California police to investigate officer shown punching 14-year-old boy on video

  • Rancho Cordova officer pinned teen to the ground
  • Sheriff’s office says boy was ‘physically resistive’

A northern California police officer is under investigation after a video went viral that captured him punching a 14-year-old black boy that he had pinned to the ground.

The video, which was posted to Twitter by the boy’s family and friends, shows an officer from Rancho Cordova, a city east of Sacramento, holding the boy in the dirt, at one point with his hand on his neck, and striking him several times in the chest.

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New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio apologises for tweet about Jewish funeral – video

New York City's mayor, Bill de Blasio, has apologised for lashing out at the conduct of mourners at a packed funeral for a rabbi who died of Covid-19. In a tweet, the mayor called the large processional 'absolutely unacceptable' and vowed to shut down such gatherings. 'If you saw anger and frustration [in the response] you’re right,' de Blasio said. 'I spoke out of real distress. People’s lives were in danger right before my eyes.'

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World’s stock markets soar on coronavirus treatment hopes

Investors shrug off US growth gloom after promising data from remdesivir drug trial

Shares have soared on the world’s stock markets after investors shrugged off a deep slump in the US economy and pinned their hopes on a possible breakthrough in treatment for Covid-19.

Despite news that the longest expansion in US history came to an abrupt end in the first three months of 2020, financial markets were buoyed by an update from the American biopharma company Gilead Sciences on its experimental drug remdesivir.

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Embarrassed TV host caught broadcasting in collar, blazer and … shorts

It’s easy to let standards slip during the lockdown but unlike Will Reeve not all of us see our pantless selves broadcast to the nation

Almost two months into the US shutdown, things are starting to get a little wild in quarantine. Perhaps you’ve stopped brushing your hair or started working in pyjamas. But a Good Morning America reporter took it a step further yesterday – he “went” to work without pants on for a nationally televised broadcast.

I have ARRIVED*

*in the most hilariously mortifying way possible https://t.co/2NQ85QEJVr

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The toxic chemicals in our homes could increase Covid-19 threat | Leonardo Trasande and Akhgar Ghassabian

Everyday hormone-disrupting chemicals could affect our immune system’s defenses against infections

During the rare moments you’ve ventured outside these days, you’ve probably noticed clearer skies and the benefits of reductions in air pollution.

Long-term exposure to air pollution increases the danger associated with four of the biggest Covid-19 mortality risks: diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and asthma. It also can make the immune system overreact, exaggerating the inflammatory response to common pathogens.

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Coronavirus live news: US drug trial shows ‘clear cut’ effect, says top medic

Schools in Turkey to stay shut until end of May; Germans urged to stay home; Vietnam says it has had no domestic transmission for two weeks

Another 31 people have died in Ireland and 376 more cases have been diagnosed, the country’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said.

One of the deaths reported on Wednesday involved a person in the 15-24 age group, the second in this category. Dr Holohan warned the number in intensive care units was too high as the prospect of a rapid easing of movement restrictions dwindles.

That is simply too high and we need to get that down further not only because it is about protecting occupancy but the lower the figure is it is a reflection of better protection of the public and lower levels of spread of the infection.

Bolivia will extend its lockdown against the pandemic until 10 May, the government has announced, though it is planning to relax rules in less affected parts of the country from the following day.

The president Jeanine Áñez has said Bolivia will move to a “dynamic” or “less rigid” quarantine on 11 May, allowing some people to return to work.

Opening the quarantine a little or closing it completely will depend on how the pandemic is being controlled in each region. The Ministry of Health will evaluate every seven days how the pandemic evolves in each region. On that basis, decisions will be taken to relax or harden the quarantine.

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Trump is seizing the courts – only a Democratic win in November can stop him

Trump’s transformation of the federal judiciary means the stakes have never been higher in an election than they are for Democrats

He is 37 and less than 10 years out of law school. He had never tried a case, nor served as co-counsel at trial, when he was tapped last year for America’s federal bench. But he did go on Fox News to push the cause of Brett Kavanaugh when Trump’s supreme court pick was mired in sexual abuse claims two years ago.

And now he is bound for the second highest court in the land.

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Trump offers rosy predictions for coronavirus testing as US passes 1m cases

President claims economy will rebound and suggests US, currently testing 200,000 a day, will be testing 5m ‘very soon’

Donald Trump has predicted a “great” economic rebound in the fall and claimed the country would soon be performing 5m coronavirus diagnostic tests a day, as the number of confirmed cases in the US surpassed a million.

Some health experts have suggested that the US would have to carry out 5m tests a day by June to reopen its economy safely. Others have suggested as many as 20m tests a day would ultimately be needed. The US daily rate is currently 200,000.

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Google reports weak revenue growth in first pandemic-affected quarter

Alphabet first-quarter earnings offer a glimpse of how the digital ad market has fared amid stay-at-home orders

Google reported its weakest revenue growth in nearly five years in the first quarter as the pandemic-driven recession began to shrivel its advertising sales.

“It was the tale of two quarters,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, told investors on a conference call on Tuesday. Typically – strong revenue growth in January and February was undercut by a “significant and sudden slowdown in advertising” in March, he said. “When I last spoke with you, no one could have imagined how much the world would change – and how quickly.”

