| Pompeo steps up US pressure on China over pandemic handling Posted: 03 May 2020 10:45 AM PDT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday stepped up a US campaign to hold China accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus, asserting there is "enormous evidence" the virus originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. The high-security bio-containment facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called such claims "impossible". Pompeo, speaking on ABC's "This Week," did not elaborate on what he also described as "significant amounts of evidence".
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| Bomb threat against China Airlines flight closes Anchorage airport Posted: 02 May 2020 06:22 PM PDT  The Anchorage airport, Alaska's largest, temporarily shut on Saturday to inbound traffic because of a bomb threat against a China Airlines cargo flight bound for Asia. The cargo plane diverted to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport early in the morning after leaving Seattle, airport officials said. No bomb was found and the airport was reopened shortly before noon, officials said. The plane was searched in a secure, remote section of the airport, the airport said in a statement, with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Anchorage Police Department. "After extensive investigation, no explosive device was located," the airport's police and fire department said in a statement. "Investigation at the airport has been completed, however, the investigation into the source of the threat continues. The FBI does not believe there is any continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident." The Anchorage Daily News said the plane was headed to Taipei, Taiwan and the threat had been called into the Port of Seattle, quoting an FBI spokesman who said investigators were still trying to determine the source of the threat. China Airlines, Taiwan's largest carrier, said in a statement the flight had already taken off for Taipei when it was informed of the threat by Seattle airport. The plane was then diverted to Anchorage. The crew were taken to a hotel to rest while police searched the aircraft and determined nothing unusual, it added. The aircraft is expected to land in Taipei late Sunday evening, China Airlines said. Anchorage Airport is one of the world's top five air-cargo hubs. It ranks second in the nation for weight of landed cargo. It ranks 58th in passenger travel among US airports. While passenger flights have been sharply curtailed during the coronavirus pandemic, air cargo operations are considered by the state to be essential and have continued. Flights that could not land in Anchorage on Saturday morning were advised to consider diverting to the airport in Fairbanks, another cargo hub.
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| 'Devastatingly worrisome': Dr. Deborah Birx decries scenes of protesters not practicing social distancing amid coronavirus Posted: 03 May 2020 02:54 PM PDT  Dr. Deborah Birx warned that protesters who carry an infection home to their grandmother or grandfather would feel guilty for the rest of their lives.
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| Missing Idaho kids: Judge won't lower Lori Vallow's $1 million bond Posted: 01 May 2020 05:40 PM PDT  The defense believes attorney-client conversations are being recorded in jail.
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| New York's Cuomo warns against 'blindly' reopening states Posted: 02 May 2020 10:20 AM PDT  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday pushed back against what he called premature demands that he reopen the state, saying he knew people were struggling without jobs but that more understanding of the new coronavirus was needed. As governors in about half of the United States partially reopen their economies over this weekend, Cuomo said he needed much more information on what the pandemic was doing in his state, the hardest hit by the disease, before he loosens restrictions aimed at curbing its spread. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy echoed Cuomo's slow-go restart approach, even as he reported "positive trends," including a decline in the number of hospital patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
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| A Florida medical examiner sent emails begging officials to close local beaches. The beaches will open with almost no restrictions tomorrow. Posted: 03 May 2020 02:00 PM PDT  St. Johns County beaches were closed for about two weeks, partially re-opened on April 17 and will completely re-open on Monday.
