| Dr. Birx says 'we have to change our behavior now' as U.S. faces 'essentially three New Yorks' Posted: 24 Jul 2020 06:27 AM PDT  The White House's coronavirus task force coordinator is imploring Americans to change their behavior "now."Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator of President Trump's coronavirus task force, spoke to Today on Friday as new COVID-19 cases have continued to climb in the U.S. and especially in Texas, California, and Florida."I just want to make it clear to the American public: what we have right now are essentially three New Yorks with these three major states," Birx said. "And so we're really having to respond as an American people, and that's why you hear us calling for masks and increased social distancing to really stop the spread of this epidemic."New York was for a time the hardest-hit state in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic; its daily number of new COVID-19 cases has since fallen. California earlier this week surpassed New York as the state with the most reported coronavirus cases total, though its population is much larger, and New York has still reported more COVID-19 deaths. Texas and Florida have also faced surging COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.Birx described the nation's COVID-19 outbreak as "very serious," and speaking on Trump's recent decision to cancel the Florida portion of the Republican National Convention, she said this is an example of the kind of steps that are needed as the virus continues to spread."This is a signal to the American people: we have to change our behavior now before this virus completely moves back up through the north," she said. "We can do that, and we can do that as an American people." > White House task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx talks to @SavannahGuthrie about the rising coronavirus cases in states including Florida, Texas and California. > > "What we have right now are essentially three New Yorks with these three major states," she says. pic.twitter.com/mczzED47NX> > -- TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 24, 2020More stories from theweek.com Jared Kushner has reportedly refused to aid the House GOP's election wing America is coming apart. Europe is coming together. Longtime TV host Regis Philbin dies at 88
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| LAPD officer and soon-to-be father dies of COVID-19 complications Posted: 24 Jul 2020 05:42 PM PDT  Officer Valentin Martinez, 45, was expecting twins with his partner and joined the force in 2007. The city's mayor has ordered flags to be lowered in his honor.
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| Bernie Sanders slams Tesla CEO Elon Musk, saying it's 'pathetic' that Musk is against another government stimulus package Posted: 24 Jul 2020 07:34 PM PDT  "Another government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people imo," Elon Musk said on Twitter on Friday.
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| Prosecutor Falsely Claimed Patricia McCloskey’s Gun Was Capable of Firing When She Brandished It Outside Her Home Posted: 24 Jul 2020 09:40 AM PDT  Patricia McCloskey's handgun was inoperable when she brandished it to ward off demonstrators who had congregated on her front lawn, but a St. Louis prosecutor ordered crime lab technicians to reassemble the gun in working order and then attested that it was "readily capable of lethal use" in charging documents filed against McCloskey.McCloskey has stated that the handgun she used was inoperable, which under Missouri law would exonerate her from the charge of unlawful use of a weapon. However, assistant circuit attorney Chris Hinckley wrote that the gun was "readily capable of lethal use" when charging McCloskey on Monday, a St. Louis NBC affiliate reported."The firearm could not be test fired as submitted," reads a report from the St. Louis police crime lab obtained by 5 On Your Side. "At the request of ACA Chris Hinckley, the firearm was field stripped and found to have been assembled incorrectly….The firearm was reassembled properly, test fired and functioned as designed." Crime lab workers photographed the disassembly and reassembly process.McCloskey's husband Mark also brandished a firearm, an AR-15 rifle. The couple said they had intentionally rendered the handgun inoperable so that they could use it as a prop in court, in a separate case brought against a gun manufacturer."It's disheartening to learn that a law enforcement agency altered evidence in order to prosecute an innocent member of the community," the couple's attorney Joe Schwartz said. National Review has reached out to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office for comment.The McCloskeys responded to a June 28 incident during which George Floyd protesters broke into their gated community while attempting to reach the house of St. Louis mayor Lyda Krewson."The group began yelling obscenities and threats of harm to both victims," a police report stated. "When the victims observed multiple subjects who were armed, they then armed themselves and contacted police."Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt has filed to dismiss the case against the couple.
