PoliticsReutersCivil War: Trump attacks Republican strategist Rove, who fires back
Former President Donald Trump intensified his war with the Republican establishment on Thursday by attacking Karl Rove, a longtime Republican strategist who criticized Trump's first speech since leaving office for being long on grievances but short on vision. "He's a pompous fool with bad advice and always has an agenda," Trump complained in a statement issued by his office in Palm Beach, Florida. Rove, the architect of Republican George W. Bush's presidential victories in 2000 and 2004, wrote in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Trump's speech last Sunday to the Conservative Political Action Conference was wanting.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramWoman likely sneaked gun into jail by hiding it inside her body, Missouri sheriff says
A Missouri woman likely sneaked a gun into jail by hiding it inside her body, authorities say. The Boone County Sheriff's Office says the woman underwent three searches on her way into jail and the firearm was never detected. Amy Natasha Wilhite, 39, was arrested on Valentine's Day and searched by law enforcement after she was taken into custody, authorities say.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverKentucky man — and a motorcycle — found after 465-foot Grand Canyon fall, officials say
A missing Kentucky man was found dead after a 465-foot fall from the Grand Canyon, according to the National Park Service. A motorcycle was also found beside the body of John Pennington, a 40-year-old man from Walton, officials say. He was believed to have entered the Grand Canyon around Feb. 23 and abandoned his vehicle at Yaki Point, a scenic overlook, officials say.
WorldArchitectural Digest9 of the Best Outdoor Rugs That Literally Ground Any Space
High-traffic areas are about to meet their match Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe WeekTrump inadvertently boosts Biden's stimulus messaging with another statement raging against McConnell
Former President Donald Trump has released a new post-presidency statement, and Democrats might just be glad he did. The former president, who remains permanently banned from Twitter, released a statement Thursday once again raging against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), blasting him as the "most unpopular politician in the country" while blaming him for Republicans' Senate losses in Georgia — losses for which Trump himself has been blamed by other Republicans. One of the reasons Republicans lost the two Georgia Senate runoffs in January, Trump argues, was "Mitch McConnell's refusal to go above $600 per person on the stimulus check payments when the two Democrat opponents were touting $2,000 per person in ad after ad."
U.S.AxiosMan pictured with feet on Pelosi's desk yells at judge: "It's not fair"
The Arkansas man who was pictured with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the Jan. 6 insurrection had an outburst in court Thursday, yelling at the judge and his own lawyers that it isn't "fair" he is still in jail, KNWA reports. Background: Richard Barnett, 60, has been asking to be freed on bond since he was arrested days after the attack at the Capitol, per the New York Times. Barnett lost his patience after D.C. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper continued his trial until May 4.
- WorldReuters
Exclusive: U.S. blocked Myanmar junta attempt to empty $1 billion New York Fed account - sources
Myanmar's military rulers attempted to move about $1 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York days after seizing power on Feb. 1, prompting U.S. officials to put a freeze on the funds, according to three people familiar with the matter, including one U.S. government official. The transaction on Feb. 4 in the name of the Central Bank of Myanmar was first blocked by Fed safeguards. U.S. government officials then stalled on approving the transfer until an executive order issued by President Joe Biden gave them legal authority to block it indefinitely, the sources said.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘Impossible to trace.’ Tech savvy dad may be holding daughter captive in WA, cops say
A father accused of kidnapping his teenage daughter 17 months ago could be holding her captive in Washington, but his technology skills are making it hard for authorities to find him, officials say. Authorities say John Oliver Westbrook kidnapped his daughter, Daphne Westbrook, 17, in October 2019 from Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to a news release posted on Facebook by the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office in Tennessee. Investigators say Westbrook is holding Daphne against her will and they're struggling to locate them because he is “an IT expert specializing in security, block chain technology and bitcoin.”
