Why a Black man from Louisiana is serving a life sentence for stealing hedge clippers

According to Louisiana law, the crime of attempted simple burglary carries no more than 12 years behind bars, but because the 1997 offense was his fourth felony, Bryant, who is Black, received a life sentence in 2000. The justices declined to review the sentence, which was upheld by the state appeals court in 2019, according to the decision. One justice recused himself.

Trump calls audience at his Bedminster golf club a 'peaceful protest'

At a surprise press briefing Friday at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., President Trump said his audience of well-to-do supporters was involved in a “peaceful protest” and therefore did not need to adhere to state coronavirus guidelines prohibiting large gatherings. Trump was asked about his earlier assertion that the pandemic was “disappearing” by a reporter who noted that the crowd in attendance seemed to be violating New Jersey restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. “You're wrong on that because it's a political activity and they have exceptions, political activity and it's also a peaceful protest,” Trump responded.

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  Trump order could mean $400 in added unemployment benefits — but states would have to help

  Miami Herald
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  Trump signs executive actions on coronavirus economic relief

  NBC News

After fatal great white shark attack in Maine, debate intensifies over culling seals

Two weeks ago Maine recorded its first fatal great white shark attack. Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City, was splashing with her daughter approximately 20 yards off the coast of Bailey Island when a large shark, likely mistaking Holowach for a seal, struck her with such force that she was launched out of the water, witnesses said. Beaches across the Northeast have closed repeatedly in recent days after great white sharks were spotted swimming close to shore, a worrying trend that has led some people to suggest that states thin the population of seals, the sharks' primary source of food.

A woman claiming to be from the 'Freedom To Breathe Agency' filmed telling a grocery employee that she could face legal action for making people wear face masks

In a viral TikTok video, a woman claiming to be from an anti-mask group told a grocery store supervisor in Orange County, California, that she could face legal action for asking people to wear face coverings. The mask-less woman, who claimed she was from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency", was filmed giving the employee a piece of paper that stated she could go to prison for up to three to five years for telling customers to wear a mask. The "Freedom To Breathe Agency" is not a real governmental agency and has previously received a warning from the Department of Justice after it distributed fake "face mask exempt" cards.

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  I went to the movies for the first time post-lockdown, and even though most people took their masks off in the theater, I'd go back

  INSIDER
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  50 Face Masks You Can Buy to Support Charities

  Men's Health

French wildlife tourists among eight killed in Niger by gunmen

They were in the Koure region, which attracts tourists who want to see the last herds of giraffe in West Africa. The French presidency confirmed the deaths of the French citizens. President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone with his Niger counterpart Mahamadou Issoufou on Sunday, a statement said, without giving further details.

• 6 French citizens, 2 guides killed by gunmen at giraffe park

  Associated Press
• GOVERNOR OF NIGER'S TILLABERI REGION SAYS SIX FRENCH CITIZENS, TWO NIGERIENS KILLED BY ARMED BANDITS ON MOTORBIKES AROUND 65 KM FROM CAPITAL NIAMEY

  Reuters

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.

Coronavirus: Nine test positive at Georgia school where photo of crowded corridor went viral

Nine people have tested positive for Covid-19 at a Georgia high school just days after a photo of a packed hallway went viral. Six students and three staff members who were at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia last week have tested positive, according to a letter sent to parents on Saturday. The letter stated: "We have anticipated that Covid-19 would impact us as it has nearly every community, and the district has worked in partnership with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to proactively implement safety precautions and response plans.

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  Georgia college students stage 'die-in' to protest school opening plans: 'We are not dispensable'

  Yahoo Life
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  97,000 kids test positive for COVID-19 in two weeks, report says

  CBS News

Nasa drops 'colonial' nicknames for cosmic objects like 'Eskimo Nebula' and 'Siamese Twins Galaxies'

Nasa is to drop "colonial" and "insensitive" nicknames for cosmic objects, including the "Eskimo Nebula" and the "Siamese Twins Galaxies". The space agency said it had taken the decision to address "systemic discrimination and inequality" in science. From now on it will use the official International Astronomical Union designations for planets, stars, galaxies and other stellar bodies "in cases where nicknames are inappropriate."

Police Officer Fired After Allegedly Mishandling Explicit Photos of Slain University of Utah Student

A police officer in Logan, Utah, was fired after a state investigation concluded he “mishandled” explicit photographs that were used to extort University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey, the Logan Police Department announced Friday. In October 2018, 21-year-old McCluskey told the University of Utah Police Department that her ex-boyfriend Melvin Rowland was extorting her for money by threatening to release explicit photographs of her. She then sent those photographs to Officer Miguel Deras, the on-duty campus police officer, according to a report summarizing the Utah Department of Public Safety's (UDPS) investigation into Deras' conduct.

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.”

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.

A 17-year-old high school student developed an app that records your interaction with police when you're pulled over and immediately shares it to Instagram and Facebook

Aaditya Agrawal told Business Insider that he was compelled to create the app in part after a close friend of his, who is Black, was pulled over without cause. "You see it in the news all the time, but when it happens to one of your close friends — and he tells you how it felt for that to happen to him — then you understand the significance," he said. Accountability in law enforcement has been thrust into the national discourse surrounding how Black Americans are treated by police even more so since the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in May.

