U.S.Associated PressProsecutors seek 15 years for former 'Cheer' star Harris
A prosecutor has asked a federal judge to sentence Jerry Harris, a former star of the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” to 15 years in prison for coercing teenage boys to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves and soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions. Attorneys for Harris are seeking a sentence of six years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Guzman wrote in a sentencing memo late Wednesday that Harris used “his status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money, to persuade and entice his young victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for him or with him.”
BusinessMotley FoolSocial Security Checks Could Soar in 2023: Here's How Much Extra Seniors Might Receive
For better or worse, Social Security is our nation's most vital social program. A recent survey from national pollster Gallup found that 84% of nonretirees plan to lean on Social Security as a "major" or "minor" source of income when retired. Considering how important the program is to the financial well-being of tens of millions of currently retired Americans, there's perhaps no announcement more universally awaited than Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
U.S.The Daily BeastLauren Boebert Baffled by ‘Bricks’ Belonging to a Construction Site
CapitolPolice why are there 20 pallets of bricks one block from the House Office Buildings? Boebert tweeted, apparently alluding to the standard bricks the right believes are owned by potential antifa activists. Yet as it turned out, the bricks are part of an ongoing construction project on First Street in Washington D.C., according to signs right next to the pallets.
U.S.Associated PressSenator in 2010 deposition: 13-year-olds can consent to sex
Before he became a leading voice for conservative causes on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator James Lankford spent more than a decade as the director of youth programming at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, a sprawling campground about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City that attracts more than 50,000 campers in grades six through 12 each year. In 2009, while Lankford worked at the camp, the family of a 13-year-old girl sued a 15-year-old boy who was alleged to have had sex with her at the camp. Lankford, who was not in Congress at the time, is not alleged to have had any direct knowledge of the alleged assault, has not been accused of any wrongdoing and was not a defendant in the lawsuit, which was settled for an undisclosed amount before it was scheduled to go to trial.
U.S.Business InsiderTucker Carlson says corporations are helping their employees get an out-of-state abortion because those 'without families are much cheaper for the company'
Tucker Carlson on Friday said corporations that help their employees secure abortions are "against families." Several US companies offered to pay travel costs for employees seeking an abortion out of state. "Well, of course, employees without families are much cheaper for the company," Carlson said.
WorldINSIDERA 78-year-old woman asked a street cleaner for directions — and ended up reuniting with her long-lost daughter
Cai Youxiu had not seen her daughter Hu Jun in 24 years since Hu moved to another province for work. When a 78-year-old woman asked a street cleaner for directions, she did not expect that the person would be her long-lost daughter whom she had not seen in 24 years. The older woman, Cai Youxiu, had recently managed to trace her daughter, Hu Jun, to Langzhong city with the help of the police, the outlet reported.
PoliticsAssociated Press'Mitt Romney Republican' is now a potent GOP primary attack
But Trump-aligned Republicans hostile toward the Utah senator have made his name a recurring theme in this year's primaries, using him as a foil and derisively branding their rivals “Mitt Romney Republicans." Republicans have used the concept to frame their primary opponents as enemies of the Trump-era GOP in southeast Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The anti-tax group Club For Growth, among the most active super PACs in this year's primaries, used “Mitt Romney Republican” as the central premise of an attack ad in North Carolina's Senate primary.
U.S.Miami Herald‘I felt something sharp.’ Woman takes off pants to uncover unwanted visitor in Florida
The “Oh No” song was the perfect soundtrack for a recent TikTok video. A Florida woman with the handle @uss_andrea went viral after showing her followers a common, albeit disturbing, occurrence in her home state. In the quick clip, she says in a voiceover: “I just took off my pants because I felt something sharp.
- PoliticsYahoo Entertainment
Trump supporters befuddled when confronted by facts from Jan. 6 hearings
Attendees were shown testimonies from witnesses, but many were unable to accept the information being presented to them. For example, one gentleman was shown a video of Ivanka Trump testifying that she believed Attorney General William Barr's assertion that no voter fraud was committed in the 2000 election. I respect Attorney General Barr,” Trump had said, “So I accepted what he was saying.
