U.S.Yahoo News'This was accountability, but it's not yet justice': Reactions to Chauvin guilty verdict
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a killing that sparked racial justice protests across the nation and world last summer. The verdict was announced Tuesday afternoon, with a Hennepin County, Minn., jury finding Chauvin guilty on all three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin was remanded into custody with sentencing to come in eight weeks.
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.Fort Worth Star-TelegramTeen viciously beaten because he identified suspect in Fort Worth holdup, mother says
I am being told despite my son positively identifying this man via the snap video he posted _ that they don't have enough and don't know who the other 3 boys are,” McOmber said in a Facebook post. As his mother, you can probably imagine how hard this is. McOmber took to Facebook after waiting more than two weeks for arrests in the case, but no one was in custody for the assault on her son, who suffered a concussion, a broken nose, two black eyes and contusions across his arms and legs, she said.
- WorldWTVD – Raleigh/Durham
Durham woman charged in fatal stabbing of boyfriend
A 22-year-old woman is behind bars on Wednesday after she allegedly stabbed her boyfriend to death overnight, according to the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
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.
PoliticsThe WeekAfter reading 'all 14 pages' of the Green New Deal, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's ready to debate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Now that she's done her homework, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is ready to spar. One day after seemingly admitting she had never finished reading "all 14 pages" of the Green New Deal, a bill she's repeatedly criticized while throwing barbs at sponsor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Greene has now finally perused the full policy — and dubbed it a "Communists manifesto."
PoliticsAxiosHouse passes bill that would make D.C. the 51st state
The House of Representatives voted 216-208 on Thursday to pass a bill that would grant statehood to Washington, D.C. The big picture: It's the second year in a row that the Democratic-controlled House has voted to recognize D.C. as the 51st state. The bill now heads to a divided Senate, where it faces little chance of reaching the 60 votes necessary to send to President Biden's desk. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to bring the legislation to the chamber's floor for a vote, but it's opposed by Republicans and even some Democrats.
U.S.CBS NewsAlternate juror in Chauvin trial on testimony that "really got to me"
She was known to the court as juror number 96, and even though she wasn't part of the deliberations, she came to a decision. "I felt he was guilty. They read the jury instructions to us in the courtroom briefly, but I didn't know it was going to be guilty on all counts but I would have said guilty," Christensen said.
WorldThe TelegraphIt's 'fair' to call me a private education hypocrite, says Scottish Labour leader
Anas Sarwar has admitted it is a “fair” to call him a hypocrite after he unveiled plans for an attack on private education despite sending his own children to a fee-paying school. Scottish Labour's manifesto, published Thursday, calls for the charitable status of private schools to be revoked and for any public sector backing for them to end. Mr Sarwar, the party leader, sends his own children to Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, which he also attended, and currently charges annual fees of up to £12,924 per pupil.
U.S.Associated PressPolice: Arrested Michigan lawmaker warned he'd call governor
A Michigan lawmaker who was arrested for drunken driving and resisting police threatened to call Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and told state troopers it would not be good for them because he oversees their budget, according to an incident report. Rep. Jewell Jones, an Inkster Democrat, was charged in Livingston County last week after driving his Chevy Tahoe into a ditch along Interstate 96 near Fowlerville around 6 p.m. on April 6, following reports of erratic driving. Police said he became so combative that they had to use a Taser and pepper spray.
WorldReutersChina rebukes Australia for "Cold War mentality" after Belt and Road accords cancelled
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia said on Thursday that it cancelled two accords between Victoria state and China on the Belt and Road Initiative because they were out of line with the federal government's foreign policy, which sees a "free and open Indo Pacific" as a key goal. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman responded by urging Australia to abandon its "Cold War mentality and ideological bias" and "immediately correct its mistakes and change course". The Chinese embassy earlier criticised the move by Foreign Minister Marise Payne to veto two agreements signed by Victoria state as "provocative" and said it would further damage ties.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Embracing My Outdoor Persona
We're getting outdoorsy on Clever this week Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Associated Press'He was guilty.' Extra juror in favor of Chauvin conviction
An alternate juror at the trial of Derek Chauvin said she agreed with the jury's decision to convict him in George Floyd's death, saying she saw Chauvin as the leader of officers at the scene and that he brushed off warnings by bystanders that Floyd was in danger. “I felt he was guilty,” Lisa Christensen said on “CBS This Morning” in a story aired Thursday. Christensen was one of two alternates dismissed by Judge Peter Cahill after Monday's closing arguments.
