| Africa's week in pictures: 1 - 7 May 2020 Posted: 07 May 2020 04:12 PM PDT  A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.
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| Experts worry CDC is sidelined in coronavirus response Posted: 07 May 2020 03:23 PM PDT  The latest instance surfaced Thursday, when The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump's administration shelved a CDC document containing step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the current pandemic. The administration has disputed the notion that the CDC had been sidelined, saying the agency is integral to the administration's plans to expand contact tracing nationwide. The nation's COVID-19 response has seen a strange turn for the CDC, which opened in 1946 in Atlanta as The Communicable Disease Center to prevent the spread of malaria with a $10 million budget and a few hundred employees.
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| Arrests made in shooting death of black man after outcry Posted: 07 May 2020 03:20 PM PDT  The charges came more than two months after Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. "This should have occurred the day it happened," said Akeem Baker, one of Arbery's close friends in Brunswick. Gregory McMichael, 64, previously told police that he and his son chased after Arbery because they suspected him of being a burglar.
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| NKorea's Kim sends 'verbal message' to China's Xi Posted: 07 May 2020 03:12 PM PDT  North Korea's Kim Jong Un has sent a "verbal message" to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media KCNA reported Friday, after weeks of speculation about his health. The news agency did not explain what it meant by a "verbal message," and it was not clear if Kim and Xi had spoken directly. The message was "in connection with the fact that China is registering success in preventing the COVID-19 infection," according to KCNA, with Kim extending his "warm greetings" to Xi.
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| Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin Posted: 07 May 2020 02:48 PM PDT  President Trump is celebrating throwback Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Trump told reporters on Thursday that he spoke on the phone with Putin and the two discussed the so-called "hoax" that was the investigation into Russian election interference, which determined Russia meddled to aid Trump, did not find collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and did not determine whether administration officials sought to obstruct the probe.Reiterating his displeasure with the investigation, Trump said the "Russia hoax" was "very hard" on the U.S. and Russia's foreign relations. "And we discussed that," said Trump of his call with Putin, also noting he offered to send Russia ventilators to aid COVID-19 patients."Things are falling out now and coming in line, showing what a hoax this whole investigation was," claimed Trump, likely referencing the dropped investigation against his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn."I wouldn't be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks," he ominously added. "This is just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle."CBS News' Margaret Brennan noted that talk of the Russia "hoax" weren't included in the White House summary of the call. As Bloomberg writes, the statement merely said "the two leaders also covered other bilateral and global issues." Trump did not elaborate on what "things" may "happen" regarding Russia in the upcoming weeks.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through
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| JetBlue to terrify New York City in ill-advised tribute to the city's first responders Posted: 07 May 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Nothing says "reassuring" and "soothing" to New Yorkers quite like low-flying commercial airplanes, which is why JetBlue is sending three Airbus A320s to circle the city for an hour on Thursday night, beginning at 7 p.m. "JetBlue's mission of inspiring humanity is stronger now more than ever," said the airline's president and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty, failing to mention JetBlue's apparently duel mission of re-traumatizing first responders and burning about 9,000 pounds of fossil fuel for no good reason.The "flyover salute" will travel through all five of New York's boroughs, including along the tip of Manhattan, near Ground Zero. The planes will reportedly fly at an altitude of 2,000 feet, which is only about 200 feet higher than the top of the city's tallest building, One World Trade Center.Incredibly, this is not the first time someone has sought to honor first responders and essential workers by flying airplanes low over the Big Apple. The Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy's Blue Angels similarly buzzed over New York last week to pay tribute to those risking their lives during the pandemic.> that they can't think of anything to do to "honor" new york besides repeatedly sending us low-flying planes is, like, incredible absurdist performance art> > — Amanda Mull (@amandamull) May 7, 2020In addition to their ill-advised spectacle, JetBlue also seemed to miss the irony of how an aerial show could lead to people congregating in the streets to watch, thereby violating proper social-distancing measures. Because at this point it is not abundantly obvious, the tails of the planes will be decorated with New York themes, including one insisting I ♥ NY.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Official: Strict US border policy may remain as virus eases Posted: 07 May 2020 02:28 PM PDT  The U.S, policy of quickly expelling migrants apprehended along the Mexican border may have to stay in place even after coronavirus quarantine restrictions ease around the country, a Trump administration official said Thursday. Immigration advocates say the policy has deprived some people of the right to seek asylum. It is set to expire May 20, but the acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, said it may need to be extended to protect public health.
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| Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Posted: 07 May 2020 02:20 PM PDT  President Trump was reportedly very, very mad about someone else's coronavirus diagnosis.On Thursday, the White House confirmed a member of the military who worked closely with Trump was diagnosed with coronavirus. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had since tested negative for COVID-19, but Trump was still "lava level mad" he came even close to contracting it, NBC News reports.The unidentified man was a member of Trump's valet, and started showing coronavirus symptoms Wednesday morning, CNN first reported. He remained "close to the president throughout the day on a consistent basis," NBC News writes. And when Trump found out Thursday that person had been in his vicinity, he "became 'lava level mad' at his staff and said he doesn't feel they are doing all they can to protect him from the virus," a person close to the White House told NBC News.Trump's concern of personal infection contrasts with his lax attitude toward reopening businesses around the U.S. He explicitly acknowledged Tuesday that reopening the economy would coincide with "more death," but said the risks would be worth it.Trump denied he had been close with the person who tested positive, saying Thursday "I've had very little personal contact with this gentleman." Instead of his usual weekly tests for COVID-19, Trump said he'll now be tested daily, as did Pence.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through
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| Democrats press Trump for answers on foiled Venezuela raid Posted: 07 May 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Three Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how much it knew about an attempted raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, an operation they said potentially violated U.S. law and ran counter to American support for negotiations to end the South American country's political standoff. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, the lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut expressed "alarm" about the raid led by a former Green Beret and which has resulted in the detention in Venezuela of two American citizens.
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| COVID-19 expected to peak in world's poorest countries soon, UN says Posted: 07 May 2020 01:55 PM PDT  The United Nations said a "smart strategy" is to contain coronavirus in the world's most vulnerable countries to stem a "further phase of the pandemic."
