| Trump back in rally form in Tulsa, but the promised crowd doesn't show Posted: 20 Jun 2020 06:42 PM PDT  President Trump's reelection campaign got off to a rocky start Saturday, with a rally in Tulsa, Okla., that he had hoped would draw a much larger audience than the one that showed up.
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| What’s the future for Dreamers? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 08:51 AM PDT  The Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration's latest attempt at ending the DACA program. What does the decision mean for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers?
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| Mexican drug cartel leader issues tearful threats to government after arrest of his mother Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:29 AM PDT  One of the most wanted Mexican cartel leaders threatened the government and his arch-foes in highly unusual video messages, including one where he can be seen fighting back tears after his mother was detained over the weekend. Jose "El Marro" Yepez, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, has been a thorn in the side of the President Andres Lopez Obrador's government due to his gang's industrial-scale siphoning of petroleum from state-run oil company Pemex. In one of the videos widely shared on social media, Yepez can be seen lashing out against the government after his mother was allegedly arrested in a major security operation in the city of Celeya in Mexico's bloodiest state, Guanajuato. "I'm going to be a stone in your shoe. I'm going to blow up, you will see," Yepez, wearing jeans with a rifle slung over his shoulder, said in the video. Reuters was not able to independently verify the videos. Mexican security forces on Sunday said they arrested members of an organised crime group in a raid in Celeya, where they found a about one kilogramme of a something resembling methamphetamine and 2 million pesos ($88,000). "Among the detainees are Maria "N", Juana "N" and Rosalba "N", alleged financial operators of the criminal organization," Mexico's security agencies said in a joint statement, without naming the Santa Rosa cartel or its leader. El Universal newspaper said Yepez' mother, sister and girlfriend were all arrested. Yepez said he feared the authorities would frame his mother as one of the leaders of the cartel. "In my mother's and my people's name...I don't fear you," he said. Yepez also said he could form a coalition with the Sinaloa cartel or other crime groups in the north to fight Santa Rosa's arch-foe Jalisco New Generation cartel, which has been on a bloody expansion drive to take over rivals' territories across the country.
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| 'Do you feel any remorse?': Officer charged in killing of George Floyd confronted while buying groceries in Minnesota Posted: 21 Jun 2020 12:12 PM PDT  One of the four officers charged in the killing of George Floyd was confronted by a shopper while buying groceries on Saturday in Minnesota.J. Alexander Keung, 26, was released from Hennepin County Jail on Friday night on a $750,000 bond. He was approached by a woman while shopping at a Cub Foods grocery store the next day.
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| Hackers just leaked sensitive files from over 200 police departments that are searchable by badge number Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  Police departments have been sharing information about COVID-19, George Floyd protesters, and even tweets critical of the police.
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| Black Lives Matter wants to oust first Black Los Angeles DA Posted: 21 Jun 2020 10:17 AM PDT |
| ICC judges erred by acquitting Ivory Coast's Gbagbo: prosecutors Posted: 21 Jun 2020 05:52 PM PDT  International Criminal Court judges made "fundamental and serious" errors when they cleared former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo of crimes against humanity last year, prosecutors said as they launched an appeal on Monday. Gbagbo and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude were acquitted in January 2019 of charges over post-electoral violence in the restive West African nation in 2010-11 in which around 3,000 people died. Prosecutors want the acquittal overturned and a retrial at the court in The Hague, which was set up in 2002 to deal with the world's worst crimes.
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| China warns of reprisal as Japanese city changes disputed area name Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:56 AM PDT  China said on Monday it reserves the right to respond to a Japanese city's decision to rename the administrative area that includes remote islands claimed by both China and Japan and have long been a source of friction between the neighbours. The row over the uninhabited East China Sea islets may add to recent tension caused by Japan's criticisms of Beijing's plan to impose a new national security law in Hong Kong. China has said Japan should not interfere in Beijing's internal affairs.
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| Yes, Even Saddam Hussein Could Have Attacked and Sunk an American Battleship Posted: 22 Jun 2020 04:30 PM PDT  Nothing is impossible.
