Tuesday,  Sept. 1st, 2020

McDonald’s was sued by 50 black owners for racial discrimination. According to the lawsuit, McDonald’s steered black franchisees to stores which had lower revenue and higher security expenses than stores in more affluent areas. (AP)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order temporarily halting residential evictions on public health grounds, with the goal to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The order lasts through 31 December and applies to individual renters earning no more than $99,000 in annual income. (Newsmax)

Trump says politicians are pushing a ‘destructive message’ that the nation is ‘oppressive or racist’ President Trump visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, despite local officials sharing their concerns that his trip would incite further unrest. Trump’s campaign has pushed the message that if he is not re-elected, extreme riots and violence will overtake the United States. While speaking at a roundtable discussion on community safety, Trump said in order to “stop the political violence, we must also confront the radical ideology that includes this violence. Reckless far-left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist.” Late last month, a white police officer in Kenosha shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, at least seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed. Anti-police brutality protests broke out, and during one demonstration, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly fatally shot two people and wounded a third; he has been charged with murder. Source: NBC News

U.S. refuses to join 170 countries teaming up to produce a coronavirus vaccine More than 170 countries are considering joining the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or Covax, aimed at quickly developing a coronavirus vaccine and distributing it to the most vulnerable populations. But the Trump administration said Tuesday it won’t be joining them, in part because the World Health Organization is helping to lead the coalition. The U.S. has withdrawn from and criticized the WHO, accusing it of contributing to the coronavirus’ spread. White House spokesperson Judd Deere said the U.S. would work with other countries in its vaccine development efforts, “but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China.” It suggests the U.S. is confident it will develop a vaccine early, and would rather not put its confidence in other countries or necessarily share whatever vaccine it develops. Source: The Washington Post

Trump visits Kenosha, Wisconsin to ‘survey the damage’ President Trump is visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday to “survey the damage,” as White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany put it. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked Trump not to visit, saying he would stoke division and “will only hinder our healing.” After Kenosha police shot and injured Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, protests broke out, with some leading to property damage. When a self-described militia arrived in town to face off against protesters, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed two demonstrators, and injured one other. Trump has no plans to meet with the family of Blake, and declined to condemn Rittenhouse. Trump claimed his visit would help heal racial tensions. Source: The Washington Post

House flags 11,000 PPP loans totaling $3 billion for potential fraud The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report Tuesday detailing its analysis of the Paycheck Protection Program’s loans for small businesses. The program did help “millions of small businesses” survive the COVID-19 pandemic, but also likely saw “billions of dollars being diverted to fraud, waste, and abuse” due to a “lack of oversight and accountability,” the committee found. More than 11,000 loans totaling more than $3 billion raised “red flags” for the subcommittee. For example, 10,856 loans totaling $1 billion went to companies that got multiple loans, which was against the PPP loan rules. The Treasury Department should’ve noticed these issues, the subcommittee said. But only PPP loans over $2 million were audited, constituting just .6 percent of all loans issued. Source: CBS News

AstraZeneca begins Phase 3 trial of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in U.S. AstraZeneca began a Phase 3 U.S. human trial of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, hoping to enroll up to 30,000 people to test its shot, developed with Britain’s Oxford University. This will be the third final-stage trial of a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., joining efforts by Moderna and Pfizer. The U.K. is already in the midst of its AstraZeneca-Oxford Phase 3 trial, and preliminary results could be released as early as October. The U.S. trial’s launch had been postponed for a couple of days for reasons researchers could not explain. But William Hartman, a University of Wisconsin investigator helping to lead the trial, and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot both emphasized that the research will be conducted carefully, rigorously, and free of political pressure. Source: Bloomberg

White House warns Iowa it has the highest coronavirus rate in the U.S. The White House Coronavirus Task Force told Iowa officials on Sunday that the state has the country’s highest per capita infection rate and must enact stricter restrictions to curb the spread. In a report, the task force recommended closing bars in 61 counties, imposing a statewide mask mandate, and testing every returning college student, the Des Moines Register reports. “Common sense preventative measures must be implemented to stop further spread,” the report states. The Iowa Department of Public Health shared with the Des Moines Register the last three reports sent by the task force, and a document dated Aug. 23 shows that at the time, Iowa had the ninth-highest case rate in the United States. Over the last two weeks, 10 percent of all people who have tested for COVID-19 in the state have had positive results. Source: Des Moines Register

New York City delays start of in-person classes, avoiding teachers strike New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced on Tuesday that as part of a deal to avoid a potential teachers strike, the start of in-person classes in the nation’s largest school district will be delayed ten days to Sept. 21. This delay, the mayor said, will allow for more time “for our educators and staff to get ready under these unprecedented circumstances.” The United Federation of Teachers had previously threatened a possible strike as educators called for more time before the reopening of schools. There will be a “three-day transitional period” beginning on Sept. 16, during which remote instruction will begin. When classes resume in person, New York City schools will be following a blended learning plan with not all students being in school in person on the same days. Source: The New York Times

 The End

Monday, Aug. 31st, 2020

New Jersey is expected to allow their movie theaters to reopen on September 4. (Variety)

South Korean boy band BTS become the first all-South Korean act to top the United States record chart, after their single “Dynamite” debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (The Guardian)

