- WorldThe Daily Beast
As Iran-U.S. Tensions Rise, Hezbollah Readies for War With Israel
The sanctions now have us preparing for dealing with the Israeli front,” says “Commander Samir,” a Hezbollah officer in charge of 800 fighters on Lebanon's border with Israel. He declines to use his real name because he is not authorized to speak to the media. We will fire the first shot this time,” he says.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Cyprus detains 12 Israeli men over allegations of gang rape of British teenager
Twelve Israeli tourists were remanded in custody for eight days by a court in Cyprus for the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old British woman at a popular holiday resort on the island. The Israelis were arrested on Wednesday after the British teenager told police that she had been raped at the hotel where she was staying in the beach resort of Ayia Napa. Doctors who treated the woman said they found bruises and scratches on her body.
- WorldAssociated Press
Navy warship sunk by German sub in WWII finally located
A private dive team has located the last U.S. Navy warship to be sunk by a German submarine in World War II, just a few miles (kilometers) off the coast of Maine. The sinking of the USS Eagle PE-56 on April 23, 1945, was originally blamed on a boiler explosion. But the Navy determined in 2001 that it had been sunk by a German submarine.
- NewsThe National Interest
Marine Corps Tells Rep. Duncan Hunter He Can’t Use Trademarked Corps Material for His Campaign
"It is personally disappointing to Congressman Hunter that he is now being told that he cannot use this motto or image that thousands of Marines like Congressman Hunter, who went to war under this banner, have used for tattoos, coins, and multiple other items of personal sentiment," Harrison told Task & Purpose. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) has been told to stop using the Marine Corps' emblem and the 1st Marine Division's motto in his campaign literature, Corps officials confirmed. The Marine Corps Trademark Licensing Office has sent Hunter, a Marine veteran, a cease and desist letter telling him to quit using the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem along with the phrase, "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," on a fundraising mailer that accuses his political opponent of having links to terrorism, NBC News first reported on Wednesday.
- NewsYahoo News
California city set to ban gendered words like 'manhole' and 'manpower'
The City Council in Berkeley, Calif., voted this week to ban gender-specific words in the liberal city's municipal code, clearing the way for the changes to become official. As a result of the vote on the proposed ordinance, the word “manhole” would be changed to “maintenance hole” in city documents, the news site Berkeleyside reported. “Amending the municipal code to include gender-neutral pronouns by eliminating any gender preference language within the municipal code will promote equality,” according to text explaining the rationale.
- WorldBloomberg
China Is Drafting Urgent Plan to Resolve Hong Kong Chaos, SCMP Says
Chinese officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs are working on an urgent strategy to solve the city's political chaos and have ruled out the use of military force, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the discussions. They will soon present top leaders in Beijing with both an immediate plan to handle the mass protests and a longer-term strategy that could result in China overhauling its management of the former British colony, the newspaper said, without elaborating on a date. Beijing maintains that the crisis is best left for Hong Kong authorities to resolve and doesn't want to get directly involved, according to the report.
WorldAFP'My entire world was gone': floods devastate northern Pakistan
Now only jagged rocks and a few damaged homes remain after torrential rains wreaked havoc on the picturesque mountain village in the Laswa Valley. More than 270 people have been killed in recent days across South Asia as monsoon rains deluged large swathes of the subcontinent, flooding waterways and destroying communities. "I was holding the hand of my mother trying to save her, but unfortunately I lost her hand and she was swept away by the floodwater," says Amin Butt, who was visiting his family in Kashmir.
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
'Not what your mom sent you:' Teen takes legendary senior photos in a bathrobe
When Tiffany Clark, owner of Chaos and Clark Photography, went to pick up her cousin for his senior photo session, she wasn't expecting anything crazy. Evan Dennison got in the car wearing sweatpants and carrying a bag. Clark asked him where his clothes were. Dennison assured her they were in his bag and he would change once they got to their location.
- BusinessReuters
Russia summons U.S. diplomat in Moscow in protest over visa row
Russia summoned a representative of the U.S. embassy in Moscow on Thursday to issue a protest after U.S. officials alleged Russia had refused visas to teachers at an international school in Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said. The ministry said in a statement it had not denied the visas, but that teachers at the school were entering Russia under diplomatic visas, despite not being diplomats. It said Russia was ready to issue visas promptly to U.S. diplomatic personnel as soon as Washington started issuing visas promptly to Russian diplomats in the United States.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
Trump and progressive Democrats want the same thing – and Pelosi is in the way
Although Trump and “the Squad” (the collective nickname for the congresswomen) have venomously denounced each other, the reality is that they both want the same thing: to make the women the public face of the Democratic party. The Squad have welcomed and sought out public attention because they want to use their celebrity to push the party to the left, just as the conservative movement pushed the Republican party to the right in decades past.
- WorldThe Telegraph
British-flagged tanker seized by Iran in escalation of Gulf tensions as second ship also veers off course
A British-flagged oil tanker was seized by Iran on Friday night, in a major escalation of tensions along one of the world's most vital oil shipping routes. The Stena Impero had been en route to Saudi Arabia but made an abrupt change of course and began moving towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, according to data relayed by maritime tracking services. The ship “went dark”, meaning its identification system was turned off, at 16:29 UK time and nothing has been heard from her or her 23 crew since.
- WorldKABC – Los Angeles
LAPD officer pleads not guilty to multiple rape charges after 'cold hit' DNA match
A Los Angeles Police Department officer arrested on multiple sexual assault charges has pleaded not guilty, prosecutors announced Thursday.
