Columbiana

Contrasting responses to COVID-19 restrictions highlights split among evangelical Christians

In May, journalist Mindy Belz was frustrated by the way she saw white conservative Christians in America responding to the pandemic. Belz, by contrast, told Yahoo News that her tweet in May was driven by disappointment in the response of many American Christians to COVID-19.

Trump claims 'crooked dishonest things will happen' during vote count in key battleground state

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Friday ruled voter signatures on the ballot do not need to match the one on file

Family of hiker missing for 2 weeks in Mount Rainier pushes for active search

Sam Dubal, 33, went missing while on an overnight trip that began Oct. 9. His family is pleading for three more days of searching.

'Murder hornet': First nest found in US eradicated with vacuum hose

The Asian giant hornets can wipe out a colony of honeybees in hours.

Harry Reid says that Biden should spend 'no more than three weeks' testing Republican cooperation before eliminating the Senate filibuster

The former Democratic senator from Nevada and Senate Majority Leader insisted that GOP obstruction should not be tolerated.

'An incredibly tragic day for Ocala': Florida police chief Greg Graham killed in plane crash

The death of Greg Graham, who became Ocala's 30th police chief in January 2012, stunned the central Florida city northwest of Orlando.

Elderly couple who wouldn't evacuate killed in Colorado wildfire

The couple, in their 80s, cherished their home and refused to leave, the sheriff and family said. There are no other known missing people in the blaze.

Hurricane force gusts prompt extremely critical fire risk in California

Meanwhile, record shattering cold brings heavy snow and wind chills below zero to Colorado.

Opposition leader flees Venezuela, heads towards Spain and the United States

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López escaped from the South American country and was traveling on Saturday to Spain, where he will spend time with his family before eventually heading towards the United States to continue the efforts to outs the Nicolas Maduro regime, sources close to the former political prisoner told el Nuevo Herald.

Trump reportedly doesn't 'want to help some' GOP senators amid warnings of 'potentially catastrophic' election

Josh Holmes, a top adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), told Politico he thinks the Republican Party could win more Senate races than people expect on Nov. 3, but the fact that there are so many close contests means "you could have a whole bunch of scenarios play out on Election Day." The worst-case scenario for the GOP, he said, is "potentially catastrophic."As it turns out, the party may not get that much help from President Trump when it comes to avoiding such a fate. Trump privately told donors this past Thursday at a fundraiser in Nashville, Tennessee, that he isn't sure the party will maintain its Senate majority, The Washington Post reports. "I think the Senate is tough actually," Trump said at the event, an attendee told the Post on condition of anonymity. "The Senate is very tough. There are a couple senators I can't really get involved in. I just can't do it. You lose your soul if you do. I can't help some of them. I don't want to help some of them."Instead, the president reportedly said he believes the GOP will "take back the House," a stance that he made clear during Thursday's presidential debate, as well. Trump's optimism about the lower chamber isn't shared by many Republican officials and strategists, who consider it a long shot. Read more at Politico and The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America

Nigeria's police order massive mobilization after unrest

Nigeria’s top police official on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilization of all officers to “reclaim the public space from criminal elements masquerading as protesters” after days of unrest and demonstrations over police abuses that left at least 69 people dead. The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa’s most populous country after some of its worst turmoil in years. Nigeria’s inspector general of police, M.A. Adamu, ordered colleagues to “dominate the public space” while announcing that enough is enough, a statement said.

Cameroon: Children killed in attack on school in Kumba

Officials have blamed Anglophone secessionists for the attack on a private school in a restive region.

Singapore halts use of flu vaccines after 48 die in South Korea

Singapore has temporarily halted the use of two influenza vaccines as a precaution after some people who received them in South Korea died, becoming among the first countries to publicly announce a halt of the vaccines' usage. South Korea reported that 48 have died as of Saturday after getting flu shots, but said it would carry on with the state-run vaccination programme as they found no direct link between the deaths and the shots. No deaths associated with influenza vaccination have been reported in Singapore to date, but the decision to halt the use of SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra was precautionary, the health ministry and the Health Sciences Authority (HAS) said in a statement late on Sunday. The HSA is in touch with the South Korean authorities for further information as they investigate to determine if the deaths are related to influenza vaccinations. SKYCellflu Quadrivalent is manufactured by South Korea's SK Bioscience and locally distributed by AJ Biologics, while VaxigripTetra is manufactured by Sanofi and locally distributed by Sanofi Aventis. Two other influenza vaccines that have been brought into Singapore for the Northern Hemisphere 2020/21 influenza season may continue to be used, Singapore health authorities said.