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| Manson follower Leslie Van Houten could get parole Posted: 24 Jul 2020 03:32 AM PDT  Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has been recommended for parole after serving nearly five decades in prison.
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| Massive protest against governor's arrest challenges Kremlin Posted: 25 Jul 2020 02:36 AM PDT  Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday across Russia's Far East city of Khabarovsk on the border with China to protest the arrest of the regional governor on murder charges, continuing a two-week wave of protests that has challenged the Kremlin. Sergei Furgal has been in a Moscow jail since his arrest on July 9, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has named an acting successor. Protesters in Khabarovsk see the charges against Furgal as unsubstantiated and demand that he stand trial at home.
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| Professor behind 'vile' racist and sexist tweets found dead in North Carolina home Posted: 24 Jul 2020 11:17 AM PDT  Mike Adams, professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington, was set to retire Aug. 1 after being slammed by the university for "vile" and "hateful" language.
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| North Korea's Kim says COVID-19 'could be said to have entered the country': KCNA Posted: 25 Jul 2020 02:43 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency politburo meeting after a person suspected of having COVID-19 returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border this month, state media said on Sunday. If confirmed, it would be the first case officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities, who have so far said the country has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Kim declared a state of emergency and imposed a lockdown on the border city of Kaesong, calling it a "critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country," state news agency KCNA reported.
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| With big lead in polls, Biden shifts search for a running mate Posted: 24 Jul 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Many on Biden's team once felt he needed a running mate who'd generate excitement. Now, with his polling lead, a "do no harm" strategy gains ground. But pressure for a Black candidate mounts.
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| Republican Rep. Ted Yoho resigns from a Christian non-profit's board after verbally attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Posted: 25 Jul 2020 01:38 PM PDT  The non-profit said it "sought [Yoho's] resignation" after determining his attack on AOC didn't reflect "values of respect and compassion."
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| A 28-year-old TV reporter who was diagnosed with cancer said the only reason she got tested was because of a viewer's email Posted: 25 Jul 2020 10:52 AM PDT  Victoria Price, a WFLA reporter in Tampa, said she likely wouldn't have caught her thyroid cancer early enough if not for a viewer's concerned email.
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| Israeli police use water cannons on protesters, arrest 55 Posted: 23 Jul 2020 11:36 PM PDT  Israeli police used water cannons to disperse protesters in central Jerusalem and arrested at least 55 of them as clashes broke out overnight after thousands staged a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israelis have held a series of demonstrations in recent weeks calling on Netanyahu to resign, citing his trial on corruption charges and his fractious unity government's poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A smaller counterprotest in support of Netanyahu was held nearby, with the two camps separated by metal barricades and a large police presence.
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| Chinese researcher who took refuge in San Francisco consulate in U.S. custody, officials say Posted: 24 Jul 2020 08:17 AM PDT  A Chinese researcher who took refuge from U.S. authorities at China's consulate in San Francisco is now in American custody and is expected to appear in court on Monday, U.S. Justice Department officials said. According to court filings in U.S. District Court in San Francisco this week, Juan Tang, who worked at the University of California, Davis, falsely claimed on her visa application that she had not served in the Chinese military.
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| Coronavirus: Why won't India admit how Covid-19 is spreading? Posted: 25 Jul 2020 04:22 PM PDT  Experts say India's government must accept the virus is spreading there through community transmission.
