WorldAFPAnti-Haftar forces near Libya capital launch counter-attack
Forces loyal to Libya's unity government announced Saturday a counter-attack against military strongman Khalifa Haftar's fighters, as clashes south of the capital Tripoli intensified. Haftar launched an offensive on April 4 against the UN-recognised GNA, which is based in Tripoli, resulting in repeated fierce clashes on the southern edges of the capital. Haftar backs a rival administration to the GNA based in eastern Libya that refuses to recognise the authority of the Tripoli government.
- WorldReuters
Islamic State behind attack on Saudi security north of Riyadh: Arabiya TV
The assailants who attacked a state security building northwest of Riyadh on Sunday are Saudi militants who belong to Islamic State, Saudi-owned Arabiya TV said in a tweet, citing its own correspondent. Saudi state media said authorities thwarted the attack by four militants targeting the Mabaheth (domestic intelligence) station in Zulfi, a small city about 250 km (155 miles) northwest of the capital Riyadh. There has been no Islamic State claim of responsibility for the attack so far, and the authorities did not officially identify the assailants.
WorldUSA TODAY'We don't know if it's enough': $1 billion may not cover Notre Dame Cathedral rebuilding costs after fire
Days after a fire engulfed Paris' beloved Notre Dame Cathedral, fundraising efforts neared the $1 billion mark. But officials estimate the international surge in donations may not yet cover the rebuilding costs. Stephane Bern, who heads heritage renovation programs across France, estimates the cost to completely repair the church will reach $1.13 billion to $2.3 billion.
WorldAssociated PressEx-Marine arrested in North Korea embassy attack in Madrid
A man suspected of involvement in a mysterious dissident group's February raid on North Korea's Embassy in Madrid was arrested in Los Angeles by U.S. authorities. Christopher Ahn, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested and charged Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Separately, on Thursday, federal agents raided the apartment of Adrian Hong, a leader of the Free Joseon group, the person said.
WorldReutersExclusive: U.S. carves out exceptions for foreigners dealing with Revolutionary Guards
The exemptions, granted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and described by a State Department spokesman in response to questions from Reuters, mean officials from countries such as Iraq who may have dealings with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, would not necessarily be denied U.S. visas. The IRGC is a powerful faction in Iran that controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces. The exceptions to U.S. sanctions would also permit foreign executives who do business in Iran, where the IRGC is a major economic force, as well as humanitarian groups working in regions such as northern Syria, Iraq and Yemen, to do so without fear they will automatically trigger U.S. laws on dealing with a foreign terrorist group.
WorldAFPIS claims deadly attack on Afghan ministry
The Islamic State group Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 10 people and trapped around 2,000 for hours inside the communications ministry in the Afghan capital the previous day. Four IS jihadists detonated explosives near the ministry, then entered and "battled Afghan security forces with machine guns and hand grenades for numerous hours", the group said in a statement on its social media channels. The attack in central Kabul killed seven civilians and three members of the security forces, the interior ministry said on Sunday, in a new toll after three people died of their wounds.
- U.S.WPVI – Philadelphia
United Constitutional Patriots: Border Patrol pushes back against armed civilians policing border
Customs and Border Protection "does not endorse or condone private groups or organizations that take enforcement matters into their own hands."
- BusinessThe National Interest
Here's An Idea: The Air Force Builds 200 B-21 Stealth Bombers
The B-21 has disappeared into the “black” world of military technology, and will only reemerge when the bomber is ready. On October 27, 2015, nearly thirty-four years to the day after Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract to develop the first stealth bomber, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop a contract for a new bomber: the B-21 Raider. In invoking the Doolittle Raid, the Air Force is drawing attention to attack's audacious nature, the strategic and tactical surprise, and the epic distances General Doolittle and his “raiders” flew to accomplish their mission.
- Lifestylemotorious
Land Rover's Unsung Heroes Hit Big Anniversaries For 2019!
