Strategic Partnerships

• Trump on Supreme Court vacancy: 'When you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want' -

  The president on Monday defended the Republican plan to bring his pick to replace the Supreme Court vacancy left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a vote so close to an election, even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to do the same in 2016.

  
  

• An NYPD officer and US Army reservist has been arrested and accused of spying on Tibetan New Yorkers for China -

  Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was charged with acting as the agent of a foreign government, wire fraud, and making false statements.

  
  

• Shopper flaunting his gun in checkout line shoots himself in the groin, Oregon cops say -

  He placed his gun in the front of his pants near the button and accidentally pulled the trigger, police said.

  
  

• A Vermont grocery store worker was fired after stopping a purse snatcher who stole from an elderly woman -

  Amir Shedyak, a grocery store employee, told local news that he was fired after trying to stop a purse snatcher during a shift in August.

  
  

• Village broadband mystery finally solved after 18 months of signal failure -

  Every single day, without fail, for 18 months, an entire Welsh village lost its broadband on the dot at 7am. The mystery left residents and engineers utterly baffled and frustrated. Unable to get online, the 400-strong population of Aberhosan, Powys, repeatedly called telecoms experts, who in turn, repeatedly descended on the village in a bid to identify the problem. In an expensive attempt to solve the problem, they even replaced most of the area?s cables. But still, much to their bemusement, the signal continued to plummet from 7am. Eventually, engineers launched an investigation, bringing in a ?crack squad? from other parts of the UK. Equipped with a specialist monitoring device called a Spectrum Analyser, the team was dispatched to scope the village from dawn. Michael Jones, an Openreach engineer, said: "We walked up and down the village in the torrential rain at 6am to see if we could find an electrical noise to support our theory.

  
  

• Norfolk Shipyard CO Is 4th Navy Leader to Be Fired in a Month -

  Capt. Kai Torkelson was relieved of command Monday by Vice Adm. Bill Galinis.

  
  

• Black Lives Matter Removes Language about Disrupting the Nuclear Family from Website -

  The official Black Lives Matter website no longer includes language encouraging the ?disruption? of the ?Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.?The language had been featured on the site's "What We Believe" page, in which the group had laid out its support for various extreme policies and ideals that went beyond police reform and brutality. Attempts to access the page now yield a message that reads, "Page Not Found. Sorry, but the page you were trying to view does not exist," the Washington Examiner first discovered on Monday.The page had described the group as a "global Black family" that engages "comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts," according to an archive."We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work 'double shifts' so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work," the organization wrote. "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and 'villages' that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable."The website still features an ?About" page that explains the origin of the organization ? it was founded in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin ? and features a shorter list of its goals. The "About" page says the group?s mission ?is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.??We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum,? the page reads.?We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise,? it adds.The organization has received criticism for its extremist views, including co-founder Patrisse Cullors 2015 admission that she and her fellow co-founders are ?trained Marxists.?"I actually do think we have an ideological frame. We are trained Marxists," Cullors said.

  
  

• Jawar Mohammed: Top Ethiopia opposition figure 'proud' of terror charge -

  Jawar Mohammed did not admit guilt in court but accused the government of targeting opponents.

  
  

• Snorkeler attacked by 10ft bull shark in Florida Keys -

  Victim was airlifted to Miami hospital with a serious bite wound

  
  

• Why We?re Never Buying Rectangular Rugs Again -
• The Latest: WH leaves it to McConnell to decide vote timing -

  The White House says President Donald Trump will announce his pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the ?near future? but is declining to say whether the president will push for a Senate confirmation vote before Election Day. Marc Short is the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

  
  

• Florida man fights off attacking alligator by poking its eyes; survives with 65 stitches -

  Mark Johnson, 61, was attacked by alligator and survived with 65 stitches. Here's the trick he used, which FWC warns doesn't always work.

  
  

• Portland protesters reportedly faced tear gas after the city's mayor banned the local police department from using it -

  Both the Portland Police Bureau and Mayor Ted Wheeler denied using tear gas against protesters after Wheeler's order to ban it.

