| Former head of pandemic response team speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared' Posted: 23 May 2020 09:31 AM PDT  "Isolating cases, tracking contacts, all of those things we're talking about now, we really should have been talking about in January," Beth Cameron said on Yahoo's "Skullduggery" podcast.
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| Survivor recalls horror of Pakistan plane crash that killed 97 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:47 PM PDT  One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people on board has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighbourhood. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on Friday after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, the airline said. Pakistan's deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days after commercial flights resumed ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
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| Jacinda Ardern stays cool as earthquake rattles New Zealand capital Posted: 24 May 2020 01:21 PM PDT  An earthquake struck near New Zealand's capital on Monday morning, shaking many residents including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who continued with a live TV interview at the parliament building. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake was 37 kms deep and the epicentre was 30 km northwest of Levin, a city in New Zealand's North Island close to the capital Wellington, according to Geonet. Geonet first classified the earthquake as magnitude 5.9.
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| Oxford scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine say there is now only a 50% chance of success because the number of UK cases is falling too quickly Posted: 24 May 2020 03:08 AM PDT  The Oxford mission to find a COVID-19 vaccine is in "a race against the virus disappearing, and against time," scientists Adam Hill said.
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| Former head of pandemic response team at the NSC speaks out: 'I'm frankly scared' Posted: 23 May 2020 01:46 PM PDT  The official who oversaw epidemic preparedness for the National Security Council under President Obama said the absence of public guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic leaves her "frankly scared." She also believes and that eliminating her position weakened the American response to the coronavirus when it emerged 18 months later.
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| Taliban leverages pandemic to burnish image as violence in Afghanistan surges Posted: 23 May 2020 04:14 PM PDT  "Some districts don't have doctors," said Kate Clark, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network. "It's confusing, it's a mess."
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| Joe Biden wins Hawaii presidential primary delayed by virus Posted: 23 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  Joe Biden won the Democratic Party of Hawaii's party-run presidential primary on Saturday, which was delayed by more than a month because of the coronavirus. Biden defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 63% to 37%. Biden won 16 of Hawaii's delegates and Sanders will take eight.
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| The Statue of Liberty as you've never seen her before Posted: 24 May 2020 06:43 AM PDT  With the monument currently closed due to COVID-19, this is the perfect time to experience a new virtual tour, featuring every nook-and-cranny of the statue's interior, including areas traditionally off-limits to visitors
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| Letters to the Editor: Why is the Trump administration working so hard to deport immigrant children? Posted: 24 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  There's nothing that can justify preventing a 16-year-old immigrant from seeing her lawyer and suddenly deporting her by herself.
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| Netanyahu attacks 'fabricated' graft charges as trial begins Posted: 24 May 2020 08:48 AM PDT  A combative Benjamin Netanyahu stood in court Sunday for the start of his long-anticipated corruption trial, after lashing out at the "fabricated" charges against him. The veteran Israeli Prime Minister, who has just forged a new unity government after more than a year of political turmoil, is the country's first premier to face criminal charges while in office. Flanked by ministers from his right-wing Likud party, Netanyahu addressed the public in a live Facebook broadcast before entering the Jerusalem District Court to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
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| Kazakhstan, Turkey may resume flights in late June Posted: 23 May 2020 12:13 AM PDT  Kazakh and Turkish airlines may resume passenger flights between the two countries in late June, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development has said, if the novel coronavirus epidemic remains under control. Kazakh minister Beibut Atamkulov discussed the plans in a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart Adil Karaismailoglu, the ministry said in a statement late on Friday. If successful, the reopening would be Kazakhstan's first after it suspended all international passenger flights in March due to the pandemic and only allowed special flights repatriating its citizens.
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| Dr. Birx warns of emerging coronavirus hotspots in LA, Chicago, and DC despite the cities remaining closed Posted: 23 May 2020 11:47 AM PDT  DC and its suburbs have the highest rate of positive coronavirus tests in the country. LA and Chicago continue to report high daily case counts.
