Word News : June 2020

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Corrections: July 1, 2020

By Unknown Author from NYT Corrections https://ift.tt/3dPkXre

This Should Be Biden’s Bumper Sticker

By BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2NGuvdJ

La familia que perdió cinco integrantes a causa del coronavirus quiere que sepas esto

By BY TRACEY TULLY from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2ZtldXO

This file was published in error

By Unknown Author from NYT Theater https://ift.tt/3eOXJTE

Can’t Request an Absentee Ballot Online? This Group Wants to Help

By BY NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZpP0AH

As coronavirus spreads to people under 40, it's making them sicker — and for longer — than once thought

Once assumed to be safe from the dangers of COVID-19, younger adults share their prolonged struggles with the disease.

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Police say missing kids' mom helped keep their bodies hidden

The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell came late Monday, the latest twist in a case tied to the mysterious deaths of the couple's former spouses and their beliefs about zombies and the apocalypse that may have affected their actions. Daybell is already charged with abandoning or deserting 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, but because police found their remains buried in her husband's yard, it's not clear if the abandonment allegations will stand. Daybell's husband, Chad Daybell, was charged this month with concealing evidence by destroying or hiding the children's bodies.

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Hong Kong security law: Minutes after new law, pro-democracy voices quit

"The law marks the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before," one activist said as he quit.

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Photos show how protesters in New York City are occupying City Hall, demanding the police budget be cut before the July 1 deadline

Hundreds of protesters have set up camp inside City Hall Park in Manhattan to demand at least $1 billion be cut from the NYPD before July 1.

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The 10 Best Dino-Killing, Ice Spewing, Earth-Destroying Asteroids

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Supreme Court refuses to block upcoming federal executions

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block the execution of four federal prison inmates who are scheduled to be put to death in July and August. The executions would mark the first use of the death penalty on the federal level since 2003. The justices rejected an appeal from four inmates who were convicted of killing children.

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Philippines keeps partial restrictions in the capital to fight virus

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday kept partial restrictions in the capital for another two weeks as he tries to contain the spread of the new coronavirus while reducing the pandemic's economic damage. More than 19,000 new cases of the new coronavirus have been recorded since Duterte eased one of the toughest and longest lockdowns in the world for residents in the capital Manila from June 1 to breathe some life back into the economy. The Philippines, which before the pandemic was one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, is facing its biggest contraction in more than three decades after the coronavirus shuttered businesses and crushed domestic demand.

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Gunmen raided Pakistan's largest stock exchange, killing at least 3 people before police shot them dead, officials say

The raid took place on Monday at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the city of Karachi. It is not yet clear who is responsible.

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Syed Ali Geelani: Kashmir leader quits Hurriyat Conference

Syed Ali Geelani has been heading political opposition to Indian rule in Kashmir for decades.

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Coming Soon: Russian Bombers (Now Armed with Hypersonic Missiles?)

Hypersonic missiles have been seen as a potential game changer, with some in the U.S. military warning that there is really no defense against the missiles due to their speed.

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White couple who pointed gun at protesters say they support Black Lives Matter but felt threatened by ‘angry mob’

A white couple who pointed guns at protesters in St Louis have said they were threatened as crowds marched down their street.Video shared online showed 63-year-old Mark McCloskey and 61-year-old Patricia McCloskey stationed on the lawn outside their St Louis home on Sunday night as protesters walked past.

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An Italian teenager is one miracle away from becoming the first millennial saint

Carlo Acutis coined the phrase: "Everyone is born an original, but many die like photocopies," to warn people not to lose themselves on the internet.

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Man arrested over fatal shooting in Kentucky park at center of protests

"The man has been participating in the protest since the beginning and he had been arrested a couple of times in the past several weeks," Schroeder said. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he was saddened by the incident. The park has been a focal point of protests against the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technicinan who was killed in a hail of gunfire when drug investigators burst into her home in Louisville on March 13.

