- PoliticsYahoo News
As COVID cases spike in Florida, Trump now says he's 'flexible' on convention format in Jacksonville
With coronavirus cases exploding in Florida, President Trump said he is “flexible” about the need for a traditional indoor Republican National Convention in Jacksonville next month. The Republican National Committee had scrapped plans to hold the party's convention in Charlotte, N.C., after Gov. Roy Cooper said he would only allow “a scaled-down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings.” In a television interview with former Fox anchor Greta Van Susteren, Trump suggested the format for the Aug. 24-27 event would depend on the severity of the outbreak in the Sunshine State.
- U.S.Yahoo News
As COVID-19 makes a comeback, so will lockdowns
At the outset, Fauci warned that America was still “knee-deep in the first wave” of the contagion, describing the country's new normal of more than 50,000 cases per day as “a serious situation that we have to address immediately. But how? asked Collins.
- U.S.Miami Herald
PGA pro and kids among victims in Idaho plane crash, cops say. Here’s what we know
A PGA golf professional and two of his children were among the eight killed when two airplanes collided over a lake in northern Idaho on Sunday, officials said Tuesday. At least eight people, including three children, were killed in the crash in Coeur d'Alene, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said. Six of the bodies have been recovered, officials said Tuesday.
- U.S.NBC News
'I feel threatened': Unmasked Florida man's viral Costco outburst cost him his job
A man's outburst at a Costco in Florida that was caught on video has cost him his job. A video of the incident was posted to Twitter on Monday night by filmmaker Billy Corben. "Florida man at Fort Myers Costco in 'Running the World Since 1776' shirt flips out on elderly woman who asked him to wear a mask and man who defended her #BecauseFlorida," Corben tweeted.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Texas Governor Is ‘Putting Lives at Risk,’ Local Officials Say
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo believes she knows what her county needs to fight back against COVID-19. “I'm at the mercy of what powers he positively gives us,” Hidalgo told The Daily Beast. As Texas faces a resurgent coronavirus and some officials have emphasized concerns about hospitals in the state becoming potentially overrun or overwhelmed, Hidalgo can find plenty of reasons to worry.
- U.S.Associated Press
2 female firsts at the Supreme Court announce retirements
The Supreme Court said Tuesday that the first-ever women to hold two prominent positions at the court, handling the justices' security and overseeing publication of the court's decisions, are retiring. Pamela Talkin's most public role in nearly two decades as the court's marshal has been opening court sessions by announcing the justices' entrance into the courtroom and banging a gavel before court begins. Christine Luchok Fallon's name wasn't on any Supreme Court decision, but part of her job as the reporter of decisions was to oversee the writing of summaries of the justices' opinions that begin each decision, turning lengthy legal explanations into a succinct few pages.
- U.S.Reuters
New York attorney general recommends reducing mayor's power over police
New York Attorney General Letitia James recommended that New York City's mayor give up sole control over the city police commissioner's hiring, in a preliminary report released on Wednesday on her investigation into the policing of recent protests. The commission would have final say on the department's budget and officer discipline. "There should be an entirely new accountability structure for NYPD," James said in her report, which also recommended giving more power to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a city agency that reviews police misconduct.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Militants kill BJP politician Wasim Bari and his family in Kashmir
A Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party politician was killed along with his brother and father in Indian administered Kashmir, officials said on Thursday. Wasim Bari, 38, and his family were attacked by militants at his residence in north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Wednesday night. All three were shot at point-blank range and died on the way to hospital.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus in Australia: Melbourne begins new shutdown
Australia's second-largest city has begun a second lockdown in response to a spike in new coronavirus infections. Melbourne's five million residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons. Police say they are setting up a "ring of steel" around the city, with "checkpoints anytime and anywhere" to enforce the measures.
- U.S.Yahoo News
CDC says guidelines for reopening schools are 'not requirements' after Trump calls them 'impractical'
After President Trump on Tuesday lashed out at what he called “impractical” and “expensive” guidelines for reopening schools published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency's director emphasized that they were meant as recommendations, not mandatory standards, and “should not be used as a rationale to keep schools closed.” “Remember it's guidance, it's not requirements,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said during a briefing by the White House coronavirus task force. “And its purpose is to facilitate the reopening and keeping open the schools in this country.”
- U.S.USA TODAY
Amid Black Lives Matter protests, more school districts are pushing to address racism. Is it enough?
To create an environment in schools where students hopefully will not feel these pressures, the administration has asked the school board to come up with a plan to make equity a key focus by creating a dedicated position to provide “leadership and oversight in equity and excellence,” officials said. You need to look at policies, you need to look at curriculum, you need to look at disciplinary practices, you need to look at simply educating everyone on what's going on,” Kannan said. You need to look at hiring.
- U.S.The New York Times
Case Against Amy Cooper Lacks Key Element: Victim's Cooperation
The Manhattan district attorney's decision to charge a white woman with filing a false police report against a Black man in Central Park does not have the support of one key person: the victim himself. The man, Christian Cooper, has not cooperated with the prosecution's investigation. The woman, Amy Cooper, lost her job and was publicly shamed after a video Christian Cooper made on May 25 was posted online; it showed her calling 911 to claim an “African American man” was threatening her.
