| 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  Former 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.
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| 'This is a bad practice': Doctors question FDA protocol for plasma treatment of coronavirus patients Posted: 22 May 2020 02:00 AM PDT  The story of convalescent plasma is one of a federal medical establishment wanting badly to compensate for its slow response to the coronavirus.
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| Should colleges bring students back to campus in the fall? Posted: 23 May 2020 09:07 AM PDT  Universities across the country are wrestling with the decision of whether or not to hold in-person classes in the fall. Is bringing students back worth the risk of an on-campus outbreak?
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| An 18-year-old Arizona woman visiting Hawaii was arrested after allegedly violating quarantine Posted: 22 May 2020 12:45 PM PDT  Hawaii's attorney general Clare Connors said people violating the order "likely will be reported, arrested and end up in jail facing hefty fines."
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| Judge lifts stay on sale of Venezuela's US refineries Posted: 22 May 2020 04:57 PM PDT |
| Republicans call for DOJ investigation into Planned Parenthood over coronavirus relief loans Posted: 22 May 2020 03:11 PM PDT  Republican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to look into how Planned Parenthood affiliates received Paycheck Protection Program loans.
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| 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  President Trump on Friday suggested Fox News should fire its pollster after the cable news network's latest national survey showed Joe Biden leading.
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| 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  Brazil is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, with a rocketing death toll and leadership crisis.
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| Passenger plane carrying more than 100 crashes in Pakistan Posted: 22 May 2020 05:06 AM PDT  A Pakistani passenger plane carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members has crashed, officials said.
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| Hundreds killed in new violence in South Sudan, ICRC says Posted: 21 May 2020 10:07 AM PDT |
| A white woman has been charged with assault after grabbing an 11-year-old black girl's arm and accusing her of stealing mail Posted: 21 May 2020 02:18 PM PDT  Elizabeth Shirey was charged with third-degree assault and battery over a May 11 incident in which she accused Skhylur Davis of stealing her mail.
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| Cyclone Amphan loss estimated at $13 billion in India, may rise in Bangladesh Posted: 23 May 2020 03:45 AM PDT  A powerful cyclone that tore through India's eastern state of West Bengal this week has caused a damage of 1 trillion rupees ($13 billion) to infrastructure and crops, state officials said. Neighbouring Bangladesh, which also fell in Cyclone Amphan's path on Wednesday, initially said it had suffered a loss of 11 billion taka ($130 million). More than 3 million people were evacuated before Amphan made landfall, preventing a large number of deaths.
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| Hair stylist exposed 84 people to virus Posted: 22 May 2020 07:22 PM PDT  Health officials were tracking down 91 people who were potentially exposed to determine if they've developed COVID-19.
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| Top Venezuela court orders seizure of AT&T subsidiary assets Posted: 22 May 2020 07:10 PM PDT  Soldiers surrounded the Caracas headquarters of television provider DirecTV, owned by AT&T, on Friday after a ruling by Venezuela's highest court ordered the "immediate" seizure of the company's facilities and equipment. The Supreme Court ordered the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) to "take possession" of all property and equipment used in the transmission of DirecTV's services -- which account for 45 percent of the subscription TV market in Venezuela according to official figures.
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| Scientists say climate change is turning coastal Antarctica green Posted: 21 May 2020 06:02 PM PDT  As the climate warms, scientists expect more and more of the snowy desert to turn bright green.
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| New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows coronavirus conspiracy theories spreading on the right may hamper vaccine efforts Posted: 22 May 2020 08:28 AM PDT  As states relax lockdown restrictions and responsibility for containing the coronavirus shifts, in part, to the American people, the dangerous tendency to ignore fundamental facts about the deadly pathogen in favor of misinformation peddled by partisans and spread on social media grows.
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| Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade let go by lawyer Posted: 22 May 2020 01:38 PM PDT  * Douglas Wigdor says he continues to believe allegation * Reade says then senator Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993The lawyer representing Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, said on Friday he was dropping her as a client although he continued to believe in the truth of her allegations."Our decision … is by no means a reflection on whether then Senator Biden sexually assaulted Ms Reade," Douglas Wigdor said in a statement. "On that point, our view – which is the same view held by the majority of Americans, according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll – has not changed."Reade is a former staffer from Biden's office when he was a senator from Delaware. She alleges that he pushed her against a wall in the Senate buildings and assaulted her. Biden has denied the accusation.Wigdor said his decision was made on Wednesday, a day after CNN published a story raising questions about Reade's background and her past statements. Though in the statement announcing the split, the lawyer vociferously attacked Reade's treatment by the press."To a large extent Ms Reade has been subjected to a double standard in terms of the media coverage she has received. Much of what has been written about Ms Reade is not probative of whether then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted her, but rather is intended to victim-shame and attack her credibility on unrelated and irrelevant matters," Wigdor said.Meanwhile, defense lawyers in California have said that they are reviewing criminal cases in which Reade has served as an expert witness on domestic violence, out of concern that she had misrepresented her educational credentials in court.Days after CNN raised questions about Reade's educational background, a spokesperson for Antioch University confirmed to the New York Times that she had not received a degree from the school.
