Vancouver Island skywatcher offers tips on how to capture Comet NEOWISE – vancouverislandfreedaily.com

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Comet NEOWISE pictures are being posted from around the world as it appears in the night sky, and Nanaimos astral shooters are producing a substantial portfolio of locally made comet images.

Some are stunning and created by photographers with sophisticated equipment and years of experience in astrophotography, while others are struggling to catch images of the comet before it moves along on its 6,800-year orbital journey around our solar system.

For those frustrated by early attempts to capture NEOWISE on camera, Tony Puerzer, Nanaimo Astronomy Society vice-president, says sophisticated camera and telescopic equipment arent needed to create quality comet images.

Even the latest model smartphones, with night mode photography settings, can capture an image of the comet, but Puerzer recommends an entry-level digital single lens reflex camera, with an inexpensive 50 millimetre focal length lens as the best starting point to create clear, sharp comet images.

You want even an inexpensive DSLR and something to put it on, be it a tripod or a fence post or something that will hold it steady, Puerzer said. Because youre not tracking it with a [star tracking] telescope mount, youll be limited in the time you have to shoot.

READ ALSO: Astronomer discusses search for life on moons of Jupiter, Saturn

Because the Earth is spinning at about 1,600 kilometres per hour, exposure times of longer than a few seconds will cause stars in the final image to appear as streaks, or trails of light that become longer as exposure time increases and objects, such as comets, will appear blurred. Telescopes designed for astrophotography have special tracking mounts that compensate for the rotation of the Earth and prevent star trails.

A workaround for lack of a tracking mount is to use a fast camera lens, with an large aperture that allows more light to pass through to the cameras sensor, thereby shortening the exposure time. Most camera manufacturers offer relatively inexpensive 50mm fixed focal length lenses, which have a large maximum aperture of about f/1.8.

If you had a 50mm lens a nice fast 50 would be ideal like a Canon camera or a Nikon with a nifty 50, that would be [awesome]. That would be the lowest cost, best thing, but then youre limited to maybe six or eight seconds before the stars start trailing because everythings turning, Puerzer said.

READ ALSO: Strings of lights seen in night sky over Cowichan Valley

A wider view angle 28mm lens can allow for longer exposures before star trails become apparent, but the lens magnification will be about half that of a 50mm lens so the comet image will appear smaller.

To shorten exposure times even more, Puerzer recommends increasing the cameras ISO (light sensitivity) setting to a higher sensitivity.

Just crank her up and youre looking at maybe 10 seconds for the picture, so the stars dont trail, he said.

Finally, Puerzer recommends focusing manually, instead of using the cameras automatic focusing system, to make the stars appear sharp in the viewfinder, which will also bring Comet NEOWISE sharply into focus.

Thats basically it, Puerzer said. Youve got a fast lens, high ISO and then the shutter speed is really limited because the sky is turning and that should get you something. Thats your recipe.

Puerzer said NEOWISE is currently moving away from the sun, but coming closer to the Earth, which might make it appear dimmer, but larger before it disappears from the night skies by about the end of July, so there are still plenty of opportunities to capture images.

The comet appears low above the horizon in the northern sky from early evening to dawn, but viewing is best when it becomes dark enough for the stars to appear and in areas where there is little or no artificial light pollution. Jack Point, Neck Point and Pipers Lagoon parks can be good options, or anywhere there is a clear view to the northern horizon. Puerzer said hes had good views from Wheatcroft Park, near Pipers Lagoon Park.

Anyone who would like to share the results of their efforts to photograph the comet is also welcome to post their images on Nanaimo Astronomy Societys Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/groups/nanaimoastronomy/.

Theres tons of people who arent [Nanaimo Astronomy Society] members that are on the group, Puerzer said.

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READ ALSO: Rare comet dazzles night sky over Saanich Peninsula

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Boeing to support ISS operations through 2024 – Aerotech News

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Boeing, NASAs lead industry partner for the International Space Station since 1993, will continue supporting the celebrated orbiting laboratory through September of 2024 under a $916 million contract extension awarded July 15.

Boeing will provide engineering support services, resources, and personnel for activities aboard the ISS and manage many of the stations systems. Work will be done at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston; the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida; and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as well as other locations around the world. The contract is valued at about $225 million annually.

As the International Space Station marks its 20th year of human habitation, Boeing continues to enhance the utility and livability of the orbiting lab we built for NASA decades ago, said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president and program manager for the International Space Station. We thank NASA for their confidence in our team and the opportunity to support the agencys vital work in spaceflight and deep-space exploration for the benefit of all humankind.

Congress, NASA and its international partners have agreed to extend ISS operations to at least 2024. Recent structural analysis shows that the spacecraft continues to be safe and mission-capable.

NASA selected Boeing as the ISS prime contractor in 1993. Throughout development, assembly, habitation and daily operations aboard ISS, Boeing has partnered closely with NASA to help the agency and its international partners safely host astronauts and cosmonauts for months at a time. The astronauts conduct microgravity experiments that help treat disease, increase food production, and manufacture technology impossible to produce on Earths surface.

Boeing people have contributed to human spaceflight for more than 50 years, including the Mercury and Gemini capsules; development of the Saturn V rocket; Apollo command and service modules; and space shuttle fleet, in addition to the ISS. Boeing is building on this legacy with its CST-100 Starliner, a spacecraft developed in partnership with NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The company is also building the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System, a rocket powerful enough to lift astronauts and spacecraft to destinations beyond Earth orbit, such as lunar orbit and Mars.

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Alabama was a big part of a big week for space science and tech – AL.com

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It was a big week for space science and technology, and Alabama is in the middle of a lot of what made news.

To start, NASA closed a chapter in space history Friday at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The space agency put the last piece of the first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket built at Marshall on a barge to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To mark the milestone, Governor Kay Ivey declared July 17 Artemis Day in Alabama.

The part is called the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter, and Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville built it to connect the rockets core stage and one of its propulsion stages. The propulsion stage was built by Boeing and United Launch Alliance in Decatur. All of it is destined to ride atop the first SLS when it launches in November 2021.

The adapter was the final piece of Artemis I rocket hardware built exclusively at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, said Marshall Director Jody Singer. Artemis 1 is the name of the first of three flights of SLS in NASA plan to return the next man and first woman to the Moons surface by 2024. The plan is called Artemis after the sister of Apollo.

The adapter is a good example of how conversations about space, getting there, and doing anything there frequently become conversations as much about engineering as science. It takes good engineering to build something that can withstand the freezing vacuum of space and still function.

The adapter was welded together as two separate cones that are then stacked on top of each other, hardware manager Keith Higginbotham said. Marshalls expertise with an innovative process called friction stir welding and the centers large robotic weld tools made it possible to build some pieces of the rocket at Marshall while the core stage was built at the same time by Boeing (near New Orleans).

Friction stir welding heats two pieces of metal to a point so hot they melt and then are stirred together rather than conventionally welded.

Elsewhere this week, a probe already in space made news as it passed close to the Sun. The craft is called Solar Orbiter, and it is a partnership of NASA and the European Space Agency. Dr. Gary Zank of the University of Alabama in Huntsville is a co-lead scientist for one of its instruments.

This weeks news came from another instrument, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager. It photographed solar features no one had seen before. Principal scientist David Berghmans of Belgium called those features campfires dotting the Sun, little nephews of solar flares, at least a million, perhaps a billion times smaller.

Berghmans said they are literally everywhere we look in new high-resolution images from the Solar Orbiter. Scientists arent sure what the campfires are, much less how they correspond to solar brightenings observed by other spacecraft. Its possible they help heat the Suns outer atmosphere, or corona, but no one knows.

Another instrument aboard Solar Orbiter, the Solar and Heliospheric Imager, revealed what scientists called zodiacal light, light from the Sun reflecting off space dust. The pattern of these images was so clean scientists believe they will be able to see solar wind structures when the probe gets closer to the Sun.

Finally this week, scientists released a new image of light from the early Universe taken by a telescope in Chile. The news here was that the data from this oldest light indicates the Universe is about 13.8 billion years old, which is what earlier models had shown.

Mark Halpern, a professor on the team studying images from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile, told the science website phys.org that the significance of the new information is that our model of the universe is holding up well. And thats important because data is getting better and better as instruments improve 100,000 times better, in fact, according to Halpern. A model that can hold up to that kind of improvement gains some real credibility.

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Our view: Amarillo’s Holly Ridings is the very definition of role model and local hero – Waxahachie Daily Light

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AGN Media Editorial Board

We would be remiss if we didnt pause in the middle of all the seemingly urgent stuff going on to recognize something tremendously important that people could have missed.

It involves the recognition of a true hero, a person who has built an impressive record of achievement and someone who has never forgotten her Amarillo roots. Likewise, the city has not forgotten her, nor are they likely to in the near future as she is expected to direct the next moon landing.

During Tuesdays virtual City Council meeting, the group recognized Holly Ridings with a proclamation and a key. Now, we know what you might be thinking. A key to the city? Not quite. Ridings, who is the first woman to serve as chief flight director at NASA, was presented with a key to the "moon and beyond." The rest of the inscription on the key reads: "Taking us from Olsen Elementary to out of this world. Amarillo is proud of you!"

For those who may not know, Ridings grew up in Amarillo, attending Olsen and then Crockett Middle School before graduating from Tascosa High School, which inducted her into its hall of fame during ceremonies last year. Ridings, who still has family in Amarillo, has been a steadfast goodwill ambassador for the city.

Her career path began to come into view in 1986, when as a sixth-grader, she watched with the rest of the nation as the Challenger space shuttle tragedy unfolded in real time on television. In an interview with Air and Space magazine in its June edition, she epiphany represented by that moment would inform her life for years to come. She loved space and problem-solving and knew what she wanted to do with her life.

"Who would have imagined that a tragedy in 1986 (the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger) would cause a sixth-grade student to set a course for her lifes work?" said Amarillo City Council member Howard Smith, a long-time friend of the family. "But having known Holly for years, it is easy to believe that she would become a problem solver. Her ability to aim high has been a pattern all of her life."

Of course, Ridings wasnt through in Amarillo. She was part of Tascosas state championship basketball team in the early 1990s and was named to the all-tournament team as a forward for the Lady Rebels.

After earning a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M, she joined NASA in 1998. Her career there began as a flight controller in the thermal operations group, according to the NASA news release announcing her most recent appointment. Now, she will lead the group directing human spaceflight missions from Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Named to her new role in September 2018, she will lead a group of 32 active flight directors and flight directors-in-training, including integrating American-made commercial crew spacecraft into the fleet of vehicles servicing the orbiting laboratory, and Orion spacecraft missions to the moon and beyond. For context, think about the Tom Hanks movie "Apollo 13" and the role of NASA legend Gene Kranz as played by Ed Harris.

In other words, this is a big deal.

Her selection was announced by NASA Director of Flight Operations Brian Kelley. "Holly has proven herself a leader among a group of highly talented flight directors," he said. "I know she will excel in this unique and critical leadership position providing direction for the safety and success of human spaceflight missions. She will lead the team during exciting times as they adapt to support future missions with commercial partners and beyond low-Earth orbit."

Her career path at NASA has seen a steady upward trajectory since being named a flight director in 2005. Highlights include serving as the lead flight director for missions including International Space Station Expedition 16 in 2007-08, the space shuttle program mission STS-127 in 2009 and the first SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft mission to the space station in 2012.

"From classroom to Camp Fire programs to athletics, she just sets her goals and the rest is history," Smith said. "Some of that history at NASA is yet to be written. I have no doubt that Holly will help write it."

The official proclamation includes recognition of her "outstanding qualities of leadership and dedication. We acknowledge her exceptional service to this nation and NASAs space program. The City of Amarillo, Texas, recognizes your accomplishments and celebrates our Hometown Hero for making a difference in being a role model for so many. We are Amarillo proud!"

So are we. We salute Holly Ridings and congratulate her on all of her achievements. She is not only a great role model for young women (although she certainly is that). She is a great role model, period.

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Our view: Amarillo's Holly Ridings is the very definition of role model and local hero - Waxahachie Daily Light

Boeing to support International Space Station operations through 2024 – Skies Magazine

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Boeing, NASAs lead industry partner for the International Space Station (ISS) since 1993, will continue supporting the celebrated orbiting laboratory through September of 2024 under a US$916 million contract extension awarded recently.

Boeing will provide engineering support services, resources, and personnel for activities aboard the ISS and manage many of the stations systems. Work will be done at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston; the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla.; and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., as well as other locations around the world. The contract is valued at about US$225 million annually.

As the International Space Station marks its 20th year of human habitation, Boeing continues to enhance the utility and livability of the orbiting lab we built for NASA decades ago, said John Mulholland, Boeing vice-president and program manager for the International Space Station. We thank NASA for their confidence in our team and the opportunity to support the agencys vital work in spaceflight and deep-space exploration for the benefit of all humankind.

Congress, NASA and its international partners have agreed to extend ISS operations to at least 2024. Recent structural analysis shows that the spacecraft continues to be safe and mission-capable.

