Wichita

Contrasting responses to COVID-19 restrictions highlights split among evangelical Christians

In May, journalist Mindy Belz was frustrated by the way she saw white conservative Christians in America responding to the pandemic. Belz, by contrast, told Yahoo News that her tweet in May was driven by disappointment in the response of many American Christians to COVID-19.

'We're not going to control pandemic': Trump aide

Donald Trump's chief of staff said Sunday that "we're not going to control the pandemic," drawing a rebuke from the Biden campaign that "they are admitting defeat."

'Totally irresponsible': Dems criticize Pence presiding over Amy Coney Barrett vote after aides contract COVID-19

"As vice president, I’m president of the Senate. And I’m gonna be in the chair because I wouldn’t miss that vote for the world," Pence said Saturday.

Qatar might get F-35s despite Israel's objections, Israeli minister says

An Israeli cabinet minister said on Sunday that a U.S. sale of advanced F-35 warplanes to Qatar could be possible despite Israel's objections to such a deal given the Gulf state's links to Iran and Palestinian Hamas. "I have no doubt that if they (Qatar) want it and are willing to pay, sooner or later they will get it," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who sits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Ynet TV. Reuters reported on Oct. 7 that gas-rich Qatar had submitted a formal request to buy the F-35, a Lockheed Martin plane that has so far been supplied only to Israel in the region.

Ethiopia blasts Trump remark that Egypt will 'blow up' dam

Ethiopia on Saturday denounced “belligerent threats” by President Trump over the huge dam it has nearly completed on the Blue Nile River. This comes a day after Trump said downstream Egypt will “blow up” the project it has called an existential threat.

Protestors storm churches in Poland on the fourth day of unrest after a court ruling tightened the country's already-strict abortion laws

The court banned abortion in the case of fetal defects, making abortion legal only in cases of incest, rape, or danger to the mother's life.

Singapore Airlines doesn't want to dethrone its original world's longest flight even though the new one is 3 miles longer – here's how the two will differ

The new Singapore-New York route is one of the few new international routes to launch during the pandemic, but the airline is keeping it low-key.

Cameroon: Children killed in attack on school in Kumba

Officials have blamed Anglophone secessionists for the attack on a private school in a restive region.

Spain declares state of emergency over coronavirus as Italy closes cinemas, theatres and gyms

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, declared a state of emergency and imposed a nationwide curfew on Sunday, as Italy closed down event halls and Bulgaria’s leader tested positive for coronavirus. Under Spain’s state of emergency, which was due to come into force on Sunday, citizens must remain inside their homes between 11pm and 6am unless they have a valid reason, such as work or other essential activities. Regional governments have been allowed to adjust the timing of the start and end of the curfew by one hour, while the Canary Islands have been exempted from the curfew altogether. After Spain recorded 110,000 new cases last week, passing a milestone of one million cases, Mr Sánchez said the situation was “extreme”, and urged citizens to “stay at home wherever possible”. The state of emergency also includes a “rule-of-six” limit on social gatherings, and allows regional governments to seal their borders against non-essential entry or exit, as well as place districts or cities under perimeter lockdowns. Mr Sánchez said he wants parliament to approve the state of emergency for six months, until 9 May. “Experts estimate that is the time we need to overcome the most destructive phase of the pandemic. The cost in terms of lives must be as low as possible,” he said. It came as Italy announced it would close cinemas, theatres, gyms and swimming pools, while restaurants and bars were told to shut at 6pm, in a fresh round of tough restrictions. The new rules, which come into force on Monday, were imposed after 20,000 cases of coronavirus were recorded on Saturday. Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, has stopped short of a full nationwide lockdown as the country’s economy was severely damaged by a ten-week lockdown imposed earlier in the pandemic. "Our aim is to protect health and the economy," Mr Conte said.

A White House lawyer reportedly tried to get The Wall Street Journal to scoop Hunter Biden's emails

