PoliticsYahoo NewsExclusive: Jan. 6 select committee will include former CIA inspector general found to have retaliated against whistleblower
As the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot prepares to get underway next week, it will include former CIA Inspector General David Buckley in the role of staff director. The selection of Buckley to serve in that capacity, however, could come back to haunt the Democrats on the committee who selected him. Yahoo News has obtained a previously unpublished 2019 report compiled by the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog office showing that investigators urged the CIA to take action against Buckley for his alleged retaliation against a whistleblower, a conclusion that would likely be troubling to potential witnesses who might testify in the Jan. 6 inquiry.
HealthYahoo NewsDelta variant: 7 things to know about the highly contagious coronavirus strain
Since the COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the variant — especially when it comes to preventing serious illness — health experts say the recent uptick in cases and hospitalizations is primarily due to localized outbreaks in areas of the country with low vaccination rates. Currently, some of the most concerning hot spots are in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida. In these areas, where infection levels have soared, some hospitals are struggling to keep pace as the Delta variant spreads.
PoliticsYahoo News 360Pot legalization in the U.S. seems both inevitable and impossible
He said during the 2020 campaign that he supports decriminalizing pot — a change that would remove criminal penalties for possession while keeping the federal ban in place — but opposes outright legalization. When asked this month whether the president would back Schumer's proposal, press secretary Jen Psaki said that “nothing has changed” about Biden's views on marijuana. Why there's debate The disconnect in the pace of change for marijuana laws, with legalization spreading at breakneck speed in the states and all but stalled at the federal level, has raised debate over when — if ever — marijuana might become legal nationwide.
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Report: 'QAnon Shaman' in plea negotiations after mental illness diagnosis
The participant in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman" is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists found he has a variety of mental illnesses, his attorney said.
WorldAssociated PressChina's Zhengzhou begins cleanup after deadly storms
Residents of the storm-ravaged central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Thursday were shoveling mud from their homes and hauling away wrecked cars and piles of destroyed belongings following floods that killed at least 33 people in the city and surrounding areas. Rains continued to pound parts of Henan province of which Zhengzhou is the capital city. Streets have been turned into rivers and people were stranded in apartments, offices, hotels and rural homes in dozens of cities and towns.
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Venezuela says U.S. military plane violated its airspace
Venezuela's armed forces said on Friday that a U.S. military plane violated its airspace along the South American country's border with Colombia in what it said was a "flagrant provocation." Venezuela, whose socialist government is under heavy sanctions from Washington, has on several occasions in recent years reported alleged airspace violations. It said that on Thursday evening, a C-17 plane from the U.S. Air Force flew over the Perija mountains in western Zulia state for three minutes.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramHusky seen running after car when he’s abandoned is saved – and Texas man is arrested
A husky abandoned along a road in a viral video has found a new family — and now there's been an arrest. The heartbreaking video posted this week captures a Jeep passenger leaving the husky by the side of road in Horizon City, Texas, and riding away as the animal chases after the vehicle. It's been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media as law enforcement searched for the suspects.
WorldAssociated PressVietnam locks down capital Hanoi for 15 days as cases rise
Vietnam announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi starting Saturday as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. Only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses are allowed to stay open. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases.
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Afghan Air Force hurt by inoperable aircraft - Afghan lawmakers
One-third of the Afghan Air Force's aircraft are inoperable and it has run out of U.S.-made precision-guided rockets amid a massive drop in U.S.-led airstrikes, hampering Kabul's efforts to halt Taliban advances, Afghan lawmakers said on Friday. U.S.-provided airpower was intended to give Kabul a major advantage over the insurgents with the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign troops. But Kabul's loss of aircraft and depletion of precision-guided rockets, as well as Taliban assassinations of pilots, are eroding that edge, the lawmakers said.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramBody of Arlington firefighter was found in bathroom window, Mexican authorities say
An investigation is underway into how Arlington firefighter Elijah Snow died Monday while vacationing in Cancun, according to Mexican authorities. On Twitter, Mexican authorities said an “investigation folder” has been started in the death of a man from Texas in the municipality of Benito Juárez in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. “The circumstances in which the events occurred are being investigated,” according to the social media post from Fiscalía General Quintana Roo, which is the State Attorney General's Office for Quintana Roo.
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Poland a step closer to adopting controversial property law
Poland's Senate on Friday approved with some amendments much-disputed changes to property restitution rules, moving them a step closer to adoption. The draft regulations have drawn strong criticism from Israel and from Jewish organizations who say the new administrative law would prevent Jewish claims for compensation or property seized during the Holocaust and communist times. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the legislation will “severely damage our relations with Poland.
WorldReutersChina's Sinovac evaluates vaccine plant in Chile
Chilean authorities said on Friday that China's Sinovac had begun evaluating potential sites for the construction of a vaccine plant in Chile that could begin producing doses of the Chinese shot as early as the first half of 2022. Chile, a global leader in vaccinating its citizens against the coronavirus, has leaned heavily on the Sinovac vaccine in its fast-paced mass vaccination program. A delegation of executives from Sinovac this week visited potential sites for the factory near the capital Santiago and in Chile's northern desert.
