Two-fifths of plants at risk of extinction, says report

We are failing to harness the many benefits plants can provide, say scientists.

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Universal Credit: Plea not to axe £20 a week ‘lifeline’

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls on the chancellor to extend an increase to Universal Credit.

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Egg freezing 10-year limit should be scrapped, says ethics body

UK ethics body says it would give women worried about declining fertility more time and options.

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Coronavirus: NHS well stocked for ventilators this winter

The NHS now has access to 30,000 machines that can help people breathe if they are very ill with Covid-19.

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Black History Month: Postboxes painted to honour black Britons

Sir Lenny Henry is among a variety of figures to feature on the postboxes in Black History Month.

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Great Barrier Reef: Uncovering the secrets of Australia's deep waters

Scientists explain how the biggest deep-sea study of two marine parks led to exciting discoveries.

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Female Koran reciters 'part of Islamic legacy'

How female Muslim Koran reciters are making their voices heard.

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Hydrogen-powered train makes UK maiden journey

The Hydroflex made a 25-mile round-trip in Warwickshire, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph.

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Coronavirus: What is the R number and why does it matter?

Experts keep discussing the value of R, but what is it and why does it matter?

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'The new Covid support for business is nuts'

Dejection over latest government help for business has left many small firms fearing for their futures.

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Russian cleaner sweeps to power in surprise village vote

'Flabbergasted' Marina Udgodskaya only entered the race as her boss needed someone else to stand.

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Veteran GOP strategist predicts Trump's debate performance will suffer thanks to tax bombshell

GOP political consultant Mike Murphy predicts President Trump will be distracted at tonight's debate as a result of reports on his taxes.

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Justice Ginsburg buried at Arlington in private ceremony

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was buried Tuesday in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, laid to rest beside her husband and near some of her former colleagues on the court. Washington last week honored the 87-year-old Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, with two days where the public could view her casket at the top of the Supreme Court's steps and pay their respects. On Friday, the women's rights trailblazer and second woman to join the high court lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, the first woman to do so.

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State of emergency in 3 California counties as fire scorches wine country

Large pieces of ash rained down on Napa Valley early Tuesday and a bright orange glow was visible in the hills above the city.

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Why a Biden blowout is still the most likely result

Five weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, significant media attention is being given to the small possibility that President Donald Trump could again pull off a narrow Electoral College victory while losing the popular vote, or that even an Electoral College tie could push the election to the House. Those scenarios, though, are mainly making headlines because they're interesting fodder for the pundit class. All the data point to a big blowout victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.The major recent polls (Economist/YouGov: Biden +7, CNBC: Biden +9, Quinnipiac: Biden +10, NYT: Biden +8) show Biden with a truly commanding lead nationally. Equally important is how Biden leads. The 2016 election was always a much closer and more dynamic race, Trump was facing a much more unpopular opponent, and a much larger number of voters were undecided. None of those are the case this time.This year we have experienced a global pandemic which has so far killed over 200,000 Americans, a massive economic disruption, multiple Trump administration scandals, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Yet Biden's large lead over Trump is basically identical to what it was at the end of last year. There is still the possibility that some new development — even bigger than those listed above — could shift the dynamics of the race, but that seems very unlikely.Biden also polls much better than Hillary Clinton ever did in the late stages of the 2016 election cycle — largely because there are significantly fewer undecided and third-party voters. In the RealClearPolitics polling average of the four-way race, Clinton's share of the vote never went over 46.2 percent while, by comparison, Biden has been bouncing right around 50 percent for the past few months with 7 percent third-party/undecided. To realistically win, Trump would need to pick up almost all the undecided voters and even flip some Biden voters.In 2016, both candidates were unpopular. The final YouGov poll found Clinton with a favorable rating of 43 percent and 56 percent unfavorable, compared to Trump's rating of 39 percent favorable and 60 percent unfavorable. This gave the outsider Trump a chance to win over voters who disliked both candidates. By comparison, right now Biden's favorability numbers are 45 percent to 47 percent compared to Trump at 42 percent favorable and 53 unfavorable. In addition, 52 percent of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled his job as president, while 57 percent of voters are upset or dissatisfied with Trump. Trump effectively needs to win over voters who dislike him, disapprove of his job performance, and are simply ambivalent about Biden.To be sure, in 2016, the very limited polling in certain critical swing states was off in important ways, and the final national polling undercounted Trump's support by roughly 1-2 points. Maybe there is another systematic undercounting of Trump's support in the polling this year, and maybe late-breaking events move voters towards him, and maybe a large share of voters who disapprove of Trump's job performance can be persuaded to vote against Biden — but that is a lot of maybes.It is just as likely that Biden will outperform his already big lead. Elections tend to be referendums on incumbents, which is particularly true this year. Trump's polling numbers in head-to-head matchups with Biden have closely mirrored his overall job approval numbers. At the same time, Trump's job approval has been stuck in the low 40s effectively his entire time in office. Almost unique among modern presidents, he has never appealed to the majority of the country and has basically never tried. There really is no precedent for a chronically unpopular president who never tried to reach out beyond his base.If the final election results follow this job approval pattern, Biden wins in a landslide even larger than his current polling lead. Winning by such a large margin would swamp Trump's modest advantage in the Electoral College.More stories from theweek.com Trump's ear piece conspiracy is a perennial rehash 'Sully' Sullenberger savages Trump's 'lethal lies and incompetence' in new Lincoln Project ad Let's be real: Biden is cruising to victory

