Dr. Anthony Fauci says he hasn't briefed Trump in at least two months, despite pandemic resurgence

Asked about Trump's claim 99% of coronavirus cases were "harmless," Fauci said the president had made an error and conflated statistics.

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

2 Texas police officers killed in line of duty, chief says

07/11/20 7:03 PM

Former U.S.A. Gymnastics Coach Faces 14 Charges of Lewdness With a Minor

By BY MARIE FAZIO from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZTV4l6

We Must Invest in Teachers to Prevent COVID-19 from Exacerbating the Racial Educational Divide

As we prepare for the return of some schools in the fall, it’s clear that more federal support for education is needed.

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Dentist who slaughtered Cecil the lion ‘hunts and kills protected wild ram’ just four years later

The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion is reported to have hunted another endangered wild animal.Walter Palmer is said to have slaughtered a protected ram in Mongolia, paying up to £80,000 for the kill.

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Neowise comet visible in the night sky

Neowise comet visible in the night sky

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The Absolute Emptiness of ‘MAGA’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’

The two most powerful political slogans of our era are “Make America Great Again”, and “Black Lives Matter.” Both of them, once uttered, seemed to invite immediate, obvious, simple-minded rejoinders. “America is already great,” say Trump’s opponents. “All Lives Matter,” say those who are made uncomfortable by the hint of exclusion in BLM. But for the initiated, the rejoinders almost prove the necessity of repeating the slogan.In other words, the genius of both phrases is that they are self-authenticating.When pundits and think-tankers shout back “America is already great,” they confirm that they were servants for the winners of the last 30 years of American politics. Trump’s signature mantra is aimed directly at the places that have lost their manufacturing jobs to Mexico or China, the places that suddenly have a major drug problem or an abundance of unemployed middle-aged men, the places where life expectancy is going down and confidence in the next generation doing better than the last is at an all-time low.The people shouting “All Lives Matter” energize anti-racist activists, to whom they seem obtuse. For most of its adherents, “Black Lives Matter” isn’t meant as a slur or slight on non-blacks. It is a cry for attention to problems that uniquely afflict black lives in America. It is a demand for addressing those problems specifically. It is a call for dignity. The black experience in America is unique to blacks. That matters, or at least it should. The very discomfort with acknowledging that of course black lives matter is evidence that the assertion has to be repeated over and over again until people get it.There’s just one problem with all of this: MAGA and BLM turn out to be entirely empty slogans on close inspection. Or at least, any substance they might have represented has been emptied out by the pre-existing and elite interests that commandeered them.What is the MAGA agenda? There isn’t much of one. There’s been no real plan for the opioid crisis or the revival of declining regions, no credible promise of great new infrastructure projects. Beyond a few easily reversed executive orders Trump has done nothing to make our immigration system sensible or serve the interests of lower-wage Americans. There’s been a lot of empty gesturing meant to look like substantive action — a phony trade war with China that ended in Trump begging for a few extra soybean purchases from swing states, a few hundred miles of border fencing funded out of the Pentagon’s coffers, rather than Mexico’s. Insofar as Trump has an agenda of any substance, it is a pre-existing one that he didn’t invent or modify: A massive tax cut for corporations paired with the partial elimination of a tax break for affluent blue-staters and the confirmation of lots of judges approved by the conservative legal establishment.What is the Black Lives Matter agenda? The official BLM organization, the one that’s been in receipt of millions of dollars from the titans of global capitalism, has a statement of belief. The statement begins with racism and policing issues, which do rank in almost every survey as vitally important if not the most important issues among black voters. But what comes next? Do a search for words like “education” or “housing.” Nothing. Do a search for the most important institution in black life, the church. Nothing. A significant majority of blacks list “health-care” as one of the major issues that determines their vote. It’s not even referenced.Instead, what do you find? The vapid cultural politics of academia talking to itself in the mirror. “Gender identity” and “gender expression” come ahead of the first mention of economics. “Cisgender privilege” is denounced. The only life-shaping institution mentioned is the “nuclear family,” which BLM vows to “disrupt.” (As if the nuclear family hadn’t already been disrupted in black lives! 65 percent of black children live in a single-parent home.) This is a manifesto for grad students and radical journalists.The disconnect between these slogans, which are used to sell politics to the masses, and the substance they hide, which is used to serve or just titillate various elite interests, is demoralizing. It is also dangerous. For whatever you fear most — an American Putin or an American Hugo Chavez — is no doubt waiting in the wings for the moment when the hopes raised by our empty political movements are dashed again.

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Hong Kong to suspend all schools due to spike in coronavirus cases

Hong Kong's Education Bureau on Friday announced the suspension of all schools from Monday after a sharp rise in locally transmitted coronavirus cases fuelled fears of renewed community spread. Schools in the Asian financial hub have been mostly shut since January, with many having switched to online learning and lessons by conference call. Many international schools are already on summer break.

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Paik Sun-yup, major South Korean war hero, dies at 99

Former South Korean army Gen. Paik Sun-yup, who was celebrated as a major war hero for leading troops in several battle victories against North Korean soldiers during the 1950-53 Korean War, has died. The South Korean army announced his death on Saturday. Born in 1920 in what is now North Pyongan province in North Korea, Paik graduated from a Japanese military academy in Manchuria when the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule and was a lieutenant in the Japanese army during World War II.

