U.S.Yahoo News19 Black families purchase 96 acres of land to create a 'safe haven' for Black people
In the face of a pandemic that has hit Black Americans harder than almost any other group, while the nation continues to confront the toxic legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, two Georgia women have come together to build a community that will be a place free of oppression, “a tight-knit community for our people to just come and breathe.” Ashley Scott, a realtor from Stonecrest, Ga., who was driven to seek therapy by her reaction to the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man jogging in a white neighborhood, said that after several sessions she realized that her problem was 400 years of racial oppression and trauma dating back to the establishment of slavery in North America.
WorldBusiness InsiderTrump's press secretary refuses to blame Russia for the nerve-agent attack on Putin's top opponent
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday avoided assigning direct blame to Russia for the poisoning of Putin's top opponent, Alexei Navalny. Russia has a long history of attacking dissidents. Other world leaders have explicitly demanded an explanation from the Russian government, and Biden directly blamed the Kremlin for Navalny's poisoning.
U.S.The IndependentBiden says police officers who shot Jacob Blake and killed Breonna Taylor should be charged: 'Let's make sure justice is done'
At a campaign event on Wednesday, Joe Biden was asked whether he thought charges should be filed against the officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake and in the death of Breonna Taylor. The former vice president and Democratic Party candidate said that he felt that there was a minimum need for the officers to be charged in both cases so that the judicial system can work as designed. The question came ahead of a planned visit on Thursday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Mr Blake was shot seven times by police.
WorldBBCNancy Pelosi calls rule-flouting salon visit a 'setup'
Mrs Pelosi was also pictured in the salon without a mask over her face. The California lawmaker has often criticised President Donald Trump for refusing to wear a mask. "I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighbourhood salon that I've been to over the years many times," Mrs Pelosi said in a testy press conference in San Francisco when asked about the incident.
U.S.USA TODAY'You matter to us': Delta Air Lines upgrades Black traveler harassed by white flyer
Demetria Poe is applauding Delta Air Lines for "taking a stance" against racism and discrimination after she was harassed by her seatmate during a recent flight from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C. Poe told USA TODAY Wednesday that a white woman appeared to purposefully swap her American flag face mask for a Blue Lives Matter mask once realizing her seat assignment was next to Poe, a Black woman. Blue Lives Matter supports police officers and is a counter movement to Black Lives Matter, which aims to eradicate white supremacy and has organized nationwide protests in response to police violence against Black people.
WorldAssociated PressThailand hits 100 days with no local virus transmissions
Thailand's prime minister on Wednesday congratulated the nation for having achieved 100 days without a confirmed locally transmitted case of the coronavirus, even as security along the border with Myanmar is being stepped up as a measure against the disease. Thailand has sustained relatively light health damage from the pandemic, even though in January it was the first country outside China to confirm a case. Thai health authorities reported eight new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, all in people arriving from abroad, bringing the country's total to 3,425, including 58 deaths.
U.S.INSIDERKenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse has become a potent symbol for the right, and experts say Trump's refusal to disavow him makes things worse
In the week since Kyle Rittenhouse was charged in connection to the shooting deaths of two people and the injury of a third during a Black Lives Matter protest, conservatives have avoided condemning him, and his supporters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support his legal defense fund. Rittenhouse faces multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide. The 17-year-old drove from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to the protests that broke out after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
U.S.Business InsiderMark Zuckerberg reportedly intervened after a Facebook employee posted a controversial defense of police in the wake of Kenosha shootings
A Facebook employee sparked outrage after defending "well-intentioned law enforcement officers" and disputing that there's racial bias in policing in a post on internal company messaging boards, The Daily Beast reported Wednesday. According to The Daily Beast, the backlash was so strong that Mark Zuckerberg alluded to the post in a note to employees, saying some people weren't "appreciating the impact their words are having on our Black community." The pro-police post came days after a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back and vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse was charged in the fatal shootings of two protesters in the city.
