Hot News on 07/14/2016 ~ The News of The World

WORLD

IRAQ: A top Islamic State group commander, Omar al-Shishani, has been killed in Iraq, the jihadist-linked Amaq agency said on Wednesday.

CHINA: China warned rivals Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a "cradle of war" and threatened an air defense zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid.

ZIMBABWE: The pastor who has emerged as leader of Zimbabwe's new protest movement was charged Wednesday with attempting to overthrow the government.

SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Wednesday said he was granting an amnesty to ex-rebels loyal to his longtime rival, Riek Machar, who battled government troops in four days of fierce fighting in the capital Juba.

JAPAN: Japan's ageing Emperor Akihito plans to step down in favor of his eldest son within a few years, Japanese media reported Wednesday, in what would be the first such royal abdication in two centuries.

ITALY: Sicilian "Cosa Nostra" mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, dubbed "the tractor" for the way he mowed down his victims, died Wednesday after a long illness. Provenzano, 83, was the Cosa Nostra crime group's "boss of bosses" until his arrest in 2006 after 40 years on the run.

Offended Trump demands Supreme Court judge step down

Donald Trump called Wednesday for the resignation of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, charging that the 83-year-old judge's "mind is shot" after she branded him a "faker." It is exceptional for a Supreme Court justice to speak openly about politics and their political preferences. But Ginsburg dropped all pretenses of reserve in two interviews she gave recently and which have caused a sensation. "He is a faker," Ginsburg said Monday of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in an interview with CNN. "He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment," said the Brooklyn-born justice, a diminutive but tough-as-nails figure who has earned the nickname "Notorious RBG." "He really has an ego," she said. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, hit back Wednesday at the leader of the court's progressive wing, suggesting she is getting senile. "Justice Ginsburg of the Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!" Trump wrote on Twitter. The Supreme Court normally has nine justices but has been one short since the conservative Antonin Scalia died in February. There is an even tie between conservatives and liberals, who include Ginsburg. Worried that a court dominated by conservatives could now tip in the liberals' favor, President Barack Obama's Republican foes in the Senate have refused to vote on his nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland

US will welcome target of 10,000 Syria refugees

The United States will welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year as promised by President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Tuesday. Washington has been criticized by some activists for moving too slowly to settle those fleeing the conflict, while Obama's opponents warn their number may include terrorists. But Kerry said the United States is now on course to admit 10,000 vulnerable refugees, chosen from UN camps and vetted by US security and intelligence agencies. "It's also representing six-fold increase over what we did the year before," Kerry said, referring to the US fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. "I'm proud to say that the United States is by far the largest contributor of emergency aid, but we all recognize that still more needs to be done," he said. Kerry made the remarks at a dinner in Washington to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

May takes over as British PM, makes Johnson foreign minister

Theresa May, who took over as Britain's new prime minister on Wednesday charged with pulling the country out of the EU, caused surprise by immediately appointing leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson as foreign minister. May replaced David Cameron as Conservative leader after he stood down following the seismic vote to leave the European Union on June 23, which sparked three weeks of intense political turmoil and volatility on financial markets. May, who had supported Britain's continued EU membership, moved quickly to heal divisions sparked by the referendum by appointing leading "Leave" campaigner Johnson to a senior cabinet post. The decision to name Johnson, the eccentric former mayor of London, to the high-profile post of foreign secretary is likely to cause controversy. Johnson led the Brexit camp to victory, antagonising many EU leaders in the process, but dismayed many of his supporters by pulling out of the race to succeed Cameron at the last minute

United States In Brief

LEW: Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Monday urged Britain and the European Union to remain "highly integrated" despite the British vote to leave the bloc. Lew spoke as he travelled Europe to gauge the economic landscape in the wake of the referendum decision in favour of Brexit. "An outcome from the UK and EU that produces a highly integrated relationship" Lew told reporters.

IS: The State Department named two Russians allied to the Islamic State group as "Specially Designated Global Terrorists", including a Chechen militant tied to deadly attacks in Moscow. The State Department said Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukaev, also known as Amir Khamzat, is the IS leader in Chechnya and responsible for suicide bombings in Russia including the January 2011 attack on Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

VAPOR: Two more employees have reported possible exposure to chemical vapors on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation - even as workers engaged in a job action to demand better protection from such fumes. The two workers were given medical evaluations Tuesday and cleared to return to work, according to Washington River Protection Solutions, a private contractor that manages a section of the reservation.

(AP) GM: A federal appeals court has decided that people injured in crashes caused by faulty General Motors Co. ignition switches can sue the company even if they were hurt before GM's 2009 bankruptcy filing. The ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan means that hundreds of pre-bankruptcy claims can proceed, including some lawsuits alleging that GM's actions caused the value of its cars to drop.

(AP) GOOGLE: Tech giants Google and LinkedIn may be rivals online, but they're collaborating in the real world on a Silicon Valley land swap. Google and LinkedIn say they have completed a swap that will give Google LinkedIn's current headquarters in Mountain View. In return, LinkedIn receives property elsewhere in the city, where it will build a new headquarters.

(AP) AMAZON: Amazon's big sales day is here to stay. Amazon says Prime Day orders rose 60 percent globally this year versus last year's inaugural showing. It says sales of Amazon's own electronic devices were particularly strong. And the company says that this won't be the last "Prime Day." "After yesterday's results, we'll definitely be doing this again," said Greg Greeley, Amazon Prime vice president. (AP)

SPORT

TUESDAY'S SCOREBOARD MLB

All-Star Game American League 4 National League 2

MLB: Kansas City's Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez blasted home runs as the American League claimed home field advantage in the World Series with a 4-2 win Tuesday over the National League in the annual all-star game.

NFL: Tom Brady is poised to start the 2016 NFL season serving a four-game ban after an appeals court denied the New England quarterback's bid to have his "Deflategate" case reheard.

NHL: Shane Doan has signed a one year contract to remain with the Arizona Coyotes, the media reported. Doan, of Canada, signed a contract is worth $2.5 million but it could increase to $5 million with bonuses.

NBA: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league might look at ways of maintaining competitive balance following Kevin Durant's blockbuster move to join the Golden State Warriors.

BOXING: Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao plans to come out of retirement to fight, his promoter said Tuesday, though the boxer said no fight has yet been set.

CYCLING: Overall leader Chris Froome produced another surprise attack to gain time on his Tour de France rivals as Peter Sagan won Wednesday's blustery 11th stage.

ATHLETICS: US-based long-jumper Darya Klishina can compete at the Rio Olympics under the Russian flag despite the athletics world body saying she should take part as a neutral, IOC president Thomas Bach said Wednesday