Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi video
A video showing someone who is thought to be the leader of the Islamic State extremist group delivering a sermon at a mosque in Mosul is posted online. Al-Baghdadi is rarely seen in public, with only a few photographs of him in existence. Although the video appears on a site that is connected to the group, there has been no official verification of whether or not he is the one in the video.
The Wines of Westeros
The Wines of Westeros, a line of red and white wines named for the show’s feuding clans, is released. The wines will be supplied by Australian winemakers and include Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Noirs, Merlots, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignons and Shiraz wines. They are available for pre-order and will launch in time for the new season expected to air next year.
Whether this becomes a coveted item for the fans or a bottle that is opened with every episode, this wine is made to be drunk with friends and to help soften the blow of the shock and heartache as our favorite characters are slowly killed off.
Khatallah’s role outlined
Katallah’s detention motion says that in the days preceding the attack, the defendant “voiced concern and opposition to the presence of an American facility in Benghazi.” According to the motion, a group of 20 or more “armed men,” including militia members, assembled outside the U.S. compound at 9:45 p.m. the night of September 11, 2012, and “aggressively breached” the gate. They carried rifles, handguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. After breaching the gate, they stole a U.S. vehicle, “forcibly entered” buildings and stole U.S. property.
During this initial attack, buildings within the Mission were set on fire, and that ultimately led to the deaths” of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Information Management Officer Sean Smith.
Los Jets
Los Jets will premier on July 16, 2014 on NuvoTv. Lopes is the executive producer of this six-part documentary about a group of outcasts that come together as a soccer team. The series was filmed in the fall of 2013.
Trapped nurses fly home
An Indian official says that the Indian nurses who are stranded in Iraq will be flying home to India this week. The 46 nurses, who were stranded at a hospital in the city of Tikrit, which was captured by Sunni militants last month, were moved to Mosul earlier this week. Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala state in India, says the nurses will return home on a special aircraft arranged by the Indian government:
We are thankful to the government of India.
Al-Maliki won’t withdraw from PM race
Hours after a lawmaker had said al-Maliki agreed not to run for another term as the country’s prime minister, al-Maliki announces he will not withdraw his name from the candidacy. On a state-run TV station broadcast, he says:
I will never back down nominating myself as prime minister. No one has the right to place any conditions.
Calls for closer US ties
In a Fourth of July message to President Obama, Putin says he hopes for better ties with the US. According to the Kremlin’s website, Putin:
expressed a hope for the successful development of the relationship between both countries, based on equal rights and utilitarianism, despite all the difficulties and disagreements they are facing at the moment
The response from The White House from National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden:
We’ve seen the message but have no particular comment.
Airstrikes target ISIS
Government airstrikes kill at least 30 insurgents who are trying to gain control of the Beiji oil refinery. A government plane targeted eight vehicles that were attacking government forces at the facility yesterday. The militants have taken control of Qaim, which controls a border crossing with Syria, last month during their blitz across Iraq, and now control a vast stretch of territory straddling Iraq and Syria.
Veteran employment push
Tesla announces its plans to become one of America’s leading employers of military veterans. Tesla’s workforce is increasing rapidly as it expands production of its Model S, prepares its launch of the Model X crossover SUV and enters new overseas markets. The company now has more than 6,000 employees, and of those, 300 — or roughly 5 percent — are veterans, including its logistics director, former Navy officer Adam Plumpton. An additional 600 veteran candidates are in the hiring pipeline. The Company says:
We want to be known throughout the veteran community as a great place to work.Veterans are a great source of talent for Tesla, and we’re going after it.
Bans porn ads
Google notifies Google Ad Words advertisers that they will no longer show ads that contain sexual imagery including, but not limited to, hardcore pornography; graphic sexual acts including sex acts such as masturbation; genital, anal, and oral sexual activity. The company says it’s made this decision to no longer allow porn ads:
as an effort to continually improve users’ experiences with AdWords.
