PoliticsAxiosMcConnell: "Highly unlikely" he would allow Biden to fill Supreme Court vacancy in 2024
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that it is "highly unlikely" a Supreme Court nominee picked by Biden would be confirmed in 2024 if Republicans take control of the Senate. Why it matters: A record number of judges, plus three Supreme Court justices, were confirmed under Trump. What they're saying: Hewitt asked if McConnell would block Biden from filling a 2024 Supreme Court vacancy as he blocked Obama from replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
- U.S.Associated Press
Sheriff: Cashier fatally shot after argument over face masks
A grocery store cashier in the Atlanta area was killed and three other people were wounded Monday in a shooting that followed an argument over wearing face masks in the supermarket, authorities said. DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said the shooting occurred inside the Big Bear Supermarket in Decatur while several people were inside the business. "There was some confrontation, argument — I'm not sure exactly what — in reference to the wearing of masks, at which time the subject pulled out a weapon and shot the cashier," Maddox said at a news conference.
PoliticsCBS NewsBidens surprise UK churchgoers by showing up to Mass
President Joe Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, surprised locals in Falmouth, England when they dropped into Sacred Heart Catholic Church for Sunday service. The Bidens are in Cornwall, England for the Group of Seven – or G7 – summit, but locals were shocked to see the U.S. president at church ahead of the summit's final day. "I think gobsmacked is probably a very true word," Annie Fitzpatrick, who was at the service, told the Associated Press.
U.S.ReutersU.S. Supreme Court rejects white supremacists' challenge to anti-riot law
(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a free speech challenge to a federal anti-riot law brought by two members of a militant white supremacist group who pleaded guilty to crimes related to a deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The justices declined to hear appeals by the two California men, Michael Miselis and Benjamin Daley, of a lower court ruling that upheld their convictions under the 1968 Anti-Riot Act but also deemed some parts of the law a violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech. Miselis and Daley were members of the Southern California-based Rise Above Movement, a white supremacist group that billed itself as "combat-ready" and whose purpose was to engage in violent attacks on counter-protesters at various political rallies.
U.S.NBC NewsFire at Illinois chemical plant could cause 'environmental nightmare'
Flames engulfed a chemical plant in Northern Illinois on Monday, forcing the evacuation of neighbors, sending massive plumes of smoke into the sky and threatening an "environmental nightmare," authorities said. Anyone living within a mile of the Chemtool Inc. plant in Rockton was ordered to vacate after flames were reported at about 7 a.m. CT, police and fire officials said. Explosions could be heard around the neighborhood, James Berger of Rockton said.
WorldAssociated PressGas explosion in central China kills at least 12
At least 12 people were killed and 39 seriously injured Sunday after a gas line explosion tore through a residential neighborhood in central China. Responders to the early morning blast in the city of Shiyan in Hubei province sent more than 150 people to the hospital, according to officials quoted by state media. Stall keepers and customers buying breakfast and fresh vegetables at a food market were the majority of victims when the explosion hit shortly after 6 a.m., according to the reports.
ScienceWashington ExaminerEvidence mounts Wuhan lab studied live bats despite denials
Evidence that includes newly unearthed Chinese government video continues to mount indicating the Wuhan Institute of Virology studied live bats in its lab, despite longtime lab collaborator Peter Daszak calling this a “conspiracy theory." Footage obtained and released by the Australian and Sky News was purportedly shot from inside the Wuhan lab and shows live bats kept in cages. The video was reportedly produced and released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017 to tout the opening and launch of the Wuhan lab's then-new biosafety level four laboratory.
- PoliticsThe Week
SCOTUS deals a gutting blow to federal criminal justice reform
Yet it made some important changes, like offering a path to retroactive sentencing adjustment for some people serving unduly onerous prison terms, often thanks to now-rescinded mandatory minimum rules that forced judges to issue harsh sentences for certain convictions, especially anything to do with crack cocaine. On Monday, the Supreme Court unanimously dealt that reform a gutting blow. All nine justices held in Terry v.
