- U.S.The Independent
New York City has already had more shootings in 2020 than in the whole of 2019
New York City has recorded more shootings so far in 2020 than the whole of last year, authorities have confirmed. There were 777 shootings between January and 2 August 2020, compared with 776 in 2019, according to figures compiled by the New York Post, and later confirmed by New York Police department (NYPD). The milestone was reached when a man presented to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, north New York, with gunshot wounds on Saturday evening.
- 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.National Review
Homicides Spike in 50 Largest Cities across Nation
Homicides and gun violence have spiked in major cities around the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, spurred by an economic recession and unrest that arose from protests against police brutality. Chicago saw the largest jump in homicides, reporting more than 400 more homicides than last year, an increase of more than 50 percent. Philadelphia and New York City came in just behind the country's third-largest city, both tallying more than 200 more homicides this year.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
See Inside Zaha Hadid’s Revolutionary Oeuvre
A new book by Taschen surveys the Pritzker Prize–winning architect's process, including her paintings and drawings—which are works of art in their own right Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.USA TODAYDunkin' employee in Illinois arrested after state trooper finds mucus in coffee
Police in Illinois arrested a Dunkin' employee after a state trooper found what police said was mucus in coffee he purchased at one of the doughnut chain's locations in Chicago. Vincent Sessler, 25, was arrested Friday on charges of disorderly conduct, reckless conduct, and battery to a peace officer after an Illinois state trooper took the lid off his Dunkin' coffee to let it cool and found "a large, thick piece of mucus, which was later confirmed to be saliva, floating inside it," Illinois State Police said in a Facebook post. The incident happened Thursday.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoWho is Karen Bass?
Karen Bass, D-Calif. has been mentioned as a potential running mate for former VP Joe Biden, who has vowed to pick a woman as his vice president.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Emeritus Pope Benedict, 93, 'extremely frail' after visiting dying brother
Former Pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is "extremely frail", according to a report in the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Monday. Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face, a virus that causes a rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pontiff's biographer, Peter Seewald. "According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the report said.
- WorldReuters
One person is dying of COVID-19 every seven minutes in Iran: state TV
One person is dying from COVID-19 every seven minutes in Iran, state television said on Monday, as the Health Ministry reported 215 new deaths from the disease and state media warned of a lack of proper social distancing. Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted by the state TV as saying the 215 deaths in the past 24 hours took the combined death toll to 17,405 in Iran, and the number of confirmed cases rose by 2,598 to 312,035. State television showed several Iranians in a busy Tehran street without wearing face masks or social distancing.
- U.S.Business Insider
The Maryland county where Barron Trump attends school ordered private schools to stay closed until October, but the governor overrode the decision
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday issued an emergency order to block the county where Barron Trump goes to school from banning private schools from opening for in-person instruction. On Friday, the Montgomery County, Maryland, health officer issued a mandate that ordered private schools remain closed for in-person learning until at least October 1. President Trump's son, Barron, attends the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in the Maryland county.
- U.S.The Independent
‘Murder hornets’ trapped in US for first time as officials race to eradicate colonies before breeding season
As the US grapples with the world's worst coronavirus outbreak, a new threat is emerging as Asian giant hornets – known as “murder hornets” due to their lethal sting to humans – are gaining a foothold in the country. After they were first found in Washington State in May this year, the 2-inch (5cm)-long hornets have now been trapped for the first time – giving officials an indication – firstly that their traps work, and secondly of where nests could be situated. Now authorities in Washington State have until mid-September to try and eradicate the invasive species before the breeding season begins.
- PoliticsThe Week
Obama targets Texas in first round of 2020 endorsements
Former President Barack Obama unveiled his first round of 2020 endorsements on Monday, and he's got his eyes on Texas, at least at the local level. Obama is endorsing 27 Democratic candidates in Texas, including 19 for the state House, where Democrats need to win nine seats to grab the majority. The focus seems to make sense for Obama, The New York Times notes, because Texas districts will be redrawn after the 2020 census, and Democrats want to gain a foothold before that happens.
- 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.
- U.S.NBC News
She got the virus. Then she was fired. Some sick workers left in cold by employers.
As of June 12, nearly 700 companies had violated the law's paid-leave provisions and owed back wages to hundreds of employees, according to Labor Department records. Violators include six McDonald's franchises and the franchise owners of a Comfort Suites, Courtyard by Marriott and Red Roof Inn. In all, the businesses owe $690,000 in unpaid wages to 527 employees, who are not identified in the documents.
