WorldLA TimesNews Analysis: Biden struggles to respond to Israeli-Palestinian violence after Trump refused to criticize Israel
After four years of President Trump's refusal to condemn or even mildly critique any Israeli act, the Biden administration faces soaring Israeli-Palestinian violence equipped with fewer options to deescalate tensions than at any time in recent history. Trump gave carte blanche to the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its right-wing nationalist supporters while sidelining and punishing the Palestinians. That policy has diminished Washington's ability to influence either side, at least for now, in part because the Palestinians are wary, and in part because after Trump, any pushback by President Biden will be seen in some circles as an attack on Israel.
U.S.Associated PressSuit: Workers lured from India paid $1.20 per hour for years
FBI agents were at a large Hindu temple in New Jersey on Tuesday as a new lawsuit claimed it was built by workers from marginalized communities in India who were lured to the U.S. and forced to work long hours for just a few dollars per day. The lawsuit accuses the leaders of the Hindu organization known as Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS, of human trafficking and wage law violations. An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents were at the temple on “court-authorized law enforcement activity,” but wouldn't elaborate.
WorldThe TelegraphYoung British woman 'savagely' murdered in front of baby daughter in Greece
A young British woman was strangled to death in front of her baby daughter while her husband was tied up in another room in their home in Athens. The horrific killing of 20-year-old Caroline Crouch in front of her 11-month-old daughter is highly unusual in Greece and has shocked the country. A special police task force has been ordered to investigate the murder, with a manhunt currently underway to identify the attackers.
PoliticsThe WeekTed Cruz walks out of gun violence hearing after failing to change the subject
During a Senate Judiciary Committee on "ghost guns" (firearms made at home that lack a serial number) on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) tried to change the subject to a debate about police funding. "If you don't support abolishing the police, why do you keep voting for nominees who advocate abolishing the police?," Cruz asked his Democratic colleagues, referring to Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, whom President Biden has nominated to run the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
WorldReutersMyanmar arrests 39 over blasts, seeking training with rebels - media
Myanmar security forces have arrested 39 people suspected of being behind explosions and arson attacks as well as trying to get military training with an ethnic minority rebel group, media controlled by the junta said on Wednesday. Since the military seized power on Feb. 1, Myanmar has seen a growing wave of small blasts in cities and towns, some targeting government offices and military facilities. No group has claimed responsibility but the military has blamed people bent on destabilising the country.
WorldAssociated PressScores of dead bodies found floating in India's Ganges River
Scores of dead bodies have been found floating down the Ganges River in eastern India as the country battles a ferocious surge in coronavirus infections. Health officials working through the night Monday retrieved 71 bodies, officials in Bihar state said. More corpses were found floating in the river on Tuesday, washing up in Ghazipur district in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state.
WorldBBCHong Kong: Top cop caught in unlicensed massage parlour raid
A top cop in Hong Kong police's National Security Department has been placed on leave after he was caught in a raid on an unlicensed massage parlour, say local media reports. Reports have named him as Director of National Security Frederic Choi. According to news site SCMP, visiting an unlicensed parlour is not an offence but could "damage the force's image".
HealthThe WeekWorld’s most vaccinated nation sees COVID-19 resurgence, raising questions over Chinese vaccine
Despite its standing as the world's most vaccinated country, the 115-island archipelago Seychelles is seeing a dramatic resurgence in COVID-19 transmission, bringing its daily case rate to "a higher number of infections per capita than India," The Wall Street Journal reports. To date, approximately 67 percent of Seychelles' population is vaccinated — the majority of those citizens received Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, while the remainder received Covishield, a derivative of AstraZeneca's shot manufactured in India. Authorities have not yet disclosed how many of the new cases are among Sinopharm recipients, but "the situation is being watched all over the world for what it says about the effectiveness of vaccines," writes the Journal.
WorldReutersIndian health agency chief says most of country should remain locked down for 6-8 weeks
The head of the main Indian health agency responding to the coronavirus has said districts reporting a high number of infections should remain locked down for another six to eight weeks to control the spread of the rampaging disease. Dr. Balram Bhargava, head of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said in an interview that lockdown restrictions should remain in place in all districts where the rate of infection is above 10% of those tested. Currently, three-fourths of India's 718 districts have what is known as a test-positivity rate above 10%, including major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and the tech hub of Bengaluru.
- NewsYahoo News Video
8 dead, dozens injured in school shooting in Russia
A gunman attacked a school Tuesday morning in the Russian city of Kazan, killing eight people — seven eighth grade students and a teacher — and leaving 21 others hospitalized with wounds, Russian officials said.
WorldArchitectural Digest31 Glass Coffee Tables for Any and Every Living Room
Could we be any clearer? Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAssociated PressNumber of children traveling alone at border eases in April
The number of unaccompanied children encountered on the U.S. border with Mexico in April eased from an all-time high a month earlier, while more adults were found coming without families, authorities said Tuesday. Authorities encountered 17,171 children traveling alone, down 9% from 18,960 in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but still well above the previous high of 11,475 reported in May 2019 by the Border Patrol, which began publishing numbers in 2009. Overall, the Border Patrol's 173,460 encounters with migrants on the Mexican border in April were up 3% from 169,213 in March, the highest level since April 2000.
U.S.The StateFootage shows Andrew Brown was ‘ambushed’ by deputies firing repeatedly, lawyer says
Andrew Brown Jr. was “ambushed” in his Elizabeth City driveway with his hands on the wheel of his car, dying in a hail of bullets without threatening the sheriff's deputies who fired them, his attorney said Tuesday after viewing additional body camera footage. Attorney Chance Lynch watched 20 minutes of footage with Brown family members. He disputed the district attorney's prior account of Brown striking deputies with his vehicle.
