PoliticsNBC News'You want to see a temper tantrum?': Arizona Republican sides with Democrats, blocks voting bill
A bill that would stop some voters from getting a ballot automatically mailed to them each election failed unexpectedly in Arizona's state Senate Thursday after a single Republican joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. GOP state Sen. Kelly Townsend explained her surprise "no" vote on the state Senate floor amid a tense episode that saw the senator get into a heated confrontation with the bill's sponsor. "I am for this bill, but I am not voting for it until after the audit," she said, referring to an audit orchestrated by Senate Republicans of ballots in Maricopa County reportedly set to get underway this week and last through mid-May. The audit is a continuation of GOP efforts to question the results of the 2020 election in a state President Joe Biden won by over 10,000 votes.
U.S.ReutersA cheerleader's Snapchat profanity gets U.S. Supreme Court's attention
Two days after Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania held its cheerleading tryouts, ninth-grader Brandi Levy was still fuming about being passed over for a spot on the varsity squad. While a younger girl had been picked for varsity, Levy was facing another year relegated to the junior varsity cheer squad. Levy, age 14 at the time, posted the photo to the Snapchat social media platform, adding a caption using the same curse word four times to voice her displeasure with cheerleading, softball, school and "everything."
U.S.The WeekThe Derek Chauvin solitary confinement predicament
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day following his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin's solitary confinement is protective, and he's hardly languishing in a dank hole. A brief separation is one thing, but extended isolation from human contact is "cruel and unusual punishment," in constitutional parlance.
WorldAssociated PressWorld leaders pledge climate cooperation despite other rifts
The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America's return to the fight against global warming. Neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping immediately followed the United States and some of its developed allies in making specific new pledges to reduce damaging fossil fuel pollution during the first day of the two-day U.S.-hosted summit.
WorldReutersFrance lifts domestic travel limits but curfew stays in place
PARIS (Reuters) -France will lift domestic travel restrictions from May 3 but a 7 p.m. curfew will remain in place until the COVID-19 epidemic is under control, the prime minister said. In a first step towards ending a third nation-wide lockdown, which has been in place since early April, Jean Castex said schools would reopen on Monday and people would be able to travel all over the country after being confined to their own region and within 10 km of their residence. "The third wave of the disease is behind us," Castex told a news conference.
PoliticsAxiosBiden will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for wealthiest Americans
President Biden in the next few days will unveil eye-popping new tax rates for the wealthiest Americans —a top marginal income tax rate of 39.6% and a capital gains rate of 43.4%. Why it matters: The proposal, to be announced ahead of Biden's address to Congress next Wednesday, is an opening bid for Hill negotiations. Practically and politically, the White House needs buy-in from Congress to pay for social spending in the next phase of his plan to reshape the American economy, the American Families Plan.
WorldReutersSenior Chinese diplomat hopes ASEAN summit helps with Myanmar 'soft landing'
Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday that China hoped the upcoming ASEAN summit on member Myanmar would pave the way for a "soft landing". The in-person summit in Jakarta on Saturday is the first concerted international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, where security forces have killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters since a Feb. 1 coup. The meeting is also a test for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which traditionally refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of a member state, and operates by consensus.
- NewsWLS – Chicago
Inbound I-290 lanes closed near 25th Avenue after shooting
All inbound lanes of I-290 are blocked from just before the 25th Avenue exit due to police investigation of a shooting.
WorldLA TimesHeffernan: Mondale was a root canal compared to Reagan's show biz magic. Too bad we couldn't stand the pain
Mondale could never have done government as show business. He was famous for his integrity and reciprocally awkward with media. Reagan “could walk in front of those cameras and it would come out magic,” Mondale told the Guardian in 2008.
WorldINSIDERHundreds of Jewish supremacists chant 'Death to Arabs' as tensions boil over in Jerusalem clashes
Members of the supremacist group, Lehava, chanted "death to Arabs" as they marched to the Old City. Police were able to separate the two crowds, but The Jerusalem Post still reported incidents of violence and arrests. Planned protests among far-right Jewish extremists and Arab crowds escalated in Jerusalem's Old City Thursday night and early Friday morning amid increasing tensions in the city.
U.S.Miami HeraldMinutes into a 911 call a Florida driver realizes what smashed through her windshield
“Something just came through the windshield and hit my mom in the head!” a woman cried out to a 911 dispatcher after she pulled over on Interstate 95 while driving to Daytona Beach on Wednesday. On the 911 call, the driver, heeding directions from the dispatcher, works to stem the bleeding, using towels. “There's so much blood,” the driver says.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramAs she was launching adult life, Fort Worth woman was shot dead in error as she drove
As she steered a car around a Fort Worth apartment building Tuesday evening, Hailey Watts could not know of the gunfire in her path ahead. “She was just caught in the midst of it,” said Renea Dunn, Watts' mother. Fort Worth police have not announced an arrest, and a spokesman did not release other information about the killing.