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'Simply heartbroken': Photos show Glass Fire's devastating impact on Chateau Boswell winery in California's Napa Valley

Chateau Boswell, a family-owned vineyard that celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, was engulfed in flames, photos show.

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EPA ridicules California's proposed ban of new gas cars

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John Oliver concedes sad defeat on the Supreme Court, urges Democrats to go big to save U.S. democracy

Maybe there's some irony in a British immigrant preaching pro-democracy revolution in America, but these are strange times. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight, "was distressing enough" before President Trump rushed to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by "a liberal icon with an extremely conservative justice who's being called 'the female Antonin Scalia,'" Amy Coney Barrett, 48."Look, this has been a very dark week for a lot of people," Oliver said. "The Supreme Court is about to lurch to the right for the foreseeable future. And if things seem hopeless right now, it's because -- to be completely honest -- they basically are.""The fact is, when Barrett is confirmed, a president who lost the popular vote will have picked a quarter of the federal judiciary and a third of the Supreme Court, and his choices will have been rubber-stamped by a Senate Republican majority representing 15 million fewer people than the Democratic minority," Oliver said. "And if that sounds absurd to you, it's because it clearly is, especially when those courts have allowed Republicans to set wildly unpopular policy that wouldn't actually pass muster with voters." So what can be done?If the Democrats manage to win the White House and Congress, they need to go "bold" and enact "significant structural change," Oliver said. That's risky -- "expanding the court is a bit like doing yoga naked -- one way to dampen your enthusiasm for the idea is to picture Donald Trump doing it, too," he said -- but "it is past time for big change." Eliminating the Electoral College and granting statehood to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, he argued, "would actually make our system more democratic.""The unavoidable truth here is that the system is already rigged, and its rigged in a way that has allowed a party without popular support to drastically reshape an entire branch of government for the foreseeable future by appealing almost exclusively to white voters in some of the least populous regions of the country," Oliver said. "That is not a mandate, and it's not democracy, it's a f---ing travesty. We're at the end of a generational battle, and the heartbreaking thing is, we lost.""But the next battle has to start right now," he said, and "we must be willing to fight tirelessly and with every tool and tactic at our disposal." Watch below. More stories from theweek.com Trump literally can't afford to lose the election Trump avoids tax return questions as he brings yet another truck to the White House The bigger truth revealed by Trump's taxes

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Fact check: False claim that Biden and Harris said the other 'wasn't fit to run the country'

A post claims that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris questioned each other's fitness to be president during the Democratic debates. They did not.

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Democrats introduce new $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill

The bill, which is unlikely to pass the GOP-led Senate, is an updated version of earlier legislation. House Democrats introduced a new $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill aimed at breaking the impasse with Republicans on how to get financial assistance to Americans before the November election. The package, which is unlikely to pass the Republican-led Senate, is an updated version of earlier legislation.

