Internet Best Practices

• The Lincoln Project's 'Never Trump' ads expertly troll a president who never fails to take the bait -

  The Lincoln Project, which was created by a group of anti-Trump Republican political operatives last December, believes there is a logic to being a metaphorical fly buzzing around the president?s head. 

  
  

• Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show -

  A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise ? the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century ? swept within Mercury?s orbit a week ago. NASA's Neowise infrared space telescope discovered the comet in March.

  
  

• Five Guys workers ?turned their backs? on cops, Alabama police say. Now some are fired -

  The company said the employees? actions ?do not represent Five Guys or the local franchisee.?

  
  

• Ghislaine Maxwell requests bail due to 'significant' coronavirus risk -

  The British socialite denies grooming underage girls for the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

  
  

• Russia's journalists under increasing pressure from the secret services in wake of Putin's shaky referendum victory -

  Russia's intelligence services have 'stepped up' their war on free media, carrying out a series of operations designed to intimidate journalists in the wake of Vladimir Putin's controversial referendum victory last week. In an unprecedented case for post-Soviet Russia, prominent defence reporter Ivan Safronov was seized outside his home on Tuesday morning by secret service agents and arrested on suspicion of treason. Citing the secret nature of the case, the investigators have not published any evidence to back up their claims but the reporter faces 20 years in prison. Last week?s overwhelming approval of constitutional amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in office at least until 2036 was hailed by the Kremlin as a ?triumph.? But results at the polling stations that were monitored by independent observers indicated something resembling a split vote. That was an apparent cue for Russia?s FSB secret service to take action.

  
  

• Man arrested after 'heinous' double stabbing on subway -

  A "heinous and unprovoked" double stabbing onboard a subway in Queens was caught on camera.

  
  

• Parents face dilemma as US schools seek to reopen -

  With the start of the US school year only weeks away, Marina Avalos still has no idea how or where her 7-year-old daughter will attend classes. Like many mothers, Avalos is reluctant to send her child back to school at a time when coronavirus across the country has surged past three million cases, including 130,000 deaths. On Tuesday, California -- where she lives -- set a new daily cases record, with 11,694 infections.

  
  

• Hundreds of French women protest against new interior minister -

  Hundreds of women protested in central Paris on Friday against the appointment of Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who is under investigation for a rape allegation. Darmanin, who denies the allegation, was promoted to the key post of interior minister in a government reshuffle on Monday. Darmanin, 37, had previously served as budget minister.

  
  

• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says ride-hailing will make up only 50% of the company's business moving forward as food delivery growth surges -

  "Our delivery business is growing at rates that, frankly, I didn't think was possible, and we have doubled up on that," Khosrowshahi told NDTV.

  
  

• Author Christopher Buckley: 'Everything Trump touches dies' -

  The son of conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr., Christopher Buckley?s new novel ?Make Russia Great Again? is a rollicking satire of Donald Trump?s White House.

  
  

• Pompeo slams UN report on deadly US drone strike on Iranian -

  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent U.N. human rights expert's report insisting a American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a ?watershed? event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes.

  
  

• The Best Smart Technology for Your Socially Distanced Summer -
• Russian accused of harassing Black family in Oregon was ordered deported 10 years ago -

  The man was ordered deported in June 2010.

  
  

• Ted Cruz Slams Trump?s ?Road to Citizenship? Claim for Pending DACA Executive Order: ?HUGE Mistake? -

