- WorldBloomberg
Iran Warns U.S. Against Seizing Oil Tanker Headed to Greece
The tanker, formerly called the Grace 1 and re-named the Adrian Darya 1, was signaling Kalamata, Greece -- at least for now -- with an arrival date of Aug. 26, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg at 5:25 p.m. London time. The vessel left Gibraltar Sunday night after being detained there since early July, when British forces seized it on suspicion of carrying oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions. The U.S., which has sanctions against Iran, is seeking to prevent anyone from doing business with the ship.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
A Fox News host hit back at Trump's claims that the network has 'changed' after it published a poll suggesting that leading Democrats would beat him in 2020
The Fox News host Bret Baier pushed back on US President Donald Trump's claim that the network had "changed" after it published a poll that suggested he would lose the 2020 election in matchups with four Democratic contenders. Trump said on Sunday that "there's something going on at Fox" and that his "worst polls have always been from Fox." Baier said on Monday that Fox hadn't changed and that its poll results matched those of other polls, adding that the network's reporting is "fair, balanced, and unafraid."
- PoliticsNational Review
Sanders Hits Back after Co-Sponsor Harris Criticizes Medicare for All
Senator Bernie Sanders hit back at Senator Kamala Harris Monday evening after Harris said at a fundraiser in the Hamptons that she has “not been comfortable” with the Medicare for All plan she cosponsored with Sanders. If I ever visited there, I would tell them the same thing I have said for the last 30 years: We must pass a Medicare for All system to guarantee affordable health care for all, not just for those who can afford it. “I think almost every member of the United States Senate who's running for president, and many others, have signed on to a variety of plans in the Senate.
- NewsThe Independent
Texas police who led black man down street by rope will not face criminal probe
Police officers who led a handcuffed African American man down a street with a rope on horseback will not be subjected to a criminal probe in the state, despite widespread outrage after images of the incident were shared online. The decision was announced on Friday by the Texas Rangers, who said in a statement that an initial investigation found “nothing that warranted a criminal investigation”. The Galveston Police Department officers were seen riding horseback on 3 August, with 43-year-old Donald Neely being led with a rope clipped to his handcuffs.
WorldAFPTeens swept up in night raids in Kashmir clampdown
Ali Mohammad Rah sat on the pavement outside a police station in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on Tuesday, waiting to see his teenage sons, who were swept up in government raids overnight. "Soldiers violently banged windows of our home while we were sleeping," Rah told AFP, saying his sons -- aged 14 and 16 -- were taken away before dawn in the Srinagar neighbourhood of Mehjoor Nagar. Government sources say at least 4,000 people have been detained in Kashmir since India revoked the restive Himalayan region's autonomy on August 5 and imposed a massive security lockdown on the restive region.
- NewsAssociated Press
Authorities praised for handling of protests in Portland
After previous political rallies that ended in violence, police in Portland, Oregon, earned praise Monday from outside observers for using a natural barrier — the city's Willamette River — to keep dueling protesters apart during a weekend far-right rally and large counter-demonstration that included a subset of masked and black-clad anti-fascists. As the city returned to normal, Mayor Ted Wheeler called Saturday's dueling demonstrations a win for residents. Oregon's top federal prosecutor called the handling of the event a "definitive counterpoint" for those who on both sides who have criticized police after past protests for favoring one side or the other.
- WorldReuters
Philippines' Duterte warns of 'unfriendly' greeting for uninvited warships
President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Tuesday foreign ships faced "unfriendly" treatment if they ventured into Philippines' territorial waters without permission, in a swipe at China's deployment of warships a few miles off the coast. The warning comes as Duterte faces critics at home who accuse him of being passive over Chinese provocations in exchange for business ties with Beijing, though promised investments have been slow in coming. Duterte's frustration over multiple sightings this year of Chinese warships moving within the country's 12-mile territorial sea, at various locations in the archipelago, was relayed on Tuesday by his spokesman Salvador Panelo.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Tourists who stole sand from beach in Sardinia could face up to six years in prison
A pair of tourists face up to six years in prison after allegedly stealing a large quantity of sand from the pristine beaches of Sardinia. The French couple were found to have nearly 40kg (90lb) of fine white sand in the boot of their car. The vehicle was stopped during a routine check by border police as the tourists were preparing to board a ferry in Porto Torres, on the north coast of the island, bound for Toulon in France.
