| White House says Trump has no apology for calling coronavirus 'kung flu' at Tulsa rally Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:15 PM PDT  Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that the president has no regrets about using a racial slur to refer to the deadly virus that originated in China.
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| Ex-U.S. marine jailed by Russia on spying charges hopes for prisoner swap: Ifax Posted: 23 Jun 2020 01:38 AM PDT  Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison last week on spying charges, hopes to be freed as part of a prisoner swap with the United States, his lawyer said on Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported. Whelan will therefore not appeal his espionage conviction but will instead hold consultations with Western diplomats about the merits of asking President Vladimir Putin to pardon him, the lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, was quoted as saying. Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28, 2018.
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| Seattle will move to dismantle 'Chaz' occupied protest zone, mayor says Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:11 PM PDT  Jenny Durkan says police will return to precinct where hundreds have gathered dailySeattle officials announced on Monday that they would begin to dismantle the six blocks of occupied streets known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or "Chaz", following two shootings at the site in 48 hours."It's time for people to go home. It is time for us to restore Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill so it can be a vibrant part of the community," said the Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan, during a press conference. "We can still accommodate people who want to protest peacefully, come there and gather. But the impacts on the businesses and residents and community are now too much."Durkan said Seattle police would be returning to the east precinct, the site they abandoned after a series of dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement.She said they'll do so "peacefully" and "in the near future" but did not offer an exact timeline.The decision comes about two weeks after a section of the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill was occupied by protesters as a self-proclaimed police-free zone. The area is also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (Chop).Hundreds of protesters have faithfully gathered there each day and night, filling the area with free food and community gardens, and holding speeches and teach-ins.Although it had been largely peaceful, that changed over the weekend, when two separate shootings took place. A 19-year-old man was killed and two others were injured, one critically.Officers responding to the shooting have said they "were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers' safe access to the victims", according to a police blog. Investigations of the shootings are still ongoing.During the press conference Monday, the Seattle police chief, Carmen Best, said that while there had been countless people protesting peacefully, there had also been "shootings, a rape, assaults, burglary, arson, and property destruction"."This isn't a debate about first amendment rights, this is about life or death," she added.When asked what officials will do if people don't voluntarily leave the area, Durkan said they planned to use a range of techniques, including working with black-led organizations to communicate with the people in the zone and offering outreach to those there who are homeless."I think we've seen across the country and Seattle, it would not be an effective strategy to simply send police in to try to clear the area," she said.The decision to send police back into the precinct was a major disappointment for some in the community who wanted the site repurposed.Kshama Sawant, a Socialist city councilwoman, has pushed for the precinct to be "turned over permanently into community control". She recently announced on Twitter that she would be introducing legislation to convert the east precinct into a community center for restorative justice.
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| Protesters join class-action lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department alleging they were shot in the head or torso by projectiles Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:07 PM PDT  A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles accuses police of using excessive force against protesters.
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| Hackers just leaked sensitive files from over 200 police departments that are searchable by badge number Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  Police departments have been sharing information about COVID-19, George Floyd protesters, and even tweets critical of the police.
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| Ocasio-Cortez has spent more campaign money this cycle than any other Democrat up for re-election Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:51 AM PDT  In just two years, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has built a political operation rivalling those of some of the most prolific fundraising showstoppers in Washington.The New York Democrat has spent the most money of any House Democrat seeking re-election this fall, shelling out at least $6.3m so far this cycle, despite representing one of the most liberal districts in the country.
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| 'Like gasoline and fire': Former friend speaks out about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell Posted: 22 Jun 2020 02:03 PM PDT  "I saw him as the hand and her as the puppet on that hand," Melanie Gibb said. "They were both like gasoline and fire. Not a good match."
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| Climate change: Planting new forests 'can do more harm than good' Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:03 AM PDT  Large-scale tree planting to fight climate change may backfire, two new studies have found.
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| Parler, a right-wing social media site, lures conservatives, but Trump sticks with Twitter — so far Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:01 PM PDT  Many conservatives have been joining the social media site Parler in recent weeks, but President Trump has yet to do so.
