Monday 31 August 2020

Still ill with coronavirus six months later: 'I have no idea how to get better'

For some people Covid just will not go away – one woman’s Instagram diary of her long-haul illness.

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George Ezra opens up about OCD struggle

The musician says he is plagued by intrusive thoughts, and has suffered from OCD "my whole life".

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Hundreds of migrants still dying in Med five years since 2015

Five years on from the migrant crisis of 2015 hundreds are still dying in the Mediterranean.

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Rival powers jockey for the lead in hypersonic aircraft

The US, China and Russia are pouring money into aircraft that can fly at five times the speed of sound.

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Coronavirus: How teachers are feeling as schools return

Four teachers share their experiences of the pandemic as they prepare to welcome pupils back to school.

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The traditional crafts in danger of dying out

Who was the last British deckle-maker? Who makes withy pots? And what is an orrery?

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Biden’s Out-of-the-Basement Strategy: Pummel Trump as Unsafe

Biden’s Out-of-the-Basement Strategy: Pummel Trump as UnsafeFor much of the pandemic presidential cycle, President Donald Trump has invariably cackled at what he deems to be Joe Biden’s “sleepy” and “slow” nature, constructing an image for voters of an older guy “who never leaves his basement,” public health precautions be damned.After the Democratic nominee announced that he would soon phase in physical appearances to several battleground states, it still didn’t seem to matter to Trump that the homebound message no longer really applied. He just carried on with the chants. “Here’s what I don’t get,” the president contemplated aloud during his hour-plus speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday evening. “Sleepy Joe’s coming out, he said, in 10 days. Ten days! That’s a long time. Ten days. Ten days. That’s like, an eternity in Trumpville,” he went on. “Ten days. He’s much better off where he is.”To Trump—and presumably to those who booed the mention of the former vice president emerging after isolation—the news was hardly Hercules returning to Mt. Olympus. But to Biden, it was an opening. With just over two months until Nov. 3, Biden has promised to put himself in front of more Americans after Labor Day. That basic decision is one of the more tangible developments in a general election that has, for many months, been fought from inside homes and behind devices. “One of the things we’re thinking about is I’m going to be going up into Wisconsin, and Minnesota, spending time in Pennsylvania, out in Arizona,” Biden said on Thursday evening, according to a pool report of a virtual fundraiser. “But we’re going to do it in a way that is totally consistent with being responsible, unlike what this guy’s doing.” He elaborated that he will adjust his itinerary to fit the state-specific stipulations required for a safe return. “I’m going to be traveling throughout the country where I can do it consistent with the state rules about how many people can be assembled,” he said. Biden’s campaign consistently consults outside health experts and sticks to best practices dictated from the Centers for Disease Control. In the few events that he has convened in person, reporters have undergone temperature and symptom checks, worn masks, and remained six feet apart at all times. As he returns to the trail this week, officials have further stepped up their preventative measures. The hyper-vigilance comes as both he and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), his vice presidential nominee, have now agreed to take coronavirus tests “regularly,” Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. “The reasons for a candidate for the presidency to get tested is as much about the public narrative and the politics, maybe more so, than it is about the personal risk of the candidate,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, a pandemic expert at Columbia University (and occasional Daily Beast contributor) who formerly worked on Biden’s health advisory committee. “I was glad to hear that Vice President Biden will in fact get tested,” he said. “It’s appropriate on many levels.”Dem Lobbyists Are Already Cashing in on the Likelihood of a Biden WinBoth Trump and Biden, for months, have displayed opposite styles to public gatherings. Like other Trump re-election events, social distancing and masks were not required at the Republican National Convention—in fact, the last night of the confab featured more than 1,000 closely seated guests, few of whom wore masks, on the White House lawn. The Democratic National Convention, held the prior week, had strict COVID-19 testing protocols that mirrored Biden’s own campaign preferences. But as the country’s consciousness shifts back to an extended period of societal unrest, primarily over police brutality, Trump and Biden have also taken different approaches to traveling. Trump is scheduled to fly on Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where agitation has mounted after a Black man named Jacob Blake survived a shooting by a white police officer, a forceful tactic that left him paralyzed. The president will “meet with local law enforcement and survey damage from the recent riots,” Judd Deere, deputy White House press secretary, announced on Saturday. By Sunday, though, there was already strong blowback coming from the highest-ranking statewide official and trickling down locally. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers penned a letter to Trump with a plea: “I write today to respectfully ask you to reconsider,” it read. In one of the more poignant lines, Evers said Trump could make things worse on the ground by showing up.“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state. I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together,” he wrote. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes expressed similar feelings in an interview on CNN. As did Kenosha’s mayor, John Antaramian, who told NPR that, “realistically, from our perspective, our preference would have been for him not to be coming at this point in time.” Biden will not travel to the city ahead of Trump’s visit, Politico first reported on Sunday afternoon, following a New York Times story that seemed to leave room for that possibility. In the latter half of the weekend, Biden’s campaign was instead focused on a separate instance of tumult. The former vice president issued a statement condemning violence in Portland, Oregon, where a man was killed the previous day by a gunshot around the time that tensions broke out between two groups of people, Black Lives Matter activists and supporters of Trump, according to the Associated Press. “The deadly violence we saw overnight in Portland is unacceptable,” Biden said, through a release. “Shooting in the streets of a great American city is unacceptable. I condemn this violence unequivocally. I condemn violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right. And I challenge Donald Trump to do the same.”While Biden has, for now, opted against touching down in Wisconsin or Oregon, he will head to the southwestern region of his native Pennsylvania on Monday. The stop will be a chance “to lay out a core question voters face in this election: are you safe in Donald Trump's America?” according to a press release distributed by his campaign.Biden’s tentative upcoming travel schedule to strategic election areas like Pennsylvania also comes as Trump has outwardly professed confidence about a handful of post-convention polls that show a shrinking gap between the two candidates. According to a Morning Consult survey, which was conducted over just one day, Biden is currently ahead of Trump among “likely voters” by 6 percentage points, coming in at 50 percent to 44 percent. Biden’s pre-convention lead, per the research group, was 10 percentage points. A YouGov/Yahoo News poll done over two days also showed Biden with a 6-point advantage after the Republican Party’s gathering, down from 9 percentage points ahead of his opponent. Addressing the downturn in those particular surveys, one knowledgeable Democrat familiar with Biden’s campaign downplayed the findings and pointed to signs of internal stability for the party’s nominee.“Trump all of a sudden believes polls. It is a miracle,” the source said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.




