| The Nigerian drummer who set the beat for US civil rights Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:57 PM PDT  Babatunde Olatunji was part of a generation of Africans who fought for racial justice in the US.
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| Owners of Iranian fuel seized by U.S. assert rights to cargoes Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:26 PM PDT |
| Global Impact Resistant Glass Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:19 PM PDT |
| Trump spins baseless tale of ‘thugs’ flying to protests Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:19 PM PDT  President Donald Trump is recycling a baseless conspiracy theory to claim that recent protests have been orchestrated by powerful people in "dark shadows" intent on undermining his reelection prospects. The claims first took root on Facebook and Twitter earlier this year after racial justice protests swelled across the country following the deaths of Black Americans in police custody. Thousands of social media users shared posts suggesting a covert network was coordinating the protests and rioters were descending on communities across the country.
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| Global Industrial Agitators Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:19 PM PDT |
| Top White House Officials Want a Lid on Talk of Election Threats Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:06 PM PDT  When the Office of the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe called lawmakers on Capitol Hill Friday to inform them that the administration would no longer provide in-person briefings on threats to the U.S. election, congressional staffers scrambled to figure out why the director suddenly had pulled back from his commitment to appear for questioning.They still don't have a solid answer. But two administration officials and three other individuals familiar with the issue told The Daily Beast that top White House officials, including National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have repeatedly discussed in meetings with staff and with President Donald Trump how to restrict and control the flow of information on such sensitive topics to Capitol Hill. Those conversations have primarily focused on how details and materials from congressional briefings leak to the media, on their belief that Democrats politicize the briefings, and how it may be beneficial to limit the time some administration officials spend in front of Congress.John Ratcliffe, Trump's DNI Pick: 'I View China as the Greatest Threat Actor Right Now'Ratcliffe's announcement that he was suspending the election security briefings came less than 70 days before the 2020 presidential election. Individuals close to Trump and Meadows say they were unaware of Ratcliffe's decision to scale back the briefings until ODNI sent formal letters to Capitol Hill Saturday. But the shared belief among top officials about the need to curtail in-person briefings underscores the extent to which the Trump White House believes lawmakers' access to sensitive national security matters is a political hindrance. On August 10, Ratcliffe's office had offered to brief the House Intelligence Committee on election security threats, according to an individual familiar with the matter. And the committee had already booked a room and time—September 17—for Ratcliffe to speak with lawmakers about his office's latest findings, primarily how Russia is attempting to meddle in the 2020 election, how Iran seeks to undermine democratic institutions and how China views the candidates. The office had also agreed to give all House members a briefing on September 24 and 25. But two weeks after those offers, Ratcliffe reversed course. The reversal struck officials as an escalation of former acting intelligence chief Ric Grenell's decision to skip an election security briefing in March, sending William Evanina, the head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, instead. In phone calls to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Ratcliffe expressed frustration that information from prior briefings had made it into the press, according to two individuals familiar with the matter. Even after those calls and the letters which Ratcliffe sent to the Hill Saturday, lawmakers were still unsure exactly what had triggered the ODNI announcement.Final Senate Report on 'Aggressive' Russian Interference: Manafort Was a 'Grave Counterintelligence Threat'On two occasions over the last several months, O'Brien told his office in meetings that he did not want the National Security Council to engage with Congress on election security issues, telling officials that he did not think that matter was something the council needed to take action on since it was largely the purview of other agencies. He also told officials on his team that he wanted to limit congressional briefings, two individuals familiar with those conversations said. Those sources say is unclear if O'Brien's comments lead to any administrative action. Another individual familiar with O'Brien's thinking said it was the national security adviser's belief that congressional briefings led to political bickering between lawmakers. Members learned little from in-person interactions they could not get from a briefing document, that person said.The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One White House official told The Daily Beast that Meadows has for months been wary of the type of briefings on Capitol Hill that Democratic sources can potentially use to try to make Trump look bad through surreptitious leaks to media outlets. Meadows has discussed the matter on at least two occasions with President Trump this summer, that official said."Since Meadows has become chief of staff, there's been tighter control over what people can do on the Hill, compared to the [Mick] Mulvaney era," a Republican close to the White House said, adding that Meadows has applied this to a broad array of matters, including foreign policy and national security, as well as budgetary issues. "They don't want to get screamed at in the Oval Office because Trump saw something in The New York Times that was leaked, likely, from the Hill."On Tuesday afternoon, a senior administration official pointed to Meadows' prior work on the Oversight Committee, the congressional task force on FBI and Department of Justice oversight, and the impeachment hearings as proof of his authority on these matters. "He's seen firsthand how these hearings or interviews have been weaponized with leaks," the official said, "particularly out of Chairman Schiff's Intel Committee during impeachment."This official added, "It'd be accurate to say he's conveyed [to others] these concerns and sought to better protect intelligence so back and forths or clips of information can't be shared out of context."The decision by Ratcliffe to ultimately pull the plug on in-person briefings has caused angry pushback among Democrats on the Hill, who see it as an affront to Congress' role in election security, at best, and a cynical ploy to keep private any news of Russian involvement in the 2020 elections, at worst. On Tuesday Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) along with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN), chairman of the subcommittee on defense in the House Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Ratcliffe demanding that he reinstate the previously scheduled election security briefings."If you are unwilling to resume election-related intelligence briefings to Congress, we will have no choice but to consider the full range of tools available to compel compliance," the letter says.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Large antibody study offers hope for virus vaccine efforts Posted: 01 Sep 2020 02:02 PM PDT  Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found. Tuesday's report, from tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland, is the most extensive work yet on the immune system's response to the virus over time, and is good news for efforts to develop vaccines. If a vaccine can spur production of long-lasting antibodies as natural infection seems to do, it gives hope that "immunity to this unpredictable and highly contagious virus may not be fleeting," scientists from Harvard University and the U.S. National Institutes of Health wrote in a commentary published with the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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| Belarus opposition challenger to address UN Security Council Posted: 01 Sep 2020 01:25 PM PDT  The main opposition challenger in Belarus' disputed presidential election, which has triggered mass protests, will address an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday. Estonia's U.N. ambassador, Sven Jurgenson, said Tuesday that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania under pressure from Belarus authorities, will speak to the U.N.'s most powerful body at a meeting focusing on attacks on human rights in the former Soviet nation.
