- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump says administration is 'seriously' considering abolishing birthright citizenship
Donald Trump has once again suggested that his administration is considering ways to deny citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the United States, which is a right laid out in the US Constitution. The president floated the idea on Wednesday while speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, where he called giving those children citizenship "ridiculous". "We're looking at that very seriously," he said, before embarking on a trip to Kentucky.
- WorldUSA TODAY
The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space
Forest fires in the Amazon are generating smoke that can be seen from space and may have caused a daytime blackout more than 1,700 miles away in the country's largest city. In the middle of the day Monday, the sky above São Paulo was blanketed by smoke from the wildfires raging in the Amazon region, according to local media reports. The smoke resulting from some of these wildfires was also captured in satellite images released by NASA last week. "The smoke did not come from fires from the state of São Paulo, but from very dense and wide fires that have been going on for several days in Rondônia and Bolivia.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 2-France's Macron says no-deal Brexit would be Britain's fault
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said a no-deal Brexit would be of Britain's own making and not the European Union's, adding that any trade pact London cut with Washington would not mitigate the cost of leaving the bloc without a deal. The French leader said the demands made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a renegotiation of the divorce deal, including the removal of the Irish backstop, were not workable. He spoke to reporters in Paris as German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin gave Johnson 30 days to draw up an alternative solution to the backstop, an insurance policy to prevent the return of a hard border between Britain's province of Northern Ireland and EU-memb...
- NewsThe Daily Beast
Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen
After nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods. Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office. The young woman's skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.
- PoliticsABC News Videos
New poll shows Biden continues to lead the pack of 2020 Democratic candidates
According to a new poll released by CNN, former Vice President Joe Biden remains on top of the public polls, out-performing the rest of the Democratic presidential candidates.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 10 Least Expensive Compact SUVs to Own
Follow this simple cost guide to home in on the small SUV that best fits your budget. From Car and Driver
- WorldINSIDER
A Mexican judge says 2 people can legally use cocaine — but they can't buy or sell it
Mexico United Against Crime said in a press release on Tuesday that the rulings open the door for a larger debate about legalizing cocaine, and whether law enforcement should focus its resources on violent crime rather than drug use. A court in Mexico has granted two people the legal right to carry and use cocaine in a landmark case launched by a pro-legalization group. Mexico United Against Crime announced on Tuesday that a court in Mexico City had granted two injunctions ordering the government to allow plaintiffs to "possess, transport and use cocaine," but not to sell or buy it, AFP reported.
- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: Philadelphia police commissioner resigning
The Latest on the resignation of the Philadelphia Police commissioner (all times local): 6:40 p.m. A Philadelphia official says the resignation of Police Commissioner Richard Ross is related to allegations made by a corporal and a patrol officer against several department employees. Deana Gamble is a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Kenney.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Another US combat drone has been shot out of the sky over war-torn Yemen
A US military drone was shot down over Yemen, US officials have confirmed. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility. The drone was an MQ-9 Reaper, a $15 million unmanned aerial combat vehicle developed by General Atomics.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump news – live: President threatens to release thousands of captured Isis fighters into Europe after extraordinary series of outrageous statements
Donald Trump joked about awarding himself the Medal of Honor and trailed the idea of dumping thousands of captured Isis fighters on Europe in an address to the American Veterans 75th National Convention in Kentucky on Wednesday evening. The speech followed a particularly wild day for the president in which he retweeted praise from an evangelical broadcaster likening the affection in which he is held by Israeli Jews to “the second coming of God”, referred to himself as a “the chosen one” in discussion with reporters and labelled the prime minister of Denmark “nasty” over her refusal to consider selling Greenland to him.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'Storm Area 51' event pushes rural Nevada county to declare emergency
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Commissioners in Nevada's rural Lincoln County have voted to pre-sign an emergency declaration ahead of the "Storm Area 51" raid event that's so far drawn more than 2 million RSVPs on Facebook. "We passed this with the caveat that this may or may not happen," said District D Commissioner Kevin Phillips. "We're just trying to do the best we can to prepare for something we know not of. California resident Matty Roberts created the event – called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" – in June after listening to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
- WorldReuters
Russia, China ask U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday over U.S. missile developments
Russia and China have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Thursday over "statements by U.S. officials on their plans to develop and deploy medium-range missiles," according to the request seen by Reuters. Moscow and Beijing want to convene the 15-member council under the agenda item "threats to international peace and security" and have requested that U.N. disarmament affairs chief Izumi Nakamitsu brief the body. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, the first such test since the United States pulled out Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
- NewsThe Guardian
We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it
As mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn't they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Guns are a huge part of American society; taking them away won't help: Today's talker
Multiple Democratic president candidates have come out in support of a federal gun buyback program in response to the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio, and elsewhere. As usual with so many of these killers, there was nothing too outstanding about them (though as of late they do seem motivated by some horrendous white nationalist beliefs — sadly, protected by the First Amendment).
