| Media can't fall into 'opposition party' trap in covering Trump, argues White House reporter Jonathan Karl Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, writes in his new book that President Trump is waging "an assault on truth," but also details the ways in which the celebrity star turned commander in chief strategically baits the press into personal grudge matches that undercut the credibility of the media.
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| Coronavirus conspiracy theories make Fauci the villain, because someone has to be Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Dr. Anthony Fauci has emerged as the latest target in the vast web of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories that have been circulating on social media.
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| Ignorance, fear, whispers: North Korean defectors say contacts in the dark about Kim Posted: 28 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Defectors from North Korea say many of their relatives and contacts were unaware of the international speculation over leader Kim Jong Un's health or were unwilling to discuss the issue in clandestine calls made from the South. Two defectors told Reuters their relatives in North Korea did not know that Kim has been missing from public view for almost two weeks, said they didn't want to discuss the issue, or abruptly hung up when the supreme leader was mentioned. Kim's health is a state secret in insular North Korea and speculation about him or his family can invite swift retribution.
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| Stacey Abrams on Tara Reade Allegation: Biden ‘Will Make Women Proud as President’ Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:16 AM PDT  Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Tuesday said she backed Joe Biden despite new allegations of sexual assault against the former vice president."I believe women deserve to be heard, and I believe that has happened here," Abrams told the Huffington Post. "The allegations have been heard and looked into, and for too many women, often, that is not the case. The New York Times conducted a thorough investigation, and nothing in the Times review or any other later reports suggests anything other than what I already know about Joe Biden: That he will make women proud as the next President of the United States."Abrams has been lobbying to be Biden's pick for vice president, declaring her intentions publicly and, before Biden's presumptive victory, meeting with Democratic candidates privately regarding the position.Biden accuser Tara Reade, who alleges Biden assaulted her in Spring 1993 when she worked in his former Senate office, told National Review that she was disappointed in the Democratic response to her allegations."I was just hoping to get a fair and equal treatment," Reade said, "but because it's Joe Biden I've been silenced or smeared."A former neighbor of Reade come out in support of her account, telling Business Insider that Reade described the ordeal to her in detail in 1995 when they were neighbors. The Biden campaign has vehemently denied Reade's allegations but the candidate himself has yet to weigh in. Biden on Tuesday held a virtual town hall on women's issues with Hillary Clinton, who gave him her endorsement.Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) on Tuesday also said she backed the former vice president. Gillibrand in 2018 called for an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh."I stand by [former] vice president Biden," Gillibrand told reporters during a conference call. "He's devoted his life to supporting women and he has vehemently denied this allegation."
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| 'Survival': Tenants, landlords brace for largest rent strike in decades Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:05 PM PDT  "If banks are getting bailed out and corporations are getting bailed out, why aren't poor people getting bailed out?" one activist asked.
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| Infectious disease expert warns people are treating coronavirus models 'too seriously' Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:35 AM PDT  You've probably noticed that graphs and charts are having a moment during the coronavirus pandemic. Governments are using them to make informed decisions about when to re-open economies, and they pop up daily to present people around the world with a look at how the pandemic is trending. But some would argue people are putting a little too much stock in models without accounting for their potential pitfalls.Carl Bergstrom, an expert on both emerging infectious diseases and networked misinformation from the University of Washington, told The Guardian in an interview he doesn't think people have done a good job of "thinking about what the purpose of models are, how the purposes of different models vary, and then what the scope of their value is." That's led people to over-rely on them and "treat them too seriously," and when reality eventually differs from the projections, models tend to get criticized "for not being perfect at everything."Bergstrom's point is that science, especially in fast moving scenarios like the pandemic, is "provisional" and "can be corrected." He believes researchers can improve at communicating that point by "deliberately stressing the possible weaknesses of our interpretations." A really good paper, he said, will lay out all the reasons why it could be wrong. Read more at The Guardian.More stories from theweek.com How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden The perils of Hooverism This visualization shows how droplets from a single cough can infect an entire airplane
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| Trump urges states to consider reopening schools before end of academic year Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:32 AM PDT  President Trump suggested Monday in a call with governors that states "seriously consider" reopening schools before summer.
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| Footage shows Chicago police shooting unarmed man twice on subway escalator Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability have shown the moment Chicago police shot an unarmed man twice at a subway station.The footage from the Chicago Transit Authority and police body-cams demonstrate in detail how the shooting of Ariel Roman took place on 28 February after he was pulled up for violating a city ordinance.