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| New U.N. council president stands by dismissal of U.S. sanctions move on Iran Posted: 01 Sep 2020 12:47 PM PDT |
| Video shows Israeli soldier kneeling on protester's neck Posted: 01 Sep 2020 12:25 PM PDT  A video circulating on social media appears to show an Israeli soldier kneeling on a Palestinian protester's neck while arresting him during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. The 65-year-old protester said he was not seriously injured and acknowledged shoving an Israeli soldier. The Israeli military said troops were "forced to apprehend" a suspect who had "repeatedly assaulted them."
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| Russia's military seemingly toeing the line with U.S. after armored vehicle 'deliberately rammed' American troops Posted: 01 Sep 2020 12:11 PM PDT  Russian military aggression is on the rise against the U.S. -- but President Trump has seemingly not responded to it.Russian warplanes are increasingly flying close to Alaskan airspace, forcing the U.S. to run interception efforts more often than it has in recent years. Russian fighter jets kept zooming within 100 feet of a U.S. Air Force bomber over the Black Sea, and a Russian helicopter recently hovered close to U.S. forces. And just last week, a Russian armored vehicle "deliberately rammed" into an American patrol in Syria, injuring seven U.S. troops, The New York Times notes.But President Trump hasn't given much public attention to the threats -- something both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Trump's own former officials have called him out for. They say it's a continuation of Trump's lack of public confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin over reports that Russia placed bounties on U.S. troops' heads in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did tell the Times that "America will respond" to the armored vehicle situation.Biden brought up the ramming incident in a Monday speech, asking "Did you hear the president say a single word? Did he lift one finger?" to respond to it. Russia similarly escalated aggression during the Obama administration, but reportedly to a lesser extent. "Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader," Biden continued, calling Trump's lack of action "not only dangerous," but "humiliating and embarrassing."Brett McGurk, a former national security official who served under both former President Barack Obama and Trump, meanwhile tweeted some harsh criticism of his own. > Reminder: these incidents have been ongoing for months. Trump has apparently never raised the issue in multiple calls with Putin. He leaves our troops to fend for themselves. https://t.co/55eT4qDhfl> > -- Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) August 26, 2020More stories from theweek.com Fauci shoots down false claim only 6 percent of coronavirus deaths are legitimate: 'They are real deaths from COVID-19' 60 percent of Americans say federal government's coronavirus response is making the pandemic worse Trump is not the law and order candidate
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| U.S.-Russia Military Tensions Intensify in the Air and on the Ground Worldwide Posted: 01 Sep 2020 12:00 PM PDT  WASHINGTON -- Russian fighter jets repeatedly veered 100 feet in front of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber over the Black Sea. Six Russian warplanes flew close enough to Alaska that Air Force F-22s scrambled to intercept them. And seven U.S. soldiers were injured when a Russian armored vehicle deliberately rammed an American patrol in northeast Syria.Within a few days last week, smoldering tensions between the United States and Russian militaries flared around the world. Already fraught with fresh evidence of election interference, the relationship between Washington and Moscow has grown even more tense after the recent military encounters.Joe Biden, in a speech in Pennsylvania on Monday, rebuked President Donald Trump for failing to publicly address the altercation in Syria. "Did you hear the president say a single word? Did he lift one finger?" Biden asked.Biden, the Democratic Party's nominee for president, also criticized Trump for failing to raise the issue of suspected Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan during multiple phone calls with President Vladimir Putin of Russia in recent months."Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader," Biden said. "It's not only dangerous, it's humiliating and embarrassing for the rest of the world to see. It weakens us."Biden added. "Not even American troops can feel safer under Trump."Trump has said that he did not bring up the CIA assessment of bounties when he talked to Putin, describing reports of such intelligence as a "hoax." It was unclear if the president brought up the subject in a phone call with Putin on Thursday.By contrast, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he took the issue seriously enough that he and a senior Pentagon leader had warned their Russian counterparts about the matter.The incidents last week come at a time when Trump's critics say he has refused to criticize or challenge Russia's increasing aggressions toward the West, and has even accommodated Moscow's wishes.The United States is cutting back its deployments in Germany by nearly 12,000 troops over the objections of NATO allies, shrinking a military footprint long resented by the Kremlin. Trump in June invited Putin to an expanded meeting of the Group of 7 nations, despite Russia having been banned from such meetings of the world's major economic powers after its 2014 annexation of Crimea and attacks on eastern Ukraine."Russia's aggressive action appears to have picked up in recent months," said Curtis M. Scaparrotti, a retired Army general and former top NATO military commander. "I suspect they see an opportunity during COVID focus to be more aggressive. They are also aware of the U.S. reduction in Germany and other tensions in the alliance. A good time to add a little stress?"When asked about the episode in northeastern Syria last week, Pompeo said, "These are the kinds of things that we work closely with the Russians to say this is unacceptable behavior, that America will respond."The trouble there started last Tuesday morning during what the Pentagon called a routine American patrol near Dayrick, Syria.Russian military personnel have increasingly had run-ins with U.S. troops on highways in the region, breaking agreements between the two countries to steer clear of each other, American officials say. The United States withdrew from much of that area before a Turkish cross-border offensive last fall.Videos of the encounter that emerged on Twitter last Wednesday appeared to show Russian and