- ScienceUSA TODAY
Scientists detect a black hole swallowing a neutron star 'like Pac-man'
More wild news from outer space: For the first time, scientists have detected a black hole devouring a neutron star, according to a report released Monday. About 900 million years ago, this black hole ate a very dense star, known as a neutron star, like Pac-man – possibly snuffing out the star instantly,” said Susan Scott, a scientist with the Australian National University, in a statement. Neutron stars are small yet incredibly dense stellar objects and are the collapsed remains of imploded stars.
- WorldWLS – Chicago
Wauconda couple claims they were unfairly arrested, assaulted by police on Mexican vacation
A suburban couple said their relaxing tropical vacation in Mexico ended in a jailhouse, on a dirt floor, in their swimsuits. The husband and wife said they were unfairly arrested and assaulted by Mexican police.
- WorldBloomberg
Turkey Fires Kurdish Mayors Ahead of Military Push Into Syria
Turkey fired the elected mayors of three major Kurdish-dominated cities in the country's southeast and detained more than 400 people in a crackdown as it prepares to push a Syrian Kurdish militia away from its border. The mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van were removed Monday for their alleged ties to the PKK, an autonomy-seeking Kurdish group classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of Kurdish protesters outside the mayor's office in Diyarbakir, according to footage by Arti TV.
- NewsCharlotte Observer
Couple who ran a home for troubled boys charged with trafficking children, forced labor
A husband and wife who ran a home for troubled boys in Texas have been arrested a year after the home was raided and eight boys were removed, reports say. Gary Wiggins, 49, and his wife Meghann Wiggins, 34, have been charged with intentionally trafficking four underage boys “through force, fraud or coercion,” making them “engage in forced labor or services,” KXAN reported. The couple operated Joshua Home, a Christian-based residential home for “troubled boys,” KEYE reported.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Immigration lawyers: We saw what's happening at the US-Mexico border. It's a tragic farce.
We went to El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to help asylum seekers caught in this program and it was immediately clear: MPP is designed to give the appearance of due process — a day in court where they can ask for asylum — but in reality due process is nowhere to be found. Fleeing kidnappings and rape In Juarez, they're dropped off at a facility on the Mexico side of the Paso del Norte bridge and then simply released onto the street. They lean on the assistance of non-profit and faith-based groups, but there are a finite number of shelters.
- NewsAFP
US court convicts far-right members over clashes with leftists
Two members of a far-right group were convicted Monday of brawling with anti-fascist demonstrators in New York, as tensions between white supremacists and leftists simmer in the United States. Maxwell Hare, 27, and John Kinsman, 39, members of the Proud Boys group, were found guilty of several counts of attempted assault and rioting by a Manhattan court. A jury decided the pair assaulted four members of Antifa, an anti-fascist group, who were protesting outside an event that Hare and Kinsman had attended on October 12 last year.
- NewsAssociated Press
US sued over Honduran man's suicide after family separation
A new lawsuit blames the Trump administration's family separations for the death by suicide of a Honduran father after being separated from his 3-year-old child. The widow of Marco Antonio Muñoz sued the U.S. government and South Texas' Starr County, which operated the local jail where he died. The Texas Civil Rights Project, which announced the lawsuit Monday, said it was the first known lawsuit that linked a person's suicide to the zero-tolerance policy enacted last spring and ended amid worldwide condemnation.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
The Must-See, Drop-Dead-Gorgeous Cars from the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
These incredible rides glittered on the 18th green at Pebble Beach this year and caught our editors' attention. From Car and Driver
- WorldReuters
U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo
The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. p In an interview with MSNBC, Pompeo said the U.S. government was confident it could continue with its strategy.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
A billboard in Baltimore calls Jared Kushner a 'rich pest.' It was put up by PETA
A billboard in Baltimore posted by the controversial animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) shows a cartoon version of Jared Kushner next to a rat. The billboard plays off the revelation that President Donald Trump's son-in-law owned multiple rat-infested buildings in Baltimore, calling him a "rich pest" as a cartoonized depiction of him sits atop a pile of money. The news followed President Trump's statements attacking Baltimore, calling it a "rat and rodent infested mess."
