| Biden apologizes for telling radio host 'you ain't black' if you are considering voting for Trump Posted: 22 May 2020 08:46 AM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested Friday morning that an African-American radio personality "ain't black" if he was questioning whether he should support the presumptive Democrat nominee over President Trump in the upcoming general election.
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| 'This is a bad practice': Doctors question FDA protocol for plasma treatment of coronavirus patients Posted: 22 May 2020 02:00 AM PDT  The story of convalescent plasma is one of a federal medical establishment wanting badly to compensate for its slow response to the coronavirus.
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| Group: Texas naval base shooter voiced support for clerics Posted: 22 May 2020 10:02 AM PDT  The suspect killed during what the FBI is calling a "terrorism-related" attack at a Texas naval air base voiced support for hardline clerics, according to a group that monitors online activity of jihadists. The attack Thursday at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead. The gunman was identified on Friday by the FBI as 20-year-old Adam Salim Alsahli of Corpus Christi.
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| North Dakota governor on brink of tears as he decries ‘mask shaming’ Posted: 23 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT  Republican Doug Burgum called out 'senseless dividing line' between Americans over whether masks should be worn in public * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updatesIn North Dakota on Friday, the Republican governor, Doug Burgum, decried a "senseless dividing line" between US citizens over whether masks should be worn in public during the coronavirus pandemic.As he pleaded with citizens of his state to "try to dial up your empathy and your understanding", Burgum was moved to the brink of tears."We're all in this together and there's only one battle we're fighting," he said. "And that's the battle of the virus."As Donald Trump encourages states to reopen their battered economies, federal authorities are recommending covering the face in public when social distancing is difficult, for example in grocery stores.Some states require residents to wear masks in public settings. North Dakota, where Burgum allowed reopening to start from 1 May, does not.The president has notably refused to wear a mask in public, although he was photographed wearing one on a visit to a Ford plant in Michigan this week.On Saturday, Secret Service officers who were with the president on a trip to a golf course were pictured wearing masks. Trump was not.Some rightwing protesters have attracted publicity by refusing to wear masks, while some shopkeepers have reportedly sought to deny service to people wearing face coverings.Speaking to reporters at the state capitol in Bismarck on Friday, Bergum said he "would really love to see in North Dakota that we could just skip this thing that other parts of the nation are going through, that they're creating a divide. Either it's ideological or political or something around mask versus no mask."This is I would say a senseless dividing line and I would ask people to try to dial up your empathy and your understanding. If someone is wearing a mask, they're not doing it to represent what political party they're in or what candidates they support."As he continued, Burgum struggled not to break down in tears."They might be doing it because they've got a five-year-old who's been going through cancer treatments," he said."They might have vulnerable adults in their life who currently have Covid-19 and are fighting."So again, I would just love to see our state, as part of being 'North Dakota smart', also be 'North Dakota kind', 'North Dakota empathetic', 'North Dakota understanding', to do this thing. Because if somebody wants to wear a mask, there should be no mask shaming."According to Johns Hopkins University, by Saturday North Dakota had recorded 2,317 coronavirus cases and 52 deaths.
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| Passenger plane carrying more than 100 crashes in Pakistan Posted: 22 May 2020 05:06 AM PDT  A Pakistani passenger plane carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members has crashed, officials said.
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| Russia welcomes delivery of ventilators from U.S. agency it banned Posted: 22 May 2020 07:26 AM PDT  Delivery of 50 ventilators comes in exchange of "sincere humanitarian gestures," but it also highlights ongoing tension between Washington and Moscow.
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| Trump tells Fox News to 'fire their Fake Pollster' after network reports him 8 points behind Biden Posted: 22 May 2020 09:38 AM PDT  President Trump on Friday suggested Fox News should fire its pollster after the cable news network's latest national survey showed Joe Biden leading.
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| 'We need answers': VA has given hydroxychloroquine to 1,300 vets with COVID-19 amid troubling studies Posted: 22 May 2020 03:06 PM PDT  Democrats are raising concerns over the Department of Veterans Affairs using hydroxychloroquine to treat veterans diagnosed with COVID-19, a path of treatment that has been shown to increase mortality in some patients.
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| The Trump administration reportedly considered conducting the first nuclear test explosion in 28 years in response to China and Russia Posted: 23 May 2020 05:35 AM PDT  The discussion did not conclude with any agreement, however, a senior administration official said the proposal is "an ongoing conversation."