  
  

• Real estate tycoon and critic of China's President Xi Jinping jailed for 18 years -

  The former chairman of a state-owned real estate company who publicly criticised President Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus pandemic was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday on corruption charges, a court announced. Ren Zhiqiang, who became known for speaking up about censorship and other sensitive topics, disappeared from public view in March after publishing an essay online that accused Mr Xi of mishandling the outbreak that began in December in the central city of Wuhan. Mr Xi, party leader since 2012, has suppressed criticism, tightened censorship and cracked down on unofficial organisations. Dozens of journalists, labour and human rights activists and others have been imprisoned. Mr Ren, 69, was convicted of corruption, bribery, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court announced on its social media account. It cited Mr Ren as saying he wouldn't appeal. The former chairman and deputy party secretary of Huayuan Group was expelled from the ruling party in July. In a commentary that circulated on social media, Mr Ren criticised a Feb. 23 video conference with 170,000 officials held early in the pandemic at which Mr Xi announced orders for responding to the disease. Mr Ren didn't mention Mr Xi's name but said, "standing there was not an emperor showing off his new clothes but a clown who had stripped off his clothes and insisted on being an emperor". Mr Ren criticised propaganda that portrayed Mr Xi and other leaders as rescuing China from the disease without mentioning where it began and possible mistakes including suppressing information at the start of the outbreak. "People did not see any criticism at the conference. It didn't investigate and disclose the truth," Mr Ren wrote, according to a copy published by China Digital Times, a website in California. "No one reviewed or took responsibility. But they are trying to cover up the truth with all kinds of great achievements." Mr Ren had an early military career and his parents were both former high officials in the Communist party. Some called him a princeling, a term for offspring of the founders of the communist government, a group that includes Mr Xi. He appeared to have crossed a political line by criticising Mr Xi's personal leadership.

  
  

• The CIA sent a team of 4 operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back. -

  In 2008, the CIA sent a team of four operators on a spy mission targeting China. None came back. Internally, the CIA officers blamed the mission failure and deaths of four of their men on Bob Kandra, the Special Activities Division chief at the time.

  
  

• Maryland congressional candidate Kim Klacik accuses ?The View?s? Joy Behar of wearing blackface -

  Things got tense on the latest episode of ABC?s ?The View? when a Black Republican candidate for the U.S. House accused one a co-host of wearing blackface. Kim Klacik, who is running to represent Maryland?s 7th Congressional District that includes part of Baltimore, got into a heated exchange with the group of women hosts after she lodged the claim against Joy Behar. The late Elijah Cummings represented the district from 1996 to 2019.

  
  

• Nasa outlines plan for first woman on Moon by 2024 -

  The US space agency (Nasa) formally outlines its $28bn plan to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024.

  
  

• Leaked files contain more evidence of Kremlin links to one of the biggest donors to Boris Johnson's Conservative party -

  The husband of a major donor to Boris Johnson's Conservatives has allegedly been secretly funded by a Russian oligarch with links to Vladimir Putin.

  
  

• Hawaii Health Department Chemist Cooked Up LSD for Air Force Members: Prosecutors -

  A government chemist in Hawaii cooked up batches of LSD for active-duty members of the U.S. military who responded to ads for the powerful hallucinogen posted on social media, prosecutors allege.Trevor Keegan, an ?extract tech? in the Disease Outbreak Control Division of the state Health Department, was charged earlier this month on one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. His alleged co-conspirator, Austin White, is not known to be affiliated with any government agency. He is facing the same charges as Keegan.The case came to the attention of investigators last September, when a confidential informant tipped off the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) about ?an individual [who] was utilizing...Snapchat to advertise and conduct drug sales, particularly with active duty military service members.? The existence of the investigation has not been previously reported.Air Force Vet Who Shot Woman for Stealing His Nazi Flag Claims He?s Actually the Victim OSI turned the investigation over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which was soon able to identify the Snapchat dealer as White, prosecutors said.?White?s public Snapchat account showed the public advertisement of various controlled substances for sale with listed prices,? says a criminal complaint filed in Hawaii federal court. ?One of the advertised controlled substances was Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (?LSD?), more commonly known as ?acid,? which is a schedule I controlled substance.?LSD use within the armed forces has become an issue of late. In 2018, rampant LSD consumption by members of the Air Force?s nuclear missile corps was exposed by the Associated Press. Since then, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has reportedly launched nearly 200 investigations into LSD-related offenses, with cases spiking by 70 percent in the first four months of 2020. As recently as 2006, LSD use in the Air Force was so rare it was removed entirely from the standard drug tests given to airmen.In December 2019, an undercover DEA agent contacted White on Snapchat to arrange a purchase. During that meeting, White allegedly sold the agent 20 grams of ?a suspected LSD mixture in the form of ingestible gummies? for $200. The following month, White sold the same undercover agent about $1,400 worth of gummies and tabs of blotter acid, the complaint states. White?s source ?work[ed] in chemistry,? he told the undercover agent, and said he ?makes his own stuff.? White then agreed to have ?the cook? make another 300 blotter tabs in advance of their next meeting, according to prosecutors.That?s when White got sloppy. After getting $2,500 from his customer, White pointed to a car parked nearby. White allegedly told the undercover that the vehicle?s driver?and lone passenger?was his supplier, before walking over to retrieve the drugs. DEA agents were able to identify the driver as Keegan, according to court filings.Both men were arrested at the beginning of May. The blotter acid tested positive for LSD, although the gummies did not.?You would think that employees at the state disease outbreak control center would be too busy these days for such extracurricular activities,? Dan Grazier, an ex-Marine Corps officer who now works for the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight, told The Daily Beast. ?I don?t recall a single instance of anyone testing positive for LSD when I was in the Marine Corps. I have heard it is becoming more common because it is quickly passed through the system and can't be detected in a urinalysis after 2 to 3 days.?Former U.S. Air Force squadron commander Cedric Leighton, who retired from the service as a colonel, said he discovered at least three of his airmen using LSD during his 26-year career.?Our service members are good people, but, like anyone else, they can be one bad decision away from ruining their careers and their lives,? Leighton told The Daily Beast. ?I saw it as my job to help them avoid those bad decisions.?Keegan and White?s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.Both men are free on $50,000 bail. Keegan is expected to plead guilty at the end of October.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.

