“Haiti's President Jovenel Moise was assassinated during an attack on his home yesterday morning, plunging a country already gripped by rising poverty and violence into further uncertainty. Four suspects connected to the attack were killed by police, and another two have been detained. Haiti's ambassador to the US said the suspects were foreigners, and Haitian police are working to determine their nationalities. Haiti's borders and international airport are closed, and martial law has been imposed since the attack. Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a state of siege in the country and is pleading with citizens to stay calm. Moise’s death comes amid deep political instability. Many key roles in Haiti’s government have been vacant and the parliament effectively defunct. Haiti's opposition movement has long called for Moise to resign. It isn't clear who will replace Moise in the coming months.” Read more at CNN
“TOKYO (AP) — Japan is set to place Tokyo under a state of emergency that would last through the Olympics, fearing an ongoing COVID-19 surge will multiply during the Games.
At a meeting with experts Thursday morning, government officials proposed a plan to issue a state of emergency in Tokyo from next Monday to Aug. 22. The Summer Olympics, already delayed a year by the pandemic, begin July 23 and close Aug. 8.
The Games already will take place without foreign spectators, but the planned six-week state of emergency likely ends chances of a local audience. A decision about fans is expected later Thursday when local organizers meet with the International Olympic Committee and other representatives.
Tokyo is currently under less-stringent measures that focus on shortened hours for bars and restaurants but have proven less effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.” Read more at AP News
“More than nine out of 10 Americans who died from Covid-19 in the US in June were unvaccinated, according to Anthony Fauci – a statistic that health officials say is especially concerning given the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy in some regions and the rise of the Delta variant.
Maryland reported this week that 100% of those who died from coronavirus there in June had not been vaccinated, while more than 93% of those with new cases or who were hospitalized were similarly unprotected.
Cases are rising in nearly half the states as low vaccination rates are being met with the more transmissible and severe Delta or B.1.617.2, variant, identified in India in December 2020.
Vaccinations administered in the US have shown to be effective against the Delta variant, though it poses serious risks to those who remain unvaccinated.
The variant is already the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the country, accounting for more than 50% of all new US cases and up to 80% of cases in some regions, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released Tuesday.
Joe Biden has reiterated the urgency behind getting more Americans vaccinated.
‘We can’t get complacent now,’ he said during a press briefing. ‘Millions of Americans are still unvaccinated and unprotected. And because of that, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk, the people they care about are at risk.’” Read more at The Guardian
“Google sued by states for app store practices. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia allege that the company operates an illegal monopoly with its Google Play app store. The lawsuit challenges Google’s description of Android as an open operating system, but the company countered that it ‘provides more openness and choice than others.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Biden to target railroads and ocean shipping in executive order. As part of a sweeping executive order expected this week, the administration will push regulators to combat what it calls a pattern of consolidation and aggressive pricing that has made it onerously expensive for American companies to transport goods to market.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The U.S. government continues its yearslong battle to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to go on trial in the U.S. on espionage charges, but has assured the U.K. government that Assange won't be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions if he is extradited. The concession comes after a U.K. judge rejected an extradition request by the U.S. in January over concerns Assange would commit suicide if he was forced to serve time in a federal maximum-security prison. Assange has been held at the high-security Belmarsh prison in the U.K. since 2019 and is facing 18 counts of breaking espionage laws and conspiring to hack a military computer, allegedly related to the publication in 2010 and 2011 of classified documents that painted a bleak picture of U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and their aftermath.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Former President Trump is suing Facebook and its CEO, Twitter and its CEO, and YouTube and its parent company's CEO after he was removed from the platforms this year. Courts have typically dismissed similar suits, and these are likely doomed from the start as well. Trump’s latest litigious effort coincides with some concerning comments tied to him and a high-profile supporter. A new book claims Trump once praised Adolf Hitler during a 2018 discussion with his White House chief of staff John Kelly; Trump has denied the comments. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally, compared the White House’s vaccine push to Nazi-era ‘brown shirts,’ weeks after apologizing for her comments comparing Capitol Hill mask rules to the Holocaust.” Read more at CNN
“The Trump campaign immediately started fundraising appeals.
Trump’s joint fundraising committee sent out a text saying: ‘Pres Trump: I am SUING Facebook & Twitter for UNCONSTITUTIONAL CENSORSHIP,’ adding ‘5X-IMPACT on all gifts!’
