| Israel top court approves coalition deal, new govt to be sworn in May 13 Posted: 06 May 2020 05:07 PM PDT  Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday approved a coalition deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival-turned-ally Benny Gantz, paving the way for a unity government to be sworn in next week. Under the three-year deal, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister for 18 months, with Gantz as his alternate, a new position in Israeli governance.
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| Drug Smugglers May Have Started COVID-19 Outbreak Aboard Destroyer, SecDef Says Posted: 05 May 2020 02:32 PM PDT  The destroyer Kidd is the second Navy ship to deal with a coronavirus outbreak.
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| Mass arrests and overcrowded prisons in El Salvador spark fear of coronavirus crisis Posted: 06 May 2020 05:20 AM PDT  Governments around the world, from Brazil to the United States, are releasing some prisoners in an effort to reduce COVID-19 outbreaks in overcrowded prisons and jails. But not El Salvador. Over the past month, thousands have been arrested and jailed for allegedly violating quarantine orders in this small Central American country. El Salvador was one of the first countries in the Americas to declare a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, in mid-March. President Nayib Bukele announced a mandatory national quarantine with few exceptions. At first, his decisive action had broad support. But Bukele's use of police and soldiers to enforce coronavirus restrictions has led to criticism that the president is abusing his emergency powers to curtail civil liberties and undermine democracy. A tough response to coronavirusIn April, the Salvadoran Supreme Court ruled that the government lacked the legal authority to detain citizens indefinitely without suspicion of crime, despite the "extraordinary circumstances" presented by COVID-19. In open defiance of the court, the administration has continued to arrest thousands, allegedly for violating quarantine, and send them to ad hoc "containment centers."The mass detentions put further stress on the country's already overburdened penal system, creating conditions ripe for a public health crisis. In 2018, a special observer sent by the United Nations described the conditions of El Salvador's jails and prisons as "hellish."I used to visit MS-13 designated Salvadoran prisons on a weekly basis in the early 2000s, when I was in El Salvador and conducting research on the "war on gangs." Even then I found conditions in these cinderblock warehouses to be harsh, with overcrowding and poor food. Running water was hit or miss. Sometimes, inmates would go days without access to water, leaving them to drink only what they'd stored.Starting in 2016, the government banned almost all visitors to and observers in these kinds of prisons, claiming it was necessary for security. Since then incarcerated life has become even worse, from the little that outside groups like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are able to document. Explicit photosRecently, though, amid the global pandemic, the world got an unexpected glimpse into El Salvador's prisons. On April 25, the Salvadoran government's official press secretary tweeted out disturbing images of shirtless prisoners packed together like sardines – no chance of social distancing – hands cuffed behind their backs. Some had white surgical masks flapping uselessly. Many were unmasked. The images were touting a government crackdown on incarcerated gang members intended as reprisal for a recent uptick in the murder rate. But the draconian treatment they revealed raised outcry among public health and human rights advocates. To these chilling images, the Salvadoran prisons director Osiris Luna Meza added that cells would be sealed "without a ray of sun," and promised to house members of rival gangs together in the same cells – a proposition almost certain to trigger violence. Public enemy No. 1Inflammatory rhetoric, punitive law enforcement and the public humiliation of gang members have become more common in El Salvador over my two decades of research on human rights and the rule of law in the country. So-called "mano dura" or "iron fist" policies are politically popular in El Salvador and other Central American countries grappling with gang violence. For much of the past decade, El Salvador's murder rate has ranked it among the world's most dangerous countries.But too often crime strategies allegedly meant to protect the public, like the recent mass arrests and the prison clampdown, create more problems than they solve. Research shows that hard-line policing has actually exacerbated violence in El Salvador. According to a 2019 U.S. State Department report, Salvadoran police and soldiers given free rein to repress gangs have committed assault, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions. Bukele, a young leader who took office last year, promised to "turn the page" on the country's rough history. Instead, he has returned to these old authoritarian tactics. A brewing crisisDoing so during a global pandemic turns the country's overcrowded prisons into a public health hazard.El Salvador's national prison system is built for approximately 18,000 inmates, and currently holds over 38,000, according to the World Prison Brief, a database on prison populations worldwide. This number does not include those arrested for curfew violation, who are crammed into local facilities.Even before COVID-19, infectious disease spread rapidly among Salvadoran prisoners. According to a 2016 epidemiological study in El Salvador, infection rates for tuberculosis were at least five times greater in prisons than in the general population.That same year, the Salvadoran Supreme Court declared that prison overcrowding violated prisoners' basic human rights and ordered the government to release some people and build more facilities. Neither has happened. By 2017, journalist Sarah Maslin wrote in The Washington Post that one Salvadoran jail "had become a petri dish for outbreaks of scabies, pneumonia and tuberculosis." Human cost of an iron fistThe coronavirus outbreak makes infectious diseases in Salvadoran prisons an even more urgent concern. Stuffing more people into overcrowded, unsanitary jails and prisons radically increases the risks for COVID-19 outbreaks. The disease inevitably spreads into broader society through prison staff and inmates who are released, according to recent analysis by data scientists published on Law 360. Bukele says his government's harsh security measures are necessary to "defend the lives of Salvadorans." But now more than ever, such actions seem likelier to hurt the people they're meant to protect. [You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation's newsletter.]
Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas:
Miranda Cady Hallett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Seoul reports panic buying in N Korea amid economic woes Posted: 06 May 2020 01:52 AM PDT  The coronavirus pandemic has likely taken a heavy toll on North Korea, forcing leader Kim Jong Un to avoid public activities and his people into panic buying for daily necessities, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday. Although North Korea has taken intense quarantine measures, it maintains there are no domestic infections.
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| Tennessee Authorities Have Identified a ‘Person of Interest’ in Case of Baby Evelyn Boswell Posted: 06 May 2020 11:19 AM PDT  Three months after 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell was first reported missing, Tennessee investigators say they've identified a "person of interest" in her widely-watched case.The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday they have identified a person of interest in Evelyn's case but refused to name the suspected individual due to the ongoing investigation. To date, no one has been charged with Evelyn's death. The infant was reported missing on Feb. 18 but "was last seen by certain family members near the end of November 2019 and the first of December 2019," authorities said.After an extensive, multi-agency search, the toddler's remains were found in March on a property belonging to a "family member of Evelyn's mother," according to Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy. An autopsy report is still pending. Detectives Find Remains of Missing Tennessee Baby Evelyn Boswell"We will never ever forget Evelyn Boswell," Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Captain Joey Strickler told News Channel 11 on Wednesday, stating that several officers are still working diligently on the case. Amid the investigation, Boswell's mother, 18-year-old Megan Boswell, was charged on Feb. 25 with making false reports for allegedly giving authorities "conflicting, inaccurate statements" that "impeded" the investigation. "Every time we've talked to her, her story changed. Every single time," Cassidy said after the arrest, calling Boswell's actions "frustrating."Authorities say Evelyn was first reported missing by her grandfather on Feb. 18 after he hadn't seen the baby in several months. According to court documents obtained by WCYB, Boswell initially told authorities that Evelyn's father, Ethan Perry, had the baby and she was supposed to meet him at a store in Colonial Heights. But Perry, an active-duty military officer stationed in Louisiana, did not have the child.Boswell then allegedly claimed the girl's grandmother had taken Evelyn camping "in a silver camper," and promised, "I'm going to go find her myself." The 18-year-old also told authorities that she was newly pregnant and could not take a polygraph test—which investigators later determined was false. Minnesota Man Killed Wife, Buried Her Under Home Then Faked Her Disappearance: Court DocsMegan Boswell's mother, Angela Boswell, and her boyfriend, 33-year-old William McCloud, were separately arrested in February in North Carolina after investigators found them riding in a stolen gray BMW. They have since been released on bond. Despite the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has presented amid the investigation, Strickler said the sheriff's office is glad to be working through the evidence slowly to ensure they do not make a mistake. Boswell, who has not spoken to authorities about her daughter's case since her arrest, is currently in the Sullivan County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning.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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| Coronavirus: Nigeria's death penalty by Zoom 'inhumane' Posted: 06 May 2020 02:17 PM PDT  A man is sentenced to hang for murder after a virtual court session amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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| New Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Most Americans deny Trump’s response is a ‘success story’ Posted: 06 May 2020 04:26 PM PDT  Nearly half of Americans believe the United States would be faring better in the current coronavirus pandemic if Barack Obama were president instead of President Trump, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
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| Venezuela's Maduro parades Americans detained in 'daring plot' to overthrow him Posted: 05 May 2020 09:55 AM PDT  Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, said he has detained two American "mercenaries" allegedly involved in a murky operation intended to infiltrate Venezuela and overthrow him. Mr Maduro appeared on state television on Monday night to show off the seized passports of Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, accusing them of being US security forces. "The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid," he said. The pair, both former Green Berets, were arrested while eight Venezuelan army defectors with them were killed after the government foiled an "invasion" from the sea. President Donald Trump was forced to deny any involvement in the failed plot.
