| Charlamagne Tha God Reacts to Joe Biden’s ‘You Ain’t Black’ Apology Posted: 24 May 2020 09:29 AM PDT  MSNBC's Joy Reid opened her interview with Charlamagne Tha God on Sunday morning by congratulating him on his interview this past week with former Vice President Joe Biden—even if all anyone wants to talk about are the final few seconds. Biden came under swift fire on Friday when he pushed back against the popular radio host's suggestion that he might still have "questions" for the candidate before the 2020 election. "You've got more questions?" Biden asked. "Well, I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black."Shortly after that interview, Biden apologized for his remarks on a conference call with the Black Chamber of Commerce. Reid played Charlamagne a portion of his apology, in which Biden admonished himself for being "so cavalier" and said, "No one should have to vote for any party based on their race or religion or background."Asked if there's a "risk" that Biden and the Democratic Party as a whole take the black vote for granted, Charlamagne said, "I know that's the attitude. That's why I don't ever care about the words and the lip service and the apology is cool, but the best apology is actually a black agenda.""They've got to make some real policy commitments to black people," he continued. "We've got to stop acting like the fact that blacks are overrepresented in America when it comes to welfare, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, drug addiction, crime, coronavirus—that's no accident. The whole function of systemic racism is to marginalize black people."'Wise Guy' Biden Apologizes for 'You Ain't Black' GaffeOn one side, Charlamagne said he sees "whites telling us to stay in our place" and on the other, "black people saying, 'Oh, stop, now is not the time, you're going to get Trump re-elected.'" He said, "It has to come to the point where we stop putting the burden on black voters and start putting the burden on Democrats to show up for black voters." Charlamagne made clear both in his interview with Biden and on MSNBC Sunday morning that Biden picking a progressive black female running mate would go a long way towards demonstrating his commitment to that community. So Reid asked him what he will do if Biden picks someone like Amy Klobuchar instead."On top of possible Russian interference and voter suppression, they have to worry about voter depression," he replied. "And that's people staying home on election day because they aren't enthused by the candidate. You can't act like this is the most important election ever but run a campaign from your basement and not make some real policy commitments to the black community and not listen to some of the demands that the black community are making. I think people are sitting around hoping that Trump loses instead of going out there and actually beating him." Joe Biden Shows Trump How to Grieve in Emotional 'Colbert' InterviewRead 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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| Hong Kong border town slumps as mainland traders vanish Posted: 24 May 2020 11:09 PM PDT  Last summer, pro-democracy protesters harassed Chinese traders in Sheung Shui and smashed storefronts that catered to them in the Hong Kong border town, angry at what they saw as a de facto invasion. The protesters, many from elsewhere in Hong Kong, built on years of resentment by some locals who blame the cross-border traders for overcrowding the town and pushing up rents as they load up on cosmetics, milk powder and medicinal items to sell at a profit on the mainland. The town has been quiet since Hong Kong effectively shut its border with mainland China in February to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
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| Russia records its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus as its number of new cases appears to decline Posted: 24 May 2020 07:31 PM PDT  Russia denies that it has manipulated coronavirus data and maintains that its mortality rate from the virus is among the lowest in the world.
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| China says virus pushing US ties to brink of 'Cold War' Posted: 24 May 2020 08:38 AM PDT  China said Sunday that relations with the United States were "on the brink of a new Cold War", fuelled in part by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and pitched the global economy into a massive downturn. Fresh tensions between Beijing and Washington emerged as Muslims around the world celebrated an end to the holy month of Ramadan muted by virus restrictions and as more European nations prepared to further ease their lockdowns. The origins of the virus and China's response have become highly politicised, with US President Donald Trump accusing Beijing of a lack of transparency, and pushing the theory that it may have leaked from a Chinese maximum-security laboratory.
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| Trump tweets from the golf course as U.S. virus death toll nears 100,000 Posted: 25 May 2020 08:39 AM PDT  As the American death toll from the coronavirus approached 100,000 on Sunday, President Trump was on the golf course in Virginia.
