A mother got her teenage kids to help clean up the crime scene after she shot and dismembered their stepdad, reports say

Thessalonica Allen, 34, shot her husband and cut his legs off, according to court documents. Allen also asked her children to help clean up the crime scene, ABC 7 reported. Thessalonica Allen is accused of shooting her husband, Randy Allen, inside an apartment in LaPorte, Indiana, after an altercation broke out over the woman's internet history, WCAX 3 reported.

Ben Shapiro Embarrasses Himself on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’

On Friday night, two of the country's foremost Islamophobes sat across from one another on HBO to debate the issues of the day. In one corner was Bill Maher, a self-professed liberal who spends 90 percent of his Real Time show railing against Muslims, platforming conspiracy theorists and/or white nationalist trolls, and whining about “cancel culture. The other had Ben Shapiro, the Daily Wire co-founder who, when he's not being an outrageous hypocrite or distributing films by producers with a long history of overlooking sexual misconduct, spends 90 percent of his time whining about “cancel culture” or “owning the libs” by saying hateful drivel like this: The last time Shapiro visited Maher's ...

Donald Trump wants his supporters to carry a plastic card that critics say looks remarkably similar to Nazi insignia

Former President Donald Trump wants his most loyal supporters to carry plastic "Trump Cards." One of the four designs features a right-facing gold eagle. The Nazi-era Reichsadler also faces right.

Gang Members Established ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Atlanta, Killed Eight-Year-Old Girl during Police Protest

In the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, violent gang members laid siege to a local Wendy's to protest his death — establishing an “autonomous zone” with a strict no-trespassing policy for police officers or pedestrians — before shooting and killing an eight-year-old girl, according to a warrant obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Under the guise of protesting police brutality, members of the Bloods street gang established a perimeter around the Wendy's, with armed rogue members declaring control over the territory “brandishing, pointing and discharging of firearms at citizens and civilians to ensure compliance with their authority in a highly visible manner,” according to the arrest warrant for the gang member allegedly responsible for the girl's death.

The lawyer who was pardoned for pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis is suing to get his firearms back

The St. Louis couple who brandished guns at BLM protesters last summer are suing for their firearms. Mark and Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and surrendered the weapons. Mark McClosky, the St. Louis lawyer who was photographed last summer pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching down his private street, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to get his weapons back.

Loyola University students win battle over COVID vaccine

Eleven students at Loyola University in Chicago won a victory over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate that is sweeping the country in education, business, and government. Under the rules implemented by the university, students who had not submitted their vaccine card or been granted an exception by Friday, Aug. 6, would not be allowed to enroll in classes or access the campus. Faculty and staff who are not vaccinated by Sept. 21, or submit an exemption, could face disciplinary action, including termination, the university states.

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  Factbox-COVID-19 and the U.S. courts: challenges to vaccine requirements

  Reuters
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  Indiana University students urge Supreme Court to block vaccine mandate

  Reuters

Sen. Raphael Warnock has spent almost $350,000 of his campaign funds on personal security since taking office: report

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia has spent $344,531 on personal security this year, according to a Daily Beast analysis of campaign finance data filed with the Federal Election Commission. Rounding out the top 3 were two other freshman senators: Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who spent $247,487 and Sen. Jon Ossoff, who spent $162,107. Kelly's wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, nearly died after a 2011 assassination attempt at an event in Tucson, Arizona.

An air passenger hit a flight attendant after becoming agitated when asked to wear a mask, according to Florida police

The passenger was apparently asked to wear a face mask when the incident occurred, say reports. Authorities told the Pensacola News Journal that he was charged with battery and resisting arrest. A 70-year old man was arrested in Florida after striking a flight attendant on a plane when he was asked to wear a face mask, according to police.

Cholesterol drug cuts coronavirus infection by 70%, researchers find

A drug meant to treat cholesterol was found to reduce coronavirus infection by 70% in lab studies, with researchers calling for additional clinical trials among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A team of researchers from the U.K. and Italy published findings in the Frontiers in Pharmacology journal Friday, finding that fenofibrate and fenofibric acid resulted in a significant reduction in coronavirus infection in human cells when the drug was used in safe and approved concentrations, according to a news release posted Friday. "Our data indicates that fenofibrate may have the potential to reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and also virus spread," Dr. Elisa Vicenzi of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and co-author, said in the release.

US B-52 bombers and gunships sent into action in Afghanistan in attempt to stop Taliban advance on key cities

The Taliban has been seizing territory across Afghanistan as US-led forces withdraw. The US has sent B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to stop the Taliban advance on three key cities. The US has sent B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to Afghanistan in a bid to stop Taliban insurgents who are marching towards three key cities.

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  Taliban kill Afghan media chief in Kabul, take southern city

  Associated Press
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  Mapping the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan

  BBC

A 100-year-old former Nazi death camp guard, accused of helping to murder over 3,500 people, to go on trial

A 100-year-old former guard at a Nazi concentration camp will stand trial in Germany later this year, public prosecutors have announced. The suspect was allegedly complicit in executions by firing squad and by using Zyklon B, the chemical notoriously used in gas chambers at Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps during World War II, The Guardian said. Around 200,000 people were imprisoned at the Sachsenhausen camp, which is on the outskirts of Berlin, between 1936 and 1945.

