| 'I gave two legs for this country': New Biden ad features wounded Army sergeant Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Joe Biden's presidential campaign launched a new TV and digital ad Thursday that chastises President Trump for allegedly disparaging members of the U.S. military.
|
| 2 officers shot during Louisville protests over charges in Breonna Taylor case Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:22 AM PDT  One suspect was in custody, and police said the officers' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
|
| ‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests Posted: 24 Sep 2020 06:15 AM PDT  Arrests of US journalists halfway through 2020 outnumber number of jailed reporters in China in 2019
|
| Mysterious beaked whale smashes mammal diving record Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:06 AM PDT  A Cuvier's beaked whale stays under water for almost four hours, leaving scientists puzzled.
|
| New York City moves to curb COVID-19 spread in new clusters Posted: 23 Sep 2020 11:05 AM PDT  New York City officials said on Wednesday they were working to address a rise in COVID-19 cases in parts of Brooklyn and Queens that was raising "a lot of concern." Mayor Bill de Blasio said the new outbreaks, including a large cluster in three Brooklyn neighborhoods, accounted for about 20% of confirmed positive cases citywide. "We're seeing a serious uptick in multiple neighborhoods simultaneously and it's something we have to address with a very aggressive public health effort right away," de Blasio told reporters, adding that the Sheriff's Office and the New York Police Department would help tackle the spread.
|
| 124 immigrant children held in 3 Phoenix hotels under Trump policy, court records show Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:35 AM PDT  A federal judge has given the Trump administration until Sept. 28 to stop the practice of holding immigrant children in hotels for prolonged periods.
|
| Qantas put fully stocked bar carts from its retired 747s up for sale for more than $1,000, and they're already all sold out Posted: 23 Sep 2020 12:16 PM PDT  Qantas packed the bar carts full of wine, snacks, and candy, and sold them for more than $1,000 each.
|
| Conjoined twins are successfully separated after being locked in embrace Posted: 23 Sep 2020 12:28 PM PDT  Amelia and Sarabeth Irwin were born attached at the chest and upper abdomen in June 2019. Luckily, the conjoined twins did not share a heart.
|
| White House dismisses criticism of persistent coronavirus supply chain problems as work of 'useful idiot' Posted: 22 Sep 2020 12:01 PM PDT  The White House is objecting to a new report that concludes that the U.S. continues to struggle with supply chain logistics that have led to shortages of PPE and diagnostic tests.
|
| Anthony Bottom: Man convicted in killing of two police officers in 1971 is granted parole Posted: 23 Sep 2020 03:09 PM PDT  'He has completely changed, transformed his life and helped an entire generation transform their lives,' says former inmate Jose Saldana
|
| Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and wife test positive for coronavirus Posted: 23 Sep 2020 03:30 PM PDT  Teresa Parson said she woke up with "cold-like symptoms" and got tested out of an abundance of caution.
|
| Pablo Escobar: Money hidden in wall found in drug lord's house Posted: 24 Sep 2020 05:49 AM PDT  A plastic bag with money worth $18m (£14m) is found in a wall by one of the drug lord's nephews.
