- U.S.The Independent
Homeland Security official reassigned after intelligence reports on journalists covering protests
A US intelligence official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been reassigned following revelations that his office compiled "intelligence reports" on journalists and analysed communications between protesters amid ongoing demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. Brian Murphy was removed from his post following a report in The Washington Post revealing that the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis sent open source intelligence reports to federal law enforcement agencies containing information from two reporters who had published leaked unclassified government documents while covering Black Lives Matter protests.
- BusinessBBC
Egypt tells Elon Musk its pyramids were not built by aliens
Egypt has invited billionaire Elon Musk to visit the country and see for himself that its famous pyramids were not built by aliens. The SpaceX boss had tweeted what appeared to be support for conspiracy theorists who say aliens were involved in the colossal construction effort. The tombs discovered in the 1990s are definitive evidence, experts say, that the magnificent structures were indeed built by ancient Egyptians.
- U.S.The Telegraph
Residents forced to evacuate as 'Apple Fire' burns out of control in California
Nearly 8,000 residents of Riverside County in Southern California were forced to evacuate their homes on Saturday as a wildfire spread uncontained across more than 4,000 acres, the County fire department said. The fire - dubbed the Apple Fire by local firefighters, who routinely give blazes identifying names - was reported on Friday in Cherry Valley, a community about 75 miles east of Los Angeles. Photographs shared by the Riverside County fire department on Twitter on Saturday showed thick plumes of smoke filling the sky over the mountainous region.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Airbnb cracks down on New Jersey 'party houses' as COVID-19 spreads among young people
Thirty-five Airbnb listings across New Jersey were suspended or removed from the website following complaints of house parties that flout restrictions on gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the suspensions announced Friday came directly from complaints of neighbors, who called into Airbnb's 24/7 Neighborhood Support Hotline, the company said. The “vast majority” of Airbnb hosts “take important steps to prevent unauthorized parties,” the company said.
- U.S.Associated Press
Annual Sturgis rally expecting 250K, stirring virus concerns
Sturgis is on. The message has been broadcast across social media as South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, braces to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to rumble through western South Dakota, seeking the freedom of cruising the boundless landscapes in a state that has skipped lockdowns.
- WorldNBC News
Record coronavirus case rises reported as U.S. faces stark death toll projection
Record daily coronavirus case spikes have been reported in several countries after social distancing measures were eased, days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a stark projection that the U.S. death toll could climb to 180,000 Americans by the end of this month. In Japan, the number of new coronavirus cases topped 1,500 for the first time since the pandemic began in February. The capital Tokyo reported an increase of 472 cases on Saturday, a new record, health officials in the country said.
- BusinessReuters
Exclusive: TikTok's Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal - sources
China's ByteDance has agreed to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after President Donald Trump said on Friday he had decided to ban the popular short-video app, two people familiar with the matter said on Saturday. U.S. officials have said TikTok under its Chinese parent poses a national risk because of the personal data it handles. ByteDance's concession will test whether Trump's threat to ban TikTok is a negotiating tactic, or whether he is intent on cracking down on a social media app that has up to 80 million daily active users in the United States.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus criticized Republican lawmakers for refusing to wear masks in the Capitol
Bonnie Cash/Pool via Reuters An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus condemned Republican lawmakers for not wearing face masks in the Capitol. Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday but is currently asymptomatic and "feeling fine," according to a spokesperson. Grijalva self-isolated out of pre-caution after attending a hearing with Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who has frequently not worn a face mask on the floor and tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
- ScienceLos Angeles Times Opinion
Letters to the Editor: How deluded is humanity? We're sending a rover to Mars during a pandemic
To the editor: I was disheartened to read Sarah Stewart Johnson's op-ed article about the possible benefits of the recently launched Mars rover. There are two crises in the world today that are much more important than a mission to Mars: the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Protective equipment is still being rationed for healthcare workers, and climate change is a dead subject in the Trump administration.
- WorldThe Guardian
UK lobbies US to support controversial new nuclear warheads
The UK has been lobbying the US Congress in support of a controversial new warhead for Trident missiles, claiming it is critical for “the future of Nato as a nuclear alliance”. A letter from Britain's defence secretary, Ben Wallace, seen by the Guardian, urged Congress to support initial spending on the warhead, the W93. The letter, sent in April but not previously reported, draws the UK into a US political debate, pitting the Trump administration against many Democrats and arms control groups over whether the the $14bn W93 programme is necessary.
- WorldBBC
Crashed plane packed with cocaine was bound for Australia, police say
Police say a small plane that crashed shortly after take-off in Papua New Guinea had been overloaded with cocaine destined for the Australian market. In a statement, Australian police said the gang had been under surveillance for two years. The light plane had taken off from Mareeba in North Queensland on Sunday and flew at a low altitude to avoid radar detection before landing at a remote airfield at Papa Lea Lea, north of Port Moresby.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Mass arrest of dissidents threatens to derail Nobel Peace Prize-winning PM's reform
Then in 2019, Abiy won the Nobel peace prize for ending two decades of conflict with Eritrea, which had left around 80,000 people dead. However, despite rapid liberal reforms, Ethiopia's government is struggling to contain a series of ethnic horrific clashes, which are destabilising large parts of the country. Over the last few years, there have been alarming reports of abuses by state security forces in Ethiopia's Oromia region.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoConnie Culp, 1st US partial face transplant recipient, dies
Connie Culp, the recipient of the first partial face transplant in the U.S., has died at 57, almost a dozen years after the groundbreaking operation.
