| 'Sleeping while black': Family seeks justice for Breonna Taylor, killed in her bedroom by police Posted: 13 May 2020 02:08 PM PDT  Breonna Taylor was asleep in her Louisville, Ky., home when three police officers forced their way inside and unloaded eight bullets into her body, according to a lawsuit filed by Taylor's family.
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| Trump Calls for Obama to Be Hauled Before Congress for Massive Crimes He Declines to Outline Posted: 14 May 2020 08:56 AM PDT  If President Donald Trump's Twitter feed is an indication of where his head is at, his thoughts on Thursday morning were far from the 84,000 Americans that have died from COVID-19. The president's morning obsessions included Barack Obama, a government whistleblower, his 22-0 record on congressional endorsements, and unspecified "good numbers" coming out of states that have begun to wind back pandemic-related shutdowns. In a tweet tagging Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, Trump called for former President Obama to be brought before Congress to testify about unspecified crimes that Trump thinks constitutes the biggest scandal in history.Bill Barr Can't Investigate Barack Obama. Who Says So? Bill Barr."If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA, by FAR, is former President Obama," he wrote. "He knew EVERYTHING. Do it @LindseyGrahamSC, just do it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more talk!"Trump has been loudly complaining about "OBAMAGATE!" in recent days, first amplifying the allegations in a stream of 120 tweets and retweets on May 10. But he has conveniently declined to say what crimes Obama is supposed to have committed.Asked by a Washington Post journalist this week, Trump responded: "Obamagate. It's been going on for a long time. It's been going on from before I even got elected. And it's a disgrace that it happened."When pressed to say what offense was committed, Trump said: "You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours."Trump and his allies have long claimed, without evidence, that the investigation into Russian election meddling, started by the FBI in 2017, was a hit job by the outgoing Obama administration. Since the Department of Justice sensationally moved to drop its case against Trump's one-time National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials, Trump's "Obamagate" conspiracy theories have reached fever pitch. Richard Grenell, Trump's acting director of national intelligence, released a declassified list on Tuesday of Obama administration officials who sought to "unmask" Flynn—a fairly common practice by senior officials who want to know the names of people under government surveillance. (Under privacy laws and intelligence regulations, the names of Americans picked up on foreign wire taps are concealed unless officials ask that they be unmasked.)Trump and his supporters claimed the list shared by Grenell, which included Trump's likely 2020 opponent Joe Biden, was more proof that the Obama administration sought to sabotage the incoming Trump administration.Graham, whose panel is investigating the origins of the Russia probe, is unlikely to take up Trump's call to bring Obama before Congress. "I don't think now's the time for me to do that. I don't know if that's even possible," he told Politico on Thursday, reiterating his comments from earlier in the week that he was not anticipating calling Obama. "I understand President Trump's frustration, but be careful what you wish for," he added.Attorney General William Barr also launched a separate investigation into the origins of the FBI's Russia investigation, but the prosecutor he put in charge has not interviewed at least five key potential witnesses or targets, multiple sources told The Daily Beast.While Trump's call for Obama to participate in a quasi-show trial seems outlandish, some presidents and former presidents have been called to testify before Congress on rare occasions.After tweeting about "OBAMAGATE!" on Thursday, Trump pivoted to trashing the reputation of Rick Bright, a government scientist-turned-whistleblower who is testifying before Congress on Thursday. Bright claims he was ousted from his job overseeing coronavirus vaccine research after questioning the efficacy of an anti-malarial drug favored by the president.By Wednesday, at least 84,239 Americans had died of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University. 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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| 'Unrepentant racist' and 'bulls---': Both Republicans and Democrats lawmakers condemn the idea of reinstating Steve King after racist comments Posted: 13 May 2020 05:18 PM PDT  "Steve King is an unrepentant racist," one Democratic lawmaker tweeted. "The GOP was right to try to exclude him."
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| A black delivery driver filmed himself being trapped in an Oklahoma City neighborhood as an HOA president demanded to know why he was there Posted: 14 May 2020 01:45 PM PDT  Travis Miller, a delivery driver in Oklahoma City, says the HOA president demanded to know how he got into the gated community.
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| California hospitals brace for fresh coronavirus wave as Mexico comes hotspot Posted: 14 May 2020 10:35 AM PDT  Hospitals in southern California have reported a spike in coronavirus admissions as people flee the growing crisis over the border in Mexico. San Diego and a number of frontier towns are bracing for a larger exodus of dual American-Mexican citizens should the outbreak in Mexico worsen. Over the past few weeks, cases have increased dramatically in National City, Chula Vista and El Cajon counties, according to new data. Hospital Chula Vista said it is already near capacity for patients critically ill with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. While Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista now has roughly 30 to 35 beds occupied by coronavirus patients on any given day, the most it can handle. "I think we are concerned with border cities and are starting to see some activity related to what might be happening in Mexico," Scott Evans, CEO of Sharp's Grossmont, which runs Hospital Chula Vista, told local KPBS news network. "There are lots of people that go back and forth between Mexico and the United States even for work. That remains a concern for us."
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| Interstate reopens as southwest Florida wildfire still burns Posted: 14 May 2020 07:47 AM PDT |
| Naked doll hanging by a noose prompts fight at armed anti-lockdown protest in Michigan Posted: 14 May 2020 11:56 AM PDT  A fight broke out between anti-lockdown protesters in Michigan after one began waving an American flag with a doll tied to the pole by a noose around its neck.As armed demonstrators gathered at Michigan's State Capitol to denounce the governor's stay-at-home orders, one man began waving his flag with the naked doll attached in one hand while also carrying an axe in the other.
