University professors fear returning to campus as coronavirus cases surge

"I am anticipating this semester with a good bit of dread," one professor said.

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U.S. records more than 66,000 new coronavirus cases in record spike

California, Florida and Texas all saw record surges in the last week.

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Coronavirus: Florida sets new state daily case record of 15,299

A 24-hour tally of 15,299 new coronavirus cases eclipses the worst rates seen in New York in April.

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Maryland governor says GOP needs 'bigger tent' after Trump

A Republican governor rumored to be eyeing a run for the White House in 2024 said Sunday that the GOP needs to be a “bigger tent party" after President Donald Trump leaves office. Maryland's Larry Hogan, who has been known to break with Trump, told NBC's “Meet the Press" that he doesn't “know what the future holds in November." “But I know that the Republican Party is going to be looking at what happens after President Trump and whether that’s in four months or four years,” Hogan said.

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John Wayne Airport: Will California terminal's name go the way of Confederate statues?

As statues of Confederate generals and other historically problematic figures are coming down, will airports with troublesome namesakes be next?

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Gottlieb expects "extended plateau" of COVID cases in the South

Gottlieb likened the experience across the South, which is reporting a surge in coronavirus cases, to Brazil.

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Man reunites with police officer he saved from burning vehicle despite past wrongful arrest

A Good Samaritan, with a history of being wrongfully accused by police, has been reunited with an officer he saved from a burning car wreck.Daylan McLee, who is black, had previously spent a year in jail after being falsely accused of pointing a gun at a cop. Mr McLee had also been subject to numerous traffic stops despite not breaking any laws, he told CBS News.

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Florida Records Nation’s One-Day Peak for New Virus Cases

By BY KIMIKO DE FREYTAS-TAMURA, RICK ROJAS AND SHERI FINK from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/32eTpJN

Marlo, a Rising Atlanta Rapper With Big Connections, Is Shot and Killed at 30

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Roger Stone: Robert Mueller defends indictment over Russia probe

Ex-US special counsel Robert Mueller intervenes after President Trump commutes an aide's jail term.

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Justice Dept. seeks to overturn order halting execution

The Justice Department filed an emergency motion with a federal appeals court on Saturday seeking to move forward with the first federal execution in nearly two decades. Daniel Lee, 47, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday at a federal prison in Indiana. The Justice Department is seeking to immediately overturn that ruling.

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New tropical system brewing in the East Pacific

While Cristina continues to weaken as the the storm approaches the Central Pacific, AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring a new area of disturbed weather for tropical development this week.A broad area of low pressure is moving off the southern coast of Mexico over the warm waters of the East Pacific Ocean. "This disturbance will likely become the next tropical depression or storm over the next day or two as it continues to move westward into a more favorable environment," stated AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.While this feature is expected to become more organized through the beginning of the week, there is one thing that will keep it from rapidly strengthening.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPAccording to Miller, this disturbance is expected to encounter vertical wind shear, or the change in direction and speed of wind at increasing heights in the atmosphere. As a result, development may be slow to occur over the next couple of days as the system moves away from any major landmass."A depression could form as early as Monday, but a better chance for development will occur Tuesday or Wednesday as the system moves into an environment with less wind shear," added Miller. This satellite image of the East Pacific, captured on Sunday morning, local time, shows Cristina, the spiral of clouds over the open ocean, as well as the tropical disturbance producing showers and thunderstorms near southern Mexico. (Photo/RAMMB) The next system to reach tropical storm status, which is maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph, in the East Pacific Basin would be given the name Douglas.While this feature is not expected to directly impact land, it can still increase rough surf and the risk for rip currents along the southern coast of Mexico this week.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristina continues to spin farther west in the East Pacific Basin.Cristina developed late Monday night and has since moved into an area of cooler ocean water as it continues to track west toward the Central Pacific. "Cristina became a strong tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph last Thursday through Friday. Since then, Cristina has lost much of its wind intensity," stated Miller.Cristina will not pose a direct threat to any land, but forecasters will continue to monitor the potential for impacts to the Hawaiian Islands late this week."At this time, moisture from Cristina is forecast to pass north of Hawaii during the latter part of the week," said AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. "However, there is potential for this moisture to sink farther south, which could bring showers to the islands."Once in a while, these features can hold together for thousands of miles or long enough to bring showers, thunderstorms and rough seas to Hawaii."The waters east of Hawaii are cooler than waters south and west of Central America, and this tends to cause most tropical systems to weaken and/or fall apart before reaching Hawaii," Kottlowski stated."Generally, we start to look for significant impacts by tropical systems on Hawaii around August or so, when waters have warmed up and less wind shear is present," he explained.During July 2019, Hurricane Barbara passed about 120 miles south of Hawaii on July 8. In August 2019, Erick passed just south of the Big Island on Aug. 4 as a tropical storm, while Flossie passed just north of the islands as a depression on Aug. 6.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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Coronavirus can damage the heart, major study finds

