Katy

Trump Not Impressed by John Lewis: ‘He Didn’t Come to My Inauguration’

President Donald Trump refused to say whether he found the civil rights icon John Lewis impressive, grumbling that the longtime Democratic congressman and voting rights pioneer didn’t come to his inauguration or State of the Union addresses. Toward the end of a wide-ranging interview in which Axios reporter Jonathan Swan grilled him on coronavirus and Russian bounties, the president was asked whether he believed systemic racism exists.After saying “I hope the answer to that question is no,” Trump attempted to deflect when confronted with the facts that Black men disproportionately die at the hands of police compared to whites. “OK, if that’s the number, it speaks to something that to me is unacceptable,” Trump said in the interview, which aired Monday night on HBO. The president, however, wouldn’t definitively say that systemic racism exists. Instead, he fell back to his well-worn talking points about passing criminal justice reform and creating “opportunity zones” in order to repeat his claim that he’s done more for Black Americans than any other president outside of the “possible exception” of Abraham Lincoln.“You really—you believe you did more than Lyndon Johnson, who passed the Civil Rights Act?” an incredulous Swan asked.“I think I did, yeah,” Trump shot back, citing criminal and prison reform.Swan noted that Johnson passed civil rights legislation in the 1960s, something that apparently left Trump unimpressed.“Take a look at what Lyndon Johnson did,” Trump huffed. “How has it worked out? Because, frankly, it took a long time.”“You think that was a mistake?” Swan wondered aloud as Trump rambled on about his own personal achievements.After the president finished patting himself on the back about how Black Americans “were doing better than they had ever done in the history of this country” under his administration, Swan turned the conversation to Lewis.“John Lewis is lying in state in the U.S. Capitol,” he asked. “How do you think history will remember John Lewis?”“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know John Lewis,” Trump replied, adding: “He chose not to come to my inauguration. He chose—I don’t—I never met John Lewis actually, I don’t believe.”Swan continued to press the issue, asking the president—who once called the civil rights legend “all talk, no action”—if he found Lewis impressive.“I can’t say one way or the other,” Trump, who skipped Lewis’ memorial services, said. “I find a lot of people impressive. I find many people not impressive. But no, he didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union speeches, and that’s OK. That’s his right. And, again, nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have. He should’ve come. I think he made a big mistake. I think he should’ve come.”Swan attempted one more time to give Trump an opportunity to say something nice about the man whose skull was fractured marching for the right to vote. The president offered the slightest of compliments.“But taking your relationship with him out of it,” the Axios reporter asked. “Do you find his story impressive, what he’s done for this country?”“He was a person that devoted a lot of energy and a lotta heart to civil rights,” Trump shrugged before adding: “But there were many others also.”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.

Federal judge calls for privacy protections after her son was killed and her husband was shot by 'madman'

Judge Esther Salas' family was targeted by an "anti-feminist" killer posing as a FedEx delivery driver, police say.

Illinois officials call to abolish history classes in the state until an 'alternative' is set up to highlight underrepresented groups

Illinois Democratic State Representative LaShawn K. Ford is demanding the history of minority groups to be taught in state schools.

As cruising resumes in some parts of world, multiple cruise ships affected by new COVID-19 cases

While most of the cruise industry remains on pause, some cruise lines have begun to resume operations in international waters.

Mexico crime: Mexican police seize alleged oil theft crime boss The Sledgehammer

"The Sledgehammer" is caught after releasing a bizarre, tearful video declaring war on security forces.

She got the virus. Then she was fired. Some sick workers left in cold by employers.

McDonald's and Marriott franchises are among hundreds of businesses that have illegally denied paid sick leave during the pandemic, records show.

Bill Gates: What Joe Biden should do on his first day in office to stop the coronavirus, if he is elected

"You really have to view the pandemic as a problem that you're willing to talk about," Bill Gates said.

Homeland Security official reassigned after intelligence reports on journalists covering protests

A US intelligence official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been reassigned following revelations that his office compiled "intelligence reports" on journalists and analysed communications between protesters amid ongoing demonstrations in Portland, Oregon.Brian Murphy was removed from his post following a report in The Washington Post revealing that the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis sent open source intelligence reports to federal law enforcement agencies containing information from two reporters who had published leaked unclassified government documents while covering Black Lives Matter protests.