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| Indian prime minister says China lost at least 40 soldiers during border clash Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:20 PM PDT  China and India clashed at their disputed border this week, resulting in the lost of at least 40 Chinese soldiers.
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| CNN Anchor Corners Trump Campaign Spox: Are Dead Americans ‘Funny to You?’ Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:01 PM PDT  CNN anchor Brianna Keilar took Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh to task on Monday, repeatedly pressing him to defend Team Trump's claim that the president was just "kidding" when he claimed over the weekend that he asked his administration to slow down coronavirus testing.During his sparsely attended Tulsa rally on Saturday night, President Donald Trump told his supporters that he called on officials to slow COVID-19 testing in order to decrease the number of confirmed cases in the country. A White House official later told The Daily Beast that Trump was "obviously kidding" and Trump aide Peter Navarro claimed on Sunday that the remarks were "tongue-in-cheek."In a contentious Monday interview that also featured the CNN anchor grilling Murtaugh on Trump's recent use of the racist phrase "Kung Flu," Keilar brought up Trump's testing comments, asking whether it was true that Trump wanted to slow it down as America passes 120,000 COVID-19 deaths.Even 'Fox & Friends' Isn't Buying Kayleigh McEnany's Spin on Tulsa Rally Crowd"No, it's not. As a matter of fact, the United States leads the world in testing," Murtaugh replied, prompting Keilar to immediately wonder why Trump was saying that."I understand there's not much of a sense of humor at CNN center," Murtaugh sneered. "But the president was joking. He tried to illustrate the point that when you expand testing, you will naturally expand the number of positive cases that you detect.""That was the very point he was making," he continued. "I'm not surprised that you're either unable or unwilling to understand the president had a tongue-in-cheek remark there. But that's the point he's making."Keilar, meanwhile, pointed out that there are now "120,000 Americans dead," adding: "I do not think that is funny. Do you think that is funny?"After Murtaugh reiterated the president was just trying to "illustrate the point" about expanded testing, the CNN anchor pointed out that he just said "it's a joke."Stammering, the Trump spokesperson said that one can "use ironic humor" in these situations, prompting Keilar to again interject."Is dead Americans, is unemployed Americans, is that funny to you?" Keilar dryly noted."You can ask it 100 different ways," Murtaugh retorted, causing the CNN host to fire back: "And you won't answer it."The Trump flack would go on to repeat his talking points about the president making a factual point about increased testing resulting in more confirmed cases, leaving Keilar with the final word."You are aware that hospitalization numbers disprove what you are saying," she proclaimed. "That testing does not solely account for the numbers we're seeing, including in Florida, a state you just held up as a model when it certainly is not.""It is not funny that Americans are dying, she concluded as a stone-faced Murtaugh stood silent. "It's not funny that they're unemployed. Tim Murtaugh, thank you for coming on."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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| North Korea reinstalls propaganda speakers along border with South Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:41 AM PDT  North Korea is reinstalling propaganda loudspeakers along the border with the South amid growing hostilities between Pyongyang and Seoul, military officials confirmed on Monday. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the loudspeakers, which were dismantled on both sides during a diplomatic thaw in 2018, have been set up again in "multiple places" inside the demilitarised zone that separates the two nations. "We are closely monitoring the North's moves to wage psychological warfare," an official source told the Yonhap news agency. Since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s until a 2018 agreement, both sides engaged intermittently in blasting propaganda at each other – the North choosing blistering condemnations of Seoul and the South opting for news about democracy, capitalism or popular K-pop songs to encourage defections. The return to the broadcasts marks another escalation in tensions, stemming apparently from Pyongyang's anger over defector groups sending messages and food parcels across the border using balloons. The North retaliated last week by blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office set up in 2018 to foster better relations, and by threatening to send troops back into border areas.
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| A Japanese-Inspired Home in the Middle of Texas Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:27 AM PDT |
| Suspending work permits for foreign graduates would be a terrible mistake for US economy Posted: 22 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT  A college education is a major U.S. export that benefits both the universities and economy.