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Mike Pence shuns coronavirus mask rule on Mayo Clinic visit – video

Mike Pence triggered a storm of controversy on Tuesday by failing to wear a face mask on a visit to the Mayo Clinic’s facilities in Minnesota. Pence leads the US government’s coronavirus taskforce, but his staff have claimed he does not need to wear the protective covering because he is regularly tested for the coronavirus.

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Trump to order meat-processing plants to continue operating amid pandemic

President to sign executive order meant to soften blow of a chicken and pork shortage among other meat on US supermarket shelves

Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Tuesday meant to soften the blow of a chicken and pork shortage among other meat on American supermarket shelves.

The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure, forcing meat production plants to stay open as the president and agricultural leaders say the coronavirus outbreak is threatening the country’s food supply.

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India should be placed on religious freedom blacklist, US panel says

Commission says religious minorities face ‘increasing assault’ under Narendra Modi but state department unlikely to take action

A US government panel has called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a “drastic” downturn under the prime minister, Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp response from New Delhi.

The US commission on international religious freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the state department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally.

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Coronavirus: US reaches one million confirmed cases – live updates

Mike Pence’s office has dubiously argued the vice president does not need to wear a mask because he is regularly tested for coronavirus.

The vice president faced questions about his lack of mask usage earlier this month after a photo circulated of a mask-less Pence greeting Colorado governor Jared Polis, who was wearing a mask in the picture.

Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for ignoring mask guidelines when visiting the Mayo Clinic facilities in Minnesota today.

Footage of Pence’s visit showed the vice president not covering his face as he met with the clinic’s employees and at least one patient.

PENCE flouts Mayo Clinic policy that everyone on campus wear a mask, even as he meets with staff and a patient. pic.twitter.com/kfo64KQDhU

Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today.

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Democrats not confident 2020 US election will be fair, survey finds

Findings underscore partisan divide over voting as Democrats push to ease restrictions while Republicans defend them

As America hurtles towards the critical 2020 presidential election during the Covid-19 pandemic, less than half of Democrats are confident it will be fair and accurate, according to a new national survey from the Pew Research Center.

Just 46% of Democrats are confident in the fairness and accuracy of the November election, the survey found. Even fewer are confident all citizens will be able to vote if they want to.

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New York ER doctor who treated coronavirus patients dies by suicide

Dr Lorna Breen worked at New York-Presbyterian Allen hospital and was ‘truly in the trenches’, her father said

A top emergency room doctor in New York who was working on the frontline trying to save coronavirus victims at the height of the pandemic and also suffered the disease herself has died.

Related: A whip-smart neurologist, a social worker who sang Broadway: US health workers who died from Covid-19

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Who is behind the US protests against coronavirus lockdown? – video explainer

Some experts have warned that the recent anti-quarantine rallies and counter-protests taking place nationwide could cause a surge in coronavirus cases in America. Guardian US writer Adam Gabbatt explains where these protests originated and who is behind them

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Climate experts call for ‘dangerous’ Michael Moore film to be taken down

Planet of the Humans, which takes aim at the green movement, is ‘full of misinformation’, says one online library

A new Michael Moore-produced documentary that takes aim at the supposed hypocrisy of the green movement is “dangerous, misleading and destructive” and should be removed from public viewing, according to an assortment of climate scientists and environmental campaigners.

The film, Planet of the Humans, was released on the eve of Earth Day last week by its producer, Michael Moore, the baseball cap-wearing documentarian known for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. Describing itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows”, the film argues that electric cars and solar energy are unreliable and rely upon fossil fuels to function. It also attacks figures including Al Gore for bolstering corporations that push flawed technologies over real solutions to the climate crisis.

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African Americans bear the brunt of Covid-19’s economic impact

Pandemic spotlights racial disparities, with black workers expected to feature disproportionately in the 26m recent unemployment claims

Just two months ago in the Cabinet Room of the White House, sitting at a table surrounded by a handful of his black supporters, Donald Trump once again praised his job creation record. “Black people right now are having the best, statistically, the best numbers that you’ve ever had, and it’s really an honor,” he said. “Nobody has done more for black people than I have. Nobody has done more.”

That was 27 February and Trump was also still claiming he had done an “incredible job” with the looming coronavirus pandemic. Now the virus has led 26 million Americans to file for unemployment. While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release unemployment figures broken down by race until the beginning of next month, economists are certain that black Americans are suffering the brunt of Covid-19’s economic impact and will probably suffer the most dramatic consequences of the looming recession.

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Amazon and other platforms allowing payments to far-right groups

Report by Center for Media and Democracy finds SPLC-designated hate groups receiving income via mainstream platforms

Dozens of hate groups and racist media outlets are receiving income via mainstream payment processors such as Amazon, Stripe and DonorBox, according to a new report by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).

The groups still receiving donations and sales via such platforms include promoters of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that motivated the Christchurch shooter, an organization cited as an inspiration by mass shooter Dylan Roof, and several groups that participated in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that ended in the killing of a protester.

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