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| Random coronavirus testing indicates nearly a third of Kabul could be infected Posted: 03 May 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Some countries have been receiving relatively good news about their coronavirus epidemics — Spain for instance is easing restrictions thanks to a dwindling case load, and Madrid just reported its lowest one-day death increase since March 18. South Korea, meanwhile, reported only 13 new cases Sunday, and is getting prepared to rollback some elements of its lockdown, as well. But those positive steps are far from a global trend.India and Russia both reported record daily infections, while deaths continue to climb in the United States and the United Kingdom. One country that has people particularly worried is Afghanistan, where the health ministry revealed Sunday that a small study indicates about a third of Kabul's residents could be infected with COVID-19. The study involved 500 random COVID-19 tests that resulted in 156 positives. Overall, Afghanistan has taken close to 12,000 samples, with 2,700 coming back positive.The latest news has officials worried the disease is spreading more rapidly than originally thought. Afghanistan has long been seen as a country vulnerable to the pandemic, especially as the government and the Taliban struggle to broker a peace deal to end their violent, decades-long conflict. Kabul and other cities in the country are on lockdown.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathing cartoons about Democrats' MeToo hypocrisy 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit The angst over Joe Biden's assault allegation has an easy resolution
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| Nearly 10,000 inmates freed as virus hits Philippine jails Posted: 02 May 2020 02:28 AM PDT  Nearly 10,000 prison inmates have been released in the Philippines as the country races to halt coronavirus infections in its overcrowded jails, a Supreme Court official said Saturday. The move follows a directive to lower courts to release those awaiting trial in prison because they could not afford bail, Associate Supreme Court Justice Mario Victor Leonen told reporters. Covid-19 outbreaks have been reported at some of the country's most overcrowded jails, affecting both inmates as well as corrections personnel.
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| China releases animation mocking US response to coronavirus outbreak Posted: 02 May 2020 09:11 PM PDT  China has published a short animation titled "Once Upon a Virus" mocking the US response to the new coronavirus using Lego-like figures to represent the two countries. Washington and Beijing are locked in a war of words over the origins of the disease, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has grown into a global pandemic. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence. In the animation posted online by China's official Xinhua news agency, red curtains open to reveal a stage featuring Lego-like figures in the form of a terracotta warrior wearing a face mask and the Statue of Liberty. "We discovered a new virus," says the warrior. "So what?" replies the Statue of Liberty. "It's only a flu."
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| The Auschwitz slogan 'Work sets you free' seen at the Re-Open Illinois protest aimed at governor, JB Pritzker, who is of Jewish descent Posted: 03 May 2020 06:28 AM PDT  The Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland condemned an 'Arbeit Mach Frei' poster seen at an anti-lockdown protest in Chicago.
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| U.K.'s Johnson says doctors prepared to announce his death as he fought COVID-19 Posted: 03 May 2020 03:03 AM PDT  Johnson said he was "in denial" and he initially brushed off the seriousness of the situation when he tested positive for the virus in late March.
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| U.S. processes over $500 billion in small business loans to stem coronavirus fallout Posted: 03 May 2020 07:04 AM PDT  The SBA has processed about 2.2 million loans worth more than $175 billion since Congress last month authorized more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, part of almost $3 trillion in spending to fight the heavy economic toll of the pandemic, which has thrown about 30 million Americans out of work.
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| Fact check: Will Florida order residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19? Posted: 02 May 2020 10:04 AM PDT  An Instagram post says Florida can order people to take a coronavirus vaccination. That is true, but it is false to imply this will happen right away.
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| 19 minors aged 9 to 16 are accused of stealing 46 cars worth a total of $1.1 million from dealerships in North Carolina Posted: 02 May 2020 01:38 PM PDT  The Winston-Salem Police Department said that since March 17, 46 vehicles have been stolen from 12 car dealerships.
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| AP Was There: National Guard kills 4 students at Kent State Posted: 03 May 2020 07:19 AM PDT  The Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students during a war protest at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Four students were killed, and nine others were injured. Not all of those hurt or killed were involved in the demonstration, which opposed the U.S. bombing of neutral Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
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| Southwest Airlines CEO says it's safe to fly again Posted: 03 May 2020 02:08 PM PDT  The CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the largest US air companies, insisted Sunday that travelers could again fly in safety and added that air traffic, nearly paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic, was gradually reviving. "I don't think the risk on an airplane is any greater risk than anywhere else," Kelly said. Kelly said he believes the worst has passed for the industry.
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| North Korea tries to end speculation over supreme leader's health with ribbon cutting pictures Posted: 02 May 2020 05:57 AM PDT  Most ribbon cutting ceremonies are unremarkable affairs, the stuff of local newspaper photographs at most. But this one was different. It involved North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un in his first reported appearance in 20 days, during which there has been intense speculation about his health and even whether he was still alive. The newly released footage of Kim glad-handing at a North Korean fertilizer production plant north of Pyongyang on Friday would appear to have put an end to that. He was even pictured standing in front of a banner reading May 1, to drive home the point, much in the way hostages are forced to hold up that day's newspaper for the camera as proof of life. The date is also written in the Latin alphabet, in case there were any doubts about which audience this 'proof ' is for (see picture below).
