- U.S.Yahoo News
EPA administrator criticizes inspector general's conclusions on Scott Pruitt's alleged abuses
Scott Pruitt, the onetime administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was once a potent symbol of corruption within the Trump administration, as well as of its push to roll back environmental protections. With his penchant for first-class flights and other reported excesses — including, most infamously, an ill-fated search for a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel — Pruitt became an increasing problem for a White House that had promised to hold public officials accountable. Trump fired Pruitt just a day after Ingraham's second call for him to do so.
- PoliticsNational Review
Chief Justice John Roberts Scolds Schumer for ‘Dangerous’ Threat Directed at Conservative Justices
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday criticized Senator Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) over comments the minority leader made in reference to an abortion case currently being debated by the court. “For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing's deliberate misinterpretation of what Senator Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes,” a spokesperson for Schumer responded. Earlier Wednesday, Schumer appeared to threaten Republican justices.
- U.S.Reuters
U.S. opposes releasing a dying Bernard Madoff from prison early
The U.S. government opposed Bernard Madoff's request to be freed from prison even if he is close to death from kidney failure, saying he has never accepted responsibility for his massive Ponzi scheme or shown compassion for victims. In a Wednesday night court filing, prosecutors said denying the 81-year-old Madoff's request would uphold victims' and public faith in the justice system. They said Madoff should continue serving his 150-year sentence, to ensure that "one of history's worst fraudsters" faces the consequences of his crimes.
- PoliticsThe Guardian
Joe Biden is surging but his campaign has one weak spot: Joe Biden himself
Pew Research had shown several times that Democrats on Twitter are more liberal than Democrats overall, and that Twitter Democrats are less supportive of Joe Biden and more supportive of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But pushed by some early wins, and the overwhelming presence of a loud minority on social media, the Sanders train took off in the traditional media too, bringing excitement and panic to liberal and moderate journalists and pundits alike. It was not to be.
- WorldThe National Interest
South Korea Is Getting An 'Aircraft Carrier' To Compete With China And Japan
Key point: Seoul for years has mulled a purchase of F-35Bs to complement the country's land-based F-35As. South Korea is getting an aircraft carrier. The vessel could help Seoul's navy to compete with its main rivals, the Chinese and Japanese fleets.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
As the coronavirus spreads, one study predicts that even the best-case scenario is 15 million dead and a $2.4 trillion hit to global GDP
While much is still unknown about the virus, a group of Australian experts have estimated that the virus may have severe consequences on global gross domestic product. New modeling from The Australian National University looks at seven scenarios of how the outbreak might affect the world's wealth, ranging from low severity to high severity. In the low-severity model — or best-case scenario of the seven — ANU researchers estimate a global GDP loss of $2.4 trillion, with an estimated death toll of 15 million.
- WorldAssociated Press
Virus halts pilgrimages to Mecca, Friday prayers in Iran
The coronavirus outbreak disrupted Islamic worship in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia on Wednesday banned its citizens and other residents of the kingdom from performing the pilgrimage in Mecca, while Iran canceled Friday prayers in major cities. The decisions in Riyadh and Tehran affected both Sunni and Shiite Muslims alike. The Saudi move expands a ban last week on foreigners visiting Mecca and Medina, home to the holiest sites in Islam.
- PoliticsThe Week
Rand Paul says he'll 'stay here all weekend' to get foreign aid cut included in coronavirus bill
Congress agreed to put a bipartisan emergency spending package to curb the spread of COVID-19 up for a House vote Wednesday, but it may get held up by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who wants to include an amendment to the bill. Paul, a deficit hawk, wants to ensure the U.S. has some way to fund the COVID-19 package, so he's trying to sneak a foreign aid cut in there. Paul is confident he'll get a vote, but he's prepared to stick around in Washington all weekend either way.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
Lawsuit: Dem Donor Linked to Controversial Ukrainian Oligarch
And now a lawsuit filed in Delaware last spring alleges that a South Florida businessman named Uriel Laber played a key role in an alleged scheme by Kolomoisky to steal billions from that bank. Laber strongly denies the allegations. In 2017 and 2018, Laber gave a total of $2,500 to then-candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, now a Democratic member of Congress who flipped a Florida seat previously held by Republicans.
- WorldBloomberg
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Is the Fall Guy as Zelenskiy’s Star Fades
Premier Oleksiy Honcharuk was the chief casualty of a cabinet reshuffle that also envisages a new finance minister. The departure of Honcharuk -- who was replaced by his 44-year-old deputy, Denys Shmyhal -- was overwhelmingly approved Wednesday by parliament. The shakeup marks a change of tack for Zelenskiy less than a year after he picked a government stacked with fresh faces to break free from the country's notoriously corrupt post-Soviet politics.
- U.S.Popular Mechanics
The Best Mowers for Big Lawns
If you have too much lawn for a standard push mower but not enough for a riding mower, consider these capable machines. From Popular Mechanics
- U.S.NBC News
Parents charged with murder after 6-year-old kept in closet dies
A mother, father and grandmother in Arizona were charged with murder and child abuse after admitting that a 6-year-old who died was kept in a closet with his brother as punishment for "stealing food," police said Tuesday. Anthony Jose Archibeque-Martinez, 23, Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez, 26, and Ann Marie Martinez, 50, are being held at the the Coconino County Jail on one count each of first-degree felony homicide and two counts each of child abuse, according to a statement from the Flagstaff Police Department. Officers responded to a call Monday about an unresponsive child at a Flagstaff home, the statement said.
