Exclusive: 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 Yahoo News has obtained a previously unpublished 2019 report compiled by the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog office showing that investigators urged the CIA to take action against Buckley for his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.

Man pleads guilty to kidnapping, killing young Amish woman

A man who led authorities to the remains of a young Amish woman in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Friday to kidnapping and killing her. Justo Smoker, 35, pleaded guilty in Lancaster County to third-degree murder, kidnapping and other offenses in the death of 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, who was last seen walking home from church in the Bird-in-Hand area on June 21, 2020. Smoker was sentenced to 35 1/2 to 71 years in prison.

Las Vegas murder case cracked with smallest ever amount of DNA

The 1989 murder of a 14-year-old girl in Las Vegas has been solved by using what experts say is the smallest-ever amount of human DNA to crack a case. Stephanie Isaacson's murder case had gone cold until new technology made it possible to test what little remained of the suspect's DNA: the equivalent of just 15 human cells. Police on Wednesday said they had identified the suspect by using genome sequencing and public genealogy data.

To reach a peace deal, Taliban say Afghan president must go

The Taliban say they don't want to monopolize power, but they insist there won't be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group's negotiating team, laid out the insurgents' stance on what should come next in a country on the precipice. The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and are threatening a number of provincial capitals — advances that come as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.

• 
  Biden assures Afghan president of continued U.S. support -White House

  Reuters
• 
  As Taliban advances, Afghan military overhauls war strategy to limit losses

  Reuters

China'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.

A 'significant and far-reaching' heat wave is coming to the U.S. next week

A "significant and far-reaching" heat wave is expected to bake the U.S. coast to coast over the next few weeks, toppling temperature records and aggravating wildfires and drought conditions on the West coast in particular, Axios and The Washington Post report. When combined with humidity, temperatures will feel "well into the triple digits" for millions of Americans, per the Post, as the heat dome — or an area of high pressure aloft that helps to lock in place hot, dry weather, per Axios — forms this weekend over the West then migrates across the Central Plains. Although heat domes are expected this time of year, climate change is exacerbating their "intensity, duration, and frequency," writes Axios.

• 
  Not again: Another heat dome to bring scorching temperatures to continental U.S.

  Axios
• 
  ‘Dome of Doom’ Will Bake Texas and Central U.S. Next Week

  Bloomberg

Husky 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.

Trump inaugural committee chair to be released on $250M bail

The chair of former President Donald Trump's inaugural committee was ordered freed Friday on $250 million bail to face charges he secretly worked as an agent for the the United Arab Emirates to influence Trump's foreign policy. Tom Barrack, 74, will be subject to electronic monitoring and largely confined to his residence after he is arraigned Monday in a New York courtroom. Barrack is expected to plead not guilty to conspiring to influence U.S. policy on the UAE's behalf during Trump's 2016 campaign and while Trump was president.

• 
  Tom Barrack, former Trump inaugural chair, released on $250 million bond

  NBC News
• 
  Trump ally Thomas Barrack, accused of illegally lobbying UAE, reaches $250M bail deal with prosecutors

  Washington Examiner

Indonesia, Asia's COVID-19 epicentre, considers relaxing curbs

(Reuters) -Indonesia is suffering a devastating wave of coronavirus infections, driven by the Delta variant, but the government is already talking about relaxing social curbs enacted earlier this month - a move analysts say is largely led by economic considerations. The impact of the outbreak has been brutal in Indonesia, with stories of people desperately trying to find hospital beds, oxygen and medicine for loved ones. Nonetheless, and just over a week after Indonesia recorded its highest number of daily infections, President Joko Widodo flagged that current restrictions could be eased from as early as next week if cases start to drop.

Bones found near area where missing British hiker Esther Dingley disappeared

She and her partner Dan Colegate had left England in 2014 to go on an adventure of a lifetime, which had been intended to last 12 months but stretched to six years. The 37-year-old sent a selfie to Mr Colgate from the 9,000ft Pic de Sauvegarde on the day she went missing and has not been heard from since. French police say they are now analysing the bones in an attempt to confirm whether they are human remains.