We remember when these models were new! Check out the significant milestone anniversaries these Land Rovers have for 2019 Four anniversaries sure to resonate with Land Rover enthusiasts the world over will be celebrated at the upcoming 2019 Land Rover Legends show. The event is due to take place over the weekend of Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May at Bicester Heritage, a former WWII RAF station in Oxfordshire UK, which has hosted numerous historic motoring events in recent years.
PoliticsUSA TODAY OpinionBarr's Mueller report rollout was disgraceful. I can't believe it but I miss Jeff Sessions.
Most of us who are skeptical about what comes out of the Trump administration expected there would be a gap between Attorney General William Barr's four-page summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and the report itself. But the release of Mueller's report exposed a Grand Canyon that has widened by the moment, as the 448-page report is digested. Somewhere at the bottom of that canyon lies Mr. Barr's battered reputation.
- NewsReuters
UPDATE 1-Doves, heartbreak and hope on 20th anniversary of Columbine High massacre
A week-long series of events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre culminated on Saturday with a remembrance ceremony celebrating the lives of the 13 victims slain in the rampage. On April 20, 1999, two Columbine students, just three weeks shy of graduation, stormed the suburban Denver school armed with shotguns and semiautomatic weapons, fatally shooting 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide. Addressing hundreds of people gathered at Saturday's service in a park next to the school, Dawn Anna, mother of slain student Lauren Townsend, spoke on behalf of all the families of the victims about their sense of loss.
WorldAFPSerbia pledges 1 million euros for Notre-Dame restoration
Serbia on Monday said it will donate one million euros to help restore Notre-Dame Cathedral, after pro-government tabloids said the fire was "God's punishment" to France. The gift comes after two tabloids, Alo and Informer, said the blaze was divine retribution after Kosovo's flag was displayed inside the cathedral during World War I centennial commemorations in Paris last year. Serbia does not recognise the independence of Kosovo, a former southern province that broke away in a 1998-99 war.
WorldAssociated PressA look at Sri Lanka's troubled recent history marked by war
A series of blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, blamed on religious extremists, recalled the worst days of the country's 26-year civil war. Sri Lanka, an island nation of some 23 million people, was dominated for decades by the sharp divide between the majority Sinhalese, who are overwhelmingly Buddhist, and the minority Tamil, who are Hindu, Muslim and Christian. The mistreatment of Tamils helped nurture the growth of armed separatists and led to nearly 30 years of civil war, with Tamil Tiger fighters eventually creating a de facto independent homeland in the country's north.
WorldAssociated PressIsraeli election may have dimmed hopes for 2-state solution
The two Jewish parties that dared to talk openly about peace with the Palestinians captured just 10 seats in the 120-seat parliament, and opinion polls indicate dwindling support for a two-state solution among Jewish Israelis. "The majority of the people in the state of Israel no longer see a two-state solution as an option," said Oded Revivi, the chief foreign envoy for the Yesha settler council, himself an opponent of Palestinian independence. "If we are looking for peace in this region, we will have to look for a different plan from the two-state solution."
- NewsUSA TODAY
'House of horrors': California couple sentenced to life in prison for torturing their children
Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Friday's sentencing relating to the number of children involved in the charges. RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Southern California couple who pleaded guilty in February to torture, false imprisonment and endangering their children – some for dozens of years – were sentenced Friday to life in prison for charges involving 12 of their 13 children with the possibility of parole only after 25 years. David and Louise Turpin of Perris, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, appeared in court Friday morning in Riverside about three months after pleading guilty to 14 felony counts.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the Vonnen Porsche 911 Hybrid
A pricey yet clever means to add big electric power to your Porsche. From Car and Driver
WorldReutersPakistan's Prime Minister Khan in Iran to talk security, ties
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Iran on Sunday to discuss security and regional issues, Iranian state TV reported, a day after Islamabad urged Tehran to act against militants behind killings in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. A new umbrella group representing various insurgent groups operating in Baluchistan claimed responsibility for an attack on Thursday when 14 passengers were killed after being kidnapped from buses in the province, which borders Iran. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday the training and logistical camps of the new alliance that carried out the attack were inside Iran and called for Iran to take action against the insurgents.
