| Biden is turned down on request for Senate records search over staffer's complaint Posted: 04 May 2020 08:45 AM PDT  Secretary of the Senate Julie Adams has turned down presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's request to search for records of any complaint filed by his former staffer Tara Reade, citing legal advice that she has "no discretion" to release such materials, because they are confidential under current law.
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| Leaked intelligence report saying China 'intentionally concealed' coronavirus to stockpile medical supplies draws scrutiny Posted: 04 May 2020 10:24 AM PDT  The Trump administration has issued an intelligence analysis claiming China purposely delayed notifying the World Health Organization about the spread of the coronavirus.
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| Venezuela: Two US citizens arrested after beach invasion aimed at capturing Nicolas Maduro, says regime Posted: 04 May 2020 06:56 PM PDT  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that authorities have captured 13 "terrorists", including two US citizens he described as mercenaries, over allegations that they were involved in a failed plot to invade the country and oust him. In a state television address, Maduro showed what he said were the passports and other identification cards of Airan Berry and Luke Denman, who he described as employees of Silvercorp, a Florida-based company whose owner has claimed responsibility for the invasion attempt. Venezuelan authorities said on Monday that they arrested another eight accused "mercenaries" in a coastal town and showed images on state TV of several unidentified men handcuffed and lying prone in a street. The Venezuelan government said that more than 25,000 troops have been mobilised to hunt for other rebels operating in the country. Diosdado Cabello, the vice-president of the ruling party, posted on his Twitter account a video of a Venezuelan identified as Josnars Adolfo Baduel, who was also detained, and claimed that two US citizens were among those arrested. Mr Baduel is shown responding to a security official who asks him about the Americans captured. Venezuelan state television broadcast the video but did not identify the Americans. But Jordan Goudreau, a Florida-based former Green Beret, said he was working with the two men in a mission launched early Sunday to "liberate" Venezuela.
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| Former FDA commissioner says U.S. may be unable to decrease coronavirus transmission much more Posted: 05 May 2020 07:16 AM PDT  Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb believes the United States may not be able to reduce coronavirus transmission much more, saying we should prepare for a "new normal."Gottlieb spoke with Today on Tuesday as many states allow some nonessential businesses to begin reopening and after a key model that's been cited by the White House significantly raised its projected death toll from COVID-19 to almost 135,000 by early August."We still have a high level of infection in this country," Gottlieb said. "We've reached a plateau, but we haven't seen the kind of declines that we were expecting to see at this point. And as we start to reopen the country, cases are likely to go up, not down."Gottlieb went on to suggest that as cases continue to rise in many states, the country may not be able to lower the rate of infection much further."I think that we need to understand, this may be the new normal," he said. "We may not be able to get transmission down much more. I hope we can."Gottlieb expanded on this in a Twitter thread, in which he wrote that "we need to prepare to deal with covid as a persistent threat," including by protecting those who are most vulnerable and being "prepared with case-based interventions, and widespread screening, to slow the transmission."On Monday, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is privately forecasting that the U.S. daily coronavirus death toll will reach 3,000 by June 1, up from about 1,750, as well as 200,000 new cases a day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000. > "We need to understand this may be the new normal. We may not be able to get transmission down much more. I hope we can." -@ScottGottliebMD pic.twitter.com/yF1eijFIDV> > -- TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 5, 2020More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming Trump is pursuing a herd immunity strategy — whether intentionally or not
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| Race for COVID-19 vaccine heats up as researchers try to end the pandemic Posted: 04 May 2020 03:22 AM PDT  The global race to create a vaccine for the coronavirus is heating up as hundreds of researchers try to find a way to end the pandemic.
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| As states push ahead with reopening, CDC warns coronavirus cases and deaths are set to soar Posted: 04 May 2020 11:22 AM PDT  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is quietly projecting a stark rise in the number of new cases of the virus and deaths from it over the next month.