NASA selected Boeing as the ISS prime contractor in 1993. Throughout development, assembly, habitation and daily operations aboard the ISS, Boeing has partnered closely with NASA to help the agency and its international partners safely host astronauts and cosmonauts for months at a time. The astronauts conduct microgravity experiments that help treat disease, increase food production, and manufacture technology impossible to produce on Earths surface.

Boeing people have contributed to human spaceflight for more than 50 years, including the Mercury and Gemini capsules; development of the Saturn V rocket; Apollo command and service modules; and space shuttle fleet, in addition to the ISS. Boeing is building on this legacy with its CST-100 Starliner, a spacecraft developed in partnership with NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The company is also building the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System, a rocket powerful enough to lift astronauts and spacecraft to destinations beyond Earth orbit, such as lunar orbit and Mars.

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Lockheed Martin will lease former Astronaut Hall of Fame for NASA’s Orion spacecraft – Florida Today

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A Titusville building once used for honoring American astronauts will continue its spaceflight legacy when Lockheed Martin begins using the facility next yearfor work related to NASA's Orion crew capsule.

The former Astronaut Hall of Fame, located just west of the NASA Causeway on State Road 405, will become the aerospace giant's newest location for Orion, a program expected to speed up locally in the coming years as NASA begins launching the spacecraft for its moon-focused Artemis program.

Lockheed Martin is leasing the facility from Delaware North, which operatesthe nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It was also named the Astronaut Training Experience, or ATX Center, before it and the hall of fame were recently moved to the visitor complex's main campus six miles to the east.

The prime contractor for Orion, Lockheed Martin performs most of the spacecraft's work at KSC's historic Operations and Checkout Building a location that's a straight eight-mile shot down the roadto the new site. Work performed there will act as a support for the larger operations at KSC.

Kelly DeFazio, the company's Orion program production director, said the site is ideal for three key spacecraft subassemblies. From there, completed hardware can be trucked over the causeway to the Operations and Checkout Building.

"One is the thermal protection system, TPS, that will go on the heat shield on the aft end of the crew module," DeFazio said. "The majority of the flight harnesses and electrical cabling will be built there, too."

"And then we'll do tubing subassemblies. They would be for the propulsion system as well as the environmental control and life support systems," she said.

The Former United States Astronaut Hall of Fame is seen in this 2015 file photo. The hall of fame was later moved to the main campus of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, leaving the building just west of the NASA Causeway vacant.(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY file)

Factoring in permits, upgrades, and other modifications, DeFazio said the company hopes to officially move innext summer. About 75 people a mix of new hires and transfers from Operations and Checkout are expected to work there, with some room for growth in the future. Lockheed is paying for the necessary upgrades.

While the building wasn't designed with spaceflight production in mind, it surprisingly came with amenities that helped attract the company.

"It's a very interesting building," DeFazio said. "There are three large open spaces with very high ceilings, but one specifically truly is a high baywith a roll-up door. We did need a high bay so we could install a crane and lift and rotate that heat shield."

A clean room, pressure chambers, office space, and break areas are part of the plans, too,along with lighting. Lots of lighting.

"It's a little dark," she said. "So we're having to put in tons of all-new lighting. Obviously we have to have very good visibility when building this hardware."

The facility could be expandedto include other programs in the future, but Lockheed will use it to focus on Orion for now.

We had been looking for the right use of the former U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame building since helping NASA relocate the hall to (the visitor complex)in 2016, said Scott Socha, president of Delaware Norths parks and resorts division. It will also fit nicely in the developing commercial area where Delaware North is building a Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

At least part of the reason for the growth into new facilities is NASA's planned path for Orion, which already includes three full spacecraft for crewed missions to the moon and beyond. Last year, the agency announced it awarded Lockheed Martin an additional $2.7 billion for Orions tied to Artemis missions III through V. In 2022, NASA is expected order three more Artemis VI through VIII at a $1.9 billion price point.

The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis I mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 2020. Here, it's seen at KSC's Operations and Checkout Building.(Photo: Lockheed Martin)

Spacing the orders out in groups of three, NASA says, allows the agency to save money by taking advantage of production efficiencies gained over time. It's why the 2022 price tag is expected to be $800 million cheaper.

Orion will fly on the Space Launch System, NASA's 322-foot rocket slated to launch Artemis I from KSC's pad 39B sometime in late 2021 or early 2022. The agency ultimately hopes to put boots back on the moon by 2024.

The expansionfor Orion work isn't the only facility Lockheed Martin has recently taken over. Last year, the company announced it would move its Fleet Ballistic Missile program's headquarters from Sunnyvale, California, to Titusville, which brought hundreds to the Space Coast in support of the Navy'sNaval Ordnance Test Unit at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

"Those of us that grew up here like myself, we're really pleased to see the footprint of Lockheed Martin really grow on the Space Coast," DeFazio said. "And particularly pleased because I'm from Titusville that it's helping the north end grow as much as the middle and the south end."

The Orion program officially made KSC its production home in 2006, according to the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, which at the time was known as theCrew Exploration Vehicle for NASA's Constellation program. Though Constellation was canceled, the CEV survived and later became Orion.

"Every little win can be built upon," Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the EDC, said on Lockheed's recent expansions. "Something from 2006, we're still benefitting from today. Economic development is cumulative, proactive, and continually telling the story to build upon successes of the past."

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly. Support his space journalism by subscribing atfloridatoday.com/specialoffer/.

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Don’t miss Comet NEOWISE in the evening sky now. It won’t be back for 6,800 years. – Space.com

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An amazing comet that thrilled early-morning stargazers earlier this month is now visible in the evening sky, and it's a sight you won't want to miss. After all, this comet won't be back for 6,800 years, NASA says.

Comet NEOWISE can now be seen just after sunset for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA. (Sorry, Southern Hemisphere skywatchers, it's not visible there.) The comet made its closest approach to the sun July 3 but was only visible before dawn until now.

"If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you can see it," said Joe Masiero, deputy principal investigator of NEOWISE, the NASA space telescope that discovered the comet, in a NASA Science Live webcast Wednesday (July 15). "As the next couple of days progress, it will get higher in the evening sky, so you're going to want to look northwest right under the Big Dipper." (The Big Dipper is a ladle-shaped star pattern that is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear.)

Related: How to see Comet NEOWISE in the night sky this monthMore: Amazing photos of Comet NEOWISE from the Earth and space

See Comet NEOWISE?

(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab/Parker Solar Probe/Brendan Gallagher)

If you spot Comet NEOWISE, let us know! Send images and comments to spacephotos@space.com to share your views.

There are a few more comet-observing tips to keep in mind, according to Masiero.

First, you're going to want to try and get away from city lights and set up in a location with a clear, unobstructed view of the northwest horizon.

Then, find out what time your local sunset is. (A tool like the Farmer's Almanac or TimeandDate.com can help.) You'll want to wait until 45 minutes after sunset before hunting the comet.

"What you want to do is go out right around the time that the first stars start to show up. You're not going to be able to see it before that," Masiero said. "It's probably about as bright as some of the stars in the Big Dipper."

To the unaided eye, Comet NEOWISE will look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, according to a NASA guide. But binoculars or a small telescope offer a much better view.

Related:Best telescopes for the money 2020 reviews and guide

Officially known as C/2020 F3, Comet NEOWISE was first discovered in March by the infrared-optimized NEOWISE spacecraft (the name is short for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer). Since then, the comet has been spotted by several space telescopes and observatories, astronauts on the International Space Station and, of course, stargazers on Earth.

The light from the comet is sunlight reflecting off the dazzling tail of gas and dust trailing away from NEOWISE as it drifts ever farther from the sun. A second tail made of ionized particles blown back from the comet's head (called its "coma") by the solar wind can be seen in some photos.

"This comet is about 3 miles [5 kilometers] across, and most comets are about half water and half dust," said NEOWISE science team co-investigator Emily Kramer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who used that statistic to calculate just how much water is in Comet NEOWISE.

"It's about 13 million Olympic swimming pools of water," she added. "So that's a lot of water."

Related: How to photograph Comet NEOWISE

Comet NEOWISE is currently about 70 million miles (111 million km) from Earth or about thee-quarters the distance from the Earth and sun and on an extremely elliptical orbit that carries it far out from the sun, Masiero said. Earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km) from the sun on average.

The comet is moving at about 40 miles per second that's about 144,000 mph (231,000 km/h but poses no threat to Earth, Masiero said.

Related: The 9 most brilliant comets ever seen

"There is no risk to the planet from this," he added. "It's very far away from us and it's not coming anywhere near us, so there is no threat."

There may be no impact threat from Comet NEOWISE, but there is a "wow" factor for skywatchers who see it, Kramer said.

"The fact that we can see it is really what makes it unique. It's quite rare for a comet to be bright enough that we can see it with the naked eye or even with just binoculars," she added. "The last time we had a comet this bright was Comet Hale-Bopp in 1995 and 1996, so it's been quite a while."

Comet Hale-Bopp, the last "Great Comet" to be visible in the night sky, was discovered in July 1995 by astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp via telescopes. It made its closest approach to Earth in 1997 and was visible to the unaided eye for 18 months.

If you snap an amazing photo or video of Comet NEOWISE in the night sky? Let us know! To share images and videos for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to spacephotos@space.com.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include more details about Comet Hale-Bopp, which was discovered in 1995 but not visible to the unaided eye until 1997.

Email Tariq Malik attmalik@space.comor follow him@tariqjmalik. Follow us@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.

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In opposition of the Badge Ban: why neutrality is no longer an option – Palatinate

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By Aisha Sembhi

The recent revival of the Black Lives Matter movement has made unprecedented moves into the social mainstream. Otherwise neglected racism aimed towards Black people has been pushed to the forefront of social media, mainly thanks to the work of dedicated grassroots activists worldwide. The mainstream news, however, seems to be lagging. While protests and counter-protests alike have been widely reported on during the last month, news outlets seem to hesitate when asked to make the fundamental statement the UK needs to hear: Black Lives Matter.

We have officially reached the toughest barrier in achieving social justice implementing actual change. News outlets have been fundamental in controlling the national zeitgeist in turbulent and partisan times, and the BLM movement is no different. Outlets aligned with both the left and right wings of the political spectrum have churned out opinion pieces on the movement, and have undoubtedly consolidated their readers existing views on the situation.

An impartial news outlet should not allow political symbols to broadcast.

The BBC, however, has a different role to play. As a state-funded news source, the BBC has an underlying responsibility to remain impartial on certain political issues. Whilst the BBC has certainly been active in reporting BLM-related events, it has fallen short of explicitly supporting perhaps the largest and most momentous anti-racist movement this generation has seen. The BBCs recent announcement personifies the back-peddling that has occurred as a result of BLMs unexpected social success; broadcasters and guests will be discouraged from wearing BLM pin badges on air, as a consequence of the movement being highjacked and moulded into a political campaign.

On a surface level, this may seem like a sensible response. An impartial news outlet should not allow political symbols to broadcast, and so discouraging solidarity with specific groups can be perceived to be an appropriate response. However, a more nuanced approach to the situation reveals two fundamental issues to unpick. First, the idea that the BBC is entirely dedicated to its neutrality. Second, the notion that BLM is a political movement.

It would be inaccurate to describe BLM as a wholly political campaign.

The first issue addresses the BBCs approach to politics on air. If the BBC is truly the impartial news source we believe it to be, no political symbols of any sort should be on air. Whilst this is generally the case, the BBC does make some exceptions that are generally accepted and go without question. For example, individuals are allowed to wear the Remembrance Poppy if they wish to.

But the Poppy isnt political! some proclaim. And to an extent, this is true. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the Poppy has been co-opted by radical groups and adopted as a symbol of British nationalism over time. Of course, this sentiment does not apply to every single individual who wears a poppy, yet the politics attached to the symbol remain a discomfort to several groups in the UK. Surely, if the BBC were truly neutral, they would acknowledge this symbol that has been hijacked and discourage its broadcasting too?

Neutrality is no longer an option

Furthermore, it would be inaccurate to describe BLM as a wholly political campaign. Whilst BLM UK is calling for legislative change, most controversially defunding the police, the statement Black Lives Matter should not be treated as a political rallying call. It is not political to acknowledge and seek to remedy the systemic racism Black Britons face. BLM is a movement that transcends politics. Neutrality is no longer an option.

The BLM badge has a specific purpose. It shows solidarity with a global movement and demonstrates an awareness of the mistreatment Black people have faced for centuries in the West, and a willingness to prevent this.

Denouncing racism is not a controversy and should not be treated as such.

Ultimately, a BLM badge being worn on air is a quick visual reminder that racism should have no place in the UK, something which is indisputable. The BBCs hesitance to reinforce this notion is worrying, and suggests it is perhaps more concerned with appeasing opponents of BLM and entrenching their viewership, more so than they are concerned with utilising their power to protest the lives of Black Britons. Denouncing racism is not a controversy and should not be treated as such.

Photograph: Markus Winkler via Pixabay

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Some Republicans Say Florida Convention Is a Risk You Have to Take – The New York Times

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Trump faces a tough landscape as coronavirus cases continue to surge.

