Sunday, August 9, 2020
How to Stay Cool Without Air Conditioning & Prevent Heat Exhaustion
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What If the Big Bang Was Actually a Big Bounce?
MV Wakashio: Locals in Mauritius try to stop oil spill
Talking about Beyoncé's Black Is King
Flaws Could Have Exposed Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Hackers
How to Install Apps From Outside Your Phone's App Store
Chad prison deaths: Report disputed claim of mass poisoning
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Janelle Monae, Cassie, Meagan Good, Virgil Abloh and More Demand Justice for Elijah McClain in New PSA
Leaders from across the sports and entertainment world are rallying for justice for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old unarmed black man who suffered from a fatal heart attack following a violent police interaction in Colorado last year.
A number of celebrities have joined the Justice for Elijah McClain campaign to demand that the police officers involved in his arrest are held accountable. The campaign released a new PSA featuring Janelle Monae’, Virgil Abloh, Tess Holiday, Busy Phillips, Ben Platt, Cassie, Meagan Good, Demi Moore, and Kate Bosworth. In the video, they call for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and other state officials to fire and charge the officers involved with McClain’s death. They also recalled a step-by-step account the incident that led to McClain’s tragic death.
McClain, a violinist and self-proclaimed introvert, was confronted by police while walking home on August 23, 2019. At the time he was wearing a ski mask because of his anemia and was reported as a “suspicious man.” Officers eventually placed him in a chokehold and body camera footage shows him being wrestled to the ground and repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe, as he was being restrained. Aurora paramedics were called to the scene and injected McClain with ketamine while he was already unconscious. He then went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and declared brain dead three days later.
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A peaceful violin vigil for McClain in June was broken up by riot police who shot pepper spray at the crowd. The vigil “was a peaceful protest, with people carrying violins and cellos, playing in honor of Elijah McClain,” Joy Adams, a cellist who came from Boulder to participate, told Violinist.com. “There were children in the crowd, musicians playing, people holding candles and roses and sitting on the ground…We were playing Pachelbel’s Canon, and the police went nuts—beating people with batons and spraying tear gas in their faces.”
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Colin Kaepernick Donates 4,500 Impossible Patties to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an economic downfall and led to record-breaking unemployment rates. To help aid families struggling to get by, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp teamed up with ABC7 Los Angeles to help underrepresented communities in Los Angeles fight hunger. On Friday, the former NFL player announced that his organization donated 4,500 frozen Impossible patties, plant-based meat, to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Over 100 cases of the alternative meat patties were delivered to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which will distribute the patties to three other food banks throughout Southern California. The majority of donated food is allocated to those in low-income areas, while approximately one-quarter of the food will be donated to children. The donation is part of the Know Your Rights Camp partnership with Impossible Foods, which launched last month with the goal of feeding 1 million people.
“Since our announcement of teaming up with Impossible Foods earlier this month, we continue to work toward our goal of helping to feed 1 million people together,” said Patricia Robinson, the Know Your Rights Camp Community Outreach director and executive radio veteran, in a statement. “We are excited for this most recent collaboration with ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles. Know Your Rights Camp is happy to help provide relief and continue the fight against food insecurity to our most vulnerable communities in Southern California,” she added.
In response to the coronavirus crisis, “the Southern California regional food banks have increased food distribution by more than 70%, reaching over 200,000 people every week,” reads a news release.
“We have a history of supporting the local food banks, this is part of our mission in the communities we serve,” said Cheryl Fair, president and general manager of KABC-TV Los Angeles. “This year, the need is significantly greater; we are seeing more people experiencing food insecurity due to the pandemic. That is why we are grateful to Colin Kaepernick and the Know Your Rights Camp, who share the same goal to reduce food insecurities and stepped up with a donation of carefully selected food that is a healthy alternative for communities who simply do not have access.”
Kaepernick co-founded Know Your Rights Camp in 2016 in order to empower communities of color through education, mobilization, and leadership training.
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Susan Rice, Biden’s potential VP, divests from Netflix
It is reported that Biden will announce his choice for VP next week.
Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice‘s sudden divestment from her Netflix stock has many wondering if she is Biden’s choice for Vice President.
In 2018, Rice was appointed to be on the board of directors of the video streaming service. However, on Tuesday, she sold about $300,000 in stock holdings, according to paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
READ MORE: Susan Rice moving to the forefront of Biden VP race
Erin Pelton, a spokesperson for Rice, said this sale had nothing to do with politics. According to Bloomberg, Rice had already planned to sell her stocks more than three months ago.
“Ambassador Rice’s sale of a fraction of her Netflix stock has nothing to do with VP speculation,” Pelton said in a statement.
Netflix stock has steadily increased in value over the years. At this time last year, a share was valued at about $308. It is now worth about $494.
