Amazing Sports
American McKennie wears ‘Justice for George’ armband in Bundesliga game
(Reuters) – United States soccer player Weston McKennie joined the chorus of outrage from athletes protesting against the death of a black man in Minneapolis by wearing an armband with the message “Justice for George” in a German league game on Saturday. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged on Friday with murder in the…
Entertainment
Florida officials approve Walt Disney World re-opening plans
(Reuters) – Florida officials have approved plans for a phased reopening of Walt Disney World (DIS.N) in Orlando starting on July 11, according to a memo from a state agency released on Friday. The successful reopening of its parks is a signal event for Disney and the rest of the world as governments and companies…
Kylie Jenner is not a billionaire, Forbes magazine now says
(Reuters) – Forbes magazine, which in March 2019 declared reality TV star Kylie Jenner had become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, said on Friday that it no longer believed that her net worth was that much. The magazine said it reviewed financial data released by Coty Inc, which bought a 51 percent stake in Jenner’s…
Playing to an empty room: Paris orchestra plays Strauss in COVID-19 era
PARIS (Reuters) – Renaud Capuçon, a French concert violinist accustomed to playing to rooms of 2,000 people and more, performed on Thursday evening to an empty auditorium, but he said the experience was none the worse for it. “It’s like a return to life,” he said of the performance, his first at the Philharmonie de…
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Health
U.S. CDC reports total of 1,737,950 coronavirus cases, 102,785 deaths
(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported a total 1,737,950 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 18,123 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,074 to 102,785. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness…
French coronavirus case numbers extend decline
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s coronavirus case numbers are continuing to decline, health officials said on Saturday, with 14,380 patients currently in hospital, down from 14,695 a day earlier. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care also fell to 1,325 from 1,361, the health directorate said in a statement. The hospital death toll from the…
Drugs standards group nixes plan to kick pharma’s crab blood habit
ZURICH (Reuters) – Horseshoe crabs’ icy-blue blood is set to remain the drug industry’s standard for safety tests after a powerful U.S. group ditched a plan to put on an equal footing a synthetic substitute pushed by Swiss biotech Lonza and animal welfare groups. The crabs’ copper-rich blood clots in the presence of bacterial endotoxins…
New Technology
Google postpones Android 11 unveiling amid U.S. protests
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google on Saturday said it has postponed next week’s planned unveiling of the beta version of its latest Android 11 mobile operating system in light of protests and unrest in the United States. “We are excited to tell you more about Android 11, but now is not the time to…
Exclusive: Zoom plans to roll out strong encryption for paying customers
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Video conferencing provider Zoom (ZM.O) plans to strengthen encryption of video calls hosted by paying clients and institutions such as schools, but not by users of its free consumer accounts, a company official said on Friday. The company, whose business has boomed with the coronavirus pandemic, discussed the move on a…
Lyft violates Washington DC sick day law during pandemic, lawsuit claims
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lyft Inc was sued on Friday by a former driver who accused the ride-sharing company of failing to provide required paid sick leave to drivers in Washington, D.C., a policy she said could fuel the spread of the coronavirus. Cassandra Osvatics, of Bowie, Maryland, accused Lyft of subjecting current and former…
Trump backpedals after ‘shooting’ threat to Minneapolis rioters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday tried to walk back a Twitter threat to respond with deadly force to three days of violent protests in Minneapolis over the police killing of an unarmed black man. After his online comment that “looting leads to shooting” drew a warning from Twitter and widespread condemnation…
Chilean regulator approves Uber’s purchase of Cornershop grocery app
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s antitrust regulator said on Friday it had approved “without conditions” Uber’s purchase of Chilean online grocery provider Cornershop, clearing a key hurtle for the ride-hailing company as it seeks to expand into the delivery of groceries and other goods. Uber said in late 2019 it would buy a majority stake in…
Science
NASA resumes human spaceflight from U.S. soil with historic SpaceX launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – SpaceX, the private rocket company of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched two Americans toward orbit from Florida on Saturday in a mission that marks the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil in nine years. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:22…
Prototype of new SpaceX rocket Starship explodes on Texas test pad
(Reuters) – A prototype of SpaceX’s upcoming heavy-lift rocket, Starship, exploded on Friday during ground tests in south Texas as Elon Musk’s space company pursued an aggressive development schedule to fly the launch vehicle for the first time. The testing explosion was unrelated to SpaceX’s upcoming launch of two NASA astronauts from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center…
