PoliticsThe WeekThe top 4 congressional leaders are headed to the White House for the 1st time since 2019
The congressional "Big Four" — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — will meet with President Biden on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure. It is the first time the four congressional leaders have convened at the White House since October 2019, and "this meeting will have a different dynamic, to say the least," Politico says.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanWoman accused of shooting mother, kidnapping infant twins is arrested, Georgia cops say
A Georgia woman faces assault and kidnapping charges after she's accused of shooting a young mother and fleeing with her 6-week-old twins. Angela Montgomery, 23, was arrested Tuesday afternoon, according the Savannah Police Department. Montgomery is accused of taking newborns Matteo and Lorenzo Rodgers from their home earlier that day, triggering a frantic search and statewide Amber Alert.
PoliticsReuters'She's a hero': Liz Cheney down but not out in Wyoming after crossing Trump
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Reuters) -When lifelong Wyoming Republican Tage Benson and Democrat Chamois Andersen met for the first time at the Owl in the Attic antiques store in Laramie this past weekend, they quickly put their political differences aside. Their home state's embattled Republican congresswoman, Liz Cheney, needed to be supported, they agreed, for standing up to former President Donald Trump and contesting his false stolen-election claims. “This is where Democrats and Republicans can come together,” said Anderson, 51, a wildlife advocate who often disagrees with Cheney on policy.
WorldThe WeekAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez had harsh words for Andrew Yang after his Israel-Palestine comments
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has mostly stayed out of New York City's mayoral race, but she had some harsh words for candidate Andrew Yang, the presumptive favorite, on Tuesday. Yang had tweeted Monday that he is "standing with the people of Israel" amid the escalating violence between Israeli forces and Hamas, which stems from the government threatening to evict Palestinian families from their homes in east Jerusalem. Yang's words ultimately led his campaign to cancel a planned trip to help distribute groceries in Queens ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan.
WorldAxiosIn photos: Dozens dead as Israel and Hamas intensify aerial bombardments
Photo: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images Rockets are launched from Gaza toward the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel on May 11. Photo: Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images A Palestinian youth comforts an injured boy receiving medical care al-Shifa hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza on May 11. Photo: Mahmud HamsA/AFP via Getty Images Israeli emergency services transport an injured man in the town of Holon near Tel Aviv, on May 11.
U.S.Associated PressSchools ditch student mask requirements in growing numbers
As a lengthy, bitter fight over mask requirements for students neared its conclusion, the chairperson of a Florida school board announced that she would agree to lift a mandate that had been in place since September even though she preferred leaving it in place until the end of the academic year. Moments later, the Santa Rosa school board voted unanimously to make masks optional for all grades effective immediately, joining dozens of other U.S, communities in declaring that masks were or would soon no longer be mandatory for students. A few beleaguered school boards, caught between the demands of anti-mask parents and the appeals of employee unions, eliminated student mask rules only to reverse or revise the decisions.
PoliticsThe WeekDespite televised denial, Caitlyn Jenner did vote in 2020, records show
California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner told CNN, in an interview broadcast Tuesday, that she "didn't even vote" in the 2020 election. But "Los Angeles County records show she actually did cast a ballot last fall," Politico reported Tuesday night, with notarized proof. Jenner didn't leave much wriggle room, telling CNN's Dana Bash she didn't vote for president or any of the 12 ballot measures because "I didn't see any propositions that I really had one side or the other."
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Rosen won't answer question on Trump fraud claim
Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen won't answer questions from Congress about whether then-President Donald Trump instructed him to take any action to try to advance Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud. Rosen would not answer Wednesday in response to questions from Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia at a hearing on the deadly Capitol insurrection. Rosen was asked specifically whether Trump had asked or instructed him to take any action at the Department of Justice "to advance election fraud claims or to seek to overturn any part of the 2020 election results.”
