| Stacey Abrams on police shooting of Rayshard Brooks: 'There is a legitimacy to this outrage' Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:26 AM PDT  Stacey Abrams said the fatal Atlanta police shooting of Rayshard Brooks showed the "legitimacy" of the outrage expressed by Black Lives Matter protests.
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| Philippine journalist convicted of libel, given 6-year term Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:54 PM PDT  A Manila court found Maria Ressa, her online news site Rappler Inc., and former reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of libeling a wealthy businessman.
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| China's new virus outbreak needs further testing after 'hypothesis' on cause: WHO Posted: 15 Jun 2020 09:28 AM PDT  The origins of a new cluster of coronavirus infections in Beijing are uncertain, World Health Organization officials said on Monday, but the claim that it might have been caused by imports or packaging of salmon was not the "primary hypothesis". Several districts of the Chinese capital put up security checkpoints, closed schools and ordered people to be tested for the coronavirus on Monday after an unexpected rise in cases linked to the biggest wholesale food market in Asia. State-run newspapers reported that the virus was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon at Beijing's Xinfadi market amid worries about a second wave of the pandemic in China.
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| Indian embassy staff arrested over 'hit-and-run' in Islamabad Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:25 AM PDT  Reports say a pedestrian was critically injured and the two High Commission employees tried to flee.
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| Trump's comments about Huawei exec's arrest to take center stage in extradition fight Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:38 AM PDT |
| Editorial: Reopening California schools is dangerous. But so is letting kids go a year without learning Posted: 14 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  More kids will do better if schools reopen than if they continue online-only classes. But regardless of how we proceed, we must do better.
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| 'Disinfecting non-stop' as Italy faces two new virus outbreaks Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Yellow police tape -- a familiar sight across Italy since the coronavirus began sweeping the country in March -- reappeared at the weekend outside a Rome squat where around 15 new cases have emerged. Health workers insist the outbreak among squatters including a Peruvian family is under control, at a time when Italy is cautiously relaxing measures to contain the disease that has claimed more than 34,000 lives. A second outbreak was far bigger and occurred at a hospital on the western edge of Rome, with 109 cases and five deaths.
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| ‘I just don’t understand how any of them can sleep’: Parents of seven-year-old allegedly maced at Seattle protest speak out against police Posted: 15 Jun 2020 08:42 AM PDT  The parents of a seven-year-old child who was allegedly sprayed with mace by police at a peaceful protest in Seattle have spoken out about the traumatising incident.Footage of the protest that showed the boy screaming in pain while protesters attempt to help by using a milk-like substance to wash the child's eyes went viral online at the beginning of June.
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| U.S. General Throws Mike Pompeo’s Iran Policy Under the Bus Posted: 15 Jun 2020 09:59 AM PDT  "There's actually no military component of what's known as the maximum pressure campaign."
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| U.S. fighter jet crashes into North Sea during training exercise Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:17 AM PDT  A U.S. fighter jet has crashed into the North Sea on the east coast of England while on a routine training mission.
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| China's enormous response to a localized coronavirus outbreak at a market shows it's taking COVID-19 far more seriously than the rest of the world Posted: 15 Jun 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Brazil, Mexico, and many US states are reopening despite reporting record new daily cases of the coronavirus.
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| Argentine bishop resumes work as Vatican abuse probe wraps Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:52 AM PDT  An Argentine bishop close to Pope Francis has gone back to work at the Holy See's financial administration office while under investigation in his native Argentina and at the Vatican for alleged sexual abuse. The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, confirmed Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta had resumed work at the APSA patrimony office but said it in no way interferes with the investigations. The developments came as Francis on Monday named a new No. 2 at the office, an Italian layman and auditor, Fabio Gasperini.
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| Thai PM warns against criticism of the monarchy Posted: 15 Jun 2020 04:27 AM PDT  Thailand's prime minister on Monday warned political activists not to criticize the monarchy, saying doing so could damage their job prospects even though the king had asked him not to make prosecutions under a law protecting the royal family. Insulting the monarchy is a crime under Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The suspected kidnapping of a Thai democracy activist in Cambodia this month ignited small protests by university students, with some questioning in online comments the "lese majeste" law.
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| Rayshard Brooks shouldn't be dead 'because he was drunk at a freaking Wendy's': Atlanta protests continue after fatal police shooting Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:18 PM PDT  Outrage at the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta continued, with protesters returning to the place where Brooks was shot by a former police officer.
