es 'Amazingly good news': New York healthcare workers not testing positive for coronavirus at higher rate than general public By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 11:16:00 -0400 New York has released more details into who has tested positive for the coronavirus in the state, and Governor Andrew Cuomo said the per cent of healthcare workers with Covid-19 is not higher than the general public.“That is amazingly good news,” Mr Cuomo said during his press briefing on Thursday. Full Article
es White men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery won't face Georgia hate crime charges. Here's why. By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 16:16:40 -0400 Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are accused of fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, will not face hate crime charges. Here's why. Full Article
es One of world's oldest men marks 116th birthday in South Africa By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 21:15:57 -0400 South African Fredie Blom celebrated his 116th birthday on Friday unfazed by the coronavirus crisis, over 100 years since the Spanish flu pandemic killed his sister. "I have lived this long because of God's grace," said Blom, possibly one of the oldest men in the world. Lighting a cigarette, he recalled the 1918 pandemic that left tens of millions dead worldwide including his sister. Full Article
es The reason why some people get very sick with the coronavirus, and others do not, could be hidden in their genes By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:39:00 -0400 Experts still aren't sure why some coronavirus cases are so much worse than others, but the answer may lie in patients' genetic differences. Full Article
es U.S. tightens visa rules for Chinese journalists amid coronavirus tensions By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 22:03:40 -0400 Full Article
es Meghan McCain Goes Off on Kayleigh McEnany for ‘Spinning Propaganda’ By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 11:56:47 -0400 Meghan McCain, The View’s resident conservative host, tore into Kayleigh McEnany for “spinning propaganda” on Thursday morning after the new White House press secretary dismissed the need for increased coronavirus testing as the economy reopens.During her press briefing on Wednesday, McEnany said it was “nonsensical” to think that every American should be able to get tested for coronavirus, even though President Donald Trump said two months earlier that “anybody that wants a test can get a test.” The hosts of The View took the press secretary to task over those remarks.Co-host Sunny Hostin said she found it “shocking” that the White House spokesperson would say that considering recent news that one of the president’s personal valets just tested positive for the virus.“So it’s obviously important enough for everyone in the White House and surrounding the president to be tested for the coronavirus, but it’s not important to the press secretary and to the administration for Americans to be tested for the coronavirus,” she declared. “And so that tells me that she is just spinning lies to the American people rather than being honest with the American people.”After first saying there has been “mixed messaging” coming not just from the White House but from medical experts since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, McCain went on to blast McEnany as a propagandist.“I think in regards to Kayleigh McEnany, she was hired for this job because she’s good at spinning propaganda, and she was good spinning propaganda before she got hired,” she exclaimed. “And you can make the argument that’s the role of any press secretaries but it’s probably a little more egregious with this particular president.”The conservative co-host then worried aloud that we were reaching a tipping point on saving the economy, criticizing the Trump administration for not taking the necessary steps to safely reopen the country.“If we don’t start getting a plan to get testing, to somehow pull ourselves out of this and get America back to work,” she proclaimed. “This is going to be far more egregious than any crisis any of us have seen in all of our lifetimes.” “If the tests aren’t important, why is the White House, and everybody else getting tested before they go before the president?” McCain concluded. “I would like to go back to work. I know you would, and I would be comfortable doing that if we all had the capacity to get tested.”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. Full Article
es You Touch Public Surfaces All Day. Here's How to Stay Safe From Coronavirus. By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:39:39 -0400 From the moment COVID-19 started spreading in the U.S., you probably heard recommendations to wash your hands after contact with what are called high-touch surfaces: elevator buttons, public fauc... Full Article
es DNA samples lead to arrest in 1987 murder of 17-year-old Ohio girl: 'Great to see justice' By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 16:28:49 -0400 Using DNA to track down 67-year-old James E. Zastawnik, police made an arrest in the 1987 murder of an Ohio girl. Full Article
es Russia is fast becoming a coronavirus epicenter, with health workers still reporting PPE shortages. Putin is already thinking about reopening. By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 07:19:00 -0400 On Thursday, the country reported its largest one-day increase in new cases of 11,231 — yet President Putin already has his eyes on reopening. Full Article
