- PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war
The veto — the second in Trump's presidency — was expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it. "This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future," Trump wrote in explaining his Tuesday veto. Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival.
NewsReutersMan accused of tossing boy off Mall of America balcony ordered held without bond
In his first court appearance since Friday's incident, when he allegedly dropped the boy nearly 40 feet (12 meters), Emmanuel Aranda was charged with attempted premeditated first-degree murder, Hennepin County Attorney's office spokesman Chuck Laszewski said. Prosecutors had asked for bail to be set at $2 million, but Hennepin Country District Court Judge Jeannice Reding reserved her decision on the request, ordering Aranda held in lieu of $2 million bond until a May 14 hearing, Laszewski said. Aranda, 24, who lives in Minneapolis, did not enter a plea, Laszewski added.
NewsUSA TODAYNotre Dame fire: Disney pledges $5M to help rebuild the 'Hunchback's home
Disney, the studio behind the 1996 animated version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," is chipping in to help rebuild the famed Paris cathedral after a fire devastated the landmark Monday. Two days after the disaster, the entertainment giant, which also operates the EuroDisney theme park 20 miles from Paris, announced it would contribute $5 million toward the rebuilding effort, which has already collected nearly $1 billion in pledges. “Notre-Dame is a beacon of hope and beauty that has defined the heart of Paris and the soul of France for centuries, inspiring awe and reverence for its art and architecture and for its enduring place in human history," Disney chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger said.
PoliticsYahoo NewsOcasio-Cortez backs boycott of New York Post over cover attacking Ilhan Omar
While President Trump repeatedly attacks the New York Times and other purveyors of “fake news,” New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is targeting her own media foe: the New York Post. In a Sunday interview with the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery,” the freshman New York congresswoman explained why she is endorsing a boycott of the paper organized by local Yemeni-American bodega owners, calling the Post's attack on her friend Rep. Ilhan Omar “beyond the pale. Ever since she was elected last November, the Post has relentlessly attacked Ocasio-Cortez over her progressive views and her opposition to Amazon's plan to move its headquarters to Queens.
BusinessAFPAmazon to pull plug on China retail operations: report
Amazon plans to close down its online retail operations that cater to consumers in China in an apparent admission of defeat to local e-commerce rivals such as Alibaba and JD.com, a report said on Thursday. The US e-commerce pioneer will maintain other operations in China such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kindle e-books and cross-border teams that help ship goods from Chinese merchants to customers abroad, Bloomberg News said, citing unidentified people familiar with the plans. An Amazon spokesperson did not explicitly confirm plans to throw in the towel on domestic e-commerce, but said the company was looking to focus more on cross-border sales.
- SportsCar and Driver
See 2020 Toyota Highlander Photos
Toyota's three-row crossover is little changed, because why mess with success? From Car and Driver
- WorldThe Independent
North Korea calls for 'immature' Mike Pompeo to be dropped from nuclear talks with US
North Korea has called for US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to be removed from nuclear talks because of his reckless and immature behaviour, according to reports. The official KCNA news agency quoted Kwon Jong Gun, a senior foreign ministry official, as accusing Mr Pompeo of “fabricating stories like a fiction writer. Whenever Pompeo pokes his nose in, the talks go wrong without any results even from the point close to success,” Mr Kwon said.
BusinessConsumer ReportsRedesigned 2020 Ford Escape Adds Tech, Loses Weight
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. The 2020 Ford Escape was revealed ahead of the New York International Auto Show. We have since seen it in person at the major new-car event in the Big Apple. The totally redesigned compact SUV gets a curvier body and a choice of four drivetrains, including two turbocharged engines, a hybrid, and a plug-in hybrid.
- Lifestylemotorious
Porsche Collection Destroyed in Explosion
The building itself also contained one of America's largest Porsche collections according to the Charlotte Observer. The rather unassuming red brick building didn't boast about the treasures within, but video from the Charlotte Observer revealed a huge hole in the roof and the charred remains of what appears to be a 550 Spyder amongst other less identifiable wreckage. Bob Ingram, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, and his wife reportedly started the collection in 1998 after a visit to the Monterey Historic Automobile Races.
WorldAssociated PressUkraine's presidential candidate pledges NATO referendum
Zelenskiy added that he would appeal to people living in the mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine to dispel their negative view of NATO. "I will record daily video appeals to the eastern regions of Ukraine to tell them that NATO isn't a beast that is going to swallow you," he said. Poroshenko has pushed for Ukraine's membership in NATO and the European Union, though neither alliance is willing to put the country on a track to membership any time soon because of its economic woes, rampant corruption and the five-year conflict with Russia-backed separatist in eastern Ukraine.
- NewsThe Guardian
Woman accused of making threats against Columbine high school found dead
The young woman being hunted in Colorado after making threats against Columbine high school just days before the 20th anniversary of the mass shooting there was found dead by police on Thursday, apparently as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, law enforcement officials said. Sol Pais, 18, who authorities said had traveled to the Denver area on Monday from her home in Florida, had been declared armed and dangerous on Tuesday after purchasing a pump-action shotgun and ammunition. She was hunted down in a forested campground in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, west of Denver, late morning on Wednesday.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Notre Dame Cathedral Fire Conspiracy Theories Flourish After Investigators Say There's No Proof of Terrorism
Right-wing personalities are pushing conspiracy theories about Monday's fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, even after French investigators said the case is not being investigated as arson or terrorism. “The West has fallen,” declared Mike Cernovich. Gateway Pundit dredged up a three-year-old terrorist plot to blow up Notre Dame as proof that this fire was caused by terrorists.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
AG William Barr to hold news conference Thursday on before Mueller report goes to Congress
WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will hold news conference Thursday just before Congress receives a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016. The news conference will be at 9:30 a.m. EDT, said Kerri Kupec. The report is expected to go to Congress between 11 a.m. and noon EDT and likely will be released to the public around the same time.
