Mcallen

Why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would be a disastrous duo in the year of George Floyd

The theme of this rotten year is racial justice. America needs a fix to our criminal justice system, not a reminder of just how broken it really is.

Police searched a United Airlines jet after a reportedly hallucinating passenger claimed there was a bomb on board

Police officers searched the plane with passengers still on board and offloaded each piece of luggage on the plane to be checked by canine units.

AOC slams New York Governor Cuomo over reopening schools in autumn

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken a swipe at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his decision to allow schools to open this fall, a rare case of Democrat-on-Democrat sparring during the pandemic."If it's not safe enough for indoor dining, what makes it safe enough for indoor schooling?" Ocasio-Cortez asked in a tweet. "And restaurants actually have soap in the bathrooms."

These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test

States are opening back up, but some still require or recommend visitors self-quarantine for two weeks. Find out where.

Photos show the oil spill in Mauritius that's leaking 4,000 tons of fuel into the pristine, azure waters of the Indian Ocean

More than 1,000 tons of oil has leaked into the Indian Ocean, and environmentalists worry it may be too late to undo the damage.

Schumer says Democrats ready for coronavirus aid talks, if Republicans move

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that Democrats are ready to return to the negotiating table over coronavirus relief, if Republicans would agree to a larger bill than they have been willing to accept up to now. Last week, Schumer used similar language to urge White House negotiators to agree to a legislative package at least $1 trillion larger than the $1 trillion bill that Senate Republicans have already proposed.

Victoria’s Secret Mogul May Finally Have to Explain His Epstein Ties

Leslie Wexner, the billionaire former owner of Victoria’s Secret, may be forced to reveal details of his secretive longtime association with Jeffrey Epstein amid a bitter legal battle between the pedophile billionaire’s former lawyer and one of his accusers. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the unsealing of correspondence between Wexner and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, who’s entangled in a defamation lawsuit with Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The new trove of court filings show the Victoria Secret’s mogul has refused to testify or turn over documents requested by Dershowitz to support his countersuit claims that Giuffre wanted to extort Wexner.Preska ruled she saw “no reason for that correspondence to remain under seal,” and scheduled an Aug. 17 hearing to decide whether Wexner will be forced to testify in the defamation case.  How We Got the Scoop on Jeffrey Epstein’s ArrestThe records are among thousands of documents in the countersuit Dershowitz filed against Giuffre after she accused the Harvard professor of defamation. While Giuffre has alleged that Epstein, a convicted sex offender, trafficked her to other men—including Dershowitz and Prince Andrew—the lawyer has denied the claims. Hitting back, Dershowitz accused Giuffre of hatching a plan to “falsely accuse him of sex trafficking” in order to “extort a settlement from another party, namely Wexner.”In a June 23 letter, Dershowitz’s legal team noted they had served subpoenas to Wexner, an 82-year-old billionaire, and his attorney John Zeiger, and asked the judge to compel them to provide “a small number of documents directly relevant to the central allegation in this case that Plaintiff [Giuffre] falsely accused Professor Dershowitz of sexual abuse as part of a scheme to extort Wexner.”“With Wexner refusing to produce any documents or appear for a deposition, and Zeiger refusing to produce documents or provide testimony absent the entry of an onerous protective order which would severely hamper Professor Dershowitz’s ability to use the discovery in this litigation, the parties are at an impasse,” Dershowitz’s attorney, Howard Cooper, wrote in the newly unsealed letter filed in Manhattan federal court. “From the beginning of the parties’ negotiations, Wexner and Zeiger have taken an extreme view on confidentiality.”In response, Giuffre’s attorneys slammed Dershowitz’s efforts to “put Mr. Wexner at the heart of false and defamatory” claims against their client—but agreed that he should have to testify. “Defendant has put Leslie Wexner at the heart of his false and defamatory claims that Plaintiff and her counsel were engaged in an extortion plot to extract money from wealthy associates of Jeffrey Epstein by allegedly falsely naming the Defendant,” Charles J. Cooper, who represents Giuffre in the defamation case, wrote in a July 28 letter. Epstein Accuser Says Bill Clinton Partied on Pedophile IslandNoting Dershowitz’s plans to argue that Wexner was “deliberately framed for financial reasons,” Cooper added that for this reason Giuffre was “likewise planning on seeking relevant documents and testimony from Mr. Wexner and Mr. Zeiger” to prove his allegations to be false. Wexner, who stepped down from his post earlier this year, has been notoriously secretive about his relationship with Epstein—who used to manage the billionaire’s personal finances and those of his family charities. Cited as one of the main streams of revenue associated with Epstein’s financial success, Wexner even installed Epstein as a trustee of his eponymous foundation in 1991 and at one point granted him power of attorney. Wexner, whose fortune is associated with several retail brands, including The Limited and Victoria’s Secret, has said to have severed ties with Epstein in 2007—the same year the disgraced financier pleaded guilty in state court to soliciting prostitution. Epstein was sentenced to 18 months behind bars as a result, serving 13 before he was released.In July 2019, Epstein, 66, was arrested by federal authorities in New York and charged with sex trafficking crimes for allegedly luring girls with cash to his Manhattan mansion before sexually abusing them. A month later, Epstein died in a jailhouse suicide.Ghislaine Maxwell’s Lawyers Claim She Was Never in Hiding, Hadn’t Seen Epstein for a Decade “I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people. My heart goes out to each and every person who has been hurt,” Wexner wrote to employees in a July email obtained by The Columbus Dispatch. “I severed all ties with Mr. Epstein nearly 12 years ago. I would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him.”In February, Wexner stepped down as CEO of Victoria’s Secret amid scrutiny about his relationship with Epstein. At the time, Wexer stressed he was unaware of any “illegal activity” by Epstein. In the newly unsealed letters, Zeiger argued Wexner does not have any information that could be used in a trial. Those close to Wexner have previously denied Dershowitz’s claims, with one insider telling The New York Times in 2015 that Wexner had never met Giuffre and that no extortion attempt was made.“Professor Dershowitz will address the admissibility of testimony obtained from Wexner at the appropriate time, upon a complete discovery record including being able to offer the Court Wexner’s actual testimony, as opposed to his lawyer’s self-serving characterization of what it will be,” Cooper wrote in a July 31 letter. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Appeals of Nazi camp guard conviction in Germany dropped

