| Four years later, Republican senators admit, "yes, Trump conspired with the Russians" Posted: 22 Aug 2020 04:29 AM PDT  The Trump-Putin election scheming is laid out in the Republican-led Intelligence Committee's 1,000-page report
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| Senegal port seeks removal of 2,700 tonnes of chemical that caused Beirut blast Posted: 21 Aug 2020 01:23 AM PDT  The port of Senegal's capital Dakar on Thursday said it had requested the removal of around 2,700 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in its complex - the same volume of the chemical that caused Beirut's devastating port blast this month. The unidentified owner of the stockpile has found a warehouse to store the industrial chemical outside the city, according to the general directorate of the port, which sits next to Dakar's densely populated downtown. "He is currently working with the environment ministry to obtain approval to urgently remove this cargo," it said in a statement that did not say how long the port had stored the goods destined for Mali. The port strictly adheres to international rules for the management and storage of dangerous materials, it said. Beirut's port had held 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate for six years without safety measures, before they detonated on August 4, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless. "The dramatic situation that Beirut has just experienced" prompted the High Commander of Dakar's port to take journalists on a tour of the port's facilities to show that security measures are up to standard, the statement said. The Beirut blast should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, experts say. Commonly used in fertilisers and as an industrial explosive, it is considered relatively safe if handled properly, but has caused some of the world's deadliest industrial accidents.
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| Oregon UPS driver arrested in string of interstate shootings; 1 was hurt Posted: 21 Aug 2020 07:36 PM PDT  Kenneth Ayers is believed to have been involved in 7 shootings along I-5 since May.
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| Russian opposition leader Navalny still comatose but stable after transfer to Berlin hospital Posted: 22 Aug 2020 05:20 AM PDT  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has made it to Berlin after all.Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been comatose since falling ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on Thursday. Medical staff at the Omsk, Russia, hospital where he was previously treated had initially refused to allow his transfer to the German capital, claiming he was too unstable to move, but they appeared to relent after international scrutiny, The Washington Post reports.Upon arrival in Berlin, Navalny was taken to a hospital where he underwent a comprehensive medical examination. Doctors reportedly would not comment on his illness or treatment until those were completed, although his supporters believe he was poisoned at the behest of the Kremlin. The hospital in Omsk denied the claims, but toxicology experts have expressed doubts poison could have been ruled out so quickly, The Associated Press reports. Moscow has similarly been accused of delaying the Berlin transfer.Jaka Bizilj of the German organization Cinema for Peace, which organized the flight, said Navalny is in stable condition. Read more at The Washington Post and The Associated Press.More stories from theweek.com Small-time scams are dissolving America from the inside Kushner reportedly plans Middle East trip to build on Israel-UAE deal The blocks behind Elizabeth Warren during her DNC speech held a secret message for sharp-eyed viewers
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| As more colleges stay online, students demand tuition cuts Posted: 22 Aug 2020 07:49 AM PDT  As more universities abandon plans to reopen and decide instead to keep classes online this fall, it's leading to conflict between students who say they deserve tuition discounts and college leaders who insist remote learning is worth the full cost. Disputes are flaring both at colleges that announced weeks ago they would stick with virtual instruction and at those that only recently lost hope of reopening their campuses. Among the latest schools facing pressure to lower tuition are Michigan State University and Ithaca College, which scrapped plans to reopen after seeing other colleges struggle to contain coronavirus outbreaks.
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| China approves human testing for coronavirus vaccine grown in insect cells Posted: 22 Aug 2020 06:11 AM PDT  China has approved human testing for a potential coronavirus vaccine cultivated within insect cells, local government in the southwestern city of Chengdu said on Saturday. China is in a global race to develop cost-effective vaccines to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Using insect cells to grow proteins for the coronavirus vaccine - a first in China - could speed up large-scale production, the city government of Chengdu said in a notice on social media WeChat.
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| US special forces veteran arrested for passing secrets to Russia Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:45 PM PDT  Former Captain Peter Debbins is charged with passing secrets to Russian military intelligence.
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| Minneapolis plans to spend $4.8 million on temporary police station after its third precinct burned during George Floyd unrest Posted: 22 Aug 2020 09:25 AM PDT  A city council committee approved the budget proposal, which includes $3.6 million for a sublease and $1.2 million for renovations.