A Senate runoff election in Alabama that is unusually personal for President Trump.

Republican National Convention planning in Florida that is overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Primary runoffs in Texas as well as a new poll showing former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ahead of Mr. Trump in the state.

And spikes in Covid-19 cases in G.O.P.-led states from southeast to southwest.

Republicans are facing major decisions this week across the Sun Belt as the party tries to chart a course through a political moment defined not just by health and economic crises but also the unsteady and increasingly unpopular leadership of Mr. Trump.

The landscape for the president is so tough right now that Democrats are even encouraging Mr. Biden, Mr. Trumps opponent, to press his advantage and compete aggressively in traditionally Republican states like Georgia and Texas.

With 16 weeks to go until the general election on Nov. 3, The Times is expanding its live coverage of the campaigns for president, House and Senate, and governor, as well as coverage of voters, politics and policy across the nation.

Our reporters will be delivering daily updates, news and analysis on all the major races and political dimensions, including voting rights and mail-in voting, the protests against systemic racism and social injustice, and the repercussions of the virus and the devastated economy on the nations politics.

The Sun Belt is drawing particular attention this week, with Alabama Republicans deciding a Senate runoff on Tuesday between Jeff Sessions, Mr. Trumps former attorney general, and Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach.

Mr. Trump has endorsed Mr. Tuberville against his onetime ally, Mr. Sessions, whom the president came to despise for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Most polls in Alabama close at 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.

Texas also has primary runoffs on Tuesday for several key House seats, as well as a Democratic Senate primary runoff between M.J. Hegar and State Senator Royce West; the winner will face Senator John Cornyn in November. In Maine, Democrats will choose a nominee on Tuesday to face Senator Susan Collins, with Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House, widely seen as the likely winner.

In Florida, state officials on Sunday reported the highest single-day total of new coronavirus cases by any state since the start of the pandemic, with more than 15,000 new infections. (New York had recorded the previous high of 12,274 on April 4.) New cases are increasing across the Sun Belt, as this map shows, and Republican governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas face criticism for their decisions to begin reopening their states weeks ago.

Republican Party officials still plan to attend their convention in Florida, an epicenter of the virus.

More than a dozen Republican National Committee members from across the country told The Times in interviews that they were still planning to attend the partys convention next month in Florida, despite the surge in cases.

President Trump last month moved the convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Floridas largest city, because Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina refused to guarantee a late-August arena party free of social distancing. Several of the R.N.C. members interviewed are planning to first go to Charlotte, where the partys delegates will conduct much of their official business, before relocating to Jacksonville for the big party so desired by Mr. Trump.

Its a risk you have to take, said Morton Blackwell, 80, an R.N.C. member from Virginia who has attended every party convention since he was the youngest elected delegate backing Barry Goldwater in 1964. You take risks every day. You drive down the street and a cement truck could crash into you. You cant not do what you have to do because of some possibility of a bad result.

Art Wittich, 62, an R.N.C. member from Montana, said he had a duty to travel to Charlotte and Jacksonville to nominate and support Mr. Trump.

It is not only my duty, but also my honor go to Charlotte and Jacksonville to re-elect President Trump, he said. As such, I am willing to assume any risk to do so.

While a handful of Republican senators who are occasionally skeptical of Mr. Trump Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, to name three have announced they wont go to Jacksonville, there is very little appetite among party regulars to slim the festivities to less than the planned three nights or switch to a virtual convention, as Democrats have for their event in Milwaukee, which was originally slated to start this week. It is now scheduled to take place in mid-August without delegates present.

The conditions that led Mr. Trump to move the convention out of North Carolina now apply equally to Florida. Jacksonville officials late last month said they would require convention attendees to wear face masks, though there has been no word yet on restricting how many people can fit inside the citys VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Republican officials are also considering hosting some of the convention outdoors at the citys football or minor-league baseball stadiums.

Of course, it does tend to get hot and humid in Florida in late August.

R.N.C. members interviewed said they had little hesitancy about joining what, as of now, is still planned as an arena full of Trump supporters cheering his nomination.

If I can safely go to Walmart or a restaurant, I am confident we can safely gather to conduct the important business of the Republican Party renominating the president and vice president, said Henry Barbour, an R.N.C. member from Mississippi. We were prepared to work with folks in North Carolina to make it safe, and that is exactly what the R.N.C. is doing in Jacksonville.

Jeff Sessions, trailing in the Alabama polls, says his campaign is electrified.

MOBILE, Ala. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican and former attorney general who is trying to reclaim his old Senate seat, was making his final appeal to voters on Monday before Tuesdays runoff election against Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach.

There has been little public polling in the race, but by several indications, Mr. Sessions faces an uphill battle. He finished behind Mr. Tuberville by about 12,000 votes in March, when voters first went to the polls.

In both public and private polling conducted for the Sessions campaign since, Mr. Sessions has been consistently down, apparently unable to repair the damage that President Trump has inflicted on his reputation with repeated attacks over how Mr. Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department investigation into Russias election interference.

The latest public poll in the race, conducted during the first and second week of July by Auburn University at Montgomery, showed Mr. Sessions trailing by double digits, even as Mr. Tuberville faced new questions about his involvement in a hedge fund that turned out to be a fraud.

The poll found Mr. Tuberville ahead 47 percent to 31 percent. Still, a considerable portion of the people surveyed 22 percent said they had not made up their minds.

Mr. Sessions said in a brief interview on Monday afternoon that his recent appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight had electrified his campaign. He appeared last Tuesday on Mr. Carlsons Fox News show, where the host praised the Republican as one of the very few politicians I do respect.

We had $30,000 small-dollar contributions come in right after that, Mr. Sessions said in between conversations with voters at a Cracker Barrel in Mobile.

.

Mr. Sessions declined to answer directly whether he would support Mr. Tuberville in the general election in the event that he does not win the runoff race against him. But he criticized his opponent for his regular refusal to engage with the news media.

Id like for yall to ask Tommy Tuberville of that, Mr. Sessions told reporters. Whats he going to whos he going to support after the runoff if he loses? Where is he? Hes not available. Hes been hiding out now for two weeks.

Look, Im a strong Republican, Mr. Sessions added. We need to win this seat.

President Trump on Monday assailed a broad movement to defund police departments, invoking the kind of pro-police language that won him support with the law enforcement community in 2016 and ignoring the calls for reform that have helped shape this election.

Democrats want to defund, and they want to abolish, Mr. Trump told a panel at the White House composed of people who have had positive interactions with the police.

With Mr. Trump facing an outcry over the threats he has made to protesters calling for racial equality and police reform efforts, his remarks on Monday were part of an effort to embrace law enforcement and to move away from more explicitly racist language as polls show him lagging behind Joseph R. Biden Jr., his presumptive Democratic challenger.

That has meant targeting police reform efforts supported by Democrats, such as shifting funding from police departments to social services like mental health and substance abuse counseling. Mr. Trump has called the defunding efforts a fad, but last month, he issued an executive order outlining a series of overarching principles meant to encourage but not mandate departments to alter their behavior.

The president also painted a dark picture of the United States should Mr. Biden win.

The radical politicians are waging war on innocent Americans, Mr. Trump said. If thats what you want for a country, you probably have to vote for Sleepy Joe Biden because he doesnt know whats happening, but you are not going to have that with me.

While recent polls have shown growing support among Republicans and Democrats for instituting police reform efforts including banning chokeholds after George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, was killed in police custody, most Americans reject the idea of defunding police departments.

Mr. Trump and his campaign have tried to accuse Mr. Biden of supporting efforts to defund the police, but Mr. Biden has actually opposed them. The former vice presidents spokesman has said he supported the need for an urgent overhaul after several police killings of Black men and women.

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee on Monday tweeted and then deleted a photograph showing one of Joseph R. Biden Jr.s sons, then a young child, wearing a Washington Redskins hat, in the latest example of disjointed Republican efforts to define the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Hey Joe Biden, are you still a Redskins fan? wrote Steve Guest, the R.N.C. official, before deleting the tweet amid online backlash.

His remark came on the same day that the football team announced it would retire its name, which is considered a racial slur. President Trump has expressed support for the moniker and complained that the name change was being considered in order to be politically correct.

The moment highlighted how Republicans have careened between seeking to tie Mr. Biden, 77, to the most progressive elements of his party, and seizing on his age and lengthy political record to cast him as out-of-touch with his partys zeitgeist.

Mr. Guest did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Several Twitter users posted screenshots of his tweet after he had deleted it.

Whatever Mr. Guests strategic intention, the effect online was to remind many of Mr. Bidens history of family tragedy, a subject that Mr. Biden has often used to connect with grieving voters.

In the photograph, Mr. Biden holds one young son, who wears the team-logo hat, with his head turned toward another son. A Biden campaign official estimated that the photograph was taken around 1974, and did not say which son was wearing the hat.

In 1972, Mr. Biden lost his first wife and a baby daughter in a car crash, while his two sons, Beau and Hunter, suffered injuries. Mr. Biden was sworn in to the Senate a few months after the accident at the hospital as they recovered.

Decades later, Beau Biden died of brain cancer.

Democrats are expanding their attacks against President Trump, adding new firepower to their offensive operation as the campaign barrels into the final fall stretch.

At the direction of the Biden campaign, the party is expanding the Democratic National Committee war room, a 35-person operation that was started in 2017. The group will become the central Democratic clearinghouse for attacking the incumbent president, a challenge Democrats last faced in 2004.

Led by Adrienne Watson and Nick Bauer, two operatives whove been focused on attacking Mr. Trump since the fall of 2015, the war room is planning to expand its advertising effort and bring in aides who worked for some of this years Democratic presidential candidates.

Biden staffers say the decision to run a key campaign operation out of the party committee reflects the remote nature of campaigning during a pandemic, a desire to conserve campaign dollars and the expertise built up at the committee over the past four years.

The D.N.C.s ads and messaging portray Mr. Trump as undone by his own narcissism, prioritizing his political interests and ego over the kind of expertise needed to battle a deadly pandemic.

In recent weeks, Mr. Trump seems to be sustaining the most damage from self-inflicted wounds. But Ms. Watson said Democrats could not count on Mr. Trump defeating himself, pointing to plenty of other examples like the release of the Access Hollywood tape in 2016 when Democrats began writing his political obituary.

The truth is that Trump has never imploded on his own, she said.

In Texas, where the number of infections and deaths have spiked in recent weeks, the State Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit on Monday that had been filed by Republicans over the cancellation of their state party convention.

The court, an elected body made up entirely of Republicans, ruled 7 to 1 that while the Republican Party of Texas had a constitutional right to hold a convention in person, it did not extend to forcing a convention center to host the gathering during a pandemic.

The Party argues it has constitutional rights to hold a convention and engage in electoral activities, and that is unquestionably true, the courts majority wrote. But those rights do not allow it to simply commandeer use of the Center.

The convention had been scheduled to start on Monday at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston and run until Saturday.

But the Houston First Corporation, directed by the citys mayor, Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, terminated a licensing agreement last week for the use of the convention center by the state Republican Party. The corporation, a government entity that manages several city-owned buildings, cited the unprecedented scope and severity of the Covid-19 epidemic in Houston.

Harris County, which includes Houston, is one of the areas in the country hit hardest by the resurgent virus. On Monday, Mr. Turner proposed a two-week shutdown to blunt the progress of the pandemic.

The state Republican Party sued the Houston First Corporation, contending that the city-run convention center had breached the terms of its agreement. Later on Monday, the state Republican Party announced that it would vote on whether to hold its convention online.

The state G.O.P. chairman, James Dickey, said in a statement on Monday that the cancellation was politically motivated.

We believe that Mayor Turner used his control of city-owned property to disenfranchise Republicans and attempt to deny them the opportunity to cast their votes for national delegates and electors in-person in Houston, he said.

Could Texas really be in play for Joseph R. Biden Jr.? Its a question political observers and even the Biden campaign are intensely debating.

On Sunday, a Dallas Morning News poll showed Mr. Biden had the support of 46 percent of the states registered voters, compared with 41 percent for President Trump.

Other recent polls have suggested a close race in Texas, but this was the first public survey to show Mr. Biden leading outside the margin of error.

As Mr. Trumps poll numbers sag, Mr. Bidens campaign is seriously considering investments in states that just months ago Democrats considered out of reach the biggest prize being Texas, with its 38 electoral votes.

The state has voted Republican in every presidential election since Jimmy Carter won it in 1976, but Democrats see an opportunity to turn that around, driven by Texas growing Hispanic population and increasing frustration with Mr. Trump among independent voters.

The Morning News poll also found that M.J. Hegar, the Democratic establishments choice to challenge Senator John Cornyn in November, was on track to win Tuesdays primary runoff.

In addition to the presidential and Senate races, Texas presents Democrats with numerous realistic opportunities to pick up House seats this year. A strong showing in November could also help Democrats capture a majority in the Texas State House and on the State Supreme Court. Both bodies could play a crucial role in the redistricting battles that are sure to follow the 2020 census.

Even in California, where an already robust mail-in voting program will be expanded to the entire electorate this fall, the obstacles of conducting elections through the postal system during a pandemic are now quantifiable.

