| THE BIG STORY
The internet has been down in Kashmir for almost seven months Last August India’s government announced the end of Article 370 of the constitution, which gave some autonomy to the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir. In an attempt to limit protests, the government then shut down internet access in the region.
Kashmir is still under internet blackout almost seven months later — the longest such shutdown that’s ever happened in a democracy. Pranav Dixit went to Kashmir to find out what life is like under the blackout.
He found it has completely upended the lives of Kashmir’s young people. “I feel like there’s an iron curtain between the rest of the world and us,” says Khushgufter Afimed Shah-Pirzada, a 20-year-old linguistics undergrad. “We can move around, but we can’t see, feel, or breathe.”
It’s also wreaked absolute havoc on the economy. “I was flying to New Delhi from Srinagar twice a week just to check my email,” said one CEO.
Nurphoto / Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS The Department of Justice has a new “Denaturalization Section” It’s a new team of US attorneys devoted to stripping US citizenship from naturalized citizens — people not born in the US who have obtained citizenship here. The team will “pursue those who unlawfully obtained citizenship status and ensure that they are held accountable for their fraudulent conduct, the DoJ said.
This doesn’t happen very often, but it’s increasing, reports Hamed Aleaziz. There have been 94 denaturalization cases filed since 2017, and the annual filing rate is up 200% in the last three years.
And while the new team may not file that many cases, it sends a message, experts said. “It shows that the administration’s desire to keep immigrants ‘looking over their shoulder’ extends past legalization and even naturalization. If you weren’t born here, this administration is trying to keep you uncomfortable,” said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
SNAPSHOTS Six people are dead after a mass shooting at the Molson Coors complex in Milwaukee. An employee shot and killed five colleagues before killing himself, police said.
There’s a new theory of the coronavirus brewing among hardcore Trump supporters online. It involves China and the Deep State and the usual nonsense.
Kazuhisa Hashimoto, creator of the legendary Konami code, has died. May we all hit ⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬅️➡️⬅️➡️🅱️🅰️start in his memory.
Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign is struggling. Here’s how she’s fighting for a comeback.
CORONAVIRUS Mike Pence will lead the Trump administration’s response to coronavirus
In a press briefing at the White House, President Trump said Vice President Pence is “really very expert in the field” based on his experience as Governor of Indiana, and that the administration was “very, very ready” to handle an outbreak of the virus in the US.
But some public health experts said Pence’s history is a red flag. He once wrote an op-ed saying “smoking does not kill," he doesn’t believe climate change is real, and he takes issue with the effectiveness of condoms. And as Indiana governor, he was slow to respond effectively to an HIV outbreak there.
"Based on Pence’s response to the HIV outbreak in Indiana — 200 infections in that outbreak could have been prevented if that response had been earlier — that concerns me," said Steffanie Strathdee, associate dean of global health at UCSD School of Medicine. "We’re already getting a lot of mixed signals. The public really needs to be reassured right now."
TRUST THE TEENS Most teenagers don't have the right to vote. But they're the ones who will live with the long-term consequences of the 2020 election, so we asked 11 teenagers across the US to watch Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate and tell us what they thought. One common theme in the responses: how are they not talking about climate change? "It is frankly absurd that the issues that will be the biggest threats to our way of life in the 21st century weren’t debated," wrote Satchel Walton, 16.
Another: why are these people so....chaotic? And shouty? And unable to act like humans? "This debate was PURE chaos. Literally a HOT-ASS mess, and it solved nothing nor gave me any insight about the platforms or issues these candidates are trying to address," wrote Allyson Smith, 19, who gets it better than like, 98% of the people I saw on cable TV on debate night. "I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being," Tom P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (monthly memberships are available worldwide) 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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