| U.S. death toll passes 60,000 mark Trump said would mark success in coronavirus fight Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:54 PM PDT  Until recently, the president touted that projection as proof his administration's COVID-19 response was working.
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| Top coronavirus model predicts 100,000 dead by the end of the pandemic's 1st wave this summer Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:21 PM PDT  By the end of the coronavirus's "first wave" this summer, America will likely have buried close to 100,000 victims of the disease, researchers predict.
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| Confirmed coronavirus cases surge in reopened JBS Colorado beef plant; worker dies -union Posted: 30 Apr 2020 03:05 PM PDT |
| 80,000 cruise workers are still stuck aboard ships in US waters. Staff members say it's 'embarrassing' they're not allowed to disembark. Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:34 PM PDT  Up to 80,000 crew members are stuck on 120 cruise ships on US waters, and it's unclear when they'll touch land again.
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| NYC Mayor de Blasio accused of racism after breaking up Hasidic Jewish funeral and warning mourners Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:12 AM PDT  Bill de Blasio, New York's mayor, broke up a Hasidic Jewish funeral in Brooklyn for breaching social distancing rules and lashed out at mourners, prompting accusations of racism. Hundreds gathered on Tuesday to pay respects to a rabbi who had died from coronavirus, despite an order by the state not to gather in large numbers. "My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed," Mr de Blasio tweeted after police dispersed the funeral in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.
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| 'A near impossibility': Experts doubt North Korea's claim of zero coronavirus cases Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:32 PM PDT  Experts say there's evidence of at least a small-scale COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea. And some fear Kim Jong Un's lockdown could spark a famine.
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| Philippines rejects China's territorial label on island Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:49 AM PDT  The Philippines protested on Thursday China's designation of a disputed South China Sea reef, which it has turned into a heavily fortified island base, as a Chinese "administrative center." The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement objecting to what it called China's "illegal designation" of Fiery Cross Reef as a regional administrative center in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China last week of taking advantage of widespread distraction over the pandemic to advance its territorial claims.
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| 20 Best Side Dishes For Steak Posted: 30 Apr 2020 09:12 AM PDT |
| Trump begins day with Twitter meltdown over newly released Michael Flynn FBI note Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:39 AM PDT  Donald Trump began his Thursday with a barrage of tweets defending Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, after Mr Flynn's attorneys released documents that they believe show the FBI tried to entrap him.A note, written in January 2017 by then-counterintelligence director Bill Priestap, ponders how to approach Mr Flynn's questioning. "What's our goal?" asks Mr Priestap. "Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"
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| Cuban embassy in Washington struck by gunfire, suspect arrested Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:02 PM PDT  A man armed with a high-powered assault rifle fired multiple rounds at the Cuban embassy in Washington early Thursday, authorities said, damaging the building but without causing any injuries. Police arrested the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Alexander Alazo of Aubrey, Texas. "This morning at approximately 2:15 am, US Secret Service officers responded to the Embassy of Cuba following reports of shots fired," the Secret Service said in a statement.
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| Senate Democrat says Republican leader's plan to resume work puts lives in danger Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:11 PM PDT  A U.S. Senate Democrat on Wednesday accused Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of endangering the lives of Senate staff if he brings them back to work next week without effective safeguards against coronavirus infection in place. Senator Chris Van Hollen, whose state of Maryland contains several suburbs of Washington where federal workers live, said he had written to McConnell to demand details of how staff will be protected when the Senate returns to session on Monday. "I am ready to see senators resume work in the Capitol, but without effective safeguards in place, Mitch McConnell is endangering the lives of the staff who work there – including many of my constituents – and undermining regional efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," Van Hollen said in a statement.
