PoliticsThe WeekScalise says GOP will 'take action' if DOJ moves ahead with a case against Gaetz
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday said if "something really formal" happens with the Justice Department's investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Republican leadership will "of course react and take action." The Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz, 38, had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel out of state with him, allegations that Gaetz denies. Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican leader, told reporters that he hasn't talked to Gaetz about the investigation, but will likely meet with him later this week.
WorldReutersSaudi Arabia says it is concerned about Iran uranium enrichment
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it was concerned about Iran's intention to start enriching uranium to 60% purity and said such a move could not be considered part of a peaceful nuclear programme. A foreign ministry statement called on Iran to avoid escalation and engage seriously in talks with global powers about a 2015 nuclear pact. Iran's announcement about its plan to enrich to 60%, bringing the fissile material closer to the 90% level suitable for a nuclear bomb, came after Tehran accused Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear installation and ahead of the resumption of nuclear talks in Vienna.
U.S.The StateBody found in Mississippi River is missing LSU student Kori Gauthier, officials say
Kori Gauthier, a Louisiana State University freshman reported missing one week ago, was found dead. LSU officials confirmed Wednesday night that a body recently found in the Mississippi rRiver is Gauthier. “Since Kori was first reported missing, the LSU Police Department, Baton Rouge Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and volunteers have taken exhaustive measures to locate her and, in the process, to determine what led to her disappearance,” LSU Chief of Police Bart Thompson said in a statement.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverMysterious goat appears in Death Valley National Park. That’s bad news, rangers say
A tourist at Death Valley spotted something within the park that shouldn't be there: a mysterious goat. The visitor reported seeing a domestic goat in a canyon near Stovepipe Wells within the park. The goat could be bad for native bighorn sheep and the park's ecosystem, rangers said Wednesday on Facebook.
WorldAssociated PressPentagon chief on inaugural tour of Europe to shore up ties
Nearly a year after President Donald Trump ordered thousands of troops to leave Germany, capping a series of setbacks for U.S. relations with major allies, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began an inaugural tour of Europe to shore up partnerships that are a cornerstone of the post-World War II order. Austin arrived in Berlin on Monday against the backdrop of a newly emerging crisis with Iran, which on Monday blamed Israel for a recent attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility. Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement, but the attack nonetheless imperils ongoing talks in Europe over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal.
U.S.TheGrioArmy sergeant pushes Black man, demands he leave neighborhood in viral video
A viral video of an army sergeant pushing a Black resident in South Carolina and demanding that he leaves the neighborhood has now resulted in criminal charges. Initially uploaded on Facebook on Monday, the three-minute clip has circulated various media channels before the aggressor was identified as Jonathan Pentland, a 42-year-old U.S. Army sergeant in Columbia, S.C. Pentland has since been charged with third-degree assault, Washington Post reports. In the video, Pentland pushes, threatens, and verbally assaults a black man and attempts to force him to leave the area.
WorldAssociated PressTurkey to host Afghan peace talks later this month
The United Nations, Turkey and Qatar announced Tuesday that a high-level conference between Afghanistan's warring sides will take place in Istanbul later this month. The meeting is aimed at accelerating peace negotiations and achieving a political settlement to decades of conflict. The three co-conveners said they are “committed to supporting a sovereign, independent and unified Afghanistan.”
U.S.The StatePopular NC teacher killed trying to rob Mexican drug cartel member, sheriff says
A popular Union County teacher described by family and friends as a devoted father, teacher and coach was fatally wounded in a shootout when he and his brother-in-law tried to rob members of a Mexican drug cartel, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said Wednesday. Barney Dale Harris, 40, taught Spanish and was head coach of the boys' varsity basketball and track teams at Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, according to his family and the school. Alamance County is east of Greensboro along interstates 85 and 40 — 55 miles west of Raleigh and 115 miles from Charlotte.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Israel made 'very bad gamble' on Natanz: Iran FM
Speaking during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Iran's top diplomat said the incident enabled Iran to use all of its options at Natanz legally and legitimately. "Israel played a very bad gamble if it thought that the attack will weaken Iran's hand in the nuclear talks," Zarif said. Tehran has said an explosion on Sunday (April 11) at its key nuclear site was an act of sabotage by arch-foe Israel and vowed revenge for an attack that appeared to be latest episode in a long-running covert war.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderBiden team believes Austin Tice, journalist missing in Syria, is alive
Biden administration diplomats and intelligence officers are operating “with the sincere belief” that Austin Tice is alive, two U.S. officials told McClatchy on Wednesday, and the group is working daily to free the American journalist who went missing in 2012 while covering the war in Syria. “We operate with the sincere belief that Austin is alive and waiting for us to come get him,” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, a team of experts from different government agencies that gathers diplomatic leads and intelligence information together in one place, is pursuing the Tice case.
