Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Mexico’s President Touts Reopening With The Country Mostly In Coronavirus Red Zone

Commuters wait to board buses in Mexico City on Monday.

Fernando Llano/AP


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Fernando Llano/AP

Commuters wait to board buses in Mexico City on Monday.

Fernando Llano/AP

Mexico’s government has announced a nationwide lifting of coronavirus social distancing measures — with the exception of areas marked as red zones. Making the announcement virtually meaningless, a government map shows nearly the entire country marked in red.

It’s just the most recent example of confusing messaging from the president who was late to acknowledge the seriousness of the coronavirus threat. While President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is eager to get the country back to work, cases are rising. Mexico has now recorded the seventh-highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker, with nearly 10,000 virus-related fatalities and almost 100,000 confirmed cases. Testing in the country is low and health officials acknowledge that the numbers are likely much higher.

López Obrador has downplayed the virus outbreak and has criticized stay-at-home orders for harming the economy.

This week the president resumed traveling around the country, on Monday visiting the resort town of Cancún, which has been hit hard by the lack of tourism.

The governor of Quintana Roo state, where Cancún, Tulum and other popular spots are located, says the state will open back up to tourists next week.

The president drove the 1,000-mile trip from Mexico City to the Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, opting not to fly commercial airlines as one of the personal precautions he promised to take against the virus.

He is in the region to tout an infrastructure project, the Mayan Train. The railway will carry tourists around the Yucatán and other, poorer areas of the south, to create new economic opportunities and up to 80,000 jobs, according to the president.

He told reporters there is good news on Mexico’s economic horizon, pointing to a slight increase in oil prices, which have been low, and a small strengthening of the peso, which has slumped against the dollar since the outbreak.

If easing restrictions leads to a spike in coronavirus cases, he said, he is prepared to once again shut activities. But any new measures would be recommendations and never done by force, he added.

In the Mexico City metropolitan area, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, it’s unclear when social distancing rules will be lifted. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is urging residents to remain indoors and only go out when absolutely necessary.

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Free daily horoscope, celeb gossip and lucky numbers for 2 June, 2020

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Stacy Keach, Charles Haid, Sally Kellerman, Joel Tobeck, Charlie Watts, Stacy Keach Jr., Jerry Mathers, Wayne Brady, Marvin Hamlisch.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): It’s a day to recognize the subtle strengths and weaknesses of the general vibe. What you may assume to be canny influences may not actually be all that reliable. A too-good-to-be-true offer should be scrutinized fully. Incoming information should be subject to rigorous analysis too!

Want to know what the future holds? Get a FREE tarot card reading.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Generally it should be a good day, as long as you can resist being sidetracked by others. A piece of gossip or rumor could have quite a distracting effect. You might be intrigued by what you hear, but you should take it all with a liberal grain of salt until it is formally confirmed or disproved!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Watery influences could create an unusually wishy-washy mood for many Geminis. It could feel as though you’re not quite on everyone else’s wavelength. That said; if you’re just having one slow day out of several efficient days, then it may be unfair for others to criticize this!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Watery influences bode well for romantic matters, especially those that may be a little up in the air. That said; you’re not likely to be as shrewd and discriminating as usual, and it may be best to defer work-related decisions for now. The rather distracting vibe will ease off after today!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The day could develop into quite a scattered, disorganized one, thanks to a slightly unreliable vibe. You could even find that careless inattention will undo previous good work. A side-issue may need to be ignored for now and you may need to keep reminding yourself to stick to your schedule!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Today reverses or neutralizes yesterday’s flat mood with a few welcome tweaks in the general atmosphere. If you put your mind to it, you’ll be able to summon enough charm to reverse or even neutralize a recent poor decision. There’s also a cozy vibe when it comes to romance!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Confidence levels are likely to lift and you can expect to make some excellent progress on the work front. Your quick-thinking approach will be an absolute asset to colleagues, and it’s also a day where the right mix of persuasion tempered with a little modesty, you could impress authority figures too!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It’s a day where you’re likely to experience little bursts of energy. Although these bursts are likely to be short-lived, they will be fairly frequent. Arrange your day so that you can make the most of these temporary trends. Avoid tackling issues and matters that can’t be resolved just yet!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sensible influences are likely to settle in. It’s certainly a day where you’re more likely to take your responsibilities very seriously and you could find it difficult to switch off if something is still lingering or unfinished. Don’t waste time chasing elusive results or impossible targets!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Planetary shifts will need to be managed in the right way to get the most from them. Solar influences should give you the ability to judge with insight and understanding, which in turn could help you to interpret incoming information in the correct, most advantageous way!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The watery influences may feel a little restrictive when it comes to your personal relationships. You might need to put your foot down, but if you go about this in a sensitive, gentle way then it will be a hundred times easier to get your own way without ruffling feathers!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Matters of the heart are likely to go well, thanks to the sensitive vibe; you’ll be expressive, and yet light-hearted too. The only downside is that work matters may eat into your spare/personal time. It’s a day where it may be difficult to strike the right balance between work and play!

