- PoliticsYahoo News
Pro-abortion-rights group is all in for Biden but warns about 'gender stereotypes' in VP coverage
The head of NARAL Pro-Choice America told Yahoo News on Monday that the organization is “pulling out all the stops” to keep President Trump from being reelected, allocating $32 million to elect his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, this November. “We've got activists on the ground as well as communications to voters through a variety of means about the stakes of this election and absolutely the [Supreme] Court is a part of it,” Ilyse Hogue told Yahoo News' “Skullduggery” podcast in an interview. “We're running the largest independent expenditure that we have in the history of the organization because we could not be taking this election more seriously.”
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Appeals court seems wary of ordering dismissal of Flynn case
A federal appeals court in Washington appeared inclined Tuesday to let a judge decide on his own whether to grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn. Many members of the court expressed repeated skepticism at arguments from the Justice Department and Flynn's attorneys that a judge was not empowered to probe the motives behind the government's decision to abandon the prosecution of Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of the special counsel's Russia investigation to lying to the FBI. The case will almost certainly persist for months if the court rejects Flynn's efforts to get a speedy dismissal and returns it to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who refused to immediately grant the department's request to drop the prosecution.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Family removed from Southwest flight after 3-year-old son with autism would not wear a face mask
A Texas woman says that she was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight Monday after her 3-year-old son with autism would not wear a face mask, in violation of the airline's COVID-19 policy. Houston resident Alyssa Sadler says that her Southwest flight from Midland, Texas, to Houston returned to the gate when her son refused to wear the protective mask. "When you get kicked off your flight because your 3 year old autistic child won't wear a mask," Sadler wrote on Facebook. "Looks like I'm stuck here in midland."
- WorldAFP
Bribes funded campaign of Mexico's Pena Nieto, ex-aide says
Multi-million-dollar bribes from a Brazilian construction giant financed the presidential campaign that brought Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto to power, a former top advisor revealed Tuesday according to prosecutors. The explosive allegations from Emilio Lozoya, who was Pena Nieto's chief international strategist prior to the 2012 election, are the latest twist in a scandal that has shaken Latin America. It follows the former aide's extradition from Spain last month to stand trial on corruption charges linked to Odebrecht, Latin America's biggest construction company.
- ScienceThe Telegraph
'Terror crocodiles' with teeth the size of bananas once roamed North America preying on dinosaurs
"Terror crocodiles" which had teeth the size of bananas and could reach 33 feet in length once roamed North America preying on dinosaurs, according to a new study. Researchers say the Deinosuchus, which means "terror crocodile", was the largest predator in its ecosystem when it roamed the earth between 75 to 82 million years ago, outweighing the largest predatory dinosaurs which existed at the same time. The new study, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, revisited fossil specimens of the gigantic creatures and found the Deinosuchus had teeth “the size of bananas”, capable of taking down even the very largest of dinosaurs.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
These Florida Counties Are Feeling the Heat From DeSantis to Reopen Schools
As of Tuesday morning, Hendry County planned to reopen schools on August 31 for those students who choose to return to the classroom. The county is also offering students the chance to continue learning virtually with county public school teachers or through an outside educational service. The change in policy came as Gov. Ron Desantis (R-FL)—along with senior officials in the state's Department of Education—continue to press counties to reopen schools fully for the fall semester, including those experiencing significant upticks in coronavirus cases.
- U.S.INSIDER
Sturgis motorcycle rally attendees lounge in bikinis, pack into bars, and mock mask wearers: 'It's like COVID does not exist here'
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally attendees are packing bars, wrestling in bikinis, and scoffing at the few who wear face masks. One recovering coronavirus victim at the rally told Insider that he expects an uptick in cases after the event. Bill Converse had never attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally before, but this year he drove 29 hours from Georgia to sell his conservative pro-second amendment novelty T-shirts at the famous annual South Dakota event.
