Author: CensorBiz

Defying state power, a group of 14 pro-Iran militiamen clothed in khaki military fatigues trampled over doctored portraits of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.The images, which have been widely circulated on Iraqi media since Monday, showed over a dozen young men holding small Iraqi flags in one hand and burning Kadhimi’s crossed-out posters, along with Israeli and U.S. flags, in the other.The men were members of Kataib Hezbollah (KH), who were released Monday shortly after their arrest in a rare anti-terrorism raid ordered by Kadhimi last week. A judge with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) released all 14 men, citing a “lack of evidence” for any wrongdoing.KH militia members released today after being detained in a CTS raid on Thurs, burn #US & Israeli flags while stepping on photos of @MAKadhimi. The Iraqi judiary found ‘insufficient evidence’ ag them over allegations of firing rockets at military & diplomatic targets in #IRAQpic.twitter.com/ij91dAR7ud
— Arwa Ibrahim (@arwaib) June 29, 2020KH is an Iran proxy militia designated as a terrorist group by the United States for its involvement in deadly attacks on U.S. military bases and diplomatic facilities in Iraq.The swift release of the militants, experts say, highlights major challenges facing Iraq’s elected leaders as they attempt to restore one of the key functions of a modern nation-state: the right to enjoy, what scholars call, “the monopoly over the use of violence,” in a country where irregular militia groups continue to carry out violent attacks.“It’s the government’s responsibility to impose the authority of the state,” Ahmad Mulla Talal, Kadhimi’s official spokesman, said Tuesday, responding to reporters’ questions on the raid.Show of forceShortly after the arrest last Thursday, the Iraqi government said in a statement it had acted on “credible intelligence” to prevent an imminent attack on the Green Zone, a large fortified area in the Iraqi capital where the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions are located.On Friday, more than a dozen heavily armed vehicles, which KH described as “loyalists,” reportedly showed up outside Kadhimi’s residence inside the Green Zone, ordering him to release the detained militiamen.In a statement published Monday, KH spokesman Abu Ali al-Askari described his group’s brazen show of force as an attempt “to prevent the situation from spinning out of control.”Iraq later appeared to have softened its stance and released the KH detainees into PMF custody for an internal disciplinary trial, rather than handing them over to an independent Iraqi criminal court. KH is a part of PMF.Askari called Kadhimi a “monster” who was working for the Americans. He also reiterated KH’s long-standing accusation that Kadhimi had collaborated with the United States to assassinate Iran’s powerful military leader Qassem Soleimani, along with KH’s founder, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a January drone strike. Kadhimi has denied the allegations.’Overrun by militias’Though the PMF is officially part of Iraq’s security apparatus, it behaves independently and does not always obey orders from the prime minister as the commander-in-chief, say experts.“Armed militias don’t just exist in Iraq, but they are intertwined with the state and exercise political power in the name of the state, muddying the boundaries between state and militia,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Iraq analyst at the University of Chicago.Michael Knights, an Iraq expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, warned that the ability of a KH-run military unit to penetrate the Green Zone presented a serious obstacle to Kadhimi’s ability to govern.“Any government’s first duty is to protect its own capacity to make independent decisions,” Knights wrote. “But the Kadhimi government is struggling to find safe locations in which it can work without fear of being overrun by militias.”In the follow-up interview with VOA, Knights described Kadhimi’s decision to go after KH in the Iraqi capital as “brave and may have prevented one or more attacks.”US commitmentMardini said a reason for Kadhimi’s inability to confront Iran-backed militia groups with vigor is the perception that he cannot rely on long-term U.S. support.“The problem the U.S. has is that it wants Iraqi prime ministers to confront powerful elites they are politically dependent on without much ability to offer assurances,” he said, adding that “its footprint is decreasing, and therefore it becomes more difficult for its commitments to be believed.”Earlier this month, Iraq and the U.S. held a “strategic dialogue” to redefine the future of their partnership beyond the fight against Islamic State.In a joint statement published following the talks, Washington committed to reducing its military presence in the country and broadening its political, economic and cultural engagements with Baghdad. On the other hand, Iraq agreed to protect the remaining U.S. diplomats and military personnel.The raid against KH, according to some observers, was the first practical step by Kadhimi to signal to the U.S. that his government is focused on meeting its obligation to protect U.S. assets in Iraq.ReconciliationAt the same time, Kadhimi’s government is engaged in “political reconciliation” in Iraq, allowing exiled Iraqi Sunni leaders such as Rafi al-Issawi to return home.Issawi, a former minister of finance, fled the country after former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki charged him with corruption. He has returned, and his arrest warrant is expected to be dropped, according to Iraqi officials.Maliki also went after former Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who escaped to northern Iraqi Kurdistan and later to Turkey to avoid arrest for murder charges.It is not yet clear if Hashimi intends to return to Iraq.“Al-Kadhimi is the last hope for the political processes,” Abdul-Khalq al-Azawi, a Sunni lawmaker, told reporters Monday.Some others are less hopeful. Mohammed A. Salih, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania who covered the aftermath of the Iraq war as a journalist, says the fact that Kadhimi has been elected by Parliament, where Iran has many allies, makes him “too weak to be able to take on the militias.”“If he continues to push against the Shia militias, he will witness serious backlash from Shia militias and political blocs alike,” Salih said.
…

