- U.S.Yahoo 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.
- WorldYahoo News
As COVID-19 makes a comeback, so will lockdowns
At the outset, Fauci warned that America was still “knee-deep in the first wave” of the contagion, describing the country's new normal of more than 50,000 cases per day as “a serious situation that we have to address immediately. But how? asked Collins.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Texas Governor Is ‘Putting Lives at Risk,’ Local Officials Say
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo believes she knows what her county needs to fight back against COVID-19. “I'm at the mercy of what powers he positively gives us,” Hidalgo told The Daily Beast. As Texas faces a resurgent coronavirus and some officials have emphasized concerns about hospitals in the state becoming potentially overrun or overwhelmed, Hidalgo can find plenty of reasons to worry.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. coronavirus cases rise by over 60,000, setting single-day record
The United States reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest increase ever reported by a country in a single day, according to a Reuters tally. The United States faces a bleak summer with record-breaking infections and many states forced to close parts of the economy again, leaving some workers without a paycheck. In addition to nearly 10,000 new cases in Florida, Texas reported over 9,500 cases and California reported more than 8,500 new infections.
- U.S.The Independent
‘Let me borrow your bike’: Atlanta police officer takes passing man’s bicycle to chase fleeing murder suspect
Police in Atlanta were able to apprehend a murder suspect thanks to a passerby's bicycle. The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that the suspect had been seen around the Old Fourth Ward area last Tuesday when one cop commandeered a bicycle to chase the man down. The department said on Twitter afterwards that a cyclist had assisted with 21-year-old Nicholas Fonseca's arrest, who was wanted in connection with a 28 June shooting.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoThe Lincoln Project continues anti-Trump ad campaign
On Tuesday, the Lincoln Project, a conservative political action committee formed in late 2019, released an ad titled “Whispers,” which suggests those in President Trump's inner circle are secretly mocking him. This is the latest in a series of attack ads produced and distributed by the committee, whose members include George Conway, Steve Schmidt and other prominent Republicans who oppose Trump. Yahoo News has assembled a compilation of some of the Lincoln Project's most controversial advertisements.
- U.S.National Review
Poll: 70 Percent of Americans Think ‘Black Lives Matter’ Has Not Improved Race Relations
A majority of Americans believe the Black Lives Matter movement has not improved race relations, according to a new poll from Monmouth University, with 38 percent of respondents saying BLM has hurt racial issues in America, compared to 26 percent who say the movement has helped. The poll's findings, released Wednesday, compared results from June 2020 to a similar poll conducted by Monmouth in 2016. While 71 percent of respondents agreed that Black Lives Matter has “brought attention to real racial disparities in American society” — a double-digit increase from 2016 — 70 percent of respondents think that the movement has not improved race relations, with 38 percent saying Black Lives Matter has made race relations worse.
- U.S.USA TODAY
'I would be very careful in the middle of the street': There have been at least 66 vehicle-ramming attacks in US since May 27
Amid thousands of protests nationwide against police brutality, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds of protesters marching in roadways, raising questions about the drivers' motivations. While witnesses, law enforcement and terrorism experts say that some of the vehicle incidents appear to be targeted and politically motivated, others appear to be situations where the driver became frightened or enraged by protesters surrounding their vehicle.
- U.S.Associated Press
2 female firsts at the Supreme Court announce retirements
The Supreme Court said Tuesday that the first-ever women to hold two prominent positions at the court, handling the justices' security and overseeing publication of the court's decisions, are retiring. Pamela Talkin's most public role in nearly two decades as the court's marshal has been opening court sessions by announcing the justices' entrance into the courtroom and banging a gavel before court begins. Christine Luchok Fallon's name wasn't on any Supreme Court decision, but part of her job as the reporter of decisions was to oversee the writing of summaries of the justices' opinions that begin each decision, turning lengthy legal explanations into a succinct few pages.
- PoliticsBBC
Cancel culture: What unites young people against Obama and Trump
In the midst of America's racial reckoning, the question of how to deal with memorials to controversial leaders has risen again to the national stage - and has brought back criticisms of "cancel culture" with it. "Cancel culture", the term for when individuals or companies face swift public backlash and boycott over offensive statements or actions, has been an incendiary topic in the movements of recent years, whether relating to misogyny, race or homophobia. On Tuesday, a group of more than 100 famous writers such Salman Rushdie and JK Rowling published a letter in Harper's magazine in which they decried "this stifling atmosphere" as toxic to artistic expression and healthy debate.
- WorldThe Guardian
Brazil: Bolsonaro reportedly uses homophobic slur to mock masks
One day after announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for allegedly using homophobic language to mock the use of face masks. The Folha de São Paulo, a leading broadsheet, claimed Brazil's far-right leader had baited presidential staff who were using protective masks, claiming such equipment was “coisa de viado” (a homophobic slur that roughly translates as “for fairies”). Bolsonaro is a longstanding enemy of Brazil's LGBTQ+ community and during three decades in politics has made no secret of his homophobia.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Officials Terrified That Trump’s Jacksonville Convention Will Be ‘Another Tulsa’
Sam Newby was excited at first when the Republican National Convention decided to head to his city. “In a normal situation, I would be glad for the RNC to come here, I would be the first one to be there,” Newby said.“But with the spike of it, and I know what it can do, that's why I'm concerned about it coming to Jacksonville.” Trump's drive for a Jacksonville convention is on a collision course with the rampant spread of the coronavirus in Florida.