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| The angst over Joe Biden's assault allegation has an easy resolution Posted: 02 May 2020 03:35 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden finally confronted the rape accusation against himself on Friday. He went on MSNBC's Morning Joe, where he categorically denied the events described by his accuser, Tara Reade, had happened and insisted that he would not release his Senate papers early so reporters could look at them. On the other hand, he also said "Women have a right to be heard and the press should rigorously investigate claims they make."All this is no doubt intensely frustrating for loyal Democratic voters. President Trump has been accused of worse than what Biden is alleged to have done, and on more than one occasion, yet largely skated from serious scrutiny. That is probably why when Chris Hayes did a segment on the story on his own MSNBC show, furious Democratic partisans made FireChrisHayes trend nationally on Twitter.But getting mad is not going to get Democrats out of their Biden fix. Only one thing can do that — pressuring Biden out of the race, and replacing him with someone else.As I have previously written, Reade's story about Biden is credible. It would never meet the courtroom standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt," but given that Reade is now known to have privately told at least five people what happened at the time or in the years following, it can't be dismissed out of hand. Biden has a track record of behaving creepily around women, and has a long history of ridiculous exaggeration and telling bald-faced lies. At bottom, it is quite similar to many other MeToo stories.The plain fact is that this accusation is going to dog Biden for the rest of the campaign. Trump has already started talking about it. The right-wing media will cover the story for purely political reasons. Fox News does not care about MeToo, but the story damages Biden, demoralizes Democrats, and makes liberals look like egregious hypocrites. The sight of nearly every Democratic-aligned women's rights group queasily keeping silent about the story is simply delicious for the likes of Sean Hannity (though a few have started speaking out).It's also hard to see how Biden could conclusively "address" the story, as some liberals have advocated. At bottom it is a case of he-said-she-said, and Biden does not have a record of scrupulous honesty.Many mainstream and lefty journalists will continue to cover it. The Reade accusation is unquestionably news, and outside of the right-wing press, there is still a broad ethic of covering stories even if they are politically inconvenient. It is not always honored, but it's still there. As The Intercept's Ryan Grim writes, "I decided early in my career that I would never suppress a story if the only reason I were doing so was concern about its political implications. If you do that, you're no longer a journalist."However, Biden still has not been officially nominated. The Democratic National Convention is not until August 17, and before then he could be pressured into dropping out. If Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, a critical mass of the rest of other Democratic elected officials, and all the various Democratic-aligned activists groups all said in unison that Biden was unfit to be president, and should drop out for the good of the party, he probably would withdraw. The primary rules regarding candidates who drop out are somewhat vague, saying that delegates cannot be "mandated" to vote for someone else, and "shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them." But this would seem to allow Biden to instruct his delegates to support another candidate, and in 11 states there are specific rules for doing so. Realistically, no unclear legal technicalities are going to prevent someone else from getting the nomination if Biden refuses to take it.Bernie Sanders would certainly be ruled out, despite the fact that he would have the second-most number of delegates. The entire point of the panicked scramble to endorse a clearly lousy candidate before Super Tuesday was to keep Sanders from winning. But it still could be somebody else — perhaps Washington Governor Jay Inslee, or California Governor Gavin Newsom, both of whom have handled the coronavirus pandemic relatively well (unlike New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose incompetent bungling created the worst outbreak in the world). Inslee or Newsom would not be my first choice, but at least they have no rape allegations against them and are in full possession of their faculties.Or simpler still, as Alex Pareene suggests, Democrats could simply re-start the primary and see who wins. There would surely be some controversy, but most Democratic voters would wind up happier in the end.Frankly, I cannot possibly believe this will happen. Democratic elites had no problem bending the rules to help Michael Bloomberg, or indeed sending their loyal voters out into the teeth of a viral pandemic to vote in person to put away Sanders. It is clearly within their power to send Biden packing. But they have neither the wisdom nor the foresight of the cynical party bosses of old, who would have thrown him out on his ear long ago.Biden could also still win. Given the appalling economic conditions likely to prevail in November, a random person picked off the street would have a good chance of beating Trump. But still, if you are already exhausted at the prospect of months of arguments about whose sexual assault allegations are worse, the escape hatch is still open.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathing cartoons about Democrats' MeToo hypocrisy 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit Oxford scientist says if coronavirus vaccine is effective it will likely be seasonal
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| New Mexico blocks all roads into Gallup, a 'frightful' hot spot near Navajo Nation Posted: 02 May 2020 10:37 AM PDT  "The virus is running amok there," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said of McKinley County. "It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary."
