WorldAssociated PressRussian diplomats depart Bulgaria amid soaring tensions
Two Russian airplanes departed Bulgaria on Sunday with scores of Russian diplomatic staff and their families amid a mass expulsion that has sent tensions soaring between the historically close nations, a Russian diplomat said. Filip Voskresenski, a high-ranking Russian diplomat, told journalists at the airport in Bulgaria's capital Sofia before the flights left that he was among the 70 Russian diplomatic staff declared “persona non grata” last week and ordered to leave the country by the end of Sunday. Bulgaria's expulsion decision was announced by acting Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who took a strong stance against Russia after it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
PoliticsINSIDERExpert on White House chiefs of staff says Mark Meadows 'absolutely owns' the title of 'worst' chief in history after ex-aide's damning testimony
Chris Whipple says he stands by his view that Mark Meadows was the worst White House chief of staff. Whipple, who wrote about the post's history, says Meadows is worst than the infamous H.R. Haldeman. "The Watergate figures really look like choir boys compared to Trump, and Meadows, and their gang," Whipple said.
WorldBusiness InsiderA passenger said his bag hadn't showed up 16 days after landing at Toronto airport — and he was asked to check it in just before boarding
An airline passenger said he'd been waiting 16 days for his bag to show up at a Toronto airport. Thousands of bags are awaiting reclaim at Toronto Pearson International Airport, per CP24. An airline passenger who was asked to check his luggage into the hold shortly before boarding his flight said it still hadn't arrived 16 days after he landed in Toronto.
U.S.Associated PressRicky Martin faces restraining order in Puerto Rico
A judge has issued a restraining order against Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin, police said Saturday. The order was signed Friday, and authorities visited an upscale neighborhood in the north coastal town of Dorado where the singer lives to try to serve the order, police spokesman Axel Valencia told The Associated Press. “Up until now, police haven't been able to find him,” Valencia said.
PoliticsThe HillThe five most damaging allegations against Trump from the Jan. 6 hearings — so far
By the panel's account, Trump knew his claims of election fraud were bogus, recklessly encouraged the Jan 6. rioters and endangered his own vice president as members of a mob marching on the Capitol called for Mike Pence's hanging. Whether the panel will make a criminal referral of Trump to the Department of Justice has not been settled.
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Rescue continues after Italian Alps glacier collapse
STORY: Rescue operations were underway in the Italian Alps on Monday (July 4) after part of a mountain glacier collapsed amid record temperatures, killing at least six people and injuring eight, local authorities said. The avalanche on Sunday (July 3) took place on the Marmolada, which at more than 10,800 feet is the highest peak in the Dolomites -- a range in the eastern Italian Alps straddling the regions of Trento and Veneto. An early summer heatwave in Italy saw temperatures on the Marmolada touch 50 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday (July 2), authorities said.
ScienceAssociated PressNASA satellite breaks from orbit around Earth, heads to moon
A satellite the size of a microwave oven successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday and is headed toward the moon, the latest step in NASA's plan to land astronauts on the lunar surface again. It's been an unusual journey already for the Capstone satellite. It was launched six days ago from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula by the company Rocket Lab in one of their small Electron rockets.
U.S.The Daily BeastSickening Footage Shows Akron Cops Kill Unarmed Black Man in Hail of Bullets
Police in Akron, Ohio, have released disturbing body-camera footage showing the moment cops shot an unarmed 25-year-old Black man dozens of times as he fled. “I won't mince words, the video you are about to watch is heartbreaking,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan warned at a press conference Sunday. The body-cam videos begin with officers pursuing Jayland Walker in their squad cars around 12:30 a.m. Monday after he refused to pull over for an alleged traffic violation.
WorldINSIDERA rustic private island in Maine is on the market, but the owner will only sell to someone willing to stay overnight—despite perilous weather
Duck Ledges Island is owned by realtor Billy Milliken, who has conditions for the new owner. Milliken told Insider anyone interested in buying the private island needs to spend a night there alone. Ducks Ledges, a private island just a 10-minute boat ride from the coast of Maine, is on the market for $339,000.
