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 ...

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.

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.

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.

Yeonmi Park says she was robbed by three women, bystanders stopped her from calling police

What happened: Park, 27, recalled the incident in a new interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, which tackled her experiences as a child in North Korea and as a defector in the U.S. She said it occurred during lootings across the city last summer. At this point, the woman allegedly started accusing her of racism and punching her in the chest. The situation became more difficult for Park as bystanders -- whom she identified as white people -- gathered around the scene and allegedly prevented her from phoning law enforcement.

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.

The USPS awarded a $120 million contract to a company with financial ties to the postmaster general

The U.S. Postal Service has secured a $120 million, five-year deal with XPO logistics, a major logistics contractor with financial and personal ties to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, The Washington Post reports. The contract, which was awarded in April, will have XPO oversee operations at two "crucial" sorting and distribution facilities in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The deal was reportedly competitively bid and did not directly involve participation from DeJoy, whose family businesses continue to lease four North Carolina office buildings to XPO, per the Post. The postmaster general also served as XPO's supply chain chief executive from 2014 to 2015, and has divested between "$65.4 million and $155.3 million worth of XPO shares" since taking office.

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

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.

What 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.

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  DeSantis feuds with Biden White House as COVID cases rise

  Associated Press
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  Joe Biden pokes at Ron DeSantis after Florida criticism: ‘Governor who?’

  The Independent

Dodgers fall to Angels in 10 as their extra-inning struggles continue

It took two pitches for the Dodgers' extra-inning struggles to resurface Friday night at Dodger Stadium. After failing to protect an early two-run lead, then squandering chances to go back in front later, the Dodgers found themselves deadlocked with the Angels after nine innings in the opener of this weekend's Freeway Series. Angels shortstop José Iglesias lined a leadoff RBI double to score the automatic baserunner.

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  Angels rally for 4-3 victory over Dodgers in 10 innings

  Associated Press
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  Angels vs. Dodgers Highlights

  MLB.com

'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.

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

Reba McEntire reveals she and boyfriend caught COVID-19 despite being vaccinated

Country star Reba McEntire is pleading with her fans to get the COVID-19 shot after she caught the coronavirus, despite being vaccinated. In a recent TikTok live, the singer revealed that she and boyfriend Rex Linn both tested positive for COVID-19. Experts say that contracting COVID-19 after being vaccinated is not a sign that vaccines do not work, rather an expected outcome based on both efficacy and rate of vaccinations.

College Republicans chairwoman denies involvement in fake sexual assault plot in past election

The College Republican National Committee chairwoman denied making or directing others to make sexual assault allegations against a former opponent to gain an advantage over him. Courtney Britt slammed the "false narrative" detailed in a recent report from the Spectator that she was involved in a plot to "Me Too" former Arkansas Federation of College Republicans Chairman Clay Smith, who ran against her in a 2019 campaign to become south regional vice-chair for the organization. "If some grand conspiracy to accuse my former political opponent of sexual misconduct existed, I was certainly never aware of it," Britt said in a statement posted on Twitter.

‘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

Fears of Political Violence Spark a New Campaign Expense

Other members at the top of the list include Warnock's home state colleague Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). Only two pro-Trump officials racked up major protection expenses: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who had frequently charged personal security costs to his campaign even before the FEC issued its official ruling in March. That ruling prompted a boom in campaign security spending.

Milo Yiannopoulos and the cost of clout

— Bill Maher to Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time with Bill Maher, two nights before audio from Milo's infamous 2015 Drunken Peasants podcast appearance leaked. Much has been written of the rise and fall of Milo's star: his storied history as a journalist, his “big break” as a vocal anti-feminist during #Gamergate, Simon & Schuster's decision to pull its $250,000 advance for his autobiography, Dangerous, after audio emerged from a 2015 podcast in which he appeared to defend ephebophilia in the gay community, and most recently, his attempts at a comeback as a “sodomy-free ex-gay” on a mission to spread the good word of conversion therapy.

GOP Senate candidate Peter Yu defends ‘This racism thing? It’s a lie' statement

Republican Senate candidate Peter Yu defended his statement at a campaign event in Golden, Colo., last month, suggesting the #StopAsianHate movement has been “politically exaggerated.” What happened: Speaking at an event hosted by the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans on July 20, Yu said he had never experienced anti-Asian discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado Times Recorder reported. Howard Chou, co-founder and chair of Colorado Democrats Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Initiative, later issued a statement criticizing Yu's comment, saying racism and violence against the AAPI community are real.

July's big jobs gain probably has no connection to GOP governors cutting unemployment aid, Biden's Labor Secretary says

July's jobs report brought promising figures, beating expectations with a gain of 943,000 payrolls. Marty Walsh says that's due to Biden initiatives on childcare and vaccines, not states cutting benefits. The Labor Secretary said it's too early to tell if the Delta variant will slow growth or require a UI extension.

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  Biden administration supports employers requiring vaccinations: Labor Secretary

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Labor secretary: U.S. economy is at a 'fragile' point

  Yahoo Finance

5 things that surprised me in the 'Stranger Things' season 4 teaser that just dropped

Season three took place in 1985, right after Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max have all graduated from middle school. The final scene of that season was set in October, so presumably after they (and Eleven? had all started high school.

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  Eleven prepares to reunite with monsters from her past in Stranger Things season 4 teaser

  Entertainment Weekly
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  ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Debuts New Footage Ahead of 2022 Return

  Variety