News Headlines - 20 October 2019

▽Boris Johnson sends unsigned request to Brussels for Brexit delay | The Guardian

Despite the prime minister’s insistence that he would not “negotiate” a further extension of the UK’s membership of the EU, he confirmed on Saturday evening that he had sought such a prolongation.
Shortly after 10pm London time Tusk tweeted: “The extension request has just arrived. I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react.”
Johnson sent three letters: an unsigned photocopy of the request he was obliged to send under the Benn act, an explanatory letter from the UK’s ambassador to the EU and a letter explaining why Downing Street did not want an extension.

▽Biden expands edge in U.S. Democratic nomination race: Reuters/Ipsos poll - Reuters

Former Vice President Joe Biden expanded his lead over more than a dozen other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination this month as U.S. House Democrats looked into allegations that President Donald Trump tried to pressure a foreign leader to investigate him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.
The Oct. 17-18 opinion poll found that 21% of Democrats and independents said they would vote for Biden in statewide nominating contests that begin next year, up 3 percentage points from a similar poll that was conducted at the end of September... The House could vote to impeach Trump later this year, which would trigger a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate where a conviction and ouster seem unlikely... So far, the inquiry does not appear to have shaken up public support for Biden or the other candidates for the Democratic nomination.

▽YouTube gets alleged copyright troll to agree to stop trolling YouTubers - The Verge

Alleged copyright troll Christopher Brady will no longer be able to issue false DMCA takedowns to other YouTubers, according to a lawsuit settlement filed today.
Under the new agreement, Brady is banned from “submitting any notices of alleged copyright infringement to YouTube that misrepresent that material hosted on the YouTube service is infringing copyrights held or claimed to be held by Brady or anyone Brady claims to represent.” Brady agreed to pay $25,000 in damages as part of the settlement. He is also prohibited from “misrepresenting or masking their identities” when using Google products, including YouTube.

▽This football coach disarmed a student with a gun. Then he hugged him - CNN

A high school football and track coach in Portland, Oregon, was celebrated as a hero earlier this year after he disarmed a student with a shotgun.
The student walked into a classroom at Parkrose High School in May, intending to use the firearm to take his own life, the Multnomah County District Attorney's office said in a statement last week.
At the time, reports said the coach, Keanon Lowe, tackled the student. But according to emotional surveillance footage released by the district attorney's office Friday, Lowe did nothing of the sort.
Instead, he embraced the student.

▽No 'Joker': Bronx 'step street' becomes New York hot spot thanks to hit movie - Reuters

Like most tourists, Patricio Osuna had a list of “must sees” on his trip to New York City: the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and, surprisingly, a steep flight of steps in an out-of-the-way neighborhood of the Bronx that has become a cult-movie landmark... The scene captures the moment that the loner Arthur Fleck, played by Joaquin Phoenix, transforms into the Joker as he dances down the steps to Gary Glitter’s anthem “Rock & Roll Part 2,” his hair dyed a menacing green and his face painted like a clown.