Mountain gorillas in Africa on lockdown amid coronavirus

With respiratory infections being the second leading cause of death among gorillas, doctors with Democratic Republic of Congo nonprofit group, Gorilla Doctors, are on high alert.

Intelligence officials and disease experts are shooting down Trump's claim that the US has good reason to believe the coronavirus originated in a Wuhan lab

Intelligence officials and disease experts told The Washington Post that there's no evidence to back up Trump's theory.

McConnell Was Warned D.C. Hadn’t Hit COVID Benchmarks Prior to Reconvening Senate

At least one official with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) office was on a call last week with the Capitol’s attending physician during which that physician, Dr. Brian Monahan, said Washington, D.C. had not yet cleared coronavirus-related benchmarks needed to safely reopen. According to two sources familiar with the call, McConnell’s chief of staff, Sharon Soderstrom, stressed to individuals on the call that they should take seriously the likelihood that the Majority Leader would reconvene the Senate on May 4 even amid the pandemic. A third source who was informed of the call’s exchanges confirmed that account.Despite Monahan’s warnings, McConnell did just that, telling lawmakers this week that they would be called back next Monday.McConnell has defended his position by noting that the government is asking and demanding a host of essential workers to remain on the job during the spread of coronavirus and, therefore, that federal lawmakers should be prepared to do the same. But his decision to call back the Senate has been met with criticism by some of its own members, who say it defies basic public safety guidelines to make lawmakers (many elderly) and their staffs—not to mention the hundreds of workers needed to keep the Capitol and Senate offices running—cram into the buildings when COVID-19 cases in Washington, D.C. are just about peaking. McConnell to Move Quickly on Confirming His 38-Year-Old Protégé to the BenchThose warnings took on additional urgency this Thursday when Monahan held a separate call with top GOP officials during which he relayed that his office lacked the capacity to test all 100 senators for coronavirus and that the tests they did possess could take two or more days to process. It is unclear if the state of testing was discussed on Monahan’s call the week prior. A request for comment to his office was not returned. One source also said that Monahan made no actual recommendation as to whether the Senate should or should not reconvene as his job is not to advise on those matters but to give lawmakers “the lay of the land.” “He gave a nearly 20 minute update on the situation in D.C.,” said the source. “He did outline that they didn't expect the benchmarks to be met by May 4.”  According to the source, the call featured at least one aide to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, the Senate parliamentarian, the Architect of the Capitol, the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms, the Secretary of the Senate, top Republican and Democratic floor staff, and the Rules Committee Chair and ranking members as well as their staffs. Schumer’s office declined to comment. David Popp, a  spokesman for McConnell, said, “I do not have any readouts or guidance to provide from any recent calls at the member or staff level.”Washington, D.C. authorities have extended the city’s stay-at-home order through May 15 as the coronavirus’ spread has yet to abate sufficiently to reasonably relax social distancing restrictions. On Thursday, the District had its deadliest date yet, while the greater metro region recorded 2,000 new COVID cases. Officials have warned that businesses may not be able to open for another two to three months under the current trajectory.Earlier in the week, House Democratic leadership reversed course on their own scheduled return to business on May 4, apparently based on similar warnings. After announcing on Monday that the House would reconvene on that day, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Tuesday they would in fact not return, citing guidance from the attending physician and backlash from rank-and-file members. As the Senate reconvenes next week, some precautions are being taken. According to Politico, staff is being encouraged to telework and Senate offices are being asked to screen staffers who have to come to the Hill. Both lawmakers and aides are also being asked to wear masks at all times.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.

Russia's coronavirus cases hit new high, Moscow warns of clampdown

Russia reported 9,623 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, bringing the total to 124,054, mostly in the capital Moscow, where the mayor threatened to cut the number of travel permits. The death toll nationwide rose to 1,222 after 57 people died in the last 24 hours, Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said, after revising the previous day's tally. Russia has been in partial lockdown, aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus, since the end of March.

Venezuela prison riot death toll rises to 47

The death toll from a prison riot in western Venezuela has risen to at least 47, with 75 wounded, an opposition politician and prisoners' rights group said Saturday. "At the moment we have been able to confirm 47 dead and 75 wounded," deputy Maria Beatriz Martinez, elected from Portuguesa state where the Los Llanos prison is located, told AFP. The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) rights group also gave the same tally, calling the violence a "massacre," and both confirmed that all of the dead were detainees.