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| US shopper uses KKK hood as face covering Posted: 05 May 2020 02:18 PM PDT  Authorities in California have launched a probe after a man was spotted at a grocery store using a Ku Klux Klan hood as a face covering against coronavirus infection. "I am stunned, stunned because it's always sad when somebody, regardless of what the reasoning is, resorts to putting any kind of symbol out there that depicts some kind of hatred," John Minto, the mayor of the town of Santee, near San Diego, told the local ABC station. Images of the man taken by a fellow shopper at a Vons grocery store have sparked outrage and the San Diego Sheriff's Department said it had launched a probe into the incident that took place Saturday.
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| 10 Eco-Friendly Comforters Under $300 Posted: 06 May 2020 07:22 AM PDT |
| Are We Done with China Now? Posted: 05 May 2020 03:23 PM PDT  We have known about the People's Republic of China's exploitation of American enterprise for years. The problem is that we have not wanted to confront it. Ever since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it has been a relentless and pernicious economic adversary, routinely taking advantage of the greed and weakness of American companies. We should have taken actions previously to address imbalances in our trade relationships, but we didn't. Now the pandemic has put these issues front and center.In early December, China knew an infectious virus had been discovered in Wuhan. It was not until December 31 that China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) that there was a risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus. The WHO failed the world by not publishing this. However, our intelligence services briefed the president on January 3, and eleven times after that throughout January and February about the magnitude of the coronavirus threat. Nothing happened.While the world suffers from health and financial challenges, China has touted its ability to take advantage of the American economy and our weakness in trade. China controls many critical products and components of America's supply chains. Of U.S. imports, China accounted for 95 percent of ibuprofen, 91 percent of hydrocortisone, and 80 percent of all antibiotics. Our dependence on Chinese medicine has crippled our ability to fight COVID-19 and various illnesses. This must change.China's scope of power goes beyond its domination of the production of everyday medications. Its exploitation of intellectual property led me to introduce the SHEET Act to prevent countries such as China from stealing technology and intelligence from educational foreign-exchange programs, a method which illustrates the Communist country's desire to steal and misuse intellectual property from the U.S.Since China's addition to the WTO, it has been carefully but fully abusive toward American companies and businesses. The Institute for Supply Management estimates that three-quarters of American companies report supply-chain disruptions in China. Their manipulation goes beyond supply-chains. When Marriott and Delta posted maps showing Taiwan as an independent country, China objected and demanded that they remove these maps from their websites. Sadly, both companies buckled to authoritarian China and changed their maps. As Lenin said, "the capitalists will sell us the ropes we will hang them with."How can American business and government oppose China's outsized influence? One way is to create new supply chains and reinforce existing ones with U.S. allies in Asia, and in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Chinese leaders do not think that our leaders and businesses have the resolve to accept higher costs in a less efficient supply chain for imported products, and we need to call their bluff. Policymakers should create new incentives for businesses to reorient supply chains away from China and disincentives for companies to invest there. A "sovereignty tax" on American investment in China, reflecting the value that U.S. companies derive from U.S. sovereignty but the damage they are doing to our strategic position by investing there, could be an example. It is worth incurring higher costs to be strategically secure.As the pandemic abates, the U.S. and our allies should clearly and openly call out the abuses that China has perpetrated on the Western world since its admission to the WTO. The mantra of accommodation to China to mollify the PRC and slowly integrate them into existing global trade relationships has failed — or, more precisely, has worked for China but no one else. China's leaders are repressive, they violate trade norms, and they steal intellectual property. They project hegemonic power wherever they can. We need to develop a partnership with American, European, and Asian businesses and governments to bring China's exploitation to an end.
