- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Trump Invited Himself to Denmark Before Canceling Trip, Danes Say
Speaking to reporters on the White House's South Lawn in late July, President Donald Trump revealed that he was “looking at” a stop in Denmark after an upcoming trip to Poland to attend a World War II commemorative ceremony. For officials in Copenhagen, the comment came as a surprise. Although it is customary in Denmark for there to be a standing invitation for the U.S. president—and though officials in both countries had been discussing the possibility of an American delegation visiting—no formal invitation had actually been extended to Trump, according to two senior Danish officials and an individual who works closely with the Trump administration in Copenhagen.
- NewsAssociated Press
North Dakota court overturns life term in cut from womb case
A judge overstepped by giving a life prison sentence to a man whose girlfriend cut the baby from the womb of an unsuspecting neighbor, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, ordering that the man be resentenced. William Hoehn, of Fargo, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the August 2017 attack on Savanna Greywind, who died of her injuries but whose baby survived. Hoehn's girlfriend, Brooke Crews, admitted that she sliced Greywind's baby from her womb.
- NewsBusiness Insider
The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space.
The link between fires and climate change Individual wildfires and heat waves can't be directly linked to climate change, but accelerated warming increases their likelihood, size, and frequency. July was the hottest month ever recorded, period. The month prior, meanwhile, was the hottest June ever in Earth's history, with temperatures nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-U.S. will aggressively enforce sanctions over Iran tanker -State Dept official
The United States will aggressively enforce its sanctions to prevent the private sector from assisting an Iranian oil tanker that is traveling through the Mediterranean and that Washington wants seized, a State Department official said on Thursday. "The shipping sector is on notice that we will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions," the official told Reuters days after warning countries not to allow the tanker to dock. Ship tracking data has shown the ship, Adrian Darya, formerly called Grace 1, last heading toward Greece, although Greece's prime minister said it was not heading to his country.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Beto O’Rourke: As president, I’d institute a mandatory buyback of assault weapons
On Aug. 3, my hometown of El Paso, Texas — one of the safest cities in America — was attacked in one of the deadliest mass shootings in our country's modern history. Some of the nurses, surgeons and doctors heroically treating victims at Del Sol and University Medical Center in El Paso told me they hadn't seen such horrific wounds since they were deployed abroad in our armed forces, saving the lives of soldiers on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. Some believe that our country is too divided to bring about this kind of change, and in a country where politicians are beholden to the National Rifle Association, I can understand their skepticism.
- WorldINSIDER
A Mexican judge says 2 people can legally use cocaine — but they can't buy or sell it
Mexico United Against Crime said in a press release on Tuesday that the rulings open the door for a larger debate about legalizing cocaine, and whether law enforcement should focus its resources on violent crime rather than drug use. A court in Mexico has granted two people the legal right to carry and use cocaine in a landmark case launched by a pro-legalization group. Mexico United Against Crime announced on Tuesday that a court in Mexico City had granted two injunctions ordering the government to allow plaintiffs to "possess, transport and use cocaine," but not to sell or buy it, AFP reported.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoFlorida set to execute serial killer who preyed on gay men
A serial killer who preyed on older gay men during an eight-month spree that left six dead on or near the East Coast is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening.
BusinessAFPAlbania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists
Albanian officials on Wednesday razed a beachfront restaurant whose owner was captured on camera attacking a car rented by Spanish tourists, as the country scrambles to clean up its reputation as a burgeoning holiday destination. The incident, filmed by the victims' tour guide from inside their vehicle, took place at the weekend in Porto-Palermo on the Ionian coast in southern Albania, a popular tourist spot. The restaurant owner, 51-year-old Mihal Kokedhima, was arrested and faces trial for "verbally assaulting a group of Spanish tourists for futile reasons", damaging their car and causing minor injuries, police said.
- WorldThe Independent
Brexit: Boris Johnson warned US trade deal 'highly unlikely' if Ireland has hard border
A post-Brexit trade deal with the US would be "highly unlikely" if there is a hard border on the island of Ireland, Boris Johnson has been warned. The Congressional Friends of Ireland, a group in the US Congress which supports and promotes peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, has written to the prime minister warning that it will oppose any US-UK trade deal if it risks undermining the Good Friday Agreement. Any trade deal that put that in jeopardy would be "highly unlikely", it said.
- WorldNational Review
U.S. Drone Shot Down over Yemen
A U.S. drone was shot down over Yemen late on Tuesday by a surface-to-air missile, U.S. officials said. Officials believe Iran provided Houthi rebels with the missile, which downed the U.S. military MQ-9 drone southeast of Sanaa, capital of Yemen. The U.S. is expected to publicly chastise Iran for the occurrence.
- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: Texas executes man in college student's death
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to halt the scheduled execution of a Texas inmate who maintains his innocence and contends his murder conviction for killing a suburban Houston college student was based on junk science. Larry Swearingen is set to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 1998 killing of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Her body was found about a month after she was seen leaving her campus.
- BusinessCar and Driver
2020 Chevy Bolt EV Gets More Driving Range
According to the EPA, the 2020 Chevy Bolt EV has an estimated driving range of 259 miles, up from 238 miles. Chevrolet isn't saying yet exactly what it did to achieve this improvement, but we hear it has to do with new chemistry for the lithium-ion battery pack. The 2020 Chevy Bolt EV will go further on a charge than before, with the EPA reporting that the electric hatchback's range goes up to 259 miles, from 238.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Newt Gingrich says slavery needs to be put 'in context,' calls 1619 project a 'lie'
WASHINGTON – Appearing on "Fox and Friends" on Monday morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that The New York Times' 1619 Project was "a lie." The 1619 Project is an effort by the Times to commemorate the 400th anniversary of slavery's beginning in America. The 1619 Project aims to "reframe the country's history, [understand] 1619 as our true founding, and [place] the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are."