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| Police: Woman wanted to get close to alligator before attack Posted: 04 May 2020 11:26 AM PDT  A woman killed by an alligator at a South Carolina pond told a friend she wanted to get close to the animal and didn't scream as it attacked her and dragged her into the water, according to a police report. Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack Friday afternoon on Kiawah Island, Charleston County deputies said. A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday.
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| A New York City landlord made a viral TikTok about taking her tenant's packages 'until they pay up' in rent Posted: 04 May 2020 12:26 PM PDT  The landlord said the video was a joke, but told Buzzfeed, "I wished I could do this to them because they were blatantly ignoring me."
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| Coronavirus: Chinese state media take aim at US 'lab theory' Posted: 05 May 2020 01:39 AM PDT  State media says US claims that the coronavirus originated in a research laboratory are "absurd".
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| How the coronavirus undid Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Posted: 04 May 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Long before the coronavirus outbreak turned him into one of the least popular governors in the nation, DeSantis of Florida was something of a conservative golden boy.
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| Taiwan rebuffs WHO, says China has no right to represent it Posted: 04 May 2020 11:29 PM PDT  Only Taiwan's democratically-elected government can represent its people on the world stage, not China, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to "cast off" China's control during the coronavirus pandemic. Taiwan's exclusion from WHO, due to China's objections which considers the island one of its provinces, has infuriated Taipei, which says this has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the coronavirus. Taiwan has been lobbying to attend, as an observer, this month's meeting of the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), although government and diplomatic sources say China will block the move.
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| A tale of two cities: how New York police enforce social distancing by the color of your skin Posted: 04 May 2020 10:55 AM PDT  Outrage after juxtaposed images show officers handing out masks to white sunbathers, while video shows officer punching a person of color * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageAs New York saw temperatures climb past the 70s this weekend, a more relaxed approach to social distancing was out in force. New Yorkers, starved for fresh air and sunlight, took advantage of the weather to visit parks and go to the beach. In response, over 1,000 NYPD officers were deployed across New York's five borough to enforce social distancing mandates, with police officers reminding people to maintain 6ft of distance and to wear face masks.But some have complained of a tale of two very different cities when it comes to how those guidelines have been enforced. In particular, outrage has sparked over juxtaposed images that show officers handing out masks to white sunbathers, while another video shows an officer punching a person of color and sitting on him following a dispute about social distancing.> Same city. Same police force. > > Passing out masks to white folks not social distancing, while literally having their foots on our necks. > > This is beyond ridiculous at this point. pic.twitter.com/pY6kSGVEaZ> > — zellie (@zellieimani) May 3, 2020The video footage recorded in Manhattan's East Village shows an officer approaching a man and hitting him several times in the face before pushing him to the ground and kneeling on his neck.The NYPD has confirmed that the officer, now identified as Francisco Garcia, has since been stripped of his badge and his gun and the incident is under internal review.Daquan Owens, a bystander who uploaded the video of the arrest to social media, told New York Daily News that the police reaction was uncalled for."The guy that just got slammed to the floor and punched, he was just standing there saying, 'They didn't do nothing,' and actually they didn't do nothing," Owens told the Daily News."Nothing was going on, nothing provoked the cop. He just got up, pulled his Taser out … The cop, I guess he was frustrated and took his frustration out on the guy," said Owens.In a statement, the NYPD confirmed that the incident concerned social distancing protocol to begin with, but had escalated as marijuana was observed at the scene and that one person "took a fighting stance against officer [Garcia]"."A group was observed standing on the corner … in violation of social distancing orders. Officers instructed the group disperse and while most complies [sic], some refused. As officers approached, they observed a bag of alleged marijuana in plain view … A third individual was ordered by an officer to disperse and this male took a fighting stance against the officer and was also taken into custody," an official NYPD spokesperson said.Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea both acknowledged the incident in a joint press briefing Sunday. "It started out as a social distancing enforcement … I am aware of the video that's out there," said Shea. Mayor de Blasio said he was "really disturbed" by the footage in a tweet on Sunday evening.> Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it. The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun. The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable.> > — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 3, 2020Shea confirmed 43 summonses were made in the park over the weekend, with the majority relating to failures to maintain social distancing protocol.