Americans vehicles speeding in an open field, with a Russian vehicle ramming an American vehicle, and a Russian helicopter flying low over U.S. forces.The clash ignited a war of words and finger-pointing between the two sides.John Ullyot, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said in a statement last Wednesday, "Unsafe and unprofessional actions like this represent a breach of deconfliction protocols, committed to by the United States and Russia in December 2019."Congressional Democrats and Republicans and even some former Trump national security aides criticized the White House response as woefully inadequate.The next day, Pentagon and U.S. Central Command officials issued tougher statements, condemning the Russian action.The Russians "proceeded to aggressively and recklessly pursue the coalition convoy including a sideswipe of a U.S. vehicle and the extremely low-level overflight by a Russian helicopter" after failing to use established communications channels to request passage through the eastern Syria security area near Dayrick, Capt. Bill Urban, a Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.Seven U.S. soldiers were treated for concussion-like symptoms at their base in Syria and returned to duty soon after, Urban said.The Pentagon statement contrasted sharply with the Russian accounts. In a phone call with Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shortly after the episode, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, Russian chief of the general staff, blamed U.S. forces for the clash, claiming that American troops attempted to block a Russian patrol "in breach of the existing agreements," according to a Facebook post from the Russian embassy.During the conversation, Gerasimov told Milley that coalition commanders were notified in advance about the passage of the Russian military through the area, according to the post. Gerasimov told Milley that U.S. troops tried to block the Russian patrol, which "took every step necessary to prevent the incident and proceed with its mission."A spokeswoman for Milley confirmed that he spoke to his Russian counterpart, but declined to disclose any details about the call.More than the 5,000 miles away Thursday, the rivalry kicked up again when Air Force F-22s intercepted six Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol planes flying within 50 nautical miles of the Alaskan coast in international air space, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.While Russia occasionally flies military aircraft into this zone beyond U.S. and Canadian air space, and those incursions are routinely met by U.S. or Canadian jets to check out the Russian planes, American officials say such flights have increased in recent months."This year, we've conducted more than a dozen intercepts, the most in recent years," Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD, said in a statement.The United States conducted its own show of force the next day, Friday, when it flew four B-52 bombers over NATO countries in Europe.The tit-for-tat continued when two Russian Su-27 Flanker jets repeatedly crossed within 100 feet in front of one of the B-52s in what the U.S. military said in a statement and accompanying video was "an unsafe, unprofessional" manner. The resulting turbulence to the B-52 restricted its ability to maneuver, according to the statement."Actions like these increase the potential for midair collisions, are unnecessary, and inconsistent with good airmanship and international flight rules," Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of U.S. air forces in Europe and Africa, said in a statement.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Italy’s FM meets with Libya rivals to push for end to war Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:56 AM PDT  Italy's chief diplomat paid an unannounced visit to Libya on Tuesday to press for an end to the bloody civil war following cease-fire initiatives by the U.N.-supported government and rival parliament. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met with Fayez Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord based in the capital Tripoli, before heading to eastern Libya to meet with Aguila Saleh, speaker of the rival Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Libyan officials said. Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled long time ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed.
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| Police: Teacher with far-right ties harassed health officer Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:35 AM PDT  A California community college instructor with ties to the far-right, anti-government "boogaloo" movement was in custody on suspicion of sending two dozen misogynistic and threatening letters to a county health officer involving the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Tuesday. Alan Viarengo, 55, was arrested last week and investigators seized 138 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosive materials from his home in Gilroy, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said. Viarengo was charged with felony counts of stalking and threatening a public official after authorities said the letters were sent to county Health Director Dr. Sara Cody.
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| AP FACT CHECK: Trump misstates what happened in Kenosha Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:33 AM PDT  President Donald Trump is not waiting for a trial to sort out what happened on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, where prosecutors say a 17-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle fatally shot two men on a night of protest and violence. In remarks surrounding and during his trip Tuesday to Kenosha, Trump also falsely claimed credit for National Guard deployments that he actually did not authorize. Wisconsin's Democratic governor did.
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| Book: Pence told 'to be on standby' for Trump hospital visit Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:24 AM PDT  A new book is reviving questions about President Donald Trump's unscheduled visit to Walter Reed military hospital last fall with the revelation that "word went out" for Vice President Mike Pence to stand by to temporarily assume presidential powers if Trump had to receive anesthesia for a medical procedure. The White House has said the president's November 2019 visit, which raised questions at the time about Trump's health, was part of his routine annual physical, and said the president wanted to get a head start on what typically is an hours-long, head-to-toe exam because he'd be busy this year with campaigning. The White House provided no other details at the time.
