Tuesday, July 7, 2020

An Introduction to ‘The Decameron’


By BY RIVKA GALCHEN from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/2ChQu85

Rachel Kushner: ‘The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase,’ a Short Story


By BY RACHEL KUSHNER from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/3f7xGHi

Andrew O’Hagan: ‘Keepsakes,’ a Short Story


By BY ANDREW O’HAGAN from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/2O1tBIQ

Etgar Keret: ‘Outside,’ a Short Story


By BY ETGAR KERET from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/31ReSZb

In New Book, Trump’s Niece Describes Him as Still a Child, Seeking Attention


By BY MAGGIE HABERMAN AND ALAN FEUER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/38MDPXj

Biden Should Not Debate Trump Unless …


By BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/31S8KQo

Trump Leans on Schools to Reopen as Virus Continues Its Spread


By BY PETER BAKER AND ERICA L. GREEN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/38zIj3c

Charles Yu: ‘Systems,’ a Short Story


By BY CHARLES YU from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/38F6Ync

White House Warns Against Chinese Investment, Citing Risk of Further Sanctions


By BY ANA SWANSON from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3iBvjyR

2 People Charged With Hate Crime After Black Lives Matter Mural Is Vandalized


By BY AZI PAYBARAH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZNPP6t

David Mitchell: ‘If Wishes Was Horses,’ a Short Story


By BY DAVID MITCHELL from NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/3eflKSQ

Australia warns of 'arbitrary detention' risk in China



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Exonerated Central Park Five members speak out: ‘Not too many things have changed since 30 years ago’

Exonerated Central Park Five members speak out: ‘Not too many things have changed since 30 years ago’In 1989, five Black and Hispanic teens were falsely accused of raping and nearly killing Trisha Meili, a white woman jogging in Central Park. Known collectively as the Central Park Five, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were convicted in two trials despite a lack of eyewitness testimony or DNA evidence and spent between six and 13 years in prison. Exonerated in 2002 after an investigation confirmed that a convicted murderer and rapist had committed the crime, the Central Park Five sued the city and state of New York, settling for millions.




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Michigan drivers met with startling billboard message: 'Driving while Black? Racial profiling just ahead'

Michigan drivers met with startling billboard message: 'Driving while Black? Racial profiling just ahead'"Driving while Black? Racial profiling just ahead. Welcome to Livonia," the billboard reads. The town's mayor called the sign "counterproductive."




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Prioritize COVID aid for child care and schools to help parents and the economy: GOP leader

Prioritize COVID aid for child care and schools to help parents and the economy: GOP leaderThe economic crisis will get worse if we don't reopen schools and child care. We must educate our kids safely and help our communities return to work.




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Russia is killing US soldiers. Trump's response is a shameful dereliction of duty