Stimulus checks could take weeks or months to arrive as Pelosi and Mnuchin remain locked in negotiations

"It'd take a colossal get-together, just a huge get-together, to put a stimulus package together, and I don't see it happening."

More mass testing in China after 137 virus cases in Xinjiang

Chinese officials were racing Sunday to smother a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the country's far northwest after 137 new infections were discovered.

Protestors storm churches in Poland on the fourth day of unrest after a court ruling tightened the country's already-strict abortion laws

The court banned abortion in the case of fetal defects, making abortion legal only in cases of incest, rape, or danger to the mother's life.

Ethiopia blasts Trump remark that Egypt will 'blow up' dam

Ethiopia on Saturday denounced “belligerent threats” by President Trump over the huge dam it has nearly completed on the Blue Nile River. This comes a day after Trump said downstream Egypt will “blow up” the project it has called an existential threat.

Snow due to hit Colorado wildfire areas

"We don’t anticipate it will be a season-ending event, but we do believe it will help us a great bit," said a fire incident spokesman.

Kamala Harris' chief of staff on how Joe Biden can "change the direction of this country"

Salon talks to Karine Jean-Pierre about the Biden campaign's strategy to win, and what comes after for the left

Black contractor braves threats in removing Confederate statues in Richmond

Devon Henry paced in nervous anticipation, because this was a project like nothing he’d ever done. An accomplished Black businessman, Henry took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do: lead contractor for the now-completed removal of 14 pieces of Confederate statuary that dotted Virginia’s capital city. “You did it, man,” said Rodney Henry.

Gottlieb warns of "dangerous tipping point" as virus spread accelerates

"These cases are going to continue to build. There's really no backstop here," Gottlieb said on "Face the Nation."

Spain declares state of emergency over coronavirus as Italy closes cinemas, theatres and gyms

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, declared a state of emergency and imposed a nationwide curfew on Sunday, as Italy closed down event halls and Bulgaria’s leader tested positive for coronavirus. Under Spain’s state of emergency, which was due to come into force on Sunday, citizens must remain inside their homes between 11pm and 6am unless they have a valid reason, such as work or other essential activities. Regional governments have been allowed to adjust the timing of the start and end of the curfew by one hour, while the Canary Islands have been exempted from the curfew altogether. After Spain recorded 110,000 new cases last week, passing a milestone of one million cases, Mr Sánchez said the situation was “extreme”, and urged citizens to “stay at home wherever possible”. The state of emergency also includes a “rule-of-six” limit on social gatherings, and allows regional governments to seal their borders against non-essential entry or exit, as well as place districts or cities under perimeter lockdowns. Mr Sánchez said he wants parliament to approve the state of emergency for six months, until 9 May. “Experts estimate that is the time we need to overcome the most destructive phase of the pandemic. The cost in terms of lives must be as low as possible,” he said. It came as Italy announced it would close cinemas, theatres, gyms and swimming pools, while restaurants and bars were told to shut at 6pm, in a fresh round of tough restrictions. The new rules, which come into force on Monday, were imposed after 20,000 cases of coronavirus were recorded on Saturday. Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, has stopped short of a full nationwide lockdown as the country’s economy was severely damaged by a ten-week lockdown imposed earlier in the pandemic. "Our aim is to protect health and the economy," Mr Conte said.

New cease-fire announced in 4-week Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced a third attempt to establish a cease-fire in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh starting from 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Monday. The new agreement was announced Sunday night in a joint statement by the governments of the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The statement said the agreement came after a meeting between Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is heavily favored to win her reelection race. Her challenger has still raised $10 million because Republicans are desperate to beat her.

"I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him," a Republican strategist told The New York Times.

'Not just numbers': The women disappearing in Peru

Thousands of women go missing in Peru every year and many are never found.

Police chief: Illinois officer who shot Black couple in car fired

A police officer who shot a Black couple inside a vehicle — killing a 19-year-old man and wounding his girlfriend — has been fired, the police chief announced Friday.

Hotels are trying to attract families with gourmet cooking classes, cabana classrooms, and yoga breaks as kids continue with remote schooling across the US

Hotels are beckoning families with "schoolcation" packages that tap into their newfound flexibility to travel during the school year.

US ‘not going to control’ COVID-19 pandemic, White House Chief of Staff Meadows says

“What we need to do is make sure that we have the proper mitigation factors, whether it’s therapies or vaccines or treatments to make sure that people don’t die from this.”

