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Containment zone in Delhi
May 31, 2020 at 01:00AM
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Lockdown in Indiaindia lockdown
May 31, 2020
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Michigan parents charged after 3-year-old accidentally shoots himself in the head with gun he found in bunk bed The Michigan parents of a three-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed himself have been arrested on manslaughter charges, according to reports.
May 31, 2020 at 03:57AM
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SpaceX, NASA make final preparations for second launch attempt: 'Let's light this candle!' SpaceX and NASA are edging closer to the second launch attempt for the historic Demo-2 mission that will send astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station.
May 31, 2020 at 03:31AM
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Three Wounded in Shootout in Kyiv Suburb; 20 Detained
Dozens of people, some armed with what appeared to be hunting rifles, clashed in broad daylight on Friday in a residential suburb outside the capital Kyiv, and at least three people were wounded, according to officials.
The violence, captured in amateur footage taken from surrounding apartment blocks and posted online, occurred in the morning in Brovary.
According to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, about 100 people took part in the clashes, some of whom came from another region.
The footage, which Reuters could not immediately verify independently, showed men in masks and dark clothes exchanging fire with hidden adversaries who were obscured by trees. Reuters counted around 40 shots.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the government to investigate the incident and punish those responsible, the presidential press service said.
"The head of the interior ministry reported to the president that the conflict occurred between representatives of companies involved in passenger transportation in Brovary," it said in a statement.
Avakov said 20 people were detained.
The interior ministry said that the head of police in the region of Vynnytsya, where some of those who took part in the clashes came from, had been sacked. It was not clear whether the two were related.
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White US Police Officer Charged with Murder in Black Man's Death
A white police officer in the U.S. city of Minneapolis seen kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed African American man who died in custody after pleading he could not breathe has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges Friday after he said his office had enough evidence to justify the charges. Freeman did not immediately disclose details but said a criminal complaint would be available later.
The victim, 46-year-old George Floyd, was pronounced dead shortly after he was pinned to the ground while handcuffed and officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck as Floyd pleaded he could not breath.
Floyd's family responded to the charges, saying in a statement it wants prosecutors to take a tougher approach.
"The arrest of former Minneapolis police officer Kerek Chauvin for the brutal killing of George Floyd is a welcome but overdue step on the road to justice. We expected a first-degree murder charge. We want a first-degree murder charge. And we want to see the other officers arrested. We call on authorities to revise the charges to reflect the true culpability of this officer."
The Midwestern city of Minneapolis remains on edge following another night of violent protests sparked by the controversial death of an African American man in the custody of a white police officer.
Protesters vented their anger in Minneapolis for a third night, setting a police precinct and businesses on fire and smashing windows of businesses. The National Guard was mobilized as the twin city of St. Paul was also rocked by another night of violence.
Demonstrations against Floyd's death and years of violence against African Americans at the hands of police have also spread across the United States. Protestors also took to the streets Thursday in New York City and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"Please, please, please, I can't breathe. Please, man," Floyd pleaded, while being detained by officer Chauvin. The incident was captured on cellphone video that went viral after it was posted online.
The officer restraining a handcuffed Floyd urged him to "relax," but the officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck after the unarmed man stopped moving. One witness said he heard Floyd calling out for his mother. The video shows Floyd's head turned to the side as he does not appear to be resisting. Toward the end of the video, paramedics arrive, lift a limp Floyd onto a stretcher and place him in an ambulance. Authorities later told reporters Floyd died at the hospital.
Minneapolis police said Floyd resembled a suspect wanted for allegedly trying to spend a counterfeit $20 bill in a food store and that he had resisted arrest.
The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, said early Friday the city is in "a lot of pain and anger" but the looting and burning to protest George Floyd's death is "unacceptable."
Frey said the damaged properties, including a police precinct, are "essential to our community." He said he decided to let the precinct burn late Thursday after receiving reports that protesters were trying to breach the premises. Frey said he ordered police personnel to evacuate from the precinct before it was set ablaze because it became too dangerous for them.
Frey also responded to President Donald Trump's tweets that Minneapolis suffers from a "total lack of leadership" and his labeling of the rioters as "THUGS" who
"are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd."
Trump also threatened to bring the city "under control" and tweeted that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
I can't stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Frey said "Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis," and added, "We are strong as hell."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also criticized Trump, saying his references to "thugs" and "shooting" are counterproductive.