All appeals against the conviction of a 93-year-old Nazi concentration camp guard have been dropped, a Hamburg court said Monday, making the decision legally binding and easing the way for possible future prosecutions. Bruno Dey was convicted last month of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder in Hamburg state court — equal to the number of people believed to have been killed at Stutthof during his service there in 1944 and 1945. Because he was 17 and 18 at the time of his alleged crimes, Dey’s case was heard in juvenile court and he was given a two-year suspended sentence.

Lebanon government resigns amid explosion fallout

Lebanon's government resigned during a cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss early elections following last week's catastrophic explosion in Beirut, the country's health minister has said. "The whole government resigned," Hamad Hassan told reporters at the end of the meeting. Prime Minister Hassan Diab was expected to travel to the presidential palace to "hand over the resignation in the name of all the ministers," Mr Hassan said. Pressure has mounted on the government to step down amid growing anger from a public that holds it accountable for the explosion that damaged half the capital last Tuesday. Three ministers had already offered their resignations ahead of the meeting, while Foreign minister Nassif Hitti resigned the day before blast, warning the country was at risk of becoming a failed state and the government seemed incapable of reform. Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, a key negotiator with the International Monetary Fund over a rescue plan to help Lebanon exit a financial crisis, prepared his resignation letter and brought it with him to a cabinet meeting, a source close to him said.

US Border Patrol agent arrested and charged with trafficking over 350,000 pills believed to be fentanyl

The suspect drove to the airport and unloaded two duffel bags into another vehicle. Officials later found nearly $330,000 in his home.

Indian immigrant who drowned saving two children in US river had ‘big dreams’ of starting own business

An Indian immigrant who died saving two children from drowning in a California river had “big dreams” of starting his own business, his family said.Manjit Singh, 29, had been cooling off at Reedley Beach on the Kings River, Frenso, on Wednesday, shortly after finishing a driving lesson, when he heard a woman crying out for help.

Georgia school moves online after COVID-19 infections reported

A Georgia high school plans to start the week with all classes moving online after nine students and staff tested positive for the coronavirus when the school year opened last week with most students attending classes in-person.

