- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump rages about Electoral College reform and lowering voter age to 16 in midnight Twitter tirade
The president's outburst came after Elizabeth Warren, a leading Democratic contender for 2020, called for a popular vote to replace the complex Electoral College system, in which a president is selected by “electors” that people in each state vote for. Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke, two other leading Democratic candidates, have also expressed similar approval for voting reform. "Come a general election, presidential candidates don't come to places like Mississippi, they also don't come to places like California or Massachusetts, because we're not the battleground states," Ms Warren said at a Mississippi town hall on Monday.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Forecasters: 'historic' flooding could hit South
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say flooding could reach unprecedented levels in parts of the U.S. later this spring, as winter snow melts and swollen rivers rise. NOAA spokeswoman Lauren Gaches said during a conference call Thursday that existing flooding along the Mississippi River and other waterways is expected to get worse, possibly even worse than historic floods in 1993 and 2011. Forecasters have said that rapidly melting snow in the upper Midwest is contributing to flooding that will eventually make its way downstream to the Gulf Coast.
- WorldThe Telegraph
New Zealand holds first funerals for victims of Christchurch massacre
A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for "the safest country in the world" were buried before hundreds of mourners on Wednesday. The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch - a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook. Hamza's high school principal described the student as compassionate and hardworking, and said he was an excellent horse rider who aspired to be a veterinarian.
- BusinessReuters
UPDATE 1-Southwest pilots say extra training required after 737 MAX software update
Extra computer-based training will be required after a planned update to the software on the Boeing Co 737 MAX aircraft, Southwest Airlines Co's pilot union said on Wednesday, adding that it was seeking additional information for pilots. Boeing has been working on a software update to an anti-stall system called MCAS since a Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, killing all 189 aboard. That effort has become urgent after a second 737 MAX 8 crashed in Ethiopia last week, with the death of 157 people, and regulators grounded the global fleet of the aircraft.
CelebrityUSA TODAYWhat we know about Olivia Jade, Lori Loughlin's daughter caught up in admissions scandal
Before March 12, Olivia Jade Giannulli was a powerful social media influencer still on the rise as a YouTube and Instagram star. But Tuesday's stunning announcement of a federal investigation into a college-admission fraud scheme has dramatically changed the narrative for the 19-year-old freshman at the University of Southern California — who goes by her social media name "Olivia Jade." Olivia Jade's parents, "Fuller House" star Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, whose Mossimo label has been featured at Target stores, have both been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
- PoliticsTime
The Supreme Court Ruled That Immigrants With a Criminal Past Can Be Detained Years After Serving Time
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government can detain immigrants with past criminal records even after they have completed their prison terms, issuing a narrow verdict that sided with the Trump Administration's pursuit of hardline immigration policies. The 5-4 decision was led by the court's conservative justices and dissented by its liberal wing. The ruling reverses a determination by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which stated that migrants can only be put in immigration detention within 24 hours of their release from criminal custody, as opposed to months, or even years later.
BusinessAFPGlyphosate under fire from San Francisco to Sri Lanka
Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as "probably" being carcinogenic. After the second US cancer victim in a year won a surprise court victory against Monsanto over the weedkiller on Tuesday, here is the state of play regarding lawsuits and restrictions on the use of glyphosate around the world: - United States - A California court on Tuesday found that Roundup was a "substantial factor" in Edwin Hardeman, 70, getting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after spraying the weedkiller on his garden for decades.
- BusinessBGR News
Apple launches second-generation AirPods and wireless charging case
Apple's week of hardware announcements continued on Wednesday with the reveal of its second-generation AirPods. The new wireless headphones feature an H1 chip that the company claims will improve performance, allow for faster connection times, increase talk time, and enable support for hands-free Siri. “AirPods delivered a magical wireless experience and have become one of the most beloved products we've ever made.
- NewsMashable
Aggressive Instagramming is ruining Southern California's super bloom
Fields of fiery "super bloom" poppies are lighting up the hills of Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore, a city about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Thanks to uncommonly heavy rains this winter, much of Southern California is seeing a massive burst of wildflower blooms across the state. The poppies in Walker Canyon are so lush, they can be seen from space.
- NewsNational Review
Border Patrol Releases Migrants, Citing Lack of Space in Detention Centers
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on Tuesday released 50 migrants recently detained at the border near Mcallen, Texas due to a lack of space in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers they would otherwise be sent to while awaiting their asylum hearings. CPB officials told the Los Angeles Times that the migrants released Tuesday represent just the first wave of a group of hundreds whom they will be forced to release in the coming days due to a lack of resources. Border Patrol spokesman Carlos Diaz said the 50 migrants were given notices to appear in court and released to local charities after their processing center in McAllen was overwhelmed by the number of migrants arriving each day.