More than 100,000 ballots cast by mail for the March 3 primary elections were voided by election officials, who determined in most cases that voters had missed a deadline for sending them in, data released by the California Secretary of States office showed on Monday.

According to the office, 70,330 of the 102,428 rejected mail-in ballots did not arrive within a three-day grace period after the primary. The ballots had to be postmarked on or before March 3.

The accounting of rejected ballots followed Gov. Gavin Newsoms signing of a bill last month that will require mail-in ballots to be sent to all of the nearly 21 million registered voters in the state for the November election.

The second leading cause for the ballots to be rejected was that they were unsigned or the voters signature did not match the name on the election rolls, according to the data, which was first reported by The Associated Press.

In Los Angeles County, the states most populous county, 17,743 mail-in ballots were rejected.

Nearly seven million mail-in ballots were accepted for the primary, which was headlined by the Democratic presidential nominating contest. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont won the state, though Joseph R. Biden Jr.s dominance in other Super Tuesday races helped him establish a lead in the delegate count.

In November, election officials must accept mail-in ballots for up to 17 days after Election Day under the bill signed by Mr. Newsom. The ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3.

A Wheres My Ballot? vote-by-mail tracking tool that uses text message notifications will also be expanded statewide, Sam Mahood, a spokesman for the secretary of states office, wrote in an email.

The Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic group founded by the billionaire George Soros, will announce on Monday that it is investing $220 million in efforts to achieve racial equality in the United States.

The investment, a huge financial undertaking that comes during an extraordinary protest movement, will immediately reshape the landscape of Black political and civil rights organizations and support several of them for years to come.

There is this call for justice in Black and brown communities, an explosion of not just sympathy but solidarity across the board, said Patrick Gaspard, the president of Open Society. So its time to double down.

Of the $220 million, the foundation will invest $150 million in five-year grants for selected groups, including progressive and emerging organizations like the Black Voters Matter Fund and Repairers of the Breach, a group founded by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of the Poor Peoples Campaign.

The money will also support more established Black political organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative, which was founded by the civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson and depicted in the 2019 movie Just Mercy.

The Open Society Foundations will invest an additional $70 million in local grants supporting changes to policing and criminal justice. This money will also be used for civic engagement opportunities.

Even before Mondays announcement, progressive groups, Democratic candidates and racial justice organizations had been flooded with small-dollar donations, breaking giving records and allowing Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well as House and Senate candidates to post eye-popping fund-raising numbers.

It didnt rain after all in New Hampshire, where Republicans await Trumps return.

After President Trump canceled his planned outdoor rally Saturday because his campaign said there were concerns about a looming tropical storm, the rain never came, leaving Portsmouth, N.H., with a lovely New England summer day (and reporters with no news to cover).

The schedule change technically a postponement left local Trump supporters eager for the president to appear.

The worst job in the world could be the weatherman because theyre always wrong, said Chris Ager, a Republican national committeeman from New Hampshire. There was initial disappointment that it was postponed because there was so much excitement and enthusiasm. Then with the weather, Monday morning quarterbacking is always great.

Mr. Trumps planned Portsmouth rally was to be his return to the campaign trail after he filled just one-third of an arena in Tulsa last month, a major embarrassment after his campaign manager bragged that more than one million supporters had requested tickets. The event was to take place outside and under a hangar at the Portsmouth International Airport.

Mr. Ager and Juliana Bergeron, New Hampshires other R.N.C. member, both said they believed the president would have drawn a large enough crowd to fill the airport space had the event taken place.

Im over in the southwest corner of the state and I received tons of calls for tickets, Ms. Bergeron said. If it had been a terrible storm everybody would have said he should have canceled it.

Mr. Ager said he expects the Trump campaign to reschedule the Portsmouth event within a couple of weeks.

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Some Republicans Say Florida Convention Is a Risk You Have to Take - The New York Times

The 50 Best Albums From 2000 – Kerrang!

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As with the rest of human existence, the year 2000 was a time of rapid, digitised change for rock music. Stylistically, the 90s grunge revolution was a fading memory, while the nu-metal that had taken its place had largely jumped the shark, morphing from the angsty, edgy, downtuned sound of the outsider to a mainstream-straddling pop cultural force owned by fat cats attempting to monetise teenage rebellion. Traditional punk and metal were still on the wane, while pop-punk only pulled further towards the norm. In many ways these were the last throes of the music industry gravy-train and many of the bands ridingit.

At the same time, a new breed of artists and some sleeping giants recognised the possibilities in play. The widespread popularisation of mp3s with Apples first iPod mightve still been a year away, but rapidly-evolving technology and the Napster controversy proved that music was about to become unimaginably easier to make, advertise and distribute. The world was growing smaller in front of our eyes, and music was to be a new ambassadorial force. Our collation of the stand-out albums of the year makes for a vibrant (and only occasionally cringe-inducing) trip down memorylane

50. High On Fire The Art Of Self Defense

If you think the year 2000 was a total wasteland in terms of traditionally heavy sounds, you just werent looking hard enough. When Sleep guitarist Matt Pike decided to strike out with a project of his own, few envisioned an outfit anywhere near as impactful as the mighty High On Fire. Coming on like a dirtier, heavier, druggier Motrhead, this was stoner metal with zero chill: all neck-rending weight and bludgeoning riffage. Although much of debut LP The Art Of Self Defense isnt up to the speed of their more definitive later work (2005s Blessed Black Wings being the watershed moment), there is a density and abrasiveness to odd numbers like 10,000 Years, Fireface and Master Of Fists that would whet our appetites for the jawbreaking feasts tofollow.

49. Mudvayne L.D. 50

BRBR-DENG aside, Illinois metallers Mudvayne tend to be defined by their shifting eras and imagery. As such, the nightmare carnival aesthetic of L.D. 50 was their most thrillingly bonkers moment. Watching back the music video for slamming lead single Dig, itd be all too easy to discount the quintet like many did as clowns. Dig into the schizoid atmospherics of -1, however, or the mathy tumult of Death Blooms and we find the experimentalist spark thatd make them a musical force for years tocome.

48. Nevermore Dead Heart In A Dead World

Often compared to (a darker, heavier, nastier version of) classic prog-metallers Queensrche, the fourth album from Seattle nightmares Nevermore was the sound of a monstrous line-up on cruise-control. Less personal than 1999s Dreaming Neon Black (which was inspired by the disappearance of vocalist Warrel Danes ex-girlfriend) theres a more scattergun approach to hot topics as varied as drug abuse (Narcosynthesis) and atheism (Believe In Nothing), while a cover of Simon & Garfunkels The Sound Of Silence feels absolutely unhinged. The main draw remains, of course, shred supremo Jeff Loomis contributions as he began to experiment with seven-stringguitars.

47. Kittie Spit

In many ways, nu-metal was a regressive step for gender equality in heavy music. Ploughing through the machismo and misogyny, however, all-female Canadian outfit Kittie arrived on their own terms: trading in a pulse-quickening blend of Korns unbound heaviosity and the riot grrrl attitude of Hole and L7. With teenage sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander at the helm, and songs like Do You Think Im A Whore dealing with sexism, betrayal and bullying, Spit remains a provocativedelight.

46. Cypress Hill Skull & Bones

Never shy about their links to the world of rock and metal (frontman B-Real backed-up Prophets Of Rage, second vocalist Sen Dog went to school with Slayers Dave Lombardo and fronts rap-metal supergroup Powerflo, while 1994s Black Sunday openly samples Black Sabbath), Californian hip-hop collective Cypress Hill dove in headlong with Skull & Bones. While the first half of the double-disc set was a straightforwardly excellent rap workout, the second (Bones) saw them welcome aboard Fear Factorys Dino Cazares and Christian Olde Wolbers, Rage Against The Machines Brad Wilk and Deftones Chino Moreno to tear through metallic cuts like Valley Of Chrome, Cant Get The Best Of Me and the thumping (Rock)Superstar.

45. Children Of Bodom Follow The Reaper

In the year 2000, hard as it may be to believe, melodic death metals cutting edge took the shape of the reapers scythe. Nowadays, overfamiliarity and an obstinate refusal to meaningfully diversify or re-energise their songwriting mightve dulled the sheen, but having honed their attack over 1997s Something Wild and 1999s Hatebreeder Follow The Reaper saw Children Of Bodom deliver a masterclass in combining shred-heavy instrumentation and earworm bombast, with the duelling six-strings of frontman Alexi Laiho and Janne Warman catching the ears of metalheads around the world. From the springy title-track and fist-pumping Bodom After Midnight to the more atmospheric Mask Of Sanity and Hate Me!, this was Bodom at theirbest.

44. The (International) Noise Conspiracy Survival Sickness

When ex-Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzn formed garage-rock project The (International) Noise Conspiracy in late 1998, fans of his previous outfits energy, abrasion and unbending edge were unsure about this cooler, more laid-back vision. Second album Survival Sickness won many over, however, with the driving sounds and unbending leftist politics of songs like Smash It Up and The Reproduction Of Death sublimating much of what had made that previous band great. As a bonus, the uninitiated had just as much fun shakingalong.

43. Nightwish Wishmaster

The Nightwish formula was beginning to really fizzle by fantastical third LP Wishmaster. By some distance their grandest and most coherently-realised offering to date, the Kitee collective built on the foundations laid by 1997s Angels Fall First and 1998s Oceanborn with a symphonic metal masterclass. Although eccentric mainman Tuomas Holopainen has commented that its probably the least personal album in the bands catalogue, the warcry title-track, She Is My Sins vertiginous vocals and the majestically evocative Dead Boys Poem built on imagery from deep within Tuomas psyche which would be frequently revisited ensured this has stood as a landmark through the years thatfollowed.

42. Enslaved Mardraum: Beyond The Within

Think Viking metal is all swords, shields and single-minded brutality? Think again. Although Norwegian visionaries Enslaved never truly conformed to the lo-fi standards of so many of their Scandinavian extreme-metal contemporaries, fifth album Mardraum (translating as nightmare) felt like a quantum leap. Beefing out their black metal template with elements of jazz, retro avant-garde and outright psychedelia, tracks like Strre enn tid tyngre enn natt (Greater Than Time Heavier Than Night) and Krigaren eg ikkje kjende (Warrior Unknown) proved as vibrant as Asgards rainbowbridge.

41. Halford Resurrection

Rob Halfords 1990s exploits were the stuff of metal infamy, with neither of his semi-experimental post-Judas Priest side-projects (Fight and 2wo) getting close to the glaring brilliance of his 1990 parting shot Painkiller. As the decade turned over again, however, the Metal God made his way back on track with the aptly-titled Resurrection. The tellingly-titled likes of Made In Hell and Locked And Loaded packed plenty to get fans banging along, but it was his inspired collaboration with prodigal Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson on cheekily-titled cracker The One You Love ToHate.

40. Sleater-Kinney All Hands On The Bad One

Following a minor fan backlash to the darker, more complex sounds of 1999s otherwise-acclaimed fourth album The Hot Rock, Washington riot grrrls Sleater-Kinney clapped back with All Hands On The Bad One. Thematically fixated on the perception and expectations surrounding women not just in rock, but in broader modern media the likes of sardonic opener The Ballad Of The Ladyman and Male Model demanded that these women be viewed on their own singular terms. Meanwhile, other cuts like Youth Decay and Pompeii plumb into the anxieties of growing up in that harshest ofspotlights.

39. Morbid Angel Gateways To Annihilation

Perhaps the last truly great Morbid Angel album proved that even 11 years after defining release Altars Of Madness they were still at the very forefront of death metal. Featuring the stacked line-up of bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker, guitarists Trey Azagoth and Erik Rutan, and drummer Pete Sandoval, Gateways To Annihilation dampened the frenetic pace of 1998s Formulas Fatal To The Flesh in favour of a more suffocating attack in line with 1991 masterpiece Blessed Are The Sick. Tracks like He Who Sleeps, To The Victor The Spoils and Opening Of The Gates proved that you dont need orchestral accompaniment for a truly epic extreme metalsound.

38. Good Charlotte Good Charlotte

Described by the brothers Madden as Good Charlottes brightest, most innocent and starry-eyed moment, the Maryland pop-punks self-titled debut now feels like a lucid glance back through time. This song is dedicated to every kid who ever got picked last in gym class begins opening track Little Things, and the wholesome odes to the underdogs just keep coming. There was little of the Hollywood cool that would define later releases in songs like The Motivation Proclamation and Change/Thank You Mom, but it also spoke its message more directly to those downtrodden fans who needed to hear itmost.

37. Nile Black Seeds Of Vengeance

Broadly acknowledged as their defining work, the second album from Ancient Egypt-obsessed tech-death-metallers Nile was a quantum leap for both band and genre. Although 1998s Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka hinted at their complex ferocity, Black Seeds Of Vengeance captured it in its full widescreen (gory) glory. The influence of recently-recruited guitarist Dallas Toler-Wade is plain to see in the compelling economy of songs like Defiling The Gates Of Ishtar and Masturbating The War God, while the chant-along title-track remains their go-to setcloser.