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Trump avoids tax return questions as he brings yet another truck to the White House

President Trump ignored every pressing topic Monday as he welcomed one of his favorite things to the White House.The New York Times dropped a bombshell report Sunday evening revealing Trump leveraged business losses to avoid paying taxes for years, as well as using other dubious financial strategies to lower his tax bills. Trump denied the report in a Sunday press conference, and on Monday, avoided questions about his tax returns altogether as he praised an electric pick-up truck.The White House unexpectedly called reporters to the South Lawn on Monday, where they found Trump inspecting a Lordstown Motors 2021 electric pick-up truck. "We've all done a good job," Trump said after praising the truck's manufacturers, and then, out of nowhere, said "it's hotter now than it was before, and that's something really different." But before he could get too close to acknowledging fossil fuels' role in warming the Earth, he pivoted to call the truck "an incredible piece of science" and implied electrification is sure to "happen with more and more trucks and cars." He then walked away to reporters shouting "can you say anything about the tax returns?" and "when are you going to release them?"> MOMENTS AGO: President Trump leaves truck event, not answering as reporter yells: "Can you say anything about the TAX RETURNS, Mr. President? When are you going to RELEASE THEM?" pic.twitter.com/b1ZNJ5rLRa> > — The Hill (@thehill) September 28, 2020It's far from the first time Trump has brought trucks to the White House, though they're usually a bit bigger than this one. And as The Washington Post has reported, it's something his advisers will do to cheer the president up when he's "inconsolable."More stories from theweek.com 'Sully' Sullenberger savages Trump's 'lethal lies and incompetence' in new Lincoln Project ad Joe Biden releases 2019 tax returns in 'pre-debate move' amid Trump revelations Trump literally can't afford to lose the election

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'He has dementia': Rudy Guiliani makes unfounded claims about Biden during rambling Fox News interview

The president’s lawyer left Fox News hosts looking uncomfortable as he ramped up his fake conspiracies against Joe Biden

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A 3-Michelin star restaurant in Napa has burned down in California's latest wildfire

The Restaurant at Meadowood was engulfed by Napa Valley's Glass Fire on Monday morning and couldn't be saved.

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Newspaper headlines: 'Tory rebels' virus revolt' amid 'deadly chaos'

Many of Tuesday's papers lead on pressure on ministers to give MPs a say over Covid-19 restrictions.

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TikTok ban: How did TikTok stay online in the US?

Sophia Smith-Galer explains why President Trump shifted his position on banning new downloads of the app

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Dublin Lord Mayor: Hazel Chu and her Chinese heritage

The city's first Lord Mayor of Chinese heritage reveals the racism she and her family have faced.

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From tea fields to university in Sri Lanka

Theresa is one of the first women from her community of tea pickers in Sri Lanka to go to university.

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Scientists create a microscopic robot that ‘walks’

The scientists behind a microscopic "walking" robot hope their tech could one day be used against cancer.

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The cat who hitched a lift on a worldwide tour

Former Scottish rugby player Dean Nicholson met a lifelong friend as he cycled around the world.

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'I monitor my staff with software that takes screenshots'

Many have struggled to get to grips with working from home, but would surveillance technology help?

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Ai Weiwei: 'Too late' to curb China's global influence

The Chinese artist and dissident says the West should have worried about China decades ago.

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Life: Doctor Foster spin-off explores 'loneliness in big cities'

BBC One drama Life follows residents of Manchester whose lives intertwine unexpectedly.

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'If you steal music, you aren't a real music fan'

The music industry is trying to clampdown on the latest form of music piracy known as stream-ripping.

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Biden can beat (and infuriate) Trump by being the adult on the presidential debate stage

Joe Biden’s campaign is based around being calm, rational and a healer. He shouldn't try to call more names or be more pugnacious than Donald Trump.

