- U.S.Yahoo News
Why a Black man from Louisiana is serving a life sentence for stealing hedge clippers
According to Louisiana law, the crime of attempted simple burglary carries no more than 12 years behind bars, but because the 1997 offense was his fourth felony, Bryant, who is Black, received a life sentence in 2000. The justices declined to review the sentence, which was upheld by the state appeals court in 2019, according to the decision. One justice recused himself.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Bars over schools: Why your kids will probably learn from home this fall
But he has not provided any federal guidance on how, exactly, schools can reopen safely and what the federal government will do in order to ensure that they are safely able to do so. Everyone is looking to our federal government to show some leadership here,” Duncan told lawmakers on Thursday, adding that it was unfair to ask school superintendents to make “life-or-death public health decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did issue a nine-page checklist for schools, but it contains broad, sometimes obvious recommendations, such as appointing a person to consult “local health officials about the school's approach to planning for COVID-19.
- U.S.The Independent
Woman confronting vandals covered in paint during renewed Portland protests
Protesters in Portland allegedly threw white paint over a woman, as demonstrators clashed with police for a third consecutive day. On Friday, following two days of protests marred by vandalism, more than 200 people clashed with police, as two other Black Lives Matter protests marched peacefully through the city. As the peaceful demonstrations took place, a separate group gathered at a park in east Portland and marched to the local precinct.
- U.S.Associated Press
Fort Hood commander's transfer on hold amid investigations
Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division. Command of a division is a key step in an Army officer's career.
- U.S.USA TODAY Opinion
The National Rifle Association faces its worst nightmare: accountability
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association for breaking New York charities law — the result of an investigation into the NRA's finances that began in April 2019. The complaint seeks dissolution, meaning that if the NRA is found guilty, it could be disbanded by the state of New York. You don't have to be a lawyer to see how the NRA got into this mess.
- PoliticsNational Review
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.
- WorldAFP
Rescuers shaken by 'blood and death' of India jet disaster
Indian authorities had practised for years for a jet overshooting the "table-top" runway at Kozhikode airport, but local resident Fazal Puthiyakath was not prepared for the "blood and death" of the real thing. The 32-year-old businessman and his neighbours were first on the scene after an Air India Express plane crashed over the runway down a 10-metre (35-foot) bank and broke in two during a fierce storm late Friday, killing 18 people and injuring more than 120. Kozhikode airport in southern India's Kerala state is considered a potential hazard because it has a "table-top" runway with a steep bank at either end.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
GOP appeals after Judge dismisses lawsuit over House's proxy voting system established due to COVID-19
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a Republican-led lawsuit aiming to halt an unprecedented proxy voting system established by the House of Representatives due to the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the House was immune from such a legal challenge. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia by nearly two dozen House Republicans – led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. in May, argued the proxy voting rules violated the U.S. Constitution because under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present to take up business and vote on legislation.
- WorldINSIDER
A stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of fuel has breached and is leaking oil into the pristine, azure waters of the Indian Ocean
A stranded Japanese-owned oil tanker, sailing under the Panamanian flag, has breached and is flooding waters of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius with fuel. Mauritius is famous for its coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Authorities are racing against the clock to secure a stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of oil leaking fuel into waters near a tropical Indian Ocean island.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Former US soldiers sentenced to 20 years for bungled Venezuelan coup plot
A Venezuelan court sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro, prosecutors announced late on Friday. Former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by a third ex-US soldier who remains in the United States, Venezuelan's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter. "THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS," Saab wrote, adding that the case will continue for dozens of other defendants.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
CIA analysts reportedly told the White House there's 'no evidence' the Chinese government has accessed TikTok data
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images CIA analysts told the White House that though it is possible for the Chinese government to access TikTok user data, there is "no evidence" that it has done so, per a New York Times report. However, President Trump still moved forward with an executive order Thursday night prohibiting US companies from doing business with not only TikTok's parent company ByteDance but also WeChat, a popular app for Chinese citizens. The executive order goes into effect on Sept.
- U.S.Miami Herald
DeSantis doesn’t want lucrative deal going to company that botched unemployment system
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday slammed a potential new nine-figure contract between the state and the firm that built Florida's dysfunctional unemployment system. Deloitte Consulting was announced earlier this week as the state's preferred vendor for a potential $135 million contract to beef up Florida's Medicaid data infrastructure. This happened despite an ongoing state investigation into how Florida paid the firm more than $40 million starting in 2011 to build what turned out to be a frequently non-functional CONNECT unemployment site.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Robber snatches California man's life savings in front of bank
Francisco Cornejo walking to his car after making a hefty withdrawal from his account. He was carrying 200-thousand dollars when a robber attacked him and ripped away Conejo's bag of money. The thief escaped with the money and has yet to be arrested.
