- NewsUSA TODAY
Florida man bashes elderly woman with mallet, sets her aflame while delivering for Best Buy
A Florida delivery man was arrested in the death of an elderly woman Monday after he attacked her and set her on fire, authorities say. The Boca Raton Police Department confirmed in a press release that Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder, arson and armed burglary. He admitted to police that he bashed the victim on the side of the head with a wooden mallet before dousing her in a liquid chemical found in the garage, according to the affidavit, but he denied knowing what had ignited the fire.
- TechnologyBusiness Insider
Bernie Sanders wants to completely ban cops using facial recognition tech from firms like Amazon
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has made facial recognition part of his campaign platform. As part of a sweeping set of promises on criminal justice reform, Sanders says he will ban the use of facial recognition by police. Facial recognition tech, including Amazon's Rekognition software, is already being trialled by police forces, and has been the subject of fierce opposition from civil rights groups, AI experts, and Amazon's own employees.
- WorldThe Independent
China could ‘render US military bases useless’ within hours of conflict in Asia, report says
China's military could use missiles to overwhelm American military bases in Asia within hours, a think tank has warned. The US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific is “in the throes of an unprecedented crisis”, according to a report from the United States Studies Center, at the University of Sydney in Australia. The report said China has deployed a “formidable array of precision missiles and other counter-intervention systems to undercut America's military primacy” in the region.
- NewsNational Review
CNN Pundit’s Bodyguard Charged with Assault after Removing Reporter Covering Her Speech
CNN pundit April Ryan's security guard has been charged with assault after he forcibly removed a local New Jersey reporter from an event at which Ryan was delivering a speech. Charlie Kravotil, editor of New Brunswick Today, claims that Ryan's bodyguard, 30-year-old Joel Morris, approached him during Ryan's speech at The Heldrich Hotel on August 3 and stole his camera after he refused to stop filming. A video of the incident shows Kravotil, who secured press credentials for the event, following Morris into the lobby of the hotel to retrieve his camera.
WorldAFPSpain sends navy to save migrants as Italian justice intervenes
Spain on Tuesday deployed a naval patrol boat to pick up migrants on a charity rescue boat that has been stranded off Italy's Lampedusa island for days after numerous people jumped overboard in a desperate bid to swim ashore. Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio also ordered the Open Arms charity vessel preventatively seized after inspecting the Spanish boat on which migrants have spent 19 days and "given the difficult situation on board", a judicial source said. Against the backdrop of a major political crisis in Italy, Patronaggio intervened as part of his probe into alleged kidnapping and refusing to obey orders targeting far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
- LifestyleDelish
Boycott the Oven With These Summer Slow Cooker Recipes
For those 'not turning on the oven today' moods. From Delish
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Fox News Guest: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Have ‘Grotesque Holocaust Envy’
Reacting to the controversy surrounding Israel's decision to deny entry to Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a Fox News guest said on Monday night that the two Muslim congresswomen have “Holocaust envy” because they're “Islamists. Appearing on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Qanta Ahmed—who has written for The Daily Beast in the past—blasted the two progressive lawmakers over their Monday press conference in which they denounced the travel restrictions and claimed Israel was suppressing voices of dissent.
- BusinessReuters
U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo
The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. In an interview with MSNBC, Pompeo said the U.S. government was confident it could continue with its strategy. The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Woman in video of Prince Andrew at Jeffrey Epstein's house is daughter of ex-Australian prime minister
The daughter of a former Australian prime minister was drawn into the scandal surrounding the Duke of York as it was claimed that Jeffrey Epstein boasted about his friendship with the royal to his alleged victims. Katherine Keating, 37, was identified as the mystery brunette seen waving goodbye to the Duke as she left Epstein's house in New York in 2010. Meanwhile, three new alleged victims sued Epstein's estate for damages.
- NewsUSA TODAY
A Florida man fed a kinkajou. The next morning, the 'super aggressive' exotic creature attacked him
Florida wildlife officials say a man was attacked last month by a kinkajou, a small, raccoon-like animal native to Central and South America. Michael Litersky, 37, noticed the exotic creature outside his girlfriend's home in Lake Worth on the night before the attack and left it some watermelon, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission. When he opened the door to leave for work the next day around 5:45 a.m., the kinkajou was waiting for him.
- U.S.KABC – Los Angeles
VIDEO: Fresno police officer punches teen multiple times
Allegations of excessive force are being aimed at a police officer in Fresno after bodycam video shows a teen being repeatedly punched.
- WorldAssociated Press
Syrian army besieges insurgents and Turkish troops in Hama
Syrian government forces marching from different directions in southern parts of the opposition-controlled province of Idlib met around sunset Wednesday, laying siege to several rebel-held towns and villages as well as a Turkish army post, a Syrian opposition war monitor and pro-government activists said. The rapid advance by the Syrian army in the northwestern province marks a major blow for insurgents in their last remaining stronghold in Idlib, which has been subjected to a government offensive for the past three months. The new gains by the government came amid intense aerial and ground bombardments during which troops advanced in southern parts of Idlib, which is home to some 3 million people, many of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country.
- NewsThe Independent
US mental health staff warned not to contradict Trump after mass shootings
When Donald Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings that killed 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him. A Health and Human Services (HHS) directive on 5 August warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval. That alarmed some government mental health experts who said they felt muzzled at a moment many Americans were searching for answers to the US epidemic of mass shootings, said three agency employees.
WorldAFPHong Kong officers arrested for beating man in hospital
Two Hong Kong police officers were arrested Tuesday after a video emerged of them beating an older man on a hospital trolly, heaping further pressure on a force already facing accusations of brutality. The footage, recorded in late June, shows two uniformed officers assaulting the man with batons and holding a cloth over his mouth. "It is clear that the actions committed by the police officers concerned are unlawful," said police spokesman John Tse, adding that police viewed the video for the first time on Tuesday.
