| 'Wake up call': Prominent group warns Biden campaign that it's falling short on outreach to women of color Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:54 AM PDT  Women of color worry that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden isn't paying enough attention to their concerns, risking loss in Nov. 3 as in 2016
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| Iran executes defense ministry staffer as alleged CIA spy Posted: 14 Jul 2020 02:48 AM PDT  Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country's judiciary said Tuesday. The report said Reza Asgari was executed last week. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Asgari had worked in the airspace department of the ministry and retired in 2016.
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| Ruth Bader Ginsburg: US Supreme Court oldest justice treated for possible infection Posted: 15 Jul 2020 01:52 PM PDT  The 87-year-old underwent a procedure to clean out a bile duct stent in Baltimore's hospital.
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| Ghislaine Maxwell secretly married but won't reveal husband's identity say NY prosecutors Posted: 15 Jul 2020 04:21 AM PDT  Ghislaine Maxwell has secretly married but refused to disclose her husband's identity to FBI investigators, it was claimed in court. Federal prosecutors told a judge hearing Maxwell's application for bail that she had a spouse although his name has been withheld. The existence of a husband might explain why Maxwell chose to remain in the US while being hunted down by the FBI over child sex trafficking allegations rather than fleeing abroad. She was last year romantically linked to Scott Borgerson, the wealthy chief executive of a tech company based in Boston, but there is no suggestion or evidence the couple ever married. Mr Borgerson has insisted the pair were only friends. Maxwell used the alias 'Jen Marshall' when inspecting the house she bought while in hiding from the FBI and was accompanied by a man she identified as her husband and using the name 'Scott Marshall'. But while 'Scott Marshall' spoke with a British accent, Scott Borgerson was born in the US and speaks with an American accent.
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| Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower defaced; mayor says 'nice try' Posted: 14 Jul 2020 09:25 AM PDT  The NYPD tweeted video footage Tuesday morning that shows a man wearing a baseball cap and mask pouring red paint on the street mural.
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| Mississippi Is Replacing Its State Flag, But a Confederate Emblem Still Flies Over Georgia Posted: 15 Jul 2020 01:13 PM PDT  The actual Confederate flag—not the battle flag—is almost identical to the current state flag of Georgia, and that's not a coincidence
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| CDC urges masks for everyone as coronavirus surges Posted: 14 Jul 2020 03:07 PM PDT  Confronting a drastic rise in coronavirus cases across the United States, the nation's top public health officials urged all Americans to wear masks in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
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| Virginia police are searching for people posting flyers calling on residents to 'pray for white Americans in 2020' Posted: 14 Jul 2020 03:46 PM PDT  Virginia police are investigating white supremacist flyers that are appearing in local resident mailboxes across the state.
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| 21 Best Wall-Mounted Planters to Infuse Your Space With Greenery Posted: 15 Jul 2020 09:02 AM PDT |
| Prosecutor investigating couple who pointed guns at protesters says Trump, governor 'came after' her Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:56 AM PDT  The prosecutor investigating a white couple who pointed guns at protesters said Gov. Mike Parson and President Donald Trump "came after" her.
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| Tanker off UAE sought by US over Iran sanctions 'hijacked' Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:19 AM PDT  An oil tanker sought by the U.S. over allegedly circumventing sanctions on Iran was hijacked on July 5 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a seafarers organization said Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear what happened aboard the Dominica-flagged MT Gulf Sky, though its reported hijacking comes after months of tensions between Iran and the U.S. David Hammond, the CEO of the United Kingdom-based group Human Rights at Sea, said he took a witness statement from the captain of the MT Gulf Sky, confirming the ship had been hijacked.
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| George Floyd's death: Police body camera footage emerges Posted: 15 Jul 2020 05:13 PM PDT  George Floyd is seen pleading with policemen as they try to force him into their car, US media say.
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| 'I didn't do it': Executed federal prisoner used final words to plead innocence Posted: 15 Jul 2020 05:44 AM PDT  The first man executed by the US federal government in 17 years protested his innocence in his final words before his sentence was carried out on Tuesday.Asked if he wanted to give a final statement before the lethal injection procedure, Lee reportedly said "I bear no responsibility for the deaths of the Mueller family."
