India coronavirus: Gold rush as pandemic roils country's economy

As Covid-19 worsens the economic slump, Indians are returning to a trusted asset: gold.

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Phyllis Omido: The woman who won $12m fighting lead battery poisoners

Kenyan activist Phyllis Omido has been ignored, harassed and arrested, but she never gave up.

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Belarus: The mother challenging an authoritarian president

Political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya rallies protesters in a battle with Alexander Lukashenko.

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had to be told to unmute his microphone to answer a question during the big tech antitrust hearing

"Mr. Bezos, I believe you're on mute," one lawmaker told Bezos as the pandemic forced all four CEOs to dial into the inquiry virtually.

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Jim Jordan tries and fails to get Fauci to say protesters should be arrested for gathering during pandemic

Dr. Anthony Fauci wants to make it clear he's got nothing to do with the justice system.Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared before Congress on Friday for a hearing on the federal government's coronavirus response. That's where Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who's been skeptical of restrictions meant to stem the virus' spread, tried to get Fauci to distinguish between protests against racism in the U.S. and bans on businesses reopening amid the pandemic.Because science indicates crowds exacerbate the spread of coronavirus, Jordan asked Fauci on Friday if the government "should limit the protests." "I'm not in a position to determine what the government should do in a forceful way," Fauci responded. So Jordan kept pressing: "The government is stopping people from going to church," claiming that's something "the five liberals" on the Supreme Court had decided. But Fauci continued holding out, saying he does not "judge one crowd versus another crowd" and would not "opine on who should get arrested or not. That's not my position."Jordan then went so far as to claim Fauci had said "protests increase the spread" of coronavirus. "I said crowds, I didn't say specifically, I didn't say protests or anything, " Fauci firmly responded. "You're putting words in my mouth," Fauci continued before saying he had no data showing the nationwide protests had spread the virus. Watch the whole exchange below. > Rep. Jordan: So, you're allowed to protest, millions of people in crowds...but you try to run your business and you get arrested?> > Dr. Fauci: I don't understand what you're asking me, as a public health official, to opine on who should get arrested or not. That's not my position pic.twitter.com/fAZEqbLz5q> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) July 31, 2020More stories from theweek.com The White House reportedly scrapped a national testing plan because the virus was mostly hitting blue states Josh Hawley's good idea to stop modern slavery New Lincoln Project video imagines what it's like to wake up from a coma in 2020

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EU sanctions Russian intelligence, North Korean and Chinese firms over alleged cyberattacks

The European Union on Thursday imposed travel and financial sanctions on a department of Russia’s military intelligence service and on firms from North Korea and China over their suspected participation in major cyberattacks across the world. In its first ever sanctions related to cybercrime, the EU targeted the department for special technologies of the Russian military intelligence service, known as Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, it said in a statement. The bloc accused the Russian service of having carried out two cyberattacks in June 2017, which hit several companies in Europe resulting in large financial losses. The service is also accused of two cyberattacks against Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 and 2016. Four individuals working for the Russian military intelligence service were also sanctioned for allegedly participating in an attempted cyberattack against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Netherlands in April 2018. North Korean company Chosun Expo was also sanctioned on suspicion of having supported the Lazarus Group, which is deemed responsible for a series of major attacks worldwide, including an $81 million (£61.74 million) heist against Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2016, the world’s biggest cyber fraud. The company is also allegedly linked to an attack against Hollywood film studio Sony Pictures to prevent the release of a satirical movie about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2014. The U.S. Treasury last year imposed sanctions on the Lazarus Group and two other North Korean hacking groups for their alleged participation in the attacks on Sony Pictures and the central bank of Bangladesh, among others. It said North Korea’s main intelligence service was behind the hacking groups. North Korea has denied any involvement in cyberattacks. The EU sanctions also hit Chinese firm Haitai Technology Development, which is accused of having supported cyberattacks - known as Operation Cloud Hopper - aimed at stealing commercially sensitive data from multinationals across the world. Two Chinese individuals allegedly involved in the attacks were also sanctioned. Sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes. EU individuals, companies and other entities are forbidden from making funds available to those blacklisted. China’s diplomatic mission to the European Union said in a statement early on Friday that China “is a staunch defender of network security and one of the biggest victims of hacker attacks.” China wants global cyberspace security to be maintained through “dialogue and cooperation” and not by unilateral sanctions, the statement added.

