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Sahara Liquid Fund-Fixed Pricing - Growth option

Category Liquid
NAV 3264.2408
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Date 27-Mar-2020




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Sahara Liquid Fund-Fixed Pricing - Direct -Growth option

Category Liquid
NAV 3024.287
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Date 27-Mar-2020




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Sahara Liquid Fund-Fixed Pricing - Direct - Weekly Dividend Option

Category Liquid
NAV 1027.4373
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Date 27-Mar-2020




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Sahara Liquid Fund-Fixed Pricing - Daily Dividend Option

Category Liquid
NAV 1335.6343
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 27-Mar-2020




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Sahara Liquid Fund-Fixed Pricing - Weekly Dividend Option

Category Liquid
NAV 1027.4373
Repurchase Price
Sale Price
Date 27-Mar-2020




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True to You edits Morrissey Favourite Albums list




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"Glamorous Glue" to be released as a single (Mar. 21) according to Amazon listing




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Graceling turns 10 in the U.K., Australia, and N.Z. too :o)

Look what just arrived in the mail. My UK/Australia/NZ tenth anniversary edition, from Gollancz, is ready to release on September 20! I knew about the new colors and classic look, but I didn't know about the hint of map in the background, or that was it was going to be a hardcover. I'm so pleased. Happy birthday, Katsa!





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In Which I Embark on My Life's Grandest Adventure ♥ ♥ A Day in Pictures

We set out very early...

and drove through the fog.

The sun rose before us.

I was wearing pretty great socks.

Our destination was Quechee, Vermont.

It was pretty foggy there too.


Oh look! It's Kevin's sister, Heather!
And something interesting in the background...

What's that guy doing?

Dude, weird basket.







Did you know that when a hot air balloon is being inflated, you can walk inside it?

In fact, it's like a stained-glass cathedral in there. (Without the patriarchy! ^_^)








Reader, I married him.

Happy siblings.

Happy married-for-ten-minutes-so-far people.

Of course, that's not all, right?

But it was still awfully foggy...

and hot air balloons aren't safe in fog...

unless they're on a tether!


We did a tethered ride, safely attached to the ground.



Afterwards, our fabulous pilot, Chris Ritland, toasted us with the balloonist's blessing...

I cut the amazing orange cake Heather had made...

And as is traditional, the married couple fed wedding cake to their hot air balloon pilot.

Of course, one thing was missing from our day. So, about two weeks later, we went back to Quechee...

On an unfoggy, perfect-weather, untethered-ride day.


And we flew.

Trees look amazing from this distance, and at this speed.

That dot in the river is the reflection of our balloon!

When I told my friend Judy Blundell about our hot air balloon elopement, she said, "Marriage is an untethered ride."

We're ready.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Click on any picture above to embiggen. I especially recommend the panamoric shot from our flight.

Thanks to our wonderful photographer, Em Pogozelski at Pogo Photo (and her dad! ^_^), for all the elopement location pictures. We recommend her enthusiastically!

Thanks also to our hot air balloon pilot, Chris Ritland of Quechee Balloon Rides (and Tom and Diane!), who was so accommodating and made everything perfect for us. We can't recommend him highly enough. Tom took the pictures of us in the balloon on our untethered-ride day. Kevin and I took the pictures from the ride itself.

Thanks also to Karenna Maraj, our local indie jeweler who made my jade engagement ring and our wedding rings. We adore our rings and recommend her wholeheartedly too.

Thanks to you, too, for taking our adventure into your hearts, dear readers. Be well!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥




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The Arctic Circle: A hike from Lloyds Hotel to Lilliehöökbreen

Here is our trip log from Sunday, October 7:


Sunday 07.10 – Day 7

Lloyds Hotel – Lilliehöökbreen – North

-3/4°C Celsius, almost no wind in the morning, clear sky, beautiful sunrise. More wind in the evening going from WNW 2, to N 2-3 and later NW 4.

09:30 - Morning landing Lloyds hotel – Hike to Lilliehöökbreen.

11:15 – Anchor up Lloyds Hotel.

13:30 – Anchor down Lilliehöökbreen.

14:30 – Hikers back on board (Piet still smiling).

16:30 - Afternoon zodiac cruises Lilliehöökbreen.

19:00 - Going North.

Our leader, Sarah Gerats, kept this log for us throughout the trip… And October 7 was one of my favorite days. I woke that morning and, as happened most mornings, came out on deck to a view I'd never seen before.


If you take a close look at the middle of this picture — maybe click on it to make it bigger and more detailed — you might see an orange rectangle. This is a hut that's been decorated and painted orange. It's called Lloyds Hotel, and it is definitely the fanciest hut on Spitsbergen — though maybe more of a tourist destination then a destination for any anyone actually seeking shelter. You can read more about its history here.

We climbed aboard the zodiacs and crossed onto land to visit it.





I, for one, was less interested in the evidence of human activity inside the hut, and more interested in the COMPLETELY GINORMOUS polar bear prints outside the hut. They were fresh, for this was new snow.


This sight — evidence of a polar bear (or three or four) recently shuffling through — was quite common on our journey.


This time we got a special treat: evidence that it had lain down and rolled around :o)


I think it's time to introduce you to our wonderful, kickass guides, who always knew how to read the prints in the snow. Emma, Sarah, Åshild, and Kristin were our guides and guards, our organizers, our friends, our helpers, and our protectors. Any time we went on land, they were there with rifles, ensuring our safety in the land of polar bears.They had so much to share about the landscape, the environment, the animals, the history. They were wonderful storytellers and guides! And of course, Nemo was very, um, helpful as well. :o)


After exploring Lloyd's Hotel, we split into two groups. Some stayed put, working or enjoying the scenery, then returning to the ship. The rest of us set off on an 8km (5 mi) hike across the base of the fjord where we'd landed. See the little arrow I drew on the map below? That shows where we hiked, in this northwestern section of Spitsbergen.