36. The Offspring Conspiracy Of One

After the genre-defining brilliance of their output throughout the 1990s, sixth album Conspiracy Of One was a jarring change of pace for some Offspring fans. Teaming with hard rock super-producer Brendan OBrien, there was a more professional tightness and maturity, with elements of hip-hop and grunge making it into the mix on bangers like Come Out Swinging, Want You Bad and Million Miles Away. The old sense of humour was there too, of course, in tongue-in-cheek hit single Original Prankster. The bands vocal stance in favour of file-sharing mightve hit sales, but the album still achieved a platinum rating and more importantly extended their crowd-pleasingrun.

35. Cave In Jupiter

Methuen, Massachusetts mavericks Cave In cemented their uber-ambitious credentials with this sophomore epic. Their meld of metal, post-hardcore, noise and alt.rock that was only really hinted at on 1998s debut LP Until Your Heart Stops and which was beginning to take shape on 1999s Creative Eclipses EP was in full-on psychedelic flow by the aptly-titled Jupiter. Openly inspired by outfits like Failure and Radiohead, the soundscape swells and subsides through the crushing Big Riff and on into the otherworldly In The Stream Of Commerce and acoustic closer New Moon. It remains the standout release in the catalogue of vocalist Caleb Scofield, who tragically died in a 2018 trafficaccident.

34. Amen We Have Come For Your Parents

Theres a single-minded political purpose that stands out even two decades down the line from Amens third full-length. Referencing Ohioan heroes Dead Boys 1978 release We Have Come For Your Children, We Have Come For Your Parents found frontman Casey Chaos on vitriolic form, with the socially-charged purpose of songs like Mayday, Dead On The Bible and Too Hard To Be Free feeling thrillingly ahead-of-their-time. That the video for lead single The Price Of Reality featured Casey reconfiguring Francis Bacons nightmarish 1954 painting Figure With Meat overlaid with fragments of lurid Americana speaks loudly to their lofty artisticambitions.

33. Soulfly Primitive

The use of 18 guest musicians across 12 tracks undermined the credibility of Max Cavaleras post-Sepultura project as early as its second album for some fans. With the benefit of hindsight, however and the nine more conventional Soulfly releases that have followed in its wake Primitive stands as a shapeshifting (yet slab-heavy) landmark in Maxs extended catalogue. Whether nailing-on big-name vocals (Slipknots Corey Taylor on Jumpdafuckup, Slayers Tom Arya on Terrorist) or dabbling in more experimentalist waters (Deftones Chino Moreno and Will Havens Geady Avenell crash the spring-loaded pain, while Sean son of John Lennon ruminates with Max over lost fathers on Son Song), this was a fascinating testament to the Brazilian legends towering reputation in heavymusic.

32. Pearl Jam Binaural

Binaural marked a major creative watershed for Seattle legends Pearl Jam. A decade since their formation, the band stepped away from producer Brendan OBrien (who had presided over the previous four releases) in favour of Tchad Blake and a more atmospheric, less hook-oriented sound. There were a handful of catchy cuts in Gods Dice, Evacuation, Grievance and Light Years, but the rest of the album is an unapologetically experimental affair that signposted the way for much of their later work. The ukulele-led Soon Forget even hinted at frontman Eddie Vedders later solooutput.

31. Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage

All bright ideas and rough-edged execution, Killswitch Engages debut remains a breathlessly exciting listen. Formed from the remnants of metalcore also-rans Aftershock, Overcast and Nothing Stays Gold with a band name nicked from an episode of The X-Files and eventually pivotal guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz on drums Killswitch were all about marrying the grandiosity of classic and death metal to the energy of the rising metalcore and NWOAM scenes. From cutting intro Temple From The Within (a match for the albums serrated artwork) to the high atmospherics of closer One Last Sunset, it was a fitting beginning to one of the most dramatic journeys in modernmetal.

30. Snot Strait Up

When troubled frontman Lynn Strait was struck and killed in a traffic accident on December 11, 1998, it seemed to have spelled the end for renowned Californian funk-metallers Snot. Having already started work on what would be their second LP, however, his bandmates decided to complete the project in tribute to their departed friend. Rather than welcoming an outsider into the fold, the decision was made to get Straits friends to fill in. The assembled cast of contributors from Serj Tankian and Jonathan Davis to Max Cavalera, Corey Taylor, Fred Durst and even Ozzy Osbourne was one of the most impressive in the history of heavy music. It was the lower-profile contribution of Sevendusts Lajon Witherspoon (and bandmates) on Angels Son, though, which would make for the albums stand-outtrack.

29. Rancid Rancid

If 1998s genre-defying Life Wont Wait proved that Berkeley roughs Rancid werent slaves to their street punk heritage, 2000s self-titled follow-up (not to be mistaken with 1993s also-self-titled debut) confirmed that they were still very much bound to it. Veering close to hardcore, its 22 tracks in 38 minutes are overflowing with aggression and energy, with the no-holds-barred likes of Disgruntled and Corruption loading on the Black Flag influence, while righteous ruminations like Antennas and Dead Bodies reaffirm their unimpeachable socialconscience.

28. Monster Magnet God Says No

It wasnt released until April 2001 in the US, but the fifth album from New Jersey stoner metal legends Monster Magnet dropped several months earlier for UK fans. Recorded in a turbulent flurry as the bands label A&M was being merged with Interscope and Geffen and less than two years since the release of banging breakthrough Powertrip there was an obvious element of striking while the iron was hot, with tracks like Heads Explode and Doomsday attempting to recapture the magic, while the industrial inflections on Queen Of You and Silver Future attempted to tap into the nu-metal zeitgeist. Oozing swagger, Dave Wyndorf and the boys had a fair bit of success,too.

27. Smashing Pumpkins Machina/The Machines Of God

Although roundly regarded as one of Smashing Pumpkins lesser releases, the sheer scope of ambition and stylistic dexterity exhibited on Machina demands celebration. Conceived as the self-referential swansong for a band whose brilliance has always been enhanced by their skirting on implosion, its broad, high-minded approach to songwriting was the antithesis of the knuckle-dragging nu-metal movement that so many of the rest of the rock mainstream had bought into. From bristling, overdriven opener The Everlasting Gaze through the deep textures of Stand Inside Your Love and the dreamy acoustic of Try, Try, Try to towering, heart-on-sleeve climax Wound, the swirl of bittersweet purpose here only feels intensified byage.

26. The White Stripes De Stijl

The second album from Detroit duo The White Stripes was arguably the greatest example of their combination of retro pop-rock and modern garage stylings. Quickly gaining buzz, the bands peculiar mystique (were they brother and sister; husband and wife; ex-lovers?) threatened to outshine their music on occasion. Whether peeling off some classic blues (Death Letter), spinning-45 swagger (Why Cant You Be Nicer To Me?), twanging country (Your Southern Can Is Mine) or Dylan-esque folk (A Boys Best Friend), however, they oozed weirdoclass.

25. Bad Religion The New America

From righteous punk rock to rabid extreme metal (see entry 12 on this list), there was a fixation on the idea of a New America that ran through rock music at the turn of the millennium. The eleventh album from Los Angeles stalwarts and the last of their major-label affiliation with Atlantic Records tackles the pitfalls of encroaching modernity with a pre-9/11 frivolity that seems strange now, especially on tracks like I Love My Computer and The Hopeless Housewife. But when Greg Graffin got personal discussing his punk coming of age (A Streetkid Named Desire) and recent divorce (1000 Memories) there was an unusual warmth and intimacy in the rebelsongwriting.

24. Wu-Tang Clan The W

Three years after theyd pushed the stylistic envelope with Wu-Tang Forever, New York hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan returned to the formula with which they had risen to fame. All stripped-back beats, grindhouse attitude, soul swagger and kung-fu punch, tracks like Hollow Bones and Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off) were the perfect soundtrack to back-street wrongdoings, generally avoiding macho posturing in favour of more streetwise hustle. Collaborations with heavyweights like Snoop Dogg (Conditioner), Nas (Let My Niggas Live) and Busta Rhymes (The Monument) emphasised their wide-ranging influence, while the appearance of soul legend Isaac Hayes on I Cant Go To Sleep showcased elements of velvety vulnerability thus farunseen.

23. HIM Razorblade Romance

Finnish Love Metallers HIM were at the absolute height of their powers on this scintillating sophomore offering. Painted in deepest gothic black and passionate blood red, concepts showcased on 1997 debut Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 were distilled into something singularly seductive. With frontman Ville Valo growing in confidence and his band nailing down their shadowy, surging schtick, songs like Poison Girl, Join Me In Death, Gone With The Sin and Right Here In My Arms swelled a swooning fanbase well beyond their homeland where as it happens the album raced to number one and eventually wentdouble-platinum.

22. Cradle Of Filth Midian

Heavily inspired by legendary Liverpudlian author Clive Barkers novel Cabal and its cinematic adaptation Nightbreed the fourth album from Suffolk metal extremists Cradle Of Filth unfolds as a nightmarish sort-of concept album, and the closest theyd ever get to a truly cinematic experience. Having welcomed guitarist Paul Allender back into the fold after five years away, their trademark twin-leads were swapped out for a more vicious style, with Dani Filths typically overblown performance, and some unapologetically hammy narration from Doug Bradley lending a horror movie accessibility to otherwise brutal cuts like Cthulhu Dawn. Meanwhile, the high gothic textures of Her Ghost In The Fog earned their most comprehensive mainstream exposureyet.

21. Disturbed The Sickness

The debut LP from nu-metal survivors Disturbed showcases the best and worst of what the movement had to offer, while also indicating the more straightforward hard rock direction with which they would find massive success. There are unheralded levels of cringe in the bone-headed lyricism of Stupify and the slathered-on synths of The Game, but there is bombastic brilliance, too, in David Draimans delivery across highlights like Voices and the ingenious absurdity of the now-iconic title track. Altogether now: Ooh, wah, ah, ah, ah oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,oh!

20. In Flames Clayman

Some argue that by the year 2000 In Flames were past their peak. Following on from the 1990s unholy trinity The Jester Race (1996), Whoracle (1997), Colony (1999) the future was clay in their hands, the Metallica conundrum looming large: stay put as big fish in the underground pond or break cover in a run for mainstream metal success? Going one last round with longtime producer Fredrik Nordstrm and refusing to blunt their razors edge on full-blooded bangers like Pinball Map and Another Day In Quicksand, there was the sense of one foot planted safely in their past. But with an influx of stadium-worthy hooks and a ramped-up focus on melody from the untouchable, oft-harmonised guitars of Jesper Stromblad and Bjorn Geloette turning tracks like Swim and Suburban Me into compositions worthy of a hoarse-throated Iron Maiden or Thin Lizzy, to the glaring synth-lines colouring Only For The Weak another found traction in freshground.

19. Napalm Death Enemy Of The Music Business

Having parted ways with their long-time management and seen tensions with Earache Records boil over following 1998s Words From The Exit Wound, Napalm Death were in bristling (but liberated) form going into their ninth LP. Ditching the deeper grooves that had characterised their late-90s run we saw a return to the grindcore violence they had pioneered. On the final record to feature guitarist Jesse Pintado, too, tracks like Vermin, Thanks For Nothing, Necessary Evil and Cure For The Common Complaint burn with renewed anti-establishment purpose. Excruciatinglybrilliant.

18. Electric Wizard Dopethrone

While the contemporary sludgy stoner doom genre was a recognisably American phenomenon, Dorset trio Electric Wizard had established themselves as purveyors of a brand of sonic suffocation every bit as heavy as anything from the other side of the Atlantic. Loading up the sheer heft of riffmasters like Black Sabbath, Sleep, Saint Vitus, Cathedral and Candlemass, and, er, electrifying it with a sense of manic, tripped-out purpose, they were already recognised as one of the heaviest bands on the planet. Dopethrone picked up where they had dropped off on 1997s Come My Fanatics with the crazy heaviosity of songs like Vinum Sabbathi and Funeralopolis setting the bar for years tocome.

17. Alkaline Trio Maybe I'll Catch Fire

Falling between landmark 1998 debut Goddamnit and 2001s commercial breakthrough From Here To Infirmary, Maybe Ill Catch Fire often feels like the overlooked gem of Alkaline Trios back-catalogue. After relatively optimistic opener Keep Em Coming, the record unfolds a shade darker than what had preceded it. Madam Me is all stabbing six-strings and pained regret, Youve Got So Far To Go is one of their best-ever Dan Andriano cuts and album closer Radio with that immortal opening line Shaking like a dog shittin razorblades / Wakin up next to nothin has become arguably their most instantly-recognisable anthem. The fireburns.

16. Papa Roach Infest

CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES, THIS IS MY LAST RESORT! With their numerous reinventions and renaissances since, Papa Roach have put serious distance between themselves and the scene from which they emerged, but their smashing second LP remains their apparently immovable high watermark. Detonating dance-floors with Last Resort, tugging heartstrings with Broken Home and getting under our skin with Between Angels And Insects, Jacoby Shaddixs Californian mob delivered angst-overload via the hookiest songwriting nu-metal would eversee.

15. Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

Across four sprawling tracks comprising almost 90-minutes of music, Canadian collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor redefined post-rock for the new millennium. Presented across two discs whose artwork did not feature the bands name, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven painted a potent yet mysterious apocalyptic vision of capitalist society in collapse. A ravaged, largely wordless soundscape that veers between moments of rattling dissonance and others of transcendent beauty sampled voices occasionally peeking through this still feels like a strangely sepia-toned glimpse into a broken future just about tounfold.

14. Glassjaw Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence

On the strength of a demo recorded with local producer Don Fury, New York post-hardcore upstarts Glassjaw found themselves being championed by the mighty Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit), signed to Roadrunner Records and whipped across the country for recording at Robinsons renowned Indigo Ranch studio in Malibu, California. These twelve tracks were the result. Although the label (from which the band split, somewhat acrimoniously) didnt seem to know what to do with the explosion of emotions at play in songs like Pretty Lush, Siberian Kiss and Ry Rys Song, their biting brilliance and enduring influence has been transparent in the yearssince.

13. The Hives Veni Vidi Vicious

As evidenced elsewhere on this list, there was a huge garage-rock revival in the early-2000s with bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes, Kings Of Leon and Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs all playing their part but few outfits broke out with the unabashed abandon and sheer sense of fun that we got from Swedish wildcards The Hives. Led-on by uber-charismatic frontman/ringleader Howlin Pelle Almqvist, the high-energy likes of Hate To Say I Told You So, Main Offender and Die, All Right felt custom-tooled to get bodies shaking and fists pumping. Crucially, there was a wry self-awareness that meant both band and fans were enjoying the stupidly good times with no stringsattached.

12. Lamb Of God New American Gospel

By 2000, Lamb Of God were shaping up as one of the dominant forces of the New Wave Of American Metal and they hit the next millennium with a fresh name (previous moniker Burn The Priest having been jettisoned to avoid accusations that they were an overtly Satanic outfit) and debut album to prove it. Bridging the gap between the brutalist death-inflected sounds with which they emerged and the groovier direction that would lead them to the top of the metal mountain, New American Gospel isnt the best LOG release, but killer cuts like Black Label and Pariah cement its importance in the millennial metallandscape.

11. AFI The Art Of Drowning

After nine years and four previous LPs, The Art Of Drowning finally saw shady Californian punks AFI make some kind of mark on the mainstream. While still flirting with the horror-punk of their early years, this was slower and more melodic with a pronounced gothic influence bleeding through tracks like Ever And A Day and 6 To 8. They confidently showcase other shades, too: surging stand-out The Days Of The Phoenix burning with a sense of arms-in-the-air catharsis while The Lost Souls blueprints much of the punchiness and raw emotion with which they would ascend to real stardom on 2003s Sing TheSorrow.

10. Pantera Reinventing The Steel

Although its roundly recognised as the weakest offering released after their 1990 reinvention, there is a pugilistic defiance about Panteras final LP that ensures it cannot be ignored. With internal cracks stressed further by massive external pressure, the album is characterised by the tension between classic metal (of which the band had become regarded as defenders), the increasingly experimental tendencies of the Abbott brothers and the more extreme death and black metal influence frontman Phil Anselmo was keen to explore. Chuck the baggage to one side, though, and tracks like Revolution Is My Name and Ill Cast A Shadow standtall.

9. Green Day Warning

Although the album marked something of a commercial dip for the Berkeley punk heavyweights, Warning found Green Day daringly evolving their sound in a way that would prove pivotal. Building on the foundations laid by 1997s Nimrod, there was less outright high-tempo punk influence, with shades of pop and folk often coming to the fore. The jangling acoustic attitude of the title track and underrated minimalist melancholia of anti-commercialism closer Macys Day Parade showcased Billie Joe Armstrongs more nuanced songwriting, while the thumping Minority sowed the seeds of more political thinking that would bear world-conquering fruit with their next LP: 2004s AmericanIdiot.

8. Limp Bizkit Chocolate Starfish & The Hot Dog Flavoured Water

Limp Bizkit took the ridiculous/sublime dynamism of nu-metal to its (il)logical conclusion. From its bewildering lyrics (Ben Stiller, you are my favourite motherfucker!) to frontman Fred Dursts insufferable wannabe-celebrity swagger to an album title literally referencing the human anus, Chocolate Starfish had no right to succeed. But with guitarist Wes Borland embracing the insanity, cranked-to-11 smashers like My Generation, Rollin and Take A Look Around won pretty much everyone over regardless, setting sales-records for a rock band and burrowing into the subconscious of a whole generation offans.

7. Iron Maiden Brave New World

Iron Maiden mightve never officially gone away, but 2000s Brave New World remains one of the greatest comebacks in the history of heavy metal. Having struggled with artistic decline and dwindling audience numbers for the best part of the 1990s, the British metal legends welcomed human air-raid siren singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith back into the fold, setting up their ultimate three-guitar line-up and giving their sound an epic escalation perfectly befitting 2002s subsequently iconic live album Rock In Rio. From pounding opener The Wicker Man via the stirring Blood Brothers to high-wire closer The Thin Line Between Love And Hate, Brave New World opened the floodgates for a bright newera.

6. A Perfect Circle Mer De Noms

A Perfect Circle became one of the more remarkable metal side-projects of the millennium for a variety of reasons. When Billy Howerdel transitioned from working as guitar tech to alt.metal figurehead in his own right and managed to recruit Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan as vocalist, the stage was set for a musical blend that combined the thumping heaviness of Tool with an atmospheric dexterity more like something from a movie soundtrack. Mer de Noms (French for Sea Of Names) was the grandstanding first release. Mesmeric highlight Judith remains the landmark, but the darker shades of 3 Libras and The Hollow were further stand-out singles, while the mysterious likes of Sleeping Beauty and Thinking Of You expanded that rich initialworld-building.

5. At The Drive-In Relationship Of Command

If, as many believed, American hard rock was crying out for saviours at the turn of the millennium, big-haired El Paso collective At The Drive-In were the heroes wed been holding out for. Righteous anger and unbound creativity spilled freely from Cedric Bixlers almost Dio like vocals and Omar Rodriguezs hard guitars on One Armed Scissor and Invalid Letter Dept. Hell, the king of punk himself, Iggy Pop, even crops up to lend guest vocals on the agitprop firecracker Rolodex Propaganda. The record has been lauded many times since as one of the most important rock records of all time, and its damn hard toargue.

4. Marilyn Manson Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)

Even after the shock-rock-redefining greatness of 1996 Antichrist Superstar and 1998s Mechanical Animals, Marilyn Mansons ferocious fourth album is the release that lingers in so many fans minds. Featuring that mega-provocative image of a jawless Manson as the crucified Christ, the record was a scathing response to the scapegoating that perceived artistic martyrdom Manson suffered in response to the 1999 Columbine school shooting. Returning fire, the God Of Fuck opened-up on guns, God and government, attacking the moral ignorance and hypocritical rot at the heart of modern America from rock-club-ready bangers Disposable Teens and The Fight Song to The Nobodies lingering creep, the rigour-mortise jerk of Cruci-fiction In Space and despondent closer Count To Six And Die (The Vacuum Of Infinite SpaceEncompassing).

3. Queens Of The Stone Age Rated R

Although 1998s cult classic, self-titled debut slipped under the radar somewhat, Rated R catapulted Queens Of The Stone Age straight into rocks mainstream. Having already contributed to Seattle stalwarts Screaming Trees, fronted desert-rock icons Kyuss and co-founded boogie-rockers Eagles Of Death Metal, Josh Homme was a respected face in the scene. This was the moment he really stepped into the sun, though. Bringing aboard livewire bassist Nick Oliveri, eventual EODM co-conspirator Gene Trautmann and Trees frontman Mark Lanegan, wordily-titled hits The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret and Feel Good Hit Of The Summer were towering tentpoles, but it was the consistency of inspiration and invention from the fast-fire Quick And To The Pointless to sprawling closer I Think I Lost My Headache that made this an all-timeclassic.

2. Deftones White Pony

Although Deftones entire catalogue demands a degree of reverence, White Pony remains their undisputed masterpiece. Severing ties, for good, with the flailing nu-metal genre into which they had been lumped, the Sacramento visionaries delivered their most artful, progressive offering. Bred from the battle for creative control and subsequent brinkmanship between guitarist Stephen Carpenter and vocalist Chino Moreno (who had recently picked up his own six-string), the breakneck shifts from extreme heaviness to near-ambience created a tension and pulsating ebb-and-flow. The textural contributions of electronic specialist Frank Delgado added yet another dimension to tracks, from the crashing Mini Maggit to the ethereal Digital Bath and brooding mega-single Change (In The House Of Flies). The appearance of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan (at the height of his powers) on the incredible Passenger was further icing on thecake.

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The 50 Best Albums From 2000 - Kerrang!

Live Updates: Oregon COVID-19 Deaths, Infections Continue To Climb – OPB News

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The Oregon Health Authority announced three new COVID-19 deaths Saturday, and 353 new diagnoses. Since the start of the pandemic, 14,149 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Oregon and 257 havedied.

The more densely populated Portland area continues to drive the rise in cases, with 149 new confirmed and presumptive new cases in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties onSaturday.

Away from Portland, Marion County reported 31 diagnoses, Lane County reported 37, and Umatilla County reported35.

The state provided these details about the people whose deaths it announcedSaturday:

Related:COVID-19 In Oregon: By TheNumbers

This map shows new cases of COVID-19 in each ZIP code in Oregon.ZIP codes are colored by the number of cases per 10,000 residents.ZIPs are shaded to show contrast; rates in Oregon remain lower than most of the U.S.

Health officials in Clark County, Washington, said Friday that another 44 people had tested positive for COVID-19 and a man in his 60s had died. Its not clear if the man who died had underlying healthconditions.

To date, 1,434 residents of the southwest Washington county have tested positive for COVID-19 and 34 people havedied.

According to the latest available data, Washington has 44,313 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,427 known deaths. As of Wednesday, coronavirus has led to the hospitalization of 4,944peopleinWashington.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has warnedthat if case numbers dont improve, he may have to start shutting down the economy again. Counties throughout the state will have to remain in their current phase of reopening until atleastJuly28.

Top Republican lawmakers are asking Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to reconsider her decision to tether Clackamas County to Multnomah and Washington counties as the stateeases COVID-19 restrictionsin the midst of thepandemic.

Coupling Clackamas County with the two most urban and densely populated counties in Oregon is unwarranted and unnecessarily burdens our local communities and businesses who are already struggling during this economic downturn, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said in a statement. The county commissioners have asked for this policy to be reconsidered, and today we echotheirplea.

But the Clackamas Board of Commissioners stepped back from asking the governor to take a new look at the countys application to further ease restrictions, amid a statewide surge in newdiagnoses.

Read more:Oregon Republicans Push To Reconsider Portland-area ReopeningStrategy

The Oregon Employment Department has introducedanonline formit hopes willmake it easier for Oregonians to apply for its Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program the unemployment benefit program for self-employed, contract and gigworkers.

The agency said the new form, created in partnership with Google, will allow the more than 100,000 people who have already applied for so-called PUA benefits to get their weekly paymentsfaster.

The form seeks to automate the weekly certification process that PUA applicants must complete. The form also should ensure that all applications are received with complete information, according to the Employment Department. The agency said the previous process included a PDF which resulted in some forms mistakenly being submitted blank, itsaid.

This is an encouraging step forward for Oregonians whove been waiting for benefits, as well as for the department. I am pleased we have made these changes and pledge that we will continue finding better ways to serve you, Oregon Employment Department Acting Director David Gerstenfeld said in astatement.

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Live Updates: Oregon COVID-19 Deaths, Infections Continue To Climb - OPB News

Is it safe to strike up the band in a time of coronavirus? – Science Magazine

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A new study suggests thatif wind instruments were covered in cloth, they could produce less of the particles that can carry the new coronavirus.

By Jason PlautzJul. 17, 2020 , 4:00 PM

Science's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

As U.S. schools and colleges debate how to reopen amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, band directors and musicians are wondering whenor whethermusic can be played safely. A new study finds that while musical instruments do generate airborne particles that could carry SARS-CoV-2, the risks for performers and audience may be manageable.

There is almost no research on whether musical instruments produce the airborne particlesor aerosolsthat can transmit the novel coronavirus. So its impossible to know whether keeping 2 meters away is enough to stay safe from a trumpet at full blast.

Without data, schools were already cutting band rehearsals out of fear, said Mark Spede, president of the College Band Directors National Association. Given the potential threat to music education and the livelihoods of musicians around the globe, Spedes group and the National Federation of High School State Associations raised about $275,000 from more than 100 arts groups to study the safety of performing during the pandemic.

Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder,had five student musiciansa soprano singer and clarinet, flute, French horn, and trumpet playersenter a clean room one at a time. The room was normally used for indoor air pollution research, and it was outfitted with tight seals, and multiple high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters remove almost all particles from the air.

The participants performed a short solo piece with a wide range of high and low notes and different styles of playing, including a smooth chorale and a staccato march. The players angled their instruments openings toward a series of tubes that feed into a trio of particle monitors that detected aerosols of different sizes. An imaging system also captured the airflow around the musicians to visualize where the particles moved.

