U.S.Associated PressCourt rejects appeal of killer of 3 in home invasion
The Connecticut Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man convicted of murder, sexual assault and other crimes in the killings of a woman and her two daughters, ages 11 and 17, in a 2007 home invasion. Justices issued a 7-0 decision Monday upholding the convictions against Joshua Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are serving life prison sentences for the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in their Cheshire home.
WorldAssociated PressPope asks US bishop to resign after cover-up investigation
Pope Francis asked a bishop in the U.S. state of Minnesota to resign after he was investigated by the Vatican for allegedly interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse, officials said Tuesday. The Vatican said Francis accepted the resignation of Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner on Tuesday and named a temporary replacement to run the diocese. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston said in a statement that the pontiff asked Hoeppner to resign following the Vatican probe, which it said arose from reports that the bishop "had at times failed to observe applicable norms when presented with allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy."
HealthThe WeekU.K. coronavirus strain no deadlier among hospitalized patients, study suggests
The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first discovered in Britain spreads more easily that older strains, sending more people to the hospital, but it doesn't lead to more severe cases or higher rates of death once patients are hospitalized, a study published Monday in the journal The Lance Infectious Disease found. "If you need hospitalization, you're not worse with this variant compared to the previous virus strain," said Eleni Nastouli, senior author of the paper and a clinical virologist and pediatrician at University College London. "Of course, if you're requiring hospital admission for COVID, that is a worry," she conceded.
- WorldReuters
Mexico arrests 30 marines over suspected forced disappearances
Mexican authorities have arrested 30 marines over their suspected involvement in forced disappearances in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo in 2014, the Navy said in a statement late on Monday. The Navy said the attorney general's office had ordered the arrests of the 30 marines, who were being deployed in "surveillance and deterrence" operations in Nuevo Laredo at the time of the alleged crimes during the previous administration. Along with the Mexican Army, the Navy for years assumed a central role in the government's military-led crackdown on drug cartels, which was launched in late 2006.
WorldArchitectural DigestThe World’s 9 Most Expensive Home Listings Currently on the Market
These fantastical houses range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated PressBiden raises concerns with Putin about Ukraine confrontation
President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, directly raising concerns about the Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border. Biden told Putin the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference, according to the White House. Biden also proposed a summit meeting in a third country “in the coming months” to discuss the full range of U.S.-Russia issues, the White House said.
U.S.INSIDERBlack 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.
WorldThe TelegraphAlex Salmond 'stoking anti-English feelings with Braveheart video on breaking spines of oppressors'
Alex Salmond has been accused of pandering to extreme Scottish nationalists after his new party released a campaign video which spoke of breaking "the spine of English superiority” and he claimed the support of a King who died nearly seven centuries ago. The former First Minister's Alba Party on Monday broadcast a supposed endorsement from Robert the Bruce, who successfully led Scotland during the first War of Independence against England in the fourteenth century. In the clip, 'The Bruce', who actually died in 1329, predicts that Mr Salmond's new rival party to the SNP would “unite the clans”.
U.S.The StateMistaking 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.
WorldAssociated PressTurkey to host Afghan peace talks later this month
Turkey announced Tuesday that it will host a 10-day peace conference in Istanbul between Afghanistan's warring sides later this month. A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said the conference will gather representatives of the Taliban and of the Afghan government, as well as Turkish, Qatari and U.N. officials who are co-organizing the meeting. The surprise announcement came after a Taliban spokesman said Monday the religious militia would not attend a peace conference that had been tentatively planned to take place in Turkey later this week, putting U.S. efforts for a peace plan in jeopardy.
- U.S.Reuters
Cockpit voice recorder from crashed Indonesian jet downloaded successfully: investigator
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet has been downloaded successfully and includes the last minutes of the flight that ended with 62 people dead, an official at Indonesia's air accident investigator said on Monday. The contents of the recording from the 26-year old Boeing Co 737-500 that crashed shortly after take-off on Jan. 9 cannot be disclosed publicly at this stage of the probe, Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigator Nurcahyo Utomo said. The channels will need to be synchronised with each other as well as radio communications and the flight data recorder (FDR) for analysis to help determine the cause of the crash.
U.S.Associated PressStone Mountain Park denies permit for Confederate event
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association has denied a gathering permit from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who were looking to host their annual Confederate Memorial Day service at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. The gathering was slated for Saturday but a March 31 letter from memorial association CEO Bill Stephens denied the necessary permit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Stephens listed three reasons for the denial including safety concerns, specifically the pandemic and racial tensions.
WorldBBCTaiwan: '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".
- WorldYahoo News Video
Brooklyn Center, Minn., police release footage of Daunte Wright shooting, chief says he believes officer mistakenly grabbed gun instead of Taser
During a press conference on Monday, Brooklyn Center, Minn. released bodycam video of the police shooting of Daunte Wright. Police Chief Tim Gannon said he believes the officer who shot Wright intended to use her Taser, but mistakenly grabbed her firearm.
