| 'Unimaginable loss': Chicago police deputy chief dies by apparent suicide in department facility Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:47 PM PDT  A newly-promoted Chicago police officer and father of two has died by suicide, city officials said Tuesday.
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| Attorney General Barr to defend use of federal agents to quell Portland protests Posted: 27 Jul 2020 05:49 PM PDT  U.S. Attorney General William Barr will defend the Justice Department's use of federal law enforcement agents to quell protests in Portland, Oregon, in congressional testimony on Tuesday, saying attacks on the federal courthouse there represent "an assault on the government of the United States." Tuesday will mark the first time that Barr has appeared before the House Judiciary Committee since taking the helm of the Justice Department in February of last year.
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| National teacher union supports strikes over reopening plans Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:05 AM PDT  One of the nation's largest teachers unions is authorizing its members to strike if their schools plan to reopen without proper safety measures in the middle of the global pandemic. The American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.7 million school employees, issued a resolution on Tuesday saying it will support any local chapter that decides to strike over reopening plans.
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| Two women arrested for attacking senator filming Wisconsin protests Posted: 28 Jul 2020 02:13 PM PDT  Two women have turned themselves in to police after allegedly assaulting a Wisconsin state representative at a protest on 23 June.Samantha Hamer, 26, and Kerida O'Reilly, 33, were arrested Monday in Madison after turning themselves in to authorities.
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| Tahlequah, the grief-stricken orca who carried her dead daughter with her for 17 days, is pregnant again Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:19 AM PDT  The pregnancy is an exciting chance for Tahlequah, whose community is struggling to survive, scientists told The Seattle Times.
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| Escape to North Korea: Defector at heart of COVID-19 case fled sex abuse investigation Posted: 27 Jul 2020 10:23 PM PDT  Last week, a 24-year-old defector returned to North Korea the way he left in 2017, authorities say, but with a coronavirus pandemic raging in the background this time, his illicit trip drew far more attention. Facing a sexual assault investigation, Kim evaded high-tech South Korean border control systems by crawling through a drain pipe and swimming across the Han River to the North on July 19, the South Korean military has said. Kim's story as a defector begins and, so far, ends in the city of Kaesong, a North Korean border town that hosted a now-shuttered inter-Korean factory park and liaison office.
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| Mitch McConnell is in a terrible negotiating position on COVID-19 relief Posted: 28 Jul 2020 05:02 AM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released a $1 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Monday, days later than planned thanks to divisions within his own caucus. McConnell acknowledged this "embarrassing setback for the party at a critical moment," Politico reports, conceding that not all Senate Republicans will vote for his bill, "which is as close to a tell as McConnell gets to admitting his cards aren't very strong." Other Senate Republicans were more blunt."At the end of the day, [McConnell] has to accept the reality that probably half of our members in the Senate won't vote for it no matter what's in it," Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who helped negotiate the bill with the White House, told Politico. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in the "no" camp, told reporters "there is significant resistance to yet another trillion dollars."Democrats, meanwhile, are united behind a $3 trillion package passed under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last month. That gives her significant leverage in negotiations, Politico notes, and "her majority is safe in November, something McConnell can't say." The White House started negotiating with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on COVID-19 relief Monday evening.The pressure is building to pass a bill before supplemental federal unemployment benefits expire Friday. McConnell's bill would cut those benefits to $200 a week, from $600 a week, until states created a complicated formula to ensure unemployed workers get 70 percent of their pre-coronavirus wages. McConnell's other top priority is a COVID-19 liability shield for companies facing "an epidemic of lawsuits" that has not yet materialized, Politico reports.McConnell's bill also includes $1.75 billion for a new FBI headquarters and $29 billion for defense projects, including at least $7 billion for weapons programs. Asked about the FBI building funds Monday, McConnell told reporters they would have to ask the White House "why they insisted that be included." Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said it was a "good question." Pelosi had an answer: Republicans "didn't have money for food stamps, but they had money for an FBI building just so that they can diminish competition for the president's hotel."More stories from theweek.com Trump: 'Nobody likes me' New $5 million competition announced for developing rapid COVID-19 testing Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows
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| Great white shark kills woman in rare attack in Maine, authorities say Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:52 AM PDT  Maine has recorded only one shark attack since 1837, researchers say.
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| Bill Gates points to social media as the reason coronavirus conspiracy theories spread so rapidly: 'Incorrect things that are very titillating can spread very rapidly compared to the truth' Posted: 28 Jul 2020 06:50 AM PDT  Social media is very effective at distributing news, but it's misinformation that spreads most rapidly and is hardest to police, Bill Gates says.
