- HealthYahoo News
Most of the coronavirus tests the U.S. does are worthless. But there's a solution that could actually work — and stop the spread.
To stop its raging coronavirus outbreak, which is currently spreading at a rate of about 60,000 new cases per day, the United States can do one of two things. The good news is that there might be a simple solution: new tests that prioritize speed over sensitivity.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Marijuana sent him to prison for decades. Now he has COVID-19 and is seeking release.
As an elderly Michigan inmate's bid for early release amid the coronavirus pandemic continues, garnering support from everyone from a local prosecutor to a reality star, his situation is becoming more dire. Michael Thompson, a 69-year-old former Flint resident, is serving a 40- to 60-year sentence for selling marijuana to an informant in 1994. Thompson, who lost his parents and son while incarcerated, isn't eligible for release until 2038.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Biden rows back from interview where he said Latinos are 'incredibly diverse' unlike African Americans
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, on Thursday rowed back a comment suggesting that African Americans do not have diverse political views while Latinos do. "What you all know but most people don't know, unlike the African American community with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community," Biden said earlier Thursday. Biden later tweeted that African Americans are "not a monolith."
- WorldThe Telegraph
US warns Americans to 'exercise increased caution' in New Zealand due to Covid-19
The United States government has issued a warning to its citizens to “exercise increased caution in New Zealand due to Covid-19”, despite the fact New Zealand has been lauded globally for its response to the pandemic. On June 8, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, declared the pandemic over as community transmission has been eliminated. The warning on the US government travel advice website does not mention this fact or that each active case involves a returned traveller who went directly into quarantine on arrival.
- U.S.INSIDER
Students say they were suspended and others threatened with 'consequences' for posting photos of their school's packed hallways
Students at North Paulding High School in Dallas Georgia say they've been suspended or threatened with "consequences" for posting pictures of crowded hallways with few students wearing masks. The images circulated widely on social media August 4, prompting concerns about the health and safety of students. Coronavirus cases had already been reported at the school, according to an email sent to parents.
- U.S.The Independent
Woman confronting vandals covered in paint during renewed Portland protests
Protesters in Portland allegedly threw white paint over a woman, as demonstrators clashed with police for a third consecutive day. On Friday, following two days of protests marred by vandalism, more than 200 people clashed with police, as two other Black Lives Matter protests marched peacefully through the city. As the peaceful demonstrations took place, a separate group gathered at a park in east Portland and marched to the local precinct.
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
Decades after they last saw each other, homecoming king and queen reunited by chance on a dating app
When Janet Fenner and Gregory Dabice last stood together at the 50-yard-line in Montclair State University's football stadium, it was 1992 and they were being crowned homecoming king and queen, complete with plastic scepter and tiara. Where the student body had stood cheering wildly, the couple's combined seven children and guests sat quietly at a safe social distance, while Paul Cell, chief of university police, officiated. Rocky the Red Hawk mascot served as ring bearer, and a proclamation from university president Susan Cole was read, naming August 1 as Janet Fenner and Gregory Dabice Day.
- U.S.Associated Press
Fort Hood commander's transfer on hold amid investigations
Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division. Command of a division is a key step in an Army officer's career.
- U.S.Miami Herald
Miami men with Ukrainian political ties laundered money, DOJ says
The Department of Justice filed civil forfeiture complaints this week in Miami federal court accusing two Ukrainian oligarchs and their Miami-based associates of stealing money abroad and laundering it in the United States by moving it through a Ukrainian-owned bank and into Miami companies operating as “slush funds” for real estate investment. In two separate complaints filed Thursday, the DOJ said Ukrainian oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholiubov, along with Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber in Miami, created a web of Miami-based companies that laundered money from 2008 to 2018.
- PoliticsReuters
Pelosi says Congress will resolve COVID-19 aid but must help needy: CNBC
U.S. lawmakers will resolve their differences over the next batch of COVID-19 aid and reach a deal, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday, but assistance must go to those who need it the most amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. "If we're going to juggle some of this money, let's focus it where it's going to do the most good," she added, saying aid must help people who are the most needy.
- U.S.BBC
George Floyd: US protesters charged as 'gang' face life sentence
Protesters in Utah who splashed paint on a prosecutor's office could be given life sentences after they were accused of acting as a "gang". Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill, whose office was targeted by Black Lives Matter marchers issued the charges. Critics, including the city's mayor, have called the felony charges excessive.
- WorldBusiness Insider
The Russian owner who abandoned the ship full of ammonium nitrate that caused the Beirut explosion has been questioned by police in Cyprus, reports say
Hasenpusch/picture alliance via Getty Images/Business Insider Igor Grechushkin, the Russian owner of the ship that carried a huge cargo of explosives to Beirut, which exploded years later, was questioned by Cypriot police on Thursday, reports say. Grechushkin abandoned the MV Rhosus and its cargo of 2,750 tons of explosive ammonium nitrate in 2014. Lebanese authorities impounded the cargo until Tuesday's catastrophic explosion.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Trump Makes Same Gaffe as Biden in Least Self-Aware Twitter Attack
President Donald Trump really thought he had Joe Biden with this one. “After yesterday's statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote!” the president tweeted on Friday morning. During a livestreamed interview with both the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists, former Vice President Biden had the following to say in response to a question about U.S. relations with Cuba.
