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Locked down or just staying close to home, people have been driving much less in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic. But while this may be six months of good news for the environment, businesses like hotels, service stations and tourist destinations are hurting.According to the Federal Highway Administration, (FHA) compared to the same time last year, total driving decreased by 40% in April soon after the pandemic emerged.Recently, as more people have been getting back into their vehicles, the group said driving increased so that as of July, total kilometers are down only 11% compared to 2019.Ruth Cody, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, is among the millions of Americans who have cut down on their driving. Cody said she and her husband have been doing “much less driving” because they can work from home. They also refrain from driving to stores and other businesses to help protect themselves from the coronavirus.“We’re spending more time in our neighborhood and taking walks with our children instead of using our cars,” Cody said.Rabi Abonour, a transportation researcher at the The full moon sets as morning traffic travels on a freeway Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Leawood, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Abonour is working with a program that encourages officials of U.S. cities to promote various types of emissions-free transportation.Carbon dioxide and other emissions from passenger vehicles are a major source of air pollution.With fewer cars on the road, the air has been cleaner in many U.S. cities including notoriously smoggy Los Angeles, said Abonour.He thinks the cleaner air won’t last long “because we already see levels of driving increasing across the country.”“A pandemic is the worst possible way to reduce the emissions and improve the environment,” said climate and energy expert Constantine Samaras.But the Carnegie Mellon University associate professor said he is hopeful about “the small impact” less driving is making on carbon dioxide levels.“A lot of folks are saying, why can’t we have this all the time, we don’t need a pandemic to make this a reality,” Constantine said.However, the decline in driving during the pandemic doesn’t just reflect more people working from home. It’s also the result of widespread unemployment, shuttered businesses, and other devastating economic consequences.“Restaurants, hotels and other establishments are being impacted by people’s driving habits,” points out Adie Tomer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on infrastructure.Because people aren’t driving for business travel and are holding back on taking vacations, “the hotel industry is really struggling,” said Mark Muro, another Brookings fellow.Many restaurants have not rebounded from the loss of diners, and people aren’t visiting some tourist attractions due to fears of getting the coronavirus from the crowds, said Tomer.However, driving has picked up en route to destinations such as national parks and beaches, where visitors feel comfortable because they can social distance more easily, said Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association.And, with fewer vehicles on the road, the energy industry is suffering because drivers aren’t filling up their gas tanks as often as they did before the pandemic.Due to the lack of demand, “Gasoline refineries around the country have been running at very reduced capacity rates,” said Marty Durbin, senior vice president of policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Also feeling the lack of demand is the Highway Trust Fund, which allocates the fuel taxes collected at gas pumps to maintain U.S. highways and road infrastructure.“The pandemic is, for sure, going to affect the amount of fuel taxes that the federal government and states are going to collect,” said Samaras.And since “the need for fixing and deploying infrastructure is not going away,” he said, road maintenance is being put off and highway projects are not getting off the ground. 
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U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus.President Trump tweeted at 12:54 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday (04:54 UTC): “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”Eleven minutes later, the White House released a memorandum from the 74-year-old president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, confirming the positive tests for the Trumps.“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” Conley said.He added that he expects the president “to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you posted on any future developments.”Melania Trump tweeted at 1:27 a.m.: “As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.”All of Trump’s political events for the near future were quickly ordered canceled, according to a White House official.The news immediately caused U.S. stock futures to plunge and potentially puts Trump’s presidential campaign into hiatus, barely a month before the election against former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads in the national polls.Trump, who for months has played down the seriousness of the coronavirus, on Thursday evening confirmed during a telephone interview on the Fox News Channel that he and the first lady had been tested after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, was confirmed to be infected.Hicks, counselor to the president, traveled with Trump to Pennsylvania for a campaign rally on Saturday, then to Cleveland for the presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for campaign events the following day.Hicks was showing symptoms at a political rally Wednesday evening in Duluth, Minnesota, and tested positive Thursday morning, according to officials who spoke on condition of not being named.Trump on Thursday, however, along with some top officials flew to New Jersey for a political fundraising event where he was in close contact with dozens of other people.During the telephone interview with Fox News show host Sean Hannity, the president suggested Hicks could have contracted the virus from members of the military or law enforcement.“It is very, very hard when you are with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them,” said Trump. “You get close, and things happen. I was surprised to hear with Hope, but she is a very warm person with them. She knows there’s a risk, but she is young.”The president, however, in the eighth decade of his life, is in a high-risk category for the coronavirus, but is otherwise believed to be in good health.Nearly 7.3 million people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 207,000 have died – the most reported by any country.  
