Add Lego to the list of companies that have benefited from people spending more time at home.
The Danish toy maker said Wednesday that sales jumped 14% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year. CEO Niels Christiansen pointed to investments in e-commerce as crucial during a period in which retail stores where shut. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/02/investing/lego-sales-pandemic-trnd/index.html

For many of Europe's naturists, and the tens of thousands of swingers among them, Cap d'Agde has become a traditional summer destination, but a coronavirus outbreak here has shone an uncomfortable light on their alternative lifestyle.
France has seen a surge in infections, with 7,000 people recently testing positive in one day. The southern area of Hérault, and Cap d'Agde in particular, has seen some of the biggest numbers. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53978430

"Tower, American 1997 - we just passed a guy in a jetpack," the pilot of American Airlines flight 1997 from Philadelphia told officials in the control tower as he approached LAX around 18:30 local time (01:30 GMT).
"Were they off to your left side or right side?" the controller responds, leading the pilot to say the person was 300 yards to the plane's left.
Within a minute, a pilot flying JetBlue Flight 23 also reported seeing a man fly past. As the controller advised the pilot to be cautious, he added "Only in LA", according to LiveATC.net, which records air-traffic control transmissions. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54004695

A model often cited by top health officials dramatically raised its projections for US Covid-19 deaths Friday morning, predicting over 410,000 deaths by January 1 — which would mean another 224,000 Americans lost in just the next four months. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-09-04-20-intl/h_ca110bcc10459d98ccd7c1a7e467b293

WHO figures from last week show that almost 88% of all deaths in Europe were among people aged 65 and over. And almost half of all deaths linked to Covid-19 globally have taken place in care homes, according to the Long-Term Care Covid (LTCcovid) network at the London School of Economics. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-09-04-20-intl/h_da21cadc267ca893ffeee23d59c35b8b

German pharmaceutical company CureVac says it is receiving a further 252 million euros ($298 million) to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
The company says its request for additional funding has been approved by Germany’s Ministry for Education and Research, provided certain milestones are reached. https://apnews.com/f46f42fc81fb17401b0c5f0902b06367

A US federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the controversial National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden was illegal. The ruling stopped short of calling the program unconstitutional.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said that the program, under which the NSA collected and analyzed bulk data provided by telecommunications companies, was in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and could have been unconstitutional. https://www.dw.com/en/nsa-snowden/a-54797779

Police Don’t Have Their Story Straight About the Killing of Michael Reinoehl
He'd been on the run since he was named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of a supporter of the far-right Patriot Prayer last weekend. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3zjnb/police-dont-have-their-story-straight-about-the-killing-of-michael-reinoehl

Activist Michael Reinoehl was killed by police as they attempted to arrest him near Seattle Thursday night, hours after VICE News shared a conversation with him in which he appeared to admit that he shot a right-wing protester last weekend. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7g8vb/man-linked-to-killing-at-a-portland-protest-says-he-acted-in-self-defense

The German Foreign Ministry announced new travel warnings late Wednesday for high-risk regions throughout Europe. In France, existing warnings will be extended to the island Corsica, Ile-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. 
Travelers to Switzerland are warned against visiting the cantons of Geneva and Vaud, while the censure also applies to the Czech capital of Prague and parts of Croatia. 
Additionally, the blanket travel warning for around 160 non-European countries will only be extended until the end of September, after which authorities will evaluate each country individually.  https://p.dw.com/p/3iFkh

Germany - The number of coronavirus infections is rising again significantly. After lockdown measures were eased in mid-July, around 300 to 500 new cases were reported each day, but now that figure has increased to 1,300 a day, even reaching more than 2,000 on one recent occasion. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cold-corona-comfort-germany-braces-for-the-second-covid-19-wave-a-dffa14d7-aab3-457c-9258-570f98b80fd6

Nature provided some relief Thursday for firefighters in East County, with less severe winds than expected and cooler temperatures ahead as crews continued to make progress against the Valley fire.
The blaze has charred 17,665 acres and destroyed at least 30 homes since it ignited Saturday in the Japatul Valley southeast of Alpine.
By Thursday evening, crews had the fire 35 percent contained as favorable weather conditions returned to the region. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2020-09-10/firefighters-report-progress-valley-fire-now-32-percent-contained

The coronavirus can directly invade the brain, causing headaches, confusion and delirium in some patients, according to a study led by Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki. 
According to the paper, the virus is able to replicate inside the brain, and its presence starves nearby cells of oxygen. The research is, however, still preliminary but offers new evidence to support what was previously an untested theory. - https://p.dw.com/p/3iFkh

The Japanese operator of a ship that leaked oil off the Mauritius coast pledged Friday to pay at least $9.4 million (€7.9 million) to help restore areas affected by the spill.
Mauritius previously asked Japan to provide at least $34 million to help deal with the ramifications of the oil spill.
Mitsui OSK Lines said in a statement that it planned to "contribute a total fund of about one billion Japanese yen ($9.4 million) over several years to support measures" to restore the marine environment. https://p.dw.com/p/3iJUN

Hundreds of firefighters battled two large wildfires Friday that threatened to merge near the most populated part of Oregon, including the suburbs of Portland, and the governor said dozens of people are missing in other parts of the state. https://apnews.com/429f97bdf66aaa28a4dd43879a412503

Mourners gathered Thursday at the wake of a newspaper reporter whose decapitated body was found a day earlier in an area of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz that has suffered months of organized crime violence. https://apnews.com/971838bdc47537193af800d7f90600f6

This new electric car has over 1,000 horsepower
Lucid Motors, led by ex-Tesla engineer Peter Rawlinson, has revealed its first lineup. The Lucid Air models are luxury sedans ranging in price from $80,000 to more than $169,000. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/09/09/lucid-air-reveal-electric-vehicle-tesla-orig.cnn-business

The United States plans to end enhanced health screening of travelers from certain countries next week, and those visitors will no longer be funneled through 15 large U.S. airports. https://apnews.com/71c104b24db8c7dac67fa299ea39701f

Europe can expect an increase in its daily coronavirus death rate throughout October and November as cases rise across the continent, the head of the World Health Organization's (WHO) European branch said on Monday.
"We expect an increase of COVID-19 cases which sadly means more cases of death," the WHO Regional Office for Europe confirmed https://p.dw.com/p/3iQvN

Sarah Hawkins has lost everything. In just four hours, her Northern California farm was consumed by one of multiple fast-moving wildfires laying waste to three western US states. Days of dry and windy conditions are feeding blazes the likes of which even those accustomed to wildfires have not seen before. https://p.dw.com/p/3iQWH

US woman faces hefty fine after 'causing coronavirus outbreak in Bavaria' - Despite showing symptoms of the coronavirus, a 26-year-old US citizen allegedly went out partying in the Alpine resort of Garmisch thus starting a wave of infections in the town. https://mastodon.online/@a1leint/104866155594408996