Friday, 31 July 2020

US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mate

US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mateSenator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress.




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Kids' mental health can struggle during online school. Here's how teachers are planning ahead.

Kids' mental health can struggle during online school. Here's how teachers are planning ahead.Kids miss their friends. They're stuck at home. They're sleeping erratically. Not to mention the trauma of COVID-19 and economic collapse around them.




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Mexico eclipses Britain with third highest coronavirus death toll

Mexico eclipses Britain with third highest coronavirus death tollMexico surpassed Britain as the country with the third-highest coronavirus death toll on Friday, as the pandemic reaches new milestones in Latin America and threatens to disrupt efforts to reopen the region's reeling economies. More than 91,000 people have died in Brazil, and the U.S. death toll has topped 152,000. Mexico on Friday recorded 688 fatalities to bring its death toll to 46,688, with 424,637 confirmed cases.




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Police Find Child’s Toy Bucket in Secret Sealed Cellar Being Searched for Madeleine McCann

Police Find Child’s Toy Bucket in Secret Sealed Cellar Being Searched for Madeleine McCannPolice and cadaver-hunting dogs are on the scene in a backyard in Hanover, Germany, where a secret sealed cellar has just been unearthed in the hunt for missing Briton Madeleine McCann. The cellar was once under a garden shed on property where German pedophile Christian Brueckner, the latest suspect in the missing-child case, once lived. The shed was torn down years ago, but neighbors said Brueckner once spent hours inside. German Police Dig Up a Backyard in Search of Madeleine McCannPolice were seen Thursday carrying out a number of items from the cellar, including blue bags of forensic evidence and a child’s bucket. McCann was just shy of her fourth birthday when she was snatched from her bed while her twin siblings slept nearby at a holiday rental in Portugal in 2007. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were dining with friends a few hundred yards away when she disappeared.The case, which has been closed and reopened by Portuguese police several times, has now picked up steam after German authorities identified the convicted pedophile, who is also under investigation for raping a 72-year-old woman. British police have never lost faith in finding out what happened, spending millions of pounds over the last 13 years on an investigation called Operation Grange, through which they have translated the Portuguese dossier and interviewed many key witnesses.But it is German police who have so far advanced the search for the truth. Initially they said they were sure McCann was dead, but provided no clues to back up their line of thinking. McCann’s parents have not commented on the latest development on the case, but are said to be watching closely in hopes of finally finding out what happened to their missing daughter. 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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Woman who filmed Florida police officer drawing gun during pullover arrested after failing to return vehicle

Woman who filmed Florida police officer drawing gun during pullover arrested after failing to return vehicleJoneshia Wilkerson, 23, was arrested on suspicion of failure to return a leased vehicle and fraudulent use of a credit card.




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UK must heed 'warning light' amid concerns over second coronavirus wave, says Boris Johnson

UK must heed 'warning light' amid concerns over second coronavirus wave, says Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson has put the brakes on the easing of lockdown measures as the chief medical officer warned that the country may have reached the "limit" on resuming normal life. The Prime Minister said he was postponing planned changes which were due to come in on Saturday, stressing that it was right to heed the "warning light on the dashboard" amid concerns over a second coronavirus wave. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said wedding receptions of up to 30 people and the reopening of casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks would not be allowed for at least another two weeks. The Prime Minister said plans to start indoor performances and allow "close contact" beauty treatments and pilots of larger gatherings in sports venues and conference centres would be postponed.




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GOP intransigence in Michigan could lead to a chaotic presidential election

GOP intransigence in Michigan could lead to a chaotic presidential electionA top Michigan official warned that, unless the Republican-controlled state Legislature passes a law to speed up the reporting of election results, it would be responsible for a chaotic and destabilizing election this fall.




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U.S. coronavirus epicenter shifts toward Midwestern states

U.S. coronavirus epicenter shifts toward Midwestern statesThe epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States showed signs of shifting to the Midwest on Thursday while Sunbelt states were hopeful that new infections and deaths were starting to decline. The COVID-19 outbreak was moving into Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska "because of vacations and other reasons of travel," Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, told Fox News in an interview. Ohio's health department said the state had seen its highest single-day increase in infections since the pandemic started in January, which Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, told a news conference was "certainly not good news."