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| Coronavirus in South Africa: President Ramaphosa says outbreak will get worse Posted: 25 May 2020 01:25 AM PDT  Cyril Ramaphosa nevertheless announces an easing of the lockdown, and that alcohol sales can resume.
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| SpaceX and NASA Are Set for a Historic Crewed Launch This Week. Here's How to Watch Posted: 25 May 2020 09:46 AM PDT  It'll be the first launch of American astronauts from American soil in nearly a decade
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| As nation approaches 100,000 dead, NY continues downtrend Posted: 24 May 2020 09:24 AM PDT  The daily coronavirus death toll increased slightly though the trend continues down, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. Cuomo said the state was now "decidedly in the reopening phase." The latest tally from Cuomo came as the nation's death toll from the coronavirus was approaching 100,000 on the eve of Memorial Day.
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| Germany stamps authority on Lufthansa with $9.8 billion lifeline Posted: 25 May 2020 02:56 AM PDT  Germany threw Lufthansa a 9 billion euro ($9.8 billion) lifeline on Monday, agreeing a bailout which gives Berlin a veto in the event of a hostile bid for the airline. Lufthansa has been locked in talks with Berlin for weeks over aid it needs to survive an expected protracted travel slump, with the airline wrangling over how much control to yield in return for financial support. Germany's central government has spent decades offloading stakes in companies, but remains a large shareholder in former state monopolies such as Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom.
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| Memorial Day weekend pool party in Ozarks draws national attention Posted: 24 May 2020 11:41 AM PDT  Already, the pool party footage has picked up coverage from several media outlets, including TMZ, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and others.
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| U.S. ambassador to Germany reportedly stepping down Posted: 24 May 2020 03:40 AM PDT  Richard Grenell will not return from Washington after an interim job as head of U.S. intelligence.
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| Survivor recalls horror of Pakistan plane crash that killed 97 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:47 PM PDT  One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people on board has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighbourhood. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on Friday after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, the airline said. Pakistan's deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days after commercial flights resumed ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
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| Coronavirus live updates: U.S. marks Memorial Day as deaths near 100,000 Posted: 25 May 2020 10:42 AM PDT  Here are the latest coronavirus updates from around the world.
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| After 17 Years Underground, Cicadas Stage a 2020 Southern Invasion Posted: 24 May 2020 08:51 AM PDT  They break through the ground, like the undead emerging from graves.They scuttle in huge packs in the same direction, through the forest floor and up trees where they settle on the branches. There, they break out of their exoskeletons, at first sickly white and soft before they take on their red-eyed, coal-black adult form and fly off by the billions.After 17 years as nymphs growing underground and feeding on tree roots, cicadas are back across much of the South, much to the delight of the raccoons, turtles and birds that gorge on them and the entomologists who have waited patiently for their return."They're big, they're noisy," said Eric Day, an entomologist at Virginia Tech. "What's not to love about them?"Periodical cicadas' life span is among the longest of any insect, but they spend only a sliver of their days in the sun. After growing underground for 13 to 17 years, a brood will come out in one of 15 specific regions of the United States. This year, males have already started calling out to females in southwest Virginia, West Virginia and parts of North Carolina, the mating grounds of Brood IX.Typically around this time, Day starts getting calls for advice from nervous brides and grooms fearful that cicadas will drop in Champagne flutes or disrupt outdoor ceremonies with their loud buzzing, he said. (The sound is made only by the male, which has a membrane in its abdomen that vibrates to attract females.)But with the coronavirus limiting gatherings, this could be a good time for Southerners to sit in their backyards and marvel at the creatures, Day said. Some may even be tempted to eat them, according to Day, who in the past has fried them up with sake and garlic."This is a biological phenomenon," he said. "So we can observe them and maybe even enjoy them."Debbe Noonkester has no such plans. Noonkester, who owns Windy Hill Orchards in Ararat, Virginia, near the North Carolina border, said she was worried about the damage the cicadas could do to her young apple and peach trees.Cicadas are not poisonous -- a big part of their appeal to animals -- and they do not harm humans. But they lay enormous quantities of eggs on small twigs, which does little damage to mature trees but can stunt the growth of young trees and vines, or even kill them."They're like those old horror movies," Noonkester said.Noonkester said she had heard the familiar buzz saw sound of the cicadas on a recent Sunday and had immediately thought of the scene in "The Shining" in which Jack Nicholson bursts through a door with an ax and announces "Here's Johnny!"She has sprayed the orchard grounds with poison to keep down the