Author: CensorBiz

Yellow cabs are lining up before sunrise at food distribution sites across the city. Motorcyclists are buzzing over bridges, bags packed with masks and gowns. Even sushi-making robots are pitching in, freeing up acclaimed chefs to deliver meals to hospitals.  With their fellow New Yorkers in need, an army of unlikely couriers is distributing food and supplies in the coronavirus hotspot. They’re keeping families fed amid a surge in unemployment that has nearly doubled the city’s food-insecure population to about 2 million. They’re ensuring doctors have face shields and N95 masks after hospital stockpiles ran out. They’re lifting spirits for those affected most by the pandemic that has killed at least 13,000 New Yorkers. “At this time, we need to help each other,” taxi driver Adel Jelassi said. “There’s a crisis, and I want New York to come back.” Jelassi and thousands of other New York cabbies have helped provide more than 6.5 million meals since the state instituted stay-at-home measures in March.  The city-funded food delivery program, coordinated through New York’s Taxi & Limousine Commission, is paying drivers $53 for each six-stop route they take on. Most are getting three routes per day, which is helping keep TLC drivers financially afloat with potential riders stuck at home.Melanie Milano, left, delivers a shipment of personal protective equipment to Doctor Yelena Malina at her practice in the Coney Island neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York, May 3, 2020.Taxis are arriving as early as 4:30 a.m. at food distribution sites, hours before they open, to ensure they get a full day’s worth of routes. Drivers take boxes packed with meals from the facilities to the front doors of families. All New Yorkers are eligible for the program and can sign up by calling 311.  “It’s helping me to survive, feed my kids and pay my bills,” Jelassi said. “And helping other people to get stuff at home.” Jelassi has been making his pickups at Basketball City in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a 70,000 square foot facility uniquely suited to the city’s food program.  The seven-court gym is usually a practice space for NBA teams visiting the Knicks or Nets, and a home for adult leagues, camps and clinics for inner-city kids. Now it has been taken over by NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and filled with boxes of food donated by vendors such as Gate Gourmet, an airline food provider.  The site can send out up to 100,000 meals per week. It’s the only one of New York’s nine distribution centers sending food to all five boroughs.  “The whole thing is surreal,” said Bruce Radler, founder and CEO of Basketball City, who offered up his gym to the city after he was forced to close temporarily. With New Yorkers mostly isolating at home, the city’s congested roadways have been freed of gridlock, allowing motorcyclists like Melanie Milano to zip between boroughs.  She’s putting the open streets to charitable use by delivering masks, gowns and other protective gear to medical professionals in short supply. She’s one of hundreds of bikers nationwide volunteering with Masks for Docs, an organization that purchases Personal Protective Equipment from suppliers and donates it directly to doctors. Medical professionals can request supplies through its website.  Masks for Docs has delivered more than 100,000 masks and tens of thousands of face shields in the U.S. in four weeks. Many of those drop-offs have been made by bike.  “Riding my motorcycle around the city to deliver PPE to people who really need it is the least I can do,” Milano said.  Milano has made about 15 runs with Masks for Docs, alongside her girlfriend, Ashley Zeolla.  “It makes me genuinely smile,” Milano said. “It’s hard in a time like this to actually feel genuine happiness. Knowing I’m helping somebody through this in a way is huge.” Sushi chef Mark Garcia has been in hospitality for nearly 20 years, but he’s trying out a new position amid the pandemic — delivery man. The executive chef at Kissaki in Manhattan has been bringing bluefin tuna, yellowtail and uni to hungry hospital workers using a car rented by restaurant owner Garry Kanfer.  Garcia was freed up to make the deliveries after Kanfer invested more than $20,000 in sushi-making robots to speed up production. The shop has one robot pressing out rice sheets for maki rolls, and it expects to add a maki-roll cutter and nigiri rice ball maker soon. The rice sheet maker has helped Garcia and two other chefs crank out nearly 100 meals per day for hospital workers otherwise subsisting on burgers, pizza and other takeout. “They love it,” Garcia said. “They say, ‘I’m so tired of chicken, I’m so happy to have sushi.'” The robots — somewhat common in Japan but rare for New York City restaurants — are also a timely investment for Kanfer. Kissaki opened in late January and hadn’t been selling takeout. With the robots, Kanfer is pivoting the restaurant from serving hand-rolled omakase in the dining room to offering more accessible items for delivery. “We needed to adjust,” Kanfer said. 
