US Election: Whoever becomes the next president, social media is changing

Both Trump and Biden want to take away the US law that protects platforms from being liable for what their users post.

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New top story on Hacker News: An Elementary Introduction to Information Geometry [pdf]

An Elementary Introduction to Information Geometry [pdf]
3 by Anon84 | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: How an industry of endless construction one-offs is holding our society back

How an industry of endless construction one-offs is holding our society back
6 by jseliger | 2 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Amazon Timestream is generally available

Amazon Timestream is generally available
5 by dsflora | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Elements of Programmnig

Elements of Programmnig
5 by todsacerdoti | 1 comments on Hacker News.

Twitter lights up with celebrations and criticism over Biden’s use of ‘Inshallah’ during debate

Mr Biden invokes phrase while criticising Mr Trump on his still unreleased tax returns.

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Democrats postpone House vote on COVID-19 stimulus bill to give more time for negotiations

The pared-down version of the legislation passed by House Democrats in May will likely pass the House, but will face opposition in the GOP-led Senate.

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Donald Glover reveals he's struggled with his sexuality: 'I never felt completely safe'

"Most of my college years were me being like, 'I don't know what I like,'" the "Atlanta" creator said in a new interview with Michaela Coel.

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Space Force Now Has an Official Uniform

The U.S. Space Force members will wear the Operational Camouflage Pattern as the official service duty uniform.

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Mnuchin presents counteroffer on COVID bill in meeting with Pelosi

The treasury secretary said he and Pelosi are prepared to give negotiations over a coronavirus relief bill "one more serious try."

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Governor endorsements adds more fuel to Georgia Senate race

A pair of new high-profile endorsements are adding fuel to an already contentious special election for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia.

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Mike Pence reportedly overruled the CDC on extending a cruise ship ban to 2021, the latest example of the White House sidelining expert advice in the pandemic

The CDC asked on Tuesday to extend the "no-sail order" first imposed in March 2020 to February 2021, but Pence refused, according to Axios.

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Florida martial arts school billed taxpayers over $350,000 for ‘ghost’ kids, state says

Funded by public grants, the United Martial Arts Academy in Homestead offered an array of self-defense training, including the “Tiny Tigers” and “Little Dragon” courses for kids.

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Biden Staffer Suggests ‘Intolerant’ Views of Orthodox Catholics, Jews, Muslims Should Disqualify Them from Supreme Court

A staffer on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign on Monday suggested that Orthodox Catholics, Jews and Muslims should not be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court because of their “intolerant” beliefs.The comments came during a Twitter conversation between Biden campaign deputy data director Nikitha Rai and Brookings Institute senior fellow Shadi Hamid in which Rai attacked Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic beliefs. A search for Rai's Twitter account now yields a message saying, "This account doesn't exist."Hamid had responded to a tweet that said Barrett was a trustee at a Catholic school that opposed same-sex marriage as homosexual acts are "at odds with Scripture." Hamid replied, “Wait, why is this news? Isn’t this the standard position for any orthodox Catholic?” “Unfortunately yes,” Rai said. When Hamid pointed out that Orthodox Muslims and Jews generally hold the same view, Rai said, “True. I’d heavily prefer views like that not be elevated to SCOTUS, but unfortunately our current culture is relatively intolerant. It will be awhile before those types of beliefs are so taboo that they’re disqualifiers.”> Here’s a @JoeBiden staffer saying that orthodox Christianity, Islam, and Judaism should be made “taboo” and driven from the public sphere. Beneath all the talk of “interfaith” and “pluralism,” this is what they really believe. pic.twitter.com/PrN8S1qaLG> > -- Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) September 29, 2020The former vice president often touts his Catholic faith on the campaign trail, though critics note that some of Biden’s positions — such as his support for abortion and same-sex marriage — stand in opposition to Catholic teachings.Barrett’s faith has been widely scrutinized in the media as “extreme” and cult-like since the president announced he would nominate the 48-year-old Notre Dame professor to fill the vacancy on the Court left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Barrett, a former clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, has been attacked for her faith for years now, beginning with her 2017 confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee when Democrats questioned whether her Catholicism should disqualify her from being a judge.“Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that dogma and law are two different things, and I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said at the time.“The conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein added. “And that’s of concern.”

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LA police 'ambush': Deonte Lee Murray charged with attempted murder

Deonte Lee Murray is accused of shooting two officers in their car, an attack that was caught on video.