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| A NYC coronavirus patient died after inexperienced medical residents set her ventilator too high and it stopped her heart Posted: 30 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  The incident happened at Montefiore hospital in the Bronx in March, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
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| Brexit trade talks face collapse unless EU abandon demands for continued access to UK fishing waters Posted: 30 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  Brexit trade negotiations face collapse unless the EU abandons its demands for continued access to UK fishing waters, sources close to the talks have said. Brussels has called for EU boats to keep access under "existing conditions" as a price for the free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides. The UK insists any fishing agreement must be separate from the trade deal with access negotiated annually in a similar fashion to Norway's agreement with the bloc. A UK source close to the negotiations said that the EU's red line would need to change, otherwise the talks could be terminated in June. "There are some fundamentals that we're not going to change, nor going to move on. Because they are not so much negotiating positions as they're sort of what an independent state does" the source said. "An independent state has independent control over coastal waters," the source added, "what we are wanting now is an EU understanding that we are not going to subordinate our laws to them in any areas". Michel Barnier accused Britain of wasting time in the trade negotiations, which have a deadline of the end of the year, after a round of talks last week. He criticised British negotiators for failing to present a text on fisheries for negotiations. UK sources said there was no point presenting a text when the two sides were "talking across each other". Downing Street has called on EU national leaders to intervene to break the deadlock in the talks but that is not expected to happen before June, when a joint conference will be held to evaluate progress towards the agreement. The source said that the UK would consider walking away in June and begin preparing for a no trade deal exit at the end of the transition period. "We do need to prepare for the end of the transition period, focus on that as well. If we don't look like we are going to get a deal that will become the primary focus of effort," the source said. The deadline to finalise the trade deal, which has come under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, is the end of the year, when the Brexit transition period finished. The transition period deep-freezes UK membership of the Single Market and Customs Union. Boris Johnson has vowed to not extend the transition period, despite the EU being ready to negotiate a delay and despite the risk of the UK failing to agree a deal in time, which would mean trading on less advantageous WTO terms.
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| Rumors over Kim Jong Un's health make one thing clear: North Korea's cult of personality endures Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:55 PM PDT  Recent speculation about Kim Jong Un's health shows how the fate of North Korea is still seen as inextricably linked to that of one much-hyped individual.
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| Transgender fire chief files discrimination suit over firing Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:00 AM PDT  A transgender fire chief has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the small Georgia city where she led the fire department for more than a decade, then was fired 18 months after she began coming to work as a woman. Rachel Mosby says her firing last summer by the city of Byron not only cost her wages and retirement benefits, but also tarnished her reputation. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Macon says city officials fired Mosby "based on her sex, gender identity, and notions of sex stereotyping."
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| Survey: Ohio and Kentucky governors are the most popular during the pandemic Posted: 30 Apr 2020 03:05 PM PDT  In all 50 states, residents approved of their governor's handling of the coronavirus pandemic more than President Donald Trump's.
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| Indiana Postal Worker Shot Dead After Refusing to Deliver Mail to Man With Aggressive Dog: Court Docs Posted: 30 Apr 2020 11:36 AM PDT  An Indiana man charged with murdering a U.S. postal worker this week admitted he confronted her because his mail delivery had been suspended due to his "aggressive dog," prosecutors said.Tony Cushingberry-Mays, 21, was charged with second-degree murder, assaulting a federal employee, and discharging a firearm during a crime for the death of Angela Summers, a 45-year-old postal worker who was gunned down Monday afternoon during her mail delivery route in east Indianapolis, according to the United States District Court of Southern Indiana.The mother-of-one, who had joined the U.S. Postal Service in 2018, died in the hospital. According to federal law, killing an on-duty federal employee can be punishable by death or a life sentence. To date, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says four postal workers have been killed during workplace