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| Trump Brags About Siccing 75K ‘Tough’ Feds on Cities Like Chicago Posted: 23 Jul 2020 08:45 PM PDT  President Donald Trump openly mused on Thursday night about sending tens of thousands of federal agents into major U.S. cities experiencing unrest, claiming he could "solve these problems so fast" if those cities just "invited" the 75,000 "tough" feds he supposedly has ready to go.Trump, who recently announced a "surge" of hundreds of FBI and Justice Department personnel into Chicago to ostensibly combat violent crime, mused openly about his recent "law and order" push with Fox News host and close confidant Sean Hannity.The president first brought up Portland, which is currently the scene of a federal crackdown on anti-racism protesters, boasting that he dispatched DHS agents and unmarked federal authorities "because they are anarchists.""That is a level people haven't seen," the president bellowed. "But they are anarchists. They were going wild for 51 days. And we went in and they've done a great job. They were going to rip down the courthouse, a gorgeous federal courthouse. So we went in and we have been very, very strong."After mocking Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler for getting tear-gassed by federal agents on Wednesday night, crowing that "they knocked the hell out of him," Trump insisted that he wanted to "help the cities." And what was his offer to mayors of cities such as Detroit and Chicago? "We'll go into all of the cities, any of the cities," the president declared. "We're ready. We'll put in 50,000, 60,000 people that really know what they're doing. They're strong. They're tough. And we can solve these problems so fast, but as you know, we have to be invited in."Trump went on to add that "at some point, we have to do something much stronger than being invited in."Hannity, meanwhile, tied violence in large cities to Democratic leadership, wondering aloud if the president has a message to "people who boast and argue and say you don't have a chance of winning New York, Illinois, California or Washington State?"Complaining that "liberal Democrats" aren't "respecting the police," Trump claimed Democratic governors and mayors are explicitly telling police to not fight crime."They say not to do it," the president huffed. "It is a philosophy. Let me tell you, if Joe Biden ever got in, the whole country would be like that."Trump eventually circled back to Chicago, which has recently been a major focal point on Fox News programming, asserting that people tell him that "they can't believe what is going on" before referencing a recent shooting in the city."It's a shame," he exclaimed. "And we could solve it if they invited us in, we'd go in with 50,000 to 75,000 people. We would be able to solve it like you wouldn't believe it, like quick."Prior to settling for an expansion of Operation Legend when he announced his "surge," the president privately wanted a Portland-style offensive in Chicago. Envisioning a "camera-ready show of force," Trump wanted federal agents to flush out violent gang leaders and leave them "shaking in their boots."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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| 12 people infected with the coronavirus were falsely told they'd tested negative — and at least one was hospitalized Posted: 25 Jul 2020 11:25 AM PDT  Kevin Evans, a Delaware resident who was told he was negative on July 21, was hospitalized two days later after vomiting and falling unconscious.
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| A white man reportedly yelled offensive racial slur at Black teen who offered him a donut Posted: 25 Jul 2020 10:07 AM PDT  "The guy started yelling, using the n-word on him," the teen's mother told the Boston Globe. She said her son had been offering leftover donuts to strangers.
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| Climate expert suggests Biden will have to 'admit there will be tradeoffs' to reach zero carbon goal Posted: 25 Jul 2020 08:03 AM PDT  Climate activists and scientists have generally received former Vice President Joe Biden's plan to eliminate U.S. carbon emissions by 2035 warmly, but there will likely be some backlash ahead, especially regarding a potential reliance on wind and solar alternatives, The Guardian reports.David Keith, a climate and energy expert at Harvard University who co-authored research in 2018 that found America's transition to solar and particularly wind would require up to 20 times more land area than previously thought, said windmills certainly shouldn't be abandoned moving forward, but suggested they could be limited. "You should tilt the energy system toward low land footprints, which means focusing on solar, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage, with wind at the margins," he told The Guardian.Keith added that if the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee defeats President Trump, the incoming Biden administration will need to "admit there will be tradeoffs for a shared national goal" and that "there will be local decisions people don't like" en route to an emission-free future.But while there are concerns about the effect renewable energy systems can have on land and biodiversity, Melissa Lott, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, said the side effects of renewables are unequivocally worth getting to zero carbon. Read more at The Guardian.More stories from theweek.com Jared Kushner has reportedly refused to aid the House GOP's election wing America is coming apart. Europe is coming together. Longtime TV host Regis Philbin dies at 88
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| Australia says China's South China Sea claims are unlawful Posted: 25 Jul 2020 12:28 AM PDT |
| Fact check: South Dakota's COVID-19 infection, jobless stats aren't as good as claimed Posted: 25 Jul 2020 02:03 PM PDT  A popular meme notes that South Dakota didn't have any stay-at-home orders (true) and that it has had hardly any COVID-19 (false).
