George Will: There is no such thing as rock bottom for Trump. Assume the worst is yet to come.
In 2016, voters were presented an unprecedentedly unpalatable choice: Never had both major parties offered nominees with higher disapproval than approval numbers. The measures necessary for restoration of national equilibrium are many and will be protracted far beyond his removal. Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his ankles with a canine hunger for petting. In 2016, the Republican Party gave its principal nomination to a vulgarian and then toiled to elect him. So, assume that the worst is yet to come.
Source:Washington Post
June 01, 2020 19:18 UTC
Joel Revzen, Conductor and Music Festival Leader, Dies at 74
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here. Joel Revzen, a conductor who thrived in regional opera and music festivals, but whose career also took him to the Metropolitan Opera and the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, died on May 25 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. The cause was Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, his wife, Cynthia Rhys, said. Critics often noted Mr. Revzen’s clarity and instinct for shaping drama in music.
Source:New York Times
June 01, 2020 19:18 UTC
Music industry leaders vow to pause business for a day in observation of Blackout Tuesday
At least, that's the message coming from leaders and artists in the music business as part of a movement being referred to as Blackout Tuesday. Music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang spearheaded the effort to shutter normal business operations on June 2 via their #theshowmustbepaused initiative. In a letter explaining the effort posted to their official site , Thomas and Agyemang said it is "in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard." Artists like the Rolling Stones, Quincy Jones and Billie Eilish have said they'll observe the day. A number of artists have also canceled listening parties or fan events in response.
Source:CNN
June 01, 2020 19:18 UTC
Gun Stocks Surge Past Broader Market
Shares of gun manufacturers soared Monday, continuing this year’s winning streak. Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. jumped 15.1% to $13.61. Sturm, Ruger & Co. advanced 9.4% to $68.20. Shares of both companies outpaced the broader market, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% on Monday. “People are watching the news,” said Steve Sosnick, chief...
Source:Wall Street Journal
June 01, 2020 19:07 UTC
Are Florida Travel Restrictions Lifted? Here's The Latest
The Walt Disney World Resort finally has an official reopening date and Key West is anxious for tourists too. While the state is welcoming visitors, there are some Florida travel restrictions you need to know about. Is Florida open for travel? Walt Disney World starts opening on July 11, 2020, with its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening first. None of the Florida counties are in the second phase yet, but that might happen in July once Disney World is open.
Source:Forbes
June 01, 2020 19:07 UTC
Philadelphia residents stand guard to protect local Target store from looters
Dozens of residents in South Philadelphia banded together in a show of solidarity to protect their local Target from looters on Sunday night. Other protesters were offended by the group allowed past curfew to stay at the Target and squabbles broke out, but were contained by police, the reports said. Earlier in the day, several local businesses including another Target were ransacked by looters smashing windows and doors and stealing merchandise. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APPIn other earlier instances, protesters in Philadelphia hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, officials said. On Sunday night, the state's National Guard was called in an effort to tamp down on violence.
Source:Fox News
June 01, 2020 19:06 UTC
Cuomo calls NYC protests 'counterproductive' to slowing coronavirus spread
Andrew Cuomo warned Monday that police brutality protests could be “counterproductive” to months spent working to slow the spread of coronavirus. Demonstrations that have swept across New York City “could potentially be infecting hundreds and hundreds of people, after everything that we have done," the governor said during a press conference. "New York City opens next week, it took us 93 days to get here. "It's counterproductive for New York City in many ways." GEORGE FLOYD DEATH: THE CITIES WHERE PEOPLE ARE PROTESTING AND RIOTING“Don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory," Cuomo urged protesters failing to social distance and wear PPE.
Source:Fox News
June 01, 2020 18:56 UTC
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifts state's stay-at-home order
Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday that she is lifting her state's stay-at-home order effective next week, easing restrictions placed on businesses and public gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic. Whitmer moved 93 percent of the state into "phase four" of the reopening plan, with hopes to move to "phase five" by July 4. In addition to stores and restaurants being able to open up to customers, day camps and pools will be open as well. Whitmer's stay-at-home order was among the strictest in the nation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMichigan residents protested the order, with some even storming the state capitol while armed.
