| Video shows Black man pinned to tree in what he calls 'attempted lynching' at Indiana lake Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:22 PM PDT  Indiana authorities are investigating a report by a Black man who said he was pinned to a tree by a group of white men, an attack he likened to an "attempted lynching."
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| White House defends Trump's claim that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are 'harmless' with chart showing 5 percent are fatal Posted: 06 Jul 2020 12:17 PM PDT  Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany came to her press briefing on Monday prepared to defend President Trump's assertion that "99 percent" of U.S. coronavirus cases are "totally harmless" with two charts that inadvertently disproved his claim.
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| FBI chief says China threatens families to coerce overseas critics to return to China Posted: 07 Jul 2020 08:03 AM PDT  FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday urged China-born people in the United States to contact the FBI if Chinese officials try to force them to return to China under a program of coercion that he said is led by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Wray issued the unusual appeal in an address to the Hudson Institute think tank in which he reiterated U.S. charges that China is using espionage, cyber theft, blackmail and other means as part of a strategy to replace the United States as the world's dominant economic and technological power.
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| Black Lives Matter protesters face rare leak charge in Iowa Posted: 07 Jul 2020 01:00 PM PDT  Prosecutors in Iowa have filed a rarely used leak charge against Black Lives Matter protesters accused of stealing a confidential police document and displaying it during a television news broadcast. Two protesters are charged with unauthorized dissemination of intelligence data, a felony that carries up to five years in prison. The Iowa Judicial Branch says it's only the second time that the charge has been filed since 2010.
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| Another Confederate statue in Richmond, Va., comes down along Monument Avenue Posted: 07 Jul 2020 09:50 AM PDT  The bronze monument to Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart on horseback was hoisted from its granite base as crowds cheered early Tuesday.
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| Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Tests Positive for COVID-19 Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:42 PM PDT  Bottoms said she's had no symptoms in a tweet on Monday
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| 8 of Atlantic City's famous casinos just reopened for the first time since March. These photos show just how different the casino experience is going to be after the pandemic. Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:19 AM PDT  From masked models to plexiglass barriers, photos show what Atlantic City's casinos looked like on the weekend they reopened to the public.
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| A rare case of brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in Florida. Officials are telling residents to avoid tap water, and to swim with nose clips. Posted: 06 Jul 2020 07:38 AM PDT  The Florida Department of Health had to issue a warning for residents to avoid nasal contact with tap water.
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| Exonerated Central Park Five members speak out: ‘Not too many things have changed since 30 years ago’ Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:20 PM PDT  In 1989, five Black and Hispanic teens were falsely accused of raping and nearly killing Trisha Meili, a white woman jogging in Central Park. Known collectively as the Central Park Five, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were convicted in two trials despite a lack of eyewitness testimony or DNA evidence and spent between six and 13 years in prison. Exonerated in 2002 after an investigation confirmed that a convicted murderer and rapist had committed the crime, the Central Park Five sued the city and state of New York, settling for millions.
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| New law would require NYPD police to take out individual insurance to cover misconduct claims Posted: 07 Jul 2020 10:55 AM PDT  A new bill introduced by a US lawmaker would require police officers to take out personal liability insurance to cover civil lawsuits filed against them for misconduct, reports have said.The new law, introduced by Senator Alessandra Biaggi, would mean that police are no longer represented by the city law department, according to a report by The New York Post.
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| Scientists warn of potential wave of COVID-linked brain damage Posted: 07 Jul 2020 04:03 PM PDT  Scientists warned on Wednesday of a potential wave of coronavirus-related brain damage as new evidence suggested COVID-19 can lead to severe neurological complications, including inflammation, psychosis and delirium. A study by researchers at University College London (UCL)described 43 cases of patients with COVID-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects. "Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 influenza pandemic – remains to be seen," said Michael Zandi, from UCL's Institute of Neurology, who co-led the study.