CelebrityThe TelegraphCrumbling former home of Queen and Prince Philip in Malta undergoes multi-million pound restoration
The garden is overgrown, the walls are collapsing and the stonework is crumbling, but a dilapidated townhouse in Malta where a young Prince Philip once lived with the then Princess Elizabeth is undergoing a multi-million pound restoration. Villa Guardamangia, on the outskirts of the Maltese capital Valletta, is to be returned to how it looked when it was home to the royal couple in what they said was one of the happiest periods of their lives. The restoration, expected to take at least five years, will enable it to be opened as a museum and underscores the connection between the royal family and Malta, which gained independence in 1964.
WorldThe Independent‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests
At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since. At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation.
U.S.INSIDERA CNN reporter was confronted by a protester while covering the Daunte Wright demonstrations in a dramatic on-air exchange
A protester confronted a CNN reporter over media coverage of the Daunte Wright protests. The exchange between the man and CNN's Sara Sidner was broadcast live. Protests over the killing of Wright by a police officer continued Monday night.
U.S.USA TODAY OpinionI lost both my legs fighting in Afghanistan. Staying there doesn't honor our troops.
This was eight years after small teams of Green Berets and CIA personnel first invaded Afghanistan, routed the Taliban and largely destroyed the al-Qaida forces that had taken refuge in that country. Eight long years after 9/11, I was one of 68,000 American troops, many of us part of the "surge," working to bring security and governance to the country. Today, it has been almost 12 years since I was in Afghanistan, and now our nation is approaching its 21st year of war there.
U.S.Business InsiderBen and Jerry's calls to dismantle the police and criminal justice system following Daunte Wright's death
Ben and Jerry's called to dismantle the police following Daunte Wright's killing. "The murder of #DaunteWright is rooted in white supremacy," the ice cream brand tweeted. Ben and Jerry's is calling to dismantle and rebuild the public safety and criminal justice systems in the wake of the police shooting of Daunte Wright.
U.S.USA TODAY13 investigations, no court-martials: Here's how the US Navy and Marine Corps quietly discharged white supremacists
For decades, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have quietly kicked out some of the worst white supremacists in their ranks, offering them administrative discharges that leave no public record of their hateful activity, a USA TODAY review of Navy documents found. The documents, obtained via a public-records request by the open-government advocacy group American Oversight, detail 13 major investigations into white supremacist activity in the Navy and Marine Corps over more than 20 years. They show a pattern in which military leaders chose to deal with personnel involved in extremism by dismissing them in ways that would not attract public attention.
U.S.Business InsiderSmartmatic says Fox News shouldn't have journalism protections in defamation lawsuit over election conspiracy theories
Smartmatic argued in a filing Monday that Fox News shouldn't receive legal journalism protections. Its defamation lawsuit alleges Fox News pushed damaging conspiracy theories about the company. Fox News has moved to dismiss the lawsuit.
WorldThe Daily BeastTop Kremlin Mouthpiece Warns of ‘Inevitable’ War With U.S. Over Another Ukraine Land Grab
All-out cyberwarfare, nation-wide forced blackouts, and the targeted disruption of internet services—for one of the Kremlin's top propagandists, all of those tactics are fair game in what she describes as a fated war-to-come against the U.S. “War [with the U.S.] is inevitable,” declared Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of the state-funded Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik, who believes the conflict will break out when, not if, Vladimir Putin moves to seize more territory from Ukraine. As Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's doorstep mounts, Kremlin loyalists have been urging for even more overt aggression and bloodshed in the campaign to annex Ukraine's Donbas region.
BusinessKansas City StarJudge’s ruling spells trouble for Missouri pension’s lawsuit against Canadian firm
A Cole County Circuit Court judge said in an order Monday that the court system is not the place for Missouri's largest pension fund to try to rewrite a contract that it entered into with a Canadian private equity fund. Judge Jon Beetem denied the Missouri State Employees Retirement System's request for a preliminary injunction against Catalyst Capital Group. MOSERS sought the preliminary injunction to keep Catalyst from declaring the $8 billion pension fund in default of its obligations if it didn't fully fund its commitments to the Canadian firm.
EntertainmentArchitectural Digest14 Ways to Do Memphis Without Doing Memphis
You don't have to commit to full-on maximalism to make a statement Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsUSA TODAYRon DeSantis might already be running for president. Donald Trump could help – and hurt – his plans
As Republicans wait for Trump to decide whether he will run again, the first-term governor of the nation's third-most-populous state is making the kinds of attention-getting moves of a prospective presidential candidate: High-profile speeches, fights over media scrutiny, and state proposals that can appeal to Republicans nationally – and to Trump voters. DeSantis, an early Trump supporter during his years in Congress, also is drawing notice from the kinds of big-money donors he spoke to Saturday. "I'm getting calls from people all over the country wanting him to come to their states and do events for them," said Nick Iarossi, a Florida-based fundraiser and DeSantis supporter.
“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.”