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For some Egyptians, the impact of the coronavirus shutdown has been more frightening than the virus itself, which has infected thousands and killed hundreds by early May. With businesses closed, the poor are getting poorer. Now, as Egypt is starting to slowly reopen, medical experts warn the nation can’t handle a larger outbreak. VOA’s Heather Murdock in Istanbul has this report with Hamada Elrasam in Cairo.
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The White House is planning to shut down its coronavirus task force in about a month, while the number of new confirmed cases in the United States continues to rise by more than 20,000 per day and daily death tolls sit between 1,000 and 2,000 people.  Vice President Mike Pence said the administration is considering the end of May or early June to shift management of the national response back to federal agencies instead of the task force.  He called the move “a reflection of the tremendous progress we’ve made as a country.”  “And as I’ve said before, as we continue to practice social distancing and states engage in safe and responsible reopening plans, I truly believe — and the trend lines support it — that we could be in a very different place,” Pence said.  Ronald Klain, a frequent Trump critic who ran the response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa under former President Barack Obama, sharply disagreed with the administration’s plans.  “I stepped down as WH Ebola Response Coordinator when we were down to FIVE CASES A WEEK,” he wrote on Twitter.  “Yes, FIVE CASES A WEEK.”  I stepped down as WH Ebola Response Coordinator when we were down to FIVE CASES A WEEK. Yes, FIVE CASES A WEEK. https://t.co/U2vZX22vu7— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) May 5, 2020Don’t dismantle
Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said if he were in charge, he would shift the focus of the task force instead of getting rid of it. “I would not dismantle it, but I would create a COVID-19 recovery task force,” Mokdad said.  IHME issued a new forecast Monday projecting 135,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States through the beginning of August.  It said the figures take into account easing of stay-at-home and social distancing measures that are happening in about 30 U.S. states.  The United States currently has 1.2 million confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 71,000 COVID-19 deaths.   No cure yet
There is no cure for COVID-19, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of a drug used in Ebola patients for emergency use to treat those hospitalized with COVID-19.  Remdesivir manufacturer Gilead Sciences announced Tuesday it is in talks with pharmaceutical companies about producing the drug for those in Europe, Asia and the developing world.  The company said its goal is “to make Remdesivir both accessible and affordable to governments and patients around the world.”  A U.S. trial showed the drug sped recovery time for coronavirus patients by about 30 percent.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyEconomies slammed
The coronavirus pandemic has halted economies all over the world as governments told people to stay home in order to prevent further spreading of the virus.  European leaders have generally waited for the number of infections in their countries to decline before relaxing tough lockdowns, a process that is currently underway in much of the European Union.  While people are being allowed to return to work in some sectors, and more shops and restaurants are being allowed to operate, governments are still mandating people wear face masks and maintain social distancing amid concern that easing restrictions will bring a second wave of infections.  The European Commission issued a forecast Wednesday predicting a “historic” recession in the eurozone this year with an economic contraction of 7.7 percent before returning to growth in 2021.Additional spikes anticipated
In South Korea, which reported just two new cases Wednesday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun urged vigilance and told officials to be prepared in case there is a new spike in coronavirus cases.  Russia continues to see its infections climb, reporting more than 10,000 new confirmed cases for the fourth day in a row Wednesday.  The country now has more than 165,000 cases with 1,500 deaths.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the need for people with disabilities to have equal access to health care and life-saving procedures, saying the coronavirus pandemic is intensifying inequalities the community faces.
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Philippine church and business leaders expressed alarm Wednesday over a government agency’s shutdown of the country’s largest TV and radio network, which has been a major provider of news on the coronavirus pandemic.
International watchdogs condemned the closure of ABS-CBN Corp., which President Rodrigo Duterte has targeted in the past for its critical coverage, as a major blow to press freedom in an Asian bastion of democracy.
The National Telecommunications Commission ordered the media giant to stop operating after its 25-year congressional franchise ended Monday. It reversed a statement to Congress that it would issue a temporary permit while legislators assess a franchise renewal. Only the House of Representatives can grant or revoke such franchise and its hearings have been delayed, in part by a coronavirus lockdown.