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday issued his first pardon for members of the protest movement that toppled veteran leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year, the presidency said.Elected last December, Tebboune has already urged protesters to opt for dialog and promised appeasement measures to ensure stability in the OPEC member and gas-exporting country.He has also drafted amendments to the constitution to boost freedoms and give Parliament a greater role. A referendum on the amendments is due to be held this year.The pardon, which marks the 58th anniversary of Algerian independence, included six activists serving sentences for charges including undermining national unity. Several other members of the protest movement, known as Hirak, have been in detention.The protests broke out in February 2019 to demand political reforms and reject Bouteflika’s plan to seek a fifth term after 20 years in power.The authorities banned the protests in mid-March this year as part of measures to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
…

Spurred by broad public support for the Black Lives Matter movement, thousands of Black activists from across the U.S. will hold a virtual convention in August to produce a new political agenda that seeks to build on the success of the protests that followed George Floyd’s death.The 2020 Black National Convention will take place August 28 via a live broadcast. It will feature conversations, performances and other events designed to develop a set of demands ahead of the November general election, according to a Wednesday announcement shared first with The Associated Press.The convention is being organized by the Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 organizations. In 2016, the coalition released its “Vision for Black Lives” platform, which called for public divestment from mass incarceration and for adoption of policies that can improve conditions in Black America.Demands for progress”What this convention will do is create a Black liberation agenda that is not a duplication of the Vision for Black Lives, but really is rooted as a set of demands for progress,” said Jessica Byrd, who leads the Electoral Justice Project.At the end of the convention, participants will ratify a revised platform that will serve as a set of demands for the first 100 days of a new presidential administration, Byrd said. Participants also will have access to model state and local legislation.”What we have the opportunity to do now, as this 50-state rebellion has provided the conditions for change, is to say, ‘You need to take action right this minute,’ ” Byrd said. “We’re going to set the benchmarks for what we believe progress is and make those known locally and federally.”FILE – Antonio Mingo, right, holds his fists in the air as demonstrators protest on a section of 16th Street renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza, in Washington, June 24, 2020. The Black National Convention will be held Aug. 28, 2020.The convention was originally planned to happen in person, in Detroit, the nation’s Blackest major city. But as the coronavirus pandemic exploded in March, organizers quickly shifted to a virtual event, Byrd said. The first-ever Black Lives Matter convention was held in Cleveland in 2015.Recent AP analysis of COVID-19 data shows Black people have made up a third of reported virus deaths.Initial work to shape the new platform will take place August 6-7, during a smaller People’s Convention that will virtually convene hundreds of delegates from Black-led advocacy groups. The process will be similar to one that produced the first platform, which included early iterations of the demand to defund police that now drives many demonstrations.Other platform demands, such as ending cash bail, reducing pretrial detention and scrapping discriminatory risk-assessment tools used in criminal courts, have become official policy in a handful of local criminal justice systems around the U.S.Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, which organizes in 15 states, said the 2020 Black National Convention will deepen the solutions to systemic racism and create more alignment within the movement.Hope for more clarity, energy”We’re in this stage now where we’re getting more specific about how all of this is connected to our local organizing,” Albright said. “The hope is that when people leave the convention, they leave with greater clarity, more resources, connectivity and energy.”The coalition behind the convention includes Color of Change, BYP100, Dream Defenders and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, which has 16 official chapters nationwide.Convention organizers said this year’s event will pay tribute to the historic 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, which concluded with the introduction of a national Black agenda. The Gary gathering included prominent Black leaders such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Representative Shirley Chisolm, who ran for president, as well as Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz.FILE – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., left, and Malcolm X.That convention came after several tumultuous years that included the assassinations of Malcolm X and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and outbreaks of civil unrest, all of which were seen as blows to the civil rights movement.The upcoming convention builds on more than a century of Black political organizing.In 1905, civil rights activist and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois formed the Niagara Movement after a national conference of Black leaders near Buffalo, New York. In a written address to the country, Du Bois and others decried the rise of institutionalized racial inequality in voting, criminal justice systems and public education.In the 1950s, William Patterson, founder of the now-defunct Civil Rights Congress, led the effort to charge the U.S. with genocide of African Americans using legal standards set by the United Nations. The resulting