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| Afghanistan probes reports Iranian guards forced migrants into river Posted: 03 May 2020 01:55 AM PDT |
| What states are opening up, and when? States are constantly changing their restrictions — here's a list Posted: 03 May 2020 12:41 PM PDT  States have a patchwork of constantly evolving plans to relax social distancing restrictions, plans that often vary by county and even city at times.
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| The US records its highest daily death toll as almost 20 states ease lockdown restrictions, WHO reports Posted: 03 May 2020 03:28 AM PDT  On Friday, the country saw a total of 2,909 total deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in 24 hours — its highest number yet.
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| Daniel Pearl: Parents of murdered journalist launch appeal in Pakistan Posted: 03 May 2020 12:53 AM PDT  The US journalist was murdered in 2002 while investigating Islamist militants in Karachi.
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| Over 100,000 Flamingos Reportedly Descend on Mumbai Amid India's Strict Coronavirus Lockdown Posted: 02 May 2020 09:55 AM PDT  Experts estimate that 25% more flamingos have come to the region compared to last year, according to reports
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| Gilead Sciences exporting remdesivir, CEO says Posted: 03 May 2020 04:50 PM PDT  The head of the maker of remdesivir, an anti-viral shown to reduce recovery times in COVID-19 patients, said Sunday the company has been exporting the drug and is making it available to patients in the United States through the US government. Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O'Day said the company is donating its entire existing supply of the drug -- 1.5 million vials, enough to treat 100,000 to 200,000 patients. "And our collaboration with the government has been such, we have been very transparent with them here in the United States and we have a good relationship on future allocation."
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| Boris Johnson: 'race to develop a coronavirus vaccine is the endeavour of our lifetime' Posted: 03 May 2020 12:30 PM PDT  Boris Johnson will on Monday describe the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as "the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes" as he urges countries not to see it as a competition. The Prime Minister will co-host a virtual Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Conference, aiming to raise £7 billion to develop vaccines, treatments and tests to help end the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Johnson is expected to say: "To win this battle, we must work together to build an impregnable shield around all our people, and that can only be achieved by developing and mass-producing a vaccine. "The more we pull together and share our expertise, the faster our scientists will succeed. The race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes. It's humanity against the virus – we are in this together, and together we will prevail." The US will not attend today's summit. President Trump has instead said his focus is "Operation Warp Speed", which aims to have enough doses to cover most Americans by the end of this year, sparking concerns he is adopting an "America First" approach. In March, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that the Trump administration had offered a German medical company "large sums of money" for exclusive access to a vaccine.
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| Letters to the Editor: The Democratic Party's #MeToo hypocrisy on Joe Biden is stunning Posted: 03 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Democrats who expect all voters sick of President Trump to vote for Joe Biden are insulting people who care more about the issues than the party.
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| Violent clash over coronavirus tests at ICE detention center in Massachusetts Posted: 02 May 2020 02:43 PM PDT  The incident ended with three detainees sent to a hospital and $25,000 in damage to the detention center, officials said. Congressman Joe Kennedy is calling for an investigation.
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| North and South Korean troops exchange fire along border Posted: 03 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their border on Sunday, the South's military said, the first such incident since the rivals took unprecedented steps to decrease frontline tensions in 2018.
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| North Korea fired shots across its border with South Korea — just hours after Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance since rumors of his death Posted: 03 May 2020 02:16 AM PDT  Kim Jong Un appeared in public for the first time in weeks Saturday. One report suggested his return will unleash a wave of executions in his homeland.