Click here to check this out on Google Maps and see more details about where we were.

As we moved away from shore, we saw the Antigua sail off — abandoning us! Not really. The ship was circling the fjord to pick us up on the other side. Even knowing that, though, it was strange to see her go.

We hiked through spectacular terrain. Click on any of these to make them bigger and more focused.


The snow was pretty deep, but also very, very dry. It made for easier hiking than a snow-free terrain, for we were on a rocky moraine of loose stones much of the time. The snow evened out the terrain for us.


The sun was low behind us for the entire hike. If you see the sun in a picture, I'm looking back.


Our way was mostly flat, but every once in a while, we climbed a steep hill. The light was brilliant, everything white and blue! And lavender, pink, gray, if you looked closer.


At one point, Nemo was sorely tempted by this duck, who taunted him as he tried to walk out onto the thin ice and grab it. Sarah, Nemo's person, could not get him to desist. So we all took a little break and enjoyed resting, eating snacks, and watching the show :o). (The duck was fine. The duck was in charge the whole time really.)


Our path skirted the frozen edges of two beautiful lakes, this one crossed with the tracks of an Arctic fox.


I included the picture below because in the foreground, you can see what I mean about the terrain of loose stones. It's exactly the same backdrop as above, actually, but I'm standing at a higher point, so the sun is more visible.



Near the end of our hike, we climbed a steep ridge…


And there below us was another fjord, a glacier, and, waiting for us, the Antigua. Such a beautiful sight on a freezing day, after a long walk. I stood and stared, breathing fresh air, for a long time. As I watched, I heard her anchor fall — a familiar metallic clicking that was SO much louder on our ridge, echoing around the fjord, than it ever was from inside the ship.


And that was our hike from Lloyds Hotel to Lilliehöökbreen! If you're curious about the place in the log where it says "Piet still smiling," well, you may remember from a previous post that Piet was our chef. And we got home very late for lunch :o). But he fed us a delicious feast anyway.

I'll post another adventure soon! Maybe those zodiac cruises mentioned in the log, or maybe an explanation of some of our exciting activities on deck.




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Starcom: Nexus, and What It’s Like to Live with an Indie Game Developer

Today Kevin’s game, Starcom: Nexus, releases in Early Access on Steam. It’s a thing of beauty, and also a lot of fun. If you like games that take you into outer space where you get to explore mysterious worlds, build a powerful ship, and explode bad guys, you should buy it, and play it, and let your gamer friends know about it. Yes, I’m biased, but reviewers and streamers  - who are not his spouse  - also love it :o). (FYI those last two links go to youtube streaming vids.)



***

Conversation at the dinner table:

Kevin: How was your day?

Me: Okay, I guess. I still can’t figure out how to get this girl to accidentally set her house on fire, then cause an explosion and get stuck in a window grille.

Kevin: I believe in you.

Me: Thank you. How was your day?

Kevin: Okay. When my enemy ships get within a certain distance of each other, they spontaneously explode.

Me: Oh!

Kevin: It’s not supposed to happen. It’s a bug.

Me: Oh.

Kevin: I can’t figure it out.

Me: I believe in you!

***


There are a lot of similarities between the work Kevin and I do. We both create complicated worlds with characters and plots. We’re both entertainers.

Meet your commander.

We have some processes in common: for example, we both study the books/games we love, then try to learn from them. We both think about the things we don’t like in other books/games, then try to come up with alternatives we prefer. We both know how to wear the creator hat; then switch to the reader/gamer hat, reading/playing our own project with a critical eye; then go back to the creator hat to fix what isn’t working. We’re both extremely familiar with the phenomenon wherein you change one little thing, then a ripple effect passes through the entire work, complicating/breaking things in ways you didn’t anticipate.

Meet the Ulooquo, an underwater alien race.

We can also get similarly overwhelmed by our own projects. I’ve talked a lot on the blog about how a book has many parts, and writing a book involves many jobs. Well, a game has SO many parts. It has music and art, visual effects, numerous interfaces, plot and character, mysteries and rewards. It must be able to support and absorb the choices of individual gamers, over which the creator has no control. It has SO many (literally) moving parts!



We also both work by ourselves for years on self-directed projects… then put our creations out into the world, hoping they’ll find the people who will love them.

These similarities are deep. They help us to understand each other’s frustrations and joys, and support each other meaningfully. This is awesome. However, I want to talk a little bit about the differences, which are many.

For example, in my writing career, I have an agent. She connects me to an editor who helps me craft the right words. Then, my editor works with my publisher to create a beautiful physical book, publicize and market that book, and sell that book for me.

An indie game developer, on the other hand, does everything himself, in an extremely saturated market with a lot of roadblocks. He can hire other people to help. Kevin hired a composer and an artist, to help him with his music and his characters (like the Commander and the Ulooquo above). He hired a marketing consultant to do a few things too. But he worked closely with those people, because he knew exactly what he wanted. And everything else has been the work of his own hands. He’s done SO much marketing and publicity work on his own that’s made me appreciate my own marketing and publicity departments even more than I did before. Self-promotion in a saturated market is really, really hard. It’s also stressful for a guy who happens to be humble and was raised with the good-old New England ethos of not bragging about himself :o).

Here’s another big difference: Kevin can release his game while it’s still in production, then use the feedback from early players to shape it and make it better. He can write code into the game that allows him to see how long players play; where they decide to drop out of the game; which options are being chosen more often than others. (He receives this information anonymously, in case you’re starting to worry that he can actually tell what you’re doing inside his game!) As a writer, I definitely don’t know where someone decides to abandon my book. Nor do I want to know, because once people are reading my book, it’s final! If everyone is bailing at a certain point, there’s nothing I can do about it. The words in my book are not going to change. Kevin’s game is more of a living, growing creature, even after it releases, and based on player reactions.