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| U.S. Army soldier charged with plotting to help neo-Nazis attack his own unit Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:51 PM PDT |
| Yes, Even Saddam Hussein Could Have Attacked and Sunk an American Battleship Posted: 22 Jun 2020 04:30 PM PDT  Nothing is impossible.
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| Texas Governor: Coronavirus Spreading at ‘Unacceptable Rate’ in State Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:10 AM PDT  Governor Greg Abbott warned Monday that the coronavirus is now spreading in Texas at an "unacceptable rate" and pleaded with residents to wear masks in public and continue practicing social distancing."To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled," Abbott said at a news briefing.Texas has seen more than 25,000 new coronavirus cases over the past week and on Friday recorded a one-day record of 4,600 new positive cases. The spike in cases comes after Texas allowed businesses to reopen at 75 percent capacity earlier this month.Abbott urged the public to take precautions against spreading the virus, even as people return to work and frequent public places. He did not, however, announce any new social distancing rules."Wearing a mask will help us to keep Texas open. Not taking action to slow the spread will cause COVID to spread even worse, risking people's lives, and ultimately, leading to the closure of more businesses," Abbott said."The way hospitalizations are spiking, the way that daily new cases are spiking — surely the public can understand that if those spikes continue, additional measures are going to be necessary to make sure we maintain the health and safety of the people of the state of Texas," the governor added.Texas has averaged more than 3,200 daily coronavirus hospitalizations over the last several days, a sharp increase from the latter half of May, when about 1,600 people were hospitalized daily for the virus. Abbott suggested that if those numbers double again, the state may reimpose social distancing restrictions."If we were to experience another doubling of those numbers over the next month, that would mean we're in an urgent situation where tougher actions will be required to make sure that we do contain the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said.
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| The coronavirus death rate in the US is almost 50 times higher than that of the flu. See how they compare by age bracket. Posted: 23 Jun 2020 08:34 AM PDT  On average in the US, the flu's death rate is .1%, while the coronavirus' death rate is 5.2%. The comparison is even more stark for people over 85.
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| Will focus on racial justice give Black candidates a boost? Posted: 22 Jun 2020 02:17 PM PDT |
| 7 years ago, this city disbanded its police force. It now serves as a model for others. Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:57 AM PDT  Crime dropped in Camden, but there's more to the story, say advocates and longtime residents.
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| Indian prime minister says China lost at least 40 soldiers during border clash Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:20 PM PDT  China and India clashed at their disputed border this week, resulting in the lost of at least 40 Chinese soldiers.
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| Tulsa rally failure may spark Trump campaign team shakeup Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:20 AM PDT  Poor attendance at his rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday night has President Trump increasingly frustrated with his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, and considering shaking up his reelection team, according to sources familiar with the issue.
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| Man arrested after 73-year-old woman punched in face on subway platform Posted: 22 Jun 2020 03:39 AM PDT  New York police have arrested a homeless man suspected to be the Bronx subway station attacker who pushed a 73-year-old woman last week.Authorities announced on Saturday night that 23-year-old Ahmed Kromah had been apprehended and charged with assault after an appeal, reported CBS News.
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| Safoora Zargar: Bail for pregnant India student blamed for Delhi riots Posted: 23 Jun 2020 03:10 AM PDT  Safoora Zargar was among a number of Muslim students and activists jailed during the Covid-19 lockdown.
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| NASA Says Planets With Oceans Common in Our Galaxy Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:05 AM PDT  And where there is water... there could be life!