In a reflection of the extent of unease over the shutdown of the network, which went off air Tuesday night, both the opposition and key Duterte allies questioned the commission’s action.
Vice President Leni Robredo, who leads the opposition, said the timely dissemination of accurate information saves lives in a crisis and galvanizes national unity.
“Closing down ABS-CBN costs lives, on top of unnecessarily burdening the thousands who will lose their jobs,” she said.
Rep. Franz Alvarez, who belongs to a pro-Duterte coalition and heads the House Committee on Legislative Franchises, said the telecommunications commission’s order “is a clear encroachment on the jurisdiction of the House.”
Alvarez told ABS-CBN’s DZMM radio station that commission officials told lawmakers in a hearing in March that they would issue a temporary operating permit to ABS-CBN while its franchise renewal was pending based on guidance from the Department of Justice.
“We’re really surprised why they backtracked so they have to explain,” Alvarez told DZMM before it too went off air late Tuesday.
The Makati Business Club, a prestigious group of top business executives, said the network’s closure was a setback to national unity amid the unprecedented crisis.
Amnesty International in the Philippines said the closure order was an “outrageous attack” on media freedom and asked the government to immediately to bring the network back on air.
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines protested the closure “on behalf of journalists and thousands of workers affected by the decision” as they struggled to cope with the contagion.
ABS-CBN has more than 11,000 news and production personnel nationwide. Aside from reporting on the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 10,000 people and killed 637 in the Philippines, it has also provided truckloads of food and medical aid.
Media watchdogs accused Duterte and his government of muzzling independent media like ABS-CBN that have reported critically on issues including the president’s anti-drug crackdown, in which thousands of mostly poor drug suspects have been killed. Government officials denied the closure was a press freedom issue, insisting that everyone must comply with the law.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday that ABS-CBN was free to seek legal solutions and added that Duterte has left its fate to Congress.
But ahead of the franchise expiration, Solicitor-General Jose Calida asked the Supreme Court in February to revoke the operating franchises of ABS-CBN and a subsidiary in a separate attempt to shut down the company for allegedly abusing its franchises and violating a constitutional prohibition on foreign investment in Philippine media. ABS-CBN denied the allegations.
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U.S. President Donald Trump visited an aerospace facility in Arizona that is now making masks for health care workers after largely staying in at the White House during the pandemic. The visit to this key battleground state is the first in a series of trips designed to highlight Trump’s efforts to combat COVID-19 as his administration is dismissing a report predicting a surge in coronavirus deaths. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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U.S. lawmakers are partially returning to work this week even as cases of COVID-19 are expected to rise in the Washington, D.C area. The Republican-majority U.S. Senate will consider key Trump nominees and another round of massive coronavirus aid. Meantime, the Democratic-majority U.S. House continues to work remotely. Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on the new normal on Capitol Hill.
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Former President Barack Obama will be the commencement speaker this month at what may be the world’s largest high school graduation ceremony. With millions of high school students missing their traditional graduation ceremonies because of the coronavirus, Obama’s address will be the highlight of Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020. The four major commercial television networks will broadcast the special show on May 16, along with 20 other broadcasting and digital outlets. Basketball superstar LeBron James, Pakistani women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai, and popular actor Ben Platt will also appear in the program. As many as 3 million high school seniors will be graduating this year but are being deprived of the cap and gown ceremony, where they march down an aisle, onto the stage, and accept a diploma in front of proud parents. “I’ve always loved joining commencements — the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice,” Obama said on Twitter. “Even if we can’t get together in person this year, Michelle and I are excited to celebrate the nationwide Class of 2020 and recognize this milestone with you and your loved ones.”  The former First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted “Whether you’re graduating from high school, college, or any other kind of school — we want you, your family, and all of your loved ones to be a part of this celebration.”  There is no word on who the Obamas will be taking to a virtual senior prom. 
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Tuesday with an infection caused by a gallstone, the Supreme Court said. The 87-year-old justice underwent non-surgical treatment for what the court described as acute cholecystitis, a benign gall bladder condition, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.  She expects to be in the hospital for a day or two, the court said. Ginsburg took part in the court’s telephone arguments Monday and Tuesday and plans to do so again Wednesday, the court said. She has been treated four times for cancer, most recently in August. She initially sought medical care Monday, when the gallstone was first diagnosed. 