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Gay officer who settled suit will resign from diversity unit



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South Africa produces its first ventilators to fight COVID-19

South Africa produces its first ventilators to fight COVID-19The first of thousands of South African-designed ventilators rolled off a Cape Town assembly line on Friday, responding to requests from hospitals needing them for severe COVID-19 cases but unable to get them on global markets, officials said. Poorly resourced hospitals across Africa, which is nearing a million cases of COVID-19 -- more than half of them in South Africa -- have struggled to cope with a burgeoning case load amid a global scramble favouring richer nations in procuring ventilators and protective gear. "Today the first batch of completed ventilators are coming off the assembly line, part of an initial order of 10,000 units," Ebrahim Patel, the trade and industry minister, said during a COVID-19 conference.




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Litman: William Barr's a danger to democracy. He channels what the president wants

Litman: William Barr's a danger to democracy. He channels what the president wantsThe attorney general knows what Trump wants and needs, no memo or Oval Office directive required.




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Coronavirus: 10 die drinking sanitiser after Indian state shuts liquor shops

Coronavirus: 10 die drinking sanitiser after Indian state shuts liquor shopsLocal liquor shops were shut under a local coronavirus lockdown in a village in Andhra Pradesh.




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Ex-Weinstein Attorney Lisa Bloom Loses Money Grab in Autistic Kid’s Settlement

Ex-Weinstein Attorney Lisa Bloom Loses Money Grab in Autistic Kid’s SettlementA federal magistrate on Friday denied attorneys’ fees to camera-ready victims’ rights lawyer Lisa Bloom, who had tried to block a multimillion-dollar settlement for a sexually abused autistic teenager who was briefly Bloom’s client.San Francisco-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler instead invalidated Bloom’s lien on the settlement from the West Contra Costa Unified School District and awarded $2,250,000—a figure which includes costs and attorneys’ fees—to “Brennon B.,” a severely disabled student who was repeatedly sexually assaulted on school property by fellow special needs students and a staff member.“In light of the benefits that the plaintiff has received in the litigation…the court finds that the settlement is reasonable and that the attorney’s fees are reasonable and appropriate,” Beeler ruled, while denying Bloom’s request to maintain her lien on just the attorneys’ fees.Former Harvey Weinstein Attorney Lisa Bloom, Angling for a Hefty Payday, Now Faces Fraud AllegationsBrennon B.’s longtime attorney, Micha Star Liberty, who had a joint venture agreement with Bloom to assist with the case for seven months until Bloom abruptly withdrew in late March 2020, had alleged in court filings that The Bloom Firm had violated terms of the agreement and forged documents and signatures in an unjustified money grab.“My client and I are pleased with the court’s ruling,” Liberty told The Daily Beast, referring to Brennon B. and his mother and legal guardian, Bellinda B. “Lisa Bloom has shown once again that all she cares about is money, and will do anything to get it, including calling the mother of her own former client, a special needs sexual assault victim, a liar in a publicly filed document. Through her disparaging words and her attempt to profit by fraud, her lack of moral compass has yet again been revealed to the world through her own unethical actions.” The Bloom Firm, in a statement that said it was “pleased that Brennon B. will receive his portion of the settlement and the justice he deserves,” fired back: “This is and has always been an attorney’s fees dispute between The Bloom Firm and Liberty Law, that should never have included the clients... Ms. Liberty has gone to great lengths to avoid paying money she is contractually obligated to pay, even using her own clients as pawns, despite knowing that The Bloom Firm’s lien could not and would not affect the client’s portion. Ms. Liberty also appears intent on using the media to defame and ridicule Ms. Bloom. The Bloom Firm will not stoop to Ms. Liberty’s level and has no further comment on her or this matter.”Friday’s ruling—which is expected to cause the settlement payment to be disbursed by next week—is likely a bad omen for Bloom’s attempt to collect a hefty slice of a second multimillion-dollar settlement, also won by Liberty.In that case, “I.V.,” a 7-year-old autistic girl, sued the Vacaville Unified School District after her physical and emotional abuse by a school bus driver was caught on video and received intense media coverage.Bloom, whose feminist reputation suffered a massive blow with revelations that she had been secretly helping convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein trash his accusers, has until midnight Friday to file a motion to Sacramento-based U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller.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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Judge bans Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers from identifying alleged victims for fear they may be harassed and drop out of case

Judge bans Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers from identifying alleged victims for fear they may be harassed and drop out of caseThe judge presiding over the Ghislaine Maxwell case has banned her lawyers from publicly naming abuse victims involved in the lawsuit.US District Judge Alison J Nathan ruled that Ms Maxwell’s attorneys cannot reveal the names of the individuals accusing her of sexual crimes in the course of her work for infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.




