- PoliticsYahoo News
‘American democracy is under attack’: Sanders urges vigilance against Trump’s ‘authoritarianism’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the United States has been slipping toward authoritarianism under President Trump and that citizens have an “enormous obligation” to protect American freedom. The runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination last year delivered his scathing critique of the administration in a speech Thursday morning discussing the threat of authoritarianism in both the U.S. and other countries. “Under President Trump, our country is moving in an authoritarian direction and the very nature of American democracy is under attack,” Sanders said at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace headquarters in Washington, D.C.
- NewsYahoo View
Philandro Castile Death: Police Dashcam Video Released
Officials released the video days after the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Castile was acquitted in the man's death.
- PoliticsYahoo View
Pelosi On Criticism from Dems: 'I Think I'm Worth the Trouble'
Pushing back on criticism from fellow party members after the Democratic loss in a Georgia special election this week, Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she’s “worth the trouble” as Democrats’ leader in the House.
WorldAssociated PressAl-Jazeera manager denounces Gulf demands for its shutdown
A top Al-Jazeera official on Friday denounced demands to shut down the network by countries involved in a dispute with its host nation Qatar as an attempt to suppress free expression. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain broke ties with Qatar and restricted access to land, sea and air routes earlier this month over allegations it funds terrorism — an accusation Doha rejects but that President Donald Trump has echoed. The move has left Qatar, whose only land border is shared with Saudi Arabia, under a de facto blockade by its neighbors.
- NewsThe Independent
Crash that killed teenage siblings so horrific emergency responder went into cardiac arrest
An emergency response volunteer went into cardiac arrest while helping to remove bodies from the scene of a “horrific” car accident in which two teenage siblings and a 70-year-old man were killed. Eric Neibaur, 15, and his 13-year-old sister Lauren Neibaur died when their pick-up truck collided with Jay Lanningham’s vehicle on a major road in the US state of Idaho. Police said a member of the local search and rescue unit had to be revived with a portable defibrillator after his heart stopped at the scene of the crash, reported the Idaho State Journal.
WorldReutersAnger in Mosul as Islamic State destroys historic mosque
By Kawa Omar and Ahmed Rasheed MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - The leaning al-Hadba minaret that towered over Mosul for 850 years lay in ruins on Thursday, demolished by retreating Islamic State militants, but Iraq's prime minister said the act marked their final defeat in the city. "In the early morning, I climbed up to the roof of my house and was stunned to see the Hadba minaret had gone," Nashwan, a day-laborer who lives near the mosque, said by phone. The demolition came on Wednesday night as Iraqi forces closed in on the mosque, which carried enormous symbolic importance for Islamic State (IS).
- BusinessYahoo View
FCC Regulators Are Now Imposing Record Fines for Robocalls
A Miami man is facing a record $120 million fine for what the FCC calls a massive spoofing operation. He allegedly made 96 million robocalls over a three month period.
WorldAFPChina's Xi visit to Hong Kong confirmed: report
President Xi Jinping will come to Hong Kong next week to mark 20 years since the city was handed back to China by Britain, local media said, in a visit that will be incendiary to activists. Although widely expected, officials have not so far said whether Xi will make the trip, his first to Hong Kong since becoming president in 2013. The South China Morning Post reported for the first time Friday that Xi's visit had been "confirmed", citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the visit.
PoliticsYahoo NewsBuoyant Trump spouts boasts, proposals — and falsehoods — at Iowa rally
A jubilant President Trump recapped some of his campaign’s greatest hits and offered new policy ideas as well as blatant misstatements during a marathon rally Wednesday night in Iowa. Trump spoke for 70 minutes in front of an exuberant crowd in his first trip west of the Mississippi as president. During his speech, Trump verified reports that he was unhappy with the health care plan that passed the House, saying that he told lawmakers to “throw money” at health care to come up a plan with “heart.” He made a brief plea for bipartisanship, saying that Democrats wouldn’t vote yes even if Republicans came up with a plan that offered the best health care for free, but if the parties worked together they could get “really, really great legislation” passed.
- CelebrityInside Edition
Cosby Juror Surprised Case Ended in Mistrial, Thought Shamed Comic Would be Acquitted
An alternate juror in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial has opened up about the two weeks in the courtroom, saying he's surprised the case ended in a mistrial. Juror No. 14, or Alternate No. 2, spoke out to Inside Edition Thursday, saying he wasn’t in the room for deliberations, but learned of tensions between his fellow jurors before the case ended in a mistrial June 17. Two of the jurors reportedly believed Cosby was innocent and refused to change their minds.
- NewsYahoo View
British Schoolboys Wear Skirts During Heatwave in Uniform Protest
A group of teenage boys in England wore skirts to school during sweltering heat in defiance of their school's shorts ban.
NewsAssociated PressUS officials to lift Yellowstone grizzly bear protections
Protections that have been in place for more than 40 years for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park area will be lifted this summer after U.S. government officials ruled Thursday that the population is no longer threatened. Grizzlies in all continental U.S. states except Alaska have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975, when just 136 bears roamed in and around Yellowstone. There are now an estimated 700 grizzlies in the area that includes northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Montana and eastern Idaho, leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conclude that the population has recovered.
- NewsInternational Business Times
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Leads Off-Camera White House Briefing
The White House will have another off-camera press briefing Thursday, according to a report from CNN Wednesday night. Stepping in for Sean Spicer will be Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. READ: Where Is Sean Spicer?