  Senator Ted Cruz warned the Trump administration not to include a ?road to citizenship? for DACA recipients, after Trump implied one was coming in a new executive order on immigration he plans to sign ?over the next few weeks.??There is ZERO constitutional authority for a President to create a ?road to citizenship? by executive fiat,? Cruz tweeted. ?It was unconstitutional when Obama issued executive amnesty, and it would be a HUGE mistake if Trump tries to illegally expand amnesty.?Cruz?s reaction came after Trump revealed in an interview with Telemundo that he would give DACA recipients ?a road to citizenship? through an executive order.?We?re working out the legal complexities right now, but I?m going to be signing a major immigration bill as an executive order, which . . . because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that,? Trump said. He then seemed to contradict himself, saying that ?we put it in, and we?re probably going to then be taking it out,? in an apparent reference to DACA.But when pressed by Jose Diaz-Balart on the order, Trump appeared to double down.?One of the aspects of the bill is going to be DACA, we are going to have a road to citizenship. If you look at the Supreme Court ruling, they gave the president tremendous powers when they said that you could take in, in this case 700,000 or so people,? Trump claimed. ?So they gave powers, based on the powers that they gave, I?m going to be doing an immigration bill ? one of the aspects of the bill that you?ll be very happy with, and that a lot of people will be, including me, and a lot of Republicans by the way, will be DACA. We?ll give them a road to citizenship.?The White House later released a statement that attempted to clarify Trump?s comments, saying that Trump "has long said he is willing to work with Congress on a negotiated legislative solution to DACA, one that could include citizenship, along with stronger border security and permanent merit-based reforms. This does not include amnesty."Trump has previously said that ?a deal will be made? with Democrats over the status of DACA?s participants if his administration?s attempt to end the program was successful.Trump?s latest comments clash with reports that emerged this week claiming that the Trump administration was restarting its attempt to end President Obama?s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ? which grants participants renewable deportation deferrals, but not a path to citizenshipThe reported move came after the Supreme Court said last month in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration?s previous attempt to end DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act?s ?arbitrary and capricious? standard and could not move forward. In response, Trump said ?nothing was lost or won? in the decision, adding that the court had ?punted.?Editor?s Note: This piece has been updated with an additional comment from the White House.

  
  

• Dentist who slaughtered Cecil the lion ?hunts and kills protected wild ram? just four years later -

  The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion is reported to have hunted another endangered wild animal.Walter Palmer is said to have slaughtered a protected ram in Mongolia, paying up to £80,000 for the kill.

  
  

• Mexico asks Canada to arrest, extradite ex-investigator -

  Mexico is to seek the arrest and extradition from Canada of the former chief investigator in the murky disappearance of 43 students in 2014, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Friday. Tomas Zeron, who was head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, is in Canada and work is underway to extradite him, the minister said. "There is going to be no impunity, part of our function at the ministry of foreign affairs is to guarantee that, when there are cases of this nature, extradition occurs," Ebrard said.

  
  

• Fact Check: No, schools will not require a COVID-19 vaccine, with RFID chip, for students -

  A viral meme claims schools will require students take a deadly COVID-19 vaccine before returning. That vaccine has not yet been approved.

  
  

• A revival of ultrafast supersonic passenger jet travel is inching closer to reality ? take a look at the prototype debuting in October -

  Boom Supersonic's XB-1 will take to the skies in 2021 to clear a path for the Overture, a supersonic jet that will continue the legacy left by the Concorde.

  
  

• Trump abruptly postpones weekend campaign rally in New Hampshire -

  His campaign, already wary of another low turnout, blamed the decision on an impending tropical storm.

  
  

• U.S. warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China -

  The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday to "exercise increased caution" in China due to heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement including detention and a ban from exiting the country. "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security. "Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples.

  
  

• The Best Beach Towels That Aren?t Totally Boring -
• Execution blocked after victims' family raises virus concerns -

  Daniel Lewis Lee, a former white supremacist who robbed and murdered a family of three, including their 8-year-old daughter, was scheduled to be executed on Monday.

  
  

• As COVID crisis worsens, Miami-Dade scaling back $70M program for delivering senior meals -

  As the coronavirus crisis hits a new peak, Miami-Dade is preparing to scale back one of its most expensive and ambitious programs to protect residents from the virus and isolation: a $70 million delivery operation that dropped off more than 8 million meals to the homes of elderly residents.

  
  

• Conservation groups upset by North Cascades grizzly decision -

  The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park in north central Washington state have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are upset the Trump administration scrapped plans to reintroduce the apex predators there. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt on Tuesday announced his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the idea.

  
  

• Giant protests in Russia after popular governor's arrest -

  At least 10,000 protesters marched through the eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk Saturday in support of a popular local governor arrested this week for allegedly ordering several murders. A court in Moscow on Friday ruled to hold 50-year-old Sergei Furgal for two months pending trial for the murders of several businessmen 15 years ago. Furgal's nationalist Liberal-Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind the governor, and on Saturday said "35,000 people came out to the streets" in Khabarovsk to protest his arrest.

