- PoliticsThe Independent
AOC suggests NYC crime spike linked to unemployment and parents shoplifting to feed children
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has insisted that spikes in New York crime are not related to police budget cuts but people needing to pay rent and feed their children. In a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, reported by The Hill, AOC was questioned about the significant rise in crime in the city. “Do we think this has to do with the fact that there's record unemployment in the United States right now?” she said.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. judge delays first federal executions in 17 years
A U.S. federal judge issued an injunction on Monday delaying what would have been the first federal execution in 17 years, scheduled for later in the day, thwarting at least for now the Trump administration's goal of reviving capital punishment at the federal level. Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. district court in Washington ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to delay four executions scheduled for July and August to allow continuation of the condemned men's legal challenges against a new lethal injection protocol announced in 2019.
- U.S.INSIDER
A YouTuber and her friend who got sick at Disney World's reopening are being criticized for ignoring medical advice to go to the hospital after 'violently vomiting'
A YouTuber and her friend are facing backlash after posting footage of a health scare at the newly-reopened Walt Disney Resort. YouTuber 'That Crazy Disney Lady' streamed her Disney visit with a friend who she says experienced an allergic reaction. In the stream, the woman experienced shortness of breath, elevated blood pressure, and "severe vomiting," ultimately ignoring a medic's advice to go to the hospital.
- U.S.Miami Herald
It’s so hot at Death Valley National Park that cars are breaking down
Having your car break down is never pleasant, but it's probably much worse when it's 128 degrees outside. Some unlucky visitors at Death Valley National Park ran into car trouble Sunday when the extreme heat caused their engines to give out, the park said Monday. Yesterday's excessive heat caused at least three vehicles in the park to break down from overheated engines, which can quickly turn fatal if passengers are stranded in this climate without air conditioning,” Death Valley National Park officials said on Facebook.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Ousted U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman: Deal Barr Offered ‘Could Be Seen as a Quid Pro Quo’
Geoffrey Berman, formerly the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was brought in for a closed-door session of the Judiciary Committee on July 9 to talk about the events surrounding Barr's public announcement on June 19 that Berman had “stepped down” from his post, even though the U.S. attorney made clear to Barr multiple times that he was not stepping down. The next day, Berman said he would leave the job when Barr agreed to let his deputy take over as acting U.S. attorney, as opposed to Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, whom Barr wanted to install in the position until the Trump administration's pick, Securities and Exchange Commission chief Jay Clayton, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
- BusinessDefense News
Boeing lands the first order of the F-15EX
The Air Force has officially placed an order for its first batch of F-15EXs, awarding Boeing a contract on Monday that puts a ceiling value for the entire program close to $23 billion. The first delivery order, which has a not-to-exceed value of about $1.2 billion, covers the first lot of eight F-15EX fighter jets, as well as support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. The contract award is a massive win for Boeing and gives a second life for the F-15 production line in St. Louis, Mo. After years of urging the Air Force to consider an advanced version of the F-15 as a complementary capability to Lockheed Martin's F-35, Boeing found an ally in the Defense Department's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, which in 2019 forced the service to purchase F-15EX planes in order to build capacity.
- U.S.Associated Press
New Zealand mosque gunman to represent himself at sentencing
The Australian white supremacist who admitting killing 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques has dismissed his lawyers and will represent himself when he is sentenced next month. Brenton Harrison Tarrant had pleaded guilty in March to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act for the shootings targeting people praying at the two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019. Tarrant's defense team, lawyers Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson, applied during Monday's hearing for permission to withdraw as his counsel, a role they have filled since April 2019.
- U.S.Politico
DeVos slammed for meetings with conservatives while school reopening debate rages
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is holding three virtual meetings this week with members of the conservative Federalist Society, prompting the nation's largest teachers union to criticize her for spending time on political events rather than plans for reopening schools shuttered by the pandemic. The organization announced that she and high-level staff are holding virtual meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with its chapters in Alabama, Ohio and Arizona to discuss her recently published Title IX regulation governing sexual misconduct in schools and colleges. DeVos has no events on her public schedule this week.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Michigan partygoers test positive for COVID-19 after July 4th lake bash; 43 cases tied to house party
DETROIT – Michigan health officials are calling for attendees of two Fourth of July parties to monitor themselves for symptoms after partygoers tested positive for COVID-19. Several attendees of a Fourth of July party at Torch Lake Sandbar in northern Michigan tested positive for COVID-19, while more than 40 cases in Saline, Michigan, are linked to a holiday house party. The state health department is asking anyone who attended the party at Torch Lake to monitor themselves and seek testing if symptoms develop and self-quarantine.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
64 Stunning Kitchen Island Ideas
Bring on the prep space Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Trump confirms he ordered a cyberattack on a notorious Russian troll farm during the 2018 midterms
President Trump confirmed in an interview with the Washington Post that the US launched a cyberattack against infamous Russian troll farm the Internet Research Agency (IRA) during the 2018 midterms. The Post reported the attack in February 2019, but this is the first time Trump has confirmed it took place. The IRA was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller in 2018 for conspiracy to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
- U.S.Reuters
Nearly 1,000 U.S. immigration detention center employees test positive for coronavirus
More than 930 employees of private contractors running U.S. immigration detention centers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to congressional testimony given by company executives on Monday. The heads of four companies - CoreCivic , The GEO Group , Management & Training Corp (MTC) and LaSalle Corrections - that detain immigrants on contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reported the infections among employees in response to questions from lawmakers. ICE has reported 45 cases of COVID-19 among its direct staff at detention facilities.
