PoliticsYahoo NewsObama backs Manchin's voting rights compromise
Former President Barack Obama put his weight behind Sen. Joe Manchin's voting rights proposal in Congress, urging Republicans to join with Democrats to pass the legislation. Obama said that the Manchin proposal is “a product of compromise,” and that it is “an effort by maybe the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, or maybe the most conservative Democrat in Congress … to come up with some commonsense reforms that the majority of Americans agree with, that Democrats and Republicans can agree with. Obama said he was taking the unusual step of commenting on a debate in Congress because the stakes for the country are high, in his view.
WorldThe TelegraphAustralia blames China for UN move to put Great Barrier Reef on endangered list
The Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of "in danger" World Heritage Sites, a UN committee recommended on Tuesday, prompting an angry response from Australia which said it had been blindsided by the move and blamed political interference. The long-term outlook for the world's biggest coral reef system had deteriorated and action was needed to counter the effects of climate change, said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization committee, which sits under Unesco. Australia's Environment Minister Sussan Ley said Canberra would challenge the recommendation, saying it went against advice given just a week ago, and defended Australia's protection of the reef.
WorldBBCSingaporean who tortured and killed Myanmar maid gets 30 years in jail
Ms Murugayan, 40, had pleaded guilty to a number of charges including culpable homicide against Ms Piang. The judge said the prosecution had painted a "shocking" picture of how the 24-year old woman was tortured, humiliated, starved and ultimately killed. He said the case was "one of the worst cases of culpable homicide" in the city-state and that words could not accurately describe the level of abuse the young woman had to endure in the month before her death.
PoliticsThe TelegraphDonald Trump 'wanted to send Covid-infected Americans to Guantanamo Bay'
Donald Trump wanted to send Americans who had Covid to Guantanamo Bay to stop them spreading the disease across the United States, a new book has claimed. In the early stages of the pandemic, it is alleged that Mr Trump suggested that Americans infected abroad should not be brought back home for care, but should instead be isolated at the military base in Cuba. The idea, reported in “Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed History,” by Washington Post journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta, was never enacted.
WorldThe WeekPhilippines' Duterte warns he'll jail people who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine
Do not pass go, do not collect $200 — if you're in the Philippines and refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, President Rodrigo Duterte wants you to go directly to jail. "You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed," Duterte said on Monday during a televised address. The Philippines has reported more than 1.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 23,000 deaths.
U.S.Kansas City StarProtesters arrested outside Sen. Ted Cruz’s home in Texas, police say
A group of protesters demonstrating outside Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's home was arrested Monday, police say. Eight people accused of trespassing were arrested after they refused to leave private property at Cruz's home Monday, according to Houston police. “The large majority of the group are extremely peaceful out there expressing the First Amendment rights (to) protest against climate change,” Assistant Police Chief Ban Tien said in a video posted on Facebook.
WorldThe TelegraphOn board HMS Queen Elizabeth: Navy's £3bn warship playing cat and mouse with Russia
As crew on board the £3 billion warship set about preparing two F-35B fighter jets on Sunday morning to take part in their first ever combat operation against Islamic State (IS), a further two jets had to be deployed at short notice to investigate Russian aircraft overhead. Captain James Blackmore, Commander of the Airgroup, confirmed they had seen a "mixture" of Russian Sukhois and Migs and that they were in "visual range of the pilots". He said that in the three days that they had been stationed off the coast of Cyprus, the pilots had seen the Russian jets every day that they had flown.
PoliticsThe WeekProsecutors are reportedly frustrated by lack of cooperation from Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg
Manhattan prosecutors are getting frustrated with Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and his lack of cooperation with their investigation into the company, a person familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on Monday. Weisselberg, 73, is the most senior executive at the Trump Organization who isn't a member of the Trump family. Prosecutors are looking into whether he paid taxes on benefits he received from former President Donald Trump, including leased cars and apartments, the Post reports.
U.S.Kansas City StarNotable Kansas City-area crimes: Who is Kylr Yust, convicted of murdering 2 ex-girlfriends?
In a highly-publicized case, Kylr Yust was found guilty in April 2021 of killing two of his former girlfriends who went missing roughly 10 years apart in Cass County, Missouri. The case began when 17-year-old Kara Kopetsky was reported missing in May 2007. Another one of Yust's former girlfriends, 21-year-old Jessica Runions, then was last seen alive in September 2016.
U.S.Miami HeraldCalifornia kids visiting Florida tried to tame an alligator. That was a problem
Three California kids vacationing in Florida tied a rope around an alligator and dragged it to shore from the water at Fay Lake Wilderness Park in Brevard County, FOX 11 Los Angeles and Florida Today reported. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office responded Thursday evening, according to Florida Today. The incident involved California youths who are 16, 8 and 6.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump proposed using Guantanamo Bay to house early U.S. COVID-19 patients, new book reports
Former President Donald Trump's initial response to the nascent COVID-19 pandemic was to mask the number of cases and, relatedly, keep infected people off U.S. soil, according to a new book, , by Washington Post reporters Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta. Trump berated public health officials — and, unintentionally, his son-in-law and shadow coronavirus task force head, Jared Kushner — for trying to roll out a national testing strategy, the Post reports, citing an advance copy of the book, and he had some pretty radical ideas for how to handle Americans infected with the virus overseas. "Don't we have an island that we own?" Trump asked advisers in the Situation Room in February 2020, Abutaleb and Paletta report.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestClean Up With the Best Vacuum Deals Prime Day Has to Offer
Roomba, Dyson, Bissell, and Shark are on sale across the internet Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Idaho StatesmanMan lured to home on dating app is killed in baseball bat ambush, Indiana police say
Leftridge had been impersonating the woman on a dating app called MeetMe, police said, and lured Smith to the home by promising to have sex with him for $80, WLFI reported. Investigators believe Smith withdrew $120 from an ATM in Lafayette, based on a receipt found at the scene, according to the outlet. The woman told Smith she wasn't going to have sex with him, and Leftridge rushed out from a nearby garage and hit Smith with a baseball bat, WXIN reported.