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| Ohio lawmaker refuses to wear mask because he says it dishonors God Posted: 06 May 2020 07:20 AM PDT  "We are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask," state Rep. Nino Vitale wrote on Facebook.
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| Invoking Cossack resistance, Ukrainian mayor defies lockdown measures Posted: 05 May 2020 07:37 AM PDT |
| Supreme Court struggles to find balance between religious freedom, reproductive rights Posted: 06 May 2020 10:50 AM PDT  Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as the potential swing vote in a battle that has stretched for nearly a decade.
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| Dallas salon owner jailed for defying virus shutdown order Posted: 06 May 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Texas' Republican governor and top law enforcement officer on Wednesday came to the defense of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of the governor's restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shelley Luther was booked in the Dallas County jail on Tuesday following a video hearing during which she refused to apologize for repeatedly flouting the order, leading the judge to find her in contempt of court and sentence her to a week behind bars. Luther was cited last month for keeping her salon open despite state and local directives that kept nonessential businesses closed, but she continued to defy the order and tore up a cease and desist letter in front of TV cameras.
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| Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Successor Accused of Using Social Distancing ‘Snitch Line’ Posted: 06 May 2020 01:27 AM PDT  President Trump might have been welcomed to Arizona on Tuesday by the fellow truther once known as his political soul mate.But Joe Arpaio had trouble explaining misspent millions and hundreds of uninvestigated sex crime cases, and numerous civil rights violations during his long tenure as Maricopa County sheirff.Arpaio was voted out the same day Trump was voted in. The new Maricopa sheriff is Paul Penzone, who seeks to live up to his sworn duty to enforce the laws of Arizona as well as defend the U.S. Constitution. That includes a situation where, in Penzone's words "the governor, acting under his authority in a constitutional manner, executes an executive order.""You can't pick and choose which laws to enforce when you're in law enforcement," Penzone told The Daily Beast.He is not one of the Arizona sheriffs who declared they would not enforce Gov. Doug Ducey's "stay home, stay safe" emergency COVID-19 restrictions. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Mohave County Sheriff Douglas Schuster are among at least a half-dozen sheriffs in other states who have made similar declarations, deeming stay-at-home and business shutdown orders unconstitutional. The so-called constitutionalist stance is embraced by Gerard "Jerry" Sheridan, Arpaio's former chief deputy. Sheridan is seeking to unseat Penzone in November. "The Sheriff of a county is elected by and reports only to the citizens in the county," Sheridan tweeted. "No governor or mayor can tell him how to do his job. Sheriff Penzone of MCSO drop your snitch line to catch law abiding citizens doing Constitutional things."What Sheridan calls a "snitch line" is an online system that Penzone set up that allows people to report violations of the pandemic restrictions. Snitch is a pejorative used by criminals to describe people who cooperate with law enforcement. One longtime street rhyme is "snitches get stitches." And here is someone using the word in an effort to get elected a county's top lawman. Initially, reports of violations of the governor's stay-at-home, business shutdown order were handled via 911. Deputies were dispatched to the scene with instructions to begin by educating violators about the danger they were creating. Deputies were to summon a supervisor before taking any further actions. And citations were to be issued only where there was what Penzone terms "aggressive and repeated behavior" that left the deputies with no other choice."You have to find that balance, not to criminalize but also to promote health and safety, to save lives," Penzone said.The situation became more nuanced when the governor began to relax some business restrictions. Penzone had already become worried that the use of 911 tied up police resources when crime had remained essentially constant. Under the present system, citizens who call 911 with a COVID-19 restriction complaint are directed to file a report online. Some people just went directly to the sheriff's website."If you wish to contact MCSO with questions or concerns regarding the emergency order..." reads a line at the top.A click on "Contact Us" brings the person to a "Tips" page. A civilian investigator will then