PoliticsAxios"Well...bye": Second senior Matt Gaetz aide resigns amid investigation
Devin Murphy, Rep. Matt Gaetz's legislative director, has stepped down amid a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations against the Florida Republican congressman, the New York Times first reported and Axios has confirmed. The latest: "It's been real," Murphy wrote in an email, obtained by Axios, to Republican legislative directors on Saturday morning, with the subject line: "Well...bye." Context: Gaetz, who has not been charged with any crimes, has repeatedly denied allegations of being sexually involved with a 17-year-old girl and claims that he shared naked images of women with other Congress members.
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Explosions in two Somalia cities kill at least 5
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside a cafe in Somalia's city of Baidoa on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding more than six others, police said. The bomber was targeting the Bay region governor, Ali Wardhere, who was outside the Suez Cafeteria, officials reported. “The explosion which was heard all around the town of Baidoa has terrorized the people and had created a momentary confusion,” said Amin Maddey, who witnessed the explosion and spoke to The Associated Press by telephone.
WorldReutersSouth African variant can 'break through' Pfizer vaccine, Israeli study says
The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa can "break through" Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found, though its prevalence in the country is low and the research has not been peer reviewed. The South African variant, B.1.351, was found to make up about 1% of all the COVID-19 cases across all the people studied, according to the study by Tel Aviv University and Israel's largest healthcare provider, Clalit. But among patients who had received two doses of the vaccine, the variant's prevalence rate was eight times higher than those unvaccinated - 5.4% versus 0.7%.
PoliticsAxiosScoop: Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel escorted out of RNC retreat
While Timken, former Ohio GOP chair, was invited to the event “because she is a major donor” — Mandel was not, so he was asked to leave, according to one of the sources Despite not having his name on the list, Mandel seized on the opportunity to get some face time with top Republican donors while they all were in one place, one source familiar with his plans told Axios. But when the first event formally kicked off at the hotel Friday night, Mandel and others who did not have credentials were asked to leave. A spokesperson for the RNC declined to comment.
PoliticsThe WeekTexas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw recovering from emergency eye surgery that will leave him blind for a month
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) revealed Saturday that he underwent emergency surgery on his left eye a day earlier after a doctor discovered his retina was detaching. It was a "terrifying prognosis" for Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, who was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Afghanistan's Helmand province in 2012. Crenshaw said "it was always a possibility that the effects of the damage to my retina would resurface, and it appears that is exactly what has happened."
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3 children found fatally stabbed in Los Angeles apartment
A woman discovered her three grandchildren — all under the age of 5 — slain inside a Los Angeles apartment Saturday morning and their mother gone, police said. The grandmother was returning home from work when she went inside an apartment in the Reseda neighborhood and found the children had been stabbed to death, Los Angeles police Lt. Raul Jovel said. The Los Angeles Police Department tweeted the children appeared to be under 5 years old.
WorldReutersLibya launches COVID-19 vaccination drive after delays
Libya's new unity government launched a long-delayed COVID-19 vaccination programme on Saturday after receiving some 160,000 vaccine doses over the past week, with the prime minister receiving his jab on live television. While Libya is richer than its neighbours due to oil exports, the country's healthcare system has been strained by years of political turmoil and violence, and it has struggled to cope during the pandemic. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh called it a "blessed day" in the fight against COVID-19 after receiving his shot, without saying which vaccine he had been given.
WorldArchitectural DigestWhy We Love a Small Loveseat
Supremely versatile, loveseats work as standalone pieces in studio apartments and as part of a seating arrangement in sprawling living rooms Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Associated PressADL: Fox should fire Carlson for white-supremacist rhetoric
The Anti-Defamation League has called for Fox News to fire prime-time opinion host Tucker Carlson because he defended a white-supremacist theory that says whites are being “replaced” by people of color. In a letter to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Friday, the head of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, said Carlson's “rhetoric was not just a dog whistle to racists — it was a bullhorn.” The civil rights group listed numerous instances Carlson has used anti-immigrant language.