number of emerging nymphs, as young cicadas are called, but has been careful to leave the trees alone. Noonkester said she did not want to kill the spiders and other predators that eat the cicadas."We like our meat eaters," said Noonkester, who also does her part to hunt the insects. (If she sees a recently hatched cicada on a leaf, she grabs it, throws it to ground and stomps on it with a parting message: "Take that, you fool.")Individually, cicadas are helpless. When they shed their exoskeletons, their wings are wet, and they must wait for them to dry before they can fly off, making them vulnerable to predators who grab them and gobble them up. The insects also fall easily into ponds, where frogs and turtles can snatch them.Their primary defense? Sheer numbers.Shortly after a brood emerges, predators are quickly overwhelmed by the insects' abundance."Predators can't make a dent in the population," said Doug Pfeiffer, a professor of entomology at Virginia Tech.The billions that are left alive can then mate in peace and lay their eggs. The adults quickly die off after their work is done. Once their eggs hatch, the nymphs fall to the ground, where they will nestle into the earth for the next 17 years.Entomologists believe that periodical cicadas evolved to emerge every 13 to 17 years to avoid syncing up with the population booms of their predators.The predictability of the cycle makes it possible for farmers to plan ahead, he said.For that reason, Pfeiffer recommends that growers avoid planting new trees in the year or two leading up to an emergence, he said.Noonkester said she expected that cicadas would come from other parts of the state and descend soon on her young trees to lay eggs. All she can do, she said, besides hoping that a majority of them will stick to the forest, is prune any twigs that they do damage and keep grabbing and stomping errant cicadas."There goes one flying over me now -- I couldn't reach him," she said. "He's flying into the woods. He knows better."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Coronavirus: New York state daily death toll drop below 100 Posted: 23 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT  A total of 84 people died in 24 hours, the lowest daily toll since March in the worst-hit US state.
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| Joe Biden forced to make his fundraisers fully virtual – bar the price tag Posted: 25 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The pandemic has led the presumptive Democratic nominee, like other politicians to take his high-dollar events onlineThe coronavirus pandemic may have driven Joe Biden into his basement and forced his campaign online, but one crucial factor is still the same: his run for the White House still needs to raise giant amounts of money.But, in these days of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, campaign fundraisers do not include the usual finger food and wine or fancy parked cars outside a posh home right out of the pages of Architectural Digest.Instead it has become normal to host a high-dollar fundraiser via online video conferencing services. The thing that hasn't changed? The hefty price tags of what can be tens of thousands of dollars that donors are charged for glorified Zoom meet-ups, or even one-on-one video chats with the candidate himself or his powerful surrogates."You don't get to go drink wine and eat cheap cheese, but the campaigns are still able to provide access to the candidate," said Democratic strategist Connor Farrell, a veteran Democratic fundraising consultant. "The campaigns are still able to provide access to the candidate in a different format. You can't pull someone aside and mention your favorite bill, but you still get face time with the candidates and that's ultimately the attraction of in-person events."So I think a lot of the draw is still there."According to a set of fundraising invitations for Biden's campaign, obtained by the Guardian, upcoming fundraisers featuring him or high-profile surrogates still include the fundraising levels one would expect for physical high-dollar gatherings.A Biden campaign event featuring the presumptive Democratic party nominee himself and moderated by the Sacramento mayor, Darrell Steinberg, and former California treasurer Phil Angelides starts out at the guest level of $500 and goes all the way up to a co-chair level at $41,100. A virtual reception on 27 May featuring the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg starts out at $1,000 to be an "advocate", and goes up to $50,000 to be a co-chair.Events are still spotted with celebrities too. A "Rock out on a night in with Joe Biden" virtual fundraising event on 28 May includes performances by Sheryl Crow, Rufus Wainwright, David Crosby and Joe Walsh. Donations for that event start at $250 and go all the way to $100,000.The events are lucrative. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to headline at least two events between mid-May and June for Biden and the Democratic National Committee. The first event on Tuesday raised $2m.It's not just the Biden campaign and Democrats, though, or even just presidential candidates. In Iowa, an invitation for a fundraiser for the Republican senator Joni Ernst on 3 June has fundraising levels ranging from $500 to $5,000. The invitation, reported by Politico, is not contingent on being in person or virtual."If it is not possible to gather in person for this event, we will host a virtual meeting and plan an in-person gathering at a later date," the invitation read.A fundraising invite for a 14 May event for the New Hampshire Republican congressional candidate Matt Mowers featuring the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie starts at $250 for the "individual" level and goes all the way to $1,000 for the chair level."A web link for this exclusive video conference will be emailed prior to the event," the invitation read.
