KIRO 7 Seattle city leaders throw support behind defunding SPD by 50% By Linzi Sheldon SEATTLE — The majority of Seattle City Council is now backing proposals to defund Seattle’s police department by 50%, despite concerns from the mayor’s office and Seattle’s police chief that council members are moving too quickly and without enough widespread community engagement.A coalition called Decriminalize Seattle presented a plan to the budget committee to redirect millions from the city budget to community organizations.“The status quo is no longer acceptable,” Council President Lorena Gonzalez said Thursday, adding that while she previously believed in police reform, she now believes in rebuilding. “We have to take away the things that no longer and should have never belonged to law enforcement in the first place,” she said. Full Story: https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattle-city-leaders-throw-support-behind-defunding-spd-by-50/SI3Q7B3TL5BONCWYRTRX6MDZLU/...

Politico A top terrorism fighter’s dire warningRussell Travers detailed his concerns to the intelligence community’s watchdog. Days later, he says, Richard Grenell fired him.By BETSY WOODRUFF SWANAmerica’s intelligence agencies risk slipping back into dangerous pre-9/11 habits, a recently departed top counterterrorism official is warning in his first public remarks on the matter.Russell Travers, the former head of the U.S. government’s hub for analysis of counterterrorism intelligence, was so alarmed that he shared his concerns with the intelligence community’s top internal watchdog in his final weeks on the job. “I think there are really important questions that need to be addressed, and I don’t think they have been thus far,” said Travers, who ran the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) until March of this year. “And that has me worried, because I do think we could very easily end up back where we were 20 years ago.”Travers detailed his concerns, much of...

2 Fire Depts. Closed, 4 Police Officers Quarantined After Firefighter Test Positive For CoronavirusCBS Pittsburgh By Ross Guidotti ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Allegheny Township in Westmoreland County has two fire departments, but neither will be answering any calls in the next few days.“The departments could be out of service for a week,” Allegheny Township Supervisor Greg Primm says.Primm says coronavirus concerns are shuttering both stations for the time being.“One of the volunteer firefighters tested positive,” Primm said. “The fire departments had an event on the Fourth of July; he was at that event.”It is unclear what, if any, social distancing or protective equipment rules were or were not being followed, but the party wasn’t just a handful of people. Read more: https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/07/07/westmoreland-county-allegheny-township-volunteer-firefighter-coronavirus-positive/...

Reuters Pompeo Says US Seized Iranian Weapons On Way To Houthi Rebels In Yemen  WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that U.S. and partner forces seized a boat in June carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen as he renewed his call for the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran."The Security Council must extend the arms embargo on Iran to prevent further conflict in the region," Pompeo told a State Department news conference. "No serious person can possibly believe Iran will use any weapon it receives for peaceful ends."Pompeo is leading a U.S. drive to persuade the Security Council to extend the embargo due to expire in mid-October under the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in 2018.He took his appeal directly to the council last week, with an address to its 15...

BBC News Burkina Faso: 180 Bodies Found In 'Killing Field' At least 180 bodies have been found in mass graves in northern Burkina Faso where soldiers are fighting jihadists, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report says."Available evidence suggests government forces were involved in mass extrajudicial executions," HRW says.Over seven months, the bodies had been dumped near the town of Djibo in groups of up to 20, before being buried by local residents.Burkina Faso's defence minister suggested militants might be to blame."It is difficult for the population to distinguish between armed terrorist groups and the defence and security forces," Chérif Moumina Sy told the campaign group in response to the findings.But the minister said the government would investigate the allegations. Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53333366...