WorldAssociated PressIran executes defense ministry staffer as alleged CIA spy
Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country's judiciary said Tuesday. The report said Reza Asgari was executed last week. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Asgari had worked in the airspace department of the ministry and retired in 2016.
- PoliticsBBC
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: US Supreme Court oldest justice treated for possible infection
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been released from hospital after "treatment of a possible infection", the court has said. It said she "underwent an endoscopic procedure... to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August", in Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ms Ginsburg, 87, "is home and doing well," the court said on Tuesday, one day after she was admitted in Maryland.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Trump broke presidential protocol by turning a standard White House press statement into a rambling, rally-like attack on Joe Biden
Drew Angerer/Getty Images President Donald Trump launched into a long campaign-rally-style attack on Joe Biden during a speech in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday. The setting is normally used for official presidential announcements, and it is against White House protocol to launch campaign attacks against political rivals in speeches there. Trump's trademark rallies were called off during the early months of the coronavirus crisis.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Fact check: Rep. Ilhan Omar was not photographed at an al-Qaida training camp
When Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was sworn into office in January 2019, she became one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Throughout her term, Omar has faced vitriolic, racist comments and threats from her political opponents and members of the American public. Omar's religion is often central to the attacks, with people accusing her of treason and association with al-Qaida.
- U.S.Time
Mississippi Is Replacing Its State Flag, But a Confederate Emblem Still Flies Over Georgia
In June, as many people across the United States took a renewed look at the nation's history of racism, legislators in Mississippi voted yea on House Bill 1796, replacing the state flag. With that, theirs became the last state to remove a flying Confederate battle emblem from above their statehouse. The landslide vote, with 92 of 115 Representatives and 37 of 51 Senators opting for removal, was resoundingly heralded as a massive step forward for American equality.
- U.S.NBC News
Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower defaced; mayor says 'nice try'
The Black Lives Matter mural on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower was defaced Monday but quickly fixed, authorities said. The Black Lives Matter "movement is more than words, and it can't be undone," de Blasio said. The New York City Police Department said they received a call at around 12:15 p.m. Monday about criminal mischief at 725 Fifth Avenue.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Ancient Aztec palace ruins found under landmark building in Mexico City
The remains of an ancient Aztec palace, which later was the home of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, were discovered under a landmark building in Mexico City, the government said on Monday. Basalt slab floors were found under the stately building of the Nacional Monte de Piedad, a historic pawn shop in the middle of the capital's central square, during building renovations. The floors correspond to an open area in the palace of Aztec ruler Axayacatl, who was the father of Montezuma, one of the final rulers of the empire.
- U.S.The Independent
Texas hospitals on the brink of collapse as coronavirus cases surge
Texas hospitals are on the brink of collapse, as a surge in coronavirus cases overwhelms the state's health system. Doctors in the state are ringing the bell, warning that many facilities are close to filling up, and they're already seeing shortages of a drug that's shown promise in treating the virus, the Texas Tribune reported on Tuesday In Hidalgo County, ambulances have been waiting as long as 10 hours to deliver patients to packed emergency rooms. One patient in Anahuac had to be flown by helicopter 120 miles to a hospital in El Campo because hospitals in his area could not take him.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Tucker Carlson Announces ‘Long-Planned Vacation’ After Racist Writer’s Resignation
Fox News host Tucker Carlson addressed Monday night the resignation of his former top writer Blake Neff, who resigned last week after CNN reported on his long history of pseudonymously posting racist and bigoted remarks on an online forum that openly trafficked in racist content. Carlson then announced he was taking a “long-planned vacation.” It came across as a both-sides argument, in which he said that while what an “ashamed” Neff wrote was wrong, those in the media should be careful with their “self-righteousness.”
- WorldAssociated Press
Tanker off UAE sought by US over Iran sanctions 'hijacked'
An oil tanker sought by the U.S. over allegedly circumventing sanctions on Iran was hijacked on July 5 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a seafarers organization said Wednesday. Satellite photos showed the vessel in Iranian waters on Tuesday and two of its sailors remained in the Iranian capital. It wasn't immediately clear what happened aboard the Dominica-flagged MT Gulf Sky, though its reported hijacking comes after months of tensions between Iran and the U.S. David Hammond, the CEO of the United Kingdom-based group Human Rights at Sea, said he took a witness statement from the captain of the MT Gulf Sky, confirming the ship had been hijacked.
- U.S.Yahoo News
CDC urges masks for everyone as coronavirus surges
Confronting a drastic rise in coronavirus cases across the United States, the nation's top public health officials urged all Americans to wear masks in order to prevent the spread of the disease. “At this critical juncture when COVID-19 is resurging,” wrote Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield in a Journal of the American Medical Association editorial published on Tuesday, “broad adoption of cloth face coverings is a civic duty, a small sacrifice reliant on a highly effective low-tech solution that can help turn the tide favorably in national and global efforts against COVID-19.” In recent weeks, the coronavirus has swept across the Sun Belt, where states like Florida, Arizona and Texas disregarded the warnings of public health officials and reopened early, without strict mask mandates in place.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Trump reportedly 'authorized' and 'encouraged' an op-ed attacking Dr. Fauci, despite the White House's claim to the contrary
Associated Press/Patrick Semansky The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump personally "authorized" and "encouraged" an op-ed by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci is the nation's top infectious-disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force. The LA Times' reporting contradicts the White House's claim from earlier Wednesday that it did not sign off on the Navarro op-ed and he broke protocol by publishing it.
