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Showing posts from May, 2020

China's 'nervous' Xi risks new Cold War, last Hong Kong governor says

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Chinese President Xi Jinping is so nervous about the position of the Communist Party that he is risking a new Cold War and imperilling Hong Kong's position as Asia's pre-eminent financial hub, the last British governor of the territory told Reuters. Chris Patten said Xi's 'thuggish' crackdown in Hong Kong risked triggering an outflow of capital and people from the city which funnels the bulk of foreign investment into mainland China. The West, he said, should stop being naive about Xi, who has served as General Secretary of the Communist Party since 2012. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36GrOS7 via IFTTT

Nasa SpaceX launch: What is the Crew Dragon?

A guide to SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, which carried astronauts to the space station. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3gOOGn8

Cuomo says N.Y. attorney general will review night of violent protests

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Violent clashes between police and civilians took place during protests in Brooklyn on Friday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3chlFwI via IFTTT

Officers in Minneapolis use aggressive tactics against protesters

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They lobbed tear gas at peaceful demonstrators in an attempt to enforce curfew. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZOM7eF via IFTTT

Louisville police appear to shoot pepper rounds at reporters

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Footage from Wave 3 local news in Louisville, Ky., appears to show police shooting pepper rounds directly at news crew. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Xg7unk via IFTTT

Amanda makes landfall, threatens major flooding in Central America

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After making landfall as a tropical storm on Sunday, Amanda turned deadly, and will continue to threaten the region with widespread flooding and dangerous mudslides as it nears the Atlantic Basin into midweek.Before making landfall Sunday morning, the system strengthened into a tropical storm and was given the name Amanda, making it the first-named storm of the 2020 East Pacific hurricane season. A new round of torrential rainfall arrived in El Salvador and southern Guatemala on Sunday as Amanda moved inland. Officials in El Salvador issued an "Red Alert" and extended the state of emergency due to this surge of heavier rain.As of late Sunday morning, there are reports of at least 11 deaths in El Salvador due to impacts from the then Tropical Storm Amanda.> Nuestro despliegue a nivel nacional redobla sus esfuerzos ante la AlertaRoja por la TormentaAmandaSV. > > Haz tu parte, sigue las indicaciones de @PROCIVILSV, QuédateEnCasa. pic.twitter.com/331gKMKwAf> > -- M...

Philippine police arrest 90 Chinese for illegal gambling

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Philippine police have arrested 90 Chinese for allegedly running an online gambling hub without permits and for violating quarantine restrictions, officials said Sunday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yNv4OW via IFTTT

This high-tech Embraer private jet design seamlessly blends sustainability and technology. Take a look at Praeterra.

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The design is featured on the Praetor 600, the newest super-midsize private jet from Embraer that boasts a range of over 4,000 nautical miles. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3gL5X0z via IFTTT

Israeli forces shot and killed an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem as he walked to special needs school

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Israeli forces shot and killed an unarmed autistic Palestinian man on his way to a special needs school in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday, prompting comparisons to the police violence in the US and accusations of excessive force by Israeli forces. In a statement, Israeli police said they spotted a suspect “with a suspicious object that looked like a pistol” and opened fire on 32-year-old Iyad Halak, when he failed to stop. No weapon was found on him. Israel’s Channel 12 news station said members of the paramilitary border forces fired at Mr Halak’s legs and chased him into an alley. A senior officer was said to have called for a halt to fire as they entered the alley, but a second officer ignored the command and fired six or seven bullets from an M-16 rifle. Mr Halak’s father told AP that police later came and raided their home, but didn’t find anything. The shooting has caused widespread outcry on social media with many comparisons to the racially-charged shooting and killing of Geo...