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| New York reportedly paid $69 million for ventilators to an engineer with no background in medical supplies at the recommendation of the White House coronavirus task force Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:52 PM PDT  New York has since terminated its contract with the man and is working to recover its money.
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| Myanmar's Military May Be Committing War Crimes While the World Is Distracted by Coronavirus, Says U.N. Rights Expert Posted: 29 Apr 2020 03:29 AM PDT  She says the Myanmar military is using the distraction of COVID-19 to escalate attacks on civilians
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| 20+ Cocktails To Celebrate Moms Everywhere Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT |
| Russia flies nuclear-capable bombers over Baltic Sea in training exercise Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:27 AM PDT |
| U.S. forces surprise Holocaust survivor, play Israeli national anthem via Zoom Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:23 AM PDT  "The most important thing in life is life itself," Holocaust survivor Abba Naor told NBC News.
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| Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez partner to block major mergers during coronavirus pandemic Posted: 28 Apr 2020 06:54 AM PDT  Two progressive powerhouses are teaming up to elevate a big piece of their platform during the coronavirus crisis.Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are working on a bill that would halt major mergers and acquisitions until the financial crisis stemming from COVID-19 comes to an end, NBC News reports via a summary of the act. The Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act falls in line with Warren's former presidential platform, and will perhaps bring the big-business breakup conversation back into focus as former Vice President Joe Biden gets closer to securing the Democratic nomination.The act would affect businesses with more than $100 million in revenue or financial firms with market capitalization of more than $100 million, as well as private equity companies and hedge funds, NBC News reports. Companies with exclusive patents on products considered essential during the crisis, such as personal protection equipment, will also be subject to the proposal. Mergers can resume once the FTC "determines that small businesses, workers, and consumers are no longer under severe financial distress," the act says.Warren said the act was necessary as small businesses struggle to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Large companies and private equity vultures are circling for a chance to gobble up these small businesses and increase their already immense economic power," Warren said in a statement to NBC News. Ocasio-Cortez similarly cited "decades-long consequences" that will arise if big companies get bigger, saying "with less competition, the whole country will see job loss and higher costs for consumers."The duo plans to unveil the bill on Tuesday, though it a faces tough reception in the GOP-led Senate.More stories from theweek.com Scientists are perplexed by the low rate of coronavirus hospitalizations among smokers. Nicotine may hold the answer. How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden 8 in 10 Americans oppose dining out, reopening schools without more coronavirus testing
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| Hundreds at funeral spark NYPD response and mayor warning Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:35 AM PDT  Hundreds of people gathered in Brooklyn Tuesday evening for a rabbi's funeral, sparking a stern warning for New York City's mayor.
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| American cruise workers denied disembarkation: 'Treating us like disease vectors instead of humans' Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:54 PM PDT  Melinda Mann is one of nine American crew members on Holland America's MS Oosterdam. She says the CDC barred them from disembarking in L.A.
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| US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist Posted: 28 Apr 2020 11:02 PM PDT  A US government panel on Tuesday called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a "drastic" downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally. In an annual report, the bipartisan panel narrowly agreed that India should join the ranks of "countries of particular concern" that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.
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| China Accuses U.S. Politicians of Telling ‘Barefaced Lies’ about Beijing’s Coronavirus Response Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:23 AM PDT  The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday accused U.S. politicians of telling "barefaced lies" regarding China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, after President Trump suggested that the U.S. might seek damages from China because of the outbreak."American politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling barefaced lies," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press conference. "They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures, and divert public attention."U.S, politicians should "reflect on their own problems and find ways to contain the outbreak as quickly as possible," Geng added.President Trump, who initially praised Beijing's handling of the virus, on Monday said the U.S. could seek to hold China "accountable" for the outbreak."We are not happy with China," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We are not happy with that whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source."The coronavirus has infected at least 3,000,000 people worldwide since it originated in Wuhan, China. According to one study, China could have prevented or at least slowed a wider outbreak of coronavirus if it had quarantined at-risk populations several weeks earlier.U.S. officials have proposed various strategies to compel China to compensate Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic, whether through infection or loss of work due to business closures. Last week, Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt announced that his office would sue China for damages to state residents."I think as people take a look at the complaint, I wouldn't be surprised at all if other states follow suit," Schmitt told National Review.