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| New Zealand leader carries on with TV interview during quake Posted: 24 May 2020 03:47 PM PDT  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview Monday morning. New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is sometimes called the Shaky Isles for its frequent quakes. Ardern continued on with her interview, telling the host the shaking had stopped.
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| Jeffrey Epstein: Up to 130 people claim they could be child of dead financier with £470m fortune Posted: 25 May 2020 04:15 AM PDT  More than 100 people claim they could be the offspring of the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is thought to have had a personal fortune of around £470 million.A DNA company, which set up a website called epsteinheirs.com, said as many as 130 people had come forward – including a number of Britons – since the site's launch.
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| WHO fears 'silent' virus epidemic unless Africa prioritizes testing Posted: 25 May 2020 09:46 AM PDT  The WHO's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Africa was the region with the fewest diagnosed coronavirus cases, accounting for less than 1.5% of the global total and just 0.1% of deaths. The WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said some countries had taken measures to curb the disease at a high economic cost.
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| Hong Kong standoff leaves U.S. and China on "brink of new Cold War" Posted: 25 May 2020 07:03 AM PDT  Beijing bristles as U.S. officials join global chorus backing huge protests against perceived power-grab by China over semi-autonomous region.
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| Reckless Mount Hood Climbers Put Rescue Crews at Risk During Pandemic Posted: 24 May 2020 07:02 PM PDT  Apparently a global pandemic isn't enough danger for some people. Rescue crews had to save three people on Mount Hood this weekend, endangering their own health in the process.Portland Mountain Rescue said the first mission began late Friday night after a climber summited but got lost in whiteout conditions on the way back, with no water and a dying cellphone.By the time a team reached him early in the morning, he was hypothermic, and it took two teams 12 hours to bring him down from an elevation of 6,200 feet.The volunteer search-and-rescue organization said it was finishing up the first mission on Saturday when it got a call about a couple who triggered an avalanche on a challenging stretch of the mountain."They were swept all the way down the route onto the Reid Glacier and miraculously survived with limited injuries," PMR wrote on Facebook.The first mission required 30 rescuers and the second one needed 20, the group said, asking outdoor enthusiasts not to take chances that might put crews in danger—not just from the mountain conditions, but from COVID-19."We know you want to get out, but please, please be conservative in your choices," the group wrote. "Although we have conservative Covid protocols, it really is impossible to maintain them throughout a mission."PMR's Mark Morford told The Oregonian that Mount Hood was even more crowded than on previous Memorial Day weekends."I think there's a tremendous amount of pent up demand, people wanting to get out," he said. "It looked like a conga line going up Hogsback… What a circus."The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said that more than 200 climbers were on the mountain on Saturday despite a high avalanche danger caused by 10 inches of fresh snow amid warming temperatures.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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| Baby gorilla badly injured in family skirmish at Seattle zoo Posted: 24 May 2020 02:00 PM PDT  A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said. Animal health experts at the Woodland Park Zoo say little Kitoko was bitten on the head, likely by accident when another gorilla tried to bite his mother, Uzumma. Kitoko sustained a fractured skull and a severe laceration, but zoo officials say the 2-month-old gorilla underwent surgery and may fully recover if he doesn't develop an infection.