Thirteen years later, mother of Fort Drum soldier found dead after disappearing from bar seeks answers

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Patrick Rust, 24, was last seen on March 16, 2007, at a bar in Watertown, New York, called “Clueless.” The soldier had just finished two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was stationed in New York at Fort Drum and had just received news he was being assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he'd be trained to become a staff sergeant. Six months later, a farmer found Patrick’s skeletal remains in a field about five miles from the bar. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is inves from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XeN6TK via IFTTT

Hong Kong officials say Trump 'completely wrong' to end city's special status

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Hong Kong officials lashed out on Saturday at moves by U.S. President Donald Trump to strip the city of its special status in a bid to punish China for imposing national security laws on the global financial hub. Speaking hours after Trump said the city no longer warranted economic privileges and that some officials could face sanctions, security minister John Lee told reporters that Hong Kong could not be threatened and would push ahead with the new laws. "I don't think they will succeed in using any means to threaten the (Hong Kong) government, because we believe what we are doing is right," Lee said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3euLECo via IFTTT

NY police commissioner says he's 'extremely proud' of department as videos surface showing officers using excessive force and plowing cars into protesters

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Dermot Shea censured demonstrators in New York, calling them "a mob bent solely on taking advantage of a moment in American history." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3gFleQl via IFTTT

Protests spread across NYC Saturday, more arrests after night of violence in Brooklyn

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For the third night in a row, protesters are coursing through the streets of New York City, with over 100 arrests, injuries to police officers and attacks on police vehicles, echoes of the violence that convulsed Brooklyn the night before. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2TS0n2A via IFTTT

The Papers: 'A million pupils stay home' as some schools return

Some primary school years in England returning and lockdown rules easing feature in Monday's papers. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2zR8cOW

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert Semitrailer speeds into crowd of protesters on Minneapolis bridge; injuries unclear 05/31/20 4:29 PM

Symbol of N.Y.C. Unrest: A Burning Police Car

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By BY AZI PAYBARAH AND NIKITA STEWART from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3gGd9L9

Destructive Power of Despair

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By BY CHARLES M. BLOW from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3gzWNDX

What Trump and Toxic Cops Have in Common

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By BY JENNIFER SENIOR from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/36MQrfT

As Protests and Violence Spill Over, Trump Shrinks Back

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By BY PETER BAKER AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Xktg9N

What Is Antifa, the Movement Trump Wants to Declare a Terror Group?

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By BY NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS AND SANDRA E. GARCIA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XhUCNz

Police Cars Rammed Protesters. What de Blasio’s Response Tells Us.

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By BY DANA RUBINSTEIN AND JEFFERY C. MAYS from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3evWbgC

Record Ratings and Record Chaos on Cable News

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By BY BEN SMITH from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2TYwddR

Many Claim Extremists Are Sparking Protest Violence. But Which Extremists?

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By BY NEIL MACFARQUHAR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2BkEFha

Dragon-riding astronauts join exclusive inner circle at NASA

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Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken join NASA’s exclusive inner circle by catching a ride on a SpaceX rocket and capsule. It’s only the fifth time that NASA has put people aboard a brand new spacecraft line for liftoff. And it’s the first time the spacecraft belongs to a for-profit company in charge of the launch. The retired Marine colonel and former fighter pilot flew on NASA’s last space shuttle flight in 2011, closing out a 30-year era. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yKEP0e via IFTTT

Airlines schedule major increase in flights in July as pressure mounts on ministers to ease quarantine

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Airlines have scheduled a dramatic increase in flights in July in anticipation that Governments will lift travel restrictions for holidaymakers and save the industry from potential collapse, according to data seen by The Sunday Telegraph. The companies which have already laid off tens of thousands of workers are banking on a “V-shaped” recovery by scheduling 161,200 passenger flights and 29.5 million seats for July, just eight per cent down on last year’s July timetables. The strategy to open up business travel and holiday routes to hotspot favourites like Greece, Italy, France and Spain comes as most European countries are preparing to lift their quarantines or open their borders in mid June or at least by July 1. It will increase pressure on Boris Johnson to make good his suggestion last week that the UK’s quarantine - to be introduced on June 8 - could be replaced with “air bridges” to low-risk holiday destinations when it is reviewed on June 29. One senior industry source claimed: ...

