- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Mueller report: Why so many of President Donald Trump's aides lied to protect him in Russia investigations
The exchange was the start of a remarkable succession of lies over nearly two years by some of Trump's closest political associates, told to federal agents, Congress and the public that distanced the president and his campaign from an investigation into whether his campaign participated in Russian efforts to disrupt the election that put him in office. Whatever else special counsel Robert Mueller's now-concluded investigation may reveal, it has devoted considerable attention to the Trump associates whose lies to lawmakers and investigators deflected attention from connections between Russia and the president's campaign, and to a central question hanging over many of the charges Mueller has f...
WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: New Zealanders to observe Muslim call to prayer
People across New Zealand will listen to the Muslim call to prayer on Friday as the nation marks one week since a gunman attacked two mosques and killed 50 people. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and thousands of other people plan to congregate in Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to observe the call to prayer at 1:30 p.m. Many radio and television stations plan to broadcast the event live. At least 42 people died at the Al Noor mosque and at least seven at the nearby Linwood mosque in last Friday's attack.
- BusinessThe Telegraph
Crashed Boeing jets lacked two safety features that would have cost extra
Two Boeing jets that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia each lacked a pair of cockpit safety features that the plane manufacturer charged extra for. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October killing 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 went down on March 10, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, with the loss of 157 lives. Both Boeing 737 Max aircraft were new but did not have an angle of attack indicator, which shows how much the nose is tilted.
NewsReutersMissouri River flooding forces evacuation of 7,500 from waterfront city
Record floodwaters that submerged vast stretches of Nebraska and Iowa farmland along America's longest river reached a new crest on Friday at the waterfront city of St. Joseph, Missouri, forcing chaotic evacuations of thousands from low-lying areas. With emergency sirens blaring as the Missouri River rose to the top of the three-story-high levee wall in St. Joseph, about 55 miles (88 km) north of Kansas City, Missouri, sheriff's deputies rushed door-to-door urging residents to flee to higher ground. The abrupt evacuation, coming as the river rose about 9 feet above flood stage, appeared to take authorities and residents by surprise.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the New 2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe
Porsche joins competitors Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz with a coupe version of its Cayenne SUV at a modest price premium over the standard Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo. From Car and Driver
- BusinessConsumer Reports
IRS Loosens Tax Penalty for Millions
In more typical tax years, most taxpayers must pay at least 90 percent of their federal taxes for a given year, or 100 percent of what they owed the year before, in order to avoid an underpayment penalty. The change comes in response to public outcry. As the tax season progressed this year, reports of taxpayer outrage at lower refunds and higher-than-expected tax bills suggested far more people than expected were caught unawares.
SportsFOX News VideosCNN takes over a week to report Covington lawsuit
What happened to 'facts first'? Reaction from former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Bringing the Sting: The U.S. Navy Is Getting New F/A-18E/F Super Hornets
David Axe Security, The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are. The U.S. Navy in mid-March 2019 awarded Chicago plane-maker Boeing a $4-billion contract to build 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the U.S. Navy. The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are.
NewsAFPSchool shooting survivor stricken by 'survivor's guilt' takes own life
A teenager who survived the Parkland school shooting in Florida has killed herself while struggling with survivors' guilt, local media reported Friday. Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members. Among the dead were two of Aiello's best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver.
- WorldUSA TODAY
American-backed Syrian force declares victory over Islamic State
The Islamic State group lost its final sliver of territory in Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said Saturday while declaring victory over the extremists. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, tweeted that the militant group, also known as ISIS, suffered "100 percent territorial defeat." He said that the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, where jihadists had been mounting a last stand, "is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved." Daesh is ISIS' Arabic acronym. Bali said that the self-declared caliphate that ISIS established in 2014, and which once sprawled across much of Syria and neighboring Iraq while imposing brutal rule on as many as 8 million people, had been eradicated.
NewsAssociated PressEx-cop says he thought he saw a gun when he shot black teen
A white former police officer said Thursday he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld took the stand at his homicide trial and insisted he was in fear for his life when he gunned down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Rosfeld, 30, got choked up and dabbed away tears as he recounted finding the mortally wounded Rose on the ground.
WorldBloombergBrexit End Likely to Be Based on a Customs Union, JPMorgan Says
The realities of the Brexit situation indicate that the U.K. is going to end up with “something that's founded on a customs union” with the European Union, according to Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management. There are two realities to Brexit,” Ward said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. One is: there is a border between northern and southern Ireland.
NewsReutersAmid U.S. Midwest flooding, residents in Missouri, Kansas rush to fill sandbags
Floodwaters that devastated swaths of Nebraska and Iowa rolled downstream along America's longest river on Thursday, swamping more Midwestern farmland as waterfront communities in Missouri and Kansas hurried to shore up strained levees. Flooding of the Missouri River triggered by last week's so-called "bomb cyclone" storm has already inflicted damage estimated at nearly $1.5 billion in Nebraska, killed at least four people in Nebraska and Iowa and left a man missing below Nebraska's collapsed Spencer Dam. Missouri Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency for his state as high water forced evacuations of several small farm communities.