Bloomberg reported that Rice’s net worth is anywhere between $14.7 million and $28.5 million. These numbers come from a 2016 financial disclosure statement that she made as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser.
READ MORE: Harris, Warren lead in polls on who voters want as Biden’s VP
Rice is one of the women on Biden’s shortlist for the VP position. Biden has committed to choosing a female running mate in efforts to diversify leadership in the party.
The other potential VP choices include Sen. Kamala Harris, Rep. Karen Bass, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Val Demmings, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
It is reported that Biden will announce his choice next week.
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Some NRA members look forward to leadership overhaul
They allege that senior leaders have wasted money on luxury travel, personal gifts, family vacations, and big game hunts in Africa.
The possible dissolution of the National Rifle Association, the foremost champion of gun rights in the United States, is welcomed news to some members of the organization.
Many NRA members have complained about corruption at the top of the organization for years.
READ MORE: New York attorney general Letitia James sues to dissolve NRA
They allege that senior leaders of the NRA have wasted members’ money on luxury travel, personal gifts, family vacations, and big game hunts in Africa.
“This is the best thing to happen to NRA,” said Stephen Bozich, an NRA safety instructor and lifetime member. Like many NRA members, Bozich told Reuters he wants the NRA to remain intact but he hopes for new leadership.
Tim Harmsen, lifetime NRA member of host of the Military Channel Online told Reuters that he has been trying to expose the corruption within the NRA for years. Harmsen said the group is broken on the inside and needs new leadership.
He expressed that it seemed as though Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, had been deliberately trying to “run the organization into the ground.”
“Wayne has to go,” he concluded.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on Thursday, citing illegal financial misconduct at the top of the organization.
The lawsuit details how LaPierre squandered over $1 million of members’ money on private jet travel for his wife and family, even when he was not a passenger.
READ MORE: The NRA remains silent on the murder of Atatiana Jefferson
Later that same evening, the NRA filed a counter suit, claiming James was targeting the group for political reasons.
In a statement, James called the counter suit a distraction to hide “deep-rooted” fraud.
In a deposition, LaPierre justified the lavish expenditures as legitimate expenses. The NRA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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Almost 100 babies test positive for COVID-19 in Corpus Christi, Texas
A 6-week-old infant died after contracting the virus.
In Corpus Christi, a coastal city in South Texas, nearly 100 babies tested positive for COVID-19.
In mid-July, Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, announced that nearly 85 newborns were positive for COVID-19.
One 6-week-old infant even died after contracting it.
“Since March until now, it’s close to 167. So from the last time I reported, I don’t remember that exact date, but we had 85 infants, 23 months or younger, and since that date that number has almost doubled and that hasn’t been a very long time period,” City-County Health Director Annette Rodriguez told KSAT, an ABC affiliate station in the San Antonio area.
Since the pandemic began to gain speed in March, Nueces County has seen a total of 13,062 COVID-19 cases, according to KSAT.
READ MORE: Florida officially has more coronavirus cases than New York
Corpus Christi residents under 19-years-old who tested positive for COVID-19 represented an estimated 12% of cases.
Adolescents are not the only ones suffering and dying from the outbreak. On Wednesday, Flour Bluff school superintendent David Freeman, 46, died from COVID-19, according to the Caller Times.
The superintendent’s sister took to social media to announce Freeman’s passing. Freeman was in the intensive care unit when he died.
READ MORE: California reports record high number of coronavirus deaths
“We are heartbroken and grief stricken over the sudden loss of our fearless leader,” a post on the Flour Bluff Independent School District’s Facebook page reads.
“Dr. Freeman had been battling health issues over the past few months.” Freeman leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son.
As of reporting, there were nearly 460,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas, and of those cases, more than 136,000 are estimated to be active.
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Protests erupt in Beirut after massive explosion
Demonstrators say that the country’s elite class are responsible for the negligence that led to the explosion.
Chaos erupted in Beirut during a clash between protesters and the city authorities.
In response to the country’s massive explosion, there have been demands from anti-government protestors, seeking an early election to vote out the ruling class, Bloomberg reported.
READ MORE: Massive Beirut blast kills more than 60, injures thousands
Demonstrators say that the country’s elite class is responsible for the negligence that led to the explosion. Dozens of protesters vandalized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Energy, and Ministry of Economy and Trade.
On Saturday, during the demonstrations, shots were fired. It was later confirmed that the bullets were shot by police officers. Officers also used rubber bullets and teargas against protesters.
There was a demonstration on parliament square and protesters could be heard screaming anti-government chants.
Demonstrators also burned a portrait of President Michel Aoun, according to Reuters.
Lebanese authorities said 2,750 tonnes of an industrial chemical had been stored for six years at Beirut port without safety measures. That stockpile exploded on Tuesday, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.
“We are staying here. We call on the Lebanese people to occupy all the ministries,” one demonstrator said on a megaphone.
