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.

Trump calls audience at his Bedminster golf club a 'peaceful protest'

At a surprise press briefing Friday at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., President Trump said his audience of well-to-do supporters was involved in a “peaceful protest” and therefore did not need to adhere to state coronavirus guidelines prohibiting large gatherings. Trump was asked about his earlier assertion that the pandemic was “disappearing” by a reporter who noted that the crowd in attendance seemed to be violating New Jersey restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. “You're wrong on that because it's a political activity and they have exceptions, political activity and it's also a peaceful protest,” Trump responded.

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  'Peaceful protest': Trump defends audience at his golf club who did not adhere to COVID-19 restrictions

  USA TODAY
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  Donald Trump Claims Members Of His Golf Club Can Go Maskless Because They Came To Presser As “Peaceful” Protesters Of Media

  Deadline

After fatal great white shark attack in Maine, debate intensifies over culling seals

Two weeks ago Maine recorded its first fatal great white shark attack. Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City, was splashing with her daughter approximately 20 yards off the coast of Bailey Island when a large shark, likely mistaking Holowach for a seal, struck her with such force that she was launched out of the water, witnesses said. Beaches across the Northeast have closed repeatedly in recent days after great white sharks were spotted swimming close to shore, a worrying trend that has led some people to suggest that states thin the population of seals, the sharks' primary source of food.

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.

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.

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  The Best Skin-care Products to Treat and Prevent Maskne

  WWD
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  A Dermatologist Answers Your Questions About Acne and Masks

  Scary Mommy

Nation hits 5 million coronavirus cases with few signs of slowing

As the U.S. surpassed 5 million coronavirus cases this weekend, the milestone was met with little fanfare as some school districts planned to reopen and thousands descended on Sturgis, South Dakota, for the world's largest annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. The new highs will not likely mark a plateau or peak if the nation continues to face the virus without a cohesive national strategy on mask-wearing and social distancing, said Dr. Gabe Kelen of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "There just doesn't seem to be enough will in enough parts of the country to deal with this the way other countries have," said Kelen, director of Johns Hopkins' Department of Emergency Medicine.

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  Quarter of a million bikers defy Covid fears to hold South Dakota rally

  The Telegraph
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  Sturgis Rally, Nagasaki anniversary, Epstein series: 5 things to know this weekend

  USA TODAY

AP sources: Whitmer met with Biden as he nears VP decision

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's first known in-person session with a potential running mate as he nears a decision. Whitmer visited Biden Sunday, according to two high-ranking Michigan Democrats who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Flight records show a chartered plane left Lansing's Capital Region International Airport for Delaware Coastal Airport at 5:33 p.m. and returned at 11:16 p.m.

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  Biden close to revealing his running mate

  FOX News Videos
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  Does Biden's running mate really matter?

  The Week

Explosives expert: It's only a matter of time before human error leads to another Beirut blast

One of the world's leading experts on ammonium nitrate told The Daily Telegraph: “It's only a matter of time before something similar happens again.” Vyto Babrauskas, a fires and explosives forensics expert based in New York, said that there were tens of thousands sites around the world where the chemical was stored unsafely. About 2,750 tonnes ignited to devastate Beirut on Tuesday. In the UK, it is legal to store up to 1,250 tonnes.

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  Electric night of Lebanon protests after blast

  AFP
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  U.S. says supports right of Lebanese to peaceful protest, urges political reforms

  Reuters

Kerala plane crash: 18 dead after Air India plane breaks in two at Calicut

An Air India Express plane with 190 people on board has crashed at an airport in the southern state of Kerala, killing at least 18 people, officials say. The Boeing 737, en route from Dubai, skidded off the runway in rain and broke in two after landing at Calicut airport, aviation officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "pained by the plane accident".

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  Kerala plane crash: 'Black boxes' from Air India jet found

  BBC
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  Death toll in India plane accident rises

  Reuters Videos

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.”

Canada's last fully intact ice shelf has suddenly collapsed, forming a Manhattan-sized iceberg

Almost half of Canada's last remaining intact ice shelf has suddenly collapsed into the ocean. A massive chunk of Canada's last fully intact ice shelf, some 4,000 years old, has broken off, reducing the shelf by more than half, scientists reported last Sunday. This summer, the region's temperature was 9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1980 to 2010 average, Luke Copland, a glaciology professor at the University of Ottawa, told the Associated Press.

Three parks and wildlife employees die in helicopter crash during bighorn sheep survey

Three Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) employees have been killed in a helicopter crash while conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep in the south-western part of the state, according to officials. The crash happened on Saturday in the remote wilderness of Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, which is adjacent to Big Bend National Park, on the Rio Grande that marks the border with Mexico. The victims of the crash were identified as wildlife biologist Dewey Stockbridge, fish and wildlife technician Brandon White, and state wildlife veterinarian Bob Dittmar, according to the TPWD.