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| '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  Democrats 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.
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| Trudeau: China doesn't understand Canadian judicial system Posted: 21 May 2020 11:16 AM PDT |
| 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 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.
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| India plans scrutiny of new portfolio investors from China, Hong Kong: sources Posted: 21 May 2020 11:01 PM PDT  India has drafted rules proposing tighter scrutiny of new Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from China and Hong Kong, three government sources told Reuters, its latest effort to check foreign inflows during the coronavirus pandemic. The discussions come weeks after India said it will screen all foreign direct investment (FDI) from countries with which it shares a land border, a move it said was aimed at staving off takeovers when asset prices are depressed during the coronavirus pandemic. Two senior government sources said India could set up a body to scrutinize new FPI registrants from countries such as China, and the rules will also apply to Hong Kong, a special administrative region from where substantial Chinese investments are routed.
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| McConnell says coronavirus rescue package coming soon Posted: 22 May 2020 10:03 AM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday another stimulus package to deal with the impact of the coronavirus was "not too far off."
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| Hollywood Executive Pocketed $1.7 Million in COVID-19 Relief Funds: Feds Posted: 22 May 2020 12:38 PM PDT  A recently ousted Hollywood executive has been arrested and charged with fraud for using $1.7 million in COVID-19 relief loans he received on personal expenses, including credit-card debt and car payments, federal prosecutors alleged Friday. William Sadleir, the 66-year-old former chairman and chief executive officer of Aviron Pictures, has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and making false statements to the Small Business Association, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. Prosecutors allege Sadleir filed for more than $1.7 million in forgivable loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the guise of paying his employees. Instead, the Hollywood executive spent most of the money to pay off his personal debts.Tech CEO's Pot Startup Staffers Arrested in His Kidnapping, Murder"This film producer allegedly made a series of misrepresentations to a bank and the Small Business Administration to illegally secure taxpayer money that he then used to fund his nearly empty personal bank account," United States Attorney Nick Hanna said in a press release announcing the charges. "The Paycheck Protection Program was implemented to help small businesses stay afloat during the financial crisis, and we will act swiftly against those who abuse the program for their own personal gain."Sadleir's arrest comes in accordance with a separate criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors in New York, who allege the executive was also engaged in multiple fraudulent schemes relating to investments at Aviron Pictures and its affiliated entities. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission also announced a civil lawsuit related to the New York criminal case.In a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday, California prosecutors allege Sadleir submitted three applications to JPMorgan Chase for $1.7 million in loans under the PPP on behalf of Aviron entities. The loans were filed with "false representation" that they would be used to cover employee paychecks and the daily operations of his companies. "In fact, Sadleir intended to use at least some of the funds for personal and other prohibited expenses, and immediately upon receiving the funds a significant amount was diverted to Sadleir personal accounts and use for personal expenses," the complaint alleges. Prosecutors state that the Hollywood executive quickly transferred over half the money into his personal account and began using the funds to pay off $80,000 in credit-card debt and his $40,000 car loan, among other expenses. Michael Avenatti Indicted on 36 Counts by Federal Grand JuryOn March 29, the federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in order to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans and small businesses suffering from the economic effects of the ongoing pandemic. In the stimulus package, up to $349 billion was designated for forgivable loans for small businesses. On April 20, Congress authorized an additional $300 billion for PPP funding—a program that allows organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and a low-interest rate. The loans must be used for payroll costs, interest on rent, or other business expenses and utilities."These funds were designed to be a lifeline to businesses struggling to stay afloat during the current crisis," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Paul Delacourt said in a statement. "The FBI is committed to maintaining the integrity of the PPP and will hold accountable those who cheat the system at the expense of American taxpayers."Sadleir, a well-known film executive, founded Aviron Pictures in 2015. The distribution and acquisition empire has worked on many films over the years, including My All American and A Private War. In 2019, Aviron was hit with a lawsuit alleging impropriety in the company structure. The suit forced Sadleir to resign from his role as the operating manager of Aviron Pictures, a subsidiary of Aviron Group, in January.. 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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| Trump demands states reopen houses of worship 'right now' Posted: 22 May 2020 12:02 PM PDT  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.
