Today's News: June 10, 2020

World News

Poland to open EU borders on Saturday, allow intl flights from Tuesday

RT – Poland will open its borders with fellow European Union countries on Saturday and allow international flights from next Tuesday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. The country closed its borders to foreigners in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“In some countries… this pandemic is still behaving in a very disturbing way,” Morawiecki said, adding that Warsaw will now limit opening borders to EU states.
Poland has seen a recent rise in infections, mostly around coal mines in the south. On Monday, 599 new cases were reported, a record. As of Wednesday morning the country of around 38 million people had reported 27,668 cases of the coronavirus and 1,191 deaths, Reuters said.
Austria said on Wednesday it was lifting checks at its border with Italy and ending quarantine requirements for more than 20 European countries as of next Tuesday.

Ghana Invites African Americans to ‘Come Home’

Breitbart – Ghana, considered a gateway of the brutal slave trade to the United States that began more than 400 years ago, is urging “unwanted” Americans of African heritage to resettle within its borders in the wake of the police killing of Minnesota resident George Floyd.
During a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony in honor of Floyd last Friday, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Barbara Oteng-Gyasi invited African Americans to “re-settle in Ghana if they feel unwanted” in the United States, the Independent Ghana news outlet reported.

Coup Threats Rattle Brazil

DNYUZ – The threats are swirling around the president: Deaths from the virus in Brazil each day are now the highest in the world. Investors are fleeing the country. The president, his sons and his allies are under investigation. His election could even be overturned.
The crisis has grown so intense that some of the most powerful military figures in Brazil are warning of instability — sending shudders that they could take over and dismantle Latin America’s largest democracy.
But far from denouncing the idea, President Jair Bolsonaro’s inner circle seems to be clamoring for the military to step into the fray. In fact, one of the president’s sons, a congressman who has praised the country’s former military dictatorship, said a similar institutional break was inevitable.
“It’s no longer an opinion about if, but when this will happen,” the president’s son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, recently told a prominent Brazilian blogger, warning of what he called a looming “rupture” in Brazil’s democratic system.
The standoff traces an ominous arc for Brazil, a country that shook off military rule in the 1980s and built a thriving democracy in its wake. Within two decades, Brazil had come to represent the energy and promise of the developing world, with a booming economy and the right to host the World Cup and the Olympics.
Since then, its economy has faltered, corruption scandals have toppled or ensnared many of its leaders and an impeachment battle ousted its powerful leftist government.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

National Guardsmen struggle with their role in controlling protests…

Politico – POLITICO spoke to 10 National Guardsmen who have taken part in the protest response across the country since the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Many Guardsmen said they felt uncomfortable with the way they were used to handle the unrest because demonstrators lumped them in with the police. They felt that while they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, their presence at times intimidated Americans from expressing their opinions and even escalated the tension.
And in the case of Guardsmen involved in the Lafayette incident, some felt used.
“As a military officer, what I saw was more or less really f—ed up,” said one D.C. Guardsman who was deployed to Lafayette Square last Monday and who, like some others, spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely. The official line from the White House that the protesters had turned violent, he said, is false.
“The crowd was loud but peaceful, and at no point did I feel in danger, and I was standing right there in the front of the line,” he said. “A lot of us are still struggling to process this, but in a lot of ways, I believe I saw civil rights being violated in order for a photo op.
“I’m here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and what I just saw goes against my oath and to see everyone try to cover up what really happened,” the Guardsman continued. “What I saw was just absolutely wrong.”

UCLA Prof. Placed on Leave After Refusing to Postpone Exams for Black Students

Breitbart – UCLA Professor Gordon Klein has been placed on leave after rejecting a request to postpone a final exam for black students in response to the death of George Floyd. Over 20,000 people have signed a petition that calls on UCLA officials to fire Klein. When Klein was asked to postpone black students’ exams, he replied by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Remember that MLK famously said that people should not be evaluated based on the ‘color of their skin. Do you think that your request would run afoul of MLK’s admonition?”
According to a report by NBC News, UCLA accounting lecturer Gordon Klein has been placed on leave in response to a student campaign that has called for his termination.

Report: Antifa Seeks Armed Volunteers to Hold Seized Ground in Seattle

Breitbart – Antifa is reportedly seeking armed volunteers to take turns manning barricades and holding ground that protesters have seized within Seattle city limits.
The Gateway Pundit reports Antifa set up an “autonomous zone” that includes six square blocks they seized in Seattle. They are reportedly “advocating for ‘folks with firearms’ to take shifts defending the barricades” around the six blocks.
Medium reports the alleged seizure of the city blocks was followed by a list of 30 demands for the City Council and Seattle Mayor.
The first two center on abolishing the Seattle Police Deparment.
Demand one states:
The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus. This means 100% of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE in the city of Seattle.
The second demand is “no guns, no batons, no riot shields, [and] no chemical weapons,” be used against protesters during the “transitory period” in which the police department is being dismantled.
The list of demands are followed by a statement: “Although we have liberated Free Capitol Hill in the name of the people of Seattle, we must not forget that we stand on land already once stolen from the Duwamish People, the first people of Seattle, and whose brother, John T. Williams of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe up north was murdered by the Seattle Police Department 10 years ago.”

