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Affichage des articles du septembre, 2020

Ivanka Trump vaccine View, challenge from co-host Joy Behar

 Ivanka Trump vaccine View, challenge from co-host Joy Behar. President Trump ’s daughter and adviser,  Ivanka Trump , vowed on Thursday to take the coronavirus vaccine on “The View” after a challenge from co-host  Joy Behar .  Behar said on Wednesday’s show that she doubted the president’s claims that a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready soon, adding that she would take the vaccine once Ivanka Trump did.  Ivanka Trump responded to Behar’s comments in a tweet on Thursday, saying “Deal” while tagging “The View” co-host.  “I would come on your show to do so,” she said. “I trust the FDA and so should all Americans. Vanquishing this virus should be our collective top priority.” On Wednesday,  Behar accused the president of speeding up production of the virus in order to be reelected in November, citing that past developments took years to make an effective and safe vaccine.  “As far as the vaccine is concerned, I’d like to inform America — in case w...

EU fake news social media, accordance with 2018 self-regulation agreement

 EU fake news social media, accordance with 2018 self-regulation agreement. Two years after agreeing to a self-regulatory code of practice to tackle disinformation, Facebook, Alphabet's Google, Twitter and other tech rivals must try harder to be more effective, the European Commission said on Thursday. Fake news related to Covid-19 has accelerated calls for social media to be more proactive in combating the issue. The companies, including Mozilla and trade bodies for the advertising industry, signed up to the code in 2018 in a bid to stave off more heavy-handed regulation. Microsoft and TikTok subsequently joined the group. There are, however, several shortcomings in the code following an assessment of its first year in operation, the commission said, according to a report seen by Reuters. "These can be grouped in four broad categories: inconsistent and incomplete application of the code across platforms and member states, lack of uniform definitions, existence of several gaps...

Trump defends COVID Woodward, admits to concealing the true threat of coronavirus

 Trump defends COVID Woodward, admits to concealing the true threat of coronavirus. President Donald Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and "more deadly than even your strenuous flus," and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage." "This is deadly stuff," Trump told Woodward on February 7. In a series of interviews with Woodward, Trump revealed that he had a surprising level of detail about the threat of the virus earlier than previously known. "Pretty amazing," Trump told Woodward, adding that the coronavirus was maybe five times "more deadly" than the flu. Trump's admissions are in stark contrast to his frequent public comments at the time insisting that the virus was "going to disappear" and "all work out fine." The book, using Trump's o...

Megyn Kelly new company, 'The Megyn Kelly Show.'

 Megyn Kelly new company, 'The Megyn Kelly Show.'. Devil May Care Media will produce a host of audio content around current events, including 'The Megyn Kelly Show.' Megyn Kelly is launching her own independent production company, Devil May Care Media, with podcasts as key content in its pipeline. Front and center will be Kelly's own podcast,  The Megyn Kelly Show , to feature interviews with newsmakers and other guests. Kelly's indie banner will also produce content, including audio fare, based on breaking news, current events and legal and cultural issues. In 2019, Kelly parted ways with NBC News, where she had hosted the third hour of NBC's  Today  show and  Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly . That followed her own long-running Fox News show  The Kelly File . The veteran broadcast journalist touted her production company as giving Kelly the creative independence she craved amid corporate and political constraints. “With Devil May Care Media, I answer only to...

Pelosi US UK trade, Northern Ireland after decades of violence

 Pelosi US UK trade, Northern Ireland after decades of violence. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has warned that Britain will be unable to secure a trade deal with the US if it does anything to undermine the treaty that brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violence. Pelosi's comments came after the UK said it would legislate to override parts of the divorce deal with the European Union in the event that a trade agreement isn't reached. The UK government claims that its Internal Market Bill is designed to ensure that trade between the four nations of the United Kingdom would remain unfettered in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The UK concedes that it would breach the EU withdrawal agreement; a British Cabinet minister said this week that the legislation would " break international law  in a very specific and limited way." That did not go down well among top Democrats in the US, who fear it could undermine the 1998 ...

Tiger Tennessee, authorities are looking for a loose tiger

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 Tiger Tennessee, authorities are looking for a loose tiger. Welcome to the next level of Jumanji. In a year that can't possibly can't get any stranger, officials say they are now looking for a  tiger loose in East Knoxville, Tennessee .  Local authorities are working with representatives with Tiger Haven, a big cat sanctuary in Kingston, Tennessee, to locate a tiger that might have been spotted by a Knox County Sheriff's Office deputy in the Forks of the River Industrial Park late Wednesday night.   The deputy, Andy Wilson, was working a side job at a business in the industrial park when he reported seeing a large cat rise out of the French Broad River, cross the street and disappear into a dense wooded area, according to Knox County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kimberly Glenn. "After a brief moment of shock, he realized it really was a tiger," Glenn said. "It went into a thick area of kudzu." Wilson reported the tiger to dispatch about 8:30 p.m. Th...

