Courtesy of Democracy Now
U.N. Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting as Violence in Palestine Kills 7
In the West Bank and Jerusalem, seven people—four Palestinians and three Israelis—have been killed amid a wave of violence and protests over Israel’s refusal to remove metal detectors from the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
On Friday, an Israeli settler killed 18-year-old Muhammad Sharaf, and Israeli soldiers killed 17-year-old Muhammad Khalaf and 20-year-old Muhammad Ghanam. On Saturday, an Israeli soldier killed 21-year-old Yousef Abbas Kashour. About 400 more Palestinians were wounded as Israeli troops opened fire against protesters with live bullets and tear gas.
Meanwhile, on Friday night, a Palestinian teenager killed a man and his two adult children in their home in an Israeli-only settlement in the West Bank. The three victims, whose names have not been released, were sitting down to Shabbat dinner when they were stabbed to death.
This is Abed al-Jaleel Alabed, the father of the Palestinian teenager who killed the three Israelis.
Abed al-Jaleel Alabed: "I have no idea about what happened, and I am against any attack. Our children are young, and the occupation is responsible for the attack, not my son. The occupation caused this attack, after pressing on al-Aqsa Mosque."
On Sunday, the violence appeared to spread to the Israeli Embassy in Jordan, where an Israeli security officer killed two Jordanians, after one stabbed him. Israel has deployed more troops to the occupied West Bank amid the growing protests. The U.N. Security Council is set to convene an emergency meeting over the violence today.
Oxfam: Yemen's Cholera Outbreak May Become "Largest Ever Recorded"
In Yemen, Oxfam is warning the spiraling cholera outbreak could become "the largest ever recorded in any country in a single year since records began." The World Health Organization says as many as 5,000 Yemenis are being infected every day and that the disease will only spread further as the rainy season begins. The cholera outbreak comes as more than two years of U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing in Yemen has devastated the country’s health, water and sanitation systems. This is U.N. human rights agency spokesperson Rupert Colville.
Rupert Colville: "The fighting, hugely exacerbating the ability to stop this epidemic of cholera, and also the kind of disintegration of the health system in Yemen, as a result of the conflict, at a time of cholera, is an absolutely lethal combination."
We’ll go to Yemen for more on the cholera epidemic and the U.S.-backed bombing campaign later in the broadcast.
9 Migrants Die After Being Crammed into Sweltering Truck on Journey to U.S.
In the United States, in Texas, at least nine people have died from heat exposure and asphyxiation after they and 30 others were crammed into the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer as part of their journey to enter the United States from Mexico. When the group of migrants were discovered in a Wal-Mart parking lot in San Antonio, eight men were already dead. One more man died later in the hospital. Authorities say they are investigating it as a human trafficking case. Survivors say as many as 100 people were sandwiched into the back of the truck at times during the deadly journey. This is San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood.
Charles Hood: "We started extricating patients out of the back of a semi truck. The air conditioning was not working, so everyone was removed. During that time, we had eight patients that were deceased. We had another 20 patients that were either in extremely critical condition or very serious condition, and they have been transported to a number of hospitals."
Reuters: ICE to Launch Nationwide Raids Against Undocumented Teenagers
Reuters is reporting the Immigrations and Custom Enforcement agency, or ICE, is planning to launch a series of nationwide raids this week targeting undocumented teenagers for deportation. According to an internal ICE memo, the raids will target 16- and 17-year-olds who are accused of having ties to gangs. The criteria ICE is using to assess possible gang affiliation includes whether teenagers have tattoos, wear clothing typical to a gang or even spend time in an area that’s known to have gangs. The National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles has criticized law enforcement’s methods, saying, "We have seen babies labeled as potential gang members."
Kushner Testifies to Senate Committee as His New Filings Reveal 70 More Assets
On Capitol Hill, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee today in a closed-door session about Trump’s ties to Russia. Ahead of today’s testimony, Kushner released an 11-page statement saying he had four separate meetings with Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition period: two meetings with the Russian ambassador, one with the head of a Russian state-owned bank and one with the Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
On Friday, Kushner separately released new information about as many as 70 investments and assets that he failed to disclose in previous filings. His wife, Trump’s daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, also disclosed that she received up to $5 million from a trust that holds her Ivanka-branded clothing and fashion label, even as she joined the White House and promised to distance herself from her fashion label.
All this comes as President Trump said Saturday he has the "complete power" to issue pardons, including for himself or his family members.