  
  

• Trump, without evidence, says RBG?s dying wish to granddaughter was fabricated by Dems -

  Ginsburg told her granddaughter prior to her death her wish was to not be replaced until a new president is installed.

  
  

• Nebraska man charged in protester?s death dies by suicide -
• Fact check: Kamala Harris is a natural-born U.S. citizen and eligible to serve as president -

  A post claims Kamala Harris is not eligible to serve as president because of her parents' citizenship. That's false. Harris was born in the U.S.

  
  

• China admits Uighur birthrate has dropped by nearly one-third -

  Chinese officials have admitted that birth rates have plummeted among its ethnic Uighurs, fuelling claims that Beijing is subjecting its Muslim minority to a campaign of forced birth control. Official statistics show that in Xinjiang, the north-western province where most of the 10 million strong Uighur community live, birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018. The figures follow accusations that Beijing is attempting to reduce the Uighur population by threatening women with fines or spells in mass detention camps if they flout harsh family planning measures. At least a million Uighurs are believed to have passed through the detention camps in recent years, which Beijing insists are voluntary schools to teach Uighurs of the dangers of Islamic extremism. Human rights groups say they are used to eradicate Uighur culture, in tandem with forced abortion and sterilisation policies that amount to "demographic genocide".

  
  

• Florida's governor is proposing a law that would protect drivers who kill or injure people if they're fleeing a 'mob,' following a spate of incidents of people driving through protest crowds -

  People have hit protesters with cars dozens of times since the US erupted with protests following the death of George Floyd in May.

  
  

• Two key GOP senators propose $28.8 billion in airline assistance to avoid job cuts -

  Two key Republican senators on Monday introduced legislation that would authorize $28.8 billion in payroll assistance to avoid thousands of airline industry layoffs set to begin on Oct. 1. Senators Roger Wicker, who chairs the Commerce Committee, and Susan Collins, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee overseeing airline issues, introduced the measure that would grant airlines a new bailout days before existing payroll support runs out. Airlines are making a last-ditch effort to win funding, but face an uphill battle with Congress shifting its attention to the pending Supreme Court vacancy, congressional aides say.

  
  

• Humpback whale swims free after getting stranded in Australian crocodile-infested river -

  A humpback whale has found its way back to sea weeks after getting lost in a murky, crocodile-infested river in northern Australia. In the southern part of the country, an estimated 270 pilot whales were stranded.

  
  

• Solomon Islands: Men working for WW2 bomb clearing agency die in explosion -

  The men were working to help dispose of the many unexploded World War Two bombs on the islands.

  
  

• Single plane passenger infected 15 people with Covid-19, CDC says -

  Despite her symptoms, the 27-year-old woman boarded her March 1 flight from London to Hanoi, Vietnam.