Secret Service paid $33,000 to Trump's D.C. hotel to guard Mnuchin while he lived there

In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spent several months living in a suite at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., with the Secret Service paying more than $33,000 to rent the adjoining room in order to screen his packages and visitors, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. Billing records show the Secret Service was charged $242 per night, which at the time was the maximum rate federal agencies were typically allowed to pay for a room. The room was rented for 137 nights, and the final bill, footed by taxpayers, was $33,154. Mnuchin stayed at the hotel while looking for a home to purchase in Washington. A Treasury Department spokesperson told the Post Mnuchin paid for his suite with his own money, and was able to negotiate a discounted rate.When asked by the Post if Mnuchin considered how much it would cost taxpayers to have the Secret Service rent a hotel room for an extended period of time, the spokesperson said, "The secretary was not aware of what the U.S. Secret Service paid for the adjoining room."Renting a room in order to guard a Treasury secretary is standard Secret Service practice, people familiar with the matter told the Post, but during other administrations, the president didn't own the hotel that was being paid. The Trump Organization has not revealed how much federal agencies have paid to the company since Trump's 2017 inauguration, but using public records, the Post has found more than 170 payments from the Secret Service to Trump properties, for a total of more than $620,000. Many of these payments stem from the Secret Service accompanying Trump on trips to his own hotels. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com The angst over Joe Biden's assault allegation has an easy resolution Mitt Romney sides with Democrats calling for $12 hourly raises for essential workers 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit

Biden asks the secretary of the Senate to direct a search for an alleged sexual harassment complaint filed by a former staffer

Biden allows access to his Senate records to see if there are documents to corroborate accusor's claims after previously denying access.

What are 'Murder Hornets' and should I be worried? Asian giant hornets spotted in the US

Asian giant hornets have been known to slaughter honeybees and can be deadly to humans. Here's what you should know about the invasive species.

'Once Upon a Virus': China mocks U.S. coronavirus response in Lego-like animation

Bolivian light plane crash kills six, including four Spanish citizens

A Bolivian military plane crashed on Saturday, killing two crew members and four Spanish citizens who were being transferred before a planned repatriation amid the coronavirus outbreak, the country's Air Force said.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/3bZ2x7u

Trump hails Kim reappearance, but North Korea denuclearization prospects bleak

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday welcomed the reemergence of North Korea's Kim Jong Un after weeks of speculation about his health, but prospects for the U.S. efforts to persuade Pyongyang to denuclearize appear as bleak as ever.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2zSDF38

Brazil's top court blocks Bolsonaro move to expel Venezuelan diplomats

A Supreme Court judge issued an injunction on Saturday suspending for 10 days a decision by Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro to expel Venezuela's 30 diplomats and consular staff.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/3aWE3uh

Rights groups call for probe into Venezuela prison riot that left 46 dead

Human rights groups on Saturday called for an investigation into a prison riot in western Venezuela that left 46 people dead and 75 injured, and questioned authorities' explanation that the incident was linked to a failed escape attempt.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2xrKpnB

Defiant Californians protest against coronavirus lockdown restrictions

Californians weary of stay-at-home orders that have left millions unemployed staged displays of defiance on Friday, with hundreds of flag-waving protesters gathering at the Capitol and along a famed Southern California beach, while a sparsely populated county on the Oregon border allowed diners back in restaurants and reopened other businesses. While much of the state's population remained behind closed doors to deter the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the building anxiety while repeatedly teasing the possibility the state could begin relaxing some aspects of the restrictions next week. "We are all impatient," the governor said during his daily briefing, adding "We have to be really deliberative on how we reopen this economy." Mr Newsom noted the state just passed the grim marks of 50,000 confirmed infections and 2,000 deaths but that hospitalisation statistics are heading in a better direction and that has him hopeful. "We can screw all that up. We can set all that back by making bad decisions," he said. "All of that works because people have done an incredible job in their physical distancing."

Michigan governor extends coronavirus state of emergency until May 28

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Thursday extended a coronavirus state of emergency declaration through May 28, saying "common sense and all of the scientific data tells us we're not out of the woods yet."The Republican-controlled state legislature did not approve her order to extend the declaration, which was set to expire on Friday. Whitmer continued the state of emergency by executive order, and GOP lawmakers are now planning on taking her to court over her exercise of state emergency powers, the Detroit Free Press reports. Whitmer said in a statement that by "refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk."There are now 41,379 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan, with the death toll at 3,789. Conservative groups have complained that Whitmer's stay-at-home order is too strict, and on Thursday, dozens of demonstrators, some of them carrying rifles, entered Michigan's statehouse, calling on Whitmer to end the state of emergency. This was a "political rally," Whitmer said, and if participants become infected from COVID-19 because they didn't practicing social distancing, the stay-at-home order could last even longer.More stories from theweek.com The angst over Joe Biden's assault allegation has an easy resolution Mitt Romney sides with Democrats calling for $12 hourly raises for essential workers 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit

A woman fell 115-feet to her death after posing for a cliffside photo to celebrate the end of a lockdown

Tour guide Olesya Suspitsyna, from Kazakhstan, died after slipping on grass and falling off a cliff in the Duden Park in Antalya, Turkey.

