Google is about to fix the most annoying thing about Chromebooks - Android Central

1. Google is about to fix the most annoying thing about Chromebooks  Android Central
2. Chrome OS 84 Gets An Overview Mode Upgrade  Chrome Unboxed
3. How Google is bringing Windows apps to Chromebooks  The Verge
4. Google is going all-in on Windows app support for Chrome OS  Android Police
5. Google ports its AirDrop-like Nearby Share to Windows via the Chrome browser  Android Central
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake Welcome Baby No. 2: Relive Their Sweetest Family Moments - E! NEWS

1. Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake Welcome Baby No. 2: Relive Their Sweetest Family Moments  E! NEWS
2. Jessica Biel Quietly Gives Birth, Welcomes 2nd Child with Justin Timberlake  Yahoo Entertainment
3. Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake Welcome Baby No. 2  Us Weekly
4. Jessica Biel Quietly Gives Birth, Welcomes 2nd Child with Justin Timberlake: Report  E! NEWS
5. Brian McKnight confirms birth of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's second child  Page Six
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Bill Belichick - Cam Newton will have to win Patriots' starting QB job - ESPN

1. Bill Belichick - Cam Newton will have to win Patriots' starting QB job  ESPN
2. Bill Belichick: “We'll be ready to go when it's time to kick in" | 7/31 Press Conference  New England Patriots
3. Patriots pre-training camp roster projection | WEEI  WEEI
4. Bill Belichick On Signing Cam Newton; Patriots Quarterback Competition  NESN
5. Bill Belichick on six Patriots opting out: ‘I respect all the players on our team’  Boston.com
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Leicester Muslims mark second Eid of extended lockdown

Leicester's religious leaders and council urge people to pray and celebrate the festival at home.

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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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India Atkinson: TikTok disability educator goes viral

India Atkinson's videos address misconceptions about a condition that left her without fingers on one hand.

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Coronavirus symptoms: What are they and how long should I self-isolate?

The BBC’s Laura Foster explains how you can recognise the symptoms of coronavirus.

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Week in pictures: 25 July-31 July 2020

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this 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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James Baldwin: World's fastest gamer to real life racer

Gaming gives the 22-year-old a second chance of achieving his real life racing dreams.

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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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Ghislaine Maxwell-Jeffrey Epstein emails revealed in new court papers

In the papers, a key accuser also alleges the pair were equally involved in sex trafficking.

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Two pilots killed when air tankers collide

The planes had been dispatched to help battle the Bishop Fire, a 14,000-acre blaze burning on federal land.

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Jim Jordan tries and fails to get Fauci to say protesters should be arrested for gathering during pandemic

Dr. Anthony Fauci wants to make it clear he's got nothing to do with the justice system.Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared before Congress on Friday for a hearing on the federal government's coronavirus response. That's where Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who's been skeptical of restrictions meant to stem the virus' spread, tried to get Fauci to distinguish between protests against racism in the U.S. and bans on businesses reopening amid the pandemic.Because science indicates crowds exacerbate the spread of coronavirus, Jordan asked Fauci on Friday if the government "should limit the protests." "I'm not in a position to determine what the government should do in a forceful way," Fauci responded. So Jordan kept pressing: "The government is stopping people from going to church," claiming that's something "the five liberals" on the Supreme Court had decided. But Fauci continued holding out, saying he does not "judge one crowd versus another crowd" and would not "opine on who should get arrested or not. That's not my position."Jordan then went so far as to claim Fauci had said "protests increase the spread" of coronavirus. "I said crowds, I didn't say specifically, I didn't say protests or anything, " Fauci firmly responded. "You're putting words in my mouth," Fauci continued before saying he had no data showing the nationwide protests had spread the virus. Watch the whole exchange below. > Rep. Jordan: So, you're allowed to protest, millions of people in crowds...but you try to run your business and you get arrested?> > Dr. Fauci: I don't understand what you're asking me, as a public health official, to opine on who should get arrested or not. That's not my position pic.twitter.com/fAZEqbLz5q> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) July 31, 2020More stories from theweek.com The White House reportedly scrapped a national testing plan because the virus was mostly hitting blue states Josh Hawley's good idea to stop modern slavery New Lincoln Project video imagines what it's like to wake up from a coma in 2020