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| Iran lauds arms supply to Palestinians against 'tumor' Israel Posted: 22 May 2020 01:25 AM PDT  Iran's Supreme Leader on Friday denounced Israel as a "tumor" to be removed and hailed Tehran's supply of arms to Palestinians, drawing swift condemnation from the United States, European Union and Israel. Opposition to Israel is a core belief for Shi'ite Muslim-led Iran. The Islamic Republic supports Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups opposed to peace with Israel, which Tehran refuses to recognize.
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| Missouri hairstylist may have exposed 91 people to Covid-19, officials say Posted: 23 May 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Stylist worked at a salon on eight different days while experiencing symptoms after governor allowed businesses to reopen * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updatesA Missouri hairstylist may have exposed 91 customers and coworkers to coronavirus, public health officials said, after the state's governor allowed businesses including salons to reopen on 4 May. The stylist who tested positive for Covid-19 worked at a salon in Springfield on eight different days while experiencing coronavirus symptoms.Because the stylist and the customers wore face coverings, health officials said on Friday, they hoped the interactions would lead to "no additional cases". Those potentially exposed would be contacted and offered testing, officials said.The potential exposures started little more than a week after Missouri allowed salons to reopen.The push by Donald Trump and some state governors to reopen most businesses with some public health modifications, such as social distancing and masks, comes as public health officials warn that relaxing restrictions will certainly lead to new outbreaks.Dr Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House's coronavirus taskforce, said on Friday that new local outbreaks were "inevitable" as prevention measures are loosened.But on Thursday, at a visit to a Ford automobile plant in Michigan, the president once again emphasized his focus on getting the economy moving, and the stock market recovered, as soon as possible."A permanent lockdown is not a strategy for a health state or a healthy country," Trump said on Thursday. "Our country wasn't meant to be shut down."This country is poised for an epic comeback," he said. "Just watch. It's already happening."As of Saturday morning, according to figures collected by Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.6m cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in the US, with more than 96,000 deaths.In debates over how quickly to reopen different businesses across the country, barbershops and hair salons have become a political flashpoint among conservative Americans, with some owners reopening in defiance of public health measures.In Michigan, a barber who refused to close his shop despite shelter-at-home orders staged a hair-cutting protest at the state capitol which he dubbed "Operation Haircut", the Lansing State Journal reported.In Texas, a hair salon owner who was briefly jailed after keeping her business open in defiance of public health orders, and who then refused to apologize in court for what she had done, has been championed by Republican leaders. The Texas senator Ted Cruz visited her salon for a haircut.In Missouri, county health officials said local residents who had been in the same location as the hairstylist with coronavirus but who had not had direct contact were "believed to be at very low risk". While infectious, the same individual also visited a Walmart and a Dairy Queen and made three visits to a local gym, they said.Missouri's governor, Michael Parson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the potential exposures of 91 people at a hair salon would alter the state's thinking on whether salons and barbershops should remain open during the pandemic.Missouri's current public health guidance will expire on 31 May. The state has said it will re-evaluate the plan and may tighten some restrictions or loosen others.
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| Syria bars Assad's cousin from travel amid financial dispute Posted: 22 May 2020 05:19 AM PDT |
| Expletive-filled video of Bolsonaro swearing at cabinet meeting released by Brazil's Supreme Court Posted: 23 May 2020 03:31 AM PDT  Expletive-filled footage of Brazil's far-right president complaining about not being able to get intelligence from the police has been released by the country's Supreme Court.Jair Bolsonaro vows, in the clip, that he will not let his friends and family get "screwed" because he is unable to overhaul law enforcement officials.
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| Trump demands states reopen houses of worship 'right now' Posted: 22 May 2020 12:02 PM PDT  President Trump said Friday that he wanted state governors to allow the nation's houses of worship to reopen "right now" despite the ongoing health risks from the coronavirus pandemic posed by large gatherings of people.
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| Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assault Posted: 22 May 2020 06:09 AM PDT  The Biden campaign says the incident, alleged to have occurred in 1993, "absolutely did not happen."
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| US presses advancing Libya government to end fighting Posted: 22 May 2020 01:14 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday pressed Libya's Turkish-backed government for a ceasefire and criticized the flow of weapons as Tripoli pushes back against a year-old rebel offensive. Pompeo placed a phone call to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj to "reiterate US opposition to the continued level of weapons and munitions being brought into the country," the State Department said. Pompeo and Sarraj "emphasized the importance of an immediate halt to the fighting and return to political dialogue," a statement said.