FOR THOSE OF US BORN ON THIS DAY: Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start with some personal changes: maybe an image change, a makeover, or a new hairstyle, as you feel the need to be a little more glamorous, thanks to Venus. You’ll also tend to be very light-hearted in romance, but when summer moves into fall you’re likely to become more fixated on money! The focus on your emotions that begins in November will continue well up to the New Year, when the transits of planets shift from personal to public. After then you’ll be far more dynamic and ambitious, although you’ll need to take care that you don’t dominate people too much in your climb to the top.

CELEBRITY GOSSIP: Gigi Hadid is one of the rising stars in the world of modelling and has landed something of a coup by being the face of cosmetics giant, Maybelline. The planets suggest that there will also be some good news on the way in terms of romance for Gigi!

Today’s lucky numbers

ARIES  3, 4, 16, 32, 36, 40

TAURUS  1, 18, 21, 26, 34, 42

GEMINI  7, 13, 24, 33, 39, 45

CANCER  2, 15, 21, 31, 42, 47

LEO  7, 19, 23, 27, 34, 40

VIRGO  5, 11, 24, 32, 38, 46

LIBRA  7, 13, 25, 29, 34, 41

SCORPIO  5, 14, 21, 26, 32, 44

SAGITTARIUS  6, 17, 23, 29, 33, 41

CAPRICORN  8, 19, 24, 31, 36, 45

AQUARIUS  7, 11, 15, 25, 32, 48

PISCES  3, 19, 24, 27, 39, 46

TODAY’S CHINESE PROVERB: A company is known by the men it keeps.

TODAY’S MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE: You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. – Joan Baez.

TODAY’S WISDOM FROM AROUND THE WORLD: We know the worth of a thing when we have lost it. – French proverb.



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Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for all South African provinces, 2 June 2020

Weather data provided by the South African Weather Service. For a detailed forecast of your province, click here.

Warnings: None.

Watches: None.

Special weather advisories: None.

Gauteng:

Fine and cool but warm in the north.

UVB sunburn index: High.

Mpumalanga:

Partly cloudy in the east, otherwise fine and cool but warm in the Lowveld

Limpopo:

Partly cloudy in the east, otherwise fine and warm.

North-West Province:

Fine and warm.

Free State:

Fine and warm, but cool along Lesotho border.

Northern Cape:

Morning fog along the coast, fine and warm but cool along the coast and on the southern high ground.

The wind along the coast will be moderate southerly to south-easterly.

Western Cape:

Morning fog in places in the west and south-west, otherwise fine and cool but warm over the interior with light rain along the extreme south west coastline from late evening.

The wind along the coast will be moderate westerly to south-westerly along the south coast in the morning, otherwise moderate to fresh westerly to north-westerly becoming strong along the south-west coast in the afternoon.

UVB sunburn index: Moderate.

Western half of the Eastern Cape:

Morning mist expected between addo and peddie, otherwise fine and warm, but hot in places in the south east, becoming partly cloudy in the west from the afternoon.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north westerly, becoming southwesterly in the afternoon.

Eastern half of the Eastern Cape:

Fine and warm, but cool in in the north.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north easterly, but light west of Kei Mouth.

Kwazulu-Natal:

Fine and warm, but cool in the south-west.

The wind along the coast will be light south-westerly south of Durban at first, otherwise moderate to fresh north-easterly.

UVB sunburn index: Moderate.




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Country riddled with COVID-19 records ‘very encouraging’ results

Paramedics and nurses will continue to protest the NSW Government’s proposed 12-month public pay freeze.

Paramedics began their action yesterday, with a ban on collecting patient billing information, while members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association will protest outside parliament from lunchtime today and take other action across the state.

The state government wants to freeze the pay of all public servants due to the economic damage wrought by COVID-19 restrictions.

The government later announced it would offer public servants a one-off $1000 stimulus payment, costing about $200 million, with Treasurer Dominic Perrottet arguing it would leave the government with $2.8 billion to invest in job-creating projects.