The initial resultswhich were released online this week without peer reviewshowed for the first time thatthe instruments can produce aerosols in the range of sizes that can carry the COVID-19 virus. These aerosols can also stay airborne for long periods of time, and different instruments produced different amounts. For instance, the trumpet and clarinet, which run straighter from the mouthpiece to the instrument opening, had higher concentrations of aerosols.

To reduce the spread of aerosols, the researchers tested instrument covers, such as a cloth covering for the opening or a sack covering an entire clarinet; both effectively reduced aerosols, in some cases by half, without deadening their sound.

Another team at the University of Maryland, College Park,used computer models to examine whether an infected musician might spread the virus in different conditions. The modeling confirmed the importance of distancing to avoid infected plumes. It also suggested that conventional ventilation systems, where air supply and exhaust are both on the ceiling, are less effective than those in which the exhaust is on the floor.

The results add to recent work on airflow from instruments. A study in May had Vienna Philharmonic wind andstring musicians play after inhaling a mistthat is illuminated by headlights when exhaled. Another study, conducted this spring in Germany,tracked air flowfrom wind instruments. Both found that instruments produced less airflow than singing (although flutes produced more than other wind instruments).

Bernhard Richter, an otolaryngology specialist and co-director of the Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine, who led the German study, says his teams initial results could inform safety recommendations. And he says the new aerosol work will offer even more sophisticated data. We don't know enough about aerosols and the critical issue of how they are spreading.

The researchers behind the aerosol study will now gather data from additional instruments, singers, dancers, and actors. Those could give a fuller picture of potential risks of performance and improve computer modeling on the effectiveness of distancing and air circulation, says Shelly Miller,an engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who helped run the study.

Based on the initial findings, the organizations that funded the study recommend that indoor rehearsal rooms and performance venues use HEPA filters and increase circulation, and that musicians use instrument covers. They also recommend 2 meters of distancing and that performers face the same direction, which could limit band or orchestra size.

Miller says she hopes further data recommendations will let the band play on. Its heartbreaking to halt these activities because we dontknow if theyre hazardous or not.

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Is it safe to strike up the band in a time of coronavirus? - Science Magazine

How The Coronavirus Spread Through One Immigration Facility – KPBS

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Gregory Arnold walked into the wardens office April 1 as the novel coronavirus ripped through one of the largest immigration detention centers in the United States. Waiting with about 40 guards to begin his shift, he heard a captain say face masks were prohibited.

Incredulous, he and a guard who recently gave birth wanted to hear it from the boss. Arnold told Warden Christopher LaRose that he was 60 years old and lived with an asthmatic son.

Well, you cant wear the mask because we dont want to scare the employees and we dont want to scare the inmates and detainees, Arnold recalls the warden saying.

With all due respect, sir, thats ridiculous. Arnold retorted.

He said he wanted to wear a mask and gloves, and everyone else should be doing the same. But the warden was unmoved. And in the weeks that followed, Otay Mesa Detention Center would see the first big outbreak at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements 221 detention centers.

The origins of the outbreak are uncertain, but accounts of workers and detainees reveal shortcomings in how the private company that manages the center handled the disease: There was an early absence of facial coverings, and a lack of cleaning supplies. Symptomatic detainees were mixed with others.

Other centers would follow with their own outbreaks, and a Homeland Security Department internal watchdog survey of 188 detention centers taken in mid-April echoed some of what The Associated Press found at Otay Mesa: 19% of facility directors said there werent enough standard surgical masks, 32% said there werent enough N95 respirator masks, and 37% felt there wasnt enough hand sanitizer for detainees.

Like prisons, living conditions are cramped -- except people held in immigration detention centers arent accused of any crimes. They wait to appear before an immigration judge to argue they should be allowed to remain in the country.

Otay Mesa sits on a tucked-away periphery of San Diego amid vehicle storage lots, a gas-fired power plant, a state prison, county jail and juvenile detention camp. ICEs average daily population of 956 detainees last year made it the agencys 11th-busiest detention center.

The squat, two-story facility -- managed under contract by CoreCivic Inc. and shared with U.S. Marshals Service inmates -- is surrounded by two layers of chain-link fence topped by razor wire. Rooms of two to four bunk beds open into common areas with televisions, sofas and board games.

Margarita Smith, a guard who was named CoreCivics Otay Mesa employee of the year in 2019, said managers frequently discouraged workers from wearing masks. The topic came up during briefings in March.

They didnt want anyone wearing masks, said Smith, who was tapped by CoreCivic to lead an employee morale committee in January. They said it would frighten the detainees and make them think that were sick or something.

In a court filing, LaRose, the warden, said policies on masks evolved with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staff was required to wear them around quarantined detainees and they were optional for other employees starting the third week of March, he said, a statement that Arnold and Smith dispute.

RELATED: More Than 65 Medically Vulnerable Detainees Released From Otay Mesa Detention Center

Arnold said he wore a mask after learning about the detention centers first case on March 31, an employee who handed out equipment to guards starting their shifts. Unaware of any ban on facial coverings, detainees thanked him.

I was disgusted, Arnold said. Its obvious this thing was ramping up. I knew it was going to happen. I could just tell.

The contractor gave masks to detainees on April 10 but on condition they sign an English-language liability waiver, according to several detainees. It quickly retreated after a tense showdown with detainees.

Everyone was screaming, said Issis Zavala of Honduras, who refused to sign but was released with an ankle bracelet because a 2007 bout of tuberculosis made her vulnerable. They said, You just sign it. OK, if you dont want to sign, well just go.

On March 17, the day that San Diego limited public gatherings to 50 people and closed restaurants, colleagues gathered to grill the warden. One recalled wondering why so many people -- including about half the lieutenants -- were allowed to gather so closely together in one room.

When an employee pressed for clean rags, the warden answered twice that there was no need because the chemicals used for cleaning were very powerful. Others asked when they would get more wipes and gels.

Gloves were hard to find, Smith said. Arnold said the ones he saw were too small for his hands. Hand sanitizer dispensers were often empty.

Feeling the warden wasnt taking the virus seriously, Smith felt she had no choice. At 48, she missed a week of work in early March with pneumonia, has asthma and had been sick off and on since November.

She quit. I thought to myself Im not going to get sick again, she said. I just had a feeling that things werent going to go good.

The detainees, of course, had not choice but to stay. Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, Mexicos consul general in San Diego, wrote ICE April 16 about a generalized fear among detainees, raising concerns about mixing ill and asymptomatic detainees and requiring liability waivers for masks. A consulate hotline got more than 100 calls.

Common grievances included a lack of personal hygiene products, social distancing and masks, Gonzalez Gutierrez said. They complained that they were instructed to drink saltwater to deal with pain, and that employees were not wearing personal protective equipment.

CoreCivic spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist said the contractor rigorously followed guidance of health officials and ICE. She noted the CDC didnt fully embrace masks until the first week of April and said employees and detainees get face coverings without having to sign a waiver.

We have responded to this unprecedented situation appropriately, thoroughly and with care for the safety and well-being of those entrusted to us and our communities, she said.

Zelaya, 35, said instructions came to wipe surfaces every hour on March 30 but rags were dirty. She used the same towel to clean toilets, door handles, phone receivers -- and her hands.

I clean houses, Zelaya remembers telling guards. You cant use the same towel.

Oh, we have a special chemical. It kills the bacteria, Zelaya said she was told.

RELATED: Immigrant Held At Otay Mesa Detention Center Dies From Coronavirus

Victor Rodriguez, 44, was among 35 detainees who went on a five-day hunger strike April 4. The Guatemalan man was upset about a detainee who worked in the dining hall handling food and appeared to have a fever, for which he was given ibuprofen. (CoreCivic said it prohibited detainees with symptoms from working in the kitchen and that it followed CDC guidelines on cleaning and disinfectants.)

Authorities insist detainees had plenty of free soap -- 23,300 bars from March 24 to April 23 -- but Rodriguez said the bar he got daily was barely enough to wash his hands or shower. Hand-sanitizer requests were denied because authorities worried they could be used for homemade alcohol.

Elizabeth Cruz, 22, said a detainee who was coughing badly in their cell the first week of April was removed for about a week, returned and removed again before testing positive. Cruz said she reported chest pain and breathing difficultly for two weeks but couldnt get more than allergy medication.

I know my body and I am not well, she remembers telling a nurse, who told her there was nothing more she could do.

Cruz, of El Salvador, eventually tested positive and was placed in isolation with eight other infected detainees.

The virus has brought renewed scrutiny to ICE. The agency housed an all-time high of more than 56,000 people last year, with more than 500,000 bookings over a 12-month period, but policies to severely limit asylum and recent releases aimed at controlling the virus reduced the population to 22,340.

Overall, ICE has had 3,596 detainees test positive -- 27% of those tested. Of those, 967 are currently in custody -- the rest were released, deported or have recovered. At ICE, 45 detention center workers have tested positive, along with an undisclosed number of contractors.

Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, told reporters in May in San Diego that ICE stopped taking detainees at Otay Mesa and one or two others and will continue to release the elderly and medically fragile. ICE cut the population at Otay Mesa by more than half in three months to 376 from 761 on April 1.

For weeks, Otay Mesa had the dubious distinction of the most cases in the ICE system but the spread effectively stopped; 168 detainees have tested positive since the start of the outbreak, as have 11 ICE employees and more than 30 CoreCivic workers. ICE said in a statement that increased testing and isolating detainees who tested positive contributed to improved conditions.

Cases are surging at facilities in Farmville, Virginia, with 315 detainees having tested positive, Anson, Texas, with 290, Eloy, Arizona, with 250 and Houston with 206, At Eloy, 128 of about 315 employees had tested positive as of earlier this month, according to CoreCivic, which manages the facility.

Arnold resigned after his April 1 confrontation with the warden, just as the virus was tearing through Otay Mesa. Smith took a two-week leave before resigning, torn over her loyalty to the job and what she considers is CoreCivics tendency to cut corners. Both have sued the company in federal court.

CoreCivic will address the guards accounts in court, Gilchrist said, but we can say generally that we deny their specious and sensationalized allegations that are designed to obtain a favorable outcome in court. Daniel Struck, an attorney for the warden, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Smith and Arnold believe the spread started with someone from outside -- perhaps a guard or lawyer. Smith called detainees sitting ducks.

After the first officer got it, it was like a fire there, Smith said. It just took off after that.

KPBS' daily news podcast covering local politics, education, health, environment, the border and more. New episodes are ready weekday mornings so you can listen on your morning commute.

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Coronavirus symptoms fall into six different groupings, study finds – The Guardian

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Symptoms of Covid-19 appear to fall into six different groupings, researchers have revealed, in work they say could help to predict whether a patient will end up needing a ventilator or other breathing support.

The team say the findings could give healthcare providers several days advanced warning of demand for hospital care and respiratory support.

But it could also help flag patients at risk of becoming seriously ill, meaning home support, such as an oxygen meter or nurse visits, could be provided so that any deterioration is spotted quickly and hospital attendance is prompt. At present, the team added, the average time to get to hospital with Covid-19 is 13 days.

Anything you can do earlier to stop people coming in half-dead is going to increase the chance of survival and also stop clogging up hospital beds unnecessarily, said Prof Tim Spector of Kings College London, a co-author of the work.

The study, which is published on medRxiv and has not yet been peer-reviewed, is based on data from the teams app, which has more than 4 million users.

The researchers drew on data from 1,653 users who tested positive for Covid-19, reported persistent symptoms and regularly logged updates on their health and situation. Overall, 383 of these users made at least one trip to hospital, and 107 required either extra oxygen or ventilation.

The team then used machine learning algorithms a type of artificial intelligence to explore whether some symptoms, among the 14 monitored, cluster together. The results suggest six different groupings based on the type of symptoms, when they occurred, and their duration within the first 14 days of participants sickness.

And there was more. We saw that there was a very clear gradient between these clusters and outcomes in terms of [participants need for] respiratory support, said Dr Claire Steves, clinical senior author on the paper from Kings College London, adding other factors such as older age or certain pre-existing medical conditions were more common in some groups.

The six groupings, or clusters, are:

Cluster 1: Mainly upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as a persistent cough, with muscle pain also present. About 1.5% of patients in this group required respiratory support, with 16% making one or more trips to hospital. This was the most common cluster of symptoms, affecting 462 participants.

Cluster 2: Mainly upper respiratory tract symptoms, but also a greater frequency of skipped meals and fever. Of patients in this group 4.4% required respiratory support, with 17.5% making one or more trips to hospital.

Cluster 3: Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, but few other symptoms. While only 3.7% of patients in this group later needed respiratory support, almost 24% made at least one visit to hospital.

Cluster 4: Early signs of severe fatigue, continuous chest pain and cough. Of patients in this group 8.6% required respiratory support, with 23.6% making one or more trips to hospital.

Cluster 5: Confusion, skipped meals and severe fatigue. Of patients in this group 9.9% required respiratory support, with 24.6% making one or more trips to hospital.

