Seattle's mayor and police chief diverge on autonomous zone

The mixed messages from Mayor Jenny Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best come amid a barrage of tweets from President Donald Trump blasting the city’s response to what he says is an “anarchist takeover.”

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China reports 11 new confirmed, 7 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for June 12

China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases for June 12, the national health authority said on Saturday.

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Dave Chappelle’s Netflix Special: Three Key References to Know

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Graduating West Point Cadets Isolate for Two Weeks Ahead of Trump Speech

By BY ERIC SCHMITT AND MICHAEL D. SHEAR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3cTRTP7

Calls for Change Run Into Realities of Governing in Minnesota

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Pentagon Denies Spying on Americans Protesting Police Killings

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Putin attends first public event after months of lockdown

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday showed up at a ceremony marking the national holiday — the first big public event he has attended since announcing a nationwide lockdown more than two months ago. Putin observed the hoisting of the national flag at a memorial park in western Moscow and then took part in an award ceremony. Putin pointed to the nation's “thousand-year history full of pages of great glory and pride, the unrivaled bravery of our ancestors and their love for their country.”

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New virus cases raise fears in Chinese capital, markets closed

Beijing closed two markets on Friday and delayed the return of primary school students after three fresh coronavirus cases emerged in the capital -- the first after two months of no infections in the city. The majority of cases in recent months have been overseas nationals tested as they return home. The two latest patients are employees of the China Meat Research Centre, city officials said at a daily press conference.

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Why a Judge Just Stopped the Removal of Robert E. Lee's Statue in Richmond

An 1890 deed has been presented to a judge, proving the fight to take down the statue will be more difficult than anticipated—despite wide public support for its removal

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Even if Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murdering George Floyd, he's still eligible to receive a $1.5 million pension

Laws in 22 states prevent police officers from receiving pensions if they commit any felony related to their work. Minnesota has no such law.

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Trump is a ‘psychopath’ who will try to steal the 2020 election, Art of the Deal co-writer says

The co-author of Donald Trump’s 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, has labelled the president a “psychopath,” and speculated that he might try to steal November’s presidential election.Tony Schwartz, the co-author of Mr Trump’s first book, made the comments when asked about an interview given by Joe Biden on Thursday, in which the former vice president suggested that Mr Trump would refuse to leave office if he loses in November.

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Stacey Abrams Repeatedly Shuts Down Meghan McCain on ‘The View’

On Monday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) went on The View and promptly schooled Meghan McCain on the real meaning of “defund the police.” This morning, it was Stacey Abrams’ turn. Abrams, who was promoting her latest book Our Time Is Now, spoke out against the voting disaster this week in her home state of Georgia. After Abrams blamed the Republican secretary of state for showing a “deliberate indifference to the needs of Georgia voters,” McCain tried to spin the situation on the ground in a different way.“There’s a lot of finger pointing going on, and you seem to be implying it was Georgia’s secretary of state who was targeting communities of color,” McCain said. “But most of the counties that had issues this week were run by Democrats. Do you think we should be quick to blame Republicans when most of the problems like consolidated polling locations and older poll workers canceling over health concerns were a result of the coronavirus?” “So I want to decouple a couple of things,” Abrams began. She calmly explained to McCain that in the state of Georgia, the secretary of state is in charge of elections, something she knows well from running for governor against former secretary of state Brian Kemp, who refused to recuse himself during his own election. “We allow counties to do the direct implementation, but it’s the responsibility of the secretary of state to make sure they know how to do it and that they have the resources to get it done.” Abrams went on to call out the “false narrative that the secretary of state has pushed out this is only happening because of Democratic leadership,” telling McCain, “This affected every single part of our state, and the reality is your access to democracy shouldn’t depend on your county of residence.” She added: “Fundamentally we deserve to have elections that work for everyone.” Michael Moore Warns Trump Will Use Coronavirus to Try to Postpone 2020 ElectionLater in the show, when it was McCain’s turn to ask Abrams another question, she brought up recent comments she made suggesting that the United States is in the “early stages” of an authoritarian regime and comparing the Trump administration to Erdoğan’s Turkish regime—comments made on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, of all places.Given that Erdoğan is a “horrific, murderous dictator,” McCain wanted to know, “Do you really think it’s fair to call the United States no better than Turkey?”“I didn’t call it no better than Turkey,” Abrams shot back. “I said that we’re on the path to populist authoritarianism.” After explaining that Erdoğan was a democratically elected president who “over time diminished the utility of the courts by packing it with people who supported him, he eliminated the voices of those who were supposed to be the independent guardrails on democracy and he used that power to call for militarization of their public institutions,” Abrams said, “We are seeing evidence of that in the United States.”“Now I’m not comparing apples to oranges, but I’m saying they are all fruit of the same poisonous tree,” Abrams continued. “And we need to take steps now to ensure that our presidency is not a gateway to the types of authoritarian regimes we’ve seen in Turkey, that we’ve seen pop up in Hungary, what we’re seeing in India, and what Jair Bolsonaro is trying to do in Brazil.”“We have to acknowledge the authoritarian nature of Donald Trump,” Abrams concluded. “And we've got to nip it in the bud if we want democracy to continue here and if we want to continue to be the moral leader abroad.” There wasn’t much McCain could say to that. Kamala Harris Schools Meghan McCain on ‘Defund the Police’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.