homicides in the last seven years. "Angela was such a joy to be around, she was such a breath of fresh air. This is the worst thing that's happened in my career," Paul Toms, president of the National Association of Letters Carriers' Indianapolis branch, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. "This is a federal crime, but more importantly this is a senseless crime that should have never happened. It breaks my heart." Summers, a city carrier assistant at the USPS Linwood Indianapolis Post Office, was delivering mail at about 4 p.m. Monday when she bypassed Cushingberry-Mays' home in compliance with a suspension that had been put in place until he contained his dogs, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Beast. An angry Cushingberry-Mays approached Summers on his neighbor's front porch, standing about 6 feet away, and repeatedly asked her for the mail.Both Toms and a witness who spoke to WTHR said Cushingberry-Mays was allegedly upset about not getting his COVID-19 stimulus check when he confronted Summers.Summers, however, could not deliver his mail "because she was having a problem with the dog at his residence," the complaint said, adding that Summers had reported "several issues" with the dog, which had resulted in mail being held.Prosecutors said the USPS Linwood Indianapolis Post Office last sent a letter to the Cushingberry-Mays residence on April 13 indicating they would have to pick up mail from the post office.Toms said that, in compliance with USPS guidelines, Summers had reported an issue with dogs at the home. After three warning letters were sent, mail had been blocked from the home for about two weeks and "wasn't even given to Angela that day of the incident.""She was just following protocol, and the Postal Service curtailed the mail. It was not her fault that she didn't have the mail that day," Toms said. "My understanding is that she tried to explain that the mail could be picked up at another location and an argument ensued. I heard she was called horrible, horrible names." The postal worker's response triggered an argument, escalating to the point that Summers had to use pepper spray on the 21-year-old. "Cushingberry-Mays then pulled his handgun from the right side of his waistband (no holster), pointed his handgun at the letter carrier, and fired one shot at the letter carrier," the criminal complaint states. "He acknowledged the mace was not deadly but led to discomfort from his asthma."According to the complaint, Cushingberry-Mays admitted in a Tuesday interview with police that he ran away after shooting Summers, first going to his aunt's house before hiding the gun in the garage at his mother's. He told authorities "he did not mean to kill the letter carrier but wanted to scare her," according to court documents.Immediately after the shooting, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched an investigation and offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. It's not clear if Wednesday's arrest was made due to information obtained through the reward. "U.S. Postal Inspectors are charged with ensuring the safety and security of USPS employees, and that is a charge that we do not take lightly," Felicia George, USPI Detroit Division Acting Inspector in Charge, said in a statement. "Anyone who threatens, assaults, or otherwise harms a postal employee fulfilling her critical mission will be apprehended and held fully accountable."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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| Republican lawmakers vote by mail to restrict ... vote by mail Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:05 PM PDT  While under the state's stay-at-home orders, Louisiana lawmakers voted by mail against the state's voters' ability to vote by mail in upcoming elections.Republicans in the state's legislature objected to a plan that would allow absentee ballots for people who fear being exposed to the coronavirus, claiming that mail-in voting is ripe for voter fraud — despite voting for the legislation by mail.
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| Most Americans cannot or will not use COVID-19 contact tracing apps: poll Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:38 AM PDT  More than half of all Americans either do not own smartphones or would not use apps backed by Alphabet Inc's Google and Apple Inc to trace who has been exposed to the new coronavirus, according to a poll by the Washington Post and University of Maryland released on Wednesday. The two tech companies have been working with public health experts and researchers to write apps that people can use to notify those they have come in contact with if they come down with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
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| Newly engaged lesbian couple missing in North Carolina Posted: 30 Apr 2020 08:13 AM PDT  Stephanie Mayorga, 27, and Paige Escalera, 25, disappeared in mid-April under "suspicious" circumstances, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
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| California to give poor families an extra $365 per child to spend on food, while allowing grocery purchases from Amazon and Walmart.com Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:23 PM PDT  With children home from school, the state of California is working to ensure they're not skipping lunch.