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| UAE's warm welcome to Israelis reflects changing region Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:17 AM PDT  In less than 24 hours on the ground, Israel's first-of-its-kind delegation to the United Arab Emirates received a royal welcome that would have been nearly unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Dozens of Israeli officials and their accompanying traveling press corps got a dizzying taste of Abu Dhabi's glamorous hotels, historic landmarks and scorching climate.
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| Meals on heels: San Francisco drag queens deliver amid virus Posted: 01 Sep 2020 11:09 AM PDT  These divas deliver. Drag queens don their colorful wigs, elaborate makeup and knee-high stiletto boots, but instead of stepping on a stage, they're putting on a face covering, grabbing a takeout bag and bringing their musical numbers to fans' doorsteps in San Francisco. The Oasis nightclub is turning the boring dinner blues into "Meals on Heels," dispatching drag queens like Amoura Teese and Kochina Rude to bring food, cocktails and socially distant lip-synching performances to people during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| San Diego, other cities ending census door-knocking early Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:56 AM PDT  Already under criticism for plans to end the 2020 census at the end of September, a month earlier than previously scheduled, the U.S. Census Bureau expects to finish up its most labor-intensive operation for getting an accurate head count even earlier in one of the largest U.S. cities. Door-knocking operations for the 2020 census are expected to end in the San Diego area on Sept. 18 instead of the end of the month, for census takers, also known as enumerators, who visit homes that haven't yet responded to the questionnaire, according to a Census Bureau official. "We hope all of our workload will be complete and there will not be any more enumerators out on the street," Roberto Garcia, a partnership specialist in San Diego, said almost two weeks ago during an online meeting with metro San Diego leaders who are helping motivate residents to answer the census questionnaire.
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| Egypt to try ex-student for sexual assault in #MeToo case Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:46 AM PDT |
| South Korea and Japan brace for Maysak, the strongest typhoon of 2020 Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:40 AM PDT  After already causing destruction in Japan's Ryukyu Islands, powerful Typhoon Maysak is now preparing to unleash a strike on the Korean Peninsula and western Japan as the most potent storm to prowl the waters of the West Pacific so far this year.This region has been no stranger to tropical activity this year. Just a week ago some of the same locations were dealing with Bavi, which strengthened to a typhoon on Aug. 24 just north of the Ryukyu Islands before it navigated into the Yellow Sea and made landfall in North Korea on Aug. 27."Maysak has surpassed Bavi and is now the strongest typhoon of the season with sustained winds reported up to 176 km/h (110 mph)," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls. Bavi's maximum sustained winds were 161 km/h (100 mph). The above infrared satellite image shows Typhoon Maysak spinning closer to the South Korea early on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020. (CIRA RAAMB) According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a storm of this strength is a very strong typhoon, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic or East Pacific oceans.After Maysak became a typhoon Saturday evening, the powerful storm steered toward the island of Okinawa early this week. Maysak's wrath first brought rough seas and wind-swept rain, but it quickly evolved into destructive winds, storm surge and flooding rainfall that lasted into early Wednesday, local time.The city of Nago on Okinawa reported more than 230 mm (9 inches) of rain on Monday and Tuesday alone. On the southern side of the island, the city of Naha reported winds of 132 km/h (82 mph) Tuesday.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPOn Tuesday morning, local time, local news outlets reported that more than 33,000 homes in Okinawa were without electricity due to Maysak. This ferocious storm is also referred to as Julian in the Philippines.The typhoon also caused the cancellation of more than 100 flights, which according to FlightAware is more than 40% of the island's air traffic. Maysak further disrupted travel in Okinawa by suspending bus operations throughout the day Tuesday. As Maysak continues to slowly strengthen and approach western Kyushu of Japan and the southern shores of South Korea, similar, or worse, impacts are expected."It is not out of the question for Maysak to briefly record winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) early on Wednesday, making it equal in strength to a Category 4 hurricane," Nicholls stated.Increased surf and even some outer rain bands are set to kick off the impacts felt in these areas on Wednesday morning, followed by overspreading damaging winds.Widespread wind gusts of 64 to 97 km/h (40-60 mph) are expected over the northern Ryukyu Islands and even up into northern North Korea and southern China. "A concentrated area from western Kyushu through the southern half of South Korea can expect wind gusts over 128 km/h (80 mph) on Wednesday and Thursday," said Nicholls. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 225 km/h (140 mph) for wind gusts is also possible near landfall along the southern coast of South Korea.Landfall is anticipated along the southern beaches of South Korea on Wednesday evening, local time, likely between Goheung and Busan.The strongest winds will be near the typhoon's center or just to east of the center at the time of landfall.Coastal flooding will also be a concern for cities like Busan, which are expected to remain east of the typhoon's eye. Tremendous amounts of rain are also anticipated to reach the already flood-weary countries of North Korea and South Korea."Widespread rainfall 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) is forecast for the Korean Peninsula, including in Seoul. The heaviest rainfall will be concentrated in central and southern South Korea where totals of 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) will fall," said Nicholls.Southern and central parts of South Korea are the most likely areas for the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ for rainfall of 300 mm (12 inches). Beacuse of these anticipated impacts, Maysak is expected to be a 3 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones for South Korea. The RealImpact™ Scale is a 6-point scale with ratings of less-than-1 and 1 to 5. Maysak is forecast to be a 2 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Tropical Cyclones in southern Japan.The current forecasts