Vatican Hacked By Chinese Spies: Report

ROME—The offices that house the Vatican’s computer network system were one of the few allowed to stay minimally staffed during the pandemic to ensure that God's work—as it were—continued unfettered. But in early May, weeks before Italy and the Vatican emerged from a draconian COVID-19 lockdown, a series of cyber intrusions reportedly took place, masterminded by Chinese hackers keen on eavesdropping on the Pope's plans for the controversial Catholic Church in China, according to the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future and reported in The New York Times. Is Pope Francis Selling Out the Chinese Underground Church to Its Government?One of the hacks used a fairly standard Trojan malware called PlugX Payload, which was woven into the coding on a cable sent from the office of the Vatican's secretary of state to Monsignor Javier Corona Herrera in Hong Kong. The letter expressed condolences from the pope over the death of a bishop, fairly standard practice in an institution built on rituals and traditions. But when the office in Hong Kong opened the cable, it unleashed the malware.The breach into the Vatican system allowed the deviants to then access the receiving computer network—in the case of the condolence letter, the Catholic Church’s China Study Mission in Hong Kong. By sending what looked like a legitimate cable from behind the Vatican's secure firewall, the hackers could be sure the entity opening it would do so without suspicion, and unwittingly grant access. The act is called spear phishing which, unlike regular phishing, is highly targeted. The Diocese of Hong Kong was also targeted and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Milan was also singled out. Recorded Future’s report states that additional hacks were found using the same malware. “The first sample included a lure document spoofing a news bulletin from the Union of Catholic Asian News regarding the impending introduction of the new Hong Kong national security law,” the report states. Another hack refers to the Vatican and uses a document called, “QUM, IL VATICANO DELL’ISLAM.doc” as the decoy. The document refers to the Shi’ite city of Qom and includes writings from an Italian Catholic academic living in Iran. “Although the direct target of these two lures are unclear, both relate to the Catholic church,” Recorded Future states in the report. A source who worked in the Vatican's security office before being furloughed over the pandemic told The Daily Beast that one of the biggest fears the Vatican had was exactly what happened: being hacked by Chinese government operatives looking to derail important talks set for September intended to bolster the tenuous relationship between the Vatican and the Chinese Catholic Church. In 2018, Pope Francis broke a 60-year-stalemate between the Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese Catholic Church that grew from an attempt in 1960 for Beijing to set up its own Holy See, and shut the real one out. The Chinese Holy See was called the Catholic Patriotic Association and instead of accepting bishops chosen by Rome, as in nearly every other diocese in the world, they chose their own political appointees. During those 60 years, Chinese Catholics were only allowed to worship openly if they adhered to the Chinese Church's rules, which spawned an underground Catholic Church that instead followed Rome's orders. Those bishops have now been sidelined as part of the 2018 deal.The conflict is far from over, but the 2018 agreement between Beijing and Rome, which has never been published but is hailed as landmark, was set to be renewed and expanded next month. The most contentious aspects of the ongoing negotiations were being discussed between Rome and Hong Kong separately, so they could strategize about how to deal with China's insistence that they still choose politically appointed bishops and give the pope the opportunity to "bless" them but not remove or replace them. Those preparatory meetings between Rome and Hong Kong would have normally taken place in person to avoid exactly what happened but thanks to the pandemic, many exist in the form of secret cables. The Vatican has made no public statement on the matter, but an official told the Catholic website Asia News, “To say that China spies on the Vatican is like discovering hot water. By now espionage and hackers have become an international problem we have to live with.”What happens next is worrying for the Vatican. The hack, now discovered, will likely stop here. But that might also mean the same thing happens to this crucial step forward for Chinese Catholics. 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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Iran's navy shoots missile at mock-up of US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz

Footage on Iranian state TV showed the replica being struck as part of an exercise Iran called "Great Prophet 14."

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Coronavirus: 'Chancellor must protect' jobs of those shielding

Charities are calling on the chancellor to protect the jobs of workers who have been shielding.

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Coronavirus in Wales: Up to 30 can meet outdoors from Monday

Children under 11 will no longer have to keep 2m from one another or from adults.

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Bafta TV Awards: Stars prepare for virtual ceremony

There is no red carpet at this year's virtual ceremony - unless the stars unfurl one in their homes.

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Universal Credit 'failing millions of people', say peers

Lords blame the design of the benefit payment for "soaring rent arrears and use of food banks".

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Prison launches take-away meal deliveries

Brixton prison is taking orders for take-aways from its professional-standard training restaurant.

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Kylie and Kendall Jenner endorsed 'knock-off' Apple products on Instagram

They promoted AirPods clones, whose design may be in breach of Apple's intellectual property rights.