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily DebunkClaim: COVID-19 mortality rates are very low, therefore COVID-19 is not an important public health concern; if you are 70+ years old, you have a 0.054% chance of dying from COVID-19.Vedict: MisleadingRead the full story at: Health Feedback Social Media DisinfoScreenshotCirculating on social media: Claim that Covid-19 “vaccines” are being distributed in Africa but are not for sale in the U.S,, Canada and the European Union because they are unsafe and still undergoing testing in developing countries.Verdict: MisleadingRead the full story at: Agence France-Presse Factual Reads on CoronavirusInside the Coronavirus
What scientists know about the inner workings of the pathogen that has infected the world
— Scientific American, October 1COVID research updates: Tests reveal silent reinfections in hospital workers
Nature wades through the literature on the new coronavirus — and summarizes key papers as they appear.
— Nature, September 28
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More than 19,800 of Amazon’s U.S. front-line workers tested positive for the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of its workforce, the company announced Thursday.The world’s largest online retailer’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been criticized by some of its staff, elected officials and unions, who said Amazon put employees at risk when it kept warehouses open during the pandemic.However, Amazon says its employee infection rate is 42% lower than expected, given the virus’ spread in the general population.The company kept its facilities open as demand skyrocketed from shoppers staying home during pandemic lockdowns. It added temperature checks, social distancing software and other safety procedures for its workers.According to Amazon, of its 1,372,000 Amazon and Whole Foods Market front-line workers, 19,816 tested positive for the coronavirus or were presumed to have COVID-19 between March 1 and September 19.However, had Amazon’s rate of infection been equal to that of the general population, 33,952 workers would have gotten the virus, when taking employee age and geography into account, the company said.Airline layoffs beginMeanwhile, two of the world’s biggest airlines, U.S. carriers American and United, began laying off a combined 32,000 workers Thursday because of a lack of more emergency aid from the federal government. The U.S. airline industry received $25 billion in payroll support in March during the first days of the pandemic, as domestic and international travel ground to a halt.The furloughs by American and United came the same week U.S. entertainment giant Disney announced it would lay off 28,000 workers, the majority of them at the company’s theme parks in Florida and California.In a related matter, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that it was extending its ban, which began in March, on passenger cruise travel until October 31. The CDC said that between March 1 and September 29, there were 3,689 cases of COVID-19 infections on cruise ships sailing in U.S. waters, including 41 deaths.News outlets said the Trump administration overruled a recommendation by CDC Director Robert Redfield to extend the ban until February.Madrid lockdownSpain’s government issued limited lockdown orders Wednesday on Madrid as the country experiences a new surge of coronavirus cases.The capital’s 3 million residents will not be allowed to venture from their homes except to go to work, school, shopping or for medical care. All bars and restaurants will be forced to close earlier than normal and reduce their seating capacity by 50%.Health Minister Salvador Illa told reporters the restrictions would apply to municipalities with at least 100,000 inhabitants each, which would also affect nine municipalities surrounding the Spanish capital.Europe is experiencing a steady rise of new COVID-19 infections, with Spain leading the way with about 300 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. But the rate is more than double in the Madrid region, which stands at more than 780 infections per 100,000.The new restrictions have been denounced by Madrid’s right-wing regional government, with regional health minister Enrique Ruiz Escudero accusing the national Socialist-led government of interfering in the region’s handling of the pandemic. Madrid’s regional government, along with Catalonia and three other conservative-ruled regions, rejected the new restrictions.Spain has more than 31,000 COVID-19 deaths, the fourth-highest tally in Europe behind Britain, Italy and France.New Israeli restrictionsIn Israel, lawmakers Wednesday approved a bill that limits Israelis from holding demonstrations more than 1 kilometer from their homes. Supporters of the bill said it was aimed at curbing the country’s growing number of COVID-19 infections, which prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impose a second nationwide lockdown last week.But others said the measure was an attempt to end the mass weekly protests staged near Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem for the past several months.The protesters have demanded the prime minister’s resignation over his handling of the pandemic and allegations of corruption. Netanyahu is currently on trial in three separate cases for bribery, fraud and other official misconduct charges. 