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'Dirty' depiction of Kim's wife outraged NKorea: Russian envoy

North Korea's fury over anti-Pyongyang leaflets launched from the South is driven by "dirty, insulting" depictions of leader Kim Jong Un's spouse, Russia's top envoy in the reclusive country has said. In recent weeks Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations over anti-North leaflets which defectors based in the South send across the militarised border -- usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. The campaigns have long been a point of contention between the two Koreas, but this time, Pyongyang upped the pressure, blowing up a liaison office and threatening military measures.

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The Texas Medical Center scrubbed data showing ICU beds at full capacity as the state's coronavirus cases spike

The medical center had no empty ICU beds by Thursday. Its ICU capacity is usually between 70% and 80% of its total stock.

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McEnany on the PDB: ‘The president does read’

At a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said President Trump reads the President’s Daily Brief, and added that he is “the most informed person on planet earth when it comes to the threats that we face.”

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New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Timeshared Robots

Show HN: Timeshared Robots
10 by tlb | 1 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Braille, and the Evolution of Software Development

Braille, and the Evolution of Software Development
4 by brendt_gd | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Monday, 29 June 2020

LIVE: Matt Hancock extends Leicester's lockdown in Parliament - The Telegraph

LIVE: Matt Hancock extends Leicester's lockdown in Parliament The Telegraph
Coronavirus: Leicester lockdown tightened as cases rise BBC News
Matt Hancock announces Leicester to stay in lockdown with non-essential shops and pubs to stay shut The Sun
The Guardian view on trusting local government: if not now, when? The Guardian
I’m in lockdown in Leicester – and, for me, this coronavirus summer is about to get a lot worse The Independent
View Full Coverage on Google News

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Gilead Science releases pricing plan for COVID-19 drug Remdesivir - One America News Network

Gilead Science releases pricing plan for COVID-19 drug Remdesivir One America News Network
Gilead sets U.S. price for Covid-19 drug remdesivir at $3120 for typical treatment CNBC Television
Gilead prices COVID-19 drug remdesivir at $2,340 per patient in developed nations Yahoo Finance
Gilead Sets a Good-Enough Bar With Covid-Treatment Price Bloomberg
Dr. Marc Siegel: Coronavirus defense — as numbers rise, promising drug Remdesivir cleared for use Fox News
View Full Coverage on Google News

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Dow Jones Futures Rise After Timely Coronavirus Stock Market Rally; Lululemon, Micron In Focus - Investor's Business Daily

Dow Jones Futures Rise After Timely Coronavirus Stock Market Rally; Lululemon, Micron In Focus Investor's Business DailyView Full Coverage on Google News

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Dr. Dre’s Wife, Nicole Young, Files For Divorce After 24 Years Of Marriage - HuffPost

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ED to question Patel today again in Sandesara case

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Covid +ve can donate blood only after 28 days of discharge: Govt

To ensure safe functioning of blood transfusion services, the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) under the health ministry has issued the 2nd set of guidelines in the light of the pandemic. As per guidelines, blood can be collected from a person who tested positive and recovered after 28 days of discharge from a treating facility or 28 days after home isolation ends.

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Maharashta, Tamil Nadu extend lockdown till July 31

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments on Monday extended the lockdown till July 31 to stop the surge of Covid-19 cases — with stricter norms in the Mumbai and Chennai regions. The Karnataka government has also indicated that it will bring back from July 7 harsher measures such as banning the entry and exit of people from high-risk districts

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Repatriation flight goes empty to China

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Uber Makes Offer to Buy Delivery Service Postmates

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2BMElYK

‘It’s More Than a Seat at the Table’

By BY JENNIFER MEDINA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3ioBZjI

A White Gatekeeper of Southern Food Faces Calls to Resign

By BY KIM SEVERSON from NYT Food https://ift.tt/2NJradC

Remote School Is a Nightmare. Few in Power Care.

By BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2NFsmij

New York City mayor plans to cut $1bn from police budget

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed cutting $1bn (£814m) from the police force’s $6bn (£4.48bn) yearly budget, amid calls for reform.Mr de Blasio announced the plan during his daily City Hall press briefing on Monday, and said the proposed budget would help reform the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

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Shootings across Chicago kill 3 kids; activists seek change

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Mississippi Lawmakers Vote to Remove Confederate Symbol From State Flag

Mississippi lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to remove a Confederate emblem from their state flag on Sunday, marking one of the most dramatic repudiations yet of white-supremacist imagery during a wave of protests against racism and police brutality in America.The bill passed 128 to 37 and is now awaiting signature by Gov. Tate Reeves. It requires the current state flag to be removed within 15 days of passage. A commission selected by the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the House will design a flag including the phrase “In God We Trust” to be completed by September 14. Mississippi voters will decide on the new flag during the November general election. If the new flag is not ratified by voters in November, a new design will be created and voted on the following year. "Today’s vote is not a vote to erase Mississippi’s history or its heritage," Sen. John Horhn said. "But it’s an affirmation of Mississippi’s future, and that we intend to move forward together."On Saturday, lawmakers in both houses cleared an initial measure paving the way for a bill to change the flag, and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted that he would sign a bill to that effect.The initial measure lifted restrictions in place that prohibited the state government from changing or removing the state flag, which is the last in the United States to include an explicit homage to pro-slavery rebels.“The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it’s time to end it,” Reeves tweeted.The governor went on to say that changing the flag was not enough to fight the systemic racism the Confederate symbol represents. “We should not be under any illusion that a vote in the Capitol is the end of what must be done,” he wrote. “It will be harder than recovering from tornadoes, harder than historic floods, harder than agency corruption, or prison riots or the coming hurricane season—even harder than battling the Coronavirus.”State Representative Jeramey Anderson (D-Miss), the youngest-ever Black legislator elected in Mississippi at 28, applauded the decision to pave the way for change on Saturday. “This is a unique opportunity, one we should not squander,” he said. Confederate leader Jefferson Davis’s great-great grandson Bertram Hayes-Davis backed the change, telling CNN that “the battle flag has been hijacked” and that it “does not represent the entire population of Mississippi.”Rising college basketball player Blake Hinson said the Confederate symbol played a role in his decision to transfer from the University of Mississippi to Iowa State earlier this month. “It was time to go and leave Ole Miss,” he told the Daytona Beach News Journal. “I’m proud not to represent that flag anymore and to not be associated with anything representing the Confederacy.”Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Miss) opposed the change and called for a state referendum on the issue, warning that changing the American flag was next. “I don’t see how that makes me a racist.” he said. “I don’t see how that makes me a terrible human being.”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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Huntsman at risk of shocking defeat in Utah

After a decade away from Utah politics and a weeks-long fight with the coronavirus, the former governor is locked in a tight race for his old job.

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Mississippi votes to strip Confederate emblem from state flag

The southern state of Mississippi is the last in the US to feature the emblem on its flag.

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The coronavirus is devastating communities of color. The Trump administration's top doctor blames 'structural racism' and shares his plans to take action.

Dr. Jerome Adams is preparing two calls to action — one on high blood pressure, the other on maternal mortality — to address racial health inequality.

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Is international travel allowed yet? See when Singapore, Jamaica, other countries plan to reopen borders

Jamaica is preparing to welcome back international tourists June 15, while Austria requires negative coronavirus tests and won't allow direct flights.

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Dozens arrested as Hong Kongers protest planned national security laws

Hong Kong police arrested at least 53 people on Sunday after scuffles erupted during a relatively peaceful protest against planned national security legislation to be implemented by the mainland Chinese government. Armed riot police were present as a crowd of several hundred moved from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district, staging what was intended as a "silent protest" against the planned law. Hong Kong Police said on Facebook that 53 people had been arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, adding that earlier some protesters tried to blockade roads in the area.