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A creepy presidential debate ad shows a deepfake of Putin telling Americans they're ruining their own democracy

In an ad campaign from non-profit RepresentUs, deepfakes of Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin warn Americans that they're ruining their own democracy.

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South Carolina city apologizes to Black residents for racial injustice resulting from its policies

The Spartanburg city council unanimously approved a resolution that acknowledges systematic racism.

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Top US infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci calls some of Fox News' primetime coverage of the coronavirus pandemic 'outlandish'

Fauci said that with some reporters, "anything that I would say they'll distort a bit," adding, "I'm not sure there's anything I can do about that."

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Democrats introduce new $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill

The bill, which is unlikely to pass the GOP-led Senate, is an updated version of earlier legislation. House Democrats introduced a new $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill aimed at breaking the impasse with Republicans on how to get financial assistance to Americans before the November election. The package, which is unlikely to pass the Republican-led Senate, is an updated version of earlier legislation.

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'Women in military, bad idea': Mike Pence’s most controversial comments about women

Mr Pence has a long history of making eyebrow-raising comments about women

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Job loss fears as furlough lifeline starts to wind down

Firms face higher furlough costs from Thursday, as Labour warns millions of jobs hang in the balance.

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Newspaper headlines: PM warns rule breakers as dad shops without mask

Boris Johnson's statement about a "critical moment" in the pandemic dominates most front pages.

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'I worked a five hour shift and got paid nothing'

A 19-year-old woman begins a campaign to ban unpaid work trials after working a shift for no pay.

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New top story on Hacker News: The pace of environmental change can doom or save coral reefs

The pace of environmental change can doom or save coral reefs
4 by dnetesn | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Is a Turtle an Animal or a Fish?

Is a Turtle an Animal or a Fish?
14 by Petiver | 9 comments on Hacker News.

Veteran GOP strategist predicts Trump's debate performance will suffer thanks to tax bombshell

GOP political consultant Mike Murphy predicts President Trump will be distracted at tonight's debate as a result of reports on his taxes.

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Texas sheriff indicted and booked in own jail after probe into Black man's death

A Texas sheriff has been indicted on charges of destroying or concealing video in an investigation into the death in custody of a Black man, Javier Ambler, that was filmed by the police reality TV series “Live PD," prosecutors said Monday.

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‘Fox & Friends’ Hosts Look On in Horror as Rudy Giuliani Blurts Out Biden Dementia Conspiracy Theory