- NewsBusiness Insider
2 days before he died, Jeffrey Epstein signed a new will putting his $577 million in assets in a trust — $18 million more than he told the court he was worth
The disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein signed a new will just two days before his death by suicide, court papers obtained by the New York Post show. The documents were filed August 8 in the US Virgin Islands, and they list holdings that were previously not disclosed, including Aviation Assets, Automobiles and Boats, which totaled $18.5 million, as well as fine arts, antiques, collectibles, valuables,'' which have yet to be appraised. The assets were transferred to a trust called "The 1953 Trust," named after the year he was born.
- WorldThe Independent
China could ‘render US military bases useless’ within hours of conflict in Asia, report says
China's military could use missiles to overwhelm American military bases in Asia within hours, a think tank has warned. The US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific is “in the throes of an unprecedented crisis”, according to a report from the United States Studies Center, at the University of Sydney in Australia. The report said China has deployed a “formidable array of precision missiles and other counter-intervention systems to undercut America's military primacy” in the region.
- WorldBloomberg
Cathay Remains Under Scrutiny as CEO Takes Fall for Protests
Incoming CEO Augustus Tang has the delicate task of continuing to placate China, an increasingly important market for the 72-year-old airline, while also minimizing the fallout from staff, customers and investors as the unrest in its home base continues to seethe. Whether Tang -- a long-time lieutenant with Cathay's biggest investor, Swire Group -- succeeds or falters, Cathay's story is having repercussions beyond the carrier itself. It's become a cautionary tale of modern-day China, with the country increasingly willing to call out companies that want access to its lucrative consumer market, but don't toe the party line.
- NewsMiami Herald
Fourth correctional officer arrested after alleged Florida prison beating on video
A fourth Florida Department of Corrections officer has been arrested in connection with an alleged July 8 beating of an inmate that was caught on video. The arrest affidavit says that after joining other corrections officers at Lake Correctional Institution outside Orlando, Ian Gretka grabbed the inmate and began “maliciously and without legal authority“ pounding punches to the torso as the inmate was face down. In announcing the arrest of Gretka in Lake County on a charge of principal to malicious battery, the corrections department also announced his firing after three years with the agency.
ScienceAFPNew planet discovered in orbit of young Milky Way star
A second planet has been discovered circling Beta Pictoris, a fledgling star in our own galaxy offering astronomers a rare glimpse of a planetary system in the making, according to a study published Monday. "We talking about a giant planet about 3,000 times more massive than Earth, situated 2.7 times further from its star than the Earth is from the Sun," said Anne-Marie Lagrange, an astronomer at France's National Centre for Scientific Research and lead author of a study in Nature Astronomy. Like its big sister b Pictoris b, discovered by Lagrange and her team in 2009, it is a gassy giant.
- WorldAssociated Press
Afghanistan mourns, vows to crush militants after attack
Afghanistan's president on Monday vowed to "eliminate" all safe havens of the Islamic State group as the country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day after a horrific wedding attack claimed by the local IS affiliate. President Ashraf Ghani's comments came as Afghanistan mourns at least 63 people, including children, killed in the Kabul bombing at a wedding hall late Saturday night. The wedding hall bomber detonated his explosives in the middle of a dancing crowd, and the IS affiliate later said he had targeted a gathering of minority Shiites, whom it views as apostates deserving of death.
- NewsCharlotte Observer
Serial killer who murdered SC teen featured on new season of Netflix’s ‘Mindhunter’
The second season of Netflix's true crime show “Mindhunter” features a serial killer with a South Carolina connection. The girl was the daughter of a former South Carolina state representative, James Cuttino. Mindhunter is based on the work of real-life FBI agents who built psychological profiles of serial killers by interviewing notorious murderers such as Charles Manson, Son of Sam and Ed Kemper.