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| Cuomo on McConnell: 'We bail them out every year' Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:25 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during his Wednesday press briefing.
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| German doctors are nakedly protesting PPE shortages to show how vulnerable they are without protection Posted: 28 Apr 2020 03:59 PM PDT  One of the doctors, named Ruben Bernau, told a German magazine for doctors: "The nudity is a symbol of how vulnerable we are without protection."
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| U.S. coronavirus outbreak soon to be deadlier than any flu since 1967 as deaths top 60,000 Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:54 PM PDT  America's worst flu season in recent years was in 2017-2018 when more than 61,000 people died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/past-seasons.html. The United States has the world's highest coronavirus death toll and a daily average of 2,000 people died in April of the highly contagious respiratory illness COVID-19, according to a Reuters tally. The first U.S. death was recorded on Feb. 29 but recent testing in California indicates the first death might have been on Feb. 6, with the virus circulating weeks earlier than previously thought.
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| Class action suit aims to free all transgender ICE detainees Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:49 PM PDT  As hundreds of coronavirus cases are reported at U.S. immigration facilities, the suit calls for the release of dozens of trans migrants from what it calls ICE "death traps."
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| Why Have Women’s Groups Gone Dead Silent on Biden Sex-Assault Accusation? Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:44 AM PDT  Women's groups and prominent feminist figures have remained almost universally silent over a former staffer's accusation of sexual misconduct against former Vice President Joe Biden—including those individuals and groups who came to express regret for how the Democratic Party handled similar accusations made against President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.The collective non-response from mostly Democrat-aligned groups comes as potential female running mates struggle themselves in responding to the Biden allegation, which has the potential to upend his campaign against President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women in alleged incidents spanning decades. And it echoes the division among progressives when the MeToo movement revived scrutiny of Clinton's own alleged sexual misconduct.The Daily Beast contacted 10 top national pro-women organizations for this story, including Emily's List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Organization for Women. Most organizations did not respond to a detailed request for comment about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Biden's Senate office who has accused the former vice president of forcibly penetrating her with his fingers in the early 1990s. Others replied and did not provide a statement. One prominent women's political group cited a scheduling conflict and asked to be kept "in mind for other opportunities!" When pressed if the following day would work better, an associate said it would not, citing another scheduling conflict. The near-total lack of acknowledgement from nearly a dozen leading pro-women organizations comes as new corroboration has emerged with respect to the allegation, which the Biden campaign has categorically denied. Neither the Biden campaign nor Reade responded to requests from The Daily Beast for comment Tuesday. It also is taking place as prominent elected women in the Democratic Party rally to Biden's side. On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton became the latest to offer her endorsement of Biden's candidacy—a symbolic passing of the torch from one presidential candidate to another, but a moment that also served as a reminder of moments in recent party history when accusers were almost uniformly dismissed.In 2017, attorney Patricia Ireland, who served as president of the National Organization for Women for the entirety of the Clinton administration, told The Washington Post that she wished she had "done more to be supportive" of Paula Jones, the former Arkansas state employee who alleges that Bill Clinton sexually harassed her during his time as governor."For Paula Jones, there were nice distinctions that people made: She didn't work for him, he didn't have the power to hire or fire her," Ireland said at the time. "But that ignores the reality that he was a very powerful man."During the same period, feminist icon Gloria Steinem told The Guardian that she regretted some parts of her aggressive defense of Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, including a New York Times op-ed in which she dismissed accusations of sexual misconduct against the president. "Even if the allegations are true," Steinem wrote in the 1998 op-ed, "the president is not guilty of sexual harassment. He is accused of having made a gross, dumb and reckless pass. President Clinton took 'no' for an answer."Steinem told the Guardian that "I wouldn't write the same thing now because there's probably more known about other women now. I'm not sure… What you write in one decade you don't necessarily write in the next."But neither Ireland nor Steinem responded to a request for comment about Reade's accusations against Biden. Bill Clinton has long denied Jones' claims, settling a lawsuit she filed in 1998 for $850,000 with no apology or admission of wrongdoing.Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Reade accused Hillary Clinton of "enabling a sexual predator.""Hillary Clinton has a history of enabling powerful men to cover up their sexual predatory behaviors and their inappropriate sexual misconduct," Reade said in response to Clinton's endorsement. "We don't need that for this country. We don't need that for our new generation coming up that wants institutional rape culture to change."Reade first accused Biden of digitally penetrating her in a podcast interview with journalist Katie Halper in March. Two other people, including Reade's brother and a friend who has remained anonymous, told various outlets that Reade had told them about certain aspects of the alleged assault and her subsequent dismissal from Biden's office over the years.On Monday, Business Insider quoted a former neighbor of Reade's recounting that the ex-staffer had disclosed details of the alleged assault when she lived next door to her in the mid-1990s. "This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it," Lynda LaCasse, Reade's former neighbor, told the outlet.On April 24, Reade told The Intercept that her mother called into Larry King's cable-news program to discuss "problems" her daughter experienced with a prominent lawmaker in 1993. In the episode, a caller from San Luis Obispo, California—where property records indicate Reade's mother lived at the time—asked the host "what a staffer might do besides go to the press in Washington.""My daughter has just left there after working for a prominent senator and could not get through with her problems at all," the caller said. "The only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him." Reade said on Twitter that it was her mother's voice. "This is my mom. I miss her so much and her brave support of me."Biden's defenders have argued that Reade's story has changed over time—she previously had said only that she felt Biden had inappropriately touched her and made her feel uncomfortable. But sexual-assault victims' advocates have noted that its common for victims to hold back on details as they recount their traumatic experiences. Various aides to Biden have said they have no recollection of any assault incident happening. And Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement this month that "this absolutely did not happen," and that "Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women." Bedingfield added: "He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard—and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: It is untrue."Over the past several days, the Biden campaign has signaled that it is paying additional attention to issues that disproportionately affect women. On Monday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), one of the contenders thought to be on Biden's shortlist of potential running mates, was a guest on a virtual town hall with black leaders on coronavirus' impact on women of color. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), another possible running mate and former Biden rival, was also featured in a virtual forum addressing similar women's focused issues late last week. On Tuesday, in introducing Clinton during a virtual town hall, Biden declared she is "the woman who should be president of the United States right now.""I want to add my voice to the many who have endorsed you," Clinton said during the event to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women. "This is a moment where we need a leader, a president, like Joe Biden." Biden, she said, has been "preparing for this moment his entire life." The former vice president reciprocated by saying it was a "wonderful personal endorsement." On Monday, in offering her own backing, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called him a "partner for progress in the White House." Four years ago, women's groups threw their weight behind Clinton's historic campaign as the Democratic Party's first female nominee. But they remained largely out of the primary in 2020, when an unprecedented number of women campaigned with that similar goal in mind. Still, some groups haven't been shy about criticizing parts of Biden's past record relating to women.In the early stages of Biden's campaign, Planned Parenthood Action Fund took issue with a position he previously held around support for the Hyde Amendment, a provision that sought to restrict the use of federal money for abortion. In June 2019, the group's executive director specifically called out Biden by name, reminding him that "the Democratic Party platform is crystal-clear" around repealing Hyde. Biden later denounced his support of the amendment. Now, as Biden faces a sexual-assault allegation as the presumptive nominee, his past record and prominent female defenders are facing a new round of scrutiny. In particular, the decision to select a female running mate delighted many party activists and women's rights advocates when Biden announced it in March, but is taking on a new form as the Reade allegation receives additional corroboration. Already, potential nominees are having to answer questions about the allegation. The Daily Beast recently contacted the most prominent figures thought to be considered as possible contenders about Reade's claim, including Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.Among the seven Democratic women's offices reached, only Abrams commented, telling The Daily Beast that "women have the right to be heard" and adding, in part, that "nothing in the Times review suggests anything other than what I already knew: That Joe Biden is a man of highest integrity who will make all women proud as our next president." 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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| Kentucky's governor apologized to a man named Tupac Shakur after he accused him of using a fake name to file for unemployment Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:12 PM PDT  Gov. Andy Beshear called out a man named Tupac Shakur as using a fake name to reap state benefits, but Shakur is a real person living in Kentucky.
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| Inmate who gave birth on ventilator dies of Covid-19 Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:13 AM PDT  The 30-year-old appears to be the the first US federal female prisoner to die from coronavirus.
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| What happened to Carole Baskin's last husband? Reporter works to solve 'Tiger King' mystery Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:30 AM PDT  Jerry Mitchell, central to reopening long-unsolved murders from the civil rights era, saw amid the "Tiger King" lunacy an unsolved homicide.