Nuclear talks resume
Talks between Iran and world powers resume in Vienna in an effort to reach a permanent agreement regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, as the July 20, 2014 deadline for such an agreement nears. Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany are involved in the agreement. Michael Mann, a spokesman for foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, tells reporters the six world powers are committed to reaching an agreement before the deadline. He describes the atmosphere at the talks as “very workmanlike, very serious, very determined” and said the negotiations would continue for “as long as it takes” for a deal to be forged. The deadline could potentially be extended.
Kidnapped drivers released
Turkey’s foreign minister says 32 drivers believed to have been kidnapped by ISIS militants last month are released in Iraq. The drivers were on their way to the airport in northern Iraq to board a flight back to Turkey when they went missing. Additionally, in June, the militants raided the Turkish Consulate in Mosul and abducted many staff members. There are still 40 staff members missing.
Doctor: Remember he is disabled
Dr. Wayne Derman tells the court a list of difficulties that double amputees deal with daily, as his defense team builds an argument that he behaved reasonably the day his girlfriend was shot and killed in their home:
The saddest thing I have learned through my six years of working with athletes with disability is that disability never sleeps. It’s there when you go to sleep at night and it’s there when you wake up in the morning. It affects nearly every aspect of your life.
Pistorius’ lawyer, Kenny Oldwadge says there are “two Oscars,” one of whom is a global sports star and one of whom is “vulnerable” and “scared.” Using a slang for ” in trouble,” he quoted his as saying:
I am stuffed without my legs on.
AllSeen Alliance
Microsoft joins the AllSeen Alliance, a group dedicated to building an open-source framework connecting things like cars, homes, and mobile devices from any manufacturer. Liat Ben-Zur, chairman of the AllSeen Alliancee, says in a press release:
No single company can accomplish the level of interoperability required to support the Internet of Everything in everyday, real-life scenarios. Microsoft’s strong presence in the home via computers, tablets, phones, gaming platforms and their strength in the consumer, enterprise, education, industrial automotive sectors, uniquely enables them to accelerate the adoption of the AllSeen Alliance’s AllJoyn open source code across a very wide swath of products and verticals.
Depressed and suicidal
The team of doctors who have been evaluating Pistorius’ mental health concludes that he is depressed, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is suicidal. They also say he does not appear to have a history of abnormal aggression or psychopathic tendencies linked to “rage-type murders in intimate relations.”
Hagel: Thank you
Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, speaks briefly with U.S. men’s national team goalie, Timothy Howard, thanking him for:
defending the United States of America at the World Cup.
Howard set a World Cup record for saves in Tuesday’s match against Belgium. Hagel says Howard:
could someday become the real Secretary of Defense.
Tops worst president list
A survey released today by Quinnipiac University reveals that a national poll puts Obama as the worst president since World War ll. The survey also indicates that the country would be better off if Mitt Romney had won the 2012 presidential election. Thirty-three percent of people questioned in the poll say that Obama is the worst president since the Second World War, with 28% saying George W. Bush was the worst. Thirteen percent picked Richard Nixon, with 8% naming Jimmy Carter. Assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, Tim Malloy:
Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel.
Sandberg: No study apology
Facebook is not apologizing for performing a psychological study on nearly 690,000 of its users in 2012. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg explains:
This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was. It was poorly communicated. And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you. We clearly communicated really badly about this, and that we really regret.
Executive actions: ‘sue me’
President Obama dares Republicans to follow through on their threats to bring a lawsuit against his administration over his use of executive action.
Middle-class families can’t wait for Republicans in Congress to do stuff. So sue me. As long as they’re doing nothing, I’m not going to apologize for trying to do something.
Denies FTC request
Amazon resists a request by the Federal Trade Commission to require a password for in-app purchases using their application store. They say they are willing to go to court over this issue. A FTC spokesperson says:
The commission is focused on ensuring that companies comply with the fundamental principle that consumers should not be made to pay for something they did not authorize.
However, Amazon claims in a letter to the FTC that they refund applications purchased accidentally:
When customers told us their kids had made purchases they didn’t want, we refunded those purchases.