 
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Hong Kong on Tuesday announced plans to ease major social distancing measures, including reopening schools, cinemas, bars and beauty parlors after the Chinese territory largely halted local transmission of the deadly coronavirus.The relaxation, which comes into effect Friday, will be a boost for a city mired in a deep recession following months of virus restrictions as well as anti-government protests that have battered the economy.Authorities also unveiled plans to hand out reusable face masks to all 7.5 million city residents.Hong Kong recorded some of the earliest confirmed COVID-19 cases outside of mainland China but despite its close proximity and links with the mainland it has managed to keep infections to around 1,000 with four deaths.’Silver lining for citizens’There have been no new confirmed infections in 10 of the last 16 days and the cases that have been recorded came from people arriving from overseas who are quickly quarantined.”I hope these measures will be a silver lining for citizens,” the city’s leader Carrie Lam told reporters Tuesday as she spelt out the easing of curbs.Older secondary students will start returning to classes from May 27 while younger children will resume school in the first half of June.But a ban on more than four people gathering in public or eating together in restaurants will be stepped up to eight.Many businesses that were ordered to close will be allowed to open once more, albeit with restrictions in place.Bars and restaurants will be permitted to operate but must ensure a distance of 1.5 meters between tables. Live music performances and dancing will remain banned.Reduced crowds for moviesCinemas can start showing films to reduced crowds while gyms, beauty, massage and mahjong parlors will re-open with hygiene protocols in place such as the use of masks, hand sanitizer and temperature checks. Nightclubs and karaoke bars must stay closed.Hong Kong’s economy dropped an 8.9% on-year contraction in the first quarter of this year — the worst decline since the government began compiling data in 1974.Retail sales figures released Tuesday showed a 37%  plunge over the same period, another record dip.Even before the pandemic, tourism and retail had taken a hammering from the US-China trade war and months of political unrest last year.New type of maskAt Tuesday’s briefing Lam and other officials also sported a new type of mask made of fabric that they said would be distributed to all residents in the coming weeks.When the virus first emerged, Hong Kongers started panic-buying masks as anger grew against the government for failing to stockpile enough supplies.Since then local production has been ramped up and masks are plentiful in pharmacies and shops. 
 
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A government scientist was ousted after the Trump administration ignored his dire warnings about COVID-19 and a malaria drug President Donald Trump was pushing for the coronavirus  despite scant evidence it helped, according to a whistleblower complaint Tuesday.Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, filed the complaint Tuesday with the Office of Special Counsel, a government agency responsible for whistleblower complaints.He alleges he was reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug favored by Trump. He said the Trump administration wanted to “flood” hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug.Bright’s complaint comes as the Trump administration faces criticism over its response to the pandemic, including testing and supplies of ventilators, masks and other equipment to try to stem the spread. To date, there have been nearly 1.2 million confirmed cases in the United States and more than 70,000 deaths.Bright also said the Trump administration rejected his warnings on COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. He said he “acted with urgency” to address the growing spread of COVID-19 after the World Health Organization issued a warning in January.But he said he “encountered resistance from HHS leadership, including Health and Human Services Secretary (Alex) Azar, who appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic event.”Bright alleges in the complaint that political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services tried to promote hydroxychloroquine “as a panacea.” The officials also “demanded that New York and New Jersey be ‘flooded’ with these drugs, which were imported from factories in Pakistan and India that had not been inspected by the FDA,” the complaint says.But Bright opposed broad use of the drug, arguing the scientific evidence wasn’t there to back up its use in coronavirus patients. He felt an urgent need to tell the public there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to support using the drugs for COVID-19 patients, the complaint states.Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned doctors against prescribing the drug  except in hospitals and research studies. In an alert, regulators flagged reports of sometimes fatal heart side effects among coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine or the related drug chloroquine.The decades-old drugs, also prescribed for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, can cause a number of side effects, including heart rhythm problems, severely low blood pressure and muscle or nerve damage.In late January, Bright said he made an effort to ramp up federal procurement of N95 respirator masks, after having heard warnings that a global shortage could imperil first-responders.But he said his boss, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Preparedness Robert Kadlec, gave short shrift to the warnings during a meeting Jan. 23.At another meeting that day, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Kadlec “responded with surprise at (Bright’s) dire predictions and urgency, and asserted that the United States would be able to contain the virus and keep it out,” the whistleblower complaint said.Publicly, HHS was saying it had all the masks that would be needed.Bright found an ally in White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who was also urgently concerned about the virus.The complaint described a series of contacts with Navarro’s office that led to a meeting between Bright and the trade official on at the White House on a Saturday early in February. Bright said his boss, Kadlec was not pleased.”Navarro clearly shared (Bright’s) concerns about the potential devastation the United States would face from the coronavirus and asked (Bright) to identify the supply chain and medical countermeasures most critical to address at that time in order to save lives.”Navarro’s memos to top White House officials raised alarms even as Trump was publicly assuring Americans that the outbreak was under control.Bright felt officials had “refused to listen or take appropriate action to accurately inform the public” and spoke to a reporter who was working on a story about the drug.He said he had to tell the public about the lack of science backing up its use, despite the drug being pushed by the president as press briefings, to protect people from what he believed “constituted a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety,” the complaint says.”As the death toll mounted exponentially each day, Dr. Bright concluded that he had a moral obligation to the American public, including those vulnerable as a result of illness from COVID-19, to protect it from drugs which he believed constituted a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety,” the complaint says.On Jan. 20, according to the complaint, the WHO held an emergency call to discuss the novel coronavirus. It was attended by many HHS officials, and which WHO officials advised that “the outbreak is a big problem.”Trump has accused the U.N. agency of mismanaging and covering up the spread of the virus after it emerged in China and said he would cut funding.Bright’s agency works to guard against pandemics and emergent infectious diseases, and is working to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.Top officials also pressured him to steer contracts to a client of a lobbyist, he reported.Bright said he repeatedly clashed with leadership about the role played by pharmacy industry lobbyist John Clerici in drug contracts. As he tried to push a contract extension of a contract for one of his clients Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Clerici said the company’s CEO was a friend of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.In the complaint, Bright says he wants to returned to his position as the director and a full investigation.When Bright’s plans to file a complaint surfaced last month, HHS confirmed that Bright is no longer at the BARDA agency, but did not address his allegations of political interference in the COVID-19 response. 
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Venezuelan authorities have detained two U.S. citizens working with a U.S. military veteran who has claimed responsibility for a failed armed incursion into the oil producing country, President Nicolas Maduro said Monday. In a state television address, Maduro said authorities arrested 13 “terrorists” on Monday allegedly involved in a plot he said was coordinated with Washington to enter the American country via the Caribbean coast and oust him. Eight people were killed during the foiled incursion attempt on Sunday, Venezuelan authorities said. Maduro showed what he said were the U.S. passports and other identification cards belonging to Airan Berry and Luke Denman, who he said were in custody and had been working with Jordan Goudreau, an American military veteran who leads a Florida-based security company called Silvercorp USA. “They were playing Rambo. They were playing hero,” Maduro said, adding that Venezuelan authorities had caught wind of the plot before its execution. Security forces guard the shore area and a boat in which authorities claim a group of armed men landed in the port city of La Guaira, Venezuela, May 3, 2020.Goudreau, who identified himself as an organizer of the invasion on Sunday, told Reuters on Monday that Berry and Denman were also involved. “They’re working with me. Those are my guys,” he said by telephone. The State Department did not provide any immediate comment on the alleged arrests. U.S. officials have strongly denied any U.S. government involvement in the incursions. A person familiar with the matter said the two U.S. citizens were captured on Monday in a second-day roundup of accomplices and were believed to be in the custody of Venezuelan military intelligence. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the details came from contacts with Venezuelan security forces. FILE – Leader of Venezuela’s political opposition Juan Guaido talks to a journalist during an interview with Associated Press in Brussels, Jan. 22, 2020.Opposition leader Juan Guaido cast doubt on the government’s  version of Sunday’s events, insisting Maduro is seeking to distract from other problems in recent days including a deadly prison riot and a violent gang battle in Caracas. Guaido’s communications team on Monday denied media reports that Guaido had hired Silvercorp to remove Maduro by force,  adding the opposition leader and his allies “have no relationship with or responsibility for the actions of the company Silvercorp.” In a statement on Monday evening, Guaido’s team said: “We demand the human rights … of the people captured in recent hours be respected.” Washington has imposed tough economic sanctions against Venezuela in an effort to oust Maduro, whom it accuses of having rigged elections in 2018. Maduro’s government says the United States wants to control Venezuela’s massive oil reserves.   ‘Attack against our fatherland’  Monday’s arrests come after Maduro’s government on Sunday said mercenaries had attempted to enter the South American country on speed boats from neighboring Colombia, saying eight people had been killed and two detained. Later on Sunday, Goudreau released a video identifying himself as an organizer of the invasion, alongside dissident Venezuelan military officer Javier Nieto. Goudreau said in the video that fighters on the ground continued to carry out operations in different parts of the country. He identified one of the fighters as “Commander Sequea,” which appeared to be a reference to Antonio Sequea, who was identified on Monday by state television as one of the people arrested. Silvercorp’s website describes Goudreau as a “highly decorated Special Forces Iraq and Afghanistan veteran.” A Venezuelan state television anchor on Monday showed photos of men laid out on the ground with their hands behind their backs, adding that the group was traveling near the town of Chuao area in central Aragua state. The group was “caught by popular force, by fishermen,” the anchor said. Cabello posted a video of men in black with balaclavas pulling a shirtless man from a helicopter, whom they identified as part of the group captured. “Without a doubt, the imperialists directed this attack against our fatherland,” Cabello said on Twitter, in reference to the U.S. government. A U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said the U.S. government had no involvement with the incident. Another source familiar with U.S. intelligence analysis and reporting also said that U.S. agencies have nothing to do with any military incursions in Venezuela. 
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A Philippine government agency on Tuesday ordered the country’s leading broadcast network, which the president has targeted for its critical news coverage, to halt operations.  
The National Telecommunications Commission ordered ABS-CBN Corp. to stop operations after its 25-year congressional franchise ended Monday. The network’s application for a renewal has been pending in Congress but hearings have been partly delayed by a massive lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the country’s oldest and most influential news networks, ABS-CBN continued its TV and radio news operations most of Tuesday but later announced it would stop operating later in the day.
“Millions of Filipinos will lose their source of news and entertainment when ABS-CBN is ordered to go off-air on TV and radio tonight when people need crucial and timely information as the nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the media giant said in a statement.
Media watchdogs have accused President Rodrigo Duterte and his aides of muzzling independent media like ABS-CBN that have critically reported on issues including the president’s bloody anti-drugs crackdown, which has left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead.  
Government officials have denied the closure was a press freedom issue and stressed everybody should comply with the law.
Congressional leaders have asked the telecommunications commission to grant ABS-CBN a temporary license to operate while its franchise renewal request is pending, but the government’s solicitor general, Jose Calida, has warned the TV and radio network cannot operate without an approved franchise.  
The government also has accused an online news organization, Rappler, of violating the constitutional ban on foreign ownership and sought its closure. Rappler has denied the allegations and continues to operate.
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Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio says he is healthy and determined to fight the COVID-19 pandemic after announcing on twitter he tested negative for the virus following a 15-day self-isolation. Bio self-quarantined from home after a bodyguard tested positive for the virus. Although Sierra Leone’s three-day nationwide lockdown ends Tuesday, Bio said he is directing the military to enhance security at international airports and border crossings in line with public health initiatives. Sierra Leone has confirmed 178 coronavirus cases and nine deaths. 
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Hundreds of demonstrators in Honduras blocked roadways to prevent funeral processions carrying COVID-19 victims to cemeteries in their towns.Protesters from nearly two dozen communities placed stones and tree branches across a highway east of the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Monday to prevent victims of COVID-19 from being buried in their towns. They say their concern is that family members of the deceased, who may themselves be infected, could bring the infection with them when they come to the local areas.Protester Evelia Oliva lashed out at President Juan Orlando Hernández, saying”We do not want him to send people to be buried into this cemetery because they are infected people. And here we have a lot of families and we do not want to get infected just because of him.”Deputy Minister of Health Roberto Cosenza said authorities will better inform the citizens about how the virus is spread and implement security measures to allow burials.Honduras has reported just over 1,000 coronavirus cases and 82 deaths.
