海角大神

What does the data tell us about the repercussions officers face after on-duty killings? Has there been any change since cellphone videos and the Black Lives Matter movement launched widespread awareness of those deaths?

What constitutes an emergency and what becomes a new normal? That鈥檚 the question being weighed as the coronavirus crisis tests American civil liberties.

There are few borders in the world as open as that between the United States and Canada. Now, its closure amid the coronavirus pandemic is having a profound effect on binational families.

From home-schooling kids to trying to save a business, our reporter鈥檚 鈥渜uarantine family鈥� is dealing with the same challenges as many. Facing an uncertain summer, they鈥檙e now relying on each other in new ways.

Sometimes a concept clicks, and with lots of help you can address multiple problems. This new nonprofit combines funders, food businesses, and volunteers to ease food insecurity and keep some workers on the job.

From debut novels to political biographies, May brings showers of new releases to entertain and enlighten.

The pandemic lockdown has pushed many people to do what they should have done long ago. Clean out closets. Rethink finances. Set new goals. Now entire countries are in cleansing mode. On Thursday, for example, lawmakers in Lebanon agreed to end banking secrecy for public officials. It was a first step toward curbing corruption and the first of many reforms being forced on Lebanon by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.

Since March, more than 100 countries like Lebanon have sought a financial rescue from the International Monetary Fund 鈥� the world鈥檚 banker of last resort. The aid, however, often comes with strings attached, such as demands for transparency in banking or accountability in how public money is spent. For nations in need, the coronavirus emergency could end up being a healer of old wounds.

鈥淗istory shows that crises and disasters have continually set the stage for change, often for the better,鈥� states a new report on post-COVID-19 trends from the corruption watchdog Transparency International. In early May, a group of 97 civil society organizations sent a letter to the IMF asking it to ensure that its aid is tied to reforms. Accountability and transparency, the group said, are key 鈥渢o protecting lives and livelihoods.鈥�

That is especially true for Lebanon, a country that once had a vibrant middle class but now finds more than 50% of its people living below the poverty line. The IMF predicts Lebanon will experience one of the world鈥檚 worst recessions this year.

Hunger protests broke out in Beirut a few weeks ago, largely directed at banks and their role in secretly funneling corrupt money out of the country. In May, Lebanon finally opened talks with the IMF. Its leaders were quickly told to make reforms for 鈥渋nclusive growth鈥� and to widen the social safety net. To be given more funds for medical and educational needs, the government must first stop the flow of illicit money through banks.

Expect other countries to start enacting reforms like those in Lebanon. 鈥淲e may never return to the world we left behind before COVID-19,鈥� states the Transparency International report. Indeed, a health crisis could bring an awakening to the need for honest and open governance.

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