Nancy Pelosi Tears Into Dr. Birx: ‘I Don’t Have Confidence’ in Her

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn’t mince words on Sunday morning, declaring that she has no “confidence” in White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, whom she blamed for President Donald Trump peddling coronavirus disinformation.Last week, during a closed-door meeting with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Politico reported that the speaker tore into Birx. “Deborah Birx is the worst. Wow, what horrible hands you’re in,” she reportedly exclaimed.Pelosi also accused Birx of “spreading disinformation” while simultaneously praising top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci—who has found himself in Team Trump’s crosshairs of late—as a “hero.”Asked whether her reported comments were accurate, Pelosi doubled down on her Birx criticism during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.“I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don’t have confidence there, no,” the House leader huffed.At the end of a contentious CNN interview that included host Dana Bash pressing her on why the administration’s coronavirus response “failed so badly,” Birx was asked to react to Pelosi’s harsh remarks.“I have tremendous respect for the speaker,” Birx deflected. “And I have tremendous respect for her long dedication to the American people.”The White House coronavirus task force member then turned her attention to The New York Times, which recently published a deep-dive into the administration’s “failure” in containing the pandemic and reported that Birx was only giving good news to Trump.“And I think it was unfortunate that The New York Times wrote this article without speaking to me. I could have brought forth the data,” she complained, defending her record. “I provide data every single day with an analysis. The day that they are talking about that I was ‘Pollyannish.’”“It said there was improvement in the New York metro, but ongoing cases in Boston and Chicago, a new outbreak in Houston and full logarithmic spread, and new concerning outbreaks in Baltimore, New Haven, and Washington, D.C,” she continued. “This was not a Pollyannish view. I have never been called Pollyannish or non-scientific or non-data-driven. And I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives.”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.

Iran has been covering up its coronavirus death toll, according to BBC investigation which says the true figure is almost 3 times higher

Both coronavirus deaths and cases are significantly higher than Iran is publicly reporting, according to government figures seen by the BBC.

The federal pullback in Portland immediately brought calm to the anti-racism protests

Large crowds have still been showing up at the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, since federal agents disappeared from view Thursday, but there's been a palpable change in atmosphere, and for the first time in weeks, calm. Protesters and members of the Trump administration cited the withdrawal of militarized federal agents and their violent tactics — tear gas, rubber bullets, clubs, legally dubious detentions — as the main reason for the relative peace. With federal agents present, some protesters threw bottles or firecrackers, tried to breach fencing around the courthouse, and shined laser pointers at officers."There is still violence going on in Portland," acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News on Saturday. "But we do see it at a much lower level. We're happy about that." Demetria Hester, one of the mothers who formed a wall between the federal agents and other protesters, told The Wall Street Journal she thinks federal authorities "got the message" and left because they knew "we're not going to back down."Sunday's crowd outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland, the 67th straight night of anti-racism and police reform protests since the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, appeared "relatively small," The Oregonian repots. But Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights drew the larger groups that have been congregating since President Trump sent in the federal agents in early July. Oregon State troopers have replaced the federal agents at the courthouse, under an agreement Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) reached with the Trump administration.With federal agents off the streets, the protesters have refocused their efforts on systemic anti-Black racism and their longstanding issues with local policing. A clash broke out Saturday night outside a police precinct across the river in Southeast Portland, as officers aimed bright lights and what appeared to be video cameras at a protest march, and some protesters responded with laser pointers and bottles.The federal agents aren't gone yet — a "quick reaction force" of some 130 agents are hidden around Portland. But they are no longer the issue. "On Saturday night, as protesters downtown marched peacefully through the streets, they noticed through the windows of a different federal building that Homeland Security agents were standing inside watching them," The New York Times reports. "Some in the crowd stopped to flash lights through the window. One agent appeared to respond by raising a middle finger. Then the crowd continued on."More stories from theweek.com The most damning inside portrait of the Trump administration yet Trump demands feds get a 'very substantial' cut of any Microsoft-TikTok sale, doesn't explain how that's legal Trump uses charts to defend his COVID-19 response, shrugs about John Lewis, in freewheeling Axios interview

Marines ID all 9 people killed in sea-tank sinking

The Marine Corps has identified all nine people killed when a Marine landing craft sank in the water off the Southern California coast.

A California couple were arrested on hate-crime charges after they yelled 'white power' during an episode of road rage, police say

They yelled "white power" and "only white lives matter" at a Black man and his girlfriend in a racist altercation on the road on July 22, police said.