- WorldThe Guardian
Brazil: Bolsonaro reportedly uses homophobic slur to mock masks
One day after announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for allegedly using homophobic language to mock the use of face masks. The Folha de São Paulo, a leading broadsheet, claimed Brazil's far-right leader had baited presidential staff who were using protective masks, claiming such equipment was “coisa de viado” (a homophobic slur that roughly translates as “for fairies”). Bolsonaro is a longstanding enemy of Brazil's LGBTQ+ community and during three decades in politics has made no secret of his homophobia.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
As One of Russia’s Leading Journalists Is Charged With Treason, a Chill Settles Over the Press
The younger Safronov took up the banner of investigative reporting at Kommersant and became one of the country's leading defense correspondents in his own right, but just recently took a job as a senior adviser to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, Russia's major space agency. Rogozin told the TASS news agency on Tuesday that Safronov “did not have any access to classified information,” and that he knew Safronov as an honest and professional man. Nonetheless, Safronov is alleged to have turned over national defense secrets to someone from what was initially reported as an unnamed "NATO country."
WorldReuters VideosProtest chaos continues over Serbian leader
The evening before, violence erupted when a crowd stormed parliament in protest of plans to reimpose a lockdown following a new spike in COVID-19 cases. Forty-three police officers and 17 protesters were injured and there were 23 arrests. Although President Aleksandar Vucic hinted Wednesday he may back down from his plan to introduce a weekend lockdown, demonstrators began gathering in front of the Serbian Parliament building around 6 p.m.
- U.S.Associated Press
US seizes 81 vehicles in Venezuela smuggling ring
Federal investigators said Wednesday they have seized 81 vehicles worth an estimated $3.2 million that were bound for Venezuela as part of a smuggling ring operated for wealthy and politically connected people. Anthony Salisbury, chief of the Miami Homeland Security Investigations office, said the vehicles were to be smuggled in violation of U.S. export laws and sanctions against the socialist Venezuelan government, “This is all part of an ongoing effort to combat foreign public corruption and in particular for public corruption in Venezuela and the laundering and the fleecing of the Venezuelan people's wealth and the stealing of the Venezuelan wealth from the national treasury for the gain ...
- U.S.Reuters
California coronavirus cases surge more than 10,000 in single day
California reported more than 10,000 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a record rise for a single day that also surpassed the number of contact tracers recently trained by the state to detect and prevent potential outbreaks. California is one of several U.S. states that have reported surging numbers of new COVID-19 infections over the past week, raising questions about how U.S. President Donald Trump has handled the crisis and impeding state plans to lift lockdowns. The 10,201 new cases reported on Tuesday took the total number of cases in California since the start of the pandemic to nearly 284,00.
- StyleArchitectural Digest
15 Platform Beds to Elevate Your Bedroom Style
You'll love these contemporary styles and budget-friendly price points Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.Politico
Trump wants to reopen schools. Hint: It's not just about education.
President Donald Trump's push to reopen America's schools is about more than children's education. Because for Trump and his team, the issues are interlinked. With children out of the house, they argue, parents can more easily return to work and juice the economy — something even the president's allies consider a necessity for Trump to win reelection.
- U.S.BBC
US student visas: 'A lot of people I know are scared for the future'
The spread of coronavirus has led to major changes for higher education across the world, with many institutions embracing virtual tuition as a way to allow students to continue their learning. But US immigration authorities have now said that international students whose courses move fully online this autumn could face having their visas revoked. An advisory said that unless students switch to courses with face-to-face tuition, they could be deported.
- U.S.LA Times
Don Lemon to Terry Crews: Don't like Black Lives Matter? Start your own movement
Terry Crews was invited on Don Lemon's CNN show Monday to explain his concerns about the Black Lives Matter movement, but instead ended up in a heated debate with the news anchor. Lemon opened the segment with two recent Crews tweets that had sparked an outcry — the first warning about a “#blacklivesbetter" sentiment emerging from Black Lives Matter, and the second announcing that he would "die on this hill" after getting threats for his decision to "unite with good people, no matter the race, creed or ideology." Lemon then introduced the actor by saying, "Man, you stepped in it."
- U.S.NBC News
Body of missing Connecticut school teacher who thought he had coronavirus found in waters off Long Island
A beloved Connecticut school teacher who disappeared in the early morning hours of his 50th birthday while quarantining over COVID-19 fears, has been found dead, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. The body of Gil Cunha was found in the waters off the coast of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, near Fire Island, according to a release emailed to Dateline by the Suffolk County Police. “Detectives determined the remains were from a body that had been discovered after being struck by the propeller of a tugboat on May 27 at 6:50 a.m.,” Suffolk County Police said in a statement.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Georgia Cities in Open Revolt Against Governor Over Masks
When Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would sign a mask-wearing mandate Wednesday, she wasn't just protecting her citizens—she was adding fire to a growing revolt over Gov. Brian Kemp's refusal to require face coverings in Georgia. “Atlanta is going to do it today because the fact of the matter is that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our city, specifically black and brown communities with higher death rates,” said the mayor, who recently tested positive for the coronavirus, making hers the third and largest city to defy Kemp's orders. While Kemp has encouraged Georgians to mask up in public spaces—and even embarked on a “Wear a Mask” tour to that effect—he has repeatedly said that mandates are unnecessary and discouraged local governments from instituting them.
- WorldNational Review
China’s Confucius Institutes Attempt to Rebrand Following Backlash
China is attempting to rebrand Confucius Institutes following a worldwide backlash against the centers. Confucius Institutes, which are present on dozens of U.S. college campuses and at other foreign universities, carry the stated purpose of promoting Chinese language and culture. The Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing has changed its name to the “Ministry of Education Centre for Language Education and Cooperation.”
- U.S.USA TODAY
'I would be very careful in the middle of the street': Drivers have hit protesters 66 times since May 27
Amid thousands of protests nationwide against police brutality, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds of protesters marching in roadways, raising questions about the drivers' motivations. Witnesses, law enforcement and terrorism experts said some of the vehicle incidents appear to be targeted and politically motivated; others appear to be situations in which the driver became frightened or enraged by protesters surrounding their vehicle. "I look at it as an anti-protester group of acts, some of which are white supremacist, some not."