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| White House denies Stephen Miller’s grandmother died from coronavirus, despite death certificate stating otherwise Posted: 24 Jul 2020 11:33 AM PDT  The White House has denied top advisor Stephen Miller's grandmother died from the coronavirus - despite the death certificate stating otherwise.Mr Miller's 97-year-old grandmother died after his uncle David Glosser, the brother of the advisor's mother, first revealed the women contracted Covid-19.
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| Republicans say Milwaukee murder may be linked to support for Trump Posted: 25 Jul 2020 10:48 AM PDT  * Party says killing of Bernell Trammell may have been political * 60-year-old supported Trump and Black Lives Matter, locals sayThe Wisconsin Republican party has called for a federal investigation of a fatal shooting on Thursday, to ascertain whether it was motivated by animosity towards Donald Trump.Bernell Trammell, a 60-year-old African American man who was a well-known figure in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, was shot and killed at around 12.30pm on Thursday. Police did not immediately provide any details on possible suspects or motives.However, the Republican party of Wisconsin said the "senseless" murder may have been politically motivated and called upon federal investigators to become involved.Trammell, who ran a business called eXpressions Journal in Riverwest, regularly displayed signs on political and religious matters, including support for Trump as well as the Black Lives Matter movement, according to those who knew him.Trammell was pictured holding a sign calling for a Trump victory in the November election. But community members have said he supported politicians from both sides of the divide, including Lena Taylor, a Democrat who ran for mayor of Milwaukee this year."He believed in democracy. He believed in his right to free speech," local resident John Self told TV station CBS58."I don't think he ever once tried to convert you or change you. He would just tell you what he thought, he would listen to what you had to think, and then he would respect that."
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| A North Carolina private school reopened amid national concerns over in-person classes. Days later a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. Posted: 25 Jul 2020 11:44 AM PDT  The school said the staff member was asymptomatic and passed a temperature check, WRAL reported. Sixteen students had come in contact with them.
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| Iran protests to UN after US jets approach flight over Syria Posted: 24 Jul 2020 11:20 AM PDT  Iran protested Friday to the United Nations of a "flagrant violation" of international law after nearby US fighter jets sparked panic on an Iranian passenger plane over war-torn Syria. The incident on Thursday was the latest between arch-foes Tehran and Washington since US President Donald Trump in 2018 walked out of a nuclear accord with Iran and imposed punishing sanctions. Iran's state television broadcast footage filmed on a mobile phone of screaming passengers as the pilot of a Mahan Air plane on a flight from Tehran to Beirut took emergency action.
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| Man accused of running over Sikh man charged with hate crime Posted: 24 Jul 2020 01:31 PM PDT  A man accused of running over the Sikh owner of a suburban Denver liquor store after reportedly telling him and his wife to "go back to your country" is now facing a hate crime charge in addition to 16 other charges.
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| A musician who felt the US was unsafe went to South Korea. He posted about his 2-week mandatory quarantine on TikTok, but wouldn't encourage others to leave. Posted: 24 Jul 2020 11:14 PM PDT  "They were very cautious the entire time. I was really impressed by how they handled everything," he told Insider.
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| No masks, just questions, in Kansas counties with no cases Posted: 24 Jul 2020 12:57 PM PDT  Some businesses in two western Kansas counties that have yet to report a single positive coronavirus case aren't requiring customers to wear face masks — but they are asking whether they have traveled outside the county. Business owners in Rawlins and Wallace counties say they agree with local officials' decisions to opt out of an order from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly requiring people to wear masks in public. In Wallace County, which borders Colorado, one restaurant posted on social media a graphic of a crossed out man with a face mask.
