22 Fun Things to Do This Week (8.3.20) – 7×7

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The old Jardiniere space is cooking again with the opening of Baia, a plant-based Italian eatery serving elevated pastas and pizzas. Plus, head over to Mill Valley where an epic outdoor beer garden is serving local brews, hard kombucha, and wines on tap.

You'll also crack up while watching Quack, Shotgun Player's new show on themes such as cancel culture and white male privilege; catch skyline and bridge views from a new stretch of the Bay Trail; and buy birthday cake cookies at a pop-up that aims to feed kids while schools are closed.

Whether you're vegan or not, order plant-based Italian food for pickup or delivery from Baia. The new eateryhoused inside Jardiniere's former spaceoffers animal-product-free dishes like cacio e pepe pizza, caprese salad, garlic knots, and gnocchi. Bring your order to nearby Patricia's Green for a picnic, daily from 4pm to 10pm. // baiasf.com

Buy a raffle ticket to support women and communities of color, and win a curated box of Bay Areamade artisanal goods if you're lucky. The Essential Kit for Uncertain times includes a mug from @peopleiveloved, pain alleviating fragrant tea from @flowerheadtea, earrings from @annamonetjewelry, a silk bracelet from @stellafluorescent, and moisturizer from @rootsblooms. Raffle proceeds benefit The Adabi Healing Shelter and The Loveland Foundation. // Enter and donate on theessentialkitforuncertaintimes.com.

Learn about urgent societal issuesthink immigration, women's liberation, mass incarceration, climate anxiety, and coerced laborduring the new weekly series UC Press Now: Urgent Conversations, kicking off this Monday. 11am PST, through September 7. // Register on gopassage.com.

Virtually view Root Division's Diasporic Futurism - Part 1 The Present Future. Curated by GLTTR Collective, the multidisciplinary exhibit explores imagination, identity, and finding joy during systemic upheaval with the goal of centering and celebrating Black voices, experiences, and art; online through Saturday. // rootdivision.org

Hear about "doctor dogs" from New York Times bestselling author Maria Goodavage. During this Rotary Club of San Francisco meeting, you'll learn how dogs can detect disease and help people suffering from physical and mental conditions, and even get an update on research into if dogs can detect COVID-19; Tuesday noon to 1:30pm PST. // sfrotary.com

Catch a panel discussion and screening of Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman's Emmy Awardwinning 2005 documentary, "Screaming Queens" to commemorate the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria riot; Wednesday 6pm PST. // Details on Facebook

Enjoy Golden Gate and Bay Bridge views on a new mile-long Bay Trail expansion. The scenic stretch, opened in late July, connects Oakland to Richmond and is the perfect place for a socially distanced walk, run, or bike ride. // baytrail.org

Attend Magic Theatre's virtual gala fundraiser, Springing Forward. After the virtual happy hour and cocktail demo, watch performances and guest appearances, enter a raffle, and honor the recipients of this year's Sam Shepard Legacy Award; Thursday at 6pm PST. // Register and donate at mobilecause.com.

Stream Quack, Shotgun Players' production that addresses cancel culture, anti-vaxxers, white male privilege, toxic diet culture, and fame; live virtual shows Thursday through Sunday. // Pay what you can, tickets on shotgunplayers.org.

After hiking on Mount Tam, stop by the Junction, a new Mill Valley beer garden serving up local brews, hard kombucha, wine on tapand PizzaHacker pies on a 5,000-square-foot patio. Weekdays from 3pm to 9pm, weekends 11am to 9pm. // thejunc.com

Watch "Rebuilding Paradise," a new documentary by Academy Awardwinning director Ron Howard that tells the story of the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, California and explores themes of community and resilience. // Stream through the Roxie Theater.

Join choreographer Alonzo King for a conversation on Climate Change Through the Artist's Eyes. Thursday at 4pm PST. // Register on climateone.org

Join The Walt Disney Family Museum for an evening with award-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken, and sing along during a free performance of hits such as "Under the Sea" and "Be Our Guest" featuring Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Proceeds will benefit the museum's youth initiatives. VIP chat 5pm to 5:30pm PST, performance 5:30 to 6pm PST Thursday. // Register on mobilecause.com.

Support 111 Minna Gallery by RSVPing for their three-day live streamed Fun-Raiser. Expect live music, 80s DJ sets, comedy, cooking and cocktail making classes, yoga, political discourse, and plenty of art, of course; Thursday through Saturday. Donate at gofundme.com. // Details on 111minnagallery.com and @111minnagallery

Tour Napa Valley Museum's virtual exhibition, "Lucy Liu: One of These Things Is Not Like the Others," featuring the actress' wood sculptures, silkscreens, and large paintings inspired by Shunga, a form of erotic Japanese art; through September 27. // $5 suggested minimum donation, napavalleymuseum.org

Get your groove on outdoors with Discology, a socially distanced DJd dance sesh happening in gorgeous natural environments in cities nationwide. In SF this week, parties will. go down at the Sutro Baths Cave, atop Strawberry Hill, Mount Davidson, and the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park; Thursdays at 6:15pm PST. // Register on discology.io

Tour Creativity Explored's new exhibit, The park "a darling walk for the mind," featuring works by more than 20 artists; Thursday at 1pm PST. // Register and find details on creativityexplored.org.

Order up espresso drinks, Neighbor Bakehouse pastries, and Dynamo Donuts at Linea Coffee Roasting's new Potrero Hill Cafe. Wednesday through Sunday, 7am to 3pm. // Details on Instagram.

Grab cookies from Frolic and Detour's pop-up at Deli Board. Order ahead for 'grammable boxes of flavors as birthday cake, chocolate espresso passionfruit, and masala chai molasses. Ten percent of birthday cake cookie sales will help provide meals to children during the school closure; Saturday from noon to 2pm. // Order ahead on frolicanddetourbakery.com

Zoom The Playwrights Center of San Francisco's 5th annual PCSF Playoffs. Watch two rounds of four staged readings on Saturdays of August, then vote for your two favorite plays in each round. 3pm and 4:30pm PST Saturday. // Register (free) on playwrightscentersf.org.

On your way to the beach, check out the window installation at The Great Highway art gallery in the Outer Sunsetor make an appointment to go inside and see the gallery's first significant art collab, "Restructuring in Progress", which showcases color and line painting installations by Mel Prest and machine-made sculptural work by Andrew Kleindolph. Twenty-five percent of sales will benefit SURJ Bay Area; through August 16. // thegreathighway.com

Volunteer during car-free Valencia Street. If you've already taken advantage of alfresco dining and extra outdoor space on Thursday through Sunday evenings, why not help keep the shared space safe? DM @welcometomannys to help enforce distancing and mask-wearing; Thursday through Sunday from 4pm tp 10pm. // Details on Instagram

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22 Fun Things to Do This Week (8.3.20) - 7x7

Ethiopian Workers Are Forced to Return Home, Some With Coronavirus – The New York Times

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia Unemployed and shunned as possible coronavirus carriers, Ethiopian migrant laborers are returning home by the thousands, placing a huge strain on Ethiopias poorly equipped medical system.

More than 30,000 workers have re-entered Ethiopia since mid-March, according to the government, some of them after suffering abuse and detention in unhealthy conditions in the countries they left, often on the Persian Gulf or in other parts of Africa.

At least 927 migrant laborers were infected with the virus when they returned, Ethiopian officials say, but the true number is probably much higher. The government has not updated that figure for more than a month, and it does not include those who have slipped back into the country unnoticed.

Ethiopia has had more than 16,000 confirmed infections and 250 Covid-19 deaths, according to figures compiled by The New York Times. Those are very low counts for a nation of 115 million people, but the numbers are rising and many cases go undetected by the countrys sparse testing.

Doctors fear the outbreak may be primed to explode, fueled in part by returning migrants whose journeys often include crowded, unsanitary conditions jails in the countries where they worked, informal migrant camps in countries like Yemen and Djibouti and quarantine centers once they arrive back in Ethiopia.

Dr. Yohanes Tesfaye, who runs a government Covid-19 treatment center near the eastern city of Dire Dawa, said that within a month of opening, the center had treated 248 infected migrants. And, he warned, we have a long border, so we cant be sure whether many more people with the virus are entering the country undetected.

All this is occurring in a country that has just one respiratory therapist, ill-equipped public hospitals and few medical resources in rural areas, and is also suffering the economic blow of the pandemic. Major hotels in the capital city, Addis Ababa, are almost empty, jobs in tourism and construction have disappeared and the flow of money sent home by workers overseas has dried up.

Adding to Ethiopias struggles have been deadly conflicts between ethnic groups that prompted the government to shut down the internet for more than three weeks before recently restoring it. Hundreds of people died in clashes and anti-government protests following the killing in June of the singer Hachaluu Hundessa, who was particularly revered by the Oromo ethnic group.

Many of the migrants have returned voluntarily, suddenly unable to work abroad after the pandemic shut down entire economies. Whether out of economic hardship or fear of contagion, employers have abruptly laid off migrant domestic workers, often leaving them at their countries embassies.

But many others have been rounded up, confined and deported by host governments that had previously tolerated them. In interviews, senior government officials, doctors, health workers and more than a dozen returnees from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Djibouti and Lebanon describe scenes of workers being mistreated in detention before being sent back to Ethiopia.

The police were throwing racial slurs at us. They called me an animal, said Selam Bizuneh, 26, who worked as a maid in Kuwait until her employer stopped paying her. She said she spent 40 days in a detention center in Kuwait Citys Al Farwaniyah district in May and June, adding, we were roughed up and forced to stand.

Shortly after arriving back in Ethiopia in late June, she said, she tested positive for the coronavirus.

Birhan Tesfay, 27, left Ethiopia hoping to find work in Saudi Arabia, but turned back as the pandemic spread. He said he paid smugglers $300 to cross the Red Sea from Yemen to Djibouti in the middle of the night on June 5.

We were shot at by Djiboutis navy on our way back, he said in a telephone interview from a quarantine center. One migrant died while the smugglers attempted to escape.

His story was verified by a United Nations staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss it. Mr. Birhan was arrested by Djiboutian security forces and returned to Ethiopia.

People who work with them say that out-of-work migrants, fearing detention and abuse, stay on the fringes of society, where infections are unlikely to be detected much less treated and band together in ways that prevent social distancing.

It is extremely important that at this time we restrict the movement of people as there is a direct link between movement and the number of Covid cases, said Tsion Teklu, Ethiopias State Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs.

This is particularly important in Ethiopia, where the number of cases is increasing, the economy is strained right down to the level of local vendors and the health sector is under pressure.

Before the pandemic, about 100,000 Ethiopians made the perilous trip each year to other parts of the world to find work often illegally as maids, construction workers, drivers, hairdressers, guards and more. The largest number make their way to the Arabian Peninsula, though workers have also been sent back this year by Lebanon, India, Pakistan, the United States, Kenya and other countries.

Updated August 3, 2020

Coronavirus travel restrictions adopted by Saudi Arabia have left many migrants stranded in Yemen and Djibouti. In Yemen, in particular, African migrants have been scapegoated as virus spreaders, and some have been shot by the Houthi militia, as it tries to chase them out of the parts of the country it controls.

Saudi Arabia alone said in May that 12,000 Ethiopians were in the country illegally and were to be repatriated, though not all of them have been.

The Ethiopian government said on July 20 that it had helped 30,087 of its citizens return home since the pandemic began. The government and the United Nations have been in talks with other nations about managing repatriation in a way that does not overwhelm Ethiopia.

Mass movements at a time like this will only exacerbate the spread of Covid-19, said Maureen Achieng, chief of mission in Ethiopia for the International Organization for Migration, an arm of the United Nations. In this regard, government-to-government discussions will be critical to reaching agreement on a common approach to containing Covid-19.