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| Tara Reade to Joe Biden: 'You should not be running on character' Posted: 07 May 2020 01:41 PM PDT  Tara Reade spoke out in an interview with Megyn Kelly this week about her allegation that former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her, calling for him to withdraw from the 2020 race.Reade, who alleges Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked for him in the Senate, spoke with Kelly for an interview, the first clip of which was released Thursday afternoon. In it, Reade delivers a message to Biden personally."You and I were there, Joe Biden," she said. "Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States."Asked if she wants Biden to drop out of the race, Reade said, "I wish he would, but he won't."Reade also said it's been "stunning" to see some Biden surrogates say "really horrible things" about her and that she has not felt safe since coming forward with her allegation."His campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able to speak safely," she said. "I have not experienced that."Biden broke his silence about Reade's allegation last week, denying it in a statement and interview on MSNBC. "I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened," Biden said. "And it didn't. It never happened." > MK EXCLUSIVE: TaraReade responds to JoeBiden; calls for him to drop out pic.twitter.com/jxHAUYaWVU> > -- Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) May 7, 2020More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Q&A: Stacey Abrams is ready to serve but not on top court Posted: 07 May 2020 01:16 PM PDT |
| Senior rebel commander killed in Yemen amid fierce battles Posted: 07 May 2020 01:08 PM PDT  A senior Yemeni rebel commander was killed Thursday, the Shiite rebels announced as fierce battles with government forces intensified along the front lines in the country's central provinces. The slain rebels' special forces commander, Mohamed Abdel Karim al-Hamran, enjoyed close ties to the top Houthi leader, Abdul Malek al-Houthi. Al-Hamran died in clashes between the central provinces of Marib and Bayda, which have been the epicenter of recent fighting, said Yemeni security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations.
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| The week's good news: May 7, 2020 Posted: 07 May 2020 12:30 PM PDT |
| Biden Accuser Tara Reade Lawyers Up Ahead of Megyn Kelly Sitdown Posted: 07 May 2020 12:14 PM PDT  Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade, who claims that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee sexually assaulted her when she briefly worked in Biden's Senate office almost three decades ago, retained attorney Douglas Wigdor before sitting down with Megyn Kelly for a video interview Thursday.Reade, 56, who has given widely differing accounts of her complaint against the former vice president and Delaware senator, had originally agreed to a May 3 interview with Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace and then canceled at the last minute, explaining that she wasn't ready. Biden has categorically denied Reade's claims, saying during a May 1 MSNBC appearance that "it never, never happened." Investigations by The New York Times and The Washington Post were unable to verify them. Senior members of Biden's Senate staff said Reade never complained to them."We at Wigdor LLP firmly believe that every survivor of sexual assault has the right to competent legal counsel, and we will represent Ms. Reade zealously, just as we would any other victim of sexual violence," Wigdor, who identifies himself as a Republican who voted for Trump in 2016, said in a press release Thursday announcing the interview. "Ms. Reade will be heard shortly in an interview conducted by Megyn Kelly and produced by Richard McHugh, and she will describe to the American public what happened to her. Her harrowing account is credible and supported by numerous 'outcry' witnesses from decades ago."McHugh, a former producer for NBC News' investigative unit who worked closely with Ronan Farrow on the Harvey Weinstein story until NBC executives killed it, recently published a story in Business Insider that featured an interview with one of Reade's California neighbors, who said Reade told her about Biden's alleged assault sometime in 1995.Reade went public with her allegations in March, saying Biden penetrated her with his fingers in 1993 when she delivered a gym bag to him in a Senate corridor. Reade said that after she complained about being harassed, Biden's staff retaliated against her, removing her from her post supervising Senate interns and forcing her to leave her job after a mere five months.Reade told her then-husband Theodore Dronen that she was sexually harassed when she worked for Biden, according to a 1996 court filing that mentions ""a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Biden's office." The Tribune of San Luis Obispo was the first to report on the filing.In the interview, a segment of which Kelly released on Twitter, Reade calls on Biden to withdraw from the race."I want to say: You and I were there, Joe Biden," Reade told Kelly. "Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States."In his press release, Wigdor attempted to head off criticism that he was taking Reade's case for political reasons. "It is inevitable that partisan politics will lead people to attack our firm and Mr. Wigdor specifically, particularly given his support of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign," the press release continued. Wigdor has filed high-profile lawsuits against Fox News on behalf of employees claiming sexual, racial, and other forms of workplace harassment. "However, any objective view of Mr. Wigdor's career and the history of the Firm (which is comprised of partners, lawyers and staff from all political parties) belie such a false narrative and make clear that our representation is simply a continuation of our objective support of all legitimate victims."Fox News Is Obsessed With Tara Reade. They Barely Mentioned Trump's Rape Accuser.Kelly's interview with Reade, which does not yet have an air date, comes after the former staffer abruptly cancelled two scheduled interviews with mainstream cable news anchors. On April 30, The New York Times reported that Reade had agreed to a sitdown with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace to be filmed on Friday morning and aired on Sunday. But shortly before Reade was set to be interviewed, with the camera crew already en route to her location, she pulled the plug, a Fox News source told The Daily Beast. Reade later told the AP that she canceled due to security concerns.Reade also reneged on an agreed-upon interview with CNN's Don Lemon, the host told viewers on May 4, saying that she cited "security concerns" following Biden's on-air interview. "Last Friday, Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault when she worked in his Senate office in 1993, canceled an interview she agreed to do with me, saying she wasn't comfortable doing the interview any longer after the former vice president spoke with MSNBC that morning and categorically denied the allegation," Lemon said, adding that Reade told him "she wants to tell her story and promised me she'll reschedule our interview."A CNN source told The Daily Beast that the network is "trying to salvage" the interview, but that "almost everyone is out of the loop."Kelly—who has alleged that she was once subjected to repeated workplace sexual harassment by her boss, the late Roger Ailes—was once one of Fox News Channel's most popular anchors before decamping to NBC's Today Show after the 2016 presidential election. She has a mixed record when it comes to high-profile interviews: a June 2017 sitdown with Russian president Vladimir Putin, meant to showcase her skills as a serious interviewer, was instead widely criticized as wasting an opportunity to hold the autocrat to account for meddling in the U.S. presidential election, and Kelly herself later admitted that she had been outmaneuvered by Putin.In another highly anticipated sitdown during the 2016 presidential campaign, Kelly interviewed then-Republican nominee Donald Trump, an interview which received a mixed reception for spending much of its time focusing on Kelly and her own feud with the future president.The anchor later lost her eight-figure job with NBC after she publicly defended white people who wear blackface on Halloween.Since his own television interview on Friday, in which he declared he was "absolutely positive" that no one in his office was made aware of any complaint made by Reade, Biden has continued with campaigning-as-usual, insofar as the coronavirus pandemic has allowed. On Thursday evening, the campaign will host a national "Women for Biden" call with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), one of half a dozen such events geared towards shoring up support among women voters since the beginning of March.Despite—or, perhaps, because of—Biden's outreach on women's issues in recent weeks, most outside women's groups have remained mum on the accusations leveled against the former vice president. Meanwhile, some insurgent progressive Democratic candidates, many of them women, are increasingly vocal in expressing support for Reade."I am a lot freer to speak about this stuff," Rebecca Parson, who is running against Rep. Derek Kilmer in Washington state's 6th congressional district, told The Daily Beast earlier this week. "Sexual assault should be a red line for us. We need to be able to distinguish ourselves from the Republicans… We can't win with hypocrisy like that."—Andrew Kirell contributed reporting to this storyRead 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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| Biden uses virtual events to target battleground Florida Posted: 07 May 2020 12:13 PM PDT  Joe Biden ventured back onto the campaign trail Thursday, targeting the critical battleground state of Florida — but without actually leaving home. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is staying in his Delaware house amid efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has shut down most aspects of American life, including the presidential campaign. "It's great to be in Jacksonville today," Biden said, grinning.