PoliticsLA TimesBiden calls Putin a 'worthy adversary.' Here's what to expect when they meet
President Biden agrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin on at least one thing: Relations between their two nations are currently at a very low ebb. Both said as much in interviews leading up to Wednesday's meeting in Geneva, which comes amid tensions over myriad issues, including a spate of cyberattacks emanating from within Russia; Putin's military adventurism along his country's border with Ukraine; and his imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning with a Russian nerve agent. Biden arrives at the summit fresh from enthusiastic meetings with allies welcoming the return of the United States to conventional multilateral diplomacy.
- NewsKTRK – Houston
Man shot 7 times during armed robbery in SW Houston, HPD says
The victim, who was hit in the chest, legs and hand, was going for his own firearm to defend himself when he was shot, police said.
U.S.NBC NewsFatal shooting of mother, son highlights legacy of powerful South Carolina dynasty
For nearly a century, fathers of three generations of the Murdaugh family wielded power as South Carolina's top prosecutor for a cluster of counties in a swampy coastal region known as the Lowcountry. The family's fingerprints have been on countless cases tied to the legal system in the Lowcountry. The State newspaper of Columbia noted in 2019 that they helped to put thousands of people in prison and sent more than a dozen to death row and that "year after year, the family law firm in Hampton has won millions of dollars in civil lawsuits, relentlessly pursuing those at fault in fatal collisions."
- BusinessReuters
U.S. financial executive dies by suicide as firm faces fraud claims
The co-founder of a Florida financial firm facing investor lawsuits alleging securities fraud has died by suicide, and a spokesperson on Monday denied wrongdoing, saying the death was not connected to a class action lawsuit filed last week. Eric Holtz, the 54-year-old co-founder of the Seeman Holtz Family of Companies in Boca Raton, took his own life on Friday in California, the company spokesperson confirmed. Lawsuits claim that Holtz, business partner Marshal Seeman and their insurance and financial firm defrauded elderly investors in South Florida using life insurance policy-backed notes.
- WorldFox News
North Korean defector says 'even North Korea was not this nuts' after attending Ivy League school
As American educational institutions continue to be called into question, a North Korean defector fears the United States' future "is as bleak as North Korea" after she attended one of the country's most prestigious universities. Yeonmi Park has experienced plenty of struggle and hardship, but she does not call herself a victim. One of several hundred North Korean defectors settled in the United States, Park, 27, transferred to Columbia University from a South Korean university in 2016 and was deeply disturbed by what she found.
HealthThe WeekThe Delta variant is producing different COVID-19 symptoms than usual, researchers say
The COVID-19 strain fueling infections across the U.K. is linked to a different set of symptoms, including headache, sore throat, and runny nose, BBC reported on Monday. The Delta variant, which was first found in India, now accounts for 90 percent of U.K. cases. Professor Tim Spector, leader of the Zoe COVID Symptom Study, said top symptoms since the start of May are "not the same as they were" previously.
U.S.TheGrioProtests continue outside of D.C. bar after a woman is dragged down stairs by her hair
Nellie's Sports Bar located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C. is under fire after a video went viral showing a security guard dragging a Black woman by her hair down a flight of stairs. The demonstrations started around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, with dozens of people rallying behind Keisha Young, 22, of Maryland, the woman seen being dragged out of the bar in video that was shared on Instagram. Young told the outlet that she did nothing to warrant the mistreatment during her visit to celebrate Pride month.
U.S.Lexington Herald-Leader2 more suspects arrested after death of Lexington man who was shot, set on fire
Two more people have been charged in connection with a Lexington homicide after the victim's body was set on fire in a barn, according to court records. Martae Laron Shanks and Autumn Owens, both residents in the building where 38-year-old Lazarus Parker was allegedly shot and killed, have been charged with arson, abusing a corpse and criminal mischief, according to an indictment from a Fayette County grand jury. The grand jury alleged that Shanks and Owens either intentionally started the fire or tried to help with the fire by purchasing gasoline in Fayette County and taking it to Bourbon County to burn Parker's body.
