Pentagon: Reports of sexual assault in military increased 3 percent in 2019OLD BOYS CLUB FOR MISOGYNIST DEVIANTS LIKE SENATOR GRAHAM

U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command 19.2. Photo by Sgt. Kyle C. Talbot/U.S. Marine Corps/UPI | License Photo
April 30 (UPI) -- Reports of sexual assault in the military grew by 3 percent last year, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The Department of Defense said in its Congress-mandated report on sexual assault published Thursday that the military received 7,825 reports of sexual assault involving service members in fiscal year 2019 compared to 7,623 reports it received the year prior.

Of those reports, 937 were submitted by U.S. civilians and foreign nationals who accused service members of sexual assault, which the military defines as rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact, sexual assault and attempts to commit these offenses.

A total of 652 reports were also submitted from service members for sexual assault that occurred prior to military service, it said.

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The 25-page report stipulated that it cannot describe the 3 percent hike as an increase in victims of sexual assault coming forward or an increase in sexual assaults as a prevalence survey was not conducted this year.

However, Nate Galbreath, acting director of the department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, told reporters Thursday that he's "cautiously optimistic that it's good news" though he can't say for sure.

"Addressing sexual assault is really one of the most challenging topics that we face in the military but it's so critical we get this right," he said. "We are really aware of the high cost of not succeeding in this."

Of the Pentagon's services, the Air Force experienced the highest increase of 9 percent with a record 1,683 reports of sexual assault in 2019 compared to 1,544 reports last year.

The Army saw the lowest increase of 2 percent with 3,219 reports in 2019 compared to 3,155 in 2018 while the Marine Corps was the only service to show a drop in reporting at about 6 percent.
"Our work to eliminate sexual assault reflects our ongoing commitment to advance a culture of trust, respect and inclusion within the force," said Elizabeth Van Winkle, executive director of the Office of Force Resiliency, in a statement. "We are acutely aware of the high cost of not succeeding, not only for the readiness of our country's defense but for the individual Americans who step forward and volunteer to serve our nation."

American Education Secretary 

& BILLIONAIRE PRIVATE SCHOOLING PROPONENT

DeVos sued over seizure of student loan borrowers' wages

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stands during a press briefing on March 27, 2020. She and the Education Department are targets of a class action lawsuit, filed on Friday, charging her with illegally seizing student loan borrowers' wages in violation of the CARES Act. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

May 1 (UPI) -- The Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos face a class-action lawsuit demanding a stop to garnishment of student borrowers' wages.

The suit was filed late Thursday in District of Columbia federal court on behalf of borrowers whose paychecks continue to be garnished for student loans, a violation of the CARES Act. The law, signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, is the $2 trillion economic relief package protecting Americans from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, and prohibits garnishment of wages of student borrowers through Sept. 30, 2020.

The organizations Student Defense and the National Consumer Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of about 285,000 people who have had wages garnished. The lead plaintiff is Elizabeth Barber, who works as a home health aide near Rochester, N.Y.

"During the pandemic she has seen her weekly schedule reduced by 10 to 15 hours, greatly adding to her financial strain," a NCLC statement on Friday said. "Ms. Barber has had to leave bills unpaid in order to cover her basic needs... [while] the Department has continued to garnish her paychecks through the pandemic. The very purpose of the CARES Act is to provide immediate emergency relief to Americans, like Elizabeth, suffering the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic."

RELATED Betsy DeVos releases $3B to governors for education relief

The NCLC added that Barber earns $12.89 per hour caring for cerebral palsy patients, with about 12 percent taken to pay for her default on about $10,000 in student loans. It added that her work hours have recently been reduced.

"With the President at her side, Secretary DeVos promised in March that she had stopped federal wage garnishments altogether, which is what the CARES Act requires," said Alex Elson of Student Defense. "The truth is, she keeps on taking wages from the paychecks of Americans struggling to make ends meet. We sued to make her stop."

As of April 21, the Education Department had yet to send letters requesting that employers stop garnishing the pay of student loan borrowers in default. In April, a group of 10 congressional Democrats led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., expressed concern that the Education Department has not fully acted on the requirement to stop wage garnishment.

RELATED Betsy DeVos sends $6B in coronavirus relief aid to colleges

"This is simply unconscionable... we request the Administration promptly issue new guidance halting all involuntary collections effective immediately and provide a clear timeline for refunds to borrowers" they wrote in an April 16 letter to DeVos and to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Analysis: More black Africans die of COVID-19 than white Britons
By
Danielle Haynes
(0)

The street near the British Parliament is empty March 27. 