|
| Coronavirus: 90% of Americans have not been exposed to Covid-19, CDC director warns Posted: 23 Sep 2020 01:35 PM PDT  CDC Director Robert Redfield tells Capitol Hill 'more than 90% of the population' remains susceptible to the novel coronavirus
|
| Vietnam police bust ring selling 'recycled condoms' Posted: 24 Sep 2020 06:04 AM PDT |
| U.S.-Trained Forces Are Raping Women in Cameroon—and Rebels Are Beheading Them Posted: 24 Sep 2020 03:01 AM PDT  IKOM, Nigeria—Lucy was contemplating closing early for the day when soldiers—believed to be from the Cameroon government's notorious Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR)—stormed her shop in the northwestern Cameroon town of Bamenda at the end of August, dragged her outside, asked her to take off the shirt she was wearing, and forced her to sit on the bare ground for hours."When I asked them what I had done wrong, one of them gave me a terrible slap and began to kick me all over my body," Lucy, who sells foodstuffs close to a market in Bamenda, told The Daily Beast via telephone. "I thought the soldiers were going to kill me."On the same day Lucy was brutalized by government forces in Bamenda, about 80 other women—mostly traders at the local food market—were detained at a police station for three days, many of them beaten and wounded by soldiers who were searching for English-speaking separatists following the killing of a police officer days before."The soldiers entered the food market unannounced and began to forcefully remove everybody to the mobile police station," said Lucy, who wanted to be identified by just her first name. "They looted and destroyed shops and ordered every woman to sit on the ground. The weather was so hot and some women collapsed as a result of the heat."Slaughtered Because They Spoke EnglishScores of women have been assaulted and abused by both Cameroonian government forces and English-speaking separatists in the northwest and southwest Anglophone parts of Cameroon since violence erupted in the two regions, along the long Nigerian border, more than three years ago.Reports of sexual violence against women have grown in recent months, mostly perpetrated by BIR soldiers who've received lots of financial support from the United States in recent years. Last year, Human Rights Watch documented how two BIR soldiers raped a 22-year-old mother in the northwest and how a 23-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl in the same home were raped in front of two children by three BIR soldiers who accused them of hiding separatists. Women have also been assaulted while fleeing from their communities."Soldiers stopped us as we were heading to the [Nigerian] border and forced us to take off our clothes," a 17-year-girl, who fled the Cameroonian town of Akwaya with her 25-year-old sister to the Ogoja refugee settlement in Nigeria, told The Daily Beast. "They began to touch our private parts and were about to rape us when they heard gunshots, which made them leave us and run away."In recent years, the Cameroonian military—including the BIR—has relied heavily on the U.S. for funding. Since 2014, America has given more than $220 million to Cameroon in security assistance—including $700,000 spent so far this year on assisting the country's military and police.Created in 2001 by the Cameroonian government to tackle armed bandits on its northern border with Chad and Nigeria and its eastern border with the Central African Republic, the BIR soon began to stray from its original mission—allegedly committing a number of human-rights atrocities including extrajudicial killing of civilians suspected to work for Boko Haram militants in northern Cameroon.The elite army unit, which is better trained and equipped than the regular Cameroonian army, is overseen by retired Israeli officers who report directly to President Paul Biya. These officers were recently accused of living extravagantly. One of them was reported to have bought properties worth about $32 million in New York and Los Angeles, and spent his holidays in luxury resorts in the Bahamas, costing $20,000 per night.But the rapid reaction force isn't the only group that has targeted women and girls in western Cameroon. Armed separatists have assaulted and murdered women amid intensifying violence and growing calls for secession of the northwest and southwest regions.In an astonishing video widely shared on social media last month, three suspected separatist fighters in the southwestern town of Muyuka were seen beating and dragging a woman whom the government later identified as Confort Tumassang, a 35-year-old mother of four. Her hands were tied behind her back and Tumassang, who was accused of collaborating with the military, could be heard in the clip begging for mercy. She was then beheaded and her body abandoned in the street. The incident, which occurred on Aug. 11, came during the same period that reports of sexual assault perpetrated by separatists on women in Anglophone communities began to grow."My 17-year-old cousin was raped by two rebels on her way to the market." Helen, a 25-year-old hairdresser in Muyuka, told The Daily Beast via telephone. "They beat her up and threatened to kill her before eventually raping her."The U.S.