for Maysak could make the typhoon one for the record books.In addition to already being the strongest typhoon so far this year, Maysak is forecast to become the fourth named tropical system to make landfall in South Korea in 2020. Should this happen, the four landfalls would tie the record number of landfalls in the country in a single year.Maysak is not alone in the Western Pacific Ocean, as a new tropical system emerged in the basin on Monday.What started out as depression late on Monday strengthened into Tropical Storm Haishen on Tuesday evening.As of early Wednesday morning, local time, Haishen was located about 550 km (350 miles) east of Iwo, Japan. AccuWeather meteorologists are also forecasting Haishen to strengthen in the coming days as it continues on a westward to northwestward trajectory throughout the week."Haishen could follow right behind Maysak and aim for southern Japan and the Korean Peninsula as early as this weekend, bringing a second dose of tropical impacts," Nicholls explained.While Haishen is not currently forecast to reach the same powerful strength as Maysak, it is still expected to reach typhoon strength. The one-two punch of typhoons could be severely detrimental to the area, and leave little time for recovery efforts.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| South Korea and Japan brace for Maysak, the strongest typhoon of 2020 Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:40 AM PDT  After already causing destruction in Japan's Ryukyu Islands, powerful Typhoon Maysak is now preparing to unleash a strike on the Korean Peninsula and western Japan as the most potent storm to prowl the waters of the West Pacific so far this year. Just a week ago some of the same locations were dealing with Bavi, which strengthened to a typhoon on Aug. 24 just north of the Ryukyu Islands before it navigated into the Yellow Sea and made landfall in North Korea on Aug. 27. "Maysak has surpassed Bavi and is now the strongest typhoon of the season with sustained winds reported up to 176 km/h (110 mph)," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
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| Florida announces it will lift ban on nursing home visits Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:28 AM PDT  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he will lift the state's ban on visiting nursing homes that has cut off vulnerable seniors from family since mid-March over fears of spreading the new coronavirus. "Part of having a healthy society is understanding that human beings seek affection," DeSantis said. DeSantis said he would lift the ban on visitations in an executive order later Tuesday, following recommendations from a nursing home task force.
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| Lawyer: Plea offer tried to link Breonna Taylor to drug ring Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:27 AM PDT  A lawyer for Breonna Taylor's family said prosecutors offered a plea deal to an accused drug trafficker that would have forced him to implicate Taylor in criminal activity after her killing by police had pushed her name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race. Louisville's top prosecutor said the document was not an attempt to smear Taylor but was part of preliminary plea negotiations with a man charged with illegal drug trafficking. Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar posted a photo on social media Monday that he said was a plea offer to Jamarcus Glover from prosecutors.
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| Mauritius oil spill: Three clean-up crew die after boat capsizes Posted: 01 Sep 2020 09:57 AM PDT  The tragedy comes amid rising anger in Mauritius at the government's handling of the July spill.
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| Iran nuclear deal parties stand by troubled accord amid US pressure Posted: 01 Sep 2020 09:23 AM PDT  The signatories to the Iran nuclear deal said Tuesday that they stood by the faltering accord and China slammed US efforts to restore international sanctions on the Islamic republic and extend an arms embargo.
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| Zimbabwe to return land seized from foreign farmers Posted: 01 Sep 2020 09:16 AM PDT  Hundreds of mainly European farmers could benefit from the move, aimed at mending relations with the West.
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| US warns NKorea still pressing ballistic missile development Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:51 AM PDT  The US government warned Tuesday that North Korea continues to acquire materials and equipment for its ballistic missile program, despite claims in Washington that Pyongyang has pulled back on its nuclear ambitions.
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| Virus crisis easing across Sun Belt but could heat up again Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:44 AM PDT  Whether the outbreak will heat up again after Labor Day and the resumption of school and football remains to be seen. Alabama is the only state in the region to see all three numbers rising; Mississippi's deaths are up, but positive rates and cases are dropping. In Florida, where reported deaths from COVID-19 are running at about 114 a day on average, down from a peak of 185 in early August, Gov. Ron DeSantis went so far as to announce Tuesday that he is easing the state's 5-month-old ban on visitors to nursing homes.
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| Tony Abbott rails against Covid ‘health dictatorships’, saying some elderly should be left to die naturally Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:37 AM PDT  Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister tipped to become a British trade envoy, has said some elderly Covid-19 patients should be allowed to die to reduce the economic costs of lockdown. Mr Abbott accused Western politicians of choosing to spend ruinous amounts of money on healthcare rather than encouraging the public to face up to the risks of the virus. He warned that thanks to "virus hysteria", draconian lockdown measures could persist almost indefinitely, adding to economic slowdown and creating a "something for nothing mindset" among young people living on furlough. His comments, made during a visit to London on Tuesday, come just a week after it was reported that Mr Abbott - a staunch supporter of Brexit - was to be made Britain's new joint president of the Board of Trade. The job will involve drumming up deals for the UK around the world in the post-Brexit era. Mr Abbott addressed the Covid issue during a speech to the Policy Exchange think-tank, in which he said that it would be better to allow elderly Covid patients to die naturally rather than keeping them alive through expensive medical care. He said Australian health officials were spending up to £100,000 keeping elderly Covid patients alive, significantly more than they would normally allot for life-saving geriatric care.
