- BusinessYahoo News
Defense secretary says coronavirus vaccine will be available within months, but experts skeptical
Pentagon leaders expressed strong confidence Thursday that a coronavirus vaccine will be available by January, and perhaps as early as this fall — claims that were met with skepticism by scientific experts. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that he and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar “will be co-chairing Operation Warp Speed,” the effort by the administration of President Trump to produce 300 million vaccine doses by January. “I'm confident that we will be able to deliver a vaccine at scale in time” by partnering with other government agencies and the private sector, Esper said.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Here are the likely contenders on Biden's vice president shortlist
During the early stages of the campaign, Harris was questioned on whether she was open to being Biden's vice president — a question she often suggested should be asked of Biden too. Suffice it to say, Harris has been answering questions about her place in a potential Biden administration longer than many other contenders as an early favorite; some have taken to national publications to push their pick to the top of the list. Several top aides and members of Biden's camp say Harris — who has hosted multiple campaign events and been able to rake in cash — is the top pick too, according to recent reporting in Politico.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
‘Burn It Down. Let Them Pay’: Deadly Chaos Erupts in Minneapolis as Fires Rage Over Police Violence
MINNEAPOLIS—Flames and black smoke poured into the sky here early Thursday as protests over the death of George Floyd took a violent turn, with multiple local businesses and residential buildings near police headquarters set ablaze and at least one person fatally shot in the area. Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder confirmed the shooting shortly before midnight local time, but did not say if it was connected to the protests, according to the Star Tribune. Widespread looting included mobs—whose ties to organized protesters were vague at best—clearing out a Target across from the precinct house, and video emerged of heavily armed white men who said they were trying to keep people from damaging property.
- BusinessPopular Mechanics
Levi’s Is Taking 50% off These Best-Selling Jeans Right Now
It's a great time to stock up on the classic 501s. From Popular Mechanics
- U.S.Associated Press
Mexican drug lord pleads poverty in bid to escape arrest
Drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, a notorious underworld figure who is on the FBI's most wanted list for the murder of a federal agent over three decades ago, said in a legal appeal that he has no money, is too old to work and has no pension. The odd plea was filed Tuesday by Caro Quintero's lawyer seeking an injunction against his arrest or extradition to the United States for the kidnapping and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena in Mexico in 1985. The court papers state: “The plaintiff argues insolvency, because he says he is more than 60 years old, is neither retired nor has a pension, and given the fact that he is a fugitive from the law, cannot work or perform any activity to ea...
- WorldReuters
English court to weigh recognition of Maduro, Guaido in Venezuela gold case
An English court on Thursday said it would need to decide which of Venezuela's dueling political factions to recognize before ruling on President Nicolas Maduro's request for the Bank of England to hand over gold the country has in its vaults. Venezuela for decades stored gold that makes up part of its central bank reserves in the vaults of foreign financial institutions including the Bank of England, which provides gold custodian services to developing countries. The bank since 2018 has refused to transfer the funds to Maduro's government, which Britain does not recognize.
- WorldBusiness Insider
One chart shows a noticeable correlation between how late a country started its coronavirus lockdown and the number of excess deaths
Reuters A Financial Times analysis of the excess death rates of 13 countries compared to when they imposed a lockdown has shown a close correlation between the two factors. The data suggests that the less widespread the virus was when a country locked down, the lower the excess death rates. For example, the UK waited until later in the severity of its outbreak before locking down, and now shows a high excess death rate.
- WorldThe Telegraph
'Orwell is rolling in his grave': Anger and disbelief at strict new lockdown rules in Moscow
The Moscow City Hall on Wednesday promised to re-open parks and finally allow walks after nine weeks of coronavirus lockdown but the incredibly strict rules regulating outdoor activities have been met with universal derision. Sergei Sobyanin, the Moscow mayor, announced something that could be a cause for celebration on Wednesday, telling Vladimir Putin, the president, in a televised conference call that the Russian capital was poised to begin lifting some of the lockdown restrictions. The number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in Moscow on Thursday, was just over 2,000, the lowest in five weeks, and the number of hospitalisations dropped by 40 per cent in a fortnight, according to the mayor.
