Astronomers See Possible Hints of Life in Venus’s Clouds

Astronomers have found a potential sign of life high in the atmosphere of neighboring Venus: hints there may be bizarre microbes living in the sulfuric acid-laden clouds of the hothouse planet.

Two telescopes in Hawaii and Chile spotted in the thick Venutian clouds the chemical signature of phosphine, a noxious gas that on Earth is only associated with life, according to a study in Monday’s journal Nature Astronomy.

https://apnews.com/3c534346e6a312de118a34ab04b6c846

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Dies at Age 87 From Pancreatic Cancer

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal on the U.S. Supreme Court since 1993, died on Friday at age 87, the court said, giving President Donald Trump a chance to expand its conservative majority with a third appointment at a time of deep divisions in America with a presidential election looming.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN269395

Police Officers Not Charged for Killing Breonna Taylor

A Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong, with prosecutors saying Wednesday that two officers who fired their weapons at the Black woman were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire.

https://apnews.com/28a283922de8784f6fca5c42fe8e5bca

Trump Won’t Commit to Peaceful Transfer of Power if He Loses

President Donald Trump on Wednesday again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

https://apnews.com/8bb28627b03474a3a5ce2454ae3d1639

Trump Selects Amy Coney Barrett to Fill Ginsburg’s Seat on the Supreme Court

President Trump has selected Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the favorite candidate of conservatives, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and will try to force Senate confirmation before Election Day in a move that would significantly alter the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court for years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/us/politics/amy-coney-barrett-supreme-court.amp.html

Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses and Tax Avoidance

The Times obtained Donald Trump’s tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle, and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html

Global Coronavirus Deaths Pass 1 Million With No Sign Rate Is Slowing

The number of people who have died from Covid-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to a tally of cases maintained by Johns Hopkins University, with no sign the global death rate is slowing and infections on the rise again in countries that were thought to be controlling their outbreaks months ago.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/29/global-coronavirus-deaths-pass-1m-with-no-sign-rate-slowing

Trump Says He and First Lady Tested Positive for Coronavirus

President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties “without disruption” while recovering.

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-health-archive-hope-hicks-7fece2838ff7a9bd91ccf5ac287348b3

Trump, Stricken by COVID-19, Flown to Military Hospital

Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night after being injected with an experimental drug combination in treatment at the White House.

In a day of whipsaw events, the president who has spent months downplaying the threat of the virus was forced to cancel all campaign events a month before the election as he fought a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and is hitting others in his orbit as well.

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-elections-melania-trump-michael-pence-f6ba3a16ab9b74b161a3a7211248e97e

Trump, Still Infectious, Back at White House — Without Mask

President Donald Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House Monday night after leaving the military hospital where he was receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans — and then he entered the White House without a protective mask.

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-archive-d39bd670e8a280b6283abcdfc91d4794

Justice Dept. Files Landmark Antitrust Case Against Google

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google for abusing its dominance in online search and advertising — the government’s most significant attempt to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/google-justice-department-antitrust-0510e8f9047956254455ec5d4db06044

Barrett Confirmed as Supreme Court Justice in Partisan Vote

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court late Monday by a deeply divided Senate, Republicans overpowering Democrats to install President Donald Trump’s nominee days before the election and secure a likely conservative court majority for years to come.

Trump’s choice to fill the vacancy of the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg potentially opens a new era of rulings on abortion, the Affordable Care Act and even his own election. Democrats were unable to stop the outcome, Trump’s third justice on the court, as Republicans race to reshape the judiciary.

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-ruth-bader-ginsburg-amy-coney-barrett-82a02a618343c98b80ca2b6bf9eafe07

Biden Wins U.S. Presidency, Calls for Healing in Appeal to Trump Voters

President-elect Joe Biden declared it was “time to heal” a deeply divided America in his first speech after prevailing on Saturday in a bitter election, even as President Donald Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.

Biden’s victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes he needed to clinch the presidency, ending four days of nail-biting suspense and sending his supporters into the streets of major cities in celebration.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election/biden-wins-u-s-presidency-supporters-celebrate-in-deeply-divided-nation-idUSKBN27N08J

Alex Trebek, Long-Running ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, Dies at 80

Alex Trebek, who presided over the beloved quiz show “Jeopardy!” for more than 30 years with dapper charm and a touch of school-master strictness, died Sunday. He was 80.

Trebek, who announced in 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer, died at his California home, surrounded by family and friends, “Jeopardy!” studio Sony said.

https://apnews.com/article/alex-trebek-434c1a66a206d27e8177b118f602ac62?2

Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine Is Looking 90% Effective

Pfizer said Monday that an early peek at the data on its coronavirus vaccine suggests the shots may be a surprisingly robust 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, putting the company on track to apply later this month for emergency-use approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

https://apnews.com/article/pfizer-vaccine-effective-early-data-4f4ae2e3bad122d17742be22a2240ae8

U.S. Crosses 10 Million COVID-19 Cases as Third Wave of Infections Surges

The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-records/u-s-crosses-10-million-covid-19-cases-as-third-wave-of-infections-surges-idINKBN27P00U

‘Turning Point’: UK Giving 1st Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine

British health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval.

https://apnews.com/article/public-health-england-immunizations-coronavirus-pandemic-london-719288c35d8ef8815b56b1c9c5fff24c

US Government, States Bring Antitrust Action Against Facebook

Federal regulators asked Wednesday for Facebook to be ordered to divest its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services as the U.S. government and 48 states and districts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors.

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-312de23e330a318ff8d339ef38dfbc08

Several EU Nations Halt UK Flights, Fearing Virus Variant

Several European Union nations on Sunday banned flights from the U.K. and Germany was considering limiting such flights to make sure that a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England does not establish a strong foothold on the continent.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-england-united-kingdom-coronavirus-pandemic-germany-06a35eb02ce885ae7b80b2e1851ab893

Breakthrough: UK and EU Reach Post-Brexit Trade Agreement

Just a week before the deadline, Britain and the European Union struck a free-trade deal Thursday that should avert economic chaos on New Year’s and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.

Once ratified by both sides, the agreement will ensure Britain and the 27-nation bloc can continue to trade in goods without tariffs or quotas after the U.K. breaks fully free of the EU on Jan. 1.

https://apnews.com/article/brexit-europe-global-trade-coronavirus-pandemic-ursula-von-der-leyen-e4fd21be6500c709caee8b376c3c3d00

UK Judge Refuses US Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder Assange

A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges over the publication of secret U.S. documents a decade ago, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.

https://apnews.com/article/julian-assange-london-espionage-freedom-of-speech-europe-5b148b0b6b9f72a20eedad4218e8227a