| New York City has already had more shootings in 2020 than in the whole of 2019 Posted: 03 Aug 2020 04:33 AM PDT  New York City has recorded more shootings so far in 2020 than the whole of last year, authorities have confirmed.There were 777 shootings between January and 2 August 2020, compared with 776 in 2019, according to figures compiled by the New York Post, and later confirmed by New York Police department (NYPD).
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| Homicides Spike in 50 Largest Cities across Nation Posted: 03 Aug 2020 09:04 AM PDT  Homicides and gun violence have spiked in major cities around the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, spurred by an economic recession and unrest that arose from protests against police brutality.Across the nation's 50 largest cities, homicides are up 24 percent this year, totaling 3,612 so far, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of police department data. In 36 of those cities, the homicide rate increased by double digits.Shootings have also surged, but other kinds of violent crime have declined, including robberies, which sank 11 percent across the 41 cities that provided such data.Chicago saw the largest jump in homicides, reporting more than 400 more homicides than last year, an increase of more than 50 percent. Philadelphia and New York City came in just behind the country's third-largest city, both tallying more than 200 more homicides this year. Along with Chicago, Austin and Fort Worth, Tx. saw the largest increase in murders.The staggering increase in violence comes after months of protests against police departments that have included calls to defund and dismantle departments in Minneapolis, where the police custody death of George Floyd sparked national outrage. Homicides in Minneapolis have nearly doubled, with 41 homicides compared to 21 by this time last year.Police and crime experts have attributed the spike in violence to a variety of factors, including a rise in gang violence, an economic recession caused by the shutdown of businesses, and the lack of activity during the pandemic by social institutions that historically help tamp down crime, such as churches and schools.Meanwhile, lockdown orders that have kept residents in their homes may help explain the decline in robberies and rapes, since burglars are less likely to target a home with residents inside, and fewer potential victims were on the streets, experts said. The rise in shootings and murders was particularly stark in disadvantaged neighborhoods rather than the sites of protests against racism and police brutality in many cities.The homicide rate in the nation's major cities is still a far cry from the crime levels of previous decades, such as in 1990, when New York City recorded a total of 2,262 murders.
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| Obama targets Texas in first round of 2020 endorsements Posted: 03 Aug 2020 10:11 AM PDT  Former President Barack Obama unveiled his first round of 2020 endorsements on Monday, and he's got his eyes on Texas, at least at the local level.Obama is endorsing 27 Democratic candidates in Texas, including 19 for the state House, where Democrats need to win nine seats to grab the majority. The focus seems to make sense for Obama, The New York Times notes, because Texas districts will be redrawn after the 2020 census, and Democrats want to gain a foothold before that happens. The former president has made it a priority to back candidates whom the National Democratic Redistricting Committee has labeled key to the redistricting process.He decided to stay out of Texas' Senate race between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and his Democratic challenger MJ Hegar, however. Obama similarly avoided other key Senate races in Republican states, including Montana, Kentucky, and Georgia, where his public support may not provide a boost, or could even prove harmful.> What's missing? Some key red state Senate races, including MT, KY, GA and TX where it is less clear that Obama's public backing would be a benefit.https://t.co/9rIjcI7SvE> > — Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) August 3, 2020In races at the national level, Obama endorsed 52 Democratic House candidates and five for the Senate in battleground states, and he's set to announce a second wave of endorsements for states who have yet to hold their primaries. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com The most damning inside portrait of the Trump administration yet 5 brutally funny cartoons about Bill Barr's brand of justice Why Democratic voters might stay home on Election Day
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| Dunkin' employee in Illinois arrested after state trooper finds mucus in coffee Posted: 02 Aug 2020 08:07 PM PDT  A Dunkin' employee was arrested and fired after a state trooper in Chicago found what police said was mucus in his coffee.
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| One person is dying of COVID-19 every seven minutes in Iran: state TV Posted: 03 Aug 2020 04:08 AM PDT  One person is dying from COVID-19 every seven minutes in Iran, state television said on Monday, as the Health Ministry reported 215 new deaths from the disease and state media warned of a lack of proper social distancing. Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted by the state TV as saying the 215 deaths in the past 24 hours took the combined death toll to 17,405 in Iran, and the number of confirmed cases rose by 2,598 to 312,035. State television showed several Iranians in a busy Tehran street without wearing face masks or social distancing.