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Teachers fearing in-person schooling make wills, retire or plan strikes

Educators, worried about the potentially deadly risks they are being forced to take, say proper protections have not been implemented School districts around the US are set to begin reopening in August, many with in-person classes, five days a week, despite coronavirus cases rising in many parts of the country.But the school reopenings have teachers around the US fearful for the safety of themselves, students, staff and family members, with teachers and unions saying that proper protections and protocols have yet to be implemented.Some teachers have even drawn up wills ahead of classes beginning, others have retired from the profession and teachers unions have said they will sanction strike action for members who deem that they are being forced to take potentially deadly risks.“Educators are afraid because proper policies are not being put in place to protect them,” said Alicia Priest, president of the Oklahoma Education Association. The Oklahoma state board of education has only issued guidelines for school districts, and voted down a proposal on 23 July to issue a mask mandate in schools across the state.“The OEA offers members through our personal legal services program a free will. The requests for those free wills are up over 3,000% in the last few weeks,” Priest added.A report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation on 10 July found 1.47 million teachers in the US – some 24% of the profession – are at greater risk of serious illness if infected with coronavirus because they have conditions that make them vulnerable.Yet Florida has issued an order mandating all schools must open in August in-person, five days a week. The Florida teachers union responded to the order with a lawsuit.“We are letting the community down by pretending we can open safely. The districts cannot do what is necessary according to CDC guidelines,” said Stacy Rene Kennett, a kindergarten teacher in Immokalee, Florida, who is expected to begin attending in-person training for school reopenings on 4 August.Amy Scott, an IB language arts high school teacher in Miami, Florida for 44 years, decided to retire one year early due to the coronavirus pandemic and the instability of the upcoming school year.“I dreaded it. I wanted to extend it as long as possible because I love kids and teaching,” said Scott. “But then came coronavirus and I realized all the difficulties of holding brick-and-mortar classrooms and the danger involved to teachers, students and the community spread and I didn’t want to end my 45 years of teaching in such a frustrating environment.”In Arizona, which was designated a global pandemic hotspot in early July, reopening decisions have been left to individual school districts.“There is no consistency across the state,” said Marisol Garcia, a middle school teacher and parent in Phoenix who currently serves as vice-president of the Arizona Educators Association. “We are left to our own devices to figure out how to keep our families safe and ensure our students are safe”Garcia explained current class loads in Arizona make social distancing impossible in districts where in-person learning is permitted, as she had no less than 31 students in each class last school year, and it remains unclear if any schools will face repercussions for not following guidelines for coronavirus protections. She also warns many of her colleagues may retire early.In Georgia, state agencies have issued guidelines for school reopenings, deferring decisions to school districts on when and how schools reopen in the coming weeks.Several school districts outside of metro areas in Georgia are reopening in August with in-person classes, five days a week, leaving teachers there concerned over safety protections as coronavirus case rates have been rising around the state over the past several weeks.“We’re very concerned that when we’re once again in school buildings, children, educators, and their family members will become sick and perhaps die,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Educators Association.According to Morgan, several school districts in Georgia that are reopening in person, five days a week, are not following CDC guidelines, with no mask mandates, large classroom sizes making social distancing impossible, and responsibility for extra cleaning measures placed on teachers to carry out.Even as schools are expected to reopen in the coming weeks around the US, school districts and teachers are scrambling to create plans for restarting schools, whether classes are conducted in person, virtually, or a hybrid of in-person and remote learning.“The country is asking teachers and children to lead the way, yet no one seems to know what direction we’re headed,” said Angela McKeen, a high school science teacher in Clarksburg, West Virginia. “My concerns at this point are for my students. Can we prevent huge outbreaks? Can students effectively learn in such fluid situations? Can teachers effectively reach their students at not just their places academically, but also emotionally during this time?”Teacher unions have raised the possibility of walking off the job unless comprehensive safety plans are implemented for schools to reopen.The head of the Colorado Education Association recently said teachers may refuse to report to work as schools are set to reopen in the state in August if teachers’ criteria for school reopenings aren’t met.The union cited a survey of nearly 10,000 members, where about eight out of 10 teachers asserted they would be willing to refuse to work if teachers aren’t provided a voice in how safety protocols are implemented, such as mask mandates and social distancing procedures.“We don’t want schools to be epicenters of outbreak in our community. It would crush any student or staff member if they brought coronavirus into school,” said Ernest Garibay, a high school math teacher in Jefferson county, Colorado, and local union representative.