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| Reports: UK to cut Huawei’s involvement in 5G network Posted: 23 May 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Boris Johnson wants to reduce Chinese tech giant's involvement in building network to zero by 2023, according to British media.
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| Guatemala president scolds U.S. for deporting migrants with coronavirus Posted: 21 May 2020 08:51 PM PDT  Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei criticized the United States on Thursday for sending back migrants infected with the novel coronavirus to his Central American country and straining its weak health system. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and Giammattei's attempts to curb deportation flights from the United States, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been sending Guatemalan migrants back to their home country.
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| This Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents Furious Posted: 22 May 2020 06:04 PM PDT  In a dystopian bid to lure Tesla's Cybertruck Gigafactory to Tulsa, the Oklahoma state monument—a seven-story, 22-ton statue of an oil worker called The Golden Driller—has been redesigned as an effigy of Elon Musk. The likeness of X Æ A-12's multibillionaire father, now called The Driller 'Golden Elon,' is one of the largest free-standing statues in the U.S. "Tulsa is a city that doesn't stifle entrepreneurs - we revere them!" Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum wrote on Facebook, prompting an onslaught of enraged replies. "Golden @elonmusk is now the 6th-tallest statue in the United States. TulsaforTesla @Tesla." The gargantuan statue, unveiled earlier this week at a community event and on Bynum's social media, now features a red Tesla logo painted on its chest. The Driller's 48-foot belt, which once read "TULSA," was changed to read "TESLA." If you squint, the statue's head now looks like a low-budget YouTube cartoon of Musk. "I was told onsite it was an 'Elon Musk Face Skin,'" one worker wrote on Facebook. "It went on like a fruit roll-up." "It's this weird, ghostly, white mask-like thing," said Lucas Wrench, a 28-year-old Tulsa Artist Fellow, who runs an arts space called OK 1. "It sort of looks like if you FaceSwapped with some creature. I just couldn't believe it. I'm shocked at how transparent it is—the kind of a symbol they created in putting this enormous billionaire, literally a giant towering billionaire in Tulsa—the lack of self-awareness. They're groveling."The redesign was spearheaded by a "community-led group" called Tulsa For Tesla, in coordination with the Tulsa County Fairgrounds, a spokesperson for Bynum told The Daily Beast. The group has no online profile, although there is a Facebook page for a group called "Tulsa 4 Tesla," which was started May 17 and boasts 104 followers as of Friday. The administrator of that page told The Daily Beast they had not organized the redesign, but simply wanted Musk to move there. "I had no idea [the other Tulsa For Tesla] existed until a few days ago," the Tulsa 4 Tesla administrator wrote. "I would have thought they would have [a Facebook] page. When I named this one I looked [for others], even using '4' instead of 'For' Tulsa." "The City did not coordinate the Driller Golden Elon," the mayor's spokesperson wrote. "Mayor Bynum spoke at the community-led event earlier this week." Still, Bynum has made similar suggestions to redesign city structures in Musk's image. Earlier this week, reported by CBS News, Bynum posted an image of a Tesla Cybertruck sporting the Tulsa Police logo on Instagram, suggesting police officers would use the pixelated, sci-fi-looking monstrosities if the factory came to town. "The Golden Driller is something that's commonly decorated for special events and holidays," said Sydney Smith, a 22-year-old from Tulsa, who now studies at the Kansas City Art Institute. "Sometimes they paint it to look like wacky stuff, but painting it to paint like the face of Elon Musk is one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. It's asking a billionaire to come in and just bring his billionaire status to our town."The Golden Driller has undergone makeovers in the past. The first iteration was constructed in 1952 for the International Petroleum Exposition, an annual trade fair in Tulsa. At the time, the belt buckle read "MID-CONTINENT," after the company that commissioned it, The Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth. In 1959, after the statue attracted attention, the company built a second for that year's expo, before donating it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority. In 1966, the Trust had it installed permanently by the Tulsa Expo Center, to commemorate the city as the "Oil Capital of the World." When the state adopted it as its official monument in 1979, they changed the massive buckle to read "TULSA."White Anti-Quarantine Protesters Have Cruelly Co-opted an Enslaved Black Woman from the 18th CenturyThe Kentucky Miner Who Scammed Americans by Claiming He Was Hitler and Plotting a 'Revolt' With 'Spaceships'At the base of the statue, which "wears" a size-112 hard hat and size-393DDD shoes, an inscription reads, "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind."The redesign reorients a city literally nicknamed the "Oil Capital of the World" toward green energy, at least symbolically. Some residents are riled for precisely that reason. "What a fantastic use of tax dollars!! �� ," a Facebook user named Stacy Spohn Bay wrote. "Tulsa was built on oil, not electric/solar power. How degrading, desperate and embarrassing to see this." Progressives like Smith aren't sure how far the gesture goes. "Sure, they're making efforts to make a sustainable vehicle, but it's not necessarily something that's affordable," she said. "It's more of a status symbol and a way for