Conspiracy-mongering Republican seeking John Lewis seat gets social media boost from Trump

On Thursday evening, amid a fairly typical burst of presidential Twitter activity, President Trump retweeted two recent posts from the account of Angela Stanton-King, a Republican congressional candidate who has repeatedly used her social media feeds to promote content related to QAnon and other fringe conspiracy theories, including wildly implausible internet rumors about sex trafficking of children. Trump has also flirted with QAnon memes on social media, although his retweets of Stanton-King were not related to the loosely knit group whose followers have been described by the FBI as “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists.” In the first tweet, which was originally posted last week, Stanton-King describes herself as “a proud Black woman who supports @realDonaldTrump” and is “done with the Democrat Party lying to my community.”

Out of work and with families to feed, some Americans are lining up at food banks for the first time in their lives

As tens of millions of Americans have lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, food banks across the country say they are facing an unprecedented surge in demand, comparable to a hurricane hitting the entire country at the same time. “I've been in food banking for 24 years, and in my tenure I've never seen such a dramatic increase in need literally overnight,” said Lisa Scales of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, referring to the initial spike in distribution in March, when the shutdowns started. Across the country, Americans who've never had to rely on food assistance before are turning to local organizations for aid.

The Russian owner who abandoned the ship full of ammonium nitrate that caused the Beirut explosion has been questioned by police in Cyprus, reports say

Hasenpusch/picture alliance via Getty Images/Business Insider Igor Grechushkin, the Russian owner of the ship that carried a huge cargo of explosives to Beirut, which exploded years later, was questioned by Cypriot police on Thursday, reports say. Grechushkin abandoned the MV Rhosus and its cargo of 2,750 tons of explosive ammonium nitrate in 2014. Lebanese authorities impounded the cargo until Tuesday's catastrophic explosion.

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  No Beirut blast inquiry request, says U.N. after Macron call for probe

  Reuters
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  Anti-Government Protests Resume in Lebanon as Anger Mounts Following Beirut Blast

  Storyful

George Floyd: US protesters charged as 'gang' face life sentence

Protesters in Utah who splashed paint on a prosecutor's office could be given life sentences after they were accused of acting as a "gang". Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill, whose office was targeted by Black Lives Matter marchers issued the charges. Critics, including the city's mayor, have called the felony charges excessive.

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  Black Lives Matter protesters facing life imprisonment for smashing windows in Utah demonstration

  The Independent
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  Utah protesters face potential life sentence due to "gang" law

  CBS News

Partisan divide among Americans who believe 'it is safe now' to reopen persists as COVID-19 cases rise, survey finds

Currently, 32% of Republicans believe it's safe now to hold elections where many people vote in-person, according to a survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project. Comparatively, only 10% of Democrats believe it's safe now to hold elections. When people were asked if it will be safe to hold elections in a couple of weeks, months or more than six months, Republicans tended to be more open to the idea of reopening sooner than Democrats.

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  Report card: This is what schools reopening across America looked like this week

  Yahoo Life
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  Across US, communities grapple with decision to reopen schools

  ABC News Videos

New York is moving homeless people into luxury hotels to protect them against coronavirus and wealthy neighbourhoods aren't happy

But in recent days, residents of some wealthier areas of New York where some of the hotels are located have complained about what they describe as anti-social behaviour and drug use by homeless people in their neighbourhoods. In the Upper West Side, where the median house price is more than $1.8m, some residents have started a Facebook group to express their displeasure over the use of three high-end hotels in the area. Our community is terrified, angry and frightened,” one member of the 'Upper West Siders For Safer Streets' group told the New York Post.

US: Border tunnel appears to be 'most sophisticated'

An incomplete tunnel found stretching from Mexico to Arizona appears to be “the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history," authorities said. The tunnel intended for smuggling ran from a neighborhood in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, to San Luis, Arizona, where it stopped short of reaching the surface. It was built in an area that's not conducive to tunnels because of the terrain, and it had a ventilation system, water lines, electrical wiring, a rail system and extensive reinforcement, federal officials say.