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Father, son with COVID-19 forced to quarantine in Hawaii

Hawaii's public health director said a rarely used special health order was used to force them into isolation.

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China uses Hong Kong security law against US and UK based activists

* Arrest warrant issued for campaigner and US citizen Samuel Chu * Four other exiles are in Britain wanted for ‘incitement to secession’Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants for six pro-democracy activists living in exile, the first time the city’s authorities have used a sweeping new law to target campaigners living outside Hong Kong.They include Samuel Chu, an American citizen who lives in the US, Nathan Law, a prominent campaigner who recently relocated to the UK after fleeing Hong Kong, and Simon Cheng, a former British consular staffer who was granted asylum in the UK after alleging he was tortured in China.Chinese state media reported that the six men were wanted for “incitement to secession and collusion with foreign forces”.The move comes a month after China introduced a controversial national security law in Hong Kong. China said the legislation targets the crimes of “secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces” and carries penalties as severe as life in prison.Critics warned that it would be used to target legitimate opposition, and highlighted the unusual decision to make the law applicable to both Hong Kong residents and non-residents. That apparently gives China jurisdiction beyond its own borders.Chu, who runs the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a Washington DC-based advocacy organization dedicated to furthering Hong Kong’s freedom and democracy, is the first person targeted under this aspect of the law.He said China was sending a clear message to other activists by ordering his arrest.“I would really emphasize how outrageous this really is,” Chu told the Guardian. “I am the first non-Chinese citizen that essentially is being targeted. I think they do intend to try to make this an example.”Several countries have since suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong, including the UK, Australia and Germany, as a possible safeguard against attempts to use the national security laws to round up activists abroad. The US ordered an end to Hong Kong’s special economic status earlier in July.Chu, who has lived in the US as an American citizen since 1996, said the charges amounted to China “targeting a US citizen for lobbying my own government”.“We always knew that when the national security law went into effect there was a very troubling and illogical, irrational idea that they were claiming jurisdiction over anyone who is not even a Hong Kong resident, who is anywhere in the world, doing anything that they deemed threatening,” he said.> HK police is targeting a US citizen for lobbying my own gov't. I might be the 1st non-Chinese citizen to be targeted, but I will not be the last. If I am targeted, any American/any citizen of any nation who speaks out for HK can-and will be-too. > > We are all Hong Kongers now. pic.twitter.com/KQYGcStY1e> > — Samuel Chu 朱牧民 (@samuelmchu) July 31, 2020The other activists charged wereRay Wong, Wayne Chan and Honcques Laus.Wong, who is currently in the UK, told Reuters the charges showed that the Chinese government was afraid of the advocacy work of Hong Kong activists internationally.“I think they want to cut off our connection with people in Hong Kong … it will make people fear that they may violate the national security law by contacting us,” Wong said.

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Trump revisits his playbook for disastrous news: An explosive spectacle

Minutes after the government announced the worst economic contraction on record, the president upended a day in Washington with his suggestion of delaying the election.

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A key federal appeals court will reexamine case on Michael Flynn's guilty plea

The full panel of judges' decision to review Flynn's case could result in a reversal of a three-judge panel's decision to dismiss the case last month.

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Hurricane Isaias slams Puerto Rico, could hit Florida on weekend

The storm will bring “potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” to Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean, forecasters said.

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Hong Kong bars 12 opposition candidates from election

Opposition candidates had hoped to capitalise on anger over a controversial security law.

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The Less Impossible Israeli-Palestinian Peace

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

Twitter bans white supremacist David Duke after 11 years

The former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard has faced a belated backlash from social media companies

In 1999, the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke predicted that the Internet would help give birth to a “coming white revolution”.

The news media did not give him friendly coverage, he wrote on his website, but on the internet, he could reach supporters directly, starting a “chain reaction of racial enlightenment”.