a billionaire to make billions of dollars than something that's going to actually make a positive contribution to the environment, especially in a place like Tusla that's surrounded by refineries.""Our mayor, G.T. Bynum, I think he gets a lot of credit for being this sensible Republican," Wrench added. "Yeah, we're an oil town, but he's not afraid of clean energy. I think maybe, that is where this started. But they ignored the fact that Elon is just an insanely hated billionaire and that is by the far the dominant symbol that comes across to most people." Wrench plans to host a talk next Thursday called The Colossus of Musk, with Art History Professor Bill Anthes and Rome Prize Winner Classics Professor Michelle Berenfeld, both of Pitzer College, about the history of mega sculptures and what the "Golden Elon" means from an art perspective.The race to determine Tesla's new home came after Musk sued Alameda County in California, demanding to reopen his plant in Fremont, in flagrant violation of the state's stay-at-home order. On Twitter, Musk announced plans to move Tesla's "HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately." "While we love the idea of Tesla's Cybertruck plant moving to Tulsa, which would provide good paying jobs for Oklahoma families, move our state towards clean energy, and transition TPD to green vehicles, we have concerns pertaining to the fair treatment of workers," Tulsa activist publication The Progressive Report told The Daily Beast. "Led by Musk, Tesla committed several violations to the US National Labour Relations Act in 2017 & 2018\. Knowing Tesla's history of violating workers' rights, it's important we keep a watchful eye on them, especially if they decide to reside in T-Town."According to Electrek, Tesla plans to announce their new factory's site as soon as this month, and by July at the latest. "Maybe there's some benefit by bringing some jobs to Tulsa," Smith said, "But at the same time—outside of any opinions I have about Telsa or Elon Musk—a lot of times big corporations will propose bringing a headquarters to Tusla, and it will go to another city like Austin. The gentrification that comes to cities that used to have a similar vibe to Tulsa has the impact of raising the rent and raising the property taxes for the people that live there and call that place home." Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. 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| 11-year-old girl says racism behind white woman’s assault Posted: 22 May 2020 01:41 PM PDT  An 11-year-old African American girl from South Carolina said she didn't think a white woman who accused her of stealing mail was being racist until the woman's husband told the girl that if she were "a different type," things would have turned out differently. Elizabeth Shirey, 38, was charged with assault and battery after grabbing Skhylur Davis' arm as she walked back to her grandmother's house in Aiken with her mail, according to a police report. When Shirey saw the address on the mail she let the girl go, apologized and then offered Skhylur cookies, the girl told officers.
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| A haunting image of a body abandoned in the street in coronavirus-racked Rio shows how Brazil's health system is struggling to cope Posted: 23 May 2020 07:29 AM PDT  Brazil is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, with a rocketing death toll and leadership crisis.
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| Joe Biden tells Charlamagne tha God 'you ain't black' if you vote for Trump over him Posted: 22 May 2020 06:13 AM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden raised some eyebrows Friday during a heated interview with Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club. Charlamagne began by pressing Biden, telling him that "black people saved your political life in the primaries this year, and they have things they want from you, and one of them is a black woman running mate.""I guarantee you that there are multiple black women being considered. Multiple," Biden said, just as he was interrupted by someone off-frame telling him his interview time was up."You can't do that to black media," Charlamagne protested."I can do that to white media and black media because my wife has to go on at six o'clock," Biden replied. Charlamagne, visibly peeved, told Biden he ought to pick up the conversation again down the line because "it's a long way to November, we've got more questions.""You've got more questions," Biden said. "I'll tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or for Trump, then you ain't black."Charlamagne waved off Biden's comment, saying "it ain't have nothing to do with Trump, I want something for my community." While it's true that more than than 8 in 10 black Americans believe Trump is racist and 9 in 10 disapprove of his job in office, Biden's comment, even if it was directed specifically at Charlamagne, was clearly based on a sweeping generalization. "A white guy lecturing black Americans that they 'ain't black' if they don't vote for him is about as condescending and racist as it gets," tweeted Republican strategist Andrew Surabian. "WTF..." added Virginia Republican congressional candidate Jeffery A Dove Jr. "Because I don't support your failed policies. Things like the '94 crime bill, Obamacare, and others, 'I ain't black' based on Joe Biden's words. That is basically saying the Dem party owns me because of skin color." You can watch below, starting around 16:17. More stories from theweek.com A national paycheck guarantee? We should be grateful for good news in Georgia There's always a bigger scandal
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| 'The end of Hong Kong': China's power grab stuns protest-hit territory Posted: 22 May 2020 07:51 AM PDT  "This is the end of Hong Kong and it's like the end of our homeland," said Tanya Chan, a legislator in the territory.