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| How COVID-19's US fatalities compare to America's worst flu seasons Posted: 30 Apr 2020 04:42 PM PDT  Deaths in the United States from the novel coronavirus topped more than 62,000 Thursday, making it deadlier than any flu season since 1967, according to data compiled by Reuters.The only deadlier flu seasons were in 1967 when about 100,000 Americans died, 1957 when 116,000 died and the Spanish flu of 1918 when 675,000 died, according to the CDC.The United States has the world's highest coronavirus death toll; so far more than 1,079,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have occurred in the U.S., with 62,603 deaths, while 127,950 people having recovered, according to the latest statistics Thursday night.The comparison to the Spanish flu recalls when an infectious disease expert told AccuWeather early in March about what may lay ahead, noting the outbreak could have a historically unprecedented impact on life across the globe."This pathogen has all the signs of being 'the big one,'" Dr. Bryan Lewis, a professor at the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia, told AccuWeather on March 3. "When current estimates for COVID-19 are compared to the 1918 pandemic, they are eerily similar. The outcomes will likely be different given modern medicine; however, the impact on society and its functioning is likely to be significant."The 1918 influenza pandemic, sometimes called the Spanish Flu pandemic, is the most severe pandemic in recent history. An estimated 500 million people - or one-third of the world's population - became infected and the number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with roughly 675,000 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health care workers look on as four members of Hill Air Force Base's 388th Fighter Wing fly in formation over University of Utah Hospital Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Salt Lake City. The flyover was a "thank you" to health care workers, first responders, military members and essential personnel, as well as those who are staying home to help "flatten the curve" during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) As for this year's flu season, it was historically long, but not as deadly as past seasons.At 22 weeks, it was the longest above-baseline flu season in at least 20 years of CDC records. Last year was the previous longest at 20 weeks.A total of 19,932 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported between Oct. 1, 2019, and April 18, 2020, according to the CDC. That's the second-highest total - there were 30,453 in 2017-18 - since such figures were first kept during the 2009-10 flu season.The CDC's estimate of flu-related deaths this season is a broad range of 24,000 - 62,000, with final estimates to be determined in the future.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| US approves Apache, Viper attack helicopter options for Philippines Posted: 30 Apr 2020 11:56 AM PDT  The Philippines is not going to buy both.
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| Rabbi's funeral draws massive crowd, angers mayor Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:19 PM PDT  Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City will no longer tolerate large gatherings in any community after hundreds gathered in Williamsburg for a rabbi's funeral.
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| Ex-Honduran national police chief charged in New York Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:08 PM PDT  The former chief of the Honduran National Police faces drug and weapons charges in New York, where prosecutors claimed Thursday that he traded his law enforcement clout to protect U.S.-bound shipments of cocaine. The charges were brought against Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, known as "El Tigre" or "The Tiger," in Manhattan federal court. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said Bonilla played a key role in a violent international drug conspiracy, working on behalf of former Honduran congressman Tony Hernández Alvarado and, his brother, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.
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| 'You’re not supposed to keep that payment': Mnuchin wants stimulus money given to dead taxpayers returned Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:18 PM PDT  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said dead taxpayers were not eligible for the $1,200 payments meant to help people endure the coronavirus lockdown.
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| Satellite images of luxury boats further suggest North Korea's Kim at favoured villa: experts Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:02 AM PDT  Satellite imagery showing recent movements of luxury boats often used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his entourage near Wonsan provide further indications he has been at the coastal resort, according to experts who monitor the reclusive regime. Speculation about Kim's health and location erupted after his unprecedented absence from April 15 celebrations to mark the birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. On Tuesday, North Korea-monitoring website NK PRO reported commercial satellite imagery showed boats often used by Kim had made movements in patterns that suggested he or his entourage may be in the Wonsan area.
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| Last Israeli farmers leave enclave after Jordan deal ends Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:27 AM PDT  Israeli farmers left an agricultural enclave in neighbouring Jordan possibly for the last time Thursday, as the extension of a lease enabling their use of the border land expired. Ghumar, known as Tsofar in Hebrew, is a Jordanian territory south of the Dead Sea that was occupied by Israel during the Six Day War of 1967. Under the 1994 peace deal, Jordan retained sovereignty over the area, along with another territory called Baqura, seized when Israeli forces infiltrated Jordan in 1950.
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| Nonprofits, truck drivers, food banks, and others are turning to a little-known Google Maps feature to navigate life amid the coronavirus pandemic Posted: 30 Apr 2020 09:22 AM PDT  They're using Google Maps to represent information visually, like locations of hand washing stations, food banks, or gas stations.
