Biden reaches deal to let Sanders keep hundreds of delegates

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has agreed to let former primary rival Bernie Sanders keep hundreds of delegates he would otherwise forfeit by dropping out of the presidential race in a deal designed to avoid the bitter feelings that marred the party in 2016 and helped lead to Hillary Clinton's defeat. Under party rules, Sanders should lose about one-third of the delegates he’s won in primaries and caucuses as the process moves ahead and states select the people who will attend the Democratic National Convention. The rules say those delegates should be Biden supporters, as he is the only candidate still actively seeking the party’s nomination.

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When will US reach 100,000 deaths? After a horrific April, grim milestone could hit in May

After the U.S. suffered nearly 60,000 deaths because of the coronavirus in April, the prospect looms of reaching the grim milestone of 100,000.

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Trump says he has evidence coronavirus came from a Chinese lab, but he can't reveal it

President Trump said Thursday that he had seen evidence to prove that the coronavirus pandemic had spread from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but he declined to detail what that evidence was.

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Biden Campaign Operatives Have Accessed the Senate Files He Now Refuses to Release

Biden campaign operatives have reportedly accessed the former vice president's archived Senate files, which may contain information shedding light on Tara Reade's allegation that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him as a Senate aide.Operatives with the presumptive Democratic nominee's campaign accessed Biden's records, which are housed at the University of Delaware, in the spring of 2019, just after he announced his candidacy for president in late April, Business Insider reported. The University of Delaware said no one has accessed them since mid-March, when the university library closed due to the pandemic.Reade went public shortly afterwards on March 25 with graphic details of her claim. She alleged that in 1993 when she was a Senate staff assistant, she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her. In early April of last year, before he announced his run for the Democratic nomination, Reade alleged along with several other women that Biden had touched her inappropriately.Biden deposited his Senate archive at the University of Delaware in 2012. Initially, the university promised to open the archive two years after Biden’s last day in public office. However, in April 2019 hours before Biden announced his presidential campaign, the university decided to keep the archive closed until December 31, 2019 or until Biden retires from public life.Reade has said that she suspects the archives from Biden's 36 years as senator may contain notes and other personnel records, including a sexual harassment complaint she filed. Reade said she complained about harassment from Biden to three top staffers, who deny ever hearing about the allegation. However, several interns remember Reade losing her intern supervision responsibilities around that time.Ted Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff at the time, "took notes" during a meeting she had with him about the harassment, Reade told Business Insider."He's now denying that we ever had the meeting, and I watched him take notes. Those notes would be in my personnel file, along with sick days or any kind of extra notes that I turn in," she said.Reade is calling for the release to the public of the Senate files, which are due to be released two years after Biden leaves public life."I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," she said. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light - why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"

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Nearly 900 workers at a Tyson plant in Indiana test positive for coronavirus

The 890 employees who have tested positive so far represent 40 percent of the workforce at the pork-processing plant.

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Amid Meat Supply Disruptions, Consumers Have Options

Coronavirus outbreaks among workers at meatpacking facilities have led to the closure of at least 22 beef, pork, and poultry processing plants across the country, at least 5,000 sick workers, and...

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California County Defies Governor's Statewide Coronavirus Shutdown Order

A rural California county has become the first to permit nonessential businesses to reopen and allow diners in restaurants

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RPT-Trans woman sets herself on fire in Georgia as virus lockdown cuts income

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McConnell says Biden will have to release more information surrounding Tara Reade allegation

"It's a very challenging thing to run for president," the majority leader says.

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Kim Yo-jong: North Korea's most powerful woman and heir apparent?

Kim Jong-un's sister is North Korea's most powerful woman and a possible successor to her brother.

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Republican lawmakers vote by mail to restrict ... vote by mail

While under the state's stay-at-home orders, Louisiana lawmakers voted by mail against the state's voters' ability to vote by mail in upcoming elections.Republicans in the state's legislature objected to a plan that would allow absentee ballots for people who fear being exposed to the coronavirus, claiming that mail-in voting is ripe for voter fraud — despite voting for the legislation by mail.