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| Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with murder Posted: 22 May 2020 10:26 AM PDT  Two men, 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his 34-year-old son, Travis, have already been arrested and charged with murder.
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| Afghanistan: Taliban announce three-day Eid ceasefire with government Posted: 23 May 2020 05:24 PM PDT  The truce with government forces will take effect when the Muslim festival of Eid begins on Sunday.
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| Palestinians report first coronavirus death in Gaza Posted: 23 May 2020 09:07 AM PDT  A woman has died in Gaza Strip after contracting coronavirus, the Palestinian enclave's first known fatality from the global pandemic, the health ministry said on Saturday. Blockaded and short on medical facilities, Gaza, run by the Islamist group Hamas, has reported only 55 coronavirus infection cases among its population of two million. Meanwhile, in the Israeli occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have limited self-rule, there have been two deaths and 423 cases.
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| India struggles with twin challenges of cyclone and pandemic Posted: 22 May 2020 03:29 AM PDT  Debasis Shyamal, a fisherman, forgot about social distancing. The cyclone has now dissipated. In the past 48 hours, the cyclone killed 77 people and the coronavirus nine in West Bengal, one of India's poorer states.
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| Caught on camera: Puppy choked in shocking confrontation in San Francisco homeless tent Posted: 22 May 2020 07:47 PM PDT  A confrontation between two homeless women led to a six-month-old puppy being choked. The authorities did not take action, until the ABC7 I-Team got involved.
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| Man charged with fraud for lying about coronavirus test, forcing employer to shut plant Posted: 22 May 2020 07:14 AM PDT  A man from Atlanta, Georgia is facing fraud charges after telling his employer he had tested positive for coronavirus while in fact uninfected – causing the plant where he worked to be shut down for cleaning and costing his employer some $100,000.Santwon Antonio Davis, who works in Atlanta at a Fortune 500 company, appeared in court this week accused of faking a dubious medical excuse letter saying he had Covid-19 – a letter that was neither signed nor written on formal letterhead, and which said he had been discharged in November 2019.
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| Black Americans are in an abusive relationship with the Democratic party Posted: 22 May 2020 01:02 PM PDT  An offensive comment by the Democratic presidential candidate is a reminder that black people – all people – deserve better than Joe BidenI am very tired of Joe Biden. My vote for him was already hanging by a thread before his disastrous interview with Charlamagne tha God on Friday. Interrupting the Breakfast Club host's explanation that black people needed assurances that our communities will benefit from his presidency, Biden asserted: "If you've got a problem figuring out whether you're for me or for Trump, then you ain't black."Again, I am very tired of Joe Biden. Not because I am a purist, or have inflexible ideological commitments of what it will take to remove Donald Trump from office. But rather because Biden's condescension towards black communities is intolerable.I want to believe that Biden's condescension started after the respected Representative James Clyburn called the former vice-president an "honorary black man" at a private dinner in March. But his mistreatment of black people, verbally and politically, is decades old, and is a reflection of the Democratic party in general.Throughout Biden's career, he has boasted about his ability to bridge partisan divides by sacrificing the needs of black people and poor people in the name of "compromise". For the last 30 years, Biden has repeatedly talked about freezing, cutting, or raising the age for social security and other benefits – as much as $2tn one time. His response to concerns that these cuts would hurt the poor? "We're going to do lots of hard things … we might as well do this."Social security is an important program for black people, especially as we age. Among African Americans receiving social security, 35% of elderly married couples and 58% of unmarried elderly persons relied on it for 90% or more of their income. The reliance is not due to laziness or spending habits – people of color and white people make similar choices and contributions to retirement – but due to racism, lack of workplace retirement plans and barriers to accessing high-paying jobs."They know where my heart is," Biden has said, of black voters.But do we?Senator Kamala Harris was severely scrutinized for her treatment of poor black women as a prosecutor – yet Biden's criminal justice record makes Harris look like Thurgood Marshall. Biden authored and successfully passed the $30bn 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Besides putting 100,000 additional police officers in the streets, the crime bill distributed funding for new prison construction, encouraged prosecutors to charge children as adults, and even added the death penalty for 28 new areas, including drug-related offenses. Pushing for further criminalization, then senator Biden argued that George HW Bush's crime plan did not go far enough because it did not "include enough police officers to catch the violent thugs, not enough prosecutors to convict them, not enough judges to sentence them, and not enough prison cells to put them away for a long time". An older black generation fought