March, 2021 | últimas notícias

‘Real Housewives’ star Jen Shah arrested and charged with wire fraud – Salt Lake Tribune – Salt Lake Tribune

“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah has been arrested and charged with running a fraudulent telemarketing scheme.

Shan and her assistant/partner, Stuart Smith, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the special agent in charge of the New York field office of Homeland Security, and the commissioner of the New York City Police Department.

Shah and Smith were arrested Tuesday and will appear in Salt Lake City federal court on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a statement from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, Shah and Smith “allegedly generated and sold lead lists of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam.” They’ve allegedly been operating the system since 2012.

The “so-called business opportunities pushed on the victims by Shah, Smith, and their co-conspirators were just fraudulent schemes, motivated by greed, to steal victims’ money,” Strauss said in the statement. If convicted, “these defendants face time in prison for their alleged crimes,” Strauss added.

Shah is the wife of University of Utah assistant football coach Sharrieff Shah.

Shah, 47, was one of six women who starred in the first season of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” and Smith — her “first assistant” — made several appearances on the show. Shah was often at the center of the narrative of “RHOSLC,” feuding with other cast members, tossing insults and glasses at parties and talking about her depression, which she attributed to her father’s death and her husband’s job-related absences. Shah, who is Tongan and Hawaiian, also talked frequently about the difficulties she encountered growing up in predominately white Utah.

Shah has her own marketing firm as well as JXA Fashion and Shah Lashes, and she recently launched Shah Beauty, described as “skincare for the modern woman.”

According to the charges against them, Shah and Smith “flaunted their lavish lifestyle to the public as a symbol of their success,” according to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh, while “they allegedly built their opulent lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people.”

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said there were “hundreds of victims” in the scheme.

Fitzhugh said Shah and Smith “objectified their very real human victims as leads to be bought and sold, offering their personal information for sale to other members of their fraud ring.” He went on to say that the two “will answer for their crimes” and “as a result, their new reality may very well turn out differently than they expected.”

Shah, Smith and their associates “sold alleged services … including tax preparation or website design services, notwithstanding that many victims were elderly and did not own a computer,” according to the charges. Shah and Smith “at no point” intended “that the victims would actually earn any of the promised return on their intended investment,” the charges said, and the victims did not “earn any such returns.”

Shah and Smith sold lists of “leads” that had been generated in “sales floors” in places that include Utah, Arizona and Nevada, according to the charges. The owners of those sales floors “operated in coordination with several telemarketing sales floors in the New York and New Jersey area … and provided lead lists and assistance in fighting victim refund requests” from victims of the fraud.

The charges go on to say that Shah and Smith “undertook significant efforts to conceal their roles” in the scheme by incorporating their businesses using third parties’ names, and they instructed other participants to do the same. They also used “encrypted messaging applications to communicate with other participants”; instructed them to send fraud proceeds to offshore bank accounts; and “made numerous cash withdrawals structured to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements,” the charges said.

Shan and Smith, 43, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing through which they victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Source Article from https://sltrib.com/news/2021/03/30/real-housewives-star-jen/

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Derek Chauvin trial live: Jurors hear testimony from MMA fighter and teen who recorded video of George Floyd’s death – USA TODAY

MINNEAPOLIS — More witnesses, including a mixed martial arts fighter and the teenager who recorded a video showing the death of George Floyd, took the stand Tuesday in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Two other witnesses – a 911 dispatcher and a cashier working across the street – testified Monday, and lawyers for the defense and prosecution opened the trial by laying out their case. Here’s what you missed.

Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Follow the trial:Sign up here to get updates and analysis from the courtroom via SMS. Follow USA TODAY Network reporters on Twitter here, or get email updates by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter.

Latest updates:

Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the infamous video showing the arrest and death of George Floyd, testified Tuesday.
Judge Peter Cahill denied a state motion first thing Tuesday to keep all audio and video of four key witnesses from being made public.
While Cahill said the witnesses, including the now-18-year-old woman who was 17 at the time and filmed the bystander video that went viral, would be allowed to be referred to by first name only, they would not speak or spell their names on camera or audio.
Monday evening, about 200 protesters rallied outside the county building to demand justice.
Police, sheriffs deputies and the National Guard were on high alert, although they maintained a deliberately low-key presence Monday.

Donald Williams takes stand again, becomes emotional in courtroom

Prosecutors called their third witness, Donald Williams, back to testify Tuesday morning after a technical glitch cut his testimony short Monday.

Williams told the court Monday that he was on his way to Cup Foods, where Floyd was arrested, when he encountered Floyd “pleading” for his life. Williams told the court he asked officers to stop the “blood choke,” which is a form of chokehold that renders someone unconscious.

Williams became emotional in the courtroom Tuesday and wiped away tears as he listened to the 911 call he made once officers left the scene. “He just pretty much killed this guy who was not resisting arrest,” Williams said in the call.

