U.S.Associated PressProsecutors seek 15 years for former 'Cheer' star Harris
A prosecutor has asked a federal judge to sentence Jerry Harris, a former star of the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” to 15 years in prison for coercing teenage boys to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves and soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions. Attorneys for Harris are seeking a sentence of six years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Guzman wrote in a sentencing memo late Wednesday that Harris used “his status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money, to persuade and entice his young victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for him or with him.”
U.S.Miami Herald‘I felt something sharp.’ Woman takes off pants to uncover unwanted visitor in Florida
The “Oh No” song was the perfect soundtrack for a recent TikTok video. A Florida woman with the handle @uss_andrea went viral after showing her followers a common, albeit disturbing, occurrence in her home state. In the quick clip, she says in a voiceover: “I just took off my pants because I felt something sharp.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderIt’s a terrible day in America, and you can thank Kentucky’s own Mitch McConnell for it.
This morning, I set out to write a column that would give some credit to Sen. Mitch McConnell for FINALLY allowing some action to curb our insane gun violence. It was he who basically ushered the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, opening the floodgates to the tsunamis of money in politics that have corrupted our legislative process so completely. People who promised that Roe v. Wade was settled law, by the way.
- HealthReuters Videos
For 'The Color Purple' author, it was abortion or suicide
STORY: "My first abortion was in college, and it was actually a choice between having an abortion and committing suicide. And I was very close to committing suicide. And my classmates saved me.
BusinessFortuneUltrawealthy Americans are flocking to get ‘golden visas’ in Europe amid political turmoil. Here are the top 2 places they’re going.
The pandemic has given Americans the Great Resignation, a housing market that won't stop appreciating and a used-car and gas price crisis amid 40-year-high inflation. Maybe the villas of Portugal or beaches of Greece would be more appealing—or at least warmer. As life in America becomes more stressful and expensive, U.S. citizens have been investing in a “Golden Visa,” a program in which purchasing a second home in a different country entitles buyers to a second passport or a pathway to citizenship.
U.S.Shreveport Times | The TimesLouisiana woman posts viral TikTok video after citation for wearing shorts and crop top
A Winnfield, LA woman's TikTok video has gone viral after she took to the app to complain about an indecent exposure citation she received at a festival on Saturday, June 11. LaCaze-Lachney captioned the video "make it make sense" before showing viewers the outfit in question. LaCaze-Lachney is shown wearing a black t-shirt that covered her shoulders and was cropped just above the belly button, paired with cutoff denim shorts and a studded belt.
WorldYahoo News UK'Tongue-eating parasite' discovered in box of imported fish in Suffolk
A rare parasite that is usually found near the Mexican coast has been discovered in an imported box of fish in Suffolk. The cymothoa exigua – known as the 'tongue-eating louse' – found their way to the UK inside bodies of sea bream that arrived at the Port of Felixstowe. The Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority (SCPHA), which provides essential health checks on food and animal-related imports, made the grim discovery inside a box before it was moved on – and sent it back to its country of origin.
U.S.Miami HeraldOdd balls appearing in Connecticut trees are actually alive. Here’s what will emerge
Something akin to Christmas balls are showing up in trees throughout Connecticut, and state officials are warning admirers the festive decorations are actually communities of wasps. The tan-colored globes are often referred to as “oak apple galls” and can easily be mistaken for fruit, according to Connecticut Fish and Wildlife. These little galls are some of the most amazing natural occurrences in our forests that are still not fully understood by scientists,” the department wrote in a June 23 Facebook post.
PoliticsHuffPostJoe Manchin Says He ‘Trusted’ Neil Gorsuch And Brett Kavanaugh, Is Now Disappointed
I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans,” Manchin said in a statement. At his confirmation hearing, Gorsuch described Roe as “a precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court” and said “a good judge will consider it as precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other.
U.S.Associated PressWisconsin election investigator says he deleted records
The former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice hired to investigate President Joe Biden's victory in the battleground state testified Thursday that he routinely deleted records, and deactivated a personal email account, even after receiving open records requests. Michael Gableman testified in a court hearing about whether the person who hired him, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, should face penalties after earlier being found in contempt for how he handled the records requests from American Oversight. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn decided against penalizing Vos for contempt, but said she would determine later whether to penalize Vos for how he handled open records requests.