Everyone knows that live television isn’t easy. Anything can go wrong—from a faulty connection, a verbal slip-up, or, as was the case on Tuesday morning’s Fox & Friends, Rudy Giuliani bellowing insane conspiracy theories at the nation with no obvious way to stop him.It’s always a risk to allow Giuliani to share his wildly unpredictable stream of consciousness live. The man who was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2001 has long since been reduced to sharing the latest Trumpist conspiracy theories on any cable news channel that has the budget to cover any possible subsequent defamation lawsuits.This time, his F&F hosts looked on with visible horror in their eyes as Giuliani shared his completely baseless belief that Joe Biden is suffering from dementia. If you have the time, it’s worth watching the clip at least three times so you can see each of the hosts panicking in their own unique way as the former New York City mayor rambles on and on.> On Fox & Friends, Rudy Giuliani says Joe Biden "has dementia. There's no doubt about it. I've talked to doctors. ... The president's quite right to say maybe he's taken adderall." The hosts get visibly uncomfortable. pic.twitter.com/2Ma7DKNBpS> > — Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) September 29, 2020With a mischievous cackle, Giuliani began: “The man [Biden] has dementia. There’s no doubt about it. I’ve talked to doctors. I’ve had them look at a hundred different tapes of his five years ago and today.” Trying his very best to shut Giuliani down, host Steve Doocy interjected that Biden’s team has said the Democrat has no serious medical problems.Giuliani then made an extraordinary noise at Doocy that can best be typed as “Oowughawughawugh,” before continuing: “He can’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance and he’s fine? He was in the Senate for 160 years? I mean, he can’t do the prologue to the... to the... con... to the... uh... Constitution of the United States or the Declaration of Independence, any of them.”Getting louder and increasingly excited about his armchair diagnosis, Giuliani went on: “He can’t do NUMBERS. Wow, are the numbers screwed up. He actually displays symptoms that two gerontologists told me are classic symptoms of middle level dementia.” Doocy and co-host Ainsley Earhardt both responded to that claim by softly saying, “Right.” The third host, Brian Kilmeade, can just be seen blinking rapidly.Fox News Lobotomizes Its ‘Brain Room,’ Cuts Fact-Based JournalismNevertheless, Giuliani persisted. “That’s when [Biden] does that ‘I pledge allegiance to the United States... uh... uh... um... I think,’ he’s done that twice,” said the ex mayor. “That’s a classic symptom in the DSM-V, it’s the fifth symptom, of dementia, he’s got eight of the 10.”Then, seemingly remembering that he was on the show to talk about tonight’s presidential debate, he went on: “Look, that isn’t the debate. He can get through it. I think the president is quite right to say maybe he’s taken Adderall or some kind of attention deficit disorder thing.”As Giuliani began pulling prescription medicine brands out of the air, Doocy had finally had enough and told him firmly, “None of us are doctors, that is your opinion.” Giuliani fought back, saying it was actually the opinion of some very professional-sounding doctors that he knows.But the game was up. Kilmeade, in his first verbal interjection of the entire exchange, said with exasperation, “We can stay away from that.” Earhardt then moved on to pick Giuliani’s brain on the Supreme Court.This particular line of attack is one that Giuliani—whose work as President Trump’s lawyer and top dirt-digger on Hunter and Joe Biden kicked off a chain of events that got his client impeached last year—has enthusiastically embraced as one of his primary functions now for Team Trump.Shortly before midnight on Monday night, Giuliani started texting The Daily Beast to say that Trump did “great” in recent White House debate prep (for which the president said on Sunday that Giuliani and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie took part), and to rail against Biden as a “senile,” “broken down old crook” who’s supposedly suffering from “dementia” and needs “ADD drugs” to get through the Tuesday debate. The Trump attorney also claimed that someone had told him how stupid Biden was in law school.Giuliani also mentioned late Monday evening that he’d be flying with Trump on Air Force One on Tuesday and would be at the Cleveland debate. Asked about what kinds of questions he peppered the president with during the prep, the former New York City mayor replied, “It really doesn’t work like that with him. It’s much more of a discussion rather than a rehearsal. Plus you are dealing with a very smart, very alert human being, not a senile old man.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Trump Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett puts years of gun safety progress at risk

