| Trump defense on Russian bounty story falls flat, even with Republicans Posted: 30 Jun 2020 04:42 PM PDT  White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has defended the president over reports that Russia offered Taliban fighters a bounty on U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
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| `You broke my wrist!' Police sued for taking down wrong man Posted: 30 Jun 2020 10:12 PM PDT  Body camera video shows Antonio Arnelo Smith handing his driver's license to a Black police officer and answering questions cooperatively before a white officer walks up behind him, wraps him in a bear hug and slams him face-first to the ground. "Oh my God, you broke my wrist!" the 46-year-old Black man screams as two more white Valdosta officers arrive, holding him down and handcuffing him following the takedown. One eventually tells Smith he's being arrested on an outstanding warrant, and is immediately corrected by the first officer: They've got the wrong man.
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| Italian police seize record amount of amphetamines shipped from Syria Posted: 01 Jul 2020 03:32 AM PDT  Italian police said on Wednesday they had seized about 14 tonnes of amphetamine pills worth around 1 billion euros ($1 billion) arriving from Syria, in what they described as the world's single largest operation of its kind. The shipment was hidden among counterfeit clothing items.
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| Study finds asteroid impact, not volcanoes, made the Earth uninhabitable for dinosaurs: 'Only plausible explanation' Posted: 30 Jun 2020 12:09 PM PDT  A new study found what happened to the Earth's dinosaurs. An asteroid strike blocking out the sun for years and causing permanent winters was cause.
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| Hong Kong: First arrests under 'anti-protest' law as handover marked Posted: 01 Jul 2020 01:48 PM PDT  A man with a pro-independence flag is among those held on the first day of the new law, police say.
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| McConnell warns Democrats about changing Senate rules to kill the filibuster Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:36 PM PDT  The Senate GOP leader spoke as some experts believe there's a fair chance his party could lose control of the chamber in November.
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| We found the best deals to shop during Home Depot's massive 4th of July sale Posted: 30 Jun 2020 01:38 PM PDT  Retailers such as Wayfair and Walmart are also offering major savings.
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| Top Trump aide says president is 'eager to return to the campaign trail' amid reports a planned rally was scrapped Posted: 30 Jun 2020 01:59 PM PDT  Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh held a press conference call with reporters on Tuesday where he said the president is "eager to return to the campaign trail and to keep campaigning and keep connecting with Americans."
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| Ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks granted bond Posted: 30 Jun 2020 07:07 AM PDT  The former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending, a judge ruled Tuesday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in the killing of Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man. Appearing via teleconference because of the coronavirus, lawyers for Rolfe argued that he is a native Georgian with strong ties to the community who is not at risk of fleeing or failing to show up for court and is not a danger to the community.
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| Officials: Russian bounty reports follow years of Kremlin support to Taliban Posted: 30 Jun 2020 10:10 AM PDT  As early as 2016, U.S. intelligence officials were receiving credible reports that the Russian government was funding the Taliban. Now those reports have taken on new relevance.
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| Martin Gugino, the Buffalo protester pushed to the ground and injured by police, released after nearly a month in hospital Posted: 30 Jun 2020 05:38 PM PDT  The 75-year-old man who fell to the ground after being pushed by Buffalo police officers in a viral video was released from the hospital Tuesday.
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| More than 400 US Army paratroopers flew almost 5,000 miles to practice a long-range Pacific island invasion Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:23 PM PDT  The drill "demonstrated that we are capable of deploying anywhere in the US Indo-Pacific Command area at a moment's notice," a commander said.
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| Coronavirus: What's behind alarming new US outbreaks? Posted: 01 Jul 2020 09:53 AM PDT  Cases are rising in Texas, Florida, Arizona and California - here's a look at the data and the theories.
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| Ex-Canada PM Mulroney calls for revised relations with China Posted: 01 Jul 2020 08:43 AM PDT  Canada must have an "urgent rethink" of its relationship with China, former prime minister Brian Mulroney said Wednesday as tensions build over the possible extradition to the United States of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Conservative Mulroney backed his Liberal successor Justin Trudeau's rejection of any exchange of Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018, for two Canadians who were detained in China in apparent retaliation. Mulroney said Canada's hope that China would emerge as a constructive partner in international relations had been proven wrong, referring in particular to Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea.
