Big Time News Blog: 06/23/20

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

'Astonishing' giant circle of pits found near Stonehenge

Archaeologists have discovered a wide circle of deep pits surrounding an ancient settlement near Stonehenge, opening up new lines of investigation into the origins and meaning of the mysterious, prehistoric monument. The new discovery, by a team of archaeologists from several universities, shows a 2-km (1.2-mile) wide circle of shafts surrounding a settlement at Durrington Walls, which also included a henge, or circular structure, made of timber posts. The site is located about 3.2 km northeast of Stonehenge and evidence suggests the pits date back to the same period, some 4,500 years ago.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Yp8pCK

Kayleigh McEnany Grilled on Trump’s ‘Kung Flu’ Rally Slur

Three months ago, at the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang revealed that a White House official had called COVID-19 the “Kung Flu” to her face. “Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back,” she tweeted at the time. So after President Donald Trump himself used that openly racist term during his campaign rally speech in Tulsa over the weekend, Jiang asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany about it on Monday.Noting that Trump has deemed himself “the least racist person there is anywhere in the world,” Jiang asked, “Why does he use racist phrases like the Kung Flu?”Even ‘Fox & Friends’ Isn’t Buying Kayleigh McEnany’s Spin on Tulsa Rally Crowd“The president doesn’t,” McEnany lied. “What the president does do is point to the fact that the origin of the virus is China.” As the press secretary continued to defend Trump’s words, Jiang pushed back, expressing the concerns of Asian-Americans around the country who worry that those words will further inflame racist attacks against them. “To be clear, are you saying the White House does not believe it’s racist?” Jiang asked.“To be clear, I think the media is trying to play games with the terminology of this virus when the focus should be on the fact that China let this out of their country,” McEnany shot back. Later in the briefing, PBS NewsHour’s Yamiche Alcindor brought up the fact that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway called the term “Kung Flu” “highly offensive” back in March. “Does the president agree with Kellyanne Conway or is he now saying that term is not ‘highly offensive’ and wrong?’” When McEnany responded by saying that “the president does not believe it’s offensive to note that this virus came from China,” Alcindor pressed her to actually answer the question about Conway and “Kung Flu.” Instead, McEnany quickly pivoted to a softball question about John Bolton from her invited guest, OAN reporter Chanel Rion. Kellyanne Conway Spars With Reporters Over ‘Kung-Flu’ Coronavirus SlurRead 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/2YWVua5

Indian prime minister says China lost at least 40 soldiers during border clash

China and India clashed at their disputed border this week, resulting in the lost of at least 40 Chinese soldiers.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/316KRUU

Anti-racism protests turn spotlight on icons of US history

As the wave of anti-racism protests rocking the United States brings down monuments to figures linked to the country's history of slavery, the spotlight is shifting to other prominent people long considered untouchable. Although protesters initially focused on removing statues of Confederate generals, the movement has begun to turn its focus to icons of US history, including the nation's founders Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and President Theodore Roosevelt. On Monday night, it was the turn of Andrew Jackson, the populist slaveholding soldier-president admired by US President Donald Trump.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3fUs2rU

Protesters fail to bring down Andrew Jackson statue near White House

Protesters tried tearing down a statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, in a park near the White House on Monday, scrawling "killer scum" on its pedestal and pulling on the monument with ropes before police intervened. The confrontation unfolded in Lafayette Square, where crowds peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer were forcibly displaced three weeks ago to make way for staged photos of President Trump holding up a bible in front of a nearby church. The thwarted effort to topple the famed bronze likeness of Jackson astride a rearing horse was the latest bid, in protests fuelled by Floyd's death, to destroy monuments of historical figures considered racist or divisive.

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

Roger Stone says he'll seek delay to start of prison sentence

Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February.

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

Royal Caribbean, MSC, Carnival Cruise Line extend sailing suspensions into fall

Royal Caribbean will extend its sailing suspension through Sept. 15. Carnival Cruise Line will extend its pause in North America through Sept. 30.