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| Only 2 migrants allowed to seek refuge under emergency border order Posted: 13 May 2020 09:02 PM PDT  More than 20,000 migrants, including unaccompanied children, have been expelled from the southern border under the emergency directive.
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| Republican Mike Garcia wins Democrat Katie Hill's vacant House seat in special election Posted: 13 May 2020 02:11 PM PDT  For the first time in nine years, Republicans have picked up a congressional seat previously held by a Democrat. Mike Garcia defeated his Democratic opponent, Christy Smith, in the race for California's 25th Congressional District seat, left vacant when former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) resigned last year after it was revealed she had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.Smith conceded Tuesday's election in a Facebook post Wednesday, but said she will now turn her attention to November's general election, where she plans to challenge Garcia again.> It's official: Republicans pick up the old Katie Hill seat in CA25. Christy Smith concedes. pic.twitter.com/0IdM35CP4h> > -- Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) May 13, 2020Garcia hasn't directly responded to Smith's concession yet, but earlier in the day, he said it was clear the results were in his favor, noting that he's "ready to go to work." > I'm ready to go to work... pic.twitter.com/99CPZ6iZH6> > -- Mike Garcia (@MikeGarcia2020) May 13, 2020More stories from theweek.com The conservative victimhood complex has made America impossible to govern 5 hilarious cartoons about Trump's vague 'Obamagate' allegations The strange conflation of masks and masculinity
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| Taiwan says WHO has 'forgotten' neutrality by barring island Posted: 14 May 2020 02:28 AM PDT  The World Health Organization (WHO) has "forgotten" its professionalism and neutrality in locking Taiwan out of the body for political reasons, Taiwan Vice President Chen Chien-jen said on Thursday. Taiwan says China and the WHO have conspired for political purposes to keep it out of key meetings, that the WHO has not responded to requests for coronavirus information and has misreported the number of its infections. The WHO and China have strongly dispute the accusations, saying Taiwan has been given all the help it needed, but that only China, which claims democratic Taiwan as one of its provinces, has the right to fully represent it in the WHO.
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| Ousted director testifies that Trump has no plan and unrealistic timetable for a coronavirus vaccine Posted: 14 May 2020 06:58 AM PDT  Rick Bright testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee after he filed a whistle-blower complaint.
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| Kushner wouldn't rule out delaying 2020 election Posted: 13 May 2020 10:16 AM PDT  On Tuesday, senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said he wouldn't rule out delaying the 2020 election because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Apple's top lobbyist resigned after getting tapped to work on Joe Biden's campaign Posted: 14 May 2020 04:23 AM PDT  Apple's head of policy and government affairs Cynthia Hogan has a long history of working with Joe Biden.
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| 25 Graduation Gifts They Need (And Want) Post-College Posted: 14 May 2020 12:43 PM PDT |
| UN chief urges faith leaders to challenge harmful messages Posted: 12 May 2020 07:46 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged religious leaders on Tuesday to challenge "inaccurate and harmful messages" that are fueling rising ethno-nationalism, stigma, hate speech and conflict as the coronavirus pandemic circles the globe. The U.N. chief warned a video meeting on the role of faith leaders in addressing the challenges of COVID-19 that "extremists and radical groups are seeking to exploit eroding trust in leadership and feed on people's vulnerability to serve their own ends."
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| Barr’s Prosecutor Hasn’t Grilled Key Russiagate Witnesses Posted: 14 May 2020 01:18 AM PDT  John Durham, the federal prosecutor assigned by Attorney General William Barr assigned to review Robert Mueller's Trump-Russia probe, still hasn't interviewed at least five key potential witnesses or targets, multiple sources familiar with the issue told The Daily Beast.According to four sources familiar with the developing probe, Durham has yet to interview several former senior officials involved in the origins of the intelligence and law enforcement probes of Russian election interference and potential ties to the Trump campaign, nor Obama administration officials Trump insists without evidence orchestrated them. That's the mandate of Durham's year-old probe, which has expanded into a criminal inquiry that has alarmed many ex-intelligence officials as political retribution. Still not interviewed by Durham are former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Nor have been former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI attorney Lisa Page, both of whom were involved in the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" inquiry and whose texts disparaging Trump have for years been presented by the president as proof he was framed. Nor has former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who, despite not being an intelligence or law enforcement official, has been another Trumpist target. Durham not interviewing Brennan is particularly noteworthy. In February, the New York Times reported that Durham appeared to be circling Brennan, who has called Trump "treasonous," for allegedly cooking the 2016-era Russia intelligence. The CIA would not answer if it had provided Brennan's records to Durham, as the Times reported Durham has requested, and deferred comment to the Justice Department. A spokesperson for Durham declined comment for this story. Everything about Durham's probe is the subject of extensive speculation in national security circles—though rarely for the record—particularly the length of time it's gone on without visible progress. (Nearly seven months ago, Durham's investigators had reportedly interviewed two dozen current and former FBI officials.) Some consider it in line with Durham's typical practice. His investigation of CIA torture lasted three years before fizzling out. Others wonder if Durham will announce the results of his inquiry, or even criminal charges, closer to November's presidential election.In recent days, President Trump has been hinting that big revelations are forthcoming documenting malfeasance or illegality coming from his perceived enemies in the Obama administration and the intelligence agencies. Trump and his allies have begun referring to a