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| 7 years ago, this city disbanded its police force. It now serves as a model for others. Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:57 AM PDT  Crime dropped in Camden, but there's more to the story, say advocates and longtime residents.
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| Man arrested after 73-year-old woman punched in face on subway platform Posted: 22 Jun 2020 03:39 AM PDT  New York police have arrested a homeless man suspected to be the Bronx subway station attacker who pushed a 73-year-old woman last week.Authorities announced on Saturday night that 23-year-old Ahmed Kromah had been apprehended and charged with assault after an appeal, reported CBS News.
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| Pompeo urges China to release detained Canadians after 'groundless' charges Posted: 22 Jun 2020 09:03 AM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called for the immediate release of two Canadians charged by China for alleged espionage, saying the United States was "extremely concerned" and that the two men's detention was unjustified. "These charges are politically motivated and completely groundless," Pompeo said in a statement. Chinese prosecutors announced the charges on Friday against former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, who were arrested in late 2018.
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| Iran rial plunges to virus-induced lows Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:45 AM PDT  The Iranian rial plunged to new depths against the US dollar on Monday in what economists said was a slump partly induced by the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak. At Tehran's foreign exchange hub on Ferdowsi Street, the currency was being traded at around 192,800 to the dollar at midday, according to AFP journalists. The rial has hit rock bottom in the past month, collapsing even below the 190,000 rate it fell to in the wake of the US decision in 2018 to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions.
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| Who could be Joe Biden's running mate? Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:20 AM PDT  There are a lot of talented female politicians in the running - and they each have a special power.
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| Kayleigh McEnany Grilled on Trump’s ‘Kung Flu’ Rally Slur Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:39 AM PDT  Three months ago, at the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang revealed that a White House official had called COVID-19 the "Kung Flu" to her face. "Makes me wonder what they're calling it behind my back," she tweeted at the time. So after President Donald Trump himself used that openly racist term during his campaign rally speech in Tulsa over the weekend, Jiang asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany about it on Monday.Noting that Trump has deemed himself "the least racist person there is anywhere in the world," Jiang asked, "Why does he use racist phrases like the Kung Flu?"Even 'Fox & Friends' Isn't Buying Kayleigh McEnany's Spin on Tulsa Rally Crowd"The president doesn't," McEnany lied. "What the president does do is point to the fact that the origin of the virus is China." As the press secretary continued to defend Trump's words, Jiang pushed back, expressing the concerns of Asian-Americans around the country who worry that those words will further inflame racist attacks against them. "To be clear, are you saying the White House does not believe it's racist?" Jiang asked."To be clear, I think the media is trying to play games with the terminology of this virus when the focus should be on the fact that China let this out of their country," McEnany shot back. Later in the briefing, PBS NewsHour's Yamiche Alcindor brought up the fact that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway called the term "Kung Flu" "highly offensive" back in March. "Does the president agree with Kellyanne Conway or is he now saying that term is not 'highly offensive' and wrong?'" When McEnany responded by saying that "the president does not believe it's offensive to note that this virus came from China," Alcindor pressed her to actually answer the question about Conway and "Kung Flu." Instead, McEnany quickly pivoted to a softball question about John Bolton from her invited guest, OAN reporter Chanel Rion. Kellyanne Conway Spars With Reporters Over 'Kung-Flu' Coronavirus SlurRead 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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| Why America's Aircraft Carriers Are Great But... Posted: 21 Jun 2020 03:00 PM PDT  Time for a change?
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| Black Lives Matter protests have not caused spike in coronavirus cases, study finds Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:56 AM PDT  Black Lives Matter protests have not caused a spike in coronavirus cases, a new study has found. The study, which assessed data from 315 US cities, hypothesised that protests would increase disease transmission, but this was not borne out in the findings. The researchers, from various American colleges including San Diego State University, concluded there was "no evidence" to suggest the demonstrations had actually led to a surge nearly three weeks on. Titled "Black Lives Matter Protests, Social Distancing, and COVID-19," the study also found "strong evidence" that the protests actually increased stay-at-home adherence overall, likely because non-protesters chose to leave their homes less amid the demonstrations. While the protesters did not practice social distancing, as recommended by health experts, they were mostly outside and wearing masks, which appeared to greatly limit the spread.
