- PoliticsAssociated Press
Why no hush-money charges against Trump? Feds are silent
When special counsel Robert Mueller closed the books on the Russia investigation, he produced a report of more than 400 pages, and Attorney General William Barr held a news conference outlining the reasons the Justice Department didn't charge President Donald Trump. But in stark contrast to the Mueller inquiry, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have remained tight-lipped about their rationale for charging only Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer, in a hush-money scandal in which they publicly implicated the president and investigated others in his orbit. There was no news conference or press release announcing the end of the investigation this week.
- NewsUSA TODAY
California city votes to ban gendered words as 'manhole' becomes 'maintenance hole'
A California city voted to ban some gender-specific words in its city code and replace them with gender-neutral options. Berkeley's municipal code will no longer feature words like "manhole" and "manpower," and instead say, "maintenance hole" and "human effort" or "workforce." The measure passed unanimously Tuesday and replaces more than two dozen terms.
- WorldReuters
Gibraltar extends detention of Iranian tanker for a month
Gibraltar was granted the power on Friday to detain Iran's Grace 1 oil tanker for another month, keeping the vessel at the center of a big-power quarrel between Iran and the United States and its allies. Gibraltar said the Iranian vessel, seized by marines in a daring landing in darkness off the coast of the British territory on July 4, was suspected of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions. Iran has repeatedly called for the ship's release, denies the allegation that the tanker was taking oil to Syria in violation of sanctions and says Gibraltar and Britain seized the vessel on the orders of Washington.
WorldAFPRamush Haradinaj, Kosovo's 'Rambo' ex-PM and Serbian antagonist
Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned as Kosovo's prime minister on Friday, is hailed as a hero at home -- where he is nicknamed "Rambo" -- but considered a war criminal by Belgrade, which has long sought to see him behind bars. The controversial 51-year-old, who was a wartime commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), stepped down after being summoned as a suspect by a war crimes court in the Hague. It is the second time he has resigned after being called before a war crimes court over crimes allegedly committed by the ethnic Albanian KLA separatists during the 1998-99 war.
- TechnologyThe National Interest
The Navy's 6th Generation Fighter Could Put the F-35 in a Museum
New much-longer range sensors and weapons, incorporating emerging iterations of AI, are expected to make warfare more disaggregated, and much less of a linear force on force type of engagement. The Navy is currently analyzing air frames, targeting systems, AI-enabled sensors, new weapons and engine technologies to engineer a new 6th-Generation fighter to fly alongside the F-35 and ultimately replace the F/A-18. The Navy program, called Next-Generation Air Dominance, has moved beyond a purely conceptual phase and begun exploration of prototype systems and airframes as it pursues a new, carrier-launched 6th-Gen fighter to emerge in 2030 and beyond, service officials explained.
- WorldBloomberg
Hong Kong Protesters Who Stormed Legco Seek Asylum in Taiwan: Report
About 30 protesters have already landed in Taiwan, while as many as 30 others -- and possibly more -- are planning to try soon, the Hong Kong newspaper said, citing unidentified people who assisted them. The people who assisted the protesters told the paper they had been in contact with Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles the island's relations with Beijing, to seek help. The council hasn't received any formal asylum applications from Taiwan's National Immigration Agency, its deputy minister Chiu Chui-cheng said in a text message.
- WorldAssociated Press
Ukraine's president says he backs prisoner swap with Russia
Ukraine's president on Friday outlined the details of an impending prisoner swap with Russia, saying that Kiev is willing to release a jailed Russian journalist in exchange for a Ukrainian film director. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's statement comes at the end of the week of shuttle diplomacy, with the Russian and Ukrainian human rights ombudswomen holding talks both in Moscow and in Kiev. The flurry of activity around imprisoned Russians and Ukrainians follows last week's first telephone call between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- WorldThe Independent
Satellite images ‘show US military buildup in Saudi Arabia’ amid Iran tensions
The United States is preparing to send hundreds of troops to Saudi Arabia where satellite images appear to show a build up of American forces on the ground. The moves would likely strengthen the US' controversial relationship with Saudi Arabia, while also responding to rising tensions with Iran which escalated dramatically in recent months. After the US unilaterally withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed tight sanctions, Iran announced in July that it had surpassed limits on enriched uranium imposed in the agreement.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
How Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution Was Resurrected—and Betrayed
White Pine Pictures is a Canadian documentary film production company whose members in 1986 produced The World Is Watching, about the coverage of the Contra War in Nicaragua by Western media. I was one of the featured journalists. In 2002, some 16 years later, White Pine contacted me to ask whether I would be willing to return to Nicaragua to film a sequel.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Cyprus detains 12 Israeli men over allegations of gang rape of British teenager
Twelve Israeli tourists were remanded in custody for eight days by a court in Cyprus for the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old British woman at a popular holiday resort on the island. The Israelis were arrested on Wednesday after the British teenager told police that she had been raped at the hotel where she was staying in the beach resort of Ayia Napa. Doctors who treated the woman said they found bruises and scratches on her body.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO From Car and Driver
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
AOC to DHS chief: Border agents shared 'images of my violent rape' in secret Facebook group
After a week fielding racist attacks from President Donald Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan about the whereabouts of Border Patrol agents who threatened her in a secret Facebook group. The intense and personal line of questioning Thursday happened as McAleenan appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee to testify about his role in separating migrant children from their families and worsening conditions at the migrant detention centers along the southern U.S. border. After the group's existence was revealed by a ProPublica report, McAleenan announced DHS was investigating the "disturbing" and "inexcusable" posts.
- U.S.KGO – San Francisco
'Go back to their country:' Naperville Bucky's cashier fired after questioning customers' citizenship
A cashier no longer works at a Naperville gas station after a video showed him questioning Hispanic customers' citizenship.