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| Trump Says Coronavirus Will Just ‘Disappear,’ Brags He Looks Like ‘Lone Ranger’ in Mask Posted: 01 Jul 2020 01:18 PM PDT  With coronavirus cases surging to all-time highs and states reversing reopening plans, President Donald Trump once again claimed on Wednesday that the deadly virus would eventually just "disappear." At the same time, the president appeared to change his tune on face-coverings, telling Fox Business that he's "all for masks" while boasting about the single time that he was spotted wearing one, claiming he thought he "looked OK" and that he resembled the "Lone Ranger."Speaking to Fox Business host Blake Burman from the White House, the president bragged that the economy is recovering in a "very strong fashion" as states reopen businesses and public spaces following stay-at-home orders. "And I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus," Trump continued. "I think that at some point, that it's going to sort of just disappear, I hope."Rand Paul's Coronavirus Fix: 'We Just Need More Optimism'Burman, meanwhile, wondered aloud that Trump "still believes" that the disease will just go away, as he's asserted many times in the past. "I do. I do. Yeah," the president said. "Sure. At some point. I think we will have a vaccine very soon, too."Since February, the president has repeatedly assured the public that the virus would "disappear" in the near future. For instance, in early February, the president claimed that it would "go away by April." Later that month, when the nation's cases were still in double-digits, he confidently declared that it would be "close to zero" in a couple of days. Even in recent weeks, after deaths had already exceeded 100,000, the president insisted it will fade away even without a vaccine.Burman eventually moved on to recent studies and models that show that mandatory mask-wearing not only would have a health benefit to the public, but would also be a net positive economically as it would help prevent lockdown. Furthermore, in recent days, some of Trump's top allies at Fox have urged the president to wear a mask."So if there is an economic benefit, sir, and there is a public health benefit, sir, why not go forward and say there should be mandatory masks all across this country?" Burman asked.Trump replied that he didn't think a mandatory order was necessary because "many places" in the country feature people living "very long distances" from each other. Then the president, who has openly mocked his political opponents for wearing masks and has avoided publicly wearing face coverings, claimed he was "all for masks.""I think masks are good," he stated, prompting the Fox host to press whether he'd wear one."I would—I have. I mean, people have seen me wearing one," a rambling Trump responded. "If I'm in a group of people where we're not, you know, ten feet away but usually I'm not in that position and everyone's tested because I'm the president, they get tested before they see me but if I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely."North Carolina's Top Two Officials Are at War Over CoronavirusBurman, meanwhile, asked whether the public would see the president wear one at some point. The only instance of the president having been spotted with a face mask occurred during a May trip to a Ford plant, where Trump briefly donned a mask away from the press in a back area while viewing some classic cars."I mean, I have no problem. Actually, I had a mask on," Trump said, referencing the Ford plant moment. "I sort of like the way I looked, OK? I thought it was OK. It was a dark black mask and I thought it looked OK. Looked like the Lone Ranger. But no, I have no problem with that. I think—if people feel good about it they should do it."The Lone Ranger, for the record, wore a domino mask over his eyes.Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar Shut Down Meghan McCain's COVID OutburstRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| John Hickenlooper wins Colorado's Democratic Senate primary Posted: 30 Jun 2020 06:26 PM PDT |
| Couple recorded pulling weapons on protesters outside their St. Louis home Posted: 30 Jun 2020 03:47 AM PDT  Sunday night's demonstration was sparked by mayor releasing names and addresses of "defund police" advocates.
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| Australia seeks long-range missiles in Indo-Pacific defence shift Posted: 30 Jun 2020 11:59 PM PDT  The country is to significantly lift military spending amid rising US-China instability, its PM says.
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| Texas Lt. Gov. blasts Fauci as state coronavirus cases rise: ‘I don’t need his advice’ Posted: 01 Jul 2020 08:16 AM PDT  "No thank you, Dr. Fauci."
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| People are concerned that an $88 baseball sold on the Trump Organization's merch page could be a secret message to white supremacists Posted: 01 Jul 2020 03:04 PM PDT  The latest in series of alleged dog whistles and outright white nationalist messages from Trumpworld comes in the form of an $88 baseball.
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| See How One Modern Family Restored Its Ancestral Family Estate in England Posted: 30 Jun 2020 11:23 AM PDT |
| Beijing asks some U.S. media to submit information about their China operations Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:32 AM PDT  China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the Chinese government has asked some U.S. media outlets present in the country to submit information about their China operations. Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian named the Associated Press, National Public Radio, CBS and United Press International news agency as companies asked to submit the requested information in writing within seven days. The AP has requested more information about the Chinese government's requirements and "will review them carefully," a spokeswoman for the outlet said.