A new analysis indicates racial minorities are more likely

 to die than white Britons from coronavirus. 

File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

May 1 (UPI) -- Black Africans are nearly four times as likely to die from the novel coronavirus in Britain than white Britons, an analysis released Friday indicates.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the ethnic black African death rate from the virus is 3.7 times as high as that of white Britons. Overall, all racial minority groups are dying at a higher rate than white Britons.

"After stripping out the role of age and geography, Bangladeshi hospital fatalities are twice those of the white British group, Pakistani deaths are 2.9 times as high and black African deaths 3.7 times as high," the IFS said.

"The Indian, black Caribbean and 'other white' ethnic groups also have excess fatalities, with the white Irish group the only one to have fewer fatalities than white British."y

The IFS said that though the elderly have higher death rates with COVID-19, most minority communities in Britain are younger than the overall population, "which should make them less vulnerable." Many ethnic minorities live in larger population centers, such as London and Birmingham, where there are higher rates of the disease.

The analysis said that occupational exposure may explain the disproportionate death rates for some minority groups. According to the IFS, more than two in 10 black African women of working age are employed in the health and social care industries. And Indian men are 150 percent more likely to work in those industries than white counterparts.

Underlying health conditions also are likely a factor, with Bangladeshis over the age of 60 more than 60 percent more likely to have long-term health conditions compared to their white counterparts

Minority groups, meanwhile, are more economically vulnerable, meaning they're more likely to be exposed to the virus in the labor market.

CDC: Nearly 5,000 workers at meat processing plants diagnosed with COVID-19

With cases of COVID-19 rising among employees at meat processing facilities, fears are rising about the pandemic's threat to the food supply chain. Photo by Fred Lehmann/Pixabay


May 1 (UPI) -- Nearly 5,000 workers in 115 meat processing workers across 19 states have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases of the disease, caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, were reported between April 9 and 27, the CDC said, and account for roughly 3 percent of all workers at the impacted facilities. To date, 20 of the workers have died from the virus.
POST MODERN SWEAT SHOP

CARGILL PLANT, BROOKS, ALBERTA

ONE DEATH, CURRENTLY OPEN AND OPERATING

AS OF MAY 4TH


The agency also noted, however, that the list is not comprehensive. Facilities in at least four additional states reported one or more confirmed cases of the virus, but did not submit data in time to be included in the analysis.

In addition to the financial implications of people not working, virus spread at meat processing facilities has already impacted supplies across the country.

To combat potential shortages, President Donald Trump earlier this week signed an executive order under the Defense Production Act, ordering meat processing facilities to remain open during the pandemic.

 

Last week, Tyson Foods suspended operations at its Waterloo, Iowa, plant after almost 200 out of 2,800 workers tested positive for COVID-I9. The company is among more than a dozen meat plants that have closed since the start of the pandemic.

"I think one of the questions, and we don't have an answer, is -- what will be the impact on the food supply?" Dr. Leonard Marcus, co-director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said on a conference call with reporters this week.

Marcus, who is also director of the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Harvard, said that since food going to urban areas comes from rural areas, there are inherent risks to the food chain.

"If those rural areas were not as careful about the physical distancing, were not as quick jumping into areas where there were cases," he said, "what's that going to mean nationally in terms of the food chain?"

Experts have said that, at least to date, there's no evidence that livestock and poultry -- the animals being processed at these facilities -- are at risk for COVID-19.

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Blue Bell to pay $19.35M over deadly listeria outbreak

Blue Bell's former president, Paul Kruse, faces charges accusing him of covering up the listeria outbreak. 
File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | License Photo

May 1 (UPI) -- Blue Bell Creamery has agreed to pay a $19.35 million settlement and plead guilty to charges it shipped ice cream contaminated with listeria, which led to three deaths in 2015, the Justice Department announced Friday.

The settlement is the second-largest fine paid to settle a food-safety issue.

"American consumers rely on food manufacturers to take necessary steps to provide products that are safe to eat," said Jody Hunt, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Division.

The Brenham, Texas,-based company pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products, resulting in a $17.25 million fine. It paid another $2.1 million fine to resolve allegations the company violated the False Claims Act.

RELATED Foodborne illnesses rise 15% in U.S. in 2019, CDC says

In addition to the company's settlement, the Justice Department levied charges against the former Blue Bell President Paul Kruse, accusing him of covering up the contamination. Federal prosecutors said he deceived certain Blue Bell customers after he learned about the listeria contamination.