WorldUSA TODAYFact check: No evidence to back claim that man convicted for Floyd's murder was not Derek Chauvin
Fact check: Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts but has yet to be sentenced The post includes several images of Chauvin from the day he killed Floyd, his mugshot and his trial. A close-up image highlights perceived differences in Chauvin's ear shape between his mugshot and images taken during Floyd's murder. Two different people.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldBBCIndia Covid crisis: Hospitals buckle under record surge
India's healthcare system is buckling as a record surge in Covid-19 cases puts pressure on hospital beds and drains oxygen supplies. Families are left pleading for their relatives who are desperately ill, with some patients left untreated for hours. Crematoriums are organising mass funeral pyres.
PoliticsThe IndependentVanita Gupta: Senate narrowly confirms Biden’s pick for key Justice Department role
In a vote one day after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty for the murder of George Floyd, the Senate confirmed the nation's next leading law enforcement watchdog by a vote of 51-49, becoming the first-ever civil rights attorney in the role. Ms Gupta, who leads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, was previously chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under Barack Obama. With the exception of Ms Murkowski, Republicans uniformly objected to her nomination.
HealthCharlotte ObserverHere’s what you need to know about getting a COVID vaccine at your favorite brewery
This story was updated on Friday, April 23, to reflect a new day and time for an event at Town Brewing Company. As vaccine supply in Mecklenburg County climbs, vaccine providers are making it easier than ever to get a vaccine — that includes bringing vaccines to pop-up events at Charlotte breweries. Atrium Health hosted a vaccine pop-up at NoDa Brewing Company's North End taproom Thursday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. with 200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the brewery.
U.S.USA TODAYFact check: Ma'Khia Bryant was holding a knife when shot by police
Despite the limited information available on the Bryant shooting, many presented details of what purportedly happened. One such claim, a Facebook post made six hours after the shooting and shared over 3,000 times so far, presents this narrative: "As the George Floyd verdict was being announced, Columbus Ohio Police killed 15 year old Makhia [sic] Bryant. She called the police as she was about to get jumped.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublicans blew up after a Democratic congressman accused them of spreading 'racist trash' in a debate over giving Washington, DC, statehood
GOP lawmakers erupted after Rep. Mondaire Jones accused them of spreading "racist trash." The argument came as the House was debating a bill to grant statehood to Washington, DC. Jones withdrew his comment but said the GOP was scared its "white-supremacist politics" wouldn't work in DC.
ScienceCBS NewsSpaceX Crew Dragon, 4 astronauts lift off to space station
After a one-day delay, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Friday to boost a Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts into orbit for a one-day trip to the International Space Station. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center occurred right on time at 5:49 a.m. EDT, setting up an automated rendezvous and docking at the space station early Saturday. The SpaceX "Crew-2" flight will mark only the third launch of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil since the space shuttle's retirement 10 years ago.
U.S.INSIDEROther ex-officers charged in George Floyd's killing are 'almost 100 percent' going to plead guilty after Derek Chauvin's conviction, experts say
The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August. The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider. Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTop Trump ally Lindsey Graham praises Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to abolish the filibuster
Sen. Lindsey Graham explicitly praised two Democratic senators for rejecting their party's efforts to eliminate the filibuster. Graham supported GOP's successful effort to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominee confirmations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged his caucus to publicly praise the two Democratic lawmakers.
U.S.The Independent‘Statehood is in my DNA’: Pelosi points to father’s legacy in defence of DC vote
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has often invoked the career of her late father, a former congressman from Maryland, and his role as the “unofficial mayor” of Washington DC. Before the House of Representatives voted for the second time to make the nation's capital city the 51st state, the California Democrat said the issue is “in my DNA”. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr, was chair of the House appropriations subcommittee on DC, which was renamed in 2007 but continues to have jurisdiction over the city.
U.S.Kansas City StarMass vaccine event at Arrowhead canceled, but other Kansas City options still open
A mass vaccination event next week at Arrowhead Stadium has been canceled, state health officials said Thursday, but there are still several opportunities to get the shot in the Kansas City area. The April 29 and 30 event was canceled due to “a combination of factors, including logistics and scheduling,” said Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. On March 19 and 20, Arrowhead Stadium became a mass vaccine site with 3,695 people getting the Johnson & Johnson shot.
U.S.INSIDERThe police officer who killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant is a military-trained expert marksman
The Columbus, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot a Black teen was identified as Nicholas Reardon. Reardon is a military-trained expert marksman, The Daily Beast reported. The distinction means Reardon scored high on a marksmanship test, using the Air Force's M4A1 rifle.
“High-speed rail is bold and attention-grabbing, but the scale of the project makes it near impossible.”
“While a long, slow train ride across the country can be a great thing, the US needs real high-speed rail too.”
“Liberals are right that America has a car problem — but it's commutes, not road trips, that suck.”
“Investments into a high-speed rail system wouldn’t just improve the railroads — automobile traffic could also see some relief.”
“Big cities that are reasonably close together is pretty much a prerequisite for high-speed rail.”