Month: June 2020

With the death toll surpassing 100,000 deaths, Latin America has emerged as the world’s newest epicenter for the novel coronavirus pandemic. Brazil leads the region with 1,145,906 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 52,645 deaths, making it the world’s second-highest number of cases in both categories after the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. The nation recorded 39,436 new confirmed cases over the last 24-hour period on Tuesday, including more than 1,300 deaths.   The pandemic has reached such a crisis that a federal judge ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public or pay a fine of nearly $400 a day.  A man, wearing a protective face mask walks past a mural depicting a tug-of-war between health workers and President Bolsonaro, with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Which side are you on?”, Sao Paulo, June 19, 2020.The judge said Bolsonaro is violating local law in Brasilia aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Bolsonaro has so far refused to cover his mouth at large political rallies where he comes in close contact with voters and children.  Bolsonaro has shrugged off the pandemic as just a “flu” and said anyone worried about the virus is just being neurotic.  Analysts attribute the rise in confirmed cases and deaths in the Latin American region to a combination of widespread poverty, widespread distrust of the government, and leaders, such as Bolsonaro and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who have either downplayed or dismissed the true risk of the virus and failed to impose stringent lockdowns.   With the rising death toll in Latin America, the total number of deaths around the world now stands at more than 477,000, part of a combined 9.2 million cases.  Wearing face coverings, John Williams, right, and Jeff Lee play chess, June 23, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif.US has most cases, deaths
The United States continues to lead the world in both categories with 2.3 million confirmed cases and 121,228 deaths.  According to The Washington Post, seven states — Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — have reported their highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.   Its top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told a congressional panel Tuesday there will be more testing, not less, even after President Donald Trump asked health officials to slow down testing.   The White House has said the president wasn’t serious when he said more testing is the reason there are so many cases in the U.S. But Trump said Tuesday that he wasn’t joking.  From left to right, Dr. Robert Redfield, Dr. Anthony Fauci, ADM Brett P. Giroir and Dr. Stephen M. Hahn testify before a House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, June 23, 2020.Fauci also said he is cautiously optimistic a coronavirus vaccine will be available as early as the end of 2020. But he has previously said even if a vaccine is ready, there is no guarantee it will work or give any long-term protection.  Ban on American travelers The New York Times reports that European Union nations plan to stop U.S. citizens from crossing its borders because of what officials call the U.S. failure to control the virus.  The newspaper is basing its story on what it says are draft lists of who will be allowed to travel to the EU starting July 1. It says it confirmed the lists with two EU officials in Brussels, but the Times says none of the 27 EU members are obligated to adopt it.  The World Health Organization says the coronavirus pandemic is still growing even as countries start to ease lockdowns and other restrictions.    “The epidemic is now peaking or moving towards a peak in a number of large countries,” WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said.  People wait in a queue for the COVID-19 rapid antigen test in New Delhi, India, June 24, 2020.Several nations, including Germany, South Africa and India — which reports about 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day — are looking at reimposing lockdowns and preparing to treat an influx of new cases.   WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it took three months for the world to confirm its first 1 million cases, but just eight days for the most recent 1 million to be identified.  “The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. It’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership,” Tedros said without naming any specific country or leader he believes has failed.   Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball during an exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, June 21, 2020.Tennis star, wife test positive
Meanwhile, tennis star Novak Djokovic said Tuesday he and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19 after he hosted a series of exhibition events he organized in his native Serbia and Croatia.  Three other players who participated in the matches also tested positive for the virus, which could threaten professional tennis’s hopes of resuming play this year. 
…

Top U.S. health officials told lawmakers Tuesday the nation’s coronavirus response is improving – even as 26 U.S. states are now reporting a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. Those numbers have increasingly become the focus of a political debate after President Donald Trump said at a rally Saturday, he had asked for slower coronavirus testing. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump was at the southwestern state of Arizona Tuesday to inspect the border wall with Mexico and deliver a campaign speech to highlight his achievements on immigration. This week, his administration is suspending certain temporary work visas for foreigners, saying it would ease the economic impact of the pandemic. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
…

In a stunning decision that could test the legal framework of #MeToo cases, Pennsylvania’s highest court will review the trial decision to let five other accusers testify at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial in 2018, which ended with the longtime TV star’s conviction. Cosby, 82, has been imprisoned in suburban Philadelphia for nearly two years after a jury convicted him of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2004. He’s serving a three- to 10-year sentence. The Supreme Court has agreed to review two aspects of the case, including the judge’s decision to let prosecutors call the other accusers to testify about long-ago encounters with the actor and comedian. Cosby’s lawyers have long complained the testimony is remote and unreliable.  The court will also consider, as it weighs the scope of the evidence allowed, whether the jury should have heard Cosby’s own deposition testimony about getting quaaludes to give women in the past. Secondly, the court will examine Cosby’s argument that he had an agreement with a former prosecutor that he would never be charged in the case. Cosby has said he relied on the alleged promise before agreeing to give the deposition in trial accuser Andrea Constand’s lawsuit. Those issues have been at the heart of the case since Cosby was charged in December 2015, days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired.  Prosecutors in suburban Philadelphia had reopened the case that year after The Associated Press fought to unseal portions of Cosby’s decade-old deposition in Constand’s sex assault and defamation lawsuit. Cosby paid $3.4 million to settle the lawsuit in 2006. Cosby, in the deposition, acknowledged a string of extramarital relationships. He called them consensual, but many of the women say they were drugged and molested. Dozens came forward in the years that followed to accuse Cosby, long beloved as “America’s Dad” because of his hit 1980s sitcom, of sexual misconduct. Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill allowed just one of them to testify at Cosby’s first trial in 2017, which ended with an acquittal. But a year later, after the #MeToo movement exploded in the wake of reporting on Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and other powerful men, the judge allowed five other accusers to testify at the retrial. The jury convicted Cosby on all three felony sex-assault counts. Lawyer Brian W. Perry argued in the appeal that letting other accusers testify in #MeToo cases “flips constitutional jurisprudence on its head, and the ‘presumption of guilt,’ rather than the presumption of innocence, becomes the premise.” However, the judge said he found “striking similarities” in the women’s descriptions of their encounters with Cosby, and said the testimony was therefore permissible to show evidence of a “signature crime.” “In each instance, (he) met a substantially younger woman, gained her trust, invited her to a place where he was alone with her, provided her with a drink or drug, and sexually assaulted her once she was rendered incapacitated,” O’Neill wrote in a post-trial opinion. “These chilling similarities rendered (their) testimony admissible.” Spokesman Andrew Wyatt on Tuesday said the decision comes as demonstrators across the nation protest the death of Black people at the hands of police and expose the “corruption that lies within the criminal justice system.” “The false conviction of Bill Cosby is so much bigger than him — it’s about the destruction of ALL Black people and people of color in America,” Wyatt said in a statement. Constand, a former professional basketball player who now does outreach to sex assault victims, asked the appeals court Tuesday to not allow “Cosby’s wealth, fame and fortune to win an escape from his maleficent, malignant and downright criminal past.” Questioned about the encounter with her in the 2006 deposition, Cosby described being on his couch and putting his hand down her pants after giving her three pills he identified as Benadryl. Constand said they made her pass out. “I don’t hear her say anything. And I don’t feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped,” he said. Legal experts said the appellate review could help clarify when judges should allow “prior bad act” testimony from other accusers in sex crime cases, at least in Pennsylvania, and whether a supposed verbal promise from one prosecutor should bind their successor. “I think that Cosby still has an uphill battle. The good news is the state Supreme Court will look at the appeal,” said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson. The AP typically does not name people who say they have been victims of sexual assault without their permission, which Constand has granted.   
…

