A New York City police officer was filmed punching a bystander during arrests while enforcing social distancing measures

An NYPD officer identified as Francisco Garcia was filmed violently punching a man named Donni Wright on Saturday.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35uhE6o

The Chinese government is worried global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since Tiananmen Square

The mounting global backlash against China stemming from the country's handling the early days of the coronavirus pandemic has apparently registered with Beijing's political leaders, Reuters reports.An internal report drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International found that anti-China sentiment around the world is at its highest point since 1989 following the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations, which Beijing cracked down on by declaring martial law and sending the military to occupy parts of the capital.The think tank's research was reportedly presented in early April to top Chinese Communist Party officials, including President Xi Jinping. Reuters' report is based off sources who have direct knowledge of the findings, though the news outlet has not seen the briefing itself. If reports of its contents are accurate, it would at least confirm Beijing is taking the backlash seriously, though Reuters notes it's unclear if those concerns will ultimately influence policy.The paper reportedly concluded the rising anti-China sentiment is in part a result of American efforts to undermine public confidence in Beijing amid the crisis. Relations between the two super powers are fragile at the moment, and the White House has been ramping up its criticism of China's coronavirus response, accusing the CCP of covering up information about the virus' severity and origin. Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3b5AwcW

False bomb threat temporarily closes Anchorage airport to arrivals

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VVCmJ6

Police: Woman wanted to get close to alligator before attack

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2W2OHLP

North Korea fired shots across its border with South Korea — just hours after Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance since rumors of his death

Kim Jong Un appeared in public for the first time in weeks Saturday. One report suggested his return will unleash a wave of executions in his homeland.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2KWd87i

US-China: Are Americans ready for a (costly) breakup?

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3c61oer

Ten times more people may be immune to coronavirus in Germany than predicted

Ten times more people than previously thought may have already acquired immunity to the coronavirus, according to a groundbreaking study in Germany. Scientists from the University of Bonn on Monday claimed their findings show that 1.8m people across Germany have already been infected with the virus. That is more than ten times as many as have tested positive so far, and would mean more than 1.6m may have been infected and recovered without knowing it. The findings are based on the first comprehensive study of the effects of the virus on a single community in Gangelt, the town at the epicentre of Germany’s first major outbreak. As reported by the Telegraph, the study’s initial findings last month suggested the fatality rate in Gangelt was much lower than previously thought, at just 0.37 per cent. The study’s authors now believe this is the general fatality rate for the virus and that it can be used to extrapolate the total number of undetected infections from the death toll. “Because our research allows us to determine exactly how many individuals are infected, we can also determine the percentage of deaths among all those infected with great accuracy,” Prof Hendrik Streeck, the study’s leader, said as he announced the study's final findings on Monday. “The infection fatality rate is a property of the virus. It can to a degree be applied to all of Germany — corrected for demography, of course.”

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35w8ENY

For nearly two months, Italians rarely left their homes. Now they lead Europe's reopening.

“A new page is beginning, and we will have to write it together with faith and responsibility,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Wn2ThH

'Devastatingly worrisome': Birx says protesters gathering without face masks or social distancing could unknowingly infect high-risk relatives at home

"It's devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and they infect their grandmother or grandfather who has a comorbid condition."

