PoliticsYahoo News'Disappointed in Kavanaugh': New books on Trump offer behind-the-scenes looks at presidency
Hitler did a lot of good things' Bender's new book — “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” out Tuesday — details a trip to Europe to commemorate the end of World War I during which Trump reportedly told his chief of staff, John Kelly, “Well, Hitler did a lot of good things. At the time Kelly was giving Trump an impromptu history lesson. According to Bender, Kelly “told the president that he was wrong, but Trump was undeterred,” emphasizing German economic recovery under Hitler during the 1930s.
U.S.Associated PressJudge won't change 'trauma' wording in Chauvin memo
The Minnesota judge who oversaw the trial of Derek Chauvin is denying prosecutors' request to rewrite his sentencing order as it relates to the four girls who saw George Floyd's death, saying Tuesday that they may have been emotionally traumatized but that the state failed to prove it. Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote last week that he wasn't seeking to change Chauvin's 22 1/2-year sentence, but he asked Judge Peter Cahill to modify his sentencing order to remove suggestions that the teens and young girl were not traumatized. Cahill denied that request Tuesday, saying Ellison's mischaracterization of his sentencing order and the “tone and substance” of Ellison's request necessitated a response.
WorldAssociated PressOfficial: Afghan delegation, Taliban to talk peace in Qatar
A high-powered Afghan government delegation, which will include the head of the country's reconciliation council, is to meet the Taliban in Doha to jump-start a long-stalled peace process, an Afghan official said Tuesday. The Taliban were expected to bring their senior leaders to the table when the two sides meet, possibly on Friday, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Taliban maintain a political office in the Qatari capital of Doha.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramSea creature that can shock prey with 37 volts washes up on Texas beach. What is it?
A sea creature with enough electric power to zap you for a “jolting surprise” was recently spotted on a Texas beach. Padre Island National Seashore shared a photo Tuesday of a lesser electric ray, a species of numbfish that lives in the Gulf of Mexico. The electric ray was likely dead when it washed ashore last month and a park volunteer snapped a photo, officials say.
WorldThe TelegraphMinisters secretly take part in ‘get out of jail free’ Covid trial to avoid self-isolation
Ministers and civil servants at three government departments are able to avoid self-isolation after being quietly invited to join a special pilot scheme that allows them to take daily tests and return to work, The Telegraph can disclose. The scheme, nicknamed a Monopoly-style “get of jail free card” by MPs, is understood to have been used by Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, to avoid self-isolating when he returned from watching the Champions League final in Porto in May. Government sources confirmed that three Whitehall departments, including all staff and ministers who work in the Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street, had secretly signed up to the “daily contact testing workplace pilot”.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanBoise man shot by police after allegedly smashing van into patrol car faces 4 felonies
A Boise man who was shot by police officers on Sunday night after they said he rammed a stolen van into a patrol car several times has been charged with multiple felonies, including assault or battery upon certain personnel. Ezra Smith, 25, was served with an arrest warrant on Tuesday afternoon, according to a Boise Police Department news release. The incident began at around 7 p.m. Sunday when officers were called to the 7000 block of Overland Road after reports of a reckless driver and possible driving-under-the-influence situation in a moving van, according to a previous news release from BPD.
U.S.Associated PressCoffin of nanny killed in condo collapse returns to Paraguay
Wrapped in a Paraguayan flag and with a photograph of her young face, a coffin with the remains of Leidy Vanessa Luna Villalba arrived Tuesday in Asuncion where it was received by relatives grieving the nanny killed when a Miami-area condominium tower collapsed. The 23-year-old had been working for the family of the sister of Paraguayan first lady Silvana Abdo in the building in Surfside, Florida, that fell June 24. The bodies of the sister, Sophia López Moreira; her husband, Luis Pettengill; and the youngest of their three children have been found.
