Morningside USA was supposed to be apocalypse-proof. 

A gated, stucco fortress in the southwest corner of Missouri’s Ozark mountains, Morningside is an evangelical Christian community built to rent condos right through the end of the world.

“Where are you going to go when the world's on fire? Where are you going to go? This place is for God's people and this place, we need some farmers to move here,” Morningside’s founder, the disgraced doomsday televangelist Jim Bakker, said in a May 2018 sermon. “Did you know people from the government, from NASA, research from so many of them, they have said in their research, the safest place to live in troubled times is right here?”  

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Campaigns and consultants have spent the last four years worrying about the Trump campaign’s digital operation. Even before COVID-19 upended the election and forced candidates online, the Trump campaign was geofencing campaign rallies, micro-targeting digital ads, and amplifying deepfake videos.

And now, as both the crisis and the general election enter their third month, panic is beginning to set in about the startling digital gap between the two parties, amplified by the recent Trump campaign announcement of both a new app experience and the start of a $10 million digital push against Joe Biden. 

President Trump’s campaign manager has called what he’s built a “juggernaut” and is likening his digital infrastructure to a Death Star. In reality, what he's built is a trap.  

Read more at The Daily Beast.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey—After five years fighting to preserve Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Russia now appears inclined to dispose of its infamous client. Assad’s persistent brutality and corruption, and his inability to establish even the semblance of a functioning state, has grown to be a burden Moscow would prefer not to bear.

And then there’s the problem of Iran. Assad, members of his family, and his Alawite clansmen enjoy close, perhaps unbreakable, bonds to the regime in Tehran and to Iranian-backed militias in Syria. All of which undermines Moscow’s primary mission there: to rehabilitate the Assad regime as a symbol of stability capable of attracting hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment for reconstruction, which Russian firms would then be poised to receive. 

As long as Assad’s relatives continue to function as a mafia and give free rein to Iranian troops using Syria as base of operations to threaten Israel and plan attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, those countries likely to foot the bill for Syrian reconstruction—the nations of Europe and the Gulf—are unlikely to come up with the cash. 

Read more at The Daily Beast.

“HOLY MOTHER OF GOD.” 

That’s how epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding began a since-deleted 14-tweet thread on Jan. 25 warning about the “thermonuclear pandemic level bad” infectiousness of the coronavirus that broke out in Wuhan, China.

The first confirmed U.S. case had been announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) days earlier outside Seattle. But the disease was not widely understood to be a potentially nightmarish pandemic. Many infectious disease experts had been ignored despite warning for years that the U.S. was not prepared for a seemingly inevitable health crisis. Feigl-Ding, a visiting scientist at Harvard’s Department of Nutrition, wanted to help ensure their message was heard.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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By Rachana Pradhan and Fred Schulte | Kaiser Health News

The Trump administration has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-related bailouts to health care providers with checkered histories, including a Florida-based cancer center that agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty as part of a federal antitrust investigation.

At least half of the top 10 recipients, part of a group that received $20 billion in emergency funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, have paid millions in recent years either in criminal penalties or to settle allegations related to improper billing and other practices, a Kaiser Health News review of government records shows.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Two years ago, the voices of survivors of sexual harassment and assault launched an unprecedented movement the world over, using Tarana Burke’s MeToo framework. That one moment was a spark into the unknown, but the movement itself was no happy accident. It was built to fuel a reclamation of power for those who had been silenced for too long, a laborious undertaking by activists, advocates, and organizations including mine—the National Women’s Law Center, which also houses and administers the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.

Since then, the #MeToo movement has enabled considerable progress, including making space for more and more people who have claims of sexual misconduct to come forward. People like Tara Reade.

But despite this dramatic cultural awakening, our institutions and systems are just beginning to stir. The lack of necessary legal and policy changes both in our government and in our workplaces, schools, houses of worship, and otherwise have created a world that very imperfectly serves the needs of survivors. Every domestic worker who is entirely unprotected by our federal and most state civil rights statutes, and every person who is classified as an independent contractor and left out of civil rights protections, have proven that our work must take on the reform and re-envisioning of the very systems that excluded them in the first place. 