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

Modi is standing aside as China seizes our land, says furious BJP politician from border region

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of standing aside while China seizes swathes of territory in the border regions, in a rare and explosive attack from within his own party. Anger has been mounting in the nation of 1.4 billion since it was revealed that Chinese troops annexed 60 square kilometres of land in Ladakh in early May. At least 23 Indian soldiers were killed in brutal hand-to-hand fighting in the Galwan Valley as they attempted to uproot the ad-hoc Chinese settlement last week. Now Urgain Chodon, a councillor for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Ladakh, has told the Telegraph that China has occupied far more land than previously disclosed - and that the government has turned a blind eye. “There is a lot of land which has been annexed by China, not only this time in the Galwan Valley but all along the LAC [Line of Actual Control],” Ms Chodon, who represents eight border villages, said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/31bQG39

Trump is about to hold a 3,000-person rally in a city where experts say people are already acting like the coronavirus doesn't exist

The infection rate, lack of masks, and arrival of thousands of attendees have Arizona doctors concerned the rally could be a superspreader event.

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

North Korea’s Leader Overrules Military Plan to Deploy Troops at Border

By BY CHOE SANG-HUN from NYT World https://ift.tt/2V9RqSA

Atlanta Mourns the Death of Rayshard Brooks

By Unknown Author from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3hXfaU0

The Pandemic Is Still Raging. The President Pretends Otherwise.

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2CADwCM

With Tweets, Videos and Rhetoric, Trump Pushes Anew to Divide Americans by Race

By BY MAGGIE HABERMAN AND JONATHAN MARTIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/37WSL4y

After Night of Violence Targeting Police, Germany Seeks ‘Roots of Anger’

By BY MELISSA EDDY from NYT World https://ift.tt/3dsDucT

A.O.C.’s Digital Juggernaut

By BY NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/37SN0F5

Nadler Plans to Subpoena Barr After Saying He ‘Deserves Impeachment’

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) confirmed Monday night that his committee was preparing to subpoena Attorney General Bill Barr for his testimony, despite saying earlier this month that such a move was unlikely."We have begun the process to issue that subpoena," Nadler told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in an interview. On June 2, Nadler shot down the idea of subpoenaing Barr, saying, "I am not going to spend months litigating a subpoena with an Attorney General who has already spent years resisting the courts and legitimate congressional oversight.”On Sunday, Nadler claimed that Barr “deserves impeachment" for his alleged politicization of the Justice Department, but said trying to do so would be "a waste of time" because “corrupt” Senate Republicans would not vote to convict."We know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate which will not consider an impeachment no matter what the evidence and no matter what the facts," Nadler said.Nadler’s spokesman Daniel Schwarz first confirmed to Axios that the subpoena was in the works. Democrats have called to investigate Barr over the abrupt decision to oust Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman, who has been in charge of several investigations connected to President Trump.House Judiciary ranking member Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) slammed the decision to subpoena Barr in a letter to Nadler, saying “however much you disagree with the Justice Department’s policy decisions—or agree with the Obama-Biden Administration’s targeting of the Trump campaign—those are not legitimate reasons to compel Attorney General Barr’s testimony at this time.”Barr was supposed to appear in front of the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, but the hearing was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3hTPbg4

Australia's High Court says former judge sexually harassed six female staff

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

Prosecutor: Trump ally Roger Stone was 'treated differently'

A federal prosecutor is prepared to tell Congress on Wednesday that Roger Stone, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was given special treatment ahead of his sentencing because of his relationship with the president. Aaron Zelinsky, a career Justice Department prosecutor who was part of special counsel Robert Mueller's team and worked on the case against Stone, will say he was told by supervisors that political considerations influenced the decision to overrule the recommendation of the trial team and propose a lighter prison sentence, according to testimony released by the House Judiciary Committee.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/31mdn59

Trudeau points to 'direct link' between detained Canadians and arrest of Huawei executive

China has denied that the arrests of Kovrig and Spavor are tied to Meng’s case.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2NhVR9K

Taliban killed 291 Afghan security personnel in past week: govt

The Taliban killed at least 291 Afghan security personnel over the past week, a top government official said Monday, accusing the insurgents of unleashing a wave of violence ahead of potential talks. The previous week was the "deadliest" in the country's 19 years of conflict, said Javid Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Council, even as the insurgents dismissed the latest figures. The Taliban carried out 422 attacks in 32 provinces during that time, killing 291 security force personnel and wounding 550 others, Faisal said on Twitter.