BusinessYahoo NewsBlue Origin launch: What we know about the Jeff Bezos spaceflight
Nine days after billionaire Richard Branson made history by becoming the first person to launch himself into space on his own Virgin Galactic plane, fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos is hoping to do the same on a rocket from his company Blue Origin. The 57-year-old Amazon founder will climb atop the New Shepard rocket in West Texas on Tuesday, July 20 — the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It will be the first launch with passengers for Blue Origin, which — like Branson's Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk's SpaceX — plans to start flying paying customers in the months ahead.
- WorldReuters
Pro-Kurdish politician's parliamentary status restored in Turkey
A pro-Kurdish politician regained his status as a lawmaker in Turkey's parliament on Friday four months after it was removed, following a top court ruling that his rights had been violated by his imprisonment on terrorism charges. Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a human rights activist and a member of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), had his parliamentary status in March after a 2-1/2 jail sentence became final. He was found guilty of spreading terrorist propaganda based on a link he shared on Twitter to a news story that included comments by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramGunman in Fort Worth standoff surrenders after shooting at lawn mowing crew, officers
A gunman who opened fire on a lawn mowing crew and officers held authorities at bay for almost four hours Friday before he surrendered, police said. Fort Worth police did not release the name of the suspect. The man had opened fire on officers and mowers who were at his home to enforce code compliance because the grass was too tall, according to police.
WorldAssociated Press'He was our eye': Reuters photographer killed in Afghanistan
A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for the Reuters news service was killed Friday as he chronicled fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban near a strategic border crossing amid the continuing withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. Danish Siddiqui, 38, had been embedded with Afghan special forces for the past few days and was killed as the commando unit battled for control of the Spin Boldak crossing on the border between southern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Siddiqui was part of a team that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar.
WorldThe TelegraphTory MP who runs eating disorder group ‘fat-shames’ Labour councillor for gorging on Greggs
A Conservative MP and co-chairman of Parliament's cross-party group on eating disorders has been embroiled in a fat-shaming row after he accused a Labour councillor of gorging on Greggs pasties. Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, had criticised on Twitter by Cllr David Colldash for accepting free tickets to football matches from gambling and casino firms. “Scott Benton gets a free ticket to the Euros from a gambling company and suddenly Blackpool needs a new casino... priceless,” Mr Colldash wrote.
WorldReutersRussia transfers ex-U.S. Marine to region with tough Soviet-era prisons
A former U.S. Marine who is serving a nine-year sentence in Russia was being transferred from a remand cell in Moscow on Friday to the Mordovia region which has a large number of tough, Soviet-era prisons. Trevor Reed was convicted last year of endangering the lives of two policemen in Moscow while drunk, a charge he denied. He said the ruling was "clearly political", and Washington called the trial "theatre of the absurd".
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestYou Need a Coffee Table With Storage–And We’ve Got 17 for You
Because we can't all live in a minimalist fantasy, try a coffee table that hides stuff for you Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBBCHong Kong: US issues warning on business risks
The US has issued a warning to firms over the risks of doing business in Hong Kong after China imposed a new national security law there last year. A new business advisory tells multinational firms that they are subject to the laws and that their people could be arrested under them. Other risks may include having to surrender data to Chinese authorities.
U.S.Associated PressTrump showerhead rule on more water flow goes down the drain
The Biden administration is reversing a Trump-era rule approved after the former president complained he wasn't getting wet enough because of limits on water flow from showerheads. Now, with a new president in office, the Energy Department is going back to a standard adopted in 2013, saying it provides plenty of water for a good soak and a thorough clean. The rule change will have little practical effect, since nearly all commercially made showerheads comply with the 2013 rule — the pet peeve of the former president notwithstanding.
WorldReutersChina finances setup of APEC fund to fight COVID - state media
China has financed the setup of a fund under APEC to fight COVID and fuel economic recovery, President Xi Jinping said during a virtual meeting of the Asia-Pacific trade group on Friday, according to Xinhua news agency. Xi also said that China supported waiving the intellectual property rights of COVID vaccines and was willing to cooperate with other countries to ensure a stable and safe supply chain for vaccines. China had provided more than 500 million vaccine doses to developing countries, Xi said.
WorldMiami HeraldSlain Haiti President Jovenel Moïse to be laid to rest in historic city of Cap-Haïtien
Haitian President Jovenel Moïse will be laid to rest on July 23 in a state funeral, the government said Friday. Moïse's funeral will take place in the city of Cap-Haïtien in the northern part of the country. The historic city is both close to where the late president was born and where he began his career as an entrepreneur.
PoliticsReutersU.S. FDA sets January target to decide on approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 shot
The U.S. health regulator will review Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE's application for full approval of their COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 years and older by January, the companies said on Friday. The target action date does not mean the approval will not happen before January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said on Twitter. https://bit.ly/36Ixfkm) "Quite to the contrary, the review of this BLA (biologics license application) has been ongoing, is among the highest priorities of the agency, and the agency intends to complete the review far in advance of the PDUFA Goal Date."
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe Luxury Cruise Ship Vacations You Won’t Want to Miss
In late June, Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Edge became the first cruise ship to set sail from U.S. waters in more than a year, embarking on a seven-night trip to the Caribbean and Mexico. Several other cruise lines have itineraries scheduled for this fall and winter. Safety protocols and proof of vaccination aside, the vacations by sea today are unlike the ones in the past: Marcella Rappaport, a cruise specialist at Ovation Travel in New York, says that the company is breaking free from the stereotypes of what a traditional cruise is—to our relief, cheesy entertainment and midnight buffets need not apply.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGen. Mark Milley reportedly warned Trump not to strike Iran: 'You're gonna have a f---ing war'
Gen. Mark Milley reportedly warned Trump not to take military action against Iran after the election. Milley told Trump he would "have a f---ing war" with Iran if the US struck, a book excerpt says. The book, by The New Yorker's Susan Glasser and The Times' Peter Baker, comes out next year.