  
  

• New York's hungry rats torment alfresco diners after lockdown famine -

  * Surge in rat activity as city starts to open outdoor restaurants * ?Last night, a customer had a baby rat running on his shoe?New York City is starting to tentatively emerge from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic but a revival in outdoor restaurant dining is facing a new hazard ? a plague of rats.Diners are facing a surge in rat activity following a lockdown period where the rodents were cut off from key food sources as businesses including restaurants and grocery stores shut down, forcing rats to battle for snacks and even eat each other.Since 22 June, New York City restaurants have been allowed to serve people again in outdoor settings, prompting sidewalks and car parking spaces to be dotted with tables and chairs. But the resumption of alfresco dining has led to people having unexpected rodent companions for their meals.Giacomo Romano, who owns Ciccio, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan?s Soho, said rats from a nearby park have been harassing diners since the outdoor meals were permitted. ?Last night, a customer had a baby rat running on his shoe, and I let you just imagine his reaction,? Romano told NBC.Romano and other business owners have called on the city to do more to reduce rat populations, as the city hauls itself out of a pandemic crisis that has claimed more than 20,000 lives. New infections and deaths have dropped sharply since April but New York City has postponed plans to allow indoor dining due to concerns over surging Covid-19 cases in other states, such as Florida, Texas and Arizona.New York City has waged a long and often fruitless war against rats, with the rodents adapting adroitly to the city?s haphazard waste collection and disposal practices. Rats are a common sight in streets and in the subway, where the rodents have proven themselves adept at spiriting away slices of pizza.The resumption of dining activity is likely to stir a wave of activity among rats following a period of relative famine, meaning interactions with people are set to continue.?Rats are designed to smell molecules of anything that?s food-related,? Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist, told NBC. ?They follow those food molecules like heat-seeking missiles ? and eventually you know they end up where those molecules are originating.?

  
  

• 'I'm Sorry to Everyone': In Death, South Korean Mayor Is Tainted by Scandal -
• The White House Made a List of All the Times Fauci ?Has Been Wrong? on the Coronavirus -

  The White House has undertaken behind-the-scenes efforts in recent months to undercut and sideline Dr. Anthony Fauci?even going so far as to compile a list of all the times he ?has been wrong on things,? according to The Washington Post. After canceling some of his planned TV appearances and keeping him away from the Oval Office, White House officials and President Trump have taken to publicly expressing a loss of confidence in the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and face of the administration's coronavirus task force. The apparent attempts to undermine Fauci come as he continues to counter the president's overly optimistic narrative on the state of the pandemic. Against this backdrop, an unnamed White House official told the Post: ?Several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.? The official attached a list of incorrect predictions Fauci had made, including his doubts early on that asymptomatic spread would play a large role in transmission and a February assurance that Americans did not need to change their behavior. Like many other public health officials, Fauci said at first that masks were not necessary but recently recommended that they be mandated nationwide. ?Dr. Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public but he has been wrong about everything I have ever interacted with him on,? Peter Navarro, the president?s trade adviser, told the Post in a separate statement. ?Now Fauci is saying that a falling mortality rate doesn?t matter when it is the single most important statistic to help guide the pace of our economic reopening. So when you ask me if I listen to Dr. Fauci?s advice, my answer is only with caution.?In recent days, the 79-year-old doctor has offered unsparing assessments of the United States? current situation. In an interview with 538 published Thursday, he was perhaps at his most blunt: ?As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don?t think you can say we?re doing great. I mean, we?re just not.? The same day, the commander-in-chief told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that Fauci was ?a nice man, but he?s made a lot of mistakes.? The two haven?t spoken in months, but Fauci has reportedly not complained about that. David Barr, an AIDS activist who knows Fauci, told the Post the doctor has become exasperated that state and local officials aren?t listening to experts.?Our bigger issue with Fauci is stop critiquing the task force...and try to fix it,? another White House official told the Post. The official said Fauci?s high approval and trustworthiness ratings have upset the president as his own deteriorate. The White House has also reportedly sought to keep Fauci out of the the public eye. A CBS anchor said last week that the White House has ignored requests to interview Fauci on air since early April, though he has spoken to print and podcast outlets. The White House maintains the authority to approve or deny interview requests for high-profile public officials and granted requests from PBS, CNN, and NBC to speak with the doctor only to cancel them after Fauci disagreed with Trump in a conversation with Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), according to the Post. The epidemiologist said that Trump?s contention of a lower death rate indicating success in tamping down the virus was ?a false narrative.? He warned against ?false complacency.? Fauci has also said he?d like to go on Rachel Maddow?s show, which routinely critiques the president, a request that was rejected.Trump himself has been wrong on the coronavirus in a laundry list of ways as he?s pushed to reopen the country, and going after Fauci is not the only time he has attempted to contravene public health guidelines. He famously told Dr. Deborah Birx, the chief medical adviser on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to ?look into? the injection of bleach and the ingestion of sunlight as possible COVID-19 curatives. He?s also pressured the Food and Drug Administration to reinstate its emergency authorization for the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, as has his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said doctors ?don?t know what they?re talking about.? Trump himself has said he took the drug despite FDA advisories warning it is unsafe to do so and unlikely to prevent or treat the coronavirus.The president donned a face mask for a Saturday visit to Walter Reed Hospital, one of the first and only times he has done so in public after repeatedly shrugging off their importance in recent weeks and even mocking Joe Biden for wearing one. In Dr. Fauci We TrustRead 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.