Another big difference is that while I am a wordsmith, Kevin is a programmer. A lot of the time, when I step into his office, he’s working with programming language on his many screens, and I don’t understand the smallest bit of it. My readers read my actual words. His gamers play a game built on a framework of programming that looks and feels very different from the actual game. He also works with a lot of complicated software (like, for 3D modeling) and does a lot of math. He uses trigonometry to [I just asked him to explain it and he said something about spaceships shooting at each other, vectors, and cosines. ???]. I can come home and tell him practically everything I struggled with at work that day. A lot of what he does is too technical for me to understand—though he is really good at creating analogies and explaining things to me when I ask (and when I'm not rushing to finish a blog post!).

Another difference is that he is a visual artist. For example, he created Entarq's Citadel below, which is one of the worlds his gamers get to explore.


Here's another.


Another difference:  I can do my work anywhere. All I need is my notebook and a pen. Kevin needs his fancy computer and his big monitors. So he works from home. Home office and self-employed means he’s working most of the time. Most mornings, he’s working by the time I get out of bed. By the time I leave for my office, he’s put hours in. I come home and he’s making me dinner; after dinner, he works for a few more hours. I go away on trips without him; he works while I’m gone! I always thought I worked really hard. I have a new standard now.

And now his work has created this beautiful, fun game that’s getting really positive attention from gamers and streamers :o). Today, you can buy it in Early Access, and become one of the players who contributes to what it will ultimately become.

And that's my little explanation of what it's like to live with an indie game developer. Check out the links if you’re interested! The trailer is below.




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Like Totally Whatever

Here are two vids. Watch them in order: Taylor Mali, then Melissa Lozada-Oliva. ♥







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Less like a slog

Yesterday was dreadful. I was a misery case for much of the day – no need to go into any details, I’m pretty sure we’d all have no trouble thinking up a few good reasons to feel crappy at present, … Continue reading




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Like watching paint dry (exactly)

Ken’s sweater is all done, but for the making up, and the neckband. Honestly, I can point at a million projects of my youth and tell you that the number one thing that stood between me and greatness back then … Continue reading










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Doctor Who virtual reality experience The Runaway comes to YouTube and launches internationally

More Doctor Who fans than ever can now step inside a VR version of the TARDIS as the BBC’s hit virtual reality experience Doctor Who: The Runaway comes to the Doctor Who YouTube channel and launches internationally.




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Goran Višnjic and Anjli Mohindra talk Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror!

Two of the stars of this week’s Doctor Who episode, Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror, Goran Višnjic and Anjli Mohindra talk about starring in Series 12 and reveal what it was like to be a part of Doctor Who!




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May 9, 2020: Grab A Litter Of Kittens At Warehouse 23!

We released the Kitten d6 Dice Set and Dungeon Survival Pack: Kitten Adventurers earlier this year, and both have been strong sellers during these early months of 2020. 

But we know that some of you can never have enough kitties, and it is for you cat lovers that we created the Kitten d6 Litter, which comes with 36 dice featuring paw prints and the adorable kitty artwork of Katie Cook!

Better still, you'll notice that some of the dice in this large bag are different colors from those found in the Kitten d6 Dice Set and the Dungeon Survival Pack: Kitten Adventurers, meaning that your selection of cat dice grows dramatically as soon as you add this set to your collection.

Order the Kitten d6 Litter today from Warehouse 23. If you're a retailer and would like to carry this pack of dice in your store, please email us to ask for information about a direct-sales account. Our team will be happy to get you set up so you can get this and several other direct-sales exclusives for your store.

Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: I Want It All!

Who doesn't? Now you can get everything that came with our first The Fantasy Trip Kickstarter in 2018. The I Want it All Box lives up to its name: Old-school roleplaying at its dungeon-crawling finest. The Fantasy Trip is easy to learn and fast to play – but it's been out of print for almost 40 years. Now it's back! Order The Fantasy Trip: I Want It All Box now on Warehouse 23!




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Взлом инфраструктуры LineageOS через уязвимость в SaltStack

Разработчики мобильной платформы LineageOS, пришедшего на смену CyanogenMod, предупредили о выявлении следов взлома инфраструктуры проекта. Отмечается, что в 6 часов утра (MSK) 3 мая атакующему удалось получить доступ к основному серверу системы централизованного управления конфигурацией SaltStack через эксплуатацию неисправленной уязвимости. В настоящий момент идёт разбор инцидента и подробности пока недоступны.




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Для ядра Linux развивается система распределённого выполнения потоков Popcorn

Политехнический университет Виргинии предложил для обсуждения разработчиками ядра Linux набор патчей с реализацией системы распределённого выполнения потоков Popcorn (Distributed Thread Execution), позволяющей организовать выполнение приложений на нескольких компьютерах с распределением и прозрачной миграцией потоков между хостами. При помощи Popcorn приложения могут быть запущены на одном хосте, после чего без остановки работы перемещены на другой хост. В многопоточных программах допускается миграция на другие хосты отдельных потоков.




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Two Googlers on resetting expectations for life at home

Like many people, Googlers Alan Mclean and Jennifer Daniel are navigating their new at-home lives, finding ways to work while also parenting their two young children. The couple are working from their home in the Bay Area, where they’re taking shifts parenting and creating a remote office from...wherever they can find some room. 

I recently had the chance to “sit down” (via Google Meet) with them and talk about our relationships with technology during stressful times, how they’re personally handling all the changes and also, why playing "Animal Crossing" is a totally acceptable coping mechanism.


