May 4, 2020 - Health

Carnival to restart some U.S. cruises on Aug. 1

Photo: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

Carnival announced Monday it will restart some cruises departing from the U.S. on Aug. 1.

Why it matters: Cruise ships, including some under Carnival's Princess brand, became hot beds for coronavirus infections earlier this year, resulting in thousands of infections and dozens of deaths around the world, per the Miami Herald.

What's happening: The company said that eight ships will begin services from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston on Aug. 1, while other North American and Australian trips remain canceled through Aug. 31.

In its announcement, Carnival said the decision was meant to begin "a measured approach, focusing our return to service on a select number of homeports where we have more significant operations that are easily accessible by car for the majority of our guests."
It also said it would "use this additional time to continue to engage experts, government officials and stakeholders on additional protocols and procedures to protect" its guests and crew.

Go deeper: Carnival CEO defends coronavirus response

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Alayna Treene

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump backs off push to federalize forces against riots

Photo: Brendan Smialowski /AFP via Getty Images

A day after threatening to federalize forces to snuff out riots across the country, the president appears to be backing off the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, sources familiar with his plans tell Axios.

What we're hearing: Aides say he hasn’t ruled out its use at some point, but that he's “pleased” with the way protests were handled last night (apart from in New York City, as he indicated on Twitter today) — and that for now he's satisfied with leaving the crackdown to states through local law enforcement and the National Guard.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests continue for 8th day

Police officers wearing riot gear push back demonstrators outside of the White House on Monday. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people continued Tuesday across the U.S. for the eighth consecutive day, prompting a federal response from the National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The latest: The National Park Service said in a statement Tuesday that while it "is committed to the peaceful expression of First Amendment rights," it "cannot tolerate violence to citizens or officers or damage to our nation’s resources that we are entrusted to protect."

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Axios

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

American carnage

Protesters race up a hill to avoid tear gas in Philadelphia, June 1. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

The list of victims has swiftly grown since George Floyd died in police custody just eight days ago.

The big picture: Protests against police brutality have turned into a showcase of police brutality, with tear gas and rubber bullets deployed against crowds. The police have the arsenals at their disposal, but we're also seeing law enforcement officers becoming targets.

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