After Missing for 9 Days, Teenager Found Safe Near Washington State Mountain Pass

Authorities located 18-year-old Gia Fuda just before they were about to start winding down their rescue efforts

'Pioneer Woman' Ree Drummond talks stretchy 'pandemic pants,' shares Instant Pot recipe

"They’re black yoga pants ... and I have not worn anything, but black yoga pants since" mid-March says "The Pioneer Woman" host Ree Drummond.

Hurricane Isaias lashes Carolinas amid warnings of life-threatening surges

Heavy rains and winds batter coastal areas, as officials warn of "life-threatening storm surges".

Russia says suspected mercenaries detained by Belarus were going to Latin America

A Russian diplomat said on Monday a group of more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were only passing through Minsk and were on their way to an unnamed Latin American state. Belarusian authorities have said they suspect the men entered their country to plot "acts of terrorism" and destabilise it before an Aug. 9 presidential election. The Russian state says it does not use mercenaries.

Trump will use emergency powers to remain in White House if he loses election, says House majority whip

Donald Trump could use emergency powers to extend his term in the White House, a senior Democrat has said, as fears grow that the president may attempt to hold onto office should he lose November’s election.James Clyburn, the House majority whip, said he believes Trump has no intention of “peacefully” transferring power to presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who is well ahead in several major polls in the race for the Oval Office.

These 43-square-foot pods were originally for travelers to take a nap at the airport, but now the company is selling them for $50,000 each

NapCity's pods are modular and customizable, starting at $50,000.

Emeritus Pope Benedict, 93, 'extremely frail' after visiting dying brother

Former Pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is "extremely frail", according to a report in the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Monday. Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pontiff's biographer, Peter Seewald. "According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the report said. "His thinking and his memory are quick, but his voice is hardly audible at the moment." Mr Seewald reportedly visited Benedict in Rome on Saturday to present him with his biography. "At the meeting the emeritus Pope, despite his illness, was optimistic and declared that if his strength increased again he would possibly take up his pen again," the paper said. Benedict visited his sick brother, Georg, in Germany in June, marking his first trip out of Italy since his shock resignation in 2013. Georg Ratzinger died two weeks later, aged 96.

Leaked report shows DHS targeted Americans who fought against ISIS in attempt to tie antifa to foreign power

A Department of Homeland Security intelligence report leaked to The Nation has some experts skeptical of the department's motives.The report targeted several left-wing American activists who the department would normally be prohibited from gathering intelligence on unless they had reason to believe the individuals were operating on behalf of a foreign power. The people named in the report, many of whom have identified with far-left causes, do have connections abroad — they traveled to Syria in the past and fought against the Islamic State alongside Kurdish factions like the YPG, PKK, and the Peshmerga.The U.S., of course, considers ISIS an enemy, so it may seem surprising the U.S. government would focus on people who volunteered to fight against the terrorist group, but critics argue the Syria connection could be a ruse to root out potential antifa members. (Some of the individuals denied membership in antifa, which does not necessarily operate in any organized capacity to begin with.)> This is a big deal. Much as Trump et al want, domestic groups like the anti-fascist movement can't be formally labeled terror orgs. But tying them to foreign groups like the YPG (based on <12 people, incl. those who don't ID as antifa) opens them to otherwise-illegal surveillance https://t.co/upHP57QLdD> > — Kelly Weill (@KELLYWEILL) August 3, 2020The report eventually appears to conclude there is no evidence of a "centralized effort to give marching orders to returning antifa-affiliated" U.S. residents, but either way, the briefing didn't sit well with everyone. "They targeted Americans like they're Al-Qaeda," a former intelligence officer in the department with knowledge of the operations told The Nation. "They were essentially violating people's rights like this was the '60s." Read more at The Nation.More stories from theweek.com The most damning inside portrait of the Trump administration yet Trump demands feds get a 'very substantial' cut of any Microsoft-TikTok sale, doesn't explain how that's legal Trump uses charts to defend his COVID-19 response, shrugs about John Lewis, in freewheeling Axios interview