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| Before and after: See destruction of Michigan flooding in satellite images Posted: 22 May 2020 12:19 PM PDT  The Landsat 8, an American observation satellite, depicts the two mid-Michigan dams — Edenville and Sanford — that failed and the Tittabawassee River.
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| Iran warns US not to interfere with Venezuela oil shipment Posted: 23 May 2020 05:41 AM PDT  Iran's president on Saturday warned the United States not to interfere with a shipment of oil bound for Venezuela after the South American nation said it would provide an armed escort for the tankers. In a statement posted on his website, Hassan Rouhani said the United States had created "unacceptable conditions" in different parts of the world, but that Iran would "by no means" be the one to initiate conflict.
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| Watch this US Navy ship destroy a flying drone with a laser weapon Posted: 22 May 2020 03:59 PM PDT  "With this new advanced capability, we are redefining war at sea for the Navy," a Navy official said in a press release.
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| 'The end of Hong Kong': Experts say China's push to pass strict national security laws further erodes the city's autonomy Posted: 22 May 2020 09:10 AM PDT  China is planning to unilaterally modify Hong Kong's laws, and will likely outlaw the promotion of secession, subversion, and foreign interference.
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| 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  The 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.
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| Ahmaud Arbery: Third man charged over death of black jogger Posted: 22 May 2020 02:45 PM PDT  The motorist is accused of murder and attempted false imprisonment over the shooting in Georgia.
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| Biden strikes a populist tone but stops short of embracing Warren's economic plans Posted: 23 May 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The apparent Democratic nominee weighed in this week on some signature policies of his primary season rival — and rumored vice presidential contender.
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| This Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents Furious Posted: 22 May 2020 06:04 PM PDT  In 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.
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| Court: Officials wrong to reject pardon, order deportation Posted: 22 May 2020 01:12 PM PDT |
| Pompeo reportedly privately met with big Republican donors at taxpayer expense while on official State Department trips Posted: 21 May 2020 10:54 PM PDT  Last year, Sen. Bob Menendez called for a special counsel investigation to see if Pompeo's frequent trips to Kansas were legal.
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| Tankers carrying Iranian fuel approach the Caribbean: data Posted: 22 May 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Iran is supplying about 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations made by TankerTrackers.com based on the vessels' draft levels. The shipments have caused a diplomatic standoff between Iran and Venezuela and the United States as both nations are under U.S. sanctions. Washington is considering measures in response, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not elaborate on any options being weighed.
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| Florida reverses course on COVID-19 medical examiner data, making information public Posted: 21 May 2020 11:53 AM PDT  Why the state suddenly changed its position on releasing data is not clear. But officials have faced scrutiny over data as the state reopens.
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| Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with murder Posted: 22 May 2020 10:26 AM PDT  Two men, 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his 34-year-old son, Travis, have already been arrested and charged with murder.
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| A pandemic of conspiracy theories spreads across the internet and around the world Posted: 21 May 2020 12:59 PM PDT  Depending on who you talk to, the current coronavirus pandemic might be the natural product of evolution, the result of a lab accident or a biological weapon designed by the Chinese.
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| Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assault Posted: 22 May 2020 06:09 AM PDT  The Biden campaign says the incident, alleged to have occurred in 1993, "absolutely did not happen."
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| Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on mail-in voting: ‘Scam by Democrats to steal election’ Posted: 22 May 2020 07:15 AM PDT  A federal appeals court put on a hold a ruling that paved the way in Texas for an expansion of mail-in voting due to fears of the coronavirus; reaction and analysis from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
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| Gaza reports 1st virus-related death amid fears of outbreak Posted: 23 May 2020 07:25 AM PDT  The crowded Gaza Strip recorded its first death from the coronavirus on Saturday, officials said, amid fears an outbreak could paralyze the territory's already overstretched health care system. The Palestinian health ministry said the deceased was a 77-year-old woman who had underlying health problems and had been placed at a special field hospital near the Rafah border crossing point upon arriving from Egypt. Gaza's authorities, led by the militant group Hamas, reported 35 confirmed new cases this week, bringing the total to 55.
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