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What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from?

To many the Karen meme - and its male equivalent Ken - sums up a specific type of white privilege.

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CNN host says Trump loyalist owes broadcaster an apology over video played at Barr hearing

CNN host Jake Tapper has demanded that Republican congressman Jim Jordan apologise for playing an edited video that misleadingly showed reporters describe the George Floyd protests as “peaceful”.On Tuesday, attorney general William Barr took part in his first congressional hearing since he took the role, and faced questions on topics including his response to the protests and the subsequent deployment of federal law enforcement agents to cities such as Portland, Oregon.

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China bars protest leaders from running in upcoming Hong Kong elections

The move is seen as a further sign of Beijing's tightening hold on the city after the passage of a controversial security law.

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Trump Dismisses Russian Support for Taliban, Citing U.S. Tactics during Cold War

President Trump said Tuesday that he has never discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the intelligence indicating that Russia paid Taliban fighters to kill U.S. troops despite several phone calls between the two heads of state since the intelligence was made known.“I have never discussed it with him,” Trump said in an interview with "Axios on HBO."Asked why he did not confront Putin over the alarming revelation, Trump responded, “That was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly that’s an issue that many people said was fake news.”Trump also cited previous U.S. tactics during the Cold War, when the U.S. provided support to Afghan soldiers fighting the Soviet Union, in an effort to downplay the Kremlin's intervention in Afghanistan."Well we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia too. You know, when they were fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan," Trump said. "I'm just saying we did that too."Trump has reportedly spoken to Putin at least eight times, including on Thursday, since reports broke last month that U.S. intelligence found that at least one American soldier, as well as a number of Afghan civilians, died as a result of secret bounty payments that Russia paid to Taliban militants in Afghanistan to target American forces.Intelligence about the alleged bounty offerings by Russia to Taliban fighters was reportedly included in the president's daily written intelligence briefing in February, but the White House claims Trump was not verbally briefed on the matter until the New York Times's June 26 report on the issue. The Times reported that some bounties as high as $100,000 were paid for each U.S. or allied troop killed.Several American service-members died as a result of monetary rewards that a Russian military intelligence unit offered to terrorist militants to target U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, the Washington Post said in a similar report.The intelligence community is, however, split over the reliability of the reports on Russian bounty payments. The National Security Agency strongly dissented from the assessment by the CIA and other intelligence agencies alleging the bounty scheme.The U.S. has long accused Russia of supporting the Taliban with weapons and other aid but has never accused Moscow of soliciting Taliban members with bounties to kill U.S. forces and allies. The Kremlin and Taliban have both denied the reports.

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Alabama Republican celebrates KKK member's birthday as state remembers civil rights hero John Lewis

A Republican senator in Alabama celebrated a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member’s birthday at the same time hundreds were honouring the life of civil rights hero John Lewis.State Representative Will Dismukes took part in an event marking the KKK grand wizard and former Confederate Army General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, as Alabama honoured the late Georgia Democrat this weekend.

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CDC: Hundreds sick, 1 dead in nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to chicks, ducklings

One person has died and nearly 1,000 have been sickened, the CDC says. Every state except Hawaii and Rhode Island has now reported at least one case.

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'Last Supper' artwork of feasting Netanyahu irks Israeli leader

A statue in a Tel Aviv square of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a "Last Supper" feast added new bite on Wednesday to mounting protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu, whose popularity has plunged in opinion polls amid 21.5% unemployment, said his depiction in a mock tableau of Jesus's final meal before his crucifixion, was tantamount to a death threat. In the installation, Netanyahu sits alone at a grand 10-metre (33 ft) long table, with two candelabras, grabbing at a huge cake resembling an Israeli flag.

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US hits Poland, others in Europe over Holocaust claims

The United States is criticizing a number of eastern and central European nations, including Poland, for failing to compensate Holocaust victims and their families and communities for property seized during Nazi occupation in World War II as the numbers of survivors dwindles due to age. In a report issued Wednesday, the State Department called out Bosnia, Belarus, Ukraine and particularly Poland for not having acted on restitution claims. Croatia, Latvia and Russia were also taken to task in the report, which is likely to draw angry responses from the governments identified.

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Spoiler alert? Kamala Harris outed as Biden's VP pick -- maybe

Joe Biden's vice presidential pick has been one of Washington's best kept secrets but a supposedly accidental news publication and Biden's own teasingly displayed notes are raising expectations that the winner is Kamala Harris. Speculation over the choice of VP is a parlor game played every four years in Washington, but this time the stakes are unusually high. Biden would be 78 on taking office -- the oldest US president ever -- and he has hinted that he might not seek a second term, making his deputy the prime candidate to take on the party's nomination.

