Wednesday, May 27th, 2020
The government urges the Taliban to extend the three-day truce due to expire today. It also announces the government will release 900 Taliban prisoners today. (Reuters)
The United States Africa Command accuses Russia of deploying fighter jets to eastern Libya to provide air support to Russian mercenaries allied to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who is seeking to overthrow the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). (BBC)
LATAM Airlines, the largest air carrier in Latin America, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Bloomberg)
Huge swarms of desert locusts destroy crops in central and western India prompting authorities to step up their response to the country’s worst plague in nearly three decades. (Al Jazeera)
Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage. (Reuters)
Zambian President Edgar Lungu pardons a gay couple jailed for 15 years due to consensual homosexual acts amid a mass wave of pardons of nearly 3,000 inmates to celebrate Africa Freedom Day. (Reuters)
For the 1st time, Twitter labels Trump tweets with a fact check Twitter on Tuesday labeled two of President Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots as being misleading, the first time the company has tagged false claims he has made on the platform. The tweets, which incorrectly declared that mail-in ballots are fraudulent, now have labels that say, “Get the facts about mail-in ballots.” The links redirect users to a fact-check page with articles about the matter. A Twitter spokesperson said Trump’s tweets “contain potentially misleading information about the voting process and have been labeled to provide additional context.” Trump quickly responded, using Twitter to accuse the company of “interfering” in the 2020 presidential election. Twitter, he added, is “completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!” Source: The Washington Post
Biden responds to Trump mocking face masks: He’s an ‘absolute fool’ Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday fired back at President Trump for sharing a tweet that mocked Biden for wearing a mask during a Memorial Day event, calling him an “absolute fool.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people wear masks to slow the spread of coronavirus, but Trump has opted out of wearing a face covering during visits to factories, despite the companies requiring masks for the safety of their employees. This is irresponsible, Biden told CNN’s Dana Bash, and Trump’s refusal to listen to health experts is “costing people’s lives.” Presidents, Biden added, “are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine.” Source: CNN
Trump pushes Scarborough conspiracy after widower pleads for him to stop President Trump on Tuesday brushed off criticism about his repeated baseless suggestion that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough is tied to the death of one of his former staffers. Lisa Klausutis died in Scarborough’s office in 2001 when he was a Florida congressmember, and Trump has repeatedly suggested she was actually murdered, without any evidence. Timothy Klausutis, the former staffer’s widow, pleaded to end the baseless allegation, writing in a letter that Trump “has taken … the memory of my dead wife and perverted it for perceived political gain.” Asked about the letter on Tuesday, Trump still insisted the matter was “suspicious,” and claimed Klausutis’ family “want(s) to get to the bottom of it. Klausitis said he has “struggled to move forward with my life” because of the “barrage of falsehoods, half-truths, innuendo and conspiracy theories” about his late wife’s death. Source: The Wall Street Journal
Human trials begin for Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine Biotechnology company Novavax rolled out its first human trials for its coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday. Novavax already tested its vaccine on animals in low doses and found it successful. The Maryland-based company will inject 131 volunteers in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Brisbane, with results of the clinical trial expected to be made public in July. Phase 1 of the trial is a “randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial” that assesses two different dosage sizes of the vaccine among healthy participants age 18 to 59. Novavax shares spiked when markets reopened Tuesday, up from $46.11 per share to $54.20. Novavax is among several pharmaceutical companies racing to develop coronavirus vaccines, with Pfizer and Moderna launching human trials earlier this month. Source: Axios, Novavax
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifts the state of emergency in all remaining parts of the country, including Tokyo. (Associated Press)
The End Tuesday
Spaceship Earth – Biosphere 2
https://www.businessinsider.com/4-things-to-remember-every-memorial-day-2020-5
artificial stupid 