TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

Judge seeks more details on Trump’s clemency for Roger Stone

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is demanding more information about President Donald Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered that the parties provide her with a copy of the executive order that commuted Stone’s sentence. She also asked for clarity about the scope of the clemency, including whether it covers just his 40-month prison sentence or also the two-year period of supervised release that was part of his sentence. Hours after the judge’s directive, the Justice Department submitted to the court a two-page order making clear that the clemency extended to both Stone’s prison sentence and his supervised release.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP

White House turns on Fauci as Trump minimizes virus spike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert as President Donald Trump continues to play down the threat posed by the virus and pushes to reopen the economy before the election. Trump and other White House officials have been ramping up their attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, who has been sounding alarms about spiking cases. Trump suggests the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans is being overstated by critics to damage his reelection chances.

AP-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST

The Latest: Yemen’s Houthi rebels ease virus restrictions

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are easing a variety of coronavirus restrictions amid a news blackout on the virus’ toll in their territory. The Houthi Cabinet announced Monday it was allowing restaurants, wedding halls, public baths, parks and playgrounds to reopen. The statement encouraged people to sanitize and practice social distancing. Over the past months, the Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, have suppressed all information about the virus. They’ve punished doctors and journalists who speak out and imposed only loose restrictions. The rebels have acknowledged just four virus cases, leaving aid workers to warn the outbreak was far worse than authorities would admit.

MEDIA-TUCKER CARLSON

Fox’s Carlson criticizes ex-writer, ‘self-righteous’ critics

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is criticizing his former top writer, who resigned late last week after CNN revealed that the staff member had posted bigoted and vulgar comments online under an assumed name. The evening news host says Blake Neff’s comments were wrong and had nothing to do with his show. But Carlson is also criticizing the “ghouls now beating their chest in triumph” at Neff’s downfall. He says people who pose as blameless in order to hurt other people will be punished for it. Carlson also says he will be taking a planned vacation to go trout fishing.

TRUMP BOOK

Judge rules Mary Trump can publicize book about her uncle

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge says Mary Trump can talk about the highly critical book she wrote about her uncle over the objections of President Donald Trump’s brother. The ruling was issued late Monday by Judge Hal B. Greenwald in Poughkeepsie. The judge reversed orders he had issued temporarily blocking Mary Trump and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, from publishing or distributing a tell-all book about the president. An appeals judge had already lifted the order blocking Simon & Schuster. The book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” was originally to be published at the end of July. The publisher announced last week it would be published Tuesday. Simon & Schuster and a lawyer for Mary Trump praised the ruling.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA

California shuts bars, indoor dining and most gyms, churches

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has extended the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and has ordered gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most places as coronavirus cases keep rising. On July 1, Newsom ordered many counties to close bars and indoor operations at restaurants, wineries, zoos and family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and miniature golf. On Monday, Newsom extended that order statewide and closed additional parts of the world’s fifth-largest economy, including indoor malls and offices for noncritical industries. California confirmed 8,358 additional coronavirus cases on Sunday. Hospitalizations have increased 28% over the past two weeks.

AP-US-TULSA-MASSACRE-MASS-GRAVES

Search resumes for mass graves from 1921 Tulsa race massacre

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A team of researchers and historians are resuming test excavations of potential unmarked mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. A backhoe operator began slowly moving dirt Monday at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery. Oklahoma State Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck says researchers plan to open up a 6-by-3-meter excavation area where ground scans determined there was an anomaly consistent with mass graves. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum says they hope to identify victims and notify their descendants. On May 31 and June 1 in 1921, white residents looted and burned Tulsa’s black Greenwood district to the ground, killing as many as 300 people.

BC-US-RACIAL-INJUSTICE-PENNSYLVANIA

Protest in Pennsylvania after cop uses knee to restrain man

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Activists against police brutality are expressing outrage and demanding accountability after video emerged over the weekend of an officer placing his knee on a man’s head and neck area outside a Pennsylvania hospital. Activists say Allentown police violated their own use-of-force policy against neck restraints when an officer used his knee to bear down on the man’s head. Police launched an internal probe and released additional video of Saturday’s incident. Hundreds of people marched in downtown Allentown on Monday night, calling for the officer to be fired and police funds to be reallocated to education, mental health and other social services.

AP-ML-YEMEN

UN: Airstrike in northwest Yemen kills 7 children, 2 women

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Yemen says an airstrike killed seven children and two women in northwest Yemen. It’s the latest escalation of a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The Houthi rebels’ health ministry accused the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels of striking civilian targets across northwest Yemen late Sunday, killing women and children as young as two years old. Saudi Arabia has drawn international criticism for errant airstrikes that have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties. The conflict erupted in 2014 when the Houthis overran the capital and much of the country’s north.

AP-US-DAKOTA-ACCESS-PIPELINE

North Dakota urges court to halt Dakota Access line shutdown

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota is urging a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. North Dakota Solicitor General Matt Sagsveen filed a document Monday supporting operator Energy Transfer’s efforts to keep the oil line open while the Texas-based company appeals. The Bismarck Tribune reports that federal officials who approved the pipeline’s permit notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that they also plan to oppose the judge’s order. Last week U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the pipeline shut down by Aug. 5 for an additional environmental assessment more than three years after it began pumping oil.

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