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Astronomers capture new images of Jupiter using 'lucky' technique

Detailed pictures of planet glowing through clouds were taken with telescope in Hawaii

Astronomers have captured some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground using a technique known as “lucky imaging”.

The observations, from the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s dormant volcano Mauna Kea, reveal lightning strikes and storm systems forming around deep clouds of water ice and liquid. The images show the warm, deep layers of the planet’s atmosphere glowing through gaps in thick cloud cover in a “jack-o-lantern”-like effect.

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'Never give up, never despair': the Queen's VE Day message

Televised broadcast includes extracts from Churchill’s historic victory speech

The Queen led tributes to the wartime generation on Friday night, recalling the “never give up, never despair” message of VE Day as the country marked the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe.

In a special broadcast, on a unique day of remembrance, reflection and celebration taking place during the coronavirus lockdown, she said: “Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.

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John Crace's big bank holiday quiz

Have you been keeping up with the news?

What reason did the government give for not joining the EU procurement scheme on four separate occasions?

Brussels had the wrong address so we never got the email

We weren’t allowed to because we had left the EU.

All the European ventilators had the wrong plugs.

In her evidence to the home affairs select committee, did Priti Patel say that the reason passengers weren’t tested on arrival at airports was because...

The UK had too many international air passengers

The UK had too few international air passengers

The UK had both too many and too few international air passengers

The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, owns three homes, two of which are in London. Where is the third which he visited in contravention of lockdown rules?

Exmoor

His constituency of Newark

Herefordshire

What did the Daily Mail think VE Day stood for in its readers’ offer for a 75th Anniversary Celebration coin?

Victory in Europe

Victory for Europe

Victory over Europe

Who was visited by the police after breaking lockdown to go to Dover to make a video about his failure to find any illegal immigrants?

Richard Tice

John Redwood

Nigel Farage

How many people in South Korea (population 52 million) have died from the coronavirus?

256

2,560

25,600

What did Donald Trump suggest people should think about using to help them beat coronavirus?

Sunbed courses

Dettol

Chloroquine

What is France selling to help pay for the coronavirus crisis?

The Arc de Triomphe

The wine cellar of the Elysee Palace

Its national collection of antique furniture

How long do you get on a free Zoom conference call?

30 minutes

40 minutes

60 minutes

What was Boris Johnson doing when he took 10 days off in Chequers in February during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic?

Recovering from his 10-day break to Mustique at the New Year.

Sorting out his complicated private life.

Helping Carrie Symonds arrange a baby shower for her friends.

What was the name of the two doctors who cared for Boris Johnson in St Thomas’ after whom he named his son?

Imran

Ranjit

Nicholas

What aliases did the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, use for his second job as an internet marketeer when first elected as an MP?

Maurice Blue and Archie Stoat

Mostyn Orange and Torquil Beaver

Michael Green and Sebastian Fox

How many coronavirus tests did Priti Patel tell a Downing Street press conference had been carried out?

300,034,974,000

3,000,349,740,000

30,034,974,000

Who is being lined up to take the blame for the inevitable public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic?

The EU

Matt Hancock

Meghan and Harry

How much will a mug of coronavirus breakout star, Chris Whitty, cost you from the ‘Chris Whitty Appreciation Society’?

£8

£10

£12

What did deputy chief medical officer, Jenny Harries, tell a Downing Street press conference in March that couples should do?

Separate

Stop being so needy

Move in together

Banksy has donated a new artwork to Southampton general hospital. It depicts a boy holding up

A testing kit

A Boris Action man

A nurse doll

Where is Tom Cruise’s new film set to be shot?

The International Space Station

Richard Branson’s Necker Island

The Nightingale Hospital in London

What was Meghan reading to her son Archie in his first birthday video

Lights! Camera! Action!

Duck! Rabbit!

Duck! Never!

15 and above.

Excellent: give yourself a round of applause

11 and above.

Well done: you seem to have been paying attention to the news

7 and above.