Can scientists predict earthquakes? Not exactly — but here’s what they can do

“Earthquakes have nothing to do with clouds, bodily aches and pains, or slugs,” the U.S. Geological Survey says of people who believe they can predict an oncoming quake.

Louisville police said protesters, who have been marching against Breonna Taylor's death for more than 70 days, can no longer use public roads

A handful of people have been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and blocking a roadway since the ban started, local media reported.

Mauritius oil spill: Fears vessel may 'break in two' as cracks appear

The MV Wakashio, which ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July, is now leaking oil off the island.

Xi or Tsai? Taiwan opposition jumps on US envoy's 'vocal slip'

Taiwan's opposition party demanded a clarification Monday after a US envoy who is visiting appeared to mispronounce the name of the island's president for her arch rival in China. Health chief Alex Azar met with President Tsai Ing-wen earlier Monday in the highest level visit to Taiwan since the United States switched diplomatic recognition to China. In his opening statement he fluffed the name of President Tsai -- pronounced "ts-eye" -- and instead said something closer to "shee".

'They're not equivalent': Pelosi says Russian election interference more serious than that of China, Iran

Pelosi and other Democrats have called for information about Russia's effort to "denigrate" Joe Biden to be declassified ahead of the 2020 election.

An outspoken Tesla critic and short-seller is suing Elon Musk, alleging he defamed him by saying the Tesla short 'almost killed' Tesla employees

Tesla eventually dropped the suit when it was unwilling to provide evidence that Hothi had been harassing its employees.

Mother shares video of armed police surrounding black son after they assumed he was attacker when teen called 911

Multiple California police officers were filmed pointing guns at three African American teenagers who were were allegedly being threatened by a homeless man.The mother of one of the teenagers in the video, Tammi Collins, shared an 11-minute clip to her Instagram page, showing officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department aiming guns at them in Santa Clarita, California, on 7 August.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas confronts Pompeo over pipeline sanctions

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday he has personally told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of his “dismay” over a warning by three Republican senators who threatened sanctions against a German port operator for its part in a pipeline project with Russia.

Top Navy official: Sailor burnout a concern amid COVID-19 crisis

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told NBC News the pandemic has forced ships to remain at sea for longer periods of time.

Women who use marijuana during pregnancy are 1.5 times more likely to have a child with autism, according to the largest study of its kind

In the largest study of its kind, marijuana use in pregnancy was linked to a 50% higher risk of having a child with autism.

Wild bear that sniffed woman's hair is caught and castrated

The black bear was captured after he was filmed approaching a visitor at an ecological park.

Gunmen kill six French aid workers, their driver and guide in Niger, minister says

Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said. The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African country's capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. The six worked for an international aid group, Niger's Defence Minister Issoufou Katambé told Reuters.

Big Tech Allies Join Biden Campaign

The Biden campaign has enlisted several allies of big tech companies as part of its policy planning initiatives, the New York Times reported on Monday.While the campaign is facing pressure from more progressive advisers to take a combative stance against companies such as Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, a number of former consultants for and senior employees of those companies are now advising the campaign.The advisers include Avril Haines, a former Obama administration national security official who worked as a consultant for data-mining firm Palantir; Antony Blinken, a veteran of the Obama State Department and co-founder of lobbying firm WestExec, which has worked with Google; and Cynthia Hogan, a former lobbyist for Apple who is now part of Biden's vice-presidential selection team.Other veterans of the tech industry or consultants for tech companies have joined the Innovation Policy Committee, the Biden campaign's 700-person policy advisory team. The presence of big tech allies in the Biden campaign comes despite statements from Biden himself saying that internet companies should lose certain legal protections."Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one," Biden said in a 2019 interview with the Times. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives legal immunity to internet companies if a third party publishes false or defamatory content on their platforms. Biden and other Democrats have complained that platforms such as Facebook allow the Trump campaign to spread misinformation.Matt Hill, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, denied that the presence of tech industry allies would make a Biden administration more amenable to those companies' concerns."Many technology giants and their executives have not only abused their power but misled the American people, damaged our democracy and evaded any form of responsibility," Hill told the Times. "Anyone who thinks that campaign volunteers or advisers will change Joe Biden’s fundamental commitment to stopping the abuse of power and stepping up for the middle class doesn’t know Joe Biden."