U.S.INSIDERA California man was convicted of a federal hate crime for attempting to stab a Black man while on probation for another 'racially motivated' assault
A man in Northern California was convicted by a jury on Friday of a federal hate crime. The Santa Cruz man was convicted of attempting to stab a Black man while shouting racial slurs. The incident occurred when the man was on probation for another "racially motivated assault."
WorldNBC NewsBombers, boats, dredgers: China's relentless pressure is wearing down regional competitors
China is trying to wear down its neighbors with relentless pressure tactics designed to push its territorial claims, employing military aircraft, militia boats and sand dredgers to dominate access to disputed areas, U.S. government officials and regional experts say. The confrontations fall short of outright military action without shots being fired, but Beijing's aggressive moves are gradually altering the status quo, laying the foundation for China to potentially exert control over contested territory across vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean, the officials and experts say. Since June, Chinese military planes, sometimes including fighter jets and bombers, have regularly flown into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, forcing Taipei to scramble fighter jets.
BusinessBusiness InsiderMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he hired private investigators to find out why Fox News isn't letting him speak on air
Mike Lindell said he's hired investigators to find out why Fox News isn't letting him speak on air. Lindell told Steve Bannon on Friday that several entities are conspiring against him. Fox News and the MyPillow CEO have both been sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation.
U.S.Business InsiderVideo shows Virginia cops holding a Black Army officer in uniform at gunpoint and pepper-spraying him during a traffic stop
A Black Army lieutenant is suing Virginia police officers for assaulting him during a traffic stop last year. A US Army lieutenant is suing two Virginia police officers for holding him at gunpoint, pepper-spraying him, and throwing him to the ground during an illegal traffic stop that took place last year. Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino man who is a second lieutenant in the US Army Medical Corps, was driving home from his duty station on December 5, 2020, when police pulled him over, attorney Jonathan Arthur told The Associated Press on Friday.
U.S.The New York TimesA Teacher Marched to the Capitol. When She Got Home, the Fight Began.
Word got around when Kristine Hostetter was spotted at a public mask-burning at the San Clemente pier, and when she appeared in a video sitting onstage as her husband spoke at a QAnon convention. People talked when she angrily accosted a family wearing masks near a local surfing spot, her granddaughter in tow. Even in San Clemente, a well-heeled redoubt of Southern California conservatism, Hostetter stood out for her vehement embrace of both the rebellion against COVID-19 restrictions and the stolen-election lies pushed by former President Donald Trump.
CelebrityThe TelegraphDuke of Edinburgh: Princess Anne pays tribute to her father's enduring legacy
Princess Anne has summed up what life will be like without her father to guide the Queen, the institution of the Monarch and his family. Speaking in advance of the Duke of Edinburgh's death at the age of 99, the Princess Royal told of his immeasurable influence, both on those immediately around him and on Britain at large. In an interview recorded for broadcast after the Duke of Edinburgh's death, Princess Anne spoke movingly of what her father's legacy might be, citing his steadfast support of the Queen in her role as Monarch as the chief example of his devotion to both his family and the kingdom over which she ruled.
U.S.Business InsiderDOJ veterans say the latest twist in the Matt Gaetz sex-trafficking investigation could be the most 'scary' one yet for the lawmaker
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has been in hot water since The New York Times reported the existence of a Justice Department investigation into whether he had sex with a minor and broke federal sex-trafficking laws. On Thursday, the pressure on Gaetz jumped another notch after lawyers representing Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector who was indicted as part of the investigation, told a judge that Greenberg was close to accepting a plea deal. It's a seismic development that spells trouble for Gaetz, whose friendship with Greenberg dates back to at least 2017.
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2 charged in fatal shooting in The Mall in Columbia parking lot
After months on the run police arrest two suspects in connection to a deadly shooting at The Mall in Columbia. Detectives said it unfolded in front of several witnesses leaving an entertainment venue. Explains what led up to the encounter and how investigators tracked down the alleged killers.