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Chicago Deputy Police Chief Shoots Himself, Latest in Long History of Suicides at the Department

The Chicago Police Department's new deputy chief of criminal networks was found dead on Tuesday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the latest in a history of suicides at the department.Dion Boyd, 57, was sworn into his new post on July 15 after 30-years on the force. Superintendent David Brown urged officers to keep an eye out for colleagues who could be in distress."Let's always remember to take care of ourselves and each other," Brown said at a press conference.The national suicide rate among police officers is about 18 per 100,000 as of 2017, however the rate in Chicago is 60 percent higher."One of the shocking statistics for me was that cops kill themselves at a higher rate than bad guys kill the police.  And when you put it in those numbers, you realize that there’s a real problem," Phil Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, told WBBM radio.  “And it’s not something the just sprung up in the last year or so. It’s been a problem for a while."Boyd's body was found at the department's Homan Square facility, a secretive site that houses the anti-gang and bomb and arson squads. Various abuses allegedly occurred at the site, including reports of excessive force used in interrogations uncovered by The Guardian in 2016.Chicago police are currently attempting to clamp down on shootings that have plagued the city since Memorial Day weekend.While shootings typically rise in the city throughout the summer months, this year has seen a particularly sharp uptick. Chicago has recorded about 2,000 shooting victims so far this year, compared to roughly 1,400 over the same period in 2019.The seasonal rise seems to have been exacerbated by the impact of coronavirus lockdowns on inner city neighborhoods, as well as anti-police sentiment stemming from the George Floyd protests roiling the U.S.

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New research suggests COVID-19 can spread via aerosol transmission -- and might affect tall people more

A new survey has found more evidence to suggest that people can become infected with COVID-19 through aerosol transmission, which could be prevented by wearing a mask. Carried out by data scientists in the UK, Norway, and the US, the study is one of the first to investigate which personal and work-related factors can lead to COVID-19 transmission. After surveying 2,000 people in the UK and US, the researchers found that the data from both countries suggests that aerosol transmission of the virus -- via microdroplets which are so small that they remain suspended in the air for several hours -- is very likely.

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Police chief explains decision to back out of Democrat convention security

West Allis Police Department Chief Patrick Mitchell joins 'Fox & Friends' after backing out of a DNC security agreement over a ban on law enforcement's use of chemical irritants during protests.

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Israel says it arrested Hamas militant who fled strip by sea

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Umbrella Man: Minneapolis police link suspect to white supremacists

The man was pictured smashing the windows of an AutoZone store in the city during protests.

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Trump attended a fundraiser in Texas without a mask on the day the US hit 150,000 coronavirus deaths

Trump was expected to attend the fundraiser with GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, but the congressman tested positive for the coronavirus.

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Nasa Mars 2020: First aircraft to fly on another planet

Ingenuity is a 1.8kg (4lb) helicopter that will ride to Mars attached to the belly of Nasa's Perseverance.

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Black pupils face trebled exclusion rate in some areas

An analysis shows black pupils are more likely to be excluded than their peers in most council areas.

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Coronavirus: UK lockdown solidarity 'starting to fray'

The public are being consulted on how to avoid new community divisions opening up in the months ahead.

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'I recorded fraudsters stealing my money'

Criminals are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic for gain, according to one leading investigator.

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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier

The rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.

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AG Barr: DOJ had been drawn into 'political maelstrom'; department used as 'political weapon'

The hearing, billed as an oversight of the Justice Department, will touch on a long list of grievances, including federal deployments to Portland.

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Biden's notes on display: 'Do not hold grudges' against Sen. Kamala Harris

Harris' name was scrawled across the top of his notes, followed by five talking points: “Do not hold grudges.” “Campaigned with me & Jill.” “Talented.” “Great help to campaign.” “Great respect for her.”

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Chicago Deputy Police Chief Shoots Himself, Latest in Long History of Suicides at the Department