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| The Chinese government is worried global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since Tiananmen Square Posted: 04 May 2020 02:33 PM PDT  The mounting global backlash against China stemming from the country's handling the early days of the coronavirus pandemic has apparently registered with Beijing's political leaders, Reuters reports.An internal report drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International found that anti-China sentiment around the world is at its highest point since 1989 following the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations, which Beijing cracked down on by declaring martial law and sending the military to occupy parts of the capital.The think tank's research was reportedly presented in early April to top Chinese Communist Party officials, including President Xi Jinping. Reuters' report is based off sources who have direct knowledge of the findings, though the news outlet has not seen the briefing itself. If reports of its contents are accurate, it would at least confirm Beijing is taking the backlash seriously, though Reuters notes it's unclear if those concerns will ultimately influence policy.The paper reportedly concluded the rising anti-China sentiment is in part a result of American efforts to undermine public confidence in Beijing amid the crisis. Relations between the two super powers are fragile at the moment, and the White House has been ramping up its criticism of China's coronavirus response, accusing the CCP of covering up information about the virus' severity and origin. Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming Trump is pursuing a herd immunity strategy — whether intentionally or not
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| The Best Outdoor Patio Furniture for Every Budget Posted: 04 May 2020 03:04 PM PDT |
| Trump attacks Joe Scarborough, who tells him 'take a rest' and 'let Mike Pence actually run things' Posted: 04 May 2020 08:21 AM PDT  With the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus mounting, President Trump on Monday took aim at MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. The cable news host responded by telling Trump to let Vice President Mike Pence "run things for the next couple of weeks."
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| W.Va. woman charged with mishandling classified information Posted: 04 May 2020 12:08 PM PDT  A West Virginia woman who had already been accused of kidnapping her daughter faces a new charge of retaining top-secret information from the National Security Agency in a storage unit she leased, court papers show. Elizabeth Jo Shirley was charged with willful retention of national defense information in a two-count criminal information document filed in federal court in West Virginia last week. The document contains only sparse information about the allegations, but says that between 1999 and August 2019, Shirley had unauthorized possession of documents "relating to the national defense" and "failed to deliver them to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive them."
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| Does virus crisis stoke case for united Ireland? Posted: 04 May 2020 08:53 PM PDT  Ireland's coronavirus crisis is often described as an "all-island" emergency, shared with the British territory of Northern Ireland -- a sign, some say, that the pandemic has bolstered the long-fraught case for unification. "It knows no borders and we are all in this together," Irish Health Minister Simon Harris said as the contagion took hold last month. In the decades-long debate over the destiny of Northern Ireland, his comments may be seen as freighted with particular meaning.
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| New Zealand PM: No open borders for 'a long time' Posted: 04 May 2020 08:51 PM PDT  But the NZ PM said "a safe zone of travel" between Australia and her country may be possible.
