- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump threatens to crack down on social media after Twitter posts a fact check of his tweets on voting by mail
President Trump threatened to impose federal regulations on — or even shut down — social media platforms after Twitter added a fact-checking reply to his tweets about mail-in voting. The threat came in the form of two tweets. “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices,” wrote Trump, who as of Wednesday morning had a total of 48,811 tweets and retweets posted on his Twitter account.
- 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.
- WorldAssociated Press
US charges North Korean bank officials in sanctions case
The 33 defendants include executives of North Korea's state-owned bank, Foreign Trade Bank, which in 2013 was added to a Treasury Department list of sanctioned institutions and cut off from the U.S. financial system. According to the indictment, the bank officials — one of whom had served in North Korea's primary intelligence bureau — set up branches in countries around the world, including Thailand, Russia and Kuwait, and used more than 250 front companies to process U.S. dollar payments to further the country's nuclear proliferation program. Five of the defendants are Chinese citizens who operated covert branches in either China or Libya.
U.S.AFPUS braced for more protests over police killing of black man
Minneapolis officials called for calm Thursday as they girded for fresh violence after a second night of demonstrations over the police killing of an unarmed African American left numerous stores ablaze and one person dead. Protesters were planning to take to the streets again in the northern US city Thursday evening over the death in custody of 46-year-old restaurant worker George Floyd, seen as the latest in a long series of unjustified police killings of black civilians. The White House said President Donald Trump was "very upset" upon seeing "egregious, appalling" video footage of Monday's killing and had demanded his staff see that the investigation was given top priority.
- U.S.Business Insider
Republican politician waited a week to reveal positive COVID-19 test — while calling for an end to coronavirus lockdown
State Rep. Andrew Lewis, a Republican state lawmaker in Pennsylvania, learned that he had COVID-19 on May 20. While concealing his positive test, Lewis was publicly calling for an end to Pennsylvania's shutdown. "It is reprehensible that GOP Rep. Andrew Lewis tested positive for coronavirus, yet never bothered to inform his colleagues," Rep. Kevin Boyle tweeted.
- WorldThe Week
Archaeologists discover pristine ancient Roman mosaic floor buried under piles of vines
Archaeologists have revisited an ancient Roman dig site that hasn't been touched in a century — and found something incredible underneath. In a vineyard outside the Italian city of Verona, under several feet of vines and dirt, researchers have uncovered what appears to be a perfectly preserved mosaic floor and pieces of a villa foundation dating back to the third century A.D. Surveyors in the commune of Negrar di Valpolicella north of Verona shared images of the site, providing a glimpse at a discovery that's largely still hidden beneath the dirt, BBC reports. Archaeologists first mapped out what appeared to be the remains of an ancient Roman villa outside Verona back in 1922 before the site was abandoned.
- BusinessReuters
AstraZeneca says it may consider exposing vaccine trial participants to virus
The chief executive of AstraZeneca , which is developing a leading coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University, said it is too early to deliberately expose trial participants to the pathogen, but it may become an option if ongoing tests hit a snag. The British drugmaker last week started phase 2 and 3 trials of the vaccine, looking to recruit around 10,000 adults and children in Britain. A certain number of participants will have to become infected in the course of their normal lives to achieve a reliable reading from the study over the next few months.
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.USA TODAY OpinionAndrew Yang: After coronavirus, we can build economy that works for all Americans
We are being changed by this time, and the challenge now is to get through it and to build a future that works for us and our families. Before the pandemic, Americans were already being left behind: About 80% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, and about 40% couldn't afford an unexpected $400 bill. This was before we lost 36.5 million jobs and nearly half of us suffered reductions in income due to this crisis.
- 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
- BusinessYahoo News
Trump, for some reason, compares coronavirus death toll (over 98,000) to that of swine flu (under 20,000)
On a day when the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic neared 100,000, President Trump sought to direct the nation's attention back to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic as a way to smear the reputation of his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who was vice president at the time. Joe Biden's handling of the H1N1 Swine Flu was a complete and total disaster. In the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., Trump repeatedly sought to show that he was doing a good job dealing with the pandemic compared with how Biden and then-President Barack Obama had responded to the H1N1 pandemic.
- 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.
- 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...
- BusinessBusiness Insider
Japan avoided a lockdown by telling everyone to steer clear of the 3 Cs. Here's what that means.
Passengers from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are on their way to take the chartered flight at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 20, 2020. Many predicted Japan would be hit hard by coronavirus, but the country has been relatively unscathed. Others said it was the government's clear messaging about avoiding closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings that saved Japanese residents.
U.S.AFPMichigan governor in hot water over boat launch claim
The Michigan governor who implemented some of the toughest coronavirus lockdown rules in the United States came under heavy criticism Tuesday over allegations that her husband pressured a dock to prepare his boat for an outing. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who has defended her tough stay-at-home policies against armed protestors and attacks from President Donald Trump, announced last week the lifting of some restrictions ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend. According to a claim posted on Facebook by Northshore Docks owner Tad Dowker, Whitmer's husband Marc Mallory subsequently tried to use her position to get his boat moved ahead of others for launching before the holiday weekend.
- 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”.
- 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.
- 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
Twitter employees 'very unhappy' the platform won't correct Trump falsehoods about Scarborough and staff member
Twitter employees are outraged by the company's refusal to stop President Trump from using the platform to promote a conspiracy theory involving a former staffer of Trump critic and media personality Joe Scarborough, according to tech journalist Kara Swisher. Swisher reported Tuesday that the widower of Lori Klausutis, who died suddenly in 2001 while working as a staff member in Scarborough's congressional office in Florida, wrote Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey a heartfelt letter last week asking him to stop Trump from continuing to spread conspiracy theories about his wife's death via the social media platform.
- PoliticsReuters
Biden on 100,000 coronavirus deaths: 'To those hurting, the nation grieves with you.'
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden released a video message on Wednesday marking the grim milestone of 100,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic, telling the bereaved: "The nation grieves with you." Biden spoke after various tallies of COVID-19 deaths, including one compiled by Reuters, showed that the novel coronavirus has killed over 100,000 people in the United States, even as the slowdown in deaths encouraged businesses to reopen and Americans to emerge from more than two months of lockdowns. Biden, speaking from his home in Delaware, drew on his own family loss when making his remarks.
- U.S.Associated Press
Navy admiral submits results of probe on virus-infected ship
The Navy's top admiral on Wednesday received the results of an internal investigation into the spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the firing of the aircraft carrier's skipper in April. The report is not expected to be made public until decisions are made about potentially restoring Capt. Brett Crozier to command of the Roosevelt or disciplining other officers. It was submitted Wednesday to Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations.
- U.S.INSIDER
Police arrested a Bay Area woman who they say posted racist notes on the homes of Asian Americans
A 52-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of posting handwritten messages targeting Asian Americans on their homes. Police in San Leandro received reports of notes containing "insensitive messages towards minorities" taped to five homes, according to the Associated Press. A 52-year-old woman in the San Francisco Bay Area was arrested on suspicion of a hate crime after police learned she was posting hateful handwritten messages on the homes of Asian-Americans, according to a statement from San Leandro Police Department.
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.
- U.S.Business Insider
Photos of mass graves in Brazil show the stark toll of the coronavirus, as experts predict that it will surpass 125,000 deaths by August
The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which also forecasts the US death toll and has been used by the White House, has estimated that if no changes are enacted, 125,833 people in Brazil could die from the coronavirus by August 4. As of Wednesday, the country had 25,598 reported deaths. The same model projects that the US will reach 131,967 deaths by August 4.