PoliticsFOX News VideosSamantha Bee skewers Democratic 2020 hopefuls on late-night talk show
Late-night TV host Samantha Bee ripped into the growing field of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls Wednesday night. The 'Full Frontal' host commented on everything from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign slogan, to former Vice President Joe Biden not making a decision on his third potential presidential run. The TBS star also went after former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
NewsAssociated PressMissouri governor declares state of emergency amid flooding
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Thursday following flooding that left several people stranded and continues to cause damage and strain levees in several Midwest states. Parson, along with the state's Emergency Management Agency director and other officials, plan to meet with local leaders and survey damage Thursday. "The rising floodwaters are affecting more Missouri communities and farms, closing more roads and threatening levees, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure," Parson said in a statement.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Pilot who hitched a ride in cockpit saved doomed Lion Air Boeing 737 Max day before it crashed
The previously undisclosed detail on the earlier Lion Air flight represents a new clue in the mystery of how some 737 Max pilots faced with the malfunction have been able to avert disaster while the others lost control of their planes and crashed. The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn't contained in Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee's November 28 report on the crash and hasn't previously been reported. The so-called dead-head pilot on the earlier flight from Bali to Jakarta told the crew to cut power to the motor driving the nose down, according to the people familiar, part of a checklist that all pilots are required to memorise.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Justice Clarence Thomas breaks three-year silence in Mississippi case about racial bias in jury selection
WASHINGTON – When Clarence Thomas speaks, people listen. The current Supreme Court's longest-serving justice did just that Wednesday, asking two pointed questions near the end of an hour-long oral argument about a Mississippi prosecutor's persistent refusal to seat African-American jurors. Most of the questioning to that point had been detrimental to the state's case against Curtis Flowers, who's been tried six times for the 1996 murders of four people inside a Winona, Mississippi, furniture store.
WorldReutersPalestinian killed in West Bank by Israeli gunfire: Palestinian medics
A Palestinian was shot and killed in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday by what a Palestinian ambulance service said was Israeli army gunfire. The Israeli military said it was checking the report. The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of its crews treated a man with two bullet wounds at an Israeli military roadblock near the city of Bethlehem and that Israeli forces had shot him.
WorldAFP'Generation Nazarbayev' jokes, hopes after Kazakh leader resigns
People under 30 in Kazakhstan have only known one leader -- Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation this week after shepherding the country from the Soviet era. His stage-managed departure -- he will keep key posts and significant political influence -- has left Kazakh millennials wondering what will come next. "The word 'Nazarbayev' means something like the word 'parent'," said 18-year-old film student Madi Makanov, who lives in the country's largest city Almaty.
- NewsTime
USC Just Named a New President. Here's What She Said About the Admissions Scandal
As the University of Southern California (USC) grapples with the fallout from a sweeping college admissions scandal, officials announced the appointment of a new president who vowed to bring lasting change to a campus that has been plagued by controversy. Carol Folt, who stepped down in January as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), will take over as USC president on July 1, becoming the first permanent female president at the school. USC was one of several schools named in last week's indictment of wealthy parents who are accused of bribing athletic coaches and facilitating cheating on standardized tests to get their children into elite colleges, including Georgetown, Yale, Stanford and USC.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
Punctuation Marks
Sculptural side tables in bold hues or luxe materials add that functional finishing touch
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump administration refuses to hand over documents to House oversight investigation
The Trump administration is committing "an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction" in response to congressional requests for documents and witnesses, the chair of the House oversight committee has said. Elijah Cummings, Democratic congressman for Maryland, said he had sent 12 letters to the White House on a range of topics from the "routine" to "relating to our core national security interests". In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Mr Cummings said the subjects included White House security clearances, Donald Trump's alleged hush money payments, and the use of taxpayer funds for lavish private planes.
BusinessFOX News VideosLoesch: CNN's gun control townhall was an embarrassing display of bias
CNN townhall on gun control wins award; radio host Dana Loesch on the hostility she faced during the townhall.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Minnesota to help Nebraska flood fight
The order came after Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts requested Minnesota Army National Guard helicopter support. Minnesota sent one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with 10 personnel to support flood response operations in Nebraska on Wednesday morning. Minnesota Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen says in a statement that the emergency executive order will remain in effect until the emergency flood conditions in Nebraska ease.
- WorldNational Review
Sanders: 'We Must Follow New Zealand's Lead' on Assault-Rifle Ban
Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Thursday praised New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern for immediately banning military-style semi-automatic weapons in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, and suggested the executive action should serve as a blueprint for the U.S. This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. The ban, which applies to semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that can be equipped with detachable magazines capable of holding more than five rounds, went into immediate effect Thursday to prevent stockpiling, and legislation codifying it is expected to pass Parliament in the coming days.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Robert Kraft's plea deal offer for prostitution charges hinders real progress on sex trafficking
Almost 300 people were charged last month with soliciting prostitution in conjunction with a massive human sex trafficking investigation in Florida. The Palm Beach State Attorney's Office said this week that it offered New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and 24 other men a standard diversion program traditionally given to first-time offenders. The program requires the men concede their guilt, attend a class about prostitution, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay a fine of $5,000 per count.
NewsReutersHarvard sued by descendant of U.S. slave photographed in 19th century
The photos, depicting a black man named Renty and his daughter Delia, were taken as part of a study by Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz and are among the earliest known photos of American slaves. A representative for Harvard declined to comment and said the university had not yet been served with the complaint. Tamara Lanier of Norwich, Connecticut, who claims to be the great-great-great-granddaughter of Renty, accused Harvard of celebrating its former professor who studied "racist pseudoscience" and profiting from photos that were taken without Renty and his daughter's consent.
PoliticsAFPIn Jerusalem, Pompeo takes a jab at US Democrats on anti-Semitism
Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo issued a thinly veiled jab at US Democrats over anti-Semitism on Wednesday, following controversial comments by a Muslim congresswoman over American support for Israel. Speaking from Jerusalem during a Middle East tour largely focused on countering Iran, Pompeo told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "All nations, especially those in the West, must go to the barricades against bigotry." He noted the "dark wave of anti-Semitism" in Europe and the US.