The Wall Street Journal published a short article Thursday night on Hunter Biden's business dealings that concluded: "Corporate records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden." The same night, the Journal published an opinion piece that asserted the Democratic presidential nominee had been aware of and/or involved in his son's business endeavors, about 24 hours after Breitbart News published a statement from a former Hunter Biden business partner, Tony Bobulinksi.That wasn't how President Trump's allies had wanted this to go, Ben Smith reports in The New York Times.In early October, three men allied with Trump — Arthur Schwartz, a public relations man close to Donald Trump Jr.; former deputy White House Counsel Stefan Passantino; and Eric Herschmann, a White House lawyer currently on the public payroll as "senior adviser to the president" — met in a McLean, Virginia, house and pitched the Hunter Biden story to Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender, Smith reports, citing two people familiar with the meeting. Bobulinksi called in and offered to go on the record.The trio gave Bender a cache of Hunter Biden emails and ended the meeting "believing that the Journal would blow the thing open, and their excitement was conveyed to the president," who said on an Oct. 19 conference call that an "important piece" was coming in the Journal, Smith reports. The Journal had assigned a group of reporters to dig in to the allegations, and Trump and his allies expected their article to appear in the Journal that day, former Trump campaign chairman Stephen Bannon told Smith."The editors didn't like Trump's insinuation that we were being teed up to do this hit job," a Journal reporter not directly involved in the story told Smith. But the Journal continued working on the report. But by that point, things had already gotten "messy," Smith reports. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's political operative, had "delivered a cache of documents of questionable provenance — but containing some of the same emails — to the New York Post, a sister publication to the Journal in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.," casting "a pall over the story."Smith, a media reporter, splits his weekly column between a report on "the McLean group's failed attempt to sway the election" and an analysis of the media's gatekeeper role. Read the entire column at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America

'An incredibly tragic day for Ocala': Florida police chief Greg Graham killed in plane crash

The death of Greg Graham, who became Ocala's 30th police chief in January 2012, stunned the central Florida city northwest of Orlando.

Erdogan doubles down in backlash against Macron's Islam comments

The backlash against President Emmanuel Macron's comments on Islam intensified Sunday, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again urging him to have "mental checks" and protests in Muslim-majority nations.

Hundreds of thousands lose power as Northern California braces for more wildfires

"This is the fire weather forecast I was hoping wouldn't come to pass," a climate scientist said.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is heavily favored to win her reelection race. Her challenger has still raised $10 million because Republicans are desperate to beat her.

"I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him," a Republican strategist told The New York Times.

China Communist Party plenum kicks off in Beijing

The three-day meeting comes amid speculation that President Xi intends to be "president-for-life".

Nigeria's police order massive mobilization after unrest

Nigeria’s top police official on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilization of all officers to “reclaim the public space from criminal elements masquerading as protesters” after days of unrest and demonstrations over police abuses that left at least 69 people dead. The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa’s most populous country after some of its worst turmoil in years. Nigeria’s inspector general of police, M.A. Adamu, ordered colleagues to “dominate the public space” while announcing that enough is enough, a statement said.

Singapore halts use of flu vaccines after 48 die in South Korea

Singapore has temporarily halted the use of two influenza vaccines as a precaution after some people who received them in South Korea died, becoming among the first countries to publicly announce a halt of the vaccines' usage. South Korea reported that 48 have died as of Saturday after getting flu shots, but said it would carry on with the state-run vaccination programme as they found no direct link between the deaths and the shots. No deaths associated with influenza vaccination have been reported in Singapore to date, but the decision to halt the use of SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra was precautionary, the health ministry and the Health Sciences Authority (HAS) said in a statement late on Sunday. The HSA is in touch with the South Korean authorities for further information as they investigate to determine if the deaths are related to influenza vaccinations. SKYCellflu Quadrivalent is manufactured by South Korea's SK Bioscience and locally distributed by AJ Biologics, while VaxigripTetra is manufactured by Sanofi and locally distributed by Sanofi Aventis. Two other influenza vaccines that have been brought into Singapore for the Northern Hemisphere 2020/21 influenza season may continue to be used, Singapore health authorities said.

Hotels are trying to attract families with gourmet cooking classes, cabana classrooms, and yoga breaks as kids continue with remote schooling across the US

Hotels are beckoning families with "schoolcation" packages that tap into their newfound flexibility to travel during the school year.