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| Trump news: President claims US doing ‘sooo much better on testing’ than any other country as coronavirus cases pass 1m and death toll surpasses Vietnam War Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:37 AM PDT  Donald Trump declared, without evidence, that the US is "doing sooo much better than any other country in the world" in testing for coronavirus after pledging at the White House that America would "soon" have the capacity to test 5m people per day.But on Wednesday, less than 24 hours later, he falsely claimed that he never said the US would be testing at that rate.
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| Romania: Orthodox Church blasts posters of doctors as saints Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:39 PM PDT  Romania's Orthodox Church on Wednesday criticized a billboard campaign showing doctors dealing with the coronavirus epidemic as saints with halos shaped like the virus. According to a church spokesman, the "blasphemous" campaign created by international advertising agency McCann Worldgroup in conjunction with local artist Wanda Hutira is "a visual abuse of Christian iconography." The campaign is "marked by bad taste fed by ignorance and a hideous ideology that only knows how to caricaturize Christianity," said spokesman Vasile Banescu.
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| This visualization shows how droplets from a single cough can infect an entire airplane Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:55 AM PDT  The coronavirus pandemic has likely turned people off from air travel for a bit, and this visualization produced by Purdue University probably won't change their minds.The motion graphic shows the aftermath of just a single cough on an airplane, with tiny invisible droplets dispersing widely throughout the cabin, potentially infecting a large number of fellow travelers. That's not a pleasant thought, even in non-pandemic times.> Well, the Washington Post's story about how droplets spread on airplanes wins the award for "gif most likely to give me nightmares FOREVER" https://t.co/vwW3w1Ti3v pic.twitter.com/tQSLMRufN1> > — damned sinker (@dansinker) April 28, 2020(Qingyan Chen, Purdue University School of Mechanical Engineering)It's not exactly news that airplanes pose a risk for getting sick since folks are in close quarters for hours at a time, and developments to combat the spread of viruses are well underway. That might not be comforting right now, but researchers believe breakthroughs are possible, The Washington Post reports. One solution may be ultraviolet lights that can destroy viruses and not harm humans — they're being tested by Columbia University. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden Report: Trump incensed by internal polling that shows him losing to Biden The perils of Hooverism
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| New York's Cuomo calls politics 'hammer into the middle' of U.S. during pandemic Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Cuomo's wide-ranging remarks also criticized what he called the "extraordinarily dangerous" politicization of the response to a pandemic that has killed more than 58,000 Americans and left millions jobless. The Democratic governor, who has intermittently traded barbs with U.S. President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians during the crisis, made a thinly veiled reference to the upcoming national election in November. Cuomo, who previously blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's suggestion that states like New York should be able to declare bankruptcy if financially crippled by the crisis, took fresh aim at Florida Senator Rick Scott.
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| Former NAACP head wins special election to fill late Elijah Cummings' seat Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:35 AM PDT  Mfume, 71, was the former head of the NAACP and represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District from 1987 to 1996.
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| US Navy ship sails through Chinese-claimed waters in South China Sea Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:07 AM PDT  A US Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed through waters near the Paracel islands in the South China Sea challenging China's claim to the area, the Navy said Wednesday. The USS Barry undertook the so-called "freedom of navigation operation" on Tuesday, a week after Beijing upped its claims to the region by designating an official administrative district for the islands. "Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," it said.
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| Coronavirus: Top NYC doctor takes her own life Posted: 28 Apr 2020 12:50 PM PDT  The father of 49-year-old Dr Lorna Breen says: "She tried to do her job and it killed her."
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| New York City Mayor de Blasio singles out the city's Jewish community for flouting coronavirus rules and said cops will start arresting people gathered in large groups Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:35 PM PDT  Though some members of the Hasidic community have disregarded lockdown rules, New York's large Jewish population has followed coronavirus measures.
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| New Zealand health official claims 'elimination' of coronavirus as new cases hit single digits Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:53 AM PDT  New Zealand's top health official said that the country has "achieved our goal of elimination" of coronavirus as the country eased its lockdown.
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| Company says drug was effective against COVID-19 in U.S. study Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:18 AM PDT  A biotech company says its experimental drug has proven effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test.