  
  

• As the U.S. hits 200,000 COVID-19 deaths, Trump tells an Ohio rally the coronavirus 'affects virtually nobody' -

  The U.S. passed yet another "grim milestone" in its COVID-19 pandemic Monday night, Reuters notes, with at least 200,000 Americans dead from the new coronavirus and an average of nearly 1,000 more dying each day. As "the country blew past estimate after estimate" of COVID-19 deaths, Politico's pandemic newsletter said Monday night, "the term 'grim milestone' in headlines became so routine that we banned it."COVID-19 deaths are rising again in the U.S. after a four-week decline, with Texas and Florida leading the news fatalities, Reuters reports, and the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation now predicts 300,000 deaths by Dec. 9 and 378,000 by the end of 2020 if current trends continue. The IHME's first projection of U.S. coronavirus deaths, issued March 16, topped out at 162,000. The U.S., with about 4 percent of the world's population, has 20 percent of its recorded COVID-19 deaths.At a rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Monday night, President Trump assured his admirers the virus isn't really that bad, noting that it mostly kills "elderly people" and people with "other problems," adding, "It affects virtually nobody."> "It affects virtually nobody," Trump says of the coronavirus, which has now killed 200,000 Americans and counting pic.twitter.com/qHrZvUWNhX> > ? Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 22, 2020According to CDC data, more than 70 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths are among people older than 65, which means about 60,000 of the dead were 65 and younger. And a lot of the estimated millions of U.S. "long-haulers" who did not die from COVID-19 are still grappling with a wide array of health problems, some of the potentially serious.More stories from theweek.com Stephen Colbert's Late Show takes Lindsey Graham up on his offer, uses his words against him Mueller didn't investigate Trump's finances or question Ivanka Trump due to blowback fears, prosecutor recounts McConnell unexpectedly rejects Democrats' funding bill, leaving U.S. on the verge of government shutdown

  
  

• Feds indict Indian men whose cases led to sovereignty ruling -
• Three jailed after being caught with 109 undersized lobsters in the Keys, police say -

  Three Lower Keys residents were jailed Friday after state fish and wildlife police said they were found with more than 100 undersized lobsters and a haul of out-of-season stone crab claws.

  
  

• Two new studies indicate COVID-19 can spread on long airline flights, promote distancing -

  Both studies, taking different approaches, found clusters of COVID-19 cases traced back to long airline flights.

  
  

• Revealed: evidence shows huge mail slowdowns after Trump ally took over -

  Louis DeJoy?s policies, which he said were intended to boost efficiency, led to widespread outcry this summerThe United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer.Shortly after taking the helm, DeJoy ? a major Republican donor with no prior USPS experience ? implemented operational changes he said were intended to make the financially beleaguered agency more efficient. Those changes included an effort to get USPS trucks to run on time and limiting extra trips to transport late mail, with the result that mail was often left behind.Many critics have noted that DeJoy chose to make these changes at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic and months ahead of a presidential election in which a record number of people are expected to vote by mail.In late August, DeJoy announced he was putting the changes on hold until after the election, and last week a federal judge in Washington blocked USPS from implementing them. The changes were clearly aimed at ?voter disenfranchisement?, given the increased role USPS will play in this year?s presidential election, the US district judge Stanley Bastian wrote in his ruling.?It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services? changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections,? Bastian wrote.Map of USPS first-class on-time delivery rates dropping just weeks after DeJoy was appointed.Describing the data, Philip Rubio, a history professor at North Carolina A&T university who is also a former postal worker, said: ?This is a remarkable graphic illustration that reveals the decline of on-time first-class mail from the very first day after Postmaster General DeJoy?s policies were announced and implemented.??Not only do we see the national picture for first-class mail delivery worsening over time after DeJoy?s policies become effective, but we also see locally conditions varying and even emerging for the worse.?Of note, some areas in key swing states saw significant declines in on-time delivery rates of first-class mail. In the postal district for northern Ohio, on-time delivery rates dropped as low as 63.60% in mid August. In the Detroit postal district, on-time delivery fell to 61.01% the same month.USPS has pledged to facilitate timely delivery of mail-in ballots for the election and work closely with election officials to ensure that happens. But the relationship has been rocky recently; some election officials fumed when the agency sent out a mailing to every household with information about mail-in voting without thoroughly consulting with them. The generalized mailer was misleading for voters in the handful of US states that automatically mail all registered voters a ballot.Although DeJoy?s changes have been paused until after the election, the new data shows that first class mail continued to be delivered late across the country after his reversal. In the Baltimore postal district, for example, the on-time delivery rate remained at less than 60% at the end of August.?Unfortunately, even though on-time performance improved after those changes were put on pause, delivery speed is still well below normal and far below the postal service?s own targets,? said Steve Hutkins, a professor at New York University who runs Save The Post Office, a blog that monitors the agency.?The harms that were done have not yet been undone.?David Partenheimer, a USPS spokesman, declined to comment specifically on the data, citing ongoing litigation. USPS released a statement on Friday saying that on-time delivery for first class mail continued to improve in September and that on time departures for trucks continued to improve.?The improvements are a result of the Postmaster General?s commitment to drive operational discipline and improve efficiencies across processing, transportation and delivery,? the agency said in its statement.