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| Biden VP short-listers jockey as search enters final round in secrecy Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:01 AM PDT  Some of the contenders are in the dark about their interviews with Biden — including whether they will be done in person or virtually.
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| These 43-square-foot pods were originally for travelers to take a nap at the airport, but now the company is selling them for $50,000 each Posted: 02 Aug 2020 06:00 AM PDT  NapCity's pods are modular and customizable, starting at $50,000.
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| She got the virus. Then she was fired. Some sick workers left in cold by employers. Posted: 03 Aug 2020 07:45 AM PDT  McDonald's and Marriott franchises are among hundreds of businesses that have illegally denied paid sick leave during the pandemic, records show.
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| A California couple were arrested on hate-crime charges after they yelled 'white power' during an episode of road rage, police say Posted: 02 Aug 2020 01:14 PM PDT  They yelled "white power" and "only white lives matter" at a Black man and his girlfriend in a racist altercation on the road on July 22, police said.
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| Biden urged not to debate Trump so president doesn't have another platform to 'lie' Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:43 AM PDT  Republican strategist Joseph Pinion and Democratic political analyst Kelly Hyman react.
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| Splash Mountain log flume ride sinks at Disney World's Magic Kingdom Posted: 03 Aug 2020 01:57 PM PDT  Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain hit rough waters Sunday as Twitter users posted video of a submerged log flume ride they were in moments earlier.
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| The housing crisis is here Posted: 02 Aug 2020 02:55 AM PDT  The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web:This summer's housing market is split into two alternate realities, said Heather Long at The Washington Post. Realtors' cellphones have been "ringing with eager buyers" looking to flee urban areas for the suburbs while mortgage interest rates are at record lows. One house on the market outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "received 26 offers the initial weekend it was for sale." For renters, on the other hand, the outlook is grim. A federal eviction moratorium expired last week, meaning that many tenants could have only 30 days to pony up what they owe landlords or get kicked to the curb. This week, Congress signaled it would extend the moratorium to give renters more breathing room while debating whether to extend other aid, such as unemployment benefits and stimulus checks — some of "the few lifelines renters had during the pandemic."The eviction wave has already started, said Will Parker at The Wall Street Journal. The national moratorium only covered tenants in buildings with federally backed mortgages. States passed their own eviction limits, but some, such as Texas, have already let them expire. In a sign of things to come, attorneys in Houston are seeing "long lines at courthouses, sometimes people standing shoulder to shoulder" awaiting eviction hearings. "Stuck between tenants who can't, or simply won't, pay up and banks that still expect mortgage payments every month," landlords are also feeling the squeeze, said Tim Logan at The Boston Globe. In Massachusetts, a fifth of the landlords say "they don't know how they will pay their bills this year." That will only get worse if the state extends its eviction ban without help for property owners.There's a simple reason for this recession's "uneven" effect on the housing market, said Joy Wiltermuth at MarketWatch. The median income for homebuyers today is $93,000, while renters are substantially poorer and "householders earning less than $35,000 a year have been hit hardest by lost wages since early May." Just don't assume wealthier homeowners are bulletproof, said Keith Jurow, also at MarketWatch. Since 2016, "mortgages offered to high-income borrowers who could afford the monthly payments seemed the least risky of all." Origination of jumbo loans — mortgages that are too big to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — skyrocketed. But now many high-income borrowers are in trouble, too. As of mid-June, "11.8 percent of all jumbo loans were in forbearance" — twice as many as in April, and a higher share than for standard mortgages."Perhaps this is all starting to sound like a redux of the mid-2000s housing crisis," said Derek Thompson at The Atlantic. "It's not." In many ways, it is the opposite. Back then, "foreclosures soared" and single-family homes stood empty in the suburbs. Now there is an undersupply of suburban housing and a hot market in new construction. The problem today is in the cities, where the pandemic has accelerated a crisis of affordability. "Without income, renters can't pay rent and utilities. Without monthly payments, landlords and other companies can't make mortgages and bond payments." Housing costs in cities have been approaching a crisis for years; thanks to the pandemic, that crisis is here, and "dangerously close to spiraling out of control."This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.More stories from theweek.com The most damning inside portrait of the Trump administration yet 5 brutally funny cartoons about Bill Barr's brand of justice Why Democratic voters might stay home on Election Day
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| After Missing for 9 Days, Teenager Found Safe Near Washington State Mountain Pass Posted: 02 Aug 2020 12:37 PM PDT  Authorities located 18-year-old Gia Fuda just before they were about to start winding down their rescue efforts
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| Russia says suspected mercenaries detained by Belarus were going to Latin America Posted: 03 Aug 2020 07:02 AM PDT  A Russian diplomat said on Monday a group of more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were only passing through Minsk and were on their way to an unnamed Latin American state. Belarusian authorities have said they suspect the men entered their country to plot "acts of terrorism" and destabilise it before an Aug. 9 presidential election. The Russian state says it does not use mercenaries.
