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.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.
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."
WorldAssociated PressJapan prepares for 3rd virus emergency in Tokyo, Osaka areas
Japan's government is preparing to announce a third state of emergency in Tokyo and the western metropolitan area around Osaka following requests from local leaders who say current measures are failing to curb a rapid rise in coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and key ministers met Wednesday to discuss details before deciding on a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and neighboring Kyoto and Hyogo expected later this week. Osaka, the worst-hit area in the latest upsurge beginning in March, reported 1,242 new cases Wednesday, a new high for the prefecture and exceeding Tokyo's 843.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
WorldArchitectural DigestBookmark These 11 Places on HipCamp for Your Next Outdoor Retreat
A WiFi break? Yes, please Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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.
WorldBBCAustralia resists calls for tougher climate targets
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted pressure to set more ambitious carbon emission targets while other major nations vowed deeper reductions to tackle climate change. Addressing a global climate summit, Mr Morrison said Australia was on a path to net zero emissions. US President Joe Biden, who chaired the virtual summit, pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
WorldThe TelegraphDominic Cummings accused of being Downing Street ‘Chatty Rat’ leaker
Dominic Cummings was on Thursday night named by Downing Street sources as the person suspected of leaking text messages sent by the Prime Minister. The former chief adviser to Boris Johnson is the prime suspect in the leaking of messages which implicated the Prime Minister in two separate lobbying scandals. Number 10 sources believe Mr Cummings, 49, is “bitter” that the Government has been “making great progress” since he departed in acrimonious circumstances last November.
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.
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.
TechnologyBBCTaiwan authorities look into Apple supplier hack
Authorities in Taiwan say they are looking into a ransomware cyber-attack on a major technology firm there. Quanta Computer is a manufacturer of many flagship Apple products, including its MacBook line. The hackers, known as Revil, have published stolen blueprints for unreleased products, and are threatening to release more.
BusinessReutersU.S. weekly jobless claims hit 13-month low; home sales tumble
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April as a re-opening economy unleashes pent-up demand. While the labor market recovery is gaining speed, red flags are emerging in the housing market, the economy's star performer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of previously-owned homes tumbled to a seven-month low in March as prices jumped to a record high amid an acute shortage of houses, other data showed on Thursday.
U.S.The IndependentFox, Newsmax, Taylor Greene and Cruz question jury as conservatives cope with Chauvin murder verdict
A Minneapolis jury was apparently intimidated into finding Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd for fear of reprisals from BLM mob violence, according to an array of conservative media personalities and lawmakers. From Newsmax to Fox News, and Marjorie Taylor Greene to Ted Cruz, the so-called party of law and order is questioning whether the criminal justice system is as blind as advertised.
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.INSIDERA Florida couple tried to host their wedding at a $5.7 million mansion that wasn't theirs. Then the owner showed up.
Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones planned to hold their wedding at a $5.7 million mansion in Florida without permission, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. According to the local paper, the couple didn't have permission to use the property but sent out wedding invitations anyway. Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones' wedding invitation reportedly read, "it is our honor to welcome you into our dream home and estate."
U.S.The IndependentPolice identify Mojave desert murder victims from 1980 cold case and link deaths to man in prison for other killings
Police have finally identified the victims of murders that took place in the Mojave desert in 1980 and the investigation has led to an already incarcerated man in a Mississippi prison. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said that they have finally identified the two victims found in the desert in Southern California. In a statement on Wednesday, the officials identified Pamela Dianne Duffey, born in 1959, and William Everette Lane, who was born in 1960.
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.
WorldBusiness InsiderIsrael says a Syrian missile struck near its top-secret nuclear reactor, so it attacked Syria back
Israel and Syria exchanged missile attacks early Thursday. Israel's military said a Syrian surface-to-missile exploded near its nuclear reactor. Israel said it attacked Syrian missile batteries in response, and Syria said it intercepted a strike.
PoliticsThe IndependentEric Lander: Approval of Biden’s top scientist paused over meetings with Jeffrey Epstein
Joe Biden's Cabinet pick for science adviser has been delayed by Democrat concerns of connections to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports. The nomination of Eric Lander to director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy was reportedly paused due to questions around two meetings the geneticist had with Epstein in 2012, four years after the financier's conviction on child prostitution. Quoting an anonymous official familiar with the situation, Politico reported that Washington senator Maria Cantwell wanted more clarity on the extent of Mr Lander's connections with Epstein.
“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.”