conspiracy theory they're calling "Obamagate" that's so convoluted, even he is unable to explain what it really is. Nevertheless, Trump claims it's "the biggest crime in American political history." The person most likely to make this narrative come to life is Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut. "You have Bull Durham, who's supposed to be the toughest," Trump enthused in November. As Trump and Willam Barr Try to Undo His Work, It's Robert Mueller TimeDurham carries a reputation for probity and rigor—though at least one person impacted by Durham's work considers that undeserved. Durham was best known previously for an investigation of the Boston FBI's mob ties that helped inspire the Martin Scorsese movie The Departed. After that, he led a sprawling investigation into the destruction of CIA torture videotapes by now-Director Gina Haspel and her then-boss Jose Rodriguez, and then CIA torture outright. In 2012, he declined to bring any charges against CIA torturers. Durham has reportedly interviewed lower-level CIA, FBI, and NSA analysts and officials for his current investigation. The highest-profile official known to have spoken with Durham is retired Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the NSA at the time of the joint January 2017 intelligence assessment that Russia interfered in the election on Trump's behalf. The Republican-led Senate intelligence committee recently supported the findings of that assessment. The Intercept first reported Rogers' multiple interviews with Durham. A year ago, Barr appointed Durham to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. (A year into the Mueller probe, Vice President Mike Pence called on Mueller, "in the interest of the country," to wrap it up.) Since then, Durham's probe has become a criminal inquiry. That's raised fears amongst former intelligence officials that their analytic judgments will be treated as criminal. "I have some concern whether someone with a prosecutorial background is going to understand the way analysts' minds work, and whether it's dangerous to apply those prosecutorial tools for understanding intelligence analysis," said Robert Litt, the senior attorney for the director of national intelligence when the Russia probes began. Litt, a former Justice Department official who's interacted with Durham repeatedly ever since the Whitey Bulger case, called the prosecutor a "straight shooter." Litt also has not been contacted by Durham. An attorney for former FBI Director James Comey, David Kelley, did not respond to inquiries from The Daily Beast. Kelley gave an interview in November saying Comey has "continued to cooperate with all inquiries, from Congress, the Department of Justice and the Inspector General."Barr has stoked concerns like the one Litt expressed. His Justice Department has shown leniency to Trump's allies Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn. By contrast, he recently told Laura Ingraham of Fox News about Durham's investigation, "If people broke the law, and we can establish that with the evidence, they will be prosecuted."Among the causes for alarm about Durham by ex-intelligence officials came in December, when Durham publicly disagreed with the Justice Department's inspector general that the FBI was justified in opening its counterintelligence probe on the Trump campaign. "We do not agree with some of the report's conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened," Durham said. That highly unusual statement has been Durham's only major public utterance about his inquiry.Barr Pressed Australia for Help on Mueller Review as DOJ Worked to Free Its Hostages"It was unnecessary and inconsistent with typical practice when there's an investigation ongoing," Litt said. Added Daniel Jones, a former FBI counterterrorism analyst and lead investigator for the Senate torture report, "I thought it was remarkable, unheard of, and points to why many believe the Department of Justice is off the rails."Jones has a particular history with Durham. Durham refused to cooperate with the Senate torture probe Jones led. That meant Jones couldn't interview CIA officials involved in the torture program, since they would potentially open themselves up to criminal liability. It became a key line of attack on the Senate torture report. The terms of Durham's CIA inquiry limited his focus to cases where CIA agents acted outside the already-broad scope of since-rejected torture authorizations issued by the Justice Department. That happened repeatedly, Jones' inquiry found, as CIA interrogators used power drills, mock executions and even the sexual assault of inserting pureed food and water into detainees' anuses. But Durham declined to bring any charges—nor did he deconflict his inquiry with the Senate's, even after Durham's inquiry ended. "There are so many unanswered questions," Jones said about Durham. "Why did Durham break from years of established practice and refuse to engage with the Senate's bipartisan investigation of the CIA? He must have known this would prevent the Senate from accessing CIA personnel for interviews. Why did Durham just look at 101 detainees—when even the CIA concluded they held at least '112-plus'? How did Durham fail to bring charges against any government personnel for torture tactics that even the CIA agrees were never a component of the so-called [DOJ] 'torture memos'? And how is it the Durham investigation ended just mere months before the Senate approved its near-7000 page report on CIA torture?"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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| Reward for return of Colorado woman who went missing on Mother's Day increased to $200,000 as FBI join search Posted: 14 May 2020 01:01 PM PDT  A woman who disappeared while riding her bike on Mother's Day is still missing, and the FBI is joining the search.Suzanne Morphew, 49, of Colorado, disappeared on Sunday while riding her bike, triggering a major search effort by more than 100 people and numerous dogs.
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| U.S. says it condemns China-linked 'cyber actors' trying to steal COVID research Posted: 14 May 2020 09:49 AM PDT  The United States on Thursday condemned attempts by China-linked "cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated" to steal U.S. intellectual property and data related to coronavirus research, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "The PRC's behavior in cyberspace is an extension of its counterproductive actions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," Pompeo said in a statement. "While the United States and our allies and partners are coordinating a collective, transparent response to save lives, the PRC continues to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens, and to spread disinformation, which has exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis," he said.