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Israel is struggling against a virulent second wave of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, with thousands of new cases diagnosed every day. A key element in the fight to contain the pandemic is contact tracing. In Israel, this is conducted by the Internal Security Service, the Shin Bet, using methods originally designed for counterterrorism. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.Camera: Ricki Rosen Produced: Barry Unger 
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With many European countries struggling with tracking and tracing those infected with COVID 19, Turkey is claiming some success with its HES mobile phone application. The app is increasingly seen as key by Turkish authorities in the country’s battle against the virus as the number of infections surge. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.Camera: Berke Bas 
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Protesters clashed with police, exchanging petrol bombs with tear gas, Thursday, October 1, during a student rally in Athens, Greece.The students were demonstrating over a range of issues including demands for stricter coronavirus measures in schools.The government said Wednesday all classes missed due to protests would have made up for online or repeated on weekends or holidays.Coronavirus cases have seen a steady rise in the country in the last months, particularly in the capital of Athens. (REUTERS) 
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India’s opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, scuffled with police after he was stopped from meeting family members of a rape victim, Thursday, October 1. (REUTERS)
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Malaysian palm oil producer FGV Holdings Berhad vowed Thursday to “clear its name” after the U.S. banned imports of its palm oil over allegations of forced labor and other abuses.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade issued the ban order against FGV on Wednesday, saying it found indicators of forced labor, including concerns about children, along with other abuses such as physical and sexual violence.The action, announced a week after The Associated Press exposed major labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil industry, was triggered by a petition filed last year by nonprofit organizations.FGV said all the issues raised “have been the subject of public discourse since 2015 and FGV has taken several steps to correct the situation.”“FGV is disappointed that such decision has been made when FGV has been taking concrete steps over the past several years in demonstrating its commitment to respect human rights and to uphold labor standards,” it said in a statement.Malaysia is the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil. Together with Indonesia, the two countries dominate the global market, producing 85% of the $65 billion supply.Palm oil and its derivatives from FGV, and closely connected Malaysian-owned Felda, make their way into the supply chains of major multinationals. They include Nestle, L’Oreal, and Unilever, according to the companies’ most recently published supplier and palm oil mill lists. Several huge Western banks and financial institutions not only pour money directly or indirectly into the palm oil industry, but also hold shares in FGV.AP reporters interviewed more than 130 former and current workers from eight countries at two dozen palm oil companies — including Felda, which owns about a third of the shares in FGV. They found everything from unpaid wages to outright slavery and allegations of rape, sometimes involving minors. They also found stateless Rohingya Muslims, one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, had been trafficked onto plantations and forced to work.Many of the problems detailed by the U.S. CBP office mirrored those found by The AP. This included restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, excessive overtime, and concerns about potential forced child labor.FGV said Thursday it wasn’t involved in any recruitment or employment of refugees. It said it doesn’t hire contract workers. Migrant workers are recruited mainly from India and Indonesia through legal channels, it said. It said it ensures workers are not forced to pay any fees.As of August, FGV had 11,286 Indonesian workers and 4,683 Indian workers, who combined form the majority of its plantation workforce.The company said it is introducing the use of an electronic wallet cashless payroll system for its workers. It doesn’t retain workers’ passports and has safety boxes throughout all its 68 housing complexes for them to keep their passports safely.FGV said it has invested 350 million ringgit ($84 million) over the past three years in upgrading worker housing and provides medical benefits. Suppliers and vendors are required to comply with the company’s code of conduct, it said.“FGV does not tolerate any form of human rights infringements or criminal offense in its operations,” it said, adding it will act on any allegation of physical or sexual violence or intimidation.FGV said it has submitted evidence of compliance with labor standards to the U.S. CBP office since last year. It said it will continue its engagement “to clear FGV’s name, and is determined to see through its commitment to respect human rights and uphold labor standards.” 