Once the migrants make it back to Ethiopia, there remain large gaps in the services they need.

Those who return through official channels are tested for the coronavirus. If they test positive, they are supposed to go to treatment centers; those who test negative are supposed to go to quarantine centers, where they are monitored until they are released.

But the facilities have serious shortages of equipment and staff, and local officials sometimes confuse the two kinds of centers, said Zia Hassan, program director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ethiopia, which has provided beds and other goods to several quarantine centers.

Ethiopias health ministry is really struggling to understand the situation to provide the necessary action that has to be taken, he said.

Even if they are healthy and free, returning migrant workers face uncertain prospects in a poor country facing a multitude of challenges.

Zeytuna Kemal, 33, said she left her job as a maid in Kuwait after her employer failed to pay her for three months of work. She decided to flee the country, she said, but the police arrested her and jailed her for four days without food or water.

Then she was transferred with dozens of other Ethiopians to a detention center near the international airport and eventually flown back to her home country. I am now lost and confused, she said. And she is worried about providing for her children and mother.

I will not find a job here.

Tiksa Negeri contributed reporting from Addis Ababa.

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Ethiopian Workers Are Forced to Return Home, Some With Coronavirus - The New York Times

Another Mainer dies as 15 new coronavirus cases are reported – Bangor Daily News

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The BDN is making the most crucial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact in Maine free for all readers. Click here for all coronavirus stories. You can join others committed to safeguarding this vital public service by purchasing a subscription or donating directly to the newsroom.

This story will be updated.

Another Mainer has died as 15 more cases of the coronavirus were reported on Monday.

Mondays report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 3,970. Of those, 3,541 have been confirmed positive, while 429 were classified as probable cases, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

New cases were reported in Cumberland (7), Kennebec (2), Penobscot (2), Sagadahoc (1) and York counties (3), state data show.

The agency revised Sundays cumulative total to 3,955, down from 3,958, meaning there was a net increase of 12 over the previous days report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the states cumulative total.

The latest death involved a man in his 50s from Cumberland County, bringing the statewide death toll to 124. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 389 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 12 people are currently hospitalized, three in critical care and one on ventilators.

Meanwhile, nine more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,396. That means there are 450 active and probable cases in the state, which is up from 448 on Sunday.

A majority of the cases 2,215 have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.

As of Monday, there have been 177,040 negative test results out of 182,625 overall. Just under 3 percent of all tests have come back positive, Maine CDC data show.

The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 2,058 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths 69 have been concentrated. It is one of four counties the others are Androscoggin, Penobscot and York, with 548, 150 and 658 cases, respectively where community transmission has been confirmed, according to the Maine CDC.

There are two criteria for establishing community transmission: at least 10 confirmed cases and that at least 25 percent of those are not connected to either known cases or travel. That second condition has not yet been satisfied in other counties.

Other cases have been reported in Aroostook (32), Franklin (45), Hancock (34), Kennebec (169), Knox (26), Lincoln (34), Oxford (55), Piscataquis (3), Sagadahoc (51), Somerset (34), Waldo (62) and Washington (9) counties. Information about where another two cases were reported wasnt immediately available Monday morning.

As of Monday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 4,675,628 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 154,944 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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Another Mainer dies as 15 new coronavirus cases are reported - Bangor Daily News

How Italy Turned Around Its Coronavirus Calamity – The New York Times

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ROME When the coronavirus erupted in the West, Italy was the nightmarish epicenter, a place to avoid at all costs and a shorthand in the United States and much of Europe for uncontrolled contagion.

You look at whats going on with Italy, President Trump told reporters on March 17. We dont want to be in a position like that. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee, used Italys overwhelmed hospitals as evidence for his opposition to Medicare for All at a presidential debate. It is not working in Italy right now, he said.

Fast forward a few months, and the United States has suffered tens of thousands more deaths than any country in the world. European states that once looked smugly at Italy are facing new flare-ups. Some are imposing fresh restrictions and weighing whether to lock down again.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain on Friday announced a delay to a planned easing of measures in England as the infection rate there rose. Even Germany, lauded for its efficient response and rigorous contact tracing, has warned that lax behavior is prompting a surge in cases.

And Italy? Its hospitals are basically empty of Covid-19 patients. Daily deaths attributed to the virus in Lombardy, the northern region that bore the brunt of the pandemic, hover around zero. The number of new daily cases has plummeted to one of the lowest in Europe and the world, said Giovanni Rezza, director of the infective illness department at the National Institute of Health. We have been very prudent.

And lucky. Today, despite a tiny uptick in cases this week, Italians are cautiously optimistic that they have the virus in check even as Italys leading health experts warn that complacency remains the jet fuel of the pandemic. They are aware that the picture can change at any moment.

How Italy has gone from being a global pariah to a model however imperfect of viral containment holds fresh lessons for the rest of the world, including the United States, where the virus, never under control, now rages across the country.

After a stumbling start, Italy has consolidated, or at least maintained, the rewards of a tough nationwide lockdown through a mix of vigilance and painfully gained medical expertise.

Its government has been guided by scientific and technical committees. Local doctors, hospitals and health officials collect more than 20 indicators on the virus daily and send them to regional authorities, who then forward them to the National Institute of Health.

The result is a weekly X-ray of the countrys health upon which policy decisions are based. That is a long way from the state of panic, and near collapse, that hit Italy in March.

This week, Parliament voted to extend the governments emergency powers through Oct. 15 after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte argued the nation could not let its guard down because the virus is still circulating.

Those powers allow the government to keep restrictions in place and respond quickly including with lockdowns to any new clusters. The government has already imposed travel restrictions on more than a dozen countries to Italy, as the importation of the virus from countries is now the governments greatest fear.

There are a lot of situations in France, Spain, the Balkans, which means that the virus is not off at all, said Ranieri Guerra, assistant director general for strategic initiatives at the World Health Organization and an Italian doctor. It can come back at any time.

There is no doubt that the privations of the lockdown were economically costly. For three months, businesses and restaurants were ordered closed, movement was highly restricted even between regions, towns and streets and tourism ground to a halt. Italy is expected to lose about 10 percent of its gross domestic product this year.

But at a certain point, as the virus threatened to spread uncontrollably, Italian officials decided to put lives ahead of the economy. The health of the Italian people comes and will always come first, Mr. Conte said at the time.

Italian officials now hope that the worst of the cure came in one large dose the painful lockdown and that the country is now safe to resume normal life, albeit with limits. They argue that the only way to start up the economy is to keep tamping down the virus, even now.

The strategy of closing down completely invited criticism that the governments excessive caution was paralyzing the economy. But it may prove to be more advantageous than trying to reopen the economy while the virus still rages, as is happening in countries like the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

That does not mean that calls for continued vigilance, as elsewhere in the world, have been immune to mockery, resistance and exasperation. In that, Italy is no different.

Masks often are missing or lowered in trains or buses, where they are mandatory. Young people are going out and doing the things young people do and risk in that way spreading the virus to more susceptible parts of the population. Adults started gathering at the beach and for birthday barbecues. There is still no clear plan for a return to school in September.

There is also a burgeoning, and politically motivated, anti-mask contingent led by nationalist Matteo Salvini, who on July 27 declared that replacing handshakes and hugs with elbow bumps was the end of the human species.

At his rallies, Mr. Salvini, the leader of the populist League party, still shakes hands and wears his mask like a chin guard. In July, during a news conference, he accused the Italian government of importing infected immigrants to create new clusters and extend the state of emergency.

This week, Mr. Salvini joined other mask skeptics nicknamed the negationists by critics for a protest in the Senate library, along with special guests such as the Italian crooner Andrea Bocelli, who said he did not believe the pandemic was so serious because I know a lot of people and I dont know anyone who ended up in an I.C.U.

But the countrys leading health experts say that the lack of severe cases is indicative of a decrease in the volume of infections, as only a small percentage of the infected get very sick. And so far, Italys malcontents have not been numerous or powerful enough to undermine what has been a hard-won trajectory of success in confronting the virus after a calamitous start.

Italys initial isolation by European neighbors at the outset of the crisis, when masks and ventilators were hardly pouring in from across the borders, may actually have helped, Mr. Guerra, the W.H.O. expert, said.

Updated August 3, 2020

There was competition initially, there was no collaboration, Mr. Guerra said. And everyone acknowledged Italy was left alone at that time. As a result, he said, what they had to do at that time because we were left alone turned out to be more effective than other countries.

Italy first quarantined towns and then the Lombardy region in the north and then the entire peninsula and its islands, despite the near absence of the virus in much of central and southern Italy. That not only prevented workers in the industrial north from returning home in the much more vulnerable south, but it also fostered and forced a unified national response.

During the lockdown, movement was strictly limited, between regions and towns and even city blocks, and people had to fill in auto-certification forms to prove that they needed to go outside for work, health or other necessities. Masks and social distancing regulations were enforced by some regional authorities with steep fines. Generally, if grudgingly, the rules were followed.

As searing scenes of human suffering, empty streets and the heavy toll on an elderly generation of northern Italians spread, the transmission rate of the virus quickly decreased, and the curve flattened, as opposed to other European countries, such as Sweden, which pursued an alternative to locking down.

That the initial outbreak was localized in the overwhelmed hospitals created enormous stress, but it also enabled doctors and nurses to expedite contact tracing.

Then the country reopened, gradually, expanding liberties at two-week intervals to respond to the viruss incubation period.

The lockdown eventually had a secondary effect of decreasing the volume of virus circulating in society, and thus reducing the probability of coming in contact with someone who had it. At the end of the lockdown, the virus circulation had steeply fallen off and in some central and southern regions, there were hardly any chains of transmission at all.

Its always a matter of probability with these pathogens, said Mr. Guerra, adding that new early alarm systems such as the monitoring of wastewater for traces of virus had lowered the probability of infection even more.

Some Italian doctors say they believe that the virus is now behaving differently in Italy. Matteo Bassetti, an infectious-disease doctor in the northwestern city of Genoa, said that during the height of the crisis, his hospital was inundated with 500 Covid-19 cases at one time. Now, he said, his intensive care unit, with 50 beds, has no coronavirus patients, and the 60-bed Covid-19 unit built specially for the crisis is empty.

He said he thought that the virus had weakened an unproven view, he acknowledged, that has nonetheless found an eager audience in Mr. Salvini and other politicians opposed to extending the state of emergency.

Most health experts said that the virus still loomed, and as the government considers a new decree to reopen night clubs, festivals and cruise ship travel, many of them have implored the country not to let down its guard.

Even if the situation is better than in other countries, we should continue to be very prudent, said Dr. Rezza of the National Institute of Health, adding that he thought the question of what Italy had done right was better posed at the end of the epidemic.

We cannot exclude that we will have outbreaks in Italy in the next few days, he said. Maybe its just a matter of time.

Emma Bubola contributed reporting from Milan.

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How Italy Turned Around Its Coronavirus Calamity - The New York Times

Fauci to Testify Before Congress on Coronavirus Response – The New York Times

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Europe had nearly 50 percent more deaths than normal at the peak of the outbreak, according to data compiled by Britains and Frances national statistics agencies, with tens of thousands more people dying the last week of March and the first week of April than in previous years.

As Europe became the center of the pandemic in the late winter and early spring, many countries implemented nationwide lockdowns, which was already killing thousands. Most of the excess deaths were in four big, hard-hit countries Britain, Italy, Spain and France.

In their worst weeks, Belgium, England, France and Spain all had more than twice as many deaths than was usual for the time of year.

England had the second-highest peak mortality after Spain in Europe, and the longest continuous period of excess mortality, according to a report published by Britains Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. Britain had registered over 55,000 confirmed deaths as of mid-July, and is the worst-hit country in Europe.

