WorldReutersSix supporters of hardline Indonesian cleric killed in shootout
Six supporters of Indonesian Islamic cleric Rizieq Shihab were killed in a shootout on Monday, police said, raising worries the clash could reignite tensions between authorities and Islamist groups in the world's biggest Muslim majority country. Jakarta police chief Fadil Imran said the incident occurred just after midnight on a highway when the cleric's supporters attacked a police vehicle with firearms, sickles and a samurai sword. Police have been investigating the controversial and politically influential cleric for violating coronavirus protocols after several mass gatherings to celebrate his return from self exile in Saudi Arabia last month.
WorldBBC'Havana syndrome' likely caused by directed microwaves - US report
Mystery illness suffered by US diplomats in Cuba was most likely caused by directed microwave radiation, a US government report has found. The report by the National Academies of Sciences does not attribute blame for the directed energy waves. But it said research into the effects of pulsed radio frequency energy was carried out by the Soviet Union more than 50 years ago.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden reportedly picks California AG Xavier Becerra for HHS secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, several people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times and NBC News. Becerra, 62, is a former 12-term congressman who led the House Democratic Caucus. Since being elected as California's first Latino attorney general in 2016, he has filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, challenging policies on gun control, the environment, and civil rights, and suing to protect the Affordable Care Act.
U.S.Associated PressNYC again reopens schools to in-person learning
It's back to school again for some New York City schoolchildren, weeks after the schools were closed to in-person learning because of rising COVID-19 cases. The nation's largest public school system, which shut down in-person learning last month, on Monday brought back preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning. “We've proven that we can do it safely, and parents want that for their children,” Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told cable news station NY1 in a call-in interview.
WorldReutersNew Zealand's Ardern vows accountability ahead of Christchurch attack report
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday vowed accountability for the families of last year's Christchurch mosque attack victims, ahead of the public release of a major report into the country's worst massacre. Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August for killing 51 Muslim worshippers and injuring dozens of others at two mosques in the South Island city on March 15, 2019. The findings of a royal commission inquiry into the attack will be made public in parliament on Tuesday.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Trump presses Georgia governor to help overturn election
President Trump fruitlessly pressured Georgia's governor on Saturday to call a special legislative session aimed at overturning the presidential election results in that state.
WorldBBCPakistan: Covid patients die due to oxygen shortage in Peshawar
Six coronavirus patients have died in a hospital in Pakistan after oxygen supplies ran too low. Patients' relatives have described how they begged for help as panic engulfed the government-run hospital in the northern city of Peshawar. Hospital officials have blamed the shortage on the supply company but several staff have been suspended.
WorldThe TelegraphJuan Guaido prepares to lose his seat in Venezuela - and his freedom
When Juan Guaido raised his right hand and symbolically swore himself in as Venezuela's interim president nearly two years ago, the tens of thousands watching on a main Caracas avenue rejoiced. The trickle of news alerts in the following days advising that another country had recognised the 35 year-old as the country's rightful leader seemed to confirm their certainty that Nicolas Maduro would soon be forced from the presidential palace. Mr Maduro may feel emboldened to detain the opposition leader or force him to flee the country.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest10 Indoor Plant Stands That Seriously Stand Out
Take your home garden to the next level this winter Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressSouth Korean health minister warns of virus 'war zone'
South Korea's health minister said Monday that the Seoul metropolitan area is now a “COVID-19 war zone,” as the country reported another 615 new infections and the virus appeared to be spreading faster. The president, meanwhile, issued a call to expand testing and contact tracing. The country has recorded more than 5,300 new infections in the past 10 days and Monday was the 30th day in a row of triple-digit daily jumps.
WorldReutersPope Francis to make risky trip to Iraq in early March
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis will make the first visit by a pope to Iraq next March, the Vatican said on Monday, a risky four-day trip that has eluded his predecessors. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, who turns 84 next week, will visit the capital Baghdad, as well as Ur, a city linked to the Old Testament figure of Abraham, and Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh. The trip, at the invitation of the Iraqi government and the local Catholic Church, is planned for March 5-8, Bruni said.