Not bad: you appear to have been trying to keep with events

0 and above.

Risible: were you trying to get the answers wrong?

3 and above.

Very poor: do you follow the news at all?

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Vanessa Feltz: ‘Preserve your mystique at all costs’

The broadcaster, 58, on God, privacy, Mini convertibles, the rudeness of Madonna and her school nickname, Vanessa the Undresser

Even aged two, I was a child of great perspicacity. At nursery we had to answer the register by saying “Yes, Auntie” or “Present, please”, which I found deeply confusing. First, I thought, you’re not my auntie. And if I’m asking politely for a present every day, where on earth is it?

Vanessa the Undresser was my nickname at school, and I put that down to my parents. When a sex scene started on TV I was banished to the hall. I’d stand with one ear against the door desperately trying to work out who was doing what to whom and in what position. Thus was aroused in me an unshakable thirst for sex in all its permutations. I’ve never tired of it, menopause or not.

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YNDX Q1 2020: замедление роста и отказ от прогноза эффективности Яндекса на дальнейший год

У группы компаний Яндекса нет проблем с ростом, но поддерживавшие рост: рекламный рынок, Такси и некоторые другие сегменты замедляются и продолжат замедляться на фоне неопределённости и проблем в экономике, вызванных эпидемией коронавируса..




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Amsterdam's "Cat Boat" Is A Floating Cat Sanctuary

Welcome to the one and only cat sanctuary that floats! A true hidden gem in Amsterdam. 

De Poezenboot (translated in English to 'The Cat Boat') first began not on a boat at all. In 1966, a woman in Amsterdam, known as v. Weddle, found a stray mother cat with kittens and took on the task of caring for them. Soon enough, more and more cats began to come and be taken under her wing. 

Fast forward to two years later in 1968 and the first boat was born! V. Weedle had a large house with a terrace but was soon becoming too small for the cats so she bought a boat on the canal! The boat was named 'The Tjalk' and was completely furnished and made suitable for all the cats. And as soon as the floating santuary was open people came to help care for all those stray cats -- the first volunteers. 

Written in the history of De Poezenboot, "The Tjalk has served faithfully for about 10 years and was replaced by an Ark at the end of 1979. And because the Ark was specially built on the yard for the shelter of cats, this boat met all the requirements we set for it. "

And in 1987, the foundation was founded, "Stichting de Poezenboot."

De Poezenboot is home to so many beautiful cats but is also working to help cats find a forever home with a family. You can donate to their cause here. 

Follow 'The Cat Boat' on Instagram




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Purrfect Combination Of Creepiness And Cats ("Creepy Cat" Comic)

Artist Cotton Valent has created a brilliant cat comic series called, "Creepy Cat."

Creepy Cat is the purrfect combination of creepiness and cats! Honestly, what more can you want in life? The story begins when Flora, the human, moves into an old house. Turns out, the old house is occupied by a "creepy cat." And that is where their story begins! 

You can follow the amazing series on Manga Mutiny! We love "Creepy Cat!"




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How to Prevent Your Pet From Developing Separation Anxiety Post Quarantine

During this crazy time many of us have been confined to our homes and for some that means to be home 24/7 with our best friends. Our pets. However, because of this, many pets have become accustomed to having us home with them. 

But then the question is... will they be okay once bans are lifted and people are able to slowly go back to their daily routines?

Will they be able to handle their best friends not being by their side 24/7?

It is expected that many dogs (even cats!) can suffer from separation anxiety, and pet experts are saying that it's a good idea to get your pet ready and used to post-quarantine separation now, to minimize their stress later. 

Here are some useful tips for both dog and cat owners.

More videos on Cheezburger's Youtube Channel 





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Somebody Built The Cutest "Cheers" Bar For A Squirrel

When @JoshuaPotash shared this cute video on twitter, people couldn't handle the thought of a cute little squirrel going to a place where everybody knows its name.