Twitter Inc. said on Tuesday it had placed a warning notice on a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump for violating its policy against abusive behavior.
 
“There will never be an “Autonomous Zone” in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” the president’s tweet read.There will never be an “Autonomous Zone” in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020In a tweet, the company said it had hidden Trump’s tweet behind its “public interest” notice because there was a threat of harm against an identifiable group.
 
Anti-racism protesters on Monday declared a Black House Autonomous Zone – referencing a Seattle area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone or the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – near the White House in front of St. John’s Church.
 
…

Equal treatment. That’s the idea behind the Civil Rights Act. One part of the legislation, called Title VII deals with the workplace. What does that mean for American workers? VOA explains.
…

The United States has strongly condemned Monday’s assassination of a team of five Afghan government employees, including two prosecutors, and demanded that authorities investigate the attack.
 
The slain men were said to be part of a team working to facilitate the release of Taliban prisoners from government custody as part of a landmark U.S. agreement with the Islamist insurgent group aimed at ending nearly two decades of Afghan war.  
 
“This attack, carried out by enemies of peace, took the lives of five civilians. We offer our condolences,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the American special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, said in a series of tweets. “We call for a full investigation to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
 Afghan Security Forces Suffer Bloodiest Week in 19 YearsTaliban carried out hundreds of attacks in dozens of provincesAfghan officials said the victims were traveling to the Bagram prison, north of the capital, Kabul, when gunmen sprayed their car with bullets during an ambush. The prison facility hosts a large number of insurgent prisoners.  
 
While the Taliban has denied its involvement in Monday’s attack, the government has pointed the finger at the insurgents.
 High-Profile Killings  
 
The attack is the latest in a series of high-profile assassinations in and round Kabul in recent weeks that remain unclaimed. They include killings earlier this month of two highly respected Afghan clerics and the May 12 raid on a maternity ward in the city, run by Doctors Without Borders.The hospital attack killed 25 people, including 16 women,  five of them just minutes or hours away from giving birth. 
Khalilzad negotiated and signed the pact with the Taliban in February, which requires Kabul to free 5,000 insurgent prisoners in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security personnel being held by the Taliban before peace talks between Afghan parties to the war could begin.
 
The Kabul government says it has so far released 3,600 insurgent prisoners while the Taliban says it has freed around 600 detainees.
 
Khalilzad suggested that Monday’s attack could be the work of domestic and foreign “spoilers” trying to disrupt and delay Afghan peace efforts. He encouraged Afghan rivals to remain committed to the peace process.  
 
“Both sides should not be deterred and push forward to take the steps necessary to reach intra-Afghan negotiations, where a comprehensive ceasefire & a political settlement can be negotiated as quickly as possible,” Khalilzad tweeted.  
 Plot To Kill Khalilzad  
 
The Afghan-American envoy has repeatedly warned in his previous statements that Islamic State terrorists in Afghanistan could attempt to subvert the U.S.-Taliban deal.  
 
Khalilzad’s own security has lately come under scrutiny, however.
 
Last week, U.S. officials confirmed they were investigating Taliban claims that Islamic State was plotting to assassinate Khalilzad with the help of former and current officers within the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS).
 
The Taliban shared with media outlets a video of two blindfolded men in their custody earlier this month, saying they were recruited by Islamic State for the would-be suicide mission aimed at killing Khalilzad.   
 
The two alleged IS militants claimed in their purported video confession that the plot to eliminate the American envoy was facilitated by Rahmatullah Nabil, a former NDS chief, with a mission to sabotage the Afghan peace process. They also owned other high-profile killings in Kabul, a prominent analyst who frequently and publicly spoke for peace with the Taliban.  
 
Nabil, a presidential candidate in last year’s election in Afghanistan, has vehemently denied the charges and denounced the video as fake.
…

Friends and relatives of Rayshard Brooks began arriving at the historic Atlanta church that was once the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pulpit for a funeral Tuesday for the Black man whose killing by a white police officer in a fast-food parking lot stoked protests across the U.S. over racial injustice.
King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, planned to deliver remarks at the private service, along with a friend of Brooks, his mother-in-law and the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev. Raphael Warnock.
“Rayshard Brooks wasn’t just running from the police. He was running from a system that makes slaves out of people. A system that doesn’t give ordinary people who’ve made mistakes a second chance, a real shot at redemption,” Warnock, a Democratic candidate for Senate, said in an excerpt released ahead of the service.
Brooks, 27, was shot twice in the back June 12 by Officer Garrett Rolfe after a struggle that erupted when police tried to handcuff him for being intoxicated behind the wheel of his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru. Video showed Brooks snatching a police Taser and firing it at Brooks while running away.
Rolfe, 27, was charged with murder and jailed without bail. A second officer, Devin Brosnan, 26, was charged with aggravated assault, accused of stepping on Brooks’ shoulder as he lay dying on the pavement. Lawyers for both men said their clients’ actions were justified.  
The killing unfolded amid protests and scattered violence set off around the country by the case of George Floyd, the Black man who was pronounced dead May 25 after a white Minneapolis put his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes.
Atlanta’s police chief stepped down less than 24 hours after Brooks’ death, and the Wendy’s was burned by protesters.
While Brooks was not a member of Ebenezer Baptist, the church where King preached is a “sanctuary for those who suffer,” Warnock said in a statement announcing the funeral plans. Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry offered financial help for the service, according to the statement.
An afternoon bail hearing for Rolfe that would have conflicted with the funeral was canceled by a judge. Under the law, crime victims and their families are entitled to be heard at such proceedings.
Meanwhile,  a new poll that finds nearly all Americans favor at least some change to the nation’s criminal justice system, and they overwhelmingly want to see clear standards on when police officers may use force and consequences for those who cross the line.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said 29% think the criminal justice system needs “a complete overhaul,” 40% say it needs “major changes,” and 25% say it needs “minor changes.” Just 5% believe no changes are necessary.
  