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| Jim Jordan Demands Top FBI Officials Answer Questions about ‘Perjury Trap’ Set for Michael Flynn Posted: 05 May 2020 06:37 AM PDT  House Judiciary Republicans are demanding that FBI Director Christopher Wray answer for the Bureau's "targeting" of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn by making top officials and documents connected to the probe available to lawmakers.House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Representative Mike Johnson (R., La.) asked Wray to hand over all documents and communications related to the FBI's "Crossfire Razor" investigation of Flynn, as well as to address why the Bureau has not been forthcoming regarding the new information about the case that has been released in court filings."The American people continue to learn troubling details about the politicization and misconduct at the highest levels of the FBI during the Obama-Biden Administration," Jordan and Johnson wrote. "Even more concerning, we continue to learn these new details from litigation and investigations — not from you. It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era."Records released last week showed that handwritten notes dated January 24, 2017 — the same day of Flynn was interviewed at the White House interview by FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka — showed one agent questioning whether the goal of the interview was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."Further documents released in the case also reveal that Strzok intervened to keep the Flynn case open after Crossfire Razor investigators noted on January 4, 2017 that they had found "no derogatory information" regarding Flynn's Russian contacts. That same day, Strzok also told a redacted individual that the FBI's "7th floor" had intervened — apparently referencing the floor in Bureau headquarters that houses senior FBI leadership.In their letter, Jordan and Johnson ask Wray to allow Pientka and Priestap to be made available for an interview to explain their respective roles in the case, and also ask Wray to publicly address allegations that he had opposed the disclosure of exculpatory information in the Flynn case, as reported by the Daily Caller.President Trump reportedly wants to fire Wray in response to the latest revelations, but the president is unlikely to remove him before the November election. Wray has been backed publicly by Attorney General Bill Barr, who said in an October interview that "there's been a world of change" since Wray took over in 2017. "I think that he is restoring the steady professionalism that's been a hallmark of the FBI," Barr told Fox News.
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| Tokyo governor Koike to ask businesses to refrain from operating until end of May - NHK Posted: 04 May 2020 11:29 PM PDT  Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will ask businesses in Japan's biggest city to refrain from operating until the end of this month, following the central government's extension of the state of emergency, a public broadcaster NHK reported. The Tokyo government will pay more financial aid to businesses that remain closed during the period, the report said, adding that she will announce details at a media briefing later on Tuesday. Japan on Monday extended a nationwide state of emergency to May 31, saying the new coronavirus infection rate had yet to drop enough to justify ending measures aimed at slowing the outbreak.
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| Fears of coronavirus cover-up grow in Tanzania as videos show night burials and bodies on the street Posted: 04 May 2020 05:19 AM PDT  Fears are mounting that the Tanzanian government is covering up the country's true Covid-19 death count. Six videos seen by The Telegraph show dead bodies on Tanzanian streets, although their content has not been verified. Other videos have also emerged on social media showing nighttime burials with tight security and men wearing full protective gear. Hospitals are reportedly overflowing with coronavirus patients and three members of parliament have died in the space of 11 days. At least one MP had tested positive for coronavirus before their death. Opposition politicians and activists have accused the government of a coverup and said it is not taking the pandemic seriously enough. "I don't want to feel like the government is hiding something...Right now, we are witnessing a lot of mourning, burials and dead bodies everywhere," said opposition leader Zitto Kabwe. The government has recorded 480 cases of coronavirus and 16 deaths as of Wednesday. However, it is not releasing regular updates on confirmed cases. President Magufuli is one of the few global leaders still downplaying the seriousness of the virus. Despite international warnings, Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa that has not taken strong lockdown measures to stop the virus spreading. Schools and universities have been shut but everything else carries on largely as normal. Yesterday is a bizarre live address president Magufuli questioned his country's coronavirus numbers, and called on the authorities to investigate "sabotage" at the national laboratory. The president said he had secretly tested a variety of animals and fruits — including swabs from a goat and papaya fruit — and they had come back positive. According to the president: "That means there is [a] possibility for technical errors or these imported reagents have issues. Probably, the technicians are also bought to mislead." Magufuli announced that Tanzania would send a plane to pick up shipments of "Covid-Organics", an unproven herbal drink which is being touted by Madagascar's government as a 'cure' for Covid-19. The opposition has told its MPs to stop going to parliament in case they get infected. However, Magufuli has dismissed concerns, saying they are being used by "imperialists." Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
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| For nearly two months, Italians rarely left their homes. Now they lead Europe's reopening. Posted: 04 May 2020 07:35 AM PDT  "A new page is beginning, and we will have to write it together with faith and responsibility," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
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| USPS needs major reforms, not a bailout Posted: 04 May 2020 07:29 PM PDT  Letting the Postal Service become its own private entity has greatest potential for sustainability and effective operations: Opposing view
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| Poll: Democrats want Elizabeth Warren as Joe Biden's vice president pick Posted: 04 May 2020 11:03 AM PDT  Joe Biden has said he'll name a woman as his pick for vice president, and Democrats put Elizabeth Warren at the top of their list.
