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ReutersUAE official says U.S. in driver's seat for stronger Iran deal
President Joe Biden's negotiators should use leverage gained against Iran by the previous U.S. administration to reach a better nuclear deal with Tehran in talks in Vienna, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington said. The UAE and Saudi Arabia had supported former President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to quit the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers and reimpose harsh sanctions on their foe. "You (U.S.) are essentially in the driver's seat to get to a point to where we can address what I believe were shortcomings in JCPOA," envoy Yousef Al Otaiba said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University's Hoover Institution on Wednesday, using an acronym for the deal.
- Associated Press
Biologists defy Cyprus' ethnic divide to protect environment
There’s something regal in the sprightly step and curious gaze of the long-horn sheep that roam the hills near Varisia, an abandoned village inside a U.N. buffer zone that cuts across ethnically divided Cyprus. The endangered Mouflon sheep that’s endemic to the eastern Mediterranean island nation is one of many rare plant and animal species that have flourished in this no-man’s land, which stretches for 120 miles (180 kilometers) and divides the island's breakaway north from its internationally recognized south. This unlikely refuge has been embraced by two environmental scientists, one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot, as an open-air laboratory where complex politics and physical divisions can be put aside to focus on the overriding concern of protecting the parched country’s fragile ecosystem.
- The Independent
Democrats to unveil bill adding four new justices to the Supreme Court
The bill aims to expand the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 13
- The Independent
Elizabeth Warren rips into CEO of student debt collecting company to his face: You should be fired
Nearly 80 per cent of borrowers’ loans would be forgiven if executive action is taken to cancel $50,000 of debt per individual
- The Independent
CEO who Fox News called 'socialist' for $70k minimum wage says company is now worth $10billion
The company’s revenue has tripled since the change was implemented
- Associated Press
Radulov done, Bishop won't play at all for Stars this season
High-scoring Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov will not return this season because he needs surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Stars general manager Jim Nill said Wednesday that Radulov is expected to be fully recovered for the 2021-22 season. Radulov, primarily on the top line with Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski when he did play, was limited to only 11 games this season because of a lower-body injury.
- USA TODAY
Fact check: COVID-19 vaccines won't cause a zombie apocalypse
A viral Facebook video falsely claims the COVID-19 vaccines aren't real vaccines and will cause a zombie apocalypse.
- Raleigh News and Observer
Points are becoming scarce as the Charlotte Hornets’ losing streak grows
Hornets get back Terry Rozier, but lose third in a row, this time to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- The Independent
‘It should be murder’: Brooklyn Center reacts to manslaughter charges against Daunte Wright shooting officer
‘I would be happy if they just take another look to see if there’s anything else than can be brought. That is what happened with George Floyd’
- The Independent
Pelosi says she would have ‘battled’ capitol rioters with stilettos: ‘I’m a street fighter’
Rioters were seen searching for the House Speaker on 6 January
- Reuters
NFL: Lions become fourth team to opt out of voluntary workouts over COVID-19 concerns
The Detroit Lions became the fourth National Football League team to opt out of in-person voluntary workouts, citing concerns over COVID-19, as a rift emerged between the league and its players' union over off-season protocols. The Lions joined the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who said this week they would not participate in the workouts, a year after the NFL took its off-season to a "virtual" format up until training camp, as the deadly pandemic ripped through the United States. "With the voluntary workout period starting shortly and no acceptable resolution to our union's negotiations with the NFL over comprehensive COVID-19 protocols, we will be exercising our (Collective Bargaining Agreement) right to not attend," the Lions players said in a statement released through the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).
- INSIDER
Senior Japanese official says canceling Olympics is an 'option'
The official made these comments in light of rising COVID cases in Japan. The country is now less than 100 days from the opening of the Tokyo Games.
- Business Insider
Mitch McConnell dodged a question about Trump calling him a 'dumb son of a b----'
"What I'm concentrating on is the future. What we are confronting here is a totally left-wing administration," McConnell said instead.
- BBC
What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, but many Taiwanese people want a separate nation.
- The Independent
George Floyd’s girlfriend once taught Daunte Wright in high school
‘Our system doesn’t serve kids like Daunte,’ Courteney Ross says
- INSIDER
7 details you may have missed in the latest 'Fast & Furious 9' trailer
A new "Fast 9" trailer teases the return of some characters from "Tokyo Drift" and the bucket list item Helen Mirren has been waiting years to do.
- Business Insider
Top GOP hawks come out in full force against an Afghanistan withdrawal by September 11
Sen. Lindsey Graham called the move "dumber than dirt," saying Biden was "paving the way for another 9/11."
- BBC
Afghans face pivotal moment as US prepares to 'close the book'
Could the US decision to pull its troops from Afghanistan by 11 September lead to civil war?
- Associated Press
Column: Matsuyama goes from inspiration to Masters champion
The idea was to create golfing heroes, not necessarily a Masters champion. Hideki Matsuyama is now both. “I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the members of Augusta National,” Matsuyama said on the night before he became Japan's first Masters champion.
- Time
China Eclipses Terrorist Groups as Top U.S. Security Threat, Intelligence Chiefs Say
Workers unload vaccine doses from an Air China flight during the arrival of a new batch of Sinovac vaccines against Covid-19 at El Salvador International Airport in La Paz, El Salvador, on March 28, 2021. The national security threats that top intelligence officials laid out for lawmakers on Wednesday were dominated by China’s efforts to expand its global influence and the “cascading crises” and “looming disequilibrium” facing the Biden Administration as existing security challenges are exacerbated by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The report details Washington’s shifting priorities, as evidenced by President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, with the U.S. turning from its fight against international terrorism to countering China, Russia and Iran, as well as increased attention on domestic extremism, climate change, cyber threats, and transnational organized crime.