U.S.Defense NewsUS Army scraps Stryker mobile gun systems in favor of new lethality upgrades
The U.S. Army is scrapping its Stryker Mobile Gun Systems in favor of new lethality upgrades for its fleet of combat vehicles, the service announced in a May 12 statement. The Army decided to divest the gun systems by the end of fiscal 2022 after “a comprehensive analysis highlighted obsolescence and systemic issues with the system's dated cannon and automatic loader,” according to the release. The MGS version of the Stryker has a 105mm tank gun.
WorldThe Daily BeastTrevor Noah Has a Message for Israel: ‘What Is Your Responsibility?’
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Tuesday addressed the recent tensions in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine—as much as could reasonably be done in the time it takes to boil an egg. In recent days, Israeli police clashed with Palestinians at a Jerusalem mosque, nine children were among at least two dozen people killed by Israeli airstrikes, and Gaza militants fired rockets of their own at Israel, killing three. Noah, who acknowledged that there isn't “any TV show [that] in ten minutes is going to solve [the] Israel-Palestine [problem],” did make some keen observations.
- NewsKTRK – Houston
Man shot to death in business parking lot in Pasadena
Police say the man was having lunch with a woman in a car when she reportedly shot him several times. A child in the back seat was unhurt.
U.S.Miami HeraldOrlando lawyer and mother left her kids at home to run an SUV into their father’s house
Court documents say 40-year-old Francine Bogumil later texted her ex-husband, “S---- bout to get ugly. All this violated several laws, court orders as well as the standards for behavior by a member of the Florida Bar, of which Bogumil has been a member since 2006. As for the criminal matters, Bogumil pleaded no contest and was found guilty of one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; one count of assault on a law enforcement officer, one count of domestic violence battery, two counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order, and two counts of criminal mischief.
WorldArchitectural Digest31 Glass Coffee Tables for Any and Every Living Room
Could we be any clearer? Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe GuardianTrump family members got ‘inappropriately close’ to Secret Service agents, book claims
Two Trump family members got “inappropriately – and perhaps dangerously – close” to agents protecting them while Donald Trump was president, according to a new book on the US Secret Service. Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service, by the Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, is published next week. Leonnig won a Pulitzer prize in 2015, for her reporting on security failures at the Secret Service.
WorldBusiness InsiderVideo shows Iron Dome interceptors filling the sky as more than 100 rockets rain down on Israel
The Israel Defense Forces released video Tuesday of its Iron Dome system shooting down rockets. Hamas fired the rockets amid heightened tensions and fighting that has already killed dozens. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video of its Iron Dome air defense system filling the sky with interceptors as more than 100 rockets rained down on Tel Aviv and central Israel Tuesday evening, the latest in a string of rocket attacks over the past couple of days.
WorldBBCBrazil Amazon: Illegal miners fire on indigenous group
Illegal miners inside a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon opened fire on an indigenous community using automatic weapons, local leaders say. One indigenous person and four miners were injured. An estimated 20,000 illegal gold miners are in the Yanomami area, Brazil's largest protected indigenous reserve.
WorldThe TelegraphI am ‘v free’: David Cameron sent 68 messages to ministers and mandarins about Greensill Capital
David Cameron bombarded ministers and officials with 68 messages about the collapsed lender Greensill, it has emerged, as the scale of his intense lobbying campaign has been laid bare. The communications fired off by the former Conservative prime minister on behalf of the controversial finance firm - totalling up to 19 calls, text and emails in a single day - were published on Tuesday afternoon by a committee of MPs. The Treasury committee, which is one of three Commons select committees conducting an inquiry into Greensill Capital and its collapse, released the messages supplied by Mr Cameron ahead of his appearance before its panel on Thursday.