Detective Recalls Gut-Wrenching Moment Doomsday Mom&rsquo;s Kids Were Found

After a nearly nine-month search, investigators found 7-year-old J.J. Vallow—still clad in red pajamas and “tightly wrapped” in black plastic—in the backyard of doomsday author Chad Daybell’s Idaho home, a detective testified Monday. The little boy’s head, arms, and feet were bound in duct tape.Several feet away, authorities discovered “a mass of burnt flesh and charred bone” they later determined to be the remains of 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, in a “pet cemetery” on Daybell’s property, said Ray Hermosillo, a detective with the Rexburg Police Department.Hermosillo described the gruesome finding on the first day of a two-day preliminary hearing in Fremont County Courthouse, where prosecutors will sketch out their case against Daybell, 52, who’s accused of hiding evidence when authorities began to investigate the disappearance of the two children of his second wife, Lori Vallow. The hearing comes nearly two months after authorities found the remains of Vallow’s children on Daybell’s Idaho property. Daybell and Vallow, who are members of a community of doomsday preppers and were married two weeks after Daybell was widowed, have not been charged in the deaths of the two children, whose bizarre missing-persons case has garnered national attention. Hermosillo described in graphic detail how authorities on June 9 found a small child’s body in a “shallow grave” near a tree that had “three large white flat rocks” placed “in a row” with “thin wood paneling” underneath.“As soon as we lifted the wood paneling out of the hole in Chad Daybell’s backyard, I could immediately smell the odor of a decomposing body,” Hermosillo said. Later, the detective said that investigators found the “burnt mass” in a melted green bucket near the remains of a dog and a cat.J.J.’s body was clad in a red pajama set and Sketcher socks. A white-and-blue blanket had been placed over him, the detective said, while duct tape tightly covered his head, arms, and feet. Hermosillo added a light plastic bag was also found on top of J.J.’s head.“His hands were folded about chest high. He had duct tape continuously wrapped from elbow, all the way around his arms over his hands, all the way to his right elbow—several layers, tightly wrapped,” Hermosillo said.“He had a ball of duct tape over where his hands would be,” Hermosillo added. “His wrists were also bound by another layer of duct tape. His ankles were also bound with duct tape.” Dressed in a white shirt and blue tie, Daybell sat quietly next to his attorney, John Prior, as Hermosillo answered questions from Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood. Family Says Bodies Found at Doomsday Home Are Missing KidsDaybell faces two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, and two felony counts of destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence. Vallow, whose preliminary trial is set for next week, is being held on child desertion and other charges. Kay and Larry Woodcock, J.J’s grandparents, were also present at the Monday hearing, telling reporters “it’s showtime” before walking past dozens of media outlets and several community members holding signs in support.J.J., 7, and Tylee, 17, had not been seen since September, although it wasn’t until relatives asked police to check on them in late November that they were registered as missing.Hermosillo testified on Monday that he first began an investigation into Vallow’s children on Nov. 26, 2019, after the autistic 7-year-old’s grandparents contacted police for a welfare check. Upon arrival, Hermosillo found Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, at the home—without J.J. or Vallow. Hermosillo said after Cox refused to cooperate with authorities, the detective found Daybell near a second apartment, and he insisted he didn’t really know Vallow, only meeting her a few times through her brother.“I again found it suspicious because I knew they were married two weeks prior to my contact with Mr. Daybell,” Hermosillo said. A few minutes later, Daybell gave up his wife’s phone number, telling the detective he didn’t initially provide it because “he felt like I was accusing him of something,” Hermosillo testified. Rexburg Police Department Detective David Stubbs also testified Monday, describing how he met Vallow twice on Nov. 26 as authorities performed a welfare check on her 7-year-old son. In body-camera footage played in court, Vallow can be heard telling Stubbs and another officer that “this is a big mess” and that J.J. “is in Arizona” with one of her friends, Melanie Gibb.Gibb, who testified on Monday, admitted she had initially lied to authorities about being with J.J after Vallow told her the 7-year-old was in danger. When Stubbs explained to Vallow they “are concerned” after getting “a bad vibe,” she begins a bizarre explanation about her family history, claiming that “lots of stuff” is going on and that she has had to move several times. “One of my brothers is trying to kill me,” Vallow says at one point, adding that Kay Woodcock has been trying to “fight” her for custody of her adoptive son since her husband, Charles Vallow, died. “I just don’t tell people where I am,” Vallow said. As Vallow could be heard telling police that Woodcock “does nothing but cause me trouble,” the grandmother shook her head in court and looked at her husband in anger.When asked about the whereabouts of Tylee Ryan, Vallow told Stubbs her daughter was attending school at BYU-Idaho. On Monday, Wynn Hill, the dean of students at the university, testified there is no record the 17-year-old was enrolled at the university.Hermosillo said the suspicious nature of his meeting with Cox and Daybell prompted detectives to ultimately search three apartments rented to Vallow, Cox, and another family member, Melani Boudreaux. In one of the units, the detective said said, police found a suitcase inscribed with J.J.’s name and a half-filled prescription bottle of pills for the 7-year-old. The other two units appeared to be empty. With Vallow and Daybell refusing to cooperate, Hermosillo said the investigation quickly expanded into a search for Tylee Ryan as well, after relatives said she had also gone missing. In January, after Vallow repeatedly lied about the kids’ whereabouts and then fled to Hawaii with her new husband, Hermosillo said the mother-of-two was served an order instructing her to return the two minors. He said there was no sign that J.J or Tylee were staying at the Hawaii home.Doomsday Stepdad Jailed After Human Remains Found on His PropertyVallow was eventually arrested in Hawaii after failing to produce her children. After tracking the cellphone movements of Lori’s brother, authorities were able to locate the children’s remains on Daybell’s property on June 9. Hermosillo said Daybell was arrested less than three hours after they found the bodies.The children’s disappearance brought scrutiny to the couple’s involvement in the prepper community—and to the deaths of Vallow’s and Daybell’s previous spouses.Last October, Daybell’s wife of 30 years, Tammy, died of unknown causes, after which the author of apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience declined an autopsy—a move that raised eyebrows. He married Vallow weeks later. Vallow’s husband, Charles Vallow, was shot in July—supposedly by her brother Alex Cox, who said he fired in self-defense during a domestic dispute. Cox was not charged and later died of natural causes.Court Docs Reveal How Police Found Bodies of Doomsday Mom’s KidsCharles Vallow had written in divorce and custody petitions that Lori had become obsessed with doomsday visions and had threatened his life. He said she believed she was reincarnated to lead people during the second coming of Jesus Christ in July 2020 and said that if he got in the way of her saving humanity, she would kill him, NBC News reported.  Police have exhumed the body of Tammy Daybell, who was found dead at home. While her death was initially listed as “natural,” it has since been classified as suspicious; an autopsy report has not yet been released. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office in April took over an investigation into Daybell and Vallow in connection with Tammy's death. One court document in the case reveals potential charges could include conspiracy and murder, but no one has been charged.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.