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| First Covid-19 lawsuit filed against Chinese government in latest sign of bubbling unrest Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:46 AM PDT  When Zhang Hai checked his father into a hospital in Wuhan mid-January, he had no idea a novel coronavirus was sweeping through the city. Chinese authorities had yet to sound the alarm, despite mounting evidence the virus was fatal and transmitting quickly – at least two were dead, and infections had spread abroad. But police pressured doctors to stay silent, and hospitals wouldn't allow extra protective gear, even as medical staff fell ill. So Mr Zhang never imagined his father, a 76-year-old veteran, would be infected with Covid-19 at the hospital while having a thigh fracture repaired, and die within a week. "If the government didn't cover up the disease in the early stages, my father wouldn't have died," Mr Zhang, 50, told the Telegraph. "I am furious... so many people lost their lives during this pandemic. What they did amounts to murder." On Wednesday, Mr Zhang filed the first lawsuit in China against the government that seeks restitution for its cover-up of the pandemic, according to lawyers and documents reviewed by the Telegraph.
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| Aurora police release dashcam video of traffic stop arrest Posted: 15 Jun 2020 04:04 AM PDT  Aurora police have released dashcam video of a traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of a couple.
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| House GOP Report Finds WHO ‘Complicit’ in Beijing’s COVID Coverup, Calls for Director Tedros’s Ouster Posted: 15 Jun 2020 10:12 AM PDT  China violated the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee allege in a new report on the origins of the pandemic.The interim 50-page report, a copy of which was obtained by National Review, also raises new questions about the complicit role the WHO played in allowing the Chinese Communist Party to delay crucial information about the novel virus. It recommends that WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus be removed from his position for his "full-throated defense of the CCP's response and embrace of their revisionist history," and calls for an international investigation into the CCP's failure to slow the spread of the disease."It is highly likely the ongoing pandemic could have been prevented," it states. "As such, it is incumbent upon the United States and likeminded WHO Member States to ensure the accountability and reforms necessary to prevent the CCP's malfeasance from giving rise to a third pandemic during the 21st century."One study has found that China could have prevented 95 percent of coronavirus infections if it had immediately implemented travel restrictions, containment measures, and social distancing after Wuhan laboratories sequenced the novel virus and discovered its resemblance to SARS by December 27. Instead, health officials ordered the labs to hand over or destroy the samples.The House Foreign Affairs Minority, led by Representative Michael McCaul (R., Texas) — leader of the China Task Force — claims that, despite reports to the contrary, the CCP never told the WHO of the outbreak, in direct violation of Article 6 of the IHR, which requires a member country to inform the WHO of all events occurring within their borders that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The argument that China violated the IHR was first raised by Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of McCaul's China Task Force who asked the State Department and Department of Justice in April to bring a case to the United Nations International Court of Justice.Based on the fact that the initial outbreak in Wuhan was "caused by an unknown agent and from an unknown source," Republicans argue that the WHO's guidance criteria for reporting potential incidents was not met. A timeline of the virus's early days shows that Wuhan doctors noticed a "cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause" on December 21."In sum, as early as mid-December, and no later than December 27th, the CCP had enough information to assess it was legally obligated to inform the WHO that the outbreak in Wuhan was an event 'that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,'" the report argues. "Had the CCP not been committed to covering up the outbreak, it would have answered YES to all four of the criteria and notified the WHO. The CCP failed to do so."The report points to comments made by Dr. Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, who said in an April press conference that the organization learned of the new disease from "our epidemic intelligence from open-source platform partners PRO-MED" — not the CCP — on December 31. It also points to the WHO's COVID-19 Technical Lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who said on April 13 that "right from the start, from the first notification we received on the 31st of December" she believed "that of course there may be human-to-human transmission.""It is hard to reconcile the WHO's own Technical Lead saying that on December 31st she knew that 'of course' human-to-human transmission could be occurring with the WHO's January 13th statement that 'there has been no suggestion of human-to-human transmission,'" the report states. "Either the WHO willfully ignored their experts, or they deferred to CCP pressure."
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| Woman apologizes after viral confrontation with resident Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:34 AM PDT  She called cops on Filipino man for creating "Black Lives Matter" sign in front of his own home in wealthy San Francisco neighborhood, drawing slew of backlash online.
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| He Xiangjian: China arrests five after attempt to kidnap billionaire Posted: 15 Jun 2020 01:33 PM PDT  Five people have been arrested after an attempt to kidnap He Xiangjian, one of China's richest men.