…

A day after a noose was found in the team garage of African-American race car driver Bubba Wallace, his fellow drivers staged a moving show of support for him Monday. Shortly before the start of a NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) race at Talladega Superspeedway in the southern state of Alabama, several drivers pushed Wallace’s number 43 car to the front of pit row, followed by a long procession of other drivers and members of their pit crews.  The procession moved past an area on the infield grass with the phrase “#IStandWithBubba” painted on it.   An emotional Wallace partially emerged from the car after it came to a stop and broke down in tears. Legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty, who made the number 43 car a cultural icon and is co-owner of Wallace’s team, walked up to Wallace and put his hands on his shoulders.   Wallace is the lone African American driver in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series.  He drew widespread support earlier this month when he successfully urged NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at its races in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis last month. The flag, which represented the slave-owning southern U.S. states that split from the North during the 1861-65 Civil War, remains a prominent symbol of southern culture, but many African Americans consider the flag a lasting symbol of slavery, racism and white supremacy.Driver Bubba Wallace, left, is overcome with emotion as team owner Richard Petty, comforts him as he arrives at his car in the pits of the Talladega Superspeedway prior to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series, June 22, 2020.Floyd’s death has sparked a backlash against other perceived symbols of white supremacy, including statues of Confederate generals and other historical figures.  Some statues have either been defaced or torn down by protesters, or removed by local officials.   NASCAR, which also has its roots in southern U.S. culture, said in a statement it will do everything it can to identify who was responsible for the noose “and eliminate them from our sport.” The FBI is also investigating the incident.   Wallace finished 14th in the race, which was scheduled to run Sunday but postponed because of rain. Protesters on Saturday and Sunday drove cars and trucks flying the Confederate flag on roads near the track.   Wallace said after the race that the incident “was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life,” but called the support he received afterwards as “incredible.” 
…

Elections are set for three U.S. states Tuesday, including a Senate Democratic primary contest in the mid-south state of Kentucky for a spot to face Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November and a tough Democratic primary challenge longtime Congressman Eliot Engel is facing in New York.In the Kentucky race, polls indicate a tight race between former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who narrowly lost a 2018 bid for a seat in the House of Representatives, and Charles Booker, a 35-year-old state lawmaker.McGrath was the early favorite in the race and raised $41 million in campaign funds while earning the endorsements of key Democratic figures such as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.  But Booker, who raised less than $4 million, has closed the gap, getting his own endorsements from key newspapers in the state as well as national progressive figures including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 16, 2020.Tuesday’s winner faces a tough contest against the 78-year-old McConnell, a fixture in Kentucky and the Washington power structure. McConnell has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s legislative proposals and his appointment of conservative judges. Moreover, the president is popular in Kentucky, which he won by about 30 percentage points in 2016. New York In Tuesday’s other key race, the 73-year-old Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is also facing a late challenge from Jamaal Bowman, a 44-year-old middle school principal who had never run for office before.  Much like Booker in Kentucky, Bowman is advancing more leftist policies than Engel, hoping to unseat the 16-term congressman. Engel has the endorsements of key Washington figures, including Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump.  FILE – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., walks through the Hall of Columns at the Capitol.But New York progressives have lined up behind Bowman, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who herself won an upset primary election victory against an entrenched New York congressman in 2018. In a normally solid Republican congressional district in western New York state, Democrat Nate McMurray and Republican Chris Jacobs are vying to finish the last half year of the two-year term vacated when Republican Chris Collins resigned as he pleaded guilty to federal insider stock trading charges. No matter who wins, McMurray and Jacobs are likely to face each other again in November for a full two-year House term. There also are party primaries for six congressional seats in Kentucky and another 26 House primaries in New York besides the Engel-Bowman race. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington.Virginia
In the mid-Atlantic state of Virginia, there are seven party primaries for House seats, along with a Republican party primary for the Senate nomination to face two-term incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Warner in the November election. The three Republicans vying to face Warner are civics teacher Alissa Baldwin, Army intelligence officer Thomas Speciale and Daniel Gade, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who lost his right leg in a 2004 firefight in Iraq and now is a professor at American University in Washington.President Donald Trump exits Air Force One as he arrives at Tulsa International Airport on his way to his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 20, 2020Trump heads to Arizona
Trump is heading Tuesday to the southwestern state of Arizona where he is scheduled to inspect the under-construction border wall in Yuma, one of the nation’s hot spots for COVID-19. He is then scheduled to deliver a campaign speech to more than 3,000 people, most with the group “Students for Trump,” at a church in Phoenix.Arizona has seen its number of coronavirus cases double in the past two weeks.  Both Yuma County and the city of Phoenix have mandated the wearing of face masks in public.Trump’s reelection campaign faced criticism for holding a rally Saturday in the state of Oklahoma, another where the number of coronavirus cases has been surging.The political rally attracted far fewer supporters than the campaign had anticipated, filling only 6,200 out of the 19,199 seats in the Bank of Oklahoma Center, according to the Tulsa Fire Department.The Trump campaign had claimed it had received more than a million requests for tickets.
…

Police in Washington forcefully pushed back a group of protesters late Monday who were trying to take down a statue of former President Andrew Jackson in a park across from the White House. The protesters had thrown ropes over the statue and were pulling from two sides as a crowd surrounding the site chanted against Jackson and in support of justice for victims of police violence. Police carrying shields confronted the protesters and used batons, pepper spray and pepper bullets to push the crowd away from the statue in Lafayette Square. The site is the same area where earlier this month police forcefully cleared out protesters a short time before President Donald Trump walked through the area for a photo opportunity at a nearby church. 
…