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| National labor groups mostly close ranks to defend police unions Posted: 21 Jun 2020 05:30 PM PDT  While some in the labor movement are seeking to distance themselves, most are supportive even as they call for reforms.
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| Cuomo Blames Federal Government for New York Nursing Home Deaths Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:50 AM PDT  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed back against accusations that his nursing home coronavirus policies resulted in dozens of unnecessary deaths, instead blaming the federal government for not relaying information about the pandemic soon enough."Let's look at the facts, right? Rather than the political rhetoric. Yes, we had more people die in nursing homes than anywhere else because we had more people die," Cuomo said Monday on MSNBC. "Because the federal government missed the boat and never told us that this virus was coming from Europe and not from China.""The federal government and the CDC and all of them failed to handle this pandemic and warn this nation," the Democratic governor continued. "So New York had more cases and more deaths and more deaths in nursing homes because that's who the virus affects. It affects senior citizens. We know that. You look at any state, and they had a tremendous number of deaths in nursing homes."Cuomo has faced criticism for his policies aimed at fighting the virus in nursing homes, in particular his state regulation requiring nursing homes to accept recovering coronavirus patients and the prohibition against nursing homes testing returning patients for coronavirus. The state was also criticized for the lack of personal protective equipment for caretakers working in nursing homes.In early May, New York announced 1,700 previously undisclosed suspected coronavirus deaths that occurred at nursing homes and adult care facilities. The report came after critics expressed skepticism about the official death tallies from coronavirus at nursing homes compared to rising death rates among elderly residents.During January, February, and March — before the Trump administration temporarily banned travel from Europe over coronavirus fears — three million people brought the virus to New York from Europe unbeknownst to the federal government, Cuomo said, an apparent reference to his earlier statement that three million travelers from Europe passed through New York's airports between December and March.The Europe travel ban was implemented on March 13. Research later indicated that the coronavirus was seeded in New York and other East Coast states by travelers from Europe rather than from China, where the outbreak originated."It's all a political charade, and it's an ugly one, frankly, to talk about a number of deaths and suggest there was politics added," Cuomo said of criticism about his nursing home policies, blaming Republicans for "playing politics."He touted New York's coronavirus testing rates as well the state's declining rate of hospitalizations and deaths. New York performed 57,000 tests on Sunday with less than one percent coming back positive.Meanwhile, the state saw 10 deaths from the infection on Sunday, down from a high of 800 deaths in one day at the peak of the outbreak. Currently, the state has 100 hospitalizations for coronavirus, the lowest level since the pandemic's height.Cuomo also said he may release guidelines to handle a potential influx of visitors to New York from states with higher infection rates.
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| S Korea urges North not to send leaflets amid high tensions Posted: 21 Jun 2020 08:41 PM PDT  South Korea on Monday urged North Korea to scrap a plan to launch propaganda leaflets across the border, after the North said it's ready to float 12 million leaflets in what would be the largest such psychological campaign against its southern rival. Animosities on the Korean Peninsula rose sharply last week, after North Korea destroyed an inter-Korean liaison office on its territory in anger over South Korean civilian leafleting against it. Yoh Sangkey, a spokesman at Seoul's Unification Ministry, told reporters that North Korea must suspend its plan to send anti-Seoul leaflets that "are not helpful to South-North (Korea) relations at all."
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| Toppling of statues in West prompts reflection in Russia, Ukraine over Soviet monuments Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:24 AM PDT  The targeting of colonial-era monuments in some Western nations has prompted activists in Russia and Ukraine to reflect on how their own countries dealt with Soviet-era statues and, in some cases, to ask whether it was good enough. Protesters have toppled or vandalised statues in the United States, Britain, Belgium and elsewhere in recent weeks in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and police brutality. Statues to Soviet leaders such as Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin became controversial for many after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 because of large-scale human rights abuses committed during decades of Communist rule.