through Jim Crow only for Biden to help make sure that their children and grandchildren lived through a new Jim Crow.On the House floor, Biden compared his criminal justice approach to Richard Nixon's law and order stance: "I would say, 'Lock the SOBs up.'" Black people were arrested in droves following this bill, despite comparable drug use rates to white people; many are still sitting in prison today. Biden has since acknowledged flaws in the bill, but last summer he reiterated his support for the bill. The law spent $30bn but contributed to only a 1.3% decline in violent crime. He has yet to call for it to be repealed.Today, some cities plan to expunge marijuana records and hope to pay reparations to black people formerly incarcerated for marijuana offenses. But Biden can't seem to let go; he is inconsistent and ambivalent about marijuana legalization. He has argued it may be a gateway drug, a statement he has since dialed back. Of course, keeping marijuana illegal at the federal level does not mean that people will not use it, but rather that the extra police that he put on the street will send people of color to jail for using it. Ironically, the police were probably nowhere to be found when Biden's friends George W Bush and Barack Obama used marijuana. If anything, the drug seems to be a gateway to the White House.Despite attempting to cut social programs and increasing mass incarceration, Biden claims to care about black families. But he doesn't seem to know many. During the September 2019 Democratic debate he claimed that poor families should put on a record player so their children will know more words. Recently, during an interview with the New York Times editorial board, he argued that poor black parents feel ashamed because they cannot read and skip parent-teacher conferences. He was hoping to encourage them to be better parents. But his assertion is incorrect. Black and white parents have comparable participation rates overall and attend parent-teacher conferences at the exact same rates. In fact, black parents and poor parents are the most likely to check their children's homework and meet with guidance counselors. Biden instead relied on stereotypes that black people are not involved in their children's lives.Harris forced Biden to confront his work with racist elected officials to stop integration efforts using school busing. That was not his only education mistake. Biden played a significant role in creating the student debt crisis, including making student loan discharge "nearly impossible". This is devastating to black people, who disproportionately carry school debt. While the average school debt for black women with a bachelor's degree is about $25,000, that level of education does not provide the same level of financial security for black women as it does other groups, including white people with less education (primarily because of sexism and racism).Again and again, Biden's relationship with black Americans, like the Democratic National Committee's relationship, has been patronizing at best and actively harmful at worst.> Biden's friendship with one black person does not mean that he's a friend to black peopleSome black people will support Biden because of his association with Barack Obama – even though Obama himself doesn't seem especially excited about Biden becoming president. The Obama days feel distant yet warm compared to Donald Trump's current presidency. But remember: Biden cycled millions of black people in and out of jail, voted for massive numbers of poor people to go to war in Iraq, threw Anita Hill under the bus to confirm a conservative justice to the US supreme court, and, under Obama's administration, helped to deport millions of immigrants and bombed brown countries. When Biden was vice-president, black home ownership and wealth declined significantly, even as it rose for other races. Biden's friendship with one black person does not mean that he's a friend to black people.The Democratic party holds black people in an abusive relationship but says you cannot leave because the other option is more abusive. That's why I don't believe that a vote against Biden solely means a vote for Trump. Perhaps it is a vote against being captured by the party that makes empty promises every four years when it is election time, and delivers nothing. Perhaps it is a vote against the crime bill, drones and deportations. Perhaps it is a vote against covert and overt racism.Biden and others will rightfully argue that Trump is worse, and I agree. But what can Biden actually deliver? Will there be fewer drones if he's president? Maybe not. Fewer deportations? Maybe not. Less money to police departments? No. Will fewer black people die from police? Unlikely. Will black people have healthcare? Unlikely. Will black wealth increase? Unlikely. Will Palestinian lives be safer? Unlikely. Commitments to preserving our climate? Doubtful. If black people have a hard time figuring out the differences between Trump and Biden, then that is Biden's problem, not ours.Joe Biden refuses to reckon with the harm that he has caused to people all over the world. His best line is that he is better than the other guy, and that is exactly how abusive relationships function. Black people – all people – deserve better than Biden and the Democratic party. And yes, we are still black. * Derecka Purnell is a social movement lawyer and writer based in Washington, DC. Guardian US columnist
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| Trump admin won't require nursing homes to count COVID-19 deaths that occurred before May 6 Posted: 22 May 2020 02:43 PM PDT  The most recent computation by NBC News found that as of May 11 at least 27,000 older Americans who were residents of long-term care facilities had died.