respond to confirm there is a violation before any further action is taken. Penzone reports that only a minority of the people visiting the page report violations. "The majority of that traffic has been the people who are complaining about the site," Penzone said.He added, "We've allowed politics to become divisive, even more so during a pandemic."He also said, "If we want to see the economy come back and also be safe, we can't let politics decide how we behave." Penzone has emailed the county attorney to confirm that the governor's order is indeed constitutional. The county attorney has not yet responded.The issue is likely to come up in court May 30, when Mertia Kraya, proprietor of Euro Pizza Cafe in Fountain Hills, contests a citation she received on April 5. Deputies visited her establishment on several occasions regarding patrons eating at outdoor tables and drinking beers from a bucket of ice marked "To Go." She insisted that nobody was "dining in" as prohibited by the restrictions."[Kraya] told me that my interpretation and her interpretation were different and that if I had to cite her for this, a judge would have to decide whose interpretation was right," a sheriff's captain wrote in a report. Kraya was issued summons 0700033420009801 charging her with violation of Section 26-317 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. "A violation of an order, rule, or regulation issued pursuant to a State of Emergency is a Class 1 misdemeanor," the law reads.That was the lone such summons issued by the sheriff, so Kraya had no trouble figuring out who Penzone was talking about when he accused an unnamed restaurant owner who violated the order of being "selfish." She faces a maximum $2,500 fine. She told The Daily Beast she intends to fight it. "I'll see my day in court," she said. "We'll see what happens."She noted that she has a medical condition that leaves her immunocompromised, with particular reason to fear COVID-19. She added that she would never want to endanger her customers or her employees or her family at home, who include an EMT in the Air Force Reserve. She reported that her cause has been taken up by those who oppose the restrictions."They took my case and ran with it," she said. "The Rosa Parks that stand up to the police."The anti-shutdown folks who are seeking to capitalize on the case will have reason to wish that the evidence did not include body camera footage that shows the deputies being only reasonable. Meanwhile, Sheridan is denouncing Penzone's "snitch line." He may be hoping to make voters forget his former boss' many transgressions."It is typical of his liberal mentality to have people snitch each other out for going to get something to eat or go for a walk in the park," Sheirdan told The Daily Beast.Sheridan said that "when I get elected," he will tutor his deputies on "what the Founding Fathers meant when giving the people freedom and liberty."Sheridan said he would oppose a shutdown even in his native Queens, New York, where his father was an NYPD lieutenant and where thousands have died in the pandemic. Sheridan said it is up to people to take their own precautions.NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Houses—and Soon They Will Be Counted"There is a degree of personal responsibility that people have," he said.Lest anyone think Penzone is anti-business, the establishments that will soon reopen include a beauty parlor owned and operated by Penzone's wife. He has been helping her install safety additions. He reports that her customers are clamoring to come back."There are a lot of roots out there," he said.As his wife goes back to work, the man who unseated Trump's political soulmate will be out enforcing the law in accordance with this oath. 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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| Venezuela TV shows 'US citizens confessing over failed coup' Posted: 06 May 2020 03:52 PM PDT  Venezuelan President Maduro says US-backed "mercenaries" tried to oust him, a claim the US denies.
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| Virus misinformation fuels hatred against India's Muslims Posted: 05 May 2020 10:52 PM PDT  Gayur Hassan's Hindu neighbours came at night, throwing stones at his family's home in a northern Indian village and setting his workshop on fire. All because his son "liked" a social media post. The Facebook post that Hassan's 19-year-old son endorsed had denounced the targeting of India's Muslim minority since the nation of 1.3 billion went into a coronavirus lockdown in late March.
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| The final results are in: Finland's basic-income trial found people were happier, but weren't more likely to get jobs Posted: 06 May 2020 10:16 AM PDT  Basic income has gained renewed interest during the pandemic with millions people out of work and national economies thrown into tailspins.