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  U.S. official says tunnel at Mexico border appears to be 'most sophisticated'

  Yahoo News Video
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  ICE agents discover ‘most sophisticated’ drug tunnel in US history

  ABC News Videos

Putin’s Got Big Problems in Russia’s Provinces

MOSCOW—The city of Khabarovsk, a sprawling, industrial metropolis about 5,000 miles east of the capital—the Bolsheviks turned it into a hub for serving Siberian prison camps, in the middle of nowhere by design—is about as far from the seat of Russian power as geographically possible. Despite the Kremlin's best efforts to hide them, problems have been bubbling up in Russia's provinces, transforming local issues into the most dynamic arena for dissent, protest, and opposition in the country's political system and fueling Russia's version of post-lockdown unrest. The arrest of Khabarovsk's popular regional governor sparked the anti-Putin uprising that has drawn up to 60,000 people into the streets in this usually sleepy backwater.

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  New protests held against arrest of popular Russian governor

  Associated Press
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  Tens of thousands in fresh anti-Kremlin rally

  AFP

Protests turns ugly in Beirut as demonstrators take aim at political elite after massive explosion

Police in Beirut fired volleys of teargas and rubber bullets tonight as furious demonstrations in the aftermath of the massive explosion in the city's port that killed more than 150 turned ugly. A group of around 200, including retired army officers, stormed the foreign ministry, proclaiming it to be the new headquarters of the 'revolution' and calling on the government to resign. As a stampede of people sprinted away from the demonstration to regroup, one protester screamed: “They are trying to kill us.”

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  Beirut Blast Captured From Car Traveling Toward Port Area

  Storyful
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  Anti-Government Protests Resume in Lebanon as Anger Mounts Following Beirut Blast

  Storyful

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota rally to be blocked at tribal land checkpoints

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota's 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will not be allowed through Cheyenne River Sioux checkpoints, a spokesman for the Native American group said on Saturday. The decision to prevent access across tribal lands to the annual rally, which could attract as many as 250,000 bikers amid fears it could lead to a massive, regional coronavirus outbreak, comes as part of larger Covid-19 prevention policy. The policy has pitted seven tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation against federal and state authorities, which both claim the checkpoints are illegal.

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  Coronavirus fears as 250,000 bikers pour into South Dakota city for 10-day event

  The Independent
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  Pandemic just a bump in the road for Sturgis motorcycle rally

  Reuters

Kerala plane crash: 18 dead after Air India plane breaks in two at Calicut

An Air India Express plane with 190 people on board has crashed at an airport in the southern state of Kerala, killing at least 18 people, officials say. The Boeing 737, en route from Dubai, skidded off the runway in rain and broke in two after landing at Calicut airport, aviation officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "pained by the plane accident".

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  Chaotic scenes at India airport after plane skids off runway and breaks into two, killing passengers

  Newsflare
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  Survivors of deadly India crash say plane swayed violently

  Associated Press

GOP appeals after Judge dismisses lawsuit over House's proxy voting system established due to COVID-19

WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a Republican-led lawsuit aiming to halt an unprecedented proxy voting system established by the House of Representatives due to the coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the House was immune from such a legal challenge. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia by nearly two dozen House Republicans – led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. in May, argued the proxy voting rules violated the U.S. Constitution because under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present to take up business and vote on legislation.

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  Don McGahn: Democrats can subpoena Trump's former White House counsel, court rules

  The Independent
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  Court rules House can enforce McGahn subpoena, but law professors say Trump's stalling already did its job

  The Week

Portland Police Chief Slams ‘Incomprehensible’ Violence, Says Rioters Target Local Officers with Mortars and Commercial-Grade Fireworks

Portland police chief Chuck Lovell slammed “incomprehensible” violence on Thursday after rioters moved to target city police precincts. Riots in Portland have been ongoing since the May death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers. Rioters targeted the city's federal courthouse for two months, assaulting federal officers with explosives and in some cases shining lasers to blind officers.