Tech executives said Monday they were disappointed in the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily ban an array of work visas, including those used by the technology industry. Some vowed to open up or expand their operations overseas.  “Banning all H1B visas means CEOs like me have to open offices and hire more people in countries like Canada that allow immigration,” tweeted Anshu Sharma, chief executive of a data privacy firm in Silicon Valley.Banning all H1B visas means CEOs like me have to open offices and hire more people in countries like Canada that allow immigration. This visa ban is morally wrong, and economically stupid. What happened to being “for legal immigration”? https://t.co/R9O9Q1Ts0j— H1B immigrant Anshu Sharma 🌶 (@anshublog) June 22, 2020“Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today,” Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google, said on Twitter. “Disappointed by today’s proclamation.”Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today. Disappointed by today’s proclamation – we’ll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 22, 2020The executive order expanded on restrictions the White House rolled out in April. In its statement, the White House cited the current economic hardship in the U.S. where the unemployment rate is more than 13 percent.   “President Trump’s efforts will ensure businesses look to American workers first when hiring,” the White House said in a statement. “Many workers have been hurt through no fault of their own due to coronavirus and they should not remain on the sidelines while being replaced by new foreign labor.” Reliance on foreign workers  During periods of high growth, the technology industry has relied on the H-1B, a temporary work visa that brings as many as 85,000 skilled workers to the U.S. each year.  While tech companies have had layoffs during the pandemic, the labor market is still tight, said Russell Hancock, the chief executive and president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit organization that studies the region.  “Tech is pretty much working at full employment,” he said. “The pandemic hasn’t hurt tech as it has hurt other sectors.” Silicon Valley’s foreign-born workers mostly hail from India and China. More than 60 percent of those working in computer, mathematics and engineering fields in Silicon Valley are foreign born, according to the 2020 Silicon Valley Index, produced by Joint Venture. Tech companies have argued that they need foreign-born workers – and an expansion of the temporary work visa program — because there are not enough U.S.-born workers with the skills for key roles. Opponents of the temporary visa say that the industry and large tech consultants turn to foreign workers to keep wages down.   Cutting off the ability of skilled workers to come to the U.S. will hurt the industry’s ability to stay competitive, Hancock said.  “If you talk to anyone, they will tell you we need talent and it’s not coming through our own pipelines,” he said.  It’s a point echoed by tech leaders.  “In the digital economy, you hire where the talent is,” tweeted Aaron Levie, the chief executive at Box, a tech firm. “When you restrict immigration, the jobs still get created, just somewhere else. And later down the road, when those individuals create the next Google, it won’t be here.” In the digital economy, you hire where the talent is. When you restrict immigration, the jobs still get created, just somewhere else. And later down the road, when those individuals create the next Google, it won’t be here.— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 22, 2020
…

Outdoor clothing giant Patagonia announced it would pause all advertisements on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram for at least the month of July, joining a growing ad boycott led by civil rights organizations. “For too long, Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform,” said a FILE – Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 23, 2019.While Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the posts did not violate the social media giant’s rules against inciting violence, civil rights activists say the controversy is emblematic of how Facebook provides a platform for racist rhetoric.  Now, the company is facing widespread backlash, including from its own employees. Some have spoken out against company policy online, staged a virtual walkout and even resigned.  Facebook has come under fire in the past for failing to curb online abuse and election disinformation, and to protect user data. Civil rights groups including Color of Change, the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League launched the “Stop hate for profit” campaign on June 17, asking advertisers to pause promotions on all Facebook-owned platforms through the month of July. The boycott stems from a worldwide movement against racism and police brutality, sparked by the death of George Floyd last month in Minneapolis while he was in police custody. Advertising accounted for more than 98% of Facebook’s $17.74 billion in global revenue in the first quarter of 2020. Ad revenue growth has slowed, however, in part because of the pandemic-inflicted cash crunch many advertisers have faced, and because of Facebook’s own attempts to increase user data privacy.  In a statement to CNN Business, Carolyn Everson, vice president of Facebook’s Global Business Group, said, “We deeply respect any brand’s decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good.” Freelancing platform Upwork also joined the boycott, and Hypebeast, a men’s fashion publication, reported Sunday that brands including Vans and Timberland are considering joining.   
…

U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the entry of certain foreign workers on Monday until the end of the year, a move the White House said would help the coronavirus-battered economy, but which business groups strongly oppose. The effects of the proclamation may not be immediately felt as the issuance of work visas had already dramatically declined due to the coronavirus pandemic. The following visa categories are affected: H-1B The United States grants 85,000 H-1B visas every year to “high-skilled” workers, often in the technology industry. They are generally valid for up to six years. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 188,123 H-1B visas for both new applicants and renewals. Some 131,549 were for Indian citizens, followed by 28,483 for mainland Chinese citizens. Only 143 H-1B visas were issued in May 2020, compared with 13,678 in May 2019, according to Department data. H-2B H-2B visas are for seasonal non-agricultural labor. The United States issues 66,000 per year, although it sometimes grants additional visas based on demand. They are generally valid for up to three years and are popular in industries like food processing, hotel work, and landscaping. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 97,623 H-2B visas for both new applicants and renewals. Some 72,339 were for Mexican citizens. H-4 H-4 visas are for the spouses and children of H-1B and H-2B holders. The proclamation does not explicitly address them, but does restrict entry for “any alien accompanying or following to join” restricted categories. They are valid for the duration of the H-1B visa. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 125,999 H-4 visas. Some 106,162 were for Indian citizens, followed by 5,701 for mainland Chinese citizens. J-1 J-1 visas are for cultural and educational exchange. The order applies to J-1 holders “participating in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program.” They are valid for up to seven years, depending on program type, and there is no annual cap. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 353,279 J-1 visas for both new applicants and renewals. Some 39,920 were for mainland Chinese citizens, followed by 18,349 for citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and 17,591 for German citizens. J-2 J-2 visas are for the spouses and dependents of J-1 holders. It is valid for the duration of the J-1 visa. The Department of State issued 38,282 J-2 visas in fiscal year 2019, with 10,228 going to mainland Chinese citizens. L-1L-1 visas are for high-level and specialized company employees. They are generally valid for up to seven years and there is no annual cap. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 76,988 L-1 visas. Some 18,354 were for Indian citizens, followed by 5,902 for citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and 5,295 for Brazilian citizens. L-2L-2 visas are for the dependents of L-1 holders. They are valid for the duration of the associated L-1 visa. In fiscal year 2019, the Department of State issued 80,720 L-2 visas. Some 23,169 went to Indian citizens, followed by 7,143 for Brazilian citizens.
 
