To end the week, here are the stories making news headlines.
Trump tries to douse Putin storm — but his cleanup tests credulity
President Donald Trump is finally in full-scale cleanup mode after his summit debacle with Russian President Vladimir Putin — but the credibility of his new critique of Russian election interference is being undermined by his unrepentant and conflicting statements since he got home from Helsinki.
Zuckerberg apologizes for Holocaust comments
Zuckerberg made his comments during an interview with ReCode’s Kara Swisher, published Wednesday morning. During the interiew, he cited Holocaust denials as an example of controversial misinformation that Facebook would allow to remain on the platform. Facebook has said that it allows conspiracy theories to remain on the site, but limits their reach so fewer people see them.
Israel passes controversial ‘nation-state’ bill into law
The bill says Jews have the “exclusive right” to self-determination in Israel and was slammed as the “nail in the coffin” of Israeli democracy.
Macron’s senior aide given ‘warning’ for beating protesters
A senior security advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron is under investigation for beating up protesters at a May Day demonstration.
Modern slavery in developed countries more common than thought
A report on modern slavery around the world has found that the number of slaves in developed nations, including the United States and United Kingdom, is much higher than previously thought.
Turkey lifts state of emergency, two years after coup almost toppled Erdogan
Turkey lifted a state of emergency Thursday, two years after a dramatic coup attempt nearly toppled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Why are the All Blacks so good?
Since 2011, New Zealand have boasted an 89% win record, including two World Cup victories. Here are the reasons behind the All Blacks’ success.
Jean Van de Velde: Frenchman forever linked with sporting disaster
It was as heart-breaking as it was excruciating to see a man slowly lose his grip on a childhood dream.
Trump lashes out at Putin summit ‘haters’
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at “haters” who condemned his meeting with Russia’s president. On Twitter, Mr Trump said his critics were suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. The broadside came a day after he said he misspoke during Monday’s Helsinki summit when he appeared to side with Vladimir Putin over claims of Kremlin meddling in US elections.
Israel approves ‘Jewish nation state’ law
Israel’s parliament has passed into law a controversial bill that defines the country as an exclusively Jewish state. The “Jewish nation state” bill downgrades Arabic as an official language and says advancing Jewish settlement is a national interest. It also states that the “whole and united” Jerusalem is its capital.
Macron aide in probe for beating protester
French prosecutors are investigating a senior presidential aide, who attacked protesters in Paris while wearing a police visor. Alexandre Benalla, an assistant to President Emmanuel Macron’s chief of staff, was filmed targeting a woman and a man during May Day protests. He was caught on video by a student activist and left the scene once challenged on camera.
Burberry burns luxury goods worth millions
Burberry, the upmarket British fashion label, destroyed unsold clothes, accessories and perfume worth £28.6m last year to protect its brand. That was 6% higher that the value of products the company disposed of in the previous financial year. Fashion firms including Burberry destroy unwanted items to prevent them being stolen or sold cheaply.
Calls for Trump interpreter to testify
US opposition politicians are calling for Donald Trump’s interpreter to testify before Congress about his summit talks with Vladimir Putin. The lead Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez, called for Marina Gross to be subpoenaed to appear at the committee.
No-one charged ‘for 9 out of 10 crimes’
Only 9% of crimes end with suspects being charged or summonsed in England and Wales, Home Office figures suggest. In the 12 months to March, 443,000 crimes resulted in a charge or summons out of 4.6 million offences – the lowest detection rate since 2015.
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New Time Cover Has Some Creepy Trump-Putin Photoshopping
The latest issue of Time magazine isn’t holding back when it comes to the topic of President Donald Trump ‘s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The July 30 cover shows the two leaders as literally the same person, featuring an unsettling photoshopped melding of Trump and Putin into one super-mega-ultra ego.
Comcast Drops Out Of Bidding War With Disney For 21 Century Fox Assets
(Reuters) ― Comcast Corp said it dropped its pursuit of a group of media assets owned by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc on Thursday and will focus on its offer for European pay-TV group Sky Plc. Shares of Comcast were up 2.2 percent in premarket trade, while Fox fell 1 percent.
Trump: ‘I Dream About Biden’ Running For President In 2020
President Donald Trump said he would “love” to run for re-election against former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020. “I dream about Biden,” Trump said in a newly released clip of his Wednesday interview with CBS News’ Jeff Glor. “That’s a dream. Look, Joe Biden ran three times.
Seth Meyers Says Trump Should Learn From The Discoverer Of Syphilis
Seth Meyers advised President Donald Trump Wednesday on how to avoid embarrassment. Responding to Trump’s tweet complaining that people who hated that he “got along well” with Russian President Vladimir Putin were afflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” the “Late Night” host offered these words of wisdom: “Hey, man, just a tip: Maybe don’t name a derangement syndrome after yourself.
Facebook Will Remove Fake Content Meant To Incite Violence
Facebook will begin removing misinformation from the social network that could incite physical violence after months of criticism from groups who say the platform has been used to target ethnic minorities in countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Anderson Cooper Brutally Mocks Trump For Latest Russia Screw-Up
CNN host Anderson Cooper could not stop mocking President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday for their latest attempt at walking back comments the president made in front of cameras. It’s been a rocky week for the administration after Trump stood next to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki and refused to hold the Kremlin responsible for interference in the 2016 U.S.
Magic Johnson Reveals What Worried Him About LeBron James Talks
Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson had a bit of a bone to pick when he appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday. Make that a $500,000 bone. That’s how much the Los Angeles Lakers were fined after Johnson’s previous appearance on the late-night show, when he mentioned the team’s interest in Paul George.
The collapse of Antarctica’s most vulnerable ice shelves would just be the start of our problems
There’s a reasonable chance that Antarctica’s two most vulnerable ice shelves – the ends of massive glaciers that float over the ocean – will succumb to Earth’s warming climate and eventually collapse into the sea. These particular shelves, known as Larsen C and George VI, are perched on the Antarctic Peninsula – the finger that runs up towards South America.
These are the clearest views of Saturn’s moon Titan we’ve seen yet
Long live Cassini, which has delivered the clearest views of Saturn’s moon, Titan, to date. Six infrared images of Titan have been captured by the noble Cassini spacecraft, which, after 13 years of exploration, finally (and sadly) burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere in September 2017.
4 things you can do to help keep Nelson Mandela’s legacy alive
Today would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. The South African political leader, who died in 2013, fought against apartheid in South Africa, had a long history of public service, and believed in eradicating poverty. People are celebrating his legacy with #MandelaDay, a social media campaign to inspire positive change in our world.
Little Finger from ‘Game of Thrones’ hunts down UFOs in new ‘Project Blue Book’ trailer
Thank goodness we can see Petyr Baelish doing something after that Game of Thrones debacle. Aidan Gillen stars in the new History series Project Blue Book as Josef Allen Hynek, an astronomer responsible for investigating unidentified flying objects. Hynek’s research for the United States Air Force spanned over the 1950s and 60s, resulting in the publication of the “close encounters” classification theory.
‘Better Call Saul’ will hit ‘Breaking Bad’-era scenes in upcoming season
It has been five grueling years since we last visited Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but… that could be about to change. AMC’s Better Call Saul is finally allowing its time jump structure to take us right into the meat of Breaking Bad.
2018 is only halfway over, but a troubling climate change trend is already apparent
Earth is in the midst of a 40-year-long accelerated warming trend spurred on by human-caused climate change, and 2018 isn’t helping. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and Columbia University showed this week that the average surface temperature on Earth between January and June this year was the third hottest half-year on record, since good record keeping began long ago, in 1880.