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| Australia warns of 'arbitrary detention' risk in China Posted: 07 Jul 2020 02:21 AM PDT |
| Prioritize COVID aid for child care and schools to help parents and the economy: GOP leader Posted: 07 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  The economic crisis will get worse if we don't reopen schools and child care. We must educate our kids safely and help our communities return to work.
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| Kremlin vows to retaliate against fresh UK sanctions against Russians Posted: 07 Jul 2020 04:08 AM PDT  The Kremlin spokesman says that Moscow will respond to new UK sanctions against Russian citizens including a senior investigator and prison officials. Britain on Monday used a new legislation drafted in the memory of a killed Russian tax adviser to sanction 25 Russian nationals linked to prosecution and mistreatment of tax adviser Sergei Magnitsky as well as 20 Saudis involved in the murder of a journalist in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday that Moscow "can only lament such hostile steps." "We will certainly rely on reciprocity and respond in the way that fits Russia's interests," he said. Alexander Bastrykin, Russia's top investigator and a university friend of Vladimir Putin, is arguably the most senior official to have been slapped by the new sanctions and his name is likely to anger the Kremlin. As the head of the Investigative Committee, Mr Bastrykin is accused of covering up the mistreatment of Mr Magnitsky who died in prison after a year in pre-trial detention in 2009. A tax lawyer, Mr Magnitsky discovered a massive tax scam involving Russian tax authorities and ended up jailed by the same officials he had exposed. A Russian presidential commission concluded that he was beaten to death in prison. Most of the people on the sanctions list are lower-level officials and prison staff including two prison doctors who faced charges of negligence but were never convicted. All of them will now be subject to travel bans and asset freezes but it is not immediately clear if they have any property in Britain. The United States adopted the Magnitsky Act in 2012, targeting money of senior Russian officials kept in Western banks. Russia then responded with travel bans as well as a ban on American adoptions of Russian children. The Kremlin has outlawed institutions such as the British Council during previous diplomatic spats between the two countries, which does not leave Moscow much British property to target this time.
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| The Lincoln Project continues anti-Trump ad campaign Posted: 07 Jul 2020 09:04 AM PDT  On Tuesday, the Lincoln Project, a conservative political action committee formed in late 2019, released an ad titled "Whispers," which suggests those in President Trump's inner circle are secretly mocking him. This is the latest in a series of attack ads produced and distributed by the committee, whose members include George Conway, Steve Schmidt and other prominent Republicans who oppose Trump. Yahoo News has assembled a compilation of some of the Lincoln Project's most controversial advertisements.
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| A former National Guard colonel apologized but will keep her professor job after saying sexual harassment is the 'price of admission for women' in the military Posted: 06 Jul 2020 01:16 PM PDT  Betsy Schoeller said her Facebook comment about Vanessa Guillén was intended to provide a "voice" to the "culture of sexual harassment" women face.
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| Did Doxxing of an Oklahoma Councilwoman Lead to a Neighbor Being Raped? Posted: 07 Jul 2020 01:36 AM PDT  A city council member in Norman, Oklahoma, proposed a police budget cut. Then officers for that department posted her address online. Days later, a woman who lived in the other half of her duplex was raped by an assailant who allegedly made a political threat.The attack was a case of retaliation and mistaken identity, the council member alleges.Alexandra Scott, a Norman council member who won the Democratic nomination for her state Senate seat last month, is an outspoken critic of her city's police force. When racial justice protests swept the nation in June, Scott proposed slashing the Norman Police budget by $4.5 million. During a city council meeting about defunding, she also discussed a stalking incident she experienced, which she said police handled improperly. Now a pair of Norman Police officers are under investigation for allegedly posting Scott's personal information online, which Scott says may have led to the sexual assault of her neighbor.These 911 Emergency Dispatchers Are Ready to Defund the PoliceDefunding the police is a fraught issue across the country, but especially in Norman, where police have made their disagreements with elected officials well known. Amid calls to slash the city's police budget by millions, council members voted to reallocate $865,000 from the department. The move didn't cut the police's overall budget (it mostly vetoes the department's requested raise, but keeps the department's coffers at slightly above last year's budget) but it was enough for the city's police union to file a lawsuit against city council this month. Scott's criticism of Norman Police