The Chicago Police Department's new deputy chief of criminal networks was found dead on Tuesday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the latest in a history of suicides at the department.Dion Boyd, 57, was sworn into his new post on July 15 after 30-years on the force. Superintendent David Brown urged officers to keep an eye out for colleagues who could be in distress."Let's always remember to take care of ourselves and each other," Brown said at a press conference.The national suicide rate among police officers is about 18 per 100,000 as of 2017, however the rate in Chicago is 60 percent higher."One of the shocking statistics for me was that cops kill themselves at a higher rate than bad guys kill the police.  And when you put it in those numbers, you realize that there’s a real problem," Phil Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, told WBBM radio.  “And it’s not something the just sprung up in the last year or so. It’s been a problem for a while."Boyd's body was found at the department's Homan Square facility, a secretive site that houses the anti-gang and bomb and arson squads. Various abuses allegedly occurred at the site, including reports of excessive force used in interrogations uncovered by The Guardian in 2016.Chicago police are currently attempting to clamp down on shootings that have plagued the city since Memorial Day weekend.While shootings typically rise in the city throughout the summer months, this year has seen a particularly sharp uptick. Chicago has recorded about 2,000 shooting victims so far this year, compared to roughly 1,400 over the same period in 2019.The seasonal rise seems to have been exacerbated by the impact of coronavirus lockdowns on inner city neighborhoods, as well as anti-police sentiment stemming from the George Floyd protests roiling the U.S.

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Postcard helps Van Gogh family reveal exact spot where artist painted hours before his death

An art expert has pinpointed the exact spot where Vincent van Gogh was painting just hours before he shot himself, museum officials announced on Tuesday at a ceremony commemorating the 130th anniversary of his suicide. The picture, Tree Roots, was identified as the Dutch post-impressionist painter’s last work a few years ago. Now, an early postcard has made it possible to locate the scene it depicts in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village north of Paris. Willem van Gogh, the great-grandson of the artist’s brother Theo, and Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, unveiled a plaque at the spot, which will soon be opened to the public. It is a short walk from the Auberge Ravoux, the former inn where Van Gogh spent his last 70 days before dying in his garret room on 29 July 1890.

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Head of China CDC gets injected with experimental vaccine

The head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention says he has been injected with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to persuade the public to follow suit when one is approved. “I’m going to reveal something undercover: I am injected with one of the vaccines,” Gao Fu said in a webinar Sunday hosted by Alibaba Health, an arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant, and Cell Press, an American publisher of scientific journals. Gao did not say when or how he took the vaccine candidate, leaving it unclear whether he was injected as part of a government-approved human trial.

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ACLU asks U.S. court to sanction agents for targeting journalists at Portland protests

U.S. civil liberties advocates on Tuesday asked a federal court in Portland, Oregon, to hold federal agents in contempt for violating a temporary court order barring attacks on journalists and legal observers monitoring protests in the city. The filing by the American Civil Liberties Union came during a wave of protests against police violence and racism in Portland in which federal agents have clashed with protesters who have lit fires and thrown objects at the federal courthouse.

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When Black Lives Matter protests turn violent, Donald Trump gets just what he wants

Civil rights and Democratic leaders must do what they can to end the chaos in the streets. This is not the time to give ammunition to Trump and the GOP.

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Don't settle: Woman in arranged marriage reflects on colorism, misogyny in 'Indian Matchmaking'

An Indian woman who had an arranged marriage in her early 20s says the new Netflix series reveals some hard truths about the way women are objectified.

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Police investigating Madeleine McCann disappearance start digging up allotment in Germany, near to where suspect lived

German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have begun digging up land close to a former home of the prime suspect. Detectives using heavy equipment, including an excavator, started work early on Tuesday examining an allotment just outside Hannover, the city where Christian Brückner lived temporarily in 2017. Julai Meyer from the prosecutor's office in nearby Braunschweig told the Telegraph: "I can confirm that the search is being carried out in connection with the investigation into the Maddie McCann case and is still ongoing. I can't disclose any further details about the operation.” Brückner, a convicted paedophile, who was living in the Algarve when Madeleine went missing in May 2007, was named as the prime suspect in her disappearance last month. German authorities have said they are convinced she is dead and claim to have evidence linking Brückner to the case.

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States resist mask rules as Midwest virus uptick stirs alarm

The baseball season descended deeper into crisis Tuesday, states like Mississippi and South Carolina cast about for more hospital beds, and governors in some of the hardest-hit places staunchly resisted calls to require masks, despite confirmed cases of the coronavirus soaring. Major League Baseball suspended the Miami Marlins’ season through Sunday because of an outbreak that has spread to at least 15 of the team's players, and a series of games this week between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies was called off as a precaution. States like Florida, Arizona and Texas are in dire condition, and the virus also has been spreading farther north in recent days, causing alarm among public health officials who fear states are not doing enough to avoid catastrophic outbreaks like those in the Sun Belt.

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McConnell draws red line on liability protection in coronavirus bill

McConnell also said that he would leave negotiating with Democrats to Mark Meadows and Steven Mnuchin.

