- U.S.USA TODAY
'Talk with your lawyer, Bill Barr:' Kamala Harris warns Trump against attempt to 'suppress the vote'
Sen. Kamala Harris tore into President Donald Trump Wednesday night for his threat to withhold federal funds from states over absentee ballots, warning such an act would be illegal. "So, you may want to talk to your lawyer, Bill Barr, about that," Harris added, in an apparent swipe at the independence of Attorney General William Barr, whom critics have accused of acting more like the president's personal attorney than the nation's top law enforcement official. On Wednesday morning, Trump said in a tweet that Michigan had sent millions of voters absentee ballots "illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State."
- U.S.Associated Press
Arbery family lawyer: Feds looking into how case handled
A lawyer for the family of Ahmaud Arbery said Monday that a federal prosecutor told the slain man's mother federal officials are investigating potential misconduct by local officials who handled the case. Lawyer Lee Merritt said U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine, whose jurisdiction includes southern Georgia, met with him and Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, on Thursday. Barry Paschal, a spokesman for Christine, declined to confirm or deny whether the meeting happened.
- CelebrityThe Independent
Kitten born with two faces dies days after internet fame
Born with a birth defect known as diprosopus, or cranial duplication, Biscuits had four eyes, two noses and two mouths. He could eat and meow from both faces and Mr King said he was a “lively” kitten. But felines with the defect do not have a long life expectancy, and the family acknowledged that Biscuits had beaten “the longest of odds” by living as long as he did.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Charlamagne Tha God Reacts to Joe Biden’s ‘You Ain’t Black’ Apology
MSNBC's Joy Reid opened her interview with Charlamagne Tha God on Sunday morning by congratulating him on his interview this past week with former Vice President Joe Biden—even if all anyone wants to talk about are the final few seconds. “You've got more questions?” Biden asked. Shortly after that interview, Biden apologized for his remarks on a conference call with the Black Chamber of Commerce.
- BusinessReuters
China says opposes all U.S. restrictions on Chinese airlines
China said on Monday it opposes all U.S. restrictions imposed against Chinese airlines, responding to a report that the U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Chinese carriers file their schedules and other flight details by May 27. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said flight restrictions imposed by Beijing treated all airlines equally and were due to efforts to curb COVID-19 related risks. The U.S. government late on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China.
- U.S.CBS News
Second immigrant dies of COVID-19 while in ICE custody
An immigrant in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody died of coronavirus complications on Sunday while waiting to voluntarily depart to his native Guatemala, becoming the agency's second detainee to die from the virus. The 34-year-old immigrant, Santiago Baten-Oxlag, died at a hospital in Columbus, Georgia after being transferred there from the Stewart Detention Center, a privately operated prison near the state's border with Alabama, according to an ICE notification to Congress obtained by CBS News. Baten-Oxlag had been receiving care at the Columbus hospital since April 17.
WorldAFPSingapore warns of worst economic contraction since independence
Singapore's embattled economy could shrink by as much as seven percent this year, which would be the worst reading since independence, with the government saying Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic had throttled the key export sector. The city-state is seen as a bellwether of the global economy and the historic contraction highlights the extreme pain being wrought on countries by the killer disease. The warning also came hours before Singapore's deputy prime minister is expected to unveil another stimulus package for the troubled city, which has been crippled by months of lockdowns around the world.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Italy to recruit army of 60,000 volunteers to enforce social distancing rules
Italy wants to recruit an army of 60,000 volunteers to help enforce social distancing rules, amid fears that a second wave of infections could be looming. The volunteers would not have any policing powers but would patrol piazzas, parks, playgrounds, markets, bar areas and beaches, asking people not to congregate in large groups. They would be drawn from the ranks of the unemployed, those on income support and those who have been furloughed as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
- U.S.NBC News
Oklahoma woman missing since April following Facebook post that indicated she believed she had coronavirus
Nearly two months have passed since 53-year-old Talina Galloway vanished from her home in Wagoner, Oklahoma, leaving behind her purse and vehicle. “We're really worried about her,” Talina's niece, Chantel Jones, told Dateline. Chantel told Dateline she spent most of her summers living with her Aunt Talina in Indiana.
- PoliticsLos Angeles Times Opinion
Letters to the Editor: Why is the Trump administration working so hard to deport immigrant children?
To the editor: The appalling actions taken by the Trump administration against immigrant children is incomprehensible and is the clearest reflection of its moral decay. Trump and his allies have claimed again and again that they welcome immigrants who enter the country legally, yet while lawyers and sponsors struggle to follow the rules, our government moves these children from place to place without warning, will not disclose their whereabouts, and fast-tracks deportations to places so dangerous that they were willing to walk thousands of miles to escape them. To the editor: Compassion is yet another presidential quality that is missing in our current president.
- WorldBBC
Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Africa - amid coronavirus
Muslims across Africa - and the world - are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. All places of worship are officially closed in Kenya to prevent the spread of coronavirus, so these men prayed in a courtyard outside their house instead...
- U.S.The Week
Trump administration promises 100 million coronavirus testing swabs by the end of 2020
The Trump administration sent Congress a national coronavirus testing strategy in time to meet a Sunday deadline, The Washington Post reports, citing a copy of the 80-page "COVID-19 Strategic Testing Plan" it obtained. The report delivered to Congress promises that the federal government will buy 100 million swabs by the end of 2020 and distribute them to states to help them expand testing. The document did not outline federal testing goals for each state; instead it listed testing targets states reported to federal officials for May. Public health officials say broader testing to determine who has been infected with the novel coronavirus and who might have immunity are key to curbing the spread of the outbreak and allowing the economy to fully reopen.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
Joe Biden forced to make his fundraisers fully virtual – bar the price tag
The coronavirus pandemic may have driven Joe Biden into his basement and forced his campaign online, but one crucial factor is still the same: his run for the White House still needs to raise giant amounts of money. A fundraising invite for a 14 May event for the New Hampshire Republican congressional candidate Matt Mowers featuring the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie starts at $250 for the “individual” level and goes all the way to $1,000 for the chair level.
