Tech Ghost

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled a $3 trillion-plus coronavirus relief package with funding for states, businesses, food support and families, only to see the measure flatly rejected by Senate Republicans. The new legislation, which would more than double Congress' financial response to the crisis, includes nearly $1 trillion in long-sought assistance for state and local governments that are bearing the brunt of a pandemic that has infected 1,359,000 in the United States and killed at least 80,600. It also includes $75 billion for testing people for the novel coronavirus, direct payments of up to $6,000 per U.S. household, $10 billion in emergency grants for small business and $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2zy4VDM via Latest News

Allies of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, up to and including President Trump, have pointed to a handwritten February 2017 note by Bill Priestap, then the FBI's counterterrorism director, to argue that FBI agents set out to trick Flynn into lying about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump's inauguration. Attorney General William Barr said FBI agents intended to "lay a perjury trap." Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea, Barr's long time adviser, cited Priestap's memo when petitioning U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop Flynn's case, despite a guilty plea Flynn affirmed before seeking to withdraw.Justice Department officials involved in the Flynn case interviewed Priestap last week, two days before Shea signed the extraordinary motion to dismiss the case, The New York Times reports. Priestap said their interpretation of his memo — and the one pushed by Flynn's lawyers and Fox News personalities — was ...

Hospitals in southern California have reported a spike in coronavirus admissions as people flee the growing crisis over the border in Mexico. San Diego and a number of frontier towns are bracing for a larger exodus of dual American-Mexican citizens should the outbreak in Mexico worsen. Over the past few weeks, cases have increased dramatically in National City, Chula Vista and El Cajon counties, according to new data. Hospital Chula Vista said it is already near capacity for patients critically ill with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. While Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista now has roughly 30 to 35 beds occupied by coronavirus patients on any given day, the most it can handle. "I think we are concerned with border cities and are starting to see some activity related to what might be happening in Mexico," Scott Evans, CEO of Sharp's Grossmont, which runs Hospital Chula Vista, told local KPBS news network. "There are lots of people that go back and forth be...

The European Union on Wednesday pushed to reopen internal borders and restart travel, although the prospects of reviving tourism ahead of the summer season were mixed as public fears over health and safety weigh heavily during the coronavirus pandemic. With the tourism sector, which usually accounts for about a tenth of the bloc's economy, now decimated by the pandemic, the EU's executive Commission urged a return to "unrestricted free movement", albeit with safety measures such as face masks on airplanes. "Our thoughts are now turning toward summer and to the places that we love to travel," said Margrethe Vestager, a Commission deputy. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3fRLDda via Latest News

The DOT's imprecise language surrounding refund requirements led to many disputes between customers and airlines. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2WtHc0A via Latest News

The Senate came one vote short Wednesday of approving a proposal to prevent federal law enforcement from obtaining internet browsing information or search history without seeking a warrant. The bipartisan amendment won a solid majority of the Senate but just shy of the 60 votes needed for adoption. The amendment’s authors, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, have long opposed the expansion and renewal of surveillance laws that the government uses to track and fight terrorists. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2T6BAHx via Latest News

The New York governor is replacing elected representatives with private, unaccountable monopolists, and lawmakers across the US are doing the same thing * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updatesLast week, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, announced that Bill Gates would be responsible for “reimagining” New York’s education system. Cuomo also asked former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt to lead a panel planning New York’s post-Covid tech infrastructure.As Naomi Klein writes, the appointments of Schmidt and Gates represent a “Pandemic Shock Doctrine … that is being rushed into being as the bodies still pile up [and] treats our past weeks of physical isolation not as a painful necessity to save lives, but as a living laboratory for a permanent – and highly profitable – no-touch future”.As she points out, the two billionaires have disastrous records in the precise areas of public policy they are charged with leading. The Gates Foundation was the driving force behind high-s...

Argentine black and white tegu lizards, which can grow up to four feet long and weigh more than 10 pounds, are an invasive species in Georgia. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2LzZdnv via Latest News

The United States on Thursday condemned attempts by China-linked "cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated" to steal U.S. intellectual property and data related to coronavirus research, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "The PRC’s behavior in cyberspace is an extension of its counterproductive actions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," Pompeo said in a statement. "While the United States and our allies and partners are coordinating a collective, transparent response to save lives, the PRC continues to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens, and to spread disinformation, which has exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis," he said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Z2WeMl via Latest News

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2LshvqY via Latest News

The Mexican government has said it assumes the true number of coronavirus cases in the country is eight times higher than what is officially reported, but experts believe the actual number of cases could be 17 times higher, Vox reports. As of Wednesday, Mexico has reported 38,000 coronavirus infections and close to 4,000 deaths. Funeral home directors, mayors, doctors, and former officials have said they reported deaths that haven't been reflected in the government's tally; the mayor of Chimalhuacán told Al Jazeera the town had 87 coronavirus deaths, but the government "counted us as having 24 dead."It's unclear if the discrepancy is due to inefficiency or if the numbers are deliberately being undercounted, Vox notes. "If Mexico is good at anything, it's hiding numbers," said Dr. Laurie Ann Ximénez-Fyvie of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. El País reports that Mexico, which has a low testing rate, likely has between 620,000 and 730,000 C...

A cryptic, unsigned note was left on a card at the memorial for Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was killed while jogging by a white father and son who attempted to stop him at gunpoint.Local news station WJXT first reported on the anonymous note, which reads "Ahmaud - I am so sorry. I should have stopped them. I am so sorry." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3cB5XgQ via Latest News

A suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktia province on Thursday that looked to target a military compound but exploded before its destination killed five civilians and wounded at least 29 others, including civilians and military personnel, Afghan officials said. The Taliban took responsibility for the bombing, calling it retaliation for statements by President Ashraf Ghani blaming it for an attack earlier this week against a maternity hospital that killed 24 people, including two newborns as well as several mothers and nurses. The Taliban were quick to deny responsibility and condemn that attack on Tuesday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2T4xG1G via Latest News

Another amendment blocking the FBI surveillance failed by just one vote Wednesday, bringing McConnell's proposal one step closer to becoming law. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3bxgR6e via Latest News

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul requesting DNI Grenell testify on Flynn unmasking. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2T4kx8Q via Latest News

Disruption comes as more people turn to streaming services during the pandemic. from CNET https://ift.tt/3dL9ysX via Mobiles

The much-rumored glasses had been previously expected to debut later this year. from CNET https://ift.tt/2Wy3Ncz via Mobiles

Turn to online retailers instead of your usual grocery store. from CNET https://ift.tt/3fkKYko via Mobiles

The biggest questions about COVID-19 and companion animals answered. from CNET https://ift.tt/35ZwbHu via Mobiles

Scientists are racing to find a cure for the pandemic, and a new fast-tracking protocol could help speed up approval for viable vaccines. from CNET https://ift.tt/3bEI6fe via Mobiles