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Russian opposition activist hospitalised after attack outside his home

Russian opposition activist hospitalised after attack outside his homeA 22-year-old Russian opposition activist has been hospitalised after what supporters said was a vicious attack by two men outside his house in Moscow. Yegor Zhukov, who came to prominence last year when he was arrested and tried over opposition protests, posted pictures of his bruised and bloody face to social media following the attack. He was taken to hospital for an MRI scan which showed he had “fortunately managed to avoid serious injuries or internal bleeding,” a spokesman said. The activist “remained calm and even joked about what happened,” his team said in a social media post, adding that he was allowed home following tests.




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'Hero' St. Louis police officer dies after being shot in the head

'Hero' St. Louis police officer dies after being shot in the headA St. Louis police officer died Sunday after being shot in the head by a gunman, authorities said.




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Burst of success for progressive challengers in U.S. congressional races may fizzle in Massachusetts

Burst of success for progressive challengers in U.S. congressional races may fizzle in MassachusettsA solid year for progressive Democrats who have defeated at least three incumbents in the U.S. Congress in primaries could fizzle out this week in Massachusetts where three party stalwarts were set to fend off challengers. The progressive model for success has seen an array of mostly young candidates, sometimes minorities, toppling older establishment incumbents. Senator Ed Markey, 74, appeared to be holding off 39-year-old Representative Joe Kennedy III by touting the legislative battles he has waged over more than four decades in the House of Representatives and Senate on issues such as nuclear disarmament and climate change.




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Alarm as FDA willing to issue Covid-19 vaccine before stringent safety testing