Over 145,000 Americans have been killed by guns with Trump in office. If Barrett replaces Ginsburg, gun safety laws and more US lives are endangered

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Explainer: Who's fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, and why does it matter?

WHERE AND WHAT IS NAGORNO-KARABAKH? It's a mountainous, forested patch of land that sits inside the territory of ex-Soviet Azerbaijan and is recognised under international law as part of that country. Nagorno-Karabakh survives almost totally on budget support from Armenia and donations from the worldwide Armenian diaspora.

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Barrett Lamented ‘Very Brutal’ Confirmation Process in 2019 Speech, Blamed ‘Dangerous’ Drift toward Judicial ‘Policymaking’

Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s pick to replace Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, warned in a private discussion at Notre Dame last year that the judicial nomination process “has gotten very brutal” due to “a fundamental misunderstanding of the judicial role.”Footage of the event, which went public Tuesday, shows Barrett and Amul Thapar, a federal appeals judge for the Sixth Circuit who is also on President Trump’s shortlist for the Supreme Court, discussing their backgrounds and judicial philosophy in a far-ranging conversation.Barrett, already the topic of heavy scrutiny for her family’s involvement in a charismatic Christian group, spoke candidly on the topic of judicial confirmations — referencing comments made by Ginsburg after Justice Kavanaugh’s 2018 hearing, of which the late justice said “the way it was, was right. The way it is, is wrong."“Part of that is because people have a fundamental misunderstanding of the judicial role,” Barrett explained. “If you think that the judge who is going to be confirmed to a court of appeals or to the Supreme Court is going to be imposing his or her policy preferences on you, then it leads to kind of this all in — 'we have to take this person down if we think we're going to disagree with the policy preferences.’”During Barrett's 2017 confirmation hearing for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a line of questioning from Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) was widely publicized and condemned in conservative circles for its suggestion of anti-religious animus.“Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that, you know, dogma and law are two different things? And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma,” Feinstein said at the time. “The law is totally different, and I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”Speaking Saturday after Trump officially announced her nomination, Barrett stated that she had “no illusions that the road ahead of me will be easy, for the short term or the long haul,” and said that she would strive to earn the Senate’s support. She also offered a glimpse of her judicial philosophy, echoing the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whom she clerked for. “His judicial philosophy is mine too: A judge must apply the law as written," she stated.In her April 2019 discussion at Notre Dame, Barrett spoke at length about her originalist background, and gave insights into how she strives to be impartial in rulings.“I try to put myself in the shoes of the party that I'm going to rule against. And so as I'm writing the opinion, or as I'm trying to decide how I'm going to vote at conference, I imagine that it was my daughter, or me, or my husband that was in that situation, and think, ‘could I still reach the same result?’” she revealed. “. . . Could I respect the reasoning? And am I really doing it in a way that smokes out any kind of policy impulse that I have to go the other way?”While Barrett warned that “judges are humans and they're fallible,” she stated that “everybody has to come up with mechanisms . . . to try to guard against you imposing your policy views on the law.”“Justice Scalia used to say, and it's right — and in my almost two years on the bench, I've already had this happen — if you don't write decisions that you disagree with — the results, Not the reasoning — if you don't reach results that you don't like, you're not a very good judge, you're doing something wrong,” she continued. “Because you shouldn't like the result in every case you decide.”Barrett said that the trend towards politicizing judicial appointments stemmed from a number of different sources.“I think it's really a feature of judges cultivating in some instances, this perception of the judicial role, of the public's perception of this as the judicial role,” she said. “It's not the judicial role, and it's very dangerous. It's dangerous because for our courts to function and fulfill their role in society and to function well people have to respect them. And if everyone thinks that courts are just policymaking arms, then they're not going to be respected, right? It's become a very toxic situation.”