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| Sarah Cooper lip syncs to Trump at DNC – and speaks out in support of Biden Posted: 20 Aug 2020 06:54 PM PDT  The lip-synching comedian and viral star Sarah Cooper made an appearance at the DNC and did what she does best – poked fun at Donald Trump.On a night when comedy at times mixed uneasily with the sombre tone of the final night of the convention as a result of the lengthy tributes paid to Joe Biden's late son, Beau, who died from a rare cancer in 2015, Cooper managed to find the perfect words.
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| Maduro insists a Venezuelan airline evacuate Americans, a ‘non-starter’ in Washington Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:45 PM PDT  The U.S. has offered private direct and indirect flights to evacuate Americans. Maduro wants to use Venezuela's sanctioned airline.
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| A Georgia police officer was fired after a viral TikTok showed him tasing a Black woman outside her home Posted: 22 Aug 2020 11:39 AM PDT  Michael Oxford, who had been a police officer since February 2019, was fired for violating policy after a video showed him tasing an unarmed woman.
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| CDC's hopes for reopening schools safely boosted by 'encouraging' child-care center study Posted: 22 Aug 2020 08:02 AM PDT  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes Rhode Island has provided cause for optimism that schools and child-care programs can reopen safely during the coronavirus, The Washington Post reports.A federal study published Friday on 666 Rhode Island child-care centers that reopened this summer found that new coronavirus cases and secondary transmission linked to the centers were limited. During a 2-month period between June 1 and July 31, there were 52 confirmed and probable cases reported across 29 programs, and 20 of the programs reported only one case, while only four centers had cases that involved possible spread of the virus, the study found. CDC Director Robert Redfield said the "inspiring" article showed "there is a path" to reopening child-care programs and possibly schools safely.The reasons behind the initial success don't appear too complicated — enrollment was restricted to 12 (then raised to 20), staff members and students were confined to specific groups, masking was required for adults, and adults and children were screened daily for symptoms. Basically, people had to buy in, which is simple at first glance, but has been a struggle throughout the pandemic. Rhode Island also allowed for the centers to reopen at a time of low community spread.Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Study, called the data "encouraging," though she doesn't think the study alone is enough to extend the findings to schools since "we think transmission risk may increase with age." But, she added, "the finding that safety measures, such as mask-wearing, can potentially prevent secondary transmission, should increase our confidence that these measures will be important in school settings." Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Small-time scams are dissolving America from the inside Kushner reportedly plans Middle East trip to build on Israel-UAE deal The blocks behind Elizabeth Warren during her DNC speech held a secret message for sharp-eyed viewers
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| Portland protest turns violent, federal police clear plaza Posted: 22 Aug 2020 02:03 AM PDT  Federal authorities on Saturday forced demonstrators away from a plaza near a federal building as dueling demonstrations in Portland by right-wing and left-wing protesters turned violent. The area includes county and federal buildings and has been the site of numerous recent protests. A federal courthouse is also near that area.
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| Why Parents Love ‘Pandemic Pods’ for School — but Bureaucrats Hate Them Posted: 21 Aug 2020 03:30 AM PDT  It's back-to-school season, yet millions of children won't return to in-person instruction for the foreseeable future. But this fall, some families are improvising to provide some kind of in-person instruction for their children. Earlier this year, when school districts proved unwilling or unable to meet families' desires for safe, in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, parents across the nation banded together in "pandemic pods" to take their children's education into their own hands. In many places, the pods are continuing this school year. And some school districts are not amused."In recent weeks, discussions have surfaced on creating well-meaning 'pandemic pods' and 'micro-schools' that un-enroll children and hire private teachers," read an August 13 statement from the Denver Board of Education. "We want to strongly encourage our families to keep the connection they have to their school and educators."The statement also asked families to "consider the equity implications of creating or joining pandemic pods," noting that "for pods to reflect the demographics of the district, there must be three students-of-color for every one white student, two students who qualify for free-and-reduced price lunch for everyone who does not . . .""Families have an absolute right to work together and pool resources to provide instruction or tutoring," reads a Fairfax County, Va., public-school press release to families forming pandemic pods. It should have stopped there.The district — which will be online-only this fall — is quite displeased that parents are finding alternative learning arrangements for their children. Although the district conceded it "can't control these private tutoring groups," it wanted parents to know that it does "have concerns that they may widen the gap in educational access and equity."This argument is curious. Public-school proponents generally argue that education