Sean Spicer Resigns as Anthony Scaramucci Becomes New Communications Director
In more news from Capitol Hill, Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci has become President Trump’s new communications director, sparking the resignation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Scaramucci, who is nicknamed "the Mooch," has been a vocal critic of Trump in the past and disagrees with a slew of Trump’s policies. He has, for example, supported gun control, the end of the death penalty, action to mitigate climate change, and pro-choice policies. He’s also called Trump a "hack" and "anti-American."
Anthony Scaramucci: "He’s a hack politician. He’s probably going to make Elizabeth Warren his vice-presidential nominee, with comments like that. It’s anti-American. It’s very, very divisive. And I’ll tell you who he’s going to be president of—you can tell Donald I said this: the Queens County bullies association. You’ve got to cut it out now and stop all this crazy rhetoric spinning everybody’s heads around."
That was Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s new communications director, speaking on Fox Business Network in August 2015. After Sean Spicer’s resignation, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will serve as press secretary.
Senate Parliamentarian: GOP Plan to Defund Planned Parenthood Violates Byrd Rules
The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, has determined some parts of the Republicans’ healthcare bill—including the plan to defund Planned Parenthood for one year—violate a 1985 law known as the Byrd rule, which means these provisions cannot pass the Senate without a full 60 votes. Republicans currently hold 52 seats in the Senate. President Trump is continuing to demand Republicans pass a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, despite the fact that Senate Republicans have now failed to pass multiple versions of the bill because of dissent within their own party. Last night, Trump tweeted, "If Republicans don’t Repeal and Replace the disastrous ObamaCare, the repercussions will be far greater than any of them understand!"
Afghanistan: Taliban Suicide Bomb Attack Kills 35 in Kabul
In Afghanistan, a Taliban suicide bomb attack has killed at least 35 people in the capital Kabul. The majority of the victims were government workers with the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. A Taliban spokesperson said the targets of the attack were members of the Afghan intelligence agency.
Polish President to Veto Judicial Reforms After Massive Protests
In Poland, President Andrzej Duda says he’ll veto controversial judicial reforms, after days of massive protests against the proposals, which opponents said would have ended the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. The proposed measures would have allowed Parliament to appoint Supreme Court judges. The European Union had threatened to bring sanctions over the measures.
Germany: Thousands March in Berlin for Annual LGBT March
In Germany, thousands of people marched Saturday in Berlin for the Christopher Street Day parade for LGBT rights. The annual march commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York City, when transgender people of color fought back against a police raid of Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, launching the modern gay and lesbian rights movement.
Minneapolis Police Chief Resigns After Shooting of Unarmed Australian Woman
Back in the United States, in Minneapolis, Police Chief Janee Harteau has resigned amid growing protests over the police killing of the unarmed Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk. Many residents are now calling for the resignation of the mayor, Betsy Hodges, saying the killing of Justine Ruszczyk, which came after she called 911 twice to report a possible sexual assault near her home, shows an institutional problem with the city’s police. This is one of the protesters.
Protester: "The former chief wasn’t doing her job, but we understand it’s beyond the chief, that the problem is institutional, right? If it was not institutional, then those body cameras would have been on the police the other day."
Ruszczyk was shot dead by police officer Mohamed Noor, who was responding to her emergency calls, as Ruszczyk approached his police cruiser in her pajamas. We’ll go to Minneapolis for more on the growing protests after headlines.
Tennessee Judge Under Fire for Shortening Sentences for Prisoners Who Get Sterilized
In Tennessee, a judge is under fire after it was revealed he was offering to shorten prison sentences for people who agreed to get sterilized. In May, Judge Sam Benningfield issued an order saying that any prisoners who agreed to undergo a vasectomy or receive long-term contraceptive implants would receive 30 days of credit off their sentences. The ACLU says the practice is unconstitutional, saying, "Such a choice violates the fundamental constitutional right to reproductive autonomy and bodily integrity by interfering with the intimate decision of whether and when to have a child, imposing an intrusive medical procedure on individuals who are not in a position to reject it."
Undocumented Mother Nury Chavarria Takes Sanctuary in Connecticut Church
And in Connecticut, an undocumented mother has taken sanctuary in a Pentecostal church in New Haven in order to avoid deportation to Guatemala. Nury Chavarria is the mother of four children who has been living in the United States for 24 years. She has been attending regular check-ins with the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency since 2011. But at her most recent check-in this spring, she was ordered to leave the country by July 20. This is Nury Chavarria and her daughter, Hayley, speaking at a new conference outside the church Thursday.
Hayley Chavarria: "My mother, Nury Chavarria, is someone I love more than anyone in the world. She is not a criminal."
Nury Chavarria: "I was in shock. I can’t believe it. I told him I’m not a criminal. I’m a mother with four children."
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