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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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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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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Trump floats election delay, lawmakers in both parties reject idea

President Donald Trump on Thursday raised the idea of delaying the Nov. 3 U.S. elections, an idea immediately rejected by both Democrats and his fellow Republicans in Congress - the sole branch of government with the authority to make such a change. Critics and even Trump's allies dismissed the notion as an unserious attempt to distract from devastating economic news, but some legal experts warned that his repeated attacks could undermine his supporters' faith in the election process. Trump's statement on Twitter comes as the United States is enduring a multi-pronged, once-in-a-generation crisis: a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 150,000 lives, a crippling recession sparked by the outbreak, and nationwide protests against police violence and racism.

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Austin, Texas, joins growing number of U.S. cities in declaring racism a 'public health crisis'

Dozens of cities and counties have passed similar declarations in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

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Are Pap smears 'obsolete'? There's a better option for cervical cancer screening, American Cancer Society says

The American Cancer Society released new guidelines on cervical cancer screenings Thursday, recommending that people with a cervix start testing at age 25.

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Top Trump immigration enforcer announces retirement as election nears

U.S. President Donald Trump's top immigration enforcement official on Friday announced he will retire from the agency, a staffing shakeup in a key policy area for Trump as he faces re-election in November. Matthew Albence, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in a statement that his plan to retire had been prolonged by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has created challenges for ICE operations both in the field and in immigration detention centers, where nearly 4,000 immigrants have tested positive for the disease.

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1 Marine dead, 8 missing after amphibious vehicle accident

Amphibious assault vehicle began taking on water off Southern California's San Clemente Island, Marines say. Two other Marines were hurt, one critically.

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These 13 states need to lock down now, according to Harvard coronavirus experts

A report released by the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force warns that 21 states are now in the “red zone” and need to take aggressive steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. But new guidelines from Harvard University show the task force's recommendations may be too weak to suppress the virus.

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Boston marathon bombing: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence overturned by appeals court

A federal appeals court has overturned the Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence.The decision by a three-judge panel says that the judge that oversaw the original case did not adequately screen the jury for potential biases.

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Kamala Harris is on Joe Biden's vice presidential shortlist. Here's what the former presidential candidate ran on.

Kamala Harris, a US senator from California, is also the state's former attorney general. She dropped out of the race on December 3.

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U.S. lets ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen publish book while serving sentence at home

The agreement between Cohen's lawyers and federal prosecutors also frees Cohen to engage with news organizations and use social media, as he serves the remainder of his three-year term for campaign finance violations and other crimes in home confinement. "There shall be no specific media provision" governing Cohen's activities, according to the agreement, which requires approval by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan. Cohen, 53, had served about one year of his prison term before being sent home to his Manhattan apartment in May, because of the risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars.

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Family of Black college student killed by white police officer draws support from Jay-Z, Rihanna and Amy Schumer in bid to reopen case

College football standout Danroy "DJ" Henry Jr., 20, was shot and killed by a white police officer outside a New York bar on Oct. 17, 2010, as he drove away from a disturbance he was not involved in. Nearly 10 years later, celebrities join the victim’s family to demand that the case be reopened.

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Biden's running mate announcement pushed back, likely will not come next week

Former Vice President Biden previously said he would announce his running mate the first week of August. It looks like that date may be pushed back.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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CNN host says Trump loyalist owes broadcaster an apology over video played at Barr hearing

CNN host Jake Tapper has demanded that Republican congressman Jim Jordan apologise for playing an edited video that misleadingly showed reporters describe the George Floyd protests as “peaceful”.On Tuesday, attorney general William Barr took part in his first congressional hearing since he took the role, and faced questions on topics including his response to the protests and the subsequent deployment of federal law enforcement agents to cities such as Portland, Oregon.

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Biden's notes: ‘Do not hold grudges’ against Kamala Harris

Joe Biden was uncharacteristically tight-lipped on Tuesday about the final stretch of his search for a vice president. As he took questions from reporters on Tuesday, Biden held notes that were captured by an Associated Press photographer. Harris' name was scrawled across the top, followed by five talking points.