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| Trump COVID Task Force to Guvs: Make Masks Mandatory Before You Fall Into Red Zone Posted: 28 Jul 2020 04:36 PM PDT  As states in the South and Southwest grapple with how to control the spread of the coronavirus, officials on President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force cautioned the nation's governors Tuesday that a new set of states is beginning to experience an uptick in positive cases and recommended that local leaders implement mask mandates and close bars to contain the outbreaks.Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the task force, said the positivity rate in states such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Colorado was increasing and warned they should quickly take action before they fall into what she described as the "red COVID zones" category. Birx defined the red zones as those states with more than 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people and more than a 10 percent test positivity rate."By the time you see hospitalizations, your community spread is so wide that you've flipped into a red state incredibly quickly," Birx said, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Daily Beast. "By the time you see it, up to 80 or 90 percent of your county already has more than 10 percent positivity rate."The warnings from Birx and other task force officials come as the administration is pushing states across the country to reopen schools, a point Vice President Mike Pence reiterated on the call. Pence said the task force would support whatever decision state leaders make but that the team was beginning to see evidence that "encouraging masks," closing bars, and limiting indoor gatherings were slowing the spread in some of the hot spot states. Birx was more explicit with her advice, saying that the "100 percent mask mandates" played a significant role in containing the virus in those states.Trump in the past has resisted mask wearing and said in a Fox News interview this month that he would not impose a national mask mandate. On Monday, Trump retweeted a video shared by his son Donald Trump Jr. that featured a doctor saying masks were unnecessary. Twitter restricted Donald Trump Jr.'s account and removed the video from the platform.Trump Pushes Fake COVID Cure From Fringe Doctors, Banned by FacebookDr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top vaccine official, was also on the call with governors and said states should adhere to Birx's recommendations even if it wasn't politically expedient to do so. "You may be reluctant to do that because the general population is saying, 'Wait a minute, we're not that bad,'" Fauci said, referring to the advice of implementing mask mandates and restricting large gatherings of people. "You are worse than you think you are because where you are now is going to be reflected and what you are going to see… weeks from now. I know it may sound intrusive but it really isn't."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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| Trump says states 'should be opening up' amid worsening pandemic Posted: 27 Jul 2020 02:06 PM PDT  President Trump on Monday said that he believes "governors should be opening up states they're not opening."
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| U.S. cybersecurity firm says Beijing-linked hackers target Vatican ahead of talks Posted: 28 Jul 2020 11:31 PM PDT  Hackers linked to the Chinese government have infiltrated Vatican computer networks, including the Roman Catholic Church's Hong Kong-based representative, a U.S. firm that tracks state-backed cyber attacks said on Wednesday . It said the attacks began in May. The Vatican and Beijing were expected to engage in talks this year over the renewal of a landmark 2018 deal that stabilised relations between China and the Church. U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said in the report that the attacks targeted the Vatican and the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong, including the head of the Hong Kong Study Mission, who is seen as Pope Francis' de facto representative to China.
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| Rafale: India gets new jets amid border tension with China Posted: 29 Jul 2020 03:06 AM PDT  The Rafale jets will boost India's air power, but they can't be deployed right away.
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| Why do so many COVID-19 patients lose their sense of smell? Scientists now know. Posted: 27 Jul 2020 10:44 AM PDT  Turns out the loss experienced by many who contract COVID-19 is temporary because the neurons that detect smell aren't damaged.
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| Alabama Republican celebrates KKK member's birthday as state remembers civil rights hero John Lewis Posted: 29 Jul 2020 12:17 AM PDT  A Republican senator in Alabama celebrated a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member's birthday at the same time hundreds were honouring the life of civil rights hero John Lewis.State Representative Will Dismukes took part in an event marking the KKK grand wizard and former Confederate Army General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, as Alabama honoured the late Georgia Democrat this weekend.
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| Andrea Bocelli, who had COVID, says lockdown humiliated him Posted: 28 Jul 2020 05:25 AM PDT  Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who recovered from COVID and whose moving Easter performance sought to raise hopes during the pandemic, is striking a different public note, saying Italy's lockdown made him feel "humiliated and offended" by depriving him of his freedom. Bocelli spoke at a panel Monday in a Senate conference room, where he was introduced by right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini, who has railed against the government's stringent measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, Bocelli said that when he learned on March 10 that he had tested positive, just as the nation was going into lockdown, "I jumped into the pool, I felt well" and had only a slight fever.