Alan, you’re a Product Designer on the Digital Wellbeing team, and Jennifer, you’re the Creative Director for emoji. But how would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

Alan: There’s an official answer, which is “I help people balance their relationship with technology,” but…

Jennifer:????Ugh, corp speak!! ????What did you tell our neighbor?

Alan: I told him I’m trying to help people get more rest and have a healthier life. 

Jennifer: Yes! Hmm, for me I guess I usually say I make little smiley faces. :-)

What do your days right now look like? 

Alan: Typically the day before, we both check-in on our calendars and look to see where we might need coverage from the other. If we both have meetings, we’ll throw a tablet in our kids’ faces with a mix of educational (and not so educational) games. Lately our son has really taken to playing chess so he’ll practice digitally and we play together on a physical board. 

Jennifer: Our daughter enjoys the books that read out loud with her, and Toca Kitchen. They both love ”making food” that makes the characters get sick.

In terms of day to day, we divide and conquer by keeping it fluid. Sometimes I cover the morning routine which has settled into a relatively stable pattern now: breakfast, walk the dog with the kids, writing, reading and drawing time, punctuated with video meetings.

The afternoon, depending on our work schedule, includes science experiments (tin foil boats or paper airplane contests), some outside time, yoga (Cosmic Kids Yoga is great!), TV (Science Max is a hit), more tablet time and then dinner. 

Alan: I usually make up some work time in the evening once the kids go down.

What is your home office setup like? 

Alan:We live in a small home—950 square feet, two bedrooms—with twin 5-year-olds and an eight-month-old Husky puppy, so there isn’t much of an office. In general, we move around the house and try to be out of earshot. Sometimes I work in the kitchen, other times on our front steps, once from the kids’ bunk beds.

Are you able to create some work-home boundaries? 

Alan: Trying to avoid working where you sleep is a big one. Don’t do what we’re doing right now...which is working from bed. 

Jennifer:Sometimes that isn’t really possible. The bedrooms and bathroom are the only rooms with doors! For me, it’s less about creating a physical boundary and more about a mental one. I don’t work early in the morning or in the evening anymore. That’s MY TIME.

Alan: I think the challenge right now is that it’s hard to reinforce boundaries when you’re in the same place all the time. In the past we used context clues like walking to the bus or the BART or whatever, or there were subtle hints when a meeting was about to end. But you don’t really have that anymore. So trying to avoid working where you sleep…

Jennifer: But, I work from the bedroom, and I sleep in the bedroom. That works for me ????.

Working from bed works for you?

Jennifer: I’ve spent most of my life in small apartments, I guess I just got used to it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Alan:I also think maybe the norms of what “balanced” means has changed. 

Jennifer:Yeah, just be forgiving of yourself. It took awhile but I really had to recalibrate and give myself permission to not live up to my previous expectations as an employee, as a mother and as a partner. I also have to make it clear to others to not expect the same out of me. As much as I try to project that I am fine, I am not fine.

I’ve personally seen my screen time and news consumption skyrocket; have you?

Alan:I’m definitely more of the news addict; I’m also lying in bed looking at an endless stream of things to worry about. I think a bit of an insight for me is that there’s a couple reasons why you might do that, and part of it is that you might want to feel some light version of control over what’s happening. And of course the net effect of that is that you might feel incredibly anxious. That’s my personal experience with screens lately. What about you, Jen, what about your doom-scrolling?

Jennifer:I love that you call it doom-scrolling, did you just make that up?

Alan:No, no, definitely not. 

Jennifer: Not to make this just about parenting, because this is also very much about work, but I am having flashbacks to new parenthood. When I became a parent, I got extremely efficient at my job. I don’t have time to doom-scroll! That would be a luxury! I have things to do, I got people to take care of. And, just as important now as it was then, I need to find time where no one needs me ????. These days I’m playing "Animal Crossing." And I love it; it is screen time, unquestionably, but it’s a very specific kind of screen time as it is clearly not work-related. Now that Alan mentions it, maybe playing video games is also an expression of seeking control and stability in an unknown time? But, instead of doom-scrolling I plant cute flowers and little animals come visit me ????????????????????????????.

What else are you adding to your routine? Anything else to help find some balance? 

Alan:For me, I know that the end of my day and the end of my use of my phone is occurring when I put a podcast on at night. Or ambient music. For me, that’s a really strong signal and I try to do it every night. For some people, that might be putting your phone in a box or charging it. I like the audio cue because that way you’re experiencing some stimulus without interacting with the screen. But I got that from Jen; I used to be like, “Why are you putting a podcast on at night? It’s time to go to bed… and doom-scroll for two hours.” 

Jennifer: I just listen to podcasts so I don't have to listen to my own thoughts as I fall asleep. Otherwise I'd be up all night ????.

How are you keeping your kids entertained?

Alan: We just got tablets—prior to that we hadn’t experienced the liberating power of having educational apps and games with our kids before ????. 

Jennifer: When the tablets arrived, I felt like I was not being a great mom but the kids say I'm really good at technical support ????. I need to remind myself that being a quote-unquote good mom is not related to screen time. I can’t disguise my stress from the kids, I’m doing my best. Now, go watch some "Octonauts."

Alan: I’ve been taking the kids to the beach on the bike. 

Jennifer:Bonus! No one else is in the house! I get to stay home and be alone! I definitely need some time for myself. 

Are there any surprise “silver linings” you’ve experienced?

Jennifer: I'm getting to really be with my kids in a way that wasn't possible before; I used to only see them in the morning and the evening. Age five is really cute.

