- PoliticsYahoo News
As COVID cases spike in Florida, Trump now says he's 'flexible' on convention format in Jacksonville
With coronavirus cases exploding in Florida, President Trump said he is “flexible” about the need for a traditional indoor Republican National Convention in Jacksonville next month. The Republican National Committee had scrapped plans to hold the party's convention in Charlotte, N.C., after Gov. Roy Cooper said he would only allow “a scaled-down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings.” In a television interview with former Fox anchor Greta Van Susteren, Trump suggested the format for the Aug. 24-27 event would depend on the severity of the outbreak in the Sunshine State.
- U.S.INSIDER
An Austin police officer appeared to grope a woman's breast after pulling her over for a traffic violation
In a video that trended on social media Tuesday, an Austin police officer appears to grope the woman's breasts while performing a search, even as she demanded a female officer. In a statement, the Austin Police Department said the officer acted appropriately since the encounter was recorded and another officer was present. The department also said the officer was conducting a search before transporting the woman to jail for "multiple hazardous traffic violations."
- U.S.NBC News
'I feel threatened': Unmasked Florida man's viral Costco outburst cost him his job
A man's outburst at a Costco in Florida that was caught on video has cost him his job. A video of the incident was posted to Twitter on Monday night by filmmaker Billy Corben. "Florida man at Fort Myers Costco in 'Running the World Since 1776' shirt flips out on elderly woman who asked him to wear a mask and man who defended her #BecauseFlorida," Corben tweeted.
- U.S.Business Insider
Female US Army soldier makes history by becoming the first woman to become a Green Beret
U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens A female soldier became the US Army's first female Green Beret on Thursday. The National Guard soldier graduated, earned her Special Forces Tab, and earned her Green Beret Thursday at a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina celebrating her and her classmates completion of Special Forces training. US Army Special Operations Command is withholding identifying information about the woman due to mission security demands for special operations troops.
U.S.CBS Miami - WFORMiami-Dade Teachers Union Applauds Latest Decision By Schools Chief Alberto Carvalho
The President of the United Teachers of Dade is applauding the latest decision by Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho who is saying that schools will not reopen for classes until the county is in Phase 2 of the coronavirus reopening plan.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus in Australia: Melbourne begins new shutdown
Australia's second-largest city has begun a second lockdown in response to a spike in new coronavirus infections. Melbourne's five million residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons. Police say they are setting up a "ring of steel" around the city, with "checkpoints anytime and anywhere" to enforce the measures.
- U.S.The Independent
Satanic Temple threatens lawsuit over Mississippi’s ‘in God we trust’ flag plan
The Satanic Temple has threatened to sue Mississippi over plans to include the phrase “In God We Trust” on its flag. In a letter addressed to state attorney general Lynn Fitch the Temple argued that not all Mississippians were represented by the phrase, which is the US national motto. Last week politicians approved proposals to retire the 1894 Mississippi state flag, which had been adorned with the Confederate battle emblem, amid nationwide demonstrations against institutionalised racism.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
As One of Russia’s Leading Journalists Is Charged With Treason, a Chill Settles Over the Press
The younger Safronov took up the banner of investigative reporting at Kommersant and became one of the country's leading defense correspondents in his own right, but just recently took a job as a senior adviser to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, Russia's major space agency. Rogozin told the TASS news agency on Tuesday that Safronov “did not have any access to classified information,” and that he knew Safronov as an honest and professional man. Nonetheless, Safronov is alleged to have turned over national defense secrets to someone from what was initially reported as an unnamed "NATO country."
- WorldThe Telegraph
Militants kill BJP politician Wasim Bari and his family in Kashmir
A Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party politician was killed along with his brother and father in Indian administered Kashmir, officials said on Thursday. Wasim Bari, 38, and his family were attacked by militants at his residence in north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Wednesday night. All three were shot at point-blank range and died on the way to hospital.
- PoliticsReuters
U.S. judge hearing Flynn case asks appeals court to reconsider dismissal
The judge hearing the criminal prosecution against U.S. President Donald Trump's former adviser Michael Flynn on Thursday asked an appeals court to reconsider a recent decision dismissing the case. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan asked the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the June 24 decision that directed him to drop the Flynn case. The Justice Department sought to dismiss the case against Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, following pressure from Trump and his allies, leading to criticism that Attorney General William Barr was using his office to help the president's friends.
- U.S.Politico
Supreme Court rules against 2 teachers at religious schools in discrimination case
The Supreme Court said Wednesday that religious schools have sweeping authority to hire and fire their educators, weeks after oral arguments that left several justices voicing concern about how a potential ruling could entangle secular courts in spiritual affairs. Former teachers sued the two Catholic schools in Southern California after losing their jobs, launching a fresh test of a 2012 high court decision and new tension between workers rights and church authority.
- BusinessNBC News
Israel looked like a model for halting coronavirus. Here's how it 'lost its bearings.'
When signs of the coronavirus pandemic appeared in Israel in March, the country shut down hard and fast. Between 8 a.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, Israel recorded a new daily high of 1,528 coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said. In the West Bank and Gaza, cases have also steadily risen, with more than 300 reported on Tuesday.
- U.S.Business Insider
Twitter billionaire Jack Dorsey just announced he will be funding a universal basic income experiment that could affect up to 7 million people
Associated Press On Thursday, Jack Dorsey, the billionaire CEO of Twitter, announced he is working with 14 American mayors to fund universal basic income (UBI) trials in their cities. The pilot programs will be run city by city and have not yet launched. Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang helped bring the idea of universal basic income into the mainstream and is funding his own UBI pilot program.