is a "public good" -- an individual's level of education affects others in the community beyond themselves. Americans have broadly agreed to socialize the cost of education because a functioning republic requires an educated citizenry capable of self-government and of the republic's maintenance. Another societal benefit is that better-educated individuals are more likely to be productive workers who pay taxes and less likely to be dependent on welfare. The proliferation of education also fosters advancements in science and technology that benefit everyone, and leads to a more enlightened society overall.Yet in arguing that pods will exacerbate inequity, public-school proponents are not only treating education primarily as a private benefit, but they're also treating education as a zero-sum game: If some children know more, that will hurt other children.Buried in this argument is an implicit admission by the districts that the crisis online learning the districts are providing is inferior to the education students could be receiving in pods. Inequity is only an issue if the pods are superior to what the district schools provide while simultaneously being inaccessible to some students based on their socio-economic status. Yet rather than expand access to the pods, districts are trying to shame better-off parents into refraining from providing their children with a superior education.If education truly benefits the public at large, then it makes no sense to hold some kids back from achieving their true potential. Disadvantaged kids need to be lifted up. They aren't helped by keeping other kids down. The best way to improve the lot of disadvantaged kids is to empower their parents to choose the learning environment that works best for them. Having educated citizens is in the public interest; it shouldn't matter where that education occurs.Indeed, those concerned about educational inequity should turn a critical eye to the existing district system. In Virginia, children from low-income families are more than two and a half grade levels behind their non-poor peers in eighth-grade reading, and black students are nearly three grade levels behind their white peers. What about education "equity" for these children?Fairfax County currently spends more per pupil than the national average of $15,000 annually. Denver is slightly under national figures at $12,200, and, astonishingly, Washington, D.C., spends $31,000 per child per year. If those education dollars followed the child, low-income families would have much greater access to a wide variety of learning options.Yet defenders of the status quo have worked incessantly to prevent families from accessing alternatives to the residentially assigned district system — the doors to which are largely closed at the moment to in-person instruction. That's because, due both to school-district myth-making and status-quo bias, we've come to believe that this is how education must delivered. Any failure of the one-size-fits-some system to achieve its stated goals is blamed not on a flaw in the system but rather on a lack of sufficient funding, as though D.C. schools would perform at the level of Massachusetts if only they spent $35,000 or $40,000 per pupil instead of $31,000.Pods reject the assumption that residentially assigned and government-run schools are the best way to educate kids. Indeed, the near-infinite variety in the approach to podding calls into question the very notion of a "one best way."Kids can't wait for district schools to reopen. States should immediately provide emergency education savings accounts (ESAs) to families, allowing them to take a portion of the money that would have been spent on their child in school to the learning environments of their choice. Five states — Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee — already empower families with ESAs to use for private-school tuition, tutors, textbooks, online learning, special-education services and therapies, and a host of other options. In Arizona, applications for ESAs this summer are triple what they were last year. They're the perfect policy pairing with pandemic pods.Adults should be doing everything in their power right now to provide education continuity to children. That goes for school-district officials, too. Embracing families' decision to use pods or any other option that fits their children's needs would demonstrate that districts really are interested in the "public good" of public education -- regardless of where it takes place.Lindsey M. Burke, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Fellow in Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, and Jason Bedrick is Director of Policy at EdChoice.
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| Iran agrees inspection deal with UN nuclear watchdog at two nuclear sites Posted: 21 Aug 2020 10:46 AM PDT  Iran has offered to allow UN nuclear inspectors to visit two controversial nuclear sites as part of its diplomatic charm offensive to have the international arms embargo against Tehran lifted, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-sponsored body responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear activities, has been highly critical of the Iranian regime over its refusal to cooperate with inspectors over claims that it has undertaken illicit activities at two nuclear facilities. The IAEA took the unprecedented step earlier this year of issuing a special report publicly rebuking Iran for its non-cooperation on a number of key nuclear issues, and denying inspectors access to two key Iranian nuclear installations at Marivan and Amad, which inspectors believe have been used for developing and storing nuclear material and form part of Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons programme. Iran has consistently refused to allow the IAEA access to the sites despite signing the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other major world powers.