Texas ballot ruling, method used to reject some mail-in ballots

Texas ballot ruling,  method used to reject some mail-in ballots. As Texas prepares for an expected deluge of mail-in votes in November, a federal judge has found that one facet of the state’s signature verification rules for those ballots is unconstitutional and must be reworked for the upcoming election. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia  ruled  Tuesday that the state’s process for determining whether there is a mismatch between a voter’s signature on their ballot envelope and the signature the voter used on their application to vote by mail “plainly violates certain voters’ constitutional rights.” In his order, Garcia ordered the Texas secretary of state to inform local election officials within 10 days that it is unconstitutional to reject a ballot based on a "perceived signature mismatch" without first notifying the voter about the mismatch and giving the voter a “meaningful opportunity” to correct the issue. Additionally, to "protect voters' rights" ...

Jessica Krug resigns from teaching position at George Washington University (Details)

 Jessica Krug resigns from teaching position at George Washington University (Details). A US academic who was being investigated after admitting she lied about being black has resigned, George Washington University has confirmed. Jessica Krug, an associate professor whose work focuses on Africa and the African diaspora, admitted in a blog post last week that she was in fact a "white Jewish" woman from Kansas City. The post read: "I have built my life on a violent anti-black lie." Her colleagues said they were "shocked and appalled" by her admission. In a Medium post published last Thursday,  Ms Krug said she had falsely assumed identities "that I had no right to claim : first North African Blackness, then US rooted Blackness, then Caribbean rooted Bronx Blackness". In a tweet on Wednesday,  George Washington University said Ms Krug had "resigned her position, effective immediately". "Her classes for this semester will be taught by ...

Tennessee mail voting restrictions, election office before voting

 Tennessee mail voting restrictions, election office before voting. A federal judge on Wednesday halted a Tennessee law that restricted voting by mail by mandating that first-time voters show their identification at an election office before voting. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump appointee, filed a preliminary injunction saying he was worried “about how his decisions could aid one side or the other on the political front,”  The Associated Press reported .  The Nashville judge ruled that the law was based on a “non-existent” order from Congress.  The ruling comes ahead of an unprecedented November election that is expected to break records for the number of mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lawyers who challenged the law said it affected about 128,000 newly registered voters last election cycle. “The Court concludes that the requested injunction would favorably impact the public interest because as discussed above, ...

Bradley University quarantines entire student body (Details)

Bradley University quarantines entire student body (Details).  Bradley University in central Illinois is requiring its entire student body to quarantine for two weeks because of clusters of COVID-19 on campus and is reverting to remote learning, officials announced Tuesday. Officials of the private university said they have linked a spike of the coronavirus to off-campus gatherings. The Peoria university is requiring students to limit nonessential interactions, stay in their off-campus apartments, residence halls and take classes remotely beginning Tuesday. The university said it has tallied about 50 COVID-19 cases so far, adding emergency measures are needed to respond to the outbreak without disrupting academic progress. “Although it may seem extreme, this move to temporary remote learning and a two-week, all-student quarantine allows us to focus on the continuity of the educational experience for all of our students while giving us time to gather data on the full extent of the s...

Paris Jo Goldenberg attack, Norway arrests suspect in 1982 attack on Jewish

 Paris Jo Goldenberg attack, Norway arrests suspect in 1982 attack on Jewish. Norwegian police have arrested a man sought by French prosecutors on suspicion that he took part in a fatal attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris 38 years ago, the man's lawyer and police said on Wednesday. The August 1982 bombing and shooting assault on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant killed six people and wounded at least 20. In 2015, arrest warrants were issued against three former members of the Abu Nidal Organization, a splinter group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. One of the men lives in Norway, where he immigrated in the 1990s, but Norwegian authorities rejected the original 2015 request on grounds that, in most cases, it would not extradite its own citizens. The man, now in his 60s, has previously denied any involvement in the case, according to Norwegian daily Dagbladet, which first reported his arrest. In 2015, he told Norwegian daily  VG  he had never been to Paris. Th...

