Cqaa WATCH: Minnesota governor gives coronavirus update
CHICAGO 鈥?A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders has become a hub of misinformation and conspiracy theories that have pivoted to a variety of new targets. Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests of racial injustice.These groups, which now boast a collective audience of more than 1 million members, are still thriving after most states started lifting virus restrictions.And many have expanded their focus.One group transformed itself last month from Reopen California to California Patriots Pro Law O stanley cup rder, with recent posts mocking Black Lives Matter or ch stanley cup anging the slogan to White Lives Matter. Members have used profane slurs to refer to Black people and protesters, calling them animals, racist and thugs 鈥?a direct violation of Facebooks hate speech standards.Others have become gathering grounds for promoting conspiracy stanley cup theories about the protests, suggesting protesters were paid to go to demonstrations and that even the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police, was staged.An Associated Press review of the most recent posts in 40 of these Facebook groups 鈥?most of which were launched by conservative groups or pro-gun activists 鈥?found the conversations largely shifted last month to attacking the nationwide protests over the killing of Black men and women after Floyds death.Facebook users in some of Rzlg Republicans call on Adam Schiff to resign as House Intelligence Committee chair
RALEIGH, N.C. AP 鈥?A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutic af1 al plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone. Ive got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind, Stone said.The plant produces anesthesia airmax and other drugs as well as nearly 25 percent of the sterile injectable medications Pfizer supplies to U.S. hospitals, the company said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds. The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 150 mph 240 kph .The Edgecombe County Sheriffs Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three peo stanley cup ple injured in