- NewsAssociated Press
Why no hush-money charges against Trump? Feds are silent
When special counsel Robert Mueller closed the books on the Russia investigation, he produced a report of more than 400 pages, and Attorney General William Barr held a news conference outlining the reasons the Justice Department didn't charge President Donald Trump. But in stark contrast to the Mueller inquiry, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have remained tight-lipped about their rationale for charging only Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer, in a hush-money scandal in which they publicly implicated the president and investigated others in his orbit. There was no news conference or press release announcing the end of the investigation this week.
WorldAFPRamush Haradinaj, Kosovo's 'Rambo' ex-PM and Serbian antagonist
Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned as Kosovo's prime minister on Friday, is hailed as a hero at home -- where he is nicknamed "Rambo" -- but considered a war criminal by Belgrade, which has long sought to see him behind bars. The controversial 51-year-old, who was a wartime commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), stepped down after being summoned as a suspect by a war crimes court in the Hague. It is the second time he has resigned after being called before a war crimes court over crimes allegedly committed by the ethnic Albanian KLA separatists during the 1998-99 war.
- NewsUSA TODAY
California city votes to ban gendered words as 'manhole' becomes 'maintenance hole'
A California city voted to ban some gender-specific words in its city code and replace them with gender-neutral options. Berkeley's municipal code will no longer feature words like "manhole" and "manpower," and instead say, "maintenance hole" and "human effort" or "workforce." The measure passed unanimously Tuesday and replaces more than two dozen terms.
- TechnologyThe National Interest
The Navy's 6th Generation Fighter Could Put the F-35 in a Museum
New much-longer range sensors and weapons, incorporating emerging iterations of AI, are expected to make warfare more disaggregated, and much less of a linear force on force type of engagement. The Navy is currently analyzing air frames, targeting systems, AI-enabled sensors, new weapons and engine technologies to engineer a new 6th-Generation fighter to fly alongside the F-35 and ultimately replace the F/A-18. The Navy program, called Next-Generation Air Dominance, has moved beyond a purely conceptual phase and begun exploration of prototype systems and airframes as it pursues a new, carrier-launched 6th-Gen fighter to emerge in 2030 and beyond, service officials explained.
- WorldAssociated Press
Ukraine's president says he backs prisoner swap with Russia
Ukraine's president on Friday outlined the details of an impending prisoner swap with Russia, saying that Kiev is willing to release a jailed Russian journalist in exchange for a Ukrainian film director. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's statement comes at the end of the week of shuttle diplomacy, with the Russian and Ukrainian human rights ombudswomen holding talks both in Moscow and in Kiev. The flurry of activity around imprisoned Russians and Ukrainians follows last week's first telephone call between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- WorldReuters
U.S. amphibious group patrols Arabian Sea as Iran tensions simmer
At a thumbs-up sign from a sailor, a U.S. Harrier fighter jet takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in the Arabian Sea as an oil tanker passes, a nautical mile away. The patrol is "standard" but the situation - growing tension between the United States and Iran - is not. "We want to make sure that we assure allies in the region and to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce," says Colonel Fridrik Fridrikson, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
- WorldBloomberg
Hong Kong Protesters Who Stormed Legco Seek Asylum in Taiwan: Report
About 30 protesters have already landed in Taiwan, while as many as 30 others -- and possibly more -- are planning to try soon, the Hong Kong newspaper said, citing unidentified people who assisted them. The people who assisted the protesters told the paper they had been in contact with Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles the island's relations with Beijing, to seek help. The council hasn't received any formal asylum applications from Taiwan's National Immigration Agency, its deputy minister Chiu Chui-cheng said in a text message.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
How Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution Was Resurrected—and Betrayed
White Pine Pictures is a Canadian documentary film production company whose members in 1986 produced The World Is Watching, about the coverage of the Contra War in Nicaragua by Western media. I was one of the featured journalists. In 2002, some 16 years later, White Pine contacted me to ask whether I would be willing to return to Nicaragua to film a sequel.