  
  

• Australian journalist says he fled China after authorities threatened to detain his teenage daughter -

  Chinese authorities threatened to detain an Australian journalist and his 14-year-old daughter two years ago, in apparent retaliation for his coverage of China. Matthew Carney, then the Australian Broadcasting Corp?s Beijing bureau chief, was already bracing for trouble after being reprimanded by Chinese foreign ministry representatives upset over his coverage, which they had deemed unfavourable to the country. The last meeting he had with representatives ended with him being told he had personally broken Chinese laws and was now under ?investigation.? The problems continued when Carney sought to renew his journalist visa. During the process, he was instructed to report to a facility and to bring his daughter, where a lead interrogator later alleged she had broken visa rules. He was told because his daughter is an adult under Chinese law, that "as the People?s Republic of China is a law-abiding country, she will be charged with the visa crime.?

  
  

• Federal judge rules absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin can be counted up to six days after Election Day -

  Democrats had sued to extend the deadline in the crucial swing state

  
  

• A new startup is recruiting gig workers to help landlords evict people from their homes, calling it the fastest-growing moneymaking gig because of COVID-19 -

  The startup has been described as the Uber for evicting people.

  
  

• Angered by Arab-Israel ties, Palestine quits chairing Arab League sessions -

  RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestine has quit its current chairmanship of Arab League meetings, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning as dishonourable any Arab agreement to establish formal relations with Israel. Palestinians see the accords that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed with Israel in Washington a week ago as a betrayal of their cause and a blow to their quest for an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory. Earlier this month, the Palestinians failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn member nations breaking ranks and normalising ties with Israel.

  
  

• Trump suggests, without evidence, that Justice Ginsberg?s ?fervent wish? about her replacement was written by Democrats -

  During an interview on ?Fox & Friends? Monday morning, President Trump theorized that a quote attributed to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was manufactured by Democrats. Trump did not offer any evidence for his suggestion. According to NPR, Justice Ginsburg told her granddaughter that her most ?fervent wish? was that she would not be replaced until a new president was sworn in.

  
  

• Pakistan fire: Two to hang for Karachi garment factory inferno -

  The men were found guilty of starting Pakistan's deadliest industrial fire, killing some 260 people.

  
  

• Millions in military gear vanishes ? until eBay post unravels trooper?s plot, feds say -

  The Illinois state trooper is accused of lifting more than $3 million worth of military equipment from a Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina.

  
  

• At least 5 organizations say they won't help brands audit supply chains in China's Xinjiang region -

  As concerns grow over the alleged human rights abuses and forced labor in China's Xinjiang territory, five organizations told The Wall Street Journal they won't provide labor-audit or inspection services of companies' supply chains in the region. Two other auditing companies told the Workers Rights Consortium they won't operate in Xinjiang in emails reviewed by the Journal, but did not respond to requests for comment. Another firm confirmed it would no longer conduct audits there, but did not elaborate.The withdrawal of auditors has sparked some mixed reactions, says the Journal. Some other firms acknowledged the challenges of detecting forced labor in Xinjiang ? auditors have been detained by Chinese authorities and others are required to rely on Beijing-approved translators who may convey misinformation at factories employing Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking minorities, while some workers simply find the risk of telling the truth to auditors to be too great ? but also expressed concern that blacklisting the region could push human rights abuses even further underground.At the same time, there's a sense that third-party auditors generally are more inclined to serve corporate interests, lowering the chances of exposing violations, the Journal reports. That's why labor rights groups and Uighur rights activists have urged organizations to halt audits in Xinjiang. Ultimately, they believe forcing companies to shift their supply chains out of the region is the only way to avoid contributing to forced-labor practices. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com As the U.S. hits 200,000 COVID-19 deaths, Trump tells an Ohio rally the coronavirus 'affects virtually nobody' Stephen Colbert's Late Show takes Lindsey Graham up on his offer, uses his words against him Mueller didn't investigate Trump's finances or question Ivanka Trump due to blowback fears, prosecutor recounts

  
  

• Trump: ?I?m so angry at Republicans? -

  The president says his fellow Republicans have let him it down when it comes to investigating Obama and the Bidens.

