- NewsThe Independent
Six people aged 62 to 85 arrested for 'sexual activity' in woods after police surveillance operation
Six people aged 62 to 85 have been arrested after police officers went into the woods to watch them having sex. The group was arrested in a conservation area in Fairfield, Connecticut, which is some 87 acres in size. Police said they had found posts online advertising the Grace Richardson environmental preserve as somewhere to meet and have sex, according to the Associated Press news agency.
- WorldReuters
Iran ready to work on French nuclear deal proposals, does not want war: foreign minister
Iran is prepared to work on French proposals to salvage the international nuclear deal that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015 but it will not tolerate U.S. interference in the Gulf, its foreign minister said on Thursday. At a time of heightened friction between Tehran and Washington, Iran also on Thursday displayed what it described as a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defense system. The United State abandoned the international nuclear deal in May last year and stepped up sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
- WorldThe Telegraph
China warns UK to stay out of its affairs after arrest of British Consul worker
China warned the UK not to meddle in its affairs over Hong Kong on Wednesday after the arrest of a British Consulate official worsened already strained ties between Beijing and London. Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate's Scottish Development International section, went missing on August 8 on the way back from a business event in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Britain has said it is “extremely” concerned.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'Storm Area 51' event pushes rural Nevada county to declare emergency
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Commissioners in Nevada's rural Lincoln County have voted to pre-sign an emergency declaration ahead of the "Storm Area 51" raid event that's so far drawn more than 2 million RSVPs on Facebook. "We passed this with the caveat that this may or may not happen," said District D Commissioner Kevin Phillips. "We're just trying to do the best we can to prepare for something we know not of. California resident Matty Roberts created the event – called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" – in June after listening to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
BusinessAFPAlbania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists
Albanian officials on Wednesday razed a beachfront restaurant whose owner was captured on camera attacking a car rented by Spanish tourists, as the country scrambles to clean up its reputation as a burgeoning holiday destination. The incident, filmed by the victims' tour guide from inside their vehicle, took place at the weekend in Porto-Palermo on the Ionian coast in southern Albania, a popular tourist spot. The restaurant owner, 51-year-old Mihal Kokedhima, was arrested and faces trial for "verbally assaulting a group of Spanish tourists for futile reasons", damaging their car and causing minor injuries, police said.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Ford's "Mustang-Inspired" Mach E Electric SUV Steps Out in Prototype Form
These spy photos give us our first look at the upcoming Ford Mach E electric crossover in the flesh. While we can't see much through the heavy camouflage, we can see glimpses at the Mustang-inspired front end. The Mach E will debut sometime in 2020, likely as a 2021 model.
- NewsThe Guardian
We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it
As mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn't they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?
- BusinessBGR News
Huawei’s founder just sent a desperate but brutal memo to workers
When he was a younger man, Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei joined China's People's Liberation Army as an engineer, at one point heading out with the army for China's frigid north as part of a crew tasked with building a synthetic fiber factory. The overarching message was that employees of the company, which is the subject of a now stepped-up ban as of Monday, need to redouble their efforts if Huawei is to survive. Workers need to “either form a 'commando squad' to explore new projects — in which case they could be promoted to company commander if they do well,” Zhengfei wrote in the memo.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump dismisses criticism of his dual loyalty comments: 'It's only anti-Semitic in your head'
President Trump Wednesday expanded on his views about how Jews who vote for Democrats are “disloyal” and dismissed any criticism of his comments. When asked by a reporter on the White House lawn Wednesday afternoon if his comments were anti-Semitic, Trump dismissed the criticism. “Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” Trump said on Tuesday.
- NewsThe Independent
Man punches his own lawyer in court
A defendant standing trial for attacking a corrections officer punched his own lawyer during a hearing in an Arizona courtroom. Footage of Lamont Payne's violent assault in Maricopa County was caught on court camera and released by officials. It shows Payne striking out after being ordered to leave proceedings for repeatedly interrupting the judge.
- NewsAssociated Press
Newark man faces child sex charges; mummified remains found
Police responding to a call about child sexual abuse said they found mummified remains and an altar to an unknown deity in the home of a man who is now facing multiple charges. Robert Williams is scheduled for an initial court appearance Friday. According to the Essex County prosecutor's office, Newark police investigated after receiving reports that the 53-year-old Williams had been abusing a 13-year-old child for several months.
- LifestyleDelish
Boycott the Oven With These Summer Slow Cooker Recipes
For those 'not turning on the oven today' moods. From Delish
- BusinessReuters
Farmer's threat prompts U.S. Agriculture Department to pull staff from crop tour
CORALVILLE, Iowa/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat of violence was made during a phone call from an angry farmer. U.S. farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not reflect damage from historic flooding this spring. Lance Honig, crops chief at the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, was among the USDA staffers who had to leave the privately-run Pro Farmer tour, three sources with knowledge of the situation said.