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| California’s Ammo Background Checks Misfire Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:24 AM PDT  California's attempts to discourage gun ownership hit a bump Thursday. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez granted a preliminary injunction that stopped the state from enforcing its background checks on ammunition purchases. The initiative, which was spearheaded by Gavin Newsom when he was the lieutenant governor, passed in 2016 with 63 percent of the vote.The background checks have failed miserably, succeeding only in preventing law-abiding citizens from buying ammunition. Between July 2019 and January 2020, 101,047 non-prohibited Californians were prevented from buying bullets. By contrast, just 188 prohibited people were denied. That means that for every prohibited person whose purchase was rejected, 537 law-abiding citizens were denied.This high ratio is not too surprising, since few criminals are dumb enough to try to go through a background check. As Judge Benitez noted, "Criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don't do background checks." Instead, many of these criminals buy their guns and ammunition from drug dealers. We've had no more success in stopping the illegal gun trade than in stopping the illegal drug trade.Denials typically result from such things as the buyer's current address differing from the address when they last bought a gun. Even law-enforcement officers, such as Sutter County deputy sheriff Zachary Berg, are being denied because their personal information doesn't match the state database records.The small number of "prohibited" people who have been stopped is undoubtedly even smaller than the 188 cases the state claims. California provides no evidence that any of these "prohibited" individuals were actually convicted for breaking the law by trying to buy this ammunition. In the federal background check system for gun purchases, only about one out of every 3,000 denials actually leads to a conviction. That's because the vast majority of prohibited purchases were the result of mistaken identification. The government confused the identities of law-abiding citizens with those who were prohibited.The costs of the checks and the legal hassles of getting around them are primarily harming poorer Californians. These are the very people who are the most likely victims of violent crime and who stand to benefit the most from being able to protect themselves.This judgment mirrors the views of academic researchers. A 2019 survey of 120 criminologists, economists, and public-health researchers who had published peer-reviewed, empirical research on firearms revealed a high degree of skepticism that background checks on either ammunition or guns would reduce crime. Respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of each policy on a scale of 1 to 10. A rating of "1" indicated not effective at all, and "10" indicated extreme effectiveness. For ammunition background checks, the survey result was a mere 3.48.By contrast, reducing the cost of background checks and licensing fees earned a significantly higher effectiveness score of 5.1.California hasn't provided the court with any evidence that these types of background checks stop criminals from getting ammunition.California's neighbor Mexico has gone much further than even California in its restrictions, and the crime rates don't bear out the benefits of background checks on ammunition. The entire country has only one gun store — a military-run establishment in Mexico City. That store is the only place that one can legally buy ammunition, and background checks are required. Mexico's current murder rates are six times higher than those of the U.S., and twice what they were when the restrictions started in 1972."The [background check] experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California's new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured," Judge Benitez wrote in his decision. Well said, your honor.
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| Trump praise of 'tormented' Flynn raises pardon speculation Posted: 30 Apr 2020 03:26 AM PDT  President Donald Trump voiced strong support Thursday for his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, raising speculation that a pardon may be coming after Flynn's lawyers disclosed internal FBI documents they claim show the FBI tried to "intentionally frame" him. "It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see," Trump told reporters Thursday. Trump has long said he is considering pardoning Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
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| Remdesivir could help end coronavirus lockdown despite failure of Chinese trials, scientists say Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:39 AM PDT  A coronavirus drug which initially failed in Chinese trials is now working and could help end lockdown restrictions, scientists have said. Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral, was developed more than a decade ago to cure an unknown "Disease X" and is currently being trialled on patients in the NHS. In results published in The Lancet on Wednesday, Chinese scientists said the drug worked no better than placebo. But less than 24 hours later, US health officials reported that their own trial, on more than 1,000 severely ill patients in 75 hospitals around the world, had seen recovery times cut from 15 days to 11, and mortality rates fall by nearly 30 per cent. British scientists involved in the UK trials said the results were "exciting" and, once rolled out, the drug could help lessen the need for lockdown restrictions by removing the burden on the NHS and cutting deaths. Patients who were being given placebo in the British trials are now being moved on to remdesivir.