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| Broward Cop, Fired for Hiding During High School Shooting, Will Be Reinstated with Back Pay Posted: 14 May 2020 08:25 AM PDT  A Broward County police officer who was fired after he hid behind his car at the start of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will be reinstated with full back pay and return to his rank, the Broward Sheriff's Office union said on Wednesday.The officer, Sergeant Brian Miller, was fired for "neglect of duty" along with three other deputies in the wake of the shooting. Officers were criticized for failing to enter the building immediately during the shooting, in which 17 students and faculty were killed and another 17 injured.Miller had challenged his termination with the support of the BSO union, which said an arbitration ruling found that "BSO violated Sgt. Brian Miller's constitutional due process rights and improperly terminated him." Miller's salary for the year 2017 was $138,410.25.An investigation by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission in the wake of the shooting found that Miller was the first officer to arrive at the high school as shots were being fired, but hid behind his car and did not radio in for 10 minutes.Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, in January 2019 suspended Broward County head sheriff Scot Israel, who has been accused of mishandling the BSO's response to the shooting though a lack of coordination. The Florida Senate Rules Committee in October recommended removing Israel from his post entirely, after which DeSantis appointed officer Gregory Tony to head the BSO. Tony is now facing off against Israel in the 2020 election.
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| France requires face masks but still bans Islamic face coverings Posted: 13 May 2020 06:31 AM PDT  All citizens must wear a mask — but women in face-covering Islamic garb could be punished.
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| Nebraska health officials stop reporting COVID-19 confirmations at meatpacking plants as case counts continue to rise Posted: 13 May 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Gov. Pete Ricketts announced that state health officials would no longer share numbers of infected at each plant, according to The Washington Post.
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| Biden is crushing Trump among older Wisconsin voters in new Marquette poll Posted: 12 May 2020 11:41 PM PDT  A poll of Wisconsin voters from Marquette University Law School released Tuesday shows former Vice President Joe Biden beating President Trump in the crucial swing state by 3 percentage points, 46 percent to 43 percent, within the margin of error. But mind the age gap: Trump leads Biden among voters 30-59, "a pattern that has held in most of the Marquette Law School polls since August," Marquette notes, but Biden's lead among voters 60 and older — 18 points — is larger than his 10-point advantage in voters 18 to 29.> In presidential race in WI, Biden holds an advantage over Trump among 18-29 year old voters, leading in that group 51% to 41%. Biden also leads among voters 60 and over, 55% to 37%. mulawpoll> > — MULawPoll (@MULawPoll) May 12, 2020Biden also led Trump by 3 points, 48 percent to 45 percent, in the last Marquette poll in March, and polls since August have shown a close race, with Trump leading in November and the two candidates tied in February. Marquette's new poll was conducted via phone May 3-7 among 811 Wisconsin registered voters. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.Nationally, Trump won voters 65 and up by 7 points, and he led Democrat Hillary Clinton by 5 points at this point in 2016, The New York Times notes. Some public polls and internal campaign polling now show Biden winning by at least 10 points nationally, the Times reports, and some Trump campaign officials attribute the dangerous softening of support among older voters to Trump's coronavirus briefings, arguing that "older voters will return now that Mr. Trump has phased out his self-congratulatory version of a fireside chat."Vox's Sean Collins writes that publicly available national polling still has Trump leading among seniors but consistently losing to Biden among the general electorate, and "much of what is driving Biden's advantage appears to be support among Generation Z and millennial voters." But even if Biden just peels off some of Trump's support among senior citizens, one of the president's most important constituencies, that could tip what is expected to be a close election, the Times notes, in Wisconsin and other swing states.More stories from theweek.com The conservative victimhood complex has made America impossible to govern Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers consider why Trump, GOP, Fox News are gunning for Fauci GOP senators release list of Obama officials who asked to 'unmask' Flynn. It 'backfired,' Biden campaign says.
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| Israel eyes closing down evangelical channel Posted: 13 May 2020 08:48 AM PDT  "There are 9 million people in Israel who need to hear the gospel of Jesus," channel CEO Ward Simpson said.
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| US military offers condolences over Iran accident killing 19 Posted: 13 May 2020 10:40 PM PDT  The U.S. military offered condolences Thursday to Iran over a friendly fire incident in the Islamic Republic that saw an Iranian missile kill 19 Iranian troops, identifying the weapon that detonated as an anti-ship cruise missile. Iranian authorities on Monday said that the missile struck the Iranian navy vessel Konarak near the port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran in the Gulf of Oman.
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| Afghan attack: Maternity ward death toll climbs to 24 Posted: 13 May 2020 01:23 PM PDT  Afghan mothers and babies make up most of the dead in militant violence condemned for its savagery.
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| EU top diplomat wants independent probe into coronavirus origins Posted: 14 May 2020 01:10 PM PDT  The European Union's foreign policy chief called on China on Thursday to contribute significantly to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and said there should be an independent scientific investigation into the origins of the pandemic. In a guest column in Friday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Josep Borrell said China should act to help protect the world from future pandemics. "An independent scientific investigation of the origin of this pandemic is also necessary," he wrote.
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| China fears alienation from new global economic order Posted: 13 May 2020 02:53 AM PDT  One of China's top trade negotiators warned that his country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic could lead to alienation from the new global economic order. Long Yongtu, the former vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation who helped secure China a place at the World Trade Organization in 2001 added to growing concern in Beijing over the long-term fallout. "China is an important participant in globalisation," Long said at an online finance summit. "When people begin to talk about 'deglobalisation,' it also indicates some level of 'de-sinicisation.' Therefore, we need to be highly wary of that."