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| Justice Department will drop case against Michael Flynn Posted: 07 May 2020 12:05 PM PDT  The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop the criminal case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, The Associated Press first reported.Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to charges of lying to the FBI, but earlier this year, said he wanted to withdraw his plea because he was pressured into giving it. The DOJ sided with Flynn in a Thursday filing, deciding to drop his charges "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." Flynn's January 2017 interview with the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn," the DOJ determined, saying it was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."Flynn didn't last long on President Trump's staff — he was fired shortly after it appeared he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about the nature of his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. But documents unsealed in the past few weeks revealed the FBI may have set out to get Flynn to lie in the first place, posing questions about his actual guilt and whether Trump would extend him a pardon.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| US pulls anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia amid dispute Posted: 07 May 2020 11:58 AM PDT  The U.S. is pulling two Patriot missile batteries and some fighter aircraft out of Saudi Arabia, an American official said Thursday, amid tensions between the kingdom and the Trump administration over oil production. The official said the decision removes two batteries that were guarding oil facilities in Saudi Arabia but leaves two Patriot batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base in the Saudi desert, along with other air defense systems and jet fighters. The decision scales back the American presence in Saudi Arabia just months after the Pentagon began a military buildup there to counter threats from Iran.
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| Senate fails to override Trump veto on Iran conflict Posted: 07 May 2020 11:54 AM PDT  Congress has failed in its bid to block President Donald Trump from engaging in further military action against Iran without first seeking approval from the legislative branch. The Senate fell short on Thursday of the votes needed to override Trump's veto of a bipartisan resolution that asserted congressional authority on use of military force. Trump rejected the measure Wednesday, calling it "insulting" and an attempt to divide the Republican party ahead of the presidential election.
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| US Senate fails to override Trump veto on Iran war powers Posted: 07 May 2020 11:46 AM PDT  The US Senate on Thursday failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a bipartisan measure that would have limited his power to attack Iran. Lawmakers voted 49-44 to support the resolution that passed Congress earlier this year, short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override the president's veto of what he called a "very insulting" effort to curb his powers. The measure stemmed from fears among both Trump's Republicans and Democrats that the White House was at risk of stumbling into war with the Islamic republic.
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| Fears grow as coronavirus bears down on Mexico City Posted: 07 May 2020 11:46 AM PDT  A hand-washing station and bright yellow signs warning of an area of "high infection" now greet the steady stream of hearses at the entrance to the San Nicolas Tolentino cemetery in a working-class neighborhood of this sprawling metropolis. Funeral parlors and crematoriums in Iztapalapa, a borough of 2 million people, are working day and night to manage the surging number of dead in the capital's hardest-hit corner. Concern is growing that mixed messages about the seriousness of the pandemic from Mexico's president and lax enforcement of social distancing are manifesting in what could be a frightening preview as infections begin to peak in Mexico City and its suburbs — where some 20 million people live in close quarters, jamming subways and buses, shopping in crowded markets and clustering around street food stalls.
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| Michael Flynn Confessed. Justice Department Now Says It Doesn’t Care. Posted: 07 May 2020 11:43 AM PDT  It may not be a pardon. But the Justice Department has dropped charges against Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.Retired Army Lt. Gen. Flynn, an important figure in the war on terror who gave Trump's 2016 run military validation, will avoid prison time after the Justice Department provided a deliverance on Thursday that Flynn had long sought. It is also the second redemption that Trump has provided the general, who served as his first national security adviser for less than a month. "The Government has determined, pursuant to the Principles of Federal Prosecution and based on an extensive review and careful consideration of the circumstances, that continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice," wrote Timothy Shea, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a former senior aide to Attorney General William Barr. Shortly before the filing, lead prosecutor Brandon Von Grack abruptly withdrew from the case.The Justice Department filing, in essence, portrays Flynn as the victim of an FBI frame-up job, and his lies to the FBI as legally marginal. Shea wrote that Flynn's lies needed to have been "not simply false, but 'materially' false with respect to a matter under investigation." Later in the filing, Shea referred to those lies as "gaps in [Flynn's] memory," rather than deliberate falsehoods Flynn conceded. "Even if he told the truth, Mr. Flynn's statements could not have conceivably 'influenced' an investigation that had neither a legitimate counterintelligence nor criminal purpose," Shea wrote.It was an astonishing turnaround since 2018, when a federal judge said to Flynn in a sentencing hearing, "arguably, you sold your country out." That judge, Emmet Sullivan, could still decide to reject Shea's filing and continue with Flynn' sentencing. Michael Bromwich, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department inspector general, tweeted that the extraordinary move represented "a pardon by another name" and called it a "black day in DOJ history."Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the decision to drop charges was "outrageous" and revealed "a politicized and thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice." Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) added, "If Barr's Justice Department will drop charges against someone who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and who the White House publicly fired for lying to the vice president, there's nothing it won't do, no investigation it won't taint."Neither Flynn nor his attorney, Sidney Powell, responded immediately to requests for comment.Speaking to reports on Thursday afternoon, Trump said he had no prior knowledge of the Justice Department's decision. "He was an innocent man," Trump said, of Flynn. "Now in my book he's an even greater warrior."The dropped charges follow a years-long groundswell from Trump's base, and particularly Fox News, to clear Flynn. His advocates claim that Flynn was set up by the same disreputable FBI figures who they believe persecuted Trump over phantom collusion with Russia.Flynn's guilty plea, in December, 2017, has been no obstacle to the narrative, particularly since Flynn sought afterwards, unsuccessfully, to withdraw his plea. His sentencing, initially set for February, had also been delayed.Last month, agitation for a Flynn pardon intensified after documents emerged from two of Trump's most hated ex-FBI figures, counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and attorney Lisa Page, discussing Flynn's fateful January 2017 interview with the FBI. Page asked when and how to "slip it in" to Flynn that lying to an FBI agent is a crime, something that Flynn's advocates believed showed the general being railroaded from the start. But veteran FBI agents and prosecutors have pointed out that the FBI is not legally obligated to inform an interview subject that lying to them is illegal. "Michael Flynn was very familiar with the FBI," said Stephanie Douglas, a former executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch. "He would certainly have been aware of his obligation to provide candid and truthful information. His claim he was tricked and manipulated doesn't sound valid to me." Shea, in his Thursday court filing, suggested the FBI officials were "fishing for falsehoods merely to manufacture jurisdiction over any statement." In Shea's view, Flynn's lies were less germane to the prosecution than the FBI "lack[ing] sufficient basis to sustain its initial counterintelligence investigation," and its pre-interview position that it ought to close the investigation before speaking with the then national security adviser.Former FBI deputy head Andrew McCabe said on Thursday that the suggestion there was no reason to interview Flynn was "patently false, and ignores the considerable national security risk his contacts raised." He said Flynn's lies added to the FBI's concerns about his relationship with Russia. "Today's move... is pure politics designed to please the president," he added.U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, who was appointed by Barr to review Flynn's and other high-profile cases, said on Thursday that he concluded "the proper and just course" was to dismiss the case. "I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed," he said.The FBI Didn't Frame Michael Flynn. That's Just Trump's Excuse for a Prospective Pardon.While serving as national security adviser, Flynn misled FBI interviewers about conversations he had with the then-Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak. In one of those late 2016 conversations, according to court filings, Flynn asked the Russians to avoid escalatory actions in response to sanctions and diplomatic expulsions then President Barack Obama enacted as reprisal for Russian electoral interference. Shea, in his filing, called Flynn's Kislyak calls "entirely appropriate on their face."The national security adviser's lies prompted the holdover attorney general, Sally Yates, to warn the White House that Flynn had given the Russians leverage to blackmail him. But it would take weeks before Trump fired Flynn over "an eroding level of trust" concerning misleading Vice President Mike Pence on the Kislyak contacts. By May, Trump was said to have regretted dismissing the general. Flynn in 2017 agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The general avoided charges for taking $530,000 in unregistered money from interests connected to the Turkish government—something he only declared with the Justice Department after his downfall as national security adviser. During a sentencing hearing in 2018, a federal judge castigated Flynn for disgracing the uniform Flynn wore for three decades. "Arguably, you sold your country out," Judge Emmet Sullivan said. Two years earlier, on stage at the Republican national convention, Flynn had led a chant of "lock her up" about Hillary Clinton. Protesters outside Flynn's courtroom did not let the general forget it. Trump's enduring bond with Flynn is a testament to the importance of the role the general played in 2016.A host of national security officials, many aligned with the Republican Party, rejected Trump in 2016 as unfit to be president owing to his nativism, his penchant for brutality and his benign view of dictators like Russia's Vladimir Putin. Flynn was the exception. And the general was an exceptional figure. As the intelligence chief for the Joint Special Operations Command during the mid-2000s, Flynn is one of a select few people who can be said to have personally prosecuted the most sensitive missions of the war on terror. Michael Flynn Putting Mueller Deal at Risk in 'Dangerous' New TrialIt was a pivotal credential in another way. Flynn emerged from the war on terror endorsing Trump's view that the security apparatus, abetted by hidebound liberals and cowardly conservatives, had neutered the war on terror by refusing to see it was a civilizational conflict with Islam. "Islam is a political ideology" that "hides behind this notion of being a religion," Flynn told the Islamophobic group ACT for America shortly after the 2016 convention. His hostility to Islam informed his sanguine view of Russia, which both Flynn and Trump saw as naturally aligned with the U.S. against what they called "Radical Islamic Terror."It also meant that Trump and Flynn shared a common bureaucratic enemy. James Clapper, then the director of national intelligence, was a lead architect of an intelligence assessment finding Russia intervened in the election on Trump's behalf. In 2014, Clapper fired Flynn as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was deeply embittering. Just four years earlier, Flynn had been hailed as an innovator after claiming U.S. military intelligence had misunderstood the Afghanistan war. While Flynn portrayed himself as a martyr, victimized by the 'Deep State' for daring to warn about radical Islam, Clapper and other intelligence leaders had fallen out with Flynn over what they considered an incompetent management style and an iffy relationship with the truth. Reportedly, Flynn believed Iran was involved in the 2012 assault on a CIA compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans, and claimed incorrectly that Iran was responsible for more American deaths than al-Qaeda. Aides referred to such untruths as "Flynn facts." Flynn facts did not disturb Trump. They validated his instincts on national security. Trump rewarded Flynn by making him national security adviser, one of the most important positions in the U.S. security apparatus. It was the first time Trump redeemed Flynn. Thursday's dropped charges represent the second. 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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| Senate fails to overturn Trump's Iran war powers veto Posted: 07 May 2020 11:38 AM PDT  Thursday's override vote fell along similar lines as only a handful of Republicans have been willing to challenge the president on Iran.
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| Senate fails to override Trump veto of war powers resolution Posted: 07 May 2020 11:31 AM PDT  President Trump vetoed a resolution Wednesday to limit his authority to use military force in Iran, calling it "insulting."
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| Justice Department dropping Flynn's Trump-Russia case Posted: 07 May 2020 11:26 AM PDT  In an abrupt about-face, the Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation. The action was a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
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| For 2nd time, Syrian elections delayed over coronavirus Posted: 07 May 2020 11:02 AM PDT  Syria's President Bashar Assad issued a decree Thursday postponing the country's parliamentary elections until July — the second such delay in light of restrictions in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The elections were initially scheduled for April 13, then in March, a presidential decree delayed them until May 20. The latest decree pushes the new date to July 19, only saying it is part of the government's "preventive measures to combat coronavirus."
