Workers remove the statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Market Street Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
“Work was under way on Saturday morning to remove a statue to a Confederate general that helped spark a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
The small Virginia city said the equestrian statue of Gen Robert E Lee and a nearby statue of Gen Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson would be removed to storage. Designated public viewing areas for the removals had been established.
A crane was moved into place and workers were preparing as the sun came up first to hoist Lee away. Just after 8am local time, the statue of the man on his horse was hoisted slowly off its plinth.” Read more at The Guardian
“WASHINGTON—President Biden signed a broad executive order that aims to promote competitive markets across the U.S. economy and limit corporate dominance that the White House says puts consumers, workers and smaller companies at a disadvantage.
The order, the centerpiece of a new Democratic emphasis on restraining the nation’s most powerful companies, lays out a detailed plan to address what the Biden administration sees as trouble spots across industries, from everyday consumer concerns—hearing aids and baggage fees—to some of the most cutting-edge issues facing the government, such as first-ever antitrust regulations for internet platforms.
Mr. Biden’s effort isn’t a hard mandate but instead a road map that encourages U.S. agencies to adopt policies that push back against corporate consolidation and business practices that might stifle competition and lead to higher prices and fewer product choices.
The eventual rules and regulations that follow from the White House’s direction are likely to set up heated battles with top U.S. companies that could take years to resolve.
Among the White House’s targets are agriculture, healthcare, shipping, transportation and technology, as well as labor practices that the administration says limit wages and mobility.
The executive order also seeks to promote affordable broadband and boost consumers’ rights to repair products they own, an issue of concern to the administration because of limitations imposed by an array of companies.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance for schools on Friday.CODY O'LOUGHLIN/NYT
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance Friday urging schools to fully reopen in the fall, even if they cannot take all of the steps the agency recommends to curb the spread of the coronavirus — a major turn in a public health crisis in which childhood education has emerged as a political flashpoint.
The agency also called on school districts to use local health data to guide decisions about when to tighten or relax prevention measures like mask wearing and physical distancing. Officials said they were confident this is the correct approach, even with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, and the fact that children younger than 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination.” Read more at Boston Globe
“WASHINGTON — President Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the United States will take ‘any necessary action’ to defend US infrastructure after Russia-based hackers carried out the largest known ransomware attack to date, afflicting up to 1,500 companies, schools, and hospitals around the world.
Biden has been under increasing pressure to counter such costly, brazen assaults — pressure that spiked last weekend after the latest attack, which was claimed by a criminal group called REvil operating largely out of Russia.
In a phone call, the president warned Putin that Russia must take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating there, or the United States would impose consequences, the White House said in a statement.” Read more at Boston Globe
“VENICE — The International Monetary Fund took a step on Friday toward easing widening global inequality and helping poor nations get access to vaccines, saying its executive board approved a plan to issue $650 billion worth of reserve funds that countries can use to buy vaccines, finance health care and pay down debt.
The decision comes at a pivotal moment as Covid-19 infections continue to spread among populations that have not been inoculated and as more contagious variants of the coronavirus are posing new health threats. The pandemic has drained the fiscal resources of poor countries over the past year, and the I.M.F. projected this week that faster access to vaccinations for high-risk populations could save 500,000 lives in the next six months.
The new allocation of so-called Special Drawing Rights would be the largest such expansion of currency reserves in the I.M.F.’s history. If approved by the group’s board of governors, as is expected, the reserves could become available by the end of next month.” Read more at New York Times
“WASHINGTON — While the global struggle continues against the death and devastation of COVID-19, a panel of independent experts is warning that the world is alarmingly unprepared to deal with the next pandemic.
The panel, convened by the Group of 20 major economies and cochaired by former US treasury secretary Larry Summers, called Friday for sweeping reforms to the World Health Organization and billions in new spending to stave off the next outbreak, which they warned could be far deadlier than the coronavirus.
‘Unless things are done, we’re unlikely to have the surveillance, we’re unlikely to have the production surge capacity for tests and for vaccines ... we’re unlikely to have the international mechanisms to support the poorest countries, and ... we’re likely to again be inadequately resourced,’ Summers told the Globe.
In a sobering 92-page report, the panel warned that the world is ‘far from equipped to prevent or stop the next pandemic.’ It outlined steps that must be taken quickly to prepare for this new ‘age of pandemics.’” Read more at Boston Globe
“WASHINGTON — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain most pregnant, nursing, and postpartum women for deportation, reversing a Trump-era rule that permitted officials to jail thousands of immigrants in those circumstances, according to a new policy released Friday.
ICE’s new policy is even more expansive than it was during the Obama era, when President Biden was vice president. The Obama administration generally exempted pregnant women from immigration detention, but the Biden administration is also including women who gave birth within the prior year and those who are nursing, which could last longer than a year.
The policy adds to the growing list of immigrants exempt from arrest or deportation for violating civil immigration laws. Critics have said that Biden is abandoning his responsibility to enforce US laws, but the president has said he wants a more humane approach to immigration, especially for parents and children arriving in increasing numbers from regions such as Central America.” Read more at Boston Globe
“SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s league-leading 33rd home run of the season Friday night put him in rare company in the history of the Seattle Mariners' home ballpark.
Ohtani’s solo shot in the third inning off Marco Gonzales soared into the top deck of right field at T-Mobile Park. The Angels' two-way phenom is the sixth player to reach the upper deck of the right field seats since the stadium opened in 1999. MLB’s Statcast projected the homer at 463 feet.
