WorldNBC NewsProtests in India mount after 4 men arrested in rape, murder of 9-year-old girl
Anger mounted in parts of India on Wednesday after four men were arrested on suspicion of rape and murder in the death of a 9-year-old girl, whose killing has brought into focus both rampant sexual violence and caste prejudice in the country. The girl, who has not been named by authorities and belonged to the Dalit community, one of Hinduism's most oppressed castes, was found dead near a Delhi crematorium on Sunday night, Ingit Singh from Delhi Police's South West District told NBC News over the telephone. Protests have been gathering momentum in the capital, New Delhi, since the news first broke of the child's killing.
U.S.AxiosJudge to Capitol rioter: Insurrection is "not patriotism"
A federal judge sentencing a Michigan man in D.C. Wednesday over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot dismissed any notion that he's a political prisoner. Driving the news: U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that she wasn't sentencing Karl Dresch, of Calumet, "because he is a supporter" of former President Trump, noting that "millions of people" had voted for him "and did not heed his call to descend on the nation's Capitol," per the Detroit News. "You called yourself and everyone else patriots, but that's not patriotism," Judge Amy Berman Jackson said to Dresch, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering the Capitol, according to CNN.
PoliticsWashington ExaminerMark Levin says Biden should be removed from office
Mark Levin says it is time to start talking about using impeachment or the 25th Amendment against President Joe Biden to remove the "most disastrous president in modern American history" from office. The conservative commentator, who commands a large following on the Right, took aim at Biden's handling of the border situation and the coronavirus pandemic, making the case to fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday that the Democratic commander in chief violated the Constitution. After a series of insults, Levin said Biden has "the border wide open in violation of our immigration laws" and invoked the administration's eviction moratorium, which came this week despite a Supreme Court decision in June ruling an earlier eviction moratorium could only be extended by Congress.
U.S.Associated PressRaging wildfire destroys much of California Gold Rush town
A wind-driven wildfire tore through a Northern California mountain town, leaving much of the downtown in ashes as crews braced for another explosive run of flames in the midst of dangerous weather. The Dixie Fire, swollen by bone-dry vegetation and 40-mph gusts, raged through the northern Sierra Nevada town of Greenville Wednesday evening. A gas station, hotel and bar were among many structures gutted in the town, which dates to California's Gold Rush era and has some buildings more than a century old.
U.S.AxiosAnti-mask, anti-vax protests using Holocaust imagery draw outrage
Jewish groups are condemning the use of Holocaust comparisons by people opposing coronavirus vaccination and mask-wearing. The big picture: Cities across the country are seeing protests against vaccination and masking requirements amid a surge in COVID-19 cases thanks to the Delta variant and pressures to reopen schools and businesses. Driving the news: Oklahoma GOP chairman John Bennett on Friday, in a Facebook post, compared companies requiring employees to get vaccines to Nazi Germany forcing Jews to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothes.
U.S.Washington ExaminerCNN airs hot pursuit for Florida doctor accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation
A CNN team did not let the hot summer weather in Florida get in its way of tracking down a doctor accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19. A segment that aired Wednesday night showed all the steps taken to secure an interview with Joseph Mercola, who the New York Times identified as being among a group of "superspreaders of anti-vaccine content" with his online posts, citing researchers and regulators who have scrutinized the information the doctor has shared with his followers. CNN reporter Randi Kaye showed her journey in seeking out Mercola to "ask him about the misinformation" related to the coronavirus, which included stops at his office in Cape Coral and his gated home.
PoliticsWashington ExaminerWhite House says Biden sexual assault allegation 'heavily litigated during the campaign'
The White House dismissed a sexual assault allegation against President Joe Biden as “heavily litigated during the campaign” when asked if he should face the same kind of sexual harassment investigation as embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. At Wednesday's White House briefing, reporters asked press secretary Jen Psaki whether the assault accusation leveled by former Biden Senate aide Tara Reade and complaints of inappropriate touching and behavior, such as allegedly skinny dipping in front of female Secret Service agents, would merit an “independent investigation.” “I would say the president has been clear and outspoken about the importance of women being respected and having their voices heard and being allowed to tell their stories and people treating them with respect,” Psaki replied.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael launches airstrikes on Lebanon in response to rockets
Israel on Thursday escalated its response to rocket attacks this week by launching rare airstrikes on Lebanon, the army and Lebanese officials said. The Israeli army said in a statement that jets struck the launch sites from which rockets had been fired over the previous day, as well as an additional target used to attack Israel in the past. The IDF blamed the state of Lebanon for the shelling and warned “against further attempts to harm Israeli civilians and Israel's sovereignty.”