es Hundreds of repatriated Pakistanis test positive for virus By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:34:32 -0400 Hundreds of Pakistanis who were repatriated from the Middle East -- where many lost jobs amid coronavirus shutdowns and were living in cramped conditions -- have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Friday. Pakistan has so far brought about 20,000 nationals home, among them a large number of unskilled workers who had been labouring in Gulf nations only to see their jobs disappear as lockdowns slowed economic activity. Of the 2,069 Pakistanis returning from the Middle East to the southern province of Sindh, more than 500 tested positive for the coronavirus, Murad Ali Shah, Sindh's chief minister, told a press conference. Full Article
es Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya boat people on island: officials By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 01:46:51 -0400 Full Article
es Woman heartbroken by Smithfield Foods' response to grandfather's death from coronavirus By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 16:42:00 -0400 “I want you to know he died in the hospital alone, isolated, and scared,” she wrote in an Instagram message to Smithfield Foods. Full Article
es WHO: If lockdowns go on for 6 months, there could be 31 million new domestic violence cases globally By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 12:50:00 -0400 Women and children are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and violence at home as stress and anxiety continue to mount due to the pandemic. Full Article
es US accuses China, Russia of coordinating on virus conspiracies By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:21:56 -0400 The United States on Friday accused China and Russia of stepping up cooperation to spread false narratives over the coronavirus pandemic, saying Beijing was increasingly adopting techniques honed by Moscow. "Even before the COVID-19 crisis we assessed a certain level of coordination between Russia and the PRC in the realm of propaganda," said Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the State Department's Global Engagement Center, which tracks foreign propaganda. The Global Engagement Center earlier said thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts were spreading conspiracies about the pandemic, including charging that the virus first detected last year in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan was created by the United States. Full Article
es No warning, no escape as deadly gas swept through an Indian village By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:58:37 -0400 When gas began leaking from a nearby chemical factory and drifting towards his house in southern India, there were no warnings and no alarms, welder Elamanchili Venkatesh said. Venkatesh, who staggered outside blindly, said he coughed up blood before losing consciousness. Full Article
es An entire town in New York is being put on a diet to prevent obesity-related coronavirus complications By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 11:47:00 -0400 A New York town has launched a diet and exercise program to help residents lose weight to prevent reported risks of obesity and coronavirus outcomes. Full Article
es 3 nurses strangled in Mexico; border mayor gets coronavirus By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:00:20 -0400 Three sisters who worked in Mexico's government hospital system were found murdered by strangling, authorities in the northern border state of Coahuila announced Friday, stirring new alarm in a country where attacks on health care workers have occurred across the nation amid the coronavirus outbreak. Two of the sisters were nurses for the Mexican Social Security Institute and the third was a hospital administrator, but there was no immediate evidence the attack was related to their work. The National Union of Social Security Employees called the killings “outrageous and incomprehensible.” Full Article
es James Clapper Said He ‘Never Saw Direct Empirical Evidence’ of Trump-Russia Collusion in FBI Interview By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 19:05:17 -0400 Former director of national intelligence James Clapper in 2018 said that he hadn't seen evidence that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 general election.Clapper was responding to a query from then-representative Tom Rooney, a Florida Republican, during an interview before the House Intelligence Committee. The transcript of the interview was released on Thursday."I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting [or] conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election," Clapper said."That's not to say that there weren't concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence…[redacted]," Clapper added. "But I do not recall any instance when I had direct evidence of the content of these meetings. It's just the frequency and prevalence of them was of concern."Rooney then asked Clapper, "At what time is collusion collusion, and at what time is it just people that may have an affiliation with the campaign meeting or talking with… the Russian ambassador or somebody that's of Russian origin, and when should that be taken as something that rises to the level of an Intelligence Community concern?""I really can't answer it other than the sort of visceral reaction to why all these meetings with the Russians," Clapper responded. Clapper admitted that it would be "legitimate" for incoming Trump administration officials to meet with representatives of Russia, "but I think there is a line…between that and violating the principle that in this country we traditionally have one President and one administration at a time."The interview was part of a set of 53 transcripts of interviews held by the House Intelligence Committee as part of the Russia investigation. Current committee chairman Adam Schiff had called for the release of the transcripts in 2018.However, after 43 transcripts had been reviewed and redacted by intelligence agencies as of June 2019, Schiff refused to relase the completed transcripts to the public. Current acting DNI head Richard Grenell informed Schiff on Wednesday that all the transcripts were ready for publication. Full Article