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Democrats Make Mockery of Barr ‘Hearing’

If it’s a “hearing,” Bill Barr asked with an irked tongue in cheek, “aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be heard?”His frustration was more than justified. Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) and the other Democrats who control the House demanded for months that Barr come to a “hearing” and “testify.” But of course, it wasn’t anything like an actual hearing, and they didn’t want him to testify -- as in actually answer questions. The session was a coveted election-year opportunity for Democrats to berate the attorney general of the United States in five-minute installments, accusing Barr of corruption, perjury, violating his oath, betraying the Constitution -- at one point, even of killing thousands of COVID-19 victims (apparently, by being attorney general during a pandemic).Especially at the beginning of the hearing, Barr easily parried the hostile questions -- soliloquies with question-marks at the end. He picked apart their misstatements and disingenuous premises, and answered with aplomb. Democrats thus dropped the threadbare pretense that this was a hearing. In the main, the rest of the afternoon was devoted to raging, mock-anguished perorations about how Trump is a dictator and how Barr is helping him destroy our democracy.These were punctuated by the occasional petulant demand that Barr answer “yes or no” a question that was either loaded or incoherent. When Barr would begin to answer, there would be foot-stomping, indignant, “I’m reclaiming my time” interruptions, claims that there was no question pending (usually after a question had just been posed), and then more Democrat filibustering about how the American people could clearly see that Barr was afraid to answer their questions . . . that they wouldn’t let him answer.It was an embarrassing spectacle.Some days, it just feels like we’re doomed. Today is one of those days. And not simply because this should have been an important oversight hearing featuring an important witness -- one whom a serious committee would have wanted both to hear out and to challenge. It is, after all, the nature of the Justice Department’s work that there are many tough judgment calls; no one gets them all right.What happened on Capitol Hill Tuesday was a debacle to despair over because Democrats do not act this way because they are preternaturally rude. They act this way because their voters expect and demand that they act this way.It is not hard to understand, even if it is hard to accept. Democrats do not merely disagree with Donald Trump. They abhor him. Their supporters and media friends so loathe him that each “hearing,” each issue, becomes a contest of who can be the most indecorous and contemptuous. Who among us can spew the most bile?Barr brings out the worst in them, which is saying something. He is learned and quick, he is prepared, and he doesn’t get rattled. Unlike many government officials, he thrives in the give-and-take of civil discourse.So then we obviously must not permit civil discourse.The pols are becoming indistinguishable from the ends of the spectrums where they draw their support. In the Democrats’ case, these include people who see America as a despicable, incorrigibly racist force for imperialism and exploitation. They see Republicans and their “deplorable” supporters, Trumpists in particular, as the instantiation of these abominations.Again and again, Barr explained that in Portland, a federal courthouse is under siege. The executive branch of the federal government has a duty to protect such installations. The very Congress to which Barr was trying to testify has enacted law that obliges the executive branch to safeguard federal courthouses. It is simply a fact that, had the Trump administration not acted to send more law enforcement agents -- not “troops” as Democrats claim, not “stormtroopers” as House speaker Nancy Pelosi slanderously put it, but law enforcement officers -- the courthouse would now be destroyed. And the taste of destroying it would have whet the anarchic appetite for more destruction.It is impossible that Democrats do not know the difference between peaceful protesters and rioters, but they mulishly pretend the latter are the former. They either turn a blind eye toward the ongoing mayhem or maintain, straight-faced, that the destruction is a righteous reaction to Trump. That is the deal: No stratagem that paints the president and his administration as deserving of anything more than contempt is beyond the pale.The transparent point is a cynical political one: Don’t engage the opposition, don’t talk out our disagreements. Portray the opposition as such anathema that voting for the incumbent president in November would be too monstrous to contemplate.At a minimum, it means there is no point in having congressional hearings. What it portends, though, is far more dire than that. It doesn’t matter how you feel about Donald Trump or Bill Barr. A faction that would rather delegitimize than debate its opposition can do that to anyone or anything. At that point, it’s about power, not policy or progress. Anyone who wants power that badly shouldn’t be anywhere near it. A Haven for the Sane If you think there should be a corner of our journalistic and intellectual life that defends right reason and is an alternative to the unhinged mainstream media, and if you have been alarmed at the sound of the American mind slamming shut at so many institutions recently, please lend National Review your support. SUPPORT NR TODAY

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U.S. coronavirus deaths top 150,000, among highest in deaths per capita globally

Only the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Peru and Chile have a higher per capita rate, the tally shows, with U.S. deaths making up nearly 23% of the global total of just over 661,000. The increase of 10,000 COVID-19 deaths in 11 days is the fastest in the United States since early June. The pace of infections has accelerated since the U.S. death toll passed 100,000 on May 27.

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Australia's fires 'killed or harmed three billion animals'

The recent bushfires were "one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history", conservationists say.