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UK puts lockdown-easing on hold as virus spread accelerates

UK puts lockdown-easing on hold as virus spread acceleratesPrime Minister Boris Johnson put some planned measures to ease the U.K.'s lockdown on hold Friday, just hours before they were due to take effect, saying the number of new coronavirus cases in the country is on the rise for the first time since May. Under the new restrictions, people from different households in Greater Manchester, England’s second largest metropolitan area, have been asked to not meet indoors.




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Are Pap smears 'obsolete'? There's a better option for cervical cancer screening, American Cancer Society says

Are Pap smears 'obsolete'? There's a better option for cervical cancer screening, American Cancer Society saysThe American Cancer Society released new guidelines on cervical cancer screenings Thursday, recommending that people with a cervix start testing at age 25.




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EU sanctions Russian intelligence, North Korean and Chinese firms over alleged cyberattacks

EU sanctions Russian intelligence, North Korean and Chinese firms over alleged cyberattacksThe European Union on Thursday imposed travel and financial sanctions on a department of Russia’s military intelligence service and on firms from North Korea and China over their suspected participation in major cyberattacks across the world. In its first ever sanctions related to cybercrime, the EU targeted the department for special technologies of the Russian military intelligence service, known as Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, it said in a statement. The bloc accused the Russian service of having carried out two cyberattacks in June 2017, which hit several companies in Europe resulting in large financial losses. The service is also accused of two cyberattacks against Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 and 2016. Four individuals working for the Russian military intelligence service were also sanctioned for allegedly participating in an attempted cyberattack against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Netherlands in April 2018. North Korean company Chosun Expo was also sanctioned on suspicion of having supported the Lazarus Group, which is deemed responsible for a series of major attacks worldwide, including an $81 million (£61.74 million) heist against Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2016, the world’s biggest cyber fraud. The company is also allegedly linked to an attack against Hollywood film studio Sony Pictures to prevent the release of a satirical movie about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2014. The U.S. Treasury last year imposed sanctions on the Lazarus Group and two other North Korean hacking groups for their alleged participation in the attacks on Sony Pictures and the central bank of Bangladesh, among others. It said North Korea’s main intelligence service was behind the hacking groups. North Korea has denied any involvement in cyberattacks. The EU sanctions also hit Chinese firm Haitai Technology Development, which is accused of having supported cyberattacks - known as Operation Cloud Hopper - aimed at stealing commercially sensitive data from multinationals across the world. Two Chinese individuals allegedly involved in the attacks were also sanctioned. Sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes. EU individuals, companies and other entities are forbidden from making funds available to those blacklisted. China’s diplomatic mission to the European Union said in a statement early on Friday that China “is a staunch defender of network security and one of the biggest victims of hacker attacks.” China wants global cyberspace security to be maintained through “dialogue and cooperation” and not by unilateral sanctions, the statement added.




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Trump says coronavirus stimulus checks, direct payments may be more than $1,200

Trump says coronavirus stimulus checks, direct payments may be more than $1,200The amount the president put on the table is even higher than that proposed by Republicans and Democrats.




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India police patrol ahead of construction of temple on bitterly contested site

India police patrol ahead of construction of temple on bitterly contested sitePolice have been ordered onto the streets of an Indian town where Hindu groups will next week begin building a temple on a site contested by Muslims for decades in a dispute that has sparked some of the country's most bloody communal violence. The Supreme Court of India ruled last year that Hindus, who believe the site in the northern town of Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram, a physical incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, be allowed to build a temple there. Hindus say the site was holy for them long before the Muslim Mughals, India's most prominent Islamic rulers, built the Babri Mosque there in 1528.




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Men and women chained themselves together outside a New Orleans courthouse to block landlords from filing evictions

Men and women chained themselves together outside a New Orleans courthouse to block landlords from filing evictionsA moratorium on evictions ended last week and the number of evictions have bounced back to what was normal pre-pandemic, Nola.com reported.




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COVID-19 patient who had double transplant didn’t recognize body

COVID-19 patient who had double transplant didn’t recognize bodyA Chicago woman who became the nation's first COVID-19 patient to undergo a double lung transplant said, "I looked at myself and couldn’t recognize my body."