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Am I immune to COVID-19 if I have antibodies?

Perhaps the most important question now about COVID-19 is the degree to which a prior infection protects from a second infection by the new coronavirus. This affects vaccine development and herd immunity and is something for each of us to consider as antibody tests are now available. I am a physician scientist and have a Ph.D. in microbiology as well as an M.D. My clinical specialty is internal medicine and I subspecialize in infectious diseases. I am working on one approach to COVID-19 vaccination while also caring for hospitalized patients.Here are my responses to common questions surrounding tests and what they can tell you about immunity. What are the different types of COVID-19 tests?The nasal swab PCR test that we have all seen in the news, and which 22 million of us in the U.S. have used, reflects whether you are currently infected with the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This test detects the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in your body. If you have a positive nasal swab PCR result, you not only have the infection, but you are potentially infectious and should stay isolated until recovered.In contrast, the antibody test determines if you had COVID-19 sometime in the past. It is measuring your body’s immune response to the infection, something that occurs over days to weeks after the infection starts. The antibody can appear after the infection is resolved, or even while you are still infected. Can the immune system cure COVID-19?The answer here is a resounding yes. In all but a tiny percent of cases – maybe 1 in 100 – the immune system naturally eliminates SARS-CoV-2 from the body. This is very encouraging for vaccine development, as making an effective vaccine should be much easier than for HIV or hepatitis C virus, for example, where the immune system often (for hepatitis C) or almost always (for HIV) fails. SARS-CoV-2 differs from these two viruses because it has a so-called proofreader gene that prevents mutations from being introduced during viral replication. Do antibodies work to prevent a new coronavirus infection?The answer here is maybe. We know that in a test tube antibodies against the virus can neutralize it. That is, they can prevent the virus from entering into a human cell and causing an infection. But not every antibody is equally capable of preventing the virus from causing an infection. The very best antibodies are ones that neutralize the receptor binding domain of the new coronavirus spike protein that attaches to the host cell’s ACE2 receptor. The RBD is on the tip of the spike protein and is the part of the spike that touches ACE2. Antibodies against RBD block the very first step of viral infection, which is when the coronavirus attaches the human cell membrane. If my antibody test is positive, am I immune?Another maybe. Clouding the interpretation of a positive antibody test is that we do not yet know if antibodies against RBD make people immune. We also don’t know how much of this antibody against RBD is needed to ensure protection. Complicating things further is the fact that not all of the antibody tests for COVID-19 measure antibodies against RBD. Some tests measure antibodies against parts of the virus that are not needed for cell entry. These antibodies that are not against the RBD will recognize the virus but will not block it from infecting human cells and triggering viral infection.So only antibodies that block the spike protein from connecting to the ACE2 receptor are guaranteed to provide immunity. And only antibody tests that measure the amount of these antibodies can predict immunity. We will have a better understanding of the ability of antibodies against the RBD to protect from infection this summer when large phase III vaccine studies start. This is because these vaccines are designed to make antibodies against the RBD. Should I get an antibody test?If you are curious whether you had COVID-19 in the past then yes, it makes sense to be tested. Be aware, however, that some of the tests to date have shown a high number of false positives. If you do have antibodies, do not assume you an invulnerable to the new coronavirus; you might be just as susceptible as someone who has no antibodies. So even if you do have antibodies, wearing a mask indoors and maintaining social distancing is still key for all of us as we cope with the continued threat from this pandemic.[You’re too busy to read everything. We get it. That’s why we’ve got a weekly newsletter. Sign up for good Sunday reading. ]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * COVID-19’s deadliness for men is revealing why researchers should have been studying immune system sex differences years ago * Why COVID-19 immunity passports may violate US lawWilliam Petri receives funding from the NIH and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Trump administration to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the International Criminal Court as a “highly politicized” institution on Wednesday morning as he announced new sanctions against it for its investigation into potential war crimes by U.S. forces during the years-long war in Afghanistan.

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Zoom discloses it took down US-based activists' accounts at China's behest, says it won't enforce similar censorship requests going forward

Zoom said from now on it would "not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact anyone outside of mainland China."