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John Kerry says Donald Trump destroyed the U.S.'s credibility on climate change
Special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry explained in an interview that former President Donald Trump's actions caused other countries to be wary of trusting America on climate change.
U.S.AxiosFauci says he fears a COVID variant worse than Delta could be coming
If America's current COVID-19 surge continues unabated into the fall and winter, the country will likely face an even more deadly strain of the virus that could evade the current coronavirus vaccines, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told McClatchy Wednesday. Why it matters: Fauci's comments underscore the importance of acting quickly to vaccinate the tens of millions of Americans who have not been inoculated against the virus. The current surge in coronavirus cases nationwide is being driven by the Delta variant, which is already more contagious than the original strain of the virus.
U.S.LA Times'Running out of options': California resorts to water cutoffs as drought worsens
California water regulators took unprecedented action this week, passing an emergency regulation that will bar thousands of Californians from diverting stream and river water as the drought worsens. The watershed encompasses a wide swath of the state, from the Oregon border in northeastern California down into the Central Valley. The regulation — which gives the state water board the authority to issue emergency curtailments and require reporting on water use — will go into effect about two weeks from now, subject to approval by the state Office of Administrative Law, with the issuing of formal curtailment orders to follow.
WorldAssociated PressAirstrikes pummel Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan
U.S. and Afghan airstrikes hit Taliban targets overnight in southern Helmand province in an effort to dislodge the insurgents after they captured much of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, officials said Wednesday. The Taliban have waged a fierce push over the past months as U.S. and NATO forces complete their pullout from the war-torn country. Ghulam Wali Afghan, a lawmaker from Helmand, told The Associated Press that his relatives and constituents in Lashkar Gah have told him of bodies in the streets and residents hiding inside their homes, too afraid to venture out and collect the dead.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestMore Inside a Fantastical Amsterdam Penthouse Full of Whimsy
Thanks to the avant-garde antics of design wonder Job Smeets, the home of Viktor & Rolf's Rolf Snoeren puts a smile on his face from morning to night Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAxiosInside a Kamala Harris crisis dinner
A group of the Democratic Party's most influential women met for dinner at a home in the nation's capital last month to game out how to defend Vice President Kamala Harris and her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, against a torrent of bad press. Why it matters: It's telling that so early in the Biden-Harris administration, such powerful operatives felt compelled to try to right the vice president's ship. Nobody from the vice president's office was at the dinner, but Harris is attuned to her outside network of supporters.
U.S.Kansas City StarMissouri’s incompetent attorney general wears no mask — and has no clothes
This week Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt attacked St. Louis officials for trying to protect their city's residents from COVID-19 illness and death. “Incompetence can't be masked,” Schmitt wrote, in what could be the most unintentionally autobiographical sentence in modern political history. Schmitt's performative pandering to the Republican base in hopes of winning higher office is not only craven, but dangerous: Now he's sued Kansas City, to prevent it from imposing a very limited mask requirement to slow the spread of the much more contagious delta variant of COVID-19.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden's new evictions moratorium faces legality doubts
President Joe Biden may have averted a flood of evictions and solved a growing political problem when his administration reinstated a temporary ban on evictions because of the COVID-19 crisis. The new eviction moratorium announced Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could run into opposition at the Supreme Court, where one justice in late June warned the administration not to act further without explicit congressional approval. Landlords from Alabama whose bid to lift the earlier pause on evictions failed returned to federal court in Washington late Wednesday, asking for an order that would allow evictions to resume.
WorldBBCMapping the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan
The resurgent Taliban have taken more territory in Afghanistan in the last two months than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001. Over the last 20 years, the control map of Afghanistan has been an ever-changing canvas. It appears the Taliban have been emboldened in recent weeks by the withdrawal of US troops - retaking many districts from government forces.