India’s economy contracts by 23.9% in the April–June quarter, the country’s worst recession on record since the government started releasing quarterly data in 1996. The lockdown caused massive disruptions to economic activity during the quarter. (BBC)

Argentina announces a deal with its creditors, allowing a way out of its ninth sovereign default. (Irish Times)

Amazon Prime Air wins Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate a drone delivery service in the United States. Amazon becomes the third drone delivery service to win flight approval, after UPS and Wing. (AP)

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announces that the state will reopen indoor dining at a one-quarter capacity. (The Hill)

AstraZeneca begins Phase III clinical trials of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, which it developed with the University of Oxford, to some 30,000 adults in the United States. (Bloomberg)

Maryland-based vaccine development company Novavax signs a deal with Canada to supply up to 76 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. (CBC)

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health launches a digital contact tracing app in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the country. (CNA)

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite discovers TOI-824b, a Hot Neptune exoplanet that orbits dwarf star TOI-824, which is located 210 light-years away from the constellation Circinus. (Sci-News)

More than 1,700 people in the United Kingdom are reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the largest weekend number since the middle of May, and the highest number of reported cases since June 4. (The Guardian)

 

The End

Sunday,  Aug 30th, 2020

Dutch police report that Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer, a painting by Dutch golden age painter Frans Hals, was stolen from the Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden in Leerdam. This is the third time the painting had been stolen. (Reuters)

American neurotechnology company Neuralink unveils a pig, named “Gertrude”, that has been living with a brain-implanted chip for two months at an event in San Francisco. (Reuters)

Trump blasts protesters, Harris in New Hampshire rally speech At a campaign rally in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Friday night, President Trump gave a speech in which he called protesters demonstrating against police brutality “thugs” and “anarchists” who are just “looking for trouble” and “don’t even know who George Floyd is.” Trump said that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was attacked by protesters Friday near the White House and claimed Paul and his wife would be “in very bad shape, or dead” if not for the police presence in the area. During the speech, the president also targeted the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Trump said he wants “to see the first woman president also,” but “I don’t want to see a woman president get into that position the way she’d do it, and she’s not competent.” Source: Reuters

Delta Air Lines has banned 240 passengers for refusing to wear masks since a policy requiring them went into effect in June. (CNN)

Kenosha police union releases account of Jacob Blake shooting The Kenosha Professional Police Association, the union representing police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, released what they called “the actual and undisputed” account of the events that preceded the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by officers multiple times on Sunday, CNN and NPR report. The account says Blake had a knife and “forcefully fought” the officers trying to arrest him, putting one in a headlock. The statement also said the officers failed to subdue Blake after twice shooting tasers at him. Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, said the union’s version was “garbage” and his nephew didn’t have a weapon, while legal defense called the statement “overblown.” Raysean White, a witness who recorded a brief video of the incident, said Blake did not pose a threat and that officers put Blake in a headlock while one “punched him in the ribs.” Source: CNN

Police in Berlin disperse around 18,000 anti-lockdown protesters massed in the Brandenburg Gate, despite a ruling from the city’s administrative court the previous day that overturned the government’s ban on public demonstrations. Police claim “most” of the protesters failed to observe “the minimum” social distancing measures implemented in the city. (AFP via Bangkok Post)

The Liberal Democratic Party in Japan is set to pick the next Prime Minister around September 15 after the sudden resignation of current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba and former foreign minister Fumio Kishida announce they intend to run but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and defense minister Taro Kono are considered the potential candidates. Environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi is also a candidate but deemed “too young” by party’s veterans. (Reuters)

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates issues a decree abolishing a law that mandated an economic boycott on Israel following the approval of the historic peace deal between the two countries. On the Israeli side, the first El Al commercial flight from Israel to the UAE is expected on Monday. (Al Arabiya English)

A senior advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accuses Russia of arming Armenia since the start of the recent border clashes. (Reuters)

Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil travels to Taiwan on an official visit to “promote business links” between the two countries, despite the Czech Republic maintaining unofficial relations with Taiwan as it recognizes the One-China policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to which the European country maintains official relations with. Vystrčil’s predecessor, Jaroslav Kubera, had planned the trip but died in January 2020. In response to the visit, the PRC’s foreign ministry warned the Czech government of “possible consequences” for Czech companies with operations in mainland China, having previously written a threatening letter addressed personally to Jaroslav Kundera before his death. The neighboring country of Slovakia is reported to be closely monitoring the trip amid warming ties with Taiwan themselves. (Reuters)

Sweden bans far-right Danish leader Rasmus Paludan from entering the country for two years in response to last night’s unrest in the city of Malmö, in which hundreds of Muslim youths clashed with police, following the burning of a Quran. Malmö police say his behaviour posed “a threat to the fundamental interests of society”. (Euronews)

UAE leader issues decree formally ending economic boycott against Israel Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and leader of the United Arab Emirates, issued a decree Saturday formally ending the federation’s economic boycott against Israel. The order comes on the heels of the U.S.-brokered deal opening up relations between the UAE and Israel earlier this month. Israelis and Israeli firms can now do business in the UAE, and the decree also allows for the purchase and trade of Israeli goods. As was the case when the deal was originally announced, some Palestinians criticized the order of undermining the efforts of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement which targets Israel. Historically, UAE law stated the recognition of Israel would only occur if Palestine became its own independent state. Source: The Associated Press

The End