Although European countries encountered wide discrepancies in their excess deaths, most saw a rise over the course of two deadly weeks, from March 30 to April 12. During the last week of March, the deadliest across Europe with 33,000 excess deaths, Spain alone registered over 12,500 more deaths than would be expected when compared with data from 2016 to 2019, a 155 percent increase, and Italy over 6,500, according to data provided by the French national statistics agency, INSEE. The following week, Belgium recorded over 2,000 excess deaths, an increase of nearly 110 percent compared with data from previous years.

The virus has depleted nursing homes across the continent, infected thousands of health care workers, and revealed how some of the most stable countries in the world were unprepared for a pandemic, although several national security agencies had defined it as one of the most critical threats that their countries could face.

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Fauci to Testify Before Congress on Coronavirus Response - The New York Times

A former college president describes getting the coronavirus and offers advice for helping others struggling through it (opinion) – Inside Higher Ed

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As colleges and universities prepare to open up this fall, they face almost insurmountable challenges. The situation is so fluid, uncertain, unpredictable and complicated that any current operational and procedural plan can still change daily. In my career, Ive held leadership positions (dean, provost and president) at five different universities in overseeing and administering the work life of faculty and staff, but Ive never had to confront the challenges brought by COVID-19.

In this article, I offer a perspective from the other side: as one who has been infected by COVID-19.

I was shocked when I got the virus in late May, as my wife and I had been very cautious given our age and her pre-existing health condition. I have no idea how I got it. During my 29-day quarantine, I was for the most part confined to our bedroom in our apartment in Chicago with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. My wife provided me with food, leaving meals on a tray outside my door, and we communicated by phone during this time. I received all my treatments by telemedicine, except for the four times I walked six blocks to the hospitals COVID-19 testing site.

Every morning, I had to complete a survey for the hospital in which I indicated the degree to which I had a fever, a cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, muscle aches, trouble sleeping, lack of energy, felt ill, diarrhea or stomach pain. I had no energy at the beginning and mostly focused on my survival, just taking one day at a time. Since I had only a slight fever, I was judged to have a mild case. But a month before I tested positive, I had begun to experience a constant light-headedness that stayed with me throughout my quarantine. Weeks later, it has still not completely gone away.

My responses to three questions on the hospital survey best describe my mental health during this time: I worry that the infection will get worse; I worry about spreading my infection; I feel overwhelmed by my condition. They capture my emotional stress, which I have learned is common for those whove been infected.

I feared that my condition would get worse and I would land up in the hospital on a ventilator, especially during the first two weeks. I also worried about my wife getting the virus, since she has a pre-existing health condition. And, again particularly at the beginning, I felt overwhelmed and had moments of utter despair and complete hopelessness. My physical isolation and anxiety over the uncertainty and unpredictability of the virus had a multiplier effect. The treatment offered by the experts of just wait it out was not comforting.

I took to writing self-reflections -- usually from 1to 3a.m. -- to better discern the purpose and meaning in my life and future. My reflections were raw, terribly inarticulate and grossly inadequate in describing my feelings and thinking. But the mere writing of them gave me some peace and insights. I wrote that the grace of God was central to my faith perspective.

What especially gave me meaning was knowing that my family and friends were thinking of me. It provided comfort, strength and the motivation to endure through my uncertain, unpredictable and uncontrollable future. The daily thoughts and prayers of family and friends expressed in emails, cards, phone calls and Zoom meetings were immensely important to my well-being, resilience and hope for the future. As I write this now in my freedom of several weeks, I am still trying to comprehend why I had a mild case, but I am deeply thankful that I did. I didnt go to the hospital. I am alive and well. I can play tennis again.

Suggestions for Colleges and Universities

I offer some suggestions to institutional leaders based on my experience of being on the other side. I have tried to think of what would be helpful if I were still responsible for the work life of faculty members. Some suggestions also pertain to administrators and staff. And some are also relevant to people with any serious illness, such as cancer or heart issues.

Recognize and support faculty members with COVID-19. During this time away from their professional duties, faculty afflicted with the virus may focus more than usual on their personal well-being and not on their professional identity and aspirations. They could be too tired to be concerned about their academic achievement and responsibilities. They will no doubt experience fatigue, loneliness and anxiety, and even become overwhelmed at times.

Communicate frequently with the faculty members and, when appropriate, with their caregivers. The power of people cannot be overestimated. Communication -- emails, notes, Zooming, telephone calls -- makes the battle more personal, which can benefit everyone in understanding and showing empathy. The families and immediate caregivers during this time should also not be forgotten. They worry about getting infected, and they are often in quarantine themselves. The privacy of those infected or those feeling isolated because of the virus and the local institutional guidelines must be considered in your communications.

Help faculty to accept loss in the way they may be engaged in their academic life going forward. A focus on getting back to normal as soon as possible is not a useful mind-set, especially for those infected. When I walked to my office at Elmhurst University every day as its interim president, I passed the statue of Reinhold Niebuhr, a graduate. These words are engraved on it: God, give me the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. I offer this advice for this time.

Assist faculty in their re-entry into their work life. Going back is more than flipping a switch. Previously infected faculty members may experience aftereffects, such as damage to their heart, liver, lungs and neurological system. Will faculty who are infected continue to wonder if there is cognitive damage, not yet visible?

People often recover from COVID-19 more slowly in their energy and interest than they expected. Many faculty members may have heightened sensitivity about even going back to a place that requires face-to-face interactions. They may want to stay and work at home. Doctors suggest that people who have had the virus should continue to be careful. Immunity may be short-lived.

People whove had COVID-19 may also change their goals for both the short and long run. They may experience a new tension about meeting the institutional standards for tenure and promotion and in their expectations about their career and personal life. Has the balance changed? The transition from the pre-COVID-19 era to the current one, already difficult for all faculty members, has just become more acute for those who were infected.

Develop contingency plans. How will the ill faculty members responsibilities, especially those involving teaching, be covered during their absence and recovery? Will faculty colleagues, adjuncts or graduate students be available in an emergency? Students will want to know and be assured that their courses will be covered.

Meanwhile, faculty colleagues not yet infected may have new concerns and anxiety about their own lives. They may start to wonder, Am I next? Do I want to reconsider teaching and attending committee meetings on the campus in the future?

In sum, COVID-19 has just handed higher education another challenge and opportunity. It includes a faculty development issue not just for those infected but for the entire academy. What are the expectations of faculty moving forward? How do they want to contribute to the goals and purpose of higher education in the future? Intentional dialogues with faculty about COVID-19 and its lingering impact may provide some insights for you and your institution.

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A former college president describes getting the coronavirus and offers advice for helping others struggling through it (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

Area Sports Teams Affected By Positive Cases Of Coronavirus – CBS Pittsburgh

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By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) As the Coronavirus continues to show up in local communities, athletics is one area where teams are seeing positive cases.

Several local teams are now taking a hit.

At Central Catholic High School, a football player has tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the Tribune Review, the player was quarantined and tested after experiencing symptoms.

(Photo Credit: KDKA Photojournalist Brian Smithmyer)

Players and coaches from the team have been asked to quarantine through Thursday.

This comes after a member of the freshman team and a varsity coach contracted the virus earlier this summer.

The Beaver Area School District announced Sunday it was canceling all extracurricular activities for three days so that a deep cleaning can be performed on shared equipment, facilities, and common spaces.

This comes after a student from the district contracted the virus.

The school district says it has determined many contacts between this athlete and other teams in the district.

Sports teams not directly impacted will resume August 6.

Middle School and High School boys and girls soccer teams will resume on August 17.

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Area Sports Teams Affected By Positive Cases Of Coronavirus - CBS Pittsburgh

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 3 August – World Economic Forum

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1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have topped 18 million around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths now stands at more than 689,000.

July was the worst month for cases since the outbreak began in many countries, the Guardian reports. Nearly 8 million cases were recorded in July alone.

Cases in Latin America, the world's worst-affected region, have neared 5 million with 200,000 deaths recorded on 1 August.

Stricter measures are being imposed in the state of Victoria, Australia, after a 'state of disaster' was declared. An overnight curfew has been imposed, schools have closed and only one member of the household is allowed to leave once a day, to pick up essentials.

The US is entering 'new phase', with the virus widespread in both rural and urban areas, White House expert Dr Deborah Birx told CNN.

Manila and surrounding provinces in the Philippines are going back into lockdown from 4 August, as infections jumped to more than 100,000.

The outbreak in Danang, Viet Nam has spread to at least four factories, with a workforce of around 3,700.

2. WHO chief: COVID-19 'once-in-a-century' crisis

The Director-General of the World Health Organization said the COVID-19 pandemic is a "once-in-a-century health crisis" which will have effects "felt for decades to come".

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking at the fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee on COVID-19 at which it was unanimously agreed the outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

"Many countries that believed they were past the worst are now grappling with new outbreaks," he added.

"Some that were less affected in the earliest weeks are now seeing escalating numbers of cases and deaths. And some that had large outbreaks have brought them under control."

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

Since its launch on 11 March, the Forums COVID Action Platform has brought together 1,667 stakeholders from 1,106 businesses and organizations to mitigate the risk and impact of the unprecedented global health emergency that is COVID-19.

The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

The WHO first declared a PHEIC on 30 January - when there were fewer than 100 cases and no deaths outside China.

The committee advised countries to support research efforts and enable equitable allocation of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

July was the worst month for COVID-19 infections.

Image: WHO

3. Ninety-minute COVID-19 tests to be rolled out in UK

Testing times for COVID-19 will be cut from up to 48 hours to just 90 minutes in Britain, with new on-the-spot tests available next week.

Millions of DNA and swab tests will be sent out to hospitals, care homes and laboratories, Reuters reports, which can also detect influenza - and won't need to be administered by a health professional.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said: The fact these tests can detect flu as well as COVID-19 will be hugely beneficial as we head into winter, so patients can follow the right advice to protect themselves and others."

Meanwhile, diners in the UK can get 50% off their bill from 3 to 31 August at restaurants participating in the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, designed to kick-start the food industry.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 3 August - World Economic Forum

COVID-19 Daily Update 8-2-2020 – West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

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The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., on August 2,2020, there have been 291,071 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 6,854 totalcases and 117 deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the death of a79-year old male from Kanawha County. Wejoin with the family in grieving the passing of this gentleman, said Bill J.Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (29/0), Berkeley (633/22), Boone (77/0), Braxton (8/0), Brooke(61/1), Cabell (319/9), Calhoun (6/0), Clay (17/0), Doddridge (4/0), Fayette(129/0), Gilmer (16/0), Grant (76/1), Greenbrier (87/0), Hampshire (74/0),Hancock (95/4), Hardy (53/1), Harrison (192/1), Jackson (157/0), Jefferson(284/5), Kanawha (809/13), Lewis (26/1), Lincoln (67/1), Logan (148/0), Marion(172/4), Marshall (123/2), Mason (46/0), McDowell (36/1), Mercer (164/0),Mineral (108/2), Mingo (125/2), Monongalia (900/16), Monroe (18/1), Morgan(25/1), Nicholas (30/1), Ohio (252/0), Pendleton (36/1), Pleasants (7/1),Pocahontas (40/1), Preston (100/23), Putnam (166/1), Raleigh (183/6), Randolph(204/3), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (14/0), Summers (6/0), Taylor (52/1), Tucker(10/0), Tyler (12/0), Upshur (36/2), Wayne (182/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel(40/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (224/11), Wyoming (23/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Hancock County in this report.

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. Visitthe dashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

On July 24, 2020, Gov. Jim Justiceannounced that DHHR, the agency in charge of reporting the number of COVID-19cases, will transition from providing twice-daily updates to one report every24 hours. This became effective August 1, 2020.