U.S.Miami HeraldCarnival Cruise Line will issue new mask and COVID-19 testing mandates for passengers
The resurgence of COVID-19 won't alter the return of Carnival Cruise Line's voyages, but the Doral-based cruise line plans to issue mask and testing mandates for its passengers, Carnival announced Wednesday. “These new requirements are being implemented to protect our guests and crew while on board, and to continue to provide confidence to our homeports and destinations that we are doing our part to support their efforts to protect public health and safety,” a statement from Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy read in part. With the usual “abundance of caution” softener and noting that other entertainment venues, including Disney parks, have going the same thing, Carnival said, “all guests will be asked to wear masks in certain indoor areas of Carnival's ships.”
U.S.Associated PressFire destroys cabin of New Hampshire man forced out of woods
But his off-the-grid existence has been challenged in court by a property owner who says he's been squatting for all those years. And to make Lidstone's matters worse, his cabin was burned to the ground Wednesday afternoon in a blaze that is being investigated by local authorities. Lidstone, or “River Dave” as he's known by boaters and kayakers, was jailed July 15 on a civil contempt sanction.
U.S.INSIDERChicago police officers raiding the wrong house pointed guns at two young girls, then tried to cover it up, lawsuit alleges
A Black family is suing the Chicago Police Department for what they say was a botched raid on their home. The lawsuit alleges officers pointed guns at two young girls, making them wet the bed. Several family members are showing PTSD symptoms after the botched raid, according to the lawsuit.
PoliticsThe GuardianTop Republicans move to protect Trump from Capitol attack fallout
Top Republicans in Congress are embarking on a new campaign of revisionism seven months after the attack on the Capitol, absolving Donald Trump of responsibility and blaming the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for the 6 January insurrection perpetrated by a mob of Trump supporters. And it should shock us all | Robert Reich Some House and Senate Republican leaders stated in the charged moments immediately following the attack that Trump was squarely to blame, and amid blood and shattered glass at the US Capitol, some even considered his removal.
U.S.USA TODAYA woman passed out after drinking. A man dumped her in the cold to die, court docs say.
An Indianapolis man charged in a woman's death in the cold behind a laundromat in February told police he dragged the woman into the snow after she fell asleep while they were "hanging out and drinking" in his car, court records show. Justin Holman, 36, was charged with reckless homicide more than four months after police found 50-year-old Shanel Smith dead in a snowbank behind a laundromat in the early hours of Feb. 19. Surveillance video from the night, obtained by IndyStar, shows a man dragging a seemingly unresponsive Smith out of the passenger seat of a black sedan before throwing the woman's belongings next to her and driving away.
PoliticsTheGrioWhy Nina Turner, the real ‘establishment,’ lost Ohio Democratic primary race
It doesn't get more Establishment than that, which is ultimately why Turner lost the election. These were the kinds of conversations and messages I was getting from people in Cleveland during the campaign: “My sister went to school with Shontel, and I just don't like that “Hello Somebody” thing, [From Turner] it sounds forced! Nina Turner had burned a lot of bridges in local Cleveland politics years ago, and voters have long memories.
LifestyleLos Angeles Times OpinionLetters to the Editor: A social psychologist explains why vaccine mandates are essential
To the editor: Consider the cognitive dissonance of anti-vaccine holdouts. "Separate restaurants for vaccinated and not? It may come to that," column, July 31) They have spent months marshaling their views, with the support of their friends and chosen conspiracy websites.
U.S.Business InsiderThe US sailor accused of torching a warship that burned for 4 days is a failed SEAL candidate who 'hated' the Navy and posted about napalm on Instagram: affidavit
The Daily Beast obtained documents naming Ryan Mays as the suspect in the USS Bonhomme Richard fire. According to an affidavit, Mays dropped out of SEAL training and expressed hate for the Navy. A fellow sailor told investigators he saw Mays entering the area where the fire started.
“If nothing else, Tokyo 2020 may end up being remembered as the wake-up call everyone needed.”
“Cancel the Olympics—for good.”
“Olympians haven’t really changed. These athletes still showcase extraordinary human achievement from around the world.”
“Delivering more excellence and less sideshow will probably require giving athletes a bigger voice in how the Olympics are run.”
“The Olympics were conceived in 1896 as a sporting event, and they’ve become a construction event.”