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| Venezuela says it foiled attack by boat on main port city Posted: 03 May 2020 05:55 AM PDT  Venezuelan officials said they foiled an early morning attempt by a group of armed "mercenaries" to invade the country in a beach landing using speedboats Sunday, killing eight attackers and arresting two more. Cabello said it was carried out by neighboring Colombia with the United States backing the plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro - a claim dismissed by U.S. and Colombian officials. "Those who assume they can attack the institutional framework in Venezuela will have to assume the consequences of their action," said Cabello, adding that one of the detained claimed to be an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
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| China condemns US tweet on Taiwan exclusion from UN Posted: 02 May 2020 03:34 AM PDT  China has condemned a US tweet backing Taiwan's push for participation at the United Nations as the global body works with its 193 member states to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing's diplomatic mission to the UN expressed "strong outrage and firm opposition" to a message on Friday by the United States calling Taiwan's exclusion an "affront" to UN principles. The self-ruled island, which Beijing considers a wayward province awaiting reunification, has been held up as a model in fighting the virus.
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| Bashar al-Assad's cousin makes unprecedented public criticism of security forces amid family rift Posted: 03 May 2020 06:46 AM PDT  Sanctions-hit Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf said on Sunday that security forces were arresting employees at his companies "in an inhumane way" amid pressure on him to step down from his business empire and pay millions of dollars in tax. Mr Makhlouf, a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad and widely considered part of the president's inner circle, has a business empire that ranges from telecoms and real estate to construction and oil trading. He has played a big role in financing President Assad's war effort, Western officials say. However, a major and unusually public rift has appeared between the cousins, with the alleged arrest of employees being the latest development. "Today pressures began in an unacceptable ways and the security forces, in an inhumane way, are arresting our employees," Mr Makhlouf said in a video, in an unprecedented attack on the powerful security forces by one of the country's most influential figures.
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| Trump says new FBI notes exonerate Michael Flynn, analysts say that's not the case Posted: 03 May 2020 02:02 PM PDT  Critics said Trump is distorting the contents of notes about an FBI interview in which Flynn apparently lied about talks with a Russian ambassador.
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| Nearly four decades later, disappearance of Shelley-Anne Bacsu in Canada still a mystery Posted: 03 May 2020 08:44 AM PDT  Shelley-Anne Bacsu was last seen walking down Highway 16 toward her home in Hinton, Alberta, Canada, on May 3, 1983. She had called her mother at 8 p.m. to let her know she was on her way and asked her to make her something to eat. But Shelley-Anne never made it home. Some of her clothing and a library book were later found alongside Highway 40 near the Athabasca River. The Hinton RCMP Detachment and the RCMP Historical Homicide K Division are investigating.
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| Coronavirus leaves Washington farmers with a big problem: What do you do with a billion pounds of potatoes? Posted: 03 May 2020 03:57 PM PDT  Washington state has a billion pounds of potatoes -- with no destination
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| Roche aims to make more than 100 million coronavirus antibody tests per month by end of year Posted: 03 May 2020 04:11 AM PDT  Roche said its test has a specificity rate of more than 99.8% and sensitivity rate of 100%, figures indicating very few false-positive tests and no false negatives. "If you take blood from a finger prick, you will never be able to achieve the same level of specificity that you will achieve...when you take blood from the vein," Roche diagnostics head Thomas Schinecker told Reuters on Sunday.
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| These photos show thousands flocking to New York's parks over the weekend after Mayor de Blasio said that good weather 'is very much a threat to us' Posted: 03 May 2020 09:40 AM PDT  But it appeared as if people who were going to the parks were also following the social-distancing measures as much as possible.
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| Video of NYPD arrest during social distancing enforcement sparks outrage Posted: 03 May 2020 03:34 PM PDT  There is an outcry over a video of an NYPD officer taking down a bystander who was watching officers make an arrest for an apparent social distancing violation.
