U.S.USA TODAY6 dead after floatplane crashes in southeast Alaska, Coast Guard says
A sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board, including the plane's pilot, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The five passengers were Holland America Line cruise passengers, the cruise line said on Twitter. "An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka located the wreckage at 2:37 p.m. and lowered two rescue swimmers who reported no survivors," the Coast Guard said in a statement.
PoliticsThe AdvocateSenators Press State Department on Support for LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers
Fourteen U.S. senators, led by Amy Klobuchar, have released a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for additional steps to protect LGBTQ+ people who are seeking asylum in the U.S. because of persecution in their home countries. The senators praise the commitments by Blinken and President Joe Biden to support LGBTQ+ asylum seekers but say further action is needed, and they request a progress report. The State Department announced in February that it would “use a broad range of diplomatic and programmatic tools and resources to protect vulnerable LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers.”
U.S.Miami HeraldWhat happens when you allow hundreds of snake hunters in the Everglades? You get a winner
Gov. Ron DeSantis, in between battling with President Joe Biden about mask mandates, announced that the 2021 Florida Python Challenge has a new king. The 10-day event, from July 9-18, resulted in the removal of a record 223 invasive pythons from South Florida, DeSantis said.
BusinessBusiness InsiderBig Tech salaries revealed: How much engineers, developers, and product managers make at companies including Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Uber, IBM, and Salesforce
So, to get a sense of what salaries in the industry are like these days, Business Insider analyzed the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's disclosure data for permanent and temporary foreign workers to find out what companies pay employees in key roles, including engineers, designers, and salespeople. When you're done checking out this industry data, take a look at Insider's searchable database of over 250,000 salaries from more than 250 companies so you can know how much you should be paid. Google's software engineers can make more than $300,000.
U.S.INSIDERAn Ohio family accidentally threw out $25,000 while cleaning their grandmother's home but miraculously managed to recover it
A family in Lorain County, Ohio, accidentally binned $25,000 in cash while cleaning their grandma's home. They made an urgent call to the local waste collection agency to try to locate the garbage truck. Workers at a local recycling center sifted through six tons of trash to help the family recover the sum.
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Sheriff: Calif. town lost 'well over 100 homes'
The Dixie Fire in far Northern California has consumed about 565 square miles, an area larger than the size of Los Angeles. The Plumas County Sheriff estimates the town of Greenville lost 'well over 100 homes. Aug.
ScienceThe WeekScientists fear a critical Atlantic Ocean system might collapse, triggering 'extreme cold' and sea level rise
Scientists are worried the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a "critical aquatic conveyer belt" that drives currents in the Atlantic Ocean, is at risk of near-complete collapse due to climate change, The Washington Post reports. A shutdown of the crucial circulation system could "bring extreme cold to Europe and parts of North America, raise sea levels along the U.S. East Coast, and disrupt seasonal monsoons that provide water to much of the world," the Post reports. "The mere possibility that the AMOC tipping point is close should be enough for us to take countermeasures," warns Levke Caesar, a climate physicist at Maynooth University.
EntertainmentTimeHow The Suicide Squad End-Credits Scene Sets Up the Future of the DCEU
The new DC movie The Suicide Squad is a classic James Gunn flick: Like Gunn's other franchise for rival studio Marvel, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad is very weird and features violent talking creatures—just sub out a raccoon and tree for a shark and a weasel. 2021's The Suicide Squad is a soft reboot of David Ayer's Suicide Squad from 2016.
U.S.Kansas City Star‘A straight up monster.’ World record 125-pound bighead carp caught by Missouri man
A Missouri man is a new world-record holder after a behemoth fish he caught last month — but not without a little help. The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed Thursday the 125-pound, 5-ounce bighead carp shot by Matt Neuling shattered the previous record of 104 pounds, 15 ounces. Neuling said he and his friend initially thought it was a 30-pound grass carp they both shot.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA new poll shows California Gov. Newsom is in danger of being recalled in the heavily Democratic state
51% of likely California voters would vote 'yes' to recall Gov. Newsom, according to a Survey USA poll. A majority of voters supporting the recall cite Newsom's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrat Kevin Paffrath and Republican Larry Elder led the pack of those running to replace Newsom.
U.S.Miami HeraldWelcome to Florida, where COVID-19 is rampant, but mask mandates are the enemy | Editorial
New COVID-19 cases have reached numbers never seen in Florida since the beginning of the pandemic. More children in the Sunshine State were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections on Tuesday than in any other state in the country. As soon as the virus is exposed to the Sunshine State's magic dust, something special happens.
SportsINSIDERAll but one of the US women's soccer starters knelt to protest racism ahead of the team's Olympic bronze-medal match
All but one of the US women's soccer team players knelt before the Olympic bronze-medal match. Carli Lloyd stood as her teammates took a knee before kickoff - after the national anthem played. Players from teams around the world have knelt during the games to protest racism and inequality.
WorldBusiness InsiderIsrael vaccinated fast and looked like it had beaten COVID-19. It just brought back a swathe of restrictions amid a Delta surge.
Daily new cases rose to 3,260 on Tuesday, according to The Times of Israel - the country's highest level of new cases since March. Ministers on Tuesday approved rules that require mask-wearing at outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people. Close contact such as hugging and kissing and indoor socializing is discouraged, the paper reported.
PoliticsThe WeekSenate fails to finalize bipartisan infrastructure bill, will hold key vote Saturday
Senators were preparing to work all night Thursday to finalize a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, but they threw in the towel and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) instead scheduled a pivotal procedural vote for Saturday. Senators worked for hours on Thursday trying to finalize the remaining amendments to the 2,702-page bill. "Everybody's in a bad mood in there," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said as she left the Senator floor late Thursday night.