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| Geraldo Rivera Blasts Judge for Denying Bail to Ghislaine Maxwell: She ‘Chickened Out’ Posted: 14 Jul 2020 02:06 PM PDT  Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera vehemently disagreed with U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan for denying alleged Jeffrey Epstein madam Ghislaine Maxwell bail on Tuesday, claiming the judge caved to the "mob" and "chickened out."Maxwell, who has been charged with four counts of child sex trafficking and two counts of perjury, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday and her trial was set for July 2021. Nathan then denied Maxwell bail, meaning the accused sex trafficker will remain in custody for a year."The court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that no combination could reasonably assure her presence in court," the judge said. "The risks are simply too great."Moments after Nathan's bail decision, Rivera appeared to agree with Maxwell's defense attorneys, who have argued in court that the alleged Eptein madam isn't a flight risk and that she's "been in regular contact with the government, through counsel, since Epstein's arrest." Prosecutors have countered that Maxwell attempted to flee when they arrived to arrest her and wrapped her cell phone in tinfoil to evade detection."I think this was a political decision," Rivera said. "I agree absolutely that the question is not whether she committed these hideous offenses. The question is whether or not she would show up for trial."Rivera, who is also an attorney, pointed to Maxwell's recent purchase of a New Hampshire home to argue that she "went to all this trouble to stay in the country" and yet she's still being sent to a detention center that's a "hotbed of COVID-19.""I think that if you take her passport, you put the ankle bracelet on her, she owns property now, she could have led this country long ago if she was so inclined," he added. "Now to keep her there in solitary confinement, essentially for over a year awaiting trial, they are doing this to put pressure on her, the federal prosecutors."Then, in a similar vein as former Epstein lawyer and friend Alan Dershowitz, Rivera offered up a defense of the accused sex trafficker."They are punishing her before conviction," he grumbled. "She has never been held liable in a civil suit, never been convicted of a crime. She is not Jeffrey Epstein."Rivera would go on to insist that Maxwell wasn't necessarily hiding from the law over the past year but instead was running from the press, saying she was one of the "most sought after tabloid figures in the country." Brushing off her charges as "wobbly" because they are from alleged actions that took place 25 years ago, he knocked the judge for seemingly caving to political and popular pressure."For this judge to chicken out and not give this defendant bail, I think, is copping out to the mob," he concluded.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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| Returned of tainted Pemex boss spells trouble for Mexico's old elite Posted: 15 Jul 2020 02:58 PM PDT  Once a rising star of Mexican politics, Emilio Lozoya could trigger a precipitous fall from grace of former colleagues if he returns to spill the beans on alleged corruption inside the government of the country's last president, Enrique Pena Nieto. Lozoya, who is being extradited from Spain to Mexico, is expected home this week to face a series of corruption charges dating back to his 2012-16 tenure at the helm of struggling Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex. Once vaunted as a possible foreign minister, the 45-year-old Lozoya has become a key piece in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan to expose corruption in and around the government he took over from Pena Nieto in December 2018.
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| US Navy warship challenges China in South China Sea as US blasts Beijing's 'unlawful' claims and 'gangster tactics' Posted: 14 Jul 2020 11:50 AM PDT  The US "will not let China claim the South China Sea as its own," a senior US State Department official said Tuesday.
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| An international student said the Trump administration rescinding its deportation threat is a relief, but the whiplash is unsettling Posted: 14 Jul 2020 03:26 PM PDT  ICE rescinded its position that international students who were taking courses entirely online couldn't stay in the US after colleges and states sued.
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| Trump aides warn president: Mental fitness attacks on Biden could be used against you Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:13 PM PDT  The fresh push comes despite increasing warnings from Republican strategists that the message stands to backfire in several ways.
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| US bars Pakistani flights after pilot-license scandal Posted: 15 Jul 2020 09:23 AM PDT  The United States downgraded the safety rating of Pakistan's aviation system and will block Pakistan's airlines from launching service to the U.S. The move announced Wednesday follows revelations that nearly one-third of Pakistan's pilots cheated on exams but still received licenses from the country's civil-aviation authority. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said that it put Pakistan in a so-called category 2 rating, which means airlines from Pakistan can't start new flights to the U.S. Also, U.S. airlines can't sell seats on Pakistani flights, a practice called code-sharing that is common among other international airlines.
