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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Harris allies granted call with Biden campaign after Dodd blowup - POLITICO

1. Harris allies granted call with Biden campaign after Dodd blowup  POLITICO
2. California paper urges Biden to pick Karen Bass over Kamala Harris for running mate  Fox News
3. The Surge: A final ranking of VP candidates before Biden decides.  Slate Magazine
4. Would Kamala Harris be disloyal if she were VP? | TheHill  The Hill
5. Kamala Harris isn’t ‘too ambitious’ to be Biden’s VP. We know what the real problem is  The Independent
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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An 8-year-old girl was attacked by a fox. A neighbor used a basketball to help her. - NBC News

An 8-year-old girl was attacked by a fox. A neighbor used a basketball to help her.  NBC NewsView Full Coverage on Google News

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Jennifer Holliday took us to church to honor John Lewis - CNN

1. Jennifer Holliday took us to church to honor John Lewis  CNN
2. Obama Says Senate May Need to End Filibuster  The Wall Street Journal
3. WATCH: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi speak at funeral for John Lewis  Washington Examiner
4. ABC News Prime: John Lewis' farewell; Trump raises postponing election; Herman Cain dies of COVID-19  ABC News
5. Bernie Sanders flips to join Barack Obama in calling for end to filibuster  Washington Examiner
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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U.S. consumer spending presses ahead; declining income poses challenge - Reuters

U.S. consumer spending presses ahead; declining income poses challenge  ReutersView Full Coverage on Google News

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Apple is now the world’s most valuable publicly traded company - The Verge

1. Apple is now the world’s most valuable publicly traded company  The Verge
2. Apple surpasses Saudi Aramco to become world's most valuable company  CNBC
3. Apple overtakes Saudi Aramco as world’s most valuable company, nearing $2 trillion market cap  9to5Mac
4. Apple Tops Saudi Aramco as World’s Most Valuable Company  Yahoo Finance
5. Apple tops Saudi Aramco as most valuable publicly listed company  Reuters
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Exxon’s debt load is expected to rise as it commits to paying dividend - MarketWatch

Exxon’s debt load is expected to rise as it commits to paying dividend  MarketWatchView Full Coverage on Google News

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When Their PPP Loans Didn’t Come Through, These Businesses Broke Up With Their Banks - The Wall Street Journal

When Their PPP Loans Didn’t Come Through, These Businesses Broke Up With Their Banks  The Wall Street JournalView Full Coverage on Google News

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The best deals we found this week: MacBook Air, TCL Roku TVs and more - Engadget

The best deals we found this week: MacBook Air, TCL Roku TVs and more  EngadgetView Full Coverage on Google News

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Here's what we know about Trump suggesting the idea of delaying the November election

After raising the idea of delaying the November election, Trump later asserted the tweet was aimed at starting discussions around mail-in ballots.

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The astronauts who flew SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the space station are set to come home on Sunday. Watch their fiery return flight live.

On Saturday and Sunday, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship will make its return trip to Earth. Here's how to watch that journey live.

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Israel says it arrested Hamas militant who fled strip by sea

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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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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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Job-hunting: 'I apply everywhere - few firms reply'

The pandemic has created a desperate hunt for jobs in an increasingly competitive market.

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Jet2 to refund customers returning early from Spain

The airline says it will refund cancelled return flights from Spain and unused holiday dates.

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BA staff and plane fanatics hunt for 747 souvenirs

The retirement of British Airways' fleet of 747s has triggered a bout of nostalgia from its fans.

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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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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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Belarus: The mother challenging an authoritarian president

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

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Cardinals-Brewers game postponed after two St. Louis players test positive for COVID-19 - CBS Sports

1. Cardinals-Brewers game postponed after two St. Louis players test positive for COVID-19  CBS Sports
2. Stephen A. anticipates MLB's season will be canceled | First Take  ESPN
3. Cardinals in quarantine at Pfister Hotel  WISN 12 News
4. Brewers aim to keep fans connected during home opener – WKOW  WKOW
5. MLB calls off Cardinals-Brewers game due to positive coronavirus tests  ESPN
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Who are the offensive rookie of the year candidates for 2020? - NBC Sports - NFL