SportsAxiosAmericans April Ross, Alix Klineman "finally" win Olympic gold in beach volleyball
Ross is also the first beach volleyball player to win an Olympic medal with three different partners, per NBC. She won a silver medal with Jen Kessy in 2012 and a bronze medal with Kerri Walsh Jennings in 2016. Klineman only switched from playing on the court to the sand in 2017 after being passed up several times for the women's indoor Olympic volleyball team.
U.S.INSIDERA woman says she was told to wait outside of a car inspection station because her shirt was 'inappropriate'
Tia Wood said in a TikTok that she was asked to wait outside a car inspection station because of her outfit. A TikTok user named Tia Wood said she was told to wait outside of a car inspection station in Lakewood, New Jersey, because her outfit was "inappropriate." In a TikTok video posted on July 20, Wood is seen wearing a crop top, denim shorts, and white sneakers.
HealthWashington ExaminerMissouri coroner says he omitted COVID from death certificates after family requests
A Missouri coroner reportedly omitted COVID-19 as a cause of death from multiple death certificates after family members requested the virus be struck from documentation. Brian Hayes, Macon County's coroner, claimed he altered at least six coronavirus death records where another medical complication was present, such as pneumonia, at the request of grieving family members, he told the Kansas City Star. The practice has left Macon with 19 deaths from the disease, though the total should likely be over 30, the outlet reported.
WorldReutersManila locks down as Philippines virus cases near four-month high
The Philippines placed its Manila capital region under a two week lockdown on Friday as the Southeast Asian country's health ministry reported 10,623 new coronavirus cases, the largest single-day jump in infections for almost four months. The Philippines is battling one of Asia's biggest COVID-19 outbreaks and has seen a steady rise in infections over the last two weeks which health officials have attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. "The national government together with local governments should act aggressively, as if there is already community transmission," health ministry spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire told a news conference, referring to the highly contagious variant.
U.S.The ConversationBiden moves to protect the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest, from logging and road building
The Biden administration recently announced new policies to protect the Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and the biggest U.S. national forest. It spreads over more than 26,000 square miles (67,340 square kilometers) – roughly the size of West Virginia – and covers most of southeast Alaska. The Tongass has thousands of watersheds and fjords, and more than a thousand forested islands.
SportsAxiosU.S. Olympic beach volleyball duo one step away from realizing gold medal dream
Alix Klineman and April Ross are guaranteed to earn at least an Olympic silver medal after defeating Switzerland 2-0 in the Tokyo Games on Thursday morning local time. The big picture: When Klineman switched from indoor to beach volleyball in 2017, Ross had already won two Olympic medals on the sand. After being left off Olympic rosters for indoor volleyball year after year, Klineman's tenacity matched with her partner's prowess led to the realization of her Olympic dreams.
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Over half of Australia in lockdown as Delta spreads
Over half of Australia's population was under a hard lockdown on Friday, as the country tries to contain the latest surge in COVID cases. In Sydney, officials are warning residents to brace themselves for another day of record new infections driven by the Delta variant. The city reported 279 locally acquired cases over the past 24 hours, up from the previous high of 259 the day before.
BusinessBusiness InsiderGoogle fired 80 employees for abusing user data and spying on people, with some even sharing personal information outside the company, a new report says
Google fired dozens of employees from 2018 to 2020 for accessing users' personal data. Motherboard reports that some employees used the tools to access other employees' information. Other tech companies, like Facebook, have reportedly experienced similar situations of data abuse.
PoliticsThe GuardianAmerican guns are flooding into Mexico and wreaking havoc
Guns from America are pouring into Mexico, arming violent drug gangs. Mexico has tried just about everything to stop the flow of firearms from the north – passing strict gun control laws, imposing stiff penalties on traffickers, and pleading with US authorities to stop the trafficking – but nothing has worked. On Wednesday, Mexico announced that it's seeking at least $10bn in compensation from America's 11 major gun manufacturers for the havoc the guns have wrought south of the border.
PoliticsReutersAnalysis-Trump's new challenge: How to spend $90 million
Donald Trump's Save America fundraising committee has raised more than $90 million since his election defeat last year, one of the biggest hauls by any Republican group. The massive sum illustrates the former president's grip on the party but also poses a problem - Trump's war chest is so large that even if the committee were to make the $5,000 maximum donation to a Republican in every congressional election it would take decades to spend it. But a disclosure filed by Save America on Saturday highlights what experts expect will be a primary outlay: It could fund years of Trump rallies, preparing for a possible 2024 White House run while ostensibly helping other candidates.
LifestyleAxiosHot homes: 4 houses for sale in Tampa Bay starting at $415K
From a bright blue bungalow to a spacious seaside cottage, this week's roundup of great houses in Tampa Bay has a range of home styles in different neighborhoods. Why we love it: If the exterior of this charming blue bungalow doesn't win you over immediately, the floral mural, cozy living room and updated kitchen just might. Neighborhood: Seminole Heights Realtor: Alexis Williams at Allure Realty LLC Specs: 3 beds, 2 baths, 1,402 square feet Notable features: Curb appeal, cheerful interior, dark wood floors, covered back patio.
“If nothing else, Tokyo 2020 may end up being remembered as the wake-up call everyone needed.”
“Cancel the Olympics—for good.”
“Olympians haven’t really changed. These athletes still showcase extraordinary human achievement from around the world.”
“Delivering more excellence and less sideshow will probably require giving athletes a bigger voice in how the Olympics are run.”
“The Olympics were conceived in 1896 as a sporting event, and they’ve become a construction event.”