President Trump defends golf as ‘exercise,’ says he gets work done on the course
President Trump on Sunday defended playing golf as his way of getting some “exercise” and said he also managed to work while hitting the links.
“I know many in business and politics that work out endlessly, in some cases to a point of exhaustion. It is their number one passion in life, but nobody complains,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “My ‘exercise’ is playing, almost never during the week, a quick round of golf.”
The president went on to say he golfs less than his predecessor Barack Obama and said the media tries to make a big deal out of his trips to the golf course.
“Obama played more and much longer rounds, no problem. When I play, Fake News CNN, and others, park themselves anywhere they can to get a picture, then scream ‘President Trump is playing golf,” he said.
“Actually, I play VERY fast, get a lot of work done on the golf course, and also get a “tiny” bit of exercise. Not bad!”
The president played a round at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., on Saturday before visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he visited troops wounded in combat.
According to Trump Golf Count, Trump has visited one of his golf courses 261 times since he became president on Jan. 20, 2017, and was confirmed to have played golf on 125 of those visits.
Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his two terms in office.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/12/president-trump-defends-golf-as-exercise-says-he-gets-work-done-on-the-course/
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Texas millennial dies after attending ‘COVID party’ thinking virus was a ‘hoax’
A Texas millennial died after attending a “COVID party” and later contracting the illness.
“I thought it was a hoax,” the patient, who was in their 30s, told their nurse moments before passing away.
Chief Medical Officer of Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio Dr. Jane Appleby told the local NBC affiliate: “This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected.”
COVID parties are held by young people to intentionally get sick and produce antibodies. While it was first thought COVID-19 only caused death in older people and people with underlying health issues, more and more formerly healthy young people are filing hospitals and morgues.
“Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said ‘I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not,’” Appleby told NBC.
There has been a huge spike in COVID-19 cases across Texas and San Antonio currently is overloaded with 18,000 cases, and more than 1,200 patients in the hospital.
“It doesn’t discriminate and none of us are invincible,” Appleby said. “I don’t want to be an alarmist, and we’re just trying to share some real-world examples to help our community realize that this virus is very serious and can spread easily.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/texas-millennial-dies-after-attending-covid-19-party/
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Five Guys employees who refused to serve cops have been fired, suspended
Burger chain Five Guys has fired or suspended several employees from an Alabama location after three police officers said they were were denied service.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when three police officers entered the burger joint’s location in Daphne and were informed that they were required to wear masks, news station WALA reported.
The cops said they went to retrieve face coverings, but when they returned, multiple employees turned their backs to them and refused to serve them, the outlet reported.
One of the employees was allegedly overheard saying, “I’m not serving them,” the report said.
The chain said in a statement Friday that all employees involved faced repercussions for the incident.
“Five Guys and the Daphne, AL franchise want to thank the Daphne Police Department for their support in working together toward a resolution,” Five Guys said in a statement Friday. “The actions the Daphne, AL franchise have taken include termination and suspension of the employees involved.”
The Daphne store also said it was temporarily shuttering the location “for further education and customer service training with a representative from the Daphne Police Department.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/12/five-guys-employees-who-refused-to-serve-cops-fired-suspended/
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Black Lives Matter mural near Chicago defaced, changed to read ‘All Lives Matter’
A Black Lives Matter mural was defaced and painted over to read “All Lives Matter” in a village near Chicago this week, according to officials and a new report.
The mural, painted two weeks ago in Oak Park, Illinois, was vandalized overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, village officials said.
Portions of the mural were covered up so that it read “All Lives Matter,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
The graffiti was largely cleaned off by 10 a.m. Wednesday, but local officials and artists who created the mural said they will discuss whether additional work is needed to fully restore it, the outlet reported.
The mural was the idea of Cullen Benson, a graduate of the local Oak Park and River Forest High School.
The “Black Lives Matter” message is nearly 100 feet wide, according to the paper. Work began on June 24 and the project was completed in less than two days, Benson told the outlet.
