- PoliticsThe Guardian
Trump threatens to move Republican convention if North Carolina won't allow packed arena
Donald Trump has threatened to move the Republican party's national convention from Charlotte, North Carolina, if the state is unable to commit to “full attendance” at the gathering due to Covid-19 restrictions. In a series of tweets on Monday morning. Trump said the state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, was “still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee” that the party would be able to fill the arena with supporters. “I love the Great State of North Carolina so much so that I insisted on having the Republican National Convention in Charlotte at the end of August,” the US president wrote.
WorldAFPCorruption prosecutions nearly double in China over last year
The number of prosecutions related to corruption in China nearly doubled last year, according to a report by Beijing's top prosecutor, as President Xi Jinping ramped up his crackdown on graft. According to the annual report from the Supreme People's Procuratorate submitted to the national parliament, 18,585 people were prosecuted for crimes related to corruption in 2019, a 90 percent year-on-year increase. Sixteen cases involved former provincial or ministerial-level Communist Party cadres, including former Yunnan party chief Qin Guangrong, who was accused of taking bribes.
- WorldReuters
Brazil surpasses U.S. in daily coronavirus death toll
Brazil daily coronavirus deaths were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time over the last 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry. Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States. Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the U.S. with 1.637 million cases.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Russia records its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus as its number of new cases appears to decline
Lev Fedoseyev\TASS via Getty Images Russia recorded 8,599 new cases 153 new deaths on Sunday linked to the coronavirus, raising its overall death toll to 3,541. The country has recorded 344,481 coronavirus cases and is the third-worst hit country in its total number of coronavirus cases behind Brazil and the US, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. While its daily death toll continues to increase, its number of new daily cases appears to be on the decline.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
Baby gorilla injured at Seattle Zoo
A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said.
U.S.USA TODAYDesperate rats are brazenly searching for food during the coronavirus pandemic, CDC warns
Rats, it seems, haven't been satisfied with curbside pickup or delivery during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that rodent populations – which rely on a banquet of scraps and waste in restaurant dumpsters – are spiking in certain areas. Restaurant trash bins are no longer overflowing, and the famished creatures are scrambling for new sources of food. Environmental and health officials may witness an increase in service requests amid reports of "unusual or aggressive rodent behavior."
- ScienceTime
SpaceX and NASA Are Set for a Historic Crewed Launch This Week. Here's How to Watch
It's been a long time since the country that once flew nine crewed missions to the moon has been able to launch even a single human being to space aboard its own rockets from its own soil. Ever since the final flight of the space shuttle in July 2011, the U.S. has been dependent on buying rides aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft—at a current $80 million a seat—if it wants to get as far as low-Earth orbit. All of that is set to change at 4:33 PM EDT on Wednesday May 27, when astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to take off aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station (ISS).
- SportsBBC
Coronavirus: Joe Biden emerges from quarantine on Memorial Day
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has made his first public appearance after more than two months in quarantine amid the Covid-19 crisis. Wearing a black face mask, the former vice-president laid a wreath at a ceremony in his home state of Delaware. It was part of an event for Memorial Day - an annual holiday held on the last Monday of May in honour of those who died serving in the US military.
- U.S.NBC News
Oklahoma woman missing since April following Facebook post that indicated she believed she had coronavirus
Nearly two months have passed since 53-year-old Talina Galloway vanished from her home in Wagoner, Oklahoma, leaving behind her purse and vehicle. “We're really worried about her,” Talina's niece, Chantel Jones, told Dateline. Chantel told Dateline she spent most of her summers living with her Aunt Talina in Indiana.
- WorldAssociated Press
Afghan gov't to free 900 prisoners; Taliban may extend truce
The Afghan government announced it would free 900 prisoners on Tuesday, its single largest prisoner release since the U.S. and the Taliban signed a peace deal earlier this year that spells out an exchange of detainees between the warring sides. The Taliban had called for the truce during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. There are expectations that the prisoner release could lead to new reductions in violence, and Taliban officials say they are considering an extension of the cease-fire.
BusinessAFPSingapore warns of worst economic contraction since independence
Singapore's virus-hit economy could shrink by as much as seven percent this year -- the worst reading since independence -- the government said Tuesday, as it unveiled a fresh multi-billion dollar stimulus package. The city-state is seen as a bellwether of the global economy, and the forecast historic contraction highlights the extreme pain being wrought on countries by the killer disease. The warning came as Singapore's deputy prime minister unveiled a fresh support package worth Sg$33 billion ($23.2 billion) for the troubled city, which has been crippled by months of lockdowns around the world.
- BusinessReuters
China says opposes all U.S. restrictions on Chinese airlines
China said on Monday it opposes all U.S. restrictions imposed against Chinese airlines, responding to a report that the U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Chinese carriers file their schedules and other flight details by May 27. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said flight restrictions imposed by Beijing treated all airlines equally and were due to efforts to curb COVID-19 related risks. The U.S. government late on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Netanyahu becomes the first Israeli prime minister to stand trial over corruption and fraud cases
Amir Levy/Getty Images The trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began in Jerusalem on Sunday, marking the first time in Israel's history that a sitting prime minister has ever faced trial. Last year, Netanyahu was indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges as part of three separate corruption cases. The trial against Netanyahu was delayed by two months because of Israel's coronavirus outbreak.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Chris Wallace Grills Dr. Birx: Did White House ‘Underestimate’ Virus and ‘Reopen Too Soon?’
