HealthYahoo News'You will be just fine,' says surgeon general of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, though pause continues
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy had a message Friday afternoon for the 6.8 million Americans who have received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and who, in recent days, have read concerning reports about blood clotting: “The vast and overwhelming likelihood is that you will be just fine,” Dr. Murthy said during a briefing of the White House COVID-19 response team. He added that the response team was quite confident in that assertion, which is in keeping with what scientists know about the vaccine. The Biden administration told states on Tuesday to stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six reports of blood clotting, including one death.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael says it will 'definitely' stop Iran from getting bomb
Israel's foreign minister said Friday that his country was determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process. “We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremists (in Iran) from succeeding, and definitely will prevent this regime from having a nuclear weapon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters on a visit to Cyprus. Iranian officials say the country will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity following an attack on its nuclear facility at Natanz, in central Iran, on Sunday, that it blamed on Israel.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverViolent home invasion ends with masked man shot — by his own grandfather, NC cops say
A 34-year-old man is in critical condition after he put on a mask and attempted to rob his grandfather, according to police in the North Carolina. The grandfather, who was not identified, “suffered facial injuries” during the incident, Long View police said in a news release. The suspect, identified as Jessie Dwayne Gibson, fled on foot and “was later located at a nearby hotel with life-threatening injuries,” police said.
WorldAssociated PressIndian cop arrested in Kashmir for blocking anti-rebel ops
Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir said Friday that they arrested one of their own officers and dismissed her for obstructing a counterinsurgency operation in the disputed region. The officer livestreamed a cordon and search operation by government forces in southern Frisal village on Wednesday “with the intent of disrupting the search operation,” police said in a statement. In the video, which went viral on social media, the woman was seen shouting: “This is our Kashmir” while hurling invectives at the raiding troops.
PoliticsBBCBiden keeps historically low Trump era cap on refugees
Joe Biden is keeping the number of refugees allowed in each year to the US to historic lows, disappointing campaigners and some Democrats. The maximum number allowed in will be 15,000, a number set by Mr Biden's predecessor as president, Donald Trump. Just two months ago President Biden put forward a plan which would raise the ceiling to 62,500.
U.S.Associated PressPortland, Oregon, police fatally shoot man at city park
An angry crowd gathered in a park in Portland, Oregon, on Friday after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun, the deputy police chief said. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said at a news conference that a white man in his 30s was shot and killed by police, who fired both non-lethal projectiles and a gun at him. A witness at the scene said the man, who had removed his shirt and was blocking an intersection, appeared to be in a mental health crisis, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
WorldReutersWith food and fuel, Hezbollah braces for the worst in Lebanon collapse
Lebanon's Hezbollah has made preparations for an all-out collapse of the fracturing state, issuing ration cards for food, importing medicine and readying storage for fuel from its patron Iran, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters. The moves, responding to a grave economic crisis, would mark an expansion of services provided by the armed movement to its large Sh'ite support base, with a network that already boasts charities, a construction firm and a pension system. The steps highlight rising fears of an implosion of the Lebanese state, in which authorities can no longer import food or fuel to keep the lights on.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe 9 Best Wireless Headphones for Every Kind of Use
From the most comfortable pair to the best value buy, these headphones will carry you through the spring, summer, and beyond Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAssociated PressGeorgia governor gets GOP primary challenge from former Dem
Former Democrat Vernon Jones crowd-surfed across adoring Trump supporters in October after speaking at one of the former president's campaign rallies. Now the scandal-plagued politician hopes to surf their discontent to a Republican primary victory over Gov. Brian Kemp. Jones announced Friday that he would challenge the incumbent governor, a frequent Trump target, in 2022.
U.S.The Daily BeastOath Keeper Becomes First Capitol Insurrectionist to Rat Out Fellow Rioters
A heavy metal guitarist and self-described “founding” member of the Oath Keepers who stormed the U.S. Capitol armed with bear spray has become the first Jan. 6 insurrectionist to plead guilty and cooperate with the feds, prosecutors said Friday. Jon Ryan Schaffer, a 53-year-old from Indiana, pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon during a Friday hearing. During the hearing, Judge Amit Mehta also revealed that Schaffer will be sponsored for witness protection.
WorldAssociated PressNew blast at St. Vincent volcano; cruise ship helps evacuees
La Soufriere volcano shot out another explosive burst of gas and ash on Friday as a cruise ship arrived to evacuate some of the foreigners who had been stuck on a St. Vincent island coated in ash from a week of violent eruptions. Friday morning's blast “wasn't a big explosion compared to the ones that we last weekend, but it was big enough to punch a hole through the clouds," said Richard Robertson, lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, in an interview with local NBC radio. During a comparable eruption cycle in 1902, explosive eruptions continued to shake the island for months after an initial burst killed some 1,700 people, though the new eruptions so far have caused no reported deaths among a population that had received official warning a day earlier that danger was imminent.
U.S.Kansas City StarSemi driver stung by bee veers off highway, loses load of cheese in lake, WA cops say
A bee caused a bit of chaos on a Washington highway when it stung a driver, officials say. Joshua Young, 40, was driving a semi loaded with cheese on Wednesday when a bee stung him, he told the Washington State Patrol. The sting was so bad, it caused him to veer off the road and into the guardrail, Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn told McClatchy News.