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NYPD Perfected Chilling Arrests Way Before Feds in Portland

It looked like one of the videos circulating from Portland, Oregon: Police officers surrounded a young woman and dragged her, kicking, into an unmarked van. But the footage, captured on Tuesday, wasn’t the feds. It was the New York City Police Department.Nikki Stone, an 18-year-old activist, was a well-known figure at recent racial justice protests, and at Occupy City Hall, a since-disbanded local protest camp geared at cutting police funding. A homeless transgender woman, she previously told Gothamist that the protest encampment was one of the first places she felt safe from police. That ended when plainclothes police pulled Stone into an unmarked vehicle. Her arrest wasn’t part of a federal insurgency but routine practice by NYPD, especially when used against the homeless and people of color, critics say. But now it was turned against an activist during protests specifically targeted at racism and police brutality.‘It’s Spooky Right Now’: Inside the Creepy Federal Crackdown on Portland Protesters“This is standard operating procedure for the warrant squad, as far as I know,” Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYPD officer, Brooklyn prosecutor, and current professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Daily Beast. He was referring to an NYPD division that seeks people with open warrants. “They would seek to make an arrest as quickly and as unobtrusively as possible. Therefore they use unmarked vehicles routinely.”The NYPD, which did not return a request for comment on Wednesday, announced that Stone had been arrested on charges of criminal mischief and vandalism. Specifically, she was accused of spray-painting graffiti and painting on four police cameras around the site of the former Occupy City Hall protest encampment. The department confirmed that the warrant squad was behind the arrest.Jennvine Wong, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society’s Cop Accountability Project, said the aggressive arrest seemed out of step with the allegations against Stone.“It seems to me that they should be prioritizing more serious cases than criminal mischief and graffiti,” she told The Daily Beast.That said, arrests by plainclothes officers in unmarked cars—no matter their unit—are a fairly well-known phenomenon in New York City’s public defender circles, she said. “We have all had clients who had that experience,” Wong said. “It is something that is a well-known part of our practice. It may not happen every other day or every other week, but it is common enough to practitioners in the public defense world that they are familiar with these tactics. They know it happens and they have had more than one client it’s happened to.”Footage of Stone’s aggressive arrest drew national attention for its similarities to arrests by federal agents in Portland, who stormed the city in an initiative cheered by President Donald Trump. Those agents have led a weeks-long campaign against local unrest, arresting some demonstrators in unmarked vans and widely deploying less-lethal weapons against the crowds. Trump recently announced the deployment of federal agents to more cities, but State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said his constituents were used to such incidents.“The video is incredibly disturbing and understandably inflames passions for those of us who want to see public safety done in a way that is compassionate,” Myrie told The Daily Beast. “But this is not uncommon. What happened was unfortunate and tragic, and because it was captured on video, more people will be able to witness it, but in Black and brown communities, this is the type of treatment that we have been crying out about for decades. This is the type of treatment, the rough handling, the lack of notice, the disrespect, the use of force, all these things have plagued the communities I represent.”Homeless people have also long been subject to arrest in unmarked NYPD vans, as Vice reported in 2015. A homeless man told the outlet NYPD sometimes entered homeless shelters late at night, seeking people with open warrants, and packed them into waiting vans with little notice. "You’re asking, ‘What’s going on?’ Then they crush you into the vans like sardines. And it’s a freezer in there,” he said.Myrie noted that marginalized communities also face raids from federal forces like immigration agencies—some of which were deployed against protesters in Portland. Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, which he represents, has seen Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on restaurants accused of hiring undocumented people. In nearby Gravesend, Brooklyn, plainclothes ICE agents shot a 26-year-old man in the face while attempting to arrest his mother’s boyfriend in February.Arrests like Stone’s are “not new. There are a lot of open questions about the warrant squad’s practices,” Myrie said, noting that NYPD claims it uses unmarked vans for safety reasons.In a crowd of protesters who already distrust police, however, the arrest could have an additional chilling effect, compelling activists to be even more on the lookout for law enforcement. Myrie noted a recent history of NYPD crackdowns at protests, where officers have deployed pepper spray, cuffed journalists, and driven SUVs into crowds. “You can’t expect the public to give you the benefit of the doubt when we see the type of aggressive environment and behavior that we believe is unwarranted,” he said.The specter of arrest in an unmarked van only makes matters worse.In a moment when “this president has sent unmarked vehicles and unidentified law enforcement officials into people’s protests, this warrants a very serious investigation and discussion,” Myrie said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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Israel says it arrested Hamas militant who fled strip by sea

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A key federal appeals court will reexamine case on Michael Flynn's guilty plea

The full panel of judges' decision to review Flynn's case could result in a reversal of a three-judge panel's decision to dismiss the case last month.

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Two women arrested for avoiding quarantine as Australia suffers worst day of coronavirus cases

Two Australian women with Covid-19 who returned to Brisbane from Melbourne via Sydney and avoided quarantine by concealing their point of origin had attended an illegal party in Victoria, it was revealed Thursday. They arrived in Queensland on 21 July, eight days before that state’s government banned arrivals from Greater Sydney. The news emerged as Victoria reported two grim records, with 13 Covid-19 deaths and 723 new cases in 24 hours. The 723 Victorian cases on their own broke the previous record for the entire country, and came alongside 19 new cases in New South Wales, where three outbreaks have been identified in Sydney. The women, aged 19 and 21, who attended work and a number of other sites after returning to Queensland but before testing positive, were at a gathering of at least 20 people in Melbourne which was shut down by police. Melbourne and neighbouring Mitchell Shire have been under a lockdown since June in response to Victoria’s surge in Covid-19 cases.