- WorldAssociated Press
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.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. pandemic worse than Mexico, Lopez Obrador says after travel warning
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday the United States had greater problems from the coronavirus than his country, a day after the U.S. State Department urged citizens not to travel south of the border, citing high contagion rates. "We have many fewer problems with the pandemic than the problems that, unfortunately, they are facing," Lopez Obrador said during a Friday morning press conference. The United States on Thursday lifted a global health advisory imposed in March that advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- U.S.The Independent
New York is moving homeless people into luxury hotels to protect them against coronavirus and wealthy neighbourhoods aren't happy
But in recent days, residents of some wealthier areas of New York where some of the hotels are located have complained about what they describe as anti-social behaviour and drug use by homeless people in their neighbourhoods. In the Upper West Side, where the median house price is more than $1.8m, some residents have started a Facebook group to express their displeasure over the use of three high-end hotels in the area. Our community is terrified, angry and frightened,” one member of the 'Upper West Siders For Safer Streets' group told the New York Post.
- U.S.CBS News
Michigan official uses racial slur when asked about masks
A county official in Michigan used a racial slur at a public meeting and later said in an interview that he did not regret it. Leelanau County Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle was asked before a Road Commission meeting on Tuesday why he was not wearing a mask. Road Commission Chairman Bob Joyce quickly responded, telling Eckerle he couldn't say that, according to the Leelanau Enterprise, which first reported on the story.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Christiane Lemieux and Anthropologie Team Up for the Launch of Her Newest Collection
Lemieux Et Cie's Artisanal Modernism is now available through Anthropologie Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.BBC
George Floyd: US protesters charged as 'gang' face life sentence
Protesters in Utah who splashed paint on a prosecutor's office could be given life sentences after they were accused of acting as a "gang". Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill, whose office was targeted by Black Lives Matter marchers issued the charges. Critics, including the city's mayor, have called the felony charges excessive.
- PoliticsLos Angeles Times Opinion
Editorial: Eighteen (years) is enough: Limit the terms of Supreme Court justices
And if a Democratic Congress expanded the Supreme Court to influence its rulings, what would prevent a future Republican Congress and president from following suit? The Democrats' exasperation with Trump and McConnell is understandable, but the solution isn't tit-for-tat partisanship but rather a depoliticization of the process for appointing justices. Liberal and conservative legal experts have joined in proposing that justices — who now serve for life unless they choose to retire — be appointed instead to fixed terms.
- WorldBusiness Insider
An Air India plane crashed while landing at a notoriously tricky airport — here's why 'tabletop' runways can be so treacherous
Stringer/Reuters An Air India Express plane carrying 190 people crashed on Friday while landing at Calicut International Airport in India. The plane overshot the runway, then fell 30 feet into a valley. Calicut Airport has what's called a "tabletop runway," which sits at the top of a hill, plateau, or mountain, with steep drop-offs at either end.
- WorldThe Telegraph
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'.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran asks UN to hold US accountable for plane interception
Iran is urging the United Nations to hold the United States accountable for the interception of an Iranian passenger plane by two U.S. fighter jets in the skies over Syria last month, which it called an “unlawful” and an “adventuristic act.” Iran's U.N. ambassador, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said in identical letters to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council circulated Friday that Iran “expresses its strongest objections against this violation of international law and will pursue the issue through relevant international bodies.”
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Missing Georgia mom may have met man she was speaking to online before disappearance
A Georgia mother missing for nearly two weeks after her son was found in a Florida parking lot may have met a man she was speaking to online, according to her father.
- WorldLA Times
A roar, an explosion, then a blank: An L.A. Times reporter's ordeal in the Beirut blast
I don't know how I'm still here. On Tuesday, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate — a common fertilizer that's also highly explosive (it's Islamic State's chemical of choice) — blew up in Beirut's port. The blast, which ranks as one of the world's largest non-nuclear detonations, registered as a magnitude 3.3 earthquake and could be felt as far away as Cyprus.
“He’s not a radical. But he is running on the most liberal policy platform of any Democratic candidate in modern history.”
“Public opinion has been shifting leftward, and Biden’s thinking has shifted with it.”
“Biden shows that he’s more moderate than some in his party.”
“Biden has always been a creature of his time, and the COVID-19 crisis could force him to veer further left.”
“Liberal activists have lauded the campaign’s outreach to progressives.”