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US election security official highlights email threat

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Beware the phishing attempts.

An election security official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday warned top state election officials nationwide to safeguard against fraudulent emails targeting state and local election workers.

The emails appear as if they come from a legitimate source and contain links that, if clicked, can open up election data systems to manipulation or attacks.

2020 Census to be printed without citizenship question

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday started the process of printing the questionnaire without the controversial query.

Trump administration attorneys notified parties in lawsuits challenging the question that the printing of the hundreds of millions of documents for the 2020 counts would be starting, said Kristen Clarke, executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Jury to decide SEAL’s punishment for posing with corpse

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The same military jurors who acquitted a decorated Navy SEAL of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017 will return to court Wednesday to decide whether he should serve any jail time for the single charge he was convicted of: posing with the 17-year-old militant’s corpse.

The final step comes after the verdict Tuesday was met with an outpouring of emotion as the jury also cleared Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of attempted murder in the shootings of two civilians and all other charges.

IMF's Lagarde nominated as president of European Central Bank

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that she is honored to have been nominated for the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB), and has decided to temporarily step down from the IMF leadership during the nomination period.

U.S. designates group, individual as terrorists

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of State said in a statement on Tuesday that it has identified Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Husain Ali Hazzima, a Hezbollah operative, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

BLA is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan, according to the statement.

A faction of BLA has claimed responsibility for the attack at a hotel in Gwadar, Pakistan in May and said the target was Chinese and other foreign investors staying at the hotel.

Trump says Iran 'playing with fire' after nuclear deal limit breached

2 July 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump warned Monday that Iran is "playing with fire" after Tehran said it exceeded a limit on enriched uranium reserves under a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by Washington.

Israel urged European states to sanction Iran, while Russia voiced regret but said the move was a consequence of US pressure, which has pushed the deal towards collapse.

Huawei sanctions relief draws criticism from US lawmakers

2 July 2019; DW: US lawmakers from both parties are objecting to a move by US President Donald Trump to partially ease restrictions on US companies selling technology to Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei. The concession arose from a trade war truce agreed to with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit.

UN warns Italy against criminalizing sea rescue

2 July 2019; DW: The United Nations criticized Italy on Monday for its hostility towards refugee rescue ships. The comments came amid raised tensions between Berlin and Rome regarding the detention of German Sea Watch captain Carola Rackete.

UK spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric said in a daily press briefing that "no vessel or ship master should be at risk of being fined for coming to the aid of boats in distress, where loss of life is imminent."

US proposes tariffs on EU cheese, sausages, whiskey..

Washington, Jul 2 (AFP/PTI) The United States on Monday proposed USD 4 billion in tariffs on a range of European Union products -- including parmesan cheese and Scotch and Irish whiskey -- over subsidies for commercial aircraft.

The list also includes sausages, hams, pasta, olives and many other cheeses including reggiano, provolone, edam and gouda.

"Today, the Office of the US Trade Representative is issuing for public comment a supplemental list of products that could potentially be subject to additional duties," it said in a statement.

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