Williams told the court Tuesday: “I did call the police on the police because I believed I witnessed a murder.”

In a tense cross examination by lead defense attorney Eric Nelson, Williams acknowledged that he didn’t know that the officers had been dealing with Floyd for 15 minutes before he arrived at the scene. He also conceded he did not know that an ambulance had been summoned to the scene three minutes before he arrived.

Nelson told Williams that he “got angry” and was “threatening police.” Nelson listed off several profanities that Williams called the officers, according to video of the incident.

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/30/derek-chauvin-trial-live-tuesday-witnesses-take-stand-donald-williams/7018720002/

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Biden’s Judicial Nominees Have Diverse Backgrounds – The New York Times

From the start, Mr. Biden’s White House has made clear that it intends to put judges with different types of backgrounds on the federal bench as quickly as it can. In a letter in December, the incoming White House counsel, Dana Remus, told Democratic senators that Mr. Biden would be looking for judges from groups historically underrepresented on the bench.

“White House Counsel Dana Remus has made clear that President Biden wants to nominate the most diverse judges in history — including diversity of professional background and experience representing individual Americans,” said Christopher Kang, a co-founder of the progressive group Demand Justice. “As long as Senate Democrats follow Remus’ letter, Biden will not only start to rebalance to our courts, but transform the judiciary by establishing a new mold for all Democratic presidents’ judicial nominees.”

Mr. Biden is not the first Democratic president to try to reshape the federal bench. When Mr. Obama was elected, his lawyers also considered appointing judges who did not have the traditional pedigrees of litigating experience at major law firms, graduating from top colleges, selection to elite clerkships and service as federal prosecutors.

But when Mr. Obama’s counsel’s office sent the names of public defenders or sole practitioners to the American Bar Association for the standard review before nomination, the group frequently objected. One person familiar with the effort said the Obama White House ran into what he called “endless difficulties” with the bar association, which would indicate privately that it intended to rate such candidates poorly.

Late last year, during his transition, Mr. Biden agreed with advisers to end the tradition of Democratic presidents of submitting names to the bar association before nominating them. The association will be free to issue judgments on those nominees, but only after the president has already made his selections public.

That could help Mr. Biden fill judicial vacancies more quickly, said several people familiar with the process. The president and his lawyers are keenly aware that Democratic control of the Senate may not last past the midterm elections in 2022, giving him a short window in which to make his mark on the judiciary.

“I think speed is paramount,” Mr. Eggleston said. “If I were them, I’d be full speed and just assume you are going to lose the Senate in two years. I don’t think that will happen, but that has to be their operating thought.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/biden-judges.html

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Witness describes watching George Floyd "slowly fade away" as testimony begins in Chauvin trial – CBS News

Testimony began Monday following opening statements in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin, who was seen in a disturbing video kneeling on the neck of the unarmed Black man, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Prosecutors played the video of Floyd’s death for the jurors during their opening statements, saying Chauvin used lethal force against a “defenseless” and handcuffed Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said Floyd died of oxygen deprivation beneath the pressure of Chauvin’s knee, but defense attorney Eric Nelson argued Floyd died of a heart arrhythmia complicated by the fentanyl and methamphetamine he had ingested before his arrest.

Following opening statements, prosecutors called their first witness to the stand, a 911 dispatcher who said she called a police sergeant when she saw officers restraining Floyd on video footage from a camera across the street.

The day ended with disturbing testimony from a former wrestler trained in mixed martial arts who described watching Floyd “slowly fade away.”

911 dispatcher testifies in George Floyd case…

17:48

Floyd‘s killing last year drew outrage and a worldwide reckoning on police reform and racial justice. Three other officers involved in the fatal May 2020 arrest are charged with aiding and abetting, and will be tried jointly in August. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty.

Fifteen jurors, four of whom are Black and two of whom are multiracial, were chosen during a weeks-long jury selection process earlier this month. One was dismissed at the beginning of the proceedings, leaving 12 jurors and two alternates to hear the case.

The trial is expected to span two to four weeks at the heavily secured Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, after which the jury will launch into deliberations. Judge Peter Cahill is limiting attendees in the courtroom due to COVID-19 concerns and is allowing for the proceedings to be televised, a rarity in the state.

Before court on Monday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the trial would be emotional for Floyd’s family, whom he represents. Crump said though the family had received a $27 million settlement from the City of Minneapolis, they are seeking “full justice” in the criminal trial.

“What we want to know is, will we see justice?” Crump said. “The whole world is watching.”

Derek Chauvin

Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET.)

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/derek-chauvin-trial-testimony-day-1/

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Biden Pushes Mask Mandate as C.D.C. Director Warns of ‘Impending Doom’ – The New York Times

According to a New York Times database, the seven-day average of new virus cases as of Sunday was about 63,000, a level comparable with late October’s average. That was up from 54,000 a day two weeks earlier, an increase of more than 16 percent. Similar upticks in Europe have led to major surges in the spread of Covid-19, Dr. Walensky said.