WorldAssociated PressRussia to expel 10 US diplomats in response to Biden actions
Russia on Friday responded to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions by saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. The Russian Foreign Ministry also published a list of eight current or former U.S. officials barred from entering the country, including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will move to shut down those U.S. nongovernment organizations that remain in Russia to end what he described as their meddling in Russia's politics.
U.S.Associated Press2 passengers sue United Airlines over engine explosion
Two passengers who were aboard a United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after one of its engines blew apart and sent debris raining down on Colorado neighborhoods sued the company Friday. In separate lawsuits filed in Chicago, where United is based, Joseph McGinley of Honolulu and Jonathan Strawn of Sioux City, Iowa, say they have suffered personal, emotional and financial injuries following the failure of the Boeing 777's engine on Feb. 20. United declined to comment on the lawsuits, spokesperson Leslie Scott said.
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Texas's longest-serving death row has sentence overturned
An appeals court has overturned the sentence of Texas's longest-serving death row inmate, whose attorneys say has languished in prison for more than 45 years because he's too mentally ill to be executed.
WorldReutersCOVID-19 cases in Ontario may more than double despite lockdown - expert panel
OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) -Experts advising Canada's most populous province of Ontario said on Friday new COVID-19 cases could more than double to 10,000 a day in June, and potentially overwhelm hospitals, even if a stay at home order is extended. The dire forecast came as Moderna said it would cut its next delivery to Canada by nearly half to 650,000 doses, and Canada announced a deal to buy 8 million more Pfizer vaccine doses. In recent weeks Ontario has closed schools, restaurants, limited in-store shopping, and cancelled elective surgeries as a surge of admissions threatened to overwhelm hospitals.
WorldThe Telegraph'Only Nato membership can bring us security': Q&A with Ukraine's President Zelenskiy
Reports of mass Russian troop mobilisations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine have sparked fears of renewed war between Moscow and Kiev. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph's Senior Foreign Correspondent Roland Oliphant, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy argues that the confrontation is a test for Western values. Daily Telegraph: What do you think the Kremlin is trying to achieve with the current troop build-up?
WorldAssociated PressPortugal reaps benefits of a prolonged COVID-19 lockdown
While most of the Europe Union grapples with new surges of COVID-19 cases and brings back curbs on what people can do, Portugal is going in the other direction. After becoming the world's worst-hit country by size of population in January, Portugal has seen the pandemic ebb significantly during a lockdown that authorities began loosening four weeks ago. The country's pandemic situation “is very much under control,” Ricardo Mexia, head of Portugal's National Association of Public Health Doctors, said Friday.
U.S.The StateA week after she was found in a Florida Keys swimming pool, Georgia toddler dies
A 2-year-old Georgia girl died Thursday, almost a week after she was found unresponsive in the swimming pool of the Florida Keys vacation rental home in which she and her family were staying. Leland Rudeen's family released a statement on Facebook Thursday saying that she had died a day after undergoing an MRI at Nicklaus Children's Hospital near South Miami. “Shortly after the devastating MRI results, as we were trying to wrap our head around some hard decisions ahead of us, Leland took the choice out of our hands and started her painless decline,” the statement reads.
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Friendship between DeSantis and Gaetz may become a liability for governor
There is no indication that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is tied to the federal probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz, but the investigation could spark new scrutiny of their political partnership and become a liability for DeSantis as he runs for reelection ahead of a possible presidential bid in 2024.
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Israel: Rocket from Gaza is 2nd in 24 hours; no injuries
The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired a rocket from Gaza into the country's south Friday, the second incident in 24 hours. Early Friday, Israeli aircraft hit three facilities operated by Hamas, the militant group ruling Gaza, including weapons manufacturing and smuggling sites, in response to the previous rocket attack. The Israeli response came after the military said a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip Thursday evening landed in south of the country.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAmerican voters overwhelmingly like the stuff the GOP wants to strip out of Biden's infrastructure plan
President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure package two weeks ago, and a CNBC survey found overwhelming support for it, but only parts of it. That's where it gets interesting. According to a CNBC survey released on Thursday, just 36% of Americans supported Biden's infrastructure plan as he presented it - only three percentage points higher than those who oppose the plan, at 33%.
U.S.INSIDERLawyer for the police officer who shot Adam Toledo complained that people hadn't asked how his client was doing
Eric Stillman fatally shot the 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago on March 29. A lawyer for the police officer who fatally shot the 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago has complained that few people have asked how his client is doing. The lawyer for Eric Stillman said in a statement quoted by The Daily Beast: "What is amazing and disheartening is that very few have asked about the welfare of the officer."
PoliticsBusiness InsiderMitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and other GOP lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him have spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security
Lawmakers who criticized Trump or voted to impeach him spent thousands to improve personal security after the Capitol attack. Republicans including Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney beefed up their security, per Punchbowl News. Prominent lawmakers spent tens of thousands of dollars on private security guards and other protection following the Capitol riots, a Punchbowl News analysis of campaign finance records shows.
U.S.Charlotte ObserverCharlotte man hits $1M lottery jackpot, but got goosebumps so bad, he needed a moment
A Charlotte man scratched off a $1 million lottery win while sitting in his car, causing goosebumps so bad that he couldn't drive for 15 minutes, N.C. lottery officials said Thursday. Shane Hypio discovered his prize while parked outside the Quik Trip on Monroe Road in Matthews, where he bought the $10 50X the Cash ticket, according to a lottery news release. He beat odds of 1 in 3.44 million, according to the lottery website.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”