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White nationalist from Charlottesville rally nicknamed ‘Crying Nazi’ is charged with threatening to rape a woman

Christopher Cantwell sent a series of threatening text messages in bid to uncover information about leader of a far-right group

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COVID-19 cases rising among US children as schools reopen

After preying heavily on the elderly in the spring, the coronavirus is increasingly infecting American children and teens in a trend authorities say appears fueled by school reopenings and the resumption of sports, playdates and other activities. Children of all ages now make up 10% of all U.S cases, up from 2% in April, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Tuesday. About two times more teens were infected than younger children, the CDC report said.

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A creepy presidential debate ad shows a deepfake of Putin telling Americans they're ruining their own democracy

In an ad campaign from non-profit RepresentUs, deepfakes of Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin warn Americans that they're ruining their own democracy.

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Debate offers Trump chance to yank stubbornly stable 2020 race his way

Presidential candidates to face off for first time in Cleveland and for Biden no news would be good newsAfter months of anticipation, Donald Trump and election rival Joe Biden were scheduled to meet on a debate stage for the first time in Cleveland on Tuesday night, in what could be Trump’s last best chance to turn the presidential race his way and win re-election.Suffering from weeks of negative revelations in the news and terrible poll numbers, Trump needs a big score at the first presidential debate to shift the national conversation away from the sputtering economy, the coronavirus pandemic and his staggering tax avoidance, analysts say.Those factors could see a performance by Trump that is even more aggressive than usual.“Trump will go after Biden hard, to deflect attention away from his own troubles, including the reports on his tax evasion and business failures,” said Brad Bannon, a Washington-based Democratic strategist. “Much of Biden’s support is based on his calm demeanor, which contrasts well with the president’s erratic personality.“So, it’s important for Biden to respond to Trump without losing his cool, and smile while he surgically cuts the president down to size.”Advisers to Biden, meanwhile, say that a great debate result for the Democratic candidate would be for not much to happen at all. The challenge as they see it is for Biden to appear steady and draw a contrast with Trump – and to resist being drawn into a mudfight.Biden himself appears to recognize the dangers of meeting Trump on his preferred turf of insult and mockery.“I hope I don’t get baited into a brawl with this guy, because that’s the only place he’s comfortable,” Biden told donors at a fundraiser in Delaware earlier this month. “This is a guy who is absolutely tasteless. Completely tasteless. So pointing it out doesn’t do much.”The presidential election on 3 November is only 35 days away, and early in-person voting is under way already, while about 10m mail-in ballots have been sent out across the country – a record brought about by the coronavirus crisis.The conventional wisdom about presidential debates is that they do not move the race much – except when they do. Former vice-president Al Gore was dinged for sighing through his first debate in 2000 with George W Bush. An underprepared outing by Barack Obama against Mitt Romney in their first debate of 2012 breathed new life into the challenger’s campaign.But the stakes around the first debate of the 2020 cycle may be unique. The race has proven historically stable throughout the year, according to polling analysts, and big campaign moments including the national conventions and Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as a running mate do not appear to have moved the needle.For weeks, the Trump campaign has been touting the debate as the moment that would at last alter the race, regaling donors with a fantasy of a quick-witted Trump running circles around a somnolent Biden.Trump went so far at the weekend as to demand a “drug test” before the debate of Biden, whom Trump has baselessly accused of taking “performance enhancing drugs”.Biden laughed off the suggestion, but his campaign issued a lacerating response.“Vice-President Biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words,” a Biden spokeswoman told Politico. “If the president thinks his best case is made in urine, he can have at it.”Biden and Trump are scheduled to participate in three debates total. The 90-minute opener in the series will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and be moderated by the Fox News host Chris Wallace, who has proven in the past to be a tough interviewer of the president.On Monday, Wallace said he hoped to be “as invisible as possible” onstage. “If I’ve done my job right, at the end of the night, people will say, ‘That was a great debate, who was the moderator?’” Wallace told Fox.Wallace has picked six subjects for the night: the candidates’ records in office; the supreme court; Covid-19; the economy; “race and violence in our cities”; and the integrity of the election.But a bombshell New York Times report at the weekend showing that Trump paid zero federal taxes in 10 of the last 15 years, and that Trump has hundreds of millions in mysterious debt coming due, could be one of many topics that upend the planned proceedings.Biden is expected to highlight how much of Trump’s wealth was inherited, and to draw a contrast between Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Biden grew up, and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the site of Trump’s most famous golden tower.Biden might also underscore the dangers of a president who denies climate change by pointing to the ongoing wildfire crisis in the west. Facing new sexual assault allegations himself, Trump could seek to revive allegations against Biden.Trump has already signaled that Biden’s family is fair game, with sustained attacks on his son Hunter Biden, whose relationships in Ukraine Republicans tried to use to muddle the impeachment inquiry.But Trump appears to need more political mileage out of the debate than the brief bump that a few sharply delivered attacks might deliver.More than winning an argument, strategists say, the debates are about making an impression on viewers that could nudge a crucial few into one camp or the other.“Trump needs a Biden collapse,” the Republican political consultant Mike Murphy, a frequent Trump critic, said on his podcast. “Because Trump needs something to happen on the 29th that gives him the whole month to work with.”

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Two-fifths of plants at risk of extinction, says report

We are failing to harness the many benefits plants can provide, say scientists.

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Universal Credit: Plea not to axe £20 a week ‘lifeline’

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls on the chancellor to extend an increase to Universal Credit.

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Coronavirus: NHS well stocked for ventilators this winter

The NHS now has access to 30,000 machines that can help people breathe if they are very ill with Covid-19.

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Black History Month: Postboxes painted to honour black Britons

Sir Lenny Henry is among a variety of figures to feature on the postboxes in Black History Month.

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Newspaper headlines: PM 'hasn't a clue' and 1m missed breast cancer scans

Many of Wednesday's papers reflect on Boris Johnson's confusion over Covid rules in the North East.

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Great Barrier Reef: Uncovering the secrets of Australia's deep waters

Scientists explain how the biggest deep-sea study of two marine parks led to exciting discoveries.

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Female Koran reciters 'part of Islamic legacy'

How female Muslim Koran reciters are making their voices heard.

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Hydrogen-powered train makes UK maiden journey

The Hydroflex made a 25-mile round-trip in Warwickshire, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph.

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Coronavirus: What is the R number and why does it matter?

Experts keep discussing the value of R, but what is it and why does it matter?

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'The new Covid support for business is nuts'

Dejection over latest government help for business has left many small firms fearing for their futures.

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Russian cleaner sweeps to power in surprise village vote

'Flabbergasted' Marina Udgodskaya only entered the race as her boss needed someone else to stand.

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Positive COVID-19 test rates top 25% in some U.S. Midwest states

The positivity rate has risen to 26% in South Dakota, up from 17% the previous week, according to the analysis using testing data from The COVID Tracking Project. The World Health Organization considers rates above 5% concerning because it suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered. Several states such as New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine have positive test rates of less than 1%.

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Fact check: Thousands of ballots were not sent to dead people or pets in Nevada, Virginia

A viral Facebook post falsely claims 500,000 mail-in ballots in Virginia and 200,000 in Nevada were sent to dead people and pets.