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Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Monday denied having anything to do with an ex-Green Beret who claimed responsibility for a deadly beach invasion aimed at arresting socialist leader Nicolás Maduro. The government, meanwhile, said it has mobilized more than 25,000 troops to hunt for other rebel cells. Guaidó said in a statement that he has “no relationship nor responsibility for any actions” taken by the U.S. war veteran, Jordan Goudreau, who repeated assertions that Guaidó had a contract with his security company, though he said he was paid only a tiny share of the amount agreed upon. That claim could pose a danger for Guaidó, who has been harassed but not arrested in the year since he declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader, a role recognized by the U.S. and some 60 other nations. FILE – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a news conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, March 12, 2020.The three-time Bronze Star U.S. combat veteran claims to have helped organize a seaborne raid from Colombia early Sunday on the Venezuelan coast, which the government said it foiled, killing eight insurgents and arresting two others. He said the operation had received no aid from Guaidó or the U.S. or Colombian governments. Goudreau said by telephone Monday that 52 other fighters — including two U.S. veterans — had infiltrated Venezuelan territory and were in the first stage of a mission to recruit members of the security forces to join their cause. “That’s going to take time,” Goudreau told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “The ultimate goal has never changed — it’s to liberate Venezuela.” The government’s chief of strategic operations, Adm. Remigio Ceballos, announced that more than 25,000 soldiers were mounting search operations to ensure the country is free of “mercenaries and paramilitaries.”Venezuelan authorities said Monday they arrested another eight accused “mercenaries” in a coastal town and showed images on state TV of several unidentified men handcuffed and lying prone in a street. One video depicted security forces handling a man authorities identified as Venezuelan National Guardsman Capt. Antonio Sequea, who participated in a barracks revolt against Maduro a year ago. Goudreau had identified Sequea as a commander working with him on the ground in Venezuela.  “Venezuela holds the governments of Donald Trump and Colombia’s Ivan Duque responsible for the unknown and dangerous consequences of this provocative mercenary aggression,” Maduro’s government said in a letter to the international community.  Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab gives a press conference regarding what the government calls a failed attack over the weekend aimed at overthrowing President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 4, 2020.The AP was unable to verify either the government’s or Goudreau’s version of events. Opposition politicians and U.S. authorities issued statements suggesting Maduro’s allies had fabricated the assault. Officials have not released the full identities of those they say were killed or detained, though they identified one of the fallen as a man involved with Goudreau’s training camp in Colombia. An AP investigation published Friday found that Goudreau had been working with a retired Venezuelan army general — who now faces U.S. narcotics charges — to train dozens of deserters from Venezuela’s security forces at secret camps inside neighboring Colombia. The goal was to mount a cross-border raid that would end in Maduro’s arrest.  But the ragtag group lacked funding and U.S. government support. It also appears to have been penetrated by Maduro’s extensive Cuban-backed intelligence network.  Goudreau and retired Venezuelan Capt. Javier Nieto, who both live in Florida, issued a video late Sunday claiming they had organized the mission to detain Maduro that they call “Operation Gideon.” Goudreau, wearing a New York Yankees cap, spoke in English. Goudreau said Monday he’s talking with wealthy donors around the world to raise money for the second phase of the mission and hopes to raise a force of up to 5,000, he said.  “I don’t care about politics. I don’t care about people’s careers,” he said. “I care about my men on the ground right now who are in the most dangerous phase of the operation. I’m trying to get financial support in order to save their lives and to help them be successful.” Goudreau, 43, said 52 of his men were still on the ground and cells were being activated inside Venezuela. He said he hoped to join the rebels soon. There was no outward sign of fighting in the capital or elsewhere on Monday. Contract, recordingIn an interview late Sunday, Goudreau gave Miami-based journalist Patricia Poleo what he said was an eight-page contract signed by Guaidó and two political advisers in Miami in October for $213 million. The alleged “general services” contract doesn’t specify what work his company, Silvercorp USA, was to undertake. He also released via Poleo a four-minute audio recording, made on a hidden cellphone, of the moment when he purportedly signed the contract as Guaidó participated by videoconference. In the recording, a person he claims is Guaido can be heard giving vague encouragement in broken English but not discussing any military plans. “Let’s get to work!” said the man who is purportedly Guaido.  The AP was unable to confirm the veracity of the recording. Goudreau said Monday he received no more than an initial $50,000 payment from the Guaidó team and instead the Venezuelan soldiers he was advising had to scrounge for donations from Venezuelan migrants driving for car share service Uber in Colombia. Colombian officials, for their part, denied any involvement in Goudreau’s operation and in March announced their had seized weapons that had been destined for Venezuela. Venezuelan officials insisted that both Colombia and the U.S. were backing the operation and on Sunday, socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello said that one of the captured insurgents claimed to be an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — an agency that has accused many members of the government of involvement in drug trafficking. Both U.S. and Colombian officials dismissed the Venezuelan allegations. 