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| Hundreds Test Positive for Coronavirus at Tyson Foods Plant in Arkansas, Most Asymptomatic Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:24 AM PDT  Hundreds of workers at Tyson Foods poultry plant in Arkansas have tested positive for coronavirus, though most of the workers who tested positive are asymptomatic.Out of 3,748 Tyson employees tested in Benton and Washington Counties, 481 were found to have coronavirus, with 455 of those patients reporting no symptoms. The outbreak was centered at Tyson's poultry plant in the town of Springdale.China has reportedly ceased importing poultry from the facility upon learning of the outbreak. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told the Associated Press that global and U.S. health organizations including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have said there is no evidence of coronavirus transmission via food."At Tyson, we're confident our products are safe and we're hopeful consultations between the U.S. and Chinese governments will resolve this matter," Mickelson said. "Our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, and we work closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure that we produce all of our food in full compliance with government safety requirements."China resumed importing U.S. poultry in November 2019 after a five-year ban following an outbreak of avian flu. The ban closed off a market worth $500 million to U.S. exporters.Meatpacking facilities have seen some of the most serious localized outbreaks of coronavirus, along with prisons and nursing homes. Tyson plants in Nebraska, N.C., and Iowa have reported outbreaks, while meat processor Smithfield has also seen outbreaks at various facilities.Those outbreaks led the meatpacking industry to warn of a meat shortage in the U.S., and meat prices have risen at markets across the country. However, meat exports to China have also risen during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Nigeria says West Africa bloc backing WTO pick Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:10 AM PDT  Nigeria on Monday said West African regional body ECOWAS had backed its choice to head the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the continent looks to get behind one candidate. The WTO this month kicked off the process for selecting a new director-general, after its current chief Roberto Azevedo decided to leave a year early. Diplomats acknowledge that Africa may be in line for the post since the continent has never before provided a WTO director-general.
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| Democrats: GOP police bill 'not salvageable,' demand talks Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:27 AM PDT  Top Senate Democrats said Tuesday the Republican policing bill is "not salvageable," as they demand negotiations on a new, more bipartisan package with more extensive law enforcement changes and accountability in response to the killing of Black Americans. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer signaled the Democrats intend to block the GOP package, which Democrats say does not go far enough to meet the moment that has galvanized the nation with massive demonstrations over police procedures. "We don't need to study the problem of police misconduct and violence, we need to solve it," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
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| Police and protesters clash over Jackson statue Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:32 PM PDT  President Trump threatened protesters who tried to pull down the statue in D.C. with 10 years in prison. ABC News' Alex Presha reports.
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| Australia's High Court says former judge sexually harassed six female staff Posted: 22 Jun 2020 02:41 AM PDT |
| Rep. Nadler preparing to subpoena William Barr for testimony Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:56 PM PDT  The House Judiciary Committee chairman intends to subpoena Barr for July 2. Nadler has criticized the attorney general over the firing of a top prosecutor in New York.
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| Protest updates: Atlanta police officer says he 'didn't do anything wrong'; Fortnite removes police from game Posted: 22 Jun 2020 09:47 PM PDT  One of two Atlanta police officers charged in the death of Rayshard Brooks claimed innocence. Fortnite removes police from game. Latest protest news.
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| Seattle to end police-free protest zone after shootings Posted: 23 Jun 2020 07:45 AM PDT  Mayor Jenny Durkan says the violence is "increasingly difficult" for businesses and residents.
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| Mexican drug cartel leader issues tearful threats to government after arrest of his mother Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:29 AM PDT  One of the most wanted Mexican cartel leaders threatened the government and his arch-foes in highly unusual video messages, including one where he can be seen fighting back tears after his mother was detained over the weekend. Jose "El Marro" Yepez, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, has been a thorn in the side of the President Andres Lopez Obrador's government due to his gang's industrial-scale siphoning of petroleum from state-run oil company Pemex. In one of the videos widely shared on social media, Yepez can be seen lashing out against the government after his mother was allegedly arrested in a major security operation in the city of Celeya in Mexico's bloodiest state, Guanajuato. "I'm going to be a stone in your shoe. I'm going to blow up, you will see," Yepez, wearing jeans with a rifle slung over his shoulder, said in the video. Reuters was not able to independently verify the videos. Mexican security forces on Sunday said they arrested members of an organised crime group in a raid in Celeya, where they found a about one kilogramme of a something resembling methamphetamine and 2 million pesos ($88,000). "Among the detainees are Maria "N", Juana "N" and Rosalba "N", alleged financial operators of the criminal organization," Mexico's security agencies said in a joint statement, without naming the Santa Rosa cartel or its leader. El Universal newspaper said Yepez' mother, sister and girlfriend were all arrested. Yepez said he feared the authorities would frame his mother as one of the leaders of the cartel. "In my mother's and my people's name...I don't fear you," he said. Yepez also said he could form a coalition with the Sinaloa cartel or other crime groups in the north to fight Santa Rosa's arch-foe Jalisco New Generation cartel, which has been on a bloody expansion drive to take over rivals' territories across the country.