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Pakistan army says Indian spy drone shot down in Kashmir

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New top story on Hacker News: Cancel Culture in 1974

Cancel Culture in 1974
28 by riverlong | 5 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Featherweight Java: A Minimal Core Calculus for Java and GJ (2002) [pdf]

Featherweight Java: A Minimal Core Calculus for Java and GJ (2002) [pdf]
6 by sendilkumarn | 1 comments on Hacker News.

Sunday, 28 June 2020

‘Spices that boost immunity linked to India’

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For India, adversities are stepping stones to success: PM

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SC holds special Sunday hearing in Rajasthan exam case

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Nude pics, video chats, no kiss: SOPs for sex workers

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Russian army museum showcases bravery of soldier from Pithoragarh during WWII

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Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to ‘visionary leader’

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Government border roads order to stock up LPG sends J&K into a tizzy

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India, Japan conduct naval exercise amid China row

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Nepal row catches footballers offside

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Mask Exemption Cards From the ‘Freedom to Breathe Agency’? They’re Fake

By BY CHRISTINA MORALES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/31rMzAq

For Biden VP, Black Democrats are torn between Harris and Warren

The California senator represents the diversity and generational transition activists want, but polls suggest Black Democratic voters may prefer Warren.

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Coronavirus updates: New US cases hit single-day record; as heat rises in places like Florida and Mexico, so do infections

The U.S. hit a single-day record. Texas, Florida closing bars amid surge in cases. The Trump administration is considering new approach to testing.

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Trump signs executive order to punish vandalism against federal monuments

Details of the executive order were not immediately released, but Trump said earlier this week that the order would "reinforce" existing federal law.

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Trump visits private golf course as US battles rapid surge in coronavirus cases

US president heads to Virginia a day after saying he’d stay in Washington DC to ‘make sure law and order is enforced’ amid ongoing anti-racism protests * Coronavirus in the US – follow live updatesDonald Trump visited one of his own private golf courses in Virginia on Saturday as America continued to see fallout from a rapid surge in coronavirus cases. The trip came a day after the US president said he would stay in Washington DC to “make sure law and order is enforced” amid ongoing anti-racism protests.The president has been frequently criticized for the scale of his golfing habit while in office. CNN – which tallies his golfing activities – said the visit to the Trump National course in Loudon county, just outside Washington DC, was the 271st of his presidency – putting him at an average of golfing once every 4.6 days since he’s been in office. His predecessor, Barack Obama, golfed 333 rounds over the two terms of his presidency, according to NBC.The visit comes as the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000, according to figures released by Johns Hopkins on Friday. Many states are now seeing spikes in the virus with Texas, Florida and Arizona especially badly hit after they reopened their economies – a policy they are now pausing or reversing.Trump has been roundly criticized for a failure to lead during the coronavirus that has seen America become by far the worst hit country in the world. Critics in particular point to his failure to wear a mask, holding campaign rallies in coronavirus hot spots and touting baseless conspiracy theories about cures, such as using bleach.On Friday night Trump tweeted that he was cancelling a weekend trip to his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course because of the protests which have rocked the capital, including taking down statues of confederate figures.“I was going to go to Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend, but wanted to stay in Washington, D.C. to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced. The arsonists, anarchists, looters, and agitators have been largely stopped,” he tweeted.Trump’s latest visit to the golf course put him in the way of some opposition. According to a White House pool media report: “A small group of protesters at the entrance to the club held signs that included, ‘Trump Makes Me Sick’ and ‘Dump Trump’. A woman walking a small white dog nearby also gave the motorcade a middle finger salute.”It is not yet known if Trump actually played a round of golf. But a photographer captured the president wearing a white polo shirt and a red cap, which is among his common golfing attire.