Alarm as FDA willing to issue Covid-19 vaccine before stringent safety testingFDA under intensifying pressure from Trump, who wants to see a vaccine come on stream or ready to announce before the electionPublic health experts have reacted with alarm to remarks by the head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that he might give the green light for a US Covid-19 vaccine before the normal clinical trial process had reached its conclusion.As the US was on the verge of 6m coronavirus cases on Sunday, Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that he was prepared to issue emergency use authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine before the end of Phase 3 human trials that put the drug through stringent testing for safety and efficacy.He said the standard he would apply instead would be “that the benefit outweighs the risk in a public health emergency”.Hahn told the newspaper that his decision would not be swayed by political pressure amid the febrile atmosphere of the upcoming US presidential election. “This is going to be a science, medicine, data decision. This is not going to be a political decision,” he said.But several public health experts expressed their concern on Sunday about an apparent willingness to consider fast-tracking a vaccine outside what is considered the gold standard testing process.The FDA has come under intensifying pressure in recent weeks from Donald Trump, who wants to see a vaccine come on stream or ready to announce before the November election, and has a public-private vaccine development funding program underway called Operation Warp Speed.Trump has openly attacked the FDA, baselessly citing a supposed “deep state” within it of dragging its feet on the vaccine approval process, despite no evidence to support the latest version of a rightwing conspiracy theory that even one of its most enthusiastic, original Trump administration propagators, Steve Bannon, has dismissed.The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 was approaching 6m in the US by Sunday afternoon, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, while recorded deaths stand at a catastrophic 182,612 – almost a quarter of all global fatalities.Over the weekend California became the first state to pass 700,000 confirmed cases.Since the beginning of the pandemic in January, Trump has consistently downplayed the severity of the crisis and sidelined scientists, including those at the FDA.Hahn has been criticized for misleading the public about the efficacy of convalescent plasma treatment which takes blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors and injects it into sufferers.At a White House media launch last week Hahn, standing beside Trump, said the plasma treatment would save 35 lives out of every 100 patients when in fact studies put the figure at 3-5 lives. He was forced to apologise.Scientists and public health specialists were quick to issue warnings about Hahn’s comments about cutting short the vaccine trials.Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at New York’s Columbia University, said: “We absolutely cannot tolerate or accept an emergency authorization for any Covid-19 vaccine without reliable safety and efficacy data from phase three clinical trials”.Writing on Twitter, she said it would be unethical to give the go-ahead before the trials had conclusively proved that both the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.It would place “huge numbers of people at risk for massive potential harm” and would deal “a catastrophic blow to public confidence in both vaccines and the regulatory mechanisms in place”, she wrote.Eric Topol of the Scripps Translational Research Institute said that it would take many months for the safety of the vaccine to be fully determined at trial, “irrespective of Stephen Hahn’s subservience to Trump … Any shortcuts will imperil the ultimate rollout of the vaccine and lose the public trust for getting immunized, which is already compromised.”Hahn’s predecessor as head of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, told CBS’s Face the Nation that “I don’t know what is meant by saying before the phase 3 trials are completed … They are going to wait for these trials to read out before they can make a decision about the efficacy of these vaccines.”The news earlier this month that Russia had produced a vaccine was greeted with widespread skepticism because it had been approved and was being given to people, including one of Vladimir Putin’s daughters, before phase 3 trials.




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Mom rips gun and shoe from man accused of kidnapping her 1-year-old, Georgia cops say

Mom rips gun and shoe from man accused of kidnapping her 1-year-old, Georgia cops sayThe child has since been found safe, officials say.




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Liberty University opens investigation into 'all facets' of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s tenure

Liberty University opens investigation into 'all facets' of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s tenureLiberty is also exploring a new coach and mentor to help ensure all Liberty employees are fulfilling their 'spiritual responsibility.'




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U.S. Senate's McConnell eyes revamped coronavirus relief bill, Mnuchin tells Fox Business

U.S. Senate's McConnell eyes revamped coronavirus relief bill, Mnuchin tells Fox BusinessThe Trump administration and Senate Republicans have been in regular contact over possible coronavirus relief measures and the Senate's top Republican will "hopefully" unveil a new bill next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday. Asked about the collapse of talks with Democrats over aid legislation, Mnuchin told Fox Business Network that he and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows have been speaking regularly with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.




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A group of college Republicans is raising money for Kyle Rittenhouse, the gunman suspected of killing 2 people in Kenosha

A group of college Republicans is raising money for Kyle Rittenhouse, the gunman suspected of killing 2 people in KenoshaAn Arizona State University student group said it'll donate half of all funds raised to the 17-year-old gunman accused of killing two people at a protest.




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With peak of hurricane season almost here, forecasters watch four areas for tropical development

With peak of hurricane season almost here, forecasters watch four areas for tropical developmentThe most active day of the hurricane season is around Sept. 10. As the season's peak nears, forecasters are watching four areas for development.




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Ethiopia seeks US clarification on reported aid cut over dam



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New report deepens mystery around Trump’s sudden and suspicious visit to Walter Reed hospital

New report deepens mystery around Trump’s sudden and suspicious visit to Walter Reed hospitalVice President Mike Pence was reportedly prepared to take over the presidential duties




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Schools are more segregated than 30 years ago. Here's what's driving the change.

Schools are more segregated than 30 years ago. Here's what's driving the change.School integration programs once broke down barriers. Today, white and Black students in cities like Minneapolis are growing up apart.




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Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly allowed in person legal visit despite coronavirus lockdown

Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly allowed in person legal visit despite coronavirus lockdownGhislaine Maxwell has reportedly been allowed an in-person visit by her legal team in what is believed to be the first permitted in a New York City federal jail during the pandemic lockdown. According to the New York Daily News, Maxwell, who is facing six criminal charges, was allowed to hold a face to face meeting at Sunset Park’s Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Friday morning. All involved reportedly wore masks during the meeting. Other inmates, who have been in lockdown since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, have had neither family, nor legal visits. Maxwell has been held on remand for less than two months. “I’m incredulous really that she was the first one when there are those of us who have been waiting for nearly six months to have an in-person visit with our clients,” Susan Marcus, a lawyer representing detainees in the centre, told the paper.




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M&S food goes fully online with Ocado launch

The grocer is making its entire range available for delivery but experts are divided on the move.