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| The Statue of Liberty as you've never seen her before Posted: 24 May 2020 06:43 AM PDT  With the monument currently closed due to COVID-19, this is the perfect time to experience a new virtual tour, featuring every nook-and-cranny of the statue's interior, including areas traditionally off-limits to visitors
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| Confusion, jitters as Indian domestic flights resume Posted: 25 May 2020 12:19 AM PDT  Domestic flights resumed in India on Monday even as coronavirus cases surge, while confusion about quarantine rules prompted jitters among passengers and the cancellation of dozens of planes. India had halted all flights within the country, and departing and leaving for abroad, in late March as it sought to stop the spread of coronavirus with the world's largest lockdown. Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said strict rules would include mandatory mask-wearing and thermal screenings, although middle seats on the aircraft would not be kept empty.
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| UK PM Johnson to update the public on coronavirus Posted: 23 May 2020 02:05 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will next week update the public on the coronavirus crisis as his government launches its test-and-trace system in an attempt to prevent a second deadly spike of the outbreak when people return to work. The United Kingdom's $3 trillion economy is facing the steepest recession in three centuries and Johnson is facing criticism for the worst death toll in Europe after opposition parties said he acted too slowly to counter the outbreak. As the government begins its test and trace system, Johnson is due to advise the public on what the data and research is indicating about the outbreak.
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| Latino workers face discrimination over spread of coronavirus in meat plants Posted: 25 May 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Reports of Latinos being refused service after more than 10,000 meatpacking workers, many Latino, contract Covid-19 in the USEthnic minorities have been the hardest-hit by the coronavirus in the US, and now Latino workers are facing fresh difficulty, as they and their communities suffer discrimination after contracting coronavirus in meat processing plants and warehouses.More than 10,000 meatpacking workers, many of them Latino, have contracted coronavirus in the US, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers union, and dozens have died.Latino advocates say workers are also now experiencing racism due to fears they have contracted the virus in the workplace."We've received reports that some workers at a plant were turned away from grocery stores and not allowed in, because they were presumed to have the coronavirus because they worked at the local meatpacking plant," said Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (Lulac)."We've also heard in Marshalltown [Iowa] people were being refused service because they thought they were positive for Covid-19 – just because they were Latino," Garcia added.Latino workers have been particularly hard-hit in some areas by their reliance on jobs in meat processing plants or large warehouses which have been kept open during the pandemic, despite reports of poor health and safety standards and a lack of protective equipment."Four out of every five Latinos are considered essential workers," Garcia said. "They're in construction, food processing, grocery stores, they're farm workers. So they don't have the luxury of being able to work from home, and therefore they're being exposed to Covid-19 in ways that many American workers are not.Compounding that, Garcia said, is the lack of health insurance among some Latino workers. Garcia said Lulac is investigating "multiple cases" of Latino employees complaining about workplace conditions "and then being fired".The outbreaks in meat plants have been shocking.In April an outbreak at the JBS meat processing plant in Colorado killed three workers, while many of Iowa's more than 8,000 coronavirus cases have been linked to plants including Tyson Foods, in Waterloo. Tyson Foods was forced to suspend operations at the end of April after 180 coronavirus infections were linked to the plant.There was a similar story in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which became one of the worst-hit areas early on in the crisis. Health officials identified Cargill, a meat-processing plant, as one of the sources of the virus."The Cargill plant is upwards of 90% Latinx," said Jamie Longazel, an associate professor at John Jay College and author of Undocumented Fears: Immigration and the Politics of Divide and Conquer in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.With the Latino meat plant workers, some of whom are undocumented, frequently living paycheck to paycheck, they could not afford to not go to work – particularly as large plants tend not to offer sick pay."They were demonized because the workers were then spreading it to their family members, so it became that the Latinx community was more affected," Longazel said. Elsewhere in the US anti-Latino sentiment has come from officials. In Wisconsin, the supreme court chief justice, Patience Roggensack, was criticized in early May after she seemed to downplay a coronavirus outbreak among workers at a meatpacking facility in Brown county, where a large proportion of the workers are minorities and immigrants."