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What is UV light and can it kill the coronavirus on surfaces? Here’s everything you need to know – USA TODAY

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Walk-through portals of Far-UVC light can help sanitize clothing, skin and even air in traffic-heavy areas of cruise ships. USA TODAY

Ultraviolet light technology is becoming more popular among companies who are implementing a multi-tactic approach to combat the coronavirus.

On July 29, JetBlue Airways revealed the Honeywell UV Cabin System, a robot the size of a beverage cart with arms that extend over the top of seats to sweep the cabin and treat aircraft surfaces. It can disinfect the entire cabin in roughly 10 minutes.

Troutbeck, a historic retreat set on 250 acres in New Yorks Hudson Valley, upgraded all of the resorts HVAC systems with a new HEPA filtration system that includes UV light for extra germ-fighting.

New Yorks public transportation system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, worked with Columbia University to test UV light in vehicles and other fixed locations, such as break rooms and operation centers.

While companies continue to use ultraviolet light to disinfect their airplane cabins, hotels, subway cars and cruise ships, the average American is skeptical. How can light kill the coronavirus?

Ultraviolet light is a band of electromagnetic radiation at higher energies and shorter wavelengths than visible light, which makes it invisible to the human eye, according to the International Ultraviolet Association.

There are four subcategories to UV light based on their wavelengths: UVA, UVB, UVC and vacuum-UV.

UVA wavelengths are the longest and fall between 400 to 315 nanometers.Most of blacklight falls into this category,except for a small fraction that falls into the violet spectrum, which is why people using it see a purple color.

On the other side of the spectrum, vacuum-UV has the shortest wavelengths that fall between 100 and 200 nanometers.

Airline companies, businesses, hotels and hospitals specifically use UVC light to disinfect surfaces and kill off viruses thatchemicals might miss. UVC light falls between 280 and 200 nanometers.

Jim Malley, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire, said germicidal UVC light has been used for decades to disinfect surfaces and kill viruses.

While studies have yet to confirm if UVC light is able to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,multiple studies have shown that it can kill other viruses including influenza and other seasonal coronaviruses.

But, how can a light kill a virus? One theory, Malley said, is that the UVC light damages the viruss RNA so that it isno longer able to reproduce and infect. It can also damage the protein that coats the virus, disabling it to attach to a host cell.

Typical germicidal UVC light kills viruses at a wavelength of 254 nanometers. However, all viruses are different and some respond to shorter or longer wavelengths. They also require a different UV dose, which is measured by light intensity and exposure time.

The thing about virus and germs is that theyre not one thing, Malley said. Some are very resistant so they need a high UV dose, some are more susceptible so they can take a low UV dose.

If all the measurements line up, UVC light can kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria.

One limit to UVC light is that it only disinfects what it sees. Sometimes the light source needs to be repositioned multiple times to get every nook and cranny inside a room. It may also take a couple of cycles to disinfect aroom depending on its size, the intensity of the light and the time of exposure.

The science is meticulous.

The (UV) light we are talking about cannot be seen, going against a virus that is way too small to see, Malley said. Its like painting with an invisible paint brush.

If UVC light can damagethe RNA in viruses, it can also damage the DNA inside cells that are present on human skin.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified ultraviolet radiation as a carcinogenic to humans, which means it can cause cancer. The American Cancer Society also said that UV light can cause premature aging and signs of damage such as wrinkles, leather skin, liver spots, actinic keratosis and solar elastosis.

Malley says UV light can also be harmful to the human eye, specifically damaging the cornea. This could lead to clouding of the eyelens or tissue growth on the eyesurface, which can impair vision, according to the ACS.

A UV cleaning robot cleans the floor near the ticketing windows at Pittsburgh International Airport on May 7, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Photo: Jeff Swensen, Getty Images)

This is why many companies go the extra mile to protect consumers. Some companies go as far as providing protective equipment, such as suits and goggles, while others design products that keep the light detained.

"If its not going to harm your skin or eyes, it's not the right amount of UV energy" to kill viruses and bacteria, said Mark Beeston, vicepresidentof sales and marketing at Vioguard, a UVC lighttech company.

However, a recent study suggests there may be a spectrum of UVC light that kills viruses but isn't harmful to humans.

Researchers atColumbia University Irving Medical Center found that more than 99.9% of seasonal coronaviruses present in airborne droplets were killed when exposed toa wavelength called far-UVC light at 222 nanometers. The results were published in Junein the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

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According to the study, far-UVC light can'tpenetrate the tear layer of the eye or the outer dead-cell layer of skin. This means it's unable to reach and damage living cells in the body.

Because its safe to use in occupied spaces likehospitals, buses, planes, trains, train stations, schools, restaurants, offices, theaters, gyms, and anywhere that people gather indoors, far-UVC light could be used in combination with other measures... to limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses," saidthe studys lead authorDavid Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Good UVC light devices are difficult to perfect, yet it seems many companies are throwing their hats in the ring asconsumers look for more ways to disinfect their living spaces.

"Its a wild west rodeo, the gold rush. Everybody is hauling up the mountains to dig gold," Beeston said.

Malley sees ten to twenty advertisementsa day and calls most of those products"rubbish."

He said most devicesthat kill viruses and promote safe use are usually marketed towards hospitals or commercial laboratories. These devices can range from $1,000 to $4,000. The cheapest product Malley hasseen that actually works starts at $400.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expanding a pilot program to use a type of ultraviolet light to kill the virus that causes COVID-19. (June 12) AP Domestic

"If something is like $100 or $200... it probably won't work," he said. "A lot of this stuff is easy to make and easy to sell but nobody bothers to do the research."

Although some companies market approval from the Food and Drug Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency, there is no official certification or authorization from a governmental agency that confirms a product's efficacy.

Experts urge customers to do some research before purchasing a UVC light devices. Does it havestudies to back it up? Does it appear in any hospitals, laboratories or other commercial settings? What's the light wavelength, therecommended dose and at what distance?

Malley and Beeston recommend reaching out to the manufacturer and asking these questions if the answers aren't immediately clear.

Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.

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What is UV light and can it kill the coronavirus on surfaces? Here's everything you need to know - USA TODAY

‘Rest in paradise’: Georgia teen loses both mom and dad to COVID-19 in the same week – USA TODAY

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A rising high school senior in Georgia is mourning the loss of both his parents after they lost their lives to COVID-19 in the same week, media outletsreport.

According to WSB-TV, 17-year-old Justin Hunter lost his parents, Eugene and Angie Hunter, last week. His father was 59, his mother was 57.

Hunter said they didnt have any pre-existing conditions.

We were a regular family just trying to stay safe during the pandemic, Hunter told the station. When my mom would go to the store, she would be wearing a mask and she would be wearing gloves.

Hunter told WXIA-TV that the entire family had tested positive for COVID-19 a week earlier and were all quarantined. He was asymptomatic but his parents soon began exhibiting the telltale symptoms: fever, headache and cough.

Hunter waited at home while his parents were admitted to Emory Johns Creek Hospital. On July 26, the hospital called to notify him that his father passed away. Thats when he spoke to his mom over the phone.

(She said) shes going to keep fighting to get better to come back, Hunter told WXIA-TV.

Then four days later, on July 30, he got another call from the hospital saying that his mother died. Hunter was told he couldnt go to the hospital to see them as hes still in quarantine.

Eugene and Angie Hunter were together for 35 years and met in college, according to WSB-TV. Hunters father was known in his church community as a talented saxophone player. His mother was a human resources executive.

Hunter told the station his parents always supported his football dreams. They always discussed plans for him to continue schoolwork, get a football scholarship and eventually go pro.

'There has been a failure': 40 people infected by Hurtigruten outbreak, Paul Gauguin ship quarantined

I know theyre watching me from above and theyre going to be the ones to give me strength to get through this, Hunter told WXIA-TV.

He told the station he plans to live with relatives.

Hunter did not immediately respond to USA TODAYs request for comment, however, heposted a statement on Twitter Friday in memory of his parents, thanking the community for their love and support.

Dear mom and dad, thank you for making me the person I am today, he said. You guys will forever be carried in my heart. And from this day on everything I do is for you. I love you mom, I love you dad. Rest in paradise.

Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

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'Rest in paradise': Georgia teen loses both mom and dad to COVID-19 in the same week - USA TODAY

Coronavirus reunites long-lost sisters who haven’t seen each other in over 50 years – CNN

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Doris Crippen, 73, said she had come down with what she thought was the flu in May. Due to how weak it made her, she ended up falling and breaking her arm, sending her to the emergency room and eventually down memory lane.

It turned out she had coronavirus and had to spend almost 30 days in the hospital recovering, Crippen said. After she was released, Crippen went to Fremont Methodist Health's Dunklau Gardens to get rehab on her arm.

It was there that she encountered a wonderful surprise.

Bev Boro, 53, has been a medication aide at Dunklau Gardens in Fremont for 22 years and when she came across Crippen's name on a patient board she immediately recognized it.

"I couldn't believe it," Boro said at a July 22 news conference. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I think this is my sister.'"

The two women have the same father but different mothers, and they have not seem each other in 53 years, when Boro was a baby. Crippen lived with her mother, but Boro and four of their 14 siblings were separated by the state and put up for adoption when she was 6 months old.

On June 27, Boro decided to take a chance and confirm that Crippen was who she thought she was. Since, Crippen is hard of hearing, Boro went into her room with a white board and wrote their father's name. Crippen confirmed that was her dad.

"I pointed at myself... and said, "That's mine too!"... I have our dad's eyes," Boro said.

"I about fell out of my chair and I just burst into tears," Crippen said. "It was just a happy feeling to find my sister. It's been 53 years since she was a baby and I held her."

Crippen had tried to find her siblings several times over the years, but d failed.

"It's amazing ... really overwhelming, after so many years," Crippen said. "I never thought I'd find her again."

Boro on the other hand had tracked down most of their siblings, and now she gets to reunite Crippen with the family members Crippen thought she had lost. They are now trying to plan a family reunion.

"It was the Lord's blessing that I got sent here," to the rehab center, "because if I hadn't been sent here, I wouldn't have found her," Crippen said.

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Coronavirus reunites long-lost sisters who haven't seen each other in over 50 years - CNN

Media to be banned from Republican convention due to coronavirus restrictions – The Guardian

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The media will reportedly not be allowed to witness Donald Trumps formal renomination as the Republican partys choice for president at its national convention later this month.

Citing coronavirus-related health concerns, a convention spokesperson told the Associated Press that media members would be turned away in order to assure compliance with state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events.

The announcement was highly unusual and would represent a historic departure from convention practices in modern times. An Arkansas newspaper, the Democrat Gazette, first reported the news. The Republican national committee, which organizes the convention, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Held once every four years, the national conventions represent occasions for party officials and operatives to come together to strategize, renew contacts, share excitement and ultimately formally nominate the partys candidate for president.

The official nomination is typically covered with a wall-to-wall media blitz including cheering crowds decked out in party swag and a live broadcast of the nominees acceptance speech. The exposure typically results in a bounce of a few points for the nominee in approval polls.

But this year the Republican party appears intent on repeating its nomination of Trump, whose dismal performance in handling the coronavirus pandemic has dragged his popularity to historic lows, with no cameras present, in subversion of the presidents own instinct for spectacle and obsession with TV ratings.

Given the health restrictions and limitations in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed [to] press Friday, August 21Monday, August 24, a convention spokeswoman told the AP.

We are happy to let you know if this changes, but we are working within the parameters set before us by state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events.

It was not clear how the convention could move forward in compliance with state guidelines, which have been a sticking point between Republicans and the states Democratic governor for months. North Carolina currently has set an official limit of 10 people for indoor gatherings and 25 people outdoors.