has made her a favorite villain in some pro-police circles in the city. A recent Facebook post shared by a Norman Police officer called her "another AOC," in reference to the New York representative who has become a boogeyperson for conservatives. That same police officer, John Barbour, is one of two under investigation for sharing Scott's personal details shortly after her testimony on police defunding. In posts first reported by the Norman Transcript, Barbour made a Facebook post sharing an unredacted video of police responding to Scott's 911 call in May. (Although details of the video remain unconfirmed, they align with Scott's own testimony about calling 911 on a stalker that month.)Neither Scott nor Norman Police returned The Daily Beast's requests for comment. Barbour declined to comment, referring The Daily Beast to the Norman Police public information officer, as his case was under investigation. A spokesperson for the group Norman Citizens for Racial Justice said Scott's address was identifiable in the post. "After Alex shared her story of solidarity during that [city council] study session, an officer released an unredacted report and some footage of her making a police report fairly recently," the spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "Those items that the officer uploaded to Facebook had her home address on there."This Utah Police Chief Was Promoted Even After His Racist Posts Were Exposed. Now Residents Want Him Out.When Barbour was met with criticism online for the video, he responded sarcastically. "So what I am getting is that if the issue was the officer let everyone see, but when someone slanders the fine officers on open record meeting it's not ok to find out the proof," he posted, apparently accusing Scott of being dishonest in her testimony.Barbour removed the video but shared a recent police report (from when Scott was arrested at a recent protest) that contained her address. In comments viewed by The Daily Beast, Barbour accused Scott of participating in a riot. When commenters noted that "you can't just call protesters rioters … There was no riot," Barbour responded, "If you say so….but I bet state law says different."Another Norman Police officer, Michael Lauderback, appears to have also shared Scott's personal information using the Facebook handle "Tired Ofthehate," which was linked to his legal name. Lauderback posted a picture of a sexual assault report Scott made in 2015. Lauderback could not be reached for comment and appears to have since deleted his Facebook account.Both officers are now under investigation for posting Scott's personal information, the Norman Record reported. The police department noted that since Barbour claimed to have obtained the video from a third party who obtained it through a public records request, the officers' posts appear to be legal.But Scott and Norman Citizens for Racial Justice said the posts play into a larger culture of harassment that has emerged on Norman-centric social media. "Most of the targeting happened after we started advocating for defunding the police," the Racial Justice spokesperson told The Daily Beast, noting that many people in her group were experiencing harassment from a "ReOpen Norman" Facebook page.In a since-deleted Facebook post, Scott said that social media activity had led to real-world horror for her and a neighbor."People were passing around my address on social media (and wherever else) for 2 weeks & making light of my experiences with assault and stalking," she wrote. "I've received threatening messages and voicemails from men stating they, 'hoped I didn't need the police' when something happened."Scott claims those threats came to a head late last month. Her address, which was shared publicly, is in a duplex building. On June 27, someone broke into the other half of the duplex and assaulted Scott's neighbor."She was raped by [a] stranger who broke into her side of our duplex last night. She had been out with her father, he dropped her off around Midnight and left. Then she was assaulted in her hallway," Scott wrote in the now-deleted post. "Her rapist dug his elbow into her neck, pushed her into the wall, and told her 'Maybe next time you'll learn your lesson.' He threw her on the ground and raped her."The attack, she said, was intended for her. "They got the wrong woman," she wrote. Norman Police released a statement acknowledging the incident and the prior publication of the address on social media although, in a heavily redacted police report obtained by the Transcript, the incident is described as a burglary.Since Norman Police officers posted Scott's address, it has circulated on right-wing Oklahoma pages, where it remains online. Read 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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| Fox News apologises for ‘mistakenly’ cropping Trump out of photo with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Posted: 07 Jul 2020 01:28 AM PDT  Fox News has apologised for "mistakenly" cropping Donald Trump out of a picture featuring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that it displayed during an item about Ms Maxwell's arrest.The full picture, which has been widely distributed before, features Epstein with his left arm around Ms Maxwell and Melania Trump (then Knauss) to his right, with Donald Trump holding her by the waist.