READ MORE: Protesters arrested in Seattle after confrontation with federal agents
In comparison, 2,300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated aboard a ship, killing 567 people in Texas in 1947. This was reported to be one of the world’s deadliest industrial accidents, according to Reuters.
“Beirut, like Texas, is a wake-up call. We should learn from these catastrophes and make sure they don’t happen again,” Stewart Walker, an associate professor from the school of Forensic, Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at Flinders University, said.
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Old-school auto collector Mike Hall, his pal Avery Shoaf and son Connor Hall go the extra mile to restore retro cars -- and hopefully turn a profit. Watch Rust Valley Restorers Season 3 August 21st, on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2DQfF2k SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Rust Valley Restorers Season 3 | Official Trailer | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Mike keeps buying cars quicker than he can restore him, Avery and Connor visit the Motor City, and Cassidy gets cranking on a personal project.
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Coronavirus rescue aid talks collapse; no help expected for jobless now
Additional spending for schools, testing local governments and bonus unemployment pay hang in the balance as virus cases rise
WASHINGTON (AP) — A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive Capitol Hill talks on vital coronavirus rescue money collapsed in disappointment at week’s end, making it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus.
President Donald Trump said Friday night he was likely to issue more limited executive orders related to COVID, perhaps in the next day or so, if he can’t reach a broad agreement with Congress.
The day’s negotiations at the Capitol added up to only “a disappointing meeting,” declared top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, saying the White House had rejected an offer by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. He urged the White House to “negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Don’t say it’s your way or no way.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Unfortunately we did not make any progress today.” Republicans said Pelosi was relying on budget maneuvers to curb costs and contended she has overplayed her hand.
Often an impasse in Washington is of little consequence for the public — not so this time. It means longer and perhaps permanent expiration of a $600 per-week bonus pandemic jobless benefit that’s kept millions of people from falling into poverty. It denies more than $100 billion to help schools reopen this fall. It blocks additional funding for virus testing as cases are surging this summer. And it denies billions of dollars to state and local governments considering furloughs as their revenue craters.
Ahead is uncertainty. Both the House and Senate have left Washington, with members sent home on instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. With no deal in sight, their absence raises the possibility of a prolonged stalemate that stretches well into August and even September.
Speaking from his New Jersey golf club Friday evening, Trump said “if Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need.”
READ MORE: Trump says he may suspend evictions with executive order
Trump said he may issue executive orders on home evictions, student loan debt and allowing states to repurpose COVID relief funding into their unemployment insurance programs. He also said he’ll likely issue an executive order to defer collection of Social Security payroll taxes, an idea that has less support among his Republican allies.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said, “This is not a perfect answer — we’ll be the first ones to say that — but it is all that we can do, and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power.”
Friday’s Capitol Hill session followed a combative meeting Thursday evening that for the first time cast real doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill. Pelosi summoned Mnuchin and Meadows in hopes of breathing life into the negotiations, which have been characterized by frustration and intransigence on both sides — particularly on top issues such as extending the bonus jobless benefit that expired last week.
Pelosi declared the talks all but dead until Meadows and Mnuchin give ground.
“I’ve told them ‘come back when you are ready to give us a higher number,’” she said.
The breakdown in the negotiations is particularly distressing for schools, which have been counting on billions of dollars from Washington to help with the costs of reopening. But other priorities are also languishing, including a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, a cash infusion for the struggling Postal Service and money to help states hold elections in November.
In a news conference on Friday Pelosi said she offered a major concession to Republicans.
“We’ll go down $1 trillion, you go up $1 trillion,” Pelosi said. The figures are approximate, but a Pelosi spokesman said the speaker is in general terms seeking a “top line” of perhaps $2.4 trillion since the House-passed HEROES Act is scored at $3.45 trillion. Republicans say their starting offer was about $1 trillion but have offered some concessions on jobless benefits and aid to states, among others, that have brought the White House offer higher.
Mnuchin said renewal of a $600 per-week pandemic jobless boost and huge demands by Democrats for aid to state and local governments are the key areas where they are stuck.
“There’s a lot of areas of compromise,” he said after Friday’s meeting. “I think if we can reach an agreement on state and local and unemployment, we will reach an overall deal. And if we can’t we can’t.”
Democrats have offered to reduce her almost $1 trillion demand for state and local governments considerably, but some of Pelosi’s proposed cost savings would accrue chiefly because she would shorten the timeframe for benefits like food stamps.
Pelosi and Schumer continue to insist on a huge aid package to address a surge in cases and deaths, double-digit joblessness and the threat of poverty for millions of the newly unemployed.
On Friday, they pointed to the new July jobs report to try to bolster their proposals. The report showed that the U.S. added 1.8 million jobs last month, a much lower increase than in May and June.