…

Americans’ outlook on the national economy has improved somewhat from its lowest points during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, but a new poll suggests Democrats and Republicans are living in alternate economic realities amid the sharpest recession in the nation’s history. Eighty-five percent of Democrats call economic conditions “poor,” while 65% of Republicans describe them as “good” in a new survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. This divide reflects the deep polarization ahead of the 2020 presidential election, as well as a series of indicators that point toward a weakened but recovering U.S. economy. “The economy is in terrible shape and improving rapidly,” said Harvard University professor Jason Furman, formerly the top economist in the Obama White House. “Depending on which of the two halves you’re looking at, you’re going to have a very different interpretation of where we are.” FILE – Diners are seated in an outdoor dining area on a sidewalk at Limey’s Pub, in Norwood, Mass., June 18, 2020.Americans can see reasons for hope as well as doubt. They face a host of uncertainties about the path of COVID-19, the fate of small businesses with fewer customers and the status of additional government aid. Overall, 63% of the country says the economy is in poor shape, down somewhat from the 70% who felt that way in May. The change was driven by increasingly optimistic Republicans, only 43% of whom described the economy as good a month ago. Two-thirds of Republicans, but just 29% of Democrats, expect improvement over the next year. Thelma Ross, 78, of Granby, Missouri, believes the economy will recover if President Donald Trump can defeat Democratic challenger Joe Biden, the former vice president. “I think it’s going to come back, stronger than ever, if we get the right president in,” Ross said. “President Trump is a businessman.” Yet she is concerned by the protests after George Floyd, an African American, died in police custody in Minneapolis and the calls to remove statues that celebrate the Confederacy and Christopher Columbus. Ross views division as harmful for any economic recovery. Ross said of Trump: “I pray for divine revelation and divine guidance for that man because he needs that right now.” Job lossThe survey finds that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to say someone in their household has lost a job or other income. That inequality has added to the broader reckoning with structural racism amid nationwide protests over police brutality following Floyd’s death. Overall, 66% of Hispanic Americans and 53% of black Americans say they’ve experienced some form of household income loss, including layoffs, unpaid time off and cuts in hours or pay. Forty-two percent of white Americans say the same. Thirty-four percent of Hispanics, 29% of African Americans and 20% of white Americans said someone in their household has been laid off. The poll finds signs that some of those layoffs are becoming permanent. Among all those who experienced a layoff in their household, 55% say the job definitely or probably will return — and 8% say it already has. Still, 36% said the job will most likely not come back, which is significantly higher than the 20% who said that in April. The economy cratered in March and April as people sheltered in place in hopes of stopping the pandemic, and the unemployment rate spiked to at least 14.7%. Responses to government surveys suggested the true jobless rate may have been even higher. But it showed signs of reviving in May. Retail sales surged 17.7%, and 2.5 million jobs were added. The unemployment rate improved to 13.3%, a number that is still the second highest reading in records going back to 1948. Leah Avery, 54, lost her job driving a school bus in suburban Dallas. She said she checks her email daily to find out how schools will reopen. She applied for unemployment benefits a month ago, but the request has been under review. “It’s a struggle day by day for us to pay our bills, and I know others are going through the same thing,” she said. The job loss has only added to her stress. Her aunt died from COVID-19, and she needs to take care of her elderly mother and her husband, who has dialysis appointments three days a week. It’s a full-time job with no pay, she said. “I just have these moments where it makes me cry,” she said. “You don’t know this day from the next day what is going to happen.” Federal aidThe nearly $3 trillion in approved federal aid has shielded many people from the pain of the downturn. About two-thirds of Americans still call their personal financial situations good. A bipartisan group of economists proposed an additional $1 trillion to $2 trillion of aid to sustain any recovery, including targeted funds for state and local governments, subsidized loans for small businesses, more generous unemployment benefits and aid for low-wage workers. “It should be thought of as an investment in the economy,” said Melissa Kearney, a University of Maryland economics professor who helped lead the effort. The proposals are based on ideas shown to boost growth and provide traction for a recovery that is still in its early and fragile stages. 
 
…

The Trump administration said Monday that it was extending a ban on green cards issued outside the United States until the end of the year and adding many temporary work visas to the freeze, including those used heavily by technology companies and multinational corporations.The administration cast the effort as a way to free up jobs in an economy reeling from the coronavirus. A senior official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity estimated the restrictions will free up to 525,000 jobs for Americans.The ban, while temporary, would amount to major restructuring of legal immigration if made permanent, a goal that had eluded the administration before the pandemic. Business groups had pressed hard to limit their reach, saying many of these workers are essential.The ban on new visas applies to H-1B visas, which are used by major American technology companies, and their immediate families, H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, J-1 visas for exchange students and L-1 visas for managers of multinational corporations.There will be exemptions for food processing workers, which make up about 15% of H-2B visas, the official said. Health care workers assisting with the coronavirus fight will continue to be spared from the green-card freeze, though their exemption will be narrower.Trump imposed a 60-day ban on green cards issued abroad in April, which was set to expire Monday. That announcement, which largely targeted family members, drew a surprisingly chilly reception from immigration hardliners, who said the president didn’t go far enough.The new steps to include non-immigrant visas satisfy many, but not all, of the hardliners’ wishes. The freezes on visas issued abroad are designed to take effect immediately. Other changes, including restrictions on work permits for asylum-seekers, will go through a formal rule-making process that takes months.The administration is proposing a new way of awarding H-1B visas, which are capped at 85,000 a year and used by Indian technology giants as well as companies like Amazon Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc., the official said. The administration wants to award them by highest salary instead of by lottery.
 
…

The American Museum of Natural History will remove a prominent statue of Theodore Roosevelt from its entrance after years of objections that it symbolizes colonial expansion and racial discrimination, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday.The bronze statue that has stood at the museum’s Central Park West entrance since 1940 depicts Roosevelt on horseback with a Native American man and an African man standing next to the horse.”The American Museum of Natural History has asked to remove the Theodore Roosevelt statue because it explicitly depicts Black and Indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior,” de Blasio said in a written statement. “The City supports the Museum’s request. It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue.”Taking to Twitter, President Donald Trump objected to the statue’s removal.”Ridiculous, don’t do it!” he tweeted.The museum’s president, Ellen Futter, told the New York Times that the museum’s “community has been profoundly moved by the ever-widening movement for racial justice that has emerged after the killing of George Floyd.””We have watched as the attention of the world and the country has increasingly turned to statues as powerful and hurtful symbols of systemic racism,” Futter told the Times.Officials said it hasn’t been determined when the Roosevelt statue will be removed and where it will go.”The composition of the Equestrian Statue does not reflect Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy,” Theodore Roosevelt IV, a great-grandson of the president, said in a statement to the Times. “It is time to move the statue and move forward.”Futter said the museum objects to the statue but not to Roosevelt, a pioneering conservationist whose father was a founding member of the institution and who served as New York’s governor before becoming the 26th president. She said the museum is naming its Hall of Biodiversity for Roosevelt “in recognition of his conservation legacy.”In 2017, protesters splashed red liquid on the statue’s base to represent blood and published a statement calling for its removal as an emblem of “patriarchy, white supremacy and settler-colonialism.” 
…