The Republican national party has announced that 336 officials will attend the convention.

Confronted with earlier expressions of concern by the state about the crowds, the Republican party abruptly announced the relocation of key convention activities to Florida, which has a strongly pro-Trump Republican governor.

But Trump had to call off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country.

The convention was once expected to bring 15,000 journalists to Charlotte, but the spread of coronavirus this spring upended those plans.

The seven-day average for confirmed new Covid-19 cases in North Carolina climbed steadily before breaking the 2,000 barrier last month. The state has recorded almost 2,000 deaths from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. Face masks are required in public in the state per executive order.

Privately, some GOP delegations have raised logistical issues with traveling to Charlotte, citing the increasing number of jurisdictions imposing mandatory quarantine orders on travellers returning from states experiencing surges in the virus.

The subset of delegates in Charlotte will be casting proxy votes on behalf of the more than 2,500 official delegates to the convention. Alternate delegates and guests have already been prohibited.

The Democrats have planned a mostly virtual convention to nominate Joe Biden to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 17-20 August.

North Carolinas Democratic governor Roy Cooper said last week that the state would welcome Trump if he decided to attend the convention.

Hes welcome to come, but nothing has changed about our resolved to keep health and safety first, Cooper said. Obviously we would have concerns about people coming in and about a large crowd, but well continue to keep health and safety number one in this process.

Trump indicated in an interview at the White House last month that he would travel to Charlotte to accept the nomination.

Well be doing a speech on Thursday the main speech, the primary speech, Trump told reporters. Charlotte, they will be doing the nominating on Monday. Thats a different period, a different thing happening, but theyll be doing nominations on Monday. I speak on Thursday.

Trump last month announced cancellation of three days of events set for Florida. I looked at my team and I said the timing for this event is not right. Its just not right, Trump said at the White House. To have a big convention, its not the right time.

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Media to be banned from Republican convention due to coronavirus restrictions - The Guardian

Quantum Computing: Why the technology poses a security threat – IFSEC Global

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While the term quantum computing may sound futuristic, many experts argue the technology is not far away from being utilised on a global scale. Amongst myriad potential benefits, Julian Hall explores how it is set to dramatically impact upon the security sector.

The next generation of super computers will be faster, more efficient, revolutionary and potentially, dangerous.

With the ability to make calculations in minutes that would take todays most advanced computers thousands of years, quantum computers will be in a league of their own. Among the benefits they are anticipated to bring are improvements for solar panels, electric car batteries, financial and weather forecasts and even finding a cure for Alzheimers.

But its the application of quantum computers to encryption and security that is grabbing the headlines. Their ability to break down the vast majority of currently used cryptography, and therefore penetrate government, military and financial networks, is both impressive and scary at the same time.

In a nutshell, quantum computing is a victory over uncertainty. Computers work on the basis of a binary understanding where bits either represent a 0 or a 1 outcome essentially a heads or tails scenario where the outcome is measured when the coin lands. Quantum computing allows the for the outcome to be measured while the coin is still spinning in the air meaning the value is both heads and tails simultaneously.

The quibit, or quantum bit, allows for multiple values to be stored at once. To put this in some kind of context, there are, as Luther Martin from security solutions company Micro Focus observes, between 1078to 1082 atoms in the visible universe, so a single register of just 265 qubits can simultaneously hold about as many values as there are atoms in the universe.

The huge capacity of a quantum computer means a massive encryption capability. Luther references an algorithm running on a quantum computer that reduces the security of a 3.072 bit RSA key down to only about 26 bits in other words easily cracked will a mobile phone. CEO and co-founder of banking technology supplier Neocova and Professor at Washington University, Sultan Meghji, likens the potential of quantum computing on encryption to how the Allies broke Enigma in World War Two.

Just how big a deal this is cannot be overstated.

One of the fundamental building blocks for making digital technologies secure is cryptography, notes Michele Mosca, co-founder and Deputy Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Cryptographic algorithms allow us to obtain trustworthy results while using systems that are not entirely trustworthy. For example, trusted endpoints can communicate through an untrusted telecommunications system and guarantee the confidentiality of their messages using encryption algorithms and guarantee the origin and integrity of the messages using digital signature algorithms.

Quantum computers would break all of this.

Mosca identifies four specific risks from the fallout of this big data bang:

Its pretty apocalyptic stuff and it sounds a bit like the hype over Y2K, but with actual peril.

Sultan Meghji thinks the Y2K analogy fits, but hes less concerned about general use computers (e.g. laptops, cloud sharing machines) that are many years away from broad spectrum utility and availability than with existing specific use devices such as Chinas Quantum Science Satellite, known as Mozi, launched in 2016 and, this year, paired with the worlds first portable ground station for sending and receiving secure quantum communications.

It is that second category that poses the largest, most immediate potential threat to security. Devices like these could nullify all encryption currently used today, ranging from encryption that protects a consumers credit cards on the internet to that which guards a president of a countrys communications with his or her military leadership.

With the recent UK government decision to ban Huawei from assembling its 5G network, following the US decision, Chinas role in the global security ecosystem has again been in the spotlight. China is, however, seemingly unabashed in its ongoing aim to be the dominant global power and its use of tech to get there. While it eschews the idea that state and commerce are one and the same, for many observers Chinas hoovering up of old data to be decrypted later, its ownership of data-rich companies such as TikTok (now the subject of US investor efforts to buy it from its Chinese owner) and its investment and boardroom presence in western tech start-ups all point to a consolidation and advancement of its world standing.

Sultan Meghji asks: What happens if, in November this year, the Chinese bring on stream an industrialised-scale offensive quantum encryption hacking programme that can break every single piece of encryption out there and we just dont know about it for years until the defensive systems come online? We are in the beginning of this grey window that will last for some number of years where there will be a disconnect between the offensive capability and the defensive capability of everyone else.

The quantum-assisted chaos scenario that concerns Meghji the most is a covert attack on a bank and altering debt payments. Financial services is the most full of risk right now and, after national military infrastructure, the biggest target.

Theres a general consensus among cyber experts and industry experts that battling quantum decryption doesnt have to be rocket science even if it will be time consuming.

In theory, its simple, says Michele Mosca. Replace the public-key algorithms we depend on with alternatives that are designed to resist quantum attacks. In practice, this is a massive and multi-faceted undertaking that takes 10-20 years to do properly. Much remains to be done, and more stakeholders will need to join the effort.

As Mosca says, many of the steps toward migrating systems to quantum-safe cryptography, (both post-quantum cryptography and quantum cryptography) are already underway, and Luther Martin, writing in TechBeacon, thinks that many businesses will already be adopting them.

Attacks that can run on quantum computers simply divide the number of bits of security that an AES [Advanced Encryption Standard] key provides by two, says Martin. A 256-bit AES key will provide 128 bits of security, etc. So if you are already using AES-256, you are already using an encryption algorithm that will provide an adequate level of security against quantum computers.

Meanwhile, Honeywell (who claim to have built the most powerful quantum computer yet, though, unlike Google, have not claimed quantum supremacy i.e. the ability to make calculations that no over classical computer can) believe that the solution is within the problem. The beauty of quantum computing, says Tony Uttley, President of Honeywell Quantum Solutions is that quantum computers have the potential to be a tool that works in both directions. This means that there are opportunities for quantum computers to provide quantum randomness to become a part of the encryption process itself.

Michele Moscas steps for CTOs, CSOs or any other relevant postholders:

While Sultan Meghji also believes that shoring up many systems against the quantum threat can be simple enough, recalling the rollout of Transport Layer Security protocols 1.0 and 1.1 as being fairly straightforward, he also knows that despite the simplicity and being inexpensive there will be laggardsthere are still organisations out there using TLS 1.0 which you or I could hack with our smartphone.

Investment is crucial for Meghji. If I was responsible for research budgets for either of our two nations I would put 10 times whatever the number is of investment in cyber and 10 times whatever the investment is in quantum computing and thats on the low end.

Download this report, produced in conjunction with Texecom, to discover how increasing processing power, accelerating broadband speeds, cloud-managed solutions and the internet of things and transforming the intruder alarm market, and whether firms are adopting these innovative new technologies.

Quantum Computing: Why the technology poses a security threatWhile the term quantum computing sounds futuristic, many experts argue the technology is not far away. Amongst myriad potential benefits, Julian Hall explores how it is set to dramatically impact upon the security sector.

Julian Hall

Would you wait two minutes to retrieve three-month old surveillance footage if it slashed costs by 50%?

Watch: Quantum on IFSEC TV

Multi-tier surveillance storage for scalable growth: Quantum Q&A

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Quantum Computing: Why the technology poses a security threat - IFSEC Global

What birds have red heads? 17 kinds with photos! – What …

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You saw a striking bird with a red head, did you? You wonder what it is. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out, should it? How many kinds of birds with red heads could there possibly be?

In the United States and Canada there are many birds with either fully or partially red heads. Sometimes there is just a touch of red. Sometimes the entire bird is mostly red. Sometimes the red color is more orange, sometimes it is more pink. The list of birds with red heads includes these:

House Finch

Photo by Greg Gillson

House Finches are found in residential areas, towns, farms throughout the United States. They are only missing from the grasslands of the Great Plains and from most of Florida. They barely reach southern Canada. They are residents, meaning they don't migrate for the most part, rather stay year-round in the same area.

They give chirping calls and sing throughout the year with a wiry warble with scratchy notes at the end.

Purple Finch

Photo by Greg Gillson

Purple Finches live in damper woods. They are found in summer across southern Canada, barely reaching the northern tier of the United States in the Midwest and New England states. They are also found in the mountains of the West, clear south to southern California. In winter they move out of Canada and are found throughout the Eastern US.

They have a rollicking warbled song with three identical quick rolling phrases, ending with two short notes, without the harsh ending noted of House Finches. I think the song sounds like "hurry little, hurry little, hurry little, hup! hup!" They also give a sharp "plic!" call in flight.

They may visit your seed feeder in winter.

Cassin's Finch

Photo by Greg Gillson

Males are very softly brushed with pink. The crown of the head is the brightest red. Note a thin white eye ring and deeply forked tail.

As with most finches they eat mostly seeds.

They give a 3-part call "tee-dee-yip" call and have a long song. The song lacks the harsh notes of House Finch and is less structured than Purple Finch.

Red Crossbill

Photo by Greg Gillson

Crossbills sometimes irrupt in winter, moving in huge numbers from one area to another as the cone crops fail or are abundant locally. They may show up at backyard feeders well outside or south of their typical range, but mostly feed on pine cone seeds.

Males are red; females are yellowish. Birds with large crossed bills feed on the seeds of big pine cones. Birds with dainty bills feed on tiny soft spruce cones.

More than 10 forms of Red Crossbills have been "discovered" recently. They all have different songs and call notes. They have different size of bills and tend to feed on the cone seeds of different species of conifers. But they overlap in range in a confusing manner that scientists are still trying to figure out.

Red Crossbills have a warbling song similar to the finches above and give a doubled "kip-kip" or "jiff-jiff" call.

Pine Grosbeak

Photo by Greg Gillson

Different forms show quite a bit of variation in the amount of coloring--red on males, yellow on females. Otherwise they are about 9 inches long, plump, with two white wing bars, a heavy black conical bill and forked tail.

They eat seeds, fruit and buds in winter. They are especially fond of the fruit clusters of mountain ash trees.

They sing a warbling song and give a flight call of "pui pui pui."

Males are brilliant red throughout with a black face and bib. Females are buffier and duller, but still show some red.

Cardinals eat insects, fruit, and seeds. They readily come to backyard feeders and eat a wide variety of seeds and other bird foods.

Both sexes sing nearly year-round. Common whistled phrases include "cheery cheery cheery."