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Portland protests: Trump's homeland security chief says federal police will stay – for now

Federal police forces will remain in Portland until Trump administration officials determine the Oregon governor, a Democrat, has a plan that is working to quell protests and violence there, says Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf."Law enforcement officers that have been there over the past 60 days will remain there in Portland until we are assured that the plan that has been put in place by the governor and Oregon State Police will be effective night after night," Mr Wolf told Fox News on Friday morning.

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India police patrol ahead of construction of temple on bitterly contested site

Police have been ordered onto the streets of an Indian town where Hindu groups will next week begin building a temple on a site contested by Muslims for decades in a dispute that has sparked some of the country's most bloody communal violence. The Supreme Court of India ruled last year that Hindus, who believe the site in the northern town of Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram, a physical incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, be allowed to build a temple there. Hindus say the site was holy for them long before the Muslim Mughals, India's most prominent Islamic rulers, built the Babri Mosque there in 1528.

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DC releases police footage from 2018 deaths of 3 Black men

Under pressure from the D.C. Council, Washington's Metropolitan Police Department on Friday released long-sought body camera and security footage from the 2018 deaths of three young Black men in 2018. The release was compelled by an emergency police reform bill that Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized as rushed. “The council has determined that this is the statute, that’s the law of the land and we’re going to abide by it,” said MPD Chief Peter Newsham.

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Kamala Harris is reportedly losing favorite status in the tumultuous Biden veepstakes. Here's why.

Skepticism around Harris from Biden's inner circle of family and elder statesmen like Chris Dodd all goes back to her big debate moment.

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Litman: William Barr's a danger to democracy. He channels what the president wants

The attorney general knows what Trump wants and needs, no memo or Oval Office directive required.

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Leicester Muslims mark second Eid of extended lockdown

Leicester's religious leaders and council urge people to pray and celebrate the festival at home.

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Coronavirus: Tracking new outbreaks in the sewers

Around 15,000 new cases of the disease have been reported in Spain in the past week.

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India Atkinson: TikTok disability educator goes viral

India Atkinson's videos address misconceptions about a condition that left her without fingers on one hand.

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Coronavirus symptoms: What are they and how long should I self-isolate?

The BBC’s Laura Foster explains how you can recognise the symptoms of coronavirus.

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Week in pictures: 25 July-31 July 2020

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.

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US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mate

Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress.

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James Baldwin: World's fastest gamer to real life racer

Gaming gives the 22-year-old a second chance of achieving his real life racing dreams.

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Coronavirus: The bogus meme targeting Dr Fauci, and other fake claims

A round-up of false and misleading claims circulating on American social media this week.

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FBI says errors uncovered in wiretap applications were mostly 'non-material'

The FBI said on Thursday that the errors and sloppy record-keeping identified in connection with 29 of its applications submitted to a federal court to obtain wiretaps to monitor U.S. citizens were "non-material" and did not undermine their legal validity. The FBI's statement on Thursday came several months after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an audit faulting the FBI for failing to follow procedures designed to minimize factual inaccuracies in applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

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Republican says he will take Trump-promoted Covid-19 treatment after implying he contracted coronavirus by wearing a mask

A Texas Republican who tested positive for Covid-19 wrongly suggested he may have contracted the novel coronavirus by wearing a face mask — and said he would be taking an unproven treatment touted by Donald Trump.Louie Gohmert (R—Tx) tested positive on Wednesday during a White House procedural screening just before he was set to fly with the president to Texas on Air Force One.

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US warns of 'consequences' if Brazil picks Huawei 5G

The US ambassador in Brasilia warned of "consequences" if Brazil chooses Chinese telecoms company Huawei to develop its 5G network, in an interview published Wednesday. "I wouldn't say there would be retaliation, but there would be consequences" if Brazil goes against US advice and picks the Chinese firm, Ambassador Todd Chapman told newspaper Globo. Brazil is due to launch a tender next year for the project to develop the next generation of telecommunications technology in Latin America's most populous country, home to 212 million people.

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British Airways is auctioning millions of dollars worth of lounge art in a hasty attempt to raise cash – see the extravagant collection

The entire collection was valued by auction house Sotheby's at around $1.7 million but one piece auctioned so far fetched more than that by itself.