U.S.FOX News VideosCalifornia blames Texas for San Francisco's homeless crisis
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says many homeless people on the streets of San Francisco are from Texas. Former California assemblyman turned Texas resident Chuck DeVore reacts.
WorldAFPUK's Johnson to hold Brexit talks with Macron after Merkel offers glimmer of hope
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Paris on Thursday, a day after Berlin offered a glimmer of hope that an agreement could be reached to avoid a chaotic "no deal" Brexit. On the second leg of his first foreign visit since taking office, Johnson will meet his French counterpart at the Elysee palace to press home his message that elements of the UK's impending divorce from the European Union must be renegotiated. Macron on Wednesday dismissed Johnson's demands that the EU reopen negotiations on the Irish border, saying that the bloc had always been clear it would not agree.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Ex-VA doctor who was fired for being drunk on job charged with manslaughter in 3 veterans' deaths
A former Veterans Affairs pathologist fired for being intoxicated on the job was charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with "incorrect and misleading diagnoses" he made, federal prosecutors in Arkansas said Tuesday. Robert Morris Levy was indicted by a federal grand jury and faces additional charges of fraud and making false statements. Levy not only lied about his alcohol use and manipulated mandatory alcohol and drug tests, but he also falsified patient records that ultimately caused the veterans' deaths, a federal investigation found.
- NewsINSIDER
Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school
Idaho motorists have reportedly been harassing buses carrying children under the age of five. The buses drive low-income children of migrants or agricultural workers to federally funded educational programs during the day. Idaho drivers have reportedly been harassing busloads of young kids, prompting a local nonprofit to remove signs from the buses that identify the riders as children of migrant workers.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Ivanka tried convincing Trump on background checks by visualizing it as a 'historic' Rose Garden ceremony. The NRA had other thoughts.
President Donald Trump was moving closer to supporting meaningful background checks, a legislative proposal that has historically incensed the National Rifle Association but has gained bipartisan traction in the wake of two mass shootings earlier this month. The idea was also advocated by White House senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, who attempted to sell it by framing it as a "historic" and "unprecedented" ceremony at the White House's Rose Garden, The Atlantic reported. Trump was said to have initially "loved it," a former White House official reportedly said.
- WorldThe Independent
Mexico court approves recreational cocaine use for two people
A Mexican court has granted two people the right to use cocaine recreationally, according to an organisation campaigning to end the country's “war on drugs”. The Mexico City court said it would allow both claimants to “possess, transport and use cocaine”, Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD) said. However, they will not be allowed to sell the drug.
- NewsAssociated Press
Jet catches fire in Northern California; 10 aboard unhurt
All 10 people aboard a small jet escaped injury Wednesday after the aircraft aborted its takeoff at a small Northern California airport, went off the runway and burst into flames, officials said. The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna Citation jet aborted its takeoff at Oroville Municipal Airport for unknown reasons shortly before noon, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The plane was carrying two pilots and eight passengers, and "all were accounted for, no injuries," said Joe Deal, Oroville's fire and police chief.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Jay Inslee Announces Third Run for Governor of Washington State
Washington Governor Jay Inslee said Thursday that he would seek a third term in office, one day after he withdrew as a presidential candidate. I want to continue to stand with you in opposing Donald Trump and rejecting his hurtful and divisive agenda, while strengthening and enhancing Washington state's role as a progressive beacon for the nation,” Inslee, 68, said in a statement. Inslee had built his presidential campaign around battling climate change, an issue he said he would continue to champion as governor.
- U.S.WQAD - Moline
'This Case is Hot': Key Evidence from Boat Possibly Linked to Illinois Girl Missing for 23 Years
Police in Moline say they're getting closer to answers as the FBI investigates what could be a key piece of evidence tied to the prime suspect in the case of Trudy Appleby.
- WorldReuters
Interpol issues red notice for former Colombian guerrilla leader
Interpol on Thursday issued a red notice for a fugitive Colombian lawmaker and former FARC rebel commander who the United States wants extradited for alleged conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine. Seuxis Paucias Hernandez - known best by his guerrilla nom de guerre Jesus Santrich - was indicted in 2017 by a U.S. grand jury, setting off a legal saga that has seen him twice arrested and released. Colombian President Ivan Duque has said Hernandez may have fled to neighboring Venezuela.
WorldAFPMoney, muscle, media: how China has handled Hong Kong protests
Shaping the narrative - As protests erupted in June, discussion inside authoritarian China was muted, censored on social media or played down on state outlets. But as chaos unfurled across Hong Kong, Beijing changed tack seeking to shape the narrative in its favour. After a tense airport siege, which saw protesters assault two Chinese nationals accused of being "spies", Beijing ramped up the rhetoric saying protesters were guilty of "terrorist-like actions".
- NewsThe Daily Beast
Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen
After nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods. Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office. The young woman's skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.