U.S.Miami HeraldFire rescue crews leave site of Surfside condo collapse after month-long response
Miami-Dade County announced on Friday that fire rescue crews who have been at the site of the Surfside condo collapse since the night of the tragedy will be handing over the remainder of the recovery effort to Miami-Dade Police. Search and rescue workers from multiple departments across South Florida have been mobilized for a month since Champlain Towers South partially collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24. Two South Florida urban search and rescue teams are being sent home, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
WorldAssociated PressSlovenia PM accuses EU official of lying over rule of law
Slovenia Prime Minister Janez Janša on Friday accused a European Union official of being a liar in the wake of the publication this week of an annual report on adherence to the rule of law in the bloc that highlighted democratic challenges in the Balkan nation. The European Commission's report said media freedom and pluralism have been deteriorating and pointed out online harassment and threats against journalists. The EU's executive arm was also concerned by the government's refusal to finance the state-run Slovenian Press Agency, or STA, for 2021.
U.S.The StateSC police got phone data of Josephson’s alleged ‘fake Uber’ killer. Here’s what they found
Two expert witnesses testified late Thursday and Friday morning about tracking data regarding the phone of Nathaniel Rowland, who has been charged with murdering a former University of South Carolina student. Friday morning, State Law Enforcement Division investigator Eric Grabsky testified that data obtained from Verizon showed Rowland's phone traveling from the Five Points area shortly after Samantha Josephson went missing and driving near the location where Josephson's body was found hours later. “The phone associated with Nathaniel Rowland does appear to travel toward the New Zion area,” Grabsky testified Friday.
WorldBBCChina imposes sanctions on US officials
China is imposing sanctions on several US individuals and organisations in response to recent US sanctions on Chinese officials in Hong Kong. Those targeted include former US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross. The counter-sanctions come days before US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is due to visit China.
WorldThe TelegraphTokyo 2020 'axed opening ceremony musician for being black'
A musician claims he was cut from the Olympic opening ceremony because he was black, as organisers face a third staffing row in a week. Latyr Sy, a Senagalese percussionist based in Japan for 20 years, accused organisers of racism after he was booked and then cancelled for inclusion at the curtain-raiser. Tokyo 2020 failed to respond to requests for comment from the Telegraph on the allegations on Friday.
SportsAssociated PressBauer appears in court to fight sexual assault allegations
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer appeared in court Friday to fight the extension of a protective order sought by a woman who says he choked her to the point where she lost consciousness and punched her during two sexual encounters earlier this year. Attorneys for Bauer and for the woman revealed during a short court session that they intend to call several witnesses, including Bauer, and argue over the order in what amounts to a trial that is expected to last three days. Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman delayed the beginning of that hearing until Aug. 2 because Bauer's attorney, Shawn Holley, said she was given the woman's witness list late and had insufficient time to prepare.
HealthMiami HeraldAre COVID symptoms different with the delta variant? Here’s what experts say
The delta coronavirus variant continues to surge in the United States, now accounting for 83% of COVID-19 cases in the United States. A common sign you may have COVID-19 is a loss of smell and taste, but you may not have that with the highly contagious delta variant. “It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common,” said Dr. Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist.
PoliticsThe IndependentHouse Democrat arrested at Black Voters Matter demonstration
US Capitol police arrested US Rep Hank Johnson during a voting rights demonstration on 22 July, marking the second arrest of a member of Congress on Capitol grounds amid protests demanding federal action on voting rights protections. US Capitol Police said officers arrested 10 people for “unlawfully demonstrating outside of the Hart Senate Office Building” and charged them with “crowding, obstructing or incommoding”.
PoliticsBusiness Insider6 million renters face eviction in 8 days when a Trump-era ban expires. Biden is poised to let it happen.
Both a federal eviction ban and a moratorium on foreclosures expire in eight days. The Biden administration is poised to allow both relief programs to expire on July 31. On July 31, a set of pandemic-relief measures for renters and homeowners enacted under President Trump will end - and the Biden administration doesn't appear interested in renewing them.
PoliticsMiami HeraldRecords show web of payments involving players in probe into sham Senate candidate
A young Republican political operative who is also the subject of a public corruption investigation into former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles made an offer to a recent college graduate last September: He would pay her $1,500 to chair a political committee and in exchange, she would have to do nothing. At the time, 25-year-old Hailey DeFilippis, of Palm Harbor, had just found out she was pregnant and was “freaking out about money.”
ScienceBBCJeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson not yet astronauts, US says
New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules say astronaut hopefuls must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety. The Commercial Astronaut Wings programme updates were announced on Tuesday - the same day that Amazon's Mr Bezos flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket to the edge of space. To qualify as commercial astronauts, space-goers must travel 50 miles (80km) above the Earth's surface, which both Mr Bezos and Mr Branson accomplished.
BusinessINSIDERMario Batali and his former partners will have to pay $600,000 to their restaurant employees who said they experienced sexual harassment
Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich will pay former employees $600,000 as part of a settlement. The men "permitted an intolerable work environment," New York Attorney General Letitia James said. The payout will go to at least 20 former employees from three Manhattan restaurants.
SportsAssociated PressChina's Yang wins 1st gold of Tokyo Olympics in air rifle
Yang Qian of China won the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday in women's 10-meter air rifle. Yang overtook Anastasiia Galashina when the Russian missed the center two rings for an 8.9 on her final shot. Yang had a 9.8 on her final shot and finished with an Olympic record 251.8.
“Thankfully, children are at lower risk for complications from COVID-19, but low risk is not no risk.”
“Guidelines that mandate the masking of children are based on an assessment of risk that is not justified.”
“Masks are easy to use, inexpensive and effective.”
“We’re now 16 months into the pandemic and children remain victims of the Covid political theater.”
“If a community or school isn’t sufficiently vaccinated, it remains at risk of the coronavirus coming back.”