Obama endorses challenger to Maine's Susan Collins, under fire for Kavanaugh confirmation vote

Former President Barack Obama released a list of endorsements for the 2020 elections on Monday that included Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The race could help decide which party controls the Senate for at least the next two years. Gideon is the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, and the two most recent polls (by Colby College and Public Policy Polling) of her race against Collins show her with a 5-point lead.

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  Obama releases first wave of 2020 endorsements

  FOX News Videos
• Will Obama endorsements matter in November?

  Christian Science Monitor

Gun sales spike among African-Americans: 'Our ancestors died for us to vote, they also died for us to be able to carry guns'

During the first six months of 2020, amid a global coronavirus pandemic, gun retailers have reported a record 10.3 million firearm transactions, according to a new survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Overall, gun sales in the U.S. have increased by 95 percent while ammunition sales have increased 139 percent compared to the same period last year. “The highest overall firearm sales increase comes from Black men and women, who show a 58.2% increase in purchases during the first six months of 2020 versus the same period last year,” Jim Curcuruto, NSSF director of research and market development, wrote in his report.

‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Talking to You’: Doomsday Mom Called Hubby From Jail as FBI Searched His Home

The day her two children's remains were found gruesomely buried in her new husband's Idaho backyard, Lori Vallow called her spouse from jail. “Are they seizing stuff again?” Vallow asked several times during the June 9, 2020 call from Madison County Jail, after Chad Daybell told her police were at his property. Daybell, an author of apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience, somberly told his incarcerated wife—who was being held on charges related to the disappearance of her kids J.J Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17—that although police were at his home, he was “glad” that she called.

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  'Do they know?' Phone records show what doomsday cult author Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow talked about the day her 2 kids' bodies were discovered on his property

  INSIDER
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  'Are they seizing stuff?': Court hears call 'Doomsday Mom' made to husband on day her children's bodies were found

  The Independent

This is what it looked like after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 75 years ago

The most powerful weapon to ever be used against other humans was detonated by the United States in Japan 75 years ago. On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber famously known as the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, marking the first of two times the bomb has ever been used in warfare. The city was leveled – less than 10 percent of the buildings in Hiroshima were left undamaged by the bomb, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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  Hiroshima at 75: bitter row persists over US decision to drop the bomb

  The Guardian
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  Survivors Feel Greater Urgency to Bear Witness 75 Years After Hiroshima Atomic Bombing

  Meredith Videos

Lebanon PM Blames Beirut Explosions on Shipment of Ammonium Nitrate Sitting in Port Since 2013

Massive explosions that rocked the city of Beirut on Tuesday were fueled by a 2,750-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in port since 2013, Lebanon's prime minister announced. “I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened, to hold him accountable and impose the most severe penalties,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab told reporters on Tuesday evening. It was not immediately clear why the ammonium nitrate was stored at that location, or how it ended up there.

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  Beirut explosion: the disaster was exceptional but events leading up to it were not – researchers

  The Conversation
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  Trump on Beirut explosion, coronavirus relief negotiations. mail-in voting

  CBS News Videos

Bill Gates issued a stark warning for the world: 'As awful as this pandemic is, climate change could be worse'

As the coronavirus pandemic has spread around the world, with millions infected and thousands dead, billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has pledged a quarter billion dollars to combat the disease through his foundation. In a letter published to his blog, Bill Gates is once again sounding the alarm for emergency preparedness: "As awful as this pandemic is, climate change could be worse," Gates said. "If you want to understand the kind of damage that climate change will inflict, look at COVID-19 and spread the pain out over a much longer period of time."

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  FN Virtual Summit: Diane Sullivan, Blake Krueger and Joey Zwillinger Reveal the Challenges of Leading During a Pandemic

  Footwear News
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  Pandemic difficult for families with loved ones in care facilites

  KTRK – Houston

Schools seeking alternative to remote learning try an experiment: Outdoor classrooms

They're making a bet that the lower risk of disease transmission in the open air, and the extra space outside for children to spread out, can make it safer for students to get face-to-face instruction, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread. "Schools need to figure out a new solution because the inside of the building doesn't work as the only solution and online learning doesn't work as the only solution," said Sharon Danks, the CEO of Green Schoolyards America, one of a group of environmental education organizations that have launched the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative to encourage schools to move students outside.