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| Chris Christie Says U.S. Needs to Reopen and Accept More Deaths Posted: 04 May 2020 07:35 PM PDT  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are "gonna have to" accept that.Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn't a choice."Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can—but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?" Christie said. "Are there ways that we can thread the middle here to allow that there are going to be deaths, and there are going to be deaths no matter what?"Echoing previous comments he's made that the country cannot wait to reopen the economy, the former Trump transition team member asserted that "we're going to destroy the American way of life" if people don't immediately get back to work.Bash then asked the ex-governor if the public could accept reopening following reports that an administration model is now projecting a daily death toll of 3,000 by June 1. "They're gonna have to," Christie bluntly replied. "We're in the midst of a pandemic that we haven't seen in over 100 years. And we're going to have to continue to do things."Asked how he would tell the American public about the need to reopen if he were the president, Christie responded: "The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before.""We sent our young men during World War II over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive," he said. "And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life."About half the states have begun to reopen public spaces and their economies in recent days despite cases growing in many areas and the confirmed U.S. death count from coronavirus approaching 70,000. President Donald Trump, who has called for states to "LIBERATE," casually conceded during a Sunday Fox News town hall that the final death toll could reach 100,000 after claiming just a few weeks ago that it would be half that number.Chris Christie Clashes With 'The View' Hosts on ImpeachmentRead 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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| Violent Arrest Caught on Video Raises Concerns About NYPD Social Distancing Patrols Posted: 04 May 2020 11:12 AM PDT  A New York City police officer who was caught on video pointing a stun gun at a man and violently tackling him to the ground over an alleged social distancing violation has been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty.
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| This Extremely Detailed Owl Puzzle Has Unique Wooden Pieces That Create a Colorful Masterpiece Posted: 05 May 2020 09:31 AM PDT |
| US family 'murdered shop guard for enforcing mask policy' Posted: 04 May 2020 08:33 PM PDT  A Michigan store guard is shot in the back of the head after confronting a customer who had no mask.
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| Drone discovers mass grave of Islamic State victims at bottom of gorge in Syria Posted: 05 May 2020 02:29 AM PDT  Islamic State fighters used a stunning gorge in north-eastern Syria as a mass grave for their victims, a human rights group has revealed, after it deployed a drone to confirm the suspicions. In a new report, Human Rights Watch said the terror group dumped the bodies of people it had abducted, tortured and executed in al-Hota gorge, near Raqqa. It is one of around 20 mass graves containing thousands of bodies in areas that were formerly held by the so-called Islamic State (IS). Local villagers told researchers from Human Rights Watch that people had been threatened by IS fighters with being thrown into the gorge, while videos posted on Facebook in 2014 show two victims being cast in. The clothes on the men's bodies in that video match the clothing of two men being killed on camera in a separate propaganda video, Human Rights Watch said. Activists used a drone to fly into the gorge, where they discovered six bodies floating in the water in a state of decomposition. "Al-Hota gorge, once a beautiful natural site, has become a place of horror and reckoning," said Sara Kayyali, Human Rights Watch's Syria researcher. "Exposing what happened there, and at the other mass graves in Syria, is crucial to determining what happened to the thousands of people ISIS executed and holding their killers to account." It is likely that there are more bodies at the very bottom of the gorge, which the drone was unable to reach as it was underwater. Human Rights Watch has now called on Turkish forces, which control the area, to retrieve and identify the bodies so as to begin building a criminal case against IS for the atrocities committed in 2014 and beyond. "Whichever authority controls the al-Hota area is obliged to protect and preserve the site," added Ms Kayyali. "They should facilitate the collection of evidence to hold ISIS members accountable for their horrendous crimes, as well as those who dumped bodies in al-Hota before or after the ISIS rule." She also called on the Turkish military to clear the al-Hota area of boobytraps and other hazards that prevent thorough investigation of the site.
