PoliticsThe GuardianThe sleazy, sordid Matt Gaetz scandal: are the walls now closing in on him?
There could have been no more fitting venue for the bellicose US congressman Matt Gaetz to launch his nationwide “America first” speaking tour than The Villages. The Republican loyalists who filled the ballroom of the Brownwood hotel and spa on Friday night didn't come to hear whether the embattled Gaetz ever paid a 17-year-old minor for sex, took sleazy sex-trafficking trips to the Bahamas or assisted in his disgraced former “wingman” Joel Greenberg's efforts to install cronies in well-paid positions of political power. Away from all the Donald Trump cheerleading by Gaetz and his fellow rightwing fire-starter Marjorie Taylor Greene during their national tour of distraction, it is hard to escape the notion that the walls are closing in.
PoliticsThe WeekLiz Cheney secretly orchestrated Jan. 3 letter from 10 defense secretaries warning about Trump, friend says
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is almost certainly going to be ousted as No. 3 House Republican next week, even though she voted with former President Donald Trump more often (93 percent) than her likely replacement, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — as Stefanik's conservative critics point out. While Stefanik has morphed from Trump skeptic to enthusiastic booster, Cheney has transformed from one of those "hold-their-noses-and-deal-with-him" establishment Republicans into, finally, Sen. John McCain's political "heir," Susan B. Glasser writes in The New Yorker. After Trump tried to co-opt "the Big Lie" this week to refer to his false claims that he won the 2020 election, Cheney shot back that "the 2020 presidential election was not stolen," and "anyone who claims it was is spreading the big lie."
WorldThe TelegraphSir Keir Starmer faces onslaught from both sides of Labour after Hartlepool defeat
Sir Keir Starmer is facing an onslaught from both sides of Labour over its devastating by-election defeat in Hartlepool, as the Left mocked his "flag-waving and suit-wearing" and moderates demanded he talk more about aspiration. Heavy criticism was heaped on leader on Friday morning after the party lost Hartlepool to the Conservatives for the first time since the seat's creation in 1974. Disappointment over the 16 per cent swing to the Tories in the constituency was compounded by a series of council seats flipping from red to blue across Labour's former heartlands in the Midlands and the North.
U.S.National ReviewDetroit Police Chief Prepares to Challenge Whitmer for Michigan Governor: Report
James Craig, a long-time Detroit police chief and Republican, is expected to challenge Democratic tovernor Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan's gubernatorial race next year. A source in connection with the chief shared the development with The Detroit News Friday. Craig told The Detroit News that he will announce his future plans at an upcoming press conference.
WorldThe TelegraphAt least 200 Palestinians injured after clashes with police at East Jerusalem mosque
At least 200 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers were wounded on Friday night during fierce clashes at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, as tensions rose in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Video footage showed some worshippers throwing bottles, chairs and shoes at Israeli police, who deployed stun grenades and fired rubber bullets. According to the Red Crescent, the Palestinian emergency services, more than 80 of the wounded Palestinians have been hospitalised with face and eye injuries.
- WorldWLS – Chicago
3 killed after blast near Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County
Officials believe the men were fatally injured after igniting a type of black powder substance along an area near the river bank.
U.S.Miami HeraldAnother brawl breaks out at Miami International Airport. It’s part of a national trend
Just mere days after a huge brawl at Miami International Airport, another massive fight broke out in the terminal Tuesday night. The mayhem was captured in cellphone footage taken by multiple onlookers at Gate G-15 by the Southwest Airlines counter. The fight is part of a troubling trend airports across the nation are seeing, now that many people have resumed traveling.
WorldNextSharkIndian Bride Shuts Down Wedding After Groom Fails Her Math Test
A bride and groom who wish to remain unidentified were supposed to have the wedding for their arranged marriage on May 1 in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The bride's cousin stated that the groom's family did not inform them of his lack of education, adding that the bride was "brave" for leaving the wedding venue. The two families came to a compromise which included returning all gifts and jewelry to the appropriate parties.