Afghanistan’s security forces have suffered their bloodiest week so far in the 19-year-old Afghan war.    The Afghanistan’s National Security Council said 291 members of Afghan National and Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) were killed and 550 others wounded in multiple Taliban attacks last week.    “Taliban carried out 422 attacks in 32 provinces, martyring 291 ANDSF members and wounding 550 others. Taliban’s commitment to reduce violence is meaningless, and their actions inconsistent with their rhetoric on peace,” tweeted Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the NSC.   The NSC statement also said that at least 42 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 105 others were wounded in the violence Taliban committed across 18 provinces in the past week.    The statement comes at a time when hopes are high for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, a term used for negotiations between the Taliban and a representative group of other Afghans including the government, political factions, and civil society activists.   FILE – Afghan National Army soldiers keep watch at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 29, 2020.“We haven’t seen the reduction in violence that we expect and that we think is necessary to really underpin the peace efforts, but we call on the Taliban to reduce violence. We call of course on Taliban to, in a constructive way, engage in intra-Afghan negotiations,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week, following a meeting with NATO defense ministers.    On Sunday, the head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban political team in Doha.    “The UN envoy for #Afghanistan highlighted the need for a just peace that was inclusive of all Afghans, including women, youth and minorities,” a Tweet from the official UNAMA account said.    .FILE – Members of a Taliban negotiating team enter the venue hosting U.S.-Taliban talks in the Qatari capital Doha, Aug. 29, 2019.The international community’s efforts to resolve both issues seems to be bearing fruit. The first round of the negotiation is expected at the end of this month in Doha, although the coronavirus pandemic has created another logistical hurdle.  
…

AIDS activist Larry Kramer used to wear an oversized rectangular turquoise ring on his left finger, tinged with variations of green.  A turquoise band circled a second finger.  Two large turquoise rings decorated his other hand.When Kramer first moved to New York in the 1970s, a fortune teller told him he “must always wear something turquoise to look after your health.”  He trusted the superstition, surviving hepatitis B and a liver transplant — and battling an HIV infection for more than 30 years.”God knows how,” Kramer told VOA in his final interview before he died of pneumonia on May 27, less than a month before his 85th birthday.Turquoise’s health benefits are unproven, but a revolutionary generation of antiviral drugs, the first of which was studied and approved 25 years ago, kept Kramer and millions of other HIV-positive people alive for decades.Before that success though, the search for an effective treatment took well over a decade and triggered some of the fiercest confrontations between Americans and their government during that period.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – Demonstrators from the organization ACT UP, angry with the federal government’s response to the AIDS crisis, protest in front of the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md., Oct. 11, 1988.Silence = DeathWhat would prove to be ACT UP’s most consequential clash came on October 11, 1988, when the group shut down the headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency that approves and regulates medications in America.  ACT UP blocked roads to the complex outside Washington, as participants lay on the ground in front of the building with mock tombstones, some reading, “RIP Killed by the FDA.” Activists hung a banner above the entranceway with ACT UP’s motto: Silence = Death.Richard Klein, who served as the FDA’s liaison with the AIDS community at the time, called ACT UP’s protest “a great wake-up call for the FDA.”In a recent VOA interview, Klein recalled “very heady days” as tensions boiled over between AIDS activists and federal officials. And he notes that changes did come about. Activists were added to FDA advisory committees as patient representatives.  Patient access was expanded for experimental drug studies, many of which were fast-tracked and revamped. Trial subjects in placebo groups whose health deteriorated were reassigned to groups receiving the drug or drugs being tested.”It took people who were dying to really make the point of ‘We don’t want to die in these clinical trials,'” Klein said.Yet AIDS patients continued to die — 300,000 in the United States by 1995. Ending the plague was by no means a given.The most commonly prescribed drug at the time, azidothymidine or AZT, was developed in the 1960s and approved for AIDS treatment in 1987. AZT did initially slow the deterioration of patients’ immune systems. Inevitably, however, the HIV virus became resistant to the medication and the deadly progression of AIDS would resume.New class of drugsFourteen years into the epidemic, 1995 saw a breakthrough. In June of that year, the FDA authorized a study of saquinavir, the first of a new category of drugs called protease inhibitors designed to prevent the HIV virus from replicating,”This new class was seen as a way to possibly overcome the virus resistance issues,” Klein said. Saquinavir proved ineffective by itself. But, when combined with AZT and another anti-viral medication, the resulting “drug cocktail” brought about an increase in AIDS patients’ white blood cell counts, a clear indication that their immune systems had begun to recover. Critically, the HIV virus did not develop resistance to the cocktail.Fewer than four months after receiving the heartening results, the Richard Klein, who worked for more than 41 years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said activists who served on FDA advisory committees, as seen here, forced the agency to change policies that laid the groundwork for future epidemics.Ending a feud Beyond physical healing, the advent of life-saving drugs allowed for the eventual transformation of a stormy public feud into a friendship.  At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Larry Kramer branded Fauci, who was the face of the government’s efforts to combat HIV, an “incompetent idiot” and a “murderer.” Over time, the two men grew to respect and appreciate each other. Kramer called Fauci a “friend” in his interview with VOA. Writing for Time magazine after Kramer’s death, Fauci lauded his activism, adding, “I will miss a lot about Larry, but I think his warmth most of all.” Protease inhibitor drugs saved countless people after 1995, including Kevin Taylor, who shared his story with VOA. The 57-year-old Richmond, Virginia, man is still living with HIV, 35 years after he tested positive for the virus and doctors told him to get his affairs in order in anticipation of an early death. Taylor says HIV medications gave him a new lease on life: “Not necessarily to be cured, but to least have some kind of life as opposed to just living in the shadows waiting for your end to come.”  Drugs keep HIV at bay, reducing viral loads to undetectable levels for many. In recent years, the same drugs have proven effective in preventing HIV infections when taken prophylactically by those at high risk for contracting the virus. Despite these advances, there is no cure and no effective vaccine for HIV/AIDS.
…

