WorldAssociated PressIsrael says it will 'definitely' stop Iran from getting bomb
Israel's foreign minister said Friday that his country was determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process. “We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremists (in Iran) from succeeding, and definitely will prevent this regime from having a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters on a visit to Cyprus. Iranian officials say the country will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity following an attack on its nuclear facility at Natanz, in central Iran, on Sunday, that it blamed on Israel.
WorldThe TelegraphSpain acquits man of sexually abusing 14-year-old stepdaughter who gave birth to his child
A Spanish court has provoked outrage by acquitting a man of sexually abusing his 14-year-old stepdaughter despite the fact she gave birth to his child. The Pamplona court accepted the defendant's claim that the teenager had sat astride him while he was asleep on the sofa and engaged in penetrative sex. The girl's mother reported the father for alleged sexual abuse of her daughter, who initially said she had been raped in the street before changing her story to corroborate her stepfather's claim that he had not been conscious when they had sex.
PoliticsNational ReviewBiden Reverses Course, Declines to Raise Trump-Era Refugee Cap
President Biden on Friday signed an emergency determination to speed the processing of prospective refugees, but will retain the Trump administration's refugee cap of 15,000-per-year, backtracking on an earlier pledge to raise the cap and allow for additional refugee resettlement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on February 12 that the Biden administration planned to raise the cap to allow up to 62,500 refugees to settle in the U.S. by the end of the current fiscal year. The Biden administration was concerned that raising the refugee cap would put undue pressure on the Department of Health and Human Services while the agency attempts to house migrant children at the southern border, a senior administration official told the New York Times.
HealthReutersJ&J scientists refute idea that COVID-19 vaccine's design linked to clots
Scientists at Johnson & Johnson on Friday refuted an assertion in a major medical journal that the design of their COVID-19 vaccine, which is similar AstraZeneca's, may explain why both have been linked to very rare brain blood clots in some vaccine recipients. The United States earlier this week paused distribution of the J&J vaccine to investigate six cases of a rare brain blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), accompanied by a low blood platelet count, in U.S. women under age 50, out of about 7 million people who got the shot. The blood clots in patients who received the J&J vaccine bear close resemblance to 169 cases in Europe reported with the AstraZeneca vaccine, out of 34 million doses administered there.
U.S.Associated Press2 passengers sue United Airlines over engine explosion
Two passengers who were aboard a United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after one of its engines blew apart and sent debris raining down on Colorado neighborhoods sued the company Friday. In separate lawsuits filed in Chicago, where United is based, Joseph McGinley of Honolulu and Jonathan Strawn of Sioux City, Iowa, say they have suffered personal, emotional and financial injuries following the failure of the Boeing 777's engine on Feb. 20. United declined to comment on the lawsuits, spokesperson Leslie Scott said.
WorldAssociated PressBeijing warns US, Japan against collusion vs China
China said Friday it has expressed “serious concerns” to the United States and Japan over what it calls negative moves and collusion between the two countries against China. The statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian came just before President Joe Biden welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader. That meeting is seen as reflecting Biden's emphasis on strengthening alliances to deal with a more assertive China and other global challenges.
U.S.NBC NewsAttorneys for Black Army officer threatened by police criticize response as chief refuses to apologize
Attorneys for a Black Army officer whom police can be heard threatening during a traffic stop in Virginia have criticized what they called "cutting-corner policing." Windsor police on Tuesday fired Officer Joe Gutierrez, who was initially disciplined after an internal review of the incident in December concluded in January. Police Chief Rodney Riddle addressed the incident publicly for the first time Wednesday, saying Gutierrez was fired after the video of the traffic stop went viral this week.
BusinessThe TelegraphExclusive: Priti Patel was warned about Heathrow queues crisis last year
Priti Patel's officials were repeatedly warned last year about the growing crisis over queues at Heathrow forcing passengers to wait for hours. The airport wrote twice to the Home Office – in August and December – to say urgent action was needed, including more Border Force staff to tackle lengthening queues that meant planes had to be delayed and passengers held on board jets. The disclosure follows a warning on Wednesday by Chris Garton, Heathrow's chief solutions officer, that the situation had become "untenable" as passengers faced queues of up to six hours despite arrivals being more than 80 per cent below normal.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 9 Best Wireless Headphones for Every Kind of Use
From the most comfortable pair to the best value buy, these headphones will carry you through the spring, summer, and beyond Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressNew blast at St. Vincent volcano; cruise ship helps evacuees
La Soufriere volcano shot out another explosive burst of gas and ash on Friday as a cruise ship arrived to evacuate some of the foreigners who had been stuck on a St. Vincent island coated in ash from a week of violent eruptions. Friday morning's blast “wasn't a big explosion compared to the ones that we last weekend, but it was big enough to punch a hole through the clouds," said Richard Robertson, lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, in an interview with local NBC radio. During a comparable eruption cycle in 1902, explosive eruptions continued to shake the island for months after an initial burst killed some 1,700 people, though the new eruptions so far have caused no reported deaths among a population that had received official warning a day earlier that danger was imminent.
WorldBBCWashington seeks to expose Russian intelligence activity
In a flurry of statements, the US published a vast trove of information about Russian intelligence activities, including naming front organisations and individuals who have worked with Moscow in recent years. The aim of the measures was to send a signal and to impose costs, making it harder for Russia to operate and deter future activity. One Russian tech company which supports the Federal Security Service (FSB) but also does work for foreign governments and international companies was accused of hosting "large-scale conventions that are used as recruiting events" for two Russian intelligence services.