WorldBBCCovid vaccine: Why are Australians cancelling AstraZeneca jabs?
Australian doctors have reported a surge in the number of people cancelling their vaccine appointments, amid a new wave of caution over the AstraZeneca jab. It comes after the government updated guidance last week to recommend only those aged over 60 get the shot, due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome. Under-60s have been advised to get the alternative Pfizer shot, of which there are limited supplies.
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WH on U.S. Catholic bishops new guidance that could deny Biden the rite of Communion: ‘The president’s faith is personal’
During a White House briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki responded to a question about U.S. Catholic bishops writing a document that could prohibit high-profile politicians who support abortion rights from receiving Communion. Psaki said “the president's faith is personal” and he, like many Americans, does not see his faith “through a political prism.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderIran's next president is a hard-liner who could cause problems for Biden, and Trump helped pave the way for his victory
Iran's next president, Ebrahim Raisi, is a hard-liner accused of involvement in mass executions. Raisi supports reviving the 2015 nuclear deal but could cause headaches for Biden on other issues. Trump's confrontations with Iran helped empower hard-liners like Raisi.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanGrand Canyon backpacker dies in 115-degree heat. How to stay safe as temperatures soar
A Grand Canyon backpacker died after falling ill from the extreme heat — and it wasn't the only heat-related death over the weekend, when temperatures soared across the West. Michelle Meder, a 53-year-old from Hudson, Ohio, was on a multi-day backpacking trip Friday when she became disoriented from the heat, park rangers said. “Responding rangers determined Meder to be deceased,” park officials said Monday in a news release.
WorldReutersOlympics-Parched Tokyo residents criticise reported alcohol sales plan
TOKYO (Reuters) -Olympic organisers plan to allow the sale of alcohol to Tokyo 2020 spectators, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday, drawing criticism from residents of the capital who face curbs on bars to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol will be served at Olympic venues at limited times, Kyodo reported, citing unidentified sources, a decision that follows the approval https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/organisers-set-decide-domestic-spectators-tokyo-2020-2021-06-21 on Monday of up to 10,000 domestic spectators at venues at next month's delayed Games. Organisers were still considering whether alcohol will be served in venues, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said late on Monday.
WorldBBCIndia economy: Seven years of Modi in seven charts
Mr Modi's government has also created far short of the 20 million jobs the economy needs every year, Mr Ranade said. India has been adding only around 4.3 million jobs a year for the last decade. India is not making or exporting enough 'Make in India' - Mr Modi's high-octane flagship initiative - was supposed to turn India into a global manufacturing powerhouse by cutting red tape and drawing investment for export hubs.
U.S.Business InsiderNYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubles down on comments blaming mentally ill people for New York City's problems
NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubled down on his comments on mentally ill people on Monday. Yang said those who were mentally ill were affecting tourism during an appearance on billionaire John Catsimatidis's radio show. Yang echoed remarks he made on mental illness and homelessness at last week's NYC mayoral debate.
U.S.INSIDERKyle Rittenhouse's defense fund has raised close to half a million dollars in the run-up to his November trial
A defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse has raised close to half a million dollars within three months. The "FreeKyleUSA" fundraising drive was started by Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy. Rittenhouse is currently accused of shooting and killing two men and injuring another at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastDemocrats Tell Merrick Garland to Clean Up the DOJ
After several letdowns for progressives from the Department of Justice, a group of House Democrats is delivering a simple message to Attorney General Merrick Garland this week: do better. On Monday, nine lawmakers, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), sent a letter to Garland expressing their “deep concern” over what they called his “apparent reluctance to correct the weaponization and politicization of the Department of Justice by the Trump administration.” All are members of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the DOJ.
WorldBBCParul Khakhar: The Indian stay-at-home mum trolled for poem on Covid dead
She posted the mournful 14-line dirge called Shabvahini Ganga (A hearse called Ganga - the Indian name for river Ganges) on her Facebook page, where she has more than 15,000 followers. The Gujarati-language poem speaks about the wrath of the virus, leaving a trail of death and devastation in its wake. Khakhar writes about floating corpses, funeral pyres and the crematoria chimneys melting under the load of the burning dead.
BusinessBBCBumble closes to give 'burnt-out' staff a week's break
Bumble, the dating app where women are in charge of making the first move, has temporarily closed all of its offices this week to combat workplace stress. Its 700 staff worldwide have been told to switch off and focus on themselves. One senior executive revealed on Twitter that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd had made the move "having correctly intuited our collective burnout".
U.S.INSIDER8 people were killed and dozens wounded in 10 mass shootings across the US over the weekend
Eight people were killed and dozens injured in mass shootings in the US over the weekend. There have been nearly 300 mass shootings throughout the US in 2021 so far, data shows. Eight people were killed and dozens were injured in 10 mass shootings across the US over the weekend as gun violence continued to surge throughout the nation, data shows.
“The pandemic has unequivocally proven the public health value of masks. And they should stick around in certain situations.”
“With the steady thrum of anti-mask sentiment in the U.S., it’s highly unlikely that they will continue to be a ubiquitous sight.”
“Wearing masks on airplanes or other modes of transit ... can help keep everyone safe.”
“Just because masks are common in many other nations ... is hardly a reason to emulate the practice.”
“The fact that the flu all but vanished ... is not evidence alone that masks were responsible.”