NewsReutersPew U.S. survey finds agreement on some gun-control proposals
The survey of 3,930 U.S. adults, including 1,269 gun owners, in March and April, provided a snapshot of American views on guns and gun policies as the nation grapples with gun violence. On June 14, an Illinois man opened fire on Republican members of Congress with legally purchased guns during a baseball practice near Washington, wounding Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise.
- NewsThe Guardian
More than half of Americans want stricter gun laws, Pew study finds
Among gun owners, the survey found clear differences in firearm usage based on partisan affiliation. More than half of Americans want stricter gun laws, while still preserving the rights of most people in most places to carry most types of guns, a Pew Research Center survey has found. While half of Americans see gun violence as a very big problem in their country, fewer than 10% of American adults said that “almost no one” should be able to legally own a gun, and only 10% said that “almost no types” of guns should be legally available to buy.
- EntertainmentABC News Videos
Inside Marvel: Darth Vader comic introduces a new Jedi to the saga
Writer Charles Soule gives a sneak peek at Kirak Infil-a, Vader's opponent in the coming issues.
WorldAFPUS Navy to hold Japan memorial for sailors killed in crash
The US navy said Friday it will hold a memorial ceremony for seven sailors killed when their destroyer collided with a container ship off Japan's coast last weekend. The service will be held on Tuesday at the naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, where the badly damaged destroyer USS Fitzgerald is based, a navy spokeswoman said. The sailors' relatives, US military officials and some 300 crew members of the guided-missile warship will join the private event, she added, without releasing other details.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Democratic congressman: Our ‘toxic’ brand under Pelosi makes it hard to win
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, says the Democratic Party’s “toxic” brand under House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is making it difficult for their party to connect with voters. “We’ve got a lot of energy in our base, which is very exciting for a lot of us to see that on the ground,” Ryan told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday morning. “But you’ve got to beat the Republican and you’ve got to carry this very toxic Democratic brand on your back, too.
WorldAssociated PressFather of missing Chinese scholar: 'Give my daughter back'
Yingying Zhang was last seen on a surveillance video getting into a black Saturn Astra in Urbana on the afternoon of June 9. Ronggao Zhang, who arrived in central Illinois from China Saturday, spoke to The (Champaign) News-Gazette through a translator. Yingying Zhang's aunt, Liqin Ye, also traveled from China and wiped away tears as the father spoke.
- ScienceMashable
NASA's Curiosity rover has a pet rock on Mars
Mars is probably a pretty lonely place. The red planet is littered with rusty red rocks and, as far as we know, devoid of any kind of life. But even so, rovers still roam the surface of the world on humanity's behalf, making their solitary treks along
- ScienceThe Independent
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry told he lacks 'fundamental understanding' of climate science
The American Meteorological Society has told Rick Perry he lacks a ‘fundamental understanding’ of science after the US Energy Secretary claimed carbon dioxide was not a primary cause of climate change. The former governor of Texas told CNBC TV that “the most likely the primary control knob [for climate change] is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in”, rather than greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity. Becoming the latest of Donald Trump’s administration to dispute established science without any attempt at reasoned argument, Mr Perry also said it was “quite all right” to be a sceptic about climate change, suggesting the trait was one held by any “wise, intellectually engaged person”.
- PoliticsInternational Business Times
Bernie Sanders Wife Facing Bank Fraud Charges
Jane Sanders, the wife of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is facing charges for the time she allegedly used her political influence to obtain bank loans for Burlington College, an institution that is now defunct, so that the college could purchase its former North Avenue campus. It was revealed Thursday that Jane has hired lawyers now that the Department Of Justice has taken over the probe into her past financial dealings. Burlington College was a private, non-profit liberal arts college that was placed on probation in July 2014 for failing to meet the standards regarding financial resources and ultimately closed down on May 27, 2016.
WorldReutersU.S. will take weapons from Kurds after Islamic State defeat: Turkey
The United States has told Turkey it will take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, Ankara said on Thursday, seeking to address Turkish concerns about arming Kurds on its border. Turkish defense ministry sources said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also promised his Turkish counterpart to provide a monthly list of weapons handed to the YPG, saying the first inventory had already been sent to Ankara.
- BusinessRideApart
Here’s Why That Harley/Ducati Rumor is BS
On Wednesday we posted a story about rumors that Harley-Davidson may be interested in purchasing Italian brand Ducati, the latter being the subject of an almost constant barrage of rumors thanks to the perceived financial difficulties of its parent company, Volkswagen AG. On the surface you might think Harley and Ducati are a mismatch, but stop to think about what both companies are really good at: branding. Ducati has achieved unprecedented success in recent years in part because it (like Indian, Triumph, and BMW) has ripped whole pages from the Harley playbook.
ScienceBGR NewsAn asteroid is definitely going to hit the Earth, expert warns
Asteroids are the most clear and present threat that our Solar System poses to us, and you only need to look at the scars on the Earth, our moon, and other planets in our neighborhood to see exactly how real that danger is. Now, a Queen’s University Belfast researcher is warning that the Earth is definitely going to be hit, it’s just a matter of when. The expert, Alan Fitzsimmons, points out that an event similar to that of the 1908 meteoroid explosion over the Tunguska region in Russia’s Siberia — which leveled a forest and damaged buildings but didn’t result in any human deaths — could happen again, and if it did happen over a major city, the results would be devastating.