U.S.Miami HeraldA Florida motel housekeeper sent a text. Then her husband found her killed in a closet
The Strader family had lived at the Rodeway Inn in Venice, Florida, just south of Sarasota. Tina Strader, a mother to four and a grandmother, was the housekeeping manager at the motel. Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman said deputies got to the Rodeway Inn at 1710 S. Tamiami Trail just after 10:30 a.m. because a woman was reported to be bleeding and unconscious in Room 205.
WorldBusiness InsiderUS troops in Syria seem to be getting hit with directed-energy attacks, and the Pentagon suspects Russia is doing it, report says
There have been suspected directed-energy attacks on US troops, Politico reported. The Defense Department has reportedly been investigating suspected attacks since last year. Troops appeared to be mysteriously falling ill in Syria, and the Pentagon suspects Russia.
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.
EntertainmentThe WeekKevin Spacey apparently 'performed a song-and-dance number' during a bizarre deposition
A new report in The Hollywood Reporter runs through the legal issues the disgraced actor is facing more than three years after allegations of sexual harassment and assault were leveled against him. Among these is a battle between Spacey and House of Cards production company Media Rights Capital. MRC is reportedly seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages it says it suffered because of the scandal, which "diminished" the Netflix's show value.
PoliticsPoliticoRepublicans roll out $568 billion infrastructure package that Dems have already rejected
Senate Republicans released a $568 billion infrastructure framework on Thursday intended as a counteroffer to President Joe Biden's infrastructure proposal, a plan about a quarter of the size of the one Democrats are working on. It's also significantly more narrow, focused primarily on transportation infrastructure, along with some other items like broadband and water projects. "Congress and the Biden administration must reach a bipartisan agreement that will improve the infrastructure in all states and communities, while achieving important national goals," the document says.
PoliticsKansas City StarSwampy Sam Graves raises money at his favorite locale: a high-end Wyoming ski resort
On March 31 this year, federal campaign records show, Graves for Congress — Sam's campaign committee — paid $21,879.85 to the Four Seasons Hotel in Teton Village, Wyoming. That's near Jackson Hole, a popular ski resort. The Four Seasons is a pretty swanky place.
U.S.LA Times'His life, it mattered': George Floyd's brother speaks on Derek Chauvin verdict
When former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and then led away in handcuffs after the verdict, Philonise Floyd was reminded of his brother George Floyd's final moments. "I watched [Chauvin] put his hands behind his back, and I was like, 'He had it a lot easier than my brother,' because my brother's hands were pinned backwards," Philonise Floyd said Wednesday on "Good Morning America." Speaking with anchor Michael Strahan, the brother of George Floyd described his emotions upon hearing the jury's decision.
WorldAFPTurkish crypto founder flees with reported $2 bn
Turkish prosecutors on Thursday launched an investigation after the Istanbul-based founder of a cryptocurrency exchange froze trading and fled the country with a reported $2 billion in investors' assets. The Thodex exchange suspended trading after posting a mysterious message on Wednesday saying it needed five days to deal with an unspecified outside investment. Turkish security officials then released a photo of Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer going through passport control at Istanbul airport on his way to an unspecified location.
LifestyleLexington Herald-LeaderMy dad thought Christianity was about love and tolerance. Little did he know.
As I read those emails, I kept thinking, “If this is what the discussion of faith looks like, no wonder people are leaving houses of worship. A friend pointed out that people keyed up enough to write a stranger living halfway across the country probably don't represent the majority of us; they're exceptions. True.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublicans blew up after a Democratic congressman accused them of spreading 'racist trash' in a debate over giving Washington, DC, statehood
GOP lawmakers erupted after Rep. Mondaire Jones accused them of spreading "racist trash." The argument came as the House was debating a bill to grant Washington, DC, statehood. Jones withdrew his comments but went on to say the GOP was scared its "white supremacist politics" wouldn't work in DC.
BusinessBBCGoogle and Apple attacked on app store 'monopoly'
Senators have grilled Apple and Google in Washington over "anti-competitive" behaviour related to their app stores. Representatives from Tile, Spotify and Match also gave evidence, accusing the two tech firms of charging exorbitant fees and copying their ideas. The Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel focussed on claims that Apple's App Store and Google's Google Play are anti-competitive.
U.S.The IndependentDaunte Wright funeral — latest: Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump delivers ‘plea for justice’
Daunte Wright's funeral has begun at a church in Minneapolis, just less than two weeks after he was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. Mr Wright, an unarmed 20-year-old Black man and a father of a 2-year-old, was fatally shot by officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop last week, where authorities say she mistakenly fired her gun thinking it was her Taser. The killing sparked protests in Minneapolis as it came amid the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted on Tuesday of murdering unarmed Black man George Floyd last May.
“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.”