Read more at The Daily Beast.

This post contains spoilers for Dead to Me Season 2.

Maybe it’s the surreality of, well, everything lately—or maybe it’s just aged like the fine wines all of its characters toss back by the bottle. Whatever the reason, Dead to Me Season 2 hits even better than Season 1—fighting off a sophomore slump with a fresh batch of twists, dramatic ironies, and, most importantly, some more Christina Applegate angsting out to metal. Perhaps this season’s smartest move, however, is a trope pulled straight out of Soapy Dramas 101: Bringing James Marsden back to play his own twin.

Series creator Liz Feldman was sending the usual thank-you notes back and forth with cast and crew after Season 1 wrapped when she received a particularly amusing message from Marsden.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

On Tuesday the president took his first trip since the coronavirus grounded the country, to a Honeywell factory in battleground state Arizona. This particular Honeywell factory produces N95 masks. Pictures of the trip immediately surfaced on the internet, and they showed a president sporting his usual mango-tinted, ever-tan skin, his usual topiary-structured hair tinted a baffling yellowish, and a pair of clear safety goggles.

But what was missing? What we did not see on the president’s face was a mask. While the rest of us cover our faces as recommended by the CDC, the president does not. In fact, we have never seen a mask on the president, despite the president’s love of masking himself when it comes to his tax returns, his sexual assault allegations, and his financial dealings.   

On Wednesday, when pressed on his decision not to wear a mask at a mask factory, the president responded with the very fishy, “I had a mask on for a period of time, I had it on back, backstage. But they said you didn’t need it, so, I didn’t need it. And by the way, if you noticed, nobody else had it on that was in the group.” Okay. Whatever you say. 

Read more at The Daily Beast.

A 7-year-old boy from Westchester County is the second child in New York state to die from pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome tied to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. A 5-year-old boy died earlier in the week from the same syndrome at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in New York City.

The childhood ailment has affected at least 73 children in New York state and authorities are now looking for other potential cases across the country. Cases have also been reported in Washington, D.C., California, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington state and New Jersey, where a 4-year-old died with symptoms last month.

It has been previously thought that children are less likely to suffer any serious complications from the coronavirus.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Being at home this long, or really, just in one place for this long, has led me to see how much waste I produce. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot more than I thought. But I’m not here to shame anyone, in fact, quite the opposite. I think there are plenty of small ways we can cut down our carbon footprint, from driving less (check), to not using a washing machine or dryer (also, sadly, check), but gardening is what I’ve been doing, and is something that I’d recommend everyone give a shot now that we all have a little more times on our hands.

GETTING STARTED

Composting is a natural way to recycle all of the organic materials in your house through decomposition. Compost can improve your soil’s water retention, which saves you money on your water bills, and helps keep excess garbage out of landfills, too. To get started you need two things. The first is a compost bin for your kitchen. This is great whether you want to start a compost at home or if you have a compost center you can bring them to. You want something sleek, designy, yet simple because after all, it’s really just a trash can. This is an excellent one.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

It’s not going out on much of a limb to say that the single greatest line in any rock and roll song—shall we double down and say all music ever?—is “A-wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom!!”

Surely that says it all.

As with any truly oracular pronouncement, it inspires consternation in the first-time listener, and the second-time listener, and the third, the fourth, and on and on. The mystery never diminishes.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Five Australian hospitals are set to receive the experimental coronavirus drug, remdesivir. Sydney's St Vincent hospital has been confirmed as one location, according to a report from The Guardian. More »

Imagine an alternate universe where the Star Wars movies were released in chronological order - where Episodes I to III were the original, beloved trilogy. How would the internet have reacted to the film that followed? More »

Last year the release of Google's Pixel 3a heralded a shift in the mid-range phone market. Coming in at $649 and packing some flagship specs, it changed what people should expect from a a phone at that price. Other brands followed suit, including Apple with its recently released iPhone SE. Suffice to say, the arrival of Googles new budget device, the Pixel 4a, is cause for some excitedment. Here's what we know about it so far. More »

