14 police officers with helmets and facemasks and assault rifles stormed in, family says.

■ Pittsburgh SWAT officers must face claims that they raided a family's home, violently dragged a child from the bathtub, and "terrorized" them at gunpoint, a federal judge ruled. Georgeia Moreno and her family sued Pittsburgh, its police chief and 14 police officers in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
■ The events unfolded as Georgeia, her husband, William; and her stepfather, Mark Staymates were watching television in their living room as Georgia's sick mother, Darlene, slept upstairs at 7 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2010. They suddenly heard a loud explosion and saw bright lights, "as if grenades were going off," the complaint states. Pittsburgh Police SWAT officers wearing helmets and facemasks then broke and "stormed through" the front and back doors of the home, according to the complaint. Those officers allegedly never identified themselves, pointed assault rifles at the family, shouted obscenities and destroyed their property.
■ Although the team purportedly sought to arrest William for quarreling with a drunk, off-duty police officer at a local veterans club early that morning, the family says that their "terrorization" continued for another 45 minutes after William was apprehended. The officers threw to the floor, kicked and handcuffed Georgeia, her stepfather and her adult son Billy. They also injured Mark's shoulder and forced Billy to lie face down in broken glass, according to the complaint. When Georgeia pleaded repeatedly that she had young children in the house, at least one officer allegedly stated, "You think you can get one of ours, and we won't get one of yours?"
■ The family says the police proceeded to drag Georgeia's 10-year-old son Trentino violently from the bathtub, injuring his ankles. They allegedly then made the boy stand naked at gunpoint next to his 4-year-old sister Briseis.

The FBI doesn't suspect any crime but monitors the site anyway—and this fits a pattern of targeting journalists who probe state secrets. ■ Irreverent and unyielding in its opposition to U.S. foreign policy, Antiwar.com has been called many things. But that Washington might consider the 17-year-old news and opinion website a threat to national security should be cause for alarm—especially today. ■ The Obama administration has come under scrutiny this summer following revelations that it’s been snooping on journalists in connection with the unprecedented number of federal leak prosecutions in recent years. Meanwhile, thanks to revelations by Edward Snowden, the American public now knows the government has more access than ever to our Internet browsing habits, e-mails, Facebook accounts, and phone and Skype records. ■ The all-seeing eye may be putting the chill not only on privacy and free speech but also on investigative national-security journalism and the public’s right to know. And this is not limited to the high-profile cases affecting big mainstream players like Fox News, the Associated Press or the New York Times, which have received most of the attention.

Foreign-sponsored militants in Syria have executed 51 civilians in Khan al-Assal, a strategic town close to the northern city of Aleppo. - Reports said on Friday that the civilians were killed on Monday after the town fell to the militants. The victims were all shot in the head. A number of military personnel were also summarily executed in addition to the civilians, according to the reports. Most of the town is currently under the control of the militants. Khan al-Assal was the location of a chemical attack earlier this year that left 30 people dead.

SANA: Ansar al-Khilafa brigade gang commits atrocious massacre in Khan al-Assal
Jason Ditz: "Rebels" Execute Over 50 Syrian Troops, 150 Killed Overall
PressTV: S Arabia signs deal with Israeli army to buy weapons for militants fighting Syria govt.
SANA: Archbishop Hanna: Those who bear arms against Syria serve Israel

Stephen Lendman: Israel: Talking Peace, Waging War ■ No peace/peace talks convene next week in Washington. They're fake. They're subterfuge. They're meaningless. They never worked before. They're rigged to fail now. Israeli and US orchestrators assure it. So do longtime Palestinian collaborators. They're Israeli enforcers. They're assigned that role. They're well compensated for doing so. Palestine's legitimate government won't participate. Previous articles asked how can legitimate peace talks proceed with one side excluded. Only in America. Only in Israel. Only under a scenario preordained to fail. ■ At the same time, militarized occupation continues. Palestinians face ongoing state terror. Multiple community incursions occur daily. Gaza remains besieged. Most West Banks areas are off-limits to non-Jews. Palestinians are excluded from their own land. They have no rights. They never did. They don't now. They'll get none in current talks. They're a charade. They run cover for daily persecution. They distract. They change the subject. They hide what demands headlines.

PressTV: US not a neutral party in Mideast talks: Noam Chomsky - Preliminary talks are scheduled to begin in Washington on July 30. “It’s hard to be optimistic, but Europe could play a role,” said Chomsky. “By and large, Europe has not developed an independent Middle East policy.” Europe “consistently follows the US stand,” which punishes Palestinians whose land is settled by Israelis, and “there’s no reason why Europe should support illegal settlements,” he noted. The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East.

Russia will not extradite former contractor to US National Security Agency turned whistleblower Edward Snowden to the White House, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin says. Russia “did not hand over, does not hand over and will not hand over anybody," said Dmitry Peskov on Friday. Peskov made the remarks in an answer to a reporter who asked whether Moscow’s stance had changed towards 30-year-old Snowden. He added that President Putin is not involved in the discussions over the future of the former CIA and NSA contractor. Peskov told reporters that Russia's Federal Security Service FSB is in talks with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI over the issue.

Russia Today: Russia won’t extradite Snowden to US – Kremlin
Thomas Gaist: US pressures Russia to extradite Snowden, [cynically] vowing “he will not be tortured”

Jack Kenny: Chris Christie Finds Liberty a "Dangerous Idea" On the eve of a House vote Wednesday on his amendment to curb the National Security Agency's daily dragnet collection of Americans' phone records, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) tweeted, "Washington's elites fear liberty. They fear you." On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (shown) demonstrated just how eager he is to join the Washington elite. Speaking at the Republican Governors Conference in Aspen, Colorado, Christie delivered what Aaron Blake at the Washington Post described as a "clear broadside" against Republicans of a libertarian bent, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, expected to be competing with Christie for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. "As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that's going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought," Christie said.

■ The Labor government’s commitment to the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia and preparations for a military confrontation with China has been on display since July 15 in the form of a major exercise named “Talisman Saber.” As many as 22,000 American personnel and 16 ships, alongside up to 10,000 Australian personnel and 11 ships, are currently rehearsing in northern Australia and the Coral Sea for the outbreak of a war.
■ Talisman Saber exercises have been staged every two years since 2005. They are viewed in the Pentagon and its Pacific Command (PACOM) as one of the most important exercises held in the Asian region. PACOM refers to them as the “primary training venue for Commander Seventh Fleet as a Combined Task Force (CTF) in a short warning, power projection, forcible entry scenario” and “a key opportunity to train Australian and US combined forces in mid to high-intensity combat operations.”
■ This year’s exercise involves the majority of the US Seventh Fleet, including its command and control vessel, the Blue Ridge, the massive amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, which can deploy close to 2,000 marines, and the aircraft carrier George Washington. The Australian Navy frigate Sydney, which was “embedded” with the Seventh Fleet earlier in the year, is operating as part of the George Washington’s escort, as well as another frigate, the Perth. Australian submarines and support ships are also rehearsing how to integrate rapidly into the far larger US fleet.

Russia Today: ‘Imaginary threats’ justify New Zealand spy bill – Dotcom