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| The Moon, Which Seems Pretty Old, Is Actually Much Younger Than We Thought Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:30 AM PDT  It's practically a baby.
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| Philippine police deployed as virus cases forced into quarantine Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:21 AM PDT  Philippine police are being deployed to ensure people who test positive for the coronavirus and cannot self-isolate at home are taken to state-run quarantine centres, sparking warnings Wednesday of potential rights violations. The move comes as authorities step up efforts to slow the rapid spread of the disease by increasing testing, reimposing lockdowns, and building dozens of quarantine centres to isolate patients with mild symptoms. To clamp down on local transmission, police are accompanying health workers to the homes of people who have tested positive and taking them to government facilities if their homes are considered inadequate for self-isolation or if they live with "vulnerable" people, officials said.
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| 'MythBusters' Host Grant Imahara, Dead at 49, Embodied the Pop Mech Spirit Posted: 14 Jul 2020 10:52 AM PDT |
| Georgia murder case tests whether a Black man can stand his ground against whites Posted: 14 Jul 2020 01:47 PM PDT  William Marcus Wilson believed he was standing his ground when he fired at a pickup truck he says was trying to run his car off the road as he drove home with his girlfriend one night last month.
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| A Michigan jeweler is retiring and burying $1 million worth of treasure for a 'quest' Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:25 AM PDT  Johnny Perri buried his entire jewelry store — and "thousands upon thousands" of precious metals and antiques — throughout the state.
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| Doctors in France have found the world's first recorded case of an unborn child contracting COVID-19 from their mother while inside the womb Posted: 14 Jul 2020 04:31 AM PDT  Doctors said the fetus's brain bore evidence of inflammation caused by the coronavirus, which had crossed the placenta into the baby's bloodstream.
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| 8 Marines Earn Valor Awards for Daring Afghanistan Helo Raid with Hours of Close Combat Posted: 14 Jul 2020 01:29 PM PDT  Eight Marine Raiders recognized for their actions during the April 10, 2019, mission in southern Afghanistan.
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| Seaport is latest hit by Iran mystery fires Posted: 15 Jul 2020 09:40 AM PDT 
At least seven ships have reportedly caught fire at Iran's Bushehr seaport, marking what appears to be the latest in a series of fires and explosions around the country -- some of which have hit sensitive sites. Iran's Tasnim news agency says no casualties have been reported. The state broadcaster showed firefighters tackling clouds of smoke at a shipyard at the southern port on the Gulf. The cause is not currently known. There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear, and industrial facilities since late June, including a fire at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility. State run media have speculated sabotage or attacks from the United States or Israel. Earlier this month Benny Gantz, Israel's defense minister, said that his country was not "necessarily" behind every mysterious incident in Iran.
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| 'Difficult to attack vanilla': Trump's throwing everything at Biden, but nothing is sticking Posted: 14 Jul 2020 04:21 PM PDT  It's different from four years ago, when the president was "helped by the fact that Hillary had 20 years of built-in negatives," one Republican said.
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| Satellite images show Ethiopia dam reservoir swelling Posted: 14 Jul 2020 01:39 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus: California reimposes sweeping restrictions amid virus spike Posted: 13 Jul 2020 11:01 PM PDT  The governor has rolled back reopening plans across the state as virus cases soar.