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| Philippine telecoms body orders top broadcaster ABS-CBN to stop operations Posted: 05 May 2020 01:38 AM PDT  The Philippines' telecoms body on Tuesday ordered the country's leading broadcaster ABS-CBN Corp to cease operations immediately, saying its license had expired.
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| Outraging China, Pompeo pushes US hard line over virus Posted: 04 May 2020 11:54 AM PDT  Branded "insane" by Chinese state media but hailed by US conservatives, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is taking the lead in pressing a hard line against Beijing over the coronavirus pandemic. Pompeo has been at the forefront of bringing into the mainstream a theory that the illness that has killed nearly 250,000 worldwide slipped out of a virology laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged last year. The hawkish role is familiar for Pompeo, who has also advocated sweeping pressure on Iran including a January drone strike that killed one of its top generals.
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| "Murder hornets" are the newest lethal threat in the U.S. Posted: 05 May 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Just when 2020 couldn't seem to get any more chaotic, hornets that look "like something out of a monster cartoon" invaded Washington State to decapitate honeybees and eat their young.
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| Putin awards commemorative WWII medal to Kim Jong Un Posted: 05 May 2020 01:34 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Kim Jong Un a commemorative war medal marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said Tuesday. The medal was awarded to the North Korean leader for his role in preserving the memory of Soviet soldiers who died on North Korean territory, the statement said. Russia's ambassador in North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, presented the award to the country's Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon on Tuesday.
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| Unsuitable for 'human life to flourish': Up to 3B will live in extreme heat by 2070, study warns Posted: 04 May 2020 12:00 PM PDT  By 2070, up to 3 billion people are likely to live in climate conditions that are "warmer than conditions deemed suitable for human life to flourish."
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| The architect of Sweden's decision not to have a coronavirus lockdown says he still isn't sure it was the right call Posted: 04 May 2020 03:56 AM PDT  Sweden introduced few rules and left places like parks and restaurants open, but its death toll is much higher than neighboring countries'.
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| Iranian airline linked to Revolutionary Guards 'defied coronavirus ban on China flights' Posted: 05 May 2020 03:08 AM PDT  An Iranian airline with links to the Revolutionary Guards Corps may have contributed to the spread of coronavirus around the Middle East after it continued to fly to China despite a ban imposed by the Iranian government, an investigation has claimed. Mahan Air, a privately owned airline, flew between Iran and China 157 times between early February and March, an analysis of flight tracking data by BBC Arabic found. The Iranian government banned flights to and from China on January 31. Mahan said it was suspending flights and ticket sales to and from China on February 2, in accordance with instruction from the World Health Organisation and Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation. It has previously said it carried out several evacuation flights of Iranian citizens after that date, and published a message of thanks from Iranian aviation authorities for doing so on its website on February 7. The flights included an Airbus 310 that repatriated 70 Iranian students from Wuhan to Tehran on February 6, and then flew on to Baghdad the following day. Four more flights were operated between February 3 and February 6, carrying repatriated Chinese and Iranian citizens in either direction. But the BBC found that that airline continued to fly regularly to destinations including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen after that. It also claimed that Mahan had continued to fly to Iraq after the government of that country banned flights from Iran on April 20, and to the United Arab Emirates after it introduced a ban on February 25. Iraq and Lebanon reported their first cases of coronavirus in travellers from Iran in February. The BBC claimed both cases arrived on Mahan Air flights. Iran was one of the worst-affected countries at the beginning of the pandemic and has so far recorded almost 100,000 cases of the coronavirus. Allegations that Mahan was flouting the flight ban were first reported in the Shargh daily, a reformist newspaper in Iran. Mahan said in a statement at the time that since the ban on China routes it had only flown repatriation and aid flights at the request of the country's ministries of health and foreign affairs. It said it had also agreed to fly industrial materials from China for Iranian manufacturers. "Obviously, our company would be in such a situation that regardless of material interests and even accepting losses, it had to assist the esteemed government and the country's industries and carry over hundreds of tons of industrial items to Iran," it said. Mahan has faced US sanctions because of its suspected links to the Revolutionary Guards Corps. Germany, France and Italy banned Mahan flights in 2019, following requests from the United States. Germany cited "security" concerns and the airline's alleged role in flying personnel and material to conflict zones including Syria. The airline's last European Union route, a twice-weekly service between Tehran and Barcelona was cancelled in March after Spain revoked its landing license. Mahan did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
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| India coronavirus: Country records highest spike in Covid-19 cases Posted: 05 May 2020 03:42 AM PDT  The rise in infection rates came amid a move to relax lockdown restrictions.