"Kruse specifically is asserted to have directed other Blue Bell employees to remove potentially contaminated products from store freezers without notifying retailers or consumers about the real reason for the withdrawal," the Justice Department said.

"Kruse also is alleged to have directed employees to tell customers who asked why products were removed that there had been an unspecified issue with a manufacturing machine instead of that samples of the products had tested positive for listeria."

Blue Bell released a statement saying it "should have handled many things differently and better."

"Today we are a new, different and better Blue Bell. Our agreement with the government involves events that took place five years ago before we shut down and revamped our production facilities and procedures."

In 2015, Blue Bell recalled all of its products after three people died and several were sickened following a listeria outbreak. The company temporarily shut down operations and laid off a third of its workforce.

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE
Damage reported in Puerto Rico following 5.4 magnitude earthquake

AS PER USUAL NO COMMENT FROM TRUMP OR THE WHITE HOUSE, ITS AS IF PUERTO RICO WAS ANOTHER COUNTRY!!!

ByChaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather, Accuweather.com

The initial quake was recorded at 7:13 a.m., 6.8 miles south-southeast of Tallaboa. Image courtesy of the USGS

May 2 (UPI) -- A magnitude-5.4 earthquake jolted some out of bed in Puerto Rico on Saturday morning. A series of less powerful shocks followed ranging from magnitudes 4.9 to 2.6 in the area.

The initial quake was recorded at 7:13 a.m., 6.8 miles south-southeast of Tallaboa, a small community in the south of the island, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

People took to social media to share videos and images of damage left behind from the big quake. Pictures show a second-story balcony crashed onto the street in the city of Ponce.

There were also reports of a landslide after a video was uploaded to Twitter showing clouds of dust as rocks were falling near a road.

RELATED Map of tectonic stresses in North America could help assess tremor risk

According to Courtney Travis, an AccuWeather meteorologist, there have been at least 23 earthquakes of a 2.5-magnitude or higher on the Richter scale since Friday afternoon. There have been 33 earthquakes around Puerto Rico of a 4.5-magnitude or higher since the start of 2020, including two 5.6 earthquakes and one 6.4 earthquake on Jan. 7 that prompted a state of emergency.

Saturday's quake hit towns just off the coast including Guánica and Guayanilla, where the deadly Jan. 7 earthquake resulted in hundreds of destroyed homes and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Some people still remain in shelters from the previous quakes earlier this year.

RELATED 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan; no injuries reported



As residents pick up the pieces after this earthquake they may face less-than-ideal weather if recovery spans into the upcoming week.

"Into early next week, it is likely for there to be a few showers or a thunderstorm in the area each day. Temperatures during this time are expected to be in the upper 80s with dew points in the lower 70s making it humid. These conditions are near normal for this time of year," Travis said.

Saturday was an active earthquake day around the world. Earthquakes also jolted parts of Greece, the Dominican Republic and Oklahoma.

COVID-19 USED AS EXCUSE

Federal judge allows clearing of St. Louis homeless encampment

 )

A couple stand by their belongings after taking their tent down in a homeless encampment in St. Louis on Friday. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

May 2 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Missouri ruled Saturday that St. Louis officials can clear a homeless encampment downtown to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The ArchCity Defenders, a legal advocacy organization against criminalizing poverty, filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of homeless people who reside in the encampment. Ranata Frank, who resides there, was named in the suit, as one representative of the approximately 50 residents of the tent encampment.

The filing of the suit Friday blocked a deadline that same day for the encampment occupants to leave.

City officials said that the tents' crowded and unsanitary conditions risked coronavirus spread. But the suit said clearing the encampment could increase the public health threat.

RELATED New Mexico closes roads into Gallup to halt COVID-19

Clearing the camp would conflict with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that says "clearing encampments can cause people to disperse throughout the community and break connections with service providers. This increases the potential for infectious disease spread."

U.S. copes with COVID-19 pandemic

A man barbaques in a tent camp that has been set up for the homeless in downtown St. Louis on April 30. The tent camp has been in place for several weeks prompting St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to order the homeless be moved on May 1, due to unhealthy conditions and the danger of coronavirus spreading among the 50-plus tent sites. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

The suit also called for a temporary restraining order, arguing that eviction from encampment under threat of arrest violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

RELATED Navajo Nation COVID-19 outbreak predicted to peak in May

Frank said in the lawsuit that she has been seeking a home in St. Louis since November without success.

