PoliticsReutersA day after forcing marathon bill reading, Johnson says 'preference' to leave Senate
The day after he single-handedly delayed the U.S. Senate's debate on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill for 11 hours, Republican Senator Ron Johnson said on Friday that he could retire from office when his term expires. The two-term Republican told Wisconsin media outlets that he has not decided whether to run for reelection in 2022 but added that not seeking another term is "probably my preference now." Johnson, a Trump ally, recently drew widespread criticism by peddling a debunked conspiracy theory that leftists posing as Trump supporters played a role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S.NBC NewsAsians were thought to be the 'model minority.' Then came 'receipt culture.'
In another video recorded last July, a tech CEO taunted an Asian American family at an upscale Northern California restaurant, calling them an “Asian piece of s---.” Fueled by former President Donald Trump's anti-China rhetoric, the Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed an onslaught of hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In 2020, the group Stop AAPI Hate received more than 2,800 self-reports of coronavirus discrimination nationwide, from verbal harassment to physical assault.
U.S.The WeekDetroit's mayor rejected a shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Experts say that's nuts.
Experts feared the Johnson & Johnson vaccine's slightly lower efficacy rate would lead to an impression of a two-tiered system. That has been exactly the case in Detroit, where the mayor just rejected a shipment of the company's vaccine. CNN reports that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) declined an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week, saying the other available vaccines are better.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRudy Giuliani's legal woes mount as a federal criminal investigation into his Ukraine dealings resumes, report says
A probe into Rudy Giuliani's business and overseas dealings has resumed, according to AP. The criminal investigation will look into the legality of his conversations with Ukrainian officials. A federal criminal investigation into Rudy Giuliani has resumed, according to the Associated Press.
HealthReutersMerck says study shows COVID-19 drug causes quick reduction in virus
U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Saturday the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a quicker reduction in infectious virus in its phase 2a study among participants with early COVID-19. "The secondary objective findings in this study, of a quicker decrease in infectious virus among individuals with early COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir, are promising," said William Fischer, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in a statement from the companies. The antiviral is being currently tested in a Phase 2/3 trial that is set to be completed in May.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden secretly limits drone strikes, amid congressional scrutiny over war powers
The Biden administration secretly put temporary limits on the use of drone strikes and commando raids outside of traditional battlefield settings like Afghanistan or Syria, part of a larger national security review of whether to alter use of force rules from the Trump administration. The changes, which the administration put in place on Mr Biden's first day in office, were first reported on Wednesday by the New York Times, and come as the Biden administration recalibrates the sprawling US footprint across the Middle East, and Congress pushes to rein in the president's war-fighting powers and scrutinises a recent strike in Syria.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 7 Best Refrigerators on the Market, According to Kitchen Designers
Quality food preservation, storage space, and good-looking design are priorities among kitchen designers when it comes to refrigerators Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
ScienceAssociated PressNASA's new Mars rover hits dusty red road, 1st trip 21 feet
NASA's newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life. The roundabout, back and forth drive lasted just 33 minutes and went so well that more driving was on tap Friday and Saturday for the the six-wheeled rover.
WorldThe TelegraphHigh Court orders Mail on Sunday to publish Duchess of Sussex’s legal victory statement on front page
The Mail On Sunday has been ordered by a High Court judge to publish a front-page statement about the Duchess of Sussex's legal victory over its publication of a letter to her father. Meghan's lawyers sought an order requiring Associated Newspapers to publish a statement about her win on the front page of The Mail On Sunday and the home page of MailOnline “to act as a deterrent to future infringers”. Lord Justice Warby agreed that the newspaper needed to carry a story about the legal victory that was in line with the prominence it afforded its original story about the letter.
PoliticsPoliticoSenate reaches unemployment benefits deal, ending logjam on Covid aid bill
Senate Democrats clinched a deal on Friday night over unemployment benefits that will smooth the upper chamber's passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this weekend. After about a nine-hour delay following Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) resistance to an earlier agreement on jobless payments, party leaders announced a new accord with Manchin. The latest deal would provide $300 a week in extra unemployment benefits through Sept. 6, and up to $10,200 in tax relief for unemployed workers.
HealthThe StateDoes restaurant dining lead to rises in COVID case and death rates? CDC finds out
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday found that community requirements that support mask use during the pandemic play a large role in county-level COVID-19 case and death growth rates, particularly when it comes to restaurant dining. An analysis of mask mandates and restaurant reopenings in all U.S. counties from March to December 2020 found that significant drops in daily coronavirus cases and death growth rates occurred within 20 days of implementing mask use. Meanwhile, jumps in daily COVID-19 case growth rates were observed starting 40 days after restaurant dining reopened — in which people do not wear masks — while daily death growth rates spiked 60 days after allowing on-site dining.
ScienceBBCNasa's Perseverance rover takes its first drive on Mars
The American space agency's (Nasa) Perseverance rover has wiggled its wheels and undertaken its first drive across the surface of Mars. Pictures downloaded to Earth on Friday indicate the excursion was a short roll and turn. It's two weeks now since the one-tonne robot landed on the Red Planet.
PoliticsUSA TODAYLive stimulus updates: Senate extends $300 weekly unemployment benefit in Biden's COVID stimulus bill
The Senate amended President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus bill to include a $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit through August. The Senate also passed a Republican proposal to the unemployment benefit Saturday morning. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman's amendment would have extended the $300 benefit through mid-July – a tweak anathema to progressives, who had pushed for more generous unemployment benefits.