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| U.S., South Korean officials to discuss North Korea strategy as Pyongyang rejects talks Posted: 07 Jul 2020 11:06 AM PDT  The U.S. point man for North Korea will meet with South Korean officials in Seoul on Wednesday for wide-ranging talks, overshadowed by Pyongyang's insistence that it has no intention of returning to denuclearisation negotiations any time soon. Stephen Biegun, who led working-level negotiations with the North Koreans and now has broader responsibility as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, arrived late on Tuesday. Talks will likely cover a range of issues, including coronavirus responses and ongoing negotiations over military cost-sharing, but North Korea is expected to dominate the agenda, Seoul officials said.
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| BMW wants customers to pay a subscription fee to use features the car already has installed, like a heated steering wheel or adaptive cruise control Posted: 07 Jul 2020 01:03 PM PDT  BMW's new setup is similar to Tesla's, which famously offers over-the-air updates for customers long after purchase.
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| Richmond removes statue of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart Posted: 07 Jul 2020 05:48 AM PDT  Work crews on Tuesday took down a monument to Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, the third major statue to be cleared away in less than a week as the Confederacy's former capital rushes to remove symbols of oppression in response to protests against police brutality and racism. As a crowd cheered, crews strapped the huge bronze equestrian statue in harnesses and used a crane to lift it from its granite base to be trucked away. One person sang, "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye."
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| Katsina: The motorcycle bandits terrorising northern Nigeria Posted: 07 Jul 2020 02:55 AM PDT  Insecurity has worsened in the north-west as kidnapping for ransom becomes a lucrative trade.
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| U.S. says foreign students may have to leave if their school goes online-only Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:27 PM PDT  The news comes as some colleges and universities, including Harvard, have announced they will hold online-only courses this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Mysterious damage to Iran nuclear site: what we know Posted: 07 Jul 2020 03:05 AM PDT  A mysterious incident in the early hours of Thursday, July 2, badly damaged a building at Iran's Natanz nuclear complex and sparked speculation over the cause. The incident came at the end of a week marked by two explosions in Tehran, including one near a military site. Israel and the United States accuse their arch foe Iran of trying to build an atomic bomb -- a charge the Islamic Republic has always denied.
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| A white Florida man who was filmed yelling at a Black homeowner while waving a BB gun also faked being a Navy SEAL for years, report says Posted: 07 Jul 2020 03:12 AM PDT  Joseph Fucheck had claimed he was a Navy SEAL in his tirade in North Miami-Dade, Florida. He was arrested for the incident last month.
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| Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus Posted: 07 Jul 2020 08:45 AM PDT  * Bolsonaro, 65, announces: 'It came back positive' * Far-right president has repeatedly trivialized pandemic * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus."It came back positive," a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime outside his official residence."There's no reason for fear. That's life," the president added. "Life goes on. I thank God for my life and the role I've been given to decide the future of this great nation that is called Brazil."Bolsonaro, 65, has repeatedly trivialized the pandemic and flouted social distancing, even as Brazil became the second-worst-hit country after the United States, with more than 65,000 deaths and 1.6m confirmed cases.In March, as Covid-19 claimed its first victims in Brazil, the far-right populist used an address to the nation to brag that, if infected, he would quickly shake off the illness thanks to his "athlete's background".Since then, Bolsonaro has continued to attend social events and political rallies, often wearing masks incorrectly, or not wearing them at all.After announcing