‘Urban Warfare’ as Europe’s Second Wave Spins Out of Control

ROME—A few hours after the regional governor of the Italian region of Campania where Naples is located announced he would be locking down the entire province to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Neapolitans took to the streets Friday night to defy the order. The situation quickly turned into what one police official likened to urban warfare with protesters lighting dumpsters and ducking teargas being lobbed by police. All the while, the mostly maskless, yelling crowd undoubtedly spread coronavirus even more.Europe is very much out of control when it comes to its second wave, with every single nation in the 27-member zone struggling in a race against time as hospitals fill up and death tolls—which are substantially less than the first wave so far— continue to rise. Millions of people are facing harsh new restrictions as governments play what amounts to whack-a-mole to try to stop the spread of the virus they thought just a few months ago they had defeated. Improved testing in many countries has painted a clearer picture of just how widespread the pandemic is, but because of the number of new infections, systems to contact trace have been overwhelmed, making the spread impossible to control.The U.S. is in Denial Over the Coronavirus Pandemic as Europe Struggles With Second WaveFrance has expanded its Draconian curfew that has stifled Parisian nightlife and put a massive dent in the hospitality sector economy of one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Now 46 million French people will have to be home by 9 p.m. In Wales, a two-week “firebreak” started Friday, meaning everyone but essential workers has to be home by 6 p.m. The Czech Republic has just reached the dubious honor of having the most cases per capita in Europe with 1,148 cases per 100,000 residents, with Belgium and the Netherlands close behind. Ireland is under a six-week lockdown and Slovakia has vowed to test every single citizen to try to mitigate the spread. The Polish president has just tested positive and Germany reached 10,003 COVID-related deaths as the infection rate continues to rise. Filming of Mission Impossible 7 with Tom Cruise has been suspended in Venice as cases there reach record levels. And the Italian government is facing calls by 100 top scientists to mandate strict new measures in the next two or three days, or the outcome could be catastrophic.And it is still only October.Europe’s problems are dire, and citizens are angry that their governments have not been able to come up with any better plan than locking down, which puts already weak economies that were so badly hurt in the first wave of the pandemic at even greater risk of collapse. Ludovic Subran, the chief economist at Allianz warned last week of a high risk serious recession across Europe as new restrictions are put in place. “We see an elevated risk of a double dip recession in countries that are once again resorting to targeted and regional lockdowns,” he said, adding that the European Union’s first bailout $880 billion won’t likely go to growth but be used by many countries like Italy, Spain and Greece to just stay afloat.On Saturday, the group Save Our Rights U.K. is holding a massive demonstration in London to protest not only restrictions being enforced by the British government, but the overall handling of the pandemic, pointing to contact tracing and other means to track the spread of the coronavirus as an affront to privacy. “We believe that the coronavirus regulations that are in place are not proportionate and appropriate, and are causing more harm than good,” Louise Creffield, the group founder told the Guardian. “We are very concerned with protecting people’s human rights: right to privacy, family life, bodily autonomy, medical freedoms, and so on. We are not just concerned with lockdowns per se, we are concerned with the infringements with our privacy by having this track and trace everywhere.”Similar sentiments are now common across Europe, where pandemic fatigue is now evident. And with lack of a feasible containment plan anywhere, the people are angry, desperate and increasingly ambivalent about what is really at stake: thousands of lives.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Trump claims 'crooked dishonest things will happen' during vote count in key battleground state

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Friday ruled voter signatures on the ballot do not need to match the one on file

More mass testing in China after 137 virus cases in Xinjiang

Chinese officials were racing Sunday to smother a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the country's far northwest after 137 new infections were discovered.

Gottlieb warns of "dangerous tipping point" as virus spread accelerates

"These cases are going to continue to build. There's really no backstop here," Gottlieb said on "Face the Nation."

The operator of this Boeing 767 private jet says the plane has an air system so advanced it kills pathogens so passengers don't need to wear a mask onboard – see inside

This luxury flying apartment costs an hour what a New York City studio costs for an entire year. The difference being this one kills COVID in the air.

Pfizer has expanded its COVID-19 vaccine trial to include minors. Some say it's risky. Others argue it's necessary.

After months of testing its COVID-19 candidate vaccine in adults, Pfizer recently lowered the age of participation to 16.

Black contractor braves threats in removing Richmond statues

Devon Henry paced in nervous anticipation, because this was a project like nothing he’d ever done. An accomplished Black businessman, Henry took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do: lead contractor for the now-completed removal of 14 pieces of Confederate statuary that dotted Virginia’s capital city. “You did it, man,” said Rodney Henry.

Kuwait retail co-ops remove French products over Prophet cartoon

Kuwait's retail co-ops have pulled French products in boycott over the use of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a French school class on freedom of expression whose teacher was then beheaded by a Chechen teenager. France's foreign affairs ministry said there had been calls to boycott French products, notably food products, in several Middle Eastern countries as well as calls for demonstrations against France over the cartoons.

They're key allies of Benjamin Netanyahu. They're also fueling Israel's big COVID-19 spike

Israel's ultra-Orthodox are key to Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to stay in power, but their resistance to coronavirus restrictions is causing tensions.