petition, “We Charge Genocide,” is an oft-cited document in conversations about fatal shootings of Black people by police in the U.S.And in 1998, organizers of the Black Radical Congress in Chicago met to strategize ways to beat back attacks on affirmative action policies that helped to diversify higher education and other facets of American life.As in any large political gathering, consensus is not guaranteed. The National Black Political Convention caused divisions between participating organizations over the Black agenda’s position on busing to integrate public schools and statements on global affairs that some viewed as anti-Israel. Ultimately, the agenda prompted a leader of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, to sever ties with the convention.Friction with Jewish groupsSomewhat similarly, the Vision for Black Lives platform and its characterization of Israel as an “apartheid state” committing mass murder against Palestinian people drew allegations of anti-Semitism from a handful of Jewish groups, which had otherwise been supportive the Black Lives Matter movement.The Black Lives Matter movement’s coalition has more than doubled in size in the years since the first platform, largely because of organizers’ laser focus on issues central to Black freedom, Byrd said.”That actually is the Black self-determination that our politics require,” Byrd said, “that we don’t just respond to the Democratic Party. That we don’t just respond to the Republican Party. We don’t just say, ‘Black lives matter,’ and beg people to care. We build an alternative container for all of us to connect, outside of the white gaze, to say this is what we want for our communities.”The August convention will happen on the same day as a commemorative, in-person march on Washington that is being organized by Sharpton, who announced the march during a memorial service for Floyd, a Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer held a knee to his neck.The Black National Convention will broadcast after the march, Byrd said.August “is going to be a huge month of Black engagement,” she said.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump says he will veto an annual bill appropriating money for the Defense Department if the measure includes a requirement for renaming U.S. military installations that honor the Confederate States of America. His latest rejection of the move came in a late Tuesday tweet in which he repeated his frequent slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren. “I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!”I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020Bipartisan approval
The Senate Armed Services Committee gave bipartisan approval in a 25-2 vote on Warren’s amendment last month. It calls for the Pentagon to act within three years to identify and rename any base, street, aircraft, weapon or other “asset” commemorating the Confederacy, a group of states that wanted to preserve slavery and seceded from the country before losing the 1860s Civil War. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy have all signaled they are open to renaming the bases. Among the installations named after Confederate military figures are Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood and Fort Pickett. People gather around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., June 20, 2020. The global civil unrest ignited by Floyd’s death has left many Americans questioning their country’s racist past.Confederate monuments removed
The issue re-emerged amid nationwide protests following the death in police custody of African-American George Floyd.  Protests in multiple cities have targeted monuments to Confederate figures and led to some being removed, including one of Jefferson Davis, the president of the confederacy, in Richmond, Virginia, and one honoring top general Robert E. Lee in Montgomery, Alabama. The popular NASCAR racing series also banned the display of the Confederate flag at its events. 
…

Parts of Australia’s second biggest city, Melbourne, are to go back into COVID-19 lockdown Wednesday following a surge in cases. Authorities have said 36 suburbs have had an “unacceptably high” number of new infections detected in the past few days.Australia has had 7,834 confirmed coronavirus cases.  104 people have died. With 73 infections, Victoria has accounted for almost all of the national tally of new COVID-19 cases in the past 24-hours.   Failures in the hotel quarantine program are being blamed.   Travelers returning to Australia from overseas face a mandatory 14-days in isolation. The state government has said that breaches in security have been linked to the spread of the disease in parts of Melbourne.  Health officials have said the surge in infections was ‘heart breaking.’More than 300,000 people will face legally-enforceable restrictions on their movement as dozens of suburbs are once again placed into lockdown.    The Victoria premier Daniel Andrews is warning that the pandemic “will not be over for a long time” and says strict lockdown measures are needed. “The chief health officer has advised me to reimpose restrictions, so they will be stay at home orders and they will run for four weeks.  There will only be four reasons that you are permitted to leave your house and only if you really have to; for work or school,  for care or care-giving, for daily exercise, for food and other essentials,” Andrews said.Fines of about $1,000 could be imposed if residents leave their homes without good reason.  They are also banned from traveling to neighboring New South Wales.  Anyone from a virus hotspot in Melbourne who tries to cross the border in defiance of public health orders could face a fine of almost US $7,500 or up to six months’ in prison.      Disease control measures in New South Wales are being eased.  Museums, libraries and some cinemas can now reopen, while more passengers are allowed on public transport.  Queensland is also planning to reopen its borders to other Australian jurisdictions in 10 days’ time, although travellers from Victoria will face restrictions. 
…

