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Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman
There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Can you support Democracy Now! with $15 donation today? With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!
Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is not recommending charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her use of multiple private email servers while she was secretary of state. This comes despite FBI Director James Comey saying Clinton was “extremely careless” in her handling of classified information.
James Comey: “Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”
The FBI analyzed 30,000 emails, finding at least 110 that contained classified information at the time they were sent or received. Comey said a handful of these were marked as classified at the time—a finding that contradicts Clinton’s claims. The FBI found eight email chains containing top secret information. Comey also said it was “possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal email account.”
Republican lawmakers and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized the FBI for not recommending charges against Hillary Clinton. House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted, “the announcement defies explanation.” Trump said the finding was evidence the system is rigged.
Donald Trump: “Today is the best evidence ever that we’ve seen that our system is absolutely, totally rigged.”
The FBI’s announcement came only hours before President Obama campaigned for Hillary Clinton during a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
President Barack Obama: “But I can tell you this: Hillary Clinton has been tested, and there has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton.”
At the North Carolina rally, Clinton and Obama faced protests from teachers demanding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency release local students who are currently detained and facing deportation. In a statement, the teachers said, ”ICE is denying our students their right to an education and preventing many from graduating.” North Carolina has been one of the states hardest hit by ICE raids this year.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton faced more criticism from teachers during a speech at the National Education Association’s assembly Tuesday, when she provoked booing from unionized teachers by suggesting public schools and charter schools work together to improve education.
Hillary Clinton: “When schools get it right, whether they’re traditional public schools or public charter schools, let’s figure out what’s working.”
Teachers: “Boo!”
Hillary Clinton: “No, let’s figure out what’s working, and share it with schools across America. We can do that. We’ve got no time for all these education wars.”
The National Education Association is the largest teachers’ union. Its leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, despite protests from some of its rank-and-file members who supported Bernie Sanders.
A Jewish employee of a newspaper owned by Donald Trump’s Orthodox Jewish son-in-law has called on him to speak out against anti-Semitism in Trump’s campaign. Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka, is an Orthodox Jew who owns the Observer newspaper. He has been a key member of Donald Trump’s campaign. In the open letter, Observer entertainment writer Dana Schwartz wrote, “when you stand silent and smiling in the background, his Jewish son-in-law, you’re giving his most hateful supporters tacit approval.” This comes after Trump tweeted an anti-Semitic image showing Hillary Clinton, a pile of cash and a six-pointed Star of David, along with the words “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” The image originally appeared on a white supremacist message board. In response to the open letter, Jared Kushner wrote that Trump “does not at all subscribe to any racist or anti-Semitic thinking.”
In news on Iraq, the long-awaited British inquiry into the Iraq War has just been released. The Chilcot report is 2.6 million words long—about three times the length of the Bible. It blames former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for deliberately exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the lead-up to the Iraq War. This comes as Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban has announced his resignation following Sunday’s suicide bombing in Baghdad that killed as many as 250 people. It was the deadliest bombing in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. We’ll have more on Sunday’s bombing and the Chilcot report after headlines.
In Yemen, a suicide car bomber has killed 10 soldiers at a checkpoint near a military base in the southern city of Aden. Yemeni officials say militants went on to raid the military base, leading to hours of fighting. Meanwhile, at least six people have been killed by two U.S. drone strikes in southern Yemen over the last week. Yemeni officials say the victims were suspected to be members of al-Qaeda.
In South Africa, a judge has sentenced Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. He had been facing a minimum 15-year prison term, but today the judge gave him less than half that sentence, citing mitigating factors, such as Pistorius’s remorse. This is the same judge who convicted Pistorius to a lesser charge of manslaughter two years ago—a charge that was later reversed by a higher court for being too lenient.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, protests have erupted over the fatal police shooting of 37-year-old African American Alton Sterling. Cellphone video of the shooting appears to show a Baton Rouge police officer pinning Sterling to the ground outside a convenience store, then pointing a gun at his chest. The video then captures the sound of at least five gunshots. A warning to our television audience: This video is graphic.
Witness: “They shot him?”
Witness: “Yes.”
Witness: “Oh, my [bleep] goodness.”
The East Baton Rouge coroner says Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. Hundreds protested throughout the night.
Meanwhile, in New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an investigation into the fatal off-duty police shooting of an unarmed Brooklyn man on the 4th of July. Delrawn Small was driving with his girlfriend and three children through East New York when he and off-duty police officer Wayne Isaacs had a confrontation while driving. The police says Small then got out of his car and punched Officer Isaacs in the face, although a witness says Small did not hit the officer. Officer Isaacs then shot Small multiple times, killing him.
This comes as Baltimore prosecutors have been dealt a blow in the next trial of a police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who died of spinal injuries sustained in police custody last year. On Tuesday, a judge ruled prosecutors cannot introduce evidence related to officer Brian Rice’s training during his trial, which begins Thursday. His training was key to the prosecutors’ case. Two police officers have already been acquitted on all charges for their role in Freddie Gray’s death.
And award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has died. He was one of the most significant figures in a new wave of Iranian cinema that emerged following the 1979 revolution. In 1997, he won the top prize at Cannes for his film “Taste of Cherry.” This is Kiarostami speaking in 1997.
Abbas Kiarostami: “I think even if we have censorship in Iran, we should deal with it ourselves. As my father used to say, if your head breaks, it better break in your own hat. We shouldn’t talk about it anywhere else, because there’s no advantage in it. Nobody can untie our knots or solve our problems. For that reason, I never speak about censorship outside of Iran, especially for foreign reporters. Often I ask them, ’Don’t you have your own censorship?’”
Abbas Kiarostami died on Monday of cancer at the age of 76.
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