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De Blasio: Black Lives Matter Protests Exempt from Large-Event Ban

Mayor Bill de Blasio has canceled all large events in New York City through September, but will continue to allow Black Lives Matter protests in the city, he said.“This is a historic moment of change. We have to respect that but also say to people the kinds of gatherings we’re used to, the parades, the fairs — we just can’t have that while we’re focusing on health right now,” de Blasio said during a CNN appearance Thursday night.While other areas, including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Miami-Dade County, Fla., have said protests in their cities may have contributed to the spread of the virus, New York has denied experiencing any surge in cases after weeks of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. “Based on our health indicators, which measure hospital admissions, number of people in ICU and percentage of New Yorkers testing positive, we have seen no indication of an uptick in cases,” Avery Cohen, de Blasio’s deputy press secretary, told Fox News.Coronavirus cases in the city have been declining for weeks after spiking in mid-April. There have been 32,283 deaths in New York, more than any other state. The rule cancels street fairs, outdoor concerts, parades, and other big events, including the West Indian American Day Carnival in Brooklyn Labor Day weekend, the Dominican Day Parade in midtown Manhattan, and the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy.While religious events and press conferences will also be exempt from the ban, the city will deny all permits for street fairs, events stretching larger than one block or requiring a sound system and events in parks it believes will “unreasonably diminish public use.”“As New York has begun its reopening process, accessible open spaces are more important than ever,” said de Blasio in a statement. “While it pains me to call off some of the city's beloved events, our focus now must be the prioritization of city space for public use and the continuation of social distancing.”

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The first federal execution in 17 years of a white supremacist killer was postponed because the coronavirus stopped the victims' family attending

Daniel Lewis Lee was to be executed Monday for the 1996 murders of an Arkansas family of three.

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Lawmakers vote to shut down Philippines' largest TV network

Philippine lawmakers voted Friday to reject the license renewal of the country’s largest TV network, shutting down a major news provider that had been repeatedly threatened by the president over its critical coverage. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Franchises voted 70-11 to reject a new 25-year license for ABS-CBN Corp. The National Telecommunications Commission had ordered the broadcaster to shut down in May after its old franchise expired. It halted broadcasting then, but the vote takes it off the air permanently.

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Amber Alert issued for missing 3-year-old girl from KCK

An Amber Alert was issued late Friday morning for 3-year-old Olivia Ann Jansen, who was last seen at her home in the 4400 block of Gibbs Road in Kansas City, Kansas.

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In Rare Public Comments, Mueller Defends Prosecution of Roger Stone

By BY PETER BAKER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3gQjG5a

Ghislaine Maxwell argues for $5 million bail, saying she's 'not Jeffrey Epstein'

NEW YORK - Ghislaine Maxwell argued for $5 million bail Friday, arguing that she had wrongly replaced Jeffrey Epstein in the public eye after the multimillionaire hanged himself last year. "Epstein died in federal custody, and the media focus quickly shifted to our client - wrongly trying to substitute her for Epstein - even though she'd had no contact with Epstein for more than a decade, had ...

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Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show

A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise — the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century — swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. NASA's Neowise infrared space telescope discovered the comet in March.

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Fourth day of virus protests in Serbia

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". At the same time, Brnabic condemned as "irresponsible" protests held in Belgrade and other cities on Thursday, after demonstrations in the capital on the previous two days had spilled over into violence.

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Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence before three-year prison term was to begin

President Trump commuted the prison sentence for Republican operative Roger Stone, who was to begin serving a three-year jail term on Tuesday.

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These Arizona teachers shared a classroom for summer school. All 3 contracted COVID-19. 1 died.

An Arizona teacher is dead after contracting COVID-19. Two others tested positive after teaching in the same classroom. They hope schools stay closed.

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Pompeo slams UN report on deadly US drone strike on Iranian

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent U.N. human rights expert's report insisting a American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a “watershed” event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes.

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China Threatens ‘Firm Countermeasures’ after U.S. Sanctions Officials over Uighur Rights

China on Friday vowed to retaliate after the U.S. slapped sanctions on senior Chinese officials over alleged human-rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in China.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian promised “reciprocal measures” and said the U.S. is the one violating human rights by interfering in China's affairs.“In light of these wrong actions, China will impose reciprocal measures on U.S. officials and organizations that have displayed egregious behavior on human rights in relation to Xinjiang affairs,” Zhao said.The U.S. on Thursday sanctioned Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary of the autonomous Xinjiang region and a member of the Communist Party's powerful Politburo. Washington also sanctioned three other senior Chinese officials: Zhu Hailun, a former deputy Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang region, Wang Mingshan, the current director and Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, and Huo Liujun, a former Communist Party secretary of the bureau.“If the United States insists on acting arrogantly, China will definitely fight back,” Zhao said. “We urge the U.S. to correct this wrong decision. If the U.S. continues to proceed, China will take firm countermeasures.”The Xinjiang region is home to millions of Uighur Muslims, whose culture Beijing has aimed to suppress in the name of national cohesion.Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained an estimated one million -- if not more -- Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in “re-education camps” around Xinjiang, which are designed to instill a sense of loyalty to the government. Around 80,000 Uighurs have been forced to work in factories, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has estimated.China claims that the detention camps are for voluntary education and training and are used to combat extremism, but Chinese government documents leaked last year detail how the facilities are run with extreme control over their residents.

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Kellyanne Conway: Biden is plagiarizing Trump’s ‘America First’ plan

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway reacts to Joe Biden’s economic plan and previews Trump’s New Hampshire rally on ‘Fox and Friends.’

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Gilead analysis shows remdesivir reduced coronavirus death risk, more studies needed

Remdesivir has been at the forefront of the global battle against COVID-19 after the intravenously administered medicine helped shorten hospital recovery times, according to data in April from a separate U.S. government trial. In the latest analysis, Gilead said it analyzed data from 312 patients treated in its late-stage study and a separate real-world retrospective cohort of 818 patients with similar characteristics and disease severity. Gilead's late-stage study evaluated the safety and efficacy of five-day and 10-day dosing durations of remdesivir in hospitalized patients.

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