Coronavirus can damage the heart, with more than half of hospitalised patients revealing abnormal scans, a major new study has found. A survey of 69 countries, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), found that 55 per cent of 1,261 patients studied had abnormal changes to the way their heart was pumping, with around one in seven showing evidence of severe dysfunction. The majority (901 patients) had never been diagnosed with heart problems before, leading scientists to conclude that Covid-19 itself may seriously affect the heart. Among this group, heart scans were abnormal in 46 per cent of patients and 13 per cent had severe disease. Just over half of all the scans were performed in intensive care, with others carried out on general wards, heart and lung wards and in A&E.; The results follow a number of studies indicating that the virus can cause long-term damage to the brain. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation and a consultant cardiologist, said: "Severe Covid-19 illness can result in damage to the heart and circulatory system. "We urgently need to understand more about why this is happening so we can provide appropriate care - both short and long term. "This global study - carried out at the height of the pandemic - shows that we must be on the lookout for heart complications in people with Covid-19 so that we can adapt their treatment if needed." The study, published in the European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, found the abnormalities were almost evenly split between the left and right chambers of the heart. Some three per cent of patients had suffered a recent heart attack, according to the scans. As a result of their scan, one third of patients had their treatment changed, including being given medicines for heart failure, or more careful control of fluids and therapy designed to support heart function. The study was carried out by researchers from the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at the University of Edinburgh. The team cautioned that the study cannot conclude how common heart changes are in people who did not receive scans. They stressed that all patients in the study were in hospital and had suspected heart complications. Professor Marc Dweck, who led the research, said: "Covid-19 is a complex, multi-system disease which can have profound effects on many parts of the body, including the heart. "Many doctors have been hesitant to order echocardiograms for patients with Covid-19 because it's an added procedure which involves close contact with patients. "Our work shows that these scans are important - they improved the treatment for a third of patients who received them. "Damage to the heart is known to occur in severe flu, but we were surprised to see so many patients with damage to their heart with Covid-19 and so many patients with severe dysfunction. "We now need to understand the exact mechanism of this damage, whether it is reversible and what the long-term consequences of Covid-19 infection are on the heart."

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As coronavirus cases climb, Trump says states with an uptick in cases are 'going to be fine' and will be back to normal 'very quickly'

Coronavirus deaths are once again on the rise amid a surge of confirmed cases in states like Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida.

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Tech CEO who abused Asian family steps down and enrolls in 'anti-racism' programme

A disgraced CEO caught on video hurling racist abuse at an Asian family has resigned and cut all business ties with his San Francisco-based tech company.Michael Lofthouse said in a statement that he had stepped down from Solid8 in order to prevent causing harm to those closest to him.

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Caribbean countries are selling citizenship for as low as $100,000 — here's how the ultra-wealthy are cashing in to avoid pandemic travel restrictions

Travel restrictions on Americans and US passport backlogs have helped fuel demand for secondary passports and citizenship this year.