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Vatican Hacked By Chinese Spies: Report

ROME—The offices that house the Vatican’s computer network system were one of the few allowed to stay minimally staffed during the pandemic to ensure that God's work—as it were—continued unfettered. But in early May, weeks before Italy and the Vatican emerged from a draconian COVID-19 lockdown, a series of cyber intrusions reportedly took place, masterminded by Chinese hackers keen on eavesdropping on the Pope's plans for the controversial Catholic Church in China, according to the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future and reported in The New York Times. Is Pope Francis Selling Out the Chinese Underground Church to Its Government?One of the hacks used a fairly standard Trojan malware called PlugX Payload, which was woven into the coding on a cable sent from the office of the Vatican's secretary of state to Monsignor Javier Corona Herrera in Hong Kong. The letter expressed condolences from the pope over the death of a bishop, fairly standard practice in an institution built on rituals and traditions. But when the office in Hong Kong opened the cable, it unleashed the malware.The breach into the Vatican system allowed the deviants to then access the receiving computer network—in the case of the condolence letter, the Catholic Church’s China Study Mission in Hong Kong. By sending what looked like a legitimate cable from behind the Vatican's secure firewall, the hackers could be sure the entity opening it would do so without suspicion, and unwittingly grant access. The act is called spear phishing which, unlike regular phishing, is highly targeted. The Diocese of Hong Kong was also targeted and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Milan was also singled out. Recorded Future’s report states that additional hacks were found using the same malware. “The first sample included a lure document spoofing a news bulletin from the Union of Catholic Asian News regarding the impending introduction of the new Hong Kong national security law,” the report states. Another hack refers to the Vatican and uses a document called, “QUM, IL VATICANO DELL’ISLAM.doc” as the decoy. The document refers to the Shi’ite city of Qom and includes writings from an Italian Catholic academic living in Iran. “Although the direct target of these two lures are unclear, both relate to the Catholic church,” Recorded Future states in the report. A source who worked in the Vatican's security office before being furloughed over the pandemic told The Daily Beast that one of the biggest fears the Vatican had was exactly what happened: being hacked by Chinese government operatives looking to derail important talks set for September intended to bolster the tenuous relationship between the Vatican and the Chinese Catholic Church. In 2018, Pope Francis broke a 60-year-stalemate between the Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese Catholic Church that grew from an attempt in 1960 for Beijing to set up its own Holy See, and shut the real one out. The Chinese Holy See was called the Catholic Patriotic Association and instead of accepting bishops chosen by Rome, as in nearly every other diocese in the world, they chose their own political appointees. During those 60 years, Chinese Catholics were only allowed to worship openly if they adhered to the Chinese Church's rules, which spawned an underground Catholic Church that instead followed Rome's orders. Those bishops have now been sidelined as part of the 2018 deal.The conflict is far from over, but the 2018 agreement between Beijing and Rome, which has never been published but is hailed as landmark, was set to be renewed and expanded next month. The most contentious aspects of the ongoing negotiations were being discussed between Rome and Hong Kong separately, so they could strategize about how to deal with China's insistence that they still choose politically appointed bishops and give the pope the opportunity to "bless" them but not remove or replace them. Those preparatory meetings between Rome and Hong Kong would have normally taken place in person to avoid exactly what happened but thanks to the pandemic, many exist in the form of secret cables. The Vatican has made no public statement on the matter, but an official told the Catholic website Asia News, “To say that China spies on the Vatican is like discovering hot water. By now espionage and hackers have become an international problem we have to live with.”What happens next is worrying for the Vatican. The hack, now discovered, will likely stop here. But that might also mean the same thing happens to this crucial step forward for Chinese Catholics. 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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U.S. lets ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen publish book while serving sentence at home

The agreement between Cohen's lawyers and federal prosecutors also frees Cohen to engage with news organizations and use social media, as he serves the remainder of his three-year term for campaign finance violations and other crimes in home confinement. "There shall be no specific media provision" governing Cohen's activities, according to the agreement, which requires approval by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan. Cohen, 53, had served about one year of his prison term before being sent home to his Manhattan apartment in May, because of the risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars.

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CDC: Hundreds sick, 1 dead in nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to chicks, ducklings

One person has died and nearly 1,000 have been sickened, the CDC says. Every state except Hawaii and Rhode Island has now reported at least one case.

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'Act now and act fast': Vietnam says every city at risk of coronavirus

Vietnam, virus-free for months, is bracing for another wave of COVID-19 infections after state media reported new cases in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands linked to a recent outbreak in the central city of Danang. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the current wave of infections was different to a second wave Vietnam fought in March, and every province and city in the country was at risk, state broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) reported.

