- WorldUSA TODAY
Sri Lankan president shakes up defense forces, says attack warnings went unheeded
In a major shake-up of the country's defenses, Sri Lanka's president has demanded that the defense secretary and national police chief resign after security forces failed to heed warnings of threats against churches before the Easter suicide bombings that killed more than 350 people. In a televised speech, President Maithripala Sirisena said Wednesday that he planned to replace the head of the defense forces within 24 hours. Six suicide bombers struck Christians worshipping Sunday in three churches and people at three luxury hotels In carefully coordinated assaults.
PoliticsAssociated PressSome women of color frustrated by Biden's presidential bid
Former Vice President Joe Biden's decision to enter the Democratic presidential race is causing consternation among some Democrats, particularly women of color, who have been hoping for a nominee who better reflects the nation's diversity. At the She the People forum, billed as the first presidential forum focused on women of color, Roxy D. Hall Williamson's shoulders slumped at the mention of Biden, who made his campaign announcement on Thursday. "I know that we have been cultured to feel that only the white man can save us," the LaMarque, Texas, organizer said Wednesday.
- NewsThe Daily Beast
5-Year-Old A.J. Freund Died From Repeated Blows to the Head in Fatal Beating, Coroner Says
Nine days after his murder, the missing toddler's body was found wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave about seven miles away from his Crystal Lake home. The toddler's parents, 36-year-old JoAnn Cunningham, who is currently pregnant, and 60-year-old Andrew Freund Sr., were arrested and charged hours after the Wednesday discovery with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, domestic battery, and failure to report a missing child or child death. Freund Sr. was also charged with concealment of a death.
NewsYahoo NewsElizabeth Warren assures She the People forum that America is ready for woman president
Elizabeth Warren had a singular moment at Wednesday's She the People forum that helped her stand out from the other the other Democrats seeking the support of an audience made up mostly of women of color activists. After answering a series of questions on topics ranging from maternal mortality, affordable housing and criminal justice to bank reform and Native American tribal sovereignty, Sen. Warren, D-Mass., was asked by co-moderator Joy Reid whether voters should feel confident that America was ready for a woman to serve as commander in chief. “We are at She the People, this wonderful organization that is empowering women and women of color, but when I talk with women of color in my own life they'll say, Wow, that Elizabeth Warren has great plans.
PoliticsReutersExplainer: Congress no longer runs a jail, so just how powerful are its subpoenas?
The U.S. Congress does not arrest and detain people for ignoring its subpoenas anymore, but it still has significant power to demand witnesses and documents, and Republican President Donald Trump is putting that power to the test. quot;We're fighting all the subpoenas," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. In another display of his disregard for Washington norms, Trump is defying subpoenas issued by Democrats in the House of Representatives, who have launched numerous investigations of him, his businesses, family and administration.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'I smiled in the face of bigotry': A woman's response to anti-Islam protesters goes viral
A Muslim woman's response to protesters at a conference in Washington, D.C., has gone viral. Shaymaa Ismaa'eel, 24, was attending a conference for the nonprofit group Islamic Circle of North America when she spotted a group of Islamophobic protesters, reports CNN. "On April 21st I smiled in the face of bigotry and walked away feeling the greatest form of accomplishment," she wrote in a tweet on April 23 accompanying the images, which has drawn more than 292,000 likes.
BusinessAFPAir Canada says its 737 MAX jets grounded until at least August
Air Canada said Thursday that its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX jets will remain grounded until at least August 1, pushing back a previous estimate for their return to service. Two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft -- one operated by Ethiopian Airlines and another by Lion Air -- have crashed in recent months, killing nearly 350 people. Air Canada's 24 MAX jetliners were grounded in March following the second crash.
- NewsAOL.com
13-year-old Houston girl dies after fight at middle school
A 13-year-old girl who was placed on life support after being attacked by three other girls has died, according to ABC 13. Kashala Francis, a student at Attucks Middle School, died Wednesday morning at Texas Children's Hospital, six days after being beaten up after class last week, police and her mother Mamie Jackson said. Doctors discovered a tumor in the back of Francis' head while she was on life support and believed the fight may have worsened her condition.
U.S.FOX News VideosTexts between the FBI's Strzok and Page draw investigator focus
Nine days after the presidential election, FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page exchanged texts that Fox News has learned are under new scrutiny by congressional investigators reviewing the genesis of the Russia probe; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports.
NewsUSA TODAYBoy thrown off balcony at Mall of America miraculously suffered 'zero brain damage,' pastor says
A 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America miraculously suffered no brain damage, his family pastor said. The boy fell nearly 40 feet after a stranger "looking for someone to kill" picked him up and threw him earlier this month. Bloomington, Minn.
- BusinessCar and Driver
In-Depth Photos of Our Long-Term 2019 Mazda CX-5 Turbo
We got the expensive one, too, because that's what you're buying. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsTime
Does the Vice Presidency Give Joe Biden an Advantage in the Race to the Top? Here's How VPs Before Him Fared
Capping off months of speculation and concern, the 47th Vice President of the United States Joseph R. Biden announced Thursday morning that he will join the 2020 race for the Democratic Party nomination for President. Joel K. Goldstein is the author of The Modern American Vice Presidency: The Transformation of a Political Institution and The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Bernie Sanders Got It Right on CNN: Felons Ought to Be Allowed to Vote
In their CNN town halls Monday night, Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg disagreed on whether current prisoners should be able to vote. Sen. Kamala Harris refused to endorse a plan for expanding the franchise to incarcerated people, but supported voting rights for former prisoners. Sanders was specifically asked about Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and “those convicted of sexual assault.” What sane person would want them to vote?