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| At least 5 dead in California fires; tens of thousands forced to flee Posted: 20 Aug 2020 10:13 PM PDT  "We are experiencing fires the likes of which we haven't seen in many, many years," Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
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| Health officials in 3 states have traced new COVID-19 cases to the Sturgis motorcycle rally where hundreds of thousands of bikers gathered Posted: 22 Aug 2020 11:43 AM PDT  Phone-location data revealed that visitors came to Sturgis from all parts of the US, including states that recently saw surges in COVID-19 cases.
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| Exclusive: No. 2 U.S. diplomat to visit Russia, Lithuania to discuss Belarus Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:51 PM PDT  The number two U.S. diplomat will visit Russia and Lithuania soon for talks on Belarus, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as Washington seeks a peaceful resolution to that country's election crisis that averts Russian intervention. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun's planned mission signals a greater U.S. role in trying to settle the strife that erupted when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters rejecting his claim of a landslide Aug. 9 election win.
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| College students admit Joe Biden's campaign is beholden to radical progressives Posted: 22 Aug 2020 05:01 AM PDT  Campus Reform editor-in-chief Cabot Phillips shares the new video.
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| Bannon's Chinese host an irritant to Communist Party Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:38 AM PDT  The self-exiled Chinese tycoon on whose 150-foot (45-meter) yacht President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was arrested is a high-profile irritant to the ruling Communist Party. Guo Wengui left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping that ensnared people close to Guo, including a top intelligence official. Chinese authorities have accused Guo of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other offenses.
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| Army Destroys Cruise and Ballistic Missile Targets in 2nd Test of New Defense System Posted: 21 Aug 2020 07:07 AM PDT  It was the final live-fire exercise in a limited user test of the Army's Integrated Battle Command System.
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| Travelers lost over $950,000 in cash in airport security, TSA says. Where did it go? Posted: 21 Aug 2020 04:30 PM PDT  Don't forget your cash.
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| Leaked USPS email tells postal workers not to reconnect or reinstall sorting machines 'that have been previously disconnected' Posted: 21 Aug 2020 11:34 AM PDT  Just hours earlier, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that all service changes will be paused until after Election Day.
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| Maybe Trump shouldn't have set the bar so low for Joe Biden's DNC speech Posted: 20 Aug 2020 09:20 PM PDT  One of the biggest bits of drama in the otherwise tightly scripted Democratic National Convention was whether the new nominee, Joe Biden, would fumble his big acceptance speech with an embarrassing gaffe or a "senior moment." And why would people think that? Well, President Trump and his campaign have been predicting as much for weeks. They even spent a lot of money on an online ad this week claiming Biden is in "cognitive decline."The DNC appeared unsure, too, prefacing his speech with repeated mentions of Biden's history of stuttering — including a story about his mother threatening to assault a teacher-nun who mocked her son's stutter in class and this moving video from a young Brayden Harrington.But Biden rose to the occasion. And his speech looked even better, it was widely noted, because Trump and his allies had set such a low bar for him to clear.> No one helped Biden tonight more than Trump and his campaign, who spent the last few months setting the expectations so stupidly low by painting Biden as a bumbling idiot suffering from dementia.> > — Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) August 21, 2020> Probably not an awesome idea to make the bar so low it's "can Joe Biden talk without drooling"> > — The Calamari Comeback Kid (@TylerDinucci) August 21, 2020> Republicans set the bar so low that if Biden was able to just say his name, it'd have been a success. Instead, he gave the best speech of his entire career. The GOP will have no - and I mean *no* - strategy moving forward.> > — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 21, 2020Some people were still not impressed that Biden could read a speech without stumping, but that isn't all he did, of course.> As expected, Joe Biden cleared the absurdly low bar that Trump set for him. But he's done a whole lot more here. He's made a case for character and renewal, earnest hope and unity, when that is so needed. How refreshing to hear a man vow to serve those who won't vote for him.> > — Aaron Astor (@AstorAaron) August 21, 2020Maybe the Trump team will learn the art of expectations-setting before the debates. But for now, Biden can finally say: Thanks, Trump.More stories from theweek.com Small-time scams are dissolving America from the inside Kushner reportedly plans Middle East trip to build on Israel-UAE deal The blocks behind Elizabeth Warren during her DNC speech held a secret message for sharp-eyed viewers