Video film of mutiny by passengers at the unfair removal of two Black men from a flight

EasyJet tried to remove two Black men from a flight for refusing to put on their shoes for take-off. The men were ultimately allowed to stay on the flight, and the cabin crew was changed instead. Passengers on an EasyJet flight reportedly staged a mutiny to stop the airline from unfairly removing two Black men from the flight.

White House walks back Biden's plan to let pandemic unemployment benefits expire in September

The White House has not made a decision on whether the expanded unemployment benefits launched during the pandemic should expire in September, press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. President Joe Biden previously stated in June that it "makes sense" to let the benefits expire on the current timeline, given the harsh critiques Republicans and some economists had launched against the program over the past year, yet a number of Democratic lawmakers have called for making the pandemic expansions permanent. Later in the briefing, she added that the administration had not seen any "evidence" that states ending expanded unemployment benefits early had any impact on the latest jobs report.

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  7.5M workers face end to pandemic unemployment benefits in September

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Maine unemployment claims declining

  Washington Examiner

'You are not a chick': Video shows argument between trans councilwoman and store owner over anti-transgender sign

A Star Wars shop owner in Washington doesn't "give a s***" about feelings anymore after a confrontation with a transgender councilwoman. Councilwoman Tiesa Meskis, a biological male who identifies as a woman, confronted Don Sucher over a sign in his store that she said was offensive and anti-trans on Wednesday. “If you are born with a d***, you are not a chick,” read the sign posted at the Sucher & Sons Star Wars Shop.

A Russian influencer who drove a Bentley with his girlfriend tied to the roof in a viral video is under investigation, agency says

Influencer Sergey Kosenko is reportedly under investigation by the Moscow Traffic Inspectorate. In an Instagram video, he drove a car while handcuffed to a woman who was tied to the roof. A Russian influencer who tied his girlfriend to the roof of a Bentley for a video is reportedly under investigation by the Moscow State Traffic Inspectorate.

Unemployment aid will vanish for 7.5 million workers in September. There's no plan to extend.

A report from the Century Foundation found 7.5 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits in September. As the Delta variant rises, politicians in DC aren't putting forward plans to extend the benefits. Come September, 7.5 million Americans are projected to lose all of their unemployment benefits - not just the $300 a week boost from federal pandemic relief.

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  7.5M workers face end to pandemic unemployment benefits in September

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Unemployment benefits for 4.2 million gig workers to run out next month

  CBS News Videos

‘Psychological child abuse.’ Listen to Rep. Cawthorn slam NC district’s mask mandate

A congressman dropped in on a North Carolina school board meeting — and slammed the district's COVID-19 mask mandate. “Forcing our children to wear a mask is nothing short of psychological child abuse, period,” U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Republican, told Buncombe County Schools officials on Thursday. The remarks came after leaders in the Asheville-area district voted 4-2 to require unvaccinated students and workers to wear face masks when the school year starts on Aug. 23, WLOS reported.

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  Amazon to mandate masks for all its workers in warehouses

  Associated Press
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  Legislature votes against allowing mask mandates in schools

  Axios

Trump's Repeating Donation Tactics Led to Millions in Refunds Into 2021

The aggressive fundraising tactics that former President Donald Trump deployed late in last year's presidential campaign have continued to spur an avalanche of refunds into 2021, with Trump, the Republican Party and their shared accounts returning $12.8 million to donors in the first six months of the year, newly released federal records show. The refunds were some of the biggest outlays that Trump made in 2021 as he has built up his $102 million political war chest — and amounted to roughly 20% of the $56 million he and his committees raised online so far this year. Donors would have to notice the box and uncheck it to opt out of the donation.

Maine unemployment claims declining

First-time claims for unemployment benefits in Maine dropped last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's weekly report, in a sign that the state's post-pandemic economy and hiring is rebounding. There were 811 new applications for state unemployment benefits filed for the week that ended July 31 – down 105 from the previous week, the federal agency reported on Thursday. The state also reported 136 new claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a decline of three claims from the previous week, according to the report.

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  7.5M workers face end to pandemic unemployment benefits in September

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Another 385k filed new unemployment claims last week

  Yahoo Finance Video

Trouble at Google's DeepMind and tech workers not going back to the office

Insider learned that an investigation of DeepMind founder and Google VP Mustafa Suleyman came after years of internal complaints. Here's a copy of the leaked email that DeepMind sent to the staff about it all. When startup Workato reopened its Mountain View office on June 15, no one showed up, even though workers had overwhelmingly said in a survey they wanted to come back.

For some craft beer drinkers, less can mean more

At the end of a sweltering day of activities, I'd routinely wind down with some social drinking. Whether I was in Braunschweig, Germany, a suburb of Salt Lake City, or at home in Central Texas, I found myself no longer forced to choose between the likes of Stella Artois or Miller Lite if I wanted something that wouldn't put me under the table. Now I could expect to find a bevy of local or national options with an alcohol by volume, or ABV, in the 4% to 5% range – below the 5.9% average of a craft beer and well below the 7% India pale ales that had been flooding the market.