-Backed Military Slaughters Women and Children in CameroonRape has become one of the most common forms of violence against women in the conflict in the western Cameroon. A study last year by the Rural Women Center for Education and Development, a Cameroonian non-profit group, revealed that at least 300 school-age girls from the northwest region became pregnant after being raped by suspected separatist fighters or government soldiers, and that many victims terminated their pregnancies with unsafe or crude abortions. Following the revelation, Cameroon government officials noted that the actual number could be much higher, as many girls involved in the practice do so in hiding."It is obviously clear that rape has become a weapon of war in the conflict in western Cameroon," Eno Edet, a human rights lawyer and advocate in Cross River State—which is hosting the vast majority of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria—told The Daily Beast. "There are dozens of Cameroonian girls in refugee settlements here in Cross River with stories of sexual assault perpetrated by separatists or government forces back in their country."Cameroon's western regions descended into conflict in 2016 when the government repressed peaceful protests by English speakers against perceived marginalization. It turned into a full war when separatists declared western Cameroon an independent nation in October 2017. Over 3,000 civilian deaths have been recorded, along with dozens of soldiers killed by separatists. More than 700,000 Anglophone Cameroonians have been displaced during the crisis, and at least 52,000 people are currently taking refuge in Nigeria.As The Daily Beast previously reported, Anglophones make up about 20 percent of Cameroon's population of 26 million. In February 1961, the United Nations organized a referendum in which English-speaking Cameroonians, then under British rule, voted to rejoin Francophone Cameroon. Both merged on Oct. 1, 1961, and inherited a constitution which recognized the country as a federation of two states with "the same status." But not long after the reunification, things began to change. Then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo, a Francophone, replaced the two federal states with six regions. He appointed federal inspectors of each region and gave them more power than locally elected politicians. Ahidjo followed up by discarding the currency used by the Anglophones. He refused to recognize Cameroon's membership of the Commonwealth, and he abolished federalism altogether through a national referendum.Incumbent President Paul Biya, also a Francophone, succeeded Ahidjo in November 1982 and began to introduce policies similar to that of his predecessor. In 1983, he split the Anglophone region into the Northwest and Southwest provinces. A year later he changed the country's official name to the Republic of Cameroon, as it was known as when it was a Francophone territory, and removed the second star from the flag that had stood as a representation of the Anglophone region.Many prominent figures in Cameroon's western region from time to time condemned the policies of the Biya administration as they affect the western region, but when the government went ahead to appoint French-speaking magistrates in Anglophone courts, many believed he had gone too far.Unfortunately, the conflict that followed has crippled social amenities and left much of the Anglophone region in ruins. But it is the frequent targeting of women and girls by major players in the war that leaves many in English-speaking communities worried."We are living in fear because women are becoming victims of rape every day," said Helen, the hairdresser in Muyuka. "The other day, it was my cousin [who was raped]. Tomorrow, it could be another innocent woman. No woman is safe here."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.
|
| House passes temporary funding bill, averting shutdown Posted: 23 Sep 2020 03:27 AM PDT  The House on Tuesday night passed a sweeping bipartisan funding bill, averting a government shutdown.
|
| “Unthinkable”: Trump’s says "get rid of the ballots," and "there won't be a transfer of power" Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:27 AM PDT  "In the United States of America, we do not 'get rid of' ballots," FEC Commissioner Weintraub says. "We count them"
|
| Neighbor angry over kids playing near his yard kills their grandma, Colorado cops say Posted: 23 Sep 2020 01:30 PM PDT  "If I could take a bullet for her, I would have."
|
| Man who drove into California protesters used vineyard as 'tactical training camp,' officials say Posted: 23 Sep 2020 09:16 PM PDT  Benjamin Hung, 28, is accused of possessing a machete, a Glock and other weapons in his truck and driving into a crowd of racial justice protesters in Pasadena.
|
| Camp Lejeune Marines Warned to Stop Running in the Dark After 4 Coyote Attacks Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:15 AM PDT  Three Marines and a sailor have been bitten by a coyote on the loose at Camp Lejeune.
|
| China’s Statist System Is No Match for Free Markets Posted: 24 Sep 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from the book Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World by H. R. McMaster. Copyright © 2020 by H. R. McMaster. The book was published on September 22, 2020, by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission. Part I of the excerpt is here.The CCP views its centralized, statist economic system as bestowing advantages, especially the ability to successfully coordinate efforts across government, business, academia, and the military. And it views America's and other nations' decentralized, free-market economic systems as rendering them unable to compete with China's centrally-directed strategies, such as Made in China 2025, OBOR, and Military-Civilian Fusion. That is why the United States and other free-market economies need to demonstrate the competitive advantages of decentralization and unconstrained entrepreneurialism while defending themselves from Chinese predation. Here, the private sector plays a vital role. Companies and academic institutions at the forefront of developing and applying new technologies must recognize that China is breaking the rules to take advantage of our open societies and free-market economies. A first step toward preserving competitive advantage is to crack down on Chinese theft of our technologies. Although there have been significant