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| In random test of 500 in Afghan capital, one-third has virus Posted: 03 May 2020 06:30 AM PDT  One-third of 500 random coronavirus tests in Afghanistan's capital came back positive, health officials said Sunday, raising fears of widespread undetected infections in one of the world's most fragile states. Neighboring Iran, meanwhile, said it would reopen schools and mosques in some locations, even though the nation has been the regional epicenter of the pandemic since mid-February. The results of the random tests in the Afghan capital of Kabul are "concerning," said Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar.
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| Clamoring to get home, India's migrant workers stone police Posted: 03 May 2020 01:02 PM PDT  More than 2,000 rural migrant workers blocked from returning home pelted Indian police with stones, officials in Gujarat said, as millions more stranded in the state readied to return to villages. Poor migrant workers across the country lost their jobs during the world's biggest pandemic lockdown, which began in late March to guard against the spread of new coronavirus. Saturday's clash in western India's Gujarat is the latest in a spate of such protests across India.
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| Donald Trump hails re-emergence of Kim Jong-un Posted: 02 May 2020 08:00 PM PDT  Donald Trump has hailed the reported reappearance of Kim Jong-un following speculation that the North Korean dictator was seriously ill. "I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" the US president tweeted after the North Korean dictator made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks. Speculation over the health of Kim, 36, was triggered by his lengthy absence even failing to appear at his late grandfather's birthday celebration on April 15. It was the first time he had ever missed the event, which is held at the mausoleum of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. No explanation for his absence was provided by Pyongyang. It was the second time in recent years that he disappeared for several weeks. In 2014 he was laid low for six weeks after reportedly sustaining an ankle injury. Kim Jong-un's return was announced by the official KCNA news agency, which said his appearance cutting the ribbon at the opening of a fertiliser factory, was greeted by "thunderous cheers of hurrah". The video showed a beaming Kim at the ceremony at the factory near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
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| Benefit of the doubt? Joe Biden – and allies – face key questions over sexual assault claim Posted: 02 May 2020 04:00 AM PDT  As Democrats who support MeToo rally behind their likely nominee to face Donald Trump, Republicans claim hypocrisy * Who is Tara Reade and what are her allegations against Joe Biden?Nearly three decades after Joe Biden faced sharp backlash over his treatment of Anita Hill, when she came before his Senate committee to accuse Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, he urged lawmakers not to repeat the same mistakes when considering a sexual assault claim against another supreme court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, by Dr Christine Blasey Ford."It takes enormous courage for a woman to come forward, under the bright lights of millions of people watching, and relive something that happened to her," Biden said in 2018, as he was laying the groundwork for a presidential run.Ford, he said, "should be given the benefit of the doubt".That statement was read back to Biden during an interview on Friday, in which the presumptive Democratic nominee broke his months-long silence to unequivocally deny an allegation of sexual assault by a former Senate aide, Tara Reade. Mika Brzezinski, a host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, pressed him to align his past comments on how such allegations should be viewed with his assertion that Reade's account was false."Are women to be believed … unless it pertains to you?" she asked."Women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt," Biden said.But he added that "the facts in this case do not exist. They never happened, and there's so many inconsistencies in what has been said in this case. So yes, look at the facts, and I assure you it did not happen. Period. Period."For weeks Biden's campaign has grappled with how he should defend him while upholding the "believe women" ethos of the MeToo movement that Democrats have embraced. In the years since Donald Trump was elected, Democrats have confronted sexual misconduct aggressively, policing their own ranks to draw a sharp distinction with Republicans on issues of gender, equality and accountability.Trump has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual harassment, assault or rape. During the 2016 election, a recording emerged of him bragging about groping women. Trump has flatly denied the allegations, often attacking his accusers as opportunists and liars.Indeed, on Friday the president advised Biden to "go out and fight it".Speaking to the conservative conservative radio host Dan Bongino, Trump suggested the accusation could be false and even sounded a note of empathy for Biden's predicament."All of a sudden you become a wealthy guy, you're a famous guy, then you become president, and people … that you've never seen, that you've never heard of make charges," Trump said. "So I guess in a way you could say I'm … sticking up for him."Republicans have largely remained silent about Trump's record on women. By contrast, Democrats demanded Biden publicly