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| Ahmaud Arbery’s Accused Killer Was Barred From Making Arrests After Skipping Use-of-Force Training Posted: 14 May 2020 10:39 AM PDT  Gregory McMichael, the former Georgia police detective charged in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, was stripped of his law-enforcement certification last February after failing to complete required use-of-force courses, records state. Records first obtained by The Washington Post show that McMichael, 64, lost his power to arrest after repeatedly failing to complete required training sessions—even after a 2014 warning that he had not finished mandatory force and firearms courses. During his 37-year career in law enforcement, McMichael was stripped of his law-enforcement powers twice: Once in January 2006 after an undisclosed infraction and again in February 2019 after the Georgia Peace Officer Stands and Training Council (POST) suspended him for "failure to maintain training for the year." Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Confronted Him Two Weeks Before His Death, Neighbor ClaimsIn all, McMichael had fallen short in various types of training hours in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010—and did not complete the mandatory use-of-force and firearms training for at least three of those years, the documents from the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office state."This situation has been a great embarrassment to me and to Investigator McMichael," Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson wrote in a June 2014 letter to the Georgia POST director. "It has negatively impacted my office, and I have taken measures to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Please accept my sincere apology."McMichaels and his son, 34-year-old Travis McMichael, are currently facing murder and aggravated assault charges for allegedly chasing and shooting Arbery on Feb. 23 while he was jogging on a residential street in Georgia.The slaying—which many have described as a "lynching"—and the subsequent investigation spurred a national outcry and a Department of Justice investigation days after graphic footage emerged of the shooting in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick. "We cannot turn away a video that shows two white men casing a black man and killing him," Becky Monroe, the director of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights who previously served as interim director of the Department of Justice's Community Relations Service, told The Daily Beast. "We cannot turn away from that video and we cannot turn away from the facts of this case. We need a full investigation into the case."The charges against the McMichaels come more than two months after Arbery, who was unarmed, died and after the case was bounced to three local prosecutors—two of whom are currently under investigation—before it was ultimately referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Why Aren't Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Facing Hate-Crime Charges? It's Georgia.The Georgia Bureau of Investigation alleges that on Feb. 23 the father and son, armed with a shotgun and a .357 Magnum, confronted Arbery, who was about two miles from his home, before Travis McMichael shot him. The entire incident was captured on video by Bryan.The two white men have said they were chasing Arbery along the tree-lined road because they wanted to make a citizen's arrest on the man they suspected of being a burglar—though authorities have said there were no break-ins reported in the more than seven weeks prior to Arbery's death. In the face of the national outcry, two defense attorneys retained by Gregory claimed in a statement to The Daily Beast on Thursday that a "rush to judgment" has caused the public to vilify their client. "While the death of Ahmaud Arbery is a tragedy, causing deep grief to his family—a tragedy that at first appears to many to fit into a terrible pattern in American life—this case does not fit that pattern. The full story, to be revealed in time, will tell the truth about this case," Frank Hogue, one of the attorneys, said. The documents from the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, however, provide a detailed—though incomplete—look at the 64-year-old's history with Glynn County.According to the personnel documents, McMichael fought to keep his arrest powers several times after skipping out on trainings—writing in 2014 that the missed hours were the result of numerous health issues he and his wife had suffered from in 2006 and again in 2009."Again I do not offer this information as an excuse, I knew full well that I was responsible for attending the proper amount of training but failed to do so," McMichael wrote in his waiver application to the training council. "The years 2006 through 2009 were a very difficult period in my life. I allowed the difficulty of the situation to cloud my judgment."The 64-year-old's waiver was granted, according to the records, and he continued to serve as an investigator in Johnson's office until the problem arose again in February 2019. Instead of fighting the suspension, McMichael agreed in a memorandum to give up his badge and weapon. He was reassigned to the Camden County District Attorney's office as a non-sworn employee before he ultimately retired in June. "To that end, Mr. McMichael will not carry a firearm or badge, nor will he operate any vehicle in the motor pool outfitted with lights, siren or police radio equipment," the 2019 memo stated, according to The Washington Post. McMichael and his son are currently being held without bond at the Glynn County Detention Center. His lawyers said they plan to schedule a preliminary hearing soon, at which point "more of the truth will come out, and they will petition the court to set bail."Demands for justice in Arbery's case continued on Thursday. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, and 110 additional organizations issued a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr calling for a "full and thorough hate crimes investigation" into the case and a federal civil rights investigation into the local district attorneys—and the Glynn County Police Department—for what they call "systemic constitutional abuses." A Kentucky EMT Worker Was Killed During a 'No-Knock' Police Raid. The Target Was Already in Custody.Their demand comes one day after more than 80 lawmakers, spearheaded by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, issued a letter to the DOJ with a similar plea. "The DOJ has publicly acknowledged the real and growing threat of white supremacy and white nationalism in the United States. The murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the actions of the local district attorneys and police department warrant the DOJ's action," the group wrote in the letter. "This terrifying violence is not new; it is part of the continuing dehumanization of Black people across America," the letter says. "We cannot fight the racism, hate, and impunity that threaten the lives of Black people and other people of color unless the department takes the necessary actions to ensure full and real accountability."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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| Meet the billionaire family behind Tyson Foods, the $42 billion meat company that's been hit by COVID-19 outbreaks at its plants and is warning of a meat shortage Posted: 13 May 2020 12:48 PM PDT  Tyson Foods has been family-run for three generations, making the Tysons one of the wealthiest families in the US.