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| Trump attorneys ask to toss out subpoena of tax preparer's documents Posted: 27 Jul 2020 04:39 PM PDT  The president's attorney says the subpoena for tax documents amounts to an "arbitrary fishing expedition."
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| Minneapolis 'Umbrella Man' who smashed windows during George Floyd protests was a white supremacist trying to incite riots, police say Posted: 28 Jul 2020 12:18 PM PDT  Looting and rioting in the wake of his actions in Minneapolis caused about $500 million in damages and two deaths, the Star Tribune reported.
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| Florida reports record increase in COVID-19 deaths for second day in a row Posted: 29 Jul 2020 07:43 AM PDT  Florida also reported 9,446 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 451,000, the second highest in the country behind California. Florida's total death toll rose to 6,457, eighth highest in the nation, according to a Reuters tally. Florida was among six states on Tuesday that reported single-day records for coronavirus deaths.
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| Postcard helps Van Gogh family reveal exact spot where artist painted hours before his death Posted: 28 Jul 2020 08:01 AM PDT  An art expert has pinpointed the exact spot where Vincent van Gogh was painting just hours before he shot himself, museum officials announced on Tuesday at a ceremony commemorating the 130th anniversary of his suicide. The picture, Tree Roots, was identified as the Dutch post-impressionist painter's last work a few years ago. Now, an early postcard has made it possible to locate the scene it depicts in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village north of Paris. Willem van Gogh, the great-grandson of the artist's brother Theo, and Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, unveiled a plaque at the spot, which will soon be opened to the public. It is a short walk from the Auberge Ravoux, the former inn where Van Gogh spent his last 70 days before dying in his garret room on 29 July 1890.
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| Independent experts clear African Development Bank chief Posted: 28 Jul 2020 01:07 PM PDT  An independent panel of experts, headed by former Irish president Mary Robinson, has cleared the beleaguered leader of the African Development Bank (AfDB) of corruption, according to a report obtained by AFP. Akinwumi Adesina, 60, a charismatic speaker known for his elegant suits and bow ties, became the first Nigerian to helm the AfDB in 2015 -- but a 15-page report earlier this year claimed that under his watch the bank had been tarred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment and favouritism. The panel of three experts, led by Robinson alongside Gambia's Chief Justice Hassan Jallow and the World Bank's former integrity vice president Leonard McCarthy, cleared Adesina of all charges alleged by whistleblowers.
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| Europe's last dictator got COVID-19 after telling people they could avoid it by drinking vodka and going to the sauna Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:41 AM PDT  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko previously dismissed fears over COVID-19 as a "psychosis" and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy.
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| Ex-FBI agent regularly targeted by Trump bringing out book about president's links to Russia Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:13 AM PDT  An ex-FBI agent whose part in the investigations into Donald Trump administration's ties to Russia angered the president, will soon claim he was compromised in a tell-all book.In a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media said Peter Strzok's book would outline claims that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election.
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| Iran holds annual Gulf drill amid rising tensions with U.S. Posted: 28 Jul 2020 02:37 AM PDT  Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards launched a military drill in the Gulf on Tuesday, Iranian state television reported, at a time of high tension between Tehran and Washington. The U.S. military said the drill had caused two bases with American troops in the region to go on heightened alert and said Tehran's missile launches were irresponsible. There have been periodic confrontations in the Gulf in recent years between the Guards and the U.S. military, which has accused the Guards' navy of sending fast-attack boats to harass U.S. warships as they pass the Strait of Hormuz.
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| Huawei executives accused of snubbing Commons Defence Committee over 5G Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:23 AM PDT  Huawei executives were last night accused of snubbing the Commons Defence Committee over 5G weeks after it received a grilling over freedom of speech. The Daily Telegraph understands that Jeremy Thompson and Victor Zhang, vice presidents of Huawei UK and Dr Yao Wenbing, vice president of business development, were all expected to give evidence before the committee, as they had done earlier this month when invited by the Science & Technology committee. During the meeting the executives refused to comment on the row with China over Hong Kong only moments after insisting that the company's UK leaders were free to express their opinions. Days later Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, confirmed the UK would ban Huawei from the its 5G network and set a new deadline for stripping it out of all infrastructure at the cost of £2bn, by 2027. Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Select Committee, told those gathered at Tuesday's meeting: "Huawei were supposed to join us, unfortunately they've declined to be here. This might be connected to the recent announcement in July. I'm sure they're here in spirit, if not, I'm certain they're going to be listening."