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| Cuomo Blames Federal Government for New York Nursing Home Deaths Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:50 AM PDT  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed back against accusations that his nursing home coronavirus policies resulted in dozens of unnecessary deaths, instead blaming the federal government for not relaying information about the pandemic soon enough."Let's look at the facts, right? Rather than the political rhetoric. Yes, we had more people die in nursing homes than anywhere else because we had more people die," Cuomo said Monday on MSNBC. "Because the federal government missed the boat and never told us that this virus was coming from Europe and not from China.""The federal government and the CDC and all of them failed to handle this pandemic and warn this nation," the Democratic governor continued. "So New York had more cases and more deaths and more deaths in nursing homes because that's who the virus affects. It affects senior citizens. We know that. You look at any state, and they had a tremendous number of deaths in nursing homes."Cuomo has faced criticism for his policies aimed at fighting the virus in nursing homes, in particular his state regulation requiring nursing homes to accept recovering coronavirus patients and the prohibition against nursing homes testing returning patients for coronavirus. The state was also criticized for the lack of personal protective equipment for caretakers working in nursing homes.In early May, New York announced 1,700 previously undisclosed suspected coronavirus deaths that occurred at nursing homes and adult care facilities. The report came after critics expressed skepticism about the official death tallies from coronavirus at nursing homes compared to rising death rates among elderly residents.During January, February, and March — before the Trump administration temporarily banned travel from Europe over coronavirus fears — three million people brought the virus to New York from Europe unbeknownst to the federal government, Cuomo said, an apparent reference to his earlier statement that three million travelers from Europe passed through New York's airports between December and March.The Europe travel ban was implemented on March 13. Research later indicated that the coronavirus was seeded in New York and other East Coast states by travelers from Europe rather than from China, where the outbreak originated."It's all a political charade, and it's an ugly one, frankly, to talk about a number of deaths and suggest there was politics added," Cuomo said of criticism about his nursing home policies, blaming Republicans for "playing politics."He touted New York's coronavirus testing rates as well the state's declining rate of hospitalizations and deaths. New York performed 57,000 tests on Sunday with less than one percent coming back positive.Meanwhile, the state saw 10 deaths from the infection on Sunday, down from a high of 800 deaths in one day at the peak of the outbreak. Currently, the state has 100 hospitalizations for coronavirus, the lowest level since the pandemic's height.Cuomo also said he may release guidelines to handle a potential influx of visitors to New York from states with higher infection rates.
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| Sudan warns against escalation in Nile dam dispute Posted: 21 Jun 2020 03:08 PM PDT  Sudan on Sunday warned against escalation and urged further negotiations with Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's controversial dam on the Nile. Tensions are running high between the three countries after recent talks failed to produce a deal on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
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| Not Stealth, But a Killer: Why Sweden's J37 Viggen Jet Was One of the Finest Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:57 PM PDT  Sweden's domestic arms industry is no joke.
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| Germany's coronavirus infection rate has surged after 1,300 workers in a meat factory tested positive for COVID-19 Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:05 AM PDT  Germany's R rate has surged to 2.88, meaning the number of coronavirus cases has risen quickly in the last four days.
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| Construction of Austrian Holocaust victims' memorial begins Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:11 AM PDT  Construction of Austria's first public monument naming all the country's Holocaust victims began on Monday, a further step by Adolf Hitler's native land towards confronting an issue it has long struggled with. For decades after World War Two, Austria denied responsibility for crimes committed by the Nazis, arguing that it was their first victim despite the enthusiasm with which many citizens had welcomed annexation by Hitler's Germany in 1938. Vienna had none.