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Moscow blames Ukrainian missile attack for deaths in south Russian city
At least three people were killed and dozens of residential buildings damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said, in what Moscow said was a Ukrainian missile attack. At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 private houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted on the Telegram messaging app. "I emphasise that this missile attack had been intentionally planned and was launched at the civilian population of Russian cities," Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
WorldBusiness InsiderGerman chancellor says many thought the world moved past countries trying to conquer their neighbors but that 'agreement is now canceled by Putin'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Putin dismantled many people's views of the modern world. Russia's war in Ukraine has changed the landscape in Europe, with Finland and Sweden joining NATO. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the idea that the world has moved beyond countries invading their neighbors has been dismantled by Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
U.S.The HillJan. 6 panel member ‘surprised’ by prosecutors’ reaction to Hutchinson testimony
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who sits on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, said she is “surprised” by federal prosecutors' reactions to testimony given before the panel this week by Cassidy Hutchinson, who previously served as an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. During an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, host Chuck Todd asked Lofgren to react to a story published last week in The New York Times that reported federal prosecutors working on the Justice Department's Jan. 6 investigation felt blindsided after watching Hutchinson's testimony and were as surprised by her remarks as those watching it.
WorldReutersLebanon PM chides unofficial moves in Israel row after Hezbollah sends drones
Lebanon's prime minister on Monday criticised as risky and unacceptable any unofficial dealings over its sea border row with Israel, after the powerful Hezbollah movement sent three drones towards an Israeli gas rig that were shot down. Hezbollah launched its operation on Saturday following long-standing but so far fruitless U.S.-mediated efforts to agree on a maritime border between the two countries near an area where Israel has made large natural gas discoveries. "Lebanon considers that any action outside the framework of the state's responsibility and the diplomatic context in which the negotiations are happening is unacceptable and exposes (Lebanon) to unnecessary risks," a statement by the office of Prime Minister designate Najib Mikati office said.
U.S.The Daily BeastKristi Noem Gets Grilled on Whether South Dakota Would Force 10-Year-Old to Have Baby
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem ducked and dodged Sunday morning when asked if South Dakota would force a raped 10-year-old to give birth—eventually suggesting that “tragic situation” shouldn't change her state's restrictive abortion laws. “The law today is that abortions are illegal except to save the life of the mother,” Noem told anchor Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union. Bash had pressed Noem about the case of a 10-year-old girl in Ohio who was denied an abortion because she was three days past the state's six-week abortion ban.
PoliticsINSIDERWatergate prosecutor says slapping Trump with a charge for rebellion or insurrection could prevent him from ever holding office again
Jill Wine-Banks said the "best" crime to charge Trump with could be rebellion or insurrection. Wine-Banks said the penalty for such an offense would bar Trump from ever holding office again. Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks said charging former President Donald Trump with rebellion or insurrection would prevent him from holding political office again.
WorldReutersChina rejects NASA accusation it will take over the moon
China on Monday rejected as an irresponsible smear a warning from the chief of NASA that China might "take over" the moon as part of a military programme, saying it has always called for the building of a community of nations in outer space. China has stepped up the pace of its space programme in the past decade, with exploration of the moon a focus. China made its first lunar uncrewed landing in 2013 and expects to launch rockets powerful enough to send astronauts to the moon towards the end of this decade.
BusinessMoneyWise‘How quickly the tables have turned’: Falling mortgage rates have homebuyers so emboldened they’re asking sellers for cash
After a string of steady increases, mortgage rates fell this week — a mixed blessing for the fragile U.S. economy. The lower rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is a relief for home shoppers who have been watching rates climb, but it's also a sign that a recession could very well be around the corner as the market slows. Rates tend to mirror 10-year Treasury yields, which have fallen as investors seek safer, more stable assets in the face of higher inflation and slower economic growth.