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Joe Biden's running mate - none will satisfy all sections of the party

Kamala Harris? Val Demings? Democrats speculate but no single candidate will be able to satisfy all the interest groups and sectors of the partyIt doesn’t matter who Joe Biden picks as his running mate – somebody will be disappointed.The former vice-president and de facto Democratic presidential nominee on Tuesday said he would make a selection in the first week of August.The selection process has largely been kept secret with as many as two dozen names floating around as potential running mates.Vice-presidential nominees rarely decide elections and the common rule among political operatives is that a candidate should pick someone who does no harm. But in the 2020 presidential cycle, Biden’s selection has added importance. If he wins the 2020 presidential election, Biden has indicated that he may not run for re-election, immediately putting his vice-president into contention for 2024.Biden’s public criteria for the role are that it be someone he feels “simpatico” with, and it be a woman. He recently said there were “four Black women” he was considering picking. Democrats close to Biden’s inner circle believe Biden has narrowed his pool down to about six names but he is still very much undecided.But among the many candidates mentioned by Biden himself, or anonymous Democratic operatives in articles gaming out his choices, or pundits, there is no single person who would satisfy all the interest groups and sectors of the Democratic party, each of which has its favorites.Democrats hoping to elevate someone with law enforcement credentials would like to see the Florida congresswoman Val Demings, a former chief of the Orlando police department.But progressives and their affiliated groups have pushed for someone like the Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams or Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren.“The campaign needs to show progressives across this country that he recognizes that the future of the party is with progressives and the only way to do that is by choosing a really strong progressive to be his vice-presidential candidate,” said Charles Chamberlain, the executive director of the progressive Democracy for America outside group.At one point centrists in the party were hoping for the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar before Klobuchar took herself out of the running. Meanwhile, mayors across the country would like to see one of their own get the nod – someone like Atlanta’s Keisha Lance Bottoms.Democrats who think executive experience and a history of winning statewide elections want someone like the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, or the New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Others who think a military background would help Biden oust Donald Trump have pushed for the Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth.And in recent days the former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice has been a hot topic of political articles about Biden’s potential running mate.But no single candidate fits the bill for everyone.Dorian Warren, the president of the progressive organizing group Community Change, who wants Biden to pick Abrams and said she would be disappointed if she were overlooked. “But it depends on who the pick ultimately is. But there would be disappointment, for sure. I think, second, is what could the Biden team imagine the next best use of [Stacey Abrams]?”The Abrams team have been aggressive in putting forward her candidacy. They eagerly set up interviews with reporters and Abrams surrogates like Warren. Abrams has also appeared at multiple fundraising events for Biden.Other groups have also been active in support of their choices. The Democratic veterans group VoteVets have released ads pushing for Duckworth.“Tammy was kind of the only veteran out there that they were looking at,” said Jon Soltz, the chairman of VoteVets. “The point of what we were trying to do was show what that would look like and that she should be considered.”Mayors across the country enjoy a tight community. One of the more prominent mayors, Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, is on the committee charged with helping Biden make his pick. His counterparts in other cities have expressed their support for Bottoms or Demings.“The Florida mayors particularly have been pushing for Demings,” said the maor of Dayton, Ohio, Nan Whaley. “We have Keisha in the mix too which we’re excited about as a mayor.”It’s possible Biden will infuriate varying sectors of the Democratic party depending on who he picks. If he picks a Caucasian women, Biden risks disappointing the African American community. If Biden picks a centrist he could disappoint the progressive wing of the party and depress turnout among activists in that wing. If Biden picks a progressive, he might turn off moderates and Republicans the campaign and its allies have been working to woo.If he picks a member of Congress, that could give pause to voters eager to see an executive join the former vice-president. A recent poll conducted for the liberal thinktank Data for Progress found that independent voters want Biden to put an emphasis on “governing effectiveness” in picking a running mate.And if he picks someone like Rice or Abrams, that could worry Democrats who think Biden’s running mate needs a record of winning elections statewide. Neither Abrams or Rice have ever won elections statewide. And Rice has never run a federal campaign, although she took a serious look about challenging the Republican senator Susan Collins in Maine.In recent days a set of donors have warned Biden against picking Harris, according to a CNBC report. But Biden’s peril only extends so far. More so than in past cycles, Democrats across the party say they just want to see Biden beat Trump.“I would say that if Biden picks someone besides Tammy Duckworth we’re still going to enthusiastically attack Donald Trump,” Soltz said.

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Ellen DeGeneres Apologizes to Staff Members as WarnerMedia Investigates Show

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4 Guards Charged in Inmate’s Beating at Alabama Prison

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Will Herman Cain’s Death Change Republican Views on the Virus and Masks?

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Louie Gohmert’s Coronavirus Case Reveals a Dangerous Reality in Congress

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Trump Floats an Election Delay, and Republicans Shoot It Down

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Coronavirus in Wales: Up to 30 can meet outdoors from Monday

Children under 11 will no longer have to keep 2m from one another or from adults.

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Coronavirus: Can the chancellor save the economy from Covid-19?

Will Rishi Sunak's £190bn superpower be enough to counter the economic effects of coronavirus?