ScienceAssociated PressUAE sets new ambitious timeline for launch of moon rover
The United Arab Emirates' space center announced Wednesday a more ambitious timeline for sending its first rover to the moon. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center said it is partnering with Japan's ispace company to send a rover to the moon on an unmanned spacecraft by 2022, rather than 2024. The “Rashid” rover, named after Dubai's ruling family, will deploy to the moon using ispace's lunar lander.
U.S.ReutersFauci says pause on J&J COVID-19 shot should not prompt vaccine hesitancy
Top U.S. health officials urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, saying U.S. regulators' pause on Johnson & Johnson shots, following reports it can cause blood clotting, should boost confidence in the vaccines' safety. U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended pausing use of J&J's COVID-19 vaccine for at least a few days after six women under 50 developed rare blood clots after getting the shot. White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said that U.S. regulators' quick response to the clotting reports should give Americans more confidence, not less, that any shots they receive will be safe.
U.S.Business InsiderPelosi says she thinks Chauvin trial is 'disappointing': 'Maybe my disappointment springs from my expectation that these are our protectors'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Chauvin trial Wednesday, calling it "so disappointing." Pelosi said she still respects law enforcement and stamped down calls to "defund the police." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she finds the trial of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin "so disappointing."
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramThese Fort Worth mayoral candidates say voter restriction laws are bad for business
Texas should avoid voting laws that may hurt businesses, candidates for Fort Worth mayor said Wednesday in a forum, though some wanted to have a more hands-on approach to advocating for voting laws. Many companies have spoken out against Republican efforts to make voting more difficult in Texas, so the forum focused on Fort Worth's business environment led with the question of what role the mayor should play. It was also the question where candidates D.C. Caldwell, Mattie Parker, Deborah Peoples and Ann Zadeh seem to diverge from each other the most.
HealthAssociated PressJ&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidence
Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk really is. The reports are exceedingly rare — six cases out of more than 7 million U.S. inoculations with the one-dose vaccine. But the government recommended a pause in J&J vaccinations this week, not long after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca vaccine, a shot made in a similar way but not yet approved for use in the U.S. At an emergency meeting, advisers to the Centers for Di...
U.S.USA TODAYNo apology owed for pepper-spraying Black and Latino Army officer in Virginia, police chief says
While he said he felt bad for how the events of a traffic-stop late last year unfolded, the police chief of the town where a Black and Latino military officer from Petersburg, Virginia, was accosted by two of his officers said Wednesday that he does not think the soldier is in need of an official apology. In response, Army Lt. Caron Nazario's legal team said Windsor Police Department Chief Rodney D. Riddle "continues a false narrative" of the case and blaming their client for initiating it. "I'm gonna own what we did," Riddle said about the stop during a news conference Wednesday in the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, community where Nazario was stopped last December while on his way home.
U.S.The IndependentTwo North Carolina police officers suspended over beating Black man in clash caught by bystander video
Two North Carolina police officers have been suspended after repeatedly punching a Black man lying on the ground in a clash that was caught on camera by a filming bystander. At around 6pm on Monday, Kinston Police officers McKinley Jones and Kevin Page responded to a 911 call from a woman who said David Lee Bruton Jr, 36, had threatened to “slap” her, according to the Jones Free Press. In a press conference on Tuesday, police said that Mr Bruton then attempted to run away from the officers, but tripped and fell to the ground, with the officers quickly moving to detain him while he was on the floor.