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| US to sanction nine Chinese entities for rights violations Posted: 22 May 2020 01:44 PM PDT  The US Department of Commerce said Friday it would sanction a Chinese government institute and eight companies for human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in China's western Xinjiang region. "These nine parties are complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region," the Commerce Department said in a statement. The sanctions followed China's move to impose a national security law to quash the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called a "disastrous proposal."
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| Coronavirus: New York state daily death toll drop below 100 Posted: 23 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT  A total of 84 people died in 24 hours, the lowest daily toll since March in the worst-hit US state.
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| Iranian ships approach Venezuela with no sign of US threat Posted: 23 May 2020 04:48 PM PDT  The first of five tankers loaded with gasoline sent from Iran approached Venezuelan waters late Saturday, expected to temporarily ease the South American nation's fuel crunch while defying Trump administration sanctions targeting the two U.S. foes. The oil tanker Fortune encountered no immediate signs of U.S. interference as it eased through Caribbean waters toward the Venezuelan coast and Venezuelan officials celebrated the arrival. "Iran and Venezuela have always supported each other in times of difficulty," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted.
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| Fox News' Chris Wallace debunks voter fraud conspiracy theories shared on network an hour earlier Posted: 22 May 2020 10:53 AM PDT  Fox News is committed to sharing both sides of a conspiracy theory.On Friday morning, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace tore apart the right-wing conspiracy theory that mail-in voting is full of fraud, noting that mail-in voting happens in both Republican and Democratic states and there is "really is no record" of fraud in any of them. But just an hour before Wallace came on the air, the network was sharing a very different message.Dan Patrick, Texas' Republican lieutenant governor, immediately came out swinging against mail-in voting when he appeared on Fox News' America's Newsroom just ahead of Wallace. "This is a scam by the Democrats to steal the election," Patrick claimed, asking host Ed Henry if he'd ever "gotten somebody's mail by mistake" or had his mail stolen.Henry reminded Patrick that the Democratic primary in Wisconsin exposed people to coronavirus, prompting Patrick to go back and make a case against himself. "Anyone over 65 in America can vote safely from home, that's already the law virtually everywhere. Some states have all mail-in ballots," Patrick said, definitely not helping his case. > This wild conspiracy theory alleging that Democrats are stealing elections across the country was on the same show as Wallace, just an hour before. pic.twitter.com/m7oCNUFFFN> > -- John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) May 22, 2020More stories from theweek.com A national paycheck guarantee? We should be grateful for good news in Georgia There's always a bigger scandal
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| Is international travel allowed yet? See when Spain, Mexico, Iceland plan to reopen borders Posted: 23 May 2020 12:34 PM PDT  Spain has announced that it will reopen its borders to foreign tourists in July and Mexico will start reopening in June. See when others will follow.
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| Just over half of Americans would definitely get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a new survey found Posted: 23 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Almost 20% of people surveyed by YouGov said they wouldn't be willing to be vaccinated against coronavirus.
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| This country has a deadly gang issue in their prisons. Their solution? Shared jail cells Posted: 22 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  While gang members called a truce, critics said the government's move was abusive amid the coronavirus pandemic — and may even boost the gangs' power.
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| 'The end of Hong Kong': Experts say China's push to pass strict national security laws further erodes the city's autonomy Posted: 22 May 2020 09:10 AM PDT  China is planning to unilaterally modify Hong Kong's laws, and will likely outlaw the promotion of secession, subversion, and foreign interference.
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