to white people; many are still sitting in prison today. Biden has since acknowledged flaws in the bill, but last summer he reiterated his support for the bill. The law spent $30bn but contributed to only a 1.3% decline in violent crime. He has yet to call for it to be repealed.Today, some cities plan to expunge marijuana records and hope to pay reparations to black people formerly incarcerated for marijuana offenses. But Biden can't seem to let go; he is inconsistent and ambivalent about marijuana legalization. He has argued it may be a gateway drug, a statement he has since dialed back. Of course, keeping marijuana illegal at the federal level does not mean that people will not use it, but rather that the extra police that he put on the street will send people of color to jail for using it. Ironically, the police were probably nowhere to be found when Biden's friends George W Bush and Barack Obama used marijuana. If anything, the drug seems to be a gateway to the White House.Despite attempting to cut social programs and increasing mass incarceration, Biden claims to care about black families. But he doesn't seem to know many. During the September 2019 Democratic debate he claimed that poor families should put on a record player so their children will know more words. Recently, during an interview with the New York Times editorial board, he argued that poor black parents feel ashamed because they cannot read and skip parent-teacher conferences. He was hoping to encourage them to be better parents. But his assertion is incorrect. Black and white parents have comparable participation rates overall and attend parent-teacher conferences at the exact same rates. In fact, black parents and poor parents are the most likely to check their children's homework and meet with guidance counselors. Biden instead relied on stereotypes that black people are not involved in their children's lives.Harris forced Biden to confront his work with racist elected officials to stop integration efforts using school busing. That was not his only education mistake. Biden played a significant role in creating the student debt crisis, including making student loan discharge "nearly impossible". This is devastating to black people, who disproportionately carry school debt. While the average school debt for black women with a bachelor's degree is about $25,000, that level of education does not provide the same level of financial security for black women as it does other groups, including white people with less education (primarily because of sexism and racism).Again and again, Biden's relationship with black Americans, like the Democratic National Committee's relationship, has been patronizing at best and actively harmful at worst.> Biden's friendship with one black person does not mean that he's a friend to black peopleSome black people will support Biden because of his association with Barack Obama – even though Obama himself doesn't seem especially excited about Biden becoming president. The Obama days feel distant yet warm compared to Donald Trump's current presidency. But remember: Biden cycled millions of black people in and out of jail, voted for massive numbers of poor people to go to war in Iraq, threw Anita Hill under the bus to confirm a conservative justice to the US supreme court, and, under Obama's administration, helped to deport millions of immigrants and bombed brown countries. When Biden was vice-president, black home ownership and wealth declined significantly, even as it rose for other races. Biden's friendship with one black person does not mean that he's a friend to black people.The Democratic party holds black people in an abusive relationship but says you cannot leave because the other option is more abusive. That's why I don't believe that a vote against Biden solely means a vote for Trump. Perhaps it is a vote against being captured by the party that makes empty promises every four years when it is election time, and delivers nothing. Perhaps it is a vote against the crime bill, drones and deportations. Perhaps it is a vote against covert and overt racism.Biden and others will rightfully argue that Trump is worse, and I agree. But what can Biden actually deliver? Will there be fewer drones if he's president? Maybe not. Fewer deportations? Maybe not. Less money to police departments? No. Will fewer black people die from police? Unlikely. Will black people have healthcare? Unlikely. Will black wealth increase? Unlikely. Will Palestinian lives be safer? Unlikely. Commitments to preserving our climate? Doubtful. If black people have a hard time figuring out the differences between Trump and Biden, then that is Biden's problem, not ours.Joe Biden refuses to reckon with the harm that he has caused to people all over the world. His best line is that he is better than the other guy, and that is exactly how abusive relationships function. Black people – all people – deserve better than Biden and the Democratic party. And yes, we are still black. * Derecka Purnell is a social movement lawyer and writer based in Washington, DC. Guardian US columnist


Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with murder

Posted: 22 May 2020 10:26 AM PDT

Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with murderTwo men, 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his 34-year-old son, Travis, have already been arrested and charged with murder.


Guatemala president scolds U.S. for deporting migrants with coronavirus

Posted: 21 May 2020 08:51 PM PDT

Guatemala president scolds U.S. for deporting migrants with coronavirusGuatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei criticized the United States on Thursday for sending back migrants infected with the novel coronavirus to his Central American country and straining its weak health system. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and Giammattei's attempts to curb deportation flights from the United States, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been sending Guatemalan migrants back to their home country.


Trump admin won't require nursing homes to count COVID-19 deaths that occurred before May 6

Posted: 22 May 2020 02:43 PM PDT

Trump admin won't require nursing homes to count COVID-19 deaths that occurred before May 6The most recent computation by NBC News found that as of May 11 at least 27,000 older Americans who were residents of long-term care facilities had died.


Iranian ships approach Venezuela with no sign of US threat

Posted: 23 May 2020 04:48 PM PDT

Iranian ships approach Venezuela with no sign of US threatThe first of five tankers loaded with gasoline sent from Iran approached Venezuelan waters late Saturday, expected to temporarily ease the South American nation's fuel crunch while defying Trump administration sanctions targeting the two U.S. foes. The oil tanker Fortune encountered no immediate signs of U.S. interference as it eased through Caribbean waters toward the Venezuelan coast and Venezuelan officials celebrated the arrival. "Iran and Venezuela have always supported each other in times of difficulty," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted.