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| Western Australia battered by worst storms in a decade Posted: 24 May 2020 05:17 AM PDT  Homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of people left without power as a "once in a decade" storm pummelled the western half of Western Australia on Sunday night, with worse expected overnight and on Monday morning. The storm, which is expected to continue well into Monday, was described by Bureau of Meteorology state manager James Ashley as a "dynamic and complex" weather formation caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga interacting with a cold front. Winds of more than 100kmh destroyed power lines and tore roofs from homes and businesses late on Sunday and the storm was expected to worsen overnight as it moved south along the coast, with winds up 130kmh predicted. Western Power spokesperson Paul Entwistle told WA Today that about 37,000 homes and businesses in Perth, the state capital, had lost power by Sunday evening, along with 13,000 properties are in Western Australia's Mid West region, including the port city of Geraldton, where it was reported that rooftops torn from homes collided with power lines. In Perth, a radio tower was believed to have fallen onto power lines in the city's eastern suburbs, contributing to the disruption of supply. Dozens of traffic lights across the city were knocked out. The entire town of Margaret River, a popular tourist destination about 240km south of Perth and home to 8,000 people, lost power. By late Sunday afternoon, the state's emergency services had received more than 200 calls for help. A deep low-pressure system was forecast to form off the south-west corner of the state. Mr Ashley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that "in a broad area, the south-west of the state will be hit really severely overnight, tonight and into tomorrow". "Really quite severe conditions will still be experienced in Perth tomorrow morning… (And) in small pockets up in the north of the state they are still likely to experience those 130 kilometre per hour [winds], those really severe conditions. "I should emphasise it's pretty much the whole western half of the state that's getting strong northerly winds at the moment," he said. The Bureau of Meteorology also predicted ten-metre high waves would hit the south west coast of the state on Monday morning, following seven-metre waves along the Gascoyne to Geraldton coast further north. In Geraldton, more than 400km north of Perth, winds of 113kmh were recorded as the city, along with surrounding areas, were shrouded with dust. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jessica Lingard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the "wind is picking up the dust through parts of the Gascoyne and the Central West, but the rain should increase in the coming hours so hopefully that will dampen that down… We are expecting conditions to worsen down the west coast as we move into this afternoon". The dust storm caused low visibility which complicated efforts to tackle an out-of-control bushfire in the southern part of Waggrakine, in the City of Greater Geraldton. "There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching in the area and conditions are changing," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services warned on Sunday afternoon.
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| New Zealand PM unruffled as quake hits mid-interview Posted: 24 May 2020 05:35 PM PDT  A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand's North Island early Monday but failed to crack Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's trademark composure as she conducted a live television interview. The quake struck just off the coast before 8:00 am local time (2000 Sunday GMT) at a depth of about 52 kilometres (32 miles) near Levin, about 90 kilometres north of Wellington, the US Geological Survey said. St John Ambulance and New Zealand Police both said there were no initial reports of injuries or damage.
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| Iran oil tanker reaches Venezuela amid US tension Posted: 24 May 2020 04:54 PM PDT  Five tankers are being escorted by the Venezuelan military as the country struggles with shortages.
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| Judge demands ICE better explain why it won't release kids Posted: 22 May 2020 06:27 PM PDT |
| Biden strikes a populist tone but stops short of embracing Warren's economic plans Posted: 23 May 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The apparent Democratic nominee weighed in this week on some signature policies of his primary season rival — and rumored vice presidential contender.
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| Spain to reopen to tourists as South America named virus hotspot Posted: 23 May 2020 11:50 AM PDT  Spain said on Saturday it would let in foreign tourists and restart top league football in the coming weeks, accelerating Europe's exit from strict virus lockdown, as South America was labelled "a new epicentre" by the World Health Organization. Brazil led the surge across South America, its death toll passing 21,000 on Friday from 330,000 infections, the third biggest caseload of any country in a pandemic that has infected 5.25 million globally and killed more than 338,000.
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| Muslims finding new ways to celebrate Eid amid coronavirus Posted: 24 May 2020 03:35 PM PDT  This year, Muslims are relying on Zoom calls, live-streamed sermons and drive-through celebrations.