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will travel to Washington next week to meet with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced on Twitter Tuesday that Lopez Obrador will spend two days in Washington beginning July 8. Ebrard said further details about the visit will be released later Wednesday. The visit with President Trump will be the first foreign trip for Lopez Obrador since he first took office in December 2018.  He said earlier this week that his trip to the United States will celebrate the start of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which goes into effect Wednesday.  But Lopez Obrador has come under intense criticism for his planned visit with Trump,  who is widely disliked for demonizing Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and criminals when he launched his presidential campaign, as well as his vow to make Mexico pay for building a proposed wall at U.S.-Mexican border. 
…

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper won the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday, setting up a November matchup with incumbent Republican Senator Cory Gardner. Hickenlooper, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, captured 60% of the vote to defeat Andrew Romanoff. The contest between Hickenlooper and Gardner will be one of the most closely watched as Democrats try to take control of the Senate from Republicans. In another Colorado race, Lauren Boebert, a businesswoman who advocates strong gun rights and who opened her restaurant in defiance of state coronavirus restrictions, defeated five-term incumbent Congressman Scott Tipton in the Republican primary for the 3rd congressional district.   Tipton had the endorsement of President Donald Trump, but after the race was called Tuesday night the president tweeted congratulations to Boebert on a “really great win!” Former state lawmaker Diane Mitsch Bush will be Boebert’s opponent in November, after defeating James Iacino in the Democratic primary Tuesday. In Oklahoma, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe easily won his primary Tuesday.  His November opponent will be Democrat Abby Broyles, an attorney and former television reporter, who defeated three primary challengers.Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters following a GOP policy meeting on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Washington.In House races, Democrat Kojo Asamoa-Caesar won his primary and will face incumbent Republican Congressman Kevin Hern. Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin easily defeated two challengers to set up a November race with Democratic challenger Danyell Lanier. Republican Congressman Tom Cole handily won a four-way race and will next go up against Democrat Mary Brannon. Democratic Congresswoman Kendra Horn won her primary Tuesday, but will have to wait until a late August runoff election to find out her opponent.  There were nine Republicans competing in that party’s primary, and with no candidate earning the necessary 50% of the vote, candidates Terry Neese and Stephanie Bice advanced to the runoff. Voters in Oklahoma also narrowly approved an expansion of the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents over the opposition of state leaders who expressed concerns about future costs for the state.  The expansion will bring coverage to tens of thousand of people who meet the eligibility requirements of single incomes up to $17,200 or $35,500 for a family of four. In Utah, former Governor and U.S. ambassador to China and Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. was locked in a tight battle with Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox and two other candidates for the Republican nomination to be the state’s next governor.  The winner will face Democrat Chris Peterson in November. With 75% of precincts reporting, Cox had a lead of 37% to Huntsman’s 34%. There were close battles Tuesday in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the 1st congressional district, with candidates vying to fill the seat of retiring Republican Congressman Rob Bishop. Darren Parry led Jamie Cheek 53% to 48% with 60% of precincts reporting in the Democratic race.  Republicans Blake Moore and Bob Stevenson were both at 30% of the vote with 80% of precincts reporting. In the 4th congressional district, Republican Burgess Owens defeated three challengers in a primary battle for the right to go up against incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben McAdams. Earlier Tuesday, election officials in Kentucky announced results from last week’s elections after counting a huge number of mail-in ballots. Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath won the Senate Democratic nomination, setting up a November contest against one of the most powerful political figures in the country, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.  McGrath, who lost a bid for a House of Representatives seat in 2018, faces an uphill fight against McConnell, a long-standing political fixture in the mid-South state and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in Washington. But numerous national Democratic leaders, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, are supporting her.  In many U.S. elections, voters have come to expect results on the night of the election, but with concerns about in-person voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, states have seen an increase in mail-in votes.  Election experts have cautioned that could very much be the cast come November 3, when the nation votes for president, all 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats. New York voters are still waiting on some results from last week’s primaries as well, but election officials said mail-in ballots will not be counted until next week. Prominent outstanding races include the 16th congressional district in which former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman led Congressman Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 61% to 36% before the mail-in votes. In the 12th district, congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, held a slight lead over lawyer and activist Suraj Patel before the mail-in ballots were counted in their race. 
…