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The Black Officer Who Detained George Floyd Had Pledged to Fix the Police

MINNEAPOLIS -- There were two Black men at the scene of the police killing in Minneapolis last month that roiled the nation. One, George Floyd, was sprawled on the asphalt, with a white officer's knee on his neck. The other Black man, Alex Kueng, was a rookie police officer who held his back as Floyd struggled to breathe.Floyd, whose name has been painted on murals and scrawled on protest signs, has been laid to rest. Kueng, who faces charges of aiding and abetting in Floyd's death, is out on bail, hounded at the supermarket by strangers and denounced by some family members.Long before Kueng was arrested, he had wrestled with the issue of police abuse of Black people, joining the force in part to help protect people close to him from police aggression. He argued that diversity could force change in a Police Department long accused of racism.He had seen one sibling arrested and treated poorly, in his view, by sheriff's deputies. He had found himself defending his decision to join the police force, saying he thought it was the best way to fix a broken system. He had clashed with friends over whether public demonstrations could actually make things better."He said, 'Don't you think that that needs to be done from the inside?'" his mother, Joni Kueng, recalled him saying after he watched protesters block a highway years ago. "That's part of the reason why he wanted to become a police officer -- and a Black police officer on top of it -- is to bridge that gap in the community, change the narrative between the officers and the Black community."As hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against the police after Floyd's killing on May 25, Kueng became part of a national debate over police violence toward Black people, a symbol of the very sort of policing he had long said he wanted to stop.Derek Chauvin, the officer who placed his knee on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, has been most widely associated with the case. He faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; Kueng and two other former officers were charged with aiding and abetting the killing. At 26, Kueng was the youngest and least experienced officer at the scene, on only his third shift as a full officer.The arrest of Kueng, whose mother is white and whose father was from Nigeria, has brought anguish to his friends and family. "It's a gut punch," Joni Kueng said. "Here you are, you've raised this child, you know who he is inside and out. We're such a racially diverse family. To be wrapped up in a racially motivated incident like this is just unfathomable."Two of Alex Kueng's siblings, Taylor and Radiance, both of whom are African American, called for the arrests of all four officers, including their brother. They joined protests in Minneapolis.In a Facebook Live video, Taylor Kueng, 21, appeared with the head of the local NAACP to speak of the injustice that befell Floyd, acknowledging being related to Alex Kueng but never mentioning his name.Alex Kueng's sister Radiance posted a video of Floyd's final minutes on Facebook. "Just broke my heart," she wrote. In an interview, she said that as a Black man, her brother should have intervened. She said she planned to change her last name in part because she did not want to be associated with her brother's actions."I don't care if it was his third day at work or not," she said. "He knows right from wrong."A Full HouseThrough his life, Alex Kueng straddled two worlds, Black and white.Kueng, whose full name is J. Alexander Kueng (pronounced "king"), was raised by his mother, whom he lived with until last year. His father was absent.As a child, Kueng sometimes asked for siblings. Joni Kueng, who lived in the Shingle Creek neighborhood in north Minneapolis, signed up with an African American adoption agency.When Alex was 5, Joni Kueng brought home a baby boy who had been abandoned at a hospital. Alex soon asked for a sister; Radiance arrived when he was 11. Taylor and a younger brother came in 2009, when Alex was about 16.Radiance Kueng, 21, said their adoptive mother did not talk about race. "Race was not really a topic in our