PoliticsNBC News'You want to see a temper tantrum?': Arizona Republican sides with Democrats, blocks voting bill
A bill that would stop some voters from getting a ballot automatically mailed to them each election failed unexpectedly in Arizona's state Senate Thursday after a single Republican joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. GOP state Sen. Kelly Townsend explained her surprise "no" vote on the state Senate floor amid a tense episode that saw the senator get into a heated confrontation with the bill's sponsor. "I am for this bill, but I am not voting for it until after the audit," she said, referring to an audit orchestrated by Senate Republicans of ballots in Maricopa County reportedly set to get underway this week and last through mid-May. The audit is a continuation of GOP efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in a state President Joe Biden won by over 10,000 votes.
WorldThe TelegraphJapanese man arrested after dating 35 women at the same time in bid to 'get birthday presents'
A Japanese man has been arrested after reportedly dating more than 35 women at the same time. Takashi Miyagawa, a part-time worker, is being investigated for allegedly defrauding dozens of women by pretending he was serious about each of their relationships and receiving hundreds of pounds worth of gifts from them. He was apparently caught out when the women joined forces to create a victims' association after discovering his extensive infidelity and reported him to the police, according to local media.
U.S.ReutersA cheerleader's Snapchat profanity gets U.S. Supreme Court's attention
(Reuters) - Two days after Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania held its cheerleading tryouts, ninth-grader Brandi Levy was still fuming about being passed over for a spot on the varsity squad. While a younger girl had been picked for varsity, Levy was facing another year relegated to the junior varsity cheer squad. Levy, age 14 at the time, posted the photo to the Snapchat social media platform, adding a caption using the same curse word four times to voice her displeasure with cheerleading, softball, school and "everything."
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramCop seen punching teen with autism in California video. ‘Disturbing,’ boy’s dad says
Surveillance video shared by a California dad shows a police officer violently attack a teenager in a residential neighborhood on Wednesday. Adam Wolf says he is worried his 17-year-old son, Preston, who has autism and ADHD, will never trust police officers again. “I am pro police, but I am not pro ABUSE,” Wolf said on Facebook, where he posted the video.
U.S.The TelegraphGender reveal party prompts fears of 'earthquakes' after US couple detonates 80 pounds of explosives
Explosives used for a gender reveal party in New Hampshire were so loud that residents across state lines thought there was an earthquake. Locals in the Rockingham County area reported the foundations of their homes cracking and walls rocking to police, who located the origin of the blast in a quarry, where a family admitted to holding the gathering. “It was earth-shaking,” a neighbor who lives near Torromeo Industries in Kingston, where the explosives were set off at 7pm EST on Tuesday, told NBC news.
WorldAssociated PressDeath toll from suicide car bombing rises to 5 in Pakistan
An overnight attack at a luxury hotel in Pakistan has been confirmed as a suicide car bombing and the death toll has risen to five, the country's interior minister and police said Thursday. In a statement, the counter-terrorism department said five people were killed and about a dozen wounded in Wednesday's attack in the parking lot of the Serena hotel, in the southwestern city of Quetta. The bombing took place as Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong visited Quetta city.
WorldReutersThe ex-convict's tale: Germany's role in Wirecard scandal under microscope
In February 2019, after a steep drop in Wirecard's share price, German authorities launched criminal probes into short-sellers and journalists who had accused the company of fraud, and banned investors from betting against the company. Documents seen by Reuters show for the first time that the only independent information - beyond Wirecard's representations - received by Munich prosecutors who launched the criminal probes was a third-hand account of events from a convicted money launderer, Daniel James Harris. The rationale that led to the decisions of prosecutors and regulators to launch the criminal probes and short-selling ban, and whether they were overzealous in supporting Wirecard, are central issues being investigated by a parliamentary inquiry into the company's collapse in Germany's biggest post-war fraud scandal.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAxiosBiden will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for wealthiest Americans
President Biden in the next few days will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for the wealthiest Americans —a top marginal income tax rate of 39.6% and a capital gains rate of 43.4%. Why it matters: The proposal, to be announced ahead of Biden's address to Congress next Wednesday, is an opening bid for Hill negotiations. Practically and politically, the White House needs buy-in from Congress to pay for social spending in the next phase of his plan to reshape the American economy, the American Families Plan.
WorldThe TelegraphNicola Sturgeon accused of 'ducking away' from hard independence questions
Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of trying to "duck away" from the hard questions about independence after one of her election candidates argued a customs border with England would help a separate Scotland create jobs. The First Minister claimed not to have "directly" heard the comments by Emma Harper, who was a South Scotland MSP in the last parliament, despite the widespread ridicule and criticism they had received. She also claimed that it was Brexit, not independence that would create a hard border even though the UK has already left the EU and there are no trade barriers between England and Scotland.
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
A light for Myanmar's darkness
The dictator of Myanmar, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is set to meet with other leaders of Southeast Asia on Saturday in Indonesia. The gathering may be the only place where the man who led a Feb. 1 coup against an elected government might feel some legitimacy. Now, instead of relying solely on resistance to the regime, democracy leaders have decided to set up “free zones” in border areas to provide both basic services and civic liberties.
PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats move 2 bills showing strength and limits of power
The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans. Thursday's twin victories let Democrats display momentum just six days before President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress. Despite a minuscule majority, House Democrats have overcome Republican opposition and passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
WorldBBCCovid-19: India hospital fire as virus cases hit record high
Delhi hospitals run out of oxygen amid Covid spike Why second Covid wave is devastating India How India failed to prevent a deadly second wave The hospital fire happened in the Virar area of Maharashtra state, which is about 70km (43 miles) north of Mumbai. It remains unclear how the fire started, and Maharashtra's chief minister has ordered an inquiry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered condolences on Twitter calling the incident "tragic".
- PoliticsReuters Videos
After debate, House votes to make D.C. a state
REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-NY): “D.C. residents are Americans and they deserve the equal rights our national ideals promised them. The House of Representatives on Thursday voted along party lines to make the District of Columbia the 51st U.S. state.
U.S.NBC NewsCouple planned wedding at Florida mansion without owner's OK.
A Florida couple attempted to host a two-day wedding celebration at a mansion they didn't have permission to use, and when the owner found out about it on the day of their planned nuptials, he called the police. Courtney Wilson, the groom, and Shenita Jones, the bride, sent elaborate invitations to family and friends to attend their wedding at their "dream home and estate." When Wilson showed up with another person on the morning of his wedding day, ready to begin "setting up," Finkel saw them at the gate and immediately called the police, according to WTVJ.
WorldThe TelegraphWho killed Chad’s warrior king? Macron flies into murder mystery troubling the West
Emmanuel Macron touched down in Chad on Friday to pay his respects to one of France's indispensable African strongman, a warrior king allegedly killed on the battlefield in a murder mystery troubling Western leaders. President Idriss Déby Itno was killed suddenly as he visited his troops facing down a heavily armed Russian-trained rebel force that had made a blitzkrieg dash across the Sahara to capture Chad's capital, N'djamena. The Chadian rebels — the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) — who swept out of Libya some two weeks ago in about 400 to 450 vehicles had fought for years as mercenaries in Libya's Civil War under General Khalifa Haftar.
U.S.Miami HeraldThe biker thought he was getting a ticket. Instead, the deputy gave him a phone number
Largely phased out nationwide, just a few Officer Friendly programs have endured through the millennium, including one by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, according to WFTS Tampa Bay. This story isn't about Officer Friendly, but it is about a friendly officer. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office posted video of a traffic stop that went in a direction the motorist probably didn't expect.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramStorms expected to arrive in DFW Friday afternoon; large hail, tornadoes possible
Storms are expected to move into the Dallas-Fort Worth region by the early afternoon on Friday, bringing the potential for severe weather including heavy rain, strong winds and hail as big as ping pong balls. There will additionally be a threat for tornadoes, especially south of I-20 and east of I-25, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. The storm systems were expected to develop southwest of DFW in the mid-to-late morning and head north, arriving in the metroplex in the early afternoon and continuing into the evening, according to Patrcia Sanchez, a weather service meteorologist.
ScienceBBCNasa's rover makes breathable oxygen on Mars
An instrument on Nasa's Perseverance rover on Mars has made oxygen from the planet's carbon dioxide atmosphere. It's the second successful technology demonstration on the mission, which flew a mini-helicopter on Monday. The oxygen generation was performed by a toaster-sized unit in the rover called Moxie - the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment.
PoliticsAssociated PressSen. Johnson on others getting shots: 'What do you care?'
Contrary to what medical experts advise, Johnson has said he doesn't need to be vaccinated because he had COVID-19 in the fall. Johnson's comments come as health officials in the U.S. and around the world urge people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible, saying that reaching herd immunity is the best shot at stopping the uncontrolled spread of the virus. Herd immunity occurs when enough people have been vaccinated or have immunity from natural infection that the virus can't easily spread and the pandemic fizzles out.
U.S.INSIDEROther ex-officers charged in George Floyd's killing are 'almost 100 percent' going to plead guilty after Derek Chauvin's conviction, experts say
The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August. The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider. Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.
U.S.Architectural Digest10 Glowy, Ethereal Paper Lights That Aren't by Noguchi
Nothing beats the iconic Akari light sculptures, but these come pretty darn close Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBusiness InsiderA deadly fight 33 years ago shows just how destructive a war between the US and Iran could get
In April 1988, the US attacked Iran in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a US ship. Operation Praying Mantis, the largest US naval action since World War II, was brief but deadly. Just before 8:00 a.m. on April 18, 1988, members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) stationed on the Sassan and Sirri oil platforms in the Persian Gulf received a warning from US Navy ships several thousand yards away.
WorldINSIDERHundreds of Jewish supremacists chant 'Death to Arabs' as tensions boil over in Jerusalem clashes
Members of the supremacist group, Lehava, chanted "death to Arabs" as they marched to the Old City. Police were able to separate the two crowds, but The Jerusalem Post still reported incidents of violence and arrests. Planned protests among far-right Jewish extremists and Arab crowds escalated in Jerusalem's Old City Thursday night and early Friday morning amid increasing tensions in the city.
WorldBBCWhat's gone wrong with Australia's vaccine rollout?
And while steps have been taken to speed up the programme - such as mass immunisation hubs and investment in local production - the government is seeing its success so far in battling Covid tarnished by its sluggish vaccination effort. How many Australians have been vaccinated? The rollout began in February and so far 1.6 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide in a population of 25 million.
“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.”