At least eight people were killed and 80 hurt in and around Addis Ababa when protests erupted after Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a popular Ethiopian singer and musician, was killed. Haacaaluu was shot dead, police said, in what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calls “an evil act.” “This is an act committed and inspired by domestic and foreign enemies in order to destabilize our peace and to stop us from achieving things that we started,” he said. Police said several suspects have been arrested, police commissioner Getu Argawhe told state media, but have given no further details, except that Haacaaluu was targeted.Several Ethiopian cities erupted with rage, and three separate bomb blasts rocked the capital, Addis Ababa, killing several bystanders, police said. Doctors reported hospital emergency rooms filled with stabbing and shooting victims. Protests also erupted outside the U.S. embassy, prompting a security alert. Haacaaluu was an Oromo activist, a member of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, which has a long history of being discriminated against.The singer was a former political prisoner who became a national figure during anti-government protests that led to Abiy, a fellow Oromo, becoming prime minister in 2018.Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for economic and social reforms in Ethiopia and working to settle the long-running conflict with neighboring Eritrea.But he has also been challenged by the dozens of other Ethiopian ethnic groups jockeying for more land and power.The coronavirus pandemic has forced officials to postpone the August elections until sometime next year.  
…

One person was killed and several others injured during largely peaceful demonstrations in Sudan on Tuesday, a government spokesman said, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets demanding faster reform and greater civilian rule in the country’s transition toward democracy. Waving Sudanese flags, protesters gathered in Khartoum and its twin cities Khartoum North and Omdurman after the government closed roads and bridges leading to the center of the capital in the largest demonstrations since a transitional government took power late last year following the ouster of Islamist ruler Omar al-Bashir after three decades. Similar protests took place across the country, including Kassala in eastern Sudan and in the restive region of Darfur. Protesters chanted “freedom, peace and justice,” the slogan of the anti-Bashir movement. Some protesters blocked streets with burning tires. Civilians chant slogans as members of Sudanese pro-democracy protest on the anniversary of a major protest in Khartoum, June 30, 2020.The gathering on June 30 came on a highly symbolic day, as it was the anniversary of Bashir’s ascent to power in a 1989 military coup and also marks the day one year ago when thousands marched to pressure the generals who assumed power after Bashir’s ouster to resume negotiations over a peaceful power-sharing deal with civilian opposition. Premier Abdalla Hamdok, a technocrat, governs the country in awkward tandem with the long-dominant military that helped remove Bashir after mass protests against his 30-year autocracy. The opposition coalition agreed to joint governance with the military in a three-year transition toward free elections, but key parts of the deal have not been implemented, such as appointing civilian state governors and establishing a parliament. While many protesters expressed their support for Hamdok during Tuesday’s rallies, they renewed their calls for the transitional government to fulfill the agreement. “Your demands are met with complete agreement,” Sudan’s information minister and government spokesman, Faisal Salih, said in a televised address. FILE – Sudan Premier Abdalla Hamdok speaks at a celebration of the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Sudan, December 25, 2019.Hamdok’s government has been preoccupied with a worsening economic crisis. Sudan’s pound currency has plunged, and annual inflation has topped 100%. Last week, foreign donor nations pledged $1.8 billion at a conference hosted by Germany to help Sudan overcome the economic crisis hampering its transition. That was well below the $8 billion in aid Hamdok has said is needed. The crisis has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which has diverted the resources of many donors. Hamdok sought to appease disgruntled citizens with a speech Monday night in which he said he would announce major decisions on the way forward within two weeks. “The transitional government … [is] aiming to achieve the highest levels of consensus and popular approval,” he said, though he gave no details. Hamdok is also pursuing peace talks with rebel groups across the sprawling country, a key priority for both the government and protesters, but no agreement has been reached yet.  
…

Something data crunchers have noticed during the coronavirus pandemic: countries with recent outbreaks of measles have fewer deaths and serious illnesses from the coronavirus. Is this a coincidence? Or is there something about the measles mumps and rubella vaccine that protects against the worst outcomes of the coronavirus? We learn more from VOA’s Carol Pearson.Produced by: Barry Unger
…