Russia is killing US soldiers. Trump's response is a shameful dereliction of dutyHe has probably known for months, yet he continues to praise Putin. The American president is not looking out for the American peopleDonald Trump’s response to Russia’s attempts to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan is a dereliction of duty, and yet another sad reminder that the actions of the US president cost American lives.Numerous reports detail how the Trump administration – and the president himself – were aware as early as 2019 that Russia had been offering bounties to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan to kill US soldiers. The United States reportedly has evidence of money transfers from a bank account controlled by Russian military intelligence to a Taliban-linked account and has identified a possible middleman who helped distribute the cash to the Taliban. These bounties have been linked to the deaths of American soldiers.Despite the fact that this information was known to the Trump administration for at least months, there is no indication that the president has done anything to punish Russia. The White House has not even attempted to convince the public otherwise. To the contrary, Trump has continued his obsequious behavior towards Vladimir Putin. Since the intelligence on bounties was reportedly provided to Trump in February 2020, Trump has spoken with Putin numerous times, praised Putin publicly, invited Russia to rejoin the G7 group of democracies, and announced the withdrawal of thousands of troops from Germany without consulting US allies – a giant gift to the Russian president.In its attempts to deflect from the story, the White House has trotted out a dizzying mix of contradictory excuses – including arguing that the information was not briefed to Trump because it was uncorroborated, yet simultaneously serious enough to justify warning US allies. Trump has claimed the whole thing is a hoax. The national security adviser tried to blame one of Trump’s intelligence briefers for not highlighting it for Trump.It is impossible to believe that Trump was somehow unaware. Every other senior official in the government would have been made aware of the information; it was widely distributed within the intelligence community by May; and it would have been included in each of the briefings for Trump before his calls with Putin in the last few months. Michael Hayden, the former head of the CIA and NSA, made clear that the intelligence agencies regularly brief the president on information that is not 100% verified – that’s how intelligence works. And the former national security adviser Susan Rice explained how she would have dealt with information: “Had I, as national security adviser, received even ‘raw’ reporting that Russia was paying to kill US service members, I would have walked straight into the Oval Office to brief the president.”> In its attempts to deflect from the story, the White House has trotted out a dizzying mix of contradictory excusesWhich leads to the disturbing reality: Trump knew that Russia was paying people to kill American soldiers and he not only did nothing to stop it, but he continued to praise and do favors for Putin. Since the moment Trump asked Putin to hack personal information from Trump’s political opponents in 2016, everyone has wondered why Trump acts as though he is in debt to Putin. Whatever the reason for Trump’s consistent attempts to ingratiate himself with Putin and seek his help at the expense of the American people – from the 2016 campaign to taking Putin’s word over that of the US intelligence community – the result is clear: Putin believes he can act with impunity against the US. In addition to doing so by targeting US soldiers, he is probably attempting to interfere in our election this year, yet again, to help Trump.This story is, of course, much bigger than the Trump-Putin relationship. It is about the danger that lies at the core of the Trump administration. The American president, it has become disturbingly clear, is not looking out for the American people. Trump looks out only for himself – whether it’s asking Russia, China, or Ukraine to help him advance his personal political agenda or continuing to profit off his personal business while in office.Beyond Afghanistan, one need only look at Trump’s disastrous response to the pandemic, which has already killed more than 128,000 Americans and is currently raging through the country without the slightest hint that Trump will take the actions necessary to save lives.Whether it’s US soldiers in Afghanistan or the thousands of Americans that have died in the pandemic, it seems every day like the president can’t be troubled to do what’s necessary to protect the American people.




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'I am incredibly sorry that we failed': Rocket Lab's 13th space mission didn't reach orbit on Saturday, losing 7 small satellites in the process

'I am incredibly sorry that we failed': Rocket Lab's 13th space mission didn't reach orbit on Saturday, losing 7 small satellites in the processAn Electron launch vehicle built by Rocket Lab failed to deliver seven small satellites to orbit minutes after liftoff from New Zealand on Saturday.




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Florida surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases as July 4th holiday weekend comes to a close

Florida surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases as July 4th holiday weekend comes to a closeFlorida surged past 200,000 total COVID-19 cases Sunday, exactly one month after most of the state entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan.




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U.S. Sends Major Military Muscle to the South China Sea

U.S. Sends Major Military Muscle to the South China SeaThe joint exercise included a B-52 bomber that flew all the way from Louisiana on a 28-hour-long mission.




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Chinese law professor who criticised leadership is detained, friends say



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U.S. Colored Troop statue to go up across from confederate monument in Franklin

U.S. Colored Troop statue to go up across from confederate monument in FranklinA U.S. Colored Troop statue will be erected in downtown Franklin, while some fight to take down a confederate monument in the city center.




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Former Nazi camp guard, 93, faces German court reckoning

Former Nazi camp guard, 93, faces German court reckoningThe prosecution's closing arguments will be heard on Monday in the trial of a 93-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard for complicity in the murder of more than 5,000 people during World War II. In what could be one of the last such cases of surviving Nazi guards, Bruno Dey stands accused of complicity in the murder of 5,230 people when he worked at the Stutthof camp near what was then Danzig, now Gdansk in Poland. Dey, who has appeared in court in a wheelchair, denies bearing any guilt for what happened at the camp.




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BMW wants customers to pay a subscription fee to use features the car already has installed, like a heated steering wheel or adaptive cruise control

BMW wants customers to pay a subscription fee to use features the car already has installed, like a heated steering wheel or adaptive cruise controlBMW's new setup is similar to Tesla's, which famously offers over-the-air updates for customers long after purchase.




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Guardian identified for small child found wandering Sunday morning by Fort Myers police

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