WorldBBCJimmy Lai: Hong Kong tycoon found not guilty in intimidation trial
A Hong Kong court has found media mogul Jimmy Lai not guilty of intimidating a photojournalist from a rival newspaper three years ago. Mr Lai had denied the charge of "criminal intimidation" over a 2017 incident at a Tiananmen massacre vigil. Last month police detained the democracy activist in a separate case under a controversial new security law.
PoliticsPoliticoBiden jokes that Kenosha audience would 'shoot me' if he didn't wrap up his remarks
Former Vice President Joe Biden appeared to joke on Thursday that if he spoke any longer about his plan to increase taxes on the wealthy “he'll shoot me,” as he addressed a group of Kenosha, Wis., residents after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. While explaining to locals in attendance at Grace Lutheran Church how he planned to pay for several of the initiatives aimed at combating racial inequality that he'd outlined moments earlier, Biden alluded to several people in the audience who appeared to stand up during his remarks or otherwise seemed antsy for the Democratic nominee to wrap up. “I don't want to punish everybody, but everybody should pay a fair share,” Biden said of corporations and America's ultra-wealthy.
- PoliticsReuters
U.S. imposes sanctions on several companies over sales of Iranian petrochemicals
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on several companies, accusing them of enabling the shipment and sale of Iranian petrochemicals, the Treasury Department said in a statement. The Treasury said it slapped sanctions on six companies based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates and China that it said support Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd., which is blacklisted by the United States. The State Department in a statement said it also imposed sanctions on five entities for engaging in transactions related to Iran's petroleum and petrochemical industry, as well as on three individuals.
WorldThe TelegraphFormer bodyguard of Kim Jong-il claims he is 'a dead man' if deported to South Korea
A man who claims to be the former bodyguard of Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean leader, has said he fears for his life if he is deported by to South Korea after Canada denied his asylum application. The situation is bleak,” Lee Young-guk, 57, told the Toronto Star. The North Korean regime) tried to kidnap me when I was in South Korea.
BusinessBusiness InsiderThe Justice Department is reportedly preparing to file antitrust charges against Google
The Department of Justice is planning to file antitrust charges against Google as soon as this month, The New York Times reported Thursday. Attorney General William Barr set a deadline for DOJ lawyers to file the charges by the end of September, despite the lawyers' requests for more time, according to the report. Google is already facing a joint antitrust investigation from a coalition of 50 states and territories.
U.S.Miami Herald12-year-old displaying Trump sign punched several times by woman, Colorado police say
A Colorado 12-year-old was assaulted for holding a sign supporting President Donald Trump, according to media reports. Boulder police told several local news outlets that the boy was riding his bike while carrying a Trump sign when a woman saw the sign and confronted the boy, the Boulder Daily Camera reported. The woman drove up to the boy and said, “you want something to look at?” reported The Denver Channel.
- NewsFOX News Videos
New York City delays reopening public schools
Mayor Bill de Blasio reaches deal with teachers union; reaction from New York City Councilman Joe Borelli.
U.S.INSIDERA barista at a Target Starbucks was fired for a satirical TikTok showing how to make a 'Blue Lives Matter' drink with 'bleach'
A barista who made a "Blue Lives Matter" drink in a TikTok video was fired, according to Target, which housed the Starbucks store near Indianapolis. In the video, the employee said he added bleach, "a little blood of innocent Black men," and ice to make a beverage related to the pro-police protest movement. "We don't tolerate this behavior at Target, want all guests to be treated with respect," a representative for Target said in a statement provided to Insider.
PoliticsSalonMartha McSally down 17 points in new Fox News poll showing Democrats surging in key states
Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., trails retired astronaut Mark Kelly by 17 points in a new Fox News poll that had plenty of bad news for Republicans up for re-election in November. The poll shows Kelly leading McSally 56-39 among likely voters after another recent poll showed the incumbent Republican losing by 19 points. Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., listens during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on privatized military housing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019.
U.S.USA TODAYFact check: Jacob Blake is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, not a child
Blake charged with sexually assaulting a woman At the time of the Aug. 23 shooting, Blake had a warrant out for his arrest for a case filed in July in Kenosha County. According to a criminal complaint, Blake allegedly entered the house of a woman he knew in the early hours of the morning, sexually assaulted her and then took a debit card and car keys before fleeing in her vehicle. Blake is charged in that pending case with felony third-degree sexual assault, and misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump falsely claimed he never called John McCain a 'loser.' Just check his Twitter account.
