#BREAKING: China slaps sanctions on seven US citizens, entities over Hong Kong row

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced that Beijing will impose sanctions against seven American entities and citizens, including Trump-era Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

Beijing's move comes in response to Washington's decision to sanction seven officials from the Hong Kong liaison office over allegedly infringing on the freedoms of the island's residents.

#BREAKING: Blinken says Taliban takeover would make Afghanistan 'pariah state'

#URGENT: Shots reportedly fired at funeral of late Haitian President Moise, no information on injuries

#URGENT: Trump ally Thomas Barrack, indicted over illegal UAE lobbying, reaches bail deal with prosecutors

A bail agreement between US prosecutors and lawyers representing Thomas Barrack, a billionaire businessman who served as a longtime confidant to former US President Donald Trump, has been reached, it was revealed on Friday.

The US Department of Justice announced earlier this week that the longtime Trump ally had been taken into custody for violating foreign lobbying laws.

The agency's investigation had been ongoing for at least two years.

The first cases of a potentially deadly fungus resistant to all drugs, called Candida Auris, have been reported in care facilities in Texas and Washington, DC.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no epidemiologic links between the clusters in Texas and DC.

The fungus, first reported in Japan in 2009, is thought to live on the skin and inside the body, prompting complications in the immune system for those who are already in poor health.

It has since caused outbreaks in hospitals in India and the UK, as well as in parts of Latin America, where it has shown resistance to anti-fungal agents.

#URGENT | Pentagon says systems produced by Da Jiang Innovations 'pose potential threats' to national security

🏚 Months of endless riots in Portland have turned a once-hospitable town into a city devastated by the invasion of vandals. Local residents have had no choice but to continue to struggle with the consequences of frequent and heavy protests.

🙄 However, it seems like Mayor Ted Wheeler remains somewhat removed from reality: why else would he offer to arrange "fun, family friendly activities" for residents?

#BREAKING | Venezuela says US military aircraft have invaded its airspace - reports

Remember the agreement established by the White House that preserves the anonymity of all bidders and buyers at Hunter Biden's auction?

🙃 Now Hunter is planning to meet the potential buyers of his paintings ahead of the auction. The paintings are expected to sell for at least $75,000 each.

The House Freedom Caucus has called on US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to force a vote to oust Nancy Pelosi from her post after she vetoed two Republican picks for the Capitol riot select committee.

✍️ “Speaker Pelosi’s tenure is destroying the House of Representatives and our ability to faithfully represent the people we are here to serve,” reads the letter addressed to the Republican official.

The question is: why did they wait so long?

😷 During a CNN Town Hall, Joe Biden made it clear that the administration would try to put masks on Americans. However, not everything is as sad as it seems.

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis plans to fight for the rights of citizens because he is aware that people have the right to choose if they wear a mask or not.

@RonDeSantisTelegram told the Biden administration that he would hold a special legislative session if the federal government demands masks in schools.

🗣 "We’re not doing that in Florida, OK? We need our kids to breathe.”

🇺🇸🇦🇫US President Joe Biden and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani agreed the current offensive by the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) contradicts the movement's claims to support a negotiated settlement, the White House said in a readout of their call.

✔️Biden in the call emphasized continued US development and humanitarian aid.

✔️He also underscored continued US diplomatic engagement in support of a "durable and just political settlement."

✔️The two leaders deplored the loss of innocent Afghan lives, targeted killings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks.

Republican Madison Cawthorn said that first lady Jill Biden should face a public inquisition over why she is so “cruel” to her “mentally unstable” husband.

Cawthorn claimed that Jill was guilty of abusing the elderly.

What a enterprising old lady!

🐻 A man in Alaska who had endured days of attacks from an adult grizzly bear was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after a helicopter that was away from its usual route spotted him in distress.

Into the wild as it is

Check out some news you may have missed:

▪️ Joe Biden has lost 6% in his approval rating since June and now enjoys support of 50% of the population, the lowest number for him to date: Gallup polls.

▪️ The US president has more than doubled the amount of funds ($100 million) allocated to helping Afghans, whose lives have become endangered as a result of the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan as the US and NATO are leaving the country.

▪️ The Catholic Archbishop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hometown of San Francisco, California slammed her recent support for eliminating the Hyde Amendment and suggested she is not the "devout Catholic" she has claimed to be.

▪️ On Friday night, President Joe Biden was booed by hecklers as he spoke at a campaign event in Virginia for Terry McAuliffe's bid to return for a second term as the state's governor.

▪️ China took home the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.

🛫 Two An-124 planes of the Russian Defence Ministry have left for Cuba to deliver humanitarian aid: food, personal protective equipment, and more than one million masks.