Public health experts say that the nation is in a race between the vaccination campaign and new, worrisome coronavirus variants. Although more than one in three American adults have received at least one shot and nearly one-fifth are fully vaccinated, the nation is a long way away from reaching so-called herd immunity — the tipping point that comes when spread of a virus begins to slow because so many people, estimated at 70 to 90 percent of the population, are immune to it.

But states are rapidly expanding access to more plentiful quantities of the vaccine. On Monday, at least six — Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma — made all adults eligible for vaccination. New York said that all adults would be eligible starting April 6.

Mr. Biden said on Monday that the administration was taking steps to expand vaccine eligibility and access, including opening a dozen new mass vaccination centers. He directed his coronavirus response team to ensure that 90 percent of Americans would be no farther than five miles from a vaccination site by April 19.

The president said doses were plentiful enough now that nine of 10 adults in the nation — or more — would be eligible for a shot by that date. Previously, he had called on states to broaden eligibility to all adults by May 1. He revised that promise because states, buoyed by projected increases in shipments, are opening their vaccination programs more rapidly than expected, a White House official said.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/us/politics/biden-virus-vaccine.html

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How Mitt Romney sees the Biden administration so far, future of the GOP – Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — Though Sen. Mitt Romney took issue with Donald Trump’s character and didn’t vote for him last fall, he often agreed with the former president on policy issues.

So, how does the Utah Republican see President Joe Biden’s first two months in office?

Hit and miss.

Romney said the appointment of Jeff Zients as White House coronavirus response coordinator has sped up distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country. He said the administration has been successful in reaching out to U.S. allies to “calm some nerves” and possibly pull together a summit to deal with shared concerns.

Yet Biden, he said, missed an opportunity to work with Republicans on bipartisan COVID-19 relief, passing his $1.9 trillion aid package with only Democratic votes.

“I would have thought the president would have been more aligned with his inauguration speech,” Romney told the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards Monday. “They just went ahead with their $1.9 trillion plan without any adjustment whatsoever. … I think that’s a real mistake on their part.”

Romney also criticized Biden rescinding some of Trump’s immigration policies, resulting in a “humanitarian crisis” at the U.S. border with Mexico. He also took issue with the president halting oil and gas leases on federal land, which he says just means the U.S. will have to now buy from foreign producers that are bigger polluters.

“I sometimes get frustrated with American politics where, on both sides of the aisle, look good politically but don’t help,” he said.

Would Romney, then, rather see Trump — whom he voted to convict in two impeachment trials — in the White House right now?

“I don’t speculate on things that are not possible,” the senator said.

Though he’s not a fan of the former president, Romney said he believes populism will be around for a long time among Republicans, even with Trump off the stage.

“I don’t think it will be going away in my party, even though I wish it were,” he said.

What is the future of the Republican Party?

Romney said Republicans lining up to run for president in 2024 will “become like President Trump as much as they can.” He said he doesn’t think they would adopt Trump’s “character flaws” or language or “personal features that were so difficult for many of us, for me in particular.”

But from a policy and rhetorical standpoint, there will be an effort to take on populist positions that might offer “more simplistic” answers the times otherwise would demand. Romney pointed to Ohio where Republican candidates looking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman are “competing to be as much like Trump as they can.”

“I think he will continue to have a substantial influence,” Romney said of Trump.

Romney has said in the past that he doesn’t know where the Republican Party is headed and that he now represents a small slice of the party he once knew.

“I personally think our party is better at attracting the minorities and the young people we need to win and better at doing what’s right for all Americans if we hold to the principles that have been our basis for a long, long time,” he said, listing balancing the budget, equal opportunity, freedom over authoritarianism and good character.

“These kinds of principles, I think, are fundamental to our party and to America,” he said. “I hope that they are in ascendance in our party again, but I think it’s difficult to predict just what our party will do.”

Because of his vote in Trump’s first impeachment trial, Romney doubts he can have much influence in states like Ohio and others where sitting GOP senators aren’t running for reelection next year.

“I don’t get asked to help primary candidates in many states,” he said.

But as a national party, he said, the GOP is going to have to “wake up” and recognize that it has to adopt principles that are right for the country and “politically essential” for its future.

“We won’t have a future if we don’t have young people vote for us. We won’t have a future if we don’t have minorities vote for us, and any image that we somehow are trying to suppress votes, what a terrible image that is,” he said. “To suggest that we don’t want everybody to vote, we just want a few to vote. That’s a terrible image, and hopefully not accurate.”

Romney said while he probably won’t be on the campaign trial in states with vacancies, he can speak up on issues that help the Republican Party do better with young people, minorities and suburban women.

