Citing grave threat, Scientific American replaces 'climate change' with 'climate emergency'

Scientific American magazine announced Monday that it would stop using the term "climate change" in articles about man-made global warming and substitute "climate emergency" instead. "Journalism should reflect what science says: the climate emergency is here," Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti said in a Monday post about the magazine's decision. To make his point, Fischetti pointed to the mounting number of weather-related disasters that most scientists agree stem from climate change.

Israel made a 'very bad gamble' by sabotaging Iranian nuclear site: Zarif

Iran's top diplomat said on Tuesday that an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility which it blames on Israel was a "very bad gamble" that would strengthen Tehran's hand in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. Tehran has said an explosion on Sunday 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. Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has not formally commented on the incident.

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  Iran blames Israel for Natanz nuclear plant outage, vows revenge

  Reuters
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  Iran blames Israel for Natanz nuclear 'sabotage'

  Reuters Videos

US Bishop Hoeppner resigns after Vatican probe into cover-up

A Minnesota bishop who was investigated by the Vatican for allegedly interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse has resigned, the Vatican said Tuesday. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Hoeppner and named a temporary replacement to run the Crookston diocese, the Holy See said in a statement. The Vatican did not say why Francis accepted the resignation, but the Vatican in 2019 authorized an investigation into claims that Hoeppner had engaged in “acts or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil or canonical investigations of clerical sexual misconduct.”

Mistaking Asian woman as white, Asian man attacks her over hate crimes, CA cops say

An Asian man was arrested after California police say he kidnapped and tried to sexually assault an Asian woman, believing she was white, in retaliation for the rise in hate crimes against Asians. Michael Sangbong Rhee, 37, was arrested Thursday night at his Lake Forest home, Irvine police said in a Facebook post. Rhee was charged with kidnapping with intent to commit a sexual assault and is being held at Orange County Jail on $1 million bail.

China brands Japan's plan to release treated Fukushima water into sea as 'extremely irresponsible'

Japan's government has approved a plan to release over one million tonnes of treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday. Japan's government argues that the release will be safe because the water has been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted. It has support from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which says the release is similar to processes for disposing of waste water from nuclear plants elsewhere in the world.

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  Japan to release Fukushima water into sea

  Reuters Videos
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  Japan to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea after treatment

  Reuters

India, overwhelmed by COVID surge, fast-tracks approval for foreign vaccines

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India is to fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna shots. The move, which will drop the need for companies to do small, local safety trials for their vaccines before seeking emergency approval, came following the world's biggest surge in cases in the country this month. Vaccines authorised by the World Health Organization or authorities in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan "may be granted emergency use approval in India, mandating the requirement of post-approval parallel bridging clinical trial", the health ministry said in a statement.

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  What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

  Reuters
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  India to approve coronavirus shots green-lit by WHO, others

  Associated Press

Philippines summons Chinese ambassador over reef dispute

The Philippine government summoned the Chinese ambassador to press its demand for Chinese vessels to immediately leave a reef claimed by Manila in the South China Sea and said their presence was stoking tensions, officials said Tuesday. The escalating feud between Manila and Beijing started after more than 200 Chinese vessels suspected by Philippine authorities to be operated by militias were spotted early last month at Whitsun Reef. The Philippine government demanded the vessels leave then deployed coast guard and patrol vessels to the area but China said it owns the reef and the Chinese vessels were sheltering from rough seas.

The World’s 9 Most Expensive Listings Currently on the Market

These fantastical homes range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Cops went to a Florida mom’s home on a child abuse call. Then they saw a Dr. Seuss book

Dr Seuss books have made headlines lately, but not for this reason. According to a police report from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, deputies went to a Largo home on a call of suspected child abuse. When they arrived around 9 p.m.

3 killed in Pakistan in clashes between police, Islamists

Two demonstrators and a policeman were killed Tuesday in violent clashes between Islamists and police in Pakistan, hours after authorities arrested the head of an Islamist party in the eastern city of Lahore, a senior official and local media reported. The policeman was killed in overnight clashes with the supporters of Saad Rizvi, the head of the Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan who was arrested on Monday, a senior police officer Ghulam Mohammad Dogar said. Ten policemen were also wounded in these clashes in the town of Shahadra near Lahore.

Black Army officer pepper-sprayed by police said he thought he could be murdered as officers gave quickly changing commands

A uniformed Black Army officer was held at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop. Second lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against the 2 Virginia officers involved. In a complaint, Nazario said they gave conflicting orders and he was worried he would be murdered.

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  U.S. Army lieutenant files suit against two Virginia police officers for assault during traffic stop

  Yahoo News Video
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  Town Fires Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Black Army Lieutenant During Traffic Stop

  HuffPost

Taiwan: 'Record number' of China jets enter air zone

Taiwan has said a record number of Chinese military jets flew into its air defence zone on Monday. The defence ministry said 25 aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered its so-called air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday. The incursion is the largest in a year and comes as the US warns against an "increasingly aggressive China".