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Don Jr. Didn’t Get the Memo About Raising Biden Expectations Before Debate

After weeks and months of President Donald Trump characterizing former Vice President Joe Biden as an senile old man who can’t string two sentences together, his campaign has finally realized that they should start raising expectations for his performance at the first debate this Tuesday night.Apparently, Donald Trump Jr. didn’t get the memo.The president’s eldest son kicked off his Fox & Friends appearance by attacking CNN’s Jake Tapper for not pressing Jill Biden harder on her husband’s history of making “gaffes” during an interview on State of the Union Sunday. “Once a Democrat operative, all of it—always a Democrat operative,” he said, unconvincingly.“Joe Biden can’t remember where he is 50 percent of the time,” Trump Jr. declared. “He forgets the office that he’s running for.” He added, with no sense of irony, “If Donald Trump made one Joe Biden-type error, once, it would be all over! Joe does it every day.”“So that’s why he’s in debate prep,” he continued, mocking his father’s opponent for doing his homework. “He can’t be on the campaign trail because he needs to be able to perform for two hours, despite having done this for 50 years.”Is Trump or Biden More Likely to Keel Over on Debate Night?But he wasn’t done. He called Biden “the guy who’s most inept in terms of speaking, in terms of ability” and telling the Fox hosts, “You would think that after half a century in Washington, D.C., Ainsley, you’d be able to remember your platform, you’d be able to remember a couple talking points and not need a TelePrompter. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”In recent weeks, Trump’s top campaign staff have been doing whatever they can to undo the president’s attempts to lower expectations for Biden’s performance. “Joe Biden is not formidable anywhere else but he is formidable on the debate stage,” campaign manager Bill Stepien told NBC News this month.Communications director Tim Murtaugh went even further, telling Fox News, “Biden spent decades skillfully debating in the Senate, won two debates while running for vice president and just came through 11 debates in Democratic primaries where he defeated two dozen challengers. Joe Biden is a master debater who knows what he is doing.”And yet, like his father, Donald Trump Jr. seems unable to help himself from giving Biden an exceedingly low bar to overcome. At least he didn’t accuse him or anyone else from his family of being on drugs this time.Later in his Fox & Friends interview, Trump Jr. actually seemed to realize what he had done, backtracking a bit to claim, “Joe Biden should be decent in the debate, he’s been doing it for half a century. I’m worried about Joe Biden the other 22 hours of the day where he can’t seem to leave the basement.”The message seemed to be, don’t let a successful debate performance fool you.Jimmy Kimmel on Donald Trump Jr.’s Attempts to ‘Cancel’ Him and Hosting the Virtual EmmysRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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South Carolina TV anchor hit man with beer bottle in fight over politics, police say

The victim was left with cuts on his face, police said.

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Former paramilitary leader deported to Colombia

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Remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in Korean War returned

The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Sunday in an annual repatriation delayed this year by the coronavirus outbreak. South Korea handed over the remains at a ceremony at Incheon airport outside Seoul, and a Chinese military transport plane flew them to Shenyang, a northeastern Chinese city near the North Korean border. Chinese soldiers fought on the North Korean side against US-led forces in the South during the war on the Korean Peninsula. Most of the 117 remains were found in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. It was the seventh annual repatriation, and the largest since the 437 returned in the first one in 2014. In all, the remains of 716 Chinese soldiers have been sent back. This year's return, originally planned for the spring, was postponed for several months because of the spread of Covid-19.

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Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row

The top Huawei executive's closely watched extradition case returns to court on Monday.

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Angry about Breonna Taylor? Do what Barack Obama said in 2016: 'Don't boo. Vote'

There's only one thing to do now that the we know the outcome of the Breonna Taylor case: 'Don't boo. Vote.'

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Why a Biden blowout is still the most likely result

