U.S.The TelegraphIdaho school shooting: 'Absolute blessing' no one dead after young schoolgirl opens fire on classmates
A girl reported to be 11 or 12 years old has been taken into police custody after shooting two students and a cleaner before being disarmed by a teacher at a school in Idaho. The child pulled a handgun from her backpack on Thursday and fired multiple rounds inside and outside Rigby Middle School in the small city of Rigby, about 95 miles southwest of Yellowstone National Park. “It's an absolute blessing" that they weren't more badly injured, said Dr Michael Lemon, the trauma medical director at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Centre.
U.S.The WeekOhio state senator caught driving during work videoconference insists he wasn't distracted from the road
Ohio state Sen. Andrew Brenner (R) showed up to work Monday, participating in a videoconference meeting of the budget-adjusting Ohio Controlling Board. "The problem for Brenner was that he did so while driving, while his government meeting was being recorded, and while his legislative colleagues were pressing to tighten rules on using smartphones behind the wheel," The Washington Post reported Thursday. "A recording of the nearly 13-minute videoconference — much of which overlapped with Brenner's drive — showed the seat-belt-using senator repeatedly glancing in the direction of his phone, which had been placed to his right."
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramGeorgia man accused of storming Capitol shared ‘post victory’ photo online, FBI says
A Georgia man denied taking part in the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 — but federal authorities say surveillance footage suggests otherwise. The FBI says Glen Mitchell Simon, 30, shared a “post victory picture” from the steps of the U.S. Capitol after he and throngs of other rioters stormed the building as Congress worked to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Simon was arrested Wednesday in Gainesville, about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta, and charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority,” documents from the Justice Department show.
PoliticsThe WeekLiz Cheney secretly orchestrated Jan. 3 letter from 10 defense secretaries warning about Trump, friend says
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is almost certainly going to be ousted as No. 3 House Republican next week, even though she voted with former President Donald Trump more often (93 percent) than her likely replacement, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — as Stefanik's conservative critics point out. While Stefanik has morphed from Trump skeptic to enthusiastic booster, Cheney has transformed from one of those "hold-their-noses-and-deal-with-him" establishment Republicans into, finally, Sen. John McCain's political "heir," Susan B. Glasser writes in The New Yorker. After Trump tried to co-opt "the Big Lie" this week to refer to his false claims that he won the 2020 election, Cheney shot back that "the 2020 presidential election was not stolen," and "anyone who claims it was is spreading the big lie."
WorldBBCReport: China emissions exceed all developed nations combined
China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report has claimed. The research by Rhodium Group says China emitted 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019. Scientists warn that without an agreement between the US and China it will be hard to avert dangerous climate change.
U.S.INSIDERVideo shows an Alaska teacher telling students that George Floyd would still be alive if he followed police orders. She was put on leave.
A high-school teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska, has been placed on administrative leave over remarks she made during a class discussion on police killings, KUAC reported. A video of the discussion - which happened during a virtual class meeting - was posted to YouTube last week. While school officials have not named the teacher, she is addressed as "Ms.
PoliticsThe StateSC poised to join 45 other states that allow gun owners to carry openly in public
Permitted gun owners who want to carry concealed weapons in the state of South Carolina are soon likely to join residents in 45 other states who can carry their hand guns openly in public — a proposal that has frustrated gun-control advocates, doctors and top law enforcement leaders but was a resounding win for many Republican lawmakers. With three days left on the legislative calendar, the Senate voted 28-16 after a roughly 12-hour debate to pass H. 3094, a House-sponsored bill that would allow only concealed weapons permit holders the right to carry their hand gun in the open. The Senate made a handful of changes to the bill, from removing the $50 cost of the permit application fee to requiring clerks to report pertinent information to the State Law Enforcement Division within five, not 30, days that would prohibit someone from buying or owning a gun.
U.S.Kansas City StarSeveral families sue Johnson County school districts over ‘the trauma’ of COVID masks
The families of 16 children in Johnson County are suing the Blue Valley and Olathe districts, arguing that their students should be allowed to attend school during the pandemic without wearing masks. Attorney Linus Baker said the parents he is representing challenged their districts' mask requirements under Senate Bill 40, which empowers parents to quickly fight such COVID-19 restrictions. The lawsuit, which began in Johnson County district court, was moved to federal court this week.
WorldBusiness InsiderMexico's cartels are experimenting with control of another part of the cocaine trade
Mexico's military destroyed a small coca plantation in February, the third one found since 2014. It was another sign that Mexican criminal groups are pursuing more control of the cocaine trade. MEXICO - Mexican drug cartels' longstanding attempts to bring coca plantations out of South America and onto their turf may be bearing fruit.
WorldArchitectural Digest9 Sleeper Sofas That’ll Make You Want to Hit Snooze (in a Good Way)
From reclining futons to pull-out beds, these double-duty pieces often get a bad rep Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.Miami HeraldShe tortured a 13-year-old boy who has a disability — cutting and chaining him, deputies say
When he asked Jennifer Foran — the relationship to the father and boy is not clear — what happened, she refused to tell him, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. Arrest reports were unclear on the relationship status of the two. On Tuesday, the Broward Sheriff's Office received a report of possible child abuse in Pompano Beach.
- WorldKGO – San Francisco
1 dead, 1 injured after double shooting in San Jose, police say
Police are investigating a double shooting in San Jose. SJPD says one of the victims has died, the other has non life-threatening injuries.
WorldBBCRoad and rail building plans under review after Covid
Multi-billion pound plans for roads and railways in the UK are being reviewed, as travel patterns shift in response to the Covid pandemic. Stephen Joseph, a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire, told BBC News: "Of course they're going to have to review their investment - the Treasury will be asking them to justify it - and some schemes just can't be justified." The government has been approached for comment.
