- 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.
- 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.
- 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.Yahoo News
Out of work and with families to feed, some Americans are lining up at food banks for the first time in their lives
As tens of millions of Americans have lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, food banks across the country say they are facing an unprecedented surge in demand, comparable to a hurricane hitting the entire country at the same time. “I've been in food banking for 24 years, and in my tenure I've never seen such a dramatic increase in need literally overnight,” said Lisa Scales of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, referring to the initial spike in distribution in March, when the shutdowns started. Across the country, Americans who've never had to rely on food assistance before are turning to local organizations for aid.
- 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.
- WorldReuters
Oil spill threatens ecological disaster as Mauritius declares emergency
Fuel spilling from a Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius two weeks ago is creating an ecological disaster, endangering corals, fish and other marine life around the Indian Ocean island, officials and environmentalists say. The MV Wakashio, owned by the Nagashiki Shipping Company, struck the reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25. On Thursday, the government said fuel was leaking from a crack in the vessel's hull and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth declared a state of environmental emergency, pleading for international help.
- U.S.The Independent
Woman confronting vandals covered in paint during renewed Portland protests
Protesters in Portland allegedly threw white paint over a woman, as demonstrators clashed with police for a third consecutive day. On Friday, following two days of protests marred by vandalism, more than 200 people clashed with police, as two other Black Lives Matter protests marched peacefully through the city. As the peaceful demonstrations took place, a separate group gathered at a park in east Portland and marched to the local precinct.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Fact check: Sex crimes by public officials not connected to Ghislaine Maxwell
Claim: Sex crimes by dozens of public officials are connected to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Ghislaine Maxwell — charged July 2 for allegedly helping financier Jeffrey Epstein recruit and sexually exploit young girls — has been a popular target for conspiracy theorists. Last year, Epstein killed himself in a New York jail, official autopsy results show, but conspiracy theories allege he was killed because he had damaging information about other powerful people.
- U.S.Associated Press
Fort Hood commander's transfer on hold amid investigations
Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division. Command of a division is a key step in an Army officer's career.
- U.S.INSIDER
The former Dallas police officer who killed Botham Jean in his own apartment is appealing her murder conviction
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool, File Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer killed Botham Jean in his own apartment in 2018 filed an appeal to her 10-year prison sentence. Guyger's lawyers argue in the appeal that "she had the right to act in deadly force in self-defense since her belief that deadly force was immediately necessary was reasonable under the circumstances," CBS reported. A lawyer for the Jean family said in a statement to CNN that filing the appeal reflects Guyger as "someone who is not repentant but instead was hoping to play on the families sympathies at the time that they were most vulnerable."
- WorldAFP
UN set for showdown over US Iran arms embargo push
The UN Security Council is set next week to roundly reject a US resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo, diplomats say, setting up a lengthy showdown with repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the United States would put forward its long-awaited resolution despite ardent opposition from Russia and China. But UN diplomats say opposition to the resolution's current form is so widespread that Washington is unlikely even to secure the nine votes required to force Moscow and Beijing to wield their vetoes.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Robber snatches California man's life savings in front of bank
Francisco Cornejo walking to his car after making a hefty withdrawal from his account. He was carrying 200-thousand dollars when a robber attacked him and ripped away Conejo's bag of money. The thief escaped with the money and has yet to be arrested.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
How Is New York Having Crazy Parties With No COVID Surge?
Spectacular scenes of COVID-19 recklessness have emerged from New Jersey in recent weeks, alarming state leaders into implementing new restrictions to curb the tide of rising coronavirus cases and prompting plenty of snickering about the Jersey Shore. New Jersey and New York have had similar regulations, travel restrictions, and contact tracing efforts. Giant, raucous boat parties in New York are making headlines, too.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
A Sampling of Work From Mexico City’s Top Talents
A look at some of the design coming out of the cultural capital Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldBusiness Insider
France and Germany pulled out of talks to reform the WHO because the US was trying to take control, according to a report
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images France and Germany are out of talks to reform the World Health Organization because the US is trying to dictate terms, Reuters reported. The G7 alliance is currently drafting a reform document that will ultimately be voted on by the G20 and UN. The US is set to leave the WHO in July 2021, after Donald Trump slammed the WHO for pandering to China during the pandemic.
