PoliticsAssociated PressDemocrats move 2 bills showing strength and limits of power
The House voted along party lines to make the nation's capital the 51st state, and two hours later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to address violence against Asian Americans. Thursday's twin victories let Democrats display momentum just six days before President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress. Despite a minuscule majority, House Democrats have passed legislation this year reworking voting laws, toughening gun background checks and fulfilling other party goals.
U.S.The TelegraphGhislaine Maxwell to appear in person for first time since her arrest as she pleads to new charges
Ghislaine Maxwell is set to appear in person for the first time since her arrest last year in a New York court on Friday, where she is expected to plead not guilty to new sex trafficking charges. Ms Maxwell was granted rare permission to attend the usually procedural court hearing by Judge Alison Nathan. The 59-year-old British socialite has already pleaded not guilty to charges of recruiting and grooming teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 to provide sexual massages to her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.
PoliticsThe WeekAfter reading 'all 14 pages' of the Green New Deal, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's ready to debate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Now that she's done her homework, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is ready to spar. One day after seemingly admitting she had never finished reading "all 14 pages" of the Green New Deal, a bill she's repeatedly criticized while throwing barbs at sponsor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Greene has now finally perused the full policy — and dubbed it a "Communists manifesto." Greene incriminated herself on Wednesday, while tweeting a surreptitiously-taken photo of the two lawmakers chatting on Capitol Hill.
WorldAssociated PressNew Zealand says Five Eyes security alliance remains strong
New Zealand said Thursday it continues to have a close and productive relationship with the U.S. and other security allies, despite resisting speaking out in unison with them against China on certain human rights issues. New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta discussed her reluctance to expand the role of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance to include stances on human rights. The alliance among New Zealand, the U.S., the U.K, Australia and Canada dates to World War II.
PoliticsKansas City StarMissouri likely ‘going to court either way’ as Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion funds
A powerful Missouri Senate committee dealt an early blow Wednesday night to Democrats and Medicaid expansion advocates who hoped the upper legislative chamber would restore funding that the House had stripped out of the state budget. In a 7-7 tie, a proposal introduced by Springfield Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough to partially fund the voter-approved expansion failed to clear the Senate Appropriations Committee. Two other Republicans, including Lee's Summit Sen. Mike Cierpiot, joined the committee's four Democrats in voting for it.
PoliticsThe Telegraph'Mr President?': Biden and Putin suffer awkward silence in climate summit technical glitch
A technical glitch at the climate summit meant Joe Biden was left hanging for nearly 90 seconds by his political nemesis Vladimir Putin. "I now turn the floor to the President of the Russian Federation," announced Tony Blinken, the US secretary of state. Instead, Mr Putin loomed silently on a giant screen above Mr Biden, Mr Binken and John Kerry, the US climate tsar.
U.S.The WeekAndrew Yang accused of 'Michael Scott levels of cringe and insensitivity' at forum with LGBTQ group
It sounds like a recent attempt by Andrew Yang to secure an endorsement in his New York City mayoral bid didn't exactly go as planned. The candidate on Wednesday met with the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City to seek the Democratic LGBTQ organization's endorsement, but he ended up offending its members, The New York Times reports. Yang, according to the report, "cited gay members of his staff as apparent evidence of his openness to the club's concerns, and expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of visiting" the New York gay bar Cubbyhole.
WorldAssociated PressVenezuela prosecutor who defied Maduro implicated in bribery
A former Venezuelan attorney general who defied President Nicolas Maduro by siding with his opponents has been implicated in a major corruption case involving a Venezuelan businessman who this week pleaded guilty to paying $1 million in bribes, two people familiar with the case said Thursday. The former official, Luisa Ortega, isn't mentioned by name in the Miami federal case. But in quietly pleading guilty Monday to a single charge of conspiring to defraud the United States, businessman Carlos Urbano Fermin admitted to paying around $1 million in bribes to a “high-ranking prosecutor” in Venezuela as “insurance” against any investigations into his extensive construction contracts with state-...
WorldReutersDe-coupling from China would be the wrong way to go, Germany warns
The European Union needs to engage with China despite many differences instead of opting for a more isolationist approach, Germany said on Wednesday. "In the EU, we have been describing China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival at the same time," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said ahead of a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. "In all these three dimensions we need strong, sustainable communication channels with Beijing.
WorldBBCAustralia resists calls for tougher climate targets
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted pressure to set more ambitious carbon emission targets while other major nations vowed deeper reductions to tackle climate change. Addressing a global climate summit, Mr Morrison said Australia was on a path to net zero emissions. US President Joe Biden, who chaired the virtual summit, pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
WorldThe TelegraphIt's 'fair' to call me a private education hypocrite, says Scottish Labour leader
Anas Sarwar has admitted it is a “fair” to call him a hypocrite after he unveiled plans for an attack on private education despite sending his own children to a fee-paying school. Scottish Labour's manifesto, published Thursday, calls for the charitable status of private schools to be revoked and for any public sector backing for them to end. Mr Sarwar, the party leader, sends his own children to Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, which he also attended, and currently charges annual fees of up to £12,924 per pupil.