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What you need to become an internet streaming star

Broadcasting on services like Twitch is becoming increasingly popular - and more professional.

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A key federal appeals court will reexamine case on Michael Flynn's guilty plea

The full panel of judges' decision to review Flynn's case could result in a reversal of a three-judge panel's decision to dismiss the case last month.

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Iran says fires missiles from underground in Gulf war games

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launched ballistic missiles from "the depths of the Earth" on Wednesday during the last day of military exercises near sensitive Gulf waters. The launches came a day after the Guards struck a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier with volleys of missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for a fifth of world oil output. The Iranian manoeuvres were staged amid heightened tensions between Iran and its decades-old arch enemy the United States.

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Portland has become the focal point of Black Lives Matter protests in America, but it has a tortured history when it comes to race

For years in Oregon's early history, white locals barred Black people from living in its borders. It's now one of the least diverse states in America.

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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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Trump’s Dangerously Distorted View of How to Keep America Safe

Amy Davidson Sorkin writes about President Donald Trump’s continued touting of hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure for the coronavirus, despite a lack of supporting medical evidence, and his suggestion that the 2020 election should be postponed until the pandemic is brought under control.

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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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New research suggests COVID-19 can spread via aerosol transmission -- and might affect tall people more

A new survey has found more evidence to suggest that people can become infected with COVID-19 through aerosol transmission, which could be prevented by wearing a mask. Carried out by data scientists in the UK, Norway, and the US, the study is one of the first to investigate which personal and work-related factors can lead to COVID-19 transmission. After surveying 2,000 people in the UK and US, the researchers found that the data from both countries suggests that aerosol transmission of the virus -- via microdroplets which are so small that they remain suspended in the air for several hours -- is very likely.

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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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Google's Sundar Pichai was immediately pounced on in the first question of the antitrust hearing, asking the CEO why Google steals content

In his opening set of questions to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, David Cicilline revealed what the year-long investigation had found.

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FBI says errors discovered in more than two-dozen wiretap applications were mostly minor

The agency said its review of 29 applications to obtain wiretaps on U.S. citizens had only minor, mostly typographical errors.

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Chinese scientist arrested after seeking medical care

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The US Postal Service will reportedly reduce post office hours to save money

A USPS spokesperson didn't elaborate on how USPS locations would ensure service to customers after reducing hours.

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As Biden VP pick nears, Susan Rice slams Trump for being soft on Russia's Putin

Former U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice, who is on Joe Biden's short list to be his running mate, criticized President Donald Trump on Wednesday for failing to question Russian leader Vladimir Putin about reports Moscow paid bounties for the killing of U.S. troops. "He is absolutely a failure as our commander in chief," Rice told the ABC network in an interview. "He has got some very bizarre, very inexplicable reason for always giving Putin the benefit of the doubt."

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4 Guards Charged in Inmate’s Beating at Alabama Prison

By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/339JIg7

Will Herman Cain’s Death Change Republican Views on the Virus and Masks?

By BY JEREMY W. PETERS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XeUQVj

Louie Gohmert’s Coronavirus Case Reveals a Dangerous Reality in Congress

By BY NICHOLAS FANDOS AND CATIE EDMONDSON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/39EFAGk

Trump Floats an Election Delay, and Republicans Shoot It Down

By BY MAGGIE HABERMAN, JONATHAN MARTIN AND REID J. EPSTEIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/30ehQWo

Climate crisis exerting increasing impact on UK, says Met Office

Extreme heat, less frost and snow, and trees coming into leaf earlier among signs in 2019

More extreme heat, less frost and snow, and trees coming into leaf earlier are among the signs seen in 2019 that the climate crisis is exerting an increasing impact on the UK, the Met Office’s annual climate report shows.

The year was 1.1C above the 1961-1990 average and the all-time high temperature record was broken in July when Cambridge hit 38.7C. The record-high for winter was also broken, with 21.2C in February at Kew Gardens in London.

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Universal credit needs £8bn overhaul, says cross-party report

Lords committee finds reforms are needed to make benefits system ‘fit for purpose’ amid Covid-19 crisis

Universal credit needs a massive £8bn overhaul to make it reliable for the millions of families who will depend on it as the Covid-19 economic crisis grows, a cross-party House of Lords committee has concluded.