Rep. Stefanik: ‘Joe Biden Is Lying to the American People’ about Hunter’s Business Dealings

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is “lying to the American people” about his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, claimed Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) on Saturday.The House Intelligence Committee member's comments came during an appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend, in which she accused the former vice president of lying when he issued his denial of wrongdoing during Thursday night’s presidential debate. Stefanik detailed her experience asking each witness in President Trump’s impeachment hearings whether there was a conflict of interest, or an appearance of one, created by Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Ukrainian natural-gas firm Burisma Holdings during Joe Biden’s time as vice president. All of the witnesses said yes, she recalled.She said the Obama administration “proactively brought this up as a conflict of interest” while preparing former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch for her Senate nomination. “This is Joe Biden running from his record and trying to wipe away this very clear conflict of interest,” Stefanik said."This is not just a Hunter Biden scandal. This is a Joe Biden scandal, and it's not just Burisma. It's also now the Chinese Communist government and the Chinese Communist Party," she added, referring to allegations of a business arrangement between a Chinese company and the Biden family.During Thursday’s debate, the former vice president claimed there was “nothing unethical” about Hunter Biden’s involvement in Burisma.He said though questions had arisen over whether he had done something wrong in respect to Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma that, “every single solitary person, when [Trump] was going through his impeachment, testifying under oath, who worked for him said I did my job impeccably, I carried out U.S. policy, not one single, solitary thing was out of line.”

Lebanese Christian cleric to Hariri: avoid 'secret deals' in forming cabinet

Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Sunday to avoid back-door deals and to quickly form a new government that will start lifting the country out of financial crisis. Veteran Sunni politician Hariri was named premier for a fourth time on Thursday, a year after huge protests against the ruling elite pushed him to quit. Hariri promised a cabinet of specialists to enact reforms set out in a French plan to unlock foreign aid.

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee dies at 78

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, who transformed the South Korean firm into a global tech titan, died at the age of 78 on Sunday, the company said.

British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert detained in Iran moved out of desert prison

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran for the past two years, has been moved from the notorious desert prison of Qarchak to an unknown location. Her move was first reported by the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, who said that she was moved, along with all of her belongings, on Saturday. A source close to the case confirmed the move, but did not know any further details. There has been no official word from the Iranian government. Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Islamic Studies, was arrested for espionage after attending a conference in Qom in 2018. She was charged in a secret trial and given 10 years imprisonment. Both Dr Moore-Gilbert and the Australian government reject the charges, which they say are politically motivated. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim that someone she interviewed for a research project flagged her as suspicious so they stopped her from returning to Melbourne. Qarchak prison, in the desert on the eastern outskirts of Tehran, has a reputation for being the most dangerous of the country’s women’s prisons. Dr Moore-Gilbert had been moved from Evin prison in Tehran to Qarchak in August, which activists at the time believed to be a “punishment”. It was not immediately clear where Dr Moore-Gilbert has been taken. Just 11 days prior to her movement she had been transferred to Ward Eight (formerly known as the Mothers’ Ward) of Qarchak, alongside at least 15 other political prisoners. While those campaigning for her release see her move as a sign of hope, not knowing where the mystery location she has been sent to or the reason behind the move, gives little to base it on.

The operator of this Boeing 767 private jet says the plane has an air system so advanced it kills pathogens so passengers don't need to wear a mask onboard – see inside

This luxury flying apartment costs an hour what a New York City studio costs for an entire year. The difference being this one kills COVID in the air.

Afghan bombing: Kabul education centre attack kills at least 24

The suicide attack outside the private facility in the Afghan capital has wounded dozens more.

Typhoon displaces thousands, floods villages in Philippines

A fast-moving typhoon forced thousands of villagers to flee to safety in provinces south of the Philippine capital Monday, flooding rural villages and ripping off roofs, officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Typhoon Molave, but authorities reported at least one person was missing and seven others were rescued after their yacht sank off Batangas province south of Manila.

Two Notre Dame students killed, 1 injured after being hit by car

A vehicle is believed to have hit the three students, who were walking in the street, and then crashed into a house.