The mural nods to the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag, as well as navy blue and orange, the high school’s colors, according to the report.
Village officials called the mural “a testament to community acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter movement that has focused public attention on the inequities and systemic racism that have such a negative impact on people of color.”
They say Oak Park police have gathered evidence they hope will help identify the vandals.
The incident comes days after a California duo defaced a Black Lives Matter mural outside a courthouse in Martinez.
Nichole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, were charged with vandalism, violation of civil rights and possession of tools to commit vandalism of graffiti.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/09/blm-mural-near-chicago-defaced-changed-to-read-all-lives-matter/
Photo Credit: ABC7
2 charged with hate crimes for trying to paint over Black Lives Matter mural in California
A California district attorney has charged two people with hate crimes after they attempted to paint over a “Black Lives Matter” street mural in a Bay Area town over the weekend.
Nicole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, of Martinez, California, each face three charges, including violation of civil rights, according to the Office of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton.
According to the DA, video taken over the weekend shows Anderson and Nelson using paint rollers to try and black out a large, yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural in downtown Martinez.
In the video, which was shared widely on social media, a man appearing to be Nelson was wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap and a Trump campaign shirt that read “Four More Years.”
“The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism, it’s a lie,” the man said.
“Keep this [expletive] in New York. This is not happening in my town,” a woman, allegedly Anderson, said in the video.
In addition to charges of civil rights violations, Anderson and Nelson also face charges of vandalism under $400 and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti. They face a maximum of up to a year in jail if convicted.
“We must address the root and byproduct of systemic racism in our country,” Becton, the District Attorney, said in a statement. “The Black Lives Matter movement is an important civil rights cause that deserves all of our attention. The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County and the country. We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country.”
Last month, following massive protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned that a large, yellow, Black Lives Matter mural be painted on a street near the White House. Dozens of other cities have since followed suit and created their own Black Lives Matter street murals.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced plans to paint a similar mural on Fifth Avenue outside of Trump Tower. President Donald Trump later called the proposed mural a “symbol of hate.” Work on the project was scheduled to begin last week but has been delayed.
Photo Credit: CNN Newsource
NYC schools to implement mix of in-person, remote learning this fall
New York City plans to implement a blended learning approach, with a mix of in-person and remote learning, if the state allows school buildings to reopen in the fall.
NEW YORK — New York City plans to implement a blended learning approach, with a mix of in-person and remote learning, if the state allows school buildings to reopen in the fall.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza on Wednesday unveiled their plan for what reopening New York City public schools will look like come September.
“The 2020 school year will be like no other that we’ve experienced,” Carranza said.
With a blended approach, learning will continue to take place five days a week, but de Blasio said the “vast majority” of students will be in the classroom two or three days a week and will continue their education remotely the other days of the week.
Most schools will choose from three reopening models — some students may be remote throughout the year.
- Model 1: Consists of two cohorts (or two groups) where schools have capacity for at least 50% of students to be at building at one time..
- One group goes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays while the other comes in Wednesdays and Fridays. They will rotate going to schools on Mondays.
- Model 2: (Three cohorts) Groups will come into school a specific day a week (ex: Group A comes in Wednesday, Group B comes in every Thursday, Group C comes in every Friday) Groups will also rotate coming in Mondays and Tuesdays.
The city conducted a survey, to which around 400,000 families responded, according to the mayor. About 75% of parents and families said they want to send their children back to schools.
Still, people who spoke with PIX11 News in person expressed mixed feelings.
Bella Rogers’s son is in the third grade. “I’m not too sure I want to send him back to school,” she said. “[We] may just do remote learning, all the way.”
Another mother, Lisa Torres, said that, based on her experience using a daycare open during the pandemic for essential workers like her, she felt comfortable with reopening conditions.
“I’m going to send her back,” Torres said, “because I think kids need that physical learning.”
When it comes to safety, de Blasio said, “Everything we do will have a very high bar.” He did acknowledge, however, that social distancing will be harder for schools with overcrowding issues.
