Today's News: July 24, 2018

World News
Tour de France Hits Cloud of Tear Gas and Comes to Stop…
The Sun – Tear gas was used by police looking to disperse a protest and it drifted into the peloton, causing Geraint Thomas to check his eyes in the Yellow Jersey and riders to spray themselves with eye drops
Netanyahu accuses Turkey of ‘massacring Syrians and Kurds’
Reuters – sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday rebuked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of massacring Syrians and Kurds after Erdogan strongly criticised Israel.
Erdogan said a new Israeli law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel legitimised oppression and showed that Israel is a fascist and racist country.
Israel shoots down Syrian warplane as Golan frontier heats up
Reuters – Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in sorties against rebels within Syria.
Germany: Sharp rise in number of anti-government extremists
ABC – The number of Germans who reject the legitimacy of the government has increased sharply over the past 18 months, Germany‘s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday.
Eleven babies die after Dutch women given Viagra in drug trial
The Guardian – The death of 11 babies born to women who were given Viagra during a drug trial has led to the termination of the experiment – and an anxious wait for other mothers involved.
The trial was designed to test whether sildenafil, a medication sold under the brand name Viagra, could help boost babies’ growth in the womb.
U.S. News
Sessions laughs along as students chant ‘lock her up’
NBC – Attorney General Jeff Sessions chuckled and repeated “Lock her up” after the familiar Trump campaign rally chant rang out during his speech at a conservative conference for high school students on Tuesday.
DENVER POST Runs Letter to Editor Suggesting Trump Should Be Executed
Washington Free Beacon – The Denver Post published a letter to the editor suggesting President Donald Trump should be executed for treason.
The letter criticized the president and Sen. Cory Gardner (R., Colo.) following Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, and said Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who passed atomic bomb secrets to Moscow, were executed for “far less.”
The letter, written by Suzanne Gagnon of Lakewood, was in response to the paper’s editorial last week, which gave tepid praise of Gardner. The editorial argued the Republican senator “deserves credit” for taking a tough stance against Russia and sponsoring legislation to add Russia to the state sponsor of terror list.
Human s muggling getting sophisticated on northern border.
AP – While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there’s growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada.
People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000, usually payable when the immigrants reach their U.S. destination, according to officials and court documents.
While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated.
UPDATE: FEDS SEIZE 12 COHEN RECORDINGS
Business Insider – Eyebrows were raised over the weekend after multiple outlets reported that President Donald Trump’s lawyers waived privilege claims over a bombshell tape seized by the FBI from his former longtime attorney Michael Cohen that contained a conversation between the two about payments made to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.
That meant the tape could be handed over to the federal investigators probing Cohen for a slew of potential crimes.
Trump Team Submits Counteroffer for Mueller Interview
WSJ – President Donald Trump’s legal team has submitted a counteroffer to special counsel Robert Mueller on a possible interview with the president that could allow for questions about collusion with Russia but curtail inquiries related to obstruction of justice.
US Lawmakers to Introduce Bill to Sanction Russia’s Sovereign Debt
Sputnik – A bill will be introduced in the US Congress to strengthen pressure on Russia by imposing sanctions on the country’s foreign debt in addition to increasing existing sanctions on the energy and financial sectors, US Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez said in a statement.
Economy & Business
Chinese Real-Estate Investors Retreat From U.S. as Political Pressure Mounts.
WSJ – Chinese investors have become net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate for the first time in a decade, reversing a yearslong trend when these buyers spent tens of billions of dollars and helped boost the market for hotels and other properties.
Texas and Florida See Largest Population Gains
Bloomberg – They say everything is bigger in Texas. The population of the Lone Star State has increased by 494,622 since January 2017 — the biggest gainer among U.S. states, according to government data. Florida is No. 2 with an increase of 410,347.
IMF: Venezuela Inflation To Reach 1,000,000% By Year End!
Bloomberg – Venezuela’s inflation will skyrocket to 1 million percent by the end of the year as the government continues to print money to cover a growing budget hole, the International Monetary Fund predicted on Monday.
Energy & Environment
California Was Warned Months Ago Its Grid Could Buckle In The Heat. Now It’s Happening
The Daily Caller – California’s grid operator is asking customers to limit electricity use during peak hours to help keep power flowing as a “heat dome” settles over the southwestern U.S.
But they were warned of this months ago.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned in May that California faced “significant risk of encountering operating conditions that could result in operating reserve shortfalls.”
Expected power demand is expected to outstrip California’s available generating capacity by about 5,000 megawatts on Tuesday, according to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).
>> Related: CALIFORNIANS ASKED TO TURN OFF LIGHTS
Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits Dominican Republic
NYT – Come for the beaches, say tourism ads for the Dominican Republic.
But it has some beaches you might want to skip right now.
The Caribbean nation is known for sapphire seas and ivory beaches, but it is grappling with waves of garbage washing up on its shores, a vivid reminder of the presence of thousands of tons of plastic in the world’s oceans.
Science & Technology
Artificial humans? Scientists take key step in stem cell research, creating embryo-like structures
RT – A Cambridge University team of scientists have move taken a step further in creating artificial embryos using mouse stem cells to manufacture structures capable of taking a critical step in the development of life.
USA claims largest dinosaur foot ever discovered
AFP – About 150 million years ago, a giant, long-necked dinosaur stomped on the ground in the midwestern US state of Wyoming and left behind what researchers said Tuesday is the largest dinosaur foot ever discovered.
Drones hunt ‘criminal’ arsonists
Daily Mail – Ten tourists drown when boat capsizes trying to rescue them from Greek fires as death toll rises to 74 – including 26 who hugged each other as they were overcome by flames near a cliff-edge
Health
For First Time, Ebola Survivor Infects Others — YEAR LATER
NYT – For the first time, scientists have found evidence that a woman can harbor the Ebola virus for more than a year and then infect others.
Oak tree extract cools symptoms of burnout
Natural Health News – Daily supplementation with an extract from oak wood may help reduce symptoms of fatigue associated with burnout syndrome, says a new pilot study from Italy.
Broccoli has protective effects on the brain
Natural Health News – There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that certain nutrients can help slow the onset or prevent dementia.
Poisoning Our Children: The Parent’s Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides
Mercola – In the U.S., there are about 80,000 registered chemicals. Of these, only a few hundred are actually tested for safety, and even that testing is considered inadequate by most toxicologists. Part of the problem is that most chemicals are tested in isolation. In real world application, however, most chemicals are combined with others, and the few studies done on synergetic effects reveal even nontoxic chemicals can become toxic when mixed together.
While there are many sources of chemical exposure, our food is a significant one, as most conventionally farmed foods are sprayed with pesticides. The chemical industry would have you believe pesticide residues on food is of no major concern.