I bloody love me some Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. So for Star Wars Day I thought it would be funny to see if a decent cover of their most famous tune existed. It does. Oh how it does. More »

The best thing about Zoom is the ability to set a virtual background. It's almost enough to make you forget about all those passwords that were stolen. From faking being paying attention in a meeting to setting a background to an island paradise, people are enjoying making work meetings a little bit more fun. Disney and Lucasfilm have clearly taken notice, because a stack of official Star Wars Zoom backgrounds just got released for free. More »

Last year, Google turned the mid-range phone market on its head by introducing the ludicrously-priced and well-specced Pixel 3a. A few other brands have followed suit since then, but none have been quite as exciting as the new iPhone SE. Now it truly seems like flagship inclusions at lower price points are here to stay - and it's about damn time. The trend of $1,500 - $2,000 becoming the norm for new phones over the last few years has been bad for buyers. A new middle ground has been long overdue and we welcome it. But is the resurrected iPhone SE actually a good phone to buy in 2020? More »

With the three Skywalker trilogies over and done with for now, what better than to celebrate the made-up Star Wars holiday than to re-examine some weird facts we all glossed over. Here's 10 strange (and some downright freaky) facts you probably didn't know about to celebrate. More »

Apple dropped its brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro overnight, which is exciting because the dreaded butterfly keyboard is now finally dead. For real. In its place you'll find the newer Magic Keyboard which has previously been added to the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. Today is a good day. If you're keen to get your paws on the new laptop, here's how much it will set you back in Australia. More »

Back in early March Apple announced that it would closing the majority of its physical stores worldwide. Roughly seven weeks later Australian Apple stores will be re-opening their doors around the country later this week. More »

Google is such a powerhouse search engine that it has not only injected itself into our everyday lives, it's even a verb now. But just because we Google things a lot doesn't mean that that we do it as effectively as possible. So here are some tips to help maximise and improve your Google search results. More »

Vodafone might be one of Australia’s biggest names in mobile connectivity, but it's relatively new to NBN and has only been offering plans since 2017. While Vodafone has a reputation for offering bang-for-buck mobile plans, is it the same for NBN? Let's take a closer look. More »

Circles.Life is a little-known telco with a questionable name choice. But it also happens to have a real hectic SIM-only plan deal right now. For $38 a month you get a whopping 103GB data -- also per month. And you don't even need to sign a contract. More »

Over the past week we have been hearing about issues that some rural Australians are having installing the COVIDSafe app. This is because Telstra, unlike Vodafone and Optus, didn't have SMS over Wifi, which prevented 2FA texts from being received by people who don't have mobile phone reception. Importantly, is an issue that also impacts other 2FA SMS as well as emergency texts. During our investigation into this Telstra started quietly rolling the feature out. More »

With Mother's Day right around the corner, there's still time to book in a last minute gift. It's 2020 and all the best gifts are basically gadgets now so here's our roundup to help you out. More »

There's only a few days left before Mother's Day and if you've forgotten to pop in online orders, it's probably a little too late now. Don't fret because the internet is a wonderful place and can serve up a number of experiences you can buy mum instantly without having to resort on physical deliveries. Here's the best experiences you can gift your mum this Mother's Day. More »

Samsung just released the smaller version of its Galaxy Tab S6 tablet in Australia. Though it did appear in some online stores a little early, now it's official. Here's what its packing and how much it will cost in Australia. More »

Sennheiser has just released its second generation of its noise cancelling earbuds in Australia - the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2. Here's what we know about them and how much they cost. Spoiler alert - they ain't cheap. More »

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the government's coronavirus tracing app, COVIDSafe, but at the forefront has been issues of privacy and its ability to work properly on devices. With the federal government tying the easing of social restrictions to app downloads, developers have reverse engineered the app to find out what's actually wrong with it. Here's what they've found. More »

Over the past few years plant-based meat has become increasingly popular. Thanks to the popularity of brands such as Impossible, we;re now seeing increasingly more vegan-friendly meat alternatives in the supermarkets and even being sold by fast food chains. Meal kit delivery service Marley Spoon has even begun offering plant-based options, using v2food mince. This is what they taste like. More »