- WorldReuters
Brazil surpasses U.S. in daily coronavirus death toll
Brazil daily coronavirus deaths were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time over the last 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry. Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States. Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the U.S. with 1.637 million cases.
- ScienceTime
SpaceX and NASA Are Set for a Historic Crewed Launch This Week. Here's How to Watch
It's been a long time since the country that once flew nine crewed missions to the moon has been able to launch even a single human being to space aboard its own rockets from its own soil. Ever since the final flight of the space shuttle in July 2011, the U.S. has been dependent on buying rides aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft—at a current $80 million a seat—if it wants to get as far as low-Earth orbit. All of that is set to change at 4:33 PM EDT on Wednesday May 27, when astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to take off aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station (ISS).
WorldAFPRussian prosecutors seek 18 years for ex-US marine in spy trial
Russian prosecutors on Monday called for a former US marine charged with spying to be sentenced to 18 years in prison, after a closed-door trial denounced by Washington and his family. Paul Whelan, 50, was detained in Moscow in December 2018 for allegedly receiving state secrets, but he insists he was framed when he took a USB drive from an acquaintance thinking it contained holiday photos. His trial, which caused tensions between Moscow and Washington and sparked speculation of a prisoner swap, concluded with closing arguments on Monday.
- U.S.Business Insider
Gov. Cuomo: travelers from Europe 'brought the virus to New York'
Cuomo cited reporting from The Washington Post suggesting that President Trump's European travel ban, which had been instituted in March, caused "one final viral infusion" as Americans fled some of the initial pandemic epicenters outside of China, like Italy and Spain. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said that travelers coming to the US from Europe were to blame for spreading the virus widely in the state in the initial days of its outbreak.
BusinessYahoo News VideoChinese media says Wuhan had live virus
The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said.
- PoliticsPolitico
Trump adviser compares China's handling of coronavirus to Chernobyl
China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic is akin to the Soviet Union's response to Chernobyl, President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said Sunday. "The cover-up that they did of the virus is going to go down in history along with Chernobyl," O'Brien told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press," referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Ukraine. Asked about the implications of the pandemic for the new U.S.-China trade deal, O'Brien replied that "we're in a very different world" from when negotiations first began.
- WorldAssociated Press
Lebanon's migrant workers' plight worsens as crises multiply
Now, some 250,000 registered migrant laborers in Lebanon — maids, garbage collectors, farm hands and construction workers — are growing more desperate as a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus restrictions. Lebanon's unprecedented foreign currency crisis means that many migrants have not been paid for months or that the value of salaries is down by more than half. Others have lost their jobs after employers dumped them on the streets or outside their embassies.
- WorldBBC
Iran oil tanker reaches Venezuela amid US tension
The first of five Iranian oil tankers has entered Venezuela's waters carrying more than a million barrels of fuel. Both Venezuela and Iran have warned Washington not to interfere with the delivery. Venezuela is suffering a shortage of refined fuel, despite having the world's largest oil reserves.
- PoliticsNBC News
Joe Biden makes first public appearance since March
Joe Biden appeared in public Monday for the first time in more than two months, laying a wreath to honor the fallen at a Delaware war memorial. What in most campaign years would be a fairly ordinary holiday ritual was anything but for the former vice president, who has only been seen by most Americans in small doses from a now-familiar makeshift TV studio in his Wilmington home since becoming the apparent Democratic nominee. Joined by his wife, Jill, and a protective detail from the Secret Service for the first time publicly, Biden wore a black mask and his signature aviator sunglasses as he laid a wreath of white flowers at the Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle.
- EntertainmentReuters
Americans spend holiday at beaches and parks as virus death toll nears 100,000
This year it has also become a time to mourn the loss of more than 97,000 people due to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. The New York Times filled its entire front page with the names and selected details of 1,000 victims on Sunday seeking to illustrate the humanity of the lives lost. Among the victims, drawn from obituaries and death notices in hundreds of U.S. newspapers: Lila Fenwick, 87, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law; Romi Cohn, 91, saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo; Hailey Herrera, 25, budding therapist with a gift for empathy.
- U.S.The Independent
Beach and party crowds across US break social distancing rules over Memorial Day weekend
Despite several weeks of warnings from health officials to follow “social distancing” measures and wear face coverings in public, Americans across the US crowded beaches and parties over Memorial Day weekend, among the first tests of a post-quarantine return to “normal” amid the coronavirus pandemic, as officials end “lock-down” measures to reopen their states. Video from a Volusia County Sheriff's Office helicopter on Saturday captured dozens of people blocking traffic near Daytona Beach, Florida, where officials required visitors to wear masks but have resigned that the mandate is “not realistic” or enforceable in large crowds. In Missouri, tourists headed to Lake of the Ozarks, where dozens of people densely packed pool parties and watering holes without masks or other preventive measures in place, despite signs reminding visitors to keep at least six feet apart.
WorldAFPTop Brazil media end coverage of presidential doorstop
Brasília (AFP) - Two of Brazil's top media groups said Monday they were suspending coverage of President Jair Bolsonaro's informal news conferences outside the presidential palace because of harassment by his supporters and a lack of security. Media conglomerate Globo and newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo said the presidential security detail was failing to provide adequate protection for journalists covering Bolsonaro. The far-right president, who regularly rails against the mainstream media, often stops outside the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia in the morning to greet supporters and occasionally speak to the press.