The economic affairs committee said public support for the troubled universal credit system was “seeping away” because of multiple design faults, the inadequacy of benefit rates, and lack of specialised support for claimants.

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Covid-19 quarantine list could be added to within days, says Hancock

Health secretary says officials are monitoring cases following concerns over Belgium, Luxembourg and Croatia

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

New countries may be added to the quarantine list for returning British holidaymakers within days, Matt Hancock has said, insisting he had “absolutely no regrets” about the snap decision on Spain.

The health secretary said officials were looking “all of the time” at coronavirus cases in other countries following concerns about the infection rates in Belgium, Luxembourg and Croatia.

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Coronavirus live news: England tightens restrictions, WHO says 'young people' behind some spikes

New measures around Manchester introduced with ‘heavy heart’; Spain records highest Covid-19 cases since lockdown lifted; US GDP contracts 32.9%. Follow latest updates

• Lockdown tightened in parts of northern England
• US economy suffers worst quarter since the second world war
• French and Spanish cases at highest level in weeks
• Australia – live updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

12.47am BST

With regards to Leicester City, which you may remember had restrictions in place beyond many other places in England, in the country’s first local lockdown, the health department said:

“While social gathering restrictions remain in place in Leicester City, the area will benefit from the lifting of restrictions that took place on 4 July in England, and all local restrictions currently in place in the neighbouring borough of Oadby and Wigston will end.

Related: Lockdown tightened in parts of northern England with ban on indoor meetings

12.33am BST

Parts of the north of England have had a new face ban on indoor meetings between households introduced in the past half hour. The new measures apply to Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and East Lancashire after increase in cases. (Specifically: Greater Manchester, Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley, Rossendale, Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leicester City).

The new measures mean:

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Unhinged review – Russell Crowe powers up for gonzo road-rage violence

Caren Pistorius co-stars as a driver who impatiently and fatefully parps her horn at a guy in a pickup in this bone-crunchingly nasty thriller

Russell Crowe finds his beefiest, growliest, jowliest form in this gonzo road-rage thriller, with some nasty and extraneous stabs of violence. The title is one of many unsubtle things about it.

Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is a stressed single mother driving her teen son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school; she finds herself stuck at an intersection behind a guy in a pickup who doesn’t move when the lights turn green. She gives a loud, protracted, angry honk, overtakes his infuriatingly stationary vehicle, but then he pulls up beside her at the next stop – and it’s Crowe, looking as he probably looked when the BBC producer cut his poem reading from the Bafta broadcast in 2002.

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Outrage after NYPD hustles protester into unmarked van

The New York Police Department’s use of plainclothes officers and an unmarked minivan to haul away a vandalism suspect during a protest Tuesday created confusion and drew outrage from people who compared it to covert tactics used recently by federal agents in Portland, Oregon. Bystander videos of 18-year-old Nikki Stone's arrest spread quickly on social media, along with comments such as “nypd is out here KIDNAPPING protesters off of the street."

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Prosecutors: 'Alarming' that Maxwell may publicize victims

Some witnesses in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend may face harassment and intimidation and could be reluctant to cooperate with the government if defense attorneys are allowed to discuss them publicly, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal court judge to block lawyers for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell from publicly identifying women who have already spoken about the financier or Maxwell on a public forum. “The victims of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein have suffered enough," prosecutors said, urging privacy for accusers except for anyone who acknowledges publicly they are part of the criminal case against Maxwell.

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The feds say they won't leave Portland until the violence stops. Privately, they concede they're fueling that violence.