Britain says arrest of media tycoon in Hong Kong shows China using new law 'to silence opposition'

Britain has accused China of using the new Hong Kong national security law as a "pretext to silence opposition" after the arrest of leading media tycoon and protester, Jimmy Lai. Mr Lai's detention for suspected collusion with foreign forces is the highest profile arrest yet under the new law in Hong Kong, widely seen as a crackdown on the semi-autonomous city's freedoms by China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said Britain was "deeply concerned" by the arrest, which also saw Mr Lai's newspaper's offices raided. "This is further evidence that the national security law is being used as a pretext to silence opposition," he said. "The Hong Kong authorities must uphold the rights and freedoms of its people." Around 10,000 people had earlier tuned in to watch a police raid on the office of Apple Daily, a Hong Kong tabloid published by Mr Lai’s media company, Next Digital. Ryan Law, the editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, defied police warnings to stop filming as 200 officers streamed into the newspaper's headquarters, ignoring questions over what legal grounds they had for entering and removing plastic boxes as evidence. Officers demanded the few employees there produce identity documents and register with police. Staff were seen standing by newsroom desks decorated with bright pro-democracy protest posters, including one reading: "Who's afraid of the truth!" Among the others arrested were two of Mr Lai's sons, young pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow and Wilson Li, a former activist who describes himself as a freelance journalist working for Britain's ITV News.

Seattle agrees to America’s ‘most comprehensive protection’ for media and legal observers covering protests against police

Seattle authorities have agreed to what campaigners say is the nation’s “most comprehensive protection” for reporters and legal observers covering protests against the actions of police.Following a number of incidents in which reporters and other observers covering Black Lives Matter protests were arrested or else subjected to crowd control weapons such as pepper spray, the city agreed its police force should not target such individuals.

Injured cruise ship worker ‘forgotten’ after seven months in South Florida hotels

From behind the locked window of his 10th-floor hotel room, Paúl Córdova watches dozens of airplanes take off and land each day at Miami International Airport.

Florida reports record COVID-19 hospitalizations

Team Trump's conflicting messaging on mask led to preventable deaths, 100,000 children caught Covid-19 in July

A woman claiming to be from the 'Freedom To Breathe Agency' filmed telling a grocery employee that she could face legal action for making people wear face masks

The mask-less woman gave the employee a piece of paper claiming she could go to prison for up to five years for telling customers to wear a face mask.

Belarusian challenger flees to Lithuania amid protests

The top opposition candidate in Belarus' presidential vote who refused to concede her defeat has fled the country amid a massive police crackdown on protests, Lithuania's foreign minister said Tuesday. Linas Linkevicius' said on Twitter that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is now “safe” in Lithuania.

Israel closes Gaza goods crossing after balloon attacks

Israel will close its goods crossing with the Gaza Strip, authorities said Monday, after militants in the Hamas-run territory fired rockets into the Mediterranean and launched incendiary balloons towards the Jewish state. The Kerem Shalom crossing will be closed to all traffic except humanitarian equipment and fuel from Tuesday, COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees the crossings, said in a statement. The move comes in response to the "continued launching of incendiary balloons" from Gaza, it added.

Iran closes down newspaper after expert doubts official coronavirus tolls

Iran shut down a newspaper on Monday after it quoted a former member of the national coronavirus taskforce as saying the country's tolls from the epidemic could be 20 times higher than official figures, state news agency IRNA reported. "The Jahan-e Sanat newspaper was shut down today for publishing an interview on Sunday," the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Mohammadreza Saadi, told IRNA. On Sunday, the newspaper published an interview with Mohammadreza Mahboubfar, in which he said: "The figures announced by the officials on coronavirus cases and deaths account for only 5% of the country's real tolls".

New Zealand has now gone 100 days with no new local COVID-19 cases — and it hasn't been on lockdown since June

Life has returned to normal for most New Zealanders, with bars, restaurants, and sporting events open for business.

Fact check: Quarantine 'camps' are real, but COVID-19 camp claim stretches truth

An Instagram post is correct about expansion of quarantine sites during the pandemic, but falsely claims personal information will be accessed there.