Cluster 6: Marked respiratory distress including early onset of breathlessness and chest pain, as well as confusion, fatigue and gastrointestinal symptoms. Almost 20% of this group needed respiratory support and 45.5% made one or more visits to hospital. But this was the least common symptom cluster, affecting 167 participants.

The team said the first two clusters seem to be milder forms of Covid-19.

Similar groupings were found when the researchers repeated the work with data from 1,047 different app users, with the team adding headaches, and loss of smell and taste, which cropped up in all clusters, but the latter was longer lasting in milder cases.

The researchers say tracking symptoms improves the ability to predict the trajectory of a Covid-19 patient.

Spector said: By recording all the symptoms and when they occur in something like a medical app you can significantly increase the ability to predict who is going to need hospital support, and potentially save lives.

Based on the first five days of reported symptoms, together with patient characteristics such as age, sex and pre-existing medical conditions, the team could predict 79% of the time whether a patient would later need respiratory support. Using patient characteristics alone, this figure was just under 70%; chance would give a figure of 50%.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the1918 influenza pandemicthat killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated albeit more mildly in subsequent flu pandemics.

How and why multiple-wave outbreaks occur, and how subsequent waves of infection can be prevented, has become a staple of epidemiological modelling studies and pandemic preparation, which have looked at everything from social behaviour and health policy to vaccination and the buildup of community immunity, also known as herd immunity.

Is there evidence of coronavirus coming back in a second wave?

This is being watched very carefully. Without a vaccine, and with no widespread immunity to the new disease, one alarm is being sounded by the experience of Singapore, which has seen a suddenresurgence in infectionsdespite being lauded for its early handling of the outbreak.

Although Singapore instituted a strong contact tracing system for its general population, the disease re-emerged incramped dormitory accommodationused by thousands of foreign workers with inadequate hygiene facilities and shared canteens.

Singapores experience, although very specific, has demonstrated the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes set up to counter it.

In June 2020, Beijing suffered from a new cluster of coronavirus cases which caused authorities to re-implement restrictions that China had previously been able to lift. In the UK, the city of Leicester was unable to come out of lockdown because of the development of a new spike of coronavirus cases. Clusters also emerged in Melbourne, requiring a re-imposition of lockdown conditions.

What are experts worried about?

Conventional wisdom among scientists suggests second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted. In this case the concern is that the social and political consensus supporting lockdowns is being overtaken by public frustration and the urgent need to reopen economies.

The threat declines when susceptibility of the population to the disease falls below a certain threshold or when widespread vaccination becomes available.

In general terms the ratio of susceptible and immune individuals in a population at the end of one wave determines the potential magnitude of a subsequent wave. The worry is that witha vaccine still many months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves.

Peter Beaumont

Prof Alastair Denniston of the University of Birmingham, and an expert in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, warned that the approach did not give a precise prediction of the risk of severe sickness, and said the results were based on data from app users, meaning they may not hold across the wider population.

But, he added, the study has merit. This new use of symptom data is an important additional tool in helping us estimate risk in patients, and you could see how it could be helpful in trying to ensure people at highest risk get the extra monitoring and earlier intervention they need, he said.

Louise Wain, British Lung Foundation professor of respiratory research at the University of Leicester and one of the leads of the Phosp-Covid long-term follow-up study, addedthe findings could also shed light on who might benefit most from medicines such as dexamethasone.

But, she said, questions remain. We do still also need to understand how early disease trajectories relate to how quickly and completely people recover after theyve had the virus, and whether they can be used to identify those at greatest risk of long-term effects.

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U.S. Says Russian Hackers Are Trying To Steal Coronavirus Vaccine Research – NPR

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A volunteer receives a shot in a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine. U.S. intelligence officials say Russian hackers are attempting to break into U.S. health care organizations working on a vaccine. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

A volunteer receives a shot in a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine. U.S. intelligence officials say Russian hackers are attempting to break into U.S. health care organizations working on a vaccine.

The National Security Agency, as well as its counterparts in Britain and Canada, all said Thursday that they're seeing persistent attempts by Russian hackers to break into organizations working on a potential coronavirus vaccine.

The Western intelligence agencies say they believe the hackers are part of the Russian group informally known as Cozy Bear. The intelligence agencies refer to it as APT29.

That group has been linked to Russian intelligence and was blamed for hacking Democratic Party emails in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"APT29 has a long history of targeting governmental, diplomatic, think-tank, health care and energy organizations for intelligence gain so we encourage everyone to take this threat seriously," said Anne Neuberger, the NSA's cybersecurity director.

Russia denied the accusation.

"We can say one thing Russia has nothing at all to do with these attempts," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.

The Western intelligence agencies did not name any of the organizations being targeted. In addition, there was no word on whether the hackers had obtained any information, or what they might do with any such information.

But for several months now, the U.S. and others have been warning health care organizations to safeguard all sensitive information related to a potential vaccine.

"We are imploring all those research facilities and hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that are doing really great research to do everything in their power to protect it," Bill Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told NPR in May.

Prior to Thursday's announcement, U.S. officials had already been warning about China, which has has a long track record of stealing Western intellectual property.

"We have the full expectation that China will do everything in their power to obtain any viable research that we are conducting here in the U.S.," Evanina said back in May. "That will be in line with their capabilities and intent the last decade plus, and we are expecting them to continue to do so."

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U.S. Says Russian Hackers Are Trying To Steal Coronavirus Vaccine Research - NPR

What Travellers Need to Know Before Going to The Bahamas – South Florida Caribbean News

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Variety of Options for All Travellers Across Islands Of The Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas The Bahamas is pleased to be welcoming international travellers back to the beautiful island nation.

Just a short flight or boat ride from the U.S., The Islands Of The Bahamas are perfectly situated to spoil travellers with an unforgettable tropical escape thats close to home.

With 16 islands to choose from, there is something to appeal to all interests, no matter how social or distant travellers prefer to be.

Visitors will find secluded stretches of beaches and turquoise waters, accommodations to satisfy every type of family, and outdoor adventures like boating, fishing and diving.

The health and wellbeing of both residents and visitors remains the number one priority, and even greater emphasis is being put on ensuring The Bahamas is a safe and clean destination for all to enjoy.

It is recommended that all travellers review requirements and Frequently Asked Questions at Bahamas.com/travelupdates before booking to determine what steps need to be taken to be granted entry.

For all questions regarding the Health Visa application process, or to check on status of your application, contact healthvisa@bahamas.com.

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Top 10 Islands in the Caribbean and the Bahamas – KCTV Kansas City

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Top 10 Islands in the Caribbean and the Bahamas - KCTV Kansas City

Two new COVID-19 cases in Grand Bahama – EyeWitness News

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS Health officials have confirmed two additional cases of COVID-19 in Grand Bahama, taking the total number of cases to 113.

This follows an announcement from Pizza Hut Freeport, which advised today that a team member from its Mall location has tested positive for COVID-19.

Grand Bahama has seen a spike in new cases with eight cases in six days.

On Wednesday, health officials confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 on Grand Bahama after there had been no cases on the island for more than 60 days.

The pair confirmed on Wednesday were the first cases for the country in more than three weeks.

The Pizza Hut employee is currently in quarantine and receiving treatment as needed, the company said in a statement.

All employees exposed to the team member have been identified by the Ministry of Health and are in self-isolation, the statement read.

The health and well being of our team members and customers is our number one priority, especially in these uncertain times.

The restaurant was temporarily closed for sanitization and is expected to reopen on Wednesday.

There have been 16 confirmed cases in Grand Bahama, 83 in New Providence, one in Cat Cay, and 13 on Bimini.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health also advised that its dashboard has been updated to include a tab for non-COVID related deaths.

There were two individuals who were previously confirmed to have COVID-19 who passed away, the statement read.

A review was completed with local and international personnel who confirmed that the deaths were not due to COVID-19.

Therefore, the dashboard will now feature the tab Non-COVID Related Deaths to classify a patient that was diagnosed with COVID-19, but the cause of death was not due to COVID-19.

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Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Will Be Kept In US Custody After His Fiances Familys Bahamas Real Estate Was Rejected as Bail Collateral – artnet News

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In a telephone pre-trial hearing yesterday evening, art dealer Inigo Philbrick, who was officially indicted on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theftby the US government on July 13, was denied bail and ordered to be held in a Manhattan correctional facility.

The bulk of the evenings hearing centered on Philbricks actions over the past several months, his perceived intentions, and whether he posed a flight risk.

It emerged that Philbricks mother, Jane, was willing to put up her house in Connecticut as bond for his release. Philbricks fiance, former reality TV star Victoria Baker-Harber, and her family were also willing to put up additional collateral, including real estate in the Bahamas, and other assets abroad, worth an estimated $2 million.

When he left, he abandoned his art galleries and abruptly stopped communicating with clients and lenders. He stopped responding to the legal process, assistant US Attorney Cecilia Vogel, arguing against granting bail, said during the hearing, noting various international legal claims against Philbrick.

Vogel said that following his arrest in Juneon the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, to where he fled in October as a slew of asset-seizure claims were filed against him,he made several post-arrest statements that indicated his intent to flee.

Vogel argued that Philbrick was under the impression that Vanuatu had no extradition agreement with the US or most other countries, so that it was difficult to apprehend him while he was there.

She called $25 million a conservative estimate of his overall fraud scheme and said that wire transfer records indicated that between 2016 and 2019, over $200 million flowed through accounts that Philbrick controlled.

Im not claiming all of it was fraudulent, but it gives you an idea of the volume of business he was doing, Vogel said, adding that it is possible he has assets abroad that allowed him to support himself while he was a fugitive in Vanuatu. She surmised that those same assets might be available to him if he were to flee again.

In a lengthy counterargument, Philbricks attorney, Peter Brill, argued that Philbrick flew very high and sank very low. He said that Philbricks current assets were in the realm of only tens of thousands of dollars, and that his entire business had collapsed and he had no money to pay his attorneys. He has been supported by his fiance and her family.

A now-deleted Instagram photo of Victoria Baker-Harber with Inigo Philbrick. Photo courtesy: Wikinetworth.com

Brill did not respond to Artnet Newss additional request for comment.

Brill said Philbrick went to Vanuatu in part at the suggestion ofBaker-Harber, who has family in Fiji.

The cliche of the South Pacific island where no one can reach you is certainly not great optics, Brill conceded. But he was never aware of a criminal investigation, and the way this arrest took place was designed so that he wasnt aware of one.

Brill told the court that Philbricks US passport, which he left in Vanuatu when he was abruptly seized and expelled, has been canceled, adding that, as an asthmatic, Philbrick is more vulnerable to potential COVID-19 infection in jail.

At times, Judge James L. Cott appeared to lean in Philbricks favor, noting that he had no criminal history nor any record of violence, and that he appeared to pose no safety risks to others.

He also noted that Philbrick usedhis own name and passport while traveling internationally, which he said weighed in his favor. But he ultimately decided in favor of the government.

The facility where Philbrick is reportedly being held, the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, has housed other notorious inmates, including convicted Ponzi-scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a jail cell there last summer.

Following reports last week that Philbrick was being held in a county jail in Oklahoma, Tuesdays bail hearingwhich lasted over one hourrevealed that Philbrick arrived in New York on July 14.

The hearing included mention of previous stops at an Immigration and Custom Enforcement facility in Nevada. Prior to that, Philbrick was held in a federal detention center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and in the US territory of Guam.

Judd Grossman, an attorney representing several of Philbricks former clients who allege that they lost millions of dollars as a result of the art dealers misrepresentations, told Artnet News: The court was correct in denying Philbricks bail application based on his significant flight risk now it is time that he remain in New York to face these serious criminal and civil charges.

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Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Will Be Kept In US Custody After His Fiances Familys Bahamas Real Estate Was Rejected as Bail Collateral - artnet News

Health Visa needed for travel to The Bahamas – Loop News St. Lucia

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Travelers to The Bahamas must complete a Bahamas Health Visa application and present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test with a sample taken within 10days of arrival.

The Ministry of Health said effective immediately, all travelers will be required to complete an electronic Bahamas Health Visa application before departure from the place of embarkation.

This can be found at travel.gov.bs. Travelers are required to upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test and provide contact information.

The Government of The Bahamas will accept the negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (swab) test if the sample was taken within 10ten days of arrival. Tests over 10days old will not be accepted.

An automated response will be provided once the application is completed. The only persons approved to travel are those who have received a green color-coded response, as proof of approval. This confirmation must be presented upon arrival in The Bahamas.

The Health Visa application process will take 24 to 48hours and should be completed with adequate lead time, the Ministry said.

Failure to comply with the stated requirements will result in denied entry.

It is recommended that all travelers interested in visiting The Bahamas review requirements applicable to each member of their traveling party at http://www.bahamas.com/travelupdates before booking a trip.

For more information, or to view the Tourism Readiness and Recovery Plan, please visit http://www.bahamas.com/travelupdates. You may also contact the Ministry of Tourism COVID-19 travel hotline at (242) 502-0829 Monday to Friday, 8 AM 6 PM, or via email at contactusteam@bahamas.com.

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Health Visa needed for travel to The Bahamas - Loop News St. Lucia