 
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The Department of Homeland Security and FBI warned states earlier this year that Russia could look to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections by covertly advising political candidates and campaigns, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press. The Feb. 3 document details tactics U.S. officials believe Russia could use to interfere in this year’s elections, including secretly advising candidates and campaigns. It says that though officials “have not previously observed Russia attempt this action against the United States,” political strategists working for a business mogul close to President Vladimir Putin have been involved in secret campaigning in numerous African countries. The memo underscores how Trump administration officials are continuing to sound alarms about the prospect of future Russian interference in American politics even as President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the Kremlin’s involvement in his 2016 win over Democrat Hillary Clinton. FILE – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, stands with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton before the first presidential debate, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, September 26, 2016.Because it was prepared before the coronavirus outbreak, the memo does not reflect how the pandemic might affect the tactics Russia might use to interfere with the election.  Spokespeople for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment Monday on the memo. The document, described as a “reference aid” and titled “Possible Russian Tactics Ahead of 2020 US Election,” does not identify particular candidates or campaigns that Russia might support through its actions. U.S. officials have said Russia supported Trump in 2016 and took steps to help his campaign and harm Clinton’s candidacy. Intelligence officials briefed lawmakers in February about Russian interests in this year’s election. Russia has denied the interference. High threatsThe memo warns of eight possible Russian tactics, dividing the concerns into what officials say are “high” threats and “moderate” threats.  Among the high threats are the possibility Russia could hack and leak information like it did in the 2016 campaign  — when emails stolen from the Clinton campaign by Russian hackers were published by WikiLeaks — and more recently in the French presidential race. Other high threats include that Russia could use “state-controlled media arms to propagate election-themed narratives to target audiences,” use economic and business levers to gain influence inside a campaign or administration, and rely on fake social media personas to promote Russian interests and sway American opinion. Moderate threatsLesser, or “moderate,” threats include targeting or manipulating election infrastructure, such as voter databases and vote-tallying systems, and providing financial support to American candidates or parties. The possibility the Kremlin could covertly advise candidates and campaigns is also described as a moderate threat, but it’s noteworthy because this is not a concern U.S. officials routinely highlight in public when they warn of Russian election interference. The memo says “Russia has sought to take advantage of countries that have perceived loopholes in laws preventing foreign campaign assistance.” That tactic has not yet been observed in the United States, the officials wrote, though the document notes that Russian strategists believed to be working for Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman known as “Putin’s chef” because of his ties to Putin, “were involved in political campaigning in approximately 20 different African countries during 2019.” Social media tactics in AfricaAn October report from the Stanford Internet Observatory detailed a Facebook operation in multiple African countries, attributed to entities tied to Prigozhin, that supported individual candidates in some instances, pushed particular narratives and bolstered or disparaged governments in ways consistent with Russia’s foreign policy agenda. Prigohzin was among the Russians indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation for his role in a furtive social media campaign aimed at sowing discord among Americans ahead of the 2016 U.S. election. The document is unclassified but marked as “For Official Use Only.” It was prepared by cyber experts at the Department of the Homeland Security and FBI and coordinated with other federal agencies. The AP obtained it through a public records request.  
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Unprecedented unemployment due to COVID-19 is creating a new pressure for local food banks. They are rising to the challenge. Deana Mitchell reports.
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