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Dr. Fauci warns the US is ‘not in a good place’ on Covid-19 as cases rise in parts of the country

'Now's the time actually to double down a bit,' nation’s leading infectious disease expert warns in new interview

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Positive COVID-19 test rates top 25% in some U.S. Midwest states

The positivity rate has risen to 26% in South Dakota, up from 17% the previous week, according to the analysis using testing data from The COVID Tracking Project. The World Health Organization considers rates above 5% concerning because it suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered. Several states such as New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine have positive test rates of less than 1%.

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Brain-eating microbe: US city warned over water supply

People in Lake Jackson, Texas, are urged to take precautionary measures amid contamination concerns.

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South Carolina TV anchor hit man with beer bottle in fight over politics, police say

The victim was left with cuts on his face, police said.

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Wine country wildfire forces hundreds of evacuations

A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of Northern California's Napa Valley wine country and spread across nearly 2,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of a hospital and hundreds of homes, authorities said.

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Exclusive: As States Prepared Mail-in Ballots, Postal Service Failed to Update at Least 1.8 Million Addresses

As states prepared to send out tens of millions of ballots, the U.S. Postal Service inexplicably stopped fully updating its database, leading to a failure of registering at least 1.8 million addresses

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Remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in Korean War returned

The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Sunday in an annual repatriation delayed this year by the coronavirus outbreak. South Korea handed over the remains at a ceremony at Incheon airport outside Seoul, and a Chinese military transport plane flew them to Shenyang, a northeastern Chinese city near the North Korean border. Chinese soldiers fought on the North Korean side against US-led forces in the South during the war on the Korean Peninsula. Most of the 117 remains were found in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. It was the seventh annual repatriation, and the largest since the 437 returned in the first one in 2014. In all, the remains of 716 Chinese soldiers have been sent back. This year's return, originally planned for the spring, was postponed for several months because of the spread of Covid-19.

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Missouri man faces prison for assault after police officer broke hand punching him

Officer injured in fight to arrest suspect after speeding stop

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Former paramilitary leader deported to Colombia

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How to watch the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden

The debate will be moderated by "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace.

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Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row

The top Huawei executive's closely watched extradition case returns to court on Monday.

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Why a Biden blowout is still the most likely result

Five weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, significant media attention is being given to the small possibility that President Donald Trump could again pull off a narrow Electoral College victory while losing the popular vote, or that even an Electoral College tie could push the election to the House. Those scenarios, though, are mainly making headlines because they're interesting fodder for the pundit class. All the data point to a big blowout victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.The major recent polls (Economist/YouGov: Biden +7, CNBC: Biden +9, Quinnipiac: Biden +10, NYT: Biden +8) show Biden with a truly commanding lead nationally. Equally important is how Biden leads. The 2016 election was always a much closer and more dynamic race, Trump was facing a much more unpopular opponent, and a much larger number of voters were undecided. None of those are the case this time.This year we have experienced a global pandemic which has so far killed over 200,000 Americans, a massive economic disruption, multiple Trump administration scandals, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Yet Biden's large lead over Trump is basically identical to what it was at the end of last year. There is still the possibility that some new development — even bigger than those listed above — could shift the dynamics of the race, but that seems very unlikely.Biden also polls much better than Hillary Clinton ever did in the late stages of the 2016 election cycle — largely because there are significantly fewer undecided and third-party voters. In the RealClearPolitics polling average of the four-way race, Clinton's share of the vote never went over 46.2 percent while, by comparison, Biden has been bouncing right around 50 percent for the past few months with 7 percent third-party/undecided. To realistically win, Trump would need to pick up almost all the undecided voters and even flip some Biden voters.In 2016, both candidates were unpopular. The final YouGov poll found Clinton with a favorable rating of 43 percent and 56 percent unfavorable, compared to Trump's rating of 39 percent favorable and 60 percent unfavorable. This gave the outsider Trump a chance to win over voters who disliked both candidates. By comparison, right now Biden's favorability numbers are 45 percent to 47 percent compared to Trump at 42 percent favorable and 53 unfavorable. In addition, 52 percent of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled his job as president, while 57 percent of voters are upset or dissatisfied with Trump. Trump effectively needs to win over voters who dislike him, disapprove of his job performance, and are simply ambivalent about Biden.To be sure, in 2016, the very limited polling in certain critical swing states was off in important ways, and the final national polling undercounted Trump's support by roughly 1-2 points. Maybe there is another systematic undercounting of Trump's support in the polling this year, and maybe late-breaking events move voters towards him, and maybe a large share of voters who disapprove of Trump's job performance can be persuaded to vote against Biden — but that is a lot of maybes.It is just as likely that Biden will outperform his already big lead. Elections tend to be referendums on incumbents, which is particularly true this year. Trump's polling numbers in head-to-head matchups with Biden have closely mirrored his overall job approval numbers. At the same time, Trump's job approval has been stuck in the low 40s effectively his entire time in office. Almost unique among modern presidents, he has never appealed to the majority of the country and has basically never tried. There really is no precedent for a chronically unpopular president who never tried to reach out beyond his base.If the final election results follow this job approval pattern, Biden wins in a landslide even larger than his current polling lead. Winning by such a large margin would swamp Trump's modest advantage in the Electoral College.More stories from theweek.com Trump literally can't afford to lose the election Trump avoids tax return questions as he brings yet another truck to the White House The bigger truth revealed by Trump's taxes