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| Hong Kong to suspend UK, Canada, Australia crime treaties Posted: 28 Jul 2020 02:46 AM PDT 
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (July 28) that Hong Kong's government will suspend agreements on mutual assistance for criminal matters, including extradition, with Britain, Canada and Australia. It comes as as New Zealand became the latest country to suspended its extradition treaty the territory, following China's decision to pass a national security law. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong's criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China. "In 1997 there was a 'one country, two systems' commitment by China. It's clear now that the law is no longer what it was and therefore the extradition arrangements we have, don't stand up. But, if they should go back to honoring the commitment of 1997, we'd revisit our situation as well." "We have always taken our view as an independent country that it should be the choice of the New Zealand government not some other government. No matter where the influence is coming from, we've got to make sure our stance is independent." In a website statement, the Chinese embassy in New Zealand called the decision a violation of international law and gross interference in China's internal affairs.
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| Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert tests positive for the coronavirus after refusing to wear a mask in the Capitol Posted: 29 Jul 2020 07:34 AM PDT  Gohmert had defended not wearing a mask, telling CNN last month that he'd wear a face covering regularly only if he contracted the virus.
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| New Jersey police spent nearly five hours breaking up house party of over 700 people Posted: 27 Jul 2020 12:47 PM PDT  The party started at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday and was not completely cleared until around 1 a.m. Monday, police said. The investigation in continuing.
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| Man charged after 'illegally detaining black teenager' on his way to basketball practice Posted: 28 Jul 2020 03:02 PM PDT  A man in Florida has been arrested after he allegedly detained a black teenager who was on his was to basketball practice.Luis Santos was arrested on Saturday over the incident that occurred on 9 June, according to Raw Story.
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| A bridge over an Arizona lake is in flames and partially collapsed after a train derailment Posted: 29 Jul 2020 08:10 AM PDT  Footage from the scene showed mangled train cars, some of which were engulfed in flames while others had plummeted onto the street below.
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| Returning UN envoy: Israel won't suffer for tight Trump ties Posted: 28 Jul 2020 10:37 AM PDT  Israel's returning ambassador to the United Nations affirmed the country's bond with the Trump administration Tuesday, dismissing notions that Israel would pay a price for its tight ties to the divisive president should he be defeated in November. In his first comprehensive interview since returning from the diplomatic posting, Danny Danon said he was relieved that the more progressive forces in the Democratic Party failed to secure the party's nomination and claimed that Israel could prosper with either Trump or Joe Biden in the White House.
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| 'Act now and act fast': Vietnam says every city at risk of coronavirus Posted: 28 Jul 2020 09:11 PM PDT  Vietnam, virus-free for months, is bracing for another wave of COVID-19 infections after state media reported new cases in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands linked to a recent outbreak in the central city of Danang. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the current wave of infections was different to a second wave Vietnam fought in March, and every province and city in the country was at risk, state broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) reported.
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| Marines to Test Exoskeleton Suit That Can Do the Work of Up to 10 Troops Posted: 29 Jul 2020 07:31 AM PDT  The robotic exoskeleton conjures up images of the suit Ellen Ripley wore to take down a space monster in the movie "Aliens."
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| Trump adviser Peter Navarro says he has no regrets for deriding Dr. Fauci over coronavirus Posted: 27 Jul 2020 10:53 AM PDT  White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said Monday he has no regrets about "going rogue" on coronavirus with an unauthorized opinion piece slamming Dr. Anthony Fauci as being wrong about most of the pandemic. Navarro joked that the only thing he regrets is watching Fauci deliver a shaky toss when the doctor threw out Major League Baseball's Opening Day first pitch in Washington, D.C., last ...
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| Tesla quietly revealed it got a government coronavirus bailout after Elon Musk opposed another stimulus package Posted: 28 Jul 2020 08:32 AM PDT  Earlier this month, the billionaire said the government should only do direct stimulus payments to citizens because of "special interests."