Five weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, significant media attention is being given to the small possibility that President Donald Trump could again pull off a narrow Electoral College victory while losing the popular vote, or that even an Electoral College tie could push the election to the House. Those scenarios, though, are mainly making headlines because they're interesting fodder for the pundit class. All the data point to a big blowout victory for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.The major recent polls (Economist/YouGov: Biden +7, CNBC: Biden +9, Quinnipiac: Biden +10, NYT: Biden +8) show Biden with a truly commanding lead nationally. Equally important is how Biden leads. The 2016 election was always a much closer and more dynamic race, Trump was facing a much more unpopular opponent, and a much larger number of voters were undecided. None of those are the case this time.This year we have experienced a global pandemic which has so far killed over 200,000 Americans, a massive economic disruption, multiple Trump administration scandals, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Yet Biden's large lead over Trump is basically identical to what it was at the end of last year. There is still the possibility that some new development — even bigger than those listed above — could shift the dynamics of the race, but that seems very unlikely.Biden also polls much better than Hillary Clinton ever did in the late stages of the 2016 election cycle — largely because there are significantly fewer undecided and third-party voters. In the RealClearPolitics polling average of the four-way race, Clinton's share of the vote never went over 46.2 percent while, by comparison, Biden has been bouncing right around 50 percent for the past few months with 7 percent third-party/undecided. To realistically win, Trump would need to pick up almost all the undecided voters and even flip some Biden voters.In 2016, both candidates were unpopular. The final YouGov poll found Clinton with a favorable rating of 43 percent and 56 percent unfavorable, compared to Trump's rating of 39 percent favorable and 60 percent unfavorable. This gave the outsider Trump a chance to win over voters who disliked both candidates. By comparison, right now Biden's favorability numbers are 45 percent to 47 percent compared to Trump at 42 percent favorable and 53 unfavorable. In addition, 52 percent of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled his job as president, while 57 percent of voters are upset or dissatisfied with Trump. Trump effectively needs to win over voters who dislike him, disapprove of his job performance, and are simply ambivalent about Biden.To be sure, in 2016, the very limited polling in certain critical swing states was off in important ways, and the final national polling undercounted Trump's support by roughly 1-2 points. Maybe there is another systematic undercounting of Trump's support in the polling this year, and maybe late-breaking events move voters towards him, and maybe a large share of voters who disapprove of Trump's job performance can be persuaded to vote against Biden — but that is a lot of maybes.It is just as likely that Biden will outperform his already big lead. Elections tend to be referendums on incumbents, which is particularly true this year. Trump's polling numbers in head-to-head matchups with Biden have closely mirrored his overall job approval numbers. At the same time, Trump's job approval has been stuck in the low 40s effectively his entire time in office. Almost unique among modern presidents, he has never appealed to the majority of the country and has basically never tried. There really is no precedent for a chronically unpopular president who never tried to reach out beyond his base.If the final election results follow this job approval pattern, Biden wins in a landslide even larger than his current polling lead. Winning by such a large margin would swamp Trump's modest advantage in the Electoral College.More stories from theweek.com Trump literally can't afford to lose the election Trump avoids tax return questions as he brings yet another truck to the White House The bigger truth revealed by Trump's taxes

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Haunted house shooter thought someone had cut in line, Michigan police say

Police are searching for the suspect, who they say fled the scene in a blue sedan.

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Tucker Carlson says 'every story' about Jacob Blake and George Floyd is a lie, the same day a federal judge wrote that viewers don't take Carlson's statements seriously

Carlson's allegations of dishonesty came after Fox News argued in court that he's prone to hyperbole, exaggeration, and "loose, figurative" language.

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NFL legend Joe Montana confronts intruder 'who grabbed grandchild’

The alleged culprit now faces kidnapping and burglary charges.

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With EU help, Taiwan gets rare win in China naming dispute

Taiwan said on Monday the European Union had stepped in to help after a global alliance of mayors stopped referring to Taiwanese cities as part of China, in a rare win for the island amid growing Chinese pressure. China has ramped up efforts to get international groups and companies to refer on their websites and in official documents to democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as being part of China, to the ire of Taiwan's government and many of its people. Over the weekend, Taiwan officials expressed anger after the Brussels-based Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy began listing on its website its six Taiwan member cites as belonging to China.

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Sir David Attenborough gets quizzed by kids after plea to world leaders to save nature

His hope for the future of the planet lies in the hands of children, so what do they want to ask him?

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Coronavirus: NHS faces pandemic 'triple whammy' this winter

Health bosses warn about rising Covid-19 cases, a major backlog in treatment and reduced capacity.

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Coronavirus: Early pub closing 'putting shop workers at risk'

Staff in stores selling alcohol after 10pm may be exposed to violence and infection, a union warns.

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The water-saving device wasting billions of litres every week

Low flush toilets often waste more water than they save due to poor engineering and confusing buttons.

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Newspaper headlines: 'Tory rebels' virus revolt' amid 'deadly chaos'

Many of Tuesday's papers lead on pressure on ministers to give MPs a say over Covid-19 restrictions.

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TikTok ban: How did TikTok stay online in the US?