The cast of Community is reuniting for a virtual table read to raise money for coronavirus relief. Almost all of main cast will be back for the online event, including Donald Glover who left the show in season 5. It will also include a Q&A where fans can submit questions via social media. This is how you can watch it live. More »

While considering a new phone plan your first instinct may be to compare the big three - Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone. But over the past few years smaller telcos have come in swinging with plans that have high data allowances and smaller monthly fees. By looking a little deeper you can grab a great bargain. Here are five of our favourite deals these telcos are packing right now. More »

Researchers at a Sydney university have discovered how some female bees have managed to reproduce despite never doing the deed with another. More »

There are a lot of big steps you can take in a relationship. Dropping the 'L bomb', moving in together, combined finances, getting engaged. All these pale in comparison to sharing mobile data. Sharing your precious data with a significant other is big. You have to trust that your partner won't burn through it all while bingeing Netflix on the bus. You have to respect your partner's share. And you have to forgive when someone inevitably goes over the cap anyway. But how exactly does data sharing work? More »

MONEY saving hacks are something which many people will look to adopt in their lives, be it for a financial milestone or for a rainy day fund. And, there may be a way in which some soon see their spare cash add up.

THE CORONAVIRUS lockdown is now causing serious damage to the UK's economy, Tory MP Steve Baker has warned - stressing he was now "gravely concerned" at the situation

BRITAIN'S summer holiday destinations will face some of the biggest economic hits of the coronavirus pandemic with fears of massive job losses in coastal communities, a study has claimed.

CORONAVIRUS has forced people to re-evaluate their finances as income takes a hit and budgets are stretched. One of the first port of calls for change has been direct debits and new research reveals that some people may find themselves with more cash available once this all ends.

STATE pension age is continually being reviewed and altered by the government. The latest change occurred earlier this week.

APRIL saw 20.5 million job losses in the United States, the biggest rise in the jobless rate since the Great Depression.

FRENCHIC, the British paint brand with eco-friendly formulas for breathing new life into furniture, homes and garden decor, has seen sales surge 500 percent recently as lockdown sends DIYers into overdrive.

COMPUTER services company PTC is using augmented reality , the enhanced visual technology seen in Pokemon Go smartphone games and Iron Man movies, to produce ventilators in record time for the NHS.

STATE PENSIONS are calculated by National Insurance contributions - but can you top up any missed years?

MERVYN KING, the former governor of the Bank of England, once issued a brutal analysis of the global banking system and argued for its reinvention, it can be revealed as the Government fine-tunes its economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Big Oil Companies Face Tough Comparisons as Earnings Near American and European oil giants spend a lot of time talking about their differentiated strategies and approaches to hot-button issues such as climate change. But their bottom lines are still primarily driven by the same common factor: commodity prices. That shared reality doesn’t bode well for […]

Saudi Aramco’s IPO saga has turned into “A Tale of Two Princes.” As Saudi Arabia’s day-to-day ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has guided the IPO far from public view, his half-brother Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stepped onto center stage in Vienna last week, presiding over a crucial gathering of OPEC and its oil-producing allies […]

कोरोना वायरस के मामलों में आई गिरावट के बाद देहरादून रेड जोन से निकलकर ऑरेंज जोन में आ गया है

केंद्रीय गृह मंत्रालय के आदेश के बाद अब हरिद्वार शहर से देहात तक कहीं भी खुले में थूकने, मास्क नहीं पहनने और शारीरिक दूरी का पालन नहीं करने वालों की खैर नहीं।

उत्तराखंड में कोरोना वायरस संक्रमण के मद्देनजर अब सिर्फ हरिद्वार जनपद ही रेड जोन में बचा है। स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय ने ऊधमसिंह नगर और अल्मोड़ा जनपद को ग्रीन जोन घोषित कर दिया है।

उत्तराखंड में तीन दिन राहत के बाद फिर एक एक कारोना संक्रमण का मामला सामने आया है। स्वास्थ्य विभाग की ओर से आई रिपोर्ट में हरिद्वार जिले का एक मरीज कोरोना संक्रमित मिला है।