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Fox News' Judge Napolitano wants Trump to pardon Flynn after FBI allegedly tried to 'get him fired'

One of President Trump's biggest Fox News skeptics is on his side for this one.Documents unsealed late Wednesday in the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn raise questions about whether the FBI "set out to entrap" him in an interview with the agency, Fox News' judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano declared to Fox & Friends on Thursday. "Anybody who believes in the rule of law ... should be utterly scandalized and outraged" by what the documents reveal, and Trump should pardon Flynn "in the next day or so," Napolitano continued."This is a classic case of the FBI setting out to entrap someone and reducing it to writing," Napolitano incredulously said. He called for the Department of Justice to apologize to Flynn before the judge overseeing his case, denounce the FBI's actions, and both ask the judge to "vacate" Flynn's guilty plea and "dismiss" the indictment against him. And if it doesn't, Trump should quickly move to pardon him, Napolitano said.> Fox's Andrew Napolitano calls for Trump to pardon Michael Flynn "within the next day or so," unless the DOJ first denounces Flynn's prosecution, apologizes to him, and asks the judge to vacate his guilty plea and dismiss the indictment. pic.twitter.com/ycJcViHGSA> > — Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) April 30, 2020The documents reveal former FBI counterintelligence division Bill Priestap questioned "our goal" in a note written just days after Flynn lied about conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. at the time. "Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" Priestap wrote.Napolitano has frequently criticized Trump in the past, siding with those who wanted to impeach the president in saying he'd committed several crimes, including obstruction of justice.More stories from theweek.com The smoke-filled room that could oust Joe Biden 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit The self-inflicted derangement of the conservative intellectuals

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Roger Stone bought more than 200 fake Facebook accounts, which he used to run ads defending Roger Stone

Stone, a longtime friend to Donald Trump, ran a sprawling network of fake Facebook accounts starting in 2016, according to newly unsealed FBI records.

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California closes Orange county beaches over Covid-19 fears – but how risky is a beach day?