YouTube 'kidfluencers' exposing children to 'staggering' amounts of junk food ads

YouTube ‘kidfluencers’ are exposing children to "staggering" levels of junk food advertising with unhealthy items plugged in videos that have had over a billion views, a study has revealed. Researchers found that almost half of the clips looked at on the video site’s "wildly popular" channels featuring child stars promoted unhealthy food and drinks. The lead author of the report, published in the US journal Pediatrics, Dr Marie Bragg, warned that parents were often unaware that the kidfluencers their children watch can be paid by food and beverage companies to promote products. The research comes as some of the most popular channels on YouTube, the second most visited website in the world, in recent years have been for child vloggers, who entertain young audiences by reviewing toys or doing experiments and pranks. The largest such account is called Ryan’s World, which features nine-year-old Ryan Kaji from the US and has almost 27 million subscribers. Forbes estimates that the channel earned $26 million (£20 million) last year from advertising revenue from YouTube as well as sponsored content.

The pandemic has accelerated an already growing shift in Arizona. That could spell trouble for Trump.

Biden holds a narrow lead, according to polls, aided by pandemic upheaval and demographic shifts years in the making. But don't count the president out yet, some said.

Ex-CIA Director Brennan: 'Outrageous' for Trump to talk of inviting Saudi crown prince to D.C.

On the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast, former CIA Director John Brennan said it is “outrageous" for President Trump to talk about inviting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington.

Looters raid Nigeria food warehouse as unrest spreads

Several thousand people ransacked and looted a government food warehouse in central Nigeria on Saturday in the latest in two weeks of unrest sweeping over Africa's most populous country.

Bombardier's new $9.9 million private jet that has its own private office and near-cross-country range just entered service – see inside the Learjet 75 Liberty

Bombardier designed the Learjet 75 Liberty to specifically compete against the best aircraft from Cessna and Embraer in price and performance.

'Murder hornet': First nest found in US eradicated with vacuum hose

The Asian giant hornets can wipe out a colony of honeybees in hours.

Philippines: Typhoon leaves 13 missing, displaces thousands

A fast-moving typhoon blew away from the Philippines on Monday after leaving at least 13 people missing, forcing thousands of villagers to flee to safety and flooding rural villages, disaster-response officials said. The 13 people missing from Typhoon Molave included a dozen fishermen who ventured out to sea over the weekend despite a no-sail restriction due to very rough seas. The typhoon was blowing west toward the South China Sea with sustained winds of 125 kilometers (77 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph).

Police chief: Illinois officer who shot Black couple in car fired

A police officer who shot a Black couple inside a vehicle — killing a 19-year-old man and wounding his girlfriend — has been fired, the police chief announced Friday.

UK 'SBS' special forces storm tanker and detain stowaways in Channel

Troops from the Special Boat Service, a navy special forces unit whose headquarters in just a few miles away from where the vessel began showing signs of distress, boarded the Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorised the armed forces to board the ship "to safeguard life and secure a ship that was subject to suspected hijacking", the defence ministry said. The defence ministry declined to confirm or deny the involvement of the SBS - in line with British government policy of not commenting on special forces operations.

Opposition leader flees Venezuela, heads towards Spain and the United States

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López escaped from the South American country and was traveling on Saturday to Spain, where he will spend time with his family before eventually heading towards the United States to continue the efforts to outs the Nicolas Maduro regime, sources close to the former political prisoner told el Nuevo Herald.

Ocasio-Cortez: No problem with Biden's lack of support for fracking ban, would be 'privilege' to lobby him

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday's edition of State of the Union that she feels strongly about the need to ban fracking in the United States, but she's not letting that get in the way of her efforts to help former Vice President Joe Biden defeat President Trump in the upcoming election.Biden, she said, has "made very clear" that he disagrees with a fracking ban, but she says it would be a "privilege" to lobby him on the issue in the future. However, "we need to focus on winning the White House first," she told Tapper.> “Vice President Biden has made very clear that he does not agree with a fracking ban… It will be a privilege to lobby him should we win the White House, but we need to focus on winning the White House first,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/NZ5SzTY8Co> > — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) October 25, 2020Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and she certainly has policy disagreements with the more moderate Democratic nominee. Indeed, earlier in the year, when she first threw her support behind Biden's candidacy after he secured the nomination over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ocasio-Cortez said "the whole process of coming together should be uncomfortable for everyone involved." But her latest comments reaffirm that she prefers that uncomfortable process continue over the next four years.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America

Tanks sent to tourist island of Zanzibar as Tanzania's strongman leader eyes indefinite rule

Zanzibar is best known by holidaymakers for its sandy white beaches and winding medieval passageways. But where once there were tourists, tanks and soldiers now line the cobbled streets in the iconic district of Stone Town as the East African nation lurches towards a general election on Wednesday that could spell the end of what's left of democracy on the mainland of Tanzania. The archipelago has been a hotbed of government opposition ever since it joined the adjacent territory of Tanganyika in 1964, creating Tanzania. Tanzania’s strongman John Magufuli, who is running for national re-election on Wednesday, is the greatest barrier to free and fair elections that Zanzibar has ever faced, opposition leaders claim. According to his critics, he is leading Tanzania away from one of Africa’s most inclusive and peaceful democracies towards a totalitarian state. Opponents accuse him of shooting opposition figures, muzzling the independent press and replacing the judiciary with government stooges. His announcement in June that Tanzania is “Covid-19 free” and a goat, pawpaw and papaya had tested positive for the virus raised eyebrows around the world.