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| GOP senators release list of Obama officials who asked to 'unmask' Flynn. It 'backfired,' Biden campaign says. Posted: 13 May 2020 10:53 PM PDT  Two Republicans senators released a list Wednesday of three dozen former Obama administration officials who had asked the National Security Agency in late 2016 for the name of an American — Michael Flynn, President Trump's national security adviser, it turned out — whose conversations with foreign agents had been intercepted. The list was requested by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist, and sent to Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Ron Johnson (Wis.). After they released it, Trump immediately touted Flynn's "unmasking" as "a massive thing." It doesn't appear to be."Unmasking" is routine, and has actually increased under Trump. Grenell's list includes former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, but "Biden and the other officials had full authority to seek the name of the unidentified American in the reports — it turned out to be Flynn — and did so through proper channels," The Associated Press reports, citing Trump administration documents. "Rather than reveal any actual wrongdoing, the release of the information by the president's allies seems designed to create suspicion around Biden and other senior Democrats as the November election approaches."The NSA said in a note appended to the documents that there's no indication the people named actually read the unmasked intelligence.Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman, argued that Trump's "dishonest" attempt "to distract from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years has backfired," noting that the documents actually "indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American government — including among career officials" — about Flynn's discussions with foreign agents. "Importantly, none of these individuals could have known Flynn's identity beforehand," he added.Trump and his allies are trying to link Biden and other officials to Flynn's arrest for repeatedly lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, but that intelligence "was held by the FBI, not the NSA," The Washington Post notes. Also, "the list released Wednesday shows a flurry of unmasking requests in mid-December, weeks before the Flynn-Kislyak calls. Most of the U.S. requesters are not household names, but rather, Treasury, NATO, and intelligence officials.""If you want to be transparent and fair," national security lawyer Mark Zaid suggested to Republicans, "show us the document that led all these senior authorized government officials to request this information, that freaked them out all at the same time."More stories from theweek.com The conservative victimhood complex has made America impossible to govern 5 hilarious cartoons about Trump's vague 'Obamagate' allegations The strange conflation of masks and masculinity
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| Massive search underway for missing Colorado mom as family pleads for safe return Posted: 14 May 2020 03:37 PM PDT  Suzanne Morphew, 49, was last seen when she went on a bike ride on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10, in Maysville, Colorado. A $200,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to Suzanne's whereabouts. The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Salida Police Department, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are investigating.
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| Burr steps aside as Senate intelligence chair amid FBI probe Posted: 14 May 2020 09:27 AM PDT  A Republican senator with access to some of the nation's top secrets became further entangled in a deepening FBI investigation as agents examining a well-timed sale of stocks during the coronavirus outbreak showed up at his home with a warrant to search his cellphone. Hours later, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina stepped aside Thursday as chairman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, calling it the "best thing to do." Burr has denied wrongdoing.
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| Masks help stop the spread of coronavirus – the science is simple and I'm one of 100 experts urging governors to require public mask-wearing Posted: 14 May 2020 05:03 AM PDT  I'm a data scientist at the University of San Francisco and teach courses online in machine learning for fast.ai. In late March, I decided to use public mask-wearing as a case study to show my students how to combine and analyze diverse types of data and evidence.Much to my surprise, I discovered that the evidence for wearing masks in public was very strong. It appeared that universal mask-wearing could be one of the most important tools in tackling the spread of COVID-19. Yet the people around me weren't wearing masks and health organizations in the U.S. weren't recommending their use. I, along with 18 other experts from a variety of disciplines, conducted a review of the research on public mask-wearing as a tool to slow the spread SARS-CoV-2. We published a preprint of our paper on April 12 and it is now awaiting peer review at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Since then, there have been many more reviews that support mask-wearing.On May 14, I and 100 of the world's top academics released an open letter to all U.S. governors asking that "officials require cloth masks to be worn in all public places, such as stores, transportation systems, and public buildings." Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wears a mask – as do the governments covering 90% of the world's population – but, so far, only 12 states in the U.S. require it. In the majority of the remaining states, the CDC recommendation has not been enough: Most people do not currently wear masks. However, things are changing fast. Every week more and more jurisdictions require mask use in public. As I write this, there are now 94 countries that have made this move.So what is this evidence that has led myself and so many scientists to believe so strongly in masks? The evidenceThe research that first convinced me was a laser light-scattering experiment. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health used lasers to illuminate and count how many droplets of saliva were flung into the air by a person talking with and without a face mask. The paper was only recently published officially, but I saw a YouTube video showing the experiment in early March. The results are shockingly obvious in the video. When the researcher used a simple cloth face cover, nearly all the droplets were blocked.This evidence is only relevant if COVID-19 is transmitted by droplets from a person's mouth. It is. There are many documented super-spreading cases connected with activities – like singing in enclosed spaces – that create a lot of droplets. The light-scattering experiment cannot see "micro-droplets" that are smaller than 5 microns and could contain some viral particles. But experts don't think that these are responsible for much COVID-19 transmission. While just how much of a role these small particles play in transmission remains to be seen, recent research suggests that cloth masks are also effective at reducing the spread of these smaller particles. In a paper that has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers found that micro-droplets fell out of the air within 1.5 meters of the person who was wearing a mask, versus 5 meters for those not wearing masks. When combined with social distancing, this suggests that masks can effectively reduce transmission via micro-droplets.Another recent study showed that unfitted surgical masks were 100% effective in blocking seasonal coronavirus in droplets ejected during breathing.If only people with symptoms infected others, then only people with symptoms would need to wear masks. But experts have shown that people without symptoms pose a risk of infecting others. In fact, four recent studies show that nearly half of patients are infected by people who do not themselves have symptoms.This evidence seems, to me, clear and simple: COVID-19 is spread by droplets. We can see directly that a piece of cloth blocks those droplets and the virus those droplets contain. People without symptoms who don't even know they are sick are responsible for around half of the transmission of the virus. We should all wear masks. Against the tideAfter going through all of this strong evidence in late March and early April, I wondered why mask-wearing was controversial amongst health organizations in the Western world. The U.S. and European CDCs did not recommend masks, and neither did nearly any western government except