- U.S.USA TODAY
A Michigan jeweler is retiring and burying $1 million worth of treasure for a 'quest'
A Michigan jeweler is calling it quits after 23 years and taking prospective adventurers on a treasure hunt. Johnny Perri, who owns J&M Jewelers in Washington Township, Michigan, had an "epiphany" after being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Although I enjoyed being in business for myself and have been blessed serving our wonderful customers, I've discovered that I was never truly happy," Perri writes on the website set up for his "Treasure Quest."
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
21 Best Wall-Mounted Planters to Infuse Your Space With Greenery
Create living wall art that will freshen up any space Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.Associated Press
NYPD chief, protesters roughed up in Brooklyn Bridge clash
Several New York City police officers were attacked and injured Wednesday as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge, police said. The confrontation happened hours before Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a series of police accountability measures inspired by the killings of George Floyd, Eric Garner and other Black people. At least four officers were hurt, including Chief of Department Terence Monahan, and 37 people were arrested, police said.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoVirginia police are searching for people posting flyers calling on residents to 'pray for white Americans in 2020'
Virginia police are investigating white supremacist flyers that are appearing in local resident mailboxes across the state.
- U.S.The Independent
'I didn't do it': Executed federal prisoner used final words to plead innocence
The first man executed by the US federal government in 17 years protested his innocence in his final words before his sentence was carried out on Tuesday. Asked if he wanted to give a final statement before the lethal injection procedure, Lee reportedly said “I bear no responsibility for the deaths of the Mueller family.” Daniel Lewis Lee, 47, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at a US penitentiary in Indiana.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
The Moon, Which Seems Pretty Old, Is Actually Much Younger Than We Thought
According to new research, the moon is 85 million years younger than scientists once thought. Computer simulations revealed that the moon formed roughly 4.425 billion years ago. How and when the moon formed has long been a point of contention between planetary scientists.
- U.S.Associated Press
Confederate statues stored at Richmond waste water plant
At least some of the Confederate monuments that have been recently removed from places of prominence in Richmond, Virginia, are being stored on the grounds of a waste water treatment plant, photographs show. Photos taken this week by The Associated Press and Richmond Times-Dispatch show a collection of statues and other large objects under tarps at the facility just outside the city's downtown. On July 1, Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues on city property in Richmond, a onetime capital of the Confederacy.
- U.S.Military.com
8 Marines Earn Valor Awards for Daring Afghanistan Helo Raid with Hours of Close Combat
A Marine master sergeant blasted his way into a building filled with at least eight Taliban fighters in an attempt to save an Afghan comrade during an hours-long fight in which he braved point-blank gunfire and grenade blasts, earning him the nation's third-highest valor award. The master sergeant was one of eight Marine Raiders recognized by Marine Forces Special Operations Command for their actions during the April 10, 2019, mission in southern Afghanistan. Three other Raiders -- a major and two staff sergeants -- were awarded Bronze Stars with combat "V" devices for their roles in the raid.
- U.S.NBC News
California tosses 100,000 botched mailed-in ballots for presidential primary
More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary, according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state's effort to ensure every vote is counted. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, California is part of a growing number of states increasing mail-in balloting to avoid crowds at polling places. President Donald Trump is among those questioning the integrity of vote-by-mail elections while supporters say they are just as reliable as polling places and offer greater flexibility for voters.
- WorldBusiness Insider
US Navy warship challenges China in South China Sea as US blasts Beijing's 'unlawful' claims and 'gangster tactics'
US Navy A US Navy destroyer challenged China in the South China Sea with a freedom-of-navigation operation on Tuesday. The USS Ralph Johnson sailed near the disputed Spratly Islands, the Navy said, adding in a statement that "unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas." The operation, one of at least six such operations this year, comes after the US State Department officially rejected most of China's sea claims, declaring its maritime efforts to assert sovereignty unlawful.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
5 Years Ago, New Horizons Reached Pluto—and We Never Stopped Learning
Here's everything the intrepid spacecraft has taught us about the distant dwarf planet. From Popular Mechanics
- U.S.Yahoo News
Georgia murder case tests whether a Black man can stand his ground against whites
William Marcus “Marc” Wilson believed he was standing his ground when he fired at a pickup truck he says was trying to run his car off the road as he drove home with his girlfriend one night last month. The pickup truck's driver then allegedly tried to run Wilson's much smaller Ford Focus off the road before, according to Johnson, Wilson “defended his life” by using a legally registered firearm to shoot at the truck.
PoliticsFOX News VideosSununu: Biden showcasing a self-defeating agenda of trying to destroy the American energy industry
presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden prepares the second part of his economic plan; former White House chief of staff John Sununu reacts.