- WorldThe Telegraph
France turns down citizenship for immigrant nurse because she 'works too much'
France has rejected an immigrant nurse's application for citizenship on the grounds that she was working too many hours a week in breach of the statutory 35-hour week and strict limits on overtime. The nurse, whose name and nationality have not been made public, holds three jobs and averages 59 hours a week, which the authorities said placed her “in violation of regulations on working time in France”. The 35-hour rule introduced under a Socialist government in 2000 gave France one of the world's shortest working weeks, but it has since been loosened and employees may be permitted to work up to 48 hours a week including overtime.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Cyprus detains 12 Israeli men over allegations of gang rape of British teenager
Twelve Israeli tourists were remanded in custody for eight days by a court in Cyprus for the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old British woman at a popular holiday resort on the island. The Israelis were arrested on Wednesday after the British teenager told police that she had been raped at the hotel where she was staying in the beach resort of Ayia Napa. Doctors who treated the woman said they found bruises and scratches on her body.
WorldAFP'My entire world was gone': floods devastate northern Pakistan
Now only jagged rocks and a few damaged homes remain after torrential rains wreaked havoc on the picturesque mountain village in the Laswa Valley. More than 270 people have been killed in recent days across South Asia as monsoon rains deluged large swathes of the subcontinent, flooding waterways and destroying communities. "I was holding the hand of my mother trying to save her, but unfortunately I lost her hand and she was swept away by the floodwater," says Amin Butt, who was visiting his family in Kashmir.
- U.S.KGO – San Francisco
'Go back to their country:' Naperville Bucky's cashier fired after questioning customers' citizenship
A cashier no longer works at a Naperville gas station after a video showed him questioning Hispanic customers' citizenship.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
AOC to DHS chief: Border agents shared 'images of my violent rape' in secret Facebook group
After a week fielding racist attacks from President Donald Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan about the whereabouts of Border Patrol agents who threatened her in a secret Facebook group. The intense and personal line of questioning Thursday happened as McAleenan appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee to testify about his role in separating migrant children from their families and worsening conditions at the migrant detention centers along the southern U.S. border. After the group's existence was revealed by a ProPublica report, McAleenan announced DHS was investigating the "disturbing" and "inexcusable" posts.
- WorldAssociated Press
Navy warship sunk by German sub in WWII finally located
A private dive team has located the last U.S. Navy warship to be sunk by a German submarine in World War II, just a few miles (kilometers) off the coast of Maine. The sinking of the USS Eagle PE-56 on April 23, 1945, was originally blamed on a boiler explosion. But the Navy determined in 2001 that it had been sunk by a German submarine.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO From Car and Driver
- WorldThe Independent
Satellite images ‘show US military buildup in Saudi Arabia’ amid Iran tensions
The United States is preparing to send hundreds of troops to Saudi Arabia where satellite images appear to show a build up of American forces on the ground. The moves would likely strengthen the US' controversial relationship with Saudi Arabia, while also responding to rising tensions with Iran which escalated dramatically in recent months. After the US unilaterally withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed tight sanctions, Iran announced in July that it had surpassed limits on enriched uranium imposed in the agreement.
- WorldAssociated Press
Germany honors resisters who tried to assassinate Hitler
Germany is marking the 75th anniversary of the most famous plot to kill Adolf Hitler, honoring those who resisted the Nazis — who were stigmatized for decades as traitors — as pillars of the country's modern democracy amid growing concerns about the resurgence of the far-right. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will speak Saturday at an annual swearing-in ceremony for some 400 troops before addressing a memorial event, paid tribute ahead of the anniversary to executed plot leader Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators and highlighted their importance to modern Germany. Von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944, during a meeting at his headquarters in East Prussia.