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| Sudan warns against escalation in Nile dam dispute Posted: 21 Jun 2020 03:08 PM PDT  Sudan on Sunday warned against escalation and urged further negotiations with Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's controversial dam on the Nile. Tensions are running high between the three countries after recent talks failed to produce a deal on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
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| News Analysis: Joe Biden is no Hillary Clinton, and that's a problem for President Trump Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:00 AM PDT  Trump's best hope for reelection is dragging Biden down. That's harder when many voters like the guy.
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| Police kill Canadian man during mental health check Posted: 22 Jun 2020 03:31 PM PDT  A man with schizophrenia was killed by police who were called to help him.
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| The U.S. Navy Is Ready for Trouble in the South China Sea or Near Taiwan Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:52 AM PDT  Not only do these types of operations extend the Navy's ability to attack inland targets to a larger extent, extend target-searching dwell time and enable coordinated multi-platform strikes, but they also greatly improve destroyer-and-cruiser launched missile attacks.
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| An Indian businessman just became the first Asian member of the world's 10 richest people. Meet the Ambanis, who live in a $1 billion skyscraper and mingle with royals and Bollywood stars. Posted: 22 Jun 2020 09:29 AM PDT  Mukesh Ambani is worth $44.6 billion. His family made headlines in 2018 for throwing one of the most lavish wedding celebrations in recent memory.
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| Study: Antibody levels in recovered COVID-19 patients decline quickly Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:47 PM PDT  Levels of an antibody found in recovered COVID-19 patients fell sharply 2 to 3 months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, according to a Chinese study.
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| What American Cops Can Learn From the End of South Africa’s Apartheid Policing Posted: 21 Jun 2020 02:06 AM PDT  During South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy, I was directly involved in the transformation of the police force to a police service. Today, as the United States is confronted with the need for changes in police culture and behavior, perhaps some of the lessons learned in those tumultuous times may prove useful. After Nelson Mandela was released from 27 years in prison in 1990, the lid was lifted off the centuries-old subjugation of Blacks in South Africa. It is not surprising that the injury and pain spilled over into violence, which threatened to destroy the dream of the New South Africa. The old system of apartheid had broken down, a new system had not yet been born, and the country was trying to navigate the vacuum in between.I served on the executive committee of Cape Town's Regional Peace Committee. Our job was to mediate, intervene in crises, facilitate talks between government officials and Black communities, and facilitate new policies. I often stood between lines of heavily armed police and large crowds of angry demonstrators, with tear gas and bullets flying. Once, I was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet.My colleagues and I knew that South Africa needed police—the right kind of police. We realized that the language and the reality of policing had to shift. We needed a police service—not a police force.In 1992, an extraordinary document, the National Peace Accord, was signed by the African National Congress (ANC), the apartheid government, other political parties, security forces, business, labor, and religious leaders, and the police themselves. It included a Code of Conduct for the police, which every officer in the country had to choose to sign—or resign. It also required all police officers to wear a nameplate, which, for the first time, held individual officers to account. The key was political will. The pressure for change pushed from the bottom up and pressed down from the top. Police officers from New York City and Scotland Yard in the U,K. exchanged information and visits with the police leadership and the African National Congress. The decision was made to adopt the doctrine of Community Policing. It would be difficult. Apartheid-style policing was based on force and aggression, whereas community policing is based on service and cooperation. To reinforce their commitment, the police established a Community Relations Division, which enshrined Liaison Forums, later known as Community Policing Forums. This meant that all station commanders would hold regular structured meetings with the community they policed.A pilot program in Cape Town tried out a forum in a Black area. In the beginning, the police attempted to control the process, and the community resisted. With persistence on both sides, the police and community found common ground and formed a joint secretariat. Police and community representatives alternately hosted and chaired meetings and trainings that included education on the National Peace Accord, legal, economic and judicial reforms, violence against women and the prevention of family violence. A network of health and social workers, psychologists, and chaplains was on call to respond appropriately.The police needed to be committed to the safety and security of the entire population, and to make these new ways