for Slovakia and Czechia, which both required masks in late March.I think there were three key problems. The first was that most researchers were looking at the wrong question – how well a mask protects the wearer from infection and not how well a mask prevents an infected person from spreading the virus. Masks function very differently as personal protective equipment (PPE) versus source control. Masks are very good at blocking larger droplets and not nearly as good at blocking tiny particles. When a person expels droplets into the air, they quickly evaporate and shrink to become tiny airborne particles called droplet nuclei. These are extremely hard to remove from the air. However, in the moist atmosphere between a person's mouth and their mask, it takes nearly a hundred times as long for a droplet to evaporate and shrink into a droplet nuclei.This means that nearly any kind of simple cloth mask is great for source control. The mask creates humidity, this humidity prevents virus-containing droplets from turning into droplet nuclei, and this allows the fabric of the mask to block the droplets. Unfortunately, nearly all of the research that was available at the start of this pandemic focused on mask efficacy as PPE. This measure is very important for protecting health care workers, but does not capture their value as source control. On Feb. 29, the U.S. surgeon general tweeted that masks "are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching Coronavirus." This missed the key point: They are extremely effective at preventing its spread, as our review of the literature showed.The second problem was that most medical researchers are used to judging interventions on the basis of randomized controlled trials. These are the foundation of evidence based medicine. However, it is impossible and unethical to test mask-wearing, hand-washing or social distancing during a pandemic.Experts like Trisha Greenhalgh, the author of the best-selling textbook "How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence Based Healthcare," are now asking, "Is Covid-19 evidence-based medicine's nemesis?" She and others are suggesting that when a simple experiment finds evidence to support an intervention and that intervention has a limited downside, policymakers should act before a randomized trial is done. The third problem is that there is a shortage of medical masks around the world. Many policymakers were concerned that recommending face coverings for the public would lead to people hoarding medical masks. This led to seemingly contradictory guidance where the CDC said there was no reason for the public to wear masks but that masks needed to be saved for medical workers. The CDC has now clarified its stance and recommends the public use of homemade masks while saving higher-grade masks for medical professionals. Results of mask-wearingThere are numerous studies that suggest if 80% of people wear a mask in public, then COVID-19 transmission could be halted. Until a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19 is discovered, cloth face masks might be the most important tool we currently have to fight the pandemic.Given all of the laboratory and epidemiological evidence, the low cost of wearing masks – which can be made at home with no tools – and the potential to slow COVID-19 transmission with widescale use, policymakers should ensure that everyone wears a mask in public.[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:
Jeremy Howard 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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| Coronavirus: How the pandemic is relaxing US drinking laws Posted: 14 May 2020 05:07 PM PDT  Many states are relaxing rules about selling alcohol to-go to accommodate Covid closures.
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| Austrian-German border to fully reopen in a month, Austria says Posted: 13 May 2020 12:01 AM PDT |
| Taliban claim deadly attack on Afghan army base Posted: 14 May 2020 04:45 AM PDT  The Taliban said they carried out a deadly attack Thursday on an Afghan army base after the government ordered forces to resume strikes against the militants. The defence ministry said a truck bomb targeted the base in the eastern city of Gardez, killing five civilians. It comes after a particularly violent week which saw President Ashraf Ghani rescind the government's recent "defensive" stance aimed at promoting peace talks with the Taliban, and order troops back onto the offensive.
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| Venezuela: Warden charged in deadly prison riot with 47 dead Posted: 13 May 2020 09:48 AM PDT |
| Photos of the New York City night sky taken one year apart illustrate how the coronavirus pandemic has affected air traffic Posted: 13 May 2020 11:33 AM PDT  Eran Bendheim took photos outside his Manhattan window in 2019 and 2020 and they show how the coronavirus has changed air traffic.
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| Biden Named in List of Obama Officials Who Requested to ‘Unmask’ Flynn Posted: 13 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT  Former vice president Joe Biden appears on a declassified list of Obama administration officials who requested the unmasking of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn.The list, obtained by CBS News, shows that Biden's office made its request to see Flynn's identity on January 12, 2017 — the same day that Washington Post columnist David Ignatius broke news of Flynn's calls with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. While the NSA says it "cannot confirm" that those listed personally saw the information, the list also names former U.N. ambassador Samantha Power, former director of national intelligence James Clapper, former CIA director John Brennan, and former FBI director James Comey.American citizens whose communications are incidentally picked up in national-security surveillance are protected by law. But they can be unmasked by a select number of U.S. officials, and it is illegal to leak unmasked information or use it for political gain.> SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified "unmasking list" Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 - Read 3 pages provided by NSA here pic.twitter.com/NozVpQlRn2> > -- Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020Comey revealed in 2018 that he "sent" FBI agents to interview Flynn in the White House on January 24, 2017, adding that it was "something I probably wouldn't have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized administration." Last month, a filing released in the Flynn case showed handwritten notes from an FBI official that questioned if the goal of Flynn's White House interview was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."A transcript released last week showed Clapper admitting in 2018 that he "never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting [or] conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election."Biden said Tuesday that he knew the FBI had "asked for an investigation, but that's all I know about it," when asked about his knowledge of the Flynn case — which the Department of Justice dropped last week after reviewing previously undisclosed exculpatory information. Biden initially claimed he knew "nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn," but was forced to backtrack after ABC's George Stephanopoulos pointed out Biden was reported to be in an Oval Office meeting on January 5, 2017, in which Flynn was discussed.Former President Obama's chief of staff Denis McDonough also requested access to Flynn's name on January 5, 2017, the same day as the Oval Office meeting. Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in testimony released with Flynn's case dismissal last week that in the meeting, she was "so surprised" to hear Obama asking about Flynn's call with Kislyak that "she was having a hard time processing it and listening to the conversation at the same time."Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell handed over the list to Attorney General Bill Barr last week after declassifying it, but DOJ sources revealed yesterday that they were unlikely to release the list. The documents obtained by CBS News show that Grenell sent the list to Senators Ron Johnson (R., Wisc.) and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), who are conducting a probe into Biden's Hunter Biden's business dealings and Joe Biden's diplomatic work.In a March letter to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Obama's spokesperson claimed Johnson and Grassley were giving "credence to a Russian disinformation campaign" by asking to see "Obama administration records related to certain meetings connected to Ukraine."