WorldAssociated PressRussia offers Ukrainians in conflict zones quick citizenship
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday to expedite citizenship applications from Ukrainians who live in parts of Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists, a move that could hold back a peace process to end years of bloodshed. The decree, which was published on the Kremlin's website, states that some residents in the parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are under separatist control will have their applications considered in less than three months. Putin's decision could trigger a major escalation of the war that started in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and shatter hopes for peace in the area — also known as Donbass — that were renewed with the election of a new Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
WorldAFPIran FM proposes swap for jailed British national
Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday proposed a prisoner swap for a British-Iranian mother detained in Tehran, saying the United States should drop charges against an Iranian woman it is seeking in Australia. Britain has been trying unsuccessfully to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual national who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation and was arrested in 2016. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif drew a parallel to Negar Ghodskani, an Iranian woman who was arrested by Australia in 2017 and separated from her newborn child as the United States asks for her extradition.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Trump Erroneously Claims U.S. Supreme Court Role in Impeachment
President Donald Trump said he'd ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene if Congress mounts an impeachment effort against him -- even though there are no legal grounds for the justices to consider such a request. If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Trump said Wednesday on Twitter, in his latest criticism of reaction to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's findings on Russian meddling in the 2016 election. "There no 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors,' there are no Crimes by me at all," he asserted in a subsequent Twitter posting.
CelebrityUSA TODAYJenna Bush Hager reveals she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy: It was 'very isolating'
Jenna Bush Hager is overjoyed to be expecting her third child, but says she's all too familiar with the "pain" that comes with pregnancy complications and fertility struggles. The "Today" show co-host, 37, opened up about an unsuccessful pregnancy before her first child. Hager revealed that she learned something was wrong shortly after finding out she was expecting.
- BusinessReuters
US STOCKS-Nasdaq eyes record high after strong tech earnings; 3M results hit Dow
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index was on course to open at a record high on Thursday after strong results from Facebook and Microsoft, while a slump in shares of industrial conglomerate 3M weighed on Dow futures. M Co shares tumbled 8% in premarket trading after the company reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, cut its 2019 earnings forecast and said it would lay off 2,000 workers globally. Facebook Inc jumped 8.7% after the social media giant's quarterly profit blew past analysts' profit estimates.
- WorldThe National Interest
See this Aircraft Carrier? It Was One of the Worst To Ever Set Sail.
On September 15th, 1942 USS Wasp was struck by three torpedoes from the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-19. After five hours the order was given to abandon ship, and Wasp was scuttled by three torpedoes fired by the destroyer USS Lansdowne. This was in large part due to the expansion and effective use of its aircraft carrier fleet.
- NewsUSA TODAY
#FeelingCute challenge: Texas prison guards fired after probe into 'inappropriate' posts
The investigation was tied to the "#FeelingCute" challenge, the department said last week. The Houston Chronicle — which reported earlier this month that officers were apparently linked to posts with captions such as "Feeling cute, might just gas some inmates today, IDK" — reported on Tuesday that four officers have been fired and two resigned because of the investigation. Texas Department of Criminal Justice statements to the Chronicle and the Associated Press did not provide details on the social media content involved in the firings.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Chevrolet Prepares for C8 Corvette Production by Adding Workers at Bowling Green Factory
GM is adding jobs at its Bowling Green, Kentucky, facility ahead of the mid-engined Corvette's reveal in July. Corvettes have been built in Bowling Green since 1981. Ahead of the mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette's official reveal on July 18, General Motors has announced that it is increasing production at the Corvette's Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant, where the current C7 Corvette is built.
- LifestyleDelish
Don't Throw A Memorial Day BBQ Without These Recipes
Kick-off the summer with these perfect Memorial Day food ideas. From Delish
WorldAssociated PressRussian-North Korean relations since the Korean War
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an intriguing twist to the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea, which appeared to hit a wall after a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed in February. It also adds a chapter to the storied but often-strained friendship between Pyongyang and Moscow, which was forged in war and weathered by the Soviet collapse and tensions surrounding the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Sri Lanka bomber Jameel Mohamed 'under police surveillance' while he plotted attack
The Easter Sunday suicide bomber who lived and studied in the UK had been under police surveillance in Sri Lanka for years, it emerged on Thursday. Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed, 36, who studied aerospace engineering in the UK for almost two years, was on a Sri Lankan terror watchlist, according to sources close to his family. The claim raises further embarrassing questions for the Sri Lankan authorities over their failure to stop Sunday's coordinated attacks on churches and hotels.
BusinessAFPDeutsche Bank handing over Trump loan documents: source
Deutsche Bank has begun to provide documents on financing for some of President Donald Trump's projects to New York State authorities, a source familiar with the matter told AFP on Wednesday. In mid-March, New York Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed the German bank, demanding records related to loans and lines of credit granted to the Trump Organization. The money was intended to finance projects such as Trump hotels in Washington, DC, Miami and Chicago, another source told AFP last month on the condition of anonymity.