WorldAFP'My entire world was gone': floods devastate northern Pakistan
Now only jagged rocks and a few damaged homes remain after torrential rains wreaked havoc on the picturesque mountain village in the Laswa Valley. More than 270 people have been killed in recent days across South Asia as monsoon rains deluged large swathes of the subcontinent, flooding waterways and destroying communities. "I was holding the hand of my mother trying to save her, but unfortunately I lost her hand and she was swept away by the floodwater," says Amin Butt, who was visiting his family in Kashmir.
- WorldAssociated Press
Navy warship sunk by German sub in WWII finally located
A private dive team has located the last U.S. Navy warship to be sunk by a German submarine in World War II, just a few miles (kilometers) off the coast of Maine. The sinking of the USS Eagle PE-56 on April 23, 1945, was originally blamed on a boiler explosion. But the Navy determined in 2001 that it had been sunk by a German submarine.
- WorldAssociated Press
Germany honors resisters who tried to assassinate Hitler
Germany is marking the 75th anniversary of the most famous plot to kill Adolf Hitler, honoring those who resisted the Nazis — who were stigmatized for decades as traitors — as pillars of the country's modern democracy amid growing concerns about the resurgence of the far-right. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will speak Saturday at an annual swearing-in ceremony for some 400 troops before addressing a memorial event, paid tribute ahead of the anniversary to executed plot leader Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators and highlighted their importance to modern Germany. Von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944, during a meeting at his headquarters in East Prussia.
- WorldReuters
U.S. amphibious group patrols Arabian Sea as Iran tensions simmer
At a thumbs-up sign from a sailor, a U.S. Harrier fighter jet takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in the Arabian Sea as an oil tanker passes, a nautical mile away. The patrol is "standard" but the situation - growing tension between the United States and Iran - is not. "We want to make sure that we assure allies in the region and to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce," says Colonel Fridrik Fridrikson, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
- NewsAOL.com
Wasp spray leads to 3 deaths in West Virginia after being used as alternative meth
West Virginia state police are cautioning residents against using wasp spray as an alternative form of methamphetamine after three people purportedly overdosed. Sgt. Charles Sutphin told WCHS that a number of people in Boone County are making "a synthetic type methamphetamine out of wasp spray." Law enforcement believe it led to three fatal overdoses last week.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Los Angeles police officer charged with multiple rapes after DNA links him to cold case
A ten-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department is facing life in prison after the department's investigation into a rape accusation linked him to another unsolved sexual assault from 2015. William Rodriguez, 33, was arrested and charged with two counts of forcible rape, with a special allegation of multiple victims Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a press release. Rodriguez is accused of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance at his home last November.
- BusinessCar and Driver
For the First Time, Chevy Corvette Can Be Left- or Right-Hand Drive from the Factory
Chevrolet will for the first time ever offer the Corvette in right-hand-drive guise. This move enables factory Corvettes to be sold in wrong-side-of-the-road markets such as the U.K., Japan, and Australia. The notable "first" is still dwarfed by the C8 Corvette's bigger first, being the first-ever mid-engined Corvette.
- HealthDelish
From Soup to Salmon: Slow-Cooker Recipes for a Fast and Healthy Dinner
Who says meal prep has to be hard? From Delish
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Meghan McCain Feels Trump’s Racism Takes Away Her ‘Agency’ to Bash Ilhan Omar
Reacting to the outbreak of “Send Her Back” chants directed at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) at President Trump's Wednesday night rally in North Carolina, The View's Meghan McCain groused on Thursday that the president's relentless racist attacks against Omar takes away her “agency” to criticize the Muslim congresswoman. In a segment first spotted by Raw Story, co-host Sunny Hostin said the chants “terrified” her, prompting McCain to chime in and describe the rally as “really dystopian” before noting that she's also been a fierce critic of Omar. “Everyone at this table, and I think, people that watch this show or have ever seen the dumpster fire of my interview with Seth Meyers know I have been one of Ilhan Omar's most vocal critics regarding Israel,” she declared.
WorldAFPS. Korean man kills himself as dispute with Japan escalates
An elderly South Korean man died on Friday after setting himself on fire outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul as a bitter diplomatic dispute over wartime forced labour compensation took a fatal turn. The row has seen Tokyo restrict exports of chemicals vital to Seoul's world-leading chip and smartphone industry in an escalation of a decades-long dispute over Japanese forced labour during World War II. The man in his 70s started a fire inside his vehicle parked in front of the embassy building and later died after being treated in hospital, authorities said, adding around 20 disposable gas canisters were also found in the car.
- PoliticsNational Review
Sanders Campaign Workers Demand $15 Hourly Wage
Unionized campaign staffers working for Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) are engaged in a dispute with management over the candidate's alleged failure to live up to his socialist ideals. The field organizers have for months demanded an annual salary equivalent to a $15 hourly wage but have been met with resistance from campaign manager Faiz Shakir, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post. The workers began demanding a raise in May, arguing that Sanders, who has made a $15 federal minimum wage a centerpiece of his campaign, should honor that commitment in compensating his own staff.
- NewsAssociated Press
Correction: Puerto Rico-Protests-Miranda story
A corrected version of the story is below: Lin-Manuel Miranda joins rally against Puerto Rico governor "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined protests in New York demanding the resignation of Puerto Rico's governor NEW YORK (AP) — "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined protests in New York demanding the resignation of Puerto Rico's governor. Miranda led about 200 people, many from Puerto Rico, at a rally in Manhattan's Union Square on Wednesday. They waved Puerto Rican flags and followed him to a drumbeat, chanting in Spanish, "Viva Puerto Rico libre," which translates to "Long live free Puerto Rico."
