- U.S.Yahoo News
Why a Black man from Louisiana is serving a life sentence for stealing hedge clippers
According to Louisiana law, the crime of attempted simple burglary carries no more than 12 years behind bars, but because the 1997 offense was his fourth felony, Bryant, who is Black, received a life sentence in 2000. The justices declined to review the sentence, which was upheld by the state appeals court in 2019, according to the decision. One justice recused himself.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Conspiracy-mongering Republican seeking John Lewis seat gets social media boost from Trump
On Thursday evening, amid a fairly typical burst of presidential Twitter activity, President Trump retweeted two recent posts from the account of Angela Stanton-King, a Republican congressional candidate who has repeatedly used her social media feeds to promote content related to QAnon and other fringe conspiracy theories, including wildly implausible internet rumors about sex trafficking of children. Trump has also flirted with QAnon memes on social media, although his retweets of Stanton-King were not related to the loosely knit group whose followers have been described by the FBI as “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists.” In the first tweet, which was originally posted last week, Stanton-King describes herself as “a proud Black woman who supports @realDonaldTrump” and is “done with the Democrat Party lying to my community.”
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
California Rep. Maxine Waters says Biden 'can't go home' without choosing a Black woman as his running mate
Associated Press/Andrew Harnik California congresswoman Maxine Waters said in a live interview with ESSENCE that former Vice President Joe Biden must choose a Black woman for his running mate. "He can't go home without a Black woman being VP," said Waters in the interview. Meanwhile, with the Democratic National Convention less than 10 days away, Biden is expected to announce his pick for vice president anytime soon.
- WorldNBC News
Hong Kong hits back at 'shameless' U.S. sanctions on leader Carrie Lam
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments strongly criticized Washington Saturday after the United States imposed sanctions on the territory's leader Carrie Lam, and other officials, dismissing the move as "clowning actions" that would not intimidate Chinese people. Hong Kong's government said the sanctions were "shameless and despicable" and represented a "blatant and barbaric" interference in China's internal affairs, warning that Hong Kong was being used as a "pawn" in the U.S.-China relationship. The Trump administration announced Friday it would impose sanctions on Lam and Luo Huining, the head of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, along with nine other current and former officials that Washington accuses of curtailing political freedoms, following the imposition of a draconian new security law in June.
- U.S.INSIDER
A woman claiming to be from the 'Freedom To Breathe Agency' filmed telling a grocery employee that she could face legal action for making people wear face masks
In a viral TikTok video, a woman claiming to be from an anti-mask group told a grocery store supervisor in Orange County, California, that she could face legal action for asking people to wear face coverings. The mask-less woman, who claimed she was from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency", was filmed giving the employee a piece of paper that stated she could go to prison for up to three to five years for telling customers to wear a mask. The "Freedom To Breathe Agency" is not a real governmental agency and has previously received a warning from the Department of Justice after it distributed fake "face mask exempt" cards.
- PoliticsNational Review
Should Judge Sullivan Be Disqualified from Flynn Case? An Appeals Court Is Asking
At the time, that court's three-judge panel had not yet heard oral argument on Michael Flynn's mandamus petition — i.e., Flynn's request that the panel find that federal district judge Emmet Sullivan was acting lawlessly. Sullivan had not only failed to grant the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn; he had appointed a former federal judge (the overtly anti-Trump John Gleeson) to posit the argument abandoned by DOJ — to wit, that Flynn should proceed to sentencing because he had pled guilty to a false-statements charge, waiving his right to contest the case any further in exchange for the government's agreement not to file any other charges.
- U.S.USA TODAY
250 students and staff quarantined in Georgia school district after one week of school
After only one week of school, more than 250 students and teachers from one Georgia school district will be quarantined for two weeks after several teachers and students tested positive for COVID-19, according to the district's website. Cherokee County School District, which is just north of Atlanta, is sharing regular updates on coronavirus cases in its schools on its website. As of Friday, at least 11 students, ranging in age from first to 12th grade, and two staff members from various elementary, middle and high schools, have tested positive for the virus, prompting the school to send almost 250 students and staff home for 14 days due to possible exposure.
- U.S.The Independent
New York is moving homeless people into luxury hotels to protect them against coronavirus and wealthy neighbourhoods aren't happy
But in recent days, residents of some wealthier areas of New York where some of the hotels are located have complained about what they describe as anti-social behaviour and drug use by homeless people in their neighbourhoods. In the Upper West Side, where the median house price is more than $1.8m, some residents have started a Facebook group to express their displeasure over the use of three high-end hotels in the area. Our community is terrified, angry and frightened,” one member of the 'Upper West Siders For Safer Streets' group told the New York Post.
- WorldAssociated Press
The Latest: Donors: Aid to Lebanon to come with reforms
Over 30 participants to the international aid conference for Lebanon have pledged help for a “credible and independent” investigation into the Beirut explosion. International leaders, government officials and international organizations participated Sunday in the teleconference co-organized by France and the United Nations to bring emergency aid to Lebanon.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Former US soldiers sentenced to 20 years for bungled Venezuelan coup plot
A Venezuelan court sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro, prosecutors announced late on Friday. Former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by a third ex-US soldier who remains in the United States, Venezuelan's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter. "THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS," Saab wrote, adding that the case will continue for dozens of other defendants.
