PoliticsYahoo NewsRepublican state lawmakers look to pass stricter voting requirements. This is how they would work.
Despite winning the Electoral College in 2016, Trump couldn't admit he had actually lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, instead claiming without evidence that she had received millions of illegal votes. Trump made his baseless election fraud accusations again going into the 2020 election and escalated them after Joe Biden was declared the winner, with Trump and many of his supporters refusing to acknowledge his defeat. The widespread belief among Republicans that the election was illegitimate culminated in a “Stop the Steal” rally headlined by Trump on Jan. 6, the day Congress met to officially certify Biden as the winner of the election.
PoliticsThe IndependentMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has mic muted at CPAC for spouting vaccine and election conspiracies
MyPillow's outspoken Trump-supporting chief executive was censored during an interview at CPAC – an event branded “America Uncanceled” – after he launched into conspiracy theories linking the coronavirus vaccine with the devil. Mike Lindell was speaking on Sunday to Liz Willis, the host of conservative YouTube channel Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), when he delivered a somewhat meandering set of conspiracy theories relating to the pandemic, the presidential election and Israel. “In Israel right now, from the prime minister on down, we don't know what happened, but obviously, he congratulated Biden, but after that, we got a little suspect,” Mr Lindell said during the segment that was edited out by RSBN on their YouTube channel.
WorldReutersTaiwan opposition chief in no rush for China meeting
The leader of Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) said on Tuesday he is in no rush to travel to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and that Beijing's proposals to get Taiwan to accept Communist rule had "no market" on the island. The KMT ruled China before retreating to Taiwan at the end of a civil war with the Communists in 1949. While ties across the Taiwan Strait have improved dramatically in the last three decades, Beijing continues to claim Taiwan as its own territory.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Cue the Waterworks and Welcome to March
Zoë's newsletter comes to a web page near you, and the theme of the day is damp Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldThe TelegraphPenal Colony No. 2 'breaks people': Inside the prison where Alexei Navalny has been sent
The penal colony where Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been sent to serve his two-year sentence is "one of the worst" in Russia, former inmates and prisoners rights groups have said. Mr Navalny was reported to have arrived at penal colony No. 2 in the town of Pokrov, three hours outside Moscow, on Sunday. Transfers of inmates within Russia's penitentiary system can take days or weeks and relatives often only discover the whereabouts of a prisoner after he or she has arrived at a prison.
U.S.Associated PressVictims of anti-Asian attacks reflect a year into pandemic
Nearly a year after they were almost stabbed to death inside a Midland, Texas, Sam's Club, Bawi Cung and his two sons all have visible scars. On a Saturday evening in March, when COVID-19 panic shopping gripped the nation, Cung was in search of rice at a cheaper price. The family was in the Sam's Club meat section when Cung suddenly felt a punch to the back of his head.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump describes rally before deadly Capitol riot as a 'love fest'
Following his first post-presidency speech, former President Donald Trump described the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the deadly Capitol riot as "beautiful" a "love fest." Trump spoke with Fox News on Sunday after delivering a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in which he continued to falsely claim he won the 2020 presidential election. In the Fox interview, Trump was asked if there's anything he would have in retrospect done differently prior to a crowd of his supporters storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but the former president instead spoke favorably about the rally he delivered remarks at before the deadly riot.
PoliticsReuters170 U.S. lawmakers urge Biden administration to push Turkey on rights
One hundred seventy members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a bipartisan letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging President Joe Biden's administration to address "troubling" human rights issues as it formulates policy for dealings with Turkey. The letter, dated Feb. 26 and made public on Monday, notes that NATO ally Turkey has long been an important U.S. partner but says the administration of President Tayyip Erdogan has strained the relationship.
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Two accused of helping Ghosn escape land in Japan
Two Americans accused of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday (March 2). U.S. Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, were extradited by U.S. authorities. The pair could face days of questioning over their role in the elaborate escape plan.
WorldThe TelegraphEuropean Commission raises hopes of coronavirus vaccine passports to ease travel for work and tourism
European Union plans for a coronavirus vaccine passport could be opened up to British tourists and other non-EU holidaymakers, Brussels said on Monday. Ursula von der Leyen said the EU-wide “Digital Green Pass” would be proposed this month and that it could be a first step towards a virus passport for travel from outside the bloc. The Digital Green Pass should facilitate Europeans' lives.
WorldAssociated PressChinese vaccines sweep much of the world, despite concerns
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago's airport in late January, and Chile's president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China's vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccine to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
BusinessAxiosBoeing's first fighter-like jet completes historic test flight
Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced Tuesday local time that they've completed the first test flight of a pilotless fighter-like jet devised to operate alongside crewed aircraft. Why it matters: The "Loyal Wingman" combat drone is serving as the foundation for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System being developed for the company's global defense customers. It has the potential to "revolutionize the RAAF's air combat tactics playbook," per The Drive.
