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July 02, 2020 ,

Texas governor issues mask order to fight coronavirusTexas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered that face coverings must be worn in public across most of the state, a dramatic ramp-up of the Republican's efforts to control spiking numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Abbott, who had pushed Texas' aggressive reopening of the state economy in May, had previously said the government could not order individuals to wear masks.




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July 02, 2020 ,

Trump Says Coronavirus Will Just ‘Disappear,’ Brags He Looks Like ‘Lone Ranger’ in MaskWith coronavirus cases surging to all-time highs and states reversing reopening plans, President Donald Trump once again claimed on Wednesday that the deadly virus would eventually just “disappear.” At the same time, the president appeared to change his tune on face-coverings, telling Fox Business that he’s “all for masks” while boasting about the single time that he was spotted wearing one, claiming he thought he “looked OK” and that he resembled the “Lone Ranger.”Speaking to Fox Business host Blake Burman from the White House, the president bragged that the economy is recovering in a “very strong fashion” as states reopen businesses and public spaces following stay-at-home orders. “And I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus,” Trump continued. “I think that at some point, that it’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.”Rand Paul’s Coronavirus Fix: ‘We Just Need More Optimism’Burman, meanwhile, wondered aloud that Trump “still believes” that the disease will just go away, as he’s asserted many times in the past. “I do. I do. Yeah,” the president said. “Sure. At some point. I think we will have a vaccine very soon, too.”Since February, the president has repeatedly assured the public that the virus would “disappear” in the near future. For instance, in early February, the president claimed that it would “go away by April.” Later that month, when the nation’s cases were still in double-digits, he confidently declared that it would be “close to zero” in a couple of days. Even in recent weeks, after deaths had already exceeded 100,000, the president insisted it will fade away even without a vaccine.Burman eventually moved on to recent studies and models that show that mandatory mask-wearing not only would have a health benefit to the public, but would also be a net positive economically as it would help prevent lockdown. Furthermore, in recent days, some of Trump’s top allies at Fox have urged the president to wear a mask.“So if there is an economic benefit, sir, and there is a public health benefit, sir, why not go forward and say there should be mandatory masks all across this country?” Burman asked.Trump replied that he didn’t think a mandatory order was necessary because “many places” in the country feature people living “very long distances” from each other. Then the president, who has openly mocked his political opponents for wearing masks and has avoided publicly wearing face coverings, claimed he was “all for masks.”“I think masks are good,” he stated, prompting the Fox host to press whether he’d wear one.“I would—I have. I mean, people have seen me wearing one,” a rambling Trump responded. “If I’m in a group of people where we’re not, you know, ten feet away but usually I’m not in that position and everyone’s tested because I’m the president, they get tested before they see me but if I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely.”North Carolina’s Top Two Officials Are at War Over CoronavirusBurman, meanwhile, asked whether the public would see the president wear one at some point. The only instance of the president having been spotted with a face mask occurred during a May trip to a Ford plant, where Trump briefly donned a mask away from the press in a back area while viewing some classic cars.“I mean, I have no problem. Actually, I had a mask on,” Trump said, referencing the Ford plant moment. “I sort of like the way I looked, OK? I thought it was OK. It was a dark black mask and I thought it looked OK. Looked like the Lone Ranger. But no, I have no problem with that. I think—if people feel good about it they should do it.”The Lone Ranger, for the record, wore a domino mask over his eyes.Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar Shut Down Meghan McCain’s COVID OutburstRead 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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July 02, 2020 ,

Finland's air force drops swastika emblem after century in useFinland’s air force has quietly removed the last swastikas from unit emblems after over a century in use. Until recently the country’s Air Force Command emblem depicted a pair of wings around a swastika, a symbol which pre-dates its associations with Nazism. The change was first observed by Teivo Teivainen, a politics professor at the University of Helsinki, who argued its negative associations made the swastika's ongoing use politically fraught. Professor Teivainen, who has written widely on the issue, said using the swastika could cause difficulties for the Nato country, particularly if worn on the uniforms of deployed personnel. “I have not found many reasonable arguments to support its military usefulness,” Mr Teivainen wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The symbol’s association with Finland’s air force dates to its founding in 1918, when Swedish count Eric von Rosen donated a plane painted with swastikas to the newly independent country. The German Nazi Party adopted the swastika as its logo in 1920. Finland removed the swastika from its aircraft following a postwar armistice with the Soviet Union, but until recently the symbol remained on Air Force Command emblems and some flags and decorations. A spokesman for Finland’s air force told the BBC, "as unit emblems are worn on uniform, it was considered impractical and unnecessary to continue using the old unit emblem, which had caused misunderstandings from time to time."