"In the moment where we're at, in a moment that is so volatile, anything we do to add fuel to that fire is really not helpful," Walz said at a Friday news conference. "There is a way to do this without inflaming (tensions)."
Twitter added a warning to Trump's tweet suggesting that protestors could be shot, saying it violates its rules "about glorifying violence." The social media company later flagged Trump's reference to "thugs."
The White House later said "the president did not glorify violence, but condemned it."
Attorney General William Barr said Friday the images "of the incident that ended with the death of Mr. Floyd, while in custody of Minneapolis police offers, were harrowing to watch and deeply disturbing." Barr also said an independent investigation is being conducted by the Justice Department and the FBI.
Former President Barack Obama tweeted Friday about Floyd's death, calling on the country to treat all citizens with dignity and respect.
"It's natural to wish for life 'to just get back to normal' as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal.'
"It shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America," Obama added. "It can't be 'normal."
My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020
Floyd and officer Chauvin knew each other from working security jobs together at the same Minneapolis nightclub, City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins told CNN Friday.
Chauvin was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department who had at least a dozen complaints filed against him about his conduct, according to NBC News and other news outlets. NBC reports that records show Chauvin was not disciplined over the complaints but received one "letter of reprimand."
The other officers involved in Floyd's restraint have been identified as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng. They are still under investigation.
Separately, a CNN crew was arrested in Minneapolis on live television early Friday after protests overnight about Floyd's death.
As reporter Omar Jimenez, who is black, and two other crew members were arrested, the camera continued to run. During the incident, Jimenez asked why he was being arrested. CNN says Governor Walz has apologized to the network.
Because of Floyd's "I can't breathe," comment, his death was quickly compared to that of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in New York who died in 2014 after a white officer placed him in a chokehold while he begged for his life. Garner also told officers, "I can't breathe," a cry that became a national rallying point against the country's long history of police brutality.
Floyd's death comes weeks after three people were charged with the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in the southern state of Georgia. The African American man was allegedly killed in February by a white former Glynn County police officer and his son who claim they mistook Arbery for a burglar while he was jogging. The two were charged only after a video of the shooting emerged several weeks later.
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Trump Calls China's Actions on Hong Kong 'Plain Violations'
U.S. President Donald Trump says China's actions on Hong Kong are "plain violations of its treaty obligations" in remarks Friday that strongly criticized Beijing on a host of issues including its trade practices, handling of the coronavirus pandemic and dealings with the World Health Organization.
Trump said Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to merit special treatment from the United States and said his administration will begin a process to eliminate policy exemptions giving the city preferential treatment.
During remarks Friday in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said the State Department would be revising its travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect "increased danger of surveillance."
This week, China's National People's Congress approved imposing a national security law on Hong Kong despite previous commitments by Beijing to maintain "two systems" — one for the mainland and one for Hong Kong.
On the issue of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, Trump called China's actions "malfeasance," saying Chinese officials ignored their reporting obligations on the virus to the World Health Organization and pressured the organization to mislead the world.
Trump said the United States is "terminating" its relationship with the WHO, adding that China has "total control" over the organization. He noted that the United States contributes about $450 million to the world body, while China provides about $40 million.
"The world needs answers from China on the virus. We must have transparency," the U.S. president told reporters.
Trump also said he would suspend the U.S. entry of certain Chinese nationals who are considered security risks, while criticizing China on its trade policies.
"For decades they have ripped off the United States," the president said, noting that he is instructing a working group to study differing practices of Chinese companies that are listed on U.S. stock market indexes.
"President Trump has today declared unequivocally that China is an enemy of the United States — an enemy he plans to push back against using not only strong words but clearly tough actions," said Harry Kazianis, a senior director at the Center for the National Interest.
"A dangerous superpower showdown is brewing that could set the direction of U.S. foreign policy for the next decade or more," he added.
Earlier Friday, the United States and Britain raised Hong Kong at the U.N. Security Council, noting the issue warrants urgent international concern.
"The United States is resolute, and calls upon all U.N. members states to join us in demanding that the PRC immediately reverse course and honor its international legal commitments to this institution and to the Hong Kong people," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft said in a statement following an informal closed-door session.
The U.S. and Britain had sought a public meeting on the matter, but China blocked the move, so instead, Hong Kong was raised in a private, virtual session, as the council has suspended physical meetings due to COVID-19.
China's U.N. Mission sought to downplay the meeting in a series of tweets, saying that the issue of Hong Kong is "widely recognized" to have nothing to do with the Security Council's mandate, and that it would "continue to oppose any form of interference in China's internal affairs."