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| Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Posted: 07 May 2020 10:53 AM PDT  Contrary to popular belief, people do order fish sandwiches at Arby's.Senate Democrats recently learned one of their own is among that rare crowd when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) forgot to hit mute when driving through an Arby's drive-through last month. Manchin pulled up to the fast food spot in his home state, asked for a King's Hawaiian Fish Deluxe sandwich, and later learned his mistake after staffers texted him, he tells The Wall Street Journal."It's a big piece of fish and it has a big slice of cheese," Manchin described to the Journal. "They were just jealous they weren't getting the good sandwich." Manchin himself may be jealous that unlike West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, he doesn't have a sandwich named after him at his local Arby's.Manchin is far from the only lawmaker who's been "busted," as he put it, for forgetting to hit mute. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) says his children have repeatedly walked by and told him to "tell [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to say now is the time to start forgiving student loans." Several described overhearing "colleagues exercising on ellipticals, doing sit-ups, dealing with children, or taking other phone calls," they tell the Journal. And many of them have admittedly skipped showers on days they know they don't have to be on camera. Read more about congressmembers' at-home habits at The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Set for new term, Netanyahu eyes risky West Bank annexation Posted: 07 May 2020 10:52 AM PDT  Now that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secured a new term in office, there seems to be little to prevent him from annexing large parts of the occupied West Bank as early as this summer. Netanyahu has a friendly ally in the White House and support in Israel's new parliament for his long-promised goal. In a speech last month, Netanyahu said he was confident he would be able to annex West Bank land this summer, with support from the U.S.
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| US 'removes Patriot anti-missile system from Saudi Arabia' amid oil dispute Posted: 07 May 2020 10:44 AM PDT  The US is removing its Patriot anti-missile system from Saudi Arabia, according to reports, amid strained relations between the allies over oil production. Washington is removing four of its missile batteries along with dozens of military personnel it had sent to the kingdom to combat the threat from Iran, following a devastating attack on Saudi's oil facilities. According to the Wall Street Journal, quoting US officials, it will also consider a reduction in the US Navy presence in the Persian Gulf. The paper reported that the decision followed a reassessment by the Pentagon of the threat Tehran posed, no longer deeming it to be an immediate risk to US strategic interests. The Trump administration has led a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, escalating tensions between the two to their highest level in decades. A September drone attack on Abqaiq oil field, which was widely blamed on the Islamic Republic, crippled the world's largest oil processing plant and sent prices spiralling.
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| Bug experts dismiss worry about US 'murder hornets' as hype Posted: 07 May 2020 10:40 AM PDT  Insect experts say people should calm down about the big bug with the nickname "murder hornet" — unless you are a beekeeper or a honeybee. The Asian giant hornets found in Washington state that grabbed headlines this week aren't big killers of humans, although it does happen on rare occasions. Numerous bug experts told The Associated Press that what they call hornet "hype" reminds them of the 1970s public scare when Africanized honeybees, nicknamed "killer bees," started moving north from South America.
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| Taliban founder's son appointed military chief of insurgents Posted: 07 May 2020 10:05 AM PDT  The son of the Afghan Taliban's late founder has been appointed as the insurgents' military chief in a political reshuffle to check the power of his predecessor, senior militant figures have said. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob has been announced head of the military commission for the movement trying to overthrown the internationally-backed government in Afghanistan. His appointment was confirmed as the militants have significantly ramped up attacks following a withdrawal agreement with America. The appointment of the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late Taliban founder, reins in the former military leader Sardar Ibrahim as the movement closes in on negotiations with the Afghan government. Two senior Taliban figures told the Telegraph that the decision had been made at the insistence of factions in the Taliban and among Pakistan's military who still have influence over the insurgents. Ibrahim had been considered too hostile to Pakistan and too close to Iran, the sources said. Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, confirmed the appointment but would not comment on the reasons for it. The post of military chief has formally been vacant for several years, but Ibrahim has been de facto nationwide leader while officially deputy in charge of southern military operations. Ibrahim will remain as Mullah Yaqoob's deputy. Mullah Omar died in 2013, though the insurgent movement continued to release statements in his name until it finally admitted he was dead in 2015.
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| Britain's failure to remove illegal migrants is fueling 'dangerous' cross-Channel attempts Posted: 07 May 2020 10:04 AM PDT  Britain has become a magnet for asylum-seekers fueling record numbers crossing the Channel, says a new study that reveals the number being returned has halved in four years. The research by Migration Watch UK says the knowledge that migrants are unlikely to be sent back to another EU country or removed even if their asylum application fails is driving the surge in boats making the perilous crossing. More than 3,200 migrants have successfully made the crossing since 2018 with the number more than doubling in the first two months of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. "The biggest incentive for those attempting dangerous Channel crossings is the knowledge that being picked up by a British Border Force vessel or managing to set foot on British soil provides a very good chance of a permanent stay in the UK," said the report. Only 155 migrants who arrived on small boats between January 2019 and early April 2020 were returned to France despite about 2,500 detected arrivals. That represents six per cent of the total. "The collapse in removals of those with no right to be here, including failed asylum seekers, is part of a worsening paralysis of enforcement which is spurring more trips," said Migration Watch. The report comes only a day after Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, urged the French to back a new crackdown to enable the UK to return Channel migrants to France even if they are caught in British waters. The Home Secretary who held talks on Wednesday with her French counterpart Christophe Castaner, the French interior minister, is also seeking to renegotiate an international agreement that would enable Britain to return more asylum-seekers who land in the UK. The agreement, known as the Dublin regulations, makes the first country to receive an asylum seeker responsible for processing the claim, which in theory means others can return the migrant to them. Migration Watch said the figures showed the number of illegal migrants removed from Britain under the Dublin agreement to other EU countries has halved in four years from 510 in 2015 to 263 in 2019. The number of migrants who came into the UK under Dublin Regulation was also nearly six times the number sent back to other countries in 2018, according to the study. Migration Watch also pointed to a sharp decline in the number of failed asylum seekers being removed the UK, from just over 12,000 in 2004 to 2,000 in 2018. Of those, fewer than 40 per cent were known to have left. "The Home Office response has been beset by a range of problems, not least of which is the knowledge that those claiming asylum in the UK are unlikely to be removed, even if their asylum claim is rejected," said the report. "The Government should use the opportunity presented by Brexit to either renegotiate, if not withdraw, from the EU's Dublin Regulation while significantly increasing the number of other removals. Ultimately, it would also be in French interests to prevent such departures." Migration Watch said the perception that reaching the UK offered a permanent home needed to be "neutralised by an agreement between the UK and French governments that anyone intercepted wherever in the Channel or on reaching UK shores will be returned immediately to France where any application for asylum could be made. "The UK could undertake to contribute while applicants await a decision. In the event of asylum being refused, the UK could also contribute to the cost of repatriation."