Alan: The transition to two full-time jobs simultaneously has been incredibly difficult, although our colleagues have been really supportive. But we’re both struggling with the desire to be the best possible parents and employees we can be. That feeling was always there, but with the lack of boundaries, it’s exacerbated. One thing that’s especially nice these days is seeing colleagues’ kids jump on video conference calls. It’s a nice reminder of what everyone is dealing with.

Right now, we all have to be compassionate with ourselves, and also with our colleagues and friends. Coming late to meetings, missing emails, things like that, are OK right now. We sort of just need to be empathetic and flexible for a little while. 





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Helping journalists understand the power of machine learning

Editor’s note: What impact can AI and machine learning have on journalism? That is a question the Google News Initiative is exploring through a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The following post is written by Mattia Peretti, who manages the program, called JournalismAI.

In the global survey we conducted last year about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by news organizations, most respondents highlighted the urgent need to educate and train their newsroom on the potential offered by machine learning and other AI-powered technologies. Improving AI literacy was seen as vital to change culture and improve understanding of new tools and systems:

AI literacy is crucial. The more the newsroom at large embraces the technology and generates the ideas and expertise for AI projects, the better the outcome. New powers, new responsibilities:
A global survey of journalism and AI

The message from newsrooms was loud and clear. So we decided to do something about it. That’s why we’re announcing a free training course produced by JournalismAI in collaboration with VRT News and the Google News Initiative. 

This Introduction to Machine Learning is built by journalists, for journalists, and it will help answer questions such as: What is machine learning? How do you train a machine learning model? What can journalists and news organizations do with it and why is it important to use it responsibly?

The course is available in 17 different languages on the Google News Initiative Training Center. By logging in, you can track your progress and get a certificate when you complete the course. The Training Center also has a variety of other courses to help you find, verify and tell news stories online.


The Introduction to Machine Learning is available on the Google News Initiative Training Center in 17 different languages.

It’s a tough time for journalists and news organizations worldwide, as they try to assess the impact that COVID-19 will have on the business and editorial side of the industry. With JournalismAI, we want to play our role in helping to minimize costs and enhance opportunities for the industry through these new technologies. This course complements our recently launched collaborative experiment, as well as our effort to highlight profiles and experiments that show the transformative potential of AI and machine learning in shaping the journalist, and the journalism, of the future.

At the end of the course, you’ll find a list of recommended resources, produced by journalism and technology experts across the world, that have been instrumental in designing our Introduction to Machine Learning and will help you dive even deeper in the world of AI and automation. 

And we are not done. After this course, and the previous training module with strategic suggestions on AI adoption, we are planning to design more training resources on AI and machine learning for journalists later this year. Sign up for the JournalismAI newsletter to stay updated.



  • Google News Initiative

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Go hands-on with interactive AI visualizations

Artificial Intelligence systems can recognize our voices, forecast the weather and help decide who gets a loan. Given the increasing ubiquity of AI, it’s important that everyone is able to understand more about it.

Like any system or technology, AI doesn’t always get it right. And understanding why AI systems break is often not easy for people who aren't experts in the field; research results are shared in dense papers filled with formulas.

Of course, people who haven't studied AI still need to be able to ask critical questions about these systems. To help support these kinds of discussions, we've created AI Explorables, a series of interactive explanations of key AI concepts. They’re specifically geared toward non-experts (even though we think and hope that experts will also find them interesting and thought-provoking). 

The first two Explorables walk you through an assessment determining whether an AI system is fair and unbiased. Measuring Fairness weighs the trade-offs involved in building a machine that diagnoses a disease—and lets you try tuning it to be fairer.

In another Explorable, called Hidden Bias, we examine a system that predicts student's grades. Biased by the data it has learned from, the system predicts lower grades for women. Trying to fix this by hiding gender from the system doesn't always work (and, in some cases, can actually increase the bias in the system). 

In the coming months we plan on sharing more Explorables on other fairness issues (how do feedback loops affect the biases of an AI system?), interpretability (why did the AI system decide to do that?) and privacy (what does it mean in the context of an AI system?).

People and AI Research (PAIR) is committed to making machine learning more participatory, and we believe that Explorables will help expand the conversation around machine learning and make it more inclusive. You can find more updates about Explorables and our other work at the (new) PAIR Medium channel.




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What we learned from Hank Green about building community online

Tech Exchange is a student exchange program between Google and 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). During the program, students spend a semester at Google’s Mountain View Campus, taking computer science courses and learning about professional development. With Tech Exchange students now learning from home, we brought in a speaker who has made a name for himself by engaging with people online: Hank Green, author and YouTube creator. 

Hank began his journey as a YouTube Creator in 2007 when he and his brother John decided to communicate with each other through video blogs every day for a year. As more people started watching the Vlogbrothers, Hank and John went on to create 32 YouTube channels including Crash Course and SciShow. In a virtual Q&A with Tech Exchange students, Hank shared his insights on how to build community online. Here’s what we learned.

Understand the problem that you’re trying to solve

Hank is often asked, “How does one become a YouTuber?” He says the first step is to understand the question you’re actually trying to solve. “Is it that I want to have a job where I get to be creative all day? Is it that I want to make a specific kind of content that I know is going to be high impact ? Is it that I want to have an audience or that I want to have influence?”

Once you actually know that answer, think about the first step on that path (this applies to content creation but also in everything in life!). It’s important to understand what tools you bring to the table. Put the problem that you’re trying to solve in a bucket with your tools and see what falls out. 

There are other people like you in the world, create for them.

Hank shared three strategies that he and John learned when building the Vlogbrothers community. The first is to find common values and interests. “You just have to say, ‘What is the stuff that I would like to see made in the world?’ There are other people who, it turns out, are somewhat like you in the world, and they will be there for it.” The second is to build a feeling of actual connection and the third piece is what I call the "touchstone," which is the YouTube creator building a relationship with the viewer. You have to make people feel like this person is worthy of being the nexus of a community.

