PoliticsYahoo NewsHow Walter Mondale transformed the vice presidency
At the time, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (a former Mondale intern) and former Vice President Joe Biden were trailing more progressive candidates. Mondale strongly backed Klobuchar and later Biden. Wolfing down a hamburger, he chuckled and said, “I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and said, 'Fritz, you're a moderate.
WorldAxiosIsrael strikes back at Syria after Dimona nuclear reactor missile alert
The Israeli military struck back at Syria after a missile from the country triggered air raid sirens near the Dimona nuclear reactor as it landed in southern Israel, AFP reports. Why it matters: The exchange, which Syrian state media said wounded four of its soldiers, marked the biggest clashes between the two countries in years. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iranian troops and proxies operate in Syria and the incident indicates Iran's involvement, AP notes.
U.S.Associated PressBoulder shooting suspect charged with using large magazine
Local prosecutors in Colorado on Wednesday filed over 40 more felony charges against a man charged with killing 10 people at a Boulder supermarket last month, including for allegedly using a large capacity magazine banned by state lawmakers in response to recent mass shootings. The court document outlining the new charges lists 19 new victims — including 11 law enforcement officers — that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, is accused of trying to kill during the attack. Some victims have more than one count of attempted first-degree murder associated with them, specifying two different theories for how Alissa allegedly tried to kill them, either intentionally or through “extreme indifference” to hum...
WorldAxiosPutin warns the West as Russian police detain almost 1,800 Navalny protesters
Security forces detained at least 1,770 supporters of the jailed, hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny amid protests across Russia Wednesday, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info. The big picture: At least 30 protesters were arrested in Moscow, 805 in St. Petersburg and 119 in the Urals city of Ufa, among dozens of other cities, the group estimates. Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh was among those detained in the Russian capital, per aide Ruslan Shaveddinov.
PoliticsThe WeekGOP Sen. John Kennedy grilled Stacey Abrams on Georgia voting law, and Democrats are glad he did
In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) as Georgia voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams if she could list the specific things she objects to in Georgia's restrictive new voting law. "It's a long list," the Senate Democrats' Twitter account said, helping the exchange go viral on Wednesday. Kennedy and Abrams are both very smart lawyers who graduated at the top of their class at elite universities, MSNBC's Brian Williams noted Wednesday night, setting up the clip.
WorldReutersAlgerian Islamists eye first election win since civil war
Islamist parties in Algeria expect to win parliamentary elections in June and take a major role in government, part of a strategy to gradually build clout within a system long dominated by a secular military that regards them with distrust. While the military will retain ultimate power, the Islamists are taking advantage of political ructions caused by the mass protests that forced out veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The largely secular Hirak protest movement still holds weekly demonstrations to demand a full purge of the old ruling elite and is boycotting the election, viewing it as a charade so long as the military and its allies hold ultimate power.
U.S.Associated PressMan pumping gas at convenience store killed, shooter dead
A man opened fire at a convenience store in Pennsylvania early Wednesday, apparently at random, killing a truck driver who was pumping gas and wounding another man before taking his own life, officials said. The man had first shot at a car on a highway several miles away before heading to the convenience store around 4:45 a.m., according to Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin. The woman in the car told authorities she didn't realize her car had been hit with a bullet until she stopped at a Wawa store in Upper Macungie Township, outside Allentown.
SportsNational ReviewBrett Favre: It’s ‘Hard to Believe’ Derek Chauvin Intentionally Killed George Floyd
Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre on Wednesday said he finds it “hard to believe” that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin intended to kill George Floyd during Floyd's arrest last year. “I find it hard to believe, and I'm not defending Derek Chauvin in any way, I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd,” Favre said on his podcast Bolling with Favre. Favre's comments came one day after a jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
WorldAssociated PressIndonesia looking for submarine that may be too deep to help
Indonesian navy ships searched Thursday for a submarine that likely sank too deep to retrieve, making survival chances for the 53 people on board slim. “Hopefully we can rescue them before the oxygen has run out” at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Indonesia's navy chief of staff, Adm. Yudo Margono, told reporters. The navy believes the submarine sank to a depth of 600-700 meters (2,000-2,300 feet), much deeper than its estimated collapse depth.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest12 Outdoor Furniture Sets for Living Alfresco
With warmer weather just around the corner, we're taking our home-design focus to the great outdoors Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBBCIdriss Déby: Chad's future rocked by president's battlefield death
Dying from wounds suffered as he directed the fightback against rebels who had swept south across the Sahara from their Libyan safe haven, Chad's President Idriss Déby Itno was a soldier to the last. The manner of his death was in keeping with a career that had begun in the officer corps, accelerated by a stint at the École de Guerre defence college in France. Later, he launched his own revolt, to depose the dictator Hissène Habré in 1990.
- WorldWTVD – Raleigh/Durham
Man dead after being shot outside Brier Creek Barnes & Noble
The Wake County District Attorney's Office will not pursue charges at this time following a shooting outside of the Barnes and Noble at Brier Creek shopping center that killed a 32-year-old man back in March.
WorldReutersFour crew dead, 9 missing after cargo ship runs aground in Philippines
Four crew members from a cargo ship that ran aground off the southern Philippines have died, while seven have been rescued and a search is continuing for nine others, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday. The crew of LCT Cebu Great Ocean abandoned the vessel, which was carrying nickel ore and 2,000 litres of diesel, before it ran aground in Surigao del Norte province on Monday, the coast guard said. The bodies of the four crew members were found after being washed onto the shore, while the seven were rescued in various parts of the southern province after reaching land, Gelly Rosales, a coast guard official, told Reuters.