  
  

• In Hong Kong Security Law, China Asserts Legal Jurisdiction over the Entire World -

  The Chinese Communist Party?s new security law has criminalized any actions it deems to be subversion, secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities in Hong Kong. The law spells an abrupt end to the political freedoms that Hong Kongers used to enjoy. Authorities Friday raided the offices of a research and polling institute associated with the pro-democracy camp just ahead of primaries in which it will choose its candidates for Legislative Council elections, and there?s certainly more to come. But there?s an additional reason to be wary of the law: It is Beijing?s assertion of legal jurisdiction over the entire world.The text of the legislation?s Article 38 is blunt, and makes an unprecedented jurisdictional claim: ?The Law shall apply to offences under this Law committed against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from outside the Region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the Region.? If the provision is enforced as it is written, Hong Kong authorities could charge and prosecute individuals who have never stepped foot in the city but whom Beijing deems to have violated the law. ?If mainland practice to date is any guide?and it is?then the definitions don?t matter that much,? wrote Donald Clarke, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, in an analysis. ?Anything can be stretched as necessary to cover something done by the person being targeted.?The CCP could thus use Article 38 to prosecute offenses that are illegal in China but legal in the West. Theoretically, Westerners could be arrested by security agents from Beijing?s new base in the city, then rendered to the mainland for trial ? for the crime of speaking freely in liberal democracies. Or as Clarke put it, the CCP ?is asserting extraterritorial jurisdiction over every person on the planet.?This is not just a theoretical concern, either, says Kevin Carrico, a senior research fellow at Melbourne?s Monash University. In 2015, Beijing abducted five employees of Causeway Bay Books, a store that sold works on political topics considered sensitive by mainland authorities, in violation of Hong Kong?s Basic Law. The kidnappings demonstrate the CCP?s desire for extraterritorial law-enforcement authority, says Carrico in an email, and the new law ?just gives the false appearance of legality? to its efforts to secure such authority.It?s not abnormal for countries to make legal claims that stretch beyond their borders or to punish their own nationals for crimes they commit abroad. But for a country to prosecute a foreigner for acts abroad would require harm to that country under widely accepted interpretations of international law. The other way that countries might claim jurisdiction over foreigners who live abroad is through extradition treaties. Without such treaties, says Terri Marsh, the executive director of the Human Rights Law Foundation, it would be very hard for China to reach non-Chinese citizens living in foreign countries. ?China?s incursion into our sovereignty is a demonstration of why precisely other nations who are equally sovereign should not comply or cooperate in any way shape, or form,? says Marsh.As it happens, some 20 countries have extradition treaties with Hong Kong, including several that have not inked such agreements with the mainland. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group comprising legislators from 13 countries, has in the wake of the new security law?s enactment led a drive for countries to cancel these treaties. In recent days, Australia and Canada have suspended theirs, earning Beijing?s ire, and the United States could soon follow suit. Others, such as the Netherlands, have warned their citizens against traveling to Hong Kong.Although most countries will not extradite an individual based on political charges, Jerome Cohen, an expert in Chinese law at New York University School of Law, points to Beijing?s history of concocting false charges of conventional crimes, such as tax evasion, to target dissidents. Just this week, Xu Zhangrun, a prominent critic of the CCP, was arrested in Beijing on prostitution charges. Fake allegations won?t be a problem in countries with robust justice systems, such as France, but Cohen says he?s wary of countries that have voted with China on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and even of certain European countries.In addition to the risk of extradition, the high concentration of foreign journalists and businesspeople in Hong Kong would make it ?a very convenient target, if China wanted to do something to hold some Americans hostage,? says Ho-fung Hung, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. He notes the 2018 detention of two Canadian citizens in retaliation for Ottawa?s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. While hostage diplomacy had already existed as a possibility on the mainland, Americans critical of the Chinese Communist Party have generally been denied visas to visit China, ending up in Hong Kong instead. They used to enjoy immunity from Beijing?s reach there, but with the security law, Beijing could well detain and try them for speaking against the CCP in other countries. Carrico offers a dire warning: ?In traveling to China and Hong Kong today, one is in effect taking the same type of risks as someone travelling to Pyongyang.?The danger is particularly acute for Taiwanese individuals and organizations. Leaders in Taipei have watched the Hong Kong crackdown with apprehension, fearing that the CCP will turn its focus to them next. Carrico notes that Hong Kong, which despite its former autonomy from the mainland did not diverge from Beijing?s official position on Taiwan, had until now allowed Taiwanese organizations to operate in the city. But ?the [national-security law] means the end of that, and if I was in any way linked to the Taiwanese government and living in Hong Kong right now, I would leave immediately.? In fact, the law subjects foreign and Taiwan-based organizations with offices in Hong Kong to onerous regulations requiring cooperation with the city?s police commissioner. According to new rules released this week, the city police can even ask staff at ?foreign and Taiwan political organizations? in Hong Kong to provide personal and financial information about their organizations.It is important to note that until Hong Kong?s rulers release further guidelines on implementation of the law, the precise nature of the danger it poses will remain unclear. Cohen predicts that Article 38 will be interpreted more narrowly than its wording would suggest. ?Now even China?s regular domestic criminal law doesn?t go as far as this new national security law could be interpreted,? he says, noting that the mainland?s criminal code would not lead to prosecutions of foreigners over political speech legal in their own countries. He thinks that Article 38?s expansive wording was the result of a time crunch faced by those responsible for drafting it. But he is careful to emphasize that he?s only making a prediction, and that the law is already intimidating some activists into silence. ?They are already being deterred, not only in Hong Kong, but around the world,? he says.

