Micdave Byte

  North Korean leader  Kim Jong Un  declared victory in the battle against the novel coronavirus, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media said on Thursday. North Korea  has not revealed how many confirmed infections of the virus it has found, but since July 29 it has reported no new suspected cases with what international aid organizations say are limited testing capabilities. While lifting the maximum anti-pandemic measures, Kim said that North Korea must maintain a "steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier and intensifying the anti-epidemic work until the end of the global health crisis," according to a report by state news agency KCNA. Analysts said that although the authoritarian North has   used   the pandemic to tighten social controls, its victory declaration could be a prelude to restoring trade hampered by border lockdowns and other restrictions. Observers have also said it may clear the way for the North to condu...

  A city council in Alabama has voted to dissolve its three-member police department after the assistant chief sent a racist text message to other officers, according to the mayor, James Latimer. At an emergency meeting of the Vincent City Council on August 4, members moved to suspend with pay the Chief of Police James Srygley and Assistant Chief of Police John L. Gross. The third officer, Lee Cardin, resigned later that evening after the council voted to pursue fully dissolving the department. It left the city's nearly 2,000 residents with no active police officers. The next day, the  Shelby County Sheriff's Office  said it was "currently handling" all law enforcement emergency calls for Vincent, which is located about 35 miles east of Birmingham.  "The Shelby County Sheriff's Office was recently notified by the Vincent City Council and Mayor regarding the recent allegations of misconduct within the Vincent Police Department, and we equally condemn these act...

  A few weeks ago, I was in the elevator with my friend [name]. He was just going up to see his boss, but I was already at my floor. "Hey," he said, "I'm going to see my boss. Want to come?" "Sure," I said. We got off on the same floor and walked over to his office together. He knocked on the door, and after a moment someone answered. "Come on in!" she said. We went inside and sat down at her desk, where she introduced herself as [name]. She told us about how she'd started working for [company name], and then she started talking about her job: "I'm working on this new software that will allow people to order food online by texting their phone number." She pointed out some of the features they'd been working on: "It'll have a GPS feature so that you can order from anywhere in town without having to go through all those steps again!" And then she asked us what we thought of it so far. I told her it sounded am...

  A few weeks ago, I was in the elevator with my friend [name]. He was just going up to see his boss, but I was already at my floor. "Hey," he said, "I'm going to see my boss. Want to come?" "Sure," I said. We got off on the same floor and walked over to his office together. He knocked on the door, and after a moment someone answered. "Come on in!" she said. We went inside and sat down at her desk, where she introduced herself as [name]. She told us about how she'd started working for [company name], and then she started talking about her job: "I'm working on this new software that will allow people to order food online by texting their phone number." She pointed out some of the features they'd been working on: "It'll have a GPS feature so that you can order from anywhere in town without having to go through all those steps again!" And then she asked us what we thought of it so far. I told her it sounded am...

  The first time they heard the sound of their own heartbeat, they were in a car. The car was moving, and the sound was coming from the dashboard, but when they looked out at the road and saw nothing but empty street, they still heard the sound. It was a muffled thud that seemed to be coming from somewhere deep inside them. ❤They didn't know what to make of it at first, but then they realized that it was like hearing their own pulse—it wasn't loud or clear or even particularly distinct from other sounds around them, but there was an undeniable edge to it that made them feel as though there was something happening inside their bodies that wasn't supposed to happen yet. It was kind of exciting! They had never felt like this before—like something inside them had been awakened by some new experience or knowledge or emotion. It felt… new.

  Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Cathy. She had always wanted to be a scientist. But her parents were very strict and didn't allow her to have anything that they considered "too modern" in the house. One day, while shopping at the mall with her mother, she saw an advertisement for an app that would let you learn everything about math and science just by playing games on your phone. She asked her mother if she could get it for her birthday. Her mother said no and told her not to ask again. But then she changed her mind and said yes—just this once! The next day, when they were driving home from the mall, they got into an accident with another car. The other driver was taken to the hospital and died before he could tell anyone what happened. So now everyone thinks that Genghis Khan died in an accident on his way home from the mall!