- 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.
- 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.
NewsAssociated Press'Pizzagate' gunman in DC sentenced to 4 years in prison
An online conspiracy theory dubbed "pizzagate" ended Thursday with real-world consequences when a North Carolina man was sentenced to prison for arming himself with an assault rifle, traveling to the nation's capital and firing his weapon inside a neighborhood pizza restaurant. Edgar Maddison Welch's "ill-conceived plot" last year did "actual damage to the lives of real people," a judge said before sentencing him to four years in prison. Judge Ketanji B. Jackson said she'd never seen a case like Welch's, and she gave him a punishment on the upper end of guidelines, in part to send a message to others.
- 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.
- WorldInternational Business Times
Russia Cancels Talks With US Over Ukraine Issue
Russia on Wednesday cancelled a meeting planned between its officials and the U.S. that was aimed at resolving problems between the two countries. The decision came after the U.S. announced an expansion of sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities in response to the continuing occupation of Ukraine by Russia. The meeting was expected to be attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and the U.S. Under Secretary of State Tom Shannon and was due to take place in St Petersburg, CNN reported.
- WorldYahoo News Photo Staff
China’s border with North Korea
China has long been North Korea’s main ally and trading partner, but relations are increasingly strained by continued missile testing and provocations by the regime of Kim Jong Un. The North is almost entirely dependent on trade with China to feed its impoverished economy, yet it has ignored calls by the international community to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs. The United States has pressured China to do more to leverage its clout with North Korea, though Beijing remains concerned that outright regime collapse in Pyongyang could trigger a rush of refugees across the border.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
NewsAFPFemale Japan politician resigns after attacking male aide
Mayuko Toyota, a 42-year-old Harvard graduate and up-and-coming member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), can be heard screaming at the unnamed aide, saying he should die as she mocked his thinning hair. "Don't damage my reputation anymore," Toyota screams, apparently in response to a mistake she claims the man had made. Major Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, named Toyota as the woman heard on the tape.
- NewsForeign Policy Magazine
State Department to Scrap Afghanistan-Pakistan Envoy
In a surprising move, the State Department reportedly is getting rid of its special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Several reports on Friday indicate the move came without warning, even to rank-and-file diplomats at the State Department. Former President Barack Obama began to slowly phase out the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) as he drew down U.S. military presence in the region.
NewsAssociated PressManson follower, longest-serving female inmate, seeks parole
A parole hearing resumed Thursday for convicted killer Patricia Krenwinkel — a follower of cult leader Charles Manson — after officials investigated whether battered women's syndrome affected her state of mind at the time of the murders nearly five decades ago. Krenwinkel, 69, was previously denied parole 13 times for the 1969 slayings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four other people in Southern California. The next night, she helped kill grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in what prosecutors say was an attempt by Manson to ignite a race war.
NewsAssociated PressFuneral, vigil reveal depth of sorrow at Muslim girl's death
Whether a mourner in a black robe at a mosque or a soccer mom in a T-shirt and shorts at a community vigil, reaction to 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen's death carried a common refrain: That could have been my daughter. Another crowd of several thousand attended a community vigil Wednesday evening. Hassanen, 17, died Sunday after police said she was bludgeoned with a baseball bat by a motorist who drove up on about 15 Muslim teenagers as they walked back to ADAMS Center for pre-dawn Ramadan services.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Russia debacle destroys the last rationale for Trump, the myth of the genius CEO
President Trump arrives at Newark International airport earlier this month. What have we really learned to this point about the ties between President Trump’s campaign and the Russians, and what does it tell us? My former colleague David Brooks, no fan of Trump’s, wrote thoughtfully on this subject a few days ago.
- 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?
- 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”.
WorldReutersRonaldo ready to pay 14.7 mln euros in Spanish tax fraud case: media
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to pay Spain's tax authorities 14.7 million euros ($16.39 million) - the amount he has been accused of defrauding by a prosecutor - ahead of a court hearing next month, Spanish state TV said on Wednesday. The report added Rolando will reiterate at a hearing on July 31 that he is innocent and has never hidden any income from the taxman or committed any tax fraud in Spain. Representatives for Ronaldo declined to comment.
- 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.
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.
EntertainmentMashableThe 9 funniest lines from a coal kingpin's lawsuit against John Oliver
John Oliver is facing the legal wrath of a lawsuit-happy coal baron after a brutal segment in which the host tore into the American coal industry. The document accuses Oliver of a "ruthless character assassination" of Robert Murray, CEO of the nation's largest coal mining operation, Murray Energy.
- NewsInside Edition
Court Upholds Decision That 'Making a Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey's Confession Was Coerced
Brendan Dassey, the nephew of convicted killer Steven Avery who was featured in the docuseries Making a Murderer, could be one step closer to freedom after a Wisconsin appeals court upheld a ruling that his confession was coerced. A three-judge panel in the Seventh Court of Appeals agreed late Thursday with an earlier decision that Dassey, 27, was intimidated into saying he played a role in the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, according to WBAY. Two of the judges concurred with Judge William Duffin's ruling last year that investigators offered Dassey, then 17, the false promise that "he had nothing to worry about" while interrogating him about the Halbach slaying — without a parent or an attorney present.
WorldAssociated PressInvestigators obtain data recorder in US warship collision
Japanese authorities said Thursday they have obtained a data recording device from a container ship to help determine why it collided with a U.S. destroyer, killing seven American sailors. Japanese transport safety officials said they obtained the voyage data recorder, similar to an airplane's "black box," from the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, which is currently docked in Yokohama near Tokyo. Investigators are examining the ship's movements, including its location, direction, speed and other data to determine the cause of its collision with the USS Fitzgerald early Saturday off Izu Peninsula, west of Tokyo.
WorldReutersArab states issue ultimatum to Qatar: close Jazeera, curb ties with Iran
By William Maclean, Rania El Gamal and Tom Finn DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) - Four Arab states that imposed a boycott on Qatar have issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera television, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish base and pay reparations, demands so far reaching it would appear to be hard for Doha to comply. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have sent a 13-point list of demands apparently aimed at dismantling their tiny but wealthy neighbor's two-decade-old interventionist foreign policy which has incensed them. A Qatari government spokesman said Doha was reviewing the list of demands and that a formal response would be made by the foreign ministry and delivered to Kuwait, but added that the demands were not reasonable or actionable.
- WorldInternational Business Times
Canadian Marksman Fires World's Longest Kill Shot
A Canada special elite forces sniper broke the world record for the longest kill shot in the military history. According to the Globe and Mail, the sniper whose name was withheld, fired from a stunning distance of 3,450 meters. An unnamed military source was quoted saying: “Hard data on this.
- CelebrityThe Independent
Bill Cosby plans motivational speaking tour to talk about dealing with sexual assault allegations
Comedian Bill Cosby - currently facing charges of sexual assault - wants to embark on a motivational speaking tour to talk to people about dealing with such allegations. Last weekend, a judge ruled a mistrial after a jury was unable to agree a verdict on the charges that that he drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand. Lawyers had said Ms Constand, the former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, was attacked by Mr Cosby at his home near Philadelphia in January 2004.