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| Iran police question four after deadly Tehran blast Posted: 01 Jul 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Iranian police on Wednesday questioned four people as part of investigations into a powerful explosion that killed 19 people at a Tehran clinic the night before, state media reported. The blast at the Sina At'har health centre in the upmarket northern neighbourhood of Tajrish caused damage to nearby buildings and sent a plume of thick black smoke into the sky. It was the second such incident to hit Tehran within days, after a gas tank explosion near a military complex east of the capital late last Thursday that authorities said caused no casualties.
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| Biden team putting together list of Black female court picks Posted: 30 Jun 2020 12:22 PM PDT  Joe Biden said Tuesday that his team is putting together a list of potential options for his first Supreme Court nominee, which he has already pledged will be a Black woman. Biden had previously committed that one of his first acts as president would be to nominate a Black woman to serve on the country's highest court, but he had resisted calls from advocacy groups to commit to releasing a full list of options during the campaign. In contrast, President Donald Trump pledged earlier this month to release a new list of Supreme Court nominees from which he would choose, declaring that "based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before."
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| Woman Choked, Robbed In Manhattan Posted: 30 Jun 2020 09:47 AM PDT  The 64-year-old victim was attacked in Kips Bay on Sunday and suffered cuts. CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reports
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| Photos show how protesters in New York City are occupying City Hall, demanding the police budget be cut before the July 1 deadline Posted: 30 Jun 2020 03:31 PM PDT  Hundreds of protesters have set up camp inside City Hall Park in Manhattan to demand at least $1 billion be cut from the NYPD before July 1.
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| America's M2 Carbine: The Rifle That Made the U.S. Military Great on the Battlefield Posted: 30 Jun 2020 09:30 AM PDT  Small numbers of M2s made their way to the troops in the closing engagement of World War II in the Pacific, particularly in the brutal Battle for Okinawa. However, they saw wider-scale action five years later in the Korean War.
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| Warren Introduces Nationwide Eviction Moratorium Bill Posted: 30 Jun 2020 07:03 AM PDT  Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday introduced a bill that would extend a nationwide eviction moratorium as the current eviction protections in response to the coronavirus pandemic near expiration."Renters who have lost their job or had their income reduced shouldn't have to fear losing their homes in the middle of a pandemic," Warren said in a statement announcing the bill. "Housing is a human right and an absolute necessity to keep families safe during this crisis, and Congress must step in now to help keep people in their homes."The Massachusetts Democrat's bill, the Protecting Renters from Evictions and Fees Act, would extend eviction protections until March 27 of next year and would apply to nearly all renters and landlords. The measure would also prohibit fees, fines, and extra charges due to non-payment of rent and require landlords to give tenants a 30-day eviction notice after the moratorium expires.The bill extends and expands the current 120-day eviction moratorium that was included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, a massive spending package intended to buoy the flagging economy amid the pandemic. Those eviction protections are set to expire on July 25 and applied to only renters in federally assisted housing.An even larger $3 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, the HEROES Act, which passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, includes an eviction moratorium similar to the one in Warren's bill.Warren is introducing the legislation in tandem with Representatives Jesús García, an Illinois Democrat, and Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, who are introducing a similar measure in the House."My district consists principally of immigrant and working class communities, and more than half of my constituents are renters," Garcia told Vox. "As our country faces historic levels of unemployment and with another first of the month around the corner, people in my district are hurting — the last thing they should worry about is having a roof over their head."Warren's bill comes as low-income renters in many states struggle to pay rent on time after months of layoffs and reduced income due to business closures during the lockdown and stay-at-home orders.
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| If Americans keep ignoring COVID-19 safety precautions, we'll have to shut down. Again. Posted: 30 Jun 2020 07:16 AM PDT  A contagious virus is not a subject for a debate over personal choice. The only thing to discuss is what public health measures we need to control it.
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| U.S. Senator Grassley backs plan to block EPA nomination over biofuel waivers Posted: 30 Jun 2020 08:09 AM PDT  U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said on Tuesday he supported a plan by one of his Senate colleagues to block the nomination of an Environmental Protection Agency official until the agency makes clear how it would handle requests from oil refiners for retroactive exemptions from their biofuel blending mandates. Grassley and Senator Joni Ernst, both from Iowa, spoke last week with EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to discuss the waivers, which biofuel advocates in their state claim hurt farmers by undermining demand for corn-based ethanol, Grassley said on a call with reporters.