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| Mali Coup Leaders Seized Power Days After Returning From Military Training Camp in Russia Posted: 21 Aug 2020 06:08 AM PDT  ABUJA, Nigeria—The leaders of the coup that ousted Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita spent most of the year training in Russia before returning to boot out the democratically-elected leader at gunpoint, according to sources in the Malian military.The rebels took control of Mali's largest military base in Kati, just outside the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday before storming Keita's official residence, seizing the president and forcing him to resign as leader of the West African nation..Numerous media outlets, including the BBC, immediately reported that the coup was led by Malick Diaw and Sadio Camara, two army colonels who hold top positions at the Kati military base and who are reportedly very close friends. But there's something else both men have in common— they were trained by the military in Russia.Two Malian military officials told The Daily Beast that both Diaw and Camara were in Russia before they returned to Mali to stage Tuesday's coup, confirming a local media report. The two officers are said to have departed Bamako for Moscow early in the year to attend military training sponsored by the Russian armed forces, they returned a little over a week before the coup was executed.Sources in the Malian military told The Daily Beast that a number of senior officers suspect Diaw and Camara planned the coup from Russia and that both men had been in contact with others involved in the plot from their training base abroad. Rumors that some officers were contemplating a coup had begun to spread quietly in the military at the start of August, even before the two colonels returned home."A coup of this nature is not something you plan in a matter of days," a lieutenant in the Malian army, who previously served in Kati, told The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorised to speak. "These two men spent a long time in Russia and within days of their return they executed a coup easily and successfully," said the lieutenant, who did not partake in the plot. "That should tell you that they worked on this for a long time."It's not yet clear if Diaw and Camara sought military assistance or cover from Russia, which has intervened in the election of a number of African leaders in recent years. Some military officials aren't ruling out Russia's direct involvement. "Maybe in terms of communication they got protection from the Russians," said the army lieutenant. "One will assume that the Russians would have been monitoring their communication lines since the officers were foreign military personnel staying in Russia."Just before midday on Tuesday, soldiers loyal to Diaw, the second highest ranked administrator at the Kati military base, took control of the camp's armory and began to arrest their superiors. Once they took control of the base, they headed to Bamako where they arrested President Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and drove back to the base with the two men before forcing them to relinquish power.At the time of the coup, Diaw, who is believed to be in his late 30s, was the deputy chief of the Kati military base, a position he is said to have held for more than a year. His role in Tuesday's coup is likely to earn him an influential position in the junta.Camara, the co-leader of the coup, previously headed the military academy of Kati. BBC Afrique, citing a local news outlet, reported that he was born in 1979. He was director of the Kati military academy for many years until January when he left the post to attend military training in Russia alongside Diaw. He returned to Bamako from Moscow over a week ago to begin a month-long leave period and, unknown to many, to execute a coup. "There were just a few persons who knew they were back from their trip," a Malian army colonel, who wasn't involved in the coup, told The Daily Beast. "[It was] mostly those close to them and who plotted the coup with the two officers [that knew they had returned from Russia]."Russia has a reputation for swooping into African countries and hoping to reshape their politics for material gain; a candidate backed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian financier indicted in the U.S. for targeting the 2016 presidential election, has emerged as the president of Madagascar; a former Russian intelligence officer is now the top security adviser to the president of the Central African Republic; and the Kremlin has been caught interfering in the domestic politics of eight African countries through social media networks traced to entities tied to Prigozhin.It's still not clear how the Malian coup plotters plan to lead the country they now rule as a military junta, or if they will be inviting any assistance from Moscow.On Wednesday, Assimi Goita, a colonel in Mali's army announced that he had taken charge of the country and declared himself the head of the junta. Goita—one of the five soldiers who announced the coup on the state broadcaster ORTM—met with senior government officials whom he urged to immediately return to work."By making this intervention, we have put Mali first," Goita explained to the officials, while trying to justify the forceful removal of Keita.Before the coup, he was head of a special military unit based in central Mali and had taken part in the annual Flintlock training put together by the U.S. military to help countries in the Sahel region better tackle militants."Mali is in a sociopolitical and security crisis," he said. "There is no more room for mistakes."Tuesday's mutiny could turn out to be an even bigger mistake. A similar coup in 2012, which began at the same Kati army base, created nationwide disharmony and political uncertainty. That allowed extremist groups to expand their reach in the north of Mali. Despite a French military intervention, which has slowed their advancement, these jihadists groups are still active in the region and may capitalise on the current leadership crisis to extend their jihad, it remains to be seen what the Kremlin makes of that threat.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 'Melting faster and faster': Greenland lost 1 million tonnes of ice for each minute of 2019 Posted: 22 Aug 2020 01:41 PM PDT  High temperatures saw Greenland lose enough ice to cover the US state of California in more than four feet of water in 2019 alone, a study which suggests the island lost a million tonnes of ice for every minute of the year has said.After two years in which the land masses' summer ice melt had been negligible, satellite measurements have suggested an excessively hot 2019 saw the loss of 586 billion tons of ice melt from the island.
