- BusinessYahoo News
Americans might face a long wait for the COVID economic relief Trump promised in executive order
Unemployed Americans hoping for additional help from the government might have to wait weeks for it, if they ever get it at all, as governors say they are unsure whether and how they can implement the plan President Trump outlined in his proclamation of an executive order extending supplemental benefits, which expired at the end of July. On Saturday, after the White House and congressional Republicans were unable to come to an agreement with Democrats on a new COVID-19 relief deal, Trump signed an executive order that would extend supplemental benefits at the reduced rate of $400 per week instead of the $600 extra benefit included in the virus relief deal passed in March.
- BusinessMiami Herald
Georgia shop that said it would charge only white people $20 booking fee apologizes
A coastal Georgia clothing store is apologizing for an appointment policy some customers say is discriminatory. Civvies on Broughton in Savannah sparked a social media firestorm this week after it said it would charge only white customers a refundable $20 fee to shop at the vintage clothing store, WJCL reported. The deposit, which was used to hold a customer's appointment slot, was waived for customers of color, however.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Fox News Insists That Joe Biden Didn’t Really Pick Kamala Harris
It took Fox News no more than an hour after Joe Biden selected Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate to start dabbling in wild speculation and conspiracy theories about the hidden, nefarious reasons behind the pick. In the day after the ex-veep and presumptive Democratic nominee announced his running mate, Fox News hosts pushed a number of unsupported theories largely centered around two themes: Harris forced her way onto the ticket and intends to usurp or overtake Biden; and/or Biden is not mentally capable of selecting his own running mate, and so Harris was installed by a shadowy, unseen puppeteer.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Andrew Yang on Democratic National Convention: 'I kind of expected to speak'
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang voiced his disappointment in not being on the list of speakers at the upcoming Democratic National Convention after the lineup for the event was announced Monday. "I've got to be honest," Yang tweeted on Tuesday, "I kind of expected to speak." Yang speculated that the political endorsements he made through his non-profit organization, Humanity Forward, may have been the reason why he wasn't offered a speech slot.
- U.S.CBS News
Riot declared in downtown Portland, protesters tear-gassed
Police declared a riot late Wednesday night after hundreds of demonstrators returned to downtown Portland after more than a week when the biggest events were held in other parts of the city, reports the CBS affiliate there, KOIN-TV. The gathering remained largely peaceful until about 11 p.m., when a couple of small fires were lit near the federal courthouse. A fake pig's head and a Trump flag were set ablaze in the middle of a major thoroughfare.
- WorldReuters
North Korea nuclear reactor site threatened by recent flooding, U.S. think-tank says
Satellite imagery suggests recent flooding in North Korea may have damaged pump houses connected to the country's main nuclear facility, a U.S.-based think-tank said on Thursday. Analysts at 38 North, a website that monitors North Korea, said commercial satellite imagery from August 6-11 showed how vulnerable the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center's nuclear reactor cooling systems are to extreme weather events. The Korean peninsula has been hammered by one of the longest rainy spells in recent history, with floods and landslides causing damage and deaths in both North and South Korea.
- U.S.Military.com
Air Force's New Search-and Rescue Helicopter Gets 1st Aerial Refueling
The Air Force's newest combat search-and-rescue helicopter, the HH-60W Jolly Green II, hit another milestone Aug. 5, as it began two weeks of developmental tests on its aerial refueling abilities at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The rescue helicopter, based on the Army's UH-60M Black Hawk and designed for locating and rescuing pilots who have gone down in hostile territory, has already undergone radar, weather and defensive system testing, according to a base news release. The Air Force has a contract to purchase 113 of the HH-60W helicopters to replace its HH-60G Pave Hawks.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
The Perseid meteor shower, which NASA says is the best of the year, peaks Tuesday night. Here's how to catch it.
The Perseid meteor shower — which NASA says is the best of the year — happens each year in late summer. The Perseids are known for epic "fireball" meteors and long, streaking tails. Meteor activity should peak Tuesday, August 11, and continue into Wednesday morning.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
South Dakota Governor to get $400,000 security wall around residence
South Dakota officials said Wednesday they plan to build a security fence budgeted for $400,000 around the official governor's residence to protect Gov. Kristi Noem.
- HealthYahoo News
Pandemic has driven Americans to depression and drinking, CDC says
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a marked deterioration in Americans' mental health, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study made public on Thursday. According to the new study, 31 percent of respondents were suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression; 26 percent experienced symptoms of traumatic disorder; 13 percent were using drugs or alcohol more heavily, or for the first time, to cope with the pandemic; and 11 percent had seriously contemplated suicide. “Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse” mental health outcomes than other groups, the study concluded.
- PoliticsThe Independent
AOC responds to apparent Democratic party convention speech snub: 'Eternity is in it'
Firebrand lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has hit back at an alleged snub by the Democratic party after being given just 60 seconds to deliver a speech a next week's convention. AOC responded on Twitter by posting the poem 'I have only just a minute', written by the late Dr Benjamin E. Mays, an American Baptist minister and civil rights leader. AOC's message appears to be that she intends to make full use of her convention speech – regardless of long she has been given.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Ammonium Nitrate Blew Up Beirut. It Also Fuels Africa’s Most Dangerous Illegal Mines.
ABUJA, Nigeria—The ammonium nitrate that exploded last week in Beirut—killing 154 people, injuring more than 5,000 and causing widespread destruction—was destined for Mozambique, a transit point for raw materials in the explosives trade, where shipments often end up in the hands of illegal Chinese-owned mining companies with dubious human rights records. Almost seven years ago, Fábrica de Explosivos de Moçambique (FEM), a Mozambican firm that produces explosives, ordered 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate from a Georgian company known as Savaro for the purpose of manufacturing explosives for mining companies.