Put the problem that you’re trying to solve in a bucket with your tools and see what falls out.

Create content that represents various perspectives

Through Hank’s channels, he hopes to put out more content that is representative of a variety of voices and perspectives. To do this, he says you have to find hosts who don’t all look the same. But you have to go beyond that too, and give them full ownership of the creative process. The writing, the editing, the style need to be informed culturally all the way through. 


For more tips on building community, check out YouTube Creator Academy and Hank’s YouTube Channel, Vlogbrothers.




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Methodological Individualism

[Revised entry by Joseph Heath on April 27, 2020. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] This doctrine was introduced as a methodological precept for the social sciences by Max Weber, most importantly in the first chapter of Economy and Society (1922). It amounts to the claim that social phenomena must be explained by showing how they result from individual actions, which in turn must be explained through reference to the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. It involves, in other words, a commitment to the primacy of...




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Homosexuality

[Revised entry by Brent Pickett on April 28, 2020. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] The term 'homosexuality' was coined in the late 19th century by an Austrian-born Hungarian psychologist, Karoly Maria Benkert. Although the term is new, discussions about sexuality in general, and same-sex attraction in particular, have occasioned philosophical discussion ranging from Plato's Symposium to contemporary queer theory. Since the history of cultural understandings of same-sex attraction is relevant to the philosophical issues raised by those understandings, it is necessary...




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Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

[New Entry by Vincent C. Müller on April 30, 2020.] Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are digital technologies that will have significant impact on the development of humanity in the near future. They have raised fundamental questions about what we should do with these systems, what the systems themselves should do, what risks they involve, and how we can control these. After the Introduction to the field (s1), the main themes (s2) of this...




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al-Ghazali

[Revised entry by Frank Griffel on May 8, 2020. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] Al-Ghazali (c.1056 - 1111) was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, and mystics of Sunni Islam. He was active at a time when Sunni theology had just passed through its consolidation and entered a period of intense challenges from Shiite Isma'ilite theology and the Arabic tradition of Aristotelian philosophy (falsafa). Al-Ghazali understood the importance of falsafa and developed a complex response that rejected and...





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They Say There’s No Room for Immigrants While Desperate Rural Towns Lie Empty All Across the Western World

Here’s a thing I keep noticing, and it drives me nuts. In Italy, a ship captain is arrested for bringing immigrants to shore after rescuing from them near death at sea: The number of migrants reaching Italy’s shores has drastically diminished – just 2,800 so far this year – and the country is now led… Continue reading They Say There’s No Room for Immigrants While Desperate Rural Towns Lie Empty All Across the Western World




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Red Lentil Curry with Cauliflower and Coconut Chips Recipe

Buy Clotilde's latest book, The French Market Cookbook!

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Caramelized Sesame Chocolate Bar Recipe

Buy Clotilde's latest book, The French Market Cookbook!

Not long after my second son was born, I received a message from Audrey, a reader I’d been conversing with […]

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Headlines for April 27, 2020

Global Coronavirus Deaths Top 207,000 as Hard-Hit European Nations Start Relaxing Lockdowns, States Prepare to Reopen Economies as Cases Continue to Mount, Doctors See Rise in Strokes Caused by Coronavirus; CDC Expands List of Possible Symptoms, Oakland Police Tackle and Detain Unhoused Outreach Workers, Poison Control Center Calls Spike After President Trump Suggests Injections of Disinfectant, WHO Warns Against Issuing "Immunity Passports", Activists Hold "Cancel the Rent" Protests Around the Country, Coronavirus Outbreak Reported at Tyson Foods Meat Processing Plant, "Larry King Live" Tape from 1993 Supports Tara Reade's Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden, Progressives Demand Ouster of Larry Summers as Joe Biden's Economic Adviser, El Paso Walmart Shooting Victim Dies, Raising Death Toll to 23, Saudi Human Rights Activist Abdullah al-Hamid Dies a Political Prisoner, Separatists Declare Self-Rule in Southern Yemen, Deepening Political Crisis, Brazil's Justice Minister Resigns After President Bolsonaro Fires Federal Police Chief, Insect Populations Plummet Amid Urbanization and Deforestation




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"Unconscionable": Planned Parenthood Pres. Condemns States Using Pandemic to Limit Abortion Access

As much of the U.S. remains on lockdown, abortion rights are under attack nationwide. We get an update on the fight for abortion access with Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Our bodies have literally been deemed essential," she says, "and yet the control of our bodies and the right to control our own bodies has not."




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Headlines for April 28, 2020

Known U.S. Deaths Top 56,000 as New Study Shows True Number Likely Much Higher, Trump Ignored Early Intelligence Reports as Coronavirus Spread, Trump Denies Responsibility for Spike in Disinfectant Poisonings, Texas Reopens Businesses, California Warns Against Violating Restrictions , Trump's Plan to Give Commencement Address at West Point Could Bring Back 1,000 Cadets to Campus, NY Cancels Primary After Removing Bernie Sanders from the Ballot , U.N. Calls for Release of Immigrant Prisoners as San Diego Facility Refuses to Allow Face Mask Delivery, More Cases Reported at Prisons as New Study Shows 96% of Inmates Who Test Positive Are Asymptomatic, Law Goes into Effect Requiring Germans to Wear Face Masks in Public , Boris Johnson Says Too Soon to End U.K. Lockdown, Swedish Ambassador Says Stockholm Is Close to Reaching "Herd Immunity", WHO Warns Pandemic Could Exacerbate Other Public Health Crises, Children Especially Vulnerable, Archbishop Tutu: Coronavirus Exposes South Africa's Inequalities , Immigrants Deported by the U.S. Make Up 20% of Guatemala's COVID-19 Cases , El Salvador Authorizes Lethal Force Against Suspected Gang Members as Prisons Go on Full Lockdown, Dozens of Protesters Arrested in Chile as Anti-Government Demonstrations Continue , Pakistani Medical Workers Launch Hunger Strike to Protest Lack of PPE, New Zealand Declares Coronavirus "Eliminated" as It Eases Lockdown, D.C. Activists Hold Car, Bike Caravans in Solidarity with Essential Workers , 2 More People Corroborate Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Accusations Against Joe Biden, Top NY ER Doctor Who Treated COVID-19 Patients Dies by Suicide , Jerry Givens, Virginia Anti-Death Penalty Activist and Former Executioner, Dies of COVID-19