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| Coast Guard stops two separate migrant boats off the Keys this week Posted: 22 Aug 2020 11:46 AM PDT  Twenty people from Cuba were stopped at sea off the Florida Keys this week in two separate attempts to enter the United States, the Coast Guard said Saturday.
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| Slate of proposed bills could change policing in California Posted: 22 Aug 2020 03:32 PM PDT  "What we've seen in this country in the last four months, let alone in the last 50, 60 years as it relates to police killings of Black and brown people, calls for addressing," said state Sen. Steven Bradford.
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| A judge asked Trump's lawyers to prove his claims about mail-in voting "fraud" — it did not go well Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:46 PM PDT  "There is no iceberg; only an icicle, largely created by confusion and administrative error"
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| Reps. Scalise, Biggs reject Joe Biden's call for COVID mask mandate, willingness to lock down nation Posted: 21 Aug 2020 07:04 PM PDT  House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs join Tammy Bruce on 'Hannity.'
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| Portland clashes rage again outside US immigration building Posted: 21 Aug 2020 01:05 AM PDT  Protesters in Oregon's largest city have clashed again with federal agents outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has become a new focus of the demonstrations that have gripped Portland for months, officials said Friday. People in a group of about 100 late Thursday and before dawn Friday sprayed the building with graffiti, hurled rocks and bottles at agents and shined laser lights at them, Portland police said in a statement. The violence came a day after protesters clashed with federal agents for the first time since July in a demonstration that also targeted the ICE building.
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| Emails Show Georgia School District Asked Students to Disinfect Classrooms for Volunteer Hours Posted: 22 Aug 2020 02:10 AM PDT  The email from the principal had a lighthearted, friendly tone, but the news she delivered was alarming: Three more students at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia, had tested positive for the coronavirus—the fourth such letter sent to parents that week. That out of the way, she then moved on to what she called a "distraction," noting that the high school volleyball team would be playing in a tournament the next day. "Come to CVHS to see our lady Grizzlies play at 9:00 10:00 or 12:30," she wrote. "Go Grizzlies!"Two days later, after 25 students tested positive and more than a quarter of the student body was placed in quarantine, the entire school was shut down.In the three weeks since school started in Cherokee County, Georgia, three of the district's six high schools have temporarily shuttered due to coronavirus outbreaks. As of Friday, 2,000 of the 42,000 students in the district were in quarantine.But the county—once a heart of the Cherokee Nation, now a bastion of support for Donald Trump—has shown no sign of suspending in-person education or beefing up its policy of encouraging but not requiring face masks.Many parents and teachers in the district—where one school wanted students to disinfect classrooms—say they are terrified of what will happen if the status quo is allowed to continue. "I kind of feel like Cherokee County has been the guinea pig for the state, or the nation," said Meg Du Plooy, a mother of two Cherokee County students. "Just an experiment to see what happens if we open all the schools and have everyone come back in."Inside COVID U: Hoax Parties, Pissed Roomies, and Canceled ClassesAt a school board meeting Thursday, Superintendent Brian Hightower suggested for the first time that the now-shuttered high schools may move to a "hybrid model" in which students attend school in-person only a few days a week."Right now we've got a few high schools where it's so hot—or there's such a cluster that seems to be following one school—that we're not sure when we can get them open," he said. "We want something better than coming, reporting, popping in, popping out," he added. "We want to look at some alternatives, and we think these could be three great lab situations for us to utilize that."Parents first started to worry this spring, when the district allowed graduation to take place in-person, inside a church auditorium. (Photos that were circulated among parents and obtained by The Daily Beast show school board member Kelly Poole standing with the graduates onstage, her mask folded in her hands.) But the real trouble started when the school announced its reopening plan. In an 85-page document—sent to teachers and parents one day before it was to be voted on—the district said it would not be pushing back the start of the school year or requiring masks in its classrooms. Despite the short notice, 6,000 people watched the school board meeting online, and a contentious question-and-answer session followed. Directly after, the board voted unanimously to approve the plan. Things only got worse from there. Though families were given the option to continue learning remotely, approximately 75 percent opted for in-person learning, meaning hallways and common areas were crowded and class sizes could not be meaningfully reduced. A viral photo taken the first day of classes at Sequoyah High School showed dozens of students crammed together for a photo, none of them in masks. The photo was shared on—and later removed from—the school's official Instagram account.