PoliticsThe WeekCapitol riot's 'QAnon Shaman' defends himself by claiming he 'stopped somebody from stealing muffins'
A suspect charged in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building is speaking from jail in a new interview — and offering a unique defense positioning himself as simply a savior of baked goods. Jacob Chansley, the Capitol riot suspect who refers to himself as the "QAnon Shaman" and was photographed during the insurrection wearing fur and horns, spoke with 60 Minutes in an interview broadcast Thursday, in which he claimed his "actions were not an attack on this country" as he faces up to 20 years in prison for them. "I sang a song, and that's a part of shamanism," he said.
WorldReutersClash over Myanmar U.N. seat averted as diplomatic revolt against junta widens
A clash was averted over who represents Myanmar at the United Nations in New York following a Feb. 1 military coup, after the junta's replacement quit and the Myanmar U.N. mission confirmed that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun remained in the job. Kyaw Moe Tun was fired by the junta on Saturday, a day after he urged countries at the 193-member U.N. General Assembly to use "any means necessary" to reverse the coup that ousted the nation's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta appointed deputy U.N. Ambassador Tin Maung Naing to replace him, but he has since resigned and Myanmar's U.N. mission told the United Nations, in a note seen by Reuters on Thursday, that Kyaw Moe Tun remained the country's envoy.
PoliticsAxiosAOC and fellow progressives counter push for Puerto Rico statehood, propose self-determination
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez are pushing ahead with a bill in Congress that would let Puerto Rico decide its future — a proposal threatening Gov. Pedro Pierluisi's determination to pursue statehood for the island. Why it matters: There's an urgency among supporters of statehood to get it done while Democrats control both chambers of Congress, and President Biden has been publicly supportive. During a joint phone interview with Axios on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez said she still hasn't heard from Pierluisi, and Velázquez said she met with him virtually a few weeks ago.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Businesses tied to South Dakota Gov. Noem family reportedly got $600,000 in coronavirus grants
Family members of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem received more than $600,000 in funds from a state grant program pushed by the governor that directed federal coronavirus relief funds to small businesses.
WorldCBS NewsIndian man accused of beheading daughter in apparent "honor killing"
Indian police have arrested a man and accused him of decapitating his own teenage daughter in a rage over her relationship with another man he didn't like, BBC News reported on Thursday, in what appears to be the latest gruesome case of so-called "honor killing" in the Asian nation. Police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh said Sarvesh Kumar was arrested as he walked toward the local police station carrying his daughter's head. BBC News said the local police released a video of Kumar confessing to the crime, in which he explains that he was enraged to learn of his daughter's relationship, came home to find her alone, locker her in a room and decapitated her with a sharp object.
WorldBBCMyanmar sees deadliest day as 38 protesters killed
The general who returned Myanmar to military rule Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace Protesters have been calling for an end to military rule and the release of the country's elected government leaders - including Aung San Suu Kyi - who were overthrown and detained in the coup. The coup and the violent suppression of protests that followed have led to international condemnation, which Myanmar's military has so far ignored. Reacting to Wednesday's deaths, the UK called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, while the US said it was considering further action against Myanmar's military.
U.S.NBC NewsTexas workers should be worried about more than Covid after gov's mask repeal, experts say
Working the door at a business in Texas that still requires masks against Covid-19 could be hazardous to your health — and not just because of the virus, top security experts said Thursday. Gov. Greg Abbott's sudden decision this week to lift the mask mandate and other coronavirus restrictions has undermined the ability of these companies to enforce their own rules for protecting staffers and customers, they said. “This ripping off the Band-Aid approach is not good,” said Brian Higgins, a security consultant who also teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden changed his plan for the strike on Iran-backed militias at the last minute to avoid killing a woman and children
The president changed his plans for an airstrike against Iran-backed militias at the last minute. Battlefield intelligence indicated the presence of a woman and children at one of two strike areas. With fighters in the air, Biden chose to strike only one target, bypassing the one with civilians.
U.S.INSIDERA New Orleans police officer groomed and raped a 14-year-old girl he was assigned to take to a rape kit exam, a lawsuit alleges
A new lawsuit accuses a New Orleans cop of grooming and raping a 14-year-old rape survivor. Officer Rodney Vicknair was arrested last year and fired from the police department in January. The lawsuit alleged the police department shouldn't have allowed Vicknair to assist the girl.