Minneapolis Withdrawing from Police Union Negotiations

Breitbart – The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from police union contract negotiations, Chief Medaria Arradondo said Wednesday as he announced the first steps in what he said would be transformational reforms to the agency in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Arradondo said a thorough review of the contract is planned. He said the contract needs to be restructured to provide more transparency and flexibility for true reform. The review would look at matters such as critical incident protocols, use of force, and disciplinary protocols, including grievances and arbitration.

New Poll: 80 Percent Want to Keep, Increase Police Funding

Newsmax – A new survey by the National Sheriffs Association shows eight in 10 Americans want to either increase or maintain funding to local police departments.
According to the survey, reported on by The Washington Examiner‘s Paul Bedard, 53% said they wanted to see increased funding for law enforcement, while 26% want to keep spending at current levels. Only 11% want a decrease in police spending.
The survey, done by TechnoMetrica, focused on the public’s reaction to first responders in light of the coronavirus pandemic and was taken before the death of George Floyd that led to massive protests across the country and calls for police reform, including some calls for defunding police departments.
However, the Times noted, the survey still matches closely with surveys taken since the protest began, including a Tuesday Rassmussen Reports poll that found 59% oppose cutting police budgets where they live. Twenty-seven percent do favor such cuts in the Rasmussen poll, while 14% are undecided.
“This poll makes it clear that the American people are supportive of funding local sheriffs’ offices to keep people safe,” NSA Executive Director and CEO Jonathan Thompson said.
“Sheriffs must continue to build public trust and the validity of law enforcement,” Thompson said. “Each of us must provide leadership and partnership with our citizens of color. We hold solemn our commitment to listening, learning, healing, and action.”

Economy & Business

A new Republican bill would give people a $1,200 hiring bonus for going back to work after coronavirus lockdowns

Business Insider – Republican Rep. Kevin Brady introduced legislation to get Americans back to work with a $1,200 hiring bonus.
Under the proposal, workers would be eligible to get the cash, which is equivalent to an unemployed person collecting two weeks of ramped-up unemployment benefits. The $600 federal boost in payments is set to expire on July 31.
Brady, the top Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said the plan represented an “important part in preventing a prolonged recession.”
“For us to rebuild our economy, we must make sure Americans can get back to work in a safe, healthy environment,” Brady said in a press release. “Through a Return To Work Bonus – which would allow workers to keep up to two weeks of unemployment benefits if they accept a job offer – we can make sure these temporary job losses don’t turn into permanent ones.”

Coronavirus: UK economy could be among worst hit of leading nations, says OECD

BBC – The UK is likely to be the hardest hit by Covid-19 among major economies, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned.
Britain’s economy is likely to slump by 11.5% in 2020, slightly outstripping falls in countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy, it said.
If there were a second peak in the pandemic, the UK economy could contract by as much as 14%.
“The crisis will cast a long shadow over the world,” the OECD added.
It said that in what it called a “single-hit scenario”, with no second peak, there could be contractions of 11.4% in France, 11.1% in Spain, 11.3% in Italy and 6.6% in Germany.
In its latest assessment, the OECD found that the UK’s largely service-based economy meant that it had been particularly badly hit by the government’s lockdown restrictions.
The services sector, including financial services, hospitality and tourism, makes up about three-quarters of the UK’s GDP.

UNITED AIRLINES to Require Passengers Pass Health Checklist.