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Climate change 'driving UK's extreme weather'

Last year was remarkable for high temperatures and severe swings, according to the Met Office.

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Bafta TV Awards: Stars prepare for virtual ceremony

There is no red carpet at this year's virtual ceremony - unless the stars unfurl one in their homes.

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Coronavirus: 'Chancellor must protect' jobs of those shielding

Charities are calling on the chancellor to protect the jobs of workers who have been shielding.

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Universal Credit 'failing millions of people', say peers

Lords blame the design of the benefit payment for "soaring rent arrears and use of food banks".

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Prison launches take-away meal deliveries

Brixton prison is taking orders for take-aways from its professional-standard training restaurant.

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Kylie and Kendall Jenner endorsed 'knock-off' Apple products on Instagram

They promoted AirPods clones, whose design may be in breach of Apple's intellectual property rights.

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Brain tumour patient Matty gives thanks for 800 letters

Matty, 15, has received messages from astronaut Tim Peake and TV presenters Ant and Dec.

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Coronavirus: Brits, Balearics and battered businesses

Ibiza's nightclub scene has been hit hard by coronavirus, leaving people in need of support.

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'I helped Black Lives Matter without protesting'

Three people share what they have done to support Black Lives Matter without going to protests.

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Quiz of the week: Which star called out disinformation?

How closely have you been paying attention to what's been going on during the past seven days?

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What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from?

To many the Karen meme - and its male equivalent Ken - sums up a specific type of white privilege.

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Outrage after NYPD hustles protester into unmarked van

The New York Police Department’s use of plainclothes officers and an unmarked minivan to haul away a vandalism suspect during a protest Tuesday created confusion and drew outrage from people who compared it to covert tactics used recently by federal agents in Portland, Oregon. Bystander videos of 18-year-old Nikki Stone's arrest spread quickly on social media, along with comments such as “nypd is out here KIDNAPPING protesters off of the street."

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Trump Jr suspended by Twitter for posting 'misleading and potentially harmful information' about coronavirus

Donald Trump Jr has been suspended by Twitter for posting "misleading and potentially harmful information" about coronavirus.The president also shared the same tweet. On his account, the post no longer appears, and has been replaced with a message indicating that it is "no longer available", but he still appears to be able to tweet.

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AG Barr Calls Black Lives Matter Protests in Portland ‘an Assault’ on U.S. Government in Testy Hearing

