- PoliticsYahoo News
Poll gives Democrats bad news in key Senate race
Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, running for reelection, holds a 6-point lead against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in a race that will help decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Monday by Emerson College. Daines received 50 percent support in the poll, while 44 percent said they would vote for Bullock. Like other traditionally Republican strongholds, Montana is being looked at to see whether support for President Trump has softened, giving Democrats a better chance of retaking control of the Senate.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Gun sales spike among African-Americans: 'Our ancestors died for us to vote, they also died for us to be able to carry guns'
During the first six months of 2020, amid a global coronavirus pandemic, gun retailers have reported a record 10.3 million firearm transactions, according to a new survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Overall, gun sales in the U.S. have increased by 95 percent while ammunition sales have increased 139 percent compared to the same period last year. “The highest overall firearm sales increase comes from Black men and women, who show a 58.2% increase in purchases during the first six months of 2020 versus the same period last year,” Jim Curcuruto, NSSF director of research and market development, wrote in his report.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Beirut Ignored Public Warning There Was a Russian ‘Bomb’ at the Port
Years before a devastating blast killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000 in Beirut Tuesday, a maritime analyst issued a public warning that a Russian “floating bomb” was languishing in the city's docks. Maritime monitoring systems tracked the Rhosus into port in Beirut in September 2013. The ship, which was flagged in Moldova, listed its official cargo as “agricultural commodities.”
- U.S.The Independent
George Floyd: Leaked police bodycam footage shows how fatal arrest began
Leaked body camera footage shows George Floyd begging for his life in the moments leading up to his arrest and subsequent death at the knee of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. Video recorded on the body cameras of two other former officers, Thomas Lane, 37, and J. Kueng, 26, shows the initial moments of the confrontation between Mr Floyd and officers outside a Minneapolis shop on 25 May. A clip from the body camera of Mr Lane shows the fired officer approaching Mr Floyd as he sits in his car waiting for the police to arrive, having been accused of using a counterfeit $20 (£15) bill.
- U.S.Reuters
California governor says COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations trending down
The rates of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions were all trending downward in California in the latest counts, the governor said on Monday. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said that despite that good news, the state's Central Valley agricultural region was still being hit hard by the coronavirus. "This virus is not going away," Newsom said at a daily coronavirus briefing.
- U.S.INSIDER
Illinois officials call to abolish history classes in the state until an 'alternative' is set up to highlight underrepresented groups
Tim Boyle/Getty Images Community leaders in Illinois called for history classes in state schools to stop until a " suitable alternative" is established to represent minority groups in the curriculum. Democratic State Representative LaShawn K. Ford said "current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities," according to NBC Chicago. The state representative is calling for schools to discard history books "that unfairly communicate our history."
- WorldUSA TODAY
This is what it looked like after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 75 years ago
The most powerful weapon to ever be used against other humans was detonated by the United States in Japan 75 years ago. On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber famously known as the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, marking the first of two times the bomb has ever been used in warfare. The city was leveled – less than 10 percent of the buildings in Hiroshima were left undamaged by the bomb, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic is seeking Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the US while it scrambles to finalize a rescue plan
The airline, which flies only long-haul international routes, suspended passenger flights in April because of the coronavirus pandemic. The airline, 49% of which is owned by Delta, has cut more than 3,000 jobs, retired some planes, and closed bases to cut costs during the pandemic. Virgin Atlantic filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York on Tuesday, part of a process to protect its assets from US creditors as it scrambles to finalize a rescue plan with the aid of the UK court system.
- SportsArchitectural Digest
Direct-to-Consumer Furniture Brand Burrow Expands Its Offerings
The company is welcoming benches and credenzas to its product line starting today Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
White House responds to Trump encouraging voting by mail in Florida after criticizing it for months
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany responded Tuesday to President Trump's encouraging of voting by mail in Florida after criticizing it for months.
- U.S.The Telegraph
Governor Cuomo begs wealthy New Yorkers to come home to save ailing city
The governor of New York has begged the city's wealthy, who fled the coronavirus outbreak, to return and help it recover. Andrew Cuomo said he was extremely worried about New York City weathering the Covid-19 aftermath if too many of the well-heeled taxpayers who fled to second homes decide there is no need to move back. They are in their Hamptons homes, or Hudson Valley or Connecticut.
HealthAFPRare disease causing paralysis in children likely to return in US: experts
A rare neurological condition that mostly affects children and mysteriously returns every two years is likely to flare up in the coming weeks and months, US health authorities warned Tuesday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it "anticipates that 2020 will be another peak year for cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)." The disease, which is likely caused by a virus, can lead to permanent paralysis and life-threatening complications from respiratory failure, the CDC said.
- U.S.Associated Press
Judge sentences ex-MSU coach to jail in Nassar-related case
A former Michigan State University head gymnastics coach was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for lying to police during an investigation into former Olympic and university doctor Larry Nassar. Kathie Klages, 65, was found guilty in February of a felony and a misdemeanor for denying she knew of Nassar's abuse prior to 2016 when survivors started to come forward publicly. Klages testified at trial, and in a tearful statement Tuesday, that she did not remember being told about the abuse.
- BusinessReuters
Fauci says states seeing surge in COVID-19 cases should reconsider some lockdown measures
In some states with moderate case counts, experts are seeing "that same insidious increase in percent positive that we had seen and pointed out ... in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota and others", Fauci said during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Fauci said last week that he was seeing signs the surge of COVID-19 cases could be peaking in the South and West while other areas were on the cusp of new outbreaks. Fauci said that it is crucial that the outbreak be contained before autumn, when influenza cases are likely to spike alongside COVID-19 and more people begin to move indoors, increasing the risk of contagion.