California judge won't reopen Orange County beaches

Friday's decision came down as hundreds of people in Huntington Beach flooded the streets to protest the governor's directive.

WHO Adviser Says It’s ‘Likely’ Coronavirus Leaked from Lab, Slams Trump Admin Response to Pandemic

Jamie Metzl, a member of the World Health Organization’s International Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing, has speculated that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China."When they have outbreaks in China, the zoonotic jump [of the virus from animal to humans] tends to happen in the south in Guangdong or Yunnan Province, and not in Wuhan or in Hubei Province," Metzl told National Review. "They have the only level-4 virology lab in China, which happens to be in Wuhan and was studying dangerous coronaviruses."That lab is the Wuhan Institute of Virology, situated about nine miles from the seafood market where the coronavirus was initially thought to have originated.Metzl continued, "It seems kind of likely that [if] you have a Chinese lab studying a dangerous virus, and you have a very similar virus that leaps out right next to one of the labs, you could logically…put two and two together."Metzl said he has considered this theory a possibility since January, "from the very beginning when I heard this news story."The first U.S. politician to point out the proximity of the Wuhan Institute of Virology to the outbreak's epicenter was Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.)."China claimed—for almost two months—that coronavirus had originated in a Wuhan seafood market. That is not the case," Cotton wrote on Twitter on January 30. The senator uploaded a video in which he noted the proximity of the lab.While initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory, suspicion has grown amongst U.S. officials that circumstantial evidence points to an accidental leak. President Trump and other officials have called for investigations into a possible Chinese cover up of the outbreak's origins, and Trump has halted funding to the WHO over what he described as the organization's "gross mismanagement" of the pandemic. U.S. politicians, particularly congressional Republicans, have also accused the WHO of parroting Chinese misinformation in the early stages of the pandemic.Metzl said the WHO could have been more skeptical of the information coming from China in late December and early January, but on the whole defended the organization's handling of the pandemic, saying his colleagues are "driven by doing the right thing and following the evidence." However, Metzl slammed the Trump administration's response to the pandemic."The Trump administration’s response to the pandemic has been among the greatest leadership failures in all of American history," Metzl said. "Not only did they feel to heed the warnings, not only did they completely screw up the testing, but the president of the United States was actively spewing deadly misinformation to the American people and denying this crisis as it was playing out."China has so far refused to allow representatives from the WHO to join an investigation into the coronavirus's origins.The coronavirus has infected over 1,000,000 Americans and killed over 64,000 as of Friday. Social distancing measures and business closures implemented to mitigate the spread of coronavirus have caused widespread damage to the U.S. economy and put roughly 30 million Americans out of work.

France extends virus emergency until July 24

The French government said on Saturday it will extend a health emergency imposed to fight the new coronavirus by two months, allowing it to keep stringent anti-virus measures in place even after a partial lifting of the country's lockdown. As part of the planned measures anybody entering France, foreign or French, will have to remain confined for two weeks, Health Minister Olivier Veran told a news conference. Infected people already in France will, however, not be forced to accept isolation and treatment, as "we trust French people's sense of responsibility", Veran said.

Biden's comments on Kavanaugh resurface as he faces his own sexual assault allegations

During Kavanaugh hearings, Biden said: "you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real."

Protests mark growing unrest with California stay-home order

Californians weary of stay-at-home orders that have left millions unemployed staged displays of defiance Friday, with hundreds of flag-waving protesters gathering at the Capitol and along a famed Southern California beach, while a sparsely populated county on the Oregon border allowed diners back in restaurants and reopened other businesses. While much of the state's population remained behind closed doors to deter the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the building anxiety while repeatedly teasing the possibility the state could begin relaxing some aspects of the restrictions next week. Newsom noted the state just passed the grim marks of 50,000 confirmed infections and 2,000 deaths but that hospitalization statistics are heading in a better direction and that has him hopeful.

What's open and closed this weekend: Beaches, parks and trails in Southern California

As the pandemic fight evolves, state officials have stuck with closures while some cities ease up

5.4-magnitude earthquake hits near Puerto Rico

The quake caused damage in the city of Ponce and other southern towns on Saturday morning.