es Belarus holds Victory Day parade despite coronavirus threat By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 07:33:05 -0400 Thousands of troops paraded before crowds of spectators in Minsk Saturday to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany as Belarus held a celebration of Victory Day despite the coronavirus pandemic. Neighbouring Russia cancelled its Victory Day parade over the pandemic and Belarus was the only ex-Soviet country with reported cases to hold the annual event. President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been dismissive of the pandemic and the "psychosis" around the virus, watched in military uniform with top brass as some 4,000 troops marched past and planes and helicopters flew overhead. Full Article
es Latvia to ease coronavirus restrictions for public gatherings from May 12 By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 16:29:12 -0400 Full Article
es Report says cellphone data suggests October shutdown at Wuhan lab, but experts are skeptical By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:12:00 -0400 U.S. and U.K. intel agencies are reviewing the private report, but intel analysts examined and couldn't confirm a similar theory previously. Full Article
es 'Never Seen Anything Like This': Experts Question Dropping of Flynn Prosecution By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 08:25:08 -0400 WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's decision to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, even though he had twice pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, was extraordinary and had no obvious precedent, a range of criminal law specialists said Thursday."I've been practicing for more time than I care to admit and I've never seen anything like this," said Julie O'Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at Georgetown University.The move is the latest in a series that the department, under Attorney General William Barr, has taken to undermine and dismantle the work of the investigators and prosecutors who scrutinized Russia's 2016 election interference operation and its links to people associated with the Trump campaign.The case against Flynn for lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador was brought by the office of the former special counsel, Robert Mueller. It had become a political cause for Trump and his supporters, and the president had signaled that he was considering a pardon once Flynn was sentenced. But Barr instead abruptly short-circuited the case.On Thursday, Timothy Shea, the interim U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, told the judge overseeing the case, Emmet G. Sullivan, that prosecutors were withdrawing the case. They were doing so, he said, because the department could not prove to a jury that Flynn's admitted lies to the FBI about his conversations with the ambassador were "material" ones.The move essentially erases Flynn's guilty pleas. Because he was never sentenced and the government is unwilling to pursue the matter further, the prosecution is virtually certain to end, although the judge must still decide whether to grant the department's request to dismiss it "with prejudice," meaning it could not be refiled in the future.A range of former prosecutors struggled to point to any previous instance in which the Justice Department had abandoned its own case after obtaining a guilty plea. They portrayed the justification Shea pointed to -- that it would be difficult to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the lies were material -- as dubious."A pardon would have been a lot more honest," said Samuel Buell, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at Duke University.The law regarding what counts as "material" is extremely forgiving to the government, Buell added. The idea is that law enforcement is permitted to pursue possible theories of criminality and to interview people without having firmly established that there was a crime first.James G. McGovern, a defense lawyer at Hogan Lovells and a former federal prosecutor, said juries rarely bought a defendant's argument that a lie did not involve a material fact."If you are arguing 'materiality,' you usually lose, because there is a tacit admission that what you said was untrue, so you lose the jury," he said.No career prosecutors signed the motion. Shea is a former close aide to Barr. In January, Barr installed him as the top prosecutor in the district that encompasses the nation's capital after maneuvering out the Senate-confirmed former top prosecutor in that office, Jessie K. Liu.Soon after, in an extraordinary move, four prosecutors in the office abruptly quit the case against Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone. They