WorldReutersPro-life is not just opposing abortion, Vatican says after U.S. ruling
Anti-abortion activists should be concerned with other issues that can threaten life, such as easy access to guns, poverty and rising maternity mortality rates, the Vatican's editorial director said on Saturday. In a media editorial on the United States Supreme Court's ruling to end the constitutional right to abortion, Andrea Tornielli said those who oppose abortion could not pick and choose pro-life issues. "Being for life, always, for example, means being concerned if the mortality rates of women due to motherhood increase," he wrote.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderIt’s a terrible day in America, and you can thank Kentucky’s own Mitch McConnell for it.
This morning, I set out to write a column that would give some credit to Sen. Mitch McConnell for FINALLY allowing some action to curb our insane gun violence. It was he who basically ushered the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, opening the floodgates to the tsunamis of money in politics that have corrupted our legislative process so completely. People who promised that Roe v. Wade was settled law, by the way.
U.S.Shreveport Times | The TimesLouisiana woman posts viral TikTok video after citation for wearing shorts and crop top
A Winnfield, LA woman's TikTok video has gone viral after she took to the app to complain about an indecent exposure citation she received at a festival on Saturday, June 11. LaCaze-Lachney captioned the video "make it make sense" before showing viewers the outfit in question. LaCaze-Lachney is shown wearing a black t-shirt that covered her shoulders and was cropped just above the belly button, paired with cutoff denim shorts and a studded belt.
U.S.Associated PressEx-Minneapolis officer who killed 911 caller to be released
The former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home is scheduled to be released from prison next week, months after his murder conviction was overturned and he was resentenced on a lesser charge. Mohamed Noor, 36, is scheduled to be released from custody Monday, 18 days shy of the fifth anniversary of the July 15, 2017, fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old dual U.S.-Australian citizen and yoga teacher who was engaged to be married. Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter, but last year the Minnesota Supreme Court tossed out his murder conviction and 12 1/2-year sentence, saying the murder charge didn't apply to the circumstances of this case.
PoliticsHuffPostAngry Trump Again Demands The Impossible From Jan. 6 Panel After Riveting Hearing
Former President Donald Trump's reaction Thursday to another powerful day of testimony before the House select committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot was to again demand the impossible: evidence of a rigged presidential election. Trump appears to be ignoring the information in the hearings the same way he ignored responses from his Justice Department, various state officials and U.S. Attorney General William Barr: The claims of a rigged election were baseless. Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) testified Tuesday that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani asked him to hold up electoral votes because “200,000 illegal immigrants” and more than 5,000 “dead people” voted in the state.
U.S.Miami HeraldOdd balls appearing in Connecticut trees are actually alive. Here’s what will emerge
Something akin to Christmas balls are showing up in trees throughout Connecticut, and state officials are warning admirers the festive decorations are actually communities of wasps. The tan-colored globes are often referred to as “oak apple galls” and can easily be mistaken for fruit, according to Connecticut Fish and Wildlife. These little galls are some of the most amazing natural occurrences in our forests that are still not fully understood by scientists,” the department wrote in a June 23 Facebook post.
U.S.Associated PressFauci says he's 'example' for COVID-19 vaccinations
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says his COVID-19 recovery is an “example” for the nation on the protection offered by vaccines and boosters. Speaking during a White House briefing, Fauci, 81, said he began experiencing virus symptoms on June 14 and tested positive a day later. “I'm still feeling really quite fine,” Fauci said Thursday, as the administration emphasized the protection offered by vaccines to people of all ages, after the U.S. became the first country in the world to extend vaccine eligibility to children as young as six months.
- U.S.Oxygen
Footage Shows Dad Of Murdered Toddler Pummeling Alleged Killer In Court
The Ohio father of a murdered toddler punched the boy's alleged killer, who also stands accused of killing the child's mother, in a dramatic courtroom attack. Footage captured Tonio Hughes ambushing Desean Brown, 22, in court on Thursday morning during a pretrial hearing for the alleged killer, Fox 19 reports. Brown will face trial for the 2020 stabbing death of his girlfriend Nyteisha Lattimore, 29, and the murder of her 3-year-old son Nylo Lattimore.