Sophia Smith-Galer explains why President Trump shifted his position on banning new downloads of the app

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Dublin Lord Mayor: Hazel Chu and her Chinese heritage

The city's first Lord Mayor of Chinese heritage reveals the racism she and her family have faced.

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From tea fields to university in Sri Lanka

Theresa is one of the first women from her community of tea pickers in Sri Lanka to go to university.

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Scientists create a microscopic robot that ‘walks’

The scientists behind a microscopic "walking" robot hope their tech could one day be used against cancer.

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The cat who hitched a lift on a worldwide tour

Former Scottish rugby player Dean Nicholson met a lifelong friend as he cycled around the world.

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What We Learned From Week 3 of the N.F.L. Season

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Trump uses a news conference to defend his Supreme Court nominee and attack Biden’s fitness for office.

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A significant national lead for Biden.

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New top story on Hacker News: Investigating TLS Blocking in India

Investigating TLS Blocking in India
5 by ZnZirconium | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: It used to be simpler to teach Unix

It used to be simpler to teach Unix
31 by pcr910303 | 26 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Sum-of-Three-Cubes Problem Solved for ‘Stubborn’ Number 33

Sum-of-Three-Cubes Problem Solved for ‘Stubborn’ Number 33
17 by ColinWright | 3 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: United States vs. Dread Pirate Roberts (Silk Road) FBI Report (2013) [pdf]

United States vs. Dread Pirate Roberts (Silk Road) FBI Report (2013) [pdf]
5 by ryansiddle | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Coinbase is a mission focused company

Coinbase is a mission focused company
34 by gyre007 | 18 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition (2017)

British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition (2017)
3 by benbreen | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Swiftly spreading wildfire erupts in California's Napa Valley wine country

A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern California's Napa Valley wine country and spread across more than 1,000 acres (404 hectares), forcing the evacuation of several communities and a hospital, authorities said. The blaze, dubbed the Glass Fire, broke out east of Calistoga, about 75 miles (120 km) north of San Francisco, and raced toward the adjacent towns of Deer Park and St. Helena, with flames advancing to within a mile of the Adventist Health St. Helena hospital.

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Fact check: Kentucky attorney general is not married to a relative of Mitch McConnell

Viral posts on Facebook falsely suggest that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's wife is a niece or granddaughter of the powerful senator.

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S. Korea calls for N. Korea to further investigate shooting

South Korea said Saturday it will request North Korea to further investigate the killing of a South Korean government official who was shot by North Korean troops after being found adrift near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary while apparently trying to defect. Seoul could also possibly call for a joint investigation into Tuesday’s shooting, which sparked outrage in the South and drew a rare apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim was quoted as saying he was “very sorry” over what he described as an “unexpected, unfortunate incident" in a message sent by Pyongyang's United Front Department, a North Korean government agency in charge of inter-Korean relations.

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Proud Boys Portland rally largely peaceful but clashes downtown

Hundreds of supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys group rallied in Portland, Oregon on Saturday in a largely peaceful event but police and left-wing protesters later clashed in the city's downtown. The Proud Boys rally in a north Portland park ended after a few hours of speeches and chants, many against anti-fascists and Black Lives Matter groups which held a counter-protest two miles to the south. Rocks and cans were thrown at police in downtown Portland on Saturday night and more than a dozen people were arrested, according to a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office statement.

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Cars have hit demonstrators 104 times since George Floyd protests began

Amid thousands of racial justice protests nationwide since George Floyd's death, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds marching in roadways.

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CDC Calls Off Minnesota COVID-19 Study After Reports of Racism and Intimidation Against Surveyors of Color

The voluntary and in-person survey was developed by the CDC to examine the impact of public health emergencies

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Warren rips Trump rush to fill RBG seat as "last gasp of a right-wing, billionaire-fueled party"

"This kind of sleazy double-dealing is the last gasp of a desperate party," Warren said.

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China's Xi says 'happiness' in Xinjiang on the rise, will keep teaching 'correct' outlook

Chinese President Xi Jinping said levels of happiness among all ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang are rising and that China plans to keep teaching its residents a "correct" outlook on China, Xinhua news agency reported late on Saturday. China has come under scrutiny over its treatment of Uighur Muslims and claims of alleged forced-labour abuses in Xinjiang, where the United Nations cites credible reports as saying one million Muslims held in camps have been put to work.

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Biden pleads with Republicans to wait until 2021 to confirm Supreme Court nominee

Democratic presidential nominee opposes Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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