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| NYC Police Union Claims ‘City Will Fall Apart’ Unless Cops Taken Off Social Distancing Enforcement Posted: 04 May 2020 11:08 AM PDT  The New York City Police Benevolent Association, the city's largest police union, released a statement Monday arguing that officers should not be tasked with enforcing social distancing ordinances."The NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether," PBA president Patrick Lynch said in a statement. "As the weather heats up & the pandemic continues to unravel our social fabric, police officers should be allowed to focus on our core public safety mission. If we don't, the city will fall apart before our eyes."The city's police force has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with over 4,000 officers testing positive for the illness and 30 dead over the course of the outbreak. In early April, almost 20 percent of the entire 36,000-strong police force was on sick leave for coronavirus or other illnesses.Enforcing social distancing in the city is made exceedingly difficult by the city's density and residents' reliance on public transport. NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea said Monday that police issued about 70 summonses over the weekend for violations of social distancing regulations."This is a great experiment we're living through here," Shea told reporters at a press conference. "Really never seen this before in a city of 8.6 million people trying to keep everyone inside."The NYPD on Saturday arrested three people in a group violating social distancing measures, and video of the altercation was shared in local media. The force also faced criticism after allowing mourners to gather at the funeral of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn. After more mourners gathered than were initially predicted, police were forced to break up the funeral.
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| Pompeo says 'significant' evidence that new coronavirus emerged from Chinese lab Posted: 03 May 2020 11:27 AM PDT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory, but did not dispute U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that it was not man-made. "There is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan," Pompeo told ABC's "This Week," referring to the virus that emerged late last year in China and has killed about 240,000 people around the world, including more than 67,000 in the United States. Pompeo then briefly contradicted a statement issued last Thursday by the top U.S. spy agency that said the virus did not appear to be man-made or genetically modified.
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| Report: Intel shared among U.S. allies contradicts claim coronavirus spread because of lab accident Posted: 04 May 2020 07:55 PM PDT  Intelligence shared between the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand indicates that it's "highly unlikely" the COVID-19 coronavirus originated in a Wuhan, China, laboratory, two officials told CNN on Monday, citing an intelligence assessment.The countries make up the Five Eyes alliance, and two officials said the nations are uniting around the assessment. One Western diplomat told CNN the intelligence points to the coronavirus outbreak coming from a market in Wuhan, and it's "highly likely it was naturally occurring and that the human infection was from natural human and animal interaction."Another official said "clearly the market is where it exploded from," but it's not clear how the virus got there. This official noted that each Five Eyes country does keep some intelligence to themselves, and the U.S. might not be sharing everything it knows about the coronavirus.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed there is "enormous evidence" the coronavirus spread as a result of a lab accident, backing up earlier comments made by President Trump. Officials who have examined classified U.S. intelligence reports told The New York Times that several theories are being investigated, and there is no evidence the virus was man-made or genetically modified.More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming Trump is pursuing a herd immunity strategy — whether intentionally or not
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| Florida sheriff defends keeping childhood shooting a secret Posted: 04 May 2020 07:29 AM PDT  The Florida sheriff appointed by the governor after the 2018 Parkland high school massacre is defending himself over allegations that he should have disclosed he fatally shot another teenager when he was 14 in Philadelphia. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters over the weekend that he didn't see the need to disclose the 1993 killing to Gov. Ron DeSantis or on other applications during his law enforcement career because he was a juvenile and he was cleared because it was self-defense. The shooting came to light Saturday in an article published by the Florida Bulldog website and further roiled the August Democratic primary race between Tony and the fired sheriff he replaced, Scott Israel.