WorldINSIDERObergefell, the plaintiff in the SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling, said it's 'quite telling' Clarence Thomas omitted the case that legalized interracial marriage after saying the courts should go after other right to privacy cases
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade. Clarence Thomas said the court should "reconsider" rulings on same-sex marriage and relationships. Jim Obergefell said Thomas omitted rulings on interracial marriage because it "affects him personally."
ScienceAssociated PressNASA: Give us back our moon dust and cockroaches
NASA wants its moon dust and cockroaches back. The space agency has asked Boston-based RR Auction to halt the sale of moon dust collected during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that had subsequently been fed to cockroaches during an experiment to determine if the lunar rock contained any sort of pathogen that posed a threat to terrestrial life. The material, a NASA lawyer said in a letter to the auctioneer, still belongs to the federal government.
- PoliticsHuffPost
AOC: We Have To Fill The Streets
Speaking outside the Supreme Court, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told protesters that "right now, elections are not enough" to reclaim abortion rights in America "we have to fill the streets."
BusinessFortuneUltrawealthy Americans are flocking to get ‘golden visas’ in Europe amid political turmoil. Here are the top 2 places they’re going.
The pandemic has given Americans the Great Resignation, a housing market that won't stop appreciating and a used-car and gas price crisis amid 40-year-high inflation. Maybe the villas of Portugal or beaches of Greece would be more appealing—or at least warmer. As life in America becomes more stressful and expensive, U.S. citizens have been investing in a “Golden Visa,” a program in which purchasing a second home in a different country entitles buyers to a second passport or a pathway to citizenship.
U.S.Yahoo LifeMaria Shriver, a Catholic, calls out overturning of Roe v. Wade: 'This is about controlling women'
The former first lady of California, who identifies as Catholic, took to Twitter after the Supreme Court ruling to share her thoughts. In a series of tweets, she began, "I'm heartbroken by this decision. It makes millions of women unsafe, unseen, unprotected as we now are.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden accidentally flashed a cue card telling him exactly where to go and what to do at a White House event
Joe Biden accidentally revealed his cue card for a White House meeting, with very simple instructions. Cue cards are common, but right-wing commentators treated this one as a serious gaffe. President Joe Biden accidentally revealed a cue card at a White House meeting on Thursday, offering a glimpse of very simple instructions for the process of the meeting.
PoliticsMilwaukee Journal SentinelRon Johnson now says he helped coordinate effort to pass false elector slates to Pence, but his new explanation drew a quick rebuke
After initially claiming to be "basically unaware" of an effort by his staff to get fake presidential elector documents to Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday he coordinated with a Wisconsin attorney to pass along such information and alleged a Pennsylvania congressman brought slates of fake electors to his office — a claim that was immediately disputed. Evidence presented this week by the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol showed Johnson's chief of staff tried to deliver the two states' lists of fake presidential electors for former President Donald Trump to Pence on the morning of the U.S. Capitol insurrection but was rebuffed by Pence's aide.
WorldReutersU.S. CDC confirms evidence of local monkeypox transmission
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there was evidence of local transmission of monkeypox, in addition to reports of cases where people had traveled abroad. The cases are mainly occurring in men who have sex with men, but women are also getting infected, CDC staff member Dr. Agam Rao said at a panel meeting on Thursday. Monkeypox, a viral infection that causes skin lesions, is endemic in certain parts of Africa.
“More than half of mass shooters exhibited clear warning signs before committing their crimes, which makes such laws worthwhile.”
“It’s very difficult to determine if a person with no obvious criminal or mental illness history poses such a threat.”
“We will not end mass shootings, but smart public policy can reduce them.”
"A wider net is bound to ensnare many people who do not actually pose a threat.”
“They may also further dissuade gun owners from seeking mental health treatment if they fear their guns could be seized.”