3 people shot, with 2 in critical condition, at luxury Los Angeles mansion

The Los Angeles Police Department had responded to a party at a mansion on the same block earlier but did not shut it down, CBS Los Angeles said.

Panama proposes flying Haitian migrants home after clash

The government of Panama said Monday it has proposed giving some Haitian migrants flights back to their homeland after frustrations boiled over at the remote camps where they are stuck. The camps in Panama’s southern Darien province also house some Cuban and African migrants, but about 80% of the 2,000 migrants there are from Haiti. Public Safety Minister Juan Pino said Monday he offered improved medical services or repatriation flights to the migrants, who want to travel overland to the U.S. border but cannot do so because of coronavirus restrictions.

Thousands evacuate as Apple Fire grows in Southern California

About 7,800 people have been ordered to leave their homes as of Sunday.

Shoprite: Africa&#39;s biggest supermarket considers pulling out of Nigeria

Shoprite is the latest high-profile South African retailer to struggle in the Nigerian market.

&lsquo;You can&rsquo;t do that&rsquo;: Trump refuses to discuss coronavirus death rate and says US beating rest of world on cases

Donald Trump has maintained that the US is beating the rest of the world on the coronavirus death rate, even as thousands of Americans are still dying every week.Mr Trump’s analysis, which he advanced during a discussion with Axios interviewer Jonathan Swan, is based on deaths as a proportion of cases but ignores deaths per capita — a measure that puts the US among the worst countries in the world.

REVIEW: The Jeep Gladiator pickup truck is a monster off road, but might be too beastly for its own good on the highway

The Jeep Gladiator is the Jeep of all pickup trucks, rugged and ready for off-roading. But highway cruising is a completely different story.