Who are the offensive rookie of the year candidates for 2020?  NBC Sports - NFL

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All-SEC Football: 5 Reasons Why This Will Be Fun As Hell - kentuckysportsradio.com

1. All-SEC Football: 5 Reasons Why This Will Be Fun As Hell  kentuckysportsradio.com
2. Georgia has ‘great plan’ for football game attendance model, projected numbers  DawgNation
3. BYU out for Big 12 if needed for 10-game conference schedule, per report  Sooners Wire
4. Looking at the Gators schedule in 2020  GatorCountry.com
5. Stricklin disappointed there will be no Florida – FSU game  247Sports
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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

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

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Maine shark attack: US woman killed by great white

A retired New York fashion executive with a "zest" for life dies in a rare shark attack near Portland.

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

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

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'Last Supper' artwork of feasting Netanyahu irks Israeli leader

A statue in a Tel Aviv square of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a "Last Supper" feast added new bite on Wednesday to mounting protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu, whose popularity has plunged in opinion polls amid 21.5% unemployment, said his depiction in a mock tableau of Jesus's final meal before his crucifixion, was tantamount to a death threat. In the installation, Netanyahu sits alone at a grand 10-metre (33 ft) long table, with two candelabras, grabbing at a huge cake resembling an Israeli flag.

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Tropical Storm Isaias sets a new hurricane-season record as it triggers blackouts and flooding in Puerto Rico

Tropical Storm Isaias caused power outages and flooding in Puerto Rico. It's headed toward southern Florida.

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Stimulus package: McConnell and Pelosi trade personal attacks as sides remain 'very far apart' from coronavirus deal

Mere days before a key federal programme for the millions of Americans rendered jobless by the coronavirus pandemic expires on Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have ratcheted up their combative rhetoric to full volume.The personal attacks were particularly brutal on Wednesday as the two leaders appeared as far apart as ever from a deal to stimulate the economy, buttress the health care system, and help get American children safely back to school this fall.

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Police chief explains decision to back out of Democrat convention security

West Allis Police Department Chief Patrick Mitchell joins 'Fox & Friends' after backing out of a DNC security agreement over a ban on law enforcement's use of chemical irritants during protests.

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

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

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Nine of the top 10 U.S. coronavirus hot spots are in Florida and Texas

While President Trump touted improvements in the coronavirus pandemic in the Sun Belt, the CDC warned that nine of the nation’s top 10 growing hot spots are in Florida and Texas, according to an internal government document obtained by Yahoo News.

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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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Iran's navy shoots missile at mock-up of US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz

Footage on Iranian state TV showed the replica being struck as part of an exercise Iran called "Great Prophet 14."

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Covid-19: Why Hong Kong's 'third wave' is a warning

Until recently, the city was seen as a poster child in its handling of the pandemic. What went wrong?

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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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The 'real' threat to Russia’s former doping mastermind

The ex-mastermind of Russian sports doping, Grigory Rodchenkov, now only appears in disguise. Matt Majendie explains why.

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Bollywood's 'warts and all' biopic on 'human computer'

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan plays Shakuntala Devi who dazzled the world with her skill with numbers.

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The middle-css Pakistani students fighting for a homeland dream

Shahdad Mumtaz died for his beliefs. Could a missing student end up waging war on the Pakistani state?

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NBA Sharp Betting Picks (Thursday, July 30): Jazz vs. Pelicans, Clippers vs. Lakers - The Action Network

NBA Sharp Betting Picks (Thursday, July 30): Jazz vs. Pelicans, Clippers vs. Lakers  The Action NetworkView Full Coverage on Google News

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A lament on the day the NBA returns - The Undefeated

1. A lament on the day the NBA returns  The Undefeated
2. The messages NBA players choose for their jersey names and why  The Washington Post
3. How the night of the 2012 All-Star Game in Orlando ignited today's NBA activism  NBA.com
4. The NBA and WNBA may be back, but basketball will take a back seat to social justice issues for some players  CBS Sports
5. The Whiteboard: Prepare for NBA’s re-Opening Day to be about much more than basketball  FanSided
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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How the SEC's scheduling decision affects the ACC, Big 12, College Football Playoff and more - ESPN