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| France wants its citizens to holiday at home this summer Posted: 24 May 2020 06:16 AM PDT  The French government does not want its citizens to travel abroad this summer and recommends they take their holidays in France, Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said it was unlikely that French people would be able to undertake major foreign trips this summer and that even trips within Europe may have to be limited to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic. Borne, in an interview with France Inter radio, also said that next week the government would decide on possibly loosening rules on French domestic travel, currently limited to a maximum 100 kilometers from home.
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| Firefighters Battle Major Warehouse Fire on San Francisco's Famed Fisherman's Wharf Posted: 23 May 2020 09:59 AM PDT  So far, no injuries have been reported
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| US Navy claims success with laser weapon that can destroy drones mid-flight Posted: 23 May 2020 02:38 AM PDT  A high-energy laser weapon which can destroy an aircraft mid-flight has been successfully tested by the US Navy, its Pacific Fleet has said.Video footage and images released by military top brass show a beam emanating from the USS Portland ship which appears to take out a drone.
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| N. Korea discusses new policies for increasing 'nuclear war deterrence': KCNA Posted: 23 May 2020 07:22 PM PDT  North Korea discussed new policies for increasing its "nuclear war deterrence" during a military meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Sunday. The meeting was Kim's first reported public appearance in more than three weeks and came after US media said Friday that the Trump administration had discussed holding the first US nuclear test in decades. Set forth at the meeting of the Central Military Commission were "new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country," the North's official KCNA news agency said, without giving further details.
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| Gaza reports 1st virus-related death amid fears of outbreak Posted: 23 May 2020 07:25 AM PDT  The crowded Gaza Strip recorded its first death from the coronavirus on Saturday, officials said, amid fears an outbreak could paralyze the territory's already overstretched health care system. The Palestinian health ministry said the deceased was a 77-year-old woman who had underlying health problems and had been placed at a special field hospital near the Rafah border crossing point upon arriving from Egypt. Gaza's authorities, led by the militant group Hamas, reported 35 confirmed new cases this week, bringing the total to 55.
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| Decision not to extend Pa. vote-by-mail deadline could lower AAPI turnout Posted: 23 May 2020 01:24 PM PDT  With the primary less than two weeks away, community organizers are scrambling to mobilize socially and linguistically isolated AAPI voters.
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| 'I should not have been so cavalier': Joe Biden apologizes for suggesting black Trump voters 'ain't black' Posted: 23 May 2020 06:39 AM PDT  "I should not have been so cavalier. I've never, never, ever taken the African American community for granted," Biden told black business leaders
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| How the Restaurant Industry Viciously Exploits Its Workers, From Wage Theft to Sexual Abuse Posted: 23 May 2020 02:08 AM PDT  For labor organizers working within the restaurant industry, there's another NRA: the National Restaurant Association. This NRA "represent[s] and advocate[s] on behalf of more than 500,000 restaurant businesses," including some of the biggest chains in the country. For decades, this has meant keeping tipped workers earning a minimum of $2.13 an hour in 43 states (in California, where I live, tipped workers must earn at least the state-wide minimum wage of $12.00 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees and $13.00 per hour for employers with more than 25 employees). During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many restaurant and cafe workers are realizing that they are much better off financially leaving their jobs and collecting unemployment insurance, there's a renewed focus on how service work is systemically devalued in the U.S.The so-called logic behind this $2.13 tipped worker minimum wage is that tips will meet or exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and, legally speaking, when they don't, employers must make up the difference. According to many employees in the industry, in practice, the latter almost never happens—the restaurant industry specifically is notorious for wage and tip theft. Throughout the U.S.