PoliticsAxiosThe evidence is piling up: Trump's iron grip over the GOP has been institutionalized
Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump's politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come. Why it matters: The debate over Trump's post-election hold on the GOP is over — it has gotten stronger since the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. The evidence is overwhelming: House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, a Trump critic, is expected to get booted from leadership next week for saying Trump's claims of an illegitimate Biden victory are lies and destructive.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin was indicted in the arrest of a 14-year-old whom prosecutors say he knelt on for 17 minutes and hit with a flashlight
Chauvin is accused of using his authority as an officer to deprive the teen of his rights. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A federal grand jury has indicted the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a civil-rights charge in the 2017 arrest of a 14-year-old boy.
PoliticsMiami HeraldRepublicans get away with cheating in voting bill DeSantis signs on Fox News | Opinion
But giddy, greedy DeSantis is using this bill, now law, for two purposes: To set up roadblocks for Democratic voters, who sent in a record number of votes by mail, to do so again in 2022 — and to keep peddling the big lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Under a cloud The voting bill is awash in irony and chicanery. Republicans were the big cheaters in the 2020 election in Florida.
WorldBBCBritish Airways owner IAG calls for action to restart flights
British Airways owner IAG has said it is "ready to fly" and has called for government action to restart international travel. Details of a "green list" of countries with the fewest travel rules are expected soon. The airline group has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with revenue plunging as many of its planes have been grounded.
U.S.USA TODAYMan who took 5 hostages at a Minnesota bank threw cash, made threats and wanted to be a 'martyr,' court docs say
A man who took five hostages at a Minnesota Wells Fargo bank on Thursday wasn't armed with a gun but held scissors to a person's neck, destroyed hostages' phones and threw cash around the bank during a eight-hour standoff Thursday, according to police and court documents. Ray Reco McNeary, 35, told both hostages and law enforcement he intended to kill the employees, according to court documents. He said he wanted to “go viral” and to be a “martyr and also threatened to kill himself or put law enforcement in a position to kill him.
WorldINSIDERThe driver of a cash truck who dodged armed robbers' bullets was a cool professional. But his partner was a 'rookie,' says security expert.
A video out of South Africa showed the moment armed robbers attempted a cash-in-transit heist. The video has since gone viral, garnering more than 10 million views on YouTube. Insider spoke to a security expert to analyze the video and assess how the men reacted to the ambush.
PoliticsThe IndependentSecret Russian assassination squad linked to claims of bounties on US troops in Afghanistan, report says
Claims of Russian bounties against US troops in Afghanistan were linked to a Kremlin-backed spy team known as Unit 29155, according to reports. The intelligence community released newly-declassified documents of its assessment to The New York Times after the Biden administration's review said they had "low to moderate" confidence in the intelligence. Claims that Donald Trump did nothing about Russian bounties on American soldiers were leveraged by Joe Biden as a major election issue during the presidential campaign and tied to accusations that the Republican had consistently shown a deferential attitude to Vladimir Putin.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderArizona election auditors 'indefinitely defer' voter canvassing following DOJ letter expressing concerns about voter intimidation
Arizona election auditors say the Senate decided to "indefinitely defer" voter canvassing weeks ago. The Justice Department raised concerns earlier this week about Maricopa County's election audit. Republican-led election auditors in Maricopa County, Arizona, have "indefinitely deferred" the door-to-door voter canvassing aspect of the audit, two days after the US Justice Department sent a letter to the president of Arizona's state senate expressing various legal concerns about the November 2020 election inspection.
U.S.INSIDERJosh Duggar's internet usage was sent to his wife to track his porn habit, federal officials say
Duggar's computer had "accountability software" that sent internet-usage reports to his wife, Anna. A federal agent said the software, Covenant Eyes, was registered to both Duggar and Anna. Josh Duggar, who's been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography, had "accountability software" installed on his computer that monitored his internet usage and sent reports to his wife, a federal agent testified in a detention hearing on Wednesday.