1. How the SEC's scheduling decision affects the ACC, Big 12, College Football Playoff and more  ESPN
2. SEC Conference only Schedule: How will this affect Nick Saban and Alabama Football?  Alabama Football
3. A 10-game SEC football schedule in 2020 will be challenging -- and a lot of fun | Adams  Knoxville News Sentinel
4. SEC to play 10-game, conference-only football schedule in 2020  ESPN
5. SEC football schedule 2020: 10-game, conference-only slate begins Sept. 26 | CBS Sports HQ  CBS Sports HQ
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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MLB schedule revised again after Phillies' positive COVID-19 tests; six teams impacted by Marlins outbreak - CBS Sports

1. MLB schedule revised again after Phillies' positive COVID-19 tests; six teams impacted by Marlins outbreak  CBS Sports
2. MLB investigating 'massively disruptive' incident that caused Marlins COVID-19 outbreak  New York Post
3. Will there be a college football season this year?  Deseret News
4. Source -- Another Marlins player tests positive for coronavirus, raising total to 19  ESPN
5. MLB, MLBPA Working Toward Doubleheader Agreement  MLB Trade Rumors
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Charles Barkley and Stephen A. on LeBron's chances of winning his 4th NBA championship | First Take - ESPN

1. Charles Barkley and Stephen A. on LeBron's chances of winning his 4th NBA championship | First Take  ESPN
2. LeBron James' intensity, Zion Williamson's return, Lakers-Clippers among top storylines as NBA restarts season  CBS Sports
3. LeBron James to Rock Kobe Bryant Tribute During NBA Restart, 'Let's Get It'  TMZ
4. How Year 2 of LeBron and the Lakers turned into a roller coaster  ESPN
5. Carlson: OKC Thunder and the NBA restart — 22 things you need to know  Oklahoman.com
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Marsha Blackburn targets NBA after report says league told her 'inaccurate' statement about China academies - Fox News

1. Marsha Blackburn targets NBA after report says league told her 'inaccurate' statement about China academies  Fox News
2. Steve Kerr says he regrets past China comments, should have backed Daryl Morey  SF Gate
3. ESPN investigation finds coaches at NBA China academies complained of player abuse, lack of schooling  ESPN
4. CNN's Wolf Blitzer avoids mentioning China during lengthy interview with NBA commissioner  Fox News
5. ESPN: Human Rights Concerns Reported at NBA Academies in China  InsideHook
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Rudy Gobert & Zion Williamson Trade And-1's To Open Action In Orlando! - NBA

Rudy Gobert & Zion Williamson Trade And-1's To Open Action In Orlando!  NBAView Full Coverage on Google News

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In a reversal, Trump says he'll accept GOP nomination in North Carolina - CNN

1. In a reversal, Trump says he'll accept GOP nomination in North Carolina  CNN
2. Tweet that Trump will accept nomination in Charlotte is incorrect -Fox News reporter  Reuters
3. Trump Under Fire For Sharing Coronavirus Misinformation On Social Media | NBC Nightly News  NBC News
4. Trump says he will accept Republican nomination in North Carolina after all  POLITICO
5. Trump's Road To 150000 Coronavirus Deaths  HuffPost
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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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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The 11-carrier US Navy is mocking Iran as 'experts' at making a dummy aircraft carrier to shoot at

The US Navy posted a photo on social media ridiculing Iran after it fired missiles on a mock-up of a US flattop on Wednesday.

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Pakistani Muslim accused of insulting Islam killed in court

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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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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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As crime surges on his watch, Trump warns of Biden's America

President Donald Trump is painting a dystopian portrait of what Joe Biden’s America might look like, asserting crime and chaos would ravage communities should the former vice president win the White House in November. Left unsaid: A recent surge in violent crime in several American cities has happened on his watch. “Irony is way down the list of things that President Trump worries about,” said Robert Spitzer, a political scientist at the State University of New York College at Cortland whose research focuses on gun politics and the American presidency.

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Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, gave 8-figure donations to 6 different HBCUs for their 'transformative' work against inequality

Four of the presidents of these institutions highlighted that Scott's donations were the largest from a single individual in the schools' history.

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Portland fining feds $500 an hour for fence erected around federal courthouse

The city says the protective fence installed around the federal courthouse was done without a permit; William La Jeunesse reports from Portland with the latest.