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| In Russia virus lockdown, fears of a return to the bottle Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:26 PM PDT  Stuck in cramped flats and struggling with fears of the coronavirus and its economic impact, many Russians are worried about the return of an old demon. "When I found myself alone at home, the first thought I had was 'ah, it's a good time to get drunk,'" says Tatyana, a recovering alcoholic on lockdown in Moscow. Despite Russia's reputation for hard drinking, alcoholism has been on the wane in the country for years, in part due to anti-drink campaigns and aggressive moves by authorities to control sales.
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| Jordan ends historic arrangement with Israel as West Bank annexation tensions rise Posted: 30 Apr 2020 12:41 PM PDT  Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ambassador Dhaifallah Al-Fayez, said the additional harvesting period "will end this evening."
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| Former Education Secretary John King on what returning to school may look like Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:11 AM PDT  President Trump has said that going back to school during the current academic year is something state governors "should seriously start to consider," despite concerns over the coronavirus. Former Education Secretary John King, who served under President Obama, joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss what needs to be done for schools to be reopened safely.
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| 14 Baking Supplies for Your New Bread-Making Hobby Posted: 30 Apr 2020 07:40 AM PDT |
| Top House Democrat Says Tara Reade Allegation against Biden Should Be “Investigated Seriously” Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:46 PM PDT  Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday that the sexual-assault allegation against Joe Biden must be "investigated seriously" and that Biden will likely have to address the claim directly."It's got to be taken seriously because this is a serious allegation raised by a serious individual and needs to be investigated seriously. We've probably got to hear from him [Biden] at some point directly," Jeffries said Wednesday on WNYC when asked about Tara Reade's claim that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him as a Senate staffer. "I'm not really in a position to say what is the appropriate mechanism, although this needs to be taken seriously."Reade alleges that in 1993, when she was a Senate staff assistant for Biden, she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her. In early April of last year, before he announced his run for the Democratic nomination, Reade alleged along with several other women that Biden had touched her inappropriately.Several other top Democrats have stood by the presumptive Democratic nominee as he has denied the allegations, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is considered one of the contenders to be Biden's running mate."He's devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation," Gillibrand said."I'm satisfied with how he has responded. I know him. I was proud to endorse him on Monday," Pelosi said."I know Joe Biden and I think he's telling the truth and this did not happen," Abrams said during a CNN appearance.Biden will reportedly appear on MSNBC's Morning Joe and address the allegations on Thursday.
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| A New York City man stole $12,000 worth of coronavirus stimulus checks from mailboxes, cops say Posted: 30 Apr 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Police arrested Feng Chen, 31, after finding him looking in mailboxes and a medical collection bin in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood,
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| Most of U.S. House urges more diplomacy at U.N. to renew Iran arms embargo: sources Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:00 PM PDT  Nearly 90% of U.S. House of Representatives members have signed a letter urging the Trump administration to increase its diplomatic action at the United Nations to renew an arms embargo on Iran, congressional sources said on Thursday. In a rare show of bipartisanship, at least 382 of the 429 members of the Democratic-controlled House - Democrats and Republicans - have signed the letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to work with U.S. allies and partners to extend the embargo, as well as U.N. travel restrictions on Iranians involved with arms proliferation. "The U.N. arms embargo is set to expire in October, and we are concerned that the ban's expiration will lead to more states buying and selling weapons to and from Iran," said the letter, seen by Reuters and led by Representatives Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mike McCaul, the committee's top Republican.
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| Louisiana pastor Tony Spell's followers jammed police phone lines to protest his arrest. He says it'll keep happening until cops 'get this ankle bracelet off of me.' Posted: 30 Apr 2020 09:23 AM PDT  The pastor has repeatedly gotten into legal trouble for trying to hold church services, saying stay-at-home orders violate his civil liberties.
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