With 1.1 million students, New York City is the largest public school in the nation.
“We want each kid to get as much time in the classroom,” de Blasio said.
Other safety protocols include mandatory face coverings for students and staff, nightly deep cleanings of school buildings, and more staff training.
Face coverings will be provided to anyone who needs one, de Blasio said.
Schools will update entry, exit and hallway layouts to limit close contact.
There will also be fewer students in each class and larger spaces such as cafeterias, gyms, auditoriums will be used as classrooms. The mayor also said leasing spaces nearby schools is also an option that is being looked into.
To keep families informed about school plans, the city set up a “Return to School 2020” portal, which will be updated on a normal basis.
There’s also another model where there are groups of students, such as students with disabilities, who may go to school five days a week. However, it depends on the situation.
There will be citywide family and student information sessions, with the first one scheduled on July 16.
Principals will also hold parent meetings in July to discuss individual school plans.
On July 15, the parent portal will open for families to sign up for fully remote instruction.
The deadline for families to opt for fully remote instruction and staff to submit medical accommodation will be on Aug. 7.
Families will also be allowed to opt back into in-person instruction on a quarterly basis, while families can opt for fully remote learning at any time.
Despite outlining the city’s plans, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the final call is up to the state on whether or not schools can reopen in September.
Cuomo said earlier this week that no decision has been made yet.
De Blasio previously said he is committed to reopening schools in September.
Earlier this year, as the state prepared its phased approach to restarting the economy amid the COVID-19 pandeic, New York City and 700 other school districts were directed to design individualized plans on what schools will look like if they are given the green light to reopen for the next academic year.
De Blasio said the goal is to “have the maximum number of kids in our schools as we begin schools.”
Schools closed in the middle of March as health care workers battled to squash the coronavirus outbreak.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
San Francisco official introduces CAREN Act to stop ‘racially biased’ 911 calls (Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act)
A San Francisco city official is taking aim at so-called “Karens” — by introducing an ordinance making it illegal to make bogus “racially biased” calls to cops.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said he introduced the CAREN Act — or the Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act — during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting in response to several high-profile 911 calls involving people of color.
“This is the CAREN we need,” Walton tweeted Tuesday, adding that “racist 911 calls” are unacceptable.
The ordinance would amend San Francisco Police Code to make it unlawful for anyone to “fabricate false racially-biased emergency reports,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports, citing a news release from Walton.
The legislation seeks to “protect the rights of communities of color” who are victimized by “fraudulent emergency calls,” Walton said in a statement.
The name of the ordinance is a clear reference to “Karen,” a slang term popularized on social media for entitled, or bigoted white women who unnecessarily call police on people of color.
Walton noted several local examples while announcing the ordinance, including a white couple who called police on a Filipino man stenciling “Black Lives Matter” in front of his San Francisco home in June, the Mercury News reports.
Police in Alameda have also appointed an outside investigator after someone called cops on a black man in late May who was dancing and exercising outside, Walton said.
Meanwhile, in New York, Amy Cooper, a 41-year-old white woman who called cops on a black man as he watched birds in Central Park in May, was charged Monday with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree.
The ordinance comes after similar proposed state legislation in June to end discriminatory police calls by classifying them as hate crimes, the Chronicle reports.
If passed, Walton’s ordinance would allow victims to seek civil remedy in court, his chief of staff told Forbes.
Making a false report to police is already a crime, but there’s no punishment for someone who calls cops due to a perceived threat based on someone’s race, religion or appearance, according to state Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland).
“If you are afraid of a black family barbecuing in the community park, a man dancing and doing his normal exercise routine in the bike lane, or someone who asks you to comply with dog leash laws in a park, and your immediate response is to call the police, the real problem is with your own personal prejudice,” Bonta told the Chronicle.