US Chinese visas revoked, deemed to be a security risk

 US Chinese visas revoked, deemed to be a security risk. The US says it has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers who are deemed to be a security risk. The move follows a proclamation by President Donald Trump in May aimed at Chinese nationals suspected of having ties to the military. He said some had stolen data and intellectual property. China has accused the US of racial discrimination. Nearly 370,000 students from China enrolled at US universities in 2018-19. A state department spokeswoman described those whose visas were revoked as "high-risk graduate students and research scholars". She said they were a "small subset" of the total number of Chinese students. "We continue to welcome legitimate students and scholars from China who do not further the Chinese Communist Party's goals of military dominance," the spokeswoman said. The Chinese foreign ministry denounced the move at a daily media briefing in Beijing. "...

George Floyd record breach, medical center announcing the breaches

George Floyd record breach, medical center announcing the breaches. George Floyd's family has been informed that his confidential records at the Hennepin County Medical Center were breached multiple times  after his death , an attorney for Floyd's family told CBS News. The attorney said Floyd's family received a letter from the medical center announcing the breaches.  "The Floyd family and attorneys were recently made aware of a data breach of George Floyd's confidential information at the Hennepin County Medical Center," attorney Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.  "The letter said there were breaches of his data over multiple dates and that the employees involved are 'no longer with the organization.'" Floyd was brought to Hennepin County Medical Center on the night he died,  according to CBS Minnesota . The letter was first reported by The Associated Press. Romanucci said the letter did not reveal what information was accessed, no...

Senate skinny stimulus bill, $500 billion coronavirus relief bill

 Senate skinny stimulus bill, $500 billion coronavirus relief bill. Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked Republicans' efforts to pass a slimmed down $500 billion coronavirus relief bill. Why it matters:  The bill was always going to be dead on arrival. Instead, the legislation was seen widely as a political maneuver to put Democrats, who passed their  $3 trillion HEROES Act  in May, on defense. Republicans also hope the vote will create more goodwill with the public as broader negotiations between Congress and the White House remain in a stalemate. Details:  The bill would have included an extension of the small business Paycheck Protection Program, expanded enhanced unemployment benefits, and provided more funding   for schools and child care programs. Between the lines:  Republicans, who knew the bill would never pass the Senate given it covers just a fraction of what Democrats' want in a new relief package, were initially concerned the bill wou...

Walmart drone grocery delivery, beef up its delivery business

 Walmart drone grocery delivery, beef up its delivery business. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, on Wednesday launched a pilot program to offer grocery delivery by drone from a Fayetteville, N.C., store, its latest salvo in the ongoing battle for share of online grocery and delivery business. The partnership with end-to-end drone delivery company Flytrex focuses on delivering select grocery and household essential items from Walmart stores using Flytrex’s automated drones. According to a blog post from Tom Ward, senior vice president, customer product at Walmart, “The drones, which are controlled over the cloud using a smart and easy control dashboard, will help us gain valuable insight into the customer and associate experience, from picking and packing to takeoff and delivery.” “We know that it will be some time before we see millions of packages delivered via drone,” Ward said. “That still feels like a bit of science fiction, but we’re at a point where we’re learning more...

DeJoy USPS prescription delays, threatening health risks for millions

DeJoy USPS prescription delays, threatening health risks for millions. Changes to the U.S. Postal Service instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have caused "significant delays" in the delivery of mail-order prescriptions to millions of Americans, according to the  results of an investigation  by two Senate Democrats released Wednesday. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania sent a nine-page report on their inquiry to the Postal Service's board of governors  along with a letter saying that their investigation  found that average delivery times for prescription drugs increased 18 percent to 32 percent after DeJoy,  a close Trump ally and Republican fundraiser  who was appointed postmaster in May, had changed delivery policies. "The findings of our investigation reveal that your failure to fix the service delays caused by Postmaster General DeJoy represent an ongoing public health threat and a dereliction of your responsib...

Martin Winterkorn trial, Ex-VW CEO Winterkorn to Face Diesel Fraud Trial

 Martin Winterkorn trial, Ex-VW CEO Winterkorn to Face Diesel Fraud Trial. Volkswagen's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn will stand trial over the car giant's "dieselgate" scam, a German court said Wednesday. "The chamber has determined that there is sufficient suspicion, that is, an overwhelming possibility of conviction, of the accused Professor Doctor Winterkorn for commercial and organized fraud," the regional court in the city of Braunschweig said in a statement. The announcement comes almost five years to the day since Europe's biggest carmaker became engulfed in scandal when US regulators uncovered the mass manipulation of its cars to cheat emissions tests. Some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with so-called defeat devices that made them seem cleaner during environmental standards inspections than they were under real-world conditions. Volkswagen, which employs around 800,000 people, has paid more than €30 billion ($35 bil...