Order will close beaches starting Friday after people flocked to them this week but experts say some of the backlash may be unwarranted * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coveragePhotos of packed beaches in southern California made headlines around the United States this week, prompting a furious state governor to order all beaches in Orange county closed this weekend.Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the closures would only apply to the county, which saw the largest crowds, and that he hoped it wouldn’t last long. Other counties have reopened with limits, and will continue to do so.But what are the true risks of coronavirus infections at the beach? There’s no simple answer, but public health experts and epidemiologists told the Guardian that some of the backlash and concern may be unwarranted. As some local counties have criticized the statewide closures, the scientists also argued that there could be safe ways to allow access – and that there may be benefits to reopening. Could massive crowds at the beaches lead to an increase in cases, reversing California’s progress on Covid-19?Andrew Noymer, public health professor at the University of California, Irvine, said he too initially cringed at last weekend’s photos, but noticed upon looking closer that most people sitting together could have been from the same household and there was some distance between groups. “I’m not really in a scold mode,” he said. California will know in five to 10 days whether the beach groups caused an uptick in cases, and the state should monitor this closely, Noymer added. “I’m not that concerned that we’re going to see absolutely major spikes,” he said.Michael Buchmeier, UC Irvine professor of medicine and infectious disease expert, noted that some of the gatherings last weekend did appear to be quite dense. He said the main concern is that asymptomatic carriers could be at the beach spreading the virus, predicting there is a 50/50 chance the recent beach crowds could lead to a “blip” in cases. What would be the risk of going to the beach right now?If the beaches reopen, visiting them would not be not without risk, and Noymer advises people who are medically vulnerable or elderly not to go. Sitting on the sand, however, does not carry risks of catching the virus, he said, if groups station their towels and umbrellas more than 6ft apart. The risks are much greater if people end up waiting in lines to buy food or use the bathroom or if they wade in the water within 6ft of others.The risk of a beach visit, Buchmeier said, is somewhat comparable to a trip to the grocery store. Is it safe to swim in the ocean?“If you’re swimming more than 6ft away from people, you’re probably reasonably safe,” said Buchmeier. He noted there were still unknowns about Covid-19 and the ocean, but that the virus would probably struggle to survive in the seawater because of factors including UV light penetrating the water, tide activation, the salt content in the ocean and organisms ingesting the virus. Covid-19 primarily spreads through person-to-person contact. Does sunlight kill the virus at the beach?“The virus is very sensitive to ultraviolet light and very sensitive to heating. It’s not likely to survive in heat and sunlight,” said Buchmeier, who is also a molecular biology and biochemistry professor. He noted that in some hot climates, health clinics put medical instruments in the sun to decontaminate them.Sunlight cannot, however, kill the virus “inside the body”, as Donald Trump floated last week. Noymer said UV was not a “cure-all” and something of a “wild card” since scientists don’t know its precise impacts, but that the evidence suggests it puts a “damper on the spread of these respiratory viruses”. Because of the sunlight at the beach, he added: “I’m hard pressed to find a better example of something that could be restarted than the beaches.” Newport Beach lawmakers want to reopen its beach. How should governments decide when to open theirs?Wendy Parmet, a Northeastern University health policy expert, said governments need to consider “harm reduction” when weighing the costs of reopening: “We are never going to get social interactions to zero, so how do we reduce the ones that are high risk?” California needs to avoid the complete “renormalization of social interaction”, but the state must reckon with the “quarantine fatigue” that many are feeling, she said.The answer could be to start permitting more outdoor activities: “If allowing people to have access to sunshine and recreation is what’s going to keep them from protesting and violating laws, that may be a trade-off worth making,” said Parmet. A beach gathering is safer than an indoor party, for example. Noymer said it was critical that governments reopen in phases, suggesting that there should be at least 10-day delays between big changes so that officials can monitor impacts: “The era of lockdowns is ending, and the era of trade-offs is beginning. People aren’t going to shelter in place for 15 months. I would rather see crowded beaches than a crowded indoor shopping mall.” Could restrictions offer a solution?Buchmeier suggested governments consider controlling the number of people at the beach and find ways to ensure that there is plenty of space for people to remain distant.There are, however, major equity issues that arise with restrictions, noted Lucas Zucker, environmental justice advocate with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy. Some counties have allowed recreational activities such as surfing and jogging, but barred picnics and sunbathing. This could unfairly hurt larger families who live in crowded households and are seeking an escape to the outdoors. Zucker also argued that policies that close parking lots are restricting access for lower-income communities of color who live more inland: “How do you meet the goal of limiting the density of people attending the beach without saying that people who have means to live near the beach are able to go, but the people who don’t can’t?” Could beaches remain closed as we head into summer?Beaches shouldn’t reopen until public health officials deem it safe, Zucker said, but communities should consider the health consequences of restricting outdoor access for a long period: “Among immigrant workers, there’s a severe mental health strain right now, and of course access to parks, beaches and public spaces is strongly linked to positive physical and mental health outcomes.”He added that the crisis was exposing everyone to the kind of challenges that have long plagued lower-income neighborhoods without adequate public spaces: “The panic we’re seeing is because more affluent communities are getting a taste of what working-class communities of color have dealt with for generations.”Noymer said it no longer seemed realistic to do long-term closures: “The genie is out of the bottle now. People are going to see the photographs, and they are going to go to the beach on hot days.”

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NKorea's Kim Jong Un appears in public amid health rumors

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim attended the ceremony Friday in Sunchon with other senior officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

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Confirmed coronavirus cases surge in reopened JBS Colorado beef plant; worker dies -union

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After rumours about health, N.Korea state media report Kim Jong Un appearance

After weeks of intense speculation about the health of Kim Jong Un, state news agency KCNA said on Saturday the North Korean leader attended the completion of a fertilizer plant north of Pyongyang, the first report of his appearance since April 11.

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Police in Chile detain more than 50 protesters at Labor Day rally

Police in the Chilean capital Santiago detained more than 50 protesters on Friday, saying they had violated rules intended to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

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Who Knows Where the Time Goes

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Wild Ideas to Bring Back Sports Might Say More About Cities Than Leagues

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‘No One Needs Botox in a Pandemic.’ But Some in Beverly Hills Are Now Getting It.

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U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Demands Are Dismissed by Judge

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