did so after senior Justice Department officials intervened to recommend a more lenient prison term than standard sentencing guidelines called for in the crimes Stone was convicted of committing -- including witness intimidation and perjury -- to conceal Trump campaign interactions with WikiLeaks.It soon emerged that Barr had also appointed an outside prosecutor, Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis, to review the Flynn case files. The department then began turning over FBI documents showing internal deliberations about questioning Flynn, like what warnings to give -- even though such files are usually not provided to the defense.Flynn's defense team has mined such files for ammunition to portray the FBI as running amok in its decision to question Flynn in the first place. The questioning focused on his conversations during the transition after the 2016 election with the Russian ambassador about the Obama administration's imposition of sanctions on Russia for its interference in the American election.The FBI had already concluded that there was no evidence that Flynn, a former Trump campaign adviser, had personally conspired with Russia about the election, and it had decided to close out the counterintelligence investigation into him. Then questions arose about whether and why Flynn had lied to administration colleagues like Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the ambassador.Because the counterintelligence investigation was still open, the bureau used it as a basis to question Flynn about the conversations and decided not to warn him at its onset that it would be a crime to lie. Notes from Bill Priestap, then the head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, show that he wrote at one point about the planned interview: "What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"Barr has also appointed another outside prosecutor, John H. Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to reinvestigate the Russia investigators even though the department's independent inspector general was already scrutinizing them.And his department has intervened in a range of other ways, from seeking more comfortable prison accommodations last year for Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, to abruptly dropping charges in March against two Russian shell companies that were about to go to trial for financing schemes to interfere in the 2016 election using social media.Barr has let it be known that he does not think the FBI ever had an adequate legal basis to open its Russia investigation in the first place, contrary to the judgment of the Justice Department's inspector general.In an interview on CBS News on Thursday, Barr defended the dropping of the charges against Flynn on the grounds that the FBI "did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage."Anne Milgram, a former federal prosecutor and former New Jersey attorney general who teaches criminal law at New York University, defended the FBI's decision to question Flynn in January 2017. She said that much was still a mystery about the Russian election interference operation at the time and that Flynn's lying to the vice president about his postelection interactions with a high-ranking Russian raised new questions.But, she argued, the more important frame for assessing the dropping of the case was to recognize how it fit into the larger pattern of the Barr-era department "undercutting the law enforcement officials and prosecutors who investigated the 2016 election and its aftermath," which she likened to "eating the Justice Department from the inside out."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company Full Article
es Google employees are told to expect to work from home for the rest of the year, but a select few will be allowed to return to offices as soon as June By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 20:42:20 -0400 Google CEO Sundar Pichai has told employees to expect to work from home for the remainder of 2020, but will open offices for certain exceptions. Full Article
es Iran's president says an end to United Nations arms embargo is a 'right' By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 14:22:54 -0400 The Iranian president said Wednesday that lifting a U.N. arms embargo on Tehran would be an “obvious right” and added a veiled warning of unspecified steps Iran could take if the embargo is extended, as the United States wants. Full Article
es Katie Miller, Pence spokeswoman, tests positive for coronavirus By www.politico.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 13:57:23 -0400 The diagnosis brings the threat of infection into the president's inner circle. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Are dentists open for emergency care? And other questions By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 00:14:47 GMT Are dentists open for emergency care, and other questions answered by BBC experts. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Are these seven targets being hit? By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 17:11:09 GMT Ministers have set targets for testing, medical equipment and hospital beds. Have they delivered? Full Article
es As PM returns, how long does it take to recover? By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 11:14:02 GMT Recovery from Covid-19 can be a lengthy process, depending on how seriously people get the virus. Full Article
