It's an exciting time to be a capuchin monkey.
Modern humans' ancestors went through a Stone Age about 3 million years ago, marked by their use of stone to create tools for all kinds of purposes, from hunting to construction. And while other non-human species have been known to use stones as tools from time to time, the capuchin monkey has shown evidence of having a true Stone Age of its own, Science News reports.
The evidence comes from a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution this week. An archaeological site in Brazil uncovered stone tools used by capuchin monkeys from various times over the past 3,000 years. The capuchins' use of stone tools has actually changed over time, which is what makes it different from other primates' habits — over the course of the monkeys' Stone Age, as their environment has adapted, they've adapted their tools to suit their needs.
This doesn't necessarily mean that these little primates will eventually progress to their own Bronze Age and Iron Age like humans did, but it's still a remarkable find. Maybe with enough time, capuchins will find their own ways to evolve — and one day, inherit the Earth.
Read more at Science News. Shivani Ishwar
YouTuber Desmond Amofah, known to fans of his gaming videos as Etika, has been found dead at 29.
The New York Police Department on Tuesday confirmed that Amofah was found dead after being reported missing last week. His body was found in the East River after authorities responded to a 911 call and after they previously discovered his belongings on the Manhattan Bridge, BuzzFeed News reports.
Amofah had last been heard from on June 19, and fans had expressed concern for his safety after he uploaded a video suggesting he was struggling with suicidal thoughts and speaking about his "mental illness" and saying "it was a fun life." He had previously struggled with mental health issues and in April was brought to the hospital for evaluation after police said he had been "threatening suicide," The Verge reports. Shortly prior to his disappearance, Newsweek reports Amofah sent a series of disturbing tweets suggesting he was having suicidal thoughts. The NYPD told Kotaku its investigation is ongoing. Brendan Morrow
Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders will leave his job next month, The New York Times reported.
Sanders has served as the agency's acting head since the previous commissioner Kevin McAleenan left to head the Department of Homeland Security in April. His departure comes as CBP faces growing criticism of its treatment of detained migrant children, though The Washington Post's Nick Miroff cites a DHS official in saying that isn't the cause of Sanders' resignation.
CBP has long faced scrutiny over its treatment of migrants at the border, especially under President Trump's administration. That ramped up last week amid reports that nearly 300 minors, some as young as 2 and half years old, were facing unsanitary conditions at a Clint, Texas detention facility. Most of them had been transferred out of the facility and to a tent camp on Monday, but on Tuesday, CBP reportedly moved 100 of those children back.
Before heading CBP, Sanders was the agency's chief operating officer and is a close ally of McAleenan. Sanders offered his resignation to McAleenan on Monday, saying it would be effective July 5, The Wall Street Journal notes. He didn't elaborate on his reasons for resigning. Kathryn Krawczyk
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) misused thousands of dollars of campaign funds during the course of multiple extramarital relationships, federal prosecutors said in new court filings.
Hunter was previously indicted for allegedly putting $250,000 in campaign funds to personal use, and the Justice Department now says this included funds he used to "pursue a series of intimate personal relationships" with at least five women, Politico reports.
Prosecutors said that all of these women were involved in politics in some way, and he allegedly carried out multiple affairs with lobbyists. The court filing, for instance, details a trip Hunter allegedly took with a lobbyist to Lake Tahoe, during which he put about $1,000 for his hotel bill on his campaign credit card, also using campaign funds to pay for airfare and a $7 beer, reports USA Today's Brad Heath.
The filing also describes additional alleged relationships with lobbyists, as well as a House aide, who prosecutors said he took out for drinks that he paid for using campaign funds. They said he had affairs with a woman who worked in his office as well, plus another woman who worked in the House of Representatives, The Washington Post reports.
“Carrying out all these affairs did not come cheap — Hunter spent thousands of dollars treating women to meals, drinks, and vacations, and traveling to and from their homes,” prosecutors said, The Daily Beast reports. They also said Hunter's use of campaign funds was "necessary for Hunter to satisfy his desire for intimacy" due to the Hunters' "financial difficulties."
Hunter has denied any illegal activity. His wife, who was also indicted, recently changed her plea to guilty, and prosecutors in their latest filing say that she may be called to testify. The trial is set for Sept. 10. Brendan Morrow
President Trump's cough criticism was about much more than germs.
During an ABC News interview that aired last week, Trump's insistence that his Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney "leave the room" if he was "going to cough" stole the show. It's true that Trump is a "germaphobe who does not like shaking hands or being around sick staffers," and some staffers saw the incident as a reflection of that, Politico reports. Yet other Trump allies saw it as "the public airing of Trump's newfound irritation with his acting chief," Politico continues.
Mulvaney has been Trump's top aide since John Kelly departed at the end of last year, but still hasn't lost his title's "acting" designation. Yet White House staffers insist that doesn't mean Mulvaney will be ousted soon, seeing as Trump "likes the hands-off approach Mulvaney has taken to his schedule, whims and decision-making style," Politico reports. Instead, that not-so-temporary title, along with the ongoing insults, seem to be the president's way of "assert[ing] his dominance over an ally or staffer who Trump feels has gotten too big for his britches," Politico continues.
Those pompous moves Mulvaney is allegedly making? Filling the West Wing with his former Office of Management and Budget staffers, piling his favorite aides onto Air Force One trips, and organizing three senior staff retreats to Camp David, to name a few.
Both Mick Mulvaney and outgoing White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to requests for comment. Read more at Politico. Kathryn Krawczyk