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| See Inside Zaha Hadid’s Revolutionary Oeuvre Posted: 03 Aug 2020 01:32 PM PDT |
| An impassioned obituary for a 79-year-old coronavirus victim blames Trump for his death, then calls out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and people who refused to wear masks Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:41 PM PDT  "Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not," David W. Nagy's widow wrote in her husband's obituary.
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| Mexico crime: Mexican police seize alleged oil theft crime boss The Sledgehammer Posted: 02 Aug 2020 06:54 PM PDT  "The Sledgehammer" is caught after releasing a bizarre, tearful video declaring war on security forces.
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| Illinois officials call to abolish history classes in the state until an 'alternative' is set up to highlight underrepresented groups Posted: 03 Aug 2020 01:38 PM PDT  Illinois Democratic State Representative LaShawn K. Ford is demanding the history of minority groups to be taught in state schools.
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| Emeritus Pope Benedict, 93, 'extremely frail' after visiting dying brother Posted: 02 Aug 2020 09:25 PM PDT  Former Pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is "extremely frail", according to a report in the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Monday. Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pontiff's biographer, Peter Seewald. "According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the report said. "His thinking and his memory are quick, but his voice is hardly audible at the moment." Mr Seewald reportedly visited Benedict in Rome on Saturday to present him with his biography. "At the meeting the emeritus Pope, despite his illness, was optimistic and declared that if his strength increased again he would possibly take up his pen again," the paper said. Benedict visited his sick brother, Georg, in Germany in June, marking his first trip out of Italy since his shock resignation in 2013. Georg Ratzinger died two weeks later, aged 96.
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| Navarro Throws Another White House Health Expert Under Bus Over Hydroxy Posted: 03 Aug 2020 09:25 AM PDT  White House trade adviser Peter Navarro publicly bashed yet another White House public health expert on Monday while touting an unproven anti-malarial drug, saying he took "exception" to coronavirus testing czar Brett Giroir dismissing hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment.Days after CNN cut short a Navarro interview after he kept repeating the racist phrase "China virus," the network invited him on for yet another contentious segment that featured the combative Trump aide disseminating coronavirus disinformation.Navarro, who has been an outspoken proponent of hydroxychloroquine and has repeatedly attacked top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci for warning about the drug's lack of efficacy, doubled down on his embrace of the drug while taking aim at Giroir."One of the president's chief advisers on the coronavirus pandemic, Adm. Giroir, he said given five studies now that have found the drug hydroxychloroquine—that there's no proof that it helps with COVID-19 patients," host Jim Sciutto noted. "I just wonder, given your past public support for it, is it time for the administration to focus on proven treatments for COVID rather than one that has not been proven?"Navarro—who recently groused that the government is "sitting on millions of doses" of the drug—shot back that he takes "exception to Giroir's analysis, adding that the HHS official "hasn't looked at the data" within the past two weeks."It's his job to look at data," Sciutto interjected.After demanding that CNN bring on a couple of doctors who claim the drug is beneficial for COVID-19 patients—CNN had actually interviewed one of them hours earlier—Navarro brushed off the large number of experts criticizing hydroxychloroquine."My view of this now is doctors' opinions are a dime a dozen and some doctors say it doesn't work," he exclaimed. "You've got some doctors who say it does."The CNN host, meanwhile, retorted that this isn't a "both sides thing," prompting Navarro to insist that is exactly what it is."No, it is a both sides. It is—it is both sides," he declared.Sciutto went on to note that several high-quality double-blinded clinical trials show that there is no benefit to the drug and that the FDA has revoked emergency use of hydroxychloroquine due to concerns over potentially deadly side effects."This hasn't passed muster so why all the focus on that drug," the CNN anchor wondered aloud. "Why not focus on things that work like remdesivir?"Undeterred, Navarro claimed that there is now a study that shows hydroxychloroquine "works better" than remdesivir—even though White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said just last week that randomized trials have shown the anti-viral drug has no efficacy as a treatment. She also reiterated that there appears to be no benefit to hydroxychloroquine.Team Trump has suddenly rallied back around the controversial malaria drug after a fringe doctor—who believes that demon sperm causes female medical problems and "alien DNA" is being used in medication—proclaimed it a coronavirus "cure" in a viral video last week. Despite that doctor's bizarre past claims, President Donald Trump has called her "spectacular," "very respected," and an "important voice."Chris Wallace Confronts Trump Campaign Spox Jason Miller: Admit 'You're Losing'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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| Parents struggle as schools reopen amid coronavirus surge Posted: 02 Aug 2020 10:02 PM PDT  Putting your child on the bus for the first day of school is always a leap of faith for a parent. Rachel Adamus was feeling those emotions Monday morning as she got 7-year-old Paul ready for his first day of second grade and prepared 5-year-old Neva for the start of kindergarten. With a new school year beginning this week in some states, Adamus struggled to balance her fears with her belief that her children need the socialization and instruction that school provides, even as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has hit about 155,000 and cases are rising in numerous places.