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July 02, 2020 ,

Gun-toting restaurateur upsets 5-term Colorado congressmanA pistol-packing restaurant owner who has expressed support for a far-right conspiracy theory has upset five-term U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in Colorado's primary elections. Tipton became the fourth House member to lose renomination bids this year. Republican Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Denver Riggleman of Virginia, and Democrat Daniel Lipinski of Illinois, have already been ousted by challengers.




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July 02, 2020 ,

Vanessa Guillen Was Bludgeoned to Death With a Hammer by Fellow Soldier, Lawyer SaysThis story contains graphic details.A lawyer representing the family of slain Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen has revealed disturbing new details about how the young Houston native is believed to have died after she vanished in late April. Speaking on an episode of the “Crime Stories” podcast hosted by Nancy Grace that aired Thursday, Natalie Khawam said she and the Guillen family had just learned from Army investigators that the 20-year-old was brutally beaten after being called in to work at the Fort Hood armory on April 22. Army investigators discovered “partial human remains” earlier this week they believe belong to Guillen, though they have yet to be positively identified. After reporting for work that day, Guillen is said to have encountered Aaron Robinson, a fellow soldier publicly identified by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division on Thursday as the suspect in Guillen’s disappearance. Robinson “displayed a weapon and took his own life” when authorities closed in on him Wednesday morning, the CID said. According to Khawam, Robinson savagely attacked Guillen at the armory after she remarked on his relationship with the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. When Guillen reminded him that the relationship was in violation of military rules, he allegedly picked up a hammer and began “bludgeoning her head over and over.” “The whole place was filled with blood,” Khawam said. Dead Suspect in Disappearance of Fort Hood Soldier Sexually Harassed Her: LawyerThe suspect then allegedly took Guillen’s body to a river and enlisted the help of his girlfriend to dispose of the remains. “They go to the river, they first try to light her body on fire, they try to burn her body, they can’t burn her body, they’re having a hard time burning her body, so they decide to take the machete out and start dismembering her whole body,” Khawam said. After scattering her remains in a shallow grave, she said, they used quick-dry cement to try and cover it.  “Ironically, this all happened between midnight and four in the morning when they were burning her body and dismembering her body with a machete. That time was when Vanessa’s sister Mayra was arriving at the base. While she’s looking for her sister, they are dismembering her body,” Khawam said. The CID has confirmed that “the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier” is also in custody in connection with the Guillen case but “because she is a civilian and in the custody of local authorities, Army CID will not be releasing any further information concerning her or her status at this time.” The Bell County Sheriff’s Office identified the second suspect as Cecily Aguilar and said she is in custody and awaiting a court appearance in federal court on a charge of tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse, a second-degree felony.Khawam said Robinson managed to flee and shoot himself after authorities tried to hold him at the base in connection with coronavirus precautions rather than getting an arrest warrant. Guillen reportedly confided in family members about experiencing sexual harassment by one of her superiors on the base prior to her disappearance, and Khawam said Robinson was one of the men accused of sexually harassing her. But at a Thursday press conference, Damon Phelps of the CID said Robinson was “not involved” in the sexual harassment inquiry and was in “no way” Guillen’s superior. Guillen’s family is demanding a congressional investigation into the military’s handling of the case, claiming Army authorities have gone out of their way to protect soldiers in the course of the investigation.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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July 02, 2020 ,

'It’s going to cause an uproar': Sioux president says Trump not welcome to visit Mount RushmoreThe president of the Oglala Sioux tribal council has said that Donald Trump should not attend Mount Rushmore’s fourth of July fireworks celebration in South Dakota on Friday.President Julian Bear Runner cited health fears over the coronavirus and also said that Mr Trump's attendance is an insult to Native Americans on whose stolen land it was built.




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July 02, 2020 ,

`You broke my wrist!' Police sued for taking down wrong manBody camera video shows Antonio Arnelo Smith handing his driver's license to a Black police officer and answering questions cooperatively before a white officer walks up behind him, wraps him in a bear hug and slams him face-first to the ground. “Oh my God, you broke my wrist!” the 46-year-old Black man screams as two more white Valdosta officers arrive, holding him down and handcuffing him following the takedown. One eventually tells Smith he's being arrested on an outstanding warrant, and is immediately corrected by the first officer: They've got the wrong man.




