- WorldReuters
UPDATE 2-U.S. sanctions Iran's nuclear research unit, urges Tehran to negotiate
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on 14 people and 17 entities connected to an Iranian research organization it said had played a central role in the country's past nuclear weapons effort and which remains active. Among those designated for sanctions was the Shahid Karimi group, which works on missile and explosive-related projects for Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, and four associated individuals, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a Statement. The United States charges that the organization, known by its Farsi acronym SPND, oversees nuclear-relevant research for Iran and is active in the training of new scientists.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Flood levels reached record in 3 towns
This year's round of Midwestern flooding is the worst ever at three locations in Nebraska. National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Low said during a conference call Friday that the Missouri River reached record levels at Plattsmouth, Nebraska City and Brownville. It crested just short of a record at several other places, including St. Joseph, Missouri, where the river reached 32.02 feet (9.76 meters) on Friday, inches short of the record of 32.07 feet (9.77 meters) set during the historic 1993 flood.
PoliticsYahoo NewsPresident Trump's latest executive order is a shot in the campus free speech wars
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon that the White House has billed as an effort to “improve Transparency and Promote Free Speech In Higher Ed.” The move comes after years of complaints from conservative activists that college campuses are hostile to right-leaning views and speakers. “In America, the very heart of universities' mission is preparing students for life as citizens in a free society, Trump said at the signing ceremony. Trump in his speech referenced some of the cultural buzzwords that have emerged in recent years during debates about speech at universities, such as “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings,” but it's unclear under what circumstances universities would face repercussions based on this new order.
- EntertainmentTime
'Change Is Closer Than We Think.' Inside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Unlikely Rise
It's almost always a harmless fan, one of dozens who arrive each day, leaving neon-colored Post-it notes as devotional offerings. But in her first three months in Congress, aides say, enough people have threatened to murder Ocasio-Cortez that Capitol Police trained her staff to perform risk assessments of her visitors. This is the daily reality for America's newest human Rorschach test.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Bringing the Sting: The U.S. Navy Is Getting New F/A-18E/F Super Hornets
David Axe Security, The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are. The U.S. Navy in mid-March 2019 awarded Chicago plane-maker Boeing a $4-billion contract to build 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the U.S. Navy. The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are.
- U.S.Meredith Videos
ACLU: Black man detained while moving into own Kansas home
ACLU requested a state investigation after a black man was detained by local police while moving into his own home, then allegedly harassed for weeks afterward and blocked by the police chief from filing a racial bias complaint with the department.
- BusinessUSA TODAY Opinion
Huawei: Politicizing cybersecurity is a losing proposition
As the global leader in 5G technology, Huawei is 12 to 18 months ahead of our competitors. As of today, Huawei has won 30 5G commercial contracts with more than 40,000 base stations deployed across the world. Huawei's secure and affordable technology bridges the digital divide.
- BusinessReuters
Indonesia's Garuda asks to cancel 737 MAX order it had been reconsidering before Ethiopia crash
Garuda Indonesia has asked to cancel an order for 49 Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 jets, citing a loss of passenger trust following two crashes, although it had been reconsidering the order before the latest disaster in Ethiopia last week. Garuda is the first airline to publicly confirm plans to scrap an order for the jets after the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people. That accident came five months after a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed off Indonesia killing 189, and led to the grounding of the world's entire fleet of the aircraft.
- NewsThe Independent
JetBlue pilots who drugged and raped flight attendants continued working for airline without repercussion, lawsuit says
Three female flight attendants claim they were drugged and two of them raped by two JetBlue pilots during a layover in Puerto Rico, a new lawsuit filed this week in New York federal court has claimed. At least one of the female flight attendants said she was forced to work with one of the accused pilots after the alleged rape. After making their way to a beach in Puerto Rico near the hotel they were staying during their layover in May of last year, the women were offered sips from one of the flight attendant's alcoholic beverages.
- NewsNational 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.
LifestyleUSA TODAY'I hope we have enough butter': Costco selling gigantic lobster claws at some stores, shoppers say
Shoppers have been sharing photos of the massive crustaceans on Instagram, some shown with Costco's Kirkland brand on the label. The shoppers sharing photos have been mainly from California, FoodBeast reported. "I've seen a few big claws at Costco before, but this one's crazy!" the post said.
