- PoliticsYahoo News
Obama endorses challenger to Maine's Susan Collins, under fire for Kavanaugh confirmation vote
Former President Barack Obama released a list of endorsements for the 2020 elections on Monday that included Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The race could help decide which party controls the Senate for at least the next two years. Gideon is the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, and the two most recent polls (by Colby College and Public Policy Polling) of her race against Collins show her with a 5-point lead.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Beirut Ignored Public Warning There Was a Russian ‘Bomb’ at the Port
Years before a devastating blast killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000 in Beirut Tuesday, a maritime analyst issued a public warning that a Russian “floating bomb” was languishing in the city's docks. Maritime monitoring systems tracked the Rhosus into port in Beirut in September 2013. The 2,750 metric ton cargo of ammonium nitrate would primarily be used for fertilizers or high power explosives.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
'Delta may be onto something': Experts describe how the company is winning with customers even though rival airlines can fit more passengers
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images Travelers say they will pay an average of 16-17% more to fly on airlines that block the middle seat, according to a new survey. Airline earnings data suggests that customers are indeed willing to pay up: Even though Delta is blocking off 40% of its seats, its passenger revenue performance rivals United's. The middle seat debate has raged as flying has slowly picked back up during the coronavirus pandemic, with some airlines doubling down on blocking seats, while others, like American Airlines, have begun to fill them again.
- WorldUSA TODAY
This is what it looked like after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 75 years ago
The most powerful weapon to ever be used against other humans was detonated by the United States in Japan 75 years ago. On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber famously known as the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, marking the first of two times the bomb has ever been used in warfare. The city was leveled – less than 10 percent of the buildings in Hiroshima were left undamaged by the bomb, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Pakistani court sparks outrage by ruling 14-year-old Christian girl must stay married to alleged abductor
A Pakistani court has sparked outrage by ruling a 14-year-old Christian girl was legally married to a Muslim man who allegedly abducted her at gunpoint. In a case that has renewed focus on the persecution of Pakistan's Christian minority, the Lahore High Court ruled on Tuesday that Maira Shahbaz had willingly converted to Islam and married Mohamad Nakash. The girl and her family claim that she was kidnapped in April by Mr Nakash and two accomplices from near her home in the city of Faisalabad.
- PoliticsReuters
McConnell says will support any coronavirus aid deal worked out by White House and Democrats
U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he would support any coronavirus aid deal worked out between the Trump administration and Democrats in Congress, adding no agreement this close to November elections would win unanimous support. "Wherever this thing settles between the president of the United States and his team that have to sign it into law, and the Democrat -- not insignificant minority in the Senate and the majority in the House -- is something I'm prepared to support, even if I have some problems with certain parts of it," Republican McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill.
- U.S.INSIDER
A 6-year-old girl in the UK choked on her McDonald's chicken nuggets because they contained bits of a face mask, her mom says
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images A UK woman said she had to physically remove a chicken nugget from her 6-year-old daughter's mouth after she began to choke on it, she told the BBC. Laura Arber said she found pieces of a protective face mask inside the chicken nuggets. "Just because it says it's a Happy Meal doesn't mean it's safe," Arber said.
- SportsArchitectural Digest
Direct-to-Consumer Furniture Brand Burrow Expands Its Offerings
The company is welcoming benches and credenzas to its product line starting today Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.Associated Press
Anti-death penalty groups sue, say roadblocks impede speech
Anti-death penalty activists asked a judge in a Tuesday lawsuit to order Indiana State Police to stop blocking roads to a prison where federal executions have resumed after a 17-year pause, arguing that the roadblocks constitute unconstitutional no-protest zones and impede protesters' free-speech rights. Hours before three July executions, troopers cut off public roads to the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, where all federal executions are carried out by lethal injection. Four more executions are planned for this month and September as part of the Trump administration's resumption of federal executions.
- PoliticsNBC News
Republicans fear Kobach primary win in Kansas could jeopardize Senate GOP control
Kris Kobach, the former Republican secretary of state of Kansas who lost his bid for governor in 2018, is now trying to claim a Senate seat there with the help of a Democrat-linked group and without the blessing of GOP party leaders. Voters head to the polls on Tuesday in Kansas and four other states — Arizona, Michigan, Missouri and Washington — in some of the last primaries left on the year's election calendar. Two main combatants have emerged in the 11-candidate Kansas contest — Kobach, the immigration hawk and voter fraud crusader, and Rep. Roger Marshall, a mainstream GOP candidate.
- WorldNational Review
Lebanon PM Blames Beirut Explosions on Shipment of Ammonium Nitrate Sitting in Port Since 2013
Massive explosions that rocked the city of Beirut on Tuesday were fueled by a 2,750-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in port since 2013, Lebanon's prime minister announced. “I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened, to hold him accountable and impose the most severe penalties,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab told reporters on Tuesday evening. It was not immediately clear why the ammonium nitrate was stored at that location, or how it ended up there.
- U.S.The Independent
One American is dying every 80 seconds from coronavirus as Trump shrugs off death toll: 'It is what it is'
At least one person in the United States has died every 80 seconds on average over the last seven days, according to new research, as President Donald Trump said the nation's soaring death toll "is what it is" in a recent interview. The grim figures were first reported by NBC News on Wednesday, which noted its own tally revealed 7,486 people died in the last seven days due to Covid-19. Whereas the rate of deaths was somewhat slower in July, with one American dying every 102 seconds on average throughout the month, the latest figures appeared to show an acceleration in pace, as NBC News reported.