household, unfortunately," she said. "For her adopting as many Black kids as she did -- I didn't get that conversation from her. I feel like that should have been a conversation that was had."Growing up, Alex Kueng and his family made repeated trips to Haiti, helping at an orphanage. Alex Kueng and his siblings took a break from school to volunteer there after the earthquake in 2010.Joni Kueng, 56, likes to say that the Kuengs are a family of doers, not talkers."I had to stay out of the race conversations because I was the minority in the household," Joni Kueng said in her first interview since her son's arrest. She said that race was not an issue with her, but that she was conflicted. "It didn't really matter, but it does matter to them because they are African American. And so they had to be able to have an outlet to tell their stories and their experience as well, especially having a white mom."Joni Kueng taught math at the schools her children went to, where the student body was often mostly Hmong, African American and Latino. Classmates described Alex Kueng as friends with everyone, a master of juggling a soccer ball and a defender against bullies. Photos portray him with a sly smile.Darrow Jones said he first met Alex Kueng on the playground when he was 6. Jones was trying to finish his multiplication homework. Alex Kueng helped Jones and then invited him into a game of tag.When Jones' mother died in 2008, Joni Kueng took him in for as long as a month at a time.By high school, Alex Kueng had found soccer, and soon that was all he wanted to do. He became captain of the soccer team; he wanted to turn pro. The quote next to his senior yearbook picture proclaimed, "We ignore failures and strive for success."Alex Kueng went to Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York, to play soccer and study business. But after surgery on both knees, soccer proved impossible. Alex Kueng quit. Back in Minneapolis, he enrolled in technical college and supported himself catching shoplifters at Macy's.About that time, he started talking about joining the police, Joni Kueng recalled. She said she was nervous, for his safety and also because of the troubled relationship between the Minneapolis police and residents.Given his background, Alex Kueng thought he had the ability to bridge the gap between white and Black worlds, Jones said. He often did not see the same level of racism that friends felt. Jones, who is Black, recalled a road trip a few years ago to Utah with Alex Kueng, a white friend and Alex Kueng's girlfriend, who is Hmong. Jones said he had to explain to Alex Kueng why people were staring at the group."Once we got to Utah, we walked into a store, and literally everybody's eyes were on us," recalled Jones, whose skin is darker than Alex Kueng's. "I said, 'Alex, that's because you're walking in here with a Black person. The reason they're staring at us is because you're here with me.'"By February 2019, Alex Kueng had made up his mind: He signed up as a police cadet.Only a few months later, his sibling Taylor, a longtime supporter of Black Lives Matter who had volunteered as a counselor at a Black heritage camp and as a mentor to at-risk Black youths, had a confrontation with law enforcement.Taylor Kueng and a friend saw local sheriff's deputies questioning two men in a downtown Minneapolis shopping district about drinking in public. They intervened. Taylor Kueng used a cellphone to record video of the deputies putting the friend, in a striped summer dress, on the ground. "You're hurting me!" the friend shouted.As the confrontation continued, a deputy turned to Taylor Kueng and said, "Put your hands behind your back." "For what?" Taylor Kueng asked several times. "Because," said the deputy, threatening to use his Taser.Taylor Kueng called home. Alex Kueng and their mother rushed to get bail and then to the jail. "Don't worry, I got you," Alex Kueng told his sibling, hugging Taylor, their mother recalled.Alex Kueng reminded his sibling that those were sheriff's deputies, not the city force he was joining, and criticized their behavior, his mother recalled.After Taylor Kueng's video went public, the city dropped the misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. The sheriff's