The Lincoln Project's 'Never Trump' ads expertly troll a president who never fails to take the bait

A political campaign built around making videos designed to bait the president of the United States into overreacting would almost certainly have been a total waste of time at any other moment under any other commander in chief. But Donald Trump is unlike any other president. And so for the Lincoln Project, which was created by a group of anti-Trump Republican political operatives last December, that means there is a logic to being a metaphorical fly buzzing around the president's head.

Turn off your air conditioning, experts say after WHO shifts stance on airborne coronavirus

Air conditioning units that recirculate the same air in a room should be switched off or only used with open windows, experts have urged, amid mounting concern around the role of airborne transmission to spread Covid-19. Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, a fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said there were two types of air conditioning units - ones that take air in from outside and expel it out again, or those that recirculate the same air. Guidance from the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers, which Dr Fitzgerald helped draw up, warns that split air conditioning units that do not have a “dedicated source of outside air supply into a room… could be responsible for recirculating and spreading airborne viral particles into the path of socially distanced users”.

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  WHO calls for more evidence on airborne transmission

  Thomson Reuters
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  Is COVID-19 airborne? WHO issues new guidance

  NBC News

Five Guys employees were fired for refusing to serve police officers in Alabama, as tension mounts between service workers and law enforcement

Hollis Johnson Employees of a Five Guys restaurant in Daphne, Alabama were fired for refusing to serve a group of police officers earlier this week, the company confirmed in a Facebook post. "As we uphold our commitment to fair, respectful, and equal treatment for all customers, please know that the actions and sentiments of a few employees in Daphne, AL do not represent Five Guys or the local franchisee," the post read. The incident is the latest in a series of recent confrontations between restaurant workers and police officers amid nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.

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  Five Guys workers ‘turned their backs’ on cops, Alabama police say. Now some are fired

  Miami Herald
• Five Guys says employees who refused to serve police have been fired, suspended

  USA TODAY

Outdoor Dinging Decor That's Sure to Bring Joy to Any Table 

Cheerful furnishings in citrine bring smiles to the outdoor table Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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  33 Chic Table Decorating Ideas for Every Occasion

  Veranda
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  20 Above-Bed Decor Ideas 

  Architectural Digest

New Flynn Notes: ‘FBI Leadership’ Decided Not to Provide Russian Call Transcripts to Flynn in Interview

Newly released documents in the Michael Flynn case include a January 2017 DOJ draft memo that states “FBI leadership” decided against showing Flynn transcripts of his calls with the Russian ambassador in the White House interview that led to his guilty plea. The DOJ document, dated January 30, 2017 — along with a batch of handwritten notes from DOJ and FBI officials describing Flynn's White House interview with former FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI agent Joseph Pientka on January 24, 2017 — shed further light on the FBI's spontaneous interview with Flynn, who had just begun his role as national-security adviser for President Trump.

Ex-Trump fixer Cohen returned to prison where sentence began

President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, was transferred to the same federal lockup in Otisville where he was serving time for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes before the coronavirus pandemic prompted his early release, his attorney said Friday. The move late Thursday came hours after federal authorities said Cohen refused to accept the conditions of his home confinement, specifically that he submit to wearing an ankle monitor. Cohen attorney Jeffrey Levine said Cohen never refused to wear an ankle monitor but raised concerns about conditions of his home confinement that forbade him from using social media, speaking with the press and publishing a tell-all book he wrote in federal prison.

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  Here’s The Real, Really Stupid Reason Michael Cohen Was Sent Back To Prison

  Refinery29
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  Michael Cohen back in federal custody after refusing conditions of home confinement

  FOX News Videos

‘Parents understand risks’: 15 staffers, 3 kid campers catch COVID-19 in Miami-Dade

As parents across Miami-Dade County wonder how schools will safely bring students back next month, they can look to local summer camps for an idea of how in-person learning during a pandemic may go. Of Miami-Dade County's 36 summer camp programs, there has been at least one coronavirus case — mostly among staff members — at 16 of them, according to a county spokeswoman. “This is what's going to happen to schools if they open up!” said Patrice Echevarria Cowan, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools employee, in a staff Facebook group Thursday.

