The Latest: South Africa surpasses 500,000 COVID-19 cases

South Africa on Saturday surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, representing more than 50% of all reported coronavirus infections in Africa’s 54 countries. Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize announced 10,107 new cases Saturday night, bringing the country’s cumulative total to 503,290, including 8,153 deaths. Experts say the true toll of the pandemic worldwide is much higher than confirmed cases, due to limited testing and other reasons.

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Letters to the Editor: The cult of Trump is starting to inflict casualties. Just ask Louie Gohmert

Rep. Louie Gohmert is remaining stridently anti-mask even after being diagnosed with COVID-19, because he things that's what Trump wants.

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Democrats and Republicans have 'most productive' stimulus talk to date, but deal still 'not imminent'

Democrats and Republicans had the 'most productive' stimulus talk to date, but are still far from a deal after unemployment benefits expire.

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Scientists Worry About Political Influence Over Coronavirus Vaccine Project

By BY SHARON LAFRANIERE, KATIE THOMAS, NOAH WEILAND, PETER BAKER AND ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2D3bfFF

Marathon Is Selling Speedway Gas Stations to 7-Eleven’s Parent for $21 Billion

By BY CLIFFORD KRAUSS from NYT Business https://ift.tt/31d4kBv

TikTok Ban? Creators and Fans Are Big Mad

By BY TAYLOR LORENZ from NYT Style https://ift.tt/2Pgltoj

Trump Forecasts His Own Fraud

By BY CHARLES M. BLOW from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2XnMAT7

Leon Fleisher, 92, Dies; Spellbinding Pianist With One Hand or Two

By BY ALLAN KOZINN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2DsSpHE

Joe Biden buries the hatchet and looks to bring in Kamala Harris as running mate

On Friday night, supporters of Joe Biden received an urgent message from his campaign email address. But it wasn’t from the Democrat presidential nominee. It was from Kamala Harris. Underneath a picture of herself, the California senator wrote: “I know Joe’s heart, and I’ve seen first-hand his compassion and dedication to public service. He’ll be a president for all of us, and I’m giving everything I’ve got to help him succeed this year.” It was a further signal, if one were needed, that Ms Harris, 55, is now a clear favourite to become Mr Biden’s running mate. He has said he will make a decision next week. But the message was also clearly intended to defuse a vicious behind-the-scenes battle that has reached fever pitch in recent days. With so much on the line, the knives have been out for Ms Harris within the Democratic party. Anonymous briefings, some emanating from people in 77-year-old Mr Biden’s own camp, have attempted to portray her as disloyal, ruthlessly ambitious, opportunistic, untrustworthy and intent on becoming president herself. As one Democrat donor put it: “She would be running for president the day of the [Biden] inauguration. For me, loyalty and friendship should mean something.” Read more: Who will be Joe Biden's running mate? The runners and riders

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After Missing for 9 Days, Teenager Found Safe Near Washington State Mountain Pass

Authorities located 18-year-old Gia Fuda just before they were about to start winding down their rescue efforts

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As Trump threatens to ban TikTok, Sarah Cooper mocks him, again, on the platform

After President Trump threatened to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, Sarah Cooper took to the app to impersonate him yet again and explain"how to tick tack."

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An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus criticized Republican lawmakers for refusing to wear masks in the Capitol

Arizona Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday but is currently asymptomatic.

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Bass addresses past remarks praising Scientology

The top-tier contender to be Joe Biden's running mate said in a statement she was trying to find an “area of agreement” with the church.

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Ghislaine Maxwell granted stay of execution by US court, delaying release of incriminating court papers

The release of court documents said to incriminate Ghislaine Maxwell has been delayed after a US court granted the British socialite at the heart of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal a stay of execution, it has emerged. Papers including her deposition statement will be kept under wraps in what her legal team will view as a welcome victory. The decision by judges sitting in the Second Circuit of the US Court of Appeals was announced in a two-page order published yesterday. The documents, said to contain the 58-year-old British socialite denying any knowledge of sex-trafficking for the multi-billionaire financier, were due to be unsealed on Monday. Prosecutors have claimed the April 2016 deposition suggests Ms Maxwell had perjured herself by claiming not to know about sex-traffcking. It is claimed she is recorded saying while under oath: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

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Seven, Including Alaska State Lawmaker, Killed in Mid-Air Plane Collision

None survived the crash, officials said

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Florida prepares for Tropical Storm Isaias as it moves up U.S. East Coast

The storm is expected to reach Florida on Sunday before heading north towards the Carolinas and eventually New York.