—excluding West Coast states, Nevada, Montana, Minnesota, and Alaska—if tips aren't good or are nonexistent, good luck making rent. In director Abby Ginzberg's documentary Waging Change, streamable on Women Make Movies from May 22 to May 31, the NRA's machinations to keep the tipped minimum wage at $2.13 an hour in as many states as possible is exposed for its strategic seediness. In a "Save Our Tips" campaign, the NRA funded an astroturf movement that convinced many restaurant workers that One Fair Wage legislation in Washington, D.C., would compromise their earnings—the idea being that if customers know servers and bartenders are earning the minimum wage or more, they will be less likely to tip or tip well. In fact, studies have shown that in cities where there is one minimum wage across all industries—and when that minimum wage is on the high end of the current spectrum—tipping is much better. White Anti-Quarantine Protesters Have Cruelly Co-opted an Enslaved Black Woman from the 18th CenturyThis Giant Monument to Elon Musk Has Tulsa Residents FuriousThere's also a prevailing idea that most restaurants cannot afford to pay even the minimum wage, let alone a living wage, and if they did, they would have to lay off many workers. Waging Change goes to small, local restaurants around the country to show that living wage structures and even co-ops (in which the workers own the business) are possible and in fact can improve business. It's also telling that many of the restaurants with the worst wages and practices are the huge chains, from IHOP to McDonald's to TGI Friday's. Even high-end restaurants that charge in the hundreds for a single meal have settled lawsuits for wage theft and other unfair labor practices. In many cases, the problem is at best incompetent management and at worst, greed. The One Fair Wage movement, which has been backed by bartender-turned-congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also aims to address the rampant sexual harassment and abuse that the tipped minimum wage structure doesn't simply exacerbate, but provides the foundation for. If servers and bartenders have to make tips to make rent, then they're especially vulnerable to abuse. According to 20 years of government data reported by BuzzFeed in 2017, more sexual harassment claims are filed in the restaurant industry than in any other industry. And according to a survey by Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC), the labor organization prominently featured in Waging Change, 60 percent of women report that they have experienced some form of sexual harassment on the job, and over half say they experience it on a daily basis. This same study also reports that "one-fifth of women working in the restaurant industry live below the poverty line, and nearly one-half (46%) live below twice the poverty line, compared to 40% of men in the restaurant industry and 20% of women in other industries." One strategy proposed—beyond the organizing that restaurant workers do with ROC and other organizations to spur legislative change—is to vote with your wallet, to only patronize business that pay workers a living wage both in the front and back of house (racism in the restaurant industry is also rampant, with bussers, dishwashers, and prep cooks often being black and brown, and servers, hosts, and bartenders usually being white). But voting with your wallet often means relying on restaurant marketing to "know" who is treating their workers fairly; now that touting fair labor practices—like "sustainability" in the fashion industry—is trendy, it's hard to know who is just talking the talk. In fact, supporting labor organizations, unions, and campaigns run by restaurant workers themselves is often the most direct way to either vote with your wallet or actions. (You'd also do well to tip in cash, a more reliable way to ensure your server and other workers in the restaurant actually get your tip, and quickly.)Waging Change addresses the curveball thrown by coronavirus on the gains made by the One Fair Wage and $15 minimum wage movements, since many restaurant workers have been furloughed or laid off due to restaurant shutdowns. The documentary points out that are relief funds for those workers ineligible for unemployment insurance (because, cruelly enough, they earn too little to qualify), and as inequity in the U.S. is sharply revealed through this crisis, workers are still protesting for fair wages, including hazard pay and sick leave.But what coronavirus has made clear is how unnecessary worker vulnerability is. In many other countries, robust social safety nets—with free health care, well-appointed public housing, free university, free childcare, and more—mean that even in hard times, workers can still pay the bills and businesses are more incentivized to provide good compensation and working conditions to retain staff (the reality, however, is usually much different for "unskilled" immigrant workers, who are not often provided social benefits no matter where they go). But in the U.S., where business lobbies like the other NRA hold enormous power and regular people are dependent on whatever wages these businesses decide to hand out—anything that might compromise this precarious arrangement, even when it's as justified as public health protocol, compromises us. As a result, social welfare is looked down upon, and both local and federal governments typically do all they can to make those benefits hard to receive and insufficient for a decent quality of life. To wage change, we'll also have to look beyond the wage itself. 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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| Honduran prison brawl leaves six dead, two injured Posted: 24 May 2020 09:07 AM PDT |
| New York's one-day coronavirus death toll drops below 100 Posted: 24 May 2020 10:11 AM PDT  "Eighty-four is still a tragedy, no doubt," he said. "But the fact that it's down as low as it is is really, overall, good news."
