- PoliticsTime
After Mueller's Op-Ed, Sen. Lindsey Graham Now Says He'll Call the Former Special Counsel to Testify
Sen. Lindsey Graham has announced that he will grant Democrats' request to have former special counsel Robert Mueller testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The surprising statement from one of the Senate's leaders comes a day after Mueller broke a longstanding silence to defend his probe, and its consequential conviction of Roger Stone, in a public op-ed. Graham, a South Carolina Republican and the Judiciary Committee's chair, has attempted to discredit Mueller's inquiry in the past.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran blames bad communication, alignment for jet shootdown
A misaligned missile battery, miscommunication between troops and their commanders and a decision to fire without authorization all led to Iran's Revolutionary Guard shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner in January, killing all 176 people on board, a new report says. The report released late Saturday by Iran's Civil Aviation Organization comes months after the Jan. 8 crash near Tehran. Authorities had initially denied responsibility, only changing course days later after Western nations presented extensive evidence that Iran had shot down the plane.
- U.S.The Independent
Disney World reopens as coronavirus cases surging in Florida
Walt Disney World has reopened in Florida after nearly four months amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the state. Parts of the entertainment complex which bills itself as “the Most Magical Place on Earth” opened to visitors on Saturday with new rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. But there were reports of crowds and long queues at the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks.
- WorldReuters
Hamburg sex workers demand Germany's brothels reopen
Prostitutes demonstrated in Hamburg's red light district late on Saturday evening demanding that Germany's brothels be allowed to reopen after months of closure to curb the spread of coronavirus. With shops, restaurants and bars all open again in Germany, where prostitution is legal, sex workers say they are being singled out and deprived of their livelihoods despite not posing a greater health risk. "The oldest profession needs your help," read a notice held up by one woman in a brothel window in the Herbertstrasse, which was flooded with red light after being dark since March.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Japan is 'shocked' and furious at the US after a major coronavirus outbreak at 2 Marine bases in Okinawa — and says the US is not taking the virus seriously
Japanese authorities say they are "shocked" after a significant coronavirus outbreak at two US Marine bases in the country. 61 Marines have been infected with the virus in recent days, spread across two bases in Okinawa prefecture, home to about 26,000 US service personnel. "We now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures," Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki said at a press conference.
- HealthThe Telegraph
Coronavirus can damage the heart, major study finds
Coronavirus can damage the heart, with more than half of hospitalised patients' scans revealing abnormalities, a major new study has found. A survey of 69 countries, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), found that 55 per cent of 1,261 patients studied had abnormal changes to the way their heart was pumping, with around one in seven showing evidence of severe dysfunction. The majority (901 patients) had never been diagnosed with heart problems before, leading scientists to conclude that Covid-19 itself may seriously affect the heart.
- U.S.LA Times
Fox News condemns former Tucker Carlson writer for 'horrific' racist, sexist comments
Blake Neff, a writer for "Tucker Carlson Tonight," has resigned from the top-rated Fox News show amid reports he posted racist, sexist and homophobic comments to an online forum under a pseudonym. According to a report from CNN, Neff has been posting in AutoAdmit, an online forum also known as Xoxohth, a largely unregulated message board for law school students. Using the pseudonym CharlesXII, an apparent reference to the late Swedish king known for his military leadership and abstemious personal life, Neff shared an array of bigoted opinions on Black and Asian people, the Mormon church and immigrants.
WorldYahoo News VideoNelson Mandela's daughter Zindzi Mandela dies at 59
Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, has died, a spokesperson for the African National Congress said on Monday. She was 59.
- U.S.USA TODAY Opinion
United or Divided States of America? 6 ways to think about removing Confederate statues
While there is a lot of discussion these days about statues in the public square, it is important to note that taking down Confederate statues does not actually erase history. Their very presence in prominent public locations effectively dilutes the history of the North's victory over the South and the fight to save the United States of America. History is still to be found in books, archives and museums.
- WorldINSIDER
South Africa's 9 million smokers were faced with cold turkey when the government banned cigarette sales in March as a coronavirus measure. Now Big Tobacco is fighting back.
earlier in July. South Africa's government had also banned the sale of alcohol but has since eased that restriction, which according to an AP report, has led to an increase in "drunken brawls and traffic accidents, putting added strain on hospitals as they deal with the virus." Reuters FITA is also arguing that by banning the legal sale of cigarettes, the South African government is encouraging a black market trade, and putting thousands of jobs at risk.
- PoliticsNY Daily News
Jeff Sessions swings back at Trump for 'juvenile insults' as fight for political future looms in Alabama
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions lashed out Saturday at President Donald Trump after his onetime ally launched another salvo ahead of the Republican Senate primary run-off on Tuesday in Alabama. Sessions, whom Trump has derided as “Mr. Magoo,” touted himself as a trusted and independent conservative. “My honor and integrity are far more important than these juvenile insults,” Sessions wrote in a reply to Trump on Twitter.
- U.S.Associated Press
New Zealand mosque gunman to represent himself at sentencing
The Australian white supremacist who admitting killing 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques has dismissed his lawyers and will represent himself when he is sentenced next month. Brenton Harrison Tarrant had pleaded guilty in March to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act for the shootings targeting people praying at the two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019. Tarrant's defense team, lawyers Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson, applied during Monday's hearing for permission to withdraw as his counsel, a role they have filled since April 2019.
- WorldReuters
U.S. warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China
The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday to "exercise increased caution" in China due to heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement including detention and a ban from exiting the country. "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security. "Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples.