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U.S. weighs limited options to deal with China over Hong Kong: WSJ

Steps against Hong Kong's financial system risk hurting U.S., Western and Hong Kong companies and consumers, according to the report https://ift.tt/3iTern7, citing U.S. officials and analysts. Measures like more targeted sanctions against Chinese officials and trade moves against products made in Hong Kong would have little impact on Beijing's integration of the city into the mainland's political and security system, the Journal added. On Thursday, Trump administration officials discussed Hong Kong plans in a White House meeting, people familiar with the gathering told the Journal.

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Disney World reopens as coronavirus cases surging in Florida

Walt Disney World has reopened in Florida after nearly four months amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the state.Parts of the entertainment complex which bills itself as “the Most Magical Place on Earth” opened to visitors on Saturday with new rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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Fourth day of virus protests in Serbia as virus cases spike

Thousands protested for a fourth day Friday across Serbia over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as officials condemned the demonstrations and announced a record jump in cases. The protests were held as the Balkan nation announced a record daily death toll from COVID-19. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said earlier Friday the Balkan state recorded 18 fatalities and 386 new cases over 24 hours in what she described as a "dramatic increase".

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Florida reports largest, single-day increase in COVID cases

Florida shattered the national record Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise. According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded. California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, set on Wednesday.

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Fire ravages 249-year-old Spanish mission in Southern California

The San Gabriel Mission was founded in 1771 by Franciscan priest Junipero Serra, who has become a flashpoint for activists denouncing colonialism and systemic racism.

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At least 17 US Navy sailors, 4 civilians, injured after ship catches fire at San Diego Naval Base

The San Diego Fire Department responded to the LHD-6, an amphibious assault ship, that was docked at the naval base for routine maintenance.

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To 'Protect Young Minds,' Hong Kong Moves to Overhaul Schools

