PoliticsYahoo NewsAs his voting rights proposal stalls, will Joe Manchin's dreams of bipartisanship ever come true?
Sen. Joe Manchin's latest attempt at bipartisanship — a compromise on voting rights legislation — has again received a cold shoulder from the Republicans he's attempting to win over. This week, the West Virginia Democrat circulated a three-page memo outlining his proposal for a bill that would eliminate partisan gerrymandering and increase early voting but would also require voter ID, a favorite provision of the GOP. Manchin wrote last month that he felt that “partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy.” Manchin has repeatedly touted the importance of bipartisanship, whether it's tied to COVID-19 relief, infrastructure, voting rights or a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S.The StateOfficers who fatally shot NC man at home won’t face charges, special prosecutor says
Two Mooresville police officers who fatally shot Chris Craven last summer after they say he pulled a gun — an account disputed by the dead man's wife — will not face criminal charges, a special prosecutor announced Friday. In a statement, Randolph County District Attorney Andy Gregson said officers Alexander Arndt and Christopher Novelli reasonably feared for their lives when they fired dozens of shots with high-powered rifles at Craven during an Aug. 2 confrontation outside his Mooresville home. “It is clear from all of the evidence that at the time Officers Arndt and Novelli fired their duty rifles they were presented with an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury from the actions of Mr. Craven,” Gregson said in summarizing the findings of a State Bureau of Investigation report.
WorldThe TelegraphRumours swirl that China’s top spycatcher has defected to the US
Rumours abounded on Friday night that China's top spycatcher had defected to the US, amid a growing focus in Washington on the theory that Covid-19 escaped from a Wuhan laboratory. Dong Jingwei, vice minister of state security, was reported to have flown from Hong Kong to the US in February with his daughter. There was no confirmation of the rumoured development from either the US or China.
WorldThe TelegraphUS will be able to keep embassy in Afghanistan after Turkey agrees to secure airport
Turkey will secure the Afghan capital's airport after American troops withdraw, in an agreement designed to help the US, Britain and others to keep their embassies open. Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, told Joe Biden that his nation would take a lead role to safeguard the air link out of an increasingly beleaguered Kabul. Contingency plans to continue the safety of the airport had become a priority for diplomats working out how to operate after US troops leave by September.
WorldBBCApple Daily: Hong Kong police raid sparks rush on newspapers
People in Hong Kong have queued up to buy copies of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily a day after its newsroom was raided by police. The raid on the newspaper came as two of its executives were charged under Hong Kong's controversial new national security law. Editor-in-chief Ryan Law and chief executive officer Cheung Kim-hung were the two charged.
U.S.Miami HeraldDemocrat Nikki Fried files complaint against former Trump attorney’s organization
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Friday said her office has filed a formal complaint against a charity run by Sidney Powell, a former attorney who joined President Donald Trump's legal team and spewed false voter fraud claims about the 2020 election. In the complaint, Fried alleges the organization — Defending the Republic — has not registered with the state and is deceptively asking for contributions by telling consumers that it is, in fact, registered. Fried, a Democrat challenging Trump ally Gov. Ron DeSantis for governor in 2022, denied that the complaint is politically motivated.
WorldThe TelegraphBrussels takes heat out of sausage trade war in Northern Ireland
Brussels has signalled it could back down and avert a trade war with the UK as on Friday it welcomed the Government's request for a three-month extension for British sausages to be sold in Northern Ireland. Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, told an audience in Bruges that he was "convinced there is still a window for productive political dialogue" before the ban on chilled meats comes into effect in July. His comments came 24 hours after it was confirmed that Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, had formally requested that the EU agree to extend the grace period to allow the trade to continue until Sept 30.
WorldBBCIndia Covid pandemic: Girl, 5, reunited with mother in Australia
Through a Facebook support group dedicated to Australians stuck in India, they were introduced to a couple - Linda and Joby - who were planning to move to Sydney themselves, and offered to accompany Johannah on the flight. "We got to know Linda over some weeks, and we trusted them," Drisya said, adding, "They both took care of my child, it was so nice of them, we would like to express our gratitude to them." Linda and Joby also accompanied a second child on the Qatar flight, who was about the same age as Johannah.