This species is found from Texas to Arizona and south into Mexico. They live in mesquite thickets and other thorny brush.

Pyrrhuloxias feed on the ground and eat weed seeds and other hard seeds.

They sing a liquid whistles song and have a metallic "chink" call.

Summer Tanager

Photo by Greg Gillson

These birds are found in pine-oak woods in the East, but in cottonwoods in the West (see photo above).

They are found in the East from about Virginia to Iowa and south, west from Texas to southern California and into Mexico. They migrate out of the US in winter, except for a few in southern coastal regions from Florida to Texas and southern California.

They sing robin-like phrases and give a "ki-ti-tuk" call.

Scarlet Tanager

Image by Steve Maslowski, Fish & Wildlife Service. Public domain.

They summer in deciduous woods in the eastern United States and migrate south out of the country in winter.

They sing hoarse robin-like phrases. Call is "chip-burr."

Western Tanager

Photo by Greg Gillson

They are found in the West, from northern Canada barely to Mexico in summer. They winter in Middle America.

These tanagers may appear in fall at backyard bird feeders. But as with all the tanagers, may be attracted to birdbaths and fountains year-round.

They sing a hoarse robin-like song and have clicking calls "pit-er-ick."

Vermilion Flycatcher

Photo by Greg Gillson

Even though they are desert birds they are usually found near stream sides. Typical manmade habitats they favor include golf courses, ball fields, cemeteries.

In breeding season the males sing their song in a fluttery display flight "pi-a-see pit-a-see."

Red-headed Woodpecker

Image by unknown. Public Domain. From Pixabay.

They require trees big enough to drill their nest holes, and away from competition for those holes with European Starlings.

They eat flying insects they catch in the air or find other invertebrate prey, nuts, and seeds on the ground.

Their call is a soft rattle.

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Photo by Greg Gillson

They drill tiny rows of sap wells in trees and then visit them to drink the sap and eat any insects that were trapped in the sticky sap.

They aren't very active, but give themselves away by their periodic wheezy descending calls.

Pileated Woodpecker

Photo by Greg Gillson

They prefer mature forests and deep woodlands, both deciduous and conifer. They drill huge square holes in dead stumps and downed trees to excavate carpenter ants for food. They are one of only a few woodpeckers that will drill their nest cavities into firm live trees.

The loud wild call is a sign you are in the wilderness forests, a ringing "kik-kik, kik-kik, kik."

They readily come to backyard bird feeders. They eat suet, peanuts, and sometimes sunflower seeds. Their "wild" food consists of beetles, grasshoppers, and ants.

A common call is a rolling "churr."

Acorn Woodpecker

Photo by Greg Gillson

They are found wherever there are groves of large oak trees, including pine-oak woodlands.

They live in large family groups and small colonies where they collect and store acorns tightly into the bark of trees. As the acorns dry they shrink and may fall out. So they are constantly testing the fit and moving acorns into better-sized holes. Granary trees can contain many thousands of acorns. They eat these acorns in winter. They also eat insects, frequently flying insects they catch in the air.

These are social and noisy birds, constantly calling "Whack-up! Whack-up!"

Downy Woodpecker

Photo by Greg Gillson

Only the males have a red spot on the back of the head. This is a frequent pattern for woodpeckers around the world. Only a few species have red heads, many types of larger woodpeckers do have red crests, though.

The bill is tiny on this bird compared to other woodpeckers. Thus they tend to pick for beetles, ants, and other bark insects, rather than drilling for food. They are especially fond of suet at backyard feeders.

They give a sharp "pik!" call and in spring "sing" a longer descending whinny call, composed of a very rapid series of those "pik!" calls.

Male hummingbirds have iridescent throats that show red, orange, purple, and pink highlights. There is only one species of hummingbird regularly found in the eastern United States. There are 6 species of hummingbirds throughout most of the western United States. Southeast Arizona, though, is the US capitol for hummingbirds. There are 15 species of hummingbirds that occur in the United States each year. Of the 130 species of hummingbirds in the world (only in the Americas), a total of about 26 have occurred north of Mexico.

Anna's Hummingbird

Photo by Greg Gillson

Anna's Hummingbirds are a common bird of California that have expanded in recent years into Oregon (even a few to SE Alaska) and Arizona. In winter they are found throughout the Baja peninsula and occasionally to Texas.

They eat flower nectar and insects they catch in flight or glean from plants. They take over hummingbird feeders but the tiny Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds can sometimes stand up to these larger bullies.

Males in spring (winter even!) start singing a long buzzy insect-like refrain from an exposed perch.

What kind of birds have red eyes?

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What birds have red heads? 17 kinds with photos! - What ...

MLB Power Rankings – Our first impressions of all 30 teams – ESPN

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But there's no need to be all doom and gloom. After all, there were actual Major League Baseball games! And with games come updated Power Rankings. We surveyed our group of reporters, analysts and editors after the first week and a half of the 60-game (we hope) season, with the results below. The biggest gainers from our preseason rankings are the Padres, who moved up eight spots to No. 11, and the Tigers, who are up five to No. 24. On the other end of the spectrum, the Reds, a trendy pick to sit atop the NL Central standings, dropped five spots, and the Mets, Angels, Diamondbacks and Pirates each fell four.

National baseball writer David Schoenfield offers his first impressions for every team along with the rankings.

Los Angeles Dodgers2020 record: 7-3Preseason ranking: 1

Let's see, Clayton Kershaw made his first start on Sunday, Walker Buehler has made one abbreviated outing, MVP Cody Bellinger is off to a terrible start and didn't hit his first home run until Sunday, Joc Pederson and Justin Turner haven't homered, Will Smith is struggling ... and the Dodgers still have the best run differential in the majors.

ICYMI: Eight games?!? Breaking down Joe Kelly's suspension

New York Yankees2020 record: 7-1Preseason ranking: 2

The offense looks every bit as formidable as predicted, especially with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton looking healthy and locked in. Aroldis Chapman has finally been cleared to pitch, but Tommy Kahnle appears headed for Tommy John surgery, so the bullpen depth will be tested.

ICYMI: Stanton says players united to bring hope, power

Minnesota Twins2020 record: 7-2Preseason ranking: 5

Just like last year, the Twins are going to pound a gazillion home runs -- with ageless Nelson Cruz leading the way -- but some of the key bright spots early have been strong starts from Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill in the rotation and solid performances by the back of the bullpen. With so many teams struggling at closer, Taylor Rogers looks like one of the best in the business.

ICYMI: Twins should benefit from 60-game schedule

Houston Astros2020 record: 5-4Preseason ranking: 4

The Astros are relying on 13 rookies, including 10 pitchers, so there is certainly some concern about the quality and depth of the pitching staff, especially with Justin Verlander out for an indeterminate amount of time and closer Roberto Osuna on the injured list after hurting his arm Saturday. That leaves Ryan Pressly as the only healthy non-rookie in the bullpen.

ICYMI: Verlander injury a caution flag for Astros, MLB

Tampa Bay Rays2020 record: 4-6Preseason ranking: 3

The Rays can pitch, but the hope was that the offense would be greater than the sum of its parts. So far, that hasn't been the case, with half the lineup hitting under .200 and suffering an embarrassing sweep against the Orioles over the weekend. Getting Austin Meadows back this week from a positive COVID-19 test will help, and the Rays certainly have the pitching to go on a 10-2 spurt at any time, but we need to see more from the offense to think that they can compete with the Yankees in the AL East.

ICYMI: Is 2020 the year Tyler Glasnow breaks through?

Atlanta Braves2020 record: 7-3Preseason ranking: 6

Despite the record, it has been an uneven start for the Braves, with Ronald Acuna Jr.'s strikeout binge a troubling concern. Mike Soroka and Max Fried have both made two good starts, but the Braves are trying to figure out the rest of the rotation, with Mike Foltynewicz so bad in his one outing that he was designated for assignment and returned to the team's alternate training site to find his velocity.

ICYMI: Markakis opts back in, returns to Braves

Cleveland Indians2020 record: 5-5Preseason ranking: 9

We knew going in that Cleveland would have to rely on its starting rotation and hope to scrape out enough offense, and there has been no change to that assessment after 10 games. Shane Bieber has been the best starter in the majors through two starts, with no runs allowed and 27 strikeouts, trying Karl Spooner's MLB record for K's through two appearances. Zach Plesac also had an impressive first start, with 11 K's and no runs. The rotation will make the Indians a playoff team, but they'll need more than Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana to make a larger dent.

ICYMI: Is the Indians' window as contenders closed?

Oakland Athletics2020 record: 5-4Preseason ranking: 7

The offense is off to an abysmal start, and though there isn't any reason yet to be worried about the production from Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Marcus Semien, Khris Davis is a concern after a poor 2019. We also haven't seen a major impact yet from rookies Jesus Luzardo, who is currently pitching out of the bullpen, and A.J. Puk, who is progressing through a throwing program at the team's alternate training site after shoulder problems.

ICYMI: Canha upped his cooking game during pandemic

Washington Nationals2020 record: 3-4Preseason ranking: 8

It's difficult to get a read on the Nationals, as Stephen Strasburg and Juan Soto have yet to play, and their weekend series against the Marlins was postponed. Soto will be ready when the Nationals return to action Tuesday. Strasburg should throw a bullpen early this week and remains on schedule to return soon. The defending champs will look a lot stronger with those two back in the fold.

ICYMI: Nats add Josh Harrison to roster

Chicago Cubs2020 record: 7-2Preseason ranking: 13

Is that Tyler Chatwood heading a rotation that has been stellar so far? Why, yes, as Chatwood has won both his starts, allowing just one run with 19 K's in 12 innings. The Cubs will need the rotation to be stellar because the bullpen looks like it could be a mess. You don't want to overreact to two outings, but Craig Kimbrel might be toast, having walked four batters and hit another in one appearance and allowed two home runs in the other after allowing nine home runs in 20 innings last year.

ICYMI: Bryant out with illness, negative for COVID

San Diego Padres2020 record: 6-4Preseason ranking: 19

The Padres are fun and exciting, though one of their early keys is something not quite as exciting as a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run: They're walking a lot more. Entering Sunday, the Padres had improved from 19th in the majors in walk rate to third. Surprisingly, the bullpen has struggled, with Drew Pomeranz getting a couple of saves over All-Star closer Kirby Yates. It's safe to wonder how long it'll be before we see MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino up to help fortify the pitching staff, either in the rotation or in the pen.

Milwaukee Brewers2020 record: 3-3Week 23 ranking: 14

The big surprise before Milwaukee's weekend series against the Cardinals was postponed was Christian Yelich's awful start: 1-for-27 with one walk and 12 strikeouts. "You're going to see really good players have really bad years," Yelich said at the start of summer camp. Brewers fans can only hope he wasn't making a prediction for himself. Factor in that Lorenzo Cain just opted out of playing the remainder of the season, and now the Brewers will have to play Ben Gamel in center (or even Yelich, with Ryan Braun moving back to the outfield). Anyway, this isn't a great offense, even with an MVP-level Yelich. The pitching staff will have to carry the load.

ICYMI: Cain's choice to opt out

St. Louis Cardinals2020 record: 2-3Preseason ranking: 12

With a limited slate so far, the Cardinals have questions to answer about the state of their pitching staff -- at least other than Jack Flaherty. Carlos Martinez is back in the rotation, but he got rocked in his one start (3 innings, seven hits, two home runs). Miles Mikolas is out for the season after forearm surgery. There is flexibility here -- Kwang Hyun Kim, Austin Gomber and Daniel Ponce de Leon are all potential starters -- so Mike Shildt will have to figure out some roles.