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The fashion influencer who fled NYC for the Hamptons while infected with COVID-19 received up to $350,000 in government PPP loans, report says

Arielle Charnas' brand, Something Navy, secured a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000 from the government in April, Page Six reported.

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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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A bridge over an Arizona lake was engulfed in flames and partially collapsed after a train derailment

Footage from the scene showed mangled train cars, some of which were engulfed in flames while others had plummeted onto the street below.

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Boris Johnson says Europe is being hit by a 2nd coronavirus wave as countries bring back restrictions

The number of daily coronavirus cases has ticked up again in countries including Spain, Belgium, and France.

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How to ace a video interview

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

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

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

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'Bay of Piglets': A 'bizarre' plot to capture a president

How did exiled Venezuelans and former US Special Forces end up joining what looked from the outset like a suicide mission? 

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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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Nile dam row: Egypt fumes as Ethiopia celebrates

Concerns grow as Nile River nations fail to reach a deal on how to share the vital waters.

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The sweet smell of success: How Bulgaria took the lead in lavender

Lavender is used for cosmetics, fragrances and even, with the help of bees, to make honey.

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A Partnership in Peril - Bleacher Report

A Partnership in Peril  Bleacher ReportView Full Coverage on Google News

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John Atkins becomes first Detroit Lions player to opt out of NFL season amid pandemic - Detroit Free Press

1. John Atkins becomes first Detroit Lions player to opt out of NFL season amid pandemic  Detroit Free Press
2. Detroit Lions give sneak-peek of plexiglass-filled locker room  NFL.com
3. 5 biggest takeaways from Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn’s press conference  prideofdetroit.com
4. No Detroit Lions ranked on NFL's top 100 players for 2020  Detroit Free Press
5. Lions’ binder of COVID-19 safety protocols is bigger than their playbook  NBC Sports - NFL
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Best Of Dunks | NBA Scrimmages - NBA

1. Best Of Dunks | NBA Scrimmages  NBA
2. NBPA's Michele Roberts says league might need bubble for 2020-21, too  ESPN
3. Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking their biggest East challengers ahead of restart  Behind The Bucks Pass
4. Part hoops, part Hunger Games: NBA’s ambitious restart is like no other  Yahoo Sports
5. NBA restart - How the NBA bubble has become a platform for social justice  ESPN
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The Bucs will find out what it's like to play with a legend like Tom Brady | Get Up - ESPN

1. The Bucs will find out what it's like to play with a legend like Tom Brady | Get Up  ESPN
2. John Franklin III playing new position for Bucs  AL.com
3. Bruce Arians: Tom Brady is “way ahead of the curve”  NBC Sports - NFL
4. VIDEO: Cameron Brate recovers from COVID-19, promotes donation  Bucs Nation
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady has lowest NFL's 'Top 100 Players' ranking of his career  USA TODAY
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Rare blue lobster spotted at Red Lobster before being cooked finds home at Ohio zoo

"Clawde" was saved by Red Lobster workers — who noticed it in the lobster delivery. The likelihood of catching a blue lobster is 1 in 200 million.

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Alabama Democrats call on GOP lawmaker who attended event honoring KKK leader to resign

Democratic and Republican leaders in Alabama are denouncing state Rep. Will Dismukes (R) for attending a birthday celebration in Selma for Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.Dismukes, who is also chaplain for the Prattville Dragoons chapter of the Sons of the Confederacy, gave the invocation at the birthday event, posted on social media that he had a "great time" honoring Forrest, and shared a photo showing him standing in front of a Confederate flag.On Sunday, people in Selma paid tribute to the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), whose body was carried across the Edmund Pettus Bridge; in 1965, Lewis was beaten on the bridge by state troopers as he led a civil rights march. Dismukes took his post down on Monday, telling AL.com it was "in no way glorifying the Klan or disrespecting the late Rep. John Lewis."The Alabama Democratic Party called on Dismukes to step down, again; in June, they asked for his resignation because he supports the state continuing to fund the Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury. "Americans don't celebrate racists or traitors," Wade Perry, the state party's executive director, said in a statement criticizing Dismukes as "unfit to hold public office." "Nathan Bedford Forrest was both."Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan told AL.com it is up to the voters to decide whether Dismukes should be in office, and said it was improper for him to participate in the commemoration. Alabama House Majority Whip Danny Garrett (R) agreed, tweeting that he "cannot fathom why anyone in 2020 celebrates the birthday of the 1st KKK Grand Wizard. And while the body of a civil rights icon beaten by the Klan lies at state Capitol being honored by GOP/Dem leaders from all over the state. This mentality does not rep my party or my faith."More stories from theweek.com Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows AMC is ending its ban on Universal movies as part of a landmark agreement Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism

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'The whole church has got it, just about': Alabama church revival results in dozens of coronavirus cases

More than 40 members of a church in rural Alabama have tested positive for coronavirus after attending a mutli-day revival festival.The revival included a number of religious services which were held over multiple days last week. The pastor of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church, Daryl Ross, said the virus had impacted nearly the totality of his congregation.

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The Chicago Gun Myth

The tragically incompetent mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union this weekend to deflect attention from the horror show unfolding in her city by blaming interlopers for its spiking murder rate: “We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons -- that is hurting cities like Chicago.”Although these accusations have leveled by Chicago politicians for decades now, they are a myth.For one thing, there is no state in the nation with “virtually no gun control” or “no background checks.” Every time anyone in the United States purchases a gun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) -- a gun store, a gun show, it doesn’t matter -- the seller runs a background check on the buyer through the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) database. In some cases, the FFL checks to see if the buyer has passed a background check via a state-issued concealed-carry permit. In states that allow individual private sales, it is illegal to knowingly sell to anyone who you believe is obtaining a firearm for criminal purposes.Those who cross state lines to buy guns undergo the same background check, and the sale is processed by an FFL in the buyer’s home state. The exact same laws apply to all online sales.The vast majority of Americans obtain their guns in this manner, and they rarely commit crimes. Around 7 percent of criminals in prison bought weapons using their real names. Fewer than 1 percent obtained them at gun shows. As the Heritage Foundation’s Amy Swearer points out, there have been around 18 million concealed-carry permit holders over the past 15 years, and they have committed 801 firearm-related homicides over that span, or somewhere around 0.7 percent of all firearm-related murders. Concealed-carry holders not only are more law-abiding than the general population as a group; they are more law-abiding than law enforcement.Studies of those imprisoned on firearms charges show that most often they obtain their weapons by stealing them or buying them in black markets. A smaller percentage get them from family members or friends.On top of all this, federal law requires every FFL license holder to report the purchase of two or more handguns by the same person with a week to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This is one of the reasons straw purchasers -- people with a clean record who buy for criminals -- spread their operations to other states. This is not unique to Illinois or Chicago. It has nothing to do with strict or lenient laws. It has mostly to do with cities and states failing to prosecute straw purchases.Lightfoot claims that 60 percent of the guns used in Chicago murders are bought from out of state. I assume she is relying on 2017’s suspect “gun trace report,” which looked at guns confiscated in criminal acts from 2013 and 2016. Even if we trusted the city’s data, most guns used in Illinois crimes are bought in-state. If gun laws in Illinois — which earns a grade of “A-“ from the pro-gun-control Gifford Law Center, tied for second highest in the country after New Jersey — are more effective than gun laws in Missouri, Wisconsin, or Indiana, why is it that FFL dealers in suburban Cook County are the origin point for a third of the crime guns recovered in Chicago, and home to “seven of the top ten source dealers”? According to the trace study, 11.2 percent of all crime guns recovered in Chicago could be tracked to just two gun shops.The only reason, it seems, criminals take the drive to Indiana is because local gun shops are tapped out. There is a tremendous demand for weapons in Chicago. That’s not Mississippi’s fault. And Lightfoot’s contention only proves that criminals in her city can get their hands on guns rather easily, while most law-abiding citizens have no way to defend themselves.Lightfoot may also be surprised to learn that California borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. Yet no big city in California has quite the murder and criminality of Chicago. New York borders on states with liberal gun laws, such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Yet NYC’s murder rate is only fraction of Chicago’s. Texas gets an “F” from Gifford Law Center, yet Houston and Dallas have murder rates that are half of that in Chicago. The rates in Austin and El Paso are tiny when compared to Chicago.Then, of course, the “assault-weapons bans” that Lightfoot brings up have absolutely no bearing on Chicago’s murder rate, even if such prohibitions actually worked. There were 864 murders in the state of Illinois in 2018 (the last year for which the FBI has full stats). Of homicides where the type of weapon is reported by law enforcement, 592 were perpetrated using handguns, 14 with rifles, and four with shotguns. Over 100 murders were committed using knives, other cutting instruments, hands, feet, and other types of weapons. And of the 14 “rifles” used, it’s almost surely the case that not all of them were “assault weapons.” Among the illegal guns recovered by Chicago law enforcement in 2018, 12,220 were handguns of some kind and 1,769 were rifles and shotguns.In the states in Illinois’s neighborhood with no bans on “assault weapons,” the number of murders committed with a “rifle” is correspondingly small — ten in Indiana, eight in Tennessee, six in Kentucky, four in Wisconsin, and three in Mississippi.It’s also worth pointing out that gun homicides dropped sharply in most cities after the national “assault weapons” expired in 2004, even though the AR-15 would correspondingly become one of the most popular weapons in the country. The AR-15 is an excellent home-defense weapon, but long guns aren’t conducive to criminality, despite what we see in movies. Tragically, AR-15s are often favored by psychotic mass shooters, but rarely by the murderers who plague Lightfoot’s city.It keeps getting worse. Nearly 400 people have already been murdered in Chicago this year, around 100 more than in the entire year of 2019. On the night of May 29, 25 people were murdered and another 85 wounded by gunfire, more than any day in 60 years. And yet the mayor is appearing on TV to blame Mississippi and Texas. It is far more likely that black-market guns find their way to Chicago because the place has been a poorly run criminal mecca for decades.