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| It’s Hard to Find a Trump Who Hasn’t Voted by Mail Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:40 PM PDT  President Donald Trump went postal on Twitter Monday morning over the threat he claims mailed ballots pose to the integrity of U.S. elections—but his family seems to have never gotten the message.The commander in chief fired off another social media fusillade against the practice of submitting ballots through the post, which he has previously labeled "horrible," "terrible," and "corrupt," as well as "dangerous," "fraudulent," and for "cheaters." The tweet on Monday, like his prior statements, reflected his fears over the expansion of vote-by-mail policies in several states amid the COVID-19 pandemic."RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!" Trump tweeted in all-capital letters.But such fears have apparently never deterred either Trump himself or members of the First Family from entrusting their suffrage to the U.S. Postal Service. The White House has acknowledged the president mailed in ballots in New York in 2018 and in Florida this year, and the Orlando Sun-Sentinel reported that First Lady Melania Trump had recently also taken advantage of the Sunshine State's remote voting program.On reviewing records from the Manhattan Board of Elections, The Daily Beast discovered that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and the First Lady all had ballots mailed to them in Washington, D.C. as recently as the 2018 election cycle, and have done so since decamping to the capital three years ago. Eric Trump, who remains in New York, similarly exercised his franchise via envelope and stamp in 2017. Various errors—from the First Lady's forgetting to sign the crucial affidavit, to the First Daughter's sending her ballot back too late, to Kushner's failure to mail it back at all—prevented the Washington-based wing of the family's votes from counting in 2017. But the Board of Elections documents show they all successfully returned their votes in the most recent election cycle.Neither Eric Trump nor the White House immediately provided an on-the-record response. The president and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who the Tampa Bay Times found has voted by mail 11 times in the past decade, have sought to distinguish between absentee voting and "mass mail-in voting."But experts assert there is little difference between the two processes, which are both already widespread. Records show nearly 67,000 people besides the Trumps sent in absentee ballots in the 2018 general election in New York City, while the Wall Street Journal reported that more than 33 million people voted by mail in the 2016 presidential race. GOP on Mail-In Ballots: 'If You Can Get Out and Protest, You Can Go Vote.'The president's spokeswoman and immediate family aren't the only executive branch staff taking advantage of the system: Business Insider reported Vice President Mike Pence and his wife voted via mail as recently as April. Monday's rant marked the first time that the president has warned that hostile nations might dabble in the American mailstream. In the past, he has largely warned that blue states might refuse to send ballots to GOP-controlled districts, and claimed that U.S.-based fraudsters resort to outright robbery."They steal them, they hold up mailmen, they take them out of mailboxes, they print them fraudulently," the president told radio host Michael Savage earlier this month.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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| Coronavirus: Newborn Mexican triplets test positive in 'unprecedented' case Posted: 23 Jun 2020 01:26 AM PDT  Experts are investigating whether coronavirus could have been passed through the mother's placenta.
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| Backlash to Asian American wife in Floyd case reveals disturbing truth Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:19 AM PDT  Remarks about the Chauvins' interracial marriage come from historical emasculation of Asian men and fetishization of Asian women, experts say.
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| Americans Need to Know the Truth About William Barr's Friday Night Massacre. We Can't Afford to Wait Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:52 PM PDT  William Barr said Geoffrey Berman resigned before saying the President should
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| China threatens retaliation for US curbs on 'propaganda' outlets Posted: 23 Jun 2020 02:13 AM PDT  China threatened Tuesday to retaliate against new US restrictions on Chinese state media, escalating tensions between the two superpowers as they crack down on each other's news outlets. The US State Department said Monday it was reclassifying four organisations -- China Central Television, China News Service, the People's Daily and the Global Times -- as foreign missions rather than media outlets in the United States, adding to five others designated in February.
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| The U.S. Navy Is Ready for Trouble in the South China Sea or Near Taiwan Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:52 AM PDT  Not only do these types of operations extend the Navy's ability to attack inland targets to a larger extent, extend target-searching dwell time and enable coordinated multi-platform strikes, but they also greatly improve destroyer-and-cruiser launched missile attacks.