- StyleArchitectural Digest
15 Platform Beds to Elevate Your Bedroom Style
You'll love these contemporary styles and budget-friendly price points Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.CBS News
Why "all lives matter" communicates to Black people that their lives don't
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks have not only served to reignite the Black Lives Matter movement, but also the furor at its most common rebuttal: "all lives matter." While some purposely say "all lives matter" to provoke conflict, others see it as a harmless, even inclusive remark. "My life matters," said Jason Reynolds, author of "All American Boys."
- U.S.Associated Press
US seizes 81 vehicles in Venezuela smuggling ring
Federal investigators said Wednesday they have seized 81 vehicles worth an estimated $3.2 million that were bound for Venezuela as part of a smuggling ring operated for wealthy and politically connected people. Anthony Salisbury, chief of the Miami Homeland Security Investigations office, said the vehicles were to be smuggled in violation of U.S. export laws and sanctions against the socialist Venezuelan government, “This is all part of an ongoing effort to combat foreign public corruption and in particular for public corruption in Venezuela and the laundering and the fleecing of the Venezuelan people's wealth and the stealing of the Venezuelan wealth from the national treasury for the gain ...
- U.S.The Independent
Ohio sheriff refuses to enforce governor's mask order: 'I'm not going to be the mask police'
An Ohio sheriff said he won't enforce Governor Mike DeWine's order making face masks mandatory in states with high rates of Covid-19 infections. The sheriff is a supporter of President Donald Trump and comes from a county of like minded individuals; Butler County voted for Mr Trump by a 2-to-1 margin in 2016 and nearly all of its officeholders are Republicans. Mr DeWine issued the mandatory mask order on Tuesday.
- PoliticsNational Review
GOP Senators Preparing $1.3 Trillion Coronavirus Aid Package to Counter House Dems’ Proposal
Republican senators are piecing together an additional coronavirus aid package to counter House Democrats' phase-4 aid proposal. The GOP bill in its current form will provide an additional $1.3 trillion in economic aid to U.S. taxpayers and businesses, CNN reported on Wednesday evening. House Democrats have already proposed their own $3 trillion aid package, however Senate Republicans have pushed back on the high price tag.
- U.S.Miami Herald
Trump flag angered man so he dumped trash on resident’s lawn for months, NJ cops say
A 58-year-old New Jersey man was allegedly dumping trash on a resident's front yard for about four months because he couldn't stand looking at a President Donald Trump flag displayed on the property, local outlets reported. Richard Keller, 58, of Franklin, was first caught in the act at about 5 a.m. on July 1 when undercover police officers witnessed Keller throw trash out of his window onto the driveway of the Sparta home, the Sparta Police Department said, TAPintoSparta reported. When one of the officers stopped Keller and asked him why he continued to dump trash on the person's property, he responded, “I think you know...because of the flag,” police said, according to the outlet.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
The Fall of Florida’s Biggest Sham ‘Church’ Peddling Bleach as a ‘Sacrament’
The leader of Florida's biggest sham “church” network peddling bleach as a miracle drug says he's camped out in Colombia while his sons face arrest for allegedly selling a fake COVID-19 cure and threatening a judge with a “Waco”-style standoff. For years, the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing has been at the center of a lucrative, world-wide network that claims—falsely—that drinking glorified Clorox can cure you of virtually any illness. The “church” (which is not religious, by its own admission) has raked in the cash promoting “Miracle Mineral Solution,” a bleach solution first popularized in 2006 by an ex-Scientologist who claimed to be an alien god.
- WorldReuters
Explosion heard in western Tehran: Iran state media
An explosion was heard in western Tehran on Friday, the official IRIB news agency reported, citing online reports. There have been multiple explosions around military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past week. IRIB did not provide any additional information about the cause of the blast or possible casualties.
- U.S.Business Insider
The Mayor of Phoenix said she only found out the city was getting a 'significant' federal coronavirus testing site from a tweet
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told Business Insider she only found out west Phoenix was getting a 'significant' federal testing site through a tweet. The mayor had been calling for federal help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to increase testing in the city. Arizona has turned into the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak, surpassing 100,000 cases this week.
- WorldBBC
National security law: Australia suspends Hong Kong extradition treaty
Australia has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to fears over a new national security law imposed by China. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new law undermined "Hong Kong's own basic law" and the territory's current level of autonomy from Beijing. Australia planned to extend visas for Hong Kong residents and encourage businesses there to relocate, he said.
- U.S.CBS News
Death of Black man found hanging from tree ruled a suicide
The death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree in June in Palmdale, California, has been ruled a suicide, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department announced Thursday. Police said that following an investigation, "the medical examiner issued their final autopsy report and delivered it to the Sheriff's Department and deemed this case to be suicide." The department said Fuller had prior reports of suicidal idealization and he had disclosed that "he did have a plan to kill himself."
- U.S.Associated Press
Wisconsin police officer rescues dog from burning house
A Wisconsin police officer says he did what any dog lover would do when a pet is in a burning home. Caledonia K-9 Officer Cory Radke and his canine partner, Lou, were on their way home Monday when Radke saw smoke and heard a dispatcher calling all squad cars to the fire. WITI-TV reports Radke was first to arrive at the house.
