PoliticsYahoo NewsHow Walter Mondale transformed the vice presidency
At the time, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (a former Mondale intern) and former Vice President Joe Biden were trailing more progressive candidates. Mondale strongly backed Klobuchar and later Biden. Wolfing down a hamburger, he chuckled and said, “I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and said, 'Fritz, you're a moderate.
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.
U.S.Associated PressMan pleads guilty in fatal shootings of 8 from Ohio family
A man pleaded guilty Thursday in the murders of his child's mother and seven members of her family in 2016 — a grisly crime that spread terror across their rural Ohio community and stirred rumors of drug dealers and hit men before authorities concluded it stemmed from a custody dispute. On the fifth anniversary of the slayings, Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 counts in southern Ohio's Pike County in a deal with prosecutors that spares him from being sentenced to death. He agreed to cooperate in the cases against his parents and brother, who are also charged in the Rhoden family slayings of seven adults and a teenage boy.
WorldBBCMissing Indonesian submarine has 72 hours of oxygen left, navy says
Indonesia has about 72 hours left to rescue 53 crew members of a missing navy submarine before they run out of oxygen, the navy said. The KRI Nanggala-402 vessel is thought to have disappeared about 60 miles (100km) off the coast of Bali early on Wednesday morning. Six warships, a helicopter and 400 people are involved in the search.
- WorldReuters
UK parliament declares genocide in China's Xinjiang; Beijing condemns move
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's parliament called on Wednesday for the government to take action to end what lawmakers described as genocide in China's Xinjiang region, stepping up pressure on ministers to go further in their criticism of Beijing. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government again steered clear of declaring genocide over what it says are "industrial-scale" human rights abuses against the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang. So far the government has imposed sanctions on some Chinese officials and introduced rules to try to prevent goods linked to the region entering the supply chain, but a majority of lawmakers want ministers to go further.
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.
WorldBBCWhat is the Paris climate agreement and why did the US rejoin?
The US has pledged to cut carbon emissions in half, compared with 2005 levels, by the end of this decade. The announcement comes after President Joe Biden reversed predecessor Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. What is the Paris Agreement?
- 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.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAssociated PressBlue states chart diverging paths on death penalty debate
But you can't say that this is Democratic or Republican because the effort to abolish the death penalty in Wyoming — which is the most Republican state legislature in the country — was pushed by Republicans. Capital punishment is legal in 27 states, three of which have a governor-imposed moratorium. Repeal proposals have been introduced this year in at least 14 states — both in Democratic-controlled legislatures like Nevada and Virginia, and in Republican-majority statehouses, including Kansas and Georgia.
U.S.The StateCop who fatally shot teen in Tennessee school bathroom won’t face charges, official says
Prosecutors say they won't charge the Tennessee officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old student last week during a violent confrontation inside a high school bathroom. Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said Knoxville officers were justified in the April 12 shooting that killed Anthony J. Thompson Jr. at Austin-East Magnet High School. Knoxville policeman Jonathon Clabough fired in self-defense, Allen said, after thinking Thompson had shot and wounded an officer.
WorldReutersCritics denounce Japan asylum reform as human rights violation
A planned reform of Japan's asylum law that would make it easier to deport failed applicants for refugee status drew fierce criticism on Thursday from lawyers, lawmakers and human rights groups who said it ran counter to international norms. The government says the proposed reform, which would mean asylum seekers could be deported after a third failed application, will solve the problem of long detentions of asylum seekers while they re-apply, or appeal against a rejection. Some asylum seekers are granted provisional release during the process, meaning they can live relatively freely although they cannot work, but others are held in government detention centres where they spend months or even years.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
GOP on their infrastructure plan: 'This is a robust package'
"This is the largest infrastructure investment that Republicans have come forward with," Senator Shelley Moore Capito said. Speaking at a news conference, Republican senators including Capito and Roger Wicker of Mississippi said they had sent their counterproposal to the president earlier Thursday morning, calling it a good faith effort that would be fully paid for without additional taxes.
BusinessAssociated PressJaguar Land Rover halts production because of chip shortage
Jaguar Land Rover said Thursday it's suspending production at two U.K. factories, becoming the latest automaker to fall victim to a global shortage of microchips. The shortage “is having an impact on our production schedules and our ability to meet global demand for some of our vehicles.” Production will be halted for a “limited period" starting Monday at its Halewood factory near Liverpool and at its Castle Bromwich plant near Birmingham in central England, the company said, without being more specific.
BusinessBBCGoogle and Apple attacked on app store 'monopoly'
Senators have grilled Apple and Google in Washington over "anti-competitive" behaviour related to their app stores. Representatives from Tile, Spotify and Match also gave evidence, accusing the two tech firms of charging exorbitant fees and copying their ideas. The Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel focussed on claims that Apple's App Store and Google's Google Play are anti-competitive.