The central argument made by the Trump cases is that social media platforms are ‘state actors,’ and thus should be bound by the First Amendment's free speech protections. First Amendment experts quickly dismissed the claim.
‘The First Amendment simply protects citizens from government censorship,’ Syracuse University associate professor Roy Gutterman said. ‘Social media platforms exercise great power, but they are not a branch of government.’
Between the lines: Trump has filed many lawsuits throughout his career, but he has rarely taken cases all the way to court — and hasn't won many of the cases that he has.'“ Read more at Axios
“The U.S. Capitol Police Board notified Congress members and staff yesterday that the remaining fence around the Capitol will be removed as early as Friday.
⚡ The latest: USCP announced that it'll open regional field offices in San Francisco and Tampa, with additional regions soon, ‘to investigate threats to Members of Congress.’” Read more at Axios
A search worker moves through the condo rubble yesterday. Photo: Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP
“Search efforts at the site of the Surfside, Florida, condo collapse transitioned from rescue to recovery last night, meaning there is virtually no likelihood of finding more survivors. The decision was made after determining ‘the viability of life in the rubble’ was low, the Miami-Dade County fire chief said. At the time of the announcement, the death toll stood at 54, with 86 people ‘potentially unaccounted for.’ As communities gather to mourn and pray, the question of how such a catastrophic event occurred still lingers. The top prosecutor in Miami-Dade County says she has formally tasked a grand jury with investigating the cause of the collapse -- and is looking into ways to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.” Read more at CNN
“WASHINGTON — With a massive ransomware attack last week intensifying pressure on the Biden administration to demonstrate it can curb the threat, top national security officials briefed the president Wednesday on the government’s efforts to counter and blunt the impact of the costly, increasingly brazen assaults by Russia-based hackers.
While intelligence officials have not publicly attributed the latest attack, a group known as REvil, which US officials say privately operates largely from Russia, has taken responsibility for striking up to 1,500 companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It was, experts say, the single largest such cyberattack to date.
White House officials next week are to resume talks with Russian officials about the threat, a dialogue that began after President Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States would hold Moscow responsible for cyberattacks originating from Russia even if they cannot be directly linked to the Kremlin.
‘If the Russian government cannot or will not take action against criminal actors residing in Russia, we will take action or reserve the right to take action on our own,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.” Read more at Boston Globe
“WASHINGTON—Amtrak said Wednesday it will spend $7.3 billion to replace aging railcars and locomotives, adding hundreds of new coaches with more comfortable seating, improved disabled access, individual power outlets and ‘a more contemporary food service experience.’
Siemens Mobility Inc. will manufacture the trains at its Sacramento, Calif., plant and comply with the Biden administration’s Buy America program, the railroad said.
The procurement is the largest single order in Amtrak’s 50-year history, a spokesman said. Among the trains that will be replaced are venerable Amfleet cars that have carried passengers in the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston—and on routes across the national network—for more than 40 years.
The order will include two types of dual-powered locomotives intended to improve environmental efficiency and cut down on travel times on some routes. Battery hybrid locomotives—diesel locomotives coupled with a battery car to allow for periods of all-electric power—will run on some state-sponsored routes, including in and out of New York’s Penn Station, the railroad said.
The battery-hybrid locomotives will be the first of their kind in use in the U.S., an Amtrak spokesman said.
The order also includes new locomotives that can run on both diesel and electricity from overhead catenary wires. The railroad said such dual-mode locomotives will reduce travel times on routes where the railroad must now switch locomotives when trains travel from electrified to diesel-powered territory, such as trains moving south of Washington.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A US appeals court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in Washington DC, a move that follows an earlier suspension in New York amid fallout over his baseless claims about the 2020 election.
Giuliani, who led Trump’s legal challenge after his election defeat, was suspended from practicing law in New York last month after a court ruled that he had made ‘demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public’ in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 elections in favor of Trump.
