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Business InsiderBiden says it's 'time to end America's longest war' as he reveals plans to bring US troops home from Afghanistan
Biden said he was the fourth president to preside over the Afghanistan conflict, adding: "I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth."
- Reuters
Saudi 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.
- LA Times
'White Lives Matter' rallies fizzled. Hate groups still see chance to 'fire up the base'
White supremacists failed to turn out big crowds in Huntington Beach and elsewhere but have more coming, say experts on extremist groups.
- The Independent
George Floyd’s girlfriend once taught Daunte Wright in high school
‘Our system doesn’t serve kids like Daunte,’ Courteney Ross says
- Lexington Herald-Leader
McConnell: Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal plan ‘a grave mistake’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a Biden administration plan to remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September is a “grave mistake” that would abandon the allied global fight against terrorism.
- The Independent
Two North Carolina police officers suspended over beating Black man in clash caught by bystander video
‘We can’t afford nor do we desire to afford to ignore what we saw,’ says Kinston Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon about footage
- Business Insider
McConnell condemns Biden's 'clumsy' plans to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by 9/11 as a 'grave mistake'
Republicans had mixed reactions to Biden's decision. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he's "glad the troops are coming home."
- LA Times
How did they create 'Mulan's' massive Imperial City? Think giant digital Lego kit
The Oscar-nominated visual effects team scanned a huge physical building, chopped the images into basic architectural elements and then mixed and matched to create its city.
- The State
Why Adam Sandler is following 24-year-old golf star at Hilton Head’s RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris finished 2nd by one stroke at last week’s Masters.
- The Independent
‘Congress itself is the target’: Capitol police overlooked intel and were ordered to hold back during riot, report finds
Days before attack, law enforcement officials were warned Stop the Steal campaign could attract ‘white supremacists, militia members’ and other violent groups
- Associated Press
Biden to pull US troops from Afghanistan, end 'forever war'
President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the "forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 20 years ago cannot justify American forces still dying in the nation's longest war. The U.S. cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, Biden said.
- Business Insider
Florida, Michigan, and Texas are the next frontiers in the nationwide battle over voting access
Republican lawmakers in the three 2020 battlegrounds are advancing legislation to restrict voting by mail before 2022.
- The Independent
Kim Potter: Former police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright arrested on manslaughter charges
Killing of 20-year-old Black man has sparked protests and unrest in Minnesota city
- Associated Press
Hong Kong's delayed legislative elections set for December
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that the semiautonomous Chinese territory's legislative elections will take place in December, more than a year after they were postponed by authorities citing public health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. Lam also said that laws will be amended so that inciting voters not to vote or to cast blank or invalid votes will be made illegal, although voters themselves are free to boycott voting or cast votes as they wish. Lam was speaking a day ahead of the first reading of draft amendments to various laws in the city’s legislature, to accommodate Beijing’s planned changes to the city’s electoral system.
- The Independent
Louisiana capsizing: 12 lost at sea after ‘microburst’ storm hits coast
State senator ‘praying for everyone’ caught in strong winds that capsized a 129-foot vessel on Tuesday
- Reuters Videos
Japan to release Fukushima water into sea
Japan says it will release more than a million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea.On Tuesday, the government announced a plan to begin releasing the water in about two years.The plant's operator, TEPCO, will filter the water to remove harmful radioactive isotopes.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga again made his country's argument that the water must be released to decommission the Fukushima plant."We will secure safety which is far above the regulation standards, and the government as a whole will conduct exhaustive measures against harmful rumours. We've judged that oceanic release is a realistic (option)."One isotope that has sparked anxiety is called tritium, as it is difficult to separate from water.However, it is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin.Suga says that even still, its concentration in the water Japan dumps would be reduced to around one-seventh of the drinking water standard defined by the World Health Organisation.Other plants around the world routinely pump water with lows levels of tritium into the ocean.But local fisherman have opposed dumping the water for years.And neighbours aren't happy either.China called the move 'extremely irresponsible' on Tuesday, and spokesman for South Korea called the decision unacceptable.Japan has been working closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency since the meltdown.Despite the outrage, the government has pointed out there is simply no more room at the site in the huge tanks that hold waste water.The Japanese government has been keen to stress the filtering and dilution processes.A senior government spokesperson emailed media outlets on Monday to request the term "contaminated" not be used in reporting, arguing it was misleading.
- Associated Press
NATO to match US troop pullout from Afghanistan
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from the country starting on May 1. Stoltenberg said the full withdrawal would be completed “within a few months” but did not mention the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks set as a goal by Biden. There are between 7,000 and 7,500 non-U.S. NATO troops currently in Afghanistan.
- Business Insider
Iran says it will enrich uranium to highest level ever after apparent Israeli attack on key nuclear facility
Iran, which now plans to enrich uranium to 60% purity, has vowed revenge on Israel over Sunday's act of sabotage on the Natanz nuclear complex.
- Business Insider
Biden is on course to allow fewer refugees into the US than Trump, according to a report
Only 2,050 refugees have been admitted to the United States through the 2021 fiscal year - a historic low.
- Lexington Herald-Leader
Add one more NFL Draft analyst — a really good one — to the Jamin Davis bandwagon
NFL films guru Greg Cosell gushes about the former Kentucky football linebacker.