ICYMI: Cardinals hit by more positive tests for COVID

New York Mets2020 record: 3-7Preseason ranking: 10

Well, it didn't take long for the Mets to start being the Mets. They blew a four-run lead in the eighth inning Friday against the Braves; last year, teams were 920-10 after leading by four or more runs after seven innings. Yoenis Cespedes disappeared Sunday and then opted out. Pete Alonso has one extra-base hit. The Mets had 10 hits and five walks on Sunday and still got shut out. It would seem that there's too much talent here for the Mets to be a 3-7 team, but they're 3-7.

ICYMI: Rojas mum on Diaz's status as closer

Chicago White Sox2020 record: 5-4Preseason ranking: 17

The Sox are living up to their billing as exciting -- and unpredictable. Rookie center fielder Luis Robert is a whirlwind of power and speed, Eloy Jimenez is likewise off to a strong start, and rookie second baseman Nick Madrigal had four hits Sunday in his third big league game. The Sox remain too free-swinging, however, to have an elite offense (28th in the majors in walk rate), which means the pitching will have to rise up. Losing shortstop Tim Anderson to the injured list because of a groin strain will hurt over the next 10 days as well.

ICYMI: Dazzling Robert could be MLB's next superstar

Cincinnati Reds2020 record: 4-5Preseason ranking: 11

The Reds were the cool kids' pick to win the NL Central, but they're off to a lethargic start. There are reasons to remain optimistic, though. The team's BABIP entering Sunday was .215, lowest in the majors. That will turn around. The Reds are second in the majors in walk rate, so they'll get on base (though Joey Votto just landed on the IL with virus symptoms). Sonny Gray has had two great starts, proving that his stellar 2019 was no fluke. The Reds have four games against Cleveland this week, so that BABIP bad luck had better turn around.

Philadelphia Phillies2020 record: 1-2Preseason ranking: 18

If we do get through the season, the Phillies will have a week of postponed games to make up, which means a string of doubleheaders and fewer off days, putting even more strain on a pitching staff that appears to lack depth. Aside from that, the offense wasn't that great last year, ranking eighth in the NL in runs. The Phillies still look like the fourth-best team in the NL East, but it isn't like the Braves, Nationals and Mets look like powerhouses.

Toronto Blue Jays2020 record: 3-4Preseason ranking: 21

Welcome to the Show, Nate Pearson. His debut was one of the early highlights of the season, as he lived up to his billing as a future ace, showcasing a blistering fastball, a terrific slider and the confidence to go with it. The Toronto lineup and bullpen have some issues, but the rotation could be very good, which makes the Blue Jays sleeper playoff contenders.

ICYMI: Jays schedule Buffalo 'home' debut on Aug. 11

Los Angeles Angels2020 record: 3-7Preseason ranking: 15

To be fair, the Angels haven't had their full lineup together except for a couple of games, as Anthony Rendon missed the start of the season, and then Mike Trout left on paternity leave. The bullpen is going to be an issue, and you wonder how long Joe Maddon will stick with Albert Pujols -- benching a player of his stature is no easy decision. Can the Angels scratch out a .500 season and make the playoffs? Sure, but this club hardly looks like a threat to the best teams in the AL.

ICYMI: Trout to return Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks2020 record: 3-7Preseason ranking: 16

Arizona looked like a solid playoff pick, but if the Padres and Rockies are better than anticipated, the D-backs' playoffs odds will take a significant hit, especially given that Robbie Ray and Luke Weaver have been terrible in two outings and the offense has been devoid of power. The bullpen, a problem last year, was a question heading into the season and remains so.

Colorado Rockies2020 record: 6-2Preseason ranking: 23

The pitching staff has carried Colorado to a nice start -- Kyle Freeland has looked more like the 2018 Freeland than the pitcher who posted a 6.73 ERA in 2019 -- and you wonder if the Rockies are the team most primed to benefit from the short season. Playing at altitude is always a fatigue factor over 162 games, and the lack of organizational pitching depth might not be as much of a problem over 60 games. Remember, as bad as the Rockies were last year, they were 31-29 through 60 games (and were 40-34 before collapsing).

Boston Red Sox2020 record: 3-7Preseason ranking: 20

Look, it's too early to pull the plug on the 2020 Red Sox, but with Eduardo Rodriguez out for the season, this rotation is a Jackson Pollock painting -- only without the supposed artistic value. One of the starters is Ryan Weber, who has seven walks and no strikeouts in two starts. Matt Hall had a 5.30 ERA last year -- at Toledo. Then there's the offense. Rafael Devers didn't log his first RBIs of the season until Sunday. Andrew Benintendi is walking but not hitting. J.D. Martinez hasn't homered. If there's ever a season to tank, this is probably it.

ICYMI: Inside Chaim Bloom's wild first 280 days on the job

Texas Rangers2020 record: 3-5Preseason ranking: 22

Corey Kluber's injury put a big dent in Texas' playoff aspirations, and other than Joey Gallo, the offense has been nonexistent. The Rangers aren't a good defensive team, and closer Jose Leclerc is out because of a shoulder strain similar to Kluber's. Really, this looks like a team with no plan. Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third base? Todd Frazier at first base? A rotating cast in the outfield? The most interesting thing so far is that the early returns on Globe Life Field are that it will be much more of a pitchers' park than Globe Life Park was.

ICYMI: Kluber shut down for four weeks

Detroit Tigers2020 record: 5-5Preseason ranking: 29

Like the Orioles, the Tigers have managed to win some games, but on paper, this still looks like a bad team. If you want to dream big, the bullpen has been excellent -- Scott Alexander tied an AL record with nine straight strikeouts on Sunday (former Tiger Doug Fister, of all pitchers, held the mark) -- and with so many teams struggling to lock down the late innings, that's one way the Tigers might surprise. That seems unlikely, but odds are we're going to see one surprise team make the playoffs.

San Francisco Giants2020 record: 5-5Preseason ranking: 26

Mike Yastrzemski for MVP! The grandson of the Hall of Famer came out of nowhere last year to have a solid rookie season, and as a sophomore, he's hitting for average and power, drawing walks and playing a solid center field. Oh, and who was leading the majors in RBIs entering Sunday? Giants shortstop Donovan Solano, of course. Hey, we knew it was going to be a strange season.

Kansas City Royals2020 record: 3-7Preseason ranking: 25

Rookies Brady Singer and Kris Bubic are in the rotation, so that's at least something to watch. Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler are stinging the ball. Still, this is a bad baseball team. If you like hitters who don't walk, this lineup is for you. Adalberto Mondesi, Maikel Franco and Merrifield have batted a combined 123 times without a walk. Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon have batted an additional 72 times with one walk apiece. Ugh.

ICYMI: What Soler, Singer are doing to turn scouts' heads

Seattle Mariners2020 record: 4-6Preseason ranking: 28

The Mariners probably won't be very good, but at least they have some interesting things going on. Kyle Lewis looks like a Rookie of the Year candidate, Evan White can really pick it at first base, Taijuan Walker threw a gem the other night, and Yusei Kikuchi is suddenly averaging 96 mph with his fastball. The biggest question is whether outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who looked great during summer camp, will be called up from the team's training site despite having little time above Class A.

ICYMI: Mariners' youth movement showing promise

Pittsburgh Pirates2020 record: 2-7Preseason ranking: 24

On the bright side, Colin Moran has five home runs. On the downside ... well, pretty much everything else. Josh Bell looks lost so far, and that makes you think of his 2019 splits: 1.024 OPS in the first half, .780 in the second half. Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman are off to slow starts after hitting .300 as rookies, and that's one reason the team batting average stood at .178 entering Sunday. The Pirates need Bell, Reynolds and Newman to be good, or there is little reason to be optimistic about the future.

Miami Marlins2020 record: 2-1Preseason ranking: 27

What can you say? The Marlins won their season-opening series against the Phillies, even as the team came down with the coronavirus outbreak that nearly got the MLB season wiped out less than a week into this little adventure. The Marlins, who are scheduled to resume play Tuesday against the Orioles, will not resemble the Marlins who began the season. They will likely be not very good.

Baltimore Orioles2020 record: 5-3Preseason ranking: 30

Hey, the Orioles are two games over .500! After that 13-2 Opening Day loss, it seemed like they might go 10-50 -- or something worse that only Stephen King could conjure up. That might sound wild, but the Orioles had a 14-46 stretch last season (not the worst in the majors, as the Tigers had a 12-48 stretch). Anyway, the O's have scored some runs, Alex Cobb has had a couple of solid outings, and this team just swept the Rays. In other words, the Orioles probably deserve to be higher than No. 30 ... for now.

See the rest here:

MLB Power Rankings - Our first impressions of all 30 teams - ESPN

Here’s how a 17 year old allegedly hacked 130 Twitter accounts including Musk’s – Hindustan Times Auto News

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The alleged mastermind behind the July 15 hack of Twitter accounts of business titans, celebrities and a former president didnt need sophisticated hacking tools to pierce the companys security system. Rather, he convinced an information technology employee at Twitter that he was a colleague who needed login credentials to access the companys customer support platform, according to law enforcement officials.

It worked, in spectacular fashion.

Graham Ivan Clark, 17, allegedly hijacked 130 Twitter accounts as part of a cryptocurrency scam, according to a criminal affidavit filed in Tampa, Florida. The accounts that were hacked included those of former President Barack Obama, Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos and Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk.

(Also Read: What coronavirus: Elon Musk says demand for Tesla stayed strong despite pandemic)

Clark, who authorities said had just graduated from high school, now faces 30 felony charges for hacking those accounts, posting messages on their behalf and luring additional victims into sending him Bitcoin donations worth more than $100,000, according to law enforcement. Two others were charged by federal authorities for allegedly aiding in the scheme by serving as brokers on the sale of compromised Twitter accounts: Mason Sheppard, 19, of the U.K., and Nima Fazeli, 22, of Orlando.

Lawyers or family members for the defendants couldnt be located for comment. Clarks mother, Emiliya Clark, told NBC News that her son was innocent. I believe he didnt do it. Ive spoken to him every day," she said. Im devastated."

Twitter thanked law enforcement for swiftly making arrests. In its most recent update on the hack, on July 30, the company acknowledged that employees were duped into sharing sensitive information over the phone and that it has decided to temporarily limit access to its internal tools as it seeks to understand the scope of the breach, while improving its security protocols to make them even more sophisticated."

(Also Read: Tesla on hiring spree as Elon Musk suggests plans of increasing headcount)

Embarrassment

Of the 130 accounts that were targeted, 45 had Tweets sent from them, according to Twitter. Direct message inboxes were accessed in 36 of the accounts, and Twitter data was downloaded from seven of them, the company said.

Having suffered other embarrassing breaches in recent years, Twitter, the preferred social media platform for President Donald Trump, among other political and business leaders, must now reckon with the possibility that a teenager beat teams of engineers and layers of cybersecurity protections. Former Twitter security employees have said too many people have access to user accounts, including employees and outside contractors, and that the company management has often dragged its heels on upgrades to information security. Twitter disputed the former employees characterization of the companys oversight of accounts.

The defendants were allegedly part of an underground subculture of hackers -- known as OGUsers" -- who are dedicated to stealing, buying and selling online accounts with desirable usernames. In the OGUser world, a short username on Instagram or Twitter sells for tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency. Winning ownership of usernames, like @6" or @dark," yield their own form of virtual bragging rights.

The hackers in this community are particularly skilled in social engineering, which relies on the art of impersonation and deception rather than traditional hacking, according to cybersecurity experts. Those tools have been successfully leveraged against individuals to steal their social media usernames or credit card details, but not typically in such a brazen fashion.