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| Elon Musk, who predicted 'close to zero' new coronavirus cases by the end of April, demands we 'free America' Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:58 AM PDT  Tesla CEO Elon Musk's coronavirus tweets from last month sure haven't aged well, but he's still got even more to confidently declare about the pandemic.Musk on Twitter this week criticized lockdown measures put in place in the United States to slow the spread of COVID-19, demanding in one, "FREE AMERICA NOW." He applauded Texas for its plan to begin reopening the state's economy, and said the U.S. should "reopen with care and appropriate protection, but don't put everyone under de facto house arrest."Musk also replied to a user who claimed the "scariest thing" about the pandemic isn't the coronavirus but seeing Americans willing to give up freedom, to which the Tesla CEO responded, "true."These tweets, as Gizmodo points out, come after Musk previously downplayed the threat of the coronavirus and in March predicted that by the end of April, there would be "close to zero" new coronavirus cases in the United States. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. continues to rise and just passed one million on Tuesday.> Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April> > -- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2020"The coronavirus panic is dumb," Musk also wrote in early March regarding a virus that would go on to kill over 58,000 Americans as of this week, more than were killed in the Vietnam War.Experts have repeatedly warned about the dangers of reopening the economy too quickly, and recent polls have found a majority of Americans are fearful of the U.S. reopening too soon. "If you jump the gun, and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you're going to set yourself back," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently stressed.More stories from theweek.com How Tara Reade's allegations could bring down Joe Biden Report: Trump incensed by internal polling that shows him losing to Biden The perils of Hooverism
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| Costco to require face coverings for shoppers Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:34 AM PDT  Starting Monday, customers will be required to wear masks covering their nose and mouth at all times while inside the store.
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| Democrats dismiss McConnell's 'sad' new coronavirus offer Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:28 AM PDT  Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi took aim at a key demand made by the GOP Senate leader ahead of negotiations on the next relief package.
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| Worker who died was never moved into new role, away from sick inmates Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:48 PM PDT  Robin Grubbs, a caseworker at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, was found dead in her home Tuesday and posthumously tested positive for the virus.
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| Court: Kansas can't require voters to show citizenship proof Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:28 AM PDT  A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that Kansas can't require voters to show proof of citizenship when they register, dealing a blow to efforts by Republicans in several states who have pursued restrictive voting laws as a way of combating voter fraud. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Salt Lake City upheld a federal judge's injunction nearly two years ago that prohibited Kansas from enforcing the requirement, which took effect in 2013. The appeals court, in a ruling that consolidated two appeals, found the statute former Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the "motor-voter law."
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| Florida man is arrested with enough fentanyl to kill 500,000 people, police say Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:13 AM PDT  A Florida man was arrested carrying enough narcotic fentanyl to kill half a million people, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.Investigators searched the Brooksville home of David Gayle, 43, and discovered the man was selling narcotics after they found more than two pounds of the synthetic drug fentanyl and methamphetamine.
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| To Confront China After Coronavirus, We Must See the Bigger Picture Posted: 29 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I n a popular movie two decades ago, hard-eyed criminals released into Sydney a woman infected with a virus, knowing that unsuspecting Australians would catch the highly contagious disease and, traveling on, unwittingly spread death across a hundred homelands. This past winter, the hard-eyed leaders of China did worse. They allowed not one, but thousands of infected to leave China and enter an unsuspecting world, a world lulled by Beijing. The crucial question is: Why?"China caused an enormous amount of pain [and] loss of life . . . by not sharing the information they had," Secretary of State Pompeo said on April 23. America is angry, he added, and while much remains to be known, China "will pay a price."No subpoenas, no oversight committees, no tell-all books will expose President Xi's calculations as the novel coronavirus spread inside China. The unelected of Beijing guard well their secret debates. The CCP knows the virtues of opacity, of letting uncertainty, complacency, and wishful thinking paralyze the West. Exploiting these has been its way.In 2018, a major Trump-administration speech called CCP misdeeds to