- PoliticsNBC News
'Difficult to attack vanilla': Trump's throwing everything at Biden, but nothing is sticking
President Donald Trump and his campaign have spent months deploying a series of attacks depicting Joe Biden as weak, unfit and a tool of leftists. On Tuesday, Trump stood in the Rose Garden and went on a non-stop nearly hour-long anti-Biden rant, spraying a variety of broadsides at the former vice president, on everything from China policy to immigration to policing and much more. In what may have been his wildest attack, Trump claimed Biden's housing policy would "abolish the suburbs."
- WorldAssociated Press
UN official: Catastrophe looming from oil tanker off Yemen
The U.N. environment chief said Wednesday that “time is running out” to avert an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe from a deteriorating oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen. Inger Andersen told the U.N. Security Council that an oil spill from the FSO Safer, which hasn't been maintained for over five years, would wreck ecosystems and livelihoods for decades. Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied U.N. inspectors access to the vessel so they could assess the damage and look for ways to secure the tanker by unloading the oil and pulling the ship to safety.
- WorldBBC
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: US Supreme Court oldest justice treated for possible infection
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been released from hospital after "treatment of a possible infection", the court has said. It said she "underwent an endoscopic procedure... to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August", in Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ms Ginsburg, 87, "is home and doing well," the court said on Tuesday, one day after she was admitted in Maryland.
- PoliticsNational Review
Lindsey Graham Attempting to Declassify FBI Memo on Steele Source Who Undermined Dossier
Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) revealed on Tuesday that he is attempting to declassify an FBI memo describing an interview with a crucial source for the Steele dossier, whose comments undermined the dossier's assertions. The source was dossier author Christopher Steele's only direct source inside Russia for many of the allegations included in the dossier. The Justice Department Inspector General report released in December 2019 noted that the individual, referred to as the “Primary Sub-Source,” has since disputed various claims in the dossier, including that Trump-campaign officials colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 election.
- U.S.Yahoo News
CDC urges masks for everyone as coronavirus surges
Confronting a drastic rise in coronavirus cases across the United States, the nation's top public health officials urged all Americans to wear masks in order to prevent the spread of the disease. “At this critical juncture when COVID-19 is resurging,” wrote Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield in a Journal of the American Medical Association editorial published on Tuesday, “broad adoption of cloth face coverings is a civic duty, a small sacrifice reliant on a highly effective low-tech solution that can help turn the tide favorably in national and global efforts against COVID-19.” In recent weeks, the coronavirus has swept across the Sun Belt, where states like Florida, Arizona and Texas disregarded the warnings of public health officials and reopened early, without strict mask mandates in place.
- BusinessDefense News
Japan highlights F-35 acquisition, military ops amid pandemic in new whitepaper
In its latest whitepaper, Japan has discussed its impending acquisition of F-35B fighter jets and highlighted efforts by regional militaries to expand their influence and activities despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The full document, released July 14 in Japanese, contains a section on the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant of the Lockheed Martin aircraft, noting that with regional countries making “remarkable progress” in air power modernization, the country needed to respond in kind.. The whitepaper highlighted the operational flexibility of the F-35B, noting the jet's ability to operate without the need for long runways, which would enable the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to significantly expand the number of locations from whence the service can conduct air superiority operations.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Sign at Michigan shop warns masked customers of armed employees. 'Lighten up,' owner says.
A sign at the entrance of a metal-cutting shop in Kentwood, a suburb of Grand Rapids, asks customers to “remove your mask or raise both hands high” to avoid being mistaken as a robber. Remove your mask or raise both hands high and keep um up! The sign is in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive order mandating businesses to turn away customers who don't wear facemasks, which went into effect on Monday, July 13.