U.S.The IndependentCalifornia wildfires: 1,000 firefighters battle to curb blazes as ‘less than third contained’
More than 1,000 firefighters are battling a blaze in Southern California, but are facing high winds and low humidity expected to stoke the flames further. Thousands of people have already been forced to leave their homes after the Bond Fire broke out on Wednesday. Despite the evacuations, firefighters are making some progress, with 30 per cent of the blaze now contained, Orange County fire officials confirmed on social media.
WorldThe TelegraphSNP referendum demands show 'nationalists are out of touch,' Gordon Brown claims
An SNP push for a snap independence referendum shows that Scottish nationalists are out of touch with public opinion, Gordon Brown has said. The former Prime Minister dismissed SNP claims that a new vote on leaving the UK could take place next year as "really unrealistic", and said the priority for ministers should instead be dealing with the economic fallout from coronavirus and delivering vaccinations. Several senior SNP figures have claimed a new vote could be held as early as next year, despite the UK Government saying it would refuse any request to allow another referendum.
U.S.Associated PressSchools confront 'off the rails' numbers of failing grades
The first report cards of the school year are arriving with many more Fs than usual in a dismal sign of the struggles students are experiencing with distance learning. School districts from coast to coast have reported the number of students failing classes has risen by as many as two or three times — with English language learners and disabled and disadvantaged students suffering the most. “It was completely off the rails from what is normal for us, and that was obviously very alarming,” said Erik Jespersen, principal of Oregon's McNary High School, where 38% of grades in late October were failing, compared with 8% in normal times.
PoliticsThe WeekDemocratic Sen. Mark Warner challenges Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell on bipartisan relief bill opposition
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is not a fan of the $908 billion pandemic relief bill that was put together by a bipartisan group of senators and subsequently received a nod of approval from Democratic congressional leadership. The main purpose of the package, Warner said, is to give states "some level of time out" to set their own coronavirus standards and serve as a holdover until a more comprehensive bill is put together. In the meantime, he questioned how politicians from either party could tell small business owners, unemployed workers, and people struggling to pay their rent that a $908 billion package wasn't enough for four months of emergency aid.
- WorldReuters
Japan to put new Aegis radars on warships after cancelling ground stations: Asahi
Japan will put new powerful Aegis radars on warships to upgrade its defences against possible ballistic missiles fired by North Korea after it cancelled plans to deploy them at two ground-based stations, the Asahi newspaper reported. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government is likely to approve the recommendation by the country's National Security Council before the end of the year, although any decision on type of vessel or cost will be left until next year, the paper said, citing unidentified sources. Deploying the new Aegis radars could cost twice as much and take up to three years longer to complete than the ground-based versions, which were expected cost of around $2 billion to build, a source with knowledge of the proposal told Reuters earlier.
PoliticsThe New York TimesHow Joe Biden's Digital Team Tamed the MAGA Internet
Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden's presidential campaign, told me that the former vice president's team planned to use feel-good videos and inspirational memes to beat President Donald Trump in a “battle for the soul of the internet,” my first thought was, Good luck with that. In addition, Trump is a digital powerhouse, with an enormous and passionate following; a coalition of popular right-wing media outlets boosting his signal; and a flair for saying the kinds of outrageous, attention-grabbing things that are catnip to the algorithms of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Biden won, and despite having many fewer followers and much less engagement on social media than Trump, his campaign raised record amounts of money and ultimately neutralized Trump's vaunted “Death Star” — the name his erstwhile campaign manager, Brad Parscale, gave to the campaign's digital operation.
TechnologyAssociated PressHow phones can alert you to COVID-19 exposure
Apple and Google co-created “exposure notification" technology to alert phone users if they spent time near someone who tests positive for the coronavirus, so they know to get tested, too. The technology relies on Bluetooth short-range radio signals to detect when two phones are in close proximity for long enough for someone to likely transmit the virus. When one person tests positive for the virus, and state health workers verify the diagnosis, others who recently spent time near the infected person get an automatic alert.