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| In the largest-ever study of coronavirus cases outside China, 26% of patients died. Their symptoms came in 'clusters.' Posted: 23 May 2020 09:53 AM PDT  A study of over 20,000 coronavirus patients in the UK revealed that obesity may be a risk factor, and patients appeared with "clusters of symptoms."
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| Suffolk County police set identify one of Gilgo Beach victims Posted: 23 May 2020 07:13 AM PDT  Suffolk County police say they've positively identified a victim nicknamed Jane Doe number six in the nearly decade-old Gilgo Beach murders.
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| Brazil surges to second in coronavirus cases worldwide Posted: 22 May 2020 06:09 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazil overtook Russia Friday as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections worldwide behind the United States, as the Americas emerged as a new epicenter of the pandemic. The South American country has now registered 330,890 infections and 21,048 deaths from the new coronavirus, though experts say under-testing means the real figures may be 15 times higher or more. Brazil's death toll rose by 1,001 in 24 hours, the third time in four days it has come in over 1,000.
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| Asia Today: 6 million Australians download virus tracing app Posted: 23 May 2020 05:37 PM PDT  Six million Australians have downloaded a smartphone app that helps health authorities trace coronavirus infections, officials said Sunday. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the COVIDSafe app is playing a strong role in Australia's response to the pandemic and that several countries have expressed interest in learning from its positive impacts. The government has said at least 40% of Australia's 26 million people need to use the app for it to be effective.
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| Two dead in severe storms in Carolinas; thousands without power Posted: 23 May 2020 11:04 AM PDT  A man in Charlotte, North Carolina, died when a tree crashed into his home, and in Lancaster County, South Carolina, a utility pole and tree fell on a driver's truck, killing him.
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| Barack Obama poised to add his star appeal to Joe Biden's campaign Posted: 23 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The former president, the most popular politician in America with a huge social media following, can bolster the Democratic nominee with key groups and drive voter registrationFormer president Barack Obama has dipped his toes into the 2020 presidential campaign recently and is positioned to do more in the coming months as Joe Biden's effort to defeat Donald Trump gathers steam.Interviews with about a dozen Democratic strategists, officials and people close to Obama indicated members of the party want the popular former president to use his powerful online presence and focus on rallying key Democrat constituencies that are critical to a Biden victory.Obama is regarded as one of the most popular figures in American politics and a huge asset within the Democratic party. He left the White House with a near-60% approval rating. His endorsement for any candidate is the political campaign equivalent of an oilman and hitting a gusher.Obama would be most effective, interviewees said, in highlighting his former vice-president's résumé, rallying key Democratic groups like African American women, and pushing voters to register.The situation is unique. There hasn't been a popular former two-term president eager to hit the trail for his former running mate for years. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic limits in-person campaigning and rallies. Still, the strategists interviewed say Obama is valuable and should be used everywhere."You rarely have a former president that is more popular than the now-sort-of-nominee," Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher said. "Barack Obama is the most popular political figure in America right now."Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior adviser to Obama during his time in the White House, said Obama is "committed to helping Vice-President Biden in any way the Biden campaign thinks is helpful. The pandemic is forcing everyone to be more creative since the conventional ways of doing business, including campaigning, are not possible."Obama has a robust social media presence with millions of Twitter followers, and Jarrett pointed to Obama's endorsement of Biden, which took the form of an online video now that campaign rallies have become a thing of the pre-pandemic past."I think you can tell from the video that he rolled out with his endorsement, one very useful platform is President Obama's social media platform where he has more followers than any other politician by far."According to a Democratic strategist familiar with Obama's thinking, the former president is eager to campaign for Democrats "up and down the ballot" in 2020. He plans to follow the lead of the Biden campaign as well as that of the main Democratic campaign arms – the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other umbrella organizations.Obama was an active surrogate to boost Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections but since then has taken a more restrained approach to the national spotlight. He has only waded into current politics a few times and mostly on an indirect basis.Most recently, though, he delivered a commencement speech for college graduates where he said the coronavirus pandemic had "finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing". Obama