reforms in national-security reviews of foreign investments, another effective defense would be to enforce requirements that U.S. companies report investment by China-related entities, technology transfer requests, and participation in the CCP's core technology development or PLA modernization programs.There is much room for improvement in the effort to prevent China from using the open nature of the U.S. economy to promote not only its state capitalist model, but also to perfect its surveillance police state. Many universities, research labs, and companies in countries that value the rule of law and individual rights are witting or unwitting accomplices in the CCP's use of technology to repress its people and improve PLA capabilities. For dual-use technologies, the private sector should seek new partnerships with those who share commitments to free-market economies, representative government, and the rule of law. Many companies are engaged in joint ventures or partnerships that help the CCP develop technologies suited for internal security, such as surveillance, artificial intelligence, and biogenetics. Others accede to Chinese investments that give the CCP access to such technology. In one of many examples, a Massachusetts-based company provided DNA sampling equipment that helped the CCP track Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. Google has been hacked by China, used by the CCP to shut off the Chinese people's access to information, and refused to work with the U.S. Department of Defense on artificial intelligence. Companies that knowingly collaborate with CCP efforts to repress the Chinese people or to build military capabilities that might one day be used against those companies' fellow citizens should be penalized.Tougher screening for U.S., European, and Japanese capital markets would also help restrict firms' complicity in helping the CCP's authoritarian agenda. Many Chinese companies directly or indirectly involved in domestic human-rights abuses and violation of international treaties are listed on American stock exchanges. Those companies benefit from U.S. and other Western investors. There are more than 700 Chinese companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, about 62 on the NASDAQ Composite index, and more than 500 in the poorly regulated over-the-counter market. One company that is a candidate for delisting is Hikvision, a company responsible for facial-recognition technology that identifies and monitors the movement of ethnic Uighurs. Hikvision produces surveillance cameras that line the walls of Chinese concentration camps in Xinjiang. Together with its parent company, the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group, Hikvision is on the U.S. Commerce Department Entity List (what many call "the Blacklist"). Free-market economies like ours have far more leverage than they are using because they control the vast majority of the world's capital.Defensive measures, however, are inadequate. Free and open societies need to become more competitive through reform and investments. China here has a clear advantage in the adoption of new technologies. Its centralized decision-making system, government subsidies, underwriting of risk, the relative lack of the kinds of regulations and bureaucratic hurdles typical in the United States and other democratic nations, and the lack of ethical impediments (e.g., in the areas of biogenetics and autonomous weapons) all foster fast application of technologies in the civil sector and the PLA. Although the United States and other nations should not compromise their ethics, many of the weaknesses relative to China are self-imposed. For example, the U.S. national-security institutions suffer from chronic bureaucratic inertia. The slow, inflexible nature of defense budgeting and procurement in the United States has long been studied, with little effective change. But the stakes are now too high to tolerate the lack of predictable multi-year procurement budgets, convoluted procurement systems, and deferred defense modernization. The sheer difficulty of doing business with the Department of Defense discourages the most innovative small companies from contributing to defense capabilities and makes it difficult to innovate within the life cycle of emerging technologies. The old model of multi-year research and development to design and test a capability is no longer valid. The U.S. Department of Defense and military services risk exquisite irrelevance as the PLA develops new capabilities and countermeasures that vitiate longstanding American military advantages. Reducing barriers to collaboration between the private sector and national-security and defense-related industries could release the potential of free-market innovation in this critical area.But even streamlining bureaucracy will prove insufficient to compete with the vast investments China is making in emerging dual-use technologies that will advantage its data economy and its military capabilities. That is why government and private-sector investment in technologies in the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, and materials science will prove crucial for the United States to maintaining differential advantages over an increasingly capable and aggressive PLA. Defense cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region should extend to multinational development of future defense capabilities, with the ultimate goal of convincing the CCP that it cannot accomplish objectives through the use of force. Multinational cooperation in the development of space and cyberspace capabilities could also deter Chinese aggression in these contested domains. And Taiwan's defense capabilities must be sufficient to ward off China's designs for what would be a costly war with the potential of expanding across large portions of East Asia.