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Boris Johnson says Europe is being hit by a 2nd coronavirus wave as countries bring back restrictions

The number of daily coronavirus cases has ticked up again in countries including Spain, Belgium, and France.

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Trump COVID Task Force to Guvs: Make Masks Mandatory Before You Fall Into Red Zone

As states in the South and Southwest grapple with how to control the spread of the coronavirus, officials on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force cautioned the nation’s governors Tuesday that a new set of states is beginning to experience an uptick in positive cases and recommended that local leaders implement mask mandates and close bars to contain the outbreaks.Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the task force, said the positivity rate in states such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Colorado was increasing and warned they should quickly take action before they fall into what she described as the “red COVID zones” category. Birx defined the red zones as those states with more than 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people and more than a 10 percent test positivity rate.“By the time you see hospitalizations, your community spread is so wide that you’ve flipped into a red state incredibly quickly,” Birx said, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Daily Beast. “By the time you see it, up to 80 or 90 percent of your county already has more than 10 percent positivity rate.”The warnings from Birx and other task force officials come as the administration is pushing states across the country to reopen schools, a point Vice President Mike Pence reiterated on the call. Pence said the task force would support whatever decision state leaders make but that the team was beginning to see evidence that “encouraging masks,” closing bars, and limiting indoor gatherings were slowing the spread in some of the hot spot states. Birx was more explicit with her advice, saying that the “100 percent mask mandates” played a significant role in containing the virus in those states.Trump in the past has resisted mask wearing and said in a Fox News interview this month that he would not impose a national mask mandate. On Monday, Trump retweeted a video shared by his son Donald Trump Jr. that featured a doctor saying masks were unnecessary. Twitter restricted Donald Trump Jr.’s account and removed the video from the platform.Trump Pushes Fake COVID Cure From Fringe Doctors, Banned by FacebookDr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top vaccine official, was also on the call with governors and said states should adhere to Birx’s recommendations even if it wasn’t politically expedient to do so. “You may be reluctant to do that because the general population is saying, ‘Wait a minute, we’re not that bad,’” Fauci said, referring to the advice of implementing mask mandates and restricting large gatherings of people. “You are worse than you think you are because where you are now is going to be reflected and what you are going to see… weeks from now. I know it may sound intrusive but it really isn’t.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Man arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix, police say

Police have arrested a man in connection with a fire set at the Democratic Party Headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, last week.Officials announced on Wednesday that they had arrested 29-year-old Matthew Egler on arson charges that morning.

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Florida, Texas report record increases in COVID-19 deaths for second day in a row

Florida had 217 fatalities in the last 24 hours and Texas had at least 302 with some counties yet to report. Florida also reported 9,446 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 451,000, the second highest in the country behind California. Florida's total death toll rose to 6,457, eighth highest in the nation, according to a Reuters tally.

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Andrea Bocelli, who had COVID, says lockdown humiliated him

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who recovered from COVID and whose moving Easter performance sought to raise hopes during the pandemic, is striking a different public note, saying Italy’s lockdown made him feel “humiliated and offended” by depriving him of his freedom. Bocelli spoke at a panel Monday in a Senate conference room, where he was introduced by right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini, who has railed against the government’s stringent measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, Bocelli said that when he learned on March 10 that he had tested positive, just as the nation was going into lockdown, “I jumped into the pool, I felt well” and had only a slight fever.

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Alabama Democrats call on GOP lawmaker who attended event honoring KKK leader to resign

Democratic and Republican leaders in Alabama are denouncing state Rep. Will Dismukes (R) for attending a birthday celebration in Selma for Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.Dismukes, who is also chaplain for the Prattville Dragoons chapter of the Sons of the Confederacy, gave the invocation at the birthday event, posted on social media that he had a "great time" honoring Forrest, and shared a photo showing him standing in front of a Confederate flag.On Sunday, people in Selma paid tribute to the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), whose body was carried across the Edmund Pettus Bridge; in 1965, Lewis was beaten on the bridge by state troopers as he led a civil rights march. Dismukes took his post down on Monday, telling AL.com it was "in no way glorifying the Klan or disrespecting the late Rep. John Lewis."The Alabama Democratic Party called on Dismukes to step down, again; in June, they asked for his resignation because he supports the state continuing to fund the Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury. "Americans don't celebrate racists or traitors," Wade Perry, the state party's executive director, said in a statement criticizing Dismukes as "unfit to hold public office." "Nathan Bedford Forrest was both."Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan told AL.com it is up to the voters to decide whether Dismukes should be in office, and said it was improper for him to participate in the commemoration. Alabama House Majority Whip Danny Garrett (R) agreed, tweeting that he "cannot fathom why anyone in 2020 celebrates the birthday of the 1st KKK Grand Wizard. And while the body of a civil rights icon beaten by the Klan lies at state Capitol being honored by GOP/Dem leaders from all over the state. This mentality does not rep my party or my faith."More stories from theweek.com Even mild coronavirus cases can cause lasting cardiovascular damage, study shows AMC is ending its ban on Universal movies as part of a landmark agreement Why Trump's invasion of Portland is textbook fascism