Trump, he said, did well in bringing Democrats to the GOP, but he also lost a lot of Republicans, and “I want to bring them back.”

Romney said he wants to see Republican policies predominate, but he favors the 60-vote rule to pass most bills in the Senate because it requires compromise that leads to better legislation. He said he’d rather see bills passed that way than having the president drive them through on a majority basis, regardless of which party is in power.

Doing away with the filibuster as some Democrats are pushing for would dramatically restructure government and imperil how Congress has legislated from the beginning, he said. The country, he said, would “swing from corner to corner” as parties tried to appeal to their extreme wings.

“I’m absolutely convinced that blowing up the filibuster, the so-called 60-vote rule, would have a very serious impact on the long-term future of our country,” Romney said.

Source Article from https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/3/29/22356567/how-mitt-romney-sees-joe-biden-administration-future-republican-party

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White House commits to releasing Biden health report, provides no timeline – New York Post

White House press secretary Jen Psaki committed Monday to release a “comprehensive” report on President Biden’s health in the “near future.”

“Absolutely,” Psaki said in response to a reporter’s question at her daily press briefing.

“I don’t have a timeline but absolutely we will do that, and I’ll check and see when he is due to go back to the doctor.”

The White House has been quick to deny that Biden, 78, suffers from any serious health challenges.

Former President Donald Trump last year frequently accused Biden of being in mental decline. Trump said last week — after Biden tripped on the stairs of Air Force One — that he believes Vice President Kamala Harris may take the reins of government.

President Biden’s health report will be released in the “near future.”

AP/Patrick Semansky

Biden this month called his second-in-command “President Harris” — repeating a gaffe he made once before.

Trump claimed last week that “there’s something going on” with Biden and that “you wonder whether or not all of the things that he’s signing, whether or not he understands what he’s signing.”

President Joe Biden recently stumbled several times while running up the steps of Air Force One.

Reuters

Biden fractured his foot in November while playing with his dog Major at his home in Delaware. Biden spokespeople initially said he was playing with the German shepherd, but the then-president-elect later divulged that he tripped on a rug while tugging the animal’s tail after a shower.

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/03/29/white-house-commits-to-releasing-joe-bidens-health-report/

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WHO report finds coronavirus probably emerged in bats, ‘extremely unlikely’ to be result of lab leak – NBC News

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NYPD hunts for assailant seen in video brutally beating Asian woman on way to church – Fox News

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Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

New York City Police are on the lookout for the attacker caught on video brutally beating a 65-year-old Asian woman who was on her way to church, according to reports.

SUSPECTS STILL AT LARGE AFTER ASIAN WOMAN ROBBED, DRAGGED BY CAR IN SAN FRANCISCO; POLICE INVESTIGATING

The attack was brutal and was caught on surveillance video from inside a lobby in Midtown. The New York Post, citing police, reported that the suspect yelled anti-Asian statements while he beat the woman. Sources told the paper that the assailant yelled, “F—k you, you don’t belong here.”

The video appears to show the woman getting kicked in the stomach, which causes her to fall. The assailant proceeds to pummel her while she is on the ground, kicking her in the head and body. An individual described in reports as a security guard — seems unwilling to render aid to the woman, and instead closes the door after the attack.

Authorities told the Post that the woman was taken to NYU Langone Hospital with a fractured pelvis and is listed in stable condition. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime.

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ABC 7 NY reported that the woman was on her way to church at the time of the assault.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-searches-for-assailant-seen-in-video-brutally-beating-asian-woman-on-way-to-church

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Chris Cuomo returns to CNN show, stays silent on priority testing scandal that implicates him – Fox News

Video

Cuomo’s COVID favoritism

Brother, other relatives got scarce tests.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo returned to his show on Monday night and, like the rest of his network, avoided the giant COVID elephant in the room.

Cuomo was conveniently absent last week when the Albany-based newspaper Times Union published a bombshell report alleging that his brother, Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, gave prioritized COVID testing to members of his family — including the famous TV host — in the early months of the pandemic as ordinary New Yorkers struggled to find tests themselves.

According to his show’s Twitter account, Cuomo was spending time with his family last week.

Earlier this month, the CNN anchor awkwardly told viewers he “obviously” cannot talk about the growing scandals plaguing his brother amid a deluge of sexual misconduct accusations against the New York governor. Last year, Chris Cuomo touted his brother’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the early months of the pandemic and even welcomed the Democrat onto his show nearly a dozen times for chummy interviews that mostly involved banter and prop comedy.

BRIAN STELTER AVOIDS CNN’S OWN CUOMO SCANDAL IMPLICATING ANCHOR ON ‘RELIABLE SOURCES’ MEDIA SHOW

Instead of addressing the controversy, Cuomo spent much of his return to “Cuomo Prime Time” covering the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in connection with the police custody death of George Floyd and panning the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

CNN may have a Cuomo problem as “Cuomo Prime Time” continues to shed viewers amid New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s multiple scandals.