PoliticsThe IndependentGiuliani cutting back large entourage to cut costs amid legal challenges. report claims
Rudy Giuliani, former president Donald Trump's personal attorney and former mayor of New York, is apparently tightening his purse strings as he has reportedly cut some of his personal entourage. Sources familiar with the layoffs told Politico that the reduction was done in an effort to save money. In recent years, the former mayor would travel around the city with a staff of five people, but his shrinking crew may be indicative of financial difficulties he is facing in the fallout of the 2020 election.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhite House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says she'll resign next year when it's 'time for somebody else to have this job'
Jen Psaki, the face of Biden's administration, says she will step down in around a year. "I think it's going to be time for somebody else to have this job in a year from now, or about a year from now," she told CNN. Psaki says she accepted the job after agreeing with President Biden's transition team that she would serve in the role for about a year.
WorldINSIDERA prince from Liechtenstein was accused of poaching one of Europe's largest brown bears during a hunting trip in Romania
A prince from Liechtenstein has been accused of poaching a large brown bear in Romania. Environmental agencies have said the prince was supposed to kill a bear that was harming villages instead. Romanian authorities are investigating the incident.
PoliticsThe IndependentElise Stefanik: From moderate to Trump favourite, who is the rising GOP star expected to topple Liz Cheney
If you do not recognise the name, it is likely you saw her in one of several moments from Donald Trump's impeachment hearing that went viral. Appointed to defend the then president over claims he had sought political favours from Ukraine, Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik frequently and stridently clashed with Democrats such as Adam Schiff. “This is the fifth time you have interrupted a duly-elected members of Congress,” she told told him on one occasion, in an exchange that delighted Republicans.
U.S.Business InsiderA man was arrested after allegedly spending $5 million in stolen COVID-19 relief on Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini sports cars
A man was arrested Friday on charges related to fraudulently obtaining and spending $5 million in PPP loans. A man from Irvine, California, was arrested on Friday over charges that include illegally obtaining $5 million in COVID-19 relief and spending it on sports cars, according to the Department of Justice. Mustafa Qadiri, 38, is accused of fraudulently receiving money through the Payment Protection Program by applying for the loan under the guise of "sham businesses."
ScienceBusiness InsiderThe Chinese rocket speeding back to Earth is so unpredictable it could land almost anywhere. One guess is around Turkmenistan late on May 8.
The US military and others are tracking a Chinese rocket piece due to re-enter the atmosphere soon. Experts are tracking a large section of a Chinese rocket which is due to re-enter the atmosphere in the next two days or so. Space-Track, a website run by the 18th Space Control Squadron, a branch of the US military that tracks space debris, said in a tweet on Friday that the rocket will reenter around 11:13 PM UTC, or 7:13 PM ET, on Saturday.
WorldReutersFresh pizza vending machine prompts curiosity and horror in Rome
Raffaele Esposito, the 19th century Neapolitan credited with inventing Italy's most famous type of pizza, may be turning in his grave: Rome has a new vending machine which slides out freshly cooked pizzas in just three minutes. "It looks good but it is much smaller than in a restaurant and there is less topping," said Claudio Zampiga, a pensioner. People have been eating forms of flat bread with toppings for millennia, but it is generally accepted that pizza was perfected in Naples, where it was a street food for the poor.
WorldThe IndependentIran shouldn't expect any more US concessions in nuclear talks, White House says
President Joe Biden's government is hinting that Iran should keep their expectations low for new offers following a new series of discussions between the two nations over the nuclear deal. A senior source told reporters on Thursday that the U.S had outlined all their terms and conditions for rejoining their 2015 nuclear deal, which was heralded as a major success of diplomacy, that President Donald Trump removed the US from. The source, an official within Mr Biden's government, said that continuing was up to Iran, as they were not going to budge from their position.
“Every college has a public health responsibility to require its students to be vaccinated.”
“While the vast majority of students will likely get the vaccine, schools should honor the decisions of the few who object.”
“A vaccinated campus could be the step toward normality that college leaders are seeking.”
“College students are mobile and spread COVID-19 with them whenever they travel.”
“There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them.”