his positive result on Tuesday, Bolsonaro stepped back from the reporters he was addressing, removed his mask and, grinning, said: "Just look at my face. I'm well, fine, thank God … Thanks to all those who have been praying for me … and to those who criticise me, no problem, carry on criticising as much as you like."Bolsonaro also continued to undermine what he called "overblown" and panic-inducing attempts by Brazilian governors and mayors to slow the spread of the virus through shutdowns and social distancing."Some authorities even forbade people from going to the beach," Bolsonaro complained, before claiming: "The majority of Brazilians contract this virus and don't notice a thing."Bolsonaro's diagnosis comes just three days after he had lunch at the home of the US ambassador to Brazil, Todd Chapman, in the capital, Brasília.Also present at that Independence Day celebration were several top cabinet members, including the foreign minister, Ernesto Araújo, defence minister, Fernando Azevedo, and the president's son, Eduardo, a politician who is Steve Bannon's representative in South America. The men were photographed without face masks.Reports of Bolsonaro's possible infection first emerged on Monday evening, with local news outlets reporting that he had been tested after developing coronavirus symptoms, including a 38C temperature and a persistent cough.A scan of Bolsonaro's lungs was also taken, with the president telling supporters it had shown them to be "clear".The newspaper O Globo said it understood Brazil's president had started complaining of tiredness on Saturday night, after his lunch with the US ambassador, and continued feeling unwell on Sunday.Political friends and foes were quick to wish Bolsonaro well."The only thing to be done is wish him a full recovery," tweeted Sergio Moro, who resigned as Bolsonaro's justice minister in April, accusing his former boss of trying to improperly meddle in the federal police.Renato Casagrande, the governor of Espírito Santo state, also tweeted his best wishes but added pointedly: "Social distancing/isolation [and] the use of masks are the most efficient ways of preventing contagion."The World Health Organizations emergencies chief, Dr Michael Ryan, said Bolsonaro's situation showed how everyone was vulnerable. "It doesn't matter to the virus if you are a prince or a pauper," he said.But speaking to the Brazilian broadcaster GloboNews, Bolsonaro's former health minster Luiz Henrique Mandetta said the news raised questions over the president's behaviour. "Going around Brasília, without a mask, hugging people … he was flirting with infection – and he was infected," he said.Mandetta said there was an "extremely high probability" Bolsonaro would be fine. But he also noted that in the federal district, which contains Brazil's capital, nearly all intensive care units were currently on the verge of "collapse".Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed the risks of Covid-19 and urged Brazil to get back to work to avoid a devastating economic crash but he is now the second member of his family suffering its effects.The 80-year-old grandmother of Brazil's first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, was reportedly intubated on Sunday, after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus last Wednesday.According to the G1 news website, Maria Aparecida Firmo Ferreira, who is reportedly estranged from the presidential clan, was found collapsed in the street by passersby and taken to a hospital in Ceilândia, a satellite city outside Brasília.Bolsonaro's response to the coronavirus has sparked a domestic and international outcry, with many directly blaming him for the high death toll. Brazil currently lacks a permanent health minister after two were forced from their jobs in less than a month after clashing with Bolsonaro over the pandemic.On Monday night Bolsonaro's son, Carlos, attacked critics of his father who he claimed were willing the president's death."The immense number of people rooting for the death of the head of the executive right now should trigger an immediate show of solidarity from other [political] leaders," Carlos Bolsonaro tweeted.Another prominent politician, the mayor of the biggest city in the Amazon, Manaus, was flown to hospital in São Paulo on Monday after also falling ill with coronavirus last week."The doctors are optimistic and so are we," Arthur Virgílio, who had reportedly been receiving non-invasive respiratory support, said in a WhatsApp message to the Guardian.