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  Whether Schools Hold Distance Learning or Classroom Instruction this Fall, Back-to-School Immunizations are Still Required

  PR Newswire
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  18 Reasons Why We Need to Make Online Learning More Accessible

  The Mighty

Illinois officials call to abolish history classes in the state until an 'alternative' is set up to highlight underrepresented groups

Tim Boyle/Getty Images Community leaders in Illinois called for history classes in state schools to stop until a " suitable alternative" is established to represent minority groups in the curriculum. Democratic State Representative LaShawn K. Ford said "current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities," according to NBC Chicago. The state representative is calling for schools to discard history books "that unfairly communicate our history."

Missouri votes to approve Medicaid expansion, overriding GOP opposition

Missouri became the latest state where voters chose to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, approving the measure in a ballot referendum conducted concurrently with Tuesday's primary. Amendment 2, which will provide health care to more than 230,000 low-income people in the state, passed by about 6 points with heavy support in the urban centers of St. Louis and Kansas City. Missouri was one of 13 states dealing with a “Medicaid gap,” as its Republican-controlled Legislature declined to accept the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion provision.

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  Progressive challenger Cori Bush defeats 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay and voters approve Medicaid expansion in Missouri

  Business Insider
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  Missouri voters approve Medicaid expansion, making it 38th state to do so

  NBC News

George Floyd: Leaked police bodycam footage shows how fatal arrest began

Leaked body camera footage shows George Floyd begging for his life in the moments leading up to his arrest and subsequent death at the knee of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. Video recorded on the body cameras of two other former officers, Thomas Lane, 37, and J. Kueng, 26, shows the initial moments of the confrontation between Mr Floyd and officers outside a Minneapolis shop on 25 May. A clip from the body camera of Mr Lane shows the fired officer approaching Mr Floyd as he sits in his car waiting for the police to arrive, having been accused of using a counterfeit $20 (£15) bill.

Direct-to-Consumer Furniture Brand Burrow Expands Its Offerings

The company is welcoming benches and credenzas to its product line starting today Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

'Blatant disrespect of Black women': Women leaders criticize treatment of Black women being considered as Biden VP pick

WASHINGTON – Over 100 Black women leaders and activists slammed comments made of Black women being considered to be Joe Biden's running mate as racist and sexist in an open letter published Wednesday. Sen. Kamala Harris, Rep. Karen Bass, former US Ambassador Susan Rice, Rep. Val Demings and former Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams have all been floated as possible vice presidential contenders for Biden. The letter comes as Biden is nearing an announcement on his vice presidential pick.

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  Biden may have narrowed his VP list down to Kamala Harris and Susan Rice

  The Week
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  Smile more? Some critics see sexism in debate over Biden VP

  Associated Press

Student wearing 'Black Lives Matter' mask in graduation procession told to remove it

A Black student in Pennsylvania was starting his graduation procession when he was told to remove his face mask displaying the words 'Black Lives Matter. The student, Dean Holmes, 18, was allowed to continue in York Catholic High School's procession last week after complying. But his father contends in a lengthy Facebook post that the demand to remove the mask put his son at risk of the coronavirus and discriminated against him based on his race and prior civil rights activism at the school.

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  Coronavirus: Will children have to wear face masks at school?

  The Independent
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  Maskne: Everything you need to treat face-mask acne

  The Independent

White House seeks deal this week with congressional Democrats on coronavirus bill

White House negotiators on Tuesday vowed to work "around the clock" with congressional Democrats to try to reach a deal on coronavirus relief by the end of this week, as the pandemic takes a heavy toll on American life. Following an afternoon meeting of the four main negotiators, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the possibility of a deal by week's end, which could clear the way for votes in the Senate and House of Representatives. Mnuchin said negotiators would now "work around the clock" and have set a timeline "so that the legislation can be then passed next week" if a tentative deal is in hand.

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  Stock Market Today: Stocks, Stimulus Both Inch Forward

  Kiplinger
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  No Deal in Sight, but Faint Signs of Progress in Coronavirus Relief Talks

  The Fiscal Times

Aerial footage shows the full scale of Beirut's devastating explosion, which killed 100 and reduced buildings into rubble

Aerial footage broadcast by Sky News show the full scale of the explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday. The government said the blast was caused by a stockpile of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been kept at the port for years. Numerous hospitals were damaged in the explosion, meaning they could not treat many of those injured who needed medical care.