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| Arizona firefighters forced to handle multiple historic wildfires at once Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:24 PM PDT  A dozen wildfires have torched nearly 400,000 burned acres in Arizona and have left much of the state, particularly the southeastern portion, in ruins. Nearly half of that acreage has come from the Bush Fire blazing in the Tonto National Forest, just north of Phoenix. As of Monday morning, the still-young 2020 wildfire season has already burned more Arizona land than all but two years since 2002. Three current active wildfires in the state all rank in the top-10 for largest blazes in Arizona history, marking the first time since 2011 that multiple, historic-sized fires have burnt simultaneously. After igniting on June 13, the Bush Fire has grown rapidly in the past week, up to 184,674 acres as of Monday morning. The fire is now the fifth-largest in state history with 42% containment, according to officials. It's also the largest blaze currently burning in the United States.The inferno was ignited by a vehicle fire and led to evacuations in nearby areas such as Brownsville, Jake's Corner, Slate Creek, Pioneer Pass and Punkin Center before evacuation orders were lifted on Sunday morning."It has just been a monster of a season for us and extremely busy," Dave Ramirez, South Zone Fire Management Officer, said according to AZCentral.com. "It's been very busy for us, actually, in the past two years."According to local fire officials, all residents are prohibited from burning any sort of fire, including campfires and cooking stove fires, in the Tonto National Forest. The state's second-fastest growing fire, the Bighorn Fire increased by over 8,000 acres on Sunday to 51,628 total acres as of Monday morning. The fire has been the most destructive of any blaze in the state, causing $18.2 million of damage, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.After reaching 40% containment on Friday, conditions worsened and the containment decreased to 16% by Monday, the least contained of any of the state's major current blazes. It has required the attention of 969 firefighting personnel, the most of any fire. Burning in Coronado National Forest, the frightening spread of the blaze has escalated the classification from a type-3 to a type-1 fire."With this type-1 team there is a lot of complexity, a lot of levels, a lot of layers but the communication is the most important part and it's been great, the level of communication on this team," said Adam Jarrold, Public Information Officer of the Bighorn Fire, according to KVOA.com.A type-1 fire is the highest and most serious level of firefighting attention, as the classification means the risk level to structures and properties are at their peak. Charring at least 69,000 acres as of midday Monday, the Mangum Fire is Arizona's second-largest fire. Since igniting on June 8, the wildfire has burned in the northern portion of Arizona in Coconino County and wreaked havoc for visitors trying to get to the Grand Canyon.The blaze, which is also the second-largest current fire in the U.S., has destroyed four structures and forced closures of popular roadways like Highway 89A and State Route 67 to Grand Canyon National Park, which takes visitors to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Smoke billows out of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. (Photo via Inciweb) The eastern-most wildfire and the only other blaze to have destroyed structures, the Bringham Fire has continued burning in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest north of Morenci since being ignited by lightning on June 6.On Monday morning, Incident Commander Carl Schwope said the remote location of the fire has provided logistical challenges for firefighters, according to Inciweb. Despite being nearly nine times smaller than the Bush Fire, the Bringham Fire has caused nearly as much damage, according to the NIFC.The Sawtooth Fire was previously burning in the Tonto National Forest, where it grew to 24,729 acres before firefighters reached 100% containment on June 7. The fire was burning in the scar of the Woodbury Fire, which was previously the fifth-largest fire in state history after burning 123,875 acres in 2019.The Blue River Fire has burned 30,400 acres as of Monday morning, but firefighters have managed to reach 93% containment of the blaze. According to the NIFC, despite being the state's fourth-largest fire, it has caused the least damage of any of the major blazes and is only requiring the attention of eight personnel.The Good Fire, the Dry Lake Fire and the Tadpole Fire have burnt about a combined 25,000 acres between the three blazes, but they are largely corralled and estimated to reach 100% containment in the coming weeks.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| Brazilians flock to beach as WHO says country undercounting coronavirus surge Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:17 PM PDT  Brazil reached more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases and 50,000 deaths over the weekend as throngs of people swarmed Rio de Janeiro beaches, but the World Health Organization said on Monday that even more cases were likely going uncounted. Brazil's health ministry said on Monday that an additional 21,432 confirmed cases of the virus and 654 new deaths had been registered in the previous 24 hours. A day earlier, swimmers and sunbathers packed Rio's famous beaches, with many neither wearing masks nor respecting the WHO's guidance to maintain 1 meter, or 3 feet, of distance between people.