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  Chinese aircraft in biggest Taiwan airspace incursion for a year despite US warning

  The Independent
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  Taiwan says China flew 25 warplanes into its airspace in the largest breach yet

  Business Insider

Texas oil pipelines face dry months as production languishes

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Nearly half of all oil pipelines from the Permian basin, the biggest U.S. oilfield, are expected to be empty by the end of the year, analysts and executives said. Pipeline companies went on a construction spree throughout 2018 and 2019 to handle blistering growth in U.S. crude production to a record 13 million barrels per day (bpd). Major pipeline companies are exploring ways to ship other products in those lines and considering selling stakes in operations to raise cash.

Canary Islands hotel offers shelter to migrants in need

When hotel director Calvin Lucock and restaurant owner Unn Tove Saetran said goodbye to one of the last groups of migrants staying in one of the seaside resorts they manage in Spain's Canary Islands, the British-Norwegian couple didn't know when they would have guests again. The Spanish government — struggling to accommodate 23,000 people who disembarked on the islands in 2020 — contracted hundreds of hotel rooms left empty due to the coronavirus travel restrictions. The deal not only helped migrants and asylum-seekers have a place to sleep, it also allowed Lucock to keep most of his hotel staff employed.

Vietnam country profile

Vietnam, a one-party Communist state, has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies and has set its sights on becoming a developed nation by 2020. It became a unified country once more in 1975 when the armed forces of the Communist north seized the south. This followed three decades of bitter wars, in which the Communists fought first against the colonial power France, then against South Vietnam and its US backers.

China's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may start late-stage trial in May - state media

China's locally developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology could start late-stage clinical trial overseas as early as next month, official media said on Tuesday. ARCoV, the China-developed mRNA vaccine candidate that is furthest along the clinical trial process, may get overseas approval to conduct Phase III clinical trial by as early as end-April, China National Radio said in an article on its website. China has approved four locally developed coronavirus vaccines for general public use and a fifth for smaller-scale emergency use but none of them uses the mRNA platform.

The judge in the Chauvin trial won't admit statements from Morries Hall, the passenger in George Floyd's car

Morries Hall has invoked his 5th Amendment right not to testify in Derek Chauvin's trial. The judge ruled against admitting statements Hall previously made to investigators at trial. The judge will rule Tuesday on whether Hall will be ordered to testify with limitations.

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  The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, continues

  Yahoo News Video
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  George Floyd’s brother gets emotional on witness stand

  Yahoo News Video

Thailand records more than 900 cases for third day in a row

Thailand recorded a third day in a row with more than 900 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, as thousands of people swarmed to beaches on the first day of a long national holiday despite warnings from health officials. Dr. Opas Karnkavinpong, director-general of Disease Control Department, warned that possible lockdowns will be implemented next week when people return to the cities after the traditional New Year festival, known as Songkran. The government reported 965 new cases Tuesday to bring the totals since the pandemic began to 34,575 infections and 97 deaths.

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  Thailand reports record COVID-19 cases ahead of national holiday

  Reuters
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  Thailand sees record new infections ahead of major festival

  Associated Press

Parts shortage forces months-long layoffs for thousands at Kansas City Ford, GM plants

A new car hasn't rolled off the line of General Motors' sprawling Kansas City, Kansas, factory in more than two months. The factory, which makes the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and the Cadillac XT4 crossover SUV, has been crippled by a global shortage of semiconductors that has hit the nation's automakers particularly hard. The chip shortage has affected both of Kansas City's auto plants: Ford closed its Transit van line this week at the Claycomo Assembly Plant in its latest disruption.

Late night hosts could totally believe Matt Gaetz is dim enough to publicly Venmo young women for sex

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) "has been under fire since news broke of him being under investigation over possible sex trafficking — but like a Karen in a Bath & Body Works, he refuses to back down," Trevor Noah said on Monday's Daily Show. ... Nobody writes the real thing for a Venmo payment, all right? "It's like organizing a hit on 'Words With Friends.'" And sure, that already "seems incredibly stupid and incriminating," but "the icing on this stupid, stupid cake: At the time, all these interactions could be viewed on Gaetz's public Venmo page."

The US is sending 500 extra troops to Germany, Defense Secretary Austin says, as Russia amasses troops at Europe's border

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the US will station 500 more troops in Germany. It comes as Russia strengthens its military force at the Ukraine border. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that the US will station 500 more troops in Germany.

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  Austin: US adds 500 troops in Germany, despite Trump pledge

  Associated Press
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  Blinken to return to Brussels for talks on Ukraine, Afghanistan

  Reuters

Charlotte housing prices have skyrocketed and supply has plummeted after year of COVID

Last March, the local real estate market was largely shut down amid restrictions on businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19. A year later, the impact of the virus on the housing market is coming into clearer view: March data released Monday reveals the housing crunch has tightened severely. The inventory of homes for sale in Charlotte plummeted 70% from the year before, the report released by the Canopy Realtor Association using MLS data showed.

Top GOP senator says it's 'an impossible sell' for Republicans to strike a deal on an infrastructure package that rolls back Trump tax cuts

Sen. Roger Wicker downplayed the odds of an infrastructure deal that included rolling back Trump's tax cuts. Wicker met with Biden to discuss his jobs plan along with other Republicans and Democrats. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, downplayed the prospect of a bipartisan deal on President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan that included rolling back the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

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  Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist

  Associated Press
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  GOP willing to negotiate smaller infrastructure bill: Wicker

  Good Morning America