Under Bonta’s proposed bill, anyone victimized by a discriminatory and fraudulent call to cops could sue the caller for up to $10,000, the Chronicle reports.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/san-francisco-official-introduces-caren-act-to-stop-racist-911-calls/
Photo Credit: AP
Woman fired after yelling ‘white lives are better’ at Black Lives Matter rally
A Tennessee woman caught on a viral video shouting racial and homophobic slurs at a Black Lives Matter rally has been fired from her job, according to reports.
Sonya Holt was seen yelling “White lives matter, white lives are better” during the protest in Elizabethton on Saturday, at one point yelling at a protester, “You’re a gay homosexual piece of crap who’s going to burn in hell,” WCYB-TV reported.
At another point, Holt is heard calling one protester “just a poor little black girl with a messed-up mind.”
After the video went viral on social media, Keith Family Vision Clinic in Johnson City said they were cutting ties with Holt, the outlet said.
The company confirmed that Holt had worked there, but told the Johnson City Press she was no longer employed as of Monday.
“The biggest thing to take away from this is just to realize that racism is in your community however much you think it might not be,” said Sierra Gilmer, who shot the video.
“There are a lot of people that reached out to me saying that they didn’t realize that this was happening in Elizabethton and they didn’t realize there were people there like that.”
Holt’s caught-on-video rant came during a rally at the Covered Park Bridge in Elizabethton organized by the New Panther Initiative, the paper said.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Florida man goes berserk on old woman who asked him to wear a mask
A Florida man was caught on camera throwing a temper tantrum after an elderly woman asked him to wear a mask in a Ft. Myers Costco — amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the Sunshine State, video shows.
The clip, taken June 27 at the Costco Wholesale at the Gulf Coast Town Center on Florida’s west coast, shows a man wearing a red T-shirt with the words “Running the world since 1776” becoming apoplectic when a bystander started filming him after he refused to put on a mask.
“You’re harassing me,” the man says to the videographer.
“I am not harassing you,” the man filming replies.
“I feel threatened,” the man bellows, squaring his shoulders as he charges at the videographer.
“Back off. Threaten me again,” he warns with wide eyes.
“Back the f–k up, put your f–king phone down,” he goes on in a tone reminiscent of an Army drill sergeant.
“Sir, sir, please,” another bystander can be heard saying before the clip cuts off.
The person who posted the video asked to remain anonymous because of concerns for his safety.
He told The Post the man was harassing and yelling at an old woman who’d asked him to put on a mask, so he stepped in to defend her, citing the number of new coronavirus cases Florida had the previous day.
On Tuesday, Florida clocked 7,347 new coronavirus infections with a 16.27% positivity rate, bringing the statewide total to 213,794, WFLA reported.
A total of 380 new hospitalizations were recorded and 63 new deaths, the outlet said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/07/florida-man-goes-berserk-on-woman-who-asked-him-to-wear-mask/
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Florida Keys reports 11th case of mosquito-borne dengue fever
Forget the coronavirus, say hello to dengue fever.
An 11th case of the mosquito-borne illness has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, officials from the Florida Department of Health announced Tuesday.
All of the cases have been found in Key Largo, the northernmost key about 60 miles south of Miami, including eight cases that were found there during the last week of June, officials said.
The viral disease is contracted through the bite of a female Aedes aegypti mosquito, a species that’s considered invasive and also spreads illnesses like yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya.
Symptoms of dengue typically appear within two weeks of a bite and include fever, severe muscle aches and pains, and at times a rash, the health department said.
Health officials are in the process of “conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections” and believe all cases were acquired locally, according to Alison Kerr, a Florida Keys spokeswoman who spoke to the Miami Herald.
The most recent patient is receiving treatment and is expected to make a complete recovery, Kerr said.
Workers from the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District are targeting adult mosquitoes and larvae using helicopters and trucks, according to spokesperson Chad Huff.
That work includes door-to-door inspections of homes and businesses in the Key Largo area.
To help tamp down the spread, officials are asking locals to remove possible Aedes aegypti breeding grounds such as gutters, tarps, trash cans and pet bowls that contain standing water.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/florida-keys-reports-11th-case-of-mosquito-borne-dengue-fever/
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