84 arrests made at Sturgis Rally as governor welcomes 250,000 bikers to district

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicked off in the western part of South Dakota on Friday, leading to 84 arrests in one day, according to a report.The annual rally, which the city council decided would go ahead in June, has drawn thousands of bikers to the state from all over the country, many without masks or social distancing in mind.

Riot declared as fire burns in Portland police union offices

A fire inside a police union building led authorities in Portland, Ore., to declare a riot and turn protesters away from the offices as demonstrations continue in the city after federal agents withdrew more than a week ago.

Nigerian singer sentenced to death for blasphemy in Kano state

Musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu broadcast a song about Prophet Muhammad in March.

As fewer students choose to enroll in the wake of coronavirus, some colleges are promising tuition-free semesters

Some colleges are making "ninth-semester-free" promises to students, as a new survey says many students may not enroll in the fall.

2020 Watch: How will Joe Biden handle the spotlight?

The 2020 spotlight is about to shift, at least temporarily, away from President Donald Trump and onto his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. The former vice president has largely been an afterthought in recent months as he waited out much of the coronavirus pandemic from his Delaware home and Trump struggled on the global stage through a series of crises and self-made controversies. The burst of attention offers risks and rewards for Biden, who has struggled to energize Democrats behind his candidacy and has a demonstrated proclivity for gaffes.

Sweden looks to US model to curb deadly gang shootings

Police in Stockholm are considering using a strategy against gun violence pioneered in gang-ridden US cities to counter a wave of shootings including an incident in which a 12-year-old girl was killed in crossfire last week. Senior officers from the Swedish capital have visited the southern city of Malmö, which has greatly reduced its shootings by using the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) methods pioneered in the 1990s in US cities. “They reacted very positively,” Rolf Landgren, the police commissioner who leads the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) programme in Malmö, said. The shooting of the girl at a petrol station in Stockholm has led to renewed calls for police to clamp down on the gang violence that has resulted in close to 100 shootings in the first four months of this year alone. Police believe she was hit by a bullet fired at two men with links to a known gang. Malmö is on track this year to record its lowest number of shootings in a decade, with only nine registered so far, down from a peak of 65 in 2017. This is in line with results in US cities. A study of GVI in Boston found that it led to a 63 per cent fall in youth homicide. Mr Landgren said it had taken years of deadly violence before Malmö’s police began to consider GVI – a method developed by David Kennedy, a criminologist, for Boston during the peak of its gun violence in the Nineties. “We had figures way, way higher than we had ever seen before. We needed to break that spiral,” he said. In Malmö, the programme, called Ceasefire, was launched in late 2018. Known or suspected gang members are offered help to leave gang life and warned that if they continue to engage in gun crime, they risk continual police harassment. Suspects are continually targeted using laws that were designed to tackle football hooligans. The bullet-proof car owned by a 30-year-old suspected gang leader was stopped so frequently that he reported the police to Sweden’s parliamentary ombudsman for harassment. The man has since been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison, after drugs and weapons were found during a raid. He has appealed the sentence.

Beirut police fire tear gas as protesters regroup and two ministers quit

Lebanese police fired tear gas to try to disperse rock-throwing protesters blocking a road near parliament in Beirut on Sunday in a second day of anti-government demonstrations triggered by last week's devastating explosion. Fire broke out at an entrance to Parliament Square as demonstrators tried to break into a cordoned-off area, TV footage showed. Protesters also broke into the housing and transport ministry offices.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says gig economy companies should be required to establish 'benefits funds' for workers instead of treating them as full-time employees

The ridesharing company is facing mounting pressure from drivers and labor activists to extend more benefits to gig workers.

