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Showing posts from July, 2020

A key federal appeals court will reexamine case on Michael Flynn's guilty plea

The full panel of judges' decision to review Flynn's case could result in a reversal of a three-judge panel's decision to dismiss the case last month. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39HkSWd

UK puts lockdown-easing on hold as virus spread accelerates

Prime Minister Boris Johnson put some planned measures to ease the U.K.'s lockdown on hold Friday, just hours before they were due to take effect, saying the number of new coronavirus cases in the country is on the rise for the first time since May. Under the new restrictions, people from different households in Greater Manchester, England’s second largest metropolitan area, have been asked to not meet indoors. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/30ZDQn4

For Biden's running mate, the safest pick might be the safe bet

First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3fnvcnL

Are Pap smears 'obsolete'? There's a better option for cervical cancer screening, American Cancer Society says

The American Cancer Society released new guidelines on cervical cancer screenings Thursday, recommending that people with a cervix start testing at age 25. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3k5XhDF

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had to be told to unmute his microphone to answer a question during the big tech antitrust hearing

"Mr. Bezos, I believe you're on mute," one lawmaker told Bezos as the pandemic forced all four CEOs to dial into the inquiry virtually. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2D77fnj

Killer of Rafiki, Uganda's rare silverback mountain gorilla, jailed

The Ugandan hunter said that he had killed the animal in self defence when he was attacked. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/30bivrs

Alan Dershowitz calls Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre a 'serial liar' while once again denying he ever had sex with her

Virginia Giuffre claims that Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor, had sex with her when she was underage in Jeffrey Epstein's residences. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3hTEObm

Poll puts Biden over Trump in 6 swing states

Former Vice President Joe Biden is still looking good in key swing states across the country.In May, a poll from the British consulting firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies put Biden ahead of President Trump in six states Trump won in 2016: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Redfield & Wilton Strategies' July poll shows Biden still has a lead in all of those states, and even widened it in three of them.While Biden had a 4 percent lead over Trump in Arizona, a 2-point lead in Florida, and an 8-point lead in Michigan in May, he has an 8, 7, and 12 percent lead, respectively, in those states as of July. Biden maintained his 10-point lead in Wisconsin over the past two months. Meanwhile Biden lost traction in North Carolina, where he had a 45-43 lead over Trump in May but has a 43-42 lead as of July, and Pennsylvania, where his margin fell from 48-39 to 48-41.Redfield & Wilton surveyed anywhere from 742 to 1,121 registered voters in each o

Dr. Fauci and Rep. Jordan have a tense exchange over limiting protests because of the coronavirus

During the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Friday, Rep. Jim Jordan pressed Dr. Anthony Fauci about limiting protests to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3hVmyhG

Venezuela supreme court approves extradition request to Italy for ex-oil czar

Venezuela's supreme court said on Friday it had approved a request to Italy for the extradition of Rafael Ramirez, a once powerful oil minister and former head of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, on corruption charges. Authorities opened a probe into Ramirez over alleged graft in late 2017 and sought an Interpol red alert for him in early 2018, shortly after he left his later post as Venezuela's United Nations ambassador and began publicly criticizing President Nicolas Maduro's handling of the economy, which remains in freefall. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39WrIYh

Family of Black college student killed by white police officer draws support from Jay-Z, Rihanna and Amy Schumer in bid to reopen case

College football standout Danroy "DJ" Henry Jr., 20, was shot and killed by a white police officer outside a New York bar on Oct. 17, 2010, as he drove away from a disturbance he was not involved in. Nearly 10 years later, celebrities join the victim’s family to demand that the case be reopened. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3jUYFZA

Letters to the Editor: Portland protesters, it's time to stop. You're playing into Trump's hands

God forbid President Trump gets another four years in office because of average voters' disgust with violent protests. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33e8Diz

US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mate

Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/317zF8U

CNN host says Trump loyalist owes broadcaster an apology over video played at Barr hearing

CNN host Jake Tapper has demanded that Republican congressman Jim Jordan apologise for playing an edited video that misleadingly showed reporters describe the George Floyd protests as “peaceful”.On Tuesday, attorney general William Barr took part in his first congressional hearing since he took the role, and faced questions on topics including his response to the protests and the subsequent deployment of federal law enforcement agents to cities such as Portland, Oregon. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2EqijfC