PoliticsKansas City StarSwamp 101: Joe Manchin asks billionaire donors to get Roy Blunt to do their bidding
This is Swamp 101, but instructive all the same: An audio recording has surfaced of Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin asking billionaire donors to lean on Republican Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt to change his vote on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection commission. That's important in itself, he said, but would also accomplish a very different goal, and one the donors on the call care about a lot: Their implied IOU of future opportunities for Blunt, Manchin suggested, could help neutralize the Democrats' best argument for doing away with the filibuster. Since Republicans oppose anything and everything the Democrats want to do, Rs could preserve the filibuster by proving Ds wrong about that.
U.S.Idaho StatesmanIdaho finally compensates first exonerated death-row inmate. Here’s what he got
After more than 18 years in prison and two decades spent without being formally declared innocent of the charges against him, 72-year-old Charles Fain received a declaration of innocence from the state of Idaho last week and compensation on Thursday. “Today we say we're sorry as a society,” said Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, at a press conference at the Statehouse on Thursday. Ricks and Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, sponsored the Idaho Wrongful Conviction Act, which Gov. Brad Little signed into law in March.
BusinessMiami HeraldFederal judge throws out CDC’s cruise safety regulations, handing win to DeSantis
A federal judge threw out U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety rules for cruise companies operating in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic Friday, handing a victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis. In a 124-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday of the Middle District of Florida said the agency's “conditional sail order” — a framework of regulations dictating how cruises can restart in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic — can remain in place for Florida cruises only until July 18, granting DeSantis' request for a preliminary injunction while the full case moves forward. After July 18, the rules will become non-binding recommendations for cruise companies as they are for other industries.
ScienceThe TelegraphGiant rhino taller than a giraffe ‘could be largest ever land mammal’
A skull from one of the largest mammals to have ever lived has been found in northwest China. The “completely preserved” 26.5 million-year-old fossil comes from an extinct species of giant rhino measuring 16 feet at the shoulder, taller than a giraffe, and weighing 20 tonnes - as much as four African elephants. Researchers have named the newly discovered species Paraceratherium linxiaense.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderMarina battered by Hurricane Isaias asks NC boat owners to pay up. Now they’re suing
When Hurricane Isaias spilled onto North Carolina's coastline in August, dozens of boats were left piled on top of one another at a small marina in Southport. “I'm not gonna sugar-coat it y'all, it's been a roller coaster of a day for the Southport Marina team,” manager Hank Whitley said in a Facebook post after the storm had passed on Aug. 4, adding, “our docks are devastated, boats are scattered, facility has significant damage, but our spirit is very much in tact.” Nearly a year later, the owners of those boats are suing to stop the marina from trying to collect millions of dollars in damages they said have been falsely attached to them.
WorldThe TelegraphItaly at crisis point as Mediterranean migrant numbers surge nine-fold
Italy's government is under huge pressure to staunch the arrivals of migrants from the coast of North Africa as the country recorded a nine-fold increase in the number of asylum seekers reaching its shores since 2019. Latest figures show the migration landscape shifting, with many more attempts to reach Spain and Italy than Greece, which has adopted hardline policies. On Friday, Greece's migration minister said the government had adopted the measures so “we don't send the wrong message of incentivising people to come”.
PoliticsThe StateAlex Murdaugh was ‘authorized’ as a volunteer for the Solicitor’s Office, letter says
Alex Murdaugh, a prominent Hampton lawyer who told police he discovered the bodies of his wife and son on June 7, was “authorized as a volunteer” for the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, according to a letter obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Almost two weeks after the killings of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, Duffie Stone, 14th Circuit Solicitor, still refuses to say what role his office is playing in the investigation. “It would be unethical for our office to be involved in prosecuting or sorting out the facts of any case in which material witnesses, potential defendants or victims have a familial relationship with someone in our office,” Jeff Kidd, spokesperson for the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, wrote in 2019.
U.S.Miami HeraldWhat killed the stingrays at this Florida zoo? After an investigation, some answers
Earlier this week, the Florida zoo disclosed the results of an investigation into the May 27 deaths of 12 stingrays at its “Touch Tank” facility in May. In a statement, park officials said that a thorough investigation with “independent experts who have extensive aquatic experience in the zoo and aquarium field” helped determine the cause. “Following their analysis and assessment of lab and pathology tests, it's been concluded that a supersaturation event took place, likely in the overnight hours, causing gas embolisms (gas bubble disease) in the rays,” said the statement.
