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.Associated PressSheriff: Deputy fatally shot Black man while serving warrant
A North Carolina deputy shot and killed a Black man while serving a search warrant Wednesday, authorities said, spurring an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of body camera footage. Authorities wouldn't provide details of the shooting but an eyewitness said that Andrew Brown Jr. was shot while trying to drive away, and that deputies fired at him multiple times. The car skidded out of Brown's yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.
U.S.NextSharkOver 400 Asian New Yorkers Sign a Letter Against Andrew Yang's Mayoral Bid
More than 400 Asian Americans in New York City have signed a letter opposing Andrew Yang's bid for mayor, arguing that "representation alone is simply not enough." Yang, who promised a monthly universal basic income of $1,000 as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, announced his mayoral campaign at a rally in Upper Manhattan in January. Since his confirmation, Yang has consistently placed at the top of polls, the latest of which shows 22% of likely Democratic voters favoring him the most.
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.
U.S.LA TimesHundreds mourn Daunte Wright, fatally shot by officer in Minneapolis area
Daunte Wright's mother addressed a funeral crowd of hundreds Thursday, telling them through tears how the 20-year-old fatally shot by police this month had been looking forward to raising his toddler son. “He always said he couldn't wait to make his son proud,” Katie Wright said as she stood flanked by her husband and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in north Minneapolis. Wright, who was Black, was shot during a traffic stop in the suburb of Brooklyn Center on April 11 by then-Officer Kim Potter, who is white.
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.
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.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- 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.
TechnologyBBCFlubot: Warning over major Android 'package delivery' scam
A text-message scam that infects Android phones is spreading across the UK, experts have warned. The message - which pretends to be from a package delivery firm, prompts users to install a tracking app - but is actually a malicious piece of spyware. Called Flubot, it can take over devices and spy on phones to gather sensitive data, including online banking details.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderRepublican House leader rejects George W. Bush's condemnation of the party as 'isolationist, protectionist' and 'nativist'
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy dismissed former President George W. Bush's recent condemnation of the GOP. Bush said his party had become "isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent nativist." McCarthy insisted Bush is wrong because the GOP has more House members who are women and people of color than ever before.
PoliticsThe IndependentSotomayor gives blistering dissent to Trump SCOTUS appointees who find juvenile not worthy of parole
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave a blistering dissent to Donald Trump's SCOTUS appointees who found a juvenile not worthy of parole, calling the ruling “an abrupt break from precedent”. On Thursday, the highest court in the US ruled 6-3 along liberal-conservative lines against Mississippi inmate Brett Jones who was sentenced to life in prison when he was 15 years old. Jones was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole in 2005, for fatally stabbing his grandfather Bertis in 2004 during a fight about his girlfriend.
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 HeraldA Miami man killed an armed teen in self-defense. Why he’s still facing a criminal case
In a strange twist, police say, Luis returned to the scene minutes later — and from inside his truck, fired 10 more times at Nimikae as he lay dying on the ground, using the teen's own handgun. Luis surrendered Thursday to face a charge of aggravated battery with a firearm against Nimikae. Luis is not being charged with murder.
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.
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.
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.
U.S.Kansas City StarLetters: KC readers discuss the Chauvin verdict, Pompeo’s conduct and swimming safety
KC, take the lead Like many, I breathed a sigh of relief when the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin case. But would this verdict have been plausible if there had not been extensive video of the murder of George Floyd? I seriously doubt it.
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.
- WorldWTVD – Raleigh/Durham
Man dead after being shot outside Brier Creek Barnes & Noble
The Wake County District Attorney's Office will not pursue charges at this time following a shooting outside of the Barnes and Noble at Brier Creek shopping center that killed a 32-year-old man back in March.
PoliticsThe IndependentJohn Kerry criticises Donald Trump for pulling out of Paris accord ‘without any facts, without any science’
John Kerry denounced former President Donald Trump for withdrawing the US from the landmark Paris treaty, which the former Secretary of State signed in 2015. “Regrettably, without any facts, without any science, without any rationale that would be considered reasonable, the former president decided to pull out,” Mr Kerry told reporters at the White House on Thursday following President Joe Biden's Earth Day pledge to cut US emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. Mr Biden announced on his first day in office that the US would re-enter the agreement after the former president refused to acknowledge the contract in 2017 and formally withdrew in 2020.
LifestyleArchitectural Digest12 Outdoor Furniture Sets for Living Alfresco
With warmer weather just around the corner, we're taking our home-design focus to the great outdoors Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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.
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.
“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.”