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Republican senator David Perdue deletes campaign ad that enlarged Jewish opponent's nose amid charges of anti-Semitism

The Perdue campaign took down the ad, but claimed the nose enlargement was "obviously ... accidental."

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US hits Poland, others in Europe over Holocaust claims

The United States is criticizing a number of eastern and central European nations, including Poland, for failing to compensate Holocaust victims and their families and communities for property seized during Nazi occupation in World War II as the numbers of survivors dwindles due to age. In a report issued Wednesday, the State Department called out Bosnia, Belarus, Ukraine and particularly Poland for not having acted on restitution claims. Croatia, Latvia and Russia were also taken to task in the report, which is likely to draw angry responses from the governments identified.

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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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Coronavirus: What are the numbers out of Latin America?

Brazil and Mexico, along with other countries in the region, have seen sharp rises in both cases and deaths.

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Stirewalt: Trump's suggestion to delay election a 'real bad move' that telegraphs his weakness

An incumbent in a strong position would never suggest delaying an election, Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt says.

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'Umbrella Man' who broke windows in initial George Floyd protests a white supremacist, police say

The man, police said, “wanted to sow discord and racial unrest by breaking out the windows." His identity has not been released.

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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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'I recorded fraudsters stealing my money'

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

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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier

The rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.

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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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Portland protests: Federal forces ready for phased pull-out

Oregon's governor calls the officers "an occupying force", but the president says they saved the city.

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The Papers: 'New' isolation rule and 'Maddie cops find cellar'

People being told to self-isolate for longer and the latest in the hunt for Madeleine McCann make the front pages.

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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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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier

The rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.

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Jim Jordan explodes when asked to put on a mask, pivots to 'unmasking' of Michael Flynn

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has successfully twisted a public health concern into a conservative conspiracy theory -- but not the one of the dozens of COVID-19 conspiracies one might expect.During a Wednesday hearing with the country's four biggest technology companies, Jordan used his questioning time to claim Google tried to help Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.) was up next, and started her questioning by saying she would pivot from "fringe conspiracy theories" to anti-trust questions. Chaos predictably ensued."We have the email, there is no fringe--" Jordan interrupted before committee chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) cut him off. "Put your mask on," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) chimed in. Jordan then used Raskin's request to pivot to a favorite conspiracy: "You want to talk about masks? Why would the deputy secretary of the treasury unmask Michael Flynn's name?"> "Put your mask on!"> > Shouting breaks out among members of the House subcommittee during tech hearing, after Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon suggests Rep. Jim Jordan is pushing "fringe conspiracy theories" https://t.co/83sKht0bRx pic.twitter.com/E6fEZKT6tO> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) July 29, 2020Jordan's outburst came just hours after Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) tested positive for COVID-19 and then walked around the House office building knowing he had it. Jordan was also reminded, albeit more gently, to put on his mask during a Tuesday hearing with Attorney General William Barr. Gohmert was also at that hearing, and one of his aides -- and other Republican staffers -- have since anonymously complained about the lack of mask compliance among their congressmembers. > Ever since PM came out, Ive gotten a flood of emails from republican staffers who say they too are being forced to come to the hill without a mask now. > > If you're one of those people, email me or dm me.> > -- Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 29, 2020More stories from theweek.com U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 150,000 Republicans' coronavirus aid bill is a joke. It might take a stock market crash to change their minds. The Pentagon wants a new nuke because it might fire off the old ones by mistake

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Postcard helps Van Gogh family reveal exact spot where artist painted hours before his death

An art expert has pinpointed the exact spot where Vincent van Gogh was painting just hours before he shot himself, museum officials announced on Tuesday at a ceremony commemorating the 130th anniversary of his suicide. The picture, Tree Roots, was identified as the Dutch post-impressionist painter’s last work a few years ago. Now, an early postcard has made it possible to locate the scene it depicts in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village north of Paris. Willem van Gogh, the great-grandson of the artist’s brother Theo, and Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, unveiled a plaque at the spot, which will soon be opened to the public. It is a short walk from the Auberge Ravoux, the former inn where Van Gogh spent his last 70 days before dying in his garret room on 29 July 1890.