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Child Trust Funds: Teenagers get first chance to access cash

Savings pots could now be worth more than £1,000 but many teenagers are unaware they exist.

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How this African restaurant adapted to the pandemic

Molly Malone's Restaurant in Johannesburg has converted its carpark into an outdoor 'roadhouse'.

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Sunday 30 August 2020

SpaceX may attempt 3 rocket launches on Sunday

SpaceX may attempt 3 rocket launches on SundaySpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, has scheduled two back-to-back Falcon 9 launches in Florida, just nine hours apart.




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Price of plastic carrier bags to double to 10p next year

The fee for single-use bags will rise to 10p and be extended to all shops from April 2021.

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Norway bunker partygoers poisoned with carbon monoxide

More than 20 people were hospitalised after attending the party in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

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Government paid influencers to promote Test and Trace

Taxpayer money was used to pay influencers to promote Test and Trace.

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Anaheim police fatally shoot man sought on arrest warrant

He allegedly armed himself with a kitchen knife, prompting one or more officers to open fire, according to investigators.



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L.A. County reports 1,030 new COVID-19 cases, while hospitalizations continue dropping

There were 1,089 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals as of Sunday — the lowest number since early May — with 32% in intensive care.



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Stories of 2020: Five Lives Caught in a Year of Upheaval and Pain


By BY PETER BAKER, JOHN BRANCH, JOHN ELIGON, REID J. EPSTEIN, DAN LEVIN AND MARC STEIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3gJPdVW

Poll: Republican National Convention Did Nothing for Trump’s Favorability Rating

Some polls show Trump making gains on Biden after the Republican National Convention.

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Kentucky AG has received ballistics in Breonna Taylor case

Kentucky AG has received ballistics in Breonna Taylor caseKentucky's attorney general has received a long-awaited FBI ballistics report in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Attorney General Daniel Cameron tweeted Sunday that there is additional analysis needed now that the report is in his hands, and there would be no announcement on the investigation this week. “We continue to work diligently to follow the facts and complete the investigation,” Cameron tweeted.




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A couple received an anonymous note calling their unpainted house an "eyesore," then they received over $48,000 to help with repairs

A couple received an anonymous note calling their unpainted house an "eyesore," then they received over $48,000 to help with repairsA couple that has suffered multiple health issues received a note shaming them for their unpainted house. A GoFundMe page raised money for repairs.




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Hundreds of protesters arrested by Belarusian police as 100,000 rally against Lukashenko

Hundreds of protesters arrested by Belarusian police as 100,000 rally against LukashenkoTens of thousands of opposition supporters marched through the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday calling for an end to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's rule, despite heavily armed police and troops blocking streets and detaining dozens of demonstrators. Protests have now entered a third week since the disputed presidential election on August 9 in which Mr Lukashenko claimed victory, while opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she was the true winner. An AFP journalist and local media estimated that more than 100,000 people came to Sunday's protest, equalling the scale of the rallies on previous weekends, the largest demonstrations the country has seen since independence from the USSR.




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In Colorado town, the post office delivers much more than the mail

In Colorado town, the post office delivers much more than the mailLeadville, Colo., has no car dealership, no Walmart, no department store and no dependable internet service. The post office fills important gaps.




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Trump resumes campaign rallies and utters the unthinkable: 'If Biden wins...'

Trump resumes campaign rallies and utters the unthinkable: 'If Biden wins...'One night after accepting the Republican nomination, Donald Trump resumed campaigning for reelection as though the coronavirus pandemic was a thing of the past, rallying hundreds of supporters at New Hampshire airport hangar.




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Mom rips gun and shoe from man accused of kidnapping her 1-year-old, Georgia cops say

Mom rips gun and shoe from man accused of kidnapping her 1-year-old, Georgia cops sayThe child has since been found safe, officials say.




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3-year-old girl safe after being lofted by kite in Taiwan

3-year-old girl safe after being lofted by kite in TaiwanA 3-year-old girl in Taiwan was reported safe after becoming caught in the strings of a kite and lifted several meters into the air. The unidentified girl was taking part in a kite festival Sunday in the seaside town of Nanlioao when she was caught up by a giant, long-tailed orange kite.




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Op-Ed: Kamala Harris' vice presidential run is a campaign to be America's second Black president

Op-Ed: Kamala Harris' vice presidential run is a campaign to be America's second Black presidentBlack grievances put Harris on the ticket; her's is the face of leadership the country is demanding now.




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Report: New York tenants were not aware they would be featured at the Republican National Convention

Report: New York tenants were not aware they would be featured at the Republican National ConventionThe tenants were interviewed by a HUD official, they said. The RNC was criticized for blurring the lines between the government and partisan politics.