Expletive-filled video of Bolsonaro swearing at cabinet meeting released by Brazil's Supreme Court

Posted: 23 May 2020 03:31 AM PDT

Expletive-filled video of Bolsonaro swearing at cabinet meeting released by Brazil's Supreme CourtExpletive-filled footage of Brazil's far-right president complaining about not being able to get intelligence from the police has been released by the country's Supreme Court.Jair Bolsonaro vows, in the clip, that he will not let his friends and family get "screwed" because he is unable to overhaul law enforcement officials.


Trump demands states reopen houses of worship 'right now'

Posted: 22 May 2020 12:02 PM PDT

Trump demands states reopen houses of worship 'right now'President Trump said Friday that he wanted state governors to allow the nation's houses of worship to reopen "right now" despite the ongoing health risks from the coronavirus pandemic posed by large gatherings of people.


Trump wants justices' help to stymie investigations and lawsuits

Posted: 22 May 2020 11:05 AM PDT

Trump wants justices' help to stymie investigations and lawsuitsPresident Trump won at least a temporary reprieve from the Supreme Court this week in keeping secret grand jury materials from the Russia investigation away from Democratic lawmakers. The president and his administration are counting on the justices for more help to stymie other investigations and lawsuits.


US government health agency CDC revises guidance on spread of coronavirus on surfaces

Posted: 22 May 2020 08:50 AM PDT

US government health agency CDC revises guidance on spread of coronavirus on surfacesThe coronavirus is primarily spread from person-to-person and not easily from surfaces or objects, the US's government health agency has said in revised guidance. Catching the virus from delivery boxes or takeout food bags, for example, is highly unlikely "because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes. The virus travels mostly through the droplets a person produces when talking or coughing, its website says. "It may be possible that a person can get Covid-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes," it adds. "This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about this virus." While this information is not new, the new phrasing calls more attention to how the disease is not likely to spread.


Argentina, creditors get ready to resume debt talks after ninth sovereign default

Posted: 23 May 2020 08:16 AM PDT

Argentina, creditors get ready to resume debt talks after ninth sovereign defaultA major Argentina creditor group said on Saturday it had been invited to sign a non-disclosure agreement by Argentina's government, signaling that talks could be moving to the next phase after the South American country defaulted a day earlier. The Exchange Bondholder Group, which comprises 18 investment institutions and represents 15% of Argentina's exchange bonds, said in a statement that Argentina approached its representatives and other creditor groups about signing a non-disclosure agreement "in contemplation of engaging in negotiations with the Ministry of Economy." It is common during debt restructurings for creditor committees to agree to limit the flow of information near the end of talks, as some of it may be material and non-public, a source from another creditor committee said.


China records no new coronavirus cases for the first time since the pandemic began

Posted: 23 May 2020 07:32 AM PDT

China records no new coronavirus cases for the first time since the pandemic beganThe number of new cases dropped from four to zero between Thursday and Friday, China's National Health Commission said.


Group: Texas naval base shooter voiced support for clerics

Posted: 22 May 2020 10:02 AM PDT

Group: Texas naval base shooter voiced support for clericsThe suspect killed during what the FBI is calling a "terrorism-related" attack at a Texas naval air base voiced support for hardline clerics, according to a group that monitors online activity of jihadists. The attack Thursday at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead. The gunman was identified on Friday by the FBI as 20-year-old Adam Salim Alsahli of Corpus Christi.


A haunting image of a body abandoned in the street in coronavirus-racked Rio shows how Brazil's health system is struggling to cope

Posted: 23 May 2020 07:29 AM PDT

A haunting image of a body abandoned in the street in coronavirus-racked Rio shows how Brazil's health system is struggling to copeBrazil is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, with a rocketing death toll and leadership crisis.


US to sanction nine Chinese entities for rights violations

Posted: 22 May 2020 01:44 PM PDT

US to sanction nine Chinese entities for rights violationsThe US Department of Commerce said Friday it would sanction a Chinese government institute and eight companies for human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in China's western Xinjiang region. "These nine parties are complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region," the Commerce Department said in a statement. The sanctions followed China's move to impose a national security law to quash the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called a "disastrous proposal."