> TAKE A LOOK: 2 Cherokee Co. Schools shared pictures of some students during their first day back in school. No social distancing, and very few masks, if any. I've received word that some teachers don't feel comfortable but aren't sure what to do. Is this safe? Thoughts? @cbs46 pic.twitter.com/EIvA1fNBVt> > — Iyani Lenice CBS46 (@iyanilenicetv) August 3, 2020Teachers who spoke to The Daily Beast said the few promises the district did make have not been fully kept. Bell schedules at some schools have not been staggered as planned, meaning teachers are given five minutes to disinfect their classrooms before the next class arrives. Despite assurances that additional cleaning would take place overnight, one teacher said she returned to her classroom after a "deep clean" to find the desktops had not been washed. One school even offered volunteer hours to students who spent 15 minutes wiping down desks after school, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast. (The offer was later retracted.)Whatever additional cleaning does take place, these teachers said, happens largely after hours, when both they and their students are out of the building."For two weeks, pretty much all that got done in our rooms was emptying the trash—or at least that's what we were able to notice," said one teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job. "In a pandemic, our classrooms need more than just the trash cans emptied."In an email to The Daily Beast, CCSD's Chief Communications Officer Barbara Jacoby said the district "continuously review[s] protocols to determine additional improvements" and had "implemented changes to initial protocols as a result of feedback," including the provision of face shields to teachers who wanted additional protection.Jacoby said teachers were not required to clean their rooms between classes, and that cleaning supplies were provided so that teachers could wipe down frequently used surfaces "if they so choose." She added that the district had spent an additional $4 million on safety supplies and that a "certified disinfection specialist" was placed on the custodial team at every school to focus on disinfection of high-touch areas. (Teachers interviewed by The Daily Beast said this mainly looked like someone walking around cleaning doorknobs.) The deep-cleaning process, Jacoby said, "includes disinfectant misting and which takes place after school hours."Schools Touted by DeSantis Now in a Quarantine NightmareA number of teachers did commend their schools for such precautions as halving the number of students in each lunch period, providing extra hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies, and making the hallways one-way. But many of them also said they felt largely unsupported by the district as a whole."My administration themselves have been great at trying to keep us safe," said one teacher, who also requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. "But it seems like the people at the district level, they don't seem to care if we live or die."Some of this feeling stems from communications from the district itself. In one email sent to teachers at the beginning of the school year and reviewed by The Daily Beast, Superintendent Brian Hightower told teachers who were unhappy with facets of the reopening plan to "reflect on the best direction forward for you in your role with [the district]"—a comment some teachers saw as a threat to their employment. Hightower later apologized for the message in another email, writing that he "should have done a much better job of sharing my appreciation for both your efforts and concerns as it relates to our school reopening."In a Q&A document posted online, one parent noted that some teachers' social media posts made it seem like they were "afraid to return to work," and worried that they would treat their children differently if they opted for face-to-face learning."We apologize, as a school district, if a teacher has argued with you on social media or made you otherwise not have confidence in their ability to effectively teach your child," the district responded, not addressing the comment about teachers' fears. "All teachers are expected to follow our social media guidelines for employees, which make clear this should not occur online."The message from the district, one teacher said, "has been loud and clear: Shut up and do your job." Jacoby said teachers were encouraged to share safety concerns with principals or through an anonymous tip line.Parents who disagree with the district—a group of largely liberal residents in a town that went 73 percent for Trump in 2016—said they feel pressured to stay silent. In the wake of the decision to reopen schools, dozens of parents turned out to a rally to support in-person learning without a mask mandate. One participant arrived with signs promoting the outlandish conspiracy theory that the effects of the virus are