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US astronauts pack up for rare splashdown in SpaceX capsule

US astronauts pack up for rare splashdown in SpaceX capsuleTwo U.S. astronauts about to make the first splashdown return in 45 years said Friday they'll have seasick bags ready to use if needed. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken back Sunday afternoon in the company's Dragon capsule, aiming for the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida Panhandle. Hurley said if he and Behnken get sick while bobbing in the waves awaiting recovery, it won’t be the first time for a crew.




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COVID creates north-south divide in Croatia's tourism fortunes

COVID creates north-south divide in Croatia's tourism fortunesAt the southern end of Croatia's Adriatic Coast, far fewer tourists are wandering the marbled streets of Dubrovnik than usual, while the number of visitors to northern beaches is much closer to the normal level for the time of year. Dubrovnik, the country's top tourism destination, has become one of the weakest spots on the Croatian coast this year since it is heavily dependent on visitors arriving by air or on cruise ships and those attending conferences and staying in hotels.




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Thursday, 30 July 2020

'Put your mask on!': Lawmakers erupt after Jim Jordan throws a temper tantrum during the big tech hearing

'Put your mask on!': Lawmakers erupt after Jim Jordan throws a temper tantrum during the big tech hearingLawmakers slammed Rep. Jim Jordan at the antitrust hearing after he interrupted a colleague accusing him of raising "fringe conspiracy theories."




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Alabama Republican celebrates KKK member's birthday as state remembers civil rights hero John Lewis

Alabama Republican celebrates KKK member's birthday as state remembers civil rights hero John LewisA Republican senator in Alabama celebrated a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member’s birthday at the same time hundreds were honouring the life of civil rights hero John Lewis.State Representative Will Dismukes took part in an event marking the KKK grand wizard and former Confederate Army General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, as Alabama honoured the late Georgia Democrat this weekend.




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Hong Kong students arrested on suspicion of inciting secession

Hong Kong students arrested on suspicion of inciting secessionChina's new "national security" legislation​, which came into force in Hong Kong on July 1, outlaws a variety of vaguely defined offenses like "sedition" that can carry sentences of life in prison.




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Spoiler alert? Kamala Harris outed as Biden's VP pick -- maybe

Spoiler alert? Kamala Harris outed as Biden's VP pick -- maybeJoe Biden's vice presidential pick has been one of Washington's best kept secrets but a supposedly accidental news publication and Biden's own teasingly displayed notes are raising expectations that the winner is Kamala Harris. Speculation over the choice of VP is a parlor game played every four years in Washington, but this time the stakes are unusually high. Biden would be 78 on taking office -- the oldest US president ever -- and he has hinted that he might not seek a second term, making his deputy the prime candidate to take on the party's nomination.




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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier

India and China race to build along a disputed frontierThe rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.




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Chinese long-range bombers join drills over South China Sea

Chinese long-range bombers join drills over South China SeaChina said Thursday that long-range bombers were among the aircraft that took part in recent aerial drills over the South China Sea amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the strategic waterway. The exercises included nighttime takeoffs and landings and simulated long-range attacks, Defense Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said. Ren's statement appeared to distance the drills from recent accusations exchanged between the sides over China's claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, which it has buttressed in recent years by building man-made islands equipped with runways.




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Rep. Louie Gohmert says he may have contracted the coronavirus because he wore a mask, despite the fact that he regularly refused to wear masks

Rep. Louie Gohmert says he may have contracted the coronavirus because he wore a mask, despite the fact that he regularly refused to wear masksOverwhelming scientific evidence has shown that face masks significantly reduce the chance of a person spreading or being infected by the coronavirus.




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Pelosi says House members who refuse to wear masks will be thrown out

Pelosi says House members who refuse to wear masks will be thrown outNancy Pelosi has said lawmakers will be thrown out of the House of Representatives if they refuse to wear a mask, after the US recorded more than 150,000 coronavirus cases.Under new regulations announced on Wednesday, representatives must wear a mask at all times while in the chamber, removing it only to address the house. Face coverings may be removed temporarily in office buildings to eat, drink, hold meetings and do interviews.




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Was Belarus’ Arrest of Russian Wagner Soldiers Staged in a Ploy to Postpone Elections?