Hong Kong to suspend all schools due to spike in coronavirus cases

Hong Kong's Education Bureau on Friday announced the suspension of all schools from Monday after a sharp rise in locally transmitted coronavirus cases fuelled fears of renewed community spread. Schools in the Asian financial hub have been mostly shut since January, with many having switched to online learning and lessons by conference call. Many international schools are already on summer break.

Dentist who slaughtered Cecil the lion ‘hunts and kills protected wild ram’ just four years later

The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion is reported to have hunted another endangered wild animal. Walter Palmer is said to have slaughtered a protected ram in Mongolia, paying up to £80,000 for the kill. The hunter, who prompted a worldwide outpouring of fury when he targeted Cecil five years ago, was identified as one of two men in a photo with the dead Altai argali – the largest wild sheep in the world.

Trump still struggling to articulate his agenda for a second term

During a Fox News town hall in Wisconsin late last month, President Trump was asked by host Sean Hannity to name his top priority items for a second term. Trump gave a meandering reply about now having the “experience” of being president and living in Washington, D.C. (“Now I know everybody,” he said), then quickly pivoted to the tell-all book by his former national security adviser John Bolton — all without laying out a single policy idea or plan. The answer frustrated Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who criticized Hannity for not making Trump focus.

Russia's journalists under increasing pressure from the secret services in wake of Putin's shaky referendum victory

Russia's intelligence services have 'stepped up' their war on free media, carrying out a series of operations designed to intimidate journalists in the wake of Vladimir Putin's controversial referendum victory last week. In an unprecedented case for post-Soviet Russia, prominent defence reporter Ivan Safronov was seized outside his home on Tuesday morning by secret service agents and arrested on suspicion of treason. Last week's overwhelming approval of constitutional amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in office at least until 2036 was hailed by the Kremlin as a “triumph.”

Three LAPD officers face felony charges for falsely labeling people as gang members

The three defendants are accused of falsifying cards used by officers to conduct interviews while in the field. In some instances, the defendants allegedly wrote on the card that a person admitted to being a gang member even though body-worn camera video showed the defendants never asked the individual about gang membership, prosecutors said. In other instances, the defendants allegedly wrote that a person admitted to being a gang member though the person had denied gang affiliation.

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  Attorneys Allege Deputy Present At Fatal Shooting Of Andres Guardado Is Member Of LASD Gang

  CBS LA - KCAL
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  Coroner releases autopsy on fatal shooting by LA deputy

  Associated Press

Seoul mayor takes own life after sexual harassment allegations

The mayor of Seoul, a contender to be South Korea's next president and a former human rights lawyer, took his own life a day after he was accused of sexual harassment, authorities said Friday. Park Won-soon, whose body was recovered on a mountain in the capital, is by far the most high-profile politician to be implicated in a harassment case in South Korea, a highly patriarchal society where the #MeToo movement has led to the fall of scores of prominent men in multiple fields. Park offered a general apology in a suicide note -- handwritten with ink and brush -- found at his official residence and released by city authorities.

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  Seoul Mayor Fought Against Sexual Harassment. He Was Found Dead After Being Accused of Harassing a Secretary

  Time Magazine
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  Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon found dead, left note saying 'sorry to all people'

  USA TODAY

Kellyanne Conway: Biden is plagiarizing Trump’s ‘America First’ plan

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway reacts to Joe Biden's economic plan and previews Trump's New Hampshire rally on 'Fox and Friends.

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  President Trump accuses Joe Biden of plagiarizing economic proposal

  FOX News Videos
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  Joe Biden touts 'Buy American' as he picks populist economic message for election

  The Telegraph

Hospitals in Syria's rebel area reduce services amid virus

Hospitals in Syria's overcrowded opposition-held enclave are suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services following the detection of the first case of coronavirus, a leading doctor in the area said Friday. The regional education department also announced it was closing all schools. The first case of COVID-19, a doctor in the area, was reported on Thursday in Idlib province, the last opposition-held part of Syria in a sliver of land bordering Turkey.

A revival of ultrafast supersonic passenger jet travel is inching closer to reality – take a look at the prototype debuting in October

Boom Supersonic Aircraft start-up Boom Supersonic is one step closer to bringing back supersonic passenger travel with its flagship Overture jet. The Overture's prototype and demonstrator, the XB-1, will be unveiled in October and plans to take to the skies in 2021. If the XB-1 has a successful test flight program, the Overture could fly within the next 10 years, bringing back supersonic travel to the public.