PoliticsThe Independent‘Textbook voter suppression’: How Trump’s stolen election lies are shaping the future of democracy
On the floor of Georgia's House of Representatives on 1 March, state Democratic Rep Bee Nguyen warned her colleagues that the bill in front of them – a 66-page, Republican-backed proposal to drastically roll back voting access across the state – followed a months-long campaign from Donald Trump and his GOP allies to undermine millions of voters with baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and a “stolen” election. “Members of this body aided and abetted a deliberate misinformation campaign to sow seeds of doubt among Georgia voters with absolutely no facts or evidence.” The bill would, among other things, cut mail-in voting and early voting access, strip elections oversight from the state's Secretary of State, and limit voting access that would disproportionately target Black voters.
ScienceCBS NewsEarth's largest-ever mass extinction is a warning for humanity
Right now our planet is in the midst of what science says is an unprecedented rate of change, unlike anything seen in tens of millions of years. Overconsumption, unsustainable practices and the release of immense amounts of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels are altering our life-sustaining climate at a dangerous pace, oceans are acidifying and losing oxygen, and species are dying off. The worst came a little over 250 million years ago — before dinosaurs walked the earth — in an episode called the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction, or the Great Dying, when 90% of life in the oceans and 70% of life on land vanished.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden supports making a temporary $3,000 payment to parents in the stimulus bill permanent going forward
Biden supports making a temporary boost to a tax credit for parents permanent, a Democratic aide said. Senate Democrats want to make this permanent and to give families the option of monthly checks. President Joe Biden told House Democrats on Wednesday that he supported making the temporary beefed-up child tax credit in his stimulus plan permanent, a Democratic aide briefed on the call told Insider.
U.S.USA TODAYSupreme Court rules against immigrant who was denied chance to make his case against deportation
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday against an immigrant who has lived in the country illegally for 25 years and who asserted he wrongfully faced deportation for a relatively minor crime of using a false Social Security card. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the 5-3 opinion and was joined by four of the court's conservatives. The high court found that the immigrant, Clemente Pereida, did not meet the burden required to show he should have been allowed to present his case to avoid deportation..
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 29 Best Bar Carts Under $500
Guaranteed to look great in your Zoom happy hours Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRudy Giuliani, who helped lead Trump's bogus election-fraud conspiracy theory, is being mocked after warning of the dangers of misinformation
Rudy Giuliani warned of "the dire consequences of misinformation on social media." Giuliani has long promoted right-wing misinformation on social media. Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's former personal attorney, was pilloried on Wednesday after he warned in a podcast of the dangers of online misinformation.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastJeanine Pirro Accuses Immigrants of Bringing ‘All Kinds of Diseases’ Into U.S.
During a shouting match with Geraldo Rivera on Fox News on Thursday night, Judge Jeanine Pirro went on a tirade that was shocking in its blatant racism—even for her. “We've got people being released at the border right now who've got COVID,” Pirro screamed at Rivera, who was attempting to push back on her argument. The host's comments were reminiscent of ones made by Fox News' Tucker Carlson that set off a major firestorm and advertiser boycott in late 2018.
WorldThe TelegraphMeghan ignored advice and wore Prince Salman earrings three weeks after Jamal Khashoggi murder
The Duchess of Sussex wore earrings given to her by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia three weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, against advice from palace aides, The Telegraph understands. The Duchess, 39, had been given the Butani earrings as an official wedding present from the Saudi Royal Family. When she wore them to a formal dinner in Fiji in October 2018, during a royal tour, the media were told that they were “borrowed” but unusually, declined to offer further information or guidance.
“Taking humans to Mars would require an investment astronomically out of kilter with the possible benefits.”
“Can a Mars settlement be a freer society than we enjoy on Earth? Maybe.”
“What we learn...may spark the next revolution that will make life in 2071 beyond anything we can imagine right now.”
“Our presence on Mars could jeopardize one of our main reasons for being there — the search for life.”
“The future of geologic investigation of other worlds lies with highly improved versions of our Mars rovers.”