In his first appearance ever before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr declined to say that political concerns weren’t animating the Trump administration’s use of federal troops to crack down on Black Lives Matter demonstrators.Asked by Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) if he’d discussed the politics of the crackdown with Trump or anyone in his inner circle, Barr didn’t specifically mention the Department of Justice operations but confirmed that the election “comes up” in his conversations with the president. “I’m a member of the Cabinet,” said Barr, “and there’s an election going on.”Pressed further by Nadler on the topic, Barr demurred: “I’m not going to get into my discussions with the president.” Bully Boy Bill Barr is America’s Ultimate Chaos AgentAs well, Barr indicated he views protesters in Portland, Oregon, not as demonstrators demanding Black liberation or defending themselves from an unwanted federal intrusion but as insurrectionists.“What unfolds nightly around the courthouse cannot reasonably be called a protest,” Barr said in his highly anticipated testimony. “It is, by any objective measure, an assault on the government of the United States.”Later, in response to GOP questioning, Barr thundered “is that OK?” in outlining demonstrators’ alleged offenses against federal officers. “I reject the idea that the Department has flooded anywhere and attempted to suppress demonstrators… We are at the courthouse defending the courthouse, we’re not out there looking for trouble.” Barr’s rhetoric represented the latest escalation by the Trump administration in demonizing the protests, which are part of what has become the largest sustained movement in American history. A Monday statement from the U.S. Marshals, a component of the Justice Department, called elements within the protesters “violent extremists,” a term typically used by the U.S. government to describe domestic terrorists, though a Marshals spokesperson said the reference was unintentional. “In the wake of George Floyd’s death, violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims,” Barr contended. Democrats fumed through the hearing on what they saw as Barr’s hypocrisy on that count. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) asked Barr whether he was aware of the pro-Trump protests in Michigan targeting Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which featured heavily armed demonstrators. Barr said no. “You are aware of certain kinds of protesters, but in Michigan when protesters carried guns and Confederate flags and called for the governor of Michigan to be shot and lynched, somehow you are not aware of that, somehow you didn’t know about it, so you didn’t send federal agents in to do to the president’s supporters what you did to the president’s protesters,” charged Jayapal. The testimony from Barr, which has been more than a year in the making, has been hotly anticipated by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill as an opportunity to litigate a number of his actions as Trump’s attorney general. Over the past year, Barr has overseen a reduction in the desired sentence and then the commutation of Trump ally Roger Stone’s conviction; the withdrawal of the criminal case against another Trump ally, Michael Flynn; the tear-gassing of Black Lives Matter protesters in D.C.’s Lafayette Park; an effort to oust the New York federal attorney handling sensitive investigations into Trumpworld; the transference of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort from prison to home confinement; and the deployment of armed, militarized federal agents against protesters in Portland over the objections of local and state elected officials. The growing portfolio of outrages that Barr has assembled has been overwhelming for House Democrats, some of whom have embraced the idea that the only remaining avenue for holding the attorney general—who has already been held in contempt of Congress—to account is to impeach him. But getting Barr on the House Judiciary witness stand, which was originally set for March and then later postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, is widely seen as the first step in whatever House Democrats decide to do next.In his opening statement, Nadler previewed the crux of Democrats’ case by arguing that Barr has been Trump’s fixer. “Your tenure,” Nadler told Barr, “is marked by a persistent war against the department’s professional core in an apparent effort to secure favors for the president.”Barr shot back that he was trying “to reestablish the rule of law.”Trump Administration Plots Crackdown by Feds in Cities NationwideThe attorney general’s handling of nationwide protests proved the focus of the hearing from the beginning. Federal agents, including the Marshals and others from the Department of Homeland Security, cited vandalism against the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland as a justification for their persistent presence. Barr, in his opening statement, called such vandalism the work of “hundreds of rioters.” Yet the federal response has generated the majority of the violence at the protests, which has included shooting protesters in the head with rubber bullets; breaking the hand of an unarmed Navy veteran; frequent pepper-spray dousings and tear-gassings; and street arrests without probable cause by minimally identified federal agents driving unmarked vans. Barr equivocated on whether federal agents can arrest protesters without probable cause, saying they could “not strictly” arrest someone because they were proximate to someone they believed was violent. But he demurred about whether such a thing represented an actual arrest, saying “that would require an intensive review” into each circumstance. It remains unknown exactly how many people in Portland have been arrested by federal agents during the July deployments. At one point, late in the hearing, Barr called pepper spray a “very important nonlethal tool” against “rioters” and added, “When people resist law enforcement, they’re not peaceful.”“There is no precedent for the Department of Justice actively seeking out conflict with American citizens, under such flimsy pretext, or for such petty purposes,” said Nadler. He said Barr “aided and abetted the worst failings of the president.”Elected officials, from Oregon’s governor to both its U.S. senators to the Portland mayor, have denounced the federal presence as a provocative escalation of violence. Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf have vowed to remain until the protests are quelled. ‘Shaking in Their Boots’: Trump Wanted a Portland-Style Offensive in ChicagoLast week, Barr justified a coming “surge” in federal law enforcement to Chicago, Albuquerque, and other cities—expected to last through the November election—by citing the Black Lives Matter protests as a source of public disrespect toward police. Black Lives Matter activists and their allies in Chicago are seeking an injunction against the use of Portland-style federal violence. After acknowledging “it is understandable” for Black Americans to distrust police, Barr said it was “an oversimplification” to view “some deep-seated racism generally infecting our police departments.” Defunding police is “grossly irresponsible,” he said, portraying crime as a “massively greater” threat to Black lives than police. Nadler countercharged: “At your direction, Department officials have downplayed the effects of systemic racism and abandoned the victims of police brutality; refused to hold abusive police departments accountable for their actions; and expressed open hostility to the Black Lives Matter movement.”But later in the hearing, Democrats also pressed Barr over his handling of criminal prosecutions stemming from Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) repeatedly asked Barr why Stone appeared to get special exceptions for leniency based on his age and conduct. “Can you think of any other cases where the defendant threatened to kill a witness, threatened a judge... where the DOJ claimed those were mere technicalities?” asked Deutch. “Can you think of even one?” Barr raised his voice in response, asserting the judge agreed with his analysis, though the witness in question, Randy Credico, did say he felt threatened by Stone. Democrats also tried to nail down definitive answers from Barr on a number of other subjects, such as whether he believed increased voting-by-mail increased the risk of voter fraud as Trump has alleged. Barr said it did. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) also raised concerns Trump would move the date of the election or even reject the results, given Trump’s arguments about absentee voting and the possibility that final results won’t be known for some time after Election Day. Barr tersely responded, “if the results are clear, I would leave office.” GOP Senators Will Say This Much: Trump Photo Op Wasn’t a Good LookBarr also seemed to dismiss the convictions and guilty pleas reached by Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, saying that the Justice Department would not prosecute “some esoteric, made-up crime, but [rather] a meat-and-potatoes crime.”On Tuesday, Barr—who wrote in his prepared opening statement that he is not “the President’s factotum”—received a warm reception from Republicans, for whom the attorney general has become a hero. The top House Judiciary Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), said last month the attorney general was doing “the Lord’s work.” “Spying. That’s why they’re after you, Mr. Attorney General,” Jordan said on Tuesday, before proceeding to portray the Black Lives Matter protests as violent through an extensive video that showed no police-induced violence.   A day before Barr’s hearing, a D.C. National Guard officer present at the Lafayette Park protest on June 1 told a different House committee that “the use of force against demonstrators in the clearing operation was an unnecessary escalation of the use of force.” Barr has denied accounts placing him in command responsibility for suppressing the protest. But the officer, West Point graduate and Iraq veteran Adam DeMarco, recounted Barr conferring with the Park Police shortly before they advanced to clear protesters from the square for Trump’s photo op. “From my observation, those demonstrators—our fellow American citizens—were engaged in the peaceful expression of their First Amendment rights,” DeMarco told the House natural-resources committee on Monday. “Yet they were subjected to an unprovoked escalation and excessive use of force.”Barr, questioned by Jayapal, dismissed his comments. “I don’t remember DeMarco as being involved in any decision-making,” he said, implying DeMarco was not credible since he “ran as a Democratic candidate in Maryland.” 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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Prosecutors: 'Alarming' that Maxwell may publicize victims

