WorldAssociated PressRussia to expel 10 US diplomats in response to Washington
Russia on Friday responded to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions by saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move to shut down those U.S. nongovernment organizations that remain in Russia to end what he described as their meddling in Russia's politics. The top Russian diplomat said the Kremlin suggested that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan follow the example of his Russian counterpart and head home for consultations.
U.S.The Week'Pro-police' televangelist Pat Robertson slams Derek Chauvin, Kim Potter, says 'we cannot have a bunch of clowns' policing the U.S.
O.G. televangelist Pat Robertson isn't about to take to the streets to protest the police shooting of Daunte Wright at the hands of former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter, arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree manslaughter. "If you can't tell the difference in the feel of those things, it's crazy," and Potter "deserves" the consequences, Robertson said on Thursday's 700 Club, holding both a handgun and a Taser. "And the thing that's going on in Minnesota about that Derek Chauvin — I mean, they ought to put him under the jail, he has caused so much trouble by kneeling on the death of George Floyd, I mean on his neck — it's just terrible what's happening."
WorldThe TelegraphSNP-run council accused of ordering cleaners to tidy streets in Sturgeon’s constituency ahead of Anas Sarwar visit
Anas Sarwar has accused an SNP-run council of dispatching cleaners to tidy the streets of Nicola Sturgeon's constituency shortly before an election photocall he held on Thursday to highlight their dirty condition. The Scottish Labour leader claimed that cleansing workers in Glasgow Southside, which is the First Minister's constituency, told him they were ordered to do a clean up operation ahead of his visit to the Govanhill area. The Daily Telegraph photographed three bin lorries and street cleaners that turned up shortly before Mr Sarwar's election stop.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael says it will 'definitely' stop Iran from getting bomb
Israel's foreign minister said Friday that his country was determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process. “We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremists (in Iran) from succeeding, and definitely will prevent this regime from having a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters on a visit to Cyprus. Iranian officials say the country will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity following an attack on its nuclear facility at Natanz, in central Iran, on Sunday, that it blamed on Israel.
WorldAssociated PressBeijing warns US, Japan against collusion vs China
China said Friday it has expressed “serious concerns” to the United States and Japan over what it calls negative moves and collusion between the two countries against China. The statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian came just before President Joe Biden welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader. That meeting is seen as reflecting Biden's emphasis on strengthening alliances to deal with a more assertive China and other global challenges.
- WorldKGO – San Francisco
Standoff underway with shooting suspect in San Jose
A shooting suspect has been hospitalized with a life-threatening self-inflicted gunshot wound after an overnight standoff, police said.
WorldThe TelegraphSpain acquits man of sexually abusing 14-year-old stepdaughter who gave birth to his child
A Spanish court has provoked outrage by acquitting a man of sexually abusing his 14-year-old stepdaughter despite the fact she gave birth to his child. The Pamplona court accepted the defendant's claim that the teenager had sat astride him while he was asleep on the sofa and engaged in penetrative sex. The girl's mother reported the father for alleged sexual abuse of her daughter, who initially said she had been raped in the street before changing her story to corroborate her stepfather's claim that he had not been conscious when they had sex.
U.S.ReutersJohnson & Johnson asked rival COVID-19 vaccine makers to probe clotting risks - WSJ
Johnson & Johnson had reached out to rival COVID-19 vaccine makers to join in an effort to study the risks of blood clots, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. AstraZeneca, which had been buffeted by similar blood-clotting concerns for weeks, agreed, while Pfizer Inc and Moderna executive declined, saying their vaccines appeared safe, the report said. https://on.wsj.com/2Q7E4Ho) The U.S. federal health agencies had on Tuesday recommended pausing use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine for at least a few days after six women under the age of 50 developed rare blood clots after receiving the shot.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 9 Best Wireless Headphones for Every Kind of Use
From the most comfortable pair to the best value buy, these headphones will carry you through the spring, summer, and beyond Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBBCFrance urges citizens to leave Pakistan amid anti-French protests
France has urged all its citizens in Pakistan to leave the country temporarily amid violent anti-French protests across the country. The country's embassy in Pakistan warned of "serious threats to French interests in Pakistan", saying protests were increasing nationwide. The protests were sparked months ago after France defended the right to show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
PoliticsAssociated PressGeorgia governor gets GOP primary challenge from former Dem
Now the scandal-plagued politician hopes to surf Trump supporters' discontent with Gov. Brian Kemp to the Republican nomination. Jones announced Friday that he would challenge the incumbent governor in 2022. Jones was a state representative on the outs with his party when he shot to prominence in Republican media circles as an African American Democrat who endorsed Donald Trump's reelection campaign.
U.S.National ReviewDerek Chauvin Pleads the Fifth, Won’t Testify in His Own Defense
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of killing George Floyd during his arrest last May, said Thursday that he will not testify in his own defense. Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in choosing not to testify in the murder trial. The former police officer is seen in a video of the arrest kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes until he became unconscious.