es VE Day: People celebrate with bunting and bonfires By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 00:25:00 GMT People celebrate VE Day across Britain, following Germany's surrender in 1945. Full Article
es PMQs: Villiers and Johnson on London Underground services By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 12:43:54 GMT In response, Boris Johnson suggested a "bigger and more expansive" Tube service in London would help people travel more safely. Full Article
es PMQs: Starmer and Johnson on UK coronavirus death rates By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 12:36:49 GMT The Labour leader says the UK's coronavirus death figures are “not success or apparent success“. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Government pledges £76m for abuse victims By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Sat, 02 May 2020 19:25:33 GMT Vulnerable children and victims of domestic violence and modern slavery will get extra support. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Unions warn over move to increase rail services By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 23:09:14 GMT Rail union leaders have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson with "severe concerns". Full Article
es Coronavirus: Staggered work times considered when lockdown eases By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 21:08:34 GMT Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says it could help maintain social distancing on public transport. Full Article
es Harry Dunn: Brother tells Boris Johnson 'we deserve truth' By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 15:34:47 GMT The brother of Harry Dunn, who died outside a US airforce base, urges Boris Johnson to take up the case. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Possible post-lockdown workplace rules revealed By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 13:49:06 GMT Reduced hot-desking, staggered shifts and continued home-working form part of a draft government plan. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Draft post-lockdown workplace rules contain 'huge gaps' - TUC By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 20:55:13 GMT The leader of the TUC says she cannot recommend the government's draft advice "in its current form". Full Article
es Coronavirus: Daily allowances for Lords members to be halved By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 16:03:40 GMT With the Lords conducting most of its business remotely, fees for attending are set to be reduced. Full Article
es Trade minister Conor Burns resigns over 'veiled threats' in letter By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 18:32:35 GMT Conor Burns used his position as an MP to intimidate a member of the public, standards watchdog finds. Full Article
es Coronavirus: MPs urge churches to allow small funerals By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 18:18:59 GMT Their letter says services can be held with "proper measures in place", amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Full Article
es Brexit: Simon Coveney says trade talks progress not good By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 16:41:11 GMT The Irish deputy PM says time is short to reach a trade deal this year, with much still to do. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Doctor MP says 'government's lack of testing has cost lives’ By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 17:55:41 GMT Labour's Dr Rosena Allin-Khan questions Health Secretary Matt Hancock in the House of Commons. Full Article
es Labour Party: Starmer moves to rein in shadow cabinet spending plans By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 12:37:03 GMT Leaked letter from shadow minister reveals attempt to impose discipline on top team, writes Iain Watson. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Mass testing earlier 'would have been beneficial' By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 18:30:05 GMT The UK's chief scientist tells MPs mass testing is "part of the system that you need to get right". Full Article
es Coronavirus: UK death toll passes Italy to be highest in Europe By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 19:56:38 GMT The figure of 29,427 deaths is "a massive tragedy", the foreign secretary says, but steers clear of comparisons. Full Article
es Anti-abortion campaigner loses Stella Creasy poster ban appeal By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 16:31:46 GMT A judge dismisses Christian Hacking's bid to overturn a ban on posters put up around Waltham Forest. Full Article
es Coronavirus: Theresa May criticises world pandemic response By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 08:24:13 GMT Countries have "gone their own way" rather than working together, the ex-prime minister says. Full Article
es Coronavirus: 'Severe consequences' if lockdown lifted too early By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 17:47:43 GMT The NI Executive says agreeing how to relax measures is the most crucial decision it will ever make. Full Article
es Coronavirus: UK becomes first country in Europe to pass 30,000 deaths By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 21:31:16 GMT The UK records a further 649 deaths, taking the total number of coronavirus deaths to 30,076. Full Article
es Bank of England warns of sharpest recession on record By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 15:19:06 GMT Bank head Andrew Bailey tells the BBC there will be no quick return to normality after the hit to jobs and income. Full Article