task. Some, including, notably, Japan's prime minister, applauded. But many nations looked toward their feet, too reluctant, too sophisticated, perhaps too intimidated to bestir. Staggering COVID-19 losses may yet remind the world of the dangers of drift as great powers go astray.Today's American, European, Japanese, and Asian policymakers, like those of centuries past, bear the burdens of judgment. Uncertainty has ever been the statesman's curse. America's famed diplomat, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, has written, "Nations learn only by experience, they 'know' only when it is too late to act. But statesmen must act as if their intuition were already experience. . . ."A reassessment of Xi and the CCP looms. From their actions and practices, from assessments of their motives and apparent long-term aims, today's statesmen, like their forebears, must judge future risks and craft the surest course ahead. These are early days, but the picture of Beijing presented so far is troubling.Even before the virus spread in Wuhan, Xi brooded over a worrying hand. The CCP could not intimidate prolonged protests on the streets of freedom-loving Hong Kong. And the Party's oppression there, in determined violation of treaty commitments, spurred voters in Taiwan to rebuff Beijing's hopes for a more amenable regime in Taipei. The world was finally awakening to Xi's increasingly autocratic surveillance state, his harsh repression of Uighur Muslims, and his predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China's economy, essential to Xi's hold on power, had stumbled, in part because of the Trump administration's move to counter China's unfair, neo-mercantilist practices and to condemn their grim geopolitical implications. Worse yet, America's markets hummed, raising reelection hopes within the Trump administration, which had also surpassed modern predecessors in challenging China. Rumors of Party dissatisfaction with Xi seeped out.COVID-19's outbreak in Wuhan further darkened Xi's prospects. As long as the virus raged primarily inside China -- derailing only her economy, stigmatizing only her government -- his troubles would soar. All the while, the world predictably would have leapt ahead, taking Chinese customers, stealing China's long-sought glory.The disease's spread to Berlin and Paris, New York and Tokyo, improved Xi's prospects, at least in the near term. Pandemic diverted foreign eyes from Hong Kong's and the Uighurs' plight. Desperate needs rendered disease-weakened nations more susceptible to China's goods and BRI's short-term appeal. Asian states, wary of Beijing, had new cause to doubt the commitment of a pandemic-preoccupied Washington, while a weakened economy and vastly increased debts would likely constrain future U.S. defense spending, essential to Asian security. An unpredictable element had entered into America's 2020 election.As events unfolded, might Xi have recognized that COVID-19's leap into the wider world promised such political and geopolitical gains? Some say a desire to protect itself first fed a CCP cover-up, as if putting this before the health of innocents were not bad enough. But were CCP leaders blind, as days passed, to other benefits? It is the Chinese way, the noted French Sinologist François Jullien has written, to exploit the potential inherent in unfolding situations. CCP leaders still study China's legendary strategist, Sun Tzu, who advised centuries ago that if, "in the midst of difficulties, we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune."As the CCP realized the imminent disaster COVID-19 posed inside China, Xi suppressed the world's appreciation of its dangers. By sometime in December, Chinese authorities had learned that a novel, highly infectious coronavirus similar to deadly SARS was on the loose. Yet for weeks PRC authorities, including China' National Health Commission, suppressed inquiries and, directly or through the WHO, misled the world about the risks. When Chinese authorities finally acknowledged human-to-human transmission, the CCP took steps to isolate Wuhan from other parts of China, but continued to permit international travel. After the U.S. on January 31, and later Australia, restricted travelers from China, Beijing's spokesmen, artful and indignant, rose to denounce such acts as ill-founded and ill-intentioned.For days, even weeks, after the CCP first knew of the danger, Chinese authorities and customs officers let tens of thousands of travelers, infected among them, leave China and enter an unwary world. In late January, China extended Lunar New Year celebrations, inviting greater international travel. PRC border guards stamped more exit papers. When America restricted such travelers, Beijing allowed more to leave for less cautious lands.Then, as pandemic gripped the world, the CCP brazenly blamed America for COVID-19. Xi once more preened over his authoritarian "China model's" efficiencies, now cauterizing troubles he denies having caused. In Europe, Beijing postured as a savior offering needed medical supplies -- albeit that its sales favored states where it sought geopolitical gains, often bore high prices, included defective products that could undermine defenses, and drew on CCP surpluses bolstered by January purchases of world supplies at pre-pandemic prices. In Southeast Asia, Beijing proved "relentless in exploiting the pandemic," a respected, former high-level Filipino bemoans, as it pushed its "illegal and expansive" territorial claims. Inside China, the Party seized the moment to round up leaders of Hong Kong's democracy movement and reassert unilateral efforts to curtail the city's special, self-governing status.Even after the virus began to spread inside China, events might have taken a different course. Many had once hoped for better from CCP leaders. Dreams of a mellowing CCP had floated widely among academics and policy elites, perhaps buoyed by the way such illusions avoided, rather than imposed, hard choices. Some yet hold to such views. The benign CCP of their reveries would have alerted others promptly as the novel virus's dangers became known, shared information, welcomed foreign scientists, ceased reckless practices, and guarded against the pandemic's spread.Indeed, under different leadership, China could have followed such a path. Traditions of humane governance, venerable and Confucian, are not alien to that land. China's ancient text, the Tao-te Ching, favors just such a response:> A great nation is like a man:> > When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.