Some witnesses in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend may face harassment and intimidation and could be reluctant to cooperate with the government if defense attorneys are allowed to discuss them publicly, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal court judge to block lawyers for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell from publicly identifying women who have already spoken about the financier or Maxwell on a public forum. “The victims of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein have suffered enough," prosecutors said, urging privacy for accusers except for anyone who acknowledges publicly they are part of the criminal case against Maxwell.

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Great white shark kills woman in rare attack in Maine, authorities say

Maine has recorded only one shark attack since 1837, researchers say.

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Australia's fires 'killed or harmed three billion animals'

The recent bushfires were "one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history", conservationists say.

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My wife was detained, released, and disappeared again in China. Here's my message on behalf of my people, the Uighurs.

The author, Mamutjan Abdurehim, is a Uighur father from Xinjiang — the Chinese region synonymous with surveillance, detentions, and forced labor.

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Factbox: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners

Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill.

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Man interviews Bernell Tremell on his support for Trump hours before he was killed

On July 23, Adebisi Agoso was one of the last people to speak with Milwaukee community fixture and Trump supporter, Bernell Trammell, before he was senselessly killed.

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U.S. Warns Russia on Bounties While Trump Cries ‘Fake News’

The U.S. State Department has issued warnings to Russia that there will be repercussions if Moscow pays bounties to the Taliban for successfully killing American soldiers, according to two senior American officials and another individual with knowledge of the matter.The warnings were issued through the department’s diplomatic channels after public news reports in June that the U.S. had gathered intelligence about the Russian bounties, those officials said. One official described the communications as “serious.” Another said that Moscow responded by denying the reports it had set up or funded a bounty program to kill U.S. troops.These secret warnings stand in contrast to what President Trump has said about the intelligence in question. In an interview earlier this week, Trump said he did not believe the bounties were worth raising in a recent conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “That was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly that’s an issue that many people said was fake news,” Trump said in a recent interview.Trump Gives Putin a Pass on Bounties So He Can Target Leakers Instead The New York Times reported June 26 that Russia had covertly offered the Taliban cash in exchange for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan and that the intelligence had been included in a presidential daily briefing packet in February. White House officials have consistently said that the bounty intelligence has not been “verified.” Officials previously told The Daily Beast that there was disagreement in the intelligence and national security communities over the intelligence and the methods used to gather it. Multiple U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, have publicly disputed the reports. In a July 9 congressional hearing, Esper said the U.S. did not have any evidence that suggested there were direct linkages between the Russian bounties and Americans getting killed in the field.The warnings to the Russians highlight the seriousness with which officials in the Trump administration have responded to reports of the bounties. They also raise questions about the extent to which officials’ understanding of the validity of the bounty intelligence diverges from that of President Donald Trump.It is unclear to what extent, if at all, the president has been briefed on these warnings. The White House and National Security Council did not immediately provide comment to The Daily Beast. The State Department did not respond on the record to a request for comment. Pompeo recently said during a Fox News interview that the U.S. would “respond to any threat, whether that’s Iranians using the Taliban or the Russians,” he said. “We’ll make sure they know.”  In his interview with Axios this week, Trump insisted that the intelligence “never reached my desk,” though it has been widely reported that the intel had been included in the President's Daily Brief.During that interview, when Trump was asked about Russia’s years-long efforts to provide weapons to Taliban forces, the president responded, “Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia, too. The Taliban, in Afghanistan…I’m just saying, we did that, too.”Russian Bounties for Killing Americans Go Back Five Years, Ex-Taliban ClaimsIn Moscow’s Afghan Bazaar, Searching for a Bagman Who Pays Bounties for Dead AmericansU.S. representatives are currently in Vienna, Austria meeting with the Russians on arms control—an area national security officials say could be a path toward cooperation, though Russia recently launched an anti-satellite weapon into space. According to interviews with three former officials, past efforts at cooperating with Russia have failed, including the sharing of counterterrorism intelligence, and engaging in talks on space could be beneficial for safeguarding American interests there. But multiple current and former senior officials say they are unsure if there’s any issue on which the U.S. can cooperate with Russia given recent attempts by a Moscow-linked group to hack U.S. coronavirus vaccine research and the country disseminating disinformation on the coronaivurs.In a hearing last week in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State Department Deputy Secretary Biegun said years of malign actions by the Russians “have made it virtually impossible to make progress …  in any way, shape or form.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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'Put your mask on!': Lawmakers erupt after Jim Jordan throws a temper tantrum during the big tech hearing

