- PoliticsThe Telegraph
Joe Biden buries the hatchet and looks to bring in Kamala Harris as running mate
With so much on the line, the knives have been out for Ms Harris within the Democratic party. Anonymous briefings, some emanating from people in 77-year-old Mr Biden's own camp, have attempted to portray her as disloyal, ruthlessly ambitious, opportunistic, untrustworthy and intent on becoming president herself. As one Democrat donor put it: “She would be running for president the day of the [Biden] inauguration.
- BusinessBBC
Egypt tells Elon Musk its pyramids were not built by aliens
Egypt has invited billionaire Elon Musk to visit the country and see for himself that its famous pyramids were not built by aliens. The SpaceX boss had tweeted what appeared to be support for conspiracy theorists who say aliens were involved in the colossal construction effort. The tombs discovered in the 1990s are definitive evidence, experts say, that the magnificent structures were indeed built by ancient Egyptians.
- WorldNBC News
Record coronavirus case rises reported as U.S. faces stark death toll projection
Record daily coronavirus case spikes have been reported in several countries after social distancing measures were eased, days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a stark projection that the U.S. death toll could climb to 180,000 Americans by the end of this month. In Japan, the number of new coronavirus cases topped 1,500 for the first time since the pandemic began in February. The capital Tokyo reported an increase of 472 cases on Saturday, a new record, health officials in the country said.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Airbnb cracks down on New Jersey 'party houses' as COVID-19 spreads among young people
Thirty-five Airbnb listings across New Jersey were suspended or removed from the website following complaints of house parties that flout restrictions on gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the suspensions announced Friday came directly from complaints of neighbors, who called into Airbnb's 24/7 Neighborhood Support Hotline, the company said. The “vast majority” of Airbnb hosts “take important steps to prevent unauthorized parties,” the company said.
- U.S.Associated Press
Annual Sturgis rally expecting 250K, stirring virus concerns
Sturgis is on. The message has been broadcast across social media as South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, braces to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to rumble through western South Dakota, seeking the freedom of cruising the boundless landscapes in a state that has skipped lockdowns.
- PoliticsNational Review
New Disclosures Confirm: Trump Himself Was the Target of Obama Administration’s Russia Probe
Long-sought documents finally pried from U.S. intelligence agencies prove that the Obama administration used the occasion of providing a standard intelligence briefing for major-party candidates as an opportunity to investigate Donald Trump on suspicion of being a Russian asset. I say investigate Donald Trump advisedly. As I contended in Ball of Collusion, my book on the Trump-Russia investigation, the target of the probe spearheaded by the FBI — but greenlighted by the Obama White House, and abetted by the Justice Department and U.S. intelligence agencies — was Donald Trump.
- WorldLA Times
Mexico arrests 'El Marro,' gang leader at the center of a bloody cartel war
Mexican authorities on Sunday arrested the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, a gang known for stealing millions of dollars in fuel from government pipelines and for turning once-peaceful Guanajuato state into one of the most dangerous regions in the country. Videos show the predawn capture by federal and state authorities of José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, who is known by the alias "El Marro," which means "the Sledgehammer." The capture of Yépez Ortiz, one of the most high-profile arrests by the Mexican government in years, highlights the contradictory nature of the security policies pushed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus criticized Republican lawmakers for refusing to wear masks in the Capitol
Bonnie Cash/Pool via Reuters An Arizona congressman who tested positive for the coronavirus condemned Republican lawmakers for not wearing face masks in the Capitol. Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday but is currently asymptomatic and "feeling fine," according to a spokesperson. Grijalva self-isolated out of pre-caution after attending a hearing with Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who has frequently not worn a face mask on the floor and tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
- U.S.The Telegraph
Residents forced to evacuate as 'Apple Fire' burns out of control in California
Nearly 8,000 residents of Riverside County in Southern California were forced to evacuate their homes on Saturday as a wildfire spread uncontained across more than 4,000 acres, the County fire department said. The fire - dubbed the Apple Fire by local firefighters, who routinely give blazes identifying names - was reported on Friday in Cherry Valley, a community about 75 miles east of Los Angeles. Photographs shared by the Riverside County fire department on Twitter on Saturday showed thick plumes of smoke filling the sky over the mountainous region.
- U.S.The Independent
Homeland Security official reassigned after intelligence reports on journalists covering protests
A US intelligence official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been reassigned following revelations that his office compiled "intelligence reports" on journalists and analysed communications between protesters amid ongoing demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. Brian Murphy was removed from his post following a report in The Washington Post revealing that the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis sent open source intelligence reports to federal law enforcement agencies containing information from two reporters who had published leaked unclassified government documents while covering Black Lives Matter protests.
- U.S.INSIDER
A Black Lives Matter mural is set to be removed in Tulsa after the city received a request for a pro-police painting
Tulsa City Council decided to remove the Black Lives Matter painting located in the Greenwood District after the mural was not granted city approval. Tulsa World reported that the painter and organizer of the mural, Ryan Rhoades, did not get city approval for the street painting. "I was like, with us having Black Wall Street here and Juneteenth and Trump coming to town, we just seem like the most likely city to do this next."
U.S.Yahoo News VideoConnie Culp, 1st US partial face transplant recipient, dies
Connie Culp, the recipient of the first partial face transplant in the U.S., has died at 57, almost a dozen years after the groundbreaking operation.