- HealthYahoo News Video
Walensky: ‘This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated’
During the White House COVID-19 response team briefing on Friday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, urged Americans to get vaccinated. Citing the increase in cases in areas of low vaccination rates, Walensky said, “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
U.S.INSIDERHackers stole the identities of Florida condo collapse victims: mayor
Hackers have been stealing the identities of the fatal victims in the Florida condo collapse. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told Insider that police will track down the criminals responsible. It was not clear how many victims were targeted or how.
U.S.The IndependentNYPD releases footage of man on Citi bike being shot dead by young killer in broad daylight
The New York Police Department has released footage of the moment a cyclist was gunned down in broad daylight outside a shop in Brooklyn. Footage of the shocking incident, which took place on Wednesday, 14 July, at 2.20pm, shows a man talking on his phone before pulling a gun out of his bag and shooting at a man on a Citi bike who is right in front of him on Clarkson Avenue and East 53rd Street. The cyclist, who has been identified as 21-year-old Pierrot Simeon, from Brooklyn, was rushed to Kings County Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso.
WorldBusiness Insider33 years after getting demolished by the US, Iran's navy is flexing its new muscles
The second important development was the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by two Iranian warships, the seabase ship IRINS Makran and the frigate IRIS Sahand, on June 4. Makran, a converted oil tanker, is Iran's largest vessel, while Sahand is one of its newest and most advanced warships. They are the first Iranian naval vessels to sail into the Atlantic, a long-sought achievement.
U.S.The IndependentPolice arrest Capitol riot suspect who wore full gladiator costume and was dubbed ‘Caesar No Salad’
Video footage captured during the riot showed Mr Entrekin carrying a flag with a message that read, “In memory of our god, our religion and freedom and our place, our wives and our children. ALMA 46:12. According to the affidavit, law enforcement described Captain Moroni as someone Mormons believe “sought to defend the liberties of his people the Nephites – from another group the Amalickiahites – that wanted to overthrow democracy and install a king.
WorldTimeWhat the Protests in Cuba Mean for the Future of Communism and U.S. Relations
COVID-19 has created an economic crisis in Cuba. In recent days, thousands of angry people have taken to the streets in cities across the island to protest shortages of food, medicine, and energy—and the Cuban government's pandemic response. Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel has blamed a U.S. “policy of economic suffocation” for the hardships Cubans face and claimed the demonstrators are mercenaries hired by the U.S. to destabilize the island.
U.S.USA TODAYFact check: Stat grossly misleading about slave ownership in 1860
The claim: Only 1.6% of U.S. citizens owned slaves in 1860 As more Confederate monuments were being removed in the South this month, an old claim seeking to downplay the extent of slave ownership began to recirculate online. On July 11, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a 2019 tweet that claims only 1.6% of U.S. citizens owned slaves in 1860. The post came a day after a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed in Charlottesville, Virginia, the site of a violent white supremacist rally in 2017.
BusinessBusiness InsiderThe FAA has ordered safety checks on all 9,300 Boeing 737 aircraft for a failure that could cause cabin oxygen levels to drop dangerously low
Airlines have been told to inspect 2 pressure switches on Boeing 737s over concerns they could fail. An unnamed operator reported that the switches failed in tests on three different 737 models. The US aviation watchdog has instructed airlines to inspect a pair of pressure switches found on all Boeing 737 airplanes over concerns that their failure could cause onboard oxygen levels to fall dangerously low.
PoliticsLA TimesHeffernan: Donald Trump just won't go away
As one of history's speediest first-drafters, the journalist Michael Wolff has been narrating the Trump epoch from the start. Now he has a new book that clinches his case: Donald Trump hit the nation like a wrecking ball, and it will be a long, long time before we recover. This new one, subtitled “The Final Days of the Trump Presidency,” is out this month.
U.S.The IndependentDozens of Ghislaine Maxwell documents unsealed in sex-trafficking case
Dozens of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell have been unsealed after she lost the fight for them to stay secret. The 52 documents were unsealed overnight in the ongoing sex-trafficking proceeding and mostly concern a previously settled defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit came from one of the most outspoken accusers of Epstein and Ms Maxwell – Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
WorldTimeGlobal Electricity Production Is Roaring Back—and So Are CO2 Emissions
Carbon emissions from power plants around the world declined in recent years, but they're poised to make a dramatic comeback over the next 18 months, according to a worrying report released July 15 by the International Energy Agency (IEA). COVID-19 lockdowns were responsible for some of the recent decline, as office buildings, for instance, reduced their energy consumption while employees were working remotely. After shrinking by 1% in 2019, CO2 emissions from power generation fell by another 3.5% around the world during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, part of a broader contraction in emissions during that period.
“Make no mistake, the court is moving in a conservative direction, and the conservative justices are in the driver’s seat.”
“This is a conservative court. … It is not, however, a court that’s driven by Trump’s appointees in a Trumpian direction.”
“It’s going to be a snowball. Every term they’re going to be more comfortable taking more controversial cases.”
“They are rightly concerned about overreaching and appear resolved in each case to decide no more than need be decided.”
“Single out the cases that really matter … and the court doesn’t look so unpredictable or nonpartisan.”