Judge Vacates Oil and Gas Leases on 145,000 Acres in Montana

By BY CORAL DAVENPORT from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/2zSQPxb

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

By BY ROGER COHEN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3aX7oVs

Wild Ideas to Bring Back Sports Might Say More About Cities Than Leagues

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3aZfYD0

‘No One Needs Botox in a Pandemic.’ But Some in Beverly Hills Are Now Getting It.

By BY SHAWN HUBLER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3bZ7kWC

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Demands Are Dismissed by Judge

By BY ANDREW DAS from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3f9AwvZ

Clashes Over Virus Response Intensify Amid Wave of State Reopenings

By BY JULIE BOSMAN AND SARAH MERVOSH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3aVeklN

A Shortage of Steak? Yes, and Ranchers Knew It Was Coming

By BY ELIZA BLUE from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2KTeRKE

Capitol Lacks Tests for Returning Senators While White House Tests Many in Trump’s Circle

By BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, NICHOLAS FANDOS AND KATIE ROGERS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2SnN8FW

‘I Will Never Lie to You,’ McEnany Says in First White House Briefing

By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2YnAB9m

Blue Bell’s Ex-C.E.O. Charged in Conspiracy to Cover Up Listeria Outbreak

By BY CHRISTOPHER MELE from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3aX3ThM

Biden Campaign Operatives Have Accessed the Senate Files He Now Refuses to Release

Biden campaign operatives have reportedly accessed the former vice president's archived Senate files, which may contain information shedding light on Tara Reade's allegation that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him as a Senate aide.Operatives with the presumptive Democratic nominee's campaign accessed Biden's records, which are housed at the University of Delaware, in the spring of 2019, just after he announced his candidacy for president in late April, Business Insider reported. The University of Delaware said no one has accessed them since mid-March, when the university library closed due to the pandemic.Reade went public shortly afterwards on March 25 with graphic details of her claim. She alleged that in 1993 when she was a Senate staff assistant, she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her. In early April of last year, before he announced his run for the Democratic nomination, Reade alleged along with several other women that Biden had touched her inappropriately.Biden deposited his Senate archive at the University of Delaware in 2012. Initially, the university promised to open the archive two years after Biden’s last day in public office. However, in April 2019 hours before Biden announced his presidential campaign, the university decided to keep the archive closed until December 31, 2019 or until Biden retires from public life.Reade has said that she suspects the archives from Biden's 36 years as senator may contain notes and other personnel records, including a sexual harassment complaint she filed. Reade said she complained about harassment from Biden to three top staffers, who deny ever hearing about the allegation. However, several interns remember Reade losing her intern supervision responsibilities around that time.Ted Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff at the time, "took notes" during a meeting she had with him about the harassment, Reade told Business Insider."He's now denying that we ever had the meeting, and I watched him take notes. Those notes would be in my personnel file, along with sick days or any kind of extra notes that I turn in," she said.Reade is calling for the release to the public of the Senate files, which are due to be released two years after Biden leaves public life."I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," she said. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light - why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"

Nearly 900 workers at a Tyson plant in Indiana test positive for coronavirus

The 890 employees who have tested positive so far represent 40 percent of the workforce at the pork-processing plant.

Michigan governor extends coronavirus state of emergency until May 28

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Thursday extended a coronavirus state of emergency declaration through May 28, saying "common sense and all of the scientific data tells us we're not out of the woods yet."The Republican-controlled state legislature did not approve her order to extend the declaration, which was set to expire on Friday. Whitmer continued the state of emergency by executive order, and GOP lawmakers are now planning on taking her to court over her exercise of state emergency powers, the Detroit Free Press reports. Whitmer said in a statement that by "refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk."There are now 41,379 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan, with the death toll at 3,789. Conservative groups have complained that Whitmer's stay-at-home order is too strict, and on Thursday, dozens of demonstrators, some of them carrying rifles, entered Michigan's statehouse, calling on Whitmer to end the state of emergency. This was a "political rally," Whitmer said, and if participants become infected from COVID-19 because they didn't practicing social distancing, the stay-at-home order could last even longer.More stories from theweek.com The smoke-filled room that could oust Joe Biden 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Mike Pence's unmasked hospital visit If flu deaths were counted like COVID-19 deaths, the worst recent flu season evidently killed 15,620 Americans

California County Defies Governor's Statewide Coronavirus Shutdown Order

A rural California county has become the first to permit nonessential businesses to reopen and allow diners in restaurants

McConnell says Biden will have to release more information surrounding Tara Reade allegation

"It's a very challenging thing to run for president," the majority leader says.

Kim Yo-jong: North Korea's most powerful woman and heir apparent?

Kim Jong-un's sister is North Korea's most powerful woman and a possible successor to her brother.