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Barrett authors first Supreme Court ruling, a loss for environmentalists
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday authored her first ruling since joining the Supreme Court in October as the court handed a defeat to an environmental group looking for access to government documents.
U.S.The Daily BeastTrump State Dept. Aide Accused of Beating Cops During Riot Is Already Hating Prison
A Trump appointee, who was still employed at the State Department when he allegedly bashed police at the U.S. Capitol with a riot shield and egged on a crowd of insurrectionists, has been arrested for his role on Jan. 6. Federico Klein, a 42-year-old State Department staff assistant with top security clearance, is facing a slew of charges, including unlawful entry and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, according to a criminal complaint first obtained by The New York Times. Prosecutors allege Klein, who also worked on Trump's 2016 campaign, “physically and verbally engaged with the officers holding the line” before assaulting one officer with a riot shield—and using that stolen police equipment to wedge open a door into the Capitol to allow insurrectionists inside.
BusinessFort Worth Star-TelegramTexas regulators will not correct $16 billion in electricity ‘overcharges.’ Why?
At its Friday meeting, the Public Utility Commission of Texas declined to adjust prices that resulted in $16 billion in overcharges to the electricity market during the February winter storm. The governor-appointed regulatory commission, which oversees the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, met with just two members after the resignation of chairperson DeAnn Walker. Commissioners Arthur D'Andrea and Shelly Botkin addressed the Potomac report, which found that ERCOT kept electricity prices too high for at least 33 hours after most outages ended on late Feb. 17.
WorldINSIDERA teenage girl wearing 'Everything will be OK' T-shirt was shot in the head on Myanmar's bloodiest day of protests yet
Wednesday was the bloodiest day of protests in Myanmar since the military's February coup. Photos of Kyal Sin before her death have gone viral, spurring continued defiance among protesters. Nineteen-year-old Kyal Sin, known as Angel, made careful preparations before hitting the streets of Mandalay Wednesday.
U.S.The Daily BeastLake of the Ozarks Realtor Offered $1.5K to Have Her Former Mother-in-Law Killed: Prosecutors
She was reportedly concerned about the woman causing problems with her relationship with her kids. Bauman was recorded discussing the scheme, according to a press release from the Camden County prosecutor's office. She was given multiple opportunities to change her mind when asked by a witness-turned-informant if she was sure she wanted to carry out the killing, prosecutors said, but she moved ahead with it, at one point acknowledging that she was a Christian but noting she could always ask for forgiveness later.
WorldBusiness InsiderAmerica built the world's most sophisticated cyberweapons. Now they're being used against the country, a new book argues.
The US has long emphasized cyber offense over defense, Nicole Perlroth argues in a new book. But now the weapons it developed are being used against it, the The New York Times reporter said. Perlroth told Insider the US needs to shore up its biggest vulnerability: critical infrastructure.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe 8 Senate Democrats who voted against raising the minimum wage are collectively worth over $43 million
Eight Senate Democrats broke from the majority of their party on Friday to vote against a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to raise the minimum wage to $15, joining all 50 Republicans in the upper chamber to reject it. Their defections put the measure on course to fail. Sanders' proposal defied a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian that a minimum wage increase could not be included in President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.
U.S.INSIDERA man in jail tried to hire a hitman to kill the witnesses in his court case but the guy was actually a federal informant
A Virgin Islands man tried to hire a hitman from prison to kill witnesses. Delroy Thomas, 30, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and must pay a $3,000 fine. In his attempt to hire a hitman, Thomas was unaware that the person he was speaking to was actually a DEA informant.
U.S.INSIDERInaugural poet Amanda Gorman said a security guard followed her and told her she 'looked suspicious' when entering her own building
Amanda Gorman became an international sensation in January after performing at the Inauguration. Amanda Gorman said Friday that a security guard followed her home because he thought she looked "suspicious." The 22-year-old poet, who lives in Los Angeles, said she showed him her keys and buzzed herself into her building, prompting the security guard to leave without apologizing to her.
U.S.The Daily BeastFox News Turns to Tyrus, Currently Embroiled in Sexual-Harassment Lawsuit, for Thoughts on Cuomo
For thoughts on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's harassment scandal, Fox News daytime show Outnumbered on Friday turned to Tyrus, who is currently embroiled in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit from his former Fox Nation co-host Britt McHenry. As far as, all women should be heard and respected, and then you need to have the investigation and then results of the investigation. Uhh, we need to respect those,” the Fox contributor said, when asked for his thoughts on the accusations against Cuomo, before quickly pivoting to the controversy over the governor's alleged cover-up of coronavirus-related nursing home deaths.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 29 Best Bar Carts Under $500
Guaranteed to look great in your Zoom happy hours Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
BusinessBusiness InsiderA California city gave some residents $500 per month. After a year, their unemployment rate had dropped, while the control group's rose.
The experiment's control group - residents who didn't receive monthly stipends - saw unemployment rise from 14% to 15% during that year. The results challenge one of the most common criticisms of universal basic income: that unconditional cash reduces the incentive for people to find jobs. "I remember telling people, 'I think that $500 will allow people to work more if they choose to do so,'" Michael Tubbs, the city's former mayor, told Insider.
“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.”