Ohtani’s blast left a buzz through the ballpark and caused a couple of fans sitting alone in that section of the stadium to duck as the ball drew closer. It landed above the fifth row of seats before hitting a concrete wall and ricocheting back down into the lower levels.” Read more at USA Today
“David Ramirez, a student at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California, struggled with balancing work and classes during the pandemic. Ramirez, who works at Starbucks, worked at least 30 hours a week in addition to his classes.
He wasn’t alone. The number of students enrolled in community colleges – local educational establishments that offer two-year courses and are often seen as an affordable stepping stone to higher education – was down 9.5% this past spring, about 476,000 fewer students than in spring 2020, according to National Student Clearinghouse data released last month.
The fall has experts worried about the long-term impact of the pandemic on the less-well-off. During recessions, enrollment at community colleges tends to increase as those who become unemployed go back to school. But the disproportionate impact Covid-19 had on low-income and non-white Americans, populations that community colleges tend to serve, created a plunge in community college attendance during the pandemic.” Read more at The Guardian
Life-saving serendipity
“Tia Wimbush and Susan Ellis have been coworkers for years at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, but they had no idea they were facing the same struggle. Both of their husbands were suffering from kidney disease and in desperate need of transplants, and one conversation in the work bathroom changed everything. Wimbush casually asked Ellis what her husband's blood type was. Miraculously, they discovered they were each a match to the other's husband. On March 19, the four friends underwent successful surgeries. One of the transplant doctors said, in all their working years, they had never seen two pairs pull off a double kidney switch like this. Now, the couples say they're more than friends -- they're family. ‘I'm forever changed. I'm hopeful for humanity and I hope other people will take that away from this story,’ Wimbush says. ‘You can be somebody else's hope, it could be you to show someone a glimpse of what humanity really means.’” Read more at CNN
Zaila Avant-garde, the winner of this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee. They're going to need to invent a new word for ‘multitalented,’ because this 14-year-old has levels upon levels! In addition to being a spelling champ, Zaila is a great basketball player, and was the Guinness World Records titleholder for most bounce juggles in one minute. She hopes to one day play basketball at Harvard before a career at NASA or as a coach in the NBA. Oh, and she's the first African American to win the Bee. Her winning word? ‘Murraya,’ a type of tree.” Read more at CNN
“The Department of Education canceled an additional $55.6 million in student loan debt for 1,800 students who were victims of a for-profit college fraud, bringing the total amount of canceled student loan debt by the Biden administration to $1.5 billion.
‘Today’s announcement continues the U.S. Department of Education’s commitment to standing up for students whose colleges took advantage of them,’ Miguel Cardona, the secretary of education, said in the department’s statement released Friday.
The latest loan cancellation is for students who attended Westwood College, Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute. This is the first time the department approved loan forgiveness to students who attended schools other than Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute and American Career Institute since 2017.” Read more at USA Today
“England Bids to End 55 Years of Hurt as Johnson Gambles on Covid
An England win in the European soccer championship game on Sunday would be a moment of national celebration and a major distraction from spiralling Covid-19 cases. Adam Blenford, Khadija Kothia and Lizzy Burden explain how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to capitalize on it.” Read more at BloombergEngland fans celebrate in London after victory over Denmark in the semi-final game on Wednesday.
Photographer: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Europe
“U.S. Frets That Time Is Running Out to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal
Biden’s team is starting to face up to the reality the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord may soon be beyond saving, with six rounds of talks in Vienna and no sign a seventh might happen. Nick Wadhams outlines how the stalemate is compounded by Iran’s technological advances that help it move toward the production of a nuclear bomb.” Read more at Bloomberg“Angel Pereda, 49, of Mexico, was taken into custody in New York and charged with wire fraud after prosecutors accused him of trying to sell artworks that he falsely claimed had been created by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Friday.
Prosecutors said that on at least one occasion, Mr. Pereda created and sent new fake provenances to an intermediary in New York claiming that a painting was by Basquiat, in the hopes that it could be sold for millions of dollars.
Basquiat’s 1982 work ‘Untitled’ sold for $110.5 million at auction in 2017.” Read more at New York Times
“Haiti Asks U.S. for Troops After President’s Assassination
Haiti has requested U.S. troops to help stabilize the poorest country in the Americas. Jim Wyss reports that officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security will travel to Port-au-Prince.” Read more at Bloomberg“As Ethiopia begins diverting 13.5 billion cubic meters of water from the Blue Nile river to its controversial new mega-dam, residents of Sudan to the south fear a repetition of last year’s devastating drought. Simon Marks and Mohammed Alamin report on the human cost of the dispute.” Read more at Bloomberg
The Blue Nile river passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Photographer: Eduardo Soteras/Getty Images
Binx the cat was found near the collapse of the Champlain Towers South and reunited with his family.
Gina Nicole Vlasek/The Kitty Campus
“There was one spot of good news amid the search for the dead in Surfside, Fla. A cat named Binx, who had lived on the ninth floor of the collapsed building, was found alive and reunited with his family.
‘I'm glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a hurting family today and provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy,’ Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters at a press conference on Friday.
Levine Cava said a volunteer who feeds cats on the street recognized the cat in the vicinity of the building and brought the cat to an animal shelter, where it was positively identified.
Gina Nicole Vlasek, the co-founder of the Miami Beach cat rescue group The Kitty Campus, posted about Binx on Facebook. The cat was brought to the shelter on Thursday night after being found near the rubble, she wrote.
Levine Cava said the family and cat reunion happened on Friday, but that authorities were not sharing more details about the condition of the family yet.
Meanwhile, search crews found another body in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 79.
There are still 61 people potentially unaccounted for, Levine Cava said.
Officials announced Wednesday that the mission was no longer officially a search for survivors but to recover the dead. No one has been found alive since the early hours after the collapse on June 24.” Read more at NPR