U.S.NBC NewsFormer officer charged in Capitol riot jailed after 'shopping spree' for dozens of firearms
A former police officer in Virginia accused of entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 has been ordered to stay in jail after buying nearly three dozen guns online, which a federal judge called "a remarkable shopping spree for high-powered assault weapons." Thomas Robertson was a Rocky Mount, Virginia, police sergeant on the day of the Capitol riot.
U.S.Washington ExaminerRepublicans challenge Pelosi after Capitol Police are ordered to arrest those not complying with mask mandate
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said Thursday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might as well come to his office and arrest his entire staff for not wearing masks. U.S. Capitol Police officers were directed to arrest staff members or visitors who refuse either to comply or leave the premises after being asked, according to a bulletin from Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. "This is INSANE," Massie tweeted.
PoliticsReutersU.S. refusal to defend lawmaker in Capitol riot a signal to Trump -experts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's refusal to defend a Republican congressman accused in a civil lawsuit of helping to incite the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol could hamper former President Donald Trump's legal defense in the same case, experts said. The department late Tuesday told a federal judge it had declined https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-wont-defend-republican-lawmaker-capitol-riot-lawsuit-2021-07-28 a request by Representative Morris "Mo" Brooks to grant him immunity by covering him under the Westfall Act, which shields federal employees from being sued for their words or actions in the course of their employment. Experts said the move appeared to send a message to Trump, a co-defendant in the case, ruling out immunity when it warned that inciting an attack on Congress "is not within the scope of employment of a Representative - or any federal employee."
U.S.Associated PressNavy charges sailor with setting fire that destroyed warship
The U.S. Navy charged a sailor Thursday with starting a fire last year that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard docked off San Diego, marking the maritime branch's worst warship blaze outside of combat in recent memory. The sailor was a member of the crew at the time, Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesperson, said in a statement. The sailor was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel, Robertson said.
U.S.Kansas City StarFamily has baby shower for pregnant 12-year-old, her accused rapist, Oklahoma cops say
The family of a 12-year-old girl impregnated by a man twice her age “permitted” the relationship and even celebrated her pregnancy with a baby shower, according to Oklahoma police. Police arrested 24-year-old Juan Miranda-Jara on a charge of first degree rape of a minor earlier this month, according to the Tulsa Police Department Shortly after the young girl showed up to an area hospital pregnant, police said they were told she had possibly been raped. Investigators took Miranda-Jara into questioning and, as the girl was in labor, he admitted that the child was his, police say, and that he had been “in a relationship” with the girl since October 2020.
CelebrityWashington ExaminerSteven Crowder hospitalized, has message for his fans: Death, 'he's a d***'
Conservative pundit Steven Crowder posted a photo of himself Tuesday in a hospital bed, telling his audience he'd been close to death. "Last night took a turn for the worse," Crowder tweeted. Crowder posted in late June that he was having surgery to fix a "genetic defect," later elaborating that he had a "connective tissue disorder" causing his "chest caving in on [his] heart."
U.S.ReutersTrump, children cannot arbitrate marketing scam case -U.S. appeals court
A federal appeals court said former U.S. President Donald Trump and his adult children cannot move into arbitration a fraud lawsuit accusing them of exploiting their family name to promote a marketing scam targeting the poor and working class. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the plaintiffs' agreements to arbitrate claims against the multi-level marketing company American Communications Network did not extend to the Trumps, who had not signed those agreements. Lawyers for the Trump family did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday's 3-0 decision.
U.S.Associated PressLargest US quake in half-century causes Alaska little damage
The largest earthquake in the United States in the last half century produced a lot of shaking but spared Alaska any major damage in a sparsely populated region, officials said Thursday. The magnitude 8.2 earthquake was reported about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, and struck just south of the Alaska Peninsula, nearly 500 miles (804.67 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. The quake was about 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) offshore and 29 miles (46 kilometers) below the surface of the North Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
U.S.TheGrioColorado police officers charged after Black man pistol-whipped in bloody assault
Body camera footage showed Officer John Haubert striking a compliant Kyle Vinson, a man he was trying to arrest. Two police officers have been arrested after one beat someone with his service-issued weapon, and the second is accused of failing to intervene. The incident, captured on a body camera, happened Friday in Aurora, Colorado when Officer John Haubert pistol-whipped Kyle Vinson, a 29-year-old man he was trying to take into custody.