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| Report details how woman without ticket boarded Delta flight Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:26 AM PDT |
| Supreme Court rejects cases over 'qualified immunity' for police Posted: 15 Jun 2020 07:00 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear eight cases involving a legal defense called qualified immunity that can be used to shield government officials from lawsuits, including seven involving police accused of excessive force or other misconduct. In six of the seven cases involving police, plaintiffs who sued officers were challenging actions in lower courts that protected the defendants through qualified immunity. Among the cases the justices declined to hear was a dispute over whether officers in Tennessee can be sued for using a police dog that bit a man who has said he had put up his hands in surrender.
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| Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar supports calls to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department: 'you can't really reform a department that is rotten to the root' Posted: 14 Jun 2020 10:37 AM PDT  "Nobody is saying that the community is not going to be kept safe," she said. "Nobody is saying crime will not be investigated."
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| Trudeau says in talks to extend Canada-US border closure Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:01 AM PDT  Ottawa and Washington are in talks to extend the closure of the Canada-US border, as concerns persist over the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. "It is clear that there is broad consensus across the provinces that we need to continue to keep our current border measures in place," Trudeau said after consulting with provincial leaders. The world's longest international frontier -- at 8,900 kilometres (5,500 miles) -- was closed to all non-essential travellers on both sides on March 21 in response to the coronavirus crisis.
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| It's surprisingly easy to pull the doors off of Jeep's ultra-rugged Gladiator pickup truck — here's how I did it Posted: 14 Jun 2020 06:23 AM PDT  Like many Jeeps, the doors of the Gladiator pickup are removable. It took us about 20 minutes, but that was only because we'd never done it before.
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| A picture and its story: Black personal trainer carries suspected far-right protester to safety Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:27 AM PDT  Protests have erupted across British cities and around the world after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
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| Secret drug cave discovered by Spanish police Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:51 AM PDT  A secret operations centre buried in a garden belonging to alleged drug traffickers has been discovered by Spanish police, accessed via steps hidden under an ornamental fountain. It was only after Guardia Civil officers in the Costa del Sol town of Mijas began to investigate the three men accused of trafficking cannabis that they made the discovery, realising a small ornate fountain positioned next to a barbecue lifted up to reveal a shaft into the ground. At the bottom of the stairwell, officers advanced along a cramped tunnel before entering a shipping container buried under the garden, where the gang hid drug consignments. "It seems like something out of Hollywood, but we see this kind of thing in the local drug trafficking scene," a Guardia Civil spokesman told The Telegraph.
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| 2020 likely to be the warmest year on record globally Posted: 15 Jun 2020 08:37 AM PDT  With a dramatic rise in temperatures in the Arctic, the world on track to break heat records again.
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| Japan suspends Aegis Ashore deployment, pointing to cost and technical issues Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:52 AM PDT  The decision drastically alters the country's plans for defending itself against ballistic missiles.
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| Pilot of US Air Force jet that crashed in North Sea is dead Posted: 15 Jun 2020 03:11 AM PDT The pilot of a fighter jet that crashed into the North Sea, off the coast of northern England, has been found dead, the U.S. Air Force said Monday. In a statement hours after the crash, it said "the pilot of the downed F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing has been located, and confirmed deceased." It said this is a "tragic loss" for the 48th Fighter wing community and sent condolences to the pilot's family.
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| Thailand ends curfew, marks 21 days with no local coronavirus cases Posted: 14 Jun 2020 09:49 PM PDT  Thailand on Monday lifted a nationwide curfew after more than two months and allowed restaurants to resume selling alcohol as the coronavirus crisis eased, with 21 days since a recorded case of local transmission. The Southeast Asian nation of about 70 million people was the first country outside China to report a case of coronavirus, on Jan. 13, and has been a relative success story in containing it, with just 3,135 confirmed cases and 58 fatalities. Officials have credited Thais' early adoption of wearing masks - ubiquitous in public since January - as well as its border closure, shuttering of many business and the curfew for the retreat of the new virus that has infected 7.9 million worldwide and killed more than 430,000.
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| George Floyd death: 'The same happened to my son' Posted: 15 Jun 2020 05:32 AM PDT  An immigrant community divided by the anti-racist protests rocking the US.
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| Israel army says targets Hamas infrastructure after rocket fire Posted: 15 Jun 2020 01:17 PM PDT  Israel retaliated by air and tank fire Monday against Hamas positions after rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, the army said. The tensions came after Gaza rulers Hamas called for unity among Palestinians and "resistance" against Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
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| Two experts say use of deadly force against Rayshard Brooks unwarranted Posted: 14 Jun 2020 08:14 PM PDT  But a police union president outside Atlanta called it "legitimate."
