- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- PoliticsThe Guardian
'I'm not a fan': Trump's grudge against John McCain continues even in death
In life and now in death John McCain continues to torment Donald Trump. Trump spent last week posthumously attacking the Arizona senator on Twitter, in interviews and in public remarks at an Army tank plant in Lima, Ohio. “He was horrible,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News on Friday, referring to McCain's role in the defeat of legislation that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act.
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.
- 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.
WorldReutersDruze on Golan Heights reject Trump backing for Israeli sovereignty
Druze Arabs and Israeli settlers on opposite sides of the dispute over U.S. President Donald Trump's support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights agree on one thing - it won't change matters on the ground. The fertile hillsides of the Israeli-occupied Golan are scattered with villages inhabited by 22,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam. Many still have relatives on the Syrian side of the fortified boundary.
- WorldLiveScience.com
'Inland Oceans' from One of Southern Hemisphere's Worst Storms Seen from Space
A deadly cyclone that hit southern Africa left extensive flooding that looked like "inland oceans" in images from space taken just days after the storm made landfall. Sentinel-1, a satellite mission that's part of the European Union's Earth-observation program, Copernicus, captured imagery on March 19 that showed far-reaching floodwaters around Mozambique's town of Beira on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Idai could turn out to be "one of the worst weather-related disasters" in the Southern Hemisphere, said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization.
- 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.
- WorldUSA TODAY
Hells Angels, street gangs vow to defend mosques as New Zealand braces for Friday prayers
Street gangs and motorcycle clubs across New Zealand offered to protect the nation's mosques during Friday prayers, but at least one Muslim leader suggests the groups come inside and pray instead. Less than 2 percent of New Zealand's 5 million people are Muslim. Thousands of New Zealanders, however, are expected to join in the prayers Friday in solidarity. Leaders of the Mongrel Mob, Black Power, King Cobras – and even Hells Angels – have said they will stand sentry at many of the mosques.
BusinessAFPToxicologist denies manipulating studies in Monsanto damages proceedings
A toxicologist from Roundup weedkiller manufacturer Monsanto denied Friday that she had influenced scientific studies to hide the dangers of the product, in the damages phase of a trial in California. One of the lawyers for the plaintiff -- a 70-year-old retiree with cancer -- asked Dr Donna Farmer to explain internal documents from Monsanto made public in 2017. Among other documents, a February 2015 email sent to Farmer by another senior Monsanto scientist refers to the technique of writing scientific articles and then paying recognized scientists -- presented as independent -- to sign them.
BusinessReutersU.S. lawmaker seeks Boeing whistleblowers, some MAX 737 orders in jeopardy
American Airlines pilots were preparing to test Boeing's planned software upgrade for an anti-stall system on MAX simulators this weekend, saying they want their own safety guarantees on the software fix. The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest selling jet before an Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, which followed a Lion Air crash in Indonesia on Oct. 29. Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix.
- 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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