office announced an official review of the arrests, which resulted in no discipline.Diverging PathsAlex Kueng's choice to become a police officer caused a rift in his friendship with Jones."It was very clear where we stood on that," said Jones, a Black Lives Matter supporter who protested on the streets after the deaths of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile at the hands of Minneapolis-area police. "Our fundamental disagreement around law enforcement is not that I believe cops are bad people. I just believe that the system needs to be completely wiped out and replaced. It's the difference between reform and rebuilding."After Alex Kueng became a cadet, Jones went from seeing Alex Kueng twice a month to maybe three times a year. He said he did not even tell Alex Kueng when the police pursued him for nothing and then let him go.In December, Alex Kueng graduated from the police academy. For most of his field training, Chauvin, with 19 years on the job, was his training officer.At one point, Alex Kueng, upset, called his mother. He said he had done something during training that bothered a supervising officer, who reamed him out. Joni Kueng did not know if that supervisor was Chauvin.Chauvin also extended Alex Kueng's training period. He felt Alex Kueng was meeting too often with a fellow police trainee, Thomas Lane, when responding to calls, rather than handling the calls on his own, Joni Kueng said.But on May 22, Alex Kueng officially became one of about 80 Black officers on a police force of almost 900. In recent years, the department, not as racially diverse as the city's population, has tried to increase the number of officers of color, with limited success.That evening, other officers held a small party at the Third Precinct station to celebrate Alex Kueng's promotion. The next evening, he worked his first full shift as an officer, inside the station. On that Sunday, he worked the 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. patrol shift, his first on the streets.On May 25, Alex Kueng's third day on the job, Alex Kueng and Lane, now partnered up despite both being freshly minted rookies, were the first officers to answer a call of a counterfeit $20 bill being passed at a corner store. They found Floyd in a car outside.After they failed to get Floyd into the back of a squad car, Chauvin and Tou Thao, another officer, showed up.As Chauvin jammed his knee into the back of Floyd's neck, Alex Kueng held down Floyd's back, according to a probable cause statement filed by prosecutors.Chauvin kept his knee there as Floyd repeated "I can't breathe" and "mama" and "please." Through the passing minutes, Alex Kueng did nothing to intervene, prosecutors say. After Floyd stopped moving, Alex Kueng checked Floyd's pulse. "I couldn't find one," Alex Kueng told the other officers.Critics of the police said the fact that none of the junior officers stopped Chauvin showed that the system itself needed to be overhauled."How do you as an individual think that you're going to be able to change that system, especially when you're going in at a low level?" said Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality in Minneapolis. "You're not going to feel OK to say, 'Stop, senior officer.' The culture is such, that that kind of intervening would be greatly discouraged."All four officers have been fired. All four face 40 years in prison. Alex Kueng, who was released on bail on June 19, declined through his lawyer to be interviewed. He is set to appear in court Monday.A day after Floyd's death, Jones learned that Alex Kueng was one of the officers who had been present. Around midnight, Jones called Alex Kueng. They talked for 40 minutes -- about what, Jones would not say -- and they cried."I'm feeling a lot of sadness and a lot of disappointment," Jones said. "A lot of us believe he should have stepped in and should have done something."He added: "It's really hard. Because I do have those feelings and I won't say I don't. But though I feel sad about what's occurred, he still has my unwavering support. Because we grew up together, and I love him."Jones said he had gone to the protests but could not bring himself to join in.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