Pope Francis is urging Catholic media in the U.S. to work to overcome the “diseases of racism and injustice” in his latest comments about George Floyd’s death in the U.S. and the anti-racism protests that followed. In a message to a virtual conference of Catholic journalists of North America on Tuesday, Francis said Catholic media must build bridges and dialogue, as well as defend life.  He prayed for journalists to be enlightened by wisdom and understanding and guided by the Holy Spirit to “effectively work to overcome the diseases of racism, injustice and indifference that disfigure the face of our common family.”  Francis has spoken out previously about Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis and the “sin of racism.” He decried the violent protests that erupted as self-defeating but also asserted that “we cannot close our eyes to any form of racism or exclusion, while pretending to defend the sacredness of every human life.” Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died May 25 after a white police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn’t breathe. The officer has been charged with murder, and he and other officers involved could get up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Floyd’s death has inspired renewed Black Lives Matter protests around the U.S., some of them attended by Catholic priests, bishops and peace activists. The issue has gotten heavy coverage by the Vatican media.  
…

It’s been a frequent Trump administration talking point on the recent spike in COVID-19 infections: Don’t worry, only a small sliver of U.S. counties is at greater risk.
 
In offering this reassurance, Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar have said that only 3% or 4% of counties in the country are seeing a surge in cases. Focus on the “encouraging signs,” Pence told senators last week.
But they and other administration officials are skirting a key fact: More than 20% of Americans live in those relatively few counties.The White House has repeatedly cited the low county tally, and Pence reaffirmed the point in a televised interview Sunday. He argued that states, not the federal government, should take the lead with reopening guidelines because virus outbreaks are happening in about “4% of all the counties in this country.”  
Azar asserted Friday only 3% of counties represent “hot spots” that are “very concerning.”
The emphasis on a percentage of counties makes for a misleading portrayal of the virus threat.
The White House provided The Associated Press with the full list of U.S. counties that reported increases in COVID-19 cases as of Friday. It showed 137 of the 3,142 counties in the U.S. that were under a higher alert — indeed, about 4% at the time.
But measured by population, those counties represent a vastly higher share — over 1 in 5 people in the U.S.
Altogether there are 68.3 million people living in those 137 counties, while there is a total U.S. population  of 322.9 million. That means 21.1% of U.S. residents actually live in a virus “hot spot.”
In recent weeks, the U.S. has entered a dangerous new phase of the coronavirus with big Sun Belt states showing thousands of new cases a day. Texas and Florida reversed course on parts of their reopening and clamped down on bars last week as the daily number of confirmed infections in the U.S. surged to all-time highs.
Speaking about the coronavirus threat Friday, White House coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx explained that counties large and small are being tracked by the White House task force, and that anyone living in a virus hot spot should take the necessary precautions, including social distancing and wearing a mask.
Citing increases particularly in the under-40 age group, Birx stressed that much more testing is needed because that’s the age group most likely to be infected without showing symptoms and to be “spreading the virus unbeknownst to them.”
The population figures, both county level and national, come from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2018, the latest available.
…