An American man was among three people killed in a stabbing incident in the British town of Reading on Saturday, the U.S. ambassador to Britain confirmed Monday, without naming the individual. Ambassador Woody Johnson tweeted that he offered his “deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attack on June 20”, adding that one of the victims was an American citizen.   “Our thoughts are with all those affected,” Johnson wrote. “We condemn the attack absolutely and have offered our assistance to British law enforcement.” British police said a 25-year-old local man was arrested at the scene and was believed to be the lone attacker and the incident is being treated as a terrorism-related, now under investigating by the counter-terrorism police. Three other people were seriously wounded in the stabbing attack in Forbury Gardens park in Reading, a town with a population of 200,000 people, located about 65 kilometers west of London. The Philadelphia Inquirer has named the American killed as Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, who had moved to Britain about 15 years ago.   The paper has quoted his father, Robert Ritchie, as saying that his son initially worked for a London law firm and in the past 10 years worked for a Dutch pharmaceutical company with its British headquarters in Reading. 
…

Black Roman Catholics are hearing their church’s leaders calling for racial justice once again after the killing of George Floyd, but this time they’re demanding not just words but action.  As protests against racism and police brutality continue nationwide, there are rising calls for huge new investment in Catholic schools serving Black communities; a commitment to teach the complex history of Black Catholics; and a mobilization to combat racism with the same zeal the church shows in opposing abortion.  “As a church, we’re very good with words. The church has made clear it stands against racism,” said the Rev. Mario Powell, a Black priest who heads a Jesuit middle school in Brooklyn.  “What’s profoundly different this time is folks aren’t looking for more words — they’re looking for actual change,” he said. Noting that hundreds of Catholic inner-city schools have closed in recent decades, he’s among those urging church leaders to make the necessary spending to reverse that. He also said all Catholic schools should teach the history of Black Catholics in America.         “It’s a history of discrimination and oppression,” said Powell, 38. “It’s also a very rich history that should be celebrated, of a population that has overcome a lot.” In 2018, after what it called an accumulation of “episodes of violence and animosity with racial and xenophobic overtones,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a pastoral letter condemning racism and vowing to combat it. Numerous bishops issued similar statements following Floyd’s death under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.  Professor Shannen Dee Williams, a Black Catholic who teaches history at Villanova University, argued in a June 15 article in the National Catholic Reporter that such responses are insufficient.  The recent statements “fall way short when it comes to acknowledging the church’s role in the contemporary crisis and direct complicity in the sins of anti-Black racism, slavery and segregation,” she wrote, noting that the church was a major slaveholder in several states and engaged in segregation of parishes, schools, hospitals, convents and seminaries for decades after emancipation.  In an interview, Williams said the U.S. church hierarchy should formally apologize.  “We want them to own up to that history, and then atone for it,” she said.  The same day her article appeared, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., the highest-ranking Black leader in the U.S. church, joined eight fellow bishops from his region in acknowledging the church’s “sins and failings” on racial justice. “Prayer and dialogue, alone, are not enough. We must act to bring about true change,” their statement said, calling for greater equality in health care, education, housing and criminal justice.  Black Catholics’ somewhat marginal place in the U.S. church is illustrated by statistics compiled by the national bishops’ conference.  According to the conference, there are about 3 million African American Catholics, roughly 4% of the nation’s 69 million Catholics. But there are just 250 Black priests, or less than 1% of the total of 36,500, along with eight active Black bishops out of more than 250, or about 3.2%.          Some are calling on church leaders to engage more energetically with youth at the forefront of the protest movement.     Earlier this month scores of young Black Catholics staged a march in Louisville, Kentucky, to protest racial injustice and also signaling they want their local church leadership to do more.         One of the speakers, retired priest John Judie, included the church in a list of institutions that have favored white people over Black people.      In an interview, Judie said some young people in the archdiocese are uncertain about their place.          “When is the leadership going to sit down with the young adults who organized that protest and listen to what drove them to do this?” Judie said. “So far, I’m not seeing it happen.”       That’s a notion shared by Ansel Augustine, who as a young priest in New Orleans in 2005 worked in the youth ministry of his parish on rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.       “We see our youth and young adults leading these movements, putting their faith into action,” said Augustine, now executive director of cultural diversity for the Washington archdiocese. “Now is the time to empower them, to listen to what these young prophets are saying.”       Ralph McCloud, who directs the anti-poverty program of the national bishops’ conference, said such steps are under way.  “We’ve begun with the listening sessions, hearing the very painful stories of people who’ve been victims of racism within the church and without,” McCloud said.          “We need to broaden the conversation and see who’s missing at the table,” he added. “With African American Catholics, our numbers are so low that we get overlooked, sometimes inadvertently, sometimes intentionally.”         Back in 2014, Augustine wrote an article for the Catholic media outlet Busted Halo asking why the fight against racism seemed to be a lesser priority for the U.S. Catholic leadership than the anti-abortion cause. Augustine took note when those remarks were echoed by Pope Francis earlier this month.     “We cannot close our eyes to any form of racism or exclusion, while pretending to defend the sacredness of every human life,” the pontiff said.          Gregory, the Washington archbishop, echoed the idea that racial justice should be part of pro-life advocacy.        “Birth is only the first moment of a person’s human dignity, which is never lost throughout the journey of life,” he said via email. That message heartens people like Loralean Jordan, a parishioner of the predominantly Black congregation of the Church of Saint Peter Claver in St. Paul, Minnesota.  “Black Lives Matter should be a pro-life issue, getting the same amount of resources and same amount of zeal as the pro-life movement,” she said. She would like to see the church help coordinate a national anti-racism march and direct all U.S. priests to mark the feast day of Peter Claver, the 17th-century patron saint of enslaved people, by preaching about racial injustice. 
…

The popular U.S. race car series NASCAR is investigating what it called Sunday a “heinous act” after a noose was found in the team garage of Bubba Wallace, its only top-level Black driver. Wallace said he was “incredibly saddened” and added that the act is “a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.” He stressed the need to advocate for a community that is welcoming to everyone, and said those involved in the sport “will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.” Wallace drew widespread support from other drivers for his push two weeks ago to get NASCAR to ban the presence of the confederate flag at its races. NASCAR said in a statement it will do everything it can to identify who was responsible for the noose “and eliminate them from our sport.” The incident happened at Talladega Superspeedway in the southern state of Alabama, which was scheduled to host a race Sunday before it was interrupted by rain. Protesters on Saturday and Sunday drove cars and trucks flying the confederate flag on roads near the track. 
…

As protests against racial discrimination continue in many American cities, President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, the desire to get back to a sense of normalcy across the country is tempered by a spike of COVID-19 cases in many U.S. states.
…

President Donald Trump held off on imposing tougher sanctions on Chinese officials blamed for a crackdown on China’s Uighur Muslim minority because of concern such measures would have interfered with trade negotiations with Beijing, he said in an interview published on Sunday.
 
“Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal. And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases,” Trump was quoted as telling Axios Friday when asked why he had not enacted Treasury sanctions against Communist Party officials linked to repression in the Xinjiang region.
 
The United Nations estimates that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps there. The State Department has accused China of subjecting Muslims to torture and abuse.
 
China has denied mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training and help fight extremism.
 
U.S. officials previously told Reuters that since late 2018 they had weighed sanctions against Chinese officials over Xinjiang but refrained because of trade and diplomatic considerations.
 
Under a Phase 1 trade deal negotiated in 2019 that took effect in February, China agreed to buy at least $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services over two years.
Former national security adviser John Bolton alleges in a new book that Trump sought Chinese President Xi Jinping’s help to win reelection during a 2019 meeting by making agricultural purchases, and Trump also encouraged Xi to go ahead with building camps in Xinjiang. Trump has denied the accusations. The United States since last year has placed import restrictions on some Chinese companies and visa bans on unnamed Chinese officials linked to Xinjiang but has not imposed harsher Treasury sanctions.
 
Trump signed legislation last Wednesday calling for sanctions over Xinjiang, drawing threats of retaliation from China. He insisted, however, he had discretion to decide any application of the measures.  
 
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump said he would consider meeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and also suggested he has had second thoughts about his decision to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader.
 
“I would maybe think about that. … Maduro would like to meet. And I’m never opposed to meetings,” Trump told online news site Axios on Friday, a move that would upend his “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at ousting the Socialist president. He added, however, “but at this moment, I’ve turned them down.” 
…

The family of late rock musician Tom Petty has filed a cease and desist motion after President Trump’s campaign played a song by Petty at a campaign rally.
 
Trump played the song “I won’t back down” at his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. Hours later, Petty’s family posted a statement condemning the use of the song on social media.
 
“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” the statement said.
 
The family said Petty wrote the 1989 song “for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE.”
 
“We want to make it clear that we believe everyone is free to vote as they like, think as they like, but the Petty family doesn’t stand for this,” the statement went on.
 
The statement, signed by Petty’s daughters, ex-wife, and wife, said they had issued an official cease and desist notice to what they called a “campaign of hate”.pic.twitter.com/mxToRoHWNn— Tom Petty (@tompetty) June 21, 2020Neil Young, R.E.M., and Rihanna are among a growing list of musicians who have objected to Trump’s use of their music in his political campaigns.
 
…

Father’s Day, a holiday typically celebrated with neighborhood barbecues, fun and family, could be limited this year as states hesitantly ease COVID-19 lockdown orders and cities cautiously reopen.  
 
The United States has been combatting the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 since March, bringing everyday life to a halt for most Americans. But cities and states have begun to reopen restaurants and stores over the past few weeks as well as allow larger social gatherings to occur.  
 
The progression of these phases, however, has not allowed normality to resume entirely as many find their Father’s Day traditions, much like Mother’s Day, limited.
 
Jennifer Smith, 51, spoke with VOA about celebrating Father’s Day away from her family in her hometown of Long Island, New York, for the first time since her move to Ooltewah, Tennessee.  
 
“I mean, we’re down here by ourselves,” Smith said about herself and her husband of 25 years, Mike. “In New York, it would have been my sister, my father, my nieces and nephews, Mike and the kids. Anyone who’s home in New York.”
 
Not being able to visit their family is the Smiths’ biggest disappointment about trying to celebrate this weekend. Similarly, lockdown measures got in the way when Jennifer Smith’s father flew to Tennessee to visit for an early Father’s Day.
 
“He got a flight, but it was not as easily available as normal,” she said. “Restaurants were open, and we had no trouble getting reservations, but most of the tourist attractions [in Chattanooga, Tennessee] that we would have liked to have taken him to were closed.”  
 
Luckily the Smiths’ plans for their first Tennessee Father’s Day weekend include outings that social-distancing regulations won’t impede.
 
“We’ll probably go out for lunch or dinner, depending on what Mike wants to do. Maybe take a ride, do something outside. Or Mike would like to just sit at home,” Smith said, laughing.  
 
There are some pandemic regulations still in place in her area, she said.  
 
Most establishments may fill their dining areas to half capacity and ensure social distancing by taping off every other barstool, using fewer tables and enforcing wearing mask for employees. Some restaurants even go so far as to limit the waitstaff coming in contact with food, and using disposable, paper menus.
 
Tennessee is split, with multiple counties seeing COVID-19 cases rising and other counties seeing case numbers falling. A few have no cases, according to an interactive map published by The New York Times.  
 
California appears similar to Tennessee in this respect, but the Ray family of Seal Beach, California, is celebrating differently from the Smith family.  
 
“We’re not big on Mother’s and Father’s Day celebrations. It’s not a tradition we celebrate; it’s more a whatever’s going on that weekend,” Pauline Ray told VOA about past Father’s Days with her husband, Adam.  
 
California’s initial statewide shutdown in response to COVID-19 went into effect mid-March. But Ray, 42, described counties around her and throughout the state as taking it upon themselves to decide when to lift stay-at-home orders.  
 
“The state is open. So we can pretty much do whatever we want to do,” she said. “So this year it’s just going to be my family, the Rays, with my mom and dad in their Mexico house in Baja California, south of the border.”  
 
The Rays’ plans for the holiday weekend did not change because of any COVID-19 regulations or fears, but traveling out of the country is something many are either not allowed to do or are too fearful to do.  
 
The Gilbert family’s Father’s Day plans have remained intact and most likely would have even if their Midwestern state of Wisconsin had not started reopening.
 
“Usually we do some outdoor activity, so we’ll go hiking at a park or go down to the lakefront. Just enjoy the outdoors,” Sophie Gilbert, 20, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said, reflecting on a typical Father’s Day weekend. “And usually for dinner, we’ll do a cookout. My dad likes to cook meats on his smoker, so we all enjoy the fruits of his labor. Or my mom will cook him his favorite dinner.  
 
“I think we’re planning on going for a hike, which we’re still allowed to do,” Gilbert said about Sunday’s plans. “And then we’ll probably grill out, which we always do.”
 
The Gilberts have begun inviting over close family friends since their city began to ease restrictions, but they have yet to eat at a dine-in restaurant. They also have not attended any large social events.
 
But none of these safety precautions affect their annual Father’s Day weekend, because they traditionally celebrate as a family.
 
“It’ll just be the four of us,” Gilbert said, “doing what we usually do for Father’s Day.”
 
…