Was Belarus’ Arrest of Russian Wagner Soldiers Staged in a Ploy to Postpone Elections?MOSCOW—The videos were certainly not what Russians have come to expect from their country’s secret warriors abroad: powerful men in unmarked uniforms imposing Russian influence on Syria, Ukraine, and Africa. These men were caught on camera by Belarusian security officers totally unprepared. Some were naked except for underwear, with documents, propaganda leaflets, and condoms strewn around their hotel rooms. Others wore vaguely marked uniforms. All 33 of them were military-age Russians hunkered down just outside Minsk a few days before Belarus’ presidential elections.Belarusian state news agencies reported the soldiers served as Russian security contractors with Wagner, a Russian private military group close to the government. They were in the country for “destabilization” purposes before the elections, Belarusian officials said. Moscow denied any military involvement in Belarus, and some believe the mercenaries were simply using the country as a staging post on their way to or from their latest assignment. By arresting the Wagner soldiers, Belarus’ embattled president Alexander Lukashenko is likely to be making many enemies in Russia. The Belarusian Security Council accused the arrested Wagner soldiers of preparing “a terrorist attack,” the Russian Interfax news agency reported Thursday. The arrest and subsequent broadcast of the footage, which was aired by a Belarusian state channel, Agency of Television News, was all the more confusing as Belarus and Russia have been allies in an arrangement called the Union State for decades. Some of the men were shown in their underwear with hands twisted behind their backs. They had tattoos on their arms, and one uniform patch read: “Our business is death and the business is good.” The state media report said there were more than 200 such soldiers plotting to upset the presidential elections next month. The Russian private security contractor, Wagner, has reportedly been sending combatants to eastern Ukraine, Syria, and African countries, including Libya, on deadly secret missions that give the Kremlin plausible deniability. When the Belarusian state media published the names of the 33 arrested soldiers, 17 of them matched up to a Ukrainian list of “war criminals” who fought on the Russian-backed side in the Ukraine war. Belarusian weekly newspaper Nasha Niva reported that one of the mercenaries, Andrey Bakunovich, was a commander of Wagner’s group of snipers. The Belarus-1 channel quoted a source in the Belarusian intelligence agency, still called the KGB, as saying that several of the arrested private soldiers were Russian citizens who tried to avoid punishment by demonstrating their paperwork confirming they were serving in various Russian military forces. A well-known Russian nationalist novelist, Zakhar Prilepin, who fought in Ukraine, also said he recognized several of the arrested soldiers. “Hundreds of these people work in the private military forces and take part in various conflicts,” Prilepin told a nationalist website, Russian Spring. The soldiers were merely using Belarus for transit on the way to foreign missions, he said. “It is going to be weird if now the Union State will start some political hysterics because of this story.”But later on Wednesday, Russia’s Federal Security Service, Russia’s successor to the KGB, seemed to accuse Prilepin of talking too much. “I am surprised that some of our idiots confirmed that the arrested men are soldiers of our private military forces,” a retired FSB general-major, Alexander Mikhailov, told reporters.The private forces known as Wagner are financed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, who owns catering companies and is known as “Putin’s chef.” “Whenever Putin needs to solve an issue abroad, his personal chef and close ally Prigozhin sends his soldiers,” Sergey Parkhomenko, a political commentator, told The Daily Beast. “Prigozhin’s corporation feeds the Kremlin and fights its wars.”   Longtime Belarus watchers, familiar with the almost three-decades-long rule of Lukashenko, suggested the arrests were a well-staged “performance” by Lukashenko, to perhaps win support from domestic opponents to Russia before the election on Aug. 9. For nearly 30 years, Lukashenko claimed up to 80 percent of public support, but his popularity has recently faded, along with his loyalty to the Kremlin, to Moscow’s frustration.The macho leader, who is known for mocking women—and, recently, those who succumb to coronavirus—as weaklings, is now challenged by three liberal, pro-Western women in the election. For weeks, thousands of people have been protesting in Belarus, demanding to end Lukashenko’s dictatorship; his approval rating has melted down to 24 percent, according to some polls. Lukashenko may be losing favor in the Kremlin, but in Putin’s eyes, there is no doubt he is a better prospect than any of the liberal pro-Western female candidates.Lukashenko’s longtime rival, ex-presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, is convinced that Lukashenko and Putin had both been aware of the plans to arrest the Wagner mercenaries ahead of time. “Putin gives Lukashenko the license to stay in power and helps him with this Wagner scandal, to pretend the threat is too serious to continue the election race,” Sannikov told The Daily Beast. “Putin is making a mistake, Lukashenko is a nutcase.”At the meeting with the head of Belarusian KGB, Lukashenko commented on the arrests of Russian soldiers: “I’m looking at the reaction of the Russians. They are already making excuses, saying that we brought them here ourselves. Clearly, they try to, somehow, to justify their dirty intentions.”Whether he was in on the plan to bring the soldiers to Belarus or not, Lukashenko is certainly trying to capitalize on the apparent Russian meddling. He could even try to postpone the election or cancel it altogether. “You and I should be worried about destabilization of the situation in our country most of all,” he said after the arrests. “The issue of the presidential election is secondary.”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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Tweet that Trump will accept nomination in Charlotte is incorrect -Fox News reporter

