Conspiracy-mongering Republican seeking John Lewis seat gets social media boost from Trump

On Thursday evening, amid a fairly typical burst of presidential Twitter activity, President Trump retweeted two recent posts from the account of Angela Stanton-King, a Republican congressional candidate who has repeatedly used her social media feeds to promote content related to QAnon and other fringe conspiracy theories, including wildly implausible internet rumors about sex trafficking of children. Trump has also flirted with QAnon memes on social media, although his retweets of Stanton-King were not related to the loosely knit group whose followers have been described by the FBI as “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists.” In the first tweet, which was originally posted last week, Stanton-King describes herself as “a proud Black woman who supports @realDonaldTrump” and is “done with the Democrat Party lying to my community.”

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."

Niger attack: French aid workers among eight killed by gunmen

Gunmen have attacked a group of aid workers in Niger, killing six French citizens, their local guide and driver, officials say. The gunmen arrived on motorcycles and opened fire, the governor of Tillabéri region, Tidjani Ibrahim, told the French news agency AFP. They were in the Koure region, which attracts tourists who want to see the last herds of giraffe in West Africa.

• 6 French citizens, 2 guides killed by gunmen at giraffe park

  Associated Press
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  Gunmen kill six French aid workers, their driver and guide in Niger, minister says

  Reuters

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.

80 million masks, 8,800 ventilators: How New York is spending $5B to fight COVID-19

On April 2, Gov. Andrew Cuomo feared New York, based on national models of COVID-19 spread, could run out of ventilators in six days, estimating the state needed as many as 30,000 ventilators to keep sick patients alive. A furious scramble for ventilators and BiPAP machines that could help patients breathe was underway. An order for 17,000 ventilators from China went largely unfilled.

A father, a sister, a son: Beirut blast takes a heavy toll

A DOTING HUSBAND AND FATHER Soha Saade and her husband, Jihad Saade, were at Saint George Hospital, caring for their 6-year-old daughter, Gemma, who was being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma. The daughter had one more day of treatments left at the hospital before they were scheduled to leave. They saw smoke billowing outside and Soha went with nurses to see if there was any reason for worry.

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.

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  Hong Kong, Chinese officials jeer at US sanctions

  Associated Press
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  China-US ties plunge further over Hong Kong sanctions

  AFP

'I don't want to fly again': Surviving India's worst crash in 10 years

Seated on the last row of the plane, Muhammed Junaid sensed something was amiss when Air India Express flight IX 1344 from Dubai was jerked around by strong winds as it approached the southern Indian city of Kozhikode late on Friday. After an aborted attempt, the aircraft swung around and touched down on the runway, said Junaid, who like many others onboard worked in the Middle East but was forced to return home when his salary halved because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of slowing down, Junaid said, the Boeing-737 appeared to pick up speed, overshooting the runway slickened by heavy rains, hurtling down a sharp slope and breaking in two.

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  Kerala plane crash: Black boxes from Air India jet found as probe begins

  Newsflare
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  Death toll in India plane accident rises

  Reuters Videos

Why the fuss? The US, Taiwan and China -- a guide

Why has the United States' highest-level visit to Taiwan for four decades sparked such anger from Beijing? Here is a recap of the key issues surrounding the delicate relations between the US, China and Taiwan. The deep rift between China and Taiwan dates back to China's civil war, which erupted in 1927 and pitted forces aligned with the Communist Party of China against the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) army.

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  U.S. health chief visits Taiwan, defying China

  Reuters Videos
• TAIWAN PRESIDENT TELLS VISITING US HEALTH CHIEF AZAR HIS VISIT REPRESENTS HUGE STEP FORWARD IN TAIWAN-U.S. JOINT EFFORT TO COMBAT COVID-19

  Reuters

Battleground Tracker: Biden leads in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania

In fact, among Wisconsin voters who say Mr. Trump would do a better job than Biden in handling the economy, 87% currently support Mr. Trump. That may seem like a lot, but the 13% he's missing out on is important, given that the race is competitive and his campaign stresses handling the economy. By contrast, Biden is winning 98% of voters who say he'd do better than Mr. Trump on the economy.

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  Biden leads Trump in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, CBS News poll shows

  CBS News Videos
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  Biden leads in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania due to COVID concerns

  CBS News Videos

A woman claiming to be from the 'Freedom To Breathe Agency' filmed telling a grocery employee that she could face legal action for making people wear face masks

In a viral TikTok video, a woman claiming to be from an anti-mask group told a grocery store supervisor in Orange County, California, that she could face legal action for asking people to wear face coverings. The mask-less woman, who claimed she was from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency", was filmed giving the employee a piece of paper that stated she could go to prison for up to three to five years for telling customers to wear a mask. The "Freedom To Breathe Agency" is not a real governmental agency and has previously received a warning from the Department of Justice after it distributed fake "face mask exempt" cards.

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  Looking for a face shield? What to know and where to buy them

  USA TODAY
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  Thousands of people fail to wear face coverings on public transport but only a handful fined, figures reveal

  Yahoo News UK

She Was Charged With Murder After Her Baby Was Stillborn. Now California’s AG Has Stepped In.