- U.S.The Telegraph
Ghislaine Maxwell secretly married but won't reveal husband's identity say NY prosecutors
Ghislaine Maxwell has secretly married but refused to disclose her husband's identity to FBI investigators, it was claimed in court. Federal prosecutors told a judge hearing Maxwell's application for bail that she had a spouse although his name has been withheld. The existence of a husband might explain why Maxwell chose to remain in the US while being hunted down by the FBI over child sex trafficking allegations rather than fleeing abroad.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
A spacecraft rocketing around the sun just beamed back the closest images ever taken of our star
Solar Orbiter/EUI Team (ESA & NASA); CSL, IAS, MPS, PMOD/WRC, ROB, UCL/MSSL The Solar Orbiter spacecraft just beamed back the closest images ever recorded of the sun. The photos and videos reveal widespread miniature solar flares, which could explain why the sun's outer atmosphere is so much hotter than its inner layers. Solar Orbiter, a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency, is expected to unpack the sun's biggest mysteries over the next two years.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Joe Biden opens up biggest national poll lead over Trump since securing nomination as independents abandon president
Joe Biden has opened up his biggest poll lead over Donald Trump since securing the nomination, with a new nationwide survey showing him with a 15-point advantage in the race for the White House. Registered voters back the former vice president over the incumbent 52 - 37 per cent, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released on Wednesday. The same poll one month ago gave Mr Biden a lead of eight points, 49 - 41 per cent.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
21 Best Wall-Mounted Planters to Infuse Your Space With Greenery
Create living wall art that will freshen up any space Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.Associated Press
Ex-officer in Hawaii sentenced for making man lick urinal
A U.S. judge sentenced a former Honolulu police officer Wednesday to four years in prison for forcing a homeless man to lick a public urinal, telling him to imagine someone doing that to his two young daughters. The homeless man was just as defenseless and powerless as the children of defendant John Rabago, U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi said. “You took from him his only possession: his dignity as a human being,” Kobayashi said.
- U.S.INSIDER
An international student said the Trump administration rescinding its deportation threat is a relief, but the whiplash is unsettling
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on July 6 that international students who were taking courses entirely online would not be allowed to remain in the US. The new policy was met with immediate backlash as 17 states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit to block the motion while Harvard and MIT led a similar suit that quickly garnered the support of 200 more universities. An international student told Insider that while she is happy about the rollback, she is still unsettled by the inconsistency of the Trump administration on potentially life-altering issues for students like her.
- U.S.Yahoo News
How a leading left-wing academic and activist wound up in the middle of a free speech debate
A once obscure internet debate over the limits of free speech and the rise of what critics call “cancel culture” has, somewhat improbably, become a significant 2020 campaign issue. President Trump tapped into conservative worries about cancel culture — the notion that everyone from intellectuals to everyday citizens can be “canceled” and see their lives upended if they become the target of an online “mob” — in a July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore. Cancel culture, the president insisted, is “the very definition of totalitarianism.”
- PoliticsReuters
Top House Republican threatens to cut funding to states, cities that don't protect statues
The Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Thursday that would cut federal aid to state and local governments if they do not protect statues, after protesters attacked monuments to people who owned slaves or fought for the Confederacy. "It is wrong to erase our history," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement, criticizing "left-wing mobs" who have attacked statues across the United States. Under his bill, introduced with fellow Republican Representatives Jim Jordan and Sam Graves, some federal funds would be withheld if local governments do not "restore order or arrest rioters."
U.S.Yahoo News VideoVirginia police are searching for people posting flyers calling on residents to 'pray for white Americans in 2020'
Virginia police are investigating white supremacist flyers that are appearing in local resident mailboxes across the state.
- U.S.USA TODAY
A Michigan jeweler is retiring and burying $1 million worth of treasure for a 'quest'
A Michigan jeweler is calling it quits after 23 years and taking prospective adventurers on a treasure hunt. Johnny Perri, who owns J&M Jewelers in Washington Township, Michigan, had an "epiphany" after being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Although I enjoyed being in business for myself and have been blessed serving our wonderful customers, I've discovered that I was never truly happy," Perri writes on the website set up for his "Treasure Quest."