- WorldBBC
Pakistani villager urges India to return 'spy' pigeon
A Pakistani villager has urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return his pigeon, currently being held in India on charges of spying. The Pakistani villager, who claims the arrested pigeon is his, says the code is actually his mobile phone number. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper has identified the man as Habibullah and reports that he owns a dozen pigeons.
- PoliticsYahoo News
White House encourages hydroxychloroquine use for coronavirus again
The White House continued on Thursday to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug that President Trump and some of his supporters have held out as a treatment for the coronavirus, against the advice of the Food and Drug Administration and in the face of studies that have shown it can be harmful in some cases. Routinely touted by prominent conservative allies of the president, including primetime Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, it has been denounced by members of the medical establishment as an unproven therapy that poses the risk of potentially fatal heart complications. The FDA recommends that COVID-19 patients, if they choose to use it, do so only in a hospital or under medical supervision in a clinical trial.
WorldYahoo News VideoSo-called honor killing of teen girl sparks outcry in Iran
The so-called honor killing of a 14-year-old Iranian girl by her dad, who reportedly beheaded her as she slept, has sparked a nationwide outcry.
- U.S.The Independent
George Floyd protests: Man calls police on black entrepreneurs for using same gym in Minneapolis in viral video
A white man in Minneapolis asked whether black men were entitled to use the same gym and threatened to call the police on them, amid protests at George Floyd's death. It showed Tom Austin, who worked at the same Mozaic building in Minneapolis, accusing young black men of not being tenants there. The video shows Mr Austin asking them whether they are based in the building, to which the men respond “we're all tenants in the building”.
- PoliticsNBC News
Senate Democrats take on GOP court-packing in blistering new report
Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a new report on Republican efforts to pack the courts with conservative-leaning judges and the outsized influence of one conservative activist. "Our report exposes a twisted web of dark money, and special interest groups who behind the scenes are investing millions and millions to plant ideological activist judges completely remake the courts, and ultimately rewrite the Constitution," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. As part of their report, the senators pointed to activist Leonard Leo, the former head of the conservative Federalist Society, as the driving force behind the many of the president's appointments, including Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
- WorldAssociated Press
Taliban in Kabul to discuss prisoner releases under US deal
A five-member Taliban team was in Kabul on Thursday to follow up on this week's prisoner release by the Afghan government that saw hundreds of insurgents freed. Javid Faisal, an Afghan national security spokesman, and Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen both confirmed that a Taliban team was in the Afghan capital, without providing details. Earlier this week, Shaheen had said from Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, that the insurgents planned to free “a remarkable number” of Afghan officials and others they hold captive.
- WorldReuters
Venezuela's Maduro vows to raise gasoline price as Iranian tanker nears
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday pledged to begin charging citizens for gasoline, as the fourth cargo of a five-tanker flotilla bringing fuel from Iran approached the South American nation's exclusive economic zone. Iran is providing the country with up to 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components to help it ease an acute scarcity that has forced Venezuelans to wait in hours-long lines at service stations or pay steep prices on the black market. With the arrival of the gasoline, Maduro said he would end the policy of providing fuel effectively for free after more than two decades of frozen pump prices.
