Rio Olympics 2016: Games set for opening ceremony
The 2016 Olympic Games officially start in Rio on Friday with the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium. Athletes from 206 nations and a refugee team are in Brazil to compete in 28 sports and be watched by a global audience of billions. The build-up has been dominated by a Russian doping scandal, the Zika virus and issues with the city’s security, infrastructure and venues. But it is time for the sporting action to take center stage. These are the Games of the 31st Olympiad but are the 28th to be held as those in 1916, 1940 and 1944 did not take place because of war.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36974387
Amazon unveils cargo plane as it expands delivery network
Seattle-based Amazon is unveiling its first branded cargo plane, one of 40 jetliners that will make up the e-commerce giant’s own air transportation network as it takes more control of its delivery process. The latest push to speed delivery of its products comes as the company ships an increasing number of packages worldwide. Amazon’s parcel volume was an estimated 1 billion packages in 2015 — the same number that FedEx delivered three years earlier for hundreds of thousands of customers. Analysts say it makes sense for Amazon to use an air fleet it controls as another way to get its products to online shoppers drawn to fast, no-extra-cost delivery.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-amazon-unveils-cargo-plane-as-it-expands-delivery-network-2016-8
Spraying Begins in Miami to Combat the Zika Virus
Aerial spraying of insecticide began Thursday in the one-mile-square area of Miami where mosquitoes have infected people with the Zika virus, and officials reported some glimmers of progress. On Monday, faced with 14 locally transmitted infections, the C.D.C. took the unprecedented step of advising people to stay away from a location in the continental United States, urging pregnant women not to travel to the one-square-mile area where 12 of the cases are linked.
William Chapman shooting: Virginia officer found guilty of manslaughter
A police officer in southern Virginia was convicted of manslaughter and jurors recommended a sentence of two and a half years in prison on Thursday for his fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old during a confrontation over a suspected shoplifting. It was Stephen Rankin’s second fatal shooting of an unarmed man in the city. Chapman’s mother, Sallie, wept as the verdict was read out by the court clerk. Rankin stared directly ahead as his supporters sat in silence.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/04/william-chapman-shooting-officer-stephen-rankin-guilty
Donald Trump and Mike Pence Again Diverge on Endorsements
Facing urgent calls to stabilize his candidacy and declining poll numbers, Donald J. Trump struggled on Thursday to refocus his message after threatening to withhold his endorsement from top Republican officeholders, including Paul D. Ryan, the speaker of the House. Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, broke ranks for the second time in two days on questions of party unity. Having already split with Mr. Trump over his refusal to endorse Mr. Ryan, Mr. Pence went his own way again Thursday, telling WTKR, a television news station in Norfolk, Va., that he supported senators running for re-election whom Mr. Trump had snubbed, John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/us/politics/donald-trump-paul-ryan-gop.html?_r=0