[The surge in coronavirus cases] was due to the meatpacking – that's where Brown county got the flare," Roggensack said. "It wasn't just the regular folks in Brown county."Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Voces de la Frontera immigrant-rights group, criticized Roggensack's remarks as "elitist" and "racist", and told the Guardian that Latinos had been subjected to "legalized discrimination" through their work."Without a question they have been discriminated against, because they are disproportionately more vulnerable to exposure and to having them or their families or their community impacted by the Covid-19," Neumann-Ortiz said.If there is one positive, Neumann-Ortiz said, it's that the backlash could trigger a greater effort to change workplace conditions."It's forcing workplace organizing to happen, in a way that wasn't there before because the stakes are so high," Neumann-Ortiz said. In some cases workers have refused to go to work due to unsafe conditions, which has forced companies to temporarily close down facilities to deep-clean plants, or provide better PPE."There is a new struggle on the frontline and it's going to be here for a while to come," she said.
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| Republicans sue California Gov. Newsom over his executive order to allow mail-in voting for the November election Posted: 24 May 2020 09:16 PM PDT  In a lawsuit filed on Sunday, Republican groups called Newsom's executive order to allow mail-in voting a "brazen power grab."
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| Desperate Indian girl bikes 745 miles home with disabled dad Posted: 24 May 2020 02:17 AM PDT  From her village in eastern India, 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari reflected on her desperate 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) bicycle journey home with her disabled father that has drawn international praise. Kumari said that she and her father risked starvation had they stayed in Gurugram, a suburb of New Delhi, with no income amid India's coronavirus lockdown. As the temperature climbed, Kumari pedaled for 10 days, with her father riding on the back of the hot-pink bike.
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| COVID-19 Has Turned Paradise Into a Privacy Nightmare Posted: 25 May 2020 01:39 AM PDT  When Tara Trunfio stepped off her flight from Boulder to Maui, she didn't see the leis and grass skirts that so many visitors expect. Instead, the 23-year-old saw masked officials warning that visitors who don't comply with the islands' 14-day quarantine requirement would be arrested. A Hawaiian get-away sounds magical to the millions of cooped-up Americans who want to trade in their virtual beach background for the real thing. But a trip to the beach can quickly turn into a stay in jail. That's just what happened to Trunfio, who drew national attention this month after being arrested for allegedly violating quarantine.For years, Americans have debated the shape their national borders should take, but the newest border controls have increasingly been built on state lines. We're a long way off from Berlin Wall-style barricades along your local interstate, but in the COVID-19 era governors have issued quarantine orders for out-of-state residents and returning visitors. Rhode Island, Florida, and Texas have stopped out-of-state drivers (sometimes using the National Guard) to remind them of quarantine requirements and obtain a signed compliance agreement. But the most alarming restrictions come from a state that doesn't have to worry about people driving into town.She Tried to Escape Her Ex—but the Courthouse Was ClosedIn recent weeks, Hawaii has rolled out the so-called "Safe Travels System," giving officials information on how travelers comply with the state's 14-day quarantine requirement. On its face, the plan mirrors those imposed at a growing number of national borders—the U.S. included—in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. For jurisdictions with few COVID-19 cases, forcing newcomers to quarantine in hopes of containing the spread of a deadly illness can be a perfectly rational public policy.But as lockdowns show signs of easing in some states, the system in Hawaii is bringing the potential civil-liberties pitfalls of disease detective work into clearer—and more disturbing—focus.If you forget to register before you get on a plane to Hawaii right now, you're in for a show. If you refuse to register or provide a false contact number upon arrival, police can arrest you on the spot. Some authorities are going even further, searching property tax records to verify travelers' lodgings. Airport personnel roll mobile kiosks from gate to gate, checking phone numbers and addresses, making 7,600 phone calls in just the first 2 weeks to ensure numbers are legit and that people are staying put.But while Safe Travels may be a practical requirement to enter Hawaii, it's not a legal one. There's no law or regulation requiring travelers to use the app. Even