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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  Kerala plane crash: 'Black boxes' from Air India jet found

  BBC
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  Death toll in India plane accident rises

  Reuters Videos

A stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of fuel has breached and is leaking oil into the pristine, azure waters of the Indian Ocean

A stranded Japanese-owned oil tanker, sailing under the Panamanian flag, has breached and is flooding waters of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius with fuel. Mauritius is famous for its coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Authorities are racing against the clock to secure a stranded tanker carrying 4,000 tons of oil leaking fuel into waters near a tropical Indian Ocean island.

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  Grounded Mauritius ship operator apologises for oil leak

  Reuters
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  Mauritius races to contain oil spill, protect coastline

  Associated Press

Woman confronting vandals covered in paint during renewed Portland protests

Protesters in Portland allegedly threw white paint over a woman, as demonstrators clashed with police for a third consecutive day. On Friday, following two days of protests marred by vandalism, more than 200 people clashed with police, as two other Black Lives Matter protests marched peacefully through the city. As the peaceful demonstrations took place, a separate group gathered at a park in east Portland and marched to the local precinct.

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  Woman attempted to protect Portland police station as protesters throw paint

  USA TODAY
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  Woman Tries to Block Portland Protesters Targeting Police Station With Paint

  Storyful

Explosives expert: It's only a matter of time before human error leads to another Beirut blast

One of the world's leading experts on ammonium nitrate told The Daily Telegraph: “It's only a matter of time before something similar happens again.” Vyto Babrauskas, a fires and explosives forensics expert based in New York, said that there were tens of thousands sites around the world where the chemical was stored unsafely. About 2,750 tonnes ignited to devastate Beirut on Tuesday. In the UK, it is legal to store up to 1,250 tonnes.

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  Clean-up underway after devastating Beirut explosion

  Newsflare
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  Beirut explosion: Wedding video shows glass shatter behind bride and groom as blast hits

  The Independent

Nurse loses leg after she ignored pain to care for COVID patients

For weeks, frontline nurse Sette Buenaventura ignored the pain in her leg in order to focus on caring for coronavirus patients. Buenaventura, a 26-year-old nurse at Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester, told BBC News that she ignored a cramp in her right calf for two months while working on the virus frontlines. The pain made it difficult to walk, but Buenaventura assumed it was just a side effect of the long hours spent on her feet at the hospital.

Bars over schools: Why your kids will probably learn from home this fall

But he has not provided any federal guidance on how, exactly, schools can reopen safely and what the federal government will do in order to ensure that they are safely able to do so. Everyone is looking to our federal government to show some leadership here,” Duncan told lawmakers on Thursday, adding that it was unfair to ask school superintendents to make “life-or-death public health decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did issue a nine-page checklist for schools, but it contains broad, sometimes obvious recommendations, such as appointing a person to consult “local health officials about the school's approach to planning for COVID-19.

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  A Florida teacher wrote her own obituary, calling herself a 'human shield' as schools prepare to reopen

  INSIDER
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  Gov. Ricketts on educators protesting push to reopen schools amid COVID pandemic

  FOX News Videos

Injured cruise ship worker ‘forgotten’ after seven months in South Florida hotels

Though five repatriation flights for crew members have left since April, the company either did not respond to his pleas or said his repatriation was impossible at the time. After receiving questions from the Miami Herald on Friday about Córdova's situation, the company indicated it is going to send him home on Sept. We have been working with Mr. Córdova to get him home in a challenging international travel environment and currently understand the next opportunity to do so is on Sept.

Canada's last fully intact ice shelf has suddenly collapsed, forming a Manhattan-sized iceberg

Almost half of Canada's last remaining intact ice shelf has suddenly collapsed into the ocean. A massive chunk of Canada's last fully intact ice shelf, some 4,000 years old, has broken off, reducing the shelf by more than half, scientists reported last Sunday. This summer, the region's temperature was 9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1980 to 2010 average, Luke Copland, a glaciology professor at the University of Ottawa, told the Associated Press.

Venezuela: Former American soldiers jailed over failed coup

A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former American soldiers to 20 years in jail for trying to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. Luke Denman and Airan Berry were found guilty of conspiracy, illicit trafficking of weapons and terrorism. The pair were among 13 people arrested in May as they attempted to enter Venezuela by sea from Colombia.

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  Venezuela jails two Americans over failed 'invasion'

  AFP
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  Venezuelan court sentences two former US Green Berets to 20 years in prison for failed coup

  The Independent

Georgia Police Officers Investigated After Shooting at Minors During Traffic Stop

A Georgia family is accusing police officers of shooting at five children between the ages of 9 and 16 during a traffic stop on Saturday morning, according to a local news report. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident, which took place in Waycross, Ga., at around 8 a.m. According to the bureau, the incident unfolded after a Waycross Police Department officer saw the car carrying the children allegedly make a traffic violation at an intersection. As the car was stopped, three of the children, ages 9, 12 and 14 jumped out and ran away, according to the bureau.

Is France helping Lebanon, or trying to reconquer it?

It was almost as if Emmanuel Macron forgot that Lebanon is no longer a French protectorate. Visiting explosion-ravaged Beirut this week, France's leader comforted distraught crowds, promised to rebuild the city and claimed that the blast pierced France's own heart. “France will never let Lebanon go,” Macron said.

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  'You literally blew us up': Fury over fatal explosion fuels Lebanese protesters

  NBC News
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  'Lebanon's future is at stake': Macron

  Reuters Videos