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July 01, 2020 ,

Texas Bar Owners Sue Over Reimposed Coronavirus RestrictionsSeveral Texas bar owners on Monday sued over Governor Greg Abbott’s order to shut down their businesses again as coronavirus cases in the state soar.Texas reported a record high on Monday of 5,913 individuals hospitalized for the coronavirus, and new cases of the virus rose on Saturday to a record daily high of 6,263 confirmed new cases. Deaths from the virus have remained level, however.The bar owners filed lawsuits in Austin, Houston, and Galveston, charging that the governor has exceeded his authority under the state constitution to order bars to close again and claiming that the restrictions are being unfairly imposed on bars while other businesses, such as nail and hair salons, are allowed to continue operating. The owners are demanding that Abbott call the state legislature into a special session to handle the issue.“Gov. Abbott continues to act like a king,” said Jared Woodfill, a lawyer representing the bar owners. “Abbott is unilaterally destroying our economy and trampling on our constitutional rights.”Abbott rolled back his state’s reopening process on Friday, singling out activity in bars as a driving factor of the spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations Texas has experienced.“As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” the Republican governor said. “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.”The governor’s slowdown of the reopening process reimposes restrictions on businesses he had allowed to reopen at partial capacity, including bars, restaurants, gyms, malls, and bowling alleys. Bars were required to close at 12 p.m. on Friday but are allowed to remain open for delivery and take-out orders. Restaurants may operate dine-in service at 50 percent capacity, down from the 75 percent capacity Abbott approved earlier this month. The majority of gatherings of 100 or more people must gain approval from local governments.The announcement came two days after Abbott warned that the coronavirus is now spreading in Texas at an “unacceptable rate” and pleaded with residents to wear masks in public and continue practicing social distancing.Several other states have seen their coronavirus cases spike in the last several weeks, including Florida, Arizona, and California. Along with Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Nevada.




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July 01, 2020 ,

U.S. tech chief executives expected to testify before House panel in late JulyThe chief executives of the four U.S. tech giants -- Amazon.com, Facebook, Alphabet's Google and Apple -- will testify before the U.S. Congress in late July as part of an ongoing antitrust probe into the companies, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai of Google and Apple's Tim Cook will appear as part of the probe by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, the sources said.




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July 01, 2020 ,

`You broke my wrist!' Police sued for taking down wrong manBody camera video shows Antonio Arnelo Smith handing his driver's license to a Black police officer and answering questions cooperatively before a white officer walks up behind him, wraps him in a bear hug and slams him face-first to the ground. “Oh my God, you broke my wrist!” the 46-year-old Black man screams as two more white Valdosta officers arrive, holding him down and handcuffing him following the takedown. One eventually tells Smith he's being arrested on an outstanding warrant, and is immediately corrected by the first officer: They've got the wrong man.




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July 01, 2020 ,

Ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks granted bondThe former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending, a judge ruled Tuesday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in the killing of Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man. Appearing via teleconference because of the coronavirus, lawyers for Rolfe argued that he is a native Georgian with strong ties to the community who is not at risk of fleeing or failing to show up for court and is not a danger to the community.




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July 01, 2020 ,

Trump administration sends out teams to guard monuments on July 4th weekendPresident Donald Trump's administration has put special law enforcement teams in place to protect monuments it believes could be vandalized by protesters over the 4th of July holiday weekend, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday. It also did not say exactly which memorials would be guarded or whether specific threats were made. Trump this year will view fireworks celebrating U.S. independence at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.




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June 30, 2020 ,

Alcohol is good for you, study findsHaving two alcoholic drinks a day may slow mental decline and preserve brain function, according to a new study. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, examined the link between alcohol consumption and changes in brain function over time among nearly 20,000 middle-aged and older adults. Researchers from the University of Georgia found that people who enjoyed a regular drink - up to two a day - were a third less likely to have decreased cognitive function compared to tee-totallers. This includes learning, thinking, reasoning, remembering, problem solving, decision making and attention. On average, they had 29 per cent less chance to have a lower mental capacity compared to people who never drink. The author’s found the optimal intake was ten to 14 drinks per week, but said the findings do not mean those who drink less should increase their intake. Moderate drinking has previously been found to increase a protein known as the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps the brain to develop new cells and strengthen existing ones. The effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption has also been highlighted in previous studies for protecting the brain from dementia or Alzheimer’s. The latest research adds to the idea that drinking small amounts can be beneficial to cognitive health.