- PoliticsDefense News
Germany floats a new NATO spending yardstick: 10 percent
COLOGNE, Germany – German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is pushing for a new yardstick to measure Berlin's contributions to NATO, suggesting the country could shoulder 10 percent of alliance requirements. The figure is meant to reflect the share of NATO's total “planning targets,” which are tabulated periodically, a defense ministry spokesman told Defense News. Such math would be able to more accurately capture Germany's efforts across the categories “cash, capabilities and commitments” than the current defense-spending objective of 2 percent of GDP, according to the spokesman.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
A Sampling of Work From Mexico City’s Top Talents
A look at some of the design coming out of the cultural capital Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Biden on congressional gridlock: 'If there's no way to move other than getting rid of the filibuster, that's what we'll do'
In an interview with representatives of the associations of Black and Hispanic journalists, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden showed a willingness to end the use of the legislative filibuster while maintaining it's unlikely that such a measure would be necessary if he's elected in November. He said that he expects the Democratic Party to win five to six seats in the Senate as well as the White House. Biden's response is part of an interview that will air Thursday at the combined convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
- U.S.The Independent
New York is moving homeless people into luxury hotels to protect them against coronavirus and wealthy neighbourhoods aren't happy
But in recent days, residents of some wealthier areas of New York where some of the hotels are located have complained about what they describe as anti-social behaviour and drug use by homeless people in their neighbourhoods. In the Upper West Side, where the median house price is more than $1.8m, some residents have started a Facebook group to express their displeasure over the use of three high-end hotels in the area. Our community is terrified, angry and frightened,” one member of the 'Upper West Siders For Safer Streets' group told the New York Post.
- U.S.Miami Herald
Students at Georgia school snapped photos of maskless peers. Now, they face expulsion
Students at a Georgia high school are being threatened with suspension and other punishments after “negative” photos of their first day back to class circulated on social media. One North Paulding High School student has already been suspended after snapping a photo of crowded hallways — with few students wearing masks — upon their return to school Monday, local station WSB-TV reported. The image was one of many “back-to-school” photos that went viral this week, sparking criticism amid rising coronavirus cases across Paulding County and the state.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
GOP appeals after Judge dismisses lawsuit over House's proxy voting system established due to COVID-19
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a Republican-led lawsuit aiming to halt an unprecedented proxy voting system established by the House of Representatives due to the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the House was immune from such a legal challenge. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia by nearly two dozen House Republicans – led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. in May, argued the proxy voting rules violated the U.S. Constitution because under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present to take up business and vote on legislation.
- U.S.Associated Press
Georgia DA who charged officers faces tough primary runoff
Against the backdrop of protests over racial injustice and police brutality and with allegations of misconduct emboldening challengers, the top prosecutor in Georgia's most populous county is fighting to keep his job. After two decades of running unopposed, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard placed second in the June Democratic primary and faces a tough runoff election Tuesday. The extended primary contest has unfolded as Atlanta rocked with protests sparked by the killing of an African American, George Floyd, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
After Elon Musk criticized Bernie Sanders' brand of socialism, Sanders took him to task for taking billions of dollars in government support
Andy Clayton King/AP Photo Bernie Sanders and Elon Musk got into a tiny tussle on Twitter Friday over "socialism." Sanders on Thursday introduced a bill that would place a 60% tax on the wealth gained during the coronavirus crisis by billionaires including Musk and use the money raised to pay all American's out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for a year. In response to an article about the bill, Musk tweeted out a meme that essentially criticized Sanders for spending other people's money to fund "free government programs."
- BusinessAFP
China's once-booming mask makers struggle after price drop
Tens of thousands of mask-making companies mushroomed across China at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but many are struggling to survive as they face stricter quality control measures and falling domestic demand. China launched a huge effort to produce protective gear to meet shortages during the outbreak, which first emerged in the country late last year before spreading across the globe. More than 73,000 companies registered as mask makers in the first half of the year -- including over 36,000 new companies in April alone -- as prices and demand soared.
- PoliticsReuters
Trump loses bid to add fourth debate with Biden in early September
U.S. President Donald Trump's re-election campaign on Thursday lost its bid to add a fourth debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in early September. In rejecting the request, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it remains committed to the current schedule of three 90-minute debates beginning in late September. It would only add a fourth debate, or move an existing debate to earlier in the month, if both sides in the campaign for the Nov. 3 election agreed to it, it said.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Fox News Host Sandra Smith Grills Kellyanne Conway on Trump’s COVID ‘Misinformation’
On Wednesday, Facebook finally took the long overdue step of removing a piece of Trump campaign content from its platform that pushed misinformation about COVID-19. The claim in question came during the president's appearance on Fox & Friends that morning, where he falsely stated, “If you look at children, children are almost—and I would almost say definitely—but almost immune from this disease.” “Of course there is a debate happening about whether Facebook and Twitter should be arbiters of truth and decide what is fact and fiction,” Fox host Sandra Smith began, before sharing the actual facts about confirmed coronavirus cases in children.
- WorldPopular Mechanics
Could a World War II Shipwreck Cause the Next Beirut-Like Explosion?
The SS Richard Montgomery was carrying ammunition when it ran aground and sank in 1944. An American cargo ship that accidentally sank off the coast of London during World War II could cause a major explosion rivaling that of the devastating blast in Beirut earlier this week. In August 1944, the SS Richard Montgomery, a ship ferrying supplies back and forth to Europe after the D-Day invasion, sank at the mouth of the Thames River on the sea approach to London.
“He’s not a radical. But he is running on the most liberal policy platform of any Democratic candidate in modern history.”
“Public opinion has been shifting leftward, and Biden’s thinking has shifted with it.”
“Biden shows that he’s more moderate than some in his party.”
“Biden has always been a creature of his time, and the COVID-19 crisis could force him to veer further left.”
“Liberal activists have lauded the campaign’s outreach to progressives.”