- NewsAssociated Press
Armed border group's leader said to have assassination plans
The leader of an armed group that has been detaining asylum-seeking families from Central America near the Mexican border said two years ago that he was training supporters to assassinate Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and billionaire Democratic supporter George Soros, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday. The FBI declined to comment on why it waited to bring charges against Larry Hopkins following a search in 2017 but his arrest follows widespread criticism after videos surfaced of their members carrying firearms and detaining groups of immigrants crossing the border. Members of the group the United Constitutional Patriots say they want to draw attention to immigration violations and assist federal law enforcement in patrolling the border.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Bernie Sanders says felons, even Boston Marathon bomber, should have right to vote in prison
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he thinks every U.S. citizen, even the convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, should be allowed to vote in American elections. Sanders offered his stance at a CNN town hall Monday when asked whether he thought felons should be allowed to vote while they're incarcerated, not just after their release. He was pressed on whether it was appropriate to enfranchise sex offenders or someone convicted of a heinous crime like Tsarnaev, who with his brother carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that left three dead and injured hundreds more.
- BusinessReuters
UPDATE 2-PG&E get approval to pay employees $350 mln to meet safety goals after wildfires
PG&E Corp can pay employees up to $350 million in bonuses this year to spur them to help meet the bankrupt California power provider's safety goals to prevent wildfires, a judge said on Tuesday. PG&E's management has said the company needs to implement the bonus plan to carry out tasks such as clearing trees and branches around power lines to avert contact that triggers wildfires. While the maximum cost of the plan is $350 million, PG&E has said it expects the likely cost will be around $235 million.
WorldAFPEgypt to host African summits Tuesday on Sudan, Libya
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will lead two emergency summits with other African leaders on Tuesday to address events in Sudan and Libya, his presidency said. The leaders will focus on "the evolution of the situation in Sudan" where protests continue after the military toppled president Omar al-Bashir. They will also seek to "stem the current crisis" in Libya, where commander Khalifa Haftar is leading an offensive on Tripoli, Egypt's presidency said in a statement.
- BusinessBloomberg
U.S. to Reciprocate on 'Unfair' EU Harley Tariffs, Trump Says
“So unfair to U.S. We will Reciprocate!” Trump said Tuesday on Twitter in a post that quoted a person speaking on Fox Business Network. Harley-Davidson reported slumping first-quarter profit Tuesday, though it beat analysts' expectations. Harley is moving some U.S. production overseas to sidestep EU tariffs that jumped to 31 percent from 6 percent after Trump hiked levies on steel and aluminum imports.
- U.S.WXIN - Indianapolis
Indiana Police Release New Sketch, Additional Information in Indiana Murder Investigation
Indiana State Police released new information in the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi, Indiana.
- ScienceThe Telegraph
'Marsquake' detected for first time, Nasa says
Nasa has detected a probable "Marsquake" for the first time. The suspected seismic event on the Red Planet was recorded using silicon sensors developed in the UK. A dome-shaped apparatus known as Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure [SEIS] landed on Mars last year equipped with the sensors, which were built with £4 million in funding from the UK Space Agency Nasa said the measuring of the quake, which occurred on April 6, marked the "birth of a new discipline - Martian seismology".
- BusinessCar and Driver
How Does the Geely Geometry A Measure Up to the Tesla Model 3?
Major Chinese automaker Geely has launched a sub-brand it's calling Geometry. The electric Geometry A is the first production model, and Geely says it's got the Tesla Model 3 in its sights. Tesla might be struggling with bringing the long-promised $35,000 version of the Model 3 to market, but Chinese automaker Geely is suffering from no such problems with the Geometry A, the first production car from what is set to be a wider EV sub-brand.