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Headlines for April 29, 2020

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops Number of Americans Killed in Vietnam War, Trump Orders Meat Plants to Remain Open as Worker Coronavirus Deaths Mount, Mayor of San Juan Says Puerto Ricans Haven't Received Relief Funds, Workers Plan May Day "People's Strike" to Demand Safer Workplaces, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Lends Support to May 1st Rent Strike, Report: 90% of Minority-Owned Businesses Shut Out of Paycheck Protection Program, U.S. House Cancels Plans to Reconvene in May as D.C. Remains COVID-19 Hot Spot, Pence Refuses to Wear Face Mask During Tour of Mayo Clinic, Riots, Escape Attempts Reported in U.S. Juvenile Jails as Coronavirus Spreads, Trump Admin Continues Deportation Hearings for Migrant Children Despite Pandemic, Brazil's COVID-19 Deaths Surpass China's Reported Toll, WHO to Slash Humanitarian Aid to Yemen After Trump Cuts Agency's Funding, Protests Erupt in Lebanon as Quarantined Residents Go Hungry, Viral Video Shows White Police Officer in California Punching African American Boy, Southwest U.S. Poised to Shatter April Heat Records; Wildfires Erupt in Siberia, Flooding in Canada's Tar Sands Region Forces 13,000 from Their Homes, Climate Scientists, Environmentalists Call New Film "Planet of the Humans" Misleading & Destructive




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Headlines for April 30, 2020

Jared Kushner Hails "Great Success Story" as U.S. Deaths Top 60,000, Dozens of Decomposing Bodies Found in Trucks Outside Brooklyn Funeral Home, President Trump Claims Coronavirus Will Be "Eradicated" from U.S. , FDA to Approve Emergency Use of Remdesivir After the Drug Shows Promise Treating COVID-19, More Than 30 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Six Weeks, International Labour Organization Warns Pandemic Threatens Livelihoods of 1.6 Billion, South Korea Reports No New Domestic Coronavirus Cases , U.K. Now Has Europe's Second-Highest COVID-19 Death Toll , Femicides and Domestic Violence Surge in Mexico Amid Coronavirus Lockdown, Kenya Cuts Off Refugee Camps over Fears of Catastrophic COVID-19 Outbreak , Meatpackers and Others to Lose Jobless Benefits If They Refuse Return-to-Work Orders, New York Bars Unhoused People from Sheltering in Subways , Survey Finds Over 80% of COVID-19 Patients in GA Hospitals Are Black , 50+ People Who Participated in April Wisconsin Election Test Positive for COVID-19, 6 Women Freed from El Paso Immigration Jail After Suing ICE over COVID-19 Spread, Emails Reveal ICE Systematically Retaliates Against Immigration Activists , Georgia's Stacey Abrams Defends Joe Biden over Sexual Assault Allegations




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Economist Thomas Piketty: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the "Violence of Social Inequality"

As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," looked at economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. His new book, "Capital and Ideology," has been described as a manifesto for political change.




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Headlines for May 1, 2020

Trump Touts "Very, Very Strong" U.S. Coronavirus Death Totals as States Begin Reopening , Trump Claims Pandemic Began in Chinese Laboratory, Offers No Evidence , Trump Blames Obama for Shortage of Tests for Virus That Emerged in 2019, Maryland National Guard Defends Coronavirus Tests from Feds in "Undisclosed Location", Texas Won't Name Nursing Homes with COVID-19 Cases; California Closes Beaches in OC, Michael Bloomberg to Lead New York Contact Tracing Program as NYC Subway Ends 24/7 Service , Medical Professionals Stage Die-in Outside SF Mayor's Home Demanding Hotels for the Unhoused, Armed Protesters Storm Michigan State Capitol Demanding End to Stay-at-Home Orders , Puerto Rican Activist Freed from Jail After Dozens Hold Car Rally Demanding COVID-19 Relief, Report Finds 12.7 Million U.S. Workers Have Lost Employer-Based Insurance in 2020 , Amazon Workers Join May Day Strikes Demanding Safe Workplaces , Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Attempts to Block Funding for Sanctuary Cities, Immigrants in Adelanto ICE Jail Continue Hunger Strike Demanding Release During Pandemic, Vietnam Declares Coronavirus Outbreak Contained After Quick Response, Mass Testing , U.S. Indicts Honduran Former National Police Chief on Cocaine Trafficking Charges , Joe Biden Denies Sexually Assaulting Tara Reade in First Interview Addressing Accusations, Record 8% Drop in Global Carbon Emissions Predicted Due to COVID-19 Restrictions , Renowned Mexican Protest Singer Óscar Chávez Dies of COVID-19




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May Day People's Strike! Target, Amazon, Instacart Workers Demand Safe Conditions & Pandemic Relief

This May Day, an unprecedented coalition of essential workers from Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target and FedEx are calling out sick or walking out during their lunch break to demand better health and safety conditions, along with hazard pay. Others are joining them for May Day actions that include rent strikes, car caravan protests and online organizing calling for a "People's Bailout" and economic recovery plan that prioritizes workers. We speak with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, which issued a call for a people's strike starting May 1. "The corporations and the government are willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of us," Akuno says. "We have to put people before profits."