U.S.Associated PressParents sue father accused of hiding Kristin Smart's body
The parents of missing California college student Kristin Smart on Thursday sued the father of the man charged with killing their daughter nearly 25 years ago. The lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court said Smart's body was buried in Ruben Flores's backyard and he moved the body “under cover of darkness” to another location a few days after investigators searched his property in February 2020. Ruben Flores, 80, pleaded not guilty to accessory after murder on Monday, and his son, Paul Flores, 44, pleaded not guilty to murder.
WorldThe TelegraphForeign aid destined for China will be diverted to fighting human rights abuses
Chinese foreign aid will be devoted to fighting human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Dominic Raab has said. It comes after the Government was criticised last year for funding schemes to China including a photography project to understand the country's past, syphilis tests for gay men and improving cancer screening in rural areas. The Foreign Secretary told the International Development Committee that he had cut China's Official Development Assistance by 95 per cent.
U.S.Miami HeraldMinutes into a 911 call a Florida driver realizes what smashed through her windshield
“Something just came through the windshield and hit my mom in the head!” a woman cried out to a 911 dispatcher after she pulled over on Interstate 95 while driving to Daytona Beach on Wednesday. On the 911 call, the driver, heeding directions from the dispatcher, works to stem the bleeding, using towels. “There's so much blood,” the driver says.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressCanada bans flights from India, Pakistan
Canada on Thursday said it is banning all flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days due to the growing wave of COVID-19 cases in that region. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the ban would start late Thursday, speaking hours after India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections in the previous 24-hours. Cargo flights from India and Pakistan will continue.
WorldBBCAfrica's week in pictures: 16-22 April 2021
A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent: All pictures subject to copyright.
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Minneapolis-based therapist shares how local community copes with tragedy: ‘Black folks are constantly under trauma’
For many Twin Cities residents, Tuesday's guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial epitomized the emotional whiplash of the past 10 years, in which short-lived moments of hope gave way to ever-present fears and frustrations. Minneapolis-based therapist Jamil Stamschror-Lott had a pit in his stomach before the verdict, then a sudden feeling of relief. Quickly, though, those feelings turned to fear.
WorldThe Telegraph‘It’s equal to being dead’: Women fear Taliban’s return as US troop withdrawal nears
On a warm spring afternoon, the coffee shops and outdoor restaurants in Kabul are usually crammed full of young people. It is a far cry from how the city was under Taliban rule in the late 90s – here, women and men can mingle, chat, even go on dates. Many fear that the Taliban will gain power and that the country could once again be flung into civil war with many of its warlords still vying for power.
WorldBusiness InsiderCountries from around the world are chipping in to help find Indonesia's missing naval submarine
An Indonesian naval submarine went missing on Wednesday off the northern coast of Bali. Countries from around the world are sending reinforcements to assist in the search for a Indonesian naval submarine that went missing on Wednesday. The 53-person crew was participating in a torpedo drill north of Bali but failed to relay the results of the drill, an Indonesian Navy spokesperson told Reuters. Hadi Tjahjanto, the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, said the submarine lost contact with the military at 4:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
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.
U.S.INSIDEROther ex-officers charged in George Floyd's killing are 'almost 100 percent' going to plead guilty after Derek Chauvin's conviction, experts say
The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August. The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider. Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.
WorldBBCVaranasi: The viral picture that defines India's Covid distress
A heartbreaking image of a mother sitting with the lifeless body of her 29-year-old son at her feet has gone viral in India. The photo shows an exhausted Chandrakala Singh, sitting stone-faced in an electric rickshaw with the body of her son Vineet Singh, on a busy street in the city of Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The haunting image is just one example of the plight of Indians trapped between a raging pandemic and a healthcare system on the brink of collapse.
WorldAssociated PressGeneral: Afghan military will collapse without some US help
McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said that as the U.S. pulls out all forces, “my concern is the Afghans' ability to hold ground” and whether they will able to continue to maintain and fly their aircraft without U.S. aid and financial support. Later, at a Pentagon news conference, McKenzie said the U.S. will look for “some remote, televised way” to help the Afghan security forces perform maintenance on their aircraft without having U.S. personnel in the country. We're certainly going to try to do everything we can from distant locations to assist the Afghans as they maintain the aircraft and other platforms that will be essential for the fight ahead of them,” the general said.
U.S.Associated PressMormon sex therapist ousted from faith for critiques
A sex therapist in Utah who has publicly challenged her faith's policies on sexuality has been kicked out of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following a disciplinary hearing. Natasha Helfer received a letter Wednesday from a regional church official explaining the reasons for her removal from the Salt Lake City-based church, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Helfer was disciplined by church leaders in Kansas, where she lived before moving to Utah in 2019.
“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.”