PoliticsReutersU.S. Justice Dept won't defend Republican lawmaker in Capitol riot lawsuit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department in a court filing on Tuesday declined to defend Republican congressman Mo Brooks in a lawsuit that alleges he conspired to instigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Brooks had asked the Justice Department consider him covered by the Westfall Act, which protects federal employees from being sued for actions taken as part of their jobs, concerning the lawsuit brought by Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell. The Justice Department's filing could indicate it may not defend former President Donald Trump, who has also been sued by Swalwell for allegedly conspiring to incite the attack.
PoliticsAxiosSchumer and top Democrats call for Biden to extend student loan pause and cancel $50k per borrower
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), on Tuesday called on President Biden to extend the moratorium on student loan payments and cancel $50,000 per borrower. Why it matters: Americans owe about $1.6 trillion in student loans and the current pause on payments will end on Sept. 30, leaving more than 3o million people to begin making student loan repayments in October even as the pandemic continues.
HealthWashington ExaminerVaccinated people infected with delta variant might be contagious, CDC says in justifying mask guidance
People who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 yet still get infected with the delta strain could transmit the infection to unvaccinated people, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday in justifying renewed recommendations for mask-wearing. “In rare occasions, some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others,” she told reporters on Tuesday. The delta variant, however, is believed to be about twice as transmissible as the original strain of COVID-19, typically referred to as the “wild type” strain, and is sweeping through largely unvaccinated clusters of people and threatening to overwhelm hospital systems.
PoliticsNational ReviewKinzinger Defends Lack of Probe into BLM Riots During January 6 Committee Hearing
During the first hearing of the January 6 Committee on Tuesday, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger dismissed those alleging that Congress was at fault for investigating the Capitol riot, but not the Black Lives Matter riots that erupted and ravaged cities across the country this past year. Some have concocted a counter-narrative to discredit this process on the grounds that we didn't launch a similar investigation into the urban riots and looting last summer,” he said. I was called on to serve during the summer riots as an air national guardsman.
HealthThe TelegraphPatients died after operations to remove objects left inside them were cancelled due to Covid
Patients died after the NHS cancelled appointments to remove objects left inside them, a University of Oxford study into indirect Covid deaths during the pandemic has found. In two instances, patients died when medical equipment was left inside them after operations were cancelled. Researchers at Oxford said the cases, between March 2020 and June this year, were likely to be an underestimation because there was a large backlog of inquests.
NewsArchitectural DigestPlacemats Make Every Day a Party
Set the table with style Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Miami HeraldFour women were killed in a crash in the Keys. Their families deserve $12M, a jury says
A jury has ordered a Florida Keys company to pay $11.8 million to the families of four Spanish tourists who were killed in a crash on the Overseas Highway in 2018. Discount Rock & Sand, a Marathon company that does construction, landscaping and hauling, was negligent in the fatal crash on March 5, 2018, in Islamorada, the jury decided after a trial last week at U.S. District Court in Key West. Lawyers for the families argued the company failed to properly train or screen the driver of its truck that rear-ended the women's rented SUV as it was stopped, with its blinker on, waiting to make a left-hand turn.
PoliticsWashington ExaminerSome in GOP move to kick out Cheney and Kinzinger and make shunning official
The decision from Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to sit on the select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack at the direction of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ostracized them from their fellow House Republicans, and some in the conference want to make that formal. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs brought up a resolution during a House Republican conference meeting on Tuesday to expel immediately from the conference any person who sits on a committee that they were not appointed to by the Republican leader or the House Republican steering committee.
U.S.National ReviewBorder Patrol Released 50,000 Migrants into U.S. without Court Date: Report
Border agents have released about 50,000 migrants into the U.S. without giving them a date to appear in court, Axios reported on Tuesday. Thousands of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally have been instructed to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices instead of having a court date assigned to them. Only 6,700 migrants who arrived between mid-March and mid-July have arrived at ICE offices, a source briefed on data from the Department of Homeland Security told Axios.
- HealthCBS News Videos
President Biden announces Americans with 'long COVID' symptoms may qualify for federal disability
President Biden says 'long COVID' symptoms could be considered a disability and Americans suffering are protected under federal law.
- PoliticsThe Week
George P. Bush learns the GOP's Trump lesson the hard way
In the end, George P. Bush was left with nothing. Bush — the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and now a candidate for Texas attorney general — worked hard to get Donald Trump's endorsement for his race against the incumbent, Ken Paxton. He did so even though his family, which also includes former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and his father, famously disdains Trump and his influence on the party they once dominated.
PoliticsNBC NewsIf GOP won't defend the Capitol, the Constitution or themselves, what do they stand for?
Aquilino Gonell, a sergeant with the U.S. Capitol Police force, testified Tuesday that he put his duty to the Constitution ahead of the interests of his wife and son when he fought rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Of course, Gonell and other law enforcement officers were defending symbols of the republic that day — the Capitol, the Constitution and the sanctity of the ballot. It has been heartbreaking for Gonell and many of his colleagues on the Capitol and D.C. Metro police forces to watch Republican leaders in Congress pretend they weren't under threat.