- U.S.INSIDER
A California couple were arrested on hate-crime charges after they yelled 'white power' during an episode of road rage, police say
Torrance Police Department/ Facebook A California couple was arrested on hate-crime and vandalism charges on Friday, the Torrance Police Department said. Gregory and Rachel Howell are accused of yelling "white power" and "only white lives matter" at a Black man and his girlfriend in July. "Never in my life did I think I was gonna experience this," the girlfriend, Itzel Lopez, told KTLA.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
As cruising resumes in some parts of world, multiple cruise ships affected by new COVID-19 cases
One person has tested positive for COVID-19 on Paul Gauguin Cruises' Paul Gauguin ship, causing the ship to confine passengers to their cabins, and at least 40 people became infected with COVID-19 on Hurtigruten's MS Roald Amundsen, which is currently docked in Tromso, Norway. And last week, AIDA Cruises announced that 10 crew members received positive test results while isolated on board two ships before they were scheduled to set sail. The leading industry organization, Cruise Lines International Association, will eventually release a mandatory policy on how to handle COVID-19 prevention and outbreaks on board ships.
- WorldBBC
Amazon region: Brazil records big increase in fires
Official figures from Brazil have shown a big increase in the number of fires in the Amazon region in July compared with the same month last year. Satellite images compiled by Brazil's National Space Agency revealed there were 6,803 - a rise of 28%. President Jair Bolsonaro has encouraged agricultural and mining activities in the Amazon.
- U.S.Reuters
L.A. teachers reach deal with school district on remote education
The Los Angeles teachers union and local education officials on Monday agreed to a plan for resuming online-only classes later this month in the nation's second-largest school district amid the coronavirus pandemic. The deal encompasses new standards and work rules governing how the 30,000 teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will provide instruction to 700,000 students remaining at home when the new academic year begins on Aug. 18. The plan, hammered out during two weeks of negotiations between the district and United Teachers Los Angeles union, is designed to avoid the chaos that ensued when the worsening COVID-19 outbreak forced schools to abruptly switch to remote ...
- U.S.Business Insider
An impassioned obituary for a 79-year-old coronavirus victim blames Trump for his death, then calls out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and people who refused to wear masks
Screenshot Facebook The widow of a coronavirus patient in Texas is blaming President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and anti-maskers for her husband's death. Stacey Nagy published an impassioned obituary which ran in the Jefferson Jimplecute, according to a note that Nagy wrote on Twitter. "The blame for his death and the deaths of all the other innocent people, falls on Trump, Abbott and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives," Nagy wrote.
- U.S.The Independent
Mysterious seeds sent from China to the US identified by the USDA
The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects. Osama El-Lissy, a member of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said officials had identified more than a dozen plant species included in the seed packets.
- U.S.The Week
The housing crisis is here
A federal eviction moratorium expired last week, meaning that many tenants could have only 30 days to pony up what they owe landlords or get kicked to the curb. This week, Congress signaled it would extend the moratorium to give renters more breathing room while debating whether to extend other aid, such as unemployment benefits and stimulus checks — some of "the few lifelines renters had during the pandemic." The eviction wave has already started, said Will Parker at The Wall Street Journal.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
House committees subpoena top Pompeo aides over IG firing
House Democrats have subpoenaed four top aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying that the Trump administration is stonewalling their investigation into the firing of the State Department's top independent watchdog earlier this year. Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick appeared for a closed-door interview in the probe in June and told investigators that top department officials tried to bully him and dissuade his office from conducting a review of a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia before he was fired. Linick also said he was looking into previously reported allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife may have misused government staff to run personal errands and several other matters.
U.S.USA TODAYSplash Mountain log flume ride sinks at Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain hit rough waters Sunday as Twitter users posted video of a submerged log flume ride they were in only moments earlier. The riders tweeted that the ride began taking on water, and they decided to evacuate even though a Disney employee told them they should have stayed in the boat. In a video that's been viewed nearly 200,000 times, a Twitter user named Sky shared footage of the boat after it sank.
WorldAFPVerdict looms in killing of Lebanon ex-PM Hariri
A UN-backed tribunal will give its verdict Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, but questions will remain over a long and costly trial whose suspects remain at large. Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people. The judgment harks back to an event that changed the face of the Middle East, with Hariri's assassination triggering a wave of demonstrations that pushed Syrian forces out of Lebanon after 30 years.
- U.S.INSIDER
Illinois officials call to abolish history classes in the state until an 'alternative' is set up to highlight underrepresented groups
Tim Boyle/Getty Images Community leaders in Illinois called for history classes in state schools to stop until a " suitable alternative" is established to represent minority groups in the curriculum. Democratic State Representative LaShawn K. Ford said "current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities," according to NBC Chicago. The state representative is calling for schools to discard history books "that unfairly communicate our history."
- U.S.USA TODAY
Gym owners defy pandemic orders, break into own business closed by state and reopen it
The defiant owners of Atilis Gym kicked in plywood panels that had sealed the entrance to their business since July 27, drawing cheers from a group of flag-waving supporters. "What really upsets me is it had to come to this," said Ian Smith, a partner in the gym who said a long-running dispute with the state over pandemic restrictions had become "personal." The state Attorney General's Office, which has repeatedly obtained court orders for the gym's closing, could not be reached for immediate comment.