Like Cuomo, the rest of his CNN’s colleagues have also implemented a coverage blackout of the latest bombshell, including the network’s left-wing media guru Brian Stelter, who has a growing trend of avoiding the biggest media controversies on his media-centric program “Reliable Sources.”

Meanwhile, more details are emerging about the special treatment Chris Cuomo received from New York’s top Democrat.

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“At one of the first pandemic operations hubs in the state, the testing priority status of more than 100 individuals were logged in an electronic data sheet that was kept separate from a database for the general public, according to a person with direct knowledge of the practice,” the Washington Post reported on Monday. “And a top state physician whose pandemic portfolio involved coordinating testing in nursing homes was dispatched multiple times to the Hamptons home of CNN host Chris Cuomo, the governor’s brother, in testing visits that sometimes stretched hours, according to two people with knowledge of the consultations.”

The newly-emerged scandal has since been incorporated into state lawmakers’ ongoing impeachment investigation.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/chris-cuomo-returns-cuomo-prime-time-cnn-scandal

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911 dispatcher testifies officers pinned down George Floyd for so long she thought her video feed had frozen – NBC News

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Suez Canal pilots come under scrutiny after grounding of ship – The Washington Post

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/03/29/suez-canal-pilots/

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CDC director Rochelle Walensky warns of "impending doom" amid COVID-19 spikes – CBS News

Washington — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued a dire warning of a sense of “impending doom” as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations tick up and pleaded with Americans to not let up on mitigation measures.

During a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team and public health officials, Walensky said there are “continuing concerning trends” in the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths all rising. The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has surpassed 30.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” Walensky said, appearing to grow emotional. “We have so much to look forward to. So much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. But right now I’m scared.”

Walensky said the trajectory of the pandemic in the United States is following European countries like Germany, Italy and France, which have experienced a “consistent and worrying spike in cases.”

“We are not powerless. We can change this trajectory of the pandemic,” she said. “But it will take all of us recommitting to following the public health prevention strategies consistently while we work to get the American public vaccinated.”

The American people, Walensky continued, need to work together to prevent another surge in cases.

“I’m speaking today not necessarily as your CDC director, and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer,” she said. “I so badly want to be done, I know you all so badly want to be done, we’re just almost there, but not quite yet. And so, I’m asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends.”

Walensky’s sense of foreboding comes as some governors have moved to relax restrictions designed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, including lifting mask mandates, as more people are vaccinated. States like Florida have experienced an increase in spring break visitors, while the Transportation Security Administration reported a spike in the number of air travelers this month.

But public health officials have warned the nation risks a new surge in coronavirus infections, attributed to increased travel, a rolling back of restrictions and the new variants that have been detected in the U.S.

“When you’re coming down from a big peak and you reach a point and start to plateau, once you stay at that plateau, you’re really in danger of a surge coming up,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said in an interview with “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “And unfortunately, that’s what we’re starting to see.”

Walensky said new cases were stagnating, but there has been a steady rise, now between 60,000 and 70,000 new infections per day, over the last week, which could lead to a larger spike.

The CDC director added that some states are opening up at levels not recommended by public health officials, and she plans to speak with governors Tuesday to urge them to “buckle down on trying to refrain from opening up too fast.”

The Biden administration has worked to ramp up the pace of vaccinations by sending doses directly to retail pharmacies and community health centers. More than 93 million Americans have received at least one dose of their shots, and 51.5 million are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Still, Andy Slavitt, the White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response, stressed during the briefing that people need to continue following public health measures as more shots are administered.

“It will be race between a vaccine and what’s going on with the dynamics of the outbreak,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-director-rochelle-walensky-covid-impending-doom/

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Biden says states should reinstate mask mandates and wait to reopen businesses as Covid cases rise – CNBC

President Joe Biden on Monday urged governors and local leaders who dropped sweeping mask mandates to reinstate their orders, indicated some states should wait to reopen their economies while condemning “reckless behavior” likely to spur more infections.

“Our work is far from over. The war against Covid-19 is far from won,” Biden said at a press briefing, where he announced a series of plans to vastly expand access to the vaccines in the coming weeks. “This is deadly serious.”

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The president said he supports the warnings from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said earlier Monday that the U.S. is facing “impending doom” as daily Covid-19 cases begin to rebound once again. Biden also said he believes some states should pause their reopening plans amid the recent spike in cases.

Walensky said during a news briefing earlier in the day that many states are reopening their economies even though the level of viral transmission remains too high. Walensky said she will ask governors on Tuesday to “refrain from opening up too fast.”

“I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” Walensky told reporters. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.”