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| The Trump Family’s Civil War Could Blow Us All Up Posted: 07 Jul 2020 07:38 AM PDT  Mary Trump's legal battles against her uncle might seem like a fun little political soap opera, but it's way more than that, Mary's lawyer Ted Boutrous explains on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. The attempt to stop her tell-all book before publication—"I think it's really an effort to intimidate people from speaking, to intimidate the press. But also it's a political tool. It's a fundraising tool. It seems to excite people who support President Trump," he tells hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson. So, what exactly will the book tell us about Donald Trump? Boutrous couldn't say too much yet, but what he did reveal looks, um, not-so-hot for the president: "The more people see what he was like before, and really understand the kind of person he is and was, the more people will be horrified that he's the president."Then! The Daily Beast's Kate Briquelet—who has broken some of the biggest stories about Jeffrey Epstein's cabal—joins the dynamic duo to talk about the arrest of Epstein 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell. "There are power players in New York," she explains "who are very nervous that Ghislaine is going to spill the secrets." Ben Stiller Dishes on Trump's Obsession with ZoolanderShe also shares some of the wildest (read: disturbing) accusations she's heard about the accused pedo duo, including that Epstein wanted a "baby ranch" in New Mexico. Plus! Does Trump know how to listen to a podcast? Could Kanye's "run for president" could really, really backfire? How is Ye like Vermin Supreme? And what the hell is "the McKinsey of grift?"Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.Read 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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| WATCH: New York father walking with daughter is shot in broad daylight Posted: 07 Jul 2020 10:19 AM PDT  A surveillance camera was rolling as a father walking with his daughter across the street was gunned down in the Bronx section of New York City as they traveled home.
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| Seven men arrested after shouting racist insults and doing Nazi salutes at black family on Oregon beach, police say Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:37 AM PDT  Seven men have been arrested after an alleged racist incident on the Fourth of July in an Oregon beach town.Police said that the men allegedly yelled racial slurs at a black family and used Nazi salutes while people spent Independence Day on the beach in Lincoln City, southwest of Portland.
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| Supreme Court hands victory to school voucher lobby – will religious minorities, nonbelievers and state autonomy lose out? Posted: 07 Jul 2020 05:15 AM PDT  The Supreme Court's recent decision that Montana cannot exclude donations that go to religious schools from a small tax credit program could have consequences felt far beyond the state.The 5-4 ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which came down June 30, follows on from recent cases that have expanded what counts as discrimination against religion under the U.S. Constitution, making it harder for states to deny grants to faith-based institutions.From my perspective as a scholar of law and religion, this latest ruling could massively limit states' ability to exclude religious schools from all sorts of funding, including controversial voucher programs which allow state funds to be used by parents to send children to a private school. And rather than preventing religious discrimination, the court's decision may actually support a system that discriminates against religious minorities and those of no faith. A win for voucher advocatesThe Espinoza decision was quickly hailed as a major win by supporters of school vouchers, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. It isn't the first time they have cheered the court.In 2002, the Supreme Court, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, ruled in favor of a voucher program in Ohio which overwhelmingly benefited religious schools. The court held that the program did not violate the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause which limits government support for, and promotion of, religion.That decision broke with a long line of previous cases, which held that government could not use taxpayer dollars to fund religious education. In the years following the Zelman decision, public support for school voucher programs has grown. The election of President Donald Trump and appointment of DeVos as education secretary gave the pro-voucher lobby powerful advocates in the administration. The White House has made vouchers a central plank of their schools policy, with Trump likening "school choice" – a term that includes the use of vouchers – as the "civil rights statement" of the decade.