- U.S.INSIDER
The man who filmed his encounter with a woman in Central Park says her actions were 'definitely racist,' but he's asking people to stop making death threats against her
Christian Cooper, who recorded a white woman in Central Park calling the police on him after he asked her to put a leash on her dog, says that the woman's actions were "definitely racist." The woman, Amy Cooper, who has no relation to Christian Cooper, has issued several apologies after video of the incident circulated on Twitter. Christian Cooper told CNN that he thinks Amy Cooper's apology is sincere, and he has asked people to stop making death threats toward her.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
'If it goes wrong, it's my fault': Elon Musk is feeling nervous hours before SpaceX's historic mission to launch its first astronauts into space
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acknowledged feeling pretty nervous ahead of SpaceX's historic mission to send its first astronauts to space. SpaceX was scheduled to launch its first people into orbit on its new Crew Dragon spaceship on Wednesday at 4:33 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Speaking on "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday, Musk said the safety of the astronauts was SpaceX's top priority and noted that many things could go wrong during the mission.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Outrage in Iran over gruesome 'honour killing' of teenage girl
Iran's president has called for so-called honour killings to be outlawed following the gruesome murder of a teenage girl, allegedly by her father, for running away from home with an older man. Romina Ashrafi, 14, was allegedly beheaded by her father as punishment for fleeing her home in Talesh, near Tehran, with a 29-year-old man. The couple were detained and Romina was handed back to her family as her father appeared to have forgiven her, according to the state news agency IRNA.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Coronavirus infections are rising as states reopen, potentially signaling a second wave
Two days later, both Reuters and the New York Times reported that new daily cases of COVID-19 — which have been falling for weeks, both nationally and in the hardest-hit metropolitan areas — suddenly and simultaneously started to rise in more than a dozen states. The Times counted 14 states where the rolling seven-day average of new infections has climbed over the last two weeks. Narrowing the timeframe and focusing on the total weekly case count, Reuters found that 20 states reported an increase in new infections during the week ending May 24, up from 13 states the week before.
WorldYahoo News VideoWH press secretary: Trump says he’s feeling ‘absolutely great’ after taking hydroxychloroquine
At a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters President Trump said he's feeling “absolutely great” after completing his treatment with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. In April, the FDA cautioned against using the drug to treat COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial.
WorldAFPPhilippines eases capital's strict virus lockdown
The Philippines will lift key coronavirus lockdown measures in the nation's capital, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday, aiming to resuscitate a faltering economy after nearly three months of strict home quarantine. Manila has endured one of the world's longest lockdowns, which has hit the livelihoods of millions of workers but not halted a steady stream of new infections. Most businesses will be allowed to re-open from Monday and public transit is to return in a limited form, although children and the elderly will have to stay home unless they are out getting essentials or headed to work.
- PoliticsNBC News
Pompeo adviser at center of personal errand probe asks former staffers to support secretary
The senior adviser central to the investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used an employee to run personal errands is now leading the charge to find support among former staffers against what they describe as a "smear campaign," NBC News has learned. Shortly before he was fired, State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was looking into allegations that Pompeo senior adviser Toni Porter was asked to walk the secretary's dog, pick up his laundry and make dinner reservations for him and his wife, Susan, NBC News reported. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual prohibits using the office for personal benefit.
- WorldAssociated Press
Missing hikers found after 18 days in New Zealand wilderness
Two hikers rescued in the New Zealand wilderness Wednesday got lost in fog and exhausted their food but survived 18 days with only minor injuries, police said. Jessica O'Connor and Dion Reynolds, both 23, had hiked into the sprawling Kahurangi National Park on May 9, intending to be gone for about five days, according to police. “This is a fantastic outcome and one that we were all hoping for, although we were becoming increasingly concerned as the days progressed," said police area commander Paul Borrell in a statement.
- WorldArchitectural Digest
This Neo-Futuristic Home Found Its Inspiration in the British Countryside
Located in the rolling hills of southeast England, the design was meant to mimic the beer-brewing structures that once dotted the landscape Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.BBC
Amy Cooper: Woman sacked after calling police on black man
A white woman who called the police after a black man asked her to put her dog on a leash in New York City's Central Park has been fired from her job with an investment firm. Franklin Templeton announced on Twitter on Tuesday it had sacked an employee, "effective immediately". "We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton," the tweet said.