- U.S.INSIDER
An admitted KKK leader has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after driving a truck through a crowd of protesters in June
A Virginia man who boasted of his Ku Klux Klan rank was sentenced to six years in prison after driving his pickup truck into a crowd of protesters demonstrating against police violence. Court records show that Harry Rogers, 37, was convicted of six misdemeanors, and still faces three additional felony charges. Prosecutors said Rogers drove "recklessly" down the median of a road, then "drove up to the protesters, revved the engine, and drove into the protesters."
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
In These Uncertain Hours, the Classic Cool of a Gentleman’s Watch Endures
Shop watches for every occasion Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldReuters
Taiwan says discussing purchase of U.S. mines, cruise missiles
Taiwan is in discussions with the United States on acquiring underwater sea mines to deter amphibious landings as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to United States said on Wednesday. Speaking to the Washington's Hudson Institute think tank, Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan was facing "an existential survival issue," given China's territorial and sovereignty claims over the island and needed to expand its asymmetric capabilities. Hsiao said Taipei was currently working with the United States on acquiring a number of hardware capabilities, including cruise missiles that would work in conjunction with Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng missile system to provide better coastal defense.
- PoliticsNBC News
Desi Twitter erupts with jokes, praise and criticism over Kamala Harris
Sen. Kamala Harris is officially the Democratic vice presidential pick, and Desi Twitter — the space in which young South Asians share memes, TikToks and relatable experiences — has strong feelings about it. First up, there were jokes about Desi parents using her VP nomination as the new standard for their kids. People also highlighted the fact her South Asian roots are often left out.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Decades-old photo of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and a Confederate flag lives on and on
The photo has circulated for years, shared on Twitter feeds and political sites when issues of racism and discrimination dominate the news: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, much younger than he is now, smiling beside another white man in front of a Confederate battle flag. The Kentucky Democratic Party, for example, uses the picture periodically and featured it again in a pair of blog posts criticizing the Louisville Republican this summer. The photo got a wave of attention last year after a racist picture from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook turned up and Northam admitted to once wearing shoe polish on his face for a Michael Jackson costume.
- U.S.Miami Herald
A Florida high school has a COVID problem, and the students haven’t even arrived yet
Several employees at a Florida high school have isolated for 14 days after they were exposed to COVID-19 on campus, according to an email from the principal. “We were alerted today that we had a confirmed case of COVID-19 on our campus,” Carl Auckerman, principal of Palmetto High School in Manatee County, said in a message to families on Wednesday evening. The school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County launched an investigation, known as contact tracing, and found that “a number of school employees” had direct exposure to the infected person, the email continues.
- WorldAssociated Press
Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer begins hunger strike
A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer has begun a hunger strike seeking better prison conditions and the release of political prisoners amid the pandemic, her husband said Thursday. Reza Khandan told The Associated Press his wife Nasrin Sotoudeh began the strike Tuesday and he feared it would exacerbate her chronic gastrointestinal and foot problems. Iran has the highest number of virus-related deaths in the region with 19,162 after 174 died since Wednesday.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Fox News host baselessly claims that 'something's going to happen' to Joe Biden, forcing her colleague to walk her comment back
The Fox News opinion host Jeanine Pirro speculated on Wednesday that "something's going to happen" to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden. The Fox News commentator Dana Perino appeared to say on the microphone, "Oh man." The Fox News opinion host Jeanine Pirro baselessly suggested on Wednesday evening that "something's going to happen" to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and that it would cause the former vice president to be removed from the ballot during the presidential election in November.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Pro Poker Player Was Bound, Sexually Assaulted, ‘Lit on Fire’ After Motel Meeting
Susie Zhao, the professional poker player whose charred remains were found in a remote Michigan park in July, was allegedly bound with zip ties and sexually assaulted before she was “lit on fire until she died” after meeting with a convicted sex offender, according to new court documents. Zhao, 33, was last seen around 5:30 p.m. on July 12 by her mother, the White Lake Township Police Department previously told The Daily Beast. The next day, her “badly burned” body was discovered at around 8:05 a.m. in a parking lot near the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, about an hour outside of Detroit.
- EntertainmentBBC
Nick Cave compares cancel culture to 'bad religion'
Nick Cave has claimed that online cancel culture is akin to "bad religion run amuck". Writing on his website, the Australian rock star suggested that political correctness has an "asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society". Cancel culture is the term for when individuals or companies face swift public backlash and boycott over offensive statements or actions.
- U.S.INSIDER
Protesters in Minneapolis say they won't clear barricades around the George Floyd Memorial until the city leaders meet their 24 demands
Protesters in Minneapolis say they won't allow the city to remove the cement barricades around the George Floyd memorial until the city meets 24 demands, WCCO reported. The demands include recalling Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, firing four employees of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and ending qualified immunity. George Floyd died on May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes until he became unresponsive.
- WorldUSA TODAY Opinion
Hong Kong freedom lovers deserve global support against Chinese Communist Party's new Red Terror
The dramatic arrest of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and the invasive raid of Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper he founded, this week signals the start of a new Red Terror for the formerly free city. When China imposed a new national security law for Hong Kong on June 30, activists knew they may soon be living under the same repressive laws that keep the rest of China in line. Now the worst fears of freedom lovers in Hong Kong are confirmed as authorities ramp up arrests of high-profile pro-democracy leaders.
- WorldAFP
Israel strikes Hamas positions in Gaza over fire balloons
The Israeli military said Wednesday it carried out overnight strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after incendiary balloons were launched across the border from the Palestinian enclave. The army said the strikes were "retaliation" for the launching of multiple balloons from the Hamas-run enclave in recent days. Jets, attack helicopters and tanks struck a number of Hamas targets including "underground infrastructure and observation posts," a statement said.
“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.”