- WorldAssociated Press
Germany honors resisters who tried to assassinate Hitler
Germany is marking the 75th anniversary of the most famous plot to kill Adolf Hitler, honoring those who resisted the Nazis — who were stigmatized for decades as traitors — as pillars of the country's modern democracy amid growing concerns about the resurgence of the far-right. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will speak Saturday at an annual swearing-in ceremony for some 400 troops before addressing a memorial event, paid tribute ahead of the anniversary to executed plot leader Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators and highlighted their importance to modern Germany. Von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944, during a meeting at his headquarters in East Prussia.
- TechnologyThe National Interest
The Navy's 6th Generation Fighter Could Put the F-35 in a Museum
New much-longer range sensors and weapons, incorporating emerging iterations of AI, are expected to make warfare more disaggregated, and much less of a linear force on force type of engagement. The Navy is currently analyzing air frames, targeting systems, AI-enabled sensors, new weapons and engine technologies to engineer a new 6th-Generation fighter to fly alongside the F-35 and ultimately replace the F/A-18. The Navy program, called Next-Generation Air Dominance, has moved beyond a purely conceptual phase and begun exploration of prototype systems and airframes as it pursues a new, carrier-launched 6th-Gen fighter to emerge in 2030 and beyond, service officials explained.
- NewsAOL.com
Wasp spray leads to 3 deaths in West Virginia after being used as alternative meth
West Virginia state police are cautioning residents against using wasp spray as an alternative form of methamphetamine after three people purportedly overdosed. Sgt. Charles Sutphin told WCHS that a number of people in Boone County are making "a synthetic type methamphetamine out of wasp spray." Law enforcement believe it led to three fatal overdoses last week.
WorldAFPUS offers $7 mn to find Hezbollah agent wanted for Argentina attack
The United States on Friday offered a $7 million reward to find a Hezbollah operative accused of masterminding a deadly 1994 attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, as it vowed to bring together Latin American nations to fight the militant group. The United States also imposed sanctions on the Hezbollah figure, Salman Raouf Salman, in tandem with Argentina's announcement on the 25th anniversary of the attack that it is designating the Lebanese Shiite movement as a terrorist group. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was visiting Argentina to commemorate the attack and lit a candle at the site of the devastated Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, known by its Spanish acronym AMIA.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Shoppers say Amazon Prime Day glitch sold $13,000 camera equipment for $94, over 99% off
On Monday and Tuesday, Amazon's annual Prime Day reportedly gave some shoppers deeper discounts than they expected, thanks to a system error. On the deal sharing service Slick Deals and the social discussion website Reddit, several shoppers took to the forums to discuss how they were able to snag expensive photography equipment for under $100. It all seemingly began early Monday morning when Slickdeals member Killroyriley stumbled upon a Prime Day deal on the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera bundle that would typically retail for about $550.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO
View Photos of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO From Car and Driver
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Samantha Bee Shocked Kellyanne Conway Somehow Even ‘More Racist’ Than Trump
Samantha Bee didn't have time to cover all of President Trump's recent “racisms,” instead choosing to zero in on his demand that four freshmen Congresswomen of color go back to the countries “from which they came. Sadly, the only thing that should surprise anyone is that he wrote 'from which they came' to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition,” the Full Frontal host joked. Way to go, Shakespeare, now return your head to the orifice from which it came.
- LifestyleDelish
41 Low-Carb Breakfasts You'll Actually Want To Eat
Who needs toast when you have these? From Delish
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 4-Mexico president calls 'El Chapo' sentence inhumane, vows better society
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday called the jail conditions of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman inhumane, while vowing to bring down violence stemming from drug violence by create a society less obsessed with material wealth. Guzman will spend the rest of his days behind bars in the United States after a judge sentenced him on Wednesday to life in prison plus 30 years. Lopez Obrador said at his regular morning conference that sentences like the one for El Chapo - "a sentence for life in a hostile jail, hard, inhumane" - made a life no longer worth living.
- WorldAssociated Press
Ukraine's president says he backs prisoner swap with Russia
Ukraine's president on Friday outlined the details of an impending prisoner swap with Russia, saying that Kiev is willing to release a jailed Russian journalist in exchange for a Ukrainian film director. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's statement comes at the end of the week of shuttle diplomacy, with the Russian and Ukrainian human rights ombudswomen holding talks both in Moscow and in Kiev. The flurry of activity around imprisoned Russians and Ukrainians follows last week's first telephone call between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- NewsThe National Interest
The U.S. Marines Might Be Souring on Amphibious Assault Ships. Here's Why.
Welcome to an A2/AD world. The U.S. Marines Might Be Souring on Amphibious Assault Ships. The incoming commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps is backing away from the service's longstanding requirement for 38 dedicated amphibious assault ships. New commandant Gen. David Berger is “willing to shed some key tenets of the Marines' amphibious force-planning in recent years – including the demand for 38 amphibious warships to support a two Marine Expeditionary Brigade-sized forcible entry force,” Megan Eckstein reported for the U.S. Naval Institute.
- PoliticsWTVD – Raleigh/Durham
'Uncomfortable:' Reaction to Greenville Trump rally pours in from across NC
Chants of 'send her back' aimed at controversial Congresswoman Ilhan Omar reverberated across the political sphere.
WorldAFPIran Guards say they have seized a 'foreign tanker'
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they had detained a "foreign tanker" and its crew for allegedly smuggling fuel in the Gulf. The tanker was seized on Sunday "south of the (Iranian) island of Larak" in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the force's Sepahnews website said. The Guards did not detail the name or provenance of the vessel.