U.S.AFPAmerican Airlines reaches out to US senator maskless on flight
American Airlines said Monday it had contacted top Republican Senator Ted Cruz about its coronavirus prevention policies after a photo of the Texas lawmaker without a mask on a flight went viral on social media. "While our policy does not apply while eating or drinking, we have reached out to Senator Cruz to affirm the importance of this policy as part of our commitment to protecting the health and safety of the traveling public," AA said in a statement. The company refused to say which flight Cruz was traveling on Sunday, and whether or not he wore a face mask while not drinking his coffee.
- U.S.The Independent
Man, 37, who died from coronavirus had dismissed pandemic ‘hype’ on Facebook
An Ohio man who died of Covid-19 had repeatedly posted on Facebook about his scepticism of the outbreak – and a tweet containing a montage of his posts is now going viral. Richard Rose, 37, died at home in Port Clinton on 4 July just days after he tested positive for Covid-19. The montage of his posts spreading on social media, which has been viewed 3.5 million times, shows that he tested positive and was quarantined on 1 July, when he was already viewing symptoms.
- WorldThe Telegraph
German study finds no evidence coronavirus spreads in schools
Schools do not play a major role in spreading the coronavirus, according to the results of a German study released on Monday. The study, the largest carried out on schoolchildren and teachers in Germany, found traces of the virus in fewer than 1 per cent of teachers and children. Scientists from Dresden Technical University said they believe children may act as a “brake” on chains of infection.
- WorldBBC
French man accused of molesting hundreds of children dies in Indonesia
A French man accused of molesting hundreds of children in Indonesia has died in a suspected suicide, police say. Francois Camille Abello, 65, was found unresponsive in his cell at a detention centre in the capital, Jakarta, last Thursday, said spokesman Yusri Yunus. Mr Abello was pronounced dead on Sunday night after three days of treatment.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pakistan says 4 troops, 4 militants killed in shootout in NW
Pakistan's military on Sunday said four soldiers and four militants were killed during a shootout in the rugged northwestern region of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan. A statement from the military's public relations wing said the exchange of fire took place after the army personnel had surrounded the militant hideout early Sunday. The statement did not identify the militants, but Pakistan's military has been battling members of the Pakistani Taliban group, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in that region for years.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoCouple who threatened Black Lives Matter protesters with guns once destroyed children's beehives
St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey drew national attention in June when they flashed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters walking down their street.
- U.S.Miami Herald
A squirrel tested positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado. Are people at risk?
Humans can get the plague if an infected animal or flea bites them or if an infected person coughs on them, according to Jefferson County Public Health. Cats are especially susceptible to the plague and if not treated properly, they may die, the release said. They can get the plague through infected flea bites, a rodent scratch or bite or if they eat an infected rodent, according to the release.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Betsy DeVos Can’t Promise Teachers and Kids Won’t Get Sick After Reopening Schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday morning couldn't promise teachers, students and parents that they wouldn't get sick from coronavirus if schools fully reopen this fall, as the Trump administration has been aggressively pushing for in recent days. DeVos and President Donald Trump launched a pressure campaign this past week to force and threaten state and local school districts to fully reopen schools for full-time, in-person learning. DeVos herself has said she wants all schools to commit to being open five days a week and steer clear of remote learning, even as the pandemic rages to record levels in the country.
- WorldReuters
Hamburg sex workers demand Germany's brothels reopen
Prostitutes demonstrated in Hamburg's red light district late on Saturday evening demanding that Germany's brothels be allowed to reopen after months of closure to curb the spread of coronavirus. With shops, restaurants and bars all open again in Germany, where prostitution is legal, sex workers say they are being singled out and deprived of their livelihoods despite not posing a greater health risk. "The oldest profession needs your help," read a notice held up by one woman in a brothel window in the Herbertstrasse, which was flooded with red light after being dark since March.
- WorldINSIDER
South Africa's 9 million smokers were faced with cold turkey when the government banned cigarette sales in March as a coronavirus measure. Now Big Tobacco is fighting back.
earlier in July. South Africa's government had also banned the sale of alcohol but has since eased that restriction, which according to an AP report, has led to an increase in "drunken brawls and traffic accidents, putting added strain on hospitals as they deal with the virus." Reuters FITA is also arguing that by banning the legal sale of cigarettes, the South African government is encouraging a black market trade, and putting thousands of jobs at risk.
- U.S.Architectural Digest
Barack Obama’s Presidential Library Hits a Major Roadblock
More than three years after he left the White House, Barack Obama's Presidential Center has hit another roadblock on its long path to construction. Approval for the center—which is set in Chicago's leafy Jackson Park and slated to cost some $500 million—is facing a new delay following a demand by the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) for “additional design reviews.” The reviews come as part of the Federal Highway Administration's larger approval process, which is nearing its end.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Labour handed initial findings of anti-Semitism inquiry by Britain's equalities watchdog
A report into Labour's handling of anti-Semitism has been submitted to the party by Britain's equality watchdog, as Jewish campaigners urged Sir Keir Starmer to act on its findings. More than 12 months after launching a statutory inquiry into whether the party acted unlawfully in dealing with complaints, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has handed Labour a draft version of its report. While Labour has refused to comment on its contents, the report will address allegations that the party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership failed to tackle anti-Semitism within its ranks.
- U.S.The Independent
Police officer allegedly pointed gun at handcuffed black man’s head after he refused to give his identity
Janak Amin, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was fired on Friday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after he threatened the life of a man who was already in police custody, according to the Daily Mail. Last Thursday, the man, who has not been named, was accidentally transferred from Hillsborough County Jail to the DACCO Behavioural Health Centre, and left the facility once he was alone. The man was detained in the “prone position” and Amin knelt next to the inmate, pulled out his gun and threatened his life, “simply because he refused to identify himself,” Hillsborough County sheriff Chad Chronister told reporters.
What to Read Next
California is back on coronavirus lockdown. And we have no one to blame but ourselves
Los Angeles Times Opinion