The top federal prosector in Oregon, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, said Monday that the federal agents aggressively policing protesters in Portland would remain in the city until the "attacks on federal property and personnel" cease. Oregon officials say the presence and shock-and-awe tactics of the federal agents are the main fuel for those attacks, and federal law enforcement officials privately concede they have a point, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.The nightly protests against racism and police violence in downtown Portland had dwindled to about 100 people before President Trump sent in federal agents over the July 4 weekend. The protests grew again after U.S. Marshals, ostensibly there to protect Portland's federal courthouse, shot 26-year-old protester Donavan La Bella in the head, fracturing his skull, and they exploded after news broke that anonymous militarized federal agents were detaining people on the street in unmarked vans. Thousands now gather nightly in Portland, and similar protests have been reinvigorated in other cities."Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it's going to be criticized," one federal law enforcement official told OBP. "That's not a controversial statement." Another told OBP, "Crowds were very small and the incident with La Bella." Still, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals confirmed Monday that about 100 new deputies have been lined up for deployment in Portland, either to bolster the current force or replace exhausted officers.The harsh crackdown and vilification of protesters in Portland may end up helping Trump politically, "but as a policing tactic, it has failed to suppress the protests," The Washington Post notes. "The escalation has been followed by larger, better-equipped, and more-aggressive crowds, and — as the new reinforcements showed — it exhausted federal resources before it exhausted the protesters.""Every time we go out into this, we get better at it," Gregory McKelvey, a community organizer in Portland, tells the Post. "When a flash bang first goes off in front of you, you run. But when you realize that one went off right in front of you and nothing happened to you, you're less likely to run the next time." In a bit of circular logic, law enforcement officials say they need even more people on the ground in Portland "to counter those increasingly sophisticated tactics" employed by protesters, OPB reports.More stories from theweek.com Trump: 'Nobody likes me' American Federation of Teachers supports strikes if schools don't reopen safely Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows

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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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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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Factbox: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners

Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill.

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Pakistani Muslim accused of insulting Islam killed in court

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Man interviews Bernell Tremell on his support for Trump hours before he was killed

On July 23, Adebisi Agoso was one of the last people to speak with Milwaukee community fixture and Trump supporter, Bernell Trammell, before he was senselessly killed.

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U.S. Warns Russia on Bounties While Trump Cries ‘Fake News’

The U.S. State Department has issued warnings to Russia that there will be repercussions if Moscow pays bounties to the Taliban for successfully killing American soldiers, according to two senior American officials and another individual with knowledge of the matter.The warnings were issued through the department’s diplomatic channels after public news reports in June that the U.S. had gathered intelligence about the Russian bounties, those officials said. One official described the communications as “serious.” Another said that Moscow responded by denying the reports it had set up or funded a bounty program to kill U.S. troops.These secret warnings stand in contrast to what President Trump has said about the intelligence in question. In an interview earlier this week, Trump said he did not believe the bounties were worth raising in a recent conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “That was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly that’s an issue that many people said was fake news,” Trump said in a recent interview.Trump Gives Putin a Pass on Bounties So He Can Target Leakers Instead The New York Times reported June 26 that Russia had covertly offered the Taliban cash in exchange for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan and that the intelligence had been included in a presidential daily briefing packet in February. White House officials have consistently said that the bounty intelligence has not been “verified.” Officials previously told The Daily Beast that there was disagreement in the intelligence and national security communities over the intelligence and the methods used to gather it. Multiple U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, have publicly disputed the reports. In a July 9 congressional hearing, Esper said the U.S. did not have any evidence that suggested there were direct linkages between the Russian bounties and Americans getting killed in the field.The warnings to the Russians highlight the seriousness with which officials in the Trump administration have responded to reports of the bounties. They also raise questions about the extent to which officials’ understanding of the validity of the bounty intelligence diverges from that of President Donald Trump.It is unclear to what extent, if at all, the president has been briefed on these warnings. The White House and National Security Council did not immediately provide comment to The Daily Beast. The State Department did not respond on the record to a request for comment. Pompeo recently said during a Fox News interview that the U.S. would “respond to any threat, whether that’s Iranians using the Taliban or the Russians,” he said. “We’ll make sure they know.”  In his interview with Axios this week, Trump insisted that the intelligence “never reached my desk,” though it has been widely reported that the intel had been included in the President's Daily Brief.During that interview, when Trump was asked about Russia’s years-long efforts to provide weapons to Taliban forces, the president responded, “Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia, too. The Taliban, in Afghanistan…I’m just saying, we did that, too.”Russian Bounties for Killing Americans Go Back Five Years, Ex-Taliban ClaimsIn Moscow’s Afghan Bazaar, Searching for a Bagman Who Pays Bounties for Dead AmericansU.S. representatives are currently in Vienna, Austria meeting with the Russians on arms control—an area national security officials say could be a path toward cooperation, though Russia recently launched an anti-satellite weapon into space. According to interviews with three former officials, past efforts at cooperating with Russia have failed, including the sharing of counterterrorism intelligence, and engaging in talks on space could be beneficial for safeguarding American interests there. But multiple current and former senior officials say they are unsure if there’s any issue on which the U.S. can cooperate with Russia given recent attempts by a Moscow-linked group to hack U.S. coronavirus vaccine research and the country disseminating disinformation on the coronaivurs.In a hearing last week in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State Department Deputy Secretary Biegun said years of malign actions by the Russians “have made it virtually impossible to make progress …  in any way, shape or form.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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Federal officers pulling out of Portland: U.S. Homeland Security, Oregon governor