BusinessBusiness InsiderJeff Bezos says Joe Biden's call to cut gas prices is either 'straight-ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics'
Jeff Bezos has questioned Joe Biden's demand for lower gas prices. A Chinese official praised Biden for realizing that "capitalism is all about exploitation." Jeff Bezos has blasted Joe Biden's call to cut gas prices as either "straight-ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics" in a tweet.
U.S.Associated PressVirginia law stops early inmate releases, angering families
Christopher Ford was a baby when his father was sentenced to 28 years in prison for participating in a murder-for-hire scheme that led to the killings of two people at a car dealership. After serving 25 years, prison officials told Robert Glenn Ford he would be released in July under a 2020 Virginia law that allowed inmates to shave more time off their sentences for good behavior, his son said. But just before he was expecting to go home, Virginia lawmakers approved a budget amendment from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that excluded Ford and thousands of other inmates with violent offenses from receiving the expanded earned sentence credits, meaning they would have to serve more time.
WorldThe TelegraphSingle-sex lavatories to be mandatory in all new public buildings
New office buildings, schools, hospitals and entertainment venues must have separate male and female lavatories, ministers will declare this week, in a move to rein in the “forced sharing” of gender-neutral facilities. The Telegraph understands that the Government will formally announce that it is acting to prevent non-residential buildings from being built solely with “universal” lavatories. The plans, being spearheaded by Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, were quietly approved by ministers last month after Mrs Badenoch was warned that some children were avoiding using lavatories at school because they only had access to gender-neutral facilities.
WorldINSIDERNearly 850,000 people signed a petition demanding that Justice Clarence Thomas should be booted from the Supreme Court following Roe v. Wade ruling
Thousands of people have signed a petition to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas. About 841,016 people have signed the Move On petition as of Saturday. The calls to remove Thomas were heightened after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade.
WorldReutersLukashenko says Belarus intercepted attempted missile strikes by Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday Ukraine had tried to strike military facilities on Belarusian territory three days ago, but all its missiles had been intercepted, the state-run Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko, who did not provide evidence for the claim, said Belarus did not want war with Ukraine, but would fight if its own territory was invaded. Lukashenko said there were no troops from Belarus fighting in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
WorldBusiness InsiderA huge mass of used wet wipes has formed an 'island' that has changed the course of England's second longest river, MP says
A huge mass of wet wipes has formed in the Thames in London, changing the course of the river. The "wet wipe island" is the size of two tennis courts. Ministers are urging the public to not flush wet wipes, and are considering a ban on those that contain plastic.
HealthFortuneWho’s most at risk of developing long COVID? Experts think these 6 groups of people might be
It's hard to say who's at risk for a condition that's yet to be well defined, experts tell But just as researchers and practitioners have their theories about long COVID's root causes, they have educated guesses about who might be most at risk. An enigmatic condition Long COVID is, quite possibly, the great enigma of our time. It's “a very big umbrella term,” Dr. Alba Miranda Azola, co-director of the Post-Acute COVID-19 Team Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, tells “It's patient defined, patient created,” she says of the condition federal officials say could affect up to 23 million Americans.
U.S.ReutersU.S. Supreme Court asks Maryland to bar protests at justices' homes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's top security officer has asked Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to enforce laws barring picketing outside the Maryland homes of high court justices, saying protests and “threatening activity” have increased. Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley made the request in a July 1 letter to Hogan, noting that Maryland law prohibits people from intentionally assembling “in a manner that disrupts a person's right to tranquility in the person's home.” “I am writing to request that the Maryland State Police, in conjunction with local authorities as appropriate, enforce laws prohibiting picketing outside the homes of Supreme Court justices who live in Maryland,” Curley told Hogan, according to a copy of the letter posted on the Fox News website.
“Left unchecked, if artificial intelligence reaches cognition … it will be fueled by some of the most inhumane impulses of humanity.”
“Now is the time to stop and think — before our technology outstrips us once again.”
“I don't want to talk about sentient robots, because at all ends of the spectrum there are humans harming other humans.”
“Minds can take different forms … We should avoid reducing questions about AIs to ‘Can AIs think and feel like us?’”
“To identify sentience, or consciousness, or even intelligence, we’re going to have to work out what they are.”