- BusinessThe Guardian
Demoted and sidelined: Google walkout organizers say company retaliated
Now two Google employees, Meredith Whittaker and Claire Stapleton, are alleging that Google is retaliating against them and other employee activists. “Google has a culture of retaliation, which too often works to silence women, people of color, and gender minorities,” reads a letter from Whittaker, Stapleton and 10 other employees that was published internally on Monday and seen by the Guardian. Stapleton, a nearly 12-year veteran at Google, wrote that two months after the walkout, she was demoted, had a previously approved project cancelled, and was “told to go on medical leave, even though I'm not sick”.
NewsAssociated PressArmed border group shuts down camp at border in New Mexico
An armed group that has been patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border left its post in the New Mexico desert Tuesday amid pressure from law enforcement following videos that showed militia members stopping migrants who had illegally crossed into the country. Sunland Park police and security officers with a railroad company told members of the United Constitutional Patriots on Tuesday they needed to move their trailers and equipment. Union Pacific Railroad said the group crossed its land to access the site and requested that the group not trespass onto its property.
- PoliticsNational Review
The Democrats Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine
It is not now clear whether the Democrats' pathological attachment to the fantasy that they have some chance of destroying the Trump presidency legally is based on continuing hysteria and frenzy, or addiction to continued harassment of the president even as the credibility of doing so plummets, or is an attempt to forestall the investigation and exposure of the malfeasance of the Obama administration and the Clinton campaign in producing the fraud of Trump–Russian collusion. All serious observers can (and do) agree that there is no chance of removing this president from office by impeachment. It requires considerable perseverance and selectivity in canvassing the American media to elicit this fact, but the special counsel, Robert Mueller, despite his glaring anti-Trump biases and obscenely partisan group of investigators, found the president (and all other Americans) to be blameless on the charge of illegal collusion with anyone in Russia to rig the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Should Catholics keep their faith? Sex abuse scandals prompt more to personally question ties to church, poll finds
Amid the latest spate of allegations of sexual abuse of young people by priests, an increasing percentage of Catholics are re-examining their commitment to the religion, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Gallup poll found that 37 percent of respondents said "recent news about sexual abuse of young people by priests" has them personally questioning whether to remain Catholic — a 15 point increase since 2002. The polling, conduct in January and February, came as Pope Francis met at the Vatican with Catholic leaders from around the world to respond to a new wave of sex abuse allegations in numerous countries.
WorldAFPTurkish police hold ruling party member, five others after opposition chief attack
Turkish police on Monday were holding six people, including a member of the ruling AKP party, after a mob attack on opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu that sparked widespread criticism. Kilicdaroglu, 70, of the Republican People's Party (CHP) was assaulted on Sunday in a crowd as he attended a funeral in Ankara for a soldier killed fighting Kurdish militants in the southeast. The attack came days after the opposition CHP won Ankara and Istanbul from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP in March 31 local elections, seen as a major setback for the ruling party after a decade-and-a-half in power.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Iran lawmakers authorize firm action against US "terrorist" acts
Iran's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday requiring the government take firm steps to respond to "terrorist actions" by U.S. forces, state TV reported, retaliating against Washington's blacklisting of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards. President Donald Trump on April 8 designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist group, in an unprecedented step that drew Iranian condemnation and raised concerns about retaliatory attacks on U.S. forces. Tehran reacted to the designation, which took effect on April 15, by naming the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) a terrorist organization and the U.S. government a sponsor of terrorism.
- LifestyleUSA TODAY
Washington poised to become first state to allow eco-friendly 'human composting'
Washington is expected to become the first state to legalize an environmentally-friendly burial alternative that turns bodies into soil within weeks. A bill allowing “natural organic reduction," sometimes called "human composting," has passed the legislature and is headed to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's desk. Inslee, who has staked his 2020 presidential campaign on climate change, is reviewing the bill.
- TechnologyBGR News
Samsung is delaying its Galaxy Fold launch so people don't end up with $2,000 paperweights
Samsung's foldable smartphone has been making lots of headlines over the past week, and for all the wrong reasons. After several prominent technology blogs revealed that their review units broke within days (and sometimes hours) of use, it quickly became clear that the nearly $2,000 phone isn't ready for prime time just yet. Now, a new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Samsung is poised to delay the phone's launch for at least another month.