BusinessThe Guardian‘No one wants to work anymore’: the truth behind this unemployment benefits myth
The implication is that the federal government's expanded unemployment benefits of $300 each week are keeping people at home instead of behind cash registers and in fast food kitchens. It's a concern shared by independent business owners in interviews with local and national media, worried that their efforts to bump wages and increase benefits aren't luring in the workers they need as Covid-19 restrictions fall and consumer spending soars. University of Pennsylvania economist, Ioana Marinescu, said: “In the absence of the benefits there would probably be a little bit more applications and hiring would be a little bit easier, but the main drive of the recent change in sentiment is that hiring is accelerating.”
U.S.Kansas City Star‘We’ve had enough’: Kansas City saw multiple shootings and homicides in 10-hour span
After several violent hours in Kansas City, three people are dead and three are injured. The other, which involved a body found in a burning car, is under a suspicious death investigation because the circumstances are unknown, said Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department. The overnight homicides on Wednesday mark the 54th and 55th homicides of the year for Kansas City.
PoliticsMiami HeraldRepublicans get away with cheating in voting bill DeSantis signs on Fox News | Opinion
But giddy, greedy DeSantis is using this bill, now law, for two purposes: To set up roadblocks for Democratic voters, who sent in a record number of votes by mail, to do so again in 2022 — and to keep peddling the big lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Under a cloud The voting bill is awash in irony and chicanery. Republicans were the big cheaters in the 2020 election in Florida.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki says she'll resign next year when it's 'time for somebody else to have this job'
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she plans to leave the role next year to spend more time with her family. "I think it's going to be time for somebody else to have this job in a year from now or about a year from now," Psaki said in an interview with CNN's David Axelrod, her former colleague in the Obama administration, on Thursday. Psaki, who delivers regular press briefings as the public face of President Joe Biden's administration, said she wanted to be able to spend more time with her two young children.
U.S.TheGrioMaryland woman accused of setting house on fire, watching it burn from lawn chair
Gail J. Metwally has been charged with first and second degree attempted murder, first-degree arson, first-degree assault and more. A woman in Maryland has been charged with multiple crimes after allegedly setting her house on fire and watching it burn down. According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's office, Gail J. Metwally has been charged with first and second degree attempted murder, first-degree arson, first-degree assault, two counts of malicious burning first degree, two counts of malicious destruction of property, and two counts of reckless endangerment.
PoliticsAxiosThe evidence is piling up: Trump's iron grip over the GOP has been institutionalized
Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump's politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come. Why it matters: The debate over Trump's post-election hold on the GOP is over — it has gotten stronger since the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. The evidence is overwhelming: House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, a Trump critic, is expected to get booted from leadership next week for saying Trump's claims of an illegitimate Biden victory are lies and destructive.
WorldBusiness InsiderAfghanistan is being overrun by crystal meth as US begins withdrawal
One in five Afghans are either involved in the drug trade, or addicted to drugs. See more stories on Insider's business page. Herat - For weeks, Afghan police had been staking out a single-family house they believed was being used as a meth lab.
BusinessBBCLiberty steel owner in talks over £200m lifeline
The BBC understands that Sanjeev Gupta's beleaguered UK steel business may yet secure a £200m lifeline. The owner of Liberty Steel is in talks about a loan facility from California-based investment firm White Oak Global Advisors. Any loan would need the approval of Gupta Family Group's creditors which include Credit Suisse and Tata Steel.
U.S.INSIDERJosh Duggar's internet usage was sent to his wife to track his porn habit, feds say
Duggar's computer had "accountability software" that sent internet usage reports to his wife, Anna. According to a federal agent, the software, Covenant Eyes, was registered to both Duggar and Anna. Josh Duggar, who's been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography, had an "accountability software" installed on his computer that monitored his internet usage and sent it to his wife, a federal agent testified in a detention hearing on Wednesday.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderDemocrats renew calls to end the filibuster after McConnell said he's '100%' focused on stopping Biden
McConnell said Wednesday "one-hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration." Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were among the lawmakers to renews calls for an end to the rule. After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said his entire focus is on stopping President Joe Biden's administration, Democratic lawmakers renewed calls to end the filibuster.
U.S.The Daily BeastMelinda Gates Warned Bill About Jeffrey Epstein
Melinda Gates met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alongside her husband Bill in New York City and soon after said she was furious at the relationship between the two men, according to people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported meeting occurred at Epstein's Upper East Side Mansion in September 2013, on the same day the couple accepted the Lasker Bloomberg Public Service Award at the Pierre Hotel and were photographed alongside then-mayor Mike Bloomberg. The meeting would prove a turning point for Gates' relationship with Epstein, the people familiar with the matter say, as Melinda told friends after the encounter how uncomfortable she was in the company of the wealthy sex offender and how she wanted nothing to do with him.
- U.S.Tribune Publishing
At 16, she drove drunk and killed a man. At 24, cops say she did it again.
Jennifer Carvajal admitted she was drunk early one morning a few weeks shy of her 17th birthday. Last summer, Carvajal was once again in court, accused of violating probation by walking away from a substance abuse treatment facility. Two weeks ago, authorities say Carvajal was once again driving drunk.
“Every college has a public health responsibility to require its students to be vaccinated.”
“While the vast majority of students will likely get the vaccine, schools should honor the decisions of the few who object.”
“A vaccinated campus could be the step toward normality that college leaders are seeking.”
“College students are mobile and spread COVID-19 with them whenever they travel.”
“There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them.”