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| Letters to the Editor: Trump told us not to fear the coronavirus, so why should he? Posted: 14 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The president reassured Americans they had little to fear about the coronavirus. Will he take his own advice now that it's in the White House?
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| Mystery deaths in Nigeria provoke fear of unrecorded coronavirus surge Posted: 14 May 2020 07:09 AM PDT  Authorities in Nigeria's northern Yobe state have reported hundreds of unusual deaths over the last few weeks, prompting fears that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly through Africa's most populous nation. Yobe authorities said that 471 people have died in the last five weeks in the state. The Yobe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Muhammad Lawan Gana, said that most of those who died were elderly people or had underlying health issues. It is not clear whether or not the Yobe deaths are linked to coronavirus because the Nigerian government is struggling to carry out many tests. In the last few weeks, there have been a spate of hundreds of unexplained deaths across northern Nigeria. Kano state, which is nearby Yobe, has seen at least mysterious 600 deaths. Doctors in Kano say they are being overwhelmed by patients showing clear signs of coronavirus, like temperatures and respiration issues.
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| Georgia officials trying to stop large, invasive lizard that eats 'anything they want' Posted: 13 May 2020 11:46 AM PDT  Argentine black and white tegus have not been a threat to humans and common household pets, but do pose a danger to native species.
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| China relocates villagers living in 800m-high cliffs in anti-poverty drive Posted: 14 May 2020 04:49 AM PDT  The village became famous for the precarious rattan ladder its residents used to get home.
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| California governor warns of state budget shortfall, looming 25% unemployment rate Posted: 14 May 2020 03:10 PM PDT  Reflecting the financial hit the state is already seeing from the coronavirus pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday proposed cutting $6.1 billion from a variety of programs in a budget he says prioritizes public education, public health and public safety. Watch his remarks.
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| Italy's daily coronavirus death toll and new cases climb Posted: 14 May 2020 09:02 AM PDT  Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 262 on Thursday, against 195 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 992 from 888 on Wednesday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at 31,368 the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.
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| Suspect in Ahmaud Arbery killing called 911 days before about alleged trespasser Posted: 14 May 2020 12:47 PM PDT  On the night of Feb. 11, Travis McMichael said he was driving his pickup truck past a construction site when he spotted someone he deemed suspicious, according to audio of a 911 call.
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| Mitch McConnell is pushing the Senate to pass a measure that would let the FBI collect Americans' web-browsing history without a warrant Posted: 13 May 2020 01:09 PM PDT  Another amendment blocking the FBI surveillance failed by just one vote Wednesday, bringing McConnell's proposal one step closer to becoming law.
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| Biden campaign doesn't consider Latinos 'part of their path to victory,' political operatives say Posted: 14 May 2020 07:30 AM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign has received some scathing reviews from Latino political experts.Biden's primary campaign had a distant, if not "tense," relationship with Latino voters as he not only neglected to reach out to them but never quite rectified "his connection to the Obama administration's aggressive deportation policy," Politico reports. Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee "in spite of, not because of" his Latino outreach, Politico writes, but more than 20 Latino political operatives say his luck may not hold in the general election.Around 32 million Latinos are expected to be eligible to vote in the U.S. this fall, making them the largest nonwhite voting bloc in the country. Their votes are especially valuable to Biden in potentially flippable states such as Arizona and Texas. But the Biden team doesn't seem to be acknowledging this fact. "I do not think that the Biden campaign thinks that Latinos are part of their path to victory," Jess Morales Rocketto, the former digital organizing director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, told Politico.To be fair, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it all but impossible for the Biden campaign to reach Latino voters through in-person canvassing, and the campaign's dwindling cash supply hasn't helped it execute digital efforts. Yet Biden hasn't even talked to, much less gotten an endorsement from, Julián Castro, the only prominent Hispanic candidate in the 2020 race, nor has his campaign appeared to ask for help from Latino lawmakers and strategists."Right now I can't tell what their strategy is with the Latino community. I just don't see it," an anonymous Latino lawmaker told Politico. "They have a lot of people out there willing to help, but they're not engaging" those potential recruits. Read more about Biden's fraught Latino outreach at Politico.More stories from theweek.com The conservative victimhood complex has made America impossible to govern 5 hilarious cartoons about Trump's vague 'Obamagate' allegations The strange conflation of masks and masculinity
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