U.S.INSIDERPages from Brian Laundrie's notebook show he wrote 'I ended her life, I thought it was merciful'
Brian Laundrie's notebook appears to include a confession that he killed Gabby Petito. Laundrie also said he chose to kill himself because he couldn't "live another day without her." Brian Laundrie's notebook, recovered from a Florida swamp by the FBI, appears to include a confession that he was the one who killed Gabby Petito.
U.S.Miami HeraldBaby’s remains were ‘thrown away’ before parents could bury their child, lawsuit says
A premature baby was born at a hospital in Massachusetts and died nearly two weeks later in her mother's hands following medical complications. As Alana Ross and Daniel McCarthy prepared to bury their daughter, Everleigh, who was born in Boston on July 25, 2020, they learned her remains were “thrown away” with linens from the morgue, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, June 23, against Brigham and Women's Hospital. Prior to learning their daughter's remains were lost, a nurse had “promised and assured Daniel that Baby Everleigh's body would be safe for several days in the morgue,” according to court documents.
BusinessAutoblogToyota tells American bZ4X electric crossover owners to park their cars immediately [Updated]
Toyota is recalling nearly 3,000 examples of its brand-new bZ4X electric crossover to address a problem that can potentially result in wheel separation, Reuters reported Thursday. According to the report, sharp turns or acceleration can cause the EV's hub bolts to loosen, increasing the risk that a wheel could come off at speed. Per the wire service, the campaign covers 2,700 vehicles, of which 2,200 were headed to Europe, just 260 to the United States, 20 to Canada and 110 to Toyota's home market.
U.S.Charlotte Observer5-year-old trapped in pool for hours, TN rescuers say. ‘Please hurry and get me out’
A 5-year-old was at a neighborhood swimming pool when his hand got stuck in a jet, leaving him trapped for hours, officials said. Tennessee mom Lydia Johnston said she was in the water watching her kids when she suddenly heard her son scream. “It was very tough,” Johnston said, according to WTVF.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden accidentally flashed a cue card telling him exactly where to go and what to do at a White House event
Joe Biden accidentally revealed his cue card for a White House meeting, with very simple instructions. Cue cards are common, but right-wing commentators treated this one as a serious gaffe. President Joe Biden accidentally revealed a cue card at a White House meeting on Thursday, offering a glimpse of very simple instructions for the process of the meeting.
ScienceReutersThe 'Mount Everest' of bacteria discovered in Caribbean swamps
The largest-known bacterium - a vermicelli-shaped organism that was discovered in shallow mangrove swamps in the Caribbean and is big enough to be seen with the naked eye - is redefining what is possible for bacteria, Earth's most ancient life form. Scientists said on Thursday the bacterium, called Thiomargarita magnifica, is noteworthy not merely for its size - colossal for a single-celled organism at up to about eight-tenths of an inch (2 cm) long - but also because its internal architecture is unlike other bacteria. The DNA, an organism's blueprint, is not free-floating inside the cell like in most bacteria but contained within numerous small membrane-bound sacs.
PoliticsThe New York TimesIn Boebert's District, as Elsewhere, Democrats Surge into GOP Primary
Driven by fears of extremism and worries about what they see as an authoritarianism embodied in Boebert, thousands of Democrats in the sprawling 3rd Congressional District of Colorado have rushed to shore up her Republican challenger, state Sen. Don Coram. Their aim is not to do what best for Democrats but what they think is best for democracy. It is a long shot: Coram has raised about $226,000 in a late-starting, largely invisible bid to oust a national figure who has raked in $5 million.
PoliticsHuffPostStephen Colbert Flags Hilarious Text That 'Jumped Out' From Jan. 6 Hearing
Stephen Colbert noticed a text during Tuesday's Jan. 6 committee hearing that seemed like an awfully casual way to start a chat about an attempted coup. The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack presented evidence that showed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) wanted to hand-deliver slates of fake electors to Vice President Mike Pence during the certification of the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021. Pence aide Chris Hodgson wrote “Sup?” to Johnson staffer Sean Riley just after noon on Jan. 6 with Riley responding that he needed to “hand something to VPOTUS.”