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Local food heroes: Tesco teams up with Olio

Supermarket chain Tesco has teamed up with the food-sharing app Olio in a bid to reduce food waste.

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Coronavirus tales from Tom's Bench on Clapham Common

Jim Grover's pictures of people he met on Clapham Common who talked about their altered lives.

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Covid: Dementia patient's wife describes 'torture' of lack of visits

A woman describes her pain at not being able to see her husband regularly at his care home.

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Orkney island of Westray claims to have UK's longest golf hole

The monster 738-yard hole on the Orkney island of Westray is one of the longest in the world.

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Voicemail from prison: How a mum and daughter rebuilt their relationship

A voicemail app makes it easier to speak to family members in prison, as one young woman found when her mum was jailed.

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The woman who quit smoking and built a hypnotherapy firm

Grace Smith used hypnosis to give up smoking, and it inspired her to take up the profession.

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Test and Trace: 'I spoke to one person in four months'

People who worked for England's NHS Test and Trace tell of technical problems, confusion and wasted resources.

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High Street hopefuls: The people opening new shops

The entrepreneurs opening High Street businesses during Covid when others have closed or gone digital.

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Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row

The top Huawei executive's closely watched extradition case returns to court on Monday.

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MOTD2 analysis: 'Ridiculous' handball rule has 'got to change'

Jermaine Jenas and Darren Fletcher discuss the handball rule which resulted in two controversial goals for Newcastle United and Everton.

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Covid symptoms: What are they and how do I protect myself?

A new cough, fever and change in smell or taste are the key symptoms that mean you may have coronavirus.

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Covid: Seven ways the job market has changed for young people

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the working lives of the under-25s.

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Strictly Come Dancing: How do you film during a pandemic?

The BBC has revealed how it will protect celebrities, dancers and crew working on the show.

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Two People Injured After Driver Speeds Into Southern California Protest

A man and a woman suffered "major injuries" after the car struck them and were transported to the hospital, but are expected to survive

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Fact check: Kentucky attorney general is not married to a relative of Mitch McConnell

Viral posts on Facebook falsely suggest that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's wife is a niece or granddaughter of the powerful senator.

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S. Korea calls for N. Korea to further investigate shooting

South Korea said Saturday it will request North Korea to further investigate the killing of a South Korean government official who was shot by North Korean troops after being found adrift near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary while apparently trying to defect. Seoul could also possibly call for a joint investigation into Tuesday’s shooting, which sparked outrage in the South and drew a rare apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim was quoted as saying he was “very sorry” over what he described as an “unexpected, unfortunate incident" in a message sent by Pyongyang's United Front Department, a North Korean government agency in charge of inter-Korean relations.

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Transcript: Don McGahn on "Face the Nation"

The following is a transcript of an interview with former White House Counsel Don McGahn that aired Sunday, September 27, 2020, on "Face the Nation."