WorldINSIDERMrs. World says she's 'ready to hand over the crown' after being arrested for snatching tiara off Mrs. Sri Lanka during beauty pageant
Mrs. World Caroline Jurie has given up her crown amid the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant controversy. Jurie was arrested for allegedly injuring the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant, Pushpika De Silva. Footage showed Jurie forcibly removing a tiara from De Silva's head moments after she was crowned.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFormer GOP House Speaker John Boehner says he wishes he'd fought against Bill Clinton's impeachment by Republicans
John Boehner, the former Republican House Speaker, wrote in his forthcoming memoir that he regrets supporting former President Bill Clinton's impeachment. "I regret it now," Boehner wrote of Clinton's impeachment. John Boehner, the former Republican House Speaker, wrote in his forthcoming memoir that he regrets supporting former President Bill Clinton's impeachment, which he said was a purely political effort.
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrince Harry will return to UK for Duke of Edinburgh's funeral – but not Meghan
The heavily pregnant Duchess of Sussex will not attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on the advice of her doctors, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed on Saturday, although Prince Harry is hoping to arrive back in the UK as early as Sunday. Prince Harry scrambled to arrange a flight as soon as he was informed of the death of his grandfather, anxious to be alongside his family as they mourn their patriarch, though he must obey Covid travel rules which means he will have to self-isolate on arrival. Meghan, 39, is due to begin maternity leave in around four weeks, with the couple's second child, a daughter, thought to be due in June.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRep. Katie Porter calls Biden's move to split up his infrastructure package 'a big mistake'
Rep. Katie Porter of California called Biden's move to split his infrastructure plan 'a big mistake.' Last month, Biden noted that 2 millions women had left the workforce since the pandemic started. Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California called President Joe Biden's decision to split up his infrastructure plan into separate jobs and family components a major error.
HealthTheGrioCDC says that racism ‘a serious public health threat’
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared racism a “serious public health threat” in this country. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, who was named head of the agency by President Joe Biden, said the CDC will be “accelerating” its work to address racism as a fundamental driver of racial and ethnic health inequities in the United States. Walensky began her statement by highlighting that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted communities of color, populations that have “experienced disproportionate case counts and deaths, and where the social impact of the pandemic has been most extreme.
WorldBusiness InsiderLuxury ships from the Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise lines sail to the rescue and evacuate islanders in the path of a volcano eruption
Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise sent ships to the Caribbean island Saint Vincent. The ships helped to evacuate northern areas of the island after La Soufrière threatened to erupt. Saint Vincent's National Emergency Management Organisation later tweeted that the volcano did erupt.
WorldINSIDERBoris Johnson says he won't attend Prince Philip's funeral so a royal family member can take his place
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson won't attend the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17. A statement from his office, 10 Downing Street, said he wants to save the seat for family members. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday in a statement from 10 Downing Street obtained by Insider that he won't attend Prince Philip's funeral.
SportsBusiness InsiderAcceptance rates at elite colleges hit a record low as students face cancelled college entrance exams and online learning difficulties
The coronavirus pandemic has made it harder for students who wish to land one of the coveted spots at an Ivy League university. Acceptance rates at elite schools have hit a "record low" as the Class of 2025 faces hurdles brought on by the pandemic including canceled college entrance exams and remote learning difficulties. Harvard accepted 3.4% of applicants to the Class of 2025.
“Without modern infrastructure, the US cannot create decent jobs, social justice or climate safety.”
“The plan itself is really a big bait-and-switch...A fraction of the spending is actually devoted to traditional infrastructure projects.”
“Focusing on the size of the investment is misleading when you consider the high cost of not making it.”
“Rather than spending $2 trillion, we should privatize infrastructure where feasible and cut taxes and regulations on the rest.”
“Public investment can also be a major source of jobs and growth, helping to pull us out of the stagnation trap.”