- U.S.USA TODAY
An Indiana school reopened for students. There was a positive COVID-19 test on day one.
A junior high school in Greenfield, Indiana, received news on the first day of class that a student tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an email sent to families Thursday evening. The student attended part of the first day of classes at Greenfield Central Junior High School. The school district told families that its "Positive COVID-19 Test Protocol" was enacted as soon the school was alerted by the Hancock County Health Department about the positive test.
- WorldNBC News
Staples customer who told woman to wear mask is thrown to ground, has broken leg
A 54-year-old New Jersey woman suffered a broken leg after she was thrown to the ground in a Staples by another customer whom she had told to wear a mask, authorities said. Police have released surveillance video from the incident that occurred at about 3:19 p.m. Wednesday at a Staples in Hackensack. Margot Kagan, of Teaneck, told police she was using a fax machine at the store when a woman with a mask pulled down below her mouth approached a machine next to her.
- WorldReuters
China reports 43 new coronavirus cases in mainland vs 49 a day earlier
China reported 43 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland as of Aug. 2, down from 49 a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Monday. The National Health Commission said 36 of the new cases were locally transmitted, including 28 in Xinjiang, while another seven cases were imported infections involving travellers from overseas. This compared with 33 local infections and 16 imported cases reported a day earlier.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
I flew on Southwest Airlines during the pandemic and came away impressed by how well the largest low-cost US airline handled social distancing
Tom Southwest Airlines is primed to recover quicker than its competitors since the airline focuses on domestic service with a passenger-friendly low-cost business model. Despite being a low-cost airline, Southwest is limiting capacity by around a third which means only two people maximum can sit in a row, leaving the middle seat unoccupied. I flew on the airline to see how its seemingly-generous policies translated into a real-world experience and was impressed with how the airline is handling this crisis.
WorldAFPRecord spikes in Asia as WHO issues grim virus warning
Southeast Asian countries reported record rises of new coronavirus cases on Saturday as the WHO warned the effects of the pandemic would be felt for decades and the scramble for a vaccine heated up. Six months after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency, the novel coronavirus has killed more than 680,000 people and infected more than 17.5 million, according to an AFP tally. As countries across Western Europe announced new lockdowns and reported historic economic slumps, the World Health Organization said the pandemic was a "once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come."
- U.S.Associated Press
Portland police declare unlawful assembly during protest
The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon's largest city and threw bottles toward officers, police said. Until that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had been seemingly absent from the protests Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The demonstrations — that for weeks ended with tear gas, fireworks shot towards buildings, federal agents on the street and injuries to protesters and officers — have recently ended with chanting and conversations. Activists and Oregon officials urged people at Saturday night's protest in Portland to re-center the focus on Black Lives Matter, three days after the Trump administration agreed to reduce the presence of federal agents.
- U.S.BBC
Tropical Storm Isaias moves up coast of virus-hit Florida
Tropical Storm Isaias is moving along Florida's east coast, bringing strong winds and rain to the US state. Isaias, the ninth named storm of 2020, was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after battering the Turks & Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents to be vigilant, as state authorities opened shelters and closed beaches and parks.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Mexican army arrests drug lord in losing battle against increasingly violent cartels
The Mexican Army and state security forces captured Jose Antonio Yepez, a notorious drug gang leader blamed for helping fuel a surge in violence that has severely tested the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the Mexican president. Widely known as "El Marro" (The Mallet), Yepez was captured early on Sunday morning, according to the federal government and authorities in the central state of Guanajuato, one of the principal flashpoints of gang violence in Mexico. "This is a tremendously successful blow for the government," said Raul Benitez, a security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
- PoliticsPolitico
‘Hating Joe Biden doesn’t juice up their base’: Key swing state slips away from Trump
Democratic elected officials, party leaders and strategists in Pennsylvania said that Biden is ahead because of Trump's mishandling of Covid-19 — which is particularly risky to seniors — as well as his broken campaign promises to workers about spending big on infrastructure and rewriting trade deals to benefit them. They believe voters like Biden because he is known as someone who can work across the aisle to solve the nation's problems. They argued Biden is also being buoyed by the fact that he is a Scranton native and former Delaware senator who was covered by the Philadelphia media network for years.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Florida man once bitten by alligator is chomped by 8-foot shark while on vacation
Justin Stuller was looking forward to relaxing in the Florida Keys — fishing, lobstering and swimming with his wife, kids, extended family and friends. Stuller, 38, now sports two dozen stitches and a small limp after he tangled with an eight-foot lemon shark Wednesday. Stuller said he has encountered sharks before on similar trips.
- WorldNBC News
Scientists and environmental groups 'alarmed' by huge rise in Amazon wildfires
Scientists and environmental groups have expressed alarm after new data revealed there were 28 percent more fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest this July compared with the same time last year. Satellite images released by Brazil's space research agency INPE on Saturday revealed 6,803 fires in the Amazon last month. “I am super concerned," Erika Berenguer, an Amazon ecologist and a senior research associate at Britain's University of Oxford, told NBC News Sunday.
- HealthThe Week
What we know about schoolkids and coronavirus
A study published in Nature in June found that children and teenagers were about half as likely as adults to get infected by the virus. "It seems, consistently, children do have lower rates of infection than adults," said Alison Tribble, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the University of Michigan. Some doctors, however, believe pediatric infections are significantly undercounted because they're often asymptomatic.