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| World Court hands Qatar legal win in air blockade row with Gulf states Posted: 14 Jul 2020 09:11 AM PDT |
| Black Leaders Call on NYPD to Bring Back Anti-Crime Unit as Shootings Spike Posted: 14 Jul 2020 08:47 AM PDT  Leaders in the black community are calling on the New York Police Department to bring back the plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit that was eliminated last month as shootings and murders spike across the city.About 600 undercover officers from the unit were set to be transferred to other assignments including detective work and policing neighborhoods, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said a month ago. The anti-crime unit, which was responsible for getting guns off the streets, had been criticized as stoking distrust in law enforcement in minority communities.Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, one of the African-American voices calling for action on gun violence, criticized the police force's decision to completely disband the unit. He deplored the recent deadly shooting of a one-year-old, one of the victims of New York City's recent spike in gun violence."I think that a total elimination is something we need to reevaluate," Adams said, CBS New York reported. "Right now, bad guys are saying if you don't see a blue and white you can do whatever you want."Tony Herbert, an activist in New York's black community, agreed and lamented the rise in violence, criticizing New York officials for their failure to address the situation."The guns keep going off and now we have a 1-year-old and the blood is on the hands of the mayor and the state Legislature," Herbert said.The decision to disband the anti-crime unit was also panned by Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, who warned that consequences would follow if city leaders refused to deal with increased gun violence."Anti-Crime's mission was to protect New Yorkers by proactively preventing crime, especially gun violence," Lynch said in a statement. "Shooting and murders are both climbing steadily upward, but our city leaders have decided that proactive policing isn't a priority anymore. They chose this strategy. They will have to reckon with the consequences."The city's murder rate for the month ending June 7 has more than doubled from the same period last year, and shooting victims have increased by 45 percent. Meanwhile, arrests for illegal gun possession have dropped dramatically, with only 29 people arrested during the week that ended July 5, down from 70 during the same week last year, according to NYPD data.In recent weeks, the NYPD has experienced a surge of over 400 percent in retirement applications from officers amid tensions with city officials and after the city's police budget was slashed by $1 billion.
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| How to watch for spectacular Comet Neowise – before it disappears for 6,800 years Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:03 PM PDT  Skywatchers are in for a treat over the next few weeks as newly discovered Comet Neowise is paying a visit to our solar system.
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| Photo shows Arizona's governor without a mask at party with no social distancing days before telling constituents to 'arm yourself with a mask' Posted: 14 Jul 2020 12:43 PM PDT  Cases have skyrocketed in Arizona recently, with record high hospitalizations and deaths climbing over 2,000 as the state rolls back its reopening.
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| Japan highlights F-35 acquisition, military ops amid pandemic in new whitepaper Posted: 15 Jul 2020 07:37 AM PDT  In its latest whitepaper, Japan has discussed its impending acquisition of F-35B fighter jets and highlighted efforts by regional militaries to expand their influence and activities despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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| Ivanka Trump tells workers to 'Find Something New' — because old jobs aren't coming back Posted: 14 Jul 2020 11:37 AM PDT  With millions of Americans put out of work by the coronavirus pandemic, Ivanka Trump unveiled a new jobs initiative Tuesday titled "Find Something New," which encourages laid-off workers to consider alternative career paths.
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| Kansas freshman GOP Rep. Watkins charged with 3 felonies Posted: 14 Jul 2020 05:09 PM PDT  A freshman Kansas congressman who had listed a UPS Inc. postal box as his residence on a state voter registration form was charged Tuesday with three felonies, including illegal voting. The charges against GOP Rep. Steve Watkins came three weeks before the state's Aug. 4 primary election with fellow Republicans pushing to oust him from the eastern Kansas seat he barely won in 2018, even though he's largely toed the conservative policy line and supported President Donald Trump. GOP critics already had worried that the months-long investigation into whether Watkins violated state election laws puts the 2nd District seat in play if he wins the primary.
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| TikTok teens dress up as grandmas and use medical masks to buy booze Posted: 15 Jul 2020 07:06 AM PDT  When God closes a door he opens a window. Teenagers have lost out on many of life's experiences due to the coronavirus pandemic, but an enterprising few have at least found a way to get drunk and buy alcohol without the need for a fake ID. Members of 'Gen Z' worldwide are taking advantage of mandatory mask weaning in public to conceal their faces and fool shop assistants in to selling them booze. Some have even gone as far as to disguise themselves as pensioners, wearing granny wigs, makeup and even a fetching cardigan to complete the ensemble. After all, what are the odds a shopkeeper will ask an elderly, vulnerable person to remove their mask in the middle of a pandemic. And as with all clever ideas among teenagers, the stunt has become a social media phenomenon, particularly on TikTok. Videos teaching kids how to pull off the prank are racking up millions of views. TikToker @aamandaward specifically advised enterprising teens to keep their masks on while making their purchases: "PSA: use your fakes as much as possible [right now because] if you wear a mask they can't see your whole face lol."