WorldWashington ExaminerTaliban could force 'existential crisis’ in Afghanistan, US watchdog says
The Taliban's surge in Afghanistan as the United States completes its withdrawal could lead to an "existential crisis," a U.S. oversight report said. The situation in Afghanistan is "bleak," and the "overall trend is clearly unfavorable to the Afghan government," a letter from the Special Inspector General John Sopko that accompanied Wednesday's quarterly report to Congress read. The number of enemy-initiated attacks has increased since the U.S.-Taliban agreement of February 2020, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's report to Congress.
U.S.AxiosMidwest under threat from hurricane-force winds as severe storm system strikes
Organizers in Wisconsin postponed the biggest air show in the U.S. as a severe storm system threatened the Midwest with potentially hurricane-force winds, tornados, hail and thunderstorms overnight. Threat level: More than 5.9 million people could be affected by the storm system — which saw the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, postpone events due to be held Wednesday until the following evening amid the threat of 90 mph winds. Storms moving through southern Wisconsin were bringing "damaging winds along the line" and the threat of tornadoes in the southeast of the state on Thursday morning, according to the NWS.
BusinessNBC NewsTrevor Milton, founder of electric truck maker Nikola, charged with fraud
New York federal prosecutors have charged Trevor Milton, the founder of the electric truck company Nikola, with engaging in an audacious scheme to defraud investors, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. Milton is accused of using his massive social media platform and TV appearances to mislead retail investors in order to inflate and maintain Nikola's stock price. “Milton sold a version of Nikola not as it was – an early stage company with a novel idea to commercialize yet-to-be proven products and technology – but rather as a trail-blazing company that had already achieved many groundbreaking and game-changing milestones,” the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York says.
U.S.Washington ExaminerArizona auditors complete third ballot recount and ship materials back to Maricopa County
Auditors working on the Arizona Senate-led Maricopa County 2020 general election review completed a third and final ballot recount late on Wednesday and prepared materials to return to county custody on Thursday. The monthslong audit conducted at the Phoenix state fairgrounds since late April will now shift its focus to drafting a comprehensive report based on the results of the election machines and other voting material analyzed during the review. The Maricopa County Elections Department arrived with trucks at the audit site Thursday morning to retrieve the materials.
PoliticsCharlotte ObserverAll Democrats should show respect for the 5 Republicans who helped on infrastructure
Thank 5 in GOP The five Republicans who are taking up a bipartisan infrastructure deal deserve the respect of all Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez needs to stop criticizing, or form her own party. In this moment of history, Democrats should welcome the real Republican Party — of someday — represented by these courageous five.
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Huge quake of magnitude 8.2 triggers tsunami alert in Alaska
A strong and shallow earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck the Alaskan peninsula late on Wednesday, prompting tsunami warnings in the U.S. state and heightened surveillance across the pacific.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest23 Home Decor Items We’re Shopping at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
Including savings on cookware, bath essentials, and rarely discounted candles Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
ScienceAxiosSprawling heat dome sends temperatures soaring from Oregon to Louisiana
This heat wave, which is forecast to continue through the weekend in many areas, is part of a series of extreme heat events that have turned deadly this summer across the U.S. and Canada. In Oregon and far north-central sections of California, high temperatures could hit 110°F in a few spots, the National Weather Service warned, with the predicted high in Portland soaring to just under the century mark on Friday. In inland portions of Washington state, unusually hot conditions have prompted the issuance of heat advisories through Saturday.
PoliticsWashington ExaminerMaricopa election audit donor list released
Cyber Ninjas, the firm leading the Arizona Senate's audit of Maricopa County's 2020 election, released a list of its "sponsors" on Wednesday after months of criticism over a lack of disclosures about the sources of funding for the controversial review. Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, said the audit effort received $3.25 million from the America Project, nearly $1 million from America's Future, over $600,000 from Voices and Votes, $550,000 from Defending the Republic, and $280,000 from LDFFTAR/EIFFTAR. All of the supporters listed are conservative groups, some with Trump allies such as retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and attorney Sidney Powell attached to them, a review by the Washington Examiner found.
