PoliticsThe WeekReport: Biden set to sanction Russian officials over election meddling, hacks
The United States is prepared to sanction dozens of Russian individuals and entities and expel as many as 10 Russian officials and diplomats in response to election interference and hacks, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The sanctions, which could be announced as soon as Thursday, would target about 12 individuals, including government and intelligence officials, and 20 entities, with several linked to the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm that meddled in the 2016 election, or the SolarWinds hack, Bloomberg News reports. Shortly after President Biden was inaugurated, he ordered a review of reports that Russia placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; Russian interference in U.S. elections; the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny; and the SolarWinds hack, which is believed to have been orchestrated by Russia.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramBody found in Mississippi River is missing LSU student Kori Gauthier, officials say
Kori Gauthier, a Louisiana State University freshman reported missing one week ago, was found dead. LSU officials confirmed Wednesday night that a body recently found in the Mississippi rRiver is Gauthier. “Since Kori was first reported missing, the LSU Police Department, Baton Rouge Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and volunteers have taken exhaustive measures to locate her and, in the process, to determine what led to her disappearance,” LSU Chief of Police Bart Thompson said in a statement.
U.S.Associated PressFired officer who halted excessive force arrest wins pension
A Buffalo, New York, police officer who was fired for trying to stop another officer from using a chokehold on a handcuffed suspect has won a yearslong legal fight to overturn her dismissal and collect her pension. A state Supreme Court judge cited the changing landscape around the use of force by police and a new “duty to intervene” statute that the fired officer, Cariol Horne, championed following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “Quoting the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 'the time is always right to do right,'” Judge Dennis Ward wrote in his decision.
WorldReutersEuropean powers warn Iran over 'dangerous' uranium enrichment move
PARIS (Reuters) -The European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal told Tehran on Wednesday its decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, bringing the fissile material closer to bomb-grade, was contrary to efforts to revive the 2015 accord. But in an apparent signal to Iran's arch-adversary Israel, which Tehran blamed for an explosion at its key nuclear site on Sunday, European powers Germany, France and Britain added that they rejected "all escalatory measures by any actor". Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has not formally commented on the incident at Iran's Natanz site, which appeared the latest twist in a long-running covert war.
PoliticsThe WeekScalise says GOP will 'take action' on Gaetz if DOJ moves ahead with 'formal' case
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday said if "something really formal" happens with the Justice Department's investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Republican leadership will "of course react and take action." The Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz, 38, had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel out of state with him, allegations that Gaetz denies. Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican leader, told reporters that he hasn't talked to Gaetz about the investigation, but will likely meet with him later this week.
WorldBBCHaridwar: Hundreds test positive for Covid at Kumbh Mela
Hundreds of devotees, including nine top saints, have tested positive for Covid-19 in India's Haridwar city where huge crowds have gathered to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival. More than three million Hindu devotees bathed in the Ganges river on Tuesday to mark one of the most auspicious days of the two-month-long festival. India reported 184,372 new cases on Tuesday - its highest-daily spike yet.
U.S.Associated PressOfficer wounded in school wasn't shot by student's gun
A Tennessee police officer wounded during a confrontation with a student inside a high school bathroom was not shot by the student's gun, authorities said Wednesday, contradicting earlier law enforcement reports that the teenager fired and hit the officer. The new report appears to indicate that the officer was shot by police during a struggle. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released updated details of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville on Monday that left the student dead and a school resource officer wounded.
WorldReutersBattle-hardened and better funded, Ukraine's army knocks on NATO's door
At the outbreak of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian army was so poorly equipped that ordinary citizens were knitting socks, donating scrap metal and even crowdfunding a tank for soldiers at the front line. The government that took over after the Maidan street protests said it had only 5,000 combat-ready ground troops and did not put up a fight when Russian forces seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula in March that year. But the Crimea annexation and seven years of fighting Russian-backed forces in the eastern Donbass region drove Ukraine to overhaul its military, combining a huge increase in defence spending with aid and training from Western allies.
U.S.Associated PressUS Navy decommissions massive ship destroyed by fire
The U.S. Navy on Wednesday decommissioned the USS Bonhomme Richard docked off San Diego nine months after flames engulfed it in one of the worst U.S. warship fires outside of combat in recent memory. The ceremony at Naval Base San Diego was not open to the public, with the Navy citing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The amphibious assault ship is expected to be towed to a ship yard in Texas for dismantling.
U.S.Kansas City Star5-year-old critically injured in crash with Britt Reid leaves hospital after 2 months
A young girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a crash involving former Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid has returned home after two months in the hospital, family said. The Feb. 4 crash initially left 5-year-old Ariel Young in a coma, and also injured three of her family members, including her 4-year-old cousin. Reid, who crashed into the family along Interstate 435, was also injured.
U.S.Idaho Statesman70-year-old has been on death row for 45 years. A Texas court just tossed his sentence
Raymond Riles, who was sentenced to death in 1976 in the fatal shooting of a used car dealer, had his sentencing dropped Wednesday. The Texas Court of Appeals removed Riles' death sentence because the jury was not advised to consider the now 70-year-old man's mental health when deciding his punishment 45 years ago. The case has been sent back to Harris County, where a court will once again determine Riles' punishment in the 1974 crime.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderMysterious goat appears in Death Valley National Park. That’s bad news, rangers say
A tourist at Death Valley spotted something within the park that shouldn't be there: a mysterious goat. The visitor reported seeing a domestic goat in a canyon near Stovepipe Wells within the park. The goat could be bad for native bighorn sheep and the park's ecosystem, rangers said Wednesday on Facebook.