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People Photoshop "Zoom Calls" Screenshots Of Cats Stunned By Other Cats In Steamy Position

In days when face-to-face interaction is so 2019 and millions of people all over the world are zooming in with other people, it is only natural that the people on the internet will find a way to get the cats involved too. 

So, they created a fake screenshot of a zoom call by taking a pic of a cat in a steamy position, put it in a video call frame, and adding a photo of another cat shocked by it. 

And the result? Simply brilliant. And hilarious. 






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it sucks being an artist in quarantine.

i'm apparently part of a band now? i mean none of us live close to each other but i'm making contributions to this group's songwriting and like i'm the only guitarist so,, i probably have to stay but it's stressful when you're trying to write your own songs for your own projects and then there's all this school stuff hanging over your head and it's like you're procrastinating on literally everything.
i'm painting my own killjoy mask. i got a party poison one but i'm doing one for myself too.might go crazy and cut the sleeves off a denim jacket i never wear and use all that fabric for patches for uh. crust punk jeans or something. maybe i'll learn to play in drop d tuning, maybe i'll go in the basement when people leave and teach myself a good ol fashioned screamo scream. learn to play the solo for demolition lovers and go nuts, do that song both guitar and singing. figure out how to use the multitracker thing i have and learn how to actually record stuff. i can't be "productive" by societal standards right now. i gotta create. i don't like how we live in a culture of guilt with that type of stuff. if art is supposed to come out of world crises there shouldn't be any shame in that.




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Little Witch Academia VR Game Debuts for Oculus Quest in Late 2020

Also debuts for PSVR, Oculus Rift, SteamVR in early 2021




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"Robert E.T." is The Height of Stupid Brilliance

Here's a video that took the Ken Burns Civil War documentary and remorselessly smooshed in a much E.T. as it could handle. Dear god it's so stupid and wonderful. Bravo.




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Misplaced Mannequins That Messed With People's Brains

Man, just imagine walking around and seeing one of these mannequins in one of these bizarre positions, and the reality trip that that'd throw you for? A definite double take would be in order. Can imagine the cops being called on some of these. Mannequins are already eerie enough as it is. 




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Awkward Sex Ed Questions Students Asked

Sex education can be a shock to some kids, and being a teacher trying to get 40 children to not laugh every time you say "testicles" has to be a nightmare. A sex-ed class can become an absolute minefield even when kids aren't asking questions. They don't know any better, and that's the time and place for it, but everyone remembers the awkward questions that got asked in Sex Ed. You can't exactly blame someone's ignorance, but manpeople say some absurdly dumb things in complete seriousness.




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Why The "Star Wars" Sequel Trilogy Was Doomed From The Start

Our friends at Cracked are back at it again with a fresh installment to their weekly video series, "Your Brain On Cracked." This one's just too much fun. 





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Majestically Unprofessional "Not My Job" Moments

Work in any field long enough and you'll see your fair share of wonderfully unprofessional "not my job" moments. There's slides that go right off buildings, misspelled signs and extremely lazy line painting, just to name a few. It makes you feel good about yourself to see people's majestically incompetent "not my job" moments.






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An unequal society means covid-19 is hitting ethnic minorities harder

People from an ethnic minority are disproportionately affected by covid-19. Researchers say the reasons are rooted in existing social and healthcare inequalities




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We must act quickly to avoid a pandemic-related mental health crisis

We are already seeing the pandemic's effects on mental health, and we need to act urgently to avoid a full-blown crisis, says Sam Howells  




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The sun is too quiet, which may mean dangerous solar storms in future

Stars that are similar to the sun in every way we can measure are mostly more active than the sun, which hints that the sun’s activity may ramp up someday, risking solar eruptions




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Pondering the big question of consciousness is a welcome distraction

Our best mathematical theory of consciousness is sparking a rethink of one of science’s hardest problems – how simple matter gives rise to a complex mind




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The moon is emitting carbon, raising questions about how it was formed

The leading hypothesis for how the moon formed involves a collision between a Mars-sized object and Earth that would have boiled away elements like carbon, making its discovery on the moon a mystery




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Quarentine




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In Israel, a family of three adults are declared the children's equal parents.