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| Barr tightens rules on surveillance of political candidates Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:37 AM PDT |
| UK warns Brexit trade agreement will 'not be easy to achieve' before no deal deadline Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:29 AM PDT  Downing Street has said that it will be difficult to finalise a free trade agreement with the European Union before the no deal deadline at the end of this year. France and Germany also warned that time was running out to avoid no deal, which would mean the UK and EU trading on less lucrative WTO terms and with tariffs from January 1. The Prime Minister's spokesman blamed Brussels for the deadlocked negotiations, accusing the EU of blocking talks until the UK made concessions on fishing rights and level playing field guarantees for state aid, which govern subsidies and bailouts. "We would instead like to settle the simplest issues first in order to build momentum in the talks as time is short on both sides," he said after describing last week's round of talks as yielding "little progress". "An agreement is still possible and it is still our goal, but it is clear it will not be easy to achieve," he added. David Frost and Michel Barnier, the UK and EU's chief negotiators, met in London on Tuesday for preparatory negotiations ahead of next week's full round of trade talks in Britain. "It is important that the UK starts to engage with Michel Barnier in a more realistic and pragmatic way," an EU diplomat told The Telegraph. "If Brexit ideology were to trump Brexit pragmatism in the UK government, we would clearly be heading into no-deal territory." The diplomat added, "The next negotiation round in September will be crucial. If it ends without any progress as well, the window to clinch a deal will close quickly." France has taken one of the hardest lines on Brexit but Clement Beaune, Emmanuel Macron's Europe minister, admitted yesterday that it was in Paris' interest to curb the economic damage of no deal. He said, "The no deal is a risk. This does not prevent trade, but there are a number of barriers, such as customs duties. It is in our interest to limit friction, but we will not do so at the price of not respecting the rules". "Things are not progressing very well," he said, "The United Kingdom would like to have its cake and eat it too; get out of the European Union and have access to the European market." Michael Roth, Germany's Europe minister, told the European Parliament that the EU could not accept being shut out of British fishing waters. "We fear we might be running out of time," he said in the same week Angela Merkel suggested the talks could go to the end of 2020 rather than the EU's preferred deadline of the end of October. "The UK side is now moving away from what we had agreed on a long time ago as a basis for negotiations. Now that doesn't mean the EU is changing its negotiation stance," he added. A European Commission spokesman said that EU officials were conducting a "virtual tour of the capitals" to get the EU ready for the end of the Brexit transition period, whether or not there is a deal. "Whether or not there's an agreement, at the end of the year, the UK decision to leave the single market in the customs union will inevitably create barriers to trade, and cross border exchanges that simply do not exist today. These changes are unavoidable," the spokesman said.
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| Coronavirus: Is the rate of growth in Africa slowing down? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:23 AM PDT  The overall rate of increase may be changing, but there have still been sharp rises in some countries.
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| Global Insulated Concrete Form Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT |
| Darling Ingredients Publishes 2020 Sustainability Report Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT  Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), today announced the company's global sustainability strategy and its 2025 sustainability targets designed to enable company growth while improving sustainability performance. As a global corporation, our strategy aligns the objectives of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) pillars with specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as set out by the United Nations Global Compact. The 2020 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Factsheet is posted on our refreshed corporate website at https://www.darlingii.com/csr/resources/esg-factsheet.
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| Guatemala and United Nations World Food Programme welcome Amazon donation of critical cooking supplies to support 500 school feeding programs Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:01 AM PDT  Yesterday, Guatemala's Minister of Education Claudia Ruiz Casasola officially welcomed critically needed cooking supplies donated by Amazon, a partner of World Food Program USA, at a school near Guatemala City. In support of the United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) work to strengthen the government's school feeding program, Amazon's cooking supplies will benefit 500 Guatemalan schools, serving approximately 100,000 food-insecure students in some of the Dry Corridor's most vulnerable communities. UPS donated the cargo flight to Guatemala, where the shipment was delivered on February 28. Due to the unexpected COVID-19 lockdown and closure of schools there, distribution of the supplies was put on hold until now, when the Ministry of Education cleared them for distribution.
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| Global Integrated Bridge Systems Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 07:59 AM PDT |
| Iran nuclear deal members resolved to preserve agreement Posted: 01 Sep 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Representatives of Iran and the world powers working to save the nuclear deal with Tehran agreed Tuesday in Vienna to do everything possible to preserve the landmark 2015 agreement in their first meeting since the United States announced a bid to restore United Nations sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Helga Schmid, the European Union representative who chaired the meeting, said afterwards on Twitter that the "participants are united in resolve to preserve the #IranDeal and find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges." Iranian representative Abbas Araghchi did not comment after the day of talks, but ahead of the meeting said the U.S. move would "definitely be an important discussion" topic with delegates from France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.
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| Global Interposer and Fan-Out WLP Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:59 AM PDT |
| Global Irrigation Controllers Industry Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:39 AM PDT |
| AP PHOTOS: Around the world, faith in the summer of COVID-19 Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:16 AM PDT  About the only clues that the man was a Roman Catholic priest leading the soldiers in prayer were his arms-wide gesture, mirroring that of the iconic hilltop statue, and the pale yellow liturgical stole draped over his head-to-toe personal protective equipment. This is what faith looks like in the summer of COVID-19 — or winter, of course, in Rio and other Southern Hemisphere locales. In images published in August from Associated Press photographers around the world, religious services, sacred ceremonies and holiday observances took place with people trying to keep themselves and each other safe amid an unabating pandemic.