Trump delays 'outdated' G7 leaders' summit

The US president says he is postponing this year's meeting and wants to invite other leaders as well. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3dmac08

As Minneapolis rioters set buildings ablaze, grocer pleads to save his stores

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BikEb2 via IFTTT

The U.S. Might Revoke Hong Kong's 'Special Status.' Here's What That Means for Business in the Global Financial Hub

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Hong Kong risks becoming a casualty in the emerging cold war between Washington and Beijing from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3esaenq via IFTTT

Trump says U.S. will be 'terminating' relationship with WHO

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The president criticized the World Health Organization for their response to the pandemic and said U.S. funds would be redirected to other public health needs. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3guk3TE via IFTTT

SpaceX’s Successful Blast-Off Signals New Era of Human Space Exploration

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With a flash of light, billowing smoke, and a thunderous roar, American astronauts on Saturday afternoon blasted into space aboard an American spacecraft for the first time since NASA decommissioned the aging, unsafe Space Shuttle fleet in 2011. The first manned flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft not only restores the United States’ ability to launch people into orbit, it also signals a possible new era of space exploration. Thousands of people tuned into livestreams of the historic launch from NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center near Orlando. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and President Donald Trump flew in to see off astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley and observe the launch. “This is going to be like the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup all rolled into one,” Zeb Scoville, NASA’s flight director, told reporters in the weeks leading up to the launch.Mission-controllers canceled a previous launch attempt on Wed...

China home-built aircraft carrier conducting sea trials

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China’s Defense Ministry said the navy’s only entirely home-built aircraft is carrying out sea trials to test weapons and equipment and enhance training of the crew. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3dicAFc via IFTTT

Pompeo demands Russia free ill American accused of spying

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday demanded that Russia free a former US marine accused of spying in Russia after the man underwent urgent surgery in a Moscow hospital. Fifty-year-old Paul Whelan had emergency hernia surgery late Thursday after suffering "severe abdominal pain," his brother David Whelan said in a statement Friday. Paul Whelan, who also holds Canadian, Irish and British citizenship, was detained in Moscow in December 2018 for allegedly receiving state secrets. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3chul6u via IFTTT

‘If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing’: Mississippi mayor faces backlash over George Floyd comments

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A mayor in Mississippi is facing fierce backlash and calls to resign after saying that he “didn’t see anything unreasonable” about the death of George Floyd.Mr Floyd, who was black, died while in police custody in Minneapolis after a white officer was filmed pinned him to the ground by his neck for a prolonged period of time. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2zztHE8 via IFTTT

U.S. high court rejects church challenges to state pandemic rules

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The U.S. Supreme Court rejected challenges on Friday to curbs on religious services in California and Illinois during the coronavirus pandemic. In the California dispute, the nine justices split 5-4 in rejecting a bid by South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista to block the rules issued by Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberal justices in the majority. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XdEGMg via IFTTT

The Papers: Testing 'disgrace' and public's 'broken trust'

Britain's test and trace policy and Dominic Cummings' lockdown trip dominate Sunday's papers. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2XEXYcw

In pictures: Peru's most catastrophic natural disaster

On 31 May 1970 an earthquake struck in Peru, triggering a landslide and leading to the deaths of 70,000. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/3djAv7m

George Floyd: ‘As a black American I am terrified’

After the death of George Floyd, young African-Americans in Minneapolis say they are scared for their safety. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2XitMot

Coronavirus: The self-isolation choir with worldwide members

This weekend thousands of people will gather as an online choir to perform Handel’s Messiah. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/3gJSUwn

In the middle of the Pacific with nowhere to land

A group of performers were halfway across the ocean in a 75ft boat when the pandemic erupted - leaving them with nowhere to go. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2Bc7tIw

Coronavirus: 'I'm high risk but made a full recovery'

Positive stories from people considered at high risk who have made a full recovery from coronavirus. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2MgCj50

My Money: 'Our alternative quarantine holiday'

Alyssa Hulme from Utah in the US takes us through her weekly spending during the coronavirus pandemic. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2XgH9FE

Coronavirus: Independent cinemas unlikely to open before September

An Independent Cinema Office survey found only a quarter of venues planned to open before autumn. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2XR2sNs

Coronavirus doctor's diary: Why does Covid-19 make some healthy young people really sick?