Americans Should Brace for 100,000 New COVID Cases a Day, Experts Say

“You should be prepared for how bad it’s going to get.”The words of Dr. William Haseltine, an internationally renowned infectious disease expert, summarized the resounding—and sobering—takeaway from several public health experts and epidemiologists who spoke to The Daily Beast on Saturday, hours after the U.S. smashed its previous record of new daily COVID-19 cases. The country hit 83,757 reported infections in one day on Friday, while hospitalizations rocketed across the nation by 40 percent.The problem, experts say, isn’t Friday’s number. It’s the upward trajectory.“It’s going to get a lot worse,” said Dr. Haseltine, who was at the heart of the U.S response to the HIV/AIDS and anthrax crises. “We’re looking at easily an excess of 100,000 infections a day and overwhelmed hospitals all over the country.”Haseltine said that prediction was supported by several factors: The weather will only get colder, forcing people indoors. Flu season is approaching. The holidays will tempt people to gather in groups. There are no silver bullets coming. The smaller—but still devastating—peaks in the spring and the summer were largely contained to specific regions of the United States.“Now it’s just about everywhere across the country,” said Haseltine, noting that cases are impacting more age groups, environments, and facilities. While many states saw clusters originating in meatpacking plants, prisons, and retirement facilities earlier in the year, they’re now being traced more often back to private family gatherings, religious services, bars, athletic events, colleges, high schools, and more.That news might be shocking to anyone who believed President Trump’s declaration this week that the country is “rounding the corner” on the pandemic and that the virus is “going away.”But Haseltine’s prediction that “we’re not even near the peak” of the latest surge was backed by other experts who spoke with The Daily Beast on Saturday.“What we can hope for,” said Haseltine, “is that this will plateau at 100,000 [new cases per day], and that enough people will get enough scared and that enough hospitals will get overwhelmed” that it convinces the American public to wear masks, social distance, and exercise caution.Dr. Jennifer Horney, founding director and professor in the University of Delaware’s epidemiology program, noted that Haseltine’s prediction was consistent with the latest published results from the forecasting team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. Its report on Friday in Nature estimated a cumulative total of 511,373 deaths across the United States by Feb. 28, 2021. A Pervasive Myth To be clear, more Americans are, every day, gaining increased access to quicker and effective tests, raising a question that Horney called a “pervasive” myth: Are dramatic COVID-19 case increases just a reflection of the fact that we’re testing more people?In short: No.Experts surveyed by The Daily Beast on Saturday pointed out that hospitalization and fatality rates are also increasing—robust indications of trends—and that positivity rates in several states are too high to be accurately reflecting a full picture of the number of infections.“Hospitalizations don’t yet reflect what happened this week,” Haseltine said.Even still, hospitals all over the country—from Amarillo, Texas to Salt Lake City, Utah, and Kansas City, Missouri and Milwaukee, Wisconsin—reported this week that they were overwhelmed and approaching capacity.Dr. Irwin Redlener, founding director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, agreed with Haseltine’s prediction, saying he would “also remind people” that the number of confirmed cases is only “a fraction of the total.”In June, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the number of confirmed cases likely represented only 10 percent of true infections. That means on the days that the country saw 60,000 new cases, there were actually closer to 600,000. While Delaware’s Dr. Horney noted that such case representation has likely improved with access to testing, it hasn’t improved enough not to be reflecting a true rise in cases across the nation.And, worryingly, none of the experts interviewed by The Daily Beast said there was any evidence of change at the institutional, state, local, or individual level that would curb the deadly virus’s worrying trend. ‘Failure of Leadership’“There’s a failure of leadership, failure of governance and failure of social solidarity in the Western world,” said Haseltine. “The Chinese taught the world what to do. You can stop the infection without a vaccine, without a drug—and stop it forever. It’s not that they’re totalitarian, it’s that they did what public health officials told them to do. What is wrong with the rest of us?”On that point, both Redlener and Horney agreed.“The dearth of federal leadership has become so apparent and has had such a tragic impact,” said Horney. “The secret in all of these kinds of emergencies is to have strong guidance with enough flexibility to make it locally relevant.”The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s projection published on Friday in Nature also found “that achieving universal mask use—95 percent mask use in public—could be sufficient to ameliorate the worst effects of epidemic resurgences in many states” and that such compliance “could save an additional 129,574 lives” through the end of February 2021. Even 85 percent mask compliance, said the forecast, could save an additional 95,814 lives.“It’s not too late to talk about a national mask mandate, which is one of the few tools we have to deal with this since we don’t have a vaccine,” said Redlener, echoing a sentiment vocalized a day earlier by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official.But without a national mandate, state and local health departments are left to make their own ordinances, the result of which has been headline-grabbing in-fighting from Texas to Georgia.In Illinois, the state’s public health director broke down in tears on Friday, begging the public to follow health guidelines.“If you’re talking about COVID fatigue from having to keep wearing a mask, think about the COVID fatigue for health-care workers, respiratory therapists, who are going to have to go through this whole episode again of trying to fight for people’s lives, because we couldn’t figure out how to control this virus by doing some of the simple measures that have been prescribed,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike said.Without a federal strategy, said infectious disease experts, pandemic-weary Americans have been left to make their own decisions in the public interest, to decipher mixed messages from departments and politicians, to understand that eating indoors at restaurants may be technically allowed, but not responsible. There will always be people who trust a corporation’s analysis that its product is safe—or who believe their individual liberty is more important than the public good.“We are always emotional and sometimes rational, it’s just human nature,” said Haseltine. “Belief trumps facts every time.” ‘Be Prepared’Horney’s advice to the public is to “double down” and make plans now. Whether you live in New York or South Dakota, in a city or rural environment, on a college campus or in a retirement community: “Get your flu shot. Wear your mask.” The more lax people are, the worse cases will get, and the worse off every community will be, she said.“Be prepared—and not in this joking sort of way about running out of toilet paper—in the real way,” she continued. “If your kids are in school, be ready for them to pivot to remote learning.”As Redlener said, the nation is in a “battle” between pandemic fatigue and pandemic fatalities.“This virus is anything but slowing down,” Redlener warned, and if Americans don’t begin to take it much, much more seriously, he said, “We’re in trouble.”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.