For more than nine months, five of them during a global pandemic, a 26-year-old woman named Chelsea Becker has been sitting in Kings County Jail, under a $2 million bail, for giving birth to a stillborn baby. Becker has been there since November, when police arrested her and prosecutors charged her with murder. The District Attorney argued that Becker's methamphetamine addiction had caused the stillbirth, citing a 50-year-old law that civil rights advocates say was never supposed to apply to pregnant women.

Coronavirus: New Zealand marks 100 days without community spread

New Zealand has gone 100 days without recording a locally transmitted Covid-19 case, a milestone that has both been welcomed and brought warnings against complacency. The last case of community transmission was detected on 1 May, days after the country started easing its lockdown. New Zealand has fared better than other countries, recording 1,219 confirmed cases and 22 deaths since the virus arrived in late February.

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  New Zealand eyes Cook Islands travel bubble

  AFP
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  New Zealand records 100 days without a new domestic coronavirus case

  The Week

Injured cruise ship worker ‘forgotten’ after seven months in South Florida hotels

Though five repatriation flights for crew members have left since April, the company either did not respond to his pleas or said his repatriation was impossible at the time. After receiving questions from the Miami Herald on Friday about Córdova's situation, the company indicated it is going to send him home on Sept. We have been working with Mr. Córdova to get him home in a challenging international travel environment and currently understand the next opportunity to do so is on Sept.

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  French passengers sue Costa Cruises over virus ship ordeal

  AFP
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  12,000 crew members still on cruise ships in US waters months after COVID-19 pandemic shut cruising down

  USA TODAY

Mauritius scrambles to counter oil spill from grounded ship

Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves Saturday to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tons of fuel leaking from a grounded ship put endangered wildlife in further peril. The government has declared an environmental emergency and France said it was sending help from its nearby Reunion island. Satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near wetlands that the government called “very sensitive.

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  Damaged ship leaking oil off Mauritius could split: PM

  AFP
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  Mauritius oil spill: Locals scramble to contain environmental damage

  BBC

How Nicola Sturgeon has secretly massaged Scotland’s coronavirus record

Nicola Sturgeon spent much of July telling anyone who would listen that the prevalence of coronavirus in England was “five times” higher than in Scotland. The figure was deployed to justify her refusal to rule out effectively closing the border by imposing quarantine on travellers from England, and her highly controversial move to set her a Scotland-only policy on air bridges, which airports warned put livelihoods at risk. Alongside their saltires and SNP flags (the First Minister refused to confirm whether her party took any disciplinary action against participants) the wording on their banner was instructive: 'Keep Scotland Covid Free'.

Nation hits 5 million coronavirus cases with few signs of slowing

As the U.S. surpassed 5 million coronavirus cases this weekend, the milestone was met with little fanfare as some school districts planned to reopen and thousands descended on Sturgis, South Dakota, for the world's largest annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. The new highs will not likely mark a plateau or peak if the nation continues to face the virus without a cohesive national strategy on mask-wearing and social distancing, said Dr. Gabe Kelen of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "There just doesn't seem to be enough will in enough parts of the country to deal with this the way other countries have," said Kelen, director of Johns Hopkins' Department of Emergency Medicine.

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  Quarter of a million bikers defy Covid fears to hold South Dakota rally

  The Telegraph
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  Motorcycle Rally In Sturgis Draws Thousands Of Largely Unmasked Attendees

  Scary Mommy

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.

New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media

A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported. The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region. Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

Man who was given life sentence for $30 marijuana sale to be freed

A man in Louisiana serving a life sentence for selling less than a gram of marijuana is due to be released from prison, his lawyer has said. Derek Harris, who is a military veteran, was arrested in 2008 for selling 0.69 grams of marijuana — an amount worth less than $30 (£23) — to an undercover officer who came to his door. Harris was initially convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong media tycoon arrested under security law

Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested and his newspaper offices raided by police over allegations of collusion with foreign forces. His case is the most high-profile arrest so far under the controversial security law imposed by China in June. Mr Lai has been a prominent pro-democracy voice and a supporter of protests that erupted last year.

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  Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong's rebel mogul and pro-democracy voice

  BBC
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  'Night fell': Hong Kong's first month under China security law

  AFP

Japan's Abe to avoid visit to war-linked shrine on 75th war anniversary: Jiji

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will refrain from visiting the Yasukuni shrine for war dead on the 75th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two, Jiji news agency said on Sunday, but will make an offering on the emotive day, as he has done in the past. The shrine, dedicated to Japanese who have died during past wars including World War Two, is seen as a potent symbol of the controversy that persists over the conflict's legacy in East Asia. "He will make a ritual offering to the shrine out of his personal expenses as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as he has done in previous years," sources close to the matter said, according to the report.

Is France helping Lebanon, or trying to reconquer it?

It was almost as if Emmanuel Macron forgot that Lebanon is no longer a French protectorate. Visiting explosion-ravaged Beirut this week, France's leader comforted distraught crowds, promised to rebuild the city and claimed that the blast pierced France's own heart. “France will never let Lebanon go,” Macron said.