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| Helicopter Money Won’t Ease Latin America’s Pandemic Pain Posted: 07 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- With the worst of the pandemic yet to come, Latin Americans authorities are scrambling, and not just for hospital beds and coffins. Along with Covid-19, a fever of wonkery has broken out over how to reverse the collective economic contraction and to carry on once the health emergency has passed.After seven straight years of underwhelming growth, the health crisis's knock-on effects will set back regional gross domestic product by at least 5% this year, a collapse rivaling the Great Depression. Joblessness will jump by around 35% to 37.7 million, with another 16 million Latin Americans likely to fall into extreme poverty. In Central America alone, GDP will fall by 6% and clip some $3.9 billion from the 48% of households that rely on the shadow economy, according to Manuel Orozco, of the Inter-American Dialogue. And in societies where nearly six out of 10 workers in Latin America live from gig to gig, welfare is more often than not a prayer.Such dire prospects have mobilized governments to roll out assistance to the most vulnerable households and credit to businesses in lockdown. Many analysts want to go further, tear up the region's clubby social pact and so convert Latin America into the epicenter of a social protection revolution.It's high time, some argue, for the rich to ante up, through measures such as Argentina's proposed "homeland tax" on great fortunes. Others would bring back the command economy, pump up the welfare state and bury once and for all the "neoliberal" model.The social policy weapon of choice is bolder still: universal basic income. The idea is fetching and simple: Instead of clunky and often profligate trickle-down assistance from bloated welfare bureaucracies, the argument goes, governments should cut a check for everyone. The rich, middle class and poor families would be eligible for this guaranteed minimum wage, no conditions, no exclusions and no red tape.Versions of UBI have kicked around for decades — and perhaps centuries. Lately, they have gained critical mass: A World Bank study counted 126 books on UBI, 91 of them published since 2010. Aficionados span the political spectrum. Milton Friedman, the doyen of free market economics, was an early convert. He called it a negative income tax. To many on the left, it's 21st century welfare. Pope Francis is on board. At least 22 pilot experiments are running worldwide.The pandemic has thrust UBI to the top of the regional agenda. The cascading health and economic crises have landed the Americas at a civilizing crossroads, Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, said on April 21. To build a "civilizing future," Barcena said, nations must provide a universal basic income that lifts everyone above the poverty line. "The State's fiscal scheme must be changed, let's put public resources into shoring up income," she said.Impassioned as these appeals sound, basic income is no silver bullet. Yes, giving money to everyone eliminates the costly, time-sucking task of identifying and vetting families for poverty relief. All the better for the last in line whose benefits would no longer would depend on the discretion of state gatekeepers — a double win for transparency and social justice. Or so it would seem.Yet by sending cash to everyone, including those who don't need it, universal income gets the equity agenda backward. Sure, the well-heeled would have to give back their stocking stuffer at tax time. Whether that largesse actually makes its way through the region's leaky and lopsided tax systems back to government coffers is another matter. "Latin American countries do not have progressive taxation," said Chatham House associate fellow Victor Bulmer-Thomas, a scholar of Latin American economic history. "The danger is that the poor end up paying disproportionately for the universal basic income transfers."Champions of universal income recognize the challenge and argue that implementing UBI would require foundational reforms on taxation, pensions and traditional targeted poverty relief. That's a daunting to-do list for any nation, never mind those emerging markets where encastled constituencies defend a regressive status quo. Such obstacles may at least partly explain why, despite years of debate, guaranteed basic income is still mostly an idea. "Strictly speaking, there is very little evidence on the effects of UBI in developing countries," noted the otherwise hopeful authors of the recent World Bank study. "None of these has been experimentally evaluated." What's more, Latin America already has a proven system of getting cash to those who need it most. At least 110 million Latin American families draw monthly benefits as long as they meet basic conditions, such as keeping their kids in school and vaccinated. That means one in five of the 552 million people receiving cash transfers globally lives in Latin America.Conditional cash transfers leapfrog traditional welfare by whisking benefits directly to qualifying recipients, often through personalized magnetic cash cards. Eligible families are listed on a national household register, which is frequently updated. In Chile, Colombia and Brazil, these registries keep tabs on around 60% of families nationwide, said Armando Barrientos, a Chilean economist specializing in welfare and social assistance policy at the University of Manchester, England. Brazil's pioneering Bolsa Familia cash transfer program even fights tuberculosis by speeding benefits to registered patients and keeping them committed to the rigorous multidrug therapies. "These systems are rules based, not discretionary, which discourages corruption. There's ongoing improvement in implementation," Barrientos said.Cash transfers are not flawless. Millions of workers are self employed or toil in the informal economy (58% in Brazil, 60% in Mexico, 66% in Ecuador) and so go officially unnoticed. In Ecuador and Brazil, these invisible poor face epic queues, red tape or worse to withdraw the emergency funds they are due in the pandemic-induced economic shutdowns. Yet the exclusions are an argument for improving welfare targeting, not scrapping it.Consider Brazil, where the deep 2015-2016 recession hit those at the bottom hardest. While average national income fell 2% from 2014 to 2018, the poorest 5% of households saw earnings plunge 39%, according to economist Marcelo Neri, who studies social policy at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. The logical solution? Close the poverty gap by topping up payouts to the more than 13 million families enrolled in the traditional Bolsa Familia cash transfer program. Brazil, laudably, did that and then extended benefits to millions more who had fallen through the welfare cracks and are now at risk in the fallout from the health crisis. So what if government instead decided to drop the eligibility requirements altogether and spread the largesse to all 211 million Brazilians, struggling or not? Neri crunched the numbers: Handing out a universal basic income would cost Brazil 22 times more than if it targeted only on those below the poverty line. "It's like throwing money from a helicopter," he said.The result, he said, would be wasted public revenue when Brazil's public debt is ballooning and the tax burden is already an enterprise-choking 35% of GDP. That's particularly worrying in a country where "temporary expenses have a way of becoming permanent," Neri said. "We need to pinpoint aid and get benefits directly to those who need them most."No one is suggesting that existing safety nets are enough. Latin America is still the world's most unequal region. To reverse that blighted legacy, the region should indeed look beyond the pandemic and embolden its social pact. More than ventilating government cash, however, Latin America needs to fix its lopsided social edifice. A good start would be to shrink its unproductive informal sector. Half the region's workforce have no fixed job, 65% no bank account and credit is almost unheard of. "The most precise measure of fairness in society is financial access," said Orozco. "An inability to formalize your savings prevents you from creating wealth. You can't do this with cash in a mattress."The pandemic and the economic misery it has wrought haven't reinvented the region's civilizing agenda. But instead of striving for utopia, Latin America's leaders need to support and improve the social policy tools that work.