Russian 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.

A 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.

A 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.

Ricky 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.

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  Ricky Martin Hit With Restraining Order in Puerto Rico

  The Wrap
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  Ricky Martin faces domestic dispute restraining order, says claims are 'completely false'

  USA TODAY

Jan. 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.

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  Jan 6 panel: More people turn up with evidence against Trump

  Associated Press
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  Rep. Zoe Lofgren Says She Was 'Surprised' DOJ Did Not Subpoena Cassidy Hutchinson

  HuffPost

German 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.

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  Ukraine security guarantees will not be same as for NATO member - Scholz

  Reuters
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  Putin's invasion has shattered dreams of progress, German chancellor says

  Politico

'Hell on earth': Ukrainian soldiers describe eastern front

Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic. In interviews with The Associated Press, some complained of chaotic organization, desertions and mental health problems caused by relentless shelling. Lt. Volodymyr Nazarenko, 30, second-in-command of the Ukrainian National Guard's Svoboda Battalion, was with troops who retreated from Sievierodonetsk under orders from military leaders.

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  Ukrainian troops describe frontline as ‘hell on Earth’

  Associated Press Videos
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  Russia takes key Ukrainian city of Lysychansk

  ABC News Videos

Watergate 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.

The 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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  Cheney: Jan. 6 panel could make multiple criminal referrals of Trump

  Reuters
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  'Stay tuned' for new evidence against Trump in July hearings

  Associated Press

NASA 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.

Kristi 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.

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  Gov. Kristi Noem says 'every life is precious' when asked if a pregnant 10-year-old girl should be forced to have a baby under abortion laws

  INSIDER
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  ‘A tragic situation’: Governor discusses pregnant 10-year-old with CNN host

  Politico

‘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.

A 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.

Expert 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.

Single-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.

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  Single-sex toilets ‘to be compulsory in new public buildings’ under new rules

  The Independent
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  Big changes are being made to the rules around single-sex toilets

  Cosmo

The five worst presidents for Black people’s lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness

From permitting Black codes to creating a pathway for Klan terrorism, these five presidents created unjust and dangerous situations for Black Americans, Dr. Robert C. Smith, an African American politics expert opined. Wilson spoke those words during an exchange at the White House with a delegation of Black citizens led by journalist William Monroe Trotter, who balked at Wilson's approval of resegregating civil service employees, according to the book ”Presidents and Black America: A Documentary History,” which authors Stephen A. Jones and Eric Freedman wrote about for the website The Conversation.

Virginia 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.

Who’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.

Nearly 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.

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  Roe v. Wade and tech: 'The problem' is that too many companies are collecting data

  Yahoo Finance
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  Supreme Court in Texas blocks order that allowed clinics to resume abortion

  Yahoo News Video

An Apple Watch Series 7 for $70 off? Yes! It's an Amazon July 4th sale not to miss

Apple Watch GPS You probably don't need us to tell you of the wonders of the Apple Watch, but we will anyway. Aside from being, you know, a watch, this mind-blowing device can sync to all manner of audio entertainment (podcasts, tunes, audiobooks), report your location with pinpoint accuracy, track your fitness regimen and measure your blood oxygen and heart rate. You can even download a mindfulness app to help you stay in the moment.

Police say the repeal of Indiana's handgun permit law means someone openly carrying a gun can be on a sidewalk eyeing a school but cops can't legally ask them what they're doing

The Indiana State Legislature's repeal of gun permit requirements went into effect Friday. The repeal makes it harder to screen for dangerous individuals with weapons, police say. The law's exceptions include individuals with felonies or restraining orders against them.

Lukashenko 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.

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  Belarus leader stands with Russia in campaign

  Reuters
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  Lukashenko accuses Ukraine of trying to strike at military facilities in Belarus

  The New Voice of Ukraine