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Proud Boys Portland rally largely peaceful but clashes downtown

Hundreds of supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys group rallied in Portland, Oregon on Saturday in a largely peaceful event but police and left-wing protesters later clashed in the city's downtown. The Proud Boys rally in a north Portland park ended after a few hours of speeches and chants, many against anti-fascists and Black Lives Matter groups which held a counter-protest two miles to the south. Rocks and cans were thrown at police in downtown Portland on Saturday night and more than a dozen people were arrested, according to a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office statement.

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Cars have hit demonstrators 104 times since George Floyd protests began

Amid thousands of racial justice protests nationwide since George Floyd's death, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds marching in roadways.

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Warren rips Trump rush to fill RBG seat as "last gasp of a right-wing, billionaire-fueled party"

"This kind of sleazy double-dealing is the last gasp of a desperate party," Warren said.

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China's Xi says 'happiness' in Xinjiang on the rise, will keep teaching 'correct' outlook

Chinese President Xi Jinping said levels of happiness among all ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang are rising and that China plans to keep teaching its residents a "correct" outlook on China, Xinhua news agency reported late on Saturday. China has come under scrutiny over its treatment of Uighur Muslims and claims of alleged forced-labour abuses in Xinjiang, where the United Nations cites credible reports as saying one million Muslims held in camps have been put to work.

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Trump falsely claimed an incident where an election worker improperly discarded 9 votes shows widespread 'voter fraud.' Here's what happened.

Luzerne County officials said a "temporary seasonal independent contractor" had "incorrectly discarded (the ballots) into the office trash."

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Biden pleads with Republicans to wait until 2021 to confirm Supreme Court nominee

Democratic presidential nominee opposes Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Photography award winners show the fragility and beauty of mangrove forests

The Mangrove Photography Award winners show the beauty and fragility of the unique ecosystems.

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University entrance: The ‘taboo’ about who doesn’t go

How have white working-class boys been so left behind in getting university places?

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Amy Coney Barrett: Who is Trump's Supreme Court pick?

A favourite of social conservatives, Judge Barrett would swing the highest US court further right.

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University students: Tips and tricks to help you cope in a pandemic

From embracing awkward Zoom chats to persevering with annoying flatmates, experts give some advice.

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My Money: 'Hollie thinks she spent less than me'

Jay and Hollie from Liverpool take us through their week's spending.

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Idles: 'We'd love to do a zorb gig'

The Bristol punks talk "mental" live shows, class warfare and "violent-toned" new music.

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What is Donald Trump's Covid record?

The president is under scrutiny for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Italian family fosters Gambian migrant: 'The son we never had'

When Gambian orphan Muhammed Sanneh arrived in Sicily aged 16, his life took an unexpected turn.

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Civil service shake-up: Rewiring the government machine or blowing a fuse?

Can Dominic Cummings succeed in shaking up the way civil servants deliver on the PM's promises?

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When Biden calls a 'lid,' Democrats wet the bed — and Trump starts mocking

The Democratic nominee is sticking to his strategy: Keep a low profile, and let Trump light himself on fire.

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Louisville police chief under fire for email saying BLM members should be washing her car

Police chief called protesters ‘woke’ in bitter email to staff last month, causing anger

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A white supremacist gang member was killed during a shootout with police in California

Christopher Michael Straub hid and then ambushed deputies after fleeing from a traffic stop, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.

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Florida drops Covid restrictions with 14,000 dead

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Friday scrapped Covid-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants the same day the US state saw 122 deaths topping 14,000 dead.

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New York reports 1,000 coronavirus cases for first time in months

For the first time since June 5, New York state, the home of the United States' worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began earlier this year, reported just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period.Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Saturday that the Empire State crossed the quadruple-digit threshold, though he didn't specifically address the number, saying only that New Yorkers should continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, and follow other mitigation guidelines.The state has seen a consistently upward trend in cases over the last week, which has prompted some concern as businesses and college campuses reopen, and officials have noted that spikes in some neighborhoods in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are especially worrisome. But New York also continues to see a high number of daily tests. Data collected by the state shows the positivity rate has remained at 1 percent, or just a tick below, for some time now, indicating that the high volume of tests is a significant factor in the case increase.A new study published by The Lancet on Friday that searched for COVID-19 prevalence in a large nationwide sample of patients on dialysis found that about one-third of those tested in New York showed signs of a previous coronavirus infection. In terms of the study, that's the highest of any state in the U.S. and while it's far from what experts have pinpointed as the target for herd immunity, those experts have also pointed out that numbers like that can still help slow the spread of the virus. Read more at Bloomberg and NBC New York.More stories from theweek.com America is the Holy Roman Empire of the 21st century Why Democrats probably won't boycott Supreme Court confirmation hearings Democrats need to bring retirement back to politics