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| Algorithmia earns top marks in Machine Learning security, named market leader in ML lifecycle management Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT  Algorithmia Platform Integrations Algorithmia Platform IntegrationsSEATTLE, Sept. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Algorithmia, a provider of machine learning operations and management software, was recognized for best-in-class security and integration in a recent review of six different machine learning (ML) enterprise lifecycle solutions by Kisaco Research. The study published in August, "Kisaco Research Leadership Chart on Enterprise ML Lifecycle Solutions 2020-21," compares vendors across five criteria: Data Science, ML Design & Development, Production Operations, Security & Integrations, and lastly Market Execution & Strategy. The report gives Algorithmia top marks for Security & Integrations, and names the company a "market leader." "Algorithmia's origins in providing enterprise grade security and integration for deploying ML applications in government agencies and banks has made it a stand out solution in our assessment," said Michael Azoff, Chief Analyst, Kisaco Research.Algorithmia manages the entire machine learning operations (MLOps) lifecycle, from source code to production, with all the security, collaboration and governance features enterprises expect. Over 120,000 engineers and data scientists have used Algorithmia to date, including the United Nations, Toyota Insurance MS&AD, Ernst & Young, Tevec, government intelligence agencies and Fortune 500 companies."Security has been a top requirement of our government agency and financial services customers, and our integration-first approach gives data scientists the most flexibility to innovate with the latest AI/ML tooling in this rapidly evolving arena," said Diego Oppenheimer, CEO of Algorithmia.Algorithmia's enterprise-class security is based on a framework of role-based access controls, security APIs and system encryption which ensures continuous, uninterrupted operations. The security framework ensures that models, data sources and users are all controlled and secured from tampering by outside as well as inside actors.Algorithmia's integration-first approach ensures that ML operations can work with all of an organization's existing processes and systems, including data science tooling, data services, frameworks/libraries, IaaS services and programming languages. The unrivaled number of integrations gives customers near unlimited choice in their deployment options.Algorithmia released security upgrades to Algorithmia Enterprise edition in July and launched a new SaaS-based Algorithmia Teams edition for data science teams in August, both of which bear the distinction of the highly rated security and integration features identified in the report.A copy of the Kisaco Research Leadership Chart on Enterprise ML Lifecycle Solutions can be found here.About AlgorithmiaAlgorithmia is a single solution for all stages of the ML Ops and management lifecycle, enabling data management, deployment, management, and operations teams to work concurrently on the same machine learning project. Algorithmia enables users to connect data sources, orchestration engines, and step functions and deploy models from major frameworks, languages, platforms, and tools. Over 120,000 engineers and data scientists have used Algorithmia's platform to date, including the United Nations, government intelligence agencies, and Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit www.algorithmia.com.Media contact: Kevin Wolf TGPR (650) 483-1552 kevin@tgprllc.comA photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be1f303b-081b-434e-8434-25e3d2393758
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| If Trump refuses to accept defeat in November, the republic will survive intact, as it has 5 out of 6 times in the past Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:28 AM PDT  During the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump refused to promise to accept the results of the election. Likewise, in 2020, his continued assault on the reliability and legitimacy of mail-in voting has laid the groundwork for challenging a loss on the basis of voter fraud. He has also refused to promise to observe the 2020 results.This has led some to worry that a contested election would severely undermine faith in American democracy.Yet the United States has a long history of such contested elections. With one exception, they have not badly damaged the American political system.That contested 1860 election – which sparked the Civil War – happened in a unique context. As a political scientist who studies elections, I believe that, should President Trump – or less likely, Joe Biden – contest the results of the November election, American democracy will survive. Legitimacy and peaceful transitionsMost contested presidential elections have not posed threats to the legitimacy of government. Legitimacy, or the collective acknowledgment that government has a right to rule, is essential to a democracy. In a legitimate system, unpopular policies are largely accepted because citizens believe that government has the right to make them. For example, a citizen may despise taxes but still admit that they are lawful. Illegitimate systems, which are not supported by citizens, can collapse or descend into revolution. In democracies, elections generate legitimacy because citizens contribute to the selection of leadership.In the past, contested elections have not badly damaged the fabric of democracy because the rules for handling such disputes exist and have been followed. While politicians and citizens alike have howled about the unfairness of loss, they accepted these losses. Contested elections and continuityIn 1800, both Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same number of votes in the Electoral College. Because no candidate won a clear majority of Electoral votes, the House of Representatives followed the Constitution and convened a special session to resolve the impasse by a vote. It took 36 ballots to give Jefferson the victory, which was widely accepted. In 1824, Andrew Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote against John Quincy Adams and two other candidates, but failed to win the necessary majority in the Electoral College. The House, again following the procedure set in the Constitution, selected Adams as the winner over Jackson.The 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden was contested because several Southern states failed to clearly certify a winner. This was resolved through inter-party negotiation conducted by an Electoral Commission established by Congress. While Hayes would become president, concessions were given to the South that effectively ended Reconstruction.The contest between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon in 1960 was rife with allegations of voter fraud, and Nixon supporters pressed for aggressive recounts in many states. In the end, Nixon begrudgingly accepted the decision rather than drag the country through civil discord during the intense U.S.