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| China says those who see China as hostile are wrong Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:47 AM PDT  China's envoy to Britain said on Wednesday that those who see China as a hostile state have got it all wrong and cautioned European Union states not to interfere in China's domestic affairs over Hong Kong. "Those who see China as systematic rival or as a potentially hostile state have got it all wrong - they have chosen the wrong target and they are heading in the wrong direction," Ambassador Liu Xiaoming told the Centre for European Reform.
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| Daniel Lewis Lee: US executes first federal prisoner in 17 years Posted: 14 Jul 2020 06:08 AM PDT  Triple murderer Daniel Lewis Lee is executed following a US Supreme Court ruling.
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| 'Why would I donate to my host?' Airbnb guests perplexed by 'kindness card' email suggesting extra payments Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:03 AM PDT  Airbnb sent emails to guests suggesting they send "kindness cards" to their hosts, which has irked many a guest on social media.
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| Lindsey Graham Attempting to Declassify FBI Memo on Steele Source Who Undermined Dossier Posted: 14 Jul 2020 12:58 PM PDT  Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) revealed on Tuesday that he is attempting to declassify an FBI memo describing an interview with a crucial source for the Steele dossier, whose comments undermined the dossier's assertions.The source was dossier author Christopher Steele's only direct source inside Russia for many of the allegations included in the dossier. The Justice Department Inspector General report released in December 2019 noted that the individual, referred to as the "Primary Sub-Source," has since disputed various claims in the dossier, including that Trump-campaign officials colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 election. The Primary Sub-Source made the allegations against the Steele dossier in an interview with the FBI."There's a memo about that interview," Graham said Tuesday in a podcast with Fox News host Trey Gowdy. "[DOJ Inspector General Michael] Horowitz found it — it was 40 pages. My staff has finally gotten a look at it. It's classified. I'm going to try to get it unclassified."Horowitz's December report found that the FBI had committed numerous errors in its applications for FISA warrants to surveil former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page. Four footnotes in the report declassified in April revealed that the FBI received evidence in January 2017 that Russian operatives fed disinformation to Steele to be used in the dossier."I believe that the dossier, which was the key component of getting the warrant against Carter Page, was in fact Russian disinformation," Graham told Gowdy. "I believe that the FBI was on notice that it was unreliable, continued to use it anyway. I believe that they misled the FISA court."Steele admitted in April 2020 that his own records of interviews with the Primary Sub-Source "were wiped in early January 2017."
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| The Air Force has sent the first of 59 aerial refueling tankers to the 'boneyard' Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:07 AM PDT  A KC-10 Extender aerial refueling tanker, tail number 86-0036, headed to the Air Force's "boneyard" on Monday, with 58 more set to follow it.
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| Missouri couple who guarded home from protesters with firearms face indictment Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:19 AM PDT  Reaction from Georgia Republican Rep. Jody Hice.
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| Trump news: White House rescinds policy banning international students from online courses amid mounting criticism and lawsuits Posted: 14 Jul 2020 01:20 PM PDT  After cancelling a campaign rally that was scheduled for New Hampshire on 11 July, Donald Trump made up for lost time by launching a nearly one-hour attack against Joe Biden from the White House Rose Garden as the president went down a literal list of grievances and the Democratic presidential candidate's platform pitches, which the president had grossly mischaracterised.Moments earlier, the administration rescinded controversial new measures that would have effectively banned any international students from living in the United States during the fall months amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the news being announced after a court hearing that lasted just minutes.
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| 12 people dead in fighting on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Posted: 14 Jul 2020 11:19 AM PDT  At least 11 troops and a civilian were killed on Tuesday in a third day of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia, despite international calls for restraint. The fighting between the arch-foes in the South Caucasus since Sunday is the heaviest in years, raising fears of a major flare-up in the volatile region. All-out war between the ex-Soviet republics could have wider implications and pit regional rivals Russia and Turkey against each other.
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| Flooded southern China braces for more storms Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:35 AM PDT  Heavy rain is forecast for five more days in the Yangtze River basin, China's meteorological agency said Wednesday, in a region already devastated by flooding this year. In some good news, the water level in China's biggest freshwater lake began to recede after setting a record Monday. Floodwaters have inundated villages, cities and farms in many parts of southern China.
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