WorldBBCUS warns businesses over China's Xinjiang province
The US has issued a tough new warning to companies about doing business in China's Xinjiang province. US firms that still have supply chain and investment ties in the region were told they "could run a high risk of violating US law." Washington cited evidence of genocide and other human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
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Judge denies Newsom, California governor can't be listed as Democrat on recall ballot
California Gov. Gavin Newsom can't put his Democratic Party affiliation on the ballot voters see when they decide whether to remove him, a judge ruled Monday.
WorldAssociated PressSri Lanka economy in crisis as debt mounts, reserves dwindle
Sri Lanka has cut back on imports of farm chemicals, cars and even its staple spice turmeric as its foreign exchange reserves dwindle, hindering its ability to repay a mountain of debt as the South Asian island nation struggles to recover from the pandemic. Toothbrush handles, venetian blinds, strawberries, vinegar, wet wipes and sugar are among the hundreds of foreign-made goods that were banned or made subject to special licensing requirements meant to chip away at a trade deficit that has been deepening the country's financial quandary for years.
WorldThe Daily BeastIran Hatched a Plan to Kidnap a Journalist in Brooklyn Over Regime Criticism: DOJ
Iranian intelligence agents hatched a plan to kidnap a journalist in Brooklyn and spirit her away to Iran in retaliation for her criticism of the Iranian regime, the Justice Department alleged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday. The Iranian agents planned to take the journalist, who is an Iranian-born U.S. citizen, back to Iran, where, according to the Justice Department, “the victim's fate would have been uncertain at best. The Justice Department described her as “a journalist, author, and human rights activist, residing in Brooklyn, New York, who has publicized the Government of Iran's human rights abuses.
BusinessMiami Herald‘Life and death’: Norwegian cruises asks judge to nix DeSantis’ ban on vaccine passports
The third-largest cruise company in the world asked a federal judge Tuesday to overturn a new Florida law that bars companies from requiring cruise passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, escalating the industry's battle with Governor Ron DeSantis. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is suing Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, arguing that the law prevents the company from operating safely by unnecessarily putting cruise passengers and crew members at risk of contracting the virus. The company plans to restart cruises on its ships from Florida ports on Aug. 15 and require all passengers be vaccinated.
PoliticsKansas City StarMissouri Medicaid expansion case puts voter-approved constitutional amendment on trial
More than a year ago, a Missouri appeals court allowed a constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid eligibility to be placed on the statewide ballot. The three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals last June rejected arguments by conservative groups seeking to strike the proposed amendment from the ballot, ruling that it was constitutionally sound because that it did not seek to appropriate funds. Judges heard oral arguments Tuesday in the lawsuit brought by expansion proponents against the state after Gov. Mike Parson scuttled the plan in May.
U.S.Associated PressNew information jolts case in Iowa college student's slaying
Prosecutors in May dismissed a defendant's testimony that he was framed by two masked men for the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student, calling it a figment of his imagination. Jurors agreed, convicting Cristhian Bahena Rivera of first-degree murder in the July 2018 stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in one of the state's most high-profile cases in years. Both witnesses are unknown to each other, yet independently identified the same suspect to authorities after Bahena Rivera testified in his own defense May 26, his lawyers revealed in seeking a new trial for the 27-year-old Mexican national who came to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.
WorldBBCWhen a bathroom towel restored an Indian bureaucrat's pride
Specially marked towels, height-adjustable chairs to rise above the rest, a tsunami of permissions and an unrelenting battle to improve punctuality. Kaushik Basu, who later became World Bank chief economist, took leave from his position as a professor at Cornell University in the US to join the federal government in 2009, at the invitation of then-prime minister Manmohan Singh. During a government meeting, Prof Basu recounts, he decided to keep a tab on how many times the word was said.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramTexas House votes to allow for arrest of Democrats who fled to DC to block voting bill
The Texas House of Representatives voted to allow for the arrest of Texas House Democrats who have fled to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to stop election legislation. Most Democrats were missing from rows of desks that fill the House chamber, along with the keys needed to cast votes as lawmakers gaveled in at about 10 a.m. Tuesday. With the absences apparent and confirmed by a quorum, the lawmakers took a procedural vote called a “Motion for Call of the House.”