HealthThe TelegraphTen hours of sleep a night and a cheat day every week – how J-Lo looks this good at 52
When you look at the pictures of Jennifer Lopez celebrating her 52nd birthday on a yacht with her boyfriend Ben Affleck this week, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a time warp back to the early 2000s. Not strictly because of the pair's rekindled relationship, or the fact they recreated that famous 'Jenny from the block' boat scene, but because of J-Lo's sculpted physique, which has barely changed since her 30s. This isn't the first time that J-Lo's appearance has stunned fellow midlifers.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramElection updates: Jake Ellzey defeats Susan Wright in Texas congressional race
State Rep. Jake Ellzey will serve as the next representative of Texas' 6th Congressional District after winning an all-Republican runoff to fill the seat of late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright. Susan Wright, Ron Wright's widow, and Ellzey, who also served as a Navy fighter pilot, received the most votes in a May 1 special election that drew 23 candidates, advancing them into Tuesday's runoff. With all but one polling locating reporting, Ellzey received 53.2% of the votes to Wright's 46.8%, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe US military is changing the way it fights after it 'failed miserably' in a war game against an aggressive adversary who knew its playbook
The US military is changing its warfighting strategy after a war game last fall, a top US general said. During the simulated conflict, the US military strategy "failed miserably," and an enemy "ran rings around" them. The exercise reportedly involved a confrontation with China over Taiwan.
WorldNextShark'Goddess of weightlifting' wins first gold medal for Taiwan in Tokyo, sets three Olympic records
She took the gold with 103 kilograms (227 pounds) in the snatch, 133 kilograms (293 pounds) in the clean and jerk and totaled 236 kilograms (520 pounds). The victory marked Kuo's first Olympic gold medal as she had only placed sixth in London in 2012 and earned a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. After she won the gold medal, she set out to break her own world record at 140 kilograms (308.6 pounds) and did not complete the final lift when her legs gave out.
LifestyleINSIDERLegendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut reveals what happened to his body after he ate 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes
Joey Chestnut won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. After the contest, he said he starts sweating, and people have said it smells like hot dogs. Chestnut also told Insider that it takes two full days to start feeling normal after a competition.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderArizona audit: Republican liaison tells Insider the audit process has been 'very odd' and that he may resign
Arizona's GOP-led Senate appointed him to be the chamber's "liaison" to the Cyber Ninjas audit. Bennett has said Cyber Ninjas has refused to share key information with him about the process. The Arizona state Senate's official "liaison" to the controversial election audit in Maricopa County said in an interview that he could soon resign.
CelebrityTheGrioDaBaby doubles down on homophobic rant with more offensive comments
DaBaby appears to have a penchant for making bad situations worse after a rant at Rolling Loud that raised fans' eyebrows. Rapper DaBaby seems to have a penchant for making bad situations worse. After making homophobic comments on stage at the Rolling Loud fest Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, he offered an “explanation.”
U.S.Business InsiderDC police officer Daniel Hodges says Capitol rioters tried to recruit him because he was white: 'Are you my brother?'
MPD Officer Daniel Hodges said he was treated differently than his non-white fellow officers. At the opening hearing of the January 6th select committee on Tuesday, DC Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges said he was "recruited" to join the mob by some rioters during the Capitol riot. The stunning testimony from Hodges came after one member asked him why he had called the Jan 6th riot a "white nationalist insurrection."
U.S.INSIDERMarjorie Taylor Greene said she was sorry for comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust. Now she's saying private businesses not letting unvaccinated people in is 'segregation.'
Marjorie Taylor Greene compared businesses choosing not to serve the unvaccinated to racial segregation. Greene tweeted this controversial take just a month after she apologized for comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust. Controversial Georgia lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene compared businesses choosing not to serve unvaccinated people to racial segregation.
WorldBusiness InsiderRussia's risky flybys may be attempts at 'baiting us into shooting first,' top US admiral says
Russian forces have had several close encounters with NATO militaries in the Black Sea. Aggressive Russian maneuvers around US and NATO forces in the Black Sea in recent weeks appear meant to provoke a response, the top US Navy admiral in Europe said on July 21. NATO militaries conducted exercises in the Black Sea from mid-June to mid-July, the largest of which, Sea Breeze, involved 32 ships and 40 aircraft from 32 countries.
HealthThe Daily BeastFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis Meets with Wild L.A. Vaccine Skeptic Despite Flooded Hospitals
Hours before federal officials on Tuesday issued new mask guidance to combat the surge of the Delta coronavirus variant across America, and even as his state's hospitals were veering toward disaster, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly met with anti-maskers. Among the attendees at the Monday night meeting behind closed doors was at least one L.A.-based doctor who embraced conspiracist rhetoric about the same vaccines DeSantis has purported to champion as his only strategy to fight COVID-19. In an email, McDonald confirmed to The Daily Beast that the various speakers provided their thoughts on why “mandating masks for children in schools [is] not only unnecessary and unsupported by scientific evidence, but also harmful to children physically and psychologically.”
HealthBusiness InsiderCDC: Color-coded map reveals where Americans need to wear masks again, and where you can go maskless, outside of schools
The CDC is now recommending that fully vaccinated people wear masks when indoors in public in certain areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that fully vaccinated people put their masks back on when indoors in public, at least in the areas of the country where COVID-19 is spreading fastest. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday that "the Delta variant behaves uniquely differently" compared to other versions of the virus, and that vaccinated people "may be contagious and spread the virus to others."
WorldINSIDERWorkmen digging a well in a man's backyard discovered a $100 million windfall - a cluster of 2.5 million sapphire carats
Workmen digging a well hauled up a massive 1,124-pound cluster of sapphires worth $100 million. The cluster has been named the "Serendipity Sapphire" and is composed of 2.5 million sapphire carats. Workers digging a well in the backyard of a Sri Lankan gem trader stumbled upon a windfall - a cluster of 2.5 million sapphire carats that weighs over 1,000 pounds.
“[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."