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.
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.
WorldAssociated PressEXPLAINER: What are the Iran nuclear talks all about?
Negotiations to bring the United States back into a landmark nuclear deal with Iran resumed Thursday in Vienna amid signs of progress — but also under the shadow of an attack this week on Iran's main nuclear facility. After more than two hours of talks characterized by Russia's delegate as generally positive, issues were turned back over to two working groups for continued discussion and refinement. In 2015, Iran signed an agreement with the U.S., Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain that was intended to set limits on Tehran's nuclear program in order to block it from building a nuclear weapon — something it insists it doesn't want to do.
WorldReutersEU, UK step up Northern Ireland talks as EU continues legal action
The European Union insisted on Friday that Britain not change trading rules in Northern Ireland on its own and said it would continue legal action against unilateral British action in the province for as long as necessary. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic hosted UK negotiator David Frost for talks on Thursday evening and said that only agreements by joint bodies established by the Brexit divorce deal could provide stability in Northern Ireland. The British-ruled province is in the EU single market for goods to ensure an open border with EU member Ireland and so requires checks on goods coming from other parts of the United Kingdom.
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.
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
- 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.
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.
- 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.
CelebrityThe TelegraphMike Tindall pays tribute to Prince Philip with photograph of Duke with great-granddaughter Mia
Mike Tindall has paid tribute to his grandfather-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh, calling him a "devoted family man who we will forever miss but always love." The former England centre who married the Queen and Prince Philip's granddaughter, Zara Phillips paid a personal tribute on Instagram, sharing a photo of his eldest daughter Mia enjoying a picnic at a log cabin with the Duke. "It's been a very sad week but it has given us time to reflect on great memories and stories both personal and shared," Mr Tindall said.
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.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderUS set to sanction a dozen Russian individuals, 24 entities for influencing the 2020 election, SolarWinds hack
The Biden administration is set to sanction Russian intelligence officials over attempts to influence the 2020 election. Russian officials and entities could also be sanctioned for misconduct, including the SolarWinds hack. The sanctions may be announced this week, just days after Biden and Putin last spoke on Tuesday.
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentTed Cruz among six Republicans to vote down bill to end anti-Asian hate crimes
Ted Cruz was among six Republicans who voted against a bill on Wednesday that would strengthen federal efforts to end rampant anti-Asian hate crimes in America. An overwhelming majority of senators voted to advance the legislation directing the Justice Department to "facilitate the expedited review" of hate crimes against Asian communities. But six Republicans — Texas senator Mr Cruz, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley from Missouri, Rand Paul from Kentucky, Tommy Tuberville from Alabama, and Roger Marshall from Kansas — voted against it.
- 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.
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.
WorldMiami HeraldRaúl Castro says he will resign as Cuba’s Communist Party chief, AP reports
Raúl Castro said he will resign as head of Cuba's Communist Party Friday, giving up the island's most powerful post amid a crushing economic crisis, The Associated Press reported. The announcement was made during the opening day of the party's four-day congress in Havana, according to the report. It means that for the first time in over six decades there will be no Castro at the helm of the government.
WorldThe IndependentBabies dying from Covid in Brazil as ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ hits country
As some countries look towards an end to the coronavirus pandemic, Brazil is facing an ever-worsening crisis, with overwhelmed health systems and a soaring death toll leading to a significant number of babies dying from Covid-19. The South American country's seven-day rolling average for deaths reached more than 3,000 this month, as the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that a “humanitarian catastrophe” was unfolding due to government mismanagement of the pandemic. Dr Christos Christou, MSF's international president, said far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro's government had all but refused to introduce “evidence-based comprehensive public health guidelines”.
WorldThe Independent‘We stayed. The citizens are why we stay’: CNN reporter goes viral after police threaten to arrest journalists
“In my 25 years as a reporter I have NEVER heard police in America actually say “journalists will be arrested” during a protest,” wrote Sara Sidner. The comments from Sidner, who is 48, have highlighted an aspect of the story of the fatal shooting of the young man that has threatened to get lost in the flurry of breaking news - the harsh way police have responded to protesters, and to reporters covering the protesters. As hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets every night since 20-year-old Wright was shot by an officer from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, police have responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
BusinessBusiness InsiderRepublicans say less than 6% of Biden's plan is traditional infrastructure. BofA says it's more like half.
Bank of America says about half of Biden's infrastructure plan is traditional, or physical, infrastructure. This contrasts with the GOP argument that less than 6% of Biden's plan goes to roads and bridges. The bank added that nontraditional infrastructure will take longer to prompt economic growth.
U.S.PoliticoMesh mask lands Capitol riot defendant in hot water with judge
A federal judge is demanding that a Pennsylvania woman arrested for her alleged role in the Capitol riot, Rachel Powell, explain why a video of her circulating online shows her wearing a porous, mesh mask despite another judge's order to comply with Covid mask requirements while she awaits trial. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth said Powell's decision to wear the obviously noncompliant mask “mocks” the initial requirement decreed by the court's chief judge, Beryl Howell, soon after Powell's release in February. Defendant must wear a mask whenever she leaves her residence,” Howell ruled at the time.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news: Pence undergoes pacemaker operation as Sanders pays Trump rare compliment on Afghanistan
Former vice president Mike Pence is recovering after surgery to install a pacemaker, a small device to regulate a heartbeat. Mr Pence is expected to fully recover and return to normal activity in the coming days following the procedure, described as “routine surgery”. While Sanders praised Joe Biden's commitment to withdraw troops from Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of September 11, he made clear it was a deal negotiated by the former president.
U.S.The IndependentAdam Toledo shooting – latest: Further protests expected today as AOC says prosecutor lied about about killing
Chicago is bracing for further protests on Friday after officials released a graphic body-camera video showing police officer Eric Stillman shooting and killing a 13-year-old boy as he appeared to be raising his hands. The nine-minute video from Mr Stillman's body camera showed the 34-year-old officer running after Adam Toledo in an alley at 2.30am on 29 March in Little Village, a Mexican neighbourhood on the city's West Side. The officer yells “Stop” to Toledo, who begins raising his hands less than a second before the officer fires his gun and kills him.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe US is readying sanctions against Russia over the SolarWinds cyber attack. Here's a simple explanation of how the massive hack happened and why it's such a big deal
Major firms like Microsoft and top government agencies were attacked, and sensitive data was exposed. Foreign hackers, who some top US officials believe are from Russia, were able to use the hack to spy on private companies like the elite cybersecurity firm FireEye and the upper echelons of the US Government, including the Department of Homeland Security and Treasury Department.
U.S.INSIDERTrisha Paytas clapped back at Joe Rogan after he commented on a bikini picture of them on his podcast
When looking at a photo of them in a bikini to "see how [Paytas] would look naked," he said: "Yeah, you can keep that." In comments below the clip, shared by internet news reporter Def Noodles, people accused Rogan of body shaming Paytas and using the wrong pronouns (Paytas announced they identify as non-binary and use they/ them pronouns this week). Paytas also picked up on the video themselves, and posted a swift eight-minute response to their YouTube channel titled "dear Joe Rogan..."
“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.”