- U.S.The Independent
Coronavirus: Hotline to report people not wearing face masks set up in US county amid surge in Covid-19 cases
A county in Ohio has launched a hotline so that callers can report people who do not use face masks, amid concerns over a surge in the number of coronavirus cases across the state. Armond Budish, the executive of Cuyahoga county, announced the service on Friday and said complaints would be managed by county officers and would be forwarded to local health authorities. Mr Budish's comments came two days after the wearing of masks was made obligatory in the seven Ohio counties most badly affected by Covid-19, following an order given by the Republican state governor Mike DeWine.
- HealthBusiness Insider
40% of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, a new CDC estimate says
The "current best estimate" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that approximately 40% of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic. CNN reported that the estimate was up from the 30% reported in late May, as the CDC also estimated the chance of transmission from people with no symptoms is 75%. As several states in the South and West of the US recorded significant upticks in the cases and hospitalizations from COVID-19, top agencies including the CDC and the World Health Organization have released updated information on the transmission of the virus.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Russia's journalists under increasing pressure from the secret services in wake of Putin's shaky referendum victory
Russia's intelligence services have 'stepped up' their war on free media, carrying out a series of operations designed to intimidate journalists in the wake of Vladimir Putin's controversial referendum victory last week. In an unprecedented case for post-Soviet Russia, prominent defence reporter Ivan Safronov was seized outside his home on Tuesday morning by secret service agents and arrested on suspicion of treason. Last week's overwhelming approval of constitutional amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in office at least until 2036 was hailed by the Kremlin as a “triumph.”
WorldAFPInventor of Israel's Iron Dome seeks coronavirus 'game-changer'
Daniel Gold, who led the team that invented Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, has a history of safeguarding the country against what he identifies as existential threats. With the nation facing surging coronavirus cases amid a pandemic that has triggered unprecedented economic hardship, Gold is trying to replicate his Iron Dome breakthrough in protecting Israel against the virus. Gold, who heads Israel's Defence Research and Development Directorate and holds PhDs in electronic engineering and business management, has become a celebrated figure in the Jewish state.
- WorldBBC
Xu Zhangrun: Outspoken professor freed after six days
An outspoken critic of China's rulers, Professor Xu Zhangrun, has been released after six days in police custody, friends say. The Beijing constitutional law professor was already under house arrest when he was detained on 6 July. He had criticised China's response to coronavirus and what he sees as a Mao-like cult of personality under China's current leader, Xi Jinping.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Kamala Harris Was in Biden Circle of Trust. Then Came Debate Night.
Kamala Harris was mad as hell. The nation was still struggling to regain its economic footing after the Great Recession, and Harris was under intense pressure from the banking industry, the Department of Justice, and most of her fellow state attorneys general to accept a billion-dollar settlement from the mortgage-financing industry that would immunize them from investigations into other potential crimes committed in advance of the the subprime mortgage crisis. “This was insane,” Harris wrote in her pre-presidential memoir The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.
- U.S.USA TODAY
'You can't do that': Fox News host Wallace confronts DeVos on threat to redirect funds from schools
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Sunday there was no danger in sending children back to school amid the coronavirus pandemic and stood by a threat to withhold federal funds from schools that do not resume in-person classes. "There's nothing in the data that suggests that kids being in school is in any way dangerous," DeVos told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace. "We know that children contract and have the virus at far lower incidence than any other part of the population, and we know that other countries around the world have reopened their schools and have done so successfully and safely."
- U.S.Associated Press
City mulls razing site where 1st Alaska flag flew
The fate of one of Alaska's most historic yet neglected structures could be decided Monday as city officials in Seward weigh whether to demolish a former Methodist boarding school where the Alaska territorial flag was first flown almost a century ago and where its Alaska Native designer lived. Benny Benson was among the orphans and displaced children who lived at the Jesse Lee Home, many of whom were sent there after the Spanish flu devastated Alaska Native villages. Benson, a 13-year-old Aleut boy sent to the home after his mother died of the flu, won a territory-wide contest in 1927 to design the flag, which became the state flag after statehood was granted in 1959.
- WorldNBC News
Yemeni Houthis say they hit Saudi oil facility in drone, missile attack
Yemeni Houthi forces hit a large oil facility in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Jizan in drone and missile attacks overnight, a Houthi military spokesman said on Monday. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said earlier it had intercepted and destroyed four missiles and six explosive drones fired by the Houthis over the border towards Saudi Arabia. Oil company Saudi Aramco operates a 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the Red Sea city of Jizan, which lies around 60 km (40 miles) from the Yemen border.
- WorldReuters
U.S. weighs limited options to deal with China over Hong Kong: WSJ
Steps against Hong Kong's financial system risk hurting U.S., Western and Hong Kong companies and consumers, according to the report https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-weighs-limited-options-to-punish-china-over-hong-kong-11594576800?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=10, citing U.S. officials and analysts. Measures like more targeted sanctions against Chinese officials and trade moves against products made in Hong Kong would have little impact on Beijing's integration of the city into the mainland's political and security system, the Journal added. On Thursday, Trump administration officials discussed Hong Kong plans in a White House meeting, people familiar with the gathering told the Journal.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoCouple who threatened Black Lives Matter protesters with guns once destroyed children's beehives
St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey drew national attention in June when they flashed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters walking down their street.
- WorldBusiness Insider
An ICU boss in the hardest-hit part of Italy says many patients who recover from COVID-19 still have 'chronic damage'
Sky News The head of ICU at a hospital in Bergamo, northern Italy, said many patients there who were treated for COVID-19 now have serious long-term health issues. Bergamo was the worst-hit area in Italy's worst-hit region, Lombardy. Some 3,000 people died in Bergamo, with the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in the thick of it.