China bars protest leaders from running in upcoming Hong Kong elections

The move is seen as a further sign of Beijing's tightening hold on the city after the passage of a controversial security law. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2D2qDlm

Alabama Republican celebrates KKK member's birthday as state remembers civil rights hero John Lewis

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. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/306vUBk

CDC: Hundreds sick, 1 dead in nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to chicks, ducklings

One person has died and nearly 1,000 have been sickened, the CDC says. Every state except Hawaii and Rhode Island has now reported at least one case. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33a5yQB

'Last Supper' artwork of feasting Netanyahu irks Israeli leader

A statue in a Tel Aviv square of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a "Last Supper" feast added new bite on Wednesday to mounting protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu, whose popularity has plunged in opinion polls amid 21.5% unemployment, said his depiction in a mock tableau of Jesus's final meal before his crucifixion, was tantamount to a death threat. In the installation, Netanyahu sits alone at a grand 10-metre (33 ft) long table, with two candelabras, grabbing at a huge cake resembling an Israeli flag. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/337afdV

US hits Poland, others in Europe over Holocaust claims

The United States is criticizing a number of eastern and central European nations, including Poland, for failing to compensate Holocaust victims and their families and communities for property seized during Nazi occupation in World War II as the numbers of survivors dwindles due to age. In a report issued Wednesday, the State Department called out Bosnia, Belarus, Ukraine and particularly Poland for not having acted on restitution claims. Croatia, Latvia and Russia were also taken to task in the report, which is likely to draw angry responses from the governments identified. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/30aizb5

Pelosi says House members who refuse to wear masks will be thrown out

Nancy Pelosi has said lawmakers will be thrown out of the House of Representatives if they refuse to wear a mask, after the US recorded more than 150,000 coronavirus cases.Under new regulations announced on Wednesday, representatives must wear a mask at all times while in the chamber, removing it only to address the house. Face coverings may be removed temporarily in office buildings to eat, drink, hold meetings and do interviews. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/31fLEkX

New research suggests COVID-19 can spread via aerosol transmission -- and might affect tall people more

A new survey has found more evidence to suggest that people can become infected with COVID-19 through aerosol transmission, which could be prevented by wearing a mask. Carried out by data scientists in the UK, Norway, and the US, the study is one of the first to investigate which personal and work-related factors can lead to COVID-19 transmission. After surveying 2,000 people in the UK and US, the researchers found that the data from both countries suggests that aerosol transmission of the virus -- via microdroplets which are so small that they remain suspended in the air for several hours -- is very likely. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39EGDWy

Umbrella Man: Minneapolis police link suspect to white supremacists

The man was pictured smashing the windows of an AutoZone store in the city during protests. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/310dn8X

Trump attended a fundraiser in Texas without a mask on the day the US hit 150,000 coronavirus deaths

Trump was expected to attend the fundraiser with GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, but the congressman tested positive for the coronavirus. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/30YNK8x

When Black Lives Matter protests turn violent, Donald Trump gets just what he wants

Civil rights and Democratic leaders must do what they can to end the chaos in the streets. This is not the time to give ammunition to Trump and the GOP. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3jTOyEr

The 11-carrier US Navy is mocking Iran as 'experts' at making a dummy aircraft carrier to shoot at

The US Navy posted a photo on social media ridiculing Iran after it fired missiles on a mock-up of a US flattop on Wednesday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BEJ52Q

Tahlequah, the grief-stricken orca who carried her dead daughter with her for 17 days, is pregnant again

The pregnancy is an exciting chance for Tahlequah, whose community is struggling to survive, scientists told The Seattle Times. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2X4GE0V

Postcard helps Van Gogh family reveal exact spot where artist painted hours before his death

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. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39AAMBQ

Hundreds to quarantine after COVID-19 case linked to Florida high school graduation ceremony

Nearly 300 students and at least 30 staff members were at the ceremony. Each student was allowed to bring up to two guests. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3gaXtyR

The feds say they won't leave Portland until the violence stops. Privately, they concede they're fueling that violence.