  
  

• Court's religious employer ruling could weaken LGBTQ protections -

  Critics say the ruling, which broadens the ?ministerial exception? in employment nondiscrimination law, could open a Pandora?s box of workplace discrimination.

  
  

• Shooting of man by Baltimore police highlights 'total failure' of city's behavioral health response, agency says -

  BALTIMORE - After Baltimore police officers shot a man who pulled a firearm while undergoing a behavioral health crisis last week, the organization that oversees the city's behavioral health services called the current system "a total failure" that needs better integration of mental health professionals with the police. There is no indication that police dispatchers attempted to connect ...

  
  

• New records released in Flynn case as appeals court issues stay of dismissal -

  A federal appeals court on Friday delayed a decision to dismiss charges against President Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge join Elaine Quijano to discuss.

  
  

• Carnival Corp. to sell 13 ships, resume cruises in Germany amid COVID-19 pandemic -

  After record-breaking second quarter losses, Carnival Corporation will begin cruising again during the COVID-19 pandemic in August and shed 13 of its ships by the end of the year.

  
  

• Lawyer: Over 150 Minneapolis officers seeking disability -

  More than 150 Minneapolis police officers are filing work-related disability claims after the death of George Floyd and ensuing unrest, with about three-quarters citing post-traumatic stress disorder as the reason for their planned departures, according to an attorney representing the officers. While Floyd?s death in May and the unrest that followed are not the direct cause of many of the disability requests, attorney Ron Meuser said, those events and what Meuser called a lack of support from city leadership were a breaking point for many who had been struggling with PTSD from years on the job. ?Following the George Floyd incident, unfortunately it became too much and as a result they were unable to, and are unable to, continue on and move forward,? Meuser said.

  
  

• Fourth day of virus protests in Serbia as virus cases spike -

  Thousands protested for a fourth day Friday across Serbia over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as officials condemned the demonstrations and announced a record jump in cases. The protests were held as the Balkan nation announced a record daily death toll from COVID-19. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said earlier Friday the Balkan state recorded 18 fatalities and 386 new cases over 24 hours in what she described as a "dramatic increase".