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace pressed White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx on the rising coronavirus death count, asking Birx if the Trump administration has “underestimated” the strength of the virus as it rushes to fully reopen the economy. With all 50 states now at least partially reopened amid the pandemic and people flocking to beaches and parks to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend, the Fox News Sunday host noted that models have increasingly upped their projections of COVID-19 deaths as states ease social-distancing restrictions. “Early this coming week we're going to reach 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus and those models that you're citing now talk about close to 150,000 deaths by August,” Wallace wondered aloud.
- LifestyleCBS News
The Statue of Liberty as you've never seen her before
Last summer, architect Paul Davidson spent ten nights inside of the Statue of Liberty. From 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., he and his team carried out a first-of-its-kind laser scan of Lady Liberty, capturing the statue's interior during the hours when it wasn't packed full of tourists. Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are currently closed to all visitors, shut down due to COVID-19.
- U.S.Time
Alabama's Easing of Restrictions Has Given 'A False Sense of Security,' Says Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed
Cases of coronavirus are on the rise in Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey has allowed summer camps, movie theaters, casinos and more to reopen as part of recently expanded “Safer at Home” orders. Speaking on CNN, Reed said the spike in cases was due in part to people deciding on their own that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and called the easing of restrictions a “mistake.” “They are ready to get back to their normal way of doing things, and that's a mistake that we've been making over the last few weeks, is we have kind of eased restrictions in this community and across the state,” he said.
- WorldBBC
India coronavirus: Chaos at airports as domestic flights resume
Long queues and chaos greeted passengers at Indian airports as flights resumed two months after they were halted to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Maharashtra state, which has India's highest number of Covid-19 cases, said it would only allow 50 flights a day, leading to several cancellations. Several fliers also took to Twitter to complain that Air India, the national carrier, had not informed them of cancellations, and had mixed up departure schedules.
- PoliticsNBC News
Trump claims Jeff Sessions not 'mentally qualified' to be AG as feud escalates
President Donald Trump on Sunday ramped up his ongoing feud with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, claiming Sessions wasn't "mentally qualified" for the job. During an interview on "Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson," Trump called Sessions, who he handpicked for the 2017 appointment, a "disaster" who was never qualified for the role of attorney general. "He's not mentally qualified to be Attorney General," Trump said.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Boris Johnson the 'people’s politician' risks squandering his common touch in standing by Dominic Cummings
Say what you like about Boris Johnson, he is not what you would call a “misfit” or a “weirdo”. Unlike his non-conformist chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who once touted for such 'oddballs' to join No 10, the Prime Minister is as conventional as any of the 20 Old Etonians who have ended up in Downing Street. A little eccentric, perhaps, with his love of the Iliad and aversion to Mason Pearson products, but as his old Balliol philosophy don Jonathan Barnes put it: “Definitely a good egg.”
BusinessAFPPutin makes Kremlin appearance as virus restrictions ease
President Vladimir Putin made a rare recent appearance in the Kremlin on Monday as Russia prepares to ease lockdown restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic. The 67-year-old has worked remotely over the past few weeks from his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, chairing meetings with officials by video conference. But on Monday, Putin held talks with the general director of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, at the Kremlin, his office said.
- WorldReuters
Germany wants to end travel warning for 31 European countries: report
The German government wants to end a travel warning for tourist trips to 31 European countries from June 15 if the coronavirus situation allows, magazine Focus on Tuesday cited dpa news agency as reporting. It said a paper on European tourism that may be agreed by the cabinet on Wednesday showed the government wanted to allow travel to the 26 other European Union nations and Britain as well as the four non-EU countries in the Schengen passport-free zone - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. On May 18, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany was hoping to ease a travel warning on all tourist trips abroad that is in place until June 15.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
Chinese media says Wuhan had live virus
The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said.
U.S.USA TODAYDaytona beachside shooting wounds at least 5 people
At least five people were treated for gunshot wounds Saturday night after a large crowd blocked State Road A1A and a fight spilled into a restaurant in the heart of the city's tourist area, officials said. About 200 young people were observed in a helicopter video dancing, partying and gathering on the sidewalk in the middle of the street outside the Burger King, on Atlantic Avenue Ave as the sun came down on the first big night of the Memorial Day weekend. The gathering continued as police shut down all traffic coming over the bridges on to Daytona Beach's barrier island.
- U.S.Business Insider
A second immigrant has died from COVID-19 while in ICE custody
Santiago Baten-Oxlag, an immigrant in custody of the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, died of complications from COVID-19 on Sunday. The 34-year-old from Guatemala died in a hospital in Columbus, Georgia, that he had been transferred to from ICE's Stewart Detention Center, in Lumpkin, Georgia. An immigrant in custody of the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency died of COVID-19 complications on Sunday, marking the second death related to the novel coronavirus among people in ICE detainment.
- ScienceCBS News
Weather improves for historic SpaceX astronaut launch
Working through dismal weather, SpaceX engineers pressed ahead Monday with preparations to launch two astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft Wednesday, the first piloted flight to orbit from U.S. soil in nearly nine years. SpaceX and NASA held a launch readiness review to verify the Falcon 9 booster and spacecraft are ready for flight while NASA and its international partners went over preparations to welcome two new crew members to the lab complex. Keeping tabs on the weather, Crew Dragon commander Douglas Hurley and joint operations commander Robert Behnken plan to don their pressure suits and head for launch pad 39A around 1:15 p.m. ET Wednesday.
“To fire him carries a political risk that Trump is apparently unwilling to take — for now.”
“Trump could simply ignore him rather than work with him.”
“While Trump may have turned against Fauci, he is unlikely to go away.”
“The only federal official who stands between us and repeated waves of COVID will continue to be downsized by Trump.”
“Even if you put aside the political firestorm it would cause, Trump could not just oust Fauci from his position by tweet.”