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has paved the way for religious schools to benefit from vouchers through a series of rulings.In addition to Zelman, and as a precursor to Espinoza, the justices ruled in 2017 that a Missouri program that provided free playground chips for resurfacing, could not deny access to a religious school seeking to resurface its playground. In that case, Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, the justices held that refusing the grant contravened the Constitution's Free Exercise Clause, which prohibits discrimination against religion, among other things.Until then, the doctrine had been limited to situations in which a government discriminated against a religion through hostility toward that faith, such as when the City of Hialeah, Florida, created a series of ordinances to discriminate against the practice of Santeria. In a footnote in the Trinity Lutheran case, the justices specifically noted that the decision was limited and did "not address religious uses of funding" such as for attendance at religious schools. But in Espinoza, the Supreme Court has essentially ignored that narrower reading. Instead, the court held that exclusion of donations to religious schools from the state tax credit program discriminates against religion. Siphoning fundsThis has significant implications for school vouchers. It could force states to include religious schools in any program that is open to private nonreligious schools. So if a state allows for parents to use vouchers to take a child out of the public school system, then religious schools must be allowed to benefit from those funds.But rather than preventing religious discrimination, the expansion of voucher plans, in my view, may actually encourage it.The majority of private schools are religious – and in some areas with voucher programs, religious schools make up more than 90% of private schools.In most districts, religious schools that can afford to take voucher students represent only a few larger denominations that are able to highly subsidize religious education. For example, in the Cleveland School District involved in the Zelman case, 96% of voucher recipients went to religious schools representing just one or two denominations. But vouchers strip money from public education – every voucher going to a private school means a loss of per student funding for public schools.This would force the parents of religious minorities, agnostics and atheists to choose between sending their children to a school that may provide religious teaching that goes against their wishes or leave their children in public schools that will be further drained of funding and students.The Espinoza ruling did leave the door ajar a little when it comes to limiting vouchers to religious private schools. The court draws a tightrope-like line between discrimination based on religious status – the fact that a school is religious – and situations where the denial of funding is based on concerns the funds will support religious functions.But precedent suggests walking this tightrope might be difficult for states and school districts. The Supreme Court's decision in Zelman upheld vouchers for religious schools including those which proselytize. It is hard to imagine how a state might prevent funds from going to a faith-based school without it being seen as denying funding based on that school's religious status. Of course, states can simply not have voucher or tax credit programs for private schools – the Espinoza decision makes it clear that this is acceptable. And some states already do this. For example, Michigan explicitly prevents taxpayer money going to private schools regardless of whether those schools are religious or not.But even these bans on taxpayer funding for private education are increasingly being challenged by school voucher enthusiasts and religious groups. Put on noticeIn Espinoza, the Supreme Court has put states and school districts on notice that if they have voucher programs they can not prevent taxpayer money from being used at religious private schools. That could leave some parents with an uncomfortable choice between sending a child to a public school that is losing funding as a result of vouchers or a religious private school that may proselytize their children.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * An old debate over religion in school is opening up again * Are yoga and mindfulness in schools religious?Frank S. Ravitch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Iraqi jihadism expert Hisham al-Hashemi killed Posted: 06 Jul 2020 01:01 PM PDT  Renowned jihadism expert Hisham al-Hashemi was shot outside his home in Baghdad on Monday and died shortly thereafter at a local hospital, Iraqi officials told AFP. Hashemi was an authoritative voice on Sunni jihadist factions including the Islamic State group, but was also frequently consulted by media and foreign governments on domestic Iraqi politics and Shiite armed groups. The investigator assigned to the killing told AFP that Hashemi, 47, walked out of his home in east Baghdad and was getting into his car when three gunmen on two motorcycles fired at him from metres away.
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| Minneapolis Police Offer Reward For Info On Sunday Night’s Shooting Posted: 06 Jul 2020 10:12 AM PDT  Police are offering a reward for whoever can help find the person who killed a pregnant woman in south Minneapolis, Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield reports (2:07). WCCO 4 News at Noon – July 6, 2020
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| Dozens of Florida hospitals out of available ICU beds, state data shows Posted: 07 Jul 2020 09:55 AM PDT  Hospital ICUs were full at 54 hospitals across 25 of Florida's 67 counties, according to data published on Tuesday morning by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. More than 300 hospitals were included in the report, but not all had adult ICUs. Thirty hospitals reported that their ICUs were more than 90% full.
