Germany bans Hezbollah; Lawyers: FBI tried to entrap Flynn; YouTube brings fact-checking to US vids; Critics blast Pence for skipping mask at clinic; Essential workers in MI could get free education
NewsHero - April 30, 2020 - Issue 88
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for April 30, 2020.
**Now through June 1, 2020, new annual subscriptions to NewsHero will each be contributing 25% to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund**
At NewsHero we put the heroes in the headlines and give them the attention that they deserve. Our coverage puts the focus on those who are helping, over those causing harm. Here you’ll find the same top-priority issues, but you won’t find clickbait, and what you read won’t be driven by ad sales.
NewsHero Notes
Navy SEALs - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Navy SEAL commandos raided a village in Afghanistan days after the January capture of American contractor Mark Frerichs, detaining suspected members of a Taliban-linked militant network, reports The Associated Press.
Those in pursuit of the truth - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Lawyers for former national security adviser Michael Flynn say documents unsealed by a federal judge on Wednesday show the FBI trying to entrap him, reports NPR.
Afternoon Brief
Environmental advocates - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
A new analysis from research firm BloombergNEF shows that decreasing costs of solar and onshore wind power mean they're now the most affordable source of new power development for at least two-thirds of the planet, reports Axios.
The annual survey, Axios says, “underscores why analysts see the coronavirus pandemic slowing growth but not altering the fundamental trajectory of the technologies.”
Tifenn Brandily, lead author of the report at BNEF, said: “There have been dramatic improvements in the cost-competitiveness of solar and wind. Part of it is due to photovoltaic and wind technology getting better at extracting renewable resources. But our analysis also suggests that since 2016, auctions are forcing developers to realize cost savings by scaling up project size and portfolios.”
Britain has gone without coal-fired power generation for its longest stretch since 1882, breaking the existing record of 18 straight days. According to National Grid data, UK’s energy system as of Tuesday had not used coal-fired plants for more than 438 hours, reports The Guardian.
FDA, Bureau of Industry and Security - 🦸♀️🦸♀️
Following a warning from the FDA of a shortage of temperature-reading devices, Amazon has bought cameras to take temperatures of workers during the coronavirus pandemic from a firm the U.S. blacklisted over allegations it helped China detain and monitor Muslim minorities, reports Reuters.
The United States “considers that transactions of any nature with listed entities carry a ‘red flag’ and recommends that U.S. companies proceed with caution,” according to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s website.
“It is yet another example of why we must begin rebuilding America’s domestic manufacturing capabilities and end our dangerous over-reliance on China,” said Senator Marco Rubio, a critic of China’s policies in the country’s Xinjiang region, where Uighers and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps.
The FDA said it would use discretion when enforcing regulations during the public health crisis as long as thermal systems lacking compliance posed no “undue risk” and secondary evaluations confirmed fevers.
Anti-terrorism efforts - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Germany banned all Hezbollah activity on its soil on Thursday and designated the Iran-backed group a terrorist organization, a much-anticipated step long urged by Israel and the United States.
Police also conducted early morning raids on mosque associations in cities across Germany which officials believe are close to the heavily armed Shi’ite Islamist group.
“The activities of Hezbollah violate criminal law and the organization opposes the concept of international understanding,” said the interior ministry in a statement.
Security officials believe up to 1,050 people in Germany are part of what they describe as Hezbollah’s extremist wing.
Israel, which with the United States had been pushing Germany to ban the group, praised the move. “It is a very important decision and a valuable and significant step in the global fight against terrorism,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Essential Workers in Mich. Could Get Further Education Free Of Charge
YouTube bringing fact-checking network to videos in the US
A woman is helped by a member of the Los Angeles Fire Dept. at a COVID-19 testing site in the Skid Row district Monday, April 20, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
NewsHero is continuing to offer a compilation of stories and resources that best represent the current state of the coronavirus pandemic, centered on those individuals, institutions, and organizations stepping up to end this crisis as quickly and effectively as possible. The public, too, has a duty. This includes staying responsibly informed and taking the situation seriously, while remaining as cool-headed and as isolated as possible. These are strange and difficult times, but we will endure.
Fact-checking group Full Fact said in a report on Thursday that internet and media companies should do more to tackle the spread of misinformation in Britain as falsehoods abound during the coronavirus pandemic. “Bad information ruins lives,” Chief Executive Will Moy said.
YouTube will be adding panels with information from its network of fact-checkers to videos in the U.S., The Verge reports. Similar panels were introduced last year in Brazil and India.