Federal troops will begin a phased withdrawal from downtown Portland, ceding some security functions to Oregon state troopers and local law enforcement after two months of protests, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Oregon Governor Kate Brown said on Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said he and Brown agreed to a plan after talks over the last 24 hours.

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NASA announces astronauts for second SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to International Space Station

NASA announced on Tuesday the astronauts who will fly aboard the SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station next spring.

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Ashley Judd Can Sue Harvey Weinstein for Sexual Harassment, Court Rules

By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2DfpBCo

One in Three Children Have Unacceptably High Lead Levels, Study Says

By BY RICK GLADSTONE from NYT World https://ift.tt/2BGK4jb

Lawmakers, United in Their Ire, Lash Out at Big Tech’s Leaders

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As Trump Undercuts Aid Talks, White House Says Extra Jobless Benefits Will Lapse

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Atlanta Mourns John Lewis and Ponders Carrying on With ‘Good Trouble’

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Cummings saga damaged UK lockdown unity, study suggests

Scandal over Durham trips broke trust in lockdown measures and politicians, report says

The scandal over Dominic Cummings’ trips to and around Durham during lockdown damaged trust and was a key factor in the breakdown of a sense of national unity amid the coronavirus pandemic, research suggests.

Revelations that Cummings and his family travelled to his parents’ farm despite ministers repeatedly imploring the public to stay at home – as exposed by the Guardian and the Daily Mirror in May - also crystallised distrust in politicians over the crisis, according to a report from the thinktank British Future.

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CPS unveils five-year blueprint to boost rape convictions

Overhaul comes after campaigners alleged secret policy to drop ‘weak’ cases

The Crown Prosecution Service has launched a new strategy to tackle tumbling rates of charging and prosecution for rape, following sustained criticism that the service is failing victims of sexual assault.

The unveiling of the CPS’s five-year “blueprint” for prosecuting rape and serious sexual assault comes as it releases data that is expected to show that the number of rape cases being charged by prosecutors remains at its lowest for a decade.

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Long shot: Rankin remotely directs Bafta TV awards portraits

Faced with Covid-19 controls, photographer turned stars’ families into celebrity snappers

• Coronavirus – latest updates
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Rankin is used to dealing with difficult celebrities while shooting their portraits, but for his latest project he faced a different challenge: photographing them remotely.

The photographer was commissioned by the Virgin Media Baftas to create portraits of this year’s nominees for the TV awards, which will be given out by Richard Ayoade on Friday – remotely, of course.

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Coronavirus live news: Brazil sees record daily cases as Hong Kong on brink of 'large-scale outbreak'

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam urges people to stay indoors as much as possible; Brazil reports nearly 70,000 new infections overnight; France sees highest new daily cases in a month. Follow the latest updates

• US passes 150,000 coronavirus deaths amid fresh surge in cases
• Obey rules to avoid second Covid-19 lockdown, leaders warn
• Twenty-one US states declared ‘red zone’ for infection spikes
• Italy ‘walking a fine line’ on coronavirus infections
• See all our coronavirus coverage

12.47am BST

The number of new coronavirus infections in France rose by 1,392 on Wednesday, the highest daily tally in a month and a figure likely to fuel fears of a second wave of the disease despite officials downplaying such a scenario.

The increase took France’s total number of confirmed cases to 185,196. In a statement, health authorities said that, leaving aside the continuous decline of people in ICU units, all Covid-19 indicators showed “an increase of the viral circulation”.