|
| Mark Zuckerberg claims he's 'probably been the most outspoken CEO in the country' against Trump Posted: 23 Sep 2020 10:25 AM PDT  In leaked audio recordings from internal Facebook meetings obtained by The Verge, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg can be heard attempting to juggle the calls from his generally liberal-leaning employees to take a harder line against the Trump administration and complaints about censorship of posts from the site's more conservative user base.Zuckerberg's comments weren't too far off from those he's made publicly, and he maintained his belief that Facebook has to "take into account that there are different views on different things, and that if someone disagrees with a view, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're hateful or have bad intent."In one recording, Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg can be heard echoing this sentiment to the company's incoming interns, telling them "what we do is really try not to take a point of view" and explaining that she doesn't let her own "very strong point of view on this president ... enter into my judgments when I'm doing policy changes."At the same time, Zuckerberg, at one company Q&A session in July, addressed employees' concerns that he might be too soft on Trump. "I think I've probably been the most outspoken CEO in the country against — on the many things that I disagree with this president on," he said, citing his disapproval of Trump's stances on immigration and climate change, as well as his "divisive and inflammatory rhetoric, that I've called disgusting." Read more at The Verge.More stories from theweek.com America needs to hear the bad news first A mild defense of Republican hypocrisy on the Supreme Court Trump is the only one being honest about the Supreme Court fight
|
| Former Fox News Regular Joe diGenova Claims Network Is Beholden to George Soros Posted: 23 Sep 2020 10:22 AM PDT  Long-time Trump ally and former Fox News regular Joe diGenova lashed out at the conservative-leaning network on Wednesday, claiming Fox News "fears George Soros" and wondering aloud what the liberal philanthropist "has on" Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott.For more than a week now, right-wing media outlets and pro-Trump pundits have railed against Fox News for an on-air segment that featured multiple hosts shutting down Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich just as he began a conspiratorial rant against Soros—who has long been the target of anti-Semitic tropes from the right. After Gingrich asked if the topic was "verboten," the discussion ended in a long awkward silence.Amid a growing backlash from conservatives—who felt Gingrich was being silenced from criticizing a right-wing bogeyman—Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner later issued an on-air apology for the segment, describing the former speaker as "beloved" and "needed to be allowed to speak." Gingrich, meanwhile, authored an op-ed complaining that he was the victim of a "Soros cover-up."DiGenova, who has been absent from Fox airwaves for nearly a year after baselessly accusing Soros of controlling the State Department, appeared on former Fox News contributor Sebastian Gorka's radio program on Wednesday to claim Fox is in the pocket of the liberal billionaire. (Gorka, a one-time Trump assistant, continues to make frequent guest spots on Fox Business Network.)> Banned Fox News guest and right-wing attorney Joe DiGenova and Seb Gorka are going all in, alleging that "Fox News fears George Soros, " while further theorizing about what Soros "has on" Fox CEO Suzanne Scott. pic.twitter.com/gWEI8nHBws> > — Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) September 23, 2020Alongside his wife Victoria Toensing—both have served as attorneys for President Donald Trump—diGenova argued that Faulkner personally owed Gingrich an apology for interrupting his anti-Soros tirade, adding that she "didn't correct the record" and acknowledge that Soros has funded local district attorney races. (Gingrich alleged that "George Soros-elected, left-wing, anti-police, pro-criminal district attorneys who refuse to keep people locked up" was the main cause of violence at protests.)"Let me just tell you something: Fox fears George Soros," diGenova exclaimed. "I don't know what it is, I don't know what George Soros has on Suzanne Scott—the head of Fox—but the bottom line is this: that network is compromised when it comes to Soros!"At the same time, the Trump-boosting attorney applauded Fox News star Tucker Carlson's recent anti-Soros monologues, saying the far-right host is "strong enough" to do it while lamenting others will not."But there are other nighttime hosts who will not touch Soros," he concluded. "They've been told not to. I don't know why they won't do it. It's unbelievable!"Fox News came under fire last year from several Jewish organizations after diGenova said on Lou Dobbs' show that Soros "controls a very large part" of the State Department and has "corrupted FBI officials," dabbling in the right-wing trope that the Jewish billionaire was a political puppeteer.Several groups called on Fox to explicitly ban diGenova from its airwaves and issue a public apology, citing the network's decision to bar a previous guest for similar remarks. While the network never publicly declared that diGenova was no longer welcome, he hasn't appeared on air since late last year.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.
|
| Rep. Gaetz: I spoke with Florida attorney general, criminal probe may already be underway for Bloomberg Posted: 23 Sep 2020 12:23 PM PDT  Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz says Mike Bloomberg may face a criminal probe for paying fines for felons in Florida; reaction from 'Outnumbered.'
|
| Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny mocked Putin for suggesting that he poisoned himself Posted: 23 Sep 2020 11:08 AM PDT  Putin's critics and opponents have routinely been poisoned and some have been killed. Navalny is seemingly the latest victim.
|
| Trump’s potential Supreme Court nominee slammed Obama for trying to ‘dramatically flip the balance of power’ Posted: 23 Sep 2020 01:33 PM PDT  Widely viewed as the president's top choice for the vacancy, Amy Coney Barrett has previously spoken out against shifting the balance of the nation's highest court
|
| Breonna Taylor: What happened on the night of her death? Posted: 23 Sep 2020 02:07 PM PDT  The 26-year-old was killed by police in her Louisville home, sparking protests and calls for justice.