But the suggestion has been slammed by unions as insulting, with the Australian Paramedics Association executive urging action.

“For months we have put our health and our lives on the line in the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to that we worked through months of fires and then floods,” the APA executive said.

NSWNMA general secretary Brett Holmes said nurses and midwives are insulted by the government’s action and frustrated by the “hollow thank yous” from Mr Perrottet and Premier Gladys Berejiklian, especially in light of health workers’ actions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Holmes said nurse and midwives will be looking to key members of the upper house today to block the government’s wage freeze.

Ms Berejiklian has warned that jobs are at risk if Labor and crossbenchers block the pay freeze.

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Twitter takes action against Rep. Matt Gaetz for glorifying violence

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Twitter has restricted a tweet from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for violating its policies against glorifying violence.

In a tweet published Monday, Gaetz wrote “Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” The post was retweeted over 12,000 times before Twitter took action against it. Hours after it was posted, Twitter determined that it violated its policies against glorifying violence. In doing so, the tweet is hidden from Gaetz’s profile and users must click a “view” button before seeing. Likes, retweets, and replies are all disabled from the tweet in an effort to limit its reach.

“We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet from @mattgaetz. The Tweet is in violation of our glorification of violence policy,” a Twitter spokesperson told The Verge. “As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it.

Gaetz responded to a tweet calling him out “for inciting violence,” by saying “You know what incites violence? Weakness.”

Other lawmakers, like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called for Twitter to take down the tweet. “Take the Gaetz tweet down right now @twitter. RIGHT NOW. The survivors of mass shootings are lighting up my phone. They are scared to death this will inspire someone to start shooting into a crowd tonight. They are right,” he said.

Over the last week, demonstrators gathered in cities across the country to protest police brutality after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of a former Minnesota police officer. Politicians like Gaetz and Trump quickly narrowed their focus onto instances of violence and looting, blaming left-leaning protestors and “Antifa” for riots.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted that the US will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization. But under current law, the federal government has no legal authority to label a wholly domestic group in the same way it designates foreign terrorist organizations. Antifa, short for anti-fascist, isn’t an organized group. Instead, Antifa is often used as an adjective for activists who oppose fascism.

Twitter’s inaction against Gaetz’s tweet follows its decision to restrict and fact-check tweets from the president last week. On Tuesday, Twitter fact-check two tweets from Trump making false statements about mail-in voting and voter fraud. It was the first time the platform took action against the president’s post. On Friday, Twitter restricted a tweet from Trump for violating its policies against glorifying violence.

In Friday’s tweet, Trump called people protesting the death of George Floyd in Minnesota “thugs.” He continued, “Any difficulty and we will assume control, but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

Shortly after the message was posted, Twitter determined it violated its rules and placed a notice on the tweet. By doing so, the tweet was hidden from Trump’s timeline, and likes, retweets, and replies were disabled to limit its reach.

Developing...



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Minneapolis, Tiananmen Vigil, Israel: Your Tuesday Briefing

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(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning.

We’re covering growing global unrest about police brutality, the cancellation of a vigil for victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown and life among Bangkok’s street vendors.

Demonstrators took to the streets of Berlin, London and Vancouver after George Floyd died in police custody. Leaders in Beijing and Ethiopia questioned U.S. officials’ actions, and activists in Chile offered advice on protesting.

Paired with the anger was another demand: that lawmakers heed the signs of racism and police abuse in their own countries. The condemnation also reflected unease about America’s place on the world stage.

In the U.S.: President Trump demanded that U.S. state authorities crack down on the protesters, whom he called “terrorists” in a tirade in which he berated governors. Several people have been killed or wounded in shootings linked to the unrest.

We have the latest updates from the protests and the government’s response.

Related: The Times’s visual investigations team reconstructed in detail the minutes leading up to George Floyd’s death. (This video contains scenes of graphic violence.)

Months after the New Delhi police were criticized for their role in religious violence against Muslims, they are on the front lines of the city’s fight against the coronavirus.

Our New Delhi bureau chief rode along with police patrols in the capital as they transported sick patients and served meals — part of a campaign aimed at redeeming their image. Watch the video report here.

Their role has changed greatly in recent months: When someone gets sick, the police are often the first to respond. But with a major part of the city still wounded by the attacks on Muslims, many are saying they won’t forget easily.