Lawmakers slammed Rep. Jim Jordan at the antitrust hearing after he interrupted a colleague accusing him of raising "fringe conspiracy theories."

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Federal officers pulling out of Portland: U.S. Homeland Security, Oregon governor

Federal troops will begin a phased withdrawal from downtown Portland, ceding some security functions to Oregon state troopers and local law enforcement after two months of protests, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Oregon Governor Kate Brown said on Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said he and Brown agreed to a plan after talks over the last 24 hours.

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Ashley Judd Can Sue Harvey Weinstein for Sexual Harassment, Court Rules

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One in Three Children Have Unacceptably High Lead Levels, Study Says

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Lawmakers, United in Their Ire, Lash Out at Big Tech’s Leaders

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As Trump Undercuts Aid Talks, White House Says Extra Jobless Benefits Will Lapse

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Nasa Mars 2020: First aircraft to fly on another planet

Ingenuity is a 1.8kg (4lb) helicopter that will ride to Mars attached to the belly of Nasa's Perseverance.

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Black pupils face trebled exclusion rate in some areas

An analysis shows black pupils are more likely to be excluded than their peers in most council areas.

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Coronavirus: UK lockdown solidarity 'starting to fray'

The public are being consulted on how to avoid community divisions opening up in the months ahead.

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Coronavirus in Pakistan: Doctor's video diary of fight against pandemic

A doctor in one of Pakistan’s busiest hospitals has kept a video diary of the country’s struggle with coronavirus.

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Coronavirus: Domestic abuse - ‘You’re with each other 24/7'

The Domestic Abuse Helpline took more than 40,000 calls during the first three months of lockdown, we explore the reality of domestic abuse when confined to your home.

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'I recorded fraudsters stealing my money'

Criminals are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic for gain, according to one leading investigator.

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How to ace a video interview

A job coach offers eight tips for performing your best during a video interview.

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People in nearly 30 states mailed unsolicited packets of seeds that may be from China, officials say

Agriculture officials in several states are urging people not to plant seeds they have been mailed unsolicited. The packages appear to be from China.

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The White House is building a massive 'anti-climb' wall following protests. These photos show the evolution of White House fencing over the years

The "anti-climb" component for a new White House perimeter has been in the works since July 2016, but construction of the wall has ramped up recently.

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Trump says states 'should be opening up' amid worsening pandemic

President Trump on Monday said that he believes "governors should be opening up states they’re not opening."

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Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for downsized hajj amid pandemic

Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj, as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom's oversight of one of Islam's key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic. This year, Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry has said between 1,000 and 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. Two-thirds of those pilgrims will be from among foreign residents in Saudi Arabia and one-third will be Saudi citizens.

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Man arrested in Florida after trying to kidnap child in front of mother

A man has been arrested in Florida after he reportedly walked into a hotel room and attempted to kidnap a child in front of their mother.The suspect, 24-year-old Gabriel Martin, was arrested by authorities on Sunday on suspicion of kidnapping, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

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Trump says he won't pay his respects to Rep. Lewis at U.S. Capitol

President Trump on Monday said he does not plan to visit the U.S. Capitol over the next two days to pay his respects to Rep. John Lewis, the Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil rights icon who died earlier this month.

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Stop partying or we may go back into lockdown, regional chief tells young Catalans

Young Catalans should stop partying to help halt a surge in new coronavirus cases or local authorities may have to reimpose harsh restrictions, the leader of the northeastern Spanish region said on Monday. Catalonia is at the heart of a rebound in coronavirus cases in Spain that started after a nationwide lockdown was lifted last month. "If we continue with the current pace of social life the only thing we will accomplish is to worsen the situation," Catalonia's regional leader Quim Torra said, after youngsters reverted to the tradition of "botellones," where they meet outside in the evening to drink and party.

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The Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Has Always Had Game

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177 Questions to Inspire Writing, Discussion, Debate and Reflection

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If Our Masks Could Speak

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Banksy and Rembrandt Boost Sotheby’s Sale to $192.7 Million

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Niels Lauersen, Fallen Fertility Doctor to the Stars, Dies at 84

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‘I Just Don’t Get It’: Republicans Balk at Funding F.B.I. Building in Virus Bill

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