Dr John Wright tells the story of Marium Zameer, who became very unwell with Covid-19 despite being young and healthy. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/3cj8H1J

Draw a Self-Portrait

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By BY CARSON ELLIS from NYT At Home https://ift.tt/36LkuVb

George Floyd Protests: A Timeline

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By BY DERRICK BRYSON TAYLOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XhWhmk

Here’s What You Need to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death

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By BY RICHARD A. OPPEL JR. from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3eAuQdj

George Floyd Was Pinned Down for Nearly 3 Minutes After He Became Unresponsive, Prosecutors Say

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By BY SARAH MERVOSH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2zBC0iK

‘The Pain Is Too Intense’: Biden Challenges White Americans

By BY JONATHAN MARTIN AND KATIE GLUECK from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XLfQSS

‘Burn It Down. Let Them Pay’: Deadly Chaos Erupts in Minneapolis as Fires Rage Over Police Violence

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MINNEAPOLIS—Flames and black smoke poured into the sky here early Thursday as protests over the death of George Floyd took a violent turn, with multiple local businesses and residential buildings near police headquarters set ablaze and at least one person fatally shot in the area. Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder confirmed the shooting shortly before midnight local time, but did not say if it was connected to the protests, according to the Star Tribune. A video shared on Twitter and purportedly filmed at the scene showed medics frantically trying to save a man lying on the ground; at one point, one of the medics can be heard urging people to stay away, yelling, “There’s somebody in there with a rifle, back up! Back up!”The shooting came amid major fires across the southern part of city, including an AutoZone that burned to the ground overnight, spewing toxic fumes across the entire neighborhood. Widespread looting included mobs—whose ties to organized protesters were vague a...

China plans to extend curbs on international flights until June 30: U.S. embassy

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Chinese civil aviation authorities plan to extend until June 30 their curbs on international flights to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the U.S. embassy in Beijing said in a travel advisory on Friday. China has drastically cut such flights since March to allay concerns over infections brought by arriving passengers. A so-called "Five One" policy allows mainland carriers to fly just one flight a week on one route to any country and foreign airlines to operate just one flight a week to China. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZLieMg via IFTTT

Transcripts released of Flynn's calls with Russian diplomat

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Transcripts of phone calls that played a pivotal role in the Russia investigation were declassified and released Friday, showing that Michael Flynn, as an adviser to then-President-elect Donald Trump, urged Russia's ambassador to be “even-keeled” in response to punitive Obama administration measures, and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the two countries after Trump became president. Democrats said the transcripts showed that Flynn had lied to the FBI when he denied details of the conversation, and that he was undercutting a sitting president while ingratiating himself with a country that had just interfered in the 2016 presidential election. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2B9BdFW via IFTTT

President is slammed for leaving ‘press conference’ without addressing Minnesota as he disbands US relationship with WHO

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Donald Trump held a "press conference" on Friday to discuss the United State's relationship with China, but then left the Rose Garden without taking questions or addressing the mounting situation in Minnesota following the death of George Floyd.The president announced during his statement the US would disband its relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid the coronavirus pandemic. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZQ8nog via IFTTT

AP Explains: What's behind latest India-China border tension

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Indian officials say the latest row began in early May, when Chinese soldiers entered the Indian-controlled territory of Ladakh at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts. China has sought to downplay the confrontation while providing little information. China has objected to India building a road through the valley connecting the region to an airstrip, possibly sparking its move to assert control over territory along the border that is not clearly defined in places. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XI1rHh via IFTTT