  
  

• DeKalb school board member accused of making racist remarks -

  Joyce Morley, a DeKalb County school board member, said those accusing her of making racially insensitive comments during a recent meeting are mishearing what she actually said. During an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday, Morley explained that video from the emotionally-charged board meeting shows her saying the word ?rights? and not ?whites? when discussing the school district?s plans to reopen schools. During the Monday meeting in question, Cheryl Watson-Harris, DeKalb schools superintendent proposed that students and staff return to in-person learning as early as October, but on a part-time basis.

  
  

• Plaque symbolizing Thai democracy removed in less than a day -

  A plaque honoring struggles for democracy in Thailand was removed from a royal field less than 24 hours after being installed by anti-government protesters and was submitted as evidence in connection with a complaint by officials that its installation was illegal, police said Monday. The plaque had been installed Sunday at Sanam Luang, the historic field in the capital where tens of thousands of people rallied peacefully over the weekend. The two-day demonstration was the largest this year by protesters who are calling for new elections and reform of the monarchy.

  
  

• Bull rider killed in Texas rodeo -

  Rider was studying animal sciences at Oklahoma State University

  
  

• New Zealand ends all pandemic restrictions outside main city of Auckland -

  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday lifted all coronavirus restrictions across the country, except in second-wave hotspot Auckland, as the number of new infections slowed to a trickle. "Our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control," she told reporters in Auckland. New Zealand, a nation of five million, appeared to have halted community transmission of COVID-19 earlier this year, but a fresh outbreak in Auckland in August prompted the government to place the city back in lockdown.

  
  

• LAPD officers reportedly used facial recognition 30,000 times in the past decade, contradicting the department's previous denials -

  Despite frequent denials and refusals to respond to public records requests, the LAPD has been using the controversial technology widely since 2009.

  
  

• NTSB investigates weekend aircraft crashes in Texas, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois that killed 10 people -

  The NTSB is investigating deadly small plane crashes in Texas, Michigan and Indiana, and a fatal helicopter crash in Illinois over the weekend.

  
  

• Driver fleeing cops slams into rideshare, killing 2 backseat passengers, Texas cops say -

  The man faces murder charges.

  
  

• China, WHO Could Have Prevented COVID Pandemic, Congressional Report Concludes -

  An audit by congressional Republicans to be released on Monday concludes that China covered up the initial spread of coronavirus while the World Health Organization "parroted" Chinese propaganda.Various U.S. government officials and agencies have already alleged that China hid the extent and severity of coronavirus following its appearance in the city of Wuhan in late December, and Republicans have accused the WHO of kowtowing to Chinese assessments of the outbreak. The Monday report by Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which was obtained by National Review, represents one of the most comprehensive attempts to delineate responsibility for the pandemic."It is beyond doubt that the [Chinese Communist Party] actively engaged in a cover-up designed to obfuscate data, hide relevant public health information, and suppress doctors and journalists who attempted to warn the world," the report states. "Research shows the CCP could have reduced the number of cases in China by up to 95 percent had it fulfilled its obligations under international law and responded to the outbreak in a manner consistent with best practices."In particular, the report notes, "as early as mid-December [2019], and no later than December 27th, the CCP had enough information to assess it was legally obligated to inform the WHO that the outbreak in Wuhan was an event 'that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.'"The WHO accepted Chinese propaganda regarding the outbreak, effectively misinforming other nations on the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, China nationalized various production lines of medical equipment, seizing control of the medical supply chains of other nations."According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), [the] nationalized control of the medical supply chain included 'commandeer[ing] medical manufacturing and logistics down to the factory level,'" the report states. "It is highly likely that China?s nationalization of the manufacturing capacity of foreign companies, including 3M and General Motors, directly impacted the ability of the United States and other countries to procure [personal protective equipment] on the global market."Representative Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the ranking Republican on the Democrat-led Foreign Affairs Committee, has been a vocal critic of China and the WHO throughout the pandemic. McCaul deemed the Chinese response to the coronavirus "one of the worst cover-ups in human history" in mid-March.