- 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.Miami Herald
‘I’m the mayor’s brother,’ says man who stole car with 2 kids inside, Arkansas cops say
An Arkansas man accused of kidnapping two children Monday is the brother of Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., police say. Darrell Lamont Scott, 31, faces multiple charges after authorities say he took off in a car with two kids — ages 3 and 10 — inside, according to a police report obtained by McClatchy News. Authorities say the suspect, later identified as Scott, then used the victims' phone to call their mother back, saying: “Don't worry, I'm the mayor's brother,” according to the police report.
- U.S.The Independent
Former Marine who played wide receiver in college catches a three-year-old boy thrown from burning building
A former Marine and wide receiver in college American football caught a three-year-old boy who was thrown from a burning building by his mother. Phillip Blanks was filmed catching Jameson Long on 3 July in Phoenix, Arizona, after he heard the child's mother, Rachel Long, call for help from inside the building. Mr Blanks managed to catch the child just before he hit the ground and carried the three-year-old to safety.
- 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.
- U.S.USA TODAY
These states still require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test
As of June 24, the quarantine rule would affect anyone coming from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington Utah and Texas. The rule is the result of a joint travel advisory issued with New Jersey and New York. Staying Apart, Together: A newsletter about how to cope with the coronavirus pandemic Florida Effective June 5, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended its 14-day quarantine rule for visitors from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
- 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.Reuters
U.S. Supreme Court protects religious schools from employment bias suits
The U.S. Supreme Court, siding with Catholic schools in a legal dispute with teachers who said they were unlawfully dismissed, ruled on Wednesday that religious institutions like churches and schools are shielded from employment discrimination lawsuits. The 7-2 decision embraced a broad interpretation of the "ministerial exception," a legal doctrine recognized by the Supreme Court in a 2012 case that bars ministers or people in similar roles from suing religious institutions for workplace bias. The court blocked two teachers from pursuing lawsuits accusing the two Catholic elementary schools in California of discrimination based upon age and disability.
- U.S.Business Insider
Florida's governor promised to release the state's daily COVID-19 hospitalization rate. That still hasn't happened.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images Florida remains one of the few states to not release data on its daily COVID-19 hospitalization rate. At a press conference on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored questions about when he would release the data, the Miami Herald reported. The Florida Department of Health reported 7,361 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the rate of positive tests spiking to over 19%.
- U.S.Defense News
House defense spending bill would give the MQ-9 Reaper drone a second life
WASHINGTON —The House Appropriations Committee is aiming to resuscitate the MQ-9 Reaper program, which the Air Force wants to curtail in fiscal 2021. The committee's version of the FY21 spending bill, which its defense subcommittee will deliberate Wednesday in a closed hearing, would allocate $344 million for 16 MQ-9 Reaper drones. The language is a good sign for the aircraft's manufacturer, General Atomics, which stood to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales if the Air Force stopped buying the aircraft.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Minneapolis PD Trained Officers to Use the Neck Restraint That Killed George Floyd: Docs
The Minneapolis Police Department, in a training manual issued to all new officers, detailed how to execute the same neck restraint that killed George Floyd, lawyers for one of the officers involved in the May 25 incident argued in a Wednesday motion. The training manual, which provided pictures of the “non-deadly” maneuver in which officers put an arm or leg on the back of a suspect's throat if they are resisting arrest, was filed Wednesday in a motion to dismiss the charges against Thomas Lane—one of four officers charged in Floyd's death. Lane and his former colleagues, Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence for Floyd's death.
ScienceAFPNASA hits Boeing with 80 recommendations before next space test
NASA has drawn up a list of 80 recommendations that US aerospace giant Boeing will have to address before attempting to refly its Starliner space capsule, following the failure of an uncrewed test last year. The recommendations primarily concern the on-board software, which was the main problem with the flight test last December. Boeing subsequently learned that other software problems could have caused the capsule and the rocket to collide at the time of separation, a potentially very dangerous event if the flight had been crewed.
- EntertainmentBBC
Coronavirus: How the pandemic is changing fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities form a central part of the university experience for many US students. At least 128 students living in fraternity accommodation at the university have tested positive for Covid-19, as well as nine of their close contacts. A fraternity is an organisation at a college or university, founded on a set of principles that members must abide by and mostly designated by a grouping of Greek letters.
- WorldNational Review
China’s Confucius Institutes Attempt to Rebrand Following Backlash
China is attempting to rebrand Confucius Institutes following a worldwide backlash against the centers. Confucius Institutes, which are present on dozens of U.S. college campuses and at other foreign universities, carry the stated purpose of promoting Chinese language and culture. The Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing has changed its name to the “Ministry of Education Centre for Language Education and Cooperation.”