- WorldReuters
Moscow imposes 'high alert regime' to stem coronavirus outbreak
Moscow authorities announced a "high alert regime" and imposed extra measures on Thursday to prevent a spread of the coronavirus in the Russian capital. A document posted on the Moscow mayor's website said that Russians who return from China, South Korea, Iran, France, Germany, Italy and Spain and other states who display possible "unfavorable" signs of coronavirus should self-isolate themselves at home for 14 days. Russia has not reported any confirmed cases of people contracting coronavirus on its territory, although six people who picked up the virus elsewhere have received or are receiving treatment.
- PoliticsNational Review
Joe Biden: Not a Socialist, Just a Scoundrel
The youth vote always fails to show up — it will break your heart every time. Senator Sanders didn't lose to Joe Biden — he lost to Tinder, weed, and The Resident. The kids were doing themselves a favor — young people have more of a future for Senator Sanders and his coterie of socialist dingbat malefactors to ruin.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
Chief Justice John Roberts issues a rare rebuke at Democrats' 'dangerous' and 'threatening statements'
Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement rebuking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's remarks against members of the court. At a pro-choice rally in front of the Supreme Court, Schumer referenced Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. "I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price," Schumer said, amid cheers from the crowd.
- ScienceYahoo News Video
Large asteroid will fly close to, but won't hit, Earth next month: NASA
A large asteroid will fly close to, but won't hit, Earth next month, according to NASA data. CNN reports that the asteroid, predicted to be between 1.1 and 2.5 miles wide, is scheduled to fly past Earth on April 29.
- WorldAssociated Press
Bethlehem's storied Nativity Church closes amid virus fears
Palestinian officials on Thursday closed the storied Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem indefinitely over fears of the new coronavirus, weeks ahead of the busy Easter holiday season. The spread of the virus across the Middle East has already disrupted worship at other major holy sites. Iran, the epicenter of the virus in the region, announced that it would set up checkpoints to limit travel between major cities and urged citizens to reduce their use of paper money to help slow the outbreak, which has killed at least 107 people in the country.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Coronavirus: Republican senator tells Trump to ‘let the professionals do the talking’ after he repeatedly contradicts expert health advice
A senior Republican senator has told Donald Trump to “let the professionals do the talking” after the president repeatedly contradicted medical experts in recent weeks. Mr Trump has sought to downplay the threat posed by coronavirus in the US, even as public health officials have warned of the potential for a serious outbreak. The president has said a vaccine for the virus could be available “relatively soon”, despite experts saying it will take at least a year to produce one, and last week suggested virus cases were “going very substantially down, not up” as officials recorded numbers increasing.
- WorldBloomberg
Kim Jong Un Opens Door to South Korea Thaw With Virus Letter
Kim sent a “message of comfort to the South Korean people who are battling against the outbreak of COVID-19,” Moon's senior secretary for public communication, Yoon Do-han, told reporters during a briefing Thursday in Seoul. The letter was the latest indication that Kim may be ready to resume geopolitical maneuvering with Washington and Seoul, after focusing in recent weeks on his own efforts to prevent any coronavirus outbreaks in North Korea. On Wednesday, Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, compared Moon's office to a “frightened dog,” in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Michael Bloomberg publicly wishes for contested convention: 'I don't think I can win any other way'
Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, weighs in on his first primary contest Tuesday as 14 states go to the polls.
- PoliticsNational Review
FISA Court Blacklists FBI Agents Involved in Surveilling Carter Page
The chief judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has barred Justice Department and FBI officials under review for wiretapping former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page from appearing before the Court. In a 19-page opinion, Judge James E. Boasberg ordered that “FBI personnel under disciplinary review in relation to their work on FISA applications accordingly should not participate in drafting, verifying, reviewing, or submitting such application to the Court while the review is pending. He added that any “DOJ or FBI personnel under disciplinary or criminal review” are also prohibited from working on FISA applications.
- WorldReuters
Coronavirus has spread to nearly all Iran provinces: president
Coronavirus has spread to almost all of Iran's provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a "minimum" number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. "It has reached almost all our provinces and in one sense it's a global disease." The health ministry said on Tuesday that 92 people had died so far from coronavirus, one of the highest death tolls outside China where the epidemic originated late last year.
- BusinessArchitectural Digest
The 2020 Geneva Motor Show Is Canceled, Forcing Automakers to Unveil Their Cars Online
The major European event was canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus—but the cars revealed online proved to be as exciting as they are bold in design Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- BusinessBusiness Insider
A California man who self-quarantined after returning home from China amid the coronavirus outbreak said he is '100x more concerned' for his health in the US than he was in China
A Bay Area resident visited Kunming, in China's Yunnan province — about 1,000 miles southwest of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak originated — on January 25. Seeing how differently the Chinese and US governments handled the outbreak convinced him that he felt safer in China than he does on American soil. A 36-year-old US citizen from Cupertino, California, visited Kunming, China, almost 1,000 miles southwest of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak originated, on January 25.
- PoliticsThe Week
Bernie Sanders rules out a unity ticket with Biden: '1 old white guy is probably one too many for some'
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow sat down with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday, after his disappointing Super Tuesday, and she wasn't lobbing softballs. "We're trying to transform this country, not win an election, not just beat Trump," Sanders said. Maddow pressed Sanders on his persistent weakness among black voters, especially in the South.
"No Democrat this cycle did more to boost his political career."
"Yes, Buttigieg will almost certainly run for president again."
"At some point, the fact that a presidential candidate is LGBT will be a footnote rather than a headline."
"Those close to Mr. Buttigieg see no obvious political next step in Indiana."
"Buttigieg could run for president 40 years from now, but likely will not have to wait that long."