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| Vigilantes threaten to re-take Seattle's autonomous zone from activists Posted: 14 Jun 2020 10:14 AM PDT  Vigilante groups have threatened to "re-take" the independent zone in Seattle where protesters have set up barricades to keep police out. Over a thousand people have responded to a Facebook event to attack the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, which they say is "illegally occupying public property and terrorising small businesses". The zone, established on Monday, covers a six-block area of the city surrounding the abandoned East Precinct police station. Some protesters are camping overnight and medic stations, food stalls and sound systems have been set up within the area. The event, hosted by pro-Trump site Prntly and "straight pride" group Super Happy Fun America, and scheduled for US independence day July 4, calls the group "communist kids" and suggests that non-bikers with other vehicles could also join. Tweets and articles posted online also threaten the zone with motorcycle groups the Hell's Angels and Mongols, though this rumour has been denied by Hell's Angels founding member Sonny Barger, who posted on Facebook that it was "untrue and will never happen".
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| China warns "very high" risk of new Beijing COVID cluster spreading Posted: 15 Jun 2020 12:13 PM PDT  "Beijing will not turn into a second Wuhan," one city official has vowed amid fears of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections.
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| De Blasio Tells Covid Contract Tracers Not to Ask Positive Cases If They’ve Attended BLM Protests Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:43 AM PDT  New York City's coronavirus contact-tracing force are not asking those who test positive for COVID-19 whether they recently attended a Black Lives Matter demonstration, a city spokesperson confirmed."No person will be asked proactively if they attended a protest," Avery Cohen, a spokesperson for de Blasio, told THE CITY about the directive. "If a person wants to proactively offer that information, there is an opportunity for them to do so."De Blasio, who announced his program last month to hire 1,000 "contact tracers," has promised to reveal Monday how many city residents have been questioned so far.Tracers are supposed to ask those who test positive for Covid-19 to "recall 'contacts' and individuals they may have exposed," Cohen explained. Tracers also probe for any "close contacts" of the patient — anyone that has been within six feet of the infected person for at least 10 minutes.New York City officials have taken a soft stance over fears that mass protests could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases. "Let's be clear about something: if there is a spike in coronavirus cases in the next two weeks, don't blame the protesters. Blame racism," Mark Levine, head of the city council's health committee, tweeted earlier this month.The mayor, whose daughter was arrested during a Manhattan protest over the death of George Floyd, is facing a lawsuit from Catholics and Jews for violating the constitutional rights of religious New Yorkers by placing restrictions on religious services. But De Blasio has pushed back on claims that he has been hypocritical in allowing protests to proceed while keeping religious services shuttered."When you see . . . an entire nation, simultaneously grappling with an extraordinary crisis seated in 400 years of American racism, I'm sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services," de Blasio said in a press conference earlier this month.
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| Atlanta police chief resigns following fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks Posted: 13 Jun 2020 08:21 PM PDT  Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields after Rayshard Brooks was killed by an Atlanta officer in a struggle following a field sobriety test.
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| U.S. companies can work with Huawei on 5G, other standards: Commerce Department Posted: 15 Jun 2020 09:31 AM PDT  The U.S. Commerce Department and other agencies signed off on the rule change, which is awaiting publication in the Federal Register, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The rule was sent to the Federal Register on Friday and is set to be published as early as Tuesday. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed the action in a statement to Reuters.
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| Mexico extradites alleged Chapo aide to US Posted: 14 Jun 2020 01:20 PM PDT |
| Vietnam couple detained over killing pet dogs and cats for meat Posted: 15 Jun 2020 02:58 AM PDT  A couple accused of poisoning dozens of pet dogs and cats in Vietnam have been arrested, state media said Monday, as local authorities clamp down on animal snatchers who sell the meat to food shops and markets. Traditionally eaten with rice wine or beer, dog meat is considered a delicacy in parts of the country. Cat -- although less popular -- also features on some menus, often dubbed "little tiger".
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| Mars: Green glow detected on the Red Planet Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:50 AM PDT  A joint European-Russian satellite observes a light in Mars' atmosphere that's generated by oxygen.
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| 'Embrace the change': Black officers sidestep unions to support police reform Posted: 15 Jun 2020 11:01 AM PDT  "We're talking about Black men dying. We're talking about systemic racism in police work," said a leader of one Black law enforcement association.
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| California 'sanctuary' rules stay in place after Supreme Court rejects Trump's challenge Posted: 15 Jun 2020 06:42 AM PDT  In another case of Trump vs. California, Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to state's sanctuary law regarding immigrants.
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