-Soviet tensions of the Cold War. Finally, in 2000, GOP candidate George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore tangled over disputed ballots in Florida. The Supreme Court terminated a recount effort and Gore publicly conceded, recognizing the legitimacy of Bush's victory by saying, "While I strongly disagree with the Court's decision, I accept it."In each case, the losing side was unhappy with the result of the election. But in each case, the loser accepted the legally derived result, and the American democratic political system persisted. The system collapsesThe election of 1860 was a different story. After Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates, Southern states simply refused to accept the results. They viewed the selection of a president who would not protect slavery as illegitimate and ignored the election's results. It was only through the profoundly bloody Civil War that the United States remained intact. The dispute over the legitimacy of this election, based in fundamental differences between the North and South, cost 600,000 American lives. What is the difference between the political collapse of 1860 and the continuity of other contested elections? In all cases, citizens were politically divided and elections were hotly contested. What makes 1860 stand out so clearly is that the country was divided over the moral question of slavery, and this division followed geographic lines that enabled a revolution to form. Further, the Confederacy was reasonably unified across class lines. While the America of today is certainly divided, the distribution of political beliefs is far more dispersed and complex than the ideological cohesion of the Confederacy. [Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversation's email newsletter.] Rule of lawHistory suggests, then, that even if Trump or Biden contest the election, the results would not be catastrophic. The Constitution is clear on what would happen: First, the president cannot simply declare an election invalid. Second, voting irregularities could be investigated by the states, who are responsible for managing the integrity of their electoral processes. This seems unlikely to change any reported results, as voter fraud is extraordinarily rare. The next step could be an appeal to the Supreme Court or suits against the states. To overturn any state's initial selection, evidence of a miscount or voter fraud would have to be strongly established. If these attempts to contest the election fail, on Inauguration Day, the elected president would lawfully assume the office. Any remaining ongoing contestation would be moot after this point, as the president would have full legal authority to exercise the powers of his office, and could not be removed short of impeachment. While the result of the 2020 election is sure to make many citizens unhappy, I believe rule of law will endure. The powerful historical, social, and geographic forces that produced the total failure of 1860 simply are not present.Correction: This story has been corrected to give the proper date for the contested election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. It was in 1800.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * 'Stolen' elections open wounds that may never heal * Putin's interference in US elections undermines faith in American democracyAlexander Cohen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| It's class time again across Europe, virus or no Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:14 AM PDT  Tugging on their masks or dashing to hug long-unseen friends, millions of children returned to school across Europe and beyond Tuesday in a mass experiment aimed at bridging inequalities and resuscitating economies — despite the persistent pandemic. The virus threat lurked in the shadows as children kissed their parents goodbye in France, shyly greeted their teachers in Israel, settled into spaced-out desks in England, and raised their hands in Russia. While acknowledging "a bit of fear," Jerome Continent brought his first-grader Baptiste to school Tuesday anyway in the Paris suburb of Roissy-en-Brie, where the buzz of first-day excitement was even more intense than usual after the coronavirus upended the previous school year.
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| UN agency laments summer's 'deep wound' to Earth's ice cover Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:01 AM PDT  The United Nations weather agency says this summer will go down for leaving a "deep wound" in the cryosphere -- the planet's frozen parts -- amid a heat wave in the Arctic, shrinking sea ice and the collapse of a leading Canadian ice shelf. The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as the global average, provoking what spokeswoman Clare Nullis called a "vicious circle." "The rapid decline of sea ice in turn contributes to more warming, and so the circle goes on and the consequences do not stay in the Arctic," Nullis said during a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva.
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| Court shields Trump tax returns, likely until after election Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:57 AM PDT  A federal appeals court Tuesday granted President Donald Trump a temporary reprieve in the long-running fight over his tax returns, barring Manhattan's top prosecutor from getting the records while Trump's lawyers embark on another bid to overturn the subpoena seeking them. With a temporary stay in place and Trump expecting a return to the Supreme Court, it's unlikely that the case will be resolved or any tax returns will be turned over before the November election. Trump's lawyers argued that a stay keeping the tax returns under wraps will protect him from irreparable harm — such as leaks from secret grand jury proceedings — while they appeal a lower-court ruling two weeks ago that granted Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office access to Trump's tax returns.
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| Lebanese philanthropist Lady Cochrane dies of blast injuries Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:12 AM PDT  One of Lebanon's most prominent philanthropists and a pioneer defender of the country's heritage, Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, has died from injuries she suffered in the massive Aug. 4 explosion that ripped through Beirut. The family said Lady Cochrane passed away on Monday from her injuries. The palace, a storied building that took 20 years to restore after the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, was badly damaged in the blast.
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| Daughter says 'Hotel Rwanda' hero was 'kidnapped' in Dubai Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:34 AM PDT  The man portrayed in the film "Hotel Rwanda" as saving the lives of more than 1,200 people from genocide was "kidnapped" while in Dubai, his daughter asserts, while a video shared by Rwandan authorities allegedly backing his arrest on suspicion of terrorism was quickly challenged by his foundation. Paul Rusesabagina's appearance in handcuffs in Rwanda's capital on Monday prompted concern among human rights activists that this was the latest example of the Rwandan government targeting critics beyond its borders. Rwandan authorities said they issued an arrest warrant for Rusesabagina to answer charges of serious crimes including terrorism, arson, kidnap, and murder perpetrated against unarmed civilians.
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| Scores detained as students march against Belarus president Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:29 AM PDT  Authorities in Belarus detained scores of university students who took to the streets Tuesday to demand that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko resign after an election the opposition has denounced as rigged. Hundreds of students gathered outside universities across the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and then marched across the city center to the Education Ministry, continuing a fourth straight week of mass post-election protests. The demonstrators chanted for Lukashenko to "Go away!" and held banners demanding freedom for political prisoners.
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| Australia's former PM Abbott declines to comment on UK trade envoy role Posted: 01 Sep 2020 02:40 AM PDT |
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