Link: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-30/explosion-rocks-caracas-injures-cops-venezuela-votes

A number of police officers were injured in Venezuela's capital Caracas after an explosion during an anti-government protest decrying a vote for a constituent assembly on Sunday. Authorities confirmed there were two deaths on Saturday, including the killing of a candidate to the assembly during a robbery, while the opposition put the total death toll in Saturday's protests at five.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/military/201707311056045786-cia-torture-psychologists-trial/

US District Judge Justin Quackenbush has ruled a civil action brought against a pair of psychologists who designed and helped execute the Central Intelligence Agency's savage post-9/11 torture program should go ahead. If successful, it will mark the first time anyone connected with the policy has been prosecuted for their actions.

Link: https://www.sootoday.com/world-news/hungarys-leader-eu-and-soros-seek-to-muslimize-europe-677548

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said during a visit to Romania that Hungary's border fences, supported by other Central European countries, will block the EU-Soros effort to increase Muslim migration into Europe.While Hungary opposed taking in migrants "who could change the country's cultural identity," Orban said under his leadership, Hungary would remain a place where "Western European Christians will always be able to find security."

Link: http://govtslaves.info/wells-fargo-charged-800000-customers-fake-car-insurance-stole-25000-cars-nobody-charged/

According to an internal report from the bank’s executives 800,000 people who took out car loans from Wells Fargo were charged for auto insurance they did not need, additional expenses “pushed roughly 274,000 Wells Fargo customers into delinquency, 25,000 wrongful vehicle repossession.”2010, Wells Fargo came under fire for stealing millions from its customers through excessive overdraft fees. 2016, Wells Fargo admitted that it “falsely certified that many of its home loans qualified for Federal Housing Administration insurance. September 2016, federal regulators revealed that Wells Fargo employees had secretly created nearly 2 million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts since 2011. Customers were forced to pay fraudulent charges, employees who created the accounts were rewarded with sales bonuses.”

Link: http://www.alternet.org/economy/skyrocketing-rents-california-are-part-broader-us-housing-crisis

Median rent for a one-bedroom in San Francisco is $3,450/month. A family of four in San Francisco, Marin or San Mateo with an annual income of $105,350 is now considered "low income," according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report, which helps determine who qualifies for subsidized housing. Throughout the country, rents are also rising to dangerous levels. Median rent for a one-bedroom in New York City is $2,950/month. In Washington, DC, it's $2,210/month.

Link: http://www.activistpost.com/2017/07/eu-proposes-freezing-bank-accounts-bailout-megabanks.html

After nervous customers panicked and drained their accounts, ultimately causing the collapse of Spanish bank, Banco Popular, equally jittery European Union officials are debating the merits of freezing access — preventing anyone from withdrawing any money — at the first sign of a bank run.

Link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141834741

A former employee of the major contracting firm DynCorp International admitted Monday that while working in Iraq, he helped cheat the State Department out of millions of dollars.

Jose Rivera, 57, of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty in Alexandria federal court to conspiracy to defraud the United States, acknowledging that he helped convince his bosses to rent a camp at Baghdad International Airport for a grossly inflated price.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/%E2%80%98Sex_Robot%E2%80%99_Brothels_Gaining_Popularity_in_Europe/60055/0/38/38/Y/M.html

The world’s first sex robot brothel is currently in talks to expand globally, while an Austrian brothel has claimed that its own sex doll is now more popular with clients than real women.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/How_Prison_Labor_is_the_New_American_Slavery_and_Most_of_Us_Unknowingly_Support_it/60031/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Prison labor helps produce goods and services for almost every big business in America. The full list of companies implicated in exploiting prison labor includes:

Bank of America
Bayer
Cargill
Caterpillar
Chevron
Chrysler
Costco
John Deere
Eli Lilly and Company
Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline
Johnson and Johnson
K-Mart
Koch Industries
McDonald’s
Merck
Microsoft
Motorola
Nintendo
Pfizer
Procter & Gamble
Pepsi
ConAgra Foods
Shell
Starbucks
UPS
Verizon
WalMart
Wendy’s

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/398109-georgia-noble-partner-drills/

American tanks and armored vehicles headed for Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, local media reported. The “largest” NATO-led war games with Georgia are part of the bloc’s recent activities in the vicinity of Russia's borders.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/398125-maduro-us-treasury-sanctions/

US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it had added Maduro to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. This means that any US-based assets of his have been frozen, and American citizens are forbidden from conducting any business with him. White House considers the elections held in Venezuela to be illegitimate and holds Maduro responsible.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/397890-cancer-causing-pollutants-tap-water/

Tap water from 48,000 public water utilities was found to contain multiple cancer-causing agents from arsenic, dioxane, chromium 6 to nitrates, according to researcher with the Environmental Working Group.

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/07/24/529548/Colombia-FARC-peace

Colombia's leftist FARC rebels announced Monday they will launch as a political party on September 1, a major step as the group transitions into civilian life as part of a historic peace agreement. The disarmament last month by the roughly 7,000 members of Colombia's biggest rebel group under the 2016 peace accord brought a complete end to a half-century-old civil conflict between the FARC and the government.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/latam/201707271055923986-venezuela-opposition-us-policy-maduro/

President Maduro: the only US goal was to destroy Venezuela and seize its natural resources. "[The US aim is] to try to destroy our country to establish control over the Venezuelan rich resources. We never forget that Venezuela has the largest certified oil reserves in the world."

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/397758-russian-air-force-syria/

Under the protocol, the Russian Air Force are allowed to stay on Syrian territory for 49 years with an option of automatically extending that arrangement for 25-year periods after this term expires.

Link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141831537

The House has passed a $788 billion spending bill that combines a $1.6 billion down payment for President Donald Trump’s controversial border wall with Mexico with a budget increase for the Pentagon.

Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/minneapolis-police-chief-resigns-amid-controversy-over?utm_term=.ebYnDkry7#.yr23LDM8g

Nearly a week after a Minneapolis police officer shot and killed an unarmed Australian woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault, the city's chief of police announced her resignation.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/China_Forces_Muslim_Minority_to_Install_Spyware_on_Their_Phones/59925/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Chinese authorities in the province of Xinjiang are forcing locals of the Uyghur Muslim minority to install an app on their phones that will allow the government to scan their device for "terrorist propaganda," local media reports.The app is called Jingwang (Citizen Safety) and was developed by police forces from Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital. Authorities launched the app in April, and also included the ability to report suspicious activity to the police.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/397513-turkey-west-pressure-erdogan/

Western states should not expect Turkey to blindly follow their instructions anymore, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said ahead of talks between Turkish and EU officials. He also supported the deal on S-400 missile defense systems with Russia. Relations between Turkey and the EU have been on the rocks since the Turkish authorities launched a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent in wake of the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016.

Link: http://www.activistpost.com/2017/07/new-hampshire-decriminalizes-simple-marijuana-possession-foundation-nullify-federal-prohibition.html

Rep. Robert Cushing (D-Hampton) introduced House Bill 640 (HB640) to end criminal penalties for simple marijuana possession by “allowing offenders to pay fines by mail will result in less time and resources spent on such cases, allowing police and courts to spend more time and resources dealing with serious crimes.”Gov. Sununu signed it into law on July 20.