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Mold from Chernobyl seems to feed on radiation, and new research suggests it could help protect astronauts in space

Researchers took mold that grows in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and blasted it into space. It may help protect astronauts from radiation.

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The birth of a militia: how an armed group polices Black Lives Matter protests

In Utah, members of a militia claim their presence deters protesters from becoming violent and destroying the stateThe Utah Citizens’ Alarm is only a month old, and yet it already boasts 15,000-plus members.The citizen militia’s recruits wear military fatigues and carry assault rifles. Their short-term goal, they say, is to act as a physical presence of intimidation to deter protesters from becoming violent and destroying the state of Utah. Their long-term goal: to arm and prepare the state of Utah against underground movements they believe will incite civil war.The group was conceived in reaction to a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality organized by different groups in Provo, Utah, on 29 June. That day, a white protester pulled out a gun and shot another white man, who was not protesting but driving his vehicle into the protest route. Two shots were fired, and one hit the driver in the arm. Protesters claim the shooting was in self-defence because the driver was hitting marchers; the police found this claim to be unsubstantiated.When Casey Robertson, 47, watched a video of the incident, he felt outraged that this could happen in his “little town of Provo”. He posted on his Facebook page and a local yard sale page that “protesters descended on downtown Provo and terrorized citizens and SHOTS WERE FIRED.” He explained that Insurgence, one of the organizing group, was planning another protest for the next night and he rallied “concerned citizens” to come together, armed and ready to do their part in protecting downtown businesses.This was a call to arms. Utah Citizens’ Alarm was born.“I was like, ‘We need to stand together as citizens and go down there and show these people that we’re not going to allow violence, and that we are not going to allow these anarchist violent groups to tear down Provo,” Robertson told the Guardian. “It’s not going to happen without a fight.’”Utah Citizens’ Alarm has since organized regular military-style trainings for its members. Robertson says he has been tipped off “by secret sources within the government and law enforcement” that underground organizations like antifa are being funded by Isis, and are using groups like BLM to wreak havoc in the community to destroy American cities and ideals. Even if none of these theories stand up to scrutiny, he is dead set on not letting it happen.Robertson was born and raised in Provo. His dad was a Provo police officer and his mother a police dispatcher. He has voted both sides of the political aisle – he voted for Clinton and Obama, although he now considers himself a conservative. To him, this is not about politics, but good and evil, and he is ready to die for this cause.“My biggest fear, probably, is my children being brought up and having to grow up in a country that has completely lost its freedom, and that is under attack, and that is turning into this cesspool of violence and chaos,” he said. “Our enemy is now within, and that’s really scary to me.”This already has a chilling effect on protests: organizers have begun cancelling protests out of fear of Utah Citizens’ Alarm coming and escalating the already heated emotions. So far, militia members remain unchallenged, using their second amendment rights to openly bear arms in public throughout the state. ‘We are here to protect the community’That same Black Lives Matter protest that inspired Robertson’s fear was originally planned as a pro-police event in downtown Provo. John Sullivan, 26, the founder of Insurgence USA, a group for racial justice and police reform, organized a counter-protest alongside several other organizers. Protesters were to meet at the Provo police station at 6.30pm that night.Sullivan, one of the few black men organizing for racial justice in Utah, is not from Provo but Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Provo is a hyper-religious Latter-day Saint college town located 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. The city is made up of about 110,000 people, 88% white, 16.6% Hispanic, and less than 1% black. Local quirks include a strong second amendment culture, strong self-reliant groups, end of world preppers, a booming music scene and a charming Center Street that has at least three ice cream