- WorldBBC
Three killed in Bangalore clashes over Prophet Muhammad post
Three people have died in the Indian city of Bangalore after police fired on crowds protesting against an allegedly blasphemous Facebook post. Crowds gathered outside the house of a local politician whose relative was accused of making an "offensive" post about the Prophet Muhammad. They set fire to vehicles and attacked policemen who arrived on the scene with stones, police told BBC Hindi.
- U.S.Business Insider
Police searched a United Airlines jet after a reportedly hallucinating passenger claimed there was a bomb on board
Police met a United Airlines flight landing at Newark on Sunday after a passenger said that she thought there was a bomb on board. Police did not find a bomb, and believe that the passenger was hallucinating while under the influence of marijuana and Adderall. A United flight from Los Angeles to Newark was forced to stop short of the gate when it landed on Sunday, after a woman on the flight stood up and said that she thought there was a bomb on board.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump: 'George Washington would have had a hard time beating me before the plague came in'
President Trump on Tuesday said he had been “sailing” to reelection before the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States and could have won reelection even if he were running against George Washington. “George Washington would have had a hard time beating me before the plague came in, before the China plague,” Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. It was really looking good, and then we got hit by the plague.
- U.S.CBS News
Cop posted "Kill em all" on protest livestream, investigation finds
A Colorado Springs police officer has been temporarily suspended and transferred after an internal investigation revealed he used a fake name on Facebook to post comments that called for violence against protesters, CBS Denver reports. Sergeant Keith Wrede responded to a livestream of a protest in late June with the comments "KILL THEM ALL" and "KILL EM ALL" while using a Facebook profile with the name Steven Eric, the investigation found. Wrede allegedly made the comments on June 30, when a group of Black Lives Matter protesters shut down traffic on Interstate 25 for a little over an hour.
- WorldReuters
Who owned the chemicals that blew up Beirut? No one will say
Those who said they didn't know included the ship's captain, the Georgian fertilizer maker who produced the cargo and the African firm that ordered it but said it never paid for it. The official version of the Rhosus' final journey depicts its voyage as a series of unfortunate events. Shipping records show the ship loaded ammonium nitrate in Georgia in September 2013 and was meant to deliver it to an explosives maker in Mozambique.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
Dr. Sonia Angell, California's top health official, resigns
California's top public health official has resigned, just days after the state announced a fix for a glitch that caused a lag in reporting coronavirus test results used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools.
- U.S.TODAY
Money offered for info on disappearance of ‘Tiger King’ star Carol Baskin's husband
The family of a Florida man who disappeared in 1997 and who appeared on the hit TV series “Tiger King,” has hired a lawyer and is offering $100,000 in exchange for information to help solve the case. Attorney John Phillips held a news conference in Tampa Monday and announced an independent investigation into Don Lewis' disappearance. Lewis vanished a day before a scheduled trip to Costa Rica and was never found.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
In These Uncertain Hours, the Classic Cool of a Gentleman’s Watch Endures
Shop watches for every occasion Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.The Daily Beast
1996 Alaska Teen Jessica Baggen Rape-Murder Case Solved Through Genealogical DNA
On a brisk early morning in May 1996, 17-year-old Jessica Baggen left a party to walk back to her home in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, after celebrating her birthday with friends. In the hours that followed, her parents pieced together her last steps and search crews combed a bike trail that ran through a woodland between her sister's house and her parents' home on Sawmill Creek Road. “On May 6 searchers found the shirt Jessica had been wearing when she was last seen alive,” Maj. Dave Hanson, of the Alaska State Troopers, said Tuesday during a Facebook livestream.
- U.S.Miami Herald
Man says he wasn’t allowed into an Arkansas casino because ‘men do not carry purses’
A man in Arkansas was hoping to enjoy a Friday night with his husband at an area casino, but says he was barred from entering because of his purse. Jordan Kirk was carrying a 9-inch by 10-inch cross-body purse when he and his husband tried to enter Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs on Aug. 7, KARK reported. A security guard stopped Kirk and told him he would have to return his purse to his car, despite several women carrying backpacks and large bags who were allowed to enter, Kirk wrote in a Facebook post.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
The Perseid meteor shower, which NASA says is the best of the year, peaks Tuesday night. Here's how to catch it.