WorldAFPInstagram accounts of Iran Guards commanders blocked
The Instagram accounts of several Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders have been blocked, the Tabnak news website reported Tuesday, with the photo-sharing website saying it was complying with US sanctions. The United States announced on April 8 that it has placed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic republic, on their list of "foreign terrorist organisations". Tabnak, a site close to Iranian conservatives, said Instagram blocked the accounts of Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Major General Ghassem Soleimani.
- BusinessReuters
UPDATE 3-Schlumberger posts profit drop, sees international spending rising
Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV on Thursday forecast rising international and offshore exploration spending this year, after posting a 20 percent drop in first-quarter profit due to weak North American demand. The oilfield services sector bellwether said it expects a 7 to 8 percent increase in investments by oil producers in markets outside North America, citing a 20 percent increase last quarter in offshore rig counts and growing exploration activity in Latin America, Africa and Asia. "We still see a fairly decent runway for increased international investments," Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said, citing higher new project approvals and a renewed interest in exploration outside North America.
- WorldThe Telegraph
North Korea sends hit squads after defectors from its secret police
North Korea has dispatched teams to neighbouring China to track down and kill, if necessary, as many as seven members of the Ministry of State Security who have fled in a snowballing series of defections, according to dissident media. The crisis in the ranks of North Korea's secret police agency can be traced back to immediately after the failure of the Hanoi summit between Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, and US President Donald Trump in February, reported the Daily NK, citing reports from its network of undercover “citizen reporters” in North Korea and China.
- WorldThe National Interest
The Royal Navy Wants Robotic Submarines (Here's Why That Matters)
The U.K. Ministry of Defense in April 2019 launched a $3.3-million competition to begin developing a large, robotic submarine. The contest could lead to the acquisition of an operational autonomous sub for the Royal Navy -- and could help the British fleet partially to fill the undersea gap resulting from deep cuts to its sub force. “The Royal Navy says that contract will have two stages, a one-year long research, design and refit stage and a testing and trialing stage,” U.K. Defense Journal explained.
- U.S.WPVI – Philadelphia
Driver of car and 6 victims hit in North Philadelphia all being investigated, police say
Philadelphia police are saying arrests could potentially be on the way for some of the 6 people who were hit by a speeding Buick in North Philadelphia Tuesday.
- NewsThe Independent
Pete Buttigieg: Outrage over anti-gay protestors dressed as 2020 candidate 'whipping Jesus on a cross'
Pete Buttigieg has been confronted by anti-gay hecklers along the campaign trail this week, with demonstrations taking a bizarre turn at an Iowa rally. A notorious anti-abortion activist dressed as the Indiana mayor began whipping a man wearing a costume of Jesus Christ near a Marshalltown campaign stop Wednesday morning, a day after that same protestor attempted to interrupt another event held by Mr Buttigieg. That man, Randall Terry, can be seen in a video captured by freelance Getty Images video producer Marcus DiPaola donning a “Mayor Pete” sign around his neck as he whips the other demonstrator, who is holding a cross on his back.
WorldAssociated PressPortugal says all 29 dead in bus crash were German
All the 29 people killed in a tour bus crash on Portugal's Madeira Island were German, Portugal's foreign ministry confirmed Thursday. The bus carrying 55 people, all German tourists except a Portuguese driver and guide, rolled down a steep hill after veering off the road on a bend east of Madeira's capital, Funchal, on Wednesday evening when it was still light and in fine weather. The crash injured 28 others.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Photos of the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio NRING Special Editions
The NRING package is available on both the Giulia Quadrifoglio and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. From Car and Driver
NewsAFP Relax NewsDonations for gutted Brazil museum a fraction of Notre-Dame's
As donations for the restoration of the Notre-Dame cathedral top $900,000, the director of Brazil's devastated National Museum can only hope for such deep pockets in his own country. Nearly eight months after a faulty air conditioning system sparked a fire that gutted Latin America's main natural history museum and destroyed most of its collection, just $280,000 or so has been raised for its reconstruction. "We are very happy for the extremely positive reaction of French society and we hope that following this example Brazilian businesses and millionaires will start to send us their donations," Alexander Kellner, director of the Rio de Janeiro-based museum, told AFP.
WorldAFPIran's Rouhani calls on Mideast states to 'drive back Zionism'
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Middle East states on Thursday to "drive back Zionism", in an Army Day tirade against the Islamic republic's archfoe Israel. Speaking flanked by top generals before troops began their annual march-past, Rouhani also sought to reassure the region that the weaponry on display was for defensive purposes and not a threat. "The region's nations have lived alongside each other for centuries and never had a problem...
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
Lori Loughlin, husband Mossimo Giannulli plead not guilty in college admissions scam
Lori Loughlin plans to fight the charges against her in the college admissions bribery case. Monday, the "Full House" actress and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, filed federal court documents saying they waive their right to appear in court for an arraignment and plead not guilty. "Ms. Loughlin and her counsel affirm that Ms. Loughlin has received a copy of the (indictment) and that Ms. Loughlin pleads NOT GUILTY to each of the charges against her," the two-paragraph document reads.
PoliticsYahoo News'What's with @FoxNews?': Trump fumes after Bernie Sanders town hall
Bernie Sanders drew big ratings and rave reviews for his Fox News town hall on Monday night. And President Trump apparently isn't happy about his favorite cable network's role in it. Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday night.