U.S.Business InsiderA US Air Force general is facing court-martial for the first time ever. He has been charged with sexual assault
A US Air Force general is being court-martialed for the first time in the history of the service. The charge is linked to allegations of sexual assault against a civilian during a 2018 off-duty incident. The Air Force said it is unclear at this time when the court-martial will take place.
BusinessAssociated PressECB leaves interest rates, pandemic stimulus unchanged
The European Central Bank left its key stimulus programs unchanged with almost 900 billion euros of support still in the pipeline as the economy lags the U.S. and China in a drawn-out struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank for the 19 European Union member countries that use the euro left interest rates unchanged at record lows and made no adjustments to its 1.85 trillion euro bond purchase stimulus it says will run at least through March, 2022. At the last meeting on March 11, ECB President Christine Lagarde said the bank would step up the pace of those purchases during coming months, answering concerns that some bond-market interest rates were creeping up.
- WorldAssociated Press
US ambassador to Belarus meets exiled opposition leader
New United States ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher met with the country's exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in neighboring Lithuania's capital on Wednesday. The meeting took place in Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya moved under pressure from the Belarusian authorities in August, shortly after authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko defeated her in a widely disputed presidential election. Official results of the elections handed Lukashenko, who has run Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, his sixth term in office and triggered the largest and the most sustained wave of protests in the ex-Soviet nation's history.
HealthThe TelegraphMeg Mathews: ‘The menopause left me crippled with anxiety - here's what helped’
Since 2018, Meg Mathews has been one of the UK's foremost menopause campaigners, determined to use her profile to end the stigma surrounding it. When I started perimenopause at 48, I went through a whole host of feelings that were difficult to describe. After 10 minutes with a GP – and clarifying that I felt terrible but that I wasn't suicidal – he prescribed antidepressants.
U.S.CBS NewsPolice shoot teen girl to death in Ohio and release bodycam video
A 16-year-old girl was fatally shot Tuesday by police in Columbus, Ohio. Police released some body camera footage of the shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant on Tuesday night and released additional footage and two 911 calls in a press conference on Wednesday, citing "the public's need, desire and expectation to have transparency." Interim police chief Michael Woods said Wednesday that dispatchers first received a call for help at 4:32 p.m. On the call, a woman told officers that people were trying to fight and stab her and others, according to an audio recording played during the press conference.
SportsIdaho StatesmanBig rig boxes in alleged DUI driver, leading to fatal pileup on I-5 in California
An allegedly intoxicated driver on northbound Interstate 5 near Westley precipitated the events that led to a big rig pileup with one of the drivers killed Wednesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. Around 1 a.m., a big rig driver spotted a red sedan swerving across both lanes of traffic south of Howard Road, said CHP Officer Tom Olsen. “The big rig driver actually boxed in the DUI driver ... (He) used his trailer in a manner to stop the DUI driver from proceeding.”
U.S.Business InsiderThe lawyer who pointed his gun at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis is considering running for Senate
Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia displayed their guns as BLM protesters passed their house last year. McCloskey told Politico on Tuesday he's considering running for Senate in 2022. A grand jury indicted the couple on charges of exhibiting guns and evidence tampering last October.
- WorldFOX News Videos
Psaki calls Ohio fatal police shooting of teen who appeared to attack others ‘tragic’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the Ohio police shooting of a 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant 'tragic' and said it will fuel the White House to continue addressing 'systemic racism.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison with 280 other convicted murderers
Derek Chauvin is being held at the MCF-Oak Park Heights Administrative Control Unit. There are 280 convicted murderers at the facility, according to Department of Corrections data. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, is being held at the maximum security Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights, where Insider previously reported he is living apart from the general population of the prison in the Administrative Control Unit.
U.S.Miami HeraldPretty Ricky singer in critical condition after being shot at South Florida bowling alley
A colorful sign that reads “Sparez” is close by. HL's caption says that the Miami rapper (real name Diamond Blue Smith) was shot at Sparez bowling alley in Davie, but gives scant information. People surround the man trying to help keep him comfortable while waiting for an ambulance.
BusinessKansas City StarWar of words over bids for Kansas City Southern: which Canadian firm has best offer?
Rob Reilly, a Topeka native and now the chief operating officer for Canadian National Railway, said the Montreal-based company had reviewed the possibility of making a deal for Kansas City Southern several times. “What changed is Kansas City Southern shareholders have decided it's up for bid with its agreement with Canadian Pacific,” Reilly said in an interview with The Star. Kansas City Southern, which is one of the smaller major railroad companies in North America, has been a popular takeover target during the last year.
U.S.INSIDERA former Minneapolis police officer called Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict a 'tragedy,' saying he fears it will start a 'new trend' of sending cops to prison
A former Minneapolis police officer said he was surprised by Derek Chauvin's conviction. What was a day of justice for the Black Lives Matter movement was a day of disappointment for one former Minneapolis police officer, who told Insider he was shocked by Derek Chauvin's conviction and called it a "tragedy." The former officer spoke on the condition of anonymity, but his identity is known to Insider.
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”