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| Bower Studios and West Elm Reprise a Partnership With This New Collection Posted: 03 Aug 2020 09:30 AM PDT |
| GOP dread over possible Kobach nomination in Kansas Posted: 02 Aug 2020 03:54 AM PDT  Republicans fear that Democratic meddling has helped to erase Roger Marshall's lead in this week's primary, potentially costing the party a Senate seat and perhaps its majority.
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| Verdict looms in killing of Lebanon ex-PM Hariri Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:58 AM PDT  A UN-backed tribunal will give its verdict Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, but questions will remain over a long and costly trial whose suspects remain at large. Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people. The judgment harks back to an event that changed the face of the Middle East, with Hariri's assassination triggering a wave of demonstrations that pushed Syrian forces out of Lebanon after 30 years.
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| Mysterious seeds sent from China to the US identified by the USDA Posted: 03 Aug 2020 08:11 AM PDT  The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.
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| As cruising resumes in some parts of world, multiple cruise ships affected by new COVID-19 cases Posted: 03 Aug 2020 01:30 PM PDT  While most of the cruise industry remains on pause, some cruise lines have begun to resume operations in international waters.
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| Who is Karen Bass? Posted: 02 Aug 2020 01:48 PM PDT  Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., has been mentioned as a potential running mate for former VP Joe Biden, who has vowed to pick a woman as his vice president.
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| Shoprite: Africa's biggest supermarket considers pulling out of Nigeria Posted: 03 Aug 2020 06:45 AM PDT  Shoprite is the latest high-profile South African retailer to struggle in the Nigerian market.
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| Spanish police launch investigation after DJ filmed spitting beer in to a crowd Posted: 03 Aug 2020 03:44 AM PDT  Police have launched an investigation after a video emerged of a DJ spitting beer onto dancers at a beach club in a Spanish resort as the country battled to reduce a spike in coronavirus cases. Video film showed a man spraying the crowd with beer then offering some dancers drinks from the same bottle at the club in Torremolinos, a destination popular with British tourists near Malaga in southern Spain. Many people dancing do not appear to be wearing masks according to the images which were shared widely on social media. One member of the Spanish DJ duo called Les Castizos was said to be the person who spat the beer at the crowd during part of their act. Police said they were investigating the pair for alleged "behaviour which does not abide by the measures of protection and security against coronavirus". Torremolinos council has closed the beach bar Kokun Ocean Club for 15 days after the video emerged.
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| James Clyburn: Trump doesn't plan to 'give up the office' Posted: 02 Aug 2020 09:36 AM PDT  Rep. James Clyburn defended his recent comments saying President Trump "thinks that the American people will be duped by him, like the people of Germany was duped by Adolf Hitler."