The top federal prosector in Oregon, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, said Monday that the federal agents aggressively policing protesters in Portland would remain in the city until the "attacks on federal property and personnel" cease. Oregon officials say the presence and shock-and-awe tactics of the federal agents are the main fuel for those attacks, and federal law enforcement officials privately concede they have a point, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.The nightly protests against racism and police violence in downtown Portland had dwindled to about 100 people before President Trump sent in federal agents over the July 4 weekend. The protests grew again after U.S. Marshals, ostensibly there to protect Portland's federal courthouse, shot 26-year-old protester Donavan La Bella in the head, fracturing his skull, and they exploded after news broke that anonymous militarized federal agents were detaining people on the street in unmarked vans. Thousands now gather nightly

NASA just picked astronaut Megan McArthur, whose husband launched aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to pilot the spaceship in spring

Astronaut Megan McArthur watched her husband, Bob Behnken, launch aboard the Crew Dragon spaceship. Next year, she'll do the same. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3hO0Mwf

Escape to North Korea: Defector at heart of COVID-19 case fled sex abuse investigation

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. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3f3hgil

Trump COVID Task Force to Guvs: Make Masks Mandatory Before You Fall Into Red Zone

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

Florida, Texas report record increases in COVID-19 deaths for second day in a row

Florida had 217 fatalities in the last 24 hours and Texas had at least 302 with some counties yet to report. 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. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3gd2sPz

Australia's fires 'killed or harmed three billion animals'

The recent bushfires were "one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history", conservationists say. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2D7eF9T

US announces withdrawal of 12,000 troops from 'delinquent' Germany

The US has announced it is to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany, in a move Donald Trump said was intended to punish the “delinquent” Nato member for not spending enough on defence. The US president had declared his intention last month to cut by about a third the 36,000-strong US troop contingent in Germany, faulting its ally for failing to meet the alliance’s spending target and accusing it of taking advantage of America on trade. Of the troops leaving - a mix of Army and Air Force units - some 5,400 will be relocated to Italy and elsewhere in Europe, while 6,400 forces will be returned to the US and will in time redeploy to the continent. As part of the shakeup, which is estimated to cost billions of dollars, the US’s European Command headquarters and Special Operations Command Europe will also be moved from Stuttgart to Belgium. Germany's Defense Ministry refused to comment on the moves, saying the plans needed to be discussed internally first. Mark Esper, US Defence Se

AG Barr: DOJ had been drawn into 'political maelstrom'; department used as 'political weapon'

The hearing, billed as an oversight of the Justice Department, will touch on a long list of grievances, including federal deployments to Portland. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2P3TMiu

Iran moves mock aircraft carrier to sea amid U.S. tensions

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies taken Sunday shows an Iranian fast boat speed toward the carrier, sending waves up in its wake. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/300GzgQ

John Oliver blames China for your lack of knowledge about Uighur concentration camps

John Oliver said Sunday's Last Week Tonight was going to be about eyelashes, and that was mostly just to set up a TikTok video. Its creator "is right," he said: "A lash-curler is a vital tool in anyone's beauty arsenal, and there's an ethnic group in China being systematically surveilled and imprisoned in an attempt to essentially wipe their culture off the map." Oliver started with the basics: "The people in question are the Uighurs. They're mostly a mostly Muslim minority in a region of China called Xinjiang, and the Chinese government has been treating them absolutely terribly.""If this is the first time you're hearing about an estimated million people who've been held in detention camps -- mostly Uighurs but also Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities -- you are not alone," Oliver said. "And it's probably because China has done its level best to keep this story from getting out." That may be harder now, beca

Disney World tightens its park rules to ban masks with valves, holes, or mesh on them

Disney World updated its mask policies as coronavirus cases spike in the state of Florida. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2X3VvZw

Andrea Bocelli, who had COVID, says lockdown humiliated him

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. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2P3yy4r

AG Barr Calls Black Lives Matter Protests in Portland ‘an Assault’ on U.S. Government in Testy Hearing