The U.S. recorded an average of 63,239 new Covid-19 cases per day over the last week, a 16% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Daily cases are now growing by at least 5% in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

While coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths typically lag infections, the daily number of fatalities has started to plateau. The U.S. is reporting a weekly average of 970 coronavirus deaths per day, a 3% decline compared with the week prior, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins.

“We’re giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains,” Biden said. “And as much as we’re doing America, it’s time to do even more.”

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards

The president pushed states and businesses to maintain, or reinstate, widespread mask mandates, saying a failure to take the virus seriously “is precisely what got us in this mess in the first place” and could lead to more infections and deaths.

Top public health officials have urged states to tread with caution for weeks, warning that highly transmissible virus variants — particularly B.1.1.7 first identified in the U.K. — threaten to upend the nation’s progress after infections declined for nearly three months.

Despite those pleas, a handful of governors have moved to lift capacity restrictions on businesses, like restaurants and gyms. Some states, like Texas and Mississippi, dropped statewide mask requirements while others, such as Alabama, said they would do so at the beginning of April.

“We’re making progress on vaccinations, but cases are rising and the virus is spreading in too many places still,” Biden said.

He announced that 90% of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for Covid-19 shots by April 19 and will be able to get them within five miles of their home under the administration’s expanded vaccination plan.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/biden-says-states-should-reinstate-mask-mandates-and-wait-to-reopen-businesses-as-covid-cases-rise-.html

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Groups file second lawsuit challenging new Georgia voting law – CNN

By Dianne Gallagher and Paul LeBlanc, CNN

Updated 7:01 PM ET, Mon March 29, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/politics/georgia-second-lawsuit-voting-law/index.html

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Ghislaine Maxwell Charged With Sex Trafficking of 14-Year-Old Girl – The New York Times

Mr. Epstein, 66, hanged himself in his cell at a jail in Manhattan in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. An indictment said Mr. Epstein had recruited dozens of minor girls to engage in sex acts with him at his mansion in Manhattan and the Palm Beach estate, after which he paid them hundreds of dollars in cash.

Prosecutors, in expanding their case against Ms. Maxwell, not only added two new counts — sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking conspiracy — but they also broadened the time period of the allegations they have made.

The original indictment alleged crimes by Ms. Maxwell from 1994 through 1997, leading her lawyers to argue, as they unsuccessfully sought her release on bail, that it was “inherently more difficult to prosecute cases relating to decades-old conduct.” They said that helped to “call into question the strength of the government’s case.”

The sex trafficking of Minor Victim-4 occurred between 2001 and 2004, the new indictment says.

It adds that Ms. Maxwell first met the 14-year-old girl at the Palm Beach residence and over the next three years interacted there with her frequently, while knowing she was a minor.

Describing how Ms. Maxwell groomed the girl, the indictment said she asked the girl about her family and other aspects of her life, and “sought to normalize inappropriate and abusive conduct.”

For example, the indictment said, Ms. Maxwell discussed sexual topics in front of the girl and was present when the girl was nude in the massage room of the Palm Beach residence.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/nyregion/ghislaine-maxwell-sex-trafficking-epstein.html

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WHO-China report claims coronavirus lab leak ‘extremely unlikely,’ suggests animal-human transmission – Fox News

Video

WHO report on COVID source likely being animals ‘can’t be trusted’: Rep. Cammack

Florid GOP Rep. Kat Cammack says the data suggests that COVID-19 originated in a lab and WHO’s credibility is ‘tainted.’

A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.

The findings offer little new insight into how the virus began to spread around the globe and many questions remain unanswered, though that was as expected. But the report did provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers’ conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.

The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China. A World Health Organization official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release “in the next few days.”

COVID-19 ORIGINS REMAIN SHROUDED IN MYSTERY, ONE YEAR LATER

The AP received a copy on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country. It wasn’t clear whether the report might still be changed prior to release, though the diplomat said it was the final version. A second diplomat confirmed getting the report too. Both refused to be identified because they were not authorized to release it ahead of publication.

Peter Ben Embarek speaks during a press conference to wrap up a visit by an international team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the city of Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province on February 9, 2021. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The WHO did not immediately respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.

The researchers listed four scenarios in order of likelihood for the emergence of the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. Topping the list was transmission from bats through another animal, which they said was likely to very likely. They evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said that spread through “cold-chain” food products was possible but not likely.

WHO HALTS INTERIM REPORT ON CORONAVIRUS ORIGINS AMID GROWING PUSHBACK

Bats are known to carry coronaviruses and, in fact, the closest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in bats. However, the report says that “the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link.”

It said highly similar viruses have been found in pangolins, which are another kind of mammal, but also noted that mink and cats are susceptible to the COVID-19 virus, suggesting they could be carriers, too.

The report is based largely on a visit by a WHO team of international experts to Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected, from mid-January to mid-February.

A member of a World Health Organization team is seen wearing protective gear during a field visit to the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center for another day of field visit in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, said Friday that the report had been finalized and was being fact-checked and translated.