parlors and only recently got its first coffee shop, as the predominant demography does not drink coffee for religious purposes.The Black Lives Matter protesters started to march. They yelled “Whose streets? Our streets!” at drivers and lingered in front of cars, some of which started plowing through the crowd, claiming protesters had surrounded them and would not let them leave. (Videos show this was not the case.)Brian DeLong, a philosophy student at Utah Valley University, was grabbing a coffee when he saw protesters pass by. He joined in the march. At the intersection of University Avenue and Center Street, he was hit by a silver Excursion going southbound and immediately heard two gunshots, one after the other. DeLong bounced off the car and realized about five other people had also been hit. The driver frantically drove off.Nine minutes later, an ambulance appeared on the scene. The police did not come, and only appeared in full riot gear at 9.40pm when protesters made it back to the front of the police station.Drivers driving into protesters resulting in people shooting guns is becoming more frequent. On July 25, an Austin motorist drove into a crowd and fatally shot a protester. On the same night, another driver drove into protesters in Aurora, Colorado – except it was a protester who took out his gun and ended up shooting two fellow protesters.After the Provo protest, a policeman told Josianne Petit, 34, a criminal defense paralegal and founder of Mama & Papa Panthers, an organization dedicated to helping parents of all races in raising black children, that the police were inside watching the whole protest on Facebook Live. She said: “I felt fundamentally betrayed. I had worked with Provo PD extensively prior to that protest and I thought I had a good working relationship with them, but to hear the complete disregard they had for the lives of protesters was alarming to me, but also devastating.”Sullivan, the organizer, was not prepared for what transpired, nor did he know that anyone had a gun on his side of the protest. He created another Facebook event to hold a protest two days later in response.On that day, the two sides stood facing each other. The protesters carried posters; the Utah Citizens’ Alarm carried assault rifles. The protesters wore black; the paramilitia wore American flags. Both groups wore masks. On the west side, it was to protect themselves from the coronavirus. On the east side, masks were a protection from unwanted media attention.One young man carrying an assault rifle and two magazines of ammunition, with his face completely covered, pointed at the protesters and said: “What they have done is straight out of the communist manifesto … they say that your political beliefs are now your identity and, if somebody’s against your identity, they can justify whatever they do against you because they’re now repressing you for not agreeing with you.”He added: “Not everybody over there but the more extremists will agree with that. Black Lives Matter, as an organization, receives money from people who want to see violence happen.”Another young man walked over and said: “They hate America. They say they want to change America, that’s un-American.”The BLM protesters were authorized to march in the street. Utah Citizens’ Alarm was permitted to march on the sidewalks, guarding the storefronts from the protesters. About 250 policemen were brought in, as well as at least four snipers who stood on the roof of the Nu Skin building, a ten-storey building next to the Mormon temple.One police officer from Springville, a town just south of Provo, said he trusted 99.9% of the men and women with the guns, and said: “Those men and women would be the first people to take a bullet for any of the protesters there.”At the end of the march, Utah Citizens’ Alarm members came to the megaphone and repeated the Springville police officer’s line: “We are here to protect the community. We would be the first to take a bullet for each and every one of you.”Josey Gardner, 25, a protester and EMT studying English at BYU, asked: “Whose bullets are they protecting us from? They are the only ones with guns.” A chilling effect on free speechUtah Citizens’ Alarm is now organized into a pseudo-militia under the guidance of ex-military and ex-law enforcement on their newly formed board of advisers. They want Utah to be fully prepared for the “civil war” instigated by underground, militant forces.The group trains tirelessly. When on site, members are advised to move in groups of three and no less, because they have been told by informants on the inside that antifa attacks single out the strongest members in vulnerable situations. They have escape plans at every site, and promote a firm obedience to the local police, including when asked by them not to come to a protest.