The District of Columbia court of appeals issued the order on Wednesday, citing the suspension of Giuliani’s New York law license. In June, the New York court found he had lied in arguing that the election was stolen. Giuliani’s license will be revoked while disciplinary action over his practices is considered.” Read more at The Guardian
“The Gates Foundation said that Melinda French Gates could eventually depart from its leadership if she and Bill Gates determine they can’t work together, as the philanthropy laid out plans for its future oversight.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said Wednesday that it would add trustees and that its controlling philanthropists will add an additional $15 billion to the foundation’s $49.9 billion endowment, their largest single contribution since 2000. The money will be used to fund grants across the foundation’s work on issues including infectious diseases, gender equality and U.S. education, Mark Suzman, the foundation’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.
Under a private agreement that is part of their planned divorce, Ms. French Gates would resign as co-chair and trustee if after two years either of the co-chairs decides they can no longer work together to lead the foundation, Mr. Suzman said. Should that happen, he said, Ms. French Gates would receive funds from Mr. Gates separate from the foundation’s endowment for her own philanthropic work.
Ms. French Gates has discussed for at least several weeks the possibility of leaving the foundation if joint leadership with Mr. Gates isn’t tenable, people familiar with the matter said. She has been spending more time on work through her firm Pivotal Ventures while maintaining her work at the foundation, the people said.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“New data from Nielsen found that 75 percent of Americans increased their alcohol intake by at least one drink a month during the pandemic, with women, in particular, drinking 39 percent more in 2020 than in 2019.” Read more at Axios / Bryan Walsh
“An international human rights group has accused Colombia's security forces of applying ‘excessive force’ in dealing with protesters amid ongoing unrest in the country. The report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights specifically mentions nonlethal applications of force as a source of mutilation and injury. Protests broke out in April in the capital of Bogota in response to a controversial proposed tax overhaul to address the country's economic recovery during the pandemic. Critics say the overhaul would have hurt the middle class. According to human rights organizations in Colombia, more than 70 people have been killed on the streets since the protests began, and Colombian President Ivan Duque has been accused of leading heavy-handed crackdowns against demonstrators.” Read more at CNN
“The president and chief executive of an international reproductive rights non-profit has warned that the American anti-abortion movement has significantly radicalized and is working to spread its ideology around the world.
The comments came as pro-gun anti-abortion theocratic militant groups who seek to prosecute women who have abortions under murder statutes have gained increasing legislative influence in the US.
‘In the 90s we saw groups like Operation Rescue and Operation Save America, and they were quite violent,’ said Anu Kumar of Ipas, an international non-governmental organization that works to expand access to contraception and abortion.
‘This recent uptick is really an even more radicalized version of what we saw back then, and in some ways it’s not your mother’s anti-choice groups.’
Operation Save America denies condoning violence, though leaders of affiliated groups such as Defy Tyrants, led by Matt Trewhella, were signatories to a statement which described murdering abortion providers as ‘justifiable homicide.’
Since Donald Trump left office, and as the US suffered among the worst Covid outbreaks in the world, Republican legislatures have worked to make 2021 the most hostile year for abortion since the procedure was legalized nationally in 1973.” Read more at The Guardian
“Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on Wednesday kicked off a high-stakes political fight over the state’s future, formally announcing a special session of the Legislature in which he and fellow Republicans will try to push Texas further to the right on issues like elections and voting, transgender rights and how racism is taught in schools.
The special session, set to begin on Thursday, follows an already ultraconservative legislative session this spring, when the Republican-dominated Legislature passed a near-ban on abortion and a law permitting the carrying of handguns without permits, running roughshod over protests from Democrats, business coalitions and civil rights groups in an often strictly party-line manner.
But the Legislature failed to pass one of the governor’s signature priorities for the session — a sweeping election overhaul bill that would have been one of the most restrictive voting laws in the country — when Democratic state lawmakers staged a dramatic late-night walkout that deprived the House of a quorum and temporarily killed the bill.
Republicans’ new election overhaul bill in Texas, a state which already has some of the nation’s strictest voting rules, will be the first to come before a state legislature since the Supreme Court’s ruling last week to uphold two voting restrictions in Arizona. That decision significantly elevated the threshold for whether a voting measure constitutes a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory voting practices.” Read more at New York Times
“Conservative political groups are mobilizing against a key element of a bipartisan infrastructure deal, and their opposition could make it harder for the U.S. government to collect unpaid taxes.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans have agreed to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service so that the agency can bring in more tax revenue, hoping the money can help pay down some of the infrastructure package’s expected price tag. The early contours of the infrastructure blueprint have won the White House’s support, but the IRS provision in particular is drawing opposition from well-funded conservative groups, which are strongly opposed to expanding the reach of a tax-collection agency that they long have alleged is politically motivated.