“I expect that in the next few days, that whole process will be completed and we will be able to release it publicly,” he said.

WHO DROPS INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER COVID-19 VIRUS LEAKED FROM WUHAN LAB, CALLING THEORY UNLIKELY

The draft report is inconclusive on whether the outbreak started at a Wuhan seafood market that had one of the earliest clusters of cases in December 2019.

The discovery of other cases before the Huanan market outbreak suggests it may have started elsewhere. But the report notes there could have been milder cases that went undetected and that could be a link between the market and earlier cases.

“No firm conclusion therefore about the role of the Huanan market in the origin of the outbreak, or how the infection was introduced into the market, can currently be drawn,” the report said.

The market was an early suspect because some stalls sold a range of animals — and some wondered if they had brought the new virus to Wuhan. The report noted that a range of animal products — including everything from bamboo rats to deer, often frozen — were sold at the market, as were live crocodiles.

As the pandemic spread globally, China found samples of the virus on the packaging of frozen food coming into the country and, in some cases, have tracked localized outbreaks to them.

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The report said that the cold chain, as it is known, can be a driver of long-distance virus spread but was skeptical it could have triggered the outbreak. The report says the risk is lower than through human-to-human respiratory infection, and most experts agree.

“While there is some evidence for possible reintroduction of SARS-CoV-2 through handling of imported contaminated frozen products in China since the initial pandemic wave, this would be extraordinary in 2019 where the virus was not widely circulating,” the study said.

The report cited several reasons for all but dismissing the possibility the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, a speculative theory that was suggested and promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump among others.

It said such laboratory accidents are rare and the labs in Wuhan working on coronaviruses and vaccines are well-managed. It also noted that there is no record of viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 in any laboratory before December 2019 and that the risk of accidentally growing the virus was extremely low.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/world/who-report-says-animals-likely-source-of-covid

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In trial of Derek Chauvin, prosecution shows jury video of George Floyd’s death during opening arguments – The Washington Post

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/29/chauvin-trial-live-updates/

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Suez Canal traffic resumes after cargo ship Ever Given is moving again – CNBC

The Ever Given, the massive container ship that became wedged in the Suez Canal and cut off traffic in the vital waterway for almost a week, has been refloated, authorities said Monday.

The ship is currently on its way to Great Bitter Lake, according to Leth Agencies, which is a transit agent at the Suez Canal. Once there, it will undergo a technical inspection.

Earlier on Monday, the Suez Canal Authority said the ship had “responded to the pulling and towing maneuvers” and had corrected its course by 80%.

The Ever Given is one of the largest container ships in the world. The 220,000-ton vessel is able to carry 20,000 containers, and stretching more than 1,300 feet is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

The ship, which ran aground last Tuesday, created further disruptions in a global supply chain already straining under the ongoing impacts of Covid-19.

Around 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal. Lloyd’s List estimates that more than $9 billion worth of goods passes through the 120-mile waterway each day, translating to around $400 million per hour.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the technical manager of the ship, said last week that the Ever Given ran aground due to heavy winds. Over the weekend Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said that human or technical error may have played a role in the ship deviating from its course.

Expert salvage crews were called in to help with the refloat operation. More than 10 tugboats were on the scene, as well as specialized dredging equipment. More than 20,000 tons of sand and mud were removed during the dredging operation.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/suez-canal-traffic-resumes-after-cargo-ship-ever-given-is-removed.html

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Derek Chauvin Trial Day 1: Live Updates and Analysis – The New York Times