Tweet that Trump will accept nomination in Charlotte is incorrect -Fox News reporterWASHINGTON (Reuters) A tweet by a North Carolina television station on Wednesday that said President Donald Trump would accept the Republican presidential nomination in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the first night of the party's convention is incorrect, a Fox News reporter said on Twitter, citing unnamed sources. Fox News' White House correspondent John Roberts later said he was told that was not the case, tweeting "Sources tell @FoxNews this tweet is incorrect."




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Mass arrest of Black Lives Matter protesters in Omaha raises questions

Mass arrest of Black Lives Matter protesters in Omaha raises questionsThe mass arrests in Omaha, which were followed by a chaotic, crowded and prolonged detention process that carried well into the next day, have prompted backlash from local officials and civil rights advocates. 




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New research suggests COVID-19 can spread via aerosol transmission -- and might affect tall people more

New research suggests COVID-19 can spread via aerosol transmission -- and might affect tall people moreA new survey has found more evidence to suggest that people can become infected with COVID-19 through aerosol transmission, which could be prevented by wearing a mask. Carried out by data scientists in the UK, Norway, and the US, the study is one of the first to investigate which personal and work-related factors can lead to COVID-19 transmission. After surveying 2,000 people in the UK and US, the researchers found that the data from both countries suggests that aerosol transmission of the virus -- via microdroplets which are so small that they remain suspended in the air for several hours -- is very likely.




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Republican says he will take Trump-promoted Covid-19 treatment after implying he contracted coronavirus by wearing a mask

Republican says he will take Trump-promoted Covid-19 treatment after implying he contracted coronavirus by wearing a maskA Texas Republican who tested positive for Covid-19 wrongly suggested he may have contracted the novel coronavirus by wearing a face mask — and said he would be taking an unproven treatment touted by Donald Trump.Louie Gohmert (R—Tx) tested positive on Wednesday during a White House procedural screening just before he was set to fly with the president to Texas on Air Force One.




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Maine shark attack: US woman killed by great white

Maine shark attack: US woman killed by great whiteA retired New York fashion executive with a "zest" for life dies in a rare shark attack near Portland.




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My wife was detained, released, and disappeared again in China. Here's my message on behalf of my people, the Uighurs.

My wife was detained, released, and disappeared again in China. Here's my message on behalf of my people, the Uighurs.The author, Mamutjan Abdurehim, is a Uighur father from Xinjiang — the Chinese region synonymous with surveillance, detentions, and forced labor.




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'Last Supper' artwork of feasting Netanyahu irks Israeli leader

'Last Supper' artwork of feasting Netanyahu irks Israeli leaderA statue in a Tel Aviv square of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a "Last Supper" feast added new bite on Wednesday to mounting protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu, whose popularity has plunged in opinion polls amid 21.5% unemployment, said his depiction in a mock tableau of Jesus's final meal before his crucifixion, was tantamount to a death threat. In the installation, Netanyahu sits alone at a grand 10-metre (33 ft) long table, with two candelabras, grabbing at a huge cake resembling an Israeli flag.




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Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after battle with COVID-19

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after battle with COVID-19Cain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.




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Stimulus package: McConnell and Pelosi trade personal attacks as sides remain 'very far apart' from coronavirus deal

Stimulus package: McConnell and Pelosi trade personal attacks as sides remain 'very far apart' from coronavirus dealMere days before a key federal programme for the millions of Americans rendered jobless by the coronavirus pandemic expires on Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have ratcheted up their combative rhetoric to full volume.The personal attacks were particularly brutal on Wednesday as the two leaders appeared as far apart as ever from a deal to stimulate the economy, buttress the health care system, and help get American children safely back to school this fall.