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| Frontier Airlines will make passengers pay extra to social distance on its flights Posted: 05 May 2020 07:59 AM PDT  Frontier will be offering the social-distancing-friendly seats for purchase but believes the steps it's already taken are enough for passenger safety.
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| Eight mercenaries reported dead as Venezuela 'foils coup attempt' Posted: 04 May 2020 08:49 AM PDT  Venezuela says it thwarted an armed incursion on Sunday by "mercenaries who organized and trained in Colombia," killing eight people and capturing two others as they attempted to arrive on the country's coast via speedboat. "This was an attempt to invade our coasts by a group of mercenary terrorists," Minister Nestor Reverol said on state TV. "The goal was to commit terrorist acts, kill government leaders, and end in a coup." Former American Green Beret Jordan Goudreau claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted online alongside exiled Venezuelan soldier Javier Nieto. In what they called "operation Gideon," Goudreau said they had launched "an amphibious raid from the border of Colombia deep into the heart of Caracas." He said "units had been launched" around the country and were fighting government forces. There was no immediate sign of rebellion in the country. On Friday the Associated Press reported that Goudreau had set up camps with dozens of defected Venezuelan soldiers in Colombia with plans to launch an invasion across the border. That plan apparently collapsed in late March when Goudreau's Venezuelan accomplice, former Maduro loyalist Cliver Alcalá, was indicted in the US for narco trafficking and extradited. An exiled Venezuelan soldier not participating in the operation told The Telegraph on Friday he had been unable to contact those formerly living in Goudreau's camps. Nicolas Maduro's government portrayed the incident as a success for the country's military in its struggle against the US and more than 50 other countries who do not recognize him as the rightful president. "We are declaring ourselves in permanent rebellion against American imperialism," Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on state TV flanked by heavily armed soldiers. "We have confronted with tenacity this attempted invasion." "They're still underestimating our people and our security forces," said president of the pro-Maduro Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello said at the legislative palace. He attributed the attack to "the United States, Colombian oligarchy, and narcotraffickers." But the US State Department and Colombian government have both denied involvement in the operation. Maduro's internal opposition has called it an attempt to distract from a surge in violent incidents across the country. Photos posted on social media by state media workers of the items confiscated suggest a less than sophisticated operation, showing a few automatic weapons, a helmet with a US flag patch, and Venezuelan debit cards. "We reject these claims made by the dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro that are an attempt to blame our country for these supposed acts of destabilization, which are actually an attempt to divert attention away from the actual problems facing Venezuelan people," a statement from the Colombian foreign ministry said. Nicolas Maduro often accuses Colombia of attempts to overthrow his government in conjunction with the US, sometimes with little evidence. Over 50 countries recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the rightful interim president of the country, claiming Maduro's 2018 re-election was fraudulent.
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| 'Put on a mask and shut up': China's new 'Wolf Warriors' spread hoaxes and attack a world of critics Posted: 04 May 2020 11:29 AM PDT  The aggressive nationalism of China's diplomats matches the swagger of Xi Jinping's China, which is determined to deflect blame for the coronavirus.
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| Bois Locker Room: Indian teens' lewd Instagram group causes outrage Posted: 05 May 2020 03:43 AM PDT  A 15-year-old boy is detained in connection with a group that shared images of underage girls.
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