WorldBBCBrazil Amazon: Illegal miners fire on indigenous group
Illegal miners inside a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon opened fire on an indigenous community using automatic weapons, local leaders say. One indigenous person and four miners were injured. An estimated 20,000 illegal gold miners are in the Yanomami area, Brazil's largest protected indigenous reserve.
WorldReutersAustralia tracing source of COVID-19 case in Victoria state
Authorities in Australia's second most populous state warned on Wednesday the next few days would be critical to preventing a coronavirus outbreak after a man in his 30s tested positive a day earlier for COVID-19. The unidentified man was the first locally transmitted case in Victoria state in more than two months. Health officials said it was most likely he contracted the virus while serving his 14-day hotel quarantine in neighbouring South Australia state.
WorldAssociated PressIran's former firebrand president to run again for office
Iran's former firebrand president will run again for office in upcoming elections in June, raising the possibility of a bolstered hardline leadership at a time of tense negotiations with the West. Thronged by shouting supporters, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marched to a registration center at the Interior Ministry where he filled out registration forms. “My presence today for registration was based on demand by millions for my participation in the election,” he said, adding that the move also came after “considering the situation of the country, and the necessity for a revolution in the management of the country.”
U.S.The StateHilton Head woman was bitten 3 times by copperhead snake. What she did to survive
Susan Conlin O'Neil was walking home from dinner to her Hilton Head Island condo Wednesday night when she took a step down on the sidewalk and felt a pang in her heel. O'Neil was bitten three times by a copperhead snake on the sidewalk outside her South Forest Beach home. “It felt like someone stuck an electric knife in my leg, like a volt of electricity,” she told The Island Packet.
WorldAssociated PressKremlin-imposed cuts at US Embassy leave thousands adrift
Under Kremlin orders, the U.S. Embassy has stopped employing Russians, forcing the embassy to cut its consular staff by 75% and limit many of its services. The order went into effect on Wednesday, bringing the sharply deteriorating U.S.-Russia relationship to an intensely personal level. Because of the cuts, the embassy can offer only very limited services, such as considering “life-and-death” visa applications.
WorldReutersSamsung BioLogics, Pfizer deny report on COVID-19 vaccine production in S.Korea
Samsung BioLogics Co Ltd and Pfizer Inc on Wednesday denied a report that they were working together to produce in South Korea a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the U.S. drugmaker. The Korea Economic Daily reported earlier that the biotech arm of Samsung Group had been revamping production lines at its plant in Songdo to produce the Pfizer vaccine, which was jointly developed by the German BioNTech. The report quoted an unnamed high-level government official as saying the plant had the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses per year and production could start as early as in August.
PoliticsAssociated PressLouisiana Democrat sworn into Congress, replacing Biden aide
Democratic Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana was sworn into the House on Tuesday, adding some breathing room to the party's tight majority. Carter, 57, represents a majority-Black district centered in New Orleans that extends up the Mississippi River into Baton Rouge. The seat opened after Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond left the position to work as a special adviser to President Joe Biden.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderYouTuber filmed himself at SpaceX launch site in Texas. Now, he’s wanted by police
An arrest warrant has been issued for YouTuber Cesar L. Galaviz more than a month after he filmed himself at a SpaceX Starship launch site in Texas. In March, Galaviz posted a video of himself at the South Texas SpaceX facility to his YouTube channel called LocoVlogS, Business Insider reported. The video shows Galaviz exploring the property and launch pad of the SpaceX Starship SN11 prototype rocket, which exploded during a test flight from the Boca Chica base on March 30 due to a plumbing problem, Space.com reported.
- BusinessAssociated Press
Latest 737 Max problem sets back Boeing airplane deliveries
Boeing continues to grapple with an electrical problem affecting some 737 Max airliners, and the setback is hurting the aircraft maker's ability to deliver new planes. CEO David Calhoun had warned analysts that April deliveries would be “light” because of the Max problem. The slow pace of deliveries hurts Boeing's cash generation because airlines and other customers typically pay a large chunk of a plane's purchase price upon delivery.
WorldThe Daily BeastTrevor Noah Has a Message for Israel: ‘What Is Your Responsibility?’
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Tuesday addressed the recent tensions in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine—as much as could reasonably be done in the time it takes to boil an egg. In recent days, Israeli police clashed with Palestinians at a Jerusalem mosque, nine children were among at least two dozen people killed by Israeli airstrikes, and Gaza militants fired rockets of their own at Israel, killing three. Noah, who acknowledged that there isn't “any TV show [that] in ten minutes is going to solve [the] Israel-Palestine [problem],” did make some keen observations.
U.S.Architectural DigestHouse Call: This Is the Comfort You Need
In support of plump, fluffy, puffy furniture Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe WeekDespite televised denial, Caitlyn Jenner did vote in 2020, records show
California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner told CNN, in an interview broadcast Tuesday, that she "didn't even vote" in the 2020 election. But "Los Angeles County records show she actually did cast a ballot last fall," Politico reported Tuesday night, with notarized proof. Jenner didn't leave much wriggle room, telling CNN's Dana Bash she didn't vote for president or any of the 12 ballot measures because "I didn't see any propositions that I really had one side or the other."
“If Facebook lets Trump back on Facebook and Instagram, he'll assuredly restart his assault on democracy.”
“Facebook should have known better than to believe that it could limit speech on its platform without setting a terrible precedent.”
“Providing a microphone and an amplifier for deceit isn't fighting the good fight for free speech.”
“It’s no defense of Mr. Trump’s conduct to say that the digital public square shouldn’t suppress speech by political leaders.”
“The former president no longer gets the ‘head of state’ exception to terms of service.”