the Safe Travels website couches things in voluntary terms: "All persons traveling to or within Hawaii are encouraged to register your trip into the Hawaii Safe Travels System to expedite your exit from the airport." But when a Washington man recently arrived in Honolulu without a confirmed address or proof he had funds to pay for a place to stay, he was sent back.For the travelers who do "volunteer" to use the Safe Travels System, it's not enough to just register with the site. For two weeks, travelers have to check in daily, reporting their health condition and address. Safe Travels will then use travelers' location data to confirm where travelers are. While Americans are being asked to give sensitive health and location data to Hawaii officials, those same officials are reluctant to share how that data is being used. (The Hawaii Department of Transportation and governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)Safe Travels' FAQ website claims that data is only shared with "authorized personnel responsible for quarantine monitoring and enforcement," but we have no way of knowing who those people are. And even if it's just law enforcement agencies— as opposed to private entities—enforcing quarantine, that is no reassurance at all. Effectively, Americans have no way of knowing how much data a state might collect on them, how long it is held, or if Tapiki, the private firm that co-developed Safe Travels, has access to the data. (Tapiki did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)If and when the app gets it wrong, there's reason to fear users of color will pay the price. As GPS signals are often less accurate in densely constructed urban areas, lower-income travelers might be at higher risk of a false alarm. And it's completely unclear how individuals will navigate Hawaii's requirements when they stay in locations without reliable internet or cell service. Many of those most at risk from COVID-19, such as the elderly and communities of color, also lack access to a smartphone. As a result, Hawaii is threatening to turn the digital divide into a criminal offense.The consequences are enormous. At a time when COVID-19 can easily turn detention into a death sentence, Hawaii authorities have already arrested approximately 20 people for violating quarantine, including a Florida man and an Illinois woman after witnesses saw them with shopping bags. A California man similarly was charged after allegedly traveling from his Hawaiian home to Costco. More recently, a second Colorado tourist was being sought after police learned she had canceled her reservation at the hostel where she registered to stay.Here's What Trump's Black Male Supporters Say They See in HimEven when this surveillance web paints an accurate picture of human behavior, it erodes public trust and cooperation at a time when they are needed most. In-state residents must quarantine at the address listed on their government-issued ID, creating an acute risk for many, such as survivors of domestic violence and those living with immunocompromised relatives or roommates. For undocumented Americans, the system creates yet another tool with which people could theoretically be tracked by ICE, coming just months after the Trump Administration reportedly purchased similar location data from commercial vendors.Hawaii's case is likely the most extreme to date, but it's far from unique. In Washington State, civil rights watchdogs expressed alarm that the state was implementing manual contact-tracing requirements without adequate safeguards. Under the state's effort, not only would 1,400 contact tracers be hired, but businesses would be required to keep a log of every customer they contacted. Across the country, New York City's top civil rights watchdog expressed similar alarm at the lack of safeguards for data collected by the city and state's combined contract tracing program, which may hire as many as 18,000 tracers. And at the same time, Silicon Valley's effort to get into the COVID-19 tracking business has seen sharp pushback from civil rights and immigrant justice groups, including our own.America stands at a crossroads in the COVID-19 fight, and the choices we make now may impact our society for generations. For those trying to fend off a loss of life unparalleled in modern history, the call for surveillance is increasingly urgent. But surveillance skeptics not only question the privacy costs of a public health dragnet, they fear new tracking tools will harm public health instead of helping. Without safeguards and public trust, surveillance measures might drive those on the margins of our society into the shadows, undermining the very contact tracing this technology is supposed to help. For states that erect new barriers, it may provide a temporary relief from the onslaught of new cases. But it will also deeply damage the sense of national unity that we will need for our long, unrelenting fights against disease and death.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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| COVID-19 is costing drug cartels millions Posted: 24 May 2020 04:13 AM PDT  Statewide lockdown orders have disrupted the traffickers' operations, making it more difficult to launder money and move cash across the border.