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Hundreds to quarantine after COVID-19 case linked to Florida high school graduation ceremony

Nearly 300 students and at least 30 staff members were at the ceremony. Each student was allowed to bring up to two guests.

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NASA just picked astronaut Megan McArthur, whose husband launched aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to pilot the spaceship in spring

Astronaut Megan McArthur watched her husband, Bob Behnken, launch aboard the Crew Dragon spaceship. Next year, she'll do the same.

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Chicago police chief dies in apparent suicide after promotion

A 30-year veteran of the Chicago police force is found dead two weeks after being promoted; Matt Finn reports from Chicago as the city marks another deadly night of violence.

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The feds say they won't leave Portland until the violence stops. Privately, they concede they're fueling that violence.

The top federal prosector in Oregon, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, said Monday that the federal agents aggressively policing protesters in Portland would remain in the city until the "attacks on federal property and personnel" cease. Oregon officials say the presence and shock-and-awe tactics of the federal agents are the main fuel for those attacks, and federal law enforcement officials privately concede they have a point, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.The nightly protests against racism and police violence in downtown Portland had dwindled to about 100 people before President Trump sent in federal agents over the July 4 weekend. The protests grew again after U.S. Marshals, ostensibly there to protect Portland's federal courthouse, shot 26-year-old protester Donavan La Bella in the head, fracturing his skull, and they exploded after news broke that anonymous militarized federal agents were detaining people on the street in unmarked vans. Thousands now gather nightly in Portland, and similar protests have been reinvigorated in other cities."Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it's going to be criticized," one federal law enforcement official told OBP. "That's not a controversial statement." Another told OBP, "Crowds were very small and the incident with La Bella." Still, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals confirmed Monday that about 100 new deputies have been lined up for deployment in Portland, either to bolster the current force or replace exhausted officers.The harsh crackdown and vilification of protesters in Portland may end up helping Trump politically, "but as a policing tactic, it has failed to suppress the protests," The Washington Post notes. "The escalation has been followed by larger, better-equipped, and more-aggressive crowds, and — as the new reinforcements showed — it exhausted federal resources before it exhausted the protesters.""Every time we go out into this, we get better at it," Gregory McKelvey, a community organizer in Portland, tells the Post. "When a flash bang first goes off in front of you, you run. But when you realize that one went off right in front of you and nothing happened to you, you're less likely to run the next time." In a bit of circular logic, law enforcement officials say they need even more people on the ground in Portland "to counter those increasingly sophisticated tactics" employed by protesters, OPB reports.More stories from theweek.com Trump: 'Nobody likes me' American Federation of Teachers supports strikes if schools don't reopen safely Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows

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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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'You're tarnishing BLM': Peaceful protester pleads with violent ones

Meanwhile, U.S. civil liberties advocates on Tuesday (July 28) asked a federal court in Portland, Oregon, to hold federal agents in contempt for violating a temporary court order barring attacks on journalists and legal observers monitoring protests in the city.

The filing by the American Civil Liberties Union came during a wave of protests against police violence and racism in Portland in which federal agents have clashed with protesters who have lit fires and thrown objects at the federal courthouse.

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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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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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China's Mars probe photographs Earth en route to Red Planet

China's first Mars probe has beamed back a photo of the Earth and the Moon as it heads toward its destination, the country's space agency said Tuesday. The image, which shows the two celestial bodies as small crescents in the empty darkness of space, was taken 1.2 million kilometres (746,000 miles) away from Earth three days after the Tianwen-1 mission was launched on Thursday, the China National Space Administration said. China joined the United States and United Arab Emirates this month in launching a mission to Mars, taking advantage of a period when Mars and Earth are favourably aligned.

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Najib Razak: Malaysia's former PM and his downfall over alleged corruption

The former PM promised to boost Malaysia's economy but has been found guilty of corruption.

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‘Nobody Likes Me,’ Trump Complains, Renewing Defense of Dubious Science

By BY MICHAEL CROWLEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2X8PVW2

Corrections: July 29, 2020

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The Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Has Always Had Game

By BY MANOHLA DARGIS from NYT Movies https://ift.tt/30VwYaj

More free school meals 'would stop diet disaster'

A national food strategy for England calls for an extension of the scheme to end childhood hunger.

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Coronavirus: Hong Kong implements strict measures amid new cases

Dining in restaurants will be banned and only two people from different households can meet.