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| Tucker Carlson Praises Trump Speech That Cribbed From His Fox Show Posted: 06 Jul 2020 07:32 PM PDT  Fox News host Tucker Carlson lavished praise Monday night on President Donald Trump's Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore, claiming it was "probably the single best speech" the president has ever given.The Fox News star's love of the dark and divisive speech might not come as much of a surprise, considering that the president's address is rooted in Carlson's most recent monologues.Carlson, who has suddenly seen his name bandied about as a possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate amid his inflammatory commentary about the Black Lives Matter "mob," recently cautioned the president that he might lose his bid for re-election unless he begins rounding up protesters and charging them as terrorists.Following the president's speech, which featured warnings that "angry mobs" are tearing down "our most sacred memorials" and bringing about a "left-wing cultural revolution," Carlson appeared much more optimistic about Trump's electoral chances."It was a road map for his re-election message, but more than that, it was a road map for the country itself. Equality, decency, pride in our nation. Those were the themes," Carlson proclaimed.Noting that the president "spoke eloquently about the BLM riots," Carlson applauded him for showing that the left "cannot control" him, saying Trump is at "his most dangerous to his enemies" when he is "telling the truth."From there, the conservative cable news star broke down much of the president's speech while contrasting it with what he sees as the message being delivered by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and liberals. As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported earlier, one reason Carlson may have been so smitten with the president's culture war address is that it came directly from his own program."Trump—or rather his speechwriter Stephen Miller—framed the president's opposition to the Black Lives Matter protest movement using the same imagery Carlson has been laying out night after night on Fox," Swan wrote, highlighting several passages from Trump's speech that essentially matched portions of Carlson's monologues.Carlson has personally advised the president on several policy issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and military conflict with Iran. Indeed, in recent days, Trump has reportedly griped to associates that he shouldn't have listened to senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, following Carlson's criticism of Kushner's advice to Trump.Read 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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| Extreme corruption on charge sheet of Mexico's ex-oil chief Posted: 06 Jul 2020 09:38 AM PDT  The charge sheet against the former head of Mexico's state-run oil company claims he took corruption to such lengths that he diverted bribe money intended for the former ruling party to buy a $1.9 million house for his family. The prosecutors' allegations against Emilio Lozoya were released Monday after Spain approved his extradition to face charges equivalent to money laundering, bribery and conspiracy. Lozoya has denied wrongdoing.
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| Retired Air National Guard colonel apologizes for comments about Vanessa Guillen Posted: 06 Jul 2020 10:07 AM PDT  Betsy Schoeller wrote: "Sexual harassment is the price of admission for women" in the military and "If you're gonna cry like a snowflake about it, you're gonna pay the price."
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| Coronavirus: White House insists world sees US as ‘leader’ in pandemic as infections surge Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:53 PM PDT  The White House has insisted that the US is being looked at as a "leader" in the fight against coronavirus, even as cases continue to spiral across the country.The latest comments came at a White House press briefing on Monday, when press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was questioned about the country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Biden campaign rolls out new fonts from typeface powerhouse Hoefler & Co. Posted: 06 Jul 2020 01:24 PM PDT  The fonts are from the same company behind typefaces for the Obamas, Rolling Stone, Twitter, Tiffany & Co., the Guggenheim, Condé Nast and Nike.
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| North Korea Would Use Lethal 'Swarm' Attacks to Fight Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:30 PM PDT  How is South Korea is preparing to defeat them?
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| Trump approval divides Democrats, Republicans like no president has before, poll finds Posted: 06 Jul 2020 09:13 AM PDT  The approval gap between voters of both parties is the biggest ever recorded by Gallup.
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| Nearly half of Brits back plan to give 3m people from Hong Kong path to citizenship Posted: 07 Jul 2020 11:30 AM PDT  Nearly half of British adults support the Government's proposal to welcome Hong Kongers, a poll has revealed. The Savanta ComRes survey found just one in four oppose the proposal to offer Hong Kongers that hold British National Overseas (BNO) Passports and their dependents a bespoke five-year visa, with the pathway to later apply for full UK citizenship. Over two in five Brits (42 per cent) expressed support for Boris Johnson having made this offer, with just one in four (25 per cent) expressing any opposition. Support is higher among those who say they are familiar with recent events in Hong Kong, with half (50 per cent) expressing outright support. Not since 1997 and the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China has the UK ever been involved in such a heated clash over the territory's future.
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| Charge filed against woman who called police on black birdwatcher Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:41 PM PDT  Amy Cooper was shown on video falsely claiming that a black birdwatcher had threatened her life.
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