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Dramatic last-second launch abort grounds spy satellite

Dramatic last-second launch abort grounds spy satelliteThe "hot-fire abort" derailed plans for three launches in just two days from Florida's Space Coast.




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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have a lot to do with Joe Kennedy's primary struggles

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have a lot to do with Joe Kennedy's primary strugglesRep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) could soon be out of politics, and an unlikely colleague may have something to do with it, Politico reports.Kennedy is challenging Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the statewide Democratic primary for Markey's seat, which he's held since 2013. Politico notes that Kennedy tries to hit the 74-year-old Markey by criticizing his support for the 1994 crime bill and the Iraq War when he was in the House, both of which would seemingly put him in trouble with the progressive left. But the incumbent has maintained a lead over his 39-year-old challenger in large part thanks to an army of young voters, who, with a push from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), view Markey as key to the climate change movement.Mary Ann Marsh, a Boston-based Democratic consultant, told Politico that Ocasio-Cortez, the Sunrise Movement, and Justice Democrats have "allowed this remarkable makeover" of the veteran lawmaker who has been in Congress for 44 years, turning him into the "darling of the climate change warriors." Without Ocasio-Cortez, she said, "I think it would've been a much harder effort to make him into the Ed Markey people see in this race, which is very different from the Ed Markey people in Massachusetts have seen in 44 years." Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com 5 more scathingly funny cartoons about the Republican National Convention Air travel in the coronavirus era Biden's latest ad puts Trump's weirdest moments and empty rallies to a Bad Bunny song




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Biden: Troops, their families will never have to question what side I'm on

Biden: Troops, their families will never have to question what side I'm onJoe Biden speaks at a National Guard Association of the United States virtual conference.




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Government paid influencers to promote Test and Trace

Taxpayer money was used to pay influencers to promote Test and Trace.

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Eat Out to Help Out discount comes to an end

The government's dining discount scheme ends on Monday, but there are calls for it to be extended.

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'We need Eat Out To Help Out to run in the autumn'

A group of restaurateurs wants the Eat Out To Help Out scheme to be brought back in the autumn.

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Saturday 29 August 2020

L.A. County reports 1,339 new coronavirus cases, 27 deaths

The county now has recorded a total of 239,828 cases of the coronavirus and 5,763 related deaths.



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‘It Was Challenging’: Bucks Return, Balancing Basketball and Activism


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Coronavirus Around the World


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‘Enough Is Enough’: New Racial Justice Leaders Rise in Kenosha


By BY JOHN ELIGON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/34LP95G

Coronavirus: Life chances at risk if pupils don't return to school, Williamson says

The education secretary has written an open letter to parents insisting that schools are safe.

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Flooding in Hereford: Residents still in temporary homes

People whose houses flooded twice in four months are still in temporary homes.

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One in four BHS stores remain vacant four years after collapse

Department store chain closed its last stores in 2016 but finding new uses is a lengthy process.

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The diary of my daughter's murder: 'We were in hell on earth'

Bea Jones started writing a diary as she tried to come to terms with the brutal murder of her daughter Moira.

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Coronavirus doctor's diary: The fake news about schools that's misleading parents

A video claiming that children could be placed in quarantine at school could disrupt the start of term.

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'They wanted to drown me at birth - now I'm a poet'

Kuli Kohli has always used writing as a means of escape from the prejudice she has experienced as an Asian woman with cerebral palsy.

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Algeria's lessons from The Plague in the age of coronavirus

Finding parallels between the famous novel and how Algeria is coping with coronavirus amid political upheaval.

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If the police officer who shot Jacob Blake can prove he feared an 'imminent risk of death or great bodily harm,' his shooting could be legally justified

If the police officer who shot Jacob Blake can prove he feared an 'imminent risk of death or great bodily harm,' his shooting could be legally justifiedAn officer shot Jacob Blake while he had his back turned toward them. If they reasonably feared for their lives, it may be legally justified.




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New Jersey mayor rescinds $2,500 police overtime bill sent to student who organized BLM protest

New Jersey mayor rescinds $2,500 police overtime bill sent to student who organized BLM protestAfter holding the protest in July, Emily Gil received a letter from Mayor Mario Kranjac saying she owed $2,499.26 for police overtime.




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Does Kyle Rittenhouse Have a Self-Defense Claim?