Source:Fox News
June 01, 2020 18:56 UTC
How Did George Floyd Die? Here’s What We Know
In an interview, Dr. Michael Baden, who also participated in the private autopsy, said there was also some hemorrhaging around the right carotid area. Some of the information I read from that complaint states that there was no evidence of traumatic asphyxia. The private doctors also said that any underlying conditions Mr. Floyd had did not kill him or contribute to his death. “He was in good health,” Dr. Baden said. “The video is real,” Dr. Baden said.
Source:New York Times
June 01, 2020 18:54 UTC
EPA move to change Clean Water Act would limit states’, tribes’ ability to block energy projects
The new rule would set a one-year deadline for states and tribes to certify or reject proposed projects — including pipelines, hydroelectric dams and industrial plants — that could discharge pollution into area waterways. It also would limit any reviews to include only water quality impacts, based on a more narrow definition the Trump administration finalized last year. “Our system of republican democracy does not allow for one state to dictate standards or decisions for the entire nation,” Wheeler said. “The president is very happy about this,” Wheeler said, as he congratulated the agency’s staff for its work on the rule. Some companies, however, have complained that certain states have used Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to unnecessarily delay key energy infrastructure projects, including pipelines, coal terminals and hydroelectric dams.
Source:Washington Post
June 01, 2020 18:50 UTC
How ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Survived the Pandemic
It was also a matter of sheer timing and luck, though it didn’t seem that way at first. When the tour’s previous stop in Busan, South Korea’s second biggest city, wrapped up in mid-February, the country was emerging as the latest epicenter of the pandemic. The company mostly went home for a break to Britain, Italy, North America, Australia and elsewhere. On March 2, when Kasif flew to Seoul to begin preparations to open there, South Korea had the second-highest number of confirmed cases, and the pandemic had not yet fully hit Britain. But he said he was reassured by the producers’ constant communication about safety protocols, as well as their videos of daily life in Seoul.
Source:New York Times
June 01, 2020 18:44 UTC
Members of Congress to unveil bipartisan bill to regulate contact-tracing apps, fearing potential privacy abuses
Their efforts have raised thorny, urgent questions about the balance between safeguarding privacy and protecting public-health in the midst of an historic pandemic. Absent strong protections, some policymakers said Americans simply would never grow comfortable adopting contact-tracing and notification apps at the scale that’s necessary to combat the coronavirus. The bill by Cantwell and her peers requires companies developing contact-tracing applications to do so in collaboration with public-health authorities. The bill, however, has troubled some privacy advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who charge it suffers from significant loopholes -- such as exempting employers from new data-protection rules. ADADThe looming disagreements threaten to scuttle contact-tracing legislation much as it has past efforts on Capitol Hill to regulate online privacy.
Source:Washington Post
June 01, 2020 18:33 UTC
National Guard Expands Presence Amid Unrest
The National Guard said Monday it had deployed 12,000 additional Air and Army Guardsmen for civil-unrest response in 23 states and Washington, D.C., making the 67,000 members now on the streets for the protests and Covid-19 the largest number ever activated in the U.S. The National Guard expanded its civil-unrest presence from roughly 5,000 to 17,000 from Sunday to Monday following clashes over the weekend, reaching a total that surpassed the 51,000 activated during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina response.
Source:Wall Street Journal
June 01, 2020 18:32 UTC
Facebook Employees Push Back On Zuckerberg's Non-Response To Trump Rhetoric
Facebook employees are speaking out against CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his non-response to President Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric about people protesting the death of George Floyd on the platform. Over the weekend, numerous employees went on Twitter to share their feelings toward the company not taking action on Trump’s post calling protesters, many of whom are people of color, “THUGS” and threatening to send the National Guard. “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” the president wrote on all of his social media pages including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Trump sent the missive on Friday morning in response to the eruption nationwide over Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck. Twitter applied a warning label that indicated the message violated rules against glorifying violence.
Source:Huffington Post
June 01, 2020 18:11 UTC
Handling of Trump Posts Prompt Facebook Employees to Stage Virtual Walkout
Facebook Inc. employees staged a virtual walkout Monday and some publicly denounced CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to leave up a post from President Trump about the recent social unrest, comments they said violated the company’s rules about inciting violence. Over the weekend, more than a dozen employees spoke out on Twitter against Mr. Zuckerberg’s decision to keep up a post from the president, which called demonstrators thugs and warned: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Hundreds of employees were part of...
Source:Wall Street Journal
June 01, 2020 18:07 UTC