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Trump Continues to Claim broad Powers he Doesn't Have
Threatening to shut down Twitter for flagging false content. Claiming he can "override" governors who dare to keep churches closed to congregants. Asserting the "absolute authority" to force states to reopen, even when local leaders say it's too soon.
As he battles the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has been claiming extraordinarily sweeping powers that legal scholars say the president simply doesn't have. And he has repeatedly refused to spell out the legal basis for those powers.
"It's not that the president doesn't have a remarkable amount of power to respond to a public health crisis. It's that these are not the powers he has," said Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas School of Law professor who specializes in constitutional and national security law.
First it was Trump's assertion that he could force governors to reopen their economies before they felt ready. "When somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total," he claimed.
Trump soon dropped the threat, saying he would instead leave such decisions to the states. But he has revived the idea in recent days as he has tried to pressure governors to allow churches and other places of worship to hold in-person services, even where stay-at-home orders and other limits on large gatherings remain in effect.
Asked Tuesday what authority he had to enforce such a mandate, Trump was cagey.
"I can absolutely do it if I want to," he said. "We have many different ways where I can override them and if I have to, I'll do that."
The White House declined to spell out any specific statute, but White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that "every decision the president has made throughout this pandemic has been to protect the health and safety of the American people."
"Getting the nation back to work, back to sporting events, back to churches, back to restaurants, and doing so safely and responsibly is the president's shared goal with governors and the private sector, but the cure cannot be worse than the disease," Deere said.
Trump "certainly does not have the power under any reasonable reading of the Constitution or federalism to order places of worship to open," said Matthew Dallek, a historian at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management who specializes in the use of presidential power.
But Dallek said that just because Trump doesn't have the authority to do most of the things he's threatened, doesn't mean he won't, for instance, try to sign executive orders taking such action anyway — even if they are later struck down by the courts.
"What has limited Trump previously? Not very much. So I think he will do whatever seems to be in his best interest at any particular moment," Dallek said.
Trump, he said, also could try to abuse his powers to leverage other instruments of government, from the Department of Justice to the IRS, to push for investigations or launch regulatory crackdowns to punish states, cities or companies. Trump also has showed he's willing to exercise powers that modern presidents have largely avoided, including his recent purging of inspectors general.
When the president declared the pandemic a national emergency back in March, he activated more than 100 different statutory authorities. Yet Trump, said Vladeck, has failed to exercise many of them.
"I think one of the real ironies of this entire moment is that the president actually has a remarkable array of powers that he hasn't brought to bear. All the while he continues to claim stunning powers that he doesn't have," he said.
That includes the Defense Production Act, which Trump could have used far more aggressively to force companies to mass produce supplies including masks and ventilators. Instead, he used it in more limited ways. And while the Justice Department has threatened to join lawsuits against states that move too slowly, a statement of interest filed by the department in Illinois last week didn't raise any federal constitutional claims.
Even if he doesn't follow through on threats, Trump's statements still can have consequences as he uses his bully pulpit.
"He's still trying to wield his often outrageous interpretations of the law as a cudgel to bludgeon others," said Joshua Geltzer, founding executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.
Trump is now on a tear against Twitter after the social media platform, which he uses to speak directly to his more than 80 million followers, slapped fact-check alerts on two of his tweets claiming that mail-in voting is fraudulent.
On Thursday, he was preparing to sign an executive order aimed at curbing liability protections for social media companies.
"Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!" he tweeted Tuesday. A day later Trump added that: "Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen."
While Congress could pass legislation further regulating social media platforms, Trump "has no such authority," said former federal judge Michael McConnell, who now directs Stanford Law School's Constitutional Law Center. "He is just venting."
"There is absolutely no First Amendment issue with Twitter adding a label to the president's tweets," added Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, who won the case that prevents Trump from banning his critics from his Twitter feed. "The only First Amendment issue here arises from the president's threat to punish Twitter in some way for fact-checking his statements."
But Jack Balkin, a Yale University law professor and First Amendment expert, said that's not Trump's point.
"This is an attempt by the president to, as we used to say in basketball, work the refs," he said. "He's threatening and cajoling with the idea that these folks in their corporate board rooms will think twice about what they're doing, so they won't touch him."
For Rutgers University media professor John Pavlik, who studies online misinformation, Trump is simply trying to fire up his political base.
"For Trump," he said, "this is about politics."