U.S.Miami HeraldThe long road to Harriet Tubman’s name replacing Dixie Highway. Holdout: Coral Gables
Dixie Highway looks likely to survive another year in Miami-Dade County as backers of renaming the state road after Harriet Tubman face setbacks in Tallahassee and Coral Gables. The city is the only local government in Miami-Dade to reject adding Tubman's name to 42 miles of U.S. 1, a federal and state road that's also gone by Dixie Highway for a century. County commissioners endorsed the switch last year as a way to replace a name often linked with the Confederacy with the name of the country's most famous “conductor” of the Underground Railroad network used to free enslaved Americans before the end of the Civil War.
BusinessRaleigh News and ObserverNorthgate Mall in Durham will soon be torn down. Here’s how you can get a piece of it.
Nearly everything inside the shuttered Northgate Mall is up for grabs before its 900,000 square feet are demolished and gone for good. The mall is auctioning off virtually all of its remaining physical goods — things like food court menu boards, furniture, store fixtures and even Christmas decorations — at discount prices to online bidders before the mall is torn down later this summer. “If it's here and it can be moved, it's going be sold,” said John Martin, chief operating officer of Wester Auction & Realty, a Smithfield-based company in charge of liquidating the Durham mall's assets.
U.S.The IndependentKim Potter: Former police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright arrested on manslaughter charges
The former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright will face manslaughter charges, authorities say. Kim Potter was captured on body cam footage killing Mr Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, which has sparked protests and unrest in the community. Ms Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, will be charged with second degree manslaughter in connection to Wright's death, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput has announced.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramInspired by ‘Breaking Bad,’ Pennsylvania researcher tried acquiring ricin, feds say
A Pennsylvania man inspired by “Breaking Bad” has admitted to lying about his attempts to buy powerful poisons, officials say. Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, a former research director at a biotech firm in Massachusetts, pleaded guilty this week to obstruction of justice during an FBI investigation into his attempts to acquire ricin and convallatoxin. Ricin is a poison from castor beans and covallatoxin is a poison found in lily of the valley plants.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderIvanka Trump breaks Twitter silence to posts photos of herself getting a COVID-19 vaccine
Ivanka Trump posted photos of herself receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Trump is the first member of her immediate family to publicize her vaccination. Republican voters and Trump loyalists are disproportionately hesitant or unwilling to get vaccinated.
U.S.The IndependentMan who shot elephant seal in head as it rested on beach sentenced to prison
A man who fatally shot an elephant seal on a California beach has been sentenced to three months in prison. Jordan Gerbich, 30, who lived in California at the time of the incident but is now based in Utah, shot the seal in the head on 28 September 2019 near to the Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve in San Simeon, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors claimed that the 30-year-old did not kill the seal “by accident or on a whim,” explaining that Mr Gerbich and his friend brought a handgun to an area where the animals are known to rest.
U.S.The Daily BeastBiden’s Challenge: Save Police Reform Bill From ‘Irreconcilable’ Differences
As another American city is gripped by protests following the shooting death of an unarmed Black person by a police officer, the Biden administration is renewing focus on one of the “four historic crises” he pledged to address in his first hundred days: a long-overdue reckoning over racial justice in policing. “With Daunte Wright in Minnesota, that god-awful shooting resulting in his death, and in the midst of an ongoing trial over the killing of George Floyd… we're in the business, all of us meeting today, to deliver some real change,” President Joe Biden said on Tuesday before a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. “You can't reconcile abolition with reform—they're irreconcilable,” said Eugene O'Donnell, a former NYPD officer and prosecutor in New York City and professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
BusinessBusiness InsiderDelta, American, United, and other major airlines signal rejection of new CDC guidance saying they should block middle seats
A newly-publicized study found that maskless flyers could spread COVID-19 at a higher rate when middle seats are not blocked, as Insider's Hilary Brueck reported. Flyers on opposite ends of a three-seat row with the middle open reduce their risk of exposure by 57%, the study says. Multiple airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Air, and Southwest Airlines deferred to the trade organization Airlines for America on the issue when reached for comment by Insider.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”