- PoliticsYahoo News
'Unconstitutional slop': Democrats blast Trump's executive actions on coronavirus relief
Democratic leaders on Sunday roundly condemned President Trump's set of executive orders bypassing Congress on coronavirus relief. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began a “Fox News Sunday” interview by saying she agreed with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska that Trump's actions were “unconstitutional slop. Pelosi said the “kindest thing I could say” after looking at Trump's executive orders was that he “doesn't know what he's talking about.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
After Elon Musk criticized Bernie Sanders' brand of socialism, Sanders took him to task for taking billions of dollars in government support
Andy Clayton King/AP Photo Bernie Sanders and Elon Musk got into a tiny tussle on Twitter Friday over "socialism." Sanders on Thursday introduced a bill that would place a 60% tax on the wealth gained during the coronavirus crisis by billionaires including Musk and use the money raised to pay all American's out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for a year. In response to an article about the bill, Musk tweeted out a meme that essentially criticized Sanders for spending other people's money to fund "free government programs."
- SportsNBC News
Woman is first in U.S. to get second face transplant
Carmen Blandin Tarleton, whose face was disfigured in an attack by her ex-husband, became the first American and only the second person globally to undergo the procedure after her first transplant began to fail six years after the operation. The transplant from an anonymous donor took place at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital in July. The 52-year-old former nurse is expected to resume her normal routine, which all but ended when the first transplant failed a year ago.
- WorldINSIDER
A stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of fuel has breached and is leaking oil into the pristine, azure waters of the Indian Ocean
A stranded Japanese-owned oil tanker, sailing under the Panamanian flag, has breached and is flooding waters of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius with fuel. Mauritius is famous for its coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Authorities are racing against the clock to secure a stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of oil leaking fuel into waters near a tropical Indian Ocean island.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Teachers unions, progressive groups want demands met on housing, standardized testing before schools reopen
Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, weighs in on 'Journal Editorial Report.
- U.S.USA TODAY
12,000 crew members still on cruise ships in US waters months after COVID-19 pandemic shut cruising down
Akash Dookhun, a Celebrity Cruises crew member from Mauritius, an island nation in southeastern Africa, has not set foot on dry land since he was on a port call in New Zealand in early March. "I have been on board for almost 10 months," Dookhun said, noting a number of fellow crew members have been on board ships for over a year. As of Tuesday, nearly five months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the cruise industry, more than 12,000 crew members remained on ships in U.S. waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Christiane Lemieux and Anthropologie Team Up for the Launch of Her Newest Collection
Lemieux Et Cie's Artisanal Modernism is now available through Anthropologie Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.The Independent
Coronavirus: Nine test positive at Georgia school where photo of crowded corridor went viral
Nine people have tested positive for Covid-19 at a Georgia high school just days after a photo of a packed hallway went viral. Six students and three staff members who were at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia last week have tested positive, according to a letter sent to parents on Saturday. The letter stated: "We have anticipated that Covid-19 would impact us as it has nearly every community, and the district has worked in partnership with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to proactively implement safety precautions and response plans.
- WorldAssociated Press
American oil execs, held 2 years, go to trial in Venezuela
A Venezuela court has launched the trial of six American oil executives jailed well over two years after being lured to the South American nation and arrested on corruption charges, an attorney confirmed Friday. The lingering case appears to have taken a new sense of urgency, which defense attorney Jesus Loreto credited to former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's recent meeting with President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. We remain very hopeful that things will improve quickly,” Loreto told The Associated Press following the trial's opening day Thursday.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Bars over schools: Why your kids will probably learn from home this fall
But he has not provided any federal guidance on how, exactly, schools can reopen safely and what the federal government will do in order to ensure that they are safely able to do so. Everyone is looking to our federal government to show some leadership here,” Duncan told lawmakers on Thursday, adding that it was unfair to ask school superintendents to make “life-or-death public health decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did issue a nine-page checklist for schools, but it contains broad, sometimes obvious recommendations, such as appointing a person to consult “local health officials about the school's approach to planning for COVID-19.
- U.S.Business Insider
A 17-year-old high school student developed an app that records your interaction with police when you're pulled over and immediately shares it to Instagram and Facebook
Aaditya Agrawal A 17-year-old New Jersey high school student has developed an Android app that allows users to record their interactions with police and then notify a loved one or share it to social media, like Instagram. Aaditya Agrawal told Business Insider that he was compelled to create the app in part after a close friend of his, who is Black, was pulled over without cause. "You see it in the news all the time, but when it happens to one of your close friends — and he tells you how it felt for that to happen to him — then you understand the significance," he said.
- ScienceThe Guardian
Nasa to change 'harmful' and insensitive' planet and galaxy nicknames
Nasa has signaled it is joining the social justice movement by changing unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems such as planets, galaxies and nebulae. In a statement last week, the space agency said that as the “community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive, but can be actively harmful”. Nasa added that it is “examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion”.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus: New Zealand marks 100 days without community spread
New Zealand has gone 100 days without recording a locally transmitted Covid-19 case, a milestone that has both been welcomed and brought warnings against complacency. The last case of community transmission was detected on 1 May, days after the country started easing its lockdown. New Zealand has fared better than other countries, recording 1,219 confirmed cases and 22 deaths since the virus arrived in late February.
- U.S.WABC – NY
Gunfire erupts in NJ police-involved shooting
According to officials, gunfire erupted on Hopkins Avenue in Jersey City shortly after 6 p.m. Friday.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
GOP appeals after Judge dismisses lawsuit over House's proxy voting system established due to COVID-19
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a Republican-led lawsuit aiming to halt an unprecedented proxy voting system established by the House of Representatives due to the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the House was immune from such a legal challenge. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia by nearly two dozen House Republicans – led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. in May, argued the proxy voting rules violated the U.S. Constitution because under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present to take up business and vote on legislation.
“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.”