South Korea floods, landslides kill 14

Fourteen people were killed and more than 1,000 people forced from their homes as 42 consecutive days of rain - South Korea's longest monsoon in seven years - triggered floods and landslides, authorities said on Tuesday. Heavy rain, which has also battered China, Thailand, Myanmar and India in recent days, inundated farmland and flooded parts of major highways and bridges in the capital, Seoul. The victims included three New Zealanders from the same family, who were found dead on Monday after a landslide hit vacation cottages in Gapyeong country, northeast of Seoul.

Will Karen Bass bring her activist bona fides to Joe Biden&#39;s presidential ticket?

Rep. Karen Bass is a self-described “lifelong activist,” shaped by transformative decades in South Los Angeles. She's also reportedly a potential Joe Biden VP pick.

California health officials introduce elementary school in-person teaching waiver

California health officials introduce elementary school in-person teaching waiver

Will Tlaib take her primary? Who will win the Kansas GOP Senate race? What to watch for Tuesday&#39;s election

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is facing a primary challenger and other races to watch during Tuesday's primary.

Dr. Deborah Birx says the US is in a new, &#39;more widespread&#39; phase of the coronavirus pandemic

The White House coronavirus response coordinator told CNN that current outbreaks in the US are "different from March and April."

The Maryland county where Barron Trump attends school ordered private schools to stay closed until October, but the governor overrode the decision

In rejecting the Montgomery County order, Gov. Larry Hogan said it was "overly broad and inconsistent with the powers" of the county health officer.

Mysterious seeds sent from China to the US identified by the USDA

The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.

Prominent Muslims to grace Hindu temple ceremony on contested India site

In a gesture of reconciliation, two prominent Muslims who lived through deadly riots following the razing of a mosque in northern India in 1992 plan to attend the foundation-laying ceremony for a Hindu temple on Wednesday on the same site, they said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist party has been leading the demand for a temple there dedicated to the god-king Ram, is expected to be the chief guest at the event in Ayodhya town. Construction was made possible by a verdict late last year from the Supreme Court of India awarding the disputed site to the Hindus, and the planned visit by the two well-known Muslims underscored an easing of animosity between followers of the two religious faiths in one of Hindu-majority India's most communally sensitive regions.

Philippines reimposes lockdown as doctors warn health system could collapse

The Philippines is to reinstate a stricter lockdown on its capital, Manila, from Tuesday after warnings from medical groups over the weekend that hospitals are losing the battle against the coronavirus. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, apologised as the number of Covid-19 cases breached 100,000 and he reintroduced a “modified enhanced community quarantine” that will restrict the operations of non-essential businesses and only allow people to leave home for work or to buy food. "We're doing our very best. Sorry, Manila," said Mr Duterte during a televised broadcast late on Sunday evening. The 103,185 case count and 2,059 death toll is second only to Indonesia in Southeast Asia, despite bringing the economy to its knees by previously imposing one of the longest and strictest quarantine periods in the world, from March 15 to June 1. The fresh measures, which will include the need for quarantine passes in the city of some 12 million and see churches close their doors again, were renewed after a call from 80 groups representing 80,000 doctors and a million nurses, who asked for a “time out” to regroup their coronavirus strategies.

Ningaloo Reef: Woman injured by humpback whale at Australian tourist spot

The woman is in a "serious but stable condition" after being hit by the whale during a group swim.

Scientists retract claim of finding tiniest dinosaur

The “tiny, weird bird-like dinosaur” was not a dinosaur or a bird after all, according to a retraction of the research published in a prestigious journal

Virginia gov faces new hurdle in bid to remove Lee statue

A judge dismissed a legal challenge Monday that had been blocking Virginia officials from removing a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the state's capital city, but he immediately imposed another injunction against dismantling the figure. The new 90-day injunction bars Gov. Ralph Northam's administration from “removing, altering, or dismantling, in any way” the larger-than-life statue of Lee on a prominent Richmond avenue while claims in a lawsuit filed by local property owners are litigated. Now covered in graffiti, the Lee monument has become a focal point and gathering spot amid Richmond's sustained anti-racist protests since the police custody death in Minnesota of a Black man, George Floyd.

Poll shows Mitch McConnell with large lead over Democratic Senate rival Amy McGrath

Independent polling firm Morning Consult shows Sen. Mitch McConnell with a commanding 53% to 36% lead over his Democratic challenger Amy McGrath.

Parents in a school district in Georgia, are demanding in-person classes. But hundreds of employees have tested positive or been exposed to COVID-19, revealing the biggest blind spot in the fight to reopen schools

"The primary consideration should always be the safety, the health of the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers...," Anthony Fauci said.