SpaceX rocket launch could have ‘triggered lightning’, Nasa says

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The launch of a SpaceX rocket could have "triggered lightning" and so had to be cancelled, Nasa has said.The mission would have seen the first launch of astronauts from US soil in nine years, and the first ever private company to put humans into space. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3esM0JL via IFTTT

CNN reporter arrested live on air at George Floyd Minnesota protest

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A CNN crew was arrested by police Friday morning while giving a live television report in Minneapolis, where the crew was covering ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3cfb7hR via IFTTT

Team Biden on Klobuchar: ‘We Need to Avoid Her’

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In recent weeks, Sen. Amy Klobuchar has positioned herself as a leading contender in the race to join former Vice President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. But growing civil unrest in her home state of Minnesota in response to the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of a white police officer—and renewed scrutiny of her record as the top prosecutor in the state’s largest county—appears to have severely hampered her ambition to be the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee.“Vertiginous,” a campaign adviser said in a one-word text, describing Klobuchar’s fall in the rankings of potential running mates.The three-term senator’s drop has been so swift that a planned Minnesota digital event with Dr. Jill Biden and coronavirus first-responders scheduled for Friday was pulled, according to a source familiar with the campaign’s deliberations, “partly because we need to avoid her.” According to a Biden campaign official, all of Dr. Biden’s virtual events on Friday were canceled “...

Petition calling for UK PM's aide to be sacked passes one million signatures

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A petition calling for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's closest aide to be sacked after he took a long-distance journey during the country's coronavirus lockdown has been signed by more than one million people. Dominic Cummings travelled 400 km (250 miles) from London to the northern English city of Durham in March with his four-year-old son and his wife, who was sick with suspected COVID-19 at the time, to be close to relatives. The petition on the Change.org site, entitled "Dominic Cummings must be sacked" has so far been signed by more than 1,001,260 people. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZOY4kA via IFTTT

The Bird Watcher, That Incident and His Conflicted Feelings on Her Fate

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NEW YORK -- His binoculars around his neck, Christian Cooper, an avid birder, was back in his happy place on Wednesday: Central Park during migration season. He was trying to focus on the olive-sided flycatchers and red-bellied woodpeckers -- not on what had happened there two days earlier.That was when Cooper, who is black, asked a white woman to put her dog on a leash. When she did not, he began filming. In response, the woman said she would tell the police that "an African American man is threatening my life" before dialing 911.On Tuesday, the video went viral on Twitter and garnered more than 40 million views, setting off a painful discourse about the history of dangerous false accusations against black people made to police.The birds were a welcome distraction from thinking about what had happened next: By that day's end, the woman, Amy Cooper (no relation) had surrendered her dog and had been fired from her high-level finance job. As he wandered the park's North...

Melania Trump says there is 'no reason for violence' in Minneapolis protests hours after Trump threatened that 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts'

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The first lady urged against violence hours after President Trump posted a tweet that was flagged for "glorifying violence." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yKXnNX via IFTTT

Coronavirus: GPs not told when patients removed from 'shielding lists'

This has caused confusion and anxiety among extremely vulnerable people staying at home. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/36GOGki

Coronavirus: Renters struggle most with pandemic costs, report says

Private renters are struggling with housing costs more than mortgage-payers, new research suggests. from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/36PIiaE

China and the Rhineland Moment

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By BY BRET STEPHENS from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3gE2vo7

Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today

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By BY LARA TAKENAGA AND JONATHAN WOLFE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dkR0A0

A Continent Reopens

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By BY PATRICK KINGSLEY AND LAETITIA VANCON from NYT World https://ift.tt/3diaoNV

Ex-Officer Charged in Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

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By BY NEIL MACFARQUHAR, TIM ARANGO AND MANNY FERNANDEZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Am86Pv

George Floyd Worked With Officer Charged in His Death

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By BY MATT FURBER, AUDRA D. S. BURCH AND FRANCES ROBLES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XeUwGB