- Businessmotorious
2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 Is A Wild Pony
The 2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 is a perfect example of how far the modern Mustang can be pushed, and this gorgeous, one-owner Roush Mustang will be auctioned off at no reserve by GAA Classic Cars. The highest of the Roush tuning levels, the Stage 3 transforms the Mustang into a track car. This starts by bolting a Roush supercharger atop the Mustang's 5.0-liter Coyote V8 resulting in 670 horsepower – a significant improvement over the 435 -horsepower Mustang GT.
- WorldReuters
Russia, China ask U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday over U.S. missile developments
Russia and China have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Thursday over "statements by U.S. officials on their plans to develop and deploy medium-range missiles," according to the request seen by Reuters. Moscow and Beijing want to convene the 15-member council under the agenda item "threats to international peace and security" and have requested that U.N. disarmament affairs chief Izumi Nakamitsu brief the body. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, the first such test since the United States pulled out Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
- PoliticsPolitico
Former Manafort deputy Rick Gates testifies against Greg Craig
Rick Gates, the former Trump deputy campaign chairman and a central witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, appeared in federal court again on Thursday to testify against former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig at his ongoing trial connected to a Ukraine-related legal project that Craig did involving Gates' former boss Paul Manafort. Gates' turn as a prosecution witness on Thursday morning was his first public court appearance since he took the stand a year ago at the trial of Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, on tax and bank fraud charges brought by Mueller. Gates served as Manafort's right-hand man for about a decade, including the period in 2012 when Manafort oversaw an in-depth review that Craig conducted of the widely criticized trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine on abuse-of-power charges.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
L.L. Bean's Huge End-of-Summer Sale Is Taking Up to 70% Off
Gear up for colder weather with jackets, fleece sweaters, boots, and more. From Popular Mechanics
WorldAFPIndia's ex-finance minister arrested at home in dramatic raid
High drama unfolded in New Delhi late Wednesday as officers from India's equivalent of the FBI scaled the walls of a former finance minister's home to arrest him on corruption charges, local media reported. Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alerted airports to prevent Palaniappan Chidambaram, finance minister from 2004-2008 and again from 2012-2014, from leaving the country. Chidambaram, 73, earlier this week failed to secure bail and had not been seen since Tuesday, until he showed up at the headquarters of the opposition Congress party on Wednesday to proclaim his innocence.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump dismisses criticism of his dual loyalty comments: 'It's only anti-Semitic in your head'
President Trump Wednesday expanded on his views about how Jews who vote for Democrats are “disloyal” and dismissed any criticism of his comments. When asked by a reporter on the White House lawn Wednesday afternoon if his comments were anti-Semitic, Trump dismissed the criticism. “Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” Trump said on Tuesday.
- NewsThe Independent
Six people aged 62 to 85 arrested for 'sexual activity' in woods after police surveillance operation
Six people aged 62 to 85 have been arrested after police officers went into the woods to watch them having sex. The group was arrested in a conservation area in Fairfield, Connecticut, which is some 87 acres in size. Police said they had found posts online advertising the Grace Richardson environmental preserve as somewhere to meet and have sex, according to the Associated Press news agency.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Sanders campaign boss concedes he may not win New Hampshire
The campaign manager for Bernie Sanders emphasized Thursday that New Hampshire is a critical presidential primary state he expects Sanders to win, but he's leaving room for a scenario in which Sanders falls short. Faiz Shakir said he doesn't "like the language of must-win," though he does believe it is an important early voting state. But he said he still thinks Sanders could win the Democratic nomination without taking New Hampshire, though he acknowledges that the path to victory would be more difficult if Sanders doesn't.
- NewsThe Guardian
We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it
As mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn't they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?
- NewsThe Daily Beast
Hispanic Journalism Group Boots Fox News Over Immigrant ‘Invasion’ Rhetoric
A major organization for Hispanic journalists on Thursday gave Fox News the boot from its upcoming conference in response to the network's use “invasion” rhetoric when discussing immigration. Fox News was set to appear as a sponsor at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' confab next month in San Antonio, but in a letter to the group's members, NAHJ President Hugo Balta said that invitation has been revoked. “The line between commentary and journalism was crossed long ago by Fox News and is no longer even in sight,” wrote Balta, who is currently an MSNBC senior producer.
- WorldReuters
Chinese state media says fentanyl abuse is entirely U.S. responsibility
Chinese state media on Friday hit back at claims by U.S. officials that China was failing to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances into the United States, saying that responsibility for opioid abuse lay with users. The United States was "pushing responsibility" for fentanyl abuse to China and ignoring that Beijing had implemented strict controls on the highly addictive synthetic opioid, reported The People's Daily newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party. U.S. officials say China is the main source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances that are trafficked into the United States, much of it through international mail.
- BusinessNational Review
China Buys American Soybeans after Vowing to Boycott U.S. Farm Products
China purchased a comparatively small amount of U.S. soybeans several days ago after promising to boycott U.S. farm products amid deteriorating trade negotiations with the Trump administration. Beijing reached agreements last week to buy 9,589 metric tons of American soybeans for the current marketing year and 66,000 metric tons for the following year, which starts September 1, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Thursday. An August 5 statement from China's Ministry of Commerce said Chinese companies would boycott American farm products in response to the Trump administration's heavy tariffs on Chinese products. In May, the White House upped tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent, claiming Beijing had reneged on the previously agreed terms of a trade deal. The U.S. also currently has a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese high-tech products.