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Ted Cruz blocks a U.S. Senate resolution to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The war of words on the Senate floor is likely a preamble to a coming brawl to replace Ginsburg

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Fact check: Joe Biden did not botch the Pledge of Allegiance in speech

An eight-second clip from a speech purports to illustrate another Joe Biden gaffe. But what is missing is the rest of the speech.

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Thousands of mosques in Xinjiang demolished in recent years: report

Chinese authorities have demolished thousands of mosques in Xinjiang, an Australian think tank said Friday, in the latest report of widespread human rights abuses in the restive region.

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Trump Jr calls for 'army' of supporters to 'protect ballots' as he lies about Dems trying to steal election

‘We need every able-bodied man and woman to join Army for Trump’s election security operation’

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Florida’s death toll now exceeds 14,000 as state reports 2,795 new COVID-19 cases

Saturday morning, the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Florida in Phase 3 of the Plan for Florida’s Recovery, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 2,795 new cases and 107 more deaths.

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GOP senator openly hopes Supreme Court battle will distract voters from 200,000 COVID-19 deaths

“Either the election can be about Trump, or about COVID or about the Supreme Court,” Sen. Lamar Alexander says

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Louisville cop injured in Breonna Taylor shooting threatens lawsuits over being called 'murderer'

Jonathan Mattingly was the Louisville police officer who was injured during the Breonna Taylor shooting. He has hired a civil attorney.

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Cadets among 26 people killed in Ukraine military plane crash

A total of 26 people, most of them air cadets, have been killed in a military plane crash in Ukraine. Footage of the crash released by officials on social media showed the smouldering remains of the Antonov-26 transport plane. Most of the dead were students of the Kharkiv National Air Force University, the air force said in a statement. There were 27 people on board, 20 cadets and seven crew. On Saturday, the death toll rose after three more bodies were found under the charred remains of the plane and one of the two survivors died in hospital from extensive burns. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the crash as a "terrible tragedy". "We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy," he wrote on Facebook. Mr Zelensky visited the only remaining survivor in a military hospital in Kharkiv, posting a picture of the 20-year-old cadet lying in bed with a bandaged head and right arm. He said the cadet, Vyacheslav Zolochevsky, "came to his senses near the wreckage of the An-26." "The plane was destroyed, there was fire, darkness and bodies all around. One of the guys was burning," he said on Facebook, adding that Zolochevsky rushed to try and save him. The second cadet died in hospital. Doctors said that Mr Zolochevsky suffered a concussion but his life was not in danger.

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‘Why Bother?’: Pelosi Suggests Biden Skip Presidential Debates

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday defended her previous suggestion that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should not debate President Trump, claiming the president has “no fidelity to fact or truth.”Ahead of the first presidential debate next week, Pelosi doubled down during an appearance on “Morning on CBS” on comments she made last month that the former vice president should skip the debates so they don’t become “an exercise in skullduggery.”When asked if she still believed Biden should sit out the three presidential debates on September 29, October 15, and October 22, she said “Oh, I do.”“Not that I don’t think he’ll be excellent,” she continued. “I just think that the president has no fidelity to fact or truth and, actually in his comments the last few days, no fidelity to the Constitution of the United States.""He and his henchmen are a danger, with their comments, are a danger to our democracy,” Pelosi added. “So I don't want to give him - I mean, why bother? He doesn't tell the truth."Last month Pelosi said she “wouldn’t legitimize a conversation with [President Trump], nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States,” though she acknowledged that the Biden campaign, who has rejected the California Democrat’s suggestion, felt differently."As long as the commission continues down the straight and narrow as they have, I'm going to debate him," Biden said. "I'm going to be a fact-check on the floor while I'm debating him."Biden said Wednesday that he would begin to prepare “heavily” for the first debate, which will be hosted by Fox News’s Chris Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday.