Fire 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.

• 
  Search for bodies concludes at Surfside condo collapse site

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  Judge: $150M initially for victims in Florida Surfside condo collapse

  Yahoo News Video

China, Afghanistan top Blinken agenda on India, Kuwait trip

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India and Kuwait next week for talks on China, the coronavirus and Afghanistan, the State Department said Friday. The trip comes as the Biden administration seeks to shore up U.S. leadership in vaccinating the world against COVID-19, tries to blunt increasing Chinese assertiveness, and moves to evacuate vulnerable people from Afghanistan before the U.S. military withdrawal is complete. The State Department said Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday before traveling to Kuwait City the next day.

SC 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.

• 
  Expert: Slain Uber rider's DNA found under suspect's nails

  Associated Press
• 
  DNA on weapon and in Rowland’s car is almost certainly Josephson’s, expert testifies

  The State

United States buys 200 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech said on Friday the U.S. government has purchased 200 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to help with pediatric vaccination as well as possible booster shots - if they are needed. A Biden administration official with knowledge of the contract said that as part of the agreement, Pfizer will provide the United States with 65 million doses intended for children under 12, including doses available immediately after the vaccine is authorized for that age group. The U.S. government also has the option to buy an updated version of the vaccine targeting new variants of the virus.

• 
  UPDATE 4-United States buys 200 mln more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

  Reuters
• 
  U.S. buys 200 mln more doses of Pfizer vaccine

  Reuters Videos

Tokyo 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.

• 
  Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony

  Yahoo Sports
• 
  Tokyo 2020 organisers accused of excluding Olympic opening ceremony musician for being ‘African’

  The Independent

'It was hard to breathe': China flood terror as train carriage submerged

As floodwater crashed through a busy subway station in China on Tuesday, desperate passengers tried to flee while others were swept helplessly off platforms. In one train carriage, water seeped in and rose from ankle, to waist, to neck-height. In terrifying videos shared on social media, some passengers can be seen standing on chairs and clinging to the ceiling as the floodwater creeps upwards.

Bauer 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.

• 
  Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer made his first court appearance to respond to sexual assault allegations

  INSIDER
• 
  Trevor Bauer's team moves to quash subpoenas after restraining order hearing is delayed

  LA Times

Lebanon's people line up in 'queues of humiliation' as their country unravels

This is life in Lebanon these days, where a 21-month-long, government-engineered economic implosion — the World Bank calls it “a deliberate depression” — has transformed everyday tasks into a gantlet of fuel, power, water, medicine and basic goods shortages that residents dub tawabeer al-thul, or “queues of humiliation.” With the Lebanese lira's street value down to less than 10% of its official value against the dollar, it's a ritual few can afford. “Every month it's getting worse, so long as the dollar [rate] gets worse,” said Abbass Ismail, a 37-year-old computer repairman trudging home from Beirut's Sabra market on the eve of Eid.

Are 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.

• 
  Delta variant: 6 things to know about the highly contagious coronavirus strain

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  Delta variant overwhelms a Missouri hospital

  Reuters Videos

Blinken to visit India with vaccines and China in focus

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel next week to India, an important partner in U.S. efforts to counter China and in vaccine diplomacy that is hobbled by its own COVID-19 crisis. It will be Blinken's first visit to the world's largest democracy as President Joe Biden's secretary of state and he will meet on Wednesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Blinken will also visit Kuwait at the end of his July 26-29 trip.

An off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer admitted to threatening 3 tribal employees with a rifle, telling them he 'shoots first, asks questions later'

The employees were on the officer's property to test creek water and said they got permission from his wife. The officer pointed his rifle at the employees and told them he "shoots first, asks questions later." An off-duty US Customs and Border Protection officer has admitted to pointing his rifle at three tribal employees who were collecting water samples on his property, telling them he "shoots first, asks questions later," according to court documents.