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Hong Kong’s leader said the city has returned to “stability” as thousands of security forces fanned out in the streets to put down any pro-democracy protests Thursday. During the traditional flag-raising ceremony Thursday to mark the anniversary of modern-day China’s founding in 1949, chief executive Carrie Lam praised the sweeping new security law imposed by Beijing that has chilled pro-democracy activity in the semi-autonomous city.“Over the past three months, the plain truth is…that stability has been restored to society while national security has been safeguarded,” Lam said about the law, which took effect in July.Police in riot gear blocked off parts of Hong Kong’s popular Causeway Bay shopping district in anticipation of a protest march called for by online activists.  Under the new security law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted.The new law was a response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the latter half of last year.  The protests have tapered off since authorities imposed restrictions on large outdoor crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
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Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Republicans are rushing the Supreme Court confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and reiterated calls for postponing the review of her nomination until after the presidential inauguration in January.In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released late Wednesday, Democrats said the timeline Graham has set does not allow for a thorough FBI background investigation, review of her entire judicial record or for Barrett to answer senators’ questions.“This timeline is a sharp departure from past practice,” the Democrats wrote. “Even more, it undercuts the Senate’s ability to fulfill its advice and consent role and deprives the American people of a meaningful opportunity to gauge the nominee and her record for themselves.”Graham, a South Carolina Republican, met with Barrett on Tuesday. He described her as highly qualified and has said he is “committed to ensuring that the nominee gets a challenging, fair, and respectful hearing.”President Donald Trump nominated Barrett, a conservative jurist he previously tapped for the federal bench in 2017, to fill the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court’s best-known liberal who died September 18 at the age of 87.Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and it appears Barrett has enough Republican support to be confirmed, despite fierce opposition from Democrats.The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin three to four days of formal confirmation hearings on October 12. A vote in the full Senate could come by the end of the month.Democrats have argued the next justice should be named by the winner of the November presidential election, a view Republicans championed when there was a Supreme Court vacancy in 2016. In that year, former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, put forth a nominee to replace the late justice Antonin Scalia, an arch conservative.A public opinion poll by The New York Times and Siena College released Sunday showed 56% of voters indicated the seat should not be filled until after the election, while 41% said Trump should make the choice.Barrett has been meeting with other Republican senators, including talks Wednesday with Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Todd Young of Indiana. She is scheduled to meet Thursday with Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. So far, no Democrat has agreed to meet with her.Democrats have also argued that if Barrett joins the court, she should recuse herself from any potential cases that may arise from the November election due to potential conflicts of interest.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected that view Wednesday, calling it “ridiculous” and saying Democrats “are grasping at straws.” 
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Former Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma must appear before an anti-graft commission Monday to answer questions about alleged corruption during his tenure of just over a decade in office.The summons by the commission is part of an effort by Koroma’s successor, President Julius Maada Bio, to pinpoint who was behind the country’s economic collapse.In conjunction with the inquiry, Koroma and more than 100 officials have been barred from leaving the country after a judicial probe accused them of unlawfully enriching themselves during his 2007-18 tenure.The allegations are linked to wrongdoing involving mining, construction and procurement contracts.Korma has previously denied any wrongdoing.Reuters reported Wednesday that Koroma had not spoken in public about the controversy, but the All People’s Congress party, which Koroma still leads, is planning to appeal the action against him.