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Pro-Trump Chuck Woolery wants award for 'surviving 45 years of Liberal Hollywood' Outspoken Trump supporter and television icon Chuck Woolery said on Wednesday that he "should get an award for surviving 45 years of Liberal Hollywood" and carving out a successful career despite his conservative political views.
May 28, 2020 at 04:32AM
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Archive Miniatures & Game Systems
BOZ: ←Created page with ''''Archive Miniatures & Game Systems''' was a company that produced miniature figures beginning in the 1970s. ==History== Shannon...'
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MuCepheiBetelgeuse: Added information
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France's Virus Tracing App Ready to Go, Parliament to Vote
French lawmakers were set to vote Wednesday on whether to endorse a contact-tracing app designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus amid sharp debate over privacy concerns.
If approved, France's StopCovid app will be made available to users on a voluntary basis starting Monday. The government committed to honoring the result of the non-binding parliamentary vote.
French privacy watchdog CNIL backed the app this week, stating the technology "won't lead to creating a list of infected people but only a list of contacts using pseudonymous data. It does respect the concept of data protection."
The app uses Bluetooth signals on mobile phones to trace individuals that people infected with the virus had contact with and informs them of potential exposure so they can self-isolate. It will store anonymous data in a government-run centralized database for 14 days before erasing it.
How Contact Tracing Apps work
The government says the app doesn't involve location tracking and it guaranteed the privacy of users, but rights advocacy groups have raised concerns over the issue.
A public agency that monitors the respecting of human rights in France, the National Consultative Commission for Human Rights, said in a statement Tuesday that the app "affects in a disproportionate manner the rights and freedoms of all citizens."
An advocacy group for internet users' rights, La Quadrature du Net, said that "deploying an app whose objectives, technology and usage carry significant risks for our society and our freedoms, for likely mediocre results (possibly even counter-productive ones), is not something we can consider acceptable."
Initially meant to accompany the lifting of restrictions starting on May 11, the app's release was delayed due to technical issues.
The junior minister in charge of the digital economy, Cedric O, said the app was tested on 100 smartphones representing 17 brands and will be available to work with Google and Apple's operating systems.
"It's working well and doesn't drain the battery," he said.
European countries have chosen different approaches to developing their own tracing apps as part of their strategies to prevent a second wave of virus cases after national lockdowns end.
Germany, Italy, Austria, Estonia, Switzerland, and Ireland have embraced a decentralized system, widely considered by privacy experts as better because because data is kept on devices only.
France and the U.K. decided instead to send data to a central server, arguing this would help them react more quickly and aid decision-making.
The French government refused to use the technology for pandemic apps released last week by Google and Apple, saying it lacked sufficient data privacy guarantees.
"The government believes that health protection of the French is an exclusive mission for the state and not for private international actors," it said in a statement.
France, one of the world's hardest-hit countries, has reported at least 28,530 coronavirus-related deaths.
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Coronavirus is 'just the tip of the iceberg,' says China's top bat researcher A top virologist in China has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could be 'just the tip of the iceberg" in terms of worldwide outbreaks of never-before-seen infectious diseases.
May 26, 2020 at 11:56PM
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Italy's New COVID-19 App Tracks Contacts and Protects Privacy
Italy's new contact tracing app for the coronavirus is about to be launched in a number of pilot regions. It will be available to everyone in the country on a voluntary basis and will guarantee the privacy of users, officials who commissioned its development say.
Italians will be able to download the contact tracing app on their mobile phones that will help combat the spread of the coronavirus, starting May 29.
"Immuni" was developed at the request of Italy's Ministry of Innovation Technology and Digital Transformation. Paolo de Rosa, its chief technology officer, says the app can speed up the process of finding people who have had contact with the coronavirus.
"The app is able to do that in a privacy-preserving way so it is not like the traditional approach where you need to identify people. In this case there is only an alerting of people that have been in contact with someone that result positive," de Rosa said.
How contract tracing apps work
Those alerted they have come close to someone that has tested positive for the coronavirus can quickly take action and contact health authorities or their personal physician.
De Rosa stressed that privacy is guaranteed as special measures have been taken and it would be extremely difficult to identify anyone using the app. The only data that a user must provide is the territorial province to which he or she belongs.
For the app to be fully effective, de Rosa said, there needs to be a significant amount of people using it, up to 60 percent, but that is only if one does not take into consideration other factors like social distancing. In any case, de Rosa is convinced that it will be a useful tool to have on one's phone. "This is a very bleeding edge technology, very few countries in the world have used it," he said.
