Zika Comes To Florida And France Comes Together

More glass ceilings were shattered this weekend. Get to know Yuriko Koike, Tokyo’s first woman governor.

Zika virus has been creeping north for months, but Florida authorities now believe it’s settling into a comfy home in Miami. The virus, known for causing microcephaly in newborns and general terror in everyone else, became a global health emergency and the ruination of many a vacation. Governor Rick Scott said that active transmission of the virus was occurring within an area of Miami about the size of a square mile. So far, we know at least one woman and three men had been infected locally. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is no need for pregnant women to panic or avoid Miami yet, but the doctors that went door-to-door to alert an estimated 30,000 residents on Saturday tell a different story. CDC anticipates additional cases of “homegrown” Zika in the coming weeks.

How is the government responding?

The same way they did when the virus spread across the Americas: by canceling their vacations. Senate Democrats called on Congress to end its recess and immediately approve emergency funds to combat the Zika virus in the States. Florida Senator Bill Nelson demanded that Congress reconvene and release emergency funding, which lawmakers tried to do earlier this year but failed, prompting VP hopeful Tim Kaine to blurt out, “This is why people hate Congress.” Sure, we were all thinking it, but those words may come back to haunt him. The issue went unresolved just in time for the seven-week recess that began in June, coincidently the same time mosquito season starts in North America. Bravo, Congress.

Pnut Read: Everything You Need To Know About The Zika Virus

In a show of solidarity, Muslims across France attended Mass at local churches on Sunday, hoping to respond to Fr. Jacques Hamel’s murder with a display of unity and support for France’s Catholics. “We are very moved by the presence of our Muslim friends, and I believe it is a courageous act that they did by coming to us,” said Dominique Lebrun, the archbishop of Rouen. While tributes and dialogue were taking place in parishes across the country, police arrested two additional suspects allegedly involved in Fr. Jacques’ death. Twenty-year-old Jean-Philippe Steven J was put under formal investigation, as well as Farid K, a 30-year-old cousin of attacker Abdel Malik Petitjean.

A large explosion woke up the city of Kabul in the wee hours of the morning, only to leave them in the dark with panic and confusion. Around 1:30am local time, a truck bomb created a massive blast in the city, immediately followed by widespread power cuts throughout Kabul. The Taliban took credit for the attack an hour later, claiming their intentions were to target the North Gate hotel, a venue popular with foreigners in the Pul-e-Charkhi neighborhood. Afghan security forces exchanged fire with apparent assailants involved in the blast, but at the time of writing, there were no reported casualties.

This is a breaking story. Follow Daily Pnut on Twitter for more updates.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get more cringeworthy, Donald Trump decided to spend the better part of the weekend sparring with the parents of an American soldier who died in Iraq. Why? Because the parents, who are Muslim Americans, criticized Trump during last week’s DNC for his blatant anti-Muslim bigotry. In a long rambling interview with George Stephanopoulos, Trump inquired as to why the soldier’s mother was silent at the speech, implying she was silenced because of her faith. Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had to distance himself from Trump’s comments for the 100th or so time. It is unclear if these latest statements will hurt Trump in the polls…

Archetypal Dumbledore and “Ill Papa” Pope Francis wrapped up his trip to Poland this weekend, reminding Poland’s youth that they must look beyond social media if they want to change the world. Easy for him to say when he has nine Twitter accounts just for himself. “Download the best ‘link’ of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary,” the 79-year-old said, not realizing we don’t exactly download links. Muddled millennial jargon aside, the Pope’s words were mostly celebrated on the platform he thinks we should tune out: social media, of course.

Mad Men: Kevin Roberts, chairman of the advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi, was put on leave after his comments on women in the advertising industry stirred controversy. In a profile published on Business Insider, Roberts is quoted as saying the debate over gender diversity in advertising is “over,” and more women don’t become bosses because they prize work satisfaction over moving up. I guess he forgot that many of his company’s clients are women who might feel differently.

Germany: At least 35,000 people showed up to support Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a rally in Cologne. The anti-coup demonstration raised some diplomatic tensions after a message by Erdogan thanking the demonstrators was read to the public.

Texas: Investigators are still uncovering reasons behind the hot air balloon crash that killed 16 people on Saturday. Spokesman Robert Sumwalt said the balloon hit power lines before the crash, though it’s uncertain whether the fire broke out before or after the collision.

Insecure about their lackluster performance recently, Sweden is launching a three-year official study of its citizens’ sex lives. Recent surveys had shown that Swedes were not getting down as frequently as they used to, and rather than dropping viagra from airplanes across the country, a three-year research project seemed like a sexier option. Sweden’s Public Health Agency hopes the study will result in “changed attitudes” on having sex and that Sweden’s health policies will remind citizens of the “pleasurable aspects of sex.” But if Swedes need the government to remind them, it already seems like a lost cause.