|
| South Florida ICE detainees required to go attend court regardless of whether they have COVID Posted: 24 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Immigration detainees in South Florida are being required to attend court hearings with other migrants even if they have COVID-19, two sources with the Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday.
|
| Navy releases documents from Cold War loss of submarine Posted: 23 Sep 2020 01:53 PM PDT  The Navy began releasing documents from the investigation into the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history on Wednesday, but the Navy said the documents released under a court order don't shed any new light on the cause of the sinking. The first of the documents released were 300 pages from the official inquiry into the sinking of the USS Thresher on April 10, 1963. The loss of the nuclear-powered submarine and all 129 men aboard during a test dive in the Atlantic Ocean delivered a blow to national pride during the Cold War and became the impetus for safety improvements.
|
| Britons face virtual worldwide quarantine as four more countries are added to UK Covid travel ban list Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:52 AM PDT  Britons face virtual worldwide quarantine today after four more countries were taken off the list where holidaymakers can travel without Covid restrictions. There are now just nine holiday options that don't include some form of test or restriction; both Greece (except for travellers from Scotland, or those visiting certain islands) and Italy survive, along with the likes of Turkey and Germany. The widening travel ban came as Iceland, Denmark, Slovakia and Curacao were axed from the UK's quarantine-free "green list'' this afternoon. From Saturday 4am any traveller from these destinations will have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in the UK. With most countries still on the UK's "green list" either requiring self-isolation or negative Covid tests on arrival, it means there are just seven destinations where "air bridges" remain open both ways. These are Germany, Poland, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Greece, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino where British travellers can avoid any quarantine or tests in either direction. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said the resurgence of the pandemic had effectively put the world back into quarantine with "little choice for those passionate enough to travel at this time." He said the travel industry had been left with just two options: to offer very late bookings or effectively shut down and focus on 2021. "As the red list gets longer, it makes quarantine redundant because destinations abroad often have more infections than we do. It makes the system pointless and you might as well resort to substantial testing at airports," said Mr Charles. Other countries that remain on the UK's "green list" like Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Finland and Seychelles are closed to travellers, require up to 14 days quarantine or stipulate that they will only allow in arrivals with a negative Covid test result in the previous 72 hours. In the past two months, Spain, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Malta, Netherlands, Czech Republic and mainland Portugal have all been removed from the UK green list. The reimposition of quarantine on Denmark and Iceland became inevitable as their covid rates soared to 65.2 cases per 100,000 of the population and 80.4 per 100,000, well above the Government's "trigger" threshold of 20 per 100,000 for joining the "red list." Slovakia is on 24.1 per 100,000 which is still below the UK where the spike in cases has pushed our rate up to 47.3 cases per 100,000 of the population. The 20 countries you can (feasibly) visit right now Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said "This reinforces the need for the Government to end the dither and delay and introduce testing now. "Our industry is on its knees and we urgently need the Government to deliver financial support measures to help our airports survive the challenging winter months, support that we have been calling for since March. "The Government's seeming blindness to the plight of the aviation sector risks ending our recovery before it has even begun and their lack of action risks the very future of our world class aviation sector."
|
| 'Placed intentionally to cause harm': Michigan city closes playgrounds after discovery of 41 razor blades Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:13 PM PDT  The Eaton Rapids Police Department found razor blades at two playgrounds, prompting the city to temporarily close all parks to ensure safety.