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| Why Is North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong Attacking South Korea (and Not Kim Jong-un)? Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:53 AM PDT  It is all a part of the plan.
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| Chicago Sees 102 Shootings in Most Violent Weekend of 2020 Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Chicago recorded 102 shooting victims over the weekend, the highest number for a single weekend in 2020.The rash of shootings is part of a spate of violence that began after George Floyd demonstrations in late May descended into widespread looting and rioting that began after George Floyd was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.Over the past weekend, 14 people were killed in the latest round of shootings. Five of those victims were teenagers, including a three-year-old boy shot while being driven by his father. A police source told the Chicago Sun-Times that the father was likely the intended target.Another victim was a 13-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet.Police Superintendent David Brown, who started his position in April, said one of the main problems the department faced was a failure by city authorities to monitor offenders placed under house arrest. Brown also called for violent offenders to remain in jail for longer periods."Cops are working hard, [and there's] great leadership here," Superintendent David Brown said at a press conference on Sunday. "Our strategy ends up with arrests, and if you arrest someone that's a violent offender, and they get right back out of jail and put on home monitoring, and no one monitors, we're just chasing our tail."The rise in shootings came three weeks after the most violent day in Chicago in 60 years, with 18 people killed over a 24-hour period on Sunday, May 31."We've never seen anything like it at all," Max Kapustin, senior research director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, told the Sun-Times. "I don't even know how to put it into context. It's beyond anything that we've ever seen before."
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| Saudi Arabia to hold 'very limited' hajj due to virus Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:53 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that because of the coronavirus only "very limited numbers" of people will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage that traditionally draws around 2 million Muslims from around the world. The decision comes after weeks of speculation over whether Saudi Arabia would cancel the pilgrimage altogether or allow the hajj to be held in symbolic numbers. It's unclear why the government waited until just five weeks before the hajj to announce its decision, but the timing indicates the sensitivity around major decisions concerning the hajj that affect Muslims around the world.
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| Navarro walks back China trade deal comments Posted: 23 Jun 2020 02:04 AM PDT 
Just hours after the White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the trade deal with China was 'over,' he walked back his comments -- which had in the meantime sent financial markets into a frenzy. Earlier Monday (June 22) Navarro said the deal was over when asked about it on Fox News, and that the quote 'turning point' came when the U.S. learned about the coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation left Washington once the Phase 1 trade deal was signed in January. After that, U.S. stock futures went into wild swings, but mostly recovered after Navarro said his Fox comments quote 'have been taken wildly out of context.' Navarro added that quote "They had nothing at all to do with the Phase 1 trade deal, which continues in place. I was simply speaking to the lack of trust we now have of the Chinese Communist Party after they lied about the origins of the China virus and foisted a pandemic upon the world." Amid the market confusion, President Donald Trump quickly tweeted that the China deal remains quote "fully intact" and that quote "hopefully, they will continue to live up to the terms of the agreement." Navarro is one of the most outspoken critics of China among Trump's senior advisers. Relations between the two countries have reached their lowest point in years ever since the global health crisis which first emerged in China hit the U.S. particularly hard. On Thursday Trump renewed his threat to cut ties with China, just a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with a Chinese delegation in Hawaii and a U.S. trade representative said he did not consider decoupling the two economies to be a viable option.