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| The Chicago Gun Myth Posted: 27 Jul 2020 01:12 PM PDT  The tragically incompetent mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, appeared on CNN's State of the Union this weekend to deflect attention from the horror show unfolding in her city by blaming interlopers for its spiking murder rate: "We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons -- that is hurting cities like Chicago."Although these accusations have leveled by Chicago politicians for decades now, they are a myth.For one thing, there is no state in the nation with "virtually no gun control" or "no background checks." Every time anyone in the United States purchases a gun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) -- a gun store, a gun show, it doesn't matter -- the seller runs a background check on the buyer through the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) database. In some cases, the FFL checks to see if the buyer has passed a background check via a state-issued concealed-carry permit. In states that allow individual private sales, it is illegal to knowingly sell to anyone who you believe is obtaining a firearm for criminal purposes.Those who cross state lines to buy guns undergo the same background check, and the sale is processed by an FFL in the buyer's home state. The exact same laws apply to all online sales.The vast majority of Americans obtain their guns in this manner, and they rarely commit crimes. Around 7 percent of criminals in prison bought weapons using their real names. Fewer than 1 percent obtained them at gun shows. As the Heritage Foundation's Amy Swearer points out, there have been around 18 million concealed-carry permit holders over the past 15 years, and they have committed 801 firearm-related homicides over that span, or somewhere around 0.7 percent of all firearm-related murders. Concealed-carry holders not only are more law-abiding than the general population as a group; they are more law-abiding than law enforcement.Studies of those imprisoned on firearms charges show that most often they obtain their weapons by stealing them or buying them in black markets. A smaller percentage get them from family members or friends.On top of all this, federal law requires every FFL license holder to report the purchase of two or more handguns by the same person with a week to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This is one of the reasons straw purchasers -- people with a clean record who buy for criminals -- spread their operations to other states. This is not unique to Illinois or Chicago. It has nothing to do with strict or lenient laws. It has mostly to do with cities and states failing to prosecute straw purchases.Lightfoot claims that 60 percent of the guns used in Chicago murders are bought from out of state. I assume she is relying on 2017's suspect "gun trace report," which looked at guns confiscated in criminal acts from 2013 and 2016. Even if we trusted the city's data, most guns used in Illinois crimes are bought in-state. If gun laws in Illinois — which earns a grade of "A-" from the pro-gun-control Gifford Law Center, tied for second highest in the country after New Jersey — are more effective than gun laws in Missouri, Wisconsin, or Indiana, why is it that FFL dealers in suburban Cook County are the origin point for a third of the crime guns recovered in Chicago, and home to "seven of the top ten source dealers"? According to the trace study, 11.2 percent of all crime guns recovered in Chicago could be tracked to just two gun shops.The only reason, it seems, criminals take the drive to Indiana is because local gun shops are tapped out. There is a tremendous demand for weapons in Chicago. That's not Mississippi's fault. And Lightfoot's contention only proves that criminals in her city can get their hands on guns rather easily, while most law-abiding citizens have no way to defend themselves.Lightfoot may also be surprised to learn that California borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. Yet no big city in California has quite the murder and criminality of Chicago. New York borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Yet NYC's murder rate is only fraction of Chicago's. Texas gets an "F" from Gifford Law Center, yet Houston and Dallas have murder rates that are half of that in Chicago. The rates in Austin and El Paso are tiny when compared to Chicago.Then, of course, the "assault-weapons bans" that Lightfoot brings up have absolutely no bearing on Chicago's murder rate, even if such prohibitions actually worked. There were 864 murders in the state of Illinois in 2018 (the last year for which the FBI has full stats). Of homicides where the type of weapon is reported by law enforcement, 592 were perpetrated using handguns, 14 with rifles, and four with shotguns. Over 100 murders were committed using knives, other cutting instruments, hands, feet, and other types of weapons. And of the 14 "rifles" used, it's almost surely the case that not all of them were "assault weapons." Among the illegal guns recovered by Chicago law enforcement in 2018, 12,220 were handguns of some kind and 1,769 were rifles and shotguns.In the states in Illinois's neighborhood with no bans on "assault weapons," the number of murders committed with a "rifle" is correspondingly small — ten in Indiana, eight in Tennessee, six in Kentucky, four in Wisconsin, and three in Mississippi.It's also worth pointing out that gun homicides dropped sharply in most cities after the national "assault weapons" expired in 2004, even though the AR-15 would correspondingly become one of the most popular weapons in the country. The AR-15 is an excellent home-defense weapon, but long guns aren't conducive to criminality, despite what we see in movies. Tragically, AR-15s are often favored by psychotic mass shooters, but rarely by the murderers who plague Lightfoot's city.It keeps getting worse. Nearly 400 people have already been murdered in Chicago this year, around 100 more than in the entire year of 2019. On the night of May 29, 25 people were murdered and another 85 wounded by gunfire, more than any day in 60 years. And yet the mayor is appearing on TV to blame Mississippi and Texas. It is far more likely that black-market guns find their way to Chicago because the place has been a poorly run criminal mecca for decades.
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