WorldThe IndependentCIA's fake inoculation cover before bin Laden killing led to vaccine drop-off in Pakistan, new report says
Declining vaccination rates in Pakistan have been linked to operations undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2011 to try to locate Osama bin Laden. A new study in the Journal of the European Economic Association, which is published by the Oxford University Press, argues that Pakistani distrust in vaccines can be tied directly to a CIA-led ruse in 2011 that used a vaccine clinic as a cover for agents to try to gather information on bin Laden's location. During the ruse, CIA agents worked with a local doctor to launch an immunisation plan in Pakistan.
WorldBusiness Insider43 dead in Gaza and 5 in Israel amid riots, air strikes, and more than 1,000 rockets fired at cities
Forty-eight people have been reported dead overnight in escalating violence between Gaza and Israel. Hamas launched volleys of rockets toward Tel Aviv, and Israel launched air strikes. A total of 48 people in Israel and Gaza have died in intense overnight hostilities that saw hundreds of air strikes and more than 1,000 rockets fired.
PoliticsUSA TODAYCheney's warning on Trump after a secret vote: 4 takeaways from House GOP meeting
Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of a former vice president and the GOP's third most-powerful House leader, has been removed from her position as Republican Conference chair Wednesday following months of increasing tension within party leadership. Behind closed doors, fellow Republican members of the House stripped Cheney of her leadership position after her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump over his alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and her continued outspoken criticism of the former president.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMore than 120 retired generals and admirals wrote to Biden suggesting he wasn't legitimately elected and questioning his mental health
More than 120 retired US military leaders have signed an open letter appearing to advance a false conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged, and questioning President Joe Biden's mental capacity to rule. "Without fair and honest elections that accurately reflect the 'will of the people' our Constitutional Republic is lost," said the letter released Tuesday by "Flag Officers 4 America," and signed by 124 former admirals and generals. "The FBI and Supreme Court must act swiftly when election irregularities are surfaced and not ignore them as was done in 2020."
WorldThe IndependentIndian workers lured to New Jersey and forced to work 12 hours a day at $1.20 an hour to help build Hindu temple, says lawsuit
As many as 200 Indian workers from marginalised communities were allegedly lured to New Jersey in the US where they were forced to work 12 hours a day at $1.20 (85p) an hour to help build a Hindu temple, a lawsuit has claimed. The case was filed by five of them in the US District Court in Newark on behalf of more than 200 Indian construction workers. The lawsuit accuses their employer, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), and related entities of recruiting them in India and bringing them to the US where they were forced to work for more than 87 hours a week for $450 (£318) a month.
LifestyleBusiness InsiderCarnival just extended its sailing pause. See when major cruise lines plan on operating again.
Keep scrolling to see the updated sailing suspension dates for several major cruise lines: Norwegian Cruises On a suspended sailings update on December 29, 2020, Norwegian hit the pause button on all of its cruises that were set to sail through March. However, on January 19, the cruise line pushed this sail date back one month through April. Almost a month later, Norwegian canceled all of its cruises through May.
U.S.Architectural DigestHouse Call: This Is the Comfort You Need
In support of plump, fluffy, puffy furniture Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.The Daily Beast‘You’re Ridiculous!’: Lawmakers Shred Defense Sec’y for Jan. 6 About-Face
A Democratic lawmaker called former acting defense secretary Chris Miller “ridiculous” on Wednesday for trying to walk back his claims that former President Donald Trump incited the violent Jan. 6 insurrection. In written remarks prepared for his testimony before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on the riot, and in a March interview with VICE, Miller had called out Trump for directly inciting thousands of MAGA supporters to attack the Capitol after repeated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen.” “You said the insurrection happened because of Trump's speech,” Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) said during the hearing.
“If Facebook lets Trump back on Facebook and Instagram, he'll assuredly restart his assault on democracy.”
“Facebook should have known better than to believe that it could limit speech on its platform without setting a terrible precedent.”
“Providing a microphone and an amplifier for deceit isn't fighting the good fight for free speech.”
“It’s no defense of Mr. Trump’s conduct to say that the digital public square shouldn’t suppress speech by political leaders.”
“The former president no longer gets the ‘head of state’ exception to terms of service.”