PoliticsAxios"Same rotten core": McConnell rejects Manchin's voting rights compromise
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that he opposes the compromise on Democrats' sweeping voting rights bill proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Why it matters: Voting legislation requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate. Without Republican support, it is unlikely to pass.
- U.S.The Week
SCOTUS sides with liberalism in Fulton v. Philadelphia
At a time when American politics from top to bottom is sharply and rancorously divided, a unanimous Supreme Court decision on a case wrapped up with the country's culture wars is a rare thing. Fulton v. City of Philadelphia is certainly such a case. The case involved a Catholic social services organization that sued Philadelphia after the city excluded it from a foster-care program due to the organization's refusal to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.
PoliticsThe State‘We didn’t win.’ Trump appears to admit Biden won election in Fox News interview
More than seven months after the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump appeared to admit his defeat on Wednesday. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said the results of the 2020 election were “shocking.” President Joe Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232, but the results continue to be disputed.
U.S.NBC NewsSupreme Court rules in favor of Catholic charity that wouldn't allow same-sex foster parents
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the city of Philadelphia went too far in imposing its anti-discrimination law on a Roman Catholic charity, Catholic Social Services, that refused to consider same-sex parents eligible to adopt foster children. The case required the justices to decide whether the Constitution allows a religious freedom exception to anti-discrimination laws. It was the first of this term's major legal disputes to be heard with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on the court.
U.S.Lexington Herald-Leader7-year-old mauled to death by dogs while walking with brother, South Carolina cops say
A 7-year-old who loved animals died after dogs attacked him in his South Carolina neighborhood, his dad said. Shamar Sherif Jackson and his brother were looking for their chihuahua when they encountered a pack of dogs on Sunday night, their dad said. “They couldn't get away because it was so many dogs coming from different directions,” Carnell Jackson, the children's father, said in a phone interview.
ScienceNational ReviewScientist Waited to Legitimize Lab-Leak Theory Out of Fear She Would Be ‘Associated with Trump’
A scientist who recently endorsed the possibility that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab has revealed that she and some of her colleagues waited to legitimize the hypothesis until President Trump left office so as not to be “associated” with him. Alina Chan and 18 fellow scientists published a letter in the journal Science last month demanding a thorough inquiry into the virus's origin, including the possibility that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The document was one of the catalysts that helped reinvigorate debate around the lab-leak theory, which was dismissed for more than a year as a conspiracy theory by much of the mainstream press and censored as disinformation by social media giants.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramMother, son accused of dealing drugs in Springtown home where fentanyl overdose occurred
A Parker County mother and her 25-year-old son were in custody Tuesday and accused of dealing drugs at a home where a fentanyl overdose occurred in April. Investigators also seized more than 12 grams of methamphetamine, 30 milliliters of GHB, 16 pills that resembled Percocet, Xanax and other illegal pills in the Springtown home, according to a news release. The “Percocet” pills are often counterfeit and contain levels of fentanyl in them, authorities said.
U.S.Kansas City StarMan dies after he was found shot near crashed vehicle in Kansas City, police say
One person is dead after an overnight shooting in Kansas City, police said. Just before 11 p.m., officers were sent to the 3300 block of East 30th Street on a shooting, Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email. Around the same time, calls came in saying someone had been injured in an accident, Foreman said.
CelebrityArchitectural DigestStill Need a Father’s Day Gift for Dad? Here Are Chip Gaines’s Suggestions
The Fixer Upper star shares five little ones with his wife, Joanna Gaines Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderVideo shows Osama bin Laden's niece waving a flag saying 'Trump won' on a lake outside the Biden-Putin summit
Bin Laden, who has denounced the 9/11 attacks, came out last year as a Trump supporter. Osama bin Laden's niece waved a flag that said "Trump won" on a lake outside the villa where President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wednesday.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderSimone Biles’ brother acquitted of triple murder — then chaos erupts in Ohio courtroom
Tevin Biles-Thomas, the brother of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, was acquitted Tuesday of triple murder following a 2018 shooting in Cleveland. Seconds after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg cleared Biles-Thomas of his charges, the courtroom erupted in chaos as a woman charged at the man on trial. The woman, identified by WKYC as the mother of one of the victims, was grabbed by several deputies as she got close to Biles-Thomas.
ScienceAxiosChinese astronauts reach new space station for 3-month mission
Three astronauts entered China's new space station for the first time after riding into space on the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft launched from the edge of the Gobi Desert on Thursday, according to AP. Why it matters: Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo are set to occupy the station for a three-month mission, marking the country's longest crewed space mission ever and the first in almost five years. It also marks another significant step in the Chinese Communist Party's space program, which is seen as a potential rival to the U.S. Details: The Shenzhou-12 was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, atop a Long March 2F rocket.
WorldBBCJohn Lewis boss says young staff lack basic numeracy skills
Young people starting work at John Lewis stores lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, the boss of the department store chain has said. Dame Sharon White's comments were reported in the Times after she spoke to a commission set up by the newspaper to look at the UK education system in the light of the Covid crisis. "To have done 10 years, 11, 12 years of education, and not having, in many cases, functional literacy, certainly, pretty typically not having functional numeracy beyond the age of, I'd say, 10, 11, means that they may then have fabulous people skills and fabulous skills in terms of operating in a team but that's almost outwith the education system," Dame Sharon told the Commission.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Biden clashes with CNN reporter at summit press conference
As he was leaving his press conference after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden had a tense exchange with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins, who asked why Biden was confident that Putin would change his behavior. Biden turned around to address Collins with a raised finger. Responding to her follow-up question about whether or not the summit was constructive, Biden said, "If you don't understand that, you're in the wrong business."