The Perseid meteor shower — which NASA says is the best of the year — happens each year in late summer. The Perseids are known for epic "fireball" meteors and long, streaking tails. Meteor activity should peak Tuesday, August 11, and continue into Wednesday morning.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump claims he would have beaten George Washington in election while bragging about non-existent poll numbers
If Donald Trump were to square off with US founding father George Washington in an election, the current president would have had a leg up — so says Mr Trump. George Washington would have had a hard time beating me before the plague came in, before the China plague. The president has blamed several factors for his decline in the polls this summer against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has led him by a nearly double-digit margin at times during the pandemic.
- WorldThe Telegraph
New Zealand investigating freight as possible source of Covid-19 outbreak
New Zealand officials are investigating the possibility that its first Covid-19 cases in more than three months were imported by freight, as the country plunged back into lockdown on Wednesday. The discovery of four infected family members in Auckland led Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to swiftly reimpose tight restrictions on movement in New Zealand's biggest city and travel limitations across the entire country. The source of the outbreak has baffled health officials, who said they were confident there were was no local transmission of the virus in New Zealand for 102 days and that the family had not travelled overseas.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Secret Service release details on officer-involved shooting near the White House
Officials say the 51-year-old suspect told a Secret Service officer that he had a weapon before drawing an object from his clothing; Kevin Corke reports.
- U.S.Associated Press
Appeals of Nazi camp guard conviction in Germany dropped
All appeals against the conviction of a 93-year-old Nazi concentration camp guard have been dropped, a Hamburg court said Monday, making the decision legally binding and easing the way for possible future prosecutions. Bruno Dey was convicted last month of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder in Hamburg state court — equal to the number of people believed to have been killed at Stutthof during his service there in 1944 and 1945. Because he was 17 and 18 at the time of his alleged crimes, Dey's case was heard in juvenile court and he was given a two-year suspended sentence.
- WorldBBC
Mauritius oil spill: Fears vessel may 'break in two' as cracks appear
Large cracks have reportedly appeared in the hull of a cargo ship leaking oil in Mauritius, prompting the prime minister to warn it may "break in two". The MV Wakashio, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25 July. Despite bad weather, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said 500 tonnes had been safely pumped out on Monday.
- ScienceUSA TODAY
Fossil of fearsome 'hell ant' that used tusk-like jaws to hunt its victims discovered in amber
A 99-million year old fossil of a "hell ant" is giving researchers a glimpse into the behavior of these fearsome ancient insects, a new study reports. Encased in amber (tree resin), the fossil provides the most vivid picture yet of how hell ants once used their uncanny tusk-like mandibles and diverse horns to successfully hunt down victims for nearly 20 million years, before vanishing from the planet. “Since the first hell ant was unearthed about a hundred years ago, it's been a mystery as to why these extinct animals are so distinct from the ants we have today,” said study lead author Phillip Barden of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, in a statement.
- U.S.NBC News
Mother says son with autism was 'kicked out' of church by priest
Vicidomini said she and her family members attended Christ the King Church in Hillside, New Jersey, on Saturday for the baptism of her daughter, Sofia. Vicidomini, 38, said she'd been attending the Roman Catholic church since she was a child and that her two other children, Nicholas and Christopher, 16, had been baptized there. "We just wanted Nicholas to be part of the celebration," Vicidomini said, adding that she did not disclose that he had autism because she didn't think it was necessary as the ceremony was a private family event.
“It may be a campaign tactic, but older workers, be forewarned. Ageism runs deep in our culture.”
“Genuine concerns about the capacities of people who want the world’s most powerful job mingle bizarrely with insults.”
“Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both old. But the media should not be making mental illness a campaign issue, on either side.”
“The Trump campaign is now betting his reelection’s already slim chances on Biden proving Trump’s diagnosis is right.”
“The nightmare scenario for Democrats is that, at a pivotal moment, Biden will struggle to put together a coherent thought.”