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Friday Polynews Roundup — More on sweet polyam on ABC sitcom, a Christian writer self-trolls, and that damn word "throuple" becomes unstoppable




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New survey: "Millennials are less likely to want a monogamous relationship"




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Friday Polynews Roundup — Kids of polyfamilies, more TV, by 2030 "a growing market for ‘polymoons’" after multi-weddings, and more



  • children of polyamory
  • Friday Polynews Roundup
  • kids
  • Poly 101

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Friday Polynews Roundup – The Val's Day polyamory media surge, more upcoming TV, polygroups are "all in this together," and more




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Friday Polynews Roundup — Triad storyline on "The Connors," Black Poly Nation gets TV rep, loving polyfamily profiles, community dreams, and evangelical worry that this all hits too close to home



  • Friday Polynews Roundup
  • poly and christian
  • polyamory on TV
  • tabloids

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Friday Polynews Roundup — Polyfolks cope with coronavirus, LDRing across town, 'Trigonometry' and other TV, and a happy quad is spotlighted



  • Friday Polynews Roundup
  • polyamory on TV
  • TV



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They're noticing us: "Multi-Partner Sexual-Rights Crusade on the Horizon"




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Friday Polynews Roundup — "Social power and quarantine in polyamorous relationships," Roswell TV series, more.




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Friday Polynews Roundup — Quarantine keeping and breaking, a research call, poly films, and more.



  • Friday Polynews Roundup

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Putting your own stink on a technique

Scotland’s Valerie Anderson (bedeckedbeads) has played and played with Sonya Girodon’s free tutorial. With this latest brooch, Valerie puts her own spin on the process with deep watery colors. And if you look at the side view you’ll see how her curved strips add another departure. When you put your own “stink” on a technique […] Read more




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Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya boat people on island: officials




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'Never Seen Anything Like This': Experts Question Dropping of Flynn Prosecution