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June 30, 2020 ,

National parks – even Mount Rushmore – show that there's more than one kind of patriotismJuly 4th will be quieter than usual this year, thanks to COVID-19. Many U.S. cities are canceling fireworks displays to avoid drawing large crowds that could promote the spread of coronavirus. But President Trump is planning to stage a celebration at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on July 3. It’s easy to see why an Independence Day event at a national memorial featuring the carved faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt would seem like a straightforward patriotic statement. But there’s controversy. Trump’s visit will be capped by fireworks for the first time in a decade, notwithstanding worries that pyrotechnics could ignite wildfires. And Native Americans are planning protests, adding Mount Rushmore to the list of monuments around the world that critics see as commemorating histories of racism, slavery and genocide and reinforcing white supremacy. As I show in my book, “Memorials Matter: Emotion, Environment, and Public Memory at American Historical Sites,” many venerated historical sites tell complicated stories. Even Mount Rushmore, which was designed explicitly to evoke national pride, can be a source of anger or shame rather than patriotic feeling. Twenty-first-century patriotism is a touchy subject, increasingly claimed by America’s conservative right. National Park Service sites like Mount Rushmore are public lands, meant to be appreciated by everyone, but they raise crucial questions about history, unity and love of country, especially during this election year. For me, and I suspect for many tourists, national memorials and monuments elicit conflicting feelings. There’s pride in our nation’s achievements, but also guilt, regret or anger over the costs of progress and the injustices that still exist. Patriotism, especially at sites of shame, can be unsettling – and I see this as a good thing. In my view, honestly confronting the darker parts of U.S. history as well as its best moments is vital for tourism, for patriotism and for the nation. Whose history?Patriotism has roots in the Latin “patriotia,” meaning “fellow countryman.” It’s common to feel patriotic pride in U.S. technological achievements or military strength. But Americans also glory in the diversity and beauty of our natural landscapes. That kind of patriotism, I think, has the potential to be more inclusive, less divisive and more socially and environmentally just. [Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.]The physical environment at national memorials can inspire more than one kind of patriotism. At Mount Rushmore, tourists are invited to walk the Avenue of Flags, marvel at the labor required to carve four U.S. presidents’ faces out of granite, and applaud when rangers invite military veterans onstage during visitor programs. Patriotism centers on labor, progress and the “great men” the memorial credits with founding, expanding, preserving and unifying the U.S. But there are other perspectives. Viewed from the Peter Norbeck Overlook, a short drive from the main site, the presidents’ faces are tiny elements embedded in the expansive Black Hills region. Re-seeing the memorial in space and contextualizing it within a longer time scale can spark new emotions. The Black Hills are a sacred place for Lakota peoples that they never willingly relinquished. Viewing Mount Rushmore this way puts those rock faces in a broader ecological, historical and colonial context, and raises questions about history and justice. Sites of shameSites where visitors are meant to feel remorse challenge patriotism more directly. At Manzanar National Historic Site in California – one of 10 camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II – natural and textual cues prevent any easy patriotic reflexes. Reconstructed guard towers and barracks help visitors perceive the experience of being detained. I could imagine Japanese Americans’ shame as I entered claustrophobic buildings and touched the rough straw that filled makeshift mattresses. Many visitors doubtlessly associate mountains with adventure and freedom, but some incarcerees saw the nearby Sierra Nevada as barricades reinforcing the camp’s barbed wire fence. Rangers play up these emotional tensions on their tours. I saw one ranger position a group of schoolchildren atop what were once latrines, and ask them: “Will it happen again? We don’t know. We hope not. We have to stand up for what is right.” Instead of offering visitors a self-congratulatory sense of being a good citizen, Manzanar leaves them with unsettling questions and mixed feelings. Visitors to incarceration camps today might make connections to the U.S.-Mexico border, where detention centers corral people in unhealthy conditions, sometimes separating children from parents. Sites like Manzanar ask us to rethink who “counts” as an American and what unites us as human beings. Visiting and writing about these and other sites made me consider what it would take to disassociate patriotism from “America first”-style nationalism and recast it as collective pride in the United States’ diverse landscapes and peoples. Building a more inclusive patriotism means celebrating freedom in all forms – such as making Juneteenth a federal holiday – and commemorating the tragedies of our past in ways that promote justice in the present. Humble patriotismThis July 4th invites contemplation of what holds us together as a nation during a time of reckoning. I believe Americans should be willing to imagine how a public memorial could be offensive or traumatic. The National Park Service website claims that Mount Rushmore preserves a “rich heritage we all share,” but what happens when that heritage feels like hatred to some people? Growing momentum for removing statues of Confederate generals and other historical figures now understood to be racist, including the statue of Theodore Roosevelt in the front of New York City’s Museum of Natural History, tests the limits of national coherence. Understanding this momentum is not an issue of political correctness – it’s a matter of compassion.Greater clarity about value systems could help unite Americans across party lines. Psychologists have found striking differences between the moral frameworks that shape liberals’ and conservatives’ views. Conservatives generally prioritize purity, sanctity and loyalty, while liberals tend to value justice in the form of concerns about fairness and harm. In my view, patriotism could function as an emotional bridge between these moral foundations. My research suggests that visits to memorial sites are helpful for recognizing our interdependence with each other, as inhabitants of a common country. Places like Mount Rushmore are part of our collective past that raise important questions about what unites us today. I believe it’s our responsibility to approach these places, and each other, with both pride and humility. This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 26, 2019.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * More than scenery: National parks preserve our history and culture * The twisted roots of U.S. land policy in the WestJennifer Ladino received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support her book on national memorials.




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June 30, 2020 ,

Ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks granted bondThe former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending, a judge ruled Tuesday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in the killing of Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man. Appearing via teleconference because of the coronavirus, lawyers for Rolfe argued that he is a native Georgian with strong ties to the community who is not at risk of fleeing or failing to show up for court and is not a danger to the community.




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