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| The U.S. has entered the 'death handoff' stage of the COVID-19 outbreak Posted: 06 May 2020 04:52 AM PDT  The U.S. COVID-19 death toll passed 71,000 Wednesday morning and the number of cases, currently marked at 1.2 million, keeps rising steadily. Trump administration and outside models both forecast significant upticks in death as states lift coronavirus mitigation measures — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) unexpectedly announced Tuesday that hair salons and public pools can open Friday, for example."For every indication of improvement in controlling the virus, new outbreaks have emerged elsewhere, leaving the nation stuck in a steady, unrelenting march of deaths and infections," The New York Times reports. New York City, the worst-hit area in the U.S., has seen a sizable drop in new cases, but new clusters are appearing in the South, Midwest, and other parts of the country. Taken as a whole, America's coronavirus curve has plateaued, but "the plateau is what I call a death handoff situation," University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm told Politico.> Some U.S. cities show signs of progress against the virus, but a view of the country as a whole shows an unrelenting crush of death and infection https://t.co/R1PnGt4Yii pic.twitter.com/8dLDmLjnUv> > — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 5, 2020"Coronavirus in America now looks like this," the Times summarizes:> More than a month has passed since there was a day with fewer than 1,000 deaths from the virus. Almost every day, at least 25,000 new coronavirus cases are identified, meaning that the total in the United States ... is expanding by between 2 and 4 percent daily. Rural towns that one month ago were unscathed are suddenly hot spots for the virus. It is rampaging through nursing homes, meatpacking plants, and prisons, killing the medically vulnerable and the poor, and new outbreaks keep emerging in grocery stores, Walmarts, or factories, an ominous harbinger of what a full reopening of the economy will bring. [The New York Times]Trump acknowledged the tradeoff between death and opening businesses in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, but his cost-benefit analysis tilts toward the economy and he is winding down the coronavirus task force without an apparent strategy to mitigate the risks. While Trump says the U.S. has ample tests to monitor the coronavirus and plenty of personal protective equipment to treat it, CDC and FEMA officials privately discuss shortfalls and fret about reopening too fast, Politico reports. Most Americans share their concerns.More stories from theweek.com American individualism is a suicide pact White House press secretary says idea that all Americans need to be tested for COVID-19 is 'nonsensical' Why even mask skeptics should want to wear them
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| We Must Set Aside Crude Nationalism If We Want to Learn the Truth About COVID-19's Origins – and Stop the Next Pandemic Posted: 05 May 2020 11:57 PM PDT  Any investigation into the origins of the coronavirus must ask deeply uncomfortable questions not just of China, but of the WHO and the global response, or it will degenerate into a crudely nationalist exercise, writes former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
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| U.S. will use 'every tool' to secure release if any Americans held in Venezuela: Pompeo Posted: 06 May 2020 08:46 AM PDT  The U.S. government will use "every tool" available to secure the return of Americans if they are being held in Venezuela, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on Wednesday, after Venezuelan officials said they had captured two U.S. "mercenaries" in a failed armed incursion. "There was no U.S. government direct involvement in this operation," Pompeo told reporters, echoing President Donald Trump's remarks a day earlier. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that authorities there had detained a pair of U.S. citizens working with a U.S. military veteran who has claimed responsibility for the foiled incursion, launched last weekend.
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| China warns Hong Kong protesters against 'stirring up trouble' Posted: 06 May 2020 12:28 AM PDT  China warned Hong Kong protesters Wednesday it would not tolerate them "stirring up trouble again" in the semi-autonomous territory that was rocked by months of pro-democracy demonstrations last year. Mass arrests of protesters and a ban on large gatherings due to the coronavirus outbreak in the financial hub have stifled the protest movement, but small demonstrations have been held in recent weeks as contagion fears ease. Hong Kong police used pepper spray to disperse protesters last Friday after a largely peaceful public holiday.
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| Airbnb is holding an all-hands meeting and rumors are circulating among employees that layoffs may be on the agenda Posted: 05 May 2020 11:32 AM PDT  Sources confirm that the company is holding an all hands meeting, while online forums suggest the company may be discussing additional layoffs.
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| A 'shocking' two-thirds of patients recently hospitalized in NY had been staying home Posted: 06 May 2020 03:47 PM PDT  "They're not working; they're not traveling," Cuomo said. "... They were predominantly at home."
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| Biden losing edge over Trump amid virus, poll reveals Posted: 06 May 2020 04:04 AM PDT  A new poll has revealed that Joe Biden's advantage in popular support over President Trump has been eroding in recent weeks.