Quotable: “We’re Muslims. That’s all. This is our only crime,” said one Muslim shopkeeper whose business was burned down by a Hindu mob, despite his calls to the police. “We didn’t bother anyone, but they still burned our place.”


For the first time in 30 years, the Hong Kong police halted plans for a gathering in memory of those who died during China’s crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests.

Hong Kong’s annual commemoration of the 1989 crushing of the demonstrations draws thousands each June 4. The police cited coronavirus concerns and social distancing rules, but some accuse them of enforcing those measures on government critics only while other crowds gather in bars.

The police decision came after China made several moves to rein in Hong Kong. Beijing has long expressed frustration with demonstrations in Hong Kong. Some had already worried this year’s commemoration might be the last of its kind.

Related: Beijing weighed in today with a relatively measured response to President Trump’s announcement of broad economic moves against Hong Kong.

Minneapolis, the Midwestern U.S. city where a protest movement ignited after George Floyd died in police custody, sees itself as a progressive hub of multiculturalism. But it also struggles with segregation and racial gaps on education, health care and housing.

Many residents talked to our reporters about the city’s complicated identity. “Racism with a smile” is how Leila Ali, 42, a Somali immigrant who has lived in Minneapolis since 1998, described it.

Tara Reade: Our reporters interviewed about 100 people close to the former Senate aide to better understand what led to her sexual assault allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden.

Israel annexation: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suddenly facing resistance from settlers to his plan to annex much of the occupied West Bank. The fierce opposition, coupled with mixed signals from the Trump administration, is raising questions about whether Mr. Netanyahu will follow through on annexation pledges.

Snapshot: Above, a woman making fresh curry paste at a market in Bangkok. Our photographer spent two weeks documenting the city’s fresh markets and street vendors. This is part of our series The World Through a Lens that helps transport you, virtually, to beautiful and intriguing places during travel restrictions.

What we’re reading: This Atlantic article by the author Clint Smith about becoming a parent in the age of Black Lives Matter. It’s a heartbreaking and urgent read.

Cook: This curried rice yields a lot of the curry paste that serves as the dish’s base. You can use the extra paste with plain sautéed fish, or scallops, or grilled chicken.

Read: Take your pick from our list of 13 books to watch for in June, which includes an important gay civil rights history, the story of human migration and juicy new novels from Kevin Kwan, J. Courtney Sullivan, Max Brooks and Ottessa Moshfegh.

Watch: Here are our suggestions for June of the best movies and TV shows, including “Queer Eye,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Scarface” and “LOL: Last One Laughing Australia.” A new crop of animators has been working on these new “Looney Tunes” shorts for the past two years, but they still have the look, feel and mayhem of the classic cartoons.

Listen: Our pop critics have compiled this playlist, which features Dolly Parton singing about dire times and promising better ones, Rosalía and Travis Scott, Nicole Atkins, Bright Eyes and others.

Our At Home section has more ideas on what to read, cook, watch, and do while staying safe at home.

Airlines and airports around the world are doing everything they can to instill confidence in travelers that it’s safe to get on a plane again. But these measures might not be enough. Melina asked Donald McNeil, our infectious diseases reporter, what he thinks.

It’s impossible to make a plane perfectly safe. It is an enclosed space full of strangers. It might as well be a flying subway car, a flying cocktail party or a flying choir practice. The biggest factor is luck: Did you get on one of the dozens of planes on any given day that are just fine? Or did you get on the plane that has a virus-spewing superspreader — who may not even be feeling sick — aboard? And is that superspreader sitting quietly in a mask in a back row? Or a flight attendant patrolling the aisles and lowering her mask to answer questions?

The airlines are doing what they can — aggressively sanitizing surfaces, cutting back on meals and sometimes taking temperatures. But you can’t control for bad luck. Yes, cabin air is filtered and the filters are impressive. But they are not as effective as an outdoor breeze.

If everyone — no exceptions — stays masked at all times and there are many empty seats, flying should be fairly safe. The only surefire protection is a PAPR hood like those used in labs that work with lethal viruses. But those are expensive, hard to find and make you look like a cast member from “Contagion,” which might make your seatmates nervous.

Right now, airlines are not using many of their fleets. As they bring more planes into service, the seats will get more crowded, the cleaning crews will have to work faster and will get more careless. You can imagine the result.


That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina and Carole


Thank you
To Sam Sifton for the recipe and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about a weekend of intensifying protests across the U.S. over the death of George Floyd in police custody.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Minhaj who hosts Netflix’s “Patriot Act” (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Times correspondents covering race issues discuss the U.S. protests during our “America, Inflamed” event at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday (11:00 p.m. in Hong Kong). You can email questions ahead of the event: questions@nytimes.com.