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| As Symbols of the Confederacy Fall, Activists Say Mississippi's Flag Should Be Next Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:16 AM PDT  ATLANTA -- Five years ago, in the wake of the horrific massacre of Black parishioners by a white supremacist at a South Carolina church, the University of Mississippi lowered the state flag for the last time on campus as Confederate symbols were being brought down across the South.The chancellor then said the state's emblem, the nation's only state flag featuring the Confederate battle flag, failed to align with "our core values, such as civility and respect for others." All eight of Mississippi's public universities also stopped flying the flag, joined by cities across the state, including Grenada, Magnolia, Starkville, Clarksdale and Yazoo City. Jackson, the state capital, also decided not to fly it on city property.In the long, passionate debate across the South over rooting out Confederate symbols, Mississippi's flag remains one of the most conspicuous holdouts -- with the battle flag of the Confederacy vividly embedded at the heart of the state flag. And for decades, many in the state have resisted recurring efforts to change it, seeing in the flag a proud reminder of their ancestors' bloodshed in fighting for Mississippi.Now as Confederate monuments and symbols are being furiously toppled yet again, the debate over the Mississippi flag has been reinvigorated. Supporters of removing the battle flag, once and for all, say the national ferment set off by the death of George Floyd has provided a level of momentum they have not had before."This is the time we're going to get this done," said the Rev. Darren Leach, the senior pastor at Genesis Church, a nondenominational congregation in Columbus, Mississippi, near the Alabama state line. "It's a good chance for the good people of Mississippi to just do what they know they should do: Get us out from under this blight. The flag is a blight."The pressure has ratcheted up in recent weeks as forces outside Mississippi have denounced the flag.The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced on Friday that it will not host championship events in states where the Confederate battle flag is a prominent, sanctioned symbol, a rule change that essentially singles out Mississippi. That came a day after the Southeastern Conference demanded for the flag to be changed, threatening similar fallout in terms of championship events.The moves amplify the economic concerns attached to the debate over the flag, with business leaders saying keeping the flag as it is risks further financial harm to a state that is already one of the poorest in the country."When recruiting against other regions for employers, image matters," John Hairston, the president and chief executive of Hancock Whitney, a banking company with branches across the region, wrote in an essay published in The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi. "We need a brand that showcases our capable work force, competitive cost of living, and superb quality of life. Simultaneously, we should be mindful that there are images which create division and distraction. One of those images is the current state flag."Defenders of the flag have mobilized, viewing the challenge to the flag as a renewed assault mounted against their history."I don't think we're really talking about flags anymore," Chris McDaniel, a Republican state senator, said in a Facebook live video for his supporters. "It's more important than that: I think we're talking about a structural and cultural revolution being pushed by the radical left, the intolerant left."He urged viewers to call state lawmakers and demand them to thwart any effort to change the flag. "This is not about a flag," McDaniel said. "It's about finally and firmly saying no."The flag remains deeply polarizing in the state, with one poll taken this month reporting a statistical tie on the question of whether the state symbol should be retired. The poll conducted by Chism Strategies, a progressive advocacy group based in Mississippi, found that the divisions cleaved largely along racial and partisan lines.Opponents of changing the flag contended that the matter had already been decided, pointing to the statewide referendum in 2001 in which voters overwhelmingly decided against replacing the Confederate symbol in the flag with 20 white stars, a recognition of Mississippi's place as the 20th state to join the union.Five years ago, the killing of nine congregants inside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, set off a similar reckoning, bringing down Confederate monuments and symbols. South Carolina and Alabama lowered the Confederate flags that had continued to fly on statehouse grounds.A coalition of activists, elected officials and business leaders, among others, attempted again to change the Mississippi flag. Conservative political leaders joined in calling for a change, including the state's two U.S. senators and the speaker of the Mississippi House. Still, the resistance was too stiff.In recent weeks, many in the state Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, had indicated their support for a change. One option under consideration is adding a second official state flag.A survey of lawmakers conducted last week by Mississippi Today, a nonprofit news organization, found that 63 members of the House and Senate wanted the Legislature to change the flag; seven wanted to keep the flag; and 51 from both houses wanted voters to decide."The options we've got are for the Legislature to take the leadership role, or put it to a referendum," said Philip Gunn, the Republican House speaker, according to Mississippi Today, adding, "I've always maintained that I feel the Legislature should take the leadership role."Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, has said that he believes it should be up to the voters. Asked about his own view of the flag in a recent news conference, he replied, "I see a flag that the vast majority of Mississippians voted in 2001 to maintain as Mississippi's state flag."Those past failed efforts have tempered any sense of unfettered optimism in changing the flag this time around. Yet supporters contend that perception of the flag has been weakened as cities and other institutions acted on their own, and that the broader movement for racial change unfolding across the country helps them gain traction."This is something new," said Shennette Garrett-Scott, a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Mississippi, adding of those leading the charge now, "They are able to leverage that past dissent, that past activism and past coalition work to really push the state in a way that it has never been pushed."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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