PoliticsArchitectural Digest16 of the Most Charming Lake House Rentals on Airbnb
Where the air is fresh and the vibes are immaculate Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldNBC NewsChinese nuclear power plant investigating 'increase of gases' at reactor
A Chinese nuclear power plant is investigating an unusually high concentration of gases in one of its reactors, one of its owners said Monday. Reactor 1 at the vast Taishan power plant in Guandong province, north of Hong Kong, experienced an "increase in the concentration of certain rare gases in the primary circuit," according to the giant French energy company EDF, which holds a 30 percent stake in the plant's parent company. "The presence of certain rare gases in the primary circuit is a known phenomenon, studied and foreseen by the operating procedures of reactors," EDF said in statement on its website.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGOP Rep. Jim Jordan rips into Joe Biden for attending the same G-7, NATO summits with US allies that Trump went to multiple times
Rep. Jim Jordan appeared to criticize Biden on Monday for attending diplomatic summits in Europe. "While Biden pals around with his buddies in Europe, the border crisis rages at home," he tweeted. GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Monday appeared to criticize President Joe Biden for attending the Group of Seven and NATO summits in recent days, saying that the president should instead focus his energies on the US-Mexico border.
WorldBBCWW2: Unearthing Taiwan's forgotten prisoner of war camps
Jinguashi was the location of Kinkaseki camp, one of more than a dozen prisoner of war (POW) camps, where around 4,500 Allied soldiers were held captive during World War Two. Taiwan was a Japanese colony at the time and the soldiers - who were captured by the Japanese military between 1942 and 1945 - were forced to work in copper mines under appalling conditions. At the camps, they would be forced to heave massive stones from the valleys for the farming of sugar cane and dig man-made lakes on a paltry diet of rice and watery vegetable soup.
- NewsWLS – Chicago
Driver beaten in West Dundee road rage incident dies, police say
Witnesses told police the victim was attacked by at least one person who punched and beat him with fists, then sped away.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverChances more likely a tropical storm will soon form in the Gulf. Here’s the forecast.
This would be the first tropical depression in the Gulf this hurricane season, which is expected to be more active than normal. The area of potential development in the Bay of Campeche will slowly move northward over waters in the western Gulf of Mexico that are 3 degrees above average for this time of year,” Gulf meteorologist Rocco Calaci says in a Monday morning update. This will accelerate development of this system into a tropical depression (minimum) or perhaps a moderate tropical storm.
TechnologyArchitectural Digest17 Last-Minute Father’s Day Gifts From Amazon He’ll Actually Want
So you don't lose your favorite-kid status Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.NBC NewsExtreme temperatures in the West to shatter records, raise alarm for wildfire conditions
Things are heating up in parts of the country, as a prolonged heat event threatens long-standing records and endangers millions of Americans' safety. About 43 million people across the West and the Southwest were under heat alerts Monday, with highs soaring 10 to 30 degrees above average throughout the week. Multiple cities are expected to shatter their daily record high temperatures with triple digits, including Phoenix and Tuscon in Arizona, and Salt Lake City.
U.S.The IndependentMan urinating in Houston street shot dead after being confronted by angry residents
A man has been shot dead in Texas after he was spotted urinating in the street by residents, police said. Lester Fuentes-Buezo, 20, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the block of 9000 Bunny Run Drive in Houston, Texas, last Thursday. Fuentes-Buezo was pronounced dead at the scene by Houston Fire Department paramedics.
“It may seem desperate at this point, but I can’t be mad at any and all efforts to get people vaccinated.”
“I won’t get rich, but I will get to live my life. That seems like reward enough.”
“Offering incentives may encourage people who are not actively opposed to vaccination but may have put it off.”
“At some point, the government is simply rewarding irresponsible behavior.”
“Sure, people should do it without needing an incentive. But what’s the alternative? Not enough people get vaccinated.”