(Provo police chief Rich Ferguson made a statement that the Provo police have no relationship with the Utah Citizens’ Alarm, which Sergeant Nisha King, head of the Provo police department’s public information team, verified. )Meanwhile, militia members have now been to almost every protest on the Wasatch Front. They come to protests throughout the state with anywhere between 30 to 1,000 members in full uniform (sometimes homemade, sometimes military-grade), some in bulletproof vests, and openly carrying ARs. They silently stand in the background and observe, always on guard believing they may be called upon to act quickly if something goes wrong.A protest in Taylorsville was cancelled because too many protesters felt the risk was not worth being there. Robertson took this as a win.Jason Stevens, of Utah’s American Civil Liberties Union, stressed the importance of the historical context in what happened in the civil rights movement of the 1960s when armed groups, militias, local chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, white citizens councils, organizations both official and unofficial took it upon themselves to defend what they saw as their rights and property with violent and systemic intimidation and threats to African Americans and others in those areas.“I am not saying that is what is happening here. But with context, if you are a protester and you see groups like this showing up at your protest, that’s got to be in the back of your mind, this history of intimidation and threats.”Outside of Utah, these threats are present and real for protesters. In Omak, Washington, small civilian militias are forming to threaten protesters. In New Mexico, there is another civilian militia group that call themselves the New Mexico Civil Guard reacting to rioting and looting.In Portland, the threats to free speech and the right to protest are coming from the federal government, which has deployed unidentified agents to quell protests by forcibly grabbing protesters and taking them away in unidentified vehicles.BLM-adjacent groups held a “Stop Kidnapping Protesters” event in Salt Lake City on 22 July, in reference to what took place in Portland. Robertson and his team came in full garb and made a live video. Robertson said: “That’s the name of the protest – ‘Stop kidnapping protesters’. My boy over here translated it as ‘stop arresting criminals’. The awesome thing is these people that are out creating chaos and committing crimes, they are being watched. Law enforcement finally started to go around and pick them up and arrest them. I am all for it.”Additionally, lines between the second and first amendment are complicated, especially as open-carry laws in Utah make it legal for groups of heavily armed individuals to gather in places where the first amendment is being honored, such as protests.“If the right to bear arms is overriding the right to free speech, that may be cause for concern,” said Dr RonNell Andersen Jones, a law professor at the University of Utah. “Our constitutional doctrine hasn’t yet had the chance to really tussle with the question of what the presence of guns does to a free speech event. Short of more overt threats of violence, we usually protect protesters with guns in the same ways we protect protesters without them. But if the express goal of the armed individuals is to intimidate people who might otherwise share their views, that’s especially troubling.”In response to Utah Citizens’ Alarm, Utah protesters are now arming themselves. John Sullivan of Insurgence USA held his first armed protest on 22 July at the Utah state capitol, carrying an AR-15 and a magazine of ammo. He is encouraging Insurgence USA protesters to purchase guns so they can protect themselves if there is violence.“Basically, nobody in our group owns a gun except for me; nobody was planning on ever shooting anyone. So the fact that I bought a bulletproof vest and more magazines and our people are buying guns should say a lot. It shouldn’t be that way.”Petit, who also organizes alongside BLM and Insurgence USA, has recruited ex-military to train and arm her protesters, because she feels the threat is real as long as Utah Citizens’ Alarm is showing up.“The only way forward is to make sure we are prepared, because at this point the options the only options available to us are when things go crazy we lie down and die, or we fight back.“And I’m sorry, I’m not lying down for anybody.”

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

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

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