  
  

• Former MI6 chief claims there is 'close linkage' between Huawei and Chinese military -

  There is ?close linkage? between Huawei and the Chinese military, a former head of MI6 has claimed, as he urged the Government to strip the firm from the UK?s mobile network. Sir Richard Dearlove insisted that there was a ?strategic security reason? for the Government to U-turn on its decision to grant the telecoms giant access to Britain's 5G infastructure. His comments come ahead of a crucial meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday in which ministers are expected to block the purchase of any new Huawei equipment by the end of this year, with the company removed from 5G by the mid-2020s. Sir Richard said that to remove the Chinese firm would make ?good security sense?. ?I think the relationship between the Chinese state and Huawei is absolutely clear cut,? he said. ?Huawei is not an ordinary international telecommunications company, it's an intimate part of the Chinese state. ?And if you know anything about Chinese military strategy they talk about the fusion of civil and military capabilities and there is a close linkage undoubtedly between the Chinese military capability and Huawei.?

  
  

• As coronavirus cases climb, Trump says states with an uptick in cases are 'going to be fine' and will be back to normal 'very quickly' -

  Coronavirus deaths are once again on the rise amid a surge of confirmed cases in states like Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida.

  
  

• China releases professor who criticised President Xi, friends say -
• Three LAPD officers face felony charges for falsely labeling people as gang members -

  According to a 59-count criminal complaint, three officers were charged with conspiracy, filing false reports, and prepping fraudulent documents for court.

  
  

• U.S. records more than 66,000 new coronavirus cases in record spike -

  California, Florida and Texas all saw record surges in the last week.

  
  

• Jared Kushner said the US would be 'really rocking again' by July. 7 states are shutting back down, and new COVID-19 cases have set records 6 times in July's first 10 days. -

  In Kushner's confident Fox & Friends appearance back in April, he also proclaimed the US was "on the other side of the medical aspect" of the virus.

  
  

• Ghislaine Maxwell argues for $5 million bail, saying she's 'not Jeffrey Epstein' -

  NEW YORK - Ghislaine Maxwell argued for $5 million bail Friday, arguing that she had wrongly replaced Jeffrey Epstein in the public eye after the multimillionaire hanged himself last year. "Epstein died in federal custody, and the media focus quickly shifted to our client - wrongly trying to substitute her for Epstein - even though she'd had no contact with Epstein for more than a decade, had ...

  
  

• Fire destroys much of 249-year-old church in California -

  A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said. Firefighters entered the church and tried to beat back the flames, but they had to retreat when roofing and other structural materials began to fall, Negrete said.

  
  

• Inventor of Israel's Iron Dome seeks coronavirus 'game-changer' -

  Daniel Gold, who led the team that invented Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, has a history of safeguarding the country against what he identifies as existential threats. With the nation facing surging coronavirus cases amid a pandemic that has triggered unprecedented economic hardship, Gold is trying to replicate his Iron Dome breakthrough in protecting Israel against the virus. Gold, who heads Israel's Defence Research and Development Directorate and holds PhDs in electronic engineering and business management, has become a celebrated figure in the Jewish state.

  
  

• Utah Governor Declares State of Emergency Due to ?Civil Unrest? -

  Utah governor Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency in Salt Lake City late Thursday, citing clashes between police and protesters who flooded the streets after the city district attorney announced that the May police killing of Bernardo Palacios Carbajal was justified. ?In the case of the Salt Lake City Officer Involved Critical Incident that resulted in the death of Bernardo Palacios Carbajal, District Attorney Sim Gill?s findings provide significant evidence of the justifiable actions of Salt Lake City police officers,? Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement. ?This evidence shows that our officers acted according to their training and the state law regarding use of lethal force.?Protesters broke windows to the district attorney?s office, leading police to deem the demonstration an unlawful gathering, the Salt Lake City Police Department said. Demonstrators then disrupted traffic in the city?s downtown area and allegedly used pepper spray on officers. One officer was taken to a nearby hospital. Police arrested two protesters, the department said. The state of emergency order, which closes the Utah State Capitol grounds to the public, will stay in effect until at least July 14. Herbert also offered Utah's Department of Public Safety to Salt Lake City.In May police fired 34 shots at Palacios, leaving him with more than a dozen wounds, after a report of someone making ?threats with a weapon,? CNN reported. ?I know that for some, today?s decision does not feel like justice,? Mendenhall said. ?It has become increasingly apparent in our city and across the nation that there is a difference between what so many feel is morally correct, and what is considered appropriate and justified under the law.?