stick. In 1993, national police headquarters published a strategic plan "to ensure the safety of all people in the country through community involvement and the rendering of professional service." They allocated massive resources, re-ordered police structures, and designated the Community Relations Division the new elite, complete with new criteria for promotion that focused on effectiveness within communities. Cape Town police HQ developed a manual with a self-reflective preamble: "The SA Police has been responsible for the enforcing discriminatory legislation in the past … a subculture of brutality and bias actually developed."By the end of the four-year transition period, the police were demilitarized and reconstituted as a police service, under civilian control. To better fit the new reality, a new ministry was established to supervise the police—the Ministry of Safety and Security. This was much more than a semantic shift. It described a whole new way of thinking about policing. Later, as is so often the case, the gains of one administration are squandered by another. In 2009, during the presidency of Jacob Zuma, the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Police. In 2010, the police responded to caustic criticism of a sharp rise in crime by resuming the previous militarized structure, it seems as a show of strength that is still apparent in policing today. The Community Policing Forums are still in place, though now more dependent on the willingness of individual station commanders. The name police service also still stands, and the lessons of the past, once learned, can be shelved, but never erased. The achievements of 1994 illustrate what political will can do. If this kind of profound change in policing could happen within a system as brutal as apartheid South Africa, then it can certainly happen within a democratic America. 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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| Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate jumps, indicating rising contagion Posted: 21 Jun 2020 10:22 AM PDT  Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate jumped to 2.88 on Sunday, up from 1.79 a day earlier, health authorities said, a rate showing infections are rising above the level needed to contain the disease over the longer term. To keep the pandemic under control, Germany needs the reproduction rate to drop below one. The rate of 2.88, published by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health, means that out of 100 people who contract the virus, a further 288 people will get infected.
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| Army confirms body found near Fort Hood is missing soldier Gregory Morales Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:30 AM PDT |
| Trump opens door to another round of stimulus checks, direct deposits Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:30 PM PDT  The president said in an interview the amount would be "generous" but didn't put a dollar figure on it.
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| Gardena shooting: Authorities examining cameras at scene of 18-year-old's death Posted: 20 Jun 2020 07:46 PM PDT  Local leaders are calling for a state investigation into the death of Andres Guardado, who was killed by deputies, as authorities say they are examining security cameras that might have recorded the shooting.
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| Yes, China Would Be Willing to Fight Another Korean War If It Had Too Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:30 AM PDT  But what if nuclear weapons were used?
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| Florida's daily coronavirus cases have more than quadrupled since reopening Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:37 AM PDT  Two hospitals in Palm Beach County, Florida's third-most populous county, have no open ICU beds. Across the state, 75% of beds are occupied.
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| Dozens of girls at India abuse shelter contract coronavirus Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:38 AM PDT  Dozens of girls from a state-run shelter for runaways and victims of sexual abuse -- including seven who are pregnant -- have tested positive for coronavirus, Indian officials said Monday, raising fears about its spread in institutional homes. A probe was launched after almost 60 out of 171 vulnerable girls contracted the virus at the under-18s shelter in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state. India has been grappling with a huge surge in coronavirus infections in recent weeks as the country gradually eases a strict months-long lockdown.
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| 8 nonwhite corrections officers say their supervisor forbade them from guarding Derek Chauvin, saying they would be a 'liability,' according to discrimination lawsuit Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:13 AM PDT  Derek Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the fatal arrest of George Floyd.
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| 3 dead, 6 wounded in shooting at North Carolina block party Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:31 AM PDT  Three people were killed and six others were wounded early Monday when multiple people fired into a crowd at an impromptu celebration in North Carolina, police said. The shooting happened at an impromptu block party in Charlotte that was a continuation of Juneteenth celebrations, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Gerald Smith said at a media briefing Monday. Police responding to the scene heard shots being fired.