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2xulEr3

Trump’s Pick for Intelligence Chief Follows a Slew of QAnon Accounts

For a nominee to helm the U.S. government’s intelligence apparatus, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) draws on some unusual sources of information. Ratcliffe’s official, verified campaign Twitter account follows several accounts on the political fringe, including a 9/11 truther account with just one follower besides himself and four promoting the outlandish QAnon conspiracy theory, which posits that the world is run by a cabal of Democratic pedophile-cannibals—and has been ruled a potential source of domestic terrorism by the FBI. The conspiracy theorists followed by Ratcliffe, whose nomination for director of national intelligence goes before the Senate intelligence committee Tuesday morning, cover a bizarre range of beliefs. They posit that John F. Kennedy Jr. faked his death to help Trump to take down the Deep State. Others claim a Democratic sex dungeon exists in in a Washington pizzeria. But Ratcliffe and the QAnon promoters he follows have one thing in common: utter loyalty to Trump.Even before Ratcliffe’s QAnon interest was known, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a committee member, told The Daily Beast, “Congressman Ratcliffe is a partisan politician who has spent the last two years promoting conspiracy theories in defense of Donald Trump.”It’s not clear whether Ratcliffe followed conspiracy theorists himself, or whether it was done by someone else with access to his Twitter account. The QAnon accounts Ratcliffe follows were first noted by CQ Roll Call editor Ryan Kelly on Twitter. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred questions about Ratcliffe’s Twitter account to his congressional office, which didn’t respond to a request for comment. Veteran intelligence officials expressed alarm that the Senate may soon confirm a Trump loyalist atop the U.S.’s 16 intelligence agencies. “Ratcliffe would be the least qualified person to run the intelligence community, ever, and that includes Ric Grenell,” said former CIA and National Counterterrorism Center analyst Aki Peritz, referring to the acting director of national intelligence. “The hardest job for any intelligence officer is to speak truth to power. Based on Ratcliffe’s past performance, it’s doubtful he can resist the urge to politicize intelligence on behalf of Donald Trump.” The willingness of a likely director of national intelligence to entertain conspiracy theorists highlights what Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee consider Ratcliffe’s lack of fitness for the job. Two committee sources said the minority Democrats intend to press the nominee on his loyalty to Trump—the quality that earned Ratcliffe his nomination—something he displayed with zeal in attacking Robert Mueller’s Russia inquiry and portraying the House Democrats’ impeachment of Trump as a frame-up job. At Tuesday’s hearing, the Democrats intend to bring up everything from Russia to the novel coronavirus, where a divide has emerged between the intelligence agencies and the administration over whether the virus was man-made in China. They intend also to question Ratcliffe over the post-impeachment purge of intelligence officials, including several from the office of the director of national intelligence, most recently inspector general Michael Atkinson. “He has little experience in intelligence, and already had to withdraw his nomination once after lying about his resume. The pandemic has shown how putting unqualified loyalists in critical jobs leads to disaster,” said Wyden. “Any Republican who cares for the security of our country should think hard about the consequences of supporting the least qualified, most partisan person ever nominated for DNI.”But that attests to the expectation on the committee for a party-line vote—which will be enough to advance Ratcliffe’s nomination to the full Senate, where his confirmation can proceed on the same basis. Opposition to Ratcliffe was bipartisan the last time Trump nominated him to run Liberty Crossing, the DNI’s headquarters, in 2019. It lasted a week before Ratcliffe withdrew, following reporting on his false claim to have arrested 300 undocumented immigrants in a single day. Trump Intel Pick John Ratcliffe Started Theory of FBI Anti-Trump ‘Secret Society’At the time, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the intelligence-committee chair, mixed a pledge of support with an acknowledgement of Ratcliffe’s limitations. “Can you find somebody that's got more experience, that's got more experience specifically in the intelligence community? Sure, but I'm not sure that the DNI requires that,” Burr said in July. This time around, Burr gave Ratcliffe both unqualified support and dared committee Democrats to “have [Richard] Grenell stay on as acting” director.That’s a reference to Trump’s current interim director, the ambassador to Germany, another loyalist. Grenell oversaw Atkinson’s firing and the removal of other officials at the office of the director of national intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center. Last month, he rejected House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff’s request for information on the purges, as well as a pledge Schiff requested that “officials, including yourself, will not permit retaliation or reprisals against anyone who has made, or in the future makes, protected disclosures of misconduct to Congress or to Inspectors General.” A member of the House intelligence committee during his brief tenure in Congress, Ratcliffe has distinguished himself in a crowded field by blocking and tackling for Trump. “You managed to violate every principle and the most sacred of traditions about prosecutors not offering extra prosecutorial analysis,” Ratcliffe told Mueller in July. During the impeachment hearings last fall, Ratcliffe insisted that Trump’s insistence on Ukraine publicly accusing Joe Biden’s son of corruption was no more than an effort to fight corruption in that country. He continued, with relevance to his possible next position, “the president, as the unitary executive, is the executive branch,” a reference to a highly disputed constitutional theory popular in certain corners of the right.What Is QAnon? The Craziest Theory of the Trump Era, Explained“The president can and should ask for assistance in ongoing criminal investigations,” Ratcliffe said, even though there was no criminal investigation into Biden or his son at the time. Ratcliffe’s decision to follow conspiracy theory accounts raises other questions. In Ratcliffe’s Twitter feed, accounts with names like “Hobbit Frog” and “Political Madness” pump out tweets that portray Trump not just as a great president, but as a messianic figure poised to use the military and intelligence agencies to purge the country of top Democrats—either through executions or with military show trials and prison terms in Guantanamo Bay.The QAnon accounts Ratcliffe follows often go to extremes. In a graphic posted by one of the accounts, a screaming Trump rescues crying children from a demonic Hillary Clinton—accompanied by text accusing Clinton of conducting child sacrifices. Another posits that Vincent Fusca, a Trump supporter some QAnon believers claim is John F. Kennedy Jr. in disguise, conducted a secret arrest of former President George H. W. Bush. QAnon has started to have a dangerous effect in the real world. Two QAnon believers have been charged with murder, while two others have been involved in alleged child abduction plots. A QAnon believer pleaded guilty in February to committing a terrorist incident near the Hoover Dam. Last week, a QAnon supporter live-streamed a trip to New York City to "take out" former Vice President Joe Biden. She was eventually arrested on weapons charges. Discomfort between presidential administrations and the intelligence agencies is supposed to reflect the occasionally divergent prerogatives of both. But the involvement of career intelligence officials in the investigations of Trump that have negatively characterized his presidency has poisoned the relationship, with Ratcliffe being the latest sign of White House hostility to an independent intelligence community. “Ratcliffe’s nomination to be DNI shows the bench to serve Trump at the highest levels has dwindled down to nutters, quislings, and television cranks,” Peritz said. “Anyone with any intelligence knows to decline these positions. Still, the nation continues to pay the price.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2SAH6Si

