Feb 22, 2019

R. Kelly charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse

Demonstrators gather near R. Kelly's studio to call for a boycott of his music. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

R&B singer R. Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Friday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His first court date will be March 8.

Driving the news: According to the Daily Beast, celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti turned over a video tape to Cook County prosecutors last Thursday that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl. Last year, BuzzFeed's Jim DeRogatis published an investigation into Kelly, saying parents told police that R. Kelly kept women against their will in an abusive "cult." BuzzFeed News and Hulu developed a feature documentary on the subject of his alleged abuse and exploitation of young black women.

Go deeper: Women of color have been saying #MeToo for decades

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

21 mins ago - World

Scoop: Chinese biotech giant's U.S. subsidiary received PPP loan

Chinese biotech company BGI Genomics provided mobile labs for conducting COVID-19 tests at a sports center in Beijing. Photo credit: Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao via Getty Images.

A U.S. subsidiary of Chinese genomics company BGI Group received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to data on the program released by the U.S. Treasury Department this week.

Why it matters: BGI's close ties to the Chinese government, which is constructing a massive genetics database of its population, have raised concerns among U.S. officials.

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Axios

Updated 38 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 a.m. ET: 12,077,210 — Total deaths: 550,327 — Total recoveries — 6,636,374 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1o:30 a.m. ET: 3,055,491 — Total deaths: 132,310 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 37,431,666 — Map.
Public health: Cases rise in 33 states — Fauci says states with severe outbreaks "should seriously look at shutting down"
Education: How Trump's push to reopen schools could backfire — College sports stare down a disaster in the fall.
Jobs: 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment last week.

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Axios

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Supreme Court says Manhattan prosecutors can obtain Trump's financial records

Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Manhattan prosecutors can obtain President Trump's financial records — and punted House Democrats' efforts to access similar records to a lower court.

Why it matters: The Manhattan ruling, a 7-2 decision, is a stinging loss for Trump, who has fought relentlessly to keep these records secret.