For years, social media platforms have fueled political polarization and hosted an explosion of hate speech. Now, with four months until the U.S. presidential election and the country’s divisions reaching a boiling point, these companies are upping their game against bigotry and threats of violence. What’s not yet clear is whether this action is too little, too late — nor whether the pressure on these companies, including a growing advertiser boycott, will be enough to produce lasting change. FILE – Reddit employees work at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, California, April 15, 2014.Reddit, an online comment forum that is one of the world’s most popular websites, on Monday banned a forum that supported President Donald Trump as part of a crackdown on hate speech. Also on Monday, live-streaming site Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, temporarily suspended Trump’s campaign account for violating its hateful conduct rules. YouTube, meanwhile, banned several prominent white nationalist figures from its platform, including Stefan Molyneux, David Duke and Richard Spencer.  Social media companies, led by Facebook, now face a reckoning over what critics call indefensible excuses for amplifying divisions, hate and misinformation on their platforms. Civil rights groups have called on large advertisers to stop Facebook ad campaigns during July, saying the social network isn’t doing enough to curtail racist and violent content on its platform.  Companies such as the consumer goods giant Unilever — one of the world’s largest advertisers — as well as Verizon, Ford and many smaller brands have joined the boycott, some for the month of July and others for the rest of the year. New companies have been signing on to the boycott almost every day. While some are pausing ads only on Facebook, others have also stepped back from advertising on Twitter and other platforms. On Monday, Ford Motor Co. put the brakes on all national social media advertising for the next 30 days. The company says hate speech, as well as posts advocating violence and racial injustice, need to be eradicated from the sites. FILE – The Twitter and Facebook logos are seen with binary cyber codes in this illustration, Nov. 26, 2019.While the ad boycott has dinged Facebook’s and Twitter’s shares, analysts who follow the social media business don’t see it as having a lasting effect.  Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler noted that YouTube has faced several ad boycotts in the past over hate speech and other objectionable material. Each time, it adjusted its policies and the advertisers returned. In addition, July is generally a slow month for advertising. Companies have also been cutting their ad budgets due to COVID-19, so the spending declines are not a surprise for investors. Kessler called Facebook’s stock pullback — its shares fell more than 8% on Friday, then rallied a bit Monday — a “buying opportunity.” Reddit’s action was part of a larger purge at the San Francisco-based site. The company said it took down a total of 2,000 forums, known as the site as “subreddits,” most of which it said were inactive or had few users.  The Trump Reddit forum, called The_Donald, was banned because it encouraged violence, regularly broke other Reddit rules, and defiantly “antagonized” both Reddit and other forums, the company said in a statement. Reddit had previously tried to discipline the forum. “We are cautiously optimistic that Reddit is finally working with groups like ours to dismantle the systems that enable hateful rhetoric on their platform,” Bridget Todd, a spokeswoman for the women’s advocacy organization UltraViolet, said in an emailed statement.  The group said its members met with Reddit CEO Steve Huffman via Zoom last week, encouraging him to address racism and hate speech on the platform. Despite optimism from some critics, others said it is not clear if such measures will be enough. For years, racist groups “have successfully used social media to amplify their message and gain new recruits,” said Sophie Bjork-James an anthropology professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in white nationalism, racism and hate crimes.  “However, limiting access to a broader public will have unintended negative consequences. Far-right and white nationalist groups are increasingly gathering on encrypted apps and social media sites that do not monitor for offensive speech or violent content,” she added. “This shift allows for coordinating more violent and radical actions.” The algorithms tech companies developed to keep users glued to their services “have provided perhaps the biggest boon to organized racism in decades, as they help racist ideas find a much larger and potentially receptive audience,” Bjork-James said, adding that she is hopeful that the same companies that “helped this anti-democratic movement expand” can now help limit its impact. For its part, Twitch pointed to comments the president made at two rallies, videos of which were posted on the site.  Supporters of President Donald Trump cheer as he arrives on stage to speak to a campaign rally at the BOK Center, June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.In one, a live stream of a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump talked about a “very tough hombre” breaking into someone’s home. The other was from a 2015 campaign rally that was recently posted on Twitch, in which Trump said Mexico sends rapists and criminals to the U.S. Twitch declined to say how long the suspension will last. The White House referred a request for comment to Trump’s reelection campaign. Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s director of communications, said that people who want to hear directly from the president should download the campaign’s app. Reddit has  tweaked its rules and banned forums  for white nationalists  over the years in an attempt to rid its platform of vitriol, sometimes producing significant user backlash as a result. CEO Steve Huffman said earlier this month that Reddit was working with moderators to explicitly address hate speech. 
…