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Let’s Repot Our Plants
An ideal summer activity for you and your greenery Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
HealthKansas City StarAs Springfield hospitals struggle, Parson suggests health leaders playing blame game
As Springfield hospitals treat a growing wave of COVID-19 patients, Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday implicitly attacked one of the city's major hospital operators for announcing that it will require its employees to be vaccinated. Health officials and hospital leaders are begging people to get vaccinated and warning that the highly-contagious delta variant is overwhelming Springfield's hospitals. The facilities are caring for the most COVID patients ever and city officials have canceled a major upcoming festival because of the spreading variant.
WorldBBCIn numbers: Life in Afghanistan after America leaves
According to the UN's human rights agency, Afghanistan has the third largest displaced population in the world. The coronavirus pandemic has placed an additional strain on Afghanistan's nationwide resources, and lockdowns and movement restrictions have had an impact on many people's ability to earn money - especially in rural areas. According to the UN's Office for Humanitarian Affairs, more than 30% of the population are facing emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity.
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China says it 'drove away' U.S. warship on anniversary of tribunal ruling
China's military said it "drove away" a U.S. warship that illegally entered Chinese waters near the Paracel Islands on Monday, the anniversary of an international court ruling that held Beijing had no claim over the South China Sea.
U.S.INSIDERA Florida man who tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-girlfriend and blame it on Black Lives Matter pleaded guilty to the failed murder-for-hire plot
A Florida man who tried to have his ex-girlfriend murdered wanted to blame the shooting on Black Lives Matter. Daniel Slater told an FBI informant to spray "Black Lives Matter" on the home after a hitman committed the murder. A Florida man who attempted to have his his ex-girlfriend and members of her family killed last year, devised a plan to make it look like members of Black Lives Matter were involved in the murder, prosecutors said.
WorldBusiness InsiderViral video of Taliban executing 22 Afghan commandos as they surrendered ignites more criticism of Biden's withdrawal
Twenty-two Afghan commandos were apparently massacred by the Taliban while surrendering in June. CNN obtained video of the brutal incident, which raises more concerns about Afghanistan's future. "This is horrible-yet it's the reality of announcing the U.S. withdrawal," Rep. Kinzinger tweeted.
HealthThe Daily BeastTennessee Health Officials Halt All Vaccine Outreach for Kids After Pressure From GOP
The halted education efforts concern not only the COVID-19 vaccine, which the state has struggled to roll out, but all preventatives aimed at people under 18 for diseases like the flu or HPV. People over the age of 12 are eligible for coronavirus vaccines. If the agency does distribute information about vaccines, Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey informed staff to remove the department's logo from any materials, the Tennessean reports.
U.S.USA TODAYWisconsin man — and his family from Texas — charged in Jan. 6 insurrection at U.S. Capitol
A Wisconsin man and four of his family members from Texas are the latest people charged with raiding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 after a rally addressed by former President Donald Trump. Joshua Munn, 23, appeared in federal court in Madison Tuesday and waived his rights to a preliminary or detention hearing and was released on standard conditions not to commit any crimes, influence witnesses or obstruct investigators. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Madison, Josh Munn is from Melrose, in Jackson County.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden taps former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake to be US ambassador to Turkey amid growing tensions with Erdoğan
President Joe Biden has nominated Jeff Flake to be the US ambassador to Turkey. The former GOP senator would assume the role amid historic tensions between the US and Turkey. Turkey is a NATO ally, but Erdoğan's leadership style has strained US-Turkey relations.
“Make no mistake, the court is moving in a conservative direction, and the conservative justices are in the driver’s seat.”
“This is a conservative court. … It is not, however, a court that’s driven by Trump’s appointees in a Trumpian direction.”
“It’s going to be a snowball. Every term they’re going to be more comfortable taking more controversial cases.”
“They are rightly concerned about overreaching and appear resolved in each case to decide no more than need be decided.”
“Single out the cases that really matter … and the court doesn’t look so unpredictable or nonpartisan.”