‘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.

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.

• 
  Democrats Try to Push Nancy Pelosi Out to Win Back House Majority

  Yahoo View
• 
  Democratic congressman: Our ‘toxic’ brand under Pelosi makes it hard to win

  Yahoo News

Black off-duty cop shot by colleague while responding to car crash

An off-duty African-American police officer was shot Wednesday night by a white colleague in St. Louis, while both officers were attempting to aid first responders after a high-speed car chase ended in a crash, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department told Yahoo News. Authorities said the injured officer was in his home when he heard a crash. “At this time, a responding officer (36-year old white male with over 8 years of service) just arriving in the area observed this and fearing for his safety and apparently not recognizing the off-duty officer, discharged a shot, striking the off-duty officer in the arm,” the police department said by email.

Pew 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.

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  More than half of Americans want stricter gun laws, Pew study finds

  The Guardian
• 
  Survey: Americans Divided Over Gun Policy Issues

  VOA News

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.

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  FCC may fine robocall spammer $120 million for illegal spoofing

  Engadget
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  Alleged robocall scammer faces $120 million fine

  CNET

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.

• Emergency worker suffers heart attack while responding to teens' fatal head-on collision

  Fox News
• Hundreds turn out to honor Pocatello teens killed in crash

  KIFI Idaho Falls

Mosul’s 800-year-old Great Mosque of al-Nuri destroyed as Iraqi troops close in on ISIS

Iraqi troops trying to retake the city from Islamic State forces were closing on the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and suddenly they saw thick smoke rising from where the mosque stood. The U.S. has denied the claim and so have Iraqi forces. Hussein, an Iraqi federal police officer who was near the old city the night the mosque exploded, told Yahoo News, “I only saw white smoke.

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  IS destroys iconic Mosul minaret as Iraqi forces advance

  AFP
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  Video Shows Iraqi Forces Closing In on al-Nuri Mosque Before Its Destruction

  Storyful

China'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.

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  Hong Kong More Relevant Due to Integration With China, Lam Says

  Bloomberg
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  Hong Kong Needs Close China Ties to Prosper, Next Leader Says

  Bloomberg

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.

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.

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  Here are the Teenage Boys Who Wore Skirts to School to Protest Dress Code Double Standards

  Glamour
• 
  Boys Skirt The No-Shorts Rule

  NPR.org

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.

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  Bill Cosby Speaking Tour Will Address How to Avoid Sexual Assault Accusations

  Newsweek
• 
  First person: How the Bill Cosby trial was — and wasn't — like some of Hollywood's best legal dramas

  Los Angeles Times

Arab 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.

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  Tillerson Urges Arab Countries To Make 'Reasonable Demands' Of Qatar

  International Business Times
• 
  Shut Al-Jazeera, Isolate Iran: 13 Demands on Qatar to End Crisis

  Bloomberg

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?

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  White House-media relations at breaking point as Spicer searches for replacement

  CNN Money
• 
  CNN Just Trolled the White House and Now We Can't Stop Laughing

  Popsugar US

US 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.

• 
  Rear admiral to investigate fatal Navy collision off Japan

  ABC News
• 
  How Could the Fitzgerald Collision Happen?

  Popular Mechanics

News outlets 'banned from filming' Jared Kushner during visit to Israel

Journalists were ordered not to photograph Jared Kushner while he is in Israel on a quick visit trying to broker a peace deal for father-in-law Donald Trump. It is unclear at this time who gave the order, but reports indicate that an Associated Press cameraman was prevented from filming Mr Kushner's arrival at the office of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. Another cameraman was told to delete the memory card in his camera, which reportedly contained images of Mr Kushner's arrival and from Mr Netanyahu's office.

• 
  Rep. Quigley: Suspend Kushner's clearance

  CNN
• 
  Trump goes on raging tweetstorm on Russia probe: 'It's all a big Dem HOAX!'

  Business Insider

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.

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  Trump says his original North Korea policy 'has not worked out'

  MSNBC
• 
  China's Imports From North Korea Slump in May After Coal Ban

  Bloomberg

8-Month-Old Baby Drowned While Mom Texted on Facebook: Police

A Texas mother was arrested after her baby drowned in a bathtub while she was messaging on Facebook, authorities said. Cheyenne Summer Stuckey, 21, left her 8-month-old daughter in the tub with the water running “for only a couple of minutes,” the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said. After she left the bathroom, Stuckey told deputies she became distracted by another child and a television that was turned up loud, authorities said.

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  Infant's Bathtub Death Serves as a Reminder For Parents to Stay Diligent

  Popsugar US
• 
  Boyfriend detained after woman dies of possible strangling in Compton

  Los Angeles Times

Stephen Hawking: Humans Should Ride a Beam of Light to Other Planets

Humanity should focus its efforts on exploring other worlds that we might inhabit, and to get there, Earthlings may need to ride on a beam of light, famed physicist Stephen Hawking says. In his speech, he reiterated his belief that humans need to explore space to avoid the dangers of our own finite world. The human imagination has led us to peer ever deeper into the universe with scientific tools, Hawking said.

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  Stephen Hawking lays out plan for settling space, from moon and Mars to the stars

  GeekWire
• 
  Stephen Hawking Says Light Will Help Us Travel To Colonize Planets

  International Business Times

Female 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.

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  Japan politician resigns after physical attack on staffer

  UPI
• 
  'Little evidence of progress' at Stormont - Alliance Party

  BBC News

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.

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  Harley-Davidson Wants to Take Over Ducati: Report

  Road & Track
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  Is Harley-Davidson (HOG) Joining the Ducati Takeover Race?

  Zacks

Qatar's neighbors issue steep list of demands to end crisis

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that have cut ties to Qatar issued a steep list of demands Thursday to end the crisis, insisting that their Persian Gulf neighbor shutter Al-Jazeera, cut back diplomatic ties to Iran and sever all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. In a 13-point list — presented to the Qataris by Kuwait, which is helping mediate the crisis — the countries also demand an end to Turkey's military presence in Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain broke ties with Qatar this month over allegations the Persian Gulf country funds terrorism — an accusation that President Donald Trump has echoed.

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  After demands aired, solution to Qatar crisis seems far off

  Associated Press
• 
  UK: Demands made of Qatar must be measured, realistic

  Al Jazeera

Man invents tsunami sensor, internet obsesses over his dog

This pensive dog upstaged his owner and wasn't even aware of it. SEE ALSO: Friendly island doggo followed a street view mapper and photobombed all his shots Inventor Jerry Paros posed for a photograph for an article in the publication Nature about his