being exaggerated to make Trump look bad. "Thank you CCSD! endtheelectioninfection," one sign read."Did you know that the coronavirus has a patent? Why is the government lying to us?" read a second, referring to another roundly debunked conspiracy theory.A more than 6,000-member "CCSD Positivity Vibes" group has formed on Facebook, the stated purpose of which is to support students and staff but which some parents say is being used to stifle dissent. (Several school board members belong to the group and post occasionally.) Lea Dearing, an adminisrator of the Facebook group, didn't anticipate it would take off like it has. "It was not created for the purpose of pledging support to the reopening plan," she told The Daily Beast. "It was created after the reopening plan was announced when we realized that our teachers and school staff and bus drivers were under extreme stress and needed extra support. No matter their personal views (and those vary widely) they were going to be back in the schools."When the district announced that Creekview would be shutting down, one member encouraged others to comment on the Facebook post and "flood the comment section with love." The announcement now has more than 750 comments, several of them comparing the fatality rates of the coronavirus to the flu and spreading misinformation about masks."That can be a lot to handle when you're progressive in this area," said Miranda Wicker, a former Cherokee County school teacher who has been vocal about her concerns with the reopening plan. "It's very hard to speak out in that environment and be heard, because there's just mass amounts of people so quick to shut you down."Both teachers and parents said they felt the conservative bent of the town had influenced the school board's decision to reopen without a mask mandate. The board is entirely Republican, and almost half of them—including the board chair—are up for re-election again this year.But at least one teacher was equally worried about how the parents' views influenced their children."The kids feel like they're invincible," she said. "Just hearing them talk and it's like, everybody's going to get it anyway and life goes on."She added, "It doesn't hit home until the reality is right in front of their face."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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| The 2021 visa lottery winners have been announced. Egypt, Iran and Russia top the list Posted: 21 Aug 2020 07:12 AM PDT  The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs published its Visa Bulletin for September 2020, announcing the results for fiscal year 2021 of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which makes available up to 55,000 permanent resident visas, known as green cards, each year.
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| California wildfires: Harrowing video shows woman returning to family ranch to find 100 animals burned Posted: 22 Aug 2020 07:23 AM PDT  A California woman who escaped deadly wildfires that have engulfed thousands of acres near her home has lost dozens of livestock at her family ranch.Christa Petrillo Haefner captured a harrowing mobile phone video as fires surrounded her family's ranch in Winters on Thursday. Most of the animals did not survive.
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| Furloughed workers trapped in desperate limbo as aid runs out, waiting for jobs that may never return Posted: 21 Aug 2020 02:53 PM PDT  "I've been told many times since June that I could get called back 'any day now,'" said one furloughed worker. "My entire life is on hold and I have to remain available."
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| All the top Republicans who say they won't vote for Trump in 2020 Posted: 22 Aug 2020 05:02 AM PDT  From President George W. Bush to Sen. Mitt Romney, many within Trump's party have said they will under no conditions support Trump's reelection bid.
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| Wrongful death lawsuits prompted by Kobe Bryant copter crash to remain in L.A. County Posted: 21 Aug 2020 11:43 AM PDT  A judge rejects a defendant's arguments that a fair trial in Kobe Bryant crash lawsuits isn't possible in L.A. County because of Bryant's popularity.
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| Protesters arrested in Charlotte as GOP delegates arrive Posted: 22 Aug 2020 01:07 PM PDT |
| Lukashenko says he will close Belarus factories that are seeing protests: RIA Posted: 22 Aug 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday he would close factories that have seen worker protests, the Russian RIA news agency reported, his latest attempt to quell a wave of opposition rallies since contested elections this month. Lukashenko also suggested he would fire the workers concerned. "If a factory is not working then let's put a lock on its gate from Monday, let's stop it," RIA cited Lukashenko as saying in the town of Grodno near the border with Poland.
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| Double tragedy for Larry King as his son and daughter die in the space of 3 weeks Posted: 22 Aug 2020 03:12 AM PDT  The 86-year-old TV host is mourning the recent loss of both his son Andy and daughter Chaia.
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