- U.S.The Guardian
US government issues bear advice: friends don't let friends get eaten
The US government has now, however, officially advised against the most cowardly option: pushing over a slower friend to save yourself. The National Park Service has warned against sacrificing another person to an irate bear “even if you think the friendship has run its course” in a rather informal set of recommendations posted on Facebook. Bear attacks are a rare but real threat in parts of the US, with a man recently videoing his own mangled hand and arm after encountering a grizzly bear in an abandoned shed in Montana.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Partisan divide among Americans who believe 'it is safe now' to reopen persists as COVID-19 cases rise, survey finds
Currently, 32% of Republicans believe it's safe now to hold elections where many people vote in-person, according to a survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project. Comparatively, only 10% of Democrats believe it's safe now to hold elections. When people were asked if it will be safe to hold elections in a couple of weeks, months or more than six months, Republicans tended to be more open to the idea of reopening sooner than Democrats.
- U.S.Associated Press
US: Border tunnel appears to be 'most sophisticated'
An incomplete tunnel found stretching from Mexico to Arizona appears to be “the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history," authorities said. The tunnel intended for smuggling ran from a neighborhood in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, to San Luis, Arizona, where it stopped short of reaching the surface. It was built in an area that's not conducive to tunnels because of the terrain, and it had a ventilation system, water lines, electrical wiring, a rail system and extensive reinforcement, federal officials say.
- U.S.Reuters
Oprah Winfrey putting Breonna Taylor billboards up in Kentucky city
Now she is posting billboards of the slain emergency room technician, seeking criminal charges for the police who killed the Black woman in her own apartment. O, The Oprah Magazine said it is posting 26 billboards with Taylor's image around Louisville, the Kentucky city where Taylor was killed in her home on March 13 in a case that has motivated activists for racial equality across the United States. "Demand that the police involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor be arrested and charged," reads the billboard, which is similar to the cover of the September issue of O going on newsstands on Aug. 11.
- U.S.The Independent
Hillary Clinton says NYT writer had 'too much pot brownie' after forgetting her 2016 White House run
Hillary Clinton roasted The New York Times and their columnist Maureen Dowd - for apparently forgetting that she ran on a mixed-gender presidential ticket in 2016. The column itself - now amended - also claimed it had been “36 years since a man and a woman ran together on a Democratic Party ticket.” Everyone involved appeared to have forgotten Hillary Clinton's selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her 2016 running mate.
- U.S.INSIDER
Oklahoma won't require masks in schools, so a teacher who's a 72-year-old cancer survivor is offering students extra credit to wear them
Octavio Jones/Getty Images A teacher in Oklahoma plans to offer extra credit to encourage students to wear masks, NBC News reported. The teacher, who is a 72-year-old prostate cancer survivor, told NBC News that he will wear a plastic face shield in addition to a face mask while teaching in class. In July, Oklahoma's State Board of Education voted against mask mandates in schools, making it a 'recommendation' but not a requirement.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Putin’s Got Big Problems in Russia’s Provinces
MOSCOW—The city of Khabarovsk, a sprawling, industrial metropolis about 5,000 miles east of the capital—the Bolsheviks turned it into a hub for serving Siberian prison camps, in the middle of nowhere by design—is about as far from the seat of Russian power as geographically possible. Despite the Kremlin's best efforts to hide them, problems have been bubbling up in Russia's provinces, transforming local issues into the most dynamic arena for dissent, protest, and opposition in the country's political system and fueling Russia's version of post-lockdown unrest. The arrest of Khabarovsk's popular regional governor sparked the anti-Putin uprising that has drawn up to 60,000 people into the streets in this usually sleepy backwater.
- WorldThe Telegraph
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.
- WorldINSIDER
The US pledged over $17 million in initial disaster aid for Lebanon after an explosion devastated Beirut
The United States has pledged over $17 million in initial disaster aid for Lebanon following the massive explosion at a Beirut port on Tuesday. The explosion left more than 150 dead, thousands injured, and leveled a large portion of the city. President Donald Trump raised eyebrows hours after the explosion when he said it was an "attack," but his administration has since walked back that comment.
- WorldAFP
Migrants adrift after camp at France-Italy border shut
Sudanese migrant Soulaimen has been sleeping on the beach in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia for 10 days now. With his only shelter a sleeping bag and pasta meals donated by a charity, the 20-year-old is getting by as best he can after a transit camp run by the Italian Red Cross was ordered to stop welcoming new arrivals and cease operations. Now, the migrants who continue to flock to this town hoping to cross into France are on their own, faced with strengthened border police and an uncertain future.
“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.”