BusinessReutersGoogle, Facebook, Twitter have to do more to fight fake news: EU
The monthly reports follow a pledge made by the tech giants and advertising trade bodies in October last year to combat the spread of fake news and avoid more heavy-handed regulations. The EU has warned of foreign interference during campaigning for the European Parliament elections and national elections in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine in recent and coming months. "Further technical improvements as well as sharing of methodology and data sets for fake accounts are necessary to allow third-party experts, fact-checkers and researchers to carry out independent evaluation," the EU executive said.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 2020 Jaguar XE in Photos
Updates to its interior and elsewhere make the XE a better luxury sports sedan. From Car and Driver
- NewsThe Independent
Brothers sue Jussie Smollett over 'staged attack' as prosecutor receives death threats for dropping charges
Two brothers who said they helped “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett stage what he had claimed was a racist and homophobic attack, have sued the celebrity's lawyers for allegedly making statements about them they knew were untrue. As it was reported that a prosecutor who decided to drop charges against the 36-year-old actor had received death threats, brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, filed a suit accusing Mr Smollett's legal team of defamation. In a suit filed in Chicago on Tuesday against lawyer Mark Geragos, attorneys for the brothers claimed Mr Geragos and members of his team, continued to claim they had “led a criminally homophobic, racist and violent” attack, even after police said the incident was staged and all charges had been dropped.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2019 Lexus LS500h Hybrid
Lexus's big LS500h sedan is both a flagship and a hybrid. We're not convinced it can serve both masters. From Car and Driver
PoliticsYahoo News VideoWoman who claims Biden touched her without permission says his jokes are 'disrespectful'
A Nevada Democrat who accused Joe Biden of touching her without permission says the former vice president has been "so incredibly disrespectful" by joking about the matter. Lucy Flores leveled her criticism Monday on Fox News as Biden nears an announcement of his 2020 presidential campaign.
WorldAFPJapan drops 'maximum pressure' on North Korea from diplomatic book
Japan on Tuesday dropped the push to apply "maximum pressure" on North Korea from its official foreign policy, an apparent softening of Tokyo's position as major powers engage with Pyongyang. In last year's "Diplomatic Bluebook", published when tensions on the Korean peninsula were soaring, Japan said it was coordinating efforts with its allies to "maximise pressure on North Korea by all available means." But this language was dropped from this year's edition, drawn up after diplomats had "taken comprehensively into account the latest developments surrounding North Korea", according to chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
Mueller report indicts Russia. Will Trump protect the 2020 election against Putin?
Much of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was focused, appropriately, on what crimes or impeachable offenses might have been committed. The Mueller report, released last Thursday, concludes that Russia's interference in the election was “sweeping and systematic.” This wasn't mere "meddling," as it is often called. This was information warfare against America's democracy.
NewsUSA TODAYStudent sues Apple for $1 billion, claims face-recognition caused false arrest
A New York college student filed a lawsuit against Apple for $1 billion, claiming the company's alleged use of facial recognition software in its stores falsely linked him to a series of Apple store thefts. Ousmane Bah, 18, claims that he received a summons from a court in Boston saying that he stole $1,200 worth of Apple products in 2018, according to papers filed on Monday in Manhattan federal court. On the day of one of the thefts in Boston, Bah was attending his senior prom in Manhattan, according to the court documents.
- PoliticsNational Review
Kamala Harris Vows to Tighten Gun Control Laws Through Executive Action If Elected
Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) said Monday that as president she would unilaterally tighten gun control laws through executive action if Congress did not pass legislation to do so within her first 100 days in office. Harris explained during CNN's town hall event in New Hampshire that she would use her executive authority to require that anyone who sells more than five guns per year conduct a background check on all sales, effectively eliminating their status as a “private seller” in a move that would be vulnerable to legal challenge. “Upon being elected, I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws, and if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action,” Harris told the crowd.