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  Helicopter crash kills 3 Texas wildlife workers during survey of bighorn sheep

  NBC News
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  Helicopter crash kills three Texas Parks and Wildlife workers, officials say

  Miami Herald

Gunmen kill six French aid workers, their driver and guide in Niger, minister says

Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said. The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African country's capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. The six worked for an international aid group, Niger's Defence Minister Issoufou Katambé told Reuters.

• 6 French citizens, 2 guides killed by gunmen at giraffe park

  Associated Press
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  Niger attack: French aid workers among eight killed by gunmen

  BBC

Police Officer Fired After Allegedly Mishandling Explicit Photos of Slain University of Utah Student

A police officer in Logan, Utah, was fired after a state investigation concluded he “mishandled” explicit photographs that were used to extort University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey, the Logan Police Department announced Friday. In October 2018, 21-year-old McCluskey told the University of Utah Police Department that her ex-boyfriend Melvin Rowland was extorting her for money by threatening to release explicit photographs of her. She then sent those photographs to Officer Miguel Deras, the on-duty campus police officer, according to a report summarizing the Utah Department of Public Safety's (UDPS) investigation into Deras' conduct.

A body was recovered from the wreckage of the New Orleans Hard Rock hotel 10 months after it collapsed

Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images A man's body was recovered from a Hard Rock Hotel construction site that collapsed last October, Nola.com reported. Quinnyon Wimberly was one of three workers killed in the collapse. His body was removed from the site on Saturday, after his remains laid in the wreck for 10 months.

Coronavirus won’t stop Souls to the Polls in Florida — but it will look different

This election, Black faith leaders are encouraging parishioners to vote on either Sunday before the primary on Aug. 18. And instead of lining up to vote inside polling places, some churches are encouraging their members to drive this Sunday to early voting centers and deposit mail ballots at outdoor drop boxes instead of sending them through the U.S. Postal Service. The deadline to request a mail ballot is 5 p.m.

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  WSJ Opinion: Is New York's Mail Voting Fiasco a Harbinger of November?

  WSJ
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  Postal Service emerges as flash point heading into election

  Associated Press

India landslide: Dozens feared dead after flooding in Kerala

At least 22 people have been killed after monsoon-season floods triggered a landslide in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Houses in Idukki district were swept away after torrential rain and flooding late on Friday night. Rescuers have been recovering bodies from under debris but 44 people remain missing, Idduki MP Dean Kuriakose told the BBC.

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  India tea plantation landslide death toll rises to 43

  Reuters
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  Deadly landslide causes dozens of fatalities in India

  AccuWeather

National security adviser: 'Almost nothing' left to sanction 'of the Russians'

CBS News' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan repeatedly pushed National Security Adviser on Sunday to say whether President Trump has told Russian President Vladimir Putin "to knock it off" when it comes to U.S. election interference. O'Brien said he doesn't get involved with his boss's conservations with other world leaders, but said the Trump administration remains committed to keeping Moscow out of the picture. Trump, O'Brien said, has been tougher than his predecessors.

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 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. Accountability in law enforcement has been thrust into the national discourse surrounding how Black Americans are treated by police even more so since the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in May.

New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media

A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported. The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region. Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

Japan's Abe to avoid visit to war-linked shrine on 75th war anniversary: Jiji

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will refrain from visiting the Yasukuni shrine for war dead on the 75th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two, Jiji news agency said on Sunday, but will make an offering on the emotive day, as he has done in the past. The shrine, dedicated to Japanese who have died during past wars including World War Two, is seen as a potent symbol of the controversy that persists over the conflict's legacy in East Asia. "He will make a ritual offering to the shrine out of his personal expenses as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as he has done in previous years," sources close to the matter said, according to the report.

Sweden looks to US model to curb deadly gang shootings

Police in Stockholm are considering using a strategy against gun violence pioneered in gang-ridden US cities to counter a wave of shootings including an incident in which a 12-year-old girl was killed in crossfire last week. Senior officers from the Swedish capital have visited the southern city of Malmö, which has greatly reduced its shootings by using the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) methods pioneered in the 1990s in US cities. “They reacted very positively,” Rolf Landgren, the police commissioner who leads the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) programme in Malmö, said.

Ireland has a new coronavirus fear: Americans on vacation

Millions of Americans consider Ireland a home away from home. Most visitors to Ireland, including those from the U.S., have to fill out a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form that includes their contact details while in the country and where they will be staying. In Florida, for example, where flights are still departing for Ireland, the coronavirus-related death rate is 6 per 100,000 cases — 30 times higher than the current rate in Ireland over the past two weeks, which is 0.2.