In one instance, according to the federal complaint, a user named Kirk#5270 said in an online forum, I work for Twitter. I can claim any @ for you." Another user, Rolex#0373, who authorities said is an alias used by Fazeli, responded, Prove it." During their exchange, Kirk#5270 provided Rolex#0373 with access to the Twitter handle @Foreign for $500, according to authorities. Kirk#5270 isnt identified in the complaint, though federal authorities said he played a central role in the Twitter hack.

Chaewon," an alleged alias of Sheppards, posted an OGUser thread entitled, Pulling email for any Twitter/Taking Requests." In it, Chaewon advertised that he could change email addresses tied to any Twitter account for $250 and provide direct access to accounts for between $2,500 and $3,000," according to a federal government filing.

Started Early

Clark has allegedly been active in hacking since before he was a teenager, according to Logan Derouanna, 19, who lives in Florida and said he is no longer part of the OGUser scene.

Derouanna said Clark stole his Instagram account in 2014. I had my Instagram account hacked when I was 13, and he was literally only 11," Derouanna said, adding that his account had more than 500,000 followers at the time. All I did was click a link he sent me."

Two other hackers independently confirmed Clark has been active since at least 2014.

State authorities have charged Clark as an adult under Florida law, rather than federal, because Florida law allows us greater flexibility to charge a minor as an adult in a financial fraud case," said Hillsborough District Attorney Andrew Warren. He gained access to Twitter accounts and to the internal controls of Twitter through compromising a Twitter employee."

U.S. Attorney David Anderson, of the Northern District of California, said there is a a false belief" among hackers that they can pull off attacks like the Twitter hack anonymously and without consequence."

The charging announcement demonstrates that the elation of nefarious hacking into a secure environment for fun or profit will be short-lived," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Here's how a 17 year old allegedly hacked 130 Twitter accounts including Musk's - Hindustan Times Auto News

National Labor Relations Board Announces Another Proposed Rule Regarding Representation Elections – Labor Relations Update

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On Tuesday, July 28, 2020 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the National Federal Register. With its latest foray into rulemaking, the Board is looking to make two amendments to the current rules governing representation elections held under the National Labor Relations Act. Both these amendments are subject to public comment for sixty days following the published notice.

This is the third set of amendments the NLRB has made to the election rules in the past twelve months. In December 2019, the Board issued a proposed rule that would make sweeping changes to election rules and processes by eliminating many of the quickie election rules issued in 2015. As you may have seen, a federal judge blocked implementation of some of those rules, holding they failed to comply with the APA by circumventing the notice-and-comment procedure. The Board has since appealed that order, and implemented the rules that were unaffected by the order. The Board also announced changes to the Boards blocking charge policy, timing and notice requirements attendant to voluntary recognition, and 9(a) recognition in the construction industry in April. Implementation of those rules was delayed until July 31 due to COVID-19.

The first amendment announced on July 28 seeks to eliminate the Boards requirement that employers provide available personal email addresses and home and cell phone numbers of all eligible voters to the Regional Director. The Board believes that the current requirement does not protect employees privacy interests, and eliminating this rule would better advance these important privacy interests.

The second amendment seeks to provide absentee ballots to employees currently on military leave. In light of congressional policies that protect service members employment rights and provide them with the opportunity to vote in federal elections, the Board believes it should seek to accommodate service members during representation elections. Additionally, the Board believes it can do so without impeding the resolution of these elections.

These two most recent proposed changes to NLRB representation election rules will not only protect employee privacy, but will also bolster enfranchisement for workers who are out of the workplace on military leave when an election occurs. We will certainly track the progress of this most recent round of proposed rules and will keep you posted of any significant updates.

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National Labor Relations Board Announces Another Proposed Rule Regarding Representation Elections - Labor Relations Update

Battered by Covid-19, the fishing industry nervously awaits Brexit outcome – Irish Examiner

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Future management of rich marine resources is coming into sharp focus, as Britain withdraws from the EUs Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

We can expect skirmishes at sea, but hopefully nothing like the Pirates of the Caribbean and sword-twirling Capt Jack Sparrow characters on the decks of galleons.

However, as Sparrow once said, not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.

The treasure, in this case, may be the 64% of the lucrative mackerel fishery and 43% of prawns caught by Irish vessels in British waters.

In that context, as new marine minister Dara Calleary told the Irish Examiner earlier this week, Britain withdrawing from the CFP is a deadly serious threat to livelihoods of Irish fishing communities.

Killybegs Fishermens Organisation (KFO) chief executive Sean ODonoghue believes that a no-deal Brexit would be particularly challenging for blue Europe, with potential for many sea skirmishes, over coming months.

Its not just Ireland that is affected by British withdrawal from the CFP though, as I believe the French fleet will up the ante, ODonoghue predicts.

You could have flashpoints everywhere from Rockall to the North Sea to the Celtic Sea and English Channel, with the British Navy, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, the Dutch, French and Belgian navies out at sea, and our Naval Service having an enormous area to control, says ODonoghue.

Already, there have been some clashes. Two years ago, French and English vessels were in dispute over scallop grounds in the English Channel. Recently, Scottish fishermen reported a number of incidents which they believe are symptomatic of an effort by certain EU vessels to hold on to traditional grounds.

A German-registered Spanish gillnetter which was filmed allegedly trying to foul the propeller of a Scottish vessel west of Shetland in early June was detained this month near Rockall by the Naval Service patrol ship, L William Butler Yeats, for separate alleged breaches of EU fisheries legislation.

Figures speak volumes about the value of Irish waters to EU fleets, with Castletownbere, the largest whitefish port, being a transhipment point for foreign landings. A Bord Iascaigh Mhara snapshot of the industry records the value of seafood at over 1 billion, with first sale value of fish landed into Irish ports at 424 million in 2019.

While Irish landings were valued at 291m of that total, non-Irish landings were quoted at 133m.

Displacement to Irish grounds of European vessels with quotas in British waters is another negative aspect of Brexit. In the past few weeks, there have been anecdotal reports of Spanish gillnetters who never normally fished off the Irish south-west coast showing up on whitefish grounds.

It is as if some track records are being laid down by the Spanish, who have always been much better at this than Ireland, said a seasoned industry observer.

Fisheries biologist Dr Peter Tyndall of the National Fishermens Development Group says Brexit is an opportunity for Europe to accept that Ireland suffered a serious injustice in the original EU access deal.

Ireland had 24% of EU waters on accession, and was allocated just 3.8% of the total allowable catch in 1983, but was offered access to the European market.

Those percentages have changed as the EU has grown, with Ireland now having 10% of the sea area, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs Brexit fact sheet. By value, Ireland accounts for 36% of the average value of landings from the Irish Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), followed by France (18%), the UK (16%), Spain (15%), and the Netherlands (8%).

So, if Britain wants to play hardball, then the quotas given to the British-registered Spanish vessels for stocks off the Irish west coast should revert to Ireland, says Dr Tyndall.

Founding editor of the fishing industrys monthly The Skipper publication Arthur Reynolds believes that recognition that Ireland has a moral right to greater access to its own waters must be central to any Brexit negotiations.

Germany didnt have to open up access to Ruhr coalfields. France didnt have to open up access to its vineyards. Ireland and Denmark were the only two member states with a surplus of fish when the CFP was drawn up, Reynolds says.

Reynolds cautions that he is not talking about increasing catches to an unsustainable level to compensate Ireland, but about a more equitable share out among EU coastal states of the existing resource.

The Covid-19 pandemic may have knocked Brexit off headlines, but it also exposed how dependent the British fleet is on the European market a market which collapsed from March, when restaurants closed.

So Covid-19 shows that Britain needs to be able to secure value for its fish, Dr Tyndall says.

Castletownbere Fishermens Co-op manager John Nolan was disappointed to see how protectionist some EU partners became.

Our Irish whitefish industry is largely export-led, and we experienced a situation where prime Irish monkfish could not be sold in France, and we ended up having to let it go for fishmeal at 10c a kilo, Nolan says.

The EU had signalled that member states could relax State aid rules. But the temporary tie-up compensation scheme, eventually introduced by former marine minister Michael Creed, was designed to fail, says Irish South and West Fishermens Organisation chief executive Patrick Murphy.

I dont begrudge the beef farmers the 50m which the outgoing government has given them, but it beggars belief that an industry like fishing where people risk their lives to produce food should be treated in this way, Murphy said.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine said the tie-up supports would range from 6,000 per month for a maximum of two months for the very largest vessels over 24 metres, to 500 per month for a maximum of two months for the very smallest vessels under six metres in length.

That sort of money would barely cover insurance costs, said an east coast vessel owner of the scheme, which covered only two of the months of June, July and August. He said it did not acknowledge the efforts of skippers who took a responsible course of action in tying up from mid-March. When markets closed, the only place to store fish was in the sea, and not in cold storage, said the skipper, who did not wish to be named.

Overall, some 65 applicants (about 3% of the entire whitefish fleet) were offered the compensation in June.

Worse was to come, however, as some inshore boats had applications rejected for a failure to produce evidence of sales notes, through no fault of their own. This documentation is the responsibility of buyers to return, and for the States Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) to monitor.

The National Inshore Fishermens Association said this anomaly has wider and serious implications, as it suggests the State was not accurately recording the inshore sectors full economic value.

New marine minister Dara Calleary has been told in no uncertain terms by industry organisations that a more robust compensation scheme must be considered.

Offshore renewable energy

As if Brexit and Covid-19 arent enough, the new government has ambitious plans for offshore renewable energy, which has proved contentious in certain British coastal areas.

Fixed offshore wind farms earmarked for the east Irish coast could have serious impacts on the valuable whelk fishery on the Kish bank and the prawn grounds off Co Louth.

A 30-year strategy for offshore renewable recently published by the Eirwind consortium says the fishing industry has to be treated as the primary stakeholder, and recommends a forum be established between the two industries which would focus on issues such as regulations for fishing vessels to work as guard boats, shared interests in marine conservation, and best practice in compensation against loss of livelihood.

Eirwind is an industry-led collaborative research project, aimed at developing a blueprint for offshore wind development in Ireland. It is part of MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine at University College Cork.

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Battered by Covid-19, the fishing industry nervously awaits Brexit outcome - Irish Examiner

Dingdong Dantes honors mom, wife and the Creator on his 40th b-day – Manila Bulletin

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Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera with kids Zia and Sixto

In time for his 40th birthday, Dingdong Dantes wrote a touching tribute to two important women in his life his mom Angeline and wife Marian Rivera.

Dingdong celebrated his birthday last Sunday, Aug. 2.

It isnt a day I imagined 5 months ago definitely far from the supposed Oktoberfest-themed, 90s rock, all-out party. That was the plan, he wrote.

Despite the shift in plans caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the actor said his birthday remains a blessing.

He also took on the opportunity to recognize the important people in his life.

Today, I honor my mother who brought me into this world. I had to have my own children to make me realize the sacrifices that our mothers do for us. She literally put her life on the line for me. So whenever I get a birthday greeting, I also celebrate her strength, love, and commitment in raising a kulit boy like me, he said.

Today, I also honor my wife who has been my rock and core. Building a family of my own and reaching milestones have been a blissful and contented journey because I have her as my partner in and for life. So whenever you greet me, I too laud her dedication, care, and love for me and our children who have brought so much meaning to our marriage and our lives.

It didnt end there. Above all, Dingdong honored our Creator.

And of course, today, I honor our Creator, who have made all things possible and surmountable for me all throughout these years. So, I welcome and embrace your well-wishes so that I can continue glorifying Him.

Muli, maraming salamat sa mga pagbati. (Again, thank you for all the birthday greetings.) Open a bottle of beer for me and distantly, Id like to thank you for being part of my ongoing lifes journey, he added.

Dingdong and Marian have been married since 2014. Their kids are Zia and Sixto.

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Dingdong Dantes honors mom, wife and the Creator on his 40th b-day - Manila Bulletin