PoliticsYahoo News 360Pot legalization in the U.S. seems both inevitable and impossible
He said during the 2020 campaign that he supports decriminalizing pot — a change that would remove criminal penalties for possession while keeping the federal ban in place — but opposes outright legalization. When asked this month whether the president would back Schumer's proposal, press secretary Jen Psaki said that “nothing has changed” about Biden's views on marijuana. Why there's debate The disconnect in the pace of change for marijuana laws, with legalization spreading at breakneck speed in the states and all but stalled at the federal level, has raised debate over when — if ever — marijuana might become legal nationwide.
PoliticsAssociated PressEXPLAINER: Does suspension end Giuliani's career in law?
The days of practicing law for the mob-busting prosecutor turned point man for pushing Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election may be over. Rudy Giuliani's law license has already been suspended in his home state. A New York appeals court took the action in June, saying Giuliani's bid to discredit the election was so egregious that he poses “an immediate threat” to the public.
ScienceBBCLas Vegas murder case cracked with smallest ever amount of DNA
The 1989 murder of a 14-year-old girl in Las Vegas has been solved by using what experts say is the smallest-ever amount of human DNA to crack a case. Stephanie Isaacson's murder case had gone cold until new technology made it possible to test what little remained of the suspect's DNA: the equivalent of just 15 human cells. Police on Wednesday said they had identified the suspect by using genome sequencing and public genealogy data.
- WorldReuters
Venezuela says U.S. military plane violated its airspace
Venezuela's armed forces said on Friday that a U.S. military plane violated its airspace along the South American country's border with Colombia in what it said was a "flagrant provocation." Venezuela, whose socialist government is under heavy sanctions from Washington, has on several occasions in recent years reported alleged airspace violations. It said that on Thursday evening, a C-17 plane from the U.S. Air Force flew over the Perija mountains in western Zulia state for three minutes.
WorldAssociated PressChina moves residents out of flooded areas, drains tunnels
Rescuers used bulldozers and rubber boats to move residents out of flooded neighborhoods in central China on Saturday after torrential rains killed at least 56 people. In Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million people, government crews armed with industrial pumps finished draining water from a major traffic tunnel, according to a news report. On Saturday, skies were mostly clear but parts of Zhengzhou and other cities including Xinxiang, Hebi and Anyang still were under water.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
Meet the young mom who became the face of Belarus’ democracy movement
Until last year, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was a stay-at-home mom with two young children, one with a disability. Within weeks, she became the face of Belarus' pro-democracy movement, picking up his fight to take down what's been called “Europe's last dictatorship.” It may appear to be a quixotic effort, leading some to dub her the “Joan of Arc” of Belarus.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramHusky seen running after car when he’s abandoned is saved – and Texas man is arrested
A husky abandoned along a road in a viral video has found a new family — and now there's been an arrest. The heartbreaking video posted this week captures a Jeep passenger leaving the husky by the side of road in Horizon City, Texas, and riding away as the animal chases after the vehicle. It's been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media as law enforcement searched for the suspects.
WorldReutersRussia reports nearly 24,000 new COVID cases, Moscow may have passed peak
Russia on Saturday reported nearly 24,000 new COVID-19 cases and a repeat all-time high in the number of daily deaths, at 799, but some officials suggested that infections, especially in Moscow, may have peaked. Russia has been in the grip of a surge in cases that authorities blame on the more contagious Delta variant. The coronavirus task force confirmed 23,947 new COVID-19 infections across the country in the last 24 hours, down around 5% on the previous week.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Report: 'QAnon Shaman' in plea negotiations after mental illness diagnosis
The participant in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman" is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists found he has a variety of mental illnesses, his attorney said.
WorldAssociated PressVietnam locks down capital Hanoi for 15 days as cases rise
Vietnam announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi starting Saturday as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases. On Friday, Hanoi reported 70 confirmed infections, the city's highest, part of a record 7,295 cases in the country in the last 24 hours.
WorldAssociated PressChina, Afghanistan top Blinken agenda on India, Kuwait trip
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India and Kuwait next week for talks on China, the coronavirus and Afghanistan, the State Department said Friday. The trip comes as the Biden administration seeks to shore up U.S. leadership in vaccinating the world against COVID-19, tries to blunt increasing Chinese assertiveness, and moves to evacuate vulnerable people from Afghanistan before the U.S. military withdrawal is complete. The State Department said Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday before traveling to Kuwait City the next day.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramBody of Arlington firefighter was found in bathroom window, Mexican authorities say
An investigation is underway into how Arlington firefighter Elijah Snow died Monday while vacationing in Cancun, according to Mexican authorities. On Twitter, Mexican authorities said an “investigation folder” has been started in the death of a man from Texas in the municipality of Benito Juárez in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. “The circumstances in which the events occurred are being investigated,” according to the social media post from Fiscalía General Quintana Roo, which is the State Attorney General's Office for Quintana Roo.
WorldReutersMyanmar junta replaces envoy to Britain who broke ranks
Myanmar has appointed a new temporary head of its embassy in London, Britain's foreign ministry said on Friday, replacing the previous ambassador who was ousted after breaking ranks with the military government over its Feb. 1 coup. The selection of the new "charge d'affaires ad interim" did not require the consent of the British government, a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters, which first reported the move earlier on Friday. More than 900 people opposing the junta have been killed by security forces since the coup, drawing international condemnation and sanctions including from Britain.