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Tara Reade's Ex-Neighbor on Biden Sexual Assault Allegation: I Believed Her Then & I Believe Her Now

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden denied sexual assault allegations against him on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday, breaking his silence after weeks of mounting pressure to respond to claims put forward by former staffer Tara Reade, who says he sexually assaulted her in 1993. In a statement, Biden said, "I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren't true. This never happened." Tara Reade first came forward with her allegations in March, saying Biden pushed her up against a wall and digitally penetrated her. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we speak with Reade's former neighbor Lynda LaCasse, who says that Reade told her about the encounter and described it in detail in the 1990s. LaCasse is a lifelong Democrat and Biden supporter. She says of Tara Reade, "I believe her 100%." We also speak with investigative journalist Rich McHugh, who first interviewed LaCasse for Business Insider.




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Caravan for Life: Protesters in Puerto Rico Demand More Tests & Resources to Combat the Coronavirus

On Thursday in Puerto Rico, activists in dozens of cars held a "Caravan Por La Vida," or "Caravan for Life," through San Juan to demand the government provide more COVID-19 tests and sufficient resources for people to stay at home during the pandemic. At least 92 people have died from COVID-19 in Puerto Rico, and last week the island was reporting a testing rate lower than any U.S. state, at an abysmal average of 15 tests a day for every 100,000 people. No one in Puerto Rico has received $1,200 checks from the government, according to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. Police stopped the caravan and said their sound trucks were illegal. When organizer Giovanni Roberto demanded that police describe the laws they were breaking, he was arrested. Roberto was released later in the night, and his charges of obstruction of justice were dropped. We hear voices from the protest. Special thanks to _Democracy Now!_ correspondent Juan Carlos Dávila.




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Headlines for May 4, 2020

U.S. Makes Up a Third of Known Cases as Trump Revises Predicted Death Toll, NYC Nursing Home Reports Nearly 100 Deaths Linked to COVID-19, Trump Admin Continues Attack on China, Insists COVID-19 Developed in Wuhan Lab, White House Blocks Anthony Fauci from Testifying to House, Senators Return to Work in Coronavirus Hot Spot Washington, D.C., SCOTUS to Hear Cases by Phone, Arguments Will Be Open to Public, NYPD Violently Attack Two Black Men During Social Distancing Enforcement, Guards Sue ICE Jail for Failing to Protect Workers, Georgia Restaurants Refuse to Reopen After Gov. Kemp Lifts Lockdown, Spain, Italy Ease Coronavirus Restrictions , Children in Afghanistan Facing Severe Hunger Risk Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, India Extends Lockdown, Introduces Tracking App to Trace Coronavirus, Pakistan Medical Workers Score Win as Gov't Says It Will Ensure PPE, U.N. Calls for Countries to Accept Rohingya Refugees as They Flee Burma by Boat, South African Nurses Call on Gov't to Deliver PPE, May Day Protests Call for Housing Protections, Workers' Rights and Immigrant Rights Amid Pandemic, Unhoused Activists Take Over San Francisco Vacant Home in May Day Protest, North and South Korea Exchange Gunfire 2 Days After Kim Jong-un Makes Public Appearance, "They Deserve More Than Thoughts and Prayers": Canada Bans Assault Weapons After Nova Scotia Massacre, Venezuela Says It Foiled Coup Attempt by "Mercenary Terrorists", 100+ Killed, Thousands Displaced in Kenya from Massive Flooding, Valentina Blackhorse, Pageant Winner and Prominent Navajo Nation Figure, Dies of COVID-19, Kent State Marks 50 Years Since National Guard Shot and Killed 4 Students




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ER Doctor: Pulse Oximeters Detect Oxygen Deprivation Earlier from COVID-19, Help Avoid Ventilators

We speak with Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician based in Littleton, New Hampshire, who volunteered at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for 10 days at the height of the COVID-19 surge in April. Based on what he saw, he argues patients should be going to hospitals sooner and that medical professionals could use a small device you clip on your fingertip, called a pulse oximeter, to help detect the virus earlier by revealing oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates. "A pulse oximeter is just a measure of identifying how well the lungs are working, and, I believe, can be basically an early warning system in terms of patients to know who has COVID pneumonia," says Dr. Levitan.




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Headlines for May 5, 2020

Dire Forecasts Warn U.S. Death Toll Could Surge in Coming Weeks as States Move to Relax Restrictions, China Rebukes Trump Admin Claim That Coronavirus Was Man-Made, Report Says Brooklyn Jail Destroying Medical Records to Hide Toll of COVID-19, J. Crew Files for Bankruptcy, Betsy DeVos Sued for Garnishing Wages of Student Loan Holders During Pandemic, EU, World Leaders Pledge Billions to Fund Coronavirus Vaccine; U.S. Sits Out, Questions Raised After 3 Doctors in Russia Fall from Hospital Windows, U.K. May Have Second-Highest Coronavirus Death Toll; France Identifies COVID-19 Case from December, Venezuela Detains Ex-U.S. Special Forces After Failed Coup, Report: Colombia Spied and Collected Data on Journalists, Union Leaders, Politicians, Sudan Outlaws Female Genital Mutilation, Senate Rejects Request to Search Records for Tara Reade Complaints Against Joe Biden, Amazon VP Quits over Retaliatory Firings of Protesting Workers, King County, WA, Apologizes, Reaches Settlement for 2017 Police Killing of Black Teen, José Soler, Puerto Rican Independence Activist and Labor Journalist, Dies at 75, 2020 Pulitzer Prizes Recognize Work on Immigration, Sex Crimes, Labor and Slavery