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  Portland Woman Quits Her Job to Protest for 69 Days Straight

  Inside Edition CBS
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  Protesters rally in Portland as mayor decries violence

  AOL Associated Press

Italian valley evacuated as cathedral-sized glacier slips

A melting glacier as large as a cathedral is at risk of breaking apart due to a heatwave, forcing the evacuation of part of an Italian alpine valley. The alarm was raised on Wednesday afternoon when experts in helicopters realised that the Planpincieux glacier, at an altitude of about 2,800 metres in the Ferret Valley in the Mont Blanc massif, was slipping dangerously. A heatwave has created a layer of water under the glacier, which is made up of about 500 cubic metres of ice - roughly the size of the Milan cathedral - making it more prone to a break.

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  Italian glacier at high risk for collapse

  AccuWeather
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  Italian valley still in 'red zone' as Mont Blanc glacier threatens collapse

  AFP

A Sampling of Work From Mexico City’s Top Talents 

A look at some of the design coming out of the cultural capital Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

CIA analysts reportedly told the White House there's 'no evidence' the Chinese government has accessed TikTok data

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images CIA analysts told the White House that though it is possible for the Chinese government to access TikTok user data, there is "no evidence" that it has done so, per a New York Times report. However, President Trump still moved forward with an executive order Thursday night prohibiting US companies from doing business with not only TikTok's parent company ByteDance but also WeChat, a popular app for Chinese citizens. The executive order goes into effect on Sept.

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  Dollar climbs after jobs data but logs seventh straight weekly fall

  Reuters
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  TikTok claims Trump's executive order banning video app is 'illegal'

  The Independent

How Is New York Having Crazy Parties With No COVID Surge?

Spectacular scenes of COVID-19 recklessness have emerged from New Jersey in recent weeks, alarming state leaders into implementing new restrictions to curb the tide of rising coronavirus cases and prompting plenty of snickering about the Jersey Shore. New Jersey and New York have had similar regulations, travel restrictions, and contact tracing efforts. Giant, raucous boat parties in New York are making headlines, too.

Fort Hood commander's transfer on hold amid investigations

Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division. Command of a division is a key step in an Army officer's career.

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  'We let her down': Army secretary vows changes after Vanessa Guillén killing

  NBC News
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  Vanessa Guillén Was One Of Many Soldiers To Be Brutalized & Killed At Fort Hood

  Refinery29

Organizational changes at Postal Service come amid slowdown concerns

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who is facing pressure from Congress over mail delays and concerns about how the U.S. Postal Service would handle mail-in voting during the November presidential election, is shaking up the agency's organizational structure. New managerial appointments came with the removal or reassignment of nearly two dozen postal leaders, illustrated by a new list of executive leaders but not expressly noted by the U.S. Postal Service's statement on the shakeup. “This organizational change will capture operating efficiencies by providing clarity and economies of scale that will allow us to reduce our cost base and capture new revenue,” DeJoy said in the statement.

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  Democrats attack postmaster general over cuts amid fears of election mail-in voting delays

  The Telegraph
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  Postal Service loses $2.2B in 3 months as virus woes persist

  Associated Press

Former US soldiers sentenced to 20 years for bungled Venezuelan coup plot

A Venezuelan court sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro, prosecutors announced late on Friday. Former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by a third ex-US soldier who remains in the United States, Venezuelan's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter. "THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS," Saab wrote, adding that the case will continue for dozens of other defendants.

• Venezuela court jails two U.S. ex-soldiers for 20 years after failed incursion

  Reuters
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  Ex-Green Berets sentenced to 20 years for Venezuela attack

  Associated Press

Should Judge Sullivan Be Disqualified from Flynn Case? An Appeals Court Is Asking

At the time, that court's three-judge panel had not yet heard oral argument on Michael Flynn's mandamus petition — i.e., Flynn's request that the panel find that federal district judge Emmet Sullivan was acting lawlessly. Sullivan had not only failed to grant the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn; he had appointed a former federal judge (the overtly anti-Trump John Gleeson) to posit the argument abandoned by DOJ — to wit, that Flynn should proceed to sentencing because he had pled guilty to a false-statements charge, waiving his right to contest the case any further in exchange for the government's agreement not to file any other charges.