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Police chief explains decision to back out of Democrat convention security

Police chief explains decision to back out of Democrat convention securityWest Allis Police Department Chief Patrick Mitchell joins 'Fox & Friends' after backing out of a DNC security agreement over a ban on law enforcement's use of chemical irritants during protests.




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British Airways is auctioning millions of dollars worth of lounge art in a hasty attempt to raise cash – see the extravagant collection

British Airways is auctioning millions of dollars worth of lounge art in a hasty attempt to raise cash – see the extravagant collectionThe entire collection was valued by auction house Sotheby's at around $1.7 million but one piece auctioned so far fetched more than that by itself.




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Nine of the top 10 U.S. coronavirus hot spots are in Florida and Texas

Nine of the top 10 U.S. coronavirus hot spots are in Florida and TexasWhile President Trump touted improvements in the coronavirus pandemic in the Sun Belt, the CDC warned that nine of the nation’s top 10 growing hot spots are in Florida and Texas, according to an internal government document obtained by Yahoo News.




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Vatican Hacked By Chinese Spies: Report

Vatican Hacked By Chinese Spies: ReportROME—The offices that house the Vatican’s computer network system were one of the few allowed to stay minimally staffed during the pandemic to ensure that God's work—as it were—continued unfettered. But in early May, weeks before Italy and the Vatican emerged from a draconian COVID-19 lockdown, a series of cyber intrusions reportedly took place, masterminded by Chinese hackers keen on eavesdropping on the Pope's plans for the controversial Catholic Church in China, according to the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future and reported in The New York Times. Is Pope Francis Selling Out the Chinese Underground Church to Its Government?One of the hacks used a fairly standard Trojan malware called PlugX Payload, which was woven into the coding on a cable sent from the office of the Vatican's secretary of state to Monsignor Javier Corona Herrera in Hong Kong. The letter expressed condolences from the pope over the death of a bishop, fairly standard practice in an institution built on rituals and traditions. But when the office in Hong Kong opened the cable, it unleashed the malware.The breach into the Vatican system allowed the deviants to then access the receiving computer network—in the case of the condolence letter, the Catholic Church’s China Study Mission in Hong Kong. By sending what looked like a legitimate cable from behind the Vatican's secure firewall, the hackers could be sure the entity opening it would do so without suspicion, and unwittingly grant access. The act is called spear phishing which, unlike regular phishing, is highly targeted. The Diocese of Hong Kong was also targeted and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Milan was also singled out. Recorded Future’s report states that additional hacks were found using the same malware. “The first sample included a lure document spoofing a news bulletin from the Union of Catholic Asian News regarding the impending introduction of the new Hong Kong national security law,” the report states. Another hack refers to the Vatican and uses a document called, “QUM, IL VATICANO DELL’ISLAM.doc” as the decoy. The document refers to the Shi’ite city of Qom and includes writings from an Italian Catholic academic living in Iran. “Although the direct target of these two lures are unclear, both relate to the Catholic church,” Recorded Future states in the report. A source who worked in the Vatican's security office before being furloughed over the pandemic told The Daily Beast that one of the biggest fears the Vatican had was exactly what happened: being hacked by Chinese government operatives looking to derail important talks set for September intended to bolster the tenuous relationship between the Vatican and the Chinese Catholic Church. In 2018, Pope Francis broke a 60-year-stalemate between the Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese Catholic Church that grew from an attempt in 1960 for Beijing to set up its own Holy See, and shut the real one out. The Chinese Holy See was called the Catholic Patriotic Association and instead of accepting bishops chosen by Rome, as in nearly every other diocese in the world, they chose their own political appointees. During those 60 years, Chinese Catholics were only allowed to worship openly if they adhered to the Chinese Church's rules, which spawned an underground Catholic Church that instead followed Rome's orders. Those bishops have now been sidelined as part of the 2018 deal.The conflict is far from over, but the 2018 agreement between Beijing and Rome, which has never been published but is hailed as landmark, was set to be renewed and expanded next month. The most contentious aspects of the ongoing negotiations were being discussed between Rome and Hong Kong separately, so they could strategize about how to deal with China's insistence that they still choose politically appointed bishops and give the pope the opportunity to "bless" them but not remove or replace them. Those preparatory meetings between Rome and Hong Kong would have normally taken place in person to avoid exactly what happened but thanks to the pandemic, many exist in the form of secret cables. The Vatican has made no public statement on the matter, but an official told the Catholic website Asia News, “To say that China spies on the Vatican is like discovering hot water. By now espionage and hackers have become an international problem we have to live with.”What happens next is worrying for the Vatican. The hack, now discovered, will likely stop here. But that might also mean the same thing happens to this crucial step forward for Chinese Catholics. 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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Iran's navy shoots missile at mock-up of US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's navy shoots missile at mock-up of US aircraft carrier in the Strait of HormuzFootage on Iranian state TV showed the replica being struck as part of an exercise Iran called "Great Prophet 14."




