PoliticsYahoo NewsA battle over tax hikes is causing a GOP identity crisis
The 69-year-old lawmaker reiterated his opposition to increasing the corporate tax rate to pay for President Biden's proposed infrastructure package. For old-school Republicans like Wicker, tax hikes like the ones Biden is advocating are unfair to high earners and lead to economic stagnation. But J.D. Vance, author of the bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy” and a political newcomer who is likely to mount a U.S. Senate campaign in Ohio next year, is singing a starkly different tune.
WorldBBCChinese man kidnapped and killed in elaborate body-swap scheme
Before he died of cancer in 2017 a man from south-east China told his family he wanted a traditional burial, but in some regions these are banned. In September 2020 the man hired by the family - identified only by his surname Huang - was given a suspended death sentence over the murder. While the murder happened in 2017, the case only gained prominence last week after an article about the incident came to wider attention online in China.
WorldReutersPakistan to outlaw violent Islamist group that rails on blasphemy
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan is to outlaw a hardline Islamist group that railed agaisnt blasphemy to rise to prominence, the interior minister said on Wednesday, the third day of violent protests that killed two police officers and wounded 340. The government said it has also arrested 1,400 workers of the group, that is agitating against the arrest of its chief ahead of countrywide rallies to denounce publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. Paramilitary troops were deployed overnight to clear the protests by the Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), which has blocked rail tracks, highways and entry and exit routes to all major cities.
HealthYahoo NewsJohnson & Johnson 'pause' adds new wrinkle in Biden's vaccination plans
Just days after Johnson & Johnson announced that 15 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine had been contaminated at a Baltimore plant, federal officials recommended that states stop using that vaccine altogether, citing reports of blood clots. In a joint statement issued on Tuesday morning, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agencies were acting “out of an abundance of caution,” noting that “adverse events appear to be extremely rare.” The lack of a clear understanding is why public health officials “need to pump the brakes and figure out what's going on,” said Dr. George Rutherford III, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, in an email to Yahoo News.
WorldReutersRussia calls U.S. an adversary, warns its warships to avoid Crimea
Russia on Tuesday called the United States an adversary and told U.S. warships to stay well away from Crimea "for their own good", calling their deployment in the Black Sea a provocation designed to test Russian nerves. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and two U.S. warships are due to arrive in the Black Sea this week amid an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have battled Russian-backed separatists in a conflict Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people. "The United States is our adversary and does everything it can to undermine Russia's position on the world stage," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was cited as saying by Russian news agencies.
U.S.BBCDaunte Wright shooting: Dozens arrested in fresh unrest in Minnesota
About 40 people were arrested just north of Minneapolis in a second night of unrest over the police shooting of a black man. Protesters in the city of Brooklyn Center defied a curfew and threw objects at police, who responded with flash grenades and tear gas. Police said Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and died after an officer mistook her gun for a Taser during a traffic stop.
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.
WorldReutersEuropean powers warn Iran over 'dangerous' uranium enrichment move
PARIS (Reuters) -The European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal told Tehran on Wednesday its decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, bringing the fissile material closer to bomb-grade, was contrary to efforts to revive the 2015 accord. But in an apparent signal to Iran's arch-adversary Israel, which Tehran blamed for an explosion at its key nuclear site on Sunday, European powers Germany, France and Britain added that they rejected "all escalatory measures by any actor". Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has not formally commented on the incident at Iran's Natanz site, which appeared the latest twist in a long-running covert war.
WorldBBCAfghanistan: Biden calls for end to 'America's longest war'
The US will continue to support Afghanistan after withdrawing all US troops, but not "militarily," President Joe Biden has pledged. "It is time to end America's longest war," he said in a speech from the White House room where US airstrikes there were first declared in 2001. The number of US troops on the ground in Afghanistan fluctuates, and US media report the current total is closer to 3,500.
TechnologyAssociated PressEdmunds: How to test-drive vehicle technology
With this in mind, Edmunds experts share some of their car technology evaluation techniques and show you how to safely learn and test these features during your test drive. ASK FOR MORE TIME During a dealership test drive, you're usually ushered along to get things done quickly. A typical drive might be 20 minutes or a drive around a few blocks, so the pressure is on.
U.S.The New York TimesCourt Vindicates Black Officer Fired for Stopping Colleague's Chokehold
It was a cold November day in Buffalo, New York, when Officer Cariol Horne responded to a call for a colleague in need of help. What she encountered was a white officer who appeared to be “in a rage” punching a handcuffed Black man in the face repeatedly as other officers stood by. Horne, who is Black, heard the handcuffed man say he could not breathe and saw the white officer put him in a chokehold.