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of "The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Dairy Flavors Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Flavor Type ; Form ; Application Posted: 07 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT  The Dairy Flavors market was valued at US$ 2,223.20 million in 2018 and is projected to reach US$ 3,547.79 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2019 to 2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891649/?utm_source=PRN Dairy flavors are processed from different types of dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and cream.The organoleptic properties of dairy products, along with various health benefits make these products one of an essential ingredient in the food and beverage industry. The dairy flavors are often combined with other characterizing flavors to deliver a new and unique taste to the final product.The manufacturers are focused towards introducing new dairy-based flavors owing to the demand from consumers to consume organic and natural flavors. The dairy flavors help in cutting costs as they proffer similar taste and aroma as that of the original dairy product. They also provide subtle dairy notes such as moldy, pungent, and astringency by increasing their functionality. Based on form, the dairy flavors market is segmented into liquid, powder, and paste.In 2018, the liquid segment dominated the dairy flavors market; however, the powder segment is expected to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period. The food and beverage manufacturers prefer liquid form of dairy flavors over other forms such as powder and paste.Liquid form of dairy flavors can be easily mixed with the beverage matrix and other food items. Further, the liquid form of dairy flavors remains stable throughout the process of food product products. This factor further propels the growth of liquid dairy flavors market. Geographically, the dairy flavors market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa.Asia Pacific held the largest share of the global dairy flavors market, followed North America and by Europe. Asia Pacific contributed to the largest share in the global dairy flavors market due to the rising focus toward health along with attraction toward tasty food among population in APAC.The consumers are willing to pay higher prices for the dairy flavors products in developed and developing countries such as India, China, and Japan due to growing disposable income among consumers. The growing demand for natural dairy-derived flavors is further driving the growth of the dairy flavors market. The same trend is projected to boost the sale of dairy flavors products in the Asia Pacific region. Butter Buds Inc., CP Ingredients, Dairy Chem Inc., The Edlong Corporation, Kerry Group, Ornua Co-operative Limited, H.E Stringer Flavours Limited, Synergy flavors, and Bluegrass dairy & Food, Inc. are among the major players present in the global dairy flavors market. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Dairy Flavors Market COVID-19 outbreak first began in Wuhan (China) during December 2019, and since then it has spread across the world at a fast pace.China, Italy, Iran, Spain, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, and the US are among the worst affected countries in terms confirmed cases and reported deaths as of March 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak has affected economies and industries in various countries due to lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdowns. The decrease in the overall market growth due to COVID-19 is also affecting the growth of the dairy flavors market owing to the shutting down of factories, obstacle in supply chain, and downturn in world economy. Overall size of the global dairy flavors market has been derived in accordance to primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry expert such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specialized in the dairy flavors.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891649/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
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| Constitutional scholar argues Trump should be impeached over Dr. Bright whistleblower complaint Posted: 07 May 2020 09:51 AM PDT  After Dr. Rick Bright's whistleblower complaint, one law professor is arguing for impeaching President Trump a second time.Bright was recently removed as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority while leading vaccine development, a move he alleged was taken because he wouldn't put "politics and cronyism" above science, insisting congressional funding not go toward "drugs, vaccines, and other technologies that lack scientific merit" and limiting the "broad use" of the Trump-touted hydroxychloroquine. He filed an official whistleblower complaint this week alleging "cronyism" at HHS.Kim Wehle, a constitutional scholar and professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, on Thursday wrote in a piece for The Bulwark that Bright's story must "not be treated as just another Trump administration scandal," arguing it's evidence of Trump's "unabashed corruption" and is a "good reason to once again impeach the president."Wehle acknowledges that the Republican-controlled Senate again wouldn't remove Trump from office after acquitting him in the Ukraine scandal but argues that "the pandemic creates new reasons to remove the president" and "at least the effort again to remove this singularly unfit president would be a worthy historical act of devotion to the Constitution."Asked to comment on Bright's complaint this week, Trump dismissed him as "a disgruntled employee that's trying to help the Democrats win an election." Read Wehle's full piece at The Bulwark.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Putin-Trump call focuses on coronavirus, arms control, oil Posted: 07 May 2020 09:25 AM PDT  U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said. The White House said Trump spoke with Putin "to commemorate and reflect upon the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day." The Kremlin noted in its readout of the call that the two leaders exchanged greetings ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II, emphasizing "the historic significance of the WWII alliance between our peoples that allowed (us) to defeat the common enemy."
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| Trump valet has coronavirus; president again tests negative Posted: 07 May 2020 09:21 AM PDT  A member of the military serving as one of President Donald Trump's valets has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said Thursday. It said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and "remain in good health." The person tested positive on Wednesday, the White House said.
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| REFILE-U.N. triples coronavirus appeal to $6.7 bln to help poor countries Posted: 07 May 2020 09:08 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus: Companies will have 'patriotic duty' to produce in US, says Nikki Haley Posted: 07 May 2020 09:06 AM PDT  Donald Trump's former US ambassador to the United Nations has predicted in a new interview that American businesses will ramp up production within the country as part of their "patriotic duty" following the coronavirus pandemic.Nikki Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina and ambassador under the Trump administration before resigning in 2018, told Fox News on Thursday: "I think you'll now see American companies — it will become their patriotic duty to start producing in America."
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| Venerable but vulnerable: Centenarians hit hard by virus Posted: 07 May 2020 09:02 AM PDT  Centenarians have always been a rare breed. The 100-plus crowd — those most venerable of human beings — is succumbing rapidly and heartbreakingly to the coronavirus pandemic. Entire limbs are being lopped off family trees, and their wisdom and lore are dying with them.
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| Germany declares "first phase" COVID-19 victory and eases its lockdown Posted: 07 May 2020 08:57 AM PDT  "We have reached the goal of slowing down the spread of the virus," Angela Merkel says, as shops get the green light and restaurants prepare to reopen.