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows that sixty-eight percent of Americans say they highly trust the information that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing about the coronavirus, 66% trust their doctor or health care provider, and 52% said the same about their state or local government.
Students are filing lawsuits and organizing strikes against universities, Vox reports. Student groups have been putting pressure on schools to issue housing refunds, make academic concessions, and freeze upcoming tuition.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said today that essential workers without a college degree that are helping on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic may have the opportunity to continue their education free of charge through a program called “Futures for Frontliners,” reports CNN.
A woman waves to a city worker dressed in a hazmat suit as he disinfects the streets in her neighborhood as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, in Santiago, Chile, April 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A growing number of people have taken it upon themselves to help an immigrant community that has been hard hit by the pandemic, but often lives in the shadows of government and not-for-profit aide systems because of barriers such as language and immigration status, reports The Associated Press.
Immigrant advocates worry that the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate deep-rooted problems with medical care at ICE detention facilities where there are outbreaks of COVID-19 cases among staff and detainees, reports NPR. “It was a broken system already,” said Katherine Hawkins, a senior legal analyst at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) in Washington, D.C. “And unfortunately, ICE has not been responding with urgency.”
British drug maker AstraZeneca has partnered with Oxford University to produce a coronavirus vaccine, potentially allowing for rapid global vaccination if the treatment proves effective, reports MarketWatch.
More than 3,900 people have signed up through the group 1 Day Sooner as willing to be infected with the new coronavirus to help find a vaccine more quickly as part of a “human challenge trial,” reports VICE.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that all city and county residents who want a coronavirus test can now get one, reports NPR.
Doctors and late night talk show hosts criticized Vice President Mike Pence for taking a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota without wearing a face mask. “I guess he was just like, ‘It’s okay everybody, I don’t believe in science,’” said Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. “Dude, come on, what are you doing? Wear a mask.”
“Follow or find the science?'“ Check out the lates Coronadaily here.
Extra! Extra!
You may be one of the many people sad that we currently don’t have most major sporting events. The Kentucky Derby, traditionally held each year on the first Saturday in May, has been rescheduled for Sept. 5.
That sacred slot in May, however, has been turned over to a different breed of racer—the turtle. Yes, the Associated Press reports that the Kentucky Turtle Derby is officially on the way. Eventually.
“The turtle race will actually be pre-taped in Chicago with the likes of Sir-Hides-A-Bunch, American Toruga and Galapa-GO! in the field.”
Hey, we’ll take a thrill where we can get it these days!
Perhaps they’ll interview the winning turtle after the race—
Announcer: “How did it feel running the track today and coming down that home stretch?”
Turtle: “It’s hard to say, it all happened so fast.”
Sources:
SEALs tried to locate US citizen taken by Afghan militants - AP News
Attorneys For Michael Flynn Say Newly Unsealed Documents Prove FBI Entrapment - NPR
Solar and wind are now cheapest power source for most of the world - Axios
Britain breaks record for coal-free power generation - The Guardian
Exclusive: Amazon turns to Chinese firm on U.S. blacklist to meet thermal camera needs - Reuters
Amazon bought thermal cameras from blacklisted Chinese firm - Business Insider
Amazon buys heat-sensing cameras from blacklisted Chinese firm - The Guardian
After U.S., Israeli pressure, Germany bans Hezbollah activity, raids mosques - Reuters
Germany outlaws Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah - Fox News
Germany bans Hezbollah, conducts raids to find suspected members - Al Jazeera
‘Dude ... what are you doing? Wear a mask.’: Pence ripped for going barefaced at Mayo Clinic - The Washington Post
Misinformation ruins lives, UK fact-checker says - Reuters
YouTube brings fact-check panels to searches in the United States - The Verge
College students are filing lawsuits and organizing strikes against universities - Vox
Michigan governor announces tuition-free educational program for essential workers - CNN
AP-NORC poll: Seeking virus data, people struggle with trust - AP News
Internal ICE Reviews Of Two Immigrant Deaths Stoke Fears About COVID-19 Care - NPR
Immigrants deliver food, 'hope' to workers hit by pandemic - AP News
AstraZeneca teams up with Oxford University to develop coronavirus vaccine — first results from human trials expected in June or July - MarketWatch
People Are Willing to Risk Their Lives for a COVID Vaccine. Should We Let Them? - VICE
Los Angeles City And County Offer Free Coronavirus Testing To All Residents : Coronavirus Live Updates - NPR
Follow or find the science? - Coronadaily