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Mexican farmers revolt over sending water to US during drought

Country has one month to deliver outstanding 289m cubic metres and ensure water for 14 major cities and growersMexican farmers in the drought-stricken state of Chihuahua are pitted against riot squads from the national guard in an increasingly violent standoff over their government’s decision to ship scarce water supplies to the United States.The confrontation has already led to bloodshed: earlier this month, a woman was shot dead and her husband was wounded after guardsmen opened fire on farmers wielding sticks and stones.The Mexican government, meanwhile, has accused protesters of being backed by opposition politicians and sabotaging La Boquilla dam, which holds some of the water it wants to send north.The standoff in Chihuahua underscores the severity of water shortages as the climate crisis provokes more severe droughts and puts agriculture under strain.It has also raised questions about why Mexico’s nationalist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has put such a priority on repaying water debts to the US rather than going to bat for Mexican farmers.“In all the history of Chihuahua, the army has never been sent to take the dams,” said Mario Mata Carrasco, a federal lawmaker from Chihuahua. “Instead of fighting organised crime and narcotics traffickers, they’re fighting our farmers.”Disputes over water are nothing new on the high plains of Chihuahua state, where rainfall is becoming increasingly irregular. Neither is sending water to the US, which is required under the terms of a 1944 treaty.But the unrest has grown amid US demands that Mexico meets its five-year quota and completes the transfer of more than 100bn gallons by 24 October.Local farmers insist any shortfall on that quota can be repaid in the future, and argue that water held behind Mexican dams – for which they have concessions – has never been part of the agreement.“When the government comes to steal our property, we don’t have any other option but to defend it,” said Raymundo Soto, a spokesman for the farmers. “The international water treaty clearly establishes alternatives for resolving these problems.”Under the treaty, Mexico sends water from rivers in the Rio Grande basin to the United States, which in turn sends Mexico water in the Colorado River, further to the west.The treaty was negotiated when Mexico and the US were second world war allies and “is very favourable to Mexico”, tweeted Lorenzo Meyer, a Mexican historian and commentator. “Not fulfilling our treaty obligations would be ending an agreement that would be impossible to improve upon.”Both US and Mexican officials say water is flowing from Chihuahua to make up the deficit. But time is running out: Mexico still has to transfer almost a year’s worth of water to meet the deadline.Mexico’s president, commonly known as Amlo, insists Mexico will comply with the treaty. He also revealed that Texas’ governor, Greg Abbott, had expressed impatience over Mexico falling behind in its water deliveries.Amlo has repeatedly alleged that big pecan farmers, backed by political interests, are behind the protests.“They’ve been doing their best to get us into a conflict with the United States,” Amlo recently told reporters. “It’s all a plan to take electoral advantage of the situation.”Mexico has fallen behind in its water payments for the current five-year cycle – and not for the first time, farmers say. They argue that Mexico can postpone payment in drought conditions – something Mexican and US officials say is off the table because Mexico was in deficit at the end of the last cycle in 2015.As of 24 September, the country had met roughly 86% of its treaty obligations, according to Roberto Velasco Álvarez, Mexican undersecretary for North America.Mexico now has a month to deliver the outstanding 289m cubic metres and ensure water for 14 major cities and growers in the lower parts of the Rio Grande, said Velasco.“There are concerns for other water users, especially urban users,” he said, adding: “Chihuahua is illegally retaining water in its dams.”But farmers say they have already been forced to adjust to a drier environment by reducing planting. Meanwhile, the drilling of illegal wells is rampant.Many in Chihuahua fear that they may soon see a replay of a severe mid-1990s drought which forced many farmers to migrate, said Jesús Valenciano, a member of the legislature.“They went illegally to the United States – and never returned,” he recalled. “People don’t want this to happen again. That’s why there’s such a conflict.”

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Letters to the Editor: Trump isn't running for election. He's running against the election

President Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power is the latest clue that he will try to nullify the popular vote.

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