WorldAssociated PressIran executes defense ministry staffer as alleged CIA spy
Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country's judiciary said Tuesday. The report said Reza Asgari was executed last week. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Asgari had worked in the airspace department of the ministry and retired in 2016.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump touts 'silent majority' as he insists polls showing him losing to Joe Biden are 'fake'
Despite poll numbers that show him trailing Democrat Joe Biden by wide margins, President Trump said at the White House on Tuesday that he's doing better than anyone realizes in his quest for reelection. Trump criticized polls that currently show him an average of nearly ten points behind Biden nationally and insisted there is a “silent majority” that backs him. “You look at the Intracoastal in Florida, you look at the lakes, you see thousands of boats with Trump signs — American signs,” the president said at the tail-end of a lengthy and discursive press conference that the White House said would be about the U.S. relationship with China.
- U.S.National Review
Black Leaders Call on NYPD to Bring Back Anti-Crime Unit as Shootings Spike
Leaders in the black community are calling on the New York Police Department to bring back the plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit that was eliminated last month as shootings and murders spike across the city. About 600 undercover officers from the unit were set to be transferred to other assignments including detective work and policing neighborhoods, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said a month ago. The anti-crime unit, which was responsible for getting guns off the streets, had been criticized as stoking distrust in law enforcement in minority communities.
- WorldReuters
U.S. to back nations that say China violated their South China Sea claims
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday the United States will support countries that believe China has violated their maritime claims in the South China Sea but suggested it would do so through diplomatic rather than military means. "We will support countries all across the world who recognize that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claims as well," Pompeo told reporters. "We will go provide them the assistance we can, whether that's in multilateral bodies, whether that's in ASEAN, whether that's through legal responses, we will use all the tools we can," he said at a news conference, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
- LifestyleBusiness Insider
Photo shows Arizona's governor without a mask at party with no social distancing days before telling constituents to 'arm yourself with a mask'
Carter Santini Arizona's governor was caught socializing at a party without wearing a mask or observing social distancing. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey reportedly attended the party last month before reversing his policy banning local governments from mandating mask-wearing, eventually telling Arizonans to "arm yourself with a mask." The Grand Canyon State is nearing 124,000 total COVID-19 cases, weathering over 3,000 new cases per day on a seven-day rolling average after their record was set at 4,797 on June 30.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Fact check: Rep. Ilhan Omar was not photographed at an al-Qaida training camp
When Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was sworn into office in January 2019, she became one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Throughout her term, Omar has faced vitriolic, racist comments and threats from her political opponents and members of the American public. Omar's religion is often central to the attacks, with people accusing her of treason and association with al-Qaida.
- U.S.The Independent
Writer and editor Bari Weiss leaves New York Times over 'bullying' and 'harassment' from colleagues
Opinion writer and editor Bari Weiss is leaving the New York Times claiming she has been bullied and harassed by colleagues over her often controversial opinion articles, and alleging that Twitter is the paper's 'ultimate editor'. Ms Weiss has been a polarising figure for the paper and she frequently generated backlash on social media for her opinions. In a resignation letter posted to her website, she accuses the New York Times of being a paper where "truth isn't a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else."
- WorldThe Telegraph
Polish president fooled by Russian phone pranksters claiming to be UN secretary general
A Russian prankster posing as the U.N. secretary-general managed to reach Poland's president on the telephone and rendered him speechless with questions about Ukraine, Russia and his reelection on Sunday. The prankster, Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Vovan, posted a recording of the 11-minute call on YouTube. President Andrzej Duda's office confirmed Wednesday that it was authentic.
- U.S.INSIDER
The St. Louis couple who aimed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters received dozens of offers to replace a firearm that the police seized, their attorney says
Associated Press A lawyer for Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were filmed pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their home in June, told Forbes on Sunday that they'd received at least 50 offers to replace an AR-15 rifle that local authorities seized. The lawyer, Joel Schwartz, told The Associated Press that on Friday, under a search warrant, authorities seized the rifle Mark McCloskey carried in the video. Schwartz said that the gun Patricia McCloskey had held didn't work but would also be turned over to authorities.
- WorldAssociated Press
Tanker off UAE sought by US over Iran sanctions 'hijacked'
An oil tanker sought by the U.S. over allegedly circumventing sanctions on Iran was hijacked on July 5 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a seafarers organization said Wednesday. Satellite photos showed the vessel in Iranian waters on Tuesday and two of its sailors remained in the Iranian capital. It wasn't immediately clear what happened aboard the Dominica-flagged MT Gulf Sky, though its reported hijacking comes after months of tensions between Iran and the U.S. David Hammond, the CEO of the United Kingdom-based group Human Rights at Sea, said he took a witness statement from the captain of the MT Gulf Sky, confirming the ship had been hijacked.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoVirginia police are searching for people posting flyers calling on residents to 'pray for white Americans in 2020'
Virginia police are investigating white supremacist flyers that are appearing in local resident mailboxes across the state.