  
  

• If He Loses, Trump Must Resign Immediately and Make Biden President. No, Really. -

  If and when Donald Trump leaves office, whether now or the day after the election, it should be by resignation. We cannot and should not wait until Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021, for him to vacate the White House. His departure has become a matter of national emergency, national safety, and now national security.The polls show Trump losing by large margins to Joe Biden if the election were held today. His nearly catastrophic handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in tens of thousands of unnecessary infections and deaths. And things are getting worse following the premature reopening of states, something Trump insisted upon. He wears no face coverings, despite the recommendations of his own task force. He holds mass rallies in violation of local health regulations and recommendations.The news that he may have failed to take note of intelligence reports that suggested that Vladimir Putin had offered bounties for the deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan makes him a national security risk.If Trump does not resign before the election in November, there is little question he should resign the next day if he loses, especially if the election is not close, and turn the reins of power over to the president-elect. A landslide win by Biden will mean that the pandemic is not under control and probably that the economy remains in turmoil or perhaps ruins.The Time to Argue About Biden?s Economic Plans? After November 3.This makes Trump?s immediate removal from office all the more compelling because experts are warning that COVID-19 may build into another wave just as the regular flu season kicks into high gear starting in November. The health consequences could be catastrophic without a steady and clear national response. Trump?s resignation and turning power over to the new president-elect may be the only way to keep the situation from spiraling.How could this happen? Putting aside for the moment whether Trump would actually do this, there is?sort of?precedent for such behavior. While Richard Nixon is the only president to resign his office, there is another president who considered the possibility of immediate resignation and the transferral of power within days of the election to a new president-elect from the opposing party. That president also faced a world of high uncertainty and danger. He believed it was his duty to step down if he didn?t win, as soon as the election result was known.Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president, is not held in high regard these days. Princeton University, where he taught government and was president from 1902 to 1910, has decided to remove his name from university institutes and programs. ?Wilson?s racism was significant and consequential even by the standards of his own time,? Christopher Eisgruber, current president of Princeton, said in a statement released last week. President Trump tweeted that the move was ?incredibly stupid.?But it was not a crisis over racism that caused Woodrow Wilson to type out his resignation letter in 1916; it was a world war.By the fall of 1916, Wilson had kept the United States out of the European conflict for over two years. Despite his attempts to mediate an end to the war, the belligerent powers remained in a deadly stalemate. The battle for Verdun in France, horrific by any historical measure, started in the spring of 1916 and would continue, with unrelenting bombardments, until December. The Germans intended to ?bleed the French white.? The human carnage was stultifying: nearly 800,000 men were killed in just 300 days of battle. The Battle of the Somme was worse. Having begun in July, it eventually resulted in a death toll of 1.3 million in just four months.Against this calamitous backdrop, Wilson was convinced that if he lost, he needed to transfer power immediately to his challenger, Republican Charles Evans Hughes. Until the passage of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, a president-elect would have to wait four months before being inaugurated, on March 4. (The lame-duck amendment in 1933 moved the date up to January 20).Wilson had reason to be concerned that he may not be re-elected, though he had spared America any involvement in the war so far. In 1912, Wilson was elected only because Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican Party and ran against the Republican incumbent, William Howard Taft, on the Bull Moose ticket. With the Republicans ?reunited? in 1916 behind former New York governor and Supreme Court associate justice Charles Evans Hughes, the odds of Wilson winning seemed long.Recognizing this, Wilson sat down at his portable Hammond typewriter days before the election to peck out his conditional resignation. He recognized, he wrote, that if Hughes prevailed, ?I would be without such moral backing of the nation as would be necessary to steady and control our relationship with other governments.? The situation would be ?fraught with the gravest dangers.?He concluded that, in that event, he needed to appoint Hughes as his secretary of state, secure his vice president?s agreement to resign, and then resign himself. Under the rules of succession then in effect, Hughes would immediately become president. ?I would have no right to risk the peace of the nation,? Wilson wrote, ?by remaining in office after I had lost my authority.?Trump would need to recognize this same responsibility if he is rejected at the polls in November. With the pandemic still afoot and the economy a mess, there would be no time to waste at this critical juncture. But since the line of succession is different today, how could President-Elect Biden become President Biden before Jan. 20?Here?s how. Under the 25th Amendment, ratified and passed in 1967, a president can appoint a vice president in the event of a vacancy in the office, with the consent of the House and the Senate by simple majorities in each chamber. In this case, Trump would ask Pence to resign, appoint Biden as his VP, and then resign himself, allowing Biden to succeed to the presidency.A final hurdle would be the Republican-controlled Senate, which has been Trump?s lapdog under Mitch McConnell. But clearly if Trump actually did his duty and resigned, it seems improbable that the Senate would stand in the way.Of course, it is impossible to conceive of Donald Trump resigning, even with a widening crisis unfolding all around him. Then again, Richard Nixon was no quitter, as he acknowledged when he resigned. So who knows? Trump likes to sulk and feel sorry for himself?so he could say ?to heck with you? if he is humiliated at the polls.In the end, Wilson did not need to resign because he squeaked out a victory in 1916. The election was so close that Hughes went to bed election night being congratulated on his victory, and it took days for the result to finally become clear.Ironically, Wilson typed his provisional resignation letter in his erstwhile summer home in New Jersey, known as Shadow Lawn. That home burned down later, but a new Shadow Lawn was erected, located on the campus of Monmouth University. Two weeks ago, Monmouth announced that it would remove Wilson?s name from the mansion built to replace the one that was destroyed.James Robenalt is the author of The Harding Affair, Love and Espionage During the Great War and January 1973, Watergate, Roe v Wade, Vietnam and the Month That Changed America Forever. He occasionally lectures with John Dean, Nixon?s White House Counsel, on legal ethics.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.