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| National intelligence director nominee Ratcliffe pulls a 180 on whistleblower protections, 'deep state' Posted: 05 May 2020 10:47 AM PDT  Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) has a few new principles now that he's under the Senate's spotlight.Ratcliffe faced a Senate nomination hearing on Tuesday after President Trump nominated him, for the second time, to be the next director of national intelligence. In his hearing, Ratcliffe promised protections for whistleblowers and showed support for the intelligence community — a stark contrast from how he spoke about those topics in the past.Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) on Tuesday asked Ratcliffe if he thought "the intelligence agencies of the United States are running amok," which Ratcliffe answered with a blunt "no." That's a change from the many times Ratcliffe has railed against intelligence agencies' alleged "bias" and "prejudice" toward Trump. Ratcliffe also said the "intelligence I will provide if confirmed will not be altered or impacted by outside influence."> .@SenatorBennet: "Do you think the intelligence agencies of the United States are running amok?"> > DNI Nominee Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX): "No."> > Full video here: https://t.co/7wGdBDyQFY pic.twitter.com/QJFnDBGcOM> > — CSPAN (@cspan) May 5, 2020Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) meanwhile asked Ratcliffe if his "past remarks" demanding the Ukraine whistleblower testify publicly and doubting the whistleblower's report would "discourage" further whistleblowers. Ratcliffe promised potential whistleblowers "every protection under the law."> .@SenFeinstein: "Do you believe that your past remarks concerning the Ukraine whibsltblower will discourage IC whistleblowers from exercising their rights...?> > DNI Nominee Rep. Ratcliffe: "Every whistleblower, past, present and future, will enjoy every protection under the law." pic.twitter.com/JDq6fsin2X> > — CSPAN (@cspan) May 5, 2020And as for the "deep state" — the conspiracy theory of a group within the intelligence community allegedly set on undermining Trump that Ratcliffe has alluded to in the past? Ratcliffe said Tuesday he doesn't "know what that means."More stories from theweek.com American individualism is a suicide pact White House press secretary says idea that all Americans need to be tested for COVID-19 is 'nonsensical' Why even mask skeptics should want to wear them
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| California to get $247M refund as masks face delivery delay Posted: 06 May 2020 04:20 PM PDT  California will be refunded $247 million it paid to a Chinese company under a major deal for protective masks after the company failed to meet a deadline for federal certification of the masks, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration said Wednesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the contract last month to fanfare, saying California had inked a nearly $1 billion deal for about 500 million protective masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. Most were set to be tight-fitting N-95 respirator masks, while the rest would be surgical masks.
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| China Will Bar International Investigators Until ‘Final Victory’ Over Pandemic Is Achieved Posted: 06 May 2020 10:11 AM PDT  China's ambassador to the United Nations revealed Wednesday that Beijing will block international investigators from examining the origins of the Wuhan coronavirus until "final victory" over the pandemic has been achieved."The top priority, for the time being, is to focus on the fight against the pandemic until we win the final victory," Chen Xu told reporters when asked about the status of the World Health Organization's requests to study the origins of the virus. The WHO's representative in China said last week that the Chinese Communist Party has blocked repeated requests from the organization to investigate.While Xu added that China is not "allergic" to outside probes, he admitted that "for whether or how the invitation will take place, we need to have the right priority setting at this moment, and on the other hand, we need the right atmosphere."The CCP has been accused of covering up the origins of the virus, with multiple reports detailing the timeline of Beijing's failures in slowing the initial spread, including one study that found China could have prevented 95 percent of coronavirus infections if it had acted sooner.An intelligence dossier compiled by the Five Eyes intelligence agencies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.K. levels multiple accusations against the Chinese government, including "the suppression and destruction of evidence . . . the genome sequence not shared publicly, the Shanghai lab closure for 'rectification', academic articles subjected to prior review by the Ministry of Science and Technology and data on asymptomatic 'silent carriers' kept secret."China has countered claims of wrongdoing by claiming it is a "victim" of disinformation and trying to shift the focus to a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in the U.S."Peddling disinformation and recrimination are by no means prescription for international anti-pandemic cooperation and should be rejected by all," the Chinese foreign ministry tweeted last week.