PoliticsReutersExplainer-What charges could Trump face over efforts to overturn the 2020 election?
The president's efforts likely violated a federal law making it illegal to "corruptly" obstruct any official proceeding, or attempt to do so, said Andrew Carter, the California federal judge overseeing the case. "The pressure on Pence alone is enough" for prosecutors to prove Trump obstructed the proceeding, said Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former federal prosecutor. CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES The committee submitted the court filing as part of its effort to force Trump adviser John Eastman to hand over documents.
BusinessTheStreet.comCalifornia Companies Moving to Texas Now Have to Make a Choice
Large companies have been moving their headquarters from places like California, Illinois, and New York to states with more relaxed regulatory regimes for years now. Elon Musk famously abandoned California for Texas last year when he moved Tesla's headquarters to Austin. In addition, Caterpillar just set plans to move from Illinois to Texas.
WorldThe TelegraphUkraine war: Russia 'destroys up to 50 long-range rocket launchers in high-precision airstrike'
Russia's defence ministry has claimed it used high-precision weapons to strike Ukrainian army fuel tanks and military hardware near the southern city of Mykolaiv. In a video statement, Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that Russia's air forces had destroyed “up to 50 multiple launch rocket systems located in combat vehicle hangars, including foreign-made ones” and 49 Ukrainian military fuel tanks in the Mykolaiv region yesterday. One civilian was killed and two were wounded after seven "Onyx" missiles hit Mykolaiv yesterday, according to the south district of the Ukrainian armed forces.
WorldReutersAnalysis-Russia's grinding battlefield gains seen driven by new tactics
It took Russia weeks of fierce fighting, an untold number of casualties, and relentless shelling before the exhausted Ukrainian defenders of Sievierodonetsk received orders to quit its smouldering wreckage. But its capture, if and when officially confirmed, is likely to be hailed by Russia as evidence that its switch from its early and unsuccessful attempts at "lightning warfare" to a much slower grinding offensive which relies more on long-range shelling rather than close-quarters combat, is paying off. Sievierodonetsk would be the biggest Ukrainian city Russia has captured since it took the port of Mariupol last month.
- PoliticsYahoo Entertainment
Trump supporters befuddled when confronted by facts from Jan. 6 hearings
Attendees were shown testimonies from witnesses, but many were unable to accept the information being presented to them. For example, one gentleman was shown a video of Ivanka Trump testifying that she believed Attorney General William Barr's assertion that no voter fraud was committed in the 2000 election. I respect Attorney General Barr,” Trump had said, “So I accepted what he was saying.
BusinessAmerican City Business JournalsA record setter: Airbus Wichita engineer design sets paper airplane mark
The Air Capital of the World can lay claim to another aerospace record. Julian Chee, a design engineer at Airbus Americas Engineering, designed a paper airplane that in April was used in South Korea to set a record for the longest paper airplane flight in history. Chee's design flew 252 feet, breaking the previous best by 26 feet and gaining entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.
BusinessReutersCisco wins reversal of $2.75 billion damages award because judge's wife owned stock
(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Thursday threw out a more than $2.75 billion award against Cisco Systems Inc, saying the trial judge should have disqualified himself after learning that his wife owned Cisco stock. The 3-0 decision by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals was also a defeat for Centripetal Networks Inc, a Virginia company that had sued Cisco for damages and royalties for allegedly copying five cybersecurity patents. The trial judge, U.S. District Judge Henry Morgan in Norfolk, Virginia, found Cisco liable for patent infringement in October 2020, two months after learning that his wife owned 100 Cisco shares worth $4,688.
“More than half of mass shooters exhibited clear warning signs before committing their crimes, which makes such laws worthwhile.”
“It’s very difficult to determine if a person with no obvious criminal or mental illness history poses such a threat.”
“We will not end mass shootings, but smart public policy can reduce them.”
"A wider net is bound to ensnare many people who do not actually pose a threat.”
“They may also further dissuade gun owners from seeking mental health treatment if they fear their guns could be seized.”