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  Houston family in Lebanon describes feeling explosion

  KTRK – Houston
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  At least 100 dead in Beirut explosion

  ABC News Videos

Former Census Bureau directors warn of 'seriously incomplete' count after Trump administration cuts it short

Four former Census Bureau directors say it's a big mistake to cut counting efforts short. The Census Bureau said last week it would stop its in-person count on Sept. 30, a month earlier than its scheduled end date of Oct. 31. The move left census workers concerned a "massive undercount" is imminent.

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  John Thompson, former US Census Bureau chief, on results of census deadline changing

  ABC News Videos
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  Census Bureau Shortening Counting Operation

  Newsy

Panama proposes flying Haitian migrants home after clash

The government of Panama said Monday it has proposed giving some Haitian migrants flights back to their homeland after frustrations boiled over at the remote camps where they are stuck. The camps in Panama's southern Darien province also house some Cuban and African migrants, but about 80% of the 2,000 migrants there are from Haiti. Public Safety Minister Juan Pino said Monday he offered improved medical services or repatriation flights to the migrants, who want to travel overland to the U.S. border but cannot do so because of coronavirus restrictions.

Poll gives Democrats bad news in key Senate race

Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, running for reelection, holds a 6-point lead against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in a race that will help decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Monday by Emerson College. Daines received 50 percent support in the poll, while 44 percent said they would vote for Bullock. Like other traditionally Republican strongholds, Montana is being looked at to see whether support for President Trump has softened, giving Democrats a better chance of retaking control of the Senate.

Mysterious seeds sent from China to US identified by Trump administration

The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects. Osama El-Lissy, a member of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said officials had identified more than a dozen plant species included in the seed packets.

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  The USDA Has Identified Some of Those 'Mystery Seeds'

  Meredith Videos
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  USDA tested those mysterious seeds from China. Guess what it found?

  South Florida Sun Sentinel

'Hot objects' from vehicle tailpipe caused 26,850-acre Apple Fire in California, authorities say

Authorities said Monday that the Apple Fire, which has burned more than 26,000 acres in Southern California, was caused by "hot objects" emanating from a vehicle tailpipe. Cal Fire officials said a diesel-fueled vehicle "emitting burning carbon from the exhaust system" had been identified as the source of the blaze. Authorities say they confirmed the cause after interviews with "multiple independent witnesses," along with unspecified physical evidence.

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  California’s Apple Fire Grows, Officials Say Car Malfunction Sparked Blaze

  HuffPost
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  Huge Clouds of Smoke Rise From Growing Apple Fire

  Storyful

Tucker: ‘Probably Illegal’ for Biden to Only Consider a Black Woman VP

Fox News star Tucker Carlson—currently facing outrage from network colleagues over his racist rhetoric—upped the ante on Monday night, claiming it was “probably illegal” for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to prioritize Black women in his running-mate search, while calling those candidates unqualified. Carlson, whose former head writer was recently outed as an outspoken racist, kicked off Monday night's broadcast of his hit primetime show by singling out the women of color whom Biden is reportedly considering as the vice-presidential nominee. The far-right Fox host first described Rep. Bass (D-CA) as a “lunatic Fidel Castro acolyte” and an armed revolutionary, referring to her past praise of the Cuban dictator and work for a young leftist group during the 1970s.

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  Tucker Carlson Says We Know Little About How George Floyd Died

  HuffPost
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  Tucker Carlson Thinks ‘We’re Still Not Precisely Sure How George Floyd Died’ (Video)

  The Wrap

Sen. Ron Wyden is introducing a privacy bill that would ban government agencies from buying personal information from data brokers

Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images Sen. Ron Wyden said he will introduce a new privacy bill that would ban government agencies from buying people's personal information from data brokers to skirt standard court orders. The proposed legislation would "be very specific about making sure that you just don't have this backdoor to throw in the Fourth Amendment in the trash can," Wyden told The Verge in an interview. The bill, named "The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale," is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.

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  Sen. Ron Wyden accused Trump of 'working the refs' by pulling the renomination of an FCC commissioner who had questioned the president's executive order targeting social media companies

  Business Insider
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  Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says Trump deployed 'secret police' in Portland to provoke violence for campaign ads

  Business Insider