PoliticsYahoo NewsKellyanne Conway says Trump is 'protective of me' in feud with her husband
I appreciate the president defending what he thinks is unfairness,” Conway said. Conway's defense is the latest twist in an ongoing three-way psychodrama involving her, her husband and the president, which began when earlier this month George Conway called for a “serious inquiry” into Trump's mental health “whether or not impeachment is in order. In recent days George Conway, a prominent conservative lawyer, tweeted about his wife's boss.
WorldAFPEconomic gloom hits world stock markets
Worries about economic growth prospects hit global stock markets on Friday, causing sharp price drops on both sides of the Atlantic. In bloodletting on Wall Street, US stocks suffered their worst day since January. The closely watched "yield curve" flashed a warning sign that a recession could be looming while monthly US, French and German manufacturing indices all fell -- rattling investors who were already uneasy after this week's surprisingly weak outlook from the Federal Reserve.
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.
NewsAssociated PressEx-cop says he thought he saw a gun when he shot black teen
A white former police officer said Thursday he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld took the stand at his homicide trial and insisted he was in fear for his life when he gunned down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Rosfeld, 30, got choked up and dabbed away tears as he recounted finding the mortally wounded Rose on the ground.
WorldBloombergBrexit End Likely to Be Based on a Customs Union, JPMorgan Says
The realities of the Brexit situation indicate that the U.K. is going to end up with “something that's founded on a customs union” with the European Union, according to Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management. There are two realities to Brexit,” Ward said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. One is: there is a border between northern and southern Ireland.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Spy Photos of the Ram Rebel TRX Pickup Prototype
Looks like the Ford F-150 Raptor isn't going to have the sandbox to itself anymore. From Car and Driver
BusinessReutersU.S. lawmaker seeks Boeing whistleblowers, some MAX 737 orders in jeopardy
American Airlines pilots were preparing to test Boeing's planned software upgrade for an anti-stall system on MAX simulators this weekend, saying they want their own safety guarantees on the software fix. The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest selling jet before an Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, which followed a Lion Air crash in Indonesia on Oct. 29. Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix.
- WorldThe Guardian
New Zealand's swift change to gun laws highlights 25 years of US inaction
New Zealand's sweeping new ban on a range of semi-automatic rifles and large ammunition magazines, which came just six days after a mass shooting in Christchurch, has been hailed as the “fastest response ever by a government after a tragedy”. In the US, where conservative politicians have blocked even moderate gun control for 25 years, New Zealand's swift action was greeted as a powerful inspiration – and a reminder of how far behind the country is. “Sandy Hook happened six years ago and we can't even get the Senate to hold a vote on universal background checks,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York congresswoman, wrote on Twitter, referring to the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six educators dead.
CelebrityUSA TODAY'A gift sent from the heavens': Nebraska pals find fridge full of beer during flood cleanup
After a long day of flood cleanup, two guys in Nebraska got an unexpected but welcomed "gift sent from the heavens": free, cold beer. Friends Kyle Simpson and Gayland Stouffer had spent Sunday cleaning mud from Simpson's property after massive flooding across the Midwest left large swaths of land swamped and levees overwhelmed. In Linwood, Simpson and Stouffer, clad in chest waders and tired from the day of work, were heading back to Simpson's car when they noticed what looked like a refrigerator in the distance, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
SportsFOX News VideosCNN takes over a week to report Covington lawsuit
What happened to 'facts first'? Reaction from former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the New 2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe
Porsche joins competitors Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz with a coupe version of its Cayenne SUV at a modest price premium over the standard Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo. From Car and Driver
NewsAFPMarines commandant protests US border deployments, wall
America's top marine warned that deployments to the US-Mexico border and President Donald Trump's plan for a wall pose an "unacceptable risk" to the force, according to documents revealed Thursday by The Los Angeles Times. In memos addressed to acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Navy secretary Richard Spencer, General Robert Neller wrote that he had been forced to cancel or reduce exercises in five countries. Marines will miss exercises in Indonesia, Scotland and Mongolia, and their participation in joint exercises in Australia and South Korea will be reduced, Neller said in the documents dated March 18 and 19.
- 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.
- NewsThe Independent
Harvard 'shamelessly' profits from photos of enslaved people, descendant claims in lawsuit
A descendant of enslaved people has sued Harvard University, alleging that the Ivy League institution has “shamelessly” profited from photos of her ancestors. Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Connecticut, claims that Harvard has ignored requests to surrender images of a man named Renty, whom she says is her great-great-great grandfather, and his daughter Delia. Lanier is suing Harvard for “wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation” of the images, asking the university to return the photos to her, pay unspecified damages, and recognise her ancestry.