- NewsUSA TODAY
JetBlue lawsuit claims pilots drugged three crew members and raped two
Two JetBlue pilots allegedly drugged three crew members, with one pilot raping two of the women during a Puerto Rico layover, a new lawsuit claims. The lawsuit, filed by two of the crew members referred to as Jane Doe, alleges that pilot Eric Johnson, along with fellow pilot Dan Watson, passed three of their JetBlue colleagues an open beer on the beach outside the Intercontinental Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 9, 2018. The plaintiffs contend the beer contained a date rape drug.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
Strengthen Your Retirement Security in 7 Steps
Retirement security is the ability to live a comfortable retirement without the burden of financial stress. Early planning is the best way to ensure a financially secure retirement, but not everyone has the luxury of time to prepare. The financial decisions you make in the years approaching retirement will have a significant impact on your retirement security.
BusinessAssociated PressThe Latest: Ethiopian airline defends pilots' training
The Latest on the Ethiopian plane crash (all times local): 7:15 p.m. Ethiopian Airlines says its pilots went through all the extra training required by Boeing and the U.S. aviation regulator to fly the 737 Max 8 jet that crashed this month, killing all 157 passengers. CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said Thursday that the airline's pilots completed the training meant to help them shift from an older model to the newer 737 Max 8.
- WorldNational Review
May Now Open to No-Deal Brexit If Parliament Rejects Her Deal
British prime minister Theresa May, after repeatedly warning the public of the dangers associated with a so-called no-deal Brexit — in which the country leaves the European Union absent a formal agreement with the EU — is now reportedly open to that option if Parliament continues to reject the deal she has negotiated with Brussels. After announcing Wednesday that she had formally requested that the EU extend the Brexit deadline from March 29 to June 30, May came to accept the possibility that the U.K. will crash out of the body if Parliament refuses to approve the terms of her deal, The Financial Times reported. The EU convened in Brussels on Thursday to discuss May's deadline-extension request, which she was forced to resort to after parliament twice rejected the deal she negotiated with EU leaders.
WorldAFPUS team seeks to provide water, hygiene in cyclone-hit Mozambique
The United States said Thursday it had sent a team to cyclone-hit Mozambique to provide safe drinking water and other necessities after the region's biggest storm in decades. Aimee Lauer, who is heading the response for the US Agency for International Development, said that an initially light 15-member team was en route to Mozambique with a potential expansion planned once the scope of the disaster becomes clear. The group will provide chlorine tabs for safe water and hygiene kits to help stem the spread of water-borne diseases after Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of Mozambique, she said.
- WorldThe Telegraph
US announces new financial sanctions on Venezuela after 'illegal' arrest of Juan Guaido's chief of staff
The Trump administration on Friday announced additional sanctions for Venezuela in response to what it describes as the illegal arrest of opposition leader Juan Guaido's chief of staff. The Treasury Department announcement came while the President Donald Trump met with leaders from five Caribbean nations, where Venezuela was at the top of the agenda. The region has been far from united in joining the US call for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.
WorldReutersNew Zealand reopens mosques that were attacked; many 'march for love'
Smelling of fresh paint, the two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch where a gunman killed 50 worshippers last week reopened their doors on Saturday, with many survivors among the first to walk in and pray for those who died. At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site, but no graphic reminders of the mass shooting, New Zealand's worst. Aden Diriye, who lost his 3-year-old son, Mucad Ibrahim, in the attack, came back to the mosque with his friends.
CelebrityUSA TODAY'A gift sent from the heavens': Nebraska pals find fridge full of beer during flood cleanup
After a long day of flood cleanup, two guys in Nebraska got an unexpected but welcomed "gift sent from the heavens": free, cold beer. Friends Kyle Simpson and Gayland Stouffer had spent Sunday cleaning mud from Simpson's property after massive flooding across the Midwest left large swaths of land swamped and levees overwhelmed. In Linwood, Simpson and Stouffer, clad in chest waders and tired from the day of work, were heading back to Simpson's car when they noticed what looked like a refrigerator in the distance, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
- NewsTime
'Unprecedented' Spring Flood Season to Put 200 Million People in the U.S. at Risk, NOAA Warns
Large parts of the U.S. could experience a “potentially unprecedented flood season” through May as forecasts anticipate record levels of precipitation, according to a report released Thursday. More than 200 million people in 25 states are at risk, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned. Much of the Midwest, including Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa, has already be hit with historic flooding this year after the wettest winter in known history.
- BusinessCar and Driver
Ram Rebel TRX Pickup Spied, Likely to Get the Supercharged Hellcat V-8
The eagerly awaited Ram Rebel TRX pickup truck has been spotted testing on Detroit-area streets. The new pickup, first shown as a concept in 2016, will be the most potent version of the Ram 1500 and a tough competitor to the Ford F-150 Raptor. The Ram Rebel TRX mule exhibited a telltale supercharged V-8 whine similar to that of the Hellcat V-8, which is likely to power the new truck.
BusinessUSA TODAYHome loan applications rise as wealthier shoppers hunt for more expensive houses
Mortgage interest rates are now decidedly lower than a year ago, and home shoppers are buying in, but most are wealthier consumers purchasing more expensive homes. Total mortgage application volume rose 2.3 percent last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Falling rates were likely behind a sizable jump in loan applications to purchase a home.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Defense expert supports cop who shot black teen
A white former police officer says he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld took the stand at his homicide trial Thursday and insisted he was in fear for his life when he shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over a car suspected to have been involved in a drive-by shooting.