Bloomberg – United Airlines Holdings Inc. is requiring its passengers to complete a self-assessment health screening before flying, one of the furthest reaching efforts among carriers to keep the Covid-19 outbreak in check as travel resumes.
Customers will have to confirm they haven’t experienced coronavirus symptoms two weeks before flying and complete a checklist based on recommendations from the Cleveland Clinic, United said Wednesday.
BIG TECH GETS BIGGER: NASDAQ NEW RECORD HIGH
NBC – The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Wednesday as investors awaited an update from the Federal Reserve on the state of the economy and status of any further stimulus from the central bank.
The 30-stock Dow dropped 145 points, or 0.5%, as Boeing shares slid more than 5%.The S&P 500 dipped 0.17%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6% and hit a fresh record high as gains in major tech stocks limited the broader market’s decline.
Shares of Amazon and Apple gained more than 2% each and hit all-time highs. Alphabet and Netflix rose 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. Stocks that would benefit from the economy reopening — which have outperformed in recent weeks — fell broadly. American Airlines, United and JetBlue all dropped more than 6%. Wells Fargo slid about 6% while Citigroup lost 3.7%. JPMorgan Chase traded about 2% lower.
Science & Technology
Drone Surveillance Comes Under Fire
WSJ – The government’s use of cutting-edge surveillance to monitor protests is coming under scrutiny by lawmakers and activists, including conservatives who see it as a threat to constitutional rights, amid a national rethinking of the role of police.
The issue came to the fore after a Predator drone operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection was observed flying over protests in Minneapolis on May 29 in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in police custody there.
Health
Chemicals in your diet are a nightmare
NaturalNews – As a kid growing up in Newark, NJ and being back in NJ for a while is quite the learning experience. First and foremost, NJ is run by the big pHarma and the pollution corporations and there ain’t nothing anyone can do about it.
I’m sure you’ve heard about PFAS – the polyfluoroalkyl substances. These are so dangerous to the human body, yet they are found in some of the NJ drinking water.
These chemicals have been used since 1949 in the production of items we encounter everyday: non-stick pots and pans, cleaning products, food packaging and more. These chemicals have permeated drinking water supplies across the country, particularly in areas with industrial plants and military bases.
In Hawaii, I was blessed by keeping fluoride out of drinking water except for one place – the military bases. This shows how how much our government loves those that defend their country.
Roughly 110 million Americans live in areas with contaminated drinking water systems and NJ has 43 contamination sites, which is one of the highest in the country.
NJ’s military bases have generated especially high concentrations of these chemicals due to their use of PFAS in firefighting foam.
Countless scientific studies have been warning NJ residents for decades that these chemicals can cause serious and even deadly health issues. The corporations could care less the people could develop multiple types of cancer, impaired childhood development, reproductive issues, hormone disruption, increased cholesterol levels and immune system problems. As long as the money keeps coming in that’s all that matters.
Unfortunately, the EPA (Environmental Pollution Agency) continues to put industry profits over the health of the citizens and it continues to drag its feet on the commonsense action necessary to make the drinking water safe.
FDA halts Bill Gates Coronavirus testing program
Dr. Leonard Coldwell – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halted a coronavirus testing program promoted by billionaire Bill Gates and Seattle health officials pending reviews.
The program sought to send test kits to the homes of people both healthy and sick to try to bring the country to the level of testing officials say is necessary before states can begin safely reopening. The program, which had already gone through thousands of tests, found dozens of cases that had been previously undiagnosed.
The Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN) said on its website that the FDA had asked it to pause testing while it receives additional authorizations but maintained its procedures are safe.
The FDA “recently clarified its guidance for home-based, self-collected samples to test for COVID-19. We have been notified that a separate federal emergency use authorization (EUA) is required to return results for self-collected tests,” SCAN said. “The FDA has not raised any concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of SCAN’s test, but we have been asked to pause testing until we receive that additional authorization.”
The pause is emblematic of the fractured national response to the coronavirus, with federal officials proposing guidelines but leaving much of the implementation and administration of tests to states and localities.
Concerns have recently arisen over the reliability of coronavirus antibody tests, which can gauge if someone previously had COVID-19. However, the SCAN tests do not test for antibodies, and SCAN said it is working on getting its program up and running again.
“We are actively working to address their questions and resume testing as soon as possible,” SCAN said.
STUDY: Happiness May Protect Against Deadly Gut Infections
Study Finds – Positivity isn’t always easily achieved, but a new study provides yet another reason we should all do our best to inject a bit of optimism into our mindsets. Researchers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center have found evidence that serotonin, the brain chemical responsible for feelings of happiness and well being, may be able to stop harmful intestinal pathogens from causing deadly infections.
Essentially, the study indicates that happiness can protect against serious gut infections.
Serotonin is almost always thought of as a brain chemical, but about 90% of it is actually produced in the gastrointestinal tract. There’s also trillions of bacteria living in the stomach as well, and while the vast majority of those bacteria are good and beneficial, some pathogenic bacteria also make their way to the gastrointestinal tract. When this happens, it can lead to serious and sometimes fatal gut infections.
Gut bacteria, like any other form of bacteria, are quite susceptible to their living environment. With this in mind, the study’s authors pondered if levels of serotonin being made in the gut affected these pathogens in any way.
To study this possible relationship, researchers focused on Escherichia coli O157, a type of bacteria known to cause semi-frequent outbreaks of sometimes deadly food-borne infections. Some samples of these bacteria were grown by the team in a lab setting and then exposed to serotonin. Notably, gene expression tests conducted after this exposure reveal that the serotonin had indeed significantly reduced the “expression” of genes within the bacteria that cause infections.
Furthermore, when human cells were exposed to the serotonin-weakened bacteria, that bacteria was no longer capable of inflicting “infection-associated lesions.” So, just add some serotonin and the bacteria loses its ability to produce an infection.
TOO HOT FOR MASKS!
CBS – When the sun does its impression of an Easy Bake Oven, the only thing you can do is look for some shade.
That’s exactly what Patricia Granberg was doing under a shelter at a Ross Township park at midday Tuesday.
“I’m dealing with it be best way I know how. Plenty of fluids and stuff like that,” she said.
But add the COVID-19 precaution of having to wear a mask, and Yvette says, “It’s like suffocating. Absolutely suffocating.”
Christina Mikus agrees.
“It definitely limits activity and that’s why I think you see so many people with them just on the mouth,” she said.