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Seattle protesters take over city blocks to create police-free 'autonomous zone'

For three days, the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or Chaz, has offered ‘a snippet of a reality the people can have’Hundreds of protesters have taken over several blocks of Seattle and transformed it into the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or “Chaz”, helping to amplify nationwide protests while offering a real-world example of what a community can look like without police.For three days, protesters have filled several blocks and at least part of a park in the artsy Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, after police abandoned their east precinct, following dangerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement.“I think what we’re seeing in Chaz is just a snippet of a reality that the people can have,” said Dae Shik Kim Jr, 28, one of the many organizers at the site. “I think what it’s doing is exposing the unnecessary need of an over-policed state.”The space has both a protest and street fair vibe, with a small garden, medic station, smoking area, and a “No Cop Co-op”, where people can get supplies and food at no cost. There’s also a trio of shrine-like areas filled with candles, flowers and images of George Floyd and many others who have been killed by police.But in a tweet, Donald Trump described the protesters as “Domestic Terrorists” who “have taken over Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats, of course. LAW & ORDER!”In another tweet addressing the Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan, and the Washington governor, Jay Inslee, he told them to “take back your city NOW… If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game,” adding: “These ugly Anarchists must be stopped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!”Inslee responded with his own tweet: “A man who is totally incapable of governing should stay out of Washington state’s business.”Durkan pushed back against Trump’s tweets during a press conference on Thursday, saying the story he is trying to tell about domestic terrorists and a radical agenda was “simply not true”. “The threat to invade Seattle, to divide and incite violence in our city, is not only unwelcome, it would be illegal,” she said.Kim said he saw a silver lining to the president’s tweets, as they could force Seattle leaders to decide whether they are going to side with Trump or with the community.“In a lot of ways they have been trying to pacify the movement, and undercut the efforts of the organizers, but they’ve been unsuccessfully doing that,” he said.For days the area has been filled with all manner of speeches, concerts and movie nights, including 13th, the Ava DuVernay documentary about racial inequality and the criminal justice system.Throughout the space are images and signs claiming this space for the people. “You are now entering free Cap Hill,” reads one sign at the edge of the zone in Capitol Hill, which has long had a leading role in the city’s political and social movements. Across the main road in the encampment are three words written in large white block letters: “Black Lives Matter.”Protesters have described the site as a safe and peaceful place, where the vast majority of people wear masks to protect each other against coronavirus and offer whatever skills or supplies they have. On Wednesday, people could be seen handing out masks, hand sanitizers, snacks and water.A variety of demands have been raised during the course of the occupation, but the main three involve defunding the police, using that money to invest in community health and services, and dropping criminal charges against protesters.Shaun Scott, a Seattle writer and activist, said he saw some parallels between what was happening in Seattle and the Occupy movement, calling them “kindred spirits in a lot of ways”.“But the movement for police abolition in Seattle right now has differentiated itself by presenting three very clear and actionable demands that the city can take action on in a pretty short period of time,” he said.Lisa McCallister, 30, a case worker in Seattle who has attended the protests, described Chaz as “amazing”.“It’s the retaking of a space that was covered in violence for no reason,” she said. “They were teargassing and flash-banging at 12.30 at night for hours. And then to kind of completely retake this space with peace and love.”

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Mayor Garcetti disagrees with protesters' calls for defunding LAPD

Mayor Eric Garcetti said he does not support Black Lives Matter-LA's proposal to cut the Los Angeles Police Department's $1.8 billion operating budget by 90%.

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US Surgeon General Jerome Adams says George Floyd 'could have been me' as he opens up about facing racism every day

"That could be me with a busted tail light. That could be me who is just seen as a Black man, and not as the Surgeon General of the United States."

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Pence says he was "encouraged" to stay at White House, not join Trump at church

The vice president gave an interview to CBS News Radio in Pittsburgh Friday.

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Venezuela supreme court to swear in new electoral council leaders, government says

Venezuela's supreme court will swear in new leaders of the nation's electoral council in a ceremony on Friday evening, the information ministry said in an email announcing the event.

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Venezuela top court names new leaders to electoral council

Venezuela's supreme court on Friday said it has named new leaders to the electoral council, as the country heads toward parliamentary elections expected to take place later this year.

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Mexico City to begin gradual exit from lockdown on Monday

The mayor of Mexico City said on Friday the Mexican capital will next week lift restrictions on car traffic and public transport, and allow 340,000 factory works to get back to work, even though new cases of coronavirus are still rising.

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Mexico reports record tally of 5,222 new coronavirus cases

Mexico's health ministry reported a record 5,222 new confirmed coronavirus infections along with 504 additional fatalities on Friday, bringing the total in the country to 139,196 cases and 16,448 deaths.

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