Miami nurse sues doctor colleague, says he ‘deliberately’ infected her with COVID-19

A Miami-Dade nurse practitioner and mother of a 2-year-old said she was deliberately exposed to COVID-19 by a Miami physician at their place of work. She has filed a lawsuit against him, the medical office and the hospital that owns the medical office.

UK 'SBS' special forces storm tanker and detain stowaways in Channel

Troops from the Special Boat Service, a navy special forces unit whose headquarters in just a few miles away from where the vessel began showing signs of distress, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorised the armed forces to board the ship "to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspected hijacking", the defence ministry said. The defence ministry declined to confirm or deny the involvement of the SBS - in line with British government policy of not commenting on special forces operations.

Blackburn: Trump will ensure COVID recovery quicker than Biden

Senate Judiciary Committee member Marsha Blackburn offers insight on the election as early voting in Tennessee breaks records.

Kamala Harris brings energy to Biden's restrained campaign

As she speaks to cheering crowds, drops in to neighborhood coffee shops or pays "surprise" visits to college students, 56-year-old Kamala Harris has brought a jolt of youthful energy to the low-key presidential campaign of her 77-year-old running mate, Democrat Joe Biden.

Singapore Airlines doesn't want to dethrone its original world's longest flight even though the new one is 3 miles longer – here's how the two will differ

The new Singapore-New York route is one of the few new international routes to launch during the pandemic, but the airline is keeping it low-key.

The South was a lost cause for Democrats. Now eight key Senate seats are in play.

"You'd sometimes have a good candidate run, but they had no capacity to raise money or get involvement from the national party. That’s changed now," one Democratic strategist said.

A 58-year-old woman who's a suspect in her elderly mother's stabbing told police 'she deserved it and now she's in a better place'

When Salt Lake City authorities questioned Lori Lee Donlay's motive, she told them "she'll take it to the grave," according to Utah's Deseret News.

Brexit talks could see Merkel intervene after France refused fishing compromise

Brexit talks face a roadblock this week after France refused to compromise on fishing, with Government sources hoping Angela Merkel will intervene to break the impasse. Sources close to the negotiations said that Emmanuel Macron was refusing to soften his stance and had adopted an “egregious” position on the issue. The UK has proposed adopting a similar arrangement to Norway, whereby fishing quotas would be agreed annually in shared fishing zones. However, sources said that Brussels negotiators, under pressure from France, have “not moved at all” leading to fresh deadlock. The Government hopes the German Chancellor will manage to persuade the French President to budge. A Whitehall source said: “We are relatively optimistic but that doesn’t mean it won’t end in tears. Fisheries is the biggest thing. We are hoping Merkel can unlock Macron on fisheries.”

Florida reports 2,385 new COVID-19 cases. Three South Florida counties report 0 deaths

The Florida Department of Health reported 2,385 new cases of novel coronavirus and 12 deaths from COVID-19. Most of those deaths came from Miami-Dade County.

South Korea pharma Celltrion's COVID test gets U.S. emergency use authorisation

South Korea's Celltrion Inc said on Monday it has received emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its rapid COVID-19 testing kit Sampinute, which boosted shares of the company and its affiliates. Celltrion said Sampinute delivers coronavirus test results within 10 minutes, with a sensitivity of around 94%. The authorisation came three months after requesting approval in late July and the product has already been launched in the United States in August, according to the company statement.

Mississippi health official links rise in white virus cases over Black cases to mask views

At the outset of the pandemic, more African Americans in Mississippi were being infected and killed by coronavirus than white people, a disparity that medical experts blamed on racial health disparities. Initially, Black Mississippians made up approximately 60% of the state’s cases and deaths, according to the state health department. In roughly the past month, white people have surpassed Black people in the overall reported COVID-19 death toll for the first time since the state health department started publishing data by race in June, according to CNN.