'Thailand doesn't need you': ultra-royalists push back against protesters

Pictures of coffins and guns, and threats of death and violence: protests targeting Thailand's government and monarchy have hardened feelings amongst ultra-royalists, who are pushing back with aggressive abuse online.

Texas boy, 3, dies after accidentally shooting himself in the chest at birthday party

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said its "thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this tragic accident."

Hurricane force gusts prompt extremely critical fire risk in California

Meanwhile, record shattering cold brings heavy snow and wind chills below zero to Colorado.

Billionaire James Dyson just sold his Singapore penthouse at a massive loss a year after his company scrapped plans to design an electric vehicle in the city

He purchased the home in 2019 for $54.2 million after announcing Dyson was moving its headquarters to Singapore.

South Korea pharma Celltrion's COVID test gets U.S. emergency use authorisation

South Korea's Celltrion Inc said on Monday it has received emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its rapid COVID-19 testing kit Sampinute, which boosted shares of the company and its affiliates. Celltrion said Sampinute delivers coronavirus test results within 10 minutes, with a sensitivity of around 94%. The authorisation came three months after requesting approval in late July and the product has already been launched in the United States in August, according to the company statement.

Mexico reported 193,170 "excess deaths" through Sept 26

Mexican health authorities acknowledged Sunday that the country's true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is far higher than thought, saying there were 193,170 “excess” deaths in the year up to Sept. 26, with 139,153 of those judged to be attributable to COVID-19. Mexico has an extremely low testing rate, and officials had previously acknowledged that many people didn’t get tested or their tests were mishandled. Authorities had earlier presented the estimated COVID-19 death toll of 103,882 after taking into account mishandled tests and some other factors.

New Hampshire paper backs Biden in its 1st Democratic endorsement in a century

For the first time in 100 years, the New Hampshire Union Leader has endorsed a Democrat for president.In a editorial published Sunday, the conservative-leaning paper's editorial board said it has "significant" policy disagreements with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and while he "may not be the president we want," in 2020 he is "the president we desperately need. He will be a president to bring people together and right the ship of state."Biden is a "caring, compassionate, and professional public servant," the editorial board said. "He has repeatedly expressed his desire to be a president for all of America, and we take him at his word." President Trump, they wrote, is "not always 100 percent wrong, but he is 100 percent wrong for America."Trump didn't receive the newspaper's 2016 endorsement, either. That year, the editorial board picked Libertarian Gary Johnson, breaking its 100-year tradition of selecting Republicans, CNN reports. During the Republican primaries, the newspaper endorsed then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), which caused Trump to call publisher Joseph McQuaid a "lowlife" and "bad guy."More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America

British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert detained in Iran moved out of desert prison

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran for the past two years, has been moved from the notorious desert prison of Qarchak to an unknown location. Her move was first reported by the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, who said that she was moved, along with all of her belongings, on Saturday. A source close to the case confirmed the move, but did not know any further details. There has been no official word from the Iranian government. Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Islamic Studies, was arrested for espionage after attending a conference in Qom in 2018. She was charged in a secret trial and given 10 years imprisonment. Both Dr Moore-Gilbert and the Australian government reject the charges, which they say are politically motivated. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim that someone she interviewed for a research project flagged her as suspicious so they stopped her from returning to Melbourne. Qarchak prison, in the desert on the eastern outskirts of Tehran, has a reputation for being the most dangerous of the country’s women’s prisons. Dr Moore-Gilbert had been moved from Evin prison in Tehran to Qarchak in August, which activists at the time believed to be a “punishment”. It was not immediately clear where Dr Moore-Gilbert has been taken. Just 11 days prior to her movement she had been transferred to Ward Eight (formerly known as the Mothers’ Ward) of Qarchak, alongside at least 15 other political prisoners. While those campaigning for her release see her move as a sign of hope, not knowing where the mystery location she has been sent to or the reason behind the move, gives little to base it on.