PoliticsAFPBiden unveils $2 trillion climate plan in new contrast with Trump
White House hopeful Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious, $2 trillion climate change plan that would revamp the US energy sector and seek to achieve carbon pollution-free power in just 15 years. The clean energy proposal was fleshed out in a speech in Wilmington as the veteran Democrat drew a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump ahead of November's election by arguing that fighting climate change would be a massive job creator under a Biden administration. Insisting that "there's no more consequential challenge" today than climate change, Biden pledged to spend $2 trillion over four years to promote his plan, a dramatic acceleration of the $1.7 trillion he had proposed to spend over 10 years during the primary race.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Georgia murder case tests whether a Black man can stand his ground against whites
William Marcus “Marc” Wilson believed he was standing his ground when he fired at a pickup truck he says was trying to run his car off the road as he drove home with his girlfriend one night last month. The pickup truck's driver then allegedly tried to run Wilson's much smaller Ford Focus off the road before, according to Johnson, Wilson “defended his life” by using a legally registered firearm to shoot at the truck.
- WorldReuters
Chinese university sacks professor who criticised President Xi, friends say
A Beijing law professor who has been an outspoken critic of China's President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party was fired by his university after being released from a nearly week-long detention, his friends said. Xu Zhangrun, a constitutional law professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University, returned home on Sunday morning, six days after he was taken away by police. In a text message showed to Reuters by one of his friends, Xu told the friend that he had been "relieved of teaching and public positions" by Tsinghua University.
- EntertainmentPopular Mechanics
'MythBusters' Host Grant Imahara, Dead at 49, Embodied the Pop Mech Spirit
The brilliant roboticist and master tinkerer inspired a generation of makers. From Popular Mechanics
- WorldUSA TODAY
Remains of Aztec palace, house built by Hernán Cortés found near Mexico City plaza
The remains of an Aztec palace dating back to the mid-1400s and later used by Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés were discovered near a central plaza in Mexico City, officials say. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History announced Monday that basalt slab floors believed to be part of an open plaza in the Palace of Axayácatl were discovered during an inspection at the Nacional Monte de Piedad, located near the Plaza del Zócalo. Axayácatl was an Aztec ruler between 1469 and 1481 and also father of Moctezuma II, the great Aztec emperor who later died during the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
- LifestyleConsumer Reports
2021 Ford Bronco Sport Preview
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. The Bronco Sport will be available in five trims. Ford's Sync 3 infotainment system with an 8-inch touch screen is standard, along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.
- WorldBusiness Insider
US Navy warship challenges China in South China Sea as US blasts Beijing's 'unlawful' claims and 'gangster tactics'
US Navy A US Navy destroyer challenged China in the South China Sea with a freedom-of-navigation operation on Tuesday. The USS Ralph Johnson sailed near the disputed Spratly Islands, the Navy said, adding in a statement that "unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas." The operation, one of at least six such operations this year, comes after the US State Department officially rejected most of China's sea claims, declaring its maritime efforts to assert sovereignty unlawful.
- WorldAssociated Press
UN official: Catastrophe looming from oil tanker off Yemen
The U.N. environment chief said Wednesday that “time is running out” to avert an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe from a deteriorating oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen. Inger Andersen told the U.N. Security Council that an oil spill from the FSO Safer, which hasn't been maintained for over five years, would wreck ecosystems and livelihoods for decades. Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied U.N. inspectors access to the vessel so they could assess the damage and look for ways to secure the tanker by unloading the oil and pulling the ship to safety.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Ghislaine Maxwell secretly married but won't reveal husband's identity say NY prosecutors
Ghislaine Maxwell has secretly married but refused to disclose her husband's identity to FBI investigators, it was claimed in court. Federal prosecutors told a judge hearing Maxwell's application for bail that she had a spouse although his name has been withheld. The existence of a husband might explain why Maxwell chose to remain in the US while being hunted down by the FBI over child sex trafficking allegations rather than fleeing abroad.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Trump: ‘More White People’ Are Killed by Cops and How Dare Anyone Suggest Blacks Have it Bad
Following weeks of nationwide protests over a spate of police killings of Black people, President Donald Trump has claimed that “more white people” actually die at the hands of law enforcement. “Why are African-Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?” host Catherine Herridge asked, prompting the president to immediately recoil. Studies have shown that Black men are about 3.5 times more likely than white men to die in police custody.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
21 Best Wall-Mounted Planters to Infuse Your Space With Greenery
Create living wall art that will freshen up any space Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.NBC News
Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower defaced; mayor says 'nice try'
The Black Lives Matter mural on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower was defaced Monday but quickly fixed, authorities said. The Black Lives Matter "movement is more than words, and it can't be undone," de Blasio said. The New York City Police Department said they received a call at around 12:15 p.m. Monday about criminal mischief at 725 Fifth Avenue.
- U.S.The Independent
'I didn't do it': Executed federal prisoner used final words to plead innocence
The first man executed by the US federal government in 17 years protested his innocence in his final words before his sentence was carried out on Tuesday. Asked if he wanted to give a final statement before the lethal injection procedure, Lee reportedly said “I bear no responsibility for the deaths of the Mueller family.” Daniel Lewis Lee, 47, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at a US penitentiary in Indiana.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Coastal flooding in US will continue to increase as seas rise, report says
"Nuisance" or "sunny day" high-tide flooding is becoming more commonplace in the U.S., and a federal report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that such flooding will worsen in the decades to come as seas continue to rise. “America's coastal communities and their economies are suffering from the effects of high-tide flooding, and it's only going to increase in the future,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA's National Ocean Service. As sea-level rise continues, damaging floods that decades ago happened only during a storm now happen more regularly, such as during a full-moon tide or with a change in prevailing winds or currents, according to NOAA.