Creating the app was no easy matter, de Rosa said, adding trade-offs had to be made between the requirements of health authorities and privacy. Knowledge was shared with many other countries as well, but no one really knew what the best app needed to look like. With such a highly infectious virus, the need for a tool that would help speed up contact tracing was considered essential to break the chain of the contagion.
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Memorial Day Even More Poignant as Veterans Die From Virus
One was a 94-year-old veteran of World War II who was the first of his 11 brothers to enlist in the military. One was a Vietnam veteran who lost his leg overseas and was always touched when people thanked him for his service. Another was drafted into the military at 18 and was awarded a Purple Heart.
They are among the untold number of veterans who served and survived during times of war only to die in recent weeks from the coronavirus.
This year's Memorial Day will pay tribute not only to those who died on the battlefield but more recent fallen soldiers. And in a reminder of the way coronavirus has transformed American lives and traditions, many of the usual Memorial Day gatherings have been either canceled or curtailed — mindful of the pandemic that has already killed more than 90,000 people in the U.S.
It's making the situation even more painful for the relatives of those veterans who have died from the virus.
Robert Hopp was one of at least 79 residents of a veterans home in Paramus, New Jersey, to die from COVID-19, making the state-run facility one of the nation's worst hot spots for the virus.
He served two and a half tours during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart after he was hit with enemy fire while in a helicopter. Everyone else on board the chopper died, but Hopp managed to climb into the pilot's seat and fly to safety.
After being hospitalized recently for diabetic complications, his health deteriorated quickly and he died in April. He was 70 years old.
His family is at a loss about how they will mark the occasion.
"We couldn't even have a funeral for him yet," said stepson J.J. Brania-Hopp. "There's not really anything we can do right now. All we'll probably do is talk about him, maybe go for a walk out in the sun."
The toll of the virus on military veterans has been particularly harsh. They are older, have underlying health problems, and many reside in facilities that have been breeding grounds for the disease.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 1,000 veterans have been killed by the coronavirus. That does not include hundreds more who have died in state-run veterans homes, including hard-hit facilities in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Louisiana.
"The last couple weeks have been hard," said Neal Hebert, whose father died at a veterans home in Reserve, Louisiana. "I'm an only child and I'll routinely have the impulse of going 'Oh, I need to call Dad and tell him this thing.' And it hits me that I can't do that."
His father, Berlin Hebert Jr., lost a leg from a land mine during the Vietnam War. He rarely talked about the war but made his son promise to never join the Army. It was only in recent years that he became more proud of his service, after the widower moved to the Southeast Louisiana Veterans home.
It was there where he would attend Veterans Day services and he felt people acknowledged his time in the military, a gesture that moved him.
"It always made him cry," Neal Hebert said.
In March, after learning that a resident in the home was positive for COVID-19, Neal Hebert became concerned about his 74-year-old father's safety. He was assured by a nurse that his mobility-impaired father had not been exposed to the virus. But within days, Berlin Hebert was hospitalized with the tell-tale respiratory symptoms.
His condition quickly deteriorated and his son had to say goodbye to him over the phone, his father too weak to say anything back.
Neal Hebert isn't planning any remembrance for his father on Memorial Day, but he eventually hopes to scatter the ashes of his father and mother outside their longtime home as loved ones look on.
Others around the country are struggling to find ways to honor fallen heroes on a Memorial Day like no other, with people avoiding crowds to prevent the spread of the virus.
Many ceremonies and parades have either been canceled or moved online. The American Legion post in Wildwood, New Jersey, planned to hold a drive-by parade Sunday and encouraged the town's residents to participate in a patriotic house-decorating contest.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund traditionally holds a large ceremony in Washington. This year, the organization decided to hold a virtual ceremony and share video messages submitted by the loved ones of fallen troops.
The National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia, has also opted to hold an online ceremony. The town of Seymour, Connecticut, planned a route that will pass by the homes of local veterans Monday. Other ceremonies are going forward with scaled-back crowds or fewer participants.
Charles H.F. Davis III said Memorial Day has always had a special significance in his family due to his relatives' long history of serving. But this year, the pandemic has prevented the aging and geographically scattered family from planning a specific observance to mark the death of his step-grandfather.
Ben Davis Jr. was the first of 11 brothers to enlist in the U.S. military when he joined the Navy in 1944 during World War II. Combined, the brothers would go on to serve 158 years in the armed forces. Davis Jr. served in the Navy, U.S. Army Reserve and Alabama National Guard. He later became a surgical assistant with the Tuskegee Veterans Hospital and was also a youth baseball coach.