12.34am BST

Brazil’s coronavirus outbreak set daily records on Wednesday with both 69,074 new confirmed cases and 1,595 related deaths, as the world’s second-worst outbreak accelerates toward the milestone of 100,000 fatalities.

Brazil is the country worst hit by Covid-19 outside of the United States in both death toll and case count, with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases and 90,134 deaths since the pandemic began, according to ministry data.

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UK government to expand Covid-19 rescue loan scheme

Small businesses that racked up losses and debts will now be eligible for loans of up to £5m

The government is expanding its Covid-19 rescue loan scheme to cover small businesses on the edge of collapse, a move that Labour warned would come too late for many troubled firms.

With less than a week before the furlough scheme covering 9 million employees is cut back, plunging more employers into debt, the Treasury said it would use a change in EU state aid rules to allow firms previously locked out of the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) to access government funds.

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Covid-19 slashes UK car output to level last seen in 1954

Automotive industry has also lost at least 11,000 across the UK since the pandemic

The UK car industry produced the lowest number of vehicles in the first half of 2020 since 1954, when second world war rationing ended, as the coronavirus pandemic forced factory closures and prompted at least 11,000 automotive job losses.

Only 381,357 cars rolled off British production lines from January to June, 42.8% lower than last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

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Victoria Beckham cuts staff at fashion label to go 'back to basics'

The pop star turned fashion designer will make around 20 redundancies in London in response to Covid-19 pandemic

Victoria Beckham is to cut staff at her fashion label by nearly a fifth, a loss of around 20 jobs, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit hard across all echelons of fashion and retail.

The redundancies are the latest upheaval in what has been a rollercoaster season for Beckham. A decision to furlough 30 staff at the beginning of lockdown met with a backlash against the proposed use of public funds by the pop star turned fashion designer, who has an estimated net worth of £335m. The decision was reversed two weeks later.

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Staycation: 'I would if I could find somewhere'

Holiday rental firms and hotels are reporting unprecedented demand with accommodation filling up fast.

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The Senate GOP coronavirus relief bill provides $1.75 billion for a new FBI building in Washington after the White House insisted on it

When prompted, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to be unaware of the provision: "I'm not sure that it is, is it?"

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Indian Matchmaking: The 'cringe-worthy' Netflix show that is a huge hit

Indian Matchmaking, a new Netflix show, has become a huge hit, spawning hundreds of memes and jokes.

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Andrea Bocelli, who had COVID, says lockdown humiliated him

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who recovered from COVID and whose moving Easter performance sought to raise hopes during the pandemic, is striking a different public note, saying Italy’s lockdown made him feel “humiliated and offended” by depriving him of his freedom. Bocelli spoke at a panel Monday in a Senate conference room, where he was introduced by right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini, who has railed against the government’s stringent measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, Bocelli said that when he learned on March 10 that he had tested positive, just as the nation was going into lockdown, “I jumped into the pool, I felt well” and had only a slight fever.

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No, Trump can't cancel or postpone the November general election over coronavirus

Attorney General Bill Barr said he "hadn't looked into" the matter on Tuesday. Only Congress can change the date of the election.

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GOP coronavirus plan includes another $1,200 check, cuts unemployment benefit to $200

The release of the GOP plan marked the start of negotiations that will involve House Democrats, who passed their own, more generous relief bill in the House in May.

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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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UK transport minister to cut short Spanish holiday after quarantine change: Sun

Britain's transport minister is heading home early from his holiday in Spain, the Sun newspaper reported, after the government introduced a two-week quarantine rule which prompted a backlash from Madrid, airlines and tourists. "I think it's right to get back to work in the UK as soon as possible in order to help handle the situation," Grant Shapps was quoted as saying in a statement reported by the Sun. “The sooner I get back from Spain myself, the sooner I can get through quarantine."

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Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for downsized hajj amid pandemic

Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj, as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom's oversight of one of Islam's key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic. This year, Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry has said between 1,000 and 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. Two-thirds of those pilgrims will be from among foreign residents in Saudi Arabia and one-third will be Saudi citizens.

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The World's Largest Fusion Reactor Finally Begins Assembly

The 23,000-ton ITER tokamak has been brewing for decades. Now it's go time.

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