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New Regulator Warns Health Measures, Like Masks, May Hurt Banks

The new head of a powerful banking regulator is not letting his first full week on the job pass quietly, warning that measures meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus — including mandates for the use of masks in public — could endanger the financial system.

Brian P. Brooks took over on Friday as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal agency that oversees the country’s largest banks. Mr. Brooks, a former banker, sent letters to the country’s mayors and governors about the negative effects of restrictions on public activity. Among them, he said: Face masks could lead to more bank robberies.

Mr. Brooks’s letter was unusual in its tone and scope; banking regulators tend to keep their communications fairly abstract. But Mr. Brooks pointed to what he said were specific risks associated with “continued state and local lockdown orders.”

“Certain aspects of these orders potentially threaten the stability and orderly functioning of the financial system,” he wrote.

Citing reports that some places would consider shutting off utility services to businesses that violate lockdown orders, the letter warned that cutting off water and electricity could hurt the value of the properties those businesses occupied. That, in turn, could hurt the banks that held mortgages on them.

Mr. Brooks also warned that forcing small businesses to stay closed could harm them financially — perhaps making them unable to pay back their loans. That, too, could harm the banks.

But he saved his most colorful warning for last.

“Finally,” Mr. Brooks wrote, “lengthy and potentially permanent requirements that individuals wear face masks in many or even all public spaces create the very real risk of increases in bank robberies.”

Referring to reports not cited specifically in the letter, Mr. Brooks said that recent “face-covering-related robberies” showed that “broadly applicable face mask requirements are not safe or sustainable on a permanent basis.”

A spokesman for Mr. Brooks’s office provided examples. Robberies of banks and other retail stores by people wearing surgical masks have been reported in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Georgia, according to a report by The Hill. A person wearing a surgical mask robbed a convenience store in Connecticut, according to Quartz. And Insider reported robberies by masked offenders in California, Washington and North Carolina.

The spokesman, Bryan Hubbard, said that Mr. Brooks was not claiming that there had been an increase in robberies over all.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wear a cloth face covering when they leave their home, to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

  • Updated June 1, 2020

    • How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

      Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

    • My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

      States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

    • What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

      Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

    • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

      Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

    • How can I protect myself while flying?

      If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

    • How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

      More than 40 million people — the equivalent of 1 in 4 U.S. workers — have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic took hold. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said.

    • Should I wear a mask?

      The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

    • What should I do if I feel sick?

      If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

    • How can I help?

      Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a running list of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak. You can give blood through the American Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen has stepped in to distribute meals in major cities.


Many cities have reported substantially less crime during the pandemic. Some crimes, including commercial burglaries, have increased in some places as businesses have been unattended.

The American Bankers Association did not immediately comment on Monday afternoon.

Mr. Brooks arrived at the O.C.C. just two months ago, as the deputy comptroller under Joseph Otting. When Mr. Otting left on Friday, a week after enacting a hastily finished revamp of a seminal anti-redlining law, Mr. Brooks took his place in an acting capacity. He could become the new permanent replacement for Mr. Otting, but only if President Trump nominates him for the position, and the Senate confirms him.

A White House spokesman declined to comment.

The banking industry’s other two federal regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, which usually act in concert with the O.C.C. and one another, have not released similar warnings. Representatives for both agencies declined to comment on Mr. Brooks’s letter.

Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting.

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World equities edge higher despite U.S.-China tensions – Firstpost

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By David Randall

NEW YORK (Reuters) – World stock markets hovered near three-month highs and safe-haven government bonds inched lower as risk appetite grew on signs that the global economic downturn has bottomed, despite worries over violent protests in the United States and unease over Washington’s standoff with Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump left a trade deal with China intact Friday despite moving to end Washington’s special treatment for Hong Kong in retaliation for Beijing seeking to impose new security legislation on the city.

China has asked state-owned firms to halt purchases of soybeans and pork from the United States in response, two people familiar with the matter said.

“The Trump rhetoric against China and trade impediments against Hong Kong could have been a lot worse, hence the performance of those markets this morning, which has helped the risk backdrop,” said Chris Bailey, European strategist at wealth manager Raymond James.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe <.miwd00000pus> gained 0.94% following broad gains in Asia and Europe. The index <.miwd00000pus> is up more than 35% from its March lows.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.dji> rose 91.91 points, or 0.36%, to 25,475.02, the S&P 500 <.spx> gained 11.42 points, or 0.38%, to 3,055.73 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 62.18 points, or 0.66%, to 9,552.05.