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| Nicola Sturgeon and her husband will have to give evidence under oath to Alex Salmond inquiry Posted: 01 Jul 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Nicola Sturgeon and her husband will be forced to give evidence under oath to a Scottish Parliament inquiry into the mishandling of misconduct claims against Alex Salmond, it has been announced. The specially-convened Holyrood committee tasked with examining the Scottish Government's handling of harassment complaints made against the former First Minister confirmed it will take the unusual step when questioning witnesses. Some MSPs on the committee argued taking sworn evidence under oath was necessary given the seriousness of its inquiry and to maximise the accuracy of witness evidence amid "conflicting" claims. Refusing to take an oath is an offence punishable by up to three months in jail or a £5,000 fine. Giving false evidence could attract a five-year prison sentence.
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| McGrath raises Russia bounty issue in Kentucky Senate race Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:15 PM PDT  Taking the offensive after her narrow primary win, Democratic Senate nominee Amy McGrath challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to disclose what he knows about intelligence assessments suggesting Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. McGrath, a former Marine pilot, tweeted Wednesday that she's "disgusted that nothing's been done" in response to the assessments and demanded McConnell "man up and tell the truth." "Mitch, you get regular security briefings," McGrath tweeted.
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| Indian groom's wedding, funeral leave over 100 infected with coronavirus Posted: 01 Jul 2020 06:11 AM PDT  More than 100 people have tested positive for coronavirus in India after attending the wedding -- and then funeral -- of the groom, who reportedly tied the knot while ill with the disease. Officials in Bihar state said Wednesday the 26-year-old groom had symptoms of the deadly virus when he got married on June 15. "So far 111 people who either attended the wedding or the funeral have tested positive," said Raj Kishor Chaudhary, chief medical officer in Patna, the state capital.
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| Target customer confronts employee in Black Lives Matter mask Posted: 01 Jul 2020 10:01 AM PDT  The customer said she asked the Target employee, "Don't you think all lives matter?" which started an argument. She was told to leave the store.
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| How America Bombed Nazi Germany Back into the Stone Age (And Won World War II) Posted: 01 Jul 2020 04:00 PM PDT  By the time the invasion of France began, American bomber losses had dropped to negligible proportions, and the Luftwaffe had been virtually driven from the skies over its own homeland.
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| The New York City Council passed a budget to defund the NYPD by $1 billion — but nobody seems to like it Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:16 AM PDT  The $1 billion cancels the incoming class of officers, and will be reallocated to services like summer youth programs and broadband in public housing.
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| 'This impacts your life forever': How 1 school district addresses students' racism charges Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  As police departments and corporations face public reckonings over systemic racism, schools, too, are confronting accusations of racism from students.
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| Puerto Rico declares state of emergency as drought leaves 140,000 without running water Posted: 30 Jun 2020 10:08 AM PDT  Puerto Rico's governor has declared a state of emergency after a severe drought has left nearly 140,000 people on the island without normal running water amidst the coronavirus pandemic.More than 26 per cent of the island is experiencing a severe drought and another 60 per cent is under a moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
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| F-16 Fighter Pilot Dies After Crash in South Carolina Posted: 01 Jul 2020 02:47 PM PDT  The incident is the fifth fighter jet crash—and the second fatal one—in six weeks.
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| Trump administration sends out teams to guard monuments on July 4th weekend Posted: 01 Jul 2020 09:30 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's administration has put special law enforcement teams in place to protect monuments it believes could be vandalized by protesters over the 4th of July holiday weekend, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday. It also did not say exactly which memorials would be guarded or whether specific threats were made. Trump this year will view fireworks celebrating U.S. independence at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.
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| Fire kills 1, ruins 40 homes in Calif. desert town Posted: 29 Jun 2020 10:13 PM PDT  A brush fire killed one person and destroyed about 40 homes in a remote desert town near the shrinking Salton Sea, California's largest lake, authorities said Monday. (June 30)
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| With a pen stroke, Mississippi drops Confederate-themed flag Posted: 30 Jun 2020 09:22 AM PDT  With a stroke of the governor's pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that's widely condemned as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill Tuesday at the Governor's Mansion, immediately removing official status for the 126-year-old banner that has been a source of division for generations. "This is not a political moment to me but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together, to be reconciled and to move on," Reeves said on live TV just before the signing.
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