PoliticsThe Guardian‘Alarm is growing’: Michigan governor faces shutdown dilemma as Covid cases rise
The coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions that Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, enacted in March last year were among the nation's toughest, and the governor's leadership is thought to have saved lives. Now, as Michigan faces another surge of cases and hospitalizations, its worst yet, Whitmer has changed tack. Despite past success and growing calls for another lockdown from public health experts, and doctors managing hospitals with Covid patients, the governor is resisting further restrictions, and is instead largely relying on a vaccination rollout and a voluntary suspension of in-person dining services.
BusinessBusiness InsiderRepublicans say less than 6% of Biden's plan is traditional infrastructure. BofA says it's more like half.
Bank of America says about half of Biden's infrastructure plan is traditional, or physical, infrastructure. This contrasts with the GOP argument that less than 6% of Biden's plan goes to roads and bridges. The bank added that nontraditional infrastructure will take longer to prompt economic growth.
WorldThe Telegraph'No moral justification' to refuse independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Sturgeon claims
EU states believe MEPs have handed UK leverage in Brexit talks over Northern Ireland Crackdown on mandarins' second jobs Former Met Police chief drawn into Greensill scandal Allister Heath: Biden's woke agenda is a catastrophe for the free world Coronavirus latest news: Blood clot risk eight times higher from Covid than AstraZeneca vaccine, study finds Boris Johnson will have "no democratic, electoral or moral justification" to refuse Scotland a second referendum if voters return a majority of independence-backing MSPs, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The First Minister piled on the pressure as she launched the SNP's manifesto today, ahead of the May 6 vote.
U.S.TheGrioProsecutor didn’t ‘fully inform himself’ before testifying Adam Toledo had gun
A Cook County prosecutor who said in court the boy was armed when Chicago cops shot him is now backtracking. A prosecutor who said in court that 13-year-old Adam Toledo had a gun when he was shot by Chicago Police is now backtracking on his statement. Toledo was shot and killed in the early morning hours of March 29 while police were detaining a man, Ruben Roman, responding to a call of shots fired around 2:30 a.m.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and other GOP lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him have spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security
Lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him spent thousands to improve personal security after the Capitol attack. Republicans including Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney beefed up their security, per Punchbowl News. Prominent lawmakers spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security guards and other protection following the Capitol riots, a Punchbowl News analysis of campaign finance records shows.
U.S.The Independent‘Comically evil’: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert cause outrage by voting against bone marrow donor program
Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have drawn criticism after they became the only two members of the House to vote against a bill reauthorizing the National Marrow Donor Program. The bill reauthorizes the National Marrow Donor Program for another five years. The sponsor of the bill, California Democrat Doris Matsui said in a statement that the programme provides the "only potential for a cure" for some individuals with fatal blood illnesses.
U.S.Lexington Herald-LeaderLetters: Cheers on election bipartisanship. Jeers for corrupt open records changes.
Employees, whether working in person or remotely, used infrastructure to do their jobs. If Senator McConnell can identify a single corporation that uses no infrastructure, I'd be glad to excuse that corporation from paying for upgrades. But to suggest that corporations don't use infrastructure is disingenuous, to say the least.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWall Street spent a record $2.9 billion on political contributions and lobbying in 2019 and 2020, a new study shows. Here's who spent, and received, the most cash.
Wall Street spent a record $2.9 billion on campaign donations and lobbying in 2019 and 2020, a report suggests. It donated heavily in favor of Biden over Trump. Bloomberg LP was the top donor.
U.S.The IndependentBLM activist arrested for anti-Asian hate crime in Seattle
A man identified as a Black Lives Matter activist has been charged for anti-Asian hate crime, according to reports. Christopher Hamner, of Seatac, Washington, appeared in court on 9 April facing hate crime charges for chasing Asian-American women in Seattle. In one of the incidents, the 51-year-old allegedly called a woman an “Asian b****” while she was driving with her children, who were in the vehicle.
- WorldAssociated Press Videos
Protests in Minnesota as former officer is charged
Hundreds protested outside the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police headquarters on Wednesday. A former police officer is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of a Daunte Wright, a Black man who was shot during a traffic stop. (April 15)
CelebrityTODAYA-Rod shared telling Instagram story 1 day before news of J.Lo breakup
Just a day before the news of his breakup with Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez shared a video on social media that seems to have foreshadowed the announcement. The former baseball pro posted a short clip to his Instagram story on Wednesday that showed a photo of him and Lopez, some pics of their children and an image of their names inside a heart in sand. Under normal circumstances, such a video wouldn't raise eyebrows, but the 45-year-old set the clip to Coldplay's emotional song "Fix You," leading many fans to wonder if the couple had gone their separate ways.
CelebrityThe WeekHelen McCrory, Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter star, dies at 52
Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter actress Helen McCrory has died at 52 after a battle with cancer, her husband, actor Damian Lewis, has announced. Lewis on Friday said that McCrory, whom he married in 2007, died "peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family," following a "heroic" cancer battle. McCrory was known best for her roles as Polly Gray on Peaky Blinders and as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTop GOP hawks come out in full force against an Afghanistan withdrawal by September 11
Republican lawmakers responded to Biden's decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan. Hawkish lawmakers' positions on a US pullout were similar to when Trump proposed it, though their protestations this time around were much more voluble. Lindsey Graham called the move "dumber than dirt," saying Biden was "paving the way for another 9/11."
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”