- BusinessReuters
Russia summons U.S. diplomat in Moscow in protest over visa row
Russia summoned a representative of the U.S. embassy in Moscow on Thursday to issue a protest after U.S. officials alleged Russia had refused visas to teachers at an international school in Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said. The ministry said in a statement it had not denied the visas, but that teachers at the school were entering Russia under diplomatic visas, despite not being diplomats. It said Russia was ready to issue visas promptly to U.S. diplomatic personnel as soon as Washington started issuing visas promptly to Russian diplomats in the United States.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
Texas teen arrested for spitting in tea bottle and putting it back, police say
The police officer said the teen repeatedly told him that he took a drink of the tea, then put it back, because it was "gross." has seen a number of Texans gain viral fame for doing weird and often disturbing things with food and drinks, including licking ice cream and drinking wine from a Pringles can. Woman licks tub of Blue Bell ice cream, then puts it back in the store freezer A video posted in June of a woman appearing to lick a tub of Blue Bell ice cream before putting it back in a grocery store freezer attracted the attention of millions, including Blue Bell Creameries.
WorldAFPS. Korean man kills himself as dispute with Japan escalates
An elderly South Korean man died on Friday after setting himself on fire outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul as a bitter diplomatic dispute over wartime forced labour compensation took a fatal turn. The row has seen Tokyo restrict exports of chemicals vital to Seoul's world-leading chip and smartphone industry in an escalation of a decades-long dispute over Japanese forced labour during World War II. The man in his 70s started a fire inside his vehicle parked in front of the embassy building and later died after being treated in hospital, authorities said, adding around 20 disposable gas canisters were also found in the car.
- NewsThe National Interest
The U.S. Marines Might Be Souring on Amphibious Assault Ships. Here's Why.
Welcome to an A2/AD world. The U.S. Marines Might Be Souring on Amphibious Assault Ships. The incoming commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps is backing away from the service's longstanding requirement for 38 dedicated amphibious assault ships. New commandant Gen. David Berger is “willing to shed some key tenets of the Marines' amphibious force-planning in recent years – including the demand for 38 amphibious warships to support a two Marine Expeditionary Brigade-sized forcible entry force,” Megan Eckstein reported for the U.S. Naval Institute.
- PoliticsPolitico
Scaramucci disinvited from Florida GOP fundraiser for bashing Trump's 'racially charged' attacks
The Palm Beach County GOP disinvited Anthony Scaramucci from addressing its annual fundraising event after the short-lived White House communications director criticized President Trump's “racially charged” tweets saying four members of Congress who are women of color should leave the United States. He suggested the president's comments were racist and that he was becoming a racist. Our board was infuriated,” said Michael A. Barnett, the Republican Party chairman in the county, home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago getaway.
- NewsAssociated Press
Correction: Puerto Rico-Protests-Miranda story
A corrected version of the story is below: Lin-Manuel Miranda joins rally against Puerto Rico governor "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined protests in New York demanding the resignation of Puerto Rico's governor NEW YORK (AP) — "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined protests in New York demanding the resignation of Puerto Rico's governor. Miranda led about 200 people, many from Puerto Rico, at a rally in Manhattan's Union Square on Wednesday. They waved Puerto Rican flags and followed him to a drumbeat, chanting in Spanish, "Viva Puerto Rico libre," which translates to "Long live free Puerto Rico."
- NewsAOL.com
Wasp spray leads to 3 deaths in West Virginia after being used as alternative meth
West Virginia state police are cautioning residents against using wasp spray as an alternative form of methamphetamine after three people purportedly overdosed. Sgt. Charles Sutphin told WCHS that a number of people in Boone County are making "a synthetic type methamphetamine out of wasp spray." Law enforcement believe it led to three fatal overdoses last week.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Journalist reporting on immigration released from ‘inhumane’ US migrant detention centre after 15 months
Those are just some of the conditions Manuel Duran described after he was released from a US immigration detention centre. As a journalist in Memphis, Tennessee, Mr Duran had been reporting on immigration enforcement officials and sordid conditions for more than a decade by the time they took him into custody last year. Now, he says he's experienced the neglect himself.