READ MORE: Residents who host large parties can have utilities shut off, LA mayor says
“It’s clear the economy is losing steam,” Schumer said. “That means we need big, bold investments in America to help average folks.”
Senate Republicans have been split, with roughly half of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s rank and file opposed to another rescue bill at all. Four prior coronavirus response bills totaling almost $3 trillion have won approval on bipartisan votes despite intense wrangling, but conservatives have recoiled at the prospect of another Pelosi-brokered agreement with a whopping deficit-financed cost.
McConnell has kept his distance from the negotiations while coordinating with Mnuchin and Meadows.
In addition to restoring the lapsed $600-per-week bonus jobless benefit, Pelosi and Schumer have staked out a firm position to extend demanded generous child care assistance and reiterated their insistence on additional funding for food stamps and assistance to renters and homeowners facing eviction or foreclosure.
“This virus is like a freight train coming so fast and they are responding like a convoy going as slow as the slowest ship. It just doesn’t work,” Pelosi said Friday.
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Michelle Obama releases playlist full of ‘#BlackGirlMagic,’ music inspired by podcast
The playlist features dozens of songs by mainstream and up-and-coming Black artists
After dropping the first episodes of her self-titled podcast, former First Lady Michelle Obama has released an accompanying Spotify playlist full of incomparable Black female musicians. The compilation was made as a soundtrack to the first season of the new show.
As reported by Billboard, “Vol 1: The Michelle Obama Playlist” is an eclectic collection of songs that feature artists like Nao, Annie Lennox and Steve Lacy.
For the most part, however, it heavily highlights a talented array of Black female singers and MCs.
“Excited to share with you a new @Spotify playlist inspired by the first season of my new podcast. It’s filled with incredible new artists and a whole lot of #BlackGirlMagic,” Obama said in an Instagram post. “I hope you’ll give it a listen and follow some of these terrific musicians.”
READ MORE: Obamas’ production company grabs 7 Emmy nominations
READ MORE: Michelle Obama: ‘I’m doing just fine’
Obama gives shine to some of the most talented, up-and-coming and progressive Black female acts in the music business. This includes New Orleans-based band Tank & The Bangas‘ “Spaceships,” rapper Tierra Wack‘s “Pretty Ugly,” British singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas‘ “Can’t Fight,” and singer-songwriter Mereba‘s “Black Truck.”
The playlist, featuring more than 40 songs, is also filled with songs from some of the biggest names today, including “Black Parade” from Beyonce, “Made It” from Teyana Taylor, “Do It” from Chloe x Halle and “Still Blue,” a duet by Jill Scott and SiR.
Three artists were lucky enough to get multiple placements on the 41-track playlist. Taylor, SiR, and Grammy-winning singer and instrumentalist H.E.R. all appear twice.
“The Michelle Obama Podcast” is a partnership with Higher Ground, an exclusive Spotify hub. It is centered around Obama engaging in candid conversations with colleagues, family and friends.
The first episode premiered on July 29 and features her husband, former U.S. President Barack Obama. They discuss their marriage and civil service.
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Drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya react to scenes from the Netflix film 'Work It' starring Sabrina Carpenter and Liza Koshy -- in this episode of "I Like to Watch". Watch Work It, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/33AunW7 SUBSCRIBE: https://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with over 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Drag Queens Trixie Mattel & Katya React to Work It | I Like to Watch | Netflix https://youtube.com/netflix A brilliant but clumsy high school senior vows to get into her late father’s alma mater by transforming herself and a misfit squad into dance champions.
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Biden Supports Free Coronavirus Tests And Vaccines For Undocumented Immigrants
Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country has taken a severe economic hit due to the job loss created as a result of the viral outbreak. Because of mass unemployment, many Americans are now scared for what this means for their health insurance coverage. A few weeks ago, presidential candidate Joe Biden released his $775 billion plan for caregivers and essential workers impacted by the spread of COVID-19. At a recent virtual event, the former vice president explained that he supports more free services including tests and potential vaccines for marginalized groups like undocumented immigrants.
“Every person in the country, whether they’re documented or undocumented, should have access to a vaccine, if and when it occurs, should have access to testing and treatment and hospitalization if it relates to the virus,” he said in his speech at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) Joint Virtual Convention. “And that should occur, period. It’s in the interest of everyone that everyone be taken care of, and everyone should be able to be eligible for that.”
Biden went on to expand that he believes that the free services should not be limited to COVID-19, but permanently to help immigrants transition including expanding protections under the Affordable Care Act so they have the option of buying private insurance if needed. “If they are working in the United States of America and they are paying taxes, they should have access to health care,” he explained. “They should have access to what everybody else has access to.”
As far as immigration, The Hill reports that Biden’s campaign has promised that “there will not be another foot of [any] wall constructed in my administration” and that he will not confiscate private land to build the barrier.
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