President Donald Trump denied having ever called the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona a "loser," despite having previously tweeted out a news article that described himself doing exactly that. Trump denied a report from The Atlantic that claimed he called McCain and former President George H.W. Bush losers. Trump admitted on Twitter that he "was never a big fan" of McCain, but that despite their differences, he had "never called John a loser."
U.S.INSIDERA man in Minnesota who attended the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally that drew more than 400,000 people has died of COVID-19
A man in Minnesota died of COVID-19 on Wednesday after returning from a motorcycle rally that attracted more than 400,000 people to Sturgis, South Dakota, according to a representative from the Minnesota Department of Public Health. Residents pushed for the rally to be postponed because of spiking COVID-19 cases in the state, but event organizers pressed on. A man in Minnesota died Wednesday from COVID-19 after participating in the annual South Dakota motorcycle rally last month that hosted hundreds of thousands of people from throughout the US.
WorldReutersKremlin tells West not to rush to judge it on Navalny as sanctions talk starts
Russia said on Thursday the West should not rush to judge it over the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and that there were no grounds to accuse it of the crime, as talk in the West of punishing Moscow intensified. The Kremlin was speaking a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Navalny had been poisoned with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him and that she would consult NATO allies about how to respond. Navalny, 44, is an outspoken opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has specialized in high-impact investigations into official corruption.
PoliticsUSA TODAYTrump mocks Biden for mask-wearing, dismisses health questions in Pennsylvania rally
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump dismissed questions about his own health and mocked his Democratic opponent for wearing a mask in a freewheeling rally Thursday in Pennsylvania that came as polls show a tightening race. For a second day, Trump dismissed questions about an unscheduled visit he made to Walter Reed Medical Center in November, brushing aside a report about the visit as a conspiracy concocted by critics. At the same time, Trump raised unfounded questions about Joe Biden's own health, and criticized his mask-wearing.
WorldBBCCoronavirus: Australia PM Scott Morrison seeks to reopen borders
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an end to internal border controls ahead of a meeting with state and territory leaders on Friday. The government has instead suggested using local lockdowns to control the coronavirus outbreak. "Australia was not meant to be closed, Australia was meant to be open," Mr Morrison told parliament on Thursday.
PoliticsNational ReviewCuomo Claims Trump ‘Better Have an Army’ if He Comes to NYC after White House Looks Into Cutting Funding to ‘Anarchist’ Cities
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned Wednesday that President Trump had “better have an army” to ensure his safety if he visits New York City following reports that Trump is weighing pulling federal funding from “anarchist jurisdictions” including New York. Trump released a memo on Wednesday ordering all federal agencies to provide evaluations to the White House Office of Management and Budget outlining which federal funds could be rerouted from “lawless” cities that “permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures.” The president singled out New York in particular and also mentioned Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Portland as potential targets of the move to withhold funding.
U.S.Associated PressWhite woman charged with hate crime over confrontation
A white woman faces a felony hate crime charge after police said she initiated a racist confrontation with a group of Black men at a beach in suburban Chicago, telling them they weren't allowed there and that one of them would kill her because he's Black. Irene Donoshaytis, 65, of Northfield, is accused of aggressively confronting Otis Campbell and two other Black people who were riding bicycles near a pier along Lake Michigan in Winnetka last month, Deputy Police Chief Brian O'Connell said. Donoshaytis was initially charged with battery, but the state's attorney's office decided to upgrade that Wednesday to a hate crime, O'Connell said.
“Make no mistake about the 2020 conventions, Republicans absolutely buried Democrats.”
“Trump basically made the case to vote for Biden.”
“All in all, a successful GOP convention is in the books.”
“This was an opportunity to reach out beyond his strongest supporters. But there was nothing new here.”
“The spectacle suggested a President entering his campaign not strong and confident of victory but insecure and faltering.”