- WorldBusiness Insider
US Navy warship challenges China in South China Sea as US blasts Beijing's 'unlawful' claims and 'gangster tactics'
US Navy A US Navy destroyer challenged China in the South China Sea with a freedom-of-navigation operation on Tuesday. The USS Ralph Johnson sailed near the disputed Spratly Islands, the Navy said, adding in a statement that "unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas." The operation, one of at least six such operations this year, comes after the US State Department officially rejected most of China's sea claims, declaring its maritime efforts to assert sovereignty unlawful.
- U.S.The Independent
'I didn't do it': Executed federal prisoner used final words to plead innocence
The first man executed by the US federal government in 17 years protested his innocence in his final words before his sentence was carried out on Tuesday. Asked if he wanted to give a final statement before the lethal injection procedure, Lee reportedly said “I bear no responsibility for the deaths of the Mueller family.” Daniel Lewis Lee, 47, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at a US penitentiary in Indiana.
- PoliticsNBC News
Trump aides warn president: Mental fitness attacks on Biden could be used against you
President Donald Trump and his campaign are pushing ahead with efforts to attack former Vice President Joe Biden's mental fitness, despite polling and guidance from advisers warning that the strategy could backfire. The campaign has been running a fresh batch of Facebook ads this week with titles such as “Joe Biden is clearly diminished,” “Joe Biden is slipping,” and “Do you think Joe Biden has the mental fortitude to be president?” And over the past week, Trump, his top advisers and family members have promoted videos portraying Biden as confused and stumbling over his words. Trump campaign aides say to expect the line of attack to be a steady drumbeat throughout the rest of the race.
- U.S.Associated Press
Berkeley moves toward removing police from traffic stops
After hours of emotional public testimony and a middle-of-the-night vote by Berkeley leaders, the progressive California city is moving forward with a novel proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in a bid to curtail racial profiling. The City Council early Wednesday approved a police reform proposal that calls for a public committee to hash out details of a new Berkeley Police Department that would not respond to calls involving people experiencing homelessness or mental illness. The committee also would pursue creating a separate department to handle transportation planning and enforcing parking and traffic laws.
- LifestyleThe Daily Beast
CNN Anchor Rips GOP Lawmaker Suing Over Mask Mandates: ‘You’re Not a Doctor’
CNN anchor Brianna Keilar on Wednesday clashed with a Republican state lawmaker who is suing over mask mandates, eventually pointing out that he is not a “public health expert” while noting he's already had one case tossed out. With coronavirus cases and hospitalizations spiking in Florida as the nation deals with a prolonged surge, Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini has attempted to challenge county ordinances in the state requiring face masks in businesses, claiming the mandates are constitutional violations. Appearing on CNN Newsroom, Sabatini immediately justified his lawsuits, claiming the ordinances are “unconstitutional” and that mask mandates violate the privacy of citizens.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Polish president fooled by Russian phone pranksters claiming to be UN secretary general
A Russian prankster posing as the U.N. secretary-general managed to reach Poland's president on the telephone and rendered him speechless with questions about Ukraine, Russia and his reelection on Sunday. The prankster, Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Vovan, posted a recording of the 11-minute call on YouTube. President Andrzej Duda's office confirmed Wednesday that it was authentic.
- WorldReuters
Philippines reports 29 new coronavirus deaths, 2,498 infections
The Philippines' health ministry on Thursday reported 29 new coronavirus deaths and 2,498 additional cases, the country's the biggest daily rise in confirmed infections in more than a week. In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had increased to 1,643, while confirmed infections reached 61,266. President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday retained partial quarantine measures in the capital Manila for two weeks until the end of July, but warned that stricter curbs would be reinstated if the rise in new cases and deaths did not slow.
- WorldCBS News
City removes statue of BLM protester that took slave trader's place
The sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester that appeared on a plinth formerly occupied by a statue of a slave trader, which was torn down and thrown into a river last month in Bristol, England, was removed Thursday by the city. The city of Bristol has not yet officially decided what to do with the plinth on which a statue of Edward Colston previously stood. In a statement on Wednesday, Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, said that the replacement statue of a female protester with her fist raised to the sky, which appeared early that morning, had been put up without permission.
