'Antifa' website cited in conservative media attack on Biden is linked to — wait for it — Russia

At his press briefing Wednesday, President Trump, as he usually does, called for a question from Chanel Rion, the chief White House correspondent for the conservative One America News network, which has at times replaced Fox News as the president's favorite news outlet. Rion's question had nothing to do with COVID-19 or the economic recovery Trump had been boasting about, but instead brought up an obscure website, antifa.com. I wanted to highlight a kind of odd situation.

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. says Iran briefly seizes oil tanker near Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., a U.S. military official said Thursday. The U.S. military's Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan. The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

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  US says Iran forces board ship in international waters

  AFP
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  US says Iran briefly seizes oil tanker near Strait of Hormuz

  Associated Press

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.

A grapefruit-scented perfume ingredient that's toxic to ticks and mosquitoes is the first new insect repellent to be approved in a decade

The EPA has approved a new ingredient, nootkatone, for use in insecticides and insect repellents. Nootkatone is effective at repelling and killing mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting pests. The chemical is nontoxic to humans and has been used in perfume and food for its grapefruit aroma.

In These Uncertain Hours, the Classic Cool of a Gentleman’s Watch Endures

Shop watches for every occasion Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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.

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  Bullet strikes Air Force helicopter flying over Virginia

  CBS News
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  Air Force helicopter hit with gunfire over suburban Virginia, injuring one crew member

  Yahoo News Video

A broken cable smashed a hole 100 feet wide in the Arecibo Observatory, which searches for aliens and tracks dangerous asteroids

Arecibo Observatory One of the world's most prominent astronomical observatories has a hole. On Monday, a 3-inch-thick cable at the Arecibo Observatory broke, tearing a gash 100 feet long in the reflector dish of the 20-acre radio telescope in Puerto Rico. The observatory had just reopened after a temporary closure due to Tropical Storm Isaias when the cable, which helped support a metal platform, snapped at about 2:45 a.m.

Trump says fear of 'low income housing' will bring 'the suburban housewife' to his side

President Trump turned again to racist attacks on Joe Biden's housing policy Wednesday, with an appeal to “the suburban housewife” that sounds a jarringly out-of-touch note in 2020. Last month Trump announced he was repealing the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which was intended to fight housing discrimination by strengthening implementation of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

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  Trump expects 'suburban housewives' to put him in the winners circle on Election Day

  FOX News Videos
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  Trump claims to save the 'suburban lifestyle dream' — but whose dream is it?

  TODAY

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.

A slogan whose ambiguity serves a purpose

The slogan “Defund the police” has been shouted during protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd. Merriam-Webster defines defund as “to withdraw funding from. The Cambridge Dictionary puts it in plainer terms: “to stop providing the money to pay for something.

Customers attack Chili’s hostess over socially distant seating, Louisiana police say

A teenage hostess at a Chili's restaurant at in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, went to a hospital with minor injuries after an alleged attack by a group of customers upset over COVID-19 seating restrictions. Kelsy Wallace, 17, says she was attacked Sunday when she tried to enforce the restaurant's social-distancing polices and informed the group of women they wouldn't be able to sit together, WAFB reported. My general manager and my other managers tell us we cannot sit a table bigger than six because of the corona[virus],” she told the news station.

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."

Fact check: Tom Hanks is now a Greek citizen, but pedophilia has nothing to do with it

The claim: Tom Hanks became a Greek citizen because pedophilia there is considered a disability. A QAnon conspiracy theory making the rounds on social media falsely claims Tom Hanks became a citizen of Greece because it classifies pedophilia as a disability. A July 28 Facebook post that was shared more than 2,300 times said, “while everyone was distracted by coronavirus Tom Hanks became a citizen of Greece … a place that recognizes pedophilia as a disability,” with a side eye emoji.

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  Hank Williams Jr. ‘finally’ getting in Country Music Hall of Fame. ‘It took this long?’

  Miami Herald
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  Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart to join Country Hall of Fame

  Associated Press

How U.S. Sanctions on Hong Kong Could Leave Banks Caught in the Middle

In the latest round of punitive measures that the U.S. government has imposed on Hong Kong, the Trump Administration announced on Aug. 7 that it would sanction 11 high-ranking Hong Kong officials, including the city's leader Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The sanctions are not just a Hong Kong issue—they have implications for every bank operating in the financial hub, experts say. According to official figures, 78 of the world's top 100 banks have a presence in the territory, which has long been a gateway for international firms seeking to do business with China.

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.

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  Is the extra aid in unemployment benefits extended? Your money questions answered

  USA TODAY
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  US unemployment claims dip below 1m for first time in 21 weeks

  The Guardian

More than 70 people entered a bidding war to buy an abandoned Cold War-era missile silo complex in North Dakota — take a look at the property

The sale includes 49 acres of property in northeastern North Dakota. The bunker itself has 11,000 square feet underground, mostly untouched since it was decommissioned in the 1970s. It's located in rural Fairdale, North Dakota, "in the middle of a prairie," the seller told The Bismarck Tribune.

What No Student Loan Payments Until 2021 Means for You

You don't have to make another federal student loan payment in 2020. Federal student loan borrowers were already in an automatic interest-free pause on payments as part of the original coronavirus relief bill, known as the CARES Act. This pause was expected to expire Sept. 30, but an extension of the forbearance through Dec. 31 was directed in a memorandum signed by President Donald Trump on Aug. 8.

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  Student loan interest rates are way down — here's how to refinance in 3 quick steps

  MoneyWise
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  Help Is Available If You Are Having Trouble Making Your VA Home Loan Payments

  Military.com

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.

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.

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  Israel strikes Gaza militant sites after incendiary balloons

  Associated Press
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  Unclassified Docs Show Israel’s Secret Plan to Ship 60K Palestinians to Latin America

  The Daily Beast

Opinion: Sign of the times: A bishop bashes Biden and Catholics object (or yawn)

Joe Biden, who if elected would be the nation's second Roman Catholic president, was bashed by a Catholic bishop this week, and a lot of Catholics either yawned or came to Biden's defense. That says something about changes both in the American church and in the declining role of religion as a political identity. Biden, who emphasizes his Catholic upbringing, has also moved to a pro-choice position over the years, most recently abandoning his support for the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion in most circumstances.

Father-and-son doctors died of the coronavirus within weeks of each other in Florida hospitals

A Florida father and his son — both doctors — died within weeks of each other after they were hospitalized with the coronavirus on Father's Day, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday. The son, Dr. Carlos Vallejo, had been caring for nearly 80 COVID-19 patients — many at a nursing home — before he fell ill with the virus in June. As of Wednesday, Florida had at least 550,901 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,765 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.