Starting this fall, schools in Hong Kong will display colorful new government-issued posters declaring that "freedom comes with responsibilities." Administrators may now call the police if anyone insults the Chinese national anthem on campus.Students as young as kindergartners will be taught about a new national security law that gives the authorities the power to squelch opposition to Beijing with heavy prison sentences.After months of antigovernment protests in Hong Kong, China's ruling Communist Party is reaching into the semiautonomous territory to overhaul an education system that it sees as having given rise to a generation of rebellious youth. The sweeping law Beijing imposed earlier this month also targets Hong Kong's students, who have been a galvanizing force behind the protests.Carrie Lam, the city's Beijing-backed leader, said at a forum Saturday that the arrests of more than 3,000 children and teenagers at protests had exposed how the city's campuses had been penetrated by forces hostile to the local and central governments."Faced with such a severe situation with our young people, we can't help but ask, what is wrong with education in Hong Kong?" she said.Lam said the schools' textbooks, classroom teaching and students' extracurricular activities reflected negative news media reporting about China and the "wanton discrediting of the government and police." Educating students about the new law, she said, would help them become more law-abiding.The party's goal for the territory is clear: to foster a new generation of loyal and patriotic Hong Kong youth. It is a strategy of ideological control that it has wielded to great effect in the mainland, but could rapidly erode Hong Kong's reputation for academic freedom."Young kids will be brought up to understand and believe that without the Chinese Communist Party they have no future, that anything they have is because of the party," said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.Over the last year, images of students in neatly pressed school uniforms joining hands to form human chains have become among the most evocative symbols of the protest movement.But campuses have also been the site of some of the movement's most violent scenes, such as at Polytechnic University, where protesters and police officers faced off in a prolonged fight with rubber bullets, firebombs and bows and arrows in November.Now, in forcing through the security law, Beijing has signaled that it has seen enough. On Wednesday, Kevin Yeung, Hong Kong's education secretary, barred students from singing "Glory to Hong Kong," a popular protest song, displaying political slogans or forming human chains on campus.Defenders of the law have argued that the city's academic freedom would remain untouched. But, they say, students and teachers should know that freedom of speech comes with limitations."You can't just allow teachers to talk, and impose their views, free-for-all," said Regina Ip, a cabinet member who leads a pro-Beijing party in the legislature. "Critical thinking does not mean training people to criticize or attack."Even before the law was enacted, the transformation of Hong Kong's education system was already underway.The new school year had just started in September when Law Pei-lee, a teacher at a girls' school, learned that a parent had filed a complaint about her conduct. She was accused of discussing the case of Lam Wing-kee, a local bookstore owner who was kidnapped by Chinese security officials in 2015.Law, a veteran teacher, said she had mentioned the incident in passing. But she said the education bureau repeatedly demanded an explanation. Though she was never officially punished, she said the monthslong investigation felt like "psychological torture."Worse, Law said, she feared the law would stifle young minds. "Will our kids be able to think critically when they grow up?"Both the education bureau and an employee at Law's school, Sacred Heart Canossian School Private Section, said they could not comment on individual cases.Some teachers and students say the investigations have created a climate of fear on campuses. A recent survey of more than 1,100 teachers found that around a third had been told by a supervisor to avoid discussing politics.Some parents say they are only trying to keep their children out of harm's way."What are the teachers afraid of?" said Ho Chiu Fai, a father of a fifth-grader and founder of Help Our Next Generation, a group of volunteers who investigate complaints against teachers. "We are all very worried that our kids will do something illegal, like go to illegal protests."Yeung, the education secretary, has vowed to "ferret out" problematic teachers. Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's former top leader, has set up a fund to help investigate teachers."The Government have a duty to protect young minds from radicalization," Leung wrote in an email.Some teachers have lost their jobs for not taking a harder line against protest-related actions in school.Lee Kwan-pui, a music teacher at Heung To Middle School, was fired in May after she let her students play "Glory to Hong Kong," according to local media reports. Lee defended herself in an email she sent to the school's staff and students, seen by The New York Times, saying she had reminded students to avoid social topics when choosing songs, but that ultimately it was their decision."I never brought up my political stance to students on campus," she wrote.After Lee's firing, students formed human chains at the school in protest. Reached by telephone, an administrative employee at the school declined to comment.The new national security law -- which authorizes life imprisonment for secession, terrorism and other political offenses in the most serious cases -- could make navigating classroom discussions even more difficult for teachers.Liberal Studies, a mandatory civics course that has been blamed by some officials for radicalizing students, will likely come under much greater scrutiny. Chinese history has become a mandatory subject in middle schools, and some teachers have asked how they should discuss contentious events under the party's rule.Schools must review their library catalogs to remove books that "provoke any acts or activities which endanger national security," the bureau said in a statement to The Times.The law is already having a deterrent effect. At Ying Wa College, an elite boys' school, a group of students who only last month chanted pro-independence slogans on the school's sports field has now quickly disbanded and taken down its social media account.Beijing's broader push for control over the city's schools and its sweeping interpretation of national security also raises questions about the future of Hong Kong's status as a hub for higher education in the region.The uncertainty over the law is driving concerns that scholars may be forced to censor themselves. Others fear that the vaguely defined crime of collusion could be applied to international academic collaborations.Bruce Lui, a senior lecturer in journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University, pointed out the many topics that are covered by mainland China's own national security law, ranging from the economy to outer space and, lately, biosecurity. Could researchers in Hong Kong, he asked, be punished for publishing data on the origins of the new coronavirus if their findings implicated China?Some administrators are striking a defiant note. Kellee Tsai, the dean of the school of humanities and social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, encouraged her department to carry on their teaching and research as usual until further instructions were issued."There may well be non-obvious 'red lines' in Hong Kong's higher education sector that cannot be crossed without severe legal consequences," she told them in an email seen by The Times. "Let's not draw those lines ourselves."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

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