In his first appearance ever before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr declined to say that political concerns weren’t animating the Trump administration’s use of federal troops to crack down on Black Lives Matter demonstrators.Asked by Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) if he’d discussed the politics of the crackdown with Trump or anyone in his inner circle, Barr didn’t specifically mention the Department of Justice operations but confirmed that the election “comes up” in his conversations with the president. “I’m a member of the Cabinet,” said Barr, “and there’s an election going on.”Pressed further by Nadler on the topic, Barr demurred: “I’m not going to get into my discussions with the president.” Bully Boy Bill Barr is America’s Ultimate Chaos AgentAs well, Barr indicated he views protesters in Portland, Oregon, not as demonstrators demanding Black liberation or defending themselves from an unwanted federal intrusion but as insurrectionists.“What unf

Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow wears mask at press conference, says it's necessary to reopen economy

The White House now seems to believe masks are necessary to restart the economy.While he was previously reluctant to endorse masks, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow wore one on Monday for a press conference even though it was held outside and he stayed far from reporters. Kudlow said he'd been "emphasizing" masks over the past few weeks, saying America wouldn't "keep the economy open" or "get kids back to school" without following guidelines like wearing masks and social distancing.Kudlow reluctantly told Trump supporters to wear a mask at the president's campaign rally last month, but cited surging case numbers and reporters wearing masks around him as reasons to fully embrace them now. Still, Kudlow seemed to have trouble wearing his mask correctly as it kept slipping off his nose.> WH Advisor Larry Kudlow wore a mask today while talking to reporters. Asked why he finally decided to wear one, the 72 year old said seeing reporters

Japan government persists with 'Abenomask' giveaway, reignites social media outcry

Japan's government is pushing ahead with the distribution of its much derided masks even though commercially made masks are now readily available, prompting a renewed outcry on social media. Dubbed the "Abenomask", which means Abe's mask and is a pun on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" programme, the washable gauze mask has been criticised as ill fitting with quality issues and as a waste of public money. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39xWeax

Ghislaine Maxwell: Lawyers fight to keep evidence secret ahead of trial

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are trying to stop her accusers from posting evidence online ahead of her trail, according to a proposed protective order submitted to a judge on Monday.The British socialite’s legal team wants to prevent prosecutors working for women who claim she recruited them for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from releasing any information, including “nude, partially nude or otherwise sexualised images, videos or other depictions of individuals”. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3hLeKPo

Mold from Chernobyl seems to feed on radiation, and new research suggests it could help protect astronauts in space

Researchers took mold that grows in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and blasted it into space. It may help protect astronauts from radiation. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/30WQxyW

The birth of a militia: how an armed group polices Black Lives Matter protests

In Utah, members of a militia claim their presence deters protesters from becoming violent and destroying the stateThe Utah Citizens’ Alarm is only a month old, and yet it already boasts 15,000-plus members.The citizen militia’s recruits wear military fatigues and carry assault rifles. Their short-term goal, they say, is to act as a physical presence of intimidation to deter protesters from becoming violent and destroying the state of Utah. Their long-term goal: to arm and prepare the state of Utah against underground movements they believe will incite civil war.The group was conceived in reaction to a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality organized by different groups in Provo, Utah, on 29 June. That day, a white protester pulled out a gun and shot another white man, who was not protesting but driving his vehicle into the protest route. Two shots were fired, and one hit the driver in the arm. Protesters claim the shooting was in self-defence because the driver was hittin

40 infected with coronavirus after Alabama church revival

Services were shut down by Friday after it was learned that one of the members who attended had tested positive for the virus, a church official says. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3jXLC9Q

William Barr testimony: AG slams 'demonization of police' and insists Trump ‘has not attempted to interfere’ in criminal cases

Attorney General William Barr testified in a congressional hearing today, titled the “Oversight of the Department of Justice”, in front of the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee. The hearing started off rocky, though, after Chairman Jerry Nadler was involved in a car crash on the way to the hearing.Mr Barr's appearance on Capitol Hill was in first in front of the House Judiciary Committee despite multiple attempts by the Democrats to get the attorney general to testify before them. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39AuQIP

GOP coronavirus plan includes another $1,200 check, cuts unemployment benefit to $200

The release of the GOP plan marked the start of negotiations that will involve House Democrats, who passed their own, more generous relief bill in the House in May. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/304DpZp

Florida has reported its highest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths with 186 new fatalities

Hospitalizations among children below 18 rose by 23%, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for schools to reopen at least five days a week from August. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/337towr