- WorldReuters
Twists aplenty in Australian Navy twerking controversy
A dance troupe's performance at an Australian Navy event created a furore on Thursday as initial criticism over apparent twerking at dignitaries turned into a story of inaccurate media coverage and criticism of the national broadcaster by the prime minister. The Defence Department found itself in hot water over reports of inappropriate entertainment at the commissioning of a A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) naval ship in Sydney last weekend. A seven-woman troupe dressed in black shorts, red crop tops and berets performed a dance routine that included twerking in front of the auxiliary vessel, HMAS Supply, on April 10, according to footage shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) on Wednesday.
HealthAssociated PressI got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Now what?
U.S. health officials on Tuesday recommended pausing vaccinations with J&J's shot as they look into reports of six clots out of nearly 7 million doses given in the country. Health officials say to be vigilant, but to remember that reports of blood clots that may be associated with J&J's single-dose vaccine are exceedingly rare. “It's less than one in a million," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist.
- 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.
WorldReutersChina push for global power tops U.S. security threats: intelligence report
China's push for global power is the leading threat to U.S. national security, while Russia's efforts to undermine American influence and assert itself as a major actor also pose a challenge, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Tuesday. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment lays out U.S. spy agencies' views of the chief foreign policy issues facing U.S. President Joe Biden in his first year in office, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. While China and Russia are presented as the leading challenges, Iran and North Korea will also test U.S. national security, the report said.
WorldBBCIndia coronavirus: Can its vaccine producers meet demand?
With India attempting to ramp up vaccinations as Covid infections rise, the authorities have said they will fast track emergency approval for foreign-made vaccines. The Russian-developed Sputnik V has been given approval, as India's main domestic vaccine maker struggles to meet demand at home and globally. Can India meet its domestic needs?
U.S.Associated PressIn Minnesota, suburban mayor is thrust into policing debate
Mike Elliott is among many who celebrated his election as mayor of Brooklyn Center as the beginning of a new era, marking the first time one of Minnesota's most racially diverse places would be led by a person of color. “It's incredible, it's really incredible,” Elliott said then of Hmong, African, Vietnamese and white residents living side-by-side in the inner-ring Minneapolis suburb's working-class neighborhoods. The shooting of Daunte Wright, a Black man, by a white police officer has set off protests, political upheaval and painful reckoning about racism and representation in his small city.
HealthKansas City StarA COVID vaccine for children? Kansas City area volunteers needed for Pfizer trials
Children as young as 6 months of age could get COVID-19 vaccines as part of a nationwide pediatric trial led locally by Children's Mercy, the hospital announced Wednesday. The study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and whether it can stimulate an immune response. The vaccine could be available to babies and children up to age 11 in the general public by early 2022, according to Pfizer.
PoliticsReutersAdministration proceeding with $23 billion weapon sales to UAE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has told Congress it is proceeding with more than $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, congressional aides said on Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the proposed sales to the UAE, "even as we continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials" related to the use of the weapons. The Democratic president's administration had paused the deals agreed to by former Republican President Donald Trump in order to review them.
ScienceRaleigh News and ObserverFive things the ‘science of reading’ is not, one that it is and what it will do – help NC kids read.
Last week, Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law the Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021, mandating teachers be trained to use “the science of reading.” To do that, though, we need a common understanding of what the science of reading really is. As professors who have dedicated their careers to literacy education, we worry that an immense and critical body of research is being turned into a catchy slogan, a bumper sticker that misrepresents what the science of reading really offers for improving reading instruction.
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.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.
PoliticsBBCAfghan pullout could be risky for Biden
"It's time to end America's longest war," President Joe Biden said as he announced the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan later this year. The current president - who as Barack Obama's vice-president frequently opposed a large US presence in the nation - was pledging to finish a process set in motion by the previous president, Donald Trump, last year. That his administration will miss the Trump-negotiated deadline of 1 May has been overshadowed by the symbolism of Biden's new deadline, 11 September, the 20th anniversary of the attack that instigated US entry into Afghanistan.
PoliticsReutersFord, GM among Michigan companies opposing Republican-backed voting limits
Republican lawmakers in numerous states have proposed a slew of voting limits, after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he lost November's election to President Joe Biden due to widespread fraud. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to veto bills that Republicans have proposed, including new restrictions on absentee and mail ballots. The state Republican chairman, however, has previously suggested the party could attempt to circumvent Whitmer via a petition drive.
HealthKansas City Star‘I was looking for one shot’: Kansas, Missouri face fallout from J&J vaccine pause
Rohn Dennis was supposed to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Wednesday. The 74-year-old Kansas City resident has been receiving treatment for lung cancer. Health authorities in Kansas City and across the country suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause.
“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.”