U.S.LA TimesAfghanistan's air force is a rare U.S.-backed success story. It may soon fail.
But there is a deeper problem: Over the last two decades the U.S. has built an army in its own image, with Afghan security forces relying on some 18,000 contractors for everything from buying fuel and bullets to doing payroll to the critical tasks of maintaining the 162 aircraft used by the AAF and training the pilots who fly them. Since late 2019, 94% of U.S. forces involved in training and advising the air force have left, so contractors have taken on almost all roles. Without continued contractor support, according to a Defense Department inspector general's report earlier this year, those warplanes would be combat effective for only a few months.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Biden's lack of action on executions adds to death penalty disarray
Activists widely expected Joe Biden to take swift action against the death penalty as the first sitting president to oppose capital punishment, especially since an unprecedented spate of executions by his predecessor ended just days before Biden took office. That has not happened.
U.S.The StateTeen sleeping in hammock at 12:30 a.m attacked by large bear in Great Smoky Mountains
A 16-year-old girl was attacked by a bear in the Great Smoky Mountains early Friday, prompting the National Park Service to close a back country section to visitors. The attack happened at 12:30 a.m., as the teen was sleeping in a hammock in the the Crosby section of the park, officials said. “The family was able to drive the bear off from the area immediately after the attack and quickly notified the park's emergency communications center,” the National Park Service said.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverLive updates Friday: History of shocking SC murders; Paul Murdaugh’s apartment searched
A state grand jury, under the authority of the S.C. Attorney General, is investigating whether there was obstruction of justice in the aftermath of the 2019 boat crash that implicated Paul Murdaugh and killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, according to sources with knowledge of the case. Meanwhile, the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office, which recused itself from the boat crash investigation because of its ties to the Murdaugh family, has not said it would do the same for the investigation into the June 7 murders of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie. On Friday, the Solicitor's Office released a letter to The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette saying Alex Murdaugh, Paul's father and Maggie's husband, was an authorized volunteer for the office and was not paid for his work.
U.S.Miami HeraldA swimmer in the Gulf was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then came the shark
A state park in northwest Florida on the Gulf was on high alert Thursday after a swimmer was bitten by a shark. According to a Tweet from South Walton Fire District, an emergency crew was summoned to Grayton Beach State Park in Seaside sometime in the afternoon after calls came in about the attack. SWFD responded to a report of a shark attack off the coast of Grayton Beach State Park Thursday afternoon.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Prosecutors seek 'very substantial' prison time for Michael Avenatti over attempted extortion of Nike
Prosecutors on Wednesday urged a judge to impose a “very substantial” prison sentence on Michael Avenatti for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRep. Ted Lieu calls Catholic bishops 'hypocrites' for trying to deny Biden Communion over abortion stance while ignoring Bill Barr's death penalty push
Catholic Bishops advanced a document that could bar Biden from Communion over his support for abortion rights. Rep. Ted Lieu, a Catholic, called the Bishops "hypocrites" and "nakedly partisan" for the move. Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California lashed out at US Catholic Bishops on Friday after they voted in favor of advancing a document that could block President Joe Biden from receiving Communion due to his stance on abortion.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: Hillary Clinton was not hanged at Guantanamo Bay
The claim: Hillary Clinton was hanged at Guantanamo Bay Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory are banned from mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but their baseless claims continue to get traction. In March, USA TODAY debunked an article that claimed Navy SEALs loyal to former President Donald Trump arrested former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for treason. The claim was fictional, but an "update" on Clinton's purported arrest is now circulating on TikTok and Instagram.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramHe died at Fort Worth half-marathon finish line. A volunteer brought him back to life
Sims, who is also a registered nurse, noticed Schilling wasn't supporting his head and his lips were blue. A crush of medical students converged as Sims started chest compressions. Then he noticed his patient didn't have an open airway.
“It may seem desperate at this point, but I can’t be mad at any and all efforts to get people vaccinated.”
“I won’t get rich, but I will get to live my life. That seems like reward enough.”
“Offering incentives may encourage people who are not actively opposed to vaccination but may have put it off.”
“At some point, the government is simply rewarding irresponsible behavior.”
“Sure, people should do it without needing an incentive. But what’s the alternative? Not enough people get vaccinated.”