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| Taiwan boosts domestic defence development plan with new jet Posted: 21 Jun 2020 08:59 PM PDT  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen oversaw the first public test flight of a new locally designed and made advanced jet trainer on Monday, part of her government's plan to boost defences in the face of a growing challenge from China. Taiwan's armed forces are mostly equipped by the United States, but Tsai has made development of an advanced home-grown defence industry a priority, especially as China, which claims the island as its own, steps up military modernisation efforts. The new AT-5 Brave Eagle, made by state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp with a buddget of T$68.6 billion ($2.32 billion), is the first jet made domestically since the F-CK-1 Ching-kuo fighter, rolled out more than three decades ago.
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| Hundreds Test Positive for Coronavirus at Tyson Foods Plant in Arkansas, Most Asymptomatic Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:24 AM PDT  Hundreds of workers at Tyson Foods poultry plant in Arkansas have tested positive for coronavirus, though most of the workers who tested positive are asymptomatic.Out of 3,748 Tyson employees tested in Benton and Washington Counties, 481 were found to have coronavirus, with 455 of those patients reporting no symptoms. The outbreak was centered at Tyson's poultry plant in the town of Springdale.China has reportedly ceased importing poultry from the facility upon learning of the outbreak. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told the Associated Press that global and U.S. health organizations including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have said there is no evidence of coronavirus transmission via food."At Tyson, we're confident our products are safe and we're hopeful consultations between the U.S. and Chinese governments will resolve this matter," Mickelson said. "Our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, and we work closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure that we produce all of our food in full compliance with government safety requirements."China resumed importing U.S. poultry in November 2019 after a five-year ban following an outbreak of avian flu. The ban closed off a market worth $500 million to U.S. exporters.Meatpacking facilities have seen some of the most serious localized outbreaks of coronavirus, along with prisons and nursing homes. Tyson plants in Nebraska, N.C., and Iowa have reported outbreaks, while meat processor Smithfield has also seen outbreaks at various facilities.Those outbreaks led the meatpacking industry to warn of a meat shortage in the U.S., and meat prices have risen at markets across the country. However, meat exports to China have also risen during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Theodore Roosevelt statue to be removed by New York museum Posted: 22 Jun 2020 03:09 PM PDT  The statue depicts the ex-president on horseback flanked by a Native American man and an African man.
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| Fact check: Hillary Clinton was not in court June 2 testifying about child sex trafficking Posted: 21 Jun 2020 11:19 AM PDT |
| The Reason Why Team Obama Is Gunning for This Powerful Democrat Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:45 AM PDT  Rep. Eliot Engel and President Barack Obama didn't always see eye-to-eye on issues of foreign policy. The New York congressman, as staunch a Middle East hawk as there currently is in the Democratic Party, was the most high-profile House Democrat to oppose Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, the biggest foreign policy initiative of his presidency. Now, Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is fighting for his political life amid a primary challenge to his left from Jamaal Bowman, a former high school principal. Obama administration alumni want him to know they haven't forgotten his vote—and that they don't especially like what he's gotten done since. As some key figures in the party establishment, from Hillary Clinton to Speaker Nancy Pelosi to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have lined up to support Engel, high-profile former Obama advisers, some of whom have immense sway with liberals nationwide through the popular podcasts from Crooked Media, have joined forces with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in an effort to eject him from the House. "Bowman is the kind of progressive, exciting young leader that Democrats should be electing," said Tommy Vietor, co-host of Crooked's Pod Save America podcast and a former Obama national security spokesman. "I also think that [the Foreign Affairs Committee] should be more progressive when it comes to oversight, fighting annexation [of the West Bank], supporting diplomacy like the [Iran Deal] and unwinding parts of the U.S.