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Bringing Mars back to Earth

An audacious mission to bring rock samples from Mars back to Earth is about to begin - find our more with our illustrated guide

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Covid studies aim to save BAME lives 'within months'

The government is to plough millions into research into why the communities are at increased risk.

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Coronavirus: Hong Kong implements strict measures amid new cases

Dining in restaurants will be banned and only two people from different households can meet.

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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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Escape to North Korea: Defector at heart of COVID-19 case fled sex abuse investigation

Last week, a 24-year-old defector returned to North Korea the way he left in 2017, authorities say, but with a coronavirus pandemic raging in the background this time, his illicit trip drew far more attention. Facing a sexual assault investigation, Kim evaded high-tech South Korean border control systems by crawling through a drain pipe and swimming across the Han River to the North on July 19, the South Korean military has said. Kim's story as a defector begins and, so far, ends in the city of Kaesong, a North Korean border town that hosted a now-shuttered inter-Korean factory park and liaison office.

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AG Barr: DOJ had been drawn into 'political maelstrom'; department used as 'political weapon'

The hearing, billed as an oversight of the Justice Department, will touch on a long list of grievances, including federal deployments to Portland.

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Hundreds jam airport as evacuations from Vietnam's Danang begin

The airport in the central Vietnamese tourism hotspot of Danang was packed on Monday after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus and the evacuation of 80,000 people began. The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after authorities on Saturday confirmed the first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in or around Danang. A further 11 cases linked to a Danang hospital were reported late on Monday.

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Ghislaine Maxwell: Lawyers fight to keep evidence secret ahead of trial

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are trying to stop her accusers from posting evidence online ahead of her trail, according to a proposed protective order submitted to a judge on Monday.The British socialite’s legal team wants to prevent prosecutors working for women who claim she recruited them for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from releasing any information, including “nude, partially nude or otherwise sexualised images, videos or other depictions of individuals”.

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40 infected with coronavirus after Alabama church revival

Services were shut down by Friday after it was learned that one of the members who attended had tested positive for the virus, a church official says.

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NASA's next Mars rover is brawniest and brainiest one yet

With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover. The spacecraft Perseverance — set for liftoff this week — is NASA’s brawniest and brainiest Martian rover yet. It sports the latest landing tech, plus the most cameras and microphones ever assembled to capture the sights and sounds of Mars.

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Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow wears mask at press conference, says it's necessary to reopen economy

The White House now seems to believe masks are necessary to restart the economy.While he was previously reluctant to endorse masks, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow wore one on Monday for a press conference even though it was held outside and he stayed far from reporters. Kudlow said he'd been "emphasizing" masks over the past few weeks, saying America wouldn't "keep the economy open" or "get kids back to school" without following guidelines like wearing masks and social distancing.Kudlow reluctantly told Trump supporters to wear a mask at the president's campaign rally last month, but cited surging case numbers and reporters wearing masks around him as reasons to fully embrace them now. Still, Kudlow seemed to have trouble wearing his mask correctly as it kept slipping off his nose.> WH Advisor Larry Kudlow wore a mask today while talking to reporters. Asked why he finally decided to wear one, the 72 year old said seeing reporters wearing masks influenced his decision & he is now encouraging masks as a way to help economy recover. ⁦@CBSNews⁩ pic.twitter.com/LyLYLcFvYH> > — Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) July 27, 2020President Trump was seen in public wearing a mask for the first time earlier this month, and tweeted his first picture of himself wearing a mask last week, calling it "patriotic" to do so.More stories from theweek.com The Lincoln Project savagely reminds America of everything it has lost due to 'Trump's virus' Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism 2020 Emmy nominations reveal the other side of the streaming revolution

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As protests against federal agents grow in Portland, Black activists worry their message is getting lost

Black activists try to refocus protesters' attention on their demands for police reform and racial equality despite the presence of federal agents.

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Georgia governor withdraws emergency request to stop Atlanta mask mandate

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday withdrew his emergency request for a court to stop enforcement of Atlanta's requirement that faces masks be worn in all public places, while mediation over the state's legal effort to block the mandate proceeds. Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the city two weeks ago to stop enforcement of the local mandate, aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Mayor Bottoms, a Democrat, has said that she would continue to defy the governor's orders, but hoped that the two sides could find a solution.

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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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