Does Kyle Rittenhouse Have a Self-Defense Claim?Kenosha, a city of 100,000 in Wisconsin’s southeastern corner, now confronts the question of when lethal force is justified in two different cases. One, the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer, I addressed yesterday. The other is the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, who is alleged to have killed two people and injured one during the civil unrest this week, and who has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, reckless homicide, and other offenses.Rittenhouse is a 17-year-old from Antioch, Ill., about a half hour’s drive from Kenosha. Inexplicably, this underage police cadet from out of state wound up on the streets after curfew in a place where a riot was likely imminent, doing interviews with journalists and openly carrying an AR-15–style rifle.There can be no question that Rittenhouse and whatever adults were in charge of him made idiotic decisions. Minors should not stand guard at riots play-acting at being cops. But even people who knowingly put themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time are allowed to defend themselves against attack when they get there. So the biggest legal question is: Did Rittenhouse defend himself against attack with an appropriate amount of force, or were the people he shot the ones acting in self-defense by trying to disarm him?The very beginning of the situation is not on video that I am aware, but the complaint against Rittenhouse contains some key details from Richard McGinnis, a Daily Caller reporter who was interviewing Rittenhouse at the time:> McGinnis said that as they were walking south another armed male who appeared to be in his 30s joined them and said he was there to protect the defendant. McGinnis stated that before the defendant reached the parking lot and ran across it, the defendant had moved from the middle of Sheridan Road to the sidewalk and that is when McGinnis saw a male ([Joseph] Rosenbaum) initially try to engage the defendant. McGinnis stated that as the defendant was walking Rosenbaum was trying to get closer to the defendant. When Rosenbaum advanced, the defendant did a “juke” move and started running. McGinnis stated that there were other people that were moving very quickly. McGinnis stated that they were moving towards the defendant. McGinnis said that according to what he saw the defendant was trying to evade these individuals.After that, much of the situation was recorded, and the New York Times has done an excellent job of stitching the videos together. This Twitter thread from a co-author of the piece nicely explains the events and (for those willing to watch graphic footage) provides the key clips:> A teenager faces charges in shootings that left 2 people dead in Kenosha, WI. The @nytimes Visual Investigations team reviewed hours of livestreams to track 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse’s movements during and leading up to the shootings. [THREAD] https://t.co/FRCYlS5wgH> > -- Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020 The first video starts with people already chasing Rittenhouse, one of whom throws something at him. One person even fires a handgun in the air — and another, Rosenbaum, charges at Rittenhouse, who shoots him. After that, there are more shots from an unknown source, and Rittenhouse calls a friend on his phone and leaves.But again he’s pursued, with some protesters urging others to join in, and this time he falls down. Several people move in on him, and he takes shots at three, hitting two. One is holding a handgun and survives a shot to the arm; the other has a skateboard and dies. Again there are additional mysterious gunshots after the fact.Obviously, a big unanswered question right now is how this all really got started. But as we wait for that information, let’s take a gander at the Wisconsin laws at issue.There are two extremes here: justifiable use of deadly force and first-degree intentional homicide. So let’s see what the law says about those two situations, bearing in mind that other charges can apply if Rittenhouse’s behavior fell in between them. (There are plenty of options: Rittenhouse is charged with reckless homicide for the first fatal shooting, first-degree intentional homicide for the second, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for the nonfatal one, in addition to charges for reckless endangerment and bearing a dangerous weapon as a minor.)Quite typically for a U.S. state, Wisconsin allows civilian use of deadly force when one “reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” One major issue, then, will be whether Rittenhouse reasonably thought that the folks engaging with him meant to inflict serious injury, not just disarm him.But what if Rittenhouse provoked the confrontation to begin with? That’s bad for a claim of self-defense, but it doesn’t preclude one. Here’s another excerpt from the Wisconsin statute books:> (a) A person who engages in unlawful conduct of a type likely to provoke others to attack him or her and thereby does provoke an attack is not entitled to claim the privilege of self-defense against such attack, except when the attack which ensues is of a type causing the person engaging in the unlawful conduct to reasonably believe that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. In such a case, the person engaging in the unlawful conduct is privileged to act in self-defense, but the person is not privileged to resort to the use of force intended or likely to cause death to the person's assailant unless the person reasonably believes he or she has exhausted every other reasonable means to escape from or otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm at the hands of his or her assailant.> > (b) The privilege lost by provocation may be regained if the actor in good faith withdraws from the fight and gives adequate notice thereof to his or her assailant.> > (c) A person who provokes an attack, whether by lawful or unlawful conduct, with intent to use such an attack as an excuse to cause death or great bodily harm to his or her assailant is not entitled to claim the privilege of self-defense.So, even if Rittenhouse bears some responsibility for the initial conflict, he can still argue that he did everything he could to escape the situation and withdraw from the fight. Both shooting incidents began with him running away.Moving to the other extreme, to prove first-degree intentional homicide, prosecutors will have to show that Rittenhouse “cause[d] the death of another human being with intent to kill that person” and will have to disprove the existence of any “mitigating circumstances” the defense asserts. If the prosecution fails at the latter task, the offense is knocked down to the second degree.Mitigating circumstances include “adequate provocation,” meaning the victim did something “sufficient to cause complete lack of self-control in an ordinarily constituted person”; “unnecessary defensive force,” meaning Rittenhouse “believed he . . . was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that the force used was necessary to defend [himself],” even though the belief was unreasonable; and “prevention of felony,” meaning he believed his actions were necessary to stop the “commission of a felony,” even though the belief was unreasonable. In other words, even if Rittenhouse unreasonably thought his actions were necessary, he can get the charge downgraded, though in that case he’ll still have committed a very serious offense.Rittenhouse is already a hero to some and a supervillain to others; in that sense, he is the Bernie Goetz of 2020. The highest charge against him strikes me as a stretch, but beyond that I don’t have any bold opinions yet. The outcome for each shooting will depend on whether Rittenhouse reasonably feared for his life, which in turn might depend on broader context we lack thus far — and even if all three shootings were justified, there are still firearms and reckless-endangerment charges for him to contend with.Where the f*** were this kid’s parents?