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U.S. lawmakers are sounding alarms about the threat from China, warning Washington has so far failed to keep up with Beijing as it emerges as a global power.The concerns, voiced in two separate reports Wednesday, criticize U.S. intelligence agencies and policymakers for clinging too long to the notion that increased trade and interaction with China would push Beijing to eventually align itself with Western values.Instead, the reports argue, the United States is struggling to push back as it faces a real danger of being replaced by China on the world stage.“The stakes are high,” according to a redacted report released by Democrats on the FILE – In this June 30, 2020 file photo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, after a meeting at the White House in Washington.The House Intelligence Committee report, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with intelligence officials and reviews of thousands of assessments, criticized U.S. intelligence agencies for becoming overly focused on their counterterrorism mission and for failing to adapt to the threats of a changing world.“While the United States was busy engaging al-Qaida, ISIS [Islamic State] and their affiliates, offshoots and acolytes, Washington’s unchallenged dominance over the global system slipped away,” the report said.To better counter China and other emerging threats, the report said, U.S. intelligence agencies need to make better use of information commonly available on the internet, social media and elsewhere.The report also said U.S. intelligence officials need to pay more attention to nonimmediate, nonmilitary threats “such as global health, economic security and climate change.”And the report called for a greater focus on recruiting and mentoring what it described as “the next generation of China analysts.”“The good news is that we still have time to adapt,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff in a statement. “It’s my hope that the intelligence community will work hand in hand with the congressional oversight committees to make these necessary changes quickly.”Ranking Member Michael McCaul, R-Tex., questions witnesses during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, Sept. 16, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington.A second report released Wednesday, by Republican lawmakers, was no less damning, recommending more than 400 changes to Washington’s China strategy.”To preserve democracy and freedom around the world, the U.S. must act decisively with our allies to regain the initiative,” the China Task Force report warned.Chinese Communist Party ideology “is undermining the core principles of the international system and putting Americans’ safety and prosperity at risk,” it said. “Leniency and accommodation of the CCP and its oppressive agenda is no longer an option.”The report calls on policymakers to boost counterintelligence operations against China and to make sure that the U.S. medical and national security supply chains no longer need to reply on Chinese-made goods.It also recommends increased spending on defense to better counter Chinese nuclear capabilities as well as China’s growing conventional forces.“For more than 40 years, we have tried to bring them into the family of nations as a responsible partner, but they have refused to behave responsibly,” China Task Force Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement.
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily Debunk Claim: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans have died in the Covid-19 pandemic.Vedict: TrueRead the full story at: Vox Social Media DisinfoScreenshotCirculating on social media: Claim that everyone arriving in Zimbabwe will now have to pay US$60 for a PCR test.Verdict: MisleadingRead the full story at: ZimFact
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Six months into the global coronavirus pandemic, there are few signs of a rebound for the airline industry. Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren examines the economic and safety issues for airlines with commercial and military pilot Tammie Jo Shults, Nick Calio of Airlines for America and economist Brian Pearce with the International Ait Transport Association. Airdate: September 1, 2020.
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Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, clashed in a contentious, chaotic presidential election debate Tuesday night, trying for 90 minutes to convince American voters that the other one was unfit to lead the United States for the next four years. They argued over the world-leading coronavirus death toll of 205,000 in the U.S., the integrity and honesty of the November 3 vote, Trump’s nomination of conservative jurist Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, fractured racial relations in the U.S., environmental policies and more. 
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Farmers in northern Nigeria have lost more than two million tons of rice, a quarter of the country’s projected harvest, due to flooding.  Despite the loss, Nigeria is so far upholding a year-long ban on land-based imports of rice to crack down on smuggling and boost local production.  Ifiok Ettang reports from Argungu, Nigeria.Camera:  Ifiok Ettang    Produced by:   Jason Godman 
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