didn't mention Trump by name but the speech was widely regarded as a direct allusion to the president. It could also herald what Obama's public appearances in the final months of the 2020 presidential campaign would be like.Separately, during a closed event with thousands of supporters and Obama alumni, the former president warned that the justice department's decision to drop charges against the former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn put the rule of law at risk.Campaign veterans and strategists say Obama is useful less as an attack dog going head to head with Trump and more as someone who highlights a positive vision of why voters should elect Biden."To me, Obama is the world's best character witness," said Teddy Goff, who was digital director for Obama's second presidential campaign. "Yeah, he can make the case that Trump is bad. He can certainly validate the case for Biden's policies. But essentially he's the most popular political figure on planet Earth and the one guy he entrusted with the single most important appointment of his life was Joe Biden."But Obama could also persuade more people to vote.Meg Ansara, who was national regional director for Obama's first presidential campaign and more recently battleground states director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, said one of the key priorities, especially in this environment, is voter registration."I think voter registration is a huge place," Ansara said, adding that persuading undecided voters is important for someone like Obama as well. "I'm a big believer that you need to do both in the bulk of these battleground states."There have been moments during the last three years when Democrats had wondered why Obama didn't speak out more against Trump or weigh in more during the Democratic primary. That's actually an asset now and adds weight to when Obama does speak out, said Guy Cecil, who runs the Priorities USA Super Pac."I think in some respects the Biden campaign benefits from the fact that Obama has not spent three and a half years in the political limelight, attacking the president, attacking the administration, engaging in a back-and-forth with [Trump]," Cecil said. Corey Platt, a veteran Democratic strategist and campaign manager, said that Obama and Biden have done a good job of appearing together so far and he should keep doing that rather than just focusing on going head-to-head with Trump."I think he if continues to remind people about competency and progress under his administration it will make people feel good about Biden, change and sanity. If he engages Trump I think that could backfire," Platt said. "He can help articulate Biden's vision for what happens next year and promote confidence in getting through this crisis together."
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| Iranian fuel starts arriving in Venezuelan waters despite U.S. warning Posted: 23 May 2020 05:47 AM PDT  The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the South American country's exclusive economic zone on Saturday, despite a U.S. official's warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment. "The ships from the fraternal Islamic Republic of Iran are now in our exclusive economic zone," tweeted Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela's economy vice president and recently named oil minister. The defense minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
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| Outbreak at Washington food plant puts halt to reopening plan Posted: 23 May 2020 08:33 PM PDT  According to Clark County Public Health, 38 workers at Firestone Pacific Foods in Vancouver have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.
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| Defiant protesters chanting 'liberate Hong Kong' flood the streets to oppose China's grab for control Posted: 24 May 2020 02:36 AM PDT  Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands protesting on Sunday, against Beijing's plan to directly impose security laws.
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| Coronavirus outbreak: Caribbean tourism struggles as visitors stay home Posted: 24 May 2020 05:11 PM PDT  Tourism is vital to the Caribbean but visitors are absent amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Spain to reopen to international tourists, Madrid locals welcome lockdown easing Posted: 23 May 2020 06:56 AM PDT 
Residents in Spain's biggest cities are gearing up for an easing in their lockdowns from Monday. People in the capital Madrid and second city Barcelona will be allowed to dine outdoors and have gatherings of up to ten people as infections slow. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT IRENE FERNANDEZ, SAYING: "We all cannot wait to go outside, but we know we must be responsible and behave in a civil manner so I think it will be great." Spain started phasing out one of Europe's toughest lockdowns earlier this month. But full restrictions had remained in Madrid and Barcelona where the outbreaks were more severe. In other regions, which account for about half of Spain's population, the lockdown restrictions will be relaxed even further. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday the country will open to international tourism from July. Summer tourism is a major earner here, as well as in Greece and Italy, whose picturesque Amalfi coast is preparing for the possibility of tourists post-lockdown. Italy was one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Lockdown measures are easing there but Italians are still not allowed to travel outside their region and foreign travel has ground to a halt.