United pilots union furloughs, United Airlines, pilots union reach tentative deal

 United pilots union furloughs, United Airlines, pilots union reach tentative deal. United Airlines  and the union representing its pilots said on Wednesday they have reached a tentative agreement to avoid furloughs of nearly 3,000 aviators. The air carrier said last week that it planned to furlough or lay off about 16,000 workers, including 2,850 pilots, beginning Oct. 1 unless it received additional federal funding from Congress. "Any potential mitigation must achieve our goals: stop planned furloughs, stop displacements, and include long-term permanent gains for any short-term, fully recoverable modifications," said Todd Insler, chairman of the United Airlines Chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, in a letter to union members. "Management continues to say they want to reduce involuntary furloughs so they can excel during a future recovery; now is the time to see if they are willing to pay for that flexibility."

Harry Dunn Anne Sacoolas, Wife of Alleged US Spy Sued for Killing British Man

 Harry Dunn Anne Sacoolas, Wife of Alleged US Spy Sued for Killing British Man. The family of Harry Dunn has filed a civil claim for damages against his alleged killer in the United States. Anne Sacoolas, 43, was charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving following a fatal road crash outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year. The announcement comes ahead of the family’s meeting with the Director of Public Prosecutions amid discussions over potentially a trial in Sacoolas’s absence. The family’s spokesman Radd Seiger said Mr Dunn’s alleged killer had “inexplicably” made no attempt to “resolve the dispute without having to go to court”. Mr Seiger told the PA news agency the teenager’s parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, have now filed a civil complaint in a court in the state of Virginia. The suspect claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy. Sh...

Xbox Series X price, finance them starting at $24.99 per month

 Xbox Series X price, finance them starting at $24.99 per month. Microsoft  on Wednesday  announced  that its new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S gaming consoles will be available on Nov. 10. Preorders start on Sept. 22. The high-end Xbox Series X will cost $499 while the entry-level Xbox Series S will cost $299. Microsoft will also offer a financing plan that allows customers to pay for either console over 24 months.The Xbox Series S costs $24.99 per month on that plan while the Xbox Series X will cost $34.99 per month. Microsoft said the financing plans also include access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play, which allows you to download or stream more than 100 games to Xbox or PC. It will also include Microsoft’s new mobile streaming services that let you stream from the cloud to an Android phone. You’ll have to buy a Game Pass subscription plan separately, which starts at $9.99 per month, if you don’t finance. The Microsoft Series X is four times more pow...

Christian Cooper comic, partially inspired by his experiences

 Christian Cooper comic, partially inspired by his experiences. Christian Cooper , the Black man who filmed a White woman calling the police on him while he was bird watching in Central Park earlier this year, has written a comic book partially inspired by his experiences. The comic, called "It's a Bird," was released Wednesday by DC Comics. Cooper, as a former comics editor and writer, is no stranger to genre, and worked with artist Alitha E. Martinez to bring the story to life. "It's a Bird" follows the story of Jules, a Black teenage bird watcher, who is given an old pair of binoculars. When he looks through them, he sees the stories of Amadou Diallo,  Breonna Taylor  and  George Floyd.  It's part of DC's new digital-first series "Represent!" meant to highlight typically underrepresented groups in comics. "It's a Bird" is the first chapter of the series, and was released for free on Wednesday, with the rest of the chap...

Daisy Ridley Star Wars changes, trilogy as they went along

Daisy Ridley Star Wars changes, trilogy as they went along. Rey’s backstory changed for each  Star Wars  movie? You don’t say, we never could have guessed that eh? Sigh. My thoughts on the  Star Wars  sequel trilogy are pretty well known around here. I find the whole trilogy awful, and have no desire to ever watch it again. For me, there was no plan, instead using a ‘choose your own adventure’ approach for each movie. For this fan, the lack of a plan was clearly evident between each of the three movies. My really big issue with this, was that Disney had no plan how the Skywalker Saga was going to end when they decided to make the movies. That’s a mistake Disney can never erase. Now we have even more evidence of this lack of a plan for  Star Wars . Daisey Ridley last night appeared in her first interview since  The Rise of Skywalker  on  Jimmy Kimmel Live  (virtual) with guest host Josh Gad, a personal friend of Ridley’s. You can catch th...