WorldUSA TODAYPassenger on Alaska cruise tests positive for COVID-19, prompting quarantine, canceled sailings
One of the first cruise ships to resume overnight sailing in U.S. waters since the coronavirus shut down the cruise industry this year has reported one case of COVID-19 on board. Passengers are quarantining on UnCruise Adventures' Wilderness Adventurer "until the State of Alaska deems it safe for them to return home" after one passenger tested positive, according to a travel alert posted on the cruise line's website. The ship, now off the coast of Alaska en route to Juneau, according to CruiseMapper, was able to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's no-sail order because its capacity is less than 250 passengers and crew.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Indian prime minister lays Ayodhya temple foundation, delighting Hindus and dismaying Muslims
Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, has invigorated his Hindu support base after laying the foundation stone of a controversial new temple on a site contested by Muslims. In November, after a decades-old legal battle, India's highest court ruled a temple could be built in the city of Ayodhya, where a mosque had stood until it was destroyed by Hindu mobs in 1992. Mr Modi made its construction a key pledge as part of his Hindu nationalist campaign, which saw him re-elected with a landslide victory last year.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Sen. Ron Wyden is introducing a privacy bill that would ban government agencies from buying personal information from data brokers
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images Sen. Ron Wyden said he will introduce a new privacy bill that would ban government agencies from buying people's personal information from data brokers to skirt standard court orders. The proposed legislation would "be very specific about making sure that you just don't have this backdoor to throw in the Fourth Amendment in the trash can," Wyden told The Verge in an interview. The bill, named "The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale," is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
- Sen. Ron Wyden accused Trump of 'working the refs' by pulling the renomination of an FCC commissioner who had questioned the president's executive order targeting social media companiesBusiness Insider
- Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says Trump deployed 'secret police' in Portland to provoke violence for campaign adsBusiness Insider
U.S.Yahoo News VideoShould you send your child back to school? Here’s how to weigh the coronavirus risks.
As parents and caregivers grapple with whether to send their children to school for in-person learning this fall, Dr. Dara Kass, Yahoo News' medical contributor, explains how you can weigh the coronavirus risks based on CDC guidance.
- U.S.TODAY
2nd-grade student tests positive for the coronavirus after 1st day of school
A second-grade student in Georgia tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the first day of school, leading the district to ask 20 other students and a teacher to self-quarantine for two weeks. The child, a student at Sixes Elementary School in Canton, about 44 miles north of Atlanta, did not begin to show symptoms until after school on Monday, the first day students returned. In a letter to parents, the school's principal, Ashley Kennerly, said the class will be taught remotely while the group is under quarantine.
HealthAFPRare disease causing paralysis in children likely to return in US: experts
A rare neurological condition that mostly affects children and mysteriously returns every two years is likely to flare up in the coming weeks and months, US health authorities warned Tuesday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it "anticipates that 2020 will be another peak year for cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)." The disease, which is likely caused by a virus, can lead to permanent paralysis and life-threatening complications from respiratory failure, the CDC said.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. Representative Maloney declares victory in New York Democratic primary
U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, who has represented a New York City district in Congress since 1993, declared victory in a hard-fought Democratic primary on Tuesday, defeating progressive challenger Suraj Patel. Maloney announced the win in New York's 12th congressional district after the New York State Board of Elections certified the results from the June 23 primary. The conclusion of the race was delayed more than a month as election officials struggled to count thousands of mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S.CBS News VideosFamilies mourn after deadly military training accident in California
Authorities have identified the eight Marines and one sailor who were killed in a military training accident off the coast of San Clemente Island last week in Southern California. A search for the missing military members was called off over the weekend. CBS Los Angeles' Rachel Kim reports.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
How Kim Jong Un Won the War Over North Korea’s Nukes
Not only is the United States powerless to rid the Korean Peninsula of atomic warheads, thanks to Kim's nukes it's also powerless to force regime-change on Pyongyang. In short, Kim Jong Un won. “There is good reason to believe that, for all intents and purposes, the Korean Peninsula will only be 'denuclearized' when nuclear weapons are abolished worldwide,” Ankit Panda writes in Kim Jong Un and the Bomb.
- U.S.USA TODAY
These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test
USA TODAY has an update on the states that are discouraging interstate travel by requiring or recommending that visitors and residents returning from other states quarantine. Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that beginning August 11, non-Alaska residents need a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival in the state or proof they are waiting on results from a test taken in that 72-hour period. Testing is free for Alaska residents.
- WorldAssociated Press
Hindu temple ad runs in Times Square despite opposition
A large digital billboard in Times Square is displaying images of a Hindu deity and a temple being built on disputed ground in India, despite calls from a coalition of advocacy organizations — including Muslim, human rights, anti-fascist and secular groups — asking advertisers not to show the images. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the groundbreaking for the Hindu temple Wednesday in the Indian city of Ayodhya. Modi supporters planned to gather in New York City's Times Square throughout the day to mark the occasion.
- U.S.National Review
Seattle Police Chief Urges City Council to Stop Protestors’ Intimidation Tactics after Group Visits Her Home
Seattle police chief Carmen Best is urging the city council to take a stand against protestors intimidating public officials and employees after “a large group of aggressive protestors” visited her home on Sunday night. “I urge both of you, and the entire council, to stand up for what is right,” Best wrote Monday in a letter addressed to the council's president Lorena González and public safety chair Lisa Herbold. “Before this devolves into the new way of doing business by mob rule here in Seattle, and across the nation, elected officials like you must forcefully call for the end of these tactics,” she added.
- U.S.The Independent
Mysterious seeds sent from China to US identified by Trump administration
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.
“He’s not a radical. But he is running on the most liberal policy platform of any Democratic candidate in modern history.”
“Public opinion has been shifting leftward, and Biden’s thinking has shifted with it.”
“Biden shows that he’s more moderate than some in his party.”
“Biden has always been a creature of his time, and the COVID-19 crisis could force him to veer further left.”
“Liberal activists have lauded the campaign’s outreach to progressives.”