-Saudi relationship that allow for the continued humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.""We need fresh thinking on that committee," Vietor wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. On a June 10 episode of "Pod Save the World," co-hosts Vietor and Ben Rhodes, the former top Obama foreign policy hand, encouraged their listeners to check out Bowman. "Despite my briefings—I hope not because of them—he opposed the Iran nuclear deal," Rhodes said of Engel. "He's taken a pretty conventional line on issues related to Iran, Saudi, the Middle East more generally."As Engel's primary becomes the party's next big proxy battle, virtually no one is projecting that if Engel loses on June 23—an outcome seen as increasingly possible in Democratic circles—it will be because of his hawkish foreign policy views. At a June 3 event in his district, Engel was caught on a hot mic saying he "wouldn't be here" if he didn't have a primary. In May, The Atlantic reported that he'd ridden out the worst of COVID-19 in his Maryland home, not in the New York City-area seat he represents, which was one of the hardest-hit places in the country.House Chairman Demands Briefing on Kushner's Trip to Saudi ArabiaThe toppling of the Foreign Affairs Chairman, however, would reverberate far beyond his district. "There's a pretty profound desire in Democratic foreign policy circles for a more progressive approach, and that's not where Eliot Engel is or who he is," a former Obama official told The Daily Beast. "He's not bad—he's not creatively moving us in the direction a lot of us would like to go."Over his 31 years in Congress, Engel has become one of the eminent voices in either party pushing for a hawkish view on Middle East policy. In 2003, he supported the invasion of Iraq. In 2004, he led a group of lawmakers pushing for cuts in the U.S. contribution to the United Nations office that aids Palestinian refugees. In early 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an address to Congress that Democratic lawmakers either boycotted or excoriated as an "insult" to them and to President Obama. Engel, however, called Netanyahu's speech "compelling" and said he communicated "legitimate concerns." When Engel announced his opposition to the nuclear deal later that year, he said that the agreement Obama had worked at "may in fact strengthen Iran's position as a destabilizing and destructive influence." He was one of 25 House Democrats who voted against ratifying it. That record has earned Engel the ironclad support of pro-Israel groups—several of which have rallied to the 16-term incumbent in an expensive last-ditch effort to save him. The political action committee for a group called Democratic Majority for Israel, for example, has dropped over $1 million in ads boosting Engel and attacking Bowman—including a Wednesday spot that hit the challenger over a years-old unpaid tax bill. At least two other pro-Israel groups have run ads in support of Engel on social media. "He's been both a champion and a leader of pro-Israel efforts in the House," said Mark Mellman, president of Democratic Majority for Israel. "He would be much missed and that's why we're making a real effort to keep him in office."Obama's own views and vision on Middle East policy, meanwhile, earned him a famously icy relationship with the right-wing Israeli government and this constellation of American pro-Israel groups—such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has ties to the PAC now bankrolling Engel's rescue. At their annual Washington convention one year during Obama's tenure, AIPAC delegates had to be told not to boo the sitting president. Engel and Obama didn't prioritize the same things when it came to foreign policy, according to a former Obama official, who said that the congressman's opposition to the Iran Deal "colored private perceptions" of him through the end of the Obama presidency. "I think the important thing is what got Eliot Engel to that vote. It was the opposite of what President Obama stood for." And that vote, the official added, "was not the first sour taste he left in the prior administration's mouth."As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Engel has used his perch to contribute to Democratic investigations of President Donald Trump, from the Ukraine-driven impeachment inquiry to probes of Secretary Mike Pompeo's handling of the State Department. That side of Engel's record is the one more frequently touted by big-name endorsers such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead prosecutor of the case against Trump in the Senate impeachment trial."Ever since Trump took office, Eliot has helped expose the abuses of his administration, and hold this lawless president accountable," Schiff said in his endorsement of Engel. Bowman, for his part, has not made Engel's foreign policy record a centerpiece of his campaign, though he has criticized the incumbent's positions and has touted endorsements from progressive foreign policy groups that oppose Engel's hardline stances. Ironically, if Engel were to lose, it's possible he'd be replaced as chairman by another hawk, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who also voted against the Iran deal and is currently the next most senior Democrat on the panel. Obama alumni insist that their enthusiasm for ousting Engel is nothing personal; many of them like him. "The real story here is he's got this energetic, charismatic, young challenger who talks about a lot of the issues that are at the heart of today's progressive agenda," said a former administration official. "It's not that he lost people on foreign policy, but despite being chairman… the Obama wonk foreign policy constituency is not lined up for him."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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