WorldReutersPoland gets partial refund for undelivered ventilators, health ministry says
Poland has received 24.6 million zlotys ($6.45 million) for ventilators it failed to receive at the start of the pandemic, the health ministry said on Wednesday. When coronavirus surged across Europe in April 2020 and hospitals were desperate for ventilators, Poland's government turned to a little known company called E&K, which is owned by Andrzej Izdebski who has been identified as an arms dealer. The health ministry signed a deal worth 44.4 million euros for 1,241 ventilators and transferred around 35 million euros -- nearly 80% of the total -- to Izdebski's company.
WorldReutersTaiwan tells Biden emissaries it will counter China's 'adventurous manoeuvres' with U.S
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told emissaries visiting at U.S. President Joe Biden's request on Thursday that the island would work with the United States to deter threats from Chinese military activities. Former senior U.S. officials, including former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, are visiting Taipei in a trip to signal Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy. Tsai told the U.S. delegation in a meeting at the Presidential Office that Chinese military activities in the region have threatened regional peace and stability.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Texas police officer shot during traffic stop
A Texas police officer was shot multiple times during a traffic stop Wednesday, and police were searching for suspects, authorities said.
WorldAssociated PressBangkok nightlife clusters expose Thailand's virus stumbles
When Thailand's transport minister was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, it was Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha who got a headache. Prayuth was not particularly lauded for his leadership last year against the coronavirus, but for much of 2020 Thailand fought the disease to a standstill, with low infection and death rates envied by more developed countries. Now, an outbreak at nightspots in the capital Bangkok has sent new infections surging, suggesting the country may have been lulled into a false sense of security before mass vaccinations begin.
U.S.Business InsiderPelosi says she thinks Chauvin trial is 'disappointing': 'Maybe my disappointment springs from my expectation that these are our protectors'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Chauvin trial Wednesday, calling it "so disappointing." Pelosi said she still respects law enforcement and stamped down calls to "defund the police." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she finds the trial of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin "so disappointing."
U.S.USA TODAYNo apology owed for pepper-spraying Black and Latino Army officer in Virginia, police chief says
While he said he felt bad for how the events of a traffic-stop late last year unfolded, the police chief of the town where a Black and Latino military officer from Petersburg, Virginia, was accosted by two of his officers said Wednesday that he does not think the soldier is in need of an official apology. In response, Army Lt. Caron Nazario's legal team said Windsor Police Department Chief Rodney D. Riddle "continues a false narrative" of the case and blaming their client for initiating it. "I'm gonna own what we did," Riddle said about the stop during a news conference Wednesday in the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, community where Nazario was stopped last December while on his way home.
BusinessReutersModerna COVID-19 shot production unlikely to rise significantly in next few months - CEO
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The pace of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine production is unlikely to speed up markedly in the next few months, though the U.S. drugmaker expects output to have increased significantly by 2022, its chief executive said on Wednesday. The U.S. government has urged Moderna to speed up its production and delivery schedules for the shots after it temporarily halted the shipment of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine amid reports that six women developed rare blood clots after getting the shot. "Adding big chunks of capacity takes time," Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said during a Wednesday investor call.
HealthBBCWhy are so many babies dying of Covid-19 in Brazil?
More than a year into the pandemic, deaths in Brazil are now at their peak. But despite the overwhelming evidence that Covid-19 rarely kills young children, in Brazil 1,300 babies have died from the virus. One doctor refused to test Jessika Ricarte's one-year-old son for Covid, saying his symptoms did not fit the profile of the virus.
PoliticsUSA TODAYBiden gets higher approval ratings than Congress, according to two national polls
President Joe Biden has higher job approval ratings than Congress as he nears his first 100 days in office, according to two new national polls. Areport released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University showed 48% of American adults approve of Biden's job performance. Most respondents to a Monmouth University poll, 54%, reported the same.Both polls showed around 40% disapprove of Biden's performance.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCongressional Democrats plan to introduce bill that would add four more justices to the Supreme Court, per report
Democrats are reportedly ready to try and add more justices to the US Supreme Court. Four members of Congress are poised to introduce legislation Thursday that would expand the size of the Supreme Court, first reported by The Intercept and later confirmed by other outlets. The bill is reportedly being led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler of New York, Subcommittee Chair Hank Johnson of Georgia, and Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York in the House, while Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is spearheading the bill in the Senate.
U.S.INSIDERA forensic pathologist being sued by the family of a Black man killed by police is testifying for Derek Chauvin's defense
Fowler is being sued by the family of another Black man killed by police. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A forensic pathologist for the defense of fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin testified Wednesday that George Floyd's death was caused by his preexisting heart condition, use of fentanyl and meth, and carbon monoxide he inhaled from a nearby police cruiser.
BusinessRaleigh News and ObserverPrivate firm’s offer to manage city utilities in NC needs a strong dose of sunlight
Utility blackouts usually mean the lights go off, but in the curious case of a private equity firm seeking to operate North Carolina municipal utilities the blackout applies to information. Bernhard Capital Partners, a company based in Baton Rouge, La., has approached more than a dozen North Carolina cities over the past two years with an appealing offer: We'll pay you millions of dollars up front if you let us manage your utility – and collect its revenues – for 30 years. For cities struggling to keep up their infrastructure, the prospect of receiving a windfall and handing over the management of their utilities to a private operator can be attractive.
U.S.USA TODAYCalifornia college student Kristin Smart was killed during an attempted rape, district attorney says
The "prime suspect" in the 25-year-disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department announced. Paul Flores, 44, the last person seen with Smart before she vanished in 1996, was taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. Smart was killed during an attempted rape, the San Luis Obispo County district attorney said Wednesday.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”