address the matter and some have even called for him to step down as the presumptive nominee."Demanding more of Joe Biden's leadership is not in contradiction with our commitment to defeat Trump," said Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy. "It is, in fact, central to that effort."Yet Republicans have seized on the matter in an effort to renew the poisonous political fight that erupted over Kavanaugh."Democrat double standard" blared a memo from the Republican National Committee which portrayed Democrats as hypocrites who held the allegation against their nominee to a higher standard of proof than the one they used against Kavanaugh."The double standard exhibited by Biden, prominent liberal women's groups and Democrat elected officials – some of whom want to be Biden's running mate – is glaring and cannot be allowed to stand," said Erin Perrine, a spokeswoman for Trump's election campaign.But Karen Finney, who worked for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, said Republicans were "playing with fire" by attempting to create a "false equivalency" between Biden and Trump on the issue.Lis Smith, a senior adviser to Pete Buttigieg's Democratic presidential campaign, said: "If Republicans and Biden opponents push too hard on this, it will backfire on them and just raise the question of why President Trump has never addressed the scores of sexual misconduct allegations against him."Women are a core Democratic constituency. Since Trump's election, they have organized, voted and run for office in record numbers. In the presidential primary, excitement at the prospect of nominating a woman was eclipsed by fear of losing to Trump. Democrats chose Biden because they believed he was the most electable candidate. He has promised to choose a woman as his running mate.Lara Brown, director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, said: "In this situation, the calculation that I think most Democrats will make is whatever Biden's problems are, Trump is worse on every level."Brown said accusations of hypocrisy can "hit more than the scandal itself", particularly when a candidate is attempting to define an opponent. But in this case, she said, the effort to brand Democrats as hypocrites would be undercut by Trump's record and Republican silence.Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said Republicans were attempting to "neutralize" Biden's appeal to suburban women who revolted from the party in 2018.But he said the controversy would probably be eclipsed by the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak and was unlikely to be a "front-of-mind issue for voters" come November.Biden's public silence over the last month has put top female allies in the position of defending him while validating the experiences of women who come forward. Even so, party leadership and many of the women Biden is considering for vice-president, including Senators Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, have voiced their support in recent days."I have a great comfort level with the situation as I see it," the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, told reporters on Thursday, "with all due respect in the world for any woman who comes forward, with all the highest regard for Joe Biden."Pelosi said she had "complete respect" for the MeToo movement but added: "There is also due process, and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden."Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978, accused Pelosi of being "hypocritical" and "dishonest"."'The fact is that Joe Biden is Joe Biden'," she wrote on Twitter. "What the hell? Bill Clinton is Bill Clinton, but he's still a rapist." Clinton has denied the charge. 'MeToo happened'In a statement on Friday, Biden pointed to his work in the Senate to pass the Violence Against Women Act, and as vice-president to combat campus sexual assault.Yet as he was preparing to launch his campaign last year, eight women, including Reade, came forward with stories about unwanted touching or contact. None alleged sexual assault. He apologized but advocates were dismayed when he made light of it days later.For many sexual assault survivors and advocates, the current controversy has exposed how much still needs to change."MeToo happened and survivors are speaking up more but we still have a lot of people who grew up and accumulated power in the pre-MeToo world," said Wagatwe Wanjuki, a writer and anti-rape activist who worked with Biden's team to shape campus sexual assault policies when he was vice-president."Now we're in this transitionary period where survivors feel more comfortable coming forward but we still don't have the systems in place for them to come forward in a way that is fair and allows both sides to be heard."
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| Coronavirus live updates: U.S. deaths top 66,000 as pandemic takes its toll on ordinary Americans Posted: 03 May 2020 12:15 AM PDT  Here are the latest updates on the global pandemic.
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| LA riots 1992: How the Rodney King verdict sparked violence and civil unrest in Los Angeles Posted: 03 May 2020 01:06 PM PDT  Twenty-eight years ago, the iconic city of Los Angeles fell into a state of historic unrest after four police officers were acquitted in the savage beating of an African-American man named Rodney King.King suffered skull fractures, permanent brain damage and broken bones during the vicious attack, which was captured on video and sparked a national conversation about police brutality and racial inequality that continues to this day.
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