- WorldNBC News
Staples customer who told woman to wear mask is thrown to ground, has broken leg
A 54-year-old New Jersey woman suffered a broken leg after she was thrown to the ground in a Staples by another customer whom she had told to wear a mask, authorities said. Police have released surveillance video from the incident that occurred at about 3:19 p.m. Wednesday at a Staples in Hackensack. Margot Kagan, of Teaneck, told police she was using a fax machine at the store when a woman with a mask pulled down below her mouth approached a machine next to her.
- WorldBBC
India toxic alcohol: Dozens die in Punjab poisoning
At least 86 people have died in recent days as a result of drinking illegally-made alcohol, officials in the northern Indian state of Punjab say. On Friday, Punjab's Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered an inquiry into the deaths. The case follows reports on Friday of the deaths of 10 people - said to have alcohol addictions - who drank hand sanitiser in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Biden eyes major foreign policy shifts if he wins
Should former Vice President Joe Biden win the White House in November, America will likely be in for a foreign policy about-face as Biden reverses, dismantles or severely curtails many of President Donald Trump's most significant and boldest actions. From the Middle East to Asia, Latin America to Africa and, particularly, Europe, and on issues including trade, terrorism, arms control and immigration, the presumptive Democratic nominee and his advisers have vowed to unleash a tsunami of change in how the U.S. handles itself in the international arena. With few exceptions, Americans could expect Biden to re-engage with traditional allies.
WorldAFPVerdict looms in killing of Lebanon ex-PM Hariri
A UN-backed tribunal will give its verdict Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, but questions will remain over a long and costly trial whose suspects remain at large. Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people. The judgment harks back to an event that changed the face of the Middle East, with Hariri's assassination triggering a wave of demonstrations that pushed Syrian forces out of Lebanon after 30 years.
- PoliticsReuters
Arizona congressman tests positive for coronavirus
Representative Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, has tested positive for coronavirus but feels fine and has gone into isolation, he said in a statement on Saturday. Grijalva, 72, was told of the positive test by the attending physician of the capitol, he said. Grijalva chaired a hearing this week attended by Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has also tested positive and who has been photographed without a mask.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Emeritus Pope Benedict, 93, 'extremely frail' after visiting dying brother
Former pope Benedict XVI became seriously ill after visiting his sick brother in Germany in June and is "extremely frail", according to a report in the German Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Monday. Benedict, 93, is suffering from erysipelas of the face - a virus that causes a facial rash and episodes of severe pain, the newspaper reported, citing the former pope's biographer Peter Seewald. "According to Seewald, the Pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the report said.
- U.S.The Week
The federal pullback in Portland immediately brought calm to the anti-racism protests
Large crowds have still been showing up at the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, since federal agents disappeared from view Thursday, but there's been a palpable change in atmosphere, and for the first time in weeks, calm. Protesters and members of the Trump administration cited the withdrawal of militarized federal agents and their violent tactics — tear gas, rubber bullets, clubs, legally dubious detentions — as the main reason for the relative peace. With federal agents present, some protesters threw bottles or firecrackers, tried to breach fencing around the courthouse, and shined laser pointers at officers.
- U.S.INSIDER
Texas will now allow people taking the bar exam to bring their own menstrual products
The state of Texas will now allow people to take the days-long state bar exam to bring their own menstrual products, The Texas Tribune reported. The previous policy, which prohibited test-takers from being their own menstrual products to the exam for security concerns, was the subject of a critical July letter signed by hundreds of Texas lawyers, students, and professors. The Texas Board of Law Examiners previously provided the products in the women's restroom, according to the report.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
I flew on Southwest Airlines during the pandemic and came away impressed by how well the largest low-cost US airline handled social distancing
Tom Southwest Airlines is primed to recover quicker than its competitors since the airline focuses on domestic service with a passenger-friendly low-cost business model. Despite being a low-cost airline, Southwest is limiting capacity by around a third which means only two people maximum can sit in a row, leaving the middle seat unoccupied. I flew on the airline to see how its seemingly-generous policies translated into a real-world experience and was impressed with how the airline is handling this crisis.
U.S.FOX News VideosShould reopening elementary schools be the nation's top priority?
Parents Tom Kersting, Karith Foster, and Barbara Majeski weigh in on plans to reopen schools.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Florida man once bitten by alligator is chomped by 8-foot shark while on vacation
Justin Stuller was looking forward to relaxing in the Florida Keys — fishing, lobstering and swimming with his wife, kids, extended family and friends. Stuller, 38, now sports two dozen stitches and a small limp after he tangled with an eight-foot lemon shark Wednesday. Stuller said he has encountered sharks before on similar trips.
- BusinessAssociated Press
Microsoft confirms talks seeking to buy US arm of TikTok
Microsoft confirmed Sunday it is in talks with Chinese company ByteDance to acquire the U.S. arm of its popular video app TikTok and has discussed with President Donald Trump his concerns about security and censorship surrounding such an acquisition. In a statement, Microsoft said Microsoft and ByteDance have provided notice of their intent to explore a deal resulting in Microsoft owning and operating the TikTok service in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Trump said on Friday that he would soon ban TikTok in the United States.
- WorldBBC
Crashed plane packed with cocaine was bound for Australia, police say
Police say a small plane that crashed shortly after take-off in Papua New Guinea had been overloaded with cocaine destined for the Australian market. In a statement, Australian police said the gang had been under surveillance for two years. The light plane had taken off from Mareeba in North Queensland on Sunday and flew at a low altitude to avoid radar detection before landing at a remote airfield at Papa Lea Lea, north of Port Moresby.