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17 Rikers Island officers face discipline in transgender woman's death

Layleen Polanco, 27, died of an epileptic seizure while in solitary confinement on June 7 of last year.

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'We opened too quickly': Texas becomes a model for inadequate Covid-19 response

State shuts down again after seven weeks with coronavirus cases soaring, after ignoring inconvenient data and fighting party-political turf warsWhen Donald Trump welcomed Texas governor Greg Abbott to the White House in May, the US president hailed his fellow Republican as “one of the great governors” and lauded the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and predicted boom times ahead.“When you look at the job he’s done in Texas, I rely on his judgment,” Trump said.Seven weeks later, as the state once again closes businesses with virus cases skyrocketing and hospitals running out of intensive-care beds, Texas indeed appears to be a model: for how to squander a hopeful position through premature reopening, ignoring inconvenient data and fighting party-political turf wars.On 7 May, the day of Abbott’s visit to Washington, the state reported 968 new cases among its 29 million residents. Daily numbers have soared this week – to 5,996 on 25 June – prompting doctors in Houston to sound the alarm.On Friday, Abbott ordered a halt to Texan experiences such as bar-hopping along Austin’s raucous Sixth Street and floating lazily on an inner tube along a tree-lined river. Bars – which were open at up to 50% capacity – must close again, restaurants must reduce from 75% to 50% capacity and rafting operations must close.Harris County, which includes Houston, moved to its highest Covid-19 threat level, signalling a “severe and uncontrolled” outbreak.“The harsh truth is that our current infection rate is on pace to overwhelm our hospitals in the very near future,” Lina Hidalgo, the county judge, said at a press conference on Friday. “We opened too quickly.”It was not her choice. Hidalgo, a Democrat, issued a mandatory mask order in April that was swiftly rendered toothless by Abbott, who said masks were strongly recommended but local authorities could not impose penalties for non-compliance.Abbott said in the Oval Office that Texas’ phased reopening was based on data-driven strategies that would reduce the spread of the virus and enable the economy to recover. But he was cherry-picking numbers; the statistics did not meet federal criteria for relaxing a lockdown and Texas’ per-capita testing rate is among the worst in the nation.That same day, Abbott diluted his own authority in order to mollify his conservative base. He eliminated jail as a punishment for violating his coronavirus restrictions, in a response to right-wing outrage over the imprisonment of a Dallas hair salon owner who had illegally reopened, refused to close again and was sentenced to seven days behind bars for contempt of court.“Abbott tries to play the moderate but in reality he’s almost on a leash with the extreme right,” said Mustafa Tameez, a Houston-based Democratic strategist.Tameez said that Abbott and Trump have sown confusion through mixed messages. “We’re not going to be able to make policy unless we root it in facts and science,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to make it through this on soundbites and political positioning.”Republicans control Texas politics at state level largely thanks to support from white rural and suburban voters. But Democrats dominate in the biggest cities, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. This has long led to policy conflicts, with the state overriding municipalities on issues from banning plastic bags to immigration enforcement. Greg Casar, an Austin city council member, said that Abbott placed appeasing his core voters ahead of the health of urban communities of color.“The governor at the very beginning of this chose to prioritize politics over public health,” Casar said, noting the state’s attempt to suspend abortions. He added that if cases continue to spike, Austin would probably pass laws that go beyond Abbott’s limits, risking a court fight.“The overwhelming majority of our hospitalizations are Latino and of course black Austinites are being hospitalized at a disproportionate rate as well,” Casar said. “Generations of racist practice and policies are really exposing those communities at the moment no matter how much we try to mitigate it.” Austin was blocked earlier this month from implementing mandatory paid sick leave after a long-running legal challenge backed by leading Texas Republicans.“Hopefully the leadership of this state now knows that they’ve got to put public health first, we’ve got to flatten the curve all the way,” said Royce West, a state senator in Dallas and Democratic US senate primary candidate. “Leaders in this state have got to look at whether or not what the model was in New York should be replicated here.” That would underline the dramatic reversal in fortunes from the spring, when New York was the national epicentre – but severe actions seem unlikely.Dan Patrick, the 70-year-old Texas lieutenant governor, declared in March that he was willing to risk death to help the economy.On Friday, Patrick dismissed the idea of a fresh lockdown and accused hospitals of providing misleading information. “Yes, positive rates are up, mostly young people, they’re not dying,” he told Fox News. “We’re still moving forward, with a slight pause.”Nor is the pandemic causing state leaders to reconsider their most cherished policy goals. As hospitals scramble to find more ICU beds, Texas, the state with the highest number of uninsured people, filed a brief on Thursday urging the US supreme court to scrap the Affordable Care Act, which would threaten access to healthcare for millions.

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Spanish village makes its own rainbow after council's gay pride flag banned

When police ordered a local mayor in southern Spain to take down a rainbow flag put up to celebrate gay pride on Friday because it was illegal, more than 300 households in the village rallied to the cause and flew their own flags. By the time gay pride celebrations took place in Spain on Sunday, the Andalusian village of Villanueva de Algaidas near Malaga was awash with flags hanging from balconies, windows and even a bar in solidarity. Juan Civico, Socialist mayor of the village of 4,000 inhabitants, only found out it was illegal for authorities to fly the flag after three residents complained about the one he had put up.