Trump is evidently very pleased with acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. Wolf&#39;s neighbors? Not so much.

Chad Wolf, a former travel industry lobbyist and protégé of former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, was not President Trump's first or even second choice to take over as acting secretary after he first ousted Nielsen, then her acting replacement, Kevin McAleenan, quit, "frustrated at the increasing politicization of the DHS," The Washington Post reports. But neither of Trump's favorites at the Homeland Security Department, Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Morgan, were eligible for the acting secretary position.After Wolf's appointment as acting DHS chief last year, his staff made him a Trump-lauding Instagram page in April to raise his stature, but it wasn't until the deployment of militarized federal agents to Portland, Oregon, in early July that Wolf "eclipsed" both Cuccinelli and Morgan "to win the president's favor," the Post reports. Current and former DHS officials, including the department's first two Republican secretaries, worry that federal overreach in Portland has caused "long-term reputational damage" at the department, set up to protect the U.S. against foreign terrorism after the 9/11 attacks.But "after 3 1/2 years, the president finally is happy with a DHS chief," the Post reports, citing White House aides. "And while Wolf's predecessors sometimes pushed back at Trump's attempts to break rules and bend norms to fit his desired policies, Trump now has a DHS chief giving him the answers he wants."The fealty and increasing strident tone that has endeared Wolf to Trump and his immigration czar, Stephen Miller, has also drawn strident criticism. "The use of the DHS as an instrument of the president's agenda — first at the Mexican border and now in U.S. cities — has alarmed many who have come to see the department as the enforcement arm of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' plans, and Wolf as his enabler," the Post reports. "When protesters picketed Wolf's Alexandria, Virginia, home last month, his neighbors served them snacks." Read more about Wolf's ascent at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com The most damning inside portrait of the Trump administration yet Trump demands feds get a 'very substantial' cut of any Microsoft-TikTok sale, doesn't explain how that's legal Trump uses charts to defend his COVID-19 response, shrugs about John Lewis, in freewheeling Axios interview

Sen. Chuck Schumer said a US company should buy TikTok to prevent the Chinese government from accessing user data

"With TikTok in China, it's subject to Chinese Communist Party laws that may require handing over data to their government," the senator tweeted.

Drug-Smuggling Cat Escapes High-Security Sri Lankan Prison

A cat that was detained at Sri Lanka’s high-security Welikada Prison on suspicion of smuggling drugs to inmates has escaped, according to local media reports in Aruna.The feline delinquent was detained last week with two grams of heroin, two SIM cards and a memory chip hidden in a plastic bag tied to its collar on the prison grounds. Police suspect that the drug traffickers who trained the cat are part of the same cartel that was caught using an eagle to smuggle drugs in a suburb of Colombo. The menagerie of accomplices were associated with the underworld crime boss Angoda Lokka.Lokka died while hiding from the authorities in early July, according to local media. A man and a woman, aged 30 and 19, were arrested Sunday for illegally cremating him and forging identity documents, according to the New Indian Express.While there is no stipulation for animal arrest under Sri Lankan law, police were hoping the cat could lead them to the smugglers’ den, the media reports suggest. The cat reportedly scampered out of its holding room and escaped through a fence when prison guards came in to feed it.Last week, police raided a farm owned by an associate of Lokka and found an air-rifle, bullets and the eagle previously seen delivering drugs. Prison authorities say they have noted an increase in people trying to smuggle drugs, cellphones and chargers into the prison in recent weeks, allegedly to sell within the prison system. Authorities say they are not searching for the narco cat.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.

U.S. FAA lays plan for Boeing 737 MAX&#39;s return; hurdles remain

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it is proposing requiring four key Boeing Co 737 MAX design and operating changes to address safety issues seen in two fatal crashes that led to the plane's grounding in March 2019. The agency is issuing a proposed airworthiness directive to require updated flight-control software, revised display-processing software to generate alerts, a revision of certain flight-crew operating procedures and changes in the routing of some wiring bundles. While the measures align with those expected by Boeing and aerospace analysts for months, the announcement comes after a series of delays and sets in motion the final sequence of events that could lead to the FAA lifting a grounding order on the plane later this year.

Who is Karen Bass?

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., has been mentioned as a potential running mate for former VP Joe Biden, who has vowed to pick a woman as his vice president.