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| ‘Very difficult and emotional’: Pandemic expert leaves Trump administration Posted: 05 May 2020 11:06 AM PDT  Timothy Ziemer's departure robs the Trump administration of another expert as it tries to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
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| UN confirms Russian mercenaries are fighting in Libya: diplomats Posted: 06 May 2020 05:49 PM PDT  Mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization seen as being close to Vladimir Putin, are fighting in Libya, UN diplomats said Wednesday, citing an experts' report on the country's arms embargo. It is the first time the UN has confirmed claims first made in US media that the group is supporting military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The Wagner Group is a shadowy private security firm and thousands of its contractors are believed to be in foreign conflicts from Syria to Ukraine to the Central African Republic.
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| Coronavirus spreads among Indian police enforcing world's largest lockdown Posted: 06 May 2020 06:13 AM PDT  Hundreds of Indian police have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days, raising alarm among an over-stretched force as it attempts to enforce the world's largest lockdown to contain the pandemic. TV footage early in the crisis showed police beating back migrant workers as they tried to board city buses to reach their villages, making a mockery of social distancing. India has been under lockdown since March 25 and confirmed nearly 50,000 coronavirus cases and some 1,694 deaths.
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| United workers are suing the airline for cutting their schedules to save cash, which unions say violates federal bailout terms Posted: 06 May 2020 10:27 AM PDT  United is being sued by a union representing 27,000 of its workers after the airline reduced work weeks from 40 hours to 30 due to the pandemic.
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| German government asks Lockheed, MBDA to rebid on missile defense system Posted: 06 May 2020 02:55 PM PDT  The latest request for a proposal for the TLVS program is the third iteration, after previous attempts to draft a contract failed.
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| White House press secretary says idea that all Americans need to be tested for COVID-19 is 'nonsensical' Posted: 06 May 2020 03:55 PM PDT  White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday rejected the idea that every American should receive COVID-19 testing before returning to work.President Trump has said he's been tested multiple times for COVID-19, with the tests all coming back negative. On Tuesday, he visited a Phoenix facility that makes masks, but did not have a face covering of his own. A reporter asked McEnany about this, adding, "Why shouldn't all Americans who go back to work be able to get a test before they do?""If we tested every single American in this country at this moment, we'd have to retest them an hour later, and then an hour later after that, because at any moment you could theoretically contract this virus," McEnany responded. "So the notion that everyone needs to be tested is just simply nonsensical."Earlier in the day, Trump said the United States is continuously conducting more COVID-19 tests, so it will "have more cases" than other countries. "In a way, by doing all this testing, we make ourselves look bad," he added.More stories from theweek.com American individualism is a suicide pact Why even mask skeptics should want to wear them GOP Sen. Gardner 18 points behind Democrat Hickenlooper in Colorado Senate poll
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| India coronavirus: Massive evacuation operation to begin from 12 countries Posted: 06 May 2020 04:06 PM PDT  Special flights and naval vessels will bring back tens of thousands of citizens stranded overseas.
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| Israeli Supreme Court: Netanyahu may form government Posted: 06 May 2020 01:22 PM PDT  Israel's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges, clearing the way for him and his rival-turned-uneasy ally to join together in a controversial power-sharing deal. Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz, said they expected their coalition to be sworn into office next week. After battling to three inconclusive elections over the past year, Netanyahu and Gantz, a former military chief, announced their "emergency" government last month, saying they would put aside their rivalry to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis.
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| Pompeo has no evidence about virus lab leak: China Posted: 06 May 2020 12:51 PM PDT  China hit back Wednesday at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his claims that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, saying he "doesn't have any" evidence. Washington and Beijing have clashed repeatedly over the virus, which emerged in China late last year but has since spiralled into a global pandemic. Theories that the virus came from a maximum-security virology lab in Wuhan have swirled since earlier this year, but were brought into the mainstream last month by US government officials.
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| Brazil hits record for coronavirus deaths, raising chances of lockdowns Posted: 06 May 2020 03:24 PM PDT  Brazil, one of the world's emerging coronavirus hot spots, registered a record number of cases and deaths on Wednesday, prompting the health minister to flag the possibility of strict lockdowns in particularly hard-hit areas. The nation registered 10,503 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, well above the previous record of 7,288 cases on April 30, according to health ministry data. Brazil also registered 615 deaths, up from the previous record of 600 on Tuesday.
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