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‘World’s Most Beautiful Girl’ Thylane Blondeau stuns in a bikini on the beach
Thylane Blondeau – who was once dubbed "the most beautiful girl in the world" continues to show why the moniker still sticks when she was photographed beach-bound on Tuesday at Club 55 beach in Saint Tropez. The 20-year-old French model, who shot to stardom when she was named the "most beautiful girl in the world" at the age of 6, hit the sun and waves in a pastel purple top and white bottoms as she waded with a male companion. A recent recipient of the "most beautiful" title, Yael Shelbia praised Blondeau in January after she was compared to the model.
U.S.TheGrioCapitol officer Harry Dunn responds to right-wing attacks: ‘Can’t put Band-Aid on my emotions’
“If I came here with my arm in a sling or bandage around my head, would that give me more credibility?” Dunn asked CNN. A Black Capitol Police officer who testified on Tuesday before the House select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill is responding to right-wing critics questioning his integrity. The 13-year veteran officer's character has been assailed by pundits on Fox News, including Tucker Carlson, who called him “an angry, left-wing political activist.”
PoliticsThe StateSC congresswoman to Pelosi on mask mandate: ‘Come and get me’
Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, of South Carolina's First Congressional District, accused Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of an “insane power grab” after the House reinstated a mask mandate amid a rise in COVID-19 cases. “Madam Speaker, your insane power grab is showing,” Mace tweeted on Thursday morning. The tweet and video from Mace came after Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the top doctor in Congress, recommended a return to masks in the Capitol.
U.S.Washington ExaminerFlorida school board to require masks in fall, defying DeSantis's stance
A Florida school board voted Wednesday to require all students and faculty to wear masks inside schools for the fall semester, a policy at odds with Gov. Ron DeSantis's stance against making face covers compulsory. Broward County Public Schools decided to require masks during the fall semester following updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance recommending that fully vaccinated people wear masks inside in regions where the virus is proliferating. School board member Lori Alhadeff said she wanted to make the semester "as normal as possible" and originally supported making masks optional, but she changed her mind due to the rising cases of COVID-19 resulting from the highly transmissible delta variant, according to WLRN-TV.
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DOJ won't defend GOP Rep. Brooks in Jan 6 lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department will not defend Republican congressman Mo Brooks in a lawsuit that alleges he conspired to instigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol - when he addressed the crowd of Trump supporters on that day - before they stormed the Capitol. BROOKS: ”Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. The lawsuit against Brooks was brought by Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell… who has also sued former President Donald Trump for allegedly conspiring to incite the attack when he encouraged supporters to stop the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory.
PoliticsWashington ExaminerEXCLUSIVE: Republican senators raise questions after receiving unredacted Fauci email about Wuhan lab
Five Republican senators are questioning why the Department of Health and Human Services redacted a portion of an email between Dr. Anthony Fauci and Peter Daszak, the president of a research organization that worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on coronavirus studies before the pandemic. The email in question gained widespread attention last month because Daszak, a key figure in research linked to the hypothesis that COVID-19 may have escaped from the Wuhan lab, thanked Fauci for downplaying the likelihood of a lab leak. It also gained attention after being released to media outlets under the Freedom of Information Act because the administration redacted a portion of the email using an exemption reserved for information related to “pending law enforcement proceedings.”
U.S.Miami HeraldShip forced to leave US waters after invasive bugs discovered on deck, officials say
A carrier ship was ordered out of U.S. waters after federal officials say they discovered invasive bugs on board. Agricultural specialists at the Port of New Orleans found the bugs, some of which can kill trees, in shipping materials left on the deck of the Pan Jasmine, which arrived July 17 at the anchorage of Davant downriver from New Orleans, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The bugs were found in the wood, called dunnage, that was used to pack a shipment of aluminum that was dropped off in Vera Cruz, Mexico, customs officials said Wednesday.
“[The program] stands likely to leave millions of families — disproportionately the poorest and most fragile ones — behind.”
“[Paying] families monthly, instead of one lump sum ... will provide parents with more stability knowing when cash is coming.”
“More parents will disappear from the workforce, and more children will be locked into dependency.”
“Poverty is a political choice, not an inevitability.”
“Time is running out. There are only six months until monthly payments of the credit cease."