Signs of a rebound from the global coronavirus lockdown helped bolster global equities and push safe haven assets lower. France’s manufacturing activity rose in May as the country began to emerge from a nearly two-month coronavirus lockdown, pulling the sector out of a nosedive that had seen activity hit a record low a month earlier, a survey released on Monday showed.

An official business survey from China showed its factory activity grew at a slower pace in May but momentum in the services and construction sectors quickened.

U.S. manufacturing activity eased off an 11-year low in May, though a full recovery from the COVID-19 crisis could take years because of high unemployment.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 10/32 in price to yield 0.677%, from 0.644% late on Friday.

Bond investors suspect economies will need massive amounts of central bank support long after they reopen and that is keeping yields super low even as governments borrow much more.

“Current unemployment numbers go far beyond what has been experienced in any post-war recession,” Barclays economist Christian Keller wrote in a note. “To the extent that some sectors may never return to pre-pandemic business-as-usual.”

A weekend of violent U.S. protests over race and policing could present another setback for the economy which was only just emerging from the steepest downturn since the Great Depression.

Following poor data on spending and trade out on Friday, the Atlanta Federal Reserve estimated economic output could drop a staggering 51% annualized in the second quarter.

The May jobs report due out on Friday is forecast to show the unemployment rate surged to 19.8%, smashing April’s record 14.7%. Payrolls are expected to drop by 7.4 million, on top of the 20.5 million jobs lost the previous month.

In commodity markets, gold added 0.5% to $1,735 an ounce . [GOL/]

U.S.-China tensions weighed on oil prices. U.S. crude recently rose 0.23% to $35.57 per barrel and Brent was at $38.52, up 1.8% on the day.

(Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Richard Chang by Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.



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Grindr removes ‘ethnicity filter’ after complaints

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Grindr

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Grindr was launched in 2009

Dating and hook-up app Grindr says it will remove the “ethnicity filter” from the next version of its app, following years of criticism from its users.

The app currently lets people filter potential matches according to their age, height, weight and ethnicity.

But critics say the ethnicity filter fuels discrimination and that the app does too little to tackle racism.

Announcing the change, Grindr said it had a “zero-tolerance policy for racism and hate speech” on its platform.

Analysis

by Ben Hunte, LGBT correspondent

For years, LGBT people of colour have flagged the ethnicity filter as an issue – but they received no response from Grindr. Many even got blocked by the company.

Today, change happened.

But some are angry that it has only happened as a result of white people speaking up on social media. Indeed, the most-shared social media posts written to shame Grindr into action were posted by white gay men.

There are also LGBT people of colour who are disappointed that this change is happening at all.

Some have told me that they used the ethnicity filter to find people like themselves, perhaps not to date but for shared experiences and cultural understanding.

In some cases it was needed. In February, at a queer club night for Black and Asian people, one party-goer showed me how black men did not appear on his Grindr until the white men had been filtered out.

Grindr is not the only LGBT dating app to allow filtering by race. The spotlight will now move to others that have yet to take a similar stance.

On 29 May, Grindr had tweeted “Demand justice. #BlackLivesMatter”, with a link to further information. This had prompted several users to accuse the company of hypocrisy.

One message saying “remove the ethnicity filter” was retweeted 1,000 times.

Grindr later deleted its own tweet and on 1 June posted a new message explaining its change of position.

Several companies have posted messages of their own featuring the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter following six consecutive days of protests across the United States. The events were sparked by the killing of George Floyd – a black man who died after a white officer continued kneeling on is neck even after he had pleaded that he could not breathe.

While some Grindr users welcomed the removal of the filter, others said the company had taken too long to implement the change, and had done the “bare minimum”.

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A Slider Bun Packed With Whole Grains

I’ve left Martin for another slider bun. Angelic Bakehouse in Cudahy, Wis., makes its new ones with seven sprouted whole grains and whole-wheat flour, but no chemical additives. All taste mildly wheaty, adding character to summer’s grilled meat patties and sausages. The buns are vegan and kosher. The company also makes wraps, pizza crusts and crackers and has a matching bread donation program for those in need.

Angelic Bakehouse slider buns, $4.99 for nine; hot dog and hamburger buns, $5.59 for eight; free shipping to select areas for purchases over $30; angelicbakehouse.com.

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