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France doing everything possible to avoid repeat COVID-19 lockdown, says Macron

France doing everything possible to avoid repeat COVID-19 lockdown, says MacronFrench President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday his government was doing everything possible to avoid another nationwide coronavirus lockdown but added it would be dangerous to rule out any scenario. "We're doing everything to avoid another lockdown and in particular a nationwide lockdown," Macron told journalists. The number of coronavirus infections has spiralled higher in France in recent weeks, particularly among young people, although the number of patients receiving life-saving treatment in hospitals is stable.




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Biden buys ‘Keep America Great’ domain name and dedicates it to criticising Trump

Biden buys ‘Keep America Great’ domain name and dedicates it to criticising TrumpThe Biden campaign has acquired the web domain KeepAmericaGreat.com and has dedicated the site to criticising president Donald Trump‘s policies and handling of the coronavirus pandemic.When Mr Trump launched his reelection campaign for the 2020 presidential election last year, he revealed “Keep America Great” as its official slogan, following on from his 2016 phrase, “Make America Great Again.”




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Man booked in slaying of 3, including Fort Hood soldier



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Arrest made after firefighter’s wallet stolen as he battled wildfires, CA officials say

Arrest made after firefighter’s wallet stolen as he battled wildfires, CA officials sayThe thief drained the bank account of the firefighter after the wallet was lifted from his vehicle. officials said.




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GOP official warns that a single law is going to delay election results in Midwest swing states

GOP official warns that a single law is going to delay election results in Midwest swing statesThe top Republican election official in Ohio on Thursday said that other Midwestern states where the presidential election was decided four years ago are in a “really terrible situation” because they have so far not allowed mail-in ballots to be processed in an expedited way. 




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'More Than 30' rapists: Israel's #MeToo campaign

'More Than 30' rapists: Israel's #MeToo campaignAllegations of a horrific hotel gang-rape in Israel where 30 men reportedly waited in line to assault a teenage girl have triggered an outraged campaign echoing the global MeToo movement.




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Tillis: 'I fell short' on mask wearing at RNC

Tillis: 'I fell short' on mask wearing at RNCThe Republican senator's zeal for enforcing masks has landed him in hot water in the past.




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A Sick President Scrambles to Spread His Contagion of Fear

A Sick President Scrambles to Spread His Contagion of FearBefore last night’s neon obscenity—a Trump rally on the South Lawn of the American White House—the 2020 Republican National Convention was close to cartoonish in its attempt to scare the country into voting for Donald J. Trump. It began as dark comedy with a cast of family members, supplicants, incompetents, political ne’er do wells and loud worshippers of a guy who never really believed he’d win on that long-gone night in November 2016 but now thinks he belongs on Mount Rushmore. As each day melted into the next, though, there were no laugh-lines. Only the specter of a dark hand with a gun and a knock on your door, the mob empowered by Democrat radicals come to take your life, your dreams. By the time that Donald emerged from the White House—think about it, the White House—to deliver his convention speech on Thursday night, you could feel the nuts and bolts holding together this nearly 245-year-old republic loosening with each assault on a form of government that has stood through civil war, depressions, injustice and the stain of racism. Now here he was, an accidental president who stumbled into the job and is scrambling to hold on to it, despite the disasters on his watch. He is an expert on very few things but is a genius in recognizing the disease of resentment and bitterness in people who feel left behind and left out. Trump is a social arsonist who sets the fire and is warmed watching it grow.Ivanka Wants to Brag About Results? How About 180,000 Dead PeopleMaking fear contagious is his specialty. He does not dwell on the virus that attacked America while he denied it, the racial disparities he barely acknowledges, the millions of unemployed who have lost jobs, hope and a piece of dignity. It is what it is.This Republican week was about race. It was about denial. It was about ignorance, all of it piled on the embers of fear that Trump, his acolytes, his enablers in the Senate and House watched, witnessed, and stood by in silence as those sparkles turned into a bonfire.Much of what occurred was ugly, obscene and spitting on history, our history: Using the White House as a promotional prop; the smug secretary of State violating his office as he spoke from Jerusalem with the charm of something you could get in Aisle 5 of any Home Depot; two members of the Marine Corps, splendid in their summer ‘Blue-White’ uniforms, turned into door-openers for an ego so outsized Trump barely fit through the door they held open for him. Whatever he touches, whoever he touches, ends up stained.The week’s speeches and appearances were so much more of the sad and dangerous insanity that has imprisoned the Republican Party. It is now handcuffed in history to its leader—Trump—who has already badly damaged democracy leaving huge parts of our once functioning government in a debris field created and caused by the intentional crash landing of common sense, competence, morality, and accountability. Only he could do it!And then there was Trump himself, standing at a podium Thursday night alongside a gathering of American flags and in front of about 1,500 people, most of them without masks, who were there as part of a potential COVID super-spreader event. In a smaller-scale of the disastrous Arizona rally that Herman Cain attended, Trump got right to the big point of his re-election campaign: Let’s Make America Scared Again.“Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans, or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists, agitators, and criminals who threaten our citizens,” he declared.“And this election will decide whether we will defend the American Way of Life or whether we allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.”It was easy to shut your eyes and through the dust and fog of all the years see and hear Nixon tracking back and forth across the land in the fall of 1968, about how “the other” is coming for your way of life. People who do not look like you are the principal threat to you and your family.Last week, Michelle Obama addressed the Democratic convention and said: “If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me… they can and they will.”Last night and all through this week, you could watch and listen to the truth of her words. It was language built around demonization, defining danger in almost clear racial terms, denying and talking around nearly 180,000 virus deaths that Trump could not combat with only passing references to the millions of unemployed.As Trump spoke and midnight approached, you had a right to be scared.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.