> > Having realized, he admits it.> > Having admitted it, he corrects it.> > He considers those who point out his faults> > As his most benevolent teachers.The learned will debate how much such leadership would have eased the wider world's suffering. Metrics and estimates will vary, but the consensus will be clear enough: The harm would have decreased manyfold.Such openness and grace have not been Xi's way. As he built up islets in the South China Sea, he promised never to militarize them, then dishonored his promise, disregarded international rulings, and dispatched ships in packs to intimidate neighboring states and expand Beijing's writ. Pledging to protect intellectual property, he enabled ongoing theft and coercion, ineluctably undermining industries of the advanced democracies, and then pressed forward on China's newly gained advantages. His BRI professes to aid, then exploits poor countries' weaknesses. Citing the betterment of all in the cause of greater China, he has imprisoned Uighurs, undermined Tibetan culture, and threatened the peaceful regional order that had enabled China's rise. He violates treaty commitments to curb Hong Kong's freedoms. Behind an anti-corruption façade, his prosecutors ruined scores of his rivals, as he consolidated and extended his personal powers. These wrongs he continues still. Xi's are not the ways of grace and remorse.An angry narrative drives this man. Under his hand, the CCP highlights Chinese suffering and humiliation roughly a century ago under Western and Japanese imperialists, while eliding the democratic world's helping hand and Japan's benign democracy over four generations since. He slides past the Chinese millions massacred in the intervening decades by the CCP and Mao -- China's legendary leader who spread cruelty and death as he judged useful. In imitation of Mao, Xi has issued his own "little red book" of wisdom. Mao's iconic image looms over Tiananmen still. Coveting Mao's autocratic power, Xi strove and won it; now he dare not let it go.The bitter recall of ancient Chinese glories; resentment of past humiliations; insecurity bred by corruption and illegitimacy; disdain, even hatred of America's easy ways -- these are the pathogens coursing through Xi's circle. A fever for Chinese primacy burns among them. For a time, they might pander to a Western-inspired, rules-based order, a liberal conceit; but this is not their dream. A historic economic rise, technological mastery, a rapidly expanding navy, all causes to be proud of, have freed them to be brazen. Xi now bares the teeth Deng Xiaoping's smile hid. From South China Sea islets to the New Silk Road's arid ends, the CCP, ruthless and defiant, pounds the stakes it holds to advance its aims. For Xi's CCP, it is the fate of small states to bend to the strong.Rules should soon be theirs to set, the CCP believes, and not without some reason. Before Trump, a subtle and experienced Chinese diplomat confessed, CCP leaders marveled at America's ineffectual response. In the South and East China Seas, on India's long border, Beijing's hostile and determined quest had followed Lenin's line: "Probe with bayonets, if you find mush, you push; if you find steel, you withdraw." It is to our shame, Trump observed on China's unfair trade practices, that Beijing had not been held to account by prior administrations. Unanswered, history has shown, the ambitious calculate and, at times, miscalculate.In past American forbearance, CCP leaders have seen a once great power on the wane. In foreign capitals they confided, inside China they proclaimed: It will soon be America's turn to bend. They claim their own version of the right side of history.The keys to victory, Sun Tzu counseled, lie in knowing your enemy and deceiving them. The cunning men of Beijing have taken heed. They have an instinct for a divided, self-doubting, and weary West. Cloaking their aggressions in ambiguity, they weigh the likely costs against desired gains.Straining to contain COVID-19, President Trump and Secretary Pompeo rightly extend a hand to international, including Chinese, cooperation. But in post-pandemic days to come, the democracies must carefully take the measure of the CCP and hold it to account, crafting strategies for what it is, not what they wish it to be. That is leadership's task.The late, great professor Fouad Ajami warned, "Men love the troubles they know" -- too ready to slip into a comfortable neglect, too reluctant to face strategic change. Some cite an arc of history, he lamented, to hide behind, hoping it might bear the burdens they would rather shun.With all doubts resolved in their favor, the untouchable leaders of the CCP have much for which to answer. Perhaps in reality, even more.In a time of death, Ajami cautioned: "There is no fated happiness or civility in any land." As a great river may abruptly rise or fall, "Those gauges on the banks will have to be read and watched with care."
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