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U.S. says air strike in Somalia killed one civilian, injured three

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Ex-FBI agent regularly targeted by Trump bringing out book about president's links to Russia

An ex-FBI agent whose part in the investigations into Donald Trump administration's ties to Russia angered the president, will soon claim he was compromised in a tell-all book.In a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media said Peter Strzok’s book would outline claims that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3f9Bg30

You may have to wait 18 months before taking delivery of your new Ford Bronco due to a plethora of preorders

"Reservations have been so popular that some Bronco customers may not receive their Bronco until 2022," said Ford.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3gaj8am

Rare blue lobster spotted at Red Lobster before being cooked finds home at Ohio zoo

"Clawde" was saved by Red Lobster workers — who noticed it in the lobster delivery. The likelihood of catching a blue lobster is 1 in 200 million.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OX6TlL

Georgia governor withdraws emergency request to stop Atlanta mask mandate

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday withdrew his emergency request for a court to stop enforcement of Atlanta's requirement that faces masks be worn in all public places, while mediation over the state's legal effort to block the mandate proceeds. Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the city two weeks ago to stop enforcement of the local mandate, aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Mayor Bottoms, a Democrat, has said that she would continue to defy the governor's orders, but hoped that the two sides could find a solution.

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More free school meals 'would stop diet disaster'

A national food strategy for England calls for an extension of the scheme to end childhood hunger.

from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2EwQhPT

Coronavirus: Hong Kong implements strict measures amid new cases

Dining in restaurants will be banned and only two people from different households can meet.

from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/332fFH9

Bringing Mars back to Earth

An audacious mission to bring rock samples from Mars back to Earth is about to begin - find our more with our illustrated guide

from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/308Ohp8

CS Collectibles: Sideshow-Con, McFarlane Batman & More!

CS Collectibles: Sideshow-Con, McFarlane Batman & More!

Hello and welcome to the debut edition of CS Collectibles, ComingSoon.net’s newest weekly column that brings you all the latest in premium collectibles! Find out all the latest on statues, figures, posters, cards, eBay deals, Amazon deals & much more below!

Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow-Con took center stage in the collectibles world during this weekend’s Comic-Con@Home! The virtual event included all kinds of new reveals including…

The final Virtual Tour of their entire new Sideshow lineup, also including Iron Studios, Hot Toys and more!

Here’s a video highlighting all the big reveals…

Court of the Dead…

Lilo & Stich creator Chris Sanders is introducing a new line of statues!

And perhaps most exciting is a new line of Sideshow Originals!

Click here to go to Sideshow’s website!

EBAY DEAL: Dark Phoenix Premium Format Figure Sideshow Collectibles Marvel X-Men, current bid $199 + free shipping!

EBAY DEAL: Sideshow Wolverine Premium Format Figure EXCLUSIVE #1362 of 2500, starting bid $300!

EBAY DEAL: Sideshow Cyclops Premium Format, starting bid $325 or Buy It Now $425!

DC Direct

Last week our own CS Unboxed took a look at DC Direct’s new Todd McFarlane Batman Black & White #100 statue, which you can check out below!

Click here to purchase!

DC Artists Alley: Catwoman by Sho Murase Designer Vinyl Figure is an Amazon’s Choice for $33.66 & free shipping, a savings of 16%!

Click here to purchase!

The DC Designer Series: Batman by Frank Miller Statue is on sale for $118.15 & free shipping, a savings of 21%!

Click here to purchase!

RELATED: CS Unboxed: Dark Knight Returns Designer Series Statue

Diamond Select

For Comic-Con@Home, Diamond Select’s own Zach Oat did a virtual presentation of all the big reveals for Diamond and Gentle Giant, which you can check out below!

For this week’s deals, Diamond’s PVC Diorama piece The Batman Who Laughs is an Amazon’s Choice sale for $38.99 & free shipping, a savings of 22%!

Click here to purchase!

Another Amazon’s Choice is Diamond’s Darkseid Deluxe PVC Figure for $69.99 & free shipping!

Click here to purchase!

Finally here’s the Legends in 3-Dimensions: Marvel Comics Captain America 1:2 Scale Bust for $115.98, a savings of 23%!