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One in four BHS stores remain vacant four years after collapse

Department store chain closed its last stores in 2016 but finding new uses is a lengthy process.

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Friday 28 August 2020

Here's how California's new coronavirus reopening rules will affect you

Here is how California's new coronavirus reopening rules will impact you



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Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore After Oil Spill Off Mauritius


By BY MICHAEL LEVENSON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3baWhtB

Returning to the campaign trail, Trump unloads baseless attacks on Biden.


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Jacob Blake Was Shackled in Hospital Bed After Police Shooting


By BY JOHN ELIGON, SARAH MERVOSH AND RICHARD A. OPPEL JR. from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2G2P2s9

Lute Olson, Who Put Arizona on College Basketball Map, Dies at 85


By BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/34ELxCF

El legado de Shinzo Abe, el primer ministro de Japón que anunció su dimisión


By BY MOTOKO RICH AND RUSSELL GOLDMAN from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2ENAwUQ

Texas Is Running Out of Near Misses


By BY JIM BLACKBURN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3hDSY0H

Bill for Trump’s Tax Holiday Will Be Due Next Year, Treasury Dept. Says


By BY ALAN RAPPEPORT from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3hFtaRw

New Yorkers were tricked into appearing in an R.N.C. video. They’re furious.


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This Was the Week American Fascism Reached a Tipping Point

The troubling developments of the past week are almost too many to count.

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Coronavirus: Winter plans revealed in leaked Sage report

A leaked government report suggests a “reasonable worst case scenario” of 85,000 Covid deaths this winter.

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Coronavirus: Bus journeys will be first challenge of new school year

As pupils return, there are concerns buses could be a weak link in the back-to-school safety plan.

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Amazon fires: Are they worse this year than before?

Blazes are continuing to rage in the Amazon rainforest, despite the Brazilian president's fire ban.

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Five things to focus on in your CV

When it comes to CV-writing, maximise your chances of a job by focusing on these five things.

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26 children — one as young as 3 — rescued in Georgia sex trafficking sting, feds say

26 children — one as young as 3 — rescued in Georgia sex trafficking sting, feds say“Operation Not Forgotten” helped locate nearly 40 missing kids.




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Kim Jong-un inspects the damage as North Korea reels from floods and Typhoon Bavi

Kim Jong-un inspects the damage as North Korea reels from floods and Typhoon BaviNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a rice-growing area devastated by a typhoon on Thursday, as the reclusive country reels from back-to-back natural and manmade catastrophes. Photos released by state media of the authoritarian leader inspecting fields alongside mask-wearing officials appeared to be framed to convey his benevolence as citizens struggle to cope with the impact of severe monsoon flooding, and the economic toll of the pandemic and ongoing global sanctions. Typhoon Bavi slammed into the country’s southwestern province of Hwanghae, dealing a damaging blow to its corn stalks, rice paddies and other crops, and raising fears of increased hunger among an already malnourished population. Ten million people are reported by the United Nations to be suffering from food insecurity, living from harvest to harvest. The country also suffers from years of neglected infrastructure, which exacerbates the effects of natural disasters.




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