|
| Trump Data Guru Officially Disqualified Over ‘Shady’ Campaign Tactics Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:01 AM PDT  LONDON—Alexander Nix, the man who was running Cambridge Analytica when it harvested the Facebook data of tens of millions voters without their knowledge so it could be exploited by the Trump 2016 campaign, has been banned from directing any companies for seven years.The now-defunct Cambridge Analytica was a U.K. digital black-ops firm that collapsed in 2018 following revelations that it secretly collected Facebook profile information on 87 million people. The Daily Beast revealed two years ago that Team Trump used audience lists created by Cambridge Analytica to target "dark ads" on Facebook during the final months of the 2016 campaign up to Trump's inauguration.Nix gained notoriety as the face of Cambridge Analytica when he inadvertently revealed the shocking extent of its dubious operations. The company's former chief executive was secretly recorded by Britain's Channel 4 blabbing about its work for Trump and effectively claiming that Cambridge Analytica was to thank for Trump becoming president.Nix said in the secret recording: "We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy."The footage, in which he bragged about apparently illegal campaign tactics used on jobs in other parts of the world, was the beginning of his and Cambridge Analytica's swift and spectacular downfall. Nix was suspended as CEO when the tapes were broadcast in March 2018, the company collapsed in May that year, and then it was forced into compulsory liquidation in April 2019.Now, Nix has been slapped with a new punishment that will prevent him from directing any companies until October 2027.The British government's Insolvency Service confirmed Thursday that Nix will be "disqualified for seven years from acting as a director or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company."In the statement, the government agency condemned Nix for allowing Cambridge Analytica to carry out what it called "unethical services," which it said included "bribery or honey trap stings, voter disengagement campaigns, obtaining information to discredit political opponents and spreading information anonymously in political campaigns."Mark Bruce, the chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said that Cambridge Analytica's parent company, SCL Elections, "repeatedly offered shady political services to potential clients over a number of years."The chief investigator went on to say in his statement: "Alexander Nix's actions did not meet the appropriate standard for a company director and his disqualification from managing limited companies for a significant amount of time is justified in the public interest."The Insolvency Service said Nix has signed the disqualification notice.Britain's punitive action against Nix comes nearly a year after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission came to a settlement with him and Aleksandr Kogan, who developed the app which allowed Cambridge Analytica to harvest the personal information of millions of Americans.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.
|
| Seattle City Council Votes to Cut Some Police Jobs and Funding, Overriding Mayor’s Veto Posted: 23 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT  The Seattle City Council voted on Tuesday to cut a number of police positions and some funding for the city's law enforcement, overriding a veto on the proposal from Mayor Jenny Durkan.Calls to defund the police department entirely arose following the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by officers in Minneapolis. Demonstrators in Seattle set up an "autonomous zone" without police in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood for several weeks in June, but the zone was disbanded after four shootings occurred in or near the area.The City Council will cut up to 100 officers from the police, eliminate the force's "navigation team" that clears homeless encampments, and use $3 million in emergency reserves to fund a safety-research project. Seattle police currently operate with a budget of $400 million and 1,433 uniformed officers. Former police chief Carmen Best, Seattle's first black head of the force, resigned last month after the City Council announced the intended reforms and cut Best's salary to well below that of her white predecessor."Countless videos of Black and brown lives lost here in Seattle and across the country shows us that not everyone feels safe in our community, and not everyone is safe," Council President M. Lorena González said during the veto-override session, in comments recorded by the Seattle Times.Public comments during an hour-long session preceding the vote were mostly in favor of the Council's cuts, with some commenters urging councilmembers to "hold the line" in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement.However, group of small business owners is currently suing the city over its decision to cede the Capitol Hill neighborhood to protesters.
|
| United to become 1st U.S. airline to offer passengers COVID-19 tests Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:40 AM PDT  United Airlines has announced plans to start offering COVID-19 tests to certain passengers, becoming the first U.S. airline to do so, CNN reports. The airline on Thursday said that beginning on Oct. 15, passengers traveling from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii will be able to take either a rapid COVID-19 test at the airport or a test that they can administer at home prior to the trip.At the airport, United will offering Abbott's COVID-19 test that provides results in 15 minutes. For the mail-in test from Color, passengers will be able to return it through mail or a drop box and get the results back in between 24 and 48 hours. According to CBS News, the rapid testing at the airport "takes about 20 minutes from arrival to result and initially will cost $250," while the at-home testing "will be $80 plus shipping and go to a San Francisco lab for processing."This program, United said, will help ensure that these passengers who test negative for COVID-19 will not be subject to Hawaii's 14-day quarantine requirements. As CNN notes, Hawaii says that those who "are tested no earlier than 72 hours before their flight arrives with an FDA-approved nucleic acid amplification test" can avoid the 14-day quarantine. United Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist says the company will "look to quickly expand customer testing to other destinations and U.S. airports later this year." More stories from theweek.com America needs to hear the bad news first A mild defense of Republican hypocrisy on the Supreme Court Trump is the only one being honest about the Supreme Court fight
|
| Trump Pennsylvania rally: Images reveal packed and half maskless crowd as president mocks Biden for social distancing Posted: 23 Sep 2020 04:03 AM PDT  President spoke at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday night
|
| 4 people have been charged after a Black man's body was found burning in an Iowa ditch Posted: 23 Sep 2020 03:36 AM PDT  Michael Williams' body was found burning in a ditch in Iowa on September 16. The police said race didn't seem to be a motivating factor in the death.