- BusinessBBC
Anthony Levandowski: Ex-Google engineer sentenced for theft
An ex-engineer for Google's self-driving car unit has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for trade secret theft shortly before he joined Uber. US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco said Anthony Levandowski had carried out the "biggest trade secret crime I have ever seen". Levandowski loaded more than 14,000 Google files onto his laptop before leaving the firm in January 2016.
U.S.USA TODAYSplash Mountain log flume ride sinks at Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain hit rough waters Sunday as Twitter users posted video of a submerged log flume ride they were in only moments earlier. The riders tweeted that the ride began taking on water, and they decided to evacuate even though a Disney employee told them they should have stayed in the boat. In a video that's been viewed nearly 200,000 times, a Twitter user named Sky shared footage of the boat after it sank.
- U.S.Business Insider
A woman allegedly smashed a police officer's head into concrete after being told to wear a mask
A woman in Melbourne, Australia, allegedly "smashed" a police officer's head into concrete "several times" after being told to wear a mask, the Evening Standard reported. A woman in Australia allegedly slammed a police officer's face into the concrete multiple times Monday after the officer asked her to wear a face mask, the Evening Standard reported. The 26-year-old officer and her colleague approached the mask-less 38-year-old woman while on patrol near a Melbourne shopping center.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Tucker: ‘Probably Illegal’ for Biden to Only Consider a Black Woman VP
Fox News star Tucker Carlson—currently facing outrage from network colleagues over his racist rhetoric—upped the ante on Monday night, claiming it was “probably illegal” for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to prioritize Black women in his running-mate search, while calling those candidates unqualified. Carlson, whose former head writer was recently outed as an outspoken racist, kicked off Monday night's broadcast of his hit primetime show by singling out the women of color whom Biden is reportedly considering as the vice-presidential nominee. The far-right Fox host first described Rep. Bass (D-CA) as a “lunatic Fidel Castro acolyte” and an armed revolutionary, referring to her past praise of the Cuban dictator and work for a young leftist group during the 1970s.
- WorldThe Independent
'Wildly irresponsible': Former Trump aide slams president for 'spitballing' on cause of Beirut blasts
Donald Trump has been roundly criticised for his remarks suggesting that an "attack" or "bomb" caused deadly explosions in Beirut. The president said the explosions – which killed more than 70 people and injured thousands of others – "looked like an attack" despite no immediate evidence suggesting the blasts were intentional. Lebanese officials have not publicly determined the cause of Tuesday's explosions but have pointed to a warehouse that was improperly storing thousands of tonnes of unsecured ammonium nitrate for several years.
- PoliticsThe Week
Former Census Bureau directors warn of 'seriously incomplete' count after Trump administration cuts it short
Four former Census Bureau directors say it's a big mistake to cut counting efforts short. The Census Bureau said last week it would stop its in-person count on Sept. 30, a month earlier than its scheduled end date of Oct. 31. The move left census workers concerned a "massive undercount" is imminent.
WorldAFPFrom Manhattan to Hiroshima: the race for the atom bomb
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki capped six years of top-secret work by scientists from Europe and North America. In 1939, Albert Einstein signs a letter warning US president Franklin D. Roosevelt of the destructive potential of nuclear fission, which was discovered by the German chemist Otto Hahn. Roosevelt creates the Advisory Body on Uranium.
- WorldThe Guardian
Mexico hails 'Sledgehammer' arrest but murder crisis still a tough nut to crack
Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has hailed the capture of one of the country's most notorious gangsters as an important victory in his so far fruitless struggle to slash murder rates. In a Sunday night video message to the nation, López Obrador said security forces had seized “El Marro” or “the Sledgehammer” – the head of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel – at about 6am that morning in the violence-stricken state of Guanajuato. How is it that this cartel was able to grow so much – to the extent that Guanajuato became our country's most violent state?
- WorldReuters
Scotland shuts pubs and restaurants in Aberdeen to stem COVID-19 outbreak
Scotland imposed new restrictions on the oil city of Aberdeen on Wednesday to tackle an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, closing pubs and restaurants and ordering visitors to stay away. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said an outbreak in the city had now accounted for a total of 54 known cases in recent days, and that in the last 24 hours there had been 64 new cases across the whole of Scotland. Aberdeen is Scotland's third-largest city by population and one of its wealthiest, serving as a hub to the North Sea oil industry.
- WorldAssociated Press
Panama proposes flying Haitian migrants home after clash
The government of Panama said Monday it has proposed giving some Haitian migrants flights back to their homeland after frustrations boiled over at the remote camps where they are stuck. The camps in Panama's southern Darien province also house some Cuban and African migrants, but about 80% of the 2,000 migrants there are from Haiti. Public Safety Minister Juan Pino said Monday he offered improved medical services or repatriation flights to the migrants, who want to travel overland to the U.S. border but cannot do so because of coronavirus restrictions.
- U.S.BBC
Apple Fire: Massive California wildfire forces evacuations
Fire crews in California are battling a massive wildfire that has forced thousands of people from their homes east of Los Angeles. More than 1,300 firefighters, backed by helicopters and water-dumping planes, have been tackling the blaze dubbed the Apple Fire which started on Friday. Parts of the fire are on steep, rugged hillsides, making it hard for fire engines to reach.
“He’s not a radical. But he is running on the most liberal policy platform of any Democratic candidate in modern history.”
“Public opinion has been shifting leftward, and Biden’s thinking has shifted with it.”
“Biden shows that he’s more moderate than some in his party.”
“Biden has always been a creature of his time, and the COVID-19 crisis could force him to veer further left.”
“Liberal activists have lauded the campaign’s outreach to progressives.”