Davis Jr. died in April at the age of 94 after contracting the virus at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City, Alabama, his step-grandson said. At least 91 residents of the veterans home have tested positive for COVID-19, and 23 have died, according to Bob Horton, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
Davis III, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, said his grandfather's death is especially gnawing because he was a black veteran and the virus has had an inordinate impact on minority communities.
"Elders hold a special significance, especially in black communities," said Davis III. "Not being able to pay them the proper reverence and homage has been really difficult."
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Dr. Birx: 'Critically important' that people wear masks as states reopen amid higher than expected death tolls White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned that even though states are beginning to reopen, with some beaches being made available to the public over Memorial Day weekend, that people must still maintain social distancing precautions and wear masks where appropriate.
May 24, 2020 at 11:34PM
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Indian Capital Makes a Gradual, Uneasy Comeback
Signs are being spruced up and prayers performed as shops in the Indian capital open their shutters after two months with the gradual easing of a stringent lockdown.
Markets were allowed to reopen recently after the government signaled economic activity must resume, even as the fight against the COVID -19 pandemic continues. Traffic is humming on once-deserted streets as buses and auto rickshaws have been given the go-ahead to operate.
However, people in the city of nearly 20 million — one of the worst-hit in the country — remain hesitant about venturing out as cases of coronavirus touched record highs in recent days.
Shop owners, hoping to slowly emerge from the economic pain imposed by a weekslong shutdown, have instituted new rules to cope with the pandemic.
"We've restricted it to three people at a time for browsing, and then we have new checks and measures in place where we first check the person's temperature, we give them hand sanitizer and we have started giving everyone a pair of gloves as well," said Rajni Malhotra, owner of Bahrisons Booksellers, a 65-year-old landmark in one of the city's most iconic markets.
The city is only partially open — shopping malls, restaurants, schools and colleges still remain closed and offices can only have limited staff. Even in markets that have opened, only half the shops open every day to avoid crowding. Delhi accounts for about 10% of India's infections.
"We have a twofold challenge — to reduce the transmission rate of the disease, and to increase public activity gradually," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the country two weeks ago. "Coronavirus is going to be part of our lives for a long time. But we can't let our lives revolve around it," he said.
Shop owners even sanitize customers' purchases to reassure people still wary of entering markets. Among those that sold some goods is a store that sells kitchen equipment — in Delhi, like much of the world, cooking and baking have been therapy for some of those confined indoors.
However, a sense of unease remains as once-buzzing markets see only a sprinkling of customers, who mostly visit shops selling groceries and other essentials.
"There is this feeling that complete your work fast and then return home," said Aparajita Pant, a city resident who had come to buy food for her pets.
"Earlier one would like to linger around, there are so many interesting shops here but as of now, there is that cautious approach, at least in me," she said.
That is not good news for some shop owners. Not a single person had walked into Leena Mehra's shop selling handicrafts and silver jewelry during the first two days.
"It's depressing. We have to open the shop, we don't have any choice," she said.
"We know it is difficult for us to sell this product to the consumer because right now the mindset of the people is not at all in this direction, but we will try," she said.
The pandemic has left its mark on a city whose love for shopping and being well turned out made it a retailers' paradise.
"One would take more efforts to get maybe a little better dressed, but now you come here, avoid jewelry, avoid wearing even a watch, I am not even wearing my earrings," Pant said ruefully.
Even budget accessories and clothes being sold from small stalls tucked in the market's narrow lanes have few takers. That is disappointing for low-income workers who say they desperately need to start earning again.
"Everybody needs money. If customers don't come and this atmosphere persists, it will not be easy to face the problem created by this pandemic," said a despondent Lucky Arya, as he helped set up a stall to sell summer clothes.
The wait for customers is also long for auto rickshaw drivers waiting on sidewalks.
A once-familiar sight as they skillfully negotiated their way through Delhi's often chaotic traffic, they too have been scarred by the pandemic because of new rules allowing only one passenger instead of the customary two to ensure social distancing.
Mohammad Parvez Khan decided to brave the city's sizzling summer temperatures to ply his auto rickshaw even during Ramadan because his savings were running out.
"Only we know how we passed these last two months," he said.
"Every day, when I fasted, I prayed that let the coronavirus go quickly, and may everything come back to how it used to be," he said.