WorldBBCNigeria's school abductions: Why children are being targeted
Since December, more than 600 students have been abducted from schools in north-west Nigeria, highlighting a worrying development in the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis. Friday's kidnapping of nearly 300 students from the Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara state, which ended with their release, was the second mass kidnap from schools in less than 10 days. The authorities say recent attacks on schools in the north-west have been carried out by "bandits", a loose term for kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers, Fulani herdsmen and other armed militia operating in the region who are largely motivated by money.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Supreme Court mulls power of landmark law in major voting rights case
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday will consider whether to uphold two Republican-backed voting restrictions in Arizona in a case that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act, a landmark 1965 federal law that barred racial discrimination in voting. The important voting rights case comes before the justices at a time when Republicans in numerous states are pursuing new restrictions after former President Donald Trump made false claims of widespread fraud in the Nov. 3 election that he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden.
BusinessAssociated PressGoodbye gas: Volvo to make only electric vehicles by 2030
Volvo says it will make only electric vehicles by 2030. The Swedish automaker said Tuesday that it is phasing out the production of all cars with internal combustion engines — including hybrids. “There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” said Henrik Green, Volvo's chief technology officer.
WorldReutersCanada vaccine committee advises against use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots for 65 years and above
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization released new guidelines on Monday that advise against vaccinating people who are 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, citing lack of information about efficacy in that age group. The vaccine was authorized for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator Health Canada on Friday. Health Canada's decision noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.
U.S.Associated PressFBI chief to face questions about extremism, Capitol riot
FBI Director Chris Wray is set to testify for the first time since the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, with lawmakers likely to press him on whether the bureau adequately communicated with other law enforcement agencies about the potential for violence that day. Questions about the FBI's preparations for the riot, and investigations into it, are expected to dominate Wray's appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The violence at the Capitol made clear that a law enforcement agency that revolutionized itself after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to deal with international terrorism is now scrambling to address homegrown violence from white Americans.
U.S.Business InsiderAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez shoots back at Ted Cruz, saying he treated storm-hit Texas as a 'layover' between trips to Cancun and CPAC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz after he mocked her during his CPAC speech. Ocasio-Cortez again criticized Cruz for fleeing Texas during the recent electrical-grid collapse. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz after the Texas Republican mocked her in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Friday.
PoliticsAssociated PressGeorgia House passes GOP bill rolling back voting access
Republican lawmakers in Georgia muscled legislation through the state House on Monday that would roll back voting access, over the objection of Democrats and civil rights groups gathered at the Capitol to protest. The bill comes after record turnout led to Democratic wins in Georgia's presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs. House Bill 531 passed the lower legislative chamber by a vote of 97-72.
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Israeli police break up Purim celebrations
Drawn from the biblical Book of Esther's account of how the Jews were spared genocide in ancient Persia, Purim is commemorated with the wearing of all kinds of fancy dress costumes, donating food for feasts - and drinking to excess. But this year, Israel, which began emerging from its third national lockdown on Feb. 21, reimposed night curfews for the long Purim weekend and limited access to Jerusalem. Purim parties were banned, with fines for anyone hosting them.
WorldReutersFrance uses only quarter of Astrazeneca vaccine doses: ministry
France has used only a quarter of its AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, a health ministry official indicated on Tuesday, saying its utilisation rate stood at 24% as of Feb. 28, well below a target set at 80-85%. This compares with 82% for vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and 37% for those made by Moderna. "It is true that we are facing issues with AstraZeneca vaccines," the official said without elaborating.
WorldAssociated PressPhilippine president fires ambassador seen assaulting staff
Duterte, whose six-year term ends next year, has been reading the names of government employees and officers implicated in graft and corruption in his TV appearances to highlight his campaign against abuses and irregularities. But Duterte, a former government prosecutor who has threatened drug suspects with death and is known for his expletives-laden outbursts, has faced criticisms for abusive behavior himself. In his televised remarks Monday night, Duterte lashed out at Vice President Leni Robredo for criticizing the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak and vaccination campaign.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael's high court says non-Orthodox converts are Jews
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday dealt a major blow to the country's powerful Orthodox establishment, ruling that people who convert to Judaism through the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel are also Jewish and entitled to become citizens. The landmark ruling, 15 years in the making, centered around the combustible question of who is Jewish and marked an important victory for the Reform and Conservative movements. These liberal streams of Judaism, which represent the vast majority of affiliated American Jews, have long been marginalized in Israel.
BusinessReutersJack Ma loses title as China's richest man after coming under Beijing's scrutiny
Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China's richest man, a list published on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered while his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators. Ma and his family had held the top spot for China's richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding's Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo's Collin Huang, the latest list showed. His fall out of the top three comes "after China's regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues," the Hurun report said.
WorldAssociated PressReport: US wasted billions on cars, buildings in Afghanistan
The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”