Click here to purchase!

Mondo

Mondo unveiled several Comic-Con@Home exclusives that are still available at this link, including an 8LP Batman: The Animated Series Box Set!

Also Mondo’s Rick & Morty Collectible Figure Set becomes available this week, so click here to order!

Hasbro

Hasbro isn’t slowing down its release of exciting products anytime soon as with the Marvel Fan First Tuesday livestream, the company has unveiled a whole wave of new Marvel Legends series items including figures based on Logan and other X-Men film and comics-inspired works! Click here to check them all out!

Hasbro Marvel Legends Series X-Men Magneto and Professor X 6-inch Collectible Action Figures are now available for pre-order!

Click here to pre-order!

McFarlane

McFarlane Toys have announced a new McFarlane-designed creature toy line and online comic series for all ages RAW10, that will be coming exclusively to Walmart!

McFarlane Toys’ Cyberpunk 2077 12-inch Scale Johnny Silverhand Deluxe Figure is an Amazon’s Choice for $39.88 & free shipping!

Click here to purchase!

RELATED: McFarlane Unboxing With Mortal Kombat, Cyberpunk 2077 & More!

Iron Studios

Straight from Sideshow-Con here’s a look at some of the new Iron Studios reveals! Known for their 1:10 scale statues, they also introduced some bigger 1:3 scales this year!

Marvel Iron Studios Avengers: Endgame Thanos Deluxe Art Scale Statue is available for $230 & free shipping!

Click here to purchase!

Celebrate Batfleck with the Iron Studios Art Scale Batman Justice League 1/10 scale statue, only $118 & free shipping!

Click here to purchase!

Prime 1 Studios

Prime 1 revealed videos for two new Jurassic items including a Brachiosaurus from Jurassic Park and a Stygimoloch from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom!

EBAY DEAL: Prime 1 Studios Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles MICHELANGELO Statue New, $688 & free shipping!

EBAY DEAL: Batman Arkham City The Dark Knight Returns Prime 1 Statue Sideshow, starting bid $600 or Buy It Now $780!

EBAY DEAL: 1/4 Scale Alita Berserker Statue by Prime 1 Studio $799.99 + $149.99 shipping or Best Offer!

XM Studios

XM is re-opening pre-order on their Batman: Hush 1:6 scale statue until August 7, so be sure to put your order in now!

XM’s social media manager Alex Thomas presented an in-depth look at their new Iron Spider 1:4 scale statue, which you can pre-order by clicking here!

EBAY DEAL: XM Studios 1/6 Rebirth Joker Statue 035/600 Complete, $425 Buy It Now + $35 shipping!

PCS Collectibles

Straight from Sideshow-Con here’s a look at some of the new PCS reveals, including Deadpool and Michael Myers from Halloween!

EBAY DEAL: Pop Culture Shock PCS Nash statue EX SFV Street Fighter Statue 1/4 scale, $186.24 Buy It Now or Best Offer!

Hot Toys

Here’s a look at some of the Hot Toys reveals from Sideshow-Con, including DC, Marvel and Star Wars!

EBAY DEAL: Hot Toys Star Wars The Force Awakens Rey & BB-8, current bid $105 + $20 shipping!

Loot Crate

Time to get schwifty with October’s ‘Aww Geez!’ themed Rick and Morty Crate. Grab your portal gun and take Morty on another ill-advised adventure with exclusive collectibles and gear that you can’t find in this universe, the pizza universe or any of the other universes you might find yourself stuck in. The October crate includes out of this world Rick and Morty apparel and gear including an exclusive Anatomy Park T-shirt, Morty Stress Ball, Plumbus Pillow and more.

Supplies are limited and these crates sell out fast! To unbox this crazy collection of Rick and Morty items be sure to order by October 15 at 9:00pm PST. Rick and Morty Crates start at $39.99 plus shipping and handling.

Click here to order!

Wizards of the Coast

Magic: The Gathering’s head designer, Mark Rosewater, revealed an exciting first look at the hotly anticipated Zendikar Rising set during his Comic-Con@Home pane. Releasing first on Magic: The Gathering Arena on September 17 and September 25 for tabletop, Mark previewed a brand-new type of booster pack designed for people who love the booster opening experience – the Set Booster – and gave fans a sneak peek at “The List.”

Click here to pre-order Zendikar Rising Draft Booster Box!

Click here to pre-order Zendikar Rising Bundle!

Click here to purchase Ikoria!

Click here to purchase Core 2021!

What do you think of CS Collectibles so far? Let us know in the comments below!

The post CS Collectibles: Sideshow-Con, McFarlane Batman & More! appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

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