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| Drug-Smuggling Cat Escapes High-Security Sri Lankan Prison Posted: 03 Aug 2020 04:05 AM PDT  A cat that was detained at Sri Lanka's high-security Welikada Prison on suspicion of smuggling drugs to inmates has escaped, according to local media reports in Aruna.The feline delinquent was detained last week with two grams of heroin, two SIM cards and a memory chip hidden in a plastic bag tied to its collar on the prison grounds. Police suspect that the drug traffickers who trained the cat are part of the same cartel that was caught using an eagle to smuggle drugs in a suburb of Colombo. The menagerie of accomplices were associated with the underworld crime boss Angoda Lokka.Lokka died while hiding from the authorities in early July, according to local media. A man and a woman, aged 30 and 19, were arrested Sunday for illegally cremating him and forging identity documents, according to the New Indian Express.While there is no stipulation for animal arrest under Sri Lankan law, police were hoping the cat could lead them to the smugglers' den, the media reports suggest. The cat reportedly scampered out of its holding room and escaped through a fence when prison guards came in to feed it.Last week, police raided a farm owned by an associate of Lokka and found an air-rifle, bullets and the eagle previously seen delivering drugs. Prison authorities say they have noted an increase in people trying to smuggle drugs, cellphones and chargers into the prison in recent weeks, allegedly to sell within the prison system. Authorities say they are not searching for the narco cat.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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| A pastor who told congregants not to be afraid of the coronavirus was hospitalized with COVID-19 Posted: 03 Aug 2020 06:39 AM PDT  Charles Pope, a pastor in Washington, D.C., tested positive for COVID-19 after advising worshippers not to fear the virus.
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| People are using gaiters as face masks—but are they as effective? Posted: 03 Aug 2020 08:54 AM PDT  People are wearing neck gaiters instead of face masks—but are they as effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19?
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| Panama proposes flying Haitian migrants home after clash Posted: 03 Aug 2020 01:56 PM PDT  The government of Panama said Monday it has proposed giving some Haitian migrants flights back to their homeland after frustrations boiled over at the remote camps where they are stuck. The camps in Panama's southern Darien province also house some Cuban and African migrants, but about 80% of the 2,000 migrants there are from Haiti. Public Safety Minister Juan Pino said Monday he offered improved medical services or repatriation flights to the migrants, who want to travel overland to the U.S. border but cannot do so because of coronavirus restrictions.
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| Ningaloo Reef: Woman injured by humpback whale at Australian tourist spot Posted: 03 Aug 2020 05:06 AM PDT  The woman is in a "serious but stable condition" after being hit by the whale during a group swim.
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| Joint U.S. military drills get thumbs down from Thais amid virus fears Posted: 03 Aug 2020 05:58 AM PDT  This month's joint U.S.-Thai military exercises in Thailand have drawn criticism from Thais on social media after authorities announced that dozens of visiting American troops would be undergoing their mandatory 14-day quarantine in Bangkok hotels. Thailand has been over two months without a local transmission and has kept infections to just over 3,300. It has closed borders and airspace to tourists to keep the virus out and allows entry only to Thai repatriates or foreigners with special permission.
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| Joe Biden's plan for universal preschool forgets key to children's success: Parents. Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:01 AM PDT  Preschool attendance is voluntary. That means only children with motivated, engaged parents attend preschool to begin with.
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| Donald Trump Jr. has a long history of spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories online Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:44 PM PDT  Twitter's temporary suspension of Donald Trump Jr.'s account on Tuesday came amid the president's son's long history of sharing misinformation online.
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| China suspends HK extradition treaty with New Zealand Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:46 AM PDT  China suspended Hong Kong's extradition treaty with New Zealand on Monday amid a row with Western nations protesting against a tough new security law that Beijing imposed on the city. New Zealand is the latest to join a string of Western powers -- including Canada, Britain, Australia and Germany -- that have suspended extradition treaties with Hong Kong since the controversial law was introduced in late June.
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| Coronavirus relief bill remains up in air as negotiations continue Posted: 03 Aug 2020 02:22 PM PDT  Slow negotiations on a COVID-19 relief bill continued Monday afternoon. Republicans are upset that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't drop her expansive wish list even as concerns are growing that the White House needs to be more sure-footed in the negotiations.
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| Biden VP prospect Karen Bass claims Scientology hadn't been 'exposed' before her 2010 praise of it, despite several high-profile media probes in the 1990s and 2000s Posted: 03 Aug 2020 11:31 AM PDT  There had been dozens of media reports and investigations over the Church of Scientology's alleged abuses prior to 2010.
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| Thousands evacuate as Apple Fire grows in Southern California Posted: 02 Aug 2020 06:13 AM PDT  About 7,800 people have been ordered to leave their homes as of Sunday.
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