|
| Kodak Black wants out of his hellacious Kentucky prison, stat, new lawsuit says Posted: 24 Sep 2020 08:10 AM PDT  Being behind bars is certainly no fun, but for Kodak Black it's hell, a new suit claims.
|
| Portland denies permit for right-wing rally, cites COVID-19 Posted: 23 Sep 2020 03:08 PM PDT  Portland, Oregon, has denied a permit for a Saturday rally planned by the right-wing group Proud Boys. The city found the group's estimated crowd size of 10,000 people was too big under coronavirus safety measures, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau. The bureau said it had consulted with Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is also the police commissioner, and decided that those attending would not be able to comply with social distancing rules because of the large numbers of people.
|
| Nuts to politics: ex-air steward eyes to lead South Korean party Posted: 23 Sep 2020 08:57 PM PDT  Former South Korean air steward Park Chang-jin never imagined a bag of macadamia nuts would lead him to a career in politics.
|
| As more schools offer in-person options, what happens to the students who stay virtual? Posted: 23 Sep 2020 09:23 AM PDT  As districts go from fully virtual to hybrid schedules, they split students into two groups: in-person part-time and always virtual.
|
| Google removes Uluru virtual walk from Street View Posted: 24 Sep 2020 05:35 AM PDT  Parks Australia had requested user-generated images from the sacred site be immediately removed.
|
| Column: How Democrats could curb a conservative SCOTUS without court-packing - Frankel Posted: 23 Sep 2020 12:39 PM PDT  President Donald Trump and Republicans in the U.S. Senate are barreling forward with plans to lock down conservative control of the U.S. Supreme Court for decades to come. The president has said he will announce his nominee on Saturday to fill the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. According to an upcoming California Law Review article, The Supreme Court and the 117th Congress, Congress can home in on how the Supreme Court decides which cases to hear.
|
| Coronavirus vaccine researcher: 'People will die because of a lack of faith in the system' Posted: 22 Sep 2020 11:48 AM PDT  The clearest way for the U.S. to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, Stat News reports, is to achieve herd immunity through vaccination. Experts estimate that will occur once 50 to 70 percent of the population is protected. But, as Kawsar Talaat, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University points out, "the most effective vaccine in the world is useless if no one will accept it."There's a lot of skepticism about a coronavirus vaccine across the political spectrum in the U.S. A new Axios poll released Tuesday showed that only 43 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of Republicans would take a first-generation vaccine as soon as it's available, and the numbers have trended downward rapidly over the last few months.> A stunning and huge problem:> > The share of Americans who say they'll try a first-generation coronavirus vaccine is plummeting. https://t.co/t6WjEMNTYS pic.twitter.com/w19im7SSzz> > — Axios (@axios) September 22, 2020The expectation is that there will be more than one vaccine rolling out over time, so it's possible those numbers would go back up as safety and efficacy become more clear, but there's certainly a disconnect between the public and the government and scientific community on the issue. "I think people will die because of a lack of faith in the system," Talaat said, arguing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have wavered on testing guidelines, and the Food and Drug Administration has been undermined by the optics of political interference from the Trump Administration. Stat notes that others want vaccine makers to be more transparent about the process.Either way, Talaat said, "you can't talk your way into trust. You need to demonstrate that you're trustworthy, and that the process is trustworthy." Read more about how the pandemic may play out over the course of the next year at Stat News.More stories from theweek.com America needs to hear the bad news first A mild defense of Republican hypocrisy on the Supreme Court Trump is the only one being honest about the Supreme Court fight
|
| Trump news: President will name Scotus pick at 5pm Saturday as McConnell reveals his choice Posted: 22 Sep 2020 05:22 PM PDT  US reaches 200,000 Covid-19 deaths as White House defends president's false claims
|
| This brand-new $56 million Bombardier Global 6500 private jet can fly 6,600 nautical miles and is now for sale – see inside Posted: 23 Sep 2020 10:59 AM PDT  The Bombardier Global 6500 is the upgraded version of the popular Global 6000 with enhances in range, efficiency, and interior amenities.
|
| Pregnant woman pulls husband to safety after shark attack Posted: 23 Sep 2020 06:23 AM PDT |
No comments:
Post a Comment