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Arizona congressman tests positive for coronavirus

Representative Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, has tested positive for coronavirus but feels fine and has gone into isolation, he said in a statement on Saturday. Grijalva, 72, was told of the positive test by the attending physician of the capitol, he said. Grijalva chaired a hearing this week attended by Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has also tested positive and who has been photographed without a mask.

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Portland police declare unlawful assembly during protest

The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon's largest city and threw bottles toward officers, police said. Until that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had been seemingly absent from the protests Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The demonstrations — that for weeks ended with tear gas, fireworks shot towards buildings, federal agents on the street and injuries to protesters and officers — have recently ended with chanting and conversations. Activists and Oregon officials urged people at Saturday night’s protest in Portland to re-center the focus on Black Lives Matter, three days after the Trump administration agreed to reduce the presence of federal agents.

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Thousands march in Berlin against coronavirus measures

Florida couple busted for breaking COVID-19 quarantine insists they were just walking the dog

California, which has been hard hit by the pandemic, reported its first teen fatality, while Jim Jordan sparred with Dr. Anthony Fauci at House hearing.

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Nancy Pelosi Tears Into Dr. Birx: ‘I Don’t Have Confidence’ in Her

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn’t mince words on Sunday morning, declaring that she has no “confidence” in White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, whom she blamed for President Donald Trump peddling coronavirus disinformation.Last week, during a closed-door meeting with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Politico reported that the speaker tore into Birx. “Deborah Birx is the worst. Wow, what horrible hands you’re in,” she reportedly exclaimed.Pelosi also accused Birx of “spreading disinformation” while simultaneously praising top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci—who has found himself in Team Trump’s crosshairs of late—as a “hero.”Asked whether her reported comments were accurate, Pelosi doubled down on her Birx criticism during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.“I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don’t have confidence there, no,” the House leader huffed.At the end of a contentious CNN interview that included host Dana Bash pressing her on why the administration’s coronavirus response “failed so badly,” Birx was asked to react to Pelosi’s harsh remarks.“I have tremendous respect for the speaker,” Birx deflected. “And I have tremendous respect for her long dedication to the American people.”The White House coronavirus task force member then turned her attention to The New York Times, which recently published a deep-dive into the administration’s “failure” in containing the pandemic and reported that Birx was only giving good news to Trump.“And I think it was unfortunate that The New York Times wrote this article without speaking to me. I could have brought forth the data,” she complained, defending her record. “I provide data every single day with an analysis. The day that they are talking about that I was ‘Pollyannish.’”“It said there was improvement in the New York metro, but ongoing cases in Boston and Chicago, a new outbreak in Houston and full logarithmic spread, and new concerning outbreaks in Baltimore, New Haven, and Washington, D.C,” she continued. “This was not a Pollyannish view. I have never been called Pollyannish or non-scientific or non-data-driven. And I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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Editorial: California faces an eviction catastrophe. Newsom, lawmakers need to act now

As the downturn continues and tenant protections expire, we could see a tidal wave of evictions and a surge in homelessness even as the pandemic rages on.

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Taiwanese pay respects to former President Lee Teng-hui

Taiwan's leaders and its people were paying their respects Saturday to former President Lee Teng-hui, who died this week at age 97 after bringing full democracy to Taiwan and incurring the wrath of China in the process. A traditional funeral bier was set up at the Taipei Guest House, an ornate European-style building that was home to Japanese governors during Taiwan's 1895-1945 colonial period. Among the visitors Saturday was current President Tsai Ing-wen, who wrote in a book of condolences, "You shall forever be watching over democratic Taiwan.”

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