Among the conservative groups spearheading the opposition are the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the Conservative Action Project, and the Leadership Institute. They are preparing a letter that warns Republicans should not negotiate with the White House unless they agree to ‘no additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service.’” Read more at Washington Post
“Eleven young spelling aces who have already proven their linguistic prowess in local and regional competition will face off Thursday in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The champion will receive a $50,000 cash prize. Last year, the contest was canceled for the first time since 1945 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year's final round, which is being held at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, will be televised live on ESPN2 starting at 8 p.m. ET.” Read more at USA Today
“England, after 55 years of dashed hopes, beat Denmark to reach the finalof the Euro 2020 soccer tournament. They play Italy on Sunday.” Read more at New York Times
“‘Puppy snatchers get snatched’: Two women are facing felony charges in Texas after they were accused of trying to steal a puppy worth more than $11,000.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Some know Robert Downey Sr. as a famous actor’s father. But in the 1960s and ’70s, he directed provocative movies that were critical favorites, including the 1969 comedy ‘Putney Swope.’ Downey Sr. died at 85.” Read more at New York Times
Chris Paul of the Suns in Game 1.Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
A primer for the N.B.A. Finals
“This year’s N.B.A. Finals have a new look. Neither team — the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns — has won a title in 50 years. Only one player (Phoenix’s Jae Crowder) has played in a Finals before.
But their presence is not a fluke. Each had excellent regular-season records and beat a powerhouse in the playoffs: The Suns over LeBron James’s Lakers, and the Bucks over the Brooklyn Nets superteam. So who are these finalists?
The Suns are led by Chris Paul, a 36-year-old point guard with an ability to anticipate his teammates’ movements. Paul throws sublime passes that set up the team’s two young stars: Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. (Paul is the rare N.B.A. star who was not on his high school varsity team in 10th grade.)
The Bucks orbit around Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time M.V.P. who is both a scorer and a tough defender. But Antetokounmpo injured his knee in the previous round, and he lacked his usual force in the first game of the finals, which the Suns won. If he isn’t at full strength, the Bucks may struggle.
Game 2 is at 9 p.m. Eastern.” Read more at New York Times
“WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer has been feted by plenty of ovations at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. None quite like this one, though. This was not a celebration and didn’t come at the end of the match.
Instead, it delayed the beginning of what turned out to be the last game of his quarterfinal loss and felt more like a ‘thank you’ or — just in case — a ‘goodbye.’ And Federer acknowledged afterward he isn’t sure whether he’ll be back.
The eight-time champion at the All England Club bowed out 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 against 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland on Wednesday, a surprisingly lopsided finish to Federer’s 22nd appearance in the tournament.
Asked whether it also might have been his last appearance here, he replied: ‘I don’t know. I really don’t know. I’ve got to regroup.’
As for whether retirement is an immediate possibility, he offered this: ‘No, I hope not. ... The goal is to play, of course.’” Read more at AP News
“NKANDLA, South Africa (AP) — Former South African president Jacob Zuma turned himself over to police early Thursday to begin serving a 15-month prison term.
Just minutes before the midnight deadline for police to arrest him, Zuma left his Nkandla home in a convoy of vehicles. Zuma handed himself over to authorities to obey the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, that he should serve a prison term for contempt.” Read more at AP News
“PARIS — Eleven men and women from around France were found guilty on Wednesday of using the internet to harass a teenager who became the focus of heated debates about free speech and blasphemy after she posted an anti-Islam rant that went viral.
Thirteen defendants, ages 18 to 29, went on trial in Paris last month on charges of online harassment and, in some cases, issuing death threats. The court found 10 guilty of harassment and one of making death threats and sentenced them to suspended prison sentences of four to six months.
A 12th defendant was found not guilty; the reason given was lack of proof that his message, which was more ambiguous than others, constituted a threat. The last defendant’s case was thrown out because of a procedural error.
The teenager, Mila, 18, has endured insults, and threats of death and rape — more than 100,000 hateful messages, according to her lawyer — since January 2020, when she angrily responded to social media commenters who were insulting her and calling her an affront to Islam because of her sexual orientation.” Read more at New York Times
No posts