It’s a Monday evening in Minneapolis. Police respond to a call about a man who allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Seventeen minutes later, the man they are there to investigate lies motionless on the ground, and is pronounced dead shortly after. The man was 46-year-old George Floyd, a bouncer originally from Houston who had lost his job at a restaurant when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Crowd: “No justice, no peace.” Floyd’s death triggered major protests in Minneapolis, and sparked rage across the country. One of the officers involved, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder. The Times analyzed bystander videos, security camera footage and police scanner audio, spoke to witnesses and experts, and reviewed documents released by the authorities to build as comprehensive a picture as possible and better understand how George Floyd died in police custody. The events of May 25 begin here. Floyd is sitting in the driver’s seat of this blue S.U.V. Across the street is a convenience store called Cup Foods. Footage from this restaurant security camera helps us understand what happens next. Note that the timestamp on the camera is 24 minutes fast. At 7:57 p.m., two employees from Cup Foods confront Floyd and his companions about an alleged counterfeit bill he just used in their store to buy cigarettes. They demand the cigarettes back but walk away empty-handed. Four minutes later, they call the police. According to the 911 transcript, an employee says that Floyd used fake bills to buy cigarettes, and that he is “awfully drunk” and “not in control of himself.” Soon, the first police vehicle arrives on the scene. Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng step out of the car and approach the blue S.U.V. Seconds later, Lane pulls his gun. We don’t know exactly why. He orders Floyd to put his hands on the wheel. Lane reholsters the gun, and after about 90 seconds of back and forth, yanks Floyd out of the S.U.V. A man is filming the confrontation from a car parked behind them. The officers cuff Floyd’s hands behind his back. And Kueng walks him to the restaurant wall. “All right, what’s your name?” From the 911 transcript and the footage, we now know three important facts: First, that the police believed they were responding to a man who was drunk and out of control. But second, even though the police were expecting this situation, we can see that Floyd has not acted violently. And third, that he seems to already be in distress. Six minutes into the arrest, the two officers move Floyd back to their vehicle. As the officers approach their car, we can see Floyd fall to the ground. According to the criminal complaints filed against the officers, Floyd says he is claustrophobic and refuses to enter the police car. During the struggle, Floyd appears to turn his head to address the officers multiple times. According to the complaints, he tells them he can’t breathe. Nine minutes into the arrest, the third and final police car arrives on the scene. It’s carrying officers Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin. Both have previous records of complaints brought against them. Thao was once sued for throwing a man to the ground and hitting him. Chauvin has been involved in three police shootings, one of them fatal. Chauvin becomes involved in the struggle to get Floyd into the car. Security camera footage from Cup Foods shows Kueng struggling with Floyd in the backseat while Thao watches. Chauvin pulls him through the back seat and onto the street. We don’t know why. Floyd is now lying on the pavement, face down. That’s when two witnesses begin filming, almost simultaneously. The footage from the first witness shows us that all four officers are now gathered around Floyd. It’s the first moment when we can clearly see that Floyd is face down on the ground, with three officers applying pressure to his neck, torso and legs. At 8:20 p.m., we hear Floyd’s voice for the first time. The video stops when Lane appears to tell the person filming to walk away. “Get off to the sidewalk, please. One side or the other, please.” The officers radio a Code 2, a call for non-emergency medical assistance, reporting an injury to Floyd’s mouth. In the background, we can hear Floyd struggling. The call is quickly upgraded to a Code 3, a call for emergency medical assistance. By now another bystander, 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, is filming from a different angle. Her footage shows that despite calls for medical help, Chauvin keeps Floyd pinned down for another seven minutes. We can’t see whether Kueng and Lane are still applying pressure. Floyd: [gasping] Officer: “What do you want?” Bystander: “I’ve been —” Floyd: [gasping] In the two videos, Floyd can be heard telling officers that he can’t breathe at least 16 times in less than five minutes. Bystander: “You having fun?” But Chauvin never takes his knee off of Floyd, even as his eyes close and he appears to go unconscious. Bystander: “Bro.” According to medical and policing experts, these four police officers are committing a series of actions that violate policies, and in this case, turn fatal. They’ve kept Floyd lying face down, applying pressure for at least five minutes. This combined action is likely compressing his chest and making it impossible to breathe. Chauvin is pushing his knee into Floyd’s neck, a move banned by most police departments. Minneapolis Police Department policy states an officer can only do this if someone is, quote, “actively resisting.” And even though the officers call for medical assistance, they take no action to treat Floyd on their own while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Officer: “Get back on the sidewalk.” According to the complaints against the officers, Lane asks him twice if they should roll Floyd onto his side. Chauvin says no. Twenty minutes into the arrest, an ambulance arrives on the scene. Bystander: “Get off of his neck!” Bystander: “He’s still on him?” The E.M.T.s check Floyd’s pulse. Bystander: “Are you serious?” Chauvin keeps his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost another whole minute, even though Floyd appears completely unresponsive. He only gets off once the E.M.T.s tell him to. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, according to our review of the video evidence. Floyd is loaded into the ambulance. The ambulance leaves the scene, possibly because a crowd is forming. But the E.M.T.s call for additional medical help from the fire department. But when the engine arrives, the officers give them, quote, “no clear info on Floyd or his whereabouts,” according to a fire department incident report. This delays their ability to help the paramedics. Meanwhile, Floyd is going into cardiac arrest. It takes the engine five minutes to reach Floyd in the ambulance. He’s pronounced dead at a nearby hospital around 9:25 p.m. Preliminary autopsies conducted by the state and Floyd’s family both ruled his death a homicide. The widely circulated arrest videos don’t paint the entire picture of what happened to George Floyd. Crowd: “Floyd! Floyd!” Additional video and audio from the body cameras of the key officers would reveal more about why the struggle began and how it escalated. The city quickly fired all four officers. And Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder. Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were charged with aiding and abetting murder. But outrage over George Floyd’s death has only spread further and further across the United States.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/29/us/derek-chauvin-trial-live

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Feuds, fibs and finger-pointing: Trump officials say coronavirus response was worse than known – The Washington Post