She added that three week ago she signed up for a bed in a hotel, but hasn't gotten one yet.

"For weeks, the City of St. Louis has stated that they have enough shelter for the people who want it. This is patently false," ArchCity Defenders attorney John Bonacorsi said in a statement. "As unhoused individuals, outreach workers and service providers know firsthand, there is a severe shortage of adequate shelter space for our local unhoused community, which means that there are hundreds of people who are forced to risk punishment and sleep outside."

RELATED 2019 saw record number of internally displaced persons, report shows

City officials said they arranged space in hotels for everyone residing in the encampments. They also denied that they were planning criminal charges or arrests and said the homeless residents have been offered testing for the virus.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk denied plaintiff's request for a temporary restraining order in her ruling.

"The court cannot say that a temporary restraining order prohibiting the city from taking the steps it reasonably deems necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19 serves the public interest," Pitlyk said.

RELATED Homeless shelters are 'tinderboxes' for coronavirus, studies show

Pitlyk set a preliminary injunction hearing for May 12.

TODAY IN HISTORY  MAY 4
In 1494, on his second expedition to the New World, Columbus discovered (RAN INTO) Jamaica.
In 1904, construction began on the Panama Canal.
In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea began. It was a turning point for the Allies in World War II.
In 1945, French author Marcel Conversy wrote of the 15 months he spent as a prisoner at Buchenwald concentration camp, describing it as a "living hell."
In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
In 1980, President Joseph Broz Tito of Yugoslavia died at age 87.
In 1982, an Argentine jet fighter sank the British destroyer HMS Sheffield during the Falkland Islands war.
In 1990, a faulty electric chair shot flames around convicted killer Jesse Tafero's head as he was executed in Florida, prompting several states to abandon the method of execution and switch to lethal injection.
In 2000, the "I Love You" virus crashed computers around the world. 
<3 br="" u="">In 2002, more than 100 people died when an EAS Airlines jet crashed in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.
<3 br="" u="">In 2006, confessed terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The 37-year-old Moroccan implicated himself in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In 2009, fighting between feuding families broke out at a wedding in southeast Turkey, with combatants using guns and grenades, leading to the deaths of 44 people, including the bride and groom.
In 2011, rival Palestinian political factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation accord, citing as common causes opposition to the Israeli occupation and disillusionment with U.S. peace efforts.
In 2014, Juan Carlos Varela was elected president of Panama.
In 2019, first-case Maximum Security was disqualified at the Kentucky Derby for interference. It was the first disqualification in the race's storied history. Country House was ultimately declared the winner.

TODAY IN HISTORY MAY 4
In 1959, the first Grammy Awards were presented. "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno won the awards for Record and Song of the Year.

VOLARE WAS A POPULAR HIT THROUGH OUT THE SIXTIES, I KNOW I LIKED IT
AND IT WAS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WORLD MUSIC MAKING IT ONTO AM RADIO
VOLARE AND THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA WERE FAVES.

Domenico Modugno sings Nel blu dipinto di blu also known as Volare on Ed Sullivan's show in 1958. Music by Domenico Modugno, lyrics by Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci.

MAY 4 TODAY IN HISTORY UK GENERAL STRIKE
In 1926, the Trade Union Congress called a general strike in response to government plans to change the working conditions for coal miners. More than 2 million workers across Britain went on strike.

1926: The social general strike - why 1926 failed - Tom Brown
https://libcom.org › library › social-general-strike-1926-failed-brown
Nov 30, 2005 - Why did the British General Strike of 1926 fail? Not because the workers failed to strike. The number of blacklegs was insignificant. The attempt ...


The 1926 General Strike and the Defeat of the Miners ...
https://spartacus-educational.com › Trade Unions › Classroom Activities
The General Strike began on 3rd May, 1926. Arthur Pugh, the chairman of the Trade Union Congress, was put in charge of the strike. The TUC adopted the ...

Britain 1926 General Strike: On the Verge of Revolution
https://www.marxist.com › britain-1926-general-strike-revolution
May 4, 2006 - 75 years ago an earthquake shook the very foundations of British capitalism. In the greatest display of militant power in its history the British ...

General Strike of 1926 | General strikes - WCML
https://www.wcml.org.uk › protest-politics-and-campaigning-for-change
Apr 9, 2020 - Negotiations between the miners and mine-owners failed and with 800,000 coal miners locked out, the General Strike began on 3 May 1926. The ...