Eight Republican lawmakers attended a White House briefing about explosive allegations that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan — intelligence the White House insisted the president himself had not been fully read in on.  
Members of Congress in both parties called for additional information and consequences for Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, and eight Democrats were to be briefed on the matter Tuesday morning, a day after the Republicans’ briefing. Still, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted Trump had not been briefed on the findings because they hadn’t been verified.  
The White House seemed to be setting an unusually high bar for bringing the information to Trump, since it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers. McEnany declined to say why a different standard of confidence in the intelligence applied to briefing lawmakers than bringing the information to the president.
Republicans who were in the briefing Monday expressed alarm about Russia’s activities in Afghanistan.
Rep. Michael McCaul, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger were in the briefing led by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and national security adviser Robert O’Brien. McCaul and Kinzinger said in a statement that lawmakers were told “there is an ongoing review to determine the accuracy of these reports.”
“If the intelligence review process verifies the reports, we strongly encourage the Administration to take swift and serious action to hold the Putin regime accountable,” they said.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “After today’s briefing with senior White House officials, we remain concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including reports that they have targeted U.S. forces.”
Senators reviewed classified documents related to the allegations Monday evening. The information they received was not previously known, according to one aide who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
On CNN, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed the timing of the Democratic briefing but said “it’s no substitute for what they owe the Congress of the United States.” She said that “this is as serious as it gets.”
She speculated that Trump wasn’t briefed “because they know it makes him very unhappy, and all roads for him, as you know, lead to Putin. And would he tell Putin what they knew?”
The intelligence assessments came amid Trump’s push to withdraw the U.S. from Afghanistan. They suggested Russia was making overtures to militants as the U.S. and the Taliban held talks to end the long-running war. The assessment was first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and two others with knowledge of the matter.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn told reporters Monday, “I don’t think it’s should be a surprise to anybody that the Taliban’s been trying to kill Americans and that the Russians have been encouraging that, if not providing means to make that happen.”
He added: “Intelligence committees have been briefed on that for months. so has Nancy Pelosi, so has (Democratic Senate leader) Chuck Schumer. So, this is, this is a more leaks and partisanship.”
While Russian meddling in Afghanistan isn’t new, officials said Russian operatives became more aggressive in their desire to contract with the Taliban and members of the Haqqani Network, a militant group aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan and designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.  
The intelligence community has been investigating an April 2019 attack on an American convoy that killed three U.S. Marines after a car rigged with explosives detonated near their armored vehicles as they traveled back to Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan, officials told the AP.  
Three other U.S. service members were wounded in the attack, along with an Afghan contractor. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The officials the AP spoke to also said they were looking closely at insider attacks — sometimes called “green-on-blue” attacks — from 2019 to determine if they are also linked to Russian bounties.
One official said the administration discussed several potential responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step.
Intelligence officials told the AP that the White House first became aware of alleged Russian bounties in early 2019 — a year earlier than had been previously reported. The assessments were included in one of Trump’s written daily briefings at the time, and then-national security adviser John Bolton told colleagues he had briefed Trump on the matter. Bolton declined to comment, and the White House did not respond to questions on the matter.  
The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.
The White House National Security Council wouldn’t confirm the assessments but said the U.S. receives thousands of intelligence reports daily that are subject to strict scrutiny.
Trump’s Democratic general election rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, used an online fundraiser Monday to hammer the president for a “betrayal” of American troops in favor of “an embarrassing campaign of deferring and debasing himself before Putin.”
“I’m disgusted,” Biden told donors, as he recalled his late son Beau’s military service. Families of service members, Biden said, “should never, ever have to worry they’ll face a threat like this: the commander in chief turning a blind eye.”
Asked about the reports on the alleged bounties, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, “These claims are lies.”
…

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has given the European Union’s ambassador in Caracas 72 hours to leave the country. Maduro’s order on Monday came not long after the EU slapped sanctions on officials close to the socialist leader.  Maduro was also apparently angered EU leaders backed Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president. Maduro said the European Union is bending to whims of U.S President Donald Trump, who like the EU support a democratic transition in Venezuela that does not include Maduro. Despite dozens of countries backing Guaido as Venezuela’s leader, Maduro remains in charge with control over the military and international support from allies including China, Russia, Iran and Cuba.  The European Union’s sanctions on dozens of Venezuelans also includes a travel ban and it freezes assets.  
…

Nigeria is reopening schools for the graduating class on the advice of a task force that students get help in preparing for examinations. The chairman of the presidential task force on COVID-19 Boss Mustapha said, the federal government also lifted the ban on interstate movement outside curfew hours and reopened airports for domestic flights. Mustapha also said, President Muhammadu Bihari approved the extension of the phased lockdown for four weeks, meaning the 10 pm – 4 am nationwide curfew, restrictions on mass gatherings and sporting activities will continue. Nigeria’s mandate for face masks in public places remains in effect. So far, Nigeria has confirmed more than 25,100 COVID-19 cases and more than 570 deaths. 
…

Ten people have been indicted in a complex scheme to allegedly defraud private insurance companies of more than $1 billion for medical testing.The Justice Department unsealed the indictments Monday in Jacksonville, Florida. Eight of the defendants are from Florida. The others are from Atlanta and ChicagoThe charges include conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering.“The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem that impacts every American,” said Special Agent Rachel Rojas. “Fraud and abuse take critical resources out of our health care system and contribute to the rising cost of health care for everyone.”  According to the indictment, the 10 suspects owned management companies that would take over small rural hospitals. They allegedly carried out expensive medical tests at private laboratories, but billed insurance companies at a higher rate as if the tests were done at the hospitals. The indictment says many of those tests were unnecessary. “Schemes that exploit rural hospitals are particularly egregious as they can undermine access to care in underserved communities,” said an inspector general in the Office of Personnel Management.   Three of the suspects were arraigned Monday. Their pleas of guilt or innocence were not announced. The seven remaining defendants will appear before a judge later this week.
…