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| As nation approaches 100,000 dead, NY continues downtrend Posted: 24 May 2020 09:24 AM PDT  The daily coronavirus death toll increased slightly though the trend continues down, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. Cuomo said the state was now "decidedly in the reopening phase." The latest tally from Cuomo came as the nation's death toll from the coronavirus was approaching 100,000 on the eve of Memorial Day.
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| COVID-19 is costing drug cartels millions Posted: 24 May 2020 04:13 AM PDT  Statewide lockdown orders have disrupted the traffickers' operations, making it more difficult to launder money and move cash across the border.
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| Democratic VP contender Demings slams Trump 'gall' over Biden black voters gaffe Posted: 24 May 2020 10:40 AM PDT  * Congresswoman offers glimpse of running mate role * Opinion: Black Americans are in an abusive relationship * US politics live – rolling reportVal Demings, a Democratic representative from Florida among contenders to be Joe Biden's presidential running mate, has castigated Donald Trump for having the "gall and nerve" to use a gaffe by Biden as a weapon on the campaign trail.Biden apologised on Friday, for saying that if African Americans "have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black".The remark prompted gleeful tweets from Trump, fierce attacks from supporters of the president and criticism from Biden's own backers."The vice-president shouldn't have said it," Demings told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday."But I really think the gall and the nerve of President Trump to try to use this in his campaign, he who has since day one done everything in his power, supported by his enablers, to divide this country, particularly along racial lines …"Look, let's talk about race because we definitely need to, we see it in housing, we see it in voting rights, we see it in healthcare, we see it in education. Mr President, let's do have a serious conversation about race in America and how about working for all people that you are supposed to represent, not just the privileged few."It was the kind of fiery defence Biden would expect from someone talked about as a possible running mate.The former vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee to face Trump in November has committed to choosing a woman. Many – including the interviewer who elicited the controversial comment on Friday, radio host Charlamagne tha God – think the running mate should also be African American."I don't even care about the words," Charlamagne told MSNBC's AM Joy on Sunday, "and the lip service and the apology is cool, but the best apology is actually a black agenda. They got to make some real policy commitments to black people."California senator Kamala Harris and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams – a target of retweets in dubious taste from Trump on Saturday night – are thought to be the most likely running mate picks.But Demings, a former Orlando police chief, delivered a decent mini-audition for a traditional running mate role by going firmly on the offensive.Asked about expressions of outrage from the Republican South Carolina senator Tim Scott and former Utah representative Mia Love, Demings said: "I think it's interesting that the president searched high and low to find [an] African American member of the Senate and a former member of Congress to speak out on this issue."It'd be nice to hear other Republicans, male or female, speak out."In fact many did, including former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is of Indian heritage and who many think is lining up a White House run of her own in 2024, or could even be considered as a replacement for Mike Pence as Trump's own pick for VP.Haley called Biden's remark "gut wrenchingly condescending"."Regardless of color, gender, or class, to label any individual with what he or she is expected to think, believe, and vote is demeaning and disrespectful," she said. "Not to mention arrogant and entitled."On Sunday, CNN host Dana Bash asked directly if Demings wanted to be vice-president. She did not answer directly, but made it clear she would serve if asked.
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| The coronavirus pandemic forced my friends and me to celebrate Eid in isolation, but we found unexpected joy from rethinking how we worship and reach out to others Posted: 23 May 2020 08:36 AM PDT  "Eid this year in simple words has challenged Muslims to be creative in the way we approach and celebrate it this year," Yasmine said
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| U.S. CDC reports total of 1,595,885 coronavirus cases, 96,002 deaths Posted: 23 May 2020 11:25 AM PDT  The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 22, compared with its count a day earlier. The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
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| Why minority business owners are struggling with PPP loans Posted: 23 May 2020 03:04 AM PDT  Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith joined "CBS This Morning" to talk about why minority-owned businesses have been struggling with the government's PPP loan program.
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| A Nike warehouse reportedly denied a Tennessee health official access to its facility after a worker died of COVID-19 Posted: 23 May 2020 12:20 PM PDT  A temporary worker employed by Adecco at the Nike facility died after contracting COVID-19, according to ProPublica.
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