- HealthThe Week
What does the Delta variant mean for the fully vaccinated?
What is the Delta variant? The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — was first identified in India in December 2020. After ravaging India and sweeping through Great Britain, the Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for more than 83 percent of COVID-19 infections.
PoliticsMiami HeraldRecords show web of payments involving players in probe into sham Senate candidate
A young Republican political operative who is also the subject of a public corruption investigation into former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles made an offer to a recent college graduate last September: He would pay her $1,500 to chair a political committee and in exchange, she would have to do nothing. At the time, 25-year-old Hailey DeFilippis, of Palm Harbor, had just found out she was pregnant and was “freaking out about money.”
WorldReutersPhilippines evacuates thousands as monsoon rains flood cities, provinces
Philippine authorities moved thousands of residents of the capital, Manila, out of their low-lying communities on Saturday as heavy monsoon rain, compounded by a tropical storm, flooded the city and nearby provinces. "We ask residents of affected areas to remain alert and vigilant, take precautionary measures, and cooperate with their respective local authorities," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement. The Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, sees about 20 tropical storms a year but a warmer Pacific Ocean will make storms more powerful and bring heavier rain, meteorologists say.
SportsAssociated PressBauer appears in court to fight sexual assault allegations
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer appeared in court Friday to fight the extension of a protective order sought by a woman who says he choked her to the point where she lost consciousness and punched her during two sexual encounters earlier this year. Attorneys for Bauer and for the woman revealed during a short court session that they intend to call several witnesses, including Bauer, and argue over the order in what amounts to a trial that is expected to last three days. Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman delayed the beginning of that hearing until Aug. 2 because Bauer's attorney, Shawn Holley, said she was given the woman's witness list late and had insufficient time to prepare.
WorldThe TelegraphTokyo 2020 'axed opening ceremony musician for being black'
A musician claims he was cut from the Olympic opening ceremony because he was black, as organisers face a third staffing row in a week. Latyr Sy, a Senagalese percussionist based in Japan for 20 years, accused organisers of racism after he was booked and then cancelled for inclusion at the curtain-raiser. Tokyo 2020 failed to respond to requests for comment from the Telegraph on the allegations on Friday.
HealthMiami HeraldAre COVID symptoms different with the delta variant? Here’s what experts say
The delta coronavirus variant continues to surge in the United States, now accounting for 83% of COVID-19 cases in the United States. A common sign you may have COVID-19 is a loss of smell and taste, but you may not have that with the highly contagious delta variant. “It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common,” said Dr. Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist.
PoliticsThe IndependentHouse Democrat arrested at Black Voters Matter demonstration
US Capitol police arrested US Rep Hank Johnson during a voting rights demonstration on 22 July, marking the second arrest of a member of Congress on Capitol grounds amid protests demanding federal action on voting rights protections. US Capitol Police said officers arrested 10 people for “unlawfully demonstrating outside of the Hart Senate Office Building” and charged them with “crowding, obstructing or incommoding”.
PoliticsBusiness Insider6 million renters face eviction in 8 days when a Trump-era ban expires. Biden is poised to let it happen.
Both a federal eviction ban and a moratorium on foreclosures expire in eight days. The Biden administration is poised to allow both relief programs to expire on July 31. On July 31, a set of pandemic-relief measures for renters and homeowners enacted under President Trump will end - and the Biden administration doesn't appear interested in renewing them.
HealthKansas City Star‘Mask up’: COVID patient load is ‘way too big,’ KU health official sounds the alarm
On Thursday Stites reported that local hospital leaders are prepared to call for mask mandates and social distancing to be reinstated across the region because the hospitals are filing up. He described the situation as “being under siege. You heard us say yesterday that it may be time to think about masking up again,” Stites said.
U.S.INSIDERAn off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer admitted to threatening 3 tribal employees with a rifle, telling them he 'shoots first, asks questions later'
The employees were on the officer's property to test creek water and said they got permission from his wife. The officer pointed his rifle at the employees and told them he "shoots first, asks questions later." An off-duty US Customs and Border Protection officer has admitted to pointing his rifle at three tribal employees who were collecting water samples on his property, telling them he "shoots first, asks questions later," according to court documents.
- EntertainmentYahoo News Video
Indian court extends custody of husband of Bollywood star in porn film case
An Indian court on Friday extended the custody of Raj Kundra, a businessman married to popular Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, police said, in a pornography case that has stunned the country's film industry.
WorldBusiness InsiderGunfire prompts Biden's UN ambassador to abruptly leave Haitian president's funeral
Biden's UN ambassador abruptly left the funeral for Haiti's president amid unrest surrounding the ceremony. The assassination of Jovenel Moïse has pushed Haiti into a deeper crisis after years of struggles. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, abruptly departed a funeral for Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on Friday after gunfire was reportedly heard.
“Thankfully, children are at lower risk for complications from COVID-19, but low risk is not no risk.”
“Guidelines that mandate the masking of children are based on an assessment of risk that is not justified.”
“Masks are easy to use, inexpensive and effective.”
“We’re now 16 months into the pandemic and children remain victims of the Covid political theater.”
“If a community or school isn’t sufficiently vaccinated, it remains at risk of the coronavirus coming back.”