- U.S.Reuters
Investigators find officer wounded in Tennessee not shot by student's gun
A police officer wounded during a shooting incident inside a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, was struck by a bullet that was not fired by the gun of the student who police shot and killed, according to a preliminary investigation. A 17-year-old high school student, who opened fire at an Austin-East Magnet High School, was fatally shot on Monday during a confrontation with the police. The officers, who were responding to the scene, tracked the gunman to a bathroom where shots were fired.
U.S.Associated PressPublic comment period extended for border surveillance plan
The Department of Homeland Security has agreed to reopen the public comment period on plans to build a number of high-powered surveillance towers along Vermont's border with the Canadian province of Quebec, Vermont's congressional delegation said Friday. U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said in a statement that they have heard from many Vermonters in border communities with privacy concerns about the towers proposed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
PoliticsThe Guardian‘Alarm is growing’: Michigan governor faces shutdown dilemma as Covid cases rise
The coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions that Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, enacted in March last year were among the nation's toughest, and the governor's leadership is thought to have saved lives. Now, as Michigan faces another surge of cases and hospitalizations, its worst yet, Whitmer has changed tack. Despite past success and growing calls for another lockdown from public health experts, and doctors managing hospitals with Covid patients, the governor is resisting further restrictions, and is instead largely relying on a vaccination rollout and a voluntary suspension of in-person dining services.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverSearch for kayaker’s body suspended after dog was found in Colorado lake, cops say
Crews have suspended the search for a missing man, who is now presumed dead, after officials spotted a capsized kayak on Sunday and rescued his dog from Carter Lake in Colorado, according to officials. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office officials said on Friday that the search has been suspended after teams have spent more than 700 hours looking for the man believed to be from Loveland. Rangers found an uninjured dog wearing a flotation device and a kayak in the lake Sunday afternoon but no kayaker.
BusinessReutersModerna expects vaccine shipments to Britain, Canada to be delayed, EU, Swiss roll-out on track
The drugmaker will deliver about 650,000 doses by the end of April, not the expected 1.2 million, Canada's Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. Moreover, one million to two million Moderna doses of the 12.3 million doses slated for the second quarter would be delayed until the third. These delivery woes further complicate European vaccine issues already being exacerbated by rare side effects linked to AstraZeneca's and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines, with Britain advising pregnant women now to get Moderna or Pfizer shots.
WorldUSA TODAYAntony Blinken makes surprise stop in Afghanistan to sell Biden troop withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to sell Afghan leaders and a wary public on President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw all American troops from the country and end America's longest war. Blinken sought to assure senior Afghan politicians that the United States remains committed to the country despite Biden's announcement a day earlier that the 2,500 U.S. soldiers remaining in the country would be coming home by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. invasion in 2001.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Daunte Wright's mother calls for accountability
On Thursday, Katie Wright, the mother of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center, Minn. expressed her grief and called for accountability for her son's death.
HealthReutersBlood type not a COVID-19 risk factor in U.S.; inhaled asthma drug may keep mild illness from worsening
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Blood type not a factor in COVID-19 risks in U.S. patients Blood type does not affect susceptibility to COVID-19 in U.S. patients, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data on nearly 108,000 people from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada who were tested for COVID-19 and whose blood type was listed in their medical records.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and other GOP lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him have spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security
Lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him spent thousands to improve personal security after the Capitol attack. Republicans including Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney beefed up their security, per Punchbowl News. Prominent lawmakers spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security guards and other protection following the Capitol riots, a Punchbowl News analysis of campaign finance records shows.
U.S.The StateA week after she was found in a Florida Keys swimming pool, Georgia toddler dies
A 2-year-old Georgia girl died Thursday, almost a week after she was found unresponsive in the swimming pool of the Florida Keys vacation rental home in which she and her family were staying. Leland Rudeen's family released a statement on Facebook Thursday saying that she had died a day after undergoing an MRI at Nicklaus Children's Hospital near South Miami. “Shortly after the devastating MRI results, as we were trying to wrap our head around some hard decisions ahead of us, Leland took the choice out of our hands and started her painless decline,” the statement reads.
- U.S.Raleigh News and Observer
Durham man pleads guilty to shooting grandfather in the head at 16. Why did he do it?
Nearly six years after William Evans was found shot and cold in a Durham parking lot, his grandson pleaded guilty to shooting the 65-year-old man with his own gun. Under a plea agreement, Dominick Jackson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to up to nearly 10 years in prison, with credit for the more than five years he spent in jail awaiting trial. Under North Carolina sentencing laws, courts must consider mitigating and aggravating factors that could decrease or increase the sentence.
U.S.INSIDERYou'll need to be vaccinated if you want to take a cruise, but you don't need the COVID-19 vaccine for all travel - yet
As more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine and the world gears up for post-pandemic summer, many are wondering if they need to be vaccinated to travel. At the moment, you don't need to be vaccinated to travel generally, but full vaccination opens up more doors for travelers, and it may be required for certain types of travel in the future. This easy-to-use, interactive map by travel company Sherpa shows travelers what restrictions apply to them based on their vaccination status and departure location.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe US officially designates Paul Manafort's associate Konstantin Kilimnik as a 'known Russian agent'
The US on Thursday designated Manafort associate Konstanin Kilimnik as a "known Russian agent." It's the first time the US government has explicitly tied Kilimnik to the Russian government. Mueller and the Senate Intel Committee described him as someone with ties to Russian intelligence.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderSen. Ted Cruz no longer wears a mask at the Capitol, falsely claiming 'everybody' in the Senate has been vaccinated against COVID-19
Sen. Ted Cruz has stopped wearing a mask at the Capitol, CNN reports. Cruz claimed "everybody" in the Senate is vaccinated, but that's not true of all staffers, reporters, and lawmakers. The CDC still recommends vaccinated individuals to wear a mask when in public.
“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.”