Democrats’ $3 trillion bailout bill is DOA, Republicans say
A new Democratic bill proposed by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., without input from Republicans or the Trump administration is “dead on arrival,” top Republican leaders say.
PLO
Op-Ed: H.R. 6666 a devil of a COVID-19 government surveillance plot
A House resolution from Illinois Democrat Rep. Bobby Rush that would put Big Government in charge of tracking citizens’ movements as they relate to COVID-19 mitigation efforts — even sending health bureaucrats to “individuals’ residences,” “as necessary,” as the legislation states — has a most apt number: 6666.
France Wants Hard Response to Israel If It Proceeds With Annexation Plans
France wants European Union countries to consider a hard response to Israel if it proceeds with the annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria, three EU diplomats told Reuters. Under the Israeli government’s coalition agreement, the process of annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank could begin on July 1.
U.S. reports record $738 billion budget deficit in April
The United States on Tuesday reported a record $738 billion budget deficit in April as an explosion in government spending and a shrinking of revenues amid the novel coronavirus pandemic pushed it deeply into the red.
Israel’s Prime Minister Condemned Over Microchip for Children
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing mounting criticism over his proposal to “microchip” children who return to schools and kindergartens as the national coronavirus lockdown ends.
Germany apologizes after Israel was omitted from a military map of the Middle East
The head of Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) has apologized “expressly” for the omission of Israel from a map of the Middle East in his department’s 2019 annual report, the Middle East Monitor reports. A MAD investigation concluded on May 7 that there had been a mistake caused by “lack of diligence and insufficient quality control rather than deliberate action or political intent.”
White House: US Jobless Rate Could Hit 25% Amid COVID-19
The official U.S. unemployment rate linked to the coronavirus pandemic is already at 14.7%, but top White House officials said Sunday they expect it could reach 25% before the world’s biggest economy begins to improve.
China ramping up COVID-19 disinformation campaign on Twitter, State Dept. says
China’s Communist Party and government are stepping up the use of Twitter to spread disinformation that Wuhan was not the origin of the coronavirus outbreak and that China is helping the world recover, the State Department said.
Nearly 3.2 million new jobless claims across U.S. drives tally during outbreak to 33.5 million
Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
Israel demands major changes in UN peacekeeping in Lebanon
Israel’s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday that his government is demanding major changes in the way the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground and has support from the United States.
US moving Patriot anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia as Iran tensions ease
The United States will be relocating four Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that were deployed amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Naikon, Group Tied to China’s Military, Deploys Debilitating New Cyberattack Tool
On the morning of Jan. 3, an email was sent from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia to a member of the premier of Western Australia’s staff who worked on health and ecological issues. Attached was a Word document that aroused no immediate suspicions, since the intended recipient knew the supposed sender.
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Nuns In Contraceptives Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether nuns could be forced to facilitate abortion-causing drugs and other contraceptives such as sterilizations. Its first liberty case began Wednesday involving the Little Sisters of the Poor organization, which has been supporting the poor and dying since 1839.
High Number of Background Checks for Firearms Purchase in April
The FBI recorded 2.9 million background checks for the purchase of firearms in the month of April, the Washington Examiner reported. Under US federal law, all gun distributors must run background checks with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to ascertain buyers have no criminal record preventing them from owning a gun.
UN experts say South Sudan peace deal is at risk
UN experts are concerned South Sudan’s peace deal is at risk because unity government partners are arguing about security and resources instead of implementing the terms of the 2018 agreement, VOA News reports. A panel of experts on South Sudan reported to the UN Security Council last week that “selective and incomplete implementation” of agreed security arrangements threatened peace and stability in the country.
‘Mind boggling’ 122 million jobs lost in India, says think tank
The world’s biggest lockdown forced 122 million people out of jobs in India last month, according to estimates from a leading private sector think tank.
Israel extends coronavirus cell phone surveillance by 3 weeks
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday authorized Shin Bet security service to continue using mobile phone data to track people infected by the coronavirus until May 26, prolonging an initiative described by critics as a threat to privacy.
U.S and UK Navy vessels sail into the Arctic, near Russia
In the first such operation since the Cold War of the 1980s, U.S and British Navy vessels sailed into the Arctic Barents Sea Monday, between the northwest coast of Russia and Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. The US military said Russia had been given prior notice of the operation in order to avoid any “inadvertent escalation.”
Trump administration says Planned Parenthood does not qualify for small business loans
A senior US government official has said that clinics run by abortion provider Planned Parenthood will not qualify for a federal aid program being offered to small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. Part of the wider Cares Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is intended to support businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
World Leaders Pledge Billions For Coronavirus Vaccine
An international pledging marathon has begun where world leaders are to raise at least 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) to find a coronavirus vaccine. With social distancing the world’s new norm, world leaders choose video conferencing to raise the billions of dollars needed for research into a possible vaccine.