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| Trump's personal valet tests positive for coronavirus Posted: 07 May 2020 08:21 AM PDT  One of President Trump's personal valets has tested positive the coronavirus, CNN first reported Thursday.The White House's valet team is an elite military unit that often "work[s] very close to the President and first family," CNN writes. One of them, a member of the U.S. Navy, tested positive on Wednesday, but both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the disease, the White House confirmed."We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for coronavirus," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a Thursday statement. "The president and the vice president have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health."The valet, who hasn't been publicly identified, first started displaying COVID-19 symptoms Wednesday morning, a White House source told CNN. The news soon began "hitting the fan," the source continued, and Trump was quickly tested for the virus again. Trump, Pence, and people close to them are tested for COVID-19 every two weeks with a rapid test that produces results in about 15 minutes, two people told CNN.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| South African brewer says it may dump 400M bottles of beer Posted: 07 May 2020 08:11 AM PDT  South African Breweries, one of the world's largest brewers, says it may have to destroy 400 million bottles of beer as a result of the country's ban on alcohol sales that is part of its lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The transport of alcohol has also been outlawed in South Africa. It would also be frustrating news for millions of thirsty South African beer drinkers who are going without.
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| Virus hospitalization is new barrier to military enlistment Posted: 07 May 2020 08:04 AM PDT  The Defense Department has begun barring the enlistment of would-be military recruits who have been hospitalized for the coronavirus, unless they get a special medical waiver. Under a Pentagon memo signed Wednesday, applicants who have tested positive for the virus but did not require hospitalization will be allowed to enlist, as long as all health and other requirements are met. The military services could then require additional medical testing or evaluation as part of that waiver process to determine if the applicant should get a waiver and be allowed to enlist.
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| Trump campaign manager compares 2020 campaign to the Death Star Posted: 07 May 2020 07:52 AM PDT  Of everything from Star Wars a presidential campaign could compare itself too, the comically evil superweapon that gets destroyed wouldn't normally be at the top of the list. But on Thursday, Brad Parscale, President Trump's 2020 campaign manager, did just that, firing off a tweet declaring that the "juggernaut campaign" is the equivalent of the Death Star from the Star Wars franchise. You know, the one run by the sinister Empire that decimates planets and brutally murders people. This Death Star of a campaign is getting ready to press fire, Parscale declared.> For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star). It is firing on all cylinders. Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc. > > In a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time. pic.twitter.com/aJgCNfx1m0> > — Brad Parscale - Download our Trump 2020 App today! (@parscale) May 7, 2020This is not the first time the Trump campaign has compared itself to movie villains, having previously sent out a video depicting Trump as Thanos, the Avengers antagonist who wipes out half of all life in the universe. The creator of Thanos quickly shot back at "that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego."At some point, the Trump campaign may want to check out how these movies end, considering Thanos in that clip is defeated literally moments later, and in Star Wars, the Death Star is destroyed as our heroes get the last laugh against the overconfident Grand Moff Tarkin. The Empire eventually makes another Death Star that's just blown up a second time.After millions of voices cried out in "huh?" in response to the tweet, Parscale followed up by saying it's "the media" that's given the campaign the Death Star name, not him, but "I am happy to use the analogy," adding, "Laugh all you want, we will take the win!" Unlike the actual Empire, which did not, in fact, take a win. More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Supreme Court unanimously tosses out convictions in New Jersey 'Bridgegate' case Posted: 07 May 2020 07:41 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday to throw out both convictions in New Jersey's infamous "Bridgegate" scandal.Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, two allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for arranging in 2013 to reshape the traffic flow of the George Washington Bridge and create gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The Supreme Court decided there was "no doubt" of "wrongdoing" in the case, but that it didn't constitute "property fraud."Evidence in the case "no doubt shows wrongdoing — deception, corruption, abuse of power," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the unanimous opinion. But Kelly and Baroni "could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws" because they didn't "aim to obtain money or property," the opinion continued. "The federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct," the justices concluded in reversing a lower court's decision.Baroni and Kelly's scheme was intended to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, a Democrat, for not endorsing Christie's re-election. Baroni was sentenced to 18 months in prison and started serving his term last year. Kelly was sentenced to 13 months but never ended up serving any time, with the Supreme Court accepting her appeal just two weeks before she was due to report.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Unanimous Supreme Court throws out 'Bridgegate' convictions Posted: 07 May 2020 07:12 AM PDT  A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 president bid of their ally, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The justices said there was evidence of deception, corruption, and abuse of power in the political payback saga that involved four days of traffic jams on the world's busiest motor-vehicle bridge, the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. In the end, the justices concluded that the government had overreached in prosecuting Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for their roles in the scheme.
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| GOP Rep. Ken Buck 'tried to bully' local party official into reporting false election results Posted: 07 May 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) — Colorado's GOP party chair — has gotten himself into an election scandal that has nothing to do with his own election.Colorado state Rep. Larry Liston and GOP activist David Stiver both competed in the Republican primary for Colorado's 10th District state senate seat in March, with Liston getting 74 percent of the vote and Stiver getting 24 percent. Candidates need 30 percent to make it onto the November ballot, but Buck tried to push Stiver forward anyway, Eli Bremer, the GOP chairman for state Senate District 10, tells The Denver Post.On an April 17 conference call with around 200 GOP elected officials and county officers from around Colorado, the group voted to push Stiver to the November ballot even though the 10th District hadn't voted to do so. "Do you understand the order of the executive committee and the central committee that you will submit the paperwork to include Mr. Stiver and Mr. Liston on the ballot, with Mr. Liston receiving the top-line vote?" Buck asked Bremer on the call, according to a recording obtained by The Denver Post. Bremer responded by calling the order a "false affidavit" and said he'd seek "legal counsel" to ensure the move wasn't a "misdemeanor" before doing so. Buck pushed Bremer multiple times before agreeing to "move on.""You've got a sitting congressman, a sitting state party chair, who is trying to bully a volunteer — I'm a volunteer; I don't get paid for this — into committing a crime," Bremer told The Denver Post in confirming the account. Buck said he wasn't asking Bremer to "commit fraud," rather he was just "asking Eli if he understood the decision of the central committee" and would "follow" its "request." The issue of adding Stiver to the ballot has landed in a Denver District Court.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Libyan official: 5 killed, dozens wounds in Tripoli shelling Posted: 07 May 2020 07:06 AM PDT  Artillery shelling by Libya's eastern-based forces killed five civilians and wounded dozens in the capital, Tripoli, an official with the country's U.N.-supported government said Thursday. It was the latest attack on Tripoli by the eastern forces' commander Khalifa Hifter, who launched a push last year to capture the city. The fighting, which has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands, has mostly stalemated in recent months.
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