More than 900 healthcare workers have died of Covid-19 – and the toll is rising

The Guardian and KHN (Kaiser Health News) unveil an interactive database charting frontline health worker deaths. Most are people of color – and nurses face the highest tollMore than 900 frontline healthcare workers have died of Covid-19, according to an interactive database unveiled today by the Guardian and KHN. Lost on the Frontline is a partnership between the two newsrooms that aims to count, verify and memorialize every US healthcare worker who dies during the pandemic.It is the most comprehensive accounting of US healthcare workers’ deaths in the country.As coronavirus cases surge – and dire shortages of lifesaving protective gear such as N-95 masks, gowns and gloves persist – the nation’s healthcare workers are again facing life-threatening conditions in southern and western states.KHN logoThrough crowdsourcing and reports from colleagues, social media, online obituaries, workers’ unions and local media, Lost on the Frontline reporters have identified 922 healthcare workers who reportedly died of Covid-19.A team of more than 50 journalists from the Guardian, KHN and journalism schools have spent months investigating individual deaths to make certain they died from Covid-19, and that they were indeed working on the frontlines in contact with Covid patients or working in places where they were being treated. The reporters have also been investigating the circumstances of their deaths, including their access to PPE, and tracking down family members, co-workers, union representatives and employers to comment about their deaths.series boxThus far, we have independently confirmed 167 deaths and published their names, data and stories about their lives and how they will be remembered. We are continuing to confirm additional victims and are publishing new names weekly.The tally includes doctors, nurses and paramedics, as well as crucial support staff such as hospital janitors, administrators and nursing home workers, who put their own lives at risk during the pandemic to care for others.The early data indicates that dozens have died who were unable to access adequate personal protective equipment and at least 35 succumbed after federal work-safety officials received safety complaints about their workplaces. Early tallies also suggest that the majority of the deaths were among people of color, and many were immigrants. But because this database is a work in progress the early findings represent a fraction of total reports and are not representative of all healthcare worker deaths.Of the 167 workers added to the Lost on the Frontline database so far: * A majority – 103 (62%) – were identified as people of color. * At least 52 (31%) were reported to have inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE). * The median age was 57 and ages ranged from 20 to 80, with 21 people (12%) under 40 years of age. * About one-third – at least 53 – were born outside the United States, and 25 were from the Philippines. * The majority of the deaths, 103, were in April, after the initial surge on the east coast. * Roughly 38% – 64 – were nurses, but the total also includes physicians, pharmacists, first responders and hospital technicians, among others * At least 68 lived in New York and New Jersey, two states hit hard at the outset of the pandemic, with Illinois and California following.Some of these deaths were preventable. Poor preparation, government missteps and an overburdened healthcare system increased that risk. Inadequate access to testing, a nationwide shortage of protective gear, and resistance to social distancing and mask-wearing have forced more patients into overburdened hospitals and driven up the death toll.Gaps in government data have increased the need for independent tracking. The federal government has failed to accurately count healthcare worker fatalities. As of 3 August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 592 deaths among health workers – but the organization does not list specific names and has conceded that this is an undercount.Recent moves by the White House underscore the need for public data and accountability. In July, the Trump administration ordered health facilities to send data on hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, bypassing the CDC. In the following days, vital information on the pandemic disappeared from the public eye. (The data was later restored following a public outcry, but the agency indicated it may no longer update the figures due to a change in federal reporting requirements.)Lost on the Frontline reporters have compiled hundreds of potential cases through crowdsourcing and reports from colleagues, social media, online obituaries, workers’ unions and local media. They are independently confirming each death before publishing names, data and obituaries.Exclusive stories by the reporters have revealed that many healthcare workers are using surgical masks that are far less effective than N-95 masks and have put them in jeopardy. Emails obtained via a public records request showed that federal and state officials were aware in late February of dire shortages of PPE.Further investigations found that health workers who contracted the coronavirus and their families are now struggling to access death and other benefits in the workers’ compensation system. Our reporting has also examined the deaths of 19 healthcare workers under age 30 who died from Covid-19.We are continuing to gather the names of healthcare workers who have died and dig into why so many are falling ill. We welcome tips and feedback at frontline@theguardian.com and covidtips@kff.org.Melissa Bailey and Christina Jewett contributed to this story.

Dangerous derecho soars into Chicago after lashing Iowa with 100-mph winds

A derecho – a dangerous, ferocious wall of wind – is taking aim on the Chicago area, forecasters warned.

Money offered for info on disappearance of ‘Tiger King’ star Carol Baskin's husband

A lawyer for the family of Don Lewis, who was declared legally dead in 2002, announced an independent investigation into his disappearance Monday.

India Air crash survivor recounts final minutes in plane

Yuojin Yusuf was one of 190 passengers aboard an Air India Express plane that skidded and crashed.