- CelebrityTime
Woman Taking Over a Subway for Her Glamorous Selfie Photoshoot Is the Latest Example of Knowing One's Worth
What lengths would you go to capture the perfect selfie? For Twitter user @jessiica_george, it meant commandeering her busy subway train, setting up the self-timer on her cellphone and then balancing said phone on a subway seat to get the perfect shot. The video has received over 8 million views since it was posted on Saturday and Jessica herself has weighed in on the moment via Twitter, where she thanked Ben for “making my day.” She also posted the content that everyone was dying to see: the glamorous selfies that she took during her subway self-timer selfie session.
- BusinessBGR News
Walmart sues Tesla after solar panels start bursting into flames on store roofs
In something of a bizarre story, Walmart is suing Tesla after solar panels it purchased from the EV company caught fire on a number of Walmart stores. As it stands now, Tesla solar panels can be found on as many as 240 Walmart stores across the country. Following a few incidents involving seemingly spontaneous fires, Walmart now wants Tesla to remove the solar panels and foot the bill for all the corresponding damage.
- WorldBusiness Insider
It looks like the Russians are trying to hide the truth about that nuclear accident in Nyonoksa
Evidence is mounting that Russia may be trying to cover up a tragic nuclear accident after a mysterious blast on August 8 killed at least seven people at a Russian naval weapons site. Russia has declined to say exactly what caused the deadly blast. Western experts and intelligence officials believe the Nyonoksa explosion was caused by a failed test of the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a very dangerous doomsday weapon that NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.
- WorldReuters
Philippines warns of 'unfriendly' greeting for uninvited warships
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned of "unfriendly" treatment for foreign ships travelling in the country's territorial waters without permission, in a rare swipe at China's use of warships just a few miles off Manila's coast. Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, on Tuesday made the demand for transparency amid frustration by the Philippine military at multiple sightings this year of Chinese warships moving within the country's 12 mile territorial sea, at various locations in the archipelago. "All foreign vessels passing our territorial waters must notify and get clearance from the proper government authority well in advance of the actual passage," Panelo said.
- WorldUSA TODAY
The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space
Forest fires in the Amazon are generating smoke that can be seen from space and may have caused a daytime blackout more than 1,700 miles away in the country's largest city. In the middle of the day Monday, the sky above São Paulo was blanketed by smoke from the wildfires raging in the Amazon region, according to local media reports. The smoke resulting from some of these wildfires was also captured in satellite images released by NASA last week. "The smoke did not come from fires from the state of São Paulo, but from very dense and wide fires that have been going on for several days in Rondônia and Bolivia.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
Bernie Sanders announces plan to double union membership if elected
Bernie Sanders has released plans to double union membership in the US during his first term in office as he campaigns to secure the Democratic presidential candidacy. Sanders' plan is an expansion of the Workplace Democracy Act, previously championed by the Vermont senator, and would also restore workers' rights to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions. No wonder inequality is booming | Steven Greenhouse Between 1983 and 2015, union membership declined by 2.9 million workers, as the number of wage and salary workers grew by nearly 50 million.
- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: Philadelphia police commissioner resigning
The Latest on the resignation of the Philadelphia Police commissioner (all times local): 6:40 p.m. A Philadelphia official says the resignation of Police Commissioner Richard Ross is related to allegations made by a corporal and a patrol officer against several department employees. Deana Gamble is a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Kenney.
- PoliticsPolitico
Trump team braces GOP donors for a potential ‘moderate and short’ recession
In private, they're increasingly worrying about a global economic slowdown triggering a U.S. recession — and weighing options to shore up the economy ahead of an election year. At a fundraising luncheon this week in Jackson, Wyo., headlined by both Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged the risks to the GOP elite behind closed doors. If the U.S. were to face a recession, it would be “moderate and short,” Mulvaney told roughly 50 donors, according to an attendee.
WorldAFPFrench model tycoon at heart of Epstein scandal accusations
A formerly powerful French modelling tycoon has emerged as a key figure in the scandal surrounding US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in jail while facing charges of sexually trafficking minors. Jean-Luc Brunel, regarded as a close friend and ally of the disgraced US financier, has been accused in court documents of procuring young girls for Epstein, as well as of rape. The model scout, an influential figure in the industry, has always been a low-profile figure and like some other former Epstein allies vanished after the financier was charged in early July.
- NewsTime
Parkland Shooting Survivors Just Proposed Aggressive New Gun Restrictions. Here's What's in Their Plan
March For Our Lives, the group founded by Parkland school shooting survivors, introduced an aggressive plan on Wednesday that calls for of sweeping gun restriction across the country. The proposals include raising the minimum age to buy a gun to 21, strengthening background checks and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Parkland school shooting survivor and co-founder of March for Our Lives, David Hogg, tweeted about the “Peace Plan for a Safer America” plan on Wednesday, saying that America has to “seismically shift how we respond to gun violence.
- BusinessBGR News
Huawei’s founder just sent a desperate but brutal memo to workers
When he was a younger man, Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei joined China's People's Liberation Army as an engineer, at one point heading out with the army for China's frigid north as part of a crew tasked with building a synthetic fiber factory. The overarching message was that employees of the company, which is the subject of a now stepped-up ban as of Monday, need to redouble their efforts if Huawei is to survive. Workers need to “either form a 'commando squad' to explore new projects — in which case they could be promoted to company commander if they do well,” Zhengfei wrote in the memo.