U.S.The Guardian‘Something’s going on’: UFOs threaten national security, US politicians warn
A group of senior American politicians have warned that UFOs pose “national security concerns” after getting a confidential briefing on a highly anticipated report on unidentified aerial phenomena that is set to be released later this month. “Clearly, something's going on that we can't handle,” Tim Burchett, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, told TMZ. In recent years a series of government videos showing unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs – the ufology community's preferred term – have been released, including footage from a navy F-18 fighter jet which showed an oblong object flying through the sky near San Diego in 2004.
U.S.Kansas City StarKansas City, Kansas, teen charged with murder in fatal shooting across state line
A teenager was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the October fatal shooting of a 44-year-old man in Kansas City, prosecutors said. Jayvon Hunter, 16, of Kansas City, Kansas, was also charged with armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the Oct. 19 killing of Cristobal Gutierrez-Castillas, who was shot in the 4400 block of Tracy Avenue. Officers responded to the shooting shortly after noon that day and found Gutierrez-Castillas suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
ScienceAxiosHistoric heat wave in West intensifies in California, wildfire dangers increase
More than 40 million people across the West and Southwest are likely to see temperatures in their area exceed 100°F during the next several days. Between the lines: Climate change is making this event more severe than it otherwise would be, based on numerous scientific studies of similar extreme weather events. According to research by climate scientist Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, human-caused climate change is boosting temperatures by about 3 to 5 degrees during this heat wave.
WorldBusiness InsiderKim Jong Un warns that North Korea is running out of food as reports say a bunch of bananas now costs $45
Kim Jong Un said the situation was "tense," state media reported. A South Korean think tank said the country was expected to be short over a million tons of food. Kim Jong Un has warned that North Korea is struggling to maintain food supplies, as reports say prices of everyday goods are skyrocketing.
U.S.Chicago Tribune7 out of 8 in mass shooting in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood were shot in head, likely by 2 gunmen, police report says
Chicago police believe two people entered an Englewood home early Monday and shot eight people — four fatally and seven in the head, according to a police report. The officers entered the first-floor apartment of the house and found four people all unresponsive with gunshot wounds to the head. Three of the surviving victims found at the scene also had gunshot wounds to their heads, the report said.
U.S.USA TODAYEx-American Airlines pilot convicted in gruesome 2015 triple murder in Kentucky
Two years after commercial airline pilot Christian “Kit” Martin was pulled off a jet at the Louisville airport and charged with a gruesome triple murder in western Kentucky, a jury Wednesday found him guilty, according to the attorney general's office. Martin, 53, was convicted of the murders of three people in Christian County in a case that was tried on a change of venue in Hardin County. The case attracted national attention when Martin, a former Army major who flew for American Airlines, was handcuffed at the airline gate as he was about to take off May 11, 2019.
- U.S.Fox News
Dad rips into neighbor who reported family’s tree fort to HOA: 'You’re safe now'
One dad is using public shaming for a neighbor who allegedly reported his family's tree fort to their homeowner association. Sporting a plastic sheet cover and two green tacks that were hammered into the offending tree, the open letter confronts the anonymous neighbor who reportedly tipped off the HOA. The complaint you lodged with the HOA was heard.
U.S.Kansas City StarDangerous heat expected in Kansas City as temperatures soar to record level
Dangerous weather conditions are expected Thursday in the Kansas City area as extreme temperatures — possibly record breaking — and high humidity will make it feel as hot as 105 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City. The weather service has issued a heat advisory that will be in effect from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday for the Kansas City as well as parts of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri. During that time, heat index values are expected to rise up to 105 degrees.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA Florida Republican reportedly compared his political rival to a 'f---ing speed bump' and threatened to send a hit squad to make her 'disappear'
A GOP candidate in Florida made threats to send a "Russian-Ukrainian hit squad" to his opponent, Politico reports. "She's a dead squirrel," William Braddock said of his rival, Anna Paulina Luna, in a phone call. Politico obtained a secret recording of the phone call.
U.S.INSIDERPortland police officers have quit the force's crowd control team after one of the cops was charged with assaulting a protester
Portland police officers in the department's crowd control unit resigned en masse from the unit on Wednesday. The resignation happened one day after an officer on the team was charged with assaulting a protester. The officers will still continue to be a part of the Portland Police Bureau.
CelebrityMiami Herald‘You’re welcome’: Woman dragged into the middle of ARod-JLo split breaks her silence
We're getting more Bennifer intel as the days wear on. Paps have been flashing away so we know that JLo and Ben Affleck are officially together. Their kissing session caught on video Monday night at a Los Angeles restaurant was basically the formerly engaged couple's official statement.
“It may seem desperate at this point, but I can’t be mad at any and all efforts to get people vaccinated.”
“I won’t get rich, but I will get to live my life. That seems like reward enough.”
“Offering incentives may encourage people who are not actively opposed to vaccination but may have put it off.”
“At some point, the government is simply rewarding irresponsible behavior.”
“Sure, people should do it without needing an incentive. But what’s the alternative? Not enough people get vaccinated.”