WorldThe WeekIran's activity at sea 'cautious' and 'respectful,' U.S. admiral says
Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high, and the future of the relationship between the two countries is unclear amid the presidential transition, but things are looking calm at sea for the moment, The Associated Press reports. Vice Adm. Sam Paparo, the top U.S. Navy official in the Middle East who oversees the 5th fleet in Bahrain, said Sunday that the U.S. has "achieved an uneasy deterrence" with Iran in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea, where both navies operate. "That uneasy deterrence is exacerbated by world events and by events along the way," he said at the annual Manama Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
WorldReutersChina says firmly opposes U.S. interference in its domestic affairs
China said on Monday it firmly opposes and strongly condemns U.S. interference in its domestic affairs if a media report that Washington is preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over a Hong Kong crackdown is true. If the United States insists on going down the wrong path, China will continue to take firm counter measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman with the foreign ministry told a briefing. The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, Reuters reported on Monday citing sources.
WorldThe TelegraphSaudi, Israeli officials spar at regional conference
An influential Saudi prince launched a bitter attack on Israel at a regional conference, drawing retorts from the Jewish state's foreign minister who addressed the gathering virtually. The row erupted months after the UAE and Bahrain broke decades of Arab consensus by normalising ties with Israel, a move condemned as a "stab in the back" by Palestinians. Prince Turki al-Faisal, a Saudi former intelligence chief who is said to be close to the country's top leadership, reiterated strong support for the Palestinian cause in a fiery presentation to the Manama Dialogue security forum.
ScienceThe WeekShould scientists artificially cool the planet to stave off climate catastrophe?
Some climate scientists are coming to believe it's humanity's only hope for slowing or stopping disastrous changes in the climate. As runaway carbon dioxide emissions contribute to melting ice caps, widespread flooding, prolonged heat waves and droughts, apocalyptic wildfires, and devastating hurricanes, researchers are exploring planetary-scale interventions in Earth's natural systems as a way of counteracting climate change. Geoengineering has been debated since the 1960s, when U.S. scientists suggested floating billions of white, golf ball–like objects in the oceans to reflect sunlight.
WorldReutersHome care for the elderly booms as Spaniards shun nursing homes
When Elena Lorenzo's 86-year-old sister Rosario fell in the middle of the night in her home in Spain's northern Galicia region and her husband struggled to assist her, they knew it was time to get help. "There had been talk of a nursing home, but that was before COVID," Lorenzo said, recalling her sister's fall a few weeks ago. Business is booming for Spanish firms offering at-home elderly care, as families shun nursing homes after they became COVID-19 hotspots in the first wave of the pandemic.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump’s intelligence director says ‘we’ll see’ if there’s a Biden administration
The Trump administration's director of national intelligence on Sunday refused to acknowledge a Biden administration, the latest denial as the president and his allies launch increasingly desperate bids to stall or overturn the transfer of power. “Well, these election issues, we'll see who's in what seats and whether there is a Biden administration,” said DNI director John Ratcliffe, after Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked what the official thought of Mr Biden's cabinet picks and their approach to China. During the interview, Mr Ratcliffe also cast doubt on the use of mail-in voting, long considered safe and used by the president himself this election, and further echoed conspiracies from the president and his allies.
WorldAssociated PressIran says US 'got the message' on tense exchanges in Gulf
Iran said Monday it was glad the United States “got the message” and modified its behavior in the Persian Gulf, after the top U.S. Navy official in the region said his forces had reached a state of deterrence with Iran after months of regional attacks and seizures at sea. “Unfortunately, the U.S. has often had an unprofessional approach toward Iran's navy,” he said. Paparo, who oversees the Navy's 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, said the two sides had reached a state of “uneasy deterrence” and that he had a “healthy respect” for Iran's regular navy and the naval forces of its Revolutionary Guard.
“This metastasizing debt crisis has had tremendous social costs. An entire generation has been set back.”
“It is not the government’s job to step in and rescue those who took on more debt than their future incomes would support.”
“Many student-borrowers need relief, but well-off borrowers who are thriving — thanks to their college degrees — do not.”
“It will stimulate the lagging economy. And though not everyone will directly benefit, the country as a whole will improve.”
“Canceling student debt would cost billions of dollars each year and would exacerbate, not lessen, economic inequalities.”