U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by "Eskbiochem SA de CV" in Mexico. Instead of ethanol or isopropanol, these hand sanitizers contain methanol, a "toxic alcohol", as an active ingredient, which can cause blindness and/or death when absorbed through the skin (or swallowed).
Isabel Wilkerson: Our founding ideals promise liberty and equality for all. Our reality is an enduring racial hierarchy that has persisted for centuries. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power - which groups have it and which do not. It is about resources - which groups are seen as worthy of them and which are not, who gets to acquire and control them and who does not. It is about respect, authority and assumptions of competence - who is accorded these and who is not. Read more
On July 7, 2020, #BlackoutDay2020 aims to unite Black people in economic solidarity through a campaign encouraging participants to support Black-owned businesses exclusively. Similar digital demonstrations throughout the years, namely #BuyBlack and #BankBlack, were established to narrow the wealth gap and circulate resources within our own communities. Leaders like Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. championed these vehicles of Black capitalism, which were the foundation for entire prosperous Black communities, including Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia, and others.
Nature is a brutal place, so during brooding, chinstrap and Adlie penguins are reluctant to leave their eggs unguarded in the nest -- even to relieve themselves. But one also does not wish to sully the nest with feces. So instead, a brooding penguin will hunker down, point its rear end away from the nest, lift its tail, and let fly a projectile of poo"thereby ensuring both the safety of the eggs and the cleanliness of the nest.
During a seminar at Kitasato University in Japan, a young woman asked about a slide showing a penguin brooding on its nest, wondering about the white and pink lines radiating outward. She interpreted them as "decoration" and asked how the penguins made them.
"I explained that a penguin stands up, moves to the edge of its nest, turns around, lifts its tail, and then shoots from its rear, which leaves a 30-40 cm long streak of semi-liquid whitish stuff behind," ...
Newly released body camera footage shows Florida police officers laughing and celebrating after shooting rubber bullets at a protest last month in which a Black woman was shot in the face and seriously injured. LaToya Ratlieff was hit in the face with a rubber bullet during what had been a largely peaceful demonstration less than a week after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. The 34-year-old said she suffered a fractured skull and required 20 stitches. She couldn't eat for a week and still has trouble seeing out of one blood-filled eye. During another section of the new video released Wednesday, Baro incorrectly tells another officer that his camera is not recording and the two officers begin laughing and joking about the people they had shot with rubber bullets
The cancellation comes after the library's Black employees posted an open letter last week to the Free Library's leadership voicing complaints that they are paid less than white colleagues, face routine racism, and have been asked to return to work without plans in place to keep them safe from the coronavirus.
... requesting National Guard "shoot to kill" rioters.
"I want you to give a message to the governor," [conservative power broker Steve Hotze of Houston] told Abbott's chief of staff, Luis Saenz, in a voicemail. "I want to make sure that he has National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses " shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That's the only way you restore order. Kill em. Thank you."
President Donald Trump's administration was harshly criticized on Friday after a new report from NBC News. "After several months of mixed messages on the coronavirus pandemic, the White House is settling on a new one: Learn to live with it," reported Carol Lee, Kristen Welker and Monica Alba. "Administration officials are planning to intensify what they hope is a sharper, and less conflicting, message of the pandemic next week, according to senior administration officials, after struggling to offer clear directives amid a crippling surge in cases across the country. On Thursday, the United States reported more than 55,000 new cases of coronavirus and infection rates were hitting new records in multiple states," NBC News reported.
The numbers of American sick and dead are a source of wonder and marvel all over the world. They also inspire fear and anxiety. The European Union has decided to allow some foreigners to cross its borders now, but not Americans.
A surprising new study found the controversial antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine helped patients better survive in the hospital. But the findings, like the federal government's use of the drug itself, were disputed. It's a surprising finding because several other studies have found no benefit from hydroxychloroquine, a drug originally developed to treat and prevent malaria. President Donald Trump touted the drug heavily, but later studies found not only did patients not do better if they got the drug, they were more likely to suffer cardiac side effects. Read more
More than 100 protesters gathered on a highway leading to Mount Rushmore on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump's speech at the monument. The group blocked the road, holding banners and chanting slogans such as "We can't breathe" and proclaiming treaty rights. They carried signs with messages such as, "End 500 years of Genocide," and "It's a good day to do the right thing." At one point, Native women in ribbon skirts created a line across the highway, behind them members of NDN Collective, a nonprofit Native advocacy organization, parked white vans across the road and deflated the tires. Protesters later removed the wheels and climbed on top of the vans, shouting "Land back!" The gathering took place near a checkpoint at Highways 16/244 where ticket holders for Trump's South Dakota event were being screened. Some protesters got into heated exchanges with people driving to Mount Rushmore.
See the week's best performances from Fender Guitar artists. This week: the legendary John Mayer, Tash Sultana, Strand of Oaks and the Lemon Twigs. Read more
The Washington Redskins American football team will review its name after demands from major sponsors. Its headline sponsor, Fedex, joined a fresh wave of calls to scrap a team moniker long-criticised as racist. The Washington DC-based team has faced years of pressure over a name seen as offensive to Native Americans. The latest calls come amid a fresh focus on racism sparked by worldwide protests. FedEx made the request at the behest of its own investors. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, said: "This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League (NFL) and the local community." At the turn of the millennium, FedEx paid $205m (165m) for the naming rights to the Redskins' 82,000-seat stadium in Maryland. The deal expires in 2025.
A surge in restaurant spending appears to predict a surge in coronavirus cases weeks later, a new JPMorgan study found. The study found that the "level of spending in restaurants three weeks ago was the strongest predictor of the rise in new virus cases over the subsequent three weeks," in line with the firm's recent studies using OpenTable data. Read more
The United States, Vietnam and the Philippines have lashed out at China, accusing it of coercion as Beijing launches a military drill in a disputed part of the South China Sea.
In a statement, the US Department of Defence said it was concerned about the military exercises carried out around the Paracel Islands from July 1 to 5.
China scheduled five days of drills from Wednesday near the Paracels. Vietnam has overlapping claims with China over the Paracels. China calls them the Xisha Islands, and Vietnam refers to them as the Hoang Sa Islands.
Over the past month, Joe Biden has opened up a double-digit lead over Donald Trump in national polls. That same period witnessed the following milestones in American political life: For the first time since the movement's inception, Black Lives Matter won the support of a large majority of voters " and a slim majority of white ones. The percentage of Americans who say that "racial discrimination is a serious problem," that "police are more likely to use deadly force against Black people," and that "white people are more likely to get ahead" all hit record highs in various tracking polls. And Donald Trump concluded that the reason he is losing support to Joe Biden is that he hasn't been nearly racist enough.