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Wednesday, 29 July 2020

Former 49ers player Dana Stubblefield convicted of raping disabled woman

Former 49ers player Dana Stubblefield convicted of raping disabled woman After a nine-month trial, Stubblefield was found guilty of rape by force, oral copulation by force and false imprisonment. The jury also found that he used a gun in the assault.




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2 arrested for attacking senator during Wisconsin protests



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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier

India and China race to build along a disputed frontierThe rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.




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ACLU asks U.S. court to sanction agents for targeting journalists at Portland protests

ACLU asks U.S. court to sanction agents for targeting journalists at Portland protestsU.S. civil liberties advocates on Tuesday asked a federal court in Portland, Oregon, to hold federal agents in contempt for violating a temporary court order barring attacks on journalists and legal observers monitoring protests in the city. The filing by the American Civil Liberties Union came during a wave of protests against police violence and racism in Portland in which federal agents have clashed with protesters who have lit fires and thrown objects at the federal courthouse.




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Kayleigh McEnany Struggles to Defend Trump’s Demon Sperm Doctor Retweets

Kayleigh McEnany Struggles to Defend Trump’s Demon Sperm Doctor RetweetsKayleigh McEnany had a difficult job even before her boss started retweeting conspiracy theories from a fringe doctor who blames demon sperm and alien DNA for America’s health problems. CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason wasted no time getting to that particular story when he invited the White House press secretary on his show Wednesday morning. “Why is the president pushing hydroxychloroquine again when his own health experts say it’s not effective in treating the virus?” he asked. McEnany began by explaining that, despite science to the contrary, Trump has a “positive outlook” on the drug’s potential as a “prophylaxis in the early stages.” The president famously told the press he was taking hydroxychloroquine two months into the pandemic because he had “heard a lot of good stories” about it. “He wants to save lives, that is his goal here,” she added. “That is why he’s promoting this drug as a prophylaxis but only in consultation with your doctor.” Kayleigh McEnany Urges Fox News Viewers to ‘Follow Trump’s Lead’ on MasksAfter pointing out that Dr. Anthony Fauci has contradicted the president’s “positive outlook” on the drug by citing medical evidence, Mason zeroed in on the video that Trump retweeted of Dr. Stella Immanuel in which she not only promoted hydroxychloroquine as a miracle “cure” for COVID-19 but also declared that people “do not need to wear masks” and that shutdowns are “unnecessary.” “This just comes a week after the president said masks are ‘patriotic,’” the host continued. “There’s a shift in tone here and what appear to be very mixed messages. Why?” McEnany’s defense? “That was a three-second remark in a more than five-minute video,” she said, arguing that Trump was simply using Dr. Immanuel’s video to push the unproven drug he likes. When she started praising Trump for finally wearing a mask in public months into the crisis, Mason pushed back. “But there’s a message in there that says it’s not necessary and it comes from the president who has 80 million followers!” he replied. “Did he not look at the whole video?” “The president did look at the whole video,” McEnany said, perhaps not helping her case. “And the overarching message of the video, more than five minutes from this doctor, was talking about hydroxychloroquine.” Trump himself seemed to predict this controversy during an interview last week when he said, “You know what I find? It’s not the tweets, it’s the retweets that get you in trouble.” The president then admitted that when he “sees something that looks good” on Twitter, he doesn’t always “investigate” it before hitting the retweet button. Trevor Noah Unloads on Trump for Trusting ‘Dr. Demon Sperm’Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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National Guard major tells lawmakers he saw 'excessive' force used on protesters near the White House

National Guard major tells lawmakers he saw 'excessive' force used on protesters near the White HouseMajor Adam DeMarco told lawmakers actions against peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square were 'deeply disturbing.'




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