  
  

• Prosecutor whose star has risen under Trump named Brooklyn-based acting U.S. Attorney -

  U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Friday named Seth DuCharme, a prosecutor who has risen rapidly in the Justice Department under the Trump administration, as acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. DuCharme, who for the last six months has been principal associate deputy attorney general in Washington, is swapping roles with Richard Donoghue, the current U.S. Attorney for the Brooklyn-based Eastern District. The Justice Department earlier this month announced shorturl.at/inqL3 Donoghue's move to Washington.

  
  

• Key parts of Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement amount to 'poison pill', senior Brexiteers warn -

  Senior Brexiteers have warned Boris Johnson that key parts of his Withdrawal Agreement with the EU amount to a "poison pill" that should be replaced as part of post-Brexit trade negotiations. A 120-page report compiled by pro-Leave MPs and lawyers states that exiting the transition period with the current provisions of the agreement in place would have "crippling" consequences for the UK and prevent the country from becoming a "fully sovereign state". The document, which is published as the UK and EU carry out intensive trade negotiations, has been endorsed by a series of senior backbenchers, suggesting Mr Johnson could face resistance in the Commons if he fails to tackle some of their concerns. On Saturday, Mark Francois, the chairman of the influential European Research Group (ERG) of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, said: "The report argues that the remaining elements of the Withdrawal Agreement after we leave the transition period cannot be allowed to stand as they are, and particularly that there must be no remaining role for the European Court of Justice over any aspect of our national life. That is something that I and my colleagues in the ERG would very much support." The report, published by the new Centre for Brexit Policy, includes contributions from Lord Trimble, the former first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin Howe, the Brexiteer QC, and Owen Paterson, the former cabinet minister who chairs the think tank. The key elements it says make up the "poison pill" include the UK having to remain bound to some state aid laws, the creation of "burdensome EU customs mechanisms" at a border in the Irish Sea, a role for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for another eight years, and the vast divorce payments, for amounts the report states are "not owing under international law" and are "subject to the determination of the ECJ". The report states: "Although the Government sees the revised Withdrawal Agreement (WA) as only transitional until the end of the transition period in December, there remain serious threats to UK sovereignty that will have crippling economic and strategic consequences for years to come if they are not dealt with now. "Exiting the TP with these threats still in place will not return the UK to a fully sovereign state and is unacceptable." The report urges Mr Johnson to replace the Withdrawal Agreement with a "sovereignty compliant" agreement. A chapter by Lord Trimble states that the current deal "rips the Good Friday Agreement apart? by handing law-making power over Northern Ireland to the EU.

  
  

• ?Parents understand risks?: 15 staffers, 3 kid campers catch COVID-19 in Miami-Dade -

  As parents across Miami-Dade County wonder how schools will safely bring students back next month, they can look to local summer camps for an idea of how in-person learning during a pandemic may go.

  
  

• Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick on decision to reopen state's schools -

  Texas says schools must accommodate students who wish to return to the classroom for in-person learning in the fall; Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick explains the safety protocols.