WorldUSA TODAYFact check: No evidence to back claim that man convicted for Floyd's murder was not Derek Chauvin
Fact check: Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts but has yet to be sentenced The post includes several images of Chauvin from the day he killed Floyd, his mugshot and his trial. A close-up image highlights perceived differences in Chauvin's ear shape between his mugshot and images taken during Floyd's murder. Two different people.
WorldAssociated PressGerman court refuses effort to block EU recovery fund
Germany's top court has refused to issue an injunction blocking the country's participation in the European Union's 750 billion-euro (more than $900 billion) coronavirus recovery fund, clearing the way for the launch of the fund and its common borrowing aimed at supporting green and digital economic development. The Federal Constitutional Court said Wednesday it turned back a motion for a preliminary injunction from a group including economics professor Bernd Lucke, a founder of the populist Alternative for Germany who has since left the party.
BusinessReutersThe housing boom, central banks and the inflation conundrum
LONDON (Reuters) -A multi-year boom in global house prices which even a pandemic has failed to halt is forcing central banks around the world to confront a knotty question - what, if anything, should they be doing about it? The surge in property values from Australia to Sweden is often viewed benignly by governments as creating wealth. The irony is that while the cheap money created by low or negative interest rates has driven the price rises, they barely figure in central banks' calculations of inflation, one of the key drivers of their monetary policy.
U.S.The Independent100 more people to be charged over Capitol riots, federal prosecutors warn
Federal prosecutors expect “at least” 100 more people will face charges for the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January, after more than 400 people have been charged in connection with the attack. The statement and details about the ongoing investigations were included in court filings for the case of Michael Joseph Rusyn, who was charged with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct after live-streaming the attack. Prosecutors are seeking a delay in his case, arguing the complexities of navigating a sprawling number of connected cases and evidence.
BusinessBBCTesla's Autopilot 'tricked' to operate without driver
The Autopilot feature in Tesla vehicles can be tricked into operating without a driver, an influential consumer magazine in the US has found. Consumer Reports engineers looked into claims that Autopilot can operate without a driver present. They tested the Model Y on a closed track and concluded the system could be "easily tricked".
TechnologyAssociated PressEU outlines ambitious AI regulations focused on risky uses
Risky uses of artificial intelligence that threaten people's safety or rights such as live facial scanning should be banned or tightly controlled, European Union officials said Wednesday as they outlined an ambitious package of proposed regulations to rein in the rapidly expanding technology. The draft regulations from the EU's executive commission include rules for applications deemed high risk such as AI systems to filter out school, job or loan applicants. The proposals are the 27-nation bloc's latest move to maintain its role as the world's standard-bearer for technology regulation, as it tries to keep up with the world's two big tech superpowers, the U.S. and China.
WorldThe TelegraphDavid Cameron wrote to Bank of England repeatedly over Greensill after Treasury rebuffed him
The Treasury's top official has said his phone call with David Cameron had no "substance", but admitted the former prime minister only had his number because the pair had previously worked together. Sir Tom told MPs: "It is natural when someone you know asks to speak with you that you take it." Citing the Nolan Principles on ethical standards in public life, which say it is "the right of everyone to lobby" but that officials must take care "to consider the public interest", he insisted "that is what the Treasury did in this case."
WorldReutersSingapore quarantines about 1,200 migrant workers, probes re-infections
Singapore said on Thursday it is quarantining about 1,200 migrant workers after finding COVID-19 cases in their dormitory including among men who had recovered from the virus, raising concerns about re-infections. Authorities are conducting COVID-19 tests for all residents of Westlite Woodlands dormitory after one worker was found positive on Tuesday during routine testing. The worker had received a second vaccination dose a week earlier and his roommate also tested positive.
- WorldFOX News Videos
Neighbor with footage of Ma'Khia Bryant shooting: Officer 'did what he thought was best'
Donavon Brinson, who captured footage of the fatal shooting of an Ohio teen by a police officer, says the officer was not faced with many choices and only had seconds to respond.
U.S.The IndependentMa’Khia Bryant: Ohio police release body camera footage in shooting of 16-year-old
Police in Ohio have released body camera footage of the shooting of a 16-year-old black girl who was killed on the same day as the verdict in George Floyd's case was announced. The girl, identified by family as Ma'Khia Bryant, was shot and killed by police in Columbus on Tuesday afternoon, after officers were called to a disturbance on the southeast side of the city following reports of an attempted stabbing. Footage of the bodycam attached to the police officer who killed the 16-year-old was released on Tuesday evening.
“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.”