- NewsThe National Interest
Army Vet Sues Company That Made 'Defective' Earplugs for the Military
Task and Purpose Security, Americas What will happen? A Texas veteran is suing the company he says knowingly produced and sold defective earplugs which were issued to the U.S. military, leading him and many others to develop hearing problems, including tinnitus. Sgt. Scott D. Rowe, who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004, told the Houston Chronicle that he's "never at peace" from the "high-pitched frequency" he hears every day, as a result of the earplugs he received from 3M Company.
- BusinessBloomberg
How 11 People Try to Stop Fake News in the World's Largest Election
One of the operations most vital to Facebook Inc. at this moment is a world away from its Menlo Park, California, headquarters, and in more ways than one. This is Boom Live, one of seven tiny fact-checking firms at the heart of Facebook's efforts to rebuild some of its credibility during India's elections. Based on the early tallies, more than 60 percent of India's 900 million eligible voters are expected to cast ballots between now and May 19, as the center-left Congress Party tries to seize power from the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
- BusinessReuters
US STOCKS-Futures pull back ahead of earnings; oil stocks jump
U.S. stock index futures dipped on Monday as investors returned from their Easter break and took a cautious stance at the beginning of what is expected to be the busiest week of the first-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 closed slightly lower last week, ending its three-week winning streak, but hovered about 1% away from a record high hit in September on U.S.-China trade hopes and a largely upbeat earnings season. More than a third of the S&P 500 companies, including Boeing Co, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc, will report this week determining whether investors should be concerned about the start of an earnings recession or whether back-to-back quarters of negative growth can be avoided.
BusinessAFPFAA sets multi-nation review of Boeing's troubled Max planes
The US Federal Aviation Administration is planning what it calls a comprehensive multi-nation review of the control systems of the Boeing 737 Max airliner to include experts from nine civil aviation authorities. The review will "evaluate aspects of the 737 Max automated flight-control system, including its design and pilots' interaction with the system, to determine its compliance with all applicable regulations and to identify future enhancements that might be needed," the agency said. Boeing Max planes -- the aerospace firm's all-time best-seller -- have been grounded worldwide since then, while engineers and investigators seek the exact causes of the crashes.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump sours on Mueller report after initial upbeat view
In a series of angry tweets from Palm Beach, Florida, Trump laced into those who, under oath, had shared with Mueller their accounts of how Trump tried numerous times to squash or influence the investigation and portrayed the White House as infected by a culture of lies, deceit and deception. The attacks were a dramatic departure from the upbeat public face the White House had put on it just 24 hours earlier, when Trump celebrated the report's findings as full exoneration and his counselor Kellyanne Conway called it "the best day" for Trump's team since his election.
NewsAFPColoradans mark 20th anniversary of a dark day: Columbine shooting
It has been 20 years since two heavily armed young men in dark trenchcoats entered a Colorado high school and launched a bloody attack that seared the word "Columbine" into the American psyche, forever transforming the debate on gun rights and school violence. As people on Saturday prepared to mark the anniversary of the massacre in Littleton, Colorado -- in which teenaged shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 Columbine High School students and a teacher before turning their guns on themselves -- there were words of grief and loss and anger. School shootings, once almost unheard of, have become a tragic feature of American life -- requiring all schools to tighten security, forcing even six-year-olds to take part in traumatic "live-shooter" drills.
- U.S.WABC – NY
Police find woman stabbed to death, 4-year-old girl, ax inside Brooklyn apartment
A man has been arrested after a woman who was five months pregnant was found dead in a Brooklyn apartment.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Church apologizes after video shows cleric inviting kids to spit, slap and cut him for Easter lesson
Videos of the incident were posted to social media during a Monday afternoon after-school event held at the church at which Dempsey was speaking of Easter and the crucifixion. In one of the videos, Dempsey is seen standing still while students take turns spitting on him, some striking him, while other students are heard laughing. The mother of a youth, who reportedly employed a knife handed to him by Dempsey to cut the associate pastor at his invitation, said she was alerted to the video by a friend, according to an on-camera interview with WBNS-TV.