U.S. warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China

The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday to "exercise increased caution" in China due to heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement including detention and a ban from exiting the country. "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security. "Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples.

Remdesivir and COVID-19: New data suggests the experimental drug can shorten how long people are sick

New data on the experimental drug remdesivir confirms it can shorten the course of COVID-19 infections and suggests it also can save lives. Gilead Sciences, Inc. of Foster City, California, which makes the drug, revealed new data Friday about nearly 400 patients in its late-stage clinical trial. According to the new results, 74% of patients treated with remdesivir had recovered by their 14th day of hospitalization, compared to 59% of those who did not get the drug.

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  Dow Jones Today, Stocks Open Mixed On Coronavirus News; Gilead, BioNTech Rise; Netflix Jumps On Q2 Outlook

  Investor's Business Daily
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  Gilead Presents Additional Data on Investigational Antiviral Remdesivir for the Treatment of COVID-19

  Business Wire

Author Christopher Buckley: 'Everything Trump touches dies'

Christopher Buckley's new novel “Make Russia Great Again” is a rollicking satire of Donald Trump's White House — and of a president whom Buckley told Yahoo News must not be reelected or “we're all going to be sitting in lifeboats.” “It's not really very funny when you think about it,” Buckley said during a Friday interview on the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast. This latest effort skewers the Trump administration and its various enablers, including a South Carolina senator modeled after Lindsey Graham named Squigg Lee Biskitt “whose ability to adapt was beyond even Darwin's imagination.”

New York's hungry rats torment alfresco diners after lockdown famine

New York City is starting to tentatively emerge from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic but a revival in outdoor restaurant dining is facing a new hazard – a plague of rats. Diners are facing a surge in rat activity following a lockdown period where the rodents were cut off from key food sources as businesses including restaurants and grocery stores shut down, forcing rats to battle for snacks and even eat each other. Since 22 June, New York City restaurants have been allowed to serve people again in outdoor settings, prompting sidewalks and car parking spaces to be dotted with tables and chairs.

Russian accused of harassing Black family in Oregon was ordered deported 10 years ago

One of the seven men arrested after police said they harassed a Black family at an Oregon beach was ordered deported to Russia a decade ago, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oleg Saranchuk and six other men were arrested on July 4 after they were accused of yelling racial slurs and made a Nazi salute at a Black family at a Lincoln City beach, according to the Lincoln City Police Department. Saranchuk initially refused to identify himself to the police.

Protesters Confront Pittsburgh Police in Riot Gear During Demonstration

Protesters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, confronted police in riot gear during a Black Lives Matter demonstration on July 11. Marchers chanted for Antwon Rose on Saturday to commemorate what would have been his 19th birthday. Rose was shot and killed by a Pittsburgh police officer in 2018.

Parents face dilemma as US schools seek to reopen

With the start of the US school year only weeks away, Marina Avalos still has no idea how or where her 7-year-old daughter will attend classes. Like many mothers, Avalos is reluctant to send her child back to school at a time when coronavirus across the country has surged past three million cases, including 130,000 deaths. On Tuesday, California -- where she lives -- set a new daily cases record, with 11,694 infections.

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  Disney World reopens even as coronavirus cases soar in Florida and across U.S.

  NBC News
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  ‘Inviting Disaster’: Disney World Reopening Inspires Worry From Health Experts, Optimism From Some Workers

  Variety

Pompeo slams UN report on deadly US drone strike on Iranian

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent U.N. human rights expert's report insisting a American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a “watershed” event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes.

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  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Comments on Banning Tik Tok

  Meredith Videos
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  President Trump Confirmed He's "Looking At" Banning TikTok

  Seventeen

Nile Dam row: Egypt and Ethiopia generate heat but no power

The recent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss Ethiopia's huge hydro-electric plant, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), straddling the Blue Nile, was held by teleconference. The Gerd, which sits on the Nile's main tributary, is upstream of Egypt and has the potential to control the flow of water that the country almost entirely relies on. Using similar language, Ethiopia's UN ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie countered: "For Ethiopia, accessing and utilising its water resources is not a matter of choice, but of existential necessity."