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's decision to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, even though he had twice pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, was extraordinary and had no obvious precedent, a range of criminal law specialists said Thursday."I've been practicing for more time than I care to admit and I've never seen anything like this," said Julie O'Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at Georgetown University.The move is the latest in a series that the department, under Attorney General William Barr, has taken to undermine and dismantle the work of the investigators and prosecutors who scrutinized Russia's 2016 election interference operation and its links to people associated with the Trump campaign.The case against Flynn for lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador was brought by the office of the former special counsel, Robert Mueller. It had become a political cause for Trump and his supporters, and the president had signaled that he was considering a pardon once Flynn was sentenced. But Barr instead abruptly short-circuited the case.On Thursday, Timothy Shea, the interim U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, told the judge overseeing the case, Emmet G. Sullivan, that prosecutors were withdrawing the case. They were doing so, he said, because the department could not prove to a jury that Flynn's admitted lies to the FBI about his conversations with the ambassador were "material" ones.The move essentially erases Flynn's guilty pleas. Because he was never sentenced and the government is unwilling to pursue the matter further, the prosecution is virtually certain to end, although the judge must still decide whether to grant the department's request to dismiss it "with prejudice," meaning it could not be refiled in the future.A range of former prosecutors struggled to point to any previous instance in which the Justice Department had abandoned its own case after obtaining a guilty plea. They portrayed the justification Shea pointed to -- that it would be difficult to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the lies were material -- as dubious."A pardon would have been a lot more honest," said Samuel Buell, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches criminal law at Duke University.The law regarding what counts as "material" is extremely forgiving to the government, Buell added. The idea is that law enforcement is permitted to pursue possible theories of criminality and to interview people without having firmly established that there was a crime first.James G. McGovern, a defense lawyer at Hogan Lovells and a former federal prosecutor, said juries rarely bought a defendant's argument that a lie did not involve a material fact."If you are arguing 'materiality,' you usually lose, because there is a tacit admission that what you said was untrue, so you lose the jury," he said.No career prosecutors signed the motion. Shea is a former close aide to Barr. In January, Barr installed him as the top prosecutor in the district that encompasses the nation's capital after maneuvering out the Senate-confirmed former top prosecutor in that office, Jessie K. Liu.Soon after, in an extraordinary move, four prosecutors in the office abruptly quit the case against Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone. They did so after senior Justice Department officials intervened to recommend a more lenient prison term than standard sentencing guidelines called for in the crimes Stone was convicted of committing -- including witness intimidation and perjury -- to conceal Trump campaign interactions with WikiLeaks.It soon emerged that Barr had also appointed an outside prosecutor, Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis, to review the Flynn case files. The department then began turning over FBI documents showing internal deliberations about questioning Flynn, like what warnings to give -- even though such files are usually not provided to the defense.Flynn's defense team has mined such files for ammunition to portray the FBI as running amok in its decision to question Flynn in the first place. The questioning focused on his conversations during the transition after the 2016 election with the Russian ambassador about the Obama administration's imposition of sanctions on Russia for its interference in the American election.The FBI had already concluded that there was no evidence that Flynn, a former Trump campaign adviser, had personally conspired with Russia about the election, and it had decided to close out the counterintelligence investigation into him. Then questions arose about whether and why Flynn had lied to administration colleagues like Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the ambassador.Because the counterintelligence investigation was still open, the bureau used it as a basis to question Flynn about the conversations and decided not to warn him at its onset that it would be a crime to lie. Notes from Bill Priestap, then the head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, show that he wrote at one point about the planned interview: "What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"Barr has also appointed another outside prosecutor, John H. Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to reinvestigate the Russia investigators even though the department's independent inspector general was already scrutinizing them.And his department has intervened in a range of other ways, from seeking more comfortable prison accommodations last year for Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, to abruptly dropping charges in March against two Russian shell companies that were about to go to trial for financing schemes to interfere in the 2016 election using social media.Barr has let it be known that he does not think the FBI ever had an adequate legal basis to open its Russia investigation in the first place, contrary to the judgment of the Justice Department's inspector general.In an interview on CBS News on Thursday, Barr defended the dropping of the charges against Flynn on the grounds that the FBI "did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage."Anne Milgram, a former federal prosecutor and former New Jersey attorney general who teaches criminal law at New York University, defended the FBI's decision to question Flynn in January 2017. She said that much was still a mystery about the Russian election interference operation at the time and that Flynn's lying to the vice president about his postelection interactions with a high-ranking Russian raised new questions.But, she argued, the more important frame for assessing the dropping of the case was to recognize how it fit into the larger pattern of the Barr-era department "undercutting the law enforcement officials and prosecutors who investigated the 2016 election and its aftermath," which she likened to "eating the Justice Department from the inside out."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company





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Coronavirus: Are dentists open for emergency care? And other questions

Are dentists open for emergency care, and other questions answered by BBC experts.




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PMQs: Villiers and Johnson on London Underground services

In response, Boris Johnson suggested a "bigger and more expansive" Tube service in London would help people travel more safely.




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PMQs: Starmer and Johnson on UK coronavirus death rates

The Labour leader says the UK's coronavirus death figures are “not success or apparent success“.




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Rory Stewart quits Mayor of London race

The former cabinet minister says he cannot ask campaign volunteers to work for another year.




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Coronavirus: 'Severe consequences' if lockdown lifted too early

The NI Executive says agreeing how to relax measures is the most crucial decision it will ever make.




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Quiz of the Week: What's in a (baby) name for Elon Musk?

How closely have you been paying attention to what's been going on during the past seven days?




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The flamboyant life of 'King and Queen of rock 'n' roll'

The self-styled "king and queen of rock 'n' roll" - who inspired Elvis and The Beatles - dies at 87.




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UK 'to bring in 14-day quarantine' for air passengers

An airline industry body says it has been told coronavirus quarantining will start from the end of May.