No overseas spectators at Olympics
The Tokyo Olympic Committee has decided international spectators will not be allowed for this year's summer Olympics. Officials said the risk was too great to admit fans from overseas during a pandemic.
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The IndependentGOP members who voted to impeach Trump get flood of donations defying former president’s vow for revenge
Incumbent Republican lawmakers received record donations in first quarter of 2021 as Trump yet to mobilise base for primary challengers
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We threw a bunch of the most overused Hinge chat-up lines at the dating app's CEO. Here are his suggestions for improving them.
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod dissected some of the dating app's most tired clichés such as "I'll fall for you if... you trip me up."
- The Independent
Father of teen arrested with AK47 in New York subway station was killed in police shootout
18-year-old man from Ohio with assault rifle and wearing gas mask taken into custody
- The Week
Cuba's new leaders won't have 'historical legacy' as a shield in post-Castro world, scholar says
For the first time in 60 years, Cuba will soon be without a Castro in a formal, day-to-day leadership position. Raúl Castro, the younger brother of the late Fidel Castro, confirmed Friday that he's stepping down from his role as the leader of the country's Communist Party, with President Miguel Diaz-Canel expected to take on double duties, as the Castro brothers did before him. The younger Castro, who is 90, is poised to remain an influential figure on the island, but he likely won't interfere with daily governance, The New York Times notes. That means a new era is on the horizon, as Cuba faces challenges from both the coronavirus and a struggling economy. The next generation of leadership could allow for more free-market activity, a path that's not completely new for Cuba; Raúl, who is considered more pragmatic than his brother, began the process of implementing some reforms following Fidel's death in 2011, but it's been a slow grind. There's no guarantee a new regime will change that — Richard Feinberg, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, told Al Jazeera that he thinks it's the "worst possible moment" for reforms because the government has "no money." That said, urgency may rule the day in a post-Castro world. Arturo Lopez-Levy, the author of Raul Castro and the New Cuba: A Close-Up View of Change and an assistant professor at Holy Names University, told Al Jazeera that, unlike the brothers, their successors will have to "rely on performance — not on historical legacy — to exercise power and as a source of legitimacy." Read more at The New York Times and Al Jazeera. More stories from theweek.comThe new HBO show you won't be able to stop watchingChanging election laws7 cartoons about Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal
- The Independent
Biden news: President plays golf for first time in office as woman charged with threatening VP Harris
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- Kansas City Star
Rep. Cleaver: Missouri can’t afford politicians disobeying the voters on Medicaid
Other red states have learned that expanding Medicaid is an economic plus, not a drain.
- The Independent
Death toll rises to four after vessel capsized in freak storm amid fears for nine men still missing
The Seacor Power vessel capsized on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico during a severe storm with 19 people onboard. Nine men are still missing
- The Independent
Marjorie Taylor Greene does U-turn on ‘America First’ caucus after GOP blowback
Rep. Greene accused the media of ‘false narratives’ and focusing on race to ‘divide the American people with hate through identity politics’
- The Independent
Second World War plane goes down in ocean during Florida airshow
The plane, a single-engine TBM Avenger, made a ‘soft’ landing in the shallow water
- BBC
Brazil 'needs $10bn to reach zero emissions' says minister
Brazil is also seeking aid from the US in return for protecting the Amazon rainforest.
- The Independent
John Kerry apologises for Donald Trump’s ‘renegade’ stance on climate crisis
“We are very sorry for the last four years,” US climate envoy John Kerry said
- The Independent
Peloton owners with children and pets told to stop using $4,000 treadmills after child dies
After the death of one child and 38 other incidents involving children, a US safety regulator is urging consumers to stop using the fitness device
- Associated Press
As Biden improves with vets, Afghanistan plan a plus to some
Patrick Proctor Brown says the war in Afghanistan was lost within a year of its start. The suburban Milwaukee lawyer, who was an infantry captain in Iraq, said the trillions of dollars spent and the thousands of lives lost, including a lieutenant he trained with, make it “a tragedy.” Brown supports President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, and by voting for the Democrat, he represents a subtle but potent shift in the voting behavior of some in the military.
- The Independent
From Asian hate crime to a minimum wage: 25 things Ted Cruz has voted against this year
All the votes the Texas senator opposed in 2021 – including not one confirmation of a woman to the position of Cabinet secretary
- The Independent
MyPillow guy’s free speech site bans curse words
‘Huge letdown’: Telegram users on Lindell’s verified channel express frustration at signing up for VIP access to new social media network that still hasn’t opened despite announcement
- The Independent
US and China commit to tackling climate crisis ‘with seriousness and urgency it demands’
The world’s two biggest polluters have agreed to ramp up their ‘respective actions’ to combat climate change
- Miami Herald
With Nets visiting Sunday, why the reeling Heat badly needs Brooklyn to fail
A reeling Heat team that couldn’t beat the worst of what the NBA has to offer must now, less than 48 hours later, measure where it stands against one of the NBA’s best.
- BBC
Biden backtracks on keeping Trump cap on refugees
A refugee organisation says the White House's explanation of the order is "completely false".
- Charlotte Observer
Why the Hornets will ‘look hard’ at rookie Vernon Carey the rest of this NBA season
The former Duke star Carey scored 21 points in his debut as an NBA starter.
- The Telegraph
De Niro unable to turn down acting roles because of his ‘estranged wife's expensive lifestyle’
Hollywood legend Robert De Niro is unable to turn down acting roles because he must pay for his estranged wife's expensive tastes, the actor's lawyer has claimed. Caroline Krauss told a Manhattan court that he is struggling financially because of the pandemic, a massive tax bill and the demands of Grace Hightower, who filed for divorce in 2018 after 21 years of marriage. The court has been asked to settle how much De Niro should pay Ms Hightower, 66, until the terms of the prenuptial agreement the couple negotiated in 2004 takes effect. “Mr De Niro is 77 years old, and while he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to,” Ms Krauss told the court. “When does that stop? When does he get the opportunity to not take every project that comes along and not work six-day weeks, 12-hour days so he can keep pace with Ms Hightower’s thirst for Stella McCartney?”