Tucker Carlson and Pete Hegseth Try to Bring ‘Kung Flu’ Back

Posted: 21 May 2020 07:39 PM PDT

Tucker Carlson and Pete Hegseth Try to Bring 'Kung Flu' BackFox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Pete Hegseth on Thursday night defended the use of racist terms to describe the novel coronavirus, all while wondering why Democrats are "sucking up" to China by decrying these phrases.Taking aim at Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for introducing a Senate resolution condemning "anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19"—which includes the use of the phrase "Wuhan virus"—Carlson claimed Harris was denouncing "basic facts." "Why is she sucking up to the government of China, exactly?" Carlson wondered aloud before introducing Hegseth, a Fox & Friends co-host and informal Trump adviser."Say it with me, Tucker," Hegseth excitedly declared. "Wuhan virus, Chinese virus, maybe even the 'Kung Flu.' A little off-color, but funny and you know, we still live in a free country the last time I checked."Back in March, when President Trump and many Republican allies were making a show of calling the disease the "Chinese virus," Chinese-American CBS reporter Weijia Jiang said a White House official referred to coronavirus as "the Kung Flu" right to her face. Trump would later brush off the controversy, insisting Asian-Americans agreed "100 percent" with his use of "Chinese virus" to describe COVID-19.Hegseth complained that the left wants to "weaponize" language and "control it" in an effort to make conservatives appear to be the "bad guy," something that Carlson agreed with wholeheartedly."They control language to control your thoughts," Carlson declared.Hegseth would then go on to hawk his latest book, American Crusade, claiming America is now in a "holy war and the righteous cause for human freedom" before snarking that the left should file a class-action lawsuit."They should seek reparation because they've been damaged forever with the title they were given based on the racist notions of Americans who name something after where it came from," he exclaimed. "As we're staring down the communist Chinese who want to end our civilization. So, join the crusade, that's what it's going to take to save our country."Hate crimes against Asian-Americans, meanwhile, have continued to rise amid the coronavirus pandemic, as people of Asian descent have increasingly reported being verbally assaulted, coughed at, and spat on by assailants who blame them for the virus.Kellyanne Conway Spars With Reporters Over 'Kung-Flu' Coronavirus SlurRead 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.


Afghanistan: Taliban announce three-day Eid ceasefire with government

Posted: 23 May 2020 05:24 PM PDT

Afghanistan: Taliban announce three-day Eid ceasefire with governmentThe truce with government forces will take effect when the Muslim festival of Eid begins on Sunday.


Lawyer for woman accusing Biden of sex assault drops case following claims over her educational record

Posted: 22 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT

Lawyer for woman accusing Biden of sex assault drops case following claims over her educational recordThe lawyer representing Tara Reade announced he is no longer taking her on as a client.Doug Widgor said the decision to drop Ms Reade as a client was not reflective of his views on the veracity of her claim that 2020 election hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her.


Latest on global search for coronavirus vaccine: Three candidates show early promise

Posted: 22 May 2020 05:08 PM PDT

Latest on global search for coronavirus vaccine: Three candidates show early promiseThis week's coronavirus vaccine race news: U.S. bets big on possible vaccine, Chinese entry shows promise, experts caution 'slow is fast.'


This might be one of the best weekends — ever — to buy a new car

Posted: 22 May 2020 09:08 AM PDT

This might be one of the best weekends — ever — to buy a new carWith dealers anxious to get their businesses back in gear, don't be afraid to bargain more aggressively than you normally would, experts say.


Joe Biden calls Amy Klobuchar "first rate," asks her to undergo vetting for VP

Posted: 22 May 2020 09:52 AM PDT

Joe Biden calls Amy Klobuchar Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has asked Senator Amy Klobuchar to undergo formal vetting as he narrows his list of potential running mates. CBS News 2020 campaign reporter Bo Erickson joined CBSN to discuss the latest.


Police: Remains IDed in Long Island serial killer case

Posted: 22 May 2020 12:37 PM PDT

European allies watch with 'regret' as Trump ditches a treaty once said to be in America's 'best interest'

Posted: 22 May 2020 08:31 AM PDT

European allies watch with 'regret' as Trump ditches a treaty once said to be in America's 'best interest'Much to the "regret" of allies, the US is pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, which Jim Mattis once said was in the US's "best interests."


Coronavirus: New York state daily death toll drop below 100

Posted: 23 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT

Coronavirus: New York state daily death toll drop below 100A total of 84 people died in 24 hours, the lowest daily toll since March in the worst-hit US state.


Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assault

Posted: 22 May 2020 06:09 AM PDT

Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assaultThe Biden campaign says the incident, alleged to have occurred in 1993, "absolutely did not happen."


Man charged with fraud for lying about coronavirus test, forcing employer to shut plant

Posted: 22 May 2020 07:14 AM PDT

Man charged with fraud for lying about coronavirus test, forcing employer to shut plantA man from Atlanta, Georgia is facing fraud charges after telling his employer he had tested positive for coronavirus while in fact uninfected – causing the plant where he worked to be shut down for cleaning and costing his employer some $100,000.Santwon Antonio Davis, who works in Atlanta at a Fortune 500 company, appeared in court this week accused of faking a dubious medical excuse letter saying he had Covid-19 – a letter that was neither signed nor written on formal letterhead, and which said he had been discharged in November 2019.


Brazil jumps to world No. 2 in coronavirus cases, behind the U.S.

Posted: 22 May 2020 03:30 PM PDT

Brazil jumps to world No. 2 in coronavirus cases, behind the U.S.Brazil became the world No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, after it confirmed that 330,890 people had been infected by the virus, overtaking Russia, the Health Ministry said. Brazil registered 1,001 daily coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking total deaths to 21,048, according to the Health Ministry. Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his handling of the outbreak and is at the center too of a deepening political crisis.


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