Some in Tennessee could be without power for weeks after strong storms hit

Nashville Electric said in a statement that some people could be without power for a week or two, as challenges related to coronavirus complicated crews' responses and more storms were expected.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2zTtFXb

The US is being colonized by 'murder hornets,' a 'shockingly large' insect that can kill humans and behead entire colonies of bees

"They're like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face," one insect expert said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35tfZ16

Security guard, father of 9, shot and killed in Michigan after telling customer to put on face mask

Calvin James Munerlyn was fatally shot after an argument with a customer who refused to put a face mask on her daughter before entering the store.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2L2qIWN

Netanyahu lashes out at top court, threatens new elections

Israel's prime minister urged the country's Supreme Court on Monday not to interfere in his efforts to build a coalition government, threatening that a decision against him could drag the country toward an unprecedented fourth straight election in just over a year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his comments shortly after the court heard a second day of arguments in a series of legal challenges to the coalition deal. The court's rulings, expected by the end of the week, will dictate whether Israel breaks out of its prolonged political paralysis with Netanyahu and his former political rival Benny Gantz joining forces in government, or whether the country is plunged into another election.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3dekDlY

Mr. Trump’s War on Accountability

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3b13yul

Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today

By BY PATRICK J. LYONS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3fkc6A4

Money for Welfare Instead Funded Concerts, Lobbyists and Football Games, Audit Finds

By BY RICHARD FAUSSET from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2z6rYFA

Abuela Cohete, el virus y el amor de una familia que superó 4000 kilómetros de distancia

By BY SHERI FINK AND VICTOR J. BLUE from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2KYT6sL

Most Events in the Lincoln Memorial Are Banned. Trump Got an Exception.

By BY KATIE ROGERS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2SC9ROB

Pulitzer Prizes: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists

By BY CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN from NYT Books https://ift.tt/2xCS96s

Carnival Plans to Sail Again in August, Maybe

By BY DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY from NYT Business https://ift.tt/35usl8W

Cuomo’s N.Y. Reopening Plan: 10 Regions, 4 Phases, Many Caveats

By BY JESSE MCKINLEY from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3c5UVQH

Trump administration pushing to rip global supply chains from China: officials

The Trump administration is "turbocharging" an initiative to remove global industrial supply chains from China as it weighs new tariffs to punish Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to officials familiar with U.S. planning.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2SB86Bs