- BusinessCar and Driver
Ford's "Mustang-Inspired" Mach E Electric SUV Steps Out in Prototype Form
These spy photos give us our first look at the upcoming Ford Mach E electric crossover in the flesh. While we can't see much through the heavy camouflage, we can see glimpses at the Mustang-inspired front end. The Mach E will debut sometime in 2020, likely as a 2021 model.
WorldAFPMigrants in limbo again after landing in Italy
Dozens of migrants who disembarked on Italy's Lampedusa island were again in limbo Wednesday as a European deal to redistribute them failed to materialise and Madrid said it could hit the Spanish charity with a huge fine for rescuing them. The prospect of a penalty comes after a protracted standoff between the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms and Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini finally came to an end. The boat spent six days anchored off Lampedusa before a local prosecutor ordered that the migrants be allowed to land and the vessel temporarily seized amid a probe of Salvini for banning their entry to port.
- WorldAssociated Press
The Latest: Japan 'deeply concerned' about Hong Kong
A statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was seeking information from Hong Kong and Guangdong province about the fate of the employee who was detained while crossing from the Chinese city of Shenzhen into Hong Kong. Local media identified him as Simon Cheng Man-kit, a trade and investment officer at the Scottish Development International section of the consulate, who attended a business event in Shenzhen on Aug. 8. They say he never returned to Hong Kong despite plans to do so the same day via the high speed rail link Express Rail Link.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space.
The link between fires and climate change Individual wildfires and heat waves can't be directly linked to climate change, but accelerated warming increases their likelihood, size, and frequency. July was the hottest month ever recorded, period. The month prior, meanwhile, was the hottest June ever in Earth's history, with temperatures nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average.
- PoliticsPolitico
Trump team braces GOP donors for a potential ‘moderate and short’ recession
In private, they're increasingly worrying about a global economic slowdown triggering a U.S. recession — and weighing options to shore up the economy ahead of an election year. At a fundraising luncheon this week in Jackson, Wyo., headlined by both Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged the risks to the GOP elite behind closed doors. If the U.S. were to face a recession, it would be “moderate and short,” Mulvaney told roughly 50 donors, according to an attendee.
- LifestyleDelish
Boycott the Oven With These Summer Slow Cooker Recipes
For those 'not turning on the oven today' moods. From Delish
- NewsUSA TODAY
A Florida man fed a kinkajou. The next morning, the 'super aggressive' exotic creature attacked him
Florida wildlife officials say a man was attacked last month by a kinkajou, a small, raccoon-like animal native to Central and South America. Michael Litersky, 37, noticed the exotic creature outside his girlfriend's home in Lake Worth on the night before the attack and left it some watermelon, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission. When he opened the door to leave for work the next day around 5:45 a.m., the kinkajou was waiting for him.
- NewsThe Independent
Jeffrey Epstein: At least eight jail officials knew he was not to be left alone in cell
At least eight US Bureau of Prisons staffers knew strict instructions had been given not to leave multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alone in his cell, yet the order was apparently ignored in the 24 hours leading up to his death, according to people familiar with the matter. That so many prison officials were aware of the directive – not just low-level correctional officers, but supervisors and managers – has alarmed investigators assessing what so far appears to be a stunning failure to follow instructions, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing investigations. They declined to identify the eight.
- NewsReuters
WIDER IMAGE-"I don't recommend you do this": Thailand's stealthy snake wrangler
In the dead of night, Thai firefighter Pinyo Pukpinyo stealthily approaches a python coiled around the rafters of a home in Bangkok, and quickly grabs its head with his bare hands. "I need to remain steady and calm," says the 50-year-old, as he pulls the fat snake, almost five metres (16 ft) long, off the roof and wrestles it into a rice sack.
BusinessFOX News VideosF-35 stealth fighter jets on fast track to receive laser-based offensive and defensive capabilities
The Air Force Research Lab and Office of Naval Research are currently developing fast and precise laser weapons that can “burn holes” through enemy targets at the speed of light. Concurrently, the U.S. Navy is developing a laser-application for its Marine Corps F-35B, intended to effectively maintain the stealth fighter for future decades of war.
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.