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| Mexico City mayor warns of potential coronavirus rebound as hospitalizations rise Posted: 24 Jul 2020 12:24 PM PDT  The mayor of Mexico City warned on Friday of a possible resurgence of coronavirus cases in the sprawling capital in the coming months, noting that hospitalizations have been on the rise in recent days. Mexico City and its surrounding areas, home to more than 20 million people, have been the epicenter of the country's pandemic after infections were first detected in late February. Cases began to level off in mid-June, but authorities now fear that downward trend could reverse.
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| US Army plans long-range missile fly-offs for future helicopters Posted: 24 Jul 2020 01:37 PM PDT  Fly-offs are coming up in the next few years to assess possible long-range missile options for the Army's future fleet of helicopters.
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| Retired Marine who marched into Portland chaos with American flag says he was attacked by Antifa members Posted: 24 Jul 2020 05:06 AM PDT  Gabriel Johnson tells 'Fox & Friends' what happened when he tried to bring a message of unity to the protests.
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| Op-Ed: Biden faces pressure to pick a Black woman as his running mate. Who should it be? Posted: 25 Jul 2020 03:15 AM PDT  All the Black women on Joe Biden's shortlist of possible running mates have major strengths. Unfortunately, they each have liabilities, too.
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| Evacuations in Texas as Hurricane Hanna intensifies before making landfall Posted: 25 Jul 2020 08:53 AM PDT  A hurricane developing near Texas has prompted evacuations and emergency warnings from local officials as the storm was expected to bring flash flooding and life-threatening storm surges to a region badly hit by the novel coronavirus pandemic.Storm Hanna, the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season, was forecast to make landfall on the Texas coast on Saturday, threatening one of the nation's Covid-19 hot spots.
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| Robert E. Lee statue, other Confederate memorials quietly removed from Virginia Capitol Posted: 24 Jul 2020 10:05 AM PDT  The statue of Robert E. Lee and busts of seven other Confederate soldiers were quietly removed from the Virginia Capitol building overnight as states and cities around the country continue to grapple with symbols of America's racist past.
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| India coronavirus: 14-year-old sexually assaulted at Delhi Covid-19 centre Posted: 23 Jul 2020 09:20 PM PDT  The accused and another man who allegedly filmed the incident have been arrested.
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| The federal ban on evictions ends today, leaving nearly 28 million Americans on the verge of losing their homes Posted: 24 Jul 2020 02:56 PM PDT  The coronavirus crisis prompted states and the federal government to ban eviction so people don't lose their homes. Those bans are now expiring.
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| Pakistani police probe minister after killing of journalist Posted: 25 Jul 2020 10:20 AM PDT |
| South Korea says daily coronavirus cases may top 100, driven by imported infections Posted: 24 Jul 2020 12:09 AM PDT  South Korean health authorities said novel coronavirus infections among people arriving from abroad could drive the number of new cases on Friday to more than 100, the first time since the beginning of April that daily cases hit triple digits. The numbers for Friday will not be announced until Saturday, but Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) deputy director Kwon Jun-wook told a briefing a large number of crewmembers on a Russian ship had tested positive, as had a number of South Korean workers brought home on military flights from Iraq. Meanwhile, two South Korean military aircraft arrived from Iraq on Friday, carrying 293 workers who were evacuated as cases swelled in that country.
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| FEMA acknowledges Puerto Rico lacks rebuilt homes and a hospital to survive COVID-19 Posted: 24 Jul 2020 03:01 PM PDT  FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor responded to concerns about why thousands still lack a safe home and why Vieques has no hospital since Hurricane Maria.
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| Iraqi forces free German woman kidnapped in Baghdad Posted: 24 Jul 2020 05:05 PM PDT  A German woman kidnapped in Baghdad this week was freed overnight and handed over to her embassy, officials from the two countries said on Friday. "Security forces have freed activist Hella Mewis," Iraq's military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement. Iraq's interior ministry said a joint task force, including the elite Falcons intelligence forces and federal police and anti-crime units, carried out the operation in east Baghdad.
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| Letters to the Editor: Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have saved us a lot of worry before 2016 Posted: 25 Jul 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The health of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a survivor of multiple cancers before Trump became president, is now a constant worry for progressives.
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