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| Second immigrant dies of COVID-19 while in ICE custody Posted: 25 May 2020 08:40 AM PDT  Santiago Baten-Oxlag, of Guatemala, is the second known immigrant to die of coronavirus complications while detained by U.S. immigration authorities.
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| Trump news: Trump visits golf course for second day in a row as coronavirus deaths near 100,000 Posted: 24 May 2020 09:01 AM PDT  As the nation's death toll approaches 100,000 lives lost during the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump was spotted playing golf on Saturday and Sunday, as crowds of people flocked to beaches and parties over Memorial Day weekend despite growing infection rates across the US.The president also shared sexist insults about his political rivals, including one message that called Hillary Clinton a "skank", while also spending the weekend on Twitter floating conspiracy theories about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.
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| Palestinian government ends coronavirus lockdown Posted: 24 May 2020 05:09 PM PDT  The Palestinian government is ending its two-month coronavirus lockdown in the occupied West Bank, prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced Monday after a steady decline in new cases. Shops and businesses will operate as normal from Tuesday, while government employees will return to work after the Eid holiday on Wednesday, Shtayyeh told a press conference. Mosques, churches and public parks will also reopen, though with social distancing measures.
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| Biden under increasing pressure to choose minority running mate amid 'you ain't black' backlash Posted: 25 May 2020 08:55 AM PDT  Black activists are warning Joe Biden not to pick Sen. Amy Klobuchar as his running mate; Fox News contributor Byron York reacts.
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| Ivory Coast children head back to school after virus shutdown Posted: 25 May 2020 06:55 AM PDT  Thousands of children in face masks flocked back to school in Ivory Coast on Monday after the country became one of the first in West Africa to restart lessons after a two-month coronavirus shutdown. With a total of 2,376 cases and dozens of new infections each day, Ivory Coast has yet to contain the virus. In Abidjan's Adjame neighbourhood, children in backpacks queued to wash their hands under a teacher's watchful eye before entering their school, where they sat just one to a desk with bottles of sanitising gel within reach.
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| Virus stalls work to keep alive a rare rhino subspecies Posted: 25 May 2020 12:40 AM PDT  It's not quite a case of coitus interruptus, but efforts to create a very special baby are definitely on hold. Groundbreaking work to keep alive the nearly extinct northern white rhino subspecies — population, two — by in-vitro fertilization has been stalled by travel restrictions. The two northern white rhinos are female.
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| Italy to recruit army of 60,000 volunteers to enforce social distancing rules Posted: 25 May 2020 06:51 AM PDT  Italy wants to recruit an army of 60,000 volunteers to help enforce social distancing rules, amid fears that a second wave of infections could be looming. The volunteers would not have any policing powers but would patrol piazzas, parks, playgrounds, markets, bar areas and beaches, asking people not to congregate in large groups. They would be drawn from the ranks of the unemployed, those on income support and those who have been furloughed as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. The "civic assistants", as they would be known, would monitor gatherings and pass on information to the police and the Civil Protection Agency. They would not be able to force people to disperse. They would work up to three days a week for a maximum of 16 hours. The scheme will be voluntary – they will not be paid but will be able to continue claiming unemployment and other benefits.
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| Trump administration asks Supreme Court to stop release of inmates at risk for COVID-19 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:31 PM PDT